Bangkok-Chiang Mai-Pai-Chiang Mai-Bangkok-tour-Cha'am
7 februari 2014 - Klia, Maleisië
Hey everybody!
The travelstories are now coming in a pase that has the speed of light (no pun intended this time), because we would like them to be up to date for once. So after this one, Janneke will almost immediately post another story. Then you will be informed up unil now, the moment that we leave Asia after 5 months of traveling...
But first, let me tell you about our visit to Thailand. After a horrible journey from Siem Reap in Cambodia to Bangkok (with the emphasis on horrible), we arrived in the Udee Hostel where Sébastien was waiting for us. He was our travelbuddy for a part of Asia and Bangkok was his final stop before going back to Europe. Therefore we had a nice 'stoptravelingstartworkingparty' on Koa San Road in an outfit to match. "I used to have a beard" ;). We did some souvenir shopping, had perfect Thai streetfood and just had a great time with each other. When it was time to say goodbye we were all quite sad; when you are traveling together you get to know each other very well very fast, what makes saying goodbye even more difficult.
Janneke and I traveled to Chiang Mai, a beautiful city in the north of Thailand. We saw the impressive temples the city has to offer, the amazing national park of Doi Suthep and the Elephant Nature Park. This park is a sanctuary for rescued elephants. All the elephants had a difficult life before they were bought from there owners and were placed In the park. It was beautiful to see how happy they were. No riding them, no hard work; only playing with there new elephant families, being washed and fed by the visitors and just roaming free over the fields.
After Chiang Mai we went to Pai, a small village in the mountains. Janneke had an injured foot unfortunately, so getting there was a challenge. Luckily we met some nice fellow travelers in the minivan that could help. We arrived at the Darling Viewpoint Bungalows, a picturesque and quiet hostel on a hillside. The next few days Janneke took it easy at the hostel and I went out with the group we met in the minivan to go to a reggae festival (Yes people, and I liked it!), to hotsprings and to explore Pai. At night we all sat down around a big campfire, which was very nice. Too bad a campfire couldn't keep us warm in the dormroom, because it was extremely cold at night. We were laying on a mattress on wooden beams, where the cold air just blew through. We even decided to go back to Chiang Mai one day earlier, because we were both cold to the bone. We took a nice oil massage and relaxed a bit. Janneke's foot was doing better, so the next day we got on a bus back to Bangkok.
In Bangkok we first slept a night in the worst hotel ever, we definitely didn't feel safe there. The next day we could finally go to the airport to pick up Janneke's father, brother, his girlfriend, my parents and my brother! We made a big banner and had to welcome them from afar, because we couldn't get to the area where they would come out. It was great to see them and hug them again. We went to a nice hotel and had dinner alongside a river. The next day we walked to Koa San Road, which was looking very different at daylight, did a tour in tuktuks (My mom and dad were like two very happy kids in a rollercoaster!) to some nice temples and went on a biking tour through the small alleys of Bangkok. Especially the cycling was fantastic, we were a happy bunch of Dutch people reunited with there favorite way of transportation. "KAAAAAAB!" When it was Maarten's birthday we went out for a great night on Koa San Road: we had some coctails, bought nice bracelets, ate scorpions, had some shisha, danced a bit and had a lot of fun! In Bangkok we also visited the extremely impressive Palace of te King, went to a hospital because a cat bit me (A cute cat that bites you in Thailand means getting a Rabies shot, a Tetanus shot, 7 days of antibiotics and a full cleansing of the wound. Some advise: Do not get bitten by an animal in Asia. It helps to call every animal you see "RABIES" like we did, so you don't get the urge to come close to the particular animal. Oke, moving on.) and went to the Skytower to have a huge buffet with a view from the 78th floor.
Then it was time to do a 5 day tour through the surroundings of Bangkok. We met Nick, our drillmaster, ehm sorry, our tourleader, and got on a huge bus for just the eight of us. We went to an area with very pretty summerpalaces of different royal families, got on a boat to do a nice tour over the river and did a tour in tuktuks in Ayutthaya to see ancient temples. During the 5 days we also saw a very old and beautiful templecomplex, a traditional Thai show, a floating market, some traditional woodcarving, the bridge over the river Kwai and the Warmuseum. Every night we stayed in a pretty resort, it was very nice. The last day, on the second day of Christmas, we were going with the big bus to a mountainvillage to ride on elephants. The busdriver was not experienced with riding in the mountains, so it was a challenge. We finally got there, took a boat to the village, had some quick fried rice and pineapple and met the elephants. They were looking very good and happy, you could see they were well taken care of. We all got on an elephant and saw the amazing nature close to the Birmese border. The elephant my brother and I were sitting on was very active and had a mind of her own. The one of Maarten and Claudien was hungry all time and ripped out some trees, Janneke and her dad had a slow and steady one and my parents had one that was just hopping along without a mahout and being very relaxed. The way back we were standing on a raft that was made of a few bamboo sticks and rowing with a big bamboo pole, very adventurous. When we had to get back to the hotel the engine of the bus kind of blew up. We were smoked out of the bus and were standing in the dark next to a quiet road. Nick, the tourguide, prayed to Buddha and a few minutes after that a foodstand came riding over the road. He had pancakes. So happy.. Then a car stopped and we were asked what was wrong, but there was no room for us to get in. The driver of the car apparently spoke to a few policemen, because a few minutes later a policecar stopped and offered us help. We all could go in a pickup to go back to the hotel, we were saved. Never had a second Christmas day quite like this one..
After the tour we arrived in the Cha'am Regent Beach Resort. Yes, it was just as luxurious and huge as it sounds, what a difference from the hostels and crappy hotels Janneke and I stayed in. We had a great time in the resort, it was nice to have some more time to relax and to enjoy each others company. We played some 'Jeu de boules', some pool, layed down at the pool, had massages, good food; what more can you ask for. On new years eve we put on pretty clothes, went to a restaurant with very good live music and ended the night with drinks in the resort. It was a good feeling to have family around us during the holidays, thanks again for coming over! We houden van jullie!
When it was time to say goodbye I felt quite good. Not that I will not miss them for the remaining months of our trip, but I felt good knowing that they were all doing well, that they enjoyed the trip and that now it was time for Janneke and me to explore the world again just with the two of us. But, when you are waving at them when they are leaving in a minivan, waving arms coming out of the open windows, it is difficult anyway...
On that note I will end this travelstory and leave the rest of Thailand and Indonesia to Janneke. Greetings from Kuala Lumpur, where we are spending our final hours in Asia at the airport, waiting for the plane that will lead us to a new adventure: Australia.
Liefs, Fleur
The travelstories are now coming in a pase that has the speed of light (no pun intended this time), because we would like them to be up to date for once. So after this one, Janneke will almost immediately post another story. Then you will be informed up unil now, the moment that we leave Asia after 5 months of traveling...
But first, let me tell you about our visit to Thailand. After a horrible journey from Siem Reap in Cambodia to Bangkok (with the emphasis on horrible), we arrived in the Udee Hostel where Sébastien was waiting for us. He was our travelbuddy for a part of Asia and Bangkok was his final stop before going back to Europe. Therefore we had a nice 'stoptravelingstartworkingparty' on Koa San Road in an outfit to match. "I used to have a beard" ;). We did some souvenir shopping, had perfect Thai streetfood and just had a great time with each other. When it was time to say goodbye we were all quite sad; when you are traveling together you get to know each other very well very fast, what makes saying goodbye even more difficult.
Janneke and I traveled to Chiang Mai, a beautiful city in the north of Thailand. We saw the impressive temples the city has to offer, the amazing national park of Doi Suthep and the Elephant Nature Park. This park is a sanctuary for rescued elephants. All the elephants had a difficult life before they were bought from there owners and were placed In the park. It was beautiful to see how happy they were. No riding them, no hard work; only playing with there new elephant families, being washed and fed by the visitors and just roaming free over the fields.
After Chiang Mai we went to Pai, a small village in the mountains. Janneke had an injured foot unfortunately, so getting there was a challenge. Luckily we met some nice fellow travelers in the minivan that could help. We arrived at the Darling Viewpoint Bungalows, a picturesque and quiet hostel on a hillside. The next few days Janneke took it easy at the hostel and I went out with the group we met in the minivan to go to a reggae festival (Yes people, and I liked it!), to hotsprings and to explore Pai. At night we all sat down around a big campfire, which was very nice. Too bad a campfire couldn't keep us warm in the dormroom, because it was extremely cold at night. We were laying on a mattress on wooden beams, where the cold air just blew through. We even decided to go back to Chiang Mai one day earlier, because we were both cold to the bone. We took a nice oil massage and relaxed a bit. Janneke's foot was doing better, so the next day we got on a bus back to Bangkok.
In Bangkok we first slept a night in the worst hotel ever, we definitely didn't feel safe there. The next day we could finally go to the airport to pick up Janneke's father, brother, his girlfriend, my parents and my brother! We made a big banner and had to welcome them from afar, because we couldn't get to the area where they would come out. It was great to see them and hug them again. We went to a nice hotel and had dinner alongside a river. The next day we walked to Koa San Road, which was looking very different at daylight, did a tour in tuktuks (My mom and dad were like two very happy kids in a rollercoaster!) to some nice temples and went on a biking tour through the small alleys of Bangkok. Especially the cycling was fantastic, we were a happy bunch of Dutch people reunited with there favorite way of transportation. "KAAAAAAB!" When it was Maarten's birthday we went out for a great night on Koa San Road: we had some coctails, bought nice bracelets, ate scorpions, had some shisha, danced a bit and had a lot of fun! In Bangkok we also visited the extremely impressive Palace of te King, went to a hospital because a cat bit me (A cute cat that bites you in Thailand means getting a Rabies shot, a Tetanus shot, 7 days of antibiotics and a full cleansing of the wound. Some advise: Do not get bitten by an animal in Asia. It helps to call every animal you see "RABIES" like we did, so you don't get the urge to come close to the particular animal. Oke, moving on.) and went to the Skytower to have a huge buffet with a view from the 78th floor.
Then it was time to do a 5 day tour through the surroundings of Bangkok. We met Nick, our drillmaster, ehm sorry, our tourleader, and got on a huge bus for just the eight of us. We went to an area with very pretty summerpalaces of different royal families, got on a boat to do a nice tour over the river and did a tour in tuktuks in Ayutthaya to see ancient temples. During the 5 days we also saw a very old and beautiful templecomplex, a traditional Thai show, a floating market, some traditional woodcarving, the bridge over the river Kwai and the Warmuseum. Every night we stayed in a pretty resort, it was very nice. The last day, on the second day of Christmas, we were going with the big bus to a mountainvillage to ride on elephants. The busdriver was not experienced with riding in the mountains, so it was a challenge. We finally got there, took a boat to the village, had some quick fried rice and pineapple and met the elephants. They were looking very good and happy, you could see they were well taken care of. We all got on an elephant and saw the amazing nature close to the Birmese border. The elephant my brother and I were sitting on was very active and had a mind of her own. The one of Maarten and Claudien was hungry all time and ripped out some trees, Janneke and her dad had a slow and steady one and my parents had one that was just hopping along without a mahout and being very relaxed. The way back we were standing on a raft that was made of a few bamboo sticks and rowing with a big bamboo pole, very adventurous. When we had to get back to the hotel the engine of the bus kind of blew up. We were smoked out of the bus and were standing in the dark next to a quiet road. Nick, the tourguide, prayed to Buddha and a few minutes after that a foodstand came riding over the road. He had pancakes. So happy.. Then a car stopped and we were asked what was wrong, but there was no room for us to get in. The driver of the car apparently spoke to a few policemen, because a few minutes later a policecar stopped and offered us help. We all could go in a pickup to go back to the hotel, we were saved. Never had a second Christmas day quite like this one..
After the tour we arrived in the Cha'am Regent Beach Resort. Yes, it was just as luxurious and huge as it sounds, what a difference from the hostels and crappy hotels Janneke and I stayed in. We had a great time in the resort, it was nice to have some more time to relax and to enjoy each others company. We played some 'Jeu de boules', some pool, layed down at the pool, had massages, good food; what more can you ask for. On new years eve we put on pretty clothes, went to a restaurant with very good live music and ended the night with drinks in the resort. It was a good feeling to have family around us during the holidays, thanks again for coming over! We houden van jullie!
When it was time to say goodbye I felt quite good. Not that I will not miss them for the remaining months of our trip, but I felt good knowing that they were all doing well, that they enjoyed the trip and that now it was time for Janneke and me to explore the world again just with the two of us. But, when you are waving at them when they are leaving in a minivan, waving arms coming out of the open windows, it is difficult anyway...
On that note I will end this travelstory and leave the rest of Thailand and Indonesia to Janneke. Greetings from Kuala Lumpur, where we are spending our final hours in Asia at the airport, waiting for the plane that will lead us to a new adventure: Australia.
Liefs, Fleur
Dikke pakkerd voor jullie allebei.
Wilma
Liefs,