The Beginning and the End

The beginning and the end, and also a little bit in the middle. Basically, all the elephant unrelated parts with my transportation itinerary.

Saturday, December 18, 2010
Taxi: SATY - Imabari JR Station
Bus: Imabari JR Station 21:05 - Toyo Port 21:55
Orange Ferry: Toyo 22:30 - Osaka 6:10

Taxi: I usually go to Saty and grab a taxi from there because it's easy. BUT surprise surprise, there were no taxis there when I went! So I called for a taxi.. I talked to a taxi operator but I guess he was confused because there usually are taxis at Saty and also Saty is a big building so he wasn't sure where to pick me up? Actually, I'm just making excuses for him. He was really rude to me.. when it was clear that I was a foreigner, he just put down the phone and answered other calls! I kept saying "hello", but he ignored me.. so I hung up. And called another company who I had no problems communicating with. A taxi soon came but I was SO scared I would miss my bus.

Bus: I made it! With lots of time to spare but the taxi scare aggravated my ulcer so I was soo nauseous on the bus. I had no water so I had to wait until I got to the ferry to take some medicine.

Sunday, December 19, 2010
Airport Limousine Bus: Nankai Ferry Terminal 7:45 - KIX 8:10
TG623: KIX 11:00 - BKK 3:45
FD3238: BKK 18:35 - CNX 19:40
Taxi: CNX 20:40 - Sarah Guesthouse

Travel: I topped up my dtac sim card at Suvarnabhumi and bought a truemove sim card for international calls. There was a moment when I freaked out about making my flight to Chiang Mai because I was still on Japan time. And of course I had problems with Air Asia. The flights never start or arrive on time. This time I got to Chiang Mai 40 minutes late, but I didn't mind because the airfare is so cheap! And then, of course! The taxi had a hard time finding Sarah Guesthouse. He was weaving through all the backstreets so I didn't know where we were either. I just tried to take all the delays calmly today because I already had the taxi scare the day before and the time difference freak out in Bangkok. Breathe and smile, right? haha

Chiang Mai: On this trip, I could spend one night in the city before I headed to the park. I dropped off my bags at Sarah's Guesthouse and headed off to the night markets. I bought two pairs of fisherman pants, a handful of earrings and a decorative ribbon necklace. I also snacked on various night market food. My favourite is the meatballs in sweet and spicy sauce. I saw a sweetcorn stand. It reminded me of how Japanese people have corn in a small tin pan at yakiniku (Korean BBQ). I bought a cup and it was the best thing I had all night! It was super buttery, sweet and there was a red gummy candy in my corn too? I don't know what that was about, but I'm cool with sweets in my food anytime haha.

Monday, December 20, 2010
Walking: Sarah Guesthouse - ENP Office 8:00
ENP Van: ENP Office - Elephant Nature Park!

Office: I paid for my one week at ENP and two weeks at Surin. I took a water bottle and TWO t-shirts before Patty stopped me. I forgot I was only going to the park for one week this time haha. My bad!

Sunday, January 9, 2011
Ute: Surin Project 7:15 - Bus Station
Gold Class Bus: Bus Station 8:00頃 - Bangkok 15:00頃
Taxi: Mochit Bus Station - Chatuchak MRT station
MRT: Chatuchak MRT station - Huai Khwang MRT station
Walk: Discovery Lodge!

"Ute" short for utility vehicle in Australia. I actually had to wiki the spelling for that just now. Back home, I would have called it a pickup truck.

Discovery Lodge: Yes, as always, the taxi driver had no idea where I wanted to go! I had to call John to make sure we didn't drive in circles. When I got to the MRT station, I beeped when I went through the gate. I had to open all my bags. The security lady barely took a look at them. I think it took me ten times longer to zip them up haha. I had no problems going to the hostel. It really feels like home when I go because John is so welcoming. He put me in room 303. I dropped off my bags and took a much needed shower to cool off. It was surprisingly so much hotter in Bangkok than in Surin!

Union Mall: I met up with a friend and we went to a huge mall with 8 floors. I wanted to get new crocs for Thong Dee and Antoinette's book, the Great Elephant Escape. Unfortunately, I couldn't find either item but we had some great pizza (wings and pasta too)! We couldn't finish all the food 55 ("55" = haha for Thai people).

The Saxophone: My friend took me to a really chill bar It had jazzy live music. The (girly) drinks had a saxophone stir stick. It was so cute! I really wanted to keep it as a souvenir but I'm trying to learn not to be a pack rat.

Monday, January 10, 2011
TG672: BKK 11:00 - KIX 18:10
Airport Limousine: KIX 21:45 - Nankai Ferry Terminal 21:10
Orange Ferry: Nankai Ferry Terminal 22:30 - 6:10

Airport: At immigration, I had the SLOWEST officer. I didn't really need to be anywhere, so I didn't mind but some of the customers were really mad. Many people moved to different lines (that turned out to be a really smart move). It took so long that my luggage was off the conveyor belt and waiting for me haha. I had dinner at the same restaurant as last trip. I got a bacon and egg hamburger with barbecue fries and a coke.

Ferry: I was on the same bus and ferry as Vicky and Joe. Vicky went home to England and Joe was traveling through a bit of Europe. It was nice to see familiar faces so soon to coming home.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Bus: Toyo Port 6:20 - Imabari JR Station 7:03
Taxi: Imabari JR Station - Home!

Thailand: Take 4

The first time I ever visited Thailand was in December 2009. Fast forward one year later and it's my fourth time back! I came to Japan thinking that I would travel all of Southeast Asia while I lived here. Instead, I have gone to Thailand during every major holiday I had.

Every time I go to Thailand, there are many inconveniences that I have to go through, obstacles to overcome, and sacrifices I need to make. I always come home with tears in my eyes because I'm sad to say goodbye, but if I am honest, every time in Thailand has turned out to be a very trying time. So it is amazing that I keep going back!

Note: The memory card in my newly bought pentax broke so I had to go photo searching on facebook (again).