Jiminy Wilikers Batman!!

For the fainter of heart amongst you reading this I might advise you to discontinue reading this entry now. I might advise you to do that...but then that wouldn't be any fun at all would it?!

I decided to dedicate a page of our little blog to my latest unusual experience while traveling in South East Asia. Unlike the Giardiasis that I endured for the first 3 weeks (yuk),the heat rash that hit me for a few days, the snake in my shower and the various creepy crawlies that one encounters, I could find no respite or information online about my most recent clash with nature.

It all started on a sweltering night in Chiang Mai. I had awoken in the night with the most unholy itch that I have ever experienced, on the sole of my foot. I switched on the light and had a look. "The little bastard" I thought to myself, some mozzie had nabbed me at least 3 times in a neat little row. And GOD did it itch. I slapped on some tiger balm and jumped back into bed, enduring a restless sleep.

The next day Richie, Kev and I set off for our 3 day trek in the jungles around Chiang Mai. The bites were irritating at this point but bearable. After 2 days of clambering through jungle terrain and slipping and sliding through hills and valleys, however, my bites were starting to get to me. But a plaster and some cortisone cream seemed to calm the itch somewhat. After the 3 days of trekking it was a relief to return to Chiang Mai and get a shower and a bed again.

I removed my plaster and had a good look at the "bites" which before had appeared to be 3 or 4, now looked more in the region of 9 or 10. On a more in depth inspection I noticed that the "bites" appeared in places to be pulsating and were completely untouchable on account of the severe itching. Needless to say that this pulsating un-nerved me somewhat! But Richie assured me that I was over reacting and that a few whiskeys would sort me right out...at least he was right about one thing.

The next day I rose with a head that felt as heavy as a bag of hammers but my foot was my main priority. On removal of my plaster, not only were there more bites but they all appeared to have lined up and were clearly pulsating, almost like a throbbing. There could be no doubt; his was no mozzie bite!!

Another possible source of Jim

Nearly forgetting my hangover I dashed to the pharmacy across the road from our hostel. In typical Thai custom my pharmacist offered me a large smile and a nod of the head and assured me "Ooooh yes this is worm!" I felt less than happy at this fact, although her smile would make any passer by think that perhaps she was telling me I had just stepped on a diamond mound and I had a number of extremely rare and expensive stones in my foot and was about to be a very rich woman.

It turned out to be a hookworm, so she put me on a course of albendazole 200mg, 2 tablets in the morning, 2 in the evening and no alcohol (as an Irish backpacker this was the worst insult), for 3 days. With some anti fungal cream to alleviate the itch. I thought it appropriate at this stage to name the little blighter as we were to be sharing a foot for the next while. Richie had the most inventive idea and he was not so lovingly christened "Footworm Jim"

By day 2 of the course of albendazole I had noticed that the bites were still itchy but it was clear that the worm was not migrating any further along the sole of my foot. The red line decreased gradually and in the space of roughly a week it was visible where the hookworm had laid his little worm head to rest for his eternal slumber. It is about a month on now and all that is left is a small bump...a Jim bump....a jump.

If you have come across this page as a result of googling your very own Jim-festation, I would like to reassure you that while it is uncomfortable, itchy, and well....a little bit icky, it is extremely treatable. I had nightmares about having to have Jim surgically removed or some horror story like that but it is really not all that bad.

To all the rest of you who have not had the misfortune of a Jimfestation, it can happen from walking barefoot in the sand. So maybe on those romantic strolls down Sandymount, perhaps leave on the old adidas to be on the safe side.

Meet Jim!

I am more worried about my dreadfully unkempt hippy feet now!

A bit of a closer look on "him"

The long and winding road

We left our safe haven in Ko Chang en route to Bangkok, with a quick stop off to visit some familiar faces in Trat. We were greeted with the sort of welcome you would expect from old friends. In the smaller towns around Thailand, people’s willingness to receive you into their homes and welcome you as if you are their family can be a truly humbling experience.

From Trat we took the inevitable journey that any backpacker makes in Thailand and we packed up to head for Bangkok. We approached the city from the South through a series of spaghetti junctions, some signposted in Thai, some in English, a veritable game of Russian roulette with the Thai infrastructure.

From all angles the city sprawls, not saved by such reinforcement as London’s green belt, the city quite literally spans out in all directions as far as the horizon. Like a perpetually growing sponge it indiscriminately absorbs people and places and creates a vacuum of anything truly natural or wholesome.

We stayed three days, which was about all we could take of the place. The last words to leave Tammy’s mouth as we walked from our guesthouse were “let’s get the f**k out of Bangkok!”

Reclining Buddha, Wat Pho, Bangkok

Kev and Tammy haggle with a street vendor, Bangkok

While I paint a fairly dim picture of the place it did have its redeeming qualities. We ate some great food, drank some great drinks and had some laughs along the way. But an encounter with the Thai police left us feeling weary. Kev’s honesty resulted in him presenting at a tourist police station, admitting to damaging some low hanging phone lines with the top box of the van. While being directed where to park by a member of the Thai police he was instructed to reverse; only to find that he had hit a parked car at the side of the street. This was followed by a fairly heated debate between Kev and the Thai police, by this stage there was the damage to the phone lines, a light that had been snapped by the lines falling and of course a third party’s car had suffered minor injury. A sufficient bribe needed to be settled. Needless to say that Kev did not come out of this engagement with the tourist police with a smile on his face.

Wat Pho, Bangkok

But we soldiered on, these things are sent to try you and you can’t let things get you down too much. But we all decided it would be prudent to exit the city that never ends and head North for Chiang Mai.

The view of Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn) from the floating markets, Bangkok

The drive from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is a long one so we stopped roughly half way in a sleepy old Sukothai, which is a world heritage site and is a national history park. Some of the temple ruins dating back pre 12th century. We arrived fairly late so it was dinner for us in a small restaurant followed by beers and a film in Betsy and then to sleep.

The camper is very well equipped. The seats fold away to become one double bed, and a second bed can be folded down from a compartment above the driver. The whirring fans, however, serve as little respite from the sweat and breath generated by three people on a hot night in Thailand, at times making sleep an unattainable aspiration. In the morning Kev and Tammy decide to sleep on while Richie rose early, armed with his camera and his sun-cream to get some pictures of the stunning temples and ruins in the surrounding area.

Here are the fruits of his early mornings work

Wat Mahathat, main monastic ruin in Old Sukhotai

Wat Si Sawai, Ancient Hindu Temple in Old Sukhotai

Wat Traphang Ngeon, Sukhotai

Wat Sa Si, Ancient Sri Lankan (Sinhalese) Buddhist Temple, Sukhotai

We left Sukhotai first thing after breakfast and in a little over four hours we arrived at the old walled city of Chiang Mai, surrounded by a moat. The moat separates the sleepy old town inside, while the lively new city sprawls along outside. The new part of the city maintains the sleaze and tease that a very particular type of tourist travels to Thailand for. A walk through Chiang Mai will take you through a jungle of food stalls and markets. On certain streets you can find an array of dried fish and fruit, and a spectacular flower market lolls on a backstreet, easy to miss but worth seeking out.

As you move to the newer parts of the city the streets are crammed with street vendors and market stalls focusing more on shoddy electrical products and questionable jewelery. While in Chiang Mai we booked a three day trek through the jungles just north of the city. 3 days and 2 nights in the wilds of the jungle, why not?!!

Kev, the rambling man...

Our jungle trek saw us visiting members of the Karon Hill Tribe, easily identifiable by their women who wear solid brass bars coiled around their necks causing them over time to extend.

Karon woman, Chiang Mai

The weight of these adornments is shocking; some women constantly carry 5 kilos in brass on their collar bones. While the visit was extremely staged and lacking in authenticity, it was an interesting encounter. The women are truly beautiful.

Karon woman with Child, Chiang Mai

The Karon also have an affinity with elephants, having built a working relationship of sorts with them over generations. Most elephants required a rider, also called a "Mahout" in order to direct them, similar to a jockey I guess. But the bigger, older ones who were better trained could be simply directly by the Mahout speaking to them in the Karon people unique dialect. The Mahout for our elephant, which was conveniently the biggest bull they had, failed to inform us of this fact however! Making our first 5 minutes on an elephant pretty scary as there was no rider and the huge guy just strode off of his own accord, or so we thought. We calmed down once we realised what was going on.

Tammy and Richie rode on top of this beast, lovingly named Stampy for a day

The task of trekking through the jungle was no easy feat. The heat and the humidity created under the canopy were stifling. I (Tammy) was once told by an old school teacher that “horses sweat, men perspire and women glow”. In the jungle we were all horses. We sweat. And then we sweat. And then we sweat some more. By the time we reached our base camp we were sticky, worn out, bitten by critters and somehow feeling damn good from it all. Nothing a cold beer and a Thai massage can’t cure.

Young Lahu boy catching crabs in a rice paddy, Chiang Mai

Lahu Hill Tribe Village, Chiang Mai

We stayed with the Lahu Hill Tribes, who once again we a shining example of Thai hospitality. We celebrated our day’s work on top of a mountain, under a full moon, drinking moonshine whiskey and getting to know our fellow trekkers.

Our camp in the Lahu Village

The following days consisted of much the same formula. Walking, sweating, climbing, at times falling, navigating bamboo forests, more sweating, cooling off under jungle waterfalls, and then finishing it off with a cold Chang beer. Our base camp the second night was nestled on the side of a river. The girls, (myself and out three fellow trekkers from Bavaria, Germany) opted to use the showers. But Richie and Kev decided to go wild and clean themselves in the river itself. We huddled around a campfire for most of the night and then slept in a relatively exposed jungle camp falling asleep to the sounds of the cicadas and the river rushing by.

Our camp for our second night in the jungle

Our trek ended with a white knuckle ride down the rapids balanced then by a relaxing stint on a bamboo raft. We all were humbled by the energy and graciousness of our guide, Puzaa, for the three days. He took us through the highs and lows of the jungle and kept us entertained the whole way.

Jungle Camp, Chiang Mai

Puzaa who guided us through the wilderness, and a local villager

By this stage the time was beginning to tick by on our visas, so a stop off in Myanmar (Burma) was on the cards. We headed South (with a brief stop off in Pai) to Mai Sot for a visa run. It took only an hour and cost only BHT500, but it was an eye opener. As you cross the "Friendship Bridge" from Thailand to Burma, the difference between the two countries is striking. Thailand has its development and infrastructure. And Burma is about 50 years behind. Dirt roads, and not a sniff of western influence anywhere. I don’t believe I have ever seen a shop that doesn’t stock Coca Cola; somehow it has not infiltrated this place. After a brief walk around we decided that Breakfast in Burma was not as romantic as it sounds.

Burmese Temple

After the visa run we headed further south for Ko Phangan, for a mini holiday on a not so mini island. We were all in agreement that we were fans of this island. We rented bikes and travelled around for a day or so seeing the area and spending too much money on bits and pieces along the way.

Tammy on her "hog"

Richie with "Sephuu" a vain puppy sporting red nail varnish!

The islands of Thailand are renowned for their precarious hills strewn haphazardly across the sides of mountains. On bikes they were fun to drive up, but beware on the way back down. People in cars have little regard for people on bikes and accidents are a frequent occurrence. Locals on the islands also feel free to charge ridiculous prices when dealing with "Farang" (Foreigners). But they had a hard time we the three of us, cause we not only know how to haggle, but actively enjoy it. Though sometimes you still feel like your not getting the service you've paid for when you have to get out and push your own taxi up the aforementioned hills.

Who will win the battle? Hill or taxi?!

So that pretty much takes us up to date. After Ko Pga Ngan we three set off in the van for Phuket, to visit our friend Nicola from home who has been living and teaching in Thailand for some time now. I reckon she'll be able to show us a good time.

Here is also where we say a farewell to Betsy. Tammy and Richie have been proud to call her home for 4000km over roughly 5 weeks, the length and breath of Thailand. Kev has taken her through the battles and struggles from Ireland to Thailand, so after 46,000km in 11/12 months his farewell is an emotional one. She will be shipped home from Malaysia to become Kev’s project over the coming years. I’m sure he will lovingly restore her to her former glory before the world took it out of her.

Buying diesel, near Mai Sot, Thailand

Thanks for reading and we will keep you updated on all future events and scandals. For now it is night busses and trains to get the three, Richie, Tammy and Kev up to Laos and say farewell to Thailand for a while.

Richie with some street kids in Bangkok
Selling chewing gum and smiles for BHT20

On the Island of Ko Chang, time stands still

Hey Richie here again. After Ayutthaya we headed straight for the island of Ko Chang, but unfortunately our first road trip in Betsy was a failure. Chris told us that it would be a 3-4 hour drive but it took us closer to 7 and so we missed the ferry. But it turned out to be a good thing because we got to stay the night in the little town of Trat, where the people were so friendly and welcoming. We decided it would be a great place to stay in Betsy for the night.

We went to Ko Chang the next day and proceeded to do pretty much nothing for over a week. Seriously, time stands still in that place, its the laziest place on earth........ deadly! We stayed in a placed called Sunset Huts, where all the huts were right by the sea and about 3 minutes walk to the Lonely Beach. Kev stayed in Betsy the whole time while on Ko Chang, and had her parked just behind our hut on the first day.
After being there only 5 minutes he came up to our hut from behind and a 6 foot long snake raised up from the grass and hissed at him. He froze but thankfully it shot off real quick. He asked me what kind of snake I thought it was and I said only one kind of snake rises up like that. Reading an information leaflet the next day confirmed that yes, it was a bleedin KING COBRA! nice....

Flowers outside the Sunset Huts

Lonely Beach, just a stone's throw from our hut

There's Betsy taking in some shade under a coconut tree!

Most days we chilled on beach, where the water on some days was as still as that of a bath tub, which meant that you could use either a snorkel or just a pair of goggles to swim under and around the rocks and just watch all the sweet fishies. At one stage I had a close encounter with a puffer fish, the guys who inflate themselves and are covered in spikes. Freaked me out a little but he ran a mile before I did so happy days.

Our nights consisted mostly of partying and getting tanked (responsibly of course). Me and Tams were introduced to Sang Som buckets and it was love at first bucket.

During one of these messy nights I got accosted by my first Lady body near the men's toilet! "Welcome to Thailand big man!!", her/his name was "Rain". I made it official immediately that I wasn't interested. But I wasn't rude and they hung out with us for the rest of the night and actually turned out to be a great laugh.

Men to the right, women to the left.
Lady boys have the option of both!

The only stray from the nightly norm was Kev getting a tattoo. He had the idea of getting the name of the van, "Sexy Betsy" on his........ well on his ass. It was more of a joke at first, but Ko Chang turned out to be full of tattoo artists, who used the traditional method of using bamboo rather than a machine.
One guy called Blue was, like most Thai people, was so amused at the sight of Betsy that he offered Kev a free tattoo. So he couldn't resist I guess. The tattoo parlor was basically the front room of his home...

Blue, Kev and Blue's daughter watching Popeye in Thai.

The finished product!

One of the most amazing things though about Ko Chang though was the Sunsets. Sitting back in a Hammock in the aptly named Sunset huts with a cold beer and watching the sky on fire is one of the most beautiful things I think I've ever experienced.

Not a bad view from your hammock eh?
Book + Beer + Sunset = A bloody good holiday

We wanted to stay in Ko Chang for about 2 weeks but decided with time issues it would be better to leave it earlier. We stayed for about 9 days or so and then left with Bangkok as the next destination. But due to us all having become used to the incredible laziness of the place, we took our time and it was dark by the time we were on the ferry off the island.

A storm came down and so we decided shack up in Trat again for the night. Where some of the people we had met the week before decided to keep their modest bar open till all hours and party with us.
We woke up in Betsy the next morning feeling like death, smelling worse, and had a 6 hour drive to Bangkok ahead of us. We slapped on some wake up tunes and hit the road. I love it......

Pass the beer, I might just stay!