Thailand Part 1
Hello Everyone,
Sorry it's been a while. I'm trying to catch up with the back log of activity. This is the first of a few e-mails from Thailand to bring you up to date. Alternatively delete them from your Inbox and go to: http://joandgregdunn.blogspot.com
(28.05.04)
KRABI
We travelled to Bangkok from Krabi in the south in a 'Fisher Price' proportioned plane on 22nd May. We did enjoy the beaches and beautiful landscape in Krabi Province. To those who might not know, the area is now famous for being the location for the shooting of the film, 'The Beach', starring Leonardo De Caprio. We were unaware if this fact when we arrived, so were slightly surprised to see a real glut of western travellers in the vicinity(this is low season too). For me, this had the effect of acting like a huge mirror, it was like the scene in 'Toy Story 2' where the character, Buzz Lightyear walks into a toy shop isle only to be faced with a thousand other toys of himself. It reminded me that we are not alone in travelling this path, and it's a far less 'exclusive' adventure than it sometimes feels. It's great that lots of people can do it, (largely due to The Lonely Planet etc), but it spoils the experience a little to have the feeling that your sitting in Upper Street, Islington, when you're actually half way around the world. I wonder if any other tourists feel like this?
Anyway, I was reminded of the phrase "Make it your own" that a valued friend of once said to me.(You know who you are)
whilst in Krabi, Jo and I also went Kayaking in mangrove swamps and through water bottomed caves. The landscape was full of huge limestone, sugar-loaf shaped outcrops, fringed with foliage and orangeand grey in colour. The area is also a world renowned rock climbing district. We started to experiment with Thai food in Krabi, and gradually worked our way from pasta on the first night to 'Pad Thai'(fried noodles with shrimp and chicken) on fourth and final night, an amazing feat considering we managed to but it from a street vendor who hardly spoke any english. We should do this more often because its often a quarter of the price of food bought from a 'Farang', (westerner) restaurant.
BANGKOK
In Bangkok, we were lucky to be able to stay with an long-time teacher friend ours, Anita. She lives in a beautiful Condominium, complete with swimming pool, sauna and gym. On our first night, we were thrown into the thick of Bangkok night life and visited the area known for vice and 'girlie-bars'. We were driven to the area by Tuk-Tuk. A three-wheeled, gas driven, soft topped vehicle driven by a guy, on what we guessed were, amphetamines. He twitched like a mad man and might have chewed his tongue off had he not been chewing gum instead! Other cars screamed past and the sweet warm night air was quickly sucked through and over the three of us. The tuk-tuk growled like a 'Mini Cooper S' and the whole experience was akin to being on a fair ground 'waltzer'. As soon as we gratefully left the vehicle, we, and me in particular, were inundated with offers of 'Entertainment' and "Nice girls". Seedy and skinny, men handed me laminated 'menus' with diagrams and worded descriptions of sexual positions that the occupants of their bars would happily perform for us. The men reeled off descriptions of sexual activity that began to get wearing and frankly, sickening. We couldn't comprehend some of the entertainment being offered and felt saddened that it such activity was so easily accessed. We headed for a 'regular' club and drank and danced the rest of the night away.
But Bangkok is more than the sleazy sex industry. So much more. for example, we visited the home of Jim Thopmson, a former CIA operative who became a silk trader after the war. He mysteriously disappeared on a lone 'walk' in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. This has sealed his legendry status in the city and his silk business is now an empire partly due to the fact that it supplied silk for the costumes of the the original Broadway production of the 'King and I', (interestingly, the story is still a sore point in Thailand. The government still refuses to officially allow showings of the movie.) The quality of the silk that the company produces is amazing and comes in such beautiful colours and patterns. His home, completed in 1959, comprises of five traditional, wooden Thai houses on stilts and joined together to make one building. It was tastefully and timelessly decorated with Thai ornaments and antiques and the whole effect was like a beautiful interior design coffee table book-a very expensive one! www.jimthompsonhouse.org
Love from
xgregandjox
Friday, May 28, 2004
Thursday, May 13, 2004
To the Bat Cave!!!
Hello Everyone, hope you're all well,
We boarded the coach from Kuala Lumpur at 8am,(still sounds like someone else's holiday e-mail), and were joined by a large and rowdy middle class Indian family. Fifteen people in all, who proceeded to use the P.A. system to tell jokes and rhymes in Hindi, without any consideration for anyone else. Jo soon put an end to the merriment by quietly suggesting to the girl holding the microphone that, "I think that's enough now". Crestfallen, the girl sulkily, returned to her seat and we were able to get some sleep. We were dreading sharing the next part of the journey with the family. We would be travelling 3 hrs up the Tembeling River and were afraid they would spoil it for us. We needn't have worried. We were deposited onto a 40ft long and 4ft wide hard wood boat complete with outboard engine and driver sitting on the back. We had the boat to ourselves and we did'nt hear a peep from the driver for the whole journey. As you can imagine, riding on a slow moving, cocoa coloured river through a steep and thickly vegetated landscape was wonderful. We were so relaxed and felt thoroughly spoilt. The trip was evocative of so many films, 'Apocalypse Now', 'The African Queen' and maybe 'Deliverance.'(without the squealing pigqy noises!)
We spent the next three nights 'deep' in the Taman Nagara Jungle. We slept in an'A-frame' wooden hut with a corrugated steel roof, very comfortable. Now Jo, as you may know, likes insects and bugs. She was in her element here. We witnessed so many wonderful insects, scorpion, stick insects, stag beetles, catydids, crickets, cicada's and one snake. We also saw horn-bills flying overhead and lizards swimming in the river. We were constantly taking photos and laughing hysterically as the beetles dive bombed us, much to amusement of the camp staff.
One of the highlights of the trip was a short walk to a cave. As usual, the guide gave us no real warning of the perils that lay within. The cave had a wide mouth and seemed to be quite roomy....at first. As we entered further into the darkness, the base became wetter and their was a faint smell of cheap beefburgers and onions(the kind you get at a funfair). We switched our torches on and were treated to the sight of hundreds of bats hanging from the cave ceiling. A wonderful sight, especially as they were so close, you could easily have reached out and taken a bite of ones head. We were told they were harmless and we tried to put the thought of Rabies contamination out of our heads. The smell turned out to be bat droppings. We progressed deeper onwards and the cave began to narrow. We wondered, looking at the hole that lay ahead, how we were going to get through? especially as the opening lay next to the water at the base of the cave. The gap must have been about 18 inches 'low'. The guide led the way and easily slithered through into the other side. Jo was next. She managed to wriggle through only to place her hand in a large patch of bat 'guano' much to her disgust! I squeezed through last of all and to my relief remained guano free, but managed to submerge one leg into the dirty water. Another few yards onward and a few more bats later we emerged into bright light of day with a feeling of relief at having survived another, safety advice free, excursion.
We are off to Penang tonight for a few days, hopefully on a comfortable night bus. Malaysia , as I may have said before, has really surprised us. It's been SO easy to travel here. People are genuinely friendly and helpful and the transport system has been a doddle to work out, Let's hope Thailand is equally as easy.
Bye for now,
xgregandjox
P.S.
On our last day, the satellite movie playing loudly on the camp T.V. was 'Predator' starring Arnold Shwarzaneggar.
Perfect, I couldn't have thought of a better movie to play in the middle of the jungle!
Hello Everyone, hope you're all well,
We boarded the coach from Kuala Lumpur at 8am,(still sounds like someone else's holiday e-mail), and were joined by a large and rowdy middle class Indian family. Fifteen people in all, who proceeded to use the P.A. system to tell jokes and rhymes in Hindi, without any consideration for anyone else. Jo soon put an end to the merriment by quietly suggesting to the girl holding the microphone that, "I think that's enough now". Crestfallen, the girl sulkily, returned to her seat and we were able to get some sleep. We were dreading sharing the next part of the journey with the family. We would be travelling 3 hrs up the Tembeling River and were afraid they would spoil it for us. We needn't have worried. We were deposited onto a 40ft long and 4ft wide hard wood boat complete with outboard engine and driver sitting on the back. We had the boat to ourselves and we did'nt hear a peep from the driver for the whole journey. As you can imagine, riding on a slow moving, cocoa coloured river through a steep and thickly vegetated landscape was wonderful. We were so relaxed and felt thoroughly spoilt. The trip was evocative of so many films, 'Apocalypse Now', 'The African Queen' and maybe 'Deliverance.'(without the squealing pigqy noises!)
We spent the next three nights 'deep' in the Taman Nagara Jungle. We slept in an'A-frame' wooden hut with a corrugated steel roof, very comfortable. Now Jo, as you may know, likes insects and bugs. She was in her element here. We witnessed so many wonderful insects, scorpion, stick insects, stag beetles, catydids, crickets, cicada's and one snake. We also saw horn-bills flying overhead and lizards swimming in the river. We were constantly taking photos and laughing hysterically as the beetles dive bombed us, much to amusement of the camp staff.
One of the highlights of the trip was a short walk to a cave. As usual, the guide gave us no real warning of the perils that lay within. The cave had a wide mouth and seemed to be quite roomy....at first. As we entered further into the darkness, the base became wetter and their was a faint smell of cheap beefburgers and onions(the kind you get at a funfair). We switched our torches on and were treated to the sight of hundreds of bats hanging from the cave ceiling. A wonderful sight, especially as they were so close, you could easily have reached out and taken a bite of ones head. We were told they were harmless and we tried to put the thought of Rabies contamination out of our heads. The smell turned out to be bat droppings. We progressed deeper onwards and the cave began to narrow. We wondered, looking at the hole that lay ahead, how we were going to get through? especially as the opening lay next to the water at the base of the cave. The gap must have been about 18 inches 'low'. The guide led the way and easily slithered through into the other side. Jo was next. She managed to wriggle through only to place her hand in a large patch of bat 'guano' much to her disgust! I squeezed through last of all and to my relief remained guano free, but managed to submerge one leg into the dirty water. Another few yards onward and a few more bats later we emerged into bright light of day with a feeling of relief at having survived another, safety advice free, excursion.
We are off to Penang tonight for a few days, hopefully on a comfortable night bus. Malaysia , as I may have said before, has really surprised us. It's been SO easy to travel here. People are genuinely friendly and helpful and the transport system has been a doddle to work out, Let's hope Thailand is equally as easy.
Bye for now,
xgregandjox
P.S.
On our last day, the satellite movie playing loudly on the camp T.V. was 'Predator' starring Arnold Shwarzaneggar.
Perfect, I couldn't have thought of a better movie to play in the middle of the jungle!
Monday, May 10, 2004
Escape from Singapore
Dear All,
After our Bali escapades, we took another quick stop-over in Singapore. It has to be said that we quickly tired of Singapore. The obsessive cleanliness and body image is just not conducive to our backpacker lifestyle. We traipsed across a very hot causeway into Malaysia, where we caught a very comfy bus and then a nifty speedboat which took us across a stretch of the South China Sea to a little slice of heaven on an island called Pulau Tioman.
Picture the scene: We awake in our little wooden cabin next to a beach of fine golden sand. We sit and eat fresh pineapple and melon under the shade of coconut palms, swim in the clear warm water and then marvel as a bloomin' great monitor lizard the size of a canoe saunters across our path! There are huge ants, butterflies, spiders and bats as well as the afore mentioned lizards. Greg said it's like Jurassic Park here - and it truly is. We went snorkeling and the marine life is equally impressive. We saw a large turtle, a modest shark and a huge fish called a Napoleon fish. We thought it would be pleasant to feed the multitudes of smaller, colourful fish with pieces of bread - startlingly it caused a sudden feeding frenzy and there was chaos and panic - I'm afraid the casualty was a Dutch lady who was bitten several times. We swiftly ditched the bread, but I almost drowned laughing with a snorkel in my mouth (serves me right for laughing at another's misfortune.)
We found ourselves hankering after some city life, so are now in Kuala Lumpur. What a wonderful city this is! There is dirt, graffiti, rubbish and it's not perfect, but we love it. By day the Petronas Towers glisten, workers seek refuge in airconditioned offices, and the Petronas park draws mothers and children to the paddling pools and playground. At night fairy lights adorn the palms, the humungous shopping malls are teeming with people, there are cafes and bars and coffee shops full of chatter.
Malaysia is extremely easy to travel around and the people are very helpful and amiable. The country is predominantly Muslim, and it's wonderful to see groups of Muslim women enjoying themselves on the beach, snorkeling, skateboarding, playing arcade games, riding on roller coasters, driving scooters - always appropriately fully clothed, complete with head covering underneath snorkel masks and crash helmets. It's a shame some tourists weren't a bit more respectful - seeing people topless sunbathing really made us cringe.
More on Malaysia soon,
xjoandgregx
Dear All,
After our Bali escapades, we took another quick stop-over in Singapore. It has to be said that we quickly tired of Singapore. The obsessive cleanliness and body image is just not conducive to our backpacker lifestyle. We traipsed across a very hot causeway into Malaysia, where we caught a very comfy bus and then a nifty speedboat which took us across a stretch of the South China Sea to a little slice of heaven on an island called Pulau Tioman.
Picture the scene: We awake in our little wooden cabin next to a beach of fine golden sand. We sit and eat fresh pineapple and melon under the shade of coconut palms, swim in the clear warm water and then marvel as a bloomin' great monitor lizard the size of a canoe saunters across our path! There are huge ants, butterflies, spiders and bats as well as the afore mentioned lizards. Greg said it's like Jurassic Park here - and it truly is. We went snorkeling and the marine life is equally impressive. We saw a large turtle, a modest shark and a huge fish called a Napoleon fish. We thought it would be pleasant to feed the multitudes of smaller, colourful fish with pieces of bread - startlingly it caused a sudden feeding frenzy and there was chaos and panic - I'm afraid the casualty was a Dutch lady who was bitten several times. We swiftly ditched the bread, but I almost drowned laughing with a snorkel in my mouth (serves me right for laughing at another's misfortune.)
We found ourselves hankering after some city life, so are now in Kuala Lumpur. What a wonderful city this is! There is dirt, graffiti, rubbish and it's not perfect, but we love it. By day the Petronas Towers glisten, workers seek refuge in airconditioned offices, and the Petronas park draws mothers and children to the paddling pools and playground. At night fairy lights adorn the palms, the humungous shopping malls are teeming with people, there are cafes and bars and coffee shops full of chatter.
Malaysia is extremely easy to travel around and the people are very helpful and amiable. The country is predominantly Muslim, and it's wonderful to see groups of Muslim women enjoying themselves on the beach, snorkeling, skateboarding, playing arcade games, riding on roller coasters, driving scooters - always appropriately fully clothed, complete with head covering underneath snorkel masks and crash helmets. It's a shame some tourists weren't a bit more respectful - seeing people topless sunbathing really made us cringe.
More on Malaysia soon,
xjoandgregx
