to post or to live... this is the question!!

So it seems that keeping up with these posts has become more challenging as time goes on.  I am attributing this to the simple fact that I have fully relaxed, and am taking my time to relax into the journey.  Also, the days remain packed and at the end of them, bed seems far more appealing than a computer screen....  anyway, moments of killing time at a train station seem the perfect time to make some updates so here we are....

Alongside some pictures I am going to post, I feel it would be prudent to throw down some random thoughts. 

1.  the word 'RESORT' doesn't mean the same thing internationally.  At all!  While many accommodations encountered would qualify, it seems in Thailand that the mere occurrence of a swimming pool (and on occasion even without) constitutes a 'resort'.  This can be confounding when trying to book places online.  Rule of thumb has quickly become to book one or two nights max in a new town and then extend if it's nice, or beat it. 

2. Nothing looks like the photos you looked at online.  Like really, NOTHING.  Many of the towns (especially the busy ones) seem to take on a 'build it, pay it off, and then let it fall apart' philosophy of property management.  It's quite rare to see anyone doing any actual MAINTENANCE to the properties.  In this regard, you truly do get what you pay for.  Rumours you hear of being able to stay somewhere really nice for $30 are hogwash unless you booked it for a minimum week stay well ahead of time. 

That's all I want to offer along those lines for now... because the beach photos that I need to share are far more important at this particular moment!!

So, a voyage to Railay Beach (east and west) revealed some interesting spots.  Shabby chic is an understatement. But this particular spot was more than worthy of a photo.  I mean come on....

So there may or may not have been a hike up to a view point...  This is literally looking up.  Like, virtually straight up.  Not for the faint of heart let me tell you...

It may or may not have resulted in this next level of sweaty mess...

But I an unequivocally say that it was worth it.  I mean look at that view...   I paid for it in quad pain for the next couple of days, but I'd do it again.  next time.   After I heal!!!

This is a mosque located directly next to the most recent accommodation. It's stunning really.  The muslim population in the south of Thailand is considerably more dense apparently.  I will concede though, the 530am prayers occasionally got to me. I don't entirely understand why, in a tourism focused town, there is a consideration that everyone in a 3km radius should be entitled to sharing in the prayer.  Over massive loudspeakers.  I'd be lying if I said this didn't bother me....  A shame because aside from that it was one of the nicest accommodations of the trip.

Long tail boats are the way around this area, and the only way to get to Railay beach.  They provide some pretty amazing views of the rock formations that line the southern coast line.  Two day trips were made to Railay, alongside a day on a speed boat visiting other surrounding islands.  I need to dump some more photos from my phone, but as soon as I do I will put up a purely media post that provides some insight into how ridiculously scenic this part of the world is.

A few last random thoughts... Got a flat on a scooter I rented.  This GEM followed me to it after I found him.  put air in.  got it back to his shop.  removed the tire, found the culprit (the TINIEST little filament of wire) replaced the tube, and put it all back together.  Gave me a bill for $150 Thai Baht.  That's about $6 cdn.  He couldn't figure out why I was crying.  He of course has NO IDEA what my last Harley repair cost...   if he did, he'd fully understand.

IF you run out of gas on Koh Phangan, you have this option.  it's about 1.5 times the cost of gas at a proper station, but they are everywhere and are coin operated.  Not too shabby....

Can't see a coin operated machine in spitting distance, not a problem.  Pick yourself up a litre of gas (91!!) in a bottle at a road side rack.  Twice the price as the conventional gas station, but of course better than pushing!!!   I mean you talk about the entrepreneurial spirit being alive and well!!

And lastly...this was my birthday.  It was weird spending it away from most of my universe, but if you're gonna, it might as well be somewhere as spectacular as this.  I mean really....  this was amazing. 












Okay, that's it for now.  I'll have a bit more time to kill in a bangkok hotel room with what SHOULD be fairly reliable wifi over the coming days.  More spectacular photography straight ahead.  For now, I have to contemplate catching a train and getting some sleep....  Til then!

Sorry for the slacking...

Okay Okay.  So since arriving in Koh Phangan a solid week and a half ago, I have been entirely distracted and the last thing on my mind has been the desire to pull out my computer and write.  If there is anything being in Thailand has taught me, it's to give in to the spur of the moment thoughts.  Regardless, there is a solid effort being made here to catch up on everything, so here goes....

Koh Phangan is an island famous for full moon parties. If you google 'full moon party garbage' you'll find a now very famous photograph that a friend took (Nate Clark is his name) which was a major turn off where the full moon party is concerned.  A trek to the slightly less crazy 'half moon party' was made instead.  It was clearly the right call as can see evidenced by the fact that there seemed to be a personal dance floor for SOMEbody...

 Sunsets have become a bit of a fascination with me of late.  A call was made to move to a nicer resort for the last weekend in Koh PHangan (that is the weekend of Chinese New Year, beginning yesterday February 16), a call based largely on a desire to be in a nice comfy spot for the birthday.  The side product of same has been some SPECTACULAR sunsets, and I take no shame in shamelessly plugging them here.  The fella with the sunglasses on was kind enough to humour me while I took a photo mostly of his glasses!

This is a shot from the infinity pool at the hotel.  The palm trees in the distance are there solely to give scale.  You honestly wouldn't be able to tell where the pool ends and the ocean (likely a solid kilometre lower in altitude) begins.  Some breathtaking landscapes here.

There were a couple of cool photos to be had at the train station in Bangkok waiting for a day train to head to the Southern Islands.  it wasn't the most comfortable train (the night train is always the thing for those of you considering a trek here) and the mistake won't be made again! 

 Backtracking a little... the Grand Palace in Bangkok was pretty spectacular.  This march happened quite often, and provided some serious spectacle... 

 There is quite a lot of talk here about the monarchy. This is the 'show palace' as I understood it.  The king apparently doesn't live here, but uses this for occasions. Not too shabby....

And the reclining Bhudda.  I may have already posted this, but it's worth a second look!

This.  This is a burmese salad.  One of the many things that makes me realize that meat is not a necessity in my life.  there will be a mission formed to ensure this can be recreated in Canada.  may be futile, but will be a joy trying.

And lastly a few random things....    The art around here that is randomly placed is really spectacular.  This is a particularly beautiful sculpture next to the pool from the sunset shot above.  Just there because.  Amazing...

 At an Italian spot for dinner the other day (homemade fish lasagna that nearly changed my life!!) and when espresso was ordered after dinner, this arrived on the spoon.  A wee cookie with a chocolate filling.  My friend Ben reference this being an ideal, once in your life breakfast cereal.  A glorious bowl full, for a decadent day starter.  Erda didn't much agree, but what can you do.  I'm going to seriously consider it!!

And my last thought for today.... I am amassing a small collection of thai marketing that has some interesting spelling.  It just so happens that today or tomorrow will be 'Londy' Day so I thought this was a fitting way to end this post off... 















This is a pretty glorious spot to hang your hat for a while, and I am learning that if you're inclined to make a 'long term' booking somewhere (a month at a time) there is CRAZY money to be saved.  This is important food for thought for future visits to South East Asia over the winter.  Happy weekend ex-pats. :-)

Just some additional media to share...

Sugar break purchased in a market.  Bread, butter, sugar, grilled on a skillet.  Ridiculously good.

Hill tribe coffee is a thing.  The coffee has been SOOO good. and at approx $2cdn for a latte, my habit is affordable here!!!

Elephant times!

Strangest hippy band ever.  The asian man walking around blowing into these horn looking things was quite a spectacle.  Sonically, the worst thing i have ever heard.  People watching GOLD!

High Level overview of the hippiest hippy party ever.  The russian man who sang with a ukelele in russian, a song about our beautiful earth with the shit eating-est grin EVER on his face was a highlite!

Market shot from the cooking school day.

 More Ramchuak Market.

 Sun dried red chili's.  HOT.

What seems to be the Thai equivalent of rice krispie squares.  available for your snacking satisfaction virtually everywhere.

Meat. All the fried and crispy meat!

This is Kamee frolicking in the Pai River.  This was a really special day.

Getting Caught up!

Okay Okay.. Far to much time has passed between the 'sick in bed with food poisoning for two days' post and this one.  With apology, on with the update.

Pai was a lovely little town.  Far more hippie than anything one could have expected, but amazing none the less. Some music was played at an open mic or two, lots of coffee consumed, and an over-saturation of night markets happened too.  Those things can really get crowded, and when the point comes that you want to move and actually GET somewhere, it can be a real challenge.

These two fellas are some pretty amazing musicians that were kind enough to have guests.  It was amazing to share a stage with an international group of really skilled performers.  I mean serious talent from across the globe.

Sunrise and sunset in Pai were spectacular times of day. This photo absolutely does not do this justice. At all...

This is the best photo taken so far.  This adorable little girl was enjoying some fruit shake in her mother's shop on the market street in Pai.  Not sure if it's the outfit, her innocence, the perfectly imperfect way the hat sits on her head or what, but so far it wins. 

Night markets.  Everywhere you turn there are night markets, and Pai is no exception.  There are better photos that capture the madness, but as Pai is small, this gives you some idea of what is happening!

This is Fred the tree.  He was planted after spending the afternoon with a new friend, who appears below. There is an amazing conservation area outside Pai who is doing forestry and elephant rehabilitation work.  Really an amazing thing they have going on.  Grass roots, and funded entirely from the donations provided from those who visit.  You can visit their website at www.conservenaturalforests.org to get a better understanding of what they are all about. 

Also, this is the new friend referenced above.  Everybody meet Kamee!  Lovely, very pregnant, and consuming 40kg's of bananas (among other things) daily!  They believe she will give birth in April or May, so it will be fun to follow along and see how that all turns out having met her.  What an amazing experience....

 This past Monday brought a return to Chiang Mai ahead of a night train to bangkok happening later this week, the main purpose of which was to hit a cooking school that came highly recommended by a university friend.  A stop at the market on the way to the school (with a lovely group of people I might add) brought some amazing photos, and a serious education about Thai food, and the market and farming experience.

 So.  Many.  Peppers!

A bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice made from these babies, (which ironically seem to look less appealing than oranges seen in north american grocery stores) was absolutely delicious, or 'arrrroy' as you would say in Thai!

Nothing here for scale, but these avocados are easily the size of grapefruits.

And lastly for today, the cooking.  ALL the cooking.  The recipe book that was provided at the end is highly coveted at this point. And rest assured that making Thai curry paste of any colour from scratch is involved.  The outcome though, 100% worth the effort involved.  This is Tom Yum Soup with shrimp....

Spring rolls with scratch made sweet and sour sauce...

On the left, Yellow (massaman) curry, and on the right a sweet basil cashew chicken and vegetable stir fry.  Fast, simple, and delicious.

Lastly the sticky rice and mango that is a staple of the dessert genre here.  We were told to go to town with presentation today so things got a little bit nutty.  The rice is tinted blue from local flowers being simmered in coconut milk and folded into the sticky rice.   Visit at www.thaifarmcooking.com











So that's the update from the last few days.  It's great to be able to advise after discovering the current season does not provide for flights to Chiang Mai from Pai, the driver who operated the van back to Chiang Mai on sunday was NOT the crazy sort as the whackjob who drove TO Pai.  No motion sickness.  No fear of loss of life.  All good. 

Tomorrow is largely a laid back day prepping to get to the train station for the overnight train to Bangkok.  A good friend from high school will be there this weekend to hang out, and it's been something amazing to look forward to for a couple of weeks.  So, up next... Bangkok!

The dinner...

Yep. It was a lovely dinner indeed. Until it wasn't!!

Tuesday evening saw an invite to a lovely gathering put on by the owner of the guest house a friend rents. Gracious to be invited. But some of the meat clearly had other ideas for the following 36 hours!!! All I can say is that spicy Thai food in combination with food poisoning is NOT a good time. After 36 hours of cleanse, I am starting to feel human again.

Today was a return to semi normalcy, and included some recovery of the body in a natural hot spring, and some great live music. I anticipate some more normal activity levels in the coming days, and hopefully something more to post here for your continued travel entertainment.

I love Pai!

Pai Pai Pai!

Feeling grateful this place is so magical because honestly never has a 3 hour van ride provided such fear and motion sickness!! The mountain pass to get here was a gong show with a Thai Mario Andretti at the wheel. I can still feel the bruise on my left arm from getting BASHED into the side of the mini van interior at each of the 700+ sharp turns! There were very nearly grown men tears today upon discovering at this particular time of year the flight that would have been far preferred for the return is not happening. Let us digress...

I am slowly indoctrinating myself into this ridiculously hippy flavoured town. I bought some pants that complete the transformation but I am just not quite ready to sport them in public. It's coming!!!

Today I took a wee video of how sleepy Pai is mid day. Tomorrow I will capture some of it at night. A shockingly different vibe. And the whole avocado toast thing is, apparently, a world WIDE phenomenon!!!!

There's a glimmer of possibility for a motorcycle rental in the next couple of days and a ride in some mountains. That would be a real treat!!

The last challenge of the day was trying to sort out what kind of fruit smoothie to order. As you can see, it's fairly serious business.

Get here sometime. Just get here. 😎