Houseboats, Canoes and Tattoos!

My coconut drink being prepared.

Cooking the Chinese buns

More food!

Little girl watching me get my henna tattoo, adorable but they told me she never smiles. Very friendly though and loved to look at pictures of herself.

Taadaa!! I love it!

Canoing with Maja

My houseboat home for the night.

I finally got to try houseboating, who would have thought in a lake in Thailand! They made it sound like we'd be on bamboo rafts and sleeping under the stars and I was excited. We ended up with a 'nice' rustic home on the water in which a tugboat pulled us and docked us along the rocky ridged shoreline for the night. Very relaxing and beautiful scenary with the hillsides/mountains. Then we got to take out the canoe for a little cruise around and my friend Maja managed to not tip us in the lake on her first experience in a canoe. She's from South Africa which is on the ocean but never has tried canoeing or kayaking didn't even know the difference! What a sport and she loves learning and trying new things, I hope I am like that when I am 60!

Up at 6am so we can get the boat back and dash to see the Floating Market! It was absolutely amazing to see how they manage along the canals and sell things or cook from off of their boats. I took so many pictures and they just don't do it justice. I had to sample some things off the boats cause half the fun was watching them prepare and then get it to you and for you to get them their money! First I bought a coconut for the juice and watched him use his machete to chop it open, then some Chinese Buns (sort of like a perogy with vegis, papaya and taro-whatever that is) which she cooked in hot oil by her legs with food surrounding her. And then fried bananas in coconut milk! I was so full and it was all delicious! I could have spent hours wandering around there and watching.

Then on the bus back to Bangkok, big excitement as the 'red' party was having a demonstration by our hotel again but it appeared to be very under control. Back to my favorite road, Khoa San for some shopping, drinks and a new tattoo! No I haven't gone crazy, it's a henna and will disappear in 2 weeks. Met another couple who just got tattooed as well so off to celebrate at the Rooftop Pub!

History and party

Erawan Falls

Johhny, Julie, Cowboy lady and 35 cent drinks!

River Kwai bridge which was bombed twice and rebuilt but no longer in use.

Memorial and Cemetery from the Death Railway

Went with the group to see the Thailand/Burma Railway Centre (or as the banner over it now says The Death Railway Museum and Research Centre in Kanchanaburi. This was all about this history of the railway from WWII when the Japanese wanted easier access from Thailand to Burma (which is now called Myanmar) and India. They used thousands of POWs and it portrayed their horrible living conditions, medical aspects, timelines, geography and a summary of all the deaths which there were alot because of the lack of care they received, the living conditions they had and the Japanese had promised they would be well looked after. It was very sad to see but very interesting considering I usually don't like to hear about these things. We also walked over the bridge that was bombed twice by the Allies to stop the Japanese. All the work involved and all the deaths the railway was only used for just over a year.

Then I decided to check out this town and headed off on my own only to find a crazy Australian couple, Julie and Johnny. We had fun checking out different pubs and even found a little roadside one with a fun, entertaining lady working there wearing a leather cowboy hat. Drinks were only 10 Baht which is like 35 cents so of course we had to have a couple there!

Up early the next morning and went off to see some beautiful waterfalls, a set of seven along the way as we hiked for about 2 hours. Then off to see our bamboo raft accommodation!

A Different Kind of Christmas!

Up so early, so why not tour another temple or two?! Maybe another palace too!
This one was interesting too with alot of history, it might have made more sense if I had had a better sleep. But what I gathered was that it was built in the 1300s by the Thai people at Ayuthaya that used to be the capital of Thailand. The Burmese (not Myanmar) attacked the temple and destroyed the beautiful Buddha images and buildings and it's now been left as a World Heritage Site. Very sad to see the destruction of what would have been so beautiful with so much manual physical labour to build it. Also saw the original Royal Palace and where the Pagoda with the Kings Ashes were placed and it is all cemeted up now.
Back to the hotel for some R n R and rays by the pool. Another hilite of my day was the phone calls from my family. Kylie was so sweet to call me at 5:30am cause I had texted her to tell her I'd be up early and we had a great chat for about 25 minutes, thanks hun, that's the best present you could have given me! Then my brother, Guy called and I also got to talk to nephew Jo and Mom and Dad which was so awesome! It's great cause with phones and internet you don't seem so out of touch with everyone.
Was hoping to find somewhere with a turkey dinner but I ended up having a nice Seabass with black pepper and vegetable dinner with a rice cake designed like a turtle, why a turtle I'm not sure usually they are just round bowls. Got to hear my favorite Christmas song, The Little Drummer Boy made by dinner complete along with the great company of my traveling companions- Maja, Graham and Barbara and our guide Tee.

Oops not sure what happened but the pics didn't post! :( Oh well off to bed, good night and Merry Christmas to All! Peace and love to you all!

The Bicycle Tuk Tuk ride, Bus Ride and Train Ride and a Christmas Starbucks drink!

The gang on the sleeper train before our 8:30pm bedtime.

The girls on one of the city buses

Enjoying my Starbucks by one of the trees that popped up within a few days before Christmas, not like us at all who start in November!

Our Tuk Tuk driver before he got lost.

So we found this empty tuk tuk and thought it would be fun to take pictures in it when a 70 year old man approached us and said he'd take us for a ride. So we figured why not, and figured we negotiated a good deal with him and that he understood where we were staying. So off we went only to shortly arrive at a red light where he proceeded to get off the bicycle and then push us across the intersection and around the corner. Poor guy I thought with our weight, laundry and night shopping we were going to give him a heart attack but once the bike got it's rhythm he proceeded to hop back on and peddle madly. I seriously wanted to get off and push but luckily we got on a bit of a downhill slope. So he toured us around every once in a while pointing out something and blurting out some Thai words and then he stopped us at a nice park/temple to get off and take some pictures. I am thinking he wanted a break. Then back on our way and we thought he was taking us back home when after a while we where going into an unknown quiet end of town. We kept saying things like hey where are you taking us, where is this and he just replied with a little grin and a heehee noise and kept going. Would have been a bit scary if he was a young fit guy but we figured we could take him if need be. Finally we arrived at some fancy hotel where he motioned us to get off but we had to explain this wasn't ours and gave him the name of our hotel once again and off we went. Finally ended up with an almost hour long ride like he wanted to give us originally but we gave him a very good tip cause we felt so bad....then we wondered if this was planned all along....

Up early the next morning for a 4 hour bus ride with a broken seat, it was about as wild as the elephant ride especially every time the driver stepped on the brakes which was quite frequent.

Had a nice 5 hour break in Chiang Mai and enjoyed a Starbucks coffee while listening to Jack Johnson felt like I could have been in Canada, only in the summertime!

Then off to board the sleeper train, which everyone should experience at least once and if you're really lucky you'll get the bottom bunk. You have a little curtain that separates you from everyone else and a bathroom at the end, needless to say you sleep in your clothes, wear extra clothes cause of the air con and don't bother brushing your teeth cause the 'facilities' are dark, not to sure about the sanitation and with the train constantly lurching you'd probably end up with toothpaste on your feet or who knows where!

Up on Christmas morning as we arrived in Ayuthaya at 5am! Last time I was up that early on Christmas morning I shooed the kids back to bed, this time I was hopping off of the sleeper train onto a little tiny ferry boat with luggage and across to the island the old part of the city is located on. Then off to our rooms for a much needed shower and rest without moving or being jostled!

Snake Whiskey and Opium at the Golden Triangle

esThe Myanmar and Thailand border at the Golden Triangle
Monks at the Golden Triangle viewpoint
Display of a man smoking opium. This position they found to work best as their head was already on a pillow while they went to dreamland....
iohhh bad picture of me, I just tasted the snake whiskey can I blame it on that??!!
Snake whiskey bottles on display for sale. Cheap!

OK I tried the Snake Whiskey but not the opium! Actually I didn't see any opium to try....surprise.
Today spent the day touring the Golden Triangle area starting with a tour of yet another temple but this one was even more amazing and beautiful than the last one! It had a museum as well with art from a man who rebuilt and recaptured the 'White' Temple called Wat Rong Khun.
Then off on a boat down the Mekong River and we could see 3 countries all at once, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar (Burma). Stopped off on a small area of Laos to see the village and had to try their snake whiskey (at 11 am good start to the day at least it was before the temple) . It was not very smooth and I had to have a piece of gum after to kill the taste.....
Saw water buffalo, raft homes, a big golden Buddha along the way back to Thailand and went to the Opium Museum and learnt all about the opium trade and the long neck people as well. Very interesting and very political. Then went to the Myanmar border at Mae Sai but couldn't cross because if I did when I came back into Thailand I could only get a 14 day visa at this crossing and it would shorten my stay in Thailand. Strange rules they have, nice to have a guide to inform us!

Trekking Day 3 with the Elephants!

Feeding the elephants
Arriving at the base camp at Ban Kariang Ruam Mit Village
Trekking thru the forest

Woke up early to have coffee by the river and watch them bathe the elephants and get them suited up with 'saddles'.
This morning is day 3 of our trekking and we don't really have to trek at all, just had to hang on for our lives onto these amazing animals as they trekked thru places I never thought an elephant could fit! Some very narrow and steep as well, we had to do lots of hanging on and ducking our heads it was a real workout might as well have been trekking ourselves! Ended up in the Mae Kok River and then lunch at the Ban Kariang Ruam Mit village where I had to feed the elephants some sugar cane and vegitables. The first one was so cute just looked at me and kept bobbing his head up and down and up and down like pick me please! So I fed him alot, such personality he had! We then hopped on a Long Tail boat to continue down the river and back to Chiang Rai to do some much needed laundry and have a hot shower! Oh yeah and an hour long foot massage for about $6 :)

Trekking and living with the Hilltribe people

oOur surprise visitor with our food supplies.
Morning coffee in bamboo cups by the campfire and river...yes that's me in the hat!
Beers on the veranda of our hut.
Amazing hillside view
Our first night stay village, the government supplies them with solar panels for lighting their homes.

Now started the real roughing it part. Backpacks filled with a few essential items for the next few days, and yes it's chilly in those hills! Had to wear pants, long sleeved shirts, fleece jackets and even socks at night! Somehow I don't think I'm going to get much sympathy....
We headed out on the trail early morning to enjoy some waterfalls, amazing scenery of rolling hills and lush green forest. Stopped in a village for lunch and a rest and saw how happy and simply the people lived. Talked with a young man who was given a scholarship to go to school and become the future village doctor. Very rare for these people to travel and get an education, he was a brilliant young man the village is very lucky as right now they have no doctor.
We were told my our tour company not to hand out things or even sweets to the children as this promotes begging and they don't want that to become part of their culture. Makes sense, they are all so happy now just running and playing much different than the begging children in the streets of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, it's very sad how they are taught so young. If you wish to donate they much prefer you give cash to the schools or the villages and they will put the money to good use for everyone. Continued on our hike until we ended up at the village of about 126 people and 26 families called Ban Yafu. Had a beer on our veranda and dinner on a bamboo mat on the hut floor. Woke up early the next day to the most amazing alarm clock with sounds of pigs grunting, roosters crowing, puppies yapping, chickens clucking and little children singing all at the same time right outside our hut! Just laid there and listened for a the longest time to the sounds of the village.
Next day we hiked on and stopped in a village for lunch and watched the people playing what we call boccie ball. Very reserved and didn't seem too excited to see us but one little girl looked over at me and smiled and offered me a cookie, that was so sweet. Arrived at our next village that consisted of a few huts and a family of a husband, wife and their grown son along side the river.
We were relaxing on our new veranda, having a well deserved beer and the most amazing site to suddenly see was a man riding up the river thru the bushes on an elephant delivering our food supplies! Luckily I had my camera on hand for this!

Culture and Adventure in Chiang Mai, Thailand!

Beautiful Hilltribe dancer

Ready set GO! Zipping thru the rain forest!

Little Hilltribe girl and her kitten on the 306 steps up to the Doi Suthep temple

Junior Monks at the Doi Sethup temple.

Laying Buddha in Wat Po temple.

Left Bangkok a few days ago so now it's safe to tell all of you that even though I said I would stay away from demonstrations and government buildings, little did I know our Hotel the tour group booked was right beside them!! Very peaceful though except for one leader who shouted almost all day until midnight about whatever he was very passionate about! Our dinner on the first night was at the same restaurant with all the political leaders in the next room! I understand that the Thai people generally are very peaceful and don't like violence and it sounds like they are trying to work things out, I hope they do you can see the damage it had done to the tourist industry.

Some other observations I've made is that Cellophane is very popular here, recycling not so much! They even put drinks into cello and just stick a straw in! Very smoggy here drivers/workers wear surgical masks while out. Drugstores sell very toxic creams for 'whitening' skin here, the Asians want to have whiter skin and we want to be darker! You can buy anything in Bangkok on the streets including a University Degree, passport, ID even dentures (even though they looked used and were still missing teeth! ewhhh very creepy!)

Took the overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai, what an experience that was! Lucky me got the top bunk too that is half the size with the aircon on my feet and the light in my eyes...I 'found' an extra blanket and wore my eye mask but with two tiny little straps holding me in place I didn't sleep too well as the train jostled around up thru the mountains! Arrived in Chiang Mai on very little sleep with a full day of plans. Headed to the famous Doi Suthep temple complex, had to climb 306 steps (they call it the Stairway to Heaven) to get there and watched the young monks and was blessed by another in the temple and recieved a white bracelet for good luck. Here a woman cannot touch or be touched by a monk so his helper had to put on my bracelet and found out later the men get the nice woven ones and the women get the basic plain ones! No such thing as equality here and of course that doesn't bother me at all! Yes! Oh well hopefully the luck will just keep coming!

In the afternoon we toured some factories and watched them make jewelry, umbrellas, weaving etc and then off to the famous Chiang Mai Night Market for shopping where you can find anything imaginable. Had to do something to please the guys so we headed to the Muay Thai boxing fights. What a rough sport, they use their elbows and knees too! Even two women competed and there was to be a Championship fight with a Canadian but after about 8 fights we really had seen enough.....and I forget to bring my Canadian bandana to wave any how!

Thursday, December 19th I said enough culture I need some adventure so off to go ziplining thru the rain forest! 2 kms about 18 different ziplines and soaring thru the beautiful forest! It was so fun, something I've always wanted to try, what a feeling and what views!

We also visited beautiful Mae Kompong Village had lunch and toured up to the waterfalls.

Back to town then for a little more culture, went to a dinner show with the traditional Northern Thailand Dancers (I even got asked to dance and they said I was good!) and then saw the Hilltribe dancers which I enjoyed even more!

That's it for now, I am off to Chiang Rai today and tomorrow we spend 3 days trekking and living with the Hilltribe people!

Love to all, stay warm and stay safe!

Leaving Bali and off to Bangkok

My canal tour boat in Bangkok

Hilltribe woman/baby selling wares on KhaoSan Road. The babies are so adorable!

KhaoSan Road

Tanah Lot Temple

Sadly left Bali on December 14th, I will be back to Indonesia one day for sure! I loved the food, people, culture - everything pretty much even got used to the pushy guys, just make them laugh and they leave you alone!

I stayed my last days in on the west coast at Seminyak. Went to see the Tanah Lot temple which stands for land in the middle of the sea. Mystical strength was used to lift the great rock and cast into the sea and to be safe from the villages angry leader. It was amazing beautiful and I took about a hundred pictures!

Off to Bangkok then and out-tricked the taxi driver who tried telling me he was giving me a 'good deal'! Thanks for all the tips from my travel buddies and my tour company,

Had to go see the famous KhaoSan Road full of shopping, pubs and awesome people watching! Met up with a fun couple from England and Thailand who toured me around some of the other roads and helped me taste some new foods and every once in a while we had to stop for a Singha beer of course!

Funny the western guys flock here looking for a Thai girlfriend/wife but nobody looks happy! And after spending the evening with this couple and watching her emotional tears as she didn't get her way and hearing his views it 's apparent life is not always greener on the other side of the fence! It seems to be a way out for the thai girls for a better life and for older, lonely men to find a companion.

Beautiful cultural Ubud Dec 8th to 11th

Careful how you buy your petrol or what you drink here! Sold in Absolute Vodka bottles!
The Suckling Pig hawker stand and my friend/driver Mus.
Beautiful dancer at Legong Dance show
tFamily kitchen
Bowls and crusher, whatever it was smelled delicious! Spices...
eStove
Bike group (all Europeans, two local boys and me the Canadian)
yVolcano mountain
Fire Dancer
Evil dress swinging monkey

Arrived back in Bali and met a wonderful couple from Italy, Ivano and Lena. We toured the town and did some more cultural things like evening performances. The first being in a nearby pub with the Ubud local reggae band who were amazingly good and then of the real Balinese dances- Kecak Ranayan and Fire Dance one night and then Legong and Barong Dance show another night. Amazing music, costumes, makeup and details, a lot of work goes into these shows.
Decided I needed some exercise and wanted to see more of central Bali so I went on a bike tour to Kintamani Volcano and Lake Batur. The views were amazing and first we went to a coffee plantation and saw how they made coffee from a Luwak's (ferret looking) waste droppings consisting of cherry coffee berries that he ate, fermented in his stomach and once 'disposed' of was gathered by people, cleaned, roasted slowly and then crushed and ground into fine coffee that apparently is sold in department stores in Australia, London and even the States for about $50 a cup! I wonder if the people really know......what some people will do for a 'good' cup of java! They had samples but I tried a sip is all and choose to have lemon grass tea!
We had more coffee at our viewpoint and banana bread with is not like ours at all, it's deep fried (of course) and battered kinda yummy I'm getting used to it.
So full of caffeine we started off on our bike race, I mean ride. Some of the people in our group thought it was more fun to race thru the country side full tilt but I liked to enjoy the sights and take pictures of the local children who just love the tourists and scream at the top of their lungs 'Hallo!' when they see you and run out to the road to slap hands with you as you whiz by. Sort of feels like being on the Tour De France with all the fans! I only got left behind once.....it's a very strange feeling riding out in the middle of a strange countryside all alone! The locals were cute I keep asking and pointing which way? And they pointed me in the direction that the group went and I soon caught up. I would like to think they would have come looking for me.....
We also toured thru a family compound that consisted of different buildings, one for the kitchen, one for sleeping, a temple, an outdoor bed area that was for any special occasion be it a birth, marriage, death and also in the back their garden and a pen for a mother and baby pig. The whole families (grandparents, children and grandchildren and even siblings) live together here and everyone helps out with everything. It's nice to see, so different than our society.
We checked out a chili pepper farm, the famous rice paddy fields, temples as well along the way. Then the rain started....we took a little break and found cover but finally had to continue on and luckily didn't get too soaked, it was rather refreshing actually, not for wussies!
I also toured a few Art Markets that the Ubud area is famous for, if only I had a huge suitcase and someone to carry it, I could have come home with some amazing painting, wood carvings, jewelry, clothing you name it!
Finally I had to see the Monkey Forest Sanctuary, it was beautiful jungle setting with pathways and loads of grey monkeys who loved bananas! The picture of this particular piggish monkey was taken after he was swinging off my dress with both hands! I was trying to feed the smaller monkeys my bunch of bananas cause they were too timid to come too close but once he got so aggressive I just started throwing them at him and he wouldn't leave me alone until I had none left in my hands! Kinda freaky but amusing at the same time.
I read in a travel magazine that you can't leave without sampling the suckling pig and the place to go was called Oka Ibu so I had a 'taxi' motorcycle guy drive me there only to find out it was closed for the evening. I asked where else I could go, not too expensive as there as some $$$$ places here but some equally good less expensive places too. Next thing I know, hanging on tight to the back of his bike we were headed out of town. I kept asking where we were going, he was a nice kid, talkative and friendly and he kept saying don't worry I know a place. Well we ended up in some local village at an outdoor market for the locals, selling new and used items and he walks me to the back where there are little 'hawker stalls' and all the locals ordering their food. Again I am the only bulea around and all eyes are on me! So Mus ever so kindly orders up my food and they serve it up again with their hands (I've stopped cringing at this sight now and not getting sick yet...knock on wood helps!) and I sit down to eat on the plastic stool they showed me. I didn't know what I was eating and would ask Mus after I ate it often, 'What was that?!', he got quite a laugh out of it and not sure if he told me everything. Not quite the way I was envisioning my last dinner out in Ubud but what an experience again! Headed back into town in the rain. It's very hard to hear and chat on a motorbike but I was trying and being half deaf doesn't help either. We were going along thru one village and I thought he said 'Merry Christmas' and I said Yeah, we celebrate and started to explain how I'll miss my family when he pulls over to the side of the road. I said hold on what are you doing? He said - I asked if I could kiss you! Well I slapped his back and said NO and laughed and then he laughed and apologized over and over! I am getting tired some days of not having a real English person to talk to! The accents and lack of english gets exhausting and can be a little risky at times! haha
All in all the Indonesian people are wonderful, friendly, peaceful, happy people. I love it here and will come back one day and hope to see more!
Next stop Thailand! Sounds all good except they suggest to stay away from demonstrations (really I have better things to do!) and Parliament buildings. Not sure when I'll update again, I'll be joining an adventure group and seeing Northern Thailand until the end of December. Wishing all of you the very best for the holidays and much happiness!
Cheers Ali

Leaving Lombok - December 7th

Andrew, my friend/guide leading me thru the forest/hills
View of Sengigi, Lombok
Breaky on my veranda
Dee, Ari, Stephan

A few last pictures of my amazing memories of this island, the scenery was incredible and so were the people I met. A family from Singapore who were moving back to France were staying at the Santai as well and little 3 year old, Ari I called my little Lombok boyfriend. He was so intelligent and cute and we were instant friends! I was taken on an exhausting 2 1/2 hour hike up the hills and thru the jungle and Monkey Forest in the 30 degree heat by another so called 'friend' and even though I had moments I thought I might pass out the views were so worth it!
Breakfast one morning consisted of Black rice porridge with coconut milk and bananas. Getting my fill of bananas here for sure I think when Jack Johnson wrote the song Banana Pancakes he must have been in Indonesia! Very hard to be healthy and lose weight here despite all the melting I've been doing! No such thing as whole wheat, white bread, white rice and even if the menu says grilled so much is deep fried! And smoke! So much second hand smoke with the locals and the Europeans, very hard to get used to after our smoking laws. I will have to detox when I get home for sure!