On our way to Railay

Posted on by Jamie

 We are on the ferry leaving Phi Phi. It was truly a place I will never forget. I loved the island vibe. No cars or motorcycles, beautiful beaches, and probably the most amazing sunset I have ever seen.  

I will also never forget how sick I got and hope to never repeat that again. While the sights are outstanding, since my sick day I have had a hard time with the smells in the “streets” (there aren’t any real streets – just walkways). With so many restaurants cooking so many kinds of food, and the fact that there does not seem to be any waste management system (in other words, there is nowhere to put garbage, so people tend to just throw it wherever, and no one else ever seems to pick it up)… The smells have gotten to me.

I never understood when people talked about the fresh air and wide open spaces in places like Canada… I sure do appreciate those things now. Last night for the first time I felt a bit homesick.

We had a nice leisurely morning waiting for our afternoon ferry. We didn’t want to get wet and sandy at the beach so after a french toast breakfast at this surprisingly good bakery across from our hotel, we sat in the shade and relaxed.

Gen went souvenir hunting, the boys played on their gadgets while I sipped cold beer and read my book.

I am reading a Thai classic called “Mad Dogs and Company” which takes place mostly in Bangkok and Phuket and so far deals with a bunch of young Thai hippie-type guys who spend their time getting drunk, making fun of foreigners, and just trying to earn a living – not exactly Shakespeare, but it’s cool because a lot of the stories happen in places we are visiting. Before we left Canada I researched online for classic Thai novels, and this is one of the few, but I couldn’t find a paper version of it online anywhere… I found it right away in the first used book store I visited in Thailand… Which I took as a good sign and bought it right away. Sorry for sidetracking – may not be interesting for you, but I wanted to make a note of this for my own memory😛.

So we are leaving Phi Phi

What a babe 
Cheers to you Phi Phi – for the good and the bad I will never forget our time here 
Next stop Railay Beach – on the Thai mainland… Although it is more of a strip in the middle of the Indian Ocean

Some pics of the islands along the way


  


      
Bye for now

4 days to go

Posted on by Jamie

OK so we are really getting close now.

We have been trying to eat all of the food we have in the house so as not to waste anything that will go bad before we get back. (I have taken care of the beer personally).

We are close enough now so that I can get weather reports for the day we arrive… it will rain in Bangkok for the 3 days we are there to start the trip. but we expected that – we’ll make do. The only thing that worries me is what impact the rain will have on the street food vendors.. I hope they somehow manage to stay operating in the rain!

Here is Anthony Bourdain’s no reservations episode on Thailand… he was there just as the coup was happening last year – nothing like that expected while we are there.

Anthony Bourdain in Thailand – no reservations

bye for now

Ron

T minus 7 – one week to go

Posted on by Jamie

We’re all excited to get things underway. I’ve been doing a lot of research on Bangkok – can’t wait to get there – the hotel we are staying at in Bangkok seems really good based on the reviews on trip advisor:

Isanook residence

It has a pool which was important for our first nights as we expect intense heat in Bangkok. Cost for the four of us to stay there is about $50 Canadian dollars per night… More than we plan to spend in other places, but it’s normal that Bangkok I’d more pricey, and a pool always bumps up the price.

Also can’t wait to sample the food…. Check out Mark Wiens video from central world mall market… Gen can have the fish, I’ll have the chicken. (Watch for them hanging from the stall at the beginning of the clip)

Mark Wiens Central World
Bye for now

Ron

Train to Chiang Mai

Posted on by Jamie

We will be traveling from Bangkok to Chiang Mai during the first week to 10 days of our trip – just as  video below – but we will be doing it over a couple days and stopping in Ayutthaya, lop buri, and possibly Phitsanoluk along the way instead of on the overnight train as they did.

Interesting video regarding the train to Chiang Mai

Train schedules and routes by seat 61.com

List of videos videos and links to cool things we are looking at as we plan the trip

Posted on by Jamie

We are watching lots of videos and doing tons of Tripadvisor research… here are couple links I wanted to keep for reference… check them out if you are interested. I especially like Mark Wiens… his facial expressions when he tastes the food are hilarious. He always seems to find a new way to express how good the food is… cant wait to find out for myself.

Also Like Nomadic Samuel. The link is to his long video… mostly about food in Chiang Mai and Bangkok – at the beginning though, there is a nice preview of the elephant reserve we want to visit.

Mark Wiens – things to do in Bangkok