Elephants, Waterfalls, and Hippies

After almost 24 hours on two bus from Phuket to Bangkok then north, we arrived in Chiang Mai.  The day we got there it was 104 so needless to say we suffered in the heat.  We met a guy named Mike from Lakewood, CO, which was pretty amazing considering Ryan is from there and it turned out he went to High School with Ryan’s younger brother Sean.  Chiang Mai is known for elephants, temples, and the best place to celebrate Sangkran but since it had just ended and was excruciatingly hot,  we decided to make the trek over to Pai where we could do all of the same things.

Pai, in my opinion, was every bit as good as advertised.  A small hippie town with surrounding mountains and a river running through the middle, it truly is a place to experience some of the best art, food, and music that Thailand has to offer.  We stayed at the DarlingView Point Bungalows which sit up on the hills overlooking the town and I highly recommend staying there.  It may not be the most pristine place you will ever stay but with scooters only costing $3/day it is a great location and one of the few “community hostel” experiences that we’ve had thus far on our trip.  Some of the highlights from Pai included riding elephants, sliding down a waterfall, hiking up to another through the jungle, and visiting a very large cave (which also included an amazing 3 hour scooter drive).  We spent a good chunk of time in Pai and I was definitely bummed to leave but excited about my upcoming trip to Laos.  After saying goodbye to Mike we boarded a minivan that will take us to the Thailand/Laos border.

More to come from Laos soon!

-BP

The three of us on the elephantFishing in the river

 

Cruising on the scooter

At the viewpoint

Tsunami Survivor

The next stop on our tour was Railay.  A rock climbers paradise with deep water soloing and breathtaking views.  Thoroughly excited, I load our crew of four up on a boat on a nice sunny day… wind blowing in our hair… wait, why is the boat stopped? … why are people putting on life jackets? … TSUNAMI??? WHAT!!??  Yes, yours truly was stuck on a boat when the warnings went out.  Although no waves came from the 8.6 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, we were still rerouted to Krabi and I missed my climbing trip.  Fortunately, Krabi was a good time, we found an amazing hostel called Pak-Up (maybe the nicest one I have ever stayed at.. check out the link!), and I brought out my traveling alter-ego “Le Stache” (picture below).  Our trip there included Ryan getting a sweet tattoo and the beginning of Songkran, the Thai New Year.

We decided to spend Songkran on Patong Beach.  Although it is not the greatest place, it is a hub for travelers and has a lot of locals as well.  However, the main reason I wanted to go was to harass lady boys.  You see Songkran is basically an all-out water fight.  It doesn’t matter if it is Thai vs. Thai, Thai vs. American, Man vs. Woman, Adult vs. Child, or Bryan vs. a Lady Boy… you can shoot each other and splash as much as you want.  Patong Beach is pretty terrible in my opinion.  It is crowded, full of old men and lady boys, and expensive.  I was pretty adamant about getting out of there so we headed to PhuketTown which was actually great, full of culture, art, and much quieter.  We stayed at a very nice hotel called Ananas which was the cleanest, and most quaint hostel I’ve ever seen.  They had a movie room which we took full advantage of and enjoyed relaxing in at night.

After Phuket we are headed north to Chiang Mai!  I’ll post again in a week I guess!

 

"Le Stache"

Ryan getting his first tattoo.  Bamboo on the ribs is probably not the best way to start!

Water Fight!

On the bus to Phuket Town.  Loved the rotating fans and mirrors on the ceiling.

Sweet dragon fountain in Phuket Town

My favorite graffiti so far (in Phuket Town)

"The Beach"

One of the most popular places in Thailand is Koh Phi Phi Island.  At one point considered the most beautiful part of Thailand (or so I was told) it is right next to the island where TheBeach was filmed.  We packed up on the night ferry, which consisted of rows and rows of mattresses on the floor (kinda cool sleeping right next to strangers, also kinda creepy) and then took a bus and a 2^nd ferry to Koh Phi Phi.  Some friends advised us to go to Golden Hill Bungalows to get away from the bars and noise, so we headed towards the back of the island and arrived there.  I thought the hostel was pretty fun and had a pool which was amazing to lounge in. 

I won’t bore you with too many details of the island itself except to say that there were waayyyy too many English frat boys yelling and partying, it was pretty cram packed full of good places to eat and shop, and had a solid 3:1 cat to human ratio.  We had greats pizza and smoothies which was a nice break from the Thai food. 

So as I said, everyone comes to Koh Phi Phi to visit Maya Bay, where “The Beach” was filmed.  We found a tour for 600 Baht ($20) that included swimming with sharks and sea turtles, cliff jumping, a Thai lunch, and a tour of not just Maya Bay but also the entire island.  I think it is all better seen than told so you can take a look at the pictures below.

-BP

Jordan performing the pre-fight ritual at his Muay Thai fight in Koh Phangan

 Me holding the bags on the truck while hanging off the back.  Kelli's fell off about 3 minutes into the ride.

Me in mid-air while cliff jumping.. check out my sweet form.

Black tip reef shark... I can check that one off the list now

Our first view of Maya Bay "The Beach"

Posing on "The Beach"

Scooters, Muay Thai Fights, and Painted People

Long overnight trips are going to be the norm here in Thailand and I am just fine with that.  A 10 hour bus ride combined with a 5 hour ferry ride and we made it to the island of Koh Phangan.  Koh Phangan is a decent sized island that easily quadruples in size during certain parts of the year due to the Full Moon and Half Moon Parties.  Not wanting to be down in the craziness of Haad Rin Beach where the parties take place, we opted to stay in Ban Tai, a more centrally located spot right along the main road.  We decided upon Ringside Hostel which turned out to be an excellent decision.  The hostel was run by an American from LA named Jordan and his Swedish girlfriend named Nadine.  They ended up being a big help to us directing us around all over the place and we hung out with them quite a bit at night as well.

Jordan and his brother Zach both train as Muay Thai fighters, Jordan with 22 fights and Zach awaiting his first.  Ryan and I worked out in their gym down the street which was nice to get out and sweat a little bit.  Clearly, we were ready for the beach after struggling through the heat in Bangkok, so we rented scooters which ended up costing us all of $20 for the entire week per person.  I think everyone became quite attached to their scooter seeing as how we were on them so much each day.  The beaches on this island are nice and the water here is so warm due to the blazing sun which has turned me brown again.  

The first true discovery we made on the island was Amstardam Bar.  Resting on top of a hill overlooking the ocean, it easily has one of the best views in all of Koh Phangan, and that I've ever seen for that matter.  It is quite the hippie hangout and was an experience for even me, which is saying a lot.  If you are ever out this way, I highly recommend you go there every evening for sunset.. just like we did...it was 'pretty neat.'

So as not to bore you with everything we did the past week, some of the adventures we did included: waterfall climbing and sightseeing, visiting temples, scooter rides through the hills from beach to beach, eating with an old Swiss man and his Thai wife in his home (“so is life!”), and watching Muay Thai fights.  These fights were especially fun because it was Jordan’s 23 fight and Zach’s 1st.  There were about seven fights each and it all started off with two eight-year olds in an “exhibition.”  They are too young to be paid so they just hit and kick each other for five rounds until one is declared a winner.  Jordan was put up against a fighter from Bangkok with over 250 professional fights that was easily 40 lbs larger than him.  He did pretty well considering, but took a shot to the leg that ended up breaking his fibula and ending the fight.  Zach’s fight the following night was even more exciting for everyone!  Not only was it his first fight, but he was put up against a fighter with over 50 fights to his name.  They do this so that a new fighter will get the crap beat out of them  and go back to train harder.  Well, despite all that, Zach ended up winning in the 3^rd round and I coincidentally lost my voice from all the yelling I did!

The only reason 99% of people will ever come to Koh Phangan is for the Full Moon Party.  Over 30,000 painted people descend on Haad Rin Beach for a night of dancing and partying at the large festival they put on each Full Moon.  I’ve heard people compare it to Glastonbury, Running Man, and Coachella… none of which I have ever gone to personally, but it was pretty much the strangest, craziest thing I have ever seen. There is so much more to see here and it is a shame so many people come to party and will never really experience the island like we did.

I’ve posted pictures below… hope you enjoy them!

-Bryan

  Port of Koh Phangan

Haad Rin Beach (pre-Full Moon Party)

Painted up for Full Moon!  Yeah, it's pretty weird

My old co-workers will love this one

Bangkok

Three flights and 26 hours late and we finally arrive in Bangkok.  After taking a 45 min cab ride that cost all of $15, we arrived at We Bangkok, our hostel for the next few days.  The first thing you will notice when arriving in Bangkok is the heat, humidity, and pollution (90% at 95-100 degrees), I’d compare it to Texas in June or Late August… definitely not July weather though!  The second thing you notice is that Bangkok is absolutely massive.  There is not just one single area where there are skyscrapers but literally 50-story buildings randomly scattered throughout the city.  Our first day we wanted to see everything so that is what we did.  We took off to try some food from the infamous street vendors or “street meat” as Ryan calls it.  Chicken, Pork, Shrimp-on-a-stick in the norm… but wait is that a bug, what is in that ball of meat dough, is that a charred baby Parakeet!? 

After exchanging money and a few “street meat” attempts we headed to China town.  China town can best be described as where McDonald’s toys, scissors, and cheap clothes go to die.  Anything and everything you could ever imagine is there.  The paths are cramped, people are everywhere, and it is a literal explosion of the senses (bright colors, horrific smells next to sweet ones, strange objects, etc.). 

Our next adventure spot was Khaosan Road.  Not really knowing what to expect we were approached by a man selling us a “temple tour” for 10 Baht each ($0.30).  Sounded too good to be true but for that price we hopped on a rickshaw (Tuk Tuks as they are called in Thailand) and scooted away from temple to temple.  All in all the tour was ‘pretty neat’ aside from our driver taking us to suit tailoring shops and travel agencies in exchange for gas.  The temple pictures are pretty neat and watching Ryan freaking out deciding to buy a custom suit might be the highlight of my trip so far… what a metrosexual!

The last major trip/thing we saw the weekend market.  We took the Sky Train which impressively was not far off from the Light Rail in Denver and made it there just before noon.  I am not going to even attempt to butcher the name of the place but it was pretty amazing.  Just like the China Town market, it was massive.  This market was even more diverse though and sold everything from 90’s clothing to amazing artwork to puppies to children to jewelry (one of those may or may not be true).  It was absolutely sweltering this day and we didn’t last too long at the market and decided to head back to the hostel early so Kelli and Ryan could get a massage and I could pretend like I was, but then chicken out due to my fear of people and go back and take a nap.  I was battling a terrible cold my entire time in Bangkok so I felt like it was relatively low-key, but of course we met some fun people, experienced everything a proper first-time visit to Bangkok should include, saw some shows, and after a few murderously hot days were more than ready for the beach.

We’re now off to Koh Pha-ngan Island for Full Moon, sun, and a week of scooter riding!

Mucho Amor,
BP

Welcome to Tokyo?

 

China Town

Bowls of "Street Meat"

  

Ryan, Kelli, and I at one of the Temples

50 meters tall and the largest statue of Buddha in Thailand

Hotel where the rooftop scene for The Hangover 2 was filmed