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Published: August 9th 2007
KO PHANGAN (Gulf of Thailand) - Sat 19/05 to Tue 22/05
From the Malaysian border we took a bici-taxi to the train-station. We were feeling dead guilty for the poor lad in the intense morning heat but weren't as bothered when his 3 KM estimate turned out to be less than 1 KM, we really could have walked it. The scamming had started - we really were in Thailand. We checked on the times of trains & had 30 mins to spare before the 11.30 AM & so set off to grab something quick to eat. We found a busy spot with a table of Buddist Monks & another with four or five Thai soldiers, so with that mix of clientele, we thought it can't be a bad spot. We had chicken rice - which turned out to be a big meal - entailing soup, rice, chicken, salad & a fine soya & chilli sauce to pour over it all (& all for only €0.60). With the hunger dealt with we headed back to the station with 5 or 10 mins to spare.
Our train arrived late & we went for our seats but nobody else seemed to move &
we weren't sure what was going on. We asked a fellow traveler (one of the Dutch we had shared the taxi with) what was up & he made us aware of the 1 hour time difference between Malaysia & Thailand, we really had plenty of time. He had seen us eating earlier & judging that we looked very relaxed & were enjoying our food reckoned that we must be aware of the difference & so had said nothing to us. With the pressure off, I went back to the same place & got two more of the same but this time take-away for later on our train journey.
We borded our train at 11.30AM Malaysian time & had a 9 & 1/2 hour journey up through southern Thailand. We had heard of unrest in the area with a few Muslim rebel groups causing a stir in their efforts to create a seperate Muslim state, lucky enough we saw nothing bar a heavy army & police presence. The Muslim dress was evident though, even more so than in Malaysia.
Our train journey was fairly scenic but dusty, with only fan cooling all the windows were open to increase circulation
& we were filthy by the time we got to Surat Thani on Thailand's East Coast about 650KMs north of the Malaysian border. We got a taxi straight to the ferry pier & booked ourselves onto an overnight ferry out to Ko Phangan one of Thailand's bigger islands in the Gulf of Thailand. With everything arranged we grabbed a late supper - we were looking forward to trying Thai green curry, one of my favourite Thai dishes. We had a very hot curry barely managing to finish it & grabbed supplies for the boat trip.
The ferry was unusual in that it was a 2 storey boat & the bottom section was jam packed with supplies going out to the island - including rice, fruit, vegetables, motorbikes, mopeds, wood & lots of other stuff, the crew beds were also on that level. All the paying passengers were upstairs with matresses laid out side by side on each side of the boat. In all there was room for about 100 people but with it being low season there were only 20 or so of us & everybody had plenty of room, I imagine when full it can be a bit
of a nightmare trip, especially if the weather is bad. A fan whirred above our chosen spot & with open windows, a nice breeze & calm seas we had a grand sleep - one of the best ever. We only awoke as we arrived at the pier on the other side at about 6.30AM.
We were hoarded into the back of a covered pick-up van, the standard taxi on the islands & had a 30 minute drive to Hat Rin beach where we said we'd stay the 1st night. We got chatting to a very chatty (very very chatty) lad Michael from Armagh in the back & he recomended a spot where he had been staying for the previous 3 weeks - “Seaside Cottages”. He was going back there - he had left the previous day but had forgotten to collect his passport, plane tickets & the other valuables he left with the owners & was forced to retrace his steps coming back to the island only to have to leave again that very same day - we were reminded of our similar experience in Bolivia. So at 7 AM with nobody else about, Michael showed us around, we
liked the look of the place, left our bags & went into town for a bite of breakfast. Michael led us through town & gave us an award winning overview of the town, what's good, what's bad, where to go & where not to go, in the space of an hour he shared all his learnings of the previous 3 weeks.
There is a huge party scene in Hat Rin with parties being held on the beach every week but culminating once a month with a massive "Full Moon Party" which some call the biggest beach party in the world, when every bed is booked out for days in advance. Drugs are everywhere in Hat Rin, this became clear to us shortly after our arrival when a very scruffy Irish lad came up to us at the breakfast table threateningly & asked "Who here with the English accent said I killed a baby ?" he followed this statement with "I mighta smashed a bottle off an aul woman's head 8 months ago but I never killed a baby" - we manged to get rid of him but with nice people like that hanging around at 7AM as high as
a kite & threatening violence we were thinking Hat Rin might not be the place for us.
We said goodbye to Michael at the pier & made our way back to Seaside Cottages, where we booked a room. The room or hut which was just up from the beach cost us Bht500 (Thai Baht) which is about €10. Now that we are nearing the end of our trip (Stage 1 at least) & having managed our money fairly well up to now (well up to New Zealand & Australia) we decided that with such great value available we'd treat ourselves a little so our chosen hut had air conditioning & an ensuite shower, (I'm a little embarrassed to admit it but we might be going a little soft now that the end is nigh). We could have opted for anything as low as €3 which tells how cheap you could survive in Thailand if you were on an extended trip, many are & come to Ko Phangan for months on end & get lost in time from the Thai whiskey & easily available narcotics.
In all we spent 3 nights in Hat Rin. We spent one day
on the beach, which beach is a fine long stretch with a long flat expanse to the shallow sea, it is plenty busy during the day with sunbathers everywhere but the peace is ruined by the arrival & departure of the longboats which must have the noisiest engines we have ever heard. At night, the beach is transformed as the bars on its edge set out chairs & tables & pump out loud dance/trance music while hundreds of punters sink Thai whiskey with coke & the Thai Red Bull equivalent from buckets which are sold at counters everywhere. As you walk the beach you have calls from everywhere trying to entice you to buy their buckets - we never did bother with the whiskey just sticking to a few boring but safe beers.
Our hut was based on the aptly named Sunset Beach, we witnessed some impressive sunsets on each of the three evenings we had on the island - Thailand has some fine sunsets - even an hour beforehand you might be thinking we'll get nothing out of this only for a mirage of colours to appear that our little camera cannot do justice to. We took a
day tour around the island on our last day & saw that Ko Phangan has some spectacular spots, some of which can only be reached by boat on its northern & eastern coasts. Rumour has it that there is a hippy commune on the northwestern corner of the island but we never did make it there. We did a bit of snorkelling but those nasty stingers were out in force, again it was an uncomfortable & short stay in the water. So after a few nice days on Ko Phangan, we decided we'd move to Thailands other coast & the Andaman sea. On Tuesday evening we took a night ferry back to Surat Thani.
KRABI (Indian Ocean) - Wed 23/05 to Thu 24/05
On our way to the coast we stopped in Krabi for a day or two, Krabi is close to the coast but is 100 KM inland although situated on an estuary. We arrived at 11.00 AM after getting a rickety old bus across the country. It was damn hot in Krabi probably as a result of it being inland & before we were even there an hour we were already planning our exit the next day
- it was hot & humid & walking about we were soaked to the skin. We surveyed the town which wasn't anything to be writing home about - all Krabi's attractions are a few hours drive in all directions. So with that we decided we needed to get back to the sea & made plans to get to Ko Lanta the next day.
KO LANTA (Indian Ocean & Andaman Sea) - Thu 24/05 to Sun 27/05
Early next morning we joined ten or so others in a little mini-bus & made our way south to Ko Lanta. After a two hour drive, we arrived at a ferry crossing to take us across to Ko Lanta Noi. A quick ten minute hop across, (we didn't even need to get out of the mini-van), followed by a 15 minute drive accross the Noi island to another ferry crossing to our target destination Ko Lanta Yai. In Yai, we switched from the mini-van to a pick-up taxi that our pre-booked hotel had sent to meet us. We had pre-booked a spot after much persistence from the travel agent we booked our bus tickets with, funny enough, they said it was so much
better to pre-book (they get a nice commission) - however in hindsight we’re not so sure, while getting picked up is great, once you get there your bargaining power in terms of room and price is nil. If it turns out the place is not up to scratch you really have no comeback once it’s paid for. We had paid Bht500 for the room but weren't overly impressed & decided that we'd move on the next day & find somewhere better. So with bags dropped we set off up the beach & within an hour had found a lovely spot - Lanta Palace - for the same price but 10 times as good. It had a fine pool looking out over the sea - with low season in full swing most of the resorts & fancy hotels were almost empty & we managed to bargain down the normal low season price of Bht 1,300 to a very good value Bht500 - I can't imagine what they charge in high season. We arranged that they'd pick us up at 9.00 AM next morning rescuing us from our current lodgings as early as possible.
Ko Lanta Yai is quite a big
island - about 30 KM long. The beach we were based on was a nice long one but a little dirty with lots of debris washed up - we had heard tell of some fine beaches further south & decided we'd chance a moped to get us down there the next day. We picked one up (a fine black one with super-speedy stripes) for all of €4 a day 😱. That afternoon we stayed on the northern end of the island including a trip into the islands only major town Ban Sala Dan which was a cozy but busy spot with about 3 streets in total. That evening on our way back down to our hotel, we had to pull up the bike as the sunset colours were amazing - see 1st photo above & this with our little camera. We went for a bite to eat close to our hotel that night - Siobhan had a red beef curry & I tried red snapper grilled in garlic & chilli (sorry for all the detail on food but in reality one of Thailand's main attractions is the food) we love it ! With us fed & watered we had an
early night looking forward to moving to our new lodgings early the next morning.
Our pick up was bang on-time but as we left we had to deal with an onslaught of questions from the hotel owner as to why we were leaving. We told him straight that we'd found a much better spot up the road & that Bht500 for his room was way too much - he offered us "Big Discount" starting with 400, then 350 then 300 Baht but we told him we were committed & left him there - Siobhan in the taxi & me trying to follow closely on our little moped. Lucky I remembered where it was 'cos I was left for dead & had to find it all by myself, made more difficult by the fact that we'd found it along the beach & didn't know where it lay on the road but I found it in the end. So happy with our new surroundings we had an hour by the pool & a fine pool may I say situated right next to the beach. By noon we were on the moped heading south exploring.
The further south in Ko Lanta
you go the more beautiful it is & we stopped at some fine spots along the way - it was very hot whenever we pulled up & so we kept the moped lit & on the move most of the time. We stopped for lunch on the most southern & beautiful beach Ao Khlong Jak in a place called "Same Same but Different" - the Thais love the English expression "Same Same" unlike Siobhan who will always remember it with contempt, she had some chicken fried rice & alas a few hours later was in a bad way & the remainder of her stay in Ko Lanta is preferred forgotton. Before we get to that, we saw the whole island that day taking in the south & all the way up the east coast. Relatively speaking, Ko Lanta wasn't badly affected by the 2004 tsunami although waves of up to 5 Mtrs hit the coastal areas. They are better prepared now with tsunami warning signs & evacuation routes almost everywhere - any high spot on the island has been deemed a tsunami gathering point & they have warning systems throughout the island.
We made it back to our new
hotel for sunset (watching sunset becomes a ritual in Thailand) & had only one beer in us when Siobhan's stomach started doing it's thing - damn Same Same !!! That night I was the only one eating & discovered a spot for the locals up on the main road which served the finest food I had eaten yet but at one third of the prices we had been paying in the tourist spots. For the remainder of our stay in Ko Lanta, I ate alone at that very spot almost becoming a regular if that can be achieved in less than two days. Our third & final day on Ko Lanta was less active with Siobhan suffering the effects of the dodgy chicken or rice whichever one had done the damage & me getting our exit route arranged for an early departure next day - we were off to Ko Phi Phi (of the film "The Beach" fame). So there ends Ko Lanta, a fine spot at any time of year but even better in the quieter month as low season brings smaller crowds & of course reduced prices, we recommend it a visit to Ko Lanta but make sure
you take a trip down south & root out those fine beaches.
KO PHI PHI DON (Andaman Sea) - Sun 27/05 to Tue 29/05
Next morning we were off early. A mini-bus picked us up at 7.00 AM & despite our driver's best efforts at winning a few additional customers for the drive back to Krabi (stage one of the journey for us), we had the whole mini-bus to ourselves which was great as Siobhan was still in dodgy territory & needed to lie down most of the way. In Krabi we got off at the ferry port outside town (a fine job if I may say, as good as any terminal you'd see in Europe) & took at 90 minute ferry to Ko Phi Phi Don 40 KM to the south east. We arrived in Ko Phi Phi Don at Ton Sai, the island's main village. The village is built on a sandy isthmus between the island's two long, tall limestone ridges. On both sides of Ton Sai are semicircular bays lined with beautiful beaches. The isthmus rises to less than two metres above sea level. It was here that the 2004 tsunami did most damage. On December
26th, the water receded from both bays & when the waves hit at 10.37 AM they met in the middle of the isthmus, one three metres high, the other six meters destroying most of the buildings & trees on the stretch with most of the debris ending up in Ton Sai Bay. In total about 4,000 people perished on the island. There is alot of re-building still going on on Ton Sai but at this stage most buildings have been rebuilt, in fact Ton Sai has a very new feel to it with some brand new three & four storey structurally sound buildings acting as tsunami gathering points for the towns inhabitants. Again, warning signs & evacuation routes were very visible everywhere.
It was very warm when we arrived & I left the patient in a cafe with the bags while I went off in search of a room for the two nights. I decided on a nice plush spot which cost us about €25 a night but it was as nice a place as we'd stayed in all of our nine months - again with low season there were some great bargains to be had & with Siobhan
Sunset at Ao La Dalam Beach, Ko Phi Phi
I managed to get Siobhan up & about for a few hours.still under the weather we needed to be in a nice spot.
Lucky enough I picked a good spot as Siobhan barely left the room in the two full days, without TV & the HBO movie channel it would have been a very long 48 hours for her. I wandered a little, taking in a film the 1st afternoon - considering where I was (& as I had just finished reading the book) I watched Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Beach" - probably no better place to watch it - it really brought the story to life although we never did get to see Ko Phi Phi Leh where the actually beach scene is filmed. Other than watching a movie, I visited the two local beaches; Ton Sai & Ao La Dalam but our plans to go further afield the next day fell apart as Siobhan was in no shape to be treking around the place (damn Same Same). We did manage to get her out & about that afternoon for a few hours close to sunset but not very far from the hotel. So, our two nights in Ko Phi Phi Don were quiet but we could see that
it is spectacular & again better in low season. We will have Ko Phi Phi still to explore when we get back to Thailand someday.
PHUKET (Andaman Sea) - Wed 30/05 to Thu 31/05
We caught the 9.30 AM ferry to Phuket the next day. Leaving Ko Phi Phi we said goodbye to fine sunshine only to be greeted by torrential showers in Phuket - even to get into a taxi we had to walk through nearly a foot deep water. As we were only staying a night & had to get to the airport the next day we decided we'd stay in Phuket town & unfortunately wouldn’t have any time to explore the islands many beaches. The weather was dreadful all day & all we could do was find an internet cafe & make the best use of our time. We did manage a walk around in the late afternoon but it was uneventful. There ends our brief stay in Phuket.
CHIANG MAI (Northern Thailand) - Thu 31/05 to Wed 06/06
Next morning we took an early taxi to the airport which is about 30 KMs north of Phuket town & caught an AirAsia flight to Bangkok
& then another one to Chiang Mai in the north of Thailand. On both flights we had very dodgy landings - more like drops really & reckoned that AirAsia (which is one of Asia's Ryanair equivalents) were cutting costs by not training their pilots!! We took a taxi into Chiang Mai & were dropped at one of the Lonely Planet's recommended hotels - Top North Hotel. Thinking we were only going to be in Chiang Mai for three nights we paid €15 for a room as after the long day’s travelling we weren't really in the mood for going hotel hunting - Top North would do for the few days - if we'd known we were going to stay for six we might have put a bit of effort into it - having said that, Top North was a grand spot even if it wasn't worth €15 a night (relatively speaking that is).
Chiang Mai is a fine city - very clean & well looked after - we stayed within the old moat & walls which surround the old town which is square in shape about 1 KM X 1 KM. We had a quiet night the 1st night
& were up the next day to do a bit of sightseeing - silly us we set off at about 11 AM when the sun was at it’s hottest & walked the old town’s perimeter & then sought out a few temples within. After three or four temples we had had enough! It was about then that we decided that we'd be mad to be rushing ourselves through Laos & Cambodia & in particular Cambodia - one of the highlights is the temples at Angkor Wat & they say you need two or three days to do it justice & there we were in Chiang Mai bored of temples already after seeing only four of them - we'll see Angkor Wat another time when we are in a more 'temple' mood, maybe when we get a bit older.
One thing that did bother us a little inThailand (but we were well warned) were the Tuk Tuk drivers touting for business (Tuk Tuks for those who don't know them are three wheeled moto-taxis). The drivers just hound you - the idea is that they get you on-board for a ridiculously low fee but then ignore your chosen destination & just
bring you to tailor shops or gem stores where they get commission on all your purchases. We really had to work hard to get rid of a few of them without offending anybody. Before the day was out, we had arranged to join a Thai cooking class the next day.
We were picked up early the next morning & first stop was the local food market where we were given a thorough overview of vegetables, fruit, various curry pastes & their flavours & uses. It was interesting but it was difficult to follow it all as we were told so much - hopefully the cooking would be easier. The cooking class was very well done, our instructor Nooky a Chiang Mai local chef was great, very informative, great English & very funny & she made the day pass very quickly. The lessons comprised of her showing us how to prepare the ingredients, then we'd do it, then she'd cook giving us loads of wok/spatula tricks & then again we'd do it. She was a great instructor & we all managed to cook some great food & learned some interesting & important things about Thai food. We made six dishes
in total starting with Pad Thai which is fried noodles with vegetables & egg (a great breakfast or anytime of the day dish), then a hot soup Tom Yam Goong, then spring rolls, then a green curry with rice & wrapped it up with flamed wok chicken & cashew nuts before making two deserts - mango sticky rice & cocunut banana. We had to eat the lot during the day & since Siobhan hadn’t really got her appetite back that was nearly 12 meals all for me, by the end of it I was stuffed to the gills & couldn't eat another thing that night.
On our 3rd day, we arranged to hire another motorbike for the next day (a moped really but I like to call it a motorbike) & that evening set off to find Chiang Mai's famous night markets. As per most of Thailand's markets, where all sorts of things have traded for thousands of years are now jam packed with foreign tourists buying all sorts of junk - most of which are replica designer gear including handbags, belts, t-shirts & watches. So we spent a few hours there getting some necessary bargaining practice in -
after our two months in New Zealand & Australia we had lost a bit of our edge in terms of wrangling a good deal. Just as we were all worn out from negotiations but with plenty of bargains in hand, we happened to stop outside a tailor shop & got chatting to the salesman outside, a lad of Indian extract, he wasn't at all pushy but filled us in on his current deals. We took his card.
That evening I wasn't feeling too well & we thought I had succumbed to Siobhan's bug - next morning showing little improvement, we had to cancel our bike plans. I spent the morning in bed but by lunch-time was coming back to myself. A bit of food in the afternoon saw me right again - our conclusion was that I was suffering from heat exhaustion from the previous two days & nothing more. With that we went wandering again & ended up back at the night markets & called into our tailor friend. Siobhan had decided that she'd get two dresses made & on our way to the Indian lad we called into numerous tailors/dress makers but none impressed us much so
we ended up with our friend from the night before. Within 30 minutes we had struck a good deal & Siobhan was measured up. Of course a salesman wouldn't be a good salesman without offering me a deal & I told him I'd consider it.
Next morning we picked up the moped albeit a day late & headed west towards Chiang Mai zoo which comes well recommended. On our way we had a run in with the local police & had our passports, licences, helmet & bike thoroughly checked - it seemed to us they were searching out everything looking for some reason to drop us a fine. However, we were saved when they got distracted attempting to stop a local on a bike (a lad without helmet, not sure what else he had on him) who sped through the police check, even with one police officer hanging out of him he kept accelerating until the officer could hold on no more, it was high adventure as a bunch of the police jumped on their motorbikes & made chase. All of a sudden we were free to go & tried in vain to give chase too (anything for a
bit of adventure). Our little moped wasn't a match for any of them & they disappeared from sight fairly fast. We made a visit to Chiang Mai University grounds which as per the city (particularly the old city) is very well kept with fine gardens & grounds.
So we made the zoo & for Bht100 (€2) we were in. The zoo is very spread out & so had to walk a fine distance to get everything in & it was one hot day with temperatures well in the 30s aswell. We saw the Pandas first, they have two, one male & one female & were given the great news that a baby is on the way shortly which will be their first successful breeding (of Pandas) in Chiang Mai. Then we saw all the usual - Hippos, Rhinos, Elephants, Giraffes etc etc. It is a lovely zoo, well organised & well managed & well worth the €2. After that we visited the Hill Tribe Museum to get a feel for the Hill Tribes as we were planning to do a tour before we left Chiang Mai. So we had a busy but enjoyable day & got to see most
of Chiang Mai & it’s outskirts. That evening we were back at the markets with our tailor friend as Siobhan was having another fitting - it was on this visit that I succumbed to his gentle pressure & ordered two suits from him which were to be accompanied by four free fitted shirts & six free ties. So I was measured up that night & had to make two return visits for fittings but it was all worth it & I was a happy camper when I tried the finished suits on our last night.
On our final full day in Chiang Mai, we decided that we’d join an organised day trip which included an elephant ride through the jungle, a visit to a few hill tribe villages & a bamboo rafting trip - the usual things that tourists do in Northern Thailand. The elephant ride was good for the 1st half hour but then became a bit tedious as the elephant kept sending his trunk back to us for bananas and Siobhan insisted we buy bag after bag to keep him happy in case he might get angry and roll over with us on board (having listened to
previous horror stories). We were impressed though - the elephant seem to be very well looked after & the reality is that these tourist trips are all that keeps the thousands of elephants in Thailand alive as their historic role in in the logging industry is all but dead as the Thai government realised that tourist $s are worth more than cut timber.
After the elephants, we went off for a walk in the jungle/hills to two hill tribe villages, can’t remember which tribes they were but it doesn’t really matter as our guide (our personal guide as we were the only two on the trip that day & had a mini-bus to ourselves) told us that the people living in the real villages in the real hills had moved & set up these villages in close proximity to Chiang Mai especially for tourist trips. There was very little authentic about them. Opium growing was the main trade of most of the many hill tribes in Thailand & bordering areas of Myanmar, China & Cambodia for the last 200 years but the Thai government has been giving incentives to them over the last ten years to encourage the growing
of other crops & their involvement in tourism activities. With our somewhat disappointing visit over we were then off for a bamboo raft ride down a local river - it all looked very dodgy as we boarded our little shaky raft but it turned out to be very relaxing & enjoyable, in fact it was a lovely hour - one of the most relaxing ever even if we got a bit wet in the arse area. So with that day over & a final trip to our tailor & the markets we made plans to get a train to Bangkok the next evening.
BANGKOK (Thailand's Capital City) Thu 07/06 to Fri 08/06
We left Chiang Mai on an overnight train at 9 PM & were in Bangkok for 7ish the next day. The train journey was fine, we were fed when we got on & again the next morning and had nice early morning scenery to enjoy as we aproached Bangkok. Once in Bangkok we took a taxi to Khao San Road area & took a room in D&D Inn which is famous for any folk who visit Bangkok & stay in the Khao San Road area. We didn’t
get up to much that day just wandered aound Khao San, had dinner & a few drinks - the overnight train took a little out of us & it really was a recovery day.
DAMNOEN SADUAK (just south of Bangkok) Fri 08/06 to Sat 09/06
After only a night in Bangkok we decided we should get out & do a bit of the touristy thing. We took a taxi up to the chaotic Southern Bus Terminal at about 3 PM, managed to find our bus after some crazy conversations with many many official looking folks. Finally we set off for our two hour journey. In the end it took us well over 3 hours mainly as a result of our bus coinciding with Thai school finishing. It was a very packed bus that arrived in Damnoen Saduak but we learned about packed buses many month before in Central America, nothing would shock us now on a bus. There are only two hotels in town & one of them was very pricey so we went for the budget option which is conveniently located in the centre of town. We arranged to hire a ‘long boat’ the next morning to visit
the local floating markets.
That night we went in search of a bite to eat, finding a restaurant was like the holy grail for us, finally after about an hour of searching we finally found a grand looking spot - it was at the very far end of town but we were delighted to see it was packed with it being a Friday night & all. We were given two fine hefty menus with what looked like hundreds of options to choose from. The problem was it was all in Thai & even with our four week Thai experience we couldn't understand a thing. The lady serving us spotted our confusion & went back inside coming back with a one page English menu with only five or six dishes. With the limited choice, it was easy to choose, we did & waited. While we were waiting we noticed that we were being stared at - not in a nasty way but more out of curiosity, especially the kids. Everyone smiled at us though. We saw some lovely dishes coming out & were disappointed that without the language we were so confined in our choices - a big family party
was going on next door to us & they got a fine big bowl of mussels that looked & smelled very tasty - 5 minutes later they had filled a small bowl of mussles for us & dropped it over to us - they were tasty I can tell you. The Thai people really are genuinely lovely people.
Next morning, we were up at 6.30 AM & were the first long boat on the canals wandering the floating markets. The market boats have everything & anything available to buy. We started with breakast - buying fruit, coffee, pad Thai & sticky rice. Most of the boats are selling tourist trinkets these days but vegetables, fruit & spices are traded here aswell. It was an interesting experience & it was thoroughly enjoyable & relaxing
BANGKOK again (Thailand's Capital City) Sat 09/06 to Tue 12/06
We arrived back in Bangkok in two hours so much quicker without the hordes of schoolkids getting on & off & took a taxi back to Khao San Road area. We had pre-booked a guest house on the internet for the remaining three nights - it was the Shambara Boutique Hostel & was in an
alleyway off the main street. We checked in & went back to collect our bags from the place we stayed on our 1st night in Bangkok. We were disappointed to find no air-conditioning with our room - the guest house had come highly recommended & with all these positive internet reviews I hadn't bothered to check the finer details - it was going to be a long hot few days. That afternoon we went in search of another tailor as Siobhan had decided that with all this good value she'd get a copy of a dress (the dress she wore to the wedding in New Zealand) so we wandered near & far meeting plenty of unscrupulous Tuk-Tuk drivers with loads of half truthed advice for us - we can spot these guys a mile away now - obviously when they are in the Tuk Tuk but they also sometimes drop the Tuk Tuk & inconspicuously (really very conspicuously) are reading a paper as they walk ahead of you & slow ever so little that you may catch up with them. When you are just beside them they'll say hello & as per the world over give you a "Heh, where
you from ?, where you going ?", their next advice is to tell you that such & such an attraction is closed today but "Big Buddha statue is over there, very good" - we can see them a mile away at this stage.
So we found a tailor after meeting a few dodgy folks who were making out that satin material was Thai silk, why I don't know as they are much the same in price over here. Anyway the con-tailors didn't get the business & we found a Nepalese (well of Nepalese extract) who was straight up & friendly & he got the business. He had 48 hours to do his stuff. That night we wandered Khao San Road area - there is so much around & the side streets are that little bit less packed & more relaxed - Khao San road has a culture all of its own - it's not western & it's not Thai - its just Khao San Road. We had dinner at a street side cafe - Siobhan having Pad Thai (Thai Noodles) with shrimp & I had vegetables in oyster sauce - tasty. You can see where is good & where
is bad by the queues waiting in line - some stalls might have 10 standing in line while next door has no-one. Then it was back home to the cauldron for a very hot & sticky night's sleep.
Next morning we had decided we can't stay any longer in the furnace & went about trying to get our money back for the following two nights, after much discussion we wangled 90% back & set off in search of a cooler spot to ensure we had a comfortable final two nights in the city of Bangkok. With all in order & bags moved we set off to do a bit of sightseeing taking a water taxi along the river Mae Nam Chao Phraya. Bangkok at one time was known as the Venice of the east & water transport remains an important means for moving Bangkok's nine or so million inhabitants. The water taxis take a little bit of getting used to - you have ten seconds to board or they are off again & boarding sometimes involves jumping a foot or two from the pier to get on the boat - the locals are well used to it & it's
always the tourists that hold up the show & clog the system. €0.20 gets you a ride to any pier along the river bank from which most of the tourist sites are only a short walk.
We decided to walk through Chinatown - it was a fine big area and a Sunday market was going on - it seemed that everyone in Bangkok had emptied the bottom of their rubbish drawer (everybody has one of them don't they) & laid it all out on a mat on the path for would-be purchasers to inspect - I suppose better to get a few Baht for it than to leave it clogging a drawer that could be used for socks or the like. Bangkok's Chinatown was more Chinese than we'd seen in Singapore & Kuala Lumpur - No.1 it was very crowded, every bit of space was consumed with small tables & stools & big huge Woks cooking up 20 Baht dinners but it was just so different from what we are used to at home - I mean very different. After an hour of wandering, we took a taxi to Pat Pong where a huge tourist market opens everynight selling
all the usual fakes - watches, sunglasses, handbags, T-shirts & anything else that can be copied. We spent a few €s improving our negotiations skills along the way - in Bangkok all starting prices are at least four times what you end up paying & arriving at that final price can be great fun. The quality of some of the fakes is amazing - I couldn't believe how well they copy some of the watches.
Pat Pong is also the main area for Bangkok’s tourist industry & from the time we arrived we were hounded by touts asking "you like sex show ?", "you like dirty DVD ?", "you like special show ?", it went on & on........we politely declined but we did catch a glimpse inside one or two Go-Go Bars where young girls parade up & down stages inside the bar area - each with a number tagged to their bikinis - now what could the number be for ? The amount of old lads walking around with young Thai girls would scare you, we had seen the same on the beaches down south but there were so many in Bangkok - obviously Thai girls must have
a thing for old fat western men 😱 With a few bargains secured we headed back to Khao San road area & grabbed a street vendor's Pad Thai for supper.
Next morning, our last full day in Bangkok we were keen to get a final bit of sightseeing & headed off a river taxi again. First we took in the Pak Khlong Flower Market - this is where all the street vendors come to purchase flowers that they make up into offerings which every car driver in Bangkok hangs from the rear view mirror to ward off bad spirits & keep them safe - some of the buses we were on had elaborate shrines on the dashboard which are very necessary as the drivers are fairly reckless at the best of times. Every traffic lights has someone selling these flower offerings. After we headed to Wat Pho which is one of Bangkok's landmarks - within is the 46M long "Reclining Buddha" - we got the usual "Wat Pho is closed for ceremony, come back at 2PM - open then, have you seen big Buddha, this way, I take you only 10 Baht" from a few Tuk Tuk lads outside
but using our "Oh, thank you, very good, thank you, very good" line we walked on to their confusion & frustration.
We wandered Wat Pho for an hour or so & then made our way back to base as we had to visit the tailor again as Siobhan had a fitting. The fitting was a disaster. Siobhan was expecting the final article, what was produced was closer to the base material than a dress & we were to visit our tailor twice more that afternoon to try & get close to the finished article. In the end after three visits we had to tell our nice Nepalese tailor that he could keep the dress as it was a total disaster - in fairness he acknowledged it was rubbish work & blamed his Thai tailor for making the initial error in cutting from which it was impossible to recover. Nobody fell out & our only loss was the few hours we had spent traipsing up & down to him that day (& it our last day in Bangkok). We realise now how lucky we were with the Indian lad in Chiang Mai.
Night time came & with the day
that was in it (it was my 35th B'day) we had one last night on the town not venturing too far from our street - it is a happening place so there is no need to venture far. Next morning we were up bright & early & took a taxi to the airport for a three hour flight to Hong Kong.
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Anne Nicholl
non-member comment
Hi
Good to read your Thailand blog, havent read one for a while. I love Thia food probably my favourite. Although dont fancy the cochroaches. Ena has booked up for the re-union in September, hard to believe its nearly a year ago. unfortunately i cant make it as Im house hunting.