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Published: November 5th 2006
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Torrential rains sweep the corrugated roof of my shack as I lie fevering under dirty blankets in my windowless cell. I’m in Pie and I have not said more than a few words to anyone in about four days - my own company is definitely grinding! Northern Thailand has not treated me well and I am definitely on the come down after the wonders of Laos. Its is at this point I decide to run to Bangkok and use some of my hotel points to recover in five star luxury…
The crossing from Huay Xai (Lao) to Chang Kong (Thai) was easy; just a stones throw boat trip across the Mekong. The change in culture was remarkable though. Thailand is definitely more civilised, but it pales in terms of warmth and relaxed feel you get in Lao. I quickly make my way on a local bus down to Chang Mai, but am disappointed by what I find. Maybe if I had come here prior to Lao it would have been great, but I found the town a dull reflection of the towns in Lao. It was then on to Chang Mai, a mini Bangkok, where I started to come down
with a nasty cold. Following this was a trip to hippy Pie, through nice mountains and constant torrential rain. As you are probably realising, I did have a great time in Northern Thailand!
There is not really much to report from Bangkok, I spent a lot of time sleeping, swimming, watching football and recovering in my hotel (I was very thankful for the points that I have built up from my hotel stays for work). I went for some very long walks around the city, taking in some of the more out of the way areas, including those that are still partially underwater after the recent floods. I spent some time in Lumphini park, sitting chatting to local people and watching the incredible Monitor Lizards able past. I went to the cinema to see a film, prior to which everyone one stands for the national anthem as pictures of the king float by in front of you! In the evenings I tried to find some live music, with mixed success. Managing to find an incredible two piece Jazz/blues band and some awful Thai rockers - all in all a good experience though.
I had my first taste of
what is going to come in India. I needed to organise Visas for both India and Nepal and had very different experiences. The Indian embassy was chaos, jumbled lines of people being passed from official to official, brandishing reams of paper. There was unbelievable bureaucracy and it appeared that if something got too difficult for one of the officials to deal with, they would either make up a story to get rid of the person and pass them on to someone else. A definite test in patients. The Nepal embassy on the other had was a breath of fresh air; five minutes after arriving I was walking back down the street with the Visa I needed!
Its funny, after about five days in the hotel I realised again why I prefer backpacking and was longing to get back to a friendly guesthouse with like minded people. As nice as the big hotels are, they really are very sterile. Generally no one would talk to me, maybe because, with my now scraggly hair and beaten up clothes, I did not fit into their sharp suited and elegant world, or maybe they were just to busy with other things! Who knows…
Either way I was really happy to be moving on to meet up with James for some diving in the Similan Islands.
It was a short flight to Phuket and then a taxi journey to Kho Lak, a village that was destroyed by the Boxing Day tsunami and is now only partly rebuilt. Meeting up with James again was great, even though I had only know him a little over a month it was like meeting up with an old friend. Its funny as you get older, it seems like you make close friends more rarely, so it is excellent when it happens.
We spent a night in Kho Lak, managing to find our way to a couple of bars and ending up in a late night party for a Tsunami volunteer who was returning to Europe. The following day we boarded our boat (http://www.seadragondivecenter.com)for the four day, three night diving trip to the Similans. We were really lucky, the group of people on board were fantastic and we all immediately got on. The diving was also spectacular, in all we had nine dives including one night dive and were treated to a vast array of sights at
really diverse dive sites. The highlights for me were get up close to a couple of Leopard Sharks, to explore huge coral outcrops and swimming with turtles in the clear warm sea.
Between the dives we had the opportunity to explore the deserted beaches and snorkel in turquoise waters. The beaches were perhaps the nicest beaches I have ever been to. A real treat.
The evenings were spent eating great Thai food and having a few drinks, while chatting on the roof deck of the boat. They were definitely three very special days, which showed me the best of Thailand. When I come back it will definitely be to the South West coast, an area for me that is head and shoulders over the rest of Thailand.
After the dive trip, we had one more night in Kho Lak, where we said goodbye to new friends. The following day James, Maria and I spent the day beach and in the evening sadly all went our own ways. James - I look forward to that beer back in London :-)
For me it was a flight back to Bangkok and then an overnight stay on one of
the airport benches, before my morning flight to Myanmar - a new country and a very different, but great experience….
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