Thailand - Day 6 & 7 - Koh Lanta

Our island hideaway

We were both in easy agreement as to what our activities would be for our first full day on the island – after nearly three months of travelling all we wanted to do was lie on a beach! Unfortunately we got a bit too overzealous and despite being vigourous with our sun cream we realised after a couple of hours that we’d both got rather embarrassingly sunburnt, and after swearing blind we wouldn’t become typical brits abroad!

We swiftly retreated to hide our shame (and raw skin) in hammocks in the shadows for the rest of the afternoon. As luck would have it this was also a convenient spot to watch the party set-up, and it soon became clear they would be going all out. The hotel owners and their Rastafarian friends spent all afternoon crafting giant lanterns to put out on the beach and setting up a beach BBQ and bar…at this point we were still wondering where they were expecting guests to come from. We’d seen a total of about 10 people on the beach, most of whom were day-tripping from further north on scooters and we figured not many people would be keen to drive 25 minutes that night for a beach party in a pretty lazy part of the island.

Bringing in the muscle...

We continued to watch the party set-up get more and more elaborate into the early evening, at one point they even brought an elephant onto the beach from the elephant sanctuary across the road to help erect a giant log to hang the lanterns from! Needless to say that caused a bit of a stir with tourists and locals alike.

Come sundown we donned our finery to go and check out the party and it was DEAD. We actually felt a bit sorry for them as it was still only the Rasta’s and us in sight. We decided to keep the BBQ ladies busy and ordered some cheap and tasty food and a couple of drinks and enjoyed them out on the beach. Word had it a popular band from the Malaysian island of Langkawi would be playing come about 8pm so we thought we’d hang around to watch them.

Come 9.30pm there was no sign of the band and with the exception of two girls who had come for dinner and then left again there really wasn’t any indication that a party would be happening any time soon. To make matters worse, they were having massive audio issues and the music they were trying to play kept cutting out every 30 seconds or so meaning they’d had to turn it off altogether.

By this point, convinced the party was not meant to be and pretty exhausted from the heat (and our hideous sunburn) we decided to call it a night and retreated to our beach shack…oh how mistaken we were…

Sunset on Klong Jak

 It was about 30 or 40 minutes after we had both dozed off that the LOUDEST music you have ever heard started. I’m not just talking loud, it was beyond loud. It was walls-shaking-feel-it-through-the-floor-loud. The kind of loud that the speakers couldn’t really copy with so were really distorted, and to make it worse it wasn’t even the band – this was clearly just the warm up of really, really bad party tunes. We were both shattered so tried to sleep through it (as if that were possible), about 20 minutes later the band started and although they were loud they were playing reggae covers of pretty chilled out songs so for about another 10 minutes or so I think we dozed off again. Then it was time for intermission, and obviously rather than tamper with the dodgy audio in between sets they decided to leave it as is, this time banging out some pretty awful dance music at the same volume as before.

We stuck it out, seething with anger in our room for about another hour – hoping that each time the band stopped it would be for good but it was always just another intermission with unbearably loud music before they kicked off again. At this point we decided there was nothing else to it but to get up, get dressed and go and get a (hideously overpriced) beer on the beach to watch the rest of it.

Ready to party...

The party wasn’t kicking by any means but there were about six or seven backpacker kids who looked about 12 jumping around in the sand to the music, and a few older ones passed out on sun loungers. The group of Rasta’s had grown significantly and I suddenly became clear that maybe this party wasn’t so much for tourists as for the owners and their heavily dreadlocked friends.

We chose a couple of loungers at the back, in the dark, away from the action in an attempt to ride out the rest of the evening. Unfortunately we hit it just as the band broke for another intermission and as a Katy Perry track kicked in and nearly burst our eardrums I thought James was about to break…

Poor James, he’d suffered the sunburn worse than I had and had barely slept the night before…he was a shell of his former self, which became all the more apparent as he stood up, wild-eyed and shouted ‘I can’t take this anymore…’ at me before wandering towards the group of Rasta’s sat in darkness off to one side.

I sat there for a moment a bit gobsmacked as the whitest (well, reddest at this point), ginger-bearded boy in the world approached a group of about 20 full-on, dreadlocked-to-their ankles Rastafarians. I couldn’t see what was going on from where I was, but five minutes later he came back and told me we’d been invited to join them.

So there we were – James and I – sat right bang in the middle of guys smoking the biggest joints I have EVER seen in my life. (Fear not, fortunately they let James roll his own…) Meanwhile the white kids on the loungers were looking at us in utter confusion, wondering how on earth we’d managed to get an ‘in’ with the cool kids.

We sat there for about an hour and finally things started the wind down and the band finished their last set at about 3am. We said our goodnights to our new found friends and headed back to bed – the music continued, thankfully at a slightly lower volume, until about 4am when we both finally managed to get off to sleep.

After taking advantage of a lie-in the next morning (all the staff were out cold recovering from the night before) we decided to hire a scooter and see a bit more of the island, just in case we were missing out on some awesome beaches outside of out little cove.

We took a jaunt up the coast about 15 minutes and stopped for breakfast at Klong Nin beach. It was a nice enough beach but it was huge and sprawling (and seemingly full of middle-aged white men?!) so we went for a quick swim to cool off and then headed further north to the famous ‘Long Beach’…unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what the guidebooks make it out to be, you could barely see sand for bars and restaurants and it was filthy! After making a quick pharmacy stop for some aftersun we scooted back to our beach shack and gave ourselves a (gentle) pat on the back for unknowingly picking the best spot of the island (minus the 4am disco!).

Thailand Day 5 - Off to Koh Lanta

The next stop on our itinerary was one that the two of us had been looking forward to for quite a while – some down time on the beaches of the Thai islands!

After our unexpected two-and-a-half-day transfer from Laos to Thailand we vowed to take at least one internal flight in Thailand to make up some lost time. After we priced up the cost of taking the 15 hour night train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, then the train/bus combo from Bangkok to Phuket plus a night’s accommodation there – it actually only worked out about $50 more expensive to fly from Bangkok straight to Krabi (the other jumping off point for islands in the Andaman Sea…) and would save us two days of travel so needless to say it was an easy decision to make!

Death bridge...

The only problem with our newly laid plans was that we would arrive in Krabi too late to take the passenger ferry across to our next destination – Koh Lanta. We managed to find a reputable looking company online offering pick-up from the airport, mini-van transfer to the dock, speedboat transfer to the island and then tuk tuk transfer to your choice of accommodation for $60. It did sound a bit too good to be true but they seemed legit and the only stipulation was that you had to be at the airport before 6.30pm for pick-up…so we booked it.

Thanks to some insider knowledge from Seth, we booked out first flight from Chiang Mai with Nok Air – not only was it cheaper than Air Asia but when we arrived at the airport we got to swan through check-in instantly while a load of hot and bothered looking backpackers were stuck in a never-ending Air Asia queue! We made the most of looking smug and boarded our very comfortable plane – only to then rewarded with our own little picnic bag for the flight, filled with the most delicious chocolate filled doughnut things I’ve ever tasted. Hands down, easily the best budget airline we’ve ever flown with! Unfortunately the next leg we had no choice but to book through Air Asia and needless to say there were no chocolate-filled doughnuts in sight…

This is the last boat you'll ever see.

Once we arrived in Krabi we were pleased to find a guy there as promised holding our name on a placard. He helped us to the mini-van and we were a bit surprised to find that we were the only people in it (bar his wife asleep in the front seat). We speculated on the journey about how perhaps our $60 had bought us a private speedboat transfer to the island but as the small villages dropped away and we headed further and further into the middle of nowhere we became more concerned that our driver was taking us into the jungle to rob us of everything we owned and leave us for dead.

After about 45 minutes we emerged from the wilderness into a clearing next to a river that looked like a building site – just bits of wood and piles of sand, and no sign of a speedboat. We both looked at each other rather anxiously as our driver jumped out and gathered our bags from the boot, he pointed in a general direction towards the river, where in the dying light of the day we could just about make out a VERY rickety looking bamboo bridge! As we got closer, sure enough there was a speedboat at the end…our own private speedboat!

We traversed the rather unsteady bridge with caution and hopped aboard. Our captain (despite smoking a massive joint) was very welcoming and even handed us some complimentary bottles of water as we sat down!

It was a quick 20 minute jaunt across the water to Koh Lanta, and then we were greeted at the other side by two guys with a tuk tuk who spoke no word of English but lead us from the ‘pier’ (the back of a restaurant) through a couple of back gardens and into the back of their van! We drove past the more built up areas at the north of the island and headed south to the accommodation we’d booked on Klong Jak beach.

We’d picked the accommodation, or more the beach, because we wanted to be away from the party and James’ only stipulation was that it had to be a hut on a beach…and this was the only one within our budget! However, our forward planning started to look like a bad idea as the restaurants and bars along the side of the road became less frequent and we headed further into the darkness! After about 30 minutes the guys had to pull over and ask for directions to where we were staying and at that point we started panicking that it would literally be some old shed in someone’s backyard!

Fortunately it was only another five minutes drive before we were piled out into the darkness with a rough indication of which direction to walk in! We could lights in the distance so we headed that way and were glad to finally be greeted by the German owner. We’d booked the place two days prior using skype but the connection was dodgy and we couldn’t really understand each other, so we were pleased to discover that they had not only honoured our booking (despite our arrival at about 9pm!) but also upgraded us to their more expensive air con beach shack with better beach access (literally a tumble out of the front door).

The place was pretty quiet, except for a group of six or seven Rasta’s sat in the restaurant smoking.

The owner (who must’ve been early 30’s) explained that she owned the place with her Thai boyfriend, that they hadn’t really got kitted up for the high season as yet so they couldn’t offer much in the way of food – but we’d arrived just in time for the grand opening party the following night when they’d be fully stocked for everything. The word’s ‘grand opening party’ filled us with some initial dread but the beach only had another two sets of bungalows and was sleepy as anything when we arrived so we figured it couldn’t get too rowdy… 

Sunset leaving the mainland

Thailand Day 4 – Doi Suthep & Farewell to Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai form on high

For our final day in Chiang Mai we wanted to venture up to the temple on the mountain at Doi Suthep. We hired another scooter, met up with Seth and Nui and set off around midday (we’d enjoyed a good lie in after our Elephant antics the day before). We were both a bit battered and bruised from riding and washing the elephants, and the scooting didn’t really help matters much – but the sun was out and it was a good day for sightseeing.

Hawkers.

First we drove through the University Seth had been working at – which looked eerily like UQ back in Brisbane, aside from all the stray dogs everywhere. Then we set off up the mountain – it’s particularly steep and winding, especially on a 100cc single gear scooter but at least the roads were smooth and it was two lane going up so the majority of cars passed us fine (just the one dickhead cut us right up for no reason – unfortunately our bike had the least threatening horn in the world).

We stopped halfway at a lookout for a drink and some snacks – before finally reaching the temple. The road just in front is lined with stalls selling souvenirs and snacks, as are the steps at the bottom of the entrance. It was amazing how much cooler the temperature was up there – just 25 minutes from the sweaty city but it felt amazingly fresh. Unfortunately even a drop in temperature couldn’t save us from the few hundred steps up the hill which led to the actual temple – at least we’d be getting our daily workout!

YOU PAY NOW!

By the time we reached the top I was a sweaty mess – worse than usual as I was wearing trousers whilst we had our laundry done. The temple itself was pretty impressive, loads of Buddha imagery and a big shiny golden stupa in the middle. Around the outside there were loads of little kids in (I think) traditional attire performing choreographed dances, but to really poppy disco music – it was odd.

There is also a statue of a dead elephant – not just any dead elephant, but the one that apparently had a relic strapped to it’s back and wandered about the hillside for a while before stopping at this site, which is why they built the temple there.

Shiny

We headed back down the mountain and for a coffee back near the uni – before saying our goodbyes until later that night. That afternoon we had designs on an ex-pat place run by an Englishman who did a Sunday roast (The Archers) – we’d been looking forward to it all weekend, so it was pretty devastating when we arrived 5pm that they had sold out of veggies! We consoled ourselves with a  roast beef sandwich, with chips and gravy – which actually turned out to be a pretty good alternative.

We went from there to check out the Sunday walking street – a larger version of the market we’d been at last night. We weren’t as impressed by this one however – there were less food places and it was more crowded, plus it kept raining intermittently, which didn’t help.

Sacred Elephant.

At around 9pm we went to meet Seth and the gang at an Italian restaurant for a glass of wine and to say farewell. They were kicking on into the night, but once again we were falling asleep in our glasses and had to pack for our flight the next day.

We pre-booked a taxi via the hotel, printed out all of our boarding passes and were determined to make our elaborate plans come together.

Thailand - Day 3 - Baan Chang Elephant Sanctuary

Looking pretty cool...

We had decided at the beginning of our trip that we wanted to visit an elephant sanctuary somewhere along the way – but all the research we’d done in Laos and Cambodia brought up some places with dubious records for ethical treatment so it seemed that Thailand was our best bet.

Even then – we had to a fair bit of research to find one with pretty good credentials. Essentially we wanted to volunteer at a retirement home for mistreated old elephants rather than one of the places that made them dance and play football. After checking a few animal welfare sites we found Baan Chang Elephant Park, which came highly recommended for the size of the sanctuary and their care for the elephants so (at least by that point!) it was an easy decision to visit them for our day of volunteering.

It was another fairly early start – we were the first to be picked up by the minivan at 7.30am and then we did the rounds collecting the other people we’d be volunteering with. Our next stop was at the FANCIEST looking boutique hotel in Chiang Mai so it was with little surprise that the two ‘queens from Boston’ (self-professed) got on the bus from there! It’s an important detail to note because as the day went on they quickly became our favourites of the group…if you’ve ever seen ‘Modern Family’, imagine two Cam’s and you’d be close.

Starting off with a little one!

After collecting the other people on the tour (about 10 in total) we took a 30-minute drive into the wilderness before arriving at Baan Chang. There we properly introduced to our guide, Tum, who spoke perfect English and knew how to spin a good yarn to get a laugh from the tourists!

We were issued with our outfits for today, supposedly traditional Mahout garments (traditional elephant carers) but there were plenty of those around wearing nothing as ridiculous as what we were expected to get into so I suspect it was more for the amusement of the locals!

The boys were shipped into one room and the girls into another to get changed together. I felt like I was in the Shawshank Redemption as I stripped down to my pants and donned my beautiful all-in-one denim ensemble. The girls at least were having a bit of a joke about it, James later emerged from the men’s room looking a bit traumatised and said that no one had said a word to each other in there, making it even more like a prison strip-down!

Looking our very best we were then shipped out to meet the elephants. Baan Chang has about 22 at the moment, 20 girls and two boys – they also had a couple of infants that were born at the sanctuary. Tum explained that while many elephant parks will prevent their animals from mating Baan Chang has done a lot of work to secure land rights for hundreds of acres of the surrounding land so that they can cope with more elephants and allow the ones they have to mate. We even saw proof of this in action during our forest trek when two of them took a bit of a fancy to each other!

Looking a bit nervous perhaps?!

Our first task for the day was getting to know them and gaining a bit of trust – and what better way to do that than feeding them breakfast?! This consisted of about 100kg of bananas and sugar cane. Tum explained that there were some elephants you had to be more careful around than others, although all of them had their Mahouts nearby to keep them calm. The stories he told us about the places they’d been rescued from were pretty horrific so it was understandable that some of them were a bit twitchy around strangers. A lot of the old girls had been used for logging (now illegal but it still happens across SE Asia) but some had been used as performance elephants as well.

We got to work on the mammoth (pardon the pun) task of breakfast and then it was time for their morning exercise – a short trek through the surrounding jungle. Of course it soon became clear we wouldn’t be scamping alongside them but rather up top in the midst of the action!

We were in two minds about the concept of riding elephants. We had seen a load of American tourists doing it at Angkor Wat in those riding carriages they attach to the elephants back and it didn’t look like much fun for the elephant– piling five or six tourists and a huge carriage on the back of an average sized elephant.

Our guide explained that the only way they’d allow you to ride at Baan Chang was Mahout style – in layman’s terms – bareback…as this is more comfortable for the elephant and follows in the tradition of how Mahout’s have ridden them for centuries. After some quick lessons from our guide and the Mahout’s on how to get on and off our elephants (harder than you might think) it was time for the part I was dreading…the jungle trek.

We were riding two per elephant, and our guide explained that all ladies should take the front on the way into the jungle – the front is the easier place to be first off but apparently after midway (when you swap positions) the track gets a bit harder and us lady-folk were better off at the rear. The highlight at this point was watching the Boston queens debate who would be sitting where…

Soon we were up and off – and it was terrifying! Elephants are huge! Ours was an old girl called Mae Dom, the biggest of all the female elephants they had with a personality to match. For much of our walk she was more interested in trying to scavenge leaves and fruit from the trees than walking in a straight line! We had a bit of a climb up into the jungle but she managed it with ease – I had no idea how nimble elephants could be.

Soon we arrived at the halfway point and it was time to dismount. My nerves were absolutely shot by this point and I was glad to be able to sit on solid ground for a few minutes. Our guide took the time to tell us a bit more about the elephants and the sanctuary… and it was at this point we got to witness a bit of romantic elephant action! (although it was quite terrifying to be so close to it!)

All too soon it was time to switch places and get back on the road – I was actually more terrified about being at the rear. I asked James what there was to hold onto and he just replied…’elephant?’

After a good drenching from Mae Dom!

It became immediately clear why the guys had been chosen to be up front for the next leg as well, because it involved a fairly steep descent back through the jungle…even steeper when you’re 3 metres above ground level with only an elephant to hold onto! Being at the back was TERRIFYING, I honestly thought I was going to roll off, and with only one good arm to hold on with (yes, Mum I will never learn!) it was even trickier. Our guide obviously noticed the absolute terror in my face as well because he came to stand alongside us and counted down to when we’d be on level ground again to try and keep me calm!

Thankfully the descent only lasted about 5 minutes (although it felt like a lifetime…) and we were on our way back to camp. On route we got taken past the elephant sleeping quarters and our guide explained that they’d just spent billions of baht on upgrading them in light of their extended elephant family, so that all of them had space enough to lie down and sleepy undercover if they wanted (Apparently elephants won’t lie down on wet ground…who knew?!).

Finally we were back where we started, sweaty, exhausted and shaky as anything! The elephants on the other hand were still looking pretty chipper and were getting noticeably excited, as they obviously knew what was coming next… bath time!

The Mahout’s led the elephants into a huge lake on the property where they all promptly started rolling around and squirting water at each other, it was amazing to watch. Next we were given a bucket and scrubbing brushes and ushered into the lake to find our elephant. It was a bit daunting as the water was pretty deep and there were submerged elephants everywhere! But we soon found our gal and set about giving her a good scrub… it was at this point though it became clear who her favourite was. Having taken a bit of a shine to the beard, everytime I got near her she gave me a quick squirt of water to the face! Meanwhile James was giving her a good scrub behind the ears and I was getting a good drenching!

All too soon it was time to say our goodbyes and get showered before enjoying a scrummy lunch courtesy of the Baan Chang crew and then boarding our minibus for the journey back to Chiang Mai.

Needless to say we were both pretty exhausted by the time we got back to our hotel, so we took advantage of a quick nana nap before heading out for the evening.

We decided to keep things simple and explore the famous ‘Saturday Walking Street’ – basically another night street market but probably the best we’ve come across so far. There were also amazingly cheap food carts interspersed with the market stalls so we managed to graze as we walked and only ended spending about $4 on dinner for us both! We also found a massage station about half way around and both got a rather good half hour back, neck, head arm and hand rub at $5 for both of us it was an absolute bargain and much needed to ease some of our elephant bruises!