RTW Trip: Thailand - Krabi

The first two weeks of our trip were spent almost entirely in the water. Then we spent just over a week land locked in Thailand. What a great time to move south and get back to where we want to be… on the beach!

We arrived in Krabi, on the west coast of southern Thailand across the bay from Phuket, at dusk where the weather and lighting were perfect. After speeding past some beautiful scenery we approached the Sheraton Resort. The Sheraton had a massive property right on the water with its own private beach. Best of all they had a ping pong table which Adam and I took full advantage of during the quiet evenings at our hotel.

Sheraton Resort- Krabi

After so much sight seeing in the previous two cities, we decided to take full advantage of the hotel and spend the day relaxing at the pool and on the beach. At one point we took a nice stroll down the beach to find what turned out to be a crab colony of, brace yourself, millions of tiny crabs. I haven’t seen this many of one animal since our boat ride in New Zealand with 400 dolphins.

 The second day we decided not to be so sedentary. After having such a great motorbike riding experience in Chiang Mai we decided to do it again. For only $10/day we rented a bike and rode over to AoNang where we caught a boat ride for $3.50 each way to the well-known Railay Beach. It was a beautiful beach with pretty water and a cute shopping center with plenty to keep you busy.

We had heard about a very cool look out point so decided to find it. It turned out you need to be in pretty good shape to get to this look out point. It’s a straight upward climb done with only a rope. Some parts were pretty challenging, even for an active person like myself. We got to a secondary view that was too much for me and I let Adam head up it alone. Later that night we hit up a restaurant called CoCo Nut for dinner. If you ever visit Krabi it's worth a try. It had great food, great service, and didn't have touristy prices. 

Look Out Point

Railay Beach

On our third day in Krabi we went on an island hoping tour that we booked through one of the local shops. 

 The itinerary was to see Bamboo Island, Phi Phi Dom, and Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi, which many know for being featured in the movie The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio. We were picked up at 8am and packed onto a fairly large boat full of people. Instantly, it felt super commercial and touristy, unlike our time in the Philippines. The most beautiful -- but also most commercial -- stop was by far Maya Bay. We pulled into the bay surrounded by dozens boats and hundreds of people. There must have been 50 boats crowding the shoreline obstructing our view. The crew literally was pushing boats away to fit ours in so we could hop off.

Once off the boat, you could see the amazing view but only if you are able to envision it without 500 crazy tourists in your way. The main highlight was encountering a very flavorful eastern European couple wearing the skimpiest bathing suits we'd ever seen (photo below). Lunch, cafeteria style, was on another island. It was impersonal and the food wasn’t even that great. On the way to lunch I banged my toe on a rock and for the first time in my life had a black toe. Drama queen or not, it hurt like hell and I pretty much limped the rest of the day.

Our packed boat

Maya Bay

Strange Eastern European couple

Overall, the day was good. The islands are beautiful and the weather was perfect. Considering the full day tour only cost us $74 for both of us we can’t complain much. My advice to you: hire a private long boat for the day which will only cost you $100. Lunch will be an additional cost but who cares. I guarantee you will enjoy it much more than these tourist packed boats.

Bet you forgot about my lost passport already but just in case you didn't, upon arrival to the hotel that evening, we were informed that my passport arrived from Chiang Mai! Hallelujah!

We got to spend one more day in Krabi before our flight out to Bangkok where we stayed one more night before our next flight out of Thailand.

Overall, we had a great time in Thailand. It’s a culture rich country that has lots to offer any visitor. If you are ever up for a visit be sure to get their famous Thai Massage and be sure not to over pay or get caught in a tourist trap. We averaged about $5/hour on most of our massages. The food is hit or miss in Thailand but either way be sure to check prices on the menus before you order. Otherwise, you might find yourself over paying when the bill comes.

Next stop, Casablanca, Morocco via Abu Dhabi! Get ready for some crazy stories ahead!

RTW: Thailand- Chiang Mai

Like I have said before, its always better to arrive in a new city before dark. However, this time it was a welcomed change as Chiang Mai really comes alive at night. We arrived and literally outside the steps of our big hotel was the famous Night Bazaar. A bit overwhelmed and starving from the day of travel we went straight to an Indian restaurant in the markets for dinner then explored all the stall-lined streets.

Our first day in Chiang Mai was spent exploring the old gated city. We visited a few temples, also known as Wats, and the 3 Kings monument, which, turned out to be a bit less impressive than we thought it, was going to be. The most interesting part of the day was our “Monk Chat.” A bit like FDR fire side chats, we got as much time as we wanted to sit down with a young monk to chat. We learned in Buddhism that almost everyone is expected to become a monk at least once in their life, even if only for a short bit. We also learned that there are 272 rules that a monk must live by.

Jack Fruit

 I had done a ton of research and learned about the abuse and exploitation done to the elephants, not only by the Thai people but the neighboring countries as well. In parts of Thailand, Burma and Loas, elephants are still use for begging in cities, illegal logging and of course, tourism.  My research led us an hour north of Chiang Mai where we spend the day at The Elephant Nature Park. The most impressive day yet, over the course of 8 hours we learned how to feed the elephants and how to bath the elephants, which we actually did in the local river, and the injustice of how the elephants are treated in this part of the world. 

Amongst many things we learned that some of the elephants there were drug addicts – they’d been given amphetamines so they’d be able to work around the clock. Two had mangled feet from stepping on land mines near the border with Myanmar. One we saw had a broken hip from forced breeding. Another had a broken leg from being hit by a car while street begging. One had a visibly deformed back – her spine had been broken from the platform her owner put on her back to carry tourists around. So profound was learning about what it actually takes to get an elephant to allow you to ride on its back. It takes weeks of abuse in a contraption no bigger than the elephant, called “the crush.” As for us, we will NEVER ride on an elephants back again! 

We also read about the sad story of Boon, a young elephant sent to the park after she’d panicked in traffic and caused damage to a restaurant. When the police showed up her mahout, or trainer, took off and the park rescued her. But the mahout eventually cleared the charges and came to collect Boon. Technically she belonged to him and he could pull in serious money using him and there was nothing The Nature Park could do so he was put back on the streets.

A heart wrenching day, but also full of happy things as well. We had the privilege to visit with not only a 6 month old baby boy but a 12 day old girl as well! It was the most amazing thing and I seriously could have sat there just watching the baby girl for hours.

6 month old baby boy

12 day old baby girl

WATCH THE VIDEO!

What I found so bewildering was how the locals could choose to abuse an animal that is so highly revered in this part of the world. From our pictures you will see they are iconic to the Thai people, with ancient elephant statues on temples and buildings.

Following our magical day with elephants we spent the rest of our days in Chiang Mai riding around on scooters. It was such a great way to get around as it only cost 200BT ($6.5) for a days rental. We took advantage and rode up to the temple on top of the mountain called Pratak Doi Suthep. It was really beautiful up there, everything covered in gold but again, the temple was just another tourist attraction with every corner covered with donation drops boxes. The Thai people must give all their money away every day to the temples. It’s a little unbelievable until you actually see it.

Pratak doi Suthep

Jade Buddha at Pratak doi Suthep

It would be nice to say that we ended our stay in Chiang Mai on a good note but unfortunately; we had a bit of a scare when we arrived to the airport and my passport was missing. Long story short, it was sneakily hidden in the room safety box and the hotel was nice enough to express it out to our hotel down south in Krabi. Time for more beach time! 

A few notes:

Thai Airline has great service and serves good food and drinks.

Check out Whole Earth for a delicious Thai dinner when in Krabi.

Gallery is also a good spot for genuine delicious Thai food.

Round the world Trip: Thailand- Bangkok

The Philippines was such a unique experience for us that I knew straight away it was going to be tough to beat. However, after all the reviews about Thailand we were really excited for weeks 3 thru 4 and country number 2 of our trip.

Our trip to Thailand was essentially 3 parts. First, Bangkok Second, Chiang Mai and Third, Krabi. With this strategy we were going to see and experience all the different teraine of Thailand: City, Mountains and Beach.

Bangkok

A good piece of advice: Before any international trip definitely be sure to check all national holidays. We arrived in Bangkok fairly late in the evening and were quickly informed by our taxi driver that we arrived just in time for the Thai New Year festival of Songkran. It was good luck, he told us. Many know this holiday as the Water Festival and we quickly found out why. The next three days most businesses were closed but people of all ages flooded the streets with super soaker guns and buckets of water, drenching any and all passersby. At first we were pretty entertained by this but after the first day of walking the city and getting wet we were ready for the water festival to end. And we were ready for half the city to reopen.

Bangkok is a bustling city with lots to see. Our days consisted of Thai massages, visiting palaces and Wats, also known as temples, and doing lots of walking. We visited The Jim Thompson House, which was very interesting. Jim Thompson was an American in Thailand and while there fell in love with the country which led him to eventually move there and create the well known Thai silk industry that still exists today. The interesting part to all this is that Jim Thompson disappeared one day never to return. His disappearance is still a mystery today.

Through our hotel, we scheduled a tour guide to take us around to the main tourist spots of Bangkok. We saw the famous Grand Palace and -- even with thousands of other tourists -- it is still a sight be see. We also visited a temple called Sukothai Traimit which also has an interesting history. One thing you will see a lot of in Thailand is Buddha and Gold! Prepare yourself!

We also got to see visit Wat Pho, which is one of the largest and oldest reclining Buddhas in Bangkok. It it also home to over 1000 Buddha images. Here are just a few to give you an idea.

During out time in Bangkok we designated one whole day to travel away to the ancient royal city of Ayuthya, which at one point was believed to have been the biggest city in the world. Originally, we intended to take a cab to the train station and the train for an hour to the Ancient City. Our plan was pleasantly interrupted when the driver offered to be our “driver” for the entire day for a flat rate. We quickly did the math and thought YES. So off we went private cab driver in hand. Our driver chauffeured us around the entire day through Ayuthya where we saw the Bang Pa-In Palace and tons of ruined temples. As well as locating us some decent cheap Thai food for lunch he also helped us to end the day with a couple of Thai massages. (Our massages were usually priced around $5 for and hour and these were $25 so we obviously got caught in a tourist trap).

Our days in Bangkok were pretty busy but we always seemed to manage to end the day with a nice dip in the hotel pool. It was a great habit since it was pretty hot and humid during the days.

With 4 days of Bangkok now behind us we were very ready to head up north to the mountainous area of Chiang Mai.

Restaurants

Thip Siam –Recommended for the Best Pad Thai

La Monita Taqueria- Really good Mexican (total dinner $28)