Thailand, Part I (photos)

November 25 - December 5

We arrived in Bangkok from Delhi. We were there from day 42 to day 52 before heading into Laos. We are going back, but here is the photo record of those ten days.

We came in on Thursday, November 25th, and the next day was the full moon. The full moon is a big deal across this whole region. In Bangkok, there was a big festival near the river with dancers and singers. The thing to do, is to buy floating flower arrangements with candles that are lit and then the whole thing is sent down the river.

In the markets, you can buy crickets to eat.

We stayed on Kao San Road, which is the main tourist location. It's a constant party with loads of cafes on the street and people milling about and drinking. It's a good place to get CDs and DVDs for cheap. Anyway, here is a group of people who work for one of the bars and try to get people to come in for a drink.

Here is a great idea for outdoor flooring.

By day, we checked out some temples. In front of one was this statue that I thought looked like something from a Beatles movie.

Here is a close up on some temple art.


From Bangkok we took the night train north to Chiang Mai. The night market here is a blast, with tons of inexpensive carvings and clothing and games etc. I bought a full set of wooden puzzles and Dara got a bunch of clothes. There was no bathroom and the trick of going into McDonalds backfired since they charged 10 Dong to get in, so I bought a Pineapple Pie, which was pretty good. I think I was served by the employee of the month.


Chiang Mai is known for its market as well as a good place to take Thai cooking classes, get Thai massage or go trekking. After one night there, we went on a trek into the Hill Tribe villages. We had a guide from town and another man with us. As we walked, he carried a machete and sang really interesting hill tribe chant-songs. We stopped at a waterfall to cool off.
Here is a picture of the two of us on the first day. And another one of us in front of a mountain. Just before we got to the first village, we saw a water buffalo in the woods.
The first night was a big party around the campfire. Here is a bottle of samson. One of the locals and the group sang a bunch of songs. Some memorable ones were "Let It Be", but our friend changed it to "Lady Boy". I did a version of "The Ocean", which I taped and thought was brilliant, but the tape doesn't lie, it was pretty poor, except for our friend doing hill-tribe style vocal percussion and keeping time by slapping me on the knee. We had a good time later learning the names of the constellations in Dutch, Japanese and the local hill-tribe language. One of the stars near the Seven Sisters is called "the chicken star".

The next morning was pretty rough. We walked for hours and then got to the elephant camp. I saw one elephant with two trunks. We rode elephants for a while, which was pretty fun. Another elephant ride photo. Then we walked again to another village. Here is the hut we stayed in. I think palm trees always look nice in the sunset. Here is a house near the village. That night, some of the locals did a traditional dance and made us all participate.

The next day we hiked more and then came to the raft camp. Here is the two of us there. Here is a photo of our whole group before rafting, and another of the whole
group on the rafts. The ride was really nice, a great way to end the trip. Here is the river at the end of the rafting and a mellow
dog by the river.

When we got back, we went out with Blaine and Erin, who we had met and hung out with before the trek, along with most of the group from the trek. Here is a photo ofJim, Dara, Erin and Blaine. Note my Hmong-wear. Blaine is co-owner of a hostel (Home Hostel?) in Kimberley, BC, so you should stay there if you head that way. In Thailand, if you want a good strong beer, you drink Chang. It is a nearly an institution among travelers. Here is Rover with a Chang.

The trek was important as far as friends. We met two Canadians, Mark and Kristen, who had been travelling around with two English, Lisa and Paul. Mark and Kristen were saying goodbye and heading home for Christmas, and we ended up bumming around with Lisa and Paul up until now (Christmas), so you'll hear more about them later I suppose. Here is a group photo on Mark and Kristen's last night (Kristen, Lisa, Paul, Mark, Jim, Dara).

The next night, we went to the market again, and Dara and I bought a huge black and white painting (cost less than a CD in the States). Here we are with the artist.

Then, we took a bus up to Chiang Khong to cross into Laos. Here are some monks crossing the Mekong border with us.