Thailand 2011

– March 12, 2011

Thailand Feb/March 2011

With James & Marie spending 3 months of their sabbatical working in a childrens orphanage in Bangkok  – www.ccdthailand.org – we decided to visit the country and meet up at the end of their stint; and take them off for a bit of pampering. The following are our observations about Thailand – the good, the bad and the funny – with photos in chronological order.

Travel – we only had one ‘journey’ on time throughout our 16 day visit. A KLM flight from Schiphol to Aberdeen.  Fortunately, none of the other varying degrees of lateness impacted very much on our schedules. The KLM flight crew having a ‘random’ breath test before we departed Aberdeen – making the flight late – and then my spilling a full glass of red wine over Margaret between Amsterdam and Bangkok was all down to karma; so we were advised by Marie.  Other than the long haul flights, all other accommodation, transport, etc, was done on line – and it all worked very well.

First top tip for travelling once you are in Thailand – pre arrival, try and organise airport/ferry pick ups.  Taxis, Songthaews, Tuk-Tuk’s are a night-mare. The drivers will tell you they know where you want to go but the oft glazed look tells it all. Marie had the dodgy ones sussed pretty quickly.

We did get Thai-jacked. Evidently it is a common occurrence with those innocents abroad – which Margaret and I must have appeared. On our first full day in Bangkok, we left the youngsters in the Chatrium Suites (www.chatrium.com) – thoroughly recommend the accommodation and the airport limo service – and ventured out via riverboat to the Grand Palace. We were then persuaded that the Grand Palace wasn’t open until later in the day and that we should head off in a Tuk-Tuk to some other temples and come back later. 2 hrs later after seeing a few temples and ‘export shops’, we insisted on being dumped at a riverboat station. We never did visit the Grand Palace but the Thai-jack only cost 40 Bahts (about 80p) and it stood us in good stead for the rest of the trip. Riverboat travel in Bangkok is very easy and a good way to see Bangkok. The Mass Transit System is also very good.

Second top tip – never believe a Thai man if you are looking to go somewhere and he, or his mate, tell you it is closed, dangerous or not possible. 99.999% of the time it is total rubbish and they want you to take you to some out of the way restaurant or ‘export shop’ so that ‘they’ can obtain fuel coupons.  This is what the guide books don’t tell you. Don’t get us wrong, the people overall are lovely, but most street men are total con artists. Example, we wanted to eat in China Town. A Tuk-Tuk driver and his mate tell us the Red Shirts are causing trouble and China Town is sealed off.  Marie speaks to a policeman (her Thai was very good!) and find’s out that there is no problem and even gets us a taxi. All over Thailand you will get locals stopping you asking if you need help. The best advice is, be polite but say thanks, but no thanks and this way you will get to see a whole lot more of the country that ‘you’ want to see.

The CCD Orphanage – what an experience. The kids were so excited with getting a treat of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pepsi. The facility is really good and you do get the feeling that CCD is making a difference to these young people’s lives.  It’s kind of difficult to put into words how proud James and Marie made us feel that they would give up their time to help a bunch of young children get started in what will be a difficult life.

Chaing Mai – a good place to visit if you want to head off into the hills walking. We stayed in a really nice hotel – The Ping Nakara (www.pingnakara.com) – just out of the centre of town but in easy walking distance of the Night Bazaar, city centre, etc.  Excursions, into the hills and surrounding areas, were organised by Lanna Boutique Travel (www.lannaboutiquetravel.com) and Noon and Noah were particularly helpful – nothing was too much trouble.  For cocktails visit Mo’s Rooms on Tapae Road – 2 for the price of one is the norm! For eating out, try The Swan, Burmese cuisine on Chaiyapoom Road – the tea leaf salad is something else, and for coffee go to Libernard Cafe, also on Chaiyapoom Road – it’s a bit quirky, but nice. In general there are plenty of places to eat/drink, although some are not for the faint hearted – especially around the Kotchasam Road area at night.

We had our first massage at the Lila Thai Massage – they are based within the old city walls. The masseurs are allegedly all ex lady convicts.  It was a nice experience!

For budget accommodation – James and Marie recommend Awana House – www.awanahouse.com.

Back to Bangkok to meet up with James and Marie who completed their stint at the orphanage. We stayed at the Shangri –La (www.shangri-la.com/en/property/bangkok/shangrila). When James & Marie arrived covered in garlands given by the kids, the Shangri-La upgraded us to a couple of suites with just about complementary everything. Marie was in seventh heaven (coming after 3 months in a basic room at the orphanage) and had one or two cocktails. A very nice gesture by the hotel.

Off by train to Koh Tao and Koh Samui, via Chumphon. The train journey was very relaxing (once it started an hour and a half late!) and it let us see a bit of the varied countryside – lots of paddy fields and weird rock formations. Not a lot to say about Chumphon – it’s just a hop off point to island ferries. However, we did have our best all round meal of the holiday in a Thai run beachside cafe just over the road from the Novotel.  Very cheap and the five or six dishes of food we had, plus a few Chang beers, were superb. Note: James decided that we should judge restaurants by the quality of the Thai dish of Tom Yum Goong.

Koa Tao by ferry, we used www.lomprayah.com via on-line bookings, to the Koh Tao Cabana (www.kohtaocabana.com), which turned out to be a quirky but nice resort with a great beach – shallow and ideal for kids. A snorkelling trip became an adventure. The first long tail boat (No. 1) had an engine failure mid sea and then the back-up boat, after a transfer at sea, did get us to some snorkelling locations (Japanese Garden and Mango Bay), but then the complete propeller/drive shaft mechanism decided to detach itself from the engine! We eventually were towed back and Marie had to do some serious negotiating on payment.  Food at the Koa Tao Cabana was good as was the scenic location. We also had a very nice meal nearby at a restaurant called Barracuda.

Another island hop to Koa Samui and an all together different island experience from Koh Tao.  If you don’t want hustle and bustle at the beach front, Koh Tao is the island to go for.

Having said this, we found a real oasis of a hotel – The Montra (www.montrasamui.com). Sathit, Noog and the staff made the stay really nice and they were always helpful.

Eating in around Lamai/Chaweng Beaches is not a problem and there is plenty of choice – Thai or rest of world cuisine. Poppies Restaurant was our final blow out meal and it was super (www.poppiessamui.com). Evidently, after meeting a couple of Aussie ladies at Koh Samui airport, we should have had the Coconut Milk Creme Brulé for dessert!

Transiting though Koh Samui Airport is probably as laid back an experience as you will ever get. An open air lounge straight onto the runway apron – and the lounge had free drinks, snacks and wi-fi!

Overall Thailand is a nice country to visit. We never felt in any way threatened – even when we were Thai-jacked, but you can do without the intrusion of being asked what you are doing and where do you want to go several times a day. Would we visit again? Yes.