One hour has 19 minutes

Chiang Mai

One of the main activities travelers do going to Chiang Mai, in the north of Thailand, is a trek in a forest near the city.

There are tens of them offered in hotels (some of them will require you book the trek with them, otherwise, they will limit the lenght of your stay), all of them being similar.

The prices varie, which doesn't mean the experience is gonna be better. It is recommended to book directly in Chiang Mai because the prices are higher in Bangkok.

I took a chance with the Travel Hub Chiang Mai agency. Professionnal website, convincing pictures, seven years of experience and best price guaranteed.

I chose three days for 1600 bahts. From the moment they picked me up, I understood I didn't get an unbeatable price. My trek partners got a price of 1300 or 1400 for three days and two nights.

According to the schedule, the first day was about stopping at the market to collect food for dinner, than a one hour elephant ride and a difficult three hours walk to get to the village of Lahu, on top of a mountain. 

Each time we would ask how long it would take to get somewhere, our guide would say "19 minutes". But too many activities lasted only 19 minutes instead of one hour like it was listed on the schedule. Like that elephant tour... too short.

In the end though, we all had enough of these elephants, especially since they were not treated well. A man sits on their head to control them and hits them with a big hook. Chains link their leg to their neck...

The meal, a little bit of rice with tofu, looked too little for the two (not three) hours of walking uphill we had to do.

Sleeping in the mountains is charming. Toilets and showers are basic as we expected. Mattresses on the bamboo floor were basic too. But the covers with humidity and mold smell were a surprise. Nobody really slept, but we had a lot of fun.

The second day went according to plan, which was a couple of hours of walking and swimming near some falls. Same type of room, with mosquito nets full of holes.

For the third day, a short walk should have brought us to a mindblowing rafting experience, followed by 15 minutes on a bamboo raft.

I couldn't take part in those activities because of my health situation. I could at least find out the guide didn't have a first aid kit. Surprising when you bring a groupe of newbies in a forest for three days, when the ground is slipplery all the time and when we need to cross rivers in very acrobatic ways. That was the goal of the adventure, I must say. But the risks are real.

In the same order of business, I was told I would have to wait for the end of the third day to see a doctor, which meant to wait for the departure time established for the group. What would happen if someone was to hurt themselves to the point they can't even walk?

And they made me pay for the transport to the hospital, even if the price of the trek included an insurance.

That said, back to the waves, the lucky ones who took part in the rafting experience were not wet at all, floating on top of a very calm water stream... for about 19 minutes.

So, don't believe those who are trying to sell you an expedition. Even if the landscape is wonderful, expect less than what they promised you.

Four... or two third of the trip

Drum roll! Four months!

A fourth month is gone, faster than the previous ones, pushing me fast toward the end of the adventure. Not yet. I still have the third of the road to go. But there is inevitably less time in front of me than there is behind. That is what is scary. 

So I have to get ready to go back home. The simple fact of leaving South-East Asia for Middle East is a giant step which will bring me way closer to home. All of a sudden, I won't be a visible minority anymore. Because the colleagues may laugh at me saying I look like an Arab, but even some people from the Middle East say so. All the Israelis I met to this day believe I'm one of them. We'll see if it gets useful.

For the assessment portion, the last month started well and finished bad. The incursion in South-East Asia made me see stuff I had never seen before. Vietnam memories will stay with me for a long time. For the friends I made, but also for the very different culture and the landscapes.

Cambodia has nothing to be ashamed of. The simplicity of the people goes straight to the heart. It makes us feel far from what we know, but it's perfect that way. And of course, Angkor Wat is reaching the top of the list of things one must see once in his life. It is tiring to stroll in there, but unforgettable.

Finally, Thailand didn't get what it deserved. Because I was sick for the whole 13 days I was there, it's hard to get a real perception of the country. I only visited the north, but I can't say I liked anything better than in the two previous countries. I am especially sad that I needed to cross Kanchanaburi from my list of places to visit.

Here are the cities I visited in the last month:

Vietnam : Hanoi, Halong Bay, Cat Ba, Sapa, Ho Chi Minh City, Cu Chi and some villages along the Mekong Delta.
Cambodia : Phnom Penh, Battambang, Siem Reap
Thailand : Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Chiang Mai.

I will start this fifth month by stopping in Amman, Jordan.

Detour by the hospital

Chiang Mai

Overview : in the bus to Thailand. The passenger next to me tells me Chiang Mai's hospital is clean and offers good health care.

Three days later. Ayutthaya, Thailand : talking about that same hospital with another traveler and making a joke saying maybe we should visit it if it is that fantastic... Or maybe not...

Next time : ZIP IT!

Everything started with sort of a blister on my hand. Nothing to write a story about.

Then comes a second one. Not gonna go crazy over that.

Then I was leaving for a three days expedition in the thai forest, in Chiang Mai... with the same traveler I met in Ayutthaya.

The second day, i find my hand swollen, with half a dozen blisters. And a couple of wounds that won't heal because of heath and humidity. In the wood, I was sleeping on wet mattresses. And without a real shower, it was hard to think of cleaning that all. I even kept myself from bathing in the river to avoid infection. A physiotherapist in our group tells me I should see a doctor when I get back in the city.

But there was one day left on the trek. On the third morning, pain and swelling were getting more important. Maybe I had a little fever too. There was an infection.

I had to insist for our guide, who didn't have a first aid kit, to evacuate me as fast as possible so I could see a doctor. If he refused at first, he finally accepted if I paid for the driver.

I had to follow my companions for a one hour walk to reach the rafting camp. I wasn't expecting less. While the others would hop on the raft, I was getting in a pick-up that would bring me to the next camp. The traveler from Ayutthaya decided to come with me for moral support.

Half way to the next camp, believe it or not, the car breaks down. No gaz.

The guide ran to the left, to the right, ended up finding gaz. But the car wouldn't start. That's when the guide announced : push!

I started laughing (really!) because I thought it was absurd. My new friend was pushing with both her arms, I was with one hand. And the rain started falling...

After the effort, they brought us to the camp where the driver would pick us for a trip of 1,5 hours to the hospital.

Ironically, the two persons who joked about visiting Chiang Mai hospital had to go there. And I confirm : it is clean and efficient.

After registering, and after they looked at my hand, I ended up in the infection specialist's office. I must say the secretary surprised me when she called the nurse.

"She will see if you need a surgery..."

WHAT?

In the end, the doctor looked at my hand for 8,2 secondes and reached a diagnosis : infection.

That was all. I just needed to pay and get my medication which I hope will give me back my mobility.

The other great news is because of the measures they were taking, I found out I lost around 10 % of my body weight.

This adventure forces me to slow down and give up on the idea of visiting Kanchanaburi to see the river Kwai. I will stay in Chiang Mai for one more day before heading back to Bangkok, where I'll see a doctor again.

For the remaining of my trip, nothing has changed. Saturday, I fly to Jordan. I'm getting closer to home.

Adventures in Thailand

Lopburi

No! Not adventures in the way you're thinking. Even if I get 150 offers for a massage every square meter.

No!

Let's say it, for now, Thailand is the country where I feel the most insecure. Not because of the cities themselves, but because of numerous disturbing reasons.

First, arriving in Bangkok was destabilizing. After Cambodia, its naive side, poverty and life simplicity, greenery everywhere and rustic landscapes, here is a metropol with a metro, a sky train and a lot of motorway junctions. I admit I wasn't expecting a difference as big as that.

If my health is slowly giving up since I crossed the border (nothing too bad for now), it appears heath and humidity make wounds hard to heal. One needs to be careful with infections. Loving Polysporin!

In the other mentionnable adventures : wandering dogs. They are everywhere. Don't look healthy. They are missing some fur. Have wounds all over. Are scratching themselves all the time. You see? On top of that, there is a risk they might be infected with rabies. 

And I, me, didn't get my three shots againt rabies. Ran out of time before I left. Which means in doubt, I have 24 hours to get to the closest hosptial and get two shots and a blood transfusion. Not reassuring at all in a south-east asian country.

So I was walking after the twilight in Ayutthaya streets. Without knowing exactly how to get back to my hostel, I knew in which direction I should walk. Suddenly (surprise effect!), a dog still not too healthy looking barks at me showing its teeths. And it runs towards me.

No time to look masculine. No time to be proud or show courage. I jump and cross the street, risking my life since I didn't look to see if cars were coming, and I'm ready to run. The beast, probably tamed in some way, didn't cross passed the middle of the street. I had my Lonely Planet in one hand, the one with all the south-east asian countries in it, with which I intended to hit him once or twice. Couldn't lose anything trying.

From there, I nervously made if safe and alive, changing street side 50 meters in advance each time I would see a dog.

Lop Buri

The next day : Lop Buri. THE ONLY attraction in that city is a temple abandonned to hundreds of monkeys. I was told to bring nothing in my hands because they would absolutely try to steal that stuff from me. Same for the food. And if you say furry animal you mean... possibility of getting rabies. Do... not... get... bitten... by... a... monkey...

I was a little nervous to be circled by monkeys in the temple. I was standing close to one of the guards who had a slingshot to scare adventurous monkeys.

But there are hundreds of monkeys. They were only two guards. While I was looking at the city, taking a picture, my back towards the temple, I felt something pulling on my t-shirt behind me.

I had an enormous monkey, let's say an adult one, on my back. I was trying to make him go back down, but nothing would work. And he was showing his teeths.

The guards finally came to help me. I got out of there fast.

Next adventure

The same night, I was boarding a train to Chiang Mai, in the north of the country. Surprisingly, trains are comfortable. I must say I paid a lot of money for my ticket.

Around 5 AM, they woke us up. We needed to get out. The track was broken in front, they said. A bus came to pick us up. (An American I met yesterday and again today says they told him there was snow on the rails... Hard to believe.)

Passengers, disoriented, had a hard time understanding what was going on. There was a small chaos when everybody tried to get on the first available bus.

I ended up in the third bus. Trying to fall asleep again when it starts shaking a lot. Believe it or not, we had a flat tire. At least, that's what I understood. From where I was, I couldn't see anything. We had to wait a little bit more before we could leave again.

With all of that, we got in Chiang Mai three hours later : 8 hours on the train and 6 hours on a bus. Sigh!

I hope the adventures will calm down for the three days I intend to spend in the forest, where I should ride an elephant and do some trekking and some rafting.

Tuk-tuk, Sir?

Wat Pho, Bangkok, Thailand

Maybe you know the song. But I will tell (sing?) the story anyway...

In south-east Asia, one must accept to be harassed all the time. The sellers try to make us buy stuff all more worthless one than another. In restaurants, they always try to get you to enter. And of course, there are the famous tuk-tuk drivers. 

Tuk-tuk Sir? You say no to the first one and the next one asks the same question. The circus goes on and on.

Problem is, at some point, you don't have a choice but to hire one of those drivers. And you need to bargain. Because they will try to get the highest price possible.

In Vietnam and Cambodia, it was easy. In Thailand, the tuk-tuk drivers are real pests. Not only they don't speak or understand english, (which is fine), but they are dishonest. 

This morning, while I was trying to get to the nearest train station to buy a ticket, two of them tried to get me as a client. I said no. "Where are you going?" they ask.

Train station, I said. "Oh! It's so far. At least 3 km", they try to trick me. I try to make them understand I'm not stupid and I keep on walking.

But since I lost a lot of time in the morning, I end up agreeing with another driver, a little bit further. We agree on 30 bahts, which is about 1 $. Of course, as soon as I'm in, the man asks : "Boom boom?". No! No boom boom... (which means sex)

The station was, in fact, very close.

While stepping down, I ask where the ticket counter is. He says I have to hop back in the tuk-tuk. In the end, he had no problem driving me away from the station where I could have got the lowest price, to a travel agency where he takes a commission. I refused to step down and I asked him to drive me back to the station.

From there, since I took the most expensive mean of transportation, i asked him to stay and drive me back in exchange for 30 more bahts.

When comes the time to pay, he wanted more money. Sorry buddy, but I don't feel like playing. I gave him 60 bahts and I turned around before he could say anything.

Later in the day, as I was half lost, knowing where I was, which is far from my hostel, but not sure exactly where I was standing, I chose a tuk-tuk again. Knowing I paid 200 bahts from a place around there to my hostel, I tell myself that I'm not gonna pay more than that.

From the start, the guy asks for 200. Didn't feel like negociating. I say it's ok. He was so surprised, the guy, that I accepted to pay that amount of money.

But on the way, like all of his colleagues, the driver stopped for an impromptu pit stop. In exchange for some gaz coupons from the owner, the "tuk-tukers" bring tourists in their stores. I knew the trick. I accepted to play if there was no more stop on the way.

Problem was I got in a store where they make suits. And of course, all the tourist pretend they are interested and must find a way to get out of there despite some insisting sellers.

On the way back, the driver asked "You, alone?" Yes! "Boom boom?" No, not boom boom!

Not short on tricks, he asked where I was going after that. "Ayutthaya, Lopburi, Chiang Mai..."

"Do you have your tickets?"

TRAP!!!! (with big neon signs flashing and at least four exclamation points) NEVER answer no to that question. He will bring you to a travel agency.

Other scam

New scam I saw coming hundreds of kilometres in advance, near a park in Bangkok. But I ended up paying anyway.

A woman was throwing corn at pigeons. When I walked by, she tried to give me food bags. I refused, but she forced me to take them saying it's for Buddah's luck.

I started walking with the bags but I refused to open them. The woman started following me and she repeated that it was for Buddah's luck. She ended up tearing the bags and pouring the corn in my hands. What was I supposed to do at that point? Threw it all on the ground. And then? "Pay money!"

Of course! It was inevitable... How much? 150 bahts (5 $)!

Pffft! I gave 30 bahts while the women where asking for some "notes". Ask as much as you want, I'm not very flexible with scammers.

I left, and when I turned around, the two women where laughing. So as bitter as I am, I'll say that one of them, if it was really a woman, looked like the half-dog, half man (!) character in Spaceballs, that 1987 success movie. If I'm right, the "animal" was played by John Candy. Take that! No more mister Nice Guy... (And that probably means bad karma coming my way.)

On my way to Ayutthaya

I'll write on my impressions of Bangkok soon. While you wait, I'm slowly making my way in the backcountry in Thailand. On my way to Ayutthaya, Lopburi and Chiang Mai. Temples in the first city, monkeys in the second one, elephants, rafting and maybe tigers in the third one. And if we look further, I now have my ticket for Amman, Jordan...

For those who are wondering what there is to see in Ayutthaya, part of the music video for that 90's success was filmed there...

Visiting Angkor Wat

The main reason to stop in Cambodia : Angkor Wat temples, of course. I spent two days there, but you definitely can stay longer.

Traditionally, visitors go to Angkor Wat around 5 AM to see the sunrise. But at this time of the year, lots of clouds in the morning. So I didn't get to see it.

Still, I spent five hours in the main temple, including the sunrise (!) and breakfast. Because yes, there are people selling food at the temple.

That said, the other temples are also worth it. There is Bayon, with its 54 tours and 216 faces scarved in the stones, or that other one, with a complicated cambodian name, with a huge Shiva head in the stones of the whole wall. We can also access the one where they filmed the Tomb Raider movie.

It is hard to decide the lenght of our stay in Siem Reap and at the temples. There is a passport for one day, three days or a week. The lenght will depend on everyone's taste. And they are not joking about the entry ticket... They take your picture to make sure you won't transfer it to anybody else.

Like I said, there is water, drinks and food here and there, but the prices are higher than anywhere else. There is also an impressive amount of kids and sellers  trying to sell us postcards and books. All the same. And they agree on a price so you can't bargain really.

One of them tried his luck and made me angry. For a book everyone was trying to sell for 10 $, than 5 $, but for which I was offering 3 $ because I don't have room in my bag, a man asked for 1 $. Really? Repeat! 1 $ for that book?

So I get my wallet out. For the third time : " One dollar, right?"

Answer : "Yes!"

I asked for change, since I didn't have any, giving him a 10 $ note. He answers : "Not enough! It's 11 $."

Oh, you little... It's not like "one" and "eleven" sound the same.

Anyway!


Located at a distance from Siem Reap, temples can be visited by bike, for a small cost, or by hiring a tuk-tuk driver for the day. It is better to book one the night before if you want to  see the sunrise. And shopping around is important, because the drivers waiting outside hostels and restaurants often have a deal with the owner of those places. They pay a commission. So they charge more.

Mine fell from the sky. Kind of. I hired him for cheaper than I would have paid at the hostel. And he brought me everywhere for two days. He informed me that this Sunday is election day. But I will miss that event because I'm leaving in the morning for Bangkok.

Make sure you have a big bottle of water before you visit the temples. Even a sauna wouldn't make you sweat that much. I promise.

In the end, let's say that downtown Siem Reap is only the home of tourists going to the markets and restaurants that are half way between asian and western cuisine. Not that authentic.