Monday 25 February 2013
Blueberry and our beach
Our room at the Blueberry and the beach. It is soooooo nice to be on this side of the main road as we do not need to cross it to go to the beach. Out our door, a quick left and 100 meters to the sand. Perfect!
The water on this side of Thailand has more waves and is not clear like on Koh Lanta. Also more wind which attracts the kite surfers. We enjoyed sitting on the beach in the wind, getting blasted by the sand, while watching several kite surfers. I thought of giving it a try but then had this vision of being towed across the ocean, unable to turn the kite and ending up in Singapore. Think I'll wait for a small lake. Lol
Time to get the sand out of our teeth, so we headed to the Market Villa Mall for a refreshment and a bit of window shopping. While sitting next door to the KFC (yes, a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet) enjoying a coffee and some quality jazz, the shrill sound of a whistle screeched loudly destroying the moment. We looked over to the front of KFC where now there were a group of five uniformed young employees lined up in two rows. There was another group of uniformed personnel conducting an inspection of the young group. Next the young group started a cheerleader type routine which we deciphered as being a KFC rah rah!
Window shopping the mall was a lot of fun, three levels of a lot of unique shops and also some of the same chain stores we have at home. Walking by Swenson's Marie felt a need to photograph an extremely tasty looking ice cream sunday. Two more strides and we were confronted by a mega size ice cream poster. Talk about the power of advertising, especially combined with weak will power! Yessiree, we indulged; one mango sunday with green sticky rice and one hot fudge. Yummy.
The water on this side of Thailand has more waves and is not clear like on Koh Lanta. Also more wind which attracts the kite surfers. We enjoyed sitting on the beach in the wind, getting blasted by the sand, while watching several kite surfers. I thought of giving it a try but then had this vision of being towed across the ocean, unable to turn the kite and ending up in Singapore. Think I'll wait for a small lake. Lol
Time to get the sand out of our teeth, so we headed to the Market Villa Mall for a refreshment and a bit of window shopping. While sitting next door to the KFC (yes, a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet) enjoying a coffee and some quality jazz, the shrill sound of a whistle screeched loudly destroying the moment. We looked over to the front of KFC where now there were a group of five uniformed young employees lined up in two rows. There was another group of uniformed personnel conducting an inspection of the young group. Next the young group started a cheerleader type routine which we deciphered as being a KFC rah rah!
Window shopping the mall was a lot of fun, three levels of a lot of unique shops and also some of the same chain stores we have at home. Walking by Swenson's Marie felt a need to photograph an extremely tasty looking ice cream sunday. Two more strides and we were confronted by a mega size ice cream poster. Talk about the power of advertising, especially combined with weak will power! Yessiree, we indulged; one mango sunday with green sticky rice and one hot fudge. Yummy.
Saturday 23 February 2013
Hua Hin
For those that are wondering where the daily blog went, well between travel, looking for a new hotel and wifi issues, we have been out of commission for a few days. Also Art and Dan have been keeping us out late. Lol.
New day, new town and another familiar face. Our buddy Ron, also from Vernon, showed up at the hotel today. Art and Dan were already out and about, so Ron offered to familiarize us with the town. Our hike first took us to the local gym where Ron buffs up his body daily.
After showing us his small suite we continued on to an area where there were a series of small narrow streets, lots of guest houses and small hotels and a ton of shops. Obviously this was a great area for tourists. Lots to see. Here, on the beach front, was the Hilton hotel. Talk about a wow factor! A standard room for a mere $330.00, (that's in US dollars), a night and you could get up and have breakfast on the ocean front. I thought I heard someone tell me Thailand was really inexpensive? Some pictures of the beach by the Hilton. We were surprised how much garbage was on the beach. One would think with a hotel like the Hilton, they would have a large staff assigned to keep the beach clean. Someone has to pick up after all the lazy tourists.
For the afternoon Marie and I once again went hunting for accommodations. We looked at a lot of rooms, some a bit too basic but most just priced over our budget. Nearing our first hotel and running our of places too view we saw a sign, "room for rent". Called the Blueberry, close to the beach with a pool, Marie thought for sure we were wasting our time. The host showed us the room and we were delightfully surprised, a one bedroom apartment size suite. Very nice and even nicer when they told us we could rent it for $840 BHT a night. Fits the budget, beautiful room and awesome location. Deal!
New day, new town and another familiar face. Our buddy Ron, also from Vernon, showed up at the hotel today. Art and Dan were already out and about, so Ron offered to familiarize us with the town. Our hike first took us to the local gym where Ron buffs up his body daily.
After showing us his small suite we continued on to an area where there were a series of small narrow streets, lots of guest houses and small hotels and a ton of shops. Obviously this was a great area for tourists. Lots to see. Here, on the beach front, was the Hilton hotel. Talk about a wow factor! A standard room for a mere $330.00, (that's in US dollars), a night and you could get up and have breakfast on the ocean front. I thought I heard someone tell me Thailand was really inexpensive? Some pictures of the beach by the Hilton. We were surprised how much garbage was on the beach. One would think with a hotel like the Hilton, they would have a large staff assigned to keep the beach clean. Someone has to pick up after all the lazy tourists.
For the afternoon Marie and I once again went hunting for accommodations. We looked at a lot of rooms, some a bit too basic but most just priced over our budget. Nearing our first hotel and running our of places too view we saw a sign, "room for rent". Called the Blueberry, close to the beach with a pool, Marie thought for sure we were wasting our time. The host showed us the room and we were delightfully surprised, a one bedroom apartment size suite. Very nice and even nicer when they told us we could rent it for $840 BHT a night. Fits the budget, beautiful room and awesome location. Deal!
Friday 22 February 2013
On the move, look out Hua Hin
Another travel day, destination, Hua Hin. Our minivan will pick us up at 10:50 so we have time to go for breakfast. We saw a place by the river that looked worthy of a visit for breakfast. The Easy Cafe, associated with Relax Cafe just around the corner has a full sized Italian looking cappuccino machine we spotted yesterday.
We ordered up some bacon and eggs with toast and cappuccinos. Now these eggs were perfect, two grease free sunny-side-up gems with two perfect slices of bacon and great looking brown toast. My plate looked like it was plucked out of a magazine food advertisement! Bar none, best bacon and egg breakfast ever!!!!
While we were sitting enjoying our coffee we met a couple, Gordon and Cecilia, from Salmon Arm. They were checking out the cafe and as we started talking with them they joined us for the next hour until we had to leave to checkout and catch our ride.
Our minivan ride was the ride from hell for me. They always over pack and these vans. There is no space for luggage so the suitcases and backpacks are crammed in with the passengers. The seat directly behind the driver and aisle were stuffed full with bags. Talk abut claustrophobia! On top of the compact sitting quarters, the air conditioner was in poor condition so the van was hot and stuffy with very little air flow. Talk about a miserable ride.
Just before Surat Thani we switched vans. Thank goodness! I grabbed the front seat, a bit selfish for sure but I was losing my mind being confined in the back. Yowza!
So here I sit in the front seat typing out my blog, safely on our way to Hua Hin.
Expecting to arrive around 5:30, it was a bit of a surprise when our driver signed (he didn't speak English at all) 9 PM for arrival. Good thing Tom's estimate was close, those three extra hours seemed like only minutes. LOL!
We arrived at the hotel by 9PM and settled into our room. Later we were greeted by Art and Dan, two of our buddies from Vernon. It was nice to see some familiar faces and socialize with the boys from home.
Sorry no pics today!
Monday 18 February 2013
Wat Thom Sua Monks housing
These are the photos of the forest in the bowl surrounded by the high cliffs. Within these stone cliff walls are the monks homes. The tiled platform is for praying.
Wat Thom Sua or Tiger Camp Cave Temple
Sunday morning and our second day in Krabi town. Today our destination is Wat Thom Sau or commonly referred to as Tiger Camp Cave Temple, approximately 6 km from the town. We opted to take the local Song Thaw (poor mans taxi) which passes along the main road at regular intervals. Cheap cheap.
My goal for this site was to climb the 1272 steps to the top. I challenged myself to go non stop in as short a time as possible. Marie decided climbing that many steps,for her, just was not in the stars! Lol.
Not knowing what to expect I thought it best to wear runners, instead of sandals, and my gym gear. Looking up at the several sets of railed stairs zigzagging up the side of the mountain, disappearing into some trees, I thought this isn't going to be so tough. At 9:45 with a water bottle in hand I started my ascent. Climbing the first steps, the ones I could see from the base, was the equivalent of taking the stairs to 8th floor in a high rise. Each step varies in height and the steepness of each set varies from somewhere in the range of 35 degrees to 80 degrees, with the steeper steps being almost a foot in height.
Okay, now I'm starting to sweat, huff and puff. I'm still going strong but am now only seeing more and more steps. The are people along the way stopping to rest and catch their breath while others are on their way down. I keep going and soon my pace starts to slow and I'm breath is like that of a and snorting bull! Wow, I think they meant 12 thousand steps! And who's idea was this anyway? While I'm not exactly speed walking my way up the stairs I am managing to keep going. I'm beginning to think there is no top. My T-shirt is soaked and sweat is dripping everywhere. I knew I should have brought a towel. I look up and see the stairs disappear into the trees and think, hey there is the top. Wrong! Just more stairs. Grabbing another big breath I climb the next set and then finally I see the top. 4 more flights and I've made it! Yahoo! I claim my prize, a view that stretches for miles and miles in all directions. Truly rewarding and amazing. The Buddha statue is quite large and stunning. I think to myself, how did they get all the materials and equipment up here to build this thing? Not only the statue but the concrete platform. That was one heck of a climb but I reached the top by 10:00 AM. By my math that is 15 minutes. I'm pleased with my conquest. Definitely one of the hardest physical things I've done in quite some time.
Going down was easy but somewhat nerve racking as it is very steep and the steps were very narrow. It was like standing on the edge of the roof of a high rise and looking down. Vertigo!
At the bottom Marie greeted me with water and we found a shady spot with a breeze so I could dry off.
We then headed over to another set of stairs, OMG, but these were just a short climb up over a rim and down the other side into a jungle like area (about the size of two football fields) surrounded by high steep cliff walls. There was a pathway that took us around the perimeter allowing us too view the dwellings of the monks. Some were doors built into the cliff side and others were extremely small buildings. There were several caves and some old and interesting tree trunks and roots. A strange place which had me wondering how it came to be. We spotted a tortoise in the leaves. It was so well camouflaged that if it had not moved we never would have noticed it was there. It certainly is one of the lucky ones as it hasn't been noticed by.......well people who would enjoy the meal it would make!
On our way out we noticed a group of Macaques clambering over the wire wall remnants of a cage, probably a cage that at one time was used to hold the tigers.
Instead of,heading back to Krabi we thought we would head back to our old stomping grounds in Ao Nang. Trying to find a Songtaew heading to Ao Nang was another story. Everyone that stopped was heading to Krabi so in the end our destination became Krabi. Lol. Go with the flow, no point fighting the current. At the Krabi bus station we managed to get catch Songtaew that was going to Ao Nang, but not before going to Krabi. Too funny. At the main stop in Krabi our Songteaw quickly filled with travellers, including a couple from France lugging a couple of large suitcases. Within minutes of departing they realized the Songteaw was not taking them around the corner to their hotel. They rang the buzzer for the driver to stop, but did not get off. We tried to tell them we were heading to another town. The French man was very upset with his lady. He was content to lug their suitcase the 200 meters to their hotel but she wanted a ride. Well she got her wish for a ride only now they were going for a 30 minute ride to another town. Lol. It was kinda funny but also sad as he was so frustrated with her. There is a Krabi Resort in Ao Nang and that was what the driver understood was their destination, not the Krabi Riverfront Hotel in Krabi town. Another couple also passed their destination. I think the driver was having a bad day. In Thailand you must be very diligent to make sure they understand what you mean or want. Often they just smile and nod their head while saying "yes" when they have no clue what you want. I think they are trying to be polite and not offend anyone.
My goal for this site was to climb the 1272 steps to the top. I challenged myself to go non stop in as short a time as possible. Marie decided climbing that many steps,for her, just was not in the stars! Lol.
Not knowing what to expect I thought it best to wear runners, instead of sandals, and my gym gear. Looking up at the several sets of railed stairs zigzagging up the side of the mountain, disappearing into some trees, I thought this isn't going to be so tough. At 9:45 with a water bottle in hand I started my ascent. Climbing the first steps, the ones I could see from the base, was the equivalent of taking the stairs to 8th floor in a high rise. Each step varies in height and the steepness of each set varies from somewhere in the range of 35 degrees to 80 degrees, with the steeper steps being almost a foot in height.
Okay, now I'm starting to sweat, huff and puff. I'm still going strong but am now only seeing more and more steps. The are people along the way stopping to rest and catch their breath while others are on their way down. I keep going and soon my pace starts to slow and I'm breath is like that of a and snorting bull! Wow, I think they meant 12 thousand steps! And who's idea was this anyway? While I'm not exactly speed walking my way up the stairs I am managing to keep going. I'm beginning to think there is no top. My T-shirt is soaked and sweat is dripping everywhere. I knew I should have brought a towel. I look up and see the stairs disappear into the trees and think, hey there is the top. Wrong! Just more stairs. Grabbing another big breath I climb the next set and then finally I see the top. 4 more flights and I've made it! Yahoo! I claim my prize, a view that stretches for miles and miles in all directions. Truly rewarding and amazing. The Buddha statue is quite large and stunning. I think to myself, how did they get all the materials and equipment up here to build this thing? Not only the statue but the concrete platform. That was one heck of a climb but I reached the top by 10:00 AM. By my math that is 15 minutes. I'm pleased with my conquest. Definitely one of the hardest physical things I've done in quite some time.
Going down was easy but somewhat nerve racking as it is very steep and the steps were very narrow. It was like standing on the edge of the roof of a high rise and looking down. Vertigo!
At the bottom Marie greeted me with water and we found a shady spot with a breeze so I could dry off.
We then headed over to another set of stairs, OMG, but these were just a short climb up over a rim and down the other side into a jungle like area (about the size of two football fields) surrounded by high steep cliff walls. There was a pathway that took us around the perimeter allowing us too view the dwellings of the monks. Some were doors built into the cliff side and others were extremely small buildings. There were several caves and some old and interesting tree trunks and roots. A strange place which had me wondering how it came to be. We spotted a tortoise in the leaves. It was so well camouflaged that if it had not moved we never would have noticed it was there. It certainly is one of the lucky ones as it hasn't been noticed by.......well people who would enjoy the meal it would make!
On our way out we noticed a group of Macaques clambering over the wire wall remnants of a cage, probably a cage that at one time was used to hold the tigers.
Instead of,heading back to Krabi we thought we would head back to our old stomping grounds in Ao Nang. Trying to find a Songtaew heading to Ao Nang was another story. Everyone that stopped was heading to Krabi so in the end our destination became Krabi. Lol. Go with the flow, no point fighting the current. At the Krabi bus station we managed to get catch Songtaew that was going to Ao Nang, but not before going to Krabi. Too funny. At the main stop in Krabi our Songteaw quickly filled with travellers, including a couple from France lugging a couple of large suitcases. Within minutes of departing they realized the Songteaw was not taking them around the corner to their hotel. They rang the buzzer for the driver to stop, but did not get off. We tried to tell them we were heading to another town. The French man was very upset with his lady. He was content to lug their suitcase the 200 meters to their hotel but she wanted a ride. Well she got her wish for a ride only now they were going for a 30 minute ride to another town. Lol. It was kinda funny but also sad as he was so frustrated with her. There is a Krabi Resort in Ao Nang and that was what the driver understood was their destination, not the Krabi Riverfront Hotel in Krabi town. Another couple also passed their destination. I think the driver was having a bad day. In Thailand you must be very diligent to make sure they understand what you mean or want. Often they just smile and nod their head while saying "yes" when they have no clue what you want. I think they are trying to be polite and not offend anyone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)