Time for Ketchup...I mean Catch-Up!
Posted by Andrew D on Wednesday, June 8, 2011
So the last time I wrote anything about our trip, we were holed up in a hotel room in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That was over two months ago. It's hard to think about what's happened in those two months, but since then we've visited 6 countries! That includes Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and now China/Hong Kong. Since we arrived in Thailand from Bali, we've traveled 7,191 miles by airplane, train, bus, sleeper bus, minibus, and even slow boat. We've seen some of the most amazing sites, met some great people, and have done a fair bit of learning about each of ourselves. Since we've withheld quite a bit of our experience for so long, I figured I'd summarize before getting to the most recent events.
note: This will be a multi-post blog, so keep looking back for more updates over the next few weeks!
Thailand - Visit 1
It's not very easy to explain a country like Thailand. We did our best to see it from just about every viewpoint possible. We visited the country in two separate encounters. The first time, we did the southern part, and saw Phuket, Koh Phangan, and Khao Sok National Park. The second time included Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Phuket
Petting a baby tiger at FantaSea
Our visit to Phuket is summarized by a short stay where we visited the FantaSea amusement park, watched a Thai dance show, and got to pet and feed a baby tiger. Other than that, Phuket is overwhelmed with rich white tourists (primarily from Sweden). We were glad to see it, but glad to head out as well.
Koh Phangan
At the Full Moon Party, sober-ish
Before we left for the trip, we were told of the Full Moon Party, a 'must-do' of the backpacker lifestyle in Southeast Asia. An all-night techno/house music/rave on an island in Thailand, where you paint yourself with blacklight paint, people jump over flaming rope, and you drink your alcohol from buckets. Not like the buckets we know back home where they give you five Coors Light bottles and you go on your way. Nooo, these are what I describe as a cocktail of disaster. Each includes a can of soda of your choice, a can of Red Bull, and a 325ml bottle of liquor of your choice. Since I tend to take a liking to whiskey, and was up for trying something new, I went for Song Som, which went for 200 baht ($6.75) for each bucket. Casey went more conservative, and got a mojito bucket for the same price. To make a long story short, Casey stopped at one bucket, I did my best to finish three. Oh yeah, I blacked out, and found out the next morning from Casey that, while on the way back to our bungalow, I projectile vomited on a motorbike from the back of a taxi. Stay classy.
Khao Sok National Park
Casey relaxing on the Sok River
While in Koh Phangan at the Full Moon Party, we found an ad about one of the largest national parks in Thailand, where you can sleep on a houseboat on the giant lake and trek the mountains, among other things. Casey and I found a unique guest house that we couldn't pass up, and got the chance to stay in a 'tree house'! It rained the entire time we were here, so we didn't get to do much. For the two hours of dryness in the day, we did a canoe tour down the Sok River. Other than that, it was quite an uneventful visit.
Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
When you travel to different countries, each one has different visa regulations, depending on what country you're from. Being from the USA has its advantages in some places, and you don't have to pay for a visa to visit that country. In Thailand, you get a free 30 day tourist visa upon entry. We got there on March 11th in order to make it to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party on the 19th. There was also no way we were going to miss Songkran (water festival) on April 12-16. Do the math--3/11 to 4/16 is 36 days. So how do we solve this conundrum? We decided to leave halfway through, and spend some time in Malaysia!
In front of the Petronas Towers
We flew into Kuala Lumpur, and stayed there for a week before we flew back to Bangkok. We stayed in the middle of Chinatown, so every time we left our hostel, we walked straight into the markets where you can buy any replica purse/watch etc, as well as any souvenir you could need. It was quite an uneventful visit, because the city ended up being quite a bit more expensive than we expected. The highlights for us were a visit to the Batu Caves and to the Petronas Towers. The Batu Caves are a bunch of caves (duh) inside a hill within KL. It features one of the most popular Hindu temples outside India, but more importantly, a bastardly 272 stairs from the ground to the caves. We saw some interesting people here, and were in awe of the massive golden statue that trumps the exterior of the temple. As for the Petronas Towers, we got to see what was the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004. They are beautiful in picture, but even more amazing up close. We got there at 6:30 am (tickets sell out, and first come first serve) and got tickets to go over the pedestrian bridge, and visit the 88th floor of Tower 2. It was quite an experience to go up, but for me, I loved standing on the ground and looking up at them instead.
Thailand - Visit 2
Bangkok
At Wat Pho in front of the Reclining Buddha
We haven't had the chance to see Hangover 2 yet, but if you have, you know it was filmed in Bangkok. Well, we got to see our fair share of the red light district, but decided against seeing the infamous Ping Pong show. It's quite unique where you have your night clubs, your adult clubs, your massage parlors, you also have your restaurants, as well as a tourist night market! It's like Walmart for a single male tourist...who wants to bring home something nice to Mom. Along with the adult tourism of Bangkok, it is also one of the best cities in Southeast Asia to go temple hopping. We spent a full day doing this by visiting the Grand Palace & Emerald Buddha, Wat Pho & the reclining Buddha, Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn), and finally we saw the Golden Buddha at Wat Traimit. It was a rewarding and tiring day, one that filled our need and desire to see temples for quite a while.
Chiang Mai
Our trekking group in Chiang Mai
No matter what else we see or do, this city will be remembered by both of us as a favorite place on our trip. Between the adventures, the celebrations, and the hotel, there was nothing more we could ask for. It started with a 3 day trek through the mountains of Chiang Mai that included elephant riding (not as fun as it sounds-more demoralizing to the elephants than anything), a visit to a hill tribe, swimming at a waterfall, white water rafting, and over 20km of hiking up and down the hills of Chiang Mai. It was Casey's first mountain trek, and I give her huge props for getting to the top without much complaining :).
Casey enjoying Songkran
When we got back to the city, Songkran was in full effect. This is the Thai New Years celebration, where everyone empties to the streets to soak each other with water (sometimes ice-cold water) to symbolize the cleansing of a new year. It was a four day event, where even if you don't want to get involved, you're going to get soaked, so you might as well enjoy it. We bought water guns, but later scrapped them for buckets to fetch water from the canal. For me, it was the best part of our visit to Thailand. I did my best to bring out my inner 6 year old, and can't remember having this much fun with water since puddle hopping after a big rainstorm when I was 6.
To Be Continued! Next time: Laos and Cambodia
note: This will be a multi-post blog, so keep looking back for more updates over the next few weeks!
Thailand - Visit 1
It's not very easy to explain a country like Thailand. We did our best to see it from just about every viewpoint possible. We visited the country in two separate encounters. The first time, we did the southern part, and saw Phuket, Koh Phangan, and Khao Sok National Park. The second time included Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
Phuket
Petting a baby tiger at FantaSea
Our visit to Phuket is summarized by a short stay where we visited the FantaSea amusement park, watched a Thai dance show, and got to pet and feed a baby tiger. Other than that, Phuket is overwhelmed with rich white tourists (primarily from Sweden). We were glad to see it, but glad to head out as well.
Koh Phangan
At the Full Moon Party, sober-ish
Before we left for the trip, we were told of the Full Moon Party, a 'must-do' of the backpacker lifestyle in Southeast Asia. An all-night techno/house music/rave on an island in Thailand, where you paint yourself with blacklight paint, people jump over flaming rope, and you drink your alcohol from buckets. Not like the buckets we know back home where they give you five Coors Light bottles and you go on your way. Nooo, these are what I describe as a cocktail of disaster. Each includes a can of soda of your choice, a can of Red Bull, and a 325ml bottle of liquor of your choice. Since I tend to take a liking to whiskey, and was up for trying something new, I went for Song Som, which went for 200 baht ($6.75) for each bucket. Casey went more conservative, and got a mojito bucket for the same price. To make a long story short, Casey stopped at one bucket, I did my best to finish three. Oh yeah, I blacked out, and found out the next morning from Casey that, while on the way back to our bungalow, I projectile vomited on a motorbike from the back of a taxi. Stay classy.
Khao Sok National Park
Casey relaxing on the Sok River
While in Koh Phangan at the Full Moon Party, we found an ad about one of the largest national parks in Thailand, where you can sleep on a houseboat on the giant lake and trek the mountains, among other things. Casey and I found a unique guest house that we couldn't pass up, and got the chance to stay in a 'tree house'! It rained the entire time we were here, so we didn't get to do much. For the two hours of dryness in the day, we did a canoe tour down the Sok River. Other than that, it was quite an uneventful visit.
Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)
When you travel to different countries, each one has different visa regulations, depending on what country you're from. Being from the USA has its advantages in some places, and you don't have to pay for a visa to visit that country. In Thailand, you get a free 30 day tourist visa upon entry. We got there on March 11th in order to make it to Koh Phangan for the Full Moon Party on the 19th. There was also no way we were going to miss Songkran (water festival) on April 12-16. Do the math--3/11 to 4/16 is 36 days. So how do we solve this conundrum? We decided to leave halfway through, and spend some time in Malaysia!
In front of the Petronas Towers
We flew into Kuala Lumpur, and stayed there for a week before we flew back to Bangkok. We stayed in the middle of Chinatown, so every time we left our hostel, we walked straight into the markets where you can buy any replica purse/watch etc, as well as any souvenir you could need. It was quite an uneventful visit, because the city ended up being quite a bit more expensive than we expected. The highlights for us were a visit to the Batu Caves and to the Petronas Towers. The Batu Caves are a bunch of caves (duh) inside a hill within KL. It features one of the most popular Hindu temples outside India, but more importantly, a bastardly 272 stairs from the ground to the caves. We saw some interesting people here, and were in awe of the massive golden statue that trumps the exterior of the temple. As for the Petronas Towers, we got to see what was the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004. They are beautiful in picture, but even more amazing up close. We got there at 6:30 am (tickets sell out, and first come first serve) and got tickets to go over the pedestrian bridge, and visit the 88th floor of Tower 2. It was quite an experience to go up, but for me, I loved standing on the ground and looking up at them instead.
Thailand - Visit 2
Bangkok
At Wat Pho in front of the Reclining Buddha
We haven't had the chance to see Hangover 2 yet, but if you have, you know it was filmed in Bangkok. Well, we got to see our fair share of the red light district, but decided against seeing the infamous Ping Pong show. It's quite unique where you have your night clubs, your adult clubs, your massage parlors, you also have your restaurants, as well as a tourist night market! It's like Walmart for a single male tourist...who wants to bring home something nice to Mom. Along with the adult tourism of Bangkok, it is also one of the best cities in Southeast Asia to go temple hopping. We spent a full day doing this by visiting the Grand Palace & Emerald Buddha, Wat Pho & the reclining Buddha, Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn), and finally we saw the Golden Buddha at Wat Traimit. It was a rewarding and tiring day, one that filled our need and desire to see temples for quite a while.
Chiang Mai
Our trekking group in Chiang Mai
No matter what else we see or do, this city will be remembered by both of us as a favorite place on our trip. Between the adventures, the celebrations, and the hotel, there was nothing more we could ask for. It started with a 3 day trek through the mountains of Chiang Mai that included elephant riding (not as fun as it sounds-more demoralizing to the elephants than anything), a visit to a hill tribe, swimming at a waterfall, white water rafting, and over 20km of hiking up and down the hills of Chiang Mai. It was Casey's first mountain trek, and I give her huge props for getting to the top without much complaining :).
Casey enjoying Songkran
When we got back to the city, Songkran was in full effect. This is the Thai New Years celebration, where everyone empties to the streets to soak each other with water (sometimes ice-cold water) to symbolize the cleansing of a new year. It was a four day event, where even if you don't want to get involved, you're going to get soaked, so you might as well enjoy it. We bought water guns, but later scrapped them for buckets to fetch water from the canal. For me, it was the best part of our visit to Thailand. I did my best to bring out my inner 6 year old, and can't remember having this much fun with water since puddle hopping after a big rainstorm when I was 6.
To Be Continued! Next time: Laos and Cambodia