In Phuket Robyn and I stayed in Patong and Karon.

Phuket was more touristy than anywhere else we stayed and honestly I would probably not recommend the area to anyone looking to go to Thailand. It felt like I was on a never ending spring break holiday (or Plett rage). There were half naked, overly tanned people everywhere, wearing neon colors and drinking at 11 in the morning. I am aware that I sound like a granny whining about crowds and partying at the ripe old age of 23 but still... there was something a little seedy about the area. Probably our worst accomodation was the oh-so-lovley "Happy guest house" that we stayed in just off the main Phuket strip. Robyn and I offically named it the Crack shack.

The Crack Shack!!

We dont know what went wrong, the online reviews were good, the price the same as any of the others and it was in a decent location. Yet somehow, we ended up in what looked like a ghetto dwelling.

We politely waited for our check in  guy to leave the room before bursting into laughter and looking around the room concerned at the blood stain on the curtain and the damp, smokey smell seeping out of the walls. We sat on the bed wondering whether there would be anything undesirable to be found in between the sheets and considered sleeping above the duvet. There were even a couple of buttered crackers that had been left on the balcony from the previous inhabitants. At one point we both felt inexplicably itchy and weren't sure why. It was frankly a totally dump hahha.

But all was not lost! On our first full day we went to Phi Phi island! We walked around Phuket and asked a few tour companies about their prices. Each time they would say something outrageous like 3 or 4 thousand Bhat before promptly dropping down to just over a 1000 Bhat (R350/ $35)  when we began to walk away. Visiting Phi Phi island was a fantastic experience. A speedboat took us out for the day to a number of islands in the bay, fed us a full buffet lunch and dropped us back at our hotel at the end of the day. We got to spend the day snorkeling, eating tropical fruit and tanning on the beach, this was definitely the kind of day you imagine when visiting a tropical paradise.

After a dirty day or two in Patong, we moved a town over to Karon and stayed at a much more pleasant German guesthouse with a huge balcony. The beach was a thousand times nicer as was the general feel of the town. In fact we even got to see luminescent plankton in the water on our last night. Weirdly enough, Karon seems to have a ton of Russian tourists everywhere. In fact some of the menus at restaurants and bars are written completely in Russian. I would definitely go back to Karon again if only to get a better look at the outdoor market!

The main road in Karon.. filled with laid back bars and restaurants.

Our giant balcony

All in all a fantastic holiday away with a pretty awesome buddy! I would hugely recommend Thailand to anyone! Lastly here is a look at some of the Thai food that we ate along the way:

Thai Curry

Fresh, cheap tropical fruit and beer

fried rice

Crispy pork and noodles

Tons of plates of Pad Thai noodles

Many many smoothies

Fried Thai pancakes (delicious) made with coconut butter, chocolate and condensed milk.

Khao Niaow Ma Muang - a desert made of mango pieces,  sweet sticky rice and coconut milk.

Our next stop along our trip was Chiang Mai. I will admit I wasn't hugely excited to go inland. I had always pictured my tropical island holiday being purely on the beach surrounded by coconut trees and blue-blue waters. What was there really to do inland?

To my surprise, Chiang Mai was one of the best stops we did. It was touristy without feeling like you were packed in with a million other nationalities. We stayed at Manee Guesthouse, which was by far the best place we stayed the entire trip. It was clean, close to everything and had a pool. On arrival the receptionist told us we had been upgraded to a nicer room because all the other standard rooms were full - SCORE!

On our third day in Chiang Mai, we took a tour package that cost us about 900 Bhat for the day (R300/ $30). Considering the variety of things we did, it was well worth the money. The shuttle service fetched us from our hotel, drove us about an hour out to the Maetang river (with a relatively underwhelming stop at an Orchid farm on the way- yawn). The Maetang river area is absolutely beautiful and relatively untouched. It was also a whole lot closer to the boarder of Burma/Myamar than I realized at the time.

First up on our list of things to do was white river rafting. I doubt either of us will quit our days jobs to be professional rafters but hey it was fun all the same. We may have gotten stuck just a couple of times and had to be helped by the guide. After we handed in our oars, part of the package was a buffet lunch followed by elephant ridding.

Ready to raft!

Robyn looking totally shell shocked by the experience hahahaha.

 I know many people believe that the elephant ridding is cruel but this particular experience didn't come across that way to me. Don't get me wrong I am sensitive to the treatment of animals, I have left a few cat cafes in Korea feeling slightly uncomfortable at the conditions. However I did not feel this way with these particular elephants or their handlers. If anything I feel that it brings a broader sense of awareness to elephant conservation in general. The ride itself was beautiful, winding through the cliff side and jungle before turning back and walking through the river, all while the elephant stuck his trunk back looking for bananas from us.

Riders wait on the platforms to get onto the elephnats.

winding past the riverside

Feed me Bananas!

Robyn and I ridding the elephant

The rest of the day saw us hiking up to a natural waterfall and and taking a bamboo raft ride down the still river.

One of the other stand out experiences in Chiang Mai was Doi Suthep which in a nutshell is a Buddhist temple on a mountain. The description doesn't quite sum up the magnificent landmark that was built in 1383. Robyn did mention that there were a 'few' stairs - I ignored her warning thinking I am a young relatively fit 23 year old, not problem!

Boy was I mistaken.
On arrival I took one look at the stair case, rolled my eyes and decided it must eventually lead all the way into the bloody sky. It looked like we would have to walk at just under a 90 degree angle to get there. However after just a few steps, as well as promises to go back to gym after Thailand, we arrived at the beautiful temple. The view across the mountains and city was stunning!

Next up Phuket!

I have finally returned from vacation! So for the next two posts I will cover our fantastic trip to Thailand! I went with a fellow South African teacher from Yeongju, Robyn. We had a pretty great time getting daily massages and eating pad thai noodles for 10 days in the tropical paradise that is Thailand...

Robyn and I finally arrived in Bangkok on Sunday evening, exhausted from our long flight beginning in Seoul, stopping over in Hong Kong and finally arriving at Suvarnabhumi International Airport early evening. By the time we found A and A Guest house on Rambuttri road, we were mightily fed up especially with the taxi driver who ripped us off. Yet, it was nothing that a little green Thai curry and a foot massage couldn't fix!

Breakfast on Rambuttri road

A and A backpackers. Was a nicely situated place, no too noisy and clean. Perfect for what we needed! 

The balcony at A and A guesthouse

One of my favorite things about Thailand is that you can get a massage, practically on the side of the road, for as cheap as 150 Bhat (50 rand or $4.50). I think I took advantage of this almost everyday I was there. My limited experience of massages included oils, aromatherapy and general blissful relaxation. I quickly learned that Thai massages are totally different.
 Frankly, they f***ing hurt. I lay there waiting for relaxation and rubbing to begin only to be greeted by a woman's elbow digging into my spine repeatedly. I felt slightly traumatized after the half hour session, especially when she twisted my upper and lower body in separate directions (ahh!). I remember paying the lady who had repeated jabbed me in the back, like a victim of voluntary assault, thinking there's not a chance in the world that I'm coming back for more.

Yet to my surprise an hour or so later I felt fully relaxed. I think this is the crux of the Thai massages:
 No pain no gain.
From what I can tell, Thai massage aims to improve overall wellness through the manipulation of pressure points to create general relaxation and in many cases to release toxins stored in our muscles. If this is the case - I must have had the most toxin free body by day 10!

On our first full day in Bangkok we visited the Grand Palace. At 500 Bhat each we weren't sure if it was worth the entrance or not. Couldn't we just stand next to it and smile for a photo at the entrance? In the end we decided to just pay up and enjoy the experience, we probably weren't going to be here again right? If you do ever go to Bangkok I think its very well worth a visit. I was fascinated by the intricacy of the tiled walls and gold painted Buddhas. It was quite something to look at. We did chuckle at a Korean tourist next to us who stood unaffected on her cellphone, listening to a song by Maroon 5.

A note to the ladies, you must dress modestly, covering all knees and shoulders. If you didn't realize this-  just like we didn't- there are sarongs for hire quite easily.

Generally I enjoyed visiting Bangkok but probably wouldn't go back again in a hurry. Advice to anyone looking to go to Thailand:  Stop in Bangkok for the shopping and move on to prettier parts of the country after a day or 2.

Nothing like ending a long day with some great Thai food and a coconut cocktail!

Chiang Mai and Phuket next!