After a few cool weeks in Cape Town I was ready again for the warmth of South East Asia again.
I spent a few nights in KL recovering from the long transit from Cape Town and caught up on emails and blogging – and then I got on a bus to Georgetown. I arrived in KL with a cracked laptop screen from when my laptop accidentally fell - luckily you can get it fixed for 400 Ringit (AUD$150) at Low Yat Plaza in Bukit Bintang. Within 12 hours of landing in KL I had a shiney new screen and was free to wifi to my heart's content!
Georgetown reminded me a lot of Malacca; a bustling city where cars and people rush around past the rich history and a variety of temples of differing ages and faiths.
While in Georgetown I took up residence at Baan Talay Homestay which was about a 20 minute bus ride from town. The advantage of this was the beautiful beach only a 5 minute walk from the guesthouse. I really enjoyed my stay here – the staff there; Chintra, Nark and Saracha were very welcoming and the room was lovely. Also nearby was a food court that ran late and aired live telecasts from the World Cup. The food was typical Malaysian food with a fresher flair than the culinary treats of KL and Malacca – and a greater emphasis on seafood.
Georgetown is on the island of Penang, where the famed curry is from. Sights include many temples and mosques (some more than 300 years old). The grandest sight that I saw while in Penang was the Kek Lok Si Temple, perched atop a hill overlooking all of Georgetown. The temple includes a variety of structures among beautifully kept gardens/plants, with many many buddhas and other deities peacefully posing in every place imaginable! The most highly regarded features of the complex include the 32ft bronze statue of Kuan Yin, and the 7-tiered pagoda which draws influence from Burmese, Thai and Chinese Buddhism.
From Penang I took the treacherous overland journey by minibus to Thailand. Sounds adventurous doesn’t it? Smarttraveller.gov.au (Australia’s consular advice website) rates this region and journey as very high risk and advises against travel through this region. My own research and talking with fellow travellers revealed that it was in fact very easy, cheap and peaceful. The only drawback was the cramped minbus from Hat Yai through to Surat Thani. Next time I will get around this by taking the train. In my experience, while the train can be less reliable and sometimes a little out of the way – the advantage is that you see more and have more space. Roads=angry traffic. Trains=chilled/rhythmic/contemplative. I’m looking forward to the trains in India.
Note: the south route into Thailand is the easy one, the northern route actually traverses the tense politically active provinces of Southern Thailand. If you want excitement take the Northern Route. My mate Leigh took this route. While on his journey a grenade was thrown only metres from the bus that he took and the military were in strong presence at the many roadblocks...
From Surat Thani I caught the ferry to Koh Samui. My arrival at Koh Samui was at 10pm. I had no accommodation booked (for the first time) and really didn’t want to stay on Koh Samui. I caught the songthaew (literally meaning ‘2-benches’ – but is actually a taxi in the back of a utility truck with 2 benches in the back along each side and usually a roof!) to Mae Nam. Mae Nam is quite a peaceful and non-touristy fishing village at the North of Koh Samui. I didn’t explore it much – my main purpose for staying there was to be close to the ferry for an early departure to Koh Phangan in the morning. I haggled a Chinese guy down to 300Baht to stay in a beautiful serviced apartment with tv, kitchen and shower. Pity I was up at 5am to get my transfer to the pier!!!
By 9am the next morning I was observed the shores of Koh Phangan. The island I have been told many stories about by friends – and the island that is famed for buckets and parties... My visit to Koh Phangan was two-pronged. 1) to party it up Koh Phangan style and cross it off my list of to do’s. 2) to begin the process of refining myself spiritually.
5 minutes after stepping off the pier at Koh Phangan I was sitting on the back of a ‘motorbike’ taxi to an unknown guesthouse that the driver recommended to me. Pink, the owner of the bungalow wasn’t the warmest creature I’ve met, but the food was good and for 300 Baht (AUD$12) per night, a bungalow just metres from the beach with fan, mouldy mattress, rotting walls and a broken hammock I couldn’t really complain. I didn’t – I just found another place two days later! The positive in this experience was meeting Brendan, the lovely kiwi bloke that I met who was staying in the neighbouring bungalow. I spent most of the first 5 days exploring Koh Phangan on motorbikes with Brendan. This involved DIY snorkelling at Haad Salaad, watching World Cup Games at the sports bar, enjoying a massage in Thong Sla, consuming countless Changs, and going to the Shiva Moon and Full Moon Parties. YEAH!
In Koh Phangan I managed (out of necessity) to teach myself to ride a motorbike. For only 150Baht (AUD$6) a day, plus fuel costs I could explore the island at my own will and leisure. This saves you the exorbitant prices demanded by the songthaew drivers and is a whole lot more fun. I warmly recall driving through the red-light district a bit tipsy in the early hours honking my little horn at the callgirls perched out front of the girly bars. I honked, they screamed, waved and woo-hooed me! Very funny...
It was also on Koh Phangan that I misplaced my camera – it probably fell out of my pocket when I was on a bike – but who knows? I got a police report done and have submitted a travel insurance claim. Now to play the waiting game... Not to worry – the place isn’t very photogenic, however I haven’t any photographic memories of my time there. I did meet some cool people – esp. the crew that I had many a good laugh with on the Full Moon Party night. Again, not to worry – we still have pen and paper and I took down their emails and/or facebook deets!!!
After 7 days and 6 nights at Baan Tai, I honoured my booking for a 7.5 day detox at the Ananda Resort on the west of the island. The beach wasn’t that great, but for 15000 Baht (approx AUD$550) the resort had a pool, and as part of the detox I received daily the following; supplements/herbs, fibre/detox shakes, coconut juice, carrot juice, unlimited filtered water and ginger tea, a thai massage, a herbal sauna, 2 daily colemas, a yoga class, unlimited wifi, hot shower, double bed with fan, and plenty of quiet places, positive souls and yogis to help nurture and assist with contemplations and reflection.
The whole experience, thinking back to it was amazingly positive and surreal. Reality really melted away as my days were taken up with the task of removing all toxins from my body. After 2 months of travelling I had gained a lot of weight and had picked up many bad habits. Within 4 days of the detox I had already lost a lot of the excess weight that I had wanted to shed and was starting to feel really good, albeit a little vacant. On day 5 I jumped out of bed and swam 20 laps of the pool. Amazing considering I hadn’t any solid food for more than 100 hours! Similarly, the detox revealed to me the situations where I would turn to food for comfort.
I now realise that the ‘hunger’ that I had come to know over 32 years is more an emotional craving rather than the body expressing a need for nutritive sustenance. The shakes/supplements/juices given on the detox are more than substantial for your dietary needs and the absence of a taxing over consumptive diet leaves your body much more efficient and energised. My only problem is that I love food (don’t we all?). My solution to this since completing the detox is to go back to predominantly veg (mainly raw foods) and to reduce my consumption of refined carbohydrates and dairy. That means no maccas and no fried chicken, avoiding wheat, corn, white rice, soft drinks, sweets, cakes, chocolates and more salads, stir-fries, tofu, soy milk, raw nuts, brown rice, lentils and yogurts! In Thailand this hasn’t been a problem – and I’m assuming in India it will be a breeze!
While on the detox I also enjoyed a feeling of clarity and a corresponding emotional cleanse.... there were vivid dreams at night, a lot of daytime naps and listening to inspirational music. Things are almost back to normal now – with the exception of nasty foods in my diet, and an increased sensitivity and awareness to what I choose to eat.
The day after the detox ended I took the ferry/bus to Bangkok for a brief stay before heading to Chiang Mai. Bangkok was surprisingly a lot more hospitable than I had imagined. The shopping isn’t as good as Bukit Bintang, KL (ie. It was a lot more commercialised and expensive), however the food, culture and people was a lot more fun. Actually, ‘fun’ is my favourite summary word for Thailand. Everything is easy – and if you want to get high, whether it be wholesome, through food, through alcohol, through thrill-seeking or through elicit substances – it’s all here amidst chilled-out smiley people, golden Buddhist temples, a lot of greenery, hot weather and a great ambience.
So all I did in Bangkok was go camera shopping, eat, sleep and drink. My first bender post detox (only 5 days later) was quite severe, but also fun. After a couple of big Changs (beers), I plunged into a series of cocktails, shots, sheesha and red-bull. My accomplices for the evening were Leigh (fellow DEEWR colleague) and Ben (a random I met at the bar). We had a good time politely debating politics and religion! We all had interesting viewpoints – not that I remember much because before long I was quite drunk! YEEAAAHHH! We ended up at a club called “The Gazebo” where a great cover band rocked us and great tunes kept me dancing until 3am. My hangover the next morning wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either!!! That was okay though, as I just had to sit on a train for 14 hours to Chiang Mai!!! That meant plenty of listening to music, sleeping, drooling and reading my book.
After 14 hours on the delayed train (it broke down 3 hours before Chiang Mai and we were stranded on the tracks for 3 hours!), I was glad to be welcomed by Lek who picked me up and took me across to the Ben Guesthouse just East of the river in Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai was all that I had expected and more.... Chiang Mai has a population of 4 million, which is surprising considering that the only high rises are hotels, that there were only two shopping malls that I observed, and that there is a lot of beautiful architecture and reverence for Buddhism. Chiang Mai has almost as many temples (or ‘wats’ as they are called in Thailand) as Bangkok – and many of them are extremely old. As you may notice if you look at my photos I spent a lot of time visiting the various temples... Among other things I did a cooking course, did a 2 day trek into the jungle, and spent half a day shooting through the forest on a zip-line suspended 30 metres above the jungle canopy! YEAH!
Photo’s relevant to this blog can be observed at the following links:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=682976605&aid=193514&s=100&hash=5e3c45bc898be6cb52328abd1effc48a#!/album.php?aid=190727&id=682976605 - KEK LOK SI TEMPLE, PENANG
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=682976605&aid=193514&s=100&hash=5e3c45bc898be6cb52328abd1effc48a#!/album.php?aid=193514&id=682976605 - MALAYSIA AND THAILAND
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=682976605&aid=193514&s=100&hash=5e3c45bc898be6cb52328abd1effc48a#!/album.php?aid=197219&id=682976605 - THE LAND OF SMILES AND GOLDEN BUDDHAS
So that just about brings me to where I am now.... sitting in the lounge room of the Punjagga Homestay guesthouse in KL with The Simpsons on tv, the fan on and other back-packers milling back and forth. I under 12 hours I board a flight into India. TOMORROW!!!! OMG!!!
I will be in India for 10 weeks and I am excited and a little nervous. Excited because I know it will be fascinating, thrilling and amazing. Nervous, because I’ve almost finished reading ‘Shantaram’, and I really don’t know what to expect, except to expect the unexpected – and CHAOS!!!! Uh-oh...
HERE I GO!!! ...........
Almost forgot a video tribute! I saw this vid on the ferry leaving Koh Phangan to get to the mainland.... I love it!!!
Almost forgot a video tribute! I saw this vid on the ferry leaving Koh Phangan to get to the mainland.... I love it!!!
