Jodie & Misty: Ice Block Sales Women - Saves the day!

April 14 – Monday

Today was a pretty relaxing day. We slept till noon and then ordered something to eat from the restaurant downstairs. We talked to a few travel agents and spent some time looking up information for Laos on the internet. After both being completely frustrated we decided that we will be better off visiting Laos in the future as everything is completely shut down for the holiday. We would end up arriving in Laos, spending on day and then having to turn around to come back. We have been thinking about the flight and slowing going back to Bangkok on the bus, making stops in the towns along the way.

We spent most of the afternoon in the water fights, then went out for supper where we had free internet which was a bonus. We then headed to the night market. We found some things we wanted to purchase but we were not carrying enough money on us, so we walked back to our guest house. On the way home we met two Israel boys, our age, who were here on vacation after just finishing a 3 year term with the Israel government. In Israel, as soon as you finish high school, all boys and girls are required by law to enroll in the army. We are a little confused as to how long, as Misty thought it was only 6 months to a year which she was told when she was there visiting. However, it may be possible that, that is the case the boys decided to stay for 3 years, we don’t know.

Back to the night market we went to make a few small purchases and then we walked home. That is one of the nice things about Chiang Mai, we feel safe being out at night. It is just a great feeling to be out after dark, and seeing the night life in Thailand, which we do not really see around Bangkok, because our area is not really safe.

April 15

So we have sadly come to the decision that Laos is not going to happen on this trip. Because of everything shutting down for the holidays, our plans of leaving were pushed so far back that by the time we arrive by slow boat, we would only have a day max before we would have to start making our way back to catch our flight home.

This is extremely disappointing but we tried everything we could, talked to numerous travel agents and looked at several different options. Our Laos visa will expire in June, but what we are thinking about now is going some time in May when our students are back in school and our days clear up a little. We could fly to Laos at the end of the week and then take the slow boat back up the Mekong River and fly home form there. We are going to continue to look for seat sales and hopefully plan it around one of the holidays.

Thailand has a lot of holidays, arguably the most in the world. Students only go to school for about 50-60% of the school year. Seriously this country has holidays for everything!

Tuesday afternoon Update!

Today was one of the best days we had here so far. It started off a little bad with me being a tad grumpy because of the frustration with being stuck here. We were debating what to do and thought about looking into changing our flight. I picked up our cell phone which we charged yesterday but for some reason it was completely dead. I went downstairs to use the phone but since it was a call to Bangkok, it would cost 15 baht a minute! That is more than I pay to call to Canada! After being on hold for 3 minutes, I figured I’d be broke before I got a hold of anyone. We figured we’d get more luck online, but it didn’t happen. We decided our only chance was to go to the airport and see in person.

We hired a local tuktuk to take us as there are really no taxis here. He agreed to take us. Unfortunately the route to the airport is along the moat so we got absolutely soaked on the way there.

Tuktuks are prime targets for water throwers and we always used to wonder who would be stupid enough to take one during Songkran. Unfortunately, we had no other options. I think we were the only wet people in the airport.

We were able to change our flight to Thursday night for a small fee, so at this point I felt so happy and on top of the world! No 10+ bus ride for me!

Our tuktuk driver waited for us at the airport so we did not have to pay the 50 baht airport fee. Another bonus!

We went out for breakfast/lunch at a nice little pizza place. My ice cream shake was to die for, but the pizza was 75% onions. It seriously tasted more oniony than mom’s onion sandwiches (Yes I know I just made up the word oniony). We stayed there for quite a while, reading the paper and laughing at everyone getting soaked as they drove or walked by.

We attempted to find one of the day markets but had no such luck. After turning down one of the side streets and getting completely drenched, a guy asked us if we wanted to play Songkran with him and his father. They were selling huge blocks of ice for people to put in their buckets for cold water. We stayed with them for a while, squirting and soaking passer Byers with ice cold water. They only sold one or two blocks of ice in the meantime.

We noticed their blocks of ice were quickly melting away and since we were putting out water faster than our bucket was filling with the hose, I decided something needed to be done. I took down their huge box sign that was advertising the ice and hung it around my neck. I stood in the street, Misty beside me holding a piece of ice, and as each truck came by we motioned to the sign and directed their vehicles where to go. People smiled, gave thumps up signs, beeped their horns and most importantly, bought ice!! At one point we had about 5 trucks waiting. We moved about 8-10 blocks of ice in less than 30 minutes We completely sold out! Dad, you would be so proud. The ice was selling for 50 baht a block so people thought they were getting a good deal when I said “normally 100 baht, but for you 50 baht! CHEAP CHEAP” I guess being a farang already gets attention, then being a female and finally holding a large sign. I guess people don’t hold signs on the street in Thailand. After completely selling out of ice, I figured I should ask what the sign I was holding actually aid. “Big Ice.” Very Creative. I just wanted to make sure the smiles were because of the act of holding the sign and not the sign itself.

The family thanked us over and over again for our help, gave us a coke and took soe pictures. It was time for us to move on. Walked home we walked by several blocks of ice melting on the side of the road. We had to smile as our good deed and business skilled were needed.

Sorry I do not have any pictures of this experience, but we did not have our cameras on us. And yes, I know, I am disappointed too.

After coming back and getting dressed up, we took a tuktuk to a restaurant on the river. The restaurant was listed in the lonely planet and it said it also offered one river cruise at 8 pm. We arrived around 7:30 and were told that the only way we would be able to go on that boat was if we ordered more of a snack like French fries instead of a mal. I was too hungry to settle for something small, so we decided we’d just sit at the table by the river. Misty asked about a later boat, and it turns out that there was an 8:30 boat, but it was all booked. However, the owner said he would put us on standby and if the people did not all show up by 8 pm, we could go. We were told to pick out our food but hold off on ordering just incase.

Our luck finally worked for us! We had our own little romantic table on the river cruise. About 8-10 tables were on it. Our food was delicious, drinks were great and so was desert. The cruise lasted over an hour and went down the river.

This was by far our most romantic experience; candle lit dinner, going slowly along the river at night when all of the bridges were lit up. We also met a married American and his Thai wife. There are now living in Bangkok and she expressed interest in wanting to learn English from us. She was willing to pay over $1500 US for 60 hours. Unfortunately we do not have the time in our schedule to allow for this as it would make our already long days even longer. Boo…She is also a travel agent so she gave us some good beaches to go to that are close to Bangkok, which are nothing like Pattaya.

After our dinner cruise we went back to the night market. For the first time since we have been here I think I was in a shopping mood! I bought a necklace with matching earrings and a skirt. All were green. In Thai standards they were a little pricey, but they would all be really cheap in Canada. I think it is going to be a real shock to go home and see what things actually cost when I now think $12 for a skirt is way too expensive. I guess I just found the RW&CO of Thailand.

So it turned out that today was a great day after all. We spent a little more money than usual but I think we were both shopping and eating away our disappointment. I think when we go back to Bangkok on Thursday, we are going to have to eat a lot of food at Mercy or street vendors to help ease some of the expenses. Don’t worry mom and dad, it wasn’t too bad. Also, our whole concept of cheap and expensive has changed. Example:
Tonight’s dinner cruise was expensive. $32 CDN for Two.

Included:
Over an hour romantic boat cruise for 2 (complete with Titanic music)
2 plates of ice
1 plate of stir fried broccoli and chicken
1 plate of fried chicken in lemon sauce
2 orange shakes
1 huge bottle of water
1 mixed fruit shake
1 plate of seasonal fruit salad
1 huge chunk of tiramisu

I think we did well. Total cost 805 Baht (including 90 baht per person cruise)

April 16 – Another regular day in Chiang Mai

Songkran is officially over, so it is one of the first time we could walk around without getting completely drenched. After sleeping in quite late we walked to one of the restaurants we found yesterday. After having a very western breakfast including eggs and toast, we explored a couple of temples and then went for a walk around the moat. We stopped at a couple of used book stores before heading back to our room.

The temperature here is extremely hot. We do not think that it as hot as Bangkok is, but the heat is quite unbearable. As annoying as it was to be splashed everything you left the room, it was quite refreshing.

Two of the girls doing their practicum in China are flying to Bangkok on Wednesday. We realized the temperature change may be quite a shock. One of the girls plans on staying around Bangkok. We need to warn her that you will not have the energy to jam pack your days as you would do elsewhere. Heather plans on going to the beach on the island of Ko Chang, where Misty and I went for a weekend. We are thinking of joining her, if it works out with our schedule. We are going to see how much a flight costs as it will save us a 5 hour bus ride and give us more options.

The rest of our day was quite unexciting. We just had a nap, read our books and went out for supper. We are going to go home tonight and pack and check out is tomorrow at 10 am. Next time I will post will be from Bangkok! J