Islands and fishes

Today I went on a speed-boat trip to Hong Island and Lading Island (also known as Paradise Island). It was great fun especially feeding the fishes at Lading. The guides give you bread and you wade into the sea and hundreds of brightly coloured fishes, about 6 to 9 inches long, come to the surface all around you to feed.

I've been enjoying some lazy beach days, in between the tropical downpours we've been getting. I particularly liked Rai Lei beach - the whitest sand and clearest water. (picture below)

I've also moved accommodation to a nice small bungalow complex nearer to the heart of the Ao Nang resort, so that I can get out to eat in different places at night. The other bungalow place didn't do good food in the evening, and it was a long walk up an unlit road to anywhere else.

The move also means I have access to wifi - so I've gone back over the last few posts and uploaded some pictures.

Desert Island

Just returned to civilisation (well, Krabi) from a magical three days on the unspoilt island of Koh Jum. The accommodation was about as basic as you can get without camping in the wild, but the beach was deserted, the sea was warm, the people were friendly and interesting, the food was delicious and the whole place just encouraged you to do absolutely nothing. I met some people who have given up on the rat race altogether, and either live in a beach bungalow, only leaving Thailand to renew their visas, or who travel permanently, having reduced their possessions to the contents of a backpack.
But don't worry - I do plan to come home and live a normal life again, at least until I save up enough for another trip!
I'm still in an internet cafe, rather than on my own computer so no photos yet, sorry. But they are mainly just shots of the empty beach looking north, the empty beach looking south, the beach taken from the sea, and the sea taken from the beach!

Uodate - 30th Jan - pictures added of my bungalow and the beach - where I stayed is hidden among the trees.

Elephant Trek

I had my latest animal encounter this morning. Went for a ride on an elephant through the local countryside and fed it some bananas at the end. Actually it hardly stopped eating all through the trek, tugging up bits of undergrowth and shrubs to eat.
Then I had a walk to a national park area just along the coast. It's obviously a popular picnic spot with local families, and was very busy as it's Sunday. Unfortunately, even there, there was a lot of litter.
Yesterday I went to a different beach, famed for its beauty, called Phra Nang, but there were too many people for it to rank on my list of favourite beaches.
My bungalow now is pretty simple but tomorrow I'm off to stay for a few nights on an island that only got electricity in 2009, and it'll be even more basic (and even cheaper). I am leaving my big case here with the people at Lakeside Bungalows, to where I will return, and just taking the bare minimum.
It's unlikely I'll be able to update the blog for a few days.

Update - 30th Jan - I've added pictures of the elephant trek (obviously) and Phra Nang beach.

On the beach

I spent my last day in Bangkok with a Belgian woman who lives in Spain, where she runs holiday apartments. We got on really well - another new email address to add to my growing collection. Then I got the overnight bus to Krabi, along with all the other European backpackers. Surprisingly I actually slept some of the time! Fortunately when I got here in the morning I didn't have too long to wait before my bungalow was ready.
A bungalow in this context is a hut made of wood and corrugated iron and lined with woven bamboo leaves. It has an oddly plumbed bathroom and a verandah, and is raised on stilts. I've seen a gecko inside and one of those big lizards outside. I've bought mosquito coils to keep the only dangerous wildlife at bay.
Where I'm staying is not actually on the beach - it's about 10 miutes walk to the nearest beach, where you can catch little boats to an array of beautiful beaches set among spectacular cliffs and jungles.
I won't be able to upload photos just yet as I am using an internet cafe rather than my own computer (no wifi) but you will be jealous when you see the pictures.
I'll be here for a few days and then probably go to one of the very basic and unspoilt islands for a couple of days. I plan to have more lazy days like today - swimming, reading, sunbathing and enjoying the food and the views - before I head back to Bangkok to catch my flight to India on 1st February.

Update - 30th Jan - I've added pictures of Ao Nang beach at sunset and Ton Sai beach

Another Bangkok Day

I'm sitting on the terrace of the hostel, looking out into the alleyway, which is actually a bit squalid by European standards, watching the neighbourhood children playing with their hula hoops and their parents preparing food - both the families opposite run food stalls at night in front of their homes.

I had a constructive morning, booking travel and accommodation, finding a post office, getting laundry done, etc, and then went to Lumphini Park again - much quieter than on Sunday and a lovely place for a walk and a breath of fresh air. I saw a nine foot long lizard - there are quite a few there of varying sizes and a local told me they were Komodo Dragons but they're not - I don't know what they are but the big ones are scary.


Sticking with reptiles, this afternoon I went to the Snake Farm, which is attached to a research Institute which looks into Rabies and other tropical diseases, as well as researching snakes and extracting thier venom for treatment. They also have an educational exhibition and they lay on a very entertaining show where snake handlers bring out their cobras and vipers. I decided if I didn't have my picture taken with a python round my neck I'd regret it. Just across the road was a lovely temple, which anywhere else would be a main attraction, but here in Bangkok it's run-of-the-mill.

Tomorrow evening I set off for Krabi and the beaches and islands of the Andaman Coast. I had my hair cut here the other night for the first time since September.

A Great Day

For the first time today I suddenly had the thought that I could happily do exactly the same, all over again tomorrow! I walked through Chinatown to catch a river-bus to the Grand Palace. The Grand Palace complex is worth travelling round the world to see in its own right. It includes the temple of the Emerald Buddha and dozens of throne rooms, temples, government buildings and other splendid examples of architecture and sculpure.

Then it was on to Wat Pho - the temple of the Reclining Buddha. Whereas the Emerald Buddha is quite small, the reclining Buddha is huge. That temple is also in a fabulous complex of stunning buildings, such as the memorials to former kings.

After a delicious lunch I went on a long-tail boat trip round the Khlongs or canals, which included a stop at the collection of Royal Barges, which are really grand. The canals go through some green leafy areas and past houses ranging from traditional Thai homes, to shacks, to modern flats, but all of them using the waterway as their thoroughfare.

Finally I came back the same way through a much livelier Chinatown where preparations are well under way for Chinese New Year.

I hope I don't offend any of the people who have shown off their home cities and towns to me, but currently Bangkok is my favourite. I couldn't live here - too noisy and dirty - but it has a great energy and I love the food.

I took about 70 photos today so choosing the best one or two to illustrate this entry is impossible! The two I've picked at random are the Temple of the Dawn or Arun Wat which I just saw in passing from the river bus, and a row of seated buddhas from a cloister in the Emerald Buddha complex.

Another New Country

It’s been an interesting and exciting few days. On my final day in KL with Carole we went to the Batu Caves where there is a Hindu shrine which this Thursday becomes the focus of a major Hindu festival and pilgrimage, called Taipusam. Then we went to a talk about the festival given by a member of the local cultural circle who is also a great photographer and had a great collection of photos from the festival in previous years.

I left on the 10pm train to Butterworth, which as well as being the place to catch the Bangkok train, is the mainland port for ferries to the nearby island of Penang. There was 8 hours to wait there, so several people made the short ferry trip over to Georgetown – the world heritage site on Penang. I teamed up with a Canadian guy and as we explored Georgetown we stumbled upon a Hindu temple where they were having a festival very like the one that’s due this Thursday but on a smaller scale. We saw the worshippers gathering with the weights strapped to their heads as an act of sacrifice, and the priests giving blessings, and then great excitement as a statue of the god is carried on a chariot pulled by to decorated oxen.
We were so lucky just to be in the right place at the right time, and I was especially glad that I understood so much more, having been to the talk the previous day. I also didn’t hesitate to ask people there what was happening as it all seemed so relaxed and jolly.

Then we got on board for a 24 hour train trip to Bangkok. It actually took quite a bit longer. In the night I was woken by a very loud bang and jolt and thought for a moment that the train had crashed, but then everything went quiet, and I went straight back to sleep. In the morning it turned out that the train had crashed and we’d been stationary a lot of the night. The train crew played it down and I still don’t know what we hit, but on the grapevine I heard that some people had been hurt and taken to hospital.
On the journey I got to know a large Indonesian family and a Swiss woman so I had company and entertainment.

Now I’m in Bangkok. I arrived too late to see anything last night. I’m staying in a hostel which has single rooms as well as dorms – so I have a single room, en suite, with air con, for about £9 a night.
Over the last few days I’ve had to become increasingly adventurous with what I eat. Near Butterworth station for lunch I had rice and veg for about 20p from a very non-touristy place. Last night I had an eggy pancake, cooked at a street stall, which was delicious, for about 30p. On the train I had a set breakfast that consisted mainly of chocolate biscuits. For lunch today I ate somewhere where there was no english menu, so I asked for rice and vegetables. I got the most delicious fried rice with egg, chicken and vegetables, cooked before my eyes, and I did see the chef/proprietor/waiter wash his hands first. With a fizzy drink it came to about 80p.

Today I really enjoyed a visit to the Jim Thompson House. He was an American who settled in Bangkok after the war and revived the Thai silk industry. His house is a collection of traditional Thai houses brought together, and houses his fabulous collection of Thai art and antiques. Then I spent a peaceful afternoon at Lumpini Park watching games of Takraw (like volleyball but with the feet - the aerial overhead backward kicks are amazing, and risky on a concrete pitch!).

It's been sunny today after the grey weather of the last two cities - but it didn't seem any hotter.

The pictures on this entry are the entrance steps and statue of the god at the Batu caves, some young participants at the festival in Georgetown and the Jim Thompson House. I'll also add a photo to my last entry as it didn't have one.