Travel Blog Posts
Third rock from the mainland
Published: March 14th 2007Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Tao
March 14th 2007
Welcome sandcastles on the beach. If the beach in Koh Pha-Ngan is dominated by the nightly consumption of buckets of Samsung, Coke and Redbull, the beach on Koh Tao is dominated by the nightly construction of sandcastles as restaurants prepare for their beachfront diners. The castles both mark out territory and house candle lighting. Each night the tide sweep away the castles and each evening the builders dig and sculpt the castles once more. Later in the night the fire-jugglers and the buckets come out, but Koh Tao really doesn’t have the party momentum of Koh Pha-Ngan. And good job too. I had a fairly beach fronted bungalow and was trying to switch my body clock away from the no-holds-barred party routine of Koh Pha-Ngan and towards daytime activity mode. My chosen daytime activity: diving. ... read more
Watch out for the buckets on the beach
Published: March 7th 2007Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Pha-Ngan
March 7th 2007
For too long it seemed I had been away from the beach. When travelling ideally you want an even balance between activities and relaxation. Aside from tubing in Vang Vieng in Laos and the infamous floating bar at Nha Trang in Vietnam, there had been precious little chill-out in the previous six weeks. However, after a quick blast of activities in the North of Thailand it was time to hit the islands and beaches in the South of Thailand. First stop on the islands and beaches tour: Koh-Phangan. Koh-Phangan is home the legendary Full Moon Parties, where each month thousands of travellers gather on Sunrise Beach, Hat Rin under a full moon and daub themselves in fluorescent paint and party through until dawn. Apparently the Full Moon Party on 3rd March had attracted nine thousand ... read more
March 4th 2007
I actually wrote the Laos blog whilst still in Laos - something new for me. A point of writing I was slightly non-plussed by Luang Prabang and had decided to get out there as quickly as possible. After catching a flight, the second quickest way out of Luang Prabang is by speedboat. The speedboat ride lasts about six spine compressing hours and offers a quick glimpse at some spectacular scenery along the Mekong River. The speedboat is great fun, though creature comfort is not the name of the game - as you can see from the picture you are squatting on the bottom of the boat with a 9 inch wide plank for back support. Safety, unusually for South East Asia, is a priority and each passenger is issued with a crash helmet and lifejacket. After ... read more
February 20th 2007
After a helter skelter schedule in Vietnam, Laos has been a chance to kick back for a couple of days. When I originally planned this trip, I had not included Laos in the schedule. However so many people had so many good things to say about Laos, I decided to squeeze a just over week of Laos between Vietnam and Thailand. In fact you could spend a very long time in Laos. Though Laos is landlocked it has the Mekong River running its length and there are a number of tributaries. And messing about on and around rivers is what it is all about in Laos. Way down in the South of Laos - I didn’t get there on this trip - there are the ‘4000 islands’ on the Mekong. Said to be the most laid ... read more
February 10th 2007
Appologies for the lack of invention in the title, but there you go. It was quite a breakneck week doing the North of Vietnam in a week. The itinerary broke down like this: * half day moto tour of Hanoi (or Ha Noi as they like to call it in Viet Nam) * 2 night, 3 day tour of Ha Long Bay * 3 night, 2 day tour of Sapa * 1 day tour of Ninh Binh * Tet (Lunar New Year) celebrations Half day moto tour of Ha Noi. Main sites visited: * Uncle Ho's Mausoleum * Uncle Ho's House on Stilts * One Pillar Pagoda * Temple of Literature * Hoa Lo Prison also known as the Hanoi Hilton * Ngoc Son Temple, Hoan Kiem Lake Uncle Ho's Mausoleum. Unfortunately since the tour was ... read more
February 6th 2007
Hoi An seems to be the only part of Vietnam not levelled by the Americans in their endeavours to stop the march of communism. It has an Old Quarter, something you can't say of Saigon. The Old Quarter is small and friendly to walk around. So small and friendly that it seems there are more tourists there than locals. There are a nice range of restaurants from the excellent kitch high-end Mango Rooms, where most of the menu has some mango component, to a parade of excellent Vietnamese - including the excellent Thanh Phu'o'ng - with seven item set menus from just over $3 (cross the narrow bridge from the Old Quarter and turn left). Around the Old Quarter there are a number of sites to visit, Phuc Kien Assembly Hall and the Japanese Covered Bridge ... read more
January 28th 2007
Highlights in Nha Trang were as follows: the boozy boat trip round the islands, the Louisiana Brew house, the Cham Towers, tabletop Bar-B-Qued Steak and the Silk Hand Embroidery Art & Crafts Centre. Lowlight in Nha Trang: getting my camera pick-pocketed by a group of biker girls outside the Sailing Club. I'll get the lowlight out of the way first. It was perhaps my own stupid fault. I left the Sailing Club on my own, worse for wear and with a camera in my pocket. Although it was a zippable pocket, I knew that it was going to be a drinking session when I headed out and should have left it back at the hotel. My transport, my bicycle, was at the restaurant two blocks away. I was easy prey in what is the main nightspot ... read more
January 28th 2007
Con Dao is an archipeligo of 16 islands 230 km south of HCM. I had gone to Con Dao because it has reputedly the best diving in Vietnam. What I didn't know is that it also has a windy season. The windy season runs from October to January and the diving outfit closes down until mid-March. So no diving. The main island is very beautiful though. The other islands look very beautiful as well, though trips to the other islands seemed to have been cancelled because of the wind or the low season. So no boat trips either. One upside of the low season was that Saigon Con Dao Resort had with a sea-view ground floor rooms in a bungalow-like setting for $20 a night. More than I am used to paying, but nice none the ... read more
January 25th 2007
Couldn't think of decent title for this one. This one has an explanation, but I will need to bought a couple of beers first before I am more forthcoming. First things first. Saigon has a bit of a name problem. Ho Chi Minh City is the official title for the capital of Southern Vietnam, but the Communists named it after their Great Leader and "Bringer of Light". Saigon has resonance as steamy city of sin. HCM City falls pretty flat on the tougue and on the ear. The Communist concession is to call the centre of Ho Chi Minh - Districts 1 and 3 - Central Saigon. (Why Central if Ho Chi Minh is the greater city?). Unlike Phnom Penh, Saigon has a backpacker street, Pham Ngu Lao. Saigon's answer to Bangkok's Khao San Road. Vultures ... read more
January 13th 2007
Yeah, it's time to don the lycra, climb into the Land Rover and follow in the footsteps of Lara Croft. Angkor here we come! Well almost. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was indeed filmed at various Angkor sites. However Lycra never did me the favours it did Angelina Jolie. Here a Toyota Land Cruiser is the vehicle of choice for high rollers; I contented myself with a Tuc Tuc. The Angkor period is generally designated as the 630 year stretch from 802 to 1431. Starting with Jayavarman II, there was a succession of perhaps 30 devarajas (devine kings). The Khymer kings adopted the Hindu trinity of Shiva, Braha, and Vishnu and became the focus of cult worship. Most new kings carried out new building programmes; sometimes the moving the capital and/or court wholesale. The extent of each ... read more
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