Kho Samui

Top left - waterfall in Kho Samui

Top right - mummified monk

Bottom left - grandma and grandpa rock

Well, after roughly 40 days of travelling, I have finally made it to a gorgeous beach on the island of Kho Samui. We travelled for nearly 24 hours to get here, by train, bus and ferry. It was a long day, a very hot day. I was thrilled to see the huts we were staying in and even more thrilled that they were on the beach. I am in love with southern Thailand. I had a blast exploring the North, it was a great introduction into Thai culture and I learned a lot, explored the amazing jungle, but there is also something to be said about kicking it all day at the beach. And when that gets a bit too hot, jumping into the Gulf of Thailand. It didn't take us long to get on our bathing suits and jump in the warm water.

The picture above is of a mummified monk, which to be honest was a little bit gross. We travelled to a beautiful waterfall, as well. Both the monk and waterfall are located in Kho Samui.

Today is our free day. This involved a rinse and repeat beach day. The weather was great, about 30 degrees. I'm happy.

Tomorrow morning we are off to another island, which equates to a lot of travel. I am starting to forget where I have been and where I'm going, so I'll fill you in on the details when I start to remember. Sad life of a traveller, I suppose.

Write soon!

More Pictures

Top - group dinner

Top left - Foot massage in Chaing Mai


Middle - Pic of hellfire pass

Middle - a lot of fish at the waterfall

Middle - 7 tiered waterfall - tier one

Middle - group photo

Bottom - Paul trying to catch a fish

Paul and I

Pictures

Top left - Allied war cemetery

Middle left - elephant trek

Middle right - group drink after 3 days of trekking

Middle - Paul and a woman from the long neck tribe which boarders Thailand and Burma

Bottom - elephant show

Just a quick update. Today I am in Bangkok, again. We are here for 2 days then we start moving towards Southern Thailand. We were in Kanchanabury for the last couple days. We visited a war museum. We explored Hellfire pass, which the Japanese arranged to have built by Prisoners of War and Chinese labourers during the second world war to make it easy for trade between Burma and Thailand. The POW's worked 18 hour days and it took 6 weeks to construct. A lot of people died during this time and it was an amazing thing to see.

We also visited a 7 tiered waterfall at Erawan National Park. This place was pure beauty. It started pouring, like rain-season pour, on our way. But it was awesome. The water from the fall is crystal blue, the kinda blue you can only imagine. 

We stayed in beautiful huts. It was really nice there and the huts were on a lagoon. I was so sad to leave this morning.

I'm off in 2 days, I'll write soon!

I've attached some random pics.

Pictures

I can't seem to post any pictures right now, so I will make sure to do that as soon as I have a computer that allows me!!!

Thailand

Hello!!! I haven't been updating my blog in Thailand as much because I haven't had much time. Thailand, so far, is a vastly different from China and a much better fit for me. We arrived last Saturday and started our tour on Sunday. Our tour group is really good. We have 2 Australian brothers Paul and Steve, a American named Megan and an English guy named Alex. Our tour guide is pretty awesome as well. His name is Sek. We left Bangkok last Sunday morning and headed to a small town, Autthaya for the day. We rode bikes around the town and hung out at the pool in our hotel. We were catching the overnight train to Chaing Mai, so we didn't have much time.

The overnight train was a much different experience than China. I didn't have the best sleep, as the sleeper trains are open concept, but I was so excited to be exploring it didn't matter.


We arrived in Chaing Mai on Monday morning. We were starting our 3 day tribe trek the next day. We went for a traditional Thai dinner, which was delicious. Night markets are huge here, so we checked on out. The stuff they sell in Thailand is so nice, and super, super cheap. Chaing Mai isvery busy, full of travellers. The next day we started our tribe trek. It took quite a long time to drive to where we needed to be and we made a stop at a Monkey farm. You can see how comfortable I look in the picture above :) We arrived at the start of the hike and hiked that day for four hours. I never prepared myself for this, and it was pretty intense. We arrived at the village where we were staying for the night. The village was very quaint and simple. There were animals roaming everywhere, which I liked. Our shower was the river, and this was the best part of our day. We all shared a room, mats on the floor. Our group hung out around camp fire and played some games, got to know each other and shared some laughs. The roosters, my new least-favourite animal, woke us up at dawn. I didn't sleep at all. The hike the next day was insane. We started at 9 am and ended at 7 pm. We did stop to eat, of course, but it was brutal. Rewarding once finished, but crazy. The day was hot and the jungle isn't the easiest place to hike. There is a lot of bush and sticks poking out everywhere. I cut up my legs pretty good, and had got bitten all over from the mosquito's. But so worth it because at the end of our hike we rode some elephants through the river to the next village. I wish I wasn't so tired and dehydrated, cause I really don't remember much about being on the elephant except that I was scared to fall asleep and fall off, which almost happened. This village was pretty similar, especially because they had damn roosters as well.  No sleep again. The next day, to end the trek, we rafted on a bamboo raft down the river to the end location where we would head back to Chaing Mai. It rained that day and the bamboo rafting isn't as relaxing as you might think. You have to hold on pretty tight and I was a bit anxious, especially because our guys weren't well versed in bamboo rafting. haha. We made it, alive, wet but alive. THe next day we had plans to head to Chaing Rai by bus. On our way we stopped at an Opium museum and at the golden triangle, Laos Burma and Thailand. We were in 3 countries that day, crazy! The countries we all very similar and we didn't venture far into any of them.

Late last night we arrived at the Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang. I love it here, it's so cool staying in the conservation centre. We each had our own hut and the huts were located in the middle the forest. We were able to watch the elephants bathe as well as the elephant show afterwards, which includes them painting and doing all sorts of tricks. It was pretty spectacular, what smart animals. Right now I am at the Internet cafe waiting for our overnight train to Bangkok where we will stay for a few hours before head out to another town. Thailand has been a great experience so far. It's been busy and there are days I crave some relaxation or not having a schedule. But I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Hong Kong - Bangkok

Right - last supper with our tour group in Hong Kong

Right - random sign in Hong Kong ( couldn't take many pics cause the humidity fogged up my camera)

After an overnight train from Yangshuo, we finally made it to Hong Kong. Hong Kong is not the easiest place to get into. After customs, baggage check and all that, it felt like we were entering another country. Carmen and I had less then 24 hours in Hong Kong before we were scheduled to fly to Bangkok. We walked around Bangkok, aimlessly, for a some time. Hong Kong is not at all like the other big cities in China. Everything feels so different. The culture, the streets, businesses, everything. They drive on the other side of the road and after weeks of mastering how not to get hit by a car I was thrown off yet again. The younger people are more fashionable, almost a rebellious feel to them, something you don't ever see in the rest of China. In the train station there was a sign saying you would be fined 1500 Hong Kong dollars if you spit, I thought maybe this was what heaven was like. Hong Kong is it's own city, and prides itself on being different from the rest of China. With their own currency, having to go through customs to enter and a other differences, it felt like we weren't anywhere close to China. We said our goodbyes to our group and the country and left early the next morning for the airport to head to Bangkok.

Bangkok is hot, and I love with that. China was hot, but we had a lot of rain which made some things difficult. I am only in Bangkok till tomorrow and then I am off to explore the northern part of Thailand. We will learn a lot about Thai culture in the north and that is something I am very excited for. We will be hiking for three days and staying in three different villages at night. My heart is fluttering with excitement.

Write soon!

Yangshuo

top left - view of mountains from Yangshuo

top right - boat we took down the river

middle left - tour group on the boat

middle right - view from moon mountain

bottom left - river on the way to moon mountain

I arrived in Yangshuo yesterday at 4:30 am, after riding the overnight train from the city of Three Gorges. Three Gorges was pretty crazy compared to the other places we have visited so far. A few people from our group went for dinner, and we got lost on the way back. We walked by a store that had dead snakes in jars and what looked like a skeleton of a monkey in the window. There's just a bit of an eery vibe here. The people seem more sketchy and for the first time since I arrived there was a bit of nervousness with regard to safety. We ended up on a street very similar to what I would expect the red light district in Amsterdam to be like. There were "massage" parlours in small warehouse style buildings and those buildings took up the whole block. We discovered more by our hotel. Needless to say, Three Gorges was a place to sleep and that's all.

Yangshuo on the other hand was a different experience. Yangshuo was definitely the most beautiful city we have been to so far. It reminds me so much of Banff, surrounded by limestone mountains, cute quaint stores and really friendly people. The city has many tourists that pass through but there are only 30,000 people that live there. A real change for some of the big cities we've visited. After we settled into our hotel, we went for breakfast. And it was the first time I was able to order pancakes and eggs. Most cities were traditional, but this place had western influence. I ordered so much food. We took a boat down the river in the afternoon. The weather was beautiful, which for our group was awesome considering we were dealing with monsoon rain most of the time. It really was perfect, at least at the start. About half way down, the clouds rolled in and this intense storm came with them. We were stuck inside the boat for about an hour, didn't move, couldn't move, just watched it rain. I gained a different appreciation for the beauty of a storm, perhaps it's because we were so vulnerable to it. Later on we discovered an English bar and decided to let loose and have some drinks. I'm not excited to report that I saw a rat run through the bar, oh man! 

Today we went for an early bike ride in the beautiful countryside, something you don't see often in China. It was a beautiful day too, bonus! We rode for about 2 hours to Moon Mountain. Our tour guide said the hike up the mountain wasn't as bad as the Great Wall, but I would beg to differ. It was humid and we were climbing up steps that weren't stable and because of the humidity, were also slippery. It was pretty tough. I did have some Chinese woman fanning me the whole way up and holding my hand if the steps were to difficult to climb, embarrassing for me but such a lovely lady! She took her job seriously and was even killing mosquitoes for me. These woman are about 40-50 and they climb at least once a day with a cooler of water and postcards to sell. They have fans and they will keep you cool the whole way up, it's unbelievable. The mountain has a giant circle at the top that from far away looks like a moon, hence Moon Mountain. The views of the countryside from this vantage point are incredible. Even though the climb was tough and I will probably be sore for a few days, it was totally worth it.

Tonight is my last night here, but before I leave tomorrow I have a painting class and a Ma Jong class. We are taking our last overnight train, thankfully, to Hong Kong tomorrow night. We will arrive in Hong Kong at 10 am the following day. My China tour is over in a few days and then I am off to Bangkok! I think I will embrace the change, China has been great but I am ready for something a different.

Write soon!!!

Chengdu - Panda

Ok...I can't begin to tell you how awesome this day was. I was really looking forward to visiting the Panda Breeding Sanctuary in Chengdu. This place is amazing. The history of the Panda is interesting. The Giant Panda has been around for over 8 millions years. And has adapted and survived to climate changes when most creatures have just died off. They used to be meat eaters and now only eat a specific type of bamboo. There are 3000 wild Pandas left in the world. They are amazing, beautiful, and majestic creatures and it saddens me to know that there is a high chance that eventually these creatures will be extinct. In spite of the amazing efforts of the breeding sanctuary who does what it can to try and preserve the Panda.

When I came across my first Panda tears starting welling up instantly, which is not shocking for those who know me!! This place is 35 hectares of lush, bambooed forest. The sanctuary houses both red pandas and the giant panda. Both are amazing creatures. The red ones are a lot smaller than I expected and very gentle creatures. So cute! The giant pandas are gorgeous. We spent the whole morning there. It was funny, because on the Great Wall we met news anchors from a station in Illinois which is affiliated with NBC, and they were doing a documentary for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. They had asked Carmen and Megan and I if we wanted to be video taped on the Great Wall to which we replied in NO in unison. We were sweaty, hot and tired, had no desire to be on camera. Well these guys were at the Panda Sanctuary as well, and asked me if I would like to be on camera. I said yes this time, so they filmed me while I was in the kindergarten area for the baby pandas. They said they will be airing their documentary in August, so keep your eye open. Anyway, back to the Panda. I was able to pay to pet a giant panda, which they say goes to the research and preservation of the giant panda. From far away, this seemed like a great idea. But when I crossed the bridge over into their area I was pretty freaked out. I realized, shit this thing could totally rip me apart. The panda was eating an apple, and I'm sure he didn't actually notice me. But it was awesome, words can't explain. A once in a lifetime experience that I will never, ever forget! Panda day in Chengdu was so awesome.

Bye for now!

Three Gorges Dam - Cruise

If you look closely at the white house you can see a white marker with 175 m written on it, that's where the water will rise to.

The man in his undies, I threw in for all of you!!

The ship lock, where the black line is that is how far we dropped in that one ship lock.

Farmers used to go to the house attached to pray for rain for their crops. This house too, will be covered by water.

Hello! It has taken me soooooo long to get on this site, computers and phones definitely do not work the same on the road as they do at home! Three days ago we boarded a small cruise ship to take us through the Three Gorges and then ended up at the Three Gorges Dam. The boat experience was awesome. It was my first time on a cruise boat, which was pretty exciting. And, we got to stay for longer than 2 days, which meant I could really relax! Our itinerary for the days on the boat was to sail on the Yangtze River through the 3 gorges, go off the boat for a couple land excursions and end off with a tour of the Three Gorges Dam. The river itself is really dirty, but the trip was fabulous. Day 2 of the trip we had 4 hours to tour a town in which in English is called "Ghost Town". It was quite the hike to tour through a temple and see some Buddha statues. The weather was so trippy, it was rainy and foggy and the higher we got the more foggy it became. It was a good hike. The scenery was awesome, and the temple, although nice, looked an awful lot like the other 30 temples we have visited so far. That night, after buying a bottle of Vodka for some of the girls in the group, we decided to let loose seeing as how we had our beds so close, a bathroom to ourselves (just in case) and didn't have a big day ahead of us, which hasn't happened this whole trip. The boat had a bar, which was ideal. We had a awesome night with all the other tour groups on board! The next day we were going to be passing through 2 of the 3 gorges. I guess I wasn't sure what to expect, but these gorges are absolutely breathtaking. They are so lush, large and we were a tiny speck in this majestic scene. That afternoon we took another boat on a kind of side trip down the river. Unfortunately, for many of the people living along Yangtze River, they will have to relocate as the river is expected to rise 175 m in the next year. It was quite sad to see all the markers showing exactly where the water will rise to and see how much of those towns will be under water. It is crazy to imagine how these people must feel when they look at the markers! They will lose everything, crops, shops and homes. What a sad reality. The side trip lasted a few hours. Our boat trampled over a dead pig floating in the water and what I think was a dead goat. Like I said, not the nicest or cleanest water. That night we passed through 4 ship locks. I have never been through one, and it was pretty intense. These locks work very similar to stairs. The boats enter, lock into the wall and the gigantic, solid steel doors close behind. When they are closed, the water will either rise or sink depending on whether you are going upstream or downstream. For us, we sunk. Each lock, we sunk about 75 feet. I can't explain how strange it was to be on the deck and watch our boat gradually drop. It's amazing how people come up with this stuff. I've attached a few photos for visual aid. Today was the last day of our cruise, and we passed through the last gorge. Again breathtaking, all gorges are very similar to each other. After we passed through we took a quick tour to the Three Gorges Dam. It's quite large and was interesting to visit.

Right now I am in a town called Three Gorges town. We are only here to spend the night. Tomorrow my group will board a private bus for 5 hours to the train station and board another overnight train to Yangsho for 2 nights. I haven't really checked out my itinerary lately, so I'm not sure exactly what we will be doing there.

Will write soon...!!!

Chengdu and more pictures

Bin - our tour leader

Giant Leshan Buddha

Random funny sign

Today our group is in Chengdu. We are about 90 kms from where the most recent earthquake took place. Today, we visited the Leshan Giant Buddha. This Buddha was carved into the cliff, close to the river, and was finished in the early 800's. It is 71 meters tall. It's pretty cool to see something that large. Probably about 3 or 4 people can stand on his big toe, he is that huge.

This afternoon we went shopping at the market by the Monastery. Megan and I bought a gord flute and another noise maker. We sat on the corner to try and play, while we waited for Carmen to get a necklace made. We both sounded horrible, cause we hadn't yet perfected the instrument of course. The man who made and sold them to us heard how horrible we were and attempted to give us a lesson and before we knew it there were about 15-20 people gathered around us, taking pictures of Megan and I and our flute maker. The market was cool, and pretty busy. After that we headed out with our group for dinner and now I am here, at the internet cafe by our hotel. Tomorrow is going to be so great. as we are going to the Panda Breeding Sanctuary. I am so excited about this. After the sanctuary, we will take a 4 hour train to catch our boat for the Yangtze river. We will be on that boat for 3 days and will end up at the Three Gorges Dam. I will update as soon as I can...! Enjoy the pics!