Day 13: Last hours in Thailand, the return home

On our final day, we woke early and packed up our stuff. We asked the hotel to call a taxi for us and, after about 10 minutes, one finally agreed. The reason all of them were hesitant was for two reasons: 1) with the protests becoming increasingly chaotic it is a hassle for them to get through the traffic not to mention a very slight danger 2) they could easily charge a flat rate of over 200 baht instead of putting on the meter, which is what the nicer hotels make them do. If you are trying to hail a cab, make sure they meter (or if you're desperate at least haggle for a decent price) and don't fall for any excuses like "it is a national holiday". Unless it is actually a holiday, the driver is just using this as a way to drive up a flat rate offer. We were on our way and arrived soon after at the Grand Palace of Bangkok.

This magnificent palace is the symbolic seat of the monarchy and the site of many ceremonies. It is also the most visited tourist spot in Thailand. About 251 billion baht (over half the country's tourist revenue) is made in the capital of Bangkok with a large chunk of that coming from this palace alone. Even at the opening hour of 8 am the grounds were flooded, mostly with Chinese tourists, loudly clamoring for every photo opportunity they could get. As you approach the gate, you pass by a multitude of armed guards with bayonetted rifles. Then you are inspected for modesty. Nicole was fine, but I had to rent a pair of long pants to put over my shorts. I only had 1000 baht bills so I had to leave one as a deposit for my rented pair of khaki colored pants. They had no pockets which ironically made me do an indecent "reaching into the front of my pants" move every time I took out my phone for a picture! Whatever, we were at the ticket counter and after paying 1000 baht for the both of us, we were inside. Every bit of hype about this place is true. Whether it's the shimmering gold bell shaped turret which looks like smooth gold but is actually made of individual gold tiles, or the elaborately painted murals that stretch around the grounds of Wat Phra Kaew, the place is every bit as spectacular as you could imagine. I will let some of these pictures speak for themselves:

This is home to the Emerald Buddha, the symbol of Buddhist unification with the monarchy. Actually made of a type of jasper quartz or jade, it sits atop a massive altar in one of the temples. Also worth checking out is the scale model of Angkor Wat. One could easily spend half a day in Wat Phra Kaew alone, but after an hour or so, we pressed on towards the Grand Palace. This is the ceremonial grounds for some of the king's events. Also nearby is the mansion in which important guests and diplomats to the monarch are housed. The palace has an impressive throne room or two, an armory museum, and various other sights. It is a more relaxed part of the grounds as many of the tour groups spend their time milling about Wat Phra Kaew. Nicole found a friendly palace cat.

Satisfied with our morning and the multitude of pictures we had taken, we left and walked towards Khao San Road for a late breakfast before heading back to the hotel. Strolling the streets of Bangkok, I couldn't help but feel early twinges of sadness for having to leave such a marvelous place. Over breakfast we vowed to come back very soon. We even talked about ways we could live in Thailand! We snagged a couple last minute gifts for friends and family, then hailed a taxi. The driver laughed at how we were pronouncing the hotel (soo-ko-sol) with our flat, atonal American way and corrected us (soo-KO-son) with a rise on the "o". Rising and falling tone is exremely important in most Asian languages. We grabbed our stuff from the hotel, took a cab to Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Our flight wasn't for a few hours so we had a couple of beers and looked back at photos of the trip. Then I remembered there was supposed to be a large sculpture of a famous Hindu myth, the "Churning of the Ocean Milk" inside the airport. I asked where it was and we found it!

This is a similar depiction to the relief at Angkor Wat, with Vishnu in the center, the whole scene symbolizing the awakening of the kundalini, the serpent uncoiling from the spine. I am increasingly fascinated with Vishnu, Shiva, and Hindu mythologies related to the kundalini. With this, our Thailand adventure had come to a close. We had a short flight to Bayun International in Guangzhou. While standing in a frustratingly long line to get through passport control, we took pictures of the disease prevention and screening apparatuses including a heat-sensing fever detector.

 

Then it was back onto China Southern Airlines for the long flight home!

Until the next adventure...

 - C

Day 12: Leaving the islands, back to Bangkok

Our morning in Ko Samui was a tranquil one. We had a great breakfast (interrupted briefly by a giant wasp which flew under our table and stuffed a large caterpillar into its nest). Nicole took a dip in the water, which now appeared to be jellyfish-free. We soaked in some sun and decided it was time to move on.

We hailed a taxi back to the pier and tried to get combined ferry/bus tickets at the main counter. The price was expensive and did not include a bus combo, so we headed back to the pierside town and asked around at some travel agencies. We found one that offered the combo trip for about half the price we'd found elsewhere, so we sprang for it. In the meantime, we grabbed some drinks at a coffee shop while we waited. It was some of the best coffee I've ever had, Nicole had a delicious coconut shake. There was also a crazy bulbous-headed fish in a tank.

We boarded the ferry and, since Samui is the closest island to the mainland, it was not very long before we were on our bus back to the airport. We ate a late lunch while waiting for our flight, since we had a few hours to kill in the Surat Thani airport. We watched some tv showing footage of the protests in Bangkok, which had turned violent only a couple days earlier. We were glad we did not see any of it, and hoped on our return we wouldn't catch any violence. Interesting to see similar discontent as we had witnessed in Cambodia about a week prior. I wondered if Southeast Asia might see an arab-spring type of moment in which discontent manifested throughout the region in protests against their regimes. Our last hotel of the trip was closer to the shopping malls and Sukhumvit. It was a five star hotel called The Sukosol and was booked through my credit card rewards. It was one of the fanciest hotels I've been in. The staff were hand over foot friendly and we had a sweet room with a view of the Bangkok high-rises. It was just what we needed to rest up for the next day and our long flight ahead. Since it was getting late, we ordered room-service for a decent price and talked about our plans to squeeze every last drop out of our trip. The goal was to visit the Grand Palace first thing in the morning before checking out of the hotel!

- C

Day 11: Ko Samui

We woke early enough to grab a bite to eat on our last morning in Ko Tao. This little island was really something we both would look back on fondly. A friendly man from the hotel called a cab for us and soon, we were at the pier and on a boat to Ko Samui. We took the Lomprayah high speed catamaran. I definitely think this is the way to go, it was much faster than our boat from Ko Pha Ngan to Ko Tao.

We arrived at Samui and caught a cab to our next bungalow, the Weekender Villa. It is about a half hour from the pier and just south of Chaweng, one of the main beaches. Here's our bungalow.

Skeptical of the island, we went to check out the beach view. I have to say, though it lacked a nice strip of sand at high tide, it was quite beautiful. With its 180° panorama, Nicole said it looked like you were standing at the edge of the world.

We venture into the water, but I quickly spotted a couple of jellyfish, so we jumped out and walked along the shore instead.

Not too impressed with the guest house's food options (or friendliness), we searched for a place to eat. We walked a good distance through Lamai beach when we finally decided to settle on an Indian place that we happened upon called Live India. To our surprise, the food was excellent! We had hoped for mediocre and ended up with excellent. Nicole had Aloo Gobi and I had a shrimp masala with a side of garlic naan and a Singha beer.

Afterwards, we walked around Lamai beach and check out some of the shops before heading back to the bungalow. Perhaps it was the overall vibe of Samui, but we never quite bonded with the island, at least the spot we were staying, as we had in Ko Tao. But in the early evening, the weather was beautiful and before the paper lanterns were lit along the shoreline, we had an opportunity to scrawl this blog's name in the sand

- C

Day 10: Christmas Eve on Koh Tao

We woke up early enough to grab some breakfast and take in the view before being whisked off to the port to get on the snorkeling boat. 

(Seriously, the greatest view ever. Got to love those mango shakes!)

We then got onto a boat that would take us to four different snorkeling locations. We only had Chris' iPhone, but we more than made do. 

(The last stop, and where the most of these photos were taken, was called Koh Nang Yuan.) 

We then went back to Koh Tao. After relaxing for a bit we went to a different massage parlor (can't remember the name), which also had a beach view for coconut oil massages. This may have been the best massage I ever had. 

After this we went and got some dinner and went to enjoy the many festivities happening on the beach. In Koh Tao there are countless little resorts and bars lining the beach. Every single bar had a party going for Christmas Eve including some with live music and fire shows. There were also venders selling paper lanterns to send off with wishes written on the side. Of course, we bought two and set them off into the Thai ski. 

I can easily say that this was one of the best days of my life let alone one of the best Christmas Eves I have ever had. It was magical. I think I will be chasing this day for years to come. 

-N

Day 9 : Koh Tao

We got up after listening to the sounds of the waves and decided to look for breakfast. Chris did not want to eat at the hotel and wanted to see the big beach of Phangan. After a little bit of coaxing he got me back on the little death machine, also known as a scooter. After one minor meltdown on the bike, on my part--we were going up and down these large hills--we eventually got to our destination, Haad Rin. It was a pretty beach, but it was more or less deserted at that time. This  beach is famous for large and intense parties every full, half, and no moons (they clearly like to party).

We eventually found a place to eat breakfast and I ordered a delcious coconut shake. I cannot get over the access to fresh fruit here. And I should mention the fresh fruit is unreal in that the flavors are powerful, divine, and cheap. If you are going to Thailand take advantage of the fruit and the fruit shakes!

After we walked on the beach and hung out a bit before heading back. I wasn't as terrified on the way back and enjoyed the ride. I even tried my hand at driving it.

I did not want to leave the island, but we already had reservations on Koh Tao. When we went to return the bike we ran into an unexpected scam of the island. Apparently, as we learned first hand and from some other travelers later on, the running scam is to rent out bikes that may or may not have been set up by there owners to fall. And when the inevitable accident occurs, they'll try and bleed as much money out of the renter as possible. While we did not pay the original quoted price, we did end up paying more than we should have. As it turns out, if you go to the police or threaten to, you usually don't have to pay, because the owners know what they are doing is illegal. If you do decide to rent a bike on any of these islands here are a few tips: 1) Look at the tires. Do they have enough tread on them? Are the tires designed for more sandy and rocky roads? 2) If you fall, remember that you should pay for some of the damage, but no more than 1,000- 2,000 baht, 3) Wear the damn helmet and protect your brain, and 4) If you are being held up for money, threaten or actually go to the local police. Or if you have a nice hotel person ask them to help you. Remember, almost everything monetary, for good and for bad, is negotiable. 

After that experience, we were ready to leave and jumped on a boat to Koh Tao. We ended up at the In Touch Resort. I did not think it was possible, but I LOVED Koh Tao. I want to retire there. Such an amazing and beautiful place. If you are into diving, snorkeling, or just a kicked back beach vibe, then this is your island. I can also sing nothing but the highest praises for the resort. The restaurant was amazing, the view from their deck was awesome, and the people were beyond friendly. It was also very cheap! The bathrooms are a little rustic and you should be somewhat comfortable with bugs (only in the bathroom). But remember you are in tropical paradise, bugs are native to this environment!

Chris had been begging for a massage since we landed, so we found a place overlooking the ocean and both got Thai massages at "AC Massage" for around $18 for the two of us.

The view from the massage parlor.

That night we ate on the deck (see above) and then walked around. We bought tickets to go on a snorkeling tour around the island for the next day (x-mas eve) and decided to call it an early night!

-N