Royal Barges Museum I was not that interested to begin with about seeing the Royal Barges but it turned out to be a very good way to have another cruise on the Chao Phraya River and spend a few hours on a very hot day in Bangkok. The Royal Barges are housed in sheds in The Royal Barge National Museum on the Thonburi side (left side from the Sathorn Pier) of the Chao Phraya River and provide a further insight into Thai history and culture. The barges are ornately decorated boats with magnificently carved prows (front part of the boat) that [View Full Entry]

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Siriraj Hospital - Forensic and Anatomy Museums If you are looking for something different to see besides temples, markets and the usual tourist attractions of Bangkok then a visit to view the wierd and wonderful exhibits in the museums at the Siriraj Hospital on the banks of the Chao Phraha River is an interesting trip. Getting to the hospital is easy if you catch the Chao Phraha Express boat to Wang Lang Pier - the hospital is on the right hand side as you leave the pier. Siriraj Hospital is a busy place with people and vehicles filling the network of [View Full Entry]

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Koh Samui - Chaweng Beach - A nice beach if you can find it Around 1 pm on Saturday 26th April I flew into Koh Samui Airport which I discovered when leaving for Bangkok four days later has the most attractive departure lounges of any airport that I have passed through. Bangkok Airways owns the airport and has a monopoly on flights to Koh Samui which can be expensive compared to other destinations in Thailand. The upside is the service is excellent, they seem to nearly always run to schedule and they have a lounge or "courtesy corner" where all classes [View Full Entry]

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Back in Krabi I returned to Krabi after being in this area last week when I visited the Phi Phi Islands. I had gone back to Bangkok as I had been invited by the manager for a pub staff party which turned out to be an all night disco - I went home at 6.15 am and the staff kept playing cards till 11.30 am - it was a big night out with all the drinks and food supplied and we had a lot of fun. I am visiting Ao Nang Beach which is about thirty minutes from Krabi Town on [View Full Entry]

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Sea Life In Siam After reading Reet's travel blog I thought I would check out Siam Ocean World - I spent 2.5 hours there and really enjoyed viewing the many aquariums, the glass bottom boat trip and the 4D movie for 750 baht (about $A22) which also included a large soft drink and ice cream. It is easy to find Ocean World, just catch the BTS Skytrain to Siam, it is adjacent to the Siam Paragon shops. I was suprised by the variety of sea life I discovered there although it is a noisy place with all the school kids doing [View Full Entry]

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The Viewpoint and Tsunami Memorial Gardens Although tired after the very busy day tour of both Phi Phi Islands I decided I would make the effort and climb the many steps to the Viewpoint which is regarded as one of the highlights of any trip to this area. It was still very hot and humid at 5.00 pm and I reckon I sweated off a few kilos on this island visit. I made it to level one of the Viewpoint where there is a shop where you can sit at some tables and admire the view. I was suprised to see [View Full Entry]

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Phi Phi Islands - Full Day Tour The full day tour between 9.00 am and 4.00 pm covered some of the same area I had visited on the sunset tour the previous night but I thought it would not hurt to visit Maya Bay again and see what it was like late in the morning - and I also wanted to cruise around the coastline of both of the Phi Phi Islands. A young guide turned up at JJ Bungalow at 8.45 am and I followed him through the small sois to collect the rest of the tourists for today's voyage. [View Full Entry]

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Koh Phi Phi Islands - Rebuilding from the Tsunami My taxi truck arrived at 915 am as I dozed on the porch of my hotel and whisked a full load of tourists to the old pier in Krabi Town. A five minute stop here while they touted for accomodation on Phi Phi and we were off in another bus to the new pier about 5km out of town. The ferry was half full as it is nearly the low season here and we had a very pleasent 1.5 hour cruise to Koh Phi Phi Don in the calm of the Andaman [View Full Entry]

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One night in Krabi Town I arrived at Krabi Airport at 7pm - the window seat gave a great view of the labrynth of rivers around Krabi Town to the Andaman Sea. To avoid the usually expensive taxis there is an excellent bus from the airport to Krabi Town at 90 baht for the twenty minute trip. The bus passes the centre of town which alarmed a few people before we changed over to a truck to take us back into Krabi Town and dropped us at Chaofa road which is close to the old pier and the many guesthouses and [View Full Entry]

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My Father My father, Robert Murphy passed away on Monday 14th April, aged 85. I am in Thailand at present on Koh Phi Phi Don island. In respect of my father, this is not meant to be an obituary, just a few thoughts as I sit in my room a long way from home. After his heart attack in late 2007 and a stroke in the last few months of his life my father showed great strength in very difficult circumstances. Some of best memories of my father are when we went fishing at the Grange jetty when I was a [View Full Entry]

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