It’s been a while since I’ve written an entry…I will start by saying that everything has been great…as Tyler said, we were glad to be back in Thailand after seeing Cambodia, Vietnam and a bit of Laos. There is just something about this country that seems to be keeping us here…the food, the wonderful people and friends we’ve met here, the scenery, the beach…even Bangkok has it’s own charm.
Songkran is the Thai new year and occurs on the 13th of April. This also coincides with all of the full moon parties happening on all the backpacker islands like phuket and the like which basically translates into absolute mayhem in the country! We are leaving tomorrow, the 12th to Nepal, and have just realized that the last shuttle leaves to the airport at 7am…things just seem to shut down here completely for about three days around this holiday. Everyone fills the streets armed with water guns and flour and beer and just go nuts. We would have loved to have stayed to experience the full feel of the party, but are anxious to get moving on to Nepal and the rest of our trip.
After leaving Beo in Nakom Pathom we boarded our train to Surat Thani to catch the ferry to Ko Phagnan for four (more) days of relaxation. The sleeper train was another great experience. Just SO much better than having to try to sleep cramped up in a “VIP” bus that stops every few hours to wake everyone up…the train is heaven. We even had the air conditioned sleeper car this time (as the fan ones were full…) Tyler loved it but I, of course, was a bit cold. It was nice to be able to snuggle up in the blankets though and just not feel hot…there are times when air conditioning can be heavenly to even me J
We were stocked up on delicious food and fruit for the entire day, thanks to Beo and her family so were able to relax and enjoy the trip. Once at the train station the next morning we were bombarded with touts selling ferry/bus tickets to the island. Once again showing us just how easy it is to travel here. On the ferry we were again touted by a nice guy who was showing us picture of his bungalows and how good of a deal it was…we were easily swayed to stay at least a night there as it just saves the hassle of trying to find our own place. For me, the absolute WORST part of traveling is arriving at a new destination and being attacked by touts selling this and that and the other and being exhausted and just needing a room and a bed but having to look around here and there ensuring that we are getting the best deal. We have grown savvy to these ways and are more relaxed in our approach. Sometimes I’ll sit down at a café or park and read with our packs while Tyler walks around in search of the best deal…that or we’ll accept an invitation to one of the guys who is hounding us to stay at their hotel. This often involves a free trip to their hotel and USUALLY a room that is just as nice as any of the hotels listed in the infamous Lonely Planet. We often find that these “lesser known” hotels are even better because they aren’t polluted with millions of tourists flocking there simply because it is stated in the local guide book. They are often even cheaper as they are not as well known.
ANYWAY…we went with this guy to his bungalows which were about 5 minutes from the main town Thon Sala. The bungalows were very basic and quaint and set away from the hustle and bustle of the town which was nice. A bit small but what can you really ask for at $6 a night? We immediately got a scooter to go touring around the small island and to check out some of the yoga options we had scoped out on the internet. We signed up for a one day Yoga Workshop at the “Jungle Gym” for the next day in the main backpacker haven of Had Rin. At low tide over the island there were very little swim-happy beaches to choose from. It was sweltering hot…and I mean REALLY hot and there was no where to swim? The tide moves out and leaves only rocky shoreline that starts about 300 m away from the shore. Once we got to Had Rin on the scooter we saw why it is so popular. The beach there was spectacular. Powdery, white sand and lots of it. The water was much higher here too so was totally swimmable even at low tide. It was even a bit cooler than at Ton Sai so it was nice and refreshing. There were tattooed, pierced, scantily clad, naïve, dreadlocked, hippy backpackers everywhere you looked…but it was nice! There was just such a varied crowd there. Lots of young kids getting geared up for the full moon party that I spoke of earlier, older people who have lost themselves and came all the way to Thailand to be found again, people like us who were just there for a place to chill out and relax, families…it was incredible. The small town there was fairly dumpy in places, but most of it had its own charm. The road to get here was SO up and down and hilly that I think we burned a tank of gas just getting there! A couple of times our wee 125cc scooter couldn’t make it up the hills with both of us on board so Tyler had to stick out is feet and propel us up the hills Fred Flinstone style. The locals passing by us must have been laughing their heads off! Too funny!
We hung out at this beach for sunset and dinner before heading back to our wee bungalow for an early night.
Our Yoga course was spectacular. Simone was our instructor and it was just Tyler and I in the course. Nice to have her complete attention. The course covered all of the basics of yoga, the principles that it follows, some of the basic poses and positions, how to breathe, how to focus, how to meditate…so many great techniques. We had never done any yoga before so this was what we needed. Even Tyler was feeling more limber by the end of the day. I have some great pictures that I will have to put on soon! It was a surprisingly good workout and we were exhausted at the end of the day. Then I found my favourite soup stand! It was one of my best food finds yet. It had wonton like noodles in it with good meat, some dark green veggies, some turnip like thing, bbq pork that was perfectly cooked, the best broth ever and some MSG, I’m sure. It was to die for. I went back to this vendor three more times before leaving the island!
We decided that for the next two days, a pool was a priority. We found a relatively cheap place with beautiful bungalows, a huge, beautiful pool and a nice beach area too. We packed up all of our stuff onto the wee scooter and shuffled over to the new bungalows. We fit right in with the locals who seem to carry more than those bikes are designed to handle! The next two days were composed of MAX relaxation by the pool, lots of reading, trips to the 7-11 for chips and cold drinks and trips into town for…you guessed it…food! The main town had some really nice food vendor stalls at night that Tyler was able to get his curry from …and papaya salad. I mostly ate at my favourite soup stand!
We practiced our yoga every night by the pool…we were SO much more flexible after only four days! We also rewarded ourselves with an amazing thai massage in Had Rin! I hadn’t had a thai massage yet for some reason…I’d always get the oil ones…but I decided that I had to get at least one before leaving…it was SO great. I was in heaven the whole time. I just couldn’t believe I hadn’t found them earlier. Tyler always raved about them…I just was scared that they were going to try to crack my head the way they did once before in Vietnam. I loved it.
We made our way back to Bangkok and were slated to only have a sitting car on the train. The sleepers were full when we booked earlier. We arrived about three hours early and I asked at the desk if there were any sleepers open to change into…he said there were two but it was leaving in 2 minutes! I ran after Tyler who had gone to check our bags into a storage area. He got his money back, grabbed a few steamed buns, the man who checked our bags for us was so cute and helpful and he ran to the line up to get me to the head of the line to change our tickets and ran to tell the train guy to wait until we got on. It was so nice. We had the air conditioned car again as it was the only one available and sat with some really nice Kiwis who were just starting out their one year tour of the world! After another goodish sleep we arrived in Bangkok like seasoned veterans and made our way to Kaosan Road using the local bus. We have used that past few days to buy a few last minute souvenirs, re-confirm our Royal Nepal Airlines flight, RE-check the situation in Nepal, get our email and journal caught up…and get our LAST fill of delicious Thai food! We are really going to miss this place! We were also able to meet up with our British friends Rory and Shona who we had traveled with in Vietnam. They too are off to India for another motorbike trip to the north. Perhaps we’ll meet again in Delhi?!
We will arrive in Kathmandu tomorrow and see how things are and how easy it is for us to get around with the curfew still in effect and the political unrest still unsettled.
We are glad to be moving on to new adventures and new countries…but will be very sad to leave Thailand, a country we have grown to love.
