Back Through Bangkok
I stayed overnight in Bangkok on my way up to Chiang Mai which gave me the opportunity to visit the Grand Palace. It was a little overwhelming as you had a lot of amazing buildings crammed all together. I've included some photos. Jen and I also bravely spent the afternoon at the Snake Farm. It's been around since 1926 and was the second in the world (after Brazil I believe). In a nutshell, they've collected most of the dangerous snakes in southeast Asia and make anti-venoms from them. I believe it is part of the WHO and is a vital resource to this area. When you visit it you get to see the snakes, watch them be fed entire chicken drumsticks (which they completely digest in a few days) and see them milked for their venom. The venom is then injected into horses on a farm in the south who then produce antibodies against the venoms. The horses are usually blood donors for about 8 years and the blood is filtered to collect the anti-venom. I know I'm a science nerd, and maybe that's why I found this so cool. Jen was much braver than me and actually held one of the snakes! The photos is of some cobras.
Rai Lay Beach: Krabi
The Krabi province on the Andaman coast of Thailand has some of the most magnificent landscape I've ever seen! The islands rise vertically out of the sea and the coastline has majestic limestone cliffs. We spend two nights in Rai Lay beach which can only be reached by longtail boat. Jen and I stayed right beside the Diamond Caves which were enormous and beautiful. It was just like staying right under the Chief in Squamish, and oddly reminded me much of Vancouver. I also got out to do two days of climbing. Essentially, you rent a certified guide who takes you out for the day so you are able to climb until you're exhausted, then you head to the beach. The second day Jen came out too and we were the only people at the site except for the monkeys chillin' in the trees beside us. I was about 3/4 up a 30 meter climb when it started to pour and I got completely drenched playing the elevator game to finish the climb and collect the remaining gear. Then we had a 40 minute boat ride in the pouring rain into Krabi where we caught an overnight local bus up to Bangkok. There's nothing like being soaking wet for 9 hours. Other than that and one day of rain in Bangkok the weather has been great for the end of the rainy season - but when it rains, it pours. The photos are of Rai Lay's coast, a Thai soccer game at sunset, and the climbing crags from the beach.
Ko Phi Phi: After the Tsunami
Travelling from the east to west coast was a little interesting involving a ferry, a bus, a minibus, another minibus, another bus, a pickup truck and then another ferry. However, Jenny and I finally arrived on Ko Phi Phi. In Thailand they organize passengers like merchandise; everyone wears little colour coded stickers as to their destination, so we all get properly sorted. Ko Phi Phi was hit hard by the tsunami last December and many Thai people are still scared to go there, so we had no idea what to expect. We found a lovely little island with beautful beaches, yummy pancakes, and magestic landscapes. The marine park of Ko Phi Phi Ley is the island where the beach was filmed and we hired a longtail boat to visit it, do some snorkelling and stop at monkey beach! We also managed to catch a night of Thai kick-boxing, the national sport, and you would be surprized that it is even legal! The pictures are: Hat Yao, Jenny and I on the boat, me at "The Beach", and the monkeys!!!
Ko Pha Nagn and the Full Moon
After Ko Tao I headed over the Ko Pha Nagn, which is the backpackers island on the Gulf. The purpose of our visit was to go to the insane full moon party they have every month. Full moon is the biggest, craziest beach party you could ever imagine. There are a bunch of bars lining the beach that set up tables on the sand, everyone drinks out of buckets, there are firedancers, and loud music all the way until sunrise! We actually found the full moon to be a little busy and had a little more fun going out the night before hand, but definately an experience to be had! Jen and I stayed in a really cool beach bungalow with a really friendly crew who all had dinners together and partied together which was nice. The photos are from the resort we stayed in the first night on the island, a boat trip I took around the island, one from full moon, and one walking down to our bungalow.
Diving in Ko Tao
Ko Tao is a tiny island that is the diving destination for the Gulf of Thailand. I took an overnight bus from Bangkok and headed down (the photo is from the sunrise when we were waiting for the catamaran, and the other is my bungalow on Ko Tao). I did two days of diving there (4 dives in total) and was left with a big grin after it all. The first day the viz was not so great but the second day made up for it. There are lots of crazy swim through caves and tons of life to see. Amazing coral reefs with both soft and hard coral, titan triggerfish, stingrays, moray eels, butterfly fish, parrot fish, banded sea snakes, nudibranches... We even got to see a rare Harlem Sweet Lips with got my divemaster really excited! You've got to be careful of the triggerfish though as they have big teeth and like to bite divers! Now it's off to the beach with this English girl Jenny I've met...
Erin and the Elephants
Bangkok has a ton of stuff to see, and unfortunately I didn't get through everything I wanted to before heading south. I checked out the Vimenmek Teak Mansion which was where the King lived and is the largest teak mansion in the world - a very classy joint. I also checked out the Duiset Zoo as it is also fun to do non-touristy stuff as well. They have everything: hippos, giraffes, lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, kangaroos, zebras, and of course elephants. Another cool thing I did was hangout in Lumphini Park which is a goregous green space in the heart of the financial district of downtown. The best part about it was that at 6 PM sharp, aerobics began for 300 people at the park entrance to top 40 music - odd. Tracy and I also had a two hour Thai massage and a pretty classy spa for only $10 which was heavenly - they like to crack every part of your body!
Bangkok - A Sensory Overload
I arrived in Bangkok a few days ago to 31 degrees and ~98% humidity. I was very lucky to have Tracy show me the ropes of this insane city for the weekend, and we checked out the Chatuchak and Chinatown markets where you can buy absolutely everything. Now that she is back at work, I've moved from Silom down to Banglampoo where all the travellers stay, and went to visit some beautiful buddhist temples today - Wat Pho and Wat Arun. One of my favourite things so far is that there are vendors on every corner selling fresh fruit sliced and ready to eat - you get 1/2 a pineapple for 30 baht = $0.33! The best way to travel seems to by river boats which let you have very scenic rides. So far most of the food we've had has been good - not too sure what some of it was though. I'll try to get some pictures posted soon - I didn't notice these computers didn't have USB ports. I'll be in Bangkok for a couple more days as my Visas are getting processed.
Off to Bangkok!
I'm off to Bangkok very early tomorrow morning and I just wanted to let you all know this is how I'll keep in touch for the next few months. Wish me luck!
