The adventure continues.
I was relying upon hilarious tales documented in my travel diary to write this post about a jam packed two weeks spent between Bangkok and Koh Samui. But apparently I was far too blissed out on private pools, hot stone massages, jet boat rides, high tea and chocolate milk to write a single anecdote, typical.
As anybody who has visited the insanity of Bangkok would know, this place is bat shit crazy. Actually its not even just Bangkok it's Thailand. And thats why it was so awesome. There's nothing like accidentally catching the eye of a toothless Thai man holding a tiny monkey only to have him come up and thrust the furry little monkey in Becka's lap, on three separate occasions. Classic.
But im getting ahead of myself, lets start at the very beginning as its a very good place to start.
1/ The Grand Palace 2/ Intricate details in the Grand Palace 3/ More gold in the Grand Palace 4/ Looking out over the Grand Palace 5/ The steep climb to the top of Wat Arun 6/ View from Wat Arun 7/Traffic and crowds infront of Chatuchak Market
Before embarking on our volunteer adventure in the jungles of Sangkhlaburi, the volunteer company took us on a tour of the big ticket Bangkok sights and sounds. It was a stinking hot day (luckily us southern hemisphere dwellers thrive on the heat, the English participants not so much...) but the ridiculous detail and magnificence of the temples kept us going. So much gold and such ornate and delicate decorations on every building and temple kept my camera glued to my eyeball capturing every detail and character of Thailand's rich and extensive history.
This day we had our first real authentic Thai meal on the banks of the Chao Phraya river and our first of several hardcore tuk tuk rides. We explored the tourist mecca of The Khaosan Road and made a list of all the goodies we would be back for in four weeks. That night after dinner we found ourselves upstairs at a random live music joint and knocked back a few too many shots before getting up at the crack of dawn for our eight hour bus ride into the mountains. It would only be four short weeks until we were back Bangkok!
1/ Mimi, Becka and I Before the Lady Boy show 2/ Mobbed by Lady Boys
After bus-ing it back to Bangkok Mimi, Becka and I took the worlds most awkward taxi ride to a stupidly expensive and fancy hotel, that looked much cheaper on the internet, and spent a couple of nights there before Becka and I dashed off to Koh Samui and Mimi took the long slog back to the chill of England. Our main objective was to see a Lady Boy show, and though the show itself was lack lusture the gals in it sure weren't. My god they know how to work a diamond encrusted ball gown! Though my face in the above photo resembles a photo of a petrified five year old me standing next to a clown, I promise it was more of a "check these bitches out! they got swag" face.
Koh Samui: full of old men carrying monkeys, candlelit dinners on the beach,
private pools, Muay Thai, and Chang singlets.
The highlight of our Koh Samui trip was the boat adventure to Angthong National Marine Park. After much deliberation we decided the one hour jet boat ride to the park, though more expensive, would be the better option than the three hour journey on a steam boat. In retrospect I think I might have preferred the steam boat. It didn't start well when we had to wade waist deep through crashing waves holding our bags over our heads to get to the boat and awkwardly scramble up into it. Being a novice on the old jet boat scene I was all too keen to agree with Becka that a seat up the front of the boat would be best. I spent the next hour with my heart in my throat and knuckles white from gripping onto the edge for dear life. Jet boats + powerful waves; not ideal. After back on dry land later that day and regaling the story for the parentals back home it was quite amusing. But the expedition was smooth sailing after that. We snorkeled in beautiful crystal blue/green waters, hiked to the top of islands to be rewarded with magnificent views, went canoeing (with great difficulty) and swam in cool waters of paradise! Needless to say we sat on the inside of the boat on the return journey.
Back on the island of Koh Samui we shopped up a souvenir storm, got many massages and visited the Big Buddha temple and left a blessing for the kids of the Dreamhouse. On our last night we finally gave into the toothless man with the monkey and paid our two bits to have a photo with the cheeky little critter, who then started eating my hair (the monkey, not the man). What more could you ask for from Thailand?!
1/ Decorations throughout the city for the Queen's Birthday 2/ Adorable bits and bobs 3-5/ Getting the full fish treatment 6/ Gangnam Style flashmob 7/ Tuk Tuk rides 8/ Cricket or Scorpion? 9/ Our unlucky victim 10-11/ High Tea in TWG 12-13/ Iconic Tuk Tuks
Back in Bangkok for four more days we hurried to complete all the stuff we had wanted to do since planning the trip. This of course included eating a deep fried cricket, having fish feed off our feet, sneaking in a few more tuk tuk rides and purchasing yet more Chang singlets (a person can never have enough Chang). We aslo stumbled upon a delightful fancy high tea cafe where we sipped tea and ate buttered scones with a view of Prada and Dior (only in Thailand). We shopped yet more at MBK, Terminal 21 and nearly died in Chatuchak Market before Bangkok started to get the better of us. It is a great city that I would highly recommend a vist to at least once. But it is definitely a city that starts to get the better of you and everyone is just a little too batshit crazy to handle with lice and an intense head cold in the middle of summer.
Thailand rest assured I will be back!
This day we had our first real authentic Thai meal on the banks of the Chao Phraya river and our first of several hardcore tuk tuk rides. We explored the tourist mecca of The Khaosan Road and made a list of all the goodies we would be back for in four weeks. That night after dinner we found ourselves upstairs at a random live music joint and knocked back a few too many shots before getting up at the crack of dawn for our eight hour bus ride into the mountains. It would only be four short weeks until we were back Bangkok!
After bus-ing it back to Bangkok Mimi, Becka and I took the worlds most awkward taxi ride to a stupidly expensive and fancy hotel, that looked much cheaper on the internet, and spent a couple of nights there before Becka and I dashed off to Koh Samui and Mimi took the long slog back to the chill of England. Our main objective was to see a Lady Boy show, and though the show itself was lack lusture the gals in it sure weren't. My god they know how to work a diamond encrusted ball gown! Though my face in the above photo resembles a photo of a petrified five year old me standing next to a clown, I promise it was more of a "check these bitches out! they got swag" face.
1/ Main street of Koh Samui 2-5/ Our luxurious accommodation 6/ Getting a hot stone foot massage in this palace! 7/ Sawadee Monkey Island 8/ Long boats and crystals waters in Angthong 9-12/ Our adventure in Angthong National Marine Park 13-14/ Pristine views 15/ The Big Buddha 16/ Our blessing to the kids of the Dreamhouse, 2555 is 2012 in Thai years 17/ Muay Thai champs (spot the Aussie) 18/ Koh Samui putting on a show for our last night 19/ Monkeys!
private pools, Muay Thai, and Chang singlets.
The highlight of our Koh Samui trip was the boat adventure to Angthong National Marine Park. After much deliberation we decided the one hour jet boat ride to the park, though more expensive, would be the better option than the three hour journey on a steam boat. In retrospect I think I might have preferred the steam boat. It didn't start well when we had to wade waist deep through crashing waves holding our bags over our heads to get to the boat and awkwardly scramble up into it. Being a novice on the old jet boat scene I was all too keen to agree with Becka that a seat up the front of the boat would be best. I spent the next hour with my heart in my throat and knuckles white from gripping onto the edge for dear life. Jet boats + powerful waves; not ideal. After back on dry land later that day and regaling the story for the parentals back home it was quite amusing. But the expedition was smooth sailing after that. We snorkeled in beautiful crystal blue/green waters, hiked to the top of islands to be rewarded with magnificent views, went canoeing (with great difficulty) and swam in cool waters of paradise! Needless to say we sat on the inside of the boat on the return journey.
Back on the island of Koh Samui we shopped up a souvenir storm, got many massages and visited the Big Buddha temple and left a blessing for the kids of the Dreamhouse. On our last night we finally gave into the toothless man with the monkey and paid our two bits to have a photo with the cheeky little critter, who then started eating my hair (the monkey, not the man). What more could you ask for from Thailand?!
Back in Bangkok for four more days we hurried to complete all the stuff we had wanted to do since planning the trip. This of course included eating a deep fried cricket, having fish feed off our feet, sneaking in a few more tuk tuk rides and purchasing yet more Chang singlets (a person can never have enough Chang). We aslo stumbled upon a delightful fancy high tea cafe where we sipped tea and ate buttered scones with a view of Prada and Dior (only in Thailand). We shopped yet more at MBK, Terminal 21 and nearly died in Chatuchak Market before Bangkok started to get the better of us. It is a great city that I would highly recommend a vist to at least once. But it is definitely a city that starts to get the better of you and everyone is just a little too batshit crazy to handle with lice and an intense head cold in the middle of summer.
Thailand rest assured I will be back!
