Blogs from Chanthaburi, Central Thailand, Thailand, Asia
Chanthaburi, Cambodia, and Back to Bangkok
Published: November 8th 2010Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Chanthaburi
November 8th 2010
From Jomtien Beach we were travelling down to Chantaburi for the gems market and to get closer to the border to Cambodia. However, we couldn’t get a bus direct to Chantaburi from Jomtien so we caught a bus from the main road bus stop to Rayong before getting on a connecting bus to Chantaburi. Luckily we knew the guesthouse we were going to stay in so were able to ignore all the tuk tuk driver calls asking us where we going! Chantaburi is a small traditional Thai town with very few tourists passing through. The only restaurants there are have their signs written in Thai and even the night food market was all in Thai and very little English was spoken, so after our 10 circuit around the market and before resorting to the local 7-11 ... read more
March 13th 2010
This will probably be one of the few real reports from Chanthaburi, most people confuse this town with Kanchanaburi. Chanthaburi is renowned for its gemstone market and this was the reason of our visit. Two years ago we passed through on a bus to Trat on our way to Cambodia and saw the signs for the gemstone market. Having decided to return to Cambodia this year we thought that we would stop for a day and visit the markets. As it happened we didn´t arrive until the late afternoon so decided to stay an extra day. We walked from the bus station down to the river and the Riverside Lodge (not quite to 300m walk shown on the map but still within walking distance. Lovely, friendly staff and we quickly settled into our 250bt/ night fan ... read more
Day six, Dirty dirty trains and hot caves
Published: February 24th 2010Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Chanthaburi
February 10th 2010
We went to another waterfall today and it was rubbish because we are currently in dry season which means there isn't much water in the falls. We still managed to get some photos and when we were walking off the waterfall i tripped and dropped all my stuff so the german tourists all avoided the path I took, they weree all about 100 so it was probably a good thing, then we saw the german tourists from our hotel who had all hired thai boys for the week and we heard rumours of some steamy shower sessions next to the pool. Bet they all had families back in Dutchland! bad ass! After that we trekked it up to a cave, there were so many of us we had to split into two groups, the first ggroup ... read more
Day 4- seven levels of water falling
Published: February 24th 2010Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » ChanthaburiFebruary 8th 2010
Today we went to some waterfall that went up 7 different levels at the erawan national park. It was a tad difficult and i had to breakdown right near the top in front of some german tourists who basically stood there silently behind me until i Caz booted me. when we got to the top there was a very nice looking waterfall that had fish in it that ate the dead skin off your feet, it worked very well but tickled so so much you squirmed and made the fish run/ swum away, it was quite scary. australian sarah (she isnt australian but she wsa there for ages soooooo...) had about 2000000003 fish on her feet, god knows how she did it! after everyone had taken photo of everyone looking pale and sexy we all went ... read more
February 7th 2010
Thailand was our fix from Cali. The getaway on a beautiful, calm, heavenly island called Ko Chang. The largest island in Thailand, also known for the shape of an elephant along with plenty to see and ride. We stayed on White Sand Beach, which later we found out was the couple retreat. Gloria and I were the only non couple on the beach. We felt out of place with the romantic dining set up with flowers and candles lit, in addition to the beach front view. If that was the only complaint that is the least of our worries. We had only two full days to capture the moment. Our first whole day was spent on a boat, sun bathing and snorkeling. Since we both passed out from the blazing sun it resulted in the most ... read more
Floating markets, fried frogs, river raft and arrived in Chiang mai
Published: December 23rd 2009Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Chanthaburi
December 23rd 2009
Early morning start. Another tour with tong. (name of the business) We had a guide named Lily. She was upbeat and very friendly. From the moment we got in the van she started telling us heaps of things about Thailand and Bangkok. We had plans to give some food in the morning to the monks. I spent around $500 baht ($25 australian dollars) and fed 19 monks. Absolutley amazing experience. I do not have a photo of me doing it but I did manage to get one of Mark. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to give something back. Hard to explain but those that want to know more, feel free to ask me. We then got back into the van and headed to the railway markets. My favorite part of the day. They have ... read more
August 14th 2009
Meeting Suzie at the airport went without a hitch, and we were all really excited to see one another and to be in Thailand together. The journey to Kanchanaburi only took three hours, which was a good job as the bus stunk to high heaven! As soon as we arrived we had some lunch by the River Kwai, and checked into a hostel called the Jolly Frog. After this we hired some push bikes and had a look around town. It is a lovely place and reminded us a lot of Chiang Mai. Whilst riding, we found ourselves at a monkey school, where they did a bit of a show for us, but one where none of the monkeys really did as they were told, but there was a monkey called Mr Watermelon riding a bike. ... read more
May 19th 2009
Hello people we are having wicked times!! We were at the seven tiered waterfalls today which were stunning and so good to swim in only problem is the fish nibble, are huge, scary and freaky. alex has mark!! also she has finally got some mosy bites which i so far avoided! cant wait for tomoro as on a barge type raft thing which we get to sleep on!! also visit two temples. We are then on our way to chiang mai on thursday so more fun planned will be uploadin photos in oz as wierd machines here and they dont speak english or get it!! ther hav been sum good ones for example we were not allowed in the waterfall with just bikiniis so had to wear tops and buy these sexy short shorts as you ... read more
February 27th 2009
The death Railway De toegewezen tijd begint stilaan op te geraken... Na wat folliekes in Bangkok toch nog even Thailand in, eerst naar de floating Market (damnoen saduak) zo'n twee uur rijden van bangkok en dan naar die brug over die rivier de Kwai... Wat de floating market betreft: gruwelijk! Niet vanwege de leefomstandigheden van de inwoners en marktkramers maar vanwege de gigantische toeristenfuik die daar is geïnstalleerd. Bij aankomst met een officiële bus, die overigens weer heel voortreffelijk aantoont dat het openbaar vervoer in Bangkok werkt, worden we afgezet (letterlijk en figuurlijk) aan het "enige", "echte" taxi-boot-bedrijf van de markt. Na wat onderhandelen betalen we de helft van de eerste prijs door Guy "onzichtbaar" te maken (van 1600 naar 800 bath) en worden we door een nogal grote uitgevallen roeiboot doorheen de markt gestuwd. Het ... read more
Kanchanburi - death railway
Published: February 26th 2009Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » ChanthaburiFebruary 23rd 2009
Monday 23rd Not sad to check out of the 'Holiday Hotel'. We found a nice little cafe attached to a bakery on the walk to the bus station, so managed to have nice croissants with coffee. We clambered aboard the creaky but uncrowded bus for the first leg to Suphanburi It was a very slow bus and took what we assume was the back roads through lovely green paddy fields. I saw numerous varieties of birds. This part of the journey should have taken two and a half hours but took more like three and a quarter - in fact we became worried that we might have missed the destination but in fact it was as we suspected the terminus. Refreshed with an ice cream we boarded the second bus and got uneventfully to Kanchanaburi a ... read more
