Reblog- Backpacking Thailand by backpackies Anonymous

We are suffering from the “travel” itch again! It was time for us to go somewhere. Anywhere will do.  Sitting in Penang for too long was driving us nuts. Don’t get me wrong, Penang is a wonderful place. But it was time to just pack our bags, and go for some GO GO dancing! Some RnR.
Bangkok was cheap and it had a direct flight from Penang. We kept going into Air Asia’s waiting lounge. Which meant that we had to wait for hours, till we actually got RE-directed to the PAY page. Only to be kicked out with an ERROR message telling me that the transaction did not go through. Yes, we feel your pain especially when you plan out to wake up at 2am just to sit in front of the computer, hoping to be the first person to score some CHEAPO flights. We hear your pain. There is nothing much you can do, but try and try again. I think the best time to surf for cheap flights, especially when their PROMOTIONS are on, is during the 3am – 5am window. Some say its between 7am to 9am. But 9am is basically your cap, as you know people nowadays. The first thing they do at work is UPDATE FACEBOOK and BUY cheap flights.

Long story short, we were off !!! We paid RM 205 per person one way from Penang to Bangkok. Which was dirt cheap. These are some of the pictures we snapped throughout our travel.

Checking in on Air Asia. Look at the mess behind the counter! I bet you if you throw your over weight bags over there, without her noticing, i don't think you need to pay for excess luggage

Oh come on! Penang International Airport is such a beautiful airport. Where is the soap for the sink man! Why are all the dispensers empty?

What's to BRAVO about this picture?

To date, i still do not understand the meaning of the toilet signs at the Penang International Airport.

Sawadee Krup! Welcome to Bangkok. See how enthusiastic my girlfriend was when she heard i was going to revisit Patpong? (For the writeup of course!!)

When you reach Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.  Once you get off the plane, there will be shuttle buses waiting to transit you to the arrival terminal.

From the plane you will need to take a shuttle bus to the terminal

About 4 years back, the only transportation out of Suvarnabhumi Airport was just the taxi. At that time, the taxis would cost between 400 THB to 800 THB for a normal cab to central Bangkok. Now the times have changed. You have a couple of options. Here is a list of options and the floor in which you need to go, to get it.

We wanted to take the Airport Rail Link to town because we heard it was fast and cheap.  Check them out here > Bangkok Airport Train
Unfortunately, when we arrived, the train had left and the next train was going to arrive 30 minutes later. I decided that we should take the taxi. My reasoning was, since there was 2 of us, and it would cost around 380 THB for the 2 of us to get to town by taxi, which was about 170 THB more expensive than taking the train. Train for one way was 90 THB per person/ per way. And 150 THB per person/return.

Because our first guesthouse was not located along the main BTS SKY TRAIN lines, this meant that if we were to take the train, we would still end up either walking from the nearest BTS station or taking a taxi to our guesthouse which was somewhere in SILOM.
We stayed at Just Beds. And the place is simply a steal!  You have to got to check it out. We will blog about this in the next blog.
So to get to the trains, there are plenty of signs that will lead you there.

Naaah! this is the way to the airport bus counter

The train counter is on B floor.

Just in case you decided to wait for the train, the Thai’s are very considerate, where they have made their chairs comfortable for you to rest on. Just make sure you don’t fall asleep and miss the train !

Along the way you can find plenty of chairs where you can sleep on, if you have an early/ late flight and want to skimp on hotels and taxi fair to Suvarnabhumi Airport

We proceeded straight to the taxi stand, where you will have to tell the person at the counter where you want to go, and he/she will write your destination on the piece of paper which you will then hand over to the taxi driver.

Organized taxi booth to any where in Bangkok can be taken from here

Watch out for peak hours where the traffic in Bangkok is utter madness. In case your flight arrives around 4pm to 6pm. Then we suggest maybe by taking the train, it will certainly save you plenty of time, instead of getting stuck in the taxi. This is only IF your guesthouse/hotel is in the city center like Silom or Sukhumvit.

Riding pillion on a motorcycle is probably the fastest way to get from point A to point B. It might not be the safest though. Average fare for a bike like this starts from 20 THB to 30 THB for short distances. They might charge you more, because you are a foreigner.

HAILING A MOTORCYCLE – What i normally do, which i know is ” SICK ” to others is that, i will have a Thai person write down my destination on a piece of paper. I will first ask how much the charge is. Then i will act deaf/dumb and show the piece of paper to the rider. After getting down, i will just pay the man the money without saying a word and walk off. It has worked before for me. I hope it will too for you.  Unless you are not as CHEAP as me.

Taking the famous Tuk Tuk on the highway would be suicide! Bargain hard for the right price first

I think the maximum you can get on a tuk tuk is 3 adults or maybe 5 kids. Depending on your size really. The tuk tuk driver often is reluctant to ride with more than 3 adults on board. Maybe 4 girls will do the trick? Who knows?

Because our guesthouses we were staying was located around Siam Square and Silom, we opted to ride the Sky Train often. It was not only faster but air conditioned as well. We hate to bargain- if its not for shopping purposes.

We ended up traveling around mostly by Sky Train, because it was cooler (air conditioning) and because we were staying in the city center, it was easily connected to all the malls, restaurants and famous attractions

Check out this TUK TUK that we saw in Ayuthaya! Ayuthaya is about 2 hours by Minivan from Bangkok. Its a nice city to walk around and see the ancient ruins.

Woah! Speed racer is in town

Another thing you should know about the working Thai’s is that, they are very trendy! Taking this in to account, make sure you dress up when you are heading to the clubs or to a nice restaurant!

Every where i turn , everywhere i see, i see everyone playing with an I phone!

I practically lived off street food in Bangkok. There was just so many types of food by the road, and all of them were delicious!! I wouldn’t say that they are cheap. I prefer the word “Affordable”.

You got to love the street food in Bangkok

Sometimes it makes you wonder, with all the smog and soot from tuk tuks and the infamous Bangkok traffic, that are the fruits sold by the road side dirty?

I saw these kebab’s on sale along Khao San Road! Lovely! (It is not common Thai street food, but because its on Khao San Road, everything is westernized

We caught a vendor feeding this squirrel alcohol! Poor squirrel!!

And of course, every single Thai is really friendly. This Mama San was apparently the leader for this pack of “Beach Boys”. They stopped to get the same meat skewers as me, when i managed to slide in a shot!

The next day we went sightseeing. One of the must see’s in Bangkok would be the Grand Palace. You will have to see it at least once.

Wat Pho was our next destination.
Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok (with an area of 50 rai, 80,000 square metres) and is home to more than one thousand Buddha Images as well as one of the largest single Buddha images of 160 ft length- the Reclining Buddha.

Wat Pho is also famous for its Traditional Thai Massages. The temple is considered the first public university of Thailand, teaching students in the fields of religion, science and literature through murals and sculptures.In 1962 a school for traditional medicine and massage was established.The temple is home to one of the earliest Thai massage schools.

On the way back from Wat Pho, we went through the amulet market, which has the biggest collection of Amulets for sale in Bangkok.
But amongst all these holy stones and amulets, its amazing what you can find ! This is truly AMAZING THAILAND!

Breakfasts around the world while backpacking- by backpackies

As you travel and backpack around the globe, you will soon learn that breakfast is not having it at a ‘FAST FOOD’ joint!
Rather it is more about being more adventurous and heading out to find and eat what the locals have for breakfast.
Here is a list of what some people in their country eat. 🙂

Are you dreaming about the Mc Donalds breakfast in your sleep??

A full English Breakfast – it must have beans, sausages, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, hash browns and toast. Of course, it should all be knocked back with a cup of tea, but black pudding is optional as far as I’m concerned.

Breakfast in Iran – it usually features some sort of naan bread with butter and jam. When a light breakfast just isn’t going to hit the spot Iranians eat halim. Halim is a mixture of wheat, cinnamon, butter and sugar cooked with shredded meat in huge pots. You can eat it hot or cold. You can also see the Iranian version of an omelet here too.

A Cuban wake up meal – usually consists of sweetened coffee with milk with a pinch of salt thrown in. The unique Cuban bread is toasted and buttered and cut into lengths to dunk in the coffee.

Polish Breakfast – known locally as Jajecznica, a traditional Polish breakfast consists of scrambled eggs covered with slices of custom- made kielbasa and joined by two potato pancakes.

 Quick Spanish breakfast – Pan a la Catalana, or Pan con Tomate, in Spain is simple but really delicious. Just rub some bread with fresh garlic and plenty of ripe tomato, then drizzle with olive oil and salt. Top with cheese, ham or sausage for an extra bit.

A yummy Moroccan breakfast – usually consists of different breads with some chutney, jam, cheese or butter. They have a really delicious crumpet-style bread which they make in huge slabs for you to tear a bit off, and a semolina pancake bread called Baghir – both are really tasty.

A healthy Hawaiian breakfast – I couldn’t imagine Hawaiians eating anything but fruit to be honest. Of course, there’s the bagel but I’m sure they’d burn the energy from that off in a few minutes on their surf board anyway.

Nope! Sweedish people do not eat Sweedish meatballs for breakfast!

Swedish breakfast – often involves a Swedish pancake, known as a Pannkakor. It’s a thin flat cake made from batter and fried on both sides – much like a crepe. It’s usually served with a sweet, fruity filling.

Icelandic breakfast cuisine – a hearty and hot breakfast to fight off the dark, icy mornings is what’s needed here. Hafragrautur, or oatmeal, is served with a sprinkle of brown sugar with a few raisins or nuts on top, perfect.

Breakfast in Portugal – a delicious and simple affair with stuffed croissants and plenty of coffee served in the sun.

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Wonders of Nepal through our eyes, by backpackies

Nepal is definitely an experience you would want to try out at least ONCE in your life time. Or maybe once is not enough as well!

The food, the people, the smell, culture and sheer natural and historical beauty is enough to take your breath away. With so much to share and tell, we decided the best way to show it to you is to put up pictures of the trip. After all pictures speaks louder than words.
So here we go…

Even Bart can do Everest. SHAME ON YOU!

Nepali flags flying proud for sale at the souvenir shops

Buddhist Stupas are everywhere

There are so many old temples in Nepal that you would walk by one and not even notice that it was a historical site. Some Nepali people use part of the temple to store their goods and some even use it to hang their washing.
And somehow somewhere along the streets you will manage to find a fresh fruit stall. (The freshness of the fruits are somehow dubious)

fresh fruits stall that also make juices.

Nepali locals playing a game with some stones picked up from the road side and a play board drawn crude on a stone slab.

Puppets of Ganesha the Indian Elephant headed god can be seen sold along the streets. The Nepali people are very spiritual at heart.

puppets of Ganesha on sale

Internet and IDD/STD international phone calling service can only be found in touristy areas. You would be lucky to find one which hasn’t been affected by the daily load shedding. (Every day, for about 3-4 hours, Nepal faces electricity cuts)

IDD/STD phone call and internet center

Vegetables sold by the road side which look really miserably. The carrots are the size of my last finger!

woman buying vegetables by the road side in Kathmandu City

A national security guard guarding a government building in Kathmandu.

One of the worlds most elite special forces, The Gurkha. Gurkha guard on alert

A temple in Kathmandu Durbar square. This temple is at least a few hundred years old.

Foreign and local tourists flock to this spiritual square to pray and admire the beauty of the temple.

Below is a giant statue of a guardian animal protecting the temple grounds. Locals also pay homage and respects to the guardian as well by offering lights, flowers and a red type of dye which is dotted on the statue after prayers.

A guardian temple lion status

Its amazing to see in the Durbar square in Nepal have so many different types of temple structures. If you notice, the left white structure and the right structure has different architecture.

To pay homage and respect to the spirits and deities, the locals would put the red dye on the stone to show respect.

cute hand woven cotton hats with cartoon characters

Most of the temples have intricate wooden carvings like these

The famous stupa at Boudanath!

One of the temple structures at the Durbar Square

Locals are seen climbing on top of the temple structures and sitting down there chatting to their friends totally unaware of the harm they are inflicting on to the intricate temple structures.

A local woman preparing a dish of dried up wheat, mixed spice potatoes, beans, and buffalo meat

The buffalo meat was pretty tough to chew. But otherwise it was pretty tasty. We wouldn’t lie to you and say it tastes like chicken!!

countryside in Nepal on our hike up to Changu Narayan Temple

Locals sitting down by the road side, to prepare temple offerings.

Temple offerings - Incense, flowers, butter lamps

Patan Durbar Square

In the square it self you can see so many different architecture present. The amount of detailed carvings and attention given to the decorations on the temples are just astonishing.

Nepali winged guardian which can be seen praying facing the temple

this temple is a few hundred of years old

Woman selling flowers and butter lamps to devotees.

view from Nagargot Nepal

Nepal is such a beautiful country, the nature, people and culture. If you have the opportunity, make the time to visit Nepal.

We took so many pictures of Nepal and this is only a fraction of it. Please join us on our facebook fan page at backpackies is on facebook, to ask us anything on travel in Nepal as well as to share with us your travel experiences.