Travelling in Siam

Arrivo

We have arrived in Bangkok and I'm waiting for the connection to Phuket; the trip is going great, half-empty plane, almost deserted airport, due to the previous closure caused by the yellow protests.

Prima giornata a Patong passata a sistemare l'appartamento

So, first day spent filling the house with groceries, but done very calmly, just a little something to start with; evening dinner in a restaurant, and we ate fish. The Bangla, alas, was desolately half-empty, the Hollywood had half the people it usually has (at least that's what my friends who have been here since 14 October told me), same for pretty much all the venues; the seafront road all afternoon and even in the early hours of the evening had very little traffic. A situation that it's an understatement to call unreal; let's hope it's temporary and that in about ten days everything starts up again as it always does. Tomorrow, weather permitting, a day at the beach, with the purchase of the barbecue and other little things still missing at home:) Bye

Cena a casa

Another day spent shopping. Tomorrow, weather permitting (right now there's a beastly wind here in Patong), I should manage to go to the sea and be able to post something live. Meanwhile, I'm attaching 2 little crabs we gobbled down tonight as an appetizer.

Today we managed to spend about 3 hours on the wonderful Nai Harn beach, there weren't many people (quite the opposite), and we had a very good day. I'm attaching 2 photos.

Laem singh

This afternoon we spent a few hours at Laem Singh; honestly I remembered better water, it was quite murky... and as pretty much everywhere the beach was half-empty, very few tourists.

Surin Beach

Here I am with the account of today: afternoon at Surin Beach. The evening instead was spent watching the stunt show; for those who don't know, it's at Moo 4, Patak Road, Rawai, Phuket.

Excursion to James Bond Island

Today we spent the day on an excursion to James Bond Island. First of all we went to visit a rubber factory with an accompanying demonstration of the tapping of the trees and the rubber falling into the special cups placed on the tree.

After leaving the rubber factory, we headed, again by minibus, towards the long tail boats that would then take us, after a short trip through the mangroves, to the area set up for the canoe trip among the sea stacks and natural caves; I'd say very nice and pleasant, suitable for everyone without problems; my daughter (who is three and a half) also did it in one of their canoes together with my wife without any problem.

Then finally to the splendid James Bond Island

Right after we went for lunch in the Muslim village on the water, located near James Bond Island; we were served an excellent lunch ranging from tempura prawns to roast chicken thighs, and other exquisite Thai dishes.

And before returning home, a stop at the Monkey Cave and Suwankuha Temple.

Coral Island

And here I am at last with the account of 14 December, spent entirely at Coral Island; early rise at 7.45 in the morning, pick-up at 8.15, arrival at Chalong pier for departure by speed boat. You get there very quickly, about a 15-minute crossing; we left at 9.05 and arrived at 9.21. Until 12 o'clock you have complete freedom to roam the little beach; it's not very big, let's say about 150/200 metres in total. Then around 15.00 you are taken back by boat to Chalong, and then by minibus to your respective hotels. To finish, I wanted to remind you that on the island you can do the banana boat, parasailing and sea walking; obviously all these things are for a fee.

Big Buddha on Chalong Hill

Here I am with the account of today's day; unfortunately we lost a lot of time at immigration, more than expected, and we only got out around 14:45, so afterwards we only went to the Big Buddha that towers over the hill of Chalong; the works are almost finished, only the marble on the lower part is missing, and a few finishing touches I think.

Evening spent at the Patong carnival

As a first evening of carnival, it didn't really excite me much, I'd say it was practically like the other evenings.

Nai Thon Beach, near Phuket Airport

And here I am with the account of today's day, spent entirely on the beautiful and quiet beach of Nai Thon; for those who don't know it, it's near the airport.

Day dedicated entirely to my first tattoo

And here I am at today's time trial for the tattoo, done at the bangla by the tattoo artist next to the pool table.

Transfer Phuket/Chiang Mai

We arrived in Chiang Mai after 2 Thai Airways flights that took us from Phuket to Chiang Mai, two perfectly comfortable and on-time flights; we landed around 20:15; as soon as we arrived at the hotel, a quick shower and off to dinner downtown in the night bazaar area. The evening was then spent going around various venues, ending the night in a nightclub (fashion) here in the area until this hour (around 3).

Chiang Mai visit to Wat Doi Su-Tep

Here I am at the first review of today's day, which began by going to visit Wat Doi Suthep, the biggest temple here in Chiang Mai. It is located on top of a hill that also offers a splendid view over Chiang Mai.