TravelStream™ news feed for member danlucy on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/danlucy en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:20:12 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1185724800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1185724800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1185724800/tpod.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:20:12 -0400 Dan and Lucy travel the world

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Chiang Mai, Thailand

On the 23rd July we caught a sleeper train to Chaing Mai. We were pleasantly surprised with or beds for the night, probably because we had to lower bunks opposite eachother (top bunk are small, no window & apparently you roll around more). The train was suppose to take 14 & a half hours but it was delayed by 4 hours so took 18 & a half! When we arrived in Chaing Mai the driver from the hotel we booked saved us from the usual bunch of taxi/tuc tuc drivers. We stayed at Eagle House 2. The room wasn't that good as it was ground floor, with some sort of dumping site for the hotel outside our door, we stayed in this room for 2 nights then managed to get a upstairs room which was a little nicer. Apart from the room the hotel was ok & ran really good tours. On our first day we did a Thai Cookery course run by the hotel called 'Chilli Club'. The course took up most of the day first we went to a local market to buy all our ingredients & our chef also showed us a few other things like local fruits etc. We cooked & ate 5 different meals each, so we were pretty full by the end of the day. We even got a recipe book & certificate to take home! In the evening we go out for drinks with the people we met on the cooking course. We also meet up with Robin! Dan saw Robin when we were in the minibus from the train station, so eventually we managed to meet up, which was cool! The following day its an early start after a late night, a bit hungover! We have booked a day trip through our hotel. First we drive about an hour north of Chiang Mai to an Elephant camp called 'Mai Ping'. Before the trip I wasn't sure about elephant riding, as I wasn't sure they were well treated. However after a bit of reading I found out that in the past elephants were used in the logging industry in Thailand, however this was banned in the 1980's. This meant many elephants were left out of work & abandoned. Now there are many elephant camps in Thailand which take on abandoned or sick elephants, these elephants are used to take tourists on treks etc, so in a way tourists are keeping them. Obviously I think it would be best for them all to be freed. but there is a lot of conflict because elephants eat so much farmland etc. Anyway my conclusion was that by going on a trek I might actually be helping the elephants in some way. back to the day trip we went on a very enjoyable elephant ride through the jungle. Then we went on a very relaxing bamboo raft down the river. Here we boarded an ox cart which took us to a beautiful resort in the middle of the jungle for a buffet lunch, which was mostly vegi! After lunch we went to an Orchid & Butterfly farm on the way back to Chiang Mai. The trip was very well organised, much better than our trip to the River Kwai. On our last day in Chiang Mai most of our time was spent orgainising trains to the south. In the evening we went to the night bazaar, which had hundreds of stalls, much better than Bangkok, so bought a few souvenirs here.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1188511200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1188511200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1188511200/tpod.html Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:53:02 -0400 Dan and Lucy travel the world

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Ko Phi Phi Don, Thailand

On the 8th August we got a boat to Ko Phi Phi. When we arrived we decided to get a long tail boat to long beach, just around the headland from the town. We got the boat with Teresa & Kienan (American) who we meet on the boat & we decided to hunt for accommodation together. We ended up staying at 'Paradise Pearl Resort'. Our first night was spent in a bamboo hunt which was actually quite nice, especially for 400b. The next day we moved to one of the beach front bungalows. The resort was nice as it was right on Long beach, but it was a little cut off from town. A lot of our time on Ko Phi Phi was spent relaxing on the beach. But we were here for a week so we did do a few more things. One of the days we went on a long tail boat trip with Teresa & Kienan to see all the sights around the Island including; Monkey Beach, Bamboo Island, a few snorkel spots & then Ko Phi Phi Mai where we visited the location of 'The Beach'. We also saw the gatherers collecting Swiftlet nests for 'birds nest soup'. We went on a dive trip on another day. We took two dives at local spots around the islands. We went with Phi Phi Frog & had an excellent dive master who led me & Dan around the sights. We saw amazing marine life, much better than Oz! We saw a Leopard Shark, Moray Eel, Octopus, Trigger fish, Sea snakes, Clown fish & so much more. Getting the under water photos developed soon so hopefully be able to put them on here. The rest of our time on the Island was spent exploring the island.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1188646200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1188646200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1188646200/tpod.html Thu, 06 Sep 2007 07:34:30 -0400 Dan and Lucy travel the world

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London, United Kingdom

We arrive home at London Heathrow.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1188655200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1188655200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1188655200/tpod.html Thu, 06 Sep 2007 07:32:37 -0400 Dan and Lucy travel the world

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Bangkok, Thailand

On the 15th we left Ko Phi Phi & got a boat to Krabi, on the mainland, from here we got a night bus to bangkok. We didn't get much sleep but the journey wasn't to bad & not to dodgy (we went on a VIP bus with Phi Phi Family co ltd). On our return to bangkok we stayed at New Siam 1. Our first day back we had a wander around Khao San & then in the evening we went to Suan Lum Night Bazaar. We took Tuc Tuc both ways which was fun, on the way our driver kept falling asleep & took 1 hour, on the way back we feared for our life's & it took us 10 minutes! The Bazaar was great, it had all the souvenirs you could want, plus a food centre & entertainment. The next day we brought a few more souvenirs around Khao San & then did some packing & headed out for food. Early start the next day, 3.00am! We got a taxi to the airport for our flight home.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1187276400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1187276400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1187276400/tpod.html Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:08:24 -0400 Dan and Lucy travel the world

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Phuket, Thailand

From Ko Samui we got a boat back to the mainland & then a bus over to Phuket. We decided to stay in Phuket Town rather than one of the beach resort because it was cheaper & less touristy. We stayed at 'Oldtown hostel', which was actually quite nice & clean & the staff here were really friendly. We stayed in Phuket for 2 nights. On our first night we went to a local cafe/restaurant where they didn't speak English, but we ended up having a really cheap meal. Phuket Town was very local, no souvenir shops or restaurants for tourists. Next day we got a local bus to Patong (the major beach resort in Phuket). There were hundreds of shops & stalls with clothes & souvenirs, we browsed for a while but it was more expensive than Bangkok & Chaing Mai. We then headed to the beach, it was a nice beach but really packed full with tourists. Dan hired a surfboard here as there was some surf. Next day we got boat to Ko Phi Phi.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1186534860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1186534860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1186534860/tpod.html Tue, 07 Aug 2007 09:42:46 -0400 Dan and Lucy travel the world

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Ko Samui, Thailand

From Ko Tao we took another boat trip to Ko Samui. We headed to the apparently slightly less touristy area of Lamai (south of Chaweng, the main resort area). Here we found a nice bungalow, again within steps of the beach, at the quieter end of the beach. We only spent 2 nights in Ko Samui. Two reasons; it was very touristy & we wanted more time for the islands of Ko Phi Phi & Lanta. We spent some of the time here on the beach & the rest looking around town. Most people looked like they were on a two week package holiday & there wasn't really anything Thai about the area. Anyway, Ko Samui did have some beautiful beaches but didn't really appeal to us.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1186534800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1186534800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1186534800/tpod.html Tue, 07 Aug 2007 09:33:33 -0400 Dan and Lucy travel the world

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Ko Tao, Thailand

When we arrived in Ko Tao, after another overcrowded boat ride we headed to Hat Sai Ree. We stayed in a really nice bungalow not far from the beach at 'Silversands'. The beach here had lots of restaurants & a few bars, so a good place to be. The next day we went on a dive trip. We did 2 dives just off the Ko tao coast. The waters here have great visibility & are 30c! Also it was really cheap. On our dives we saw lots of tropical fish such as Triggerfish, butterfly fish, Angelfish & we also saw a Moray. The following day was a chill out day on the beach & we had a look around the local area. Ko Tao was much nicer than Ko Phangan. Unfortunately the only photos I have of Ko Tao are underwater photos & we haven't managed to get those developed yet.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1186264800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1186264800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1186264800/tpod.html Sat, 04 Aug 2007 07:37:15 -0400 Dan and Lucy travel the world

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Ko Phangan, Thailand

From Chiang Mai we caught a day train to Bangkok, where we spent the night, then a night train the following day down to Surathani. Here we went with one of the agencies who took us by bus to the pier, then onto Ko Phangan by a very crammed boat. The train journey's weren't great as we couldn't get the times we wanted, so our expected arrival in Surathani was 3am! However the train was delayed (as usual) so we arrived at 5am. This didn't mean we got anymore sleep as we had to stay awake so we could spot our stop. Anyway we eventually we arrived in ko phangan (day before full moon party). We had a real problem trying to find any accommodation, so we went to our backup 'Leela beach bungalows', just south of Haad Rin. The bungalows on the beach looked quite nice, however ours was a hike up some dodgy steps, our hut was wooden & slanting downhill, we had to climb a ladder to get into it & our toilet was a hole, needless to say we didn't like it! The following day we spent some time trying to find somewhere else to stay without any luck, so spent the rest of the day on the beach. In the evening we went for some food in Haad Rin then headed to the Full Moon Party. The beach was packed full of people, lots of different music playing in the bars along the beach & some fire dancers. We had a few buckets & got some UV painted tatoos. We planned on staying on Ko phangan for 3 nights but ended up moving on the next day to Ko Tao.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1185577200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1185577200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1185577200/tpod.html Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:05:44 -0400 Dan and Lucy travel the world

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Kanchanaburi, Thailand

From Bangkok we took a day trip to the Bridge over the River Kwai. We booked it through the hotel in Bangkok because we thought it would be easier than using public transport, yet we were proved wrong as it was the most disorganized trip I have ever been on. However eventually we saw all the sites we wanted to visited. It was a 3 hour drive in a minibus with a completely erratic driver. First we visited the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, where many of the Prisoners of war were buried (38 Allied POW's died for each kilometre of the track laid on the Thai-Burma Railway). Then we headed to the World War II Museum. After this we walked over the River Kwai Bridge. We then headed to a slightly strange river location for lunch. After this we were dropped off at a waterfall. In the afternoon we caught the train along the Death Railway from Nom Tok to Kanchanaburi.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1185570000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1185570000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/danlucy/danlucy2007/1185570000/tpod.html Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:44:53 -0400 Dan and Lucy travel the world

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Bangkok, Thailand

We arrive in Bangkok in the evening & get the express bus to our accommodation. We stayed at New Siam 2, a really nice clean hotel, not far from Khao San Road but far enough away! On our first day in Bangkok we visited some of the major sights. First we visited the 'Grand Palace', the holiest Buddhist site in Thailand. Here we looked the amazing architecture & the Emerald Budda. After this we headed to Wat Pho, similar architecture as the Grand Palace, here we saw the famous reclining budda. We also got a traditional Thai massage at the training school here.later this day we explored Khao San Road & purchased a few bargains. Next day we went to the weekend Market at Chatuchak, where there were thousands of stalls, a little bit over whelming to actual buy anything. We get a 'tut tut' back to Khao San, which was actually quite enjoyable, probably because we found a tut tut driver that was honest & didn't want to detour to any other places. Bangkok wasn't as mental as we expected, but there are still lots of people out to scam you, mainly tut tut drivers wanting to take you to places (travel agent/TAT shop or tailor) because they get commission or people that hang around the tourist site that tell you it is close so you go somewhere else. This makes it difficult to trust anyone, but you just need a bit of common sense.
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