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Published: June 15th 2009
Railay Beach
The only way to reach Railay Beach is by boat, which simply adds to its charmHello again and we’ve finally got back to the blog. Thanks to everyone kind enough to say that they’re missing our blogs it’s nice to be nagged. I lost heart a bit as we write the blog to enjoy everyone’s email feedback and comments but that was a little sparse on our last blog. Thanks to those who did comment and to those who didn’t ... why not? (Come on don’t be shy).
Now, we’re thinking back on our time in Thailand and if you want to hear about Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China and the Antipodes let us know!
We left Australia a few days ago having had an excellent time of rest, recuperation and good fun staying with Neil and Jenny Byrne where we also noted (ok celebrated) our one year on-the-road anniversary. Yes it’s over a year since we stood anxiously on that tube platform at Chorley Wood being secretly snapped by Stu.
So having been rested restored and well entertained we set off, with Neil and Jenny to explore some of the “Top End” and had an adventure up in the Kimberly and Broome, the north west tip of Oz, where crocodiles are
Railay Beach: Long Tail Boats
Long Tail boats are worth a mention; the name is intriguing and all became clear when we saw a smallish open top wooden boat, think large canoe, powered by what frankly looks like a car engine balanced on the end of a long (really, very long) drive shaft to a small prop. Still they are quite the norm so who are we to query it. king, the roads are not sealed but the landscape is unbelievably ancient and beautiful.
I’m now under doctors orders to rest a painful hip, he actually ordered a month on the beach so we’re forcing ourselves to spend some time resting in Bali (Isn’t life hard!)
Thailand
But our blog is supposed to be reflecting on journeys past and our feelings on the amazing countries we’ve been through… in our last blog we were on the overnight bus from the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia on our way to Hat Yai, in Southern Thailand.
Krabi: Southern Thailand.
The bus was advertised as “VIP” and as it didn’t depart until 01.00 am, thankfully it was. Think reclining armchair rather than bus seat, but, as ever, with overnight buses the air conditioning had a choice of settings either Off or Freezing. Good advice to anyone travelling overnight would be to take warm clothes.
We met two Australian lads on the bus and got talking when queuing to cross the Thai border. They were good fun and assured us that if we read “Down Under” by Bill Bryson
Railay Beach: Football Competition
We were travelling just out of season, and hotel staff made the most of the quiet times by holding an inter resort football and volley ball competition on the beach most afternoons. It was a hotly fought contest with an inordinate number of screaming fans and boy could those girls scream! we’d learn all we needed to know about Oz (and so it proved.) Our Thai visas were free and quickly granted, so we were soon on our way, which was lucky as it was about 6.00 am and we hadn’t had much sleep.
Two hours later and we arrived in Hat Yai, a bustling town in Southern Thailand and distinctly different from Malaysia. By now we have a well rehearsed routine when we get to a new country and within half an hour we’d sorted out exchange rates, found an ATM and bought a local sim card.
That gave us just enough time to gulp down some food. I think our faces showed that we’d been travelling for a while and a Thai chef took pity on us, cooking up some eggs which were just the business. Taking a deep breath and on to one more bus for the final five hours into Krabi.
On the bus we got chatting to a Swedish Chef (!) and his Thai friend who were on their way through Krabi to Phuket. Seems there’s a sizeable Swedish community in Phuket hence Swedish food is in great demand; I’m ashamed to say
Railay Beach: Sun and Sea Resort
The long walk from our bedroom to pool Sigh.
I didn’t even know what a Swedish diet consists of.
As ever on our travels when we’ve been in company of mixed nationalities, English is automatically spoken by all. It’s great for us but a little embarrassing that I’m so linguistically challenged. (Some French and less Restaurant Italian.)
Having been dropped on the outskirts of Krabi, our next routine kicked in; I sit with the bags whilst Terry seeks out a bed. It works for us both! Krabi is a very attractive town and after some sleep we were glad we’d decided to spend a couple of nights there. (and got to watch a Grand Prix, this was all so long ago we were still routing for Lewis - how things have changed).
Railay Beach
Krabi town was great but we were soon heading off to Railay Beach, which the guide book claims to be the best beach in Southern Thailand (and in a land of lovely beaches it didn’t disappoint). It’s on a peninsular surrounded by sheer Karst cliff faces and can only be reached by long tail boat from Krabi.
As with much transport in Asia the boat only leaves
Terry on Railay Beach
A man needs a beer to really enjoy a sunset. when it’s full so we knew we’d have to wait for a complement of six travellers; luckily there were already three waiting and having agreed to split the cost of the last fare between us we were off.
There are four or five big resort hotels set back from Railay beach, but out of season deals can be struck and we enjoyed four nights of fluffy white towels and amazing sunsets. Even better in Terry’s eyes we had an in-room beer fridge and Premiere League Football on the TV.
Just think only a short while ago I was pleased simply to have warm water to wash my hair in!
Ko Phi Phi.
Over the years we’d heard so much about Ko Phi Phi that we were keen to go there. Pronounced Ko Pee Pee and usually called just Phi Phi, it’s a tiny limestone island off the south Andaman Coast and is described as a Paradise. Well I guess it is if your idea of paradise is an 18 - 30s party town.
The main town was completely destroyed in the 2004 Boxing day Tsunami, which also killed up to three thousand
Approach to Ko Phi Phi
The paradise Island. The central isthmus shown in the photo is where the Tsunami rushed through. Four years on you'd never know except perhaps for the signs indicating the Tsunami Evacuation routes - some of which are already blocked edit delete people. Re-watching footage on U Tube left us amazed that so many survived. Now four years later a rash of new buildings have been built, all without any apparent planning or co-ordination and resulting in a pretty ugly, tatty and very loud town.
Since the Tsunami clearly a lot of money has been spent to re provide homes and services and a whole new village has been built for Phi Phi residents up on higher ground. All brick houses and Tsunami proof but as they didn’t yet have running water or electricity they remained empty whilst the local families lived in shacks on the outskirts of town.
An impressive new pier/jetty had also been built but opening had been delayed as the hydraulic pontoons didn’t function and no one seemed quite sure who was responsible. So the numerous tourist boats all had to raft up, five boats deep was not uncommon, against a ram shackled wooden jetty, with plenty of holes large enough for a Christine to fall through.
We continued to enjoy out of season prices but high season weather; locals had some concerns that the winds had changed direction signalling an early end to
Ko Phi Phi, Main Town
The island is stunning but the main town is a mess. the monsoon rains whilst the reservoirs were only half full. This has been a constant theme and almost without exception where ever we’ve been people have told us that the weather is unseasonably hot/cold/wet or dry.
Phi Phi is also a diving town and thankfully the party animals weren’t keen on diving. We enjoyed two superb dives on a dive boat that was empty apart from two Japanese ladies. Crawling around on the bottom of the Andaman Sea accompanied by a knowledgeable local guide who knew every nook and cranny was a great experience.
Even though the visibility was fairly poor and the coral was patchy, we saw a whole host of small and unusual creatures, including shy Seahorses, coyly hiding deep in a fan coral, a bizarre Harlequin shrimp ( do look-up a picture on the web) and a Clown Angel fish (aka Frogfish). He was quite the stupidest looking thing I’ve seen yet, slightly larger than my fist, bright yellow and with pectoral fins that have evolved into feet. Seems that he can no longer swim and “stomps” about the reef instead.
We also had a dalliance with a sizeable green backed turtle swimming gently
Bangkok: Happy Travellers
No comments on the plastic bag.
Photo courtesy of Fi. between us, a huge octopus, well a football sized octopus and Cuttle-fish a plenty, all getting mildly irritated and showing off their rippling colours.
Phuket
The diving was all very lovely but Phi Phi is no longer a place to hang around for long. We weren’t meeting Fiona until later in the month in Bangkok and needed to pass a few more days before heading north and we found a bargain on Phuket, just a short boat trip away.
Pronounced PooGet, in part it’s pretty much as bad as its reputation; we stayed on Kuta Beach which has its attractions but the seasonal weather finally caught up with us. It rained every day. We were staying in a gorgeous hotel room, with free internet and DVD player so who cared?
Kuta is about an hour bus ride from Phuket town and as the overnight buses to Bangkok can’t be booked over the phone we thought we’d take our chance and just turn up. Big mistake all the comfy buses were sold out, leaving us reluctantly booked for the twelve hour bus journey on an ordinary bus.
With time to kill, in an
Bangkok: Canal Ferry Boat
Getting around by road is a disaster, so much so that a taxis driver refused our fare as it would take him so long to get back to the tourist area. But itâs a city built on either side of a huge river and a whole system of canals and once Terry had found the canal boats used by locals life was much easier. We were staying at the end of one of the routes so despite the âconductorsâ not speaking English we couldnât get lost. It also showed us the back streets which were both charming and squalid in pretty much equal measure. Not so the canals they were just smelly and putrid, on just about every journey you could spot the bloated carcasses of a dead animal floating by.
Not all boats had their own armed escort! ugly town we spotted a hairdresser and thought why not? Well let me tell you why … the “hair dresser” sported a dyed blonde mullet and spoke no English. He was so busy impressing his many female assistants that he used the wrong dye and cut my hair in a style that he thought would suit rather than what I was trying to ask for. So I came away looking very different but as my hair had looked pretty dreadful before perhaps it wasn’t so bad! Strangely Terry declined a hair cut.
Bangkok.
Bangkok had been described to us as hot, dirty and smelly, which meant it wasn’t that high on our list of Must-See places. We were tired after the bus journey, but that didn’t stop Terry having his customary and heated fare negotiation with a Taxi driver. They have become the bane of his travelling life. Eventually, snuggled in a taxi we crawled across the city to our hotel. The traffic is the absolute pits.
After a kip we headed out to see just how awful this place is and were amazed to find it was ok. We’d booked a hotel a
Bangkok: In The Royal Palace
One of the very many ornate and beautiful creatures whichinhabit the Royal Palace. little way from of the tourist areas but right in the middle of numerous glitzy shopping malls. Not bazaars that were pretending to be a mall but proper shops and air conditioned malls. The nearest to us had recently opened and was a very up market affair. For the supermarket think Waitrose and the cinema was advertising Casino Royale - it was just like home!
We had a couple of days to explore the city before Fi’s arrival and set off to the “other sights” leaving the grand palace until she arrived.
There were clearly political tensions in the air but we were lucky to be there before the troubles escalated (Fi flew home out of Bangkok just days before the airport was closed by the yellow shirt protestors.) So we just kept away from any large gatherings, avoided political discussions and had no trouble.
Street food in Bangkok is worth a big mention; in addition to all the yummy deep fried lovelies, a favourite is steamed sweet corn sliced into a plastic bag and shaken up with fresh coconut and a pinch of salt. We saw numerous office workers grabbing it for a take away lunch
Bangkok: Royal Palace
The Grand Palace is surreal even for those of us not jet lagged; full of shiny, colourful buildings and statues. We didnât for one minute suspect that so much could be crammed into so small a space so had to try it and it was delicious.
Two become Three.
For ages we had been looking forward to Fi’s arrival and not only because she was bringing out our replacement credit cards! Her flight arrived at some ungodly hour and so by mid morning she was booked in and ready to go; well ready in a deeply jet lagged sort of way. So off we set for the Grand palace, Bangkok chose to welcome Fi by raining and it rained most of her time there.
She only had three weeks with us and as we were intending to travel together through North Thailand, down the Mekong into Laos and finally onto Angkor Wat we knew we wouldn’t be able to spend our usual four nights at each place.
I suspect that everything you’ve heard about the Grand Palace is true. It’s a cluster of official and royal buildings, which although no longer home to the royal family is still used for state occasions. It’s amazingly colourful and crammed full of golden stupa and gilded Buddhas as well as imagery from the Ramayana. Completely over the top and completely un-missable.
We
Bangkok: Royal Palace
Scene from the Ramayana.
Photo courtesy of Fi. were there as the city was preparing for the state funeral of the King’s sister and are not sure if the additional (armed) security was for that or because of the political tension which seemed to be permanently bubbling just under the surface of every day life.
From the royal palace we had a quick saunter to Wat Pho to see a very large and shiny reclining Buddha and suitably impressive because of it.
After a walk around china town and remembering Fi’s penchant for cocktails (they make her “very, very Happy” provided she has enough!) we jumped on the river ferry back to central Bangkok and the bars.
Chang Mai.
After a jet lagged day/night/day marvelling at the complete over-the-top ness that is Bangkok we whizzed Fi off on the overnight train to Chang Mai.
After a fairly fitful night’s sleep we arrived only about three hours late. This wouldn’t normally have mattered but after so little sleep or maybe because of our new tight schedule, we all really minded. (Worse, for Terry and I was that after seven months we were on a schedule at all and believe me after
Bangkok: On the River Boat.
All men in Thailand are obliged to spend some time as a trainee buddhist monk, at least once in their life. (or is that each life?). As monks they are not allowed to touch women, which makes for complications when travelling on crowded public transport, so instead of reserving seats for the elderly or infirm.. there's space resereved for monks only!
Photo courtesy of Fi. only a few days it was already starting to kill us. After all what’s wrong with a little afternoon lay down?)
We booked into the RCN Guesthouse (Fi is a nurse after all!) and went for a sortie around Chiang Mai. It’s a pretty city, the old town is surrounded by a moat and there’s plenty of evidence of the old walled city. Sited in Northern Thailand, in years past it was an important stop on the ancient trade routes. In more recent times it was part of the golden triangle and the opium smuggling trade. Now it’s a thriving modern city increasingly dependent on tourism.
Next day we jumped into a Songthaew, (a large red Tuk Tuk affair), to the Soi Dupeth National Park and dutifully enjoyed the usual tourist sights. Wat U Mong was a strange place, green and mossy even in the full heat of the Thai sun. Not only did it house the strangest Buddha image (see photo) but there were numerous pithy proverbs hanging from the trees. We happened on some monks and once we realised that we didn’t share a language one of them starting chanting “David Beckham” with a big smile.
Wat Pho:
My Tel-Boy
Ahhh
Photo courtesy of Fi. Thankfully he didn’t seem to know the line “there’s only one David Beckham”. David and Man U are really big throughout SE Asia.
Back in Chiang Mai, Terry and I had a quiet night, whilst an energetic and determined Fiona headed off for the night market. I love all the trinkets (or is that Tat) in these markets but after seven months have at last become immune and can resist them. However, next evening we all headed out to the weekly Sunday Walking Market. Of course it’s just another name for a market, but a number of streets are closed to road traffic making the atmosphere particularly good. Having had my sore neck and shoulders expertly massaged by a giggling Thai lady, I re-joined Terry and Fi in a bar where we briefly celebrated the many and various charms of Chiang Mai and headed off for food.
Chiang Kong.
Our tight schedule meant that we weren’t able to explore more of northern Thailand and I’m sure that is our loss. But as we were heading off to take a slow boat down the Mekong river to Luang Prabang in Laos, it didn’t feel too
Wat Pho
From the royal palace we had a quick saunter to Wat Pho to see to see a very large and shiny reclining Buddha and suitably impressive because of it. much of a hardship.
A full minibus took us on the five hour drive to Chiang Khong, a pretty indifferent small town on the banks of the Mekong. An overnight sleep in an even more indifferent hostel saw us up bright and early. With breakfast in tummies and cushions under our arms we were soon heading for the Laos border and just how lovely Laos proved to be.
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Jenny
non-member comment
No wonder you were so tired when you arrived in Aus looking at the pace you travelled in Thailand - take it easy on the Beach