Laos- So Far So Amazing!

Me and my bike, love the basket! In front of a little bar called- Refuge by the Last Dreamers in a small village where this nice, young couple is trying to bring music to the locals including the young children and monks.
Sunset on the Mekong
Very small part of the Night market just setting up
Offering to the Monks at 6am
View of the Mekong and boats at dusk after we got to Pak Beng.
The shoreline
Inside the slow boat down the Mekong River into Laos
One of the slow boats
Me and the Canadians girls (Weyburn and Vancouver) as we were waiting to board.

I love this country so far even from the start of the adventure of getting into Laos! It took 3 hours alone to get across the border which included going thru a long line up of departure procedures and then taking a small boat from Thailand over to Laos to a long line up at the immigration on the other side. Found out Canadians pay more than any other country ($42 USD rather than $30-35 USD). I thought they were picking on Canadians for some strange reason but apparently has something to do with our Canadian government....I'll have to check that out because it just doesn't make sense not to support such a beautiful country!
I had decided to take the slow boat down the Mekong River, it takes two days on a crowded boat with little wooden benches. One of their most profitable incomes here is selling cushions decorated cutely with little pink and blue bears or plaid if you are lucky, to sit on to make the trip more 'bearable'. haha Doesn't sound like a great time but it was one of the most memorable trips I've had. In such close quarters over 2 days of course you are going to meet people and make friends and that passes the time so quickly we were sad to see the end of the trip. Plus the scenery and peacefulness was amazing even though the Mekong is a murky brown color and there was the haze which seems to loom over most of SE Asia alot. The feeling of peace and tranquility here definitely adds to the 'feel' of the country. Luckily too we stopped overnight in a small town, Pak Beng, that had electricity from 6-10pm only, no internet but awesome restaurants and cheap rooms!
The next day they must have thought we had too much luxury on the first day and decided to fit 3 boatfuls of people into 2, oh joy! It was even more crowded but made even more friends.
Arrived in Luang Prabang at 5:30 after 8 hours to find the most peaceful town with so much ambiance and character.
I have no plans to leave here quickly, just enjoying the cafes, walks along the rivers, watching the children play, hanging out and talking, riding/walking my bike around town, night markets, day markets, going to the museum, volunteering at Big Brother Mouse (talking with Lao people and helping them with their English), going to the bookshop/cafe for evening movies upstairs in the loft, sitting on mats and pillows with low tables (so far have seen Indecent Husband, Elegy and tonight is huge- Slum Dog Millionaire which I've heard so much about, hope its good!).
I also set my alarm (yes I still have to do that occasionally, especially if I don't want to miss a bus!) yesterday morning to go and watch the offerings to the Monks, it was very amazing to see.
Tomorrow off on a two day tour to see waterfalls, caves, villages, sleep in an EcoLodge then wake up to bathe the elephants and ride them. This time I get to drive! Then end with a 2 hour trek and back to town!

Valentines Day in Thailand

Two girls making a heart sign
My gifts from the school children

The Thai flag

A few of the school kids made me some Valentine treats on the last day of school, this meant so much to me and was such an honor that they welcomed me so readily, what true little sweethearts they were!
The next day I had a great day, treated myself totally! I had met fellow Canadians from Vancouver Mike and Sherry and she took me off window shopping. Sherry is like one of those girlfriends who loves to go shopping and tells you how good of a deal it is and how fabulous you look in it and how you so deserve it! I like her, we hit it off and of course I did the same for her!
I now have a new shirt, new bag, earrings and a ring......all for the price of 1000Baht which is $30 Canadian. :)
Then I went for my final Thai massage. 250Baht or $7.50 Canadian for 2 hours of bending, twisting, stretching and yoga type moves went home so relaxed and slept like a baby!

Today I leave for Northern Laos! Two days on a slow boat down the Mekong River!

Back in School

With the winners of the bingo game. I gave them Canada stickers and tattoos for awards
Peter and the kindergarten class, they were adorable!
Loved to have their picture taken!
Sweet
Getting ready for Valentines Day with cards and roses

Back from the meditation retreat I stopped in at the Wat Suan Dok Elementary School next door. I have been trying to find a place in Thailand to do some volunteer work where I don't have to pay to do so. It's tough as most large organizations need money more than actual people to help out.
I met a really nice Thai lady teacher who then introduced me to Peter Pope, an interesting Englishman, who's been teaching there since May. He was a terror in school back home he explained to me with no real teaching experience, he just took a TESL course in Chiang Mai, so he figures his teachers would be just shocked to hear what he is dong now. The kids now adore him and have learnt so much English and even better, to trust a foreigner. Peter said it's been a challenge with usual politics and him being male, but he loves every minute of it. We decided I would come help teach the next 2 days with his English and Computer classes.
The first morning I arrived excited and eager to teach. Then we found out a teacher was away that day and instantly had an extra 20 kids for the morning! Mass chaos and noise, I had a headache in about 2 minutes.....these children come from an assortment of backgrounds and a few have learning disabilities but they are sweet, rambunctious and happy. We ended up playing Bingo with having to yell out the names of actions in English and they matched up with the picture on the card. Every time they got one they cheered loudly.
It's a very relaxed atmosphere but I am so impressed at the knowledge these kids have especially on computers, they love it! I helped the patum (grade) 4s with typing on Excel spreadsheets which they race though so they can play games, even the kindergarten kids were whizzes at the games that Peter spent all his own money on and his spare time downloading onto each computer in the class (they have 18). He also rearranged the classroom and got upgraded equipment for the school as well.
After the first day back at school, I left totally exhausted and wondering how some one can do this 5 days a week! Kudos to you Peter, the kids are very lucky to have you!

The Monks say I have a 'Naughty Mind'

Me in my suit, practicing.....
The temple were we had our meetings
The sleeper train before the beds were made up, one above and one below, like bunkbeds
Poking my head out the window, almost got hit by a sign! Have to really watch out for obstacles!
View out the back of the train, very slack safety regulations in Thailand

OK I do know how to behave properly in most situations......after another night on the sleeper train to Chiang Mai I ended up going to the Wat Suan Dok Meditation camp. I was talking with a girl from Holland, Linda, who was staying at my guesthouse and she had checked it out at the temple so I thought why not I was due for a new cultural experience! So after a brief introduction to Buddhism which was very interesting, it's not a religion or philosophy it's a way of thinking, off we went out into the country after stopping to get our food supplies to the Meditation Training Centre.
After trying and trying to 'still my mind' and focus on keeping it blank and finding that impossible the monks explained to me (and others as well!) that our minds are naughty and like monkey minds. Always jumping around with different thoughts. Apparently it can take a while to practice and master meditation and quiet your mind and I believe it! So practice practice practice.....lots of homework for me!
All in all it was a great experience. We chanted (can't say I am a chanter any more than I am a singer!) even at 5:30am the next morning...... did yoga (loved that), did an ALMS offering to the monks (that's when they walk with their bowls and you offer them food), had discussions and tried a couple of different types of meditations. It was peaceful, relaxing and enlightening, maybe one day my mind will be 'pure'!
What I gathered most from this is to -
Concentrate on the present, don't dwell on the past. Today is history, tomorrow is a mystery! :)

Why Bangkok?

Sweets in the food court! Gourmet!

Shark in the underwater pathway

I found Nemo! Lot's of them!

Underwater pathway

A sea turtle just like the one I saw snorkeling off of Gili Trawanga in Indonesia.

A lion fish like the one I saw snorkeling off of Krabi, Thailand.

Well I am headed to Northern Laos and I was told the best way is to go thru Thailand and head south so here I am in Bangkok again making my way to the north!

Started with taking the sleeper train (still not sure why they call it that). It was only 100 minutes late this time and finally were off at 9:30pm. We were originally to arrive at 8am so when the porter started yelling at me at 5:45am to get up I was confused and kept telling him not this stop, Bangkok. Finally the locals motioned to me that I had to get off too. I found out later from an Aussie guy that there had been a train accident further up as we got hearded in mass chaos onto buses for the rest of the journey. Finally got to Bangkok and found a place by 10:30am. Decided to stay close to the train station so I wouldn't have to deal with the taxi drivers, only tuk tuk drivers. Walked around and found out I am in one of the many Gold/Silver/Gem shops area and being Sunday they were all closed. Darn, no shopping for jewels today.....so I hopped on the Sky train to go to Siam Center. It's a huge, and I mean huge, (makes West Ed Mall pale in comparision) World Class Retail Environment Phenomenon- quote/unquote. This was after a tuk tuk driver tried to tell me that 75% of stores would be closed there and he would take me to other 'shopping places'- hah, I read the guide books and politely said, 'no thanks' and walked away as he scowled at me.

On the map I found that Siam Center has an Ocean World and then I was really excited! Turned out to be the most impressive and amazing aquarium I have ever seen with over 20,000 species of marine life and an underwater walkway as well as a rainforest. I saw close up, sea horses, shrimp, sharks, rays and I even found a tank full of Nemos! This was way beyond my expectations of what I would see and there was even a 4D Xventure show that was done amazing well and so funny! After hours spent there I went to check out some more of the area. Endless food courts and restaurants, high end shops for everything imaginable (and they were all open!) After trying out a few different tastes at the food court I headed up to the Paragon Cineplex and to my delight there was an American movie playing called Revolutionary Road with Leonardo Dicapriano and Kate Winslet (together again). The movie cost me 160 Baht ($5.50) and I got to prepick my seat.

After the movie it was 10pm and I was exhausted so decided to take a tuk tuk home. Chaos outside of the Centre so I found one who said he'd take me for 50 Baht and once we got down the road he pulled over and asked me again where we were going. So I showed him on the map and he started to complain it was too far away. He wanted to ditch me there and I was too tired to argue so I just sat there as he jumped around outside of the tuk tuk. I told him it's not fair he take me away and leave me middle of no where (it wasn't really but on the side of the street with no buildings or stores) and he kept saying take a taxi so I told him to find me one. Finally he said he'd take me for 80 Baht and I argued a bit more with him and we settled on 70 Baht just out of fairness I thought as it was a fair distance. I can be very stubborn and cranky (for those of you who don't know me real well....) when I am tired!

Well next thing I knew we were in the Indy 500, I didn't know Tuk Tuks could go so fast. Racing across traffic, zipping in and out and around cars, burning rubber, horn beeping constantly. Not sure if he was pissed off or what but I hung on for my life and braced my feet and yelled at him that's he not going to get any money if he kills me! Finally reached my hotel and I laughed and thanked him for the wildest ride of my life as I paid him his money. Then jumped out and almost kissed the filthy dirty ground!

All in all I had a great day but am happy to say again, Good Bye Bangkok!

Last day In Khao Sok :(

Trail thru the forest

Beautiful as the sun was rising.

Lush and green and very alone feeling....... just me and an elephant somewhere.....

YIKES! I wanted to peel off the paper and see what was underneath it before but I refrained

Woke up early and decided to tour some more of the park and go on a hike to San Yang Roi. Lots of stairs, yay, I did say I wanted exercise!

At the beginning of the trail there was a sign that warned me of a wild Elephant in the area. I paused for a second and thought is this safe to do all alone?! Can't be worse than some of the situations I manage to get myself into so off I ventured, trying to think with all my wilderness survival tips from Canada what would I do if I saw a wild Elephant?! The best I could come up with is to hide (well try to) behind the tree with the thickest trunk in the forest that hopefully he wouldn't plow it over. Luckily as much as it would have been so amazing to run across the elephant I didn't have to worry as the only animal I actually saw was a squirrel. I heard lots of noises and knowing how gentle and quiet they can be I still think I would have spotted him even with my bad eyes if he had been close in the area. So my walk was good exercise and little adventure, that's okay with me cause next stop is Bangkok again!

Too Much Fresh Air?!

Sunset on the lake on our way home after a fabulous day

My German friend, Ollie and I under a staligtight in the cave

View looking out of the cave

Trekking on the way up to the caves

Smooth as glass

Raft houses on the lake

The gang on the hour long scenic ride on a long tail boat.

Cheese! I hate having my picture taken, just so you know I was really there!

The race is on with the other long tail boat

One night in Khoa Sok I had the weirdest dreams and I can remember them which is really strange.....the first one was I was getting married! On my way to the ceremony in my white dress and got to a point where people told me that I had to swim the rest of the way thru this lake/river. So I just shrugged and said 'OK' and jumped in and swam past all my guests including my family, who have been so great and supportive, were sitting on the banks and waving and maybe looking at me like she's really gone overboard now. So you dream interpreters tell me your thoughts on this, I would love to know! haha

The other dream was that I was back home in Canada and I realized I forgot my passport at the office and woke up paniced because I could not remember where I was last in SE Asia and had to find my 'guide' book to figure it out! I have been hauling around this huge book on SE Asia on a Shoestring, it's been a great reference. What a relief once I woke up and looked around and thoguht 'whew, I'm still here!' Just when I thought I was homesick....

Next day was the Lake Program which was highly recommended by everyone so off I went with Ollie another Morning Mist customer and we met up with some French Canadians, more Londoners and Europeans too. We hopped onto a long tail boat that took us across the lake for about an hour or so to a beautiful spot with raft houses. Here we stopped and went for a swim and had some lunch before starting off on our 1 1/2 hour trek up to the caves. We saw stalimites/tights, bats and other critters which I didn't focus my headlamp on for very long! Then we started trekking thru the cave climbing over rocks and thru the rivers which where at times ankle deep and other times as high as my chest (especially once when I tripped and fell....) but it was refreshing. We then had a 1/2 trek back to the lake for another swim and snacks before heading back after a full day.

Finished the day with dinner with the gang and then a Thai massage for 200 Baht ($7) and hit the sack! No wild dreams that night, too tired I guess!

Canoe or Kayak?

Woman fishing in the river. Her daughter just dove under with a net, camera shy or hard worker?!

View as we were 'relaxing' down the river

Very lush and green

Me taking over the paddle- hah!

The other boat

Canoing down the river in Khao Sok park sounded like great fun and exercise so a San Francisoite friend, Drea and I decided to sign up. We got to the river with our 'guide' waiting for us and one kayak paddle in a canoe type vessel.

We were told we get to 'relax' (like I haven't done enough of that) and take pictures on the trip down the river, that sucked! So after we got on our way I nicely asked our guide if I could paddle. He laughed and handed me the paddle and then was shocked I could paddle so well and so strong but he still felt the need to paddle with his hands and arms.

All in all was a fun and scenic trip, saw various birds including the kingfisher and some lizards too.

I Found Paradise!

Mountains in the area

The gardens, they would gather fallen flowers early in the morning to decorate our drinks in the restaurants

View of the mountain from my hammock on the veranda


The Hammock :)

The huge bathroom with hot water and shelves and hooks!

Sleeeeep.....

After spending about 1/2 hour or more of writing this and adding lots of pictures it got blown away.....I will update this again soon hopefully! :(

Just to keep you in suspense.....sorry!

Here's a few pics for now...it's a Khoa Sok National Park located in the western part of the Surithanyi province of Thailand. Absolutely beautiful, it covers over 738 sq kms.

Ok here goes again, fingers crossed!

I arrived in this peaceful little town and found this absolutely gorgeous place to stay called Morning Mist. It's located along the rivers and my room had a mountain view. One of the most peaceful, serene places I've seen here in Thailand besides the hill tribe area in the Northern area.

Just what I needed to 'detox' my body, eat healthy (their food was amazing), and catch up on some sleep even though all the birds and little critters were quite busily nattering and scampering around all thru the night.