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Thailand 2009

a travel blog by brookejason

Brooke and I will be guiding this summer for Rustic Pathways in Thailand. This blog will keep you up to date on all of our adventures. I am leaving this Wednesday to head to Singapore to hang out with Mike before heading on to Thailand. Brooke is joining me on June 10th and then we are off on a full summer of adventure and service. Enjoy!
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Beach Life

Phuket, Thailand

I'm sitting at a bookstore right now on Koh Phi Phi, enjoying beach life. It's been pretty interesting here the last few days. Landscape wise, this is one of the most beautiful places I will probably ever see in my life. The scene, however, is totally different. The whole place is loaded with tourists, and it's not even high season. It's pretty much one giant beach party. We miss hill tribe life. We can't wait to get back out there and actually be surrounded by Thai culture again.

Most of the group has spent the last two days scuba diving. I decided diving might be a bad idea given my lovely migraine situation. I was pretty bummed about not being able to, but really didn't want to risk ruining the rest of the summer. Thai massages, however, are a great alternative.

The whole group went out on the boat yesterday......some went diving and others just snorkeled. Apparently this is one of the best dive locations in the world. Honestly, I prefer the Caribbean. While we saw some pretty cool stuff, reef sharks, lion fish, and sea turtles, the colors were not nearly as vibrant as I've seen in the past. Jason has decided he is not a diver, as he has spent most days wishing he were climbing up the rocks on the islands, rather than diving down to see what lives in them under the water. He came to the conclusion last night, that sports requiring him to use oxygen, are not for him.

Tomorrow, we plan to rent a longtail boat to take us cliff jumping and deep water-soloing. After that, we head to Krabi for two days of climbing! We are using a guide company to take the kids climbing. Jason plans to ditch the group and just head out on our own. We'll see........

Overall, this place has been really interesting.........gorgeous and laid back, but crazy and frustrating as well. It's wild witnessing what can happen to a place and its native culture when it is overrun by tourists.

Hopefully we will get some pictures up tonight.........

permalink written by  brookejason on June 21, 2009 from Phuket, Thailand
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Ko Phi Phi, Thailand



permalink written by  brookejason on June 22, 2009 from Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
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Krabi, Thailand



permalink written by  brookejason on June 24, 2009 from Krabi, Thailand
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Phangnga, Thailand



permalink written by  brookejason on June 26, 2009 from Phangnga, Thailand
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Khao Sok, Thailand



permalink written by  brookejason on June 28, 2009 from Khao Sok, Thailand
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Islands...

Khao Sok, Thailand

We have left the islands behind for a night and made it to Khao Sok National Park. Brooke and I are staying in a tree house at Smiley's Bungalows! It is really amazing here. The islands have been fun, but I think the whole group was happy to leave them behind for a night and get up into the mountains. We were all feeling a little overrun by the tourist scene. The islands here are some of the most beautiful places in the world... unfortunately, everyone knows it and they come in large numbers. The Thai people and culture that I love don't really exist in these places. Here in the mountains however, we have spent time with some amazing people. Brooke and I have a little Thai girl that would like us to stay here forever... that may not be such a bad plan.


Koh Phi Phi is a beautiful island, but we spent too much time there. There is not really much to do aside from the diving and I have decided I am not much of a diver. I did get to see some cool stuff however. We dived in a wrecked ferry, swam with leopard sharks and learned some new diving skills. It was fun, but I was ready to be done with it, as was most of the group. We were all excited to get to Railey and start climbing. Obviously, that was the only reason Brooke and I wanted on this trip. It was amazing as expected. We spent a lot of time with the kids, but were able to sneak off to a few harder climbs nearby...


The highlight of Railey, may have been the coffee shop where we spent our nights drinking Thai tea with the Thai Rastafarian Barista. A very relaxing way to spend an evening after a hard day of climbing.


From here, we made our way to Phangnga bay to check out the National Park which consists of 100's of limestone karst islands. We explored these by boat all day and then spent the night in a small sea gypsy fishing village that was built entirely on stilts above the ocean. The village was pretty touristy, but we had a fun and relaxing time there anyway.

...and that brings us to where we are today, enjoying the mountains and the Thai people and culture that we love! Tomorrow, we are off to Koh Samui. This is one of the most touristed islands in all of Thailand and none of us are that excited to head back to that scene. I am sure we will find a fun way to enjoy the island for the last few days of our trip. I know that Brooke and I will be trying to relax a bit before heading up to the villages of the north.

Jason

permalink written by  brookejason on June 28, 2009 from Khao Sok, Thailand
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Ko Samui, Thailand



permalink written by  brookejason on June 29, 2009 from Ko Samui, Thailand
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Ordinary Life

Khao Sok, Thailand

Some places just have that feel. The feel that can change everything. Surround you with contentment. "Smiley Bungalows" did just this. The setting, the people, smiling children, treehouse room, tubing in the rain.

Apparently the energy created was reciprocal. Pandao, the little girl, was usually shy. But not with us.....immediately, she attached to Jason and me and followed us right into the treehouse.

What was is about this place that made it so different? So much positive energy. Everyone in the group, just felt great. And I realized.....

Realized that often times these defining moments on a trip are the ones that look most like ordinary life.

Pandao, sitting behind me in the chair, brushing my hair, showing me how she could count to 10, playing Chase with Jason, riding on a bike seated in front of him.

Paiwan, her mother, asking for help with English, telling how nervous she is to start her new tour and bring foreigners into the nearby school, expressing that she was up all night worrying.

Just simple, honest connections between people. It could be anywhere. Nearby, faraway, in my own home. Kind of brings traveling full circle. You don't always need the crazy, exotic adventures to achieve what you can also find in your daily life......as long as you are open to those discoveries each day.

permalink written by  brookejason on July 6, 2009 from Khao Sok, Thailand
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Come With Nothing Go Home Sick

Chiang Mai, Thailand

We are 5 days into our Come With Nothing trip, and things have not exactly gone according to plan. It started out well. We picked up 13 of our kids on Thursday........they are a crazy bunch. We spent the next day exploring Chiang Mai and getting them ready to head into the villages. We also picked up 3 more students who had flight difficulties due to the weather in the northeast. We spent Friday night shopping at the night market with the kids and finishing up last minute preparations before leaving for the villages. Jason and I were both exhausted by the end of it, but managed to get everything done. A group of 16 is a bit more of a production than 4.

On Saturday, we made our way to Mae Sariang, which is the town closest to the village we planned to stay at. Just before arriving, one of our girls told us she was feeling really sick and thought she needed to go to the hospital. That brings us to where we are now.......me spending the last 3 days in the hospital with her (2 different ones actually) and Jason off building bathrooms with 15 high schoolers. The best part is, neither of us really have any idea what is going on, because he has no cell phone reception. I'm pretty sure we both have everything under control. Who knew I would be learning all about the Thai medical system all while speaking a different language? I can't wait to find out what Jason has been up to!

As of now, I think I will be able to head to the village tomorrow.......can't wait! We will post again when we get back into civilization.

permalink written by  brookejason on July 6, 2009 from Chiang Mai, Thailand
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And we're back...

Kathmandu, Nepal

Blog…..

Where to Begin…..

Just remembering to breathe has been a hard enough task this summer, much less write about all the crazy experiences Brooke and I have been living…

As I write this, I am sitting in the house in Kathmandu, Nepal where Brooke lived 6 years ago when she was studying over here. We arrived in the early afternoon and spent the rest of the day talking with the family and drinking Nepali tea (probably the best tea in the world). I smell the dal bhat cooking now and can’t wait to eat and head out to a local Hindu temple where festivities will be going all through the evening to celebrate the goddess of Love. Not a bad way to spend a day….

The summer has been a crazy blur and Brooke and I have experienced so many amazing things while traversing back and forth across Northwestern Thailand. It is finally time for you guys to experience these stories with us! I know that many of you have been checking the blog daily only to be disappointed by the lack of a new entry. Here is what you have been waiting for….



permalink written by  brookejason on August 14, 2009 from Kathmandu, Nepal
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