Thailand Death March . . . Sort Of

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Chiang Mai, mountain trek, Thailand, water falls

That’s right – this bridge has no handrails.

Last month, I wrote a blog post about a 3 day, 2 night Thailand mountain trek adventure I participated in. The link to this post is below:

https://aroundtheworldwithblade.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/chaing-mai-thailand-northern-mountain-trek-its-not-what-you-think-or-what-the-brochure-describes/#more-2192

As I conveyed in the aforementioned post, I was tested physically and mentally throughout the trek. Frankly, it was one of the toughest things I have done in quite a few years. I consider myself to be in excellent shape physically, so perhaps what made this trek so damn difficult was that the heat, humidity, sand flies, bed bugs, and mosquitoes, coupled with the treacherous terrain, all conspired to make me miserable during the 3 day trek. I was sweaty, dirty, and reeked of something akin to rotten eggs the entire frickin’ time, the only relief provided by the 3 waterfalls and lagoon we swam at.

Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

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Bangkok, Grand Palace, Thailand

Buddhist monks at the Grand Palace were gracious and allowed me to photograph them. However, they wouldn’t trade their clothing for mine.

This is my next to last day in Thailand and I wanted to visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok. What a “cluster . . . ” I have never seen so many tourists in one place. Add heat and humidity, I was miserable (I am certain everyone else was too). I took the public boat “bus” from Pier 3, near my Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel and journeyed down the Chao Phraya river with a gazillion other tourists. I was wondering (almost out loud), “HEY, CAN WE FIT MORE SARDINES . . . UHH, PASSENGERS ON THIS DEATH TRAP WAITING TO HAPPEN?”  How lovely. Everyone was “ripe” by the time we reached our destination at Pier 9.

Pai Hot Springs, Chiang Mai and San Francisco Baseball – Part II

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Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Elephant, Pai, San Francsico Giants, Thailand

Downtown Chiang Mai.

This is Part II of my visit to Pai Hot Springs and Chiang Mai. I posted mostly photographs of my Pai visit in Part I. As I indicated earlier, my camera isn’t working due to my lagoon water accident. I keep hoping that it will miraculously come to life, but it is looking doubtful. I almost left it at my Pai Hot Springs resort hotel, but changed my mind at the last-minute. I am looking at it right now and wondering again, if I should leave it here in Chiang Mai or bring it with me to Bangkok later today. An old grade and high school friend of mine, Tom Hopkins, owned a late 1950s Ford Thunderbird, where he had a sticker on the glove compartment that read, “ASS, GRASS, OR CASH . . . NO ONE RIDES FOR FREE.” Quite appropriate back in the early 1970’s while we were in high school, since the oil crisis was in full swing. Consequently, as I look at my camera, I am about to kick the “freeloader” to the curb, unless it begins to take photos again. Ha.

Pai Hot Springs And Chiang Mai – Part I

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Buddhist, Chiang Mai, Elephant, Mae Yen Temple, Mor Pang water falls, Nam Hoo Temple, Pai, Pai Canyon

Elephant Camp in town of Pai, where the elephants are being humanely treated and cared for (albeit, most of them were rescued from other abusive operations in Thailand).

Apparently, I did take some photographs of Chiang Mai that I uploaded to my tablet before losing my camera in my trekking accident. Those coupled with photographs I have been taking of my visit in Pai with my tablet camera comprise this post and my next post (which depending on my WIFI connection, will be out tomorrow).

Chaing Mai, Thailand Northern Mountain Trek . . . It’s Not What You Think Or What The Brochure Describes

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Chaing Mai, Elephant, Thailand, trek

The good news is that I survived the 3 day, 2 night Thailand northern mountain trek, which included: riding an elephant; spending a couple of nights in two villages; visiting 3 waterfalls and a lagoon; rafting down a river; and hiking approximately 15 miles over the course of the trip.  Believe me when I say that I am not exaggerating too much when I use the word “survived.” This is one of the toughest things I have done physically and emotionally in quite a few years. I have climbed 14000 foot mountains (more often referred to as 14ners by folks in Colorado) that weren’t nearly as tough as this experience. If you want something to take you out of your comfort zone, then going on this trek will definitely push you to your limits.

I Love Bangkok, Thailand!

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Bangkok, Chaopraya river, Golden Temple, massage, taxi, Thailand, tuk tuk

Two wild and crazy guys . . . Paul and I showing how much we love Bangkok.

I am really enjoying myself in Thailand. The people here are wonderful. Paul Sorenson, who is here visiting from Vietnam, where he teaches college business classes, has been my guide around this wild city. I have a bit of time here to post some pictures of the city . . . They tell the story better than I can.

Quickie Update From Bangkok

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Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Elephants. Pai, Hot Springs, Thailand, Tigers

Switching gears from Hostel living and staying at the Royal Orchid Sheraton. This place rocks!

Hello from Bangkok. I met up with Paul, my friend from Vietnam and we are having a blast! I spent the first day and night in the Sukhumvit district, at the Park hotel where he was staying, so we could be certain that we would connect. No hitches there. Fast forward to almost the next morning, we both didn’t get too much sleep, enjoying the Bangkok night life.