The following day we were again rather rudely awaken by the pigs and roosters, who seemed to be having some sort of barn party around 5 am. Although we were used to this from our stay at Naga Hill, it still baffles me that the village tribe don't get sick of the din which they have to put up with every day. The family woke up around 6 am and thankfully Jahe didn't need us to get up until 8. Sleepily we headed down for our cold showers and wandered into the kitchen, where breakfast (rice,vegetables and fried fish) was already waiting for us on the table. Now I am rather used to having nasi lemak in Malaysia for breakfast every now and then, but these guys have the same thing every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It makes you really think about how lucky we are to have the choice of steak on one day and pasta the next!
We packed up our things and said our goodbyes before heading up to 'The viewpoint', which is a little hut up in the hills about a half hour walk from the village and the view from up there is spectacular. What you get is a panoramic view of never ending forest and blue sky, and the only sound you can hear is the running fresh water that they directed down from a source in the hills, so that they can go up there and cook a meal and chill out. We sat there and took in the view, had a snooze and then got to work.
Jahe and his friend started chopping up bamboo and in about 5 minutes they made some bamboo cups to drink our water and tea from. They then chopped up longer pieces of bamboo and lined them with banana leaves, then instructed Leon and I to fill these with rice and some water. This was to make sticky rice, and Jahe used another bit of bamboo to make an egg dish (basically an omelet but steamed inside a bit of bamboo). Leon then attempted to make a couple more cups- the first one was a little small but he soon got the hang of it and made a perfect one the second time. We then made some chop sticks out of bamboo, whilst Jahe got to work on making the soup. By the time lunch was ready we were all starving and the food was amazing! The thais love to eat a chilli paste/salsa with every meal, and they brought some along to add some more flavour to the meal. After lunch and some washing up, we sat outside the hut and had a mid afternoon nap. Definitely an afternoon that we will never forget.
Having awoken from our post lunch nap, it was time to leave our scenic hill top view point and begin our trek to the next village. The walk through the hill side wasn't too tough and as the main heat of the day had subsided it was much more pleasant than the ascent to the viewpoint. Having slowly climbed the hills for the duration of our walk , we had a perfect panoramic view of the Akha tribe as we descended to the village. We had been given an overview of what to expect in terms of village differences by the Mirror Art Group the previous day, and even before we entered the village you could see quite a marked difference. The Lafu are pretty much fully self sustained whereas the Akha are farmers second and trading entrepreneurs first. This in turn means the Akha are more affluent. The majority of the buildings in in the Akha village were made of timber ( apart from one bamboo hut near the entrance) with corrugated iron roofs whereas in the Lahu, they were all made from bamboo.
As we entered the village , you could immediately feel that the inhabitants were very used to tourists and Alicia and didn't get a very "authentic" feeling compared with our previous days experience. That being said, we remained open minded as we made our way to the center of the Village. Having left us on our own for a few minutes, Jahe returned and lead us off to our evenings dwelling. It did take me somewhat by surprise when we started making our way back to the village entrance and noticing that there were many many tourists staying I half expected they might be full and that we would be spending the night in the forest....Thankfully this was not the case and Jahe introduced us to our hostess for the evening who Alicia and I slightly unfairly named "Crazy Auntie Anne". Anne lived in the one bamboo building in the village near the entrance to the village I referred to earlier. Tonight Alicia and wouldn't be spending our evening in Anne's house, but in the quarters that had been assigned for visitors next to the house. The sleeping shack can only be compared to a garden shed and had a feel to it a similar to what I imagine a solitary confinement cell in a Japanese prisoner of war camp might be like....Again here I am being a bit mean, but the we had become used to the relatively luxurious accommodation of the night before. We then had a meal of fish, vegetables, chili salsa rice and tea followed by a display of traditional Akha dancing by the women of the tribe. Anne insisted Alicia and I dress up as one of the locals for the evening which was also fun...We then retired for an evening of restless none sleeping.
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Hill Trek Day 1: Elephants and Ban Yafu 20th Jan
After a rather relaxing stay at Naga Hill, Leon and I were feeling a little sad when we checked into the Mirror Art Guesthouse, which was 4 times cheaper but you could certainly tell by the room! Nonetheless, we were more excited about going on our 2 day hill trek the next day, so took a deep breath and made the most of our last day in Chiang Rai. The following morning we were up bright and early, and were greeted by Jahe, who was to be our guide for the entire trip. He initially came across as a quiet man, but as we got to know him we found his English to be a lot better than most guides, but he was just a bit shy about using it. Jahe is from the Lahu tribe, and we found out that we would be staying in his village that evening, and he was extremely excited to be taking us to see his home.
So off we went in the sawng thaew (open back van, pretty comfy although you can really feel/taste the dust when you're driving around!) and after being shown around a wet market and another Wat (which we had already seen), they took us about 45 minutes outside of Chiang Rai towards the more remote hillside.
That was where the Mirror Art Foundation was based and this was where we had our induction for the trip. The Mirror Art Group are an NGO (one of many in Chiang Rai) whose main aim is to protect the heritage of local hill tribes and help them to cope with the changing world around them. Alot of tribes are being forced to move out of the hills and towards the main city centre, thus taking away their self-sustaining way of life and forcing them to go mainstream i.e.sell their handicraft in the markets but a lot of them find this extremely difficult and also upsetting. We met Thellie, a Brit who has lived in Chiang Rai and worked for Mirror Art for the last 3 years, and he gave us a great insight into the work they have been doing and also the etiquette that needs to be practised when going to stay with these families. They don't like girls and boys to hold hands, kiss or touch at all really - all fairly different from the way of life back in the UK! However, of course we were more than happy to abide by the rules... which a lot of other tourists seem to break!
We were dropped off at the Elephant village, took a few photos of a MASSIVE snake that lived in a cage, just by a cafe (very random), and then faced our 2 hour elephant ride to the Lahu village. Our Elephant guide called How - was a funny man who looked about 45 but was actually Leon's age, and our lovely elephant was called Haiti. Haiti, we were told, was 39 years old and seemed like a lovely elephant. We weren't too sure about the bumpy 2 hour ride we were about to go on, and seeing that we would be doing some steep uphill and down hill elephant riding, I have to say both Leon and I were quite relieved when we reached the Lahu village (called Ban Yafu) both fully intact.
The Yafu village is fairly remote compared to others, as there isn't a road near by (the closest one is about an hour or so away), and because of this the village itself is pretty poor. We could sense this from the very basic bamboo houses, but most if not all houses had electricity for some part of the day and clean water, which I imagine some even poorer village tribes do not have. The place was full of life, with lots of chickens running around and LOTS of pigs and dogs (I stayed well away!)because each family keeps these animals, who live happily under their houses.
We were quite fortunate in that Jahe had arranged for us to stay with the village teacher, who was evidently the wealthiest out of the lot as he and his wife had the most modern house (built of concrete blocks as opposed to wooden ones) and they had a separate kitchen, whereas most families had their kitchen in the house. When I say kitchen what they really have is a big fire place in the middle of the house, almost like an indoor barbecue, which also helps to keep the termites away! As it was nearing sunset, we sat on the verandah of the teachers house, sipped on some Chang and took in the breathtaking view of the hills.
I was then taken to the kitchen where I dutifully helped the teacher's wife chop some vegetables and make dinner, whilst Leon sat and played with Naneh, Jahe's very adorable and energetic 3 year old daughter. This was the start of our education on the Yafu, who stick to the tradition that women cook, clean and weave, whereas the men build and chop things up! Dinner consisted of steamed white rice, vegetable soup and vegetable stir fry, which was all very delicious, and having had a tiring day we watched some thai tv version of The Bold and the Beautiful before putting our heads down to sleep around 9 pm. To our surprise, our host (the teacher) came out of his room with a massive rifle, only to inform us that he was off out to go hunting for some chickens! Leon was keen to go along but I pursuaded him to stay (phew!) and we dozed off to bed whilst the other men in the village went off on their hunt. Day one in Ban Yafu was extremely interesting and although we were told that this particular tribe were very shy and reserved, we really found them to be very welcoming and were very grateful to stay with such gracious people.
So off we went in the sawng thaew (open back van, pretty comfy although you can really feel/taste the dust when you're driving around!) and after being shown around a wet market and another Wat (which we had already seen), they took us about 45 minutes outside of Chiang Rai towards the more remote hillside.
That was where the Mirror Art Foundation was based and this was where we had our induction for the trip. The Mirror Art Group are an NGO (one of many in Chiang Rai) whose main aim is to protect the heritage of local hill tribes and help them to cope with the changing world around them. Alot of tribes are being forced to move out of the hills and towards the main city centre, thus taking away their self-sustaining way of life and forcing them to go mainstream i.e.sell their handicraft in the markets but a lot of them find this extremely difficult and also upsetting. We met Thellie, a Brit who has lived in Chiang Rai and worked for Mirror Art for the last 3 years, and he gave us a great insight into the work they have been doing and also the etiquette that needs to be practised when going to stay with these families. They don't like girls and boys to hold hands, kiss or touch at all really - all fairly different from the way of life back in the UK! However, of course we were more than happy to abide by the rules... which a lot of other tourists seem to break!
We were dropped off at the Elephant village, took a few photos of a MASSIVE snake that lived in a cage, just by a cafe (very random), and then faced our 2 hour elephant ride to the Lahu village. Our Elephant guide called How - was a funny man who looked about 45 but was actually Leon's age, and our lovely elephant was called Haiti. Haiti, we were told, was 39 years old and seemed like a lovely elephant. We weren't too sure about the bumpy 2 hour ride we were about to go on, and seeing that we would be doing some steep uphill and down hill elephant riding, I have to say both Leon and I were quite relieved when we reached the Lahu village (called Ban Yafu) both fully intact.
The Yafu village is fairly remote compared to others, as there isn't a road near by (the closest one is about an hour or so away), and because of this the village itself is pretty poor. We could sense this from the very basic bamboo houses, but most if not all houses had electricity for some part of the day and clean water, which I imagine some even poorer village tribes do not have. The place was full of life, with lots of chickens running around and LOTS of pigs and dogs (I stayed well away!)because each family keeps these animals, who live happily under their houses.
We were quite fortunate in that Jahe had arranged for us to stay with the village teacher, who was evidently the wealthiest out of the lot as he and his wife had the most modern house (built of concrete blocks as opposed to wooden ones) and they had a separate kitchen, whereas most families had their kitchen in the house. When I say kitchen what they really have is a big fire place in the middle of the house, almost like an indoor barbecue, which also helps to keep the termites away! As it was nearing sunset, we sat on the verandah of the teachers house, sipped on some Chang and took in the breathtaking view of the hills.
I was then taken to the kitchen where I dutifully helped the teacher's wife chop some vegetables and make dinner, whilst Leon sat and played with Naneh, Jahe's very adorable and energetic 3 year old daughter. This was the start of our education on the Yafu, who stick to the tradition that women cook, clean and weave, whereas the men build and chop things up! Dinner consisted of steamed white rice, vegetable soup and vegetable stir fry, which was all very delicious, and having had a tiring day we watched some thai tv version of The Bold and the Beautiful before putting our heads down to sleep around 9 pm. To our surprise, our host (the teacher) came out of his room with a massive rifle, only to inform us that he was off out to go hunting for some chickens! Leon was keen to go along but I pursuaded him to stay (phew!) and we dozed off to bed whilst the other men in the village went off on their hunt. Day one in Ban Yafu was extremely interesting and although we were told that this particular tribe were very shy and reserved, we really found them to be very welcoming and were very grateful to stay with such gracious people.
Monday, 18 January 2010
13th - 18th Jan: Naga Hill Retreat
Naga Hill Retreat is only 15 minutes away from the centre of Chiang Rai but it is situated right next to a large, beautiful lake with a University and park perched at the other side of the lake. When we arrived at Naga hill we were stunned - it was so peaceful, and all the bungalows were far enough from one another that it felt like you were staying there on your own. We were greeted by Tri, who is such a smiley, welcoming Thai lady with a little 2 month old daughter and lovely husband. She showed us around the main grounds (salt water pool that was 25 m long and faced the hills, amazing! and chilled restaurant bar area) before showing us to our bungalow. It had a large double bed, fan, and out door bathroom and bath tub, which looked extremely inviting. To top it all off, there was a hammock outside our front door for lazing about.... we were in heaven. Having not been in a pool since Malaysia, Leon and I quickly dashed off and made it to the pool side in about 20 seconds after dumping our stuff. I kid you not when I say it was probably 2 degrees centigrade in that pool, but after a while you get used to it! And so it began, our routine of swimming, reading, sunbathing, eating and making new friends. We ventured out during our stay there to the hot springs (not worth the trek, just a number of big bath tubs in the middle of nowhere) and attempted to go fishing in the lake. Fishing was hilarious in hindsight, and we had to go to some local fisher men to help us untangle our line! No fish were caught and we barely got the line in the water... if someone can give some tips on casting off, then please share!! We were woken up every morning by the darn roosters (around 5 am) and many mosquitos were cursed and killed, but overall it was such a relaxing 5 days.... We made friends with Kaew who is a 29 year old Thai guy who works there and is hilarious... he wants to set up his own resort by the sea someday and we'll definitely go and visit him once it is done. Tonight, now we are back in Chiang Rai, we'll be meeting up with Nicolas and Paul, 2 lovely Austrian men who are there on business and pleasure and told many tales about their 'Journeys to the end of the world'. So far we are having a wonderful time, but of course are missing all our friends and family at the same time.
Chiang Rai: White Temples and Night Bazaars
Chiang Rai, as Leon rightly put it, is a sleepy town (a bit like the area around TMC in Bangsar) but still with it's fair share of young backpackers and older tourists... lots of Thai women trying to entice poor Leon into their Lair to get a backrub, whilst throwing some evils over to me because they thought I was his Thai girlfriend (a theme that I think I'm going to have to get used to for the next 3 months!) Highlights of our time exploring this town have been the night bazaar which sells the usual trinkets and woolly hats, but also a place where everyone seems to go to for their evening meal. We had a really tasty hotpot with veg and seafood (100 Baht, so under 2 quid) and some tempura which was the best that I've ever had! We did a day of site seeing as well which included the White temple, which is a modern buddhist temple that has murals of the twin towers (NY), keanu reeves and star trek as opposed to your usual olden day murals... Then up to the Monkey caves (which was literally a cave with lots of monkeys around it). We made it to the Golden Triangle which was where the main trading between Burma, Laos and Thailand took place, and apparently a lot of opium being produced still across the waters in Burma. Then off to the Opium Museum to brush up on our history, then down to another temple before we drove back to our guesthouse for more night bazaar fun! That evening we played our first gig in the Cat bar, where Sam (the husband of Cat, who owns the bar) invites people to Jam With Sam (or for Sam, as we soon discovered) and sing your heart out. This was a dream come true, and whilst Leon strummed away on the guitar with one-toothed Sam, I belted out a few numbers including Hotel California, Yellow and Under The Bridge. I knew I'd manage to get my karaoke fix, one way or another!After stumbling back home to bed at 2 am, we were ready for our next part of the trip... Naga Hill Retreat...
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Sat 9th - Sun 10th Jan - Khaosan to Chaing Rai
Having departed on our trip woefully underpreparred in some respects (thinking that 5 pairs of underwear and a matching number set of socks would suffice as well as one pair of shorts) and not being allowed to purchase any of the goods I so desperatley needed, and I quote what I have heard on sooooooo many occasions from Alicia, "it will eb cheaper in Thailand." , today was my opportunity to indulge in some retail therapy, Thai style. With this in miond we headed off earlyish to the infamous Khaosan Road, a haven for European Backpackers offering cheap accomodation, even cheaper booze and row upon row of stalls selling the same tshirts, shorts, sun glasses etc etc.... Following lots of haggling, which became tiremsome quickly, we hot footed it away with plastic bags full of all cheap garments agreeing never to return......
On returning to the Thewat for a quick nap, we made our way by skytrain to the centre of town for dinner at Cabbages and Condoms, http://www.pda.or.th/restaurant/. The restaurant was conceptualized in part to promote better understanding and acceptance of family planning and to generate income to support various development activities of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) within Thailand. Despite tere not being an Asian face dining in the restaurant, we found service and food were excellent and the setting, including several action figures made entirley out of different coloured condoms fun and quirky.
From here we grabbed a taxi and headed off to meet Alicoa's school frined Jolanda for drinks in a retro bar not far away. En route home, we were pulled over and frisked by the Thai police, which wasnt much fun, although I beleive we may have been questioned more thoroughly had I not told the lead officer I was from Manchester, upon which he decied I was a Manchester United fan which just so happend to be his favourite team!!
With the arrival of Sunday 10th Jan came the chance to escape the big cities which have been our home for the last month or so and we jetted off with trusty Air Asia to a town at the North Eastern point of Thailand , Chang Rai. Campared to Bangkok this place is a sleepy place, although it still has a tourist feel to it given it is the main spring board point to Laos as well as being the home to hill trekking and home stays with local tribes. We checked in to our clean and roomy guest house and headed off to familiarise ourselves with the new surroundings.......
On returning to the Thewat for a quick nap, we made our way by skytrain to the centre of town for dinner at Cabbages and Condoms, http://www.pda.or.th/restaurant/. The restaurant was conceptualized in part to promote better understanding and acceptance of family planning and to generate income to support various development activities of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) within Thailand. Despite tere not being an Asian face dining in the restaurant, we found service and food were excellent and the setting, including several action figures made entirley out of different coloured condoms fun and quirky.
From here we grabbed a taxi and headed off to meet Alicoa's school frined Jolanda for drinks in a retro bar not far away. En route home, we were pulled over and frisked by the Thai police, which wasnt much fun, although I beleive we may have been questioned more thoroughly had I not told the lead officer I was from Manchester, upon which he decied I was a Manchester United fan which just so happend to be his favourite team!!
With the arrival of Sunday 10th Jan came the chance to escape the big cities which have been our home for the last month or so and we jetted off with trusty Air Asia to a town at the North Eastern point of Thailand , Chang Rai. Campared to Bangkok this place is a sleepy place, although it still has a tourist feel to it given it is the main spring board point to Laos as well as being the home to hill trekking and home stays with local tribes. We checked in to our clean and roomy guest house and headed off to familiarise ourselves with the new surroundings.......
Friday, 8 January 2010
Friday 8th Jan, 2010: Make like a Tourist in BKK
Friday was the day of Tourism Bangkok, 2010. We put on our comfy shoes and tuk tuk-ed it down to the Grand Palace on this sweltering day. I figured that since we only had 3 nights in Bangkok, Leon ought to see some of the major sites and really tick them off his list of must sees. The Grand Palace was very packed on Friday and to make matters worse, Leon was not wearing the appropriate clothing to visit the Palace so he had to rent some long, bright blue trousers which made him look like he had escaped from a Bangkok prison - I have photos to keep this memory alive, and trust me I shall be sharing these with everyone!
We made our way around and took lots of snap shots including the mini angkor wat model, the emerald buddha (from the outside, no photography of said buddha allowed from inside the wat) and having lost a lot of minerals and water through sweat (again), we decided to stroll down the street and see where it would take us. The traffic was as immense and noisy as ever, and I couldn't believe that it was actually ten times worse than in KL... never again will I say a bad word against my country's traffic jams. We arrived at a market, wolfed down some freshly made fish cakes, and decided to increase the 'tourist factor' by 5 and take a river trip for an hour. Although a bit of a rip off, it was a beautiful day and we got a speedy boat to ourselves down the river, where we could take in the cityscape and see how Thais lived along the riverbank. It was really sweet actually seeing lots of people sat at home in their living room watching tele, even though they were really only a couple of inches above water and were being held up by some not-so-sturdy looking stilts!
We breezed on down the river past Wat Arun which housed the infamous Reclining Buddha but having had enough of the bouncy boat, decided to direct our driver back to shore and set off on foot again down to Sam Phrang market. Now this was quite a distance and I think we really did work out those quads, but eventually we made it there! The market was full baskets and trays full of flowers (my mum would have had a field day), chillis, fresh veg and the usual clothes and trinkets. Luck would have it that we stumbled across a shopping mall that was like an air conditioned Little India, and went up to the food court for some lunch and a little time to reflect on our busy day.
In the evening, after a quick power nap as it rained cats and dogs outside, we ventured down to Sukhumvit Road via taxi and Skytrain and had a lovely meal at Cabbages and Condoms, which is a famous restaurant that gives proceeds to AIDS research, and afterwards met my friend Jolanda, her sister and some of their friends for a few drinks in a retro bar where the locals all frequent. All in all it has been a busy time for us in Bangkok, and we are both looking forward to a little quiet time in Chiang Rai....
We made our way around and took lots of snap shots including the mini angkor wat model, the emerald buddha (from the outside, no photography of said buddha allowed from inside the wat) and having lost a lot of minerals and water through sweat (again), we decided to stroll down the street and see where it would take us. The traffic was as immense and noisy as ever, and I couldn't believe that it was actually ten times worse than in KL... never again will I say a bad word against my country's traffic jams. We arrived at a market, wolfed down some freshly made fish cakes, and decided to increase the 'tourist factor' by 5 and take a river trip for an hour. Although a bit of a rip off, it was a beautiful day and we got a speedy boat to ourselves down the river, where we could take in the cityscape and see how Thais lived along the riverbank. It was really sweet actually seeing lots of people sat at home in their living room watching tele, even though they were really only a couple of inches above water and were being held up by some not-so-sturdy looking stilts!
We breezed on down the river past Wat Arun which housed the infamous Reclining Buddha but having had enough of the bouncy boat, decided to direct our driver back to shore and set off on foot again down to Sam Phrang market. Now this was quite a distance and I think we really did work out those quads, but eventually we made it there! The market was full baskets and trays full of flowers (my mum would have had a field day), chillis, fresh veg and the usual clothes and trinkets. Luck would have it that we stumbled across a shopping mall that was like an air conditioned Little India, and went up to the food court for some lunch and a little time to reflect on our busy day.
In the evening, after a quick power nap as it rained cats and dogs outside, we ventured down to Sukhumvit Road via taxi and Skytrain and had a lovely meal at Cabbages and Condoms, which is a famous restaurant that gives proceeds to AIDS research, and afterwards met my friend Jolanda, her sister and some of their friends for a few drinks in a retro bar where the locals all frequent. All in all it has been a busy time for us in Bangkok, and we are both looking forward to a little quiet time in Chiang Rai....
Smiley Cabbies and a relaxing day in Thewet
Thursday 7th Jan: We left Changi airport at 3 pm and landed ahead of schedule in Bangkok, which was a promising start. However, having had a fish ball noodle soup at the airport before departure, my tummy was telling me that something was not quite right. Nonetheless, we got into a cab and headed off to Thewet, which was described as a chilled, family friendly place for the over 30s which was really more down our alley than the Ibiza-esque area of Khao San. NEVER in my life have I met such a smiley cab driver. As we zoomed down the highway and passed the tolls, Thinkanon ( I think his name was) suddenly stopped at the road side, turned to us saying 'sorry sorry mam. sorry sir' and ran off to the rest room as he was pretty desperate to go! After relieving himself, we went on our way to Thewet, passing the crazy tuk tuk and general drivers on the road as we reached our destination.
Thewet is in the Northwest part of Bangkok city and is located next to the National Library and wet market. Apart from the 7 Eleven, this place really was sleepyville, lined with a couple of chilled guesthouses that welcomed anyone and everyone to stay for a night or three (as long as you take your shoes of, of course).
Our chosen guesthouse is clean, our room is an ensuite and really looked like something our of a chalet in the swiss alps! Allowing ourself the luxury of aircon, we have now extended our stay there until tomorrow (Sunday) as we feel pretty much at home down this particular Soi.
On the first day we took time to adapt to our surroundings, had some phad thai, fish and rice for dinner and just relaxed. Leon and I were feeling a little groggy and I was waiting for my stomach to settle, so it was an early night for us. For the first time in my life, I tried out earplugs to get some shut eye, but unfortunately getting a room facing the road meant that we had to endure the honks of the passing traffic below and the procession of children in the morning (we didn't realise there was a school very close by!) However, at least we got some sleep and were ready to do the touristy things in Bangkok on the Friday morning.
Thewet is in the Northwest part of Bangkok city and is located next to the National Library and wet market. Apart from the 7 Eleven, this place really was sleepyville, lined with a couple of chilled guesthouses that welcomed anyone and everyone to stay for a night or three (as long as you take your shoes of, of course).
Our chosen guesthouse is clean, our room is an ensuite and really looked like something our of a chalet in the swiss alps! Allowing ourself the luxury of aircon, we have now extended our stay there until tomorrow (Sunday) as we feel pretty much at home down this particular Soi.
On the first day we took time to adapt to our surroundings, had some phad thai, fish and rice for dinner and just relaxed. Leon and I were feeling a little groggy and I was waiting for my stomach to settle, so it was an early night for us. For the first time in my life, I tried out earplugs to get some shut eye, but unfortunately getting a room facing the road meant that we had to endure the honks of the passing traffic below and the procession of children in the morning (we didn't realise there was a school very close by!) However, at least we got some sleep and were ready to do the touristy things in Bangkok on the Friday morning.
4th - 7th Jan, 2010: Singapore..Land of the Merlion
After saying sad goodbyes to my Mum and Dad, Leon and I boarded the Aeroline to Singapore. This was no ordinary coach; decked with a lower lounge area, cinema (ok not cinema but they showed some recent films), and a lunch of chicken rice, we felt like we were on some rock and roll tour bus than just a coach to Singapore!
The journey was a comfortable one and 5 hours later we were at Harbourfront Centre where we jumped in a cab to Nithya's house off Bukit Timah. Singapore was still as clean as when I last visited, which was comforting to say the least. We reached Nithya and caught up with the entire family who were all home, which is a rare occasion but great to see the whole crew there!
Day one was Singapore Zoo and Asian Civilisation Museum. Singapore Zoo is the best Zoo in the world, hands down. They have made a massive effort to make the zoo more 'open plan', so that instead of depressing, tiny cages, the animals have a lot more room and beautiful landscaped homes....we were pretty envious actually (their homes are probably much more comfortable than some of the ones that we will encounter on our travels!). Highlights of the zoo trip are definitely the feeding of the white tigers (not albinos: fact) and the meerkats because the latter reminded us of Luis and Olly and their obsession with THAT advert.
Now even though the zoo provided shelter the whole way round, it is safe to say that we both stank, having sweated buckets on our tour of the Zoo. Luckily Nithya was home so that we could stop over, have a loovely shower and head out again to the Asian Civilisation Museum. This was also incredibly interesting and I probably learnt more about Malaysia and Singapore in the 2 hours we were there than I have done over the last 26 years. We were also lucky enough to see one of Nit's mum's sculptures that she had lent to one of the art museums (Kumari is a wonderful and pretty well known artist in Singapore and internationally).
That evening we went home to be greeted by what could only be described as a party (!) in conjunction with some work that Nithya's dad and brother were involved in. Angeline and her family served up some peranakan food consisting of Curry Laksa and very tasty popiah - Ishwar also popped open a bottle or two of Pouilly Fume - yes, we were very spoilt in sing sing!
The next day after another sound night's sleep, we decided to venture down Orchard Road which is one of Singapore's famous avenues lined with shopping centre upon shopping centre, and labels galore. Leon seemed pretty chilled about the whole affair, even though he did swear in Malaysia that he wouldn't step into another shopping centre ever again@
We all tried our vegetarian dim sum for the first time ever and I have to say - it was a round of all thumbs up! Even Leon with his phobia of mushrooms managed a beaming smile after lunch.
In the evening we went to Holland Village to see a comedian called Kumar, formerly a man I believe and hilarious! Although I didn't take to kindly to his jokes about Malays being slow and lazy... what's that all about??! All in all we had a great day and went to bed... ready for our final morning in Singapore before we set off for Bangkok.
On the Thursday 7th we took a taxi down to Nithya's mum's gallery (which I would recommend to everyone.. who knew chili's and peppers could be so fun!) and then another sad farewell to young Nits before heading off to Changi for our flight. All in all the fleeting visit to Singapore was fun, relaxing and rather cultural, and next time hopefully we will get to stay longer.
The journey was a comfortable one and 5 hours later we were at Harbourfront Centre where we jumped in a cab to Nithya's house off Bukit Timah. Singapore was still as clean as when I last visited, which was comforting to say the least. We reached Nithya and caught up with the entire family who were all home, which is a rare occasion but great to see the whole crew there!
Day one was Singapore Zoo and Asian Civilisation Museum. Singapore Zoo is the best Zoo in the world, hands down. They have made a massive effort to make the zoo more 'open plan', so that instead of depressing, tiny cages, the animals have a lot more room and beautiful landscaped homes....we were pretty envious actually (their homes are probably much more comfortable than some of the ones that we will encounter on our travels!). Highlights of the zoo trip are definitely the feeding of the white tigers (not albinos: fact) and the meerkats because the latter reminded us of Luis and Olly and their obsession with THAT advert.
Now even though the zoo provided shelter the whole way round, it is safe to say that we both stank, having sweated buckets on our tour of the Zoo. Luckily Nithya was home so that we could stop over, have a loovely shower and head out again to the Asian Civilisation Museum. This was also incredibly interesting and I probably learnt more about Malaysia and Singapore in the 2 hours we were there than I have done over the last 26 years. We were also lucky enough to see one of Nit's mum's sculptures that she had lent to one of the art museums (Kumari is a wonderful and pretty well known artist in Singapore and internationally).
That evening we went home to be greeted by what could only be described as a party (!) in conjunction with some work that Nithya's dad and brother were involved in. Angeline and her family served up some peranakan food consisting of Curry Laksa and very tasty popiah - Ishwar also popped open a bottle or two of Pouilly Fume - yes, we were very spoilt in sing sing!
The next day after another sound night's sleep, we decided to venture down Orchard Road which is one of Singapore's famous avenues lined with shopping centre upon shopping centre, and labels galore. Leon seemed pretty chilled about the whole affair, even though he did swear in Malaysia that he wouldn't step into another shopping centre ever again@
We all tried our vegetarian dim sum for the first time ever and I have to say - it was a round of all thumbs up! Even Leon with his phobia of mushrooms managed a beaming smile after lunch.
In the evening we went to Holland Village to see a comedian called Kumar, formerly a man I believe and hilarious! Although I didn't take to kindly to his jokes about Malays being slow and lazy... what's that all about??! All in all we had a great day and went to bed... ready for our final morning in Singapore before we set off for Bangkok.
On the Thursday 7th we took a taxi down to Nithya's mum's gallery (which I would recommend to everyone.. who knew chili's and peppers could be so fun!) and then another sad farewell to young Nits before heading off to Changi for our flight. All in all the fleeting visit to Singapore was fun, relaxing and rather cultural, and next time hopefully we will get to stay longer.
Sunday, 3 January 2010
January the First, 2010
Waking up feeling fairly spritely (after all we were in bed by about 2 30), Leon and I ventured out for some early lunch. Destination: Nirwhana. Nirwhana is THE most popular banana leaf restaurant in Bangsar and given the fact that Leon had never experienced life the banana leaf way, I thought it was only fair that he welcomed in 2010 by trying something new. The place was packed when we arrived at 12 30 so the staff promptly unfolded some tables and chairs outside the bank next door (yes, it was that full) and we set about ordering our meal: 2 chicken biryani, 1 fried squid dish, 1 fried fish, 1 mutton masala, 2 ice lemon teas and 2 teh tariks. I know everyone out there is wondering where I put it all but trust me, give me 10 - 15 years and I'm sure the 'spread' would have happened by then!
Full of indian food and ready for a nap, I later went off to Kamboja in KL with my mother for our annual massage trip together. Off we toddled and I blissfully lay there taking in the aromatherapy massage.... in fact, I think I was so relaxed that I ended up snoring a little as the poor lady was massaging me!
All in all we had a great first day of the new year, and hopefully it's a sign of greater things to come in the year!
Full of indian food and ready for a nap, I later went off to Kamboja in KL with my mother for our annual massage trip together. Off we toddled and I blissfully lay there taking in the aromatherapy massage.... in fact, I think I was so relaxed that I ended up snoring a little as the poor lady was massaging me!
All in all we had a great first day of the new year, and hopefully it's a sign of greater things to come in the year!
31st December - New Years Eve....
New Years Eve day was allll about the preparations for New Years Eve, namely eating, sunbathing and reading, oh and getting our teeth polished and whitened for a fraction of the cost of the UK and buying alcohol at a cost considerably more than in the UK.
We had booked tickets earlier in the week to join a group of Alicia's old school friends at the Life Centre in central KL for an evening of live music. Now when I say live music what I actually mean is an underground rave. Having not put my raving dancing feet in to action since the late 90's I was somewhat dubious about our choice of party venue. Thankfully the presence of copious amounts of spirits and mixers at one of Alicia's friend's parties at a private residence of the Ritz Hotel (think 15 hotel rooms altogether), helped calm the nerves and we ended up having a fantastic evening of dancing to various youthful DJ's...Alicia cried tiredness at around 2ish and we returned home and were tucked up in bed before even Alicia's parents arrived home from their party at the Lake Club...my we are getting old!!!
We had booked tickets earlier in the week to join a group of Alicia's old school friends at the Life Centre in central KL for an evening of live music. Now when I say live music what I actually mean is an underground rave. Having not put my raving dancing feet in to action since the late 90's I was somewhat dubious about our choice of party venue. Thankfully the presence of copious amounts of spirits and mixers at one of Alicia's friend's parties at a private residence of the Ritz Hotel (think 15 hotel rooms altogether), helped calm the nerves and we ended up having a fantastic evening of dancing to various youthful DJ's...Alicia cried tiredness at around 2ish and we returned home and were tucked up in bed before even Alicia's parents arrived home from their party at the Lake Club...my we are getting old!!!
30th December: Unexpected Day Trip
Although Noraini and Ariffin could have quite easily retired by now they, like my parents, still feel the need to work all hours God sends and with the years end looming, several of the Malaysian coastal erosion control site projects Noraini is presently directing needed to have a report surmising the current state of the site composed and emailed.. In order to do this a number of site visits would have to happen all with need for a professional-ish photographer in tow. So, with a knock on the bedroom door at 8am for Alicia and the professional-ish photographer (thats me of course), it was a quick breakfast and out for a the 2hr journey to Haji Dorani.
The first half of the jourtenyt was uneventful with the now familiar palm oil lined highway keeping us company on our way. We stopped aa local cafe for sweet tea, Nasi Lamak and French toast at around 11am and reached the project site 45 mins later.
To the untrained eye, what was presented before me would appear only as a pile of rocks 10 mtrs out in to the sea, with some mud , sand and a few shoots behind it. In actual fact this pile of rocks is a carefully researched method and multi functional as a wave break and tidal control to aid sediment build up and prevent the washing away of new Mangrove seedlings and shoots. The seedlings sand shoots will eventually form a mature Mangrove network and the roots will bind the soil and sand thus preventing further erosion (is at a rate of 5mtrs a year at this site).....Anyway thats enough science....Whilst this was was carefully explained to me, I was directed what to snap and many of my the photos made it in to the report (lets just hope my work is properly acknowledged in the thanks section ;-)..
With the photo session finished, it was a well earned lunch before heading off home for some sunbathing and South East Asia trip preparations.
The first half of the jourtenyt was uneventful with the now familiar palm oil lined highway keeping us company on our way. We stopped aa local cafe for sweet tea, Nasi Lamak and French toast at around 11am and reached the project site 45 mins later.
To the untrained eye, what was presented before me would appear only as a pile of rocks 10 mtrs out in to the sea, with some mud , sand and a few shoots behind it. In actual fact this pile of rocks is a carefully researched method and multi functional as a wave break and tidal control to aid sediment build up and prevent the washing away of new Mangrove seedlings and shoots. The seedlings sand shoots will eventually form a mature Mangrove network and the roots will bind the soil and sand thus preventing further erosion (is at a rate of 5mtrs a year at this site).....Anyway thats enough science....Whilst this was was carefully explained to me, I was directed what to snap and many of my the photos made it in to the report (lets just hope my work is properly acknowledged in the thanks section ;-)..
With the photo session finished, it was a well earned lunch before heading off home for some sunbathing and South East Asia trip preparations.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Malaysia 26th December - Boxing Day
Yet another lie in for Leon and Alicia, but I felt less guilty about this one given it is boxing day and usually a well earned public holiday and time for rest from the excesses of the previous days festive cheer. A late breakfast at 11am consisted of my now favourite way to start the day, Roti Cannai, fried chicken, beef curry, dahl and chicken curry and I then ploughed on with my last weeks worth of blog updates (I will not fall behind again!!).
Early afternoon we were joined by Alicia's childhood friend Sian and her Brummie Boyfriend Pete for Prima swimming and sun bathing action. Despite the fact the sun failed to make an appearence all day, I managed to get myself sun burnt??!!!....As our hazy clouds grew darker and the distant rumble of thunder began to get louder and more frequent we retired to the apartment for some cards.
Pete and Sian left us around 6pm and we quickly changed for dinner with Alicia's parents and her brother Lan and sister in law Sophie. This evening we were treated (again!!) to some Thai food in a restaurant run by Southern Thai's and Malaysia called Vicchuda. The set up was no frills but as with many street facing restaurant in Malaysia the no added expense on the decor was firmly replaced with extra loving care going in to the food. For the grand total of GBP20 we feasted on a full baked fish marinated in fresh seasonal fruits and chili, BBQ spit roasted chicken with an exquisite marinade (I was told I could ask for the recipe but I was likely to be laughed at for trying!) omelet, Tom Yam soup (a fragrant and delicate soup heavy on the lemon grass and with liberal helpings of birds eye chili...a good palate freshener!), Kuey Teow (a noodle dish close to Pad Thai), Prawn Fritters, Mango Salad, Sam Bal (squid in sauce) and what can only be described as a trophy of fresh rice, all washed down with lime juice and barley water....
We then retired to a coffee house around the corner for ice cream toast (sounds weird but it works) and some, good luck trying to sleep for the next 3 days, coffee.
Its now 11pm, I am a very tired boy and need my beauty sleep for our first venture outside of KL tomorrow. Alicia and I are off to the historic and supposeldy picturesque port town of Melaka on the SW coast on the Malaysian peninsula, an importnat town for the spice trade and therefore a town very much of interest to the Portuguese and Dutch in the 14th and 15th Centuries.......I will report back on my fiundings tomorrow!!!
Early afternoon we were joined by Alicia's childhood friend Sian and her Brummie Boyfriend Pete for Prima swimming and sun bathing action. Despite the fact the sun failed to make an appearence all day, I managed to get myself sun burnt??!!!....As our hazy clouds grew darker and the distant rumble of thunder began to get louder and more frequent we retired to the apartment for some cards.
Pete and Sian left us around 6pm and we quickly changed for dinner with Alicia's parents and her brother Lan and sister in law Sophie. This evening we were treated (again!!) to some Thai food in a restaurant run by Southern Thai's and Malaysia called Vicchuda. The set up was no frills but as with many street facing restaurant in Malaysia the no added expense on the decor was firmly replaced with extra loving care going in to the food. For the grand total of GBP20 we feasted on a full baked fish marinated in fresh seasonal fruits and chili, BBQ spit roasted chicken with an exquisite marinade (I was told I could ask for the recipe but I was likely to be laughed at for trying!) omelet, Tom Yam soup (a fragrant and delicate soup heavy on the lemon grass and with liberal helpings of birds eye chili...a good palate freshener!), Kuey Teow (a noodle dish close to Pad Thai), Prawn Fritters, Mango Salad, Sam Bal (squid in sauce) and what can only be described as a trophy of fresh rice, all washed down with lime juice and barley water....
We then retired to a coffee house around the corner for ice cream toast (sounds weird but it works) and some, good luck trying to sleep for the next 3 days, coffee.
Its now 11pm, I am a very tired boy and need my beauty sleep for our first venture outside of KL tomorrow. Alicia and I are off to the historic and supposeldy picturesque port town of Melaka on the SW coast on the Malaysian peninsula, an importnat town for the spice trade and therefore a town very much of interest to the Portuguese and Dutch in the 14th and 15th Centuries.......I will report back on my fiundings tomorrow!!!
Malaysia 25th - Christmas Day
With Alicia feeling unnecessarily guilty for taking me away from the family for the festive period, she had done her very best to provide me with a home from home Christmas day and apart from the lack of freezing temperatures and snow, I must say she did a splendid job!
With Christmas day excitement stirring, we awoke early and exchanged gifts with each other and her parents. For a now 30 year old expecting socks and handkerchiefs at best, I think I came off quite well being gifted with two shirts, a pen and a trendy cap to keep the sun off. We then chowed down on an all inclusive fry up including beef bacon, chicken sausage, beans , scrambled eggs and toast and then retired for the "traditional" English Christmas Day post breakfast nap (this isnt really a tradition in our family but it was a suitable excuse for an extra hours shut eye!).....
Around 2pm we all made our way to Sian's Mum's house, 5 mins down the road, for more present exchanging and pre-dinner drinks. The feast was presented to us an hour later and we enjoyed a full Christmas lunch of chicken, lamb , divine roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and veg complete with crackers inclusive of cheesy jokes and low quality toys closely followed by a 4 layer chocolate cake, apple crumble and mince pies....I entertained our guests with a few games that lost their appeal in my household many many years ago, and then we retired home to slump in to a food induced coma!!!
All in all a perfectly English Christmas day, well done everyone involved in and responsible for preparations!!!
With Christmas day excitement stirring, we awoke early and exchanged gifts with each other and her parents. For a now 30 year old expecting socks and handkerchiefs at best, I think I came off quite well being gifted with two shirts, a pen and a trendy cap to keep the sun off. We then chowed down on an all inclusive fry up including beef bacon, chicken sausage, beans , scrambled eggs and toast and then retired for the "traditional" English Christmas Day post breakfast nap (this isnt really a tradition in our family but it was a suitable excuse for an extra hours shut eye!).....
Around 2pm we all made our way to Sian's Mum's house, 5 mins down the road, for more present exchanging and pre-dinner drinks. The feast was presented to us an hour later and we enjoyed a full Christmas lunch of chicken, lamb , divine roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and veg complete with crackers inclusive of cheesy jokes and low quality toys closely followed by a 4 layer chocolate cake, apple crumble and mince pies....I entertained our guests with a few games that lost their appeal in my household many many years ago, and then we retired home to slump in to a food induced coma!!!
All in all a perfectly English Christmas day, well done everyone involved in and responsible for preparations!!!
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