21-day South-Asia trip (2007)

January 28th

Wake up at NorthWest Guesthouse.

Breakfast:

Rice w/ dark fried eggs & mixed stir-fry vegetables $2.50

Bus to Chiangmai.

Stayed at Kerry's House.

Dinner:

Brown rice, squash soup and dried little-fish.
Singha Beer

After dinner, Mae and I went to Catholic Mass at the Chiangmai cathedral.

January 31st

Arrive 6:30am at Bangkok Train Station. What a trip! Next time I will get a sleeper, it is only a little more $, but a lot more Zzz.

I immediately shopped for awhile in Bangkok's clothing/merchandise retail district. I needed another bag for all my presents for special people back home in drizzling, cold Vancouver.

Caught a bus for Houahin, a sea-side resort. When I got there, I noticed a large amount of farangs, literally overrunning the town! So I decided to get the next local bus to the Thai resort-town of Cha am, just a short distance away. Again, traveling authentic, not tourist -- trying to anyways!

Chinese-Thai hotel in Cha am: $10/night.

Since it is cooler during this time of year, splashing around in the water wasn't the most fun time. But I went anyways, soaking up the sun, surf & sand.

That night at the local bar, I met a young guy from Canada, my age (32), from the same home-city (Edmonton) and with a plan I could only imagine at: work in Canada for 6 months, live in Thailand for 6 months. At the time I met him, he was recently divorced from a Thai gal, owned a house and was opening an entertainment bar. To each their own eh?

February 3rd

An eventful 100CC motorcycle trip into a nearby Karen village. Drove just before noon south of the town to a road-side rest-stop area once called HoiKung but now labeled on maps as Mae Hor. This name was confirmed by some locals. In Mae Hor, there are a series of roads leading into the rolling hills. There are numerous Karen and other tribal villages in these forested areas. A trip to visit the village I spent a part of my youth in seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately, I did not schedule enough time for it, and I only managed to visit a village relatively close to the highway. I will visit the village upon a subsequent trip to Thailand. If anybody wants to join me, feel free to send a message! Visiting a tribal village is probably the most culturally authentic experience one can do in this area of the Beautiful Kingdom.

That night the girls of the Sawasdee took several of us farangs out for a roasted chicken dinner, but the place unfortunately was closed. So we settled for the best kwiteau (pronounced just like you read it!) in town, across the street from the bus station. I challenge anyone to show me a better kwiteau anywhere!

A last sleep at the $5CAD/night NorthWest Guesthouse.