Beautiful white sand beaches.....

and it’s not raining!!! I’ve been here at Chanweng beach in Koh Samui…It’s the largest and most popular beach here on Koh Samui and with it is all the nightlife/tourist stuff that goes along with this popular beach destination…Koh Samui is only second in size (and popularity) to Phuket but has all the amenities of it’s larger cousin. Koh Samui is located in the south east in the Gulf of Thailand as opposed to the westcoast where Phuket is located…apparently during the “rainy” season, the east does not experience as much rain as the westcoast which is why I ended up here…so far, so good….we’ve only had a few thundershowers since I’ve been here and those were usually during the evening, still lots of sun and heat (and humidity!!).

Everyone should be able to work like this....not that I'm working!!!

I’m staying at the Muang Kulaypan Resort which is located on the north end of the beach which is the quiet end yet only a five minute walk to all the main action of Chanweng Beach. The resort is model with a Japanese zen like theme including lots of waterfalls  and mats…I almost felt like meditating out by the infinity pool everyday!!! ( for those who really know me, that would never happen) but it was nice none the less….

Chanweng Beach in Koh Samui really reminds me of any beach resort town in mexico, just in a different language….the usual bars, souvenir shops and restaurants that you would find at any beach resort, having said this, the locals are really nice and not quite as “pushy” as some other places ( I can only speak of mexico really).

After a few days of getting my “bearings” and getting acquainted with Chanweng Beach, I decided to do the usual tourist thing and rent a scooter for a couple of days at the cost of about 200-250 baht/day, equivalent to about $8 cdn, quite an economical mode of transportation…the one caveat, Thailand has the highest number of scooter accidents and an alarming number of fatalities, this in part due to the number of tourists as well as the driving habits in Thailand, but, I think if you play it safe and don’t be stupid on the roads, more than likely you’ll be ok (oh yeah, experience riding motorcycles would help as well)…

Here's my ride for a few days.....110cc of raw power!!!!!

So off I went touring the Island, it really doesn’t take that long since the island is really small and takes about 2 hrs to drive around the whole thing…There’s really not that much to see other than a few temples, waterfalls and beaches….

Big Buddha stands over 12 meters tall on the northern part of the island

One of the many waterfalls on the island...had to hike for an hour to get to this one!!

Grandfather Rock in Lamai Beach....what does this look like??? There's a female version as well (Grandmother Rock) but I couldn't get a pic...

Quaint little cove by Grandfather Rock....

One thing I did find interesting was at Wat Khunaram, a monk that died over 20 years ago in his meditation pose has been preserved in the same position and is on display in a special enclosure…..

Dead for over 20 years!! This monk is remarkably preserved, they say due to his meditation and veganism...they put sunglasses on him cause the caretakers found bugs in his eyes....

So, the scooter has been returned and I just plan to hang on the beach for the next few days and relax….then back to Bangkok for a few days before I return to Vancouver.

Oh yeah, one thing I forgot to mention, if you have been to Ko Samui (or Phuket for that matter), you would of noticed that 90%…ok, more like 98% of the scooter riders do not wear helmets (tourists and locals) even though it is officially the law to wear one. Pretty much it seemed like one of those laws that is just ignored (helmetless riders routinely ride by police without any action at all)….until the cops need to replenish the kitty. The scooter I rented came with a helmet but it was two sizes too small, I inquired about a larger one but was told they only had one size…so I just tossed it aside thinking “what the heck” and everything was fine as I passed many policemen…until the second day…the cops actually had a road block setup specifically for helmetless riders just outside their station (how convenient). They were pulling over so many riders that there was no room to park!!! The fine was 300 baht (about $10 cdn) which had to paid right away…what a cash cow!!! They barely even wanted to know your name…maybe payday was coming up and they were running a little short….at least the locals were getting fined as well and not just the tourists….hmmf, first ticket I’ve had in over ten years…

Pouring rain!!!! Just like Vancouver

Who would of thought??? Just because it’s rainy season and all…..hahaha ….. usually the only rain I’ve seen has been the tropical downpours that last about 20 minutes, then it clears up and dries in about 15 minutes….this has been going on all afternoon, glads it my last day here cause the forecast calls for rain in the next few days…..So today I got my zip lining in. The tour company showed up this time and this morning I was whisked away to the jungle about an hour and a half outside of Chiang Mai. The tour was called the “Flight of the Gibbons” and was actually a well organized, well run outfit,  basically 3 hours of zip lining, a waterfall hike and a decent lunch. Fortunately I caught the morning run and missed all the rain in the afternoon… I know we’ve got zip lining at several spots in Vancouver/Whistler and I never had the inkling to go, but it’s something about being on vacation that you do things you normally wouldn’t (hmmm, maybe when I get back i should be a tourist in my own town????)

Waterfall hike before the zip lining.....more dammmm stairs to climb!!!

After the hike it was off to the zip line platforms…..

Who's that dude with the ugly lookin hat???

One of the short little lines to cross.

A day at the zip lines!!

That’s all I got for Chiang Mai….tomorrow I catch a plane to Koh Samui and head Chaweng Beach to lounge and relax….not that I haven’t been relaxing this whole trip!!!

Got up early this morning as the tour bus was supposed to be at the lobby for 8:30am….I signed up for the Jungle Safari Zip Line Trek which has about 5km of zip lines strung in the jungle canopy…It’s 9:oo am, still no show on the tour bus…I talked to the girl I booked the tour from (hotel lobby) and she says the van went to the wrong hotel and will be here in 10 mins…back to waiting I go….9:30 am and still no signs of a van, just a bunch of taxi drivers looking for a fare, back to the lobby and now the manager is involved (at least I think he was since he was dressed differently) and he ends up calling the tour company and hands me the phone….what am I supposed to do?? I only know two words in Thai and the girl on the other end knows about the same amount of English. Anyhow, after babbling into this cell phone (and obviously getting no where), I handed the phone to the girl who booked for me in the first place…well, I don’t know any Thai, but from what I could gather, their conversation probably would of made a trucker blush, there was all sorts of yelling and screaming and in the end, the explanation to me was that they didn’t understand the schedule…seems like a little BS to me, so I just told them to cancel the whole dam thing…in the end, I’m booked with a different tour company for tomorrow to do zip lining as well…we’ll see what happens….funny enough, the outfit that I am booked with tomorrow just happens to be the more expensive one as well…hmmm, all part of their master plan??? Probably not, just my conspiracy paranoia acting up…

So now that the zip line tour is kyboshed for today, what to to??? Well, it just so happens that I was talking with one of the hotel employees about Muang On Caves…It is located about 35 km outdie of Chiang Mai and contains several fossilized animals including a full dinosaur skeleton, it was also the favorite meditation place for a very well repected monk from 80 years ago “Pra Khru Ba See Wichai”….his remains are even enshrined at the entrance….After negotitiating a tuk tuk to take me out there, off I went….

Here's my transportation for the day...this thing had a full stereo with flip out LCD screen!!

45 minutes later (tuk tuks aren’t very fast) I’m standing at the base of the stair case that leads up to the cave entrance, my immediate thoughts were “Grouse Grind” for those that don’t know, the “Grind” is a bit of landmark in Vancouver. It is essentialy a hike up the side of Grouse Mountain in Vancouver that resembles a staircase and lasts for about 2.9 km and is commonly refered to as “mother natures stairclimber”….So, off I went and the further I got, the more I felt I was on the Grind, huffing and puffing with every step!!! Fortunately the cave entrance was no where near 2.9 km so I reached the entrance in no time….

The start of the stairs leading to the cave entrance.

Entrance to the Muang Cave system.....

It’s a little earry when you first enter as you have to descend down a steep long stairwell that is pretty much like climbing down a ladder into this dark cavern,but once your eyes get accustomed to the darkness, everything is well lit with flourescent tubes strung along the walls…

Descending into the caves.....there is one spot where you literally have to get on your back to pass..

This is how it looks before your eyes get adjusted...

Once down into the depths of the caves, you will find a myraid of little shrines that are dimmly lit, some ancient writings on the walls, a huge lying buddah, a big fossilized dinosaur skeleton and of course this huge 30 foot staligmite that has been turned into a shrine….

One of the many little shrines in the caves....

The sign say 1000 year old turtle....believe it or not!!!

Walking through the main cavern

If you look closely, you can see the "writing on the wall"

Another shrine...this one was a little bigger...

The famous staligmite turned shrine...it's 30 feet high and 10 feet around.

It's there somewhere...this is the dinosour fossil, if you look closely, you should be able to see the head on the right side of the pic...

When exiting the caves (same as the entrance), there are two options, continue down the stairs and back to the parking lot, or option two, continue up the stairs to the top of the mountain…..option two is where the climb really reminded me of the grouse grind!!! Basically a staircase up the side of a mountain. I took option two and had my workout for the day….

Totally reminds me of the Grind, except maybe a little more manicured, but still the same workout!!!

It took about 40 minutes to get to the top which had great views below to the villages and (you guessed it!!) a couple of shrines….unfortunately, unlike the Grind, there was no bar up top to have a drink and no tram to take you down to the bottom, so I had to do it the old fashioned way, a bottle of water and taking the stairs down….

Views from the top of the mountain...

The top of the climb...this is whats here....it's a long way to go to pray...

Here we go, time to head back down...

Tommorrow, I’m gonna try the zip line thing again then leave Chiang Mai on saturday….We’ll see how it goes….

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lookin for some bananas!!!

I think he just stepped on a little rock!!!!

Just cruzin through he jungle......

This guy has more talent than I do.....

Just posing for the camera

Who the hell is this pesky tourist bothering my sleep time????

I think he likes his belly scratched....

I have had a lot of time off recently and I hate to say this, but I am starting to lose track of time…..I had to think about it for a while, but I finally figured out it’s Monday June 20th!!!

Happy Fathers Day!!!! (I’m not late, we’re just one day ahead in Thailand) Hey pop, I’ll see ya when I get back…..
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Left Bangkok today and hopped on a flight to Chiang Mai up north ( flew with Thai Airways and the service was impeccable!!). I haven’t seen much here yet, but i like it already…It’s much more  laid back than Bangkok (the air is cleaner too) which is more my kinda pace… I plan to stay here till Saturday, then off to Koh Samui for some beach time. I have booked an elephant thing for tomorrow morn and want to get some dirt biking and zip lining in as well in the next few days…..more to come….

To take a quote from Hangover 2….as they say, it’s tough for the sequel to match the original, but this one’s not bad…..I’ve been in Bangkok for a few days now and I am starting to get the hang of the transit system, it’s actually pretty good and with the subway and skytrain system, it’s fairly easy (and cheap) to get around. This is the first time I have really been to a city of this size (about 11 million including greater Bangkok) and I gotta tell ya, this place is big and dirty which is both good and bad…the traffic is constantly jammed, the smog is horrific and the city is dirty….on the other hand, this is a world class city and you can find anything you want here, the shopping is incredible and mostly relatively cheap and there are many beautiful sites to see within the city limits….

One of many huge shopping malls, MBK has 7 floors of "everything"

Metal detectors at all the mall entrances....life in a big city I guess...

I've never seen so many scooters in my life!!! This is just a small group of them and they weave in and out of traffic like madmen.

These shrines are all over the place...their numbers would rival 7 elevens and Starbucks put together...

The rainy season brings these thundershowers that don't last long, but dump a whole lot of water...it was much worse than the picture shows!!!

Just a highrise I thought was neat looking...

A Muay Thai boxing match just outside MBK shopping mall....just out in the open air.

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A "scooter taxi" they can only take one passenger, but they go anywhere, even sidewalks!!

Khao San Road....well known within the backpacking community...hostels, cheap food/beer and lots of bars...what more could you want??

Takin a ferry up the Chao Phraya river.....Don't think I'd wanna go for swim in that...

One of those long boats with the crazy outboard motors..made famous in a James Bond flick (can't remember which one)

Was this in Hangover 2???

Weekend Chatuchak market...35 acres!!!!...are you kidding? this place was huge...I needed my gps just so I wouldn"t lost...everything could be bought here, from scooters to animals...

Something grilling on one of the many food carts all over town...cheap and tasty!!! I only stuck with eating the stuff I could identify...

So, I’m a little mixed on my visit to Bangkok….I am definitely glad I am spending some time here, but I kinda can’t wait to leave….don’t think I would come back unless just passing through, but that’s just me…..I still have a day or so left here to finish up my dental work (turned out that I needed a root canal as well) which is why I have been here for about a week, then I’m gonna grab a flight up to Chiang Mai (northern Thailand) and hang out there for a little while…gonna see if I can find me an elephant!! maybe even do some trail riding in the mountains…

One stop in Tokyo and 18hrs later, I finally landed  at the Bangkok International airport. I landed around 9:30 pm local time so it was was pretty dark out and after that long flight, I was beat!!!! First thing I noticed stepping out of the airport was the wall of humidity I ran into. I shouldn’t be too surprised as they say it is the start of the rainy season but you never really  can appreciated it until it slaps you right in the face!!! Hopped in a cab and started making my way to downtown Bangkok where my hotel is…. And now we contain physical exercise and balance component, functional training and education in order online cialis supplementprofessors.com to avoid future occurences in the treatment. An erection begins with either mental or physical stimulation, or both. cialis 5 mg supplementprofessors.com In 2008, Sarah Fisher and her husband Andy O’Gara formed Sarah Fisher Racing cheapest viagra from india see for info (SFR) and she made her first start as a team owner in that year’s Indianapolis 500. It gives a creation within five to ten minutes. canada in levitra is taken 30 minutes previous to sexual movement. levitra is effectual merely with sexual stimulations. order levitra is not an aphrodisiac and stimulation will be required to develop an erection. All the guide books tell you to never accept a flate rate from a taxi driver as it will always be over inflated compared to the actual metered fare, but I was tired and I just wanted to get to my hotel….the flat rate came to 500 baht for the ride which included airport fees, tolls and service charges (worked out to about $16 cdn) which I thought was pretty reasonable considering that would be a short taxi ride in Vancouver…..I probably could of saved a few bucks by arguing for a metered fare, but I just didn’t have the energy for it…..so 40 miutes later and a few wrong turns, I was let out in front of my hotel and greeted by the largest cockroach I have ever seen…it musta been 2 inches long ( I should of got a picture, but as I mentioned before, I was tired and just wanted to get to bed)….I squeezed by my new friend and off to the front desk to check-in. The hotel is a 3 star that is actually pretty decent all things considered…it’s a little worn, but clean and fairly close to everything (transit, restaurants, shopping, bars, etc….), all this for only $32/night with breaky…cheaper than any Motel 6 and if you read my earlier posts, I’ll never stay at another one of those…..I had a dentist appointment the next morning, so straight to bed and no time to take a look around the neighbourhood….I’ll leave that for later…..

Well maybe not BUST……First off, I know it has been a couple of weeks since my last post, but since arriving home in Vancouver I have been a little busy “takin care of business” here. Actually, I had to move, store all of my worldly possessions, take care of some finances  etc…. and of course, the Vancouver Canucks made it to the Stanley cup finals against Boston, so I had to watch a few games…..Anyhow, the original plan after I returned to Vancouver was to take care of all my “domestic” sh** and then pack up the bike for a trek up to Prudhoe Bay Alaska, through the Yukon (maybe NWT) and back south to Van for beginning of July…..Well, after mapping a route, I found that the weather up and down wasn’t looking too “bike” friendly…… I know what your thinking….”what’s with this guy??” “he wants to travel around North America on a bike and he’s scared of a little rain and cold??”, “what a wimp!!!”…..Well, to my defense, the weather patterns were going to be abnormal (more rain and cold than usual) and I’m still kinda new at this, so gimme a break!!

Anyhow, so the Alaska plans have been postponed probably until August and I have to be back in Vancouver the first week of July to ride with a few friends back down into the US for a month…..So, as it stands, no plans for June…hmmmmm, what to do??? Well after a little deliberation and exploring my options, I came up with this great idea to go to Thailand for 3 weeks!!!!….hopped on the Internet and a few keystrokes later, I’m all booked up!!! This Internet thing sure makes life a little easier….amazing!!! I fly into Bangkok and have a few nights booked, then for the rest of the trip I’ll just play it by ear….during my research, I also found out that Thailand is also a destination for “medical/dental vacations”…apparently, quite a few europeans/australians travel to Thailand for vacations and while there, have some “work”done…It is supposed to be up to or better than western standards and incredibly inexpensive and there are medical/dental centers all over Bangkok. It just so happens that I need to get some dental work done (crown), so I made an appointment with one of the larger dental centers there. Since I am not on any dental plan now, any work I have done comes straight out of my pocket and as everyone knows, dentists are very expensive in North America ( I think dentists are some of the highest paid professionals….why didn’t I become a dentist???). The cost in Thailand works out to less than half the cost here which equates to quite a bit of savings so I decided to give it a shot. I’ll be writing about my experiences (good or bad) in this blog, so if you are at all interested in travelling to Thailand for some work you can at lest read about my experiences…I’ll be your be your guinea pig!!!!
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That’s all I have for now, check back often as I’ll be posting a lot more frequently now that I will be back on the “road”……next stop…..Bangkok……