Thailand Rocks!

The problem started a little over a month ago while we were on the train to Hanoi in Vietnam. Ryan woke up with severe cramping in his back but since the bunks on the train aren't all that comfortable he thought that he had slept funny and that the pain would go away. Unfortunately by the time we got to our hotel the pain had only grown more intense. The worst part was that since we had arrived so early in the morning (4am) our hotel room wasn't even ready yet so Ryan had to hang out in the lobby and wander the streets of Hanoi while enduring really bad kidney cramps.

Ryan has had kidney stones before and it wasn't long before he determined that he was having the same pain as last time. When we went to the doctor in Canada they just gave him pain killers and sent him home to pass the stones by himself. We figured since we knew what it was that we would try to just let them pass and not worry about going to the doctor. The idea of going to the hospital in Vietnam was not very appealing anyway.

Fast forward to a week ago when we were in Chiang Rai. The pain still had not gone away. There were good days and bad days but the bad days were becoming the more frequent of the two. One day the pain became unbearable and we decided that a trip to the hospital was in order. We knew that there was one close by as we had passed it many times on our way to the night market on our bicycles. Unfortunately none of the English speaking staff was on hand at the hotel at the time of our emergency but they knew the word 'hospital'. The hotel that we were staying at was a ways out of town and no tuk tuks ever came down that far so the staff grabbed their scooters and we hopped on the back for the trip.

We raced down the road and made it to the hospital but when we entered the emergency room the nurse told us that there were no doctors there at the moment, they were all in a meeting and that we should go to the main hospital further into town. No problem, we all got back on the scooters and raced away again.

At the main Chiang Rai hospital, Ryan was immediately put on a stretcher and taken into the emergency. We became instant celebrities due to being the only foreigners in the place at the time. Ryan was poked and prodded in some very unpleasant places (I won't go into detail), sent for an x-ray and saw a specialist. The staff from our hotel waited patiently with us the entire time and helped guide us to the different departments that Ryan required. One of them even took his urine sample to the lab for us! We left the hospital with Ryan feeling slightly better and some medication to take but his pain soon returned as bad as it was before.

Our flight to Bangkok was the next day so we made the decision to get to the hospital here as soon as possible once we arrived so that these kidney stones could be taken care of once and for all. Luckily for us our hotel is right across the street from Bumrungrad International, the largest private hospital in south-east Asia. After speaking to the doctor in emergency and having an ultrasound done it was decided that Ryan should stay overnight so that they could keep him hydrated with IV fluids. I ran back to the hotel to pack him an overnight bag and call our travel insurance company while Ryan picked his room (you get a choice from 4 bed shared room all the way through to a royal suite, we went with a 2 bed room) and settled in.

The hospital was absolutely amazing. It felt more like a 5 star hotel than a medical facility and Ryan received amazing treatment the entire time he was there. The specialist came and saw him the day after he was admitted and set up a follow up appointment with us. He was discharged with a gift bag of medications and told that if he has any pain or complications to come back as soon as possible. Since then he has been keeping himself as hydrated as possible, staying away from cola beverages and waiting for the stone (which Ryan has named Scrapie) to pass. He has felt better in the last few days than he has in a long time and now all we can do is wait.

Night out with Family

After a couple amazing dinners at our hotel our hosts decided to take us out in the family station wagon for a night on the town. The whole family piled into the car with us in the back seat and we headed to a roadside vendor/restaurant to have an amazing meal. The owner and father of the family ordered for us and while we sat down to eat we tried to overcome our language barrier as much as possible and chat. When we tried to pay for dinner he insisted that it was his treat. Our night did not stop there.

We left the restaurant and strolled down the street a little ways until we came to a dessert place where we ate yummy little snacks made from taro and egg. Then we walked to the amazingly beautiful clock tower and while we waited for the show to start, the owner and his wife bought us warm soy milk which was very tasty.

We had no idea that there was a clock tower like this in the middle of town. At 8 and 9pm every night there is a light and music show that is spectacular. We sipped our warm milk and enjoyed the show. Afterwards we were dropped off at the night market and told just to give them a call whenever we were ready and they would come pick us up. It was an amazing night and we really felt like part of the family.

The next day I got a little over ambitious and decided that we should bike all the way to the hot springs which are about 25km away. I figured that it would be a long way and that we would be tired by the time that we got there but I hadn't counted on all the hills. After we made it about 15km I was totally pooped out. I knew that even if I made it all the way there that there would be no guarantee that I would ever be able to pedal back. As soon as we made the decision to turn back it started raining. At first it was a lovely little drizzle but soon it was a downpour and we needed to find some shelter before becoming completely soaked. There was a little bike/small engine repair shack on the side of the road so we pulled in and the owner did not mind us hanging out under his roof for a while until the rain died down. Unfortunately after the rain the roads were really wet and by the time we got back to the hotel we had strips of water and gunk up our backsides and of course I had a white shirt on.

We are getting very comfortable riding around town on the bikes. We can make it to the night market and back no problem, we just avoid making right hand turns as much as possible. Traffic is usually light and they are so used to having bikes and scooters on the road here. We've also biked to the Hilltribe Museum in town which is a small but very informative place which has displays on farming techniques, costumes, traditions and the history of the opium trade. After going to the museum we've decided against going on a hilltribe tour because it seems to do more harm then good to their culture and way of life.

More photos of Chiang Rai...

Step Over Chicken Noodle

After talking to a couple people about bus tickets to Chiang Rai (including a really nice man who drew us a map of northern Thailand) we found out that the easiest and cheapest way to book seats was to head to the station the day we were leaving. Buses leave Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai every half hour and for a VIP a/c bus it only cost about 6 bucks each.

The bus ride was very smooth and went through gorgeous forested areas on a windy, hilly road. We arrived in Chiang Rai and since we booked our tickets that morning we were not able to arrange pick up with our hotel. No worries though, we had the phone number written down and our tuk tuk driver called and got directions.

The hotel is a little ways out of town but very close to the Chiang Rai beach on the banks of the Kok river. Our hosts at the Baan Nattawadee resort are charming and wonderful. As soon as we got out of the tuk tuk they offered us a welcome coffee and some dried bananas (which were very yummy). They showed us to our room which is spectacular and the grounds of the entire hotel are lush and full of flowers.

After getting settled in and relaxing for a little while we hopped on the bikes that are provided to us by the hotel and headed out to find a store which the hotel owner told us was about 2km away. We found it no problem and grabbed some snacks before heading back to have dinner.

Our first dinner at the hotel was an amazing experience. We weren't sure what to expect because there are no menus however we were in for a treat. Ryan went to ask how we go about ordering food and he was then invited into the kitchen. He came out to grab me to go in too and then we watched and learned how to make our own dinner. Ryan was given the job to chop up the chicken. He started chopping but apparently it was not quite right because the owner (who was cooking) grabbed the knife from Ryan and said "Farang chop (shakes his head), I chop". The entire time we were in the kitchen helping the staff would pop their heads in and giggle at us. The food was amazing and it wouldn't be the first time at this hotel that we will be amazed at the food.

The next morning we got up late and went out to see if there was any breakfast still available. There was coffee and toast so we figured that would do. As we snacked on our toast the staff came to our table with some tasty little cakes. We thought that was quite a bonus and a wonderful addition to our toast and coffee. Little did we know that they were preparing an entire Thai breakfast for us that arrived shortly after the cakes. We ate until we were totally stuffed and then there came - mango! Well, as we've said there is always room for mango so we finished that off as well.

The owner of the hotel supplied us with a map of the area and pointed out some sights to see. We hopped on the bikes and headed into town to get some errands done before going to the Rai Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park. We rode up to the gates and paid our admission. The lady at the counter told us that we could take our bikes around the whole park. We rode around for a couple hours looking at all the amazing flowers and picturesque scenery. The museum that is on site was a definite highlight. It was a large teak building filled with items that had been collected from temples around northern Thailand. It was wonderful and we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves.

We pedaled back to the hotel and were treated to another amazing dinner experience. The soup that they served was way too spicy for me. It was very tasty but it was making my eyes water, nose run and eventually I had to give up on it. Lucky for Ryan though, he can handle spicy way better that I can but it still packed a punch for him too. The owner told us that Thai people have this soup when they are stuffed up or have a cold because it really clears out the sinuses. Step over chicken noodle soup!

More photos of Chiang Rai...

No, not big bird!

There is a saying that you don't know what you've got till it's gone. Well I would like to add that sometimes you don't know what you were missing until you get it back. That is how we feel about coming back to Thailand. There is a friendly relaxed vibe here that we felt as soon as we landed back in this paradise.

Our day of travel to Thailand started with a taxi to the Hanoi airport which is about 45 minutes out of town. Once we arrived we had some time to kill so we ordered some breakfast from the airport cafe. Well I ordered breakfast, Ryan tried to calm his apprehension of flying by ordering a coffee with baileys which turned out to be more like a baileys with coffee or possibly just some warmed up baileys. It was strong!

The flight to Bangkok went well, as did our entry through customs. Our next flight to Chiang Mai was delayed by an hour but our hotel pickup was still waiting for us when we got to the airport. As soon as we walked into the Aitsawarisa Hotel we knew that it would be difficult to leave. We were greeted with a welcome drink while we checked in and then brought up to our amazing room with the most stunning hotel bathroom we've had so far on our trip (I know, an odd thing to get excited about). The pool at the hotel is quite spectacular and is also environmentally friendly. It is a salt water pool that is heated by the waste energy from the air conditioning. We headed down for a dip as soon as we'd gotten settled in our room because it had been a little while since we've had the luxury of a pool.

Our first adventure out had to be the Chiang Mai Zoo and Aquarium. Neither of us knew what to expect but it turned out to be the nicest zoo facility that we have been to on our trip so far. The area that the zoo is located on is gigantic so there is a monorail and a tram to take you around the park. We figured that we hadn't done enough walking lately and decided to hoof it. There was so much to see in this lush and hilly zoo including elephants, lions, penguins, and many different species of gibbons and monkeys. Ryan had the pleasure of feeding one of the elephants some bananas and sugercane and then we both had our picture taken with it. The walk-in aviary was also very well done. After walking for a few hours and many kilometers it was time to head back to the hotel for some dinner.

On the way to the zoo we took a tuk-tuk but on the way back we used a songthaew (Thai for two benches) which is a pick up truck with benches in the back that drive around town. You hail them from the side of the road and then ask them if they are heading where you need to go. If so, you hop in the back and then when you are nearing your destination you hit the button that is on the roof and he will pull over and let you out. It's the Chiang Mai version of the bus.

Our second adventure was a gastronomical one which we could have easily done without. There is a restaurant a couple blocks away called The Big Bird Kitchen. They serve nothing but turkey and ostrich dishes. Since neither of us have ever tried ostrich we figured why not, can't be that bad right? Probably tastes like chicken right? Nope! Ryan had the big bird taco and I had ostrich curry and they were both really bad. Ah well, never try, never learn.

For more photos of Chiang Mai click here...