Another late night flight meant that we all felt kind of hungover the next day! Guess we’re not the youngest anymore…
Finley fell asleep on the luggage cart in the airport! Hard core travelers, or what?!?
The next week we spent in the Khao Lak area. We chose this area as we thought we’d like to be close to the beach and also have national parks, hikes and treks inland to explore…We really liked the area in general, but soon discovered that there were too many package tourists (especially Germans) around. Lots of the places in the village we stayed in (Biang Niang) had German signs up offering German sausages, cheese cakes, etc…and of course you could have booked lots of tours with a German guide included… and we could not believe the prices of the restaurants – they were offering just the same fried rice and pad thai dishes as anywhere else for three or four times the price!
Not with us! Very fast we found the local market just a block away from the tourist street and enjoyed our lunch at one of the stands there instead…But it did give us quite a bit to think about…no other tourist was to be found at the local market or away from the main strip and also the next day when we explored the gorgeous, very authentic surroundings by ourselves on a scooter, we didn’t bump into hardly any tourists…Why bother flying to Thailand if all you want is a nice resort and your own German atmosphere and food??
We really enjoyed our independence on the scooter again and explored lots of little deserted beaches – and it wouldn’t be us if we hadn’t found more waterfalls in the jungly area! We also realized the rainy season wasn’t quite over yet and had to find some shelter from the rain a few times huddling underneath some roof with other locals…
Us on the scooter again!Finding lovely beaches without a soul…And lovely waterfalls with perfect swimming spots!The boys scrambling around…
Unfortunately Finley started complaining about earache after a couple of days there and after taking him to the doctor the next morning he’s been on antibiotics 😦 He’s been really good about it all though and we were kind of glad to have ended up in this more “western” world staying in a little nicer hotel than we usually would…We had some lazy days all together in the hotel and at first Chris brought us some soups and rice dishes in little plastic bags to enjoy in the room (Thai kind of take away 🙂 After a few days we ventured out to the pretty beach right next to our hotel to build some sand castles (now only sunshine, blue skies and very hot weather) and enjoyed some really gorgeous sunsets! We even found some nice little local restaurants around the beach and ate our dinners on tables in the sand and candle light…
The rainy season seems to be over! – For now at least!Amazing sunsets…Chris holding on to the sun…Just like a red fire ball…Pink light all around us…And one more pic!
Sammy treated herself to a special relaxation massage and Chris took out the scooter two more times by himself and got to explore the Khao Lak National Park and more deserted beaches and waterfalls. It really is a great area to explore with just a little effort!
Chris exploring soloAnd more lonely beaches…
By the way… this is also the area where the Tsunami hit in 2004… We saw lots of reminders of the damages and were told that lots of destroyed places have still not been repaired and reconstructed…
Tsunami evacuation route…
So although poor Finley got sick and Biang Niang would have normally been too touristy for us, we still had some very relaxing, lazy days and discovered quite a few very authentic, beautiful and “real” places.
Trying to stay healthy on the windy bus ride to Chiang Mai!
On the afternoon of Saturday, October 19th our bus from Tha Thon arrived in Chiang Mai. Â Weekends are the days for night markets in this bustling city, so our first couple of days there mostly involved wandering around the “old town” and watching street performers, checking out various handicraft stands, and eating lots of yummy “street food”!
The blind band at the market
All three of us even got typical Thai massages on chairs set up on the sidewalks. Even though they are called “walking street” markets, it sometimes gets so busy that you can barely even walk!
Oh yeah!
Another highlight for Finley and Chris was going to a “Monk Chat” where you can meet with one of the Buddhist monks who live in the temples in the city and ask them questions and they get to practice their English. Finley had some great questions for our monk named Jor. He asked things like, “Do you get cold only wearing a robe all the time?” (Jor said that they wrap up in a blanket sometimes in winter.) Fin also asked, “Do monks wear underwear?” (Jor said, “No!”) Anyway, it was really interesting and we learned so much. A couple of things that stood out for me: Modern monks have also adapted to the hi-tech world and have things like laptops and cell phones. At the same time they still don’t eat anything after their midday meal and they sleep on the floor rather than a bed. Interesting which things have changed over time and which things haven’t!
Finley and Jor at the “Monk Chat”
Anyway, after a couple of days exploring the city we were ready to check out some of the national parks in the area. We went first to Doi Suthep which included a large temple as well as some waterfalls. Finley especially loved the long staircase heading up to the temple with the dragon banister as well as being sprinkled with holy water by a monk while kneeling in the temple.
On the way up to the temple
A little while later we headed down the hill and stopped at the Huai Kaeo Waterfall. We climbed up as close as we could to the falls and waded through the pools and climbed around on the slippery rocks. Later Finley went swimming with some local kids in the bigger pool in the lower part of the falls. The highlight for him was building a sandcastle decorated with bottle caps from beer and cola bottles lying on the beach. So he entertained himself and cleaned the beach at the same time!
Fin happy to be at the waterfall!A boy and his castle
The next day we set out for an overnight stay in the Doi Inthanon National Park which was about two hours away from Chiang Mai. We first got a local bus to the village of Chom Thong and weren’t exactly sure how we would carry on after that as there was no public transport in the park. We got a songthaew (a shared pick-up truck) to the entrance of the park, but we were on our own after that.
Getting around in Chiang Mai!
We went first to the Mae Klong Waterfall and we soon realized that being in the park at the end of the rainy season was a great time for waterfall viewing. They were raging!
The first of many big waterfalls in this national park!
Anyway, we decided to try our luck with hitch hiking and the first car that passed already picked us up. We got a ride up to the park headquarters and got a rustic bungalow to stay in. Then we headed out to explore the next waterfall called Siribhune and we were quite surprised to see how nice the path there was with so many ferns and manicured flower beds and ponds and we came to find out that it was the Royal Garden built in honor of the king’s 80th birthday a few years before.
Playing around…
We made it up to the lower falls and played around for awhile, but we saw the twin bigger falls high above us and wanted to get closer. We found a tiny, slippery trail and followed it until we were literally right in the middle of the huge falls! We all put on our rain jackets to protect ourselves from the serious spray!
Getting into the heart of the falls!
By then it was already getting dark, but luckily we had our headlamps with us because we needed them on the way back to the bungalow!
Hiking in the dark again!
The next day was the best adventure yet. We started off in search of a ten-tiered waterfall that there were no signs for, but we hoped we’d be able to find on our own. After sign language with some locals on the way and going down a few dead end trails, we finally made it to the waterfall.
Before the rain started
We made our way down through the top five falls and pools and then the rain started. But not just a little rain, a torrential downpour! Things were starting to get slippery and we had to cross a sketchy looking bamboo bridge. We put on our jackets, but it didn’t matter, we all looked and felt as if we had just jumped in that river!
Crossing the bamboo bridge
We carried on through the rice terraces and coffee plantations until we got to a village with hill tribe people from the Karen tribe. The rain hadn’t let up at all and the trail was now also a river! Finley was hiking, smiling, and singing to himself the whole time! One nice lady in the village let us take shelter in her little hut and gave us fresh coffee and tea.
Our coffee and shelter savior!Finley picking some coffee beans – the same we had just enjoyed!
A couple of hours later the rain finally let up and we explored the village, hiked down to the main road and hitched to the next waterfall in the back of a truck.
Ordering lunch isn’t so easy!This lady cooked lunch for us but kept busy in between too.
Hitch hiking in the back of a pick-up truck!
Soon we were back in Chiang Mai and were getting ready for our next adventure. Back to the beach: this time in southern Thailand!
We arrived in Chiang Rai at about 8:30 in the morning, wandered around the sleepy town with our backpacks for a while until we settled for a little guesthouse. Trekking tours, rafting trips and hill tribe experiences were offered on every corner… but that’s really not how we like to travel, booking one tour after the other and hanging out with lots of tourists… so once again we were wondering how we could get our own authentic experiences… We’ve realized over the years that we really don’t need to see every little corner, but that our experiences are much richer when we find our way ourselves, sometimes struggling with language barriers, but making it by our own in the end (a discovery trip as Finley would say 🙂
So when we went to Orn’s bookstore that first afternoon we met the German owner and he told us about the Akha Hill House, a place in the middle of the mountains, owned and run by the people of the Akha hill tribe and where we would not need a guide but would be able to hike around the jungle and wander through some villages alone – we thought, “Perfect, just what we wanted!”
Before we left for the mountains, we spent three days wandering around Chiang Rai, reading and writing our journals. (Finley has his own journal too and I think it’ll be one of the most special memories of our trip… with lots of his own drawings, tickets and little snipits…)
In the evenings we enjoyed exploring the night bazaar! Lots of clothing, jewelry and even some live music and traditional dancers. It was quite the bustling place! Our highlight was the local hotpot, which reminded us a little of our fondue at home. As we didn’t quite know how to eat this dish, we peaked over to the other tables and discovered that you were just supposed to throw all the vegetables, meat, seafood and even an egg in at once! Fin loved it and said it was the best meal he’d ever had! And he even ate with chopsticks!
Thai hotpot
But soon we were ready for the jungle and hopped on a pick up truck that took us to the Akha village in the mountains. The drive itself was lovely, passing lush green forests, tea plantations with the road getting windier and narrower.
Arriving at our destination, Finley couldn’t have been happier as there were lots of kids running around, racing bike wheels with little sticks and playing soccer. He joined right in! Meanwhile I tried to get us a room, which wasn’t so easy with nobody speaking English – but I did realize they were trying to get me to stay in one of their more expensive bungalows when all that I wanted was a simple room – but in the end we got what we wanted!
The next morning after enjoying some of the fluffiest banana pancakes ever (and we had a lot of those in Bali!) we set off on our hike. Finley and I had copied a map from the internet, but we soon realized that it wasn’t very helpful as there were tiny trails going off in every direction and of course our map wasn’t to scale at all! In the end we did find the lovely waterfall hidden in the middle of the rainforest though! Following a little slippy trail and crossing very wobbly bamboo bridges we were even rewarded with the perfect swimming spot just for us!
Finley leading the way with his mapFinding the waterfall!We had to swim in it of course!Hoping the bridge won’t collapse!
We then continued on wandering through beautiful tea plantations and little villages. We learned that every village in that area has their own language – for example in Akha village where we were staying they speak Akha and in one of the villages we walked through they only spoke Chinese… Passing the little local school, Finley spotted an old rusty playground which he enjoyed…
Tea plantations
All the village up on the mountain harvesting tea.Leaves could be used as umbrellas…And leaves can be bigger than us!Walking trough the villages…Playground time
Back at our guesthouse the local kids were already out and about playing again, and they all welcomed Finley back. It seemed like most of the villagers were hanging out on the two little benches opposite our place… all the women walking in and out of the little kitchen, gossiping…. and a little to the side stood the the men…
Children playing and the whole village hanging out…Now we know which bugs make those loud noises!Just hanging…Coming back from the day’s work…The boys looking for more bugs!
In the morning we were rudely awakened quite early to the sound of a construction site right outside our window, and just when we thought we were in the middle of nowhere in a quiet mountain retreat with only the sounds of roosters and barking dogs to interrupt our slumber! It seems that the village had been given some money from the government to pave the road through the settlement, but the citizens had to do all the work! Everyone seemed to turn out for this special event, but most were just watching the few who were actually working. The ones who were working were doing so with small plastic hand shovels, so the process of making enough concrete for a road was a slow one. Anyway, the work didn’t last long because soon the rain started…the first we had seen since day one of our trip! It started quite strong and didn’t look like it would let up anytime soon!
Soon it was time to leave this place again, and we asked to be dropped of at the river where we had found out that we could take a boat up to a place called Tha Tong. We didn’t know a lot about this trip or area, but once again we liked the idea of trying something off the beaten track. We felt like real explorers as we sat under a little sheltered area close to the river in the rain wondering if a boat would even go in weather like this and if it would stop for us. Well, the boat did come and we loved the trip down the river passing little villages and lots of jungly areas… Finley’s highlight were the bushes sticking out in the river. It wasn’t the prettiest sight as the rubbish floating in the water got stuck to them and was hanging on the branches line decoration…. But very entertaining for Finley…
On the boat to Tha Tong
Coming up to the town of Tha Tong we could already catch glimpses of a huge Buddha and lit up temples sitting high up on a hill. We were pleasantly surprised by the setting of this very authentic Thai town… The river floating right through the center and with the temples and Buddhas to explore by foot, we really enjoyed staying there for a few days.
On one of the days Chris decided to take a resting day as he had a cold, so Finley and I ventured out by ourselves to some of the nearby hot springs in Fang a local had told us about. We hadn’t even heard about this park before and thought it would be a special non-touristy thing to do! And so it was! It was quite the adventure getting there, as nobody really understood English. At first we could ride in little buses that are like pick up trucks, and for the last stretch we took a ride on a motorbike taxi, which Finley loved. We didn’t even mind that it still hadn’t stopped raining, and it was kind of fun that we were soaked by the time we got to the hot pools. It was the perfect thing to do on a rainy day!
Steam coming out of the hot pools
When we got back to the hotel, Chris was feeling much better, we had one last dinner down by the river and the next day got on the bus to Chiang Mai.
As we left Bali we had a bit of a shock, as first we couldn’t find our flight on the departure screens at all and when they finally put it on, it was scheduled for noon instead of 6 am. So we thought we’d got up at 3 in the morning for nothing, only to find out as we checked in our bags after the longest line ever(!!!) that the flight was right on schedule anyway!? What a mess, we thought… Barely made our flight as we then had to wait in yet another longest line (this one was really seriously long and very slow moving!) to get our exit stamps into the passports. In the end our flight left about an hour late, as the pilot told us they were making sure all the luggage was being put on… Funnily enough Chris’ backpack never made it on the plane, and was only delivered to the hotel two days later – better late than never!
Arriving at the airport, we were determined to do it OUR way and finally only use public transportations, as that was a part of Bali we didn’t like so much. It had been kind of hard to not take taxis and shuttles due to the lack of busses or pick up trucks…
So there we were… walking past all the airport shuttles and services until we were standing outside on a tiny little bus stop. Locals rushed up to us, asking us where we wanted to go and we were told to take the “orange” bus. Apparently there were more than one, because every time we rushed towards an orange bus approaching the bus stop, all the people shouted, “No, no! Next one!” And pushed us back into our seats. Finally the right orange one was there, everybody pointed and shouted around, something that must have meant, “This is it!” Finley was carried (yes, carried!) into the bus and we were all escorted to our seats by all the friendly helpers! We were happy to finally be traveling our kind of way, just on a stuffed, sticky, hot, noisy and old bus with all the other locals!!!
The next few days we did a little sight seeing, ate lots of yummy street food (another thing we couldn’t do much of in Bali!) did lots of walking (Finley being amazing once again!) and soaked in the atmosphere…
We were surprised that we weren’t as overwhelmed by the chaos and noise of Bangkok as we thought we would be… That’s what living in Honduras does to you!
At the Grande PalaceChris got to borrow these pants as he wasn’t allowed to wear his shorts.Gold, gold everywhere
The Reclining Bhudda is 46 m long and 15 m wide and illustrates the passing of the Bhudda into nirvana.
More Bhuddas!
In the attempt of trying to stay away from expensive tourist attractions, we spent one day on the local Khlong boats. These are boats that are used like buses on the very dirty Khlong Saen Saep river in Bangkok. As the water is supposed to be so dirty, they pull up tarps at the sides of the boat so you don’t get splashed! We had read some crazy stories beforehand, that people got eye infections after getting one little splash of water into their eye, or that one guy hit his head on a board and fell into the river, only to be found days later as they couldn’t find his body in the dirty water! We didn’t think it could be quite that bad, as the guy collecting the money hangs on to the outside getting splashed all the time (he does wear a helmet though!). We also saw a guy having a swim in there, it actually looked more like he was taking his bath! And some guys were even fishing, so if the locals are eating the fish, it can’t be that bad, can it! We really loved the ride though, simply going from one end of Bangkok to the other watching people hopping off and on (you have to be quite fast as the boat doesn’t really stop and there’s quite a gap to jump over!). We loved it as every time the boat docked on the right side of the river, we all scooted over to the left on our benches, and as the boat docked on the left side, we all wiggled over to the right side…. a lot of synchronic wiggling! So interesting seeing life beside the river…
Khlong boat going rather fast!Finley inside the tarp covered boat!The views…Finley couldn’t believe that people live like this…Inside the boat
During our few days in Bangkok we also got to figure out the local bus system a lot more – our favorite way of moving around as it is the way to travel like the locals do, be right in the middle of real life, do a lot of people watching and also save a lot of money!
Lots of food to choose from but usually we don’t know what anything is 🙂Chris having a hard time deciding…Typical food standFood stands everywhere! That’s what we missed in Bali!
We continue to be amazed at Finley’s traveling spirit and adventurous soul as he just marches along next to us, always happy, always up for anything, always trying out new things…
Had to do one Tuktuk ride at least!…which Finley loved of course!
And oh, was he excited when we told him our next leg of the journey was going to be an eleven hour bus ride at night!!
At the bus stop at 10:30 pm with a Dunkin donut!
We had so much fun when we first got on that bus, sitting upstairs on the double decker and trying out the reclining chairs (which looked way more comfortable at the beginning than they really felt riding along a very windy, bumpy toad in the middle of the night by the way….). Of course they had to play a very loud, very violent, very long, very typical and not very appropriate movie for the first two hours or so (why do they show those movies on every bus in any third world country???), but after that we did get some sleep (Finley more than us!) and arrived a little exhausted but very happy in the North of Thailand Chiang Rai.
A very excited Finley!Feeling a little rough but this is the part we love most about backpacking!!
During our last week here, we explored more of the inland areas of the island and we’ve had lots of impressions of life in Bali….
Exploring temples…
…and seeing altars everywhere…even in the middle of rice fields.Passing through villages we noticed that every house compound has a temple area which means there is more than one family living there. Â Some are very ornate and elaborate!Offerings like this are made many times daily and we saw them on sidewalks, in front of doors, by restaurants, everywhere we walked. Â You had to be careful not to step on them!So many little offerings – like rice in a palm tree leaf.Signs of Hinduism, believing and prayers everywhere…This is the decoration of somebody’s family home.
Some of our favorite impressions of Bali…exploring the rice terraces and their elaborate irrigation systems.
Fin loved finding all the little trails between the water filled fields.Did you know this is how rice grew?Lovely jungle views on our walks exploring the countryside……and Sam’s favorite thing to do…people watching!A procession through the middle of Ubud…
The alarm went off at 1:30 am and a few roosters were already crowing outside our hotel window in the little beach town of Padangbai. Â We had only really been there one full day, but after the past couple of weeks of beach lounging we were ready for a mountain expedition. Â So, we decided to take the opportunity to climb the fabled smoking beast of Mt. Batur, a sleeping volcano known for it’s dramatic sunrise views. Â Would a five year old Austro-American adventurer be up for such a challenge? Â For our Fin, the answer was, “Let’s do it!”
We packed up the rest of our things from the hotel and met our driver at 2 and had an hour and a half drive to the base of the mountain. Â Finley slept in the car, but as soon as we got out at 3:30 am he was ready to go. Â Our local guide, Joman, was happy to tell us some of the history of the volcano that last erupted in 2000 as we made our way up the trail in the pitch dark. Â With only a sliver of a moon and no towns of any decent size close by, we were also treated to a sky packed full of stars on this crystal clear night.
Getting close to the rim of the crater and no light yet in sight!
We started at around 1,100 meters in elevation and after weeks in the scorching heat it felt great to start moving in long pants and long sleeves in the cool night air. Â The wide, gradual trail quickly got narrower and steeper and there were many times when the steps were far too big for Finney’s little legs and he had to do some real scrambling on all fours. Â He wouldn’t accept help from the guide or us and kept saying again and again, “I can do it alone!”
Fin says, “I can do it alone!”
As we were heading up a few other groups came huffing and puffing by and could hardly believe their eyes when they saw our tiny mountain climber looking up at them with his headlamp. Â “Wow, way to go little man!” we often heard as we continued up.
After about an hour and a half of steady climbing we reached the edge of the crater at about 1,600 meters. Â Many people end their climb here, wait for the sunrise, and head back down, but not us! Â We continued up another half an hour to the highest point at 1,717 meters and around then things were just starting to get a little lighter. Â We could start to see the outlines of Lake Batur down below us, as well as the highest peak in Bali, Mt. Agung, and the second highest point in Indonesia, Mt. Rinjani, over on Lombok.
Happy little family waiting for the sun!
Once at the top we put on all of our layers and enjoyed our toast, boiled eggs, and fruit as we waited for the sun to come up!
It’s getting lighter……and lighter!There’s the sun!
After posing for photos and enjoying the views we carried on around the rim and it soon got very narrow. Â It was a knife edged ridge with steep drops on both sides, but great views of the lush vegetation of the inland of Bali. Â Even here Fin showed no fear and loved the challenge. Â We saw lots of steam vents from the volcano and even saw places where some guides were cooking eggs in the vents for their guests.
Soon we made it over to the monkeys who hang out near the top of the mountain. Â They were quite cheeky and would try to steal water bottles or take food right out of your hands!
Funny monkeys!Fin wasn’t so sure what to think about them!
We started our descent and it sometimes was really steep and slippery on the loose volcanic rock, but Finley did great. Â He kept sliding down the rocks and saying that he was surfing and doing his best to stay on his feet! Â We all had to empty our shoes a few times on the way down.
We kept going through clouds of steam and warming our hands in little vents along the way. Â Soon we got to the viewpoint of the “big crater” and saw the huge expanses of black volcanic rock as well as views down to Lake Batur and the second smaller crater that erupted most recently.
Walking past the steam patches.
View down to the “big crater”.Fin “surfing” down the volcanic scree!
Tired, but happy hikers!
We made our way back down to the more gradual slopes again and were able to see just how far we had come!
View back up to the rim that we went all the way around!
Almost back to the car and saying goodbye to our guide.
Finley was such a trooper throughout the whole night and into the next morning and we were so proud of him. Â He was also very excited that he got to climb a “real” volcano. Â Hopefully this is only the first of many sunrise summits for the Lykes!
We said our goodbyes to lovely Nusa Lembongan and especially Finley got lots of farewell waves from local kids as well as adults…. As we were leaving, we were wondering how at the end of our trip this island would compare to other places we were still going to see… Chris and I are both quite sure that it will stand out as a special place…
It was quite a bumpy boat ride to get to our next destination. There were lots of big waves and poor Finley even had to throw up! And we didn’t even have a plastic bag or anything, so I won’t get into details! But let me tell you that Finley was so brave and such a trooper, and as soon as we got off that boat (all pale) he was ready to eat again!
During the next week we stayed on two of the three Gili islands: Gili Meno and Gili Air.
As we had to change boats on Gili Air, we had a little time to walk around and our first impression of the beach and the color of the water there just left us speechless!
It was just a short boat ride over to the small island Gili Meno… Wow, talk about chilling out! That’s all everybody does there! Along the beach there’s the coolest little restaurants, with little individual “huts” where you lounge around sitting on pillows on the floor eating your food or drinking your cocktail… Finley loved all these little spots and wants to build us one in our yard one day (wherever that may be 🙂 So very fast we forgot how to sit on chairs…
And besides being lazy, we spent a lot of time snorkeling and hanging out at one of the gorgeous beaches. We really just lost track of time and place… listening to reggae in the beach bar…drinking from coconuts…building elaborate sand castles. Lulled to sleep every night by the sound of waves as there is no traffic (no noisy scooters or cars!)… enjoying gorgeous sunsets, as well as thousands of stars at night. Â Ah…this is what we were looking for. Real relaxation!
Sipping on a coconut…One of many sand castles…The sand castles got bigger every day!Little girl enjoying Fin’s toys…Sunset…Heading back to our bungalow after dinner…
Gili Air had a slightly busier feel to it, you could meet more locals, also has snorkeling right by the beach and even more chill bars, restaurants, and beaches to just be lazy all day long! Our biggest physical effort was walking the beach around the whole island as well as lots of swimming and snorkeling. Â So many beautiful fish and colorful coral reef. Â One major highlight had to be when all three of us got to see a turtle in the wild while snorkeling!
Moving on to Gili Air…Another boat ride…Guarding all of our packs…Nice views…Snorkeling!
We also really enjoyed the food on the islands and especially loved the night when we went for a seafood b-b-q and had fresh grilled snapper and mahi mahi with veggies on a skewer. Also some lovely curries with tuna and Indonesian beer (Bintang) for papa, piña colada for mama, and local ice cream for Fin!
We loved being lazy and having all this beach time, but were also looking forward to more adventures!
three lykes on the road again 