Blogs from Thailand, Asia - page 8

Our taxi to the airport arrived 25 mins early at the ungodly hour of 5.35am. He drove like a maniac and we ended up at the domestic airport with three hours to spare. The flight to Krabi from Bangkok was pretty uneventful, took off on time and on a plus note we were allocated seats 3E & 3F on the plane which are considered ' premier class'. Same seats but you're first on board and first off. Most people were travelling with only hand luggage so retreaving our bags was a quick affair and we were soon in search of transport to Ko Lanta. However waiting for a mini van to take us to the island of Ko Lanta took a bit longer. Started out being told it would be here at the airport in 40 ... read more

I had a pretty sleepless night due to the local cockerels, dogs, cicadas and geckos tag teaming all night all around me, one would stop and then some other sort of argument would strike up. I had to be ready for 7.30 so no chance of breakfast and I did not feel my best. I’d paid Yai 250bt for the boat to the mainland and a can transfer to Trang bus station where I had to find my next van. I hadn’t researched this much/at all so wasn’t feeling too confident but googled a bit on the first van and it looked doable, as Yai had said. He drove me along the pier to the halfway point where there were 2 shonky looking contraptions and he told me which guy wold be the van driver, he ... read more

We finally made it back to Bangkok. We had wondered how things would be after covid, after three long years we were pleased to see there was still plenty of life there. Much quieter than we had got used to but not such a bad thing. A few bars and restaurants had completely closed down and worst of all the two 7-11 mini markets local to the tourist area had gone completely. By all accounts, as you would expect, no tourists were allowed to come so businesses failed. It seems to be picking up again now so let's hope things will gradually get back to normal. The hotel we were staying in had many empty rooms and a whole wing completely shut off and it seemed the same for most others. We had two pleasant evenings ... read more

FORTY TWO HOURS IN TRANSIT. Let’s just let that sink in for a moment. Forty two hours. In transit. That says everything about our commitment to being here. And now that we have arrived at our busy, but laid back, incredibly beautiful spiritual, musical, back-to-the-sixties love and bliss inspired island destination, where we shall remain for the next six weeks, it is without hesitation that I say every minute of those forty two hours has been a worthwhile investment. Of course this is a rose-colored lens view of reality, as some complain that the island is far too busy, and everything is crowded and booked to capacity, with many Russians and Israelites here escaping political nightmares, and others, like us, escaping the cold, but its an easy, long overdue, and well deserved break from the bombardment ... read more

Bangkok has been amazing- we have used the metro, boats, tuk tuks ,2 types of bus, trains and walked 9.5 miles on average over 3 days 😉 Our hotel was perfect for exploring, the room was quiet with a fridge and kettle 👍, the staff all very friendly and the breakfast delicious 😋 On Saturday we walked to the Grand Palace to suss out the strict dress code, visited Wat Pho with the reclining Buddha, got a boat across the river, found the main train station to work out Mondays timings before getting the Metro across town to the Sky Bar! A cocktail with fantastic views over the city then found a small family run restaurant for some dinner and a fun tuk tuk journey back to the hotel. On Sunday we got a tuk tuk ... read more