Thursday	27th December	2007		Sydney to Melbourne (fly 1.5hr)
				to Bangkok (9hrs)
Friday	27th December	2007		Bangkok
Saturday	28th December	2007		Bangkok
Sunday	29th December	2007		Bangkok
Monday	30th December	2007		Bangkok
Tuesday	31st December	2007		Bangkok
Wed	1st January	2008		Bangkok then overnight train (13hrs) to Surat Thani
Thursday	2nd January	2008		Surat Thani to Ko Samuii (bus 2hrs, ferry 1 hr)
Friday	3rd January	2008		Ko Samuii to Ko Pha Ngan (ferry 1hr)
Saturday	4th January	2008		Ko Pha Ngan
Sunday	5th January	2008		Ko Pha Ngan
Monday	6th January	2008		Ko Pha Ngan to Surat Thani (ferry 1hr, bus 2 hrs) to Bangkok (overnight train 13 hrs)
Tuesday	7th January	2008		Bangkok
Wed	8th January	2008		Bangkok
Thursday	9th January	2008		Bangkok
Friday	10th January	2008		Bangkok then fly to
Saturday	11th January	2008		Melbourne and Sydney

Thursday 27^th December, 2007          

 Sydney to Melbourne to Bangkok

Julie and Steve pick us up from home at 6 am. In Sydney we leave the car in the long-term car park and catch a bus to the Domestic Terminal as our Jetstar flight is going via Melbourne. Hate that and hate having to leave from the Domestic instead of the International. What a bore!

After the short ninety-minute flight to Melbourne, there are long lines at Immigration but much worse is when Steve gets the bad news that they won’t let him on the plane because he has less than six months on his passport. He tries ringing everyone he can but this is Boxing Day and no-one is working.

Awfully, we have to leave him in Melbourne and hope he can get it sorted as soon as possible and meet us in Bangkok in a couple of days. Julie can’t stay with him, as she’d also lose the price of her ticket and have to buy another one. Steve knows somebody in the Passport Office so he’s going to contact him today and see if he can get on a flight tomorrow.

In the meantime, Mark, Julie and I fly out at 2:30pm on Jetstar feeling very guilty about leaving Steve behind. He later tells us that he spent the day going round and round on the free city tram just for something to do. He’s got a great attitude, but it’s still a pretty shit situation.

The rest of us land in Bangkok at 7:15 pm at the very modern Suvarnabhumi Airport that popped up two years ago in 2006. The Suvarnabhumi terminal might be super impressive but we’d prefer the dingy, but very atmospheric, Don Mueang which is now only used for domestic flights.

We wait nearly an hour for the airport bus but then it only takes thirty minutes to get into Banglamphu passing all the familiar landmarks on the way. The most memorable is the Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Road which always gets us excited as we know we’re nearly there. And ‘there’ would be Khao San Road, Bangkok’s famous backpacker mecca where we’ve stayed many times before.

As usual it’s super busy, jammed with bars, cafes, markets, food stalls, music and cheap accommodation but, because it’s so busy and because it’s nearly ten o’clock by now, it might be hard to find somewhere to stay. After being here before, we know that the popular Khao San Road and the adjoining Thanee Road will fill up first so we head for Soi Rambutri, another nearby street for budget travellers like us.

But even here, we’re turned away from Sawadee and the Travelers Rest guesthouses until we eventually find a shared room at the Secret Garden. This is situated in a dark alleyway across from the temple so it’s still in a great area.

After dumping our gear, we walk around to Sawadee and have beers (Chang) for Mark and margaritas for me and Julie. More margaritas at Sawadee Smile just around the corner from our guest house but I ‘have to go home now’ so Mark and Julie finish off our drinks.

Friday 28^th December, 2007

Bangkok

This morning, Julie gets a call from Steve to say that he’ll be arriving tonight on Thai Airways. So relieved! Julie, Mark and I have breakfast at the Four Brothers Inn at a table next to the soi. Here, we decide to book out of the Secret Garden and find a better guesthouse for tonight.

Close by is the Baan Sabai Hotel which has a pleasant bar at the front with a big airy foyer and rooms at the back. Between the rooms and the foyer is a garden complete with tropical plants and ponds of goldfish. They have two spare rooms next to each other on the bottom floor with windows opening out onto the central garden. The rooms are starkly bare but big and very clean so we take them. We check out the showers and toilets down the corridor and they look okay as well so we’re very happy.

Later we find a travel agent to buy overnight train tickets for Surat Thani in Southern Thailand for the second of the January. We would have liked to leave earlier but they’re booked out for sleepers and none of us want to sit bolt upright for fourteen hours.

Our plan is to get to the islands of Ko Samuii and Ko Phangan, so this delay will cut short the time we can spend down south. But we’re not too bothered as there’s heaps to do in and around Bangkok.

Now we celebrate Steve’s arrival tonight with a massage at Mama’s which has moved to an even nicer open-sided room across the tiny alleyway and only 150 baht ($6 AUD) for an hour. And here is Sharlo and her husband, we call him Mr Mumma. They’re both amazing masseurs besides being super sweet.

To get to Mummas, we walk through Wat Chana Songkram which sits opposite the entrance to Khao San Road with Soi Rambutri wrapping around it on three sides. A back gate allows us to walk through the temple grounds which hold monk quarters, a bell tower, teaching halls for the monks and an open-sided kitchen where white robed nuns are preparing food.

Just inside the temple compound we all order cold juices sitting at one of the local stalls set up opposite one of ancient figs called Holy Trees. These tall eye-catching trees are wrapped in coloured cloth to show that they’re holy and can’t be chopped down. We’ve seen them in many other places over the years but didn’t know what it all meant. But, of course, everything in Thailand has a religious significance.

Later we sit for a while inside the main prayer hall to watch shaven headed monks chanting in unison. I feel happy and I wish I could bring our Angie here. My heart breaks for our little one. Maybe Buddhism could cure her deep sadness.

Winding through the crooked alleyway to Khao San Road (pronounced Cow San) we wander around the markets set up on both sides of the street. Originally a market for selling milled rice, the stalls today sell souvenirs, cheap clothes, silver jewellery, street food and anything else a backpacker would want. This includes travel agents, money changers, banks and passport photos.

Mark and I have absolutely loved this street ever since we first came here in 1997. We love the mix of international influences and Thai culture especially seeing monks wandering around or whizzing past in tuktuks. We love the energy, the interesting people, both local and backpackers, and hearing languages from all over the world. Khao San Road is actually known as the best backpacker hub anywhere and I could rave on forever.

The thing is, though, while it’s great to experience the crazy vibe for a while we’ve learnt to stay further afield in Soi Rambutri which is actually only just across the busy road in front of the temple. Soi Rambutri is a haven of peace but with the same market stalls, cafes and bars but at a much slower pace. So, this is where we now head for a pedicure near the Wild Orchid.

Later we rest in our rooms till about 6 o’clock then have drinks in a bar overlooking the great people-watching laneway. Oh, and even better is that we can see over the temple wall where monks in orange robes are doing a walking meditation. Monks and margaritas – heaven!

We have more drinks in a couple of other bars then snacks at Four Brothers. Julie has been in contact with Steve so we’re prepared when we see him pull up in a taxi at 12:30 am in front of the Baan Sabai guesthouse. We’re waiting on the steps and, in true Amazing Race fashion, we greet him with ‘Sorry Steve you’re the last to arrive. And you have been eliminated from the race’! Ha ha!

Saturday 29^th December, 2007

Bangkok

So happy that Steve is with us. It’ll be a good day.

Firstly at 7o’clock, we all buy breakfast at an outdoor food stall in Soi Rambutri. Mark and I have eaten here many times before and still a favourite for fresh fruit salad, yoghurt, muesli and an omelette. All this washed down with freshly squeezed juices, of course. We always feel healthy in Thailand but only if you forget about the huge consumption of alcohol!

From here we walk down to the Banglamphu Pier on the Chao Praya River. It’s here where we book a one-hour longtail klong tour of Thonburi which we’ve also done a couple of times before but it’s worth a visit every time we come to Bangkok. It’s just the four of us in the longtail so we can ask the driver to stop whenever we want.

Leaving Banglamphu Pier, we zip across the river where Thonburi sits on the opposite side. We dodge ferries going back and forth, ferries going up and down the river, barges and other longtail boats. After the excitement and the energy of the river, the serenity of the klongs is like entering a secret, almost hidden, world.

This is the Bangkok of old, where people live in simple wooden houses built out over the water with tiny canoes pulled up at the door. It’s so pretty! All the homes are surrounded by palms and trees with potted flowering bougainvillea decorating the verandas that overlook the klongs.

In fact, all the homes have a riverside veranda where the family washing is strung out to dry after its all been washed in the river itself. We also see people bathing themselves while others are going about their morning chores sweeping and mopping verandah floors. Seeing local life is what we all love about our travels.

Much smaller klongs join our main klong. They emerge out of thick vegetation and lead to more rural areas even though we’re in the middle of Bangkok. People rowing small canoes pop out of these mysterious little waterways and I wish we could explore them but we won’t have time today. 

Chugging along we pass under low bridges, golden temples, a floating market and stop to feed bread to the hideous catfish at Fish Temple. Ladies in canoes row excitedly towards us hoping we’ll buy their souvenirs and we spy the huge monitor lizards sunning themselves by the water.

Finally, we burst out at the Chao Praya where we ask to be dropped off at the Wat Po Pier instead of going back to Banglamphu. The area around Wat Po is amazing especially the stinky Tha Tien Fish Market which we have to walk through but mainly the old shop houses built by the Chinese in the late 19^th century. These are what the name says, shops on the bottom and living quarters above. The shops around here are all fascinating selling herbs, Chinese medicines, teas and temple offerings.

Across the road is the 16^th century temple of Wat Po. It’s a huge complex of chedis, viharas, pavilions and immaculate topiary gardens. But the highlight is the largest gold-plated Reclining Buddha in Thailand – it’s huuuge at 150 feet (46 m) long! A visit also involves dropping coins in one of the long line of monks’ bowls.

But Wat Po is not just about statues and temples, it’s also known as the birthplace of Thai massage. Yes, please! And we all have a wonderful foot massage each – heaven!

As everywhere, it’s as hot as hell so we hightail it back to Banglamphu for lunch at Sawadee. This is also an old favourite from when Mark and I first discovered it on our first trip to Thailand in 1997. The restaurant is open to the laneway with different levels for seating, swirling ceiling fans, traditional Thai decor and a totally laid back atmosphere. Oh, and the food is awesome and cheap! And it’s directly across from the temple!

Now Mark and I book train tickets from Surat Thani in the south back to Bangkok for the 6^th of January. Julie and Steve will be leaving a few days earlier. Later we all have a siesta then up at 6 o’clock for drinks at Baan Sabai before, on dark, grabbing a tuktuk to take us to Chinatown.

Bangkok’s Chinatown is said to be the largest in the world, founded over two hundred years ago, and yes by the Chinese! The main area lies along Yaowarat Road and actually lends its name to the entire area, which is often just referred to as Yaowarat.

So, this is where we’re dropped off – a neon-lit street crammed with people all here to try the wonderful food this place is famous for, especially seafood like stir-fried crab and sweet and sour shrimp. Sounds amazing!

Restaurants line either side of the street while street food vendors at traditional stalls cram the pavements. We come across a sort of open food court and luckily find a tiny plastic table and four stools. Rice, salads, fish and prawns are amazing while Steve and Mark are happy with their Singha beers – big ones!

It’s still early so we set off in another tuktuk to Patpong Road. Buzzing through Bangkok’s streets at night in a tuktuk might be one of my favourite things on earth – the traffic is much lighter and the air much cooler.

Patpong Road is known as the red-light district with the street itself lined with go-go bars and ping-pong shows. Everyone knows about the ping pong shows! Oh shit! Should we be here? Probably not!

A market is set up every night along the centre of the street but we don’t bother much as it sells the same stuff we can buy in Khao San Road. Hawkers constantly hassle us to go into one of the girlie bars and to be honest that’s what we’re here to experience – right or wrong.

Our first encounter is Big Pussy nightclub where we’re immediately ripped off – they want 3500 Baht for four drinks plus we also have to buy extra drinks for the girls who’ll obviously never get them. We leave after an argument then have drinks at a bar across the street. It all feels too awful so we leave.

Home to bed.

Sunday 30^th December, 2007

Bangkok

We all wake at seven for breakfast at the same food stall in Soi Rambutri for fruit salad, muesli and yoghurt – fucking health freaks!!

Our plan today is to visit Chachoengsao, a town just north of here – a day-trip I’d found in a boxed section in an old Lonely Planet.

So about eight o’clock, we all catch a tuktuk to Hualamphong Station where we make a dash for the Chachoengsao train. It’s a bargain at only 13 Baht each for the fifty kilometer, ninety-minute trip. The train is wonderful – one of the old local trains lined with polished wood and polished wooden bench seats. We’re the only non-locals so it’s an interesting trip for people watching. Everyone is friendly and there’s lots of cute kids and babies.

Leaving the centre of Bangkok, we love hanging out the open windows to watch the little local shops and houses built right up to the train line. People are going about their everyday lives, some hanging out washing and some preparing food in their tiny backyards.

After passing through the outskirts of Bangkok we’re now in open green countryside before arriving in Chachoengsao at 9:30am.

Chachoengsao sits on the banks of the Bang Pakong River with the main attraction Wat Sothonwararam. Never heard of it, but apparently this is one of the biggest temples in Thailand and a sacred sanctuary for the Thai people. As we leave the station, with hordes of devotees, we can see the white marble tower of the temple soaring above the surrounding trees.

Apparently, hundreds of Thais visit here every day and we join the crowd to pass through the main entrance where a group of beautiful Thai ladies are performing traditional dances as part of one of the many ceremonies held here. Their graceful movements always mesmerize as they sway to the sounds of gongs, xylophones and drums. And their elaborate costumes of jewelled headdresses and brocaded silk stand out from the rest of us. This place is so chaotic and fascinating with a constant stream of locals bringing offerings and performing religious rituals. This is why we love Thailand!

Time now for lunch in a massive food hall where untold simple stalls are cooking all kinds of wonderful Thai food. There’s no end to the choices available. We all squeeze around a tiny foldaway table to have an amazing traditional meal for next to nothing – prawns, muscles, calamari and sticky rice wrapped in some sort of leaves.

Making our way back to the station is another challenge as hundreds of other people are heading back to Bangkok by now as well.

We spend the night just hanging around our favourite chilled-out Soi Rambutri. Love everything about it here! And this love affair will continue for many, many years to come.

Monday 31st December, 2007

Bangkok

New Year’s Eve!  This morning Mark and I decide to get prescription glasses made as they’ll be heaps cheaper here than at home. Not far from Wat Chana Songkram (‘our temple’ as we call it) is a string of optometrists so we drop in for eye tests. Glasses for me and contact lenses for Mark. Amazingly, we can pick them up this afternoon!

Now we spend an hour back at Wat Chana Songkram which is very crowded at the moment. It must be a special day as local families cram into the prayer hall. They light giant candles, burn bundles of incense and deliver offerings while orange robed monks sit cross-legged at low tables and feast on bowls of hot food cooked by the nuns outside who are now digging in as well.

The market set up in the shady grounds behind the temple is a peaceful way to shop compared to the madness of Khao San Road. In the past, Mark has bought t-shirts here from a deaf lady and here she is again so he buys up big. She gives him a cuddle and a polite wai (a bow with palms together).

Later we all catch a tuktuk to the Amulet Market over near Wat Mahatat and the Grand Palace. It’s just a short, exciting ride as we buzz through the busy back laneways. Getting dropped off on Mahatat Road, we wander along the pavement where people sit on the ground to ply their wares which include jewellery, religious trinkets and even false teeth! I buy sepia pictures of old Bangkok as a great momento of the city we love so much.

Other people cook food over hot coals right on the street and one lady has a basket of quail eggs that she breaks into a round cast iron plate with indentations to cook the tiny eggs. Nearby a monk sits on a plastic stool to eat a bowl of noodle soup on a foldup table while other monks stroll by. This area is lovely with the vast Wat Mahatat opposite and lots of shady trees.

Between the street and the river are narrow alleyways crammed with a network of covered market stalls. This is Bangkok’s authentic Amulet Market where vendors sell all types of sacred amulets all considered to have magical powers for the wearer. Each one is believed to protect the person against evil spirits and danger as well as bringing good luck.

Mark and I have bought lots of bronze buddha statues, candle sticks, ceramic ginger jars and local crochery from here in the past so our home is like a Thai museum. And, of course, we’ve also bought lots of amulets!

The good thing is that this is definitely a local market as we’re the only western people here. This what we love about this place so much. Another thing we love about the market is that it sits between Mahatat Road and the Chao Phraya River.

On the riverside, are a string of very simple restaurants all open to the water and where the cooking is done right next to us. Sitting on the river’s edge is so nice as we get a soft breeze coming off the water as we’re dripping in sweat by now. It’s also exciting to watch all the goings on with river traffic especially as we’re adjacent to the Chang Pier and the Maharaj Pier. 

After a snack, we all tuktuk back to Banglamphu which is only minutes away. At 3 o’clock Mark and I pick up our glasses then the four of us buy sunglasses as well.

Now we all head back to Khao San Road to shop in the market stalls that line both sides of the street. Soon we’re ready for a siesta but we’ll be back tonight when the crowds and the energy promise to be even more exciting.

And this doesn’t disappoint, as on dark, the street is packed with party-goers including lots of young Thais as well as the inevitable backpackers. We do a bar crawl here and then in Soi Rambutri before heading down to the Chao Praya River about 11 o’clock.

We set up in a big café right on the river to watch the midnight fireworks. But it’s very disappointing considering the display Mark and I saw a few years ago. With only a few fireworks in the distance it’s a non-event. Oh well! Happy New Year!

Tuesday 1^st January, 2008

Bangkok

Today is just a chill-out day, visiting the food market near the Grand Palace Pier, wandering around Khao San Road and having too many beers and margaritas in Soi Rambutri.

Wednesday 2nd January, 2008

Bangkok

Today we’re off to Bangkok Zoo. Seriously, the zoo!? Bloody hell, we’re really scraping the barrel finding something to do!

Anyway, we set off in a tuktuk for the short drive, passing the very impressive Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, part of Dusit Palace, with its large two-storey dome in the centre, surrounded by six smaller domes. I had to look it up as we’ve past it so many times before and wondered what it was. I think it’s closed to the public.

Soon at the zoo, the entrance is lovely, shaded by tall trees and with people selling all kinds of cooked food from the inevitable food carts. Everything smells so good!

After paying the small entrance fee, we do the rounds seeing all the usual suspects – lions, monkeys, panthers, tigers, cheetahs and elephants. Of course, the favourites are the chimps, always being naughty and looking so cute! I think one of the nicest things about the zoo, though, is the grounds, so lush and green with palms, bamboo and all kinds of tropical plants and trees.

Also as part of the entrance fee, we get to see a performance of The Kenya Boys, a group of enthusiastic young men doing acrobats and basically making us laugh. Adorable!

Another tuktuk back home where we have foot massages before packing for our adventure down south. At seven o’clock we head off in tuktuks for Hualamphong Station where we buy junk food for the overnight trip even though we’ll be asleep for most of it.

We pull out at 7:30pm, all having a few drinks in our little alcoves set up with facing seats and a table in the middle. This is always such fun as we weave our way in the dark through the open countryside, pulling into small stations now and again. With the windows wide open to cool us down (we hate the air-con sleepers), it’s one of our favourite travel experiences.

At 9pm our beds are made up with Julie and me on the top bunks and Steve and Mark on the lower bunks. Amazing to think that when we wake up next we’ll be 650 km (405 miles) south of Bangkok!  Good night!

Thursday 3rd January, 2008

Surat Thani to Ko Samuii

After a good sleep, our train rolls into the small station of Phun Pin about 7am. Bartering for a couple of tuktuks, we’re soon speeding towards the town of Surat Thani which is known as the gateway to the islands of Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Tao. ‘Koh’ means island, by the way, and our plan is to visit Samuii and Pha Ngan over the next few days.

Surat Thani itself is a busy town located near the mouth of the Tapi River on the Gulf of Thailand. This is where the ferries leave for the islands so we find a travel agent to book our tickets. 

To fill in time before we need to leave, we all have a simple breakfast then jump on one of the waiting buses. Mark and I are a bit confused because when we took a ferry to Ko Samuii two years ago the wharf was close to the city but now we drive almost two hours to where a huge car ferry is waiting. This will be so much better than that last frightening crossing.

And it is! It’s a super less stressful passage than in 2006. On that trip, we were on a ‘fast ferry’ which literally means being encased in a speeding death trap with lots of other nauseous, vomiting backpackers.

Because of the rolling seas, it was hell in the downstairs cabin, so everyone crammed onto the deck – better to die of heat exhaustion in the scorching sun than to drown below deck. The fresh air helped but we were all still sea sick. All I could think of, was that at least Mark and I were getting off in Ko Samuii and not going on to Ko Pha Ngan which is where most of the hippies were headed for. I remember when we pulled up in Ko Samuii, I seriously felt like kissing the pier. Sea sickness is the pits!!

So, this time we’re leisurely heading for Ko Samuii on this wonderful car ferry and it seems like luxury. We find long bench seats in the vast passenger cabin and manage to lie down for the one hour trip. Yes, only one hour compared to the three on the death ferry. It’s obviously why we drove so far to get to the wharf this morning. Must be so much closer to the island.

From the wharf at Samuii, we grab a songthaew to take us to Chewang Beach.  This is the island’s tourist hub which could be a bit tacky but we want to experience it anyway. Chewang is situated on the northeast coast so we need to drive across the island, very hilly and covered in luxuriant tropical growth. Ko Samuii is Thailand’s third largest island but because we’re only here for one day, we won’t get to see much at all.

In half an hour we’re being dropped in Chewang’s main street and head off down an alleyway towards the beach. Funnily the only rooms available in this area are at the Marine Resort where Mark and I stayed last time.

Our room is only 700 Baht (about AUD$28), ‘fan only’ but we don’t care! Feeling hungry, we walk to the southern end of the beach for lunch and then have a siesta in the afternoon.

On dusk, we meet up with Julie and Steve when we all wander down to the opposite northern end of the beach. This long stretch of sand is lined with beachfront cafes and bars all with low tables and cushions or beanbags set up on the sand itself. We like the look of the Mandalay Bar so we stop in for beers, margarita cocktails and seafood.

It’s sprinkling rain just now so we move inside to eat then set off for the main street parallel to the beach. Apparently, Chaweng was once a quiet fishing village but now it’s a booming resort town with cafés, restaurants, sports bars and the awful girly bars where bored young women dance on the countertops usually swinging around a pole.

And then someone has a tiny monkey to attract the tourists for a photo before a guy plonks a lime green iguana on Steve’s head. It all seems like fun but also wrong so we head back to the beach. 

Julie realises that she’s lost her phone so we race back to the Mandalay Bar. It’s still here so we must celebrate! At another beach café, we have more beers and margaritas. All the restaurants along the beach are decorated with fairy lights and the bars are buzzing. Fire twirlers do their thing down near the water and one even lights my cigarette that I have sticking out of my mouth. Why did I do that? Too many margaritas, that’s why!

Later someone sets off fire rockets and then others release plastic bag lanterns. Oh shit, here comes a low flying plane! Bloody hell, what if one of the plastic bags get caught in the engine! Anything goes in Asia!

Friday 4th January, 2008

Ko Samuii to Ko Pha Ngan

Today we’re off to Ko Phan Ngan but we’ve got all morning to hang around here as the ferry doesn’t leave till 1pm.

After a 9am sleep-in, we find that the weather is a lot better this morning with clear blue skies. The four of us walk down to the southern end of the beach for breakfast then pack before heading into town. Here we look for a painting for mum and buy a few for Lauren.

At 12:30 we set off in a songthaew, picking up lots of other people on the way to catch the Ko Phan Ang ferry. We’re running late but reach Nathon Pier right on time at 1pm. Mark and I grab bench seats downstairs and rest for the one-hour trip.

At Haad Rin Queen Pier on Ko Phan Ang, we’re confronted with lots of touts but decide to check out this area to see if we like it here. No we don’t! This is apparently where the full-moon parties are held and it looks like it might be party central every night which means we decide to move on to somewhere quieter. So from here we pile into a tuktuk to drive us to Hat Rin – ripped off 200 baht for half a kilometre.

We hate the beach here as well so Mark and Steve find a songthaew to take us to a different beach. First we drive through the capital Thong Sala which takes about half an hour then on to Hat Yao where we check out a few guesthouses but they’re all full until finally the Silver Guesthouse has two bungalows.

After settling in, the four of us have a drink on the waterfront balcony then have wonderful oil massages – only 350Baht each – in a beautiful tropical setting. Dinner is at the same restaurant but we’re all tired and have an early night.

Saturday 5th January, 2008

Ko Phan Ngan

Today, we all hire motorbikes and ride to Srithanu Bay on the west of the island. This place has a peaceful atmosphere and apparently a hub for spiritual seekers and so popular for yoga and relaxation. We’ll skip the yoga but we do like the relaxation bit. Ha ha!

Mark and I decide to hang out here while Julie and Steve head into Thong Sala. Later, with me on the back, my favourite thing in the world, we ride around looking for other places to stay till we find an amazing beachside guesthouse with simple bungalows built over the sand and just a stone’s throw from the water. This is heaven! We book in for a couple of nights – only 400 baht.

Mark and I book out of the Silver Guesthouse but Julie and Steve decide to stay put as they’re leaving tomorrow. Mark ferries our gear to our new place by balancing our big packs across the front of the bike before picking me up.

Around midday, we meet Julie and Steve halfway towards Tong Sala, where we have lunch on a wooden platform built out over over the water before showing them our new guesthouse/bungalow. 

Now Mark and I need to ride into Thong Sala to change our train tickets, getting a flat tyre on the way.

For dinner, Julie and Steve ride back to our place when we all walk over to a very hippie café built out on the point. It’s set up with ponds and cushions on the floor and Café del Mar music is playing which Mark and I first discovered when we went to Goa a few years ago – again, very hippie. 

A good last night together with lots of beers and margaritas rounded off with a wee wee in the bushes. Before bed we buy Bacardi breezers next door where we also buy a yellow T-shirt, two scarves and four Café Del Mar CDs.

Sunday 6th January, 2008

Ko Phan Ngan to Bangkok

This morning we wave good-bye to Julie and Steve as they set off for Thong Sala in the back of a songthaew. They’re heading back to Bangkok earlier than us as they’re flying home tomorrow. Mark and I want to stay another night or so in our wonderful beachside bungalow so we have time to explore the island.

Mark fills the bike with petrol from a tiny stand on the side of the street. It’s basically a big drum with a GASOLINE sign above. All done, we ride back to our cute guesthouse crossing a wooden walkway that spans a pond overhung with deep pink bougainvillea and palms. A few tiny houses are built right on the edge of the pond and look so pretty painted a bright blue. This place is lovely!

On the other side of the pond, we’re right on the sand which is dotted with coconut palms and thick tropical plants. We decide to have lunch here at our guesthouse cafe which is an open-sided shack with the water on one side and tropical gardens surrounding the rest. A wooden floor, a low sloping ceiling, cane furniture, Christmas decorations and plastic flowers is the way we love it – laidback and very Thai. From the small menu, we choose tasty traditional dishes with rice all washed down with cold pineapple shakes.

After lunch we set off on our motorbike to explore the island which is only about forty kilometres around so we should get to see most of it. Surrounding us is a sea of greenery, thick on either side of the road – vines, palms, ferns and the large-leafed plants like the Elephant Ear. This jungle is probably part of the National Park that covers nearly half of the island so this gorgeous tropical rainforest should last forever.

We also pass agricultural areas including durian and dragon fruit farms, rubber plantations and lots of coconut groves which are a major part of the landscape here.

Monitor lizards are common on Koh Phangan, mainly the huge water monitors, and we come across a simple farm where lots of then are held in deep pens. The lizards are bred for their hides and, although they’re super creepy, it’s still a bit sad.

A bit further on is a pretty creek where long wooden fishing boats are being built while others are being painted. And all these interesting experiences are even better as we’re the only tourists around.

Soon we arrive at the Phangan Safari Elephant Camp. And, although we’re facing another ‘right or wrong moment’, we really want to have a ride!

Like everything on the island, it’s a simple place so hopefully it’s family-run and so these local people are able to earn some money from fuckwit tourists like us. Note that I’m trying to justify riding an elephant. Ha, ha – will probably go to hell!

First, we give bananas to a cute baby elephant then feed milk to a tiny baby monkey from a baby’s bottle. It’s heart-wrenchingly adorable, playing and jumping all over me while trying to pinch my earrings.

Now it’s time for our ride. This place is gorgeous, surrounded by coconut groves and a small lake while mountains pile up around us, all covered in thick vegetation.

I follow Mark to climb a ladder up to a tall wooden platform where we crawl into the howdah (basket) on the elephant’s back. Another elephant lumbers slowly out of the jungle towards us dragging a long palm frond with a mahout riding on its back.

A narrow dirt track straggles up the hillside and off we go passing more elephants on the way. As we climb higher, we have brilliant views of the surrounding countryside and the mountains beyond. At first, we sit in the basket but then have turns of riding on the elephant’s head.

Back at the entrance hut I give the baby monkey another bottle – so sweet!

Next, is my favourite part of the day! A Buddhist monastery in the jungle! Literally music to my ears and fills my heart!  We sit on the ground to watch orange-robed monks, some sweeping steps leading up to the temple with besom brooms and others moving from one building to another all painted a gorgeous green. We visit the wat to admire the golden sitting Buddha and all the colourful flowers and decorations.

But even after all these special experiences, we find lovely beaches on the tip of the island – turquoise waters, longtails pulled up to the shore, cafes on the sand and massage places. From the beach we come across a waterhole where local kids are having a riotous time. We’d love to stay but we need to get back to our bungalow to pack.

So, this afternoon we catch the ferry back to Surat Thani on the mainland where, on dark, we visit the vibrant Night Market which is the real deal. No tourists here in the open market which is a labyrinth of wonderful food stalls. Everything about this place is authentic. The bustling market has lots of noodle stalls selling local dishes such as the famous Pad Thai, grilled and fried fish balls, flavoured rice noodles and all sorts of weird and wonderful dishes that we’ve never seen before. This is a true Thai market!

This also means that we pass on the free glasses of water that accompany each dish as we sit on tiny plastic stools and mingle with the locals. This is the best way to experience real Thai culture away from the tourist crowds. 

It’s ten o’clock by the time we leave but we’ve still got a couple of hours before we catch the train to Bangkok.  

We’ve researched a posh hotel where we know we’ll be able to get alcohol and chill out for a while in the air-conditioning as we’re melting by now. So, from the market we grab a tuktuk to take us to Hotel Thai.

This looks very impressive, but as we enter the main foyer we’re immediately suspicious. This has the feel of a Thai built/run hotel which, we’re soon to discover, means no bar which obviously means no booze!! For fuck sake!

At the desk, we ask directions to somewhere that sells alcohol which they happily point us to. This is a stand-alone building near the main road and looks very promising. But, guess what! No booze! Seriously, get us back to Bangkok! We ARE alcoholics, after all!

So, back to Hotel Thai to hang out in their alcohol-free lounge area till it’s time to head for the station. Outside, tuktuk drivers are ripping us off because they could tell we’re stranded so eventually we pay too much for one of them to take us to Phun Pin Station.

Here the train is an hour late which is pretty good but we can’t wait to climb into our sleeper compartments which have already been made up.

Monday 7th January, 2008

Bangkok

After being rocked to sleep by the old train, we don’t wake till about 6am. When our beds are stripped by the train staff, we settle in our seats for the next six hours or so. Since we didn’t leave Phun Pin till after midnight, we won’t get into Bangkok till early afternoon. We’re very happy with this as we now get to see the scenery along this long southern peninsula that runs between the Gulf of Thailand coast and south Myanmar.

We never get bored of the lush green countryside or the cute little stations or the towns and villages we pass through. It’s nice, too, to mingle with the local passengers and buy food and water from the hawkers who continually walk up and down the train. We buy hot corn on the cob which is always a favourite.

Arriving in Bangkok around 2pm, we’re soon zipping through the streets in a tuktuk decorated with bunches of marigolds. We pass giant photos of the royal family which are seen everywhere. It shows how much the Thais love their king, Rama IX, who’s ruled here for over sixty years!

We’re sharing the road with taxis, songthaews, tuktuks and, of course, motor bikes. Soon we see the familiar sites of Banglamphu including the striking white Phra Sumen Fort built next to the Chao Praya River. It feels like we’ve come home.

For a change we decide to find somewhere to stay over in Soi 1. This is where we’ve stayed a couple of times before and we like it because it’s more residential and so even quieter than Soi Rambutri.

We’re dropped off at the entrance to the soi. This is adjacent to a small temple and where people are cooking from a street cart. Dragging our packs down the laneway we see a sign for Bangkok House pointing down an even tinier alleyway. This is a small guesthouse occupying an old family teak house and crammed in by other wonderful traditional old teak houses. We love it!

The exterior is stained dark brown like most original teak houses while the interior weatherboard walls are painted a cheery cream with green doors. Our room is clean and we have a view of the neighbouring weatherworn house, so achingly old Bangkok – louvred shutters, spindled balcony rails and shaded with thick vines and big leaved tropical plants. 

The only downside is that we don’t have air-conditioning and it’s as hot as hell in our room. No worries as we’ll be out all day and only be here for showers then to sleep when it should be a bit cooler. Anyway, we wouldn’t swap our little hot box for air-con in some featureless high-rise.

Ready for a massage, we wander though the other sois around here till we come to a small bridge that spans a narrow klong which runs along the park next to the fort. We love this area where old shophouses are built along the curve in the road. Here ladies push hand carts selling cold drinks and people are eating at baby sized tables on the footpath. From a handcart we buy chicken with fried rice and salad that we eat at a table jammed up against the wall of a garden while people wander past. This is true happiness.

Soi Rambutri is just around the corner so after lunch, we find a massage place

Tuesday 8th to Friday 10th January, 2008

Bangkok

We spend the next few days just hanging around Bangkok, mainly Banglamphu. We’ve seen most of the tourist sites on other trips so now we can just hang around doing things we love – visiting the temples, catching ferries, having massages, manicures and pedicures, super cheap facials, eating the amazing street food and just wandering the sois immersing ourselves in the wonderful Thai culture.

10^th January, 2008

Bangkok to Melbourne

Saturday 11th January, 2008

Melbourne to Sydney