And Finally the East...

The story · 5 days

At last we set off for the Far East. How long spent dreaming and organising a trip to those remote and ancient lands... and how could one not start from Thailand, the ancient Siam, a land that still today brings to mind temples, dream beaches, a thousand-year history and the smile of its wonderful people......and so here we are at departure, in March, the last of the months in which the heat will give us the chance to travel a bit around the country... As always, departure from Barcelona, accompanied by my "other half"... my Yoli... and with a fun rendezvous in Bangkok with two of our friends, already part of some of our trips...

Day 118 Mar 2004

BANGKOK

The long journey passes with a film, a nap and a heap of programmes that we hope to manage to finish... As soon as we get off the plane, we just have to leave the airport building to realise where we are: a blast of hot, humid air, accompanied by smog, hits us and from that moment on we start sweating (we won't stop until the plane home...) A long taxi ride ends in the Banglamphu district, where we stay at the Viengtai hotel, nice, cheap and with an unmissable breakfast! After a nap we throw ourselves into the chaotic streets of Bangkok and are immediately overcome by a sense of curiosity and cheerfulness...the smells are intense and the colours bright... The haggling begins and for a few cents we rent a typical tuk-tuk that will take us around all day long.

We start with a series of fascinating temples, including Wat Arun, from which you can enjoy a beautiful view over the city, Wat Pho with its famous Reclining Buddha completely covered in gold, a full 46 metres long and 15 high (the atmosphere inside this temple is truly evocative...), and Wat Traimit where you can admire another Buddha of more than 5 tonnes of gold... Our "cultural" visit ends with the area that includes the impressive Grand Palace and the temple of the Emerald Buddha. An immersion in the splendours of what was once the residence of the emperors...incredibly evocative... In the evening, exhausted, we sit down in one of the countless little street restaurants, and for a ridiculously low price, we eat our fill...

Day 219 Mar 2004

DAMNOEN SADUAK FLOATING MARKET

Early in the morning we set off for the "floating" market, so called because here all trade and purchases take place among water canals. Instead of finding the traditional stalls where they display their goods, the trading, which ranges from exotic foods to tourist souvenirs, takes place on long, narrow wooden boats, similar to canoes... (unfortunately it must also be said that nowadays the boats are becoming real floating shops for tourists...) I strongly recommend going to this market, which is about 1.30 h from Bangkok, very early in the morning, when the hordes of tourist coaches haven't arrived yet...and above all, if you decide to go by taxi as we did, precisely to get there as early as possible, haggle over the price for a long time.

We return to the chaotic capital in the afternoon and, even though we're tired, we literally dive among the thousand stalls to do our bit of the much-famous Thai shopping too...and we immediately realise that every purchase made here is a real bargain...we buy literally everything (we'll later realise with a cool head that we'll also have to carry it all around for the whole holiday...how clever...)...not to forget the meeting at the hotel with our dear friends Andrea and Benny and the wonderful hour of Thai massage for only 3 euros!!!...incredible...

Day 320 Mar 2004

AYUTHAYA

Poor Yoli. Even though she's got used to it by now, I admit that visiting an archaeological area with me can take on dramatic overtones. Thank God our friends are with us, so I can "vent" my desire to talk about history and ruins with Andrea and leave Yolanda a bit in peace... To reach Ayuthaya we book a day trip at one of the countless agencies in Bangkok (lunch included, but don't expect great things, in fact...), and after picking up people from various hotels around the city, we set off northwards... Once we reach the old capital of the Siamese kingdom (from the 14th to the 18th century), the first thing we do is board a boat that "navigates" a large canal, formed by the confluence of three rivers, and which encloses the whole city...relaxing and perfect for panoramic photos...

The visit to the ancient city is undoubtedly worth it, with an enormous quantity of ancient temples now in ruins and its fascinating history of resistance to the thousand attacks launched above all by the neighbouring Burmese people...a resistance the Thais always speak of with pride... Also worthy of note is the ancient Reclining Buddha, where we were lucky enough to come across a group of faithful praying amid the intense smells of burning incense......even the more modern temples and the city market make the whole thing much more than pleasant... We return to Bangkok for the last time...nothing to say, we've already been captivated by the much-famous charm of Thailand...

Day 421 Mar 2004

KO SAMUI AND KO PHA-NGAN

After saying goodbye to Benny and Andrea, whom we'll meet again a few days later in Krabi, we reach the airport and with a Bangkok Airways flight (a reliable and cheap airline) we land at Ko Samui, the largest of three islands that form a small archipelago in the gulf of Thailand. It may sound silly, but the airport of Ko Samui deserves a mention. A collection of huts forms what is without doubt the most beautiful airport I have ever seen... We stay in a lovely bungalow that opens directly onto the beach and here we decide to relax for a couple of days... Ko Samui is certainly an island that deserves a stop, but it's certainly not the best that Thailand can offer. Probably until a few years ago it was a paradise, but between McDonald's, Burger Kings and pizzerias, it feels more like being in Rimini than in Asian orient.

Unfortunately, even the state of the larger beaches was not up to our expectations...the only positive note of all this is the chance to do some good shopping, but it certainly doesn't make up for it... Even though it's invaded by a multitude of backpackers, the nearby (about 1 hour by boat) island of Ko Pha-Ngan is certainly more intimate and welcoming, and we dedicate an entire day to it, relaxing between the sea and naps on the lovely white-sand beach... On the fourth day we set off on a long journey by boat and coach to reach Krabi, where we meet up again with our friends...

Day 525 Mar 2004

KO PHI PHI ISLANDS

After yet another hour of ferry we finally reach the island of Phi Phi...waiting for us in the little harbor we find our friends Benny and Andrea and, surprise, also Ilaria, another friend-colleague, she too a hardened traveler... We like the island from the moment we set foot on land. Ko Phi Phi is a charming little island, tourist-active but, given its modest size, it doesn't come across as too exploited and consequently ruined like, for example, Samui... We stay in one of the many bungalows that the center of the island offers and, once we've put down our bags, we immediately throw ourselves into "collecting" a few sun rays... We dedicate a day, besides to relaxing, to discovering the narrow alleys that form the center of the island and we arrange for a boat trip for the following day...it's not hard to find one from the main beach Ao Lo Dalam...

The boat trip around the island is absolutely not to be missed, there are loads of wonderful white sand beaches and crystal-clear water to visit, and snorkeling is absolutely an emotion not to be missed... Finally we dedicate a day to visiting the nearby island of Phi Phi Leh, famous for having served as the backdrop for the filming of the movie "The Beach"...the little island can be visited, but being a protected park you can't stay overnight, but the beaches and the water here undoubtedly recall what for us is the ideal of paradise... Also noteworthy is the nightlife of Phi Phi. After a good dinner by the sea, you can find loads of little bars on the beach where you can spend the night and have fun...