Bangkok: Last day

I repacked once again. This time resulting in an 11kg city backpack and a 28kg gear bag. Luckily they didn't charge me for the overweight. The taxi ride to the airport, arranged through the guesthouse for 290 THB, took 45' using the normal road (not the expressway). There's a 500 THB departure tax. The duty free hall is fairly big but rather uninteresting.

Bangkok: Chatuchak weekend market

From the Khao San road area the easiest way to get to Chatuchak is by taxi (80 THB). Once there you can wander around the vast covered market area for hours. They sell all kinds of things here: clothes, household stuff, silverware, amulets, souvenirs, furniture, ... and of course food. Quite an experience. A must see really.

For a totally different shopping experience you can head to one of the big up-scale shopping centers like Siam Center/Paragon or the more popular MBK complex. In the former I had a nice cafe latte and muffin in Starbucks, for 135 THB. And in the latter I enjoyed some great Japanese food (sushi, tempura & soup) and sake, for 420 THB.

It's quite amazing actually how fast you can move from one price range to another, eating for 30 THB, then dining for 600 THB, just by walking to another street. And as you can imagine, I didn't even come near the really expensive places...

from Hua Hin to Bangkok

There's a 2nd class AC bus leaving Hua Hin for Bangkok every half hour. The ride takes about 4 hours and costs 160 THB (including a small bottle of water). From Bangkok's southern bus station it's a 15' taxi ride to Khao San road (55 THB by meter, 200 THB if you listen to the touts).

Before leaving Bangkok, I'd left my heavy dive gear at New Siam guest house for 15 THB/day, allowing me to travel light. A real luxury! At New Siam, prices vary from 240 THB for a single fan room with common cold water shower to 550 THB for a double AC room with private hot water shower. Breakfasts here are decent.

For nice food I can recommend the Baan Sabai hotel & restaurant. It still has some colonial atmosphere and a quiet terrace.

Hua Hin

Hua Hin is a modern coastal city, only 2 hours south of Petchaburi (30 THB by 3rd class fan bus), fully geared towards tourism, both Thai and foreign. Its long beach is completely lined up with private properties, towering condos and tourist class resorts. While this may not sound too great, in a way it's actually nicer than over-built and over-crowded Koh Tao. At least if you find the right place.


Baan Talay Dao resort is a fairly new and relatively small place with accomodations varying from comfortable studios to deluxe suites, just a couple of kilometers south of town. I stayed here three nights, enjoying buffet breakfasts, walks along the beach, the refreshing swimming pool & jacuzzi, the peaceful lush garden setting and dinners overlooking the beach... all that for about 80 USD/day, all included. The restaurant serves delicious Thai food and pretty decent steaks.

Petchaburi

Just a short 3rd class train ride (3h45, 138 THB) from Bangkok lies Petchaburi, a town off the main tourist maps, where people still smile at you and offer help without being asked. I stayed in a no-name Chinese hotel, in a basic fan room with common cold water bathroom for 200 THB.


The town is full of wats (= temples), one of them on top of a small hill, where monkeys rule without mercy. Vendors actually sell corn and bananas to feed them. And they know it. It's strongly advised NOT to bring anything in a plastic bag unless you want to get rid of it. I personally witnessed several take-away strategies.

Strategy #1: A medium sized monkey nonchalantly strolls towards you, looking the other way, as if interested in something in the trees. But as it passes by your side, it suddenly turns around, snatches your bag away and leaps off to examine its catch.

Strategy #2: An alpha monkey comes towards you without a trace of doubt, its purpose clear: your plastic bag. In this case I was holding the bag and cleared it away from its grabbing hands. Having missed the bag, it then jumped straight onto me to get another go, baring its teeth to warn me not to fool around. At which point I conceded and it ran away with its booty: a couple of sweet cakes and a botlle of water - which it expertly opened to have a gulp after having gorged on the cakes.

Strategy #3: When a tourist is stupid enough to buy monkey food, why wait till he/she actually gives it to you? As the vendor hands over a couple of bags of corn to an unsuspecting (Thai) tourist, a big female monkey jumps in and runs off with both bags crammed in her arms.

Bangkok: Wat Pho

Dressed in shorts I wasn't allowed in the Royal Palace, but I could enter Wat Pho (entrance fee: 50 THB), the temple of the oversized golden reclining Buddha. There're quite a few other temples and stupas on the grounds and several stone statues of fierce looking guards.

Bangkok: Khao San road

Khao San road & surrounding streets truly are a phenomenon. So much so that they've become a tourist attraction. It's much more alive than Charoen Krung road where I stayed upon arrival. Not only because of all the backpackers from all over the world, but also because you can easily get away from it all by submerging yourself into the bustling city life just a couple of streets away. Off the main tourist streets, you can get a street side meal for 20-30 THB. A fraction of the price you pay in the places catering to tourists.

from Koh Tao to Bangkok

After 3 days of doing nothing but sleep, eat, read and walk along the beach at sunset I finally got myself together to leave the island and bought a joint ticket (ferry-bus-train, 2nd class AC upper bunk) for 1080 THB.

The Songserm ferry is pretty terrible, its aircon being set to deep-freeze, chasing everybody up to the windy roof for the 3 hour crossing. From Chumporn pier to Chumporn train station it's only a short 10' bus ride. Dinner in the nearest eatery, as I really don't feel like lugging my 40kg of gear around town. The express train leaves on time, and I'm actually able to get some sleep before arriving in Bangkok around 7:15 (only 45' late). From the station its a 50 THB taxi ride to Khao San road.

Shambara guesthouse is full, so I head over to another backpacker street nearby, and end up in the Bella Bella guesthouse. Basic twin room with fan and common cold water bathroom, 270 THB. I'm totally drenched in sweat by the time I've climbed the stairs to the fifth floor. But, it's quiet up there, and there's even a view of Bangkok's rooftops. Eggs, toasts and coffee breakfast costs about 70 THB. Internet access is cheap at 30 THB / hour and burning a CD only costs 100 THB.

Koh Tao: Jamahkiri health spa

Just to sweat a little bit more I went to a herbal steam sauna, then, in order to cool down again, I got smeared in with aloe vera gel and wrapped up in a sheet to relax, followed by a face cleaning treatment and a jasmin oil massage. All in all 2h30 of special attention, for 1750 THB at the Jamahkiri spa & resort. Because I'm worth it :o)

Koh Tao: Like a flying fish

Shortly after I arrived on Koh Tao, an ad in one of the restaurants caught my eye. It was about a flying boat. The place being close to where I stayed I went to check it out and met Rafael, Israelian, owner of the shop, pilot and instructor, who was happy to answer all my questions. So now, three weeks later, after having done all my deep wreck diving and Bjarne's OW course, I showed up again and made arrangements for a little trial flight (about half an hour for 2800 THB only). As passenger of course.


Rafael set-up and prepared the FIB (Flying Inflatable Boat) did his pre-flight checks, got the boat pulled into the water and off we went!

After taxiing for almost 10' to get the right wind we effortlessly took off, rising higher and higher above the sea. Whow! Then we skirted the island's coastline for about 25' before smoothly landing back in Mae Haad bay.


The FIB only takes two people (incl. the pilot), securely strapped up, with a visored helmet and earphones for in-flight communication. Not that I said much, as I was just too enthralled enjoying the view.


Yeah, I could imagine myself learning to fly one of these. Just for the fun of it. Apparently it only takes about two weeks to learn (consisting of theory, about 15 hours of duo flights, 3 hours of solo flights & exam - all that for about 2000 USD).

I was not allowed to bring my own camera, to avoid it flying off on its own into the rear propeller. A precaution I accepted reluctantly. Unfortunately the FIB's wing-fixed camera didn't do its job properly, so I've got no in-flight pictures :o(

Technical live-aboard dive trip from 23 till 26/04

There's nothing like being out at sea, with nothing but water around you. At least when the sea is as peaceful as it has been on this trip and the sun is shining.


I kept it real easy, doing only one trimix dive aday, to max 55m for max 30' of bottom time (resulting in 110' dives including the many decompression stops). The M/V Trident was tied directly onto the HTMS Pangan wreck, lying 60m below, just sticking out of a misty cloud, reducing the visibility on the wreck itself to only 5m, but giving the whole experience a mysterious feel. Especially with a touch of narcosis, despite the helium. A small school of jacks circling above the wreck added to the fascination.


I definitely could get addicted to this kind of exploratory wreck diving. But depth is a dangerous factor not to be underestimated. A source of both stress and thrill.

PADI Open Water Diver course

18/04/2006 - I've started Bjarne's Open Water Diver training. Having already done all the theory and theoretical exam back in Denmark, we could jump straight into Buddha View dive center's small swimming pool for a first 2 hour session of basic underwater exercices: mask clearing, regulator recovery, etc, besides actually breathing underwater and finning around.

Yesterday we also went snorkeling in a nearby bay (so I could check that he can actually swim) and Bjarne saw his first sharks: black tip reef sharks cruising just 5m below us. Pretty cool indeed! So now he's really hooked for more.

19/04/2006 - Second training session, this time straight into the deep blue sea. That is, in a shallow protected bay. After completing the mandatory exercices, with curious fish swimming around us, we had a short sightseeing tour around a beautiful coral reef known as Japanese Garden.

20/04/2006 - First real training dives #1 and #2 (each 40' long with a maximum depth of 12m).

21/04/2006 - Bjarne is now an Open Water Diver, having successfully completed dives #3 and #4 of the course. Maximum depth reached: 18m. At South-West pinnacle we saw a dozen or more squids hovering in a neat line in the blue and a cloud of yellow fish. In Ao Leuk bay we got surrounded by a school of small barracudas and saw two blue-spotted stingrays, besides a whole bunch of reef fish. Not to mention hordes of other bubbling divers.

Technical live-aboard dive trip from 12 till 16/04

It was a great experience to be on board the M/V Trident for four days of deep wreck diving in the Gulf of Thailand. And I'll need some serious e-time to write down the full story - so that will have to wait till I'm back. The trip was cut short, but to compensate for the two lost days, I've been invited on the next trip, from 23 till 26/04 for some more deep wreck exploration. So of course I'm on!

Koh Tao: Check-out dive

What should have been just a quick check-out dive actually took up most of the day. But I got wet, went 33m deep at Chumpon pinnacle, and got to make sure my gear still works. Well, some of it. My dive watch for example decided to inform me that it's running low on battery, and so it will no longer tell me the depth nor time I've been submerged. Now that I can't do anything about it. A real nuissance, since it's my back-up depth meter and bottom timer. You really want instruments whose battery you can change yourself!

The dive itself wasn't too interesting, there's just too many divers and the visibility's rather poor (less than 10m). I did find out some interesting things though. The tec guys here dive with double bladder wings. Use primary reels so as to be able to release SMBs from the maximum depth (e.g. the wreck), not just from 20m, which usually is the first deco stop. And, they actually do deep air dives down to at least 60m. Meaning each place I've been to so far for deep dives follows it's own rules.

After the dive I quickly checked out some of the dive gear shops. As I always seem to need yet another piece of equipment. Unfortunately their prices are not really competitive. But then, I haven't tried to get a 'best price' yet. Tomorrow however, I'll have to do some power shopping before the ship leaves!

Dinner at Baanyaay, on the sea front. Green curry (70 THB), plain rice shaped like a teddy bear (15 THB) and a rather tame Tiger beer (60 THB).

Koh Tao: Hanging around

I've just been hanging around, checking out the island, getting over the last bit of jetlag. The nights are not as hot as in Bangkok. But the humidity is pretty high here too. It's been kind of cloudy until now with a tropical shower every now and then.

The food is great (and cheap at 40-80 THB): green or red coconut curries, chicken with cashew nuts, fried ginger porc, sweet & sour porc, ... And they make excellent shakes with whatever fruit you may fancy (20-30 THB). Not to mention the banana pancakes sold by small street stall vendors (25 THB)!

I met Jamie yesterday at the Tattoo bar. He's the owner of the M/V Trident, together with Stuwart. Wednesday evening we'll be sailing out for a one week technical live-aboard trip. To do some deep dives on known but rarely dived wrecks in the Gulf of Thailand and we'll also try to find some new ones. I'm quite curious and looking forward to be out at sea.

Koh Tao

I don't know what I imagined it would be like. But it's worse than I expected. Something between Puerto Galera and Kuta beach. Long gone are the peaceful days by the beach. As a matter of fact I can't recognize anything from my first visit. With Songkran -the Thai new year- coming up the 13th, the place is packed. Luckily I should be out at sea by then.

The good news is that there are ATMs on the island now. And plenty of internet cafes. And whatever you may wish for. Like a paintball warshop. 7-11 stores. Scooter rental places. And more dive shops than I care to count. It's also still possible to have a Thai meal at a reasonable price: fried rice with porc (40 THB) and coconut shake (20 THB) at Yang's.

from Bangkok to Koh Tao

17:30 - After a cheap but very tasty early supper in an Indian restaurant (50 THB/person), we check out of the guesthouse and hail a taxi. The driver does not want to do the ride by meter and demands 100 THB! Maybe because it's rush hour, maybe because we're there with all our bags and need a ride now. Anyways we cough up the money. It's not worth the hassle of arguing about it.

18:30 - We arrive at the station in good time. The train is already waiting and we're allowed to board immediately. Departure however is delayed half an hour for some unknown reason. It's a no smoking train, which is pretty cool.

21:00 - Bed time. The seats are converted into comfortable beds, with pillow, sheet and blanket. Sleep is cut up in short naps, as I'm worried about missing my stop at 04:00.

04:55 - Arrival in Chumporn. No need to be nervous. Somebody actually comes by to tell you your stop is next. And the train actually remains in the station quite a while.

06:20 - It's possible to buy ferry tickets (550 THB) right in the train station. And an AC bus brings you to the ferry pier. A 25' ride. At least for the fast catamaran which departs from a pier out of town.

07:10 - The catamaran sails smoothly to Koh Tao in about 2h15 over a flat sea, including a stop at the Nang-Yuan resort.

09:45 - Master Divers is located close to the disembarkation pier on the right side. So I just drop my dive gear there and check out the place they recommend, called "Save bungalows". A stone bungalow up the hill, with fan, private toilet and cold water shower. No view to speak of, but it seems quiet. 400 THB/night, to be paid up front.

Bangkok: Copy bag

I need two cups of coffee to wake up, then head for the railway station (an 8' ride by taxi from the guesthouse, for 40 THB) to buy a train ticket to Chumporn for Marianne (2nd class fan sleeper, 420 THB).

Express river bus from stop #1 to stop #13 (18 THB). With all those travellers, there are plenty of bag and suitcase shops around Khao San road. My dive bag not having survived my last trip to Mexico, I buy myself a 110l Lowe Alpine copy bag for 1100 THB. It's got backpack style shoulder and hip straps, trolley wheels, an extra 10l zip-on city backpack and even a fanny pack... An unresistable offer. Probably too good to be true, but it's worth a try. Let's see now if it can handle the weight I'm lugging around. The test starts tonight as I finally head south towards Koh Tao!

Bangkok: A bit of sightseeing

River bus from stop #2 to stop #13 (11 THB). From where we head for Khao San road, the world's most famous traveller's hangout. And it's as busy as ever, besides having expanded quite a lot to neighbouring streets over the last 10 years.

After lunch we walk towards the Royal Palace, but just before getting there we get intercepted by a friendly young Thai man, who says we won't be allowed in in shorts and suggests some other interesting places to see. He even arranges for a trustworthy and at 40 THB very reasonably priced yellow-blue government tuktuk to do the tour. Smells fishy? Maybe, but we go for it anyway. First stop: a big sitting buddha in a very nicely decorated temple. A monk is teaching some students. Another one is meditating.


Second stop: a tailor. To please the driver because he gets a gasoline voucher for every tourist he brings in. Third stop: a TAT office. If we stay more than 5' he gets another gasoline voucher. We aren't too interested, but give in. The tourist office is 100% a travel booking office with no information whatsoever. The agent knows we don't want to be there. We're loosing our time. He's loosing his. We last 1'. The driver is disappointed. Fourth stop: a very tall standing buddha. When we get back to the street, our tuktuk is gone... He's not getting any commissions with us as we're not buying anything. So he's probably off to find some better clients. We don't really mind. It's only a short walk anyway to Khao San road and the river bus pier.

Bangkok: Day 3

02:00 - I can't sleep. So I drink some water, eat some fruit, chat via sms, do some exercices...

03:00 - Still awake.

10:30 - I wake up with a start by a knock on the door. It's the cleaning maid. I guess I fell asleep at some point... Bio-ritme is a powerfull thing. And it looks like my bio-clock just refuses to accept reality, stubbornly sticking to its own time, pretending the world is wrong and it is right. Two time zone shifts in short succession must have upset it.

11:00 - Metered taxi to Pantip plaza (65 THB), a rather chaotic hardware & electronics mall. Green curry brunch at one of the point-and-pay-with-voucher food stalls (30 THB). Sweaty walk to MBK, a huge multi-level mega shopping complex.

14:30 - Just for the fun of it I take a tuktuk back to the guesthouse (60 THB). But to be honest, a taxi is probably cheaper, less hassle and more comfortable. The driver of course offered to take me to a special massage place.

17:30 - Arrival at the guesthouse of Marianne, Bjarne & Annedorte.