Khao San Road, Bangkok
Nice wiring job eh?
Tuk Tuk
The view from our room on Koh Phan Ngan
Our place is on the right
Swimming at the waterfalls with our Safari group
Elephant Trekking
Nicola holding a baby Lemur As we expected, Thailand is a completely different world. Arriving into Bangkok we were floored at how completely different everything is here. Very few people speak English here and the ones that do are very difficult to understand. The ideas of anything regarding safety, regulations, licences, taxes, or any of the first world ideals we are so used to simply don't exist here. Walking down Khao San Road you will be asked by literally dozens of people if you want a taxi, a tuk tuk, a new suit, some food, or as the case is in the evenings anything to do with 'ladies', I think we all get the picture here. It is so busy literally everywhere you go, escaping back to your hotel room is your only chance to really catch your breath and stop for a moment. We spent most of our time in Bangkok just walking around and soaking in the completely different way of life here. On our way back through Bangkok we will spend more time checking out the temples. Nik and I did go to a Muay Thai kickboxing match one evening, where we had front row, ringside seats and were treated like kings. Despite where you go and how much money you spend it is painfully obvious that you are in a very poor country, everywhere you go. There is a certain 'every man for himself' mentality which runs across all elements of society. Also as I mentioned before a total lack of regulation means that things flow quickly with a certain lack of bureaucracy but also with a total lack of safety or assurance in anything you do. A few examples; we are driving ATV's down the main roads with no drivers licence required, when I asked for a helmet the guy just laughed, when I asked if we needed a licence to fish, or insurance for our mopeds I heard that same laugh, our hotel is playing movies on the movie channel which have clearly been videotaped in a movie theatre, any legal concerns? only the tourist police will even talk to you however they've all been paid off by someone anyways. I'm sure returning to Canada will be a bit of a shock for all us. Maybe we'll all get strange looks when we are caught bartering the price of a donut at Tim Hortons. "80 cent!? no no, 40 cent 40 cent"
We are currently on the island of Koh Phan Ngan and we are absolutely loving it here. We took the most expensive (assuming it was the safest) option of getting here. We had a 6.5 hour bus ride on a nice newer bus followed by a 4 hour ride on a high speed catamaran similar to the Harbour Lynx, it cost us $21 each. The small island has about 12,000 permanent residents but is swarmed by hundreds of thousands over the year to come to the world famous 'Full Moon Party'. Started in the late 1980's this party can attract well in excess of 10,000 partying backpackers onto one beach in Haad Rin on the island. The beach is lined with DJs playing different music and lots of bars. The party does not stop until well into the morning. The full moon is tonight so we will be down at the beach partying with the rest of them. However, I'm sure we will be quite cautious and even sober compared to some of the people we've met and seen around this island. We've been enjoying the beaches and scenery as well as the amazing food as compared to getting blackout drunk every single night as it seems most young English travellers here are doing. We rented some mopeds to get us around the island for the first few days, doing some exploring of our own and driving down to Haad Rin and Thong Sala, the two main towns. We are staying at a beach called Ban Kai which is about 3km from Haad Rin, other travellers we met in Australia recommended this so we can escape the craziness (and theft) that occurs in the Haad Rin area on the full moon night. We've also rented some sea-doos at the beach and now have rented some ATV's to really explore the extremely rugged inland roads which have also recently been ravaged by floods. Yesterday we went on a Safari tour of the island which included Nicola, Nik and I plus 4 Swedish girls guided by two Thia guys in a Land Rover. They took us around the island showing us many of the beaches and sights to see. We went on a few jungle treks to some waterfalls, went on an elephant trek, and attempted some snorkeling but the water was not clear enough. Monday, after we've recovered from the full moon party we will make our way down to Koh Samui, a larger more commercialized island to the south. We're not really sure how long we'll stay there but we've got a few places in mind of where to stay so we'll just play it by ear.
