The last days in the sun

My last week in Thailand I spent doing nothing much in Hua Hin.  As during my first two weeks in Thailand, I stayed at Korawan Garden Resort and I had another fantastic and enjoyable stay there.  Just to show how fantastic it is, I’m sharing their promotional video clip.

During my stay I took the time to tan a bit more, as my sleeveless shirts are drawn on my body.  I didn’t really succeed in getting rid of these tan lines though.  Further I took the time to spend my last moments with my family.  On Tuesday we went to Wat Huay Mongkol, to praise the Big Buddha.  It’s one of the biggest Buddha statues in Thailand and has been built on demand of Her Majesty the Queen Sirikit.  The statue is the image of Luang Phor Thuad, a monk who live 400 years ago in southern Thailand and who is known for the miracles he performed.  What I didn’t know, was that the monk who was responsible for the creation of this place of worship, is in fact my Thai stepmom’s grandfather.  He even has a small mausoleum in the complex.

After our visit to the big Buddha, we went on to one of the floating markets of Hua Hin.  Well… it’s not really a floating market: it’s just an open air souvenir shopping complex around the water and you can take a boat ride on the water or take a small train around the complex.  It’s in fact just made for tourists and I must say, since last time I was there (more then 2 years ago), the place has clearly degraded.  Next stop on our day out was Wat Khao Tao.  This is one of the nicest temple complexes I know.  It’s build on and around a peninsula and has a lot of different Buddha statues to praise, they also have some female Buddha statues, which is rather rare.  I got blessed by a monk and he gave me a new lucky pendant.

Wednesday I had another relaxing foot massage and I went out to do some shopping at the Hua Hin Market Village shopping mall, as my slippers broke the day before.  I also took the time to finally send out my postcards, that I have been carrying since my first week in Thailand.  Thursday I wanted to take the time to tan a bit more, but the bad weather decided otherwise.  This was the first day I had heavy rains and storm in Thailand during my 2 month trip.  I stayed inside my hut and watched some movies.

Today we are Friday and now I’m packing up my stuff to go back to Bangkok by taxi, where I reserved a room at the luxury Lebua at State Tower (again) for my last 3 nights.  When I think about the fact that next Monday I’ll already be leaving, it feels like a sword of Damocles hanging above my head, my eyes get wet, but tears are not falling (yet).  Yes, I look forward on going back to work and seeing all my colleagues again, and yes, I look forward on seeing my family and friends again, but Thailand really is an awesome place to be and leaving here makes me a bit soft.  The same way I always feel when leaving Greece.  Anyway, the next few days I’ll be partying and buying souvenirs and gifts for everyone back home.

A very, very wet Thai New Year in Chiang Mai

Last Sunday I left for Chiang Mai by bus from the Mo Chit bus station in Bangkok.  I travelled on an overnight VIP bus, which was equipped with spacious seats, and individual in-bus entertainment systems (with movies, music, live TV, radio and a USB port to charge your phone and GPS maps to track the bus).  Going to Chiang Mai was the main purpose of this trip, as it was since my first trip to Thailand that I’ve been there and I really wanted to celebrate Thai New Year aka Songkran aka Water Festival here.  Chiang Mai has got the biggest Songkran festival in Thailand and it is very famous with tourists and locals.  I also planned on taking a massage course in Chiang Mai, I wanted to visit Doi Inthanon, which is the highest point of Thailand and take a sightseeing tour in the city of Pai.  As with all my plans on this holiday, I only did one thing and that was the Songkran festival.

The bus ride went quite smooth, but I did arrive at 05.30 in the morning in Chiang Mai, so I was very tired upon arrival.  I took a local red bus to get to my hostel.  Once there, it was my lucky day, as my room was already available.  I went up and slept the bus trip off.  Around noon I woke up again and realized that I arrived in a very bad hostel.  The sheets on my bed seemed not to have been washed for ages (though they smelled fresh).  And the bathroom… well let’s just say I felt cleaner before taking a shower than after my shower.  The hostel needed a big renovation, but for the price I paid I shouldn’t be complaining.  Thus I decided to go take a look at the first day of the Songkran festival.  On my way to the city centre I passed a 7-eleven (convenience store) and went in to buy some water.  I saw that they were selling water guns and as you can’t go on the streets without one during Songkran, I decided to buy one.

When I got to the city centre, I realized that I bought the wrong water gun.  It was just too small.  Luckily there were a lot of local stands selling bigger water guns, so I bought a bigger one.  Armed with my two water guns, I was now ready to… take revenge on the guys that made me wet during my walk to the city centre.  Because as soon as I left the 7-eleven, I got sprayed upon with water non-stop.  So armed with my guns, I started spraying water on everybody passing by.  Of course with a big smile and each time followed by a ‘Happy New Year’.  They all didn’t hesitate to give me the same treatment and I was soaking wet all afternoon.  Some people surprised me by having ice cold water in their guns, whereas most people just took water from the city canal or water taps.

Around 6pm the activities started to end and I decided to go back to my hostel to freshen up a bit.  Whilst walking my clothes dried quite fast in the sun.  So I was kind of happy when I was almost at the hostel with dry clothes.  Until my hostel’s neighbor decided to do some sniper action from his balcony with a big bucket of water.  I thanked him by pointing my water gun towards him and spraying him wet, but evidently I didn’t get him as wet as he just got me.

In the evening I went out for some food and drinks.  I tried to stay dry, and I almost succeeded, until an over-enthusiast tourist started using a water hose to spray water on everybody passing by the bar he was drinking at.  So with wet clothes I had dinner, but by the end of dinner I was dry again, luckily!  After that I went back to my hostel and managed to stay dry.

The next day I went back to the city centre, armed with a new water gun that promised to have a high-pressure water beam.  And indeed it had!  I didn’t attack anybody, but I did retaliate all those shooting at me.  They all got stunned by my water beam!  So same-same again this day.  At noon I went to a small restaurant to have lunch and dry my clothes a bit.  While I was sitting there, I saw how the owner sprayed water on all cars, motorbikes and pick-up trucks passing by.  The pick-up trucks often had people in the back with water guns and a big barrel of water, so they shot back.  What did scare me a bit though was that some motorbikes got destabilized due to the water as they drove by.  Also the owner’s little girl, I estimate she was about 3 years old, was walking around next to the street and throwing water on everyone passing by, sometimes she even ran to the middle of the street.  And just to be clear, this was one of the busiest main streets of Chiang Mai.

In the evening, when I got back to the hotel, I read in the Bangkok Post that Songkran is in fact a dangerous period, with lots of road casualties, due to drunk driving, speeding, etc.  Most of them killed on motorbikes.  According to the same newspaper during the 7 dangerous days of this Songkran, 364 people got killed and 3,559 got injured in 3,373 car accidents across Thailand.  Four out of five accidents involved motorcycles.  And these are just the reported accidents.

The third and final day of Songkran in Chiang Mai I had another ‘boys and their toys’ day, getting really wet from the beginning until the end.  Well… the end for me was around 4pm as I really started to get cold due to being wet all day, without drying at all.  It was a bit my own fault.  I found a good spot on the main square, where I could spray water on the crowd all day long.  As I was a bit hidden, most of them didn’t know where the water came from, but as soon as they noticed me, revenge was sometimes very heavy.

My last day in Chiang Mai I picked up my bus ticket back to Bangkok and spent some time in the Central Festival Mall.  In the evening I went to the night market and bought some traditional Thai clothes.

On Friday morning I got up very early, checked out of my hostel and took the daytime bus back to Bangkok, where I arrived early in the evening.  As I had a really bad (but cheap) hostel in Chiang Mai, I decided to go very posh in Bangkok and booked myself in the Lebua at State Tower.  In this hotel the first scenes of The Hangover Part 2 were filmed.  I got upgraded to a better suite and regretted staying there for only one night.  I enjoyed sunset in the rooftop cocktail bar with a magnificent view on Bangkok.

As I was being really posh and didn’t want to leave this hotel without style, I booked a luxury car to Hua Hin, which was in fact not so much more expensive as a normal taxi.  I specifically asked a black car, just to stay in the mood.  My experience at the Lebua was really fantastic, but I am looking forward on arriving back at Korawan Resort in Hua Hin to spend my last week on holiday.  I made a movie where you can see the room at the Lebua.

Fighting the administration in Bangkok

My original plan was to go to Laos before celebrating Songkran in Chiangmai, but all buses and trains towards Laos were fully booked, so I decided to play safe and stay a few days in Bangkok.  There was only 1 problem, the stamp I got in my passport at the border in Aranyaprathet was only valid for 15 days, so it was about to expire.  Going to Laos would solve that problem, as I would get a new one upon re-entering Thailand.  Another solution was to apply for an extension at the Immigration Office in Bangkok, which I decided to do.  I took the BTS Skytrain to its terminal station at Mo Chit, from where I traveled onwards by local bus 52 to the Government Complex Commemorating His Majesty the King Chaengwattana, where I could find Immigration Division 1.  The complex is huge, so when I got there by bus, I actually had to take a motorbike taxi to the right entrance, which was all the way at the other end of the complex.

When I got there, I had to present myself at the information counter, where I got the form TM.7, which I had to fill out and hand in together with a passport photo and a copy of my passport.  I didn’t have these last two, but no problem, the complex is that huge that it is not only used by the government, but it actually has shops and even a 7-eleven in the basement downstairs.  There was also a copyshop that made passport photos.

After having my picture taken and filling out the form, I was allowed to enter the next room, where I got a waiting number.  There were 38 people waiting for the same service.  I waited and waited as the numbers slowly went up, but then the clock said 12 o’clock: lunchtime for the civil servants, everybody out of the room and come back at 13h!  Thus I went back to the basement to have lunch myself and at 13h I got back upstairs to the immigration office.  Things suddenly went fast and I handed in my form and paid the fee of 1900 baht.  15 minutes later someone called me forward and my visa was now valid for 30 more days, more than enough time!  In the end I found that everything went quite straight-forward.

After the administrative part, I visited the nearby Museum of Contemporary Arts (or MOCA), which was really impressive.  Therefor I only show some photos of the artworks in this blogpost.  And in 2 days on to Chiangmai for Songkran!

Relaxing in Phuket

Last Monday I left Hua Hin on the Special Express Diesel Rail Car N° 43 to Surat Thani, where I planned to take a bus to Phuket.  The Special Express DRC is the fastest and most luxurious train of the Thai Railways, though it is not a first class train, but a fully second class train (so no third class either).  The train itself is old and used, but the on-board service is the best.  Upon entering the train at Hua Hin, a very friendly attendant was waiting at the door to check if I boarded the right coach.  After boarding and taking my seat, she gave me a tray with a light meal and water.  The seats on the train are reclining seats and all facing the direction of travel.  You would think that in the other direction you would be traveling backwards, but the seats can conveniently be turned around.  The train reaches speeds of up to 120 kph, which is the highest allowed speed on the Thai rail network and can only be reached by this kind of trains.  And above all it was quite punctual to Thai standards, as we arrived in Surat Thani at 17.30, which was only 45 minutes late.

The delay made me miss the last bus to Patong though, so I had two options: spend the night in Surat Thani (or rather Phun Phin, as the station of Surat Thani is actually located 17km out of the city), or take a taxi to Patong.  I decided to go for the second option and found a taxi stand next to the station.  Prices could not be bargained as they were fixed by the local government and clearly indicated.  The price for a taxi to Patong Beach was 4000 baht, which is around 120 euro, quite expensive for a distance of 250km, knowing that the same distance elsewhere in Thailand would only cost 2000-3000 baht.  But as I was really eager on arriving in Patong that evening, I decided to use this taxi service.  The driver was of course very happy to be asked to drive this long distance.  He was so happy he picked up his sons to take them to Patong with him.  Initially I didn’t really understand what was going on, so I thought I was on a shared taxi, which would lower the price for me.  Once at my hotel in Patong I wanted to pay the driver 1500 baht, which would be more then enough for my share.  He told me to pay 4000 baht though.  I told him, that if the taxi is shared, the price is shared too.  Then he said the other passengers were his sons.  I understood the situation and payed the agreed price of 4000 baht, though I clearly told him that if I have to pay for an overpriced taxi myself, I expect to have the car to myself and no one else.  He apologized with the typical Thai smile and left.

My hotel in Patong (Bel Aire resort) was really nice for the price I paid.  It consisted of 3 buildings around a street with a lot of bars (and noise).  On top of each building there was a jacuzzi, though there was only 1 of them in use.  The room had a classic Thai interior with wooden ceilings and wooden furniture which were beautifully carved.  I really enjoyed my stay at this hotel and I did an excursion…

To James Bond Island (or Khao Phing Kan).  The excursion consisted of a full day program visiting the National Park of Phang Nga by longtail boat and by canoe, lunch at a muslim village built in the water and going to see the monkeys at “monkey cave”.  I got picked up at my hotel around 9am and the van drove me to a pier to embark the longtail boat which would take me around some beautiful islands in the park and to a pontoon where I was to embark a canoe showing me around the sea caves.  It was astonishing how beautiful this area is.  After the canoe trip, the longtail boat brought me to James Bond Island.

In fact, it is not the island of James Bond, but it’s the island of Fransisco Scaramanga, better known as the Man with the Golden Gun (the villain from the movie with the same name).  I found this part of the excursion a bit disappointing, as there were far too many tourists on the tiny island and in the movie it seemed much more peaceful.  We then went on to Ko Panyi, a village on the water, which is a strict muslim village.  Therefor everyone on the boat was asked to leave all pork products and all alcohol on the boat, as these were strictly forbidden in the village by local law.  We all got a halal lunch there, which to me tasted like normal Thai food.  I then used the spare time to discover the village a bit.  Of course it’s some kind of tourist trap, as all excursion boats stop at this village to have lunch and thus it is packed with souvenir stands.  Arriving there, I did see a mosque at the centre of the village, which I wanted to see, so I looked for it.  I found it, but didn’t go in, as it was just praying time.

The boat then left the village and brought us back to the main land, underway we got surprised by a storm, but still our captain managed to get us safely into port.  I quickly boarded the van which then brought me to the monkey cave.  In fact, it’s not a monkey cave, as the monkeys play around in front of the cave and are not allowed inside.  The cave itself is a place of worship with some nice Buddha statues.

When I finished playing with the monkeys and conveniently giving them all the names of the people I miss so much back home, the van brought me back to the hotel.  The next few days I continued enjoying the beach, tanning, swimming, eating, drinking, massages and going out.

This afternoon I left Patong by van, bringing me to Surat Thani station.  There I was booked on the International Special Express sleeper train to Bangkok, where I will stay for about one week.  I had to wait about 6 hours at the station of Surat Thani as the van arrived far too early compared to the departure time of the train, but luckily there was a nice evening market nearby, where I got some delicious street food.  The train was delayed for more than an hour, so I wanted to spend this time getting a foot massage, but I couldn't find any massage places near the station.  I was happy when the train finally arrived at the station, so I could lie down and sleep.