Waiting at Sydney Airport, July 11, 2012, with far too much time on our
hands, I start to panic that this trip should have been booked by a travel
agent who knew what to do. My second trip internationally, first to a country
with a first language I don’t speak, and I thought “No worries, why pay
commission when I can book it all myself?” Once we had shared a beer (no way
was I paying that price for 2) and had a feed, the nerves began to subside.
After a 50 minute delay, we were onboard and I could not
settle long enough to drift off, mind you, Rhys was already snoring away next
to me. Could not fault Emirates food and services though!
A tickle in my throat was growing and by the time we got out
of customs (3:30am), after a 10hr flight and a 2hr shuffle in line at customs,
we finally were on our way to sprawling out on the over biggest, softest most
comfortable bed I have ever seen at the Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel.
After a short rest and refresh we made our way to The Grand
Sukhumvit Hotel (Accorr). Organised some tours to fill the next few days and
checked out the hotel. The staff were so friendly and helpful. Rhys made the
mistake of saluting to one of the security guards who gave him a wary stare.
Our first real experience of Bangkok was walking the
dangerous looking back streets to the Nana Station and exploring the area
around. It was a real culture shock, not one bit of space wasted, no real
apparent road rules, every car scratched and dented, tuk tuks and motorbikes
(with a family of 4 on the one bike) whizzing past, not to mention the buzzing
street powerlines hanging at ear level, it was clear to us we were in another
world. Crossing the street was the hardest and scariest challenge. Where there
were crossings, people did not slow, but seemed to speed up.
While my head cold worsened, Rhys feed me water and pain
killers to ensure I made it through the city temple tour in the 30 something
degree heat, wearing jeans and a black top wasn’t the smartest decision I’ve
ever made. Despite slight disorientation, I was in awe of the amount of
dedication that the budhist Thai community put into their temples that were all
covered in hand painted murals or mosaic tiles or housed statues made of sacred
stone or precious metals (5.5 tonne solid gold budha!).
That evening I wasn’t up for much and sent Rhys off into
Bangkok alone for food while I slept. I watched from our window as he
disappeared into Bangkok and thought to myself “Bangkok has him now”. To my
surprise, he returned with McDonalds in hand (which he says is the best he’s
ever had and he should know as he would live of it if he could). A little sad
he had his first Tuk Tuk experience without me. In my absence he also managed
to have an older lady offer him favours for 60 Baht ($2 AUD).
The following day, feeling a little better, we went on the
Floating markets, River Kwai and Tiger Temple tour. The ride into the floating
markets on long tail boat was much more interesting than the markets
themselves. I had my first bartering experience and found the women in this market
place far too aggressive. To my relief, I later learnt that kind of behaviour
was limited to Bangkok.
The River Kwai museum wasn’t too organised or well
maintained, however, there was a lady outside from the safari park around the
corner trying to raise funds for their leopard program and for a small donation
you could have a hold of a real life baby leopard. I had heard many a story of
people who kept wild animals caged and charged people for photos but this
little guy was healthy and really playful on a long loose leash so I couldn’t
resist the chance to have a cuddle. Later that afternoon we went to Tiger
temple and I was saddened to see these majestic animals being dragged up onto
people laps without stirring at all.
At some point during our stay in Bangkok Rhys ate fried
crickets and felt he had achieved something, I felt he had to brush his teeth.
Our last day in Bangkok was spent in MBK shopping centre
which was a 7 storey market stall version of Westfield which was great for
souvenirs and Christmas presents.
The most amazing part of Bangkok for me was walking along
the streets and eating the food from the carts whether it be eating pad Thai
for 80 Baht on Khoa San Road whilst watching the street dancers or simply
grabbing some delicious foreign fruit and a coconut to wash it down whilst
walking round the streets.
After a very quick flight we were in Krabi, a whole world
away from Bangkok it seemed. With lush forest, sandstone cliffs, and much
quieter roads we agreed that the anxiety of Bangkok had long been forgotten, it
was time to relax.
And relax we did spending the first afternoon in the Thai
Village Resort’s pool sitting at the swim up bar and sipping on cocktails.
The following day we went to the Phi Phi Islands on a
speedboat tour and snorkelled with some colourful fish. Our guide was
hilarious.
We spent our evenings wandering the main street eating at a
different make shift restaurant each night and each time we left full and
satisfied.
Shopping on the main street along the beach was a challenge
for Rhys as every third shop was a tailor with a pushy salesman in his face
until they reached the territory of the next pushy salesman.
On the third day we met a lovely Belgium couple and went on
a kayaking adventure through the mangroves, paddled through some river caves
and saw some cave paintings. Ending the day with a dip in a natural pool of
cool turquoise water that came from up in the mountain.
The last day we lounged by the pool drinking cocktails and
enjoying the sun.
We hired a driver to take us to Khoa Lak and from the moment
we arrived at The Sarojin we felt like royalty.
Our room was amazing with 2 showers (one standard and one waterfall
style) and indoor garden around the bath which was an eggshell bath more than
big enough for 2 people and to top it off we had our own private plunge pool.
We also went kayaking whilst in Khao Lak, however, this time
we were paddled with beer and wine in hand. All the staff knew our name and
what our activities were and all seemed genuinely interested in us. We then
went on a elephant ride through the forest and ate a 2 course meal next to a
river in Koh Sok national park.
The only downfall to our stay in Khao lak was that it was
the wrong season for snorkelling as the marine life are given 6 months of the
year to repopulate.
I cannot speak highly enough of the service we received
while staying at The Sarojin and would recommend it to everyone!
We were constantly told how lucky we were that it was
raining during the night only, allowing us to enjoy the sun all day long which
is unusual for July. Our holiday was amazing, we never went without, came back
with so many goodies, great memories and money in our pocket to boot!
