Day Twenty - 25th Sept. 2009. - Paris bound... the end of our Thai adventure.
After three weeks on the road in Thailand we have arrived at our final day :(
Yesterday was pretty much action packed so we figured our last day would be a relaxing one. Firstly a visit to the Bangkok flower market. In addition to flowers and other plant life at the flower market you can also by a range of different creatures that were caught in the nearby river. Alongside flowers there were tubs of snakes, turtles and cat fish. These creatures we not destined for pets however. As we later discovered fried snakes head on the menu in a near by restaurant, so they were for lunch and not destined to be pets! Next to the flower market is what the locals call the fresh market. As the name suggests they sell fresh produce such as meat, vegetable and fish. It didn't smell too fresh however, in particular the meat stalls which left is gasping for air!
Gisela did a little shopping (really cheap chillies, kaffir leaves, lemon grass and a pestle and mortar) prior to lunch at the cafe on the pier. Next to the cafe under the pier we found hundreds of cat fish and vendors selling large bags of dried bread to feed the fish. Throw a slice of bread into the river and the fish go nuts! Hundreds of them dive for the bread in a bread crazed starvation panic, water is splashed everywhere and the noise is something else. Well worth 20 bhats for the entertainment.
After the fish feeding it was time for Gisela & Jason feeding (Spicy prawn soup for me... again! and noodles for Gisela) Then our final boat and Skytrain journey back to the hotel in preparation for our return home.
As our flight didn't leave until after midnight we figured it would be a good idea to keep the room for an additional night (which turned out to be a great idea given the monsoonal rain during the afternoon) Dinner was pizza and hamburger prior to being collected by the taxi for the airport.
One final mission to complete... VAT refund for yesterdays shipping. The results of which were spent quickly at the bar and come midnight we were in the plane heading for Paris. Our miniature seats were located conveniently at the back of the plane next to the loos and thats where we stayed for the remaining eleven highly uncomfortable hours.
From one paradise to another we were back in Paris. early in the morning. Walking out of the airport at 7am the cold hit us and we we were home.
What a great holiday!
Jason & Gisela
ps. Thank you to my beautiful and lovely wife Gisela for such a great time!
Day Nineteen - 24th Sept. 2009 - Our last night in Thailand... shopping and food for the Royalty
As we haven't really done any shopping yet today we exercised ourselves in the Bangkok shopping experience.
After waking up with the birds; mission number 1 The Paragon shopping center. A short Skytrain ride from the hotel and we are in London, New York or Paris. The Paragon center is where the rich Thai folks go to shop. Everything you would expect at an up market shopping center is there. The only difference is that Bangkok is currently in the sales period and 70 percent off isn't unusual. That didn't stop Gisela enough to qualify for a VAT refund however.
Lunch was an excellent Japanese affair in the Paragon center; mixed Sashimi with a side order of Octopus for me and Tempura for Gisela.
Feeling a little worn out after the shopping experience a little self pampering was in order. Being a collector of international haircuts I went for a trim at the local beauty salon near the hotel and Gisela opted for a manicure and pedicure. Next stop; the masseurs. The original plan was to take the train to Wat Pho where the national school of massage is located. It's possible to subject yourself to the students (for a small fee) however as the temperature was hitting 40 degrees in the shade we decided to pay a visit to the local 'health' massage parlor instead. I choose the traditional Thai and Gisela went for the more advanced aroma therapy session. After having my feet washed (something that I found particularly funny) I changed in to the little cotton outfit they gave me and made my way upstairs to the 'treatment' centre where I found a number of mattresses on the floor. Each mattress was surrounded by a curtain making a little private space for each person (aka victim). The masseur introduced herself (in Thai so I have no idea what her name was) and even before she stared she asked if I was interested in a sexy oil massage!! Of course I was shocked to say the least SHOCKED! Clearly I politely declined. The Thai massage I had back in Chiang Mai was tame compared to this one. Today's massage was painful.. really painful. It started out OK (just twisting all of my muscles in my legs.. one by one like some kind of torture act similar to having ones nails pulled off) but when she flipped me over and started work on my back and legs that was really special, especially when she started walking on my back and digging her heals in between each bone and muscle from my neck to the back of my ankles.
After an hour of torture I crawled back down the stairs to the ground floor where I found Gisela looking happy and healthy. The staff poured me out into the street with a wai and I was free! Time for a beer to recover from the ordeal.
We (well I) then hobbled back to the hotel for a rest prior to the evening activities.
As this was to be our last night in Thailand we decided to go up market a bit (in fact Gisela mentioned that the entire holiday was up market but this event was to be really special). Firstly however we set off to Mr. Song's to pick up our new threads. As expected everything was perfect. Mr. Song cannot be recommended highly enough. I had one tailored suit (a clone of my wedding suit) for only 120 Euros and Gisela had one skirt, one pair of trousers and a dress for Flo for around 100 Euros.
After a drink at the Oriental (which seems to be our unofficial Bangkok HQ these days) we headed to the restaurant.
On the opposite side of the Chao Phraya River to the Oriental is a famous Thai restaurant called Sala Rim Naam. Some people in the know say that Sala Rim Naam is the best Thai restaurant in Bangkok. Some of the food they serve there was once reserved only for royalty. Each dish is like a little piece of art but much tastier! We shared an assortment of traditional Thai appetizers with various sauces. I can't remember the Thai names of the appetizers but they included crab in little blue steamed parcels, various deep fried vegetables and duck in crispy pasty. For the main course we shared Spicy fish dumplings, stir fried morning glory with preserved soy sauce, banana blossom salad with spicy chicken and steamed rice. The wine was equally good; a tasty white Chilean number. I think Sala Rim Naam is probably the best restaurant I have been to in years highly recommended.
A few hours after we arrived at the restaurant it was time to go. As we left our Mr. Song purchases at the Oriental we needed to take the private boat back across the river to the hotel. We were the only two passengers and I think the driver of the boat and his assistant wanted a bit of fun. As it was quite they decided to do a little joy riding so we took the boat for a little spin around the local sites prior to arriving at the hotel.
Taxi from the Oriental to Tenface. An excellent final day and evening in Bangkok!!
Jason & Gisela
Today's addresses
Paragon shopping center
Siam Skytrain station
Sikawat Hair Association
Ruam Rudee 3
Bangkok
Tel: +66 8 655 8655
Ruam Rudee health massage
20-17/19 Soi Ruam Rudee
Sukhumvit Road
Lumphini Pratumwan
Bangkok
Tel: +66 2252 9651 www.ruamrudeehealthmassage.com
Sala Rim Naam Thai Resturant
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
48 Oriental Avenue
Bangkok
Tel: +66 437 6211 www.mandarinoriental.com/bangkok/dining/restaurants/sala_rim_naam
Day Eighteen - 23rd Sept. 2009 - Mr. Song's revisited.
Today it was the day to revisit Mr. Song the tailor. We took some clothes to him a couple of weeks back to be cloned.
Our hotel is great but the location is not so good. It takes an hour to get to Mr. Song's shop by Tuk Tuk and Skytrain. Once there we had a quick fitting session of some of the items that were already in his shop. We had to wait thirty minutes for the remaining clothes to be delivered from his factory so we walked around the area and had a snack of some tasty spring rolls from a little street restaurant. The street restaurants are great. If you ask for a take away they put all of the dishes in to little air filled plastic bags so you end up with eight or nine little plastic bags each filled with a different part of the meal. In Thailand they put evening in plastic bags. Back to Mr. Song's and arranged to collect our new threads on Wednesday after he'd finished some final fine tuning.
Gisela wanted to return to China town to do some shopping before we left so we took the taxi boat and had a brief walk around the market. You will never realize how much junk is produced by humans until you visit the market in China town. There were markets the size of football fields that sold on one thing, for example hair decorations. Every different stand on the hair decoration market sold a different item, a different design or a different color for a few pennies. Then there were markets that only sold soft toys, plastic bags and bottles and so on. After a while walking around the market it started to get hot and combined with the noise and smell of the traffic it was time to get out of there.
Lunch was the next stop. Our original plan was to go for lunch near the first hotel we stayed at in Bangkok. Walking to the boat taxi station we happened across a kind of workers café. Outside the café were 20 or so large saucepans filled with different types of food from vegetables in various sauces, different meats to a strange dish of made from rotten boiled eggs and beef. The idea was to take a plate of rice or noodles and then select your veggies or meat from the saucepans. I had rice with Lemongrass in a spicy sauce and broccoli, Gisela choose rice with something that resembled chicken.. again in a (very) hot sauce. Washed down with a couple of large Singha beers it was a tasty lunch break. It was not only tasty but dead cheap. Our lunch and beers came to 180 bhat (about 4 euros)
As it was so hot we figured it would be a good idea to head back to the hotel for a swim in the pool and a rest. Due to the heat (it was 40 degrees at this stage) we were forced to stop off at the Oriental hotel for a beer on the terrace by the river before taking the Oriental's taxi boat to the Skytrain station.
A swim in the pool and an afternoon snooze before the evening's activities.
At around 8pm we left to go to Patpong. Gisela twisted my arm to take a motor cycle taxi. I wasn't so keen. The drivers are safe enough but it was the rest of the road users that I was worried about. We negotiated a price with two drivers and hopped on board. Gisela was safely installed with her little red safety helmet, I was sans helmet and although the journey was nice enough I must admit that I was worried about being vegitized by some manic taxi driver.
Arrived in Patpong (mobbed by guys invitinjg us to a Ping Pong show). A few beers in a couple of bars. The monsoon rain came and a black cloud hung over the night.
Jason & Gisela
Day Seventeen - 22nd Sept. 2009 - A change of scenery and a change of weather. Destination Bangkok
Today we departed the island resort of Koh Samui for the mega metropolis of Bangkok.
We asked to keep our room for a few more hours as our flight departed at 3.15pm. The woman in charge said No but did agree to us staying an additional 30 minutes. That's what the European influence on Thai hospitality has. I was half expecting to get a laundry bill for the sheets and towels.
Before we departed we spent our final hours by the side of the pool and listened into a conversation between an American snake oil salesman trying to sell hotels and land and an unsuspecting victim. The best bit was when the 'important' phone call came through and he has to break off the meeting to talk to the (most probably) nonexistent voice at the end of the phone about the '30 unit multimillion dollar deal' that was just about to close. After the land and hotel presentation (we can make " million dollars on each unit if you have the cash) he went onto another opportunity in Hong Kong the salesman looked as if he might have a problem paying for the two Singha beers they were drinking. Perhaps that's why he choose the humble Eden Bungalows rather than the swanky Sala Samui Hotel, Resort and Spa where the beer is double the price.
We departed the hotel in a white 4x4, passed the Chaweng shooting range (they use a photo of a 10 year old shooting an AK47 in their advertising) past the collection of little shrines by the side of the road (each one a road death) and into the super smooth Samui international airport.
I've never seen such a clean airport. Everything was pristine; the grass wouldn't look out of place at the 18th hole at St. Andrews. In addition the airport was almost completely void of passengers. Mostly a few staff were hanging around, one guy was cleaning the floor tiles with what looked like a toothbrush and the whole scene was pretty deserted. We had a final beer in the Singha sports bar (a bar which looked like it had been transported from the Upper East Side of Manhattan) and onto to our waiting plan via cool little open sided busses.
As we descended into Bangkok it was clear that the weather was completely different than on Koh Samui. The clouds were as black a coal and they seemed to reach ground level. Due to weather conditions we had to circle the airport for 30 minutes before landing in monsoonal rain.
As we walked to the taxi rank our path was halted by hundreds of teenagers screaming and clutching flashing cameras (I thought they were waiting for me) however it seemed that they were chasing some Thai celebrity who we saw briefly in the middle of the screaming mass. We have no idea who he was but he certainly was a popular guy.
Into the cab for our uber chic hotel. We booked a suite for the final few days in Thailand at the Tenface hotel. Tenface is one chic boutique (they use the word Boutique for lots of things in Thailand; Boutique airline, Restaurant, Hotel etc.) hotel. It has everything; a customized tuk tuk to take guests to the nearest Skytrain station, a fully restored 1950's Mercedes for guest use (both in Black), in room iPods containing Bangkok information (in black) etc etc. Our suite (in black) was a one bedroom affair with a balcony overlooking the Bangkok skyline. The bedroom was decorated with red rose petals and a string of gifts started to appear; a "Happy Honeymooners" cake, little sweets etc.
Gisela wanted to do some shopping so (naturally) we headed off to Marks & Spencer at the nearest shopping center then to a bar I know in the Holiday Inn before returning to the Tenface for dinner in the (black) bar; pizza for me and hamburger for Gisela)
Easing ourselves back into Western life,
Jason & Gisela
Today's address
Tenface Hotel
81 Soi ruamrudee
Wireless Road
Bangkok
www.tenfacebangkok.com
Tel +66 2695 4242
Day Sixteen. 21st Sept. 2009. - More mysteries of the deep... our final full day in Koh Samui
Monday was another day for adventure. Rebecca & Don suggested that we take another snorkeling trip. This time we booked via a different agency than the previous 'VIP Speed boat' experience. This trip was a little lower key, less expensive and as it turned out even better than our previous one.
After being collected from our hotel by a driver who, at the time, we thought to be completely drunk (he wasn't as we would later discover) we headed off to pick up Rebecca & Don from their exotic paradise hotel. However for some reason we headed off in the wrong direction. We tried to explain to the driver that we needed to pick up two more guests but it seemed that he didn't understand a word of English. His response was simply OK, OK and OK. We were not filled with confidence and were concerned that we would not eventually meet up with R+D or at the very best end up on different boats. When eventually we arrived at our port of departure we were relieved to find R+D waiting for us. They went through a similar trauma thinking that we were left stranded at our hotel.
Today's tour was to visit two locations about 30 minutes sail from Koh Samui: Koh Tan and Koh Mudsum. We departed on a traditional Thai long tail boat. Long tail boats are nothing like the super sleek wave munching speed boat that we used last time. Long tail boats are long wooden traditional Thai boats. Normally they are powered by old car, bus or tractor engines which are mounted on the back of the craft and connected to a 4 meter pole at the end of which is a propeller. These engines spew out huge clouds of black smoke in to the otherwise pristine island air. Once started up the engines were as you might expect, very loud, vibrating steaming metal monsters.
First stop Koh Tan for snorkeling. The water was warm and there were plenty undersea mysteries to discover, plenty of fish, colorful coral and a crab or two.
After an hour or so of snorkeling we set off to the desert island of Koh Mudsum for some more swimming and lunch. Koh Mudsum looks just like the islands you see in holiday brochures. White sands and transparent turquoise sea and absolutely beautiful scenery of the islands in the Thai Gulf. It was great, probably the best spot we have yet seen in Thailand. We explored the beach and watched a Russian couple taking photos of each other in exotic poses on the beach. We all tried out a few poses and supplemented them with our own pose creations, specially the jumping star fish and the launch yourself into the sea pose.
Lunch consisted of a picnic of Indian style curry with vegetables and pineapple, stir fry vegetables and rice sans beer (!!) The lunch wasn't bad at all and the location was dramatically different than "Chez building site" on the VIP tour.
After a final splash around in the sea we headed off for a final snorkeling session before returning to Koh Tan for a beer or two on the beach.
Rather than heading back to chez Eden Bungalows R+D invited us back to Koh Samui Towers for an apero and dinner. As they say in Leicester they had a 'right fancy' room. Super chic, all white and muted browns, open air bathroom (sans gravity shower unfortunate for them), 'day bed' and a personal swimming pool! Gisela and Don headed off to the seven-eleven for some beer and wine and we enjoyed an hour or so of swimming in their pool.
Then finally off to dinner at the Honey Seafood restaurant on Choeng Mon beach. Indian curry with Squid for me and lemongrass salad for Gisela washed away with a few glasses of wine. A very nice end to an excellent day our final full day on Koh Samui.
Waiting to head back to civilization in Bangkok,
Jason & Gisela
Ps. Many many thanks for Rebecca & Don for a making our few days on Koh Samui even more special!!
Today's Addresses
KT Tours
Choeng Mon Beach
Koh Samui
Thailand
tk.tour@hotmail.com www.tktoursamui.com
Honey's Seafood Restaurant
Choeng Mon Beach
Koh Samui
Thailand
Day Fifteen. 20th Sept. 2009. - Another lazy pool day.
After yesterdays excitement we decided a lazy day was in order today.
Breakfast at 9am and then to the pool for a quick scan of the news. It appears that there are some riots and protests in Bangkok (our next destination) only the BBC claim the airport has been taken over but most reports suggest there are a few thousand cops and soldiers on the streets. Hopefully things calm down a bit over the next 36 hours! Fingers crossed.
The next time we looked at the time it was 1.30pm and time for lunch.
A quick resto lunch opposite the hotel (Pad Thai for me and Papaya salad for Gisela) with a couple of glasses of wine. The resto is French owned so the wine isn't too bad.
Before returning to the pool we had a quick walk around the shops and after Gisela almost demolished some poor guy's jewelry shop we figured it would be better to spend the rest of the afternoon back at our pool HQ.
We arranged to meet our friends Rebecca and Don at Mon Chong beach for dinner and after a pleasant evening apero and dinner we were back in the hotel.
A pretty much relaxing day in preparation for another adventure tomorrow.
Jason & Gisela
** STOP PRESS ** Day Fifteen. 20th Sept. 2009
It's not looking great in Bangkok. We will be there in 2 days! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8264189.stm
Day fourteen. 19th Sept. 2009. On the road with the Silver Beast
Koh Samui has a reputation in Thailand for fatal road accidents. This fact put us off renting a scooter (although we probably would have ran the risk and rented one in the end) however we did decide to rent a little two seater jeep from a local bar for only 750 baht (12 euros) for the day (no driving license required, passport only)
At 10am we trundled off in the newly acquired Jeep a.k.a The Silver Beast and headed north to Mae Nam; mission objective, to discover the Min Lat waterfall.
Our first stop was the Saunthamma Pala Nikrotharam Buddhist temple. The temple was very nice but frankly at this stage I've seen enough Buddha's to last me a while. The most interesting aspect of this temple were the little signs scattered around the garden displaying proverbs, for example; Like father like son, Don't trust those who are selfish, Non violence brings peace and Peace is the highest bliss.
Next stop the Min Lat water fall.
The trek wasn't the easiest. Two kilometers through the woods in very hot and humid conditions which reminded me of Nam in '69. On the way we passed an Italian family with two kids of about 5 years old, I thought they were never going to make it as Gisela and myself were struggling at this point. With 300 meters to go Gisela decided to throw in the towel and rest by the river whilst I continued bravely onwards. I soon reached the summit and discovered the waterfall. As there had not been much rain recently there wasn't much water but I was pleased to have completed the trek and the view was great as well. Making my way back down, not far from Gisela's base camp I happened across the Italian family with the 5 year olds leading the way. I didn't tell Gisela that two 5 year olds had the stamina to complete the trek hehe.
Back on the road and happy to be in the air conditioned cockpit of the Silver Beast. The plan was to circumvent the entire island.
The 'ring road' around Koh Samui is not the most beautiful of drives. Every now and then you get a glimpse of the sea and the islands in the distance but most of the time all there is to see is a random collection of petrol stations, massage parlors, road side cafes and markets selling vegetables and tourist junk. The really nice places are generally the reports and restaurants off the main road.
We stopped off at a beach at the west side of Koh Samui called Nikki beach (branches in Miami, St. Tropez, Marbella, NYC, Cannes, Hollywood etc). This was a good find. In addition to the exclusive resort there are many places where you can drive through the woods and find a complete empty beach with white sands and hot shallow water and a view of the various islands in the Gulf of Thailand. We stopped for a while before heading off to find a lunch spot.
At this point our plan was to go local. We found a busy roadside restaurant which was full of Thai workers and school kids. We took a table and sipped at the bottled water we found there and waited for a highly efficient waiter to come and take our lunch order. It didn't happen; there were no menu and no waiters. At the front of the resto there were only a few chickens sitting on a BBQ and a piece of fish that was 'pre ordered' by someone else. It also wasn't clear how one was supposed to get rice, noodles, vegetables etc. to accompany your choice of animal or fish. The staff didn't speak a word of English and didn't look particularly farang friendly. We paid for the water and left. Mission aborted.
Pressing on we happened across a chic restaurant called The Cliff Bar & Grill. This was the spot for lunch. The restaurant had a huge veranda on top of a cliff (strangely enough) which overlooked a bay of sparkly blue water. We had a great lunch of Piri Piri chicken for Gisela and line caught fish with French fries for me.
After lunch we were getting a little bored of the usual road view so decided to take one final stop off at the world famous Big Buddha (after restocking the mini bar at the seven-eleven). BB is basically a tourist attraction (that doesn't stop the Thai people worshipping it though as it's still a very big Buddha) In the BB village there were the usual tourist shops and monks dressed in their typical saffron colored garb, smoking and taking photos of tourists (for a fee).
Drop the car off, back to the hotel to rest before dinner.
Being a bit fed up with lemongrass and prawns we decided Indian was the cuisine for the evening dinner. A visit to the local Tandoori rewarded us with fish tikka, Bombay aloo, rice and nans a welcome change.
Jason & Gisela
Today's address
The Cliff Bar & Grill
124/2 Moo 4 Maret
Koh Samui district
Suratthani 84330
Tel +66 7741 4266
Day Thirteen. 18th Sept. 2009 - feet eating fish.
Today is the big move day. After four days in the luxury White House Resort & Spa it was time to hit the dusty trail and relocate our sun browned bodies to our next destination.
After breakfast and a final splash around in the pool we took a taxi to the Fisherman's Village in Bo Phut. Bo Phut is around 6km from Choeng Mon so the journey was pretty much non-eventful.
Our new hotel is the French owned and run Eden Bungalows. Eden is in the center of the Fisherman's Village and much like the White House the rooms (or little self contained semi-detached bungalows) are scattered around a tropical garden just 20 meters from the beach. The Eden is not quite the luxury resort that Gisela is now very much accustomed to, but it is pleasant enough, the rooms are well decorated (albeit in a naff Thai/French way), it's quiet, they have a little bar and restaurant and besides it makes for a nice change of scenery. The rooms also have outside bathrooms with interesting (gravity powered) showers. Like many small Thai hotels and guest houses they get you to pay for accommodation when you check in and they also warn you that the mini bar and sheets are checked daily. Trust is their paying guests appears to be a little on the low side.
Soon after our arrival we took advantage of one of the many local restaurants for lunch (spicy prawn salad with mint leaves for me and chicken salad for Gisela) followed by a quick scout around town.
Bo Phut is less of a Fishermen's village and more of a tourist village. The upside to this is that there are quite a few bars and restaurants (the choice was limited at the White House) but the down side is that there is a larger population of time share salesmen (English guys that engage you in conversation, give you a scratch card with which you always win the star prize in order to collect your 'prize' you have to attend a 90 minute sign here or die presentation in some sealed room at a remote location) and tailors (Indian "Best suites just look, don't buy, welcome see you tomorrow")
I think the Eden and Bo Phut should be a pretty good base for the next few days from which to explore the island.
Just across the street from the hotel is a restaurant called the Happy Elephant. This was our destination for the evening. Yesterday we arranged to meet with Rebecca & Don at the restaurant for an apero and dinner. We wiled away a very pleasant few hours with our friends from the upscale side of town (breaded squid for me and spring rolls with spicy fried Prawn rice for Gisela) accompanied with beer and a very drinkable white wine.
There are many ways on Koh Samui for a tourist to part with her cash. In addition to tailors, time share one can find super shopping opportunities such as;
·
Set a bird free for luck (our theory is that the bird fly's back home after a few minutes and retreat to the safety of its cage)·
Lanterns in balloons which float into the night sky (for luck)·
Elephant hair bracelets (for luck)·
Electronic Buddha machines in temples that chant your favorite Buddhist charm (for luck)·
etc
But there is a new kid on the block. This involves putting your feet in a fish tank of little silver fish (specially imported from Turkey apparently) These fish then proceed to enjoy the dead skin on your feet leaving you with silky soft feet also the certainty of future wealth and dead/poisoned fish (we were told that the fish population needs to be replaced every day) On the way to the Karma Sutra bar after dinner we saw a couple of girls enjoying their own pair of fish socks. Apparently one of them was getting married the next day. What a day to spend her last night before marriage with two hundred Turkish fish eating the dead skin from between your toes. Her future husband would be proud.
Jason & Gisela
Today's addresses
Eden Bungalows
Bo Phut
Koh Samui
Thailand www.edenbungalows.com
Happy Elephant restaurant and bar
(Opposite the Eden Bungalows)
