Thailand - Koh Lanta to Chiang Mai
Trip Start
Dec 26, 2008
1
10
13
Trip End
Jul 17, 2009
Chiang Mai,
Thailand
Sunday, April 5, 2009
We left you at sunset on our first night in Koh Lanta with high hopes of exercising and sunbathing the following day ... no such luck ... we woke to grey skies and heavy rain so we pretty much hibernated all day, enduring the one English-speaking D-rate movie channel for most of it. In the evening there was a break in the rain so we chanced it and took a stroll down to the nearest small bunch of shops (about 2kn away) to upload the 280 photos to the last blog entry, which took us 3 different computers and 5 hours so hope you enjoyed them ... darn island Internet!
The next day was much brighter so we got some sun, Soph had a swim and I thought about going for a jog ... I'd come down with a touch of cold so decided against it ... this decision troubled me as I thought about the La Cucina yummies that have taken up residence on my ass!
It was the bar manager's birthday and we were invited down to the party that evening with the promise of live music and free cake.
Later on when we heard the sound of fireworks we realised the celebrations had begun so we made our way down to the Sound Shack bar, which is pretty much a wooden hut on stilts right on the beach. We were shown to a little wooden table and sat on cushions on the floor. It didn't take long for the bar to fill up once the band struck their first chord. We hadn't planned on drinking but as the band was good and the mood was chilled we went with it and got the cheapo cocktail in a bucket ... classy hey!
The first band were a brother and sister duo from America who were also just visiting Koh Lanta until she fell off a motorbike and hurt her leg and a Thai guy (who was wasted on the night) had offered to manage them and get them gigs while she recovered.
The second band were Thai and the lead singer wore a leather cowboy hat and jacket and sang the Thai classic of doo doo doo dimble dum ... well that's how it sounds to us ... they play it everywhere and it's very catchy!
A group of English travelers had come along with the Americans ... we were all chatting, had a good sing song and we actually got our free cake ... happy days!
The next day was again pretty chilled ... we relaxed in the sun and took a walk along the beach ... well I did ... Soph only lasted a few minutes as she'd earlier grazed her foot in the pool and complained about sand getting in it ... always a drama ha ha!!!
Sunday was a bit overcast so we took a walk back down to the little shops to book our onward journey. I wanted to hire a motorbike for the afternoon but Soph was having none of it ... can't blame her I suppose considering her recent string of minor accidents. Instead we agreed to source a willing local to give us an island tour. A young Thai guy called Dan took is on a 4hr sightseeing trip in his motorbike tuk-tuk. Koh Lanta is pretty much made up of small clusters on beach resorts and bars and lots of hills and as his brakes barely worked we ended up walking much of the terrain which Soph grumbled about as she was too hot and bothered. Afterwards Dan kindly took us to see Lanta Town on the other side of the island in his pick-up for no extra cost. Oddly enough it was whilst bumping around in the back of the truck that I looked around at the beautiful scenery and fell in love with Thailand. It's no wonder Leonardo Di Caprio has a house on Koh Lanta as it's very relaxed and beautiful.
That evening we watched our final sunset over Phi Phi Islands and reminisced about our journey so far.
The next day we were expecting our direct minibus to Surat Thani (where we would catch the train to Bangkok) to arrive around 1pm ... when the driver arrived he was adamant that he would only take us to Krabi and when we spoke to his manager we discovered that the direct service does not in fact exist and we would have to make a change along the way. We were suitably unimpressed as after the Penang to Phuket experience which due to several changes took 6 hours longer than expected, we'd this time gone with the direct service to avoid such delays as we had a train to catch. The manager advised that the driver would take us to their office so we jumped in the van.
We pulled up at the small group of shops and it turned out they had no intention of discussing our grievance in the office, they were just picking up some other passengers. The tour operator where we actually booked the tickets was just a few doors down so I tried to get off the bus as we wanted a refund for the difference between the direct and indirect services ... the company owner pretty much barricaded the door and refused to let me get off, stating that other people had paid more than we had and we would not get a refund ... I refused to accept this and 'politely' asked him to move aside.
I went along to the tour operator and they were shocked to learn that it wasn't a direct service as they use that company specifically for that reason. Meanwhile back at the minibus the Rottweiller owner had turned on Soph demanding that she took our bags and got off the bus ... thankfully she stood her ground but when I came bounding back with my cash refund in hand the angry man turned in my direction and looked like he was going to thump me so I calmly walked past, thanked him for waiting and slammed the door in his face.
We celebrated our 4 quid victory ... it's the principal don't you know ... plus that's our daily food budget.
Two ferries and two hours later we arrived at the company's office in Krabi where we were told our connecting bus would be there in 30 minutes ... an hour and a half later it arrived and took us 10 minutes down the road to Krabi Bus Station where we waited another hour and a half for our ride to Surat Thani. We waited patiently but when our bus arrived we were told there was no room for us so we ended up on the coach to Bangkok. As we were headed that way we were hoping that they would overlook the fact that we hadn't paid but some 2 hours later we were booted off at Surat Thani train station and thankfully there were 2 tickets left for the last sleeper train to Bangkok.
After a quick dodgy looking food stall fix we boarded carriage 11 and found our opposite top bunks. It was pretty much what we expected, however we didn't realise we would be sharing a cabin with 30 odd other people. Considering a private cabin was 3 times the price though it wasn't all that bad. It was fairly noisy, there was a lot of bumping around and every time we stopped we nearly got thrown out of bed, but we still managed to get a few hours shut-eye and we were ready to take on the hostel hunt in Bangkok.
After phoning all of the recommended guest houses from the Lonely Planet guide and finding they were all full we decided to take a taxi to the Khao San area where there are many supposedly cheap guest houses and backpacker places. So the pink taxi dropped us at Soi Rambutri (not far from Khao San Road) and we began our search. We'd expected Bangkok to be cheaper than the islands but everywhere we went they wanted 800 baht (16 quid) a night.
We were starting to think we would never find a cheap room so decided to look for breakfast instead and re-think our strategy. As we stood outside Merry V's and thumbed the pages of the menu, familiar voices called our names from inside ... we looked round and there were Ashling and Paula (the Irish sisters) waving us in. For a moment we were a little stunned as it was a shock to see them ... we'd thought they would be in Chiang Mai by that point ... it turns out they'd been to the east coast islands and Chiang Mai already and had arrived in Bangkok the day before. They had already endured the dreaded hostel hunt and found that Merry V's was the cheapest and cleanest place going ... thankfully they had a room free so we checked in and at only 400 baht (8 quid) a night we were pleased.
We were just sat having breakfast when another familiar face walked in ... it was Dave; one of the English travelers we had met at the birthday party in Koh Lanta. He'd left the others in Koh Lanta as they were taking a different route.
The afternoon was pretty much written off as the rain started and the roads flooded but we planned to go to the Thai boxing on the other side of town that evening. Dave was up for it so we met him later on and got a tuk-tuk. We'd underestimated the Bangkok traffic and although our driver made every effort to get us there on time by weaving in and out of the gridlocked cars, we came to a standstill and after 2 hours breathing in exhaust fumes we got out and walked. A friendly local saw we were lost so walked us to the underground where we could catch a train all the way to the Lumphini Stadium ... if only the rail system covered the entire city we'd have got on at Khao San but that's about 5 years off.
We arrived at the stadium and discovered the prices in the Lonely Planet were a little out of date ... we'd been expecting to pay 500 baht (10 quid) each but it turned out this was only for Thai people and the cheapest ticket for foreigners was 1000 baht (20 quid) for standing at the back.
We ummed and arghed and tried to haggle with them but the prices were fixed. One of the stewards offered to show us the viewing deck and as there was a good view of the ring even from the back, we decided that the epic journey we'd encountered warranted the reward so we all blew our daily budgets and went in.
With the traffic we'd missed the first couple of fights, but there were still 7 to go and we found a good place to stand. The atmosphere was electric ... the Thais get very passionate about the boxing and the rear deck where we were resembled the Wall Street Stock Exchange with hundreds of men shouting, waving their hands around and placing bets.
We got to see some killer moves, a few knockouts and we joined in with the chanting crowd.
Afterwards Dave took us to a good food stand he'd found and I had my first Thai Green Curry for 60 pence ... it was delicious and we continued to graze there whilst in Bangkok. Having hardly eaten meat in the best part of 3 months I am loving it here as I alternate between chicken, beef, pork and seafood each day and rarely pay more than a pound for a good meal. Sophie's staple diet in vegetable Pad Thai (noodles) and occasionally a shrimp or two ... adventurous hey!
Later on we had a wander along Khao San Road and played 'Spot the Ladyboy' over a nice cold Chang Beer. Dave left the next day and we met with the girls to go and visit the palace. We were almost there when we learned it was closed for the day so we went to see a couple of temples instead. That night we tended to some business in the form of currency exchange for visas, getting passport photos and stocking up on products from Boots.
The next morning we'd intended visiting the palace but we both felt a bit ropey having just started the malaria tablets so we chilled with the girls and went for a look around the markets.
We were both in need of some cheap shorts and a t-shirt. Soph opted for the travelers trend of Chang Beer vest and Thai-style baggy shorts. The only stall I liked, I wasn't allowed to try anything on and when I asked if I could buy something the lady yelled 'NO' at me, put her head down and walked off. We can only assume it was a Thai only stall?! I ended up getting a pair of fake O'Neill boardies from a deaf lady ...'EXTRA LARGE' OMG!!! ... I know I overate in Karon Beach but come off it I'm a SMALL at home!!!
We said our second goodbye to the girls and off to the train station we went. The only sleeper tickets left to Chiang Mai were on the 10pm so we had a long wait being only 7 o'clock. It wasn't long before a Thai man came and sat next to me. He was interested to know where we'd been and where we were heading. When I asked where he was heading it turned out he wasn't going anywhere, he was just there to enjoy the air-con and watch the big screen TV ... it seems the train station is a social gathering place for locals who can't afford TV or air-con in their homes. A Thai pensioner chatted away to Sophie ... she had no idea what he was talking about so she just kept smiling and nodding.
Aboard the train we settled into our bunks and were amused by a group of young Thai men who were sozzled on rice whiskey.
We arrived in Chiang Mai around lunchtime and luckily we knew where we were going as the girls had recommended the guest house they stayed in. We didn't even have to make our own way as a guy from the guest house was there to pick someone up so we snagged a free lift.
Chiang Mai is a lovely little town ... much slower-paced than Bangkok with lots of sleepy side streets and waterways although it still has it's fair share of hustle and bustle at the weekend markets; we enjoyed walking around that evening.
Yesterday we were up bright and early for our jungle trekking trip. First on the agenda was elephant riding. Having ridden a huge male camel in Egypt I had a good idea what to expect but I don't think Soph was prepared for the experience. From a hut in a tree I hopped on to our elephant ... Soph was actually shaking as she didn't realise how high up we would be but after some persuasion I took her hand and she nervously stepped on. To be fair it was much more comfortable than a camel but an hour was well enough.
At the end we got to feed our elephant bananas and she at last looked happy having been hit on the head with a stick for the last hour!
The next stop was down by the river where we boarded a bamboo raft and a young boy navigated us through the rapids ... It's a good job we had our swimmers on as we got rather wet. For the most it was very relaxing and the visions we'd had in our minds of Northern Thailand came to life. There were swarms of beautiful green butterflies dancing on the water and they circled around our heads as we passed by (unfortunately we couldn't take the camera so no photos).
Being the weekend many locals had gathered in small wooden huts along the riverbank. They spend the day eating and often drinking lots of alcohol and they splashed us as we went by. What a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon!
We were taken for lunch where we had 4 courses of Thai food ... it was delicious and we were the fullest we've been in ages. We visited a Karon hilltribe village where we were shown how they live and as expected the children tried to sell their wares.
Afterwards we took a walk through the jungle to a beautiful waterfall where we relaxed for a while.
A grand day out!!!
We are leaving Chiang Mai this evening on a night bus to Udon Thani where we will continue on to Nong Khai and cross the Friendship Bridge into Laos.
We are looking forward to some hardcore traveling and the New Year celebrations in Luang Prabang where they have a huge water fight.
We will report back with our Laos Adventure before we leave for Vietnam.
Lots of love to you all
Lois & Sophie x x x
