The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Our four days of vacation in Railay has been filled with mostly good, some bad, and a very little ugly.
There are some of the most beautiful vistas here that I've seen anywhere. The rugged, nearly untouched landscape is incredible. The gray with black limestone karsts loom above us hundreds of feet up with bits of green where shrubbery has found a home in crags of the rock wall. To the west lies the Andaman Sea, calm for the most part. Disappearing into the horizon I see rocks that are small islands jutting out of the water. The sand is soft and the beach is deep, perfect for beach combing or taking a sunset stroll. The water is warm and comfortable to swim in. Tyler said Railay is his favorite beach.
But with all things in life, there must needs be opposition. On Tuesday, while returning from the other side of the peninsula, Isaac and I experienced some. It began to rain, which is normal for the rainy season, but the gentle rain soon turned to quite a storm. We had a large umbrella which we were trying hard to keep from collapsing in the gale-like winds. We finally took shelter on a kitchen porch and were beckoned in by the employees of the restaurant. We watched as it rained sideways for at least 20 minutes before braving the storm and moving around the corner to the next shelter. We went from one business to the next trying to stay safe as debris was blowing by. We saw a number of trees uprooted and branches blown down. I was glad we had not chosen to go kayaking as we had planned.
Now to the ugly. The mosquitos, as I have already mentioned, really love us. Nathan awoke one morning with his face used as a night buffet for those pesky critters. By the end of the day, his eye had nearly swollen shut and his ankle and foot were not looking any better. I could not find any antihistamine to reduce the swelling, but two days later he is looking back to normal. If we can just refrain from scratching we will look presentable on our return home.

Elephant Trekking

We have been looking forward for a long time to this day of elephant trekking. We had to walk across the peninsula to take a longtail boat to Krabi where we loaded into the back of a pickup truck rigged with seats along the sides which drove up the mountain so we could ride atop of elephants through the jungle. Although it had been sunny when we left the house we were caught in a downpour by the time we were in the truck. I don't even know why I bothered showering and putting on dry clothing this morning. We had umbrellas but they did little good.

There were four female elephants in our group. Nathan and Isaac and I rode on the largest of the sisters. I don't know if she had a skin rash or if red ants were climbing all over her, but she was constantly rubbing against the trees to relieve the itching, and when an elephant scratches it shakes the ground. Imagine the ride we got atop of her. As she climbed the muddy, rocky hillside, we definitely felt as if we were riding an all terrain vehicle.

We had a chance to feed the elephants afterwards. I'll bet most of you didn't know that they like cucumbers and raisins. Just like the rest of the Thai, they really like Nathan.

What a Difference a Day Makes

Our stay in Railay is a world of difference from our time in Bangkok even though it isn't that far away. Railay is located on a peninsula near Krabi, separated from civilization by dense forests and limestone karsts. You can only reach it by boat or by a long, difficult hike. It was developed in recent years after being discovered by some Americans in the 1980s. Don't you wish you were the one to find this place?
We are staying in a community of homes which are rented out by the owners for some part of the year. It is nestled between limestone cliffs lined with tropical flora and the beach of the Andaman Sea in Southern Thailand. If I walk either direction for more than a couple minutes I hit the wall, of either rock or water.
It is night and I can hear the sounds of the wind and the waves, singing cicadas and an occasional gecko which sounds like tapping on a window. We have to be careful to close the doors when we aren't around lest a curious monkey enters from its home in the nearby trees and wreaks havoc. No monkeys have entered, but I can't say the same about the mosquitos. These pesky insects are stealthy, coming without a sound and leaving large itchy welts for calling cards. Apparently Nathan and I are particularly tasty.
The running water here is not drinkable so we have pitchers of drinking water replenished each day. It is the currently the rainy season, so we have been wet most of our time here, either by choice or by default. It's best to walk barefoot or with sandals due to ground cover being mostly mud and sand and water. The temperature is an ideal 75 degrees. If you don't mind roughing it just a bit, this is the life.

One Night in Bangkok

Well, we've just finished our time in Bangkok and are now heading down to Krabi province for a short stay at Railei Beach on the Andaman Sea (more on this once we get there and spend some time).

And while Bangkok is not a city where I'd choose to live (at least not right downtown), it's always a fascinating place to visit. You probably know by now that Margaret did not like Bangkok, and would probably never choose to go back (I haven't told her yet that we have to spend one more night there before we fly home to Salt Lake). And yet, I really enjoy the city.

I saw a lot of the same things she did, and the standard of living was depressing, but the city and its culture are so different from what we're used in the US it's captivating in a way.

First of all, the people were so friendly and helpful. They were constantly smiling at us (it's amazing how far a little Baht will go), constantly asking the boys if one of them would stay with them in Thailand (we almost ended up Nathan-less a couple of times), waving to us on the street, and always trying to speak a little English to us. Then you add in a culture of polite and respectful practices, and you feel very welcomed.

I was also impressed by all the small businesses (some of which were very clever, and some not so clever) that had people working hard throughout the city. There were people cooking, selling, making, providing, etc. all to have a Baht-er experience. Of the many different types of enterprise transportation was my favorite.

We found that the way to travel is by Tuk Tuk. A Tuk Tuk is a motorcycle taxi. It's fast enough to get places, small enough to fit through the tight places (ie in between cars at a stop light), and big enough to carry a group of people. Plus, it can do a pop-a-wheely if you have a good driver. After one ride, all three boys realized it was the best way to travel and begged for the Tuk Tuk. In fact if you look really closely at the picture you'll see the Tuk Tuk lust burning in our eyes. Or maybe that's just what happens when you stay in Bangkok too long--Hmmm?

The Two Faces of Bangkok

Now that our stay in Bangkok has come to an end I feel that I can express my opinion freely. I've been asked many times by those hosting us and helping us in Bangkok, "So, how do you like Thailand?" I had to lie so as not to offend. I did not enjoy the city of Bangkok at all. In the heart of the city, where we were staying, I saw so much filth and deprivation that it was impossible for me to overlook. A positive thing I can say is that there is great diversity. I met people from Conga, Sri Lanka, Australia, the UK, Japan, the US and Canada, for starters. Although the dominant religion is Buddhism, it was obvious to me that there were many who were Hindi, Muslim and Christian, as well. I admire the beautiful Buddhist temples which were built with such magnificent Thai craftsmanship and maintained with such great care, but was saddened by the sight of such obvious poverty and property neglect. After being in Singapore, where image is everything, it is hard to be in Bangkok where garbage and rubble and refuse is the norm. As we were transported throughout the city, we passed alley after alleyway lined with rows of tin shacks, making trailer parks look like Beverly Hills. We were fortunate to be staying in the Marriott hotel, where the conscientious staff knew our names and our preferences and treated us with such great kindness and respect. When we went out walking along the city streets we saw many people missing hands or legs or fingers, most of them begging for a few Baht. I watched from the taxi window this young girl of, maybe, five years, sitting cross-legged against a wall, fidgeting with a piece of plastic for a plaything, glancing towards a beggar woman thirty feet away, whom I guessed was her mother. It made my heart ache to realize that this beautiful girl will never know anything other than life on the street.
It made me sad, sad and grateful, grateful for my neat little house and a clean, safe neighborhood. I am truly blessed.

All That Remains

The boys and I went with a tour guide to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Thailand for over 400 years, that was razed by the Burmese in 1767. Ayutthaya was created to be an island city, with the Chao Phraya River encircling the entire community.
Today, the ruins are nestled amidst a small modern city about an hour outside of Bangkok. The ruins of the temple site and its multiple chedis (spire shaped structures memorializing those who have died) are well preserved and can be observed up close and personal. Like all Buddhist sites, there is evidence of many images of Buddha himself, although when the Burmese attacked, they beheaded all the statues in the city. The most well known of the ruins is where the roots of a tree have grown around a decapitated head of Buddha, lifting it up from the ground where it must have been discarded hundreds of years earlier. It was quite interesting to see all that remains of the once powerful city of Ayutthaya.

Siam Niramit

A couple of nights ago we attended a spectacular performance of Thai culture and history called Siam Niramit. This was done through acting, music and dance, using Broadway quality set design, lighting and special effects. Each area of the country was portrayed in separate act. The costuming was beautiful and diverse throughout the different regions. We were not allowed to take any photos, otherwise I would have included some for your viewing pleasure.

Anything Goes

My first impression of Bangkok was from the inside of a car as we were transported from the airport to our hotel in the heart of the city. My best description of the driving situation here is "anything goes". As far as I can tell, those who drive motorcycles can do anything and go anywhere. As we were stuck in standstill traffic, similar to that in Vegas on a Saturday night, motorbike after motorbike weaved through the parking lot of cars making their way to the front. Steve says that a lot of them are bike taxis, hired to take a person across the traffic. Last night we watched as two of them almost collided in front of us. As yet I have not seen one fenderbender, although I have seen a few cars that need to go to a wrecking yard just sitting on the side of the road. One thing I'm confused about is why there are lane dividers painted on the asphalt, because it seems that they are not considered when drivers are moving down the road. Sometimes drivers move to the opposite side of the road, driving towards oncoming traffic before squeezing back into the correct side. Intersections are almost always congested with cars and tuk tuks (pronounced tk tk), which look like an extended golf cart and are hired to move people. Survival of the fittest seems to be the rule of the road.

The King of Fruits

Last night James Chan, the work associate that brought Steve to Singapore, took us to try the "durian challenge". Durian, which is the called the king of fruits, is hard to describe, but I will do my best. First of all, you must know that durian is not allowed in hotels, on airplanes and trains, or any other enclosed space. We had to walk about two or three blocks from the train station to get to the nearest fruit market. We were not quite halfway there when we could smell what seemed like a locker of fruit had been left in the sun for a week, before being opened for our smelling pleasure.As we approached the market there were piles of spiky cantaloupe sized durian for sale. The unfriendly exterior shouts, "Keep your distance!" and, once opened, the smell confirms the warning. I watched as a shopkeeper split open the hard covering by hammering and hacking at it with a small cleaver. By the time our purchase was placed in front of us on our street side table we were completely immersed in the scent of the durian, which could turn your stomach, but then it would start to smell of strawberries and then it seemed okay.
James gave an eating demonstration and then I took the challenge. I have an extremely sensitive shnozz, but in the spirit of the moment I dug right in. As I picked up one of the fruit covered seeds from the spiny husk, my fingers sunk in as if it were soft ice cream. I took a bite and the pudding-like flesh seemed to expand to fill my mouth, and nearly took my breath away. It took me a minute or so to begin to swallow and as I did so I ended up with a fibrous mass in my mouth that I suppose I was to swallow, but could not bring myself to do so. I really cannot describe the taste, although it had a bit of heat, similar to black pepper. The aftertaste was neither as overwhelming as the horrible smell nor as nauseating as the oral sensation, so I finished off my portion with another mouthful to complete the challenge. By the time the others had tried it, I began to feel a fire in my belly, just as if I had eaten very spicy food. James explained that durian is a hot fruit, and we would need to cool down with some cool fruit. We proceeded to eat some delicious jackfruit, watermelon, mango, and pineapple.
We all smelled of durian throughout the evening and awoke to durian morning breath. It's pretty bad when you can smell your own stink. We were allowed on the airplane to Bangkok, so I guess I'm not as bad as as I smell.

A Day at Sentosa

The boys and I took a short train ride to Sentosa Island. Connected by a causeway to Singapore City, Sentosa is the most southeastern tip of Asia. It has been developed into the most popular vacation destination in Singapore, with something for everyone. There are a number of beaches, a casino, multiple rides, performances, animal shows, with Universal Studios as a recent addition.
We rode the luge and skyride. Most of the day we spent at the beach, and in spite of sunscreen, I have the sunburn to prove that. The temperature of the sea was like that of bath water. No, not even in the water can we escape the heat here. The tide was minimal so it was easy to swim and stay afloat. The boys built sand castles and engineered a natural hot tub. We finished our day with a wild west shoot out ride and ice cream. All in all, it was a fun day.

Chinese Immersion

The boys and I went to Chinatown for a few hours where we window-shopped and bought a few souvenirs at reasonable prices. We found an authentic outfit for Nathan, who will be starting Chinese immersion school in a couple of weeks. He has been insisting that he will need to dress Chinese if he is going to speak it. While we were going from stall to stall, clouds gathered and we enjoyed a cool breeze from the hot muggy weather we'd been enduring. Soon shop owners began draping plastic and shutting up their street panels. Before we knew it, sheets of rain were soaking everything in sight, including us. We didn't even mind since it was our first chance to cool off in three days.

There's a Rule for That!

Apple may have an app for everything, but in Singapore...they've got a rule for everything. No spitting, no littering, no J-walking, no spitting, no importing or selling chewing gum, no leaving a toilet without flushing it, no urinating in an elevator (might not be a bad one to adopt for home application when you've got three boys), no bungee jumping...have I mentioned no spitting.

Yes that's right, no spitting. Unless of course you're the city landmark. As you can see, we caught the Merlion (the city's emblem, it's defining statue) on film spitting right into the Quay. So apparently it's a "do as I say, not a do as our defining city statue is doing" kind of place here.

As we considered this, we stumbled upon a huge loop hole in the no spitting rule. We've also tested this out in the presence of military personel, so you should be fine in following our lead if and when you ever come to Singapore.

Here it is. You are not allowed to spit, but there is apparently no law against impersonating a statue that is spitting (at least not as far as we've been fined for as of the time I'm laying these words down). Hopefully we'll be out the country by the time these photos circulate.

Lion City

As we have arrived in Singapore and are learning about this unique city, I thought I'd give a little history as I've learned it. In the 14th century a visitor claimed he saw a lion, which was more likely to be a tiger, and named the island Singa Pura, or Lion City. The British arrived and established it as a sea merchant trading station during the 18th century and by 1825 the population had increased almost one hundred fold. During World War II the Japanese overran the island. The sixty or more islands of Singapore were part of Malaysia for a short time before becoming an independent republic in 1965.
Basically, all of the population resides on the main island of Singapore. English is the official language, although everything is posted in four languages: English, Chinese, Malay, and Hindi. There is great diversity in culture and religion. Tourism is the main industry here, so we have received great customer service. There are more shopping centers and restaurants here than you can shake a stick at. There are a lot of fun tourist attractions that we are looking forward to discovering this week.
Miscreant behavior is not tolerated in Singapore. There are no firearms (or even parts of guns), no graffiti, drugs, smoking in public buildings, littering, spitting, failing to flush a public toilet, urinating in a lift (elevator) or selling chewing gum. The penalties for the above range from $500 fine up to death or deportation. All of these rules make Singapore a clean, safe, and beautiful place, as far as cities go.

There's Cold in Them There Hills

Our last day in Melbourne the boys and I took a ninety minute train ride to Sovereign Hill, a replica of an 1850's mining town during the Australian gold rush. It was to be a cold day so we layered what we had, but we weren't prepared for how chilly it was when we disembarked the train in Ballarat, one of the coldest cities in Victoria. People were wearing hats and gloves when we got there, so we could only hope that the sun would be shining. It did peek out of the clouds a couple of times, but not for long.
We kept warm by tramping up and down the mucky roads of the quaint town We stopped by the blacksmith shop, a tinsmith's, a foundry, candle works and a wheelwright's workshop. We visited the Chinese camp and took a mine tour. We tried our hand at panning for gold, but came up empty handed. We took a ride in a stagecoach pulled by a team of horses, huddling together for warmth. It looked as if it was beginning to snow, but I think it was just very fine, misty rain. I think was enjoyed most was our hand at nine pins in an old time bowling alley. By the end of the day we were all cold and tired, and so we napped on the train ride back to Melbourne.

Museum Fun

To keep the boys happy I took them to a couple of museums during the week.
On Tuesday walked to the Melbourne Museum from our hotel, which was quite centrally located. We enjoyed walking through the Forest Gallery, which is an enclosed open air forest habitat, including wildlife. Tyler was fascinated with the insect room, which housed thousands of both living and non-living insects. Isaac liked the computerized bird migration activity. Nathan spent a lot of his time at this giant touch screen on the floor which simulated water. I could've spent longer in animal room if I hadn't needed to move along with the boys the the other areas.
The next day we took a train to Scienceworks, an interactive science museum geared to grade school children. Everything was hands on. Tyler spent most of his time in Sportsworks, an area filled with activities having to do with the body and its capabilities. Isaac was fascinated with the technology room where he spent much of his time at the computerized engine assembly station. What Nathan liked most at Scienceworks was controlling an excavation shovel which picked up and dumped balls in a cage. Once the hundreds of school children left for the day, the boys could use any of the displays with very little competition. We attended a special show in which we learned about the history of technological uses for electricity and the more recent developements in electromagnetic technology in the Lightning Room.

Curious Australian Critters

On Monday of this week, the boys and I were able to go to the Healesville Sanctuary which is located about an hour outside of Melbourne (pronounced Melbn by the locals). The boys fed the kangaroos carrots and corn, observed an echidna eating with its unseemingly long tongue, and listened to the various mocking tones of the lyrebird. They were disappointed in not being able to pet the koalas. We had to guard our lunch from the pesky ibis and protect ourselves from the affectionate emu. We also saw friendly looking dingos, a shy wombat, various birds of prey, and the elusive platypus. We must have watched the platypus for at least thirty minutes. Enclosed in a large dark terrarium habitat, it swam like a flash, hunting for yabbies (looks like a large prawn or small crayfish). It darted about so quickly, that although we took nearly forty photos, this it the best we could do. It's no wonder that the platypus was not discovered by scientists until the mid twentieth century.

Movin' On Up

Now that we're staying in a hotel with free WiFi in the room I'm working fast and furiously to hammer out the last few days of trip and catch up to where we are, which is Singapore. It is a very rainy Saturday morning and Steve has taken the boys to the hotel pool so I can write a bit.

Crab Corral?

Over the last little while we've been talking about what type of lasting impact taking the boys around the world would have. For example, we've wondered how much the boys took away from our adventure to Europe. Well, during our trip to Hamilton Island we found out.
We had hiked into a secluded beach at low tide to find a whole range of sea life exposed to view, and, unfortunately for some, to touch. There was lots to see--hermit crabs, coral, sea slugs, clams, rock crabs, etc.
The boys were drawn immediately to the hermit crabs. They ran around the beach for a couple of hours collecting all shapes and sizes of crabs. I asked them what they were doing with them and they promptly responded that they were creating a crab corral to house them all. Interested, I walked over to see the newly constructed corral.
One look revealed that one person's crab corral is another person's crab colosseum. It was an exact replica of the one they saw in Rome complete with arena and staging area. They filled the arena with hermit crabs and then introduced other sea life to see who would survive the encounter. I guess some experiences have lasting (and maybe degenerating) impressions.

FantaSea turns FantaSick

We joined a group heading out to the Great Barrier Reef run by a tour company called FantaSea. They provided the boat ride to and from the reef, lunch, and snorkeling equipment and all the fixings. We left at 8:30 and returned at 4:30 on Friday. We were all excited to have a fantastic experience viewing the sea life. It turned out to be windy and overcast when we reached the reef around 11:00. We transferred from the boat to the pontoon you see here. All of us suited up in snorkeling gear and swam along a rope some distance from the reef. Nathan soon found that he is not as good of a swimmer as he thought, and despite the life preserver and noodle as flotation devices, his arms and legs wore out quickly. Isaac couldn't find a way to get his mask to keep the water out without it squeezing his head. We soon swam back to the pontoon to get out of the water. Once we were on board, we had a difficult time from keeping our teeth from chattering as the wind continuously blew.

After enjoying lunch the boys wanted no more of the sea and found a movie to watch. Despite the fact that my lips were changing from blue to purple and I couldn't feel my extremities, I still wanted to try snorkeling once more. I knew I would feel that the whole experience was a waste if I didn't get to see the reef up close and personal. Steve and I put on our cold wetsuits and explored for perhaps another thirty minutes or more. We did see a number of different fish. The reef was a bit colorless, which was not what we had expected. We're thinking that to see the really vibrant coral we had better learn to scuba dive and go a little deeper. All in all I was satisfied with our second attempt and have no regrets.

That is, until we headed back to land. By the mid afternoon, the weather had deteriorated a bit, lending to very choppy waters. We had barely started towards shore when I realized I would not be able to enjoy the ride back. I think FantaSea has some sort of no return policy on their adventures, but I returned my lunch in full. As I sat at the back of the ship watching the crew rush about distributing sick bags and hand wipes I committed myself to not testing my sea legs ever again. FantaSea had turned to Fantasick.

The Greatest Sand on Earth

On Thursday we took a boat to Whitehaven Beach, which is said be one of the best beaches in the world. The sand is so fine and soft that you would need no footwear if you were to live here. I tried to walk to the end of the beach, just to see if I could, but I never reached it. It was like a mirage that was always ahead of me, but never realized. It was at least three miles long.
The weather was cloudy and the breeze kept us from swimming in the water, except for Nathan who kept venturing into the surf. Steve joined in a game of beach cricket with some other folks from our group. I beachcombed to find hermit crabs and shells to show the children. We came across a huge seastar that was ashore in low tide. The boys spent most of their time covering themselves with sand and hunting for beach critters. If the sun had been out it would have been an idyllic day.
This is definitely a place worth returning to if we are ever in this part of the world again.

Hamilton Island

Well, we just spent our first four days down under on Hamilton Island, which is just off the coast in Queensland. We stayed in a condo with plenty of room and beautiful views. We awoke very early each morning, due either to the failure of our boys to recover from jet lag or to the loud laughing of the kookaburra. Cockatoos frequented our balcony and we were warned to keep the doors and windows closed and our belongings inside so they wouldn't make off with them. Each day began with cloudy skies, which only threatened and never produced rain. We enjoyed breezy beach weather, or in other words, it was a bit chilly for swimming in the sea and just perfect for walking along the sand.
Our accommodation included a buggy for driving around the island. Anywhere we wanted to go, which was ashore, could be accessed within ten minutes with the speed limit of 20 kilometers per hour. Steve let the boys steer as he drove, which prompted Tyler to claim he was a natural driver. I have a feeling we haven't heard the last of that comment.

Ready, Set. Go

Tomorrow we head off for another overseas adventure. Steve will be working in Melbourne, Singapore and Bangkok this July and is taking the rest of us along with him. We will begin by taking a few days vacation at the Great Barrier Reef before heading south to his work site. Follow along with us and we'll let you know how it goes.