So the travelling starts again... this time with a whole new feel! I left Australia on the 30th of January on a bright and sunny Sydney morning. It was sad to say goodbye to friends, family and Australia but I ended up spending six weeks back home in Aus and I was ready to move on and start exploring the world again.
I arrived in Phuket late on the same day and the warm and humid air was immediately comforting... I'm back! Its peak season in Phuket so I was unable to stay in the recommended hostel on the first night. I instead picked a cheap room in the centre of town and crashed out on the bed for a good nights sleep. Although you do nothing on a long plane trip except eat, sleep and watch movies it still really seems to wear you out!! The next morning I was up early and at the internet cafe next door trying to contact my friends from Phuket, family from home and get into the hostel nearby.
At midday I moved around to the hostel a few blocks along - Phuket Backpackers hostel in Phuket city. It had brilliant reviews on several internet sites and seemed like a good place to meet people. On the first night I met a few young Australians and some English people chilling out in the back garden. The hostel was really nice and very homely with a big courtyard and living area to relax in as well as pretty comfortable bunk beds. I still felt a little unsettled having no peace of mind about what I was doing or where I was going in the next few weeks so it was nice to be surrounded by friendly people. The next day I arranged to catch up with Aaron from the 'Grizzly Adams' crew and also Andy from 'Shah'. In the afternoon a group of six of us - four Aussies and two Poms jumped in a tuk tuk and headed off for the Gibbon Sanctuary.
Gibbons are a small ape and hence share 98% of their DNA with humans. They also have the unenviable trait of being very cute and therefore are prime poaching targets. Phuket tourists on Patong beach pay local street vendors to have their photo taken with Gibbons in their arms. What most dont realise is that the vendors take the baby Gibbons from the forest and will shoot up to 10 Gibbons in order to collect the best looking baby. The Gibbons are then kept in horrendous conditions in small cages and are used for photos, in bars as attractions and as pets - all of which are illegal. As a result Gibbons are now extinct in Phuket forest and the Gibbon rehabilitation centre is a small voluntarily run organisation just outside of Phuket which takes in injured or abandoned Gibbons and over several years rehabilitates them so that they can live again in the wild. It was a very interesting afternoon and we got so caught up in the plight of the Gibbons that the six of us bonded together and donated money in order to adobt a baby Gibbon called 'Bam Bam'. So we are now joint custodians of a baby Gibbon and will be forever bound :)
The 6 of us got along brilliantly and that afternoon we tossed around a few ideas about travelling together and where, when and why we all wanted to go. In the end Harvey (an Aussie on a 3 week holiday), Lauren (a Pom on a five month trip) and I decided to go to Bangkok and then up to Chiang Mai. Christina (Lauren's travelling partner) and Nadia (Harvey's travelling partner) banded together to head towards Koh Phang Nan for a week on the beach and then they would meet us in Chiang Mai. In the excitement we booked a seat on the bus to Bangkok for the next day leaving at 1:30pm.
That night I caught up with Aaron for a drink and some dinner with him and his girlfriend at a great Thai BBQ restaurant. In the centre of the table was a hole where the staff put a big bucket of red-hot coals. On top of the coals they placed a bbq plate and then there was a buffet of a variety of meats, vegetables and various sauces which we cooked ourselves on the plate. All this for 99 Baht - or $3.
The next day I packed my bags again - soon to become an ongoing nightmare and we jumped on a cramped minibus for five hours to Surat Thani. Lauren and I had to sit in the front next to the driver with our backpacks strapped on the roof of the bus and we spent the next five hours cringing every time the driver overtook a motorcycle or slightly slower car with only just the right amount of space! Surat Thani provided us with a three hour wait and a not so special dinner after which we boarded a big tourist bus with airconditioning and reclining seats. Don't get me wrong - it was still uncomfortable and cold so we arrived in Bangkok at 06:30 in the morning tired and grumpy. Unfortunately we couldnt get any accommodation until midday so we found a welcoming Israeli cafe and we whiled away the six hours munching on falafel, hummous and pita whilst using the free internet. We finally got into a guest house just off famous Khao San road in Bangkok which seemed nice and quiet and it was heaven to have a hot shower and a long nap.
That afternoon we jumped in a taxi and headed to the Chatuchak weekend market in Bangkok. It was huge and stocked a variety of items from wooden tables, handicrafts, pretty lights, puppies, clothes and naturally food. However we were all at the beginning of our trip so it was rather unsatisfying being unable to purchase anything! That night we hit Khao San road early. The entire road is shut off for a block and is lined with street vendors selling rip off cds, t-shirts, croaking frogs and food to the backpackers! There is music blaring from several pubs and stores lining the streets and the atmosphere is great. We bought Pad Thai, BBQ skewers and spring rolls from street vendors for dinner and for dessert we shared a freshly cooked banana pancake. After that we hit the buckets and naturally being backpackers we picked the cheapest type around which were composed of Sangsom Thai whisky, Coke and Red Bull. I shudder just thinking about it but after the first two the taste seemed to improve. After dinner we met a great scottish guy called Lee who regaled us with hilarious stories of his travels around Asia with his brother and we all hit a Thai club for some dancing at the end of the night. All in all a brilliant evening as we staggered home about 3am.
The next day we rose late and intended to spend the afternoon seeing the Grand Palace and some nearby temples but when we emerged outside it was pouring with rain. What else can you do in Bangkok when it is raining but head for the massive shopping centres in the centre of town? We did manage to fit in a bit of culture with a visit to Erawan shrine (next to Starbucks?!) which is an important shrine in the centre of Bangkok. Faced with the likelihood of being unable to spend any money the three of us decided instead to head to the movies.
Somehow we managed to end up in the gold class of Bangkok cinema and after forking out around $15 for a ticket (backpackers... who?) we were shown to a discreet, quiet bar for free beverages and snacks. The bar was mostly filled with foreigners enjoying the luxurious surroundings and chatting intelligently until Lauren and I discovered the free massage chairs at the end of the bar and let out peals of loud laughter as these chairs groped our bottoms and maneouvered our bodies for the next twenty minutes!
The next day we had booked a tour out of the city to see some of the surrounding sights. We were picked up at 7am by another mini bus and driven one and a hlaf hours out of the city to the floating market. It is now very much a tourist attraction and is filled with westerners but it was still really fun to take a longtail ride down the canal village and see the way the local people still lived. Our longtail threatened to capsize every 30 seconds of the 15 minute trip so we hung on for grim death and the guy next to me got absolutely soaked by a rogue wave that bounced over the side! Afterwards we had a free hour to wander around the market and purchase fruit and snacks. It was fascinating and relaxing just to observe the age old tradition.
Everybody was back on the bus for a further one hour drive to the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Kanchanaburi and then onto the Jeath War Museum at the Bridge over the River Kwai. It was an insight into a part of the war that to be honest I did not know much about. Plus the River Kwai was absolutely beautiful and it was lovely to relax and have lunch on a floating pontoon. In the afternoon we headed south of Kanchanaburi to the most anticipated part of our tour - the Tiger Temple. We arrived towards closing time so unfortunately we could not have a huge wander around but we did have time to see the tigers in the canyon and get a photo taken with them.
It was a unique experience and only possible because big cats naturally sleep 18 to 20 hours during the day and at the hottest times. Therefore between 1 and 3:30pm tourists were allowed to go into the canyon where the cats roam around freely and get taken by the staff to a tiger so that you can pat it and have your photo taken with it. Lauren paid an extra 1000baht donation and was taken to a sleeping tiger and sat down so they could put its head on her lap.
It was 2hrs back to Bangkok from here but we made one final stop at the tallest Buddhist monument in SE Asia in the old city. It was an incredible feat of architecture and it is hard to get your head around how old the buildings are. As we wandered the grounds in the dusky light a group of three monks - one of whom was the Abbot - purposefully made their way over to us and asked us questions about where we were from and whether we were enjoying Thailand. It is rare for monks to be so forthcoming and it was lovely to share our experience with them.
The next day we jumped on a ferry after breakfast and did a full tour of the river which took over two hours. It was a great, cheap way to see the city and we took in all the sights along the riverbank including the grand palace and home of the King. The Chao Phraya river is the life of Bangkok and is plyed with an enormous variety of boats and trade. At the end of the line we caught the sky train back into the city before heading to the main station to catch the night train to Bangkok.
My first night train was uneventful! We were sleepy and fed when we arrived so it wasnt long before our seats were converted into bunks and we piled into them for a good nights sleep. Unfortunately the Thais believe that all tourists need to arrive at their destination cryogenically frozen so despite the provided blanket, my extra blanket and a full set of clothes I was still freeeeeeezing when I woke up the next morning. Lauren stated that she had never been on a night train that arrived on time and this one proved to be no different arriving only 3 hours late into Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai is a small relaxing student city in the north of Thailand (still with a population of 1.5 million). The air seems to be cleaner up here and the weather certainly improved. The three of us had booked into a hostel called the Spicy Thai Backpackers which had great reviews on the web. We were pleasantly surprised with our accommodation. The hostel was a converted ex-diplomat residence in a quiet gated off village in a really nice area of Chiang Mai. It only has a capacity of about 25 so there is always time to get to know someone and it has some great relaxing areas including a rooftop terrace, a chill out lounge and a bar/kitchen room. The first night a group of us went into town to see th touristy night market. It was interesting but overpriced and the vendors were unwilling to haggle for prices. It was then early to bed as Lauren had started to get an awful chesty cough and cold which would plague her for the next few days.
On the Friday Lauren decided to stay and sleep in the hostel to try and recover so Harvey, 2 other girls from the hostel and I walked around Chaing Mai. We saw a beautiful temple and royal cemetery which was really interesting and then had lunch at a homely restaurant in town. In the afternoon I wandered around the shopping centre and found a supermarket where I bought Lauren and I some fruit to have back at the hostel. That night we both retired early as I was trying to shake off the same cough.
On Saturday 7 of us from the hostel including Harvey and I did a Thai Cooking Course. It was absolutely fabulous! The chef PemPoon picked us up and took us to the local market where he explained the local ingredients like coconut milk and the varied fruits, vegetables and noodles. Then he drove us all out to his house in a village about twenty minutes out of town. There were 18 of us in the class and we each had our own cooking station. He then explained to us how to make Coconut Milk Soup with Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, Sticky Rice with Mango, Spicy Papaya Salad, Spring Rolls, Thai Red Curry and Pad Thai Noodles. The day was great fun as the teacher was hilarious and we had an adventurous time creating fire out of our woks and giggling as people made mistakes! At the end we rolled back into the hostel fat and satisfied and swearing never to eat for the next week!
That night the owner of the hostel took us on a pub crawl around the nearby area. It was good fun and by now we had bonded into a big group of friends. Unfortunately although we decided to stay in Chiang Mai for a few more days we were unable to rebook the hostel for any more nights due to its popularity so after our big night out we reluctantly packed our bags and moved to the YHA a little further out of town.
The YHA was an experience in itself. Although clean and cheap the hostel appeared to be closed as there was absolutely nobody in the vicinity and not even any staff that could speak English while the owner was in Bangkok. So it was a rather dim experience and after two nights we moved back into town into a nice guesthouse for our last night in Chiang Mai.
Prior to moving back into town though we organised to meet up with our spicy Thai friends for dinner and a night out to say farewell as we all went our seperate ways. That morning Christina (Lauren's travelling partner) rejoined us from Bangkok on the night bus and it was great to catch up with her. We met up for dinner with everybody and ended up with a group of about twenty whiling away the hours drinking more of those damn buckets at a funky reggae rooftop bar. It was onto another club for a little bit more dancing and some sad hugs goodbye as we all went our different ways to different hostels at the end of the night.
It is our last day in Chiang Mai today and it has been a really different view of Thailand. I am lucky enough to come back to Thailand for a month when Katey joins me in April and I honestly cant wait to come back up here again to take advantage of some more of the many activities which are on offer. For now though Lauren, Christina and I head over towards Laos where we intend to spend a week making our way down the mighty Mekong river towards Cambodia. It plans to be more of an adventure - no starbucks or burger king there! I am excited and a little nervous with anticipation... wish me luck xx
