Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Better go to the beach
I have decided that I need beach. As many of you may be aware, I am prone to procrastination. I knew I wanted to go somewhere between the end of my last trip and when I meet my next group, but I just wasn’t sure where exactly. Maybe Hoi An in Vietnam or Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand. In the end, I procrastinated so much that it was Monday and I was due to fly to Vietnam to meet my group on Friday. So I have opted for Koh Samet. I will hang out there for a couple of days, then come back here and fly to Vietnam.
RIP Cat
On a sad note, some of you will be aware that Cat Platt-Hepworth passed away three days ago. He was suffering from what is thought to be a stomach Tumor and died of a heart attack after arriving at the Vet. More than this I can’t say, except to say that the cat gods decided it was time for him to go and that he will be sadly missed.
The first group (photos to follow shortly)
It has been some time since my last update. This is mainly because I have just discovered that tour leading can be hard work, and was bound to be so, on my first trip. I collected my group from the airport and we then drove to Kanchaniburi. After visiting the war museum and allied cemetery, we headed the next day up to Tong Pha Phum where we stayed on floating raft houses. These are very basic but good fun and being out in the sticks was good after the craziness of Bangkok. A run the next morning with one of my passengers was a good start to the day, followed by the giving of offerings to the monks who visited on a boat. Monks are not allowed to prepare their food, so they are reliant on locals to provide offerings each day in exchange for a blessing. The monk will eat one meal in the morning and then one before midday. They then need to wait until the next day before they can eat again.
We then took a boat ride to Sangklaburi which is near to Three Pagoda Pass (site on the Burma Railway) and the Burmese border. This area is largely populated by the Mon people who are a minority people that the Burmese regime has a distaste for, but the Thais allow many of them to live on the Thai side. At various times in history the Mon people have sided with Thailand and for this reason the Thais seem to have a soft spot for them (as soft a spot as governments have for refugees).
This was our first day cycling which is an interesting experience because it’s were I get the first indicator of how quickly the group will move and what sort of training they might have done. It seems that I have possibly the largest age variance of any trip I have ever heard of. The youngest member of the trip is 22 years old, the oldest 79 years old and a fair range in between the two, including one absolute legend called Terry who is 74 and is willing to give anything a go. They are all here with a dual purpose. You see they are from the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. They all have different links through volunteering to simply wanting to raise some money for a good cause. Hey have each raised a minimum of $5000 for the shrine in order for them to be able to partake in the cycling challenge and to take part in the pilgrimage to pay respects to the fallen solidiers of the past on what is known around here as the death railway. All have some sort of military connection such as Graeme who actually fought in the second world war or Jay who is a member of the Royal Australian Navy. They are about as far spread in cycling speed and ability as I have seen, but a truly determined bunch.
Following our visit to three pagoda pass, we embark on our hardest day cycling. The ride is only about 70KMS in length, but it is all off road and consists of big hills running through dense jungle. It doesn’t take long for the first incident to occur. One of the younger riders hits the front brake too hard and goes flying. Landing on a rock, he breaks his collar bone in two places and dislocates his shoulder. We have to immediately get him to hospital which is a bumpy two hours drive away, so Willy takes him in the ute while the rest of us keep moving in the direction of Hae Mak Amen Waterfall.
We get there, but only after Terry comes off and hits the cheese grater, taking skin aff all protruding joints and his forehead. Jay who is the strongest rider in the group has to be part of the action, so he goes for a double samasault while still attached to his bike with clips. He sustains some more cheese grater style injuries and starts to take on a commando man
We then took a boat ride to Sangklaburi which is near to Three Pagoda Pass (site on the Burma Railway) and the Burmese border. This area is largely populated by the Mon people who are a minority people that the Burmese regime has a distaste for, but the Thais allow many of them to live on the Thai side. At various times in history the Mon people have sided with Thailand and for this reason the Thais seem to have a soft spot for them (as soft a spot as governments have for refugees).
This was our first day cycling which is an interesting experience because it’s were I get the first indicator of how quickly the group will move and what sort of training they might have done. It seems that I have possibly the largest age variance of any trip I have ever heard of. The youngest member of the trip is 22 years old, the oldest 79 years old and a fair range in between the two, including one absolute legend called Terry who is 74 and is willing to give anything a go. They are all here with a dual purpose. You see they are from the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. They all have different links through volunteering to simply wanting to raise some money for a good cause. Hey have each raised a minimum of $5000 for the shrine in order for them to be able to partake in the cycling challenge and to take part in the pilgrimage to pay respects to the fallen solidiers of the past on what is known around here as the death railway. All have some sort of military connection such as Graeme who actually fought in the second world war or Jay who is a member of the Royal Australian Navy. They are about as far spread in cycling speed and ability as I have seen, but a truly determined bunch.
Following our visit to three pagoda pass, we embark on our hardest day cycling. The ride is only about 70KMS in length, but it is all off road and consists of big hills running through dense jungle. It doesn’t take long for the first incident to occur. One of the younger riders hits the front brake too hard and goes flying. Landing on a rock, he breaks his collar bone in two places and dislocates his shoulder. We have to immediately get him to hospital which is a bumpy two hours drive away, so Willy takes him in the ute while the rest of us keep moving in the direction of Hae Mak Amen Waterfall.
We get there, but only after Terry comes off and hits the cheese grater, taking skin aff all protruding joints and his forehead. Jay who is the strongest rider in the group has to be part of the action, so he goes for a double samasault while still attached to his bike with clips. He sustains some more cheese grater style injuries and starts to take on a commando man
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Kup kup kup kup kup
Sawadee krup! Kawp kon Krup! Krup? Krup.Krup?? Krup!!!
It really does sound as though every sinle word is followed by a kup. The "r" is silent, so it sounds like kup and for ladies it is Kaa. After you say pretty much anything in Thai you need to say this word. You see little children being constantly coached by their parents. "Come on.... krup... krup.... say it... krup.
My landlady is a lovely lady but she runs a childcare centre in one of the buildings in the compound, and from about 7am each day, as children arrive you can ear a whiney voice trying to teach the children to krup or kaa correctly.
I feel as though I am starting to settle in. I have worked out where the laundry mat is, where the nearest decent Massaman curry is and where to get drinking water. I bought a mattress for about $50 (new and double size). I braved a public bus to get to the nearest department store to get a pair of runners and I have found a place that does a fantastic thai massage. I mean theres a thai massage place evey fifty metres, but this place seems to be the place to go. Thais seem to frequent it, so thats usually a good sign with anyting here. Anything with an abundance of whiteys is proabably not as good as it could be and is probably costing too much.
In an effort to keep my fitness up, I have started running. I leave at about 6.30am and run along the almost overflowing river, past the main public bus stop in this area and then do a few laps of the park. The park sounds lovely doesn't it? Well, it's not so lovely. There are stacks of homeless people who leave rubbish everywhere and urinate on all of the not so abundant trees. It is pobably better described as a homeless persons paddock, but it is something to run around without the threat of being run over by some crazy tuc tuc.
I am living in the banglampu area which is in the older part of the city and houses the notorious Khao San rd. I am far enough away from said backpacker and feral depot that I don't have to contest with too much crap, but I am close enough that I have all the necessay mod cons and access to the necessary travel resources for work.
I share a house with three others. we have a good set up with bike storage underneath and a small office. The four of us will not see each other often as we are all tour leaders for either Grasshopper or Intrepid Travel.
It has dawned on me tonight that when you don't chat to a lot of people around you and when you don't understand what everyone is saying, you miss out on things. It turns out there is a big festival on tonight. I don't really mind that I've missed it as I have to be up at 5am to collect my customers from the airport. The unfortunate part is that my street leads towards the river and so there is a permanant traffic jam outside my front door with some bastard traffic policeman who is way too whistle happy!!! If I were in Australia I would go and tell him to give it a rest, but alas, if I tried, he would probably lock me up.
It really does sound as though every sinle word is followed by a kup. The "r" is silent, so it sounds like kup and for ladies it is Kaa. After you say pretty much anything in Thai you need to say this word. You see little children being constantly coached by their parents. "Come on.... krup... krup.... say it... krup.
My landlady is a lovely lady but she runs a childcare centre in one of the buildings in the compound, and from about 7am each day, as children arrive you can ear a whiney voice trying to teach the children to krup or kaa correctly.
I feel as though I am starting to settle in. I have worked out where the laundry mat is, where the nearest decent Massaman curry is and where to get drinking water. I bought a mattress for about $50 (new and double size). I braved a public bus to get to the nearest department store to get a pair of runners and I have found a place that does a fantastic thai massage. I mean theres a thai massage place evey fifty metres, but this place seems to be the place to go. Thais seem to frequent it, so thats usually a good sign with anyting here. Anything with an abundance of whiteys is proabably not as good as it could be and is probably costing too much.
In an effort to keep my fitness up, I have started running. I leave at about 6.30am and run along the almost overflowing river, past the main public bus stop in this area and then do a few laps of the park. The park sounds lovely doesn't it? Well, it's not so lovely. There are stacks of homeless people who leave rubbish everywhere and urinate on all of the not so abundant trees. It is pobably better described as a homeless persons paddock, but it is something to run around without the threat of being run over by some crazy tuc tuc.
I am living in the banglampu area which is in the older part of the city and houses the notorious Khao San rd. I am far enough away from said backpacker and feral depot that I don't have to contest with too much crap, but I am close enough that I have all the necessay mod cons and access to the necessary travel resources for work.
I share a house with three others. we have a good set up with bike storage underneath and a small office. The four of us will not see each other often as we are all tour leaders for either Grasshopper or Intrepid Travel.
It has dawned on me tonight that when you don't chat to a lot of people around you and when you don't understand what everyone is saying, you miss out on things. It turns out there is a big festival on tonight. I don't really mind that I've missed it as I have to be up at 5am to collect my customers from the airport. The unfortunate part is that my street leads towards the river and so there is a permanant traffic jam outside my front door with some bastard traffic policeman who is way too whistle happy!!! If I were in Australia I would go and tell him to give it a rest, but alas, if I tried, he would probably lock me up.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Arrival in sweat city
Stepping off the over airconditioned plane and airport into the night air of Bangkok can only be described as stepping from the fridge to the sauna.
The first job was to get the bike from oversized baggage. Of course the new airport is having teething problems and of course the oversized baggage is one of the more oversized problems. The first logical place to seek your oversized item would be the garage sized doorway at the end of the carousel with a sign stating "oversized baggage". Unfortunately the three baggage handlers wearing yellow polos and the one official looking guard could not speak English, but they managed to motion us to a doorway of identical appearance about fifty meters away. Upon arrival at this doorway, three new sets of yellow polos and a guard did the same thing and motioned us to a third doorway. A third set of the same then just shrugged and nervously chattered to each other.
Sensing they were under threat, the occupants of the third doorway and the second doorway closed their doors and merged wit the staff of the first doorway. They then all sat with their backs to the waiting owners of the oversized baggage until eventually the items turned up. This is of course only the start I am sure. I know I'm in for more of this in the coming months to a much greater scale.
After finally getting to m new place of residence, I crash out for the night, only to be woken by my neighbors woking something for breakfast at 6am, but this is OK, because I need to be up anyway to start researching a trip that we are about to run.
We head out to Kancaniburi province after meeting up with the local operators Nutty and Willy. These two jovial blokes are the logistical people for the trip. Even though I can't understand what they are saying to the various people, I can tell that they've got a great rapport with all the hotel and restaurant staff. While Jason and I are having early nights after one beer, these two stay up to polish off a bottle of whisky and smoke cigarettes. This does not however affect their ability to get up in the morning, even if they are a bit smelly and slow.
We've covered a fair distance to Kanchaniburi city to Hellfire pass on the Burma railway line to three pagoda pass and back around a huge lake to the Erawan National Park and then on to the Ayutthaya area which is under flood.
It is amazing coming from a country that is bone dry and desperately in need of water to a country that has far too much water. The net depressing result though, is exactly the same. No crop, no harvest and presumably a shortage in food at some point. The cause of the flooding is not rain in these areas so much as rain that has been falling during the now finished wet season in the north and has flowed down the four rivers to the Chao Phraya River. This river then runs through Bankok and on to the Gulf of Thailand. According to the locals, the water is being held back in these tributaries so as to protect the city.
So in Ayutthaya we are on our way to inspect the homestay that we will be using for our group. As we drive along a road with houses under water on each side, things are not looking good for the homestay option. In Russell Quoit style, I decided it's time to call an old mate for a natter (refer to photo).
The homestay turns out to be one of the older style wooden houses built on stilts. This means that it is just above water level. We jump in a boat and paddle out to it to find the house perfectly intact (just surrounded by water). It might be a very cosy evening when fifteen of us have to stay there.
So it's time to hit the road! I for one am quite happy about this as I am eager to get back to Bangkok and get my new place of residence sorted out before I start the first trip. I have been unable to get a SIM card on my travels and thus have been unable to speak to Kate. This makes the displacement feeling far worse.
An hour and a half mini-van ride and we're back in Bangkok. Hot seething urban mass that is Bangkok.
The first job was to get the bike from oversized baggage. Of course the new airport is having teething problems and of course the oversized baggage is one of the more oversized problems. The first logical place to seek your oversized item would be the garage sized doorway at the end of the carousel with a sign stating "oversized baggage". Unfortunately the three baggage handlers wearing yellow polos and the one official looking guard could not speak English, but they managed to motion us to a doorway of identical appearance about fifty meters away. Upon arrival at this doorway, three new sets of yellow polos and a guard did the same thing and motioned us to a third doorway. A third set of the same then just shrugged and nervously chattered to each other.
Sensing they were under threat, the occupants of the third doorway and the second doorway closed their doors and merged wit the staff of the first doorway. They then all sat with their backs to the waiting owners of the oversized baggage until eventually the items turned up. This is of course only the start I am sure. I know I'm in for more of this in the coming months to a much greater scale.
After finally getting to m new place of residence, I crash out for the night, only to be woken by my neighbors woking something for breakfast at 6am, but this is OK, because I need to be up anyway to start researching a trip that we are about to run.
We head out to Kancaniburi province after meeting up with the local operators Nutty and Willy. These two jovial blokes are the logistical people for the trip. Even though I can't understand what they are saying to the various people, I can tell that they've got a great rapport with all the hotel and restaurant staff. While Jason and I are having early nights after one beer, these two stay up to polish off a bottle of whisky and smoke cigarettes. This does not however affect their ability to get up in the morning, even if they are a bit smelly and slow.
We've covered a fair distance to Kanchaniburi city to Hellfire pass on the Burma railway line to three pagoda pass and back around a huge lake to the Erawan National Park and then on to the Ayutthaya area which is under flood.
It is amazing coming from a country that is bone dry and desperately in need of water to a country that has far too much water. The net depressing result though, is exactly the same. No crop, no harvest and presumably a shortage in food at some point. The cause of the flooding is not rain in these areas so much as rain that has been falling during the now finished wet season in the north and has flowed down the four rivers to the Chao Phraya River. This river then runs through Bankok and on to the Gulf of Thailand. According to the locals, the water is being held back in these tributaries so as to protect the city.
So in Ayutthaya we are on our way to inspect the homestay that we will be using for our group. As we drive along a road with houses under water on each side, things are not looking good for the homestay option. In Russell Quoit style, I decided it's time to call an old mate for a natter (refer to photo).
The homestay turns out to be one of the older style wooden houses built on stilts. This means that it is just above water level. We jump in a boat and paddle out to it to find the house perfectly intact (just surrounded by water). It might be a very cosy evening when fifteen of us have to stay there.
So it's time to hit the road! I for one am quite happy about this as I am eager to get back to Bangkok and get my new place of residence sorted out before I start the first trip. I have been unable to get a SIM card on my travels and thus have been unable to speak to Kate. This makes the displacement feeling far worse.
An hour and a half mini-van ride and we're back in Bangkok. Hot seething urban mass that is Bangkok.
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