(no subject)
things have changed since bangkok and overall for the better.
my crazy hotel is something i'd like to forget. i met up with my tour group - well 1/2 of them - and they frightened me. they'd all been traveling together through the north of thailand for 2 weeks. and were VERY LOUD. and one man, kim from canada, seemed very drunk. and everything i said was fodder for some kind of inane joke ... anyway i went to bed at 6 PM on the scary concrete bed. i woke up and went shopping in some microscopic bangkok side alley market for a cheap backpack. and i made it back in time to see a woman taking a dump on a VERY BUSY sidewalk near my hotel. i saw so much of the female anatomy at once, more than i've ever seen and maybe ever will see. i hope that last part is true. i can't go into the details.
things only got less hygienic from there.
anyway i met up with my tour group and luckily the first 1/2 stayed behind as they'd already done the bangkok tour on the first day of their previous trip. and i'm not sure how this worked out but the other 1/2 of my tour group were all in their late 20s and early 30s, and all seemed normal and nice. and it's turned out, so far, that this initial impression was quite accurate on my part.
we toured wat po, an amazing temple where there were all sorts of yogic sculptures, a giant reclining buddha, and ancient inscriptions with directions on how to give thai massages. i can't do it justice, wait for my picasa pics!!! then a tour through the canals of bangkok where we toured an orchard farm. sounds boring but it was very nice to see a calm side of the city.
later an overnight train, which was tres romantic and my first such trip. i slept extremely well! i loved my cozy little cabin. i awoke somewhere, i really don't know where, all i know is that the bathroom i used at the restaurant i ate at was THE MOST DISGUSTING BATHROOM I HAVE EVER BEEN IN and seemed (and seems) rather par for the course. i don't know what to say on this subject. also thailand = bring your own toilet paper everywhere.
then we made it to a remote national park where we took a boat for over an hour. and landed on some raft huts. and there we stayed for 2 days. and toured coral caves and went swimming. i can say it was one of the most remote and beautiful places i have ever been.
DID i mention i have been bitten by 1,000 mosquitoes and am sure to die of a billion diseases? soon or within 8 weeks of my return? or somewhere in between?
in the morning i woke up with the sun and had coffee in front of my little hut. and then would go for a swim in the lake ... there were no showers. i saw monkeys and elephants.
now i'm just outside the same national park but on another side. i'm reading a lot. people are hanging out at a funny rasta bar.
must go.
XOXOXO
DOOTHy
my crazy hotel is something i'd like to forget. i met up with my tour group - well 1/2 of them - and they frightened me. they'd all been traveling together through the north of thailand for 2 weeks. and were VERY LOUD. and one man, kim from canada, seemed very drunk. and everything i said was fodder for some kind of inane joke ... anyway i went to bed at 6 PM on the scary concrete bed. i woke up and went shopping in some microscopic bangkok side alley market for a cheap backpack. and i made it back in time to see a woman taking a dump on a VERY BUSY sidewalk near my hotel. i saw so much of the female anatomy at once, more than i've ever seen and maybe ever will see. i hope that last part is true. i can't go into the details.
things only got less hygienic from there.
anyway i met up with my tour group and luckily the first 1/2 stayed behind as they'd already done the bangkok tour on the first day of their previous trip. and i'm not sure how this worked out but the other 1/2 of my tour group were all in their late 20s and early 30s, and all seemed normal and nice. and it's turned out, so far, that this initial impression was quite accurate on my part.
we toured wat po, an amazing temple where there were all sorts of yogic sculptures, a giant reclining buddha, and ancient inscriptions with directions on how to give thai massages. i can't do it justice, wait for my picasa pics!!! then a tour through the canals of bangkok where we toured an orchard farm. sounds boring but it was very nice to see a calm side of the city.
later an overnight train, which was tres romantic and my first such trip. i slept extremely well! i loved my cozy little cabin. i awoke somewhere, i really don't know where, all i know is that the bathroom i used at the restaurant i ate at was THE MOST DISGUSTING BATHROOM I HAVE EVER BEEN IN and seemed (and seems) rather par for the course. i don't know what to say on this subject. also thailand = bring your own toilet paper everywhere.
then we made it to a remote national park where we took a boat for over an hour. and landed on some raft huts. and there we stayed for 2 days. and toured coral caves and went swimming. i can say it was one of the most remote and beautiful places i have ever been.
DID i mention i have been bitten by 1,000 mosquitoes and am sure to die of a billion diseases? soon or within 8 weeks of my return? or somewhere in between?
in the morning i woke up with the sun and had coffee in front of my little hut. and then would go for a swim in the lake ... there were no showers. i saw monkeys and elephants.
now i'm just outside the same national park but on another side. i'm reading a lot. people are hanging out at a funny rasta bar.
must go.
XOXOXO
DOOTHy