8/15/10 (chiang rai)

Chiang Rai

Our true final day in Thailand. Jon and I extended our trip by one day to come up with a game plan for Laos. Our friends Pete and Danielle from New Zealand had given extensive notes and their Lonely Planet guidebook from their visit five months ago. I had also spent many hours researching online routes and possible activities of interest. We originally planned on heading to Luang Prabang via a two day slow boat down the Mekong River with an overnight stop in Pak Beng. During my research i had heard of horror stories on the fast boat where people had to wear helmets because the noise of the motor was very loud and because the boats are going at an incredible fast speed that they sometimes capsized. Definitely not what I call fun. I found another way for us to get to Luang Prabang that would take longer but allow us to see more of northern Laos. I was still hooked on the notion of visiting more hill tribe villages and had read that Muang Sing, a town north of Luang Nam Tha, had various ethnic tribes. We figured it was a viable route to consider and we would be able to get to Luang Nam Tha in one day. It's hard to know exactly what route to take since the information quickly changes depending on the season. We felt good about the research we had done on the Luang Nam Tha route but were ready for the slow boat to Luang Prabang depending on what the situation was like when we arrived in Huay Xai, the border of Laos.

With that taken care of it was catch up day for us. We wrote three daily details, which can take a surprising amount of time even when we split it up between the both of us. Jon had to work on photos to match each of the articles. Being the professional that he is, there is always a bit of color correction involved in each photo. it was also time to face reality and look at our finances. With the hard drive crash we lost all of our Quicken information. During our travels we had been recording all of our expenses on Quicken so we had an accurate account of where our money went. We created an excel spreadsheet to track our finances for the remainder of the trip. After a quick glance at our accounts and expenses we came to the realization that we were close to the final leg of our journey. It is always a bit sobering to look our finances but it's good for the soul and also teaches us how to communicate openly about our finances. 

After a nice meal at nearby restaurant we both craved something sweet so we walked to a rottee stand and ordered two chocolate and sweet condensed rottee. It hit the spot. We called it an early night and packed our bags for our next big adventure. We are going to miss Thailand, where we called home for a month and a half. She has been good to us and we hope one day to return to her for some more adventure.

8/14/10 (chiang rai)

Chiang Rai

Have we talked about the amazing people we have met on our travels? Maybe we should emphasize this again. Our friend Pai from Bangkok who hooked us up with his father Mr. Sak in Chiang Mai, came through again big time. I had been able to install 99% of the software I lost on my computer crash via download while we had fast internet in Chiang Rai. I use some pretty specialized software to handle the photos and videos you see on this blog and the missing piece for my rebuild was the video editing software that isn't available via download. This was key in me finishing up the New Zealand recap and working on any videos in the near future. We asked Pai if he could hook us up with a copy of the software and within two days he had a package on an overnight bus to Chiang Rai scheduled to arrive at eight this morning with everything I needed. I am not sure what I would have done without him and will repay him in the future as our paths will cross again. I know he reads these articles, so thank you Pai. I owe you big time for all your help.

We still had our jeep for the morning so Annie and I drove to the bus station and picked up the package. We returned and I installed the remaining software and put the finishing touches on the New Zealand recap and posted it online.

One of the more handy things we have encountered while in Chiang Rai was a mysterious map that broke down the downtown areas with insightful knowledge of the best noodle soup, good vegetarian, and massage parlors with no hookers. The hotel gave us this hand drawn map upon arrival and we were instantly curious who authored it. One of the prime destinations on our mystery map was Orn's Bookshop. It was labeled the best in town and Annie and I have become connoisseur of used book shops on our travels. In the afternoon we thought we would go check it out. The bookshop was located on the second floor of Orn's house who was a kind, middle aged Westerner who guided us to the English section. We swapped stories on guidebooks and then explored the selection for the next fifteen minutes. Annie exchanged an old Cambodian book with Orn and in what was a brilliant marketing move, we discovered that he was the creator of the mystery map. He quickly gave us his latest copy that he updates every few weeks and provides to the local hotels.

Later that night we returned to the night market intent on trying a very popular hot pot we have seen many Thais eat. Annie handled the ordering and within a few minutes we had a bubbling clay pot heated by red hot coals on our table. This is a very old world version of something you would get at a fondue restaurant and we had a large selection of seafood and fresh vegetables to cook and enjoy. After diner we headed to the Chiang Rai clock tower that has a daily evening light show promptly at 9pm. I thought it would be nice to capture as a final time lapse in Thailand. After a half an hour we headed back to our hotel to plan our departure to Laos.

When we got back, instead of planning, we decided to get a late night Thai massage. I had yet to try this in Thailand and with Annie's encouragement we decided it was now or never. When we arrived at Pai Massage (no relation to our friend Pai) we were warmly greeted but they are a little confused as to what to make of the Asian and the whitey together. This is compounded by the fact that they can't figure out where Annie is from. Two ladies escorted us up to the third story of the building into a dark room and helped us get situated with our garments and mattresses. For the next hour my Thai masseuse went to work relieving a week's worth of intense stress built up from my computer crash. She contorted, pulled, squeezed, and massaged me into all angles. I couldn't help but break out into uncontrollable laughter as this small woman hoisted my entire body on her bent knees while attempting to crack my back all the while asking in broken English how many kilograms I weighed. It was pretty wonderful and excruciating all at the same time. When we returned we decided to push our Laos trip off another day. It is a nice luxury to have time on our side and we will extend our trip in Thailand by one day to dial in the final details of our departure. 

8/13/10 (chiang rai)

Chiang Rai – Mae Salong Valley – Chiang Rai

After having spent some time at the hilltribe museum yesterday we decide to explore the northern areas of Chiang Rai where many of the hill tribe villages reside. I set an ambitious schedule that included the Maesalong Valley to visit the villages, Mae Sai to explore the caves and the Burma border, and the Golden Triangle to visit the Hall of Opium. We rented a four-wheel jeep from an ad at our guesthouse for 1000 BHT (about $33 USD). The guy showed up with a rigidity jeep that looked like it had been through warfare. As we were leaving he mentioned that fuel tank was on empty and we would need to fill it up. When we returned the jeep we could return it with no fuel. We thought it was a bit of a scam since we really didn’t know how much gas we were going to use and could end up putting more in than needed. I guess we could have fueled up half way but since we were going to be gone all day we decided to fuel up all the way.

We made on our way to Mae Salong Valley, about seventy miles from Chiang Rai. Once we entered the valley it was beautiful. There were small settlements along the hillside with corn, rice paddies, and tea plantations. We read there were security checkpoints around the region though we really didn’t know what they for until we went to the museum yesterday. The Thai government had cracked down on opium growing and distribution. The Royal Thai police set up the checkpoints to ensure that people weren’t smuggling opium. Most of the time we were just waved through. I guess we didn’t look like the opium smuggler type. At one point I asked them for directions to the hill tribe villages, which Jon laughed at because they were pretending to take their job seriously and weren't tour guides. I figured it didn't hurt to ask.

One of the challenges in venturing on our own was that we didn’t know exactly know where the hill tribe villages were located. We read our guidebook, bought a map, and hoped there would be signs. Anytime we saw a sign that had “ban” on it we stopped since we guessed that meant village. We moved at a glacial speed along the mountainside because of our powerless jeep. It was a tank to drive not to mention the difficulty in making u-turns, which always happens when you are on unfamiliar roads. There were many steep turns and at one point I was afraid that we were going to roll down because the jeep didn’t have enough power. All part of the adventure.

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8/12/10 (chiang rai)

Chiang Rai

This was our first full day in Chiang Rai and I was happy to find out that the internet at the Orchids Guesthouse has blazing fast speed. It was probably some of the fastest we have had since leaving the states and it couldn't have come at a better time. I spent the morning rebuilding my computer from scratch and was surprised at how fast it went. Most of the software was available for download and by lunch time I had set the wheels in motion to get myself back up to speed.

In the afternoon Annie and I visited the Hilltribe Museum and Education Center. Annie has a soft spot for what she terms the natives and we had visited some Hmong villages while in Chiang Mai. I really didn't know much about the tribes other than photos I had seen of the tribespeople in there colorful clothing. The museum was very interesting and a highlight of our visit in Chiang Rai. We watched a slideshow breaking down the demographics of the five local tribes and then toured the museum. The area the tribespeople inhibit is called the Golden Triangle and it is the region where Burma, Thailand, and Laos meet. The Golden Triangle has a long history of opium production and the tribespeople have been involved with the poppy fields since their arrival over hundred years ago. The museum had a historical timeline of opium over the last several thousand years and it is was fascinating to see the evolution of morphine and codeine that comes from the opium plants. The colonization of the Asian region basically came as a result of controlling the opium trade by the British Empire. It was also interesting to see the US involvement in modern day. I read an article about Western backpackers who visit Laos to hit the opium dens because it is something exotic while many of the young Asians consider it their grandfathers' drug. We also learned more about the tribespeople and their history. They each have their own distinctive form of traditional dress and traditions. The clothing that takes a year to make. Each is very beautiful and based on silver and vibrant colors. The hilltribes are not recognized by the Thai government and the people are not entitled to medical coverage and other social programs. They live a hard life living off the land in the higher elevation subsiding off of farming and are somewhat cut off from the rest of Thai society. The younger generation are more exposed to modern traditions and it is a little sad to see some of the hilltribes traditions fading.

Later that night we returned to the night market for some cheap food and beer and were entertained by the people watching and Asian stage entertainment. Annie also discovered a new Thai dessert that proved to be very popular with the locals. Usually when searching for food we go to the long line and it is a safe bet. The dessert had a consistency of tapioca and looked like colorful marshmallows. It came hot or cold and wasn't too sweet but very refreshing.

8/11/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai

After spending an entire week in Chiang Mai we headed up north to Chiang Rai. We both really liked Chiang Mai and agreed it was our favorite Thai city. Staying at Mr. Sak’s, gave us a reprieve from the tourist center, and having a car, gave us the freedom to roam the city, which made all the difference in our experience.

We had gotten to know Mr. Sak during our time there and can only describe him as a jolly man who showed no worries. Even when we changed our plans last minute to stay another day he was more than accommodating. We offered to wash the dishes in the restaurant, which brought a roll of laughter from him and the staff. Before we left we filled up the car with gas and took it for a carwash. One of his passions is vintage cars and he owns four Mercedes Benz all over forty years old. My favorite is the bright gold one with matching gold lock/unlock buttons. He takes immaculate care of his cars and his driving is a force to be reckoned with on the mean streets of Chiang Mai. He drove us to the bus station and as we parted ways he invited to come back every year to stay with him. As a token of our appreciation we bought him a shirt from the night bazaar, which I hope he likes and will wear.

We were experts on bus rides and were prepared for anything and everything the Thai buses had to give us. Surprisingly the bus ride was one of the more pleasant ones we had been on. We went with a company called The Green Bus Company and they provided everyone with a bottle of water and a pack of cookies. It was also one of the newer buses and after playing Thai music for about an hour, not even at a blaring volume, they had shut it off. We couldn’t be happier.

After three hours we arrived in Chiang Rai, which looks like a smaller version of Chiang Mai and was a little sleepy town. We checked into the Orchids Guest House at $12/night with a/c, tepid hot water, and blazing fast internet. I grabbed a light lunch for us while Jon worked with Pai on how to get the remaining software he needed. Pai offered to send us the software saving us a bundle because we otherwise would’ve needed my sister to send the Time Machine from Los Angeles to Chiang Rai. We needed to extend our time in Chiang Rai to wait for the package from Pai but luckily at $12/night it was within our budget to stay an extra few days.

We both took a nap to refresh ourselves since the last twenty-four hours had been stressful trying to deal with the hard drive crash. We ventured to the night bazaar for dinner where there was live music. There were four singers dressed in traditional Chinese robes lip singing to Thai music. We are pretty sure one of them was a lady-boy. It’s always an adventure at the night bazaars. After filling our bellies with noodle soup, fried noodles, vegetable tempura, beef meatballs, coconut shake, and a jug of Singha we were ready to call it a night.

What started off, as a disaster with the computer crash, is becoming something of a minor inconvenience and delay. Things are looking up.

As a side note, Mr. Sak has bungalows that he rents at various rates depending on the season. He has rooms suitable for one person to families. He has no website so it's only by referral. His bungalows are in the midst of a forest-like atmosphere and is located about 10 minutes from the city center. If you are interested in a bungalow please call him at 08-1882-3390 (international code not included).

8/10/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

I knew at 2am that I was in trouble. I was pressing hard to finish the New Zealand recap video. I had been at it for days and I was just finishing up the sound design and it would be ready to upload to the world. This project had been bittersweet for me over the last five months. I was excited about the wonderful video captured but also stressed out due to the vast amount of footage and less than ideal working conditions. I had buckled down with Annie’s encouragement and I could taste the end. Then my computer started acting up. In the Mac community they call it the beach ball of death. It is a rainbow colored ball that spins as your computer freezes and I was seeing this ball on a frequent basis. My editing software was freezing and the audio was acting very strange. I ran the disk utility, which often fixes problems but it came back with an error message and suggested I needed the install DVD disk to fix my corrupted hard drive. The install disk was buried in a dark San Francisco basement along with a thousand other things Annie and I packed before we left the states. It was out of reach but I quickly came up with a plan. Being a Mac nerd, I had seen an authorized Apple service center as we explored Chiang Mai two days prior. My plan was to wake up early and borrow an install disk from the service center to fix my problem and then get to the bus station for our departure to Chiang Rai at 10:30am. 

I got a few hours of sleep and then woke Annie up early and explained the situation. We quickly got ready and explained everything to Mr. Sak who suggested we speak to the bus company to see if we could get on a later bus. We agreed and before heading to the service center, we stopped at the bus terminal. Annie explained the situation to the bus agency and they informed us there were no more buses on this day and the small bus was booked for tomorrow. There was availability on the larger bus that stopped more frequently and took a little longer. We agreed this would be okay and then watched as the agent sold our bus tickets to a Westerner and a Thai. We purchased tickets for the following day and felt thankful we were able to get our money back. 

Our next stop was the Apple service center. We explained the situation and after a few tests, I received a lot of cryptic looks for the staff. I had a sinking feeling. Fortunately while I was in Bangkok, I had backed up my entire system including all the photos from our trip. The unfortunate part was this drive was on the slow boat to America and would arrive in October. No easy restore in my near future. The problem turned out to be the hard drive, which was failing. After running the diagnostics, my system wouldn’t even boot. We decided to replace the hard drive and that would have me up and running within a few hours but I would lose my music, photos, and specialized video editing software. We left the computer and returned to explain the situation to Mr. Sak and ask if it would be okay to stay an additional day. 

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8/9/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

Jon took the opportunity to have Miguel’s again for lunch since it’s hard to find good Mexican food in Asia. The food is really spicy to cater to the Thais though we usually see more foreigners than locals. I ventured to a local noodle shop nearby. It’s always an adventure ordering since most noodle shop owners don’t speak English. One of the monks taught me how to order noodle soup in Thai. I tried it once but the people were still confused so instead I use a lot of facial expressions and finger pointing. Luckily they only have a few items on the menu and you can’t go too wrong if you just point to a sign.

After lunch we ran errands to we prepare for our trip to Chiang Rai. We bought our bus ticket and decided to splurge on the VIP tickets, which was $8 per person. It was worth the extra three dollars for a direct route to Chiang Rai and no Thai music. Then we headed to the post office and bank.

Since we walked away from the night market yesterday empty handed we went to the night bazaar today to find a gift for Mr. Sak. It is amazing how much shopping you can do since the night bazaar happens every night and then on the weekends there is a special night market. All the markets sell the same things and my guess is the vendors are at all the various locations. As soon as we arrived at the bazaar we saw the same shirt we were going to buy for Mr. Sak. It was a different lady than the day before and after some friendly negotiation I saved thirty cents. I could’ve bargained harder but with time running out we needed to get something.

With all our errands done we returned to Mr. Sak’s place. Jon worked until the wee hours of the night to put the final touches on the video.

8/8/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

In the morning Jon continued editing the New Zealand video with hopes he can, as he calls it, “give birth” to it before we leave Chiang Mai. The last few days before the sending it out to the world is always stressful but Jon was hanging in there. While I waited on the sidelines I continued to update our daily details page.

As the afternoon rolled around we set out to find a place for Jon to record his voice over. Mr. Sak gave us a few suggestions but Jon had a place in mind. We drove to the Night Safari park where he had seen a temple perched high in the mountain. When we arrived at the temple we were pleasantly surprised to see a huge Buddha statue perched on the mountaintop. It was the biggest one we had seen so far. The temple overlooked the entire city. There were a lot of gongs in the temple for people to ring as they said their prayers so needless to say it wasn’t the quietest place to be.

On our way down from the temple Jon found a deserted parking lot that would make do for him to record his voice over. He spent the next twenty minutes recording his recap of New Zealand. It wasn’t the perfect setting but it was as close as we were going to get. After the recording we went back to one of our favorite temples, Wat Suan Dok, to record my recap of Thailand. We arrived just as the sun was setting so it was the perfect light to do the recording. But it was also really hot and humid and facing the sun was not an ideal setting for me. I was wiping my sweaty face with a tissue in between takes and ended up with tiny white tissue remnants all over my face. Now I know why actors have stand-ins for certain situations. I’m hoping Jon can do some Photoshop magic on my face in postproduction.

After the interview we headed to the Sunday walking street in search of a gift for Mr. Sak. He has been extremely generous with us and we wanted to find a way to express our gratitude. We saw a dress shirt we thought would look nice on him. It is common practice, if not expected, that you bargain when buying anything on the street except for food. I started to bargain with the lady and usually it goes back and forth a few times before a price is agreed upon. The lady only lowered her price once and refused to go any further. There was a Thai man buying a similar shirt and I waited to see how much he paid for it. I think the lady knew what I was doing and refused to bargain with me anymore. The shirt wasn't that expensive but out of principle I walked away.

As we continued along the street, we could sense the rain coming but we were determined in our pursuit. Within seconds of a few raindrops it started to pour. We were left in the open with no umbrella. We took our chances and made a run for the car, which was much much farther than we remembered. Half way to the car we bought an umbrella but by then we were both soaking wet. We had been very lucky not to be caught outside in the middle of the rain but I guess it’s not really rainy season if you are not soaked at least once in Asia. We had gone through the initiation process. With our clothes soaking wet we headed home to dry off.

8/7/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

At one of the monk chats a monk suggested two temples for us to visit. We told them we were looking for quiet temples with not a lot of people. He said they were secret temples, which we thought would be perfect places to do Jon’s voice over of New Zealand. When we looked in the Lonely Planet guidebook we found out one of them was a forest temple and the other one was the most visited temple in the city. I guess there must have been a miscommunication.

We drove to Wat U Mong, the forest temple since it was the farthest one away. I can see how the monk called it a secret temple since we had gotten lost and it was really difficult to find compared to the other temples. The forest temple had tunnels leading to small shrines and above the temples was a large stupa. It was quiet and we considered recording an interview. As we were walking to the car to get our gear the monks started their chanting session over a loud speaker. Guess there goes that idea.

We then headed to the most visited temple, Wat Phra Singh. Inside the temple there was a monk sitting among the statues. He was sitting so still that he looked like the statue next to him. We had visited a lot of temples and by this time they were all starting to look alike. We needed an energy boost so stopped into a coffee shop for a caffeine fix.

We were ready for something different and decided to check out the Saturday walking street. They close down an entire street to vehicle traffic and vendors set up shop along the road. There were food, clothing, souvenir, and drinks stalls along with street performers. I bought two new shirts since we started traveling and was in need of new clothes. After some encouragement from Jon I spent $35 and walked home with a skirt, three tops, one pair of flip-flops and four tank tops. Not a bad deal and it felt good to splurge on myself. Jon bought a few Thai CD’s which he is hoping to use for his video. As we were heading back to our car we could feel a change in the wind, a sign that the rain was coming. Just as we got to our car there was a huge downpour.

Feeling lucky and adventurous we checked out a live band at the Good View, a restaurant along the river. The Thai cover band played classic and contemporary rock tunes. I ordered a Thai whiskey since I had heard that it is popular among the locals since it’s very inexpensive.  A glass of whiskey was $2 but a bottle was only $5! After the Good View we walked to another bar right next door called Riverside. It was a rocking joint filled with young Thais on a Saturday night. As we walked in we felt two years too old and the band were taking a break so we headed home instead.

Nonetheless it felt good to have a night out in town.

8/6/10 (chiang mai)

Chiang Mai

We felt good about our two days of sightseeing and decided to take an R&R day. It was raining all morning and the perfect day to stay indoors. We may have taken a break from sightseeing but we had a lot of work to do. Jon and I both wrote two daily detail updates and he continued to power through the New Zealand video. We spent five weeks in New Zealand and captured a lot of footage so the video is a challenging one to edit. One of the challenges is that Jon didn’t like his interview so he did a voice over but it sounds different from my interview since mine was done outdoors. We have been trying to find a quiet outdoors place with no motorcycles, chickens, frogs, or people but it’s not easy.

We nestled in our room the entire morning working hard and took a break to have lunch at Mr. Sak’s restaurant. He was very excited to see us and hear about our adventures from the day before. We have eaten at Mr. Sak’s every day and enjoy the food there. It is reasonably priced, good food portions, and the food is tasty. Today he offered us Thai ice cream made from coconut milk with bits of sweet corn. I love ice cream so I couldn't turn down his offer. It was delicious and not as sweet as American ice cream.

After lunch we continued working. We have been trying to decide where to go next. The dilemma is money. We originally planned on visiting Laos and Vietnam but along our travels we have added Burma and India. With Thailand being in the middle we had to decide to which way to go first. We also had to consider what is the best and cheapest way to get to Taiwan. I spoke with my sister a few days ago to give her an update and she suggested that we fly to Taiwan and then she would accompany us to Hong Kong and China. She has been there several times and is familiar with the area. I spent the afternoon researching various options.

In the evening we went to the Chiang Mai Night Safari, which is an animal park where the animals roam free on the grounds. The more docile animals come right up to the tram while the ferocious ones are fenced in though each section is gated. When we arrived at the park we drove through a sanitation station. It was a ditch filled with water. I am not sure if it was supposed to sanitize our car tires since the water seemed pretty filthy. As we parked our car there were deer enjoying the sunset along the road. The park was much bigger than we anticipated and it appeared that they spent a lot of money building it. It was supposed to attract the middle class tourists though I am not sure the idea ever took off. We rode in an open-air tram touring the grounds. It was hard to see at night since they only flash the lights when we were in certain areas to show us the animals and the tram stopped for a few seconds at each place. We saw some amazing animals, many we hadn’t even heard of before such as barasinghas, gorals, serows, and gaurs. The most tenacious were the wild yaks who kept following beside the tram because the driver was feeding them. There was a huge wild yak about four feet long. After the safari ride we stayed for the laser and water show, which was okay. Overall it was a pretty good trip and we were very lucky that it didn’t rain since it had rained every evening.