Due to train schedules, we followed our hostel's advice, and took one of the many van shuttle services back to Bangkok. We'd been warned about the shadiness of these services, but our hostel assured us that the one they used was reputable. It was cheap, and worth a chance so that we could catch our train out of Bangkok that night. The driver picked us up in a 12 passenger conversion van equipped with rims, a nice sounding exhaust system, and super tinted windows. We were the only ones in the van for about 15min. Then we picked up a few elderly Thai couples. I fell asleep about 25min into the drive only to awaken at what appeared to be a gigantic flee market/carnival. Our driver and several of the Thai couples were outside smoking cigarettes and conversing. Christy and I were the only westerners in sight. I had to use the bathroom and after 30min of sitting around, I decided to ask what was happening, and if there was a bathroom around. The driver said, "Everything...okay! Toilet...." and pointed to a waste high concrete structure that appeared to be the old foundation of a shed. Sure enough there was an open air trough system. As I stood and did my business along side several Thai men, (the women were squatting at a similar structure about 100ft away) I took time to look around at all of the pleasantly strolling, apparently indifferent, Thai couples who were just feet away. It was a rather awkward experience. Anyway, despite the fact that our driver wasted the better part of 45min at this place, we did manage to make Bangkok 20min ahead of time. How, you might ask? Little did we realize that all such drivers were aspiring Formula-1 drivers. How a 12 passenger conversion van can manage speeds and corners like that one did, I have no idea. We were passing cars like they were stopped, and despite being rush hour in Bangkok, they were clearly moving. The rest of our transportation that night would not be so rapid or exciting.
We arrived at the Bangkok train station at 8:30, and booked a 9:00 train to Ayuthaya. The ride would be about 1.5hrs. 9pm rolled around, and there was no train. 9:30 came to, and still no train. At 9:45 a message came across the speakers (in Thai...one of the information staff translated for us) stating that, surprise, the train was late. It should arrive in 15min. 30min later the train came. We got on...then we were told to get off. It was apparently not in condition to make the trip. We watched as it rolled away with several dozen Thai locals on board. We have no idea what happened. The next train was to arrive in 15min. We finally left Bangkok at a little after 11pm...in a hot, crowded, and stinky 3rd class train car. Luckily we got seats. The train was dreadfully slow, and made frequent unexplained stops. After an hour a group of Thai teenagers sat down on the floor a few feet away from us (totally blocking the way). They were playing some kind of drinking game, and had beer bottles, ice, and plastic cups strewn about their human circle. This was all done in front of train personnel, a monk, and two police officers. Nobody really seemed to care. They invited us to join in a beer, and after 20min of broken English and a cup or two of beer, we arrived in Ayuthaya. It was a 12:30am.
As with everywhere in Thailand, especially train stations, the tuk tuk drivers were there to greet us. Unfortunately, none of them had any idea where our hostile was located. We had made reservations at a cool, river front hostile and were to be meeting a friend named Maggie there in the morning. We had told the hostel we'd arrive around 10pm. We had the address, but none of the drivers knew where it was. Two motorbike taxis decided they knew where it might be and charged us a reasonable flat fee to take us there. If nothing else it would be in the right vicinity...or so we thought. We got dropped off at a hostel that had a very similar name to the one we'd booked. It was just that unfortunately...very similar. We were in downtown Ayuthaya, and the bars were beginning to close. The tuktuks disappeared, and call-taxis stop at midnight. We talked to some local expats, and they too had no idea where this mysterious riverfront hostel was located. After 30min of walking around, we found a hostel with its doors open. They were fully booked, but let us use their internet for free. We found a map to our intended hostel, and got a phone number as well. Nobody answered the phone. We began to walk. We really had no idea how far it would be. We guess quite a ways, since it took awhile to make it from landmark to landmark (as seen on the map). Finally we stopped at a 7/11 to see if they could help. The girl behind the counter was as friendly as most Thai, and spent a good 30min trying to call friends who might know where we were going. No luck. Eventually, an off duty police officer came in to fill up with gas, and offered to drive us around until we found it. Sure enough, it would have been quite the walk.
The hostel did exist, and it was beautiful. Unfortunately, there was nobody around. We went in through the gate, and sat down in their open-air lobby/dining area. It was a very cool little place, and the well-lit temple across the river made for quite the backdrop...but nobody was home. We gave more than a few "Hello!" shouts to no avail. We resigned to sleeping there in the lobby...outside. After I had washed my face and taken out my contacts, we heard footsteps come down the porch staircase. It was a friendly-faced, middle-aged Thai woman who said, "OH! I knew YOU would come! Something must have gone wrong!" She quickly took us to our beds (with AC, TV, and fully functioning hotwater!). I fell asleep before turning on any of them.
In the morning we emerged at around 9:30 to find our friend, Maggie, an English teacher in China, waiting at the desk. She had been told of our situation, and that we might sleep in late. I can't say enough good things about the woman that ran that hostel. We decided to leave Ayuthaya that night...and head straight down to the beaches in the south. We made the appropriate arrangements, and went out to ride around the town. For a dollar each we rented bicycles to make the day's trip a bit easier on us. The bikes were in pretty lousy condition, but still quite ride-able ...even with the flat tire that mine sooner developed. Ayuthaya is a relatively quiet little city. It was the capital of Siam until the Khmer wars in the 18th and 19th centuries. The old ruins are often compared to Anchor Wat, but they are in much worse condition. The capital of Ayuthaya was mostly destroyed during the wars, and the kingdom moved its capital to Bangkok. It is still quite impressive by any standards. One of the most famous attractions is a giant reclining Buddha that is on the southwest side of the city. There really isn't much to say about the city. It's hard to describe it in words, and once you've seen part of the ruins, you've essentially seen them all. I felt like I saw pretty much everything during the 12 daylight hours I spent there. For the long-term backpacker looking to chill out for a few days, it might not be a bad place to park. Otherwise, it's just a nice day trip from Bangkok. I'm certainly glad we had Maggie along that day, because I think Christy and I would have gotten quite bored without the new company.
Christy and I left that night at around 7pm on a train for Bangkok, which would begin our overnight journey south to Surathani (essentially the hub for all Thai beach travel). There we would meet Maggie (traveling by bus), and bus to Krabi, and finally taxi to our beach destination of Au Nong.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thailand #3: Kanchanaburi
An uncomfortable night...yes....but it could have been worse. We were lucky that the train was mostly empty. We were each able to lay across two economy class seats (although it took quite the contortionist attitude), and get an adequate amount of rest. We had to switch trains in Bangkok, and boarded a 3rd class car to Kanchanaburi. The trains in Thailand are all quite old. 3rd class REALLY shows it. Wooden bench seats with fans that may or may not be working are the norm. Most simply open their giant windows for the ride. Luckily there was no livestock in ours, but I towards the end of our trip I do remember seeing crated chickens being loaded into a 3rd class car. At each of its annoyingly frequent stops, salesmen/women would either board the train or come to the windows and try to sell everything from what may have been pad thai to fried chicken feet. We passed...again and again and again. After 3hrs that felt like 5 we arrived in Kanchanaburi, and split a ride with 2 french girls we met on the train.
We arrived at our intended hostel only to find it completely booked. Walking with the French girls, we ran into the same situation 2 or 3 more times. Each place had no rooms for rent, but seemed to have one "extra room" that they could make available for an absurd price. Since when do hostels in an out of the way, day-trip from Bangkok town book up? We're pretty sure they were just trying to take advantage of us. We finally found one that had two expensive units available, but we decided the ambiance was worth it. We stayed in quaint, stilted bungalows that stood over a marshy area of the river Kwai for $10 a person (yes, I know its still cheap...but not by Thailand backpacker standards). The atmosphere was very cool.
The next day we we walked down to the Bridge over River Kwai, which was rebuilt, using mostly original timbers, at the end of the 2nd world war. It is now a gigantic tourist trap of a place, but if you avoid the souvenir shops it's still quite beautiful. Christy and I walked over the bridge (which despite being done by hundreds of people a day is potentially risky due to lose planks, narrow, uneven walking surfaces, and a complete lack of railings...crazy considering 50ft drop just 12inches to side) and then followed the train tracks for about a mile on the other side. Once you cross the river, the tourists disappear. We were flanked only by palm trees and farm fields. We had a really nice walk down a local highway, and Christy found a large flower that smelled exactly like vanilla frosting. We spent all day walking around the lesser visited areas of the town. We must have covered a good 8miles. At one point a local woman even stopped her motorbike and said something along the lines of "I saw you walking this way from the other edge of town. You walk TOO FAR!" That night we went to a restaurant looking for some spicy food. Korean food has mostly desensitized us, but Thailand is supposedly notorious. We had yet to find anything that even made us sweat. All the restaurants in Thailand have signs that say something like "It OKAY! We can do NO spicy". The restaurant we chose had the same sign, but we told the waitress to make it "Thai style". She said, "Maybe you like little spicy?" We said, "No, we want it VERY spicy." When our curries came to the table, we were pleasantly surprised. Indeed, they were nice and spicy just like Korean food. We had also ordered a papaya salad (a Thai favorite) and told the waitress to also make that "VERY spicy" also. What we got was hell on a salad. It was a large salad. To our credit we finished 75% of it, but before we were half way through, we knew we were in for some pain. The temperature in our mouths just kept going up. It didn't level out like it was supposed to. What started as a salad with kick, ended up kicking our asses. It was ever bit as hot the "Insanity Wings" you try to trick your friends into eating a Buffalo wild wings or comparable establishments. It was a rough recovery.
The next morning we decided to go to a Erwan National Park, about 65km outside of town. It's famous for a 7-step waterfall chain that stretches through the jungle. We had to catch a train out of town at 3pm, so we decided to motorbike it. Off we went on a beautiful country ride. An hour later we arrived at the park, and were on our way to the top of the climb. The walk up was beautiful. The water was a clear blue/green, and the temperature was great. We hiked past monkeys and scenic overlooks, all the way to the top, before getting wet. It was amazing, and once at the top, we had plenty of time to pool hop our way back down. My favorite part of the swimming was the abundance of what the Korean's call "Doctor Fish". They are commonly used for messages (glorified tickling) and to treat dry skin/psoriasis here in Asia. These sucker fish are like elderly piranhas who forgot their dentures. They swarm you, and gum at any flesh they see. It's a strange, but very cool sensation. We swam in many of the pools down this stretch of jungle paradise, and enjoyed ourselves the whole way. While we were in the water, we were enjoying the assaults of these fish...while we were out of the water we had another, less enjoyable predator to keep an eye out for...monkeys...."Fierce Monkeys!" These pint-sized simians were enough of a nuisance that the park had posted signs all over advising visitors to hold tight to their belongings. We had seen a few on the way up, but had no issues. On the way down, a troop of 6 or 7 was entertaining onlookers as we passed by. I reached into my bag to get my camera, and the crunching noise from my bag of banana chips was a ring of the dinner bell. An adult male (still only about 20-30lbs) jumped down within an arms length of me to investigate. It got closer and even looked as if it would lunge as I tried to zip up my bag and back away. Despite having several millions years of evolution, opposable thumbs, and 140lbs to my advantage, the little thing was menacing. Would you want to get between a monkey and a tasty bag of banana chips? I quickly jumped over to a group of tourists, and it finally gave up. Safety in numbers.
A short time later, having returned to the safety of our motorbike and Thai traffic, we buzzed back to town. Our train was on time (used up our luck), and we were heading back to Bangkok en route to Ayuthaya, the old capital of Siam.
We arrived at our intended hostel only to find it completely booked. Walking with the French girls, we ran into the same situation 2 or 3 more times. Each place had no rooms for rent, but seemed to have one "extra room" that they could make available for an absurd price. Since when do hostels in an out of the way, day-trip from Bangkok town book up? We're pretty sure they were just trying to take advantage of us. We finally found one that had two expensive units available, but we decided the ambiance was worth it. We stayed in quaint, stilted bungalows that stood over a marshy area of the river Kwai for $10 a person (yes, I know its still cheap...but not by Thailand backpacker standards). The atmosphere was very cool.
The next day we we walked down to the Bridge over River Kwai, which was rebuilt, using mostly original timbers, at the end of the 2nd world war. It is now a gigantic tourist trap of a place, but if you avoid the souvenir shops it's still quite beautiful. Christy and I walked over the bridge (which despite being done by hundreds of people a day is potentially risky due to lose planks, narrow, uneven walking surfaces, and a complete lack of railings...crazy considering 50ft drop just 12inches to side) and then followed the train tracks for about a mile on the other side. Once you cross the river, the tourists disappear. We were flanked only by palm trees and farm fields. We had a really nice walk down a local highway, and Christy found a large flower that smelled exactly like vanilla frosting. We spent all day walking around the lesser visited areas of the town. We must have covered a good 8miles. At one point a local woman even stopped her motorbike and said something along the lines of "I saw you walking this way from the other edge of town. You walk TOO FAR!" That night we went to a restaurant looking for some spicy food. Korean food has mostly desensitized us, but Thailand is supposedly notorious. We had yet to find anything that even made us sweat. All the restaurants in Thailand have signs that say something like "It OKAY! We can do NO spicy". The restaurant we chose had the same sign, but we told the waitress to make it "Thai style". She said, "Maybe you like little spicy?" We said, "No, we want it VERY spicy." When our curries came to the table, we were pleasantly surprised. Indeed, they were nice and spicy just like Korean food. We had also ordered a papaya salad (a Thai favorite) and told the waitress to also make that "VERY spicy" also. What we got was hell on a salad. It was a large salad. To our credit we finished 75% of it, but before we were half way through, we knew we were in for some pain. The temperature in our mouths just kept going up. It didn't level out like it was supposed to. What started as a salad with kick, ended up kicking our asses. It was ever bit as hot the "Insanity Wings" you try to trick your friends into eating a Buffalo wild wings or comparable establishments. It was a rough recovery.
The next morning we decided to go to a Erwan National Park, about 65km outside of town. It's famous for a 7-step waterfall chain that stretches through the jungle. We had to catch a train out of town at 3pm, so we decided to motorbike it. Off we went on a beautiful country ride. An hour later we arrived at the park, and were on our way to the top of the climb. The walk up was beautiful. The water was a clear blue/green, and the temperature was great. We hiked past monkeys and scenic overlooks, all the way to the top, before getting wet. It was amazing, and once at the top, we had plenty of time to pool hop our way back down. My favorite part of the swimming was the abundance of what the Korean's call "Doctor Fish". They are commonly used for messages (glorified tickling) and to treat dry skin/psoriasis here in Asia. These sucker fish are like elderly piranhas who forgot their dentures. They swarm you, and gum at any flesh they see. It's a strange, but very cool sensation. We swam in many of the pools down this stretch of jungle paradise, and enjoyed ourselves the whole way. While we were in the water, we were enjoying the assaults of these fish...while we were out of the water we had another, less enjoyable predator to keep an eye out for...monkeys...."Fierce Monkeys!" These pint-sized simians were enough of a nuisance that the park had posted signs all over advising visitors to hold tight to their belongings. We had seen a few on the way up, but had no issues. On the way down, a troop of 6 or 7 was entertaining onlookers as we passed by. I reached into my bag to get my camera, and the crunching noise from my bag of banana chips was a ring of the dinner bell. An adult male (still only about 20-30lbs) jumped down within an arms length of me to investigate. It got closer and even looked as if it would lunge as I tried to zip up my bag and back away. Despite having several millions years of evolution, opposable thumbs, and 140lbs to my advantage, the little thing was menacing. Would you want to get between a monkey and a tasty bag of banana chips? I quickly jumped over to a group of tourists, and it finally gave up. Safety in numbers.
A short time later, having returned to the safety of our motorbike and Thai traffic, we buzzed back to town. Our train was on time (used up our luck), and we were heading back to Bangkok en route to Ayuthaya, the old capital of Siam.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thailand #2: Chang Mai
...and we were off to Chang Mai on my first real train-ride. I think the closet I've ever been to riding a real train was at Dollywood (as in Dolly Parton) theme park in Tennessee (yes, it does exist unfortunately). Luckily, no tomahawk wielding 'injuns' raided our cozy over/under sleeper cab. Our only company was a teenage couple from Denmark who had seats across the isle from us. They were traveling SE Asia on a gap year before university. After trading stories etc., we pulled down our bunks and went to sleep. Sleeping on a train (in a bed) is one of the best sleeps you can have. You are lulled to sleep by the rocking of the cab and the rhythmic harmony of the wheels on the tracks. I loved it.
We got into Chang Mai at around 9am, and caught a tuk-tuk to the hostile we hoped to stay at. A tuk-tuk is essentially a high powered, 3-wheeled golf-cart. They dominate Thailand, and depending on where you are and how far you're going, they are more convenient and less expensive than taxis. We arrived at Julie's Place hostel which gets great reviews from almost every source. Apparently other people had read those sources. It was filled up for 2 nights, and it was only 9:30am. The lobby/lounge/restaurant area was packed, so we decided to come back for the social life later. They suggested the hostel nextdoor, which was empty when we got there. It was a great little place (I'll find the name later), and for some reason there were no guests. Everyone wanted to stay at Julie's. The rooms at ours had great beds, big bathrooms, and balconies...for $6/person. There were even two great porches for relaxing. I guess that's marketing for you. Nobody knew to look there.
The only problem with the location we'd chosen was that it was tucked away in a nice little neighborhood alley-maze. During the course of our 3 day and 2 night stay in Chang Mai, we never once made it home without having to ask for directions (...to Julie's, lol). We also tend to not pay attention when we go walking. The first day we walked around the entire perimeter of downtown Chang Mai. It's bordered by crumbling fortress walls, and a much newer, rectangular canal. We looked at quite a few wats, ate some good Thai Curry, and sampled it's famous coffee. The coffee lived up to its standards. It took about 20m to get an iced mocha, but it was one of the most potent mochas I've ever had. They make them thick. That night we went to a reggae bar, and met the spitting image of Bob Marley. He was the owner, and spoke English well enough to make conversation. The drinks were nothing special, but he loaded us up with bar snacks and played the entire "Magical Mystery Tour" album, which kept us around. After an hour or so he recommended another bar around the corner at which we could meet more people our own age. Having been at the open air bar for about 20m, I went to order a 2nd beer, and low and behold an elephant walked in. It sounds like a joke, "...so an elephant walks into a bar right...," but it wasn't. It was a baby elephant, so about the size of a VW Beetle, but it was right there wanting pretzels and bananas. The owner was walking it around the bar scene letting people feed it for $0.75 a banana. Petting and picture taking was free. Of course we obliged.
The next morning, I realized my passport was missing. I needed it for renting a motorbike, and it was nowhere to be found. After an hour and a half of "oh shit" frustration/panic, we arrived at the train station to see if it had somehow made it to their lost and found. When the woman behind the window asked my name, I said "Benjamin Carrier"...and the smile on her face was priceless. It was half "haha, dumbass tourist" and half genuine happiness. She pulled it out of her cash registrar and said it had been found on the train. After a good bit of thanks, I brought her back a giant cafe mocha. It was a very neat exchange. I'm sure she rarely sees much appreciation from tourists.
We rented a 125cc Honda scooter (er...motorbike), and after 20m of deciding I was semi-comfortable with a passenger on the back, off we went. We drove about 20k outside of town to a lake/park that locals escape to. It was virtually empty, and very pretty. We didn't go swimming, but some general relaxing was quite nice. I even taught Christy how to ride the motorbike...and for some reason was brave enough to ride on the back for a ways :) She did really well for her first time, but was frustrated that I wouldn't let her drive in traffic. Not with me on the back...and definitely not in Thai traffic. I still hold that it would have been a recipe for disaster...she still calls me a "worry-wort". We'll never know..but I'm still alive. We also drove out to a neat waterfall on the opposite side of the city. It was the first that we saw in Thailand.
The next day we decided to risk being "too touristy", and signed up for a 1 day "jungle-trek". It included a bullshit stop at a butterfly garden (it really was pretty pitiful), a 1hr elephant ride, a 1hr hike to a waterfall/swimming area, a 1hr whitewater rafting adventure, and a 30m bamboo rafting experience. These packaged tours are sold everywhere, and it's best to shop around for the best price...just make sure to use a licensed guide service. Hostels are a good place to book from. We spent about $30 for the day (lunch included). To our surprise, it was worth it for just the van ride. It provided a great view of the country side. Elephant riding was a blast. The elephants in Thailand are considered sacred, and traditionally only kings could ride them. Nowadays they are tourist attractions, but well cared for nonetheless. Christy and I got an elephant that was a bit of a glutton. It slacked to the back of the pack, and wonder off into the fields to munch away on the vegetation. We sat on a bench seat strapped to its back, but Christy was allowed to ride straddle on its neck for a good ways. The elephant could hardly feel us. They are so incredibly powerful. Just feeding one and feeling its trunk lets you know that they simply allowing you to be in charge. The hike to the waterfall was scenic. We walked through a farm, and I attempted to pet a water buffalo (essentially just a cow). The damn thing dropped its head and tried to gore me. Thankfully it was on a rope. Christine, apparently oblivious to my encounter, walked over to pet it as well. Rather than present its horns, its proceeded to lick her hand profusely...go figure. The waterfall itself was cold and refreshing. We have several pictures of me trying to pull Christine in. Eventually I got her. Rafting was fun despite the low water. We played pinball with some giant boulders, and had water wars with other rafts. Bamboo rafting was fun, but mostly just a good photo opportunity.
We returned to Chang Mai that night, and hopped a train bound for Kanchanabury via Bangkok. No sleeper cars available this time. It was an uncomfortable night.
We got into Chang Mai at around 9am, and caught a tuk-tuk to the hostile we hoped to stay at. A tuk-tuk is essentially a high powered, 3-wheeled golf-cart. They dominate Thailand, and depending on where you are and how far you're going, they are more convenient and less expensive than taxis. We arrived at Julie's Place hostel which gets great reviews from almost every source. Apparently other people had read those sources. It was filled up for 2 nights, and it was only 9:30am. The lobby/lounge/restaurant area was packed, so we decided to come back for the social life later. They suggested the hostel nextdoor, which was empty when we got there. It was a great little place (I'll find the name later), and for some reason there were no guests. Everyone wanted to stay at Julie's. The rooms at ours had great beds, big bathrooms, and balconies...for $6/person. There were even two great porches for relaxing. I guess that's marketing for you. Nobody knew to look there.
The only problem with the location we'd chosen was that it was tucked away in a nice little neighborhood alley-maze. During the course of our 3 day and 2 night stay in Chang Mai, we never once made it home without having to ask for directions (...to Julie's, lol). We also tend to not pay attention when we go walking. The first day we walked around the entire perimeter of downtown Chang Mai. It's bordered by crumbling fortress walls, and a much newer, rectangular canal. We looked at quite a few wats, ate some good Thai Curry, and sampled it's famous coffee. The coffee lived up to its standards. It took about 20m to get an iced mocha, but it was one of the most potent mochas I've ever had. They make them thick. That night we went to a reggae bar, and met the spitting image of Bob Marley. He was the owner, and spoke English well enough to make conversation. The drinks were nothing special, but he loaded us up with bar snacks and played the entire "Magical Mystery Tour" album, which kept us around. After an hour or so he recommended another bar around the corner at which we could meet more people our own age. Having been at the open air bar for about 20m, I went to order a 2nd beer, and low and behold an elephant walked in. It sounds like a joke, "...so an elephant walks into a bar right...," but it wasn't. It was a baby elephant, so about the size of a VW Beetle, but it was right there wanting pretzels and bananas. The owner was walking it around the bar scene letting people feed it for $0.75 a banana. Petting and picture taking was free. Of course we obliged.
The next morning, I realized my passport was missing. I needed it for renting a motorbike, and it was nowhere to be found. After an hour and a half of "oh shit" frustration/panic, we arrived at the train station to see if it had somehow made it to their lost and found. When the woman behind the window asked my name, I said "Benjamin Carrier"...and the smile on her face was priceless. It was half "haha, dumbass tourist" and half genuine happiness. She pulled it out of her cash registrar and said it had been found on the train. After a good bit of thanks, I brought her back a giant cafe mocha. It was a very neat exchange. I'm sure she rarely sees much appreciation from tourists.
We rented a 125cc Honda scooter (er...motorbike), and after 20m of deciding I was semi-comfortable with a passenger on the back, off we went. We drove about 20k outside of town to a lake/park that locals escape to. It was virtually empty, and very pretty. We didn't go swimming, but some general relaxing was quite nice. I even taught Christy how to ride the motorbike...and for some reason was brave enough to ride on the back for a ways :) She did really well for her first time, but was frustrated that I wouldn't let her drive in traffic. Not with me on the back...and definitely not in Thai traffic. I still hold that it would have been a recipe for disaster...she still calls me a "worry-wort". We'll never know..but I'm still alive. We also drove out to a neat waterfall on the opposite side of the city. It was the first that we saw in Thailand.
The next day we decided to risk being "too touristy", and signed up for a 1 day "jungle-trek". It included a bullshit stop at a butterfly garden (it really was pretty pitiful), a 1hr elephant ride, a 1hr hike to a waterfall/swimming area, a 1hr whitewater rafting adventure, and a 30m bamboo rafting experience. These packaged tours are sold everywhere, and it's best to shop around for the best price...just make sure to use a licensed guide service. Hostels are a good place to book from. We spent about $30 for the day (lunch included). To our surprise, it was worth it for just the van ride. It provided a great view of the country side. Elephant riding was a blast. The elephants in Thailand are considered sacred, and traditionally only kings could ride them. Nowadays they are tourist attractions, but well cared for nonetheless. Christy and I got an elephant that was a bit of a glutton. It slacked to the back of the pack, and wonder off into the fields to munch away on the vegetation. We sat on a bench seat strapped to its back, but Christy was allowed to ride straddle on its neck for a good ways. The elephant could hardly feel us. They are so incredibly powerful. Just feeding one and feeling its trunk lets you know that they simply allowing you to be in charge. The hike to the waterfall was scenic. We walked through a farm, and I attempted to pet a water buffalo (essentially just a cow). The damn thing dropped its head and tried to gore me. Thankfully it was on a rope. Christine, apparently oblivious to my encounter, walked over to pet it as well. Rather than present its horns, its proceeded to lick her hand profusely...go figure. The waterfall itself was cold and refreshing. We have several pictures of me trying to pull Christine in. Eventually I got her. Rafting was fun despite the low water. We played pinball with some giant boulders, and had water wars with other rafts. Bamboo rafting was fun, but mostly just a good photo opportunity.
We returned to Chang Mai that night, and hopped a train bound for Kanchanabury via Bangkok. No sleeper cars available this time. It was an uncomfortable night.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Thailand #1: Bangkok
Okay,
I'm sorry it's been so long since I'd made an addition to my blog. Aside from having little free time, Christy and I really haven't been doing much worth writing about. We go to school, climb, workout, and go to Korean lessons...that's about it. Our weekend trips have ceased for the winter season, and have been replaced by...Korean lessons. I'm happy to say that the dry spell has come to an end. Christy and I just returned from Thailand, and have some good stories and pictures to share. I'm going to try to use links to the pictures rather than include them in this blog, so please let me know if you cannot access them.
My Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=5&aid=2674773&id=8632531#/album.php?aid=2851846&id=13909273
Christy's Pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=5&aid=2674773&id=8632531#/album.php?aid=2674773&id=8632531
Bangkok:
We flew out of Seoul on January 9th, and were more than happy to leave behind the 15F weather, and still unmoved snow from the week before. A short 2hr flight landed us in Beijing around 3pm, and after making our way through their pretentious and redundant security areas, we got to enjoy a beautiful airport for the next 4hrs. For some reason it was REALLY quiet that day. After a late lunch we went to the end of one of the airport's terminals, and enjoyed a 270` panoramic view of runway and sunset whilst being completely undisturbed. There was nobody else around, and we even found reclining lounge chairs. Okay, enough about Chinese airports.
We made it to Bangkok at midnight. It was 75, the air was thick, and the heat/humidity hit us like a long overdue bath. We didn't want to leave the boarding gate. We hired a taxi to take us to our hostel, and an hour later we paid him an exorbitant 400Baht...$12 :) We knew instantly that we'd like Thailand. We stayed at the Sinnad Inn in the Kosan Road backpacker area, and found it to be clean, convenient, and cheap. One night set us back $5 each. We ate at a small outdoor Thai "restaraunt" and each ordered a generous plate of Thai Curry/rice, and two large Singha beers. I opted to be a gentleman and pick up the bill, $6...that's right, 2 meals, and 4 good beers = $6 ....heaven.
The next morning we went to the train station and bought unlimited 1st class rail passes for $90 each. Our total trip covered about 2,000miles, so it's a pretty good bargain. It also meant that we could take overnight sleeper trains, and save money on hostels (although it wasn't as easy as we'd hoped...I'm going to dedicate a blog post to train travel as a resource for any interested travelers).
We left the train station with our passes in hand, and a reservation for a sleeper train to the norther city of Chang Mai that night. Christy, being Christy, decided that we should try to walk back to our hostel (at least a few miles), and catch a cab or a tuk-tuk (I'll explain later) if we got lost. The weather was 85F and sunny, I couldn't say no. So we walked...and walked...and walked. Along the way we realized just how large and scatterbrained Bangkok actually is. It's organized like a toddler's Lego box...shit scattered everywhere. A shrine here, a 7/11 there, a highrise apartment complex next to a run down paper factory, next to a shimmering wat (a Buddhist temple). You never know what to expect on the next street. It was quite different from the touristy area in which we stayed the night before.
We walked through several wats, and began to realize how much Buddhism is ingrained in the Thai culture. Most are very similar, and their gold trim and detail sparkle wildly in the sun. The flared tips of their roofs are very distinct of the Khmer style. They look very different from those we see here in Korea. Each has several Buddhas in rooms around the wat, but typically there is a primary Buddha that is the focal point of the premises. Near one of the wats we found a produce stand, and sampled a few local fruits; one of which being the durian, a fruit that I've been wanting to try for a long time. On the outside it looks like the offspring of a porcupine and a hand-grenade. The inside looks like lemon pudding, and its consistency reminds me of the character, Slimer, from the movie Ghost Busters. I've also been told that its smell is horrid (to the extent that it's forbidden on public transport), though neither Christine nor I thought it was too bad. Despite its unappealing qualities, we ate some, and bought more. What it lacks in beauty and scent, it makes up for in taste. I don't really know how to describe it, other than strangely delicious. We also bought a bag of fresh cut jack fruit, which was a nice addition to our snack.
We then walked through the Chinatown Market. It was overwhelming. Not only was it gigantic and packed with people, it was even more disorganized than the city in which it is located. Fruit juice stands next to used electrical outlet covers, next to switchblades and Buddha trinkets (same stand), next to airsoft guns, next to Barby Dolls and cotton candy, next to sex toys and bootleg porn. No matter where you are in it, there's fun for the whole family. Maybe that's the appeal. Anyway, after an hour or so of pushing through crowded stalls selling everything from umbrella handles and baby doll parts to custom tailored suits and knock of XBoxes, we found a nice grassy park where we could sit and relax. It was the first grass we'd seen in months. There isn't much in Korea to begin with, and what little there was disappeared in November. It was great.
We continued to walk around the city, and eventually did end up back at our hostel. We grabbed another $4 dinner, a taxi to the train station, and were off to the jungles of Chang Mai.
I'm sorry it's been so long since I'd made an addition to my blog. Aside from having little free time, Christy and I really haven't been doing much worth writing about. We go to school, climb, workout, and go to Korean lessons...that's about it. Our weekend trips have ceased for the winter season, and have been replaced by...Korean lessons. I'm happy to say that the dry spell has come to an end. Christy and I just returned from Thailand, and have some good stories and pictures to share. I'm going to try to use links to the pictures rather than include them in this blog, so please let me know if you cannot access them.
My Pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=5&aid=2674773&id=8632531#/album.php?aid=2851846&id=13909273
Christy's Pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=5&aid=2674773&id=8632531#/album.php?aid=2674773&id=8632531
Bangkok:
We flew out of Seoul on January 9th, and were more than happy to leave behind the 15F weather, and still unmoved snow from the week before. A short 2hr flight landed us in Beijing around 3pm, and after making our way through their pretentious and redundant security areas, we got to enjoy a beautiful airport for the next 4hrs. For some reason it was REALLY quiet that day. After a late lunch we went to the end of one of the airport's terminals, and enjoyed a 270` panoramic view of runway and sunset whilst being completely undisturbed. There was nobody else around, and we even found reclining lounge chairs. Okay, enough about Chinese airports.
We made it to Bangkok at midnight. It was 75, the air was thick, and the heat/humidity hit us like a long overdue bath. We didn't want to leave the boarding gate. We hired a taxi to take us to our hostel, and an hour later we paid him an exorbitant 400Baht...$12 :) We knew instantly that we'd like Thailand. We stayed at the Sinnad Inn in the Kosan Road backpacker area, and found it to be clean, convenient, and cheap. One night set us back $5 each. We ate at a small outdoor Thai "restaraunt" and each ordered a generous plate of Thai Curry/rice, and two large Singha beers. I opted to be a gentleman and pick up the bill, $6...that's right, 2 meals, and 4 good beers = $6 ....heaven.
The next morning we went to the train station and bought unlimited 1st class rail passes for $90 each. Our total trip covered about 2,000miles, so it's a pretty good bargain. It also meant that we could take overnight sleeper trains, and save money on hostels (although it wasn't as easy as we'd hoped...I'm going to dedicate a blog post to train travel as a resource for any interested travelers).
We left the train station with our passes in hand, and a reservation for a sleeper train to the norther city of Chang Mai that night. Christy, being Christy, decided that we should try to walk back to our hostel (at least a few miles), and catch a cab or a tuk-tuk (I'll explain later) if we got lost. The weather was 85F and sunny, I couldn't say no. So we walked...and walked...and walked. Along the way we realized just how large and scatterbrained Bangkok actually is. It's organized like a toddler's Lego box...shit scattered everywhere. A shrine here, a 7/11 there, a highrise apartment complex next to a run down paper factory, next to a shimmering wat (a Buddhist temple). You never know what to expect on the next street. It was quite different from the touristy area in which we stayed the night before.
We walked through several wats, and began to realize how much Buddhism is ingrained in the Thai culture. Most are very similar, and their gold trim and detail sparkle wildly in the sun. The flared tips of their roofs are very distinct of the Khmer style. They look very different from those we see here in Korea. Each has several Buddhas in rooms around the wat, but typically there is a primary Buddha that is the focal point of the premises. Near one of the wats we found a produce stand, and sampled a few local fruits; one of which being the durian, a fruit that I've been wanting to try for a long time. On the outside it looks like the offspring of a porcupine and a hand-grenade. The inside looks like lemon pudding, and its consistency reminds me of the character, Slimer, from the movie Ghost Busters. I've also been told that its smell is horrid (to the extent that it's forbidden on public transport), though neither Christine nor I thought it was too bad. Despite its unappealing qualities, we ate some, and bought more. What it lacks in beauty and scent, it makes up for in taste. I don't really know how to describe it, other than strangely delicious. We also bought a bag of fresh cut jack fruit, which was a nice addition to our snack.
We then walked through the Chinatown Market. It was overwhelming. Not only was it gigantic and packed with people, it was even more disorganized than the city in which it is located. Fruit juice stands next to used electrical outlet covers, next to switchblades and Buddha trinkets (same stand), next to airsoft guns, next to Barby Dolls and cotton candy, next to sex toys and bootleg porn. No matter where you are in it, there's fun for the whole family. Maybe that's the appeal. Anyway, after an hour or so of pushing through crowded stalls selling everything from umbrella handles and baby doll parts to custom tailored suits and knock of XBoxes, we found a nice grassy park where we could sit and relax. It was the first grass we'd seen in months. There isn't much in Korea to begin with, and what little there was disappeared in November. It was great.
We continued to walk around the city, and eventually did end up back at our hostel. We grabbed another $4 dinner, a taxi to the train station, and were off to the jungles of Chang Mai.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Still Cooking With Gas
It's been awhile since I've updated this, so I'm sorry to anyone that checks on a regular basis. I've picked up 7 new classes each week, and they are keeping me pretty busy. My typical schedule is as follows. Monday: Night Class til 9; Tuesday: Korean Language Exchange til 10; Wednesday: Climbing til 9; Thursday: Night Class til 9; Friday: Climbing til 9; Saturday and Sunday travelling. My biggest problem is the amount of time that it takes to get around over here. Leaving from school, I'm 1hr from climbing, language exchange, and Christine's. In a single night, I lose 2hrs to transportation (not including waiting/walking-time at the bus stop). It's really wild to think that it takes that long to go no more than 5-10miles as the crow flies. There is just no direct route anywhere due to all the little mountains.
Christine and I went to our orientation two weeks ago, which proved morehelpful than I'd expected. I got some good ideas for lesson planning, andwas provided a crash course in Korean pop-culture...something that the kidshere are crazy for.I also played hours and hours of ping pong. I was definetly the best of theAmericans, which was quite fun. I had a similar experience to yours atSchindler I imagine. There were a few players that were quite good, but"the jizz" I was putting on the ball really messed with their heads. One ofother teachers from Wisconsin said that after I left the ping-pong room,there was wild speculation about how I held the paddle, where I wastrained, and exactly what kind of angles I was hitting the ball at to makeit spin the way it did. Still, as much fun as it was to have strangers comeand ask me to play them in ping-pong after the seminar, playing the Koreanswas a much better time. The Koreans (a separate group at a separateconference) took over the table in the evenings, while our group wasdrinking/socializing. They seemed very surprised when Christine and Iwalked in, and asked to play. They were even more surprised that a 'miguk'(essentially means...a white person) played so well. All of them wanted tosee the miguk (me) beat their friends (the crowd was completely on myside), and they piled into the room like it was a tournament. I beat thefirst Korean 21-15, which created one hell of a ruckus. The second wassignificantly better, and beat me 21-17. We played a second, much closergame, that he won 24-22. The other 30+ full games I played were a mixedbasket. Of the Koreans that were playing regularly, there were 2-3 that Icould beat confidently, 1-2 that were at my level, and 2 that I could keepup with, but who were clearly better. It was an awesome time.
The weekend after the conference Christine and I joined 3 friends, and went to the islandsoff the west coast. We stayed on an island called Dokjeok-do, which wasreally beautiful. The weather was sunny and clear, and the tempurature wasin the 70's during the afternoons. It was a holiday weekend, so we spent 3days and 2 nights there. We got in some good hiking, swimming, relaxing,and eating for less than $120 combined (including transportation). I made friends with one of the local dogs, and it kept us company for most of the trip. The area we stayed at was run by the dogs. There must have been 10-15 (none of which stood taller than your knee) that patrolled the beaches and whored themselves out to whatever tourists had the best food. I carried the fatty grizzle from the soups we ordered, which seemed to be the top dollar. On the ferry ride home, our group was befriended by a men's hiking group that was hopped up on soju and makoli. Our two hour ferry felt like four, as we spent the entire duration desiphering their cherades and having odd foods shovelled into our mouths . On the brightside, our tolerance of them and their food won us a ride home, and saved us each about $8. Because they had offered the ride on the ferry (while they were intoxicated and apparently unable to count our numbers) they insisted on fulfilling it. We fit 8 people and all of our packs into a small 5 seat SUV. Oh the random fun you can abroad.
This past weekend, for our 1yr anniversary, Christine and I went to the opposite side of the country, and visited Sokcho on the east coast. The trip takes about 5hrs , but we were each given the afternoon off of work. We arrived in Sokcho around 6pm on Saturday. It was nice to finally see some waves in the ocean. The west coast (where we live) doesn't get any. On Saturday we hiked through Soraksan National Park, which was breathtaking. It had the best scenery I've seen in Korea. Christine had caught a cold, so we decided to do a short 6k hike up to the top of one of the shorter (but more famous) peaks in the park, Ulsanbawi 880m. From the bottom, it looks like a long blade of rock was forced up from the earth. The slopes were so dramatic compared to the landscape around it. Unlike most mountains in that area, it did not have a conical shape and incline. It was just 2 or 3 tall pitches of rock face, and there were plenty of roped-in climbers taking advantage of its features. The hike that WE did consisted of a 2km approach and a 1k nearly vertical stairway ascent. No need for the gym's stairmaster this week. On the way down, I found some neat boulders and coincidentally had my climbing shoes in my bag. They were nothing great, but it was still a fun addition to the day. We spent Sunday on the beach, waiting for our bus home.
This weekend we're meeting a Korean friend in Seoul. Christine and I have wanted to see the 4 palaces that are in and around the city. Our friend, Sungguan Shin, has volunteered to be our tour guide, and it's sure to be a great time. I'll post pictures soon. They are on my home computer. Take it easy, and keep in touch.
Christine and I went to our orientation two weeks ago, which proved morehelpful than I'd expected. I got some good ideas for lesson planning, andwas provided a crash course in Korean pop-culture...something that the kidshere are crazy for.I also played hours and hours of ping pong. I was definetly the best of theAmericans, which was quite fun. I had a similar experience to yours atSchindler I imagine. There were a few players that were quite good, but"the jizz" I was putting on the ball really messed with their heads. One ofother teachers from Wisconsin said that after I left the ping-pong room,there was wild speculation about how I held the paddle, where I wastrained, and exactly what kind of angles I was hitting the ball at to makeit spin the way it did. Still, as much fun as it was to have strangers comeand ask me to play them in ping-pong after the seminar, playing the Koreanswas a much better time. The Koreans (a separate group at a separateconference) took over the table in the evenings, while our group wasdrinking/socializing. They seemed very surprised when Christine and Iwalked in, and asked to play. They were even more surprised that a 'miguk'(essentially means...a white person) played so well. All of them wanted tosee the miguk (me) beat their friends (the crowd was completely on myside), and they piled into the room like it was a tournament. I beat thefirst Korean 21-15, which created one hell of a ruckus. The second wassignificantly better, and beat me 21-17. We played a second, much closergame, that he won 24-22. The other 30+ full games I played were a mixedbasket. Of the Koreans that were playing regularly, there were 2-3 that Icould beat confidently, 1-2 that were at my level, and 2 that I could keepup with, but who were clearly better. It was an awesome time.
The weekend after the conference Christine and I joined 3 friends, and went to the islandsoff the west coast. We stayed on an island called Dokjeok-do, which wasreally beautiful. The weather was sunny and clear, and the tempurature wasin the 70's during the afternoons. It was a holiday weekend, so we spent 3days and 2 nights there. We got in some good hiking, swimming, relaxing,and eating for less than $120 combined (including transportation). I made friends with one of the local dogs, and it kept us company for most of the trip. The area we stayed at was run by the dogs. There must have been 10-15 (none of which stood taller than your knee) that patrolled the beaches and whored themselves out to whatever tourists had the best food. I carried the fatty grizzle from the soups we ordered, which seemed to be the top dollar. On the ferry ride home, our group was befriended by a men's hiking group that was hopped up on soju and makoli. Our two hour ferry felt like four, as we spent the entire duration desiphering their cherades and having odd foods shovelled into our mouths . On the brightside, our tolerance of them and their food won us a ride home, and saved us each about $8. Because they had offered the ride on the ferry (while they were intoxicated and apparently unable to count our numbers) they insisted on fulfilling it. We fit 8 people and all of our packs into a small 5 seat SUV. Oh the random fun you can abroad.
This past weekend, for our 1yr anniversary, Christine and I went to the opposite side of the country, and visited Sokcho on the east coast. The trip takes about 5hrs , but we were each given the afternoon off of work. We arrived in Sokcho around 6pm on Saturday. It was nice to finally see some waves in the ocean. The west coast (where we live) doesn't get any. On Saturday we hiked through Soraksan National Park, which was breathtaking. It had the best scenery I've seen in Korea. Christine had caught a cold, so we decided to do a short 6k hike up to the top of one of the shorter (but more famous) peaks in the park, Ulsanbawi 880m. From the bottom, it looks like a long blade of rock was forced up from the earth. The slopes were so dramatic compared to the landscape around it. Unlike most mountains in that area, it did not have a conical shape and incline. It was just 2 or 3 tall pitches of rock face, and there were plenty of roped-in climbers taking advantage of its features. The hike that WE did consisted of a 2km approach and a 1k nearly vertical stairway ascent. No need for the gym's stairmaster this week. On the way down, I found some neat boulders and coincidentally had my climbing shoes in my bag. They were nothing great, but it was still a fun addition to the day. We spent Sunday on the beach, waiting for our bus home.
This weekend we're meeting a Korean friend in Seoul. Christine and I have wanted to see the 4 palaces that are in and around the city. Our friend, Sungguan Shin, has volunteered to be our tour guide, and it's sure to be a great time. I'll post pictures soon. They are on my home computer. Take it easy, and keep in touch.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Why I Love Traveling
The past few weeks have gone very well. I'm finally starting to get into a routine. I know what to expect from my different classes, and they seem to be more comfortable talking in English. My last two lessons were on "The Great Outdoors" and "English Music". The kids seem to really enjoy a break from the monotony of their other lectures, and are slowly learning that they can't memorize all the answers in my class. Some of the kids who are considered only average students in their other classes are actually doing better than their above average peers in mine. It is simply because they are somewhat creative, and can take a sentence they heard the week before and manipulate it to answer a totally new question today. Many of the "brightest" want to be given the answer before hand, so that they can memorize it. I've decided to begin teaching evening conversation classes a couple nights a week, and look forward to challenging the kids to speak in much less constraining way. At the moment, my class is most definitely a lecture.
After school, I've been staying busy at the gym and at a Korean language exchange on Tuesday nights. Christine and I are definitely ahead of most the teachers we came to Korea with, in terms of understanding the language. Unfortunately, that's not saying much. We know the Hangul (alphabet), and can pronounce the words we see, but 95% of the time, we've got no idea what we're actually saying. We each know the standard greetings and farewells, thank you, your welcome, don't worry about it, I'm sorry, can you please help me, where is the ___, 'I do not speak Korean well', etc. Like our students, however, we're stuck with what we've memorized. It's VERY difficult to get creative with what we say. There are a handful of ways to say a simple sentence, and the correct way changes depending on who you are speaking with (older, younger, friend, strangers, boss, etc.). There are several different words for the verb "to like". For instance, I would use a different word to say "I 'like' soccer." than if I were to say "I like 'pancakes'." Then you have to insert subject and object markers, use a verbal comma for multiple nouns, and remember that the sentence structure (the easiest part for me) is - subject, object, preposition, verb- ...and adjectives usually go before each noun. Needless to say Christine and I have our work cut out for it when it comes to learning the language. We are still looking for a more frequent/intensive class that is within striking distance on a weeknight.
Last weekend we went to a teachers conference in Suwon, the capital of our province. Before the conference we hiked around an ancient fortress, and walked through a rebuild of the royal village. These are the first pictures you see in this post. That night we went into downtown Suwon for dinner. We had bulgogi, which is a classic Korean beef dish. At the restaraunt, you sit down at your table, and there is a circular grill in the center. The waiter fills it with coals, brings you your meat, vegitables, rice, and side dishes, and you prepare the meal yourself. Essentially, you build a lettuce wrap of meat, mushrooms, vegis, rice, and spices, then eat away. I'm a pretty big fan of it, but the meat was a bit too marbly for Christine's taste. Accompanying our meal we ordered a couple bottles of mockoli, an alcoholic rice OR soy drink that tastes like champaigne mixed with beer (see picture). It says that it's only 6% alcohol, but it's the best 6% I've ever had. What a great drink. It's the happiest, clearest, most social drink that I've found. Anyway, when we had almost finished, a group of three Korean guys (in their upper 20's) sat down at the table next to us. We looked over to see what they were eating, and before we knew it, they were putting it on our plates. Sharing food is a very Korean thing to do, so to be polite we ate it (pork) and said thank you. To return the favor, I ordered a bottle of 'soju' (Korean moonshine 20%abv) which is also a very normal gesture. We poured eachother shots (never pour your own), and the night began. The next thing we knew, Christine and I were speaking broken Korean; they were speaking equally as broken English; and we were having a great time with our new found friends and our bottles of soju (see pictures). They bought our dinner, and clearly I needed to return the favor. I decided that the only place to take this party was to the noraebong. "Bong," in Korean, means 'room'...to all you hippies out there. "Norae", means 'to sing'. So to the 'singing room' we went. Karaoke to those of you who haven't peiced it together. Asians, not to generalize or anything, love karaoke. You can rent karaoke rooms by the hour, and they come fully equipted with thousands of preprogrammed songs, multiple bigscreen lcd's, disco/laser lights, and an assortment of random percussion instruments with which to party the night away. And party we did. I sang karaoke, and yes, I liked it (see picture). Alex Jensen, you were right all along. Karaoke is a damn good time........but only in Asia. You won't catch me dead singing karaoke at a bar in the states. Here, they always think I look like David Beckham, and sing like Paul McCartney...and that's before soju.
This Saturday we tamed it down, and went to an area in north Seoul that is close to the mountains. It cuddles up to some of the best hiking and climbing South Korea has to offer, a place we have already visited once, Bukhansan National Park (pictures can be seen in the first post). Our mission was to find a tent, so that we can travel on the cheap. Tent and cheap cannot be used in the same sentence here. Koreans simply do not camp, although most of the parks have camping areas. They buy high-end day-hiking gear, but tents are rare, and thus expensive. Think $400 for a basic two person. That quickly axed our intentions. We did, however, find a great outfitters where the prices (except on tents) were spectacular and the owners were highly knowledgable and experienced. I bought some climbing gear that I needed, and they let us use their climbing wall for free. We spent the better part of 2hrs climbing and chatting with the owner. Yesterday, we decided to save money and hike locally. There are little trails all over Korea. Every hill has a trail to the top, so we started with my backyard. There are many old graveyards and mini-shrines littering the hills, and they are always fun to look around. It appears that almost no one uses the trails near my apartment, and for the first time since we've been here, Christine and I were actually alone during a hike. We saw only one or two other people all afternoon. It was a great way to unwind. We were probably the first white people to ever have walked through many of the areas we visited yesterday.
This week we teach only today (Monday). From Tuesday to Thursday, we will go to another town for a new teachers' orientation. Friday begins the Chusok Harvest Holiday (Korean Thanksgiving), and we receive Monday off as well. Koreans spend the time indoors with their families, so I think we may try to meet some friends and enjoy what may be the relatively empty outdoors. I hope all is well. Take care, and keep in touch.
The final picture is of us and group of our friends that go out for Indian food every other weekend. Everyone you see is an English teacher.
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