Returning from the monkey temple, yesterday, we had this interesting idea of just getting small bits of food in different places, which worked great. That evening and the next day, we took it easy, had some good conversations with mostly Marynard, but also Jarod and Julien from Germany. In the afternoon, we picked up a simcard. In the end we went to our non-preferred provider, ncell, which they say has great coverage in the big cities, but not so much when we go hiking. We'll see. The reason for the change is that after going to many different shops, we couldn't find one that offered a lot of data for a good price. We should have gone for the deal at the airport: 28GB for 1200 rupees (9 euros), but the best thing we could find ... read more

Arrived safe and sound. After some initial trouble passing customs, finding the right truck and getting trough the busy Kathmandu traffic, we arrived at our destination: shangri-la boutique hotel and had a hearthy welcome from the manager, Bino. Had food (an Indian curry for me) at a place I think was called 'French kitchen', with Holly from England, who we met in the bus. The next day we arranged a driver and guide and went to see Patan and the royal palace. We would never have found all the small places that were interesting. Nothing is marked. No street names entryways, signs, etc. So on the way there, we dove into a small alley / square, took off our shoes and went up the stairs into a house. At the top, there was a small 2 ... read more

The road back is a long one. I made my way to krabi Airport by scooter, then minivan, after I turned it in. Had a good flight to Bangkok and found my way to the city link rail. I had booked a hostel in the (new) city center. After walking the final kilometer, I found these luxurious beds (pic). I checked out the city at night and, I must say, I like it better than the previous time. The hustle and bustle is a little more.. Sedated. There's night markets. The smog is not nearly as bad. The pretty lights give the city a new and interesting perspective. I followed the largest road in the world for quite a bit and returned by skytrain. The street is full of small stands, but also ginormous shopping malls ... read more

A sunny beach and mangrove forest hide one of the nicest hostels I stayed at. 'The Bananas' was the perfect place to end my stay in Southern Thailand. At the time I'm writing this, there's only one more day to go before I leave the land of smiles. And incidentally, about an hour, before I hop on my scooter, drive back to Ao Nang and get a shared taxi to the airport. I felt a bit.. Apprehensive before coming here. Locked in, a victim of my own planning (or lack thereof). I booked the plane ticket from krabi earlier, because I expected to go to koh Lipe (but didn't, because of the weather. People that actually went told me this was a good decision, but still..) it caused me to have to stay in the krabi ... read more

By request I'd like to tell you a bit about what to expect from Thailand, when travelling it's beautiful parks, noisy cities, friendly people and ..OK transportation system :) And add some special requests I've gotten. First of all, Thailand is a pretty big (but not massive) country. Travelling the whole thing, North to south, by train, would take you about 1.5 days, if you keep moving. Thailand is generally divided in 'The north', which is a bit less touristy, economically developed, cheaper. There's more nature, more jungles, fresh fruit everywhere. Even some semi-indiginous Hill tribe people you may visit. Then there's the islands (south). Those are where the masses of tourists go. And for good reason: warm seas, tropical beaches, Rocky Islands jutting out from the water... And a very big bar/party scene on most ... read more