Posted: January 19th, 2011 | Author: dwight | Filed under: SE-Asia-2010-11 | 2 Comments »
#7 from South East Asia — The ride south, wild elephants, pigs, and tigers January 12th, 2011
Prachaup Khiri Khan
Sunk yacht along the way
We had the good fortune to head out of Bangkok on a Sunday morning. The traffic was still crazy, but just not as bad. Jeff and I struggled south through the maze of streets that arbitrarily shifted their one-way directions, with no clues from the maps. The maps did not show when there were two, or three, levels of highways at the same location.
When we finally came to the Chao Phraya River that divides Bangkok, we were relieved. We carried our loaded bikes up 6 flights of stairs to the bridge. Then we walked our bikes over the river. At least we knew where we were. How to get out of the city would be much more taxing. It is not enough just to ride away from the city. You must find the major road going in your direction in a script written on a map that you will never understand. Thai, you see, has 44 consonants and 32 vowels. None of them look anything like the western alphabet. At this point in my life, I am not going to learn them.
Eventually we got onto a road that was going southwest in the direction we wanted to go. We kept riding and following it until we realized that this actually was our desired road. What a relieve. It took 4 hours of hard pedaling to get out of Bangkok. We were still in traffic, but it was dropping off.
Drying and harvesting salt by hand
We worked our way along the western coast of the Gulf of Thailand, passing 100′s of kilometres of salt drying beds and shrimp farms. These are very labor-intensive industries. I watched large numbers of people working ever so hard under the sun. At times I wondered, ‘How can the US compete against people who work so hard, for so little?’ I don’t have the answer for for, and I can assure you that the US does not yet either.
Panhandling monkeys in trash
We were hit by garbage-picking beggars along the roadside. Macaque monkeys, going thru garbage, and asking for food. We kept pedaling.
500 miles of beach riding
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: January 10th, 2011 | Author: dwight | Filed under: SE-Asia-2010-11 | 1 Comment »
#6 from South East Asia — Kuala Lumpur, Bidets, and food food food architecture
January 6th, 2001
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
We had to fly out of Thailand in order to renew our visas. Our cheapest choice was to Kuala Lumpur. It turned out NOT to be our best choice.
The Koplex Dayabumi tower of Kuala Lumpur
arches within arches at komplex Dayabumi
wild, attention-getting archtectural designs in Kuala Lumpur
the cental broadcasting tower
The Petronas Towers
But what happens when you do not have central air...
The architecture of Kuala Lumpur is stunning. There seems to be no central theme. Like Los Angles, one needs a car to get around. It was not designed for humans walking.
The difference between Buddhist Thailand and Islamic fundamentalist Malaysia was startling. The smiles were gone. The people carried themselves with a gravity of seriousness. Most of the Malaysian women were covered. Some of them so that only their eyes were visible. At night, one rarely saw a woman at night unless she was accompanied by her husband. The price of beer was $3-4 per small can.
Having said that, the people were friendly and honest. Again, I myself have never felt threatened or endangered in an Islamic country. But it may be very different in some Islamic countries, now that we have invaded them and killed hundreds of thousands.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: January 5th, 2011 | Author: dwight | Filed under: SE-Asia-2010-11 | No Comments »
#5 from Southeast Asia — New Year’s in Pattaya. Blowing up the city…
January 2nd, 2011,
from Jomtien, Thailand
Some are girls here, but you must find out for yourself
In front of my hotel door, the show goes on...
the Saint Vitus day's dance of frenzy
free street food all day long
I woke up to this. It went on for 24 hours and got louder and louder.
I had heard about the New Year’s Eve party in Pattaya. I thought that, before I die, I should see it. So I did. And it was unlike any other New Year’s party I have ever seen.
The New Year’s Eve party in Pattaya begins in earnest first thing in the morning. The girls out on the street set up free buffets of delicious Thai food. I could not walk by without them offering me free food. Cant be free, I thought. There must be a hitch.
“No. Food all free. Just come inside and drink beer with us.” What do we say about no free lunch?
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: December 28th, 2010 | Author: dwight | Filed under: SE-Asia-2010-11 | 6 Comments »
#4 from SE Asia – white water rafting, the best cooking class of my life, and Christmas Eve blasphemy.
December 28th, 2010
Back in Bangkok
Our fantastic Thai cooking instructor Duan, holding a bundle of pre-packaged herbs used for soup-making.
I wanted to go white water rafting and Jeff wanted to go back to the women’s prison for massage, so we split our ways for a day.
The raft run is on the Mae Taeng River to the north of Chiangmai. This river drains from the mountains in the Doi Chiang Dao National park. Most of the year, this run is rated at grade II to grade IV. But for 3 months of the year, during the rainy season, it becomes a veritable grade V river, with wild drops, flipped rafts, and drownings. But now is the dry season.
The trip was all Europeans and Canadians, and myself. All of the runners were first-timers. I have rafted a number of rivers, including a 7 day trip on the Green and Colorado Rivers. I have really enjoyed this in my life.
We drove for 2 hours up a narrow gorge that had Hmong villages along it. We saw the occasional domesticated elephants working with them. When we got to the launch site, we all took the mandatory safety class. The guides gave us good safety gear, proper life jackets and helmets. Can I take my camera along? Only if it is waterproof. Otherwise you will ruin it.
So I left my camera behind. The advice turned out to be good, for everyone and everything got thoroughly soaked. But I did not get any pictures of the trip.
The river itself was much better than I expected. Clean cool water, and some good runs. At one point in the 10 km run the water drops 60 meters in 1.5 kms. Good escarpment for some nice rides. Hold on, paddle, and get wet. We had no tip overs. I think only one person on the 4 rafts went overboard. They quickly pulled her back aboard. Thruout the trip we were accompanied by 3 kayakers who were there for the group’s safety.
We ended the run with a fairly smooth last kilometer. One could see high water marks on the trees along the shore that were 4 to 5 meters above our low current levels. The guides said that during the rainy season, our 2.5 hour trip is shortened to 45 very scary minutes and the river crashed down the mountain. I think I would pass on that.
As we drifted down to the finish point, we passed a female elephant wading in the river. Nothing between her and us except some water. I like that feeling.
The BEST COOKING CLASS I have ever taken
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: December 22nd, 2010 | Author: dwight | Filed under: SE-Asia-2010-11 | 1 Comment »
#3 MORE elephants, arriving in Chiangmai, breaking INTO a women’s prison…
December 23, 2010
Chiangmai, Thailand
at the elephant show
Then she kissed me with her nose!
She picked up his hat and put it back on his head
They all laid down at once
This elephant was painting flowers.
We just couldn’t help it. We stayed with more elephants at the Elephant Training and Rescue Center in North Thailand. It also has the first and best elephant hospital. From a distance, we could watch the veterinarians doing physical therapy with injured animals.
We watched the daily elephant show at the center. What intelligent creatures they are. On their own, the elephants would sort logs, align them evenly, and then stack them up into balanced piles. They worked together, simultaneously lifting logs in pairs. The mahoots and their elephants became as one too, working with such coordination. And at the end, the elephants ask for food. And you cannot resist their requests. They sure have a sweet tooth for sugar cane.
We watched the show with perhaps 300 Thai children who cheered wildly as the elephants did these amazing things. The elephants themselves appeared quite content, and always ready to eat another 20 kilos of sugar cane. Seeing the little baby elephants can melt anyone’s heart and make one feel hopeful.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: December 16th, 2010 | Author: dwight | Filed under: SE-Asia-2010-11 | 5 Comments »
#2 from SE Asia
Lampang, Thailand
December 17th, 2010
Where the F! It should be perfectly obvious.
Maybe the language barrier had something to do with our 30 km mistake.
Jeff and I have ridden every day straight for the last 7 days. We are hitting it steady and pretty hard for ourselves, traveling in areas where the tourists bypass from their buses or trains, and where English is not spoken.
We do not, obviously, speak any Thai other than the rudimentary marketplace communications. It is a 5 tone language with its own script. The dominant Thai culture emigrated from south China around 1300 years ago. For westerners, Thai is a difficult language to learn.
Thai take out food in plastic bags
I snack on lychee nuts whenever I can
We love the naturally wrapped foods, banana leaf and all.
Durian is banned from hotels. It stinks too bad!
The pho bal in Thailand is better than most Vietnamese pho bal.
cutting the pomelo. Our citrus fix.
Such service!
After we complete the daily logistics of riding, finding a room, washing up and laundry, it is food time! And are we hungry at the end of the day. Off to the market to explore and sample as the Thai people give us bemused smiles. They have not seen us ‘Farang’ foreigners in their markets before. We point to the food and try it. Occasionally we pass on what we get, but most of the time, it is just great. And then, we pass out for 8-9 hours of DEEP sleep for the next day.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: December 13th, 2010 | Author: dwight | Filed under: SE-Asia-2010-11 | 3 Comments »
SE Asia 2010-11
post # 1
12/11/2010
Kamphaeng Phet, Northern Thailand
In November, my buddy Jeff Mease came over to my farm and said “Let’s go bicycle South East Asia.” A few days later, we had bought our tickets. Now, how’s that for freedom for you?
I so enjoyed my bicycle trip across SE Asia last winter, that I am doing it again. The only area of this trip that will cross paths with my last trip is the beginning point of Bangkok.
My goal this trip is to pedal up to the Golden Triangle of Northwest Thailand, and then work my way down to Indonesia. So we’ll see.
I have a travel buddy this time. My best friend Jeff Mease. It’s really good to have a ride mate. I have not had one since my son and I rode northern Mexico.
Posted: October 12th, 2010 | Author: dwight | Filed under: Dominican Republic fall--2010 | 3 Comments »
#5 Dominican Republic 2010
10/12/10
What does a declining infrastructure and high food prices have in common?
It has been obvious to me that some things in the DR are worse than they were when I first visited her in 1986. For one, food prices are much higher. This is not much of a problem for tourists, but it is a real difficulty for the locals. Electricity is intermittent, as is water.
When they tried to charge me $7 for a watermelon, I refused. It was higher than in the US. And here in the DR, they grew the melons just down the road. I figured I was getting the white tax. But then I saw locals pay that much for a melon. What was up?
Well, I wanted a COLD watermelon. But with the now erratic electricity, what must every store have?
A generator. These are very expensive in the DR, and the price of diesel fuel is double what it is in the US. Without electricity, the stores will fail. So, priced into the food is the generator.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: October 11th, 2010 | Author: dwight | Filed under: Dominican Republic fall--2010 | 1 Comment »
#4 from the Dominican Republic
Isabella, Dominican Republic
10/8/10
This is where Columbus landed. It looks peaceful enough, right?
Myself standing in Columbus' home. Ground zero for the genocide.
Altar to the genocide
Columbus’ second voyage to the new world was truly the significant one. For on this voyage he brought 17 ships, 1500 men, horses, sheep, cows, and all the things necessary for a permanent colonies. So perhaps we should mark November 28th, 1493 as the true Columbus day. The beginning of the conquest.
Columbus returned to find all 40 men he had left at Navidad from the first voyage to be dead. When they had not been fighting internally, they had raided the Indians and suffered reprisals. This set the pattern.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: October 10th, 2010 | Author: dwight | Filed under: Dominican Republic fall--2010 | 2 Comments »
10-06-10
From Santiago, Dominican Republic
Check this menu out!
The food here, for the most part, is not special. The meats are good and the fruit is fresh and abundant. But there is no particular Dominican cuisine. A standard meal for people here is a very large pile of white rice with a bit of sauce on top, some tostones (deep-fried banana patties) and a bit of chicken or pork. You will not be getting any vegetables or salad unless you ask for it. And dont count on that either. I find the boiled cassava root to be a good equivalent for potatoes. It is locally grown and highly productive plant. I see cassava plantations all over the country. It is the third highest source of calories for humans, after rice and corn. 800 million people depend upon it as their first source of food. It is very hardy and drought resistant. I had to learn to pull the fibers out of the fleshy root as I ate it. But it is a nutritious basic food crop.
Call it yucca or cassava or manioc -- it's the #3 food crop in the world
The Haitians appear to be doing most of the field work, like growing yucca here.
Fresh orange juice with ice, several times a day, on the street
My daily juice bar
I have just completed 5 days of riding leisurely from the Samana Peninsula to Santiago. From Nagua I rode inland and immediately found myself pleasantly isolated. No structures or people for many miles. Just swamps and rice fields. I had a 25 mph tail wind and I got blown along like I was flying. This doesnt happen often. I stopped at just about every village to get freshly pressed orange juice with ice. I had to specifically state early on that I did NOT want sugar added to it. If I didnt, they would pour sugar in for me. They would even try to convince me that I should take sugar with my orange/coconut/coffee and even grimace when they saw me drinking things without sugar. The only other place where I have seen such a sugar addiction is Cuba.
Look at the name of this armed, gated community. One could sound it out as 'Pricks-are-in'
I rode my bicycle past this armed, gated community. Look at its name, then sound it out. At least they admit it.
