50 Hours Run on the run - day 1 Phang Na Bay



Phang Na Bay



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Cu Chi Tunnels - near Ho Chi Mingh City

Cu Chi Tunnels 5^th August 2011

The whole Cu Chi experience started with the not so wise choice of a driver who was keen and pleasant and as we found later on could not speak a word of English. We assumed that he knew his way to Cu Chi Tunnels as they are located just over an hours drive from Ho Chi Mingh.. Asumption on our part was totally wrong!

 Ha… Ha… yes we got lost. Not once but several times. On the way there and on the way back and the whole “lost” experience was worth the trip and the extra time it took. Of course we had lots of detours in and within small and very small villages with most interesting sights. We went trough ditches rice fields saw absolutely splendid water buffalos just relaxing in the cool waters in the scorching heat of the day. Our “wonder driver” had to stop and ask for directions in many strange places. We even stopped at a coffin sellers or makers place and were astounded by the size of Vietnamese coffins and the symbology on the coffins. . Try Swastika for major decoration theme for the coffin? One coffin could probably fit easily 3 bodies.

Even after our final arrival and collection 5 entry coupons each (something different we thought we would only need one) we were still taken to the wrong place – non other than the family park so no wonder that we walked and walked and could not find the tunnels.

Finally the experience of going trough tunnels was great. They were built in 3 levels the first being 3 meters and third level 10 meters under ground. We were only allowed to the first level tunnels and few meters at the time

They started to be built in 1948 a to assist the VIET Minh in their fight against the French and formed whole underground cities and homes to over 10 000 people who lived in the tunnels for years

Entering the first tunnel was a little like”oh do we really want to do this?” The tunnel looked small really small dark and it was mainly our curiosity and the people behind us that got us going.

We were in a small group of people and had to move in unison as the tunnels were quite small .No sudden stops slowing down or any unexpected behavior like “stage fright”. We could only move hunched down and even then we were touching the walls with our backs as well as sides. It was completely dark a bit damp and still humid .There was a feeling of being vulnerable. This would not have been a comfortable place with bombs exploding above ground etc. Going trough the tunnels we both asked ourselves questions like – Would we have done this if we had to save our life? Absolutely we would! We both agreed on that.

It is amazing what conditions humans overcome to survive. Courage and will to survive win in so many situations.

We have seen the main sections of tunnels like the living areas command center meeting areas kitchens and field hospitals – these were all comparable size rooms.

One really interesting experience indeed and another great day in Vietnam.

Thailand - Phuket

Tesagan Gin Je or the Vegetarian festival NOTE SOME DISTRESSING PHOTOGRAPHS



The festivities in Phuket include procession of MAH SONG
wearing elaborate costumes  
This is all very carnival like atmosphere with crackers noise
 and lots of people



Mah Song are the people that

 invite the spirits of gods to posses their bodies.

Mah means horse and
refers to how the gods will use their bodies-as a vehicle
It is believed that while one is possessed -  the Mah song
 will not feel the pain. They appear to be in deep trans.
Continous cuts are being made as Mah Song move their heads
 from side to side continously.

The belief is that partaking in this Tao ceremony
prolongs one’s life absolves sins and past debts
and eliminates bad luck of oneself and his family

Only pure unmarried people can be Mah song.

Women can also be Mah Song

MAH SONG wear
elaborate costumes
 and pierce
 their cheeks
 and tongues



People accompany
mah songto keep
 their wounds clean
and help
 support the heavier
 piercing
One happy
 havy sward handler



The entranced distribute blessed candy and pieces of orange cloth
engraved with words for good luck



The entranced



And more blessings.
Mah Song seem to receive some gifts and it all happened quickly
 so I didn't manage to see what it was



Grateful woman holding on to  her families orange cloth engraved with words for good luck.
The kids are holding on to their blessed candy.

Sunday 18^th September 2011

Driving along Phukets streets on a sunny Sunday afternoon we noticed this commotion on the side of the road with crackers and lots of people. Sometime when in a foreign country those times take one by surprise and this on did ! We soon realized that what we were witnessing was the Vegetarian Festival that has 2 other names. Something we have read about and I in particular have always wanted to see it. We expected it to take place later on in the month and we knew that this year we were going to miss it – unfortunately.

If you thinking of vegetarian festival as eating a lot of vegetables you are in for a huge surprise. It is also known as Nine Emperor Gods Festival and it lasts nine days starting on the eve of the ninth lunar month. It is one of the most unusual and bizarre festivals in Thailand it is called Tesagan Gin Je or Vegetarian festival.

The story is that Nine Emperor Gods are the nine sons of Emperor Zhou and Mother of the Big Dipper. Tao believe that honoring the North Dipper Stars prolongs one’s life absolves sins and past debts and eliminates bad luck of oneself and his family.

According to folk stories that the 9 sons were actually sea pirates.

According to Tao Nine Emperor Gods are high ranking Star Lords presiding over the movement of planets and coordinating mortal life and death issues. Serious “stuff”

So on the eve of the ninth moon the temples of the deities hold a ceremony to invoke and welcome the 9 emperors. A carnival like atmosphere pervades the temples with

most devotees staying at the temple and eating vegetarian meals as well as reciting continuous chanting and prayer. Mah Song are the people that invite the spirits of gods to posses their bodies. Mah means –horse and refers to how the gods will use their bodies-as a vehicle and can be seen shaking their heads back and forth continually. Only pure unmarried people can be Mah song . They wear elaborate costumes and pierce their cheeks and tongues with all sort of sharp objects : swards banners knifes etc. Some pierce their arms with pins or fishhooks as well.

Teams of people accompany Mah Song to keep their wounds clean and help support the heavier piercing. It is believed that while one is possessed the Mah song will not feel the pain.The entranced distribute blessed candy and pieces of orange cloth engraved with words for good luck and maybe get some gifts.

In Phuket participating parties wear white which is translated to abstinence of meat seafood and diary products and this is called JE food. Yellow flags are hang out in places that sell JE food. The streets are full of yellow flags now wherever we drive.

There is a belief that there will be rain during all the nine days since the arrival of gods is believed to be trough water. Laugh if you want and we had rain for the past 2 days with winds that took my washing away…

On the ninth day there will be a great procession held to send the deities home.

Oh by the way apparently there are no scars left. I also heard that there was no blood well that as you could see is not quite so.



Khao lak

Khao lak is a seaside place that sits on a long stretch of coastline with attractive beaches. The big draw in the season  are the live abroad diving trips which explore the stunning Similan ( meaning 9 as there are 9 islands ) and Surin Archipelago.


The power of nature is very evident here...



We stayed in a rather attractive resort for couple of days and explored the small town as well as the empty destroyed by tsunami hotels – quite ghostly.




What used to be...3 large resorts
Totally destroyed by tsunami
They will never
be rebuilt.
Sad feelings around here
 with dead stillness
and the nature taking over
what used to be...

 

A tribute to an european family
 with their picture
 held to a coconut tree
 and protected.
 Marked  with a small coral rock...
 still after so many years




A small house
 that is built outside of the shade
 of the large house
 for protection
 from bad spirits
 giving them somwhere
to live.
 Each house in Thailand
has at least one
small house like this.
Offerings are placed daily.



This town was hit really hard by the tsunami some say that it was hit the most. A police boat was brought by the tide where it currently stands 2km inland when the giant wave hit. The boat remains on the hill as a monument to those lost and a reminder of natures raw power.

We went trough the small villages on the coast and wondered how anyone would possibly make it to safety if another tsunami hit. The villages are right on the beach and the closest high ground is kilometers away. We followed a trail of the tsunami safety signs and the signs led to a mosque on the main drive trough road 5 km away. We feel that it might be a rather long run for safety. We have seen couple of tsunami towers and we are not sure how they are supposed to work. It might be look and see arrangement.. There are so many areas in Thailand that were hit so much harder than Phuket and had higher loss of life than Phuket yet they are not mentioned.

This is the only tiger we found on this trip...



A quick stop at a  typical Thai fruit store
with stink beans on the way home/boat.
So traditional in the south

Ratchaprapha and Chiaw Lan Lake

Jul 2011


Some of the long boats waiting for tourists.
In season this place would be absolutely buzzing and out of season it is
a rather lazy and restful time for all.

The rain stopped for maybe 2-3 hours in 3 days and we took this time to drive to stunning Chiaw Lan Lake that was created by an enormous shale clay dam called Ratchaprapha with lime outcrops protruding from the lake to 960m.We had to employ the services of a long boat and a driver to go trough the lake.” Bobby” found an original one indeed! He looked like an interesting character and his boat (or his friends boat sometimes it is hard to follow) looked just as original as he did. He needed some money up front to buy fuel first. He had coupe of car seats in his friends boat an absolute classic.

The lake with it’s outcrops was breathtaking impressive and magnificent. There were also some caves but because of weather we could not walk trough them. I was happy about that! Who wants to walk in cold water on a cold day – a rarity in Thailand. The caves are normally partly submerged.

We also visited a small tourist village in a wonderful setting. Fed some beautiful pink fish and met the locals that were looking after the place We utilized our rain free period to the max. it started raining again just as soon as we got of the boat. We could clearly see the rain following us and were all giving our driver all the encouragement to go faster laughing and screaming….

Next day we decided to move on to Khao lak



Khao Sok National Park

Person who lived in Phuket for a while told us that he visited Khao Sok National Park and found it magical. From the drive to the park to running into wild elephants to the stay in tree houses they said that the place was just captivating.

The elephants sold me.

We really needed a break after all the stresses of engine reconstruction so we planed a short car trip to the park after which we were to move back to the boat. Well we seem to have an absolute knack for choosing a rainy weather even in the middle of the hottest time. We have done it a few times now and it is almost expected that when we go away it absolutely pours with rain in Phuket. This time was spot on too. Our drive to Khao Sok was bucketing wet.

We could hardly see the road at times not to mention elephants.

The sky just opened and with constant and continuous heavy rain

This is what palm  "flower" and palm oil is made from it

The splendid banana flower that was just outside our outside bathroom
with water as cold as the rain.
The little bananas were the size of the little finger of your hand
Which makes the flower quite enormous in comparison.

Khao Sok is part of the oldest rainforest in the world where snakes monkeys tigers bears boars deer gaurs tapirs reside besides the smaller animals.180 species of birds as well as worlds largest flower Rafflesia kerrii. It’s flowers can reach 80cm in diameter Finding our tree house accommodation for the night was not the easiest of tasks. We drove trough potholes and strange little roads and finally got to the end of the road where a wild and raging river met with maybe 600 meters rock.



This one is for Domenique!



This is one of the 180 species of birds.
No idea which one. He just arrived as we were having breakfast
and had his very swiftly sucking the nectar from the flowers. 

What a sight and amongst this a tree house. It looked fantastic and it was. Romantic too. The bathroom was pretty much outdoors with cold water and a military army of mosquitoes just waiting. The bed was hard as a rock and everything in the room was rather damp. Basic was another word and all would have been perfect if it wasn’t for the rain. There are so many things to see here but the heavy rain was not the time to trek the jungle. We would have loved to venture into the jungle at night which we will have to do another time. It promises to be a rather a different and unexpected experience.

The tree house accommodation.
This was the bridal suite...we would have to say"Good luck with the marriage"
Ha Ha...

And it continued to rain...on and on and on.....

As soon as the sky turned darker in the evening the sounds started to build up and the night life in the jungle started. It was so incredibly loud that it was almost impossible to sleep. Magical of sorts! We have never been in a jungle so alive.

The rain stopped for maybe 2-3 hours in 3 days and we took this time to drive to stunning Chiaw Lan Lake that was created by an enormous shale clay dam called Ratchaprapha

On the way to the lake - a typical Thai life scene
 with kids returning from schools - any which way!

We have seen some working elephants on the way and not the wild one



And there he was joyful totally
 covered with mud and
" Happy as a Larry".
We almost missed him.
He blended in so well.
We stopped the car
 and parked it on
the other side of the road
...we did not get out of the car
He surprised us
by actually being there!!!
WILD!!!!!