|
Chapter 36 - Bangkok
Laure and I experienced Bangkok twice. The first time was before we went to Myanmar. We stayed for five
or six days in order to get the Burmese visa. The second time was when we left Myanmar and met up with my mother, sister,
mother's partner and mother's partner's daughter (Sue, Isla, Richard and Anna respectively).
On the first occasion
we experienced total culture shock. After travelling in South Asia, Bangkok and Thailand as a whole made our heads spin. Bangkok
is a huge metropolis of 8 million souls with pockets of poverty but also a lot of concentrated wealth. Everything here is
obtainable and things run smoothly and work efficiently. We also saw the largest concentration of westerners in and around
Soi Ram Buttri Road since leaving Europe. (Just to give an idea: Thailand receives 11 million foreign tourists per year, India
receives 3 million and Myanmar not even half a million.)
We really took some time to sort ourselves out and did
a lot of organising. We used fast internet connections, did laundry, processed our visas, made phonecalls, ate fish and chips
and other English foods (our first time in 7 months!) and even went to the cinema to see 'Babel'. Funnily enough I randomely
bumped into Malin, the Swedish girl who had travelled with us in Mongolia and just arrived in Thailand for another trip! We
had dinner with Malin and her travel buddy and even squeezed in a couple of day trips. We went to a floating market west of
Bangkok that was too touristy and overcrowded. We also saw a very kitsch Thai cultural show.
On a separate trip
we went to the disappointing 'Bridge over the River Kwai'. Here the tourist industry was milking to the extreme a collapsed
bridge over a river that has been renamed 'Kwai' because the famous novel got it wrong! The history behind it was really tragic
but difficult to take in against such an overtouristy backdrop. The military cemetaries were much more peaceful places to
take in the scale of the suffering caused by the Japanese to Allied POWs and hundreds of thousands of Malays who were worked
to death to built a railway.
Our second visit to Bangkok (31st March) proved to be under sad and happy circumstances.
When we met my mother and sister they broke the news that my grandfather (mother's father) had died that morning. Our meeting
was therefore one of mixed emotions. We all toasted his memorary and talked about good times we had had with him and swapped
more general news (it had been 8 months since I had seen Mam and Isla).
On 1st April, Richard and Anna arrived
in time for an English breakfast at 'Oh my Cod!' English cafe. We all spent some serious time in the swimming pool that day
and formed a general plan for our Thailand travels. Later in the day we went for a trip on the boat metro and returned by
skytrain, a rather futuristic experience for people who have never been on one before.
To satisfy our thirst
to finally experience some Thai culture we walked to the Grand Palace. This group of palace structures displays a stunning
array of Thai temple designs and it really puts Buckingham Palace to shame!
80km north of Bangkok is the ancient
city of Ayutthaya, former capital of the Thai kingdom. We all went on an organised tour of these temples and ruins. Parts
of Ayutthaya reminded me of Bagan in Myanmar (if not more touristy and with plenty of modern buildings in sight) and indeed
some of the temples had Burmese designs. Like many ancient sites, it was mostly detroyed by an invading force. In 1767 after
400 years of growth and relative stability the city was sacked by the Burmese. It would be great to have a time machine!
On
our last day in Bangkok, Laure and I split our time between relaxing next to the swimming pool and researching life in Quebec,
since we had recently decided to go there to live after our travels. Mam and Richard chilled out all day; Isla and Anna went
on a minor shopping spree. We all met in 'Oh my Cod!' for the evening meal then caught our unusually luxurious night bus south
to Chumpha from where we could catch a ferry to the island of Ko Pha Ngan.
Chapter 37 - Ko Pha Ngan
Catching the catamaran to Ko Pha Ngan was quite an experience; some squalls kicked up some high waves that
made the journey acutely uncomfortable for the stomach. We passed by Ko Tao and arrived at Hat Rin at the southern end of
Ko Pha Ngan. From here we all went to Ban Chaloaklam in the north by pick up truck and then took a boat taxi to Hat Khuat,
popularly known as Bottle beach.
We stayed for several sunkissed days on Bottle Beach (not forgetting the early
morning and afternoon monsoon rains of course!); sunbathing, beach volleyballing, footballing, swimming and trekking (Laure
and Anna had an adventure climbing a local peak while Isla and I tipped each other off a pink lilo!!). We saw the cabin owners
kill two snakes found near our cabins but didn't have time to verify which type they were, otherwise we didn't have any other
menace's there and even the mozzies weren't too bad! From Bottle Beach we caught a return boat taxi and then a pick up truck
to Hat Yao beach, another tranquil bay on the island. Our cabins here were on the southern cliff top and overlooked the whole
idyllic beach. There was an 'infinity' swimming pool whose water seemed to drop into the horizon and the food and cocktails
here were sublime (it's a hard job travelling but someone has to do it!!!). We spent the days reading, sunbathing, swimming,
snorkling and diving.
Anna, Isla and I went diving at a place called Sailrock, 13km north of Ko Pha Ngan. Sailrock
is a protruding rock that has a profusion of coral beneath the water. The coral attracts sealife, many fish come here to feed
and clean themselves. For Isla and I it was the first time we had ever scuba dived. It was an out of this world experience
and we saw many species of marine life we would otherwise not have seen. We spotted Bannerfish, a large 1m Brown Marbled Grouper,
Parrotfish, Six-banded Angelfish to name but a few. We missed the worst part of a storm while we were underwater and when
we resurfaced the sea was very choppy. The return journey to Ko Pha Ngan from Sailrock was rough enough to make me feel like
a drunken sailor.
On the 11th April we took a ferry to Don Sak and then a bus and minibus to Khao Sok National
Park via Surat Thani, just south of the Isthmus of Kra on the Malay Pensinsula.
Chapter 38 - The Malay Peninsula
Back on mainland, the Malay Peninsula, we stayed at a jungle eco-lodge on
the edge of Khao Sok National Park. The manic manager Claus, a German who has consumed too many magic mushrooms in days gone
by, welcomed us into his domaine. The lodge is surrounded by karst peaks covered by rainforest. The national park itself is
an ancient virgin rainforest (oldest evergreen forest in the world!) in the wettest part of Thailand with many endemic plant
species including the world's largest flower: Rafflesia. Wildlife include: sun bears, tapirs, tigers, leopards, clouded leopards,
elephants and mouse deers. We didn't see any of them!
Laure and I spent a few days reading, relaxing and catching
up with our diaries whilst contemplating the nature and the limestone cliffs around us. Mam, Richard, Anna and Isla were more
active and went on an early morning elephant back safari and on a covert jungle trek (avoiding the park entrance fee). They
too managed to squeeze in plenty of time 'taking it in' (Mam's famous expression). At meal times we managed to bore Isla to
death with 'adult' conversations but we had a laugh or two inbetween. It's difficult interacting with the others and entertaining
a teenage sister!
On Saturday 14th April we said goodbye to Richard and Anna. We had all enjoyed our time with
them and it felt a little strange to travel without them afterwards. Mam, Isla, Laure and I still had several days together
before Mam and Isla had to leave. As we made our way to Krabi we saw much more of the jaw dropping karst scenery and as we
were appreciating the views, suddenly a jet of water would land on us. We were under attack from Thais in other pick up trucks!
It was Thai New Year, an annual water festival when anyone is game to be soaked to the skin. We had one pathetic water pistol
between five of us (belonging to Emily, a British backpacker we'd met on the minibus), up against buckets and super soakers!
I soon decided to rearm in Ao Nang!
From Ao Nang we caught a longboat to Tonsai beach, the backpackers' alternative
to the posh hotels dominating Railay beach. It has to be stated that the coastline here is the most dramatic and spectacular
I've ever seen in my life, and Laure seems to agree with that judgement! The karst mountains of Khao Sok are replicated here
in a coastal environment with limestone islands sprinkled liberally along the coast; half gutted by millenia of abrasion,
corrosion, hydraulic action by the sea, and dissolution by rain water. This, plus fantastic beaches backed by rainforest makes
this area a true paradise.
The area is understandably a rock climbing, sea kayaking and snorkelling mecca. Some
of the backerpackers, however, really do take life too seriously. In one beachside bar we noticed we were the only people
smiling and laughing. Everyone had stern expressions as if having fun was not their purpose for being there. I guess growing
dreadlocks, smoking cannabis and spinning metal poles requires serious concentration! Despite the bar's good surroundings
we didn't bother returning. Isla and I spent that afternoon having water fights with super soakers until they finally clogged
up with sand and broke. Considering they were made in China they lasted quite long!
The four of us spent the
Sunday at Phra Nang, an idyllic beach with a local shrine to a god of fertility (indicated by the phallic carvings left there!).
Isla and I went off on a mini-adventure involving role play and a lot of local exploration. We swam across to a limestone
island, explored some small caves, shallow swam over razor sharp coral and tried to avoid poisonous tropical fish and marvel
at the non-poisonous ones!
We all had a tasty Pad Thai cooked up on a floating kitchen. Isla and Mam went off
for their own little adventure while Laure and I sunbathed and paddled in the sea. Back on Tonsai we had our last evening
meal together: fresh seafood next to the beach. The morning after we caught a longboat back to Ao nang and had a delicious
final lunch together. At 3pm it was time to say our goodbyes as Mam and Isla had to get transport to Bangkok via Krabi to
catch their flight the next day. We were all sad to part but as the saying goes: "all good things come to an end." Laure and
I had our minibus booked to go to Penang in Malaysia for the following morning.
The journey to and arrival
in Georgetown, on the island of Penang, was uneventful. Once there, our time was devoted to preparing our last month of travels
on Sumatra in Indonesia although we did have the chance to sample the local food and beverages as well as walk around parts
of the old colonial quarter. Georgetown does have its own charm and is a small cultural melting pot with a Chinatown and Little
India. On 19th April we crossed the Straits of Malacca to the port of Belawan on Sumatra.
|
