Talking to My Past Self

When I went travelling back in 2008 I sent emails home to keep family and friends updated about where I was and what I was up to. I kept all of the emails so I thought it would be amusing to recall some of the things I wrote and what my present self would say to my past self.

Subject: I have arrived
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:03:26 +0000

Thailand

• Hello from Bangkok and I didn’t get out of bed for 17 hours– LAZY COW! You’re in THAILAND! OK blame it on the jet lag.

• My hotel is ok, it looks better on the internet, the shower is just a nozzle in the toilet, no cubicle or anything– That’s Thai bathrooms for ya.

• The best thing is the bed it is triple sized– So easily pleased (I still am!)

• What’s the weather doing over there? 29 degrees again today, the only thing is I had to cover up as went on a temple tour- OH poor you-one should cover up if one is visiting a temple!

• I have only been in Bangkok for 2 days and already I have come to the conclusion that you have to be laid back and not a worrier! (Talking about the seemingly lack of organisation when going on a tour to Ayutthaya)- It took two days?

• I went to an elephant farm and had my photo taken with one. He was on his knee and he gave me a kiss, got covered in bloody sticky slobber! – Are you talking about the elephant?

• I am gonna try and put my photos on Facebook but may have to put em on cd first!- Photographs on CDs? That’s a thing of the past.

• The heat is UNBEARABLE- have nearly died of heat exhaustion- You will visit a hot country, wont you?

• We then went to the Tiger Temple. These huge cats seem so docile and most of them were sleeping but they could take your head off with one swipe! – No shit Sherlock!

• Seriously bought too much stuff with me, will have to chuck some stuff to make room for the bloody souvenirs. Can I not buy the biggest picture I could find today?! Idiot!– Yep, you got that right- think before you act!

• Went on a canal trip this morning, it was hilarious! The guide told us what the sights were etc., but then we had to wait for some sluice gates to open, and she became a walking, talking ad for Bangkok! She went from tours to floating markets, to steamed rice, to nightly shows, back to steamed rice and shopping. It was funny, I was chuckling to myself! –You had to be there!?

• Well what can I say, I have been here just over a week and I feel like I have been here ages! I love Thailand and already into the Thai way of life. Even speaking a bit as well- It doesn’t take long to fall in love with Thailand.

• Thursday I left BKK and 3 hours later got to Hua Hin. Can I just say as well it is so cheap! The bus journey cost me 2 quid!!!! Equivalent of going from Northampton to Liverpool!– A bit more exciting though.

• We went out for dinner and he took me to a couple of bars he knows and introduces me to some people he knows- Jennifer who looks all woman but has a couple of extra dangly bits between her legs! That’ll be a lady-boy then.

• I even outran all the boys on Friday. One of the lads has already dropped out, loser!-Competitive streak anyone?

• There is something very fanciable about a Muay Thai boxer–Is that because they are half naked or because you actually admire their skills and courage?

• Went to Erewan National Park and trekked up a mountain. We went to see the 7 tiered waterfall and my god it was stunning and worth the trek to the top. You could actually get in the water behind the waterfall, amazing, never have I seen anything as stunning and wanted to cry!– It’s a waterfall!!! (But, seriously, always get a bit emotional at a good waterfall.)

• Chewy, one of the kids was training in the boxing ring and he stumbled backwards and his heel connected with my ankle! Had to fight back to tears! Cry baby- at being hurt by a teenage boy as well!

• Three weeks into boxing and still loving it have lost just over a stone and spend all day with half naked boys!– Easily pleased. Yep, thought as much (see comment above about boxers being fanciable.)

• Seriously love it in Thailand and would like to live here– You do.

• Went to the zoo all day. We got there at 8.30am and stayed there all day. We found a bench and went to sleep for couple of hours. How random! That is why I love Thailand so much!– Sleeping at the zoo, like you do! (I still love the random things that happen occasionally.)

• We only gatecrashed the Monks party and were getting free shots of whiskey and dancing with the locals. – Cheap night then? You gatecrasher! Go find your own entertainment! (ahh the randomness!)

• We got onto the vodka red bull buckets and drinking them really fast! all of a sudden felt like I was gonna pass out. Got really hot and started crying so got carried back to my room. All the way I was bawling “I don’t wanna go bed.” It was only 10.50pm! – Alcoholic! That’ll be the M150s. (The Thai version of Red Bull but about 10 times stronger.)

• Ended up having a good couple of days in Chiang Mai, didn’t think much to it though- What are you talking about? Are you crazy? Chiang Mai is beautiful.

• We were in BKK for the Songkhran festival and it was absolutely crackers, we all got wet and covered in flour! We had water guns and everything, it was manic. This went on for four days, one is enough!– How true is that?!

• I had a wicked birthday and the best present of all, not only have I three good friends here, but they have been plotting and scheming for 3 months and arranged for my mum, brother and sister to come to celebrate with me– What a very special memory.

• It is raining on Koh Tao so hopefully will still be able to dive!– You’re gonna get wet anyway right?

• I am still having a great time here, I love Thailand so much, am def coming back next year! – You did!

Vietnam

• Seriously was so glad to leave, can’t imagine my life as a nun! If I had to stay there another night I would have been scarred for life! –An overstatement to say the least.

• Thursday we trekked up Tam Dao Mountain. On the way down I nearly went over the edge and at one point landed on my arse head first! –Work that one out.

New Zealand

• Just a little note to say I have arrived ok, checked into a nice hotel, bit of comfort. NOT HAPPY it’s cold and raining and I can’t muster a smile! –Get over it already!

• Have to wear bloody shoes and coats now! God New Zealand sucks!- Didn’t you love it three days later?

• I just feel a little lost and lonely having spent the last 7 months with people– Seriously there are people in NZ!

• I have met a few good people so far and we have had fun this week–See what a difference a week makes.

• Watched someone do a bungee jump, idiot! No way would I do that!- Idiot? Tut tut each to their own.

• We went to a Maori culture show, which was good the men did the Haka, which is the war dance the All Blacks do. There were some nice men to look at, with hardly any clothes on!– FLOOZIE!!

• Answer me one thing? why oh why do I choose the night before I cross an active volcano for 8 hours, to get pissed and not get to bed til 1.30am, when I have to get up at 5.30am!- Never had much sense.

• Tonight there is a salsa party in YHA so me and Annette are going to pub, cos as far as we can see, it’s a kids party and I don’t do kids!–She says currently working as an English Instructor!

• Oh I have been travelling with a German lady called Annette. She is really nice and the same age as me but she isn’t the same age as me– Huh? Work that one out.

• How come I walk over an active volcano, up a glacier and not ache? But 5 hours on a horse and I can’t move!!!!– The laws of the universe.

• Travelled over to Dunedin. Am on my own again but I don’t mind as I have spent the last 2 weeks with people– Make up your mind!

• Forgot to tell you about the strange experience of Angora rabbit shearing, in Waitomo. This poor bunny got strapped to a rack and stripped naked of its fur, very wrong indeed, I couldn’t stop laughing! It gets sheared because otherwise it would become too hot and die! Shame!– It’s a poor rabbit!- heartless cow!

• Jasper now also thinks I am an alcoholic, he said I don’t need beer, I said neither do I but I LIKE it!– You tell him!

• Had a little cry (pissed) oh and I watched Booze Britain, and saw the drapery, in Northampton! – You need to get out more.

• Am feeling a little fed up and I am missing home and all my friends today! Still I am in New Zealand ay?!– Yes you bloody are!

• Wasn’t as good this time as only for one hour and horse knew what it was doing so I wasn’t really in control– HA, beaten by a horse.

• Then I went for a Thai meal. This is the first time I have been able to go into a Thai restaurant, without shaking and hyperventilating from withdrawal symptoms of Thailand! –What a bloody drama queen!

• I had 2 bottles in my brown paper bag that I had bought from the winery! ha ha it was quite funny but you had to be there! – Yeah you sure did!

What would you tell your past self if you had the chance?

Exercise: you don’t have time not to. – Quote Unknown

I have discovered that living in Thailand is good for my health. I live a very simple life. Going to work, seeing friends, and exercising almost daily. I feel so much healthier living here.

My friends think I am an exercise freak and I will happily admit that I am. I love exercising. Don’t get me wrong I still have to psyche myself up to do it but once I get going I am so happy that I made the effort. After all it’s only a small part out of my day and it makes me feel so much better.

I have been into exercise, on and off, since 2006. I started going to the gym and made friends with the gym instructor, who is one of my best friends today. He was doing spinning classes so I went along and started doing that for the next two years. He also started kick boxing lessons so I went along to those too. I loved kick boxing and it inspired me to go to Thailand and learn Muay Thai boxing for two months.

When I first moved to Thailand I naturally lost weight because I wasn’t eating bread, crisps and such like but I soon put that weight back on when I got a social life and started drinking regularly. And after two years at home in the UK, merrily drinking my way through four bottles of red wine a week I was heavier that I had been for a while.

A friend told me about Insanity- an intense cardio workout- so I began the 60 day schedule.

Insanity-Workout-Program — Source: http://www.vtmfcn.org/shaun-t-insanity-workout-dvd-review-and-results.html

That was last April. At first I wasn’t seeing results-and I need to see results instantly otherwise I get disheartened- but I realised that it wasn’t going to happen overnight. After the 60 days was finished I started running and swimming again as well as Insanity.

Running is my first love but I was determined to finish the 60 day Insanity schedule and because Insanity is tough going I couldn’t do both. So running was put on hold. When I first started Insanity I couldn’t even get through the warm-up without stopping-dripping in sweat and out of breath. Afterwards I was able to do Insanity followed by a 5 km run. It was amazing how much I had improved. And by then I was seeing results so this really spurred me on to continue with my regime.

109282440_insanity_313040cmain — Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/05/insanity-the-rise-of-the-supercharged-home-workout/275907/

After a move to Bangkok and finding myself living in an apartment building with a gym, swimming pool and jogging track- of course I was going to make the most of that. It has become part of my daily routine and now I run, swim, bike, use weights, and do a combination of Insanity workouts. I find that if I mix things up I never get bored.

conquer — Source: http://www.tazfitness.com/?page_id=628

After nearly a year of this freakish exercising behaviour I have lost nearly two stone and feel so much healthier. I have cut down on drinking and eat a lot more fruit and vegetables than I ever did before.

Tips:
# Rather than doing the same exercise every day which can become monotonous- mix it up and do a variety of workouts.
# Don’t do treadmill runs the entire time- find a local park and run round there. It’s much more interesting.
# Buy loads of vegetables from the supermarket and make a curry with curry paste and coconut milk. I find I don’t miss the meat because it is still very filling and delicious.
# Stop smoking at work. Do you really need those 2 or 3 ciggies during the break times?
# Don’t drink at home unless you have friends round. Or save it for when you are out and about. I love my wine but if you are serious about losing weight don’t drink all the time- it really does pile on the pounds.
# Most importantly, find an exercise routine that works for YOU and stick to it. I think you will be amazed at what a little willpower and determination can do.

It would be great to hear your success stories!

The Start of 2015 Down Under

Cast: Me- myself; Helen- my mum’s cousin; Ernie-Helen’s husband; Scott-Helen and Ernie’s younger son; Craig-Helen and Ernie’s older son; Tanya- Craig’s wife; Amy- Craig and Tanya’s daughter; Mark- my friend; Wilson- Mark’s boyfriend

I arrived in Adelaide on Christmas morning and was greeted in the arrivals hall by my family- Helen, Ernie and Scott. It’s always nice to see them again- they make me feel like I have never been away.

We drove to Mount Barker and spent a few hours with Tanya’s parents to celebrate Christmas. The usual trimmings- roast turkey, roast potatoes, veggies- and a few celebratory drinks BUT with the sun shining high in the sky and not a snowflake anywhere to be seen. I was chuffed to be invited actually, even though I had told Helen I might be tired from the flight. But I was glad I went. I even got some Christmas pressies which I wasn’t expecting.

We stayed until around 3pm, said our goodbyes and made our way home where we just relaxed in front of the TV. Considering I had only had about four hours sleep on the flight I managed to stay awake until around 10 and, boy, I slept well.

I slept until 1.00pm the next day and was woken to Helen knocking on the door saying:

“Gill, it’s 1.00pm. Are you getting up soon? I’m going to bed in 8 hours!”

I could have slept some more but I knew I would feel worse so I dragged my weary backside into the shower to wake up.

Not long after Scott came by and asked if I wanted to go to see the beach.

“No, am OK.” I said.

“What?” he replied, “You’ve come all this way and DON’T want to see the beach?”

Not that I haven’t seen the beach before. I have walked up and down that beach a few times before but he was right, what was I thinking?

“OK then.” I said a little more enthusiastically. And off we went to visit Noarlunga and Christie’s Beach. The coast line along the Adelaide shore is just beautiful- huge yellow sandy beaches and perfect blue water and only relatively few people enjoying it. Mind you, you have to be careful in the perfect blue water. Only a few days previously there were helicopters shooing away a huge white pointer shark.

Scott and I get on like the proverbial house on fire. As soon as we met, way back in 2005, we hit it off straight away and even back then it felt like I had known him for ages. And I love that in someone. And when we don’t see each other for a long time- we just pick right back up where we left off-like we were continuing a conversation from yesterday. We chat, we take the piss, and we joke around. We generally have a great time together. We can talk about anything and we can chat for hours on end. (Well he mostly chats and I listen!- see even now I can joke with him).

As I have been an exercise freak since earlier in the year I was keen to do a bit of exercise when I was in Australia, so Scott suggested a hike up Mount Lofty which is 15 km east of Adelaide city centre. It was named by Matthew Flinders in 1802 as he travelled around Australia. It was also used as a navigation assistant during the WWII.

We left home around 6.00am and arrived at the car park to meet Craig and Amy who were joining us for our hike. Before we started the climb we checked out the map which showed the different routes you could take to the top.

I said “Where are we?”

Amy burst out laughing. She pointed at the map to show me a large, red “YOU ARE HERE” sign.

She giggled “We are here!”

That was it for about 30 minutes. She couldn’t stop laughing at my lack of being observant.
The route took us upward and through some typical Australian bush-land-very steep in places but it definitely woke us up. The views over the whole of Adelaide and beyond are stunning so the effort is totally worth it.

There were lots of people out and about that morning. All going up or coming down- walking or running, doing their daily exercise. It’s a beautiful walk. I kept stopping to admire the views and take photographs of the trees and the birds. Not one person was in awe of the cockatoos and macaws that were flying from tree to tree. I guess you become blasé to your surroundings when you live somewhere. And I know I am guilty of it myself but I wish people would just stop now and again and appreciate what is around them. Smell the roses so to speak.

Back at the bottom we stopped for coffee on the way home and went back to relax before the evening’s event- Adelaide 36ers VS Townsville basketball match. I have no idea what is going on in basketball and although this was my second match I had been to-both times in Adelaide- I still asked a million questions. I am not even sure whether you say “match” or “game.” Scott was quite patient with me and answered them even though I have forgotten what he told me already. Amy got a fit of the giggles again when I asked if it had started yet.

“NO!” she laughed at my poor attempt at keeping up with the proceedings.

The following day Helen and Ernie’s friends came over so I got to stay home and drink wine all day. Happy as a pig in shit!

In my attempt to exercise whilst on holiday I went into the city one day with Scott and Craig and had a very pleasant walk along the Torrens River. On the way back we strolled through the Botanic Gardens.

I have very few pictures of my previous visits to Adelaide so I happily meandered behind the boys taking loads of photographs. We ended the day with an obligatory beer in the Austral Hotel-an establishment that had been in Adelaide for many generations and one I always visit when I am in town.

I was off to Melbourne for New Year’s Eve so I left Adelaide for three days so I could visit my friend Mark, who has been living in Taiwan for the past few years. He is originally from Adelaide but now he and his boyfriend are living in Bayswater- a little suburb outside Melbourne’s city centre.

I arrived in Melbourne just after midday and took the sky bus to the city where I caught the train to Bayswater- about an hour away. Mark and Wilson were there to greet me. It was great seeing Mark again. The last time I saw him was in 2011 when he came to Thailand for a holiday.

I have known Mark since 2007. I was in Australia and I did a six day tour from Alice Springs to Adelaide and he was the bus driver for the tour company. We hit it off straight away and have been friends ever since.

The first day we didn’t do much- had dinner and a few wines and a good old catch up. The next day I was supposed to get up with Mark at 6am and spend the day at work with him but during the night I had such bad toothache that I didn’t sleep very well. So I ended up staying in bed and going back to sleep. I slept until the afternoon. My toothache eased off a bit and I was glad I had stayed home because we were going into the city to watch the fireworks and I wouldn’t have been up for it if I had been up so early.

Mark and Wilson got home later in the afternoon and we had dinner and some more wine. We got ready and got on the train back into the city. It wasn’t that busy when we arrived so we wandered along Southbank watching the people waiting for the countdown. The drinks were so expensive we only had one each- I can safely say it was the most sober New Year on record.

We decided to walk to Kings Domain- another area where the fireworks could be seen easily. But when we got there we realised there were too many trees to see the whole of the city skyline, so we walked back to Southbank where we waiting amongst the ever increasing hordes of people. Southbank is one of Melbourne’s major entertainment areas with loads of bars and restaurants, a casino and an aquarium amongst other things. And on that night more than half a million people to boot.

Twelve midnight struck. Twelve ten the fireworks were over. Seriously?! We were waiting three hours for ten minutes excitement. The fireworks were good but I have seen better. We said our “Happy New Year’s” and left. AND my toothache was back with a vengeance-no alcohol to numb it. I just don’t think I was in the party mood. I was so glad when we got home considering it took over an hour to walk back to the station- normally a two minute walk. Just one more thing before I stop complaining- we got home after standing the whole way AND we had to change trains-goddammit! (Actually that’s two things!)

I swear to god I am staying in on New Year’s Eve from now on- I just find it all one big anti-climax. There are too many people and it’s so very expensive. BAH HUMBUG! (I blame it on the toothache!)

After falling into bed around 3.00am the next day we all slept late, had breakfast and took a trip out to the Dandenong Ranges-that’s more like it!

The Dandenong Ranges are a set of low mountain ranges around 35 km east of Melbourne. On the way we stopped at Emerald where we sat and had lunch by a little lake and a stroll through the park. The ranges are simply stunning. A rainforest of huge Mountain Ash trees which stand majestically all around you, carpeted by a thick undergrowth of ferns. The area is the remains of an extinct volcano which was last active 200 million years ago. It kind of reminded me of the steamy atmosphere in “The Lost World”- you could almost imagine crossing paths with a dinosaur or two.

We started to walk through the forest following one of the trails passing a few folk on the way. Ever since I first travelled round Australia it always amazes me that there are very few people in these places. Sure there were people walking and running through the forest but no one just sightseeing like me. That’s people being blasé again or do the tourists not know about this place? Anyway I wasn’t complaining I kind of like it when there aren’t many people around. Plus we saw a huge branch, actually we heard the crashing before we saw it, but a huge branch came crashing from above. We were alone and the only ones that saw that piece of nature in action. Crazy? Silly? Neither, just an appreciation of nature and the realisation that nature continues whether we are there or not.

We came to a sign and realised the trail looped around towards the car park and it said 4.6km. We carried on walking. The trail was easy going most of the way although there were a few steep parts-both up the way and down the way. We eventually got to another sign and it was still 2.2km to go. You know when you walk or run anywhere and when you get to your destination the distance ends up being much less than what you thought? It was like that. Finally, after 2 hours, we made it back to the car park and we found out we had actually walked 11.5km. Great exercise and a photographers candy shop. It was a fantastic day topped off with a barbeque and a few wines with Steve and Graham-two of Mark’s friends.

After a quick photographic walk along Southbank in the city the next day I flew back to Adelaide for the last few days of my holiday.

I always love going to Adelaide.

Helen and Ernie make me feel so welcome, although I have been banned until 2020. They are joking (I think). We all get on so well and we share a lot of laughs along the way. It feels like home away from home.

IMG_1618 - Copy — Helen, Scott and Ernie

One Moment

There is one moment in everyone’s life that sticks out. One moment that you will remember forever. That memory may bring with it a whole lot of other memories or it may cause your life to go in a new and unknown direction.

The one moment that changed my life and sent me on a path that would end up living in Thailand came ten years ago in 2005.

I was married at the time. We had been married since 2002 and, although we were getting on OK, we had started to drift apart and were more like brother and sister than husband and wife.

One day I said “Why don’t you go away and think about what you want?”

His reply- “I can’t because of work.” He had in mind that he was working for our future together. Which is a good thing? No?

But it’s all very well planning for the future but if you don’t work at the present the future could be very different to how you imagined it.

“Be careful not to look so far ahead, that you miss what’s in front of you” Jeremy Aldana

So, what were we to do? Continue living in a marriage that was less than 100% happy?

A few days later I was out with my friends and, as girls do together, we were chatting about my situation. And then it hit me, like the proverbial epiphany. Why don’t I take my own advice? Why don’t I be the one to go away and think about what I want?

So I did.

I took myself to Australia for the first time. I went for two months. Alone. Well actually I stayed with family but I still went alone. It was the bravest thing I have ever done. I had never been anywhere on my own before. I was 37.

I had a great time there and spent countless hours walking and talking to myself trying to work things out in my head about what the hell I should do. Cheap therapy! It worked though.

I moved out three months later, bought my own house and two years later I returned to Australia. A year after that I went travelling for ten months. Three months after that I moved to Thailand. And have been here on and off since then.

I love my life now and I couldn’t be happier. My life as I know it now stemmed from that one moment and it is something I will always remember.

Throughout life everyone travels down certain paths and sometimes things happen that will see you on a different path.

And although that one moment might make you feel scared or unhappy- know that you will be stronger for it. What doesn’t kill you right? Think of it as exciting because you never know where your new path with lead you.

“March on. Do not tarry. To go forward is to move toward perfection. March on, and fear not the thorns, or the sharp stones on life’s path”

Khalil Gibran

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Very wise words

Days like These

Since I have been living in Bangkok I get regular emails about what’s on. I don’t do that much on a regular basis but sometimes I see something that catches my eye.

So one Friday-my only day off- I got up early and was in the pool by 8.30am, followed by my regular exercise workout, had breakfast and was out the door at 10am.

I went to Thai lessons, which is what I normally do on Fridays, and afterwards I took myself to the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre where they were holding the “Bonjour Fair”- a French and Italian market. These types of events always intrigue me because I think it’s strange that you would get such a thing in Thailand. But Bangkok is an international city so of course these types of events happen here. I still find it strange. (Or maybe it is me who is strange!?) Anyway, I arrived and wandered around, bought a ham quiche and left. I only really went to check it out and as I didn’t have much money to buy all the delicious things I wanted to buy (Umm wine!) I didn’t hang around long.

There were lovely offerings to be had- cheese, wine, bread and meats. There were also shoes and perfumes. All the things you would imagine would be at a French and Italian market. You could even try before you buy. I believe this market happens once a year.

The next thing on my agenda was to go to Lumpini Park to see the Bangkok Street Fair. After a quick trip to do some Christmas shopping, I got to Lumpini and meandered around watching the variety of street performers. There weren’t many people there when I arrived so I could easily watch the performers that were dotted around the park.

There were mime artists and trapeze artists but the best ones were a group of guys dancing and doing the limbo.

They had attracted quite a crowd.

On the way out I stopped to watch a woman doing her piece, which included a toilet and some flowers. I have no idea what that was all about but when she stuck her head in the toilet it reminded me of Renton in “Trainspotting.” I walked out of the park chuckling to myself.

On the way back I stopped off at Onnut night market for somtam and a beer. I deserved it after my busy day. I hadn’t been there for a while and, although the prices have gone up a little, it is still a place I enjoy especially when the lady, who sells the somtam, recognized me, and I got a beer by simply mouthing the word “Singha” to the waitress.

I love days like these. They definitely put a smile on my face. 

A-Z in Shapes and Objects

When my friends, Jamie and Trudy, were in Thailand in November, Jamie set me an A-Z photographic challenge. I had to take a photograph of things that represent each letter but I had to go through the alphabet in order. It’s taken me a while but here it is 😉

Why don’t you give it a try and see what you come up with 🙂

A DIY Day Out To Saraburi

My friend and I went to Saraburi to visit a local tourist attraction-sunflower fields. Doesn’t sound that exciting? Believe me it is worth the effort of getting there and even more so because we decided to skip the organised day trips from Bangkok and do a DIY version instead.

We left Bang Sue at 9.20am- the train should have left at 8.20am but hey this is Thailand. We travelled an hour and a half north to Khaeng Koi Junction where we changed trains for a thirty minute journey to Hin Son.

Hin Son is literally in the middle of nowhere. We had co-ordinates to follow and we had been told that the sunflower field was in the direction away from the school and towards the temple. That’s all we knew, and without ACTUAL GPS we walked for about 10 minutes to a temple we had spotted and decided that we were going in the wrong direction.

Luckily, we had seen some sunflower fields from the train, so we walked back to the train station-getting some bemused stares from the locals. On the opposite side to the station was a road but we agreed that it didn’t look like it went to the fields-we found out later it did-so we decided to walk back along the train track. Actually, we started walking through the fields but the grass started to get very long in places and we were scared that there may be snakes. A snake bite in the middle of nowhere would lead to certain death- maybe a bit of an exaggeration but a snake bite would be very serious, to say the least, considering one of us would have to leave the bitten party to go in search of help. Not a very sensible idea. So we backtracked a little and started walking along the train track. There are only three trains a day and we didn’t see one but we were constantly checking in both directions and we were ready to dive off to the side of the track if one came trundling along.

We arrived at the sunflower field with no scrapes- even though we had to scramble across the track with a 12 foot drop below. In our imaginations that drop was 1000 feet. We were a little burnt and our feet were sore from walking on the track.

On either side of the train track there are fields and fields of beautiful sunflowers. It’s very peaceful, right in the middle of nowhere. There was no one else there apart from a couple of people who arrived in a van who, like us, had come to see the sunflowers, and a few stallholders who were setting up their stalls for the weekend rush of people arriving on the train. We basically had the place to ourselves. We wandered around taking photos and then we went and rested up a while in the shade with some sunflower juice to quench our thirsts.

While we were sitting there one the stallholders asked where we had come from. We told her that we had walked from Hin Son. She looked shocked. Thais don’t walk anywhere. Once we had recovered we decided to continue walking away from Hin Son-back in the direction of Bangkok-to the train stop-no more than a hut- at Khao Hin Dad. We didn’t know the name of the place at the time but we had definitely seen the hut. We walked off with the lady shouting:
“You can’t walk that way, it’s all jungle.”

We both looked at each other, jungle? The train goes that way so we thought it was safe to say there wasn’t any jungle going to block our way.

So off we went walking along the train track again. After a while we suddenly realised that the road was running parallel to the track but there was no way that we were going to get to it because the undergrowth was just too thick. So we continued along the track. Every few minutes we could hear lorries passing by on the road but we thought it was a train, so we stopped in our tracks (get it) and were ready to dive to safety. But all was ok. How we misjudged the distance between the hut and the sunflower field I still wonder today. We were sure it was closer. We kept walking and walking with nothing but train track in front of us. In the end I spotted a way off the train track to the road. It’s a good job I saw it because we were chatting to each other and could easily have missed it. But we swapped track for road. At least it was easier to walk on. After a good fifteen minutes we finally saw a sign that said railway crossing. At the same time a guy stopped on this motorbike and was asking us where we were going and where we had been. Typical. We had been walking for what turned out to be 5 km when someone saw us and told us where we were supposed to be going.

This guy, whose name was Mr. Praset, asked us if we wanted to go to his house and sleep the night. We gathered that he ran some sort of homestay. We politely turned him down and said we would wait for the train back to Bangkok. Off he went and we sat by the road. About fifteen minutes later he came back with bananas, a packet of chocolate biscuits, and a bottle of water each for us. He sat there and chatted away to us for ages. He asked us if we wanted a lift to Khaeng Koi but, again, we politely declined and said we would get the train. Off he went again and we moved to the hut that is the train stop in Khao Hin Dad. Some more people arrived, this time to just sit and stare at us- quite amusing really.

Mr. Praset came back again-this time in his truck- and asked us again if we wanted a lift to Khaeng Koi because he didn’t think we would make it in time to get the train back to Bangkok. As much as we wanted to get the train back, we also didn’t want to miss the train from Khaeng Koi, so we agreed and got in his truck. So we were off back towards Khaeng Koi but not before going back to Mr. Praset’s home. He wanted to show us where he lived. We literally drove into the drive, said hello to his daughter, and reversed out again. From what we saw it looked lovely and we found out that he exports flowers to China from the fields at the back of his house. But we suspected that he only wanted to show off his new “farang” friends to his daughter.

Mr. Praset seemed happy at our accepting his offer and excitedly kept saying:
“Look! It’s only 5.30pm; you won’t miss your train.”
We arrived at Khaeng Koi and offered him some money for the ride. He told us before that it would cost 100 baht each but he did not accept anything from us.

This is one of these random things that happen and it’s been a long time since anything like this has happened to me. While I don’t want to be walking along any train tracks, with seemingly no end, for a while, I loved meeting Mr. Praset and will definitely be paying him a visit when I am next in that area. As for the DIY day out to visit the sunflower fields- I would not have missed it for the world.

Tekapo Onward

Tekapo

On my tour of New Zealand a few years back I visited Tekapo which is located on the South Island. When I arrived it was covered in two metres of snow and I realised it was a small place with not really that much to do when you compare it to somewhere like Auckland or Queenstown. But it was a charming little place nonetheless. It is nestled among some spectacular mountain ranges and on the banks of Lake Tekapo.

The town consisted of a few shops, one pub and a supermarket. I didn’t want to stay in my accommodation and cook for myself so I walked up to the pub where I spent a few hours drinking beer. After a while I went outside to have a cigarette and started talking to this guy, Corley. He invited me to join him and his mates. These interactions are great but it depends on how I am feeling at the time as to whether I will take the offer up. Sometimes I just want to sit by myself but this was not one of those times. I played pool with the guys. Not just any pool but the best pool I have EVER played in my life and ended up having a great night.

One of the guys called Christian was the biggest guy I had ever seen. Huge, like a rugby player. He was hilarious- he kept saying sorry to me when he had a bad shot and he was drinking out of a glass, smaller than a half pint glass but because he was so big it looked like he was a giant and the glass was a pint glass. I was dying to say that to him but felt it was better to keep that amusing little thought in my head.

Christchurch
Christchurch is a lovely city with lots to do. On my first night I had a wander to get my bearings followed by dinner and drinks. The next day I had a cultural day- arts centre, craft market, museum and botanic gardens.

I visited the Antarctic Centre which is very interesting The centre tells you all about what is going on in Antarctica and you can see daily pictures from Scott Base there. There is information about the history and why the projects over there are so important. You can also experience what the weather is like there in the “storm room”. The room is -8 degrees normally and when they start the wind up to 46km/h, the temperature goes down to -18 degrees. It was absolutely freezing even though we were kitted out in thermal trousers and jackets and had our faces protected. It was positively tropical when I came out of there. In Antarctica it can get as cold as -80 degrees and if you were not prepared for the conditions you would die within one minute.

I took a day trip from Christchurch to Akaroa- a very pretty little village town located in between some beautiful green countryside. The town is so small you don’t really need a lot of time there and I was there for the day, so after I had wandered around and taken some photographs and then walked to the lighthouse, I decided to go on a harbour cruise to while away a few hours. There was all manner of nature on that boat trip-seals, penguins and little hector dolphins. As a nature lover I was in my element and tried to take as many photographs as I could but the animals were darting here and there in the water so quickly that it was hard to take any decent photographs.

Orana wildlife park is another good day out. It’s like a safari park but it is a zoo. Let me explain- the animals are in enclosures (like a zoo) but they are large, open enclosures so the animals have more freedom and can act more naturally (like a safari park). It’s one of the best I have been too. All that separates you from the animals is a moat and electric fencing-apart from the big cats and wild dogs for obvious reasons. You can hand feed the giraffes which, I thought, was quite cool so I asked the keeper to take a photo. She didn’t manage to get a proper one so I took one of myself and the giraffe- I am not sure who looked better (it looked like we had been separated at birth). I found this quite amusing-little things always make me smile. Then to add to my amusement I got to the water buffaloes and found I was more interested in taking pictures of ducks and rainbow trout. Being on my own all that time I was bound to go a little mad.

I did meet a human friend-Ian- he was the bar man in a little bar I found in Christchurch’s city centre. He was really friendly and he kept me company for a few nights while I was there on my own- even got me involved in the bars weekly quiz night (which I was rubbish at). It’s always nice to meet a friendly soul to chat to, especially when you are travelling alone. It beats ducks and fish any day.

Kaikoura
Next stop Kaikoura- a beautiful little sea-side town on the east coast of the south island. I went there to do some whale-watching but it was cancelled two days on the trot due to weather conditions- the weather in the bay was very pleasant and sheltered but the coastguard said that there were three metre swells in the open ocean. The whales were even heading off shore. If they were buggering off because of the weather, then I certainly wasn’t going out on a boat. The coastguard told me that there had been a trip the day before and everyone was sea sick. So I gave up with that plan and found other ways to amuse myself.

I walked to the town’s resident seal colony- Peninsula Seal Colony at Kaimokehu. The New Zealand Fur seals, who bask on the rocks during the day were so close. I could have reached out and touched them. Obviously, I didn’t, I wanted to keep all my fingers. Just offshore lies the Hikurangi Trench and due to the trench’s steep sloping seafloor and currents, the trench provides nutrient rich water which attracts the seals, whales and other wildlife that frequent this area.

I walked back to town and went on a tour of the Maori Leap cave. The history behind this cave I found very interesting. It is a sea cave formed from limestone, which had a natural entrance to the sea but this collapsed about 6000 years ago. Bones found in the cave, thought to be from birds that used the cave, have been dated to around the same time. The name, Maori Leap, comes from a legend of a warrior choosing to either be captured or jump for freedom when a hostile group invaded from the North Island. He chose to leap. Another legend is of lovers who came from different tribes. They were prevented from being together and jumped to their deaths to be together forever.
Afterwards, I went on a winery tour, which included a few tastings, YUM-wine, and a tour of their underground cellar, which they use for weddings and functions. I had a couple of glasses and bought two lovely bottles, one red and white.

On the way back I came across a Thai restaurant so I decided to go in and have dinner. That was the first time I had been able to have Thai food without shaking and hyperventilating from withdrawal symptoms of Thailand! OK, that was a bit of an exaggeration but I did miss Thailand a lot. I thought that the food wouldn’t be as good but I was pleasantly surprised. I had yellow curry and it was delicious. I was so excited that I made a complete mess of the table. Then I got sad because it reminded me of Thailand. What a drama queen!
I nearly had heart failure when I asked for a glass of wine and the waitress told me they didn’t have a liquor license. But she told me that I could “bring your own” (BYO), and lo and behold I had two bottles in my brown paper bag that I had bought from the winery. Drinking from a paper bag? What a lush. But no, thankfully she bought me a glass and I poured my own. It was quite amusing and I was chuckling to myself all the way back to the hostel where I finished off the wine.

Mount Maunganui
After Kaikoura I headed back to the North Island to Mount Maunganui, located in the Bay of Plenty. Mount Maunganui is also the name of the extinct volcano that stands majestically over the town. The volcano is known by its Maori name- Mauao, which means “The Mount.”

I spent three days there and during that time I walked up to the top of Mt. Mauao. It was quite steep in places but the views from the top are worthwhile. Afterwards , I went to the local outdoor pool and relaxed in the salt water pools to ease my aching bones. This place also offers excellent views of the Mount.

Whitianga

The next day I left Mount Maunganui and headed to Whitianga, on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula. 12 km south east of Whitianga is Hot Water Beach, so named because of underground hot springs that filter up through the sand between high and low tides. Most visitors take a spade so they can dig large holes to wallow in the thermal water, which can reach around 64 degrees C.

Next stop- Cathedral Cove, or to give it its Maori name- Te Whanganui-A-Hei. A walk down from the car-park ends with this beautiful little cove and its natural rock formations- including Te Hoho Rock a natural rock stack which looms out of the blue water. Narnia fans will recognise this place as it is where the Pevensie children first re-enter Narnia in the movie- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Waitomo

After Whitianga I arrived in Waitomo for a few days en route to Auckland. Alone again I decided to do some walking, so I opted for the 2km Waitomo Walkway. This is a real highlight of this area because the walk takes you over lush green farm-land, and shady forest, and the real beauty? I did this during New Zealand’s winter so there was no one else there-just me and nature. Although it was rather muddy, the walk is easy to navigate as there were marker posts with directions. The track follows the Waitomo River to the Ruakuri Caves and Bush Scenic Reserve. The reserve has native bush, limestone outcrops, caves, tunnels, gorges and walkways high about the rushing water. Everything a nature lover could want. It’s a great way to experience the natural beauty of the place.There are viewing platforms where you can look down into the caves to see the huge stalactites and stalagmites.

The next day I went cave abseiling. It was awesome. I abseiled 50 metres down into a limestone cave, climbed back up the ladder and down again. It was a bit scary to start with when you have to let go of the platform but I really enjoyed it. Then after some lunch I went Black Water Rafting or cave tubing- basically floating through the caves on an inflated rubber inner tube. I jumped backwards off a mini waterfall and went down a slide all in the darkness underneath the ground. And apart from the tiny glow worms that light up the walls, it’s mostly completely black and very quiet. Quite an eery feeling. Words cannot explain how thrilling it actually was.

I loved my time in New Zealand, and I said before that I probably wouldn’t go back- a case of been there, done that. But I have since changed my mind and would love to go back one day. The scenery is just stunning and I truly had an amazing time there.

A Walk through Chinatown with Expique

My friend had already done one of these tours with Expique so I checked out their website and found this walking tour around Chinatown. I have never been to Chinatown in Bangkok before so I thought this would be a nice introduction. I had images of Chinatown having large streets with countless bars and restaurants- a bit like Chinatown in London, but we didn’t even hit the commercial area. Instead we meandered through the back streets for over two hours and learned a little bit of history.

I met the rest of the group at River City Mall, a short motorbike taxi ride away from Suphan Taksin BTS. We were given a short introduction to the tour by Simon, who runs Expique, and then we were on our way.
The first port of call was the Holy Rosary Church, also known as the Kalawar Church. The location of the church is on land granted to the Portuguese by King Rama l. During 1891-1898 the church was renovated and neo-gothic style towering spires were added. The interior has Romanesque stained- glass windows and a gilded stucco ceiling.

Then we visited the Siam Commercial Bank. The Talad Noi branch of SCB is housed in a building that is 103 years old. King Rama V was very interested in architecture from abroad, so he commissioned Italian architect, Annibale Rigotti, to design this building and it was constructed between 1906-1910. Interestingly, Siam Commercial was actually the third bank to be opened here. In 1888 HSBC started the first bank and printed the country’s first bank notes. Chartered Bank (Standard Chartered) followed in 1894. It was Prince Mahisara Rachaharuthai that started the first Thai bank in 1904. Siam Commercial was curiously called the “Book Club” before its name was changed in 1906.

We continued onwards strolling along the back streets of Talad Noi (little market). We saw people in the community going about their daily business. We passed workshops of metal workers, and bakers; we saw people’s houses, and Chinese temples. We came across a doorway with red gates, and walls painted blue, with pictures on either side of the door. This house is over 200 years old and one of the families still lives there. We had a peek inside and all we could see was a swimming pool in the middle of the yard where people from a nearby hotel go to practise scuba diving. A case of old meets new!

I had just finished saying that I wondered whether any tourists come this way when we came across a hotel. The River View Guest House appeared from nowhere. We went up to the roof top for splendid views across the Chao Phraya River.

We stayed there a while and had a drink to quench our thirst while taking in the views. From our vantage point we saw a building to the right of the roof top bar. I was told it was a restaurant called Nang Gin Kui– a unique private dining experience in an architect’s apartment. You can enjoy a 15 course dinner either as part of a group or a more intimate dinner for two in the heart of Chinatown.

After a while it started to rain so we donned our ponchos, kindly provided by Expique, and we returned to street level to continue our tour.

The Vegetarian Festival was happening on that day and we went to a covered area where all the people were dressed in white and there were huge incense sticks burning, and drums thumping out music.

We learned that the Vegetarian Festival has happened twice during 2014 which happens every 182 years. We were invited into a replica Chinese house to have a look and we got treated to some kids dressed up as a dragon.

We continued through the streets and tried the delicious food on offer.

Another temple and a visit to a rice making shop before the rain started pelting down again.

We sheltered under a tin roof for a bit then made our way to the last location- the Chinese gateway that is located at the bottom of Yarowat Road-the commercial part of Chinatown.

From here the tour ends but you are free to wander at your heart’s content. For me I had to dash off to Thai lessons. All in all I thought the tour was excellent. It gave some interesting information about some of Thailand’s history. And you will visit places that you will probably have never been to nor are likely to go on your own. I would definitely recommend Expique and I will be going on one of their other tours sometime soon.

Visit Expique website for details of their Bangkok Walking Tours

46 Soi Sathorn 9, Yannawa, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120

Email: info@expique.com

Tel: +66 (0) 85 873 3308

Subject: I have arrived Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:03:26 +0000

Thailand

Vietnam

New Zealand

Subject: I have arrived
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:03:26 +0000