Thailand and Some Time On The Islands

Thailand -->The Land of Smiles: December 4-13, 2009

After getting into Bangkok from Laos on the long bus ride, Jameson and I had to book it for the airport because we had a flight to catch at 730 to Phuket, so that we could ferry it out to Phi Phi Island. Luckily my experience in Thailand came in handy when the taxi driver wanted to charge us a flat rate of 2000 Baht to get to the airport instead of metering it like he is supposed to and was asked to. I refused and got very upset with him, so he lowered his price to 1000 Baht, which is still $33 for a 25 minute cab ride. I still refused and got even angrier at him, letting him know I was going to report him to the tourism authority board. Eventually after ten minutes of arguing and me telling him off, he kicked us out of his cab and we had to find another cab, which we found almost immediately, that took us to the airport for 220 Baht on the meter. We got to the airport with time to spare, and eventually boarded to plane and got to Phuket around 1030. Now this is when life got really intense. There were cab drivers lined up outside the airport waiting to take people to the ferry port. we were not worried about how fast we got there because we figured we wouldn't make it for the 11am ferry so we would take out time and make the 1pm one. However, this one cab driver felt different, and promised he could get us there for the 11am boat. We took his word for it and got in his cab, which he then proceeded to drive at literally 150km/hr trough town and traffic like Mario Andretti, all the while with Jameson and I losing our mind in the back. We made the boat with about 5 minutes to spare, and sat on deck with a couple from Calgary, named Jamie and Leah, for the 1.5 hour boat ride. Once we arrived on the island I tried to find a working bank machine, but nothing seemed to work, which meant we had to get a place to stay on Jameson's dime until I could get the card issue sorted out. We stayed at Miss Lee's Ban Thai Guest House, which was pricier than other places we had stayed at, but her humour and hospitality made up for it. After finding a place we grabbed some lunch, then got the card issue sorted out (it turned out that I was hitting the wrong buttons because they had two different foreign card buttons). We then all headed to the beach to have some beers and get some sun. The tide was way out so to go in the water we had to walk about 200m out and even then it was only waist deep. Also, while walking in the water I was pinched by a crab, but since nobody saw the crab but me they all called me a liar. After the beach we showered up and grabbed dinner at a western style burger joint then went back to the beach for the nightly parties, where they do fire shows (flame twirling, jump-rope, limbo etc.) and we drank bucket drinks and partied until 330am.
Well after all the traveling, and poor sleep on the buses, Jameson and I slept until 1pm on the 5th, which was kings 82nd birthday. We got up and it was awful quiet out, given the holiday of the kings birthday, but I think it was a respect thing that everyone be subdued on the birthday. We grabbed some lunch and bought towels for $9 a piece, since we had discarded our due to their condition back in Cambodia. We were not happy about the towel price, but we sucked it up and went to sit on the beach to finish bronzing. Around 630 we met with Jaime and Leah for a seafood dinner. Jameson and I split a grilled red snapper and prawn dish that had been steamed then grilled, which was delicious. After dinner we went back to the beach to see if the fire shows were going on again, but again since it was the kings birthday they were very subdued; so Jaime and Leah called it a night and Jameson and I stayed until 1am for some beers and conversation with a group of girls from Sweden who had been there for a month.
Sunny for the third day straight, we got up at 10, traded in some books (I traded Treasure Island and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy for Cannery Row and The Prince and The Pauper), then met with Leah and Jaime for lunch and to take a long boat to Long Beach. We stayed on Long Beach, which was just around the back side of the island, until 430, before coming back to shower and get dinner at Papaya Bar. Once again we went to the beach for the fire shows, which were on again the day after the big birthday, where I almost got in a fight with some Swedish dude for being an idiot and knocking over everyone drinks and being an overall dick because he was so drunk and wanted to be the center of everyone's attention. His friends took him away and apologized, which was nice, and we got back to checking out the fire shows and different bars up and down the beach until 330 again.
The following day, Dec. 7th, was one of the best days of our vacation. We woke up at 830 for our day trip with the U-Rip Boat Trip company. It was a day long snorkeling trip around Phi Phi Island to some of the other islands and shallow coral beds. The boat left at 10 with about 20 people aboard. We started off of Long Beach where we snorkeled over a shallow reef with many colourful fish around it, then it was Lay Lay Beach to snorkel again, after which we went to Bamboo Island for our provided lunch and a chance to walk around or go for a swim. We were there for one hour which was good because it was getting super hot and we left out sunscreen on the boat. After lunch we went to Mosquito Island to snorkel, then stopped at Monkey Beach where Jameson and I got some roasted corn for a snack. Next we stopped at Boat Lagoon, a small island inlet for a swim, at which point the captain of our boat jumped in the water to take those of us that would follow on a tour. He took us out around some sheer rock cliffs that extended under the water as far as you could see, and that were covered in corals and sea anemones; which he encouraged us to touch because they were ones that you would not harm and vice versa. We saw some lobsters and fish hanging out in an underwater rock bridge that he took us to so we could swim under it. It was a few meters below the surface and a few meters wide, and covers in sharp shells, so you had to be careful or else risk getting cut up. After we returned to the boat we went to Maya Beach, the place that the movie "The Beach" was filmed at. It was the most beautiful beach of the day with the nicest water and scenery. Around 530 we headed back to the main island and had to skip Shark Point due to the setting sun. We got to the guest house around 630, showered and assessed our sunburns. Even though we had been applying sunscreen during the day, being in and out of the water washed it all off, and with your back to the sun in the water, you can just imagine how lobteresque we looked. For diner we grabbed some Phad Thai from a street vendor and took it to the beach to watch the fire shows again. We retired around midnight so that we could pack our bags to leave the next morning.
Jameson and I got up at 8 am so that we could make the ferry back to the mainland, but not back to Phuket. Instead we went to Krabi to catch the bus from there. I slept for most of the ferry ride, and then in Krabi at the bus station because we had to wait from 11 when we got there, until 5pm for the bus. When the bus arrived we quickly realized that it was not as V.I.P. as we had been told and had paid for, but after thinking about it figured if it was the V.I.P. Bus we would hate to see the regular bus. We boarded the bus and had to sit across from a couple other travelers who talked super loud and idiotically about their travels for the first three hours until we stopped at 830. They were much better after that and we reached the second rest stop around 1230. After this, our time with buses gets funny again. We were not even 45 minutes away from our second stop when there was a huge spark in the bus that came from the engine compartment, and we had an electrical fire, killing the engine; thus leaving us stranded on the side of the road........again. We had to wait on the side of the road, because inside the bus was too hot, for two hours while they got a guy out of bed to come and fix the bus. Eventually we got back on the bus around 3am for the last 5 hours of the trip to Bangkok.
Arriving in Bangkok at 830am on the 9th, we grabbed some breakfast at a guest house, but they did not have any rooms, so we had to find a different place to stay and shower before getting out to see Bangkok. Around noon we met up with Jaime and Leah, as they were on the bus with us, and headed to the Grand Palace, where we saw the Emerald Buddha and Grand Palace area. After all the traveling and walking around, we had lunch then grabbed foot and leg massages for an hour (1hour for 220 Baht was a great deal). After our massages we just hung out and read until around 6 when Jaime came and we went to Khoa San Road for street food dinner and beers. Then to our surprise, there was a fireworks show in the distance because they were still celebrating the kings birthday. After the fireworks Jameson and I returned to our guest house for a couple more beers and watched couple movies they were showing in the lobby, before heading to bed at midnight.
I got up at 9 am the next morning to shower and grab some breakfast before the four of us went out again sight seeing. We headed first to Wat Pho, or the Reclining Buddha, and as usual we were told it was closed by the tuk-tuk drivers looking to get tourists to go with them elsewhere. Luckily we were able to point out to the man who was telling us not to go in because it was closed, that a whole tour bus of people just walked in, at which point he recognized his defeat and left us alone. The grounds of the Reclining Buddha were just as I had remembered it, beautiful, colourful, and peaceful; yet so busy and important. We walked through for a while, admiring the architecture, and time it must have taken to built such things, when I was stopped by a monk who was talking with a group of school children and asked to take their photos for their school project. It was a little weird but they all handed me their cameras, and there I was photographing Thai students getting a lecture from a monk about the ancient art of massage. Of course, I got a few shots for myself to remember the moment. After Wat Pho, we checked out an uninteresting flower market before having lunch at 3. We then returned to our place and relaxed until dinner time when Jameson and I headed to the Thai boxing arena for Thursday night fights. And, wouldn't you know it but on our way there, Jameson and I found ourselves tied up in an anti-government rally that was demonstrating for a pro-democratic movement. It was pretty awesome, because red was the colour to wear and wouldn't you know it, both of us had red on. Eventually we made it to the fights, where we had to pay an absurd amount more than the Thai people because we were foreigners. We reluctantly paid the 1000 Baht to see the fights and spent the rest of our money inside on beer and chips during the fights, which were pretty fun and physical. We stayed until 1030 before leaving to walk back through the masses of red shirt ralliers, where we grab some street food and ran into Chris and Jen our British friends. Having a few beers with them and catching up on everyone's adventures lead to another late night, but it was nice to see them again before we left.
After getting home at 3am the night before and arguing with the hotel staff that we were indeed staying there, we woke up around 9 am. I quickly ran downstairs to talk to the travel agent in our guest house's lobby, who we spoke with the day before about going to the Tiger Temple. He said there were still spots available, so I ran up and got Jameson because the bus was leaving at 11. We dashed downstairs for some breakfast before the bus got there and then for 2.5 hours east of Bangkok. Once again we were ATMless, though the travel agent said there would be one, and Jameson had to pay for me to get into the park. It was 500 Baht, which was more than I remembered paying last time, and then another 1000 to get the "special" tiger pictures, again double what I remember it being. The special picture allows one person to have their picture taken with the tigers head in their lap, and since Jameson paid he had the honour. I was a little pissed because we would have had enough money to both do it if they hadn't raised the price, and this was the second time I was there and didn't get it done. No big deal, I'll just have to get there again at some point. After being in the tiger quarry, we walked around the rest of the sanctuary and saw the baby tigers, and other animals. Then it was back on the bus and back to Bangkok, where we met Jaime and Leah again for dinner at an Indian place, which was really good and had great hookah. After dinner Jameson and Leah really wanted to get tattoos, so we slid over to Khoa San Road to make it happen. Leah ended up with a gecko on her foot, and Jameson an armband around his forearm. I was getting tattoo envy near the end but was glad the next day that I didn't do it. We grabbed one more drink before saying goodbye to them and went back to our guest house, where we joked about our trip so far, and the new tattoo until 3am.
Sleeping off our previous day, we got up around 11 and went to the Chatuchuk Market, the largest market in Bangkok, and possibly Thailand. Jameson was amazed at how large it was and we spent a few hours walking around before splitting up to buy the things we had been looking at. Unfortunately, we were unclear on where to meet up and had a bit of a hard time finding each other when it was time to go. Eventually we got it together and headed back to the guest house, where we relaxed until 8. That night I wanted to take Jameson to the Sukumvut area that I had stayed in last time, and even though I had been there it was pretty confusing at first. We walked the strip for a while, until an older man, presumably a pimp, asked us if we wanted a "Happy Massage. We obviously answered no, but quickly asked him about the famous Thai Ping Pong shows. He said he knew where to go, and before we knew it we were in a cab with 'Danny' being driven into some back alleys for the show of our lives. I'll spare the details, but let me just tell you that holy heck that was the wildest shit I have even seen in my life, and well worth the 700 Baht to get in. After the show, Danny our pimp took us to a go-go/whore bar around the corner. We were reluctant to go but Jameson thought why not, and I wasn't about to leave him alone. We had a few over priced drinks, and were offered some lady of the evening company, which we denied, before leaving around 3. We got back to our guest house and passed out at 4am, still bewildered at the nights unfoldings.
The 13ht was the final day of our 32 day adventure, and boy did we ever need a break. We spent the day packing our stuff, getting massages and relaxing at the guest house. We left for the airport around 9pm to make sure we got there for our midnight flights with plenty of time to spare. Since Jameson and I were flying back to Seoul with different airlines we split up until we got back to Korea.

And there you have it, Southeast Asia on a shoestring budget and a will that never says die.