Videos to come later today (or tomorrow).
Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and final day in Hong Kong: Click HERE
Slow-boat up the Mekong River and The Gibbon Experience: Click HERE
Cambodia: Click HERE
Hong Kong plus the rest of Vietnam: Click HERE
Showing posts with label Thailand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thailand. Show all posts
Monday, July 26, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Inspiration comes in funny places
Last night, after failing to get onto the Metro (due to my refusal to wear my soaking wet t-shirt) I was fortunate enough to find a motorbike driver to take me home for 120 baht (30 baht less than before I tried getting on the metro). Since it was rush hour, and the traffic was at a crawl, I was happy to get a motorbike instead of a tuk-tuk or taxi.
While the cars were moving along at a crawl, we were weaving in and out of traffic at quite fast speeds. I did my best to keep my shoulders tight, because mine were more broad than me drivers, and I was worried we could clip a mirror of a car! This wasn't the first time I was sure it would happen, but the motorbike drivers seem to know what they're doing. Also, in Bangkok (as opposed to every other city I've been in) the motorbike taxi's seem to be licensed, since they all wear bright vests that are green or orange.
In any event, I came up with a business idea while holding on for dear life on the back of the bike:
Motorbike taxi's in North America.
In most major North American cities, traffic is atrocious. In recent months I have been to Toronto, New York, and Chicago, and none of them were fun to navigate during rush hour in a car. There are also very few motorcycles and scooters (i.e. motorbikes). The idea would be to offer rides to executives, business owners, professionals, etc. that need to get from one place to another quickly. Many U.S. states have laws explicitly permitting two wheel vehicles to pass between to cars on a road. I'm not sure about Canada though. In places where such a law is in place, a motorbike taxi could get someone from A to B much quicker in rush hour traffic. I think people would be willing to pay a premium for such a service if they were really in a rush.
This just came to me last night, so it's not fleshed out at all. Ideas to improve upon (or challenge) the idea are welcome.
While the cars were moving along at a crawl, we were weaving in and out of traffic at quite fast speeds. I did my best to keep my shoulders tight, because mine were more broad than me drivers, and I was worried we could clip a mirror of a car! This wasn't the first time I was sure it would happen, but the motorbike drivers seem to know what they're doing. Also, in Bangkok (as opposed to every other city I've been in) the motorbike taxi's seem to be licensed, since they all wear bright vests that are green or orange.
In any event, I came up with a business idea while holding on for dear life on the back of the bike:
Motorbike taxi's in North America.
In most major North American cities, traffic is atrocious. In recent months I have been to Toronto, New York, and Chicago, and none of them were fun to navigate during rush hour in a car. There are also very few motorcycles and scooters (i.e. motorbikes). The idea would be to offer rides to executives, business owners, professionals, etc. that need to get from one place to another quickly. Many U.S. states have laws explicitly permitting two wheel vehicles to pass between to cars on a road. I'm not sure about Canada though. In places where such a law is in place, a motorbike taxi could get someone from A to B much quicker in rush hour traffic. I think people would be willing to pay a premium for such a service if they were really in a rush.
This just came to me last night, so it's not fleshed out at all. Ideas to improve upon (or challenge) the idea are welcome.
No shirt, no service (aka my day in Bangkok)
Yesterday, for my one and only day in Bangkok I decided to meet up with someone I had met earlier in Luang Prubang. We started off in Chinatown, but unfortunately the corner of Chinatown we started in was the industrial one. All the store front were machine shops, auto mechanics, etc. It's like this in Asia - it's as if there are few or no zoning laws. You have these storefronts near the centre of the city that are more industrial than anything else. All the big cities I've been to (i.e. Hanoi, Saigon, etc.) are the same. Hong Kong wasn't much in this way though.
Anyway, we hopped on the metro and went to the park. At first you think this is an ordinary park, even with a nice lake and all, and then it happens. You see a large four foot long lizard! There is hundreds of them just swimming and strolling around the park. They are not behind a fence, and as far as I can tell there is nothing technically stopping them from walking right out of the park!
Now I knew to expect this, because my friend told me the novelty of the lizards is why I might enjoy the park. She was right!
All of the sudden we saw some storm clouds in the distance so we decided to go find somewhere to have dinner. I have never seen darkness descend on a city so fast. The clouds moved so quickly, that within a couple minutes they went from being at the edge of my field of vision to right on top of us. Needless to say, I got absolutely soaked by the time we found a restaurant. After a delicious dinner, my friend had to go back to her apartment to make a phone call back home to North America, and I wanted to go back to my hostel to get into dry clothes.
After talking to three motorbike drivers, I finally found one willing to go to my hostel (we were kind of far). He wanted more than I was willing to pay though, so I decided to take the metro closer to my destination and find a motorbike taxi there (even though it ended just two stops in the direction I was going).
Well, they wouldn't let me on the subway! First I went through security (to get on the subway in Bangkok you must pass through a metal detector), and thought I was OK after I explained my disdain of wearing wet t-shirts, holding up my soaked t-shirt for effect. Then I saw another security staff, who asked me to stay put while she called over another person. He in turn called over someone else, and I tried to explain to them that while I had a shirt, I really don't like wearing wet t-shirts (honestly, I really don't. The metro in Bangkok is air-conditioned, which sucks if you're wearing wet clothes). I told them I didn't want to cause trouble, and that I would rather take a taxi if I had to wear my shirt. They agreed I should take a taxi, so I did (more on that later).
Apologies for the picture formatting... I rotated it on my computer, but when I uploaded the picture it wasn't rotated upright anymore...
Anyway, we hopped on the metro and went to the park. At first you think this is an ordinary park, even with a nice lake and all, and then it happens. You see a large four foot long lizard! There is hundreds of them just swimming and strolling around the park. They are not behind a fence, and as far as I can tell there is nothing technically stopping them from walking right out of the park!
Now I knew to expect this, because my friend told me the novelty of the lizards is why I might enjoy the park. She was right!
All of the sudden we saw some storm clouds in the distance so we decided to go find somewhere to have dinner. I have never seen darkness descend on a city so fast. The clouds moved so quickly, that within a couple minutes they went from being at the edge of my field of vision to right on top of us. Needless to say, I got absolutely soaked by the time we found a restaurant. After a delicious dinner, my friend had to go back to her apartment to make a phone call back home to North America, and I wanted to go back to my hostel to get into dry clothes.
After talking to three motorbike drivers, I finally found one willing to go to my hostel (we were kind of far). He wanted more than I was willing to pay though, so I decided to take the metro closer to my destination and find a motorbike taxi there (even though it ended just two stops in the direction I was going).
Well, they wouldn't let me on the subway! First I went through security (to get on the subway in Bangkok you must pass through a metal detector), and thought I was OK after I explained my disdain of wearing wet t-shirts, holding up my soaked t-shirt for effect. Then I saw another security staff, who asked me to stay put while she called over another person. He in turn called over someone else, and I tried to explain to them that while I had a shirt, I really don't like wearing wet t-shirts (honestly, I really don't. The metro in Bangkok is air-conditioned, which sucks if you're wearing wet clothes). I told them I didn't want to cause trouble, and that I would rather take a taxi if I had to wear my shirt. They agreed I should take a taxi, so I did (more on that later).
Apologies for the picture formatting... I rotated it on my computer, but when I uploaded the picture it wasn't rotated upright anymore...
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Goodbye Chiang Mai, Hello Bangkok!
This afternoon I am taking a 14 hour sleeper train to Bangkok. I really didn't do much in Chiang Mai, but in truth that is exactly what I needed. Still though, I have a few details from the last couple days to share:
The old city of Chiang Mai is surrounded by a hundreds year old moat/wall combination. It's kind of cool because inside the old city you have the stark contrasts of ancient temples and modern buildings and streets.
Last night I ate dinner at a restaurant that claims to have "the second best pizza in Chiang Mai". I decided to try it. It was maybe the 3rd dinner I've eaten alone since the paths of Steve and I diverged in Saigon over two weeks ago. Immediately after paying my bill, I spotted a classmate of mine from Osgoode on the street! I knew she was in Southeast Asia, and Steve had actually run into her in Hong Kong before my arrival. She was travelling with a group of people that were all either Queen's alumni, or recent grads of Osgoode or UofT law. So I had common friends with everyone in the group.
They were on their way to watch Muay Thai boxing, so I decided to join them. Some of the fights were definitely entertaining, but we couldn't help but wonder how old the boxers were in the first two matches we watched (they looked like they were maybe 16 years old). Since they were in the 45 kilo weight class (i.e. 100 pounds) it was hard to judge their age.
Today has been more of a relaxed day. I booked my flight from Bangkok to HK, and I signed up for a vegetarian Thai cooking class in Bangkok tomorrow. It has good reviews on Trip Advisor, so I'm looking forward to it! It's a morning class, so it will leave me with the afternoon to walk around Bangkok. I fly to HK on Friday, so I'm really just in bangkok for abour 30 hours all together.
The old city of Chiang Mai is surrounded by a hundreds year old moat/wall combination. It's kind of cool because inside the old city you have the stark contrasts of ancient temples and modern buildings and streets.
Last night I ate dinner at a restaurant that claims to have "the second best pizza in Chiang Mai". I decided to try it. It was maybe the 3rd dinner I've eaten alone since the paths of Steve and I diverged in Saigon over two weeks ago. Immediately after paying my bill, I spotted a classmate of mine from Osgoode on the street! I knew she was in Southeast Asia, and Steve had actually run into her in Hong Kong before my arrival. She was travelling with a group of people that were all either Queen's alumni, or recent grads of Osgoode or UofT law. So I had common friends with everyone in the group.
They were on their way to watch Muay Thai boxing, so I decided to join them. Some of the fights were definitely entertaining, but we couldn't help but wonder how old the boxers were in the first two matches we watched (they looked like they were maybe 16 years old). Since they were in the 45 kilo weight class (i.e. 100 pounds) it was hard to judge their age.
Today has been more of a relaxed day. I booked my flight from Bangkok to HK, and I signed up for a vegetarian Thai cooking class in Bangkok tomorrow. It has good reviews on Trip Advisor, so I'm looking forward to it! It's a morning class, so it will leave me with the afternoon to walk around Bangkok. I fly to HK on Friday, so I'm really just in bangkok for abour 30 hours all together.
Monday, July 19, 2010
A Thai Hotel with Hebrew Speaking Staff!?!?
During the Gibbon Experience, I talked to the rest of my group and learned that ten of us were going to Chiang Mai after the trek was over. Basically, enough people to fill our own van. A couple people had already booked their travel, and two others decided they were more comfortable also booking their travel on the Laos side. Myself and the others figured we had more bargaining power on the Thai side, dealing directly with the drivers.
The first wrench in my plans was discovering that the bank across the street from the Gibbon Experience closes every day at 3:30! Could you imagine any bank holding those sorts of hours in Canada? Anyway, another bank was open late (meaning it closed at 4:30), so I was in luck. I changed my remaining kip to Bat (the Thai currency), and was on my way. The 6 of us were able to negotiate a price of 150 Bat per person on the Thai side of the river, but we had to wait for them to fill the remaining 4 seats. It was a good decision, because we paid less than half what the people that booked on the Laos side paid.
I was in for a pleasant surprise, because the four additional passengers turned out to be Israeli! It gave me a chance to work on my (very) rusty hebrew. Unbeknowest to me, the next day (which was to begin at nightfall, since the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar) was Tisha B'av. It's possibly the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. So many bad things happened on this day that quite some time ago it was declared to be a fasting day (although I don't observe this fast). Three of the four in the group were fasting, so we stopped at a gas station right before sundown for them to get some snacks.
Since you can't brush your teeth while fasting, they brushed their teeth right there in the parking lot of the gas station! The other people on the bus (and some of the local Thai's) gave them weird looks... I was really the only person that understood why they were doing such a seemingly random/weird thing.
The Israeli's already had accommodation in Chiang Mai, so that's where the van dropped us off. When I got there the first thing I noticed was that all the signs were in Hebrew (but only a couple had any English on them). Apparently the hotel is owned by an Israeli, and some of the local Thai staff have learned to speak Hebrew... the result is that it's very popular with Israeli's. I would say three quarters of the travelers in the lobby were from Israel. There were families, backpackers, couples - really the whole cross section.
The hotel and guesthouse were a little pricey for me, since I was by myself, so I ended up walking down the street and got my own room for less than half the asking price at the other place. I had my own bathroom with a hot shower, and it was clean, so I was happy with it. Nonetheless, seeing that hotel was a really cool experience. Steve would have loved it!
Really though, I am writing about this story because I want to talk about how friendly the Israeli's I have met in my travels have tended to be. Almost all of them ask "have you been to Israel?" When I tell them it has been five years since my last visit, they immediately encourage me to visit Israel on my next trip. This is the opposite of me... I usually tell other westerners there are a number of places they should visit before coming to Canada. I love Canada, but I think it's expensive for a backpacker, and culturally too similar to the UK/USA/Australia/NZ/etc.
Some of the Israeli's have even offered to show me around their home town on my next visit. These encounters have been a much treasured aspect of my trip.
The first wrench in my plans was discovering that the bank across the street from the Gibbon Experience closes every day at 3:30! Could you imagine any bank holding those sorts of hours in Canada? Anyway, another bank was open late (meaning it closed at 4:30), so I was in luck. I changed my remaining kip to Bat (the Thai currency), and was on my way. The 6 of us were able to negotiate a price of 150 Bat per person on the Thai side of the river, but we had to wait for them to fill the remaining 4 seats. It was a good decision, because we paid less than half what the people that booked on the Laos side paid.
I was in for a pleasant surprise, because the four additional passengers turned out to be Israeli! It gave me a chance to work on my (very) rusty hebrew. Unbeknowest to me, the next day (which was to begin at nightfall, since the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar) was Tisha B'av. It's possibly the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. So many bad things happened on this day that quite some time ago it was declared to be a fasting day (although I don't observe this fast). Three of the four in the group were fasting, so we stopped at a gas station right before sundown for them to get some snacks.
Since you can't brush your teeth while fasting, they brushed their teeth right there in the parking lot of the gas station! The other people on the bus (and some of the local Thai's) gave them weird looks... I was really the only person that understood why they were doing such a seemingly random/weird thing.
The Israeli's already had accommodation in Chiang Mai, so that's where the van dropped us off. When I got there the first thing I noticed was that all the signs were in Hebrew (but only a couple had any English on them). Apparently the hotel is owned by an Israeli, and some of the local Thai staff have learned to speak Hebrew... the result is that it's very popular with Israeli's. I would say three quarters of the travelers in the lobby were from Israel. There were families, backpackers, couples - really the whole cross section.
The hotel and guesthouse were a little pricey for me, since I was by myself, so I ended up walking down the street and got my own room for less than half the asking price at the other place. I had my own bathroom with a hot shower, and it was clean, so I was happy with it. Nonetheless, seeing that hotel was a really cool experience. Steve would have loved it!
Really though, I am writing about this story because I want to talk about how friendly the Israeli's I have met in my travels have tended to be. Almost all of them ask "have you been to Israel?" When I tell them it has been five years since my last visit, they immediately encourage me to visit Israel on my next trip. This is the opposite of me... I usually tell other westerners there are a number of places they should visit before coming to Canada. I love Canada, but I think it's expensive for a backpacker, and culturally too similar to the UK/USA/Australia/NZ/etc.
Some of the Israeli's have even offered to show me around their home town on my next visit. These encounters have been a much treasured aspect of my trip.
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