Laem Mae Pim, Khao Chimao Waterfall and National Park and the notorious Samet Island

I celebrated my first Loi Krathong in Thailand. "Loi" means "to float" and a "krathong" is traditionally made from a section of banana tree trunk. During the night of the full moon, Thais will float their krathong on a river, canal or a pond lake. The festival is believed to originate in an ancient practice of paying respect to the spirit of the waters. Today it is simply a time to have fun.
We went on the boat the day of the festival and watched some boat races and found another boat of hilariously dressed elderly women, ready to party.

It didn't take much convincing to get Chris and our new Swedish friends on the boat with them

On Wednesday, Tanya and I went to Khao Chimao Waterfall. It is a large waterfall spreading many levels along a 3 km stretch. There are 8 waterfalls along the hike and we only made it to level 6. It was a TOUGH climb.

After the intense hike, we went to a national park that has over 80 caves (although we could only go into 10 at the time due to flooding). There were monkeys, bats and lots of crawling in the mud.

Yeah, it was as frightening as it looked, especially when there are bats flying overhead

Samet Island...
The troublesome teen island of Thailand.
It's all about sipping vodka out of a bucket, getting covered in fluorescent paint and watching your English friend accidently smoke "yaa baa" (which literally translate to madness drug and is a cocktail of methamphetamine and caffeine).
By the end of that night, I wouldn't have been surprised if I woke up face first in the sand. Although, I did try to convince Tanya to let me sleep in the back of the pick up truck. Thankfully she does not have a cruel sense of humour and did not allow such silliness. I'm hardly posting any pictures of it since it's the sorta place you have to discover for yourself.

These will kill you, no matter how high your tolerance is

Fireshow and fuck you shirts

And just for fun...

Sri Racha, Thailand

...back in Thailand for the time being.

I went to Sri Racha today. It's located on the east coast of the gulf of Thailand. Why does the name sound familiar you ask?? ...Probably cause you've eaten their famous sauce...

Yup, it was first produced here for dishes served at local seafood restaurants. mmm..

I've been to Sri Racha a number of times but today I took a trip to the harbour where I may soon take a ferry to a nearby island.

I'm a lucky girl to be able to drink a fresh coconut everyday

forever's not so long

watch this and smile.



Forever's Not So Long from garrettmurray on Vimeo.

Vagabonding

It's about time I get some thoughts out into the virtual world. It may seem like feel-good nonsense but traveling has taught me so much already.

1) "Looking up"
In Toronto, I generally "looked down" while walking. I was always on a mission, on a schedule.. I never looked around much further than what I already knew and was comfortable with. Now that I am always somewhere I've never been, I have adopted a method of "looking up". When I'm in a new city I'm constantly looking up and around in wonder at all the amazing details of things around me.

2) Being lost is alright.. and in fact, pretty good.
Oh language barriers and unfamiliar grounds. I find myself lost probably half the time I step outside the door. I have become very accustomed to not knowing where I am. I've met plenty of people and seen so many incredible things while being lost. From this, I have gained more patience and flexibility. Buses break down, money gets lost, things really don't go as planned, but hell, who needs a plan. Half the fun of the travel is the aesthetic of lostness.

3) People are generally good.
This point was inspired by a travel blog I've been following. There are most likely a handful of people that are afraid of the world beyond their door, yet the vast majority of humans are not thieves, murderers or rapists. Of course there is an enormous diversity of people on the planet but they, for the most part, all have a unanimous goal as we do.

4) I pretty much only need my backpack.
I left 95% of the things I own in a storage container in Toronto. I probably have two dozen items of clothing, a handful of cameras and books, a cellphone and a laptop. That's it and it feels like plenty. I really wouldn't mind bringing my kitty along though...

5) Always carry your own toilet paper
Most toilets in the world don't have a roll of toilet paper handy. In fact they are mostly filthy. (Don't worry, I haven't given up my mantra: "the world is your bathroom").

6) Food is a delicious teacher
Of course it's the best best best part of traveling for me but local food does a great job at telling the story of a city's culture. The ingredients. Methods of cooking. Distinct smells. Mmm...
 
Life gets real when you really displace yourself.


xo
em

Seomun Market, South Korea

This market was ample in size. It's exactly the type of market you are envisioning: squawking, caged chickens flapping about, anything you could imagine under the sea, nameless roots and leaves piled high on old newspapers with 70+ year-old women squatting among the leaves. Fabric stores, fake-designer duds, "authentic" Korean antiques.... Seomun Market was a poppin' place.
I'm glad I got to try the world's best donuts. Mmm..

 Fresh seafood of all shapes and sizes

 Spice up your life

In the center of this market you find one crossing with 2 bigger stands where animals are sold in cages, most of them not able to move. Cats and dogs too. The kiddies liked the animals. Sorry I didn't have the courage to photograph the chickens, dead and/or alive.

Fake flower paradise

They can't stop eating the intestines; I can't say I partook.

Daegu, South Korea

One week in Korea!
Today I went to Veronica's elementary school to watch her teach her kiddies. The kids were so adorable and silly.
The walk to the elementary school is really picturesque and lovely so I snapped a few shots. I really like the construction shot with the one lone man walking through it.
We went out for dinner at an Italian resto (yup, Italian food in Korea) and then went to the ARCADE (its really the best especially when you add popsicles and the i am t-pain app).

Seoul & Daegu, South Korea

A mishmash of photographs from two cities.

white pony

veronica's hand snuggies

not a great picture - gay town bathroom sign

Seoul

a towel makes for a lovely skirt

This wasn't the video playing; it was just a still capture image projection of the man himself

go go Power Rangers

Daegu

Quaint street in Daegu

Bar in Daegu

Daegu

Park in Daegu

Hills in Daegu

Walk home