asia

Island Life – Part One

/ Terry Heck / Leave a comment

Neil and I left for Krabi Town from Chiang Mai via plane, we wanted to get to the islands and this was the fastest (less than two days the night trains would take) and cheapest (if you go by time vs cost factors) way to get closer. We landed in Krabi. The original plan was to use this as a jump point to head to the surrounding Islands. We found a decently rated hostel that was pretty cheap for a private room. We figured out why that was, once we entered the room. The smell hit me like a cement truck barreling down the street. It smelled of durian fruit and nightmares and the bed felt like a re-purposed wooden door. For those unfamiliar with durian, it is a pungent, gym sock smelling fruit that is actually really tasty to me. The nightmares part, well, you can guess what that might smell like, I’ll leave it to your imagination. Regardless, this place was awful and Neil and I decided pretty much immediately that we would move elsewhere in the morning. We used the evening wisely, looking for food markets and seeing what was in the immediate area. Even if we found nothing, I would have been happy just not being in that room.

On our mini excursion there were strange sculptures, odd traffic lights in the shape of cave men which were holding the lights and of course, street food vendors. Now, to be honest, I didn’t take a lot of pictures from here on out, as I was still reeling from the near loss of my camera in our previous segment. That being said, sometimes it’s nice to leave all your bags and just go, without any sort of hindrance to anything that could occur. Wan’t to swim in the river? Without a camera bag attached to you, you can!

We got back to the smelly room and I am pretty sure it sucked out my soul as I slept. So with that in mind, and a good soul and body scrub needed we took off in the morning for Ao Nang, the beach resort area of Krabi.

Deciding to stay at an actual resort for one night was one of the greatest ideas we had. It allowed us to recharge, have overpriced buffet meals, swim in pools where ocean salt would not cake you body and just relax on soft, oh so soft beds. It was so nice, we stayed an extra night. We took one excursion to a few islands while here, among them the Island that they touted as where the movie “The Beach” was filmed. It was an extremely wonderful beach with pristine waters and splendid views, albeit was touristy beyond belief. A far cry from the uninhabited oasis that we saw in the movie.

Our days were ended in this area, our next stop was to be Koh Samui and will be part two of my Island life segment.

Chiang Mai and Welcome to the Jungle

/ Terry Heck / Leave a comment

When we last left off, Neil, myself and our counterparts from Germany and France arrived in Chiang Mai at our hostel “Living Place 3.”

The place was run by a man known only by “V” and his daughter Anna that was visiting from the Czech Republic. “V”, an eccentric, friendly Thai man who was equal parts kind, helpful and generous. His daughter Anna, a twenty year old girl with the same qualities as her father, tended to the front desk. Two of greatest hostel proprietors I would have the pleasure of meeting during this trip.

The hostel itself was quiet, most of the time. Our room was an eight person dorm that we had complete run of, save for a night when one other person needed a bed. There was one hard fast rule about this place, no food or drink in the rooms. Neil found this out the hard way as there was a chocolate milk that had partially spilled in a plastic bag in his backpack. He got ants, a lot of ants. Some rules are meant to be taken seriously I suppose.

Chiang Mai itself was very…..different from both places we had been already. Smaller in size than Bangkok and much larger than Ayutthaya, it was a welcome midpoint between the two. I saw many more expats and travelers here than in Bangkok, primarily because while there we did not stay on Khaosan road. Taking it’s smaller size into account as well. There was truly positive vibe here, a lot of that having to do with the people we traveled there with and the people we met. One of the things I wanted to do while backpacking in Thailand was to eat a tarantula. I was told Chiang Mai had many insect vendors, alas, I could not find my prize within the myriad of stalls available to us.

I had the worst scare of the entire trip here. A night of attending Muay Thai fights turned into a drunken, black out, can’t remember how I got back to the hostel kind of night. Then morning came, I woke up startled and in a panic, I knew something was wrong. I shot out of bed and realized that I lost my camera. I remembered we went to another hotel for an after party, but who knew where that was? I ran down three flights of stairs faster than I ever have before to see if I had left it there before passing out. No, not there either. I had no Idea what to do. I hadn’t backed up my Thailand photographs yet and half of my Europe pictures were on there as well. I was gutted, and simply wanted to cry or break stuff, I couldn’t be sure at the time. I went outside for a cigarette and tried to calm down. One of the other guests was out there already and noticing that I was sheet white asked what was wrong. My sob story was reiterated as calmly as I could. All of a sudden from behind me I hear another voice say to me “Man, I have your camera!” I looked back and saw Matt pulling my camera bag out of his scooter. Apparently he had stayed the night at the other hotel and brought it back for me. It would appear as though I have the greatest luck known to man. I hugged him as tightly as I could, almost uncomfortably so but at least I had it back. The days in Chiang Mai after that were spent ensuring I did not take my camera anywhere that may turn into a particularly un-sober evening.

We spent most of our time relaxing, eating, drinking and making new friends. We did however go zip-lining through the jungle on one day. I don’t think I have mentioned before that I am afraid of heights. It was difficult for me to trust the ropes that were holding me up, not to mention walking across a rope bridge seventy meters above the jungle floor. I did it, however, despite my entire body and mind telling me not to and I am happy that I did.

Two nights were spent in a tree house on the side of a mountain one and a half hours north of Chiang Mai. The views were breathtaking and it was quiet. A welcome juxtaposition from the cities we had been calling home as of late.

A Thai family called this place home and welcomed guests to stay with them. They fed us. Glorious, fantastic, mouth watering northern Thai cuisine.

We went on jungle treks through rivers that ended with us taking in the sight of a fantastic little waterfall. Temples were explored on the second day, along with a cave system that was attached to it. All in all there were a few of the best days I had in Thailand.

Hey Neil? Yeah Terry? Welcome to Thailand! 

/ Terry Heck / Leave a comment

The title of this post is the sentence we have used so often when something crazy happens, when we see something awesome, when the rain is torrential or basically for anything that we find that is new and exciting. It symbolizes our sense of wonder, our bond as friends and travelling partners and our like mindedness. We first used it whilst exiting the airport in Bangkok and at least once or twice a day after that.

I find it slightly difficult to blog often as there are so many things to see and do here and all until the wee hours of the morning. That being said this post will be about our first five days here (we have been here ten but writing that much at once would be a long read for you guys). I am hoping to find more time as we go, perhaps during more relaxing sections of the trip.

Our story begins in Bangkok on October 29th at 3:00am. Stepping off the plane we were immediately hit with a heavy amount of humidity and heat. The kind that makes you sticky almost instantly. As we were running on adrenaline, excitement and wanderlust about being in the place we both wanted to be in the weather hardly actually mattered. Our hostel’s front desk was not accepting guests until 7am and seeing as how we had approximately four hours to kill we took a cab there anyway and wandered around the streets of Bangkok until check in. Staying within a two block radius we found late night eateries, street food vendors starting their days and a twenty four hour bar attached to a hotel near us. We took the opportunity to have a few beers and wait out the night.

Neil and First Beers

Neil and First Beers

After the night passed and check in took place at “Siamaze Hostel” we got up to our private room which was quite comfortable and had great air conditioning. We chose a private room for the first night of our adventure because we just wanted some initial peace and quiet after a very long thirty six hours of travel. There wasn’t much interaction between guests at this particular hostel due to what I can only describe as severe language barriers. This hostel would be our home for four nights, mainly because of the appointments we made to have Sak Yant tattoos administered by a Buddhist monk.

During these first days much of our time was spent eating, exploring various malls, walking the streets and seeing sights. The city is massive, the traffic horrendous but the food, amazing. Below you will see the empty bowls of the fantastic boat noodles we had at Boat Noodle Alley and the street food we procured one evening. The little blue and white balls were and are one of my favorite things I have had so far. They consist of smashed peanuts, rolled with a sweet substance and surrounded by a rice based paste. It is sweet and savory and so very, very addictive.

The days came and went, time feeling both as slow as falling sap along a tree and as fast as a speeding tuk-tuk. Senses of wonder melding together to create one large, lasting impression for both Neil and myself.

Then the day came, the day I’ve wanted to happen since my late teens. The day I get tattooed by a monk and have blessings placed upon me. The tattoo I received is called Tong Maharat, or the Great Flag. It signifies mercy, kindness, compassion and good luck in love. These are qualities that I attempt to adhere to as best I can and it meant a lot to me to have placed on my body. The monk providing me with the tattoo in the picture below is named Ajarn Bpom, or Master Bpom in English.

This experience was more than I could have hoped for. If I only came to Thailand to have the tattoo done I could have left a happy man. The way I felt after it was complete was indescribable. It was just amazing to be able to fulfill a dream I created so long ago.

The day after the tattoos we were on a train to Ayutthaya in the morning to delve into the giant river prawns that the area is famous for as well as temple sightseeing. My next post will begin there. For now I am off to get some more of that street food I’ve started to crave.

Keep your eyes on the horizon,

Terry

Two Weeks Until Take Off!

/ Terry Heck / Leave a comment

We are quickly approaching our departure to Thailand. As each day goes by I get more and more excited to embark on the trip to one of my top three bucket list destinations. Another was scratched off the list in Europe (Prague) so just one more to go. Granted, I doubt I will stop there, nor will I lose my sense of Wanderlust but it is always good to have goals.

Neil is currently enveloped in a move with his girlfriend from their apartment to a house. The move combined with his first half way around the world trip, not knowing what to expect and being on such short notice has him pretty stressed out.

The saving grace is the fact that we aren’t really planning anything. Which, if you read my last post, was the agreement we made about the trip. Essentially, as of now, we have the first hostel in Bangkok booked for four days and a tattoo booked with a Buddhist monk within that same time frame. After that we are going to take things as they come and not stress out about where we want to be. We will let the winds take us where they may and depending on who we meet things could change in a matter of a second. Split decisions are what I like, it keeps me on my toes and feels more in line with what I am like in my non-travelling life. Both Neil and I are pretty go with the flow kind of people and I think this particular quality that we share will make our stay in Thailand infinitely more enjoyable and will allow us to feel far less rushed.

I made a promise to myself to get over a fear or two of that I have while on this adventure. The main one, a fear of heights, is my primary target. I hope to, I don’t know, maybe climb up a mountain or fly around a jungle or something, no clue yet. If this goal can fall in line with the no ahead of time planning aspect then I will definitely be doing it.

I will be posting one or two more times before we leave. The next one will likely be the gear list, including pics.

Keep your eyes on the horizon! If you will be in Thailand from September 29th until October 22nd, let me know, maybe we can hang out or at least grab a beer!