Am writing this from a wonderful Apple Imac, inside one of the many fancy coffee shops in Luang Prabang, one of the more popular tourist destinations in Laos.
Correction: I WAS writing it from there. Now I'm in Vang Vien, following my trend of spending no time at all on my blog (sadly). My journey through northern Thailand was painless: I saw some nice sights, the best of which were provided by Kanchunaburi (home of the infamous Bridge over the River Kwai) and Sukhothai (it sported a national park containing well-preserved ruins of temples and palaces - for some reason, the former tends to be built on top of the latter - dating back many centuries). Thailand, in a nutshell, appears to be mainly all about its beaches. Bangkok provided several nice, immaculately kept temples for sight-seeing, but everything that I've seen since then has been much of the same ("same, same but different"). It's also a mainly flat country, apart from when you reach the real northern parts, close to the Burmese and Laos borders.
Another thing Thailand keeps on proving to me is that it affords next to all the conveniences England does: my stop in Chiang Mai prior to leaving for Laos offered me multiple modern shopping malls, Starbuck cafes with wifi (which is even available in some guest houses, such as the one I stayed in) and multiplex cinemas. Entering Laos a week and a half ago was a bit of a shock - the first down I stayed in, half way down the Mekong River from Huay Xai (border town) and Luang Prabang (a beautiful old French Colonial town and very much styled in that way), was very remote and without roads disconnected from the outside world, its power provided by generators. Laos hasn't turned out to be all like this (sadly?), but actually is a nice blend of old and new: modern convenience without the big brands/shopping malls/sky scrapers.
Will continue this later - am off down south now to the 4,000 Islands, right on the border with Cambodia. I'm not sure what the internet access there is like, but should be in Cambodia by the end of next week, where I'm sure I can fit in another update.
Saturday, 24 November 2007
Thursday, 8 November 2007
Onwards and Upwards
Ko Samui - now a disaster zone!
Yep, it's official, and not just me whining. After 3 days of continuous rain - some of the heaviest I've ever seen - Ko Samui is practically under water. See the latest cuttings from the 'Bangkok Post':-
Samui island is declared disaster zone on Thursday after it was hit by heavy rain the night before. The rain caused flood in several locations. Water level on the main road is at 30 centimetre high. Hundreds of tourists are left stranded as weather condition prevented aircrafts from taking off since late Wednesday. Authorities are trying to pump water into river to alleviate the problem and prevent further flooding if rain comes again. Surat Thani provincial office sent 170 soldiers into the island to assist locals and tourists.
-- Bangkok Post 2007-11-08
It's as impressive as it sounds too. I've been pretty much housebound these last few days (the roads running into the big towns are completely underwater) and have had to make do with using Steve's gym, watching DVDs on a massive television, browsing the information super-highway and raiding the well-stocked parlour. Times are tough...
Truth be told, I've only had me, myself and I for company of late (Steve and family are unable to return from their trip to Bangkok due to the closure of Ko Samui's airport: hard for him to believe when it's currently a glorious thirty degrees in Thailand's capital!), I'm a little bored and yearning to be being able to go outside and actually do/see something. I've really enjoyed my time here (almost two weeks): I've had a great relax, rested, chilled out and other than the above have polished off a few books too (completed Baudolino by Umberto Eco - amusing, great use of language and history, a bit directionless at times - and Herman Hesse's 'Siddhartha', which I found to be a great read - very insightful, thought-provoking and perfect for this trip - and have now started on some hard-fi, Culture novel by Iain M. Banks). I owe a lot to Steve for making all this possible and am just sorry I won't see him now before I leave Samui. Perhaps at Christmas/New Year?
Speaking of leaving, despite the weather situation, the good news is that I've booked a ticket to take me off this island tomorrow (Friday 9th Nov) and onto warmer pastures new. At 1.30PM I'll be catching a boat to Surat Thani on the mainland, followed by a bus to the train station and then, after several hours of waiting, a train to a lesser-known place called Petchaburi. A central Thai province some 130km south of Bangkok, it is supposedly a good representation of the 'real' Thailand - i.e. no 7/11s, no Tescos and, hopefully, next to no tourists. There's meant to be several worthwhile caves to see as well as no end of temples. Unfortunately, I don't have any info. on it in my guidebook (gulp!) so am relying on a few postings that I have read on the 'Thorn Tree' (Lonely Planet's online message board). Am set to arrive some time between 5 and 6am on Saturday morning, all being well. Fingers crossed it turns out to be worth it :) A day or two there and then back up to Bangkok, my intention being ultimately being to head up to Chiang Mai (northern Thailand) then across into Laos.
So, it's away from the life of laziness and luxury and back to roughing it on the road. I'm both excited and full of intrepidation. In fact, it feels a little like the start of my trip again. Just a warning that it may be a little while until this blog is updated again, at least until I get the opportunity to pop into another web cafe. That'll probably be in Bangkok then...
J
Chaweng Lake - Ko Samui
It's not a world apart from Sunny Doncaster ;)
Waiting for the rain to stop, Na Thon.
"Same, same" at Steve's house.
Food for thought: why is it that the Thais INSIST on putting everything in plastic bags?? This seems to happen no matter what I buy or where I buy it from. Even if my purchase consists of a single, lone bottle of water, the seller will thrust it at me in a plastic bag, all by itself, with absolutely no regard for waste at all. As I'm never asked whether I would actually LIKE a bag or not, I daren't object, for fear of causing confusion (how couldn't I want a bag??) as well as looking like a bigger 'farang' than I already am!
To top it all off, if I'm really lucky, they'll throw in a free drinking straw too!
*sigh*
Yep, it's official, and not just me whining. After 3 days of continuous rain - some of the heaviest I've ever seen - Ko Samui is practically under water. See the latest cuttings from the 'Bangkok Post':-
Samui island is declared disaster zone on Thursday after it was hit by heavy rain the night before. The rain caused flood in several locations. Water level on the main road is at 30 centimetre high. Hundreds of tourists are left stranded as weather condition prevented aircrafts from taking off since late Wednesday. Authorities are trying to pump water into river to alleviate the problem and prevent further flooding if rain comes again. Surat Thani provincial office sent 170 soldiers into the island to assist locals and tourists.
-- Bangkok Post 2007-11-08
It's as impressive as it sounds too. I've been pretty much housebound these last few days (the roads running into the big towns are completely underwater) and have had to make do with using Steve's gym, watching DVDs on a massive television, browsing the information super-highway and raiding the well-stocked parlour. Times are tough...
Truth be told, I've only had me, myself and I for company of late (Steve and family are unable to return from their trip to Bangkok due to the closure of Ko Samui's airport: hard for him to believe when it's currently a glorious thirty degrees in Thailand's capital!), I'm a little bored and yearning to be being able to go outside and actually do/see something. I've really enjoyed my time here (almost two weeks): I've had a great relax, rested, chilled out and other than the above have polished off a few books too (completed Baudolino by Umberto Eco - amusing, great use of language and history, a bit directionless at times - and Herman Hesse's 'Siddhartha', which I found to be a great read - very insightful, thought-provoking and perfect for this trip - and have now started on some hard-fi, Culture novel by Iain M. Banks). I owe a lot to Steve for making all this possible and am just sorry I won't see him now before I leave Samui. Perhaps at Christmas/New Year?
Speaking of leaving, despite the weather situation, the good news is that I've booked a ticket to take me off this island tomorrow (Friday 9th Nov) and onto warmer pastures new. At 1.30PM I'll be catching a boat to Surat Thani on the mainland, followed by a bus to the train station and then, after several hours of waiting, a train to a lesser-known place called Petchaburi. A central Thai province some 130km south of Bangkok, it is supposedly a good representation of the 'real' Thailand - i.e. no 7/11s, no Tescos and, hopefully, next to no tourists. There's meant to be several worthwhile caves to see as well as no end of temples. Unfortunately, I don't have any info. on it in my guidebook (gulp!) so am relying on a few postings that I have read on the 'Thorn Tree' (Lonely Planet's online message board). Am set to arrive some time between 5 and 6am on Saturday morning, all being well. Fingers crossed it turns out to be worth it :) A day or two there and then back up to Bangkok, my intention being ultimately being to head up to Chiang Mai (northern Thailand) then across into Laos.
So, it's away from the life of laziness and luxury and back to roughing it on the road. I'm both excited and full of intrepidation. In fact, it feels a little like the start of my trip again. Just a warning that it may be a little while until this blog is updated again, at least until I get the opportunity to pop into another web cafe. That'll probably be in Bangkok then...
J
Chaweng Lake - Ko Samui
It's not a world apart from Sunny Doncaster ;)
Waiting for the rain to stop, Na Thon.
"Same, same" at Steve's house.Food for thought: why is it that the Thais INSIST on putting everything in plastic bags?? This seems to happen no matter what I buy or where I buy it from. Even if my purchase consists of a single, lone bottle of water, the seller will thrust it at me in a plastic bag, all by itself, with absolutely no regard for waste at all. As I'm never asked whether I would actually LIKE a bag or not, I daren't object, for fear of causing confusion (how couldn't I want a bag??) as well as looking like a bigger 'farang' than I already am!
To top it all off, if I'm really lucky, they'll throw in a free drinking straw too!
*sigh*
Tuesday, 6 November 2007
Note to all
A pretty good day today, updates wise. Mind you, it did take up THE WHOLE DAY to do this (well, at least most of it). So no-one misses anything, I'm just letting you know that as well as adding Thailand and Nepal pics, there's also some ones of India added to the lower original posts as well. Scrolling will get your everywhere! :)
As I forgot to put it in, here also is a picture (or several) that I forgot to put in of India...
The Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal, close(r) up
Same again!
The third pic is a profile of the Taj, taken from its right side (approached from the gate). It illustrates how the building is perfectly symmetrical, built in such a way that it appears identical from all four sides. Unfortunately, you cannot see the minarets in this pic, which also look identical no matter whether you view them from the north, east, south or west.
As I forgot to put it in, here also is a picture (or several) that I forgot to put in of India...
The Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal, close(r) up
Same again!
The third pic is a profile of the Taj, taken from its right side (approached from the gate). It illustrates how the building is perfectly symmetrical, built in such a way that it appears identical from all four sides. Unfortunately, you cannot see the minarets in this pic, which also look identical no matter whether you view them from the north, east, south or west.
Raining in Paradise
I figured this could do with a whole section to itself. The last week and a half I have spent on the island of Ko Samui - just off the east coast of Thailand (in the gulf), not far from the full-moon partying Ko Phangan and snorkelling Ko Tao - staying at a family friend's place. Despite the warnings of bad weather, I took the time out to come here to visit my cousin Eamonn, who also happened to be staying in Thailand for a couple of weeks, family in tow.
The warnings turned out to be true. Being only a few hundred miles north of the Equator and well within the Tropic of Cancer, Thailand never really gets cold, but it does get wet. I paid 450 baht (around £6.75) for a trip which included an overnight *ahem* VIP bus from Bangkok to the port of Surat Thani (free films, a/c and comfy reclining seats inc, a night's sleep not - just couldn't nod off!) and boat across to the island (took a couple of hours, starting at 8am, also including a few beers from some Brit tourists throw in - cheers guys!). Even before setting off from Surat Thani, the sky looked forboding and the waters choppy.
The last week or so's weather has been much more 'off' than 'on' with regular, heavy tropical thunderstorms and a normally overcast sky. Though the monsoon season was set to start around November for the east coast, this year it appeared to have arrived early. However, I was here to spend time with Eamonn - which was a fantastic relief, after having seen no family or friends for almost 2 months - and Steve was very welcome, letting me have my own room (equipped with plasma TV), full access to his swimming pool, beach, computer, food, drink - just about everything really. I've been pretty blown away, though let down by the weather I've spent my time relaxing and for the most time chilling out.
It doesn't hurt that Steve's pad is a bit of a mansion too. He has tonnes of rooms, loads of big screen plasmas/rear projection TVs, a huge DVD collection, a ping-pong table, a gym (though in my slothfulness, this hasn't had nearly enough use), a kitchen full of food (waking up to a different set of dishes freshly cooked by the maid every day is a luxury I've soon gotten used to - she even does my washing/ironing!!) and a driveway with multiple cars (free access to one of his jeeps is also included). To cut it short, I haven't wanted for much here.
Eamonn proved to be a good laugh too - taking me out on the scene that is Chaweng (which is a bit too full of Irish Murphy bars for mine and his liking) and Lamai (less touristy, includes several bars with great, play for 4-5 hours a night, any song you like bands). I've checked out some excellent amateur Thai boxing (kick boxing to adrenaline-thumping music basically), where the bar men and ladies battle it out in the ring for cash, sometimes for many rounds at a time. This turned out to be a great past time, best enjoyed with several bottles of Chang Beer (local, strong, 6.4% Thai beer, only drunk by 'farrang') or Singh (tastier and more manageable at 5%).
I've also had the opportunity to *cough* sample the ladies here, as well as partake in a special Thai massage. The women on the whole remain absolutely stunning. A good portion of these women work in bars, where they entice white, male tourists in by dancing, serving drinks, coo-ing ("hey, sexy man" or just plain miaowing as you walk by) and just plain looking good. Once you are dragged in - and some of them will man-handle you so that you have no choice - you basically are assigned one girl, normally your choice, who will chat with you if she can speak good English, otherwise she'll more often than not challenge you to a game (Connect 4, Jenga are two popular games: lose to them and you buy them a drink, win and it's swiftly forgotten). Either way, you'll end up a drink or two out of pocket and with a very fiesty girl all over you.
I played around with this, had some great fun but in no way took it seriously. Though many of the girls would have loved for me to pay their bar fines (a set amount you pay the bar to allow her to leave her work for that night), I wasn't really up for that. £££ is really what many/all of these girls see in farrang, as evidenced by the number of old, fat men walking hand in hand (both in the day time and at night) with knock-out, young stunners. It's kind of embarassing to see this at times, but it is accepted as a fact of life here and no-one batters an eyelid at such behaviour!
The best kept secret too was that, after the bars close, the local disco at Lamai was full of beautiful Thai women, all off duty and all keen to have a western boyfriend. So long as nothing was taken too seriously - I've read 'Money Number One' thankfully and am not about to go steady with any of these girls, let alone marry one - there's a lot of fun to be had.
Other than that, several swims in the sea, a trip to a few food/clothes markets and a visit to a waterfall, thanks to the bad weather I don't have much to report. Eamonn has now departed with the kids, Steve is in Bangkok with wife until tomorrow (Wednesday), so I have had the place to myself these last couple of days, in which time I've been planning the next stage of my journey. Though it's a popular route, I figure heading back north to Bangkok then onward to Chiang Mai should be next, followed by nipping across into Laos. The route from therein looks to be as follows:-
Huay Xai -> Luang Nam Tha -> Luang Prabang -> Vang Vieng (home to the tourists, but more importantly the tubes and drinking rivers - more on this later) -> Pakse -> 4000 Islands
That'll leave me in the very south of Laos, from where I'll head south into Cambodia, heading for Angkor Wat.
Ultimately, I plan to be back at Steve's for Christmas and New Year, though we'll have to wait and see how that pans out.
J
Some Ko Samui pics:-
Steve's pad, taken from the back gate (Tom and Jess - Eamonn's kids - in the pool).
View from the rear of Steve's house. Islands in the distance: Ko Tao (centre) and Ko Phangan (right).
The view from Steve's beach: left.
View from Steve's beach: right.
Eamonn and Tom on Halloween. Notice the absence of masks. The Thais don't actually celebrate Halloween officially, but they love any excuse to party.
The warnings turned out to be true. Being only a few hundred miles north of the Equator and well within the Tropic of Cancer, Thailand never really gets cold, but it does get wet. I paid 450 baht (around £6.75) for a trip which included an overnight *ahem* VIP bus from Bangkok to the port of Surat Thani (free films, a/c and comfy reclining seats inc, a night's sleep not - just couldn't nod off!) and boat across to the island (took a couple of hours, starting at 8am, also including a few beers from some Brit tourists throw in - cheers guys!). Even before setting off from Surat Thani, the sky looked forboding and the waters choppy.
The last week or so's weather has been much more 'off' than 'on' with regular, heavy tropical thunderstorms and a normally overcast sky. Though the monsoon season was set to start around November for the east coast, this year it appeared to have arrived early. However, I was here to spend time with Eamonn - which was a fantastic relief, after having seen no family or friends for almost 2 months - and Steve was very welcome, letting me have my own room (equipped with plasma TV), full access to his swimming pool, beach, computer, food, drink - just about everything really. I've been pretty blown away, though let down by the weather I've spent my time relaxing and for the most time chilling out.
It doesn't hurt that Steve's pad is a bit of a mansion too. He has tonnes of rooms, loads of big screen plasmas/rear projection TVs, a huge DVD collection, a ping-pong table, a gym (though in my slothfulness, this hasn't had nearly enough use), a kitchen full of food (waking up to a different set of dishes freshly cooked by the maid every day is a luxury I've soon gotten used to - she even does my washing/ironing!!) and a driveway with multiple cars (free access to one of his jeeps is also included). To cut it short, I haven't wanted for much here.
Eamonn proved to be a good laugh too - taking me out on the scene that is Chaweng (which is a bit too full of Irish Murphy bars for mine and his liking) and Lamai (less touristy, includes several bars with great, play for 4-5 hours a night, any song you like bands). I've checked out some excellent amateur Thai boxing (kick boxing to adrenaline-thumping music basically), where the bar men and ladies battle it out in the ring for cash, sometimes for many rounds at a time. This turned out to be a great past time, best enjoyed with several bottles of Chang Beer (local, strong, 6.4% Thai beer, only drunk by 'farrang') or Singh (tastier and more manageable at 5%).
I've also had the opportunity to *cough* sample the ladies here, as well as partake in a special Thai massage. The women on the whole remain absolutely stunning. A good portion of these women work in bars, where they entice white, male tourists in by dancing, serving drinks, coo-ing ("hey, sexy man" or just plain miaowing as you walk by) and just plain looking good. Once you are dragged in - and some of them will man-handle you so that you have no choice - you basically are assigned one girl, normally your choice, who will chat with you if she can speak good English, otherwise she'll more often than not challenge you to a game (Connect 4, Jenga are two popular games: lose to them and you buy them a drink, win and it's swiftly forgotten). Either way, you'll end up a drink or two out of pocket and with a very fiesty girl all over you.
I played around with this, had some great fun but in no way took it seriously. Though many of the girls would have loved for me to pay their bar fines (a set amount you pay the bar to allow her to leave her work for that night), I wasn't really up for that. £££ is really what many/all of these girls see in farrang, as evidenced by the number of old, fat men walking hand in hand (both in the day time and at night) with knock-out, young stunners. It's kind of embarassing to see this at times, but it is accepted as a fact of life here and no-one batters an eyelid at such behaviour!
The best kept secret too was that, after the bars close, the local disco at Lamai was full of beautiful Thai women, all off duty and all keen to have a western boyfriend. So long as nothing was taken too seriously - I've read 'Money Number One' thankfully and am not about to go steady with any of these girls, let alone marry one - there's a lot of fun to be had.
Other than that, several swims in the sea, a trip to a few food/clothes markets and a visit to a waterfall, thanks to the bad weather I don't have much to report. Eamonn has now departed with the kids, Steve is in Bangkok with wife until tomorrow (Wednesday), so I have had the place to myself these last couple of days, in which time I've been planning the next stage of my journey. Though it's a popular route, I figure heading back north to Bangkok then onward to Chiang Mai should be next, followed by nipping across into Laos. The route from therein looks to be as follows:-
Huay Xai -> Luang Nam Tha -> Luang Prabang -> Vang Vieng (home to the tourists, but more importantly the tubes and drinking rivers - more on this later) -> Pakse -> 4000 Islands
That'll leave me in the very south of Laos, from where I'll head south into Cambodia, heading for Angkor Wat.
Ultimately, I plan to be back at Steve's for Christmas and New Year, though we'll have to wait and see how that pans out.
J
Some Ko Samui pics:-
Steve's pad, taken from the back gate (Tom and Jess - Eamonn's kids - in the pool).
View from the rear of Steve's house. Islands in the distance: Ko Tao (centre) and Ko Phangan (right).
The view from Steve's beach: left.
View from Steve's beach: right.
Eamonn and Tom on Halloween. Notice the absence of masks. The Thais don't actually celebrate Halloween officially, but they love any excuse to party.
Bangkok
Two weeks in the land of the smiles - where'd the time go?
As usual, it's been a while since my last update. I'm going to try and rectify this by updating the blog every couple of days; so long as there's internet availability, I don't see why this shouldn't be possible.
I arrived in Bangkok two weeks ago, after a very smooth flight from Kathmandu. The flight itself was a real shock to the system, especially after spending weeks living out of 3rd world countries: Thai Airways is possibly one of the best/most luxurious airlines I have ever flown. The gangways were wide, seats large, comfy and reclinable (with plenty of foot space), food and drink were thrown at me, whether I wanted it or not - comfort was top of the agenda! At dinner, I was offered a drink, so I opted for some wine to go with my chicken, to which the stewardess asked if I would like a "proper" beverage to go with it! The many inclusive gin and tonics I consumed on the way over to BK may have had more than a little to do with my glowing review of this incredible flight company ;)
Landing in BK proved to be yet another shock. It was 7PM at night and dark, but the humidity was incredibly high, the temperature hot (mid to high 20s) and there was no wind. A complete contrast, no less, to the onset of chilly evening/early morning weather in Kathmandu. Furthermore, the new airport (Suvarnabhumi) was stunning: modern, flash, humongous - thinking of the amount of money thrown at this place scared me at what else to expect of Thailand. If they could afford to build an airport that puts Britain's best to shame, what else could I expect from this clearly wealthy country?
The taxi cab ride into the city did little to steady my concerned mind either, from the air-conditioned, modern saloon that was my transport, to the brightly illuminated, fresh painted, 4-laned motorways (either side) and top of the range vehicles that zipped up and down it.
It took about an hour to get to my destination - Khao San road, home of the backpacker - thanks in no small part to the immense traffic jams that led into the city centre. I assumed perhaps we'd hit the rush hour, but dense, Manhatten (NY) style hold ups are par for the course in Bangkok. The Khao San road area is ever so trashy; stepping out of my cab, I was greeted to the sights and sounds of drunken western tourists milling about, fancy bars/restaurants blaring out western music and showing the latest footy games or films on large LCD TVs, shops selling t-shirts and both real and fake Billabong shorts, sporting the usual touts trying to entice buyers in. Compared to Kathmandu, the noise was definitely new, as was the water-tight organisation and cleanliness of the whole operation: everything the "typical" tourist could want was catered for here, putting Nepal's attempts at tourism to shame.
I'm sorry to say but I could have been at one of many islands in the Med, were it not for the cheaper prices and more tropical climate. Fortunately, the sights and distinctive Eastern feel that Bangkok retained - despite the obvious Western influences outlined - saved it in my eyes. These included temples (amazing, towering structures, very clean and well looked after), sky train (a monorail), parks, river (with ferrying traffic, including fantastic express bus boat), markets (stalls packed onto the streets, one after another, some selling on the pavement right outside major shops and banks), China Town - stood out as completely alien, especially against the backdrop of tall skyscrapers.
Bangkok's Mae Nam Chao Prayha river, temples in foreground and skyscrapers in the distance. This was taken from atop the Wat Arun (a strikingly tall temple, named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna).
Said temple (Wat Arun).
Mid-town traffic.
The hell that can be Khao San Road. Taken in the day time, when it's fairly peaceful. And yes, that IS a Burger King (they have 7/11s - open 24hrs, oddly enough - Tescos, McDonalds the lot here). Why you'd want to pay a quid or more for a burger there when you can fill up at one of the nearby delicious Thai restaurants or stalls for 30p is beyond me though.
River jam!!!!
And behind it is the Wat Pho Temple (home to the 46m long, 15m high 'reclining Buddha': a giant, gold-painted statue that resides inside it).
Two things I love about Thailand so far: the food (AGAIN!!) and the Thais themselves. I'm eating just as much if not more than I did in Nepal - good food here is everywhere to be seen, no more worries about the chance of catching dyssentry, here you can just get stuck right in. Plus, every type of food is available here, from fried Pad Thai noodles (with every type of meat, fish and/or veg imaginable) down to decently made western favourites (burgers, lasagnas, chips etc). The Thai food is fantastically tasty - best fried with hot spices, especially good when topped with the local favourite that is oyster sauce. It's actually considered a popular pasttime in Thailand to eat: many of the locals will chow down up to 8 times a day, though in relatively small portions. None of the Thai dishes are that filling either, making it possible to order a selection of different dishes in one sitting.
The Thais also seem to be always in good spirits and are on the whole generally friendly. Unlike back home, I can wonder into a branch of Boots (YES, they have those too - I would normally avoid but I was in dire need of a decent toothbrush, ok??) and the (good-looking) shop workers there engage me in conversation, genuinely wanting to know where I'm from and what I plan to do next. The dialects are completely different to what I'm used to too: the language is heavily tonal, like Chinese. It makes pronunctiation very difficult for us 'farrang' (Thai for foreigner, which is pronounced as "fahrang" or "fahlang", thanks to the Thais difficulty with the letter 'r') due to the large number of variations in intonation, relating to context.
Finally, the Thai ladies are all very beautiful, modelled on the western style, as in Nepal (and I don't mean the 'lady boys', who are quite easy to spot, at least so far) . Generally, women attain to be thin here - unlike in India, where bigger appears to be better/healthier - and on the whole they are more successful at than back home. Thanks to this, I've seen some absolute stunners. Many of them are attracted to white skinned folk too: catching a gorgeous Thai girl staring at you isn't unusual and can do plenty to boost your ego :)
As usual, it's been a while since my last update. I'm going to try and rectify this by updating the blog every couple of days; so long as there's internet availability, I don't see why this shouldn't be possible.
I arrived in Bangkok two weeks ago, after a very smooth flight from Kathmandu. The flight itself was a real shock to the system, especially after spending weeks living out of 3rd world countries: Thai Airways is possibly one of the best/most luxurious airlines I have ever flown. The gangways were wide, seats large, comfy and reclinable (with plenty of foot space), food and drink were thrown at me, whether I wanted it or not - comfort was top of the agenda! At dinner, I was offered a drink, so I opted for some wine to go with my chicken, to which the stewardess asked if I would like a "proper" beverage to go with it! The many inclusive gin and tonics I consumed on the way over to BK may have had more than a little to do with my glowing review of this incredible flight company ;)
Landing in BK proved to be yet another shock. It was 7PM at night and dark, but the humidity was incredibly high, the temperature hot (mid to high 20s) and there was no wind. A complete contrast, no less, to the onset of chilly evening/early morning weather in Kathmandu. Furthermore, the new airport (Suvarnabhumi) was stunning: modern, flash, humongous - thinking of the amount of money thrown at this place scared me at what else to expect of Thailand. If they could afford to build an airport that puts Britain's best to shame, what else could I expect from this clearly wealthy country?
The taxi cab ride into the city did little to steady my concerned mind either, from the air-conditioned, modern saloon that was my transport, to the brightly illuminated, fresh painted, 4-laned motorways (either side) and top of the range vehicles that zipped up and down it.
It took about an hour to get to my destination - Khao San road, home of the backpacker - thanks in no small part to the immense traffic jams that led into the city centre. I assumed perhaps we'd hit the rush hour, but dense, Manhatten (NY) style hold ups are par for the course in Bangkok. The Khao San road area is ever so trashy; stepping out of my cab, I was greeted to the sights and sounds of drunken western tourists milling about, fancy bars/restaurants blaring out western music and showing the latest footy games or films on large LCD TVs, shops selling t-shirts and both real and fake Billabong shorts, sporting the usual touts trying to entice buyers in. Compared to Kathmandu, the noise was definitely new, as was the water-tight organisation and cleanliness of the whole operation: everything the "typical" tourist could want was catered for here, putting Nepal's attempts at tourism to shame.
I'm sorry to say but I could have been at one of many islands in the Med, were it not for the cheaper prices and more tropical climate. Fortunately, the sights and distinctive Eastern feel that Bangkok retained - despite the obvious Western influences outlined - saved it in my eyes. These included temples (amazing, towering structures, very clean and well looked after), sky train (a monorail), parks, river (with ferrying traffic, including fantastic express bus boat), markets (stalls packed onto the streets, one after another, some selling on the pavement right outside major shops and banks), China Town - stood out as completely alien, especially against the backdrop of tall skyscrapers.
Bangkok's Mae Nam Chao Prayha river, temples in foreground and skyscrapers in the distance. This was taken from atop the Wat Arun (a strikingly tall temple, named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna).
Said temple (Wat Arun).
Mid-town traffic.
The hell that can be Khao San Road. Taken in the day time, when it's fairly peaceful. And yes, that IS a Burger King (they have 7/11s - open 24hrs, oddly enough - Tescos, McDonalds the lot here). Why you'd want to pay a quid or more for a burger there when you can fill up at one of the nearby delicious Thai restaurants or stalls for 30p is beyond me though.
River jam!!!!And behind it is the Wat Pho Temple (home to the 46m long, 15m high 'reclining Buddha': a giant, gold-painted statue that resides inside it).
Two things I love about Thailand so far: the food (AGAIN!!) and the Thais themselves. I'm eating just as much if not more than I did in Nepal - good food here is everywhere to be seen, no more worries about the chance of catching dyssentry, here you can just get stuck right in. Plus, every type of food is available here, from fried Pad Thai noodles (with every type of meat, fish and/or veg imaginable) down to decently made western favourites (burgers, lasagnas, chips etc). The Thai food is fantastically tasty - best fried with hot spices, especially good when topped with the local favourite that is oyster sauce. It's actually considered a popular pasttime in Thailand to eat: many of the locals will chow down up to 8 times a day, though in relatively small portions. None of the Thai dishes are that filling either, making it possible to order a selection of different dishes in one sitting.
The Thais also seem to be always in good spirits and are on the whole generally friendly. Unlike back home, I can wonder into a branch of Boots (YES, they have those too - I would normally avoid but I was in dire need of a decent toothbrush, ok??) and the (good-looking) shop workers there engage me in conversation, genuinely wanting to know where I'm from and what I plan to do next. The dialects are completely different to what I'm used to too: the language is heavily tonal, like Chinese. It makes pronunctiation very difficult for us 'farrang' (Thai for foreigner, which is pronounced as "fahrang" or "fahlang", thanks to the Thais difficulty with the letter 'r') due to the large number of variations in intonation, relating to context.
Finally, the Thai ladies are all very beautiful, modelled on the western style, as in Nepal (and I don't mean the 'lady boys', who are quite easy to spot, at least so far) . Generally, women attain to be thin here - unlike in India, where bigger appears to be better/healthier - and on the whole they are more successful at than back home. Thanks to this, I've seen some absolute stunners. Many of them are attracted to white skinned folk too: catching a gorgeous Thai girl staring at you isn't unusual and can do plenty to boost your ego :)
Monday, 5 November 2007
Photos of Nepal
Thought I'd kickstart a new post, dedicated to Annapurna pics. Keep in mind I have around 500 of these knocking about, so these are some of the select few:-
Start of the trek. This is me, in not too flattering a pose, alongside one of my Scottish compadres. Check out the luscious rice fields to the left - everything was very green at this point. I'm equipped with rucksack, "da norf face" (!!!) compulsory t-shirt, a walking stick in one hand and chlorine filtered water bottle in the other. This was basically my setup from start to finish.
Up, up, up and away. The hills start to grow more rocks.
Snowy peaks.
Fir trees. Was alone this day so took lots of pics. This was the day of the landslides. On several occasions I could hear what I took to be the sound of thunder echoing through the valley. When I hit a truckload of tourists - very surprising, as I'd seen no foreigners at all that day, from 6am right up to midday - it turned out that due to an obstruction on the road, the army were detonating the rocks up ahead. This occurred several times: everyone was held up whilst the army very efficiently moved in, in a matter of minutes destroyed the rockslide, then rolled out, leaving us trekkers to trek on. Amazing scenes.
Rain!!
Fortunately, I didn't see much of this on my journey. When it did rain, however, the heavens opened and really let rip. Around this time, I found out the difference between a genuine North Face poncho (costing £30+) and mine (costing 50p). Needless to say, I got my money's worth.
One of the hill villages I stayed at. Electricity followed the trail nearly all the way up, though it was absent right at the top (where most electronic devices wouldn't work anyway!).
Check out the Tibetan prayer flags and prayer wheels on the left, the former used to bless the surrounding countryside, the latter inscribed with holy mantras/prayers. Spinning such a wheel will have much the same effect as reciting the prayers.
Annapurna II (I think) and small glacier.
Epic.
Stopped for a mint tea in a little town, just off to the left of this pic. Boy was it needed! Myself and my new friends (two Israelis, one English, one Mexican, one Canadian) hit 3500m that day - it was steep going and the altitude got to me a bit (felt dizzy and tired). We descended back to 3000m to sleep that same night.
A well earned rest.
Getting very cold and very dry. Jumper and lip balm weather.
Chris (from Boston, Lincs!!) and girlfriend.
My hoes.
Life on Mars.
Dan the Israeli, juggling near the summit.
THE TOP!!!! :-) Roughly about 9 days in, we'd set off at 4AM that morning, hitting the peak at around 9.30. It was SUCH a relief. Breathing was tres dificile, my head hurt, chest was on the point of collapsing and my lips were chapped to hell. But DAMN it was worth it.
From left: Dan, Alberto, Chris , Ryan, Shahah, some ugly mug.
Start of the trek. This is me, in not too flattering a pose, alongside one of my Scottish compadres. Check out the luscious rice fields to the left - everything was very green at this point. I'm equipped with rucksack, "da norf face" (!!!) compulsory t-shirt, a walking stick in one hand and chlorine filtered water bottle in the other. This was basically my setup from start to finish.
Up, up, up and away. The hills start to grow more rocks.
Snowy peaks.
Fir trees. Was alone this day so took lots of pics. This was the day of the landslides. On several occasions I could hear what I took to be the sound of thunder echoing through the valley. When I hit a truckload of tourists - very surprising, as I'd seen no foreigners at all that day, from 6am right up to midday - it turned out that due to an obstruction on the road, the army were detonating the rocks up ahead. This occurred several times: everyone was held up whilst the army very efficiently moved in, in a matter of minutes destroyed the rockslide, then rolled out, leaving us trekkers to trek on. Amazing scenes.
Rain!!Fortunately, I didn't see much of this on my journey. When it did rain, however, the heavens opened and really let rip. Around this time, I found out the difference between a genuine North Face poncho (costing £30+) and mine (costing 50p). Needless to say, I got my money's worth.
One of the hill villages I stayed at. Electricity followed the trail nearly all the way up, though it was absent right at the top (where most electronic devices wouldn't work anyway!).Check out the Tibetan prayer flags and prayer wheels on the left, the former used to bless the surrounding countryside, the latter inscribed with holy mantras/prayers. Spinning such a wheel will have much the same effect as reciting the prayers.
Annapurna II (I think) and small glacier.
Epic.
Stopped for a mint tea in a little town, just off to the left of this pic. Boy was it needed! Myself and my new friends (two Israelis, one English, one Mexican, one Canadian) hit 3500m that day - it was steep going and the altitude got to me a bit (felt dizzy and tired). We descended back to 3000m to sleep that same night.
A well earned rest.
Getting very cold and very dry. Jumper and lip balm weather.
Chris (from Boston, Lincs!!) and girlfriend.
My hoes.
Life on Mars.
Dan the Israeli, juggling near the summit.
THE TOP!!!! :-) Roughly about 9 days in, we'd set off at 4AM that morning, hitting the peak at around 9.30. It was SUCH a relief. Breathing was tres dificile, my head hurt, chest was on the point of collapsing and my lips were chapped to hell. But DAMN it was worth it.From left: Dan, Alberto, Chris , Ryan, Shahah, some ugly mug.
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