Chapter Two: Thailand to Indo-China

Chapter Two: Thailand - Indo China

Two and a bit months down and all is golden. No near death experiences, no earthquakes and no motorcycle crashes (although Lisa did get hit by one crossing the street the other day!). We’re really in the ‘groove’ now and things are working great. We did our two month budget recently and can you believe we are cruising by on less than $20/day. Some days (for example here in Laos) we have spent as little as $12 between us! Less than the price of a Macca’s meal each…gotta love Asia!

We last left you in Malaysia where we had only a brief foray into the ways of life there. If certain factors were on our side we may have spent more time there but it felt as if we were getting suffocated a little after the carefree nature of Indonesia. Suddenly things seemed to ‘work’ around us. Buses arrived on time and were big, clean and running on natural gas; our accommodation had hot water; there were pedestrian crossings where cars actually stopped; people spoke English and (of course) there were tourists a plenty. It was all the ingredients to make us want to leave after a few days.

Leaving Malaysia we were finally confronted with the reality of how difficult it can be traveling at the end of Ramahdan. We had been warned numerous times of how packed the transport network can be and it was. Unfortunately, we were in Malaysia, and in Malaysia they have rules. If we booked in advance and paid the right price we could have our own little minivan filled with a happy bunch of tourists to take us across the border and into Thailand, but… I had a surfboard. An item seemingly akin to a six foot bag of contraband in Malaysia, I was faced with a real dilemma about what to do with this surfboard that was to be by my side for the next few weeks. The problem was that there are rules in Malaysia about tying objects to the roof, a concept completely alien to me after traveling through Indo where they appear to have a long running merit system based on who can pile the most crap onto the top of any vehicle be it bus, car, motorcycle or bike using the least amount of rope, rubber or vine possible.

I could lie and say I didn’t think of trying to find an innocent English gap year backpacker and convincing him/her to buy my surfboard for their upcoming trip to Australia but instead opted for the alternative (ie more expensive) route to Thailand and the realization that it was time for the surfboard to become a thorn in my side.

The next few days of traveling are a blur of hot, sweaty, overcrowded and frustrating train and bus journeys. The hope that escaping into predominantly Buddhist Thailand would alleviate the Ramahdan crowds was quickly dashed. Southern Thailand is predominantly Muslim and the wealthy middle class Malaysians flock to the Andaman coast of Thailand with the same urgency as they do to their dinner after Ramahdan. Thailand wasn’t starting well.

To make matters worst our first island destination in Thailand, one that Lisa had really longed to see was closed for the monsoon season and not set to open for another three weeks. The destination was Ko Tarutao, an island and National Park with no permanent inhabitants that opens only in the dry months. We had hoped to hire a tent and camp there for a few days and forget about the troubles of the world. No such luck. I’d also discovered on the internet that the deep waters off the island and its location in the Andaman meant it was rumored to have the best potential for large surf in Thailand…I’d almost justified the surfboard.

Our plan B was to head further up the west coast and see what was open. Lisa wanted to visit the Kao Sok National Park so we headed in that direction with a niggling suspicion that something was bound to interrupt our plans. Our halfway stop around Ao-Phang-Na was pleasant enough. We spent two days cruising the huge bay with its massive limestone cliffs and caves, spent the night on a ‘stilt village’ which, as it sounds is an entire village built over the water in the estuary hugging a limestone cliff with access only by boat. The whole village was devastated by the tsunami but you wouldn’t know it. Whether that is due to the resilience of the people or the importance of the tourist dollar here is debatable.

We were relaxed now and things were starting to work but we couldn’t help feeling like something was about to interrupt this ‘easy’ traveling. That next hurdle came in the form of rain. Big, fat, hard, relentless, monsoonal rain. Joy.

The National Park quickly became off limits to us. A few days before we were scheduled to go there a flash flood in one of the popular trekking routes killed around six foreign tourists and a local guide after they were washed into a cave with no way out. And still it rained.

We spent a couple of days in Khao Lak riding around in ponchos wondering what the hell to do now before deciding to take the plunge and head to the east coast where HOPEFULLY there was no rain.

Well...there was.

The beauty of the islands in the Gulf of Thailand can not be denied but I can assure you that it makes a huge difference if it's raining. Gone are the multi-cultural, barely clad bodies strewn across resort beach and isolated, palm fringed, secret beach alike. Beach parties just aren't the same and there is only so long you can lie in a hammock and read books when the back of your mind is telling you that you're supposed to be soaking up paradise, having the time of your life. Despite this, the islands of Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao were cool and chilled out and we left there feeling very relaxed.

Thanks to the gnarly monsoonal winds that kicked up early in the morning I managed a lone surf on Ko Pha Ngan. It was late afternoon and the winds had eased off leaving a pretty clean 2ft swell hitting the reef near our bungalow on the north coast. I’d been getting some pretty strange looks whilst carrying the surfboard around Thailand but now these looks were amplified ten fold when the locals saw me paddling out to surf on it. Everyone I asked there had never seen a surfboard in the flesh let alone someone using it so that was a real kick. It was a great experience but not memorable surf.

The other really odd thing that happened on Ko Pha Ngan was that a ran into an old friend from Terrigal, Mel Rudder. I know this can happen whilst traveling but the crazy thing is that I’d also run into this same girl two years earlier in a bar in London. We were both so perplexed as to how this can happen twice in a lifetime let alone two years, and in completely opposite sides of the earth. Crazy.

Bangkok was our next stop and a chance to soak up the big city life. I’ve grown quite fond of Bangkok now after three visits and can safely navigate its many suburbs, faces and moods. We spent around six days there, shopping, eating, getting visas organized, eating, drinking, eating and pampering ourselves. There is SO much amazing food on offer on the streets of Bangkok. We pampered ourselves on one occasion by visiting one of the amazing cinema complexes in Siam Square. For a little more than the price of a regular movie ticket back home you can indulge in the Super VIP movie experience. It was freaking amazing! You receive a free drink on arrival and spend as long as you wish waiting in a lounge area complete with the most amazing massage chairs I’ve ever seen, foot massages, leather sofas, cocktails, the works. When you enter the cinema you have your own double booth with reclining chairs, pillows, doona and private waiter if you wish. So crazy. There are only nine booths in the whole cinema and the sound quality was amazing.

We made our way to northern Thailand next and to a lovely part of the world in the Mae Hong Son Province. We spent almost a week around Pai and Mae Hong Son, exploring caves and hot springs and small mountain villages. The area is really popular for trekking and every man, woman and child is trying to make a profit out of it. After hearing some stories and doing some research we discovered that most of the treks visit communities that are really nothing special, in close proximity to towns and you really only walk for a couple of hours to reach them. Many ethnic villages had road access so we opted to rent a motorbike for five days and try to reach some further outlying places. It was one of my highlights of the trip to date! We just had a small pack with the essentials and set off with the wind in our hair. We discovered some amazing places and people, we even taught in a local school when the teacher noticed us snooping around and insisted on us coming in. It was a 'Lisu' village and the girls were dressed in beautiful coloured tops and couldn't stop laughing at our attempts to teach them english. We discovered isolated hot springs, swimming naked of course. We trekked to an amazing remote cave where you had to crawl on your belly through mud to enter but once inside it opened up to a huge cavern that went on for a kilometre. We even made it to an isolated Chinese village on the Burmese border where at the only guesthouse we politely refused to eat dinner with them after discovering two men grilling bears legs over an open fire! I kid you not, they eat anything in this part of the world. We later saw the same legs walking around a bear sanctuary in Laos, housing 'endangered' bears...

We couldn't resist the urge for a photo opportunity so trekked to the Burmese border and stuck my leg in for the quick snap-shot (sorry Mum). You can't see the guy 5 metres to my right with the rifle, he didn't want his photo taken.

Our introduction into Laos came kinda as expected... a nightmare overnight bus ride where the driver continually slapped his face to stay awake on psycho mountain roads (he stopped on the side of the road at 2am to nap...) and a chaotic morning of border crossings and organisation. The people in Laos are incredibly frustrating to deal with slow, sly and sneaky. Our two day boat ride down the Mekong River started badly, we were really good and got their early after hearing it can get busy on the boat. We reserved a seat each (a plank of wood that is) and got the cheapest ticket available. Two and a half hours later and with 140 more people the boat left, just as we had made up our minds to try and get a refund and charter our own boat with some other travellers. Welcome to transport in Laos.

Two days on an overcrowded boat down the Mekong were not as bad as we'd first thought. We met heaps of travellers and the scenery is really stunning. It's a mighty river with huge sharp boulders sticking from its banks and belly. Some people even saw a body floating through the rapids. Needless to say we arrived safely in Luang Prabang and with plenty of new friends to drink and play ten-pin bowling with! Yeah, being a socialist country, Laos has a 12 midnight curfew but in Luang Prabang there is a bowling alley that (through bribes no doubt) stays open till three am. Bring on the late night disco bowling.

The other brilliant invention here is the phenomenon of 'tubing'. In a place called Vang Vieng they have created a mini Ibiza on the banks of a local river. What started as an alternative to canoeing down the scenic stream is now an international party extravaganza. Take one old truck tyre inner tube, hundreds of young bacpackers and a dozen or so riverside bars and you have the perfect combination for days of fun in the sun. What makes the bars great is that in an effort to out-do each other there is a race to see who can construct the most daring and fun attraction to make people stay longer and drink more. Massive swings that fling you thirty feet above the river, zip lines and flying foxes that hurl you into the cool stream, beach volleyball and anything else that goes. I met some people who had been stuck there for 2-3 weeks! We left after three days.

And... that is that. We are now back in Luang Prabang and killing time before our lovely 12 hour bus ride to Luang Nam Tha tonight (I can only wonder what thrills are install on that one!). We will be in Laos for another 10 days or so then onto northern Vietnam where HOPEFULLY the rain has stopped!

So I say farewell but before I do I have something important to say...

Ok peoples, I’m gonna throw this one out there and it’s up to you whether you want to throw it back or take it and run…

The most exciting part of the adventure and the one I am looking forward to the most is the two weeks of snowboarding we will be doing in Kashmir in Northern India, the Himalaya baby! Now… I have already convinced a couple of friends from home to join me for this and I want MORE!

I could lie and say that it’s not going to be gnarly because it is. The ski resort of Gulmarg is right on the border of Pakistan and we’re probably going to be sharing the ski fields with guys bearing AK-47’s (but they’re on our side!).
Kashmir was once considered to be one of the most dangerous places on earth (according to the USA), so why the hell are we doing this??? Because it will be AMAZING!

I had a friend visit the same resort earlier this year and he says words can not describe how good this place is. As far as the snowboarding goes, we’re talking world class mountains with barely a handful of people to share it with. The gondola is one of the highest in the world, taking you to over four thousand metres! So, the more the merrier.

Have a look at the website http://www.skihimalaya.com/ and you'll see what I mean. All you need to do is get a flight to New Delhi and a connection to Srinigar, the capital of Kashmir. I got my flight from Delhi to Srinigar through SpiceJet the other day for only $50 Australian (flight was only $13 but taxes are huge). We fly into Srinigar on the 10/02/2008 at around 1pm and spend around ten days there. It's cheap too, around US$20 for a day pass and about the same for accommodation. If you want you can even come a month earlier and come surfing in Sri Lanka with me also.

So come one come all. Feel free to email me if you want some more info. It will be AMAZING.

That's all from me for now, hope you enjoyed reading, I'll be back in amonth. Ciao.

P.S. I converted a few boys from the boat trip (2 Chilean, 1 Canadian) to join my Mo-Vember challenge, check the pic. I hope your stashes are coming along nicely boys!!!

So…Chapter One: INDONESIA

So...one country down and about seven to go. Indo was great, a combo of surfing, chillaxing, beaches, cities, ancient architecture, volcanoes and jungle. We survived four earthquakes at last count, a motorcycle crash courtesy of Lisa, we both received and conquered ‘The Belly’, tracked down orangutans in the wild, surfed with the natives, wandered around 12 000 year old temples and thankfully dodged a bullet courtesy of Lisa’s smile for overstaying our visa for a day. But already we’re realizing, time is gonna be tight on our big adventure.

The 12 days in Bali proved to be the perfect start to the adventure, preparing ourselves, pampering ourselves and for me getting some much needed surfing under my belt before the overland adventures began. Got some great waves on Nusa Lembongan, mainly at Lacerations and also had some fun surfs around Dreamland-Balangan and Uluwatu. Kind of takes away from the experience when you paddle out and say things like, Gday, getting a few…and people reply in the same aussie drawl that you left thousands of miles away.

I faced up to the fact that we are traveling in Asia for seven months and got out on the psycho roads almost immediately. No hesitation. Started with the moto and came out unscathed so upgraded to a car soon afterwards which helped us to get around the more pristine areas of Bali, into the mountains and rice paddies. Was a great change from the hectic tourist strip and a chance to see the other Bali. You wouldn’t read about it but on the return to Kuta with the car, within 10 minutes of the agency we had the luck of getting a visit grom Mr. Polisi. I’d heard about it and half expected it at any point whilst driving but the managed to avoid the inevitable until the final lap. I blame Lisa’s blonde locks!! He wanted to fine me a million rupee (AU$125) and so the bartering began. We settled on 200,000 and a handshake and a ‘did that just really happen’.

So our romantic plans of traveling overland throughout Asia didn’t last long. A flight from Bali to central Java seemed unsurprisingly appealing given the price and the alternatives and our ever looming time schedule. Flew into Yogyakarta and found it appealing enough to spend a few days there adapting to the Islamic wayof life in contrast to the carefree Hindu state in Bali. By adapting I mean choosing a Losmen (cheap hotel) a stones throw from a makeshift mosque and being awoken at around 0230am with the call to prayer that sounded more like a cat being strangled. Ahhh the pleasures of traveling through the world’s largest Muslim population during Ramahdan!

The fact that we were traveling during Ramahdan only became aware to us on the eve of our flight to Java. Despite the warnings and advice and concerns from others I feel that it was more positive than negative. Sure it was tough to find breakfast and lunch in many locations and our sleep was broken due to prayer a countless number of times but crowds were wafer thin and it was a real experience.
Around Yogyakarta were some great sights including the 9^th century temple of Borobodur and our night spent at the base of the still active Merapi Volcano. I’ve always had a slight fascination with volcanoes and to see one in the flesh with smoke billowing and all was a real blast. It’s rated as one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

The ocean was calling as always so I managed to coax Lisa into a trip to the coast of central Java. It proved fruitful for me but a little anti-climactic for Lisa who got stuck with ‘THE BELLY’ so spent most of the time doing you know what. It was my first meeting with the Tsunami aftermath, the first of many no doubt. The lovely peninsular of Pangandaran lost 406 lives here and there is still a huge amount of debris and rubble to strike a vein. The surfing community here was amazing. So friendly and keen to get out in the water with you, even after only knowing you five minutes. On one day we organized a little gang and headed to a little hamlet an hour away with amazing results. About 8 of us headed off with surfboards tucked under arms and white smiles beaming. The destination was Batau Karas, a tiny fishing village that happens to have a remarkable resemblance to a tiny Noosa Heads. The waves were enough to have me physically salivating for my longboard but equally thirst quenching for the lone playful thruster I’ve been lugging around. This place has SERIOUS potential for super fun surf and only 6-8 local surfers to share it with.

Don’t go to Jakarta. Enough said.

We flew out of Java, again opting out of overnight bus travel after hearing horror stories of Sumatran road travel… stories I am now capable of telling on a first hand basis (well get to that). We flew to Padang in central Sumatra, shaving an invaluable 3 days of miserable bus travel off our journey. From there we had to face the horrible reality of only eleven days in Sumatra, an island which by rights should be given 2 months at least to explore. We’d had the beach, had enough of the cities and now it was time for the jungle.

Our first road experience in Sumatra began as you would expect with a sardine can journey through equatorial jungle roads that had Lisa and I sharing frequent looks of utter bemusement. Ten adults and one baby crammed into a family sized van in the sticky Padang climate. “What about the surfboard and luggage?” you may ask? No problems, we’ll just get some little kid to hop on the roof and hold them down and till we can find somewhere with some rope (around 10km up the road). And then it wasn’t rope but some old inner tube, never mind…it only snapped once on the way through the mountain pass!!

The jungle was worth it though, smack bang on the equator and so lush. Spent most of our time up on the high volcanic lakes of Meninjau and Toba, created when huge volcanoes collapsed and now house huge lakes up to 90km in length and 500m in depth. Now that was once a big volcano! Without the time up our sleeves we were unable to go with our intended plan of visiting Nias and Banda Aceh, that will have to come next time. We did manage to one thing which I’ve always longed to do which was to see orangutans in the wild. We spontaneously organized a two day trek into the forests surrounding Bukit Lawang and got our wish. Amazing jungle and such beautiful creatures. Around 10 000 orangutans live in the 900 000ha national park which is still in its pristine state thanks to its declaration as a reserve in 1936. Sleeping in the jungle was a great buzz too, just myself, Lisa and three local boys who make a pretty decent living of the tourism that floats through the area.

So there you have it…one country down and seven to go. Now I’m in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia and already things are remotely different. Things are clean, no one is shouting , “Mister, Mister” at me and gawking with jaw open at Lisa every time we walk down the street, it’s not deafening at night and there are other tourists around. Thailand next where we are going to travel far and wide to avoid the tourist trap and hopefully get some diving and trekking done.

I’ll keep you posted.

Cheers,

Tim.