We last left you in Malaysia where we had only a brief foray into the ways of life there. If certain factors were on our side we may have spent more time there but it felt as if we were getting suffocated a little after the carefree nature of Indonesia. Suddenly things seemed to ‘work’ around us. Buses arrived on time and were big, clean and running on natural gas; our accommodation had hot water; there were pedestrian crossings where cars actually stopped; people spoke English and (of course) there were tourists a plenty. It was all the ingredients to make us want to leave after a few days.
Leaving Malaysia we were finally confronted with the reality of how difficult it can be traveling at the end of Ramahdan. We had been warned numerous times of how packed the transport network can be and it was. Unfortunately, we were in Malaysia, and in Malaysia they have rules. If we booked in advance and paid the right price we could have our own little minivan filled with a happy bunch of tourists to take us across the border and into Thailand, but… I had a surfboard. An item seemingly akin to a six foot bag of contraband in Malaysia, I was faced with a real dilemma about what to do with this surfboard that was to be by my side for the next few weeks. The problem was that there are rules in Malaysia about tying objects to the roof, a concept completely alien to me after traveling through Indo where they appear to have a long running merit system based on who can pile the most crap onto the top of any vehicle be it bus, car, motorcycle or bike using the least amount of rope, rubber or vine possible.
I could lie and say I didn’t think of trying to find an innocent English gap year backpacker and convincing him/her to buy my surfboard for their upcoming trip to Australia but instead opted for the alternative (ie more expensive) route to Thailand and the realization that it was time for the surfboard to become a thorn in my side.
The next few days of traveling are a blur of hot, sweaty, overcrowded and frustrating train and bus journeys. The hope that escaping into predominantly Buddhist Thailand would alleviate the Ramahdan crowds was quickly dashed. Southern Thailand is predominantly Muslim and the wealthy middle class Malaysians flock to the Andaman coast of Thailand with the same urgency as they do to their dinner after Ramahdan. Thailand wasn’t starting well.
To make matters worst our first island destination in Thailand, one that Lisa had really longed to see was closed for the monsoon season and not set to open for another three weeks. The destination was Ko Tarutao, an island and National Park with no permanent inhabitants that opens only in the dry months. We had hoped to hire a tent and camp there for a few days and forget about the troubles of the world. No such luck. I’d also discovered on the internet that the deep waters off the island and its location in the Andaman meant it was rumored to have the best potential for large surf in Thailand…I’d almost justified the surfboard.
Our plan B was to head further up the west coast and see what was open. Lisa wanted to visit the Kao Sok National Park so we headed in that direction with a niggling suspicion that something was bound to interrupt our plans. Our halfway stop around Ao-Phang-Na was pleasant enough. We spent two days cruising the huge bay with its massive limestone cliffs and caves, spent the night on a ‘stilt village’ which, as it sounds is an entire village built over the water in the estuary hugging a limestone cliff with access only by boat. The whole village was devastated by the tsunami but you wouldn’t know it. Whether that is due to the resilience of the people or the importance of the tourist dollar here is debatable.
We were relaxed now and things were starting to work but we couldn’t help feeling like something was about to interrupt this ‘easy’ traveling. That next hurdle came in the form of rain. Big, fat, hard, relentless, monsoonal rain. Joy.
The National Park quickly became off limits to us. A few days before we were scheduled to go there a flash flood in one of the popular trekking routes killed around six foreign tourists and a local guide after they were washed into a cave with no way out. And still it rained.
We spent a couple of days in Khao Lak riding around in ponchos wondering what the hell to do now before deciding to take the plunge and head to the east coast where HOPEFULLY there was no rain.
Well...there was.
The beauty of the islands in the Gulf of Thailand can not be denied but I can assure you that it makes a huge difference if it's raining. Gone are the multi-cultural, barely clad bodies strewn across resort beach and isolated, palm fringed, secret beach alike. Beach parties just aren't the same and there is only so long you can lie in a hammock and read books when the back of your mind is telling you that you're supposed to be soaking up paradise, having the time of your life. Despite this, the islands of Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao were cool and chilled out and we left there feeling very relaxed.
Thanks to the gnarly monsoonal winds that kicked up early in the morning I managed a lone surf on Ko Pha Ngan. It was late afternoon and the winds had eased off leaving a pretty clean 2ft swell hitting the reef near our bungalow on the north coast. I’d been getting some pretty strange looks whilst carrying the surfboard around Thailand but now these looks were amplified ten fold when the locals saw me paddling out to surf on it. Everyone I asked there had never seen a surfboard in the flesh let alone someone using it so that was a real kick. It was a great experience but not memorable surf.
The other really odd thing that happened on Ko Pha Ngan was that a ran into an old friend from Terrigal, Mel Rudder. I know this can happen whilst traveling but the crazy thing is that I’d also run into this same girl two years earlier in a bar in London. We were both so perplexed as to how this can happen twice in a lifetime let alone two years, and in completely opposite sides of the earth. Crazy.
Bangkok was our next stop and a chance to soak up the big city life. I’ve grown quite fond of Bangkok now after three visits and can safely navigate its many suburbs, faces and moods. We spent around six days there, shopping, eating, getting visas organized, eating, drinking, eating and pampering ourselves. There is SO much amazing food on offer on the streets of Bangkok. We pampered ourselves on one occasion by visiting one of the amazing cinema complexes in Siam Square. For a little more than the price of a regular movie ticket back home you can indulge in the Super VIP movie experience. It was freaking amazing! You receive a free drink on arrival and spend as long as you wish waiting in a lounge area complete with the most amazing massage chairs I’ve ever seen, foot massages, leather sofas, cocktails, the works. When you enter the cinema you have your own double booth with reclining chairs, pillows, doona and private waiter if you wish. So crazy. There are only nine booths in the whole cinema and the sound quality was amazing.
We made our way to northern Thailand next and to a lovely part of the world in the Mae Hong Son Province. We spent almost a week around Pai and Mae Hong Son, exploring caves and hot springs and small mountain villages. The area is really popular for trekking and every man, woman and child is trying to make a profit out of it. After hearing some stories and doing some research we discovered that most of the treks visit communities that are really nothing special, in close proximity to towns and you really only walk for a couple of hours to reach them. Many ethnic villages had road access so we opted to rent a motorbike for five days and try to reach some further outlying places. It was one of my highlights of the trip to date! We just had a small pack with the essentials and set off with the wind in our hair. We discovered some amazing places and people, we even taught in a local school when the teacher noticed us snooping around and insisted on us coming in. It was a 'Lisu' village and the girls were dressed in beautiful coloured tops and couldn't stop laughing at our attempts to teach them english. We discovered isolated hot springs, swimming naked of course. We trekked to an amazing remote cave where you had to crawl on your belly through mud to enter but once inside it opened up to a huge cavern that went on for a kilometre. We even made it to an isolated Chinese village on the Burmese border where at the only guesthouse we politely refused to eat dinner with them after discovering two men grilling bears legs over an open fire! I kid you not, they eat anything in this part of the world. We later saw the same legs walking around a bear sanctuary in Laos, housing 'endangered' bears...
We couldn't resist the urge for a photo opportunity so trekked to the Burmese border and stuck my leg in for the quick snap-shot (sorry Mum). You can't see the guy 5 metres to my right with the rifle, he didn't want his photo taken.
Our introduction into Laos came kinda as expected... a nightmare overnight bus ride where the driver continually slapped his face to stay awake on psycho mountain roads (he stopped on the side of the road at 2am to nap...) and a chaotic morning of border crossings and organisation. The people in Laos are incredibly frustrating to deal with slow, sly and sneaky. Our two day boat ride down the Mekong River started badly, we were really good and got their early after hearing it can get busy on the boat. We reserved a seat each (a plank of wood that is) and got the cheapest ticket available. Two and a half hours later and with 140 more people the boat left, just as we had made up our minds to try and get a refund and charter our own boat with some other travellers. Welcome to transport in Laos.
Ok peoples, I’m gonna throw this one out there and it’s up to you whether you want to throw it back or take it and run…
The most exciting part of the adventure and the one I am looking forward to the most is the two weeks of snowboarding we will be doing in Kashmir in Northern India, the Himalaya baby! Now… I have already convinced a couple of friends from home to join me for this and I want MORE!
I could lie and say that it’s not going to be gnarly because it is. The ski resort of Gulmarg is right on the border of Pakistan and we’re probably going to be sharing the ski fields with guys bearing AK-47’s (but they’re on our side!).
Kashmir was once considered to be one of the most dangerous places on earth (according to the USA), so why the hell are we doing this??? Because it will be AMAZING!
I had a friend visit the same resort earlier this year and he says words can not describe how good this place is. As far as the snowboarding goes, we’re talking world class mountains with barely a handful of people to share it with. The gondola is one of the highest in the world, taking you to over four thousand metres! So, the more the merrier.
