Thursday 27 September 2012

Thailand | Koh Chang!

The time we spent in Chaing Mai wasn't quite long enough to really get a true feel for the place; so, compared to other travellers opinions, mine is a fairly opaque view. The City was nice, but compared with other Cities I visited later on, definitely not on my top five list which blew me away. However, I would relish the opportunity to visit again and really pick up on the detoxing vibes others resonate and speak highly of.

From Chaing Mai we headed back to Bangkok via train... What an experience! We enjoyed the scenic view it provided from our rickety carriages and peacefully watched the daily goings on of the locals. However, the hours dragged as we sat, slumped, curled and sprawled other our seats trying to find a happy medium and attempt to sleep through the mammoth 18 hour journey laid out before us. Alex even attempted the baggage racks above, which proved successful and he slept right through (until he got nudged to get down..).

Monday 24 September 2012

Thailand | Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Chaing Mai and Pai

Like many travellers who have passed through Thailand; I was struck down like a fly (or mosquito...) by a bout of sickness in my first few hours of arriving which, subsequently, took me a few days to shake off before I fully acclimatised to the intense heat within Bangkok.

Our first few days in Thailand were spent exploring the immense and crazy City that is Bangkok. We delved straight into the historical and cultural sites and visited: The Grand Palace; The Reclining Buddha (this was by far my favourite place it was just magnificent. I loved the location and all the intricate, pretty surrounding temples; just wandering around for a short while you truly felt immersed within the foundations of Thai culture and spirituality); felt like sardines packed together as we travelled along the river Chao Phraya by express boat with the locals; browsed the extensive shops and market stalls in China Town, sampling various fruits, spring rolls; and trawled through endless rails of clothes and jewellery along Khao San Road - the most popular item, amongst both tourists and locals, being t-shirts sporting various iconic phrases such as "Same Same, but Different". My only wish, whilst shopping out there, was that there could be at least one top sporting: "Lovely Jubly", as this was a frequent phrase I heard whenever I told someone I was British and it amused me every time!

Friday 21 September 2012

Thailand | The Beginning

After plodding through Suvarnabhurmi Airport, Bangkok and dragging with me my gigantic, heavy, overpacked, dark pink backpack I found the representative I was meeting holding a flimsy sign with the company name sprawled neatly in black biro pen. Little did I know, at this point, that this girl, slouching against the entrance to Boots, waiting for me to arrive, was to become one of my best friends on the trail. I smiled nervously and uttered a shy: "Hi, I'm Hannah..." to my relief she recognised the name and introduced herself promptly as Miri, taking me swiftly under her wing. Haaaa!
We made our way through the airport, making general chit chat... How was the flight? Hope it wasn't too many hours ... Not too bad, there weren't any delays ... Where was your transfer? ... Don't worry, it's not too far to travel from where we're staying; your'll be able to put you rucksack down in a minute ... Has anyone else arrived yet? ... I can't wait to shower and get into different clothes! ... etc.

After copious amounts of winding our way down escalators and taking a wrong turn, we arrived at the Skytrain which would take us to the correct district and from there, after a quick stroll along a bridge overlooking a busy road below, we took a short tuk tuk ride to the infamous Khao San road where we'd be spending our first few days.

As I sat chatting in the back of the Tuk Tuk to Miri; clinging desperately to my bags and hoping I wouldn't fly out, but also being mesmerised by the 'STAR WARS' notebook Miri was writing in and explaining the itinery for the next two and a half months; the heat of the City struck me almost instantaneously!