Advertisement
Published: September 16th 2010
Edit Blog Post
When you enter Thailand overland you only get a 15 entry visa so for the first time we had to be really picky with where we visited and for how long, breaking with our habit of getting stuck nice places for longer than we expect.
Koh phayam is the kind of place you either stumble on while being adventerous, or in our case, get told by a friend that you simply must visit. September is height of the monsoon season so prices are lower everywhere and most popular spots are nearly empty. At phayam, the kilometers of crisp beach were dead empty; we saw only 3 other people on the beach in the 4 days we spent here. We arrived via ferry to the island and were quite hungry so stopped at the first place that looked open. There was a kind french man and his pet monkey jesse having lunch and they offered us to join. It happened that he lives on Phayam and had really cheap large cabanas that we opted to reside in. His girlfriend was born on the island and ran the restaurant we ate at daily. We feasted on traditional delicacies and mostly laid around doing nothing. It rained every day, most of the day but under our quaint shelter the cool wind was a reprieve and the time to relax was joyful. Needing to not overstay our visa (which can garner expensive fines) we left Phayam and our friends to visit the South east asia mecca, Bangkok.
It had been some time since we visited a true metropolis. Indian cities have hardened us up but it was with some reservation we entered bustling bangkok. Bangkok is the centre of culture for this region, massive traffic problems, mosterous shopping centres and temples everywhere. All that and it just didn't seem busy to us. Indian cities are so loud and obnoxious it is impressive. Bangkok was busy and crazy and loud but the streets just seemed empty compared to places like delhi and mumbai. We only stayed 2 nights as we had to get outta Thai before our visas expired and we had a wonderful time. We wandered the packed alleys of chinatown trying to find farbics and chinese secret medecines; visited the upscale shop area chalk full of western treats (though a bit of a let down), and haunted the traveler ghetto of Khao san road. They say that you always run into someone you know in Khao san and it took 3 days but we ran into an Aussie we met in Melaka who had gotten stuck because he lost his credit card. He had been in Melaka 2 weeks when we saw him and was bummed at the stall in his trip but in Bangkok he was living it up in style. Bangkok truly delivers for everyone who visits and it is my favourite of the large cities we have been to thus far.
We booked a train overnight to Ubon, close to a a southern Lao border. This was the icing on the cake... booking a train in india is a hair raising, no holds barred, infuriating and day long experience. At bangkok central station we were in and out in 10 minutes including a bathroom break. Marvelous! The train ride itself was a pleasure... nothing decadent, it was just really nice. They sell beer in the car, there are half as many beds as Indian sleepers, our car was at the last minute upgraded from fan to A/C, and we met a cool group of outdoorsy Thais on their way to go camping. Honey, we aren't in india anymore!
Next chapter, Lao part 1 the south.
Cheers folks
Advertisement
Tot: 0.038s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 13; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0212s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
Dean
non-member comment
City Life
Glad you had fun in Bangkok but I am just as pleased, at this time in my life, to be on the farm where it's quiet except for the howling of the coyotes every night.