The rest of my stay in Taipei was almost as eventful as the first few days. I found a local gym and went for a workout - and ended up hurting myself so badly that I still cannot straighten my left arm without hissing, and its been 5 days today. I did make an attempt to get downtown and see some things, but the weather and the million people on escalators and in metro stops put me off rather quickly, I was back in Keri's house under the blankets with beef-noodle for dinner within 2 hours.
Saturday we planned to sleep in - but due to the sledgehammer next door there was no chance of doing so after 7.30am - it was an early start. In the afternoon came the 3rd attempt to get downtown, we went to the Taipei 101 - but the weather was so shitty we didnt even go up to the tower, but instead, had some haag n dazs, coffee, lunch, and some (expensive) shopping done - god bless Armani and Lancome! ;) On the way home, we managed to make the 10 minute drive to last almost 2 hours, thanks to a crappy GPS, and were so relieved when we finally got home that, we opened a bottle of wine. And then another one. And then finished the leftovers from the night before.... and then it was 11pm, we still havent had any dinner so we went out. To a club. But of course! I had a great time!! :) Probably a lil more alcohol than should have had but didnt do anything outrageous; spoke to a 67yearold taxidriver who was trying to give us recommendations on which club/pub to go to; was amazed how quiet the city was on a Sat. eve; had some midnight sausage; and ended up in a bar that is for 20-year-old locals, with great music being presented by local, up and coming DJs. It was great. And then an American couple showed up next to us, which meant that some of the locals started buying shots (not sure about how these things work, but what I saw was: Americans next to us - and a minute later there were shots in front of me) - so we pulled the plug and ran home. And drank some more and talked until 5am. HA! I havent been up so late since last August. :D
The Saturday eve shanannigens resulted in no more trying to get anywhere - we were invited for lunch by a friend of Keri's family so we had to get up at noon and go and behave and eat (amazing dim sum) but after that, - we went back home, pulled out all the blankets from the 2 bedrooms, turned the TV on, got the icecream out of the fridge, ate beef noodles for dinner again, while it was just pouring outside...... What a great Sunday it was! :)
Here are the photos:
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Winter in Taiwan
Yesterday, which was Wednesday afternoon (23rd of March) I landed in Taipei – and within 2 minutes froze to complete hibernation. Man I forgot how winter is like. Me no like, at all!
After the usual, getting some cash out and a local sim card, I took a cab to Keri's office, to an outskirt of Taipei with factories and dodgeness, and was really looking forward for her to finish her meetings and have some time to chat and start to catch up – its been years since we saw each other last, in Beijing it was, in 2006, looooong time ago. She had a treat prepared for me: shopping in IKEA for my own bed, pillows and sheets – hehe! She just moved over (last week actually) from Salt Lake city and so, hadn't even had a spare sheet in her apartment for me to sleep on. So IKEA it was and meatballs for dinner, then back at her place – which is just awesome, in the middle of Taipei (according to the map….) with a rooftop loft and a terrace and the most incredible bathtub I have ever seen in my entire life (see photos in the next post..) - had some wine, messed around with the internet connection (which still doesn't work, at all) and, both passed out – me in my own new bed - around midnight.
I had no plans for today and when I got up, again quite late, with a ridiculous migrane, I was so cold that I decided not to move at all, eat Weetbix with soymilk, drink hot coffee, wrap up in blankets and watch TV the whole day. Still no internet connection though which is not handy, but at least I could help my dear friend with letting her handyman in to fix the washingmachine, lights, loo, dishwasher, put the curtains on, managed the IKEA delivery and now waiting for the IT person to show up and fix cyberspace……….. and I am still cold.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Sunday in Hong Kong was half a day for me: due to the fact that I only went to sleep at 3am - which hasn’t happened in a LONG time - I only got out of bed around noon. By the time I was done with breakfast and emails and Starbucks, it was already 2.30 in the afternoon – I decided to go back to some of the areas Pad took me and, try not to spend all my money I had but do the shopping I wanted to. I finally got the sleeping sack I wanted to buy back in October, wondered into Nine West and couldn’t resist some heels, had an Italian meal at a restaurant I saw the previous day (for 25 EUR, that kinda hurt), an the day flew away in a blink of the eye.
After all the rain and clouds and 15C it was sunny and just beautiful spring weather when I woke up on Monday, 25C, not a single cloud on the sky, so I took my backpack, the sunglasses and headed towards Hong Kong Island. Took me 3 days to get there, but hey. Star Ferry ride there – great views – but what blew my mind away was the seats: you can flip the backrest over and so, decide which way you want to face on the boat. WOW!
Then came the most scenic local bus ride I have ever had: for 2 HKD which is about 18 centEUR, an hour-long ride on the top of a double-decker, through the green hills of the island, overlooking beautiful bays with yachts and mansions and swimming pools and beaches and crazy number of Ferraris and Jags, and overall richland. Add to this Puccini on the iPod and trees in blossoms – and you get it why I was smiling like a lunatic all the way. I bused all the way to Stanley and instead of getting off at the market, decided to stay on for an extra (and final) stop and walk back…. I didn’t….. the busdriver stopped the double-decker on his way back, right next to me, explained that its nothing exciting walking the way I headed, and told me to get back on, he would show me which way to go. Can you believe that? I had a whole double-decker for myself!! :D
The pictures show how amazing this place was - in case you haven’t had the chance to visit this place, yet.
I had lunch at a vegetarian place which Jonathan recommended, for a lot more sensible 7 EUR total, and for dinner, I got an invitation from Norman – Dustin’s friend who owns the apartment I was staying at - to join him and his clients for a steak in the eve. Rock on, crashing someone else’s business dinner, in jeans, flipflops and a t-shirt… that’s how I roll these days…
On my last day the clouds and winter came back – just to piss me off I guess – it was gloomy and cold, just like my mood. Walking up and down, I made friends with Alice and her 3 lil friends, a group of lovely 12-year-olds, doing their homework; filling out a questionnaire and having a photo taken with any willing foreigner they come across. We had a nice chat, exchanged email addresses, took some pics, laughed and all of us went on our own way – I just found it very cute that as shy as these girls are, with their improving English, they do come up to you, smile and make the effort to do a conversation, truly interested in whatever you have to say.
The day’s destination was the Peak on Hong Kong Island, it was just so cold and windy I couldn’t quite enjoy it. On my way back home some magic happened and the weather cleared up, and, at 8pm I finally managed to watch the Light Orchestra – a laser-lightshow with music over the night HKG skyline.
After all the rain and clouds and 15C it was sunny and just beautiful spring weather when I woke up on Monday, 25C, not a single cloud on the sky, so I took my backpack, the sunglasses and headed towards Hong Kong Island. Took me 3 days to get there, but hey. Star Ferry ride there – great views – but what blew my mind away was the seats: you can flip the backrest over and so, decide which way you want to face on the boat. WOW!
Then came the most scenic local bus ride I have ever had: for 2 HKD which is about 18 centEUR, an hour-long ride on the top of a double-decker, through the green hills of the island, overlooking beautiful bays with yachts and mansions and swimming pools and beaches and crazy number of Ferraris and Jags, and overall richland. Add to this Puccini on the iPod and trees in blossoms – and you get it why I was smiling like a lunatic all the way. I bused all the way to Stanley and instead of getting off at the market, decided to stay on for an extra (and final) stop and walk back…. I didn’t….. the busdriver stopped the double-decker on his way back, right next to me, explained that its nothing exciting walking the way I headed, and told me to get back on, he would show me which way to go. Can you believe that? I had a whole double-decker for myself!! :D
The pictures show how amazing this place was - in case you haven’t had the chance to visit this place, yet.
I had lunch at a vegetarian place which Jonathan recommended, for a lot more sensible 7 EUR total, and for dinner, I got an invitation from Norman – Dustin’s friend who owns the apartment I was staying at - to join him and his clients for a steak in the eve. Rock on, crashing someone else’s business dinner, in jeans, flipflops and a t-shirt… that’s how I roll these days…
On my last day the clouds and winter came back – just to piss me off I guess – it was gloomy and cold, just like my mood. Walking up and down, I made friends with Alice and her 3 lil friends, a group of lovely 12-year-olds, doing their homework; filling out a questionnaire and having a photo taken with any willing foreigner they come across. We had a nice chat, exchanged email addresses, took some pics, laughed and all of us went on our own way – I just found it very cute that as shy as these girls are, with their improving English, they do come up to you, smile and make the effort to do a conversation, truly interested in whatever you have to say.
The day’s destination was the Peak on Hong Kong Island, it was just so cold and windy I couldn’t quite enjoy it. On my way back home some magic happened and the weather cleared up, and, at 8pm I finally managed to watch the Light Orchestra – a laser-lightshow with music over the night HKG skyline.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Hong Kong shocker
It is 11:48pm – night 2 in Hong Kong, and I am about to go out and watch England playing Ireland in an hour….
So, about 20 minutes ago, while I was getting out of the bathroom, the door to the apartment opened and walked in Jonathan with his two huge bags, utterly shocked, face red, a typical British man in his late 40s, a colleague of the owner of the place, staying until next Friday - apparently.
Last week I was told, by Norman, a friend of Dustin’s – and one of the largest helmet manufacturers existing, as it turns out - that I would have his company’s apartment for myself for the time I am here, no worries, everyone is out of town for the next few weeks… aha…
I am not sure which one of us had the bigger shock, Jonathan or me…. But, regardless, after we both got our heart-rate back to normal and had a good laugh, he convinced me to go watch the game and have a few beers – so I thought, why not, its Saturday eve in the end, and noone sleeps here before 3am anyway.
Wondering what other surprises I will come accross / or will come accross me…
The first one was the apartment, or rather, the building and the immediate surroundings of it: hookers downstairs, half pigs on hooks on the first floor at the fire exit of the Jade restaurant’s kitchen, or, the fact that 1 of the 2 elevators due to the Chinese superstition that number 4 is unlucky, just does not stop on the 4th floor (where the apartment is).
Hong Kong itself is completely overwhelming but in a good way: it is just like you’d imagine after seeing it on movies. Lights, colors, herds of people doing shopping at midnight, restaurants serving duck with their heads on the plate too, Starbucks and McD in every block of buildings, goods for sale from China – everything, I mean EVERYTHING you need you may find. Even super Star Wars edition Adidas sneakers!! In my size too!
On the first day, Pad Lee, a former colleague from DHL picked me up after I had breakfast – with a tourist map, an Octopus card (for public transportation), a reservation at a local restaurant for lunch, a big smile, plans for every minute of the afternoon, and one to meet his wife and son for dinner at a FANTASTICALLY AMZINGLY AWESOME teriyaki restaurant just off the Ladies market. I was blown away by the kindness of this man. Dustin, thanks – yet again – for another great friend of yours! :)
So, about 20 minutes ago, while I was getting out of the bathroom, the door to the apartment opened and walked in Jonathan with his two huge bags, utterly shocked, face red, a typical British man in his late 40s, a colleague of the owner of the place, staying until next Friday - apparently.
Last week I was told, by Norman, a friend of Dustin’s – and one of the largest helmet manufacturers existing, as it turns out - that I would have his company’s apartment for myself for the time I am here, no worries, everyone is out of town for the next few weeks… aha…
I am not sure which one of us had the bigger shock, Jonathan or me…. But, regardless, after we both got our heart-rate back to normal and had a good laugh, he convinced me to go watch the game and have a few beers – so I thought, why not, its Saturday eve in the end, and noone sleeps here before 3am anyway.
Wondering what other surprises I will come accross / or will come accross me…
The first one was the apartment, or rather, the building and the immediate surroundings of it: hookers downstairs, half pigs on hooks on the first floor at the fire exit of the Jade restaurant’s kitchen, or, the fact that 1 of the 2 elevators due to the Chinese superstition that number 4 is unlucky, just does not stop on the 4th floor (where the apartment is).
Hong Kong itself is completely overwhelming but in a good way: it is just like you’d imagine after seeing it on movies. Lights, colors, herds of people doing shopping at midnight, restaurants serving duck with their heads on the plate too, Starbucks and McD in every block of buildings, goods for sale from China – everything, I mean EVERYTHING you need you may find. Even super Star Wars edition Adidas sneakers!! In my size too!
On the first day, Pad Lee, a former colleague from DHL picked me up after I had breakfast – with a tourist map, an Octopus card (for public transportation), a reservation at a local restaurant for lunch, a big smile, plans for every minute of the afternoon, and one to meet his wife and son for dinner at a FANTASTICALLY AMZINGLY AWESOME teriyaki restaurant just off the Ladies market. I was blown away by the kindness of this man. Dustin, thanks – yet again – for another great friend of yours! :)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Phuket, round 2
The January training sessions and the time we spent at Mama's were so sweet, that the week after we left Phuket we already talked about coming back here for a few weeks.. So we did. Landed on the 26th of February and were not picked up by the cab Mama arranged - well, one of the hickups that just happen here. We spent the Sunday with moving bungalows, unpacking, doing the first shopping run for the essentials such as the ant-traps, fruits and veggies and bottles of V8, spent time talking with the crew at Mama's - it was really nice to be back!
Monday we both stareted training, me doing yoga, the crazy bodyfit and some krabi krabong, Dave jumped straight into muay thai after the first - and VERY different - yoga session in the morning. Simon simply went mad during the few weeks we were away, not really sure what happened, but we stopped going to yoga after the second class. It was just not a place either of us wanted to be any longer.
Well, apart from this - nothing else happened at all! :) Great time, great weather, continuous laughs, good food, pooltime, dinners at Tony's and Fatty's, training every day, Starbucks and Stardust, movie nights, many massage sessions with Pong, reading Mr Nice, planning the near future - oh, and my 30th birthday, nice and sweet and simple, no drama just tons of rain; and then a day diving later that week with a few of the boys from the bodyfit class. 3 weeks gone.
On Thursday, Dave leaves for Vietnam and I leave for Hong Kong on Friday. Then I will visit my dear friend Keri in Taiwan next week before heading to Saigon for a few, then meeting Dave in Hanoi in the beginning of April. ....as the plans go.
I am superexcited to go to Hong Kong and to see Keri - not so much about Vietnam itself but I know it will be just awesome to see the smiley face again after 2 weeks apart. Not really sure how it will be after we say goodbye and head off to two different continents afterwards though......... well, such is life, isnt it.
Monday we both stareted training, me doing yoga, the crazy bodyfit and some krabi krabong, Dave jumped straight into muay thai after the first - and VERY different - yoga session in the morning. Simon simply went mad during the few weeks we were away, not really sure what happened, but we stopped going to yoga after the second class. It was just not a place either of us wanted to be any longer.
Well, apart from this - nothing else happened at all! :) Great time, great weather, continuous laughs, good food, pooltime, dinners at Tony's and Fatty's, training every day, Starbucks and Stardust, movie nights, many massage sessions with Pong, reading Mr Nice, planning the near future - oh, and my 30th birthday, nice and sweet and simple, no drama just tons of rain; and then a day diving later that week with a few of the boys from the bodyfit class. 3 weeks gone.
On Thursday, Dave leaves for Vietnam and I leave for Hong Kong on Friday. Then I will visit my dear friend Keri in Taiwan next week before heading to Saigon for a few, then meeting Dave in Hanoi in the beginning of April. ....as the plans go.
I am superexcited to go to Hong Kong and to see Keri - not so much about Vietnam itself but I know it will be just awesome to see the smiley face again after 2 weeks apart. Not really sure how it will be after we say goodbye and head off to two different continents afterwards though......... well, such is life, isnt it.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Visa run to Mai Sai, Myanmar
Unless you get your visa in advance, you only get a 14-day visa when entering Thailand; and the 500 TBH/day fine is a bit too much when you are planning to overstay your time by a few weeks. To solve most traveller's visa issues, there are visa-runs, operated by different companies, usually using mini-vans to the Thai-Burma/Laos/Cambodian borders; it costs 700 THB (from Chiang Mai), takes about 11 hours - and you get to go to another country for as long as 2 hours, to get your stamp in the passport on the way back. Hell I was not looking forward to this ride.
Leaving at 7am, being picked up an hour later, sitting on the bus for 4 hours, we arrived to the northest part of Thailand, to the Mai Sai border of Myanmar shortly after midday.
We had until 2pm to get back to the bus. Crossing the border is easy, you pay 500 THB and exchange your passport (literally) for an "Entry card", that is supposedly containing some data from your passport, unless the lady at the immigration office is completely ignorant and doesnt give a flying fart on the info she puts into her computer..... I tell you its not a nice feeling to be without identity and have a "false" one on top of all; the 2 hours without my passport only brought those sour memories back from the exact same weekend last year, when all my stuff was stolen from Karl's car and the mess that followed during that eve..... grrrr.
Funny it was when right on the "other side" I bumped into Ariel, the girl who I bought my Thai mobile from a week or so ago. Small world it is!
Walking a few minutes away from the hyenas trying to get you to go for a ride with them, I saw one guy from the minibus having some food - I joined him hoping to see/eat/find something interesting - and I surely did. The ginger chicken I ordered (and paid 100 THB for) was carrot and pork soaking in oil, but the tea-leaf salad my lunch companion was having didnt look or taste any better either. One thing I found amazing: the commune-lighters, hanging from the ceiling on chains above every table.. check out the pics below!
At the border crossing back to Thailand, after having had to photocopy half of my passport and provide the usual 2 passport photos, I was be-sistered with a Latvian girl (same country same country the immigration officers assured us), but the rest of it was rather eventless. The drive back was long, but the landscape was something I will never forget: winding hill-roads, padi fields, jungle, amazing little villages, sunset - aaaaaaa I am going back there, once I have the bike licence done..... Ya, I made some plans for the future. I will start to send my CV out soon and look for a part-time project - unless something great and grand and exciting with loads of money and options to move around lands in my lap - and do massage/yoga in the rest of the time. As for the next few weeks, it is Phuket until the 17/18th of March, then 2 weeks somewhere before meeting Dave one last time before he heads over to Australia and I head back home in mid April.
Oh and one more thing: I am more and more convinced with every day, that I am, and I am the most fortunate person in the world, spending months of summer laughing and laughing, and have the chance and possibility to train, eat well, sunbathe, swim in the ocean, AND do all this with the best company one could wish for herself.. :)
Leaving at 7am, being picked up an hour later, sitting on the bus for 4 hours, we arrived to the northest part of Thailand, to the Mai Sai border of Myanmar shortly after midday.
We had until 2pm to get back to the bus. Crossing the border is easy, you pay 500 THB and exchange your passport (literally) for an "Entry card", that is supposedly containing some data from your passport, unless the lady at the immigration office is completely ignorant and doesnt give a flying fart on the info she puts into her computer..... I tell you its not a nice feeling to be without identity and have a "false" one on top of all; the 2 hours without my passport only brought those sour memories back from the exact same weekend last year, when all my stuff was stolen from Karl's car and the mess that followed during that eve..... grrrr.
Funny it was when right on the "other side" I bumped into Ariel, the girl who I bought my Thai mobile from a week or so ago. Small world it is!
Walking a few minutes away from the hyenas trying to get you to go for a ride with them, I saw one guy from the minibus having some food - I joined him hoping to see/eat/find something interesting - and I surely did. The ginger chicken I ordered (and paid 100 THB for) was carrot and pork soaking in oil, but the tea-leaf salad my lunch companion was having didnt look or taste any better either. One thing I found amazing: the commune-lighters, hanging from the ceiling on chains above every table.. check out the pics below!
At the border crossing back to Thailand, after having had to photocopy half of my passport and provide the usual 2 passport photos, I was be-sistered with a Latvian girl (same country same country the immigration officers assured us), but the rest of it was rather eventless. The drive back was long, but the landscape was something I will never forget: winding hill-roads, padi fields, jungle, amazing little villages, sunset - aaaaaaa I am going back there, once I have the bike licence done..... Ya, I made some plans for the future. I will start to send my CV out soon and look for a part-time project - unless something great and grand and exciting with loads of money and options to move around lands in my lap - and do massage/yoga in the rest of the time. As for the next few weeks, it is Phuket until the 17/18th of March, then 2 weeks somewhere before meeting Dave one last time before he heads over to Australia and I head back home in mid April.
Oh and one more thing: I am more and more convinced with every day, that I am, and I am the most fortunate person in the world, spending months of summer laughing and laughing, and have the chance and possibility to train, eat well, sunbathe, swim in the ocean, AND do all this with the best company one could wish for herself.. :)
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Chiang Mai extension
With my (not) newly found enthusiasm in learning the thai massage and Dave doing the course too, I extended my stay with a week - another 6000 THB (approx. 200 USD) but all the poses learnt thats needed to give a full massage; why not.
Dave arrived after 2 nights spent on overnight trains from Laos and Bangkok - he was pretty happy too for the free night's stay we got from Trudi - she won this at the school on the V-day lucky draw, and decided to give it away to a couple to use up - how very sweet and thoughtful of her! :) In return for the nice gift, I invited her to come to a classical music concert with us on Saturday eve - where I was again re-assured that I didnt like Kodaly at all, where bugs were kamikaze-flying off the ceiling the whole time, and David was misbehaving so much that I was having a sore stomach from all the laughing by the end of the concert.. it was so great to have him there again! After the concert we had a few Jacks, many more hours of laughing and talking and even a dance at the terrace of a restaurant, followed by an awesome 10pm snack at the Jerusalem Falafel restaurant - there was nothing that could have ruined my mood.
I booked a visa-run for myself for the 26th to Burma and also, flights for Phuket for the same day - yaaaay, the swimming pool was again in sight in only a week's time. Dave joining the massage classes meant constant laughs for me - imagine when I start to practice and there is a smiley on one of his toes :D - man I had a brilliant time, I dont think I have ever had nonstop giggles for days not ending! :) We stayed on the rooftop's private room of the school for the week for 350 THB per night, had loads of Starbucks coffee at the nearby Airport Plaza, a manicure and pedicure, went to see another (this time, horrible) Thai movie and even had an awesome dinner on the roof with a bottle of red wine - it was just getting better and better every day!
After the exam on Friday, I was doing the visa-run while Dave took a cooking class; and at midnight the same Saturday we landed in Phuket, not having the taxi waiting for us that Mama was going to arrange for us.. Oh well... we were back and the weather was amazing; hot and sticky, perfect for the coming afternoons by the swimming pool....... :D
Dave arrived after 2 nights spent on overnight trains from Laos and Bangkok - he was pretty happy too for the free night's stay we got from Trudi - she won this at the school on the V-day lucky draw, and decided to give it away to a couple to use up - how very sweet and thoughtful of her! :) In return for the nice gift, I invited her to come to a classical music concert with us on Saturday eve - where I was again re-assured that I didnt like Kodaly at all, where bugs were kamikaze-flying off the ceiling the whole time, and David was misbehaving so much that I was having a sore stomach from all the laughing by the end of the concert.. it was so great to have him there again! After the concert we had a few Jacks, many more hours of laughing and talking and even a dance at the terrace of a restaurant, followed by an awesome 10pm snack at the Jerusalem Falafel restaurant - there was nothing that could have ruined my mood.
I booked a visa-run for myself for the 26th to Burma and also, flights for Phuket for the same day - yaaaay, the swimming pool was again in sight in only a week's time. Dave joining the massage classes meant constant laughs for me - imagine when I start to practice and there is a smiley on one of his toes :D - man I had a brilliant time, I dont think I have ever had nonstop giggles for days not ending! :) We stayed on the rooftop's private room of the school for the week for 350 THB per night, had loads of Starbucks coffee at the nearby Airport Plaza, a manicure and pedicure, went to see another (this time, horrible) Thai movie and even had an awesome dinner on the roof with a bottle of red wine - it was just getting better and better every day!
After the exam on Friday, I was doing the visa-run while Dave took a cooking class; and at midnight the same Saturday we landed in Phuket, not having the taxi waiting for us that Mama was going to arrange for us.. Oh well... we were back and the weather was amazing; hot and sticky, perfect for the coming afternoons by the swimming pool....... :D
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Thai massage course in Chiang Mai, Thailand
I arrived without much trouble on the 13th of February with one tiny hickup: I only got a 14-day visa for Thailand while I was going to stay for almost a month - I should have applied for a visa in Laos... Oh well.
The Old Medicine Hospital, where I was going to learn thai massage and stay for the coming week or so was a 5 minute drive from the airport, about half an hour away from the old city - I was not thrilled with the concept of having to tuk-tuk everywhere or walk for hours. The accomodation the school was providing was, though entirely free, very basic: a matrass and a curtain for privacy among 10 ladies; from various age-groups and coutnries around the world: American, Colombian, German, Spanish, Italian, Thai, from 24 till 60-years of age.. such an interesting bunch!
After checking in I headed downtown to get some food; not having any sense of directions I asked a white man where to go - he was kind enough to ditch his bicycle and show me how the system of yellow and red pickup trucks worked and took me to Chiang Mai gate. After walking for 5 minutes I was ready to get out of the place I was expecting to be something it simply wasnt; full of old German men and their young Thai girls, schnitzel and drought beer everywhere. I ate at a slightly overpriced vegetarian restaurant called Aum - the food was really good though so I didnt mind paying 3 times as much as I was used to at Mama's.. The Sunday night market was on full blast - I had to make a rather huge effort not to spend all the money I had on me and so, ran away with a cup full of strawberries pretty quickly.
On the way "home" I decided against my common sense and bought a pack of cigaretts - and thats when I met Derek who was going to start the massage course too the following day, we sat down and talked for hours, smoked a few cigs and threw the rest of the pack away. :)
Derek was going to find a muay thai gym on Phuket - and eventually ended up with us in Tiger 2 weeks later - but let me give you the highlights of the Ching Mai stay first..
The class on Monday morning started with a prayer at 9am, followed by a short orientation session; we got our books and introduced ourselves; 24 people from all over the world was going to spend the following week together. During the Mon-Tue-Wed sessions we were going to learn all the poses with a few hours of practice each day, then practice on Thursday all day and do a full-day exam on Friday - it was going to be a busy week, no doubt. Fai and Lida, our teachers were great, there is one thing I am: greatful for their help and competence! My dear practice partner for most of the post-class sessions was Florian, it felt like he was my brother by the end of the week. During the first lunchbreak we figured there was a huge mall within 10 minute walk and an organic food supermarket on the corner - and so 2 weeks later I left the place with 3 more kilos than what I arrived with. Pffff..
Monday evening me, Flo, Derek, Christian and Sonja headed to Miguel's, more for the burritos than for the Couch Surfing meeting where I was going to meet a Ariel with a spare phone she had for me - we had a nice eve with good food and later a long chat on the Reggae bar terrace; nackered by 9pm on Valentine's-night, off to our lonely but noisy beds at the school's dorm.
Most of the days were pretty had work in the end; taking notes and doing the practice the whole day. I guess if it wasnt for the coffees at the supermarket, I am not sure I would have survived the week. In the evenings we went for some food to Chinaman's or to the mall; did post-class sessions until stupid-o-clock every night - but regardless of the exhaustion, I was so very happy to be there! This Thai massage is a great invention, not only for the receiver but for the one who gives the massage too; it is close, touchy, personal, easy, nice, a great excercise, yoga, reiki and meditation at the same time.... by day 2 I decided to stay an extra week and do another course before heading back to Phuket, and also, Dave decided to leave Laos and join too - I was really happy to see him again over the weekend.
Friday after the exam (which, we all passed, needless to say) we were all ready to go out and have a few drinks and a good time - and guess what, it was Buddha day.... this only meant that they were not serving alcohol in most of the pubs/supermarkets - I was personally going mental that I couldnt have the beer I so much deserved.... No beer meant 3 meals for dinner and 2 portions of mango sticky rice - no wonder I put so much weight on during those two weeks in Chiang Mai... After walking around for hours we found a bar with a csocso-table that served alcohol - I was on the long island ice teas beating everyone in fussball in no time. :) It was great, and, Dave was going to arrive at 7am the following morning so, everything was perfect anyway. :)
The Old Medicine Hospital, where I was going to learn thai massage and stay for the coming week or so was a 5 minute drive from the airport, about half an hour away from the old city - I was not thrilled with the concept of having to tuk-tuk everywhere or walk for hours. The accomodation the school was providing was, though entirely free, very basic: a matrass and a curtain for privacy among 10 ladies; from various age-groups and coutnries around the world: American, Colombian, German, Spanish, Italian, Thai, from 24 till 60-years of age.. such an interesting bunch!
After checking in I headed downtown to get some food; not having any sense of directions I asked a white man where to go - he was kind enough to ditch his bicycle and show me how the system of yellow and red pickup trucks worked and took me to Chiang Mai gate. After walking for 5 minutes I was ready to get out of the place I was expecting to be something it simply wasnt; full of old German men and their young Thai girls, schnitzel and drought beer everywhere. I ate at a slightly overpriced vegetarian restaurant called Aum - the food was really good though so I didnt mind paying 3 times as much as I was used to at Mama's.. The Sunday night market was on full blast - I had to make a rather huge effort not to spend all the money I had on me and so, ran away with a cup full of strawberries pretty quickly.
On the way "home" I decided against my common sense and bought a pack of cigaretts - and thats when I met Derek who was going to start the massage course too the following day, we sat down and talked for hours, smoked a few cigs and threw the rest of the pack away. :)
Derek was going to find a muay thai gym on Phuket - and eventually ended up with us in Tiger 2 weeks later - but let me give you the highlights of the Ching Mai stay first..
The class on Monday morning started with a prayer at 9am, followed by a short orientation session; we got our books and introduced ourselves; 24 people from all over the world was going to spend the following week together. During the Mon-Tue-Wed sessions we were going to learn all the poses with a few hours of practice each day, then practice on Thursday all day and do a full-day exam on Friday - it was going to be a busy week, no doubt. Fai and Lida, our teachers were great, there is one thing I am: greatful for their help and competence! My dear practice partner for most of the post-class sessions was Florian, it felt like he was my brother by the end of the week. During the first lunchbreak we figured there was a huge mall within 10 minute walk and an organic food supermarket on the corner - and so 2 weeks later I left the place with 3 more kilos than what I arrived with. Pffff..
Monday evening me, Flo, Derek, Christian and Sonja headed to Miguel's, more for the burritos than for the Couch Surfing meeting where I was going to meet a Ariel with a spare phone she had for me - we had a nice eve with good food and later a long chat on the Reggae bar terrace; nackered by 9pm on Valentine's-night, off to our lonely but noisy beds at the school's dorm.
Most of the days were pretty had work in the end; taking notes and doing the practice the whole day. I guess if it wasnt for the coffees at the supermarket, I am not sure I would have survived the week. In the evenings we went for some food to Chinaman's or to the mall; did post-class sessions until stupid-o-clock every night - but regardless of the exhaustion, I was so very happy to be there! This Thai massage is a great invention, not only for the receiver but for the one who gives the massage too; it is close, touchy, personal, easy, nice, a great excercise, yoga, reiki and meditation at the same time.... by day 2 I decided to stay an extra week and do another course before heading back to Phuket, and also, Dave decided to leave Laos and join too - I was really happy to see him again over the weekend.
Friday after the exam (which, we all passed, needless to say) we were all ready to go out and have a few drinks and a good time - and guess what, it was Buddha day.... this only meant that they were not serving alcohol in most of the pubs/supermarkets - I was personally going mental that I couldnt have the beer I so much deserved.... No beer meant 3 meals for dinner and 2 portions of mango sticky rice - no wonder I put so much weight on during those two weeks in Chiang Mai... After walking around for hours we found a bar with a csocso-table that served alcohol - I was on the long island ice teas beating everyone in fussball in no time. :) It was great, and, Dave was going to arrive at 7am the following morning so, everything was perfect anyway. :)
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