Negotiating the Klong

I went out to investigate the klong today looking for a 10 km loop to run. My logic is that if I have to turn around, it is less demoralizing on a bike. I shared the walkway with countless chickens, things that looked like roosters but I am not quite sure, lots of kittens and cats, dogs who kindly stepped off for me and a few people but not many. It was the heron that wouldn't move that was funny. I don't really look around much unless I am 100% stationary with both feet on the ground. Although I did see kids swimming today I have no desire to join them.

This is why I always look straight ahead:) It feels a bit like the "Whose that trip-trapping on my bridge" scenario...and a troll might be nicer than what lurks in these waters in my imagination.

If There's a Squid on the Package, it's Probably Not Banana

While waiting for the bus last weekend on the way back form Ko Samet, my friend, Jenne and I decided to amuse ourselves in the market. It was quite fascinating because there were about 50 stalls, but only three different categories of products; candy, t-shirts and dried (fish) produce. Each stall had exactly the same packaging and prices which seemed like overkill. Anyway, we were looking at dried products and couldn't figure out if one of them was dried banana or dried fish. The next container had the same dried product in syrup so I decided it was banana and accepted the offer to try some. So....definitely not banana....and definitely dried fish soaked in syrup. This lead to Jenne laughing and telling me that indeed...."If there is a squid on the package then it's probably not banana". I'll have to pay closer attention next time.

I was at a writing workshop all weekend which was actually really good...thought I'd share the plasticine robots we made.  I don't think I'll ever make an art teacher. 

While there I took a picture from the 4th floor of the school showing Bangkok in the distance. It's rainy season for another month-hence the clouds.

I was on a mission to find molasses, ground cloves and powdered ginger so that I can make ginger cookies.....have my priorities straight. So, we took a bus on Saturday up to The Villa which carries a fair bit of Western groceries due to the large number of Expats who live nearby. It was our first time on a non-air con bus and usually you have to tell the conductor where you are going and they charge you accordingly. The non-AC busses have 1 fare which is 7 Baht or 25 cents. It's not fancy but it does the trick. The lady in blue collects the money from new passengers and I have no idea how they keep track. We didn't miss our stop since we are starting to recognize landmarks. The driver slows down and barely stops so it's a quick exit. I have noticed, though that they give farangs (foreigners) more time.

Inside the bus

This gave us a good laugh. Real, Canadian maple syrup imported from the UK. Huh?

We took a walk on the klong near our place which we had not been on yet. It's a 2 min walk so will be good for walking/running. The houses in the background are part of our townhouses. 

Say "hello" to Vince.

Somebody's "front door"

More klong with "motocy" on far left

Duck, duck goose?

Perfect Place houses....a real juxtaposition.

Say "bye" to Vince.

My commute this morning involved me bunching my skirt up around my waist and riding through the deepest water yet. I actually went home to get flip flops which I almost lost in the water.

We are off to Pattya this weekend to see a student from LCC who is there on a 6 week exchange and this is her last weekend. It's a 2-hr bus ride South and I hear the busses are fantastic. It's a nice way to see the country side.

Ko Samet: Life is Rough

Vince was away for the week in New Zealand making use of his nice warm jacket so I was left to entertain myself on a long weekend. As luck would have it, I ended up with three other girls heading off to Ko Samet, a 3.5 hr bus ride south of Bangkok. It would be my first long distance bus ride...and not my last. There is a lot of trial an error here and learning from other people's experiences is always worth it. There are a large range of prices and ways to travel and we all have our own "must have's" to consider. The three-day weekends are great to take advantage of.

This was our ferry boat which took 30-40min.

I know there is a story behind this mammoth mermaid that greeted us on Ko Samet and I will certainly look it up. She was a little creepy from the side....

....and terrifying from the front. 

These were a little more friendly looking. Again, I need to check out the story.

We walked down the beach for a while until we were away from the busy spots and checked out the same place Kelli stayed when she was here which was pretty nice and looked really relaxing. It also had some great food. We had our sites set on a place just a bit further which is where we ended up. They were little 1 room shacks on a secluded beach.....peaceful. We had to share a bathroom which was an entirely separate building reminding me of camping but it was so quiet that we were almost the only people there anyway.

Nice, thatched roof hut.

Our home away from home.

The view from our front balcony.

The inside complete with mosquito net.

Check out the 30 min option.

Our beach for the weekend.

Storm coming in

One of the main beaches getting ready for night action.

More beach...quieter near our place.

My orchids never looked like this.

We hiked down the coast which involved some clambering over rocks and visits to other resorts on beautiful white beaches. This was the West side of the island famous for sunsets and rough water.

We hitched a ride back in the taxi with this group of 4 teachers from another school. We were actually in the back of a pick up truck with benches which is one of the many forms of taxis here. They were at the mercy of a driver since they were at the end of the island and wanted to head back to town to rent scooters. He gave them a price for the whole taxi and when we realized that we would be in the same predicament very shortly we jumped aboard and split the cost.  

The road is being paved (cemented really) and the left side is complete. It was quite something to be hurtling along on a slab of cement with a 6-8 inch drop off the side.

We went for a walk into town a few times because their really isn't anywhere else to go.  We did not even know what this was until a scooter drove up to it.

Gas station.

A view from the main drag. It's funny because you get very used to the dirtier more simplistic way of living. Most everything happens on the beach.

For the Perry-Gore's....

The 2 pm bus was full so we waited around until 4pm.....which means more eating.

On another note....this is "our" massage place.

I am not sure what I am looking at here.

So, I needed to buy eggs and went to the corner market. You buy them loose and they put them in a nice little bag with all of the old receipts. So cute!

Revisiting the Market

Vince and I went back later on in the day to visit my newfound market on the klong. It's amazing what happens when you just go a little bit in a different direction. We had been near here many times but never knew it was there.

Floating snack bar.

It seems that each market has different foods.....these were amazing! When buying anything pork-like you have to be sure that you ask for the no fat because some of it is 80% fat. A bit of a shock to the palate and arteries the first time

Vince being a tourist. We couldn't figure it out but for some reason there were a lot of Asian tourists here. 

Cool bridge looks like the hull of a boat.

Looking down-klong from the bridge. I am trying to figure out how to catch a klong boat from here. They are not "supposed" to run this far up but we definitely saw some. I think those boats are technically a floating market but not sure.

This was fabulous...a shuttle-bus station back to the main road. The many languages adds to the questions about why all of the tourists. It's even in french which is a first for me. 

The shuttle bus in action

Vince posing on the shuttle.

This has become our "regular" bike stop when we take the bus/taxi. It's a little busy sometimes.

Thai massages are amazing....those are our two bikes waiting patiently for us as we went in for a 1 hour foot massage. Vince was snoring....but might deny it.

The Sunday Morning Run: Some Monks, a Pig and a BIke

Our running group on Sunday morning is steady at 3 people and I always nice to look forward to it. We are starting to venture out and find new routes. Today we were in search of a pathway beside the klong which eluded us and may not even exist. However, we did go through a fairly new and great market which I need to revisit. 

On run last week, one of the girls realized as we got off the bus (confused yet?) that she had left her iphone on the seat. She happened to find a scooter taxi driver who spoke some English, she jumped on the back of his scooter and they went down to the central bus station. We found out that the tiny paper ticket that they give you on the bus is more valuable than we thought since it tells you what bus you are on. She handed over a very sweaty one to the authorities who tracked down the bus and yes, indeed the iphone was in the hands of the ticket person. All it took was a bit of waiting (the bus had to finish its route and get gas) and she had her phone back 1h 15 min after she lost it......pretty impressive. 

If you were wondering why we were on the bus it's because we sometimes run 1-way, go to the market and bus it home.

Along the side of the klong were many people kneeling and waiting for the arrival of the monks to whom they give offerings of food as a reminder to not be selfish. Maybe not quite. There is a custom that I did not know about and just saw today where people buy live animals (toads, fish, shellfish) from vendors and offer them back to the water.  I think they were called merit offerings. It's an interesting catch and release cycle.

The monks are in the orange robes. The temple, called Wat  Bang Peng Tai, is similar to those found all over Thailand. The gold and red is stunning.

I couldn't resist a picture of this pony-go-round

The Pig: I kid you not, he is AS big, if not bigger, than the ponies.

 So, I was asked about bike paths. This is definitely labelled as one........but see what really happens on this sidewalk.

In reality it's kind of more like a free-for-all. Between the cracks, holes, scooters, missing tiles, trees with mutant roots, vendors, walkers and street dogs it's a bit of a skills game. One day I think I will dedicate a post purely to the art of cycling.

If you know me at all, you know I love to ride my bike and this is one thing I missed when we moved. When we moved here and could not (still can't) speak the language, had no idea of how anything worked, recognized little of the food and needed some form of transportation, we got what we could in the way of bikes which has been great and we will still use them all of the time.

However, I have also been dragging Vince to bike shops because I would still really like to do a bit of recreational cycling and my too-small one is a little cramped. It's more of a carry-all-of-Bridget's-stuff-to-school kind of bike. So, we found two more stores today which were close by and what a find! I'm not really that fussy but some stores only have one that fits me. I found a perfect one today....and it is red......happy day!

That's my new bike being put together. They are pretty amazing here. He had a black bike, I asked if he had red in my size and next thing you know, the box is open and they are assembling it. 

It was starting to rain and we were discussing how to get it home. Should I ride it? No, I'd probably get lost. Vince ride it? Nah, it's a lot too small. I asked the salesman if he thought we could get it into a taxi. No problem., he says. We pay for the bike, he picks it up and puts it on his shoulder and after stopping 3 taxis who refused, he found one that would take us. What a nice guy! 

Two refusal....patience.

The joke's on me.....in goes the bike....then in goes me.

I think I still have dents in my leg from whatever metal piece was trying to pierce my skin. Guess who is seating in the front seat holding the water bottle?

I am trying to look like this whole jamming me and the bike in the back of a taxi is very normal for me.

Vince wanted to know why I wore white shorts to try out bikes which, knowing bike stores, is a dirty business. It was a great question to which I really didn't have an answer other than i have been here a month and haven't worn them yet. How's that for a great reason. You are pretty much going to get dirty, sweaty, rained on or all three so I just threw caution to the wind and wore them. 

What I think I should have said is that "They would go really well in a photo shoot with a red bike" You cannot tell but it is absolutely pouring with rain outside. I may need to purchase a little fender...we'll see.