Thailand's version of a house boat...

It's been a few days since I've blogged, I've been out in the wilderness...again! We had a free day in Chiang Mai, where Anne (my roomie) and I wandered around, did some shopping, and got a great Thai Massage. I could get addicted to this :)...At one point the woman was underneath me, I was doing an arch backwards, all the while cracking my back. it was insane!

A word about the food. I LOVE THE FOOD!! I have Pad Thai every day from a street vendor (and it costs about .90) and they all taste a bit different, because really, it literally translates to Thai noodles :)...I've learned to love mango & sticky rice (which has a dollop of coconut milk on top)...Deep fried bananas. Yummmm. Tom Yum soup also good, and the currys! Wow! There is a third curry called Panang Curry which is hotter than the red or green. Thank god Toronto has so many thai restaurants, I recognize alot of the dishes. A word about the beer. I've worked my way through the different types, and so far my favourite is Chang. I'd love to tell you that I am drinking a ton, and really partying it up, but that'd be a lie. We're so tired at the end of a day, it's to bed by 830-9...Truth be told, that's pretty typical for us. We're up and at em by 8 am, and by 830pm we're exhausted.

So Friday, we took an overnight train to Ayutthaya (pronounce Aye-you-tay-ya)...there we biked around the town, and checked out the ruins of old temples. Ayutthaya was the capital of Thailand before they moved it to Bangkok...The highlight was the head of a buddha inside a tree.

From there, we got in a van and drove for 4 hours west to Kanchanaburi Town, and beyond...There we got on a rafthouse. This is thailand's version of a houseboat. But there are a few differences...it doesn't have a motor. Instead a tug boat dragged us out to the lake and tied us to the mainland in a non populated area. That was amazing. There we were, watching the sunset between the mountains, and taking swims off the side of the raft house. Our driver & guide made us an amazing meal, and we were in bed by 9pm.

We pack alot into one day...We left the raft house this morning, and drove to the Erawan Waterfall where we hiked up the 7 levels of waterfalls. Thai families go there for sunday picnics, and at each pool you can dive in and have a swim. They were truly georgeous. There are fish in each pool and they love to nip at your heels. I didn't love that but Ben & Anne thought it was amazing. Then this afternoon we drove to Kanchanaburi (yes, pronounced how it's spelt), and biked for 3 hours around the town, which included a visit to the Japanese Railroad Museum, and to the Bridge of the River Kwai. Holy depressing batman!! But we learned a ton, and it was really moving...

Tonight we have free time in Kanchanaburi, and we are staying in a georgeous guest house. We'll probably hit the night market, and do some shopping. The night market in Chiang Mai was great too, this one is more about second hand things...which should be interesting. The night market is a bunch of stalls selling great stuff, and blocks and blocks of it. And EVERYTHING is negotiable. They're asking 200 Baht?, you offer 150...(which is less than $5), it's alot of fun. My roomie likes to shop too...we're dangerous!

Tomorrow we're flying to Krabi, where we start our sea kayaking. I am told that the south is much hotter. Jeez...it was 45 degrees today. We're showering 2-3 times per day, it's phenomenally hot!

So in a week, I am off on my own, and a plan is coming together....I am going to stay in the south for about 3 days, trekking around the different islands, then fly to Ko Samui (Ko means island) which is on the other side of thailand, but still in the south- I hear they have detox meditation retreats which I am keen to try for a few days. Then I'll fly up to Chiang Mai again where I want to do a cooking course, go out to the zoo, and other wandering. Then I'll return to Bangkok for a few days.

Believe it or not, this trip doesn't take us to alot of tourist places, so I feel like I need to go back and do the touristy stuff. Surely, today, I was biking through the countryside of thailand, lotus flowers everywhere...but I have yet to see the Grand Palace in Bangkok...

Anyways, off to do some research. It's pouring rain outside for the first time in days, so hopefully the weather will break to a balmy 35...oh yeah...

xo
K