The Jungle Is Massive

The gibbon experience (a conservation project) has to be the most amazing thing we’ve ever done. Amazingly unsafe, amazingly exhilarating, amazing full stop. Driven deep into the bokeo jungle, we stayed in Robinson Crusoe style treehouses, miles above the jungle floor. We spent three days exploring high above the canopy; mountains, rivers, sunsets – absolutely no evidence of humanity. Though our camera didn’t do it justice we tried to capture it in a rather shorty and shaky film. (if anyone knows how to rotate it please do tell)





Zipping

the fundamental part of the experience, consists of strapping a ‘safety’ carabena and tyre -covered-pulley device, onto a very long and very very high metal cable and then launching yourself off a platform across a valley– not for the fainthearted. Whilst ‘takeoff’ simply required balls; landing was often a little more technical - we have burns and bruises to prove it. We were all a little taken aback by the hands-off approach of our less than fluent guides –who after the third zip left us to our own devices with vague directs (always stick to left..)

life in the treehouse

Each day started with a seriously taxing hike/scramble for about 3 hours– never been so exerted, before exploring the forest from above and zipping into our new treehouse. After our adrenaline high we would return to the tree house, play cards with our fantastic eightsome and eagerly await the thai lady who would come whizzing across the wire and zip in our meals (just like that childhood book about the lighthouse keeper). Though we didn't actually see any gibbons (we knew this was a tall order) we enjoyed the company of our tree-house kitten/ rat catcher extraordinaire and the hilariously loud and ever present gecko. The bathroom hoard of wasps/ hornets were less than welcome and took showering to a whole new level…basically we went savage with the hose. to use the ahem toilet was an expereience to say the least - first you had to brave the wooden grate which gave a view of just how fall you would fall if you got the maneuver wrong, then you had to straddle one of the tree's hefty branches and wedge yourself, one foot practically out the 'house', all the while armed with the reliable southeast asian bum hose (against the dreaded wasps) Once you had positioned yourself according, you could then drop your pants and try to enjoy the view as you funneled your wee down to the jungle bed below...

zipping in the dark

ignoring the safety video briefing we went along with the ahem morning zip (4am) which promised sights of the elusive gibbon. In the pitch black. torch between two, only four of us braved the darkness, failing to notice the significance of those left behind - the two doctors...with this in mind (plus the nasty gash on a girls face after yesterdays encounter with a tree limb) we zipped with a boxer style stance. thankfully our guide - a very lovely but evolutionarily regressed looking man with limited english - went first and after a couple of successful zips inevitably colided with a tree that had fallen onto the wire overnight. his just audible calls signaled that something had gone ary ansd we were felt in the coming dawn for about 25mins where we had decided to stay put until either it was lighter to ge5t help or the more safety conscious half of the group appeared. clutching his leg and chest our guide miraculously reappeared after, we were later told, being knocked out for a good few minutes. appreciating his eagerness to warn our fellow zippers we then undertook a mammoth scramble across the jungle where we arrived at the kitchen to eb told that the others had indeed been alerted. after a welcome breakfast at 8.30 and a considerable time waiting, the others arrived.It then transpired that5 not only had they not been informed, but that two members of the group had merrily zipped straight into the offending tree and then had to de-harness and scramble to safety with no help at all from the guide. ironic. Despite this very close shave, we all agreed that the gibbon experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and was to some extent enhanced by the freedom the rather scarce health and safety provided.

over and out and all in one piece,
R and D

The life of Pai

Pai's reputation as a laid back hippy destination, didnt dissapoint. though there was little to actually do, the atmosphere and mix of ecletic cafes and bars made it our favourite place so far. arriving off the bus from the bustle of CM, the pace of life notable slowed. we stumbled across the most rickity bamboo bridge and fell upon an almost fairytale like bamboo village, with its riverside bar, kittens, communal fire and seating area blaring chilled music. Pure bliss. we soon fell in love with our charmingly rustic bamboo hut an absolute bargain at 1pound fifty, though R did take to washing her hair under the u bend of the sink rather then bother with the laughably ineffective shower or sink. after settln in for some dinner (in the only cafe we frequented thourghout our saty) an electric storm provided the town with evening entertainment as the sky lit up the lights went out and continued to f;licker for the rest of the evening. spent the noight socialising at our rivrside bar, marvellign at the existanece of our mojito bucket (thanks to top bar man Flukes).




at this point we decided it was time to fully embarace the motobikes - this time in the driving seat. aftre persuading a ratehr hesitant rental place we tentatively took to the roads - plunegd totally in the deep end as we headed for the largets petrol station in town. we hit a natural spring spa, Pai's very own Grand Canyon, a war bridge, and very shrivvled up decrepid waterfall all the while manouevering oursleves among all forms of thai traffic (cattle, dogs, chikcen, children...)


miraculously no scrapes despite R's mix up with the indicator and horn and slight difficulty with corners....after our adrenaline fuelled days we treated ourselves to manicures/pedicures/massages and facials..Daniella was especially pleased with the resulits (see beofre and after photos)

Oh My Buddha!

D's birthday morning turned out to be a bit of a grumble. We had somehow managed to bag the only two non reclining seats on our 10 hour night bus to chiang mai. Vision ten hours of a rampacked bus; D sitting bolt up right in said chair whilst R , controvertialy slightly more reclined, was suffering regular involuntary twitches thanks to the incessant squeecking of one passenger's fully reclined seat, to which they were, of course, blissfully unaware. Add to this, arctic aircon (a force which even our sleeping bags couldnt reckon with), a driver who insited on bombing it up every road AS FAST AS possible regardless of bends, turns, potholes or other vehicals and our jealousy at fellow passengers valium inducede states. we were not happy bunnies ; particularly when on arrival, at 7am, our bus company spent a good halfhour trying to sell us their full range of services.

Next we ventured to julie's guesthouse which had cult status in the Lonely Planet (aka the bible) as a packpacker haven. it diodint dissapoint - legend has it there is a man still there after 5 weeks.... We founds a delectable mix of chairs, sofas and cool thai cushions, pool table, an incredibly friendly reception area, honesty bar and roofterrace, along with hamocks etc. after D shamelessly announced to everyone in the vicinity that it was her bday we rented bikes and set out for a delish bday breakfast. aftre a snooze and freshen up, we decided to sample some 'authentic' thai culture - a muay thai boxing match - recruiting several other julie residents along the way. the highlight was the blind boxing round - picture three blidfolded men thrashing around and hitting anythign that came in their path - usually the ref...From here we went to a grungy warehouse style rooftop club with psychadelic murals and uv lights. we played bodyguards to the boys against the notoirious 'ladyboys' (who ahd allready instilled fear with their chearleader renditions of YMCA). Sunday evenign promised spectacular bargains at the night market however a little dissapointed we were drawn in to some fabulous live singing and after bumping into some more julie residents heade back for a pool tutorial. R's (inital) ability to pot only white balls, plus the chalk smeared on her face, marked us out as beginners but aftre some handy hints we soon improved...

aftre a few more days spent in CM, we decided it was time for a trek, cue P our tourguide aka 'happy hippy' our favourite thai. After meeting the group, day one began with an elephant hike, our fav member of the herd,was the incrediably boisterous 2 year old who did nothign but cause a nuisance of himself,holding the entire group up with a good bit of arse scratchinhg and other antics...and finally making off with D's shirt (whihc we did manage to reclaim you will be glad to hear..) The afternoon was concluded with a surprisingly arduous trek - 3 hours in the blazing heat - to reach our hilltribe 'bamboo hotel' as P had taken to calling it. the route was described in terms of 'little buddha' 'medium buddha' and 'oh!my big buddha' (think buddhist oh my god). Day two we spent rambling between beautiful waterfalls and had our first dip and sunbathe in thialand..at last! the evening was concluded with P's multiple 'bullshit' games which bamboozled us all but were surprisingly entertaining. We ended up spending mch time with P, helpin him cook (having a munch, sampling homemade whisky or moonshine as its called. it was really interesting getting a thai perspictive on politics - especially given the situ in Bangkok. the third day was a combination of white water and bamboo rafting where we well and truly earned our reputation as the squeeling english girls, needless to say we were attacked from all fronts...

as we arrived back to julie's, st patrick day frenzy was well under way and after initial enthusiasm , the trek took its toll so we abandoned the party people at the club entrance...this was rathewr amusing after rising the followuing morning and seein the faces of last nights die-hard ravers (whom one thai main literally pointed and laughed at) we were later to cross paths again at our Pai riverside bar under more fortunate circumstances..

Culture Capital

While the boys headed back to their tour, we headed north to Thailand's historical capital Ayutaya, met by a lovely hostel owner -a woman whyo weve labelled our thai mummy. before concking out disgracefully early we jumped on an old style, an worryingly watefilled thai boat, touring some of the cities historic monuments by canal. climbed the most insanely steep monument only remebering our fairly debilitating fear of hights once we'de reached the top. crawled down at a snails pace much to the amusement of other tourists.




we hit the road agian this morning (on pedal bikes) and saw a couple more sights and explored the market. tonight we face yet another bus journey as the sleeper to chinag mai is both fully booked and suffering severe delays. in contrast to Bangkok, Ayatuya has a sleepy feel and from the outset weve been treated to lots of random and free acts of kindness.

over and out
R&D

Motocycle Diaries

You will have to forgive the typos, our internet cafe is literally being built around us and the massive cockroaches are a bit on the distracting side...

When we arrived at the kanchanaburi bus station there was a distinct lack of transortation, whihc given the hostels were miles away posed a bit of a problem. an overly enthusiastic thai lady seemed set on taking us and our hefty bags on the back of her ridiculoudsly small bike..thing. so we piled on prched withn a bum cheek each, trying to secure our backpacks which had been precouriously dangled off a stick. top jokes... arrving sheepishly nwe securd a beautifuil floating bambvoo room surrounded by waterlillies on a ri9ver.


bit shocked by the overt sex trade - young thai gilrs with gross older men. exacerbated by the vivid film rape scne shown in our hostel's restraunt...

decided to set off for the 'tiger temple' which promised cuddles with cubs and the likes. after paying roughjly 10 quid (big money out here) we realised why it wasnt in our guide book. less temple more freak show - we literally got taken around sleeping tigers one by one and instructed to sit, smile and pet. our faces in the photos capture it all.

had an insane sliding doors moment when two english guys sat down at a table next to ours at the ;'jolly frog'. for a start they were the only other gap-yearewrs we had enountered..and then it turned out we had mutual friends.. small north london world indeed. before we knew it we had arranged to join their mad six hour motocycle ride to a national park - our dremas of tigers in the wild reinvgorated. After trying our hands at the mopeding ourselves, and failing to inspire any confidence whatso ever in anyone, we settled ith the bus, bit less glamerous but guarenteed the saferty of all our limbs. after a 5.30 start we used no less than 5 motobike rides, 3 buses and 1 minivan. aftre having lunch at an incrediabaly hospitable thai restratunt where all forms of communication consisted of crude pointing and gesturing, we suddenly realised that we couldnt contatc the boys and had no idea if they a) arrived, b) left and c) survived. Furhermore despite venturing to Thailands biggest and least touristy national park we had failed to make a meeting point/ time. things werent looking fntastic. speshly when we found out there was only one bus daily to the national park and we had already missed it. after inquiring in a phone shop, a lovelky thai family when incredibaly out of their way to organise a man with a van to take us there at bus rates. Miraculouls;y got word from the boys en route, who picked us up on their bikes. ironically after a compleytely unharmed six hour ride on the thai motoways, within the first 5 minuhtes D and George found themselves on the underside of their motobike. ( no hard feelings G - thanks to a nifty bit of skid control both survived unscathed).


the next day set off enthusiastcaly early with visions of tigers, elephants monkeys and the like...we should have headed the incredulous expressions of the thai people at the 'tourist centre' moer like most-unhelpful-place on earth. after a coUuple of hours blindly motoring around we had succedded in onlyu emptying the tank. it was amazingly unsignposted so resorted to undignified tiger motions to bemused locals. eventually we arrived. a little perturbed by the men with massive guns and ominous looking army tower - turned out we'd stumbled upon the thai special opertaions training facility. backtracked and aftre several more unpromising roads headed bakc to the visitors centre. it now became apparent that the only way to get to the park was by ordering a car at quite a hefty amount. cue our next form of transport. we piled into the back of the pickup track and began our bumpy ride to the elusive checkpoint.





aftre a further ride we ahd arrived at the park - devoid of both tourists and guides. sightings of exoti jungle animals fizzled away - though to be honest, unarmed and on foot, the idea had become unappealing anyway. so aftre a couplke hours on the 'nature trail' we had succedded in seeing some distant monkeys, a coup[le of butterflies, a mushroom and some tadpole like fish ...the only evidenc of larger creatres were the taunting piles of shit whic we decided were clearly left by tigers, elephants and further exotic animals...

after a while we abandoned ship and ventured back to our chalets. had a great nght with the 'thong hong' thai whisky. Money lost, miles travelled, two friends gained. had a great time.

Live From Khao San Road

After a fandangle with the airport transfer (thanks a lot STA yes time difference does mean you arrive the next day. Numnuts!) we were directed to no fewer than 4 different Sawasdee Bangkok Inns. At the fourth and final Sawasdee Institution it appeared that our booking no longer stood. As we were just about to walk out the door, miraculously an upgraded room was offered...Thankfully SBI turned out to be a charming little place with top jokes staff, with the added bonus of the strange noises that always accompanied our trip down the leading alleyway...is it a dog is it a man we just dont know....





Despite our (really quite drastic) lack of sleep and the hot and humid March weather we ventured out on to the notorious Khao San Road...
lined with cafes blaring out music, market traders, fairy lights and smells - not to mention tuk tuks, taxis and a variety of odd looking travellers. Frustratingly we soon discovered our backpacking gismos and gadgets could be bought for a fraction of the price... handy hint right there folks. Spent the first couple of days mouching about finding our feet in the bright lights of the big city and sampling what Bangkok had to offer. Top two had to be Chattuchat market - which, as the view from the skytrain showed, was HUGE, and beeing duped by a network of crafty tuk tukkers/ seemingly helpful and incrediably conincidental passers by. After an hours tour of 'temples' freqiuently punctated with convientinetly located shops/ travel agents, a hazy memory of the hostel's numerous signs warning agains such 'organised crime', came flooding back...



Though the travel agents tantrum when we decided to stop and think about the proposed itinary that he'd provided ("you are not princeses ...too young and inexperienced..) was rather amusing...we are yet to see the actual temples that are Bangkok's crowning glories...will keep you posted - it was time to leave.

so spur of the moment...perhaps a little faffing involved.. we found ourselves on our first of many coach rides; a bus to Kanchanaburi.