http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/leon-oz/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from leon oz en-us Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:50:52 +0000 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:50:52 +0000 You can find whatever you want here but it is very often just an illusionTrue love and friendship is rare and not always obvious until it has nearly passed you byI hope your dreams and some of mine become a reality in the new year Happy New Year 2053 2010Sawatdee Bpii Mai http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-463455.html Journey into Isaan Northeast ThailandMonday 21st Thursday 23rd December I started out early on my first trip to central Isaan the Northeast of Thailand. I was heading for Khon Kaen which is a large city 449 km from Bangkok and 190km from Korat I had a shock when I was in the village visiting the Thai family when the rear bonnet of my hire car had fallen on my head leaving a large bump whic http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Khon-Kaen/blog-462455.html Pattaya to Korat back to the real ThailandThere is always entertainment of some form available and fortunately for me there was a huge Isaan Concert near Pattaya Beach Road which I attended on Friday 18th December. There was a big crowd in attendance all sorts of food available and two stages providing great Isaan style music which should get anyone up and dancing although most of the audience http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Nakhon-Ratchasima/blog-462443.html Christmas is close Bangkok looks a bit sadDecember 12I arrived yesterday after another good Singapore Airlines flight and arrived at my Silom hotel at 830pm. The staff at my hotel are always welcoming it really feels like I am at home. As usual my friends at the pub were also happy to see me and I spent most of the night in the karoake bar fairly tired from my flight and I sang only one song a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Pattaya/blog-459895.html CHANTHABURI as my guide kept saying ldquoBeautiful too muchrdquoChanthaburi near the south eastern coast of Thailand is a very beautiful place to visit with many nice beaches historical landmarks and waterfalls.I was fortunate to have a Thai friend and guide show me around for a few days. This is not an area regularly visited by foreign tourists and I saw only a few other farangs. There is http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-442214.html Holy Days and Street ParadesFrom squat toilets to western comfort Well I have reverted to my western comforts and spent a few days staying at the Korat Resort about 10km from the village near Chock Chai. The father of the family I stay with and usually sleep in their house was a bit unsure as to my reasoning for this but I explained that the dogs bark and wake me up in the middle of the night. He http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-418310.html Oh to be beside the seaside Pattaya and JomtiemI was not impressed about my first trip to Pattaya in 2008 and it can be very sleazy near the beach and beer bar areas. Everyone seems to be trying to sell something or themselves down by the seaside area you need a suit sir or massage sir or just use your imagination on what is being offered. Since returning I have found that with some eff http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-417055.html My Sunday in a Thai villageSaturday night in BangkokThere are not many other places that I would rather be everyone was excited to take me to the disco near Ratchada. I love the Thai discos I may be the only foriegner there with my Thai friends but it was not going to happen tonight. I returned to my room at 9.30pm with a promise to return later but my eyed were red maybe a victim of the Bangko http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Nakhon-Ratchasima/blog-414039.html Songkran 3 days of fun and chaos in Thailand Amidst the political turmoil of Thailand none of which is mentioned in the rural areas except for a glimpse of the news on TV I boarded a truck full of kids and adults from the village near Chock Chai about three hours by bus northeast of Bangkok. It is Songkran water festival time and Happy New Year for the Thais.I stood in the middle of the cro http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Nakhon-Ratchasima/blog-391180.html Please close the Airport Everyone says you must be happy to be home er not really. After six trips to Thailand I am not sure anymore. I was hoping the airport in Bangkok would be closed again and I would be kept from returning to Australia a little bit longer. No such luck as the Thais seem happy with their new Prime Minister for now anyway. Yes I am a proud Australian and my home is Adela http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-369499.html Beautiful Jomtiem Beach and Pattaya Up to You I caught the minibus from near the BTS Skytrain Terminal at Victory Monument to take me to Pattaya and then went to Jomtiem Beach a few kilometres along the coast for the first night of my stay. There has been a previous entry about the Pattaya area and it is not my favourite place in Thailand. Why did I return It is close to Bangkok and I need som http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Pattaya/blog-363220.html Hua Hin Paradise City Clean and TidyHua Hin is 2.5 hours by minivan south of Bangkok. Just catch the BTS Sky train to Victory Monument station and walk down the stairway towards the Century Cinemas and you will find the minivan depot where you can purchase a ticket for 200 baht. The King of Thailand has a Palace in Hua Hin which probably has something to do with why it is one of the cleanest http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Western-Thailand/Hua-Hin/blog-361372.html Welcome back to the villageTuesday December 23rdI arrived from Bangkok to a warm greeting at the Korat bus station from the Thai family I stay with in their home and village near Chock Chai. This time we caught a taxi all the way to the village instead of the local bus which is a bargain for 400 baht and saves an hours waiting and travelling time.Everyone was happy to see me back and there was a l http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Nakhon-Ratchasima/blog-358973.html Elephant Nature ParkAt the Elephant Nature Park near Chiang Mai in northern Thailand the elephant can roam free. In Thailand the traditional training methods are very harsh for the elephant and the demise of the logging industry has seen elephant numbers fall from 100000 in the last century to now around 3000. Elephant Nature Park looks after injured mistreated and orphaned elephants in single a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-358894.html A short entry just to let you know I have arrived safely in Bangkok. There will not be much blogging for the next week as I will be in Chiang Mai as a volunteer at the Elephant Nature Park. It is very quiet in Bangkok with very few tourists arriving after the recent political turmoil and airport closure. No one talks about politics to me here and you would not know there were any problems except f http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-353888.html Grandparsquos FuneralSaturday October 4After returning to Bangkok from Chiang Mai I spent two days doing very little except seeing my friends relaxing and going to a great disco with two of my very good friends before travelling to Korat and then to Chock Chai on Friday night to attend my Thai families funeral for their Grandfather.I had no idea what to expect and as usual I would go with the f http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Nakhon-Ratchasima/blog-332493.html Third Time Lucky in Chiang MaiI have created a blog entry about Chiang Mai for previous visits so this one will not be too in depth. My main reason for visiting the Rose of the North' was to take a white water rafting trip in rainy season which is nearing it's completion for this year. I checked into the CM Blue Guesthouse in the old part of the moated city and immediatelly booked my rafting trip http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-329265.html Moving on from the Village to some Monkey Business in Lovely LopburiFriday 26th SeptemberThere was little sleep to be had last night as there was a huge dog fight at 2.30 am which the father of the house had to go outside to sort out and at 5.00 am the stereo started booming out from the shop across the street. There are vendors that sell their wares from trucks passing through the village and the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Lopburi/blog-328222.html Lost In TranslationTuesday 23rd SeptemberAfter a late night at the disco I woke at around 11.00 am in my apartment which is conveniently located above a 711 store and net caf. The Chock Chai market is also adjacent to the building with the night bazaar the next street over towards Korat. I was supposed to be picked up at midday to go to the village but no one arrived and my friendrsquos mobile http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Nakhon-Ratchasima/blog-328097.html Isaan NightsSaturday 20th SeptemberI was still in Bangkok and had been promised a visit to a new Thai disco out near Ramkhamhaeng. Five of us took a taxi at 2.30 am from Silom for the 40 minute trip to the disco and when we arrived there was about two thousand people crammed into the large venue with probably room for about 1500. We felt a bit uncomfortable in that environment and because most of http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Nakhon-Ratchasima/blog-326592.html