Thailand - Day 4

Day 4
Most of my group of friends woke up before sunrise that morning. I was actually very eager to move around and wiggle out any aches in my back. We convened on the balcony outside, chatting quietly while listening to Mae's rhythmic snoring (at least ONE of us got some sleep) and watching the sun slowly rise from behind the lazy hills. At that moment, life seemed so simple and peaceful. It was a humbling experience.


We continued hanging outside for a bit, sipped really strong coffee, and played around with a little cat we called Bob. Cute but very dusty.


After a simple breakfast of boiled eggs, toast, and fruit, we started our downhill trek. Kai started tapping wood with his bamboo walking stick, and some of us followed suit just for fun. We soon found out he was doing it to scare away cobras. Once we learned that, we quickly said, "Tap on the wood to scare away the COBRAS! PASS IT ON!!" Oh we started tapping. We tapped on anything we could tap. If we couldn't find any wood to hit, we tapped each other's wood. (I'm thinking about what I'm writing right now, and my choice of words can be taken a different way. Hahahaha!!! Anyway...)

The downward slope was pretty steep so I had to be really careful with my steps, especially since my shoes had no grip! I had to make sure each step I took was secure. From behind, Mae asked, "Why are you guys being so careful?" Within seconds, we heard a foot sliding across dirt followed by a thud. Mae had sprained her ankle. Ouch. She took it like a... well... a man, and continued the trek on her two feet, with Victor supporting her on the slippery and steeper sections. It was really nice to see a friend helping out another friend. But that's what friends are for.

One of our rest stops was at a waterfall. It was lovely. Wish I could see it during the monsoon season when water levels are much higher. Don't think I'd like to hike during this season though, because going downhill will involve a lot of uncontrollable sliding in mud.


Feeling rejuvenated, we continued on the trail. We soon came upon a wooden log that ran across a rocky stream. I could have taken the dirt path that went around, but chose to go across the log instead. (I usually like to challenge myself to get over my fears.) The first step on the log wasn't bad. Each step got worse. By the time I reached the middle of the log, my legs were shaking violently. My friends thought I would shake them off the log! My fear of heights completely overwhelmed me. Taking in deep breaths, I finally managed to jump off at the end and received a round of applause. Boy. I was just glad to get off of that thing. Looking back, it wasn't that bad. The log was pretty wide and it wasn't that high up. I'm just really bad with heights. =(

Some sections of this hike were uneven and very steep. Steps were higher than my knees. At some points, we had to gingerly walk along a very narrow path while hugging big boulders in front of us. Man. This hike was awesome. The terrain was so varied. I loved it. Even the log crossing. Combined with the hike the previous day, this would have to be my favorite hike thus far.

We finally reached the white water rafting site. I've never white water rafted before, so this was a very fun experience for me. Working as a team to get out of jams, paddling and throwing ourselves across the raft to the commands of our guide, and being thrashed by the current and rocks was so exhilarating! At one point, we were wedged in between two huge rocks for a long time. We tried using our weight and paddling to get out of the jam, but our guide finally got us out of there. Fun fun fun!

Immediately after the white water rafting, we embarked on a long bamboo raft. This raft was just a bunch of bamboo logs tightly strung together. This portion of the river was very calm so we sat, with our butts submerged in water, chatted, and soaked in the scenery and the whole experience. This ride was no longer than 30 minutes.

Before lunch, we all showered, together. Heh heh. Ate. Got back onto the sawngthaew for two hour drive back to the heart of Chiang Mai.

That night, all of us but Mae went to check out the Night Market. There was quite a bit of shopping there. Victor and I chose to have fishball noodle soup again at an outdoor stall, while the rest decided to dine at a German restaurant next door. I was incredibly worried at first because I was convinced the unwashed stack of bowls sitting near us was what they were going to server our food in. Ha ha. No worries. I saw them use soap to wash. Heehee.

Our evening activities that night included a trip to the Riverside Bar. There was an awesome band there doing covers of Maroon 5 and a bunch of other bands. They were really good! It was also interesting to see how many couples at this bar consisted of an old white male and a young Asian woman. Many of these couples barely spoke a word to one another. I can't imagine how it would feel to be an escort and do whatever the man wants me to do. I'm glad I'll never know how that feels. Seeing those women made me feel very fortunate to live the life that I live.

Giselle, Victor, and I left the boys to carry on with their drinking while we took a tuk-tuk back to the hotel to keep Mae company. Little did we know, Ms. Mae had got antsy and was exploring Chiang Mai on her own. Coincidentally, she later bumped into the two drunkards and they shared a few interesting moments at a gay bar. Hahahah... I really wish I was there to see that.


At the hotel, we hung out for a bit, but don't recall too much of that. That was our last night in Chiang Mai. The next day, we would be off to Cambodia.

Thailand - Day 3

Day 3
Woohoo! This is the first day of our trek in Chiang Mai! After having a lovely Thai/International breakfast in our hotel, we met our trek guide. His name is Kai. He's the coolest guy. So laid back and mellow. We later concluded that he was high the whole time. Hahaha. Our group jumped into the back of a sawngthaew, a small truck with two rows of seats in its bed.


After picking up a few more trekkers, we were finally on our way! After a simple lunch, we started with an elephant ride. It felt a little odd contributing to the enslavement of elephants, but that's just the way things are done here, I guess. And it's been this way for a looong time. Sucked it up and hoisted myself onto the elephant.

The ride itself was very interesting. He constantly stopped to forage for food. We threw him bananas and bamboo which he happily received. Though the ride was short, the scenery wasn't lacking in any way. The most exciting part of the ride was when our elephant decided to flirt with the downward slope. VERY downward. We were all afraid we would tumble down the tiny hill he was so intrigued with. Fortunately for us, our guide managed to get him back on the main road. Whew!


After taking some photos with the posed elephants, we started our trek. This has got to be my favorite hike. The difficulty level was perfect. Not too easy and not too hard. Incline was great. There were numerous stream crossings with little waterfalls sprinkled throughout. The foliage was lovely. Lush and green. There were patches of bamboo and banana trees. It was absolutely beautiful. The view we came upon as we inched closer to the village was gorgeous. We were amazed with the rice paddies surrounding us and the sleepy hills lying in the distance. The village belonging to the Lahu tribe was perched on top of one hills to the right.

Oh yeah, another interesting thing I saw was a bunch of funnel-like cobwebs. Very cool!


This village we stayed in was very rustic. It sort of reminded me of the small town my grandma lives in. Wooden huts standing on stilts. Dogs, cats, roosters, and hens roaming around. The outhouse brought back familiar smells of sewage and dirt. Aaaaah... Fond memories. JK! Kai told us the Lahu village originated from Burma. This particular village started their lives here on this specific hilltop about forty years ago.


We unpacked and waited for dinner to be served. We waited. And waited. In the meantime, we were rummaging through our sacks looking for candy and dried foods. We finally thought they had forgotten about us. But alas! Dinner was finally served! All twelve of the trekkers gathered in the common area right outside of our sleeping quarters. Large helpings of curry, sauteed vegies, fried chicken, and rice were set for us on the rattan mats. As we were eating, Kai strummed the guitar and sang well-known songs like "Hey Jude." Eating by candlelight and being surrounded by friends and music made this meal very memorable.


We retreated back into our little sleeping area thinking we were to receive massages by the Lahu women. They kneaded our tired bodies, but I wouldn't necessarily call them "massages." I was glad I wore long pants and socks, because I swear she sloughed off a layer of skin from my arms when she "massaged" those with her callused hands.


Shortly after all the "masseuses" left, we were nvited outside again for some Korean barbecue. Four members of our group had purchased some fatty pork and whiskey to share with the entire group. That was very nice of them! We all gathered around the fire and helping them in anyway with our headlamps. We asked if our friend, Eric, could play a few songs on the guitar, and he humbly said that he can play just a little. Turns out he can play more than just a little. We sang along to Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, and a bunch of other songs that night. After Eric retired the guitar, we flipped through a song book Kai had left behind and started singing verses here and there. It was really fun and relaxing. During this whole barbecue and singing session, a wonderful black dog, by the name of Tony, joined us. His owner shooed him away more than once, but he kept creeping back. At one point, he stared into my friend's eyes, lifted his paw, and put it in her hand. That was so cute. =) We stayed up pretty late that night, later than all of the other villagers, I bet.

I believe it was already past one by the time the last group wiggled into their beds, well, mattresses. All candles have been blown out. All headlamps turned off. There is, of course, no electricity here in this remote village. As the night grew older, the air became colder. I had already layered on all of my clothes, but was still shivering. The mattress didn't offer much support and I could feel the hardness of the wooden floors against my back. I was cold, uncomfortable, and was drifting in and out of sleep for the entire night. Roosters were already crowing hours before dawn. Ear plugs couldn't eliminate all of the sounds. A long night was ahead of me. As I was drifting out at one point, I heard footsteps walking along the middle aisle of our sleeping quarters. I opened my eyes, but it was pitch black in there. Eric was sleeping to the right of me, and he was the last person in our lineup. I just assumed he had gotten up to use the outhouse and turned off his light when he got inside. I heard these footsteps two or three times that night. I was starting to get annoyed with these people who keep walking back and forth. Do they have no consideration for the people who are trying to sleep?

The next morning, I asked Eric if he had used the restroom in the middle of the night. Although he barely slept that night due to my same discomforts, he did not get up to use the restroom. Hmm... how odd. He suggested maybe a dog had walked through. I bought this idea since it was highly unlikely that anyone in our quarters would walk around in the heart of darkness.

Days later, this somehow came up again. Another friend, Giselle, had heard the same footsteps! We were convinced they were human footsteps. They had the weight of one, and they were definitely two-legged. Well, we've jumped to the conclusion that we have spent the night in a haunted remote village. I know that there are many skeptics out there, but I guess none of us will ever know for sure...

Thailand - Day 2

Day 2
This morning didn't start out too great. We were planning on waking up at 4:30 and be down at the lobby by 5am to check-out. Throughout the night, I kept waking up, wondering if it was time to wake up. I didn't want to be late. Strange. The alarm never sounded. I finally checked the time, and OH MY GOD. It was 5:07. I broke my record time of getting ready. I was done and packed in 8 minutes, and was in the lobby soon afterwards. When we arrived at the airport, we were greeted by a man in uniform and a megaphone screaming at everyone in the temporary parking area. Screaming! It was kind of funny. Well, Giselle forgot her backpack in the taxi, so that wasn't great, but it turned out fine. There really wasn't anything too important in there. The flight there was great. We were even served a meal on a one hour flght! (We flew Bangkok Air.) Our first impression of Chiang Mai was great. The weather was much cooler and the town seemed smaller, and in a way, more honest. Hope that makes sense. Anyway, we had an awesome day. It was the first series of "the best day ever."

BTW, the coffee so far has been incredible! What a great surprise!

We checked into our beautiful hotel, Malil...something hotel. (Will fill in later.) During the cab ride to the hotel, our taxi driver offered full-day services to drive us around anywhere in the area for the entire day for 1000 baht. I don't know if that's expensive, but we all agreed it was okay. Our guide for the day was Nong. He took us around to wherever we wished. He suggested many other places he thought that we might like to visit. Our first stop was to see the long neck woman originated from Burma. Nong drove us to (name) where we can see a number of different tribes that live here. This entire setup was really strange. These people were like zoo exhibits almost, but sold things to tourists. They all lived in their own homes, but in front of thier homes, there were signs in Thai, and sometimes in English, saying what tribe they're from. These families are not allowed to leave this area, so it was basically like a refugee camp. I thought that it was really sad that people would have to tolerate living this way. People were constantly peering into their homes, peering at them, and taking random photos of them. And they're supposed to smile and pretend they enjoy these visitors' company. I wouldn't! But that is how they make their money, and it's actually really good money too. So I guess it's a good for both parties.


We were pretty hungry so we were thinking of going to one of the restaurants recommended in my Thailand book. But we ended up going to Nong's favorite restaurant for a delicious bowl of fish ball noodle soup. This would be our first time trying street vendor food, so we were all a tad nervous. We all turned out fine. =) I treated all seven us for this meal (including Nong), and it was only around $6! What a steal.


Nong then drove us to Doi Suthep temple. This was very intricate and beautiful. There are so many Thai customs that we weren't used to so it made us a little uneasy. For instance, when seeing a monk, you're supposed to "wai," but it just didn't feel right doing that, so I ended up giving them nervous smiles and a small nod. Not sure if that was rude. =\


Stopped briefly at a jade factory and saw how they make beautiful jade pendants and sculptures. Sounds boring, but it was actually really cool.

We took a brief break at the hotel, and then proceeded to a cultural show and dinner. This was created for tourists showing us traditional dance and music. It was very enjoyable because of the company I had.

After washing up back at the hotel and buying some booze, we retreated in one of our rooms and played "I Have Never." What a dangerous game. Let's just say we all got to learn things about each other, some things NO ONE knows...

Greetings from Thailand! Day 1

Greetings from Thailand! I will try to recount much of what we've done. It may be a little detailed for some of you, but I don't want to forget anything! Happy reading! Will post pictures when I get back.

Day 1
The flight here wasn't too pleasant. On the first day, we spent approximately 18 hours on the plane. The adventure started on our first day in Bangkok. Bangkok is like many big cities - dirty, polluted, crowded, and overdeveloped. They drive on the different side of the road here and their love for their royalty is amazing! They have billboards and posters of them plastered everywhere! There wasn't much time to explore on our first day, so a few of us hit a mall. It's interesting to see how the malls are like here. They're kind of like megamalls with a huge basement food court and cheap shopping. (The rest of the floors are like any other mall in the US. You can find all the brands that we are familiar with there.) I had my first massage of our trip that night. It was an hour-long foot massage for only a few bucks. It sure was painful (and at some moments, ticklish), but I just kept convincing myself that it was good for me.

When all of our massages were done, the mall was already closed, and concerned that we wouldn't be able to easily find the taxi stand, I asked the receptionist behind the desk "taxi?" She got one of the masseuse to walk us to where a few taxis were waiting for patrons. Luckily, we asked because this place was not easy to find. With our feet all relaxed, we had to follow his brisk pace through several streets and up and down a few flight of stairs. I thought that it was awful nice of him to lead us so far, but he bummed a ride with us. Oh well. At least we got back to our hotel safe and sound. Restaurants were closed already so we decided to eat at the hotel's restaurant. We wanted to try something different, so one of the dishes we ordered was snake head something. Didn't read the rest of what it said, but I bet it would mention fish in there. We were slightly disappointed after taking numerous photos of this dish thinking that we were eating a snake's head, but to find out later that it's just a fish with a snake-like head. Oh well. Fun, nevertheless. Exhausted, we retired for the night at around 11. We had to wake up early the next morninig for our connecting flight to Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.

Farewell to a Legend

Wow. Sir Edmund Hillary passed away today at the grand old age of 88. He, along with Tenzing Norgay, a sherpa, were the first known people to summit Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Well, another legend passes, and some more are realized. Here's to life...


(The above image was borrowed from Rolex's site.)

Catalytic Converter Thief

Check out this article from SFGate:

(01-10) 11:55 SAN LEANDRO - The owner of a San Leandro auto supply business was arrested at his store today on suspicion of trying to purchase stolen catalytic converters from undercover police officers, authorities said.

Police said Christopher Panarra's willingness to buy the converters is directly related to hundreds of vehicle thefts in the Bay Area. Forty of the stolen cars have been recovered and 14 people have been arrested in connection with the thefts, authorities said.

Panarra, 44, who lives in Castro Valley, was arrested this morning at his Albran Court business, Converters West, the California Highway Patrol said.

A 10-month investigation showed that the San Leandro store was a "central delivery and processing location for the stolen converters," CHP Sgt. Les Bishop said in a statement.

Catalytic converters convert pollutants into less harmful emissions before they are released from a vehicle's exhaust system. They contain small amounts of costly precious metals that can be recycled, Bishop said.

###

Yes! Someone finally gets caught! I wonder if my converters are lying around in his shop. That horrible bastard! He deserves YEARS in prison not only for stealing from innocent people and supporting crooks, but also harming our precious environment! Okay, my environment obsession may be overkill sometimes. I know. I know... Heh heh...

Fun Fact #2 - Dog Years

Did you know that one human year is no longer equal to seven dog years? The new calculation is the first two years of a dog's life is equivalent to 25 human years. Every year after that is four human years. Using this new calculation, how old is YOUR doggy?

It's Raining! It's Pouring!

Yay!!! I love it when it rains! Especially when there's a storm! Things are so dramatic! Heavy traffic, blackouts, road closures, lightning and thunder.. But then there are relaxing things that come from a heavy downpour, like hot chocolate, movies, warm beds... The main reason I'm so happy that we've had quite a bit of rain in the last three days is because the Bay Area needs it. Desperately. Thank you, Mother Nature! Only thing is, I wish I was away with my camera attempting to take spectacular shots of Yosemite blanketed in snow. Later, I guess.

Finally! Justice!

Can you imagine being sentenced to 99 years in prison for a crime you did not commit? Can you imagine spending every day in prison for 27 years for a crime you did not commit? There is no way I can imagine myself in that situation, but Charles Chatman can. This man spent nearly 27 years of his life incarcerated for wrongfully accused of raping a woman. Our judicial system is definitely flawed. There's no doubt about that! After a DNA test, they finally realized they have imprisoned an innocent man for more than two decades. He was 20 at the time, now 47. I hope he is able to create a new and happy life for himself and is able to share this with loved ones. If I were him, I'd be the angriest yet happiest person alive.

I wonder how many other innocent people are in our prisons... The next time I complain that life isn't fair, I'll try to remember Charles Chatman. Life REALLY wasn't fair for him. We've got it easy...