Thailand: Bangkok and Chiang Mai

Hello family and friends, welcome to my penultimate blog!
Since leaving Vietnam on the 14th, we have explored Bangkok, ventured to the distant reaches of the north in Chiang Mai, said sad farewells to close friends and now travelled to the exotic south. (To be put simply we have had a very busy 10 days!)

Pad Thai.

Arriving in Bangkok airport late in the evening of the 14th, Dave, Freya, Jen and myself waved down a taxi and immediately asked to be taken to Khaosan Road, which Freya (who is a seasoned Thai traveller) advised us was a backpackers hotspot; she wasn’t wrong. After being dropped off we walked from hostel to hostel in a baggage train up the narrow streets struggling to avoid locals selling their wares and other travellers revelling in the Khaosan experience, only to be told that all the lodgings were full. Feeling somewhat like Mary and Joseph from the nativity, we eventually came across a rather cheap hostel (which lay just off KS road) that had some beds available and despite it being rather dirty it was only £3 a night. We dropped our bags in the dorms and decided to head out for Khaosan, where we were greeted by swarms of people: tourist and Thai. The two hundred meter stretch of street is made of hundred of small stalls, selling anything from edible scorpions to fake ‘Jimmy Choo’ hang bags! To give you a taste: there are countless stalls of tailors, kebab vendors, clothiers, souvenir, 7 Elevens, fake CD’s and DVD’s. (To put simply I think you could probably find anything you desire on the road if you look hard enough!) Yet there is one good that is sold every ten meters or so by vendors on Khaosan that is probably the cheapest and scrummiest food I have ever encountered: PAD THAI! For a mere eighty pence, a weary traveller can buy a sizable plate of delicious noodles, vegetables, egg, chicken and shrimp. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw backpackers in McDonalds and Burger King on Khaosan paying similar price to at home for a far less satisfying meal! Needless to say my diet whilst staying in Bangkok would consist of at least two Pad Thai meals daily!

One of the many gold statues at the GP.

In our first days in Thailand’s capital, we browsed travel offices for the best deals for a trip up to Chiang Mai, in the north, followed by a trip south to The Islands after Freya and Dave had left us. We visited the TAT Office, which is a Thai government owned organisation and asked for the best prices the could give us, however they were somewhat too dear: 5000 Baht (£102) for four days in Chiang Mai and 24000 Baht (£488)  for three weeks in the south. Of course we tried to barter and barter the prices down  but this only infuriated our heavily pregnant TAT adviser who became rather rude, so we decided to look elsewhere. It was later in the day (after Pad Thai!) that we found a travel company which offered the same length of trips for half the price TAT offered. We booked up Chiang Mai, but we wearily decided to book up the more expensive and lengthy trip south when we returned from the north and if it had proved a success with zero hiccups.

El Dorado?

Before taking the night bus north the following day, we visited the Grand Palace, home to Thailand’s royal family and also some of the most extravagant and bonkers architecture I have ever seen! However, before we were allowed within the grounds, we were surveyed by Thai guards whose job is to spot the unaware tourist wearing inappropriate clothing. The reason being is that the temples within the palace walls also serve as the chief Buddhist places of worship within Bangkok and so the correct clothes must be worn. (Legs and shoulders must be covered by ‘modest’ clothing.) Whilst Freya and Jen heeded the advice of Lonely Planet, Dave and myself suffered from ignorance and were ordered by Thai Guards with megaphones to wait in a forty minute queue so that we could exchange our rugby shorts for some bizarrely baggy trousers deemed fit for the religious sites. When we finally breached the palace’s threshold to start site seeing, I suppose if I were to sum up my thoughts in one word it would be: GOLD! The sheer amount of gold paint, glass, glitter and actual gold that lies within the palace walls is mind bogglingly beautiful. On top of the gold, there are thousands upon thousands of different coloured glass shards that cover every inch of most buildings in mosaics. The temples and palaces are overwhelmingly stunning to behold and if an ‘El Dorado’ of sorts exists anywhere in the world it surely is the Grand Palace.

The Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho.

We explored the grounds for a few hours, but after a while we felt we have seen enough golden pillars, phallic towers and statues to last a life time, yet before heading back to KS road we visited the giant reclining Buddha at Wat Pho. We soon discovered that the fifty meter long statue is covered from head to toe in gold and resides in a golden temple which lies amongst more golden phallic towers and statues. Before we all overdosed on an over exposure of gold, the heavens opened on us in spectacular fashion so we made a hasty retreat to the bus station, where after a long sodden wait we were picked up and headed to Chaing Mai. Now I have described what night bus journeys are like in my Vietnam blog and ones here in Thailand are not too different, apart from the fact that little Thai men make a career out of hiding in coach luggage holds, breaking into tourists bags and stealing valuables. As a result, all four of us stuffed our hand luggage with our most precious goods and for good reason; we suffered the shock to discover that our bags had been searched and our neatly packed clothes had been scrumaged and tangled in an odd fashion. (Thankfully none of us have lost anything… yet, touch Wood).

Young Monks in Chiang Mai

We arrived at our hostel early the following morning, and after a quick nap we wolfed down some food and set out to explore the ‘Capital of the North.’ Entering the walls of the historic part of the city, we stopped at every temple we passed taking photos at the décor and statues (all being similar to that of the Grand Palace: GOLD!) however we soon discovered that the quantity of temples in the old city far outnumbered our expectations numbering over one hundred. It soon dawned on us that we could spend the rest of our allotted travel time photographing the same architecture over and over again so we went to relax in a bar. That same day, to our fortune was a famous Buddhist holiday and many Thai families had flocked to the city to see their sons become fully fledged monks; a lifetime commitment. The specific name of the holiday has escaped me, but I have found the best way to describe is monk graduation day! This meant that there were hundreds and hundreds of young adolescent boys in bright yellow robes around the temples waiting to discover whether or not they had been accepted into their temple.

Our noble steed.

The following day we went on an elephant trek in the jungle north of the city! We were picked up by shuttle bus early that morning and all four of us were rather ready and raring to go as the concept of riding an elephant was bloody exciting. When we reached the sanctuary after an hours drive, without as much as a word, our guide led us up a ramp where our massive elephant and tiny Thai wrangler were waiting for us! Feeling a tad hurried and pondering whether our travel insurance actually covered us for ‘death by elephant’ Jen and myself were prodded onto one, Dave and Freya another. We were then taken through a murky brown river, out up a jungle path, over a hill and to a local village. (Over the course of the journey we were able to feed our elephant banana treats which they seemed to relish.) Upon reaching the village we sadly bid farewell to our great, grey, hairy mode of transport and were picked up by oxen and cart which took us back to the sanctuary. As we approached our destination our oxen driver put the reins and bamboo stick in my hands and I soon learnt that he wanted me to drive the beasts for the final home straight! After many shakes of the reins, cracks of the stick and inhumane noises that I have not and will not make again, thankfully the oxen began to move albeit at a leisurely pace.

An elephant painting an elephant?!

Back at the sanctuary we were herded back to a ring where we watched an elephant show where the animals performed such tricks as scoring penalty kicks and slam dunks! The absolute highlight came when three elephants painted a tree, a bird and an elephant with such quality that Dave remarked that the standard of art was far better than he could ever personally produce and Jen was so utterly blown away by the spectacle she splashed out and bought the painting of an elephant, by an elephant, for her godson! After the show we were taken to the river shore where we were given a life jacket and coaxed onto a bamboo raft. This took us down stream through the jungle, where occasionally locals would pop to the surface and attempt to sell us ‘refreshments’. After forty odd minutes we landed back on shore and made our way back to Chiang Mai by mini bus.

That evening we met up with Leonie, a friend met in Vietnam, and decided to have a few beers. It was then where we got our first taste of the ladyboys that Thailand is famous for. Visiting a few bars we had a job spotting them before they spotted us. In a certain establishment around eighty percent of the ‘female’ occupants were ladyboys. They would stare at the men in the bar and if one unfortunately caught their gaze that would be it. They would waddle over, demand your name and get far too close and personal. Choosing to leave swiftly we headed to ‘Spicy’ a club recommended by other backpackers, however I can not quite put my finger on why. Apart from our party of eight, the other revellers that occupied the seedy corners of this club where dirty old men reminiscent of Ray Winstone with petite young Thai girls (or boys). Deciding not to linger in the dive for too long we headed for home.
The following day was not too eventful, whilst waiting for the night bus, we utilised the hostels swimming pool, stocked up on supplies for the coming journey but before we knew it we were back in Bangkok the next morning. Booking into the same cheap, trusted hostel we spent our last day with Dave and Freya; browsing the many stalls on Khoasan Road for what felt like the thousandth time and later that evening we dove into the underbelly of Bangkok to see a Ping Pong Show (this doesn't need but be dwelt on too much, but for those who don't know it does not involve the game... for those who do know, enough said!) before they departed at 5am the following morning. After saying sad farewells before the sun rose, Jen and I headed back to bed. We have ended up booking up our trip south through the same tried and tested company we travelled to Chiang Mai with. Our time with Dave and Freya has been amazing, we have seen and done so many brilliant things with them that the past three and half weeks have flown by! It was very sad to see them leave, however we leave Bangkok knowing that the 12th September is lingering ever closer and we have to really make the most of the coming weeks before we return back home to the shire!
Roll on Ao Nang, Phuket, Koh Phangan, Koh Samui and Koh Tao!

I hope you are all well back at home!
Much Love Andy x

22/08/2012

GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!

A big ‘Xin chao’ from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We have been here for a little more than two weeks, however I do no think we have had a busier two since leaving British shores in May!

Traffic in Hanoi.

After leaving Hong Kong, Jen and myself were all to excited to get to the hostel in Hanoi asap because Dave and Freya (close friends from home for those of you who don’t know) had made a lengthy trip out to meet us for three weeks. However we suffered a nightmare visa experience when we arrived in Hanoi airport on the 29th. Our one month visa’s which we had paid for in HK started on the 1st August, two days later than our arrival, yet in Hong Kong we were reassured by Air Asia representatives that we could quite comfortably change this at the visa office in Hanoi airport, how wrong they were! After waiting for what seemed like a day queuing, we were finally seen by two small Vietnamese border guards in military uniform who spoke very little English. In fact, the only English they seemed to know and repeated regularly was: “We send you back to Hong Kong now!” Of course this was not something we wanted to hear, but after examining our passports for a lengthy amount of time, they rummaged around their office drawers, found some Tip-Ex and crudely amended our visas. They then returned our documents to us with toothy grins, and demanded a bribe of $30 USD which we hastily paid.
Eventually, after a taxi journey where we were badly ripped off, it is safe to say we were somewhat worn out when we reached the hostel, however we were immediately greeted by Dave and Freya and the days previous dramas were soon forgotten. Soon we all were catching up over supper and after filling up on food and chat we soon went to bed. The following day we headed back to the airport to pick up Dave’s bag, which had been left in Bangkok and had to be put on a later flight. On the way we decided to negotiate Hanoi’s public bus service and believing I was something of a seasoned veteran of terrible bus services, (braving Herefords 426 as a school boy which in midsummer heat transports vast numbers of sweaty migrant fruit pickers) I was in for something of a shock as Vietnamese buses are something else entirely. After finally finding the correct bus by process of elimination, we, along with what felt like half the population of the city were crammed into the filthy vehicle. The fact that it was 30 degrees or more outside and the air-conditioning did not work obviously didn't help the situation. Nearly two hours later we arrived at the airport dripping with sweat, thankfully there was no hassle picking up Dave’s bag, and learning from the mornings experience we haggled a cheap taxi back to the hostel.

A family vehicle?

That same afternoon we headed out to explore the city on foot and thankfully the rain subsided. Exploring the dainty narrow streets, lined with locals selling their wares was one thing, simply crossing the city’s main roads was another. The reason being is that the vast majority of Vietnamese do not drive cars (because car drivers have to pay 200% more tax), they drive mopeds and they are out on the streets in their millions! Whole families of up to five regularly fit on one moped, usually the kids find themselves on the handle bars, being cradled by a parent or sandwiched between them. This added to the fact that there are no laws of road here in Vietnam (they don’t stop at redlights, and zebra crossings, though they exist they are completely ignored) gives the appearance of absolute anarchy! Needless to say when we returned we were all pumped with adrenaline after spending most of the afternoon dodging oncoming traffic from all angles tooting their high pitched horns.

Our Boat for the Halong Bay Tour.

The next morning we left the buzz of Hanoi on a three day trip to Halong Bay to the east. Seventeen of us were picked up in a minibus, which tankfully had aircon and taken on a four hour drive to the bay! Our guide was a tiny Vietnamese man named David, who despite speaking very good English, was a terrible liar claiming that possessed a Rolls-Royce and Ferrari back in the city. Arriving at the bay, we were transferred from bus to small boat, and from small boat to BIG boat which we would call home for the next days. Equipped with bar, dinning room and sun lounge everything was rather extravagant but the very reasonable price. The weather over the three day trip was amazing, allowing everyone on the boat to appreciate the amazing scenery that surrounded us. Halong Bay is made up of  huge towering emerald green islands sticking out of the blue ocean like the ends of a thousand fingertips.

A view of Halong Bay.

Our first day was spent wandering a gigantic cave in the bay, a favorite attraction of many tour groups which resulted in the experience being again somewhat busy and clammy, (by this point we were all starting to get used to the sweatiness of VN). We then all got into kayaks and were permitted to make our own voyage from island to island, one only had to keep an eye out for large boats travelling through the straights that stop for no-one (much like the moped traffic in Hanoi). Back on the boat that evening, a large banquet of local specialities was prepared for us, and after some unsuccessful squid fishing all seventeen of us had a few drinks and indulged in some rather dated karaoke into the early hours. Freya and Jen’s rendition of the Spice Girls: ‘Wannabe’ being a particular hit with the multi-national passengers and crew.

Cheeky monkey!

The following morning, despite us all feeling rather groggy, we got on another mini bus on Cat Ba Island (the largest island in the bay), which took us to a national park, where we went on a three hour jungle trek to a viewing point on top of a peak. We ascended the steep narrow paths trying to avoid other tourists making their way back down., yet when we reached the top we were greeted with some astounding views of the island and beyond. The only issue was that we soon had to make our way back down the crowded pathways, avoiding tourists coming up! Thankfully the aircon of the bus was waiting for us when we reached the bottom and we were soon brought to Cat Ba Town where we would spend that evening. After unloading our bags we got on yet another boat and were taken to ‘Monkey Island’, the name for which will soon be explained. The isle itself is very small, but contains a white beach and rocky foothills where we hiked to attain impressive views of the bay. The Island is the only one in Northen Vietnam to hold a population of small monkeys, and despite their size, they are very imposing perfecting a death stare that would rival my mothers angry look! The monkeys are also thieves stealing anything people leave on the tables and we soon experienced this first hand, when several of the rogues ambushed us on the island bar. Thankfully they only snatched a can of coke and quickly climbed to the rafters above us and guzzled it greedily! That same night back at Cat Ba Town we headed out with tour mates: South Africans Juan and David to a floating bar. However at 11pm the streetlights in the town were all switched off due to Vietnamese curfews, so we took our cue to head to bed!

Vietnamese fisherman in Halong Bay.

On the final day of our Halong Bay tour, our boat picked us up and took us back through the network of green islands to the mainland where a bus was waiting for us to take us back to Hanoi. When we arrived back in the city, we did not have too much time to spare because we needed to catch a sleeper bus that same evening which was to take us south to Hue, the old imperial capital of Vietnam. Due to us being the last people to board the coach there were a distinct lack of seats. As a result I was placed in the midst of a sizable native family, whilst Dave, Freya and Jen were put next to the bus toilet. So whilst they had to contend with some rather horrid smells wafting through the coach at night, I had to contend with a rather fat Vietnamese two year old clambering in my vicinity and screaming into the early hours. I believe it a matter of personal preference who drew the shorter straws, but thankfully I eventually drifted off and we arrived in Hue at 8am.

Entrance to The Imperial Palace, Hue.

Compared with Hanoi, Hue is much smaller, a tad quieter and more manageable. Ninety percent of the city was destroyed during the Vietnam War, however most of the city has been rebuilt with a Mediterranean feel and the historic sites have been almost all restored brick for brick. One such site is The Citadel which we wandered on our first day. The Citadels walls enclose a space some 10km² with the Imperial Palace centered within. Dave and myself wandered the site for close to an hour and soon found ourselves lost in one of the sites huge courtyards. As we tried to find our way back to the tourist trail we stumbled on scars of the Vietnam War the still remain: walls strewn with bullet holes and small bunkers that still contain hospital stretchers, a stark reminder that the war ended less than four decades ago!

A Dragon Boat

The following day we all got on a Dragon Boat! The name is more impressive than their appearance: Dragon Boats are small wooden boats, equipped with 'chug chug' motors and are decorated with comic dragon heads on their helms. We took the boat ride down the Perfume River to ‘the tombs’ (a collection of  very extravagant mausoleums from the Nguyen Dynasty). After one hours journey down river, our captain ploughed the boat into the river shore, pointed in the vague direction of the tombs and told us to be back within the hour or he would leave without us! Setting off through the countryside on red sand roads we passed Thieu Tri Tomb which was under renovation and soon made it to the tomb of Tu Duc, the grandest in Hue. Seeming as large and even grander than the entire citadel, it came as no surprise at all that the construction of Tu Duc’s tomb sparked a coup. (The emperors luxurious tastes in death reflected those in life: he had over one hundred wives!) After whizzing around in the hour given too us we quickly headed back to the river shore where to our relief and surprise our Dragon Boat was still waiting for us.

Inner Sanctum of Tu Duc.

The next day we had a four hour coach journey south to Hoi An, a city that was largely untouched by the war. So as a result, very old beautiful oriental homes remain alongside the Mediterranean style introduced by the French. It was here that we had an R & R of sorts: the weather was for the most part perfect, so by day we sunbathed by the sea or by the pool ( yes, our hostel had a pool) and by night we indulged in the very cheap delicious cuisine! ‘The Blue Dragon’ resturant served up by far some of the best food any of had tasted since coming travelling and put us in very good humour for the late nights that followed. However the frequent late night drinking sessions in Hoi An did not mix well with our daily mode of transport: cycling. Myself and several other locals on mopeds unfortunately discovered this when I made my way back from the beach in the baking heat after consuming a large meal in an attempt to soak up the poison that remained in my belly from the night before. I don’t think I need to elaborate any further on what would be a rather messy account of the unfortunate event!

Guatama Buddah.

I would like to say we left Hoi An and arrived in Nha Trang refreshed, but after another sleepless night on the sleeper coach, we got in at 6am and hostel room wasn’t ready till 2pm so we ate some breakfast and fell asleep on the beach. It was not till mid afternoon that we returned to the hostel and being a little sunburnt we decided to have a siesta before meeting several friends we met in northern Vietnam for drinks later that evening. The following day which was our final in Nha Trang we decided to see the one of local of sites of interest: Long Son Pagoda. The area contains a large temple full of golden relics, and above it, up many flights of steps on the hilltop sits a giant white Buddah, known as Guatama Buddah. Upon reaching the top we were greeted by beggers or locals trying to sell crap, so we quickly made our way inside the Buddah statue. Inside the statue, we lit incense and had the time to admire the old religious frescos that decorate the walls. That same evening we had our final sleeper coach journey south to Ho Chi Minh City, formally known as Saigon.


Slipping into a tunnel entrance.

 We got into our hostel at 7am the following morning again lacking sleep, so it was amazing to know fresh bed were waiting for us! After having a good snooze, we all got up refreshed and explored the city. Now HCM is very different to Hanoi, firstly it has somewhat more of a commercial western feel, unlike its northern communist counterpart. This in turn seems to have affected the attitude of its people living in HCM, seeming to warm to tourists much more than the people of Hanoi. The cityscape itself is somewhat different too: whilst HCM looks modern and developed, buildings in Hanoi range from modern to old grey dingy flats. We worked our way to the War Remnants Museum, and spent most of the afternoon there. Dedicated to the Vietnam War, the galleries of weapons, torture implements and horrific photos made it a harrowing experience. Continuing on a similar theme, today we headed on a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels, a vast network of underground passages north of HCM, that were used by the Viet Cong during the war. Before we explored the area, we were sat in front of a very dated, propaganda video, describing the USA as monstrous tyrants who massacred countless innocents. We were then led by a tour guide around the jungle footpaths being allowed down one of the escape shoots and then through a 140 metre stretch of tunnel. The tunnel itself was arched in shape but roughly 3½ ft tall and at its widest 2½ ft wide. Most of it was thankfully lit, but occasionally I had to utilise my camera to light up certain stretches because bulbs had gone. Coming out the other end after nearly ten minutes underground, most people had broken a sweat, but as a result had a new respect of sorts for the Vietnamese guerrilla fighters who spent sixteen years of their lives fighting in the Cu Chi Tunnels.



Inside the Cu Chi Tunnels.

We leave for Bangkok tomorrow evening and I can’t quite believe that my travels will soon be coming to an end. The past months have flown by, especially these past two and a half weeks here in Vietnam. Despite the few downs, there have been twice as many highs, especially that of Dave and Freya coming out to spend time with Jen and myself for a few weeks. It will be great to spend one more week with them in Thailand before they jet off home back to the UK! Vietnam as a country is so very different from any other I have ever personally encountered and given the chance it would have been great to spend slightly longer here and see more of this diverse proud land. I can only hope that Thailand: our final destination will continue to surprise me the way Vietnam has!

I hope you are all in good health and enjoying the remainder of the British summer! From catching the Olympics from time to time it seems like the weather is pretty fine!

Much Love Andy x