Thailand Part 2: Phuket, Schmuket

Phuket, Phuket, Phuket... What can I say?

But before I get to our time here, I feel like a paragraph (or two) should be dedicated to the agonising journey from Bangkok to Phuket that three of us had to endure. It all began on a rainy Bangkok evening…

Seeing as a coach was a fair bit cheaper than a flight, we went ahead and booked one with a tourism company. Now the company we booked through SAID the coach would depart from Bangkok at 6pm, arriving in Phuket around 11am the next day. It SAID. We left Bangkok after a slightly annoying delay but had a whale of a time at first! Comfy, spacious seating and a couple of good films to watch (in English no less). We’d also packed snacks enough for a dinner and breakfast so we were well prepared!  

Relief at discovering we had plenty of room and comfy seats.
Little did we know...

And then things took a turn for the worse with a very loud and obnoxious wakeup call at 6am. We had absolutely no idea what was going on at this point, but little did we know this wasn’t the only surprise we’d get! We were woken up because we had reached Surat Thani, where we were to change coaches unbeknownst to us. I have to say we were not impressed. Picture this: sunrise, being harshly woken up, kicked off a comfy coach, not knowing where we were and a mad woman hulla-hooping in the house opposite the make-shift coach station. It wasn’t a pleasant morning. But the worst part was not having the faintest idea of what was happening next. So we waited!

After a little while, a man shouted our destination and ushered us towards one of the larger tuk tuks, which we feared may be taking us the rest of the way (still no explanation as to what was happening). After a short journey on the tuk tuk we arrived at a sort of tourism office and waited once again… Some random guy then turned up and walked us to a coach station about 10 minutes away, gave us instruction to wait and we did until a new coach pulled in, apparently bound for Phuket, so we hopped on. Definitely feeling less and less confident about ever reaching our destination by this point.

On the tuk tuk. Tired, hungry and confused, 
but chins up!

11am came and went without us being anywhere near Phuket. We were all talking about writing some VERY strongly worded letters! But eventually we started seeing road signs with Phuket on them, counting down the kilometres. It was around 4pm by the time we actually got there. 22 hour journey in total. And because of the extra 5 hours that came out of nowhere, the food we had planned to last us obviously didn’t, and we ended up taking turns gnawing on what later affectionately became known as the group carrot. A sad day for us all. 

But we made it! We finally reached Phuket! Things were only going to get better now right? WRONG! Our brief stay there was HORRID. It rained constantly and there was nothing to do. It sort of reminded me of a beaten-up coastal town in England. So we hightailed it outta there after a day or so and made our way towards the island of Koh Phi Phi (one of islands we’d planned on visiting). Unfortunately, I was in no way prepared for the journey that was to come, which in a way, was so much worse than the 22 hour coach trip: a ferry. I hadn’t been on a ferry in years until then and didn’t think about seasickness at all. How foolish of me! I don’t know what happened but it was one of the worst experiences of my life. In the space of a 2 hour journey I threw up 3 times, and have never been so relieved to be on dry land after we arrived. 

But that’s all for this post! As a spoiler, all I’ll say is the island of Koh Phi Phi was well worth all that throwing up and misery.

TTFN

xoxo

Thailand Part 1: "Hollaaaaa, City of Squalaaaaaa"

I arrived in a sunny Bangkok around midday, but by the time I reached my hostel (about 3 hours later due to reasons TOTALLY out of my control) it had chucked it down with rain and had become a very miserable first day in Thailand. I have to say, it was very unnerving being in a place where my language level was zero and I knew absolutely nothing about the culture. How do long-term travellers do it? Eh?

But luckily, I wasn’t alone! Met some pals at the hostel and slowly eased myself into Thai life! Tried Pad Thai for the first time (LIKE, SO DELICIOUS) and we visited Chatuchak Market and picked up a few bargs. Then the next day we were joined by a few other pals and after the not-so-emotional reunion was out of the way, we headed out to the infamous Khao San Road for a big night out LOL. I’m not too sure what I was expecting, but it was pretty crazy down there. Covered with the typical neon signs and full of restaurants and bars it was a total tourist area. Dozens of market stalls covered the road too, selling souvenirs from novelty t-shirts to fake electronics. There were also men every step you took trying to sell you ‘the best quality’ suits. WE DON’T WANT YOUR DAMN SUITS. And there were a heck of a lot of coconuts too. 

Then came the most uncomfortable part of the evening: a ping pong show. Now we’ve all heard stories about the things that go down in these places, but the thing I remember the clearest is the unshakable feelings of shame and misery that hung about the club. As a woman, I found it all very depressing and degrading. But little did I know, that dirty feeling would be a lot worse after our visit to Soi Cowboy… 

Khao San Road

Mad tuk tuk ride (I do love a good tuk tuk though)

Anyway, first real night out down, we were all a bit worse for wear the next day so just chilled out by our hostel pool, then wandered about drinking shakes and window shopping. The next day was MUCH more productive! Thanks to the enthusiasm of one member of our little travelling group, we booked a real tour and everything!

It began early doors with the Floating Market in Khlong Latmayom, outside of Bangkok – a very impressive sight I must say! There was everything you could imagine (if you’re realistic with your imagination) being sold on small little boats that floated gently down the stream. Seems to be very popular with tourists as it was pretty busy, but wasn’t too bad luckily. I didn’t buy anything myself, but it’s a very interesting idea I think! And the sellers weren’t anywhere near as invasive as some I’ve encountered in China. 

Some snaps from the market

More pics of the wares available

After the market we floated down through a residential area. Would be mad living in one of these houses

Then after this, we headed to the Bridge on the River Kwai, in Kanchanaburi. For those who don’t know the story of the bridge, it was part of the Burma (or Death) Railway which went from Bangkok to Rangoon (Burma, or now Myanmar). During the early 1940s, the town of Kanchanaburi was under Japanese control and they forced Allied POWs (as well as Asian labourers) to build the bridge – most of whom died during construction due to accidents, disease or maltreatment (thanks again Wiki). 

The Bridge on the River Kwai and what looks to be a temple on the other side of the river

Me! (handy now I had people to take some
pics of me!)

Last on the agenda was the Tiger Temple. This was easily my favourite part of the day. I know all the controversy surrounding the treatment of animals in places like this, but to me it didn’t seem bad. The fact that there were foreign volunteers there at the time also reassured me a little of the treatment of the tigers. Anyway, the tigers themselves were absolutely beautiful. I’m not really a cat person, but I would love a pet tiger. Such amazing creatures! So when we arrived the most important thing on all of our minds was the classic gap yah photo with a tiger. We came across the tiger cubs first and had cute pics with them. There was then some difference in interests, so the larger group of us broke off into smaller groups and my roomie and I wandered around trying to find the actual temple of Tiger Temple. After finding it, and being very disappointed, we carried on wandering and stumbled upon the adult tiger enclosure. JACKPOT! There were about 12 tigers in total all lying around having photos with the tourists, and we eagerly joined the queue. It was a strange set-up, though I suppose all for safety: we handed our camera to a member of staff and then you took another’s hand and they guided you around the enclosure, positioning your hands on the tigers for the photo. Initially I was quite reluctant to be as playful with them as the staff were being, but I did warm up to it later and it was definitely very fun.

Water buffalo and cows!

A tiger cub

Big-headed tiger

Tiger BFFs

King of the pride (though they actually
don't live in prides I believe)

Although we were all tuckered out from our jam-packed day – not to mention the time spent on the minibus – it didn’t end there! We went out for dinner (had my first real Thai green curry! AWESOME!) then headed to Sky Bar - famous for having a fantastic view of the city, and appearing in couple of scenes of The Hangover Part 2. The view from up top really was something though. Spectacular I would go so far as to say!

Bangkok by night

If I can draw your attention to the steps
below the dome, you'll see them here...

Unfortunately these steps aren't actually part of Sky Bar,
so people were very snippy about photos being taken on them

Two of my beautiful besties -
having the time of our lives

See - told ya

One more part of the day to go: a visit to Soi Cowboy. I shudder to remember. Don’t get me wrong, it was pretty fun at first, but then after about half an hour of watching the many (and there were SO many) old men escort young Thai women off I was really ready to leave. So a few of us did! And that was the end to our very hectic day! Most productive of the whole holiday by far I’d say. 

Red Light District

Having planned to leave Bangkok for our next stop the following evening, we only had the morning and afternoon to see a little of the cultural side of Bangkok. At first we had planned to visit the Grand Palace, but seeing the entry price (if I remember correctly, it was about £10) we decided to scratch this and instead, head to the Reclining Buddha Temple with a much more reasonable entrance fee! (A fiver I think) And it was very interesting as well! Very different to the temples of China, which was a welcome change to me I must say. All bejewelled and sparkly. Very pretty.

The Grand Palace, outside looking in...

From outside the Reclining Buddha Temple

The Buddha!
As to the right photo, you had to be appropriately covered, so they handed out nifty florescent green robes if you weren't!

From the temple complex

Diggin' the top hat

Pretty spiral things in the courtyard

Very pretty detail and buddhas!

Weird lion/dog/deer thing which
looks to be on fire...

So after Bangkok it was on to Phuket! And I’ll save THAT gem for next time!

Peace out

xoxo

Post-Fúzhōu Fun Part 4: A Brief Tour of Guăngzhōu and Hong Kong

After another bus back into Guìlín (passed through that city a lot on this trip!), and another ghastly super long train journey I arrived in Guăngzhōu. Very nice city! Clean, modern (at least the areas I saw and visited) and pretty western – I’d imagine because of its close proximity to Hong Kong. Only here passing through on my way to HK, so didn’t have a huge amount of time to explore and visit places. I did go to Guāngxiào Temple though, one of the oldest temples in the city, and had a nosy around. Nice place – but pretty darn similar to the other temples I’ve visited in China. 

In addition to the temple, I spent a lovely lunch in Starbucks (favourite place ever) and then went to Shamian Island – a man-made island in the heart of Guăngzhōu. Given in joint ownership to the French and British during the 19^th century (thanks Wiki!), it is well-known for its European colonial architecture. Very pretty area, with well-kept courtyards and walkways and a very fancy Starbucks. Loads of statues too. Another thing, there were a LOT of fashion photo shoots going on the day I visited for some reason. 

Some of Shamian Island

Another pretty building and a fiddler in a chair

Statues of a dancing Chinese girl (left)
and European girl (right)
(They were placed side-by-side in the courtyard - how sweet)

Then after my brief stay in Guăngzhōu I boarded a train to Hong Kong! And it wasn’t like any other Chinese train, this one was FANTASTIC. Super comfy and clean and spacious. The journey was only about 1 hour and 45 minutes, but I wish it had been longer. Anyway, long story short, I did basically nothing of note in the big HK. Unfortunately the weather was appalling so once again, I did not get that damn night-time skyline photo from Victoria Peak. One day I swear to you, it WILL happen. But alas, not this time round. Spent the few days I was there in a blur of Starbucks and western food. I did visit the Museum of Art again though, and with an audio guide, the trip was very interesting.

                                           ___________________________________________

So that’s my post- Fúzhōu fun in a nutshell! It may not be for some people, but I really enjoyed travelling on my own – even if it was only for a week and a bit. Definitely convinced I’ll be doing solo travel again! Anyway, from Hong Kong I flew to Bangkok, and that friends, is another story for another post.

xoxo

Post-Fúzhōu Fun Part 3: Li River (wider than a mile, I'm crossing you in style, someday...)

After my fun in Dàzhài, I had to head back in to Guìlín in order to catch another bus to my next destination: the town of Yángshuò. Again, easy enough to do and I got this one from the train station too.

After dumping my stuff at my new hostel, The Cosy Garden, I spent my first day in Yángshuò just chilling out and exploring the town. I would DEFINITELY recommend this hostel by the way! It’s a fair way (about 20 minute walk) out of the town proper but the place itself is worth it if you want a relaxing, quiet stay (maybe not for you social butterflies out there, but as a hermit, I was having the time of my life). The staff were very friendly and helpful and the dorm room I stayed in was very comfy! They served fantastic breakfasts too! Anyway, as for Yángshuò the town, I loved it! Very pretty and one particular area was teeming with tourists and western food restaurants – which I loved and took full advantage of. Drank A LOT of mango shakes too.

So having by this point visited the rice terraces, I only had one thing left on my list for this trip which was a cruise down the Li River, so that was how I spent day number 2! Organised the tour through my hostel as they seemed like trustworthy, reliable folk and I wasn’t disappointed: they organised someone to pick me up and take me to the bus station, where I boarded a bus to a small town near Yángshuò (can’t recall the name!), when I arrived someone was there to collect me and take me to the riverfront where I jumped on a little raft for one! It definitely felt like everyone we passed on their rafts was staring at me because I was by myself, but as an SIW I totally owned it, rocking out with my iPod and florescent orange life vest. All in all, I’d say going down the river, then back up took about 3 hours – 3 blissful hours of floating gently taking in some beautiful scenery. And of course, finding the 20 yuan note spot! The only downer was it started to rain cats and dogs, but luckily this was at the end of my little tour so all’s well that ends well!

The town, as I was taken to my hostel

Tourist hub

More from the centre

Got it!

Down the river!

God's thumb!

The next day I played it pretty by ear and ended up at Moon Hill. Recommended as a great view of the town, and despite it being pretty misty, it was still so. One negative was the amount, and freakish size, of the mosquitoes inhabiting the dense forests leading up to the viewpoint. I got bitten to hell up there.

Moon Hill

View from one side

From the other side (very similar I'll grant you)

So after Moon Hill I went mad and hopped on another river cruise, this time down the Yùlóng River. This time we really were floating in one of the typical bamboo rafts. Very blissful again! 

Few snaps from the Yulong River

Wedding photo shoot! Classic

More river cruise

Snap of the cormorant birds fisherman along
the river use to catch fish for them
Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCxTXdO8i_k

Well post-Yángshuò, just one stop remained until I finally left China!

Coming up: Guăngzhōu.

xoxo

Post-Fúzhōu Fun Part 2: Up and Down the Dragon's Backbone

So as I mentioned last time, the second stop on my brief southern China tour was the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terrace in Lóngshèng, Guìlín - so named because the terraces resemble a dragon’s scales.

In a word, I’d describe this place as breathtaking. I had an amazing, very chilled out couple of days in the terraces and finally ticked off a China bucket list item of mine: seeing rice paddies. And to top it all off, the weather was superb!

My trip began at an early hour, and with a slight struggle to find a bus heading to the terraces, but eventually I was on my way! Like most things in China (but not train tickets during public holidays!), you don’t need to, and probably can’t, pre-book tickets to Lóngshèng via bus. I just turned up at Guìlín train station and waited for someone offering my desired location to approach me – and they do frequently as tourists all stick out like sore thumbs! But it’s plenty easy to do, wasn’t too long a wait and was pretty cheap (20 yuan if I remember correctly). Anyway, a few hours later we arrived at the base of the terraces. One thing to note here: because the majority of places to stay for the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces are small villages within the terraces themselves, you need to purchase a ticket before getting to your accommodation; I was a bit nervous about this as I didn’t want to arrive only to be turned away again, but the bus I was in took us directly to the ticket booth, then onto the terraces so there was no problem whatsoever – and if anyone out there is thinking of going, I’m sure any bus you hop on will do the same!

Moving on! I was staying in one of the villages called Dàzhài which was a fair way into the terraces. Now I’d read in my Lonely Planet guidebook (still fantastic and never failed me!) that local women would offer to carry visitors’ luggage up to their accommodation for a reasonable fee, and considering the heat and distance I took one such woman up on her offer. My rucksack is deceptively heavy though, and I’m not sure if this is why, but for one reason or another my bag changed hands not once, but twice in the 40 minute walk – with each woman carrying the bag being younger than the last. I felt pretty guilty by the time we reached my hostel let me tell ya! But that soon disappeared and I was able to take everything in; I’d treated myself to a double-bed room which was awesome and the view I had made it all the more worth it.

My time in the terraces was mainly spent relaxing with fantastic views and daily hiking to get to the recommended viewpoints. There are, I think, three viewpoints close to Dàzhài village but I have only a vague idea of which ones I actually saw – I say close, the shortest walk one-way was about 30 minutes. I began with the number one scenic spot: Music from Paradise; and the view from up there was absolutely phenomenal. All the photos I took of it just do not do it justice, not at all. I can’t even describe it, so take a gander at the pics below! Then from here – after sitting a spell to contemplate life and the like – I visited scenic spot number three, Thousand Layers to Heaven, and another one closer to Ping’an village called Seven Stars Accompany the Moon. Each in their own right awe-inspiring, but I have to admit, after seeing the number one scenic spot, they just didn’t compare! So if you’re staying in/near Dàzhài I would recommend saving Music from Paradise until last.

Anyway, that’s about all I have to say really! Photos in this case will be a lot better at communicating what the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces were really like. I’ve already decided I definitely want to go back one day, with lighter luggage and more time I’d love to see even more of the terraces. 

Shots of Dazhai village

Some of the local wares

View from my window - BEAUTIFUL!

My hero

General terrace shots

More pics!

One of the few of me, en route to Music from Paradise

View from Music from Paradise
Beautiful, but DOESN'T DO IT JUSTICE DAMN IT

Poor fellow - I did wonder how they transported bigger
things up to the terraces as cars just would not do

More terrace pictures

And last one, of Dazhai just as I was leaving

Next stop: Yángshuò!

xoxo