Thailand and Laos: The End

Well, that about does it for our Thailand/Laos trip. Flying back into Portland, we were treated to a beautiful sunrise. Mounts Rainer, Saint Helens, Adams, and Hood were majestically lined up against a bright orange sky. My photos from the plane don’t do justice. This is probably my best one, with Mount Adams in the background and Mount Saint Helens in the foreground.



Initial observations back in the states:
-Americans are fat
-the streets are so clean
-there are no random animals running around town
-it’s cloudy and cold here
-people speak clear English
-the grocery store has an incredible variety of food available from all over the world
-the traffic is neat and orderly
-my apartment seems strange and foreign
-my cat is fat
-hot showers are incredible!
-so is real coffee!
-how come no roosters are crowing at the break of dawn
-I can’t believe how tan I am
-does anyone here drive a motorbike?
-my life is filled with way too much crap and things that don’t matter

The evening after we returned, I convinced Darcy that we needed to treat ourselves to some pizza. She finally caved, and we went to Escape From New York (which has the best pizza in Portland) for a couple slices and microbrews. I was like a giddy little schoolgirl. My slice was perfect and delicious, and the pint of Hopworks IPA was excellent. After drinking shitty lagers for a month, I’m so glad to get back to some good beer. By the way, at $12.75 this is the most expensive meal we have had in a month.



Ok, I’m going to sign off. Hopefully I will be able to post again soon (meaning go on another vacation). I’ll leave you with a map of the places we visited in Thailand and Laos. Oh, and I didn’t see one H&M this entire trip (see posts from the Europe 2007 trip). Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars…or whatever…



1: Bangkok, Thailand
2: Ayutthaya, Thailand
3: Chiang Mai, Thailand
4: Trekking
5: Pai, Thailand
6: Chiang Khong, Thailand
7: Pak Beng, Laos
8: Luang Prabang, Laos
9: Vang Vieng, Laos
10: Vientiane, Laos
11: Phuket, Thailand
12: Koh Phi Phi, Thailand
13: Koh Phangan, Thailand

See all our photos here.

Last Day in Bangkok

To end the trip, we have one final day in Bangkok. It required another full day and night of travel. We took a boat from Koh Phangan to the mainland, a bus to the train station, then an overnight train to Bangkok. We decided to splurge and upgrade to first class on the train so we could get some decent sleep. I slept pretty well, but Darcy was in the upper berth, next to the air con. It was a bit cold for her liking.



We arrived in Bangkok around 7:00 in the morning.





After showering and storing our bags, we decided to take the metro to Chatuchak Park and the Chatuchak Weekend Market. I found this sign on the metro to be interesting.





Chatuchak is the largest market in Thailand and sells everything under the sun. Probably because we were there in the morning on a weekday, most of the stalls were shuttered, and the big thing for sale throughout the market was plants and home garden accessories. It would be interesting to see the place on the weekend.





From Chatuchak, we took the Skytrain down to the Central Pier on the Chao Phraya River. The Skytrain is a nice way to travel above all the chaos of Bangkok’s streets. As a tourist, I think the best ways of getting around Bangkok are to take the Metro, Skytrain, and river taxis. Avoid the streets at all costs.







I’m amazed at the road infrastructure in Bangkok. Almost every freeway is elevated, and I’m talking about huge 12 lane freeways with interchanges that have flyaway over flyaway over flyaway. On our way out to the new airport, which is 30 kilometers out of town, there was another freeway elevated above us almost the entire way.





From the Central Pier, we took a river taxi all the way to the pier near Khao San Road, the backpacker haven of Bangkok.





We soaked up Khao San Road, ate some lunch, did some shopping, and used the Internet. Darcy also managed to squeeze in a facial, and me a massage. I’ve become a sort of massage connoisseur since being in Thailand. This one was pretty good, but not the best I’ve had.





Our plane leaves at 10:30 pm, so it is about time to head back to the train station to pick up our bags, then take a bus out to the airport. We took the river taxi to a pier at Chinatown, and walked through Chinatown to the train station. Chinatown looked pretty fun to explore, but we didn’t have enough time so we walked straight through.









At the train station we claimed our bags, took showers, and got on an express bus for the airport. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. I was able to finish my book, and again, I highly recommend reading “Three Cups of Tea”.







I can’t believe a month has passed since we first arrived here. It goes by too quickly. So long Bangkok, Thailand, and random sleeping dogs. I’ll make one more summary post, so stay tuned.



See all our photos here.

Koh Phangan

I actually wish we had spent more time up north away from the islands. It is fun to lie on the beach and all, but I’m honestly a little bored with it. Don’t get me wrong, it is extremely beautiful and enjoyable, but everything is oriented to tourism down here so we are not really experiencing any of the local culture. We are just hanging out on the beach with a bunch of other foreigners. Oh well, it is what it is. When we come back next time we’ll spend more time up north, off the beaten path.

From Koh Phi Phi, we took a boat to Krabi, two buses across the Malay Peninsula, and another boat to Koh Phangan. It was a full day of travel. Along the way, we had some nice views of the limestone cliffs at Krabi.



One of our buses was a bit shabby.





But, we were rewarded with another beautiful sunset on our boat to Koh Phangan.









We didn’t get to Koh Phangan until late, and the place where we were supposed to stay was closed for the night. This was actually a good thing, since the coordinating resort put us up in a beachside bungalow for the night. It was the perfect paradise setting, and the air con was nice too.











We rented a motorbike the next day and explored some waterfalls. The roads on Koh Phangan are notoriously bad, so we had to be very careful not to wipe out. Good thing Darcy is an expert driver. I didn’t actually get any photos of the bad roads because I was too scared to let go of one hand to take the photo.









By the way, I haven’t seen any other men on the back of a motorbike behind a woman. They must be too manly for such an act. I say, if Darcy wants to drive let her drive. I’m all about expending the minimum amount of effort possible.

In the evening we came across a bunch of local kids flying kites. Life doesn’t look too bad here on the island.







The next day, we spent the entire day and night on Haad Rin, the site of the Full Moon Party. Every full moon, thousands of tourists descend on Haad Rin to party the night away. We were actually there a couple days before the full moon, but partying was still going on. I decided to call it the 7/8th moon party.











Haad Rin is probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen with its turquoise water, white sand, swaying palm trees, and strange gray rock formations. Even with all the people, it is a spectacular natural setting.







While on Haad Rin, Darcy and I were observing that most of the people down here generally look the same. They are young, fit, and tan. I don’t really fit in with this crowd and it is obvious to anyone that sees me darting down the beach from shade to shade to avoid the sun. But, that is basically the story of my life. Average, aloof guy at odds with the masses. I feel like Larry David without the comedic genius.

Side note: When you drink the shakes at Haad Rin, your eyesight becomes incredibly clear. I wonder what they put in those things. Whatever it is, it made me bob around in the water like a goon and stare intently at a mushroom shaped hut for a few hours.

Our last day on Koh Phangan, we rented a motorbike again and visited some wats and a beach on the north side of the island. We came across a Chinese temple that was in a perfect setting of paradise up in the hills.













We also did a bit of snorkeling, but I didn’t get any photos. The motorbike ride through some of the backcountry on the island was a lot of fun. We happened to come upon another beautiful wat on our way back to the bungalow.









And again we were greeted by a pack of friendly dogs.





That about does it for Koh Phangan and the islands. Check out the bedspread at our bungalow. Nice!



See all our photos here.