Books, books, books ...

Location: Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia
Local Time: Friday, April 28, 2006 - 7:23pm

Kinokuniya is the best bookstore I've been to in KL. MPH is also good, but Kinokuniya has a better selection of travel and language learning resources. I've been doing some serious admiring, and a lot of buying too.

Travel books are so inspiring. There are a lot of places in the world to see. I'm working on it.

So, today I picked up Lonely Planet, Beijing. I had to sell my Lonely Planet China months ago when I downsized my luggage. But, now that I'm going there, I'm ready. So, as soon as I get back to the hostel, I will submerge myself in Beijing.

Need to find a Chinese school. Oh, well. I have a couple days after I arrive to look around.

Unfortunately, with all the book buying, I think I've expanded the amount of luggage I need to carry. I'll have to see when I pack.

Since the soles are about to come right off my shoes, I went to Petaling Street market tonight. An experience I recommend to everyone who comes to KL. There are guys just standing around pushing DVDs for about $3 CND each. I suspect they might be pirates.

However, there are also shoes, as well as DVDs. I found a pair of Puma's. I suspect the authenticity, but heh, the salesman had an honest face.

One thing I really like about most of Malaysia is how not pushy people are. However, the salesmen on Petaling St. are much pushier than I encounter in other parts of KL, or Malaysia. At least it seems so to me. I wonder if it is because the tourists are suseptable to such tactics.

One time I was passing through the market on my way to my hostel when one of the DVD salesmen stepped in front of me, as they usually do, getting in my way to show me his selection. Without slowing, I stepped around behind him and kept walking.

I think he was swearing at me as I walked away.

Rain, rain, go away ...

Location: Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia
Local Time: Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 1:56pm

I went out again yesterday, just a couple hours after witnessing the rain. It was all gone, and all of it's effects were gone too.

The guy at the desk in the hotel was dismissive. He said, in KL, we get rain like that all the time.

I needed a couple things from the grocery store, and I really needed to stay away from the bookstore.

So, I ventured to KLCC, got my groceries and went to see a movie. Lucky Number Sleven. It was good. Very entertaining.

The movie theatre here is not as good as the place in Pai though. That place was a really good place to watch movies.

A Little Rain

Location: Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia
Local Time: Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - 3:32pm

Well, I was out and about this morning, then I came back to the hostel to do some reading. Someone mentioned to me that it is raining outside, but I didn't think anything of it. It is KL, it rains all the time here.

Well, I wandered outside to go to the grocery store, and as I approach the street I can hear thunder and see flashes of lightening.

Then I notice there is water in the street. Then I notice the water in the street occasionally slops over the curb, because the water in the street is all the way up to the top of the curb, all the way across the street and running down the street like a river.

Cars drive by, submerged up to the axle.

The restaurant next door, it is lower than the sidewalk. So every time a car drives by, it makes a wave which washes over the curb, across the sidewalk and adds to the water in the restaurant.

The drainage at the street is completely full, all the way up to sidewalk level.

A girl in the hostel just got back from a little walk. She says the market, in the street, about a block away is knee high in water.

It's a little wet out there.

Chinese Embassy

Location: Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia
Local Time: Monday, April 24, 2006 - 9:03pm

Well, I thought I had a free week before flying out to China. However, I suddenly remembered, hey, I need a visa to enter China.

Without a visa, I could get there, arrive at the immigration desk, they check my passport and say, no, you can't go past. You don't get to sleep in hotel tonight, and you are taking the next flight out of the country.

That would not be so much fun.

It took me most of the morning to track down the Chinese Embassy. Buildings in KL do not all have the numbers on them. When I finally found the embassy, that is not the place they issue visas (though visas are issued at the Thai embassy here in KL.) So, I got a new address and kept on walking. By the time I arrived at the new address, it was 10 minutes past closing time for the day (11:45am). Hehehe.

So, I'm all ready for tomorrow. Hopefully they will issue me a visa in a few days, or I'll have to bump my plane ticket back.

After that, I returned to KLCC and went for the bookstore. Bookstores are always a good experience.

I came away with The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron. Seth recommended it to me months ago when we were in Nepal, but this is the first place I've found it.

That new backpack I bought is more than half full of books. As Erasmus once said, "When I have money, I books. If there is something left over, I buy food."

Now there was a guy who had his priorities straight.

Maple syrup

Location: Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia
Local Time: Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 10:55pm

I was cruising the grocery store in KL, and found maple syrup. 3 brands of the stuff. At least 3 brands. All Canadian.

You know, I thought maple syrup was something we sold as authentic Canadian souvegniers to gullible tourists. People use this stuff? I don't even know what it tastes like.

I also hit Famous Amos, in an effort to make myself sick on candy again. I loaded up on gummie bears and sour strips.

Not feeling well at the moment so all is going according to plan.

Last Day in Chiang Mai

Location: Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia
Local Time: Friday, April 21, 2006 - 6:25pm

Well, I had one last day in Chiang Mai. I hit a couple of bakeries I had missed during my time there and ate some bread with cheese I brought from Pai.

As it turns out that was a bad idea. I think the cheese I brought from Pai had been warm too long and I had stomach troubles all afternoon and evening.

At night I swung through the night market, looking for an alarm clock, a new shirt, pants and shoes. My alarm clock was soaked during Song Kran and seems to have stopped working, though it works at seemingly random intervals, as long as I don't try to set it. My shoes have large holes all around the soles. The soaking they took while Val and I walked up river in Pai seems to have finished them off. I left one shirt with Val in Pai, and I've been living with one pair of pants since I left Nepal. As long as you wash them at night and have a room with a good fan they are mostly dry by morning, so it has been working thus far.

I found a shirt, and a pair of pants, though the pants are less than satisfactory. No shoes I wanted to buy, and no alarm clocks.

On the bright side, mine seems to be working slightly better today, so maybe I won't have to get a new one.

In the morning I caught a ride to the airport. I gave breakfast a miss as I was still feeling slightly nauseous. Did the airport thing.

I actually had luggage to check for the first time in 4 months. Since I left Nepal I've been travelling with only a shoulder bag, not even a backpack. However, I picked up a small backpack before the second trip to Pai, thinking we might go trekking. Now I'm overwhelmed by the massive luggage space I have at my disposal. I have room for 6 - 8 books instead of just 2. As well as 2 spare shirts and a spare pair of pants. It is quite luxurious.

Back in KL I headed straight to Chinatown and got a place to stay the night, RM30 ($10 CND) a night.

When I was in Thailand I thought it was fairly warm there. Now that I'm back in KL, I realize Thailand was fairly cool. Quite balmy in fact.

Movie Night

Location: Pai, Thailand
Local Time: Thursday, April 20, 2006

Well, we returned to the movie theatre last night and finished watching Amalie. That is a lovely film. I like the main actress, she has a very saucy look.

We intended to finish of the evening watching The Life of Brian, which I have never seen, however we were diverted by the live music next door, and when we returned to the theatre, it had closed for the evening. Naturally, as it was well after midnight.

The bridge was washed out by the rainstorm on Tuesday night, and completely rebuilt by this afternoon. They started work on it this morning.

It seems like the bridge getting washed out is a fairly regular event.

They Soaked My Passport

Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Local Time: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - 6:36pm

I found out a couple days ago that my passport got soaked during Song Kran. The ink on my visa stamps ran. I hope they let me out of Thailand. I think it is still legible.

Well, I'm back in Chiang Mai, and travelling on my own again. Song Kran is a thing of memory for another year.

Since I left Canada I've been seeing different places. Sometimes I'm ready to go when I leave, sometimes I'm not. I was ready to leave Delhi. I was ready to leave Nepal. I was ready to leave Ko Pha Ngan. I wasn't ready to leave Kuala Lumpur, I wasn't ready to leave Pai. I'm not ready to leave Chiang Mai.

However, the time for China is drawing near, and though I'm in the middle of a year off work, I suddenly feel the unwelcome pressure of a deadline. May 2. It looms over me, causing decisions I would not have otherwise made, making me leave places I'd like to stay, and missing opportunities.

It seems right though.

Back in Pai

Location: Pai, Thailand
Local Time: Tuesday, April 18, 2006 - 11:36am

Well, I'm back in Pai again for a few days. Seth, Nell, Angie and Liz have gone south. Lana went to Malaysia I believe. Val is hanging out here with me.

The riverside bungalows are affordable, and peaceful.

We had a wicked rainstorm here 2 nights ago. It knocked out all the power in the middle of a movie, so we didn't get to see the end of Amalie that night. We had to go back again last night and finish watching it. It was a bit of a chore walking home with rain pouring down, all lights, all street lights, out. Fortunately the frequent lightening strikes showed the way down the road and across the bamboo walking bridge. Next morning, that bridge was gone, washed out by the floods. They are rebuilding today and it looks like they will finish either today or tomorrow.

Doi Suthep

Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Local Time: Friday, April 14, 2006 - 11:42am

Well, Val and I walked out of the city up to Doi Suthep, a mountain top with a wat, which is nearby. That took most of the day. On the way there, and on the way back people kept throwing water on us. Song Kran, the water festival, a celebration of the Thai New Year.

You know, I've had a lot of New Years this year. Jan 1. I actually missed the Nepali New Year, it happened after I left I think. However, I got the Chinese and Indian New Year while I was in Malaysia, and now the Thai New Year.

Yesterday Seth, Nell, Val, Liz and I met at Starbucks. From there, we rented a tuk-tuk with a water barrel and joined the very slow moving procession of cars going around the moat area. The celebration of Song Kran is to throw water on anyone nearby.

We quickly realized that our ammunition lacked punch, so we stopped on the side of the road to purchase a large block of ice from the vender so we could chill our water barrel a bit.

Well, it took us 3 hours to get 3/4 of the way around the moat, which is a square about 1 km on each edge.

1 day of Song Kran is enough for me. I was constantly wet for hours, and people throwing buckets of freezing water on you quickly looses it's appeal, even in 35 degree weather.

Grabbed some noodles, sticky rice with mango and some fried chicken on the way home. I love the way the Thais sell you little portions in the food areas so that you can get a nice variety of stuff to taste.

Later, I hit the night market again. I got a nice backpack and ogled the knife display.

I was under the impression that butterfly knives were illegal in Canada, but the vendor assured me that has changed. Not sure I trust the source though.

Sunday Market ... Finally

Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Local Time: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 - 11:58am

Well, I made it into town in time to check into the hotel, shower and head out to the Sunday Market with Seth. We met Angie, Liz and Nell there, and found Mike from movie night in Pai wandering the streets. Lana came on a later bus so we met her at the stick rice and mango stall at 9.

It was great. We cruised through several different 'food court' type areas, feasting on pepper spiced pork sausage, vegetable fried noodles, little packages of some kind of jelly, bubble tea, chicken balls, black sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves, bettered corn deep fried. It was fabulous.

Monday (yesterday) was slower. Saw Val in the morning, back early from the monastery. Met with Angie, Nell, Liz, Seth, Tamela (Angie's friend from Taiwan), Lana and Michelle (Lana's friend from Pai) for lunch, cruised over to Gecko books for some reading material, found Veronica in the lobby of the hotel, injured by some kind of nasty bug bite.

At 7 we went to see the movie Ultraviolet. Don't. Really. Just don't.

Made it to yoga class this morning. I'm just back from there, checking my e-mail. And I don't have any. Aren't you guys doing anything?

Reiki

Location: Pai, Thailand
Local Time: Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 10:07am

Well, I finished my 1st level reiki course. Two days of learning about energy and history, etc. Bit about crystals too. I was really tired the first night, but I got my attunements last night and I was full of energy. I went home and tried to sleep at about 10, but I couldn't close my eyes, so I went down to the 7/11 where I met Seth and Lana and we headed out to Be-bop for drinks, conversation and pool. That closed at 1am and then we went back to the 7/11 to get a little 'food' as all the street vendors were closed.

From there, Lana went home, while Seth and I hung around to discuss Buddhism, comparative religions, bicycle accidents in Laos and the situation in Israel with Arai, an American from New York who moved to Israel 5 years ago and loves living in Tel Aviv.

I went to bed at 2:30am and woke up at 6, still full of energy, though my headache is back. I'll have to work on that.

Well, I'm outta here. Got my bus ticket back to Chiang Mai, I'm leaving at 1:30pm this afternoon. I hope to get there in time to hit the Sunday market, which I have never witnessed in all it's glory. I won't be eating for the rest of the day so I can save room for the fabled food. Hmmm, sticky rice and mango.

After that, I think I'll hang around Chiang Mai for a few days to see Songkren, which Chiang Mai is well known for. Then, I'm heading south. A few people we met in Pai are planning to get together on the west coast, maybe for scuba diving, maybe for rock climbing.

Another Movie Night

Location: Pai, Thailand
Local Time: Friday, April 7, 2006 - 12:16am

Late at night, or early in the morning, not exactly sure. In any case, I'm still up, crusing the internet. Could be one of those sleepless nights I get occasionally.

Unfortunately I don't have a book to ease my way through it. I finished Daughter of China and gave it to Seth. He gave me Focault's Pendulum, but I can't really get into it.

We had another successful movie night. Attended by Liz, Nell, Seth, Lana, Mike (Kiwi living in Colorado) and Angie. We saw American Splendor. Hmmm.

Oh, I almost forgot. I tried vegetable carving today. You take pieces of fruit or vegetable, use a carving knife and make leaves and flowers and stuff. Pretty impressive. I saw some pictures of what people were making after a couple of weeks and it was amazing.

6 Months

Location: Pai, Thailand
Local Time: Thursday, April 6, 2006 - 9:43am

Two postings today, since today is special. Today marks 6 months since I flew out of the airport in Calgary, worried I was going to be late for the plane and miss the beginning of my trip, wondering what I was going to do in India for 6 months.

I never imagined I would be in Thailand 6 months later. I'd never heard of Pai, or Chiang Mai. Nepal was just a little country on the map, north of India. I didn't know it was full of Tibetans, had amazing mountains.

Neither did I anticipate a month in Malaysia. The Petronas Towers was just a place where they filmed Entrapment.

I may have said it before, but it's really important so I'll re-iterate.

Always buy a 1 way ticket.

Cooking

Location: Pai, Thailand
Local Time: Thursday, April 6, 2006 - 9:35am

Well, yesterday Seth and I took a cooking course at Pai Cookery. We met Dean (American from NY), Liz (American from California), Nell (American from California), and Angie (American from California living and working in Taiwan for the last 4 years).

We made fried rice, curry paste, beef curry, crispy noodles, sticky rice with cocanut milk and black bean sauce and pork stuffed chicken.

There was a small accident while cooking the sauce for the crispy noodles involving salt instead of sugar, but we recovered and feasted at 6:30pm.

There was a trip to the market at about 5pm, where we were showen the fruits and vegetables, as well as other delectable goodies. I finally found the sticky rice and mango stall here in Pai. It has a nice variety of other things there too. Tapioca in cocanut milk.

I think I'll go back there today and indulge myself.

Music in Pai

Location: Pai, Thailand
Local Time: April 5, 2006 - 12:51pm

Well, the blueberry cheese cake was a bit of a bust. There wasn't any there. I consoled myself with chocolate coated oatmeal cookies and another flavor of cheese cake, which I can't remember, except it tasted terrible. I should have stuck with the oatmeal cookies, they were quite good.

Jo, Seth and I went to Gypse's for the opening night. There was free food, and Bob Marley in the background. After that, Jo headed home, Seth and I wandered around. Found another place with live music which was good until it closed at about 10. Seth went looking for a live mike place he'd heard about and I tried Be-Bops.

A little loud for my tastes, but the band was great. Kind of interesting, the flute player in the band is staying at the bungalows where I'm staying. I saw him playing there a few days ago. While I was sitting in the bar I saw other people from the bungalows. Hanna and Katie were there, and I ended up sitting at a table with the two guys who came up on the minibus with Seth and I last Saturday.

Small town.

Movie Night in Pai

Location: Pai, Thailand
Local Time: Tuesday, April 4, 2006 - 4:34pm

Well, movie night last night was a success. We gathered some junkfood, got a few people together, rented a room at the private theatre and watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which some people had not seen before, and some people wanted to see again. In the end it was Seth (Canadian), Zoe (Australian), Frannie (American), Veetska (Dutch) and Jo (British). Good times were had and junk food was consumed. Oh, and I learned we are deprived in Canada. Tim Tams are good junk food. Seem to be quite popular in Australia if I go by Zoe's reaction on finding them in the market.

Finished off Daughter of China in the morning and then went to yoga class. After yoga, Seth, Jo and I rode out to the waterfalls again and slid down the rocks. It was lovely, and there was lots of sunshine. I think I'm a little burned, which should be a pile of laughs for a couple of days.

We wandered around on the bikes for a couple hours, now we are taking a break in Pai before going out to a wat (Buddhist temple) where there is a view of Pai. We are sort of timing it for sunset so we might get some slightly more interesting photos.

When we arrived back in Pai, we found a parade going down 'main' street. As there are two streets and this is the one with the traffic light, I think of it as main. The parade, with music, kids dressed up in eleborate costumes and lots of people looking on, is to celebrate the initiation of some new monks. At least, that is what I was told.

I'm planning to go off and sample the blueberry cheese cake at the bakery. Life is hard.

Around Pai

Location: Pai, Thailand
Local Time: Monday, April 3, 2006 - 7:10pm

Started the day with some light reading. I'm working my way through Daughter of China, by Meihong Xu and Larry Engelmann. True story of a professor who went to in the late 80s as part of a cultural exchange, and the army intelligence office assigned to watch him, because it had been decided he was a spy. Bit of a look inside the political manouverings of China at the time.

Yoga from 10 - 12, before lunch with Seth (Canadian), Hanna (British), Katie (British), Zoe (Australian), Veetska (Dutch), Jo (British), Bri (Canadian) and Ofiel (Israeli). Vegetarian restaurant, but still quite good.

Then Seth, Katie, Hanna, Zoe and I got some motorcycles and went riding around Pai today. Lots of little back roads, not cruising like I'm use to in Canada, where it is an hour or more between towns/sights. Here we put on about 20 - 30 km, max, in the afternoon, passing through little clusters of houses, fields beside the roads, hot springs (80C so we didn't jump in). Visited a waterfall. The water had worn the rocks smooth so it made a really nice water slide. I slid down it a couple of times (Zoe has some action shots which I'll try to post later if she sends them to me). I don't know how the kids managed to climb so high, those rocks were slippery.

Now, it's movie night. We've rented a private viewing room for 9pm, as there is no movie theatre here in Pai.

Pai

Location: Pai, Thailand
Local Time: Sunday, April 2, 2006 - 4:46pm

Well, I'm out of Chiang Mai. I'd had enough. Now I'm in a place called Pai (pronouced bye, except by the tourists here, who nearly out number the locals.)

My initial impressions are, if you love to party, drink, sleep late into the afternoon, spend your time eating, drinking, smoking and watching movies, with the occasional hike, elephant ride or motorcycle trip thrown in, this is the place. Some people seem to hang out here for months. Some people are ready to leave in a couple days.

I'm going to try to learn reiki while I'm here, and take a couple of cooking classes, but other than that, I don't know. I'll see what comes up.

My last night in Chiang Mai we returned to the Night Market for some good fried noodles, and really good fried rice with Chiang Mai sausage. I also had a half hour food massage. The masuse was pretty brutal. I nearly doubled up when she hit me in the upper thigh. I had a sudden fear she was going for somewhere else, even though I'd done nothing to deserve it.