Train toliets leave alot to be desired

Ahhhh Chiang Mai…..




Lyle, Sandy and I were only to happy to leave Bangkok for a little something slower paced. We booked our train tickets to Chiang Mai and boarded the night train. The train is an experience on it’s own and to be honest, one of my favorite ways to travel Thailand. On a train you get your own little sleeping compartment, which is kinda like camping and you are on with a bunch of other travelers which makes for meeting people a lot easier. You can move around, enjoy the scenery and your stuff is secure. It’s fantastic. The one draw back that I can find is the grotty bathrooms. You get your choice of the squatty or the toilet, but really you are hovering anyways so it doesn’t really matter. And did I hover! All the years of nagging from my aunt and mother to never sit on a public toilet has paid off in full! As many of you are already aware, I have a bit of a phobia of public bathrooms. Rarely am I without wet wipes and anti-bacterial cleaners. This trip has been no different. I sanitized the whole bathroom before I could convince my little bladder that all was safe for my princess pee to be released. The toilets literally run onto the track. You can see the train tracks as you look down the hole. I would not want to be living anywhere near the train tracks. It would be so smelly!



We’ve been having a really relaxing trip so far. Lots of fantastic conversation and I have had quite a few conversations with the locals to practice and learn more Thai. I am hoping that at some point this trip I will be able to take a Thai language course. We’ll see how it all works out. Lyle and I have also been into playing a lot of cards and he has still to beat me at crib. I am a crib champion here in Thailand.

The scenery from the train to Chiang Mai was stunning. A lot of hills, flat lands and rice patties. Looking out the window you see farmers in their fields with their water and banana plants. It’s gorgeous.

I found a fantastic guesthouse in the old part of Chiang Mai for 300B ($10) that has double beds, and a private bath. It’s perfect! I want to move in and stay forever. This cute guesthouse is run by a American couple who have been nothing but helpful. And, the best part? Wi-fi in my own room!!! Hooray! I love how technology is progressing so quickly.

We’ve only so far had a terrific vegetarian lunch and a walk through Chiang Mai and already I am so much more relaxed than Bangkok. I guess it’s the islander in me. Looks like I will be here a while. Let me know of there is anything I should look into doing. I love hearing from all of you. Kisses!!!

Bangkok!

Bangkok…. What a place! I can honestly say that so far, I haven’t ever been to any city even close to Bangkok. I’ve developed a love/hate relationship with this city. I love being here, the weather (except for all the humidity - curly hair people unite!), the people and the food. Oh the food! I can write for hours on the variety here. I should have been a food critic. But I have also grown to dislike how quickly this place is changing with the huge amount of tourists coming here. It changes every year and some streets don’t even look the same from year to year. And the amount of pollution in this city is horrible. Manila is the only place I can say is worse. What can one expect from a city of 6 million people and how many thousands of tourists??














Lyle and Sandy have turned out to be fantastic travel companions. They are so easy going and willing to try anything that it has made this trip a lot of fun for me. They are seeing Thailand for their first time and reminding me greatly of how it was my first time. They are making me stop and appreciate it at a slower pace and I have even tried a few foods that I hadn’t tried before. They are also keen on trying all the hawker stalls so I have been eating my way through Bangkok. Sandy has been laughing about how she couldn’t understand last year why I always talked about the food here, but now she sees why. Not only is the food tasty and cheap ($1 for pad Thai and a spring roll), but you can’t turn your head anywhere without seeing something yummy. Honestly, I think Lyle and I have eaten our weight in fresh fruit. The pineapple here can’t be beat and at 25 cents for half of one, what else would I eat?













So far, in Bangkok we’ve had some weird weather. It rained the first 2 days we were here which is really unusual for Bangkok in January. The rainy season is normally April – June. So there is a lot of talk everywhere about Global Warming and how it is affecting everyone in the world. I have to agree. Since then, it has been really sunny and warm. I know, a little rain? But there is no such thing as a little rain in Thailand. When it starts to drizzle you run for cover because in a few minutes, you get dumped on. You might as well be in a shower. We are heading to Chiang Mai later tonight where the locals here warn us is cold (14 C). Lyle and Sandy had a little chuckle as it was freezing in Vic when we left.

The last few days we’ve spent a lot of time shopping. It is a shopping haven here and since it is their first time I gotta just let them get it out of their system. It helps that I speak a little Thai as the bargaining can sometimes get fierce. But really, I think bargaining is my favorite thing about the shopping. I found myself last night bargaining for stuff I didn’t even want! Too fun! We went to Pat Pong Road last night. It is a night market where on either side of the market is all the sex shows. It’s a weird experience trying to shop for shoes with ladies in bikinis trying to get you to watch a pussy show. There are some things in Thailand that maybe need to stay behind closed doors and not be discussed. The things these women do with their bits is just not natural. I’ll leave that up to all of you to find out for yourself.

Lyle and Sandy have been venturing out to some of Bangkok’s tourist attractions as well. They checked out the Grand Palace yesterday. They got scammed for their first time and then got smart to avoid a second close call. Right when they got out of their cab, a person approached them and put bird seed in their hand. Then they gestured for them to throw it to feed the birds. Not knowing what to do, they just threw it like they were told. Then the Thai person said, “300 Baht!” What! Now, what I would have done was just walked away, and I guess Lyle tried to, but the person started to create a scene. And like any good Canadian he just paid up to avoid it. These Thai people sometimes can read the good people soooo well. The good thing is that they won’t ever fall for it again. Welcome to Thailand!














We also took the ferry system down the river to get to Wat Po today. It’s a crazy system where you have these little open boats and they stop at jetty’s and pick people up. It’s like a bus, only on the river. It is the fastest and easiest way to get around Bangkok. The weird thing is that it stops only for a moment and then takes off so if you aren’t quick you can miss your boat or worse, fall into the water as it pulls away. It is so different from what we would ever do in Canada (unless you take a BC Ferry from Gabriola Island).

Anyways, I am getting ready to head to the train station and travel North. I have a few other things I am planning, so you will have to just follow along to find out what I am up to.

Before I even get to Thailand....

A long overdue posting… well, I guess I should work my way through the week just to get you all caught up on what has been going on with me.

My last night in town, Gunner was wicked enough to organize a dinner and drink affair at the Canoe Club. I have almost forgotten how cool of a place it is and it is now on my hit list when I get back into town. It was a great turnout and I thank everyone who attended. Highlights of that night? Too many to mention, but here are a few….


• Christa and I trying to convince Gunner that Thrifty’s online shopping is the way to go. Especially, since she is now an invalid. And then later, James suggesting Thrifty’s online.

• Sharing a couple of meals with Jorgen and he eating “the lions’ share of the fish”. You really are my favorite eating date Jorgen, brunch or dinner.

• Getting attacked by Dan when I first got there so he could give me a good bye kiss. And lip locking long enough for him to prove to Jorgen he really is a man. No tongue folks, he’s a happily married man.

• My first Jolly Rancher shooter, thanks to Dan. Yum!

• Coaching sweet Jennifer on how to give someone the finger and really look like you mean it. You looked waaayy too innocent the first few times.

• Andrea and I got Miriam to pose for us as I took pictures of her eating calamari. Really, she looked so hot with the tentacles hanging out of her mouth. I am certain it is going to show up on this blog some time…..

• And Kelly, finally, showing up to say Good-Bye. Thanks lady, you’re my girl!

Seeing everyone at dinner made me realize how lucky we all are to have stayed together as long as we have. I hope that we will make more of an effort for more of those occasions, as I hate to have to go away just to see everyone. Can any of you actually believe I showed up on time???!!! It’s a new first for me and one of my 2007 resolutions - try to be more punctual.

I went home early like every good girl should to pack and organize and instead, I chatted with a terrific friend on the phone for most of the night. Needless to say, I didn’t get any sleep before I left. Can you blame me? I’m going to Thailand!!!!

I arrived at the Victoria airport with Sandy and Lyle, only to run into Diane and Laura on their way to Vegas. They looked so excited and it was funny to find out we were on the same flight to Seattle. We looked so excited I had to have a picture.


Once in Seattle, poor Laura got picked on by security to go through all her bags. She was there for quite a while and it was short of a cavity search. I guess she doesn’t look that innocent to the Americans. I thought it was so amusing that I tried to get pictures of her during the process, but got taken down by 2 security guys. Note to self - pictures of airport security in the US, a very big NO.

The flight was long and we were very exhausted, but finally arrived in the Land of Smiles one piece. It’ very hot and humid, but a welcome change from the snow and rain we’ve been getting in BC. That’s abut it for now. I have to get back to touring Bangkok before I head to Chiang Mai. My next post will start my travels….I assure you.

Public urinals and other musings...

Well, just a few more days before I head off onto the surreal experience of plane travel. I've had quite a few great nights out with some terrific friends the past few weeks. I've had a few oppertunities to really play some thoughts out in my head. This is what is going on up there....

One of my favorite nights recently was a trip to good ole Big Bad Johns with the girls. Started off the night with the usual Jagr Bombs and then that was it for me. It really was a great blur after that. I was feeling cozy amidst all the peanut shells on the floor and the bras strung all over the walls. In true Merie Musing fashion I started to think about opening my own bra store with all the neglected lingerie left in the bar. Even when I am super drunk (you know me well enough to know how often that happens), I know that the boob trays I wear are expensive. What are these ladies thinking!?!? And the size of them! How do these ladies walk out of a bar after needing to wear a bra that large, to then go without? Do they maybe live in town? I, definately, would not be able to go far.

I was only happy to read recently that Victoria has now decided to invest in some sort of public urinal facility for the late night revellers of our Victoria scene. Now, before anyone gets all excited, it's not like the fancy high-end ones that San Francisco have built so that the ladies can also enjoy a clean, private pee. It is more like a plastic triangle, that you pick a side and pee into. Four guys max per urinal at a time. Nothing too fancy, as we've spent way too much city money on a arena, just basic porta-potty, urinal style. The interesting thing I noticed is that we like to have ours chained to signposts. Uncle Duffy was only too kind to explain to us ladies that it's because the party animals coming out of the bars not only like to use them, but then tip them over. I tell you, you couldn't pay me enough to have the city job of removing them at 4 in the morning. No way! Besides, I am still waiting on the lucrative contract job coming up to clean out the stray bras at BBJ's.

On a side note, I welcome a new person into Chateau Merie. His name is Pete and he is from Ontario. Somewhere in Ontario - where even fellow Ontarians can't place his 'foreign' accent. Alas, cooking dinner for Byron and pimping him out to my friends wasn't enough to make him stay in our humble city and I have had to find another person in his program and from his province to fill that void. What I can say is that Subee and Leo are adjusting quite well to the new friendly face and I know I am leaving my cats in excellent hands. Not only that, but this weekend, Pete and I conquered the unchartered territory of power tools. Glad to say we both survived and are now better people because of it. That is just another funny story I will have to tell when I run out of silly musings.....

And a big shout out to another wicked friend from Shaniaville, Ontario who I have had the pleasure of spending some fun times with the last few weeks. BC hasn't be the same without ya.

Hopefully I will see some of you this Friday for dinner and drinks at some place Gunner is organizing. It would be great to see some of you before I head off. Peace out peeps!

The Inaugural Post

Welcome! My personal blog of thoughts and activities. Would love to think that this could be a regular thing, but who knows how far this will go? The start of 2007 brings the buzz of so many cool things.... travel, possibilities, adventure... there is alot out there. So, as I navigate my way into aceing this blog thing, bear with me. I'm certain this is going to be a fun way to keep in touch and for you to see what is going on in my world. Please feel free to comment on here, your opinions are just as valuable as mine are.


Oh, and this is me and my aunt's friend in San Francisco. I'm the one in the pink.