"Wanderlust throws you out the door and into the fast lane. Live by your wits, and dance by the light of the moon. Anyone who has a problem with that just doesn't understand."
Unknown
The following is an account of my travels to Nepal and Thailand from October 10, 2000 to November 13, 2000. I landed in Bangkok, Thailand, for one night before heading for Nepal.....
Thailand
The Kingdom of Thailand lies in the heart of Southeast Asia, making it a natural gateway to Indochina, Myanmar, and Southern China. Its shape and geography divide into four natural regions: the mountains and forest of the North; the vast rice fields of the central plains; the semi-arid farm lands of the northeast plateau; and the tropical islands and long coastline of the south peninsula.
Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with His Majesty King Rama IX (the ninth king of the Chakri Dynasty), the present king. The King is revered in Thailand and is recognized as Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, and Upholder of the Buddhist religion. He has reign for more than 70 years making him the longest reigning king in the world.
Thailand embraces a rich diversity of cultures and traditions. With a proud history, tropical climate and renowned hospitality, the Kingdom is a never-ending source of fascination for visitors.
Bangkok
The very epitome of the modern, steamy Asian metropolis, Bangkok has a wealth of attractions if you can tolerate the traffic, noise, heat, floods and somewhat polluted air. This city is incredibly urbanised, but beneath its modern veneer lies an unmistakable Thai-ness.
***Please note the image quality is limited as these pictures were not digitally captured but rather are prints that have been scanned.***
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| Bill the Dentist from the USA and Doris Zingg from Switzerland. I met both of them at the Khoa San Centre while I was having a beer. Bill was heading home after three months exploring Thailand whereas Doris was a (seemingly) part-time resident of Thailand. Later the night she would act as my tour guide for the one night I was in Bangkok before heading for Nepal. |
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| Around 4:00AM in Bangkok, Doris and I toured the city via tuk-tuk or 'samlor'. These three wheeled vehicles are powered by a horrendously noisy two-stroke engine - if the noise and vibration doesn't get you, the fumes will. |
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| During our 'One Night in Bangkok' trip about, we stopped at a temple where I bought five little caged birds which I proceeded to set free under the watchful eyes of these four monks. Socially, every Thai male is expected to become a monk for a short period of time in his life, optimally between the time he finishes school and the time he starts a career or marries. Overall discipline for monks is generally strict. For example, they eat only once a day - before noon - and must eat only what is in their alms bowl - usually only rice! |
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| Some of the morning sites that Doris and I saw as we travelled around Bangkok in the wee hours of morning |
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| Doris having a yarn with the tuk-tuk driver while I explore the temple. Afterwards, I drop Doris off and head for the airport and Nepal.. |
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After a 'One Night in Bangkok' I head for the country of Nepal on October 11, 2000 (see the other blog entries for this 2000 trip), however I return back to Thailand on November 6, 2000 and that is where this story continues.........
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I fly from Kathmandu to the island province of.......
Phuket Island
Dubbed 'Pearl of the South' by the tourist industry, Phuket is Thailand's largest island and a province onto itself.
Lying in the Andaman Sea off southern Thailand's west coast, the island's terrain is incredibly varied, with rocky beaches, long broad sandy beaches, limestone cliffs, forested hills and tropical vegetation of all kinds.
Although there are many, many places to dive in Thailand, Phuket is indisputably the primary centre for the Thai scuba-diving industry and one of the world's top 10 dive destinations. Most of Phuket's diving operations are centred at.......
Patong Beach
Patong Beach is a strip of hotels, upmarket bungalows, German & Italian restaurants, expensive seafood places, beer bars, nightclubs and coffee houses. It is also a major party scene; anyone looking for peace and quiet will be disapppointed, while those looking for maximum nightlife need not look no further!
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| Patong Beach, the typical tourist sandy beach resort type place. |
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| The town of Patong Beach was much more interesting than the beach. Here a street vendor cooks God-knows-what. Saw one vendor selling out of a wok similar to this one fried grasshoppers, grubs and cockroaches....and people were buying them!! |
The next day I get out of Dodge and book passage on a live-aboard diving boat for a four day trip to the........
Similan Islands
The Similan Islands are world-renowned among diving enthusiasts for incredible underwater sightseeing at depths ranging from two to 30 metres. Beside attractive sand beaches, huge, smooth granite rock formations plunge into the sea and form seamounts, rock reefs and dive-throughs. There are nine islands in total and they are referred to officially by both their name and number (odd yes I agree) and I've done the same below......
Day 1: After sailing all night we arrived at Island #1 or Ko Hu Yong for our first dive. From there we sailed to Island #7 or Ko Paya for dives 2, 3 & 4 before anchoring in Hideaway Bay off of Islands #4, 5 & 6 or Ko Miang.
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| The MV Atlantis 2000, home for the next three nights! This live-aboard yacht was able to sleep 14 passengers however there were only eight of us, so we had our own cabin! |
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| Island #1 is where I did my first ever tropical sea dive! Yes bye!! Swam through a school of Glass Fish....little tiny fish with transparent bodies....it was incredible!! |
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| Heading for Hideaway Bay for the night where we moor off of Island #4. |
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| Ko Miang or Island #4: Alex (English) and moi grabbed the zodiac over to the island and spent the next hour exploring and bumming around. |
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| We hiked up to the small village on Ko Miang and came across this rather large Bengal Monitor Lizard. Other species of reptiles and amphibians found on the island include the Banded Krait, Reticulated Python, White-lipped Pit Viper, Common Pit Viper (all poisonous snakes). Considering I took a hike into the jungle in my bare feet, I guess I can consider myself lucky! |
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| The only place on the nine Similan Islands to stay. You can get a bed in the longhouse for 100bhat ($4Cdn). |
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| Catching the zodiac back to Atlantis 2000. |
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| The partial land bridge between Islands #5 & 6. We were moored here in Hideaway Bay last night before heading north for Island #8 this morning. |
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| Island #8: The MV Atlantis 2000 is moored in Duck Bill Cove on Island #8 or Ko Similan. It is called Duck Bill Cove for the similar resemblance in the granite boulders. Can you see it? |
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| Between dives we came ashore at Duck Bill Cove and clamoured around on the big granite boulders. This is a ground level view of the duck-billed rock in the distance. |
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| A view from atop Duck Bill Cove. Notice how clear the water is? We did two dives in this cove (1 day and 1 night). During the night dive, Nancy (my dive partner from Singapore) and myself got disoriented and ended up swimming almost completely over to the other side of the cove. |
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| Looking down at the secluded beach of Duck Bill Cove. Today we were the only ones on this beach - a true tropical paradise! |
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| November 9, 2000 on Island #8 or Ko Similan and the current temperature is 30C. The water temperature is also 30C and it only drops to 28C at 20 metres depth!! |
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| Considered one of the top ten places in the world to dive, the Similan Islands are particularly rewarding - some 210 hard colourful corals and 108 reef fish have been catalogued so far....including these two Moorish Idols. |
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| A Bannerfish swims by some fan coral. |
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| Alex (English) was travelling for a year and was on his way to Australia to work for 6 months. |
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| It was like swimming in an aquarium and at 30C the water temperature was PERFECT!! |
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| I think this is a Longnosed Butterfly Fish. Of course, if I called it a Blackstrap Yellowtail Funnyshape Fish , or perhaps a Hot Water Bottleshape Fish.....who would know? |
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| Elephant Head. A deepwater swell brings an abundance of food up from the seafloor which only metres from here drops 70 metres. This creates a perfect feeding ground and hence the most fish I have ever seen. |
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| BIG meets old - the four mast 160 metre long tall ship, 'Star Flyer' moored in the channel along with an old Chinese junk. The Star Flyer can accommodate 90 divers and even has a swimming pool for instructions! I prefer the MV Atlantis 2000!! |
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| Thumbs up for an awesome diving experience in Similan Islands, Thailand. |
Cheers......
DIARY ENTRY: Tuesday October 10, 2000 6:56AM: Left St. John's at 6:35PM on Sunday (October 8, 2000). It was 3 1/2 hours to Toronto and another 16 1/2 hours from there to Hong Kong, which is where I am now. There's a 13 1/2 hour difference between Hong Kong and St. John's; so it's 7:00AM here and 5:30PM yesterday back home. That is really weird!!
The flight from Toronto to Hong Kong was long, long, long. The airplane was a 747 with ten people sitting abreast. In the same row as myself were two infants and they cried the entire trip. Absolutely balled their little heads off....when one shut up the other would start. Of course such a display of noise only added to the tiredness that I was experiencing from jet lag.
I sat next to a pilot from the same airline (obviously not a good one; otherwise he would be sitting anywhere but where he was sitting) and he told me to try and adopt to the destination time zone as quick as possible and you'll overcome jet lag faster.
I'm presently in a long glass airport atrium and there's not a cloud to be seen. The outside temperature is 24C, which is not much hotter than St. John's when I left (18C). The airport is built on an island in Hong Kong harbour, so I can see the mainland mountains. Aaaah the Orient!!
DIARY ENTRY: Tuesday October 10, 2000 9:28PM: Not quite starting out as I pictured it would. My knapsack did not turn up in Bangkok (never got transferred in Toronto) and it won't arrive until tomorrow at 11:00AM. The problem is; I leave for Kathmandu at 10:00AM. To make matters worst, it appears it won't arrive in Kathmandu until after I leave to fly to Pokhara....it's going to be a long 3 or 4 days!
I went to the departure gate and flagged a taxi to Khoa San Road for 300 Baht (about $12). Traffic here is horrendous. Five cars abreast on a highway built for three cars.....all travelling in excess of 100kms. When a driver wants to move into another lane, they just do it, they don't look, it's up to the other driver to slow down and let them in. Very scary. It actually seems surreal; sitting here in a taxi in Bangkok during rush hour, knowing my life is resting in the hands of these driving maniacs and listening to Dire Straits on the radio.
When on a tight budget (like moi) travellers to Thailand head for Khoa San Road. I checked into the Siam Oriental Inn. My room cost 300B and it has a toilet and a double bed and for all intensive purposes it appears to be clean enough....I'll take it!!!
Went for something to eat and to buy shorts (it's hot, hot, hot). I ended up eating at the hotel (sensory overload out in the street) and buying a pair of shorts on the stall right outside (270B). I was sipping on a beer and got talking to Natalie from England (on her way back home after spending a month in Australia). She explained a little about the culture here and about tuk-tuk's (three wheel taxi's). I went back to my room and grabbed a nap (God I was tired). Now I'm heading out for a beer and a walk around.
DIARY ENTRY: Wednesday October 11, 2000 9:47AM: WOW!!! How does that song go....."One Night in Bangkok". I walked Khoa San Road for awhile (lots and lots of people) and settled on going to the Khoa San Centre for a beer. One beer was all I ordered but the waitress brought three (what a country!!). I started to talk to Bill, a dentist from the USA, who was on his way home after three months in Thailand. He was sitting with Doris Zingg from Switzerland who was on her 15th trip to Thailand and spoke very good Thai. She had a week left before heading back home to continue university. Sometime later Paul from Holland joined us and we drank Thai whiskey until 4AM.
Doris and myself went to the 7 Eleven store across the street and had the worst coffee I ever drank. After the near death experience with the coffee, I managed to talk her into getting a tuk-tuk and touring around Bangkok (after all isn't that what one does when they have only 'One Night In Bangkok'.)!! We drove around for about 4 hours and saw all kinds of Bangkok that most tourist never see! Lot's of temples everywhere and at this time in the morning there's not much traffic (thank God). In fact, at this time in the morning, the most predominate image is the number of monks out and about. They were everywhere. Apparently, they wander the streets early in the morning looking for rice handouts. At one temple I purchased five little birds in a cage. It is tradition to buy these birds and set them free. Really neat at 6AM in the morning with no one around (except the monks) to set these birds free and watch them fly off.
Finally headed back to Khoa San Road at around 8:00AM. I bid Doris a good-bye and promise I would e-mail her. Than I got our tuk-tuk driver to take me to the airport. I gave him a 1000B for the 4 hour tour (he was a happy man)!! I never did get to sleep in my hotel room. At the airport the Cathay Pacific Airlines reimbursed me for my newly purchased shorts and I got my plane for Kathmandu, Nepal.
DIARY ENTRY: Monday November 6, 2000 3:30AM: Arrived in Phuket, Thailand late at night (10:45PM), grabbed a mini-bus to Patong Beach and grabbed a hotel. Headed out and did some wandering around. This place is is a complete contrast to Nepal. The nightlife goes on all night and the travellers are different. They are not the low-budget backpackers who have been on the road for months, rather they are families and old men looking for hookers.....and there are a lot of hookers. I went to a disco and the place was packed; a lot of Thai hookers and foreign men.....really weird.
DIARY ENTRY: Tuesday November 7, 2000 11:15PM: Got up this morning and started to have a good look around. This is a typical tourist sandy beach resort type place.....not really my cup of tea. I booked a four day/three night diving live-aboard and left at 6:00PM for a 6 hour sail to the Similan Islands. there are eight of us divers on the boat and that means I don't have to share a cabin!! Cool.
There are four dives planned for tomorrow, including a night dive! Our first dive will be at 7:00AM.
DIARY ENTRY: Wednesday November 8, 2000 6:50PM: Woke up around 6:30Am this morning. Had a couple slices of toast and got geared up. I think I'm the most inexperience diver here.
The first dive was Island #1 and it was awesome! Sandy bottom with patches of coral everywhere. And fish....tropical fish.....brightly colour fish everywhere. Just like the kinds you see in National Geographic. Thousands. Swam through a school of Glass Fish. Little tiny fish with transparent bodies. It was incredible. After this dive we had breakfast and headed for Island #7.
Finished the third dive for today. Only the night dive left. So far the marine life has been just like you would see on television, even saw a small tuna and barracuda.
My lack of experience contributes to my tank emptying earlier than everyone else. I've not mastered the art of controlled breathing underwater.
We're presently moored in Hideaway Bay, which is between Islands #5 and #6 with Island #4 across a small channel. Alex (young fella from England) and myself took the zodiac over to the beach on Island #4. Great beach! Had a little swim (as if I hadn't done enough today), hiked up this trail and found a warden's station and the only place to stay on the Similans. Also saw a really large lizard!
DIARY ENTRY: Thursday November 9, 2000 12:33AM: Woke up this morning at 6:00AM and immediately began preparing for the first dive of the day. We went to a place called Duck Bill Cove (named after the shape of boulder). I have my breathing under better control and it's getting better with each dive. I went 35 metres this morning and that is my deepest dive so far.
After breakfast we took the zodiac into the beach and did some exploring. Beautiful white sandy beach under a clear blue sky and about 30C....we were the only people on it!
On our second dive we went to a place called Christmas Point, named after the little barnacles that look like different coloured Christmas trees when they are feeding. This was definitely the best dive with regard to topography - the big boulders that make up these islands create natural canyons and alleys! I borrowed Scott's (fella from Seattle) camera and put a roll of my film in it. Got some great pictures!!
Tonight we (Alex, Elizabeth, Scott and Chris) sat around after our last dive and played a card game called "Shithead" and drank Chaing beer. It's currently a full moon (almost) and about 24C here....floating on the Andaman Sea in Duck Bill Cove....wicked wicked WICKED!!
DIARY ENTRY: Friday November 10, 2000 11:58AM: Finished dive #2 on our 3rd day in paradise. I think this dive was has been my favourite. We dove off of Elephant Head Rock with a rock wall that drops over 70 metres. There is a fairly strong upward swell that comes from the depths and this creates the perfect feeding grounds. I have never seen so many fish in one location before and they were all different types and colours.
We just went thru the channel between Islands #5 & 6 and in the middle of the channel, anchored was a Chinese junk and a four mast 160 metres long sailing ship, the Star Flyer. Our dive master said there is room for 90 divers and it even has a swimming pool for instructions. Very impressive and the backdrop was perfect.
DIARY ENTRY: Saturday November 11, 2000 1:08AM: A rather uneventful day really. Spent a portion of it (actually a rather large portion) sleeping. Didn't get up until 12:30....of course I was out until 3:30 so that may have contributed to it. Last night (Friday 11/10/00) was the full moon and Thailand goes a little bit more insane than it normally is. Went to the Shark Club with Chris and Scott from diving and two Aussie girls I met (Emma and Belinda).
Besides sleeping today I did a lot of reading and taking it easy at my bungalow at Patong Beach. Met up with Emma and Belinda at the bar I had met them before and we just hung out and talked about music. Belinda is a big Van Morrison fan!! They suggested I try and find a CD by an Aussie group called the Hunters and Gatherers.
DIARY ENTRY: Sunday November 12, 2000 8:37PM: Well here I am at the Old Siam Oriental on Khoa San Road. It was October 10th when I stayed here last.
Got up this morning and did a small bit of shopping and then grabbed a cab to the Phuket airport. Going to take a nap and get up around 11:00PM. See if I can have another night in Bangkok
DIARY ENTRY: Monday November 13, 2000 11:25PM: Another Night in Bangkok!!
Last night I went out wandering around after taking a nap (actually woke up around 11:30PM). Grabbed beer at the Khoa San Centre which is where I started my adventure 5 weeks ago. Unfortunately, there was no one there, so I wandered up the road. Found a bar where it was only young Thai people, with the exception of three guys from Czech Republic and a German guy. The German guy was there with his Thai girlfriend and her sister. We ended up at 4:00AM in front of the 7 Eleven Store eating vendor food and drinking Chiang beers.
Today I wandered around Khoa San Road and stopped for a beer at a local bar. Half way thru my brew I spot Mandy (from Pokhara Nepal) walking up the street. I picked up my pictures and shared a beer while we looked at my snaps. Caught up with all the news from her travels to Northern Thailand and marvelled at the odds at us running into each other so far from Pokhara in Nepal. It would be like meeting a person in Toronto and then running into them in Mexico City!
Had supper together and bid her good-bye (yet again) and went back to my room to get organized. Decided to go spend the rest of my ghat and bought a statute for my banister (690B).
I'm ready for my final journey home......I'll be back.
DIARY ENTRY: Tuesday November 7, 2000 11:15PM: Got up this morning and started to have a good look around. This is a typical tourist sandy beach resort type place.....not really my cup of tea. I booked a four day/three night diving live-aboard and left at 6:00PM for a 6 hour sail to the Similan Islands. there are eight of us divers on the boat and that means I don't have to share a cabin!! Cool.
There are four dives planned for tomorrow, including a night dive! Our first dive will be at 7:00AM.
DIARY ENTRY: Wednesday November 8, 2000 6:50PM: Woke up around 6:30Am this morning. Had a couple slices of toast and got geared up. I think I'm the most inexperience diver here.
The first dive was Island #1 and it was awesome! Sandy bottom with patches of coral everywhere. And fish....tropical fish.....brightly colour fish everywhere. Just like the kinds you see in National Geographic. Thousands. Swam through a school of Glass Fish. Little tiny fish with transparent bodies. It was incredible. After this dive we had breakfast and headed for Island #7.
Finished the third dive for today. Only the night dive left. So far the marine life has been just like you would see on television, even saw a small tuna and barracuda.
My lack of experience contributes to my tank emptying earlier than everyone else. I've not mastered the art of controlled breathing underwater.
We're presently moored in Hideaway Bay, which is between Islands #5 and #6 with Island #4 across a small channel. Alex (young fella from England) and myself took the zodiac over to the beach on Island #4. Great beach! Had a little swim (as if I hadn't done enough today), hiked up this trail and found a warden's station and the only place to stay on the Similans. Also saw a really large lizard!
DIARY ENTRY: Thursday November 9, 2000 12:33AM: Woke up this morning at 6:00AM and immediately began preparing for the first dive of the day. We went to a place called Duck Bill Cove (named after the shape of boulder). I have my breathing under better control and it's getting better with each dive. I went 35 metres this morning and that is my deepest dive so far.
After breakfast we took the zodiac into the beach and did some exploring. Beautiful white sandy beach under a clear blue sky and about 30C....we were the only people on it!
On our second dive we went to a place called Christmas Point, named after the little barnacles that look like different coloured Christmas trees when they are feeding. This was definitely the best dive with regard to topography - the big boulders that make up these islands create natural canyons and alleys! I borrowed Scott's (fella from Seattle) camera and put a roll of my film in it. Got some great pictures!!
Tonight we (Alex, Elizabeth, Scott and Chris) sat around after our last dive and played a card game called "Shithead" and drank Chaing beer. It's currently a full moon (almost) and about 24C here....floating on the Andaman Sea in Duck Bill Cove....wicked wicked WICKED!!
DIARY ENTRY: Friday November 10, 2000 11:58AM: Finished dive #2 on our 3rd day in paradise. I think this dive was has been my favourite. We dove off of Elephant Head Rock with a rock wall that drops over 70 metres. There is a fairly strong upward swell that comes from the depths and this creates the perfect feeding grounds. I have never seen so many fish in one location before and they were all different types and colours.
We just went thru the channel between Islands #5 & 6 and in the middle of the channel, anchored was a Chinese junk and a four mast 160 metres long sailing ship, the Star Flyer. Our dive master said there is room for 90 divers and it even has a swimming pool for instructions. Very impressive and the backdrop was perfect.
DIARY ENTRY: Saturday November 11, 2000 1:08AM: A rather uneventful day really. Spent a portion of it (actually a rather large portion) sleeping. Didn't get up until 12:30....of course I was out until 3:30 so that may have contributed to it. Last night (Friday 11/10/00) was the full moon and Thailand goes a little bit more insane than it normally is. Went to the Shark Club with Chris and Scott from diving and two Aussie girls I met (Emma and Belinda).
Besides sleeping today I did a lot of reading and taking it easy at my bungalow at Patong Beach. Met up with Emma and Belinda at the bar I had met them before and we just hung out and talked about music. Belinda is a big Van Morrison fan!! They suggested I try and find a CD by an Aussie group called the Hunters and Gatherers.
DIARY ENTRY: Sunday November 12, 2000 8:37PM: Well here I am at the Old Siam Oriental on Khoa San Road. It was October 10th when I stayed here last.
Got up this morning and did a small bit of shopping and then grabbed a cab to the Phuket airport. Going to take a nap and get up around 11:00PM. See if I can have another night in Bangkok
DIARY ENTRY: Monday November 13, 2000 11:25PM: Another Night in Bangkok!!
Last night I went out wandering around after taking a nap (actually woke up around 11:30PM). Grabbed beer at the Khoa San Centre which is where I started my adventure 5 weeks ago. Unfortunately, there was no one there, so I wandered up the road. Found a bar where it was only young Thai people, with the exception of three guys from Czech Republic and a German guy. The German guy was there with his Thai girlfriend and her sister. We ended up at 4:00AM in front of the 7 Eleven Store eating vendor food and drinking Chiang beers.
Today I wandered around Khoa San Road and stopped for a beer at a local bar. Half way thru my brew I spot Mandy (from Pokhara Nepal) walking up the street. I picked up my pictures and shared a beer while we looked at my snaps. Caught up with all the news from her travels to Northern Thailand and marvelled at the odds at us running into each other so far from Pokhara in Nepal. It would be like meeting a person in Toronto and then running into them in Mexico City!
Had supper together and bid her good-bye (yet again) and went back to my room to get organized. Decided to go spend the rest of my ghat and bought a statute for my banister (690B).
I'm ready for my final journey home......I'll be back.
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