Chiang Mai: Town and country Thai style

After growing bored of rock climbing, snorkeling, the beaches and beauty of the Thai islands we decided to jump a flight north. Chiang Mai a sprawling town of nearly one hundred thousand, which felt much smaller, was warm and welcoming from the start. Thanks to Bevin we stayed at the perfect guest house. Our hosts were a former trekking guide, his wife the manager and the boss, their inquisitive 4yr old son and his faithful companion a small white and brown blotched terrier. They made our stay comfortable and rewarding. Through them we booked an overnight trek into the surrounding hills and Bevin took a traditional Thai cooking class. Her day began with an early ride into the valley outside of town to shop at a local market for ingredients followed by a full day of cooking instruction on a farm. She returned from her day with spring rolls which she was justly proud of as they were excellent. I spent the day touring exploring by motorbike. The town center is surrounded by a wide moat that forms a rectangle separating it from the remainder of the city. In the center it's more relaxed and full of tourists and ex-pats, tons of ex-pats. Not to be outdone by Bangkok, Chang Mai has its own massive outdoor shopping market. Needless to say Bevin was in heaven and soon after a package was dispatched stateside. The mountains and some exploring was calling however. Our first stop was the "long neck" tribes people where women wear a stack of brass rings around their neck from an early age. Everyone of us felt conflicted about being there. We felt were exploiting them and weird for walking through their lives on a tour like one would through a zoo or museum. We were comforted somewhat when told that our visits help them sustain their way of life and without our money they would forced to abandon their land and society. While it was rational and true it was still weird. On to the trekking which wasn't too bad and was kicked off by an elephant ride. The hike took us straight up a river gully with numerous stream crossings and a waterfall. The final pitch was about an hour or so of steep switchbacks before we made the summit and our accommodations for the night. There were about fifteen of us ranging from Italians to Koreans and we sat down in the bamboo hut to a meal and were serenaded by our guide and his six string. Bevin and I couldn't resist his encouraging us to join in and after a few local beers we were leading the way, Oasis no surprise got Bevin going. The hike down took no time and was highlighted by a incredibly refreshing(cold) waterfall shower. Time to move on, Laos awaits and a slowboat down the Mekong River.

Rock Climbing in Railay

Ummm yeah. No surprise that Stan did this, in fact I had no idea I was dating a monkey. He literally ran up and down these climbs before I could even get my shoes on. VERY IMPRESSIVE, and it was a really nice surprise to find out something about him that I had never known before. We did a full day of climbing on Railay beach, which has these incredible limestone cliffs on the beach, with absolutely breathtaking views from the top. To give you an idea of the surrounding sights, one of the nearby islands was used in "The Beach". Literally emerald green water. So, having never climbed before in my life, and having a slight fear of heights, and having a problem with people telling me what to do.... the morning was horrible. If you are one of the lucky readers that has tried to teach me something in my life you know how difficult I am, and what my frustrating yell sounds like. Well Stan and the instructor and I suppose most of the climbers on the beach got an earful of it. Once I got a little more comfortable with the idea that the rope would not break or slip out of its knot, I found myself scurrying up the walls (mostly sideways for some reason, but hey, I was comfortable). So now I have a new addiction, once my arms stop hurting. Maybe I will treat you all to a gun show when I get home.

We will give you $20....

when we get home if you can correctly guess what is going on in the picture above. We will give you a hint, this was taken at a budget hotel in Kolkata, frequented by Indians. Therefore, anyone with insider knowledge of India is not allowed to participate, we know who you are!

Cobras and Tigers and Motorcycles: BANGkok

Hot and steamy, and a welcome change from India. Bangkok is almost like being in New York City, except for all the noodles, motorcycles and Thai people. We even ate a couple meals at McDonald's to remind us of home. Aside from drinking some cheap beers and doing a little shopping, we headed out of the city to catch some of the sights and events Thailand is known for. First we made it to the floating market, which is exactly what it sounds like. The morning affair is held entirely on long tail boats, both buyers and sellers float and bargain 7am until noon. Stan went ahead and took in a Cobra Show. Check out the video he took by clicking the "Uploaded Video - Youtube" link in the column on the right. The afternoon we spent at a tiger sanctuary run by monks. They take in wild tigers abandoned, orphaned or saved from poachers in Burma. Within a few years and with some more baht, they hope to open up a larger site that helps rehabilitate these found tigers and get them to the point where they can be released back into the wild. Very cool. Felt a little strange petting these guys though, especially since we have heard the news of the tiger malling a few people in California. Thankfully during our trip no one lost any limbs, and we have pictures to immortalize our time there - so we never have to do it again.

India - Last stop Kolkata

It's come time to leave India and, on reflection, we find it difficult to summarize our experience. First, our brief stay in Kolkata didn't allow us to explore too much, but the visit to The Motherhouse is worth noting. It was from here Mother Theresa worked to serve Kolkata's poor and dying. It was the home she lived, died and was ultimately laid to rest in. Her contributions were immense, as were those of M Ghandi's, in this countries history. They may have selected diffenent arenas in India in which to work, but their goals and especially way of living were very similar. This became apparent when we saw Mother Theresa's room. It was nearly identical to Ghandi's room in Mumbai that we had seen at the beginning of our Indian journey. Austere in composition each room reflected the life of each person. "Poverty is freedom" was a quote from Mother Theresa, but could have just as easily been attributed to Ghandi. Like bookends our visits to these places revived and augmented our knowledge of two great people who had much to do with this countries independence and survival. It's character and diversity however made everything in the middle perplexing, frustrating and impossible to understand. Namaste!

Udagamandalam Valley-even the Indians shorten it

With Ooty (or Udagamandalam) and New Years behind us we descended from the Nilgiri Hill station into the Udagamandalam Valley. We stayed at the Bamboo Guest House near Bandipur National Park. It was owned by an interesting and opinionated old Indian man who told tales of killing elephants and how his grandfather got over thirty of them. "Annoying buggers they are", he would say. Resigned to our confusion over animal treatment in India we ventured off to the wildlife reserve to try and catch a glimpse something special. We ran out the first day and rode an elephant into the forest, which was fantastic. Lumbering gentle giants that make suprising little noise we saw so much in just thirty minutes. Check the pictures for details. An early morning van ride deeper into the forest was nearly useless except for the nice pictures Bevin took of the sun rising through the trees. The same can be said about a trek we took on a local reservation, save a couple of nice views and Bevin falling into the river during a crossing. A short stay which was well worth the journey. On to Kolkata.

Important Information!

Good, that got your attention. Now move your mouse over to the right column and click on our "All Photos - Uncensored" link. We are all up to date, and there are some excellent pics on there of Stan dancing with crazy Indians in fuzzy animal costumes (the Indians are in costume, not Stan), us riding an elephant, and some lovely green scenery.

Also, we have been uploading some of our videos to YouTube, which you can access through the our Video link also in the right column. Continue to check for updates, as these take a bit longer to upload.

We have less than a week in India and are very sad to leave this beautiful place, especially after finally getting a handle on the food, culture and customs here, and particularly after we have both perfected the Indian wobble head, which deserves an explanatory post of it's own, perhaps at a later date.

Hope to update once more, from Kolkata. Then we are on to Thailand.

Peace out.