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Hot spring on my bike step
If you are my friend on Facebook, I posted these 2 pictures on there months ago. I was on my way to somewhere, all happy and singing, and then on my way back, miserable, and not feeling well.
On the left happy, and singing. On the right, hot, tired and miserable. And yes, that's my singing face...I think.
A friend asked me at the time, where I was going TO. But I never answered, since I thought that it should have been its own blog post. It took me 7 months, but finally here I am. Since I know my friends back home are dealing with snow, why not tell them about one of my hottest day of my trip. Warm them up by proxy.
After my successful bike ride with Emma and Cass the previous day, I decided to try my luck a second day in a row on 2 wheels. Em and Cass had other plans so I was flying solo and set my eyes towards a natural hot spring.
I looked online and the hot springs were about 30km away from my hostel. Now, while I love biking, I do it for leisure, never really for distances. But all I thought was, well, 30km turns to be around 20 miles. I have done 30 miles, dying by the end, but 20 miles is right in my wheelhouse. Never accounting for the fact that I have to bike BACK to my hostel. Idiot. Add to this, that the I’m doing this in 40 C (95 F) humid weather and is really a miracle that I haven’t killed myself in any of my trips. Since obviously planning is not my strength.
Head out of my hostel early to try to beat some of the heat of the day. I eat breakfast along the way. The person asked me where I’m going to, and I tell them. I still remember them telling me “Oh, far.”
Again, driving/biking in Thailand is fairly safe. In fact is probably the Asian country where is the safest, in my opinion, to drive. The only problem I have with biking is the fumes from the car and motorbikes can get to you pretty quickly. About half of my ride was in highway so it wasn’t the most pleasant part of my experience. But the next half of your ride is taken in this small roads. You can see some of it in the first picture. There might be some motorcycles on them, and maybe even a few farmer’s pickups, but not much else. You go through alleyways looking at houses, churches, temples, fields and farms. It’s a pleasant ride, and it’s worth it once you make it this far.
Once you reach the area of the hot springs there’s different resorts you can choose from. I settled for this one. The Royal Sankampaeng Hot Spring.
There’s a stream of hot spring that visitors can dip their feet in.
Families dipping their feet in. One woman caught me taking the pic.
Dipping my feet in.
You can also buy and boil your own eggs, Asian people love boil eggs, not an opinion, a fact.
Eggs in net being boiled in the hot spring. Different area than where you dip your feet in, if you are wondering that.
There’s also a spring pool that you can buy time in.
Also private hot spring tubs for couples, and hot springs tub for males or females separately. I chose the latter one.
I took pictures of me in the tub, but none came out PG, so, use your imagination.
I love this picture, I asked them if they could take my picture in front of the sign, instead they understood that I wanted to take a picture of them. I never took a picture in front of the sign. I couldn’t top that moment.
Random Thai family posing instead of me.
Since I wasn’t hungry I drank a pineapple frosty juice before leaving and realizing that now I have to bike back in the middle of the afternoon with the sun beating down on me. I would sleep very well this night.
Fruit juices of Asia are awesome. Highly recommend it.
P.S. What is this? Two post in two days? Am I getting better at this blogging thing? No, don’t delusion yourself. But I will try to update more often. Unfortunately tomorrow I’ll be traveling to another city, so I doubt I’ll get to the website, but I plan to write at least one more post this week.
Resolutions
Sometimes I forget why I travel. You are on the road for so long that it becomes a job (a nice job), but a chore none the less.
Then you meet someone and it reminds you why is important to remember who you are. No matter where in the world you may be. Thank you Pedro from Portugal, for being such a condescending douchebag to remind me. And I don’t mean it in a nice way, for once I’m not being sarcastic.
But to know why I say that about someone, I guess I need to catch you up with my trip. So it will take a while before everything makes sense.
So no better way to tell the story of the first couple of people I actually got to know in my trip. So I’ll take you back to June 2015 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. At this point Bangkok is on my rearview and I have my eyes set on going to Laos. So I decided to go to the northern part of Thailand. If you decide to do this, the trail will more than likely will take you through Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai is a town that if you are young and looking for places to have fun, legal or illegal ways, there’s a place for you here. There’s a nightly night market, and a Sunday night weekly market that overshadows the nightly one. So I would recommend participating in the Sunday night one if you ever visit this town.
After a day or so in this town, I started to feel anxious, I wasn’t doing much. Even in Bangkok, I was already feeling fidgety. I looked online for things to do in this town that didn’t involve buying something. And I found a trail to Wat Palat (Palat Temple). Is a smaller temple than other well known temples, but it is a free hike there. I was already dreading having to go by myself but when I went to my room to get ready for my newly found hike, I started talking to a girl from my room. I mentioned the hike, and how I would need to rent a bike to get there first. She seemed interested and ask if her and and her friend could join up on my mini adventure. I said sure, and that’s how I met Cass and Emma. Two friends that met in Australia (or New Zealand?), one from Canada, the other one from Scotland, doing their own traveling.
We rented bikes from our hostel for less than $2 and we set in our way. While biking in Thailand (I’ll make a post about driving in Asia at a different time) is not inherently dangerous, still a new experience for me since they drive on the left side, contrary to what I grew up in Puerto Rico and the U.S.A. We were also doing it in 31C (90 F) weather. Add to that, the fumes from the cars and motorbikes and it makes for an interesting ride.
My only pic of Emma and Cass, can't believe I didn't took one of us 3. Argh!!!
We had to stop a few times to gather ourselves, but like good warriors we kept going until we reach the entrance to the trail. We biked around 12km (7.5 Miles) to reach the beginning of the hike. The humidity was rising, so while the hike itself is only 30 to 45 minutes, it was pretty exhausting in this weather.
Along the way there’s this robes that the monks wrap the trees with to signify that they are holy and they shouldn’t be cut down. It makes for a beautiful trail. When you reach the temple you get a nice view of the city. A river also runs through the temple, so each of us took some time to wash ourselves to mitigate some of the heat we were all feeling.
Emma cooling off with towel
Once we reach the temple we walked around, and there was free bottled water for us to drink. We took advantage of that, and sat down for a needed break. A young monk apprentice talked to us, he told us he was from Laos, and studying in Thailand. It was a sweet moment and another reminder on how good it feels to have interaction with the people you meet. Specially when they are positive ones.
View from the top, my crappy picture, not crappy view
We hike back down, ate a late lunch and kept riding back to our hostel. I would hang out one more time with Emma and Cass. I haven’t talked to them in months, but like most of the people you meet in this travels, if I’m ever in a town/country nearby, I wouldn’t think twice in meeting them again. After all we are, I believe, we are all one community of nomads.
The following day I manage to make a hot day even hotter. But that’s a story for tomorrow.
Going on my own Motorcycle Diaries adventures
I hope this is not my last post.
When I was first thinking about this round the world trip, I imagine some of the countries I NEEDED to visit. A “must see” in my list of countries to visit. First in that list was Thailand. It was a beautiful country, different from what I imagined, but still with plenty of charm for me. It always called me from far away, I always saw it as such a mysterious country growing up that it became a must see country.
Another country (city really) that I wanted to visit is Sydney, Australia. For some reason, viewing all of those aerial shots of the Opera House in the Sydney bay just called me, as if destiny is calling me there. I’m not sure when I’ll get there, but you can bet, is on my list of places to be.
Lastly, there was a country, so remote, so desolate, and so vast that it called me. Is a country that gave birth to one of the most important people in the last thousand years. A harsh country that only the determined live there. Where kids learn to ride horses before they can properly walk. A country that almost conquer the world, yet now is almost an after thought for most.
So far in my travels when I mentioned going to Mongolia, even other backpackers were taken aback. Is not high on most people’s list, but for me it was a must see country. The idea of a nomad culture was able to raise Genghis Khan and be the closest to conquer the world it’s just amazing for me. I wanted to see what the people from this country are made out of.
I’ve been in Mongolia for 13 days. I spent a week volunteering in a northern city, in there I herded sheeps and goats. I saw how vodka was made from fermented cheese. I scooped and dig goat shit. I cooked for the people living there. I used an outhouse for the first time in my life. I helped milking cows. I slept in a ger. I met the character that runs this farm.
In Mongolia there’s 3 million people living there. And 1.6 million of those live in the capital city of Ulaan Baatar. To give some comparison: The size of Mongolia is over 2 times the size of Texas, yet Texas is home to 26 million people.
This country is home to beautiful landscapes and backgrounds. Green fields as far as the eye can see. Once you leave the city, almost no real buildings to talk about. It’s like being transported to another century. The wild west alive and strong in this country. Specially with the train running in the horizon. The stars seem to be a mile closer than anywhere else.
In the farm you learn that the job you are doing is not meaningless, this people are preparing for the winter. Where temperatures of -40 C (-40 F) is not uncommon. Winter can last 6 months here by the time the ground is ready to be farm again. So every day farm day is precious. So you take your responsibilities very seriously.
The goats and sheeps are dumb animals. There’s no other way to describe them. You have to keep them in a pack to eat, if 40% of the pack is moving in one direction the other 60% will follow, which is nice, but it meant in keeping them away from other goats, because they will cross, and you can’t get your goats back. You do herd them under the sun and the day is long. You hope the goats will stay put eating like cows do, but they eat and walk, so you can’t keep still either. While someone is herding the sheep another person needs to shovel the goats shit. Which is used for burning once it has been dried out. It becomes layered like cake. So you have to use your hands (gloves are highly recommended) and neatly stack it in another area for safekeeping for its later use as fuel.
I didn’t get to milk cows cause the mother and daughter of the farm will do it faster than I can, but I would help in pushing the calves away from the cows. The calves are kept in a pen overnight. You wake up a 5am and let one calf out at a time. The calf will find its mother and the mama cow will get excited and start producing milk. Once Minjee (the farm lady) decides the cow has enough milk I come in and push the calf away from the cow’s teat and with a rope tied the calf to a nearby tree, so that the mom can keep producing milk. Minjee does the milking. You keep letting calves out, one at a time, until Minjee and her daughter have enough milk for the day’s needs. The milk will be used for drinking, the fermented milk will be used to create vodka or its most famous use at this farm, to create cheese that will be sold all the way into Russia and China.
Depending on the season, you might eat sheep, goat, cow or even horse meat at this farm. All the meals were very good and very authentic of what Mongolian people eat. It really is the place where I have felt with the deepest connection to the country’s way of life.
Unfortunately after almost a week at this farm, my back was hurting too much, too much manual labor, and since I have so much more to see, I decided that it was best for me to move on, and leave farm life behind. This will lead me into yet another adventure, an adventure that will start tomorrow.
When I came back into the capital to regroup myself and figure out what my next move will be, I met a Spaniard man (Antonio) and his Japanese wife (Yoko). We started talking, and after realizing that a Tour would be too expensive, Antonio decided to buy a motorcycle and he would go to visit the Gobi desert that way. He invited me to rent my own motorcycle and join them in this new endeavor. While planning for this, we met an Uruguayan guy and his Argentinian friend, and they too will be joining. There will be 6 of us total Antonio’s friend coming from Spain for this trip is the last person.
I’m scared and I’m excited, I’ve never driven a motorcycle so I have a lot to learn on the go. The closest was a few scooters I have rented in Laos and Malaysia, but this is the next step. We will be on the road for 12 days. 3 to get there, 4 exploring the Gobi desert and it’s surrounding, and 5 days coming back a different route to see more of the country. This offers a very unique experience, and many things can go right or wrong. Let’s hope for the best.
These moments are why you travel without an itinerary. I love it, whatever may come.
Hong Kong fling
As I sit in the International Hong Kong airport, all I can do is hope I can give Hong Kong a second chance.
Is a beautiful city, and very modern city. Which for me, that means easy mobility around the city, no language barriers, and plenty of options. After spending my last 15 days in Kuala Lumpur (last 6 days due to a minor but nagging injury) I was glad to finally be able to move again, and that my next destination was this little but well known city.
Hong Kong during the day from Avenue of Stars
Unfortunately I knew the downside of coming to HK, is an expensive city. Not overly expensive mind you, but when you are backpacking on a $30 – $35 a day HK is a city that is best to skip. I stretched my budget to about $50 a day, and was just experiencing the very low that this city had to offer.
Hong Kong Central at night
I would walk down the streets, and some of the foods that I would see was just mouth watering. But they were also 120 HKD ($15.50) at least. I was able to find a soup for 25HKD and that was probably the best meal I had. In other instances I went to McDonald’s and other local fast food chains for food. Not because I was craving it, but just because financially was my best choice. Not happy with myself about that.
Hong Kong is better suited with a larger budget, $60 – $75 per day I think would have open more doors for me. But after 2 months of traveling and already being over budget in way cheaper countries, I couldn’t pull the trigger in this one.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not Hong Kong’s fault. If I had my old job, and I was here just as a normal tourist, this would be a great town to feast myself in. I was hoping to try Dim Sum that I love so much. But being an unemployed backpacker, trying to stretch himself to see as many countries as I can, it requires certain sacrifices.
For entertainment I did some urban exploration, Central area of Hong Kong was the best part for me. If you go to the Sheung Wan area, there are some antiques stores and shops that offer unique artifacts and weapons. The other end of the island, near the Chai Wan train station, offers a trail to Big Wave Bay Beach (try saying that 4 times in a row) that is challenging and rewarding. I ran into a Dutch-Spaniard couple, and they convince me to keep going and I’m very glad they did. The first part of the trail is a cemetery going up a mountain. There’s very little shade, and the sun is just beating down on you. I stopped to assess if I wanted to keep going, when the couple catch up to me, we started talking, and decided to keep going. Glad they did, because the cemetery stairs is the hardest part of the trail and I already did it.
Big Wave Bay Beach not living up to its name.
Big Wave Bay Beach is nice little beach, and it doesn’t seem to get too crowded, less than a 100 people when I was there. There’s an ancient rock carving in one of the cliffs, they don’t know much about it, but is believed is about 3,000 years old. Sorry no pics of this, since I explore this cliff without my camera. There’s no resort on the beach, so you have a green forest were the sandy beach ends, a very welcoming sight with all the concrete of the city.
Prayer hanging at Man Mo Temple. Beautiful yet small temple in HK
The only thing I could afford that I didn’t do, was the Tian Tan Buddha, is a giant bronze statue of the sitting Buddha. I ran out of time on my last day, and couldn’t make it there on time. To reach the Buddha there’s a cable car (expensive and with a minimum hour wait) or a bus. It’s supposed to have some great views of the city.
Hong Kong let’s do a re-do. A start over?
PS. Hong Kong is trying to answer the question if one mall per person is enough. How many fucking malls do you need people?
I’m a CHEATER! Part II
In case you haven’t figure it out, I didn’t cheat with another woman. I might not be the best boyfriend, and I have made some mistakes in my life. But I cheated with an idea. An idea that has been haunting me for at least 20 years, probably 25 years.
When I was a kid my dad was subscribed to Reader’s Digest. I would read it, mostly for the jokes and anecdotes at the end of the stories. But sometimes I would also read some of the stories.
I don’t remember the exact name of the article, but if I remember correctly it was named: “Is there any good people left?”
The narrator was wondering if there were humans with good intentions left in the world, or more specifically the US. He decided to put it to the test by leaving all his credit cards, money and possessions behind, while he traveled from the East Coast of the United States to the West coast. No money, no car. Just the open road and hopefully the kindness of strangers.
In the story he talks about the different encounters and the different stories. The one I still remember was of him walking in the dessert hitchhiking. It was getting late and cold, cars were passing him by, and all of a sudden a couple of nuns in a car stopped, and said to him “You might be a murderer, but even if you are, we can’t let you walk by yourself in this weather.” And gave him a ride.
He made it safely through the U.S.
I remember reading this story and thinking I want to do THAT! This story, along with my feelings of never being in quite the right place fuel my desire to see the world.
To see if maybe I could find a place I could consider home. Puerto Rico is so small in comparison, that I knew it couldn’t hold my desires. As pretty as it is, it just wasn’t my home. Growing up watching American movies, I thought that maybe the continental United States would be my place. I learned English, and when I first saw the opportunity to leave I left. Two weeks later I already gave up my Puerto Rico license for Florida, and never looked back.
But this desire to keep seeing more wasn’t satisfy with just being in United States. Is a hungry beast and needs constant feeding. I would try to appease it by traveling to London, Rome, all over the US, back to Puerto Rico, Spain, Peru. But it goes beyond that.
For that reason I have decided to quit my job. And travel through South East Asia (and hopefully beyond) for about 9 months of my life.
Don't Follow My Lead 