The Thailand Experience So Far

The last few days in the more luxurious accommodation at Dona Paula Beach in Goa along with a Cathay Pacific flight was a welcome transition to the Thai experience. Landing in Bangkok International airport immediately we noticed the difference in class, order and structure in comparison to Mumbai airport. Infact Bangkok airport made Dubai International look nothing more than mediocre. After obtaining the Thai stamp on our passports our main aim was to find a place to stay. It was yet another all night travel experience. We all agreed that as we were returning to Bangkok after a week in Chiang Mai and the islands in the south we would just party the whole weekend and make visiting tourist attractions a low priority. Well Party is what we did. As far as budgeting is concerned that weekend blew any sort of projected financial plans we may of had for this trip. What happened to the 50p beers I have been told so much of in the UK or the buckets that cost all most next to nothing. Is everything I hear from my friends bullshit? I heard the same about Latvia. Maybe an explanation is time and things always sound a lot better when your telling the story 6 months down the line. This blog will act as my testament, if any of you find me in a pub talking about 50p beers in Thailand you are officially allowed to give me a friendly slap.
Bangkok is great, definitely a passing city, a fantastic place to spend a long weekend. We decided in the Taxi from the airport to go to the Backpacker central area the infamous Koh Sahn Road. We were told by an Australian backpacker on the internal flight from Delhi to Mumbai about a great place to stay behind the Burger King. Hmmm armed with these instructions we attempted to find the place. Surprisingly we found said hostel with relative ease only to find out that it was fully booked. Luckily we ended up staying at a place called “@ Home” right next door. I would have to say that the 5£ per night fee was money well spent. The place was really clean and had air con. I hear there has been lost of snow in London, well in Thailand it averages around 32 degrees. After copping some well needed zzzzzzzz we walked to the crazy Koh Sahn Road. The place is full of lights and food stalls. As you walk from one end to the other you are enticed by all the various foods on show, I find myself constantly eating in Thailand. There are so many distractions on this road that you find 100m takes 1 hour to walk. This place is an obvious tourist trap, no one can deny that but it’s still great fun. We pretty much stayed local the first night enjoying the great variety of Thai beers. We met loads of people mostly backpackers as you do in Thailand everyone sharing their experiences so far giving advice wherever possible. I would say a great way to get intel on various places instead of using the booby-trap that is lonely planet. The following day we definitely dealt with treating our bodies like temples. I would say that we had a typical Paris Hilton day. We woke up very late around 2pm roughly. We then walked to a Spa with the intention of having a Thai Massage. Upon arriving we changed our minds and went for the full treatment this included a facial. I would have to say in the manliest possible way that it was a great hangover cure and definitely something I would do again not just because my skin was silky smooth (hahah) but because of the level of comfort and relaxation I was in., We all came out glowing and fresh and we stumbled across a very interesting food stand. Not like your touristic food stand in Koh Sahn Road where prices are more variable than an oscillating wave. It was a massive food stand with a variety of food being cooked, I wanted to eat everything. The guy working knocked us up a plate each we paid a grand total of 90 Thai Baht thats around 2£ for all three of us. Right next to the stand we helped ourselves to fresh fruit juices. We have been having drinks with ice your perfectly all right in Bangkok.
We had one more night in Bangkok, a Saturday night in Bangkok. We booked coach tickets for Chiang Mai for the following day and we proceeded to focus on the good times. We chilled in Koh Sahn Road for a few drinks ( 3L towers of Chang drop like warm honey) at the Koh Sahn Centre Pub, a really chilled place always packed. We then went to a nightclub nearby, it was really expensive and closed at 1am. We couldn’t accept that it was our time to sleep so we got a Tuk Tuk to a late license place called Sin. We didn’t realise that it was so far and we were 6 in a Tuk Tuk on highway we definitely turned heads. Sin was full of locals and the paranoia starts to kick in “are they really women? ”. We met some cool locals (girls and boys) and they showed us where to go for some local food in Nana. On the way there I couldn’t believe how many old men had Thai young girls on their side hmmmm. The food in Nana was great, it was outdoors under the skyrail, very local as we were the only foreigners there. After eating for the 5th time in 24 hours we called it a night.
The trip to Chiang Mai was ok, we took a coach as I couldn’t take another train after India. It took 12 hours and set us back around 10£. We stopped in a few places to eat and for the smokers to get their fix. We finally got to Chian Mai on Monday morning with Arts ready to pick us up. I would have to say that our time in the north was the best time I have had this holiday and that Arts and his family are the definition of hospitality. He let Weli and Mark stay who he doesn’t know at all. His house was beautiful and very big just outside of central Chiang Mai. The 5 days in the North were jammed packed of things to do. We finally got to a routine of waking up early which has been the vane of the trip so far. Weli is the antichrist of waking up encouraging everyone to lie in and waste away. Always being the last one in the shower so as to catch those valuable 10 mins of sleep. I have started throwing water on him as words are wasted. We stayed in Chiang Mai for a day eating in great places and seeing the sites. Chiang Mai is completely different to Bangkok with very few similarities. Where Bangkok is a perfect city to pass by for a few days, Chiang Mai is the sort of place I would recommend staying if you have the time. We visited on the most famous temples in Chiang Mai as well as passing through the Chiang Mai palace or Kings Residence. I think Alan Titchmarsh would have passed out in a state of extreme pleasure had he seen their gardens. We also saw Chiang Mai university where Arts studied before meeting me at Imperial College last year. The university reminded me more of a Portuguese University more campus based than say UCL, plus they wear uniform. We ate that afternoon near the uni where all the students go.
Arts organised a trip to Pai, which is even further north than Chiang Mai pretty close to the boarder with Burma. The road was old and went around every possible mountain range in Northern Thailand, a hassle to get there but well well worth it. Pai is my favourite place so far on my travels and I will definitely come back in the future. It is a hidden village right in the middle of a valley completely isolated and surrounded by jungle. Our hotel was amazing with a great view of the crystal clean Pai river and an untouched hill side. Absolutely breathtaking. Arts showed me around the site of his new hotel that he is building in Pai. The website is www.montisresort.com i think, it will be opened in Oct 2009, having seen the plans it will be the perfect place to stay and relax. Pai almost reminds me of a village in the alpes minus the snow if that makes sense. That afternoon Arts arranged an elephant ride for all of us at his cousins Elephant farm. I have always wanted to ride an elephant, they are wonderful creatures and very slow. We went for a couple of hours through the jungle bareback, which led to a sore arse for the next few days. That afternoon we managed to also go down Pai river on a bambo raft. Personally that was my favourite experience as the nature was even more untouched and along the river we could see locals and old farming techniques being employed. Of course we made it a race, Art and I on one raft and Weli and Mark on the other. There were some foreigners in Pai, I reckon that in 10 years that will be a definite on backpackers itineraries. The following day we visited one of many waterfalls in the north. It was so big but very picturesque, of course I swam at the bottom, check the pics.
When we returned to Chiang Mai we ate at a great restaurant with Arts Parents, again the food was top quality. The next and final day in Chiang Mai we went for Thai fast food for breakfast right in the centre of the city, behind the historical old walls and moat. I was expecting a McDonalds type restaurant but when Arts said fast food he literally meant it. Upon ordering 4 ladies managed to put the food down in seconds. The food again was really nice and tasty however all this rice is making us all constipated. I need fibre, as soon as I lay my eyes on a pack of All Bran I will not hesitate to over dose my body in the stuff. We spent all day site seeing around the city as well as attending the infamous night Bazaar, where Weli went out of control and bought everything he laid his eyes on. Anyway folks I finally managed to get up-to-date with this blog I have 16 hours ahead of me on this god forsaken trip to the south for the full moon party in Koh Pangan.
Until the next and remember you stay classy San Diego (Ron Burgundy from Anchorman).