Thailand

Thailand

I've been to Thailand three times, in 2005 and twice in 2006. The country is perhaps the most tourist-friendly places in Southeast Asia and the Thai usually live up to their reputation of being a cheerful people, although its popularity has also made it a comparatively expensive destination. My last visit was in summer 2006 with my parents-in-law when we went on a package tour. The main lesson I learned from going on a Korean package tour is to never go on Korean package tours.

Karon beach in Phuket. I haven't included many beach pictures because I didn't want my camera to melt. It was a little warmish, even in January.

Nightclubs and working girls on Bangla Street. You can always count on Patong for its subtle, understated approach.

Interior of a tuk-tuk (think of its engine's sound), lumbering (lots of lumber in one) from Karon towards Phuket City for a day trip.

Las Margaritas in Karon. The <i>only</i> good Mexican food I've ever had in Asia. Where can I build a shrine?

Phuket City, with its historic Sino-Portugese architecture, if you don't mind everything being closed that day, psycho-aggressive taxi drivers chasing you, and a grimy, dull town.

Islandia hotel, Karon. Being from the Canadian prairies, swimming is a real treat. If you're correspondingly into donuts and freezing I'll understand!

Riding past a tall jut of land near Ko Panyi, the floating village. That rock tower is a little <i>too</i> thin, and I'd be nervous on windy days.

Phang-Nga National Park. Our guide on our boat ride spoke decent English. He was best at the word 'duck!'

Riding through a narrow pass on the open side of the ocean.

Well, you shouldn't go to Phuket without going on at least one hokey tour where you can pretend to hold up James Bond Island!

Nor should you miss the obligatory stop at the reclining Buddha inside a dark cave. Seeing it makes me feel a little like a nap myself.

James Bond Island, where a certain "Man with the Golden Gun" movie was filmed. Location is everything, I suppose.

Nearby Ko Panyi Island, where a Muslim community lives in a floating village. Must be interesting sending mail when your postal code keeps changing.

Ko Phi Phi is a tiny island, but fortunately there's still room for the usual cheesy souvenir stores. Isn't that nice?

Phi-Phi Island at twilight. It's a peaceful place.. very peaceful when the power fails.

A view of the thin strip of the island from a mountain path.

The usual mode of transportation on Phi-Phi.

Everything was pretty full downtown, and so we had to rough it in the mountains. With a pool and our own bungalow.. count me in for the roughing it.

There are no motor vehicles, just people saying "beep" as they pass. You must get a sore throat during traffic jams.

Things are very basic on the island. If you want supper... here's your fishing rod and a paddle.

The centre of the island is a steep path to the summit. It helps if you're a goat.

I've already used the joke about getting crabs. Let's just say the water is clear!

Rai Leh is a tiny peninsula on the south tip of Krabi province. It's a little like Halong Bay in Vietnam, except ten times as expensive. Bring your credit card, mateys.

So we had to pack up and move to the next part of the inlet at Ton Sai. But the sunsets made up for it...

Narrow walkway to Rai Leh. There's a long, rocky path to climb to get to Rai Leh, if you feel like a workout on your vacation.

Kata Beach in Phuket, one of the best beaches I've ever seen. If James Bond were smart, this should have been his island.

Ko Samet, a small island near Pattaya by boat. Such nice white sand. At least the daily monsoon cleans things!

Our bungalow at Ko Samet. No shower or plumbing. A restful albeit stinky stay.

Colorful ferry boats, Ko Samet. Or maybe rust just makes interesting colors there.

Pattaya at night. It's a pretty sunset, but not the cleanest water.. I think my body would also turn dark blue in it.

You feel sorry for the wild dogs, until you see this and realize you have to go back to work in a week.

I rode down that cable on a chair. Some people just can't wait for the elevator.

Jomtien beach, in our June 2006 stay with the Korean tour. "Everyone have fun for 12 minutes and 15 seconds."

There's really no guesswork about what Pattaya's main industry is... great museums? It's no place to bring a child, and so we moved on.

We later toured a tiger zoo near Pattaya, where I was sick all day after a ride on the 'banana boat.'

Interesting trick. A job I'd be suspicious of if they're hiring someone new every week!

That's 499 Baht for our hotel room, about US$14. But like everywhere, "...and up!"

Tourists at the palace. The tuk-tuk drivers will try to tell you "It's closed today.. but I have a special tour!" The Grand Palace doesn't close on Sundays.

I would like to go back and just spend an afternoon looking at the ceilings. They could call it 'The sore-neck tour.'

Intricate metal work and carvings. An explosion of colors everywhere. An explosion of tourists everywhere.

It is a little pricey to get in. Gold doesn't grow on trees, you know.

Guards defending a temple structure. This here gold is <i>heavy</i>!

This is what they guard.. against all the bad kids who want to climb it.

They stand on watch eternally.. making sure Thailand's 7-11s remain safe.

I never grow up.. all I think of is Wile E. Coyote landing on those spikes!

Bangkok tuk-tuks work on a simple principle: when it rains—you get wet.

Scale architecture at the Miniland. The Thai have a traditional term for this: tourist trap.

A few times we broke away from the tour to see things. Here's a night market (the food type).

Someone riding, well, something down Khao San Road in Bangkok in the evening.

Busy, modern Bangkok with its quick and efficient subway to seemingly nowhere that a tourist would want to go.

A restaurant that seats 5,000 in Bangkok. The servers rollerskate. With a staff of 1,200 it still took forever to get supper..

A backpacker street full of oh-so-trendy tourists, and thousands of illegal CDs to match.

Extra-spiky Victory Monument near the downtown area.

Flashy new shopping malls in Siam Square, Bangkok. At the end of the vacation, we all get less interested in exotic culture, and more in shopping. Just my theory!

This'll be the player

	Tuk-tuk Ride in Bangkok (May 2005) 0:37			James Bond Island, Phuket (February 2006) 0:24
	Grand Palace, Bangkok (May 2005) 0:39			Siracha Tiger Show, Near Pattaya (May 2006) 0:07
	Phang-Nga Boat Ride, Phuket (February 2006) 0:25			Siam Square at Night, Bangkok (February 2006) 0:15

Ken's Tour Guide to Southern Thailand

Thailand is a large country, and my guide focuses on southern Thailand as that's where I've been, going from Bangkok southeast to Pattaya, Jomtien, and Ko Samet, and southwest to Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, and the Krabi inlet.

Thailand has recently experienced some political violence, but I'm told that the locals were careful to keep their problems to themselves and tourists were unaffected. Thailand is an easy trip, which sometimes is a problem in itself as it can be crowded. Don't treat Lonely Planet as sacred writ and feel free to check out new places.

Bangkok

To use a cliché, Bangkok is a city people love or hate. It can be noisy and jammed with traffic, but it's worth a few days to see the markets and people and do some shopping and sightseeing. The city is also starting to build some surprisingly beautiful shopping malls and the skytrain is speedy.

	The Grand Palace	The Bangkok Grand Palace was started in 1782 and added to over time. Gorgeous. But it is sacred ground and so you need a sarong. It's Thailand—walk ten feet and you'll find one. You need at least an afternoon to see it as it can be overwhelming. Ignore taxi drivers who tell you it's closed and they have a 'special tour.' It doesn't close.
	Khao San Road	Khao San Road is a westerner's hangout filled with cheesy clubs, shops, pirate software, and restaurants. It's not a place to spend long, but come to see the spectacle and to get some clothes made or shop. There are also some admittedly good places to eat.
	Jomtien	Unless you want that sort of thing, avoid Pattaya with its girlie clubs and head a little south to Jomtien, a very pleasant (so far) little beach town. Both are about two hours southeast of Bangkok and doable in a bus or a charted taxi. Jomtien's near the Sriracha zoo, a good afternoon diversion.
	Ko Samet	Ko Samet is even more secluded than Jomtien as it's accessible by boat. Once you're there it might be too quiet, but the night-time fish barbeques on the beach are outstanding and it's a great place to chill with a book for a few days.

	Phuket	Phuket (uh, that's Poo-ket) is a small peninsula in southwest Thailand. There's parks, beaches, and nightlife. Where do I sign up? Heading south, there are three main towns: Karon, Phuket, and Kata. I liked Karon the best for its hotels and restaurants, and Kata for its great beach. Phuket is where the nightspots and (surprise, surprise) girlie clubs are. The towns are close enough together to make day trips based on your interests. Great place.
	Phang Nga Park	Phang Nga National Park has day tours, usually leaving from Phuket in the morning, which take you through a Buddha cave, paddle you through some beautiful cave waters, and then boat into a floating village (Ko Panyi). It's a fun trip and it's low-impact. The water is smooth—you aren't white river-rafting.
	Ko Phi Phi	Yes, every place in Thailand must have a slightly dirty-sounding name, but Ko Phi Phi is a wonderfully quiet, green, and tiny island southwest of, uh, Phuket. The beaches are nice but it's mostly a place to walk around and do some light shopping or lounging by a pool. There are no cars. It's quiet at night.
	Rai Leh	Next to Krabi, teeny Rai Leh sits in a beautiful blue inlet. The scenery is stunning and the sunsets are gorgeous. The little inlet is expensive, but the northern beach (West Hat) and the plain East Hat beach are more reasonable. I preferred West Hat, although you have to charter a boat to take you between beaches unless you want to clamber like a mountain goat across the rocks.