25/10/11-28/10/11
A change of scenery as I moved to the west coast of the island for a few days to Karon beach, the resort just below the infamous one of Patong. My plan here was just to relax for a few days and that’s exactly what I did. My daily routine whilst here was to wake up late before heading down to the beach to spend the afternoon relaxing on a bed under an umbrella. The sand here is white and makes an audible squeaking noise when you walk on it, whilst the sea is clear and shallow so you can walk quite far out. In the evenings I took a walk along the front just to get some exercise. On the first night I lightning storm was happening in the distance over the sea so I stop off to watch its display whilst in the background there was the constant noise of the waves breaking.
My only problem was the on-going flood situation in Bangkok which was getting worst every day. When on Thursday the city was told to evacuate certain areas I tried desperately to delay my flight to Bangkok without any success, in the end I decided to ditch the flight and change my travel plans. With Bangkok turning into a no go zone I instead decided to travel down to Singapore to catch a flight from there before I head to Perth. My last week in Asia wouldn’t be spent in Thailand as I originally planned, I going to go to two new countries instead!
30/10/2011
25/10/2011
Phuket
23/10/11-24/10/11
23: With Bangkok under the threat of flooding I decided early on in Chiang Mai to escape for a few days to one of Thailand’s islands so I could hit a beach. With limited flight options from the local airport I ventured out today to Phuket, the largest of Thailand's islands. I had booked myself a couple of nights stay in the main town to muse over where I wanted to go.
That night I found a nice street bar to watch some football, the first time I've had a chance to see Spurs play since leaving home. It wasn't until I went to the toilet that I started to doubt by choice of bar. After going inside through some glazed doors I opened the toilet door to be greeted by the sight of two men being massaured by the sinks, one was having his back cracked while the other was being stretched out. I quickly went about my business and before dashing out of the door. Outside I turned to look at the name of the joint, turns out it was called Fantasia. A local online guide states the following:
Fantasia
This is another quintessentially Thai place, complete with extremely attractive and skimpily dressed dancing girls in a pretty good floor show, flashing lights, expensive drinks and a slight air of seediness. Be prepared to pay more here – for company, drinks and 'friendship'. All in all, this is a whole lot more entertaining than your typical Go-Go bar in Patong.
At least I had picked a classy place to watch the football! It sums up Thailand perfectly though, this place is just pure filth.
24: With nothing planned for the day I did what most people do when they arrive in Phuket, I visited some of the beaches. I stuck with the east coast so I first jump on the local bus to Chalong but after jumping off I found that there was hardly any beach there. I quickly move further along down to Rawai beach which I discovered is mainly use to transport tourist to neighbouring islands, so far not what I was expecting to find. I just wanted to find somewhere where I could park up for the day. Dissappointed I headed back to town safe in the knowledge that I was moving the next day to Karon on the west coast of the island. Hopefully I would find what I was looking for there.
23: With Bangkok under the threat of flooding I decided early on in Chiang Mai to escape for a few days to one of Thailand’s islands so I could hit a beach. With limited flight options from the local airport I ventured out today to Phuket, the largest of Thailand's islands. I had booked myself a couple of nights stay in the main town to muse over where I wanted to go.
That night I found a nice street bar to watch some football, the first time I've had a chance to see Spurs play since leaving home. It wasn't until I went to the toilet that I started to doubt by choice of bar. After going inside through some glazed doors I opened the toilet door to be greeted by the sight of two men being massaured by the sinks, one was having his back cracked while the other was being stretched out. I quickly went about my business and before dashing out of the door. Outside I turned to look at the name of the joint, turns out it was called Fantasia. A local online guide states the following:
Fantasia
This is another quintessentially Thai place, complete with extremely attractive and skimpily dressed dancing girls in a pretty good floor show, flashing lights, expensive drinks and a slight air of seediness. Be prepared to pay more here – for company, drinks and 'friendship'. All in all, this is a whole lot more entertaining than your typical Go-Go bar in Patong.
At least I had picked a classy place to watch the football! It sums up Thailand perfectly though, this place is just pure filth.
24: With nothing planned for the day I did what most people do when they arrive in Phuket, I visited some of the beaches. I stuck with the east coast so I first jump on the local bus to Chalong but after jumping off I found that there was hardly any beach there. I quickly move further along down to Rawai beach which I discovered is mainly use to transport tourist to neighbouring islands, so far not what I was expecting to find. I just wanted to find somewhere where I could park up for the day. Dissappointed I headed back to town safe in the knowledge that I was moving the next day to Karon on the west coast of the island. Hopefully I would find what I was looking for there.
24/10/2011
Chiang Mai
18/10/11 – 22/10/11
18-20: On route to Chiang Mai we stop off at the White Temple, one of the most unique temples in the world due to its artistic decoration. Last day of my tour with Gap (now known as G-Adventures) so we have a final meal at the coupon place in the Night Bazaar before a few drinks at a local bar. The next day I transfer to a hostel and go to see Thai boxing in the evening. This is followed up on the 20th with me visiting some of the local temples here – Wat Jediluang, Wat Chiangmun. After I have a quick walk through the local China Town here where straight away you can see the difference in culture.
21: I have a day trip to the Elephant Nature Park (ENP). Instead of going elephant riding at another attraction I instead choose to visit the ENP because here they rescue injured or rejected animals and give them some much need care and attention, and most importantly love. On arriving we are first taken to see two elephants which have been injured by land mines in Burma. You can clearly see the damage they have suffered as they can only put weight on three legs. One had its ankle blow off while the other lost its toe. We have a quick chance to feed them before we head back to the main building to feed some of the other elephants. After feeding its bath time so we each grab a bucket before heading down to the river which runs alongside the sanctuary, time to get wet. As the elephants step in we all join in to throw water over them to help them cool off in the hot weather. Then we grab our own lunch before we have another chance to meet other residents here where the process is repeated. We are also shown a video about the work done here and the ritual elephants have to go through so they are made submissive to work. I have had a great day and am happy I choose to go somewhere where these massive creatures are being helped.
22: Another animal day as I head to Chiang Mai zoo further out of town to hopefully see pandas. My mission is successful and I get to see 3 of only 35 pandas outside of China. Disappointed that they are all asleep I head for the exit but am stopped in my tracks by the sound of raised voices behind me as one decides its food time and wakes up to feed. They are big creatures and its surprising how man-like their movements are, they are also very fussy eaters. That evening I head out with the last member of my tour group who stuck around the same as me for one last meal. Been a bit of a sad week as I have mostly only said goodbye to people, a chance in scenery is needed.
18-20: On route to Chiang Mai we stop off at the White Temple, one of the most unique temples in the world due to its artistic decoration. Last day of my tour with Gap (now known as G-Adventures) so we have a final meal at the coupon place in the Night Bazaar before a few drinks at a local bar. The next day I transfer to a hostel and go to see Thai boxing in the evening. This is followed up on the 20th with me visiting some of the local temples here – Wat Jediluang, Wat Chiangmun. After I have a quick walk through the local China Town here where straight away you can see the difference in culture.
21: I have a day trip to the Elephant Nature Park (ENP). Instead of going elephant riding at another attraction I instead choose to visit the ENP because here they rescue injured or rejected animals and give them some much need care and attention, and most importantly love. On arriving we are first taken to see two elephants which have been injured by land mines in Burma. You can clearly see the damage they have suffered as they can only put weight on three legs. One had its ankle blow off while the other lost its toe. We have a quick chance to feed them before we head back to the main building to feed some of the other elephants. After feeding its bath time so we each grab a bucket before heading down to the river which runs alongside the sanctuary, time to get wet. As the elephants step in we all join in to throw water over them to help them cool off in the hot weather. Then we grab our own lunch before we have another chance to meet other residents here where the process is repeated. We are also shown a video about the work done here and the ritual elephants have to go through so they are made submissive to work. I have had a great day and am happy I choose to go somewhere where these massive creatures are being helped.
22: Another animal day as I head to Chiang Mai zoo further out of town to hopefully see pandas. My mission is successful and I get to see 3 of only 35 pandas outside of China. Disappointed that they are all asleep I head for the exit but am stopped in my tracks by the sound of raised voices behind me as one decides its food time and wakes up to feed. They are big creatures and its surprising how man-like their movements are, they are also very fussy eaters. That evening I head out with the last member of my tour group who stuck around the same as me for one last meal. Been a bit of a sad week as I have mostly only said goodbye to people, a chance in scenery is needed.
Mekong River
14/10/11 – 17/10/11
14-15: Stayed in Luang Prabang (Laos). Lovely town next to the Mekong River, classic architecture, feels a lot like Hoi An but not so touristy. During my stay I visited Wat Tham Phu a temple on top of the only hill in town, great views of the local surroundings. Also visited the Night Market which runs through the centre of town, a massive market which sells all sorts of gifts, I pick up a monk painting made on special local paper.
16-17: Board a Slow Boat as we make a two day journey to the Thai border along the Mekong River, which I have come across before on my travels. We have an overnight stay in Pak Beng, a small riverside town with only one bar. Here I eat Buffalo and tried the local rice wine – Lao Lao. End up visiting the only bar which we turn into a nightclub. The next day after a 10 hour boat journey we reach Chiang Khong (Thailand) where we have to perform a water border crossing.
14-15: Stayed in Luang Prabang (Laos). Lovely town next to the Mekong River, classic architecture, feels a lot like Hoi An but not so touristy. During my stay I visited Wat Tham Phu a temple on top of the only hill in town, great views of the local surroundings. Also visited the Night Market which runs through the centre of town, a massive market which sells all sorts of gifts, I pick up a monk painting made on special local paper.
16-17: Board a Slow Boat as we make a two day journey to the Thai border along the Mekong River, which I have come across before on my travels. We have an overnight stay in Pak Beng, a small riverside town with only one bar. Here I eat Buffalo and tried the local rice wine – Lao Lao. End up visiting the only bar which we turn into a nightclub. The next day after a 10 hour boat journey we reach Chiang Khong (Thailand) where we have to perform a water border crossing.
Blog changes
As you can tell I have fallen behind with my blog already. Due to not having the time to do updates every day I am now going to do weekly summaries of what I have done in weekly segments. If I feel there are any worth well stories to post I will accordingly along with lists of travel related stuff.
Mount Doom
13/10/11
Today was to be the best day so far of my travels, and one of the best experiences of my life.
I and one other of the group had booked up yesterday to take part in a full day of trekking and kayaking. As we were dropped off at our starting place we discovered that it was only us two and a guide that would be doing this particular activity, others were booked in to do different stuff. The first half of the day would involve trekking through the surrounding mountains up to a waterfall before stopping off to have a BBQ dinner. But to start our trek we first had to cross one of the scariest bridges in the world. It spanned across the Mekong River and was simply a narrow wire bridge with bamboo as decking, not too bad until you actually had to cross it. Baring in mind that people are shorter out here I soon discovered that the guide wire across the side of the bridge was at knee level for me forcing me to have to adopt a crouching position, a slight hindrance. As I started crossing behind an elderly local women who was heading to harvest the rice paddies the next problem became apparent, this bridge wasn’t level. The further I moved out the more the bridge began to lean to the right hand side, resulting in the elderly woman upfront to start shouting out probably to tell me to stop rocking the bridge! As a result I slowed down to let her cross without me making the trip any harder for her but the leaning problem was only getting worst, it was now leaning at more than a 45 degree angle. To compensate I shifted my weight more to the left hand side but this didn’t approve things. To make matters even worst over half way through the bamboo decking starting to disappear literally as giant gaps appeared in front of me. What remain of the bamboo had either fallen off or was simply broken with only the bamboo on the leaning right hand side in a reasonably sound condition. Never less I eventually made it to the other side surprised that I hadn’t fallen into the river, not the sort of start I expected!
Next we made our way through the rice paddies to the foot of the mountains before beginning our first ascent up rocks which had fallen down during a landslide at some point, halfway we stopped off to look into a cave which we might try and make our way through later, although no one had been able to go through it yet due to the water level inside. At the top we got our first view across the valley below and saw where the waterfall we were heading to was located but to get there we had to descend to ground level again before climbing up a mountain on the other side of a farm full of cattle and water buffalo. After another ascent we finally find the river that was the result of the waterfall and so switching to my sandals we started to wade our way upstream to find our target. Eventually we arrived at the base of the waterfall were after a quick dip we had a BBQ lunch with the sound of rushing water around us. Out in the mountains you quickly realise how much larger things in nature are, leafs on plants are huge and bugs and insects are bigger than the ones you normally see.
After lunch it was time to make our return back down to the river to board our kayak. To get there faster the guide suggested we took a look at a cave system that went under the mountain, apparently done to water levels inside no one had been able to pass through it that year but he suggested we had a look anyway. Unprepared for this no one had thought to bring a flash light with them so on the way our guide pick up some dry bamboo to which we could fashion some torch to provide light. Stepping down we eventually found the entrance to the cave, all around us you could hear the roar of flowing water and the few rays of light that entered shine off the water vapour in the air. At this point looking into the pitch blackness I thought this was a silly thing to do, but our guide never less soon had the bamboo lit and with him ready to lead the way we grab our makeshift torches and adventured into the darkness. The whole situation felt like it had come straight from an Indiana Jones movie, with us up to our knees in water crouching low with the only light coming from the burning bamboo, to me it felt like proper exploring. Eventually after about 15 minutes and with our bamboo nearly exhausted, we finally saw sunlight pouring through our exit to the cave. Once out high-fives were handed out all round, the only bad thing that had happen was take I found I had picked up an unwelcome guest in the form of a leech which was fasten to my foot!
We now had a long trek to pick up our kayaks from further down the river but this was to be a pleasant stroll through the rice paddies where workers were getting ready to harvest their crop. Throughout this section we walked along the base of the mountains and were able to just enjoy Laos’s stunning scenery. But the atmosphere soon c hanged as we neared the river again as modern pop tunes filled the air; we had come to the start point of the notorious tubing here in Vangvieng. Most travellers flock to this part to take part in the tubing, which basically involves you hiring out a rubber ring which you use to flow down the river while all along bars on the riverbank try to pull you in buy drinks and party. After the beautiful sights we had seen that day, it was a shame to see people getting drunk and listening to loud music whilst out in the adjoining fields local people were busy at work harvesting their crops in full sight of it. Anyway for us our kayak session was to be a non-stop ride down the river back to the town taking just over an hour. For me it had been one of the best experiences in my life, a struggle at sometimes but never less a rewarding one. And to round off a prefect day that evening a lighting storm passed over the town before making its way over the mountains. In the pitch darkness every lighting strike laminated the shape of the mountains, an engrossing sight to watch.
Today was to be the best day so far of my travels, and one of the best experiences of my life.
I and one other of the group had booked up yesterday to take part in a full day of trekking and kayaking. As we were dropped off at our starting place we discovered that it was only us two and a guide that would be doing this particular activity, others were booked in to do different stuff. The first half of the day would involve trekking through the surrounding mountains up to a waterfall before stopping off to have a BBQ dinner. But to start our trek we first had to cross one of the scariest bridges in the world. It spanned across the Mekong River and was simply a narrow wire bridge with bamboo as decking, not too bad until you actually had to cross it. Baring in mind that people are shorter out here I soon discovered that the guide wire across the side of the bridge was at knee level for me forcing me to have to adopt a crouching position, a slight hindrance. As I started crossing behind an elderly local women who was heading to harvest the rice paddies the next problem became apparent, this bridge wasn’t level. The further I moved out the more the bridge began to lean to the right hand side, resulting in the elderly woman upfront to start shouting out probably to tell me to stop rocking the bridge! As a result I slowed down to let her cross without me making the trip any harder for her but the leaning problem was only getting worst, it was now leaning at more than a 45 degree angle. To compensate I shifted my weight more to the left hand side but this didn’t approve things. To make matters even worst over half way through the bamboo decking starting to disappear literally as giant gaps appeared in front of me. What remain of the bamboo had either fallen off or was simply broken with only the bamboo on the leaning right hand side in a reasonably sound condition. Never less I eventually made it to the other side surprised that I hadn’t fallen into the river, not the sort of start I expected!
Next we made our way through the rice paddies to the foot of the mountains before beginning our first ascent up rocks which had fallen down during a landslide at some point, halfway we stopped off to look into a cave which we might try and make our way through later, although no one had been able to go through it yet due to the water level inside. At the top we got our first view across the valley below and saw where the waterfall we were heading to was located but to get there we had to descend to ground level again before climbing up a mountain on the other side of a farm full of cattle and water buffalo. After another ascent we finally find the river that was the result of the waterfall and so switching to my sandals we started to wade our way upstream to find our target. Eventually we arrived at the base of the waterfall were after a quick dip we had a BBQ lunch with the sound of rushing water around us. Out in the mountains you quickly realise how much larger things in nature are, leafs on plants are huge and bugs and insects are bigger than the ones you normally see.
After lunch it was time to make our return back down to the river to board our kayak. To get there faster the guide suggested we took a look at a cave system that went under the mountain, apparently done to water levels inside no one had been able to pass through it that year but he suggested we had a look anyway. Unprepared for this no one had thought to bring a flash light with them so on the way our guide pick up some dry bamboo to which we could fashion some torch to provide light. Stepping down we eventually found the entrance to the cave, all around us you could hear the roar of flowing water and the few rays of light that entered shine off the water vapour in the air. At this point looking into the pitch blackness I thought this was a silly thing to do, but our guide never less soon had the bamboo lit and with him ready to lead the way we grab our makeshift torches and adventured into the darkness. The whole situation felt like it had come straight from an Indiana Jones movie, with us up to our knees in water crouching low with the only light coming from the burning bamboo, to me it felt like proper exploring. Eventually after about 15 minutes and with our bamboo nearly exhausted, we finally saw sunlight pouring through our exit to the cave. Once out high-fives were handed out all round, the only bad thing that had happen was take I found I had picked up an unwelcome guest in the form of a leech which was fasten to my foot!
We now had a long trek to pick up our kayaks from further down the river but this was to be a pleasant stroll through the rice paddies where workers were getting ready to harvest their crop. Throughout this section we walked along the base of the mountains and were able to just enjoy Laos’s stunning scenery. But the atmosphere soon c hanged as we neared the river again as modern pop tunes filled the air; we had come to the start point of the notorious tubing here in Vangvieng. Most travellers flock to this part to take part in the tubing, which basically involves you hiring out a rubber ring which you use to flow down the river while all along bars on the riverbank try to pull you in buy drinks and party. After the beautiful sights we had seen that day, it was a shame to see people getting drunk and listening to loud music whilst out in the adjoining fields local people were busy at work harvesting their crops in full sight of it. Anyway for us our kayak session was to be a non-stop ride down the river back to the town taking just over an hour. For me it had been one of the best experiences in my life, a struggle at sometimes but never less a rewarding one. And to round off a prefect day that evening a lighting storm passed over the town before making its way over the mountains. In the pitch darkness every lighting strike laminated the shape of the mountains, an engrossing sight to watch.
15/10/2011
Laos
10/10/11
An early start as we said goodbye to now close friends as
the remainder of our group started the next leg of our journey to Laos. We had
a long 10 hour bus journey ahead of us, which included having lunch at the
remote bar where most of the local men inside were drunk on rice wine! The
journey wasn’t too bad especially near the border as a winding mountain road
gave us an insight into some of the scenery we would experience during our time
in Laos. Gone are the flat lands of constant rice paddies, now stunning rock
formations and mountains would be the order of the day. After crossing the
border we had only a short journey to our overnight rest stop in the sleepy
town of Lae Sao, here we toured the market before grabbing some food before
hitting the sack.
11/10/11
Another early start as we headed on to Vientiane one of the
smallest capital cities in the world. It
lays next to the Mekong River with Laos on one side and Thailand on the other.
On arriving we discover it is festival time in the city as the Buddhist Lent is
coming to an end as well as a boat festival is being held. The water front is
full of stalls and music stages as this city celebrates these events. That
night we decide to eat out from one of the stalls to experience the part
atmosphere, the place is full of people so after a while we decide to catch a
quick drink at a local jazz bar, very classy night out for our group! I end up
ordering a Pimm’s – very refreshing after a long day.
12/10/11
With only the morning to explore the capital city
most of us jump on a tuk tuk tour to quickly see the main sights. We first stop
off at Wat Ho Phakso and Wat Si Saket, the latter contains over 7,000 Buddha’s.
After we visit Pha That Luang the nation’s main monument before finally
checking out the views from the Victory Monument, which was built from concrete
that was supplied by USA to actually build a runway – opps! After our whistle
stop tour we jump back on the bus again to move on to our next destination –
Vang Vieng. On arriving we discover that a boat festival is in full flow here
as well. That night I book a full day trekking/kayaking tour to take place the
next day.
An early start as we said goodbye to now close friends as
the remainder of our group started the next leg of our journey to Laos. We had
a long 10 hour bus journey ahead of us, which included having lunch at the
remote bar where most of the local men inside were drunk on rice wine! The
journey wasn’t too bad especially near the border as a winding mountain road
gave us an insight into some of the scenery we would experience during our time
in Laos. Gone are the flat lands of constant rice paddies, now stunning rock
formations and mountains would be the order of the day. After crossing the
border we had only a short journey to our overnight rest stop in the sleepy
town of Lae Sao, here we toured the market before grabbing some food before
hitting the sack.
11/10/11
Another early start as we headed on to Vientiane one of the
smallest capital cities in the world. It
lays next to the Mekong River with Laos on one side and Thailand on the other.
On arriving we discover it is festival time in the city as the Buddhist Lent is
coming to an end as well as a boat festival is being held. The water front is
full of stalls and music stages as this city celebrates these events. That
night we decide to eat out from one of the stalls to experience the part
atmosphere, the place is full of people so after a while we decide to catch a
quick drink at a local jazz bar, very classy night out for our group! I end up
ordering a Pimm’s – very refreshing after a long day.
12/10/11
With only the morning to explore the capital city
most of us jump on a tuk tuk tour to quickly see the main sights. We first stop
off at Wat Ho Phakso and Wat Si Saket, the latter contains over 7,000 Buddha’s.
After we visit Pha That Luang the nation’s main monument before finally
checking out the views from the Victory Monument, which was built from concrete
that was supplied by USA to actually build a runway – opps! After our whistle
stop tour we jump back on the bus again to move on to our next destination –
Vang Vieng. On arriving we discover that a boat festival is in full flow here
as well. That night I book a full day trekking/kayaking tour to take place the
next day.
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