I'm back! (in Hong Kong)... The longer I leave my blog update, the harder it is to know where to begin the chronicles of my stay in Australia and 3 week adventure to Thailand and Cambodia. Starting with Australia, it was great to have time to catch up with friends and family. Whenever I go back to Manly in particular I feel like I’ve really arrived. Inhaling that fresh salty air brings up random pieces of memory - from early childhood to more recent experiences with Pa - all in a moment… and then in the next breath I’m back in the present creating a new memory for the next time I come.
Enough sentimentality, (I love Manly)… I had the chance to stay with dad in Sydney for about 10 days, then up to mum’s for 2 weeks on the Central Coast during which time we both went up to see Tina in Bellingen for a few days. Lastly, mum and I flew to Perth for a flying visit to see Phil for about 5 days. For lots of photos and a few more details click here.
I flew straight to Bangkok from Perth and started my time in Thailand with a 9 day Intrepid tour. Beginning and ending in Bangkok we went to Chiang Mai, a Hmong village, Sukhothai and Kanchanaburi (River Kwai) in between. There were 12 people on the tour (including me and my friend Mel from Hong Kong) and our leader was a Thai girl called Dream. Of all the places we visited I think Chiang Mai was my favourite, for its very bohemian atmosphere, incredible night market and wonderful side-street shops (including great clothes and silver jewellery).
We did a Thai cooking class there as well. I must say, my expectation was to be a little bored with it, but it turned out to be one of the (many) highlights of the trip. The teacher demonstrated how to make one dish at a time (6 in all), then we went to our individual cooking stations where all the ingredients were there ready for us. We cooked our dish with plenty of advice close to hand throughout, and then all sat down to eat our creations. While the next dish was demonstrated, our mess was being cleaned up and the next ingredients prepared. Tell you, it’s a great way to cook. I’d do it every night if it was that much fun. As you can imagine we were rather stuffed and ready for a digestive nap by the end of 6 dishes, but my mind and senses had been awakened to a whole new appreciation of Thai cuisine. Eating in Thailand from then on took on new meaning, over and above the mantra ‘no too spicy!’. We even got a cookbook to take home with us that included all the dishes we made and many more.
The variety of transport we took during the tour was fab, including a ferry down the Chao Phraya River, overnight sleeper train, motor tuk tuk, minivan, bus, elephant, bicycle, River Kwai diesel train, bike tuk tuk, and taxi. [That last one was to take me to the Tourist Police Station in the middle of the night to report my lost camera on the last day of the tour. Oh well, been there done that before (see November 2007 blog entry). I wasn’t that cool about it at the time. It was more akin to the emotion of losing an arm but anyway, I’ve moved on… There were a lot of photos on my camera at the time, so be thankful that you have less photos to look through than you would have had. Fortunately I had 2 cameras with me. I lost my little snappy - fits in your pocket, take it when you don’t want to carry the extra weight - one and still had my bigger heavier one for the rest of my trip.] I tell you what, the traffic in Thailand is mad. Crossing the road is truly terrifying for the uninitiated. After wasting much time in my efforts to get to the other side of many a road, I finally started doing it like the Thais. It’s a bit like crossing through the Red Sea in that it’s only once you step out that the river parts. It sounds (and looks) incredibly dangerous, but somehow it works. Even if there happens (in a rare instance) to be a pedestrian button and the light indicates you can go, the traffic only stops if you make the first move. Well, I lived to tell the tale!
I completely fell in love with the elephants at the conservation park. They are so smart, and so leathery and cute. Their hair is like wire but the tips of their trunks are soft like pillows. They must have great digestive systems because they eat bananas with the skin on and corn with all the husks. The elephant ride wasn’t so comfortable but it was the romance of it all.
That evening we staying at Hmong Lodge which is hidden away in the hills near a Hmong Village, which we actually visited but alas, pics were on the small camera. It was a bit uncomfortable walking though the village feeling like a big fat rich tourist. All the kids ran out of their houses and set up little stalls with handicrafts they have made to sell to all the tourists that pass through. For the most part, the adults all stayed hidden indoors. I can't say I blame them.
Our day in Sukhothai – the old capital of Thailand – was spent cycling around a vast area to look at different ruins of temples and things. It was all completely flat and mostly under the shade of big trees. The gentle breeze blowing through the helmetless hair was fantastic – I just wanted to keep cycling, although the ruins were quite interesting and worth getting off the bike for. I had some great shots from that day out but alas, they were on my little camera.
Kanchanburi was fascinating. It’s where the Bridge over the River Kwai is, with the Death Railway and that whole sorry saga. I didn’t really have much idea about the reality of what happened even though I watched the movie before I went as my small effort to research my tour destination. What a tragedy! It’s difficult to comprehend how a human heart can become so hard as to enable it to commit such horror against other human beings. The history museum set up by the Australian government was really worth the visit. Afterwards you can take a headset with you and walk down to ‘hellfire pass’ listening to more history and personal accounts of POWs who were forced to work on the railway. Truly mind boggling.
We finished our tour with an all-you-can-eat buffet style dinner cruise down the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. We had a great group with ages ranging from 28 to 88. Mary was an inspiration to us all. She was there with her son and daughter and daughter-in-law. None of the rest of us would have guessed her age. What an amazing lady! George was the fittest which put the rest of us to shame especially as he’s 76 - he was off doing an optional uphill bike ride one day that none of the rest of us was up to. Well, Mel and I were the tallest, so there’s a claim to fame. Not that that’s anything new... The photo of me next to a very short Hmong tribe lady was, alas on my little camera, so you’ll just have to imagine the height difference of me next to someone well under 5 feet. She made Dream look tall (much to Dream’s delight).
So, have a look at the photos here. At least this is a start of my chronicles and I shall continue with the rest of my time in Thailand and then Cambodia hopefully next weekend…
