For me, Ko Samui was a good starting point, not too crazy but not too laid back a little of both. While on Ko Samui, we stayed at this amazing place for 1500 baht and it included free breakfast. The beaches where we stayed were okay, the waves were definitely rough. The first day there, they were at least 6 feet high. One day we rode elephants for an hour, it was pretty cool to ride an elephant. Did you know that they are hairy? We stayed there for two days and it wasn't enough because I would like to have seen more of the different beaches that Ko Samui had to offer.
Ko Pha Ngan was really cool. This is definitely the island you go to if you're looking to party. Unfortunately, I didn't party because I fell asleep too early. Again, we stayed at a really nice place, this time for 800 baht and it was right on the water with a hammock as well. We sat out on the main beach wher
e the Full Moon Parties are held. We dined that night at an amazing Mexican restaurant. It was a lot more than we usually spent on meals, but it was totally worth it.
Ko Tao was next on the list. This was really a great island to seclude yourself on. We didn't leave the area of our hostel. It was located on the corner of the island. It was the cheapest place and it showed. For 500 baht, it was bare bones. We had mosquito nets for our beds, which was a first. But we were able to go snorkeling, where we saw lots of cool fish. We even saw some fish eating another fish, which was really cool to see. To get to our hostel, we didn't take a car, we took a boat taxi. It is definitely something that you must ride on if you ever visit Thailand. That night Jennifer and I did a little stargazing and I have never been able to see so many stars before. It was awesome.
The following day, we traveled to Bangkok. First, we took a ferry from Ko Tao to Chumphon. From there we took the overnight train to Bangkok. We arrived very early in the morning and proceeded by taxi to Ko San Road where everything is. We stayed in a hostel for 800 baht a night, which wasn't bad. But the real treat was finding meals on the street for 30-35 baht! Let me mention that Thai food is very good. I could live on Green Curry and Red Curry all of my life. In Bangkok, it is very easy to get scammed. It happened to us, even though I read about it. What happens is someone will tell you that the Palace is closed for the day or in our case that it didn't open until noon. Then they proceed to take you around town, show you some sights and in between them, the driver takes you to shops where you have to spend 10-15 minutes inside. The drivers do this so they can get free gas for the day.
Jennifer and I started walking from our place to the palace, immediately, someone asked where we were going, I told them and they said it was closed. I quickly replied with, "nice try" and kept walking. Then, a couple blocks later with no one else around, another guy tells us the same thing. we ignore him. Finally, after crossing 6-10 lanes of traffic without a crosswalk and nearing our destination. Another guy shows up and tells us that he works for the Dept of Defense, which was conveniently located right next to us. He told us the same thing, but for 40 baht a tuk tuk would take us around the city for two hours and would show you some sights. I had a feeling that it was a scam, but Jennifer jumped at it and we found ourselves in a tuk tuk driving around the city. In hindsight, its not that bad, I didn't lose any money, 40 baht is $1.10. The only thing that it did waste was time. Oh and the stores that he took us to were probably expensive. I don't know because whenever we went into a store, I didn't pay attention to anything. Even when tailors came up to me, I told them I didn't speak English. I actually spoke Hungarian to one of them, even though I don't speak Hungarian. I used the only two phrases I know, "Sorry, I don't speak Hungarian" "Do you speak English?" But I switched the Hungarian and English. It was sweet.
We saw the Palace, but unfortunately, not all of it was open so we didn't buy the tickets to go inside. We went to a museum and we saw the Laying Buddha. We got scammed again on the tuk tuk, but this time we knowingly did it. This time it cost us 20 baht and I got to see the Laying Buddha, it was really big! Afterward, the tuk tuk driver took us to a tailor. I was kind of mean to him, because I was tired of tailors trying to get me to buy a suit. I know its their job, but come on if I walk by a couple times not wanting to buy a suit, stop trying to sell me one. So the tailor asked me, "Can I do anything for you?" I said, "No." He got a little mad and said something like, "This is not a showroom, this is serious work."
The next day, we went to the boat market, which was crazy!! We rode to the market in what our tour guide said was a James Bond boat. The market was awesome, there were so many people selling so many different things. It was unbelievable.
We went to the Tiger Temple, which is where monks took tigers that no one wanted anymore (apparently some Thai people keep tigers as pets but when they get big they don't want them for obvious reasons, I mean you'd have to spend so many hours at the park to get a grown tiger tired). We took pictures with a lot of different tigers, I was petting and touching the tigers. From cubs to enormous males. I was a little scared to touch the male tigers because they were really big and intimidating, even if they were sleeping.
From there, we went to the bridge over the River Kwai. It was cool to look at, but other than that it was just a bridge. The museum was pretty bad, as in a lot of facts were wrong.
After returning we hit up Koh San Road until we left for the airport. You can buy anything on Koh San Road. You can buy driver's licenses, College Degrees, Press passes, English Teaching Credentials. I found out a Singaporean Driver's License costs 1500 baht. Crazy.
This trip was a lot of fun. I highly reccommend going to Thailand. Even in the winter, it was hot. In the 80s everyday, in Bangkok it might've hit the 90s. After venturing to Thailand, I have realized what I want to do after Taiwan. In August when my contract is up, I plan on travelling from Beijing, China to Vietnam, then Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore all the way to Australia and New Zealand. That would be sweet.
Ko Pha Ngan was really cool. This is definitely the island you go to if you're looking to party. Unfortunately, I didn't party because I fell asleep too early. Again, we stayed at a really nice place, this time for 800 baht and it was right on the water with a hammock as well. We sat out on the main beach wher
e the Full Moon Parties are held. We dined that night at an amazing Mexican restaurant. It was a lot more than we usually spent on meals, but it was totally worth it.Ko Tao was next on the list. This was really a great island to seclude yourself on. We didn't leave the area of our hostel. It was located on the corner of the island. It was the cheapest place and it showed. For 500 baht, it was bare bones. We had mosquito nets for our beds, which was a first. But we were able to go snorkeling, where we saw lots of cool fish. We even saw some fish eating another fish, which was really cool to see. To get to our hostel, we didn't take a car, we took a boat taxi. It is definitely something that you must ride on if you ever visit Thailand. That night Jennifer and I did a little stargazing and I have never been able to see so many stars before. It was awesome.
The following day, we traveled to Bangkok. First, we took a ferry from Ko Tao to Chumphon. From there we took the overnight train to Bangkok. We arrived very early in the morning and proceeded by taxi to Ko San Road where everything is. We stayed in a hostel for 800 baht a night, which wasn't bad. But the real treat was finding meals on the street for 30-35 baht! Let me mention that Thai food is very good. I could live on Green Curry and Red Curry all of my life. In Bangkok, it is very easy to get scammed. It happened to us, even though I read about it. What happens is someone will tell you that the Palace is closed for the day or in our case that it didn't open until noon. Then they proceed to take you around town, show you some sights and in between them, the driver takes you to shops where you have to spend 10-15 minutes inside. The drivers do this so they can get free gas for the day.
Jennifer and I started walking from our place to the palace, immediately, someone asked where we were going, I told them and they said it was closed. I quickly replied with, "nice try" and kept walking. Then, a couple blocks later with no one else around, another guy tells us the same thing. we ignore him. Finally, after crossing 6-10 lanes of traffic without a crosswalk and nearing our destination. Another guy shows up and tells us that he works for the Dept of Defense, which was conveniently located right next to us. He told us the same thing, but for 40 baht a tuk tuk would take us around the city for two hours and would show you some sights. I had a feeling that it was a scam, but Jennifer jumped at it and we found ourselves in a tuk tuk driving around the city. In hindsight, its not that bad, I didn't lose any money, 40 baht is $1.10. The only thing that it did waste was time. Oh and the stores that he took us to were probably expensive. I don't know because whenever we went into a store, I didn't pay attention to anything. Even when tailors came up to me, I told them I didn't speak English. I actually spoke Hungarian to one of them, even though I don't speak Hungarian. I used the only two phrases I know, "Sorry, I don't speak Hungarian" "Do you speak English?" But I switched the Hungarian and English. It was sweet.
We saw the Palace, but unfortunately, not all of it was open so we didn't buy the tickets to go inside. We went to a museum and we saw the Laying Buddha. We got scammed again on the tuk tuk, but this time we knowingly did it. This time it cost us 20 baht and I got to see the Laying Buddha, it was really big! Afterward, the tuk tuk driver took us to a tailor. I was kind of mean to him, because I was tired of tailors trying to get me to buy a suit. I know its their job, but come on if I walk by a couple times not wanting to buy a suit, stop trying to sell me one. So the tailor asked me, "Can I do anything for you?" I said, "No." He got a little mad and said something like, "This is not a showroom, this is serious work."
The next day, we went to the boat market, which was crazy!! We rode to the market in what our tour guide said was a James Bond boat. The market was awesome, there were so many people selling so many different things. It was unbelievable.
We went to the Tiger Temple, which is where monks took tigers that no one wanted anymore (apparently some Thai people keep tigers as pets but when they get big they don't want them for obvious reasons, I mean you'd have to spend so many hours at the park to get a grown tiger tired). We took pictures with a lot of different tigers, I was petting and touching the tigers. From cubs to enormous males. I was a little scared to touch the male tigers because they were really big and intimidating, even if they were sleeping.
From there, we went to the bridge over the River Kwai. It was cool to look at, but other than that it was just a bridge. The museum was pretty bad, as in a lot of facts were wrong.
After returning we hit up Koh San Road until we left for the airport. You can buy anything on Koh San Road. You can buy driver's licenses, College Degrees, Press passes, English Teaching Credentials. I found out a Singaporean Driver's License costs 1500 baht. Crazy.
This trip was a lot of fun. I highly reccommend going to Thailand. Even in the winter, it was hot. In the 80s everyday, in Bangkok it might've hit the 90s. After venturing to Thailand, I have realized what I want to do after Taiwan. In August when my contract is up, I plan on travelling from Beijing, China to Vietnam, then Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore all the way to Australia and New Zealand. That would be sweet.
1 comment:
Hello
It has a nice blog.
Sorry not write more, but my English is bad writing.
A hug from my country, Portugal
Post a Comment