Making New Friends

OK, not so much the human kind, but the four-legged ones.  For some reason we always get 'accosted' by dogs when we're traveling.  

Last year, it was the german shepherd who decided to tag along on our 12-mile run in Cafayate.  

This year, it was the hungry little mutts in Phuket who wanted a piece of my breakfast danish.  J was bringing the danish back to the room, and the dogs quickly followed him back onto the hotel grounds.

Now these dogs have the life.  Mocha would love to be a beach bum...

Novotel Resort Panwa Phuket

Please visit new site: 

http://thelittleyarisdiary.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/novotel-beach-resort-panwa-phuket/

Dining On The Beach

One would often see in movies or romantic getaway brochures of couples dining on the beach, and invariably one would think, 'How romantic'.  While in Ko Phi Phi, we go the the chance to dine on the beach for the first time.

First off, one can't possibly pass up the opportunity of swinging on a swing on the beach...

 Romantic beach dinner

Romantic, until the mosquitoes came out in full force and we were practically eaten alive.  I was so busy scratching and chasing away the mosquitos I could hardly enjoy the meal.  I couldn't get out of there fast enough.  So at the end of the day, we've both agreed that dining on the beach is overrated, unless you pretreat yourself with DEET beforehand.

Holiday Inn Ko Phi Phi

Please visit new site: 

http://thelittleyarisdiary.wordpress.com/2011/01/08/holiday-inn-resort-ko-phi-phi/

Ayuthaya

On our way from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, we stopped by Ayuthaya to check out the ruins.  This used to be the capital of Siam in the 1350-1760s before it was invaded by the Burmese, and is now one of the UNESCO world heritage sites.

After getting off the train, we had to take a short ferry to get to the old city.

 'Houses' along the banks

 Our 'ferry', 20 bhat (66 cents) per person.

Wat Mahathat

 The 'wrapped' buddha head in Wat Mahathat

J and I made the faux pas of posing in front of the buddha status...numerous times.

Wat Ratchaburana

 With the most intact prang, where the king's brothers were cremated.

 The prang.

Going down into the crypt.

Both of us were walking through the park with our packs on.

 

By the time we got to the 3rd ruin, the sun was ablaze.  So instead of going in, I just snapped a picture of the Wat Phra Shri Sanphet from outside the wall.  Moving along...

Wat Chaiwatthanaram is located outside the park, which meant we had to take a tuk tuk, and me watching J torment the drivers with his low ball offers.  

This is the most intact temple of all ruins.

 All the buddha heads were chopped off, a very curious thing...

J & I breezed through this UNESCO site in 2 hours.  We would have lingered a bit longer had we not have to carry our 20+lb packs.  We both agreed that it was impressive, however, still not as impressive as the ancient city of Ephesus.  On our way back to Bangkok, we took the 'snail rail' and got tickets for 3rd class sans ac.  Two tickets cost us 30 bhat ($1) for a 1 1/2 hour trip.  Where in the world can you get train tickets for 50 cents?!  Granted we didn't get a seat until half way into the ride.

Sitting on wooden benches.

Hagglers' Heaven

Aside from the 'snail rail', Thailand offers some other interesting modes of transportation.

Meet the 'tuk tuk', a motorized tricycle that is responsible for the majority of the air and noise pollution around Thailand.

Inside a tuk tuk.

Getting stuck in traffic in a tuk tuk is bad news for the lungs...

Since these are not metered taxis one would have to negotiate with the driver before hopping on.  I think J pissed off his fair share of drivers by low balling them as most would just shake their heads and drive off without a word.  So when they say '100 bhat', don't counter '40 bhat' if you don't want to get the evil eye.  This was one aspect of Thailand I wasn't comfortable with.  Why can't they just go by the meter or fair price, instead of jacking up the price and hoping for the best.  One example was when I was buying a table runner at the Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok.

Vendor: 350 bhat.

Me: Whoa.

Vendor: OK, I give you good price, 250.

Me: Hmmm...

Vendor: OK 200.

J: 175.

Vendor: No no, 200.

See the difference between me and J?  I don't even need to counter, and the guy lowers the price on his own.  J tries his best, but must lack that 'charm factor' : )  Later when we were walking through a different night market, I saw the EXACT SAME runner and out of curiosity I asked how much she was selling for.

Lady: 650 bhat.

WHAT!?!  You see what I'm saying?  They're just throwing a number out there and seeing what sticks.  For all I know, the runner's probably not even worth 50 bhat.  Makes one very wary, though I'm sure some people enjoy this game immensely.  Thailand is certainly not for the 'thin-skinned'.

Wat You See Is Wat You Get

Chiang Mai was where we went to get our fill on wats, or temples.  They come in all shapes and sizes, with intricate designs.  I read somewhere that there are 300 wats in Chiang Mai.  We only went to a handful of them as one can only take so much of the heat and humidity while wearing jeans (required attire to enter wats).  Looking back I should have brought a sarong and wrapped it over shorts.

Wat Phra Singh

Chiang Mai's most sacred buddha

Wat Phan Tao, built out of teak

Sculpture of monks praying in front of a buddha

They love their buddhas

What wat is this wat?

Wood paneling

Ceiling

More buddhas

Smaller wat

The three kings sculpture

A break from wats...the Chiang Mai Woman Correctional Insitution.  Why the guidebook recommends one to get a massage by the women prisoners is beyond me.  Sure they're cheap, but I kind of value my life.  No respectable NYC guide would recommend one to visit Rikers Island I'm sure.  Lonely Planet, I'm disappointed...

Anyone interested in some shackles? 

Their Christmas decoration kept afloat atop 4 tires, bamboo poles, and securely fastened to the banks by a rope (J thought this was hilarious and made me take this picture).

Now back to some more wats...

Wat Suan Dok

My favorite picture of Chiang Mai...

Overnight Trains

Our first stop in Thailand was Chiang Mai.  Instead of taking a 1 hour 20 min flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, we decided to slum it on the overnight train, spending 12 hours each way.  Flying would have definitely been an easy way out, but the train did provide us a whole new experience and perspective on things.  The train was incredibly SLOW; even the bus takes about 10-11 hours.  China would never tolerate this kind of nonsense.  At 431 km/hr, their fastest train would get you there 2 minutes faster than the plane does.  At least we got our 'third world' experience we were looking for.

The train out of Bangkok was an hour late leaving the station, but that was fine by us as we were hot and tired from walking around Bangkok with our packs on prior to getting on the train.  

Train station

 Monks enjoy special status, as they have seats reserved for them in waiting areas.  Most others get to sit on the ground.

We had booked seats on the 2nd class sleeper train, which meant listening to everyone else snoring through the curtains, and having to restrain oneself should one become too 'gassy'.  

Train seats before being converted to a bed

Bed being made for you.

View of the 'other rooms'

Upper bunk

Lower bunk

Communicating through the curtains

The saving grace of the 2nd class sleeper was that it was clean, which I couldn't say about the 1st class private cabin that we got on the way back from Chiang Mai to Bangkok.

The more expensive claustrophobic 1st class cabin; wishing I were in 2nd class instead.