Thailand Travels

So many people have been to Thailand, several many times so we were interested to see what it was all about. The first two weeks we really followed the tourist route, although travelling the reverse of the regular back packer. With hindsight our decision to 'go with the flow' was perhaps a mistake as the popular places were not perhaps what we would have chosen after more research.

Our first stop, Phuket was another big island which unexpectedly was full of Russians, with the bonus that the locals were rather pleased to see a smiling British person. We stayed a couple of nights at Patong beach, quickly realising this was too busy for us and so moved 10 minutes up the road to Karon beach - still touristy but quieter & more our style. From there we did day trip - snorkelling off various other islands - Koh Phi Phi in particular and of course 'The Beach' immortalised by Di Caprio as a quiet reclusive resort. Not so the day we visited!

Next stop was Ao Nang beach - on the mainland, near to Krabi Town and our favourite place on the Andaman coast. From there we travelled by coach, I think we both fell asleep (so much for sightseeing) across the country to the coast of the Gulf of Thailand and a ferry over to Koh Samui. We learnt a lot about ferries on this trip. Always get a seat inside, with air conditioning, as on the deck seats you get soaked by the spray..or the waves that wash over...and you can see how they capsize every now and again. It was here that we made a slight mistake ( We, as in Paul) in hotel choice. The Ark Bar was the party centre of the island with music starting at 8 am building to ear-numbing levels from midday to 2am but we survived 3 days. They did have a great fire breathing/ firework type display at nights though and the first night we wandered down the beach until it was quiet and dosed on some other hotels sunbeds until it was safe to go back. Moving on to Koh Tao which was busy but more laid back, we stretched out on cushions on the beach with cocktails to see the sunset. More snorkelling at five sites around the island, as you can see from the pictures we really got into the snorkelling, but missed the seeing the sharks which were under the boat, and enjoyed a very pleasant couple of hours on Koh Nang Yuan Island. It is small but apparently in the top 10 most beautiful islands in the world.

After two weeks lounging on beaches soaking up the sun we really didn't feel like we'd seen anything of the real Thailand and discussed at length what we should do for the last week. The decision was to go to Bangkok via Kanchanaburi - leaving Chaing Mai and the north for another time. most people seemed to go from Koh Tao to Bangkok - either by air,road or train then go out again to Kanchanaburi but feeling brave and adventurous we decided to make our way directly there by train and during the day so we could take in the scenery. As the ferry from the island did not tie in with the train we arranged to stay one night in Chumphon, very normal small Thai city. It was cheap with the bonus of a 1 hr massage for £3 so a good place to break the trip! The train cost £1.50 each (3rd class) but we could see from the timetable that it would take some time - Paul said 5 stops but that turned out to be just the major cities - actually about 15 other scheduled stops plus about 30 others.....it was slow, very slow but interesting especially watching the other passengers, almost all locals. It was late leaving by 30mins & by time we got off that had increased to 75 mins. Whilst on the train we realised that we would not get to Kanchnaburi by train that day, especially as it was late, unless we got off sooner ....the decision was where - with the help of pictures drawn by Paul & discussions with the conductor, plus vague recollections of what a man at Chumphon station had told us the day before, we decided to get off at Ban Pong where apparently buses went every hour to Kanchanaburi. Everyone was very helpful and after getting off the train we were shepherded by men on mopeds ( we think city guides) to the bus station where they were already expecting us and packed us on the coach. We now know that these are the main buses from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi, which all makes sense of what the people were telling us, but at the time it was very stressful.

Here we booked a sightseeing trip which meant a long day but allowed us to take in lots of sights. Our first stop Erawan waterfalls covered 7 levels over about two and a half km, all up hill, with the last km involving some serious climbing with no defined path. The scenery was stunning and the swimming and waterslide in four pools on the way back made it all worthwhile. An early lunch then off the Elephant Camp for a 30 min ride starting with a steep slope down to the river to cool the elephant off, scary...I was not sure what to expect but was glad when we came out still dry and set off around camp!! They are amazing animals, the driver had complete control without resorting to any stick - he ran all over the animal and was lifted up and down on the trunk. When Paul tried he was not so agile...

We followed this with a speed up the river on a long tail boat and then a lovely float back down river on bamboo raft with Paul having another dip to cool down. On return to the elephant camp we had a bit of time to spare so Paul fed our elephant bananas ( and talked to him!!! ). The next stop was the 'death railway' where we walked along part as well as taking a short trip on the actual train. The day finished off appropriately at the Bridge over River Kwai which we walked over...a great end to a great day.

Of course, in Kanchanaburi there is also the The War Cemetery for PoW's forced to work on the Thailand/Burma railway/bridge which we saw and also a Museum - we opted out of a visit but apparently it's very emotional but good. Instead we decided on an afternoon visit to a 'Tiger Temple' - a monastery set in a forest now dedicated to rescue tigers and various other animals. We were not sure what to expect as reviews we had read were mixed, but it was really interesting, although very hot. As far as we could see the tigers were not drugged or under any duress, just well fed and quite sensibly, in the afternoon sun just lazy! A big attraction is having your photo taken with a live tiger .....we decided not to bother - too bigger queue or maybe a bit scared - but in the end we found a small tiger statue instead!

This just left the weekend for the capital Bangkok which as the protests were ongoing we thought was sensible....see later!!! Feeling we'd experienced enough Thai trains we took a coach to which unfortunately only went to the outskirts of the city but after a dodgy taxi ride to the BTS station we used the Sky train to get to our hotel in the centre.....interesting - with rucksacks on crowded Friday afternoon train ( just like Japan)!!

On our first day we set off shopping - again in search of shoes for Paul. The current UK Government advice for travellers to Bangkok is to stay away from protest sites......however, it seemed to us that the only way to get to the shopping mall was to walk through one of the said camps - fortunately all very peaceful but we did breathe a sigh of relief as we made it to the mall. Still no shoes to fit so we left and tried to find a different way back but this time somehow managed to enter, unchallenged, the police encampment...This was even more scary as teams of riot shielded and armed police kept appearing round corners and we could not seem to find our way out....at last we followed a group of people who looked like protesters who had just been released (Catherine thinks canteen staff) and found the only exit which was guarded....so how we got in we'll never know!

Still a bit of excitement - but enough, so the next day we avoided those areas and enjoyed the 'hop on, hop off' tourist boat on the Chao Phraya river taking in the sites, mainly from the river - though stopping off for a very nice lunch!

Throughout our time in Thailand we had been looking forward to the final day.....not because we didn't like it or because we couldn't wait for India - but after 6 months away, meeting up with Pete & Jill, (brother & sister-in-law), was definitely a highlight. They had just spent a month travelling in Laos & Cambodia and we had a lovely evening catching up and comparing notes on Asian adventures. Despite it being just the two of us for 6 months it felt strange leaving the hotel the next morning without them - almost like we'd forgotten something. Perhaps, something to do with all those holidays we've been on together in the past?.....Or maybe, as am sure Pete will comment, it was just that our rucksacks are several kgs lighter now!!

PS - Thanks for the comments - great to know you are still reading/enjoying! Glad Elmhurst Drive is unchanged and managing without us ......Be great to see you in Doha, Granville - but only if you bring Ruth too!!