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Published: October 28th 2008
We continued our journey by taking the train from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok. The ride consisted of two overnight train journeys with a half-day stop in Butterworth, Malaysia. This gave us an excellent chance to cross over to Penang and explore the historic city of Georgetown. Its colonial buildings and bustling Chinatown have recently earned it a place on UNESCO's world heritage list.
We arrived in Bangkok on a Saturday to a light drizzle and very packed train station. The gloomy weather, crowds, and traffic jam made it very difficult to find a taxi. Later, someone told us that it was a national holiday, due to voting that Sunday. This proved to be true, since on Sunday nearly all businesses were closed and we ran into a herd of Thai boyscouts in the park doing some kind of presentation.
This was our second trip to Bangkok, and I am sorry to say that I liked it much less than I had on the first visit. More than the heat, the crowds, and the dirt, was the gauntlet of scam artists one has to dodge simply to walk down the street. Usually, these situations involve extremely elaborate plots, orchestrated by
slick, smiling individuals addressing you as "my friend" and try desperately to win your trust. Generally, they are hoping to lure you in to one store or another to get a commission. Easily avoidable, yet still extremely frustrating when you realize every person with a kind word towards you is really just hoping to empty your pockets.
Still, we had a lot of fun, ate some delicious food, and were able to visit some of the sights we had missed the first time around, such as Wat Pho and the infamous Kao San Rd.
Our guesthouse was also fantastic; clean, modern, vibrant, and located in the business district of Silom. For anyone out there heading to Bangkok, I would highly recommend staying at Lub D Hostel.
We spent our second wedding anniversary in the city, and celebrated by going to Lumphini Stadium for a Muay Thai match. What else could anyone ask for on their anniversary than to watch two sweaty men kick and pummel one another? Actually, it was fantastic. We got front row seats close enought to see the sweat fly-completely worth shelling out for. Supposedly, Tuesday night at Lumphini consists of the best fighters,
and it was certainly true. One fighter left the ring in a stretcher, another in a wheelchair.
Politically speaking, it has been a rough month for Thailand. Thai and Cambodian troops exchanged fire on the border near the disputed province of Preah Vinear. And on October 7, two people were killed and hundreds injured when protestors clashed with police at a government building in Bangkok. The protestors were members of the People's Alliance for Democracy, and both sides blame the other for extreme use of force. Supposedly, the deaths have been linked to explosions of poor quality, Chinese tear gas grenades. In the days that followed many people were hoping the military would step in to resolve the issue, rather than leave it to the government (viewed as rather fragile at the moment due to the frequent turnover of Prime Ministers).
Storing some excess luggage at our hostel, we left the city several days later, headed back south to Surat Thani on the train. From there we took a bus to Krabi and then a boat to Koh Phi-Phi. The island is extremely beautiful, known for the stunning karts formations that surround the turquoise bay. The main tourist
Palms
Koh Phi Phiarea is located on a strip of land between the two beaches; and is filled with bars, restaurants, travel agencies, internet cafes, shops, massage, hotels, and tattoo/piercing parlors. With the thriving tourist industry and every necessity within blocks, it felt more like another planet than anything else; completely its own entity.
It is great to see how the island has recovered from the devastating 2004 tsunami, though it is nearly impossible not to think about it still.
We enjoyed lounging at our favorite bookstore/cafe and doing some snorkeling. One day we hired a longtail boat to take us to nearby Koh Phi Phi Leh. Part of the island, Maya Bay, was the location of "the Beach" in the film version of Alex Garland's acclaimed novel. On another day we made a short kayak trip to Monkey Beach, which was very quiet and had some good snorkeling nearby.
When we were finally able to tear ourselves away, we took a boat to Rai Leh, located about an hour and a half from Koh Phi Phi. Rai Leh is an isthmus, only accessible by sea, with two crescent-shaped bays to the east and west surrounded by shaggy limestone cliffs.
Sunrise
Rai Leh Bay The area is famous for its world class rockclimbing.
We had planned on staying for several days, however, after a sleepless night inspired by the sighting of a large cockroach creeping across the ceiling of our bungalow, we decided to move on. By this point both of us were feeling burned out from weeks of lugging our bags around and sleeping in stuffy train compartments...so rather than bouncing around trying to cram as many sight in as possible, we decided to head to the east coast for our final week and stay put.
Before leaving, we did get to enjoy Rai Leh's unquestionable beauty. Unable to sleep, we went to the beach to watch the sunrise around 5:30 am, and then headed the Hat Rai Leh West, the better beach for swimming, for an early morning dip before anyone else was up. Truly one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen.
That afternoon we took a longtail boat to Krabi, and then a bus back across to Surat Thani, where we spent the night before transferring to Koh Pha-Ngan by boat the next morning.
If I hadn't taken a closer look at the Lonely
Monk
Wat Pho Planet I probably would have passed by the island. Though a backpacker favorite, it is most famous for its monthly Full Moon Parties, where crowds of over 10,000 ravers gather on the beach for alchohol and techno music. However, Pha-Ngan is a huge island, with many quiet and isolated beaches in addition to Hat Rin, where the parties are held. We stayed on the far north of the island, near Mae Hat beach. Our resort was gorgeous and quiet, and since it was still technically the rainy season, we got a great deal. It also had an excellent pool.
It was wonderful to avoid the pressures of sightseeing and simply sit on our balcony and look out at the ocean. Nearby Mae Hat beach had some very good snorkeling (though we were often thwarted by swarms of stinging jellyfish). It was very quiet, with some local homes and low-key bungalows and cafes.
The weather was generally very good. There was usually one large thunderstorm per day in the late morning, with the skies clearing later in the day.
As I read back through this entry, I feel like my writing falls flat. Perhaps I am not a
very good storyteller, but I think anyone would have a hard time describing exactly how beautiful southern Thailand really is. So just look at the pictures...or better yet, see it for yourself.
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Diana
non-member comment
WOW!!
Spectacular photos of amazing sunrises and sunsets, beautiful beaches, artistic photos...love the flip-flops and the puppy! Your travelog is beautifully written, painting a picture for our minds to enjoy. I look forward to your next entry! Diana