Monday 28 July 2008

Trang, Ko Lipe & Hat Yai

So without Greg I didn't fancy staying in Krabi and I found I didn't want to go to any of the possible destinations we had looked at before deciding on Krabi so I headed for Trang.


Trang is a city in the south where there is absolutely nothing to do! I spent just the one night there. Had a wonder about a few of the streets and visited the night market for some food.


The owner of the guest house arranged for me to get a speed boat to Ko Lipe its part of the Tarutao - Adung National Park and the only island you can stay on. The sea gypsies or Chao Le were there before it became a national park and under Thai law this land cannot be taken from which i think is quite cool.



The owner of the guest house did warn me that as its now low season parts of the island will have closed down. She dropped me at the bus station the following morning and I made my way to the pier.



the bus journey was fine, even the speed boat (2hrs) was fine it rained at one point at we all got wet but eventually we arrived- there was no pier so we had to wade off the boat onto the beach.



Now it was time to find somewhere to stay. The owner of the guest house was not kidding when she said places would be shut, i don't think that even she expected the whole island to be shut though! It took about two hours in the now blazing sunshine to walk from one side of the island to the other with my back pack and i eventually ended up back at the boat.



The chap who ran the speedboat was very nice he arranged for me to have a beach hut from the same place he was staying and as it was technically closed it was very cheap. I was warned that there would be no electricity except between the hours of six and nine PM. This turned out not to be the case there was no electricity to my hut full stop!



As there was no where to eat food the Boatman and his crew also invited me to dinner which was really nice of them- the food was really really hot. Apparently he lives on the island during the high season but goes back to the mainland for the monsoon weather. each week weather permitting he comes across and spends two nights on the island ferrying locals and random travellers such as my self.



He explained that the beaches around the south were not their best at the moment as they were heading into monsoon season and the sea was dredging all sorts off rubbish off the sea bed and dumping it on sand. In about September groups of people would arrive for a massive clean up operation.



he also explained about the Chao Le, they do not speak Thai but a dialect of Malay and they have no religion except ultimate respect for the sea and an ancestor. This ancestor was an Indonesian fellow who married into the tribe and eventually led a group to settle on Lipe and for this he is honoured.



We arranged to meet for breakfast the following morning and i went back to my dark little hut with a couple of candles.



The next day was incredibly hot. and the island looked fantastic. I found that the hut no longer had any running water now too, i must have used what little there was the night before. Breakfast with the Boatman was noodles- really really hot! and i think i spent the whole day on the beach with the occasional swim until the sun started to go down and it was back to my dark little hut and the candles. This is not really a bad way to spend a day- though i did burn just a bit.



Well the following day was totally different i woke to an almighty storm- the sort where the thunder is so low over head that each time it rumbles you dive for cover! i could not even see the sea from my hut with the sheets or rain and the fog and the hut was on the beach! Typically this is the day i am getting the speedboat back to the mainland!!



Oh joy oh Joy a group of us, me and some locals sat with our belongings waiting for the storm to clear. At one point the tide managed to pull the boat from its anchor and sent it crashing into the longboats moored alongside (a line of heads popped up from the boats and i noticed for the first time that each one was occupied by its owner bailing it out as fast as it was filling with rain water!). The crew of two managed to pull it back using mainly ropes and only the engine once it was away from the longboats. These chaps are really strong.



Eventually the Boatman gave the order that we were to set off. It had not stopped raining but the thunder and lightening seemed to have moved on. This was the scariest boat ride ever it was worse than being on a pirate ship at the fair. Some of the locals were throwing up over the side (i was proud to hold on to my stomach!) and we were all wearing life jackets that had not been in evidence on the outbound trip- that upped the scare factor a bit too! Every so often the boat would slam into a wave with a huge jolt and you would wait for parts to fall apart it felt like a car crash!



At one point something went overboard and we had to stop whilst they worked out that it was not a person and it was nothing of any real value worth turning round. Whilst we were stopped the motion was terrible if it had seemed bad whilst we were moving this was much much worse we were bobbing about like a cork!



The rain had never let up and the thunder had been rumbling ominously above as the engines were re started. We did make it back to land obviously but it is not really something i would like to do again!



Soaking wet and just a mite smelly from not been able to wash properly (the sea just does not get you clean!) i got myself booked on a mini bus to Hat Yai the last stop before Malaysia. I pity the poor person st next to me!!



There is nothing much to do in Hat Yai either (except call the folks in OZ at a ridiculous time in the morning- sorry!) but i still spent two nights there just getting over the trauma of the boat trip. From here i took the bus to Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia!!

Krabi

This is the last place Greg and I will visit together from here he will get the bus back to Bangkok and the flight home. but we still have a couple of days.

Rather than stay by the beach we stayed in the town and did a bit of exploring just walking along the streets checking out the shops- oh wow did he check out those shops!

We took a short long bow boat trip along the river, on one side is the town and on the other mangroves. We could see monkeys playing in the mangrove swamp.

First stop was an enormous cave, there some crazy crabs on the sand that have one giant claw- they were quite shy and disappeared down their holes when we stepped ashore, then it was up the ladder and into the cave. It really was huge and filled with stalactites and stalagmites, quite a few had met making crazy columns. There were bats in here too though a skylight kept it fairly ventilated.

Back in the boat we headed back they way we had come past the Pier and out into the fishing village where the houses were on stilts and parts of the river had been netted off for fish farming.

It was quite a pleasant hour on the water.

That evening we ate at Leonardo Di Caprio's favourite restaurant whilst filming the beach. Its a dutch style place and quite cozy, there is a big photo of him in the front of the menu.

Our last day together and we spent the morning Kayaking it was a half day tour through the Mangrove Swamp about an hours ride away. This was much better than Kayaking at sea, although the waterways are tidal you can't really feel it.

We passed by some huge cliff faces and saw yet more monkeys and a massive lizard sunning himself on the rocks, at one point a snake swap across our path. Unfortunately we didn't get far into the swamp as the tide started to go out leaving the waterways too shallow.

I have to admit that i didn't really do a great deal of paddling on this trip I took Greg's advise and sat back and enjoyed it! Ha bet he regretted saying that! The guides kept laughing at my 'taxi'. They were a lot of fun and by the time we got back to shore the whole group was soaked through from their games.

Back at the hotel we had just enough time to get all of Greg's many many purchases packed away before it was time for him to get the bus. The owners kindly did him a packed lunch to take with him.

As you can imagine this was not a nice time, didn't want him to go! But hey he has left me his camera so I can take pics again!! YAY!!

Miss him loads.

Saturday 26 July 2008

Ko Phi Phi

Ko Phi Phi Don was mostly destroyed when the tsunami hit. it is a strange shaped island from above it looks kind of like a dogs bone (!)- it is two hilly land masses connected by a wide flat sand bar that narrows in the middle. when the wave struck it hit the sandbar from both sides.



Its kind of strange arriving at the busy port, people are bustling all over the place with touts shouting for business- hotels, trips, bars and knowing that most of these people would have been there at the time and will undoubtedly know many people who were not so lucky.



This is a party island the main town is just a couple of narrow streets lined with bars, restaurants and 'tourist information' and the place to be at the end of the night is the noisy and hectic Irish Bar- all the best islands have one you know!



Our guest house this time is tucked away from the town and both the beaches. Behind it are the remains of a tiled floor whatever stood there before has gone. there are a couple of abandoned shacks dotted about the place, probably what was thrown together in the aftermath. there is still a lot of building work going on here though its all for tourists.



One of the hilltops has the most amazing view point and from here you can really see the island- it is really very small. There is an old chap who lives at the top with his cats. a pregnant queen and her last litter who were quite well grown. We had the ancestry of these kittens (down the mothers line of course who knows which Tom fathered them!!) It all started with one girl cat who had various litters most of whom eventually ran away to live in the jungle on the hillside. That cat is no longer with him but one of her descendants is always there! very sweet.



That night we ate a fantastic Mexican and settled down to watch.. of course 'The Beach' it was after all filmed on Ko Phi Phi Le and we were heading out there the next day!



So the first stop on the boat trip around the islands is Ko Phi Phi Lee and Maya Beach where it was all filmed. and the beach did look lovely, however we decided to spend our time snorkeling instead.



I am not one for getting in deep water normally but Ah wow that was totally fantastic there were loads of yellow and black stripey fish everywhere though the coral was OK it was not the best. Of course I had to get some use of the underwater feature on my camera! I am now a fan of snorkeling!!



We had another brief stop at a place called Shark Point. Once again with an uncommon display of bravery I entered the water- as far as I am concerned all sharks are dangerous and people eating and all sharks can get you in about a foot of water! I may have blown this out of proportion slightly but they do scare the crap out of me and even though i am now a fan of snorkeling i did have occasional concerns about them at the last stop. well anyway I didn't see any of the black tipped Sharks that are supposed to hang out here as i just snorkeled around the boat and got back on it. That was enough for me- i swam in shark infested waters and I was pleased with myself! Did see some more of those stripy fish though!



So my underwater camera has let me down- back on the boat after the shark trip it is not behaving i fear it must have leaked. I am now without a camera.



The last stop for snorkeling was Bamboo Island. Oh what a time to not have a camera! We snorkeled onto the beach there passing over some lovely coral much more exciting that by Maya Beach and there were so many more fish, along with the stripey ones we saw barracuda and angel fish, and loads of others o could not even begin to name!!



On Bamboo Island we found some fantastic shells and coral in some crazy colours, luminous orange- why would a shell be luminous orange on the bottom of the sea that's not very well hidden!! We also found some really big hermit crabs with fabulous shells. would have taken pics of those too but I have no camera!

the last stop was Monkey Beach - we have seen lots of monkeys now so they are not so exciting! I left Greg to get the kayak over and i stayed on the boat. Did get to see a Sea Eagle drifting around on the breeze above the cliffs- that was quite special.

Back at base we got some food, had a nap and spent the evening at a beach bar where there were more fire dancers- this time we were all encouraged to limbo under a flaming pole, cant limbo at the best of times so certainly can't when there is a chance i will set myself on fire so i gave that one a miss!!

So that was our two nights on the island. Back to the mainland tomorrow!

Sunday 20 July 2008

Phuket Town

So with all the rain we had had at the national park the roads around the towns were flooded, and I mean really flooded. Lots of people use small motor bikes here but they were just been walked through water well up around the body of the bike. It was quite interesting to see how the locals coped- they were all stood about outside their homes keeping an eye on it. Some had built little damns and others had created small trenches so that the water was guided away from their properties. Most of the houses were the sort where the ground floor acts as storage and a garage- they go through this every year!



With all the bad weather the bus was sooo slow so it was quite late by the time we reached Phuket Town (well its now a city!) we were not planning on heading to the beach here it was more of stop over before KO Phi Phi.



There was not much to do that evening, it was mid week and the bar with live music that Greg found was shut (he looks for one at every town!)



There are lots of old Chinese shop houses around Phuket. The ground floor will be a shop for the first part but then behind it will stretch the living quarters and garden with sleeping quarters upstairs. They really don't look that big from the front but the stretch back for ages. The frontages will be nicely decorated with tiles and bright paint. We had had a drink in one that had been restored and made into a Chinese tea house it was lovely. And then it was time to head for more islands.

Friday 18 July 2008

Khao Sok National Park

Khao Sok is on the way to Phuket, having heard wonderful things about it we have decided to stay here overnight. It is one of Thailand's best maintained national parks and is a tropical evergreen forest (it cannot be classed as rain forest as it has a dry season of a few months) with lots of impressive limestone cliffs. One of the main reasons for going to so we could be woken in our treetop hut by the sound of gibbons calling in the morning.

we got to see a lot of the park just from the bus arriving and leaving the next day. As we were staying only one night we did not have enough time to do a trip deep into the park. There are plenty of trails that can be done without a guide, most of these are closed now for the rainy season but two are still accessible and that's enough for the time we have.

so the first attack came whilst Greg was lugging our backpacks to our treetop hut, I had gone on ahead to open the door. we had already inspected the hut and it was very basic but had a mosquito net and a balcony overlooking the river. He had dismissed my claims of the attack as he really just wanted to get the bags sorted.

Maybe the tree top jungle hut is not a good idea as now Agh!!! the room has a really big big black spider, and its on the bed- its was as big as my hand. but I was really brave and I did not freak I asked that when we returned the bed be checked before I got into it. Spiders are really high on the list of things that scare me and this was a big one. So OK we have been here five minutes but all will be fine I am sure, we change into waterproof clothes and go for food and a drink and a look about, its quite late in the evening and its raining. We never did see that spider again- phew!!

So trekking the next day suitably attired in walking boots, long all weather trousers, a waterproof coat a hat and the hood of my coat pulled up over it- nothing is getting at me!! Its raining again but its not cold.

I don't know how long we had been walking before I felt the need to roll down my sock slightly- and yes there he was a nasty little leech looking to attach himself, and by no means was he the last! They were everywhere you could see them reaching for you from the path as you walked by them and before long we had both flicked many of them off ourselves. Again I must say i was doing quite well at this point i was a little squeamish about them and really did not like he idea of them but i was coping.

We met some locals at the end of the first trek and sat with them for a while. A rather large leech appeared on the floor between me and Greg we are not sure which of us it dropped off (shudder) but the locals had a good time chopping it u with this huge knife that appeared from nowhere!!

Although it is raining neither of us are dry the waterproofs are not suited to the humidity of the park and we are both drenched with sweat, but the is not sweat rolling down my arm although I tell myself it is at first I cant help but have a look and as I take my coat off the sleeve of my top is soaking through with blood and the little bugger is still in my sleeve. This time a bit of panic starts to set in- how the hell did it get there??? and as I now have it caught up in my sleeve I find I am frozen in place- if I move it might roll away and get lodged somewhere else about my person. Eventually Greg does get me to get it out and this one was burnt in the lid of a pop bottle.

OK so panic over we continue on our way and start the second walk, oh my god there is something slimy on the back of my leg and this time it is an all out screeching and leg shaking freak out!! Its funny now but that slimy feeling was just the last straw. The leech was actually long gone what I had felt was a huge globule of blood welling up where it had been and soaking into my trousers.

Whilst we were inspecting my leg a couple came skipping (not really that's for effect!) round the corner in shorts and trainers and an umbrella, they didn't stop to wonder what we were doing and carried on their way. As we set out again I do remember wondering if they had it right being dressed like that at least you would be able to see them better if they were on you.

As we rounded the corner the girl was having an almighty screaming fit and stamping around wildly. The leech in question was not even on her it was on her shoe! Oh how much better do I feel about my own little (much littler!) fit now! We did stand and watch for a while :)

we never did see that couple again they didn't catch us up and on the return there was no sign of them we think they fled the park!!

I was aware of another one by my knee but I know I cannot roll my trousers that high, I will soldier on!!

Once back at the hut we both stood on the balcony and stripped there were a couple of fat leeches that fell to the ground and we checked for any more (one of them had got me on the bum!!). Those that were trying to wiggle their now fat little bodies to safety were squished with the boots, bright red blood would spurt out but the little sods wouldn't die they would just be gone when we next looked.

Greg did admit he hadn't believed me the first time I said I had been attacked- when we were getting the bags to the room! Ha!!

The wounds bled on and off for about 12 hrs, when the scabs did eventually form they were so fragile that the slightest knock would send the blood pouring out again. It was about 3 weeks before the little bumps went.

It was a relief go get the bus! Of the gibbons there had been no sound I think we may have been mislead and they didn' t hang in our part of the forest anymore!

Monday 7 July 2008

Ko Tao, Ko Phangan & Ko Samui






Ko Tao

Yay our first of the paradise islands! Ko Tao is a really big on diving and the majority of the people here are looking to do just that though there are still people like us who don't dive.

Our first guest house here is on the beach!! its a bit old and decrepit with holes in the floor but you know what its a little bamboo hut on stilts with a grass roof, a little en suite toilet and shower and a balcony. There is nothing between us and the sea except sand, at night the sea comes right in and you go to sleep to the sound of the waves- its just perfect!!

The guest house we are staying at also has its own bar/restaurant which did the most amazing Thai food. The best massaman curry i had in my entire time in Thailand. And although i didn't know it that was my last taste of proper Thai food, in the islands is very expensive and is no where near as tasty as in the north.

We spent that afternoon walking along the beach, (white sands, sunshine, palm trees just what you expect from the Thai islands) and playing in the sea.

The next day we set about exploring. walking to the top of the island there is a look out point where you can see Koh Nang Yuan its a cluster of three tiny islands connected with sand bars. There are day trips out to the islands but the set up there is a bit funny, the islands are let by the government to a chap who has built a resort on one of them and charges others to visit. we admired it from a distance.

we then headed right the way back down and across to the south to a little cove where the water was really clear and we could see lots of fishes swimming around our legs. very nice!

We were to spend two nights on each island, so now it was on to Ko Phangan.

Ko Phangan

So this is the home of the famous full moon party. We arrived two days after the party having spent the full moon on Ko Tao. We did however stay in the Hat Rin area (cliff top bungalow this time!) which has two beaches and the party is on one of them. Thinking that the party beach would be a bit of a mess we headed out to the other one. Its only a ten minute walk between the two and was a big disappointment, this was not a particularly nice beach the tide line was covered in rubbish. God only knows what the other beach looks like!

Ha well the other beach was pristine! the sand was finer, the sea clearer and the whole place was really clean despite having had thousands of revellers there two nights earlier! They really make a big thing about cleaning this beach and anyone who arrives at Hat Rin pier on the day of the party has to pay an extra 100B towards the clean up.

The beach was busy that night there are bars with the fire dancers, its amazing to watch them throwing these flaming batons up into the air and catching them again. To keep people drinking at their bar they lay on games such as jumping through a ring of fire and the giant flaming skipping rope. There a stalls lined up all along the beach front selling buckets, which will be a small bottle of a spirit of your choice, a can of pop and a can of red bull all mixed together in a small bucket.

Our second night there it was really quiet and the town seem deserted, we later found out that there was a big party at another beach further round the island. There is nothing much of traditional Thailand here its all set up to cater to the hoards of younger tourists looking to party. The food is mostly western and if somewhere does do Thai its not so good. We found somewhere that did a really good full English- run by an Englishman of course!!

The one element of Thai culture that does thrive here is the massage parlours! So as there was nothing going on in town we treated ourselves to full body oil massages. it was really relaxing even though somewhere a baby started crying in the middle of it (bit random)

We did attempt to walk about the island a bit but got a bit lost and ended up back in town, so we had a snooze on the beach instead. So two nights here and it was off to Ko Samui.

Ko Samui

The biggest of these three islands. And it was another beach hut for us, in Bo Phut in the north. It used to be a small fishing village and the main street (if you could call it that) is made up of shops converted from the old fisherman dwellings.

Once we were all settled in we headed down to the south to go to see the Grandfather (Hinta) and Grandmother (Hinyai) rocks. These are naturally formed rocks that are shaped like male and female rude bits (keeping it clean you never know who is reading!!)

On the way back to Bo Phut from there we went to Lamai, this is not as popular with the tourists as Chaweng its considered to be Samui's 2nd beach but there we found a fantastic rock bar with nobody in it and we were allowed to pick our own music DVD's Yay great place, fantastic place!!

The following day we took a boat out to Ang Thong National Park, a cluster of islands just off Samui. On our first stop we went sea kayaking now i must admit that i had been really looking forward to this but in reality i hated it. I just do not have the upper body strength to keep the kayak going in the tidal waters around the islands. My life jacket was way too big, when sat down it hooked over my ears and i was convinced on numerous occasions that we were going to be swept out to sea!! agh i was really useless!! once we got back to the beach we had a little swim and checked out the monkeys, they had white rings around their eyes and looked permanently startled. We wondered up to a bit of a view point and had a look- all really nice.

The next stop was a green tidal lagoon. really really beautiful. its sits in a ring of cliffs and is fed by underwater tunnels that are too small for boats or divers to navigate. we saw some fantastic fish in there, an enormous blue one and a sea snake and clams- all sorts of stuff. you cannot swim in the water here.

Back at the beach again we made an attempt at snorkeling but with a boat load of people trying the same most of the sand had been disturbed and we didn't do very well getting out to clear waters, as it was we had spent so long spotting critters in the lagoon it was time to get back on the boat.

Back in Bo Phut we ate at a french restaurant, there is quite a heavy french influence here for some reason and the food was fantastic!!

so with our two nights on Samui it was time to head back to the mainland.

Thursday 3 July 2008

Bangkok Again!

Ha well as previously mentioned I spent a couple of days in Bangkok doing nothing- nothing at all and it was brill. Had a little look up Kao San Road the main backpacking area one afternoon its full of stalls selling gifts and clothing. and watched a few movies at the guest house.

Andrea arrived back after her trip to the south and we made another attempt to get to the top of the golden mount to see the sun set over Bangkok- the book tells us this is lovely! As we actually arrived there whilst it was still light this time we were able to see that it actually shuts at 5.30pm and so not only could we not climb to the top again it shuts way before the sun goes down!! I never did make a third attempt to get to the top of here I think it is just one of those places I am not meant to see!

We had another wonder up Kao San Road this time to see what its like at night- busy, noisy, bright lights, stalls not just selling the gifts and clothes but now a whole range of cocktails are available!

Andrea went home later that night, its strange to think that suddenly I am alone in this country now- well until tomorrow afternoon anyway!!

Yes so Greg arrived, and it was fab to see him walking towards our meeting place with his backpack. He had had a really bad flight over and wasn't feeling too good but once we had dumped our bags at the hotel he rallied and we set off to see Wat Arun (temple of the Dawn) across the river from the Grand Palace.

This is a really old temple and is massive compared to some- it is covered from top to toe in fragments of porcelain which have all been put together to make patterns and flowers all over the outside walls. From the top you get a really good view of Bangkok.

That evening we found a bar with a band playing various rock covers- they were really good and the lead guitar looked just like every picture I have ever seen of Genghis Khan- Rock on!

Our first full day was taken up with the Grand Place and the Wat Phra Kaeo (temple of the Emerald Buddha) the temple area is lovely with huge statues and fantastical paintings and elaborate buildings.

I was quite surprised to find that the much loved emerald (jade) Buddha is really small. This whole temple was built to house it, it has its own set of clothes for each season and its really tiny! It is really old though- dates back to 1400 and something!

The place itself is nowhere near as grand as the temple and not all of it is accessible, in fact even some of the grounds were closed off due to the lying in state ceremony of the kings sister. She died in January and is still waiting cremation, apparently the more respect you gained in life the longer they leave it.

we did get to go and have a look at the throne room and round some of the armory, we saw the changing of the guard outside the apartments reserved for foreign dignitaries- its where the queen stayed!! we also tried this drink that is made out of flowers- christanthamums I think it was and it was totally vile- have tried absolutely nothing like it and hope to never do so again!!

The Temple and the Palace are worth going for a look around. esp as the ticket is then valid to get you in at Dusit Place too. so this is where we went the next day.

Dusit Palace is actually lots of little palaces set in a park with the biggest building being the huge throne room built strangely enough in the Italian Renaissance style- looks a little out of place! currently there is an exhibition of some of the crown jewels in there, beautiful and extravagant works of art, howdahs, thrones and all sorts of royal regalia all made out of solid gold and decorated with precious gems. Not one item we was in there was more than 10 years old, I cannot imagine what the halls of the Grand Palace must be like if this collection is just the items made in the last decade!


The other main attraction at Dusit Palace is the Vimanmek, the worlds largest teak wood building, and it is made entirely of teak right down to the teak pegs holding it all together! You are not allowed to just wonder through this building you join a group with a guide that speaks your language for a tour and an explanation of whats in each room, its now a museum to King Ramma V who built it at the turn of the century.

we got caught in a horrendous thunder storm leaving here- another reminder that the wet season is starting up (soon be time for the little Buddha to change his clothes!)

Tonight we are getting the coach south to a ferry and on to our first island - Ko Tao!