Perhaps one of the most relaxing
and suitable songs for a long drive is “Give Me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman. I
just visited an incredible complex of 13th and 16th
century temple ruins in the Sukhothai World Heritage site, and am currently
driving approximately 3 hours to Chang Mai. Once again, I am sitting, however I
am not in an airport, and the varying scenery of jungle, rivers, rice fields
and the occasional vista of distant mountains offers plenty of entertainment.
By the way, I am now listening to “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield,
which is also a great song, and is getting my second recommendation as a good
driving song. That said, I have so many great songs on my Favorites Queue that
if a different song had come on, it likely would have gotten that
recommendation instead.
On another
note, the past week has been an amazing journey filled with beaches, tranquil
seaside restaurants, jungle treks, and mischievous monkeys. Safe to say, Railay
beach and the surrounding area certainly lived up to expectations. Railay West
Beach and East beach were a bit overdeveloped and I would love to have
experienced those beaches 15 years ago, however with some motivation you can
hike about 10 minutes to get to either TonSai beach or Phra Nang beach which are
both more quiet and less developed. TonSai beach also has a wonderful
night-life with plenty of restaurants, bars, and cheap accommodation further
inland. Also in the Railay area there is an incredible viewpoint you can hike
up to, and a lagoon nestled inside of one of the cliff protrusions.
Unfortunately I could not do any rock-climbing as a result of my injured ankle.
All the
beaches in the area are stunning partly because they are bordered by giant
cliffs several hundred feet tall. Also, in the distance you can see small
islands dotting the horizon, adding some character to the sea-view. On Phra
Nang beach, there are motorized canoe-boats that sell drinks and food; and I
enjoyed a full body oil massage on the beach for a paltry 9 dollars. I
originally wanted the $6 back massage option, but she nefariously turned my
back massage into a full-body massage in spite of my feeble, half-hearted
protests. As a result I had to reluctantly part with 5 extra dollars.. Nonetheless,
that was the first professional massage I have ever gotten, and it was worth
every penny! I enjoyed the area so much that I abandoned my original plan to
visit Koh Phi Phi Island. I also was indecisive with lodging and ended up
staying in 4 different hotels, the Garden View Resort being by far my favorite.
It comprised of a small bungalow in the jungle with a porch that had an
outstanding view of the ocean.
On a side
note, I would like to give a shout-out to my new Chinese friends. I met them at
the sea port in Krabi while we were waiting for transport to Railay beach. They
were a newly-wed couple on their honeymoon. We managed to have a conversation
in broken English, and I managed to introduce myself in Chinese since I have
taken one year of Mandarin class. After parting ways in Railay, we ended up
meeting up again by coincidence and they brought me out to a wonderful dinner.
Anyway, (if you are reading this) thank you, and have a wonderful trip.
I have now
begun the program part of my trip. After coming back to Bangkok, I met up with
the other participants in my travel program, all of which are very interesting
and sociable. I spent the last 3 nights exploring and making the most of the
incredible night scene in Bangkok, usually staying out till 2AM. However, the
experiences I have had with the buddies on my trip so far will last a lifetime
and are by far worth a few hours of lost sleep. At night, the streets are
filled with vendors selling street food, assortments of insects, clothing, fake
Ray-Bans and of course the omnipresent local Chang beer. Out of curiosity, I
have tried just about every insect offered here, excluding the giant scorpion.
Out of grubs, grasshoppers, fried crabs, tarantulas, and crickets, I would say
the fried crickets get my recommendation, although the crabs are a close
second.
Anyway, we
are almost to Chang Mai where we will be spending two days caving and
rock-climbing before beginning a 5 day service project at the Elephant Nature
Foundation. Unfortunately I will be unable to participate in the caving and
rock-climbing as a result of my ankle, however I am sure I will find plenty of
other things to do in Chang Mai instead. Till next time! Ciao! And, as they say
in Thailand, Sawat Dee Khap!
Dag these are great photos. Are you using your new camera? I LOVE the 1st pic of Lilly pads, and reflections on the water... all the multiple circular images, very nicely done! And the Phra Nang beach sunset color and shape combo is fabulous! and all the others,... wow! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYes, all of these are from my new camera! It takes amazing photos. I forgot to upload a picture of the monkeys. I have a good one of a monkey yawning, but that'll have to wait for the next blog!
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