Thursday, February 21, 2013

Thailand

Preparation

Visas


Travel insurance 

Decided to go with blues insurance. Backpacker insurance for 80 days, grade 3 level (hazardous activites). Cost was 180 EUR.
http://www.blueinsurance.ie/travel-insurance.asp


Travel vaccinations

Majority of clinics quoted me the same price. Decided to stay with TMB as they already had my existing vaccinations on their system. This time it cost me 195 EUR (i know, i know pretty expensive aye... ) This time i only had to get my Hep A and Hep B boosters. So i should be sorted now for the rest of my life!!

Thailand

Bangkok (April 17th - April 19th)

Staying in rambuttri village inn and plaza. Great location near khao San road and grand palace. Facilities include free wifi and two rooftop pools. I arrive just after the Buddhist new years festival so they're maybe water fights still occurring! 
Flew with air China. Smooth flight and not bad food either! The plane was practically empty so had lots of room. First thing when landing was to get a sim pack. Dtac seems to be the most popular provider but went with ais. The plan for the month and sim cost me around 750 baht. Then I got the air train to the final stop paya  Thai for 45 baht. Very modern train. I think its only two years old. Nice view of the outer suburbs of Bangkok. Foilage is so green and lush with lots of palm trees.

From there flagged a cab to my final destination; rambuttri village inn and plaza. Taxi fare cost 80 baht, so cheap! Room was not ready in the morning so I went to the nearby cafe to grab a coffee and relax. I presume the jet lag will kick in soon! Guesthouse seems very busy and a good mix looking at the sign in book at reception! After a nice rest in my new double room took a walk around. The room btw was standard but clean and spacious with ac so have no complaints. So many food stalls to choose from. Picked a spot that was busy with locals and backpackers. Large Chang beer and chicken with chilli and basil came to 120 baht. Followed that up with a scrumptious nutella and banana crepe for 50 baht!

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Next day I got the river boat to the grand palace. Tricky thing is you can easily miss the lane ways out to the pier. I passed it twice! It costs 500 baht to enter the grand palace. You get to see the emerald Buddha temple also. Be weary of all the dudes outside telling you 'its closed' or 'you can't get in with those shorts!'.  Go straight inside and there you can borrow pants for the tour. You just have to leave a deposit down which you will get back on the way out. The grand palace is quite spectacular. Funny thing is when you enter the temple and take your shoes off, the smell of feet is pretty strong! From there I walked down to the museum of siam. I could have grabbed a tuk tuk to break up the journey but I wasn't in any rush. Picked up some fresh mango along the way for 20 baht. You literally can pick up anything on the food stalls! The museum was certainly the highlight of the day. The exhibits are super interactive and entertaining. The cannon ball game at the end is pretty hilarious. Admission was 300 baht and well worthed.




 Chiang mai (19th April - 23rd) 


Arrived at the airport and got a taxi to the airport for 120 baht. Stayed in deejay backpackers. Room is very basic, 3 bed mixed dorm for 97 baht a night. Seems like a pretty socialable hostel. Decided to walk around old town in the baking heat. Viewed most of the temples. Stopped off for a cold beer and a thai beef salad. Nearly choked on the chillis! Found a massage parlour that is run by female inmates in the correctional facility nearby! 180 baht for fully body massage. Never cracked so many bones in my life... :-)

 Met some people in the hostel that night drinking. Decided to rent a scooter with some of them the next day. Renting a scooter was so cheap, only 200 baht a day. headed up the hills of chiang mai to wat phra that doi suthep. The drive was spectacular and amazing views of Chiang mai. Was gaining confidence on my new friend so decided to drive all night around the moat stopping off at different spots eating and drinking! That night strolled around the Saturday market and got another massage. Life is tough!





 Next day decided to do even more driving and do the 70 km loop around Chiang mai. Went off the beaten track and stopped off at some isolated rural villages for a rest and some food. That night headed to the sun day night market. You literally can buy anything at these markets!

 Next day booked an elephant day trek through the hostel. It cost 2250 baht. Tour was called rantong. The trek lasted most of the day including two rides on the elephant. The second time bathing them in the water. Lunch was really good too. One day for me was definitely enough. That night went to see a thai boxing tournament. The fights were entertaining. Even a farang fought at the end. Ended up in zoes that night. Was a late one and had to get a bus journey to pai the next morning; ouch!




 Pai (22nd April - 27 April) 


 Arrived in the afternoon time and decided to stay in charn chai muay thai. Its only a km out of town so rented a scooter to get out there. Checked in and for 400 baht a night got my own private bungalow, ensuite. It included two double beds, fridge, aircon and TV. Not bad! I barely had any sleep and decided to go to the evening training session at 3. What a workout. Lasted nearly two hours. What the hell have I signed up for!

 On a Wednesday morning they run to the temple and back. I did not realise that the temple has steps and you have to run up them three times also,bummer! When I got back I thought that was the session over. But oh no, pad work for 40 mins followed by ab work! Thank god I got my own bungalow as in between sessions you need your rest.

Still found time to head into town and found a cafe that did amazing crepes and a flat white also.. Very small town to walk around but I still prefer driving around on my scooter! Not much sightseeing the first few days as in between sessions I try and layer up in food. You need a lot of energy for these workouts! Oh forgot to say the scooter cost 140 baht per day for 125cc automatic. Still did not much sightseeing as I was beat in between the sessions. But I did manage one morning to get around on my scooter and seen everything literally in under an hour! The photo below is the temple Wednesday we had to run to and run up the steps three times, killer!







Saturday evening then I got a bus from pai to the thai border with Laos. It was a mini bus and was a nightmare of a bus journey. Accommodation was included in the ticket price. Only had a few hours sleep before hitting the thai border post before getting a slow boat over the Mekong river to the Laos side for 40 baht. You need then a passport photo and 36 us dollars for visa on arrival.
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