A True Adventure

I was particurally excited about coming to Chiangmai, as my Dad has been many times, and I wanted to see some of the places and people that he had talked about so much. Thailand was the place I most desired to come to and now I see why my Dad and many others love Thailand so much.

We got a coach from Krabi to Bangkok and then stayed over night in the @Hua Lumphong Hotel, just opposite the Hua Lumphong Train Station. This is a lovely hotel to stay in and is convenient if you want to be close to the train station for an early train/bus the next morning. We got a bus from Bangkok to Chiangmai the next day on Thursday 8^th April. We bought our ticket from the train station. It cost us 850 Baht each. The first place we went to tried charging us 1000 Baht. The train is much cheaper, but because of Thai New year, they were all booked out.

The bus to Bangkok left at 10 am and arrived in Chiangmai at 8.00pm. The bus was very comfortable and also had a TV on. They played movies, but only in ThaiL We also stopped for lunch on the way, this was included in the price.

We arrived into the Arcade Bus station in Chiangmai at 8.00pm on Thursday 8^th April. We were met by my Dad’s friend from Thailand, Suriya. He took us to find a Hotel in the centre. We stayed in the Lux Thai hotel for our first night. This is a nice hotel, with Wi-Fi and a swimming pool, for 650 Baht a night.

The next morning Suriya took us to another hotel called the Rux Thai. This hotel costs 490 Baht a night. We booked into this hotel for one week, as we wanted to have our accommodation sorted for the Songkran Festival (Thai New Year).

More blogs will be coming very soon about our time in Chiangmai. There is so much to say, and the reason why, we have not kept up to date with the blogs this week, is because we have been too busy. Chiangmai is really a great place to be!

 Ruth and Paul

We stayed in Koh Lanta for 4 nights. Koh Lanta is a much quieter island than Phi Phi. It is a good island to go to, if you want to get away from the crowds of tourist and want a relaxing time away. We were staying on a very quite beach called Pru Klom Beach. This is about 20 minutes drive from the ferry port. This beach wasn’t the best beach for swimming in, as it was very rocky and when the tide was low you had to walk over lots of rocks to get to the sea. If you drive further south, to Klong Nin and Klong Hin beach, you will find it a lot better for swimming in.

We hired out a Moped for 200 Baht (£4) a day for a couple of days. We drove to Klong Nin and Klong Hin Beach and we went to Kan Teang Bay, where you can walk through jungle to get to a waterfall. The walk was beautiful, through trees and a running stream. The thing is after arriving at the waterfall, we realised it had no water on it! Still a beautiful walk! You can do Elephant Trekking here also, where you ride the Elephant through the jungle. We also went to Klong Dao Beach in the evening. This is further north and is close to the ferry port. This would be a great beach to stay on, as the beach is great for swimming in, also there are nice restaurants along the beach and it is close to the ferry port, where you will find the main shopping area. On our 2nd day in Koh Lanta we drove to the viewpoint, where you can see the Island from a height. This is a beautiful sight!

Then we set off to Lanta Old Town. We came to a corner on the bike, where we had to turn right. We slowly took the corner, but as we did Paul realised there was a 3 foot deep pot hole in the road, so he tried turning away from it, but the bike didn’t turn in time, so he braked, this made us come off our bike. Luckily we were only going about 2 miles an hour, so the damage to the bike and us, was only small. We both got a few grazes that I was able to clean up with the first aid kit I was carrying. Lucky I came prepared! This did shake us both up a little. The roads are quite dangerous, as there are so many pot holes around. If you don’t spot them in time, you have no chance. Whatever you do, wear a helmet. Lucky we were! After cleaning ourselves up, we continued to Lanta Old town. This is only a small town, with a church, a port and a few shops. You can get ferries to other small islands from here. My ankle and knee were sore, from falling off the bike, so we decided to go back. We went back to the hotel and spent the day relaxing in the pool. The next day we went to Saladan Village, right by the ferry port. This is where the main shops are. We looked around the markets there and also the shops in the village. We really enjoyed our time in Koh Lanta, it was very relaxing. Our hotel was very nice. We enjoyed having a pool on the sea front, and enjoyed being able to watch the sunsets every evening.

Sunset Koh Lanta

Ruth and Paul

We got our ferry from Koh Phi Phi to Koh Lanta on Friday 2^nd April. We really enjoyed our time in Koh Phi Phi and would definitely suggest you pay a visit if you can. You will not be disappointed with the beautiful beaches. It is a little crowded around the island, but there are quieter beaches that you can go to. Long beach is a nice beach with beautiful sands and is good for swimming and snorkelling. There are also nice restaurants along the beach. We would stay on that beach if we were to go to Phi Phi again. It is busy, but not as busy as Ton Sai Bay. The crowds are close to the ferry port. Nui Bay and Loh Lana bay are also beautiful beaches. They were two of our favourite spots on the island. These two beaches are very quite, so if you want to get away from tourists for a while, I suggest you hire a kayak and go there, or get a taxi boat to take you there and pick you up later.

The ferry over to Koh Lanta took around 1 ½ hours and cost 300 BAHT each. You can purchase your tickets from the many ticket offices on Koh Phi Phi. Just make sure you purchase the day before in the busy season, as the boats do fill up.

Many locals came up to us on the ferry, trying to advertise their hotel to us. We finally agreed to going to see one of the hotels when we arrived on Koh Lanta. The guy told us that the hotel had internet, which we made quite clear was essential to us, because of work. He promised all rooms had internet.

When we got off the ferry we were put into a 4 by 4 car along with 5 other tourists. Two guys from Germany, 2 girls from Germany and 1 guy from Australia. When we got to the Blue Adaman Hotel, me and Paul were separated from the rest of the people, and told to go with the guy who told us about the hotel. I then realised that he must be on commission and that it wasn’t his hotel at all. This would have been fine, if he didn’t lie to us though. We got there and he was quoting the rooms at a much higher price and also we found that there was no internet in the rooms at all, but that it was only by the pool and you had to purchase a card to get on. The man got very angry at us when we told him we didn’t want to pay for a room at this price, when he had told us we would have internet. He angrily told us to leave the hotel. We went to find the official reception. The prices were a lot cheaper and the staff much friendlier.

We checked into one of the rooms with a balcony and that was air conditioned, for 550 BAHT a night. The hotel is right by the sea, and the pool looks over the sea. We can also see the beach from our balcony.

View from Hotel Room (Blue Andaman Lanta)

Even though the guy was very rude to us, we are glad we stayed here, as the hotel is very nice and it is in a lovely quite location, with easy access to other beaches.

Blue Andaman Hotel Lanta

We will write more about our time in Ko Lanta

Ruth and Paul

We really wanted to visit Maya Bay (The Beach from the film ‘The Beach’), on Phi Phi Leh Island. This is a very popular beach to go to, because of popularity since the film. We knew it was going to be busy so we wanted to find the best way and time to visit. From Phi Phi Don you can go over on a day tour with a ferry or long boat. We didn’t like the thought of going on a big ferry with loads of tourists and being told when to leave. Most of the boat trips only take you to Maya Bay for about 1 hour, unless you take a private taxi boat. The tour or private taxi boat costs about 500 BAHT per person.

We decided to read up about Kayaking over to Maya Bay. It didn’t look too far from Phi Phi Don, but this is hard to tell when you are just looking across the sea. We read about a couple of people who had kayaked around Maya Bay, but they used a long boat to get their Kayak there. They mentioned that if you were a strong Kayaker, that you would probably be ok Kayaking back from Maya Bay, to Phi Phi Don. Does Kayaking for one day make me an expert? Other than that we didn’t find any mention of kayaking across from Phi Phi Don to Phi Phi Leh. Still we decided to go ahead.

So we set out on April 1^st 2010 at 10.30am to find a kayak. We went to Ton Sai Bay, as this faces Phi Phi Leh. We rented out our Kayak for the day, for £10. We were given a dry bag to put all our things into. Once we were all set we set off. Everything was going well; we left the safety and calmness of Ton Sai Bay, and headed into the open Indian Ocean, heading towards Phi Phi Leh. We immediately noticed how much rougher the sea was and we could feel the wind starting to pick up. When looking ahead you think the sea looks so calm, but once you have left the shelter of the cliffs and walls, the ocean takes control of you! We needed to use a lot more strength to keep up, as the winds became stronger. 

Our route from Ton Sai Bay- Maya Bay

Once we hit the corner of Phi Phi Leh, we kept in by the side of the cliffs, but not too close, as we were afraid that the winds could push us up against the rocks. This seemed to be more sheltered. I felt a lot safer now that we were by the side of the Island and out of the open Ocean. Long Boats and big ships kept passing us, with their passengers waving. In fact we saw the same boats passing us again on their way back from Maya Bay, still waving. We kept strong, determined to make it! We finally could see the boats turning, which meant we must be close. As we started to turn into Maya Bay, the waves from the other ships entering pushed us from behind, which gave us a nice break from Kayaking.

Arriving at Maya Bay felt amazing. The bay is more beautiful and stunning, as you could imagine! Just block out all the other tourists and big ships and you will be in heaven! We pulled up in our Kayak and people were smiling and starring at our Kayak, pointing at it. They probably thought we were crazy, well they were right! We made though and that’s the main thing! The great thing from now was, we didn’t have to rush off, and we could enjoy the beauty of Maya Bay, for as long as we wanted.

Ruth on Maya Bay

So many tourists visit each day, but if you arrive early or after 4pm it does get a lot quieter. We arrived at Maya Bay around 12pm, taking us around 1 ½ hours to Kayak over. It was very busy at this time, but around 3pm it got quieter, allowing us some quite time on the beach! We went walking around the bay for a bit. There is another small bay that you can see if you walk further in land. There is a ladder that we had to climb over, to get to this bay. We noticed a hole in the wall here, which would allow you to push your Kayak through. This is a quick way to the back of the Island. It also may help you leave Maya Bay, if the sea was very rough.

There is a small shack that sells drinks and snacks. Be prepared to pay double the price from Main Land. There is also a toilet. If you also want, there are camping trips to Maya Bay. This can be organised from Phi Phi Don.

The beach is really heavenly and it is no wander it was chosen for the film ‘The Beach’. The large limestone rocks make a beautiful back drop. If only we could of discovered this beach and kept it for ourselves.

We decided to leave Maya Bay around 4.30pm, giving us plenty time to get back before sunset. Just as we left Maya Bay, the winds were very strong, making it more difficult to make head way. Once we got round the bend, it became a little easier. The journey back was a lot harder than the journey to Maya Bay. One thing you can’t control is nature. All you can do is stay calm and do your best to stay on course.

We made it back! Taking us around 1 ½ hours to return. We had a fantastic time at Maya Bay, but we were glad to be back on land! The guy who we rented the Kayak from, asked us how our day was. We told him we had kayaked to Maya Bay. He looked shocked and was laughing telling his friends where we had been. Maybe he will use it as a selling point from now on! Kayak to Maya Bay! I guess it is not a popular thing to do, seen as we were the only Kayak on the island!

Although this isn’t for everybody and I would certainly not recommend it to anybody who is feeling unsure. It is however possible and takes around 1 ½ hours each way. You would need to be fit and I would recommend you wear a life jacket. If you want to Kayak around Maya Bay, you can also take a Kayak over on a Taxi boat. This would seem like the more sensible option and it still gives you the freedom and time that you may be looking for. Why didn’t we just go with that option? I do not know! It was certainly an adventure!

We decided we wanted to take a kayak out and adventure around the island. There are loads of places along the beach, in Loh Dalam Bay where you can hire Kayaks from. We hired ours for 500 BAHT (£!0) for the whole day. We got a 2 persons Kayak. You are also given a water proof bag, to put your camera, money ect into, this then clips onto the Kayak.

I haven’t been kayaking for over 6 years, but I soon got the hang of it again. Paul was really keen on taking the kayaks out and I was certainly up for having a go. I enjoyed it very much and would love to take them out again!

This is the route that we took

It is a great way to explore and get away from all the other tourists! We left the bay around 10am and headed to Nui Bay, which is a small cove that  has a beautiful beach. This is a great spot for snorkelling as the waters a beautiful and clear. We could see a lot of coral as we arrived.

Ruth Nui Bay

I have never seen sea so clear and blue, except in holiday brochures, which is probaly photoshoped, but this is the real thing! We went swimming here for a while, then decided to go for a walk up through some trees. It looked like it led to somewhere interesting. After walkig for a while through the trees, we could see another beautiful beach. We went back to get our Kayak and decided to go around to it. This was called Loh Lana Bay. This was our favourite spot. No tourists, clear blue water, beautiful soft golden sand, it really did look like paradise! We stopped here for a while and enjoyed swimming in the shallow waters.

Paul and Ruth Kayaking

We then headed over towards Yong Kasem Bay, but a storm started, which made the sea very choppy, so we decided to head back. We had a great day out and really enjoyed relaxing on the other quiter beaches. We are planning on exploring around Phi Phi Don Island tommorow. Then on Wednesday we plan on going on a boat trip around the Island. We get gear to go snorkling. We also then go to Phi Phi Ley Island, which is a small island just off this island. This is where ‘The Beach’ was filmed. We will tell you more later:) So far we are really enjoying this Island. It will probaly be hard to pull us away!

Ruth and Paul:)