| Travel Report: Northern and Southern Thailand |
| Statistics |
1 Euro = 52 Baht
Total Cost: aprx. 2500 Euros including shopping (2 suits, memory card, ...)
Participiants: Kristina and Florian
|
   |
| Travel Style |
With the intension of tavelling on our own but no experience in travelling to Asia we decided to book an individualistic itinerary. Intrepid had especially for Thailand well designed routes for us. |
 |
| 11pm - Departure of flight OS15 from Vienna to Bangkok |
|
| Arrival in Bangkok at 2pm local time. A prebooked taxi service brought us in our hotel "New World Lodge Hotel" in 2 Samsen Road, Banglumphu. There we spent 2 nights. The hotel was clean and we had a quite big room with aircondition, hot shower and toilet. Because we had our room in the 1st floor above the reception it was very noisy. So better try getting a room in the 4th floor or higher. After relaxing some time we discovered the surroundings. There we had our first Thai lunch in a randomly selected street restaurant. After enjoying lunch we walked to the Grand Palace (Wat Phra Kaen) which ist located in the city centre aproximatly 15 walking minutes far. On our walk we crossed the most busy street in town, Khaosarn Road. |
  |
| After having breakfast in the hotel we visited a formerly recommended sewery. I bought 2 suits with shirts. Today I can tell about the good quality. The suits fit really good, sewing quality is great. The material is imported from Europe and also goo quality. Only the ties are only fair quality. Then we went to the see the Grand Palace. Expect a 250 Baht entry fee for two sights: Grand Palace and Vimanmek Mansion. This day we only visited the Grand Palace, the Big buddha. Be aware of TukTuk drivers taking you an a guided tour. You will end up in a sewery. In the evening we had our very first Intrepid meeting where we had lunch together with our really lovely group and our guide Pongsiri "Pong". Then we walked down Khaosarn Road discovering variations of goods you can buy for a really reasonable value. Then we visited a giant night market at Pak Klong Talad Market, also worth seeing. |
  
  |
After having breakfast at another street restaurant our guide Pongsiri, nickname Pong, took us on a really nice and mixed journey though Bangkok. First we went by atypical Asian Bus (with narrow seats) to Sanaam Luang where we visited the Thammasat University, then a Thai Market. With a public transportation boat, the MRT and the brandnew Metro we went to Chanitown where we took a TukTuk. There we visited Wat Traimit, the Temple of the Golden Buddha. By Taxi we left China Town back and went to see Vimanmek Mansion. There you will find a nice, well-kept garden and in the museum loads of historic information about Thailand. In the evening we took the Nighttrain to Chiang Mai. I never experienced such a good service on a Train like in Thailand. |
  
  |
| After arrival at 9am with a minor complementary delay we took a Sang Tao - which is a Pickup Truck with seats on top of the loading area - to learn a little bit about the History of Chinag Mai. <<History>> After checking in at Prince Hotel we took an excursion to Wat Doi Suthep located on the hill nearby. This temple dates from 1383 and offers superb views over the city and the sourroundings. If you ever visit Chiang Mai, this is a "100%-Must-See". After experiencing this great spot we went on by a Sang Tao to discover a silk factory. After a nice, relaxing stopover at "Baanlansa" we had lunch at the Food-Bar at the Main Shopping-Centre. There you can find various food types for a reasonable price. |
  
    |
Pong arranged two Sang Tao for our journey to the mountains of northern Thailand. A 1h-visit to the Hilltribe Museum of Chiang Mai introduced us to all kinds of Hilltribes living in the Mountains. After a 1h-drive we stopped by in Mei Malai to visit a traditional Thai Market. There we tasted some fried maggots which are like popcorn over here in europe. After another one-hour drive we arrived at a tiny village called Muang Kong located in the northern mountains at aprx. 1600m above seelevel. There we left back our Sang Tao and it became our startpoint of the jungle walk. Target for this day was the first Hilltribe named Lisu. Then we had the chance to take a tratitional Thai bucket shower <<explain bucket shower>>. After a great, tasty lunch, some jungle juice <<beschreibung jungle juice>> and celebrations our group went to bed in an 12-people bamboo house to recover from this versatile day. The visit in this village was a great experience, no running water and no electirity was available. |
  
   |
| After having breakfast and shopping some souveniers from the Lisu we resumed our jungle walk. Target for today was the village of the hilltribe "Karain". One highlight of the 4-hour jungle walk was the crossing of the river. Afte having meal we took our chances in riding elefants. I did not feel very well on the elefant because you sit really high and if the elefant does a step foreward you often have to hold on thight. We arrived the village of the Karain at 4:30 pm. After getting to know the family where we could spend a night we had the choice getting a bucket shower or taking a bath in the river. I think the second choice became the primary coice of our group. We had an excellent dinner, fun and then....all girls went to bed, michael and myself joined Pong and some local people singing songs and having some Thai Whiskey <<explain>> Again this village had only very limited access to electricity. |
  
   |
| This was the last day in jungle. Although we took two bamboo floats we did not need to walk any more. Every person had a role to keep the float on the water and to prevent a collision with rocks. During rafting down the river we passed a group with a crashed float. After travelling back to Chiang Mai by two Sang Tao we went out to have dinner at the Riverside Restaurant. There you get excellent food and various drinks at a good value. To complete the evening we went to a Thai-Boxing Arena where we saw Thai Boxing for the very first time. |
   |
| Our visit to an umbrella factory became very interesting. It is fascinating how umbrellas are painted. There this part of manufactoring is really done by hand. Then we visited an orchid farm which was astonishing beautiful. But be warned, Import-Restrictions of the European Union apply and do not allow the Import of any orchid. In the afternoon we took the train back to Bangkok. |
   |
This time we arrived in the morning with a bigger complementary delay due to a broken locomotive. After checkin at xxxxx Hotel we went to visit Wat Arun at river. In the evening we had our Intrepid meeting of our new group with our new guide "Noi". On Sunday morning after breakfast it was time for a exploration of the Bangkoks channels typically by a longtail boat. The boatman showed us the western side of Bangkok where settlements are bulit on a muddy underground and therefore houses are built on stilts. In the evening we took the train southbound to Surat Thani. |
   |
| After a 2h transfer drive with a Sang Tao we arrived at Khao Sok National Park where we changed to a longtail boat. After another 45 minutes we finally approached our destination. A tiny collection of swimming Huts made of bamboo with one main house. This valley was flodded 10 years ago. Its crystal clear water and the sourrounding rainforest with its typical "jungle noise" give you an astonishing impression. If you are lucky you can see the main source of the noise: Gibbons. As we could not move on land because of the tangly, densely wooded forest. So we disovered the near sourroundings by a paddleboat. In the night with clear sky you can see thousands of stars. This place is a must see and great experience. |
     |
| After enjoying the sunrise and breakfast we went for a jungle walk and visited a cave. In the afternoon we again hab some time for relaxing. With sunset we attempted a boat trip to see some animals living in the jungle. |
     |
| After a very last swim and two days on this fabulous floating stay we returned to landside. Soon we approached out next target, xxxxx at the foot of the Khao Sok National Park. On Wednesday we visited a Temple built into a cave. |
   |
| This day we had time to visit the runout side of Khao Sok National Park. If you ever visit this park, plan a whole day for hiking. The farer you go, the nicer it becomes. Most tourists only walk the first part of the suggested hiking path. You will experience several waterfalls, wildlife, very old trees and of course an increasing jungle feeling. In the evening the whole group took part in tube rafting which was very much fun. |
    |
| Our next destination was the most touristic place we visited in Thailand: Krabi. We went there by a public bus. We spent the first night at Mr. Ant´s who introduced us to his family. At Mr. Ant´s homestay we learnt about the typical life of a Thai muslim family. After enjoying the most delicious meal on our whole trip we went out to see Thai Boxing. |
   |
| In the morning we were a bit in a hurry. We had to move and planned to go diving near Phi-Phi islands. The boat trip (aprx. 2h) was very nice, the dive spot okay but not superb. In the evening we went out in the most touristic site we had on our itinerary. The prices were double the amount anywhere else. Apart from that one hotel after another, Razzle-dazzle, nothing for us. We were glad our stay lasted only one day. |
   |
In the morning we went by Sang Tao 2h southbound to xxxx. On the beach we changed to a longtail boat. 45 minutes later we approached Ko Mook Island, a small but civilized island with about 5000 inhabitants. On arrival we had a quite heavy shower which was kind of fun. In the evening we went to the enclosed beach and enjoyed that we finally arrived seeside. We spent one night in Koh Mook Rubber Tree Bungalow Residence. |
   |
In the morning we took off for another island. On the way we stopped at Emerald Cave with a mind-blowing hidden beach on the other side. After this fabulus adventure we returned to out boat. 1h later we arrived at our destination: Ko Rok Island. On this beautiful island, which is a national park, we spent two days just relaxing. In the evening we had barbecue. Because it´s only allowed to stay overnight with a local guide and sleeping in a tent, we were the only ones apart from a few forest wardens. Ko Rok simply was gorgeous. We went several times to snorkel and made a trip around the island by boat. After the first night in the tent where I could not sleep very well, I decided to try the hangmate in the folloeing night. I highly recommend to everybody to try this, it´s far more comfortable. In the morning we went to see a few of 20 lizards living there. Some of them were at least 2 meters long; on first sight like a crocodile. Apart from comfort it´s amazing waking up for sunrise in a hangmate on the beach. Then we sadly had to return to Ko Mook Island. |
  
   |
After returning we visited the fishing villiage on the opposite side of the island and met some inhabitants. It was a nice village with a super market where we could buy googies for daily use. In the evening we had some Ko Mook Island Cocktails, which is comparable to a Long Island Cocktail and celebrated the past days. |
   |
| After breakfast our boatman brought us back to mainland. A small bus drove us to Trang where we hab lunch and waoted for the nighttrain to Bangkok. For everybody who does not like air-contitioning, Thai Trains with A/C are really cool. Take some jacket or pullover with you! |
    |
| Arrived in Bangkok we check in in xxxx Hotel. Then I had to see the sewer we visited three weeks before. In the evening we had out last lunch with our group. Then went to Pat Pong. But be warned, Pat Pong really is what it stands for and what for its known. In every bar there are several kids triing to sell themselfes and so on.... |
    |
We used this day to go to Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya is located 70km northbound from Bangkok. We took a public transportation bus (the better one with aircon which is not so crowded) from Northern Bus Terminal to Ayutthaya which was II. capital city of Thailand after Sukhothai. It was destroyed by the Burmese in 1767. The old city had more than 1 million citizens, 375 temples and 94 city gates. Today you find remains of the giant wall around the city centre, several partially restored temples and lots of historic impressions. After arriving there we took one of many TukTuks. The drivers showed us the most important temples for a good value. The city does not look very big on the map, but you will at least have to borrow a bicycle to get around. For us the TukTuk was the better choice. In the evening we returned to the current capital city Bangkok. |
  
   |
On our last day in Bangkok we took the public transportation boat to MRT, there we changed and travelled to Siam Square to Mahboonkrong (MBK) shopping center. Just over the street connected by an enclosed walkway there are two more shopping centers Siam Center and Siam Discovery Center. In the evening I had my very last lunch in Thailand: Pad Thai and a banana pancake. Yummy. Then we went to airport with a shared taxi. |
   |
| We arrived at 5h50 with Austria Airlines at Vienna International Airport. Only 3 hours left, then I had to go to work and all the adventure, warm weather was history..... :( |
|