Blogs from Ranong, South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia

It's been a real cruise time here. I'm still with Tori. We've just been hoping from beach to beach to beach! lol... After Phuket, we went to Krabi, then Pong-nga, Takuepa. And now we're in Ranong. We're going to stay here for a few days, and then head up to Myeik. At least i think that's how it's spelt? lol.. We've hired mopeds a couple of times, which is an awesome way to see everything!! ... read more

Ride 7, officially called "the ride of many hills and punctures" because there was many hills and many punctures. 900m of vertical climbing and 5 punctures. You see, many. The start to the day was delayed for both myself and a dutch cyclist who was staying at the same hotel as the hotel owner (a little crazy/over friendly) told the dutch guy he had to hang around to meet me at breakfast. Poor guy had been awake since 4 am and had already been down to the market and thai/myanmar border before I got up. He wanted to be out of here but there was no saying "no" to the lady. At 7:30 she came knocking at my door to see where I was. I know I had said I'd be over for breakfast at 7:30 ... read more

Sunny 'dry season' Southern Thailand isn't as dry as one would imagine. We have been in the south for 3 days, and have seen 2 huge thunderstorms. Not that I can complain, being from the plains of Texas- I love thunderstorms, and it's a nice break from the insane heat and humidity. We left Chang Mai a few days ago, bound for Bangkok.. and arrived after a miserable 14 hour bus ride plus traffic jam upon entering Bangkok. I think I expected Bangkok to look like a South East Asian version of Shanghai or Tokyo- enormous futuristic expanses of sky scrapers and high rise apartments intermingled with older neighborhoods and poverty... but in reality Bangkok is a very short city. A short city that shows no signs of any kind of urban planning whatsoever.. and just ... read more

12/10/09 On arrival at in Thailand it is strange to think that this is third world with a lovely state of the art airport and a system that is regulated and ordered. Met Varun again and we headed to Bangkok to where I had booked my accommodation at Kaohsan road which turns out that booking is not necessary as there is plenty of accommodation at lots of prices as well as less than I paid. The hotel was again not amazing but the aircon worked very well in fact I had to turn it off it was like a meat locker and I felt like a side of beef! Went for a sleep so I could refresh before heading out to see the sights with Varun who has been here before and knows where everything is. ... read more

On the first day of our Southern trip, we went down to Ranong province and into Kuraburi to a village that was devastated by the 2004 tsunami. We took a boat to a floating hotel, a community tourism project that the village started with Loreal to help fund the rebuilding of their village. The floating hotel is in the middle of a river surrounded by mangroves, it was so cool! The hotel was made of bamboo, and electricity was through a generator, so we only have light at night, and only until 11 o'clock. Also, the shower heads were made of coconuts, it was really neat! Once we got there, we saw monkeys running around in the mangroves (which are a major part of the mangrove ecosystem) which was amazing! We then went net fishing, and ... read more

Hello everyone Just a quick blog to update you all. I am currently in Ranong on my way out to another island Ko Chang on the Andaman Coast. We have just arrived here from Ko Jam, which was absolutely beautiful and very secluded. The island was very quiet, there was only electricity for two hours per day (when everyone plugged in everything they could to everything they could & all the lights flickered) There was no hot water - but that doesn't matter anymore as I have only managed to have one hot shower in three weeks anyway, cold showers are the norm here and you kind of get used to them - they are better after a day in the sun though, your first one in the morning is a bit bracing! There were no ... read more

My visit to the Moken Village on Koh Lao The Moken, also known as Sea Gypsys, are a diverse ethnic group from Thailand and Myanmar and are considered a stateless people- not having citizenship within any country. Taking a long boat from the pier took around 30 minutes to arrive at Koh Lao Island. Which is approximately 4 km's from the mainland and the township of Ranong in South Thailand. On arrival we were invited to have lunch with a local family. After a delicious meal which consisted mostly of different kinds of fish, the topic of conversation changed. It was translated to me by a member of 'The Mirror Foundation" that the Moken fishermen have to make dangerous journeys across the Andaman Ocean into Indian and Myanmar waters to earn a living and risking ... read more