The Night Train to Bangkok

My South East Asian journey has almost come to an end.  My three new friends, Sanit (our guide) and I are on the night train to Bangkok.  Ed will travel with Sanit to Southern Thailand to enjoy a bit of R&R on the beach and a full moon party.  Helen wishes she could be there for the party but she is on her way with Emily to Malaysia and Singapore.  We have bonded really well over our 3 day adventure in the wilds of Thailand..or was that the hills of Chiang Mai?   The intense activity and challenges of the last week made us all really supportive of each other and we have become great friends despite the fact these 3 are still…just …in their twenties!

We have spent so much time sharing our hopes and dreams for the future, so I thought I would share their stories with you..

Emily is a fiercely independent 25 year old who was born and raised in Texas.  She describes herself as uber liberal and I can sense her spirit of adventure!  She has just completed a year teaching English in South Korea so we instantly had more than a few connections!   She has studied interior design but due to the Global Financial Crises, was not able to find work after graduation.  After months of living with mum and dad and working in a doughnut shop, she got a random email in her junk mail folder advertising a teaching position in Korea!  This was so much off the scale of her preferred life path that she deleted the email.  She was quite taken aback when less than 24 hours later a family friend mentioned their son had been teaching English in Japan and that it had been a great experience for him.  Her interest sparked, she started researching her options and decided she wanted to give Seoul a chance.  She didn’t know anyone who had been there and patiently talked her parents round to the idea of her moving to Korea.  As it turned out, her sister had also just been hired by Delta as an auto mechanic (only one of 2 females in this job for Delta) which meant cheap tickets for her family to visit! 

This decision turned out to be a fantastic experience for her and she is now going solo,  travelling around Asia for 15 weeks before heading back to Texas.  She tells me that her time in Korea has reaffirmed her beliefs about herself and confirmed she can be flexible, adaptable and strong – all qualities common to many solo  travellers!  She has also learnt one of the most important lessons in life – people are people no matter where they are born and travel helps you to understand and befriend those whose cultures and outlook in life might be very different to your own.    She wants to find her dream job in a big city, which would enable her to combine her passions of design with some element of travel.  She would be happy to move overseas again but after a visit to her folks she plans to move to NY, in search of her dream.  Check out her website..and if you are interested in a liberal designer who can think outside the square, give Em a holler…www.emilylampe.com

Helen is a delightful girl from Derbyshire, who is 26 years old, a nurse by profession with a phobia for squat toilets!  She is travelling the world for 8 months in search of new life experiences.  She has commenced her travels in South East Asia and will continue on to OZ, New Zealand and Fiji.  This is her first big trip going solo but her taste for travel was aroused when she travelled to America previously.  NY, CA and Vegas will do that to you every time!    She is on this journey after being turned down for a job on a cruise ship.  She turned a negative to a positive by getting on the phone to her travel agent and booking this trip within one day of hearing the disappointing news.  While doing something a little radical had been on her mind for awhile, there were many doubting Thomas’ in Derbyshire who at first wondered if she could pull this one off.  She describes herself as impulsive and dramatic..which explains her quick decision!   She is having a blast and challenging herself to push the boundaries.  I was a witness to this and can say without a doubt she more than achieved that in the few days I saw her in action!  She misses her wonderful friends and family back home but was certainly growing into a regular GI Jane before our eyes! 

Ed is very definitely an English gentleman, (perhaps the only one left?..only kidding folks)  a 25 year old who was born in Somerset and now resides in London.  He has recently completed his studies in history and law and like Em, found it hard to be employed given the financial crisis.  This led him to take a year off and volunteer with the Citizens Advice Bureau in London, where free legal advice is offered to anyone who cares to drop by.

When he was offered a job in the UK, which is due to commence in September, he decided it was time to hit the road before settling into a routine again.  He is travelling for 10 weeks, and the highlights of his journey have included the trek up Machu Pichu, the Eastern back packer trail up the coast in OZ, and of course trekking around Chiang Mai with us.  (Did he really say that??)…

He is not ready to give up on the travel bug but needs to get back to England to kick start his career.  He says he loves a challenge and cites travelling with us 3 chicks as an example!  He tells me he is never content and dreams of actually living a contended life one day and wonders if that would be hard, given his ambitious spirit!  He is not that fussed about getting married and having kids, but he is in a four year relationship with his girl friend back home..who I am sure must be missing him greatly!   This is his first time outside Europe and from what I have seen of this young man, I am sure there will be many more long haul flights in his future! 

Ah…Sanit – what a delightful Thai  man..turned out to be our guide and has still  retained his boyish charm!  I find it hard to believe he is 31 years old!   He has had a colourful past having grown up watching his grand dad smoking opium as a youngster of 7 and giving it a try himself as a kid!  He has had a few relationship including one with a Canadian girl he met while she was in Thailand doing some volunteer work. While this took him on a journey to Canada, the relationship has ended.  He is now in a ‘friendship’ with a girl from the UK..like I said that boyish charm will never fail him!  He was a great tour leader and went out of his way to organise optional trips for us on request but I particularly enjoyed trekking the hills with a young lad who grew up in a hill tribe himself!

Travel is full of coincidences and when we gave Alan a lift in our truck on the way back from our trek, ‘cos he had a flat in his bike, I didn’t expect to see him again.  We had chatted back then and I learnt he was a mental health nurse from Liverpool who now lives in Bondi Junction – small world. 

The world just got smaller on Friday night when I find he is sitting opposite me on the train to Bangkok!  He only just makes the 4.30pm train as is all hot and bothered when he finds his seat.  We have a really good connection and find lots to talk about.  Alan is 44 years old and has a passion for his ukulele and his bike, both of which have come travelling with him!

I have never met anyone who works with heroin addicts and I find his approach to his job just as fascinating as his line of work.  He tells me about the growing movement to legalise drug use in OZ and we talk about ICE and what Alan claims is an unnecessary hysteria around its use.  He believes that a number of doctors are using it to further their careers while he thinks the problems around alcohol use, in Sydney in particular are much worse.  He has seen first hand the alcohol fuelled violence in the CBD and says that has shocked him more than the effects of ICE.  He believes that the excessive use of alcohol turns people into violent demons but journalist want sensational stories and there is no one who really wants to pay attention to his findings. 

He is a fan of Cheguvera’s approach to medicine and believes we need more revolutionary doctors who are willing to treat a patient wholistically.  We talk about Cheguvera and how he wanted to educate people to eat better food, get an education, and learn  how best to use their land.  Today, we are all searching for a quick fix and unfortunately the medical model he wishes to promote may never be part of mainstream society. 

Alan is also a fan of Castro and is reading a book that documents a journalists’ interviews of him. He has visited Cuba and tells me lots about this country of which I know little and I have yet to visit.  We talk about the blockades imposed by the US and the western propaganda against Castro and Cuba.  What fascinating conversation for a train journey.  It is midnight and my fellow travellers or would that be revellers are back from the disco dancing compartment – a little worse the wear for  all the beer they have been consuming!  We say good night.  It is time to get a bit of shut eye..but Alan is catching a flight back to the UK at the same time my flight leaves for Colombo so there is a chance we may bump into each other once more…  

“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” Gail Devers”

Hill Tribe Trek Day 3 – Bamboo Rafting

"How can you explain that you need to know that the trees are still there, and the hills and the sky?  Anyone knows they are.  How can you say it is time your pulse responded to another rhythm, the rhythm of the d ay and the season instead of the hour and the minute?  No, you cannot explain.  So you walk."  Source Unknown

We are rudely awoken on Day 3 of the Hill Tribe Trek by the village rooster.  Honestly..it’s only 4 in the morning.  What is he thinking??

It is an exciting day for me and brings with it a new challenge.  We have the option of either rafting down the river or trekking the 5 hours back to our pick up point for the long drive back to Chiang Mai.  The guides are hoping we will all choose the rafting option even though it is an optional activity.  Both Emily and Helen are not sure about the whole rafting thing..but after considering the only other option available..(Hobson’s Choice as far as they are concerned :) )they throw their hats in the ring as well!   Bamboo rafting here we come..

The village headman (or someone who appears to be him) sees us off.  I am not sure if he wants to wish us well or just make sure we leave :) ! 

We are preceded by another group who had obviously also spent the night somewhere in this village.  We watch them take off…this might not be as difficult as we thought…

 Our gear is piled on a bamboo tripod that sticks up in front.  One person gets to hold on to that while the rest either balance or sit in single file so as to not rock the boat..or the bamboo raft to be precise.  

We pose for pictures..there is a lot of nervous laughter or is that joyous anticipation of what this day might bring..

Our valuables are in a dry bag and our life vests strapped on.  The river is not too high so I don’t think we need to worry.

We coast past water buffalo having their morning soak…and enjoy the beauty around us.

We have about 4 hours of rafting ahead of us so Em and I decide we want to do this seated.  Not such a great idea!  Before long our bums are wet & sore and after trying a number of positions..we decide to raft standing up!   

However, there a number of rapids on this river and negotiating them can be tricky.  We need to sit down and hold on when going through these narrower parts of the river.  Our guides are experienced and take them on with the ease of an old pro.

We play games to while away the time.  I surprise myself by digging into the recesses of my brain and recalling names of famous people I didn’t even know I knew about.   Places are easier..we are all travellers and we’ve been lots of places….I stump them with the names of Sri Lankan villages no one but me has heard of. 

Soon it is time for a tea break.  We stop for chips and coke at a little bank side stop and are instantly charmed by the hill tribe woman and child at the counter.

It is definitely another Kodak moment and they are both happy to oblige.  We are their only paying customers after all!

Our day comes to an end as the rain begins to fall down lightly on our hot and sweaty bodies.   We welcome the change,soaking it all in and step off the raft having survived bamboo rafting!  Boy..our ancestors had it tough. 

Over lunch I buy a little souvenir bracelet from the hill tribe woman all dressed up for the occasion.  The trek has definitely been one of my  South East Asia highlights and these memories will surely be replayed over and over again in my mind for many years to come.

"You need special shoes for hiking - and a bit of a special soul as well."
-   Emme Woodhull-Bäche

Hill Tribe Trek Day 2 - Elephant Riding

"There is an intense but simple thrill in setting off in the morning on a mountain trail, knowing that everything you need is on your back. It is a confidence in having left the inessentials behind and of entering a world of natural beauty that has not been violated, where money has no value, and possessions are a dead weight. The person with the fewest possessions is the freest. Thoreau was right."
-   Paul Theroux, The Happy Isles of Oceania

We are well rested and we set off in the morning in great anticipation of the challenges that lie ahead on Day 2 of our Hill Tribe Trek.  The track is very steep and awfully narrow in parts and is still slippery from the recent rains.  Sometimes I wonder if there is a track at all or if our guides are just making this up as we go along.  They both love to have us on, and often our questions of how hard..how much farther.. are met with ambiguous answers that tell us nothing except that you have to learn to just go with the flow in Asia.  Sanit and Yge clamber down the  hill slide in flip flops but boy,, are we glad of our bamboo walking sticks and our hiking boots.  I find the downhill bits the hardest because my knees are not what they used to be.  I’ve bandaged up my ankles and knees for Day 2 and I am really glad I did.  Sanjit picks mushrooms along the way that he will cook for dinner and glimpses of beautiful views helps take our minds away from the difficulty of this walk.  

The guides regale us with tales of previous trips.  Of young 18 year olds who have cried when they get to the steep bits, in tears because they have never encountered such a difficult hike previously, and of their oldest trekker, a man in his 70’s who just takes it in his stride.   Just proving the saying – you are only as old as you feel!  (So what are u waiting for..??)

We are all coping OK but are thankful as we approach this little hut which serves as our lunch stop.We realise we have company as we see the puff of smoke rising past the roof of the hut.  A man with an incredibly interesting face full of character greets us and beckons us toward the fire he has started in anticipation of our arrival.

Emily and I are fascinated by his face and we can’t stop taking pictures.  It is the sort of face that could grace the cover of National Geographic..

I wonder if he is flattered at the attention or just wishes we would leave him along to have his mid afternoon smoko!  I wish I could get him to look my way for long enough to shoot a dozen pictures..

I think it was Helen (or was it Em) who first noticed the fat leech sucking on my leg.  Yikes, I don’t really like the pesky things..and wonder how I’ve been so oblivious to it crawling so far up my leg.  We spray it with a good dose of DEET and it gives up the fight in disgust.  The bleeding however continues for too long, so Helen (our nurse) pulls out her first aid kit and proceeds to dress my leg!!  I’ve been lucky on this trip.  My previous injury was treated by a physio and now I’ve got my own resident nurse looking after me.  You’d have to pay good money for this kind of treatment in Australia!  Thank you Helen…I live to walk another day!

Meanwhile our guides are busy fashioning chopsticks and cups from the bamboo stick they have just cut from the forest.  They brew us some coffee, heating up the water in the middle of a piece of bamboo (ingenious) and we feast on fried noodles and juicy pineapple.  Food just tastes so much better outdoors after a long hard hike!  We tuck in feeling such a great sense of satisfaction and achievement already. 

There are two more uphill and downhill bits to negotiate before we reach Elephant Camp.  The afternoon hike is not as challenging as this mornings effort and I pause often to marvel and capture the hidden beauty and glorious colour of this jungle.

Occasionally we see snakes slithering away and we are reminded that surface beauty, so quick to capture our attention and distract us in life, is often also deceptive, and lurking underneath the splendours are hidden dangers that may be life threatening and could potentially destroy our dreams and hopes for the future!  Nature so closely parallels the lessons life has taught me…

Time passes quickly and as we descend down the last bits of the hill, we approach a tranquil stream with lazy cows chewing grass and we realise we have reached Elephant Camp, where a new adventure awaits… 

After a rest, a coke, posing for pictures with the elephant and Helen checking out and passing up the option of using the happy house :) we are ready to mount the beasts!  Getting on top of this elephant is easier said than done.  They don’t bend down, like their more obliging cousins in Nepal, whose acquaintance I was fortunate to make on my first elephant ride in Chitwan National Park.

I am balanced rather precariously on the wooden platform and with the aid of my guide, I step on my elephants head and sit down on the makeshift seat.  I’m sharing this elephant with Em and we are off almost before we’ve settled in.  Where’s the mahout..?  I didn’t realise we were driving…!  Fortunately I think this elephant is on auto pilot and all we really have to do, is hold on for dear life!

We have an absolute blast on the elephant and have the sensation of being on a roller coaster with the difference being that the only security we have is a silly bit of rope that really isn’t doing anything.  We both scream as the elephant goes down a steep slope..holding on to the sides of our seat…knowing there are no guarantees on this ride!  It’s too late to get our money back!

Time passes too quickly.  Em and I chat about our lives and what our respective journeys have taught us so far.  I have never met a Texan before and she shatters all my pre conceived notions of  conservative Southerners!  She has just finished a year in Korea and is travelling through South East Asia before she heads back home to Texas!  All too soon, it is time to dismount our elephant.  He has done us proud…

This village is very different to our first hill tribe village.  It is almost a bustling metropolis in comparison and I am a little disappointed.  Ed enquires if there is a local pub..no…they are not that civilized yet!  :)

After our bucket shower in cold water we are ready to explore.  As we walk, the kids who are busily playing catch, pose for pictures.  They are so great at this lark and are certainly aware of their cuteness factor.  They climb up to a fence making faces for Helen and she just snaps her shot before the pole breaks and they end up in a heap!  Squeals of laughter follow…no damage done here…these kids are robust and used to a few bruises…!

Our guide, Sanit is all decked out in his tribal clothes and is also quite happy to pose for us.  He grew up in a hill tribe but has since been lured by the big city lights of Chiang Mai.  We ask if he was still eligible to date a hill tribe chick…the answer is no…!   They don’t take kindly to deserters.

We stop to chat to a farmer who has slaughtered one of his pigs for dinner and we learn the finer points of hill tribe cuisine.  I wish I could be joining them for what will obviously be a feast tonight..

We visit the local school, a project of the Royal Family.  Children from the surrounding villages board here during the week and go back home on Friday night.  They are mostly kids from the Karen Tribe but there are other tribes and dialects represented here.  However, lesson are in Thai so they grow up at least bi-lingual.  They don’t balk at doing the washing up either.

We tuck in to another great dinner that night by candle light.  There is no electricity here at all, and we decide to turn in a bit earlier than the previous night.  We have shared quarters tonight and Ed gets to listen and join in the antics of girl camp!  He is the first to crash though and as we blow off the candles on another amazing day in the jungle there is a collective sigh of satisfaction.  We’ve survived the trek and elephant ride and tomorrow another new challenge awaits..

"I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read and all the friends I want to see."
-   John Burroughs

Hill Tribe Trek – Day 1

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." - John Muir

I had thought long and hard about whether I would have the stamina for a 3 day trek after 40 days of backpacking Indo China.  Having successfully completed this trek, I am truly glad I signed up for this challenge!  My fellow trekkers are all in their mid twenties..which makes me almost double their age yet,I don’t really feel too much trepidation about this journey.  I feel very much within my comfort zone in the jungle.  My home is adjacent to the bush in Australia and we bush walk often at the weekends.  We won’t be walking more than about 4 hours a day for a total of about 15 km and I know I can walk that in one day.  However, I have no idea of the terrain we might encounter..or if the rain gods will be kind.  It was looking rather overcast as we drove to the mountains.  

There is however one element which is new to me on this journey - I have I never done an overnight trek previously.  We have to carry everything we will need for the next few days on our backs and even as we piled into the truck that picked us up, I was mentally going through my daypack, making sure I hadn’t forgotten something really important, like my camera! 

Our first stop is the tourist police station.  The cop turns out to be a European with a German accent!  I wish I could interview him but I have learnt not to mess with the police.  We nod when he calls out our names and listen intently as he warns us of the dangers of trekking in wet conditions in the mountains.  I wonder what his story is..and what has brought him here… ?

We stop at the Mork Fa Waterfall to stretch our legs.  Emily laughs as she sees me pull on my hat and says, “if I had any doubt you were an Aussie, they are gone now”!  I’ve pulled on my Aussie bush hat, and our laughter continues as she pulls on her baseball cap (yes she’s the American) and the English travellers Ed and Helen pull on their floppy hats.  The things that define us are quite interesting!  The waterfall is lovely but it is overcast so we don’t swim.  The lunch stop is uneventful and after a bit of 4 wheel driving in our sontheuw we are at the start point.

The track is damp after the recent rain and Sanit rubs a mix of water and tobacco to ward off the leeches.  I guess we will be testing this local remedy on our trek.  Nothing in the west seems to work with these pesky things..so let’s see if the eastern solution is any better.

We have been joined by Gye, our local guide who will do all the hard work on this trek, which includes carrying our food!  He  carves us walking sticks from the bamboo in the forest..and we feel we are ready.  Bring it on..

The track is fairly steep in parts and slippery but generally not terribly hard going.  We chat as we walk and time passes quickly.  We pass an area that is advocating conservation with religious symbolism.  The hill tribes have a mix of Christian, Buddhist and animism beliefs and I find this interesting. 

The walking sticks come in handy and by late afternoon the terrain changes.  We have been walking down a steep down hill track as we finally approach a flat terraced area and realise we are close to our first hill tribe village.

We walk through the village and stop to greet the villages and take a few photos.  The hill tribes speak their own dialects and this is a Karen tribe (I might be spelling that wrong).  We have learnt the obligatory 2 words (hello and thank you) and we struggle to pronounce them and not confuse them with the two Thai words we have been memorising these past few days :).  Yes, it is rather pathetic. 

There are animals everywhere and the little piglets squealing for their milk makes us smile!  This pig has had more than a dozen babies…talk about hard work…!  Definitely survival of the fittest for these little piglets.  

I had thought we would be living with the hill tribe but our little hut is actually on the out skirts of this village.  There will not be too much interaction tonight but then, we can’t really communicate with them anyway.

Our quarters are lovely.  A spacious hut, built on stilts just above a bubbling stream..we couldn’t have asked for more!It was an idyllic spot and I wished we were staying longer than one night.  But Helen had something else on her mind…she was off to check out the toilet.  She has never used a squat toilet up to this point and the thought of doing so freaks her out a little!  Sanit gives her a demonstration of how to use one and we are burst out laughing!  The toilet is outside the hut, so we hope we won’t have to negotiate getting here in the middle of the night!

After showers – yes, they have actually installed a shower for us – we treat ourselves to some drinks and relax.  It is quite high up in the mountains here and for the first time on this trip, I actually begin to feel cool.  It cools down enough for Sanit to light us a fire.  How perfect can this trek get?

Yes..there’s still dinner.  Somehow they manage to cook us a slap up feast and we tuck in to green curry, chicken & basil, tofu and veg and spring rolls!  Yum..

After dinner, Sanit talks to us about the hill tribes and we learn about their history and the difficulties that arose when borders were created between the Indo China countries of Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.  They didn’t have birth certificates and once movement became restricted, families were separated because they now found themselves in different countries!  We also learnt about their beliefs in animism and how the royal family has helped promote other crops besides the opium which had been quite prolific in these hills.We then whiled away the time by playing cards!  Both Ed and Emily have a stack of card games up their sleeves so I dust off my rusty card skills and we get stuck in.  Ed is quite the strategist and both Em and I can be quite competitive while Helen doesn’t really care less.  She is quite laid back and doesn’t seem to pay attention to the rules or to what is going on ..so imagine how annoyed we all are when she ends up winning the game!

Its finally time to turn in.  Ed has a room to himself and us girls sleep together in the other room.  We chat for ever before finally turning out the candle….it has been a great first day!     

"There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country.  A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo.  Even a bicycle goes too fast." 

-   Paul Scott Mowrer

Monk Chat

We were all excited when we learnt we had the opportunity to have a conversation with a monk during our visit to Wat Chedi Luang.  In Sri Lanka, where I grew up, women were usually not allowed to chat to monks so this is certainly a first for me! 

We sit around the table and the conversation starts with talk of soccer.  England and America have tied and Australian has just been beaten rather badly by Germany.  None of us are very happy (except Emily) about how the soccer is shaping up right now.  Monk Champa is a Manchester United supporter and has been up till 2.30 this morning watching the world cup!  He is certainly a soccer fan.

Monk Champa is originally from Laos and came to Thailand after high school to go to University.  The Thai and Lao languages are similar which does make the transition a little easier.  The University building is right here in the same premises as the temple and he has majored in English.  You can study up to the Master’s level here. 

The ‘Monk Chat’ is basically a living lab for the monks and gives them a great opportunity to chat about their beliefs with travellers, who by their nature our curious about other cultures and gives the monks a chance to fine tune their English skills.  A win win really.  The beginners and less confident monks gather round to listen.  There are 4 faculties here mostly in the humanities and social sciences and 400 students, some of who are lay students.

Monk Champa has been a monk since he was 10 and is now 24 years of age.  Enrolling their children in the temple is the only way poor families can educate their kids and give them prospects for their future.  He was born to a poor farming family and is one of 10 children.  He is the only one in his family to graduate from College and his family is very proud of his accomplishments.  He is now completing his job training which includes spreading the Buddhist faith to tourists!  He is doing a great job.

The choice of journeying toward monkhood has many sacrifices and in the case of Monk Champa it has meant long periods of separation from his family.  He has not had contact with his family for 4 years.  The village they live in (in Laos) is isolated and has no post office, phones or computers.  The closest post office is in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, 800 km away.  Someone from his family will have to make the trek to pick up the mail if he does write.  It is definitely too much trouble and expense to write.  He gets news through other monks who might travel back..but of course he misses his family and the farming life he grew up with. 

I ask him about his wardrobe.  He has 4 different coloured robes, red, yellow, orange and dark brown.  The colours have no significance but even a monk likes a bit of variety in his dress.  The robes helped keep mosquitoes away in the days when bug spray was not available but he does admit it can be a little stifling in the heat of the Thai summer.  It also restricts him from playing sport but he does practice yoga and admits there are poses he can’t make with the added complication of robes around his ankles!

He dreams of getting a Master’s in Linguistics as he would like to translate Buddhist scriptures into English.  He wants to continue living in Thailand but getting Thai citizenship is not easy for a man from Laos.  He tells us that the easiest way would be to marry a Thai girl but of course that option is not open to him if he does continue to be a monk!

His second option is to give up the robes and be a tour guide.  He definitely enjoys chatting to travellers and sharing his culture and country with them, so I think he would make a great tour guide and he could still continue to spread his faith.  His sense of humour has captivated us all and we continue bombard him with our questions…

He tells us how he goes out each morning with his alms bowl to get his food for the day from the local folk who have grown up in a culture that encourages donations to the temple.  The day starts early but after lunch these monks do not eat another meal till the next morning.  They believe that you can’t eat till you see your palm in the morning!  Wow…it is a hard life being a monk and I am certainly impressed!  He tells us they eat to live rather than live to eat…mmm…monkhood is definitely not an option for me!    

He invites us to teach English at the University and we wonder about the close interaction with the opposite sex and if that would cause any problems.   I gently ask him some probing questions about that aspect of his life.  He laughs…he tells us he doesn’t really miss anything he hasn’t had! 

We ask if he has considered moving to an English speaking country so he can perfect his English (which by the way is truly impressive) and improve his vocabulary.  Travelling is certainly one of his passions and he would love to take a plane ride one day.  He dreams of visiting places such as Burma, Australia, England..and Canada but would also just love to get down to Bangkok and experience life in a big city.  He wishes he could  understand all English accents with ease and admits he has trouble with the Irish and Scottish in particular.  We reassure him about this and tell him nobody can really understand the Scottish anyway!  :) 

He was once invited on an all expense paid visit to the US once but after a lot of expense and trouble and visits to Laos, his visa application was rejected.  The US embassy wanted to see his bank statements!  I guess of all the ridiculous requirements we have encountered with embassies, a bank statement from a monk must make surely make it to the top of the pile!  He looks a little crest fallen as he recounts this story but it has not dampened his spirits or his dreams and plans for the future. 

It is time to go.  We have taken up a lot of time..and it is quite a bit past his lunch time.  I tell him about my blog and pass him the link, expecting that he will be quite chuffed to think he will be on the internet.  He smiles and tells me he has Googled ‘Monk Chat’ previously and even found himself on U Tube.  Ah..how times have changed!  I’ve been chatting to a “Gen Y Monk” and of course blogs and such like are just as much part and parcel of his life as they are any lay persons…OK..almost!  We wish him well and hope his dreams eventuate.  Another experience that has touched us all…

"In the middle ages people were tourists because of their religion, whereas now they are tourists because tourism is their religion."

Robert Runcie

A Post Card from Chaing Mai

I run into my new group quite by accident on Monday morning.  Emily heard my voice at the front counter and thought she recognised an Australian accent and turned around to ask if I was on the trekking trip that left on Tuesday! 

I know you Aussies will think this funny…but hey…there are people out there who think I have an Australian accent!  I was introduced to the rest of the group.  There and four of us.  Emily (blue T Shirt) is from Texas, Ed the only male is from London and Helen is…from Derbyshire!  Yes..it is a small world.   

  I had planned to spend Monday getting ready for my trek.  I had plans of having a Thai massage and a facial..just a bit of pampering after 40 days on the road but my new friends had other plans.  I was introduced to our guide – a young man named Sanit from Thailand and they informed me they were just setting out on a city walk and invited me to join them! 

So..of course I said yes.  We spend the morning exploring the temples of Chaing Mai and getting to know each other.  This is the first time I have an American in my group..and as we chat amongst ourselves, we find there are as many language and cultural differences between us as there are between us and the Thais!  This is going to be an interesting trek.  We are already beginning to tease each other..about the differences in our vocabulary!

So..in between exploring places such as Wat Chedi Luang and swapping travel stories, I got to know my new travel mates..

I should like to spend my whole life travelling, if only I could borrow another to spend at home"

William Blake

Goodbye Jane

Making instant friends with perfect strangers is one of the joys of travelling solo.  What has surprised me is that  I have made friends with such a diverse range of people on this trip through South East Asia.  People of all ages, of all walks of life and from such diverse cultures.

When you sign up for an Intrepid Tour of 40 days, you are signing up to sharing a very intense experience in a very intimate way with a bunch of travellers you have never met before.  It is one of the risks of travel and it doesn’t always pay off.  But it is also one of those leaps of faith you take when you choose to travel solo in the hope there will at least be a couple of people you can connect with on more than just a superficial level. One of these travellers will also be your room mate and if you are very lucky you will complete your tour with a friend for life.  I think I can speak for both of us when I say, we got very lucky on this trip!

I never expected to meet a grandmother on a Basix tour of South East Asia!  That’s right Jane is a mother of 3 and a grand mother of 4 from England who still carries with her the spirit of adventure she had in her twenties.  She will still dive off boats, cycle for hours under very trying climatic conditions, kayak, go tubing and jump off ropes into deep rivers with the best of them!  And if she does get a tummy bug, she will wash it down with a few shots of vodka!  She inspired me on a number of occasions to try things I might otherwise have given a miss and I am truly grateful she signed up for this trip! 

There were a number of occasions where we sat down to dinner and had very  deep and meaningful conversations – one of the luxuries of travel I truly relish.  Jane’s ability to get to the heart of a matter and her insight into what makes people tick was one of her qualities I appreciated and will truly miss.  Her ability to be inclusive of everyone no matter how difficult they might be is also a quality I valued and saw her apply.  Her empathy for people was special and I experienced this when I had a few hiccups myself.

She is a physio by trade who works in the rugby arena but what we had in common was a passion for discovering places and people.  We both loved to go explore & get under the skin of a country, discover the local haunts so we could taste authentic food, and chat with both the travellers and locals we met along the way.  Together we seemed to attract some very interesting people and situations into our lives and the memories we made together will surely live with us forever.  Jane made my South East Asia experience extra special because I feel I shared it with a friend.  Someone who was there to support me through both the highs and lows of travel. 

One of the hardest things about travel is that you keep saying goodbye to the many wonderful friends you make along the way.  Being on the road is a transient life but it is what we have both chosen for a year of our lives.  Jane will carry on her journey visiting Australia and New Zealand next, to spend time her youngest daughter while I will soon travel on to Sri Lanka to visit my mom.

I wish Jane the very best for the rest of her journey in the knowledge that she will be following my own and wishing me the very best as well.  May the Universe be with you as you continue to make your dreams come true!

 “A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill