We found the following poster on the Thai part of the Thailand-Malaysia border. Fortunately we were all leaving Thailand, as I think half of the queue would get into the "Hippy" category and not be allowed to get in if they would apply the rules.
Showing posts with label Thailand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thailand. Show all posts
19 December 2009
11 December 2009
Update from the beach
Seems we're getting lazy about our blog... as always when we're in a nice place. Here's just a quick update...
We're in Ko Lanta, one of the many islands in Thailand. Quite a lot of resorts here, but still quiet and nice, beautiful beaches with still a lot of free space, families and relaxed backpackers who are not looking for a non-stop party. The weather's perfect, the sea is blue-green transparent... part of the paradise chapter. We're staying in a small bamboo bungalow, simple but nice, with a semi-open bathroom (open to the sky,with lots of plants growing inside), getting a breakfast of home-made bread and fruity muesli. We rented a motorbike one day and went around the island. Little traffic, nice views, an old town inhabited by locals getting their income mainly from fishing and living in stilt houses. Swimming on a deserted beach with maybe 3 other people. The next day we went on a snorkelling trip. A speedboat took us to Ko Rok, even more paradisiac, with fluffy white fine sand and blue waters (and warans waiting to receive the leftovers from lunch). We snorkelled in 3 places off shore, saw all kinds of tropical coloured fishes and beautiful corals. In the evening, we "splurged" on cocktails (for less than 5 chf/3eur) while watching the stars appear. Today, after going into "town" (basically just a few shops and a market) for those necessary things (contactlenses-liquid, nivea cream...) we played at lazy beach-potatoes, sitting in the shade, walking 10 steps to a small beachside eatery for lunch and 20 steps to go swimming from time to time.
Tomorrow we're off to Ko Libong, an even more quiet island (it only has 3 resorts on it's beautiful beach), to do more exploring, snorkelling, swimming...
I'm happy to see that there are still nice spots in Thailand, the tourists haven't taken everything over yet!
We're in Ko Lanta, one of the many islands in Thailand. Quite a lot of resorts here, but still quiet and nice, beautiful beaches with still a lot of free space, families and relaxed backpackers who are not looking for a non-stop party. The weather's perfect, the sea is blue-green transparent... part of the paradise chapter. We're staying in a small bamboo bungalow, simple but nice, with a semi-open bathroom (open to the sky,with lots of plants growing inside), getting a breakfast of home-made bread and fruity muesli. We rented a motorbike one day and went around the island. Little traffic, nice views, an old town inhabited by locals getting their income mainly from fishing and living in stilt houses. Swimming on a deserted beach with maybe 3 other people. The next day we went on a snorkelling trip. A speedboat took us to Ko Rok, even more paradisiac, with fluffy white fine sand and blue waters (and warans waiting to receive the leftovers from lunch). We snorkelled in 3 places off shore, saw all kinds of tropical coloured fishes and beautiful corals. In the evening, we "splurged" on cocktails (for less than 5 chf/3eur) while watching the stars appear. Today, after going into "town" (basically just a few shops and a market) for those necessary things (contactlenses-liquid, nivea cream...) we played at lazy beach-potatoes, sitting in the shade, walking 10 steps to a small beachside eatery for lunch and 20 steps to go swimming from time to time.
Tomorrow we're off to Ko Libong, an even more quiet island (it only has 3 resorts on it's beautiful beach), to do more exploring, snorkelling, swimming...
I'm happy to see that there are still nice spots in Thailand, the tourists haven't taken everything over yet!
10 December 2009
Lettre depuis le paradis
T'es là mais tu sais qu'un jour il va terminer. Le voyage de ta vie. T'es au paradis, au paradis de ta vie et au paradis de la plage avec des palmiers. Tu bois une bière devant la mer pendant le coucher de soleil et tu réfléchis quand sera la fin. Mieux réfléchir au prochain arrêt: où?
03 December 2009
Something about tourists in Thailand
This post is the result of my observing other tourists in hotels, cafes, buses... in Thailand and Cambodia.
Warning: this post is full of stereotypes and prejudices. Take it as seriously or un-seriously as you like!
Tourist No 1
We are sitting in a cafe, belonging to one of those cheap-ish hotels that one finds all over South-East Asia. Actually quite nice, sitting in the shade, writing postcards, sipping watermelon-shake. The place is called "Tony's Place".
Arrives a minivan. Exit a Brit, blond, white, age close to retirement. Exit another Brit, blond, white, fat belly, age close to retirement, wearing a cowboy-hat. Followed by two big suitcases. Followed by two golf bags. Followed by two Thai women, age about 20 years younger than the Brits.
(Note: you can exchange the word "Brit" by "Swiss", it would be the same.)
Tourist No 2
Sitting in a bus leaving Phnom Penh. Half of the passengers are tourists, the other half well-off Cambodians. Behind us, two young women. Blond. Age around 20 years. One American, the other Australian. Both wearing spaghetti-tops and very short shorts. Telling their story about how they got sooooo drunk last night in that nice pub with so many nice Cambodian guys. Drinking a lot of whisky. Dancing on the tables. Getting robbed and having 150 USD stolen. Not remembering how they got back into their dorm beds. Had to get up early to get on the bus. Have a hangover.
Tourist No 3
Location: same as in the first story. Enter a couple, European, blond, in their twenties. The girl is heavily made-up, wearing a shirt and very, very short shorts. Don't know where they come from because didn't hear them talk.
To finish, and as a comment to tourist No 2 and 3, here's a citation from our guidebook to Thailand (yes, the one everybody has...):
"The Thais hold modesty in personal dress in high regard. Shorts above the knee, sleeveless shirts, tank tops and other beach-style attire are not appropriate (...) when outside Bangkok."
No other comment. I let you have your own thoughts about this.
Warning: this post is full of stereotypes and prejudices. Take it as seriously or un-seriously as you like!
Tourist No 1
We are sitting in a cafe, belonging to one of those cheap-ish hotels that one finds all over South-East Asia. Actually quite nice, sitting in the shade, writing postcards, sipping watermelon-shake. The place is called "Tony's Place".
Arrives a minivan. Exit a Brit, blond, white, age close to retirement. Exit another Brit, blond, white, fat belly, age close to retirement, wearing a cowboy-hat. Followed by two big suitcases. Followed by two golf bags. Followed by two Thai women, age about 20 years younger than the Brits.
(Note: you can exchange the word "Brit" by "Swiss", it would be the same.)
Tourist No 2
Sitting in a bus leaving Phnom Penh. Half of the passengers are tourists, the other half well-off Cambodians. Behind us, two young women. Blond. Age around 20 years. One American, the other Australian. Both wearing spaghetti-tops and very short shorts. Telling their story about how they got sooooo drunk last night in that nice pub with so many nice Cambodian guys. Drinking a lot of whisky. Dancing on the tables. Getting robbed and having 150 USD stolen. Not remembering how they got back into their dorm beds. Had to get up early to get on the bus. Have a hangover.
Tourist No 3
Location: same as in the first story. Enter a couple, European, blond, in their twenties. The girl is heavily made-up, wearing a shirt and very, very short shorts. Don't know where they come from because didn't hear them talk.
To finish, and as a comment to tourist No 2 and 3, here's a citation from our guidebook to Thailand (yes, the one everybody has...):
"The Thais hold modesty in personal dress in high regard. Shorts above the knee, sleeveless shirts, tank tops and other beach-style attire are not appropriate (...) when outside Bangkok."
No other comment. I let you have your own thoughts about this.
01 December 2009
Comments about Phrae, Thailand
On our way down from Northern Thailand we decided to make a stop to visit Phrae, a village with an interesting description on our guidebook. The closest train station was in Den Chai, about 25km away and we were the only foreigners to get off the train. As indicated in the guidebook there was a pickup van for taking people to Phrae (a kind of shared-taxi).
In Phrae we were left at the bus station. We found a hotel, good price - 6euros for a double room including breakfast -, but rather basic. The corridors and room seemed like the Siberian hotels we experienced: large, no decoration, old and with lots of bad quality fixes. The same hotel in Russia would have cost between 30 and 60euros and maybe have shared shower!
(In the hotel grounds there was also a small museum about the Thai Resistance against the Japanese, which were invading the region. Thailand wanted to be neutral in the war but at some point they decided to declare war against the US, but fortunately (for them) the ambassador of Thailand in the US refused to deliver the war declaration, as he belonged to the Thai Resistance. Some complicated history and very lucky for the country.)
Visiting Phrae we tried to get some information and coffee from a cafe announced in the guidebook, but it was closed. An old American by bicycle just told that maybe the owner is not there today. Next we try to find a restaurant to eat. Either not existing or closed, the ones indicated in our 3-months old guidebook. It really started to feel like Russia. In the afternoon we went to visit a house-museum. While walking much more than expected (the scale of the map in the guidebook was wrong), we found the house with a possible restaurant outside, some people cleaning but no one interested on us. The house museum was closed, even if at the gate was written "open daily from 9-17". Definitely this was Russia like. For dinner we just went to a street market and said we wanted the same as next table. Too spicy and strange for us, we end up buying things in 7-eleven.
Next morning we went back to Phrae bus station and ask how to get to DenChai train station. They pointed us to a bus about to leave. The price was on the braket indicated in the guide book. We hop on. It was full of Thais. The bus was fully Thai style: lots of paintings in the exterior and inside you enter the bus and there is a second door and only then the seats. From the seat you cannot see the road in front of you. Many Thais get sickness and this does not help at all.
The bus drop us off at DenChai bus station. We said we wanted the train station. They say to take a motorbike. From the motorbike they ask us more than would cost to come by shared-taxi all the way from Phrae. We refuse. We try to convince the bus - still there - to take us to the train station. No one speaks much English, our Thai is nonexistent. We try to hitchhike while walk in the direction we suppose the train station was. One motorbike follow us trying to lower the price. We refuse. After some minutes he comes back with the price even lower. Eva does not believe that the driver can take us plus the two backpacks in his motorbike. We accept. He puts Eva's backpack in front of him, Eva seats in the middle and I in the back, which my backpack on. We insist to wear helmets. The train station was not in the direction we were going.
In Phrae we were left at the bus station. We found a hotel, good price - 6euros for a double room including breakfast -, but rather basic. The corridors and room seemed like the Siberian hotels we experienced: large, no decoration, old and with lots of bad quality fixes. The same hotel in Russia would have cost between 30 and 60euros and maybe have shared shower!
(In the hotel grounds there was also a small museum about the Thai Resistance against the Japanese, which were invading the region. Thailand wanted to be neutral in the war but at some point they decided to declare war against the US, but fortunately (for them) the ambassador of Thailand in the US refused to deliver the war declaration, as he belonged to the Thai Resistance. Some complicated history and very lucky for the country.)
Visiting Phrae we tried to get some information and coffee from a cafe announced in the guidebook, but it was closed. An old American by bicycle just told that maybe the owner is not there today. Next we try to find a restaurant to eat. Either not existing or closed, the ones indicated in our 3-months old guidebook. It really started to feel like Russia. In the afternoon we went to visit a house-museum. While walking much more than expected (the scale of the map in the guidebook was wrong), we found the house with a possible restaurant outside, some people cleaning but no one interested on us. The house museum was closed, even if at the gate was written "open daily from 9-17". Definitely this was Russia like. For dinner we just went to a street market and said we wanted the same as next table. Too spicy and strange for us, we end up buying things in 7-eleven.
Next morning we went back to Phrae bus station and ask how to get to DenChai train station. They pointed us to a bus about to leave. The price was on the braket indicated in the guide book. We hop on. It was full of Thais. The bus was fully Thai style: lots of paintings in the exterior and inside you enter the bus and there is a second door and only then the seats. From the seat you cannot see the road in front of you. Many Thais get sickness and this does not help at all.
The bus drop us off at DenChai bus station. We said we wanted the train station. They say to take a motorbike. From the motorbike they ask us more than would cost to come by shared-taxi all the way from Phrae. We refuse. We try to convince the bus - still there - to take us to the train station. No one speaks much English, our Thai is nonexistent. We try to hitchhike while walk in the direction we suppose the train station was. One motorbike follow us trying to lower the price. We refuse. After some minutes he comes back with the price even lower. Eva does not believe that the driver can take us plus the two backpacks in his motorbike. We accept. He puts Eva's backpack in front of him, Eva seats in the middle and I in the back, which my backpack on. We insist to wear helmets. The train station was not in the direction we were going.
30 November 2009
Thailand
A small post to remind we are alive and still riding trains. Today here in Chiang Mai we exchanged "The end of poverty", "Life of Pi" (I hadn't read yet) and "Lonely Planet Mekong River, Cambodia, Laos" against the Paul Theroux's "Riding the iron rooster" (his train adventures in China) and 110bath. Chiang Mai is the Northern capital of Thailand and is more than full of western people. Just second hand bookshops there are maybe ten!
We found Thailand and Bangkok and huge relief (=calm) compared to Cambodia, Vietnam and China. It is a very easy country to travel and while guide books warn about scams and annoying taxis, motos drivers, we may say that here is very quiet.
After a short night in Bangkok we took train for 12hours to here, and the last 3 days we went to a lovely small remote village in a National Park where a french couple developed the tourism with the locals (from a mountain tribe called Karen). So the couple financed a house built by the locals and now the locals receive tourists (up to 8 at a time), show them the village and traditions (we got to see a wedding), cook, do hikes and/or go by bicycle somewhere around. Around the house just rice paddies, no noise of cars, nothing. A real gem. Thanks Anne-Laure for offering us this stay. :-)
Today we rest and tomorrow we will start going back down, direction of Bangkok.
More stories will come soon.
We found Thailand and Bangkok and huge relief (=calm) compared to Cambodia, Vietnam and China. It is a very easy country to travel and while guide books warn about scams and annoying taxis, motos drivers, we may say that here is very quiet.
After a short night in Bangkok we took train for 12hours to here, and the last 3 days we went to a lovely small remote village in a National Park where a french couple developed the tourism with the locals (from a mountain tribe called Karen). So the couple financed a house built by the locals and now the locals receive tourists (up to 8 at a time), show them the village and traditions (we got to see a wedding), cook, do hikes and/or go by bicycle somewhere around. Around the house just rice paddies, no noise of cars, nothing. A real gem. Thanks Anne-Laure for offering us this stay. :-)
Today we rest and tomorrow we will start going back down, direction of Bangkok.
More stories will come soon.
26 November 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
