A Woman's World of Travel & Adventure

[Sue]

At 43 years of age, feeling a little jaded and bored with my life, I really felt in need of some "me" time, a bit of soul searching and time out to decide just what it was that I wanted to do with the next phase of my life. Prior to now, I had always set goals for myself and been able to achieve these through determination and most of all passion. Where had that passion gone?

I decided to take Long Service Leave and use the time to travel and re-assess my life. My husband and our two teenage sons were very supportive of my decision and knew if they gave me the space I needed, I'd come back a much happier person, which of course would extend to them. However, they were concerned about me travelling alone so I checked around for tour operators offering trips for women. I couldn't find anything in Perth, so I set about joining travel forums on the Internet and that is how I met my travel buddy, Tracy from Arizona.

I assured my friends and family that I was wise enough to decide whether or not she was suitable for me to travel with. If when I met her, she turned out to be some kind of weirdo, I would just move on an make other arrangements. From that moment I could feel the old me coming back, the adventurous spirit was beginning to resurface. It was time to pack my bags!

I arrived in Bangkok and had a rather hair raising taxi ride to the guest house where I was to meet Tracy. On meeting her, I felt instant relief.....whew she wasn't a weirdo!

We spent our first day just cruising around Bangkok and becoming familiar with the transport system and on day two we decided to set off for the Tiger Temple in the Kanchanaburi Provence. We took local transport to the temple which took approximately 3 hours. On arrival we joined one of the monks walking along with a tiger and were able to pat it which was a real buzz. We were then able to enter the canyon where handlers were standing by the tigers while we got to sit and pat them. That was a fantastic experience. Apparently these tigers have been raised by the monks from a very early age, needles to say they are used to being handled. Even so, we were obliged to sign a disclaimer before entering the grounds.

The bus ride back to Bangkok was truly entertaining. We stopped so many times that in the end I stopped counting. There wasn't much air in the bus and a lady fainted so the bus had to stop, another stop was due to the fact the bus ran out of petrol. Then to top it all off, we were taken to the wrong bus station!!! Luckily for us, we both combined our Thai language skills and found a taxi driver who got us back to the guest house without too much hassle. At least we could laugh and the tigers made it so worth while.

Chatachuk Market is a must see if visiting Bangkok. We had a great time wandering through the different areas of the market. They have everything there from clothes, second hand books, antiques, art, pets, spices, food. I shopped till I dropped and felt very satisfied with my purchases, although I made sure I didn't buy any more shoes. Last time in Asia I took home 15 pairs of shoes.

Bangkok is a funny place. Every day we laughed a lot which was certainly therapeutic. Maybe some wouldn't see the funny side of this city and its people. We embraced it and it embraced us. For instance, one day we jumped in a taxi and the driver's passion was to sing Elvis Presley songs, so he serenaded us. We showed our appreciation by encouraging him to sing more so by the end of the drive we were in stitches and he was feeling proud and happy....we had made his day and he had made ours! One of the Thai Massages we experiences turned out to be an absolute dud, as the girls were far more interested in watching TV and speaking on their mobile phones. We could have got really upset about this, but at the end of the day we saw it as being one of the many funny experiences to be had in Bangkok!

Another interesting experience in Bangkok is Thai Boxing. Every Sunday you can go to see Thai boxing for FREE (usually costs around 500 baht) at the Channel 7 Stadium near Chatachuk Market. This is where most of the locals hang out and its very entertaining to watch them placing their bets and cheering their favourites.

Chiang Mai was our next destination and we took an overnight sleeper train from Bangkok which was cheap and a very interesting way to travel. The arrival in Chiang Mai was quite refreshing as it was not as polluted as Bangkok and a little quieter. We stayed at a quaint little guest house called "The Green Tulip" which was only AU$12 per night for twin share. I would recommend it to anyone as it was clean, cheap and friendly.

Whilst in Chiang Mai, we decided it was time to get serious about some exercise, so we booked a 2 day Hill Tribe Trek with the thought that it would be a good prelude to the 16 day trek I was to undertake in Nepal. Apart from the trek itself, we rode elephants, swam in the natural pools near waterfalls, tried our hand at white water and bamboo rafting, visited the local market and drove around the villages on the back of a truck. Our overnight stay was at the Red Lahu Tribal Village where we were welcomed by lots of cute little kids. Our lodgings was a huge dormitory style bamboo hut and there was about 12 of us sharing the floor space. The villagers cooked up a local dinner for us which was sensational, then afterwards the kids came and danced for us. After that we got to sample the local rice wine and shared stories into the night.

Back in Chiang Mai after the trek there was never a dull moment. Every Sunday the market kicks off at about 4pm and goes until 11pm. This market is "the market" if you want good prices in comparison with the touristy Night Bazaar which is on every evening.

There are some great temples to be seen in Chiang Mai. Just outside the city there is a temple called Suandok where they offer three day intensive meditation courses. Another fabulous temple is Doi Suthep which is about 20 minutes drive from Chiang Mai. We were fortunate enough to witness a family ceremony which saw a young male being ordained into Monk-hood. There is also a delightful place called NAMO near Thapae Gate where they held daily meditation and yoga classes.

One of the things on our "must do" list was a Thai Cooking School which we did in Chiang Mai. We had a great day out at Siam Rice Cookery school and learnt some fabulous dishes to try out on our families back home. I chose to cook Hot & Sour Soup, Pad Thai, Spicy mixed Chicken Salad and sticky rice with Mango...YUM! After that big feast we all moved outside to relax in the sun and that is where I spotted the Chef's motorbike. He saw me eyeing the bike off and told me to take it for a spin. It didn't take too much convincing as I love motorbikes and it was only a little one, so off I went into the local village for a look around. Great end to another day in paradise!

The rest of my time with Tracy was spent in Northern Thailand, where we met some fabulous people and had lots more exciting adventures. At the end of our time together I flew out to Kathmandu where I was joined by my husband to do our 16 day to Everest Base Camp. The Everest Region was incredible and that first glimpse of Everest is a memory I will never forget. Apart from trekking in the Everest region, we spent the rest of the month in other areas of Nepal exploring its natural beauty. What a truly amazing place, I know I'll go back time and time again.

Coming back home, I couldn't get the idea out of my head that there had to be other women out there like myself, who wanted to explore the world and expand their horizons. It was at that very moment I decided not to return to my job. I began to pursue the idea of helping other women fulfil their own dreams and goals through adventure, travel and life experiences, thus "Adventurous Women" was born and I had found my passion.


There is an adventurous women in each of us.....just waiting to be let out!!!

[Tuyet Cong-Ton-Nu]

Wow, Sue, what a wonderful blog you shared about your adventure and sea change in your life. I am so glad that you took off like that and really connected with what is essential for you! I did the same thing a few years ago, quitting my very lucrative Software Engineering job to become a Nutritionist, Stress Reduction and Lifestyle Educator. It became an adventure from Day 1 and has not stopped since then. Amazing! I love to cook and would really enjoy the Thai cooking class that you chose. Yummy! Let me know how life unfolds for you as you continue to explore this new path.