A couple weeks ago Dusty and I finally made it to the top of Wat Tham Seua, the famous Buddhist monastery and temple in Krabi. Most of the monastery is at the bottom of the mountain or karst as they are called here including the caves, temples, housing and administrative buildings. But at the top of the karst is a group of statues and shrines that are just magnificent, and to get there you have to climb 1,237 steep steps. Definitely not for the faint of heart or anyone out of shape. It took us about an hour and a half with plenty of stops for water and rest ... remember its still in the mid-80's to 90 every day and very humid. As you can see from these photos, the view from up there is pretty spectacular. In the first photo you are looking out toward Krabi Town and the ocean. You can see some of the resort islands including the famous Phi Phi Island in the distance. In the second photo, our house is about two miles away and if it wasn't for the karst on the right side in the second picture you would be able to see it, but it's hidden from view unfortunately. We are in that little valley you see behind the three Bud
dha statues.
A couple days ago we went to a festival down in Krabi Town, and one of the businesses that had a booth was doing "fish pedicures". The way it works is you put your feet in this tank of fish for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, and the fish clean the dead skin and other junk off your feet. The fish are around an inch long and are a type of carp I think. They don't have teeth so there is no biting to worry about. They are suckers and they produce just a tingling sort of feeling. It was very relaxing and after 15 minutes my feet never felt so clean, even the calluses from my running were gone! I highly recommend it if you ever get a chance to get one. I saw on the internet where some specialty shops in the US have been doing it for a couple years and the going price was $35 for 15 minutes. We paid $1.85!
Sunday we started out for Wat Tham Seua (Tiger Cave Temple) but decided to stop first at Phanom Bencha Mountain Resort. It's a private resort just outside Khao Phanom Bencha National Park and not far from us. The resort was so interesting and beautiful we ended up spending a lot of time walking around the grounds, and never got to Wat Tham Seua. But there is always tomorrow when you live here and are retired. We are going to try and get to the wat later this week. The picture you see is one of several ponds, all connected by a mountain stream, and the restaurant is on the left. In the center is a small island and while we were there, a rather large python could be seen in one of the trees. While we were watching it, a water monitor lizard dropped from the tree and into the water then
swam right over to us. I think it was very relieved to escape the python. There are more pictures of the resort on our Facebook site.
We've all been driving around Krabi without Thai licenses and on Wednesday we finally went and took the tests. Fortunately, we all pasted but it wasn't easy. In Thailand you need a doctor's medical certificate saying you are basically healthy just to take the tests, and we had gotten them about a month ago. Well, they are only good for 30 days so we had to get on with it. There are some ways to just exchange a foreign license for a Thai license but we weren't able to swing that so it was take the test or continue to drive illegally. We were all nervous about the test because it's not easy and it had been a long, long time since any of us and taken a driving test. The written part was in the morning and consisted of 30 questions of which you had to get 23 or more correct. We did get an English version, but the translations were not the best and the questions were tricky. Dusty and I flunked the first time through, but unknown to us going in, they give you a second chance and we both passed. Athan was luckier and pasted on the first try but just barely with 23. Next came the driving part which was in the afternoon. The test had three parts. First, you pulled up to a curb. Sounds simple but the front tires had to be on this 6" wide line that was perpendicular to the curb and the left side tires (they drive on the left here like in Great Britain) had to be on a yellow line that's 25 cm (about 10 inches) from the curb. Next, you drive up this lane marked with poles on each side for about 5 car lengths, stop and back back out. Dusty messed this one up and hit the last pole, but they gave her a re-do and she did fine. Then finally, you have to parallel park. Again, not so hard since we've been doing it all our life except everything is reversed. Your car steering wheel is on the right and you are parting on the left. But we had all practiced and did fine. It was an entire day at the DMV and a bit stressful, even for Sakorn who had to watch all of us hoping we didn't screw up too bad, but in the end we were all kind of proud of ourselves.
This is the latest addition to our family here in Thap Prik. It's a little tree frog of some sort that we named "Francoise". Being a frog, we figured a French name was in order. He moved in almost a week ago and spends the day where you see him, which is on our front porch on the window frame. He just sits there all day, then a night he leaves but is back in the morning. I guess he goes looking for bugs for food, something there is no shortage of here. The other day he didn't come home for two days and we thought we'd lost him but he finally came back. I guess he know he has a good thing here.
In case you thought all we had in Thailand was snakes, I thought I'd post something about one of our unusual fruits. This is the Mangosteen, or Mangkut in Thai. Southern Thailand is the home of the Mangosteen, and its so delicious its considered the "Queen of Tropical Fruits". We have several of the trees on our property and they are producing faster than we can eat them right now. As you can see, they have a dark-red or purple skin and white fruit segments which has a sweet, slightly tart flavor. The trees start producing in May and continue through most of the rainy season, so we will be having them for a while. They are suppose to be very good for you health-wise in that they contain a very potent antioxidant. But until a few years ago you could not get them in the U.S. due to import restrictions. Now, the ban was lifted recently and I read where they have sold in gourmet shops in New York for $45 a pound. Maybe we should load up our suitcases when we come back next month!
A couple days ago a Monocled Cobra showed up on the carport. Fortunately, we saw it in time and it was a small one. Cobras, as most people know, are very poisonous and dangerous. But like most snakes they are also very shy and non aggressive, so we had little problem convincing him to leave the area. Now we are just hoping, since he was a young one, that he doesn't have any siblings hanging around!
We finally made it to Khao Phanom Bencha National Park last weekend and it was really good to get out of Thap Prik and see some of the gorgeous areas Thailand has to offer. The park is 50 square kilometers of forest and jungle surrounding the highest peak in Krabi, Khao Phanon Bencha. One of the big attraction of the park are the numerous waterfalls. The picture you see is of Haui To Waterfall, which has 11 tiers and at some spots falls over 70 meters down the rock face. We had a great time climbing to the top following a well marked trail. From the parking lot, the trip took no more than an hour and during the entire hike we were the only ones on the trail. Even though we were maybe just half a mile from the parking lot, as soon as you step off onto the trail you were in the jungle and it felt like it. In fact, they warn you not to leave the trails because it is easy to get lost very quickly. About a month ago, a British tourist strayed off the trail and wasn't found until almost 24 hours later. Obviously, he spent the night in the jungle. Something I wouldn't want to do without a knowledgeable guide and a good tent.
It was a very exciting day today because we finally got to go to Khao Phanom Bencha, but I'll have to save that story for another day because the excitement really started when we got back. Our dear friend the Golden Tree Snake is back. I had just sat down in the living room to rest after our hiking trip at Phanom Bencha and out of the corner of my eye I see this snake moving across the window sill by the front door ... and he's INSIDE. He had been sitting on a table next to the window and I guess decided it was time to move on. After yelling for my able assistant, Dusty, we set about trying to figure out a way to get the door open so that he could make his exit. With a bit of finesse we managed and he took off out the front door and across the yard to Athan and Sakorn's garden. Good riddance we thought.
This is the Golden Tree Snake and they are found in many parts of Southeast Asia but are very common in the Krabi area. This morning Dusty notice that one had spent the night between the window screen and the window wrapped around one of the frame supports. They are great climbers and can actually flatten themselves out and "fly" sort of like flying squirrels do. When we opened the window (from the outside!) to release him back into his more natural habitat, we got to see him fly. Indeed, instead of just dropping down to the ground, he flung himself (or herself?) out at a 45 degree angle and sailed out onto the lawn where he took off for the bushes. They are mildly poisonous but mostly to things they catch. Their fangs are in the back of their month and angled back so it would be hard for one to bite you unless you stuck your finger down its throat! Since he was sort of trapped between the screen and window and no threat to us, we had a good time observing and looking him up on the internet to figure out what he was before sending him on his way.
Well, as some of you already know, we finally sold the Blue Pearl. Actually, settlement was several weeks ago now but with us being in Thailand and the boat in Virginia it took some time to get the money moved around. We were sad to see her go but we sure didn't like owning two boats! It was a great little boat and just right for us except a little too small for living aboard for more than a month at a time. Now we can just worry about Whisper which we are looking forward to getting back to before the summer is over. Our friends back at the marina tell us she is fine but I keep thinking about the stuff that needs to be done before next winter. Once we get back, its got to be haul and the bottom done. Then while its out there are other projects I want to take care of like making sure all the thru hulls are in good working order and maybe removing the ones in the head that we won't need anymore once the composting head installation is finished. Hopefully, we can get all that done in short order and get on with some sailing before the season is over. Then there is the question, what do we do for the winter? Leave it a Olverson's again, take it south down the ICW or ... we'll have to just wait and see what in store for us. Ironically, with only one boat you have more options which is a good thing.
This past weekend our yacht club back in Virginia had its first function of the season, and this is a picture from the chow line. The food is usually pretty good at these affairs and I'll bet that burger was yummy. We've really been missing our American foods lately. I did manage to get a pizza for my birthday and it was o.k., but not what we were use to back home. There are a couple places not to far away where you can get Western food but since we still have no wheels, that's not an option right now. Hopefully, that won't last much longer though. Our highest priority now is to get a car and our driver's licenses so we can get some independence back. You can't believe how hard it is to not have a car for over two months!
Yesterday and last night Bangkok was indeed burning. This is a picture of Central World, the largest shopping center in Thailand and the second largest in Southeast Asia. It was burning most of yesterday and as of last night on the verge of collapse. From the information I've been able to gather from various internet sources (the government has taken over the TV stations here), there has been some spread of the rioting and destruction into the northern providences where the Red Shirts have a lot of support.
SODIS, is the acronym for a water-disinfection method developed by the Swiss. I read about it recently in the latest National Geographic magazine, which is devoted to the water crisis brewing all over the world. Basically, the way it works is you fill old water or soda bottles with untreated water, then put them in the sun for 6 hours. The UVA radiation kills viruses, bacteria and parasites, making it safe to drink. It really works and cost essentially nothing. If you want to know more go to this link ..http://www.sodis.ch/index_EN . Here in Thailand, most people only drink bottled water which we buy in 20 liter jugs for 10 baht or about $ .25. It is so cheap almost everyone can afford it but it is still a bit of a hassle to go and get, and then transfer it to smaller containers for everyday use. Our tap water comes from our well and is filtered but we don't drink it. We just use it for bathing, dishes and laundry. Using the SODIS method, I plan to treat the tap water and use it for drinking. I'm not saving a lot of money, mostly just time, plus I just think its such a cool idea.
Our household goods shipment has finally arrived in Bangkok. The MSC Florentina arrived Tuesday and once the shipper clears the shipment through 
Our backordered mattress finally arrived and we are now sleeping in our "air conditioned" bedroom in the house. The guesthouse was nice but its oh so good to be in our new home. We still don't have much in the way of furniture but that should change soon. Yesterday, we sent off my passport to the mover in Bangkok that will clear our household goods through customs. The shipment arrived yesterday and they say it will probably be next Wednesday before it get down to us. It's been so long since we packed it all up back in Vienna we can hardly remember what we shipped. It will be a bit like Christmas when we start unpacking.“I wanted movement and not a calm course of existence. I wanted excitement and danger and the chance to sacrifice myself for my love. I felt myself in a super abundance of energy which found no outlet in our quiet life.”
–Leo Tolstoy, in “Family Happiness”
"I saw this quote for the first time in Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild. It’s true–why live a simple, quiet life when there is so much more to life than stagnation? Its the extremes, seen via dangers and excitements, which give our lives true satisfaction. The status quo, normal, conventional life is exactly what Tolstoy describes as “the calm course of existence.” Why stay calm, when you can experience the un-calm? The fluctuations, the extremes, and the inherent mystery in the loud, active life, is invaluable. Why would you live at medium, when you could be experiencing high highs and low lows? It is the extremes which truly impact us. It is the movements in our moods, personalities, friends, and surroundings, which give us more meaning and more of an intriguing identity. Travel. Move. Always Change. Don’t stay in one place, and never be quiet, in words nor actions. Always Progress, and never waste anytime."
The Laguna Phuket International Marathon is coming up June 13. I'm not in shape for a marathon right now, but at the same time, they are having a 10K race so I've signed up for it. Phuket is an island and only a couple hours drive away, which is close by when it comes to finding road races in Thailand. The island is an internationally known resort area and quite beautiful. We flew into Phuket when we arrive here in Thailand but it was the middle of the night, so we really didn't have a chance to see any of the island. The race will give us an excuse to go there for a short visit and see the area. Lots of sailboats and sailing there as well, so there's also that to check out. I've been in contact with my old coach, Eric Sorensen, back in the US, and he's doing me up a training schedule. Even though this is just a 10K, a good training schedule makes all the difference in keeping you focused, motivated, on schedule and most importantly, less subject to over-training problems like injuries. As some know, I've had my share of running injuries over the years and I'm not anxious to continue the trend.
This a view of the mountain Khao Phanom Bencha from our front yard. Its the highest point in the providence at 1,305 meters. Today you can see the top but somedays clouds obscure it. I've been looking at it since we arrive about six weeks ago and just figured out what it was. It sits in the middle of a 50 square mile National Park of the same name and is one of the biggest attractions of the area. There are several beautiful waterfalls in the park and all sorts of wildlife, so naturally we are planning on visiting it soon, like Sunday for my birthday. As for the wildlife, I had no idea some of the animals that are found there where so close to us. We are only about 10 kilometers away! Below is a write-up I found in the Lonely Planet's guidebook on Thailand about the park. Imagine ... tigers, leopards and bears, oh my!
Found one of these guys on the carport yesterday morning. They really scare me and believe me I found the bugs spray in no time flat ... he's now history. They have a very nasty bite which is toxic. Here is a write up from the internet:Giant centipedes are found all over Thailand, in urban areas as well as forests and can grow to the size of a man's forearm. Like a lot of insects in the tropics, if it rains heavily, giant centipedes like to come indoors to avoid drowning. A shoe or bag can provide a handy place for the creatures to hide and if they are surprised and can't escape they will bite.
Their bite does not kill but for three or four days the victim will be in serious pain- even a shot of morphine from the local hospital will only take the edge off.
The bite marks are similar to those of a small snake and centipede bites can be mistaken for snake bites in the dark. The victim requires anti-tetanus, painkillers and rest. In the case of allergic reaction, breathing support may be necessary,
They are plenty big enough to notice in the day but for your own safety never walk around without shoes in the dark, even indoors!
We just got back from a cruise through town and here are a couple shots of what its like during Thai New Year or "Songkhran" as it called here. As you can see there is this tradition of throwing water on each other. Some do it from the car and some from the side of the street. The kids were having a blast as you might expect, and the adults were enjoying things too. The celebrations go on for three days and today was the first.
We have started to pickup a few items that we'll need in the house, things that we didn't ship. This is our new washer/dryer combination. Pretty neat, huh? Thought you'd be impressed. Not only does it both wash and dry, it also dry cleans and makes it own hot water. Why does it make its own hot water? Seems as though here there are no central hot water systems in homes. Not sure why just yet but there is usually only one source of water to sinks, showers, basically everything. So, if y0u want hot water you install an on-demand electric hot water heater right at the source of your need. For example, there is one in each shower usually and one at the kitchen sink if you chose to have one there. But for clothes washers and dishwashers, the solution seems to be have hot water making capability built into the appliance. I guess the requirement is too much for the small on-demand heater. But I really don't know, this is all very new to me. The other day we tested out the new washer and it worked fine but the dryer is not drying, so we are waiting of the repair guy to come take a look today. Interestingly, there is no separate outlet for the hot air when drying, everything, water and exhaust air goes out the same line to the sewer or in our case the septic drain. The drain line (see photo) is only about 1.5 inches in diameter so I'm skeptical as to how efficient this can be when its drying. But we don't plan to use the dryer except in emergencies. We can usually hang the clothes outside and with the heat they dry pretty fast. But of course there is the monsoon season so we need a backup plan.
Yes, those really are bugs piled up in the corner. This is the sight we found the other night when we came home. We had left the outside lights on at our house and they were swarming around so thick you wouldn't want to even approach the door. Luckily we are still staying at the guesthouse so we just left the light on and we to bed. These are pictures I took the next morning. The story we get from the locals is this occurs only once a year right before Thai New Year (Songkran) which is April 13-15. They don't bite thank goodness but are just a big pain in the you know what. Most were dead by the next morning and once I swept them up I had a pile that could have passed for Fall leaves in Virginia. If you are familiar with the "love bugs" of the some part of the Deep South in the U.S. you will have an idea of what these are like. Hopefully, we have seen the last of them for a year.
We have lots and lots of papaya growing on the property and everyone loves them, especially Poco our Spectacled Amazon parrot. These are the green papayas used to make Som Tum (green payapa salad) which is very yummy.
These are our good friends and benefactors in Krabi, Athan and Sakorn. Its thanks to them and their generosity that we were able to have our new home here in Thailand. We met Athan on the tennis court, where you will still find him most of the time, over 25 years ago when we were living in our first home, a condo in Falls Church. Athan, a U.S. citizen now, is from Krabi but moved to the U.S. when he was a teenager. Just a couple years after we met, his first wife died unexpectedly and he later remarried Sakorn, also from Krabi. She is an attorney by education and training and he is a C.P.A. like me. You will be hearing a lot more about them since we live next to each other now, and more importantly, we can't do anything without them. They drive us around (we don't have a license or car here yet), they order food for us (they know the best places to eat and the best dishes), they translate for us, they are teaching us the Thai language, they do just about everything except breathe for us right now. Hopefully, it won't be that way forever.
These are a couple pictures of our "spirit house" where the phra phum lives. Most houses or compounds have one and its part of Thai tradition. The phra phum (spirit of the land) is a good spirit that takes care of the land or area. Inside the little house is a figure carved from wood or clay of the phra phum and if he grants a wish he gets gifts like elphants or slaves represented by similar figures. You may be able to see a few near the door. The little cups or dishes are for placing offerings or burning incenses. These aren't part of the Buddhist or Islam religions here in Thailand . They are just part of the culture but with some religious origin I'm sure. I'd guess its Hindu related, but that would just be a guess.
Here is picture of the houses. Our is in the forefront, Athan & Sakorn's in the middle and the guest house in the back. You can probably tell how dry it is right now. We are having a drought so things don't looks so lush but this should change soon I think. Sakorn has planted a lot of things so we are watering twice a day to keep it all alive. 
This is the guest house at our little compound in Krabi where we are staying until our furniture and household goods arrive next month. It is really neat and has two small bedrooms, a bathroom and kitchen/dining area. Its all we need for now since we have only what we brought on the airplane. Athan and Sakorn's house is right in front of us and then across from them is our house. I'll try and get of picture of all three so you can get a better idea of the total layout.
Well, in case you have forgotten this is what our house in Krabi looks like. At least that's what it looked like in June of last year. If we get the one last permit (don't ask) we need to take the bird with us by Wednesday, we will be hopefully standing outside our new home by next Friday. Right now we are too tired and stressed to get excited about it but I think as soon as we are in the air that will change. There will still be paperwork and bureaucracy to deal with at Thai customs, and probably something unexpected but hopefully nothing we can't handle. At least we should have Athan and Sakorn to help us navigate the system over there. Here we have been on our own. Maybe later, after this is all very far behind us, I'll tell you about all the trials and tribulations of taking the birds to Thailand. But that will have to be another day, we are both too tired right now.
With another snow storm on the way this weekend, I didn't want to post another snowy/icy picture so here's one of Krabi. I wanted to remind myself that this time next year we should be settled in and not having to deal with snow and ice. I love the clouds in the picture, sort of gives in a very mysterious look don't you think? Today I'm faxing over the last documents the movers need to ship our household goods to Thailand. They have been in storage for almost two years and I've about forgotten what we packed. Guess it will be a little like Christmas when they arrive at our new home and we start up packing. I'm really looking forward to that day.
This past weekend we had our second really big snow storm of the winter, and I'd guess we got at least 12". That's a lot for down here and two in a year is very unusual. But everyone survived just fine, no damage that I know about and we never lost power which they did during the big one last year.
This is the dinghy rack from the clubhouse window. Our inflatable is the bump on the right side.
