Civilization is okay.

We motored into Cow Bay Marina for a two-day stay.  They have a thing for cows here. One early entrepreneur barged in a herd of Holstein cattle to provide milk, meat, and cheese to the early settlers.  That seemed to be a big deal because the town has gone cow crazy ever since. Some of the traffic bollards and sidewalks are painted like the side of a Holstein cow. There is the fiberglass couch cow in front of the local tourist store. I was up early one morning and headed to the local coffee shop for a double Cowppuccino. 

It was a relief to reach Prince Rupert for several reasons. A good hot shower at the marina for one thing. Showering on Ruthie Jeanne is much like an act you might see in Vegas at a Cirque du Soleil show, complete with a tight tuck and half rotation necessary to wash the feet, a Double Twist Del Mar to reach the backside and elbows bent the wrong way to get those areas under the arms.  A full attention position works for reaching the ah…the ah, the gr, gro…the private area.  Washing the hair should be the easiest task to complete, but by this time in the cramped tiny shower I was almost too tired to lift my arms over by head and my elbows are bruised. 

We were glad to be here for another reason, too: walking. Being couped up on a boat is a wonderful thing but there isn’t much exercise to be had, particularly if the boat is bouncing around on choppy seas. Being able to get off the boat and walk as long as you want is a treat.  Walking bow to stern on Ruthie Jeanne is roughly 40 feet so to get any exercise at all would take several hundred laps around the deck and make me look crazy in the eyes of my shipmates.  

Thirdly, we got to replenish our fuel and food supplies so we are independent for another week or two until we arrive at another port. We can then be confident when reaching into the galley cabinet that there will be enough Skinny Pop popcorn to go around. We’ve spent so much time away from people and towns in a quiet, calm, relaxed environment, that I thought, “sometimes, civilization is ok”.

Prince Rupert is amazingly productive. As per our Douglas Guide that gives info on ports and anchorages, Prince Rupert has the deepest natural harbor in North American. Their burgeoning port operations load and unload container ships, one after the other. When their expansion is complete, they’ll process about 75% of what goes through a major port like Vancouver, BC. They are now rivals to the west coast ports in California and Seattle/Tacoma.

Besides containers, they also ship grain and forest products. The grain elevator was the largest one I’ve ever seen, towering over everything, including the ship it was loading. The proximity to coal, oil, and gas fields means shipping those products also.  When discussing all those industries it’s easy to forget it is a major fishing port, both commercial and recreational. We saw many fishing guides, out early and returning early with catches of big salmon. Hard to understand all this industriousness comes with a relatively small-town population of 12,000.

Eddie the Eagle.

There were many eagles flying around Prince Rupert. However, one in particular seemed to be the Sergeant-At-Arms in Cow Bay. He or she would maintain a serious No Fly zone around the marina and chase off any intruders. For the trouble, the fishing guides would occasionally flip him a salmon carcass they’d just finished flaying.  He would catch it in the air with his claws and fly off for a snack. He passed so close to the boat with a carcass in his claws we could have reached out and grabbed it. 

Prince Rupert had a good vibe to it. That positivity carried through to the big green refuse bins that carried uplifting messages. We called it Garbage Can Wisdom.  

We finally left Prince Rupert and Cow Bay Marina after a couple days of rest and recuperation from some long travel days. It was a beautiful sunny morning motoring through Venn Passage, that had a series of twists and turns, sometimes in water that wasn’t very deep. Prince Rupert airport is across the channel on a different island. We passed the airport ferry dock in a “strictly enforced” No Wake zone.  All the boating information suggested the same strict enforcement. That was probably for everybody except fishing guide boats. Six or seven of them passed us traveling around 20 knots with wakes that made us grab our coffee mugs before they spilled onto the deck.  Maybe they weren’t enforcing that day. 

We passed Matlakatla, a First Nation fishing village a few miles west of Prince Rupert. Then a funny thing happened.  A crow flew down and landed on our bow railing. Ive never seen a bird of any kind land on a moving boat. The crow stayed for 30 seconds, not enough time to grab our phones and take a picture.  Then he flew off. Unusual to say the least.

We moved through Venn Pass out into the wide-open spaces of Chatham Channel, dotted with its many small islets.  Then we turned north towards the Dundas Island chain which is just south of the US/Canadian Border at Dixon Entrance. We passed Green Island Light house, one of the Northern most light houses in BC. Dixon Entrance is approximately 15-20 miles of open ocean water, not as long as our passage through the Queen Charlotte Strait, but still a body of water to reckon with. 

Green Island Lighthouse.

We started out early from our Brundige Harbor anchorage on Dundas Island with an iffy weather report and turned back due to increasing wind and sloppy, choppy water conditions. We returned to our anchorage and decided to try again a few hours later. When those hours were up, we made our way out of the anchorage and it was “Yee Ha” all over again with conditions worse than our first attempt hours before. Back to the anchorage for the night and just in time for Terry to catch a 10-pound salmon.  It was worth the wait. The menu for dinner was salmon cakes. 

You can't see it, but there's bad water out there. This was in an protected anchorage. Tried twice, but its a no go to transit the entrance. 

The following morning, we left at 4:00 a.m. to very little wind and seas that were only 2-3 feet then they calmed altogether. Piece of cake and completely different from 12 hours before.  

Beautiful morning. It's a go to cross Dixon Entrance.  

We crossed the border in Dixon Entrance and the app for US customs made it a breeze to call in and clear customs. The rest of the day was calm waters and calm nerves. We cruised up Tongass Narrows and found a slip in Bar Harbor in Ketchikan.

Ed out.

Immense, Wild and Quiet

Immense, Wild and Quiet

Leaving the safety of a dock is part of the adventure of cruising to new destinations. Such is life, I suppose. We become explorers in a wilderness that we’ve not encountered before. The waterways, inlets, bays and anchorages are all new to us. It’s part thrilling and exciting, part scary, and part heightened sense of awareness, all wrapped into one.  Kind of like a wilderness funhouse, not sure what to expect next but looking forward to it.

What jumps out first when boating through the north coast of British Columbia is just how vast and towering the mountain ranges are compared with our tiny little boat. Ruthie Jeanne was in water 1800 feet deep, 50 yards from the shoreline and the cliffs would shoot out of the water almost straight up with some of the peaks on these islands reaching the 3000-5000 foot range or more.

And it’s wild, that’s for sure. Like having your very own aquarium or zoo, sans the glass or fence. Dolphins playfully danced in and out of our bow wave. Eagles were everywhere. Looking for water spouts to spot whales is always on the list of things to do.  We saw our first two humpback whales yesterday as they rolled over and dove with their huge tails following them down. Then they were gone. There are waterfowl, seals, and sea lions galore. Bears are next on the list of things to see.

And all things being equal, it’s so very quiet in this part of the world that you can hear the birds, waterfalls, rain and the sounds of nature without the drone of background noise found in the city. It is very peaceful and calming out here in the wilderness. It reminds me why I love being on the water. I was hooked the first time I sat in my first watercraft, an innertube, and floated lazily down the Little Big Horn River where I grew up in Sheridan Wyoming.

(Shearwater ramp and dock in the early morning before we headed to Rescue Bay.)

We found our way from the small fishing village of Shearwater into Seaforth Channel, north through Perceval Narrows, and ultimately to Rescue Cove, a safe anchorage out of the wind and seas, just like its name would suggest.  Early the next morning we headed out through skinny Jackson Passage and out into Princess Royale Channel on a long day to Bishop Bay. Princess Royale Island has the most Spirit Bears in all of Canada.  Spirit bears are brown bears that have a white fur and have great spiritual meaning for the First Nation People in the West Coast of BC.

                                     

(Rescue Bay on a pretty evening)

Waterfalls were everywhere. There were so many waterfalls in the mountains and cascading down into the saltwater I lost count. I stopped taking pictures of them because they seemed to be everywhere I looked.  Who wants to see 30 pictures of waterfalls? If I was lucky, maybe a couple of my family members would endure something like that but not many others.

(Here are 3 waterfalls. I have 27 others if you're interested.)

We traveled 8 hours out of Rescue Cove so we could enjoy the hot springs that overlooked Bishop Bay. The information about the Bay suggested there were three buoys that could be used in which to tie up instead of anchoring. Anchoring in this bay is somewhat difficult because it’s deep. We were a little worried about getting a buoy because some of the boaters we talked to in Shearwater were also headed to Bishop Bay to enjoy the hot springs.  We rounded the corner into the bay and saw one buoy and to our luck, it was empty. We seemed to have missed the crowd.

(This is the immensity of the mountains surrounding Bishop Bay. Big doesn't describe it.)

We tied up to the buoy and headed for a warm soak.  There was a bath pool and a soaking pool. It was so relaxing we almost melted after traveling many hours in a rocking boat. 

Two humpbacks swam into the bay but I couldn’t get a picture because they were so far away. So, although we’ve seen them, we’ve had no close encounters. 

When cruising through the inside passage there are frequently long stretched without cell or wifi availability.  Being so connected all the time it’s easy to forget that there are places with no coverage. Not having coverage kind of gives me the Heebie Jeebies.  It’s a strange feeling not being able to grab the phone whenever or wherever you are and request any information you might want. It’s been a long time since I’ve been more than 6 feet away from Siri except for a recent knee replacement surgery.

Like most of my friends and family my phone is within reach 24/7. I’ve been thinking it’s possible that Siri is not my best friend after all and I don’t have to respond immediately every time I hear the ding of an email, text or voicemail that just landed. Do I really have to get back to someone within minutes? It’s aggravating not being able to use the phone for any variety of reasons, but maybe that’s ok and I might be the healthier for it.

Day 22.  Still in Bishop Bay due to weather. Gale force winds are where we want to go. So, we sat safely in the bay. This is day 3 here and I imagine we’ll be here at least one more day before the weather improves and we can move.

Raining constantly. And the cold isn’t any fun either. There are mountains on all sides, that’s part of why we are protected.  The one across the bay is dusted with snow or what the Canadian weather forecaster calls “ice pellets”.  It looks to be at the 1000-foot level. Burrrrrr.  But I’m not complaining. Being stuck out of the wind and choppy seas in a beautiful place with a hot spring nearby and a waterfall 50 yards from the boat just doesn’t seem worthy of a complaint.

The Canadian Mounties cruised by, then stopped to do a “courtesy visit.”  They requested all manner of information about us and the boat. Passports, boat registration, title, etc. Then they wanted addresses and phone numbers. Then, why we entered Canada, how long we’ll be here, where we’re headed, and when we would be leaving Canadian waters. And lastly, what brand of Canadian Maple Syrup was our favorite. Just kidding about the syrup, ‘eh?

As irritating as their stop was, cloaked as a courtesy visit, they have a job to do keeping tabs on cross border crime and if we needed help in this neck of the woods where there are literally no services for miles on end, they’d probably be the first ones here to assist. 

                                                       (Ruthie Jeanne in Bishop Bay.)

Day 23. Rain. Gale force winds in the areas we’d like to go today. Storm and hurricane force winds where we’ve already passed through in the North Vancouver Island area. Looks like tomorrow will calm in our area, the central coast of British Columbia, so we’ll be able to take our leave and happily head toward Prince Rupert.  

Actually, no. Unfortunately, we woke this morning to issues. The head didnt work well, (but everything came out ok). Batteries are low. Engine won’t start. The heater was connected to the starter battery for some unknown reason. It was chilly last night so the heater was on quite a bit which ran down the battery. Normally, nothing is wired to the starter battery so it has enough juice to start the engine. We’ll rewire it in Prince Rupert. Luckily, our little Honda generator was able to top off the batteries enough for a start. Big relief. The only thing we couldn’t fix was the cold and rain, so no problem really.  We spent the day problem solving boat issues with our onboard mechanical engineer, Scott Wilson, then made our last voyage to the hot springs for a soak.  It was a good one.

The following day we left Bishop Bay behind, finally.  We turned into Frasier Reach and headed to Kumealon Inlet for a long 10-hour run. Terry, Scott and I were all in the upper helm looking at the snow on the mountain tops when a humpback whale jumped entirely out of the water. It was shocking to see that such a massive creature had enough energy to move that body clean out of the water.  We all saw it. We all shouted “WOW” at the same time. The huge splash when the whale landed back into the water was almost as impressive as the jump. The whole thing lasted maybe 5 seconds but I’ll remember it for a long time. Then, we watched the whale roll once and didn’t see him again. What a great way to start out a long day. 

We arrived and found a safe anchorage in Kumealon Inlet, anchored for the night and hit the hay.

Day 25

    (Leaving Kumealon Inlet on a calm morning.  This picture taken with an iPhone when it was dark.)

Up early to catch a good tide and calm waters, we travelled 5 hours to Prince Rupert from our protected anchorage in Kumealon Inlet.  Nearing a major port, you would expect to see increased traffic and we did.  There was a tug towing a fishing lodge on a big barge. Connected to the barge were 17 aluminum fishing boats, one after the other like a mother hen followed by 17 offspring in a single file. The barge will be towed to wherever the fish are running, anchored and the guests flown in by sea plane.  There were water taxis, fishing boats, shrimpers, container ships, BC Ferries, tugs towing a little bit of everything, pleasure boats and an American Coast Guard cutter, probably headed to Alaska. The oddest thing we observed was a “houseboat” that seemed to be out of place in an area where weather and water conditions can be severe. It’s the type of boat used in relatively protected waters like Lake Roosevelt or Lake Coeur d’ Alene. And it came complete with the fiberglass slide off the back end which would be a thrill until you hit the 50-degree water. Yikes.

All for now.

Ed out.

Ride ’em Cowboys!!!

We warmed up the engine, readied ourselves and the boat, and headed out of the bay from Port McNeill on a misty early morning.  The seas were relatively calm but with enough chop to give a boost to the coffee that helped wake us up.  Our destination was crossing the Queen Charlotte strait or a safe anchorage if the weather and water wouldn’t cooperate. Although the conditions continually changed with wind, choppy water, and rain, they didn’t really worsen (until later). We decided to make the transit after passing the last safe anchorages in Miles Inlet in the BC mainland.

The swells continued to increase in size from a couple of feet to 4-5 feet.  Now, I’ve never been out in ocean swells before, so my experience in these types of conditions is zilch.  Terry and I have been in some terrible sea conditions but usually in areas where we could duck in out of hazardous conditions if we had to.  But this time, we passed the go-no go point as the swells built and there was now no place to go but north.

Rounding Cape Caution is the halfway mark in Queen Charlotte Strait when heading to Alaska. It’s one of two places in the entire journey that take place in open ocean conditions. That means ocean swells, which eventually built to 8-9 feet and were 9 seconds apart. If I were riding a bus, I would have been hastily grabbing the stop cord to exit at the next corner.

But no such luck. It was a carnival ride for the next 4 hours. I looked over at our crew mate, Scott Wilson, for some reassurance because he’s had blue water experience and his only comment was, “this isn’t bad”.  Ha, it sure seemed bad to me.  I was ready to call the Coast Guard for a rescue and had visions of being stranded in the dinghy that was bobbing up and down like I was riding a bucking bronco while watching the boat sink. But in the end the swells drew down, the chop lessened and the seas calmed, as did my nerves. And my rookie ocean swell experience helped me get though a similar but shorter version of the ocean swells the next day. I now land somewhere between a rookie and a veteran ocean swell rider.  I think they would call that JV, junior varsity. 

On a positive note, the clouds were beautiful. The open ocean has a beautiful landscape all its own. We boated though a number of squalls along with the pelting rain and wind. There were periods of cool temperatures when we passed through the squalls then the sun would peek through the clouds and warm us.

We rounded the south end of Calvert Island to calm waters and into protected Pruth Bay where Hakai Institute is located.  They conduct long term scientific research at remote locations on the coastal margins of British Columbia.  Go here www.hakai.org if you’d like more information.  There is a path to the west side of the island where there is a sandy beach a mile wide, wind swept and desolate but gorgeous at the same time. It was open to the ocean, so there were plenty of driftwood treats to look at before we left. 

So, despite the horror of ocean swells, it’s been a couple of pretty good days.  We are in Shearwater, BC, a fishing village. We head out tomorrow.  No pictures in this blog.  Not enough band width to send. 

Ed out. 

Hello All, 

This is day 10.  We are in Port McNeill at the northern end of Vancouver Island waiting for our crew, Scott Wilson, who will accompany us part way to Ketchikan. We’ve come this far many times before, but no further. From here it's a gateway to the Northern BC coast, the Broughton Archipelago and its many islands and the primary route for those lucky boaters headed to Alaska.  

Our trip up through the Gulf Islands and points North has been relatively uneventful.  One day is beautiful, the next two days it’s like someone turned on a faucet. A large faucet. a Couple days ago, in a rush to get inside the boat and out of the rain, I hastily grabbed the cabin door and pulled. Unfortunately, I was able to get all of me inside the cabin with the exception of my ring and middle finger of my left hand when the door slammed into my hand. I screamed like a 4-year-old who skinned his knee. Terry wasn’t having it and suggested some ice. I now have two regular-colored digits on my left hand and two with a purplish hue.  And just so you know, the ice didn’t help much. 

This is a quiet anchorage in Port Harvey.  Pretty, safe and quiet. 

Part of the enjoyment of this trip is watching all manner of watercraft passing by. Tugs towing large barges of logs fresh from the cut. There was a plethora of fishing boats, fast inflatables taking people to bear and whale sightings, boats for crabbing and shrimping, water taxies, and other pleasure boaters, both sail and power. We were passed by a National Geographic “small ship” taking guests to Alaska. The ship reminded me of Jacques Cousteau, with his French accent, narrate his underwater documentaries on TV when I was a kid. I can still hear him say, "We shood nevair, nevair take our environment for granted."

Several hours before we got to Port McNeill, we motored through a maze of logs in the water, hundreds of them. That was more than I’ve ever seen in one spot, but on the shore of the islands we passed, were thousands of logs. There must have been a barge or log boom mishap somewhere along the way for that amount of timber to be floating around the water. There was enough wood to build a small development, no kidding.  I would think a salvage outfit would make a killing gathering up the number of logs we saw.

Besides the rain, it’s just a little bit chilly as Terry would say. But that’s what it’s like here at the end of April and the first part of May at the North end of Vancouver Island. 

Ed out. 

                                 

Alaska, here we come.

It's been 2 years in coming. Only 10 days left to go. Our original Alaska cruise was scheduled just when the pandemic started to infect our plans, so to speak. With the Canadian border closed to non-essential travel, we just weren't welcome.  You could, however, choose to travel up the outside of Vancouver Island in the open ocean or up through the inside passage, only stopping to get gas but not get off the boat.  Unfortunately, if that option was chosen, by the time we crossed the US Canadian border into Alaska in the small spaces of a boat for 10-15 days, my wife and I would probably be picking apart each others personality and idiosyncrasies, line item by line item.  Luckily that wasn't the case and we waited for two years. Now is the time.  

We will surely miss our family and friends. That's the unfortunate tradeoff of taking a trip of a life time. But we'll chime in every now and then with some words and pictures so you can enjoy seeing and reading about what we will be able to see and experience.  So come on along with us on our cruise to Alaska.  

Ed out.

Big Beijing, China

Well Hello Beijing. There are 35 million Chinese that live in the greater Beijing area. and on their day off they all visit the Forbidden City, a huge palace complex in the center of the city. It was crowded to say the least. For you history buffs, The Forbidden City served as the home of some serious emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years. The Forbidden City was constructed so that if you didn't get an invite inside...you definitely weren't getting in. No crashing this party. Walls 50 feet high, moats, guard houses/lookouts, twenty foot doors a foot thick and walls within walls were just a few of the touches that were employed.  If an intruder actually got in, they'd never get out alive which is why it's lasted more than 500 years.  As in other temples and palaces in Asia, this huge place was constructed without nails and used joints and other architectural fixes to do the trick. An impressive place. 

Funny thing, if I didn't see the Chinese folks running around all over Beijing I'd think I was in New York. It has the same type of energy, they dress the same, they drive the same cars, they shop the same, the families act the same out in public but they're Chinese, that's the difference. Good or bad, they look Americanized. In many ways, they are just like us.   

However, there are differences.  The government is a subtle but all encompassing presence. It's kind of creepy.  Our tour guide told us that Beijing, with so many millions of inhabitants, is very safe, and I believe them. (Step out of line and they will take you away.)  And there is a subtle existence of discomfort when a local talks about something like Tienanmen Square, which our guide termed the Tienanmen Massacre.  When visiting Tienanmen Square the place was heavily guarded.  Like they want to make sure that if the students ever thought about protesting again...maybe they should think again. Anyway, anywhere we went we did feel safe.  

A few other differences...the men like to hock one up and spit.  Our cab driver did this and since I caught some wind when he opened the window to hang one out, I actually ducked. Thought that was an anomaly but I observed other drivers and guys on the street do it regularly. Never saw a woman do the same.  They do have standards. And may I chat briefly about the men's restrooms?  There are alot of no smoking areas around. So when the men start to have a nic fit they head to the restrooms.  Never in the open, they always grab a stall, close the door and light up. You would guess that the restroom would smell kind of like...you know...how restrooms smell, odorous? Fetid?  Not here.  They smell exactly like a full ashtray...a large ashtray.  However, as Terry tells me, the women's powder room does not have the same, ah,  "fragrance" as the men. Speaking of women, just about everywhere we traveled, women seemed to be subservient to the men, to one degree or another. America has made such great strides to level the playing field in gender equality...that it becomes noticeable when one human being is under the thumb of another. However, not my country so I kept my thoughts to myself. 

Smog.  They have a problem here. Air pollution particulate levels are measured on a 6 tiered scale from 0-50 which is an acceptable range to >500 which is considered an Emergency. Several days we were there it was above the 500 level and we work masks.  Several weeks prior to our visit to Beijing they recorded levels in the 700-800 levels.  Not so good. They're trying to get a handle on it. Not all cars can drive each day of the week. Industry is fined and limited from functioning if the levels get too high.  I would say that 90% of the motorbikes and scooters are electric. So normally when walking down the street you hear a cacophony of scooters.  Not in Beijing. They putter down the street as quiet as a church mouse. Electric cars and hybrids are on rise. Anyway, they are trying.  

The Great Wall was pretty interesting.  6000 kilometers or 3728 miles long, depending on who is measuring. It was built to prevent marauding nomads from invading the kingdoms. It also was a trade route and allowed different regions to collects taxes and control immigration and emigration. There where initially many walls, but eventually they were connected up. At one point, the wall was guarded by over 1 million Chinese guardsmen.  A pretty monumental task. 

We visited quite a bit of Art while in Beijing.  Our hotel, The Eclat, was designed and built by Hong Kong's George Wong, an architect.  He was a big supporter of art and was also exhibited art around the world, particularly in Asia and Europe.  Our hotel was filled to the brim with great art and has the largest collection of Salvador Dali Sculptures in China. It was fantastic to be able to see it all.  

Terry contemplating the Great Wall 

Well, there you have it everybody.  We just arrived back home and I wanted to finish this off.  Hope you have enjoyed.  

Loose ends iin Chiang Mai and Bangkok

I like Chiang Mai.  It has a certain energy to it, an easy excitement. Moon and I were a little sad to leave.  Didn’t have enough time to see all there was to see.  It’s cooler due to a higher altitude so that was nice, compared to Bangkok where it’s hot and humid and I was thinking often about taking a shower to cool off.  I’m not dissing Bangkok because it's one of my favorite places.

Above of Chiang Mai in the mountains is a Buddhist temple and a Thai Hill Tribe. With Moon on the back of our motorbike, we headed up the windy road all the way to the top.  A motorcyclist dream of a road.  In and out of the corners with with a big smile on my face.  You could feel the sudden changes in the temperatures, the coolness of the shade from the tall trees and the warmth of the sunlight when momentarily breaking out into the open. Then there I was thinking I'm in Nirvana, taking in the fragrance and lushness of the jungle, Moon would yell, "GET BACK ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD!!!". We'll it was peaceful when I remembered to stay on the left side of the road instead of the right like we do in the states. We enjoyed the view all the way up and the cool weather at a higher altitude. The Temple was beautiful and the hill tribes showed off their hand made wares. And, of course, we bought some.

The Thai people are a gracious and respectful bunch. Easy to smile. They only get riled if you touch their head, point, or say nasty things about their King.  Otherwise, they’re pretty easy going, with one other exception. Driving. Men and women, young and old think of themselves as Michael Andretti types.  Driving here is just one big game of Chicken. Cutting in, tailgating, passing to on-coming traffic, making 5 lanes of traffic on a three lane highway, it might not be legal but it's permitted by your fellow drivers. Merging is accomplished by whoever gives up first. You name it, they do it. That said, no one seems to get upset or angry, no hand gestures, little to no honking, no road rage...no malice.

Moon and I snorkeled in Koh Lanta.  When the boat arrived everyone climbed in and took off their shoes, then thrown into a plastic clothes basket so we wouldn't get sand all over the floor of the boat.  The snorkeling environment was beautiful, the coral and fish...lots of fish.  The water was so warm it was amazing. I could have stayed in the water the whole day.  After finishing, the anchor was pulled and we were headed for home in unsettled seas.  There were four delightful giggling Japanese women on the boat and one of them started to turn green.  She finally jumped up and headed for the garbage can, but unfortunately only made it as far as our basket of shoes to relieve her stomach upset.  We’re her friends aghast? Discussing how they might comfort their friend ?....No they were all giggling, which led the rest of us to start giggling too.  It was funny.

Traveling is Therapy.  It allows time to let go of all the tensions daily life might bring at home, even if they are insignificant and grants some space to reflect in a different environment. I could probably do that at home but would miss the richness and diversity of other's culture and people.  It can also be a humbling experience to know we have it pretty good back home in Seattle Washington, USA.

Beijing next and last.

Train ride to Chiang Mai

We’re off to the highlands of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand after a relatively short plane ride from Krabi in southern Thailand and the beach scene.  The decision was made to take a train ride through the middle of the country instead of a plane ride so we could see the sights. The down side to that was a long passage with questionable air conditioning and ultimately a flat butt.  The upside was clickity clacking through fields of rice, sugar cane, fruit groves, palm and banana trees, and other vegetables or fruit we couldn’t identify.  The jungle was...lush.  I could see how Tarzan might grab a vine and swing through the trees towards Jane as she was preparing a cuppucinno...oh, wait...I went off the rails there. Sorry. Anyway, it was an enjoyable, if long, ride.  Don’t think I need to do it again.

Loy Krathong Lantern Festival coinciding with
Yi Peng.

We happened to visit Chiang Mai at November’s full moon.  That’s the time the Thais celebrate the Loy Krathong and Yi Peng.  Loy Krathong is a celebration where the Thais gather around lakes, rivers, or canals and pay respect to the goddess of water by releasing small floats made of leaves and flowers with a candle and burning incense.  Our waiter suggested we put a small part of a fingernail and one hair into the mix for good luck.  I didn’t see him snicker when he left the table so we went ahead and pulled a few hairs, along with the nail.

Lanterns in the sky and on the water

Yi Peng is a festival of light that that takes place, primarily in northern Thailand.  Rice paper lanterns that have a little fire at the bottom are launched into the sky to send away the previous years bad luck and to make a wish for the coming year. And it is a spectacle to see.  These two festivals happen at the same time, so there are literally thousand upon thousand lanterns in the sky and thousands of lighted floats cruising down the Ping River.  In addition, the fireworks are everywhere.  And the city if packed with humanity from wall to food stall wall.  Exciting, absolutely beautiful, and you feel the energy of the city come alive.  Quite a sight. And a great experience.   Did I mention how good the food was...I think I did.  More later.

Laid back Lanta

We took a Longtail boat from the the resort shore to the ferry. our next stop is Koh Lanna. The ferry doesn’t actually stop it just slows down while you jump on or off.  Our stay was in a non-resort, a six cabin little number that has some of the best food around.  The reviews were correct, the food was the best. It’s run by a guy from England and a Thai woman.  Apparently, Dave enjoyed traveling Asia and wound up in Koh Lanta.  In his wandering he stopped at a little restaurant and found the food the best he tasted in Thailand, which is much coming from a traveler who’s done a lot of time in SE Asia.  He went a second night, then a third, then the cook, Lek, asked if he wanted to join her and the family on a night out.  As it is in the movies, Dave’s vacation ended and he returned to England but couldn’t stop thinking about the skillful chef and Koh Lanta. Not soon after he returned to the island and Lek. They decided to marry then partnered in a little piece of paradise with the delicious food and beautiful gardens and bungalows and never looked back. They are two of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet.  True story.  

Kamikaze Longtail Pilots trading passengers.

You would think after several years of blogging on our trips I could figure out how to deal with the pictures and copy, but no.  I have not.  This is as tidy as it gets.  

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We are scooter nerds.  Always, we rent scooters to see the local sites. It’s the best way to get around, relatively cheap (we pay a little less than $6 per day), gas is about a buck 20 a gallon, and it’s completely safe if you keep you eyes closed most of time and ignore those around you...just kiddin.  Moon and I enjoy getting lost down side roads where we’ve found unusual markets, a turtle farm, lost beaches, great local restaurants, and a golf course out in the middle of nowhere with no one playing that we could see.  Twilight zone stuff.

The sunset picture was actually taken after dark.  I lightened the image all the way up on the IPhone and bingo I got a pretty great picture by accident. When I took it, there was no color, just a bit of fading light.  

More later.

Welcome to the Andaman Sea

Moon and I left Bangkok for now but we’ll return by the end of the trip. We are in an Island named Koh Jum (also called Koh Pu) on the Andaman Sea.  The Andaman Sea touches Myanmar (the old Burma), Thailand and the Malay Penninsula. The island is remote, the water warm, the atmosphere quiet and the exciting sights and night life...non existent. A perfect balance for the craziness and hustle and bustle of Hong Kong and Bangkok. Our decision was to try something a little more relaxing.  I’m so relaxed I could fall over most of the time.  Here’s the agenda: walk the beach, swim a little, read, take a nap...repeat.  There have been torrential thunderstorms here in the afternoons, particularly yesterday and today.  We were on the lanai yesterday, relaxing, watching the rain.  We happened to look out when a lightening bolt struck a couple hundred yards away.  There was an instantaneous thunder clap that just about blew out our eardrums.  We sat in shock as the thunder rolled away, but it took a while for my sphincter level to draw down into normal limits.  I’ve never been that close to a lightening bolt before this trip.  Hope to never get closer than that. 

Koh Phi Phi and the long tail boats.

We took a snorkeling day trip to some of the other islands. Clear, warm water, massive fish, and some of the prettiest scenery we’ve experienced.  A self guided scooter tour around the island which didn’t take long because the island is not very big. In the southern parts of Thailand, where we are now, the population is predominately Muslim.  The guys wear the normal tropical garb, shorts and T-shirt. Elder men seem to wear more traditional robe, turbin or cap.  The women, on the other hand, wear head scarf, long sleeves, and some sort of pants so they are generally covered head to toe.  Observed several women wearing black burqas.  I’m thinking to myself...that’s got to be hot.  Off to Koh Lanata tomorrow, an island probably 10 times bigger than Koh Jum.  A little more excitement. A little more to explore. We’re easing our way back into a livelier experience.  More later.  

Bamboo Island

Sunset over the Andaman Sea. It was beaut!

In the midst of Bangkok

Transportation here can be accomplished by almost any means.  Our favorite is water taxi.  A rough and tumble carnival ride in a Chao Phraya river full of traffic.  The taxis zoom into each stop like an  Indy pit stop, throw the thing in reverse and hit the throttle until the boat slams into the dock.  The stop at each pier or dock is long enough to drop off and pick up passengers.  This is done as quickly as possible.  With the dock moving up and down, the boat moving up and down, the first mate yelling go, go, go in Thai, we disembark or hop on in record time.  Stops lasts no more than 10-20 seconds.  There could be 30-40 people in the mix.  A stop of 30-45 seconds would be a lifetime. 

Water Taxi

In addition to the water taxis, there are long tail boat taxi’s with a propeller on the end of a long shaft, boats from many of the hotels, regular taxis, buses, mini buses, Tuk Tuks, trains, and subways.  Then there is the Death Wish 3 or Speed Demons from Hell way to go by getting on the back of a motorcycle or scooter. Women in a dress or skirt ride side saddle as the scooter careens in and out of traffic as fast as possible.  Pretty easy to get around here, but you do have to pick your risk level.

Everybody works here...at something.  It’s the Thai way.  You just don’t see people panhandling much here. It’s a rare occasion.

Many, many Thais sell food in carts. Most locals here eat street food, which I gotta say, is some of the tastiest food I’ve ever eaten. It’s a mouth watering experience, walking down a side street of a food market, particularly in Chinatown.  The fragrance of curry, hot oil, spicy noodles,         fried rice. From the iced tray below, the process is to pick a seafood, then choose one of 10 different ways you would like it cooked...and bingo it’s in front of you on the plate in ten minutes.  We had the whole salt-covered Red Fish stuffed with lemon grass and garlic, OMG it was good. For dessert? Fresh coconut in a sweet bread.  I nearly died......

Iced seafood tray: fish, lobster, scallops,
Prawns, squid, clams.

Chinatown with it’s traffic, busy(ness), and great
Food

Red Fish.  We ate one of these.  DEElicious.

There is a water taxi below and a tug boats pulling 4 barges.  Each barge is full of rice and they follow each other up and down the river with on their way to load the rice or down river to unload it not larger ships or truck for the local area.  Thailand is the number one rice producer in the world.  More later.

  

Water taxi and barges full of rice.  

Bangkok, here we are!

Hong Kong was sort of a sophisticated upscale cosmopolitan city filled to the brink with people, people everywhere, on the go and in a hurry even when they’re resting. Bangkok is not.  It’s  cosmopolitan in it’s own right, but different.  A refined culture but primitive at the same time.  As the pictures show, there are ultra-modern skyscrapers next door to tenements and homes in limited repair.  Bangkok seems to be caught between the last century and it’s future,

We are glad to be back with a slower pace, happy respectful Thai people, and so many things to see.  One of my favorites in watching the Chao Phraya River and the boats of every size and purpose. This morning at breakfast 3 tugs pulling and steering 4 barges passed by.  We inquired about the contents of the barges because they were all covered.  We were told they were full of rice...rice?  Can you image how much rice is in those barges?  That’s a lot of Rice Krispies.   More later.  

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