Chiang Mai Locals

Well you know you're practically local when you have a gym, your favourite coffee shop and a good Thai accent. For people who know 15-20 words of Thai, that's not bad.

Mostly I've learned to ask for ice...yeah a wheel barrow of ice. I want to rub ice all over myself 90% of the day, the rest of the time I will allow the scorching hot air to access my skin. Come to Chiang Mai, it's a giant, smoky crematorium.

But it ain't all bad. It's actually a lot nicer than we remembered it, except for the dry weather. The people are very friendly and we've expanded our circle of trust. Note: The circle of trust is the designated area Dave and I can walk or drive around without any fear.

We are currently waiting for our Indian visas to come through...may not happen until next wednesday. So we'll have to make another trip up to the bamboo house near Mae Taeng.
Starting to look for jobs in Australia.

If you're in Chiang Mai and want a cheap place to work out go to: www.kaweepowerzone.com

Bye Bye Bali, Hello Bangkok! Again!

(The turquoise waters of Gili, a cave temple near Ubud, Kuta Beach on Bali, Dave getting attacked by yet another monkey and the Grand Palace in Bangkok)
Yes it's been an extraordinarily long time since the last blog. It's ok though, because we've called the mother ships so no one thinks we're dead. So after an adjustment period in Indonesia, we really ended up liking it. We realized that after you get past the people trying to take your money, they're really just trying to help you.
Ubud is a town in Bali that Dave and I call Hippy Town. The name may lack creativity. We made our way there after parting ways with our friends Jan and Carly on the Gilis. As it turns out Ubud had something called a spirit festival going on and every yoga practicing, wheat grass drinking space case was in town to celebrate. Although, I still think it's safe to assume it's a hippy town as wheat grass shots were a menu staple at most cafes. We bicycled around the countryside a bit, but the main attraction is the shopping. Locally made goods are unique and the price showed it. The cafes were great and Dave and I finished up a book or two while enjoying organic food and beverages.
Kuta Beach was a lovely beach, oh wait, except for the 6 billion people sitting around watching the surfers. The whole area was overdeveloped and perhaps a little too nutty, too pretentious (yes ever too pretentious for me) and busy with tourists. We visited the memorial for the 300 people who died in the Bali bombings a few years back. The location of the bar is still just a vacant lot surrounded by similar restaurants and bars of the like. It makes you wonder why it couldn't and wouldn't happen again in that city with so much "in your face" tourist debauchery.

We flew into Bangkok for the third time in the last four months and were surprised to find that Bangkok seemed a little tamer. Until we hit Khao San Rd. with clubs, bars, cafes, clothing stores and all the international chains. It was pretty wildly busy with tourists as well, but with it came some of tourist comforts like cleanliness and a Starbucks cappuccino. We visited some of the markets and checked out the Grand Palace, but it was too hot to do any serious tourism. Mostly we just walked along the streets all the way to Siam Square where you come upon a market or a really unique shop at any time.

The train ride back to Chiang Mai was surprisingly decent, all 14 hours of it! Just finished having breakfast with Gary and now we're doing some settling in. Not sure what's going to happen next, depends on money and time.

Bali and Lombok

(The beach at Sengigi, dolphin watching at Lovina, one of the monkey militants, a monkey look-alike at sunrise on top of Rinajni).
The internet connection has not been great in Indonesia, but it's worse on the islands. Dave and I spent two nights in a place called Lovina on the north side of Bali. We were able to spend time out on the water with a group of dolphins at 6am. We have a good grip on getting up before the sun rises these days.

After Lovina, we struggled to make our way to Lombok on the Gili Islands. This is problematic due to the many ferry and bus trips you have to endure, while making sure not to get too ripped off by the locals. We only made it as far as Sengigi, where we survived for two nights. The beach is okay and for some reason there are more local people harrassing you than ever. Buy this, stay at my friend's hotel, "where you stay?", "you pretty, he handsome", eat at my friend's restaurant and anything else they could figure out to say. What made the place tolerable was the new friends we made, who frighteningly seem to understand us.

It was with these new friends that we decided to climb Mount Rinjani on the north side of the island. I can't say too much about it, but two days of hiking and camping while being attacked by monkeys in the middle of the night was an interesting experience. The rim of the crater was breathtaking and our bodies paid for every second of it.

Afterwards our entire group (with an addition of two Swiss fellows), made our way to Gili Trawangan. This place gives paradise a new name. It's still the low season, I'd hate to see what it's like in the busy tourist season. The water is so clear, the beach white, the diving is excellent, the people are friendly and no one harasses you. I never want to leave...but we are leaving soon to head back to Bali.

Java Jumping

(Hanging out at Baturedan, Borobodur Temple, Learning Batik in Jogja, crossing the river in Solo on a bamboo raft, Dave in front of Mt Bromo and Mt. Semeru, Mt. Semeru smoking at 5am).

It has been awhile since the last blog, but we have a good excuse! Dave and I were both sick with a far stronger Indonesian strain of stomach misery. Imagine being followed around by every Indonesian's eyes all the time. Now imagine heaving into a garbage can in a hospital waiting room while they are suppressing the urge to ask you for a photo. Crowds of people touching you, asking you for money and taking photos of you and running away. Can't wait to see how much worse India is going to be!

Dave and I evacuated the tour as well as a few other things and spent time at the World Heritage site, Borobodur. It is the largest Buddhist temple complex in the world and was built in ~800AD. Yogyakarta or Jogja (as it's known locally) is a busy city revolving around the arts. The tourist neighbourhood was full of great restaurants, galleries and of course...trishaws. If I hear another, "Hello Mr." (referring to either Dave or myself), I might go crazy. Trishaw drivers are the bicycles that carry people back and forth and could be quite aggressive at times. The other mode of transportation is horse and carriage, yep it's like being back in olden times. Dave and I did a Batik course (surprisingly fun) and explored the Sultan's Palace.

Solo (Suryakarta) is a quieter city with numerous markets and a few decent lodgings. Dave and I took a bike tour that showed us the making of arak wine (60%+ rice liquor), Krupek (cassava flour chips), tofu processing, a bakery etc. It actually just created a list of things that we will never eat again. We did learn a few things though.

We've since scaled Mt. Bromo and caught a beautiful sunrise, waking up at 3:30am has it's advantages. The more active 3600m volcano behind it is the real view, puffing out smoke consistently during our visit. It was nice to get a taste of freezing air up in the mountains!

Got to Bali last night!