Snowboarding -- It always hurts the first time

I used to hate winter sports with a passion. Might have something to do with the fact that as a kid I had tackled a black diamond hill after only a day’s worth of ski lessons, and then proceed to try to steer using the `snow plough` method (skis in, making a `V`) while going about 100 km/h. It didn’t go so well. Thank god there were large bags of leaves marking the way – I managed to grab one of these and hold on tight as I rolled down the rest of the hill, my skis sliding gracefully ahead of me. As I slid to a stop at the base of the hill my mother came running up to me pale and clearly on the verge of heart failure at having witnessed the whole thing, and when she saw I was alive, started to yell at my brother for having let me go on one of the toughest slopes. The bag of leaves had to be pried away from my arms. I was around 14 when all this happened and I had not set foot on a ski slope since then.

The thing is though, Japan has lots of good skiing and snowboarding places really close by and it seems that everyone goes. It is the thing to do in winter. Last year I managed to avoid going by hibernating in Shimabara with a bottle of whiskey. Though I did go hiking in the ice of Unzen one time, which turned out to be lots of fun. This year however, having been persuaded through Aaron`s numerous tales of winter fun, I decided to finally give snowboarding a try.

And so it was, last Saturday morning, Aaron, Hayden, Shawna and I all set out for Tenzan, which is a small ski resort about two hours away. Aaron and Hayden are like pros and can do all kinds of fancy crap with their boards. Shawna didn’t have much experience but given that she’s one of those people that can annoyingly do anything she tries well, she was soon taking her board off jumps and stuff too.

As for me, I went to the bunny slope, tied myself in, tried to stand up, slipped, and slid into an ungraceful pile with my board now lying on top. Trying kindly not to laugh at me, Aaron offered to give me some lessons. Lucky for me, the guy is a good teacher and soon I had learned to stand up, stop and slowly turn. After an hour Aaron thought I was ready to tackle the real hills. Suddenly getting flashbacks to my youthful experience I looked at him apprehensively. He appealed to my pride though (by insinuating that my samurai spirit was lacking) and so soon I was defiantly, though nervously, sitting on a ski lift to the top of the mountain.

Getting off the lift is no easy thing either and Aaron warned me that I would fall because everyone does. Still a fall would have been a step up from the face-first-board-over-head, highly unladylike flop that resulted. On top of that, my tangled body couldn’t move fast enough out of the way after and so the people behind me on the lift ended up taking flips over the obstacle that was me, resulting in a bit of a mountainous pile up. I felt sheepish, but after a few billion `Sumimasen`s and `Gommennasai!!`s, I was finally ready to descend the slope.

The first time down was slow and I spent more of the descent on my ass than on the snowboard. The second time was a lot better though, and by the third and fourth times I was doing something that actually resembled snowboarding. And you know what? I loved it! It is one of the most fun things I have ever tried and I totally want to keep doing it. Over the next few weeks I already have two more trips planned.

That night, after a brief stop at a much needed onsen (I am getting very good at power-onsening lately) the four of us were ready to go out. We went to a packed party in Nag and proceeded to get drunk. I was exhausted but managed to bounce back with some music and a few drinks. The next morning was a whole other matter though – immediately upon waking I suddenly became aware of the fact that I couldn’t move at all. Everything hurt and large parts of me were bruised as well. The next few days were decidedly painful but I pulled through. I am hoping next time will be a faster recovery time, but thankfully I just got a new shipment of Canadian grade painkillers, so if it’s not, I will be too drugged up to know.

Winter Vacation: 16 Days in Thailand!!

As I sit here writing this in the damp, bone-chilling cold that is the Japanese winter, the only thing that proves to me that my 16 day trip to the land of sun and smiles was not just a fantasy is the fact that I am rather tanned from my recent days in the sun and I am also sporting a new tattoo, which was done in traditional Thai style. Just a few days ago however, I was sunning myself on white-sand beaches, riding on elephants, bartering in crazy night bazaars, jet-skiing over clear blue waters, bathing in waterfalls and ending my nights (or rather mornings) with insane parties on the beach.

Well it was a hell of a trip, and so this is going to be a bit of a long entry. If you have the time and inclination, read-on, and if not, I suppose you could always wait for me to post the pictures (though, as always, the best parts of the story have no pictures attached because I feel if you have enough time to take pictures you are not having as much fun as you could be).

It began in Bangkok

It was Thursday evening when we finally arrived in the smoggy humidity that is Bangkok. As soon as we cleared customs and ventured outside the airport to try to find a taxi we were accosted by legions of `limousine` drivers trying to trick us into taking one of their cars instead of the official taxis at 5 times the regular price. Luckily, I had done my research and knew to avoid the multitudes of solicitors and look for the official taxi stand on the ground floor. This was a bit more stressful than anticipated though, especially after having lived in polite, calm Japan for so long. However, it didn’t take too long for me to jump from `bowing` mode to `shoving arseholes out of my way` mode with the proper motivation. After all, with my Croatian blood, the latter is a much more natural state of being for me.

Bangkok is big, dirty, loud, aggressive and hot. It is so alive though. Within moments of being in the city I felt like my energy level had jumped up several notches and I found myself intoxicated by the exotic craziness. The death-defying taxi ride to our hostel took about 30 minutes and ended up costing the equivalent of $2. Already, I was loving this place.

Our first hostel was great. It cost about $4 per night and had a bar/restaurant and even a swimming pool and garden in a converted old Thai house.

After showering and changing we immediately decided to head out and explore our neighbourhood. Our first meal consisted of a whole fish boiled in garlic and chillies, chicken with sweet chilli sauce and some Singha beer. It was amazing, though both Nicole and I were dying from the fact that our taste buds had grown accustomed to the blandness of Japanese food, and so were having a hard time dealing with the sudden appearance of spice.

During the next two days in Bangkok we walked around most of the city because I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of scheming tuk-tuk drivers. However, they still harassed us in droves as we walked by, and sometimes followed us for several meters asking `where you go miss??` and `good price, good price`. I must admit, it was nice to be a bitch to people again. It’s very cathartic.

The daytime highlights of Bangkok for me were the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kew. That is some of the most stunning architecture I have ever seen and the palace and temple grounds were so ornate and amazingly taken care of that I was left in awe.

By contrast, we spent our nights in Bangkok on the infamous Khao San road. Located near the center of the city, this road is an open street market lined with restaurants, bars and clubs and is packed with backpackers and other travellers from around the world. Everyone drinks on the streets, barters for deals on various goods, gets cheap Thai massages and watches the random performers. It’s kinda like Mardi Gras, but with shopping.

On the night before leaving Bangkok, we had decided to be adventurous and go down to Patpong, the sex district of Bangkok. Before doing that, however, we eased into a seedier mood by visiting a transsexual cabaret. This consisted of really, really convincing, half-naked ladyboys. I mean these guys REALLY looked like women. Gorgeous women at that (I have seen a lot of drag shows before, and let me say that I have never been confused as to the actual gender of the performers until this show). I know there were some married men in the audience who were probably questioning their sexualities after that. It was a lot of fun to watch though, and was overall a very interesting experience.

When we finally got down to the Patpong sex district, I must say I was rather disappointed. I don’t know what I was expecting but suddenly being surrounded by men with `sex menus` containing such options as `fuckey-fuckey show` and `wet pussy shoot dart`, and having said men scream various profanities at me in order to come get me watch, ended up being rather intimidating. All I wanted was to see a girl shoot a ping-pong ball out of her nether regions for curiosity’s sake, but seeing some of the girls and the overall dirtyness of the place ended up being too much for me. I mean, if I felt dirty about it, you can just imagine what it was like; after all, I ain`t no blushing flower. In the end we didn’t end up going to the shows, and people we ran into later who had gone said they were pretty much horrible experiences and that the women were clearly being exploited. Still, I spent most of that evening trying to work out in my head just how a woman goes about shooting something out of there. That would be a cool party trick to have.

Running away from the slightly overwhelming Patpong, we headed for the west river banks. Our plan was to take a river cruise and relax a bit in the night-lit Bangkok scenery. The riverside was gorgeous, but both Nicole and I were wishing we were there with significant others at that point, coz the setting was so romantic. When we got to the pier to wait for our boat however, we noticed we were the only ones waiting. After a half an hour, a boat, if one could call it that, finally showed up. It was basically an over glorified barge crowded with people and animals and looked like it was only held together with pieces of string. We were sceptical but since there seemed to be no other options we hopped on. We figured if it was just a water taxi we could follow it down a few stops at least and then get off. The lady who came around to ask us for our fare seemed a bit confused as to why we were there and asked where we were going. We tried to say we just wanted to follow the boat and laughing, she asked `tour? tour?` to which we answered `yes!`. Still chuckling, the lady told us it would cost 20 baht ($0.60) and that it would be `very nice tour`. At this point we were a little confused and suspicious at the laughing, but we figured we would just sit back and enjoy the ride. Well as it turns out, the reason the woman had been laughing is that the boat was in fact a ferry and its sole purpose was to go back and forth between the two river banks (a distance of maybe 100 meters). It didn’t take us too long to realize this, especially when we had come back twice to the same port within 5 minutes and the rest of the passengers were trying to muffle their laughter at the stupid tourists. I actually found the whole experience hilarious, and when we got off the boat I gave the old lady (who asked `did you enjoy tour??` between chuckles) a 100 baht just for the hell of it, and told her that it was the best tour ever. We ended that night by having a few drinks on Khao San before heading off to sleep so that we would be well rested for the beginning of our long journey in the morning.

The next day we slowly headed north by train. It was Christmas Eve and it was dusty and hot.

Ayyutthuya: Christmas Eve in the Old Capital

By train, it took us half an hour to get to the old capital of Ayyutthuya. The train rolled through the impoverished Bangkok suburbs and gave us a glimpse of how the majority of Thais live – in little shacks made of scrap metal and wood, with holes in the ground for toilets and no hot water. I had never seen such poverty first hand (except for some parts of Croatia, but on a much smaller scale) so it was a bit of an eye opening experience for me.

Arriving in Ayyutthuya we left the train and hired a tuk-tuk to take us to the ruins. We spent the rest of the day walking around the ancient city, which has numerous temple and palace ruins scattered throughout it. Some of these are really well preserved and others not. For me though, it was a much more interesting thing to see than the glittering palace in Bangkok. I love history and you could really feel it in this place. Also, a lot of the temples had Khmer influence in their architecture and I have always wanted to see the Cambodian temple of Angkor Vat so I found it a particularly cool experience.

That night we hopped an overnight sleeper train for Chiang Mai. The journey to the northern mountain city would take about 14 hours. Given that it was Christmas Eve, we partied in the dining car with the other passengers and crew most of that night. We drank Thai beer and listened to classical American Rock as our train thundered north through the wilderness, cooled by the fresh air coming in through the open windows. It was an unusual Christmas, but that night in the tiny sleeper bunk I had one of the best sleeps of the trip.

Chiang Mai

Arriving in Chiang Mai on Christmas morning, we found our way quickly to our beautiful hostel near the river. The Parami Guesthouse is easily one of the nicest places I have ever stayed (especially for the price!) and the owners even helped us find a really awesome jungle trek that was not the typical touristy kind that most people go on (though it still had the requisite Elephant Ride and Bamboo rafting).

In Chiang Mai we decided to take a break from the historical sightseeing and instead treat ourselves to shopping, enjoying some of the northern Thai dishes (I should point out, the whole time in Thailand I could have been in heaven from the food alone) and getting ourselves pampered. I also had the best massage of the trip here, which was basically an hour long, full body, oil massage in a rather ritzy spa, and it still only cost about $20! (Which is of course expensive by Thai standards).

We also decided to go check out some of the nightclubs here because we had heard good things. The first place we went to was packed with European men, most of which had way better hair than me, and were clad in designer goods. We met a couple of cool locals there though, and eventually a Thai guy took us, via a death defying moped ride, to an after-hours that played amazing hip-hop and was packed with all kinds of people. I also got a few drinks off of him, which was rather nice. That night, the last thing I remember was counselling a Thai woman in the bathroom on issues she was having with her boyfriend’s faithfulness – leave it to me. The next day was a bit rough but the comfort of the hostel turned out to be a good way to get over a hangover.

The second night we just hung out and had a few drinks near the river. We had to be fresh for our foray into the jungle after all.

Trekking Adventures

To get to our non-tourist trekking spot we were carted off with 8 others in a rickety truck going north. After 3 or 4 hours of increasingly moving away from all signs of modern civilization, we arrived in our first hill tribe village somewhere near the Burmese/Myanmar border.

The Hill Tribes are small groups of people who live in the mountains and migrate a lot in the isolated regions. They are not Thai, but rather have a unique cultural heritage, and live a rather old fashioned way of life (no electricity, no hot water, etc.). Their income comes from crops that they grow and the various goods that they make. They speak different languages from village to village and often even have slightly different customs from one village to the next.

Our guides thankfully spoke English, Thai and some hillside languages (having come from the tribes themselves) and so we learned quite a bit along the way.

For three days, we walked a gruelling pace up and down the mountainsides, through jungles, streams, mud, etc. It was not a well travelled path and we all had heavy packs on. It was physically one of the most challenging things I have ever done, but it felt really good to be doing it.

We ate what the villagers prepared, which were simple meals but delicious none the less, with the only amenity brought in from outside being cheap beer, which I was more than thankful for. We also had to bathe in waterfalls and cold taps, and given that the mountains were a lot colder (especially at night) than the rest of Thailand had been so far, this was not such a pleasant experience but we survived nonetheless.

One of the coolest experiences I had during this trip was meeting the medicine man of one tribe, who offered local herbal remedies for whatever ailed us. At night, he joined us by the fire and called for the children of the tribe to come and sing for us. It was truly an amazing experience in more ways than one.

Another highlight was riding an elephant for one portion of the trek (which my body was more than thankful for at that point, since I had already banged up my knee pretty bad when I had made a careless step due to sheer exhaustion). It felt weird to step on the poor thing’s head to get on but overall it was fun. On the last day, to get back to the truck, we had to raft down some slow rapids on a bamboo raft. That proved to be rather difficult at parts but also insanely fun.

That evening, exhausted, banged up, sweaty, and covered in parts by mud, Nicole and I strongly endured the 3 hour ride back to Chiang Mai, followed by a plane ride back to Bangkok and then stayed up all night on Khao San road, backpacks still in tow, to catch a 6 am bus ride down to Phuket. Needless to say, by the time we got to the bus, I don’t think a bottle of speed pills could have kept me awake. Luckily we had a VIP bus (with tons of leg room, meal service, AC and even a stewardess) and we could easily sleep the whole 9 hours down to the paradisiacal southern part of Thailand. I dreamt about white sands and blue seas the whole way down.

Phuket Province and New Year’s on the beach

After our VIP bus ride down into Phuket city we were too exhausted to make the further 30 minute trip from Phuket town to the coast towns of Patong, Karon and Kata so we decided to just get some sleep in a hostel and head out first thing in the morning.

Phuket town is a rather seedy and somewhat unattractive little place and so it was fitting that we stayed in the infamously run down On On Hotel (made famous by the novel and movie `The Beach`). The place was rather grungy but in an oddly character giving way, and mostly we were just happy to be able to finally shower and rest. There was no nightlife in the place (save for some dirty old British guys who lecherously eyed us when we ventured into a local pub) but I had some of the best crab I have ever had in my life there.

The next morning we took the earliest bus to the coast and quickly found a hotel in Karon. Within minutes I was changed into my bikini and making a mad dash for the sea. It was everything I had expected. There were lots of people, mostly Europeans, but it wasn’t too crowded. The beach was long, with gorgeous white sand, and clear, light blue water. It was a hot day and we spent it tanning, swimming and relaxing. It was also New Year’s Eve.

That night we got dressed up and decided to head to Patong, which was supposedly famous for nightlife, to try to find a NY’s party. We found it a bit disappointing. After walking around through the crowds of older farang (Thai word for foreigner) men and legions of Thai strippers, prostitutes and ladyboys, we were starting to despair on finding something that would suit our party tastes. I did get to see a really cool Muay Thai match at one point though, but apart from that, it was clear we were not going to find our type of club in Patong.

We considered our options and finally decided to take a tuk-tuk back along the coast to the southern beach town of Kata. It is supposedly more popular with younger backpackers and after a bit of walking we finally found a party on the beach. It was beautiful. People were lighting these balloon candles, which started to drift up into the air when they were lit up from inside. With the backdrop of the night sky and the reflection of the water the effect was beautiful in a very ethereal way. At midnight there was a fireworks show and fire dancers came out, but my memory gets spotty afterwards. Nicole tells me that later on we crashed a super posh Club Med party somehow, but ended the night at a random souvlaki place somewhere closer to our hotel. I don’t remember much, but I woke up with the taste of garlic my mouth.

Ko Phi-Phi – Taking a ferry to Paradise

It was now NYs day and we were on the move again. We had to catch a ferry from Phuket down to the gorgeous islands of Ko Phi-Phi. Truly, I can’t even begin to explain how beautiful it was here but for those of you who have see the movie `the Beach` you should have an idea – it was filmed here.

We arrived in the morning and immediately set to finding a room. Since it’s a small island and a very popular destination, we couldn’t find anything but a dingy box off the beach and paid a very expensive (for Thailand) $20 per night for it. Still, we hardly spent anytime in the room as the island was full of beaches, jungles, restaurants and bars to explore.

On the first day, we trekked through the wilderness to find an isolated beach that we had read about. It took us forever because we kept getting lost, but eventually we found it. It did not disappoint. Clear blue water, soft, white crystal sand, and monkeys coming down from the trees to sun themselves on the rocks. I tried to get rid of my tanline by going topless here, but all it got me was a sunburned chest at the end of the day. A little painful, but nothing some Thai whiskey couldn’t sort out.

The second day there we did one of my favourite things of the trip. We took a boat tour of the island chain and went snorkelling, swimming and sea kayaking in various off shore lagoons. The coral reefs there are amazing so snorkelling was incredible. There are also these huge limestone cliffs that just come out of the ocean and create all kinds of caves along the shore, which makes for quite a dramatically gorgeous effect.

That day we also went to the beach from `The Beach`. That was probably the only disappointing part of the tour, since what was once probably the most beautiful beach in the world is now an overpacked tourist trap filled with people and boats. Still, it was worth seeing. We found many more beautiful and isolated beaches that day as well, so I guess in the end it wasn’t a huge loss.

That night, after a seafood feast, I made my way over to a traditional bamboo tattoo shop that I had discovered. I have always wanted a bamboo tattoo (done by hand, rather than machine, using a long bamboo needle). The guy helped me design a Thai temple fire and soon I was lying on the floor and getting inked on my upper right thigh, while a toddler played with my hair and a mother nursed nearby. The guy did an amazing job, and actually the process was not all that painful. He also told me that it would heal faster than a regular tattoo, so I could go swimming the next day so long as I put Vaseline on it. I wish I could get all future tattoos done with bamboo!

Koh Samui and Ko Pha Ngan – Full Moon Party and Living Dangerously

For the last leg of our Thailand adventure, we headed over to the other side of the Andaman coast to the island of Koh Samui.

Koh Samui has a very European feel to it (could be something to do with all the European tourists it receives – I saw more Italians and Swedes than Thais) and has some rather nice, though slightly resorty beaches to boot.

There, we found a cute little bungalow and I decided to risk my life renting a moped. I have never driven a moped before but luckily I didn’t need a licence there. After a brief explanation, I was off to battle the dirt roads and crazy Thai drivers of Samui. It was crazy fun.

That night, we took a speedboat to the little island of Koh Pha Ngan. This little piece of paradise has become world famous for the hedonistic Full Moon parties that take place there every month. Basically, people from nearby islands congregate here and dance the night away on the beach, while nearby bars blast out hip-hop, trance, house etc. Everyone drinks from buckets – literally. For 300 baht ($5) you buy a plastic bucket and they fill it with your choice of liquor and mixer. For mine, the lady emptied a bottle of Thai whiskey, added two red bull like drinks and some ice, and shortly thereafter the night became a blur. I think I drank two buckets all together, so my memories from the night are a bit spotty.

The parts I remember are amazing though! I danced, watched fire performers, met a bazillion people, and partied like it was the end of the world.

Around 6 am, as the sun was coming up, I swam for a bit and relaxed on the beach watching as people just kept on dancing. Eventually exhaustion overtook me though, and I had to wrestle my way back through the crowds in order to grab a speedboat back to Koh Samui. It was a bit of a rough ride with all the waves and all that whiskey inside me, but I managed to make it across without making a mess.

Despite my enormous hangover and lack of sleep, I nonetheless managed to drive my moped to the nicest beach on Samui that day and finally rented a jet-ski (something I have always wanted to do). Man those things are fun! I also got another massage and a manicure/pedicure – all for about $15. Yes, life was good and by now I had a pretty much permanent smile on my face.

The next morning I managed to go for another quick swim and tan before we hopped on a plane back to Bangkok. I was sad to go, but it had been a good trip and I felt more than satisfied.

The Final Night – Bangkok revisited

For our last night in Bangkok we rented a room, but I think I slept all of two hours that night. I decided that since I didn’t know if I would ever be in Thailand again in my life, I didn’t want to waste my last night there sleeping.

I took off solo for Khao San road, which had by now become my favourite place in Bangkok. Being now a seasoned pro at bargaining, I used my skills to buy souvenirs/omiyage for family and friends and treated myself to a few things in the process. I also made a new Turkish friend who kept me company for most of the night, and with whom I traded travel stories (he had been to Malaysia and had some amazing things to say about it).

I tried to drink Bangkok in one last time. The heat; the smoggy humidity; the crowds of people from all around the world; the alluring smells of pat-thai and chicken satay from stalls on the street; the sounds of Thai pop music competing with western pop hits; the moans of weary travellers getting massages right on the street; and the clutter of all kinds of goods, some pretending to be designer, being sold left and right by aggressive vendors – it all blended together as I let myself be swept away into the night with my last taste of Thai beer.

Not for the first time that trip, I thought to myself how lucky I was that I had been able to do all that I have done so far in my life. Sometimes I can’t believe how much I have seen and done in my 26 years and hopefully it’s only the beginning.

As I stood on the corner of Thanon Khao San early that Saturday morning before leaving for the airport, the last words that came to my mind were in Thai: `khap kun ka` -- `thank you`. (Actually, they were more like `Holy shit I love my life` but I didn`t know how to say that in Thai….).

Pictures hopefully to come soon!

An Izakaya in Omura for my bday. Aaron and I had been drinking all day (with another guy who had already passed out). Just look at Aaron in this pic....he looks barely concious (but sure enough he still has a ciggy in his mouth). 

Ok I love this pic coz we were going for this sexy thumb look....and Sachi just looks like an adorable kid sucking her thumb! I swear she is the cutest adult that I know! 

Kazuya expressing his love for Aaron. 

Aaron and I pleasuring a rather small sausage. 

Kazuya and Kara outdo us.....if you look closely you will see Kara had put gooey white daikon on her face to simulate....er....well u get the idea. 

Me and Kara on the street....trashed. Poor Sachi looks cold and sober! 

I'm trying very hard not to crush Suzie as Kazuya had pushed me over and was leaning all his body weight on the both of us. Poor Suzie! 

I am always amazed at Aaron's random skills. Strangely they all seem to do with putting things in his mouth.... 

Sooo drunk in my kitchen with a towel that says "mushrooming" all over it with little pics of psychedelic mushrooms to boot. I am pretty sure I passed out shortly after....