We have taken our first flight of the trip from Luang Prabang in Laos to Chang Mai in Thailand. In order to get our thirty day visa, we had to enter by air. We would only get a fifteen days visa by arriving overland. It was disappointing not to complete the landmass without flying, but we are proud of the journey we have made, all the way across Europe, Russia, China and through South East Asia.
Chang Mai is a great city. We met up with Jerry and Aisling again. We booked into the same guesthouse as them, Kamala Guesthouse. This first evening we went for dinner and drinks and met with Nick and Dan again and another lady they had met previously, Jen. We had a great night chatting until the wee hours. The next day, we embarked on our own walking tour. Chang Mai is covered in Wats (temples), it has Wats coming out of its proverbial arse. And we probably saw all of them. We have displayed a select few below. After all our Wat watching we deserved a big cup of tea and were supplied by the lovely people at Farm Story. For many people a green tea tastes like grass, at best. These people are wrong, especially the green tea at this place. It was one of the most delicious liquids I have ever consumed.
After a little disco nap we visited the night bazaar with Jerry and Aisling, which sold everything you can imagine and got some grub and a beer. We then had a really fun party where we had a scrabble off and played pool. Stop judging. We had our fun and thats all, that matters.
Myself and Emmet booked into do a cooking course that the others had done previously. It was one of the most fun activities we have done. We cooked six dishes and made curry paste from scratch. And of course ate it all, fat bastards I know, but if you cannot have six dinners when your travelling, then when can you? One of the best dishes was druken noodles, which involved putting water on oil so it explodes and you look shit cool.
Out next destination was Pai, the hippie capital of the world. We got the vomit bus there, which gets its name from the fact that many people vomit on it. Neither of us are bad travellers, but Niamh did start feeling pretty queasy. Maybe eating six dinners in one day before getting the vomit bus wasn't the best laid plan.
We stayed in a guesthouse outside the town called Amy's Guesthouse. The place was nice, the owners were lovely, they went out of their way for us, but it was a bit far outside the town. Pai is a cool place with loads of great cafes, bars and shops and we would have liked to spend more time in it.
The best way to see the area is moped, which we were all for. Pai has a mini grand canyon, so that was our first stop. We tried to complete the walking circuit, but parts of it were too treacherous, so we decided to live instead.
Our second stop were the hot springs. These ones were without the dodgy overhead cables like the ones in the cave in China. You can buy eggs on the way up and boil them in the river. We didn't. That was just a fact we thought we would share. It might come up in a table quiz sometime, but in reality probably not. The water at the spring is 80 degrees and it was very hot where we were sitting a little further down stream. It was pretty cool sitting in a river outside but with the freshly poured bath effect.
Our final stop of the day was a Chinese village, in the middle of Thailand! Whatever will they come up with next. It did feel like being back in China. All the houses had the red good luck messages over the front door and we got dumplings for the first time in months. The houses were made of mud and straw, which was a bit less Chinese, but very rustic looking.
After all our sightseeing, it started getting late so we decided to hit for home before it got dark. Of course, at that very moment, it starts pouring out of the heavens. We managed to get home during a drizzle period, but affected our plans for a fun night out. What hampered the plans even more was the fact that there are no taxis after six o clock. We had to arrange a lift home with Rob the owner of the guesthouse. We didn't want to be keeping him up too late so arranged a lift for eleven o clock. It felt like being a teenager again! Luckily we had checked with him though, otherwise we would have had a long walk home in the rain. We went for food in one of the great little restaurants and went to a cool bar with a pool table. We ended up bumping into a couple we had met on the cooking course and had a few drinks with them.
We returned to Chang Mai the next day on the vomit bus, where loads of people vomited, eugh, to be ready for our visit to the elephant nature park the following day. This was the most expensive but most amazing thing we have done on the trip so far. The park rescues mistreated elephants and provides a sanctuary for them. Elephants eat a lot, so they make the money to house and feed them from tourists.
When we arrived in the morning, we fed them baskets of fruit. You hold out the fruit and they take it off you in their trunks. When we got a little more confident, we learned how to put it directly into their mouths. Some of the elephants we really fussy, one of them hated pumpkin and refused to eat any that was given!
Afterwards we went down to the river. Some of the more placid elephants were brought for their wash. They wash daily to cool themselves and wash off the mud they use to protect their skin.They stood in the river and we threw water on them. This was probably one of the funest things we have ever done. One of them loves her bath and rolled over while people scrubbed her. We then went to a look out point where we watched the baby elephants bathe. The mothers are very protective so they don't let tourists in the river with the babies. But we were able to approach them afterwards.
After lunch, which was an amazing buffet, we watched a documentary which told us more about the park, its owner and the elephants. The domestic elephants in Thailand are not treated very well. The wild elephants are classed as endangered and are given certain rights. However, the domestic ones are classed as livestock and can be killed or harmed with little repercussions. The park is campaigning to give domestic elephants the same protection as wild ones, which is probably not enough as it is considering how their habitat is being encroached upon. The most shocking element was definitely how the elephants are trained. They are tortured into becoming submissive. They are locked in a cage just big enough to hold them and beaten with sticks with nails in them until they learn the commands. For an animal that is in one hand revered and is the symbol of the country, they are treated really badly. It was horrible to watch and we are glad we didn't go on any of the elephants riding tours now. Hopefully the laws will be changed sooner rather than later.
We had a great day visiting the elephant camp and it was a highlight so far. The following day we decided to head to Ayuthaya where there are some more nice temples. It was a long trip, so we went for the night train instead. The train left at 5.30 p.m and was to arrive at 6.44 a.m the following morning. But this is Asia. The most dangerous of our delays to date, and hopefully remains as such.
We felt a huge jerk and we came to an abrupt halt, much like you would if your leading train carriage had derailed for example. In fact, thats exactly what happened. An hour and a half into our trip, the engine came off the tracks, managed to stop before the 30 to 40 foot drop just to the left of the tracks themselves. Ppphew! So all was well thankfully, but we sat there for hours upon hours. There is only one track, so it took ages to get the correct equipment there to sort it out. We finally left and ended up arriving in seven and a half hours late. And there was us thinking, great, no buses this time, should be a smooth trip. Lesson learned S.E. Asia.
We got a tuc tuc to our guesthouse called Baan Lotus in Ayuthaya, which was thankfully still holding our booking, as we said we would arrive about seven in the morning.It was a nice place and the lady who owns it is lovely and very helpful. She has this massive pond, about half an acre, with a wooden decking built out onto it, with hammocks and all. It is a great little spot, even if the town isn't much to write home about. So I won't. The area where the temples are was really nice though. So myself and the birdfriend rented bikes the following morning and checked out a couple. Not too many as we have seen many, many temples over the last few months. A commonly used phrase one hears on the backpacker trail is "templed out", and we certainly are.
Our plan was to head to some of the islands on both the east and west coast over two weeks starting with Ko Tao. However, when we showed up to get our bus tickets, the bus was full, so we bought tickets to Ko Phangan instead. We got the VIP bus which sounds fancy and looks nice until you realise you have to sit for the entire overnight journey. They also don't include customer service as part of the package. Our conductor was one of the rudest creatures you will ever encounter. Fun times.
We got the bus to a pier and were to get the first boat in the morning from there. We were waiting for the boat to arrive when a little soap opera unfolded right before our very eyes. One of the passengers robbed a blanket from the bus. Our 'delightful' conductor realised. However, instead of being professional and taking the person aside to ask for it back she decided to create a scene instead. The girl who robbed it wasn't much better and instead of owning up and giving it back, she denied the massive bulge in her bag was the blanket and got quite aggressive. The whole thing escalated from there and the police were called and then another police man with a gun showed up. Lets not forget that this is over a blanket! Our boat was delayed as they threatened to kick the girl off the boat. Eventually the whole thing was resolved and the entertainment ceased.
We got an overpriced taxi to the west side of the island and looked around for accommodation and after a long walk in the heat found Shiralea. It is a great place. We met a fella Bryn from New Zealand and had some great sessions. We had only planned to stay a few days, but were having so much fun we decided to stay longer. We passed away the days on the beach, in the pool and at the bar.
At this stage it was getting close to full moon time. We originally weren't fussed about going, but when in Rome. Shiralea was booked out for it so we moved over to the South side of the island for a few days to Coral Bungalows. We have heard so many things, both good and bad, about the Full Moon Party. We headed down to the beach around midnight. At that stage the beach was jammed. We bought some buckets and went to meet Bryn at Rock bar. It turned out to be a great spot. There was a really good DJ and a relatively quiet spot where we could dance. We plonked ourselves there for the night and had a great time.
At this stage, we debated whether to head to another island or head back to Shiralea. It was raining on Ko Phi Phi and didn't seem worth the overnight journey. So we decided an island is an island and when you have found a good one stick with it! When we got back to Shiralea, some new guests had arrived. Bryn introduced to a group of friends from New Zealand and the UK. They were great craic and we had another few days alternating between the beach, pool and bar! Not exciting reading, but a great few days.
It was eventually time to leave, so we got an overnight train to Bangkok with some of the Shiralea crowd. We stayed the first night at Home guesthouse. That evening we passed up the opportunity to see a ping pong show and went to the cinema for the first time in months to see the new Batman film. Emmet liked, Niamh fell asleep!
We needed to lay low for a few days to rest our wallets and livers after Ko Phangan and decided to look for somewhere with a TV for the evening times. We spent hours wandering around Bangkok in search of clean but reasonably priced accommodation. It seems this does not exist in Bangkok. Everywhere is either an absolute shithole or else pure luxury. We ended up moving to a place called Wild Orchid Villa. It is pretty mediocre but done for a couple of days. Emmet got a really high temperature the first night so Niamh freaked out and googled malaria symptoms. Luckily, he was fine but it scuppered any sightseeing plans for the following few days. We'll have to save the next adventure for New Zealand.
Chang Mai is a great city. We met up with Jerry and Aisling again. We booked into the same guesthouse as them, Kamala Guesthouse. This first evening we went for dinner and drinks and met with Nick and Dan again and another lady they had met previously, Jen. We had a great night chatting until the wee hours. The next day, we embarked on our own walking tour. Chang Mai is covered in Wats (temples), it has Wats coming out of its proverbial arse. And we probably saw all of them. We have displayed a select few below. After all our Wat watching we deserved a big cup of tea and were supplied by the lovely people at Farm Story. For many people a green tea tastes like grass, at best. These people are wrong, especially the green tea at this place. It was one of the most delicious liquids I have ever consumed.
 |
| Donald Duck...An ancient buddist symbol! |
After a little disco nap we visited the night bazaar with Jerry and Aisling, which sold everything you can imagine and got some grub and a beer. We then had a really fun party where we had a scrabble off and played pool. Stop judging. We had our fun and thats all, that matters.
Myself and Emmet booked into do a cooking course that the others had done previously. It was one of the most fun activities we have done. We cooked six dishes and made curry paste from scratch. And of course ate it all, fat bastards I know, but if you cannot have six dinners when your travelling, then when can you? One of the best dishes was druken noodles, which involved putting water on oil so it explodes and you look shit cool.
Out next destination was Pai, the hippie capital of the world. We got the vomit bus there, which gets its name from the fact that many people vomit on it. Neither of us are bad travellers, but Niamh did start feeling pretty queasy. Maybe eating six dinners in one day before getting the vomit bus wasn't the best laid plan.
We stayed in a guesthouse outside the town called Amy's Guesthouse. The place was nice, the owners were lovely, they went out of their way for us, but it was a bit far outside the town. Pai is a cool place with loads of great cafes, bars and shops and we would have liked to spend more time in it.
The best way to see the area is moped, which we were all for. Pai has a mini grand canyon, so that was our first stop. We tried to complete the walking circuit, but parts of it were too treacherous, so we decided to live instead.
Our second stop were the hot springs. These ones were without the dodgy overhead cables like the ones in the cave in China. You can buy eggs on the way up and boil them in the river. We didn't. That was just a fact we thought we would share. It might come up in a table quiz sometime, but in reality probably not. The water at the spring is 80 degrees and it was very hot where we were sitting a little further down stream. It was pretty cool sitting in a river outside but with the freshly poured bath effect.
Our final stop of the day was a Chinese village, in the middle of Thailand! Whatever will they come up with next. It did feel like being back in China. All the houses had the red good luck messages over the front door and we got dumplings for the first time in months. The houses were made of mud and straw, which was a bit less Chinese, but very rustic looking.
We returned to Chang Mai the next day on the vomit bus, where loads of people vomited, eugh, to be ready for our visit to the elephant nature park the following day. This was the most expensive but most amazing thing we have done on the trip so far. The park rescues mistreated elephants and provides a sanctuary for them. Elephants eat a lot, so they make the money to house and feed them from tourists.
When we arrived in the morning, we fed them baskets of fruit. You hold out the fruit and they take it off you in their trunks. When we got a little more confident, we learned how to put it directly into their mouths. Some of the elephants we really fussy, one of them hated pumpkin and refused to eat any that was given!
Afterwards we went down to the river. Some of the more placid elephants were brought for their wash. They wash daily to cool themselves and wash off the mud they use to protect their skin.They stood in the river and we threw water on them. This was probably one of the funest things we have ever done. One of them loves her bath and rolled over while people scrubbed her. We then went to a look out point where we watched the baby elephants bathe. The mothers are very protective so they don't let tourists in the river with the babies. But we were able to approach them afterwards.
After lunch, which was an amazing buffet, we watched a documentary which told us more about the park, its owner and the elephants. The domestic elephants in Thailand are not treated very well. The wild elephants are classed as endangered and are given certain rights. However, the domestic ones are classed as livestock and can be killed or harmed with little repercussions. The park is campaigning to give domestic elephants the same protection as wild ones, which is probably not enough as it is considering how their habitat is being encroached upon. The most shocking element was definitely how the elephants are trained. They are tortured into becoming submissive. They are locked in a cage just big enough to hold them and beaten with sticks with nails in them until they learn the commands. For an animal that is in one hand revered and is the symbol of the country, they are treated really badly. It was horrible to watch and we are glad we didn't go on any of the elephants riding tours now. Hopefully the laws will be changed sooner rather than later.
We had a great day visiting the elephant camp and it was a highlight so far. The following day we decided to head to Ayuthaya where there are some more nice temples. It was a long trip, so we went for the night train instead. The train left at 5.30 p.m and was to arrive at 6.44 a.m the following morning. But this is Asia. The most dangerous of our delays to date, and hopefully remains as such.
We felt a huge jerk and we came to an abrupt halt, much like you would if your leading train carriage had derailed for example. In fact, thats exactly what happened. An hour and a half into our trip, the engine came off the tracks, managed to stop before the 30 to 40 foot drop just to the left of the tracks themselves. Ppphew! So all was well thankfully, but we sat there for hours upon hours. There is only one track, so it took ages to get the correct equipment there to sort it out. We finally left and ended up arriving in seven and a half hours late. And there was us thinking, great, no buses this time, should be a smooth trip. Lesson learned S.E. Asia.
We got a tuc tuc to our guesthouse called Baan Lotus in Ayuthaya, which was thankfully still holding our booking, as we said we would arrive about seven in the morning.It was a nice place and the lady who owns it is lovely and very helpful. She has this massive pond, about half an acre, with a wooden decking built out onto it, with hammocks and all. It is a great little spot, even if the town isn't much to write home about. So I won't. The area where the temples are was really nice though. So myself and the birdfriend rented bikes the following morning and checked out a couple. Not too many as we have seen many, many temples over the last few months. A commonly used phrase one hears on the backpacker trail is "templed out", and we certainly are.
Our plan was to head to some of the islands on both the east and west coast over two weeks starting with Ko Tao. However, when we showed up to get our bus tickets, the bus was full, so we bought tickets to Ko Phangan instead. We got the VIP bus which sounds fancy and looks nice until you realise you have to sit for the entire overnight journey. They also don't include customer service as part of the package. Our conductor was one of the rudest creatures you will ever encounter. Fun times.
We got the bus to a pier and were to get the first boat in the morning from there. We were waiting for the boat to arrive when a little soap opera unfolded right before our very eyes. One of the passengers robbed a blanket from the bus. Our 'delightful' conductor realised. However, instead of being professional and taking the person aside to ask for it back she decided to create a scene instead. The girl who robbed it wasn't much better and instead of owning up and giving it back, she denied the massive bulge in her bag was the blanket and got quite aggressive. The whole thing escalated from there and the police were called and then another police man with a gun showed up. Lets not forget that this is over a blanket! Our boat was delayed as they threatened to kick the girl off the boat. Eventually the whole thing was resolved and the entertainment ceased.
We got an overpriced taxi to the west side of the island and looked around for accommodation and after a long walk in the heat found Shiralea. It is a great place. We met a fella Bryn from New Zealand and had some great sessions. We had only planned to stay a few days, but were having so much fun we decided to stay longer. We passed away the days on the beach, in the pool and at the bar.
At this stage it was getting close to full moon time. We originally weren't fussed about going, but when in Rome. Shiralea was booked out for it so we moved over to the South side of the island for a few days to Coral Bungalows. We have heard so many things, both good and bad, about the Full Moon Party. We headed down to the beach around midnight. At that stage the beach was jammed. We bought some buckets and went to meet Bryn at Rock bar. It turned out to be a great spot. There was a really good DJ and a relatively quiet spot where we could dance. We plonked ourselves there for the night and had a great time.
At this stage, we debated whether to head to another island or head back to Shiralea. It was raining on Ko Phi Phi and didn't seem worth the overnight journey. So we decided an island is an island and when you have found a good one stick with it! When we got back to Shiralea, some new guests had arrived. Bryn introduced to a group of friends from New Zealand and the UK. They were great craic and we had another few days alternating between the beach, pool and bar! Not exciting reading, but a great few days.
It was eventually time to leave, so we got an overnight train to Bangkok with some of the Shiralea crowd. We stayed the first night at Home guesthouse. That evening we passed up the opportunity to see a ping pong show and went to the cinema for the first time in months to see the new Batman film. Emmet liked, Niamh fell asleep!
We needed to lay low for a few days to rest our wallets and livers after Ko Phangan and decided to look for somewhere with a TV for the evening times. We spent hours wandering around Bangkok in search of clean but reasonably priced accommodation. It seems this does not exist in Bangkok. Everywhere is either an absolute shithole or else pure luxury. We ended up moving to a place called Wild Orchid Villa. It is pretty mediocre but done for a couple of days. Emmet got a really high temperature the first night so Niamh freaked out and googled malaria symptoms. Luckily, he was fine but it scuppered any sightseeing plans for the following few days. We'll have to save the next adventure for New Zealand.
