Chiang Mai (01.08.09)

From Siem Reap, the city close to Angkor in Cambodia, I took a bus to Bangkok. I spent just a day there, and the went to Chiang Mai by night bus. I took a day tour trekking, but wan't really that much trekking. First I visited a butterfly farm and an orchid farm. Second, I went rafting down the river; that was pretty fun. Then, I took an elephant ride. It was a first for both these activities. After lunch I went rafting, this time using a bamboo raft (the first was in a zodiac-like rubber boat). I just went trekking for about 20 minutes, to a village where women have long necks.
Chiang Mai may be smaller than Bangkok, but it is a very busy city. I didn't see anything so impressive that worths mentioning it here.

Patong Beach Phuket Island (03.03.09)

Patong beach is the second most visited place in Thailand, and when I got here I could tell why. This is an expensive place, but it does offers a very nice beach, and the night life is very animated. The city had many malls very clean, large, and modern. I have spoiled myself and got a hotel room like in the old times (it has AC, hot water, TV,etc.). Although I am not picky about accommodation I could say higher standard of living does make me feel good. There are tons of bars, the main street and main attraction is Bangla street (and few streets around). If in the day is nothing special, at night becomes totally different. There are flashy neon lights everywhere and hundreds of girls inviting you to drink to their bar. It has something resembling Las Vegas. This looks like a single man paradise. If you have money here, you can get young, beautiful women; doesn't matter if you are old, fat, bold, disgusting. It's all about money. It may not buy happiness, but definitely it can get a lease on it. I enjoyed my time in bars. Good thing I left this place for the last, should I came here first I might been tempted to spend all my time and money here.

Expenses (bath)
room 2x600
breakfast 35
mango shake 30
lunch 90
steak 200
beer 90
movie 120
breakfast 40
lunch 140
diner 120
beer 2x90
joint ticket airport 200

Phuket town (01.03.09)

I arrived in Phuket town in the morning and I found a very cheap accommodation in the old town centre. Most of the building here are two-storey shophouses. For the rest of the day I walked around and checked out the town. The city doesn't have a beach. There are few luxury hotels. I went to stores and market. The cost of living here is low. I could see why someone would retire here for financial reasons. I also saw a movie. The city gets tourists that are mostly in transit.

Expenses
milk 25
bus ticket 80
internet 20
room 180
water 10
beer 32
movie 90
lunch 95

Phang Nga National Park (28.02.09)

Yesterday I left Khao Sok and headed to Phang Nga. I took a bus to Takua Pa (40 minutes), had lunch, waited for about one hour and half, and from there I took another bus to Phang Nga. I found accommodation in a hotel and booked a tour of Phang Nga park for the next day.This is famous for its karts scenery, with many tall (and some bizarre looking) limestones coming out of water. It wasn't much to do in this small town.The room at the hotel was almost at the main street (which is Hwy 4) and was very noisy. I did sleep OK, but I needed more hours. Therefore, first thing in the morning I booked another room in a different hotel (less noise, better price, but no TV anymore). This morning we left with a minibus to Tha Dan, a pier 8 km south. There we got in a long tail boat and we went for about one hour through channels in the mangrove forests. We passed Ko Panyi, a fishing village built on stilts, at the base on tall limestone cliffs. We kept going and visited 2 very nice caves on 2 different islands. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery around the Hong Island. We stopped for lunch on an island where I climbed in a mango tree and picked up 2 fruits. A little bit dangerous because of the funny ants that kept biting me all the time. Unfortunately there weren't ripe, but I still ate them ( a little bit sour). I had a quick swim and then we left for Ko Phing Kan (Leaning on Itself island). This is the biggest attraction around, because it was shown in a James Bond movie (The man with the golden gun) very long time ago. What's unique here is a big piece of rock that looks upside down. I returned to the pier very satisfied. If there is one negative thing to say, that would be the loud noise from the boat engine. Otherwise, fantastic scenery.

Expenses (bath)

bus ticket Takua Pa 60

bus ticket Phang Nga 60

lunch 25

mango 10

room 200 Ratanapong

tour Phang Nga 700

food 96
room 150 Thasuwik

laundry 50

milk 25

dinner 40

Khao Sok waterfalls (26.02.09)

Today I went for a hike in the park. I left 9 am and returned 4:30 pm, and covered about 16 km. I went on trails leading to 7 waterfalls mainly on the Sok river. If you are not into hiking, definitely it wouldn't worth the effort. Only 2 waterfalls were a little bit bigger, but nothing spectacular. I saw few monkeys, a big lizard (about 0.8m) and a snake (about 2m). I also saw 3 tourists that made it all the way to the top waterfall (where I swimed a little bit). This is probably the longest I have gone for a hike, surprisingly I wasn't too tired. I am sure that in the wet season these waterfalls and probably the entire park is more impressive, for now I will say just it was nice.

In the evening I checked my mail and was glad to see I got some pictures from diving at Ko Tao.

Expenses (bath)

breakfast 70

water 20

lunch 60

water 20

room 250

Khao Sok National Park - Cheow Lan lake (25.02.09)

I have booked earlier a joint ticket to Khao Sok. I took an express boat in the morning to Don Sak, from there a bus to Surat Thani, 2 times transfer by pickup truck, and then a minibus to Khao Sok. I arrived 2 hours later than I was told, but I coped well. I learnt that this is how it is, and getting angry or upset will do me no good, neither will change anything. Besides, what's the rush? I have found a decent bungalow close to the park entrance and for the first time I've been in Thailand, I had hot water. I was actually happier for the free wi-fi. I booked a 2 day jungle tour by the lake.So yesterday in the morning we went about 60 km east, where there is Rajjaphapa dam, and from there we took a long tail boat for about an hour to the floating raft houses. The lake is huge, 165 sq. km., and all around there are mountains and jungle. Everything is so green. I really liked the lake and the fact we were so isolated. We took the boat and went around to see animals. We did see many monkeys. After lunch I had a good swim in the lake; the water was clean and warm. Later I took a kayak and ventured through channels. It was so beautiful, I could have gone for hours. In the evening we went out again by the boat to see more animals.Today we went trekking through the jungle. The highlight was going through a big cave. Although I have seen more spectacular caves before, I did find this one interesting. Inside there were hundreds of bats. The second half of the cave was not do interesting, but for the sake of diversity we went ahead instead of returning to the same entry. We had to go through cold and waist deep water to cross it.

Expenses (bath)

milk 24

toothpaste 45

lunch 30

mango 20

room 250

dinner 70

water 20

durian 60

overnight trip 2000

room 250

ice cream 20

park fee 100

dinner 60

Angthong National Marine Park (22.02.09)

Yesterday I left Ko Tao in the morning with an express boat. I arrived in Ko Samui a bit after lunch time. I decided to stay in the town (Nathon), very close to pier, instead of going to some beach. I got myself a very nice and spacious room in an old hotel. For the first time, I had a TV in my room. It reminded me a bit of the good life I had once in Philippines, when I was living in 4 star hotels. After I checked in I shopped around for a tour of Angthong park. Patience paid off, I got a good price. Later I explored a bit the port city, and went to a night market.This morning I was first of the boat, so I chatted a bit with the staff. They told me they used to have a lot more tourists. We arrived at the park after an hour and half. The marine park is composed of 42 small islands, close to each other, about 31 km northwest of Ko Samui. We did a little bit of the kayaking, and then went to Ko Mee Ko (mother island). Here, in the middle of the island, is an emerald saltwater lake, connected with the sea by underground tunnels. The lake (Thale Nai) was so beautiful. I wish I could swim right then and there, but it is prohibited. We went back to the boat, had lunch and then went to another island, Ko Wau Ta Lap (sleeping cow). Here I went to the view point, a pretty step climb of 500 meters. My effort has been well rewarded. The view from the top was just breath-taking. After I descended I had a good swim in the bay.In the evening I have watched a show - it was actually a charity event - right from my hotel room. It was a couple of bands playing popular american songs, followed by traditional Thai dances.

Expenses (bath)

laundry 70

internet 20

water 10

room 350

lunch 80

AngThong tour 800

icecream 29

juice 26

water 9

sunglasses 80

bateries 25
room 300

ticket Khao Sok 350

dinner 85

Sunrise at Ko Tao (20.02.09)

I woke up very early, because of the noise around. I couldn't sleep anymore, so at 5am I went for a hike. The road from west coast to east coast goes through the forrest. i haev about half on hour when there was no light whatsoever on my path, I just used the flashlight. Although I knew there are no big animals in the forrest, I realized that maybe it wasn't such a good idea (to go into a forrest at night). Anyway, I kept going and about an hour and half later I was at Tanote bay. 10 minutes later I caught the sunrise. It was nice (but no magical, or spectacular). I haven't seen one in many many years. I went for another viewpoint and then returned to the bungalow, about 4 hours since I left. I was tired but satisfied.In the afternoon I went snorkeling. Some folks I met on the diving trips told me about a nice and close spot. They were right, I saw a lot of fish, even some I haven't seen before. I spent about 3 hours in the water. If I knew it would be that good, I would have stayed one more day.

Expenses

room 300

milk 50

ham 50

bread 28

boat ticket Ko Samui 300

snorkel rental 80

water 10

water 20

beer 35

tuna 40

bread 20

Working from home (19.02.02)

A little bit of hiking at Ko Tao (19.02.09)

I was thinking to explore the island by foot, since it's not that big. I spent a little bit more time in the bed in the morning, and after breakfast I was on my way to the first viewpoint. I left about 10 am, and when I got there was 11:30 am. The viewpoint it's only about 400 meters above the sea level, but the heat was just too much. I was completely exhausted. I have no desire to continue this way; I could have a heat stoke. I decided to come back to bungalow and either way go by motorcycle or go very early in the morning another day. I have spent the evening at the beach. It did rain for about 20 minutes, I liked it.

Expenses

room 300

batteries 70

breakfast 69

beer 70

mango shake 50

internet 30

Diving at Ko Tao (18.02.09)

So I arrived yesterday at 7 am at Ko Tao. I took a taxi (pick-up truck) until Sairee beach. This is a long beach where most accommodation are, also close to the village. I have found a cheap and decent room in a bungalow on the beach, and I was quite delighted with it. I went to explore the surroundings and have a feel for the prices. After breakfast I looked at diving options. I was thinking is expensive and it will hurt my budget (and I already spent more than I was supposed). There are many diving shops on the island, and prices are about the same. Still, I have found one shop that will give one free dive for every 3 dives, so I signed up for it. An hour later I was on the boat, ready to dive. I have noticed that the colour of the water was unbelievable turquoise. I haven't seen this beautiful color anywhere else so far. I had a little bit of anxiety, because it was about 6 years since I last dove. Once that I got in the water, it all came back, I felt comfortable and went for it. The first dive was in the Mango Bay, close to the shore. It was a shallow dive with some corals and some fishes. The visibility was great. I wasn't very impressed, but it was OK. The second dive was at the White Rock, a bit further away. This was better, more marine life, and for the first time I saw stingrays. I wasn't sure I will do any diving, but I am so glad I did it. In the evening I walked around.Unfortunately, leaving right on the beach in the middle of everything has its downsides. Close by, some kids had a party all night long, so I barely slept. I went for the morning dives (7am), and I was so tired, I had to get a coffee on the bot to keep me awake (I very rarely drink coffee). The first dive was at Southwest Pinnacle. I was deeper, and a lot of marine life, I enjoyed it. I saw some huge fishes. The second dive was at the Shark Island, and it was probably the best of all. Among other things, saw a turtle. After diving, i went back to the bungalow ans slept few hours. In the evening I walked on the beach and to the pier. Although I've been already on few islands, I wasn't bored with it. It may be the same in some regards, but in others is different. This island has something picturesque.

Expenses (bath)
taxi 50
room 2 nights x300
mango shake 30
water 6 bottles 45
breakfast (grill chicken sandwich with french fries) 60
dinner (fried noodle with mango shake) 90
snack 30
internet 25
diving (4 dives) 3200
milk 50
pad tai (fried noodle) 50

From Railay to Ko Tao (16.02.09)

After a day of relaxation at the beach, it was the time to go somewhere else: from the west coast, where is Andaman sea, to east coast, in the gulf of Thailand. I took a log-tail boat to Ao Nang (10 minutes), then a minibus to Krabi (40 minutes) and then a bus to Surat Thani 4 hours). I arrived around 2 pm. The night ferry was leaving at 11 pm, so I had about 9 hours to wait. By pure chance I found a computer service shop and got my laptop fixed. Turns out it wasn't a virus but a problem with conflicting ports in Windows. One thing I did in the past when I had a lot of time to spend in a city and too much weight to carry it around was going to the movies. I think one time I saw 3 movies one after another. So I found out there is a movie theatre in the town, took a minibus and got there. It was in a big mall, so I had something to eat too (KFC, for a change). I saw a movie called "Underworld" and the was enough. The movie was dubbed in Thai so I could not understand a single world. I have spent some time afterwards wandering in the mall. If until now everywhere I went I saw more tourist than locals, this time was different, I was the only tourist in the entire mall. I sort of liked it.I returned close to the pier, walked around for a while, got some food from a night market. I haven't seen in other countries this, I do not know the reason they set up markets at night (actually, more like evening). Maybe it's because of the heat during the day, maybe it' just a lifestyle. Finally, the time to get on the boat. I knew the night ferry wasn't a luxury cruiser, however I was expecting a little bit more. The boat is a freighter, and on the main floor they set up tiny mattresses on both sides. This was like a dorm for 60 people and it was almost full. The mattress was about 1.80 by 0.5 meters, so barely enough. I guess in times like this I would prefer being stuck between 2 young beautiful women, unfortunately I wasn't that lucky . The good part was the mattress on my right was free, so I slept comfortably for almost the entire 8 hours trip. When I woke up the boat was almost at the pier.

Expenses (bath)

boat Ao Nang 80

minibus Krabi 60

bus Surat Thani 140

breakfast omlete 60 orange juice 20

water 20

boat Ko Tao 55

0minibus 2x30=60

lunch KFC 120

movie 90

dinner hot dog on stick 2x10=20

watermelon slice 25

Random notes (15.02.09)

Since I came to Thailand I wear flip-flops, except few times, when going hiking or visiting temples. The problem with that is when walking on the beach and getting sand between my feet and the flip-flops; it acts like sand paper and caused me some minor bruises.
The proper way to use mosquito net is to tuck it in around the mattress. Even so, some mosquito repellent can be useful. I use the mosquito net anytime I can. It's not like a single mosquito bite will cause malaria, but better be safe than sorry.
The first day on Railay, when crossing on the rocks from West beach to Tonsai, my foot slipped on the rock and I fell on my ass. Still hurts after 3 days. The second day I just almost fell; still got a superficial cut on my arm. This is what happens when I am being overconfident.
I drink 3 to 4 liters of water daily. I got used to eat twice a day, first time 11 to 12, second time 6 to 7 in the evening, when I'm not on the road. I haven't got sick to my stomach yet, and I ate mostly food from the street vendors. I did got a little bit bored with same kind of food. The heat doesn't make me very hungry.
The running water on this island is salty, unlike I've seen so far. I am not sure they treat the water right, so I decided to brush my teeth with bottled water. The sound of jungle is loudest in the morning. It is like all the animals slept on the wrong side of the bed and are very nervous.
I saw a lot of monkey climbing on the cliffs, some 50 meters above the ground; they beat any world rock climbing champion.
I met a German couple and exchange some travel info among others. They asked me where I live and I told them I live where I am. They looked so confused.
So far I have seen more tourist than locals. It's like I'm somewhere in Europe.
I do not know anymore what day of the week is. I care only about the day of the month.
My laptop got a virus, I think. The screen is just black right after restart. It does work in the safe mode.
I thought that I will be excited by this journey every single day; it looks more like every 2 days. It is the novelty that gets me excited; the second day I just feel peaceful. Before I am about to get bored, I just hit the road, looking for something else.
I can see a pattern in my actions. The first thing I do when arriving in a new place is finding accommodation. Then, I just explore the surroundings until I get familiar with the place, and see all the point of interest. After that I may allow myself a day of relaxation and then get going.
It's a good habit to check both directions when crossing the street. Sometimes the car will came from the other way.
Another good habit is always ask for the price before.

Railay viewpoint, lagoon, Phra Nang beach (14.02.09)

Yesterday I moved to a bungalow up the hills, about 5 minutes walk from the beach. It's almost in the jungle. From this beach (Ton Sai) to West beach you can go by boat or walk around on the rocks at the low tide. At high tide, there is a 30 minutes hike through the jungle reaching the east beach. I enjoyed this hike so I went both ways. In the afternoon I stayed on Ton Sai beach, and watch rock climbers. It is probably a lot harder that it seems.
Today I went for another hike, a lot more difficult. There were some ropes along the way to help. The first stop was at the viewpoint, about 100 meters above the sea level. From this point there is a beautiful view of both East and West bay. The second point of interest was the lagoon, situated in the middle of the mountain, surrounded all around by 100 meters cliffs. The down climb to the lagoon was difficult and in some places dangerous, a couple of 5 meters almost vertical drops where was just the rope to help descending. I believe watching the Discovery Channel helped here, so I always maintained 3 points of contact, used the force of the legs rather than arms. Anyway, made it all the way down. I was expecting to find a crystal clear, very light blue lagoon, instead I found an almost dried up pond, muddy and rather ugly. The cliffs surrounding this lagoon made me feel like I was on the bottom of a cooking pot. The echo was great. I was disappointed by the lagoon, but the challenge of getting there was so great, I didn't feel sorry a bit. Climbing out of the lagoon was easier, maybe because I could see where I can put my feet.
After I got down to the see level, I went along the cliffs and I came cross the forth beach, Phra Nang. I have found it the most beautiful beach on this peninsula.

Expenses (bath)

room 250 Saithong Bungalow

lunch 70

water 15

dinner 70

water 20
room 250

water 20

mango shake 30

laundry 80

lunch 70

dinner 100

internet 40

Railay east, west (12.02.09)

Yesterday morning I moved to another resort, in a bungalow on the beach. This is on a different beach which is very good for swimming. So I spend the morning and afternoon at the beach, just enjoying the water, the sun, the beach. The resort had a bar on the beach and they had magic mushroom on their menu. Also they had happy mushroom. I don't know the difference, but I'm pretty sure those mushroom have some funky effects on the brain. I wasn't curious to try, as a matter a fact I didn't even get a beer. For some reason, the bungalow was getting very hot, despite the fan running.Today I felt full of energy so I hit the road again (so to speak). I took a boat to Railay. This is a peninsula but is so isolated that feels like an island. It can be reached only by boat. This place has beautiful cliffs, fine white sand and clear water. Because I arrived in the afternoon, I was only able to get a room somehow expensive (for a backpacker budget), on the east side, and this after half on hour of searching. Afterwards I went exploring the island. The west side is very expensive, but this is where is the fine beach (on the east side the beach is not usable, just mangroves). There is a third beach, very rocky, which is favourite by backpackers and/or climbers. I went exploring uphill a long way, by the time I got back it was getting dark. A little bit later I went to a reggae concert, some guys named job2do.

Expenses (bath)

breakfast 70

milk 49

internet 25

room 700 Rapala

water 30

dinner 60