Our last day in Khao Yai, we stopped and feed the working elephants at one of the business in the Khao Yai area. We also heard tail of bat caves in the area, and tracked it down to a small side road. We assumed that the best thing would be to come back as dark was approaching - the bats would probably leave their caves for the night.

DId they ever. About 15 minutes after sunset, as th last of the light was dying from the sky, there was a roar, and a blurred streak in the darkening sky. The noise was from what must have been millions of bats leaving their caverns for the night. THe stream of bats waved across the sky like slow motion electricity, and the noise built to a peak and then quickly died down.

An awesome way to finish a holiday.

Thu 19 Apr 2007 | /Trips/Thailand | permalink

Khao Yai National Park, Narok Saew Falls

We did a lot of walking in Khao Yai today. We need the loop walk from the HQ which takes in some amazing jungle and rope bridge.

We did the walk and climb down to Narok Saew falls "Fall to Hell" - named because elephants playing in the water at the top often fall to their deaths down the 60 metre waterfall.

60 metres on near verticle steps is a long way to go down, and and even longer way to climb back up again, but this water fall is absolutely worth it, its breathtaking.

Wed 18 Apr 2007 | /Trips/Thailand | permalink

Nam Now National Park

We took a day trip over to Nam Now national park, which is about 200 kms west of Nong Khai. It took us and age to get there, stopping for the water fights that were still n full swing along all the main roads.

The park was very good, with a number of easy walks into the forest and back from the main headquarters. Unfortuantely, none of the waterfalls were running.

Sun 15 Apr 2007 | /Trips/Thailand | permalink

Song Kran Festival & Kae Koo Museum

Dressed up in bright colors probably wasn't the wisest of moves on Song Khan day, Thai new year and water fight festival. Being large and brightly adorned, and in particular a foreigner, made us somewhat of a target of prestiege on what is a national water fight in Thailand.

We went to Kae Koo museum, a statue park. I'd been before but its so stunning its worth a second look. Besides, I wanted to see how it would look while I was wet.

Its all good fun though. Don't think I've seen anything like it - the whole country stops, then half the country throws a bucket of water at the other half of the country - all in fun. Supurb.

Fri 13 Apr 2007 | /Trips/Thailand | permalink

Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

Khao Yai (Big Mountains) national park, about 200 km north east of Bangkok was our 'half-way' rest stop on the drive to NongKhai. We stopped for lunch on the way just before reaching Khao Yai, had a spectacular meal, roast pork and chicken, and Pad Thai Khao Yai - a local speciallty and my new all time favourite dish.

Once we'd settled into the resort rooms, we hit the road into the park. Every few hundred meters after the checkpoint into the park, we had to stop for troupes of monkeys (gibbons) sitting about on the road, laying in ambush of tourists that might give them food.

The bush was very special, so rich and noisey with life, from chain-saw loud cicadas, to woop-woop-wooping gibbons and grasping leaches trying to latch onto your feet.

Tue 10 Apr 2007 | /Trips/Thailand | permalink

Bangkok, Thailand. Wat Pho and the Grand Palace

Our first day in Bangkok we did the tour of the Grand Palace and associated temples, in particular, Wat Pho. We saw the reclining buddha, the emerald Buddha and the gold Buddha - all equally amazing, and mind bogglingly beloved and popular. The detail and beauty of the statues at teh Grand Palace is a little hard to take in. Its very clear there are hundreds of thousands hours work in it over hundreds of years.

Sun 08 Apr 2007 | /Trips/Thailand | permalink

Kaew Koo Museum, Nong Khai

Bud and I visited a temple / museum near her family home in Nong Khai, a largish town about 50 kms north of Udon Thani. Nong Khai is on the Meekhong River, a big wide brown rushing afair of a river, the kind that you don't want to be dipping your toe into to check for temperature. Across the river is the outskirts of Vietien, the capitol of Laos. Bud speaks two languages - Bangkok Thai, or official Thai, and the language of this region, Isaan, which is very similar to the language spoken in Laos.

The museum is a collection of statues, sculptures and monuments depicting images of Buddha and various events of His life. Gigantic 7 headed hydras and big elephants and many many pointy headed Buddha's, surrounded by lovely gardens and trees.

Bud's family joined us, her mum and dad, her sister Tuk, her neice Por and Nephew Chogun. It was a good day out in the sun.

Sun 23 Oct 2005 | /Trips/Thailand | permalink

Wat Chalong, Phuket

Wat Chalong is the largest and most ornate Buddhist temple in Phuket, and this is the second time I've been here. This time, with Luke and Kyrya on what had to be the hottest and most humid day I've ever felt.

The temple and the main hall are such beautiful buildings, you never get tired of looking at them. The stillness of the air and the quiet inside them belies the presence of lots of marble and stone.

The temple provides visitors and worshipers the opportunity to set off firecrackers and ask for lucky lottery numbers, and have their fortune told. You pick up a bamboo can of what look likes chopsticks and shake it rhythmically until a single chopstick falls out, it has a number. You take the number to a wooden cabinet and open the drawer with your number, and your fortune is inscribed on a little piece of paper inside (in Thai).

You can also obtain a good luck charm in the form of a string of jasmine flowers and tie it arround your wrist to protect you from injury and illness. Bud got one of these for Kyrya.

Finally, you can ask Buddha a question - you do this by gathering two red wooden blocks from the floor that are shapped like a mango. You pose your question, toss the blocks in the air, and if they land with the same side showing, the answer is yes, if they land with one side up, the other down, the answer is no. I asked if it was time for lunch... the answer? A resounding yes...

Sun 02 Oct 2005 | /Trips/Thailand | permalink

Erawan Museum and Thai Village, Bangkok, Thailand

Bud and I booked a cab for the day and headed off to do some sight-seeing. First stop was the Erawan Museum, which is both a museum and a budhist temple, housed in what has to be the largest statue of an elephant I've ever seen - with three heads no less. The building underneath the elephant housed various Thai pottery and antiquties that were informatively displayed. Gradually making your way up through the structure it slowly changes from Museum to Temple, ending right at the top with a 'Room amongst the Stars' prayer room in the head of the elephant.

The stair cases and stained-glass windows were intricately decorated, some of the structures built entirely from plates and spoons and other common objects, themselves intricately detailed and inlayed with gold or painted with bright decorations.

Next stop was a theme park of sorts. Essentially the Thai government has collected period buildings from all over Thailand and relocated them to this one place in order to preserve the unique architecture of Thailand. Pergodas and Temples, Statues and Bridges all make an appearance. Some made of wood, some of stone. The park is about 350 acres and its only possible to see it all by car or a bike.

There was a riverside village re-created, complete with its own floating markets, food vendors, crafts and so on. Just walking around and smelling the waft of delightful things being cooked just out of sight was enough to make you dribble.

Sun 07 Aug 2005 | /Trips/Thailand | permalink

Elephant Trekking in Phuket

After diving yesterday and a huge night out (Arrrgh!) I could barely move. Damn those diving muscle groups.

I got up late, had breakfast from the most delightful little street side Pad Thai outfit and went and found a cab driver whose cab had actaul doors, with the plan of have a bit of a look around the island, perhaps a view from one of the higher points.

The gentleman I eventually hired was quite the tour guide actually, and a bit of a salesman to boot. Sensing my undecidedness (if thats even a word) he rattled off about 40 possible activities I might like to try. I assumed at first that he might have a vested interest in having me see a Cobra show or go shooting, but after about 10 I realised that he just knows his island and is doing his very best to get buisness going - good on him, this country is having a tough time and everyone is trying so hard. We could do with more of that spirit in the world.

I settled for Elephant Trekking. Actually, I settled for Elephant. I couldn't quite make out what my friend was saying after the word elephant, but, the animal alone was enough to sell me. We could have been going to elephant group therapy for all I knew.

Once there though, it was fairly obvious. You, a mighty Indian elephant, and a nice chap with a sharp stick and nack for driving an elephant by the ears with his feet set off for an hour or so through the jungle. Not having a hat or sun-screen I thought I'd made a terrible, terrible mistake... However Fortune smiled and after a couple of minutes and a knowing grin, my guide offered me the use of an umbrella. Fat white guy sitting 10 feet off the ground in a kings litter on an elephant, holding an enormous umbrella... Yes, the locals were staring...

Of all the methods of transport devised by human kind, Elephant Trekking has to be the most unusual way to generate sea-sickness on dry land :)

Once we'd completed our circuit, I had to refuel my transport. I fed about 3 roughly chunked pinapples to my amiable steed who made very short work of them, spines, leaves and all. He then blew Elephant Snot all over me...

Sun 26 Jun 2005 | /Trips/Thailand | permalink

Pattaya - Thailand!

Well, I'm off to Pattaya for the weekend. A trip to Thailand. Pattaya is on the east coast of Thailand, and overlooks the Gulf of Thailand (Siam). Cheap flights, even amazingly cheaper hotels means a great value weekend by all accounts. I will probably have to stay well clear of Walking Street there, but otherwise it sounds like a happening place.
I'll be diving with Aquanauts dive centre, the local PADI five star. Seems to have a very quick response and professional attitude. I'm excited.

Wed 09 Mar 2005 | /Trips/Thailand | permalink

Thailand - Pattaya

Thailand was fantastic. I went to Pattaya which is on the west side of the Gulf of Thailand, the ocean therefore is to the west even though Pattaya is on the east coast of Thailand. You could watch a sunset over the ocean, which was very special. I stayed at a little resorty hotel thing (didn't really know it was a resort when I booked it) but it had beachfront and hammocks and stuff. I ate BBQ prawns beside the ocean and watched the sun go down, had a few beers.

The diving wasn't especially good, the reef pretty unremarkable. It was good to be in the water though, its been far to long. The boat was nice and comfortable, and a full Thai lunch, so it was a great day out in the sun at the very least.

I had an aroma-therapy massage on Sunday after the diving which was sensational. I basically just lay there and drooled for a bit while all my muscles were convinced they were in fact not sore at all. Afterwards I went back to the room and did a bit more drooling and listened to some music.

Pattaya is rather popular for its 'night life' it has a thriving red light precinct, one that's remarkably famous from what I understand. The main street, Walking Street, has hundreds of bars and clubs all featuring 'go-go' dancers, which is a nice way of saying strippers... The streets are invariably cluttered with Pad Thai stands, neon lights, hawkers for the clubs and pirated DVD's... I got the feeling that you could probably get anything illegal you might happen to want within about 10 feet if you just asked.

The sleezy bits aside, Pattaya was an experience. So cheap ! The whole weekend cost me S$300 (about AUD$260), including the flights and hotel, diving. I have another stamp in my passport... Bringing the total countries to 4 ;)