Feb/Mar 2013 - Holiday - South East Asia Part 1, Thailand

I'm aware haven't updated this blog lately. I've still been out and about, but although I've started writing reports here and there I haven't felt inspired to finish them. I've just got back from a 3 week holiday to South East Asia though, and that's definitely worth recording. We covered a lot of ground, and took a LOT of photos, so I'll write it up one country at a time. Click on the photos for a larger view.

Part 1 - journey and Thailand.

Our plane awaiting

Saturday 16th February saw Hazel and I departing Heathrow at 10:30am bound for Bangkok via Kuwait. I entertained myself entertaining a cute 3 year old Indian boy sitting next to me who had nothing to do, by digging out some paper and pencils and jointly creating a picture with flying aeroplanes (me), crashing aeroplanes (him) and an assortment of sealife below. Kuwait airport was a mixed experience - we were provided with free food while we waited for our connecting flight, but said flight ended up 1.5 hour delayed with no information at all barring the new gate number given by one staff member, until the plane actually arrived and the cabin crew trooped on.

We landed in Bangkok around noon, and took the skytrain from the airport to the Phaya Thai station in the city proper, first buying a ticket for the wrong line (the express line being more expensive, and with a long wait than the city) as I thought it would be straightforward having done this before. At the other end came our first tuk tuk ride of the trip (I really love tuk tuks, such a great way to travel in a hot, slow-traffic city) took us to Hua Lamphong station to reserve our tickets for the night train to the walled city of Chiang Mai in the North. The 19:35 train we wanted (which supposedly has the best views coming in to Chiang Mai) didn't have any seats next to each other but we managed to get tickets for the 18:10 one.

We then had half a day to kill before the train, but were feeling rather hot and bothered after a day of travelling, so instead of exploring the city and the markets we looked for a guesthouse for a few hours for a shower and a snooze. We'd both been to Bangkok before so figured this was a more productive use of our time. We found a place near the station, just a single bed and the communal sinks were lacking water, but the showers worked and so did the fan. Semi-refreshed, we had a meal at a convenient restaurant, then walked back over the road to the station where the train was waiting.

Sleeper train to Chiang Mai

We made stilted conversation with the Italian lady sharing our section of the train who claimed she had poor English but which was much better than our Italian. A couple of beers and a 'clink' to celebrate that section of our travels was language mutually understood anyway. When dark fell and the beds came down, Hazel and I finished the books we'd been reading on the plane, and swapped. We were asleep by 9:30, I woke frequently but slept very deeply, so every time I woke it felt like I'd had another 10 hours.

We awoke at 6 hoping to relish the mountain scenery much lauded by the seat61.com travel website, we didn't want to miss any as this train was due to get in an hour earlier than the one we'd originally intended so the remaining views should be valued - as it happened we needn't have worried as it arrive an hour and a half late. The sun hadn't actually risen at 6 but soon there were misty valleys, hanging creepers and sand banks supporting the railway track, not the rocky mountainous land I'd anticipated but enough to absorb.

The Sculpture

We had breakfast in the restaurant carriage (comically named 'bogey'), and failed amusingly to make conversation with the cute French guy on the table next to us. In Chiang Mai we chose a songthaew (shared red-bus, more of a truck where you sit in the back) to take us to the accommodation we'd earmarked in the lonely planet. We completely failed to bargain a good price for the bus, but it's hardly worth trying as everything there is so cheap. Well, except the accommodation we were heading for, the 'Tamarind village' - which was like a luxury spa resort, very beautiful and appealing, and it's a good thing it was fully booked as we didn't notice the price until consulted the book again later on. The place we ended up in, the much more reasonably priced 'The Sculpture', was still rather plush, probably the nicest place we stayed in our trip. It had artwork on all the walls both internal and external, and our twin room with air-con still only cost under £15 a night (most places we stayed were £5-£10).

Turtle at Wat U-Mong

Tunnels at Wat U-Mong

Chedi at Wat U-Mong

Chicken at Wat U-Mong

Once checked in it was time to explore the city, as we'd only be here for one day as a stop on our way to the Bokeo jungle near Huay Xai in Laos - this was our real first destination but there was time for a little sighseeing on the way. After a fruit shake in town we took a tuk tuk to a temple out of town called Wat U-Mong. Here there were brick lined tunnels to explore, supposedly built in the 13th century to stop a clairvoyant monk wandering off into the bush, which were nice and cool on a hot day, especially on the feet since at temples and a lot of restaurants and guesthouses you're asked to take your shoes off. We wandered up to the Chedi (a Buddhist stupa / mound-like structure containing relics), then over to the lake where there was a giant turtle and a series of catfish hanging lazily in the water. We also took lots of photos of chickens, as they were wandering about everywhere looking colourful with adorable little chicks in cheeping tow. We contrasted Wat U-Mong with a couple of temples in town: Wat Chang Taem with its intricate decorated window shutters, the eastern temple of Wat Chedi Luang with its huge buddhas and Wat Phan Tao with its teak roof and offering jars.

 Wat Chang Taem

Wat Chedi Luang

Wat Phan Tao

Riverside restaurant in Chiang Mai

After this we returned to the Sculpture for a snooze, then took a tuk tuk to a lovely riverside restaurant also picked from the lonely planet where we sat on overlooking the Ping river and the lanterns of the lower decking and dock for the dinner boat. We really lucked out with this place - great view, friendly staff, great food where I chose my all-time Thai favourite a Massaman curry, and live music which, although Western based, contained some of my favourites with Simon and Garfunkel classics and a Jason Mraz track.

Boat across the Mekong

In the morning we took a taxi to a very normal looking bus which, over the course of a few hours, transported us to Chiang Khong and the Thailand / Laos land border (actually more of a water border). Here the queue to exit Thailand was short, and after passing we paid a negligable fee for the boat to carry us the short distance over the Mekong into the port border-town of Huay Xai, Laos.