Blogs from Phitsanulok, Northern Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 4

We arrived in Phitsanalok in the hot evening air after a long, but pleasant bus ride. It's a large city in north-central Thailand and we really had no intention of staying for any length of time, as it was a stopping point on our way to Loei. When you get off a public bus at a bus station in Thailand, you are a piece of fresh meat to the hungry dogs known as tuk-tuk drivers. They can smell you from about 10 km away and they look for white people in the windows of the bus as it approaches. Before your feet even hit the pavement, they are in your face, offering you rides and grilling you with questions. "Where you go?" Sometimes I want to say, "That's none of your damn business, man." Julija says ... read more

Hi there It feels like a while since I've been blogging but anytime I've been on the internet I've been trying to restore my stuff that got lost when the site crashed....so have most of it...some of it a bit jumbled but think that's as good as it gets! The last week has been a bit of a blur we've been moving that much!! We left Chiang Mai early last Thursday morning & as the train chugged away for 8 hours we eventually arrived at our destination...Phitsanulok. Well we said back in Hong Kong that you should never arrive in a place without a map, especially when English speaking people number 2-me & Grace!! It was mad that nobody there spoke English...it really wasn't a tourist town. We wandered in the direction of what looked like ... read more

Phitsanulok..........kinda like Delaware. Its a nice enough place, un-assuming and small enough to walk around, but there isnt much to see or do. In fact, its EXACTLY like Delaware. I simply decided to stay here in order to break up the trip north into 2 legs of 7 hours, so Phitsanulok has been nothing more than a stop on the way. That said, my accomodations here provided me with my first hot shower in almost 3 weeks, A/C, and a free breakfast included in the price, so it has been a pleasent enough place for a night. The town itself is divided by a river, the Nan, that runs through it (sorry ladies, Brad Pitt isnt here, although with the rate Angelina is adopting kids it is probably just a matter of time), and other ... read more

Bangkok is for sure as crazy as they say it is...and I love it. It's a place where West meets East, or at least on Khao San Rd. It was pretty overwhelming at first, but quickly enough we found everything that we needed down all the little alleys...including a set of of Birkenstocks, Thai Style for sweet $6. Apparently, our bargaining skills are still in good form from South America. We buzzed through the city for two days. Checked out this whopping market where you could find everything from mice and lizards to furniture and food. Needless to say I was in shoppers heaven, but Davin reminded me not to start filling the bag quite yet...we still have lots of time. We headed down to the island of Ko Chang to meet up with our fabulous ... read more

Walking along the river as the sun set the sky was coloured all shades of pink, orange and blue. Along the riverbank people walked together, did aerobics (it's called healthy street) and set up their stalls for the evening market. The birds chattered away like a group of gossiping ladies, fillng the night air with their song, and even overpowering the noise of the motorbikes as people returned home after a day out or at work. We decided to head back to the night market by the train station where we had super delicious pineapple and watermelon shakes, followed by some hell tasty bbq chicken hot off the grill and some rice to mop it all up with. Our tummies satiated we returned up the creaky wooden stairs, past the giant elephant, to our quaint little ... read more