South Thailand 31 December 2023 to 30 January 2024

Bikes, busses and trains, lets get lost in Southeast Asia

Characteristics high limestone cliffs of Hong Islands

Arrived in Bangkok, New Year’s Eve, at the most ungodly hour of 4.30 am. It was still dark and the bus station was still closed. Got a taxi into town and to the hostel but of course it was also closed. The city that never sleeps doesn’t exactly get up early in the morning either. The night porter let me dump my luggage off and I walked into the old town Khao San road. It was awake and people were still partying. There were also some food stands still serving food so settled down to eat some breakfast and get a coffee. This whole area of Bangkok was full, all the hotels were fully booked. I had prebooked mine because I kinda suspected this with new year’s. It was kinda surreal walking the streets of the old town as dawn was breaking. Watching the last of the party people staggering home and the morning workers heading to their work. I also saw a monk walking along with his alms bowl under his arm. The monks live from donations and the people put food and things into their bowls. He then gives them a blessing. By donating to a monk or to a temple you build up good karma points

As dawn breaks, a lone Monk wanders the streets and alleyways of Bangkok on new years eve

New year’s was one big party. There were some fireworks. What was really nice was that local people celebrated by putting a table and chairs outside and eat and drink. They also invite people walking past to join them for some food or a drink. The small alleyways and streets had this going on, it was kinda special to see and even more special to join them for a moment in time.

Fireworks over Bangkok city, New Years Eve

The next morning, New Years Day, a lot of the shops were closed. I went down to China Town, the market people were out but the shops were closed. Today was gonna be a relax day, took the river boat down to China town and made a nice little cruise from it. The next day I had to check out of the hostel, but my night sleeper bus to Phuket wasn’t leaving until 19:45. I could leave my luggage and use the workspace, from the hostel, to work on my laptop. Needed to get the photo album together. Phuket is one huge, big city and the bus terminal, from which my bus to Phuket was departing, was over 11 kms away from the centre. Once again, I was taking a VIP class bus to Phuket, a journey from 12 to 15 hours. It took just 12 hours and was really comfortable.

My VIP night bus

In Phuket we stayed in the old town. This area has a lot of Portuguese influence. Phuket old town is kinda neat. Some real nice buildings and a nice vibe. The biggest shock to my system was the prices. Everything was much more expensive than north Thailand or even Bangkok. Phuket is a major tourist and charter tour group centre. It reminded me of Goa, in India, also a major tourist centre. But I was here to meet Susie a lifelong friend who looks after my interests when I am off sticking my nose into funny places. Her plane was over an hour early so she just took a taxi from the airport to the old town. And now we are two….. no more selfies.

And now we are two…

The idea now is to, relax, chill, rest out and have a good time. Susie was extremely busy the last months with work in Magic Galaxies, her pet project and passion. So, it will be mostly beaches, islands and temples, with every so often a scooter…. The Mods and Rockers are back. I have to admit that scooters are not my favourite form of two-wheel transport. They, like cars, just don’t do anything for me. They are extremely boring and get in the way of people who are having a good time. But they can be useful in a boring way.

Our first scooter…

The first days were spent wandering around the old town of Phuket. The old town is noted for it’s unique buildings, built in the Sino Portuguese style. They are brightly painted and many have been restored and preserved. No one knows the exact dates as to when the first Sino style buildings were built but it is believed to be in the early 1800s. You can spend days just wandering around the tiny streets and alleyways of old town.

Old Phuket Sino Portuguese style buildings

Went also up to the big Buddha statue and Wat Chalong, an important and sacred to the people, Buddhist temple. But Big Buddha steals the show. Perched high on top of the Nakkerd Hills, the protector of Phuket keeps an eye on things. Construction, of the statue, started in 2004, by a small group of friends. It is entirely built by donations from local people and foreigners. The statue is 45 meters high and 25 meters wide at the base. It is an ongoing project with work still in progress. It is built from concrete covered in white marble. It is the 3^rd largest statue in Thailand. Well worth a visit.

Wat Chalong

Big Buddha

View from Big Buddha

Night Market Phuket

Then it was beach time. Got a Bolt taxi to Phuket bus terminal and caught the bus to Krabi. From Krabi it was another taxi, this time there were no cheap providers on the apps, so had to use a local one. That means bargaining like anything. We were heading to Ao Nang beach, on the Andaman Sea. We had rented a little chalet surrounded by lush, green, forest bush and 150 meters from the sea. It turned out to be idealistic. A short hop to the beach and a gentle stroll into town. But super tranquil and quiet. Yep, Life is a beach and I am a real son of a beach…. Bring on the iced coconuts and suntan cream.

Our little chalet

Ao Nang beach

We did manage to move ourselves around for day trips to the islands, sightseeing and beaches.

We rented a little 125 Honda Lead automatic scooter and toured around the area. Went to another beach Ao Nam Mao beach then on to The Mountain Buddha Temple and then the Wat Sai Thai Temple. This was on the side of a mountain and partly in mountain caves. Once again, some really nice statues.

Ao Nam Mao beach

On the road to The Mountain Buddha Temple

The Mountain Buddha Temple

Dragon of the Mountain Buddha Temple

On the road to Wat Sai Thai Temple

Laying Buddha of Wat Sai Thai Temple

Cave of Wat Sai Thai Temple

Then onto Hat Noppharat Thara beach. The tide was out so we could walk a good distance out. It was fun watching the longtail boats returning to the sheltered bay cum harbour. This was via a deep channel. It was just a flurry of activity as the sun was setting.

Tide out at the Hat Noppharat Thara beach

Longtail boat coming in at the Hat Noppharat Thara beach

Next day it was boat and island time. We went first to Hong Lagoon. This is a really impressive lagoon surrounded by towering limestone rock formations. Really spectacular.

Hong Lagoon

We then moved to another little bay where we did some snorkelling. Then A stop on Koh Lao Lading Island for a buffet lunch.

Snorkelling

The grand finale was Hong island. This is a nature park and offered a short nature trail. Ai climbed up the 411 steps to the highest lookout point and was rewarded with an amazing view. Then it was beach time. Hong Island has an amazing beach. Blue water and powdery white sand. Class A beach time.

Hong Island

Nature Trail Hong Island

Climbing to Viewpoint Hong Island

View from the top of Hong Island

Back for the sunset at Ao Nang beach

We had a day’s rest then onto another boat to the James Bond Island. First we visited Monkey cave temple, Wat Suwan Khuha. This is another mountainside temple featuring an immense golden reclining Buddha, sheltering in a cave.

A day’s rest … Ao Nang beach

Monkey Cave Temple, Wat Suwan Khuha in Phang Nga

Laying Buddha in Wat Suwan Khuha, Phang Nga

Wat Suwan Khuha in Phang Nga

Buddha statues in Wat Suwan Khuha in Phang Nga

Monkey Cave Temple or Wat Suwan Khuha in Phang Nga

The next stop was reached via longtail boat. This was a Japanese fishing village, called Ko Panyi or Payee island, built on stilts. The village was built, end of the 18th century, on stilts by nomadic Javanese fishermen. The Thai law forbade any foreigners from owning land. So, to get around this the fishermen built their houses on stilts in the protection of the bay. As the years went by, children were born, tourism increased and so did the wealth of the inhabitants. They, the descendants, started buying land on the island and the first structures that were built there was a Mosque and a fresh water well. The main source of income for the village, nowadays, is tourism. The main attraction, besides the village, is the floating football pitch built by the kids in the 1980s. That team went on to win fame in Thailand and the original pitch is now a major tourist attraction.

Phang Nga islands

Japanese fishing village Ko Panyi or Payee island, built on stilts.

Floating football pitch of Panyi Island

Then onto the famous Ko Tapu or the James Bond Island. This island achieved international fame thanks to the James Bond film, “the man with the golden gun”. Filmed in 1974. The once sleepy little island now is visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors a year.

A surrealistic rock

James Bond Island Ko Tapu

We went exploring the countryside on a little Honda scoopy scooter. Visited some local temples. Some were really amazing. One was written in Thai only but translated as See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil. It was still under construction, but the people were really nice and friendly. The other temples visited were: Wat Panurat Prachasan, Wat Kaew Korawaram and Wat Sai Thai.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

Part of the Temple See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil under construction

Wat Panurat Prachasan, this temple is part of the monastery

Crabs of Krabi

Krabi longboats

Wat Kaew Korawaram

Wat Kaew Korawaram, the inner shrine

Wat Sai Thai

Wat Sai Thai with the monk

Wat Sai Thai with me

There are a lot of tour organizers selling tours but along the pier were also local boatmen, unified into unions and cooperatives offering boat trips directly to the public. The money goes, straight where it belongs, to the local boatmen. They were also reasonably priced. They also offered shuttle surfaces to the different islands, enabling you to disembark and spend as much time on the island beach as you want. You bought a return ticket at their booth, one slip you gave to the boatman who’s turn it was, to go out. The other slip you gave to the boatman, who’s turn it was, to return to the mainland, last boat sailed at 6pm. When the boat had 8 customers it set sail. The wait was never to long. These boats are a real fun way to travel. If you were a group of 6 people, it was the best way to go on a tour for a day. The tour operators also offer tours in large speedboats. But to be honest we never used them, preferring the traditional long tail boats.

Railay beach

Wading through the water to get into the longboat on way back from Railay beach

Ao Nang beach turned out to be a really good choice and our accommodation, in among the trees and bushes, was fantastic. Really peaceful and quiet. But we needed to move on. We had to head back to Phuket to be near the airport as Susie was flying home soon and I was moving on, slowly, to Vietnam.

Sunset Ao Nang beach

Fire show Ao Nang Beach

We stopped off for a couple of days in Surin beach on Phuket island. Surin Beach is a popular tourist destination and a really nice beach. Life revolves around the beach, and that’s what we did. Pure chill, swimming and hanging out, life is a beach, and we were living life. But all good things come to an end, and it was time to move on. Susie back to Amsterdam from Phuket international airport. To get to the airport I used a bolt taxi, via an app on my telephone. Really civilized. I went out to the airport and waited until she got checked in okay, then I took another bolt taxi to Phuket bus terminal. I was catching the night sleeper bus to Pattaya.

Surin Beach Phuket Island

Surin Beach dinner

Me buying my bus ticket

Night sleeper bus to Pattaya

Pattaya was, originally, not on my travel plans, but a lot of people kept mentioning it to me so I decided to see for myself. I needed a place to relax and do some posting, both Facebook and the website. I also needed a place with a lot of facilities and a travel hub. Also a place that had a bustling, lively scene. This turned out to be the case, but one big bonus was the beach. I was staying a short walk from the beach and went on long walks down the seafront, It is an amazing sight. Big city skyline and beautiful golden sand, a few scattered palm trees and the waters of the Gulf of Thailand. What was once a sleepy little fishing village, right up to the late 60s, is now a major metropolis. The coast is lined with big beach resorts, hotels, high-rise apartments, shopping centres and of course the famous Thai bars and clubs. This all combines to give an amazing scene and experience. I loved it, and now, I understood why people recommended it to me.

Pattaya harbour

Wat Chamongkron Pattaya

Pattaya beach

Pattaya beach sunset

Pattaya beach

But now I am back in the smog of the big city…. Bangkok. Gotta do a few boring things here, mostly administration and organizing things in Vietnam, my next destination. I am trying to arrange a bike for 3 months. But that will be the next chapter.

So now it’s teatime, get a nice wee cup of tea and a nice wee sticky bun, plonk yourself down in your favourite chair, grab the mouse and click your way through the like named photo album. You can find it on the following link on my Facebook Page:

Facebook album: South Thailand 31-12-23 to 30-01-24

Thank you for reading the posts and looking at the photos, thank you for liking and commenting, in short thank you for sharing the journey with me.

My real time location is Bangkok Thailand.

Hasta la vista amigos stay safe.