Month: November 2016

Ao Nang, Langkawi and Singapore

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My flight from Luang Prabang to Krabi involved a change of planes in Bangkok.  The layover was very short.  I have experienced this before with AirAsia and fully expected that my baggage would not meet me in Krabi.  It did, and I was impressed.

Krabi Town

I spent a couple days in Krabi Town which is located on river.  It is quite a nice place.  It has a large Muslim population

The last time I stayed there was back in 2010.  I took a bicycle tour which took in some Muslim villages on the other side of the river.  It was very interesting to see how they used the land to farm rice and other plants,  and operated fish farms.

Ao Nang

Next stop was Ao Nang which is on the coast.  This one of my favourite places in Thailand. The town overlooks the Andaman Sea with its iconic limestone columns.

Ao Nang is a great little town, which although is a tourist place, is nothing like Phuket which is completing over the top.

One of the best known places near Ao Nang is Railay Beach.  You get there by long boat.  It is very spectacular and it famous as place to go rock climbing.  The beach has very white sand.  There is a little street of the beach with same very good little restaurants.

Bus and Ferry to Langkawi

I had wanted to visit Langkawi for some time.  I booked a combined bus and ferry ticket from Ao Nang.

As it turned out, there was more buses and ute travel involved than I was expecting.  Finally, I was in a high speed ferry across the island.

Hostel near Beach

I had booked into a place called the Tubotel which is near Cenang Beach.  It is a bit of an odd place.  The room are made from concrete pipes and old shipping containers.

Hiring a Scooter

I decided to hire a motor scooter to get around.

I had not gone far when the heavens opened.  The down pour lasted for over an hour.

Finally the rain stopped and I headed to the Sky Bridge.  This an interesting idea.  It is a bridge across a gorge between two mountains.  You get there by cable car.  Check out the Flickr photos and the Wikipedia link.

Marine Park

Next I when on tour to a Marine Park.  It involved a long ferry ride and some snorkeling.  I have to say that I was a bit underwhelmed.

Unfortunately I had to leave the next day and could not go horse riding on the beach near to my hostel.  A friend had told me that it was really good.  I should have taken more notice of her.

Flight to Singapore via KL

My flight to Singapore was via KL.

Days in Singapore

I had a couple of days in Singapore before flying to Sydney.  For the second time inside a calendar year, I went to Raffles Hotel and had a Singapore Sling – one of the most expensive and overrated drinks on the planet.

Back in Sydney

It was good to arrive back in Sydney.

Flickr Links

Ao Nang

https://flic.kr/s/aHskPiGiBA

Langkawi

https://www.flickr.com/gp/twwilko_photos/W53ZG7

Singapore

https://flic.kr/s/aHskMr4bqP

About Sky Bridge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langkawi_Sky_Bridge

Slow Boat Down the Mekong

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phototasticcollage-2016-12-14-16-22-46

 

I have wanted visit Laos for some time.  Last year I got close when I was in Chiang Ria and went out to the ‘Golden Triangle’, at the point on the Mekong River where you can see Myanmar (I prefer Burma) and Laos from Thailand.

This year I decided to visit Luang Prabang.

I had heard that a good way to get there, if you have the time, is by  a ‘slow boat’ down the Mekong.  I have plenty of time.

Bus to Chiang Khong

The first leg of the journey was on a mini bus trip towards Chiang Ria.  We stopped short of Chiang Ria to visit the ‘White Temple’.  This looks like a bit of a folly, but certainly pulls in the tourists. Having seen it twice, I decided to give it a miss and had an iced coffee instead.

We then headed on to Chiang Khong which is on the Mekong.  I had already been booked into a Guest House as part of the fare for the boat ride.  The Guest House was basic, but ok.

I ended up having dinner with Swiss couple who were also on the trip. She was a ‘criminal psychologist’.  I said I thought the only criminals in Switzerland were ‘white collar criminals from other countries.  I don’t think she got my ‘sense of humour’.   He was an electrical engineer who designed capital manufacturing equipment.  They were interesting to talk to.

Crossing into Laos

After breakfast, we all piled into a utility truck (ute) and were driven to the Thai side of the border.  Clearing immigration was a bit of a performance.

Once through immigration, we piled into another ute and were driven to the Laos entry point.  The ‘no man’s land‘ area between the two border crossings seemed to be about a kilometre wide.

The visa for Laos takes up a whole page.  The size of a country’s visa seems to be in inverse proportion to its wealth.  Cambodia and Myanmar also have visas that take up a whole page. Visiting poor countries soon uses up the pages in your passport.

On the Boat

There was another short ride in yet another ute to the river. We were dropped off at restaurant and advised to buy some food to take on board the boat as there would be no food served on board.

After a bit of a delay, we boarded the boat and we were off.  You can see photos and videos of the boat on Fickr.

The river flows very quickly.  The Skipper of the boat certainly has to concentrate to avoid rocks and large pieces on debris being carried down the river.

Friendly Passengers

There was a good atmosphere on the boat.  Everyone seemed to being viewing the trip as an adventure, rather than just a form of transport. Lots of conversations were started.

I had some long chats with a French girl from Nantes.  She was pleased that I enjoyed my bicycle ride down the Loire. She was very attractive.

I also spoke at length with a New Zealand woman who worked on the mines in northern Queensland and in Western Australia.  She was travelling with her daughter in her mid-twenties and her son who had just turned 18.  The son was “on a week – long celebration” which seemed to involved constant drinking.

Stopover in Village

In the early evening, we stopped at a small village called Pakbeng. Providing accommodation and meals for travellers on the river seemed to be the whole raison d’être for the village.

Owners of quest houses descended on the embarking passengers.  I ended up in quite a nice place.  After settling in, I wandered down the only street in the village to find a place to eat. I picked the most crowded place and ordered  a vegetarian curry.  It was ok.

Another Boat in the Morning

In the morning, we boarded a different, but very similar boat for the next leg of the trip down to Luang Prabang.

As we got closer to the city we passed some very high mountains.  The scenery is very spectacular.

The number other boats on the river increased significantly.  There were a lot of small boats with very large engines.  The passengers were all wearing crash helmets.  I think they are necessary.  There are a lot of partially submerged logs in the river.  I suspect there are a lot of accidents with these boats.

Tuk Tuk into Luang Prabang

I shared a Tuk Tuk from the jetty into Luang Prabang with the New Zealand woman and her children. The son was seriously pissed.  He had been drinking since breakfast.

The Tuk Tuk dropped us off at the post office in the main tourist part of the town.  There are small alley ways lined with small hotels and guest houses.  The one I picked, turned out to be really good.

Waterfalls

The main tourist attraction in the Luang Prabang area is the Kuang Si Falls. I took a tour to the falls

The limestone over which they run gives the water a vivid colour.  Check out the Fickr link.

Mountain Bike and Kayaking Tour

The next day I took a tour which involved a mountain bike ride and kayaking down a river.  It was ok but the riding was basic and there were no rapids to speak of on the river.

The only other person on the tour was an American bloke in his mid-thirties who was seriously unfit.

Flying to Bangkok and onto Krabi

Next I left Luang Prabang for Bangkok by Air Asia with a connection to Krabi.

Flickr Links

Slow Boat

https://flic.kr/s/aHskNQQVw6

Luang Prabang

https://flic.kr/s/aHskLxMYAn

Kuang Si Falls

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuang_Si_Falls

 

White Water Rafting in Chiang Mai

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phototasticcollage-2016-12-14-16-15-03

It took me a while to get over the second bout of the ‘Delhi Belly’.  Because the Eco Lodge was fully booked, I had to change hotels. I found a nice little ‘boutique’ hotel not far from the Tha Pae Gate in the walled part of the city.

By the 8th of November I was ready to get active.  Apart from anything else I was over watching the coverage on the BBC, CNN and Fox (so called) News of the US Presidential Election. The coverage was addictive.

I booked a day of activities with a company with a good reputation.  Their  web site is below.

Long Drive to River

A mini bus picked me up around 8.30 a.m. After a few stops to pick up some other customers, we headed out of the city.  It took about two hours before we arrived at our destination, company’s rafting and canoeing centre.

Zip Line

The first activity was a zip line.  There were 31 lines in all.  Some were long some were short.  They were from tree to tree through the jungle.  The longest was 400 metres across a river.

Unfortunately, I managed to put my GoPro on the wrong settings (photo not video) for that run.  This a problem when you can’t see the symbols on the camera because they are so small.

Zip lining is ok, but don’t think I will find one to match the one I did at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. It was a ripper.

After the zip lining, I was driven back to the rafting and canoeing centre for some lunch.

Instructions on Rafting

After lunch a group of us were driven 10 kilometers up the river.  On the way, we shown a video which gave safety instructions on what we should do in the event of a mishap.  It was all very professional.

Perfect Run

I was put in raft with a young English couple and the guide.

The first part of the run down the river was very gentle with no rapids.

We then came to a couple of rapids and then one big one. I got a good video of us successfully negotiating the rapids.  There were also staff from the company taking photos and videos.  They are on Flickr.

Getting Wet

After another relatively calm bit of the river, we came across some more rapids.

Everything was going ok until we ran into a large rock.  I suddenly found myself in the water. For a short time, I was total submerged.

Seemingly from nowhere, one of the guides who was travelling in a kayak had grabbed me and assisted me to the shore.

The whole performance is on Flickr.

The young English girl was swept down the river.  Fortunately, she was not hurt.

There were no more mishaps as we continued.

Back at the centre we were given copies of the photos and videos the company’s staff had taken for a small fee.  Sometimes these are a rip off.

Trump wins USA Election

When  I got back to my hotel in Chiang Mai, the television stations were confirming that Trump had won that US election.

Flickr Links

Photos (1)

https://flic.kr/s/aHskLCjkTY

Photos (2)

https://flic.kr/s/aHskL8jmm7

Videos

https://flic.kr/s/aHskLb9zQ3

Adventure Company

https://8adventures.com/whitewater-rafting-chiang-mai/

 

 

 

 

A Bit Crook in Bangkok and Chiang Mai

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phototasticcollage-2016-12-14-16-33-35

 

I decided to head to the Delhi International Airport well before the flight was leaving.  The plan was to spent time in the Business Lounge and use the internet for ‘admin’ stuff.

This didn’t go quite as planned as I was not allowed to cross into the departure area until three hours before the flight was scheduled to leave.  I ended up spending a few hours in a small lounge on the other side of the gates. The internet was ok, but  there was limited food on offer. I ended up eating two cheese sandwiches.

Flight to Hong Kong

The flight to Hong Kong left at 1.00 a.m. and arrived in Hong Kong around 9.30 a.m.  I then had a long layover before flying on to Bangkok.

I wasn’t feeling too good when I landed in Hong Kong.  I knew that I had case of ‘Delhi Belly’.  I am not sure how I contracted it, but the cheese sandwiches at the airport are a possibility.

Arriving in Bangkok

I was not at all well when I arrived in Bangkok.  The train and Skytrain trip to my hostel was a bit problematic.

I thought that if I didn’t eat much and drank a lot of water, I would be able to beat the bug.  This was not correct.  On the fourth day my stomach felt that like there was a boiling kettle in it.

I walked the short distance from the hostel to the Bangkok Christian Hospital.

In Hospital

Almost immediately after completing the registration process, I almost collapsed.  I was put in a wheel chair and taken to see a doctor.  There were then a number of a procedures including blood and other tests.

I was then given a potion to drink and put on a drip.

After about 5 hours I was able to leave. I had been given some antibiotics and some other pills to take.  I spoke to a cousin (one of three doctors on one side of the family) who confirmed that the medications were all good.

Train to Chiang Mai

After three days I seemed to have recovered and decided to take the overnight train to Chiang Mai in the north.  I was lucky to get a sleeper cabin at sort notice.

I really like Thai trains, especially the sleepers.  They are clean and very comfortable. The timing of the night train is perfect.  It leaves Bangkok in the early evening. After a meal (which is very good) you go to sleep to the gentle rocking of the train and arrive in Chang Mai around 8.00 a.m.

Nice Place to Stay

I had booked into the Eco Lodge, a place that I had stayed in before.  It is a little away from the ‘walled’ part of the city, but it is really good.  I think it must have been a school and one time.  I has nice gardens and a great pool.  Private rooms are not very expensive.

Back to Hospital

The next morning it was obvious that all was not well with my stomach.

I was back to hospital, this time the McCormick which is close to the place I was staying.  I was prescribed another, but longer course of antibiotics.

Not Able to MTB ride

One of the things I wanted to do in Chiang Mai was  mountain bike (MTB) riding.  There are some great descents in the hills close to the city.

I didn’t think that I was in a condition to do the rides.  This gave me the ‘shits’ so to speak.

Even when I recovered I didn’t like my fitness was such that I would have been able to do a ‘technical’ ride safely.

I decided to do white water rafting instead.

A post on that is next.

Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/gp/twwilko_photos/85r0m0