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Published: June 24th 2008
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Last Group Dinner
Dan "the Wolf Man" After a long, bumpy and uncomfortable bus journey from Siem Reap to Bangkok (apparently Bangkok Air "encourage" the Cambodian government to keep the roads badly maintained as they have a monopoly on the route) we headed out for our last group meal together as Janice and I were leaving early the following morning for the Phi Phi islands off the coast of Thailand.
Dinner that evening was at a traditional Thai restaurant where you sit at low tables on cushions - the food was great, though it was a little sad as we were saying "goodbye" to all the great people we'd met on the trip. The highlight for me came when I was chatting with another guy (Aussie Mark) who commented about a mask hanging on the wall - after turning around to take a look, I looked back at the table and found that everyone was wearing a mask in the shape of a large dog or wolf's head with "Dan the Bearded Man" scrawled across the bottom. This was in reference to the shaggy beard I'd grown over the last six months and the dog attack that I'd suffered in Vietnam; it was hilarious as a couple
of the guys had spent the entire trip in the back of the mini-van creating these masks so they'd be ready in time for dinner!!
After an uneventful early morning flight, we arrived in Krabi the launching point for Phi Phi Don. Once at the ferry terminal we realized that the timetable is inexplicably arranged so that the first flight of the day just misses the first ferry to the island....what lunacy!! It was only when we asked about alternatives and were told that we could either wait five hours for the next ferry OR we could pay the exhorbitant amount of $150 US for a long-tail boat to our hotel at Laem Thong Beach....hmm I wonder if they do that on purpose??
A substantial wait later I was becoming quite annoyed that we'd paid a lot of money to go to Phi Phi (a.k.a "Rip Off") Island instead of just going to one of the places closer to the mainland when our long-tail boat finally arrived to take us to the hotel where we would spend the next few days. Once on the blue, sparkling waters my concerns began to drift away and it was then that
Ayutthaya
Buddha head overgrown by roots of fig tree....very spooky. I started wondering what it must have been like for those boats on the water when the Tsunami struck the area on 26th December, 2004. From that point on I was enjoying the sun while at the same time keeping an eye on the horizon and water level against the surrounding rock outcrops.......luckily we arrived without incident and checked into our bungalow which was a mere 25 metres from the waters edge....nice!!
The next couple of days were spent relaxing either by the pool or on the beach with frequent breaks to refill our cocktail glasses or change books - it made a nice change after the hectic pace we'd experienced over the last few weeks. At one point we wandered down to the nearby Sea Gypsy Village, where eleven people lost their lives as a result of the 18 foot high wave that struck the area in December '04. Other than a few Tsunami warning signs indicating the direction of "escape routes" (essentially the way to climb a nearby hill) it doesn't appear that much has been done to avoid devastation in the event of another Tsunami - let's hope that it doesn't happen again.
During a
Phi Phi Leh
The "Beach" of movie fame was just on the other side of this beautiful island break between cocktails, I took a trip down the coast of Phi Phi Don to the rocky, uninhabited outcrop of Phi Phi Leh (where "The Beach" was shot) where I was going scuba diving with an instructor and a couple of certified divers. Once below the surface of the crystal clear blue water, there was a beautiful coral world to explore populated with all manner of colourful fish, moray eels and a massive sea turtle that we sat and watched for at least five long minutes - it was magical!!
The following day, we once again boarded a long-tail boat and made our way to Phi Phi Don's main port, Ton Sai. This bustling, ramshackle tourist village was completely destroyed by the Tsunami, but seems to have completely recovered from the devastation wreaked by nature in 2004. It is the busiest part of the island and thankfully was the complete opposite of the beautiful, secluded beach we had stayed at. A ferry ride and short flight later and we were back in bustling Bangkok to enjoy our last two days in Asia before heading home to Sydney.
We had decided that our last two days in Thailand would
be spent visiting sites out of Bangkok, so early the next day we were picked up by a minivan for a trip out to the Damnoen Saduak floating markets (apparently one of the most photogenic locations in Asia) and the world famous Tiger Temple where you can sit with fully grown tigers inside a Buddhist monastery. As we left the hotel carpark we realized that it was pouring with rain and hoped that it would clear as we got further away from the city........it didn't. After weeks of sunshine, providence decided we'd had enough good weather and the rain bucketed down hour after miserable hour. When we finally got to the floating markets (almost 200km away) it was still pouring and very few of the boats were plying their trade in the small canals. We also established that the Tiger Temple was a wash out and headed back to Bangkok very disappointed that we hadn't stayed an extra day on Phi Phi.
Our final day in Thailand was spent exploring the country's ancient capital - Ayutthaya, founded in 1350 by King U-Thong and destroyed by the Burmese in 1767. Luckily the weather had cleared and we were able to
Pi Pi Erawan Palms Resort
This is where we stayed.....very nice. wander around the ancient ruins at leisure. The buddhist statues, temples and chedis all show traces of the various cultures that existed in the region around that time - there are temples resembling Angkor Wat and others that look similar to the structures we had seen at My-son.
The city, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, was once home to a population of approximately one million people and was clearly an important part of the Siamese Empire during its heyday. The highlight of the site is the head of a buddhist statue that has been enveloped (apparently without human intervention) by the roots of a tree - a sight which while looking strangely natural is also a bit eerie.
Leaving the majestic ruins of this once great capital behind, we headed back to Bangkok for our final meal in Asia and began to get ready for our flight the next day to Sydney to see family and friends and attend my younger brother's wedding!!
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Mark Ayre
non-member comment
'Ahh The beared one'
...Hey Dan, glad the mask got some recognition. Not a masterpiece but certainly a memento I will keep too!! Your Blog has been very helpful as I shall plagiarize beyond all belief, and use our shared memories; to describe the fun to all the people I speak with. (Joke Ha-ha) Fantastic Pictures as well. When you get time could you send me a message to my hotmail, as I unfortunately have no contacts and would like to see how the Great Indo-chine loopers are getting on! ....Even Carol, who after a month of hassel may want to murder me! Happy Travels WW Wanderers.