Paradise Beaches, Rockclimbing and Moterbiking through "Unseen" Thailand

Phuket Island and Krabi province are the absolute most beautiful regions I have ever seen—and not just in Thailand, but out of everywhere I have ever been. We actually used the cliché, “this is breathtaking,” about a million times. Since Phuket is a common destination for high dollar vacation seekers and Krabi had just as beautiful beaches and in my opinion, an even better overall landscape, we spent one day at a beach in Phuket and then moved on to Krabi for four days.



In Phuket, we (4 other girls and myself) somehow convinced the hassling taxi drivers that we didn’t want to go to an expensive resort and we would be quite satisfied sleeping 5 to a queen bed and going without hot water in order save money. Not only did we actually get to sleep 2 and 3 to a queen bed (the first ones I’ve seen in all of Thailand) in a moderately priced bungalow, but we were a 20 minute walk from the most amazing beach I have ever been too. The beach, called Hat Nai Yang, is a part of a National Forest Park so it was free of guesthouse and restaurants that clutter the other Phuket beaches. Anywhere I looked, all I literally saw was either the blue and green water, the nearly white sand or huge green trees. On the far end of the bay, just feet from the rocky shore, there was a random tree covered mountain and right below (at low tide) there was a vast area of sand dunes sprinkled with pools of shallow water. The area was flat, but water continued to flow until the more inclined shore that would serve as the shoreline at high tide. I laid down at one point and after trying to take in all that was around me, I actually fell asleep. It was so beautiful and extremely quiet; the nearest people had to have been at least a few hundred yards away. After we went back to our bungalow and packed our bags to move on to Phuket Town, where we caught a three hour bus to Krabi the next morning, we went back to the beach to watch the sun go down. With the sun becoming less threatening we saw several parents playing with their children along the shore (Thais want to stay as light-skinned as possible). A local at an one of the cheap, but extremely delicious street restaurants told us that Hat Nai Yang is “where the Thais go” and that is was cool that we were staying in a small town as opposed to fancy resort because we were actually getting to experience the real Thailand. When we told him were students at Mahidol, he told us were very lucky and that his granddaughter had applied but not accepted. He also had a great time encouraging us to practice Thai and then laughing at our off-tone attempts.















Krabi:
Day 1: We found a place to stay on the water (I think it was a river) and while walking on the boardwalk, Kelli (my roommate) and I agreed to take a longboat to "where ever 200B could get us." We drove around the mangroves to see them upclose and our boatdriver, who was probably our age, got some monkeys to come out to the edge. He also took us to a fish farm which ended up being really neat. Not only did we get to hold a blowfish, touch a sea horse, and see the big fish fed, but we also sat down over coconuts and talked to the woman who owned the fish farm. Her story was incredibly inspiring: she's raising 3 boys (ages 1, 10 and 13), operating the fish farm despite having to rebuild after the 2004 tsunami, and finishing a degree in community development on the weekends so that she can help her village learn English and benefit from the tourist industry.


Day 2: We got up early to go on a sea kayak trip to Ko Hong, a limestone island surrounded by other limestone islands (pretty much, cliffs jutting out of the water with caves and sometimes small beaches). I don't think I'd do the day justice if I tried to explain everything we saw and how beautiful everything was.

Sea Kayaking:

Ko Hong

At another limestone island we visited...where Julia and I were "attacked" by coral. I only got cut but she was "stung." Luckily, there was a very sophisticated Thai doctor (i.e.:our guide) there to ground up herbs (leaves) and rub them all over the area that was swelling up.








Day 3:
I joined a couple others who arrived in Krabi and a couple from the original Phuket group to go rockclimbing at Railay Beach, which is famous for its "picturesque climbs" that attract rockclimbers from all over the word. Since I was with experienced climbers we didn't have to spend money on a guided trip and got to do our thing. Andrew, an exchange from Philadelphia, led the climbs (put up the ropes); it was amazing! He and two other girls (one from UNC and another from Canada) took turns belaying. The climbing was of course more difficult for me than it was for them, but the view from the top was totally worth it!

Later, a few of us explored the island and hiked upto a lookout over the lagoon--again, "amazing!"

Day 4:

Most everyone else took a bus to get back to Bangkok, but 4 of us stayed an extra day and rented motorbikes. With a map, we set out for "unseen" Thailand. We took dirt roads, a winding paved road through the tropical forest, and of course the busy highway to seek out a natural hot spring and an "emerald pool." It was really great riding the bikes because you are really forced (not that it is at all painful--just the opposite in fact) to take in all that is around you. At one point we took a wrong turn and found ourselves on some sort of maple tree farm. We were soon turned around by an old man with a machete. He didn't speak any English but from what we have learned so far, we knew he wanted us to go back to the road and take a left. Despite it being really hot outside, the hot spring (40-45 degrees C) was still really neat. The lagoon was awesome. It was even cooler since there were hardly any tourists since the areas we went to weren't in any guidebooks--and sometimes not even on the map! I wish we had had more time but we had to rush back to catch our flight. Driving the moterbikes was a lot easier the second time around, which was great considering the various roads we took and when we had a little over an hour to get back when it had taken over two hours to get where we were.

Getting Around and my First Beach Trip

School and Bangkok:

*One day a couple weeks ago, all by myself, I managed to take the right bus from school to Bangkok, buy a camera (to replace my poor camera that fell out of a bike basket in Ayuthaya), get my hair done, and then find a different bus to take me home--and all despite the language barrier! I was so proud!

*I joined the hip-hop dance team here at school and made the "show" team. (I was asked to be in their show this weekend but I'll be out of town.) The 8 counts are in Thai, so it's a bit harder to dance because I'm having to think so much, but it's been a lot of fun. It's quite a workout and the girls are amazing dancers! (Think "You Got Served")

*Superbowl: woke up at 3:45am, took a cab at4:30 am, and found a bar by 5:30am to grab seats for the 6:30am game. And get this, I was with 3 other guys--2 from Canada and 1 from London. The bar was full of white, presumably business men. I was the only white female in the whole place and received a fare share of laughs for being so into the game. Needless to say, it was a great game! (My mom has raised me as a Steelers Fan. She voluntarily e-mailed me every time they played to keep me up to speed :)




Tropical Ecology Field Trip

My Tropical Ecology class took a field trip to Sack, a very small island near Pattaya. There were only 7 of us, including my professor, and we had one of those big wooden double-deck boats all to ourselves. The first half of the day was all play! We snorkeled, had a great lunch, and took an hour nap with our professor on the deck of the boat. After our nap, we split into two groups and began our field testing on the coral reef. Along a 5o meter tape, each group dove every 50 cm and recorded the type of hard coral or other benthic substrate (sand, silt, rubble, etc.) found. My professor then gave us the task of helping him take solitary coral (looks like big flat mushroom) back to the boat so that we could take it back to the University for another professor's research. I was the lucky one chosen to balance 8 corals on a clip board UNDER WATER all the way back to the boat, which was about 200 yards away. We then swam to shore and walked to the other side of the island, which tool all of two minutes. After a day of snorkeling (without life jackets), I was pretty tired and stayed on shore with a couple girls while the others went out and snorkeled some more. By the time we got back to the boat, the sun was pretty low in the sky and it was actually kind of chilly. It was an awesome experience, especially since I was "learning" about coral reefs.
That night, this girl Jill and I got dropped off in Pattaya with hopes of finding a bus to Koh Samet, a really popular beach among both locals and tourists. However, we had missed the last bus and ended up being stuck in a not-so-touristy part of town. After about an hour of wondering and well after the sun set, we finally found a cheap "room for rent" and set out to find some dinner. Dinner was great, but the room was disgusting. The four locks on the door and giant cockroach in our bathroom didn't help either. Before going to bed, Jill said, "Ok- we're only going to be here for 6 hours--that's not enough time for anything to eat us." The earliest van left the next morning at 6am but we had no trouble waking up. In fact, I barely slept past 4:30.

Koh Samet

After taking the van and then a ferry to the island of Koh Samet, Jill and I were finally able to resume our weekend vacation. We met up with 8 other friends and spent Saturday and Sunday on the beach. We stayed right on the beach! The weather was amazing and the water felt so good! My roommate, Kelli, and I rented a raft and spent the majority of our Saturday lounging off the coast. At one point there were 6 of us piled on and we managed to float/swim all the way out to where the big boats were anchored.

Ruins, Monkeys and MUIC

This weekend, I (along with 13 others) took a train to Ayuthaya, the old capital of Bangkok, and Lompuri, a small town that is "run by a renegade of wild monkeys." We biked from ruin to ruin in Aythaya and through the parks. It was a cute town and not that touristy. On the second night, 2 other girls and I decided to head to Lompuri so we wouldn't have to travel the next morning. We didn't arrive until nearly 11pm and the streets were quiet and empty; it's so small that my guide book wasn't all that helpful. We literally just started walking and hoped to find a place to stay. We finally found a cute little guest house and decided to venture into the town. After quite a bit of wondering, we came upon a lit up, noisy bar with a hundred or so motorbikes lined up outside. It was somewhat of a mix between an old western saloon and sports bar. We grabbed a table in the corner; although we were the only white people in the entire place and the music was in Thai, it was really neat seeing people of all ages enjoying themselves. Everybody knew the words and seemed to be having so much fun. The next day, we visited a ruin from sometime BC. We were the only ones there and climbed all over. Later, half of the group from Ayuthaya joined us to go find the monkeys. It did not take us long at at all! They were everywhere...and it didn't take long for us to realize they weren't the nicest creatures. We were definitely not upset when we had to rush to catch the afternoon train back to Bangkok.

The Ruins in Ayuthaya...where I definitely put some gymnastics skills to work.

















MUIC: Mahidol University International College (There are Mahidols all over Thailand and I go to the international one)

Just getting to school is an adventure: after walking to the bus stop, I stand in the road and have to flag down a bus (as I am only the ever person at the bus stop), or rather the dump truck with 2 benches and a canopy. On Monday and Wednesday, I don't have class till 2:00 and on Tuesday and Thursday, not till noon! I am taking Intro to Thai Language and Culture, Tropical Ecology, Women in Southeast Asia, and Morality and Ethical Studies. I have learned enough Thai to convince the touristy places that I am a student so I don't have to pay the "foreigner" price and I get to go on really cool snorkeling field trips for Tropical Ecology. I haven't had an environment class since 10th grade though, so we will have to see how good I actually do in the class. (I am totally in it for the trips!!) The school is pretty small and I stay in the same big building all day. It kind of reminds me of high school, especially since all of us international kids congregate in the lunchroom during our free time. (And oh yeah, studying and homework have gone back to being not that important.) The uniforms are an entirely different story. It is kind of humerous to see how much the girls can express their "individuality." I've never seen so many short skirts, scarves and high heels in one place in my life! I tried heels for a day but I've decided to resort to crazy tennis shoes instead (Sorry Dad, but I'm bringing back 3 new pairs already). Of course I did put a little pink in my hair which has definitely earned me some strange looks and my personal favorite, "oh my gosh, what happened to your hair?"

Let me know what is going on back at home and Happy 17th Birthday Shale! (Take care of my car, please!)

The neighborhood where my apartment is:
















A friend and me in our oh-so-fashionable uniforms (despite her rebelling and not wearing the right shirt):
















Crazy, crazy Bangkok:












Walking into school:















*Click on the images for larger ones

Sightseeing

Before I get too behind, I wanted to run through the places I've visited so far...

New Years Day:
*Wat Pho- the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok; has the largest reclining Buddha (15 m high and 46 m long)
*Grand Palace

1/1-1/3: Kanchanaburi and nearby

*Kwau River Bridge (Death Railway Bridge)- It was built by prisoners of war in WWII. It was estimated that construction would take 5 years, but pows were forced to complete it in 16 months. Of the 200,000 POWs, over 100,000 died from exhaustion, starvation and disease. The bridge was destroyed by allied planes in 1945, but it has since been restored and is used for traveling to Burma today. (We had to "scoot over" when a train came).

*World War II and Jeath War Museum (The picture was taken from the Museum's dock. The platform and cart in the foreground are just models.)


*We drove moterbikes to Saiyok Noi Watefall (it took about an hour and the scenery was amazing!!)









*We stayed in "river-raft rooms." Although paying $4.5o per person for both nights may give you an idea of the quality of the rooms, the view from our room was worth way more!!




*Tiger Temple-monastary/wildlife reserve place.

















*Erawin National Park/Falls- amazing!! I want to go back! There are 7 tiers of waterfwalls and fish-filled pools.





Jan 11th

*Field trip to Damnedsaduak Floating Market, the only all white temple in Thailand, and Siam Cultural Park/Wax Museum

































January 12th

Jatuchak (JJ) Market and lots of getting around by bus and skytrain--
JJ is a weekend market with about 15,000 stalls and an estimated 200,000 visitors each day. It is huge and sells just about everything!! (animals, furniture, clothing, kitchenware, 8 feet tall scrap metal Star Wars figures...you name it and it's theres.) I got myself lost for a couple hours; of course, I didn't really consider myself lost until my arms were full with bags and I was ready to return to the group.

A Little Catching Up

I've decided sending e-mails gets too complicated. I'll update y'all on the past week when I get a chance.

Where I'm Living:

I guess you could call where I live an apartment. It's in a quiet neighborhood outside of Bangkok. There are about 60 of us all living all together. There are 3 floors with different sections that each have 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. In each of the "units" there are large living/dining spaces with outdoor patio areas. There are people from all over, including Thailand which makes getting around a lot easier. I have had so much fun getting to know people; I feel like I've known some people for years!!

E-mail from January 3rd:

Sawsatdee ka (Hello...duh!),

I was going to wait and send this e-mail until after school started, but after receiving so many e-mails to make sure I'm okay, I decided to go ahead and let y'all know what's up. (I wasn't at the club that burned down and didn't have internet service for a few days. Sorry for not letting anybody know where I was.) So far, I've done pretty much everything I was told not to do (eat ice chips, ride--well, drive rather--a moterbike, eat fresh fruit, and walk through the jungle barefoot) but I'm still alive!!

On the 1st, 15 of us left for Kanchanaburi, about 3 hours west of Bangkok. We stayed in guest houses on the water; despite sharing a small room with 4 other girls, the place was amazing!! The next day/yesterday, we rented motorbikes and did some site seeing. We all paired up and I was just going to ride, but after one guy fell and couldn't get the hang of it, I volunteered to drive. We drove in light traffic through a mix of country side and mountains. We drove to a waterfall that was an hour away at about 100km/hr. All the guys were really impressed that I could drive so well. Score! (Don't worry Mom and Dad, I don't want a motorcycle anymore, but I am adding a dirtbike to my Christmas list.) After dinner, some of us took the bikes out again and pretty much drove all over downtown Kanchanaburi (it's a pretty small town, but driving on the left made it a little awkward). For dinner, I ordered fried fish, but when a whole fish was brought out, I totally freaked out. It turned out to be really tasty though. Today, we drove (in a car) to a tiger temple and another waterfall. It was sooo pretty! A fish started to nibble at my leg and I freaked out and jumped to another rock, all without falling in! I'm disgustingly dirty and covered with mosquito bites and a few cuts (I was chilling on my bike and someone accidentally ran their bike into me from a few feet away), but it's been absolutely amazing so far. I can't believe I've only been here 4 days.

I'm totally exhausted. I've yet to have a free night and settle in. I've met quite a few people so far--and everybody is really cool. There are quite a few that are already familiar with the area; I don't think I will ever get bored. Even when we're not going somewhere we all chill outside our "house." I'm going school shopping tomorrow and then I start class on Monday. Hope everything is great at home!!