Today, Dad, Declan and I went zip lining. It was awesome. There were 15 tree top platforms, connected by 11 zip lines and 2 skybridges. (If you do the math, and this doesn't quite work out, it's because there was a trail between two of the platforms.) There were also 3 vertical descents, including 1 of about 60 feet. The whole adventure was called Flight of the Gibbons because you're supposed to be able to see and hear Gibbons (or, if you read their website, because you're supposed to be moving through the trees like a gibbon). We heard them but didn't see them.
The ziplines were set up by researchers originally, studying the forest canopy and the gibbons. Now, they are owned by a company which does tourist stuff.
Mom was, of course, terrified, since she's afraid of heights. And she managed to be terrified without even being there. We took some videos so she would know what she missed. We've tried to embed one here, but we can't get it to upload. We'll try again tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Massage at the Women's Prison
While Richard and the boys went off on the "Flight of the Gibbbons" adventure today, I spent a tough morning wandering the markets, and then wrapped up with a massage at the Chiang Mai women's prison. Yup. The prison. I couldn't resist.
The prison teaches inmates traditional Thai massage techniques as a way of giving them a job skill for when they are finally freed. They also get to keep some of the money they earn doing the massages, giving them a bit of a nest egg. They don't get to work in the shop until they are within 6 months of their release date.
The whole experience was pretty funny. It's rather weird to be greeted by a uniformed prison guard at the reception to a spa. Then you go into the massage room, where up to 8 people can get pummeled simultaneously. My masseuse plunked my feet into a basin of water and had a go at them with a scrub brush and soap: much needed after my day of wandering the streets. I then changed into the loose fitting top and pants (Thai massage is done clothed), and stretched out on the mat. I was given a cup of hot tea that tasted suspiciously of hay.
Meanwhile, three Australian guys were nearing the end of their massages. It was pretty clear that they had started the adventure full of fantasies about being the only men in the prison, and even more clear that the women understood this mentality, and were determined to give the guys the full Thai massage treatment. Which, as you know from Richard's post, is a lot like someone else doing vigorous yoga on your body. Their massages were punctuated by groans, exclamations and mutterings. "Oh Christ" "You hurt?" "No" gasp "it's ok, oh argh what's she doing now?" Great gales of laughter erupted from the women when one of the guys actually flipped himself off the mat trying to get away from one stretch.
In another slightly surreal moment, my masseuse must have been worried about her body odor (only fair, I was worried about mine!), because before she started my massage she took herself to the far end of the room and sprayed herself down with room freshener. Fortunately she spared me this treatment.
She wasn't the most skilled masseuse I've ever had, but she understood when I asked her for soft massage, and she left me feeling pleasantly invigorated, not abused.
She didn't tell me what her crime had been, but said she had been in for 2 years and 9 months, and was being released in April. The next masseuse over is being released in March, and had been inside for 11 years. Depressingly, neither one had a plan for a job when they were released. My masseuse said that if she got enough money, she could open a massage shop. When I asked her how she was going to get that money, she had no idea. Her english was easily the best of all the women there, so I hope she can parlay that into something remunerative.
After it was over, I changed back into my clothes, paid the prison guard, and walked out into the sunshine looking for a plate of noodles.
The prison teaches inmates traditional Thai massage techniques as a way of giving them a job skill for when they are finally freed. They also get to keep some of the money they earn doing the massages, giving them a bit of a nest egg. They don't get to work in the shop until they are within 6 months of their release date.
The whole experience was pretty funny. It's rather weird to be greeted by a uniformed prison guard at the reception to a spa. Then you go into the massage room, where up to 8 people can get pummeled simultaneously. My masseuse plunked my feet into a basin of water and had a go at them with a scrub brush and soap: much needed after my day of wandering the streets. I then changed into the loose fitting top and pants (Thai massage is done clothed), and stretched out on the mat. I was given a cup of hot tea that tasted suspiciously of hay.
Meanwhile, three Australian guys were nearing the end of their massages. It was pretty clear that they had started the adventure full of fantasies about being the only men in the prison, and even more clear that the women understood this mentality, and were determined to give the guys the full Thai massage treatment. Which, as you know from Richard's post, is a lot like someone else doing vigorous yoga on your body. Their massages were punctuated by groans, exclamations and mutterings. "Oh Christ" "You hurt?" "No" gasp "it's ok, oh argh what's she doing now?" Great gales of laughter erupted from the women when one of the guys actually flipped himself off the mat trying to get away from one stretch.
In another slightly surreal moment, my masseuse must have been worried about her body odor (only fair, I was worried about mine!), because before she started my massage she took herself to the far end of the room and sprayed herself down with room freshener. Fortunately she spared me this treatment.
She wasn't the most skilled masseuse I've ever had, but she understood when I asked her for soft massage, and she left me feeling pleasantly invigorated, not abused.
She didn't tell me what her crime had been, but said she had been in for 2 years and 9 months, and was being released in April. The next masseuse over is being released in March, and had been inside for 11 years. Depressingly, neither one had a plan for a job when they were released. My masseuse said that if she got enough money, she could open a massage shop. When I asked her how she was going to get that money, she had no idea. Her english was easily the best of all the women there, so I hope she can parlay that into something remunerative.
After it was over, I changed back into my clothes, paid the prison guard, and walked out into the sunshine looking for a plate of noodles.
Visa Snafu...Going to Kuala Lumpur
Life got more interesting in the last few days. When we reentered Thailand from Laos, we were only given a 15 day visa, which expires March 5. This is something of a problem, since our flight out of Thailand is not until March 29.
Lest you think we didn't do our research, we had. Based on all we read, we should have gotten a 30 day visa, and we should have been able to extend it for another 30 days with a quick stop in the immigration office. But the rules changed while we were in Laos.
Now you can only get a 30 day visa if you enter by air, you only get 15 days if you enter by land, and you can only get a 7 day extension from an extension office.
Our options, then, were to somehow leave the country and return, either by land (gaining another 15 days) or by air (30 days). You can overstay your visa for about 7 days, paying fines, but after that the govt gets pretty unhappy, and while you probably won't be detained, you probably also won't ever be allowed to return to Thailand.
So, after quite a lot of searching and weighing of alternatives (did we want to return to Laos, pay a quick visit to Burma, have a screaming temper tantrum and hope it helps?), we booked a budget flight to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, and we'll have three days there before returning to Phuket Thailand, where we are renting a house from one of my sister's friends (thank you Lori and Alex) for a week.
We're trying to be zen about the whole thing, and mostly we're succeeding. It helps needing to set a good example for the kids.
Lest you think we didn't do our research, we had. Based on all we read, we should have gotten a 30 day visa, and we should have been able to extend it for another 30 days with a quick stop in the immigration office. But the rules changed while we were in Laos.
Now you can only get a 30 day visa if you enter by air, you only get 15 days if you enter by land, and you can only get a 7 day extension from an extension office.
Our options, then, were to somehow leave the country and return, either by land (gaining another 15 days) or by air (30 days). You can overstay your visa for about 7 days, paying fines, but after that the govt gets pretty unhappy, and while you probably won't be detained, you probably also won't ever be allowed to return to Thailand.
So, after quite a lot of searching and weighing of alternatives (did we want to return to Laos, pay a quick visit to Burma, have a screaming temper tantrum and hope it helps?), we booked a budget flight to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, and we'll have three days there before returning to Phuket Thailand, where we are renting a house from one of my sister's friends (thank you Lori and Alex) for a week.
We're trying to be zen about the whole thing, and mostly we're succeeding. It helps needing to set a good example for the kids.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Our Accomodation
It occurs to me that some folks might be curious about the types of places we're staying in. With the exception of our night in the jungle in Luang Namtha, Laos, we've been mostly staying in "flashpacker" guesthouses/hotels. One (or two or three) steps up from basic backpacker digs, but not the Ritz either.
Here in Chiang Mai we're at the Awana Guesthouse. We are sharing one family room, which tucks a bunk bed and a king size bed into a smallish room with a tv, mini fridge (under the TV) and a small desk. We have air con, and a small balcony that supposedly has a mountain view, though the pollution/haze this time of year is so thick that the mountain is mostly invisible behind the wires and billboards.
Our bathroom has a hot water shower, though no hot water in the sink and a western-style toilet. As is typical of most of the places we're staying, the shower is not separated from the rest of the bathroom, and one must take the toilet paper out of the room before showering or else it gets soaked. Typically one must be careful about what goes into the toilet, but here it's ok to put the paper in. In many places the plumbing can only handle human waste and nothing else. Many guesthouses have signs over the toilets reminding guests of this...my personal favorite was the one that admonished "no bones" in the toilet.
We are particularly fond of the Awana because neither the beds nor the pillows are like rocks. We have been surprised by how hard most mattresses here are, and even more surprised by the heft and solidity of the pillows. I had imagined I'd have trouble sleeping on sagging mattresses with paper thin pillows. Little did I realize that the issue would be bruises on my hips and neck aches from having my head at a 90 degree angle to my body because the pillow was so thick.
The best things about the Awana are the mini swimming pool downstairs, and the pool table upstairs. The swimming pool is too small to swim, but big enough to cool off in, and the pool table is a great way to spend some time when it's too hot to sight see. Not that we're any good, but it's fun. I should also note that the staff here are incredibly friendly and helpful, making the whole place feel welcoming and like home.
The Awana is centrally located too, just inside the Eastern gate of the old city. Perfect location for easy exploration and access to the tourist sites. Nice neighborhood, but we do have mind the motorbikes on the lane.
Here in Chiang Mai we're at the Awana Guesthouse. We are sharing one family room, which tucks a bunk bed and a king size bed into a smallish room with a tv, mini fridge (under the TV) and a small desk. We have air con, and a small balcony that supposedly has a mountain view, though the pollution/haze this time of year is so thick that the mountain is mostly invisible behind the wires and billboards.
Our bathroom has a hot water shower, though no hot water in the sink and a western-style toilet. As is typical of most of the places we're staying, the shower is not separated from the rest of the bathroom, and one must take the toilet paper out of the room before showering or else it gets soaked. Typically one must be careful about what goes into the toilet, but here it's ok to put the paper in. In many places the plumbing can only handle human waste and nothing else. Many guesthouses have signs over the toilets reminding guests of this...my personal favorite was the one that admonished "no bones" in the toilet.
We are particularly fond of the Awana because neither the beds nor the pillows are like rocks. We have been surprised by how hard most mattresses here are, and even more surprised by the heft and solidity of the pillows. I had imagined I'd have trouble sleeping on sagging mattresses with paper thin pillows. Little did I realize that the issue would be bruises on my hips and neck aches from having my head at a 90 degree angle to my body because the pillow was so thick.
The best things about the Awana are the mini swimming pool downstairs, and the pool table upstairs. The swimming pool is too small to swim, but big enough to cool off in, and the pool table is a great way to spend some time when it's too hot to sight see. Not that we're any good, but it's fun. I should also note that the staff here are incredibly friendly and helpful, making the whole place feel welcoming and like home.
The Awana is centrally located too, just inside the Eastern gate of the old city. Perfect location for easy exploration and access to the tourist sites. Nice neighborhood, but we do have mind the motorbikes on the lane.
Thai massage... the case for masochism
We were in Chiang Rai so briefly that I didn't blog about my massage. K and I have had a few massages already here, all pleasant enough, but this one made every other massage I have ever had feel like being patted on the head by a mouse.
Thai massage has been described as like yoga except that someone else does it to you. For TWO solid hours, a deceptively tiny Thai woman crunched, banged, twisted yanked, pressed and generally wrung out my body like a wet rag. Half the time I could not decide whether it was wonderful, painful, or both. Afterwards I felt as if I had been attacked in an alley by a rugby team - and drifted back into consciousness just enough to reflect that this was, in a perverse way, enjoyable. Yesterday I realised that I still have faint bruises on the sides of my... skull.
Thai massage has been described as like yoga except that someone else does it to you. For TWO solid hours, a deceptively tiny Thai woman crunched, banged, twisted yanked, pressed and generally wrung out my body like a wet rag. Half the time I could not decide whether it was wonderful, painful, or both. Afterwards I felt as if I had been attacked in an alley by a rugby team - and drifted back into consciousness just enough to reflect that this was, in a perverse way, enjoyable. Yesterday I realised that I still have faint bruises on the sides of my... skull.
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