Tragedy In Phi Phi, Thailand

Some unfortunate news has come my way, and I wanted to share it with the readers of GS. This past week, two women who were on vacation in Ko Phi Phi, Thailand, died of suspicious circumstances.



Jill St. Onge, 27, from Seattle, became severely ill and died early Sunday morning. She was rushed to the hospital by her fiancee after becoming increasingly sick over a span of a day. Jill was backpacking for three months around SE Asia, and planned to return to the US on May 12th. This was one of their last stops. Jill's fiancee Ryan also became sick, but survived the incident.



Julie Michelle Bergheim, 22, from Norway, also fell ill with the same symptoms, and died on Monday. Her friend, a 19 year old woman, who was also from Norway, is recovering from the same illness in Phuket Bangkok General Hospital.

All four people stayed at the same budget guest house called Laleena Guest House, and became sick within hours of each other. Doctors on Phi Phi said the women died of dehydration and shock. Autopsies are being done to determine the cause of deaths, but several theories are being circulated. Food poisoning, and contaminated air or water are being looked into. It is believed that the two women did not have any contact with each other.

It's so sad to hear this type of news, especially because I have fond memories of Ko Phi Phi, and Thailand in general. Ko Phi Phi is a crazy island, and although many visit to relax and stay at the remote bungalows, it's a hot spot for young backpackers looking to drink and dance all night. I know I did. This just reminds us to be aware of our surroundings, and try to stay safe, but sometimes you just can't avoid it.

My heart goes out to all of the families affected. It's so sad, since I'm such an advocate of leaving the comfort of your own home to travel and experience the world. But unfortunately tragedies like this do happen. I hope the families get answers from the autopsies, that will help clear up the mystery, and that the Thai authorities will act to make sure something like this never happens again if it is a case of negligence.

In the meantime, travel safe, and be aware, but don't let this stop you from enjoying life and new cultures.

If you would like more info, and to share your support with Jill's family, check out http://jillstonge.blogspot.com/. Photos of both Jill and Julie are courtesy of the Andaman Times.

To Myanmar and Back

Thailand only gives foreigners a thirty day visa on arrival. Since the airport closure in Bangkok almost one month ago, the government decided to change all land crossing visas to fifteen days, which is going to severely limit the amount of time backpackers will spend in Thailand. I was lucky to just make the thirty day visa when I did my border run to Malaysia about a month ago, but It was running out and I needed to get another fifteen days. The best option for a border run if you're in the north of Thailand, head to the town of Mae Sai which borders Tachilek in Myanmar (Burma), in the heart of the Golden Triangle.

I woke up early, I mean early, to catch the 6 am bus from Chiang Mai to Mae Sai. It's a pretty easy five hour trip on the Green Bus to the border. The tiny bus was packed, and they managed to add an extra seat to a normal row of four, so we were five, crammed together. I sat next to a Buddhist monk from Luang Prabang in Laos, who was studying in Chiang Mai. He told me Luang Prabang had changed a lot in the three years since I was last there, but he seemed to think it was a good thing that there was a lot more tourist development. More money to the local economy. Since he was studying English, we talked for about an hour, and ironically enough, I gave him my copy of Siddhartha to read.

Mae Sai and Tachilek are shopping destinations. Tachilek more so, since it is much cheaper than the Thai side. Thais were packed on both sides of the border, carrying huge shopping bags filled with fake Gucci bags, cheap liquor, and bootleg DVD's and CD's. I paid $10 USD for my 14 day visa to Myanmar, even though I would only be there for a couple of hours. I felt bad supporting the current regime with my greenbacks, but I didn't really have a choice as I needed to extend my visa.

Myanmar is efficient when it comes to getting people across the border to shop. They held my passport while I visited Tachilek and gave me an ID card with my photo on it. I was even allowed to take photos of the border crossing (I should mention that my camera broke just at the border so unfortunately I have no photos of Myanmar). This was not the Myanmar I was expecting. I had images of the military occupying every street corner, and a huge sign at the border saying welcome to Myanmar, leave your rights and freedoms behind you...but don't forget to shop and spend money to help finance our government!

As soon as you cross over the river and the border to Tachilek, you are immersed in a shopping block with several side streets, crammed with vendors selling everything you can imagine. I lost count of the amount of times I was stopped by teenage boys peddling cartons of cigarettes, porn, and Viagra. I kept asking myself if I was really in Myanmar? It also doesn't say very good things about tourists if this is what we're buying when we come for cheap shopping.

After sampling some amazing local dish with three kinds of noodles, tofu, and some form of cheese, I looked for the quickest possible exit to get me to the real Myanmar. Okay, so I was in a border town, probably not the best representation of a country, but I soon found myself walking down side streets, and I was the only foreigner. I received stares from some face painted locals, but most smiled back when I smiled at them. I should mention that some of the local Burmese had painted their faces with orange, yellow, and red paint. It was quite beautiful. I only had a couple of hours to explore the streets, but I found a myriad of Buddhist temples, in great condition. Again, I asked myself, am I really in Myanmar? If anything, this quick introduction gave me more reason to fully explore the country at a later date.

After a long five hour bus ride back to Chiang Mai, I headed straight for the Saturday night market. By far, this was the best market I had seen to date in Thailand. Not as touristy as the daily night bazaar, the one main street was packed mainly with Thais, a good indication that I was in a better place to shop. Again there was great street food, and fantastic musicians. I got a sixty baht (two dollar) foot massage for a half hour, then bought a hand made purple scarf for my sister who's birthday was on the twenty fourth.

My final day in Chiang Mai was spent doing what the local travel agencies refer to as the Adventure Trek. It wasn't really a hard core adventure day, but we did make the most of a ten hour tour. Nine of us from a mix of guest houses drove for about an hour northwest of the city, into the mountains. I was with two middle aged Swedes, and a group of English mothers and their teenage kids. It made for an interesting afternoon. We started with an hour long elephant ride, pretty standard for anyone visiting this part of Thailand. It was touristy, but really so much fun. The elephants have little platforms on their back to seat two people, but since we were an uneven number in our group, I got to ride around its neck, the traditional way of riding elephants. It was awesome. Okay, so I almost fell off a number of times, but definitely worth it.

The next activity was a jungle trek to a waterfall. The hike was pretty easy, and we passed through some picturesque little villages. After the trek and quick lunch we went white water rafting. It was a pretty bare-bones operation, and the rapids weren't as big as what I did in Ecuador last year, but it was so much fun and we were laughing the whole way down. Towards the end of the trip down the river we switched to a bamboo raft, similar to a Venetian gondola but not that fancy, and floated ever so slowly down the remaining kilometer to finish the trip. Did I mention this whole day cost me $25 USD. What was the best thing you got recently for twenty five dollars?

This finished my time up north, now it was back to Bangkok on an overnight bus, followed by another day in the big city, with a second overnight bus to Krabi. Wow, just saying that was almost as exhausting as the trip itself. This time around I had a great day in Bangkok and kind of wished I had spent the night in the backpacker district of Banglamphu. If you do stay here, find a place off of Soi Rambuttri, not on Khao San Road. Some people love the city, and others hate it. I seem to love it, but only for a short amount of time.

With my eight or so hours to kill before my night bus, I headed to Banglamphu to drop my bag and get a ferry boat down to see the old royal palace and Wat Pho, with the famous reclining Buddha. The ferry is a great way to go, making stops all along the waterfront. But just as I was about to get my ticket I noticed the Green Bike station, and it turns out that Bangkok offers free bike rentals to tourists. I've driven motorbikes through some pretty crazy traffic in Asia, but nothing prepared me for peddling around Bangkok. There are some bike lanes, but of course, that is where all the cars park, so I had to pray that buses gave me some room while passing.

I had seen the palace and Wat Pho three years earlier while traveling with my friend Tal, and both are worth seeing again, but I only had time for one, so I biked down to Wat Pho to see the large Buddha. It was just as I remembered it. Beautiful temples all over the compound and one massive reclining Buddha.



A trip to Bangkok is not complete without a visit to Khao San Road. The small street is packed with hostels, bars, restaurants, and hundreds of hawkers selling everything from tee shirts, jewelry, and fake ID's. As much trash talk as Khao San gets, it really is a one stop shopping destination in Thailand. I definitely wouldn't stay in a hostel on the street, but it is the best place to find amazing graphic tees, a new travel backpack (if yours was unfortunately stolen), and yes, every type of fake ID under the sun. I was happy to do a little shopping and then enjoy a beer on the street and just watch people go by.



I made it back to my apartment in Ao Nang, near Krabi, just in time for new year's eve. After a day of rest, I got on a boat to head back to Ko Phi Phi, the crazy party island. It was a party on the beach, Thai style, and yes it was crazy. Definitely a memorable place to spend new years, but I missed you all.

I hope 2009 will be a fantastic year for everyone, and wish you all great health and happiness.

Here are my photos of North Thailand and Bangkok.

To Chiang Mai and the North

Planes, trains, and automobiles. That should sum up my trip from southern Thailand, all the way up to Chiang Mai in the north. Okay, so there weren't any planes involved, but I felt like Steve Martin trying to get to Chiang Mai for Christmas. I took an overnight bus from Krabi to Bangkok, followed by an overnight train that evening, that got me into Chiang Mai in the morning, two days after I started my journey. Surprisingly, after all my travels around the world, my body has somehow adjusted, and I wasn't the least bit tired when I arrived. Although it was nice to get a shower, and a change of clothes.

The bus from Krabi to Bangkok was on a company called Lignite, and I have to say, they were almost as good as the luxurious Argenitian buses that we encountered in South America. The seats reclined pretty far back, I was served two meals by a bus attendant, and you couldn't beat the price at $15 USD. I arrived in Bangkok early in the morning and spent a good half of the day traveling to the train station and then back to one of several bus stations, in order to secure my onward travel to Chiang Mai, and then back home the following week. It always sucks to travel around Christmas and New Years back home, and I thought it would be better in Asia, but it seems most of Europe comes to Thailand for the holidays, and finding last minute tickets was tough. I was lucky to get one of the last sleeping berths on the train that night to Chiang Mai, and also scored one of the last seats back to Krabi on a bus in about a week's time.



With my eight or so hours remaining, I thought it would be fun to hit up the MBK shopping center by Siam Square in central Bangkok. I had been to Bangkok three years ago, and didn't feel the need to do tons of sightseeing, or even spend another night in the city, but I did need a new mobile phone, and MBK is a shopping mecca for cheap electronics and clothes. For $50 USD I got myself a new unlocked quad band GSM phone, suitable for travel in any country!

The train to Chiang Mai left from the beautiful Hualamphong train station in Bangkok, and took about fourteen hours with stops. I was passed out for most of it on my upper bunk in the second class air-con cabin, thanks to Tylenol PM, my new best friend for overnight trips. But I did manage to wake up for a gorgeous sunrise over the hills outside of Chiang Mai on Christmas morning.



The trip was fun, and since it was Christmas eve, there was even a little party on board. Not as rowdy as one might expect, but the beers were flowing from the dining car just next door. At about 10 pm, the attendants came around and fixed up our bunks that were converted from the seats facing each other. They provided pillows and a blanket, and curtains for privacy. The last time I traveled on an overnight train was from Agra to Goa in India, almost eight years ago, and it brought back fond memories of traveling alone again in a foreign country. When I woke the next morning, I dug into my Christmas flip flop/stocking like any good Jew. I should probably mention that this is the part of Christmas that I find fun, and since I don't own any socks, I thought my red flip flops could do the trick, so I balanced some peanut brittle and dried mango on the strap.

Once I got to Chiang Mai, fate that came in the form of an old motorcycle taxi driver, brought me to a perfect guest house called the Chiang Mai Inn. It cost me 200 baht a night (about $7 USD) for a private room with bathroom, and the place was off the main road so it was quiet and relaxing. There was a good mix of young and old travelers staying there, so I didn't feel like I was in a party hostel. As soon as I arrived, I rented a motorbike for the day and took off touring around the city.

Chiang Mai is now one of my favorite cities in the world, and it reminded me a lot of Mendoza in Argentina. The city is surrounded by hills, and there are plenty of activities to keep you busy for weeks. There are treks to nearby hill tribes, elephant riding, a tiger sanctuary, culinary schools, Thai massage schools, night markets, and a ton of temples to visit. I decided to start my first day by seeing the Buddhist temples.



There are numerous wats (Buddhist temples) located in and around the old city of Chiang Mai. I basically just drove through the town stopping off whenever I saw a nice temple, or a street snack that caught my eye. I don't know what it is about traveling, but I seem to be hungry all the time, and there are so many good street vendors in Thailand, especially in Chiang Mai. One of the nicest temples I visited was Wat Phra Singh. It had beautiful grounds around the temple as well. Not too far away from Wat Phra Singh is the amazing restaurant of Huen Phen, where I tried the local curry soup called Kao Soi. Normally the restaurants recommended in the Lonely Planet guidebooks are overrated, but I have to say that this one was packed with locals and the food was damn good.

Around sunset I took off to visit the temple of Doi Suthep, one of the North's most sacred temples, about 20 kilometers from the city center. It's located in a national park up on the hillside, overlooking Chiang Mai. The drive was fantastic and I highly recommend making the trip.

I definitely made the most of my first full day in Chiang Mai and finished it off with a trip to the dentist. Yes, the dentist. Thailand has some of the cheapest and best dentists in Asia, and my teeth cleaning at the Chiang Mai Medical and Dental Polyclinic, cost me a whopping $22 USD.



As for nightlife in Chiang Mai it's best to kick it off with the famous night bazaar, which happens every evening. The bazaar is pretty touristy, but it's fun to walk around and see all the stalls, and sample the street food. There are tons of bars on Th Loi Kroh on the way to the bazaar, but I finished off my evening at the THC roof top bar which is a chill lounge on a roof top overlooking the canal of the old city. If you're up for an after hours bar, I heard that Spicy is a good spot, but it doesn't get going until late night.



My second day in Thailand was spent at the Thai Farm Cooking School, located on an organic farm just outside the city. This place was recommended to me by friends Matt and Siobhan from Australia, and Jodi from Montreal/NYC. People say that the best way to a woman's heart is through her stomach, and I figured learning to cook some Thai food might come in handy in the future. For 900 baht, or $26 USD, I had a full day of cooking instruction where I learned to make five dishes, and I ate them all in a nice big communal meal at the end. Just to get your mouth watering, I now know how to make green curry, tom kaa soup, papaya salad, pad thai noodles, and a coconut banana desert, all from scratch. I will start taking reservations for chez Jared shortly. I had been wanting to do this since I heard about the school back in November, and it was one of the reasons I came to Chiang Mai.

After getting stuffed at the cooking school, I figured a movie would be a nice way to finish off the day. I hadn't seen a new movie in several months, and Australia was playing at the local mall. I had wanted to see this movie ever since Julie and I saw the trailer for it while in Australia, and the movie brought back some good memories of that country. We even visited the town of Bowen in Queensland, which doubled as the location of Darwin for the movie. I loved it, and highly recommend seeing it if you can sit through the two and a half hours of screen time.

The rest of my trip is to be continued in Part 2. here are my photos from Chiang Mai part 1.

45 hour party people

I had an interesting two days, let me just start with that. I didn't really sleep much, but sleep is sometimes overrated. It all started at 6:30 am as a normal day of diving. We headed out on the boat for a three hour journey to dive the sites around Ko Phi Phi. This is always a fun day for me, since I can pass the time by lounging on the deck and getting some sun, while air guitaring to Led Zeppelin on my ipod. It also helps that the dive sites around Phi Phi are spectacular.

I spent the day assisting on dives, guiding Andreas and Nicole from Sweden, and Gabriella from Switzerland. We had such a fun group, and that makes all the difference. Nicole works in fashion, Andreas in film, and Gabriella at a micro brewery...hell yeah. By chance they had arranged to get dropped off in Ko Phi Phi at the end of the day, and I jumped at the opportunity to spend another night on that crazy island. I was talking up the place all day, where to stay and eat, and I guess I just got excited to the point where I had to join them.

The next eighteen hours were as if I had never left Phi Phi. We stayed at Golden Hill Bungalows near the dam. It's quiet, but close enough to walk everywhere. We had dinner at Papaya´s restaurant, who serve up the best Massamun curry. Then we took a seat on the corner bar stall outside the 7 Eleven (yes, they have 7 Elevens in Thailand) and proceeded to drink buckets of Sang Som Thai Rum. The rest of the night is blurry, but I do kind of remember dancing a whole lot at Tiger bar, and then seeing a Thai rock 'n' roll cover band. I think Andreas and Nicole took a video of me air guitaring to some classic punk rock song. Aside from being a classic Phi Phi evening, it was made surreal by random Swedish travelers who would stop Andreas to take a picture or shake his hand. I thought it was a joke at first, but when I could see him getting kind of annoyed, I stopped laughing at the situation. The guy was on vacation and I'm sure he wanted a break, although he chose the wrong country to get away from Swedish fans. I think every tourist in southern Thailand this time of the year is from Sweden.

The next day we woke up and spent the afternoon on the tiny and very quiet Viking beach, a little slice of heaven. If you are coming to Phi Phi and want to get away from the crowds, you have to stay at the Viking resort. In addition to getting one of the nicest beaches on the island, you can also rent one of their massive 9 room jungle houses for only about $300 a night. A steal if you're a group of people.

Unfortunately I had to be back at work later that day, and I had only one pair of clothes (surf shorts and a tee) since I didn't plan on staying the night, so I boarded a ferry back to Railay for my evening shift in the dive shop.

As soon as I got back, I heard that the famous Thai reggae band Job 2 Do were going to play one of their infamous shows on Railay East. Job 2 Do is very well known in Thailand, and abroad, thanks to all the backpackers who have shared their music with friends. I heard that this is the only band in Thailand where you can't buy a bootleg copy of their music. That's support if I've ever heard it, considering you can buy every bootleg DVD and CD under the sun in Thailand.

After a four hour shift at the shop, all smelly and tired, I downed some coffee and headed out to Stone Bar to see Job 2 Do play some great reggae under the moon, at the base of some beautiful cliffs. It seems like everyone in Railay, Tonsai, and Ao Nang for that matter, were in attendance. It was a memorable show that finished about 2:30 am.

If that wasn't enough, we still had to take our longtail boat with the day's dive gear, and unload it in another town where we keep all our equipment. I got home at 3:30 am and collapsed, only to wake up three hours later for work the next morning. It was worth it, even if I only got about five hours of sleep in two days.

As of today, I have officially finished my divemaster training, and I am a certified divemaster. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this, but I am definitely a much better diver, even if I don't pursue a career in scuba diving. Plus, spending six weeks living on a beautiful beach in southern Thailand and diving everyday, now that's what I call living life.

Happy Hanukkah and merry Christmas to all. I lit the Hanukkah candles tonight, and will probably spend Christmas with my new friends here. I have the Stone family to thank for introducing me to the marvel of Christmas stockings. If I don't own any socks, can I use my red flip flops? I wonder how many packets of M&M peanuts I can wedge around the strap? Plus, if I give gifts to myself, does that really count?

Eat, Sleep, Breathe, Live...Diving.

I can't really remember when I first fell in love with water. My parents told me I fell in a pool and almost drowned as a baby, so I should have had a fear of water, but I guess learning to swim when I was six years old, helped me to overcome this potential phobia. Not long after this, I started swimming competitively, and I guess the rest is history. I still feel a sense of joy whenever I am on a coast by an ocean. It was only a matter of time before I got my scuba diving certification, and for the last nine years, I've been fortunate to travel the world and dive in some pretty amazing places. When I got to Railay beach, near Krabi in Southwest Thailand, an opportunity arose where I could work in exchange for diving. Sweet deal right? I am now doing my dive master certification course with Railay Divers, until the end of December.

What is a dive master you ask? Basically, by the end of the course, I will be certified by PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors...or "Put Another Dollar In" as the people in the industry like to say) to guide other divers. To give you a quick summary of diving certification, it goes: Open Water (beginner certified diver), Advanced Open Water (can dive deeper than 18 meters, and at night), Rescue Diver (first-aid and rescue training), Dive Master (to guide), Instructor (to certify divers), and Master Instructor (to certify Instructors). Let me just say that I have no desire at the moment to work as a dive master, but like many others, the course is a great way to pack in a ton of dives for the price, and become very skilled at the same time. Plus, who wouldn't want to live on the beach in Thailand for six weeks. The people that choose to be professional dive masters and instructors do it for the love of diving and the pace of life, because they sure don't make very much money doing it.

I'm now living in the town of Ao Nang, which is right next door to the beaches of Railay and Tonsai where our offices are located. I decided to exchange my jungle bungalow on Tonsai for a nice studio apartment with cable TV, for the whopping price of $150 US a month. I have a nice little set up, living in a place called Leela Valley with all the other ex-pats and divers. Here is a typical day for me:

6:30 am - Wake up

7:00 am - Get on my scooter and ride 5 kilometers to the neighboring town of Ao Nmao where our equipment office is located and where our boats leave from. Get tea, and some sticky rice with chicken for breakfast (I should note that Thais seem to eat rice and meat for all meals...I miss bagels, cream cheese and smoked salmon).

7:30 am - Load gear onto long-tail boats and head to our main office on Railay.

8:30 am - Head out for two morning dives, where I assist instructors on their courses and learn the ropes of being a diving professional. Aside from being the "boat bitch" where I move tanks and set up gear, I am also helping first-time divers with skills. This has been the most rewarding for me. I'd like to note that diving isn't really as scary or dangerous as some people think. Even if you've tried it once and had a bad experience, give it a shot again. I've helped a bunch of new divers get over their fears, and the look of joy and accomplishment in their eyes is the best feeling. There is a whole different underwater world waiting to be discovered.

2:30 pm - Back to the office on Railay and either work in the shop during the afternoon, or go diving again.

9:00 pm - Shop closes and we head back to Ao Nmao with all the gear. Unload gear, and put back equipment in the office.

10:00 pm - Drive back to Ao Nang on my scooter.

10:30 pm - After a much needed hot shower (I only had cold water on Tonsai, so this is a luxury), I grab dinner and drinks with the other dive instructors who live in Leela Valley. Sometimes guitars are pulled out for a little jam session.

12:30 am - Go to sleep, and get ready to repeat the next day.

It really is a lot of work, but I am getting a pretty sweet deal. Most places in the world will charge you between $600-$1000 to do your dive master course, plus they see it as free labor, so they'll work you to the bone carrying scuba tanks, even if you are paying. Considering I only have to tip my instructor and pay my PADI fees, I can't really complain about the long hours. Even when I'm working, I'm usually reading the manuals I need for my exams (there are eight exams in case you are wondering). I am studying chemistry, physics, and physiology, so it's not as easy as one might think.

As for the Railay Divers shop and crew, it's a little bit of a love/hate relationship. The dive instructors and dive masters are great. There is Sam from Australia (he is my official mentor for the course), Jon from England, Rob from Canada, Alex from Spain, Jan from Germany, Peow and Ran who are local Thais, Peter, Jessica, and Katie, all from the US. Katie is the other DMT (dive master trainee) with me. The shop on the other hand is probably the most hectic and disorganized dive center I have ever seen. It is Thai owned (which is standard), and run by Chris who is English. Basically, the place is running on the tightest of tight budgets, and Chris sometimes has a few too many beers during the day...or the previous night. Unfortunately, it makes for some questionable equipment and some disgruntled employees, but I guess you get what you pay for. I could have stayed in Ko Phi Phi and payed a thousand dollars to take my course, but cheap can be a good trade-off. Let's see how I'm doing towards the end of December.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving dinner and holiday weekend. Last year I celebrated Thanksgiving on a Peruvian bus, playing bingo on Cruz Del Sur, while traveling between Lima and Arequipa. This time around the whole dive crew congregated at Peter and Jessica's house to eat a vegan Thanksgiving dinner that they seem to cook every year. To be honest (and to quote my sister Rachel), I really loved the vegan food. Instead of turkey we had deep fried tofu, smothered in the most amazing gravy. Peter is a former chef, and I swear it tasted like a normal turkey gravy which I grew up with (but not as good as my mother's of course). Unfortunately, Peter and Jess just left Railay (disgruntled), to take jobs diving in Oman. I'll miss them both, especially Peter's cooking, but Thanksgiving was a good send off.

When I'm not diving or working, which is rare, I've been relaxing on the beach in Ao Nang, getting Thai massages for $6 US an hour, climbing a bit in Tonsai, and last Wednesday I had to do a visa run down to the Malaysian border to get another 30 day tourist visa. The trip is so popular among backpackers that they run it every day from most travel agencies. It's a ten hour day, with about an hour needed to walk across the border and back again. The Thais haven't really learned how to efficiently process passports. It took me fifty minutes to go out and back into Thailand, and only ten minutes to go in and out of Malaysia. Go figure. My next visa run is at the end of December, but I might try the trip to Myanmar (Burma) instead.

Here are my photos of life at Railay Divers, and of Thanksgiving.

You can't be crabby in Krabi

Krabi, it's a pretty funny name, come on, laugh with me. Where is Krabi you say? It's on the Andaman coast of Thailand, not that far from Phuket, Ko Phi Phi and Ko Lanta where I previously visited. The town of Krabi is not the main the tourist destination, but it's the surrounding beaches that draw sun seekers, and rock climbers to its world class walls (see map here).

Tonsai and Railay beaches are the main places to stay in the area. Both require a traditional Thai long-tail boat to get there. Since there are no motorized vehicles on these beaches, it's more relaxing than words can describe.

I opted to stay on Tonsai, since it's more of an alternative, hippie, rock climbing village. There is one U-shaped road with a series restaurants, climbing shops, bars, and bamboo bungalows. People come here to spend several weeks to several months climbing, as opposed to Railay Beach, which gets your week long holiday makers. Because of this, you get a nice little community of people. Everyone seems to hang out at the same places, and it's a very chill vibe. Since most people are up early to climb, the bars and restaurants are filled with people reading or playing chess in the evening-time.

I think that Tonsai is another place you either love or hate. Accommodation is really basic, and there is only generator powered electricity from about 6 pm until 2 am. If you don't rock climb, you might feel a little left out, but the beaches in the area are great for reading and swimming, and hey, you can always take a class with climbing school. I met tons of backpackers that tried climbing for the first time while in Tonsai. And if you're the type that wants to stay up late and party, there are beach bars that rock out until the early morning. I actually just saw the most amazing Thai acoustic band that played only Spanish music. Manu Chao, Gypsy Kings, etc. They could have fooled me as the real deal.

I fell in love with Tonsai, and decided to stay there a little longer than planned. I found a great jungle hut at Banyan Tree Bungalows (Andaman Bungalows is another good option), and for $10 a night, I fell asleep in my comfy bed with mosquito net, to the sound of crickets, and woke up to cheeky monkeys jumping on my roof. Relaxing, right?

I actually didn't get much sleep while in Tonsai, since I was up early everyday for either climbing or scuba diving. I made friends with Ta and Dee, two Thai climbing instructors that run the Tonsai Rock school right next to my bungalow, and Dee took me out on my first day of climbing in years. I was a little nervous, considering I inherited my father's fear of heights, but I fell back into the swing of climbing, and in no time was doing challenging routes such as 6A and 6B (climbing grades 5.10 a and b+), which are tough for the non-climber or old-climber like myself. The next day I met Dore, a really cool mountain guide from Iceland who was on holiday. The two of us rented gear and had another fantastic day of climbing on Railay. All I can say is that the views of the surrounding cliffs and beaches, while dangling at about 100 feet, is breathtaking.

After two days of climbing I found a nice dive shop in Railay beach called Railay Divers, and signed up to do my Rescue Diver course for several days. It basically trains you to handle any rescue or first-aid scenario that can arise while diving. It's rare when something goes wrong, but it's good to know just in case. It reminds me of my pool lifeguard training years ago, and it's kind of empowering to feel like you can do something in an emergency.

As for Railay beach, I'll give you a quick overview. It's a great place to stay if you want a little more luxury than Tonsai. Railay West has a much nicer beach than Tonsai and Railay East, but it is much more expensive to stay and eat, with its posh resorts. Railay East has a mix of backpackers and older holiday makers that want more value for their buck or baht (Thai currency). Also, from Railay East, you can walk to the amazing beach of Ao Phranang.

I've decided to stay put for a little while, and get both physically and mentally fit, before coming home to face work and a crumbling economy. So, i'll keep you updated on my adventures in and around Krabi.

Here are my photos of Krabi's Ton Sai and Railay Beaches.

Beach life on the Andaman Coast

The Andaman coast is located on the Southwest corner of Thailand. The place is famous for its islands and beaches, framed by picturesque cliffs in the distance. This was the area of Thailand that was hit by the big tsunami in December of 2004, but the rebuilding has finished, and tourism is pretty much back to normal. Although, with the World's economy in shambles, locals have been saying that the tourist numbers are less than last year.

Jodi and I flew from Singapore to Phuket, Thailand, on Tiger Airways for practically nothing. Thank you Tiger. Phuket is probably the largest resort area on the Andaman Coast of Thailand. It's where most of the Europeans come for the winter season, and their main beaches are pretty tacky and over crowded. I stayed in Phuket town for two nights, and checked out Kata beach, which was a little less developed than Patong and Karon beaches, but it was still too much for me. Where there is an airport, there are too many tourists. It was the same when I visited the East coast island of Ko Samui three years ago. I wanted less people, and more of a backpacker vibe, so I caught the ferry to Ko Phi Phi.

Some might say that the islands of Ko Phi Phi are paradise, and others will tell you it's a party island nightmare. I guess it depends on what you want. I wanted good beaches, great diving and snorkeling, and some nightlife. Phi Phi is made up of two islands, the main island of Phi Phi Don is where everyone stays, and Phi Phi Leh is a marine park, where they shot the movie The Beach. I went on an amazing snorkeling trip that took me to Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh, where the famous white sand beach is located. The beach really is as beautiful as the movie portrayed it, even on a cloudy day.

As for the nightlife, I definitely got what I asked for. Aside from maybe the Greek Islands, I have never seen so much debauchery and drinking by backpackers. The main town of Ton Sai Bay on Phi Phi Don is a tiny, and walkable in about ten minutes. That means that there are so many guesthouses, restaurants, dive shops, and bars, all in one cramped area. You either love it or hate it. I loved it because everyone seems to congregate at a couple of places and you meet so many people. It's definitely the most social place I've been on my travels.

For nine days I had basically the same routine. I would spend my days lounging on the secluded beach by Viking Resort (definitely stay here if you want to get away from the party), and then each night I would gather with new friends (Australians, Chileans, Swedes, Argentinians, Americans) and eat the most amazing Thai food at Papaya's restaurant. Their massamun curry is the best I've ever had. After dinner we would sit at a little makeshift bar on the main corner outside of Reggae Bar, and then proceed to drink buckets (not cups) of Sangsom Thai whiskey, and then dance on the beach until the wee hours of the morning. I should mention that the Reggae bar has Thai boxing matches every night, and they encourage backpackers to give it a go. Hey, you might get a black eye, but at least they give you a free drink! I stayed at Golden Hill bungalows, which I highly recommend if you end up coming to Phi Phi. After nine days, my body told me it was time to move on, so we jumped on another boat bound for Ko Lanta.

The island of Ko Lanta is more of a place to spend a couple weeks. The island is pretty large, and so you don't feel overpowered by all the resorts. There are beautiful beaches on the southwest side of the island, and I had so much fun renting a motorbike for three days and just touring around. We actually traveled to Ko Lanta with Matt and Siobhan, two Aussies that we met in Phi Phi, and we became one big happy family. We checked into the same resort and spent three days doing everything together. I should mention that Ko Lanta is a steal for accommodation. We stayed at a nice little resort on the beach, with a pool, and my room with satellite TV cost me $12 USD a night! Phi Phi was way too expensive, so the resort on Ko Lanta was the perfect place to rest and get a little pampering. One highlight for me was visiting old Lanta town on the East coast of the island. The town is old as the name implies, and the houses are built on stilts. The other highlight was attending the festivities for the holiday of Loy Krathong. Under the full moon, I launched a Khom Fai (a fire balloon) into the sky and sent a raft out into the sea. The rafts are made from banana trees and decorated in flowers, candles and incense. Sending the rafts out to sea is supposed to symbolize letting go of one's grudges and anger, a kind of rebirth.

From Ko Lanta, I left Jodi, Matt, and Siobhan, and traveled to the beaches surrounding the town of Krabi. I am now living on Ton Sai beach, surrounded by huge cliffs, and I will be scuba diving and rock climbing for the next couple of months. But more on that later.

Here are my photos of the Andaman coast.