Thailand’s greatest hits

Bangkok â‡¨ Ko Phangan â‡¨ Ko Tao â‡¨ Bangkok â‡¨ Pai â‡¨ Chiang Mai

Thailand was different. The plan was to have a neat one-month vacation with great food and zero stress, but I ended up being ill most of the time. First mysterious fever with cough, then ear infection, which produced one of the most intense pain I have ever experienced and finally a biking accident with a lot of scratches. One month in Thailand and 80% of the time was spent being sick with two kinds of antibiotics, a variety of painkillers and a myriad of ear drops.

Fortunately the destinations we picked were chill enough to spend time being sick comfortably. Haad Yuan was magical as always. The common theme of this season was an invasion of Full Moon bucketheads in neon colored t-shirts. Half of the beach is already lost to full mooners and who knows where this development will lead further. The plan to build a dividing wall across the beach was hatched, which received enthusiastic support from regulars, but nothing ever materialised. Maybe next season then.

Ko Tao has not changed at all from the last time. It seems Sairee beach had reached its full potential for fitting in more resorts and restaurants and the end product is enjoyable despite its touristic nature. I could not go diving because of the ear infection, but did not feel sad about it, which finally convinced me that scuba diving was not my cup of tea. Oh well, there are a myriad of other things to enjoy in this life.

Pai has considerably changed since the last time three years ago. New resorts have been built and more are on the way. Now Pai is dominated by rowdy American teenagers and even more Chinese tourists. I had a horrible vision what if in the near future it will become a boutique destination with excellent shopping and eating options aimed at catering Chinese tourists en masse. In the end the most important thing that matters to local businesses is who brings the most money. In the contest of poor white hippies and wealthy upper middle class from China, the winner is clear. Thankfully for now the chilled out lovely atmosphere is still there. People are friendly and easy-going, food is great and live music is somewhere every night. What else could you wish? Pai could be fully enjoyed only for one day, after which we spent the rest of the time recovering from the biking accident in the 40Â°C heat. Not an ideal way to spend a holiday or treat wounds by any means, but what you can do…

Thailand has never been that rough, as if it was sending a message: you are not welcomed this time. Coincidentally a lot of time was spent in discussions about the real nature of Thai friendliness. Whether “the land of thousand smiles” is authentic in its smiles or whether it is just a cultural mask that stems from the fear to lose one’s face. Anyhow Thailand is still my favourite destination in South East Asia. No bad feelings.

Bangkok by night

Bangkok’s own superstar Chapi checking out the situation.

Sunrise at the Donsak pier before boarding a ferry to Koh Phangan.

Wai Nam beach, Koh Phangan.

Coconut wisdom.

Somewhere between Haad Yao and Wai Nam, Koh Phangan.

The rainy Koh Tao.

Sairee beach, Koh Tao

Nang Yuan beach at Koh Tao

Arguably the best picture I took in Thailand

A magic shop in Pai

A creepy installation, Pai.

Pai river

And its dog

The proof of sending postcards from Pai

Witching Well restaurant in Pai.

Bali (Part 2 of 2)

One of peculiar things about Bali that there is no functional public transportation or at least this is what all the guide books and everyone we have talked to say. Locals rely mostly on motorbikes and a more wealthy kind on private cars. Taxis, although cheap for short distances become prohibitively expensive for intercity travel. As an alternative there are bemos, shared ride taxis, which in the worst case combine the negative sides of taxis and public transportation. If you are unlucky, for a price of a taxi, you get a slow ride that you get to share with other people. However there is another mode of transportation, which not many people know about. Namely public buses that cruise between cities and pick people on the way. There are no timetables and you have to figure routes out yourself, but apparently this is the cheapest (and certainly not the fastest) way to travel on Bali. We learned about the buses on our last day in Indonesia, so did not get a chance to use them. Maybe next time then.

Munduk

Munduk was an unexpected choice. We were supposed to fly to Komodo, but Merpati (the airline) cancelled all the flights without any prior notice. Just like that. So at 7AM in the Denpasar airport a new plan was hatched to explore the north of Bali. Munduk is a small mountain village in North Bali. The altitude is high enough to warrant for chill temperatures (read +26C) during the day and heavy showers in the nighttime. The scenery is stunning: a couple of impressive waterfalls, endless rice terraces spread over the mountains and allegedly Bali’s oldest tree (aka The Big Tree). It is enough to fill two days with hikes, but it gets old quickly. The village itself is too hectic with passing traffic and lacks any chill out facilities. Still worth a visit for the different Bali, especially if hiking and stunning views are your cup of tea.

Lovina

Lovina is a small beach resort situated in the north of Bali, known for black sand beaches and dolphins, which can be spotted by booking one of the numerous tours. Other than that Lovina is popular among seniors, who clearly dominate the local scene. Essentially, a retirement home set in a tropical paradise. One of the elder Dutch couples we met on our way out of Lovina even told us boldly that they did not like young people. Maybe give it a few decades and I will grow fond of the place, but for now it is not exactly the most exciting part of Bali.

Eloquence at its best near Munduk.

And the view itself.

And a different take on the beautiful view.

Rice fields near Munduk

The road to Bali's biggest tree was long and arduous.

Us vs the biggest tree in Bali.

Lush nature near the Munduk waterfall

The mighty waterfall of Munduk.

Huge bamboo trees growing near the waterfall.

Balinese traffic signs are rather weird. Half man, half gorilla as a pedestrian sign.

An abandoned resort in Lovina.

With Buddha guarding the entrance to the resort

Beach mode

No shoes, no underwear, minimum amount of clothes, no shampoo, salt and sand in the hair, coconut oil on the skin. That’s how I spent my holiday. By the end of the first week I got evicted from my bungalow (due a reservation by people more important than myself), so I ended up sleeping in a hammock on the beach. Dormitory was one option, but where is fun in that? After a second night, I scored myself a bungalow (not a trivial task on Haad Yuan around NYE). But at this point I got accustomed to the life of a beach bum, so I continued maintaining status quo. A hammock, a sarong, swimming pants, some reading, a camera, a torch and a knife, a toothbrush with toothpaste, a comb, water and some money. That’s all I needed to get by. The rest was tugged away in friends’ bungalow and I hardly touched during my bungalowless phase. Simple, yet effective.

– Where do you stay?
– On the beach. I am homeless.
– Oh noes!

It was a good story to tell. Reactions were interesting. It seemed that most people were stressed by my situation and tried to help me by giving advice, while I tried to explain them that I did not mind being homeless. After all I had to have my adventure during this journey. If not for climbing a mountain or exploring yet another cave, then at least spending a few nights on the beach.

My ego traps

a journey into the centre of the heart

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Tag Archives: beach

Thailand’s greatest hits

Bali (Part 2 of 2)

Munduk

Lovina

Beach mode