Category Archives: Thailand

28 Jul 2011 · 4:33 AM

Tips for Thailand

Our time in Thailand was nothing less than incredible. We loved everything about it, the food, the happy people and the beauty of the country itself. Here are a few activities we enjoyed and some that are not to be missed out on while in Thailand:

-       Hire a scooter and take a ride along the hilly roads to see the picturesque beaches or the exotic jungles. The cost is about B150 per day, excluding petrol, and petrol will cost about B40-B50 per litre. (TIP: Remember to have your  driver’s license with you and wear a helmet at all times, as there are occasional roadblocks and you don’t want to ruin your day by having to pay a B500 fine for no reason.)

One of the many amazing views we have seen in Phuket

-       Go for a Pad Thai at the local restaurant on the side of the road, the one with the menu only written in Thai. It is always the most delicious food and is much cheaper than the tourist spots. (TIP: Try a mixed fruit smoothie with your meal, it’s refreshing and is soothing if your meal is a little spicier than you expected.)

Delicious Pad Thai from a local place

-       Go out for a day trip to see the real Thailand. Go elephant trekking, visit the national parks, trek through the jungle or canoe down a river. There is plenty to do and it’s a great day out of the city. (TIP: Sometimes these trips can be cheaper if you book them through your hotel, and usually include pick up/drop off from your hotel too.)

The real Thai jungle

-       Go to the markets. No matter where you are in Thailand, there will be markets or walking streets. As Mari said in the guest post, the food here is fantastic and the souvenirs and clothes are cheap too! (TIP: Don’t accept the first price you are offered, even if it seems cheap. You are doing us all disfavour by accepting the hiked up prices, as often the goods are not worth the money or they are fake brands. For some excellent bargaining tips, check out this post by fellow travel blogger, Twenty-Something Travel: Bargaining Tips for the Non-Confrontational.)

Some of the questionable fare on sale at the markets

-       Visit the magnificent islands in the South. Whether it’s Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, Koh Tao, Koh anything really, there are over 200 islands to choose from and they are all uniquely beautiful. (TIP: Try not to stray off the tourist path, yes it will be “untouched” beauty, but there won’t be much that is untouched if we keep touristing every part of the islands…leave some for the locals.)

The beauty of the Andaman Islands

-       Go for a surf! There are many beaches around the island but during the rainy season there is a small swell that comes up and brings with it some fun waves on the western beaches of the island. If you’re lucky (I wasn’t) they even get big enough to throw a small barrel. (Tip: Rental is around about 150 Baht for an hour depending on your bargaining skills and if you are a bodyboarder then be prepared to for out a bit more for fins. The water is super warm but wear a rashie to ward off the inevitable irritation that salt water rubs into your skin.)

The fun little waves on Surin Beach

-       Have sun downers at a rustic little place with a view. Thailand has incredible views from the tops of the hills to the flat sandy beaches, do yourself a favour and stop to admire them once in a while. (TIP: A lot of restaurants near the sea have “Happy Hour” which is between 6pm and 9pm and gets you half price cocktails or 2 for 1’s.)

Beautiful views in Phuket

-       Visit Bangla Road on Patong Beach, but be warned, you will get accosted by some nearly nude women and some not so much women. If you feel the need to see the ‘free show’ on offer, realise that you may be paying for the show in your B1000 drink. (TIP: The bars here are waiting for tourists to rip off, make sure you know the specials before you order drinks. Better still, head to the Blue Lotus for a cheap Chang beer or a cocktail and enjoy the passing parade.)

The chaotic passing parade on Bangla Road

- Visit the Sunshine Bar on Rawai Beach… just do it! :)

Crazy little bar where the staff sing and dance, you get to wear funky hats and sing a long :)

-  If you’re planning on heading down through Malaysia on the train, there are a few things you should know (we wish we had):

  • If you book your ticket online, be sure to print the e-ticket before boarding. The offices in Thailand will not help you, they will send you to the Malaysian offices at the border…this can be stressful.
  • Change your remaining Baht into Malaysian Ringgit at the border as they do not accept Baht on the Malaysian trains and no food/drinks are served.
  •  Try not to book a sleeper right near the front or back of the sleeper carriage. The constant opening and closing of the carriage doors is noisy and you won’t get much sleep.

We got to Singapore last night eventually after a 4-hour minibus trip, a 15-hour train trip and another 5-hour bus trip… can you say tired? But luckily we got to see Kuala Lumpur for a few hours and I’m glad we did, it’s a nice city :)

The massive Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur

D x

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25 Jul 2011 · 7:31 PM

*Guest Post!* Thailand 7/11 (no pun intended)

So we had an amazing and full of fun weekend in Phuket with our friends, eating, drinking, partying and just generally catching up. Sadly Mari had to go home but she promised to send us a guest post to sum up her fabulous holiday in Thailand, so here it is! :)

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A holiday is never long enough. Especially when you’re constantly comparing your measly two weeks with a whole six months! But sitting at home reading blog post after blog post about someone else’s amazing adventures is more than enough encouragement to set about having your own (or in my case joining in!).

I got a head start in my experience of Thai language, and Thai English, when I boarded my Thai Airways flight in Johannesburg. A vibrantly coloured cabin and a friendly ‘Sawadeekaaah’ was a hint of what awaited me. T and D came to the airport especially to meet me and inaugurated an immediate love affair with fruit smoothies (mango, you’ll always be my favourite!) and putting aside my overall rather stale appearance and loving the fact that I had only a small hand luggage backpack to carry, we set out to conquer –to some extent- Bangkok!

The public transport system puts South Africa’s to shame (not exactly a difficult task I know), where you can chose from a multitude of trains, the subway, metro, the sky train, river ferries and buses; most of which have air-con to help you escape the inevitable perspiration, even if just for 5 minutes. Heaven! And when that fails there’s always one of the now 6000 7-Elevens (ahem Jade clearly our LP’s were actually out of date!) that you can pretend to be browsing in hehe :)

Before I left I bought and began reading the most recent Lonely Planet Thailand. One way to spot a tourist in Thailand apart from the obvious J is the abundant number of these books everywhere.  So it was safe to say I had a couple of ideas for activities. It didn’t take long for it to become a running joke that when ever someone asked about anything Thailand related I would respond with an …’According to the guide book,’ or …‘Apparently blah blah.’ Regular tour guide I reckon hey guys? :D

The first thought that struck me whilst we were gallivanting around was ‘Uh… Do I have something on my face? Because everyone is smiling at me… like, a lot!’ Safe to say, there was nothing on my face, except perhaps a look of incredulousness at the genuine happiness the Thai people expound when meeting and engaging with foreigners. This must be the ‘Thai smile’ that I’d read about!

 Our interaction with both religious and tourist hubs in Bangkok was exactly the kind of exposure we needed in order to negotiate similar places in different areas such as Chiang Mai and Koh Phangan, Phuket and Koh Phi Phi respectively. It certainly helped us to find the cheapest places to eat! i.e. NOT in the tourist zones but where the locals were guzzling traditional favourites!

Night bazaars and weekend ‘walking street’ markets are undoubtedly the ultimate best places to find anything and everything, from ridiculously cheap (and amazing) food to bargain shopping and a mix of quintessential Thai experiences. Massaaaaaage! (< high pitched thai voice necessary here) And wow, if I had had a bigger budget I may have just bought everything!!

I feel like I could spend forever detailing the phenomenal journey that I had, but since most of the stories have already been covered, I’ll just share some of my personal highlights.

  1. Wats (or Temples)

Looking through my photos I think I have more photos of wats than anything else (okay except maybe sunsets). This could be directly related to our having visited Chiang Mai, where – and I quote my LP – ‘it is easier to save your mortal soul than to accomplish more earthly errands like buying toiletries.’ But in all seriousness the utter intricacy and magnificence of every gold leaf covered Thai temple each with their cornucopia of gilded statues and shrines continued to get a reaction out of me.

  1. Markets

Yes I love eating and yes, I love shopping.

  1. Elephants

It would certainly have been a different trip without our visit to the Elephant Sanctuary just outside of Chiang Mai. It was such a magical experience that I will never forget and always be grateful for (thank yooou John and Merle!). Our host Woody was really fantastic and extremely enthusiastic. It was so interesting talking to him about himself and his outlook on life in Thailand, which brings me to my next point…

  1. The People

The impact and influence of tourism in Thailand is overtly evident, but there’s always someone who wants to teach you about their customs, tell you the best places to go, bargain with you or just laugh at you when you pronounce things wrong. Sure there are some tricksters around, but I think we South Africans have got the ‘street-wise’ thing down to a tee.

  1. Island Life

Next time I go to Thailand (and I promise there will be a next time) I am definitely going to do some more island hopping! From the (mostly) pristine beaches, crystal clear water, snorkeling, hiking, waterfalls, zooming around on rented scooters, sunsets, bucket-consuming beach parties, to all the other possible activities: it’s the island life for me!

But why’s the rum gone? Ahh let’s get another bucket! :)

Mari x

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Tonight we’re in Ao Nang in Krabi enjoying a nice little air con’d room by the sea. We’re hoping to fit in a walk on the beautiful beach before we head to Hat Yai and then on to Kuala Lumpur on the train tomorrow evening. By Wednesday afternoon we should be in Singapore with Karen and Ronan. Long trip, but worth it! :)

D x

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23 Jul 2011 · 9:21 AM

Phi Phi Party Paradise

Koh Phi Phi rocks. I read so many blogs about the island and we were hesitant to visit it in case it was over commercial and expensive. However, albeit commercialised, and full of young twenty-something tourists, it’s vibey and fun and if you look hard enough you can still find a few good deals. Jade, Marion, Trist and I arrived on the ferry at around 3pm, me sick as a dog after the rough sea between Phuket and Phi Phi. After a short walk, and a chat to a helpful dive instructor from Melkbos, we found a little bungalow for 300 Baht per double room and dumped our packs. Next we found a local shop for some Pad Thai and finally, headed for the beach. The sea was a beautiful clear blue and the sun was just starting to set, a perfect picture to represent the beauty of the Andaman Islands.

Sunset over Koh Phi Phi

This time of year, the island is busy enough to warrant a party, but not too busy that you feel like you’re in a crowd the whole time. In the evening, Phi Phi brings out its dancing shoes and the beach is filled with fire poi dancers, the many bars pounding out a different set of tunes every 20m along. Each bar even has its own games bringing out the neon-light-covered limbo poles and the long neon skipping ropes. It seems as though Phi Phi celebrates in full moon party style every night.

Fire Poi on the beach in Phi Phi

The main Phi Phi island is called Phi Phi Don and it is the only populated island in this set of Andaman islands 50km south of Phuket. Phi Phi Don is fairly small, only about 3,5km wide and 8km in length. An even smaller island close by, called Phi Phi Leh, hosts Maya Bay, an azure blue bay of water famous for its use in the film “The Beach.” These islands are all part of Hadnopparattara-Koh Phi Phi National Park, which is home to an abundance of coral and marine life.

The crystal clear blue sea off the coast of Phi Phi

Determined to make the most of our only full day on Phi Phi, we woke up early and took a walk up the near vertical steps to the view point overlooking the two bays in the south of the island, Loh Dalam and Ton Sai. Glowing, as my mother would say, and in need of a nice cold smoothie, we sat at the top admiring the beauty of the blue bays below. From the top, you can see why almost 2000 people died in the 2004 Tsunami that hit South East Asia. Besides the fact that it happened right in the middle of Thailand’s busiest tourist season, the main tourist stretch is right across the flattest part of the island between the two bays, and the wave crashed straight over the town, smashing everything in its path. The town has been rebuilt since, and is completely pedestrianised, with little pathways running between the shops and hostels. Walking down the narrow pathways is one hazard after the next as you dodge bicycles, luggage trolleys, dogs, cats and people!

Panoramic views from the top of the mountain on Phi Phi (Click to Enlarge)

After recovering from our walk back down the side of the mountain, legs quivering and all, we decided breakfast was in order. We found a nice little café for pancakes, toast and boiled eggs, not to mention more fruit smoothies, one of Thailand’s best inventions. After breakfast we headed straight for the beach, and claimed a few of the sun loungers, while Trist set up his hammock in the shade behind us. Working on our tans, and dipping in the 25-degree water every now and again, we passed through the morning and left the beach in time for lunch. We had been dreaming about monster chicken burgers, that we’d sampled the night before, so we headed off in that direction, only to find the place was closed! Disappointed but determined, we soon found another chicken burger-maker and sat down for a hearty meal, and for only 80 Baht each, these fried chicken, dripping with sauce burgers are definitely something to write home about! :)

The afternoon was spent on a long boat tour – for only 200 Baht each, including a bottle of water and some pineapple, we sailed around Phi Phi Leh, stopping along the way for a snorkel and to admire the crystal-clear blue water. We saw lots of beautiful coral reef, clown fish in their anemone homes, triggerfish, angel fish and some beautiful yellow and black striped jobs that swam around us as if we were part of the furniture! The only fish we felt sorry for in this fishy paradise was the small black-tipped reef shark that some despicable Japanese guy had bought from the market and proceeded to carry it around in a bag, pulling it out to pose for a few photos and to push it into people faces to scare them… Doom on you, doom on you, doom on you!!!

A little clown fish in his home

From there we headed to Maya Bay to see the famous beach that people now flock to after Leonardo Di Caprio filmed the movie on the island back in 2000.  It is a spectacular sight, with enormous limestone crags towering over the bay and the sea a mixture of aquamarine and emerald colours. We sat on the beach for at least an hour, watching the other tourists playing the fool and enjoying the sunshine. Just before sunset we headed back to the mainland and watched as the sun made its way down towards the sea.

For dinner we headed to the well-recommended Papaya restaurant, where the food was delicious and abundant, for a pittance I might add. As it was Marion’s last night in Thailand, a few celebrations were in order, so we relocated to the beach once more to enjoy a couple of cocktails, a bucket and the fire shows. Trist even managed to win a bottle of suspicious looking “premium white spirit” after trying his hand at the limbo and being one of two people to make it under the pole without falling over! We danced the night away to the Waka Waka and even a bit of drum and bass to top it off.

Mari having a go at the Limbo

The day we left, (Jade stayed one more night) the sun ran away and the rain came out, making it even more humid than before. We spent the morning breakfasting, shopping at the market and had one last swim in the sea before getting on the ferry back to Phuket. By the time we got back to Phuket, there was just enough time to get Marion checked in on all her flights, find her a shuttle to the airport and make a run for it! Getting there just in time, dripping wet and sticky hot, we said a quick goodbye and waved her on her way. Her visit was too quick, but lots of fun, and it we were sad to see her go!

We are spending this weekend in Nai Harn with some friends, Lindsay and Hayley that are living and teaching here in Phuket, and Karen and Ronan who are working in Singapore and are coming for the weekend and Jade, who is leaving back to SA on Tuesday. We’ve found a little house for 400 Baht a night with a mini kitchen and all, so it should be a fun-filled weekend. I’m sure we’ll have lots to share before we leave Thailand next week and head to Singapore.

D x

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20 Jul 2011 · 4:05 AM

Howling at the Moon

It’s far easier to reflect on past experiences when sitting in luxury at a family friend’s condo in Surin Beach than on a train or other form of relatively uncomfortable transport between places. So as I look out at the ocean and enjoy the peacefulness of it all I’m reminded that we are both so fortunate to be in a position to travel like this and are also super thankful to all of those who made it possible!

Some of the most fun you can have on a small island off the coast of Thailand is to rent a scooter for 24 hours and mission about to all of the sights. It gives such a rush of exhilarating independence and it really beats having to fork out hundreds of baht for tuk-tuks/taxis everywhere.

Hiring scooters for the day, definitely value for money!

We decided to visit one of the larger waterfalls on the island, about a twenty minute ride from where we were staying in Baan Kai, and another 25 minute hike up a super steep, rooted path. It was all worth it though for the view over the island from the high point above the falls and also for the refreshing mountain pool that we were able to dip in before beginning the trek down again.

We returned to Thong Sala for dinner and a wander around the night market. Cocktails and beer on the beach at the Highway Bar (a must visit) just made the experience all the sweeter. The poor 100cc bike that we hired really struggled up some of those hills though!

But now, on to the crux of the matter! The calm evening of the 16th brought the first bit of sun we had seen on the island since we’d arrived a couple of days before so the girls were up and heeding the call of Vitamin D and Marion swore blind that she wasn’t going home without a tan. We used up the last of our scooter rental by going into Thong Sala to buy an extra ticket for the ferry/bus to Phuket for Jade and then made our way swiftly to the beach.

Needless to say, the afternoon came and went and we all had various degrees of sunburn (some desired and some not so much). But time was running out and we had a party to get to. So for those of you who don’t know about the famous, or possibly infamous, Full Moon party hosted by Haad Rin “Sunrise” Beach, here’s the low down.

Held once a month, these parties rival most if all trance parties that Cape Town has to offer and host between ten and fifteen thousand people on an average month and this number rises in excess of thirty thousand for New Years Eve. Now this may not impress some but when you consider that it’s held on a spit of sand thirty meters by 800 meters it gets pretty crowded. There are bars, clubs and restaurants lining the beach, with revellers, dressed from head to toe in lumo clothes and paint, listening to music that varies from commercial to psy-trance and there’s even a DnB venue for the coolest kids :) The drink of choice here is “The Bucket”, a mixture of your choice of soda, a local Thai Red Bull and… wait for it… 250ml of local Thai rum. The bucket gives Tipo Tinto (from Mozambique) a good run for it’s money and after a couple, many of the revellers are reduced to slurring, stumbling cretins.

Painted and ready for the party :)

We planned to meet our friends at Mr. K’s fried chicken (a GREAT place for a midnight snack) on the main street in Haad Rin at 11pm so we chilled out in our bungalow and had a good Thai meal up at our restaurant whilst playing cards and watching the sunset. We taxi’d to Haad Rin with a bunch of boys who were clearly on a mission to have a great night and despite our best efforts only made it to the chicken spot at 11:30pm and thus missed Jade and Lindsay and co. We were to meet them later under interesting circumstances but that’s a story for another time.

Watching the sunset at the hotel before the party

What an epic party though, one and all were having a decent jam to the music of their choice and far too many buckets were being consumed! Judging by the state of some that we saw, faaaaaar too many buckets!

T and D enjoying a warm-up bucket a few nights before the party

At 5:30 we really needed to make our way back to the Resort to fetch our bags because we had a 7am ferry to catch back to Surat Thani and on to Phuket by bus and this also turned out to be a story on it’s own.

We boarded the ferry with minutes to spare and immediately passed out for the duration of the trip between Phangan and the mainland. We had to endure another 90 minute bus transfer with blaring Thai pop music between the pier and Surat Thani town that would have been a big fat party had we not all been in some state of unconsciousness/hung-over. And then our reality from about 11:30 was a couple of transfers by local taxi and a looooooong wait only to be shuffled on to a local bus, not our booked minibus, and sent off in the direction of Phuket at breakneck speed.

The fact that we were still on the outskirts of Surat Thani an hour later should have told us something, just like the extra thirty people sitting in the isles and on the stairs of the bus should have. What really got us worked up and what finally ended our trip on local transport was when the driver cooked the brakes on the bus going down a steep hill far too fast, that resulted in the rear end of the passenger compartment full of smoke and the acrid smell of burning brakepads. This was far too much for us, and our newly made Aussie friends (and one American), and we exited quickly while being screamed at in Thai by the conductor. Fun times!

So there we were, at a bus stop about 180km from Phuket, and we realised that we were in a bit of a dilemma. The biggest problem was the language barrier but we managed after about an hour to organise ourselves a minibus down to Phuket that would not break the bank and more importantly leave us with our lives intact. So more thanks go to our CHAMPION Aussie friends who not only saved the day but also made the wait and the rest of the trip a good laugh!

Waiting for a taxi in the middle of nowhere, and this walks past...

Arriving in Surin Beach we did a happy dance when we saw the white-sheeted, air-conditioned, infinity-pooled Surin Beach Condos and did what all over-tired and underfed people do…ate, and went straight to sleep. No skaam, no worries, just incredible horizontal-ness!

Our view from the apartment! :)

The four of us enjoying a cocktail on Surin Beach

Phi Phi today! Whoop!

T, D, M and J! Party’s getting fuller!

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14 Jul 2011 · 4:24 PM

The Long Road to Paradise

After our fantastic adventure with the elephants on Monday, we spend the last day in Chiang Mai sampling more local food and fruit smoothies at

Fried goodies for sale in Chiang Mai

the market and packed up all of our goodies. We even hired a scooter and took turns riding it around the old town, T doing most of the riding and M and I catching a lift on the back :) After that it was time to start the long journey Southwards to Koh Phangan. We got to the Chiang Mai Railway Station, a very nice, clean place, in plenty of time, and boarded the Special Express to Bangkok. It was an overnight sleeper train, with a little too much AC (you can’t win), but it was comfortable enough and we all had a good few hours of sleep. We arrived in Bangkok before 7am, and had 12 hours to kill before our bus to the South. Luckily we could store our bags at the train station, with the tour company that we bought our bus tickets from, V.C Travel and Tours, a very reputable company if you’re looking to tour around Thailand.

First stop was Lumphini Park, an easy three Metro stops from Hua Lamphong Railway Station. Here we wandered around, in an early morning daze, watching the Thai people enjoy their morning in the park. We found that there is a whole section of weights and gym equipment that the public exercise on for free, there were a few people doing Thai Chi classes, a group or two of older people singing together, and people some just walking through the park to work.

Watching the Monitor Lizzards in the river

Next we decided to visit the Dusit Zoo. It was a fair distance from Lumphini so we took the bus to the Victory Monument and from there we walked, and we walked, and we walked, until we eventually found the zoo! What fun we had, looking at all the different animals. There were deer and binturong, bears and sharks, chimpanzees and lions, panthers and snakes, elephants and birds and monkeys of all shapes and sizes.

Albino Golden Thai Python

Hippo showing us her teeth!

We spent hours and hours looking at all the animals, and eventually, when we were starving and tired, stopped for lunch and headed back to the station by bus. Luckily, after such a long, hot, sweaty day, there were nice cold showers at the station that we could, and did, use. By that time, it was almost 5pm and we could relax with our books until the bus trip.

We had originally been told to be very careful with all of our valuables and belongings, as the buses going down South were known to be dodgy with the baggage. Some people have told us that someone sat in the bottom “cargo hold” of their bus with all of their bags and picked the locks and went through them looking for anything useful or valuable to steal. We were extra paranoid about getting our valuables stolen, and spent a good while securing all of our bags properly. Then we boarded the bus at 7pm and hoped for the best. Thailand also seems to be one of those places, like India, were you are shoved around from place to place and no one tells you exactly what is happening. On one of these unexplained moments, and there were many along the way, we sat for an hour on the side of the road, waiting for some unexplained thing to happen, whether it did or not we will never know, but we eventually made it to Surat Thani at around 6am. Well, I say we made it to Surat Thani, but to be honest, I can’t say for sure where we were dumped, as there were no signs or names in sight. We were dumped on the side of the road at a cafe, where another 30 people lay sleeping, clearly having already been dumped earlier that morning, and waited for the next instructions. We were each given a sticker with the name of our destination on it. Every so often a “mini-bus” would pull up and call a destination, and those people would scurry to get their bags and off they went to their island of choice. Eventually, after about 2 long hours of waiting, the ‘Koh Phangan bus’ arrived and we got on, hoping for a quick bus ride to the ferry pier. The bus stopped yet another three or four times before getting going but after about half an hour, we were on the open road, wind howling through the open windows and a very loud, skipping Linkin’ Park song playing on the stereo speakers. At about 9:30am we arrived at the pier, looking like we’d been dragged through a bush backwards, in two-day old clothes. No matter, a quick bowl of fried noodles for breakfast and a toilet stop and we were on our way to the ferry to the island.

Waiting on the side of the road in Surat Thani

A quick aside about the people on this ferry… In Leh we explained that there were lots of tourists, but the good kind, see this post on Leh to read it again. However, this ferry was FULL of tourists, like us, between the ages of 20 and 25, but not the good kind. I should have expected it, considering we are arriving on the island of the Full Moon Party (click here to read about what the full moon party is), but these young people seem really arrogant, rich and demanding. A far cry from the happy-go-lucky, tree-loving tourists in Leh.

The ferry took little over 2 hours, plus a good 45 minutes of waiting on the boat before we left, so by the time we got the beautiful island, it was lunchtime. Swarms of taxis waited on the pier to round up the tourists heading to the different beaches, and we headed through them, into the town of Thong Sala to find some lunch and plan our next move. After a healthy bowl of noodle soup and a fruit smoothie, we were ready to trawl the beaches for a place to stay. We took a taxi to Baan Kai, 80 Baht each, and started our walk up the beach asking at every bungalow for an available room. Not long after we started, and a short distance up the sunset beach, we found a little piece of heaven with an available bungalow at the Golden Beach Resort. Its not a luxury hotel, just 3 beds and a bathroom but our view is spectacular and beach is a few metres from our balcony. Paradise? I think so.

View from our room at the Golden Beach Resort

D x

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11 Jul 2011 · 6:00 PM

Elephant mahout, a humbling experience

When we came to Chiang Mai, all I wanted to do was see an elephant, but it can be pricey and our budget isn’t what you would call lenient. However, when my parents offered to pay for us to go on the elephant mahout day trip, we jumped at the opportunity. Little did we know that we would not only see the elephants but feed them, learn to ride them, and bath with them in the river. The experience was nothing less than incredible and the money WELL worth it, (even though we didn’t have to pay for it ourselves). The camp that we went to was called the Baan Chang Elephant Camp and is really well-run by Woody, a guy who has grown up with the elephants and trained them from a young age. The fees (upwards of 2400 Baht per person) are used exclusively to buy food (and elephants eat a lot!!) for the 8 or so elephants who live on the camp, and to pay their handlers who care for them day and night (interestingly, elephants only sleep for approximately 3 hours each night).

Below are some photos of our day at the camp!

Elephant Chair

Learning the commands from up top

"Yuut" to stop, "Baai" to go

Time for us to try out all of the commands we have learned on our own on a walk in the jungle!

Stopping for a short break in the jungle

Time for a dip in the river

Bath time-scrubbing the elephants clean!

Having fun in the river

Lots of fun!

The elephants and our group

Big strong elephant

Time to say Goodbye

If you would like to know more about the camp or book it for yourself (they also do 2 or more day camps) visit Woody’s blog on www.woodyelephanttraining.com and check out the photo gallery page in the next few days to see more photos of us in action! :)

D, T and M x

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10 Jul 2011 · 8:48 PM

Buddha, Wat?

On our short stay in Bangkok we managed to see but a fraction of the city, but just that small part was enough to give us a taste of what Thailand has to offer. From the hundreds of Wats or Buddhist temples, to the many markets selling everything from sunglasses to carved elephants…there is something for everyone.

Despite our efforts, we did not manage to see the Emerald Buddha (Phra Kaew Marakot) housed in the Grand Palace (always remember to dress appropriately when planning on visiting temples). This small Buddha, only 66cm in height, made of Jasper-quartz or Jade rather than Emerald holds a prominent position in Thai Buddhism. However, we continued the following day to Wat Pho (dressed more appropriately this time) to see the Reclining Buddha. This statue of Buddha, 46m long and 15m high, illustrates the passing of Buddha into Nirvana. Its gold-leaf covered body stretches out length-ways, filling the majority of the room that it is housed in. Its pearl-inlayed feet form a patterned wall on the one side of the room. The Wat Pho temple, houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, 394 to be exact. Wat Pho is also the headquarters for massage instruction, so if you had some extra cash you could go for a massage there as well, to break the days sightseeing.

A few of the 394 Buddhas in Wat Pho

The Reclining Buddha

The best way to see a lot of the sights in Bangkok is by river ferry, and its pretty cheap too. A one-way ticket will cost you 14 Baht each, provided you get the local ferry and not the tourist boat, which is 25 Baht each (and you can barely understand the guide’s English in any case). Once on the boat, you can sit and enjoy the sights from the river and hop off when you find something worth looking at.

On the Chao Phraya in Bangkok

The markets in Thailand are definitely my highlight, whether it’s the sidewalk or the night market, they are so much fun even if you don’t have money to buy a lot of things. You can just walk around for ages, bargaining and chatting to the locals. The food in the markets is also so delicious, and so cheap! You can get little satay sticks, corn on the cob, and fried chicken or even try some strange-looking Thai delicacies…if you dare. For dessert, have a few fried banana pieces, or a crispy pancake filled with melted marshmallow and orange rind! Divine!

Thai Delicacies-if you dare!

We’ve had to deal with quite the saga these past couple of days due to Marion’s bags being left in Johannesburg. The reason the bag didn’t get on the same plane as her in the first place was because her plane was delayed three times from Cape Town to Johannesburg, so eventually when she did get to Jhb, she got on the plane and her bag did not. When she arrived in Bangkok after a very long night, as we well know, we were under the impression that they would send her bag straight to our guest house in Bangkok. Not the case, apparently. So, we finally got the details of the flight that the bag was supposed to be on and because we were leaving to Chiang Mai that same day, we decided we would go and fetch the bag from the airport. What a drama!! We left with plenty of time to get there and fetch the bag, and get back to the station to catch the bus to Chiang Mai. When we got to the airport, however, there was no bag. We spent at least 2 hours being sent from pillar to post, trying to find out where on earth the bag was. Eventually, we were told that the bag was in Hong Kong and that it had missed the connecting flight to Bangkok and would not arrive until the following day. They promised to send the bag on to Chiang Mai and deliver it to our hostel. We said we’d believe it when we saw it! Now the saga was to get back to the station in time for our bus, and with 45 minutes to go, it was a tough ask. And of course, everything went wrong! First the express train left as we got there, and with the next one only coming half an hour later, we had to catch the slow train. Next we got off the lovely air-conned sky train to connect to the MRT, only to find that we had to walk 10 minutes to get to the Metro Station. And then it started raining. Of course, when it is 35 degrees and humid, a bit of rain is fantastic, but not when you’re running through it between two stations in a blind panic. Next the ticket machine went out of order, but finally we got onto the metro train and arrived at the station with 5 minutes to spare, dripping wet and sans Marion’s bag.

Despite all of the drama though, the bus ride was uneventful (besides the strange stop for dinner at the Thai cafeteria-type place at 12am), and Marion’s bag arrived as promised at the hostel while we took a nap!

Marion's Bag! Whoop!

While Bangkok was a restless animal, a city that never sleeps; Chiang Mai is a peaceful place with a laid back atmosphere. Here we have explored the streets of the old town, visited the Sunday Walking Street (best market ever), and paid our respects to the many Wats along every street. Oh, and we even jammed a little at the local Reggae club last night :)

Marion and Trist at Roots Rock Reggae in Chiang Mai!

Tomorrow we are visiting Baan Chang Elephant Park, thanks to a very kind donation by my parents (THANKS!!!!), and I’m sure we will have a few great stories and photos to show you after that!

D x

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06 Jul 2011 · 6:29 PM

Delhi Belly to Bangkok

On Monday when we jumped on the plane in Delhi we were full of excitement. Not because we were happy to leave India, it has been a spectacular time, full of colour, mountains, people and smells (some good, some not so good), but rather because were were traveling again. It is such a buzz knowing that you are on your way to another different place! Bangkok hasn’t let us down!

One thing that was very clear when we alighted was that we were not getting away from the heat or the humidity… not on your life! It has been a consistent 30+ degrees celcius since we arrived, broken only by small, heavenly stops in air-conditioned airports, trains and hostel lobbies. You are acutely aware of this novelty once you have been traveling in India for a few weeks. For those who have been in Bangkok before you probably think it’s a fairly grimy city, but once you have been to Mumbai, Delhi, Agra and Kolkata you gain a bit of perspective and Bangkok becomes a shimmering pearl of a city on the banks of the Chao Phraya! Please don’t misinterpret this as me saying that Indian cities aren’t beautiful, they are some of the most beautiful I have seen in my limited travels, but they aren’t exactly hygienic and it’s pretty awesome to not worry about falling ill when sampling the local fare.

Local fruit and veg

This has led on well, the food here is to die for. Dom and I both enjoy Thai food and often eat from the local Thai restaurant back home in Cape Town. This place has really blown me away though because whatever I was dreaming and wishing it would be, it is better! Thai prawns and sweet and sour veg for lunch, spicy pork with noodles for dinner, battered and fried banana slices for snacks and fresh fruit like you have never (ever) seen before! And the greatest thing… it’s ridiculously inexpensive and filling food! Too much for me…. Oh, the beer and “soda-in-a-bag” are great too!

Soda-in-a-bag

A small excited feeling has been growing in us over the past week because my sister is joining us in Thailand for two weeks from tomorrow!!! So the URT increases to three Saffas tomorrow, fun huh? And before we forget, our great friend Jade is also planning to pop over so we are going to be having a fun-friend-filled time in T minus 12 hours, yippee!

Patpong Road

More on the sights and sounds and smells tomorrow. For now, sleep… we must catch the 6am train to the airport to meet a no-doubt tired Marion (sans her luggage after ACSA left it in Cape Town) and this is troublesome for our holiday accustomed bodies! Nighty night!

Trist out!

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