World Traveling Partners: Adventures on the Road
a resource for couples traveling the world

March 09 Bangkok We arrived on March 9th in Bangkok, Thailand, local time.  Bangkok is not as densely populated as other cities we've been to.  In fact, Bangkok has a fair amount of greenery among its mostly concrete landscape.  It is a huge city, so spread out that commuting and traffic is a serious problem.  We spent two and a half days there and saw the Grand Palace and Wat Pho (a temple that houses a gigantic gold statue of a reclining Buddha).  We also treated ourselves to an amazing traditional Thai massage (it was an intense accupressure massage combined with yoga-like stretches).  Each day we spent a few hours caught in traffic.  On the last day of sight-seeing, we finally tried taking the river taxi (the river that runs through the city is also used for public transportation), which saved a significant amount of commute time.   After spending a few days in Bangkok, we hopped on a night train south. March 11 Ko Pha Ngan We took a train heading south to the islands off the eastern coast for some needed rest and relaxation.  It was a 12 hour train ride, so leaving that evening got us there by about 8am the next day.  It wasn't until after a ferry, a taxi, and a "long boat" ride ("long" because of its shape, not its speed) that we arrived on the island of Ko Pha Ngan, at 3pm. We were in search of our perfect, deserted beach.  It would be almost a year before we found one. Ko Pha Ngan is a beautiful island.  It is diverse in its range of things to do.  There is a little town (Thong Sala) where the pier is, which is convenient for shopping and internetting, if you can get away from the annoying taxi drivers and others who only want to sell you something.  South of the island is Hat Rin, where the infamous full moon parties take place.  The beach was hard to get to (even by motorcycle, which we did) and we don't recommend it.  It was crowded with single foreigners, and had the feeling of Cancun. Our first destination was a sweet, little beach nicknamed Bottle Beach.  It was a great place to get away.  There were no roads into the place so you had to take a small boat from the nearest town.  We had a small bungalow on a hillside near the beach.  The water was clear, clean, and warm. It had foreigners also but it was a more low key atmosphere.  There are mostly couples and the singles were not there to "party" per se.  We've been quite active during are stay here.  We kayaked on the 1st day,  snorkelled and hiked into the jungle on the 2nd, and rented a motorcycle to ride around the island on our 3rd day (yesterday).  It has been very fun and rejuventating so far.  We lazed around a bit as well.  We are still trying to become accustomed to travelling.  It is exciting to have finally left the States after all the planning, packing, and budgeting.  It felt unreal at first.  This is definitely a new way of living and enjoying life.  Since we've been traveling we've met a surprising amount of world travellers like ourselves.  They are mostly Europeans.  In short, we are having a great time! March 15 Ko Tao After we scooted to Ko Tao, a smaller island south of Ko Pha Nang.  Brian had been there 11 years earlier.  At that time the island only had a few sets of bungalows and so few people that he was able to have a deserted beach all to himself.  Now every inch of the island is filled with hotels, restarants, shops and tourists.  We found a place to stay that was cheap and nice (Tropicana).  The food was good, especially the BBQ'd fish.  It rained the day we went on a snorkeling trip, but we had fun anyway. March 19 Trang We learned what a sardine feels like when it's canned during our trip back to the mainland.  We boarded the night boat, were directed down into the hull where there was a foot wide aisle.  On each side were the longest beds you have ever seen, very thin, and very uncomfortable. The mats were laid out right next to each other.  Written on the walls were numbers, each about 1 and a half feet apart.  This is where we spent the next 10 hours or so, lying virtually on top of our neighbors, watching the single, naked lightbulb sway from it's cord in the ceiling.  The worst part is that once it's dark, there's no horizon to focus on.  We were rocking in the darkness, and the whole night.  Thankfully no one got sick or had any smelly accidents, so we didn't experience the ghastly puke domino effect.  Also, lights went out at about 10pm, so we had no choice but to sleep. Next, we decided to go to hit a city, so we went to a place called Trang.  We spent our whole first day resting from the overnight ferry ride from Ko Tao.  Trang is a nice, medium-sized city: clean and orderly for Thai standards.  It's like a smaller, cleaner version of Bangkok.  Of course, it can't match Bangkok's historical sights, Thai massages, or public transportation, but most places in Trang is within walkable distance.   The market was good and we had some great walks.  Trang has a sizeable Chinese-Thai population.  We were actually able to speak with a restaurant owner in Chinese!  We had a nice time and spent 3 days here, exploring. March 21 Ko Suborn After Trang we were ready to seek out the perfect beach.  As in many places, there are many travel agencies in town.  We decided to check it out.  We told the lady that we want a beach or island that wasn't overrun with foreigners, a place where the local economy isn't driven by tourism.  The lady suggested Ko Suborn.  We saw the photos, and found out that it is a small Muslim fishing.  We thought, this could be interesting.  So, from Trang, we headed to Ko Suborn, a Muslim fishing village off the coast of Trang.  Well, after traveling for most of the day, we arrived by late afternoon.  The first thing we do: check in and walk on the beach.  We sat, looking at the dark brown sand (we were told that this was a characteristic of this island).  There were only 2 other people, so it seemed very deserted.  Then Brian noticed the piled up trash on the beach next to us. The guidebooks and tour operators advertised its picturesque black sand beaches, but what they failed to mention was the trash lining the shore.  We decided to stroll up the beach barefeet, but it was too hot (there is a reason why white sand beaches are preferred).  After finding a few dead jelly fish, we headed back, disgusted.  We didn't even set foot in the water. Instead we decided to walk to the nearby fishing village to eat, because our hotel's restaurant was ridiculously overpriced.  The walk was very scenic, lots of cows, goats, and rubber trees.  We ended up having a great time talking with the locals.  The coffee was good and rice porridge (it was the only thing available to eat) was dee-lish. Our guest house began pushing their overpriced restaurant from the time we walked into their reception.  When we returned to our hotel the staff was so insistent that we eat in their overpriced restaraunt that they came to our room peeped into our window and insisted we eat before they close.  We didn't leave the room and got off the island the next day. March 23 Pak Meng We were sick of islands so we decided to give the coast a shot.  We went to a beach near Trang city.   We made our way back to Trang and another quick bus ride towards the coast to Pak Meng, where we stayed for a few days. It was a place frequented by Thai tourists, so the atmosphere was different than the islands we had already visited off the west coast.  It was definitely different to travel among Thai tourists because good and cheap food was always available.  After finding a place to hang our hats, we went for a walk down the beach past a huge abandoned ship to where vendors set up chairs on the beach for customers.  We sat and watched the sunset.  It was magnificent, lighting up the sky in all sorts of rich, vibrant colors that changed every minute until the sun disappeared behind the horizon. March 24 The next day we rented a motorbike and went in search of the deserted beach.  We rode down the coast to check out other beaches.  The beaches at Pak Meng are not dirty.  We found out later that the local businesses pay people to clean their beaches.  However, you can only swim in it when the low is low (the afternoon). We headed south along the coastal road and saw miles and miles of trashlined shores . . . the locals had used the ocean as a dump site.  As a last resort we tried a part of the beach designated as a national park.  We weren't happy about the 5 USD entry fee (locals get in for almost free), but it was pleasant enough.  There was only a little trash, there was an interesting peninsula with some limestone cliffs and curious monkeys.  We walked around at low tide and found a little sliver of sand were there were no people.  It was satisfying, but with boats cruising by it wasn't really our deserted stretch of beach. March 25 The last day there, we chartered a long tail boat to take a snorkeling trip off the several nearby islands.  We went to the Emerald Cave, where you swim though a tunnel (the water is emerald green), and at the other end is a beach surrounded by sheer cliffs on all sides. There were many other tour groups there and very crowded, especially while swimming there.  In fact, we were kicked and tugged by flailing, orange life-jacketed tourists.  That was annoying.  Other than that, the cave was beautiful, and the snorkeling was alot of fun.  We saw much more than we did in Ko Tao. Our search for the perfect, pristine, deserted beach was tiring and at times, disappointing.  Thailand is overrun with tourists.  We've visited even the more remote islands and beaches and haven't found the serene, relaxing beach we expected, nor the atmosphere of a virgin landscape, untainted by post-consumer waste.  Most Thai's are still very nice, but the blatant disregard for their environment and lack of understanding about how it (mainly beaches) helps drive their tourist economy is very shocking and strange.  Apparently, the level of poverty hasn't been affected by tourism.  Ko Pha Ngan has one of the best beaches we've visited so far.  Ko Tao was overrun by foreigners, but not as dirty as I expected. March 26 Bangkok We then took the bus back to Trang to take another bus up to Bangkok.  It was difficult to sleep, sitting upright with the kid behind us screaming and hitting the backs of our seats.  We decided at that point, not to take any more night buses if at all possible.  After the long and difficult overnight (12 hours) bus ride, we were ready to hang in Bangkok and spend some time exploring the city and citylife.  We were tired from the trip, and decided to stay in a different area of town.  It is near the university and the sidewalk cafe's were filled with beatnick students and a wide variety of tastes.  Across from our hotel was a park bordering the large river that cuts through the capital.  Just a few doors down was a legit, 5 dollar an hour massage parlor.  We went there several times before we left the country.  They fully stretched us.  It was also a beauty parlor so Brian cut off his long locks, but left the back as is so to grow out his mullet. We spent a few days here exploring some more.  We stayed in a spot that was centrally located to all the sites.  It was very nice because we were close to the river taxi's which got us to the Skytrain and everything else.  We also got our last Thai massage before we left for the Philippines.