Southern Thailand Beaches

Friday, September 10
After making our way through immigration and customs, we found a taxi. Too tired from the trip to try and explain where we were trying to go, I pulled out our lonely planet guide and pointed to Khoa San Rd. The driver knew where we were headed, an obvious destination for westerners with backpacks.

We were subjected to Brittany Spears for the duration of the ride, but besides that, the drive was uneventful. We found ourselves on Khao San Road Rd after 30 minutes and I have to admit it was a bit overwhelming. We didn’t know where we were going to stay for the night and the road was an eclectic mix of westerners, vendors hawking any and every thing imaginable and a steady stream of Thai girls looking to earn this month’s rent.

The first hostel we checked, D&D Inn was full for the night. But our next stop, somewhere, had a room for 500 Bhat ($12.50), so we took it. After depositing our backpacks in the room, we walked around for a bit, grabbed a beer and then went to bed, tired from the long journey and ready to begin our travels south. During the night, there was commotion in the hallway, but I was hesitant to step out of the room to investigate and let it be.

Saturday, September 11
We were up and out of bed before 6am, feeling the effects of jet lag. We grabbed some breakfast at 24 Irish Pub nearby and I couldn’t help but feeling a little akward watching the Thai girls and a couple of westerners still playing pool and partying from the night before.

We were catching a train South at 5pm and decided to spend the morning walking around Bangkok and visiting the various Wats (Buddhist Temples) which were interspersed throughout the city. Not exactly sure which ones we wanted to visit, we wandered around aimlessly for an hour before coming to a large temple. We felt a bit strange entering; not sure if the monks would take offense to us invading their sanctuary. After consulting a police officer with hand signals, we determined it was safe to enter and we went in and walked around.

On our way to one of the oldest temples in Bangkok, What Pho, a gentlemen told us that we were not properly dressed to enter. After explaining that we had pants in our backpack, he went on to tell us that it costs money to enter the temples right now, but if we came back in the afternoon it would be free. He also offered to take us around to some other temples in the meantime. Having read about unscrupulous Thais lying about tourist sites being closed, I politely declined his offer and went to the Wat. Sure enough, it was open, free and we were dressed appropriately for the occasion (he had said we could not wear sandals, but every Thai person there was in sandals including the monks). At What Pho, we caught glimpse of the reclining Buddha, a very large gold statue which is quite impressive.

We walked back to the hostel, checked out at 12pm and caught a Tuk Tuk to the train station. A tuk-tuk is small three wheeled vehicle which apparently does not have to obey the laws of the road. Weaving in and out of traffic we somehow made it to the strain station alive. We had negotiated a very reasonable price with our driver, and he insisted that we visit a tourist agency to purchase our tickets. He dropped us off at the tourist agency where they tried to sell us on various packaged tours and accommodations for our trip south. Wanting to keep our itinerary open, we choose not to purchase any packed tours and instead bought our ticket at the train station. Apparently, it is quite common for drivers to receive compensation if they can bring a tourist to a store or travel agency.

We had to wait 4 hours at the train station. Being accustomed to cooler weather, I roughly calculated that I sweated about 4 gallons of water while waiting. Finally, the time was right and we got onto the train. We could barely stay awake and were both very relieved when they pulled out the beds for the night at 8pm.

Sunday, September 12
We reached Trang train station at 8am in the morning and caught a tuk-tuk to the bus station. We didn’t specify that the rate we negotiated was for both of us, and the drier insist we pay 40 baht per person. This was far too much but I was in no mode to argue so I paid him. After a 4 hour bus ride, we reached Krabi and decided to take a van to Ao Nang where we caught a flat tail boat to Railay. We could have taken a boat ride from Krabi, but they wait until they have 10 people to make the 45 minute boat ride, and being the low season we were worried about how long we would have to wait.

Our hopes jumped once we finally caught glimpse of the ocean. We had been traveling for almost 3 days and seeing the white sand beaches, the blue water and towering cliffs was a nice relief. The 15 minute boat ride was fine as the water was very calm and the was sun out.

The ride was uneventful, but great. We quickly found a hotel, unpacked our gear and went out to the beach for some R&R. After a couple of hours in the sun and some time in the warm water, we cleaned up and had dinner. After a good Thai meal, we made our way along the beach and crossed a rocky section to get the northern part of the beach.

There was a bar situated under the limestone cliffs and stopped there for a bit to watch people climb. The beach itself was rather unimpressive, as it contained many small pebbles and after a short while, we made our way back along the cliffs. It was getting dark and the tide had risen, making our journey back somewhat treacherous – we were forced to walk on wet limestone, made even trickier by the fact that we were in sandals. We grabbed another drink at the bar next to our hotel and a downpour came accompanied by a lightning show. Just as soon as it drenched the peninsula, it was gone.

Monday, September 13
I decided to go for a hike up one of the mountains for a view of Railay. Lonely Planet said the approach was very steep and somewhat dangerous when wet, so Gunjan decided to hit the beach instead. The climb up was not too bad; although I was covered in mud by the time I made it to the top. There was a knotted rope lying on ground, which proved useful for some of the more slippery spots.

Once at the top, I made my way to an overlook and got some nice pictures of Railay. I then proceeded to descend to a lagoon, but I stopped because it involved a 20 foot down climb over wet rocks. With no one else around, I figured it wasn’t smart to risk it.

I meet back up with Gunjan at the beach and we went over to Diamond Cave. They usually charge to enter the cave, but it was the low season and no one was around. Of course, the lights in the cave were not on and I had forgotten to bring my headlamp so we could only go in about 50 yards before we had to turn around.

Later that afternoon, we rented a kayak and paddled out. Gunjan was nervous by the time we got into the open water, so I turned around and dropped her off before going out again. It was nice to get some exercise and explore – I wish I had rented a kayak for the whole day. Later on, we hiked out to another beach and lay out for the afternoon before making our way back to our hotel for food and drinks.

Tuesday, September 14
Got up early in the morning and went to the other side of the peninsula to watch the sunrise. A storm came in around 6am and the rain began to fall – there were no boats in sight and we had planned on leaving today for Phuket. Around 8am, the storm cleared out and the flat-tailed boats appeared zipping along the ocean.

We caught a boat and prepared ourselves for the rough seas. It was only a 20-minute ride, but the small boat definitely rocked in the rough seas the whole way. Once in Ao Nang, we caught a local van to the bus station and then hoped a bus to Phuket City.

Arriving in Phuket city, we bargained hard and found a tuk-tuk driver who would take us to Patong Beach for only 200 baht. He dropped us off at a small hotel and we snagged a room for 500 baht. I could tell that Patong wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. There was a main drag, which was filled with an endless stream of cars and Tuk-Tuks and numerous stores lined the walkway with vendors hawking their wares.

That night, we went our for Sushi and enjoyed the fresh local seafood. The restaurant was nice and very reasonably priced by US standards. After dinner, we decided to go bar hopping. We found an open-air Irish Bar and had a couple of drinks there. Down the alley way there were numerous small open-air bars packed with Thai girls and no customers. After getting some liquid courage, we made our way to one of the bars. Couple more drinks and then onto another. Things got pretty crazy, including me pole-dancing with a half-naked and overweight Cambodian girl while Gunjan laughed and took pictures.

Wednesday, September 15
Recovery day: I was feeling the effects of too many beers and too many shots of the local whiskey. Slept in for the first time of the trip and made it out to the beach in the afternoon. Gunjan was feeling really under the weather and “relaxed” in bed for the day. We ordered in and decided it was time to get out of Phuket while we could.

Thursday, September 16
We had a full day of traveling which started out with a tuk-tuk ride to the bus station in Phuket City. We hadn’t ate much the day before so we quickly found a sandwich shop and opted for some chicken sandwiches and green tea. After a 6-hour bus ride to the eastern side of Thailand, we reached Surat Thani where we had to get off the bus for 30 minutes. It took us a couple of minutes to figure this out and we had no less than 3 different Thais trying to explain to us what was happening.

After the short break, we got back on the bus and went to the ferry. The ride was nice, it was partly sunny and there were many uninhabited islands along the way. After 2 hours, we arrived at the island of Ko Samui. We grabbed a taxi and headed for a British run hostel at Big Buddha Beach. Luckily, they had room and I went for a quick swim before grabbing some food and heading to bed.

Friday, September 17
Gunjan didn’t really like the place we were staying so we decided we were going to checkout at noon. Before that, we walked along the beach and went to the Big Buddha statue. The views were supposed to be nice from atop the temple, but the seemed passé to me.

After checking out, we walked down the road and found a room at the Ko Smaui Mermaid. It was a little pricey for Thai standards, 900 baht, but it had fridge, AC and a pool overlooking the ocean. Spent the day reading and relaxing by the pool. I usually don’t like to sit in the sun all day, but after 8 months straight of work and school, I felt like doing nothing for the entire day!

Saturday, September 18
Saturday was spent much the same way. In the evening, we went to Chawang Beach to exchange money, have dinner and do a little shopping. Our real reason for being in Chawang was a kickboxing match that we attended. We didn’t even stay very long, the wooden seats and high humidity caused us to leave after only an hour and a half, but it was well worth it. When else are you going to have the chance to see a Muay Thai kickboxing match?

Sunday, September 19
We spent Sunday lazing around the pool and reading. We went to Chawang Beach for lunch at an Irish Pub and then I went back to the hotel and Gunjan went shopping. One final day of rest and relaxation before the journey home.

Monday, September 20
We woke up at 5:30am and got a taxi to the ferry. Then it was a 1-hour bus to Surat Thani and a 12-hour bus ride to Bangkok. Our bus ride included a meal and we sat down for a “family style” meal at a restaurant along the interstate with the other passengers. Almost all the other food we had in Thailand was not spicy, even when I asked for it. This food, however, was spicy and our fellow Thai travelers didn’t even seem to notice!

It felt weird as we pulled into Bangkok again- the traffic, grime and noise seemed foreign to me. We grabbed a room at the Siam Oriental and crashed for the night after a quick dinner.

Tuesday, September 21
Got up early and caught a cab to the airport – only 300 baht. Don’t forget about the airport departure tax like we did!