Thailand - so far.

Hi All,
This message is way past due but better late than never! the trip has been fantastic so far. Roughing it out is truly the way to travel. You begin to appreciate the many luxuries in your life that you normally take for granted. Of course, I cannot go into extensive detail of the trip so far - there is far too much to write! However, I will share some particularly memorable moments that Hersh and I have experienced till now.
We arrived in Bangkok and were quite pumped, to say the least. After moving into the hostel we immersed ourselves in the local culture the quickest way we could - through the "indigenous" cuisine. A local restaurant with make shift tables on the street and pavement provided us with many substantial noodle-soups and fried pork. Food hygiene was apparently not a factor we were taking into consideration - and don't think we will. The next day was a fantastic excursion that comprised of jumping on the local #115 bus, as well as hailing a tuk-tukl to visit some temples and touristy spots for dirt cheap provided we would succumb ourselves to visiting a "government house." This was, quite simply, a gem scam that is prevalent in Bangok and FAR from governmental. i knew it was coming considering I have visited before, but hey, having your own tuk-tuk for BHT 20 (less than $1 USD) per day is unbeatable. During our time there we we also visited a market and popular red light area called "Nana Plaza," where we played two games of "ping-pong" with the go-go dancers (the details of which I would rather not go into) and ended that particular night eating deep-fried locusts. Like I said, what better way to experience the culture than to gorge on the local cuisine?
After a few days we headed out to Koh Phangan Island, off the southeaster coast, via bus and boat. This place for me was truly a dream come true. The water was calm and a stunning blue. We stayed at a cheap resort in a small fishing village called Chaloklam. The food there was exquisite, and we ate till we had our own deep-sea ecosystems in our bellies. The tide there was surprisingly low at this time of year, which made for somewhat easy snorkeling. With this in mind we made our way to another beach called Haad Mae Haad where we snorkeled to our eyes content. The marine life there is stunning! It is hard for me to imagine why people would try and destroy these wonders of the ocean. At this point I have officially regained my natural brown colour (and then some) from the whiteness that had consumed me in New York. Later, during our time on the island, we decided to make an un-guided hike to another beach about 3 miles from where we were staying. Apparently the only way to get there was by long-bottomed boat or by car. Since the road was virtually non-existent, the car would have to make its way all the way south of the island and then back up north to the beach! Too long and too boring, so trekking it was. We soon realised this "trek" was no joke! It was literally in the thick of the jungle! We also had another friend who met up us at the island and for him, this was his FIRST trek - big mistake. We hiked for three hours over treacherous terrain, often up 70 degree inclines and steep declines. We soon realised that the only real way to find the route to the beach was to follow overturned bottles small tree branches that were sporadically placed, if at all! The rains the night before didn't help our cause either. The water had washed some markers away! The beach was aptly named "Bottle Beach." Now, some of us were getting worried, and yes, Hersh decided to wear slippers on this hike. Eventually we reached the humongous rocks at the bottom of the island, right at ocean level. Oh, our friend? his body had given up on him. Even someone else carrying his bag for him didn't relieve the strenuous outing. Hersh stayed on the rocks with him while I jumped my way to the beach (luckily I was wearing shoes), and got a fisherman to bring his boat, and subsequently, our buddy, to safety. What a trip. The next few days in KP were mainly filled with beach-going, chatting with locals and other travellers, and snorkeling. Still in the beach mood, we made our way to another smaller island called Ko Tao. Snorkeling, again, was the name of the game considering I actually bought flippers and a mask. The best parts? Well, one of them was getting a little drunk and attending an awesome party, the other was getting wasted and somehow finding my way back to the guest house (forcing locals to take me on their bikes...heh) and last, but not least, seeing a 5 foot reef shark in the open ocean, literally no more than 10 feet from me. Sorry folks, no underwater camera for this one! We also enjoyed some amazing fired dancing shows on the beaches (much like Goa, only better) and even saw kids no more than 7 or 8 years old tossing flaming rods in the air!
After KT we bussed and boated it to Kanchanaburi, a little north of Bangkok. This town had seen it's share of the World War and Japanese inhumanity, but now has commericalised that past and boasts the bridge on the river Kwai; or Death Bridge. After visiting that area we made our way to the main attraction - the Tiger Temple! Like most of the tourists there we spent some brief pictorial moments with the big boys (200 kg male Tiger), but had 45 incredible minutes playing with and bottle feeding the 6-month old cubs! it's truly unbelievable how much power these creatures actually have. It was one of, if not THE best, 45 minutes of my life. Now I am seriously considering the volunteer program at the temple. We also saw tons of peacocks with full plumage, strutting their stuff every chance they got, and some deer that roamed the park looking for food from tourists.
We are currently in Chiang Mai and have done some temple browsing. We also met 8 other backpackers from around the world - Israel, England, Canada and Sweden - at this very chilled out bar called THC. Great name, no drugs. We have mostly been hanging out with them and have done a little bit of partying with our new friends. We did, however, make to do the "Flight of the Gibbon" trip, which included zip lining in the thick of the forest about 60 feet in the air. That was a lot of fun - perhaps a lot more for Hersh and I considering we were a tad bit tipsy at 7:00 am that morning. Irrespective, the people there were great and very friendly, which is important when you are going out on an excursion such as this. We also managed to eat some more local food with some of our new pals, and squeezed in elephant riding and bamboo rafting. One memorable experience was meeting a Japanese artist who is Albino and paraplegic, lives with two dogs, and speaks NO Thai or English! He gets around by painting and speaking Japanese! He was so happy that we went to see his exhibition in his home that he gave Hersh and I got a painting each as gifts. Very heartfelt and generous! We are planning to head out to Laos this evening and can't wait to see what this new country has in store for us! Although I am having a very unique experience I must say that I do miss you guys...well, a few of you at least ;) As I said before, it is quite refreshing to see how you can truly enjoy yourself without having to spend exorbitant amounts of money. Hope you enjoy the pics, I don't think we will have access to the Internet for the next week or so. So until then, take care! -Josh


Zip Lining in Chiang Mai



Sunset on the river Kwai

Peacock at Tiger Temple

Japanese Artist - Mr. Aizo

Fire Dancing in Koh Tao

Feeding Tiger Cub in Tiger Temple

Only clearing during trek to Bottle Beach

Nana Plaza Bar