Train Sleeping

It's kind of like saving money to take a night train...it was just under 700 bhat to take the overnight train (currently in progress) and our rooms have been 400-1000 per night. What a bargain! Right now I'm waiting for the train guy to come make my bed. That's not as helpless as it seems...they have to fold it down, and to the sheets and blankets, which they have a speedy knack for. Hopefully it will happen soon and I'll be lulled to sleep as I travel!
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Warning: Gullible Tourist Area

You know that you're in a tourist area when you see a sign like this. Sometimes you can tell if the monk is fake - depending on their attitude, and clothing accessories - too many means it's not a humble monk! Monks do go in the morning to collect donations, and what they get is what they eat - so it is important in the culture to donate. The thing about this, is that the donations don't usually come from tourists - mostly it comes from thai people who believe it is their job to help by giving to those who have less. Though we wouldn't have given to a random monk wondering in a tourist area, I imagine this sign has saved many people.

Dumpster Diving

Dumpster diving has reached a new level in the touristed area of Bangkok where we are staying. I know that making a living off of what others throw away has become quite a fad, and that it is not just a way of subsistence. In New York City, there is a whole community that lives off of their finds-food, clothing, the whole thing..

An oddity that we see here is people selling used items. These could be books (highly normal), travel accessories (sometimes), and even shoes. I don't really see any tourists frequenting the used item stalls, other than for books, so I don't know who buys it, but it must be lucrative because last night I saw a couple going through baskets of garbage from a hotel. They were pulling out shoes, clothes, sect. They were bare handed, which is simply disgusting considering that used toilet paper also goes in garbage cans, but they had pulled out a lot of stuff! One thing about traveling with just a backpack is that once something becomes unnecessary or damaged/broken, the easiest thing is to throw it away. I suppose I was glad to see I wasn't the only one who had tossed usable stuff-but I never imagined the lengths people would go to to get it!
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Another Boat Ride!

We had a boat ride tody tht ws about 3 hours - and it was wonderful for me - for the first 2 hours I sat on the deck outside! You can see my feet hanging over the edge, and it was windy and cool. The other picture is of the "delux" luggage safety system. Basiclly, they load all the luggage in the bck of the boat, and then hope it doesn't rain. If it does, you hope your bag isn't on top. Upon arrival, our bags were thrown from the boat to someone on the dock. It was a bit nervewracking to hope your bag didn't slip and end up in the water!

We followed that up with bus ride tht we thought would be about 10 minutes, and ended up being over an hour. It was such an improvement over the last bus ride - The AC worked, we had decent seats, and the bus didn't break down! We're now waiting for our overnight trin, adn we'll be back in Bangkok for a couple of days before Lewis leaves.

Dream Dinner

On our last night in Hat Rin, we ended up getting dinner late, and I just asked for salad, and got a dream come true - a plate full of green veggies! I know - for those of you who know me taht sounds odd, but here salad usually means one piece of lettuce, two tomato slices, and three cucumber slices on the side of the plate. Or sometimes, they ask if you want "salad" on your sandwich - which includes the same three things. It was phenomenal salad -which they called Israel salad!

Motorcycle Adventure!

Today was another grey day, and so we decided we needed an adventure. Everyone has motorcycles for rent, and we thought, why not! at about $5 per 24hours, it seemed pretty cheap, and they had automatic motorcycles (aka mopeds) which seemed managable. As you can see from the pictures, we were quite stylish on our adventure - we needed the sunglasses because it was raining the whole time! It started to spit a bit just as we signed the paperwork, and decided, what the heck, we wanted to have some fun. Luckily it wasn't a downpour!

Lewis had more eperience on two wheels than I did, and it was hard not to let my legs hang down off the sides becuase I was nervous. Not that I guess my two feet could stop all that weight if I needed to - it just made me feel safe, kind of like training wheels! I wanted to go really fast on the paved straight-aways, but Lewis was more cautious. As you can see the bikes didn't come with helmets. I thought I was zipping along in the lead, and looked down and saw I was going 40 - yikes, that's alot for no helmet. Of course I then realized that it was in kmph, not mph. Small difference. So - I'm not Danica Patrick, but close! It was also difficult because I was not able to turn very well. Quite poorly, in fact, and I was not at all able to turn when I was accelerating. This caused many interuptions in my momentum. The brakes also wouldn't work completely when going downhill. For all it looked a new moped, I was not thrilled with it's performance! It was a blast, and I hope that when Kate gets here she wants to go on an adventure!

As I was trying to finish this another torrential downpour started, and I'm so glad that I'm back! Lewis had gone out for some photographing, and he came back drenched!

Side Note - Pictures won't load now, so I'll add them later!

Just another day in (rainy) pardise...

Look closely and you might be able to see that this is a picture of a torrential downpore! Somehow the people here just know when it's going to rain (as opposed to our odds of being right about 50% of the time). As we were eating breakfast all of the shop owners started pulling out their awnings - a sure sign it was coming. We paid and quickly walked to our hotel as it was getting misty, and then were able to watch from the open-air lobby as the wall of rain moved toward us. It was amzing - I could actually see where the rain started as it moved toward us! It is so different from typical northwest rain.

On days like this, we are not able to be outside much, though we did just jet over to lunch during a break in the downpour. We watched a version of "Kung Fu Panda" that was clearly recorded by someone sitting in the theater, then copied. There were English subtitles (though the movie was in English...) and so many words were misspelled, and often if there was a lot of talking, only the first bits would be on the screen, then it would just leave off for a while till the next charcter started talking. It was odd - but the sub titles are helpful because often you can't hear all of the words due to the poor sound quality.

While we wish it was bright and sunny every day in paradise, we're ultimately just hoping tomorrow will be nicer since it's our last full day here before we head for the mayhem of Bangkok. It will take about 20 hours and a taxi, boat, bus, and train to get there - could it get any more complicated? The up side is it's only costing us about $50 each, rather than $150 or so for the plane ticket. And it's overnight so we save $20-30 on a room.

Sounds strange to be skimping over such small amounts of money, but not only are things more expensive than the last time we were here, the US dollar is worthless over here. We meet people from all different countries, and when the topic comes up, they pretty much feel sorry for us. I have been asked a few times if it will be better when we get a new president...what do I say? I hope so! It's always interesting talking to people from other countries and hearing their perspectives on America, the presidential election, and how it all compares to other places.

We're doing quite a lot of reading - Lewis is on his third Stephen King book, and I'm struggling to find books that I haven't read yet, that are also not complete garbage. Needless to say, I've read a fair bit of garbage. The quality books are just so much more expensive than even at home. The e-mails we get make for much better reading - thanks to everyone who is writing to us, we love to hear from you!

Chicken Oatmeal

Sounds gross, right? Well, Lewis being the more adventurous eater, decided to try the Asian breakfast today (as opposed to the usual American or English varieties). These breakfasts come with an assortment of things considered normal fare in their respective countries. The Asian breakfast listed rice, soup, chicken. Of course they all come in one bowl...so, much to Lewis's surprise he found himself eating soupy rice with pieces of chicken in it-with a very oatmeal-like texture. Not exactly what he was hoping for (no wonder it was cheaper)!
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Truck Ride from Bottle Beach to Hat Rin

Our Bungalows on Bottle Beach

While we started out in a more fancy place, for about $10 a night, we switched to the economy option, seeing as no matter where we stayed, there wasn't air conditioning, and this way we were right on the beach. It was wonderful, and Lewis spent many hours in his hammock! We're happy to be in Hat Rin now, in luxury accomodations with AC and a SWIMMING POOL!!! for $30 a night. It's a lot to pay, but we are trying to finish off with an enjoyable week here.

Lewis Making His Instant Coffee

Some things we are missing about America...

In no particular order, with ideas from both Megan and Lewis...
1. Real cheese, not the processed, individually wrapped kind
2. Free refills on pop and coffee at restaurants
3. Our couch
4. Wearing socks and shoes with some arch support
5. Free toilet paper and hand soap in bathrooms (did I mention our current beach hut doesn't have a sink? We brush our teeth using a hose and spitting on the floor and washing it down a hole in the floor)
6. Mexican food
7. Driving
8. Having clean feet
9. Being dry (not sweating)
10. Phones
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Sea Life

Regardless of my fear of fish, I have spent a bit of time studying the crabs scurrying along the beach here. Not yesterday, because it was so overcast that we were inside all day, but today. There are all of these little white crabs and they dig holes. When they run across the sand they move so fast that I can't even see their legs moving, it's as if they were floating! When I lay on the beach, I often watch just one-it'll come scurrying up out of a hole in the sand, pause half way out, and then run out, dump a clawful of sand out and return to repeat the process. I can't figure out why they dig the holes, but they aren't for permanent homes, because they're within the tide line. They range in size from as small (legs included) as a nickel, to as big as a fist. The big ones are the most fun to watch since you can actually see what they are doing. When you sneak up on them, they dash to the water if you're blocking their hole!

The other sea life I have encountered is a bit more mysterious. Sometimes when we're swimming there is a sharp pain, like a sting in one specific location on our bodies, a leg, hand, whatever. I really don't think Lewis is pinching me, because I'd know it, and it probably isn't fish bites since there aren't any to be seen where we swim. Someone suggested jellyfish, and that seems reasonable, though I haven't seen any-maybe that's why they are so sneaky, you CAN'T see them!

The sheer number of flies buzzing around and landing on me are driving me crazy, seeing as I'm invading their much coveted shade, so it's time to get moving. A couple more days in this paradise and it will be time to move on. I'm almost out of books which is the sure sign to move (5 books since we got to this beach). The next beach has a used book store and I'll feel much better not worrying about running out of reading material. (I know-self proclaimed queen of the nerds!)
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Same Same...But Different!

Same, same...these words are used over and over by the Thai people when they are offering goods or services that are not exactly what you asked for. But different... is the reply of the Farang, or foreigner.

We have experienced this many times in looking for rooms at guest houses or buying products at markets. Things are the same in the broadest sense, like both items are t-shirts, but have different logos or colors- clearly not quite the "same."

The most recent example was with our bungalow on the hill (which we have moved from). We reserved a different bungalow, closer to the water, and they kept insisting that the one all the way at the top of the hill was the same because it was also for two people...so, you see, many things that are the same, are actually different. Maybe this would make a good algebra lesson! It reminds me of comparing x's and y's to apples and oranges, even though it's all fruit.
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London Bridge is falling down...oh wait, Megan is falling down!

Some of you may remember the story of my graceless face plant on the street in Brussels, and it seems that it is doomed to become a regular occurrence in my travels. Tonight I had a semi-legitimate reason. We decided to go over to the neighboring guest house's restaurant to grab some Twix fritters for desert. It's about 400 meters in the sand, with a small stream in the middle that has a very untrustworthy and makeshift bridge over it. Rain had been looming all day, and as we heard it start just as the credits for Borat started, we paid our bill and made a run for it. This is no gentle Seattle drizzle we're talking about-these were large droplets of water that were quickly increasing in size and quantity! We started to run-thank goodness we weren't wearing shoes. We were half way, and we braved going across the bridge together to avoid further drenching. Across the bridge, I ran to catch up with Lewis. In this dash, I forgot about the hill I had to run UP to get to the level of sand our bungalow was on. All it took was one misstep in that squishy sand, and I was on the ground with a thud. Luckily it was an uphill slope, and my fall was lessened. I saved my face from hitting the ground, but was covered in wet sand, all clumpy from the rain. Because it was only continuing to rain harder, I just kept going. It wasn't until I was in the bathroom with the bidet hose trying to clean off that I realized how much of a mess I was!

At least I wasn't on my was to the full moon party, which is tonight. The famous all night party is a few beaches away, and all those people must be miserable, unless they're already too drunk to care. The party goes 'till 7am tomorrow, and everyone who took a boat there is just stuck on the beach...
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Mozzie Net

At first, sleeping under a mosquito net might seem kind of exotic or romantic-the mesh fabric draped around the bed and all flowy-this mesh cloth cascading out from a circle centered above the bed... Are you feeling the mood yet? Well, that's how it appears from the outside-almost like a romantic movie. Well, there is a reason mosquito nets aren't used in many movies, and I don't think it has to do with picture quality.

Lewis and I have done without the mosquito net until now, and even with bug spray have suffered from it. Tonight we decided it was a necessity, since our "beach bungalow" is up in the trees. Having spread the netting around the bed (with the foresight to be inside the netting during the process) I promptly realized that the fan was blowing the netting all over the bed. I then attempted to secure the netting by tucking the edges in under the mattress. I had just barely gotten it to fit when Lewis called up from the shower for his towel. Crap.

I am again ensconced in the netted anti-paradise, and better not have any bug bites tomorrow! Oh, and now we are trying to figure out how to share the top sheet we were given-the problem being that it is actually a fitted sheet. Slightly problematic given that we're so hot that we don't want to be even close to touching. Paradise...just keep thinking about the lovely beach that will be sunny again in a few hours...
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Bottle Beach

We've come back to the isolated beach that we love and after a bit of a shuffle we have a place to stay as long as we are here. The obstacle this time is that we're on the top of a hill! Literally, we're both huffing and puffing after the climb. The view is amazing and since we're on the east side of the island, I hope to sit on the porch and see the sunrise!

We were supposed to have a bungalow just off the beach, which we had reserved, but in the informality of business operations here, there was a "mistake" and someone else got the room. We were annoyed-well, Lewis was more than annoyed because he had picked that specific cabin the day before. The locals hate conflict, but Lewis was calm, cool and collected as he discussed ot with one of the owners for 45 minutes...really, I couldn't have done it. We ended up with this room upgrade (UP the hill, and a nicer room) and are paying less. It's working out fine, thankfully.

It's hard work getting a tan, but we're determined to succeed! The beach is white and sandy, the water is calm and clear, and it's easy to see why it's more crowded now than 3 years ago. All of the guest houses are adding more bungalows as fast as they can, and turning guests away every day because they are full!
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School of Fish

Driving around here (SE Asia) is an experience to be had. I imagine I feel much like a scuba diver amid a school of fish. The way the cars flow in and out of the lanes, pass each other no matter the circumstances, and tailgate within an inch of their life can only be compared to a school of fish. Blinkers are unnecessary. Buses pass each other while going uphill on two lane roads. Mothers and fathers wear helmets in motorcycles, while holding one or two bare headed children on their laps. It's phenomenal that accidents are so rare. And it's not as if they are without the cell phones that are often blamed, or the alcohol we see causing so many accidents. Really, the skill must be genetic. America would get it's butt kicked in the driving Olympics.
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I'm Leaving...On a Jet Plane...

We booked our tickets today! We'll fly on Tuesday from Chiang Mai to Koh Samui - we're ready to go back to the beach. We debated going for some jungle adventure in eastern Thailand, but really, we want to relax on some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It's a bit of a splurge, but we're excited to get back there. We will probably spend most of our time on Koh Pha Ngan, which was our favorite island last time, and is a bit less touristy than Koh Samui.

American Style Breakfast

We haven't exactly switched to noodle soup and rice for breakfast...Today was a splurge - it was $10 USD, but we had tea, coffee, and Lewis got breakfast burritos with refried beans, and a waffle. I had avocado on toast and refried beans. What a taste of home! I think Mexican food is the thing I miss most when I travel!

Birkenstocks

WOW - Birkenstocks for 180 Bhat - that's about 5 dollars - am I lucky or what. Oh wait - there is no real leather anywhere on them, and they'll probably break in a week. It is amazing how much stuff they sell here that is so "real" looking. Of course you can tell they are not really Birkenstocks, but they even had a tag written in German, and the sizing is the same - I can't imagine what kind of sweat shops produce them, given the worries about labor for authentic products. Lewis thinks maybe people put them together in their homes...who knows - Many things at the night market are made by the people, they work on them right there on the spot - but we've also seen many wholesale stores that sell this stuff, and the locals are just trying to make money. It's a weird situation - but the Thai people buy the stuff too, so it's not only for the tourists.

Culture

Though it may sound like all we do is eat, sleep, and use icky toilets, we have seen some great things already. The picture of the ruins is from Ayuthaya - there are some Wats that are almost as old as Ankgor Wat in Cambodia. The newer one is from a Wat in Chiang Mai - I just wanted to show how they are all decorated so ornately. It was getting dark, so it's not a great picture - but you can see how intricate the designs are.

Lewis Gets Another Shave

Picture This

Many people have asked about the squat toilets, and so I thought I'd offer a little lesson. In this picture you can see the toilet itself. It is very narrow - almost impossible to put your feet on the two sides as intended, so I usually leave my feet on the ground - a wider stance allows for better balance. You would squat facing the door, in all instances. Around the toilet you can see the necessary accessories - a bucket for flushing, a hose to use as a "bidet feature" (spelling? I am not so hot withe french), and a garbage can for the toilet paper. Notice - there is no toilet paper in this bathroom - you bring your own if you are not a fan of using the hose. (Which I can never figure out how to do without drenching my clothes, so I pack around mini-kleenex packages!

Coffee?

Starbucks has become a blessing, though it is rather unauthentic in Southeast Asia! Lewis loves his morning coffee, but around here we have yet to find a coffee shop or resturaunt that keeps pots of coffee. Even when it is advertised as regular coffee - really it's an americano. There are three basic options:
1) Americano in a very small cup (called coffee)
2) A tea bag of coffee with hot water poured over it just like if you were making tea. (called coffee)
3) Espresso shot (called coffee)

Given these choices, Lewis is always at a loss for what to do. We have tried asking if it will be real coffee before ordering, making hand motions that might describe a coffee pot, but really the people just nod and smile and say "yes, yes" and then we get one of the above options. Yesterday we found our first Starbucks since Kuala Lumpur, and Lewis was in heaven. I have not needed the tea from there as much because it has been pretty normal. It's usually Liption, and pretty weak, but often enough it's good.

Chiang Mai

We have had the most relaxing 24 hours possible!!! Lewis and I took a deep breath as soon as we arrived in Chiang Mai - it was one of our favorite cities last time we were here, and though it has become more Americanized, it is still wonderful. It is not as busy and stressful as other cities, and there is an old city inner moat area that has everything we could need. Last time we were here there was one Starbucks, and now there are several, and after several weeks, it is so nice to get a drink and know what it will taste like. We have found a great guesthouse, had massages yesterday, and even got laundry done. It is so great to know that none of the clothes in my bag have dried sweat on them! I even managed to get my nails done, which was more of a thorough cleaning process than anything else.

It seems like we have been at one extreme or the other throughout our trip - in heaven or hell basically! Sometimes that's what traveling is like, but it is so nice to be here. I was worried that I would begin to feel tired of traveling or Asia too quickly, since I still have about 6 weeks here, but it doesn't seem like too long at all. If anything, I feel jealous of the students from Austrailia and Europe who are here for 6months to a year. It seems to be pretty common for students to take a year before or after college and backpack around. We have met many people who have come through India or Russia, and are doing most of SE Asia, going to Austrailia and New Zealand, and then most go to South America or the states. Most students seem to have worked for several months and banked all their money and are going as long as it lasts. It makes me wish I had more time! Many people are doing this as a family or with really young kids, which is also encouraging. I think Lewis and I will probably try that at some point!

I meant to post some more pictures today, but the computer does not recognize my camera, so I'll find somewhere else soon.

Sorry...Bus Broken - Please Get Off!

The bus was broken. What else can I say to describe our mood early this morning after spending all night on the broken bus? We originally planned to take the sleeper train from Ayuthaya to Chiang Mai, but found out it was full for the next two days...we just didn't have the time to wait around for that, but our guesthouse owner said,"Bus is better. Bus always on time, Thai trains late very often. You take bus be very happy. Seat lay back, air condition, toilet - only 12 hour." Wow - this sounds good, except this woman would try to sell a rock off the street for $100 if she thought anyone would buy it. She was a pretty serious entrepreneur!

We took a deep breath and bought the bus tickets. That's how most backpackers travel anyway, it's cheaper, and buses leave every night for all destinations around Thailand. It's not like a Greyhound service where they are all run by a central company, but all of these little guesthouses and travel service people get together, so there are lots of buses going, and you just pick one. We did - thinking it would be easy to just leave from our guesthouse that night. The owner said - be here at 7:30 you can shower bus leave at 8.

At 7:00 we showed up to take our showers...too bad there were several other people there doing the same thing, so while Lewis took a quick shower, I decided to just wait, I'd be sleeping anyway! At 8:00pm, we all started looking for the bus, knowing there were no assigned seats, and it'd be a mad dash for the good ones. (Little did we know that almost all the seats were taken - the bus was full and we were the last stop............grr.....) At 8:25 we asked when the bus would arrive. "Soon, soon - it rain in Bangkok and there is traffic. Maybe 9:00, maybe 10 minutes" Hmm...so much for buses always being on time. We became quite doubtful about this whole adventure. At 9:25, the bus arrived and we loaded our bags below and ran up for seats. We got two together but they were in front of this bulkhead thing, so our legs were squished. At least we were together - there were two families with teenagers and they were split up all around the bus in the remaining seats.

Some problems came up...first, the bus kept stalling. I mean, like the engine would stop, and it would jolt and shudder like when you're learning to drive a car with manual transmition and you stall and it feels like an earthquake in the car. The bus driver would rev the engine, stop for a minute on the side of the road, and then start up again. I have no idea why it stopped and then was able to start again, but this happened about once an hour. Lewis and I began to seriously doubt we were going to get to Chiang Mai at all! After a crappy kung fu movie blaring for the first hour and a half we thought we'd finally be able to get some sleep. From 11pm-2am, it was stop and go with the engine, and then at 2:00am, we pull into a rest stop. 30 minute break. Great, who wants a break at 2am????? So we pile out, use the toilets that are actually working (unlike the one on the bus) and get back on.

By the time the break was over, we were so tired, that I at least managed to catch 3 or so hours of sleep, before the bus stalling got so bad that I couldn't stay asleep. It was bad - the whole trip other buses and semi-trucks were passing us even when we were driving at the bus's top speed. (note - this was a V.I.P. bus - I wonder what the qualifications are for that ranking?) We were supposed to arrive by 8am. At 8:30 the bus pulled over on the side of the road. It was clearly not a rest stop, so we were all confused. Some people got off the bus to have a cigarette, and the lady helping the driver said, "Sorry...bus broken - tell others get off." Um...what exactly were we supposed to do? We were in the middle of a small mountain pass!

It turns out, they had arranged for 3 pick-up trucks fitted with benches and roofs (open on the sides) to drive us the remaining hour to Chiang Mai. Which is nothing like a VIP bus - there were 10 people in a truck which was super crowded - no wiggle room. The best part was the fresh air - the driver of the bus had turned off the air conditioning earlier in the night due to the problems with the bus and wouldn't turn it back on...We were cranky to say the least. Lewis figures he never really slept at all, which kind of makes sense, because if my legs were squished his must have been. We got dropped off at a random guesthouse in Chiang Mai almost two hours later than our expected arrival time, and managed to find a place. It wasn't in the guidebook, which is probably why the price was cheaper, but it's a fine room, and we're NEVER TAKING AN OVERNIGHT BUS AGAIN. We will wait for the train again.

(Note - most people do not have this experience with the buses - we're just lucky)

Waxing off my scabs

Some things to consider...
1. Don't travel to places with sneaky little mosquitos so small you don't even know you're being bitten.
2. If you get a billion bug bites, don't scratch them because they turn into unseemly scabs that make you look like you have some sort of plague.
3. If you get the bug bites, and if you happen to scratch them, certainly do not let your leg hair grow, and if it does, just ignore it.
4. If you not only got bug bites, but scratched them and think the long, dark leg hairs make them look worse, certainly do NOT go get your legs waxed.

Clearly all of these things have happened to me, or I would not be able to give this expert advice. I did go to get my legs waxed, which was great, except that the normal waxing pain was quadrupled every time one of my bug bites was also waxed. To make it worse, there were two very conscientious Vietnamese women working on me together, one waxing and the other plucking any stray hairs out with her fingernails, as if she were plucking a chicken-I don't think they missed a single hair or scabby bite! Once again, either the polite nature of the culture or the lack of English skills prevented them from asking if I had a disease-though I have to wonder what was going through their minds...
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Forgot the Ouch!

I got so excited about writing what our 5 star accomodations were like I forgot to write about the whole thing yesterday! The reason I said "aaaaah...ouch" was because I went for my first massage since we've gotten here. I was so excited, and paid for the oil massage - I didn't realize that when it says oil massage it traditionally implies "sweedish oil massage" and is more than a traditional thai massage. I guess the missing word was important because I had a very pokey massage. The thai massage involves a lot of poking of pressure points. and digging into muscles, not in the relaxing comforting way, but in the rearranging your muscles way. After traveling and carrying a backpack for 2 weeks, this is not what I had hoped for! While I felt good after, the poor man could tell that it was painful for me. He just kept laughing...I think that was kind of rude, but he probably didn't know what to do, or was completely grossed out by my million mosquito bites, and was trying to figure out what to say.

I thought about waiting until the mosquito bites had cleared, but I am just resigned to looking like I have the plauge - so far I have not seen ANYONE with this many bug bites, so maybe they all just think we have the chicken pox - but no one has denied us a room, so that's reassuring. We're off to find a pharmacy and some more anti-itch cream pretty soon!

Aaaaah...Ouch!

We happily arrived in Ayuthaya around noon today and found a lovely guest house that feels like a 5 star hotel! We have AC, hot water showers, and even a mini-fridge. It's about $17-19 USD a night, we're loving it! We went on a boat tour of some wats tonight (Buddhist temples) and it was interesting to go by water. The ruins were impressive, but the others were mostly closed for the evening.

The river we were on was a sight to see in and of itself! It was so dirty and murky, that it actually looked like chocolate milk. The real problem is that all the sea food served here is most probably from that very river. Needless to say, I got a fried egg on rice for dinner... One of the grossest things was that there were quite a few Thai kids swimming and playing in the water. I didn't even want it to splash on me.

A highlight for the day-we had amazing pad Thai at a street restaurant, so amazing that Lewis had two plates.

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Plans

After quite a bit of research, we finally made our plan and hit the train tracks this morning! We are on a train from the southern Thai border, going all the way up to Bangkok, where we'll get a train north to Auytthaya. We thought we'd soak up some culture and then go back to the beach for the end of Lewis's time here. The main catch is that we kind of thought we were hopping on a 12 hour train, and we have come to find out it's 22 hours-a bit more than planned. Good thing we paid the extra for a sleeper car with AC! We're mostly really glad to be back in Thailand!
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Itchy Itchy, Scratchy Scratchy

We are having a mosquito bite epidemic! While in Kota Bharu there were apparently a lot of mosquitos at night- our room came with a mosquito coil, but it didn't work, and now I have probably over 100 bites. I counted 17 just on my left hip this morning. Last night I couldn't sleep for itching so badly, even after slathering Tiger Balm all over my body, and even trying lotion to moisturize. Today we finally bought some anti-itch gel. I applied it liberally on the bus, only to discover it leaves a gross chalky texture on your hands and makes the skin have dried white paste where it is applied. The basic gist is I look completely diseased with tons of red spots all over, covered in a nasty white film. I have never experienced anything like this, but at least the gel worked, I am itch free now!!
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Pictures

Here is a link to a set of pictures from our first two weeks in Malaysia!

Transportation and Toilets - Sound Familiar?

FYI - this is a picture of hot dogs already mayonaised and ketchup'ed that were out on a table at our rest stop - I just couldn't even imagine eating one!

It seems like the past two days have been an endless set of stories about transportation and toilets. We left our beach on Tioman Island with the off roading adventure, only to get to the other side in Mersing and find that the busses to our next destination (Kota Baru) were all booked for three days. We had no idea that this would be the case, and the town we were in was not appealing for a two or three day stay! Of couse there was a solution - ther always is! A man from a bus counter ensured us that he could take us with another couple to Idon - this little town an hour north and from there we could catch a public bus to the next town - Kuantan - and then there would be a bus from there to Kota Baru because it was a bigger city. This all sounds nice, and when you are flying from airport to airport it is usually not a problem to make connections - but with even one connection here there is so much room for error! We met up with a nice couple from England (right near Warwick Castle, where I spent the night last summer!) and the four of us hopped in a mini-bus (translation mini van) for a crazy ride up the coast to Idon. We arrive at this bus station that is rural and dirty beyond belief. There are two places to sit and get food and a huge concrete area for busses to pull through. We are told that in 40 minutes our bus will leave. Feeling reassured that we made the first connection, we grab a bite to eat. There are two busses in the parking lot. Sophie went to ask if one of them was ours because we had only 10 minutes to departure. The man said "not this one" "wait in there" pointing to the other resturaunt. So - being the obliging tourists we are, we waited. In a few minutes the bus pulled out - we were confused- upon asking again the main told Sophie that no, the driver was having lunch over there, and that that had been our bus. %#*&& This is the kind of thing that happens occasionally, which really messes up our plans. Of course...we were most lucky and there was a bus in just two hours.

After trying to catch the 2:30 bus and missing it, we were all certain we would have to use the toilet - see toilet experience #1! Finally, after walking to an ATM to get money, and waiting for the bus we boarded the dilapidated city bus. The driver had his million (okay maybe 4) dirty kids hanging out on the bus, and as it filled up we realized that it was going to be jammed full - good thing we had seats. This turned out to be a milk-run bus, and we stopped every 10 minutes or so for the next 3 hours. Upon arriving in Kuantan, we just took a taxi (a Mercedes - if you had a Mercedes would you turn it into a taxi????) to a guest house. Sophie and I ran up to check the rooms - needless to say we were tired and didn't do such a careful job, and it ended up being the worst place Lewis and I have ever stayed!!! The sheets were dirty, so we had to get new ones, there was only a squat toilet, and the air conditioner basically didn't work. We did our best - using our sleep sheets and our own clothes as pillows - and got out by 8:00 the next morning.

We made our way to the bus station - thinking we had a good deal going since we were going to be on an express bus. Man - you should have seen the satin and lace curtains in this bus - they were insane!! Of course this would not be easy either, but at least this time we had made a reservation ahead for a place to stay, so we weren't so worried. The bus ride was supposed to take 6 hours, which meant there would be a stop half way through. Last time we did this we stopped at a pretty modern bus station with an indoor food court and toilets - not so lucky this time. We pulled off the side of the road at a family run resturaunt and more squat toilets...This is where we found the hot dogs in the picture above! I ate the yogurt I had brough from 7-11, and a bag of peanuts while Lewis dove into the food, braving whatever it might be! It worked out okay, and thinking we had only 3 hours left, we bought a pop for later on the bus and hit the road.

Complication: The whole road that goes up the coast was under construction - I mean, why work on just one section at a time when you can tear the whole thing up???? It was insanely slow, and to top it off, there were police check points every 30 minutes or so which meant all traffic slowed and stopped. So - when we had about 45 minutes left, I was feeling good and popped open my diet coke - bad idea! We were supposed to arrive at 5:00pm, and by 6:00 I had to go to the bathroom so badly it was hard to sit still. At 7:15 our bus dropped us off at a random corner in the middle of Kota Baru, and we called the guesthouse - at 8:00 I was finally able to go to the bathroom in our room, and by then I was REALLY grumpy!

Our room here is pretty nice, no AC, but it's not right in the sun so it stays cool enough. Our task now is to figure out if we're going to go to the Perhentian Islands, to Thailand to bum around, or jet over to Vietnam because we've heard such great things. These are the tasks for today!

TOILETS:
1) Bus Station Toilets - this was a new experience for me. I have used so many squat toilets that it hardly affects me any more. I haven't mastered pooing in them because it's so awkward, but I'm pretty good at keeping clean and being quick. At the bus station in Idon, we were shown to a room off the kitchen with a concrete floor. You would think - okay - what am I supposed to do in here - did you misunderstand me when I asked for the "toilet"? But no - here there is a flat concrete floor, with a hole in it about 1.5 inches in diameter. You pee on the floor, and wash it down the hole. I mean, in this situation, where do you even stand, people have probably gone everywhere!!!! There is even a brush and hose incase you poo. Goodness knows that wasn't going to happen! We all went as quickly as possible, and just hoped for the best. Needless to say my hand sanitizer is almost gone!
2) This is also teh first time we have stayed in a room that only had a squat toilet. The beauty of this is that every time someone on a floor above you pees or poos and then washes it down you can hear the whole thing! In the middle of the night it woke Lewis up and he was so confused about what the noise was! There is also a shower head on the wall next to the squat toilet - you just turn it on and stand next to the toilet to wash up. This was all about the most unsanitary business since the time we stayed in a chicken shack in Koh Tao last time.

That's enough about this business - We'll keep you updated about what we decide to do next!

Our Home on Tioman Island!

Water Bottle Collection - 4 Days

Off-Roading

We are on our off-roading adventure across the island, and it is literally both off-road and adventurous! It is off road because, well, they haven't finished the road through the jungle! The adventure is coming in many parts-first, in the storm last night many trees fell over the road, so we have an obstacle course. Secondly- the truck just died.. So here we are in the middle of the road, having been told to find "big rock" for behind the tires. Now, maybe it's my arrogant Americanism, but it's a rain storm out there and he wants me to find a rock? How about him? We are paying 40 USD to get 8 km, which is a complete rip off, and I have to find the rocks??? Ok-so Lewis and the french guy we're sharing the ride with found some rocks and we sort of got going, but the truck keeps stalling... I think we'll make it because we're almost over the top of the hill, but the truck still keeps stalling and making noises that would have me calling AAA!

We arrived! Finally-and may I just say that a sports bra is recommended for this trip!
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Call to Prayer

This is the first time I have ever been anywhere that broadcasts a call to prayer 4 times a day. Malaysia has a large Muslim population, but not exclusively. In Kuala Lumpur we weren't able to hear it, even in little India! It makes for an interesting method of keeping time, and though I have yet to observe many people going to pray at this time on the island, the men did all get up and leave once the call sounded at the boat terminal. it is one of the things that has made me most notice that I was in the minority (even more than the fact that I am not Asian)!
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Mexican dogs...Malaysian cats

You know how when you go to Mexico and the mangey gross dogs are everywhere, living it up on the beach? Well that is how the cats are here- they're everywhere, and clearly all come from similar blood lines, since this is such an isolated area of the island. Lewis, of course, hates cats and when they are meowing outside our cabin or wandering in and out of the tables at the restaurants, I am always sure he's going to pick them up and just throw them as far as he can. Of course he would never actually touch one, so this hasn't happened yet! I think the kittens are really cute, but I think Lewis would leave me here and now if I picked one up! What a life for cats!

Sweat-proof Sunscreen?

We have some lovely sweat proof sun screen for these humid islands, but today I am beginning to wonder what exactly sweat proof means...when it was time to lather up after the brief tropical rain storm, we were both dripping with sweat-plural drips, mind you! It made the sun screen into a slimy-mushy concoction, and so far it seems to have resulted in a rather stripey sun tan for Lewis. I guess sweat proof implies that you start sweating AFTER the sun screen application!

Other than the sweat issue, things are wonderful. Lewis is taking wonderful pictures, and I have completed an unprecedented number of logic puzzles!
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Tioman Island

We have arrived in paradise!!! We have been on this island for 2 days now and it is everything we hoped for. It is sunny, the beaches are white and sandy, and there is internet - though it's dial-up, and I had forgotten how slow that is! I am still writing posts from my phone and they'll all post when we leave the island, but we'll probably be here for 4 more days or so. We had to wait an hour to use the internet, so we won't be doing much of this, but it seems unnecessary with the white sandy beach.