Well, where did we end- oh yes, Garden view hotel. Jungle trekking... Absolutley amazing, one of the coolest experiences ever.
The guide came and picked us up at 8:30 in the morning, and we drove the hour and a half to a market to pick up final supplies for the trekking.
I didnt have any long trousers so i picked up a pair that were bright purple, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air styley, btw flex, if you're reading this, i hope to buy two more pairs, one for you and one for sharoozle, as they are the best kotch pants in the world. Plus being super cool...
Sorry for the sideline!
We arrived an hour later up in the mountains, having had a breakneck driving experience (40kph the hour time.... yawn) but the scary bit is that we're not sure if they understand the line down the middle of the road, and instead of slowing for corners, they just honk the horn a few times to tell people to get the hell out of the way.
Obvious problem is that if someone else comes the other way dfoing the same thing, you have to quickly swerve. Adn we were sitting in an open top van. It was another bum clenching moment, but we lived to tell teh tale!
The first port of call was elephant trekking. And it was, Un. Be. Lievable.
Kels now realises that elephants are her favourite animal in the world, and to be honest, i have to say they're up there for me too.
They are huge but so gentle, they have an intelligence in their eyes that you wouldnt expect to find from such a big animal, and compared to a few we'd previously seen chained in previous cities, to see them have a free reign of where to go, was a nice touch.
We climbed onto the back in a sort of 2 man seat with a bar across it and a guide sat on it's head directing where to go. We were the third elephant of 6 and as we lumbered through the jungle, you really got a feel for how awesome and majestic the animals are.
You buy food along the way, because if you dont, your elephant doesnt move! Petrol - car. Banana - elephant!
The guide got off at one point, and being a bit cheeky (shock horror i know) i asked if i could sit on it's head and do the guiding. He said yes, and so me and kelsey sat on our own riding the elephant like a horse.
After 45 minutes we had returned to the starting point, and i had a bruised right arm.
Not from the Elephants, but the worried little bear next to me kept on squeezing as she was worried about the elephant falling (it was bucketing down by this point). In my opinion she should have been more worried about me falling off of it's head, but i think as long as i didnt hurt it in the process, she wouldnt have minded...
After the elephant stop we began our trek into the jungle. And this again was spectacular.
Walking for 3 hours amongst 50ft bamboo trees, sleeping plants (you touch them and they curl up!) and misty jungle tops was our idea of perfect.
The walk wasnt easy and you really felt a sense of achivement when we got to the top, to stay with our hosts, the Karen Tribe.
However the trek was via a Waterfall which was incredible to swim in and see, and after a humid hike, much needed.
The locals came round and sold some of their wares but didnt really appear apart from that. Except for one local called Tip who drank all mine and kelsey's whiskey. I got a Tip for you, bugger off! We think it would've been nice to see more of them, but by 10 pm everyone was in bed. Except for me and one of the German guys i'd been drinking with, Lars.
The local guide, Nat, beckoned me closer (we'd been playing guitar earlier in the night, and made a little gesturing relationship. He knew 'snake' 'monkey' and 'slippy, slippy' but not much else...)
He then led me and Lars into the jungle, and taught us how to catch crickets. I mean big, f*ck off crickets!
We caught about 12 (of which i think Nat caught 10...). After he took us both back to his hut and proceeded to cook them!
We moved then to the river and ate them under the moonlight (i'm now beginning to realise that we might've been on a 3 man date, but i dont care, he was gentle...) and we drank the remainder of our Vodka.
Now, im not sure if Nat's used to the strength of our spirits being from a little tribe, but i think not, seeing as he fell over 6 times on the walk back, and hadnt so much as stumbled all day long! But it was bloody funny.
Second Day in the Jungle
Waking up with yet another hangover, wasnt fun. But being in the jungle you kinda forget about it, and teh 3 hour trek to the next waterfall made it easier to sweat out than ever before. It was a kind masocism, but as the old saying goes, 'it's self inflicted you'll get no sympathy from me....' and Kelsey just loved that i was feeling rough and she was as bright-eyed and bushy tailed as ever.
Once again we seem to be out of time, as we have our second 12 hour train journey today, to catch. We'll finish the jungle trek story in Phi-Phi, as we're in Bangkok at the moment. Update you all as soon as we can!
Peace and Love. (a very tired) T & K
xxx
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
1 Week in Thailand- Part 1
So! We're one week in, and i have to say, we've loved every minute.
The blog below is going to take a while for you guys to read in one hit, so please feel free to read a day at a time or whatever suits!
The 40 degree weather is sure slowing us down, seeing as a week has passed and we haven't given you an update But unfortunately in the jungle, WiFi isnt the easiest thing in the world to get (neither's a toilet for that matter!) ---- DONT EAT THE HOTTEST CHILI'S IN THE WORLD!
Dont blame it on the sunshine, (don't blame it on the moonlight) ((sorry i had to)) Blame it on the 3 day jungle trek and the 12 hour over night train ride to the very North of Thailand but will start at the beginning shall we?
We arrived in Bangkok at 2 30 am in which we paid 450 baht (10$) to get a cab the Khao san Road- a world famous backpackers mecca. The cabby was lovely and taught us a few of the basics, we were originally going to learn some on the plane, but they had sega mega drive games in the back of the chair, so any time spent not sleeping, was being wasted on Altered Beast and Alec Kidd. Again, I'm sure we'll be forgiven!!
We'd heard many stories but to see the hustle and bustle happening at 3am was breathtaking. The feelings we had were very mixed as after having travelled for so long, and being knackered as we were, i don't think we were in the best mood for it.... Also, having no idea where our hotel was, apart from "Khao San Road", we found it all a bit panicky.
The massive bags on our back didn't seem to help ease our worries, as you could see that we were getting some attention from locals and tourists alike.
But we found the hotel and all was good for the night, but to be honest by that time, we would have slept with the chickens at Mum and Dads. Happily.
Day 2 in the Big Backpack House.
Having left the hotel, we decided to take a wander into the town, but before we got anywhere, a man appeared and asked us if we knew what we were doing and where we were going.
Having understood that indeed we were exactly what we looked like, a couple of plums with massive backpacks with no idea where the next stop would be. He turned us on to a tourist police information center.
The guy we spoke to had obviously dealt with a shed-load of people in our exact situation, and had it down to a tee. He actually scared us a bit with a few horror stories ( i think they tell them to most people, scared tourists are wary tourists, and wary tourists are probably very good for business) and said that if we wanted to stay in Bangkok again then we should look for somewhere slightly out of town, as apparently they're safer.
The other alternative he offered us, was to go to somewhere called the TAT, which was a tourist information and booking center. To us this was heaven sent.
We jumped in a Tuk Tuk, our first one, and headed towards the TAT.
For those of you who don't know exactly was a Tuk Tuk is, think motorbike, but two wheels at the back, and a sort of cattle cart, covered bench in the back. All in all, a blinding way to travel, cheap, fun and the wind cools you right down (by this time i was walking around constantly feeling like I'd just come off stage at the 12 bar!)
K- And I felt like I was walking beside a greasy monkey :)
At the TAT we met Sonya who we gave her an idea of what we wanted to do and she sort of put our plans or ideas into actions. She booked us train, bus, boat tickets, tours and hotels for the first 8 days of our travels.
We knew we wanted to go North to Chang Mai and do the jungle trek we kept hearing about, before going down to the relaxing part of our trip- the beaches of the South.
Ayutthaya
Our first stop on our way up North was Ayutthaya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayutthaya_Kingdom what used to be Siam and the Capital before it was taken over by the Burmese. ( Or so we think we remember)
We rode first class as the train we were supposed to take was booked full so they booked us a taxi the whole hour . 5 away it is.
Arriving at our hotel was great- this is what the real experience is about, real Thailand, culture and alot more slow moving- something Tom says I am renowned for and always seems to be speeding me up.
There are dogs everywhere, scary but there was one at our hotel he was more than half the size of Tom- he was smelly but he was LOVELY! We loved him and he suckered up to us(tom) for a belly rub every 5 minutes.
Other dogs are not so friendly ( and maybe that isnt the word) but there are loads of dogs that are not well ( with rabies)- makes you wish you got your shots haha but they have seemed to leave us alone.
We have met amazing people at our hotel and the first night after touring the city for the whole day in which we got caught up and didnt eat anything all day except a banana and a small portion of egg stuffed with chicken we had a few to many chang (beer- 6,9 %) it went straight to our head.
We first met Hans and Elise who are from Austria and Australia and 3 German guys Bjorn, Bernhard and Lars who helped us along our path of destruction drunkeness. The next morning we woke up with raging hangovers and decided it was a good idea to take a push bike ride around the city but to get the other side of the river you needed to bike over a MASSIVE motorway - Not a good idea when your hungover- or EVER.
We were in search of the floating market which we didnt find- just ended up getting lost. We biked back over the motorway and took a tuk tuk there and it was amazing- this was where we had our first real experience with Thai food- sitting on your bum at a really small table on an island with boats all around you just cooking food.
Other things we have seen are Wat Phra Si Sanphet which had served as the royal palace http://thailandforvisitors.com/central/ayuthaya/sri-ayutthaya/wat-si-sanphet.php and Wihan Phramongkhon Bophit a large standing bronze buddha and more.
T - It was like something out of tomb raider!
On the next day we met some more really fantastic people, Beth, Sean (sorry if it's spelt differently!), Aaron and Tara. These guys again made us feel really welcome, and we shared a lovely meal with them. Beth and Sean if you're reading this, we are so grateful for the tips and advice. Thank goodness for friendly, prepared people! (and doxycycline...)
We left Ayutthaya, and departed on a 12 hour train ride up north to Chang Mai.
The Love Train Day
We got onto the train about 9:30 pm, and had no idea what to expect.
We had booked two seat/beds in the air conditioned section (i didnt want to slip off the train! The sweating hadnt subsided by this time...)
After seeing two people walk back with beers, the inevitable question which was where can we get one of those- so we wandered up the carriages (rickety carriages) walking between train carriages its nothing but two pieces of metal clanking together. Two carriages up we came to a drinking, smoking, musical, singing, dancing party carriage where everyone is standing on the tables and having a great time. Again to many chang we joined in- made the journey much shorter I tell ya.
We arrived Monday in Chang Mai after the 12 hour train journey to the Garden view hotel, we checked in got showered ( we have yet to come across an actual shower- most are big wet rooms with the shower beside the toilet) and straight into the pool, the most wonderful, romantic (scuse us) time. We had the pool to ourselves and without warning or a cloud in the sky just started chucking it down with rain, within about 5 minutes we realized our books, shoes and socks, towels, tobacco, filters and papers were lying out in the open. Tom makes a mad dash to get them under cover only to find out after our lovely swim he only moved them from one outside uncovered area to another outside uncovered area, so drenched with no towel we had to trudge back dripping wet through the hotel upto our room.
Monday night to our surprise we once again ran into Lars, Bjorn and Bernhard in the hotel and found out they were to be in the same trekking group as us. We had a meeting with our guides, where they told us what we would be needing for the next few days. Having met the group, we went out that night to a restaurant and then the Zoom bar, had a few too many chang, played free pool and woke up NOT ready or packed (surprise surprise) for our 3 day 2 night jungle trek. The only thing we knew we were going to do is go elephant trekking, proabbly alot of walking and we were staying with a hill tribe up at the top of the mountains.
We're going to end the first part here, as we know it's a lot to take in. And frankly having written all of this in one hit, we're dying for a fag and a bottle of water.
We'll finish the rest when we get to Bangkok (tomorrow!) And then we'll keep up to date as often as we can!
Love to one and all.
The blog below is going to take a while for you guys to read in one hit, so please feel free to read a day at a time or whatever suits!
The 40 degree weather is sure slowing us down, seeing as a week has passed and we haven't given you an update But unfortunately in the jungle, WiFi isnt the easiest thing in the world to get (neither's a toilet for that matter!) ---- DONT EAT THE HOTTEST CHILI'S IN THE WORLD!
Dont blame it on the sunshine, (don't blame it on the moonlight) ((sorry i had to)) Blame it on the 3 day jungle trek and the 12 hour over night train ride to the very North of Thailand but will start at the beginning shall we?
We arrived in Bangkok at 2 30 am in which we paid 450 baht (10$) to get a cab the Khao san Road- a world famous backpackers mecca. The cabby was lovely and taught us a few of the basics, we were originally going to learn some on the plane, but they had sega mega drive games in the back of the chair, so any time spent not sleeping, was being wasted on Altered Beast and Alec Kidd. Again, I'm sure we'll be forgiven!!
We'd heard many stories but to see the hustle and bustle happening at 3am was breathtaking. The feelings we had were very mixed as after having travelled for so long, and being knackered as we were, i don't think we were in the best mood for it.... Also, having no idea where our hotel was, apart from "Khao San Road", we found it all a bit panicky.
The massive bags on our back didn't seem to help ease our worries, as you could see that we were getting some attention from locals and tourists alike.
But we found the hotel and all was good for the night, but to be honest by that time, we would have slept with the chickens at Mum and Dads. Happily.
Day 2 in the Big Backpack House.
Having left the hotel, we decided to take a wander into the town, but before we got anywhere, a man appeared and asked us if we knew what we were doing and where we were going.
Having understood that indeed we were exactly what we looked like, a couple of plums with massive backpacks with no idea where the next stop would be. He turned us on to a tourist police information center.
The guy we spoke to had obviously dealt with a shed-load of people in our exact situation, and had it down to a tee. He actually scared us a bit with a few horror stories ( i think they tell them to most people, scared tourists are wary tourists, and wary tourists are probably very good for business) and said that if we wanted to stay in Bangkok again then we should look for somewhere slightly out of town, as apparently they're safer.
The other alternative he offered us, was to go to somewhere called the TAT, which was a tourist information and booking center. To us this was heaven sent.
We jumped in a Tuk Tuk, our first one, and headed towards the TAT.
For those of you who don't know exactly was a Tuk Tuk is, think motorbike, but two wheels at the back, and a sort of cattle cart, covered bench in the back. All in all, a blinding way to travel, cheap, fun and the wind cools you right down (by this time i was walking around constantly feeling like I'd just come off stage at the 12 bar!)
K- And I felt like I was walking beside a greasy monkey :)
At the TAT we met Sonya who we gave her an idea of what we wanted to do and she sort of put our plans or ideas into actions. She booked us train, bus, boat tickets, tours and hotels for the first 8 days of our travels.
We knew we wanted to go North to Chang Mai and do the jungle trek we kept hearing about, before going down to the relaxing part of our trip- the beaches of the South.
Ayutthaya
Our first stop on our way up North was Ayutthaya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayutthaya_Kingdom what used to be Siam and the Capital before it was taken over by the Burmese. ( Or so we think we remember)
We rode first class as the train we were supposed to take was booked full so they booked us a taxi the whole hour . 5 away it is.
Arriving at our hotel was great- this is what the real experience is about, real Thailand, culture and alot more slow moving- something Tom says I am renowned for and always seems to be speeding me up.
There are dogs everywhere, scary but there was one at our hotel he was more than half the size of Tom- he was smelly but he was LOVELY! We loved him and he suckered up to us(tom) for a belly rub every 5 minutes.
Other dogs are not so friendly ( and maybe that isnt the word) but there are loads of dogs that are not well ( with rabies)- makes you wish you got your shots haha but they have seemed to leave us alone.
We have met amazing people at our hotel and the first night after touring the city for the whole day in which we got caught up and didnt eat anything all day except a banana and a small portion of egg stuffed with chicken we had a few to many chang (beer- 6,9 %) it went straight to our head.
We first met Hans and Elise who are from Austria and Australia and 3 German guys Bjorn, Bernhard and Lars who helped us along our path of destruction drunkeness. The next morning we woke up with raging hangovers and decided it was a good idea to take a push bike ride around the city but to get the other side of the river you needed to bike over a MASSIVE motorway - Not a good idea when your hungover- or EVER.
We were in search of the floating market which we didnt find- just ended up getting lost. We biked back over the motorway and took a tuk tuk there and it was amazing- this was where we had our first real experience with Thai food- sitting on your bum at a really small table on an island with boats all around you just cooking food.
Other things we have seen are Wat Phra Si Sanphet which had served as the royal palace http://thailandforvisitors.com/central/ayuthaya/sri-ayutthaya/wat-si-sanphet.php and Wihan Phramongkhon Bophit a large standing bronze buddha and more.
T - It was like something out of tomb raider!
On the next day we met some more really fantastic people, Beth, Sean (sorry if it's spelt differently!), Aaron and Tara. These guys again made us feel really welcome, and we shared a lovely meal with them. Beth and Sean if you're reading this, we are so grateful for the tips and advice. Thank goodness for friendly, prepared people! (and doxycycline...)
We left Ayutthaya, and departed on a 12 hour train ride up north to Chang Mai.
The Love Train Day
We got onto the train about 9:30 pm, and had no idea what to expect.
We had booked two seat/beds in the air conditioned section (i didnt want to slip off the train! The sweating hadnt subsided by this time...)
After seeing two people walk back with beers, the inevitable question which was where can we get one of those- so we wandered up the carriages (rickety carriages) walking between train carriages its nothing but two pieces of metal clanking together. Two carriages up we came to a drinking, smoking, musical, singing, dancing party carriage where everyone is standing on the tables and having a great time. Again to many chang we joined in- made the journey much shorter I tell ya.
We arrived Monday in Chang Mai after the 12 hour train journey to the Garden view hotel, we checked in got showered ( we have yet to come across an actual shower- most are big wet rooms with the shower beside the toilet) and straight into the pool, the most wonderful, romantic (scuse us) time. We had the pool to ourselves and without warning or a cloud in the sky just started chucking it down with rain, within about 5 minutes we realized our books, shoes and socks, towels, tobacco, filters and papers were lying out in the open. Tom makes a mad dash to get them under cover only to find out after our lovely swim he only moved them from one outside uncovered area to another outside uncovered area, so drenched with no towel we had to trudge back dripping wet through the hotel upto our room.
Monday night to our surprise we once again ran into Lars, Bjorn and Bernhard in the hotel and found out they were to be in the same trekking group as us. We had a meeting with our guides, where they told us what we would be needing for the next few days. Having met the group, we went out that night to a restaurant and then the Zoom bar, had a few too many chang, played free pool and woke up NOT ready or packed (surprise surprise) for our 3 day 2 night jungle trek. The only thing we knew we were going to do is go elephant trekking, proabbly alot of walking and we were staying with a hill tribe up at the top of the mountains.
We're going to end the first part here, as we know it's a lot to take in. And frankly having written all of this in one hit, we're dying for a fag and a bottle of water.
We'll finish the rest when we get to Bangkok (tomorrow!) And then we'll keep up to date as often as we can!
Love to one and all.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Smallest runway in the world...
Here we are! Hong Kong!
After a long-ass flight from Heathrow we landed about an hour ago in Hong Kong airport (to +34 degree weather!).
The flight was brilliant, loadsa legroom, little TVs in the chairs and pretzels (it's the little things that make the difference...) Sleepy Kels had a good 4 hours so she's bright-eyed and bushy tailed, and i slept for the whole journey, or near as dammit.
As we came in to Hong Kong, little islands began to sprout up as if from no-where and you really get the feeling that we're doing something cool.
I'd been warned about the run way, but if you can imagine landing on a runway, with the sea 5 foot from the tarmac on both sides, it was a bit of a clenched bum moment. But the pilot did his thing , so we can do ours!
First stop, smoking lounge. Again, the little things...
Then off to see how many pints we can fit in until our flight to Bangkok, gotta kill 5 hours somehow! $300 a pint ($HK anyway...) We aren't in real money anymore.
Everyone we've met has been very friendly so far, but seriously, we ain't in Kansas anymore.
Be the last update for a couple of days, it's time to settle and work out where the heck we should go next!!!
Love to all
T & K
X
After a long-ass flight from Heathrow we landed about an hour ago in Hong Kong airport (to +34 degree weather!).
The flight was brilliant, loadsa legroom, little TVs in the chairs and pretzels (it's the little things that make the difference...) Sleepy Kels had a good 4 hours so she's bright-eyed and bushy tailed, and i slept for the whole journey, or near as dammit.
As we came in to Hong Kong, little islands began to sprout up as if from no-where and you really get the feeling that we're doing something cool.
I'd been warned about the run way, but if you can imagine landing on a runway, with the sea 5 foot from the tarmac on both sides, it was a bit of a clenched bum moment. But the pilot did his thing , so we can do ours!
First stop, smoking lounge. Again, the little things...
Then off to see how many pints we can fit in until our flight to Bangkok, gotta kill 5 hours somehow! $300 a pint ($HK anyway...) We aren't in real money anymore.
Everyone we've met has been very friendly so far, but seriously, we ain't in Kansas anymore.
Be the last update for a couple of days, it's time to settle and work out where the heck we should go next!!!
Love to all
T & K
X
Thursday, August 18, 2011
On the way.
Wow! T-minus 7 hours and we will be boarding flight CX709 heading for Hong Kong. Who knew this day would be upon us so suddenly when it only seems like yesterday it was dropped into conversation that one day we would like to go.
I cant explain the feelings at the moment, I feel we should be more stressed but the feeling is in my tummy. Its going around and around thinking about this 16 hour flight, 5 hour airport layover and then boarding a second plane * (DRAGON AIR) to embark on what will be one of the most amazing things we could ever do.
The best thing about this is I have no idea what to expect, its an amazing yet strange feeling isnt it? Stepping out in a whole new world.
24 Hours and we are not in London anymore, 2 years my home and I am sad to say goodbye but will never forget the family and greatest friends I could have ever made and who knew it was just the beginning, I thought my adventurism would end there but the bug is just beginning.
Midnight on the 19th of August we will be heading along the Khaosan road, backpackers heaven and the start to our amazing journey.
Well my creativity and writing sense is certainly not flowing today and I am really feeling anxious now and can't seem to sit still.
Will speak when were on the other end.
We love you
K
I cant explain the feelings at the moment, I feel we should be more stressed but the feeling is in my tummy. Its going around and around thinking about this 16 hour flight, 5 hour airport layover and then boarding a second plane * (DRAGON AIR) to embark on what will be one of the most amazing things we could ever do.
The best thing about this is I have no idea what to expect, its an amazing yet strange feeling isnt it? Stepping out in a whole new world.
24 Hours and we are not in London anymore, 2 years my home and I am sad to say goodbye but will never forget the family and greatest friends I could have ever made and who knew it was just the beginning, I thought my adventurism would end there but the bug is just beginning.
Midnight on the 19th of August we will be heading along the Khaosan road, backpackers heaven and the start to our amazing journey.
Well my creativity and writing sense is certainly not flowing today and I am really feeling anxious now and can't seem to sit still.
Will speak when were on the other end.
We love you
K
Monday, August 15, 2011
The first leg
I mean, 'Yeah we're ready!' 'Great, lets do this!' And other phrases designed not to make our parents worry...
But between you and me, we're still chucking things in boxes as I write this. We did break the back of the work yesterday, and finish our packing to go, but not the packing up. If it hadn't been for the backwards cap/80s style montage, we wouldn't have been 'alf done by now. (Photo uploaded of boxes and the 80s cap at work)
Equally, i wouldn't be sitting here writing this to you without the help of our sister Hannah, who even though living in San Fran AND it being her first day of uni there, still found time to help us out and set this site up.
(You rule H)
If we had a pound from the people who have told us that we were going to have the time of our lives, we'd have enough to go back again later, so firstly, thanks for the good wishes!
HOWEVER! If we'd had a pound for every time somebody has raised an eyebrow, and said, "oohhh, you two? Out there? Alone?.... You'll be fiiiiiine, I'm sure."
We could probably buy Thailand.
But we are going to prove you wrong! And not only that, we're going to rub your noses in it, but showing you all our lovely photos from across the seas, and writing it up whenever we can. :)
Not really, but we will be updating whenever humanly possible, and you can sign up to the email function, which means you'll get an email every time we update it. And also, you can pester us if we haven't updated recently!
SO, Bon Voyage, Adios, Peace Out, and most importantly.
We love you.
X
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