Meditating Monkey v Banana Babe : Member Travel Logues

Page 5 of 9

[ 129 posts ]

Go to page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Next

Meditating Monkey v Banana Babe
Author	Message
charly Moderator Joined: Tue, Jan 25 2005, 22:50 PM Posts: 3001 Location: Galata	Who drinks the most? You or Banana? Big cheers to you both & the random people you meet on the road!
Mon, Jul 24 2006, 11:50 AM

Paul Salihli Helpful Expat Joined: Thu, May 25 2006, 13:16 PM Posts: 269 Location: Salihli / Manisa	my eyes hurt! monkey, can you find the RedBull T-Shirts out there ? with Thai Writing under the RedBull ?
Mon, Jul 24 2006, 12:40 PM

maymunn Expat Drunk Joined: Tue, Mar 29 2005, 21:28 PM Posts: 942 Location: In the hills	[quote user="charly" post="60272"]Who drinks the most? You or Banana? Big cheers to you both & the random people you meet on the road![/quote] I think I win that particular prize!!! But its hard to drink out here because of the heat. After about 3 or 4 large bottles of beer, you're pretty much wasted!!
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 7:42 AM

maymunn Expat Drunk Joined: Tue, Mar 29 2005, 21:28 PM Posts: 942 Location: In the hills	[quote user="Paul Salihli" post="60274"]my eyes hurt! monkey, can you find the RedBull T-Shirts out there ? with Thai Writing under the RedBull ?[/quote] Yep, I've seen loads of them around mate. Didnt fancy one myself cos everyone wears them!!
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 7:43 AM

maymunn Expat Drunk Joined: Tue, Mar 29 2005, 21:28 PM Posts: 942 Location: In the hills	Day 8 - Trekking, Tribes and Tubes!!! Possibly the best day so far. On day 7 I was starting to get my usual '1 week holiday blues' where I start feeling homesick and I was missing my girl So I was a bit down, but thanks to an online chat with a certain 'EIT'er" (thanks mate) I felt a bit better. We started out at 9.30 to take a minibus 13kms out of town for a day of trekking, caves and adventure. After cramming into the minibus with our fellow travellers for the day (Koreans, Dutch and Italian), we got off by a little roadside track. Hoisted our backpacks on and set off down the track with the guides. After about 15 minutes of walking down the muddy track we came to a river.In the dry season you can wade accross but not in this, the wet season!! A little kid in a small boat takes 4 people across at a time.Very low in the water and very wobbly boat mind you!! On the other side we found a monkey!!!! Unfortunately it was chained to a tree (which I found disgusting) so I refused to take a photo. Would rather see them in their natural habitat thank you very much!! Was rather amusing when one of the Korean guys got too close to the monkey and the monkey ripped his glasses off and started chewing them Just by the river was our first cave (Elephant cave) where there is a shrine to Buddha and also a rock formation that looks strangely like an elephant (hence the name). After this we had a 20-30 minute trek across open country and paddy fields. Bearing in mind its the rainy season, the ground can be very muddy and slippery.And if you've never walked around paddy fields before, the actual paths between the water are very very narrow. Good balance is essential!! Nobody fell in but I did manage to lose my flip flop in a particularly sticky patch. Of course, I carried this off in my usual 'cool style' We reached the next caves where we rested under a roofed construction (like a barn) to keep off the ever growing heat. After about an hour it was our turn to go into the cave (and find out why other tourists were coming back muddy and rather relieved looking!!). A short trip up a slippery, muddy slope to where we reached the cave mouth. Nobody was very happy because the conditions were, quite honestly...DANGEROUS!! Mud and water covered rocks sloping down into a cave where each of us had rather bulky lamps on our head. It was all we could do not to fall arse over tit at any given opportunity!! Not my idea of fun, and as one tourist put it, "they wouldnt be able to do this tour in Europe". So after a 20 minute tour in the cave (and sweating profusely in fear of our fragile bones) we reached daylight again. To say the breath of relief was audible is an understatement!! We then ate our lunch and headed off on another 10 minute walk to the next cave............................
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 8:05 AM

maymunn Expat Drunk Joined: Tue, Mar 29 2005, 21:28 PM Posts: 942 Location: In the hills	Day 8 - Trekking, Tribes and Tubes!!! (ctd) Now we are talking!!!!! The next cave was excellent. Its actually a cave that is only accessible by water. So we all got ourselves a big inflatable inner tube and plunged into the cool water (which was very refreshing after spending much time walking in the draining heat). You go in against the strong current of the river, so you have to pull yourself along with the rope attached to the walls. So a convoy of 20 tubes headed into the opening (with about 10cm of headroom due to the high waters) and merrily pulled ourselves along the tunnels, bobbing against the current. Some of us had lamps to light the way to avoid cracking your skull on low hanging rocks!! It was a great and peaceful feeling inside the cave, broken only by the shrieks of excitement as someone let go of the rope and started floating away on the fast current!! After about 10 minutes you can go no further. Ordinarily (in dry season) you can continue and go under an archway into further tunnels, but because the water is so high now, it would involve swimming underwater (against the current) into the next cavern. No thank you very much!!! The return journey was much easier as we sped along on the current and popped out of the entrance like little rubber champagne corks We then set off for another half an hour of trekking as (thankfully) the sky clouded over taking some of the heat of the day. We passed by several little villages, giving a perfect picture of rural life up here in the hills. Kids playing in the river without a care in the world, people tending the rice in the paddy fields and cows and goats and pigs randomly walking down the streets. I know things arent 'perfect' here...with poverty and illness quite prevailent, but the people seemed content with their lot. Myself and Banana had a heated mini discussion on this topic We eventually reached our minibus, which had been brought to meet us and we headed off for the last leg of our adventure day out...................................... Last edited by maymunn on Wed, Jul 26 2006, 8:47 AM, edited 1 time in total.
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 8:21 AM

maymunn Expat Drunk Joined: Tue, Mar 29 2005, 21:28 PM Posts: 942 Location: In the hills	Day 8 - Trekking, Tribes and Tubes!!! (The finale) We drove along for about 10 minutes to our next location with me sitting on the roof with the tour guide. Not sure why, but it seemed a good idea at the time. Not so good considering the amount of cows we had to swerve around on the way there Those buggers just stand there and refuse to move!! Anyways..............the highlight of the day (and the holiday so far). TUBING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We grabbed our tubes off the support vehicle and walked down to the riverside and jumped in (with lifejackets of course). The journey home was expected to take about 2 hours. This river is the one directly outside our balcony. I wasnt convinced about this tubing, until just after lunch when I had to make my decision. Everyone else was doing it, so I couldnt wimp out I'm just not very comfortable in water!! But I'm so glad I did it though!!!!!!!!! We had only been floating and spinning along for about 10 minutes when we stopped at the first "riverside bar' that we came to. You just steer your way in to shore, dump your tube in the decking and climb up the muddy steps where you are surrounded by lots of little huts and terraces facing the river. Backpackers of every size and nationality were represented. All of them merrily drinking BeerLao and listening to the pumping sound system (unfortunately with cheesy 'europop'). We purchased a bottle of beer and sat and watched the fun. There is a kind of 'bungee trapeze' where you can jump off and swing backwards and forwards across the river until you decide to let go or simply fall off It looked like great fun, unfortunately (even after 2 beers) I didnt go for it. As I said before, I'm not good in water and didnt want to gulp down mouthfuls of crappy water.Spending the next few days in bed with a stomach bug aint my idea of fun!! After drinking beer and a local brew (distilled by the hilltribes) which was called LaoLao and is pretty much their equivalent of moonshine , we set off again, plunging into the refreshing coolness of the river. We passed at least another 5-10 riverside 'bars' where we could have stopped for further refuelling . But time was getting on, and its not a good idea to be tubing when the sun has set. We finally arrived about an hour later and after approximately 10kms on the river. A truly awesome experience. So much so, that I have decided to stay in Vang Vieng for another 2 days and give "The Plain of Jars' a miss. Seen one jar, then you've seen them all I say!! Banana really wanted to see the jars and was gonna go on her own. But after doing the tubing and getting to know some of our fellow travellers, she too has decided to stay in town!!! We had big plans for the night because we were buzzing from the river tubing.We went to a restuarant for some pizza, where there was also a special menu with the headings "Weed", "Mushrooms", and "Opium" which was an eye opener for me to say the least!! Needless to say, we didnt partake of this and ate normal stuff. At this point Banana started to feel decidedly sick and she went home Followed very shortly by me (feeling the same way). Could have been the food, but more likely a combination of sun, walking, beer and a very long day out. So we had an early night and slept the sleep of babies. Last edited by maymunn on Wed, Jul 26 2006, 8:51 AM, edited 1 time in total.
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 8:41 AM

maymunn Expat Drunk Joined: Tue, Mar 29 2005, 21:28 PM Posts: 942 Location: In the hills	Day 9 - (Today) Absolutely Nothing Day Today involves:- Emailing our folks Getting a traditional Lao massage Booking a 'tubing' day out tomorrow For Banana...reading a book on the hammock on our balcony by the river. For me........Watching back to back episodes of "Friends" in one of the local bars for most of the day!! (yes, sad I know...but its my day off and I'll do what I want!! $\:D/$ ) Hope everyone is well back in the Bul. Missing (some of) you Laters........................................................
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 8:46 AM

ddens Helpful Expat Joined: Wed, May 04 2005, 14:12 PM Posts: 178 Location: Istanbul/Fenerbahçe	Enjoy Monkey boy to the fullest cause even though you might be a bit homesick, after being back working for one week you wish you were back there!!! See you soon (will you be at the boat party???) Cheers Dirk _________________ Why wait till tomorrow if you can get the party going tonight!
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 8:58 AM

maymunn Expat Drunk Joined: Tue, Mar 29 2005, 21:28 PM Posts: 942 Location: In the hills	Cheers Dirk, I think I'll be okay from now on. As for the boat party....I dont think so. Looks like I'm gonna be away in Antalya and Olympos that weekend. Just wanna make full use of my time off!!!
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 9:03 AM

ddens Helpful Expat Joined: Wed, May 04 2005, 14:12 PM Posts: 178 Location: Istanbul/Fenerbahçe	Maybe you don't know what you'll be missiiiiiiiiiing (apart from the headache )
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 9:06 AM

griffingrowl Expat Trainee Joined: Wed, Mar 23 2005, 23:49 PM Posts: 38 Location: Ortakoy	Monkey - great travelblog. I will use this when I plan my trip to Thailand. Want to go to one of those Muay Thai camps...
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 9:56 AM

maymunn Expat Drunk Joined: Tue, Mar 29 2005, 21:28 PM Posts: 942 Location: In the hills	Griffingrowl - Those Muay Thai camps are brutal. I heard a story yesterday where 2 guys dropped out after a couple of days of the month long course. Most foreigners last no longer than a week!!! I'm hoping to do it the easy way and just watch some live Muay Thai bouts when I pass through Bangkok.
Wed, Jul 26 2006, 17:18 PM

charly Moderator Joined: Tue, Jan 25 2005, 22:50 PM Posts: 3001 Location: Galata	"The more you sweat in the ring, the less you bleed in a fight" "Fight now, hurt later" "Pain is temporary, glory is forever" Cor blimey! Hardcore! http://www.phuket-muay-thai.com/thai-bo ... rogram.htm
Thu, Jul 27 2006, 9:54 AM

maymunn Expat Drunk Joined: Tue, Mar 29 2005, 21:28 PM Posts: 942 Location: In the hills	VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the video of the dragon steps on the way up to Wat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai. Thought it was the biking video, but its not. Thats on page 6 and is much more exciting!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6FHYsq5agQ Last edited by maymunn on Thu, Jul 27 2006, 14:43 PM, edited 2 times in total.
Thu, Jul 27 2006, 11:28 AM

Display posts from previous: Sort by

Page 5 of 9

[ 129 posts ]

Go to page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Next

Announcements

Meditating Monkey v Banana Babe

Who is online