Friday 22 April 2011

Cooking!

On our third day in Pai, we decided to do a Thai cookery course. We picked 5 different dishes and  able to make them and then get the recipes at the end. I was making Red Curry Paste, Red Curry, Chicken with Holy Basil Leaves, Stir-Fried Vegetables with Mixed Vegetables and Cashew Nuts, Papaya Salad and Chicken in Coconut Soup.

 To start with I made Chicken and Cashew Nuts. It was amazing how quick it was to make. It only took around 20 mins tops. It was pretty tasty too. Next came the papaya salad which was just done in a motor and pestle. After that we made the curry paste. We had to chop a load of ingredients until they were really small. When we thought we were done, our teacher came over and said that they had to be even smaller!
 Some how, I managed to chop them up without making them disappear and we then had to grind them in a mortar and pestle for around 20 mins. My arm was killing me by the end. After that we chopped up the vegetables for the other dishes and went to the market.
 Once we came back we cooked the soup, curry and chicken and then ate them all! I was so full by the end but it was so good and so worth it! Definitely going to make these more often as none of them take longer than 30 mins! What was also good was that Clem and myself made different dishes so we have recipes for even more dishes which is a bonus.

Two Girls and a Motorbike

It was our second day in Pai and as there were a lot of different places nearby that we wanted to see. So we decided to rent a motorbike.


 Clem drove and I sat on the back taking pictures and directing which way to go. It was so much fun. It was actually quite hard saying with which way to go as there were no warning signs. Just the turning which I was never prepared for. We missed the turning for the first waterfall so instead we started off with the Pai Canyon. It was an area of land where natural erosion had created paths. 

Some were easy to walk on, but some were hard and quite thin with a big drop either side. It was really hot so we decided to go on what we thought was a path to make our way back to the start. It was a path to start with. Near the end of what we thought was a path we had to get down on our bums and shuffle down. Clem went first and made it down. She told me that when I put my foot at a certain point I was basically down. The only thing was that when I put my foot there, something gave way and I slid all the way down! Clem could not stop laughing. We made out way up a dry river bed to another path running into spider webs and dodging horrible huge spiders until we realised that we had missed the beginning of the path. We back-tracked a bit going past the horrible spider until we found it and climbed back up. Eventually we made it out. Next stop, WW2 Memorial bridge. 
This was the same type of bridge as the one over the river Kwai, created by the soldier captured by the Japanese. A quick stop there and we then moved onto the Hot Springs. Thankfully, due to our work permits, we didn't have to pay the expensive price that 'farang' have to pay. Instead we get the cheap Thai price! 


 We managed to do that in a lot of the parks which is good as we save a lot of money. The hot springs were weird. In a hot country, why would you want hot springs? As it was the hot season, there wasn't a lot of water. The was a small steam of it though near the beginning and Clem went in for a paddle, and came straight back out again as it was burning her feet. It was really hot. Hotter than a hot bath. We went for a walk until we came across some more pools. The first one was a special mineral pool which I think was a sulphur one as it smelt so bad! Further along was another pool but this time you couldn't go in it. It was 80 degrees. The pool was for boiling eggs! People would buy or bring their own eggs and boil them in the hot spring. We then moved on and had some lunch before going to a waterfall. It took a while to get there and was all up hill but we made it. The only problem was that we weren't sure if we would have enough petrol to make it back down! We stayed at the waterfall for a while. In one part you could slide down the rock into a pool below. Clem went for it but I just stood and took pictures. It was funny as these two little boys made it look so easy and effortless but when Clem tried it, she was all cautious so she didn't hurt herself. 

 Once we decided to leave we made our way back to the bike and wondered if we would make it back to the town. We decided that as we were going to go downhill a lot of the way we would just leave the engine off and coast as far as we could. It was a lot of fun although quite scary as we sometimes picked up a lot of speed. We managed to make it back though without running out so it was all good. That evening we looked around the markets and hid from the storm. The thunder and lightening was incredible as the thunder was so loud and echoed so much. The lightening lit up the whole sky and was actually kind of freaky at times. We sat in the bar area of the guest house to wait it out. With us were the cats and dogs as they were not happy. Eventually it went and we managed to relax a bit more.

Doi Inthanon


For our last day in Chiang Mai we decided to go to the national park of Doi Inthanon. It was an adventure let me tell you. To start with we were told to go to a flower market to get a song-taaew to the town next to the national park. Once we had got to the flower market, we were told that we were in the wrong place even though we could see the song-taaew's driving past. Instead we went to where the buses left the town and got on one of them instead. Now for a day in the national park you would need nice sunshine and such. Well, while we were on the bus it started to rain and joint with that was thunder and lightening. Not a good sign. Once we were dropped of at the town we had to find a way to go the 8km to the park. According to the guide book, we could get a cheap song-taaew to the entrance and then another to the top. We had a bit of trouble with that. When we asked the song-taaew to take us to the entrance, they said that they cant do that but what they can do is take us on a tour all around the park for a stupidly expensive price. Just because we are 'farang', they all think they can cheat and rip us off! After a lot of talking, we managed to persuade them to take us to the entrance for the cheap price. Once there we looked at the waterfall at the entrance and we then found out that the other cheap song-taaew's to take you to the top weren't running.
 We decided to start walking along the road to see how far we could walk and what we could find. About 5 minutes later we came across a hill which we did not want to walk up. Instead we decided to hitch-hike. The first truck that came along just waved back at us but the second truck that came along with 4 or 5 people in let us hop in the back and we were on our way. These people were stopping off at different points so we stopped with them which was good as we were able to see different bits of the park. First stop was a small village which made its own coffee. 

 When we had stopped, we found out that the people who were driving us who I thought was a family, were in fact uni friends who spoke quite English. The next stop was near the top. We stopped off at two pagodas. They were beautiful and we were at the height where you could get surrounded by low flying clouds.


 We looked around and took a lot of pictures before moving on to the highest point in the whole of Thailand. It wasn't as impressive at we had expected. On one side was a nuclear fission research centre with armed guards outside and a sign saying 'no pictures'. I sneakily took one anyway and didn't get shot which was good. The highest point though was in the middle of a load of trees and bushes so even though it was cool and we were at the highest point, all the trees could have meant that we were low down.


 On the way back down we stopped at a waterfall just as it was getting dark.
 At this point we realised that the last bus from the town going back to Chiang Mai was at 5pm and we were going to miss it. We decided that we were going to have to hitch-hike back again! As we were leaving the waterfall, it started to rain. We were sat in the back of the pick-up truck in the wide open. We got very wet! We had some umbrellas so we went to where it was most sheltered from the wind and huddled under them. The only problem was that the water ran to back where we were sitting so we ended up sitting in a puddle of water. One good thing was that the people driving us were also going to Chiang Mai so they took us all the way back. The bad thing was that we spent all of that time in the back and in the rain. Oh well, we had been very lucky having the sun until the end of the park and we were getting taken back as well. We were dropped off near the university so we could get a song-taaew and as we were leaving, our drivers gave us their e-mails and facebook so we could swap pictures. They were so nice and we were so lucky to have met them.
We were then going to meet one of our volunteers friend and their parents for dinner but we were soaking wet. As we didn't have much time though we just went for it. It was a really nice hotel so we felt so bad walking in in our state. We decided to act like we were staying there and we managed to get in without any trouble. A quick trip to the toilet to sort out hair and make ourselves a bit more presentable and we were sorted. The dinner was an amazing buffet which was so good. We spent so long just sat there talking and eating that we were there when they were packing up and trying to hint to us to move. All in all a very good day.

The Biggest Water Fight in the World

The title is no joke, I'm telling you. The official name of this Thai festival is 'Songkran' which basically Thai New Year. People said that the best place to be was in Chiang Mai so that's where we went. We had to book out bus tickets weeks in advance and even then it was a small challenge to find some. After a few tries we managed to find a company with tickets. Sorted. We arrived early in the morning the day before it started. That was good as it meant we would be able to get to where we were staying without getting wet. We went back to sleep for a bit as it had been a sleepless night on the bus. When we woke we were expecting to have a nice relaxing day but we were told that it had started. We sorted ourselves out, bought some water guns and made our way to the main square. When we arrived it was mad. It was just a massive water fight! Driving in the road were pick-up trucks and in the back were people with barrels of water throwing it everywhere. On the paths were buckets so you could fill up your water and so many people just going mad and having fun. You wouldn't be able to walk down the street without getting soaked. We have to leave our bags behind and put our phones and money in a waterproof pouch. It was so much fun. People even had ice water which was really cold but also really nice in the heat of the day. After acting like kids for a few hours we made our way back to have showers as some of the water used was canal water which wasn't the nicest smelling thing! Once we were clean we went out for dinner before coming back to chill out as it was a good and tiring day.
The next day it was raining. Not a good thing for a water fight but it stopped no one. To start with we went to a temple to give back sand. Basically in the past year whenever you leave a temple you take away some of the sand/dirt from the temple grounds. With the Thai New Year you give back what you have taken. The water throwing is to clean yourself from all the bad things in the past year so you are clean for the new year. After that we went to the main square to wait for the parade. Whilst there we got very wet again. As the sun wasn't out though the ice water wasn't as nice any more. The parade was good fun. Each of the main Buddha's from all the main temples we brought round and we all put water on the Buddha's to clean them for the new year and to bring good luck.
Day three and the sun was shining which was good. Bring on the ice water! After having a late night (3am) we didn't really get up until 1 in the afternoon. We then went out and danced and threw water to our hearts content. It was a lot of fun and we got very wet again for the third day in a row.
Day four and the last day of Songkran. We were lucky enough to have the sun shining so the ice water wouldn't be a problem. When we got to the main place soaking wet already, everything was in full swing. We spent some time just throwing and shooting water and anyone and everyone before going for a walk along the canal. A small mistake. The canal was absolutely filthy and horrible and people were chucking bucket loads of it at us with a lot of force. We quickly changed our plans and went back to the gate area where the water that was thrown was much nicer. For the next few hours we danced our hearts out taking small breaks to do some water fighting with someone who is walking by. It went on for longer on this day as it was the last one so at around 8pm, we walked back home and I couldn't wait for a nice warm shower. This was the day that I attempted to take some pictures. It was quite hard as if I had my camera,it would have been covered in water and that would have been the end of that. Instead I put my phone in a plastic wallet and tried to take pictures through that. They were okay but the pictures that P-Aim took were a lot better. The plastic wallet I had wasn't too good either and when I tried to take some more pictures I found out that it had completely died! At the time I thought that it had run out of battery as in all the other days, it only broke a little bit (I know it managed to break in some way everyday!). On the first couple of days it was just some of the keys. It always ended up being the menu key or the star key which meant that I could never unlock my phone. Luckily, it's a Nokia so it managed to fix its self as these sturdy types do. On the final day though, when trying to take pictures, people would fire at my phone so when I got back and went to charge it, I realised that there was a lot of water under the screen. I let it dry for the night before putting it anywhere near any charger. It's fixed though. The only thing is that the screen is a cloudy and has weird lines but its usable which is all that matters isn't it? This festival has been one of the best parts of the year as it was so much fun. If I have the chance I am definitely coming back to Thailand to experience it in Si Saket or something. The only thing I didn't like were the people who purposely aimed the water in your eyes, ears and mouth. Oh well, its a small price to pay and next time I'll just have to buy some sunglasses for eye protection! One thing I will always remember was that on the first day I heard some guy say “How can we ever go back to normal life?” and I completely agree with him. 
(Pictures will be uploaded soon) 

Petchaburi

This was our final place before going back up to Chiang Mai for Songkran. This was another nice place and i'm glad we stayed a bit longer here. On the first day we went on a temple walk around the town. There were around 13 different temples and it took us most of the afternoon. 


 The second to last temple we went to had a huge Buddha! I had to take so many pictures in sections to get all of him in! The last temple we went to was on top of yet another hill. We went up a back road though so we didn't have to pay. Once up the top we looked around and at the view before coming across what seemed to be another market festival thing. We have been so lucky with our timing. We hung around till it started. We watched a performance of Mort Thai ( this time it was nicer, more like a dance as it was a show of skill and such) followed by a contemporary dance which was stunning. 

 Afterwards we looked around and sat down to make a fish out of some type of bamboo leaf. After watching some more dancing and fireworks we made our way back. On the way we got a bit lost but it was all good in the end. The next day we went to some caves. The first set was in a temple. A guide showed us around the caves and we then went in the temple. 

On the way out I was called over by a monk! I am always nervous when this happens. He started talking to me in Thai and I nodded only understanding about half of it. We were then given a lucky necklace which was really nice of him as he gave out different things to the Thai people around us. Afterwards we went to some other caves which were really nice and cool as the day was so hot. We then had a rest before going back up to the temple on the hill and thee festival thing. This time we spent longer making things before slowly making our way back. This time we didn't get lost!

Prachup Khiri Khan

We stayed here for only one day and night but it was very nice. A lot nicer than Hua-Hin. It was a bit further south on the coast. On the first day we explored the place. There was a good looking temple on top of a big hill. There were a lot of steps and a lot of monkeys. We went for the steps first. I counted them and there were 376 one way so by the time we made it back to the bottom we had done around 752 steps! On the way up it was really hot so we had to stop quite a few times but once we were at the top the view was amazing. When we decided to go back down though, we had a small problem. On their way up were a lot of young monks. We had to tread carefully as we couldn't touch them but the were all running around having fun. They even tried to take pictures of us. I thought it should have been the other way around so I took one of them as well. 



One funny part of the way down was when a monkey hit one of the older monks. He wasn't pleased! Once at the bottom we went to go find more monkeys. We found them in a cave which after a while we realised was their territory and then had to run away as they started to growl and chase us! It was actually really scary as I have no idea how to fend of a monkey. In the afternoon we walked up the beach and in the evening we were fortunate enough to be around for a big market thong which happened on that day. It was by the beach and had a number of food stalls and other stalls with different objects. We also watched some students from a music school perform which was nice. The next day we made our way to Petchaburi.

Hua-Hin



After a good 3 days we then went down to Hua-Hin which was on the coast. It wasn't what we expected. To start with it was very expensive and it wasn't nice an small which is what we expected. On the first day we walked around trying not to spend any money. The next day we went to a small beach with monkey's. We spent the day on the beach relaxing before walking back. To get there we got a 'Song Taeew' (Thai Taxi) which took about 10 mins. We walked back along the beach which was further than we thought. It took us around 45 mins but it was nice as it had cooled down and it was quite peaceful with a nice view. One thing I will never get over is the fact that it can get so hot here that when you go into the sea to cool off, the sea is warm! It's no help what so ever as it just feels weird. The next day we left for the next place on our list.

Kanchanaburi

As you may know the flooding was very bad in the south of Thailand. After Kho Tao, we were going to go to Surat Thani for a 10 days silence meditation course but basically, it was underwater. Instead we made new plans and went to a number of places around Bangkok. The first place we went to was Kanchanaburi which is an amazing place. If you ever go to Thailand, go there as trust me it has everything. Temples, cycling, historical stuff and trekking up waterfalls. This is one of the main places that I wanted to go to since the beginning of the year. On the first day we rented some bicycles and went to a temple which was about 7km away. It was a very hot day but the views were stunning. 
 Once we arrived we had a bit of a rest before mounting the challenge of climbing too many stairs. It took some effort but we made it. 
 At the top we were told to keep our shoes on (?) and follow a man to the back of a cave where the Buddha was. As we flowed him we realised that there was other stuff further on and that he was guiding us through a cave system. If was going fine until we came across a small hole and a bit we had to crawl through. It was lucky we weren't wearing long skirts and good shoes! After that we had to climb a ladder back into the sunlight. The cave was quite cool and going back into the sun was not the nicest feeling as it was so hot. We were then taken along a path back to where we started. Quite a fun adventure. After we had finished we then slowly cycled back to the town stopping every so often to take picture and have a breather and increase the sunburn! 

  The next day we went on a package tour to see a number of different things. To start with we were taken to Erawan Waterfall which is also known as the seven steps waterfall and the thing I have been waiting to see so I was excited. :) Once we got there we were told that we had a couple of hours until we had to be back for lunch. We decided to trek to the top first and then on the way back down go into the waterfalls.



It was a wise decision as we were early so there weren't many people to get in our way and it wasn't too hot. It took us about 1 hour and by the time we got to the top we were so hot it was unreal. It took so much willpower to not just jump in every waterfall we came across. As soon as we got to the top we jumped straight in. Let me tell you, well worth the wait. The only problem were the fish. They are were the sort of fish which eat your dead skin so they kept on 'kissing' our legs and feet. It tickled so much that every time one touched me, I would burst out laughing. We then started to make our way back down to make it back in time for lunch. The next waterfall we went in was one which was full of the fish. We went in anyway. After a while I managed to get used to the fish and before long, you couldn't see my feet as they were covered in fish. After a while they must have finished with my feet as they started to slowly make their way up my legs! After that experience we went in one more waterfall to take some pictures and then went off to lunch. Now, our tour was meant to be the waterfall, a cave and then the death railway. The only problem was that we were in a van with people doing a different tour which included elephants and bamboo rafting and was more expensive. Our guide was amazing though and managed to let us go with then for no extra cost! A good deal in my opinion. After lunch we went to ride the elephants and go bamboo rafting. 

 Following this we went to a cave by the death railway which was used when constructing it and then went on a train along the death railway (ominous name I know).


  We survived though and were then taken back to were we were staying. The last and final day was more relaxed. We started off by going to a different waterfall but as it was the hot season there wasn't much water there so we then moved on to Hellfire pass.


 This was also a part of the Death Railway. A quick look at the pass and we them had to rush back so we didn't miss the last bus. Thankfully we didn't and that evening we met up with some other volunteers and tried out this 10 Baht bar (about 20p). Some of them were not good but we managed to find one that was drinkable. The name was 'Black Cock' with strawberry. We ended up chatting for a while before stumbling back to bed. A good 3 days and my new favourite place in the world.