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!

Ayutthaya a wonderful day trip or an overnighter away from hectic Bangkok by backpackies

The ancient city of Ayutthaya (Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya) was the second capital of Siam after Sukhothai located 87km north of Bangkok.
Founded in 1350, Ayutthaya is actually an island surrounded by three rivers: the Chao Phraya river, the Lopburi river and the Pa Sak river. It’s ideal location between China, India and the Malay Archipelago made it the trading capital of Asia and even the world. By 1700 Ayutthaya had become the largest city in the world with a total of 1 million inhabitants. Many international merchants set sail for Ayutthaya, from diverse regions as the Arab world, China, India, Japan, Portugal, the Netherlands and France. Merchants from Europe proclaimed Ayutthaya as the finest city they had ever seen. Dutch and French maps of the city show grandeur with gold-laden palaces, large ceremonies and a huge float of trading vessels from all over the world.

All this came to a quick end when the Burmese invaded Ayutthaya in 1767 and almost completely burnt the city down to the ground.

Most of Ayutthaya is now temples, palaces and shrines made of stone.
Ayutthaya’s ruins were officially recognized in 1991, when the Historic City became an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Ayutthaya is a popular day trip attraction for travelers from Bangkok. It’s certainly a change of atmosphere away from the bustling hectic street jams and people. Since its only a 2 hours by train (1 hour plus by mini van), and it is fairly easy to navigate around this city, you do not really need a guide or follow a tour. And of course, we at backpackies always encourage you to do it your self.
“Most travellers are asked to buy tickets from Khao San road, then packed into a speedy tour which involves a lot of stress. Do not let these travel agents tell you differently.”
“Ayutthaya isn’t hard to get to !”

There are a few ways to get there from Bangkok. The train runs right through town, buses run multiple times an hour, and public vans shoot back and forth constantly.

We took the scenic third class(free seating, no air conditioning) train for 14 THB.

Our train ticket to ayutthaya

We passed through kilometers of bright green rice paddies, fresh water ponds, and herds of water buffalo on the way.

Green scenery along the way

You will need to board from Bangkok’s Hualamphong Train Station. There are second class seats (A/C) for 245 THB. Check time tables from Bangkok Railway.

Sexy train attendants

Where is the train?

Minivan: Starts from Victory Monument. Take BTS Skytrain to the Victory Monument station, and go right on the elevated walkway – keep on it until you cross a large road, then descend – the buses are parked at the side side of the main traffic circle). The cost is usually ~70 baht, takes around 1 hour or 1 hour 20 min. It’s quite convenient since you don’t have to go to bus terminals (nearby Mochit) but the only problem is that the minibuses don’t have much space to put big bags and have to wait until the car is fully filled.

Cruise boats: Another alternative is you can also take a tourist cruise boat up from Bangkok. You will stop at Ko Kret and Bang Pa-In along the way. You’ll need to book in advance as there are no scheduled services, just trips for tourists. It’s a fairly lengthy trip (at least one whole day) and some of the larger boats offer (pricy) overnight tours. — Boat from Ayutthaya to Bangkok leaves 11:30AM daily (arrives Bangkok ~4PM) = 1350 baht/person PH: 08 97662672
Travelling by boat to Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya is popular and unique experience as you get to see the lifestyles of the people on both sides of the Chao Phraya River. You may just sit back and imagine your self travelling through time, just as how the trade ships did it back in ancient times.

Continue : The train ride takes roughly 2 hours. When you arrive at Ayutthaya train station, you will need to cross over to the island which is a short ferry ride. (4 THB)

Taking a ferry across the river to the island

Getting around Ayutthaya is pretty easy. U Thong Rd is a ring road that goes around the city. Most temple ruins can be found at the north-west of the island, while accommodation and nightlife is clustered around the north-east. As non-Siamese peoples were not allowed to live inside the city walls, the sights from foreign nations can be found outside of the island.
Of course almost every travel guide will advice you to rent a bicycle, and cruise to explore the ruins. There are plenty of places where you can rent bicycles. (40 THB a day)
The faster alternative is to rent a motorbike. We rented one for 250 THB. Its much faster which means less time under the heat. We did this so we could cover more ground so that we have more things to write for you guys  🙂 . Well, that’s our excuse for being lazy, what’s yours?

There are plenty of Street food around, especially around Ayutthaya University (Rochana Rd and Si Sanphet Rd). Grab some food to go and eat laying in the shade of the trees growing around the ruins.
Some sites have an entrance fee of 30 to 50 baht.

There are plenty of temples and palaces around Ayutthaya to explore. We will be posting up the different temples you can see here in the next blog.

Our guesthouse Baan Lotus

Room rates:
Aircon room, 600B
Fan room, 450B
Dorm, 300B

Our Room

toilet of the guesthouse

pizzas and cakes

frutis and vegetables

Fruits seller. The fruit juice was at 25 THB a cup!

fresh grilled fish covered in salt

If you are here on a day trip, you can sit by the river enjoying a beer and then back to Bangkok by either a speedy van ride back to Bangkok or a lazy train journey.

The next trip, we will cover the names of the temples and also what to expect inside the temples.
We will also be trying out the night river cruise. Stay tuned to backpackies.
If you have a facebook account, make sure you join us there as well. Backpackies is on facebook

We would like to personally thank Theresa Goh and her partner Harpal Singh for providing the information and resources for us to write this

Drilling Rigs Koh Samui, Koh Tao. Oil in Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao?! by backpackies

The Islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are synonymous with images of near paradise. Crystal clear blue-green waters filled with millions of colorful sea life swimming about in the sea as you snorkel over, its powder white sands that simply melt in your hands as you attempt to pick them up and abundance of peace and quiet! All the time in the world is yours.
Now all of that is about to change! The Oil Rigs are coming to town!
The next time you decide to do some backpacking to the islands, instead of a quiet little town, most likely you will be greeted by shady whore houses and bars- like Pattaya Thailand.

These islands are visited annually by roughly about 50 million tourists, for the natural beaches, attractive dive sites, rock climbing, and natural beauty.
Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao alone have about 800 odd hotels and resorts, that are at risk if these drilling projects are allowed to carry on.
You heard of the famous Ko Tao? Or the Full Moon Party aka “The Greatest Rave Party on Earth”? Well here is a map just to get you up to speed. The Full Moon Party is the craziest and biggest beach rave you will ever see. International Djs will spin the night away to literally tens of thousands of revelers on Koh Phangan’s beaches. Similar parties are held on Koh Samui as well.
See the below map of where these islands are.

Thailands triple gems -Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan

Koh Tao Island - blissfull paradise

Obviously having an oil rig within the horizon while sipping ice lemonade on the beautiful beach is not anyones idea of “paradise”.
The closest drilling site is 42 km off Koh Samui, but the border of the site is only 5km from the islands beaches.

Koh Samui Thailand

Roustabouts on the drill floor working pipe

We all know, even though the “Oil Companies” dont admit it, they do cause alot of pollution. Most of it are from the cuttings and dirt that they dig up. They use drilling fluids that are sometimes dumped into the ocean. Causing damage to the environment.

Pollution caused by drilling rig

The environmentalists are up in arms against the Oil Deal.

Small fishing boats near the beach in Bang Sarn Village near Nakhon Si Thammarat. A pier is proposed to be built near the beach to serve as a shore base facility to support the oil exploration project in the Gulf Of Thailand.

But rallies do very little to stop these big oil companies from continuing with their projects.

Rallies being held to oppose the oil exploration nearby the top tourist destinations.

Oil exploration projects in the Gulf Of Thailand

Lagends of what the different icons and colours are for

So the next time you go there, just beware, the water might not be as clean as it is anymore. We hope with this, you stay informed about the current matters of Thailand’s Islands.
For more budget travel information, visit us at www.backpackies.com
We welcome your ideas, thoughts and comments!

Pictures are courtesy of The Bangkok Post,
http://www.thailand-beach.net/ko-tao.html
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