journeywithmadonna

……..on a bus was the plan for today?  We did not have a late night the evening before as we decided that we would go to the ‘night bazaar ‘before our dinner………not really knowing what a night bazaar was but thinking there would be a little shopping involved and hopefully a few deals to be had.     Poor Jim, who doesn’t like to shop, found himself in hell as there were literally thousands of stalls and after you visited the first hundred things began to repeat themselves so much so that Marilyn and I got tired………there were so many people, so many things to look at, so much stimulation it was unbelievable.  However we had heard that ‘fisherman’s pants’ were the thing to be wearing on the boat trip down the Mekong which we are planning on doing in a couple of days and that all the young people were wearing them on  the boat so we thought we better have a look…and we did.   There was this little Thai woman selling them so I stopped to look and she very quickly spotted me and insisted  that I try them on over my shorts so I agreed because they looked neat…………….on young people………not on older women but she was convinced that I should have them for 350bhat($13) but they were awful and then she said she had made them herself (all 500 pairs) and was showing me her label but because I didn’t have my glasses on I could not see a thing which really didn’t matter anyway because it was obvious they were factory made………so I quickly tried to get them off, was smiling and thankful and was trying to get away when she kept shouting at me and dropping the price to less than half……..and I realized we had an audience of young Thais who were pointing either at her or me, I could not tell……..so I got myself out of there.

         Met up with Marilyn and then Jim and went to a great vegetarian restaurant for a super meal and now I have a totally new respect for tofu………..some good!      As I said we crashed early because we still had not caught up on our sleep given it had taken us almost 27 hours to get to Bangkok from Tidnish.  So last night when I was sleeping I was out of it and must have been dreaming thinking I was still on the train……rocking back and forth, back and forth and kind of woke up in the morning to Celine Dion singing “my heart will go on” and immediately thought where the hell am I…………and was relieved to know I was at a guesthouse in Thailand and not on the Titanic!        I suspect the owner was treating us to some of our own music because he just smiled as I left our room and seemed pleased.   So today we’re headed to Chiang Rai which has a population of about 60,000  and many temples……..all of which are fabulous and it reminds me of when we first movd to Nova Scotia and one day when we were driving around Jim commented on the fact that every city and little town and village had so many churches in them………..and as they say here “same, same but different!”……………Fill you in on our bus trip tomorrow…………have a good day and hope it doesn’t snow.

Just a quick note to say another exciting day with stories to tell but cannot manage to type them on this bumpy bus…….will touch base later.  Thanks for the tips re photos but I have been taking them with the iPad all along but no luck…….will try again later and then will not try anymore.

………Chiang Mai was another new experience which we welcomed as we were ready to leave Bangok as our senses were challenged by the noise, the smells, the poverty, the crowds….but not so much by the wonderful food which we loved and the smiling faces of the people-well most of them.  The train ride was almost 14 hours and we arrived in the early morning which gave us lots of time to find accommodation at the Pagoda which is a family run business and is working out quite nicely.  Not quite so hot here but in the pictures that have been taken I look like I have either just stepped out of the shower or just finished a marathon.   However that is not the reason why I am not sending attachments……..and no more smart comments from you,Pierre or I will delete you from visiting our blog(as if I could ever figure that one out!) which is exactly the reason there are no pictures……..I can’tfigure out how to attach them and they say the iPad is idiot-proof(no comments please!) .   However I will keep working on it so you can be assured that you are not following the ‘other Madonna’s’ blog………..no doubt you will be able to tell the difference between her and I in the photos as I don’t think shesweats as much as me…………at least she didn’t during all that jumping around she did during the half-time show in the Super Bowl…I’ve digressed again, my apologies.    Today we visited Wat Phra That Doi Suthep(try saying that so they can understand where you want to go)………took Jim quite a while as they gave up on Marilyn and I so Jim pulled out the map(men always have one in their pockets)….and it worked and after a little bartering we were in the back of a pick up truck……..another new experience with no seatbelts, helmet………just happy smiling Thai faces…..and off we went on our twenty km trek and arrived safely, thank the lord!  Jim took a few pictures for proof but as I.’ve already mentioned I don’t know how to send them……..And he’s currently having a nap while I am, quite literally working my fingers to the bone so you will have to google that for more info as well…….it will be worth it as it,s a fabulous temple and apparently one of the most sacred Thailand……………and we hiked many, many steps to reach the top.     And on the way down I saw this face I recognized and quickly thought to myself you don’t know anybody here but when our eyes met there wasimmediate recognition so I smiled and said hello and she said “where I’d I know you from” in her broken English and after a few moments we both said Bangkok and we realized we had a very brief conversationit here as I think we were both lost or something ………. Then she told me she was doing a five day silent meditation retreat at the temple…..it sounded wonderful………..probably wouldn’t be long enough for me!!       In any case after our wonderful journey to the temple and back we walked in the unbelievable heat for about two hours so needless to say we stopped for a cool beer and a great Thai lunch….once again fresh and fabulous and all three of us raved about how good the food is, and it is even better than that.    Just to let you know, before I go for my nap, our faith has been restored in tuk tuk drivers as well and we took oneagain today with a young couple who were operating the tuk tuk, sweet looking they were, but as you know I can’t attach the photo but maybe it will come to me in my sleep……which is what you folks are doing right about now given the time difference.   Stay tuned and maybe I’ll try and get Jim or Marilyn to send a note within the next couples of days.

Forgot to mention that I woke up yesterday morning with curly hair…..that is a first and speaks of the humidity…..hope I survive….Jim is loving it. Marilyn and I not so much. Had a great day in Bangkok yesterday and met a few interesting characters………it is quite a shock going from Tidnish with a population of 2-300 to Bangkok’s population of eight million and most of them seem to be chasing you down the street trying to sell you something…….at least that is what it feels like. Actually the people are wonderful, friendly and helpful even the tuk tuk driver who kidnapped us yesterday. The day started innocently enough with us having a nice breakfast and pleasant cab drive from or hotel, Suk 11, to the canal. We had decided to take the public boat down the canal because it was 95percent cheaper than the tour boat and you have to save a little here and there………..kind of like taking the ferry from Halifax to Dartmouth rather than hiring a private boat…….oops sorry, forgot you cannot do that because of the strike! Anyway getting back to my story……the ride down the canal with the locals was fabulous and eye opening even for Marilyn who did not bring her life jacket(like many Newfies she’s afraid of water and cannot swim)…..digressed again, where was I? Oh yeah great canal trip and then off to see the grand palace………unbelievable and you will have to google it if you want to know more because I cannot do it justice and my fingers are getting tired. Following that we decided to ge see the 150foot reclining budda(because we really wanted to recline in the heat and thought it would be socially acceptable to recline with Buddha) and because we also wanted to try a tuk tuk we hired one for the little ride to the sleeping buddha(which is what our tuk tuk driver kept calling him). We were aware that many drivers ran a scam to get tourists into high end jewelry stores, factories etc. but his smiling face looked so honest when he told us he had to stop for gas and he suggested we check out one store while he did so and it was a massive jewellry store with great pressure…..but in the end no sales. The he took us to see the sitting Buddha, not the sleeping Buddha, and the to a garment factory, high end, where the salesman was really working Jim to buy a suit and didn wasn’t to buy the fact that Jim doesn’t wear suits and I told Marilynthat the best salesman I know hasn’t been able to sell Jim a suit and I doubted this guy could (right Robert?) and at that point I realized he could probably speak English as he gave up and started trying to sell to Marilyn and I…..but again no sales and we were starting to get annoyed with our tuk tuk driver who had the nerve to bring us to another jewellry store where he told us he would get free gas if we just looked…….we felt bad so we did….and then he said only two more and he got something else for free and when we said we were absolutely done he threw a little temper tantrum which we ignored, then paid him and took a taxi. All in all it’s been fabulous … The food is unbelievably tasty, we’ve met interesting tourists and great Thai people …….. It’s amazing what you learn about yourself in a foreign country. At home I won’t go to the corner store without my seatbelt on and then I jump into a little tut tut, crammed with my husband and one of my best friends, no seatbelt/helmet or any thoughts of safety and allow this crazy driving entrepreneur drive me around with eight lanes of traffic going in all directions and him thinking he’s the king of the road……….have I lost my mind? Tune in tomorrow because maybe after we adjust to the heat we’ll come to our senses…….or maybe not! Still receiving your blogs and emails but cannot reply for some strange reason Andrea and Kathleen to your emails….love ya!