Igor The Troll

Bamboo Rafting

I have been coming to Thailand for many years, but the best time I had there was when I went jungle trekking with my lady. I love trekking through the woods and have done it a number of times already; so I had no inhibition to do it without a guide.

We started out in Pai. It is a small town in the North of Thailand around Chang Mai. We asked a few locals how to get to the trek, but they did not provide us the information. They were keen on selling us a trek program, which was done in a group with a guide. After some perseverance we found one guy who just said, “Get on the bus at the market going towards Pitichai and get off at marker 19 kilometers. Once you on the trek keep walking to Camp Chang – The Elephant Camp!”

Harnessed with the rudimental directions, we got confidence to do the trek. We picked up some basic provisions like cheese and bread at the market, and set out to the trek early in the morning. We got on the bus and get off at marker 19 kilometers, as was recommended. A few minutes late we disappeared into the jungle. Walking the small path we were alone. The path weaved around small hills crossing brooks and streams. At times, we waded through the water or other a bamboo made bridges following the trek.

We must have walked for 3 hours or so before we came across some indigenous people. They were Lisu girls doing their laundry in a small pool of water. I asked, “Camp Chang?” One of the girls just pointed up the trail. We continued to walk. We walked for 2 more hours. Getting anxious that there was no villages around, all of the sudden, we saw a couple on a moped bopping up and down on the trail ahead. That was when we knew we were close to a village.

We continued up the trail and in no time we were upon a small village with maybe 30 houses sprawled out a small valley. We must have walked for 7 hours straight and were too tired to look around. We stopped at the first house. There was a gentleman smiling at the entrance of the house. I motioned to him if we can sleep on his property. I put my two palms together sort of in a praying position and placed them under my head. Then I took my tent bag off my shoulder and pointed to his compound. He understood us, and beckoned us to come on to his ground.

We were really tired but we had to set up our tent. I was very hungry and tried to explain to our host, who spoke no English that we wanted to eat. I brought my fingers to my mouth and then to my stomach. He did not understand me. Then I saw a chicken running around the grounds. I pointed to the chicken and then to my mouth. The old gentleman went into the house and came out with a rifle. He pointed to the chicken and then drew a diagonal line with his finger across his cheek. I smiled and showed him some money. The rifle was a flint type that he loaded up with buckshot. Bang, the chicken was dead!

The lady of the house picked up the chicken and took it in the house to prepare. Half an hour latter we were called into the house to eat. We walked to the table that was set up just for two people, and the fried chicken was laid in front of us. I felt bad to eat the chicken by ourselves and motioned our host family to join us, which they gladly did. The chicken was really delicious, and the old gentleman brought out some rice wine. Wow, that stuff was really strong. It was home made moonshine. We ate our dinner and went to sleep. We were exusted!

The next day we got up early in the morning. In front of us we saw a sprawling field that looked like puppy flowers. I pointed to the field, looking at our host. He waved his hand pointing to another direction. I realized they were growing drugs there and that we should not go there. We thanked our host and paid him 3 usd for the chicken and sleeping on his grounds. He smiled and waved us goodbye.

We walked through the village, passing a few houses while the natives looked at us with curiosity. A few minutes later we were out of the village, back on the trail to Camp Chang. After a few hours on the trail we came upon a Mong village. Mong people wear colorful embroidered clothes with silver coins hanging on them. The village was really rustic and old. A few children were running around naked playing around. It was really primitive. We did not want to bother the serenity of the village, asked for Camp Chang, and continued up the trail.

Four hours latter we crossed a river and were at Camp Chang. There were a bunch of elephants feeding on grass. The people there spoke some English and told us it cost 10 usd a person to ride an elephant. We explained we want to go to the place were you can take a bamboo raft back to Pai. They said no problems. We slept under a bamboo awning, and in the morning we were ready to ride.

I always wanted to ride and elephant, but was a bit scared to get on a 3 to 5 tons beast. We were brought to a raised platform from which I climbed onto the beast. The elephant slumbered slowly down the path wading through the river. In the river other elephants were taking a bath. They seemed to enjoy the frolicking, spraying water on themselves. The ride took 2 hours and was really boring. I had no driver guide, my lady did. The stupid elephants were really slow. I almost fell asleep.

We arrived at the bamboo rafting area, paid the elephant guide, and were met by the bamboo raft guide. He told us it is 10 usd for the raft to go back to Pai. We said ok. We got on a bamboo raft that was made of bamboo trees tied together. The raft was about 6 feet wide and 18 feet long. The river started out calmly but turned violent down the road. There were small waterfalls that we drooped down on. It was really fun and exhilarating. The guide was in front with a bamboo rode guiding the raft. I was in the back stabilizing the raft. My lady was in the middle enjoying the ride. At one point we were moving really fast and jumped a waterfall. I fall off the raft! The guide slowed the raft down, and I climbed back on board.

After 3 hours on the bamboo raft the river current got slow and we were approaching Pai. The guide said he needs to park the raft by the bridge and we can wade on to the shore. As we approached the concrete bridge we hit a pillar gently to dock. All of the sudden the raft bindings snapped and the raft felt apart. Our bags and all our stuff went sinking into the water. The water was not deep, so we were able to quickly recover our stuff and get onto the dry ground. The guide apologized fro the raft breaking down. We paid him and socking wet limped back to the village.

Back it the guesthouse, in our room we took our stuff out off our bags to dry. Our money, traveler checks, our passports were laid out in the middle of the room to dry. I even took a picture of the wet loot. It was really funny to go down the river for 3 hours with no problems, but for the raft to fall apart upon arrival. Life is strange!

Backpacking Thailand

I heard many interesting things about Thailand. That it is very warm, there are many beautiful beaches, lush green tropical jungles, and delicious food. Also, that the people are very friendly. But I guess the main reason why I chose Thailand for my vacation was that I had very little money to spend and I wanted to have fun.

I found me a cheap ticket on Air Thai that ran about 40,000 Yen and I took a train to Kansai airport to board the plane. I was kind of worried that I may not have enough funds to spend a week in Thailand. I only had 20,000 Yen and that would have to carry me over for the week. As the plane was landing I was thinking about how I would manage on such a tight budget. I got off the plane and proceeded through immigration. No questions asked I was given a 30 days visa on arrival.

I am in Thailand I said to myself. I was very happy to start my adventure. I was told that the cheapest and the most interesting place to stay in Bangkok was Khao San road. I decided to go there. I went to the taxi stand to get me a taxi and I was told that it would cost me 1,000 Yen to get there. I waited, if I am to enjoy Thailand with the money that I have I must be economical. So I decided to find ways that I can save money! I looked around and found another fellow traveler who was also looking to get to Khao San road. We got into the taxi and drove through a busy road onto our destination. Arriving on Khao San road we found ourselves surrounded by many people. There were older ladies pushing wagons with chicken kabobs, frying noodles with soybeans, a fruit seller cutting up a pineapple, peddlers with baskets full of things. There were many other travelers all around us. Young Thai people walking by were shopping for clothes from the street shops. The street was alive. It was great! But it was getting late and we needed to find a place to stay.

We looked around us and saw many hotels and guesthouses. There were Sweety guesthouse, Sawasde, Buddy, Khao San palace, and Privacy. They all nearly looked the same. Before coming to Thailand, one of my friends recommended Privacy to me. So I said to the guy who I shared the taxi with let’s go check out Privacy. His name was James and he was from England. He as well as I were traveling on a shoestring budget. So he proposed we share a room. I just met him but I sort of felt comfortable staying with him for the night. The room had an air conditioner, a private bathroom, and two beds and it ran us 500 Yen each. We threw our bags into the room and went outside for some food. We bought some noodles with prawns for 100 Yen and a few bottles of Shingha beer then climbed up to the fourth floor to have our supper in our room. After eating, we went to sleep. We were so tired.

Next day we awoke ready to explore Bangkok the capital of Thailand. I had a Lonely Planet guidebook for Thailand. James and I started browsing though it looking for interesting places to visit. We prepared a schedule for the day: first we will go to the Grand Palace - Wat Prakaew to see the Emerald Buddha, latter Wat Arun on the Chapraya river to see the colorful pagodas, finally head down to China town for dinner. We ran down to the street and hailed a Tuk Tuk and instructed the driver to take us to the Palace. It was magnificent with gold covered stupas and magnolia trees in the courtyard. The palace was covered with a teak wooden roof and sand stone carved pillars. As we entered the main building we were surprised to see wall paintings covering all the four walls of the palace walls telling the story of the Siam history, the different kings, the wars they fought, and the gods they worshiped. As we proceeded to the inner room we saw the Emerald Buddha the size of a small child in a glass cabinet. It was great, pure emerald, respected and prayed to by millions of Thai people and foreigners. We lit some incense and said our prayers. After visiting Wat Prakaew we boarded a ferry not far away from the palace and headed over to the Wat Arun pagodas. The ferry’s price was a bargain of 50 Yen. We got off from the boat and climbed the pagodas to get a look of Bangkok city. After site seeing we were very tired and lied down on bamboo mats for an hour or so. We were getting very hungry and it was time to go to China town.

We took a taxi over Chapraya’s river bridge into China town’s main street Yawarat road. There were many shops and restaurants on both sides of the street. We got out of the cab and walked around trying to find an inexpensive place. We found an outdoor seafood restaurant with crates full of tiger prawns, cattle fish, and blue crabs displayed next to each other. A man in a white apron was putting the stuff on charcoal flamed grill with smoke and barbeque smell feeling the air. The seafood was sold by the weight. We did our calculations and figured out it would be in our budget to eat here. We ordered a dozen of prawns, a bunch of crabs, a large cattle fish all barbequed. The waiter brought us a few beers. The food was excellent and it only cost us 400 Yen each. After dinner we turned in for the night feeling tired but very happy with our first day of exploring Bangkok, Thailand.

The next few days we hung out on Khao San road talking with other travelers and gathering information as to where we should go next. Some people recommended that we go north to Changmai and Chingrai to do some jungle trekking, water rafting, and elephant riding. But I was interested in going south to hang out on the beaches. James wanted to do some jungle trekking so we had trouble agreeing and almost parted; but fortunately, another traveler who has been to the south of Thailand recommended a great place for jungle trekking in the south, the place called Kaosok. Finally we were set. We went to the nearest travel agent and booked the trip to Koh Samui, the main island in the south. We paid 600 Yen per person for an overnight bus ride with a ferry from the mainland to the island. We were off.

We checked out off the hotel and boarded the overnight bus south. The bus ride was easy. We stopped for a food break on the way and in the morning we were in Suratani. From Suratani we took an hour ferry ride over a calm blue bay water to the island Koh Samui. On the boat, young boys, invited us to stay at one place or another. After looking over the different brochures that they showed us we decided we will go to Lamai beach; but we will do it by ourselves without having one of the boys take us. After the ferry arrived at Nathon beach we got off it and caught a shared pickup ride, called Songtem to Lamai beach.

At the beach there were many hotels, bungalows, and resorts. We referred to our handy Lonely Planet Guide for advice, and it gave us a few choices. We checked out the bungalow places that it recommended to us. After a few trials we picked a nice place right on the beach called Marina bungalows. The place was a bit run down, but it was right on the beach. It had the basic needs a hut with two beds, a fan, and a bathroom. No luxuries, but right on the beach for 800 Yen a day. We put our bags in the room, changed into our swimming suits, and ran into the water. The water was warm. It was blue green and calm. It felt really good to be in it. Just laying on my back with my eyes closed I was able to forget about every thing. That evening we came out on the main street and walked around looking for a place to eat. There were many fancy restaurants with seafood displayed in a fancy fashion. We knew it was a bit expensive so we declined. We looked around and found a small market in the side alley. There were many small restaurants. We checked out their menus and found the prices were very reasonable. We went into one of them and set at a table. After looking around and seeing what other people were eating, we decided on a few dishes.`When the waiter came other, we just pointed to those dishes. I said I want what that person, that person, and that person was having. We wound up ordering Tom Yom Kung a spicy prawn soup, clams with chilly sauce, and Pad Thai - fat noodles with seafood. The dinner was excellent and it only cost us 200 Yen each. We agreed that we would come here every night to eat. The next few days we laid under the sun, took swims, and just acted lazy. In the evenings we ate dinner at our usual place and visited different bars for a few drinks. The place was a paradise. We even rented a motorcycle and drove around the island visiting quiet deserted beaches.

Only having but a week to spend in Thailand, after three days on the island, we decided to move on. We took the ferry back to Surathani. Arriving there, we went to Kaosok National Park. James wanted to do some hiking and swimming in the waterfalls. I was interested in seeing the Fly Eating Plant. We took a local bus to the park. The bus ride was four hours, and it cost 200 Yen a person. Getting of the bus we were greeted by a group of young people inviting us to stay at their places. Our guidebook did not have much on accommodations at this place so we decided to go with one guy. The place that he took us to was right by the river. There were bungalows all around and a nice restaurant overlooking the river. We said it looks great and decided to stay there. After bringing our bags to our room, we took a break for coffee. The restaurant by the river looked onto the towering cliffs. As we were sitting and drinking our coffee, the sun was coming down and there were playful cheerful monkeys climbing down the cliffs to the river. The next morning we got up early and went to the park. We entered the park, paid our admission fee of 1000 Yen each, and began the track. The track took us around the winding river through the lush jungle. We passed a few water holes where we took a dip. I was not able to see the Fly Eating Plant. Supposedly there is a season for it, but we were there at a different time. Still, tracking through the jungle was fun, but time was running out and we had to return to Bangkok.

In Bangkok we checked in to the same hotel. I was to go back to Japan the next day and James was heading north to continue his travels. We said good night to each other and went to sleep. When I got up I realized James was gone. I packed my stuff and was ready to go out for my last day in Bangkok. Luckily I checked my flight ticket for departure time. When I was checking it, I realized my passport is missing. I panicked! What am I to do? My flight was at 10 p.m. and I could not fly without my passport. I relaxed for a minute and called my embassy. They said they could give me a temporary passport today so I can fly to Japan. I picked up my passport and boarded my flight.

On the plane I started thinking where did my passport go? Did I just lose it or James took it? I had trouble believing that after James and I had spent a week traveling together he could have done such a thing. I started going over in my mind, why did I travel with him? I just met the guy and I trusted him so much. But then I said to myself, look what is done is done. I had a great time and I enjoyed traveling in Thailand. I really liked James’ company and if he really took my passport than I cannot do anything. But maybe I just lost it! In my mind I went over all the good things we did together and I felt at ease. I really had a good time in Thailand. I was ready to come back to Thailand the first chance I could get. There are many islands to be explored, lots of food to try, and many nice people to meet. Thailand is the land of the smiles!