Blogs from South-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia

On March 24th we arrived in Phuket. As we had been there before we thought we would go on one of the excursions to see more. We chose Highlights of Phuket. We drove first to the southern most part of the island, Cape Prom Thep. It was a very hot day but the views from the cliff top were stunning. We walked to the top of the promontory where there is an elephant shrine. People leave statues of elephants here to ensure good luck. Fletcher would have loved to steal one or two!! A little further on was a statue of a local general and further still an unusual looking lighthouse. The statue also had small devotional figures left there by locals.An interesting place , but we were glad to return to the bus and the ... read more

After relaxing at a beach for long, I headed to Khao Sok National Park. Khao Sok is a small town which has become popular because of the national park. Spread over 700 Square KM, the national park is a rainforest hosting a large number of species and is estimated to be one of the oldest rainforests in the world (160 Million years), possibly older than the Amazon Rainforests. I was staying only a couple of nights and focused on the Cheow Lan Lake. Spread over 180 Square KM, this manmade lake came into being as a result of a dam constructed in the 1980s to produce electricity and provide irrigation/fishing to the surrounding region. I took a long boat tour on the lake with other tourists (this is a popular tour, I had about 40 people ... read more

Everyone has heard about the devastating tsunami of 2004 in S.E.Asia. Koh Phi Phi island was one of the most badly hit places with much loss of life. Due to the geography of the island the wave hit on two sides, many of the small bars and bungalow resorts were destroyed. We visited the island in 2006 and saw how things were gradually returning to normal. Recently we've heard from many tourists how busy Phi Phi island has become now and wanted to see for ourselves. We did return last year for a day trip but due to the ferry breaking down, and us being stuck out at sea for almost two hours, we didn't have a lot of time to explore and one of the things I had really wanted to do was climb back ... read more

Tour Day 104, Cruise Day 2 – Day at Sea There were several “standard procedure” functions I frequently attend as my available free time and my mood dictate, such as the Singles and Solo Travelers Meetup I mentioned in my last blog. There was an “add-on” onboard activity I attended, the Asian Beers Tasting. where I met some nice people (from Milwaukee of all places) and learned dark beer isn’t commonplace in the Orient. Oh well, when in Rome…. Tour Day 105, Cruise Day 3 – Nathon (Koh Samui), Thailand There were no worthy shore excursions in Nathon, so I saw a slice of the real Thailand, got a much-needed pedicure and had an authentic Thai lunch.... read more

All good things come to an end. It was time for us to set off on our way back home. Not before saying our last goodbyes to many of the people we'd become friends with over the last few weeks. First stop was Krabi town on the mainland reached by mini van. Travel is so easy here, a minivan picks you up at your hotel/ resort and gets you over to the mainland on a small car ferry and then drops you off at your chosen hotel/ guesthouse in Krabi. Door to door service, can't complain! They carry 12 people so the journey can be a bit long winded as they go round picking people up then dropping them off at various locations. It took us about two hours in all. We planned a night here ... read more