One Way Tickets

Walking in the Devon woods

2010-10-25T09:16:00.000-07:00

All of Katharine’s cousins like to hike, so our visits to England always include explorations of their local countryside. Most of our relatives live in central England, but one cousin had moved to Devon since we’d last visited, and we were eager to be introduced to this part of SW England.

Eric taking photos from a rock overlooking the valley of the
River Teign along the path to Fingle Bridge from Castle Drogo.

Yet another sunny day threatened to dispel the clichéd view of damp English weather as we drove to nearby Drogo Castle. Now a National Trust site, the castle was completed for food retailing magnate Julius Drewe in 1931. The castle is located on a prominent bluff, and the site includes our destination for the day: a network of walking trails leading along the nearby River Teign.

Not surprisingly on such a fine autumn day, we were not alone as we walked along the edge of the steep valley to descend to Fingle Bridge.

Most walkers stopped at the old stone pub at the bridge, but we continued on along the river for a few kilometres. By the time we returned, the crowds had lessened—but we were only moments from their last call for lunch. The pub lunch and local cider on the outdoor patio was a welcome break before heading back along the river valley trails and the climb back up to the castle.

These two little girls were dropping twigs off the upstream side, then rushing to
see them float by on the downstream side. Fingle Bridge, near Exeter in Devon.

This area seems so pristine and pastoral, yet a closer look reveals evidence of past industry. The very narrow Fingle bridge is made of rough-hewn stone, and the pub was once a mill; piles of rubble along the trail were probably mine tailings; and old foundations are visible amongst the trees.

Today the River Teign water looks clean enough to drink, but likely only due to very concerted efforts to restore the local environment.

Is all the effort worthwhile? I suspect the many people we saw enjoying it on this sunny autumn afternoon would not want it any other way.

Walking along the flinty Norfolk coast

2010-10-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

Carcass of an old boat along
the Blakeney Marsh walking path.

“It’s a beautiful day... I’ll take you up to the Norfolk coast!”

Katharine’s cousin always seems to know just the kind of place to take us in any weather, so we were happy to get our gear together and head north for a day of hiking.

Blakeney is nominally on the North Sea coast, but a large marshland separates it from the salt water. A footpath along the dykes in the marsh leads out to the windy shoreline in low tides, but also forms part of the extensive coastal walking trail system. Although sunny, the wind made us choose to stay inland—and the lure of a pub lunch in nearby Cley Next the Sea became our destination.

Old windmill at Cley Next the Sea, Norfolk.

Like much of eastern England, the fields in Norfolk contain a lot of flint, a hard stony type of quartz. No doubt farmers have cursed this component of their fields for centuries, but they don’t waste it either. As we walked back to Blakeney we observed flint being used in sidewalk pavers, as walls to define properties—and most dramatically, as part of the exterior cladding on buildings.

It seemed a shame to be so close to the North Sea without actually seeing it, so we drove west to Wells-next-the-Sea.

A large sand dune shelters a summer holiday park from the sea winds. A short walk over the dune leads to a long sandy beach with dozens of tiny holiday cabins tucked into the steep dune. The harbour here is a staging area for a huge wind farm several kilometres offshore, and signs warn beach strollers about the deep dredged channels and sudden tides.

As the sun neared the horizon, the tide was coming in and the ever-present wind prompted us to head back to the car. As we drove south through rolling hills along the route of an old Roman road, we agreed that a walk along the Norfolk coast should be added to our list of things to do...

Flying kites on the beach in the late afternoon at Wells-next-the-sea, Norfolk.

The highlands are actually quite low

2010-10-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

In my mind, the Scottish “highlands” have always conjured up visions of misty crags covered with heather and bracken. We have visited Scotland several times, and have always managed to include some hiking in the hills.

But our stay at a comfortable remote chalet on the NW coast in October was a real eye-opener to the nature of the highlands. The cottage is on the sea, yet within 3 minutes we could be climbing amidst the heather; within 10 minutes we could be out of view of any buildings and roads.

Stac Pollaigh. We climbed this in 1981, but although the weather at the time we passed looked clear, it was only a brief spell of late afternoon sunshine.

In this part of Scotland, trees only grow in sheltered areas, so the treeless “highlands” start just a few metres above the sea level. The hills are not particularly high either: there are only 283 peaks over 914m (a “munro” is a peak of >3,000 feet) within Scotland, and although nearby Stac Pollaidh is an impressive-looking peak, it is “only” 612m high.

Peering over the ridge to avoid startling stags.

October is rutting season for deer, and the bellows of stags echoed in the hills the night we arrived. We were with my cousin and her husband, and Wayne was keen to take us up into the hills to stalk stags. Just as well he was guiding us: it was clear that “stalking” was necessary, as these animals are very attentive and were easily spooked.

After a couple of hours happily wandering over the hills, we had seen several stags at a distance —young males or ones that were unable to attract a harem of hinds. But then Wayne peered over a ridge and held up his hand to caution us to stop. “Shh... here’s the main herd!”

We got down on our tummies and lifted our heads to look over the rocky ridge. A large stag was looking at us from the opposite ridge—as more than 20 of his hinds were nervously moving further up the hill.

A stag and his hinds.

The life of a stag is not easy. There is only room for one top animal, and there are always contenders for the position lurking around the edges trying to lure hinds away. Eventually, the dominant stag is defeated—or shot. We felt privileged to have the opportunity to see these animals in their environment.

Great views from 9.5 kilometres

2010-10-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

I can never understand why people ask for window seats and then keep the blinds drawn. With seat back movies, open blinds are less likely to bother neighboring passengers, but our location at the back of the section was perfect for hassle-free viewing as we flew over mostly cloud-free India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Passing over the coast of India’s Andhra Pradesh state.

The view from 12,000m of Pakistan’s Indus River showed a different aspect to the recent flood disaster: the area just beyond the river course is empty desert, so people in the valley would not have been able to just move out of the way.

The Indus River in flood. Punjab, Pakistan.

Afghanistan was a surprise. Our flight path crossed between Khandahar and Kabul over rugged dry mountains with almost no vegetation, and only the sparsest sign of agriculture in a few of the valleys.

Irrigated fields and orchards along a watercourse flowing
into Lake Istadeh, Ghazni, Afghanistan.

Roads were quite visible, and some had evident checkpoints along them, but otherwise it seemed incredible that there would be any reason to have our armed forced involved in conflict there.

The road on the left runs between Kandahar and Kabul:
with our binoculars, we could see a military checkpost along it.

However, the view from above reveals the geopolitical reasons for conflict: access to the Indian Ocean from the north, and the only land passage between the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East has doomed this barren land to conflict for generations.

Crossroads land: the rugged land below connects oil-rich central Asia
to the Indian Ocean, and the Indian subcontinent to Eurasia.

The eastern shore of the Caspian Sea was clear, but clouds covered most of Georgia and Russia as we flew westward.

The eastern edge of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan
marked the end of clear views for our flight.

We could catch occasional glimpses of neat farmland of Poland and Germany before descending through cloud to land on time at busy Heathrow.

A very long day

2010-10-05T03:43:00.000-07:00

Our last day on Victoria’s southern coast.

We awoke to a sunny Sunday morning—our last in Victoria, and the start of a long “day” of travel.

Our hosts drove us to Warrnambool to catch the train to arrive in Melbourne at 20:30; then a bus from downtown to the airport. Our flight was to leave at 01:05 Monday morning but we were in the air five minutes early. I’d selected seats at the back of one of the sections to have just two seats in the row; all of the rest of the economy section is configured as 3-4-3. These seats also have a bit more leg room, so we managed to catch a bit of sleep on the 7.5 hr flight to Singapore.

Katharine at the free Internet kiosks at Changi Airport.

Singapore’s Changi Airport is big and modern, with the typical shopping arcade of major airports. Free Internet access helped pass some of the time in our quite welcome 3 hour layover.

Back aboard for the next leg to London Heathrow—and 13 hours in the air as we followed the sun over 12 time zones to arrive at 15:30.

A terrorism threat had no apparent effect on Heathrow arrivals, but the customs clearance wait took almost the hour the signs predicted. Then we were out with our bags and onto a bus to the car hire place. With our GPS installed in the Volvo diesel—and a bit of maneuvering practice in the parking lot—we were soon onto the M25 for the 2 hour drive to Katharine’s cousin’s place.

Finally… into a bed after nearly 44 hours of travel.

Appalling mobile phone plans

2010-09-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

I thought Canadian telephone providers must be the world’s worst—but then I discovered Telstra, Australia’s major provider.

We’ve had mobile (cellular) service with them since April. We wanted a mobile each so we could connect with one another, and also to be able to make calls within Australia. As visitors, a two-year plan made no sense, so we opted for the prepaid mobiles.

The phones were inexpensive (~A$50) and the recharge amounts seemed reasonable at $30. The phones worked well in urban areas, and even when we were away from major centres, the reception was okay.

— I removed the several hundred word rant about the terrible Telstra service and complex plan details from here… Suffice to say I was frustrated! —

Telstra has a number of plans for prepaid mobiles, but use catchy terms like “150 free minutes” and “bonus time” to obscure the fact that they are all very expensive and restrictive. You can’t just buy time: you must choose one of the plans.

Telstra’s “Talk & Text” plan expires after 30 days, so if you haven’t used it, you lose it. The “Talk Time” plan runs for 60 days, but it costs A$0.40 to connect, then A$0.35 for every 30 seconds. The “Telstra Long Life” plan runs for six months, but calls cost A$0.75 for the first 30 seconds, then A$0.60 per minute…

“So just to be clear, if I go with the Talk Time plan you are recommending, a $40 charge will let me talk for 150 minutes?”

“Yes sir! 150 minutes to Telstra numbers.”

“Uh, okay, and how do I know if it is a Telstra number? And what is the charge if I dial a number that turns out to be with a Telstra competitor?”

“Sorry sir, there is no way to tell—but you could ask them when you make the connection. Or, you could call our service centre and ask them to check the number.”

Right. And that explains why the four supposedly free 1800 numbers we’d dialled to the car rental agency ended up costing nearly $30.

Calls to landline phones within Australia cost substantially less than calls to mobiles, and if the person you are calling is so inconsiderate to have chosen an alternate provider, you pay a premium.

Sounds like a good business model—if you can get away with it! For some reason, Telstra seems to be doing exactly that…

Coming to Australia and want to be able to use a phone? My advice would be to get a Skype phone for use in urban areas, and when you are not near a wireless Internet provider, be sure to have lots of coins for pay phones.

Best intentions

2010-09-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

“So where are you two now? Are you ever coming home?”

Uh oh… That’s the problem with starting a blog and not keeping at it! In Australia we had all the best intentions to catch up, and post frequently—but the days rolled on with other things to do…

As well, we discovered that some topics just don’t lend themselves to a blog—at least not the sort of blog we’d started.

We have been meeting new friends, and spending time with people socially in ways that were quite different than when we were “on the road”.

I have been taking lots of pictures, and we have both become quite involved in things we find interesting, so we have lots to tell—but in person rather than in the form of a blog.

We have told people that this year is one of taking stock, and trying to gain a perspective about how to retool for what we do next.

I suspect that blogging may still be part of do—but I now know that it won’t be quite what I’d expected when we left home.

Shameful behaviour

2010-08-08T01:33:00.000-07:00

I’d been very impressed at the excellent interpretive signage panels near the Hopkins River mouth at Warrnambool. Several panels described the features of estuaries, and others had information about whales. We’d stopped to make use of the handy public toilets after looking for whales at nearby Logan’s Beach, and lingered to learn about estuaries until the late afternoon light became too dim.

Back in Warrnambool a week later, we made a point of returning. Sadly, some thoughtless person had obliterated the sign with grafitti.

I’m sure the city will replace the sign, but the community will now have to bear the cost of this idiot’s actions—and it probably means that some other community benefit will have to be cut.

I can only hope that this buffoon’s friends let him (or her) know that this was stupid. Even better, report him to the police so the whole community will know, and can publicly denounce such shameful behaviour.

Whales in the waters

2010-08-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

Towns with decent harbours along the southern coast of Australia boomed during the heyday of the whaling era. Whales come north from Antarctic waters to calve and feed as nutrient-rich currents push up against the continental shelf.
Fortunately, whales are no longer killed, and the industry has vanished. Today, whales are a big draw for tourism, and the many cliffs along these shores provide excellent vantage points to observe these giants.
Logan’s Beach in nearby Warrnambool is a popular whale watching destination, and when we visited there recently, we were rewarded with the sight of a Southern Right whale basking in the swells just beyond a group of keen surfers.

Southern Right whale off Logan's beach, Warrnambool. Note the surfers in the foreground.

The lookout point has excellent interpretive signage, and explains that the “Right” whale was so named because it was the “right” one to kill: it was slow, had plenty of oil and floated when dead.
Not so “right” for the whales though: an estimated population of 60,000 when whaling began in earnest on these coasts in 1806 had declined to only 300 animals by the early 1920s—and of those, only 60 were female.
Southern Right whales were granted protection in 1935, and since then the population has risen slowly to an estimated 1,200 whales in Australian waters.
Further west along the coast, Portland was a major whaling centre until the industry collapsed in the late 1840s. The tourism centre near the harbour includes an informative museum with a whale skeleton in the lobby. They also have a whale watch email notification service, so we signed up.
Almost daily now we are getting reports of nearby sightings. When we saw that two whales were reported off a beach nearby, we rushed out. Not only were there two very close to the shore (perhaps 40m), but we spied two more a few hundred metres out.
Mature whales can be 18m long and weigh 80-100 tonnes, so seeing them in so close was a real thrill. In both cases, one animal had more prominent crusty “callosities” on the upper jaw, whereas the other was more evenly black. Another local enthusiast there thought we were probably seeing two sets of mother and calf.

Two Southern Right whales just offshore near the outflow of the Surrey River at Narrawong, VIC.
These two and two others -- probably both sets of mother and calf -- were as close as 40m from the shore. (The image quality is low because this was taken hand-held with the camera's digital zoom.)

We’ll be eagerly watching the whale notifications, and hope to catch a sighting from one of the many cliffs in this area.
The Glenelg Shire Council’s web site provides a history of whale sightings reported in the Portland area.

Rorting and worms?

2010-07-27T20:46:00.000-07:00

As we’d missed the televised leadership debate in the current Australian election campaign, I thought I would catch up on the issues by reading the newspapers the next day at the local Portland library.

I was puzzled by two undefined terms used in articles in both national newspapers.

By reading the article headed “Car subsidy scheme ‘open to rorting’” I deduced that “to rort” had something to do with cheating. The writer felt that someone might buy an old junk car just to qualify for the proposed rebate if they traded it in on a newer vehicle.

The second term—worms—was used in ways that offered no such contextual clues. The references seemed to imply one or more pundit’s opinion about debater performance, but “bloke worm” and “pink worm” made it confusing. Neither national newspaper had any obvious explanation of the term.

Luckily, the librarians were able to help—amidst laughter about how odd it must seem to someone unfamiliar with the terms.

“Did you watch the debate on TV?” one asked.

“No, I just caught a few clips later in the news.”

“Ah… well they probably didn’t have the worms active then.”

“Worms” turned out to be graphed responses from a selected audience group who reacted to the leaders performance by choosing a 1 to 5 rank on handheld devices (i.e. dislike a lot to like a lot, with neutral as 3). The consolidated feedback was displayed in real time on the screen as a constantly-moving graph under the leaders as they spoke—and the clips I’d seen no longer included it.

I guess I just don’t watch enough TV.

And “rorting”? The librarians thought my deduction was correct, but we did confirm it online: according to a Wikipedia definition, “rort” is a term used in Australia (and NZ) for “a financial impropriety, particularly relating to a government programme.”

Now if only I’d been reading the article online, perhaps the terms would have included a hyperlink definition…

You don’t want to be a hoon

2010-07-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hoon charged. The headline caught my eye as we came through Customs after arriving in Perth, Australia, and I recall musing about it. “Hoon… that’s an odd name.”

But over the next weeks, it became clear that “hoon” was not a person’s name at all. According to a Wikipedia explanation, the term is “derogatory term used in Australia and New Zealand, to refer to a young person who engages in loutish, anti-social behaviour. In particular, it is used to refer to one who drives a car in a manner which is anti-social by the standards of contemporary society, that is, fast, noisily and/or dangerously.”

Another headline about hoons in the June 24 Midwest Times, Geraldton, WA.

Since April, I’ve seen and heard many references to hoons—all negative. What’s more, unlike many of the terms we are used to seeing for anti-social behaviour—vandals, hooligans—the term “hoon” seems to carry a much heavier weight of general social censure and ridicule here.

Evidence of hoon behaviour in Rockingham, WA

If someone is a hoon, the implication is that they are not just socially irresponsible, but also stupid, and unworthy of the attention of even their friends.

Anti-hoon laws in various jurisdictions have resulted in vehicle confiscations. Whether or not it has been a deterrent to the behaviour is not clear, but if you are an Australian with any aspirations of fitting into your community, you certainly do not want to be labelled a hoon.

Order and pay first

2010-07-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

Fast food fans anywhere are used to paying for food before eating, but prepaying for a sit-down meal?

We were surprised the first time it happened, but have become used to it now as we’ve travelled within Australia. Pubs in hotels are a good place to have a full meal, and many offer a wide selection of well-prepared food. However, patrons are often expected to place their order and pay for it in full before being served.

Ditto with meals in specialty places like the Allansford Cheese World we visited recently. We ordered from the menu board—a ploughman’s lunch for two at A$27—and were given a table sign numbered 16 when we paid. We found a table, placed our sign on it, and read about cheese making in the area. A few minutes later, a heaping plate was brought to our table.

We lingered over our lunch, and when we realized we had only a couple of minutes to collect our things to attend the next scheduled cheese tasting, we were able to jump up and go.

No need to wait for a bill.

Great toilets everywhere

2010-07-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

Australians are known for plain speaking, and don’t use wishy-washy terms for natural functions. No “washrooms” here—but plenty of public toilets!

Most towns have well-marked public toilets, and innovative water-free or composting toilets are common at parks and even roadside pull-offs. Sinks are usually included too—although taps may dispense just a trickle from rainwater collected in on-site tanks in dry area.

Having spent uncomfortable time searching desperately for a “washrooms” in Canadian towns and cities, we really appreciate this aspect of travel in Oz.

But in fairness to Canada, our winters provide an almost insurmountable barrier: no outdoor toilet would survive –20C temperatures. Too bad…

What’s in a name?

2010-07-24T21:46:00.001-07:00

The address on Redman Road had been given to us directly by the person living there, so we expected our GPS to get us to the right spot. As Katharine entered the street name, it helpfully completed after 4 letters—but with “Redmond Road” instead. It would not allow her to enter the correct name, and the proposed road did not have the number we wanted.

Since we’d arranged to meet the resident at a specific time, we had to call for directions. It turned out that not only was the name wrong in the GPS, but it was also wrong on the printed municipal map!

The fact that the map was also wrong provided the clue to why the GPS data was wrong. The company Garmin uses for its navigation data, NAVTEQ, had obtained the incorrect municipal data for their database.

An error like this one may only be a minor inconvenience for a few people for now. But what if a courier can’t deliver a much-needed part for a milking machine, or an emergency vehicle is delayed in finding an address? Accurate navigation data is quickly becoming essential, and such errors need to be fixed.

Fortunately, “crowd sourcing” methods are available to enable users to provide direct feedback. My query to Garmin support got a speedy response with a link to the Garmin error reporting page as well as to the NAVTEQ map reporter site. Both were straightforward, but the NAVTEQ site used a map navigation interface to display the current information from their database.

How often do we get the opportunity to directly contribute to improving a useful tool? I’ve added these reporting sites to my browser bookmarks, and will certainly make a point to report any errors I happen to find.

DIY wind power

2010-07-17T21:14:00.001-07:00

IMG_9033, originally uploaded by SpiritwoodPix.

This wind generator was one of three ready to be raised near Exmouth, WA. The pole is hinged at its base, and the "gin pole" on the right provides the means to get the leverage to raise it. Small wind generators like this are much more common than we see in Canada. Pity...

When does wind power just make good sense?

2010-06-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

Frequent sightings of wind power projects has prompted lots of discussion as we’ve been exploring Australia. Particularly in areas where there are steady strong winds, it makes me wonder why an industry to provide home wind generators hasn’t taken off.

On the west coast, information panels at the impressive 48-generator Emu Downs project near Cervantes stated that this A$180 million project can provide power for the equivalent of 50,000 homes. Each wind generator was ~A$3.75 million—and likely more since the wind farm can share some expensive common control and distribution systems—but it also means that the wind farm costs work out to ~A$3,600 per home.

What homeowner wouldn’t agree to pay a one-time $3,600 to get energy from the wind forever?

Of course it isn’t quite that simple… Wind farms produce no power when the winds drop below a minimum speed—but consumers want to have power whenever they want it, so a grid connection is still needed.

Electric utilities balance supply and demand over the entire grid, but many (including our own Quebec Hydro) are not eager to let just anyone sell power into their grid. Even when they do agree, utilities can’t buy it at the same rate they sell power because their rate includes a mark-up above their generating costs to cover their significant capital investments.

But what happens as wind generator prices drop and their control systems improve? At some point, won’t it reach a point where—for at least some consumers—installing a wind generator for a home becomes economically too viable to ignore?

Dramatic sandstone

2010-06-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

Kalbarri National Park covers 1830 square kilometres some 485 km north of Perth in Western Australia. The Murchison River flows east through canyons cut deeply into horizontal bands of multi-coloured sandstone before reaching the Indian Ocean.

The water-carved canyon walls are dramatic and unexpected, looking more like confectionary than stone. Rippled surfaces embedded within the sedimentary rock formation—called Tumblagooda sandstone—were apparently formed by waves moving over tidal flats some 400 million years ago.

The 8km Loop Walk trail took us along the edge of a cliff overlooking the Murchison River before descending to the riverbed. Although the river was barely flowing in June, remnants of branches and even stones several metres above our heads was a sobering reminder of how much water could flow through.

Despite occasional flooding, the gorge provides shelter and food to wildlife. We saw several wallabies along the trail, as well as a small flock of goats—and near the end of the loop, found the skull of a wild boar. A number of different water birds—including several black swans—were feeding on freshwater shrimp and minnows in several of the ponds.

At the end of the hike, we stopped for obligatory photos at a popular destination close to the parking area. "Nature's Window" frames the Murchison River, and there is even a convenient yellow-painted rock for people to stand on for the “best" shot. With no bus tour there as there had been at our start, how could we resist?

Kalbarri is a gem. We would love to return in the spring to see the wildflowers that were evident all along the roads.

The cost of an unfriendly greeting

2010-06-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

We’d really been looking forward to Exmouth, and had decided to make the all-day drive from Karijini National Park so we could spend three days on the coast. We pulled in to the Visitor Information Center about 10 minutes before it closed.

We approached the counter where “Chris” looked up at us while closing the cash without any greeting. We explained that we were booked into a nearby caravan park for the night, but hoped to be able to camp in Cape Range Park for subsequent nights, to be closer to the snorkelling beaches.

“There are no campsites available.”

We were taken aback by her brusque tone. “None at all?”

She sighed, rolling her eyes. “Well, you can get to the ranger station at dawn and wait in line till they open at nine. If you’re lucky, you may get a space if someone books out.”

“Are there no alternatives? Can’t we book anywhere?”

“No. If there is no space you have to come back into town.”

We were stunned—and disappointed. “Okay… and what about swimming with whale sharks?” This was highly recommended by fellow travellers we’d met.

“Tours are $360 to $395 per person and we can book you here. Do you want to sign up for one?”

It was a bit strange to be just quoted a price—which was certainly considerably more than we’d expected—without any other details, and we declined. This was apparently more than Chris could take and she made moves to close up her binders in front of us with a shake of her head. When we then asked about the more detailed map mentioned in the tourism booklet, she rolled her eyes again and pointed at the general map we had open in the booklet. “You already have it.”

She was evidently not interested in helping us, so with some embarrassment, we moved to the brochure racks—and promptly found the very good detailed map. Since Chris had made it clear that at least she was eager to leave, we left—but not before leaving our negative feedback in the visitor’s guestbook.

We were very put off by such rude and off-hand behaviour as our “welcome” to Exmouth. We did stay at the caravan park we’d booked that night, but wondered if we’d made a mistake in making the effort to get to this popular destination.

The next morning, as we drove to Cape Range Park, we passed two caravan parks that Chris neglected to mention—both of which are much closer to the snorkelling beaches than where we’d stayed in town. Moreover, the helpful park ranger told us that while we could not book ahead, there generally wasn’t much problem getting a space. “Jamie” at the park visitor center not only confirmed this, but was also very friendly and helpful about the snorkelling we wanted to do.

Although we did enjoy a snorkel at Turquoise Bay, a second negative experience in Exmouth that day made us decide to leave. When the post office checkout declined Katharine’s Visa card PIN (a fairly common occurrence in our experience), the curt post office employee asked where we were staying. When she learned we were in a caravan park, she refused to let Katharine sign for it instead (as is widely allowed at stores and gas stations). The implication was that our card was probably not able to cover the $30 charge.

That sealed it, and we decided to leave early the next morning.

So what did these two individuals cost the Shire of Exmouth? We drove further south to Coral Bay where we were welcomed warmly by the volunteer visitor information staff, who put us in touch with a local dive operator. We booked a snorkel trip ($330), filled our gas ($55), booked two nights at a caravan park ($92), enjoyed some cool beers on a friendly deck bar ($30), had a great meal ($65)… And that was just the first day.

So the message to people serving the public in a tourism area should be very clear: even if it is close to closing, be pleasant, because there is a real cost of being rude.

We won’t be recommending Exmouth as we continue our travels.

Road trains

2010-06-19T22:26:00.000-07:00

You can see them coming for miles: even on paved roads, a cloud of red dust churned up by their wake lets you know that a road train is coming.

Large trucks with three or more trailers are common sights on many Australian roads. Carrying animals, ore, fuel and a wide range of products to (or from) remote areas, meeting them on the road for the first time is a knuckle-tightening experience.

This road train was at a rest area along an unpaved section of the Savannah Way in western Queensland. With three trailers and 72 tires to kick up dust and rocks, we were very glad to find it stopped!

Signs along various highways advise drivers to allow at least a kilometre to pass a road train—and in our underpowered camper vans, even that was barely enough. Fortunately, the drivers are understanding, and often signalled to let us know that the road ahead was clear. Passing can still be dangerous though: in one instance, a kangaroo carcass on the road ahead made me pull in much closer than I would have liked. As well, the roads often become narrower on bridges, so you don’t want to pass these monsters while crossing a bridge.

Australian roads sensibly have truck pull-offs, and frequent road signage encourage tired drivers to stop for a nap. We were always glad to see them in use because any collision with a road train would be serious.

The point was driven home very graphically on one lonely stretch of highway in the Kimberly region: the pavement had literally been melted where the many tires of a road train had locked up in an emergency stop. Despite the braking, the road train had hit the full-sized bullock whose broken carcass was being picked over by scavenger birds nearby. What was particularly sobering was that there was no evidence of broken headlights: the “bull bars” in front had done their job, and the road train had apparently been able to continue on its way.

Camels on the beach

2010-06-19T01:05:00.000-07:00

Some sights are so cliché that you just have to see them.

Cable Beach is one of those beaches that seems almost too perfect: flat hard sand extending for miles, backed by large dunes and facing due west out into the warm Indian Ocean. By late afternoon most days, groups of people have driven vehicles onto the beach, and set up folding chairs to socialize as the sun sets.

But dramatic sunsets are not hard to find in this land of beaches: here most people are waiting to watch the nightly parade of camels taking riders along the shoreline.

Touristy? No doubt—but it sure is dramatic!

In the footsteps of dinosaurs

2010-06-19T00:38:00.000-07:00

I had read that when the tide is very low, it is possible to find dinosaur footprints below the cliffs at Gantheaume Point near Broome.

A full moon made us check the tide tables. The lowest tide would be the next morning at around 8:30, so we decided to get up early to make our way along the exposed rocks below the cliffs.

The tide was still going out when we drove our “chubby camper” onto the beach at 6:15, so I brewed up some coffee and we watched a steady stream of vehicles drive out onto the hard sand to fish, put in boats and enjoy the cool morning.

We seemed to be the only ones interested in leaving the sand, and before long were exploring the eroded sandstone tidal pools on the way out to the point. By carefully lifting rocks in the pools, we found crabs, shellfish, and even two small octopus.

The cliffs at the point are made up of thick layers of coloured sandstone, and it was tempting to pack out some of the smooth stones. When we saw a number of people up on the cliff behind a barrier, we thought we must be close, so ventured out onto the flat rocks just exposed under the gentle swells.

I stepped out onto the outermost slab and looked down. There, beside my foot was the unmistakeable impression of a three-toed footprint! As we looked more closely, several other footprints became obvious. Within moments, several other people joined us, having clambered down the broken rocks after seeing our excitement.

Fossilized dinosaur footprints. One is at Eric's right toe; another in the upper left.

According to the information panels on top of the cliff, the tracks we’d seen were from a theropod dinosaur, a 2 metre high and perhaps 10 metre long creature designated Megalosauropus broomensis. During the Early Cretaceous period, about 115 million years ago, the dinosaur had walked through mud, leaving these prints behind. The tracks were subsequently covered by sand or softer mud, and gradually formed into rock. The softer layer was eroded, leaving the tracks under my feet.

The grey nomad trail

2010-06-07T22:41:00.000-07:00

Canadians like to go south in the winter, but doing so means leaving Canada. Australians are luckier: to escape the cold, they go north, but can do so without leaving their own country—or even their own state in the case of residents of Western Australia.

The other notable difference between Canada and Oz is that Australians can drive around their country—certainly not an option for Canadians!

And drive they do: as we’ve been making our way around much of Australia’s coastal perimeter we’re meeting dozens of Australians who have taken to the road to explore.

The term “grey nomads” is often used to describe the many mostly-retired couples driving robust 4WD vehicles and towing trailers as they tour from caravan parks to camp sites—and often well-equipped roadside stops.

Our little “chubby camper” van is tiny and limited in where it can go compared to the Toyota Land Cruisers towing luxurious trailers—some equipped with wide screen TVs and satellite dishes.

Caravan parks are widespread in Australia, and most offer laundry facilities, well-maintained “ablution blocks” (toilets, hot showers), camp kitchens (many with refrigerators, BBQs, washing facilities). A powered site is typically A$20-45; an unpowered site A$5-10 less.

One of the best sources for things to do along the way are these grey nomads. We’ve exchanged all sorts of tips and “must see” ideas as we’ve travelled, and seldom stop without having a conversation with someone about where they have been or are going.

We can also tell that we stand out a bit from the stereotype of people who rent our kind of vehicle. At one site, a neighbour commented “Aren’t you two a bit old for a van like that?”

I guess maybe I should start shaving my head or using Grecian Formula…

Where are all the posts?

2010-06-06T16:19:00.001-07:00

A recent email asked “Is there another site where you are posting your blog? I haven’t seen anything new since you were in Singapore…”

No, this is it. Since we’ve been in Australia (starting April 6), we’ve been doing a lot more visiting, so have had much less time in evenings for blogging.

More critically though has been the lack of decent Internet access. There have been locations, but most have either been very slow, expensive, or limited to just a browser.

We have addressed the issue by buying a USB wireless device that lets us get a decent connection wherever there is service from Telstra, Australia’s equivalent to Bell Canada. (And I won’t go into how similar the two monoliths really are here; suffice to say we are as frustrated with Telstra as we are with Bell…)

Our main focus for the past couple of weeks has been to catch up on photos, and we’ve uploaded several Australian sets to our Flickr site. Now we can add photo links in our draft blogs to start backfilling the gap since we arrived here in Oz.

Use the “Select posts by week” pulldown at the bottom of the right panel to see older posts.

As I write this on June 7, we are in Karumba, on the Gulf of Carpentaria. Apparently the port here was once part of the only air connection between Oz and England when flying boats refuelled here. Now it is a fishing mecca—and has a large prawn and barramundi fish industry. The other thing it has are crocodiles: the largest ever shot was from near here, and was 8.5m and ~3 tons!! We shall be careful while swimming...

It has been fun travelling with my sister Jan & her husband Ron in our “chubby campers”. They are equipped with sink, counter & cabinets at the back lift up door, and a good queen sized sleeping platform behind the front seats with stowing spaces under where we lay the foam cushions. The vans are basic Mitsubishi panel vans, and kind of gutless (4 cylinder) but have extra power so we can charge batteries and use our computers.

This post will stay at the top until we are caught up—hopefully before too much longer, but certainly by mid-July.

GPS gotchas

2010-05-21T22:11:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post I told of how we appreciate our Garmin GPS. However, not everyone is as keen about the devices, and several people we’ve met have told us of frustrations in using their devices.

In my opinion, manufacturers are at fault for selling these devices without decent user manuals—or not providing clear links to where people can learn how to use their devices. Here are a few of the complaints I’ve heard—with some possible solutions.

“Ours keeps trying to take us on roundabout routes.” Check and adjust the route preference settings. By default, some units are set to avoid unpaved roads, so if a more direct route involves some unpaved sections, the device will attempt to find an alternative with only paved roads. Other “avoid” options may include toll roads, limited access highways, ferries and U-turns.

“It doesn’t know about the new highway near us.” Go to the manufacturer’s web site to learn how to update the maps. Most will happily sell you updated map detail; some offer subscriptions to keep things up-to-date. Note that most should have a policy to allow free updates for a limited time after purchase.

“I can’t stand hearing her voice at every turn!” In the volume setting, select Mute—or just turn the volume down.

“It is so complicated to put in an address.” Practice. You can also use software from the GPS manufacturer to set up commonly-used destinations on your computer. You can then transfer the information to the GPS as “favorites” for use later. Some higher-end models now enable you to connect to the Internet to search for an address.

“It won’t let me enter a destination that doesn’t have an address, like a campsite.” Most GPS devices allow you to use a map view to navigate to where you want to go: when your destination is displayed, touch “Go” (or save the destination by name). Alternatively, the device may allow you to enter a destination by its latitude/longitude (if you know it or can obtain it).

“It takes forever to get a signal.” The device needs to have an unimpeded view of the sky—and more sky is best. This particular comment came from someone who had been trying to set their destination while still in their metal-roofed garage; backing out first solved the problem!

“The road names are wrong.” The GPS and its built-in navigation software is only as good as the data it uses—and errors are not unknown. If you find an error, report it to the manufacturer; the better ones have links on their web sites for this sort of feedback.

Here are links to popular automobile GPS manufacturers: Garmin, TomTom and Magellan. (These three have ~70% of the market; refer to GPS Magazine for up-to-date reviews and product information.)

The cost of “cheap flights”

2010-05-13T04:27:00.000-07:00

Tiger Airways flight prices certainly support the “fly cheaper” tag on their promotional banner: we had paid just A$140 to get both of us from Melbourne to Brisbane—a two-hour flight.

How can they manage to provide such low-cost flights?

Online bookings. It may be possible to buy tickets at the counter, but we didn’t see anyone doing so—and there was no obvious counter.
An “extra” charge is levied for everything. Water in a 325ml bottle was S$6; weight surcharges for bags >15kg are steep; food is expensive (and pretty basic) on board—and they have signs imploring people not to bring food aboard (although there was no apparent reason other than people would then not buy food on board).
Use of minimalist airport services. The Singapore airport was not the new and fancy one; instead, it was a dingy hall with a McDonalds and minimal services. The Melbourne check in looked temporary, and the security check was about a slack as we’ve seen since the 1980s. Even the boarding was minimal: several passengers were very annoyed to have to walk down a long hall, and then out onto the tarmac to climb up stairs to board. (We rather appreciated the fresh air after the dingy terminal!)
Crowd people into the plane. Just as well the seats didn’t recline on the Melbourne-Brisbane flight, because there was just barely enough room for my knees.
No on-board entertainment.
Weird flying hours. Our flight left at 6am, and the online ticket was pretty clear about being there at 4am to check in. We managed that, and were near the front of the line—but by 5am, the counters were closed so the staff could process passengers after security. If you arrived after 5am, too bad…

For a two-hour flight, none of the above were too onerous. The longer flights—like our Singapore-Perth flight—had seats that did recline, but none of the amenities common to more major carriers.

Are better amenities worth the extra cost? Fares for Melbourne-Brisbane flights later that same day were ~A$300 each, so for us, the A$460 saved meant quite a few nice meals…

Ears in the oceans

2010-04-18T05:43:00.000-07:00

On a rocky point at the SW tip of Australia, the Cape Leeuwin lighthouse has warned mariners of the dangerous shoals since the mid-1890s. The light still shines, but today it also serves a less apparent function. From the interpretive signage:

“At ~1000m deep in the ocean, there is a layer of water, called the SOFAR channel, where the speed of sound is at a minimum and sound waves can travel hundreds of kilometers with little loss of signal. A hydro acoustic station is able to record these signals when hydrophones are suspended in the channel.”

The station monitors a huge part of the world’s oceans (see inset), and is one of a series of stations set up to monitor nuclear explosions and signals from non-explosive sources—earthquakes, volcanic activity, underwater landscapes, shipping noise and even whale songs.

“The Cape Leeuwin Station comprises an array of three hydrophones, a seabed cable, and a shore facility located in the adjacent National Park. The three hydrophones are located ~114km SW of Cape Leeuwin.”

The waters at this point form the boundary between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The next land mass south is Antarctica.

Pricey salad

2010-04-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

Getting used to the right-hand drive was easy on the almost traffic-free highway leading SE to Albany. It was sunny and about 18C and we had lots of time.

At the small town of Williams, a number of cars parked at the Williams Woolshed prompted us to stop for lunch. We joined the line of people ordering food, but were rather taken aback as we looked at the menu.

A salad was A$17—and even the “soup of the day” was A$9.90! Other lunch dishes like hamburgers and fish and chips were all more than A$20.

We both wanted salad though, and assumed that it would be a big one with lots of extras. We ordered, paid and were given a number to put on our table. After 25 minutes and no salad, I got up to see if we’d been forgotten.

No, apparently they’d just finished it, and the waitress brought it out.

No extras, not even a bun; just a few pieces of Romaine lettuce, some slices of purple onion, and a few slices of roast chicken, with dressing from a jar.

Two thumbs down to Williams Woolshed for both the dish and the service.

As we ate, we couldn’t help wondering how the several families nearby were able to manage, as a basic lunch for a family of five would cost more than A$100.

When we recounted this to two other Aussies later, they were at first surprised, then on further reflection thought that perhaps the restaurant had increased their prices for the Easter school break. Either way, it was a disappointing introduction to eating out in restaurants in Western Australia.

GPS evangelists?

2010-04-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

One of our first purchases in Australia was a Garmin GPS.

We have one in Canada, and use it all the time—even for roads we know—so there was never any doubt that we would get one for Australia.

The wider screen on this newer model—a nuvi 265W—shows more of the map at once. Our old model—named “Penny” because of her very British voice—spoke the directions but not the names of streets. This model—not yet named, but currently set to the Australian voice “Serena”—manages to speak not just the street names, but even words we key in as destination names.

A new feature I really appreciate is the ability to save tracks. As we drive, the GPS records the time and location as a series of points, and I can upload these later to our computer. The track can then be viewed as an overlay in Google Earth, so we can see where we’ve been. As well, because both the GPS and our cameras record the time and date, I can use my RoboGeo software to add latitude and longitude to our digital pictures.

The biggest advantage of a GPS is that it takes the edge off of navigating. We always have a map with us, and usually plan our route to some extent, but having a GPS lets us enjoy the scenery rather than watching for our route. It reports the distance to the next turn, and a small icon gives a visual cue to prepare the driver for the type of turn.

We bought “Penny” in England and appreciated how it eased the adjustment to right-hand drive. The same is true here in Australia: a spoken instruction like “At the roundabout, take the third exit to Strickland Street” provides much more useful information than seeing on a map that we need to turn right.

When we return to Canada, I’ll acquire current mapping information for North America, so the same unit will continue to serve us. For me, a GPS has become an indispensible driving tool.

Double-check assumptions

2010-04-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

We knew we would need to be efficient to see Singapore’s Jurong Bird Park and still make it to the airport for our 13:50 check-in. Despite the pouring rain, there was lots to see and we had to pull ourselves away by 11:45.

The MRT got us back to the hotel by ~12:45 time to shower, change, pack and get a taxi to the airport for our 13:50 check in. It all seemed very smooth, and we were congratulating ourselves at our efficiency as we presented our ticket confirmation numbers and passports.

But then… “And your Australian visas?”

What?? Canadians don’t need visas for Australia!

Unfortunately, we do. In fact, the little matter that we also hadn’t obtained visas for Singapore had apparently been overlooked as well…

“Not to worry”, the helpful check-in guy said. “It happens a lot. Go over to that counter and they'll give you an email address you can use to get one online from the free Internet at the McDonalds.”

Well, it wasn’t quite that simple. The info counter clerk made a quick call, and told us we’d have to catch a shuttle (with all our bags) for Terminal 2 to have things processed at the Singapore Airlines counter. We dashed out to catch the shuttle just in time to have to wait for his smoke break. Argh!

Anyway, with way more sweating than we’d expected—and an unexpected SGD$100 ATM withdrawal to pay for them—we did manage to get the visas. Another shuttle bus ride and were back to the same check-in guy just before he closed the flight. With great relief, we cleared through and got our flight.

Moral? Never assume anything when it comes to visas!

Read between the lines in hotel reviews

2010-04-05T22:43:00.000-07:00

We had two nights in Singapore, and one was for an arrival after midnight. We’d checked online, and selected and booked a mid-range hotel. The reviews had noted that the “Fragrance Crystal” hotel was located in the red light Geylang district, but most had been fairly positive. Alternatives were either much more expensive or backpacker dorms. I booked and paid online, noting on the Agoda form that we would be arriving very late—possibly after 01:00.

Our plane was delayed so we didn’t arrive until nearly 02:30. The front desk had our reservation though, and gave us keys to a 3rd floor room.

The room was dismal. Not only was there noise from the street, but it smelled of smoke (despite being a non-smoking hotel), and there was just a sheet over a rubber mattress with a rather dirty blanket. When Katharine called the desk, she was told that “no sheets are available” and “we cannot control if someone smokes in a room.”

We thought we might just cope, but even the pillows smelled of smoke. I called back to insist they find a sheet, new pillows and a clean blanket. At nearly 04:00, the items arrived, and we soon fell asleep—only to be jarred awake by an unrequested wake-up call at 06:00!

Apparently they had neglected to cancel it from the previous guest.

I spoke to the manager when we did get up some time later. He listened, apologized, and said he would upgrade us to a proper room. No excuses or waffling—and he was true to his word. The 7th floor back room was quite acceptable, and we had a good sleep the next night.

Our reservation clearly let them know the room would be empty until late, so we suspect that the 3rd floor room had been “rented out” without management knowing.

Lessons?

Plan to pay a bit more to avoid a red light district. The hotel location was reasonably convenient to the excellent Singapore MRT system, but the walk to the station had garbage in the street and some disreputable characters along the way—certainly not typical of the rest of Singapore.
Check the room before moving in, even if it is very late and they claim it is the last room. If we’d done that, they would have at least had to find bedding sooner—or found a different room.
When there is a problem, speak to management. Shouting would not have helped—and may well have worked against us. By just stating the facts, the manager was able to rectify the situation without losing face.
Online sites like Agoda.com take full payment at time of booking. Both of our nights were fully paid, so changing after the first night would be complicated (at least). If there is an option, just pay a deposit.
Use online sites like TripAdvisor or Agoda’s own feedback to rate hotels. in our case, the bad experience was certainly part of our stay, but the manager’s actions at least helped raise our rating to some extent.

Why can’t Canada get more rapid transit?

2010-04-04T20:20:00.000-07:00

Canadian urban dwellers should be envious of SE Asian rapid transit users. Both Bangkok and Singapore have extensive mass rapid transit (MRT) systems very much like Vancouver’s SkyTrain system, with connections to their airports.

Bangkok’s SkyTrain lines connect seamlessly to interurban rail systems and bus lines. Unlike Vancouver’s gateless system, both the Bangkok Transit System and Singapore MRT users go through turnstiles on both entry and exit. Payment is by distance: plastic cards are either loaded with specific fares at ATM-like fare machines; have credit that is debited for each trip; or acts as a fixed-time pass.

In Singapore, the fare at the machines includes a SGD$1 deposit for the card, and is refunded at an SMRT station. (The lack of used ticket stub litter would be reason enough to switch to this sort of system in Vancouver.)

The urban landscape reflects the value of the MRTs as well. In both cities, MRT stations are hubs for shopping, high-density housing and interconnected transportation services. In Singapore, the parks tend to be situated a bit further away from hubs so urbanites can walk away from where they live and shop to enjoy common green areas.

Granted, both Bangkok and Singapore are much larger than any Canadian cities. However, as we face more and more problems with urban transportation, Canadians should pay attention to such examples of what can be done with mass transit.

Watch those exchange rates!

2010-04-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

We thought we’d planned things pretty well for leaving Thailand. After buying some food for the plane, and donating the remaining loose change, we had four 1,000 Thai bhat (BHT) notes in hand to exchange to Singapore dollars (SGD).

The posted rate at the airport was 22.66, so our 4,000 BHT would be 176.52 SGD. The exchange booth wasn’t near our gate, so we decided to wait until we arrived in Singapore to exchange our notes. First mistake…

Everything on Tiger Airline flights is “extra” but we had expected that no-charge water would be available. Unfortunately not—so when we asked for some water, the smiling hostess unscrewed the caps and passed them to us. “That will be $6.40 sir.”

For two small bottles of water? Yikes! I found my wallet and pulled out one of the notes. “Uh, sorry… all we have are 1,000 bhat notes.”

“No problem sir. At our onboard exchange rate of 27.14, that will be $30.40 less the water, so here is your change in Singapore currency…” Mistake number 2: carry smaller notes!

We arrived very late into Singapore—and learned that Tiger Airlines flies into the “Budget Terminal” instead of the modern Changi terminal. The currency exchange booth was still open, but the rate was 23.53—much better than the rate on the plane, but still more than at Bangkok.

Withdrawing cash from an ATM incurs additional bank charge fees, but having to exchange currency adds even more to the effective exchange rates.

Asian traffic: Everything goes

2010-04-01T20:20:00.000-07:00

What do Bangkok and Pattaya (Thailand), Hanoi and Saigon (Vietnam) share? Crazy traffic.

My intro to the wild world of “everything goes” when driving was while entering Bangkok by taxi from the airport. There we were in our hot pink cab, cruising along the highway peacefully, when all of a sudden I spied an unforgettable sight.

A phalanx of three motorcyles full of families… all driving the wrong way up an exit ramp. Speechless, I watched as one driver turned her motorcycle into the highway traffic, while the other two fellows wove through oncoming vehicles to turn onto the opposite lane.

That’s traffic, Asian style. Anything goes but drivers actually watch the vehicle(s) ahead of them. This way, everyone keeps moving, slowly (usually) but with purpose.

Actually it appears to work… fairly well. After all, we did see several nasty motorcycle accidents, with injuries, but that’s another story.

Returning is so much easier

2010-03-23T23:35:00.000-07:00

As we left our plane from Saigon, the signage and halls of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport had a welcome familiarity. Immigration was quick and hassle-free; our bag arrived shortly after the carousel started, and the customs clearance was a mere wave.

As we turned out of the arrival hall, a sign with our names on it greeted us: we’d arranged online for a car to bring us to Pattaya, and she was there waiting for us. A few minutes later, we were ensconced in the air-conditioned comfort of a new car, and our 21-year old woman driver was whisking us along the highway.

We’d booked a room at the Orchid Guesthouse—again online with only email confirmations—and were greeted at the gate by Brian, the new manager. We paid the driver, checked in with Brian—and were settled into our room less than 2 hours after landing.

Online bookings help make travel so much easier—but returning to a familiar place certainly helps take the edge off of arriving!

Millions in my pocket

2010-03-23T23:26:00.000-07:00

As I noted in an earlier post, getting used to currency is a necessary early task as one travels from one country into another.

At the airport in Luang Prabang, we were able to exchange our remaining KIP into Vietnamese dong (VND), but were refused a receipt—never a good sign! As it turned out, the exchange rate was almost exactly the official rate though, and the handful of bills gave us an idea about what to expect as we flew to Hanoi.

An ATM at the very modern Hanoi airport spit out four 500,000 VND notes—the per transaction maximum, and roughly equivalent to C$120. Not a lot to count, so I put the 2 million VND into my pocket.

As usual, large denominations didn’t go far: dinner was 142,000; a beer 18,000—and our comfortable hotel room ~400,000 VND per night. We were determined not to be caught short when it came to leaving our Hoi An hotel after nine nights—plus we’d both had several custom shirts made—so we made a point to withdraw enough over several days to have several million VND between us.

All Vietnamese banknotes feature the smiling face of Ho Chi Minh. Large denomination notes have a clear watermarked panel in different shapes for different bills as a feature to help thwart forgeries.

Unfortunately though, the 10,000 and 100,000 VND notes are quite similar. When we left Vietnam, our cash count and record of spending was off by ~190,000 VND. Apparently some Vietnamese are well experienced at noticing the difference: we decided we’d almost certainly given a couple of people a 100,000 note instead of a 10,000 note, and not realized that the change tendered was short.

Oh well… chalk it up as a C$11 lesson!

Saigon solution: Medical tourism 101

2010-03-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

Imagine being gripped with a major pain in the jaw, which intermittently throbbed and threatened to take your head off… and then just as suddenly disappeared.
Ow.
That’s what I’d been feeling for months. Over-the-counter pain relief drugs were no longer stopping the sometimes stabbing feeling… What was it?
No sooner had we settled into Saigon’s quiet Hoang Phong Hotel than I said to Eric: “Let’s find a dentist.” In moments, he’d fired up the Internet and found West Coast International Dental Clinic -- a ten minute walk from the hotel. It was 19:00 on Thursday, March 18.

Katharine at the West Coast Clinic.

Once inside the immaculate clinic, I felt reassured that here in Saigon, I could find excellent care. Fluent (in English) receptionists asked how they could help. Immediately I was whisked into an examining room – where Eric was also made comfortable.
Dr. Andrew Tsang, originally based in Vancouver, entered. After after enquiring about my symptoms, he took x-rays and examined my tooth with a focussed blue LED light, which revealed a bad fracture in the second-last molar on my right, lower jaw. Would the tooth need to be extracted? Or, could an attempt be made to save it, if the fracture proved not too deep? He was unsure and booked a second appointment with a colleague.

X-ray after cleaning out two of the four root
canals in Katharine’s tooth.

To make a longish story short, the procedure which followed took three more visits. Dr. Diem welcomed me into her office the next morning at 10:00 at which time she agreed with Dr. Tsang’s diagnosis. She recommended an operation that afternoon at 13:30. Everyone hoped she could save my tooth.
She did. On Friday afternoon, Dr. Diem discovered my tooth had four roots, two of which were so badly infected she couldn’t complete a root canal… even after two injections. So she packed my tooth and we booked a next day appointment, this time with an anaesthetist.
How many dentists do you know who would relinquish their Saturday day-off to complete an emergency operation for a traveller? Now wonder the same for anaesthetists!
On Saturday morning, an anaesthetist joined Dr. Diem and the two women set to work. After my anaesthetic injection, I awoke with the job completed – and mumbling something about giraffes and zebras jumping about inside my mouth…

Dr Diem completing the root canal procedure.

One more visit allowed Dr. Diem to ensure the temporary crown she’d inserted was okay. It was, and she fully expects it will last until I can either return to her Saigon clinic in November, or to my own Canadian dentist after my return to Canada.
No wonder Dr. Diem told us Saigon aims to surpass Bangkok and Hong Kong as SE Asian medical tourism destinations. While I was there, Eric and I met many international patients – from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
With superb care, top-of-the-line technology, fluent English, and a hospitable, clean environment, West Coast International Dental Clinic has my vote of confidence. And the price? A third of what the procedure would have cost in Canada, not even counting the anaesthetic.
Medical tourism? Why not? With prices at home rising and queues lengthening, it makes sense to consider going to a country where professional assistance can be obtained quickly, relatively inexpensively – in a destination worthy of exploration, to boot!

Calling home v2

2010-03-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

We’ve had Skype installed on our computer for several years, but hadn’t used it more than a few times. Our dial-up connection was practically useless, and the satellite connection had too many annoying gaps.

By the time our connection speed improved dramatically last year, Skype had fallen off our radar. However, we were eager to see how VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) tools worked while travelling with our netbook.

Now we’re converted.

With decent Internet connections almost everywhere we’ve been in SE Asia, we’ve been able to call wherever we want. It sometimes seems a bit odd to be talking at a screen, but the connections have been excellent—better than most speakerphones in fact.

Calls to another Skype user are free, but they need to be online with Skype running for that to work. I bought some Skype credit online so I can make a call to any telephone. The credit gets used as you talk, and the rates vary. For example, calling anywhere in Canada costs 2.4c per minute, but calling a friend’s mobile in Thailand costs 13c per minute. The rates are listed within the Skype window, and the amount of credit you have is shown in real time. Making a call is intuitive: choose the country and dial. No need to remember arcane country codes.

After chatting with friends back home from the privacy and comfort of our hotel room the other day, we marvelled at how different telephoning has become since we were last in this part of the world.

Then—in 1983 in Bangkok—a call home to Canada involved going to a special building and being assigned a booth where an operator dialled the number. Calls needed to be prepaid, and were very expensive.

With mobile phones and tools like Skype, staying connected with people at home is a very different experience today.

Diving dilemma

2010-03-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

I like scuba diving, but prefer snorkelling. Scuba takes a lot of preparation and special equipment—and having dived in some superb locations and conditions, too many of my more recent scuba dives have been disappointing. Besides, Katharine is a good snorkeler, and it is much more fun doing something together.

We’d hoped to take a boat to snorkel at the Cham Islands near Hoi An, but a storm churned up the water. Fortunately, the dive operator in Hoi An told us the visibility would be disappointing, so we didn’t waste time or money.

The islands near Nha Trang were supposed to be even better, so we checked out several operators there and signed up to go out for a day trip with Rainbow Divers.

Our boat left the docks first, but as we anchored, a whole fleet of others were approaching. By the time we were in the water, a dozen or so dive boats had attached themselves to the few permanent anchors. It was quite apparent that this would not be the pristine location we’d hoped for.

We’d been fitted with wetsuits—hardly necessary in the warm water, but they kept the jellyfish from stinging and the sun from burning. We had a good time snorkelling, and the water was fairly clear with 8–10m visibility.

The trip was supposed to have dives at two different sites, but after a snack of fresh fruit, the boat was moved to the second site—only a hundred metres or so from the first! We were annoyed, because it meant we had to repeat much of our earlier exploration to get to new territory, so really didn’t see as much as we’d hoped.

But I was very glad we were not amongst the divers: not only was the bottom messed up from too many boats, but it was fairly featureless below 8–10m, with no sign of the ledges or underwater cliffs shown on the promotional material. The best coral and fish were in the 1–4m depths: well within our range, but all of the scuba divers were operating in the deeper water.

Where we went—Mun Island in the Hon Mun Marine Park—is a popular diving destination near a very popular resort city, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that an ad hoc dive trip would be less than stellar. However, it does reflect on both the operator and the region when expectations are not met.

Perhaps the local operators and the Hon Mun Marine Park managers should work out a different system to spread the boats around a bit more—or limit the number that can operate in a given area.

If I was still a serious scuba diver, I would do a lot more homework before signing on to a dive trip here.

Night(mare) bus to Nha Trang

2010-03-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

We’d flown to Hoi An from Hanoi to avoid a long overnight train trip, and had initially thought we might fly to Nha Trang, our next destination further south.

However, this would mean getting back to Danang by taxi, then getting another taxi into Nha Trang. We decided to try a sleeper bus instead.

Well, it didn’t turn out to be quite as advertised: instead of the 2/1 arrangement we’d expected, it was three rows of bunks! There was room to squeeze down the aisle—barely—and the seats did not recline. Instead, each bunk was like a recliner chair with a caged area for feet providing the pillow support for the person in front.

When the bus pulled up to our hotel, Katharine asked the driver: “You do have a bathroom on board don’t you?” “Yes, yes!” He wasn’t terribly friendly and seemed to want to get moving.

Wrong question: she should have asked if the bathroom was functioning. In large letters that looked like they’d been there for quite some time: ‘Toilet not working’!

It went from bad to worse. The bunks were arranged three across, two up – and resembled coffins in width and length. But less than an hour into the 12 hour trip, a passing truck kicked up a stone. Bang! Glass was all over me and several people around me as the window exploded. The driver did stop, but after a cursory inspection—and letting more of the broken glass fall out onto the road—he hopped in and continued!

We were only on the bus to Nha Trang—a 12 hour ride—but several young women were on for a full 24 hours to Saigon. When I approached the driver to tell him that sitting in glass with an open window would not be acceptable, he just shrugged. “Ten minutes! Don’t worry!”

Half an hour later, we did stop, and a group of local people helped install a series of plastic panels with several rolls of packing tape as a makeshift window. Only at the urging of many passengers did they agree to take out the seat cushions and bang out the glass.

The temporary window held to Nha Trang, but it was the worst bus ride either of us have ever experienced.

Several people in Nha Trang shook their heads about it. Apparently this particular bus company—T.M. Cafe—is well-known for shabby equipment catering to backpackers—mostly young people—who seldom complain. We thought it was a shame, because many of them will end up having a very distorted view of Vietnam because of this quite atypical behaviour.

Sadly, the price was not substantially lower either: for a few dollars more, good buses with comfortable sleepers and decent shock absorbers can be had.

We have let our hotel know that their choice of bus operator was totally unacceptable—and have steered several other people away from T.M. Cafe.

Silk shirt extravaganza

2010-03-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

I like silk shirts. Silk feels good against my skin, and can be warm in the cold or cool in the heat.

Hoi An is renowned for its tailors—and especially for silk garments—so I decided to have a couple of shirts made.

“Long sleeved, very nice colour… for you twenty-five dollar!” The seamstress at Kimmy Tailor measured me in lots of different places. “Come back tomorrow for fitting!”

I loved the rich colours we’d chosen, but both Katharine and I were not so impressed with the tailoring. The seams were not straight, and the pocket was a bit crooked. “No problem! We fix it… come back tomorrow!”

Friends we’d met had raved about a different tailor, so instead of ordering blouses for Katharine from Kimmy, we went to Yaly Couture. The selection of cloth was better, it was busier, we liked “Lydia” who did the measurements—and the price was the same. We ordered two blouses for Katharine, with fittings the next day.

Meanwhile, my shirts were ready at Kimmy’s and the problems had indeed been fixed. A custom fitted shirt feels fantastic, and I liked them so much I decided to order two more of the same style in different colours. “Ready tomorrow mister!”

The next day at Yaly’s, it was clear that they were the more professional outfit: Katharine’s blouses were loosely tacked in several areas to allow for adjustment, and the buttons and holes had not been cut. Lydia fitted each one expertly, and told us to come back later the same day for the final fitting.

We picked up my shirts from Kimmy’s and then Katharine’s from Yaly’s. No comparison: although the Kimmy ones were well made and fit properly, the Yaly blouses were much better made.

Katharine looked at me and shrugged. “Well Eric, if you want more, now is the time to do it…”

And that is how I ended up with eight custom-tailored silk shirts from Vietnam! Guess I’ll be okay for shirts for a few years…

Tip: If you have an item of clothing you really like, bring it. The tailors excel at copying, and can make any adjustments you may need. Allow 2–3 days to have items made—but additional items with the same pattern can be made in most places in a day. The biggest cost variable is in the quality of the cloth: labour is cheap, so spend a bit more for top quality cloth.

Postal service, Vietnamese style

2010-03-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

We just sent off a big box of stuff we’d been collecting since Laos.

When we asked about getting a taxi to get our collection of bags to the post office, Anh at the front desk laughed. “Oh no, they will come here!” Sure enough, within half an hour, a woman from the post office arrived at our hotel with scales, tape, and a large cardboard box.

What we had wouldn’t fully fit in the box, but that didn’t deter her. She packed what she could into it, taking care to keep fragile items inside and well protected. Then she taped the remaining items—a bunch of silk lanterns—to the top so she could finish the job at the post office later.

The overflowing box weighed 17kg, and she estimated that it would need another kilo for packing material and an extension for the box. Forms were filled in and an amount for the postage, packaging and insurance calculated. We paid her, then offered to help her bring the box to her car.

“No car, just motorbike!” She laughed as we brought everything to her little motorbike outside. I’d have at least tied it on with bungee straps, but she just giggled as she put on her mouth mask and helmet.

With her box of equipment jammed in front of her, and our precious 17kg box balanced on the back, she drove away, holding the box with one hand behind her!

Can you imagine service like that from Canada Post?

High speed is not just a luxury

2010-03-10T06:31:00.000-08:00

I was interested to see news about a Harvard University study panning Canadian Internet services a week ago or so. The Conservative policy wonks better wake up because Canada is at risk of sliding even further behind as Asia comes on-stream.

In northern Thailand we saw posters everywhere vying for mobile subscribers: 2mbps connections were being touted as passé, with 4mbps the new standard—and promises of 10mbps from some providers. This is for mobile networks, so these are speeds people are getting used to on their portable devices!

What bothers me is that people here in SE Asia seem to understand how they can take advantage of this capacity far more than Canadians do. Sure, we have slick web sites and no overt blocking of information, but how many Canadians are really changing their habits to take advantage of the technology?

My sense is that many Canadians are complacent, and have an erroneous view that we are still world leaders in this field. Most now have a sufficiently fast connection to see their friends on Facebook, and just grumble if a provider puts a cap on to make a downloaded “Desperate Housewives” show more expensive.

Mobile services are just as bad: how long will Canadians have to accept complicated plans, locked-in providers and a system incompatible with the rest of the world?

Here, people are integrating their mobile and Internet services to make things work.

Wherever we’ve been here, there are dozens of options for tourists to participate in tours and activities. Hotels get commissions for providing booking services for tours, yet keep guests happy because the prices are competitive and they pay attention to feedback. We told our Hanoi hotel in the evening that the Halong Bay trip they’d helped us book had been a disappointment. The next morning, they’d already talked to the operator—and told us that our USD20 taxi to the airport would be complimentary. They cooperate here, and use the Internet to facilitate it. It also means that attractions and services like regional airlines can run at near capacity because everyone is an agent; our one-hour flight in a 737-200 jet was only ~USD40 each, and we booked only 2 days before our departure via our hotel.

People here are using capacity to make things work more smoothly, and they will not just sit around and let the telecommunications infrastructure languish. The game is changing and I don’t think many Canadians are aware that it is even in play...

This is communism?

2010-02-28T22:15:00.000-08:00

Arriving in Hanoi was a bit of a culture shock.

Bits and pieces of disinformation from the late 60s and early 70s kept popping into my head and conflicting with what we were seeing as we were processed efficiently through the airport, then whisked into the city in an air-conditioned SUV.

Huge corporate billboards with global brand names (Canon, Hyundai, Phillips...) rise from rice fields being ploughed with water buffalo. New homes and buildings are popping up everywhere. The streets are packed with motorbikes, bicycles, street vendors—but also a surprising number of very expensive cars with tinted windows. Mobile phones are ubiquitous, and web addresses figure prominently on many hotel and shop signs.

No faceless masses shuffling along to cavernous factories here!

The hawkish Red-fearing types in the US must be really vexed at how they lost the war and let the dreaded communist scourge spread into Vietnam—only to have it all become a hive of bustling capitalism only 30 some years later.

Is there a lesson here for the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan? The cost of meddling was terribly high, and the hindsight view of French and American interference is not positive.

Where could Vietnam be today if all those resources had been directed positively to infrastructure and trade instead of as bombs?

Sounds in a spa

2010-02-23T20:58:00.000-08:00

I wish we’d found the spa before our second last day in Luang Prabang. They would have seen us every day for sure…

The Lao Herbal Sauna spa is located on a back alley off a main street in Luang Prabang in an airy second-floor with curtained areas for the massages, and a very tidy change and shower area. There is also a sauna, but in the already-oppressive heat, that was not at all enticing!

As “Jen” worked on my back and legs I drifted off to the muted sounds of boys playing lawn bowling nearby, murmurs from women washing further along the back street, a couple of cats in heat, fans… and of course the ever-present mood music that seems to play in spas everywhere.

At the end of my hour-long luxury, I found a chair in the lounge and poured a cool glass of water as Katharine signed the guest book.

As I leaned back, I had to chuckle. Hooked on a nail on the back of a structural post was the source of the spa’s mood music: an Apple iPod connected to a couple of speakers!

Luang Prabang’s laid-back beauty

2010-02-22T22:11:00.000-08:00

The Spend Another Day in Laos booklet we discovered in our Chiang Mai guest hotel gave us the impression we would thoroughly enjoy this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We did. First, its architecture is lovely: traditional heritage wooden homes (many set in oases of vegetation) contrast with ornate often yellow and white French Colonial public buildings. Throw in the 30+ usually spectacular Buddhist Wats – especially if the monks are chanting – and you have beautiful “bones” for a city.

Secondly, dappled sunlight in back lanes and alleys conspire to make Luang Prabang a walker’s paradise. We were well shaded and our senses delighted by draping bougainvillea, fragrant frangipani, and stiffly rustling banana trees while exploring these narrow thoroughfares.

Thirdly, there are many museums to explore. We were fascinated with the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre which explains Laos’ many tribal peoples. After watching videos of sacred Taoist initiation ceremonies and learning about the different typical clothes the Hill Tribe Peoples make, we purchased textiles and crafts at the museum’s shop. Knowledgeable staff informed us about the tribes, use of materials as well as how items had been hand dyed, woven, and embroidered. However, the pièce de résistance of the centre was the free library at its on-site cafe. We spent perhaps 1 1/2 hours reading: I enjoyed Grant Evan’s book, The Last Century of Lao Royalty (ISBN 978-994-9511-66-4).

The National Museum (formerly the Royal Palace) was equally fascinating, where we toured the Royal’s private home and living space, Buddhist temple, as well as gardens, complete with circular fish pond. (In Evan’s book, he quotes one of the princesses saying how she loved playing beside the pond – and how her mother cautioned her and her siblings not to get too close, lest they fall in.)

Laos’ last King and Queen’s disappearance is never explained here at the palace, other than by relating it directly to a Buddhist legend where the king supposedly left his people to follow the ascetic life of a monk. So it was fascinating to read in Evan’s book that King Savang Vatthana’s death occurred in the communist “re-education camp”, Sop Hao, in northern Laos. He, the Queen and one prince perished after being rounded up by the communists in 1977. Apparently the first admission of the Royals’ death was published in Bangkok World, January 1981.

Such is life here in Laos and Luang Prabang, where Buddhism, communism, and people’s daily lives weave a complex, textured pattern.

Money matters

2010-02-20T21:15:00.000-08:00

Getting a wad of bills adding up to 700,000 is a bit unnerving—even if it is really only about C$90.

In Laos, the currency is “Kip” (LAK) and the few ATMs in Luang Prabang will only dispense a maximum of 700,000 at one time. For most Laotians, this would provide food for a family for quite a while, but it can disappear quickly when a typical tourist meal for two costs 110,000 Kip.

The US dollar is still the preferred standard here, and many costs are quoted in USD. If you have them, dollars are happily accepted; if not, an exchange rate converts the price to Kip. The rate varies but is generally (in February 2010) around 8,400 Kip to USD$1.

But how much is that in Canadian dollars? Checking for a rate online can give a ballpark figure, but ATM and bank fees can change the effective rate dramatically. Our Canadian bank charges C$5 for an international ATM transaction, and the Laotian bank charges an additional fee in Kip. For relatively small withdrawals, these charges will end up boosting the real exchange rate.

We check our bank statement online to see the actual amount debited to calculate a real rate, and it demonstrates why larger withdrawals make more sense. For example, the 500,000 Kip withdrawal on February 18 ended up being a debit of C$65.73 with a C$5 fee, so the effective rate was 7,069 Kip to C$1 (500,000/70.73). A withdrawal of 700,000 the next day was C$91.16 with the same C$5 fee, so the effective rate for those Kip was 7,279 to C$1.

A 10,000 Kip beer paid from the first withdrawal will be C$1.41, but C$1.37 from the second. This isn’t a big difference for a single beer, but the 3% on a guesthouse bill of 1,045,000 would be 31,350 Kip — enough to enjoy 3 beers.

A small inexpensive calculator helps us develop a sense of costs in Canadian dollars. I put the real rate into the calculator memory so I can use it to divide common prices in Kip. Renting two bikes for 35,000 Kip each is C$4.80; an 80,000 Kip massage for two is C$10.99; and an hour of Internet access for 6,000 Kip works out to C$0.82…

After a day or two, we seldom need the calculator. Mind you, it still feels strange to think nothing of spending 120,000 on a nice meal!

What happens when the water stops?

2010-02-19T22:15:00.000-08:00

The Mekong River starts in the Tibetan plateau, and wends its way through deep gorges in China’s Yunnan region and into Burma to the Golden Triangle area where the borders of Burma, Thailand and Laos meet. After defining the border between Thailand and Laos, it veers east and then south to flow through Laos and Cambodia, spilling out into the South China Sea in Vietnam — some 4,350 kms from its source.

Our slow boat trip from Chiang Khong to Luang Prabang gave us a sobering insight into how important the water in this river is to the lives of the Laotian people who live along its banks.

The water was unusually low in February 2010 — the lowest levels in a generation — and navigation was limited to boats with a shallow draft. Our slow boat managed, but barely: the first mate used a bamboo pole to plumb the depth and show the captain as they navigated several rapids. We’d been warned that we would need to walk around one set of rapids and change boats.

Our boat pushed up onto a sandbar and we disembarked, bringing our packs with us to make our way along a path. As the rapids came into view, there was no doubt why this was necessary: a small boat might make it, but jagged rocks across the span would wreck any larger boat foolish enough to try.

Our guide told us that a few days before our cruise, a larger boat had hit a rock further downstream and capsized. Fortunately, nobody had been injured, but the boat was destroyed, and word had quickly spread to cause a steep decline in downriver cruise bookings.

We looked back more soberly at the rapids and rocks from the calmer water where a second boat was waiting, then boarded it for the journey to Pak Beng. Our original boat returned empty to Huay Xai. The low water levels would certainly have an impact on the fortunes of the Mekong boat operators.

Not all impacts are directly negative however. All along the banks we saw people panning for gold. Low water levels expose gravel and sand caught behind otherwise inaccessible underwater rocks — ideal locations for specs of gold to be hidden. Some bars must have been particularly promising because dozens of people were busy digging sand and panning. Our guide told us that river traders would buy gold from these people — mostly otherwise subsistence farmers — and sell it for a profit downstream.

The town of Pak Beng is the only place with accommodation, and depends on river traffic. As fewer boats bring fewer passengers downriver, business will decline for the local guesthouses and restaurants, and the local market will sell less produce from the nearby farms. Fewer boats mean reduced markets for the river fishermen, who sell their catch to passing boats.

By the time we reached Luang Prabang, tributaries had added more water to the Mekong. However, waterline marks on the rocky banks, and the lower extent of the many riverbank gardens along its shores showed that river levels were still below normal expectations.

Luang Prabang has an airport, and is connected by roads to other parts of Laos, but the Mekong River is a powerful draw. As we enjoyed a drink on one of the many terraces overlooking the river, we wondered about the ongoing debates about whether the problem is part of a natural cycle, another sign of global warming, or a result of new dams in China.

For many of the people in Laos, the reasons hardly matter. They rely on the Mekong River, and will certainly suffer if such low levels continue or repeat.

Slow boat down the Mekong: pay a bit more

2010-02-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

The towns of Chiang Khong in northern Thailand and Huay Xai in Laos straddle the Mekong River that defines their common border. Both are heavily reliant on the steady flow of tourists beginning the “classic” boat trip down the Mekong to Luang Prabang.

A burst of activity every morning brings ferry loads of people from the Thai side to wait in immigration lines on the Laotian side before boarding various classes of boat for the downstream journey.

The “fast boats” can make it in seven hours, but the 5–6 people on board have a bumpy, noisy ride, and the helmets they need to wear makes picture-taking impractical.

The “slow boats” take two days, with an overnight stop in Pak Beng. The public versions have wooden benches, and pack in as many people as possible. These are commercial river boats, so can stop for passengers along the way. Many such boats take turns operating as luxury boats, wherein the wooden benches are replaced by comfortable upholstered seats, and carry a limited number of people.

We had been planning to take a slow boat, but were becoming apprehensive after reading forums where people described sore bottoms from hard seats, being stuck in direct sun, excessive drinking and cigarette smoke — as well as a general melee for getting seats and then finding accommodation in Pak Beng. It was beginning to sound like a hassle instead of a highlight.

Amongst the horror stories in a forum thread about the slow boats, one comment about a positive experience prompted me to email Adisak at Nagi of Mekong — despite some followup responses that made him sound unreliable. I got a response immediately. Not only was he prompt, but provided details for days and costs. We had no specific dates at that time, but kept in touch, and by the time we were ready, we let him know. He booked our selected hotel in Chiang Khong (their web site was broken), and picked us up the morning of the cruise. We fully expected to be part of a larger group, but learned that we were alone with one other couple: the entire boat and an English-speaking Lao guide for two days!

Adisak crossed with us and helped by explaining the crazy immigration process: everyone pushes and congregates at three mall windows as the very methodical Laotian officials process the passports and take cash for the visas as if there was no crowd at all. Knowing that there is a process — however bizarre it may seem — made it a lot easier to cope with!

Passports with new visas in hand, we were whisked off to the boat, where our bags and the other couple were waiting. We thanked Adisak for his help and he waved as we pushed off. We only then realized he hadn’t asked for payment. When I asked Pet, our Lao guide, he nodded and smiled. “It’s okay, pay later.” (We did!)

As we passed the first of the public boats loading up, we were glad to have paid the premium as people with big bags scrambled up to claim the good seats. Slower people, or those less fortunate in the immigration process, would have noisier seats near the back or be stuck on middle of a bench.

The public boat ticket prices are much lower, but an accurate comparison is hard to make. Different sellers charge different rates, and the boats rotate in service, so quality can vary. I spoke to one couple who had paid 1,200 THB each (~C$38) — but then had to pay for the ferry across the river, plus a tuk tuk to take them and their bags to the dock, plus food on board, plus a dismal room in Pak Beng…

For 4,600 THB (~C$144), we had comfortable seats, excellent food on board, a well-informed English-speaking guide, several interesting stops, and a comfortable room with breakfast in Pak Beng.

All of the logistics were looked after for us, so there was almost no stress. We arrived in Luang Prabang feeling relaxed and stimulated.

The extra cost was a very small price to pay for an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Akha Hill Tribe home stay

2010-02-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

How do travellers locate an authentic, old-style Akha village in which to enjoy a home stay?

Enter an NGO called AFECT Asia, which kept on surfacing as a highly recommended outfit after we started our research on the Internet. Founded by the late Dutch anthropologist Dr. Leo von Gesaw, this organization is dedicated to helping the Akha maintain their traditional way of life, culture, language, and animist religion.

After browsing AFECT’s website, we booked a 7-day trip with them, which would involve a 4-day/3-night stay at Sai Jai Pattana village followed by a four-night stay at their Chiang Rai dorm, where we would travel with AFECT staff and visit other villages.

Our guide, interpreter and host for most of our stay was Athu Pochear, director of AFECT’s many Akha projects. After spending a week together, he would become a friend with whom we’ll stay in touch. He’ll help match our skills to volunteer projects when we return.

After booking our seven-day stay on the Internet, the stage was set: What would our home stay actually be like?

Our four days with Apae and Megah Pochear at Sae Jai Pattana village proved to be a moving, special opportunity to participate in and learn about the Akha hill tribe’s way of life prior to volunteering. We were warmly welcomed by our hosts who shyly stated they thought we may not be comfortable at their home. Surprised, we asked why.

After an exchange in Akha, Athu explained Apae and Megah’s concerns: “It’s the roosters. They’re so noisy! They crow at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00. And then there are the dogs.” Gazing at the roosters, hens, chicks, and dogs in the yard, we thought to ourselves that yes, it would be noisy.

“Please, don’t worry,” I said. “We are here in your home and village, eager to stay and experience your ways. If it’s still okay, may we stay?”

Megah beamed; Apae nodded. Megah showed us our room: a king-size cot with typical hard Thai mattress. The toilet was a shared squat affair, outside in a corrugated iron hut with a cold water faucet serving as shower.

Perfect: with basic needs met and gracious hosts, we’d be a-okay.

And so our first evening began. Beckoned upstairs onto the shaded, breezy verandah of their bamboo home, we shared a whiskey with Apae and Athu’s 87-year-old father, Aq Bawl – “grandfather.” Megah placed steaming bowls of delicious, carefully spiced foods onto a low, circular bamboo table. She and Apae had prepared dinner over the two open hearths in their dirt-floored kitchen. Akha men usually cook the meat, and certainly cooking dinner together seemed a pleasure for this obviously loving husband and wife.

Accompanying us for the four days were Leeja and Edd, young Akha men who would be our guides, translators and companions. Between mouthfuls of rice, green beans, buffalo meat, and other unidentifiable but delicious foods, they explained the morning drill. After breakfast at some undetermined time we would head on a jungle trek, which sounded both interesting and exciting. “The boys” were eager to show off their AFECT projects, their village, and their capabilities.

Immediately after dinner, at 8:30 p.m., everyone went to bed: this would be the pattern of our stay: early to bed and early to rise .

The roosters crowed boisterously right on schedule. Dogs joined in, greeting the dawn. Repeatedly. Sleep was banished. After feeding the chickens (a chore I eagerly adopted) Megah served breakfast and I helped with dishes. Then it was time to herd the cows (well, more accurately, follow their lead) down the village lane to their pasture: this became our morning rhythm.

The four days sped past: the jungle trek revealed AFECT’s water irrigation project whose source was a spring bubbling out of the forested hills. A two-kilometre pipeline led to a hillside demonstration garden and that afternoon we would witness Apae joining the last segment of pipe and seeing water spout forth to irrigate the test garden.

Leeja proudly showed off his personal project: building a set of 15 rice pounders on the banks of a reservoir, where water would be power the mechanisms. Considering that women traditionally laboriously pound rice by primitive foot-powered technology, Leeja was rightly proud of his efforts. Another day’s hill walk revealed the swidden agriculture whereby field crops are rotated, allowed to go fallow sometimes for several years, and regularly burned. Other explorations took us through emerald-green rice paddies where women and men were doing the backbreaking work of planting rice.

On our last day we met a shaman, Akaw Ayi, who spoke to us (via Athu’s interpretation) of how she helps the sick and troubled by being a direct link to the spirit world.

Would we recommend an Akha home stay with AFECT at Sae Jai Pattana village? Definitely… with a couple of cautions: accommodations are rustic – and some Akha foods may prove challenging if you’re squeamish or a strict vegetarian.

Is it worth expanding your comfort zone? Absolutely. After all, Akha and other people who adapt to our world are equally challenged by our customs.

We both would like to return to volunteer in an AFECT project.

The Akha: Thai hill tribe politics

2010-02-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

The Akhas are one of ten or so hill tribe peoples living in northern Thailand. Their ancestral homelands included Tibet and China’s Yunnan province, but due to territorial conflicts the Akha are among many of the world’s displaced peoples who have migrated to other lands. For approximately the past 200 years, Akha have lived in Burma, Laos, and Thailand.

Their history, in other words, is a journey – and it’s far from being over.

While travelling in the Land of Smiles, we hoped to stay at and experience a traditional and hence “authentic” Akha village. It proved more challenging than we’d anticipated. That’s because although Thai tourism promotes tribal peoples’ colourful costumes and quaint lifestyle, hill tribes are a largely disenfranchised people in crisis. This is true not only for the Akha, but also for other hill tribes such as the Long-necked and White Karen, LaHu, Yao, and Lisu.

What crisis? It appears that the majority of hill tribe people do not qualify for Thai id cards, neither can many own land or possess passports. Therefore, movement within Thailand let alone legally to Burma or other countries is impossible.

Moreover, the Akha traditionally live in the mountainous regions, preferring to establish villages on the saddle of a ridge. They have an agrarian (swidden) lifestyle and are superb hunters in the jungle-forest habitats.

Such traditions immediately create conflict with the Thai government. One reason is because of the forestry industry: the government’s attempts to control it, create plantations of non-fast-growing pine, and establish some forest preserves mean the Akha (and others who live further down the mountain slopes) have been compelled, quite literally, to move their villages out of newly designated forestry preserves – sometimes at a moment’s notice. Some claim they’ve woken up to find saplings planted in their rice fields in an obvious move to hasten their departure and emphasize their disenfranchised status.

Repeated, forced evictions translate into loss of hope and culture. It produces poverty because as the Akha and others like them are relocated further and further down the mountainside, their traditions and agrarian livelihood directly compete with not only other tribes but also, the lowland Thai people. Due to population pressures, these fully recognized Thai citizens are encroaching further and further up the hillsides. Not only are relocated hill tribes being forced to share their villages with one another (causing increased inter-tribal competition and necessary compromises to further dilute their unique cultures), they must also mix with the Thai.

In one sense, we could nod and say “it’s the way of the world.” But this sort of comment is easily thought and spoken if one is respected, employed, and secure. However, if you are a hill tribe person or community witnessing the unravelling of your culture, loss of identity is bitter and depressing. At best.

Another problem for the hill tribe peoples is degradation and loss of their traditional beliefs and culture due to possibly well-intentioned missionaries. Many Akha speak with sadness if not barely concealed outrage over “the Christians” who build missions (including not only churches but residential or non-residential schools). Just as we have experienced in Canada with our all-too-recent troubled history of enforced residential schools for our First Nations peoples, the Akha and other hill tribes are losing their identity thanks to planned, organized erosion of their culture.

The Akha are animists who have a firm belief in the spirit world. They build and tend spirit houses, spirit gates, and perform many sacred ceremonies wherein the spirit world is woven into their daily lives. In Chiang Rai I saw many beautiful animist spirit houses pushed over and broken. Desecrated. When I asked my Akha guide what had happened, he replied, “It’s the Christians; they do this to us to discourage our belief and try to convert us to their varied faiths. I’ve never understood why there are so many types of Christians: can’t they even get along with one another?”

Good point and the answer is… No.

As merely one example of obvious inequality, it was discouraging to see a Christian mission being erected on the dominant hill of a Karen village outside Chiang Rai. The immense, obviously expensive church was under construction; however, the missionary’s home was complete and stood behind an imposing iron gate.

It is better to give than receive, Christ taught. But when animist hill tribe villagers live in seemingly eternal poverty and the missionaries place a donation box outside their grand edifice, who is eternally giving, and who is receiving more than their due?

With residential schools and missions being built, continual challenges to procuring Thai identity cards, and all the other challenges to Hill Tribe traditions, it seems as though these diverse cultures may be doomed.

But then again, their lives are a journey and so far, they’ve survived myriad setbacks. I hope they continue not only to survive, but to prosper, also.

The power of words

2010-02-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

The term “swidden” is defined as “an area cleared for temporary cultivation by cutting and burning the vegetation.”

Now consider how differently we might react to the following two sentences:

The Akha people practice small-scale swidden agriculture to grow food for their families.
The Akha people use slash-and-burn methods to clear land to grow food for their families.

Both have the same meaning—but the choice of one over the other certainly conveys a different message. And if #2 is chosen in a government report about the impact of the Hill Tribe people on the environment, how can it not imply a bias?

This is but one of the problems facing the Akha people of northern Thailand. Even if it were initially unintended, the bias gets picked up by subsequent bureaucrats and the media—and before you know it, it becomes “common wisdom” that deforestation and the subsequent water shortage causing imminent rice crop failures are due to primitive practices of the Hill Tribe peoples.

But could these problems be the result of climate change and long-term precipitation cycles? Or be accelerated by the loss of vast tracts of tropical forests plundered for their hardwoods by “friends” of governments in the region? Such alternatives are harder to explain to an electorate than to set up a scapegoat.

The swidden methods certainly look pretty scary when you see haze in the air or get close to a fire as it blazes through dry bamboo. However, such burning also kills weeds and insect pests, while restoring some nutrients to the soil. Traditionally, the plot would be used, then allowed to go fallow for many years before the cycle repeats.

The official solution to the declining forest resources (and subsequent assumed water problem) has been to move villages (often forcibly) to lower areas, and to declare the uplands as forest reserves. In many places, this has meant reforestation with pine trees—hardly a native species, but suspiciously like a future cash crop.

Like many, I reacted with horror to the burned areas we saw as we explored the hill region. After learning a bit more, and seeing how the people use swidden methods, I’m not so sure it is such a bad thing.

The alternative of farming intensively in the same spot with herbicides, pesticides and fertilizer is unlikely to be a more suitable solution.

Doi Chaang coffee’s Canadian connection

2010-02-12T22:02:00.000-08:00

We do like our coffee, and the instant coffee so commonly served in Thailand just doesn’t make the grade.

So when a day trip to see the Doi Chaang coffee plant and nearby coffee growing plantations came up, we jumped at the opportunity. A bit of research had shown us that coffee from this region has a Canadian connection, and is considered to provides some of the finest beans in the world.

Nor were we deterred by the fact that it would mean spending a whole day in the back of an open pickup truck ascending steep and winding roads…

The road leaves the pavement to climb up the side of a ridge covered with cultivated “fields” on steep slopes. At the top of the ridge, our AFECT guide, Edd, pointed out the two distinctive peaks that give the region its name: the shapes of a mother and baby elephant (“doi” is mountain; “chaang” is elephant).

When we went over the ridge to descend into the Doi Chaang area, the mixed crops changed to dominantly coffee—most under the shade of mixed fruit trees.

A Royal horticultural project was set up to encourage local people to switch from opium production to coffee. Dozens of coffee plant nurseries along the road, and plantations extending far up the slopes show that the program has had the desired effect.

The Doi Chaang factory is a collection point for high-quality locally grown coffee. The beans are separated from their red berries in a multi-step process: first by bruising them with a light crusher, then moving them through three different washing vats—each for a full day—to remove the husks. The raw beans are then spread out to dry in the sun.

The dried beans are packed into sacks and warehoused for shipment. The warehouse was about half-full when we visited, and it was mind-boggling to think of how all the sacks could possibly be trucked down the road we had just come up. Edd explained that there is an alternative road, although he said it was pretty bad in some places too.

As a joint venture with a Canadian group, a big part of the production ends up in Canada—primarily Alberta, but also BC and Ontario.

The name hadn’t mean a lot to me until I saw the company brand showing an Akha man with a turban. Then it struck me that we’d enjoyed a delicious latté in Calgary in October—and at the time I’d noted the unique logo!

* * *

After enjoying a delicious coffee at the plant, we re-boarded our pickup truck and continued on through the village. The return road took us along the side of the valley we’d seen on our way up. This set of 41 Flickr pictures shows some of the highlights. If we decide to return via Thailand in the fall, we will certainly plan to revisit this route.

Jungle lunch

2010-02-10T22:43:00.000-08:00

“We’ll hike over there.” Edd pointed to the hills beyond the cleared ridge west of the village of Sae Jai Pattana. We were about to set out on a full-day trek with three Akha villagers. “Wear good shoes.”

Good advice—for us. He and Leeja wore old runners, and Apae wore flip-flops! The trail took us down past fallow and newly-planted rice fields before ascending the ridge and following a newly-laid water pipeline to its source in a spring located higher in the jungle above.

Apae was carrying some cement to seal the small dam at the catchment end of the line, and pushed ahead while Edd and Leeja shared their knowledge of the Akha uses of vegetation as we hiked along the creek.

My first stirs of anxiety about lunch came when Leeja scooped up a little minnow I had noticed in the creek. “Here,” he passed me a bamboo tube, “we can put them in this!”

Within moments, he had several more minnows—and then a crab, and a shrimp-like creature. When he pulled a frog out from under a muddy rock, I knew lunch would be a challenge.

Edd took the tube to help Leeja, and I joined Katharine to examine the nearby bamboo spirit house built to ensure good water. Apae finished his dam, and as the small reservoir started to fill, we scooped out leaves as all three men collected more lunch ingredients.

We then learned how important bamboo is to the Akha people. Edd split a small length and cut out the dividing parts to make an elegant sluice to provide a clear flow of spring water to clean the catch. Leeja had split a larger diameter piece of bamboo to form a two-section troughs: one side for the items to be cleaned; the other to hold them after cleaning. Meanwhile, Apae made a small fire near a bamboo grove, and filled two bamboo tubes with water, positioning them so the heat would boil the water before the containers dried enough to burn.

It was all very well timed: when the water boiled, Apae added some leaves and the ingredients, while Edd used another bamboo trough to pound chilis, salt and garlic into a paste. Leeja had split a small bamboo length to act as a spit for the frogs (after basting them with some of Edd’s paste).

They’d brought some leaf-wrapped sticky rice for each of us—and some chicken for the second dish in case we were too squeamish. Apae even fashioned some perfect chopsticks.

Leeja chopped a few banana leaves from a nearby tree and laid them out as a mat and serving area. Lunch was ready.

The ingredients were certainly the challenging part for us, but the preparation was immaculate—and fascinating.

And the food? Tasty enough, but memorable to say the least!

Chilling in Chiang Rai

2010-02-04T18:38:00.000-08:00

There we were, enjoying views of the countryside from the front seat of our Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai bus when Eric gasped, “Move over, man!” nanoseconds before the sickening crunch.

Our driver had slammed into a truck parked on the shoulder of the highway. It was a clear, sunny day with no traffic. Intriguingly (to us) the two saffron-clad monks who’d been chatting with the truck driver high-tailed it down the highway. Inauspicious to be at the scene of an accident? Who knows?

And, who knows what would happen to our driver, who was emotional about the accident.

Within an hour, another Green Bus had collected us all, and we arrived in Chiang Rai only 50 minutes late. Athu, from Afect Asia, a Dutch NGO with which we’ll be travelling and doing some volunteer work, met us as arranged and whisked us to Afect’s headquarters. Due to my chest and throat cold, we requested altering our trek start from February 4 to Feb 8. Fortunately, they could accommodate this request and, after a welcome cup of herbal tea and a chat with a Spanish volunteer worker, Athu brought us to our guest house.

Baan Bua Guest House is an oasis in downtown Chiang Rai. Resembling a small motel, its emerald green and ochre facade overlooks a tidy garden where tables and chairs allow us to have meals, a Chang (Elephant brand) beer, or simply chill and read. Vivid clusters of orange blossoms on immense vines and the chatter of red-cheeked bulbuls emphasize the oasis ambiance: after seeing some of the other guest houses, we’re glad to be here. Co-owner Tim, with her husband Brian, is absolutely fluent in English, having studied in Texas for two years. Delightful, attentive, informed: it’s wonderful to really be able to chat with a Thai beyond the basics!

Cooking Thai style

2010-02-04T18:26:00.000-08:00

Taking a cooking course seems to be almost as cliché for tourists to Thailand as getting a massage. We’d experienced the massages and loved them, so why not try cooking too?

We sifted through the plethora of courses available, but the “organic farm” aspect of Thai Farm Cooking School jumped out at us. Even better, the booking office was close to where we were staying, so we booked for the next day. At her recommendation, we had a good lunch opposite the office—ironically, at another cooking school!

For 1,900 bhat (~C$55) we had a full and interesting day—and probably the best food we’ve had yet in Thailand.

Katharine covered more details in an earlier post, but you can also view our set of 31 images taken during the class as a slide show (click the “Slideshow” button in the upper right).

The popularity of cooking classes surely must be a boon for Thai food exporters: imagine the effect of hundreds of cooking schools throughout the country providing positive experiences every day to many thousands of tourists…

When we are back at Spiritwood, I know we will certainly seek out local suppliers for some of the ingredients for some Thai dinner parties—after reviewing our recipe book and making some dishes for ourselves first of course!

Exploring in Suthep-Pui National Park

2010-02-01T22:45:00.000-08:00

On Monday Mr. Horse swapped his tuk-tuk for an air conditioned truck. Picking us up at 8:00, we left Chiang Mai behind, ascending the nearby forested mountain which is known as Suthep Pui National Park. Our destination? Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, the symbol of Chiang Mai. Here we climbed the 306 stairs to enter the Buddhist temple, wandering about and appreciating how tourist observers such as ourselves easily mix and mingle with the devout. We always marvel at the Buddhists who accept being the focus of attention. We know that back home, worshippers in most organized faiths would not be as welcoming of tour groups and photographers in their midst while they pray.

Leaving the Wat we continued our ascent, visiting the Royal gardens at Phuping Palace. Although beautiful, we felt it unnecessary for the Royals to insist on charging an entry fee: why couldn’t people be allowed to appreciate the gardens in the same way we Canadians can freely explore and enjoy Rideau Hall?

After visiting Baan Tong Luang the day before, you can bet we were eager to visit “real” villages so on Mr. Horse drove, climbing still further up the narrow hairpin road which suddenly became single-lane. The road ended at Khun Chang Kiang village where Eric and I strolled its dusty red-earth lanes and wooden homes. Shouts of laughter beckoned us: we discovered a group of schoolboys getting their heads shaved at Srinehru School. A gay banner welcomed visitors, and the boys smiled at the camera, continuing to shave one another’s heads with what appeared to be very dull shears. Eric declined getting a cut…

We retraced the narrow road and stopped at a lookout to see a tidy village in a valley below. Seeing our interest, Mr. Horse turned off the main road to take us to Doi Pui, another Hmong tribal village. Narrow, wending streets led us to the village heritage museum. Entry was 10 bhat apiece. Although exhibits were dust-covered and sparse, they were nonetheless interesting—but the piece de resistance was the “sample house.” Sample indeed: it was being lived in and was full of refuse, plastic bags and detritus. No windows and we thought it was emphysema-inducing just to step inside.

Beyond it, however, was the real highlight: a terraced garden extending up the mountainside where cascading water made its cooling sounds. Amaryllis were in full blossom as were opium poppies – part of the museum display apparently – and many other blossoming plants. Three pavilions beckoned us onward and after the ascent to them on narrow Nepalese-like stone steps, we appreciated the astonishing cool breezes which rewarded our efforts.

Time. It does have a way of passing. We descended to greet Mr. Horse who returned us to Lai Thai… And none too soon: it was a long but fun 9-hour day.

Getting around in Thailand

2010-01-31T22:45:00.000-08:00

Getting to places can appear overwhelmingly complicated when the language is different—and even more so when its written script is not even remotely familiar. But visitors do get around, so it is simply a matter of figuring out how everything works.

In Thailand it seems totally chaotic at first. Small pickup trucks with welded tubular frames and sideways seating toot as they approach to indicate that they have room for you. In Pattaya, there was usually no indication of where these “bhat buses” were going, but we found that they made loops along popular routes: if we found ourselves turning away from our destination, we could push a buzzer button and hop off—paying the driver 10 bhat each (~30 cents).

The bhat buses fill up as they make their way, and if you are brave, you can hang on to the looped tubing at the back and actually see things a lot better. The view from inside is limited—but while the outside view is great, the prospect of potential bodily harm if the driver has to make a sudden stop is rather daunting!

A map is a good thing to have, although most drivers have no idea how to read it even if it is bilingual, showing the Thai. We found that landmarks are best: with the name of a hotel or a shopping area, bhat bus drivers were good at getting us there (or at least close).

The “tuk tuks” we’ve been using in Chiang Mai are small motorized tricycles with fairly comfortable seats and a canopy top offering similarly limited views. They weave in and out of traffic with just finger-breadths to spare and seem only marginally safer than the ubiquitous motorbikes.

On Saturday we needed to buy intercity bus tickets by going to the Arcade bus stop in Chiang Mai. Our destination would be Chiang Rai, and we’d been advised to book at minimum two days in advance to procure tickets because there are only 16 or so seats available on any day… We hired a tuk tuk to get us there: 140 baht. We liked our capable, fun driver whose name was Mr. Horse, so hired him for the rest of the day: the total for 5 hours was just 400 bhat (~$12)! Moreover, we hired Mr. Horse for the next two days: he safely transported us to Baan Tong Luang tribal village and to the Wat overlooking Chiang Mai.

It just goes to show that the real costs here are not labour, but fuel and capital.

The long-haul buses are a very reasonable way to get around too. We reserved two seats on an overnight bus from Pattaya to Chiang Mai for 725 bhat (~$22). It took 11 hours, was air conditioned (to the point we were glad to have the provided blankets!), and they served water, juice, and more snacks than we could eat. What was particularly interesting was that the driver and full-time assistant were in the front, completely closed off from the passengers. The immaculate attendant also put on the video for everyone to watch. Incidentally, this bus arrived in Chiang Mai 45 minutes ahead of schedule.

Getting around is much easier than it looks—and inexpensive methods are quite comfortable. Looking online first helps; as does having a decent map. Fortunately, the language issues are seldom a problem: just smile and ask and just like us, you’ll discover someone will always be there to help.

Chiang Mai: Nearby Baan Tong Luang Village

2010-01-31T22:15:00.000-08:00

Mr. Horse the tuk-tuk driver proved indispensible to us: for a great price he transported us about Chiang Mai to a variety of handicraft outlets and galleries. With the breeze keeping midday heat at bay, he safely negotiated the sea of motorcycles, cars, other tuk-tuks, bhat buses – and pedestrians leaving us time to look about and appreciate the heartbeat of the city.

He soon understood what we were interested in: culture, nature and handicrafts. Soon he was making recommendations and, after a nanosecond of deliberation, we placed ourselves in Mr. Horse’s capable hands.

Off we scooted to Baan Tong Luang village. Think of Upper Canada Village – but where the traditionally costumed “animators” are authentic hill tribe peoples who live and work on the farm. This put what at first appeared to be a disappointingly over-the-top tourist venue into perspective. Politically, the hill tribe peoples have suffered from the hands of various oppressive regimes. In fact, they still do. Members of four tribes: Karen, Lahu Shi Bala, Palong and Hmong live here, marry, have children, work the fields, look after and work with their elephants, and make and sell traditional clothing and crafts.

Touristy? We spent 2 1/2 hours here photographing the tribal people, watching the women weave, playing with the children – and learning how to shoot coconuts with a traditional bow and arrow. (I thoroughly impressed the old gentleman who asked me to try to hit a small green coconut on a stump: I got two direct hits and got very close to it three times. Neither he nor Eric knew my parents used to call me “Annie Oakley” when I was young…)

I ended up purchasing several scarves from the Lanna long-necked (aka “giraffe”) women. In fact, it was a thrill to buy a brightly coloured one which was being woven before our eyes!

We later learned that had we taken a bus tour, we would only have had 45 minutes to experience this worthwhile village project.

Chiang Mai Delight

2010-01-29T22:00:00.000-08:00

Where to start? We arrived in this former capital city of the Kingdom of Lanna by overnight bus from Pattaya.

During our first afternoon we wandered the streets of the old city whose foundations and brick fortifications date back to the 13th Century. Our destination was Chiang Mai City Arts and Cultural Centre. Here we learned the Thai traditionally believe cities are living entities with a body and soul, whose prosperity depends upon its birth chart. Auspicious times have ebbed and flowed for this great city, once the capital of the Kingdom of Lanna. Today, it is part of the Kingdom of Thailand of course, but it’s still the centre of Northern Thailand.

Typical for the two of us, we jumped into action and booked ourselves into a Thai cooking course for the next day. Choosing a school is challenging due to the fact there is so much choice. However, as soon as we saw classes offered at the Thai Organic Farm, we knew we wanted to support this endeavour for sustainability and food security reasons.

For 900 bhat apiece we were picked up in a bhat truck, taken to a local market where ingredients we would be using were explained, then driven for 20 minutes or so through the countryside to the farm. En route we spied water buffalo grazing as well as plantations of bananas interspersed with papaya and many vegetables. City noises and pollution gave way to calm views: this confirmed we’d selected the right school for us.

Once at the farm, our teacher “Tommy” toured our group of 12 about, showing us vegetables, fruits and herbs such as Thai eggplant, lemon grass, and limes which we would be using in just a few moments. Then it was time to cook! Tommy stepped us through the menu of items we’d all chosen to make.

Both Eric and I were able to select 6 different types of food each, as did all the other couples. After watching Tommy’s demonstrations, it was easy to prepare such foods as green and red curries. All of us delighted in tasting and sharing our dishes after Tommy taught us how to eat sticky rice (by rolling it into a ball and dipping it into the curry). After lunch we cooked two more dishes, and then Eric and I were dropped off at Lai Thai Guest House. A fabulous day well spent!

Our clean room (690 bhat) at Lai Thai was comfortable but a bit dingy. Designed in a Northern Thai style, walls were honey coloured, made from woven, split bamboo while the floor was chocolate-coloured teak. After two nights we switched to room 219 overlooking the (cold) but nonetheless inviting swimming pool. After a few attempts, we decided not to dine here: service proved a bit iffy and the food? We cooked better Thai ourselves! Nonetheless, Lai Thai’s central location made it perfect for us and at roughly C$21/night, it was a good price.

Chiang Mai is full of museums. However, more unusual are the government-sponsored stores which showcase goods made by northern Thai hill tribes. We visited the “Thai Hill Tribe Products Promotion Foundation Under Royal Support” – quite the mouthful of a name. And if you think that’s odd, check out the label on the clothes: “BPP Hill Tribe” refers to Border Patrol Police. A brochure explains, “In buying these handicraft products, you help the hill tribe artisans to earn an alternative income [as well as] the border patrol police school students and their families.”

Browsing enabled us to research prices for traditional clothing, quilted fabrics, silver and other items we might purchase later from tribal peoples themselves.

We would soon discover many opportunities to barter…

Electrical supply Thai style

2010-01-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

We noticed the lime green shirts first. A group of men across the busy street were poised with a large cable over their shoulders—and another was setting up a bamboo ladder on the already-overloaded utility post opposite us.

When the light changed, they all raced across the intersection, dragging the cable and hoisting it up to the guy on the ladder. He scampered up into the tangle of wires already on the post, snaking the end through the clump. Then he dangled the end of the wire down, enabling the team on the ground to grab it again and pull it so it wouldn’t obstruct the traffic—all this was somehow accomplished while the “walk light” was green!

The “wire jockey” on the post then had to find a way to secure the new cable. Standing on the existing wires, he managed to tie some sort of loop to hold it, then clambered down to repeat the procedure on the next post.

Continuing our walk, we soon discovered the roll end of cable, where a man was tending the loop, ensuring it wouldn’t snarl as it was being pulled along the street.

As can be seen in the pictures, an ever-present billboard of the King was smiling down on the team as they performed their tasks. We did think his Royal Highness looked a bit sceptical mind you… Like the other “farang” (foreigners) witnesses,we were enthralled by the performance. It would certainly be in violation of any number of safety and code regulations in Canada!

I also wondered how the electrical utility could possible manage the supply of their services. Perhaps they can’t…

No wonder we’re all embracing a wireless world!

Food markets: Everything that moves is edible

2010-01-26T12:09:00.000-08:00

Exploring Pattaya’s food markets is enlightening. As anyone who has travelled in Asia/India and such spots knows, “everything that moves” is fair game and can end up in your rice bowl.

Knowing this, I’m unsurprised to see cockroaches, giant water beetles, ant larvae and other insects I cannot identify for sale in the food market. Not only that: insects represent such tasty and readily available protein sources that street vendors will cook up a stir fry combo of bugs and veggies to eager customers who queue for a tasty snack.

Further down the narrow, congested aisle in the shaded food-and-everything-else market, I heard desperate cheeping. Yes: my personal nightmare was the sight of perhaps two dozen little songbirds resembling sparrows, peeping in fear and scrambling in a knot, trying to stay as far away from the cage door as possible.

Poor things.

The next stall sold tiny tortoises and turtles roughly the size of a Canadian loonie coin, through to ones which were the size of dinner plates. Another cage contained toads.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of being judgemental. It’s prudent to fight such thoughts, but also to be firmly aware of what you are supporting when you order a meal. We’ve not (yet) been offered bush meat for example, but know that this may be available at some destinations.

Just as in Canada when ordering fish and other meals, it is up to us as consumers to be as aware as possible, so we can support agri-food operations which we would wish to condone.

Cliff Cottages

2010-01-24T21:00:00.000-08:00

Did we like it? Evidently: we planned to stay for 4 nights, but kept extending to end up staying seven nights. At 300 bhat/night (~C$10) it was certainly not a budget breaker.

The staff were very friendly; bathrooms were clean; the food (cooked by a local) was fresh and excellent; views were great; the snorkelling in a clear bay absolutely superb…

But? Well, it is pretty basic. The cottages have thin walls with large gaps between the boards; the floors are not completely level; most of the room is a bed with a fairly basic firm mattress (albeit quite comfortable). A mosquito net is installed above the bed, and although we did use it, there were very few bugs evident. We had a padlock for the door (they will supply them too) but after a day or so, we felt that theft was not so much of an issue and the real purpose of the padlock was simply to show that a cottage was being occupied.

Would we recommend the place? Absolutely—but with qualifications, and only to those who understand that it isn’t trying to be more than a rustic place. One morning we witnessed a couple yelling at the gracious staff about how much they disliked the place: too quiet (no parties!) and too basic. Later on, owner Ewen McPhee told us he gets discouraged because although his web site is very clear regarding how remote and rustic it is, some people fail to read his frank cautions.

There are lots of alternative lodgings in Bang Bao, and most seemed to have rooms available. We had dinner with a honeymoon couple staying at The Nirvana next door, and their room was spacious with an en suite bathroom—but also cost 2,600 bhat/night. It had a pool, and the food was good but by no means outstanding. The view was of the Bang Bao pier, and swimming in that obviously-polluted bay was out of the question.

For us, Cliff Cottages was a relaxing, laid-back place to get into the rhythm of Thailand. We were sad to leave.

Bonding with Pang the elephant

2010-01-21T01:36:00.000-08:00

Who knew elephants can be as mischievous and fun-loving as your pet dog or horse?

Seventeen-year-old Pang (pronounced “Bang”) taught us just that as we experienced a jungle trek followed by a swim with him in a river’s deep pool.

Just getting on Bang was an adventure: the howdah (elephant seat) is secure on their broad back, but what was comical was ascending a set of stairs to a platform 3 metres high, then scrambling onto the howdah, with the mahout’s (the elephant’s driver and companion) help. And then we were off!

Now, Bang didn’t lope about. Instead, we went on a fairly sedate walk. As he strolled, his great feet fell gently on the narrow pathway lined with rubber trees (yes, we walked through a plantation where rubber was being collected in sap buckets slightly reminiscent of our maple sap gathering).

Using his sensitive trunk he grabbed at delectable leaves and vines, stuffing them into his mouth. From time to time he delighted us by trumpeting: amazing noise emanating from his tubular trunk.

Only one other elephant was on our trek, and Bang ensured Nam Taan didn’t get too far ahead. From time to time he stopped snacking, hit second gear and “sped” past his pal. Hilarious!

But the best part was the swimming with the elephants. We strolled to a river where a platform awaited for us. The howdah was removed, then we clambered onto Bang’s bare back. I was the lucky one, seated right behind his head on his (relatively) slim neck, just behind his ears. Eric had no grip: his fate was to do the splits on Bang’s back. Suddenly, the mahout was off and instructing his charge to dive into the water, twist and turn to try to unseat us. Talk about laughing!

Eric had no hope and was off in an instant. I, however, stayed on – and on, to Bang’s astonishment as well as his mahout’s. Bang surfaced several times, twisting his great head to look at me in what seemed to be surprised amusement—I know… I’m hopelessly anthropomorphic! Finally, however, he succeeded and after a deep twisting dive I was unseated.

And then we tried to clamber back on. Bang was so cooperative. There’d have been little hope but for the fact he extended his back leg, creating a most helpful step so we could climb “up his broad butt”—which he never did manage to submerge.

After our trek I met the owner of this elephant trekking outfit. Preecha told me he’s from a tribe who, for 200 years had been hunting wild elephants in Cambodia, bringing them back to Thailand, and training them in forestry work. Now that the forestry industry is in serious decline, these great beasts and their mahouts are unemployed. Hence the proliferation of elephant trekking outfits.

I hope Bang has a good life. At his “stable” we met an 18-day-old baby who we were able to pat. Ever so cute, it was “gumming” its bamboo fence enclosure, for all the world it looked as if it was teething, while proud Mama looked over its wee form, ensuring all was well. Odd: we noticed the teat of the mother is located behind her front armpits. You’d think they’d get in her way – but I’m sure evolutionary design has figured all that out better than me.

Getting online in Thailand

2010-01-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

The options are many, and people make use of the Internet everywhere.

Most hotels have computers in the lobby for guest use as well as wireless. The speeds we've encountered are not great (typically 1-2mbps down; 0.15-0.6mbps up; 20-60ms ping) but sufficient for most needs.

Internet cafés are easy to find, and exist in more than just cafés: here in Bang Bao on Koh Chang island, a scuba shop on the pier has 8 terminals and charges 1 bhat/minute (~C$2/hr).

It isn’t a big surprise that mobile phones and wireless Internet is the norm though. Wiring is a nightmare, with no apparent rules for how to connect to the grid. Some posts have so much wire hanging on them that you need to duck to pass under them!

Koh Chang snorkelling

2010-01-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

Surprise! We’re picked up by the outfitters not by boat as anticipated but by 2 young Thai on… the dreaded motorbikes. Off I go, doing what I swore I’d never do: riding pillion unprotected, hugging the driver. Eric’s following and yes, we slowly negotiate the rock-strewn road leading from Bang Bao’s Hillside Cottages to the pier where we weave through pedestrians, all of whom are strolling to meet their snorkel or other boat tours. We are safely deposited in front of our spectacular turquoise-and-scarlet painted boat and, in 20 mins we’re off on our four-island snorkelling tour. As promised, only approx 30 people on board: some divers, snorkellers, a “nursery” of tots (cute!), one baby, and some sightseers.

We had purchased our own snorkels & masks at Jomtien Beach but Eric rented flippers for 100 bhat ($3Cdn) for the day. The snorkelling was good but due to last night’s whopping windstorm (according to our host this is not ordinary – he did not sleep a wink all night he said), the visibility was quite poor.

Nonetheless, we had a blast.

Favourites included coral reef invertebrates known as Christmas Tree worms which came in unbelievable neon blue, gold and scarlet – all had sparkles, too, and were approx 3 cm tall. And definitely, although they damage the reef and an indicator of an unhealthy reef, the big black sea urchins were spectacular. Diving down to look at these spiny critters reveals five bright, silver-white sparkling “eyes” and a tangerine orange and neon purple “mouth.” Stunning colours against the jet black bodies. You don’t want to step on one of these as the spines are apparently very painful. However, they’re easy to avoid while being beautiful to behold.

A surf parrot fish tried to touch us: evidently it was attracted to us for some reason so we had fun observing it for a several minutes worth of interaction. Its fins resemble hummingbirds’ wings with their constant motion, while its body of emerald green with yellow, blue and red highlights was utterly beautiful.

The many corals as well as the giant clams with their amazing coloured “big lips” of purple and other hues, and iridescent fish were all fun to experience. More than anything, the turquoise water was beautifully warm. A languid day of wonderful exercise, where our Thai hosts were friendly and fed us well.

Thumbs up for a great deal.

Thumbs down for any ecotourism perspective: there was no discussion whatsoever of the Mu Kho Chang National Marine Park, nor did staff adhere to the park principles of not feeding the fish or the monkeys which we saw on the rocks en route back to Bang Bao. I was disappointed not to receive any educational component, and not to have others (especially the children) get this much-needed, caring perspective.

Koh Chang: Elephant Island

2010-01-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

Boarded the minivan we hired to take us from our Pacific Jomtien hotel to Bang Bao fishing village on Koh Chang, which takes its name (Chang is elephant in Thai) due to the island being the shape of an elephant’s head. Supposedly. We’re picked up promptly at 7:30, thankfully being the first to board, as the van fills up with 10 passengers total. Driver gets lost twice…

Then we’re off and after 4 hours we arrive at the ferry docks where we drive on a waiting vessel. The crossing takes about 40 minutes and en route we purchase a coconut and a lemon “milkshake” for 40 bhat each. Deliciously refreshing – but no dairy involved, solely the fresh fruit/nut and ice along, of course, with sugar syrup. In other words, so far the Thai milkshakes have no milk: another mystery…

Koh Chang is surprisingly mountainous with hairpin roads leading to a western coast lined with resorts, ATMs, diving/snorkel outfitters – and the inevitable sarong & souvenir shops. Everyone is let off and we’re alone heading to the southernmost village, Bang Bao. Here’s where Eric discovered Cliff Cottages for $10/night. Remote, rustic, no partying, the sound of the surf: this is what the website promises. We’re warned on the website to bring a padlock to secure our cabin.

Our first cabin, #20, is lop-sided, threatening to capsize down the cliff & has a glimpsing view of the ocean if you stand just so. We ask to change, selecting #10, a tad more robust and closer to the clean but shared showers/toilets. No view. The pink mosquito nets look great but I am concerned about cockroaches & other creepy crawlies. I have to curb this concern… I know I’ll find them on this trip or, more likely, they will find moi!

We eat here, on-site, choosing two curries, a green and Panang curry, which turns out to be a red curry. Delicious.

We stroll to the pier, amused if not startled by the ubiquitous motorbikes which toot then push past strolling tourists, shopkeepers and snoozing dogs on the 2-metre wide pier! We book a snorkelling trip for tomorrow (why not jump in & have some exercise & fun?!). For 500 bhat apiece (about $13 Cdn) we’ll be fed and tour 4 islands in Mu Koh Chang National Marine Park.

Then to bed amid a whopping, lovely wind storm. We appreciate its cool as we lie in bed with the pink netting billowing about. Lovely.

Arranging trips in Thailand

2010-01-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

Activities for tourists are everywhere, and it seems like every street and hotel has an agent to sell tickets. Presumably they all get a commission, and it is hard not to assume that a price is higher than it should be. When we booked transportation from Pattaya to Koh Chang, the hotel owner’s web site said a taxi would be ~140 bhat from the ferry, so we were tempted to just pay for the minibus to the ferry—instead of paying the extra 300 bhat to go all the way.

Good thing we let ourselves be persuaded by the travel agent: as we left the ferry in our reasonably comfortable minibus we saw dozens of bhat trucks (taxis) waiting for fares. And by the time we’d arrived at the far end of the island—and past the many resorts and up and down precipitous switchback roads—we were very happy to have paid the extra 160 bhat each!

We’d used the travel agent our friends use, and she had been delighted to know they’d recommended her. Of course, if she’d ripped us off, our friends would know and she would lose their business…

Bottom line: agents can make things a lot easier. But of course, do some research; ask questions; use connections—and don’t assume that everyone is trying to rip you off.

Jomtien Beach’s fabulous restaurants

2010-01-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

Pattaya’s Jomtien beach area boasts fantastic restaurants and food is beautifully prepared, fresh and served by helpful staff. Faves so far:

Pong Kitchen Restaurant: Eric chose Tom-Kha ( Coconut milk soup with shrimp) for 80 baht; I selected Guay-Tew-Nam (Lettuce broad-noodle soup with chicken). I didn’t order French fries but learned their Thai name is Mum Farang (foreigner) Toad.

Continental: Great for breakfasts with real brewed coffee rather than the Thai staple of Nestle or other brand’s instant. Muesli with fruit (fresh pineapple, strawberries and bananas) delicious.

Lan Bao: Thai food excellent but we had to sit in overflow seating on the actual street (which is under dusty construction) with the dogs. Food great; ambiance a let-down. Note to self: get their early so as to sit inside else walk kitty-corner across street to Pong Kitchen.

Motorbikes and bhat bus accidents

2010-01-16T02:33:00.000-08:00

Motorbikes and bhat-bus taxis (glorified pickup trucks fitted with two sideways seats taking 10 passengers) are notorious here in The Land of Smiles. And now we know why. En route from Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach to Koh Chang we observed two nasty accidents with EMS personnel administering first aid prior to hospitalizing the victims. And we just missed seeing a bhat bus collide with a hydro pole – victims boarded the ferry. Ouch.

Problem is that although there are driving rules & regs, “anything goes” and who knows whether farangs (foreigners) who drive have ever driven a motorcycle previously? No helmets, either.

As for the bhatmobiles as I call them, they’re better from the point of view that Thai drive them and know the road “rules” and traffic flow/unpredictable predictability. This is truly a driver/passenger and, perhaps most importantly, pedestrian-be-aware culture.

We’ve seen this previously, of course, in all our travels – from Cairo to Hyderabad. However, I personally have never before seen three accidents and their victims. Sobering and instructional, that’s for sure.

Thai Visa run

2010-01-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

Visa runs are where tourists like us or farangs (foreigners) who are property owners must exit the country for anywhere from 3/4 to an hour or so, to renew their Thai visa. It’s all legal; but that doesn’t mean it’s not a nuisance to folks like our friends who have purchased a condo here. To keep them company we joined them in their air-conditioned hired minivan, driving the 250 or so kilometres from Pattaya to Pong Nam Ron, the border town.

The drive took us past expected sights such as pineapple, banana, and rubber plantations – along with unexpected ones such as a large vineyard. Yes, Thailand is becoming known for its wines – apparently.

Our visa for this trip allows us two entries into Thailand. We procured this in Ottawa prior to our departure. However, we understand that it’s very, very easy to have one’s visa renewed and extended, for a price of course. No need for visa runs such as this, pending what one’s doing/where one is: When we arrived at Bangkok’s airport there was a visa area where people without their necessary papers could get one.

It was odd indeed to arrive at Pong Nam Rong – a dusty/desolate border crossing with Cambodia – and watch as our friends paid and had to physically walk out of Thailand, be processed and walk back into the country. Then off we drove, back to Pattaya.

And so it is in the Land of Smiles: our only question is, if it’s so easy to extend visas, why have them or at least, why have such restricted times, particularly for property owners?

Perennial lure of places in the sun

2010-01-14T14:31:00.000-08:00

We started our Thailand exploration in Pattaya because friends spend their winters here. One of them warned us that “Pattaya won’t be the Thailand you are wanting to see” — and we expect he will be right!

Pattaya is packed with people from all over the world: it is easy to get to, has great weather, lovely beaches, good food—and reasonable prices.

And of course one of the key attractions for many visitors is sex. Older Western men holding hands with pretty young women—and equally pretty young men—is common. Pattaya is also a popular gay destination: the downtown night life in some locations is certainly not for the homophobic—nor for anyone who will be bothered by obvious sex trade activities. But it isn’t as overt as we’d expected, and certainly not a reason to avoid the area.

More troubling is the apparent lack of long-term planning for sustainability. Money is pouring in and growth seems almost out of control, with sleek high-rise buildings springing up next to vacant lots or ramshackle slums. A major road was being built to ease congestion on the beach road, but it seemed unlikely that the smallish pipes we saw would cope with the need for water and sewers for the giant condos being built.

The contrasts are fascinating, albeit a bit hard to take at times. Our friends live in a very nice development with a well-planned mix of single family units, 3-story condos and a central high-rise; all within a walled area with easy walking access on tree-lined paths to the beach. However, a nearby high-rise condo looks drearily like a high-rise anywhere, crowding the beach and blocking the water views from an earlier one built a bit further back.

Some other contrasts are temporary: across the street from the guarded entrance is a family-operated chicken roasting cart: chickens turn on spits while cars zoom past and kick up dust just feet away—and a suspiciously bad smelling liquid streams under the cart into a nearby grate… Granted, this is on a road that is under major construction only a kilometre away, and the chicken vendors won’t be able to occupy the space soon, but it is typical of what we came across as we walked along the street.

Sun destinations of the past probably went through a similar stage: the Riviera in France, or the Costa del Sol in Spain would have gone through a transition from backwater fishing villages to the tidy streets and established tourism services of today.

However, since such destinations will always appeal to those of us from higher latitudes, shouldn’t we take some responsibility for ensuring that things are done for the long-term? Perhaps the inexpensive living should cost more, and the difference be put into paying for all of the infrastructure from the start.

Right. In these days of “the lowest price is the law” that kind of thinking is just dreaming—and it is equally unlikely that the money would actually be spent effectively to develop the infrastructure.

Pattaya perfection

2010-01-13T23:45:00.000-08:00

A good friend who lives in Pattaya during our Canadian winter months recommended we stay at Villa Thongbura for the first few days after our arrival in Thailand. Great advice. With a breezy, comfortable room including aircon, fan, fridge and kitchenette, we felt like royalty – a feeling that was magnified when we swam. Lined with emerald-green tiles and decorated with dragons and dragon-boat sculptures, we swam to erase the humidity. Glorious. With breakfast included, our room was approximately $34.00Cdn.

Today is our friend’s 50th birthday: we treated him to a two-hour massage at his favourite place, Thai Blind Massage Institute. Founded by “Mr. Henri” and “Mr. Sayan” in 1999, the Institute trains and employs blind persons who otherwise wouldn’t have a profession. What surprised Eric and I was all three of us friends were escorted into a shaded, teak-lined room and asked to lie upon Thai teak massage tables. The three masseurs (mine was a masseuse) immediately set to work (I had asked for a gentle Thai massage, knowing they can be quite painfully strong for beginners like me).

I never realized my body could adopt such poses while being massaged – and so the laughter from our friend who has a Thai massage weekly kept me more than a bit curious. Opening my eyes at various intervals, I saw him in several uncomfortable-looking postures including one during which his masseur was seated on his butt, pulling his legs backwards. Another bout of laughter revealed his legs being pulled over his head… little did I know some similar postures would be my immediate future!

That night after dining at Natang’s for French food (the owner’s from Montreal) we took in a ladyboy show featuring the astonishingly beautiful kattoys, Thailand’s well-accepted third sex. Extravagant cabaret-style acts with amazing singing and dance routines were all well-received by the appreciative audience, including us. Reminded us of similar acts we’ve seen in Torremolinos, in Spain’s Costa del Sol.

Hot tips for BKK

2010-01-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

1. The taxi touts were not as bad as we’d expected. It was easy to ignore them as we made our way to level 1 where we joined four quick queues to get an “official” taxi. The attendant prepares a chit with the destination and calls the next available driver. The charge is whatever is on the meter plus a 50THB surcharge—well worth it for the ease and confidence it assures!

2. Getting away from the airport. We wanted to get to Pattaya, and learned it would be about 1100THB by taxi. One of the many free shuttles at the Arrivals exit whisked to the its last stop, the public transport center. The airy clean station has public transit buses into Bangkok and longer haul buses to outlying destinations. First class A/C bus with reserved seating to Pattaya was 124BHT each. But we learned another tip: the bus looped back to the airport to pick people up directly at the airport!

Arrival in Bangkok

2010-01-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

Arrived on Korean Airline at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) at 21:30 & quickly/uneventfully went through immigration – Eric took longer than me because the official’s computer kept crashing! Did all the usual: changed a bit of money at an ATM, then lined up for hot pink cab which pronounced “Long Live the King” on its back window. Arrived at Paragon Inn “The secret of living” boutique hotel; paid cabbie the 90 Bhat+airport surcharge of 50 bhat.

Very friendly staff greeted us, gave us cold oj (very sweet), photocopied the front page of our passport, then ushered us to Room 23. Cost of Room was 14500 bhat (Cdn ~$34).

A fabulous little room with extremely comfy queen bed/two pillows each plus a third twin bed (would be great for a small family). Room contained b/r with bath/shower, a large-screen tv, and free wireless (good & fast) after getting code from front desk.

Intro to Bangkok seamless: weather 27C but aircon in room makes us extremely comfy. A great start: tomorrow we meet our friends and on the 13th January celebrate a 50th birthday with them – one of the reasons for the timing of our trip!

Seoul Airport

2010-01-10T15:20:00.000-08:00

Can’t believe we slept for 12 hours… I guess we were bushed. After hot showers we headed downstairs to the 24-hour restaurant here in the Incheon Guest House’s World Gate Building. But… everything shut, dark, and it’s draughty, too, in the broad corridors. Back to our room, we finish packing & try to catch the 8:50 hourly shuttle to airport. Nada. A chilly blast awaits from the B2 parking lot: brrr! No driver. Back up to the office on 9th floor where the guest house rep advises that despite what their info booklet states, the shuttle only operates on schedule if there are sufficient guests.

Helpfully, he leads us to the window, showing us where to catch the airport shuttle bus which stops across the road every 10 minutes… So off we go, remaining in the guest house’s shelter prior to dashing across the street to catch the shuttle at 9:06. Within 8 mins we’re at the airport. After using the self-serve check-in monitors to print our boarding passes, we uneventfully pass through security to try to find coffee and breakfast.

Starbucks awaits – there is no sit-down restaurant we can find for a North American breakfast, although MacDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway are here, as are various Korean/Japanese/Italian eateries. Wax models of dishes depict not only their price but also their preparation time. Starbucks coffee tastes the same but the scones are very sweet, unlike at home.

We visit the Korean Cultural Experience where we enjoy participating in the daily Free Event which, today, is making a traditional scholar’s table called a “kyungsang”. Not only is the replica’s wooden structure supplied, also we find access to glue, red and black ink, plus two diamond-shaped gold decorations for the desk’s front.

As we work, we are serenaded by a serene performance of traditional Korean music, given by three women in costume.

Then we’re up to the 4th floor to check out the Korean Traditional Craftworks Gallery to take in videos and exhibits of Life and Dream Through Desire, an exhibit of traditional paintings of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Hot tip for layovers at Seoul’s Incheon Airport

2010-01-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

For 22,050 Korean won each (~USD$21), we were able to stay in the Hub Lounge on the 4th floor for up to 5 hours. Inside, it is quiet, with a buffet, wine, beer, coffee, Internet access (both at terminals + wireless) and comfortable seating.

Why is it a good deal? A Big Mac costs 5,400 won; a Dolsot Bibimbap—a Korean rice/veggie stone pot dish—is 9,000 won, and our Starbuck’s coffee and scone was 6,900 won each.

Incheon Airport Guest House: Surprise!

2010-01-10T04:10:00.000-08:00

Korean Air flight KE72 arrived as scheduled 17:15 January 10. It is –6C and snowy outside.

Because we’ll retrieve our backpacks in Bangkok, we go through customs, then ask the Information kiosk agent to call Incheon Airport Guest House (free call). (English is understood here by officials.) We are asked to go to exit 8 & await car #1517… The shuttle-van arrives within 5 minutes and we’re off, through snow-clad streets to the hotel.

Surprise! It’s not what we expect… The van parks in a sub-basement of a bleak high-rise. The driver whisks up to room 927, the office. Eric takes off his shoes to enter, gets the key to room 331 and confirms airport shuttle for 11:50 tomorrow. Our driver gives me 2 towels & I ask for a third, plus one bedsheet.

Our room is spartan but surprisingly large: a double bed with two pillows & folded duvet, mattress pad and cover; tv; bathroom with shower plus laundry; kitchenette; fridge with two bottles of water. Once again, we take off our shoes and use slippers provided before stepping onto hardwood floor.

After finding English news channel we watch the 19h news then crash.

How do I use a blog?

2010-01-09T18:25:00.000-08:00

“Well I got the link you sent Eric, but I’m not sure how to use a blog.”

This comment made during a conversation on my mobile phone yesterday made me reflect on how we adapt to new things. Mobile—or cell—phones are a good example. I had read about them of course, so the first time I saw someone using one, I knew it was like a telephone. But the first time I actually used one I was tentative as I found my way around—and nothing happened until I realized I needed to press a “Call” button! After a few uses though, it became second nature, and I could soon navigate around to get to functions I didn’t even know about.

Instructions help, but use and practise is always the best way to learn.

We have been sending a link to this blog by email, so I know everyone getting it will at least have an Internet connection—and if you are reading this, you will already have managed to get to the page.

A blog typically has the most recent post at the top. If you scroll down, you’ll see the last few posts with a link to other older posts at the bottom.

The title of any given post is a link to a standalone version of it, so if you click it, you will see just that post—and the browser bar will have the address that can go directly to the post, so you can bookmark or copy it.

Since both Katharine and I will be posting to the same blog, we use labels that differentiate between our posts. The navigation bar at the top filters the posts by our names.

Other labels we use in posts are displayed in the “tag cloud” on the right. If you were to click the word “flying” for example, it will filter all of our posts to show just those we’ve tagged with that label. The tag cloud is updated as we add new posts, and the most commonly-used labels are set larger.

In this blog, our navigation bar also includes pages with links we are currently using and a map that lets you see pictures we’ve put up on our public Flickr site—and shows them in context on a map.

So how do you use a blog? Well, you can’t break anything, so just jump in and click to explore your way around it!

Petroglyph at mouth of Nimpkish River

2009-12-28T22:47:00.000-08:00

Petroglyph at mouth of Nimpkish River, originally uploaded by SpiritwoodPix.

The Nimpkish River meets the ocean across from Alert Bay. Back in 1792, it’s here that Captain George Vancouver visited Cheslakees village. On December 28, we explored the exposed intertidal beach, then examined boulders above the high-tide zone. We’d heard that some have petroglyphs carved into them. Waning light and a bitterly cold wind made our search increasingly difficult but just before I stepped inside the forest’s wall, I found this boulder. Celina and I looked at it closely but couldn’t determine the shape of the carvings... then I took this photograph.

Voila! The ancient image of what is possibly a large sun face in the centre of the rock — plus what might be a smaller moon to its bottom-left — was suddenly revealed.

Leaving on a jet plane

2009-12-21T22:57:00.000-08:00

Being able to print a boarding pass at home is certainly a big change from the sheaf of papers we had to have in hand when we did a similar trip in the mid-80s. But of course then there was only minimal airport security, and it was still possible to catch a flight minutes before the gate closed...

Flight 189 to Vancouver being prepared at Ottawa airport.

We left Ottawa a bit behind schedule and managed to see some dim lights at Spiritwood as we gained altitude over the Ottawa River. Happily, it was an uneventful flight to Vancouver.

The hardest part is saying goodbye

2009-12-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

Planning was exciting; packing was tiring; dealing with details was tedious—but saying goodbye was tough. And the hardest goodbyes were to our animals.

We can stay in touch with our friends, and plan to see them again, but how do we assure a cat or a horse that we will be back?

But we left knowing that they were all in good hands.

Useful links

2009-12-21T11:15:00.000-08:00

We update this from time-to-time as we find more useful links, and (intend to) eliminate ones we don’t need any more.

Travel resources

TripAdvisor (for cheap airfares, reviews, etc.)
Tiger Airways (low-cost carrier from Singapore; covers SE Asia & Oz)
SkyScanner (looks for low-cost flights)
Google Maps (and access to our collaborative planning maps with password)
World time zones (with local weather forecasts)
Currency exchange rates

Upcoming carriers, accommodation

Air Canada (YOW to YVR flight)
Korean Air (YVR to BKK flight)
Vietnam Airlines (internal flights within Vietnam)

Health and safety

Travel advisories from DFAIT Canada
Registering as a Canadian abroad
Canadian Embassy in Bangkok
IAMAT doctors
Our travel vaccination clinic and general info for Canadians traveling abroad

Katharine’s interests

The Equity editorial page (with Katharine’s Environmental Forum column)

Things on Eric’s radar

Eric's public bookmarks on Delicious
Lat/long blog (Google developers)
Handy Blogger tweaks
Cloudspace on Office Live and Windows Live (needs sign in)
News from home: CBC News, Ottawa Citizen, Canadian weather
Experts Exchange Word forum
Star views from anywhere and any time with Stellarium (see my view)
Internet speed test

Who and why?

2009-12-21T11:07:00.000-08:00

Our curiosity is piqued by different cultures and geographic realities. Whether it be horseback riding into Canada’s Rocky Mountains searching for grizzlies in the company of a carnivore specialist, or watching Kathakali dancing in India, count us enthralled and engaged.

Definitely, the profession of travel writing suits our curiosity to a T.

Although we love our life at Spiritwood, our hobby farm in West Quebec’s Pontiac region, we both have an insatiable desire to see what’s around the next bend in the path.

So, in mid-2009 we decided to seize opportunity and set off on another extended trip. That’s right: this is our second time. Our first 14-month journey in 1983-84 simply whetted our appetite. Since then, we’ve written six books, filed thousands of stories, features, columns and photographs... and are ready to jump into adventure again.

We invite you to bookmark One Way Tickets and follow us. And if you have tips and comments, send them to us: as you know, learning from others’ experiences is a huge part of travel. Enjoy!

Eric and Katharine leaving Spiritwood in December 2009.

trippermap

2009-12-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

This map shows pictures from our Flickr photo stream. Drag the map to reposition; double-click to zoom in or press the Spacebar as you drag to make a rectangle to zoom to. Hover over the photo indicators to see a tiny thumbnail; click one to see more. Hover over the upper part of a displayed image to read our caption and get a link to see it larger in Flickr.

How did we do this? Go to Trippermap for the details.