East to Hedon

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 30, 2014

Posted on March 30, 2014 by East to Hedon

Another beach-day in Koh Lanta. We’re definitely getting the hang of “island-time”. Breakfast (brunch?) wasn’t even until 11 AM.

View from our usual breakfast table.

After breakfast, I worked on the blog while Eron looked for a place to stay in Phuket. By the time we were computered-out, a couple of hours had already gone by. So, as it was now the strongest-sun part of the day, we headed back to our bungalow. It was officially, “hammock-time”! At around 3:30PM, we grabbed our plastic chairs and made that long, arduous 200 metre trek under the blazing sun, across a stretch of toe-curlingly hot sand, and finally reached the mercifully cooling waters of the Andaman Sea – which was actually at about body temperature or higher. Then we planted our chairs at the water’s edge, plopped ourselves into said chairs and proceeded to just watch the world go on around us; with the heat of the sun caressing our bodies, the surge of the surf in our ears, the sight of the Celadon-green waters in front of us, those same waters lapping at our legs and feet, and the crisp smell of the salt air filling every breath… there are few better ways to spend an afternoon.

For dinner, we decided to try our luck again at the Thai Cat Pub and Restaurant. As we were walking north on the beach, we could see that quite a lightning storm was happening further north of us. It must’ve been a fair distance because we never did hear an thunder over the ever-present sound of surf. When we reached the restaurant, Eron got a table for us while I walked about 10 minutes further to get out from under the restaurant lights to try and record some images of the storm.

Lightning over Ban Saladan.

Lightning north of Long Beach.

Lots of lightning but no thunder.

Tonight, we threw caution (and our wallet) to the wind and had a “seafood feast” at the Thai Cat. On Chef’s recommendation, we had a whole Monkfish filleted and broiled in butter and garlic, two Tiger Prawns cooked in chillies and butter, and a pair of monster-sized Jumbo Prawns done in (you guessed it) more butter and garlic. The seafood came with rice and a baked potato (also liberally slathered in butter) and we added mixed vegetables stir-fried with oyster sauce. It was a LOT of food but we absolutely destroyed it! The Monkfish was so simply prepared, fresh, and delicious. The Jumbo Prawns were perfectly cooked, juicy, and buttery-garlicy-good. The veggies were uniformly crisp, fresh, and very tasty in the oyster sauce. Even the baked potato was done to perfection. The only things that made this meal a 4 out of 5 versus a “full-pull” 5 out of 5 were The Tiger Prawns and a slight hitch in the service.

Admittedly, when it comes to food, we are both very particular and can be picky – we both love to cook and can appreciate when the effort is put in and the details are cared about. Unfortunately, while the Tiger Prawns were indeed tasty, we both agreed that they were slightly over-cooked and thus had a bit of a rubbery texture to them – BBQ’ing seafood is THE specialty of the house so, it’s pretty hard to let them slide on that one. The other glitch that cost them points was the fact that our waiter needed to be asked multiple (5+) times to bring ice for our beers. Each time he would bring one glass full of ice even though we asked for a bucket of ice repeatedly. Yes, a very minor irritation. But as we give out very few “5’s”, this alone would have cost them; especially after witnessing their exemplary level of service from the previous evening. In any case, the vast majority of the food was excellent, most of the service more than acceptable, and it was a fine evening of dining on the beach. At 4 out of 5, I would (without hesitation) recommend this restaurant to anyone visiting Koh Lanta.

To top it all off, while I was enjoying my after-dinner cigar; they added a “floor-show” – some of the waiters started running along the surf-line and into the edge of the water trying catch a number of skittering crabs. After a few minutes everyone, staff and patrons, was laughing at the antics.

Waiters trying to catch crabs by hand.

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 29, 2014

Posted on March 29, 2014 by East to Hedon

Per usual, we had to drag our non-morning-person butts down to the restaurant for breakfast. And, to top it all off, we had to put up with this kind of view…

Breakfast-time view.

We get back to our bungalow to find we’ve, or more correctly our veranda, had been adopted…

“Tabby” has adopted our veranda.

We decided to go into town to check out the local shopping-scene. All we had to do was walk down to the reception area of the resort; conveniently located across the road is a tuk-tuk depot.

Tuk-tuk depot across road from resort.

We spent the next few hours wandering in and out of the various shops in Ban Saladan. We didn’t buy much, but it was an interesting way to spend the afternoon. Funny enough, one of the highlights was stopping at a mini-mart to have a Magnum ice cream bar – did it ever go down gooood! Magnum bars; I know of them from home but here… they have some impressive market penetration. They have advertising most everywhere and they are carried in almost every little mini-mart and kiosk with a cooler. Plus they are in every 7Eleven here… and, as mentioned before, Thailand has one helluva lot of those.

By the time we got back, it was “chill-out time” on the veranda. Mind you, “chill-out” is a very relative term when it’s nearly 100 Degrees Fahrenheit. But you do what you can; a cold drink and a cigar certainly helped.

For dinner, we wanted to walk down the beach a ways and see what we could find. Along the way there were a couple restaurants that looked like they jumped right out of the frames of a certain infamous movie…

Apocalypse Now-esque restaurant.

It was also cool to see the glow of the lights from the fishing boats.

Fishing boats on the horizon.

The restaurant we chose looked like the psychotic love-child of a union between Apocalypse Now and Mad Max; the Thai Cat Pub and Restaurant (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g303905-d1965177-r192304442-Thai_Cat-Ko_Lanta_Krabi_Province.html).

The Thai Cat Pub and Restaurant

BBQ kitchen area on the beach – dugout canoe is where the seafood is displayed on ice.

They are located on the north end of Long Beach, only about a 10 minute walk on the sand from our resort. The level of service from the staff is courteous, efficient, and welcoming to the extreme… even by Thai standards. Better yet, their food was every bit the equal of the best we’ve tried in Thailand. And as an added bonus, their head-waiter and an older gentleman (who we assume is a proprietor) spoke very good English. In fact, the older gentleman even greeted guests with “hellos” and “good evenings” in a number of other languages. Part-way through dinner, the air became quite still, thick, and heavy. The older gentleman commented, “I think it will rain tonight” and went on to explain that Koh Lanta has had but one rain shower since December 15 of last year… and that was for only twenty minutes. He also noted that they needed the rain to last at least 2 hours as some of the islands water-wells had already run dry. Shortly after this, the first few drops fell. For “Wet-coasters”, it was quite humorous to watch the staff running around collecting up the seat cushions and ushering patrons to new tables under the large thatched-roof dining area that is set back from the beach. The few drops that managed to strike us were actually refreshing… we were hoping for more… you heard it here first folks, Vancourites actually hoping for MORE rain. The only concern I had was for my cigar… rain-soaked cigars are not particularly well-known for their smooth, easy draws.

While I was easing the fast pace of this day with a cigar, the Sky Lantern vendor showed up. As usual, some Farangs fell for the, “Light one for good luck” line.

Preparing a Sky Lantern.

Getting ready to launch.

Launching.

Away it goes.

As I was enjoying the last of my cigar, the older gentleman came over and asked, “Good see-gar, Monte Cristo?” I replied, “No, it’s a Camacho, a very good cigar from Honduras.” He smiled and said, “Good see-gar, I like the smell.” Good food, great staff, terrific ambiance, and a boss that appreciates my cigars… we’re definitely coming back here!

Sadly, like all good things, my cigar came to an end. So, we bid our farewells and headed out along the surf-packed sand. As we came up to San’s Sunset Bar, we saw that their fire-show was in full-swing.

Fire Show at San’s Sunset Bar.

But even at the water’s edge the air was too thick and close to stay still for more than a minute or two. So, we had to keep moving… the air was so humid this evening that it almost felt as if we were walking through some sort of transparent soup.

The air in the bungalow was ecstasy-inducingly cool at a dehumidified 28 Degrees Celsius… unfortunately, the relief lasted only the few moments it took for our bodies adjust… them the sweating began anew. Showers were the next plan of attack. And the relief was immediate… and lasted until about half-way through “drying off”. I put drying off in quotation marks because as quickly as we dried off, the water was being replaced by beads of sweat. I told Eron that if she really loved me; she’d go outside, cut some palm fronds, and then use them to fan me… apparently that was REALLY funny, ‘cuz all I got in reply was a, “whatever-look” (guys, you’re all familiar with that one) and hysterical laughter.

We adjusted the air-con down to a near-arctic 25 Degrees Celsius and flopped down onto the bed… and then proceeded to toss and turn. The sheer oppressiveness of the outside air was never relieved by any substantive rainfall and it’s presence was able to be felt even inside our bungalow. Well, gentlemen, most of you have experienced the always near-fatal and much-dreaded “Man-Cold”; this evening, a new term was coined – the equally debilitating condition now to be forever known as, “Man-Hot”. For the next several long hours; the heat, humidity, and low barometric pressure all combined to create, “Man-Hot” – grown men whined and whimpered, women tossed and sighed, children cried out for mercy, and even the Great Saijo Denki was over-whelmed… all the while, “Frenchie the Tourette’s-Bird” mocked us with, “Focque Ewe”, Focque Ewe”, “Focque Ewe”….

Posted in Thailand 2014, Travels | Tagged Koh Lanta, Long Beach, The Thai Cat Pub and Restaurant | 1 Comment

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 28, 2014

Posted on March 28, 2014 by East to Hedon

We thought yesterday was a lazy day… today, we barely left the reservation. During the morning, I caught up on posts and Eron laid in the hammock and read.

By the time we were truly up and about, it was already lunchtime. So, we reluctantly threw on some clothes and headed up the road from the resort. Just as we reached the main drag, we saw a scooter with a man and a woman on it wobbling to a stop in front of a fruit stand on the opposite side of the street. We watched them trying to converse with the vendor for a few minutes before the guy spotted us and yelled, “Hey, you speak English?” in a heavy Caribbean accent. Our immediate thought was, they REALLY must be lost to be asking us for directions. Whereupon, he asked us for directions to Long Beach. Well, it was one of the about five places we knew the directions to. So, they were in luck. They managed to get all the way across the road without getting killed and wobbled on down the road towards our resort. We were giving about even odds on whether they actually make it the 350 metres to the beach or we would later find the remains of their scooter of the side the road.

There happens to be a roadside restaurant at the very intersection we were standing at, and they seemed to specialize in BBQ’ed chicken. So, what the heck, we’d give them a try.

Roadside BBQ chicken place.

Largish thatched-roof part of BBQ place.

On the way back to the resort, we spotted what appeared at first glance to be a roadside bar. It was a bar of sorts; a roadside gas bar for the scooters. They were selling gasoline in 750 ml liquor bottles for 91 Baht each.

Gasoline for sale in 750 ml glass bottles.

We made a quick stop at our bungalow to change into swimsuits, grabbed our chairs, and headed down to the beach. By the way, we found the wobbly-scooter couple safely ensconced on loungers on the beach. A few exhausting hours of lounging at the water’s edge later, and we were ready for siesta-time… I wasn’t kidding about being lazy today.

For dinner, we never even made it out of the resort. Our first morning here, we tried out their breakfast menu and were thoroughly under-whelmed; the choices were very limited, the quality lacking, and the prices quite high (about 20-25% higher than surrounding restaurants). So, we had been leery of trying the resort’s restaurant for lunch or dinner. This evening we chose to give it a try; if only to be able to say we gave them a chance. Well, to say the least, we were more than pleasantly surprised! The food was generally well prepared, the presentation was above average, and the Pad Thai and Curry dishes had more complexity of flavours since anything else we have had since Chiang Mai. The only exception was the Shrimp Spring Rolls; the oil they used was too hot so while the outside of the rolls were crispy and brown, the shrimp inside was just barely cooked. The only other downside to this dining experience was that while the restaurant appeared to be equipped with ceiling fans, they were, “No working”, and they didn’t have any portable units. The air was particularly thick this evening and there was no breeze of any kind – so, we sweltered our way through an otherwise enjoyable meal.

After dinner, we retired to our bungalow. Eron went inside to read in air-conditioned comfort while she left me to sweat outside on the veranda with my cigar ;-(

So, I had to make the best of it – up onto the hammock with just our portable travel-fan to blow air against my fevered brow… we were roughing it; we only brought one travel-fan. There I was; watching the occasional flashes of dry-lightening in the distance, slowly melting into the hammock, puffing contentedly on a cigar, and contemplating… ‘cuz I hear that’s kinda what you do in these circumstances. I contemplated nature… or my navel… or the nature of my navel and how one’s expanding middle-aged navel becomes harder to see, never mind contemplate. Oh right, nature… I was contemplating nature. All those folks who keep waxing poetic about the peaceful quiet of nature… well, they sure ain’t never been here. At this resort, nature is anything but quiet. There’s the near constant whirl of the crickets, frogs croaking-out for mates, finches tweeting, other feathered buddies calling out, and then there’s our little friend; “Frenchie” (short for, “Excuse my French”) – the “Tourette’s-Bird” who, came sundown, serenades us nightly with sporadic choruses of, “Focque Ewe”, “Focque Ewe”, “Focque Ewe”. If he would’ve added, “Anglais” after each, I could’ve closed my eyes and imagined we were visiting Quebec…. 😉

Posted in Thailand 2014, Travels | Tagged Koh Lanta, Lanta Pearl Beach Resort | 9 Comments

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 27, 2014

Posted on March 27, 2014 by East to Hedon

We woke up to another gloriously sunny morning in paradise. By the time we actually got out of the bungalow to go find breakfast, it was about 10:30 AM and already HOT! We took advantage of the free WiFi at the restaurant to up-load some posts and then it was down to the beach.

Broiling sun over Long Beach.

As we were having a cool bevie at San’s Sunset Bar, we noticed a group of local Muslim women and a young boy arrive at the beach. Now, here we all are, on a beach advertised as one of the best for sunbathing and swimming. And this group, clad mostly head-to-toe except for for one obvious hussy who was tempting all the men with a wanton show of her lower legs and feet, wanders out amidst all the Farang women in their bikinis, tiny Brazilian-cut bottoms, and some even topless. It was an interesting juxtaposition of cultures and mores… both were extremes; just on their own particular ends of the spectrum.

The 2014 Collection for Islamo-Couture swimsuits.

You thought I was kidding when I said “swimsuits”.

Which beachwear is “inappropriate”.

This evening we decided to go into Ban Saladan to find a restaurant for dinner; it’s only about a 10 minute tuk-tuk ride. We arrive in town to find they have a Night Market too. Only their’s happens on the main drag through town. The stores and businesses on both sides of the street are involved and vendors set up their carts down the middle of the road. So, people (Farangs and locals) are milling about, going from the stores to the carts – and all this time the road is open to traffic… cars, trucks, and tuk-tuks are somehow trying to get through without smoking a pedestrian.

Food carts/stands set up on the middle of the road.

It may look like a pedestrian mall…

… but vehicles still drove through on both sides of the road.

After leaving the madness of the market behind, we found the relative calm of Ban Saladan’s “restaurant row” along the waterfront. Many of these restaurants are family-run affairs where the front or roadside portion of the business is the front of the family home. You actually have to walk through the home to get to the restaurant seating part – which is a roofed pier built on pilings that extends from the rear of the house and out into the harbour. We chose one of these, the “Bai Fern”. The view of the harbour traffic was nice, the food was some of the best we have had since Chiang Mai, and the place had a real rustic charm about it with it’s plank flooring and thatched roof… but it was hot, still, and muggy on the waterfront! The saving grace was that the restaurant had oscillating electric fans and they made the difference. Without the source of air movement, it would’ve been almost impossible to enjoy dinner.

Bai Fern Restaurant, Ban Saladan.

Quiet-time for a local on a pier next to the restaurant.

Then it was a 60 Baht ($2 USD) tuk-tuk ride back to the bungalow… on the most pimped-out disco-tuk-tuk we have seen. It had custom upholstery, matching padding on the roof supports, a matching custom roof, a “go-fast-wing” (rear spoiler), and flashing LED lighting tucked into just about every nook and cranny.

Blinged-out disco tuk-tuk.

Posted in Thailand 2014, Travels | Tagged Ban Saladan, Koh Lanta, Night Market | 10 Comments

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 26, 2014

Posted on March 27, 2014 by East to Hedon

Today was a pretty lazy day for us. We mostly hung around the resort, worked on this blog, checked emails… didn’t get up to much of anything… I think we’re getting a handle on this whole island-thing. At around 3 PM, we finally got our shit together and headed down to the beach to get some sun and sit in the water on our chairs.

Since I sort of got on the subject of “things that get expelled from one’s body”, I’d like to share an interesting observation. Some readers have military or law enforcement experience. So, they are familiar with Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Spray. However, most everyone else will know it by it’s more common names; Pepper Spray, Bear Spray, and Dog Spray. How’s this relevant you ask? Well, dear readers, there comes a point in one’s gastronomic journey that you reach a milestone… a highlight, if you will. You know you’ve consumed too many spicy pepper products in too short a time when you have created (discovered?), CO Spray. That would be one of the most intense, debatably non-lethal man-stoppers ever brought into the light of day; Colonic Oleo-capsicum Spray. Johnny Cash would be done proud; every time one “fluffies” there’s a “Burning Ring of Fire”, the crowd disperses, and the room clears out… plus all the “What the hell was that” looks, coughing, and tear filled eyes.

Anyway, I digress; we had our usual sun-downer at the beach and retired to the room to get showered-up. We had originally planned to walk up the beach to find a different restaurant for dinner. But when we got to the beach and saw their sign and all the tables all lined up on the sand, we figured what the heck and helped ourselves to seats.

Beach sign for San’s Sunset Bar.

During dinner, a number of vendors came by offering “Sky Lanterns” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_lantern). Eventually, some of the tourists bought some, lit them, and released them to float up and out over the Andaman Sea.

Lighting and preparing a Sky Lantern.

Sky Lantern taking flight.

Peaceful and romantic, eh? Well, back to reality; we finished dinner, hopped a tuk-tuk, and we were at the fights. Technically, we were at the “Williams Thai Boxing Stadium” for “Max Fight 7”; the season-closing Muay Thai Boxing tournament here on Koh Lanta. There were five bouts billed with one being an “International” between a Thai and a Norwegian. This stadium is actually a tin-roofed, open-sided structure with a bar at one end, rough-hewn 2X4 bleacher seating on two sides, VIP seating on one side, and with ring-side seating surrounding the boxing ring.

Round Board at stadium.

Muay Thai Boxing ring.

Bar at one end of the stadium.

The Farang-section of the bleachers.

Cute toilet sign.

Over-all, this event did not have the sophistication or the organization that characterized the operation of the tournament in Chiang Mai. However, we both felt the calibre of the fights was actually better here.

Bout #1.

Bout #1 – to the mat.

Bout #1 – charging forward.

Bout #1 – taken down again.

Bout #1 – ends in a KO.

Bout #2.

Bout #3 – that kick had to hurt.

Bout #3 – close but missed.

Bout #3 – that knocked him back.

Bout #4 – fighter and Rasta-cornerman.

Bout #4 – collision.

Bout #4 – knock-down.

Bout #4 – connects to the head.

Bout #4 – down for the count.

Bout #5 – pre-fight ritual.

Bout #5 – both coming forward.

Bout #5 – good inside leg-kick.

Bout #5 – barely checked that kick in time.

Bout #5 – got that Thai Clinch.

Bout #5 – ends in a KO.

Bout #5 – the Norwegian is still out.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of empty seats in the stadium; there would’ve been even more if the locals hadn’t been ushered in to fill some of them after the first bout had started. If the promoters weren’t so greedy and dropped their prices, they would see a lot more ticket-buying Farang butts in those seats. They were charging 1200 Baht (about $36 USD) for ring-side and VIP tickets and 800 Baht (about $26 USD) for stadium seats. The Chiang Mai prices were a comparative bargain at 600 Baht (about $19 USD) and 400 Baht (about $13 USD) respectively. This stadium had the better fights but the Chiang Mai tournament was a better all-around Muay Thai experience. In either case, no one at either stadium complained about or even raised an eyebrow about my smoking cigars during the fights.

The tuk-tuks were all lined up in front of the stadium. So, we got one to give us a ride back to the resort.

Posted in Thailand 2014, Travels | Tagged Koh Lanta, San's Sunset Bar, Sky Lantern, Williams Thai Boxing Stadium | Leave a comment

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 25, 2014

Posted on March 27, 2014 by East to Hedon

After breakfast, we were picked up by the shuttle to Krabi’s port. As it rolled up, we both thought; “Not another mini-bus”. But this time we were the last pick-up and got to ride shotgun as a result.

Passenger departure area at Krabi Port Terminal.

Koi Pond next to the departure area.

Thai Navy LST on static-display near terminal.

We boarded the ferry and it left only about 20 minutes late; pretty good for “This is Thailand” (TIT) time.

Karst Rock formations.

Upper passenger cabin.

Along the way, we made two stops off Koh Jum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Jum) resort beaches to take on and depart passengers.

Dropping off and picking up passengers.

Motoring along the Koh Jum shore.

Longtail boats bringing passengers out to ferry.

Exchanging passengers.

Once loaded the long tail boats zoom away.

After a surprisingly smooth 2 hour ferry ride, we approach the next stop on our journey: Koh Lanta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Lanta).

Approaching Koh Lanta.

Our vessel’s counterpart leaving Koh Lanta.

Shorefront buildings in Ban Saladan.

Restaurant and guesthouse in Ban Saladan.

Road into the sea, Ban Saladan.

Manoeuvring towards the dock, Ban Saladan.

For the tourists visiting the island, there is a 10 Baht per passenger “Environmental Clean-up Fee” collected at the terminal in Ban Saladan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Lanta_Yai) on Koh Lanta Yai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Lanta_Yai). Once outside, we found a tuk-tuk driver, negotiated a price, and onwards we went.

Riding through Ban Saladan in a sidecar tuk-tuk.

“Racing” through Ban Saladan in a sidecar tuk-tuk.

Rush hour in Ban Saladan?

Koh Lanta’s version of the Wooden Bus.

Approaching our resort.

It was only a few minutes on the tuk-tuk and we were already there; the Lanta Pearl Beach Resort (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g303905-d1976121-Reviews-Lanta_Pearl_Beach_Resort-Ko_Lanta_Krabi_Province.html#HEADING).

Lanta Pearl Beach Resort

Our bungalow.

Came with a hammock in Desert ACU camo.

And Conch-shell towel-art.

More bungalows to the east.

Bungalows stretch off to the west.

We dropped off our stuff in the bungalow and headed for the beach… a whole 150 yards or so walk… for our first look beach-look at the Andaman Sea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andaman_Sea) from what is known as Pra Ae or “Long Beach” (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g303905-d555162-r120035539-Long_Beach-Ko_Lanta_Krabi_Province.html).

Looking south on the beach.

Looking north on the beach.

There’s a little restaurant/bar at just where the road meets the beach. So, we stopped there for lunch. The food was some of the least recommendable we’ve had in Thailand but, we couldn’t beat the view or their choice of tunes… just as we got our drinks, they played a couple of Hank Williams Sr country-songs and followed them with a, “vapour-locked in the 70’s” music-mix.

We’re laughing because they started playing Hank Sr music.

After lunch, we caught a quick tuk-tuk ride to a local housewares store for a couple of chairs. Why did we need chairs you ask? Obviously you don’t know us very well do you. So we could do this of course…

Ass in the water, toes in the sand, cigar in place, and beer in my hand.

And that was about the position I stayed in until after the sun set.

Our first Andaman Sea sunset.

After showering off, we walked back to the beach and found San’s Sunset Bar (just north of where we had our butts planted). The food was “average” but the beach ambiance was very relaxing. My only suggestions to them would be to improve the complexity of flavours in their food and to tone-down the bass on the hip hop they had playing. In fact, just trash the hip hop and play some island-themed tunage. The boomy angry-young-man-stuff may have been okay for the college-crowd but, most of this evening’s patrons were couples or small groups of 30+ types. And they also include a “fire show”. We’re not really sure what part of Koh Lantian culture twirling flaming batons in front of slightly bemused Farang restaurant customers represents, but they had a fire show anyway.

Dinner at San’s Sunset Bar.

The San’s Sunset Bar fire show.

Posted in Thailand 2014, Travels | Tagged Ban Saladan, Koh Jum, Koh Lanta, Krabi, Krabi to Koh Lanta ferry, Lanta Pearl Beach Resort, Long Beach, Longtail Boats, Pra Ae, San's Sunset Bar | 2 Comments

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 24, 2014

Posted on March 26, 2014 by East to Hedon

We had no real plans for today. So, we went out for a leisurely breakfast and explored the portion of Krabi adjacent to the Krabi River.

A Krabi street near the river.

Traffic Police vehicle in front of their station.

The kitchen for one of the small restaurants.

Rock formations and mangrove swamps acres the Krabi River.

Boat anchored in Krabi River.

Longtail boats tied up on the Krabi River.

After a few hours of checking out the town, it was time to move over to our second night’s accommodation; the Sweet Home Guesthouse (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297927-d4323122-Reviews-Sweet_Home_Guesthouse-Krabi_Town_Krabi_Province.html). We shouldered our packs, picked up our bags, and armed with Google Maps on Eron’s iPad; we headed out to find the Sweet Home. After about a 30 minute “death-march” in the sun, we had to admit it… iPad map or not, we wuz lost. After that, we decided it was tuk-tuk-time. The first couple of drivers couldn’t make heads or tails of the map either but they finally called over another driver who happened to be familiar with the hotel. “Tuk-tuk-tuk-tuk”; about a kilometre later, we were there.

Sweet Home Guesthouse

After our morning of exploring, we opted for siesta-time this afternoon. As the sun went away and the temperature moderated, we emerged from our cocoon of coolness. We strolled around and found a place for dinner. The restaurant is a part of Hometel (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297927-d3139346-Reviews-Hometel-Krabi_Town_Krabi_Province.html); it was only about two blocks from the Sweet Home. As we were relaxing after dinner, we looked down the road to find that we were sitting only a block away from the Orange Tree. Remember our “Beau Gest hike” from this afternoon? All that sweating and cursing and the two hotels were actually less than four blocks apart. We had to just laugh at ourselves, order another Chang (beer), and light up our cigars.

Posted in Thailand 2014, Travels | Tagged Hometel, Krabi, Sweet Home Guesthouse | Leave a comment

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 23, 2014

Posted on March 26, 2014 by East to Hedon

This morning, we awoke to see fish breaching the surface of the water in the canal. These were some fair-sized fish as we could clearly see them from our sixth-floor balcony.

Fish breaching the surface of the water.

Their behaviour was not made clear to us until we went down to the hotel’s cafe for breakfast; there was something much larger on the hunt in the canal… a Komodo Dragon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon) or other type of Monitor Lizard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_lizard). This one was approximately 8 feet long.

Komodo Dragon on the hunt.

Komodo Dragon swims in canal in front of cafe.

Looking towards the Canal View Restaurant from our hotel.

At noon (or so), the driver from the mini-bus service came to collect us at the hotel; we had pre-paid for an airport shuttle. We were the very last passengers to be picked up so, to the back of the bus we went. Per usual, I feel asleep during the ride but Eron was awake and endured the bus-ride from Hell; Formula 1 Hell, if her description is even remotely accurate. Apparently the driver was an absolute maniac; driving at race-car speeds and swerving between car and trucks so fast that the whole mini-bus felt as if it was lifting up off it’s wheels – I can’t verify any of this as I was fast asleep.

Packed mini-bus for the ride to the airport.

The check-in at the AirAsia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Asia) counter was a breeze. Booked through their iPad App, airfare for the two of us (including luggage and taxes) totalled only $157 USD. It was 1 hour 20 minutes in the air versus a 14 hour bus ride; a complete no-brainer! The only hitch came at the security check, and it was only a minor one at that. The guard couldn’t believe we had a carry-on filled almost completely with spices when he saw it go through the X-Ray machine. So, we had to open it up for a visual inspection. Once the guard saw the packaging and the pungent aroma erupted from the bag, he started laughing and joked about all the curry we were going to make when we got home.

This was a domestic flight and so, apparently didn’t rate a gate with a skyway. We had to board a shuttle and be driven to our plane… one cool paint-job though…

AirAsia Flt FD 3219

So, it was time to bid farewell to the Big ‘Kok; it was nowhere near as bad as we had heard and feared it would be… although they were telling the truth about it’s traffic woes – the traffic SUCKS! We did hear talk of the protests but never even saw any sign of them. Ironically, the only place we saw any protesters was way back in Chiang Mai where we crossed paths with a group of “Red-shirts” on their way to a rally at a stadium.

A short-hop flight later and we’re in Krabi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krabi,_Thailand). We planned to stay here for two nights; the first of which will be at the Orange Tree House (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297927-d2032255-Reviews-Orange_Tree_House-Krabi_Town_Krabi_Province.html). A quick tuk-tuk ride took us there… to find the parking lot in front of the hotel filled with people setting up for their Sunday Evening Walking Market.

Setting up the Sunday Evening Walking Market in Krabi.

After a quick cool-down in our room, we headed out to explore the market.

Market fills parking lot in front of hotel.

Grilled whole fish.

Stage for live entertainment.

BBQ’ed Halal meats.

Wandering about markets always seems to bring on an appetite, at least with us. So, we went looking for a place for dinner. We decided on, of all places, an ex-pat’s Italian diner – Viva Restaurant (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g297927-d1983558-Reviews-Viva_Restaurant-Krabi_Town_Krabi_Province.html). The food was good, the staff friendly, and nobody seemed to mind my after-dinner cigar.

Posted in Thailand 2014, Travels | Tagged AirAsia, Bangkok, Krabi, Krabi Sunday Evening Walking Market, Orange Tree House, Viva Restaurant | Leave a comment

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 22, 2014

Posted on March 26, 2014 by East to Hedon

This morning we headed straight out the door… without even stopping for breakfast! Our destination, the JJ Mall and JJ Weekend Market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.J_Mall). According to the guidebooks, the mall opens at 8:30 AM and our tuk-tuk driver told us 9:30 AM; we arrived just after 9:30 AM to find out it was mostly “9:30-ish”. Most of the shops and restaurants were still either shuttered or just setting up for the day but a few were open; just the excuse we needed to go find breakfast. By about 10 AM, most everything was open for business. So, we spent the next while just wandering through the almost intimidating number of shops and services. After we had enough of mall-wandering, we headed outside and across the street to the JJ Weekend Market. This thing is HUGE! It’s listed as covering about 26 acres. There was no way to see it all in the time we had. So, we ended up doing our wandering over about half of it. It truly is, “the world is for sale” here. They had everything from household gadgets, to fine art, to furniture, to clothing, and just about the largest live pet and pet accessories/supplies market we have ever been to. Available for sale was just about every small animal you could envision as a pet – from the usual cute puppies and kittens, to exotic freshwater and reef fish, and even baby squirrels and primates. Now before the more ignorant people start sending “flames” in the comments section; we didn’t buy any exotic animals nor do we condone their sale (or methods of capture), we are merely reporting on the fact that they were for sale in the market.

The JJ Weekend Market.

One of the first displays we see.

Some of the market is permanent structures, some not so.

When we walked across the street from the mall, we had noticed that the air was “thick” (well, thicker than usual) and clouds had rolled in. Now, the skies just burst forth in that type of downpour that can only be achieved in the tropics. There were several inches of water on the streets in mere minutes.

Shortly after arriving, the skies opened up.

This was not a negative thing. In fact, the lightening storm brought with it a feeling of “freshness”, a cooling breeze, and shower-temperature rains. So, our explorations of the market, although slightly soggier, were made much more pleasant.

After about 2 1/2 hours, we were “marketed-out”. So, off we went. However, the rains brought out some unusual critters along the way…

Pretty big snail, eh?

So big, we actually spotted it from the tuk-tuk.

“Mario Sawandretti”, our tuk-tuk driver, must’ve thought we needed to go to our second stop at near light-speed.

The centre-line is merely a suggestion.

Next on the agenda (yep, we actually had a plan for today), was the Jim Thompson House Museum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thompson_House). This museum is dedicated to the memory of Jim Thompson and the role he played in the revitalization of the Thai Silk industry. He was an architect by profession but had been posted into Thailand during the later part of WW II by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner to the CIA. He fell prey to the exotic charms of Thailand and he made it his post-war home. He made his fortune by rediscovering the by-then nearly extinct native Thai Silk industry; by the end of the war, it had been reduced to a tiny cottage-industry only practised in the rural villages. It was through his efforts, diligence, and contacts in America that the world again “discovered” Thai Silk… it also helped that the Hollywood Blockbuster, ‘The King and I” featured these very silks. Mr. Thompson went missing (now long-presumed deceased) under mysterious and never-resolved circumstances; this museum complex (his former home) is an indication of the level of esteem the Thai people have continued to hold for him.

Jim Thompson House Museum

One of the many water features scattered about.

Main path to house complex.

Koi Pond in front of the restaurant.

Lush garden behind house.

Looking into bottom floor of the house.

Looking into interior hallway of the house.

Pond hidden in garden.

Elaborately carved wooden panel.

Celestial Dog statue.

Note: the museum does not allow photography inside the buildings.

Another warp-speed flight on (over?) the streets of Bangkok and we’re in Chinatown.

We found Bangkok’s Chinatown.

Chinatown street in the rain.

Everyone walks on the road; they have to, the sidewalks are too full of “stuff”.

By this time our automated “gastro-chronometers” were going off so we went in search of lunch. We were in Chinatown, so having a Dim Sum Bakery literally pop up in front of us must’ve been a sign. Inside, the ambiance was definitely “Hong Kongesque” and brought out a very deja vue-like feeling of being back home in Richmond for us. The staff even spoke a Cantonese dialect and understood us perfectly when we ordered Ha Gow and Shu Mai (two varieties of Cantonese-style steamed dumplings). Biased as we admittedly are, we definitely felt better dim sum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sum) was to be had in the Metro Vancouver area. It wasn’t even bad here, just not nearly as good.

Dim Sum Bakery where we had lunch.

Our tummies now full, we ventured back out into the fray.

It’s a walking market here EVERY day.

Chestnut roasting machine.

Street-foods galore.

Avian-flu? What avian-flu?

Sidewalks are just jam-packed with merchandise.

The street traffic is non-stop.

Anything and everything can be found for sale.

Brass tea dispenser at a tea shop.

More “stuff” for sale.

Eron checking out some jade.

Strings of just about every type of stone.

Striking a deal for some cut stones; the duelling calculators.

We hit the food-part of the market.

Tea, tea, and more tea.

This place has been in business selling “Pepper and Spice” since 1954. So, naturally we needed to go in…

Pepper and Spice Since 1954.

Open bags of spicy-stuff.

Just a “little” bit of Saffron.

More spicy-stuff I can’t identify.

Spelled phonetically?

Ringing up our haul of spices.

The cash register; coins on top and the paper money in the bucket.

The three sisters in charge of the operation.

The three sisters are firmly in charge of the operation.

All stocked-up on spices.

This meant we had to go in search of another carry-on bag for the spices… we dove ever deeper into the twisted warren of streets and alleys…

Further down the rabbit-hole.

We wandered, ambled, and stumbled around for so long I’m pretty sure we passed by a rater large, weird looking rabbit wearing a top-hat and holding at a pocket-watch. By the time we were finally spit out onto a main street and were able to see the sky again, I was damned sure we had walked long enough to come out somewhere in Yunnan Province (China). Sweaty, bedraggled, and loaded down with spices; we flagged down a passing tuk-tuk and headed back to the merciful embrace of our air conditioned room.

After a shower and some intensive siesta-rescusitation, we went out for dinner. Fortunately, dinner was only across the bridge and a short walk down the far bank of the canal to the, “Canal View Restaurant” (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293916-d3843816-Reviews-Canal_View_Restuarant-Bangkok.html).

Night-view of the canal.

The food, although largely unremarkable, was decent and obviously palatable to the large number of ex-pat locals seated at the tables. The most remarkable thing about our experience happened when tried to order beer with ice in glasses. We were told at first, “No beer tonight in glass.” Which was clarified to mean they couldn’t sell beer in glasses this evening. Why? “Because there is election tomorrow and police check.” Apparently, there is a Thai law forbidding alcohol sales on the eve of elections and because of it’s Farang-clientele, this establishment in particular is targeted for police checks and “fines”. We were disappointed and said, “No beer then?” The owner then says, “No beer in glass, you can have coffee.” That’s when it dawned on us about just how many of the patrons were all drinking coffee out of tall paper cups at 10 PM. So, we ordered our (nudge, nudge, *wink*, *wink*) coffees and all was well.

Our coffee glasses for the evening.

Then it was an after-dinner cigar and back to the hotel for a quick shower and into bed.

Night-view of the Korbua House Cafe.

Posted in Thailand 2014, Travels | Tagged Bangkok, Bangkok Chinatown, Canal View Restaurant, Jim Thompson House Museum, JJ Mall, JJ Weekend Market, Korbua House | Leave a comment

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 21, 2014

Posted on March 24, 2014 by East to Hedon

We had a late morning and were feeling lazy. So we defaulted to having breakfast at the restaurant in our hotel. Now, it was 11 AM and we could already feel, and almost see, the heat coming in off the street in waves… thank goodness for multiple ceiling and wall fans! The only disturbance in an otherwise pleasant morning repast was the construction going on directly across the street.

Pile-driving across the street from Tony’s Place.

To get to Bangkok, Tony’s staff suggested taking the mini-bus service that had a depot conveniently located just at the end of the block. So, we shlupped our packs and bags down the block and purchased 3 tickets to Bangkok; 180 Baht – 60 Baht for Eron, 60 Baht for me, and 60 Baht for our luggage (because the bags took up one whole seat). In we piled – all the way to the very rear row of a 16 seat (15 passengers and 1 driver) mini-bus. And off we went; then one more stop to stuff two more passengers in – which made 14 plus our luggage and it was one helluva full bus. Between the 15 people in the bus and the midday sun outside, the air-con was slowly losing the battle… so, I did the only thing possible; I fell asleep… or passed out(?).

After about 90 minutes, I was rudely awakened to find that while we had started out from Ayutthaya, Thailand we landed on some alien planet that was vaguely Earth-like but hot, humid, chaotic, noisy, and constantly in motion – this is the world of Bangkok (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok,_Thailand). We were unceremoniously dumped off in an alley just off the traffic circle that surrounds the Victory Monument (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Monument,_Bangkok) and were left to fend for our selves. Off we went without really knowing which direction to go… or even which way was north for that matter. Of course, one of Eron’s flip-flops chose this, of all times, to blow out. Now picture us trudging from one side of the road to the other trying to get a cab while the noontime sun is beating down on us… while wearing our packs and carrying bags… all the while, Eron’s going “fwip”, “flap”, “fwip”, “flap” because she’s blown a flip-flop… pretty pathetic, eh?

Dumped off in alley near the Victory Monument.

Near Victory Monument under the BTS Skytrain Station.

This place, like most others, has it’s own rules and way of doing things – it’s just that no one bothered to explain them to us before we seemingly “parachuted” in. Case in point; the hailing of taxis to get from “A” to “B”. Simple, right? You just wave one down and off you go? Aha! Not so fast, oh naive first-time visitor to the “Big ‘Kok”. The cab-drivers here are apparently doing so well that they are be picky about their fares? Well no; the sad reality is that the traffic in this city is so bad that cabbies are extremely hesitant to take on any fare that goes out beyond their usual operating area. We didn’t know this important little fact as we hailed cab after cab to be told simply, “Too far.”, as they drove away… very frustrating when you’re stranded on some strange alien planet, hot and sweaty, and all you want to do is get to your hotel (and you’ve got serious flip-flop issues). Eventually (after a sweltering 45 minutes or so), a sympathetic Bangkokian(?) took pity on us and wrote out our destination in Thai script (which is of course not based on, or even remotely related to, Roman Script). When presented with this, a cabbie finally relented and agreed to take us to the hotel. All was fine now, right? NOPE! Wrong! Not a freakin’ chance race-fans. Since the address was outside of his normal area, the cabbie had no clue as to finding the exact location. Suffice it to say, it was a further 45 minutes of driving around in circles and pulling over repeatedly to ask directions from locals before we finally found the tiny entrance to the lane leading to the hotel – another important example of the need to agree on a flat-rate before starting out on any cab ride over here.

Narrow Soi’s (lane ways) of Bangkok.

He’s not dead, just extremely intoxicated… or maybe he’s just melting in the heat.

Soi in front of the hotel. That’s the street-entrance at the far end.

Entrance to the Korbua House.

Welcome sign at the entrance.

We have finally arrived at Korbua House (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293916-d2691169-Reviews-Korbua_House-Bangkok.html#HEADING). This charming little boutique hotel is located right beside one of Bangkok’s canals. This is both good and bad; good because of the view, bad only if you have “smell o’vision” – in the heat and humidity of a city the size of Bangkok and with slow moving canal-water, you get a serious case of “eau de canal”. Apropos, since this city is also sometimes known as the, “Venice of the east.” Anyone who has visited Venice in the summer would immediately recognize the not-so-subtle “aromas” coming from the canal.

Bridge over canal next to hotel.

Canal-side cafe at Korbua House.

Elephant towel-art (just for you, Gary).

Even had bath-mat towel-art (ditto).

View from our balcony.

After check-in, our next priority was lunch of course! We found a nice Chinese-style restaurant just around the corner from the hotel. Once lunch was taken care of, we headed back to the room. This is when we identified the only real make-it or break-it complaint about this place – the WiFi was slow, almost dial-up slow… it worked enough to check and send short emails but it would just bog-down every time I tried to upload images to this blog. And the images I use are optimized for the web at approximately 40K per photo. So that’s why there weren’t any blog entries for a couple of days (note: this problem would plague us on and off for the remainder of the trip). The up-side is, I caught up on my backlog of images to be edited.

Since we were in Bangkok and our hotel was only a few blocks off of it, we decided to visit the infamous Khao San Road (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khao_San_Road) that evening. Everyone has probably heard of the stories of legions of scantily-clad “come-on girls”, the anything-goes atmosphere, loud music, neon lights, and not-to-be-denied hungry-for-Farang Lady-boys. But the reality is, somewhat disappointingly, much tamer than that. We’re not sure whether it is the season or it’s just that the area has evolved (and the seedy aspects have migrated elsewhere in the city) but, at worst, we found things to be generally quite “PG rated”. In fact, the numbers of young party-hearty backpackers were mostly over-shadowed by the presence of large numbers of flash-packers, 30’s and up tourists, retirees-on-adventure, and families with toddlers in tow (note: we were later informed that the ambiance on the strip changes after midnight and some of it’s seedy under-belly manages to ooze through the thin veneer of civility). The strip is only a couple of blocks long but does branch off into a maze of side-soi’s. It’s interesting to note that on the main strip, there is an Irish pub anchoring either end of the road.

Mulligan’s Irish Pub at one end.

Khao San Road.

Khao San Road 02.

There were the expected multitude of choices for tattoo shops, vendors selling cheap souvenirs, street-food carts, and even a bar featuring Lady-boys singing karaoke; the surprise was the 7 Eleven stores. Bangkok itself must have more 7 Elevens than Canada and the US combined but on Khao San Road (on just two blocks or so) they have three… two of them directly across the road from each other.

Gulliver’s Traveller’s Tavern at the other end.

We eventually wandered onto the side-soi’s to do more exploring.

Soi off Khao San Road.

A bar called, the “Fu Bar”.

The sounds and aromas coming from the street-food vendors had been driving us over the edge. So, time to find dinner. Tonight it was the restaurant that flows across the bottom floor of Sawasdee House (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293916-d1389648-Reviews-Sawasdee_House-Bangkok.html) and spills across to straddle the road in front of the hotel. It was a great location for people-watching and the food was pretty good as well… although you definitely pay Farang-prices.

It had been a long day for us. So after dinner, it was all we could do to trudge our way back to Korbua House. Once in our room, we had just enough energy to make a small offering to Buddhaire Saijo Denki and then it was a quick shower and off to bed.

Posted in Thailand 2014, Travels | Tagged Bangkok, Khao San Road, Korbua House, Sawasdee House Restaurant | 43 Comments

East to Hedon

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 30, 2014

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 29, 2014

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 28, 2014

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 27, 2014

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 26, 2014

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 25, 2014

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 24, 2014

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 23, 2014

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 22, 2014

Wandering Through The Kingdom of Thailand – March 21, 2014

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