Island Hopping

Thai beaches are a self-contained paradise. The Singha is as tall as the Pad Thai is wide. We started on Ko Samui and are spending the last six days relaxing on three different islands. A great night-cap to a memorable holiday.

I'll see you when I get home.

(Also started reading Me to We, a book about finding meaning in a material world. Splendid. Coincidentally, written by two thornhill brothers)

Trekking in Northern Thailand

What a phenomenal experience. This was probably one of the most intense physical challenges and culturally revealing experiences in my life.

We left Chiang Mai and bused to Chiang Rai which serves as a hub for those seeking to trek through Thailand's northern rain forests. With a local guide and a machete wielding porter, we were armed to discover Thailand's deepest forests and the tribes that still inhabit them.

I think the majority of the folks in our group thought this would be a leisurely walk guised as a hike, but it quickly transformed into a character building challenge. Perhaps not so for the determined American girl in our group, who previously conquered Kilimanjaro.

Our 3-day trek included staying overnight in two hill-tribe villages. Needless to say the conditions were basic. I tough adjustment for a downtown condo boy, but I was surprised at how quickly man can adjust to his surroundings, for the will to survive is overpowering. Soon I was quite comfortable taking cold showers in jungle streams.

Sleeping in a hill-tribe village is a whole other experience. Roosters start making their calls at 3:30 am, not sunrise as we're often led to believe. Dogs bark intermittently. And hogs squeal occasionally. The mosquito net that you're sleeping under is hardly enough to fog the consistent and persistent noise.

The third and last day of the trek was magical. Not because we could finally give our feet a rest, rather because we rode out of the jungle on elephant back. I like wild animals and my two wishes have been to spend a day chilling with monkeys, chimps or orangutans preferably, and the other to spend a day with elephants. Dreams often come true, in stages. I fed, petted and rode these kings of the jungle to my heart's content. I know pictures are key here, but I'll have to post later on.

Returning to civilization was an equally phenomenal experience as leaving it.

On our last day in the north, we visited the Golden Triangle - where Laos, Burma and Thailand meet and where opium trade once dominated.

A few of us, adventurous types, decided to cross into Burma (Myanmar) for a few hours. Not too much to see, but obviously a poor nation. Real or imagined, an odd chill seemed to be present in this exploited country.

Oddly enough, I saw some Russian tourists crossing as well. The Russians are everywhere.

Now back in the southern park of the country, Ayuthiya, the former capital.

Gotta run, more mosquitoes here than in the jungle.

Chiang Mai

I met up with my GAP group two days ago in Bangkok. I think I got quite lucky with my group; A solid and diverse bunch of 12 Canadians, and one lonely but determined American. Average age is probably 25 and that makes me the third oldest in the group. Though I sometimes feel like an old man due to my inability to consume unhealthy amounts of beer and function on minimal sleep. Our group likes to party. Our group likes the Chang, Singha and Tiger beer varieties all just the same. Even the four nurses in our group seem to have forgotten all that they've learned in nursing school. I try to remind myself that beer is for whimps, bring on the vodka, chumps.

We took an overnight train ride to Chiang Mai and have been spending a few nice days here, away from the hustle of Bangkok. I took a nice bike ride around town and the countryside with my guide, Meow. As she explains, her mother loves cats, so she was named Meow and her sister Miow. Seriously. And of course, I continue to snap away at Wats, Buddhas and many charming monks that we've seen along the way.

Tomorrow we will migrate to Chiang Rai and then begin our 3-day trek through the mountains and jungle. Tonight, I imagine more Changs will be consumed.

Life of Pi in Bangkok

One of the trivial but magnificent pleasures of Bangkok is the feeling experienced after taking a hot shower. After an unimaginably hot, humid and sticky day, the feeling is simply wonderful.

Bangkok is hot, busy, smelly and challenging to navigate. But the sightseeing is often well worth the hassle. I'm staying on Kao San Road, a pretty frenzied area of backpackers and streets touts alike. It's impossible for me to walk more than 10 meters without being offered a tailored suit or a ride somewhere; I'm now partially used to it but also largely tired of it.

To rejuvenate, I went for a thai massage at a massage school in Wat Pho. It felt like I could crumble under the thumbs of my thai masseuse - and that is the definition of a perfect massage.

A few days ago I took a day-trip to the floating market and the tiger temple. The tiger was angry that day, but I looked into his eyes and said "do your worst for I will do mine", and then he was tamed.



Looking forward to joining my group tomorrow and then departing for northern Thailand.

City of Blinding Lights

Copyright: I. Kachko

It looks so beautiful tonight.

A delight for photo enthusiasts, a mecca for shoppers and an endless buffet of culinary experiences.

It often feels like the city of the future and sometimes makes North American cities look somewhat second world. It's quite a marvel.




Tomorrow, I bid farewell to this dynamic metropolis and its dim sum, for a taste of something different, namely Pad Thai.

Discovering Macau

Yesterday started off as a rainy day. I nonetheless hit the streets at 7am, armed with a giant umbrella, ella. This was quite a fun experience as the sidewalks are narrow and people are plentiful and when you add an umbrella to everyone's hand, it makes moving around a challenge. As such, I decided to take a ferry to Macau, known as the Las Vegas of the Orient. I wasn't thrilled about going as I'm not here to sit at a blackjack table, and I've been to the real Vegas. So this was a bit of a backup plan. The skies cleared when I arrived. As it turns out, Macau is actually a highlight! Macau was a Portuguese colony and only recently has been returned to China. The presence of the MGM's and the Wynn's puts Macau on par with Vegas, for gambling junkies. However, unlike Nevada, the European colonizers inevitably left behind European city charm. The kind of charm that all the money in Vegas can never buy with replica theme-park versions of Venice. It's the kind of charm that can only be earned through the passage of centuries. The only thing missing were open air cafes, the Chinese still have a thing or two to learn about coffee.








At night, we went out for a seafood dinner that truly defines the term. All sorts of edible marine varieties were living out their last days in fish tanks. We walked around, picked what we wanted and how we wanted it, and it was made just so.

I like it here.

Hong Kong

I wasn't planning on starting my own blog, but here I am, 3:30am in Hong Kong and I've got insomnia as it's 3:30pm back home. This is my year away from reality, or so it seems, and I want to keep a written memory of my adventures. I was a bit concerned about my long flight to HK; fifteen and a half hours in economy sounded rather insane. What about my blood circulation, and what about all that radiation? (That's right, if you dig, airlines actually disclose and warn that you will be exposed to radiation during a flight that could cause harm). Anyway, life is short, live every day as if it where you last - that's what they say. But before this turns into something that Martin would write, I'm proud to report that Cathay Pacific has mastered the art of flying. My own screen with video on demand and video games made all the difference. Great food complemented the entertainment quite nicely. Three movies later I was almost half way into my flight. Between the digital entertainment and my new read - 100 years of solitude, I was well entertained during my own fifteen and a half hours of solitude. The time flew by, and I did not feel alone.

My host in HK is admirable. Kelvin picked me up from the airport and gave me the keys to his girlfriend's apartment. Now, my accomodation does not include his girlfriend, but it's my own apartment in the center of the city. Regardless, the only girl that's welcome in my flat is Britt.

I just came back from a night on the town, the potentially famous Lan Kwai Fong district. A great scene.


















Looking forward to proper sightseeing tomorrow.