Sep
14
I have been working on getting my 1000 Words Contest site up an running. It is a writing contest site where I submit a photo and users post stories to go with that photo. The whole idea is that a picture is worth 1000 words so the entries have to be around 1000 words.
Please feel free to start using the site while I try to put the finishing touches on things. Any ideas and comments would be very helpful. I will be getting back to this blog shortly.
~Tim
Sep
04
After a delicious lunch and a quick nap, we were ready to start the first leg of the trip into the mountains. We put on some insect repellent, sunscreen and hiking shoes before we started down the dirt roads towards the tallest mountain around. Everyone was excited and still had a good spring to their step.
Sabine showing off her excessive energy.
Right away, our guides could tell that we were up for just about anything. They started off by letting us know that if they caught a snake, that would be our dinner for the night. The funny thing is that most people in the group were actually okay that. We made our way though the villages at the base of the mountain and up passed a trash dump. The dump looked like it had recently caught fire. The guides said that it had also taken out a lot of the forest as well. As soon as we got to the tree line where we were to enter the jungle, you could tell that this area was severely damaged by the fire. Most of the trees had come back but all of the bark was charred and there wasn’t much undergrowth. The air was very hard to breathe and it seemed to make the first part of the trek even harder. The guides told us that the first day was to
Aug
29
The crew busy trying to make plans.
In the morning, I woke up to find that Chris and Cheryl had arrived. Now the crew was complete. Sabine, Aaren, Christoph and myself had already signed up to do a 3 day trek and now Chris and Cheryl were coming too. Our trek was to consist of an elephant ride, hiking, two over night stays and a bamboo rafting trip. We were told we should probably bring long pants, suitable hiking shoes, swim suit and a decent hiking bag. I didn’t have the long pants or hiking bag. We went back to the night market and this time actually had a goal in mind. We were all looking for things pick up that might help us with the trek.
On our way through the market, I got easily distracted. We came across some more food vendors selling different kinds of sausages and meatballs. Everything was cooked right there in the open market and handed out in a bag. A word of warning, things that come off a stove are hot.
Fire + Food = Burnt tongue
I burnt my tongue trying to take a bit of my sausage. Who would have thought it. Well, since my sense of taste was shot I moved on
Aug
26
Having a fun time before the night began.
At the Gongkaew Guest Home I woke up from my nap after the flight from Bangkok. I stumbled out to the common area to find a couple people using the computers. I got acquainted with everyone and just like that we were all friends. I met Sabine and Christoph first followed by Aaren. We all were looking for something to do that night so we went to the Royal Market night bazaar first. This market had the normal touristy stuff complete with all the different kinds of beer t-shirts, knock-off bags, electronics and souvenirs. Christoph and I were mainly just trying to keep up with Sabine and Aaren. Those two had met on a train coming up to Chiang Mai and by the time they had arrived, they were best friends. We finally caught up to Sabine and Aaren while they were browsing through some hats. Sabine found the perfect one that I am sure she will be kicking herself for not getting. It was a hat made out of Heineken cans. Christoph ended up buy a pretty sweet hat that Aaren and Sabine had recommended for him.
This is the hat that I think Sabine should have bought.
