I don't have my camera with me at the moment, so no pictures to post, but I thought an update would be in order. Tonight will be my last night in Bangkok before I fly to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. My Thai visa runs out tomorrow - if I had more time I would consider other modes of transportation for traveling South. It's been nice to be in Bangkok again for a few days - everything is easy for travelers. My clean, comfortable (although tiny) room at a Danish run guest house comes in at under ten dollars a night. Food vendors line the streets...
I just met up with Benji, a former student of my godfather Jim. Benji's been living here in Bangkok on and off for 8 years. His work with the UN first brought him here, and now he works with Amnesty International. It was great to meet him and chat for a bit.
A few days ago another westerner stopped me on the street to hand me a flyer advertising the pub that he and his wife just opened. I found my way there last night to grab a beer, and the hostess put me at a table with a honeymooning couple from England, and after they took off a group of Thai guys invited me to their table. They were celebrating, among other things, the fact that one of them is preparing to go off to the countryside to live as a monk for a month. Two of the other guys had done this, each for a year rather than a month. Two of them spoke English well and the conversation was easy as I had many questions for them and they had many questions for me. They kept the beer flowing and wouldn't let me contribute any money when them time came to leave - we went to the 24-hr McDonalds where they treated me to a burger, too. I know the occupations of 4 of the 5 guys: video editor for TV station, graphic designer, Muay Thai (thai boxing) event management, and Civil Engineer (at least by training). I have to admit I was continually trying to sense any kind of threat from these guys, but they seemed genuinely friendly. At the end one of them dropped me off back at my guest house, giving me a ride on the back of his scooter... I'll get in touch with them when I'm back in town!
Feb 28, 2012
Feb 21, 2012
Continuing in Southern Thailand
Below are some of the huts at a guest house that I stayed in on Ko Muk.
Ko Muk has a lot of tourist resorts but there are also fishing villages.
I heard a chirping noise coming from behind the mirror in the bathroom...
After Ko Muk I traveled to Krabi, back on the mainland. I was checking out a guest house there and ended up meeting a cool Brazilian guy named Wellington. We decided to go for an elephant ride the following day, and he and I ended up traveling together for about 5 days.
The Krabi area is known for limestone formations - they make for a pretty spectacular coast.
Feb 8, 2012
Island hopping
Rode a train overnight from Bangkok south to the Andaman coast of Thailand. Arrived at a sleepy pier hoping to catch a boat to the island of Ko Muk, but there was hardly anyone around. A woman noticed my look of confusion and let me know that the last ferry had already left, but that she knew of a boat that could give me a ride in a few hours. She inquired about my plans, and after I told her that I didn't have a room reserved on the island, she made a bunch of calls on her cell phone to try to find an open room - it turns out that a lot of places were full. She found something promising and handed me the phone to make a reservation, which I did.
During her calls she found out about a boat that I could catch a ride on that was leaving in just a little while. I thanked her for the help and offered her some money, but she didn't want it. Turns out that she works for a travel agency and was waiting for some tourists to arrive by boat from an island - she was going to escort them into town. What a welcome to the coast!
