Winter Vacation '06-'07-Part II
Trip Start
Jun 27, 2009
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19
47
Trip End
Jun 25, 2011
Bangkok, Ko Phi Pi, Ko Phagnan,
Thailand
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
The next morning we enjoyed a nice "American Style Breakfast" in the restaurant of our hotel ($30/night/person got us one of the nicest places on Ko Sahn, and that was raised a lot due to peak season!) and set out walking to find the Temple of the Golden Buddha (Wat Phra Kaeo) and the adjoining Grand Palace.
01 Grand Palace grounds
After a short walk we changed into long pants and covered our shoulders (Buddhist sign of respect) and were allowed to enter the complex. Before we knew it we were standing beneath massive golden spires, and ornate buildings guarded by various mythical creatures. The entire temple complex was unlike any architectural style I've ever seen before, so lavish and ornate. The attention to detail was amazing! My guide book says the temple complex, "contains more exquisite carvings and decoration per square inch than any comparable site in the world." Seems like a bold statement? Maybe not! Before we entered the temple that houses the Emerald Buddha we took off our shoes and were instructed not to point our feet towards the Buddha - this shows great disrespect. The Emerald Buddha is a lot smaller than I thought it would be (actually only 26 inches tall), and despite what everyone thinks - is not emerald, but jade! The temple hall is almost always packed with Thai people and foreigners, as the Thai people believe the image represents the near mystical relationship between Thailand and its king. The actual King of Thailand changes the sacred golden clothing on the statue 3 times a year, as the seasons change. Nearby was the Grand Palace, a large building that seems to blend Western and Thai styles together, and the last monarch to live there left in 1925. Now the Palace is used for ceremonies only. We spent the rest of our time in Bangkok walking through the red light districts and night markets bargaining for souvenirs and accessories.
02 Grand Palace
We stumbled upon a fantastic Thai restaurant downtown and had one of our "top three" meals of the trip - Tom Yum Soup (SO SPICY!), Pineapple rice, Shrimp Pad Thai, and of course Singha Thai beer!When our 2 days were up we were finally ready for the real vacation part of our trip - THE ISLANDS down south! We hopped on a little plane for an hour and before we knew it we were on the hour and a half ferry to the remote island of Ko Phi Pi. It was a beautiful day and I spent the entire ride sunbathing on the front of the boat with a ton of French guys who thought they were cooler than Michael Jackson in the 90's. The views were beautiful, blue/green water splashing up on the boat, and stunning islands with steep cliffs jutting out of the water everywhere.
When we docked we followed the line of backpackers off the ferry and were bombarded with Thai people trying to take us to their hotels, "one room, very cheap price!" Since Phi Pi is such a small island (2km) there are no cars and everything is super close. We followed the man from our hotel down the small path through 'town' and in about 5 minutes we were at Don Chukit Resort. Our bungalow was fine, NO AC/Hot water though which was a little tough - and something to get used to in Thailand, non flushing toilets! You have to fill up a bucket of water and pour it into the toilet to get your pee to go down. GROSS! Day 2 in Phi Pi we met up with Lily and her boyfriend Kendaal! It was nice to see familiar faces and we all "chartered" a private long tail boat to take us on a tour of some other islands and to go snorkeling.
03
It was a fun day, the highlight being the walk through the jungle at Maya Bay and playing football in the beautiful bay. We were playing pool one night and I started talking to the manager of the place about the tsunami. It was one thing to be staying on an island that had been so devastated by the tsunami, to see the effects first hand, witness the rebuilding...but it was totally different to speak with a local about the morning of December 26, 2006. He said that most people had just finished eating breakfast, as it was peak holiday season, and then all of a sudden the water receded, no one thought anything of it until the water began to rise, higher and higher. As soon as people realized what was going on everyone that could, began to run for the mountains. There were 1,000 people on the island before the tsunami, and 400 of them died. Most people were trapped in their stores, restaurants or homes and had no idea what was going on. The man did tell me that looking back, the Thai locals that live on Phi Pi remember a very strange Thai woman coming to the island on Christmas Day. They knew something wasn't right with her and had never seen her before. She went around the island warning everyone, saying something bad going to happen the next day. Turns out she was right. The man said the people obviously have nothing now, and their shops, and restaurants are their lives because the island depends on tourism. I asked him what the Thai government was doing to help and he said he went all the way to Bangkok, and they gave him the equivalent of $30.
04 THE actual Grand Palace
After 3 days we hopped on the ferry back to Phuket, and boarded yet another small plane and went across to the Eastern side of Thailand to Ko Samui - from there we got on another ghetto ferry which took us to the island of Ko Phagnan. There were hundreds of other backpackers on all the ferries bound for the island, all ready to celebrate New Years and the famous Full Moon Party.
It was nice to be able to settle in to a place for more than 3 days, unpack and really relax. We rented a "Family House" at the Field Paradise Village, which ended up being a lot better than it looked when the taxi dropped us off at the end of a dirt road. We had an AC room with 4 beds, hot water, and tv/dvd player. We did rock, paper, scissors to see who would get which bed, and I lost-ending up on the top of the ONLY bunk bed, for 6 nights!!
Highlights of Ko Phagnan:
-renting a "Jeep" and off roading on the dirt roads while exploring the island
-Thai massages on the beach for $9!
-Deep Sea Fishing-it was awesome!! (haha actually it was horrible, we didn't catch anything and our "guides" refused to take up the anchor move the boat after 3 hours of no bites)
-Boat Ahoy-an unusually western looking restaurant across the street from our hotel, we may or may not have eaten there 12 times in 6 days. We got a kick out of some of the English Translations for things on the menu, including: Stir Fried Water, Duck Feet with Asparagus Salad, Fried Spaghetti, Bird Meat Soup, Fish Stomach Sauce and the Long Gong Salad (just to name a few)
-Fruit Shakes everywhere! Pineapple, Coconut, Lychee, Strawberry - all SO fresh
-Bitti-the puppy (the hotel found abandoned in a nearby temple) we played with all week
-The German Guys-the 2 men in the bungalow next to ours who had been traveling for 25 years! Apparently they met a while back, and the older one needed a travel companion so he is paying the younger one to travel with him! They were staying in that exact bungalow for 3 months ($5 a day) and were on to India next.
05 crazy traffic in Bangkok, scooters and cars
What a life!-New Years Eve and FULL MOON PARTY!! no comments needed - just awesome.
-The pickup truck "taxi" we tried to hail but then it drove past us with....oh, MONKEYS hanging off the sides!
-Lazy days lounging by the beach - the water was so shallow, you could walk out literally a mile and still be knee deep!
-Muay Thai boxing-we saw two KO's AND got pictures taken with them
Overall it was a fantastic trip and we didn't want to leave. We walked off the plane and onto the runway in Beijing and it was literally -5 degrees! It was hard going back to Japan, but so nice to have a break from teaching! Now things are back to normal, I've been teaching the kids about my trip to China and Thailand. The kids love looking (and smelling) the Chinese money I brought back, and are fascinated with pictures of the Great Wall. Next lessons will probably be a laid back Valentine's Day craft, as I'm SO sick of hearing myself talk about my trip! The weather has been unseasonably warm here which is nice, although it's still colder inside my apartment. I decided to stay here next year and signed my contract today! Crazy to think that 6 months has gone by already.
This weekend I'm going to Kushimoto (where Justin, Tony and Wynne live close by) for their towns Fire Festival! People shoot fireballs into this hill and it all lights on fire - of course there's dancing, taiko drumming and lots of sake drinking, so it should be a good time. Look out for the next blog!
Miss you all, Happy New Year!
