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| Petronas twin towers |
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
KL, Malasia and home
So we brought our time in the 'far east' to an end in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia. First impressions weren't the most positive as we arrived late at night and made some selections of food from the street hawker stalls in Chinatown that weren't nearly as tasty as what we had grown used to (and spoiled from) in Thailand. Happy to report that being in KL grew on us a bit and we felt lucky to have at least a few days there. It's a big city for sure with the usual diversity in population that comes with an urban setting. Primarily Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian. As far as religion, almost entirely muslim with many women donning the head-covering called a hijab. We found the lebanese part of the city in short order and had several delicious meals of that cuisine (which we know well).
Before leaving, I met with DaVita (the company I work for) counterparts in KL...an american woman based in singapore who is a manager and several malaysian women who oversee operations at one of the three dialysis clinics that DaVita runs there. The clinic we visited was on the 17th floor of a high-rise. Quite a bit different from what we're accustomed to here in the states. We met in person after having a tele-conference months prior while I was in Grand Junction. Marrie and I are tempted by the idea of living abroad for an extended period of time (1-2yrs) and the meeting went quite well. They seemed to like us (we all went together) and made it sound like the choice is ours. And were very excited to hear that Marrie is a social worker, and started viewing us as a package-deal as they are in need of such. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on one's stance on the matter) the standard work-week in malaysia is monday thru saturday, ie 48hrs/week. That's a 60% increase from the 30hrs/week that I average currently. With a pay-cut making about 66% less than what I make now (despite working 60% more!). Though of course, the cost of living is much less than in the US (they estimated that we could get a pretty comfortable condo with gym/pool at about $300-500 per month). But with that work schedule, marrie and eleanor would be on their own much of the time and it would not allow for much travel to nearby countries (basically Thailand and its neighbors...Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam). Which is much of the motive for the plan. Pretty sure you can fly roundtrip KL to Chiang Mai much of the year with little advance booking for less than $100! So although we have not ruled it out, that scenario is looking less likely than likely.
Before leaving, I met with DaVita (the company I work for) counterparts in KL...an american woman based in singapore who is a manager and several malaysian women who oversee operations at one of the three dialysis clinics that DaVita runs there. The clinic we visited was on the 17th floor of a high-rise. Quite a bit different from what we're accustomed to here in the states. We met in person after having a tele-conference months prior while I was in Grand Junction. Marrie and I are tempted by the idea of living abroad for an extended period of time (1-2yrs) and the meeting went quite well. They seemed to like us (we all went together) and made it sound like the choice is ours. And were very excited to hear that Marrie is a social worker, and started viewing us as a package-deal as they are in need of such. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on one's stance on the matter) the standard work-week in malaysia is monday thru saturday, ie 48hrs/week. That's a 60% increase from the 30hrs/week that I average currently. With a pay-cut making about 66% less than what I make now (despite working 60% more!). Though of course, the cost of living is much less than in the US (they estimated that we could get a pretty comfortable condo with gym/pool at about $300-500 per month). But with that work schedule, marrie and eleanor would be on their own much of the time and it would not allow for much travel to nearby countries (basically Thailand and its neighbors...Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam). Which is much of the motive for the plan. Pretty sure you can fly roundtrip KL to Chiang Mai much of the year with little advance booking for less than $100! So although we have not ruled it out, that scenario is looking less likely than likely.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Catching up on some pics, now back home in grand junction. Have to post a quick re-cap at some point and some pics from Kuala Lumpur. For now, a couple people shots from our 3-day/2-night snorkel outting to koh rok and koh kraden.
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| Eleanor and her 'buddy'/boyfriend Daroon. He was the cook and our guide into/out-of the emerald cave on koh muk |
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| This was our entire group, including guides Ned (2nd from right), his dad to his left who operated the boat, and his uncle Daroon in the middle. A family affair. Then there's the group of 4 others that we shared the trip with...Arama (crouching down), her boyfriend Sebastion (behind Daroon) and his parents Eberhardt and Monica (to Daroon's left and right). I am using Daroon as the reference point not by accident but more as poking fun, as he was Eleanor's reference point much of the time (as illustrated nicely in this shot, notice how focused she is on him!). |
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Oh, Hat Yai
Seems to be a hate-hate dynamic b/t folks of Hat Yai and farang/foreigners. White/western farang anyway. Thai folk here seem less tolerant/patient/accommodating towards farang vs other parts of Thailand. Perhaps they've developed a bit of a complex over time related to not being a chosen destination of farang but rather a forced destination as you pretty much have to go thru hat yai to get to malaysia from Thailand or if coming to Thailand from Malaysia. Not to mention all those doing a visa-run from south Thailand to buy additional time in the kingdom. And not many travelers linger in hat yai. Which is not difficult to understand once you've spent a bit of time here. Which we did...again, not by choice but by necessity. It's unfortunate because it is certainly not representative of Thailand as a whole. And the kingdom would do well to try to effect some sort of a shift...as it has a tendency to leave a bad taste for those (like ourselves) who say goodbye to Thailand via hat yai.
Examples...not helpful with bags; little attempt to communicate in English.
Anyway, we're now in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur (KL) in particular. Got stranded in Hat Yai for a night as we arrived too late to catch a bus to KL. Our predicted 10a-2p minibus arrived at 6p. And then our big air-con bus to KL that was predicted 9a-5/6p arrived 830/9p. Thai's are not to be trusted when it comes to predicting travel times says Marrie. Eleanor handled it all like a champ. Actually for the mini-bus she was mostly lethargic and running a fever. Had us rather worried. She's doing better now, fever subsided, more energetic, more of an appetite. We had a late meal of street food upon arrival to KL and let me tell you, my taste buds miss Thailand! Not a wonderful first impression. Let's hope it was misrepresentative.
Examples...not helpful with bags; little attempt to communicate in English.
Anyway, we're now in Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur (KL) in particular. Got stranded in Hat Yai for a night as we arrived too late to catch a bus to KL. Our predicted 10a-2p minibus arrived at 6p. And then our big air-con bus to KL that was predicted 9a-5/6p arrived 830/9p. Thai's are not to be trusted when it comes to predicting travel times says Marrie. Eleanor handled it all like a champ. Actually for the mini-bus she was mostly lethargic and running a fever. Had us rather worried. She's doing better now, fever subsided, more energetic, more of an appetite. We had a late meal of street food upon arrival to KL and let me tell you, my taste buds miss Thailand! Not a wonderful first impression. Let's hope it was misrepresentative.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
snorkel trip
Oh...re: our 2nite/3 day snorkel/camping trip, such a great trip! definately a highlight of our time here. Ned/Cait of freedom adventures are doing good work. click here for their website. spent one night on koh rok, one night koh kraden. marrie/eleanor in provided tent, me in hammock with bug dope on body, mosquito repellent coils burning below me (could not tolerate the dead-still hot air of the tent). shared the trip with just 4 others...a thai girl/her german boyfriend in their 30's who are living in bangkok and his german parents, their first time in thailand. we felt good that we had picked a trip that a native thai person chose for her boyfriend's parents as their first experience of thailand. some of the 'sexier' sightings in the water included a reef shark and a kuhl's ray just off the beach at koh rok. and some 'Nemo' (ie clown) fish. And a low-tide swim into a south thailand landmark of sorts known as 'the emerald pool' of koh muk. a pretty novel mini-adventure swimming through a lengthy tunnel into a hidden cavern surrounded by steep, high limestone walls. youtube it if curious.
random
hard to believe I haven't posted anything on massage here. have paid between 100-300B for hour-long massage. That's about $3-10. nice that thailand keeps massage accessible for all vs being financially exclusive like it is in the US (not unlike skiing).
re: the weather here, it has been almost entirely hot/humid throughout. at times and in places we have reserved mid-day for respite in our climate-controlled room (when we have been lucky enough to have 'air-con'). It is definately something one endures vs enjoys. it's the settings/food/culture that is enjoyable, not the weather!
setting off from koh lanta for malaysia today. that's the goal anyway. as usual, we are at the mercy of many variables. it will be an indirect (if not meandering) and multi-mode route/means. minibus to trang, change to different minibus to hat yai, big bus to butterworth (near penang), spend night there and take 5hr train ride to KL (kuala lumpur) tomorrow. this is of course all 'in theory'.
re: the weather here, it has been almost entirely hot/humid throughout. at times and in places we have reserved mid-day for respite in our climate-controlled room (when we have been lucky enough to have 'air-con'). It is definately something one endures vs enjoys. it's the settings/food/culture that is enjoyable, not the weather!
setting off from koh lanta for malaysia today. that's the goal anyway. as usual, we are at the mercy of many variables. it will be an indirect (if not meandering) and multi-mode route/means. minibus to trang, change to different minibus to hat yai, big bus to butterworth (near penang), spend night there and take 5hr train ride to KL (kuala lumpur) tomorrow. this is of course all 'in theory'.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
And a word of mention that despite having every intention of this being a Thailand/Malaysia trip, our time in Malaysia is shaping up as merely multiple days in Kuala Lumpur before flying back home (vs several days/nights in/on Lankgawi and/or Penang). An indication as to how positive of an experience and how satisfying Thailand has been!
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Koh Lanta
At what will likely be our final spot in Thailand, Koh Lanta. Have a great budget beach bungalow (500B/$17 per night) about 60 steps from the beach which faces west making for some pretty spectacular sunsets. We will be taking a guided two-night/three-day snorkeling trip after spending 4 nights here. Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to opt out of paying for playing but snorkeling at world-class sites is, again, a very unique regional opportunity here and for such a trip to be overseen by people who know these sites and to be taken care of after 6+weeks of being mostly self-reliant is well worth it to us. The trip costs $400 total (Eleanor free) and is supposed to be small-group (about ten). And rustic accommodation, ie camping in tents.
Otherwise, and in general...I think we're actually looking fwd to returning home (where hopefully spring has commenced on the 'western slope'). I know I am anyway (much to Marrie's surprise). Between the heat and the mosquitoes (and Eleanor's current ultra-fickle eating habits)...enough is enough. But we're on the home stretch with just a final push to KL, Malaysia (which is already proving to be a logistical challenge). And our challenge will be to make the most of our remaining time vs being too future-sighted (a challenge that is very familiar to Marrie who is typically lining up travel plans 5-7 days in advance!).
Otherwise, and in general...I think we're actually looking fwd to returning home (where hopefully spring has commenced on the 'western slope'). I know I am anyway (much to Marrie's surprise). Between the heat and the mosquitoes (and Eleanor's current ultra-fickle eating habits)...enough is enough. But we're on the home stretch with just a final push to KL, Malaysia (which is already proving to be a logistical challenge). And our challenge will be to make the most of our remaining time vs being too future-sighted (a challenge that is very familiar to Marrie who is typically lining up travel plans 5-7 days in advance!).
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Deep-water solo outting
So we decided that this activity of deep-water soloing was too good of a regional opportunity to pass up. Marrie and Eleanor stayed behind while I joined 3 others and we hired a boat and an experienced local to show us the ropes. Or rather, the safest lines to climb without needing ropes.
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| First 3 shots are me |
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| This one's out of order. Should follow the next one to remain sequential. |
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| That's a guy named Dickie way up there, fella from the UK. He was the strongest climbing in our group of 4 and got the highest. I tried this same line and got about 3/4 of the way up before the height/exposure was too 'heady' for me and I jumped. |
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| Ok, so these last 2 aren't deep-water solo shots. Just standard rope-protected climbing, circa 2003 (when I had some semblence of a physique) |
Thailand tips
Email that I sent to my nephew TJ who is contemplating a climbing trip to Thailand. Just thought it might be interesting for anyone else considering. Or (hopefully) interesting in general...
If you can swing it, fly into Chiang Mai (smaller airport, easier to get into town, less hectic intro to Thailand vs Bangkok). There was a guesthouse near ours that we really liked but didn't get to stay at as they were always full. We paid something like 500B to have use of their pool for a week. I think it's called SDK? There's actually two and the one we liked might be SDK II? Marrie probably remembers. It's within the square, NE corner. Speaking of pools, there's a public pool about 5k out of town that's a good find and good value. Chiang Mai Land road I think. 50B/day for pool. And delicious cheap eats (though if this is not a constant for anyone in Thailand, they're doing something wrong). And certainly get a big Chang (beer) and enjoy the presentation (mug with frozen water/ice in bottom half). Re: the climbing, crazy horse buttress has a plethora of great routes. Between my 2x in Chiang Mai, I've only climbed there 2 days...regret not climbing more there. And it will be a very different experience than ton sai/railey with no crowds to contend with. The climbing shop (CMRCA...Chiang Mai rock climbing adventures) offers a shuttle to the crag which is like 30-35k out of town to the east. Something like 250B, includes lunch. Better yet, rent a motorbike at the going rate and strike out on your own. A full-on adventure merely navigating around town and finding your way to the crag. If airfare precludes flying into Chiang Mai (ie cheaper to do RT to Bangkok), take overnight train. Once in Chiang Mai and ready to go south to Krabi, take advantage of the cheap domestic flights. We heard good things about Nok Air. And something like $50 to fly Chiang Mai to Krabi I think. Oh...re: money, we took a few hundred dollars cash and used ATM's. One called Aeon (may not be getting spelling right) which gives good exchange rate (better than changing US $ for baht at bank) and more importantly doesn't assess 150B fee. It's the only one that doesn't. They're a little harder to find but worth the effort. Chiang Mai, Krabi, and Bangkok all have them. There's a site we used that lists locations (usu in Tesco Lotus or Big C which are Thai equivalents to Wal-Mart).
Spending more time in krabi town itself this trip (mostly because I'm not on a climbing trip) and quite enjoying it. Staying near the pier for taking long tail boats to railey. Great location, walking distance to great outdoor, cheap eats by pier in evenings and a bigger market with shopping and food in another direction (called 'walking street' on map our guesthouse gave us. I'm guessing you'd stay in bungalow on ton sai (lower budget in general vs railey) which means taking longtail boat from ao nang better option (goes direct to ton sai). You can easily get to ao bang from krabi in white truck for 50B. And 100B for boat ride. Or 150B from Krabi to east railey...and then walk. Not a big deal if you're making a town run for day or two and traveling light, but not something you'd want to do with heavy packs. If you get tired of the masses and scene on ton sai/railey, steal away to koh yao noi...60B on big bus from Krabi (same place to catch white truck to ao nang). They may try to charge you higher 'farang'/foreigner rate of 100B (this is not uncommon)...just have Eugene memorize how to say 'I am Thai' in Thai (pen khon Thai). Anyway, take that to thalen (pronounced 'talin'...no th sound as in 'the' in Thai) pier where you take longtail ferry to koh yao noi for 120B. Always ask/declare where you want to go (this is rarely necessary as typically you are pounced on by any/everyone upon arrival to any new place in Thailand wanting to know 'where you go?'). But somehow despite being 6 weeks in-country, Marrie and I got on wrong boat (to koh yao yai vs koh yao noi) which wasn't a drastic error but one that required having to stop a smaller longtail boat in middle of the bay and step from one boat to the other, and something in the way of 300B as we ended up at different pier farther away from our bungalow (namtok, by the way. Denny and tik run the place. We had nice bungalow, 450B fan, cold water) and had to pay for ride. Anyway, there is climbing on koh yao noi and it's a very quiet, not over-developed like most other places and an increasingly rare find in Thailand these days. I recommend it.
If you can swing it, fly into Chiang Mai (smaller airport, easier to get into town, less hectic intro to Thailand vs Bangkok). There was a guesthouse near ours that we really liked but didn't get to stay at as they were always full. We paid something like 500B to have use of their pool for a week. I think it's called SDK? There's actually two and the one we liked might be SDK II? Marrie probably remembers. It's within the square, NE corner. Speaking of pools, there's a public pool about 5k out of town that's a good find and good value. Chiang Mai Land road I think. 50B/day for pool. And delicious cheap eats (though if this is not a constant for anyone in Thailand, they're doing something wrong). And certainly get a big Chang (beer) and enjoy the presentation (mug with frozen water/ice in bottom half). Re: the climbing, crazy horse buttress has a plethora of great routes. Between my 2x in Chiang Mai, I've only climbed there 2 days...regret not climbing more there. And it will be a very different experience than ton sai/railey with no crowds to contend with. The climbing shop (CMRCA...Chiang Mai rock climbing adventures) offers a shuttle to the crag which is like 30-35k out of town to the east. Something like 250B, includes lunch. Better yet, rent a motorbike at the going rate and strike out on your own. A full-on adventure merely navigating around town and finding your way to the crag. If airfare precludes flying into Chiang Mai (ie cheaper to do RT to Bangkok), take overnight train. Once in Chiang Mai and ready to go south to Krabi, take advantage of the cheap domestic flights. We heard good things about Nok Air. And something like $50 to fly Chiang Mai to Krabi I think. Oh...re: money, we took a few hundred dollars cash and used ATM's. One called Aeon (may not be getting spelling right) which gives good exchange rate (better than changing US $ for baht at bank) and more importantly doesn't assess 150B fee. It's the only one that doesn't. They're a little harder to find but worth the effort. Chiang Mai, Krabi, and Bangkok all have them. There's a site we used that lists locations (usu in Tesco Lotus or Big C which are Thai equivalents to Wal-Mart).
Spending more time in krabi town itself this trip (mostly because I'm not on a climbing trip) and quite enjoying it. Staying near the pier for taking long tail boats to railey. Great location, walking distance to great outdoor, cheap eats by pier in evenings and a bigger market with shopping and food in another direction (called 'walking street' on map our guesthouse gave us. I'm guessing you'd stay in bungalow on ton sai (lower budget in general vs railey) which means taking longtail boat from ao nang better option (goes direct to ton sai). You can easily get to ao bang from krabi in white truck for 50B. And 100B for boat ride. Or 150B from Krabi to east railey...and then walk. Not a big deal if you're making a town run for day or two and traveling light, but not something you'd want to do with heavy packs. If you get tired of the masses and scene on ton sai/railey, steal away to koh yao noi...60B on big bus from Krabi (same place to catch white truck to ao nang). They may try to charge you higher 'farang'/foreigner rate of 100B (this is not uncommon)...just have Eugene memorize how to say 'I am Thai' in Thai (pen khon Thai). Anyway, take that to thalen (pronounced 'talin'...no th sound as in 'the' in Thai) pier where you take longtail ferry to koh yao noi for 120B. Always ask/declare where you want to go (this is rarely necessary as typically you are pounced on by any/everyone upon arrival to any new place in Thailand wanting to know 'where you go?'). But somehow despite being 6 weeks in-country, Marrie and I got on wrong boat (to koh yao yai vs koh yao noi) which wasn't a drastic error but one that required having to stop a smaller longtail boat in middle of the bay and step from one boat to the other, and something in the way of 300B as we ended up at different pier farther away from our bungalow (namtok, by the way. Denny and tik run the place. We had nice bungalow, 450B fan, cold water) and had to pay for ride. Anyway, there is climbing on koh yao noi and it's a very quiet, not over-developed like most other places and an increasingly rare find in Thailand these days. I recommend it.
Koh Yao Noi
Koh Yao Noi is an island between Phuket and Krabi (a one-hour ferry ride to reach, cost $4/120B). Despite being 6 weeks in country, Marrie and I managed to get on the wrong ferry heading to another island. Simple fix requiring flagging down a smaller longtail boat that was heading to our island and stepping from one boat to the other in the middle of the bay. Eleanor had her lifejacket on. Anyway, koh yao noi seems to be a rare find for thailand these days. Very quiet, simple living. Not overly developed like many islands/beaches in the south.
I'm trying to include acouple links to short youtube videos below of the so-called road to one of the beaches. Basically a singletrack dirt path that meandered its way for about 15mins of riding. Seems that I'm limited to one link. http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=N8oNAkP_Ois&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DN8oNAkP_Ois
Part 1 (about 2mins, including a bit showing some riders ahead of us having a mishap. No injuries luckily)
Part 2 (41 secs showing arrival to the beach)
I'm trying to include acouple links to short youtube videos below of the so-called road to one of the beaches. Basically a singletrack dirt path that meandered its way for about 15mins of riding. Seems that I'm limited to one link. http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=N8oNAkP_Ois&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DN8oNAkP_Ois
Part 1 (about 2mins, including a bit showing some riders ahead of us having a mishap. No injuries luckily)
Part 2 (41 secs showing arrival to the beach)
Saturday, March 16, 2013
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On the map
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| Small scale overview. Can see Chumphon, Surat Thani, and Krabi...which was a complicated multi-mode transport for us involving 3hr train from where we were north of Chumphon to Chumphon; and two 4hr bus rides, separate buses, Chumphon to Surat, Surat to Krabi. Morale of the story, if going to Krabi go direct from Bangkok. At one point, we were driven 12km out to the highway in hopes that there might be empty seats on a Bangkok to Krabi bus (apparently not an uncommon practice). There weren't so we exercised other options. |
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| Large scale, close-up view. Currently in Krabi. Upcoming talk plans to go to Koh Lanta, Koh Rok to snorkel. And after getting insider tips from Lee's hubby Michael, we're considering Koh Yao Noi (between Krabi and Phuket) and Koh Laoliang (near Trang). Koh = island if you hadn't guessed. |
Far-fetched reunion
So my first trip to Thailand (and first time abroad) was in Nov/Dec 2003 with Brad for about 6 weeks. Part of that time was spent up north near Chiang Mai practicing buddhist meditation at a wat (temple); the remainder was spent rock-climbing in the area where we are now near Krabi. It can be a bit of a scene, with all the physically honed bodies of visiting climbers and the end-of-the-day imbibing and socializing that usually goes along with that. I remember being much more interested in spending my non-climbing time with Thai people vs other western tourists and/or climbers. And as a result, I got close to several Thai people who live in this area. I stayed in touch with only one, Lee, but for a very short period of time via email (her first encounter with such, as I got her lined out with a hotmail account before leaving). Marrie and I had no definate plans to include this particular part of Thailand where I climbed all those years ago in our route. But once we arrived in Krabi (a hub for accessing some of the islands of the andamen sea), it was hard to resist revisiting this place that I had such fond memories of. And I had foresight enough before leaving home for this trip to load some pics of the friends I made in 2003 just in case the opportunity was there to seek them out.
So despite no contact in over 9 years, no email/phone number (Lee had long since let her hotmail account lapse. And to this day does not email still!), certainly no social media/facebook...with just the pictures on my phone (9 years old mind you) and a rudimentary (at best) use of spoken Thai...it took just 2 days of travelling/asking around, going from one little town, finding someone who recognized one or more of my Thai friends, getting further clues to follow up on, going to the next little neighboring town, showing the same pictures to different people, getting stronger responses of recognition (indicating that we were getting 'warmer')...until at last we knew we had to be close as the directions being given were with body language (ie pointing) vs spoken language. And a couple of Thai fellows told us to follow them and rode a short distance to where we found Lee at her house...who seemed to recognize me right away and genuinely happy to see me.
I thought it was a longshot at best when we undertook the mission, had no expectations to locate anyone. Marrie likes a good search and a good human-interest story better than most, and so made the perfect accomplice in the mission. Lee married an American climber in 2004 and has a 7 year old son and 5 year old daughter. We all had dinner together the following night and Eleanor was a very well-mannered guest and very interested in playing with the older kids. All in all, a pretty satisfying mission accomplished!
So despite no contact in over 9 years, no email/phone number (Lee had long since let her hotmail account lapse. And to this day does not email still!), certainly no social media/facebook...with just the pictures on my phone (9 years old mind you) and a rudimentary (at best) use of spoken Thai...it took just 2 days of travelling/asking around, going from one little town, finding someone who recognized one or more of my Thai friends, getting further clues to follow up on, going to the next little neighboring town, showing the same pictures to different people, getting stronger responses of recognition (indicating that we were getting 'warmer')...until at last we knew we had to be close as the directions being given were with body language (ie pointing) vs spoken language. And a couple of Thai fellows told us to follow them and rode a short distance to where we found Lee at her house...who seemed to recognize me right away and genuinely happy to see me.
I thought it was a longshot at best when we undertook the mission, had no expectations to locate anyone. Marrie likes a good search and a good human-interest story better than most, and so made the perfect accomplice in the mission. Lee married an American climber in 2004 and has a 7 year old son and 5 year old daughter. We all had dinner together the following night and Eleanor was a very well-mannered guest and very interested in playing with the older kids. All in all, a pretty satisfying mission accomplished!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
In transit
Been off the grid, ie no wifi, for a spell. Hence no posts. Currently in the throes of traveling from where we are on the gulf/east coast to Krabi on the Andamen/west coast. And it is taking more figuring out than we had expected. Alot of guess-work, surrendering control/at the mercy of others who know better how such things work here. We will board the train yet again later today going from bang saphan yai to chumphon (after our failed attempt to catch a gov't bus going south from bangkok to krabi...our goal was to be in krabi tonight where we had a room booked. we will not make that.). we will spend the night in chumphon leaving us a long bus ride (8hrs) tomorrow (the train does not go to the andamen side of Thailand). So at times, travel within the kingdom is challenging and uncomfortable (physically from the heat and psychologically from the not knowing and/or having as muchcontrol as we're used to). But not without ample rewards.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
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