From Krabi to Bangkok . . . And HOME!

Two Photos Leaving Koh Lanta.  This bridge is at least two years in the making,
and I think they are quite a way from finishing it, so still need the ferry to get there.

I have arrived safely in Bangkok after a short but not uneventful flight from Krabi.  After discussing and arranging a taxi to the Krabi airport with my hotel, we decided that two hours was plenty since the airport is close by, but things are not always as they appear.  The hotel received a phone call from the taxi driver saying that it would be great if I could be ready early (which I was).  Traffic was horrendous due to a celebration/graduation/party of some sort at a high school/college/establishment of some kind.  Traffic was stopped in both directions.  I think my taxi driver, Mr. Ann, and his mother were more worried than I was.  Mr. Ann also conducts birdwatching tours on the Krabi river - if only I had more time!  (Quote from Mr. Ann - "Nature always tells the truth.")
Anyway, made the flight; it was fine and I discovered an interesting thing just before landing in Bangkok.  There were huge thunderclouds to the East of the airport but they were literally sitting on top of the smog!  Bangkok does make its own weather! 
So, I arrived at my now usual B&B, Wendy House, and when asked to confirm that it was for two nights I explained that I would actually leave before the 2nd night but wanted a room for the day (my flight is at 1:00 a.m.).  When Wendy heard this, she popped up and said they would give me a free taxi to the airport which is GREAT because I was going to take the skytrain and have a lot of stuff to lug around with me.  Thanks Wendy!
One more thing - while walking to find my favorite little restaurant that P&C turned me on to, all traffic in both directions stopped and there wasn't a car or motorbike to be seen.  There were men in uniform who asked all of us walking to also stop.  Then some army looking guys in formal attire saluted and a bunch of cars pulled into an unmarked estate across from the Center for Money Laundering.  The owner of the restaurant said it is the princess and it happens sometimes twice a day.  Hail to the Princess! 
And now, here are some photos.

Dusk in Koh Lanta - Note Sliver of Moon
Also, lights on the horizon are used for navigation by boats.

 

My Toes & the Sunset - Which is Brighter?

Lanta Paradise Resort (Design is stenciled - Not Wallpaper!). That is a lot of work!

And Some Krabi Pictures.  I really like Krabi.  It is a strange combination of things: Art (sculptures everywhere), nature, night markets, a river promenade, funky old buildings, Buddhist Wats and some Neanderthal man who directs traffic in the middle of town???

A pretend tiger with pretend cubs in a pretend cave at the Wat - Note the 'broken' cub in the back with his feet up in the air! 

Mudskipper and crab ignoring the above message

 

'Bye for now!

Koh Lanta and Koh Rok

My visit to Koh Lanta fortunately coincided with the Laanta Lanta Festival which is a big party in Old Town Lanta (on the other side of the island).  Since I'm still too afraid/cautious/insecure to rent a motorbike here (which is how most tourists get around), I found a nice man named En with a motorcycle tuk-tuk who drove me to Old Town, waited for two hours and drove me back.  The town is quaint and was decorated and festive but I unfortunately didn't stick around to hear the Thai rock 'n roll bands that were playing that night as I had an early snorkeling date to Koh Rok in the morning on the speedboat THE PIRATE KINGS!
Had a great snorkel adventure.  This boat is fairly new and they were less than half full so they went out of their way to make it a great day.  We went to places other boats don't go or we went at different times so about 10 of us had the places to ourselves.  It was the best snorkeling so far in Thailand, but my little gopro did not even begin to capture it.  Because of the fish-eye lens (no pun intended), everything seems farther away and smaller.  I've included a few photos but it was way better than it looks.  While snorkeling at our last place on Koh Rok Noi (North), I literally ran into one of the Pirate King's crew.  I believe he was creating the last scene for the snorkelers.  Funny things is - I didn't see one starfish, so they know their hiding places.  Thank you Pirate Kings and I hope all the little starfish found their way home.  We even saw a pod of dolphins on the way back that stayed with our boat for awhile! 

Old Town - Following Three Photos Also Taken in Old Town Lanta

Koh Rok and Koh Rok Noi

These purple things look like Crocs that someone used as planters.
Each one is a beautiful coral inhabited by clown fish.

 

A Resident of Koh Rok - About 5-6 Feet Long (and watching me)

Sunset From my Room - Still No Green Flash, but Still Beautiful!

Islands in Thailand

Well, here I am in Thailand again.  I realize one of the things I love about this place is just how silly it is.  After taking a FREE shuttle from one airport to the other, I arrived at my hotel at the smaller airport in Bangkok so I could catch my early flight South.  This is the sign displayed in reception.

Off to a good start! 
Boats:
I have taken three boats since I arrived in Thailand. Here is a brief summary.
Boat #1 - Having taken a minivan with a couple from Reunion Island, we were told at Pakmeng Pier that the boat would be here in 2 1/2 hours.  About 10 minutes later, a woman says, "Okay. Leave now."  And they loaded our luggage onto a motorcart and drove it to the end of the pier.  The woman from Reunion pointed out a longtail boat to her husband and said that it was full of water.  THAT was our boat! One guy bailed while the other guy drove the boat and we obviously made it.  Whew!
Boat #2 - Six of us hired a longtail to take us to three islands to snorkel.  We were a motley crew: a stump of a guy with creepy bamboo tattoos all over his back and a shaved head, two French guys (one of whom got cut up on some coral at the first stop and was pretty much boatbound the rest of the trip and Peter from Sweden along with his daughter and a co-worker of his and then me.  The emerald cave was the big deal that day.  Another first for me.  I was scared because you have to swim in total blackness for a few minutes to get into the middle of the island.  It was supposedly a pirate's hangout and one can see why.  You would never be found!  The boat driver went first and had a flashlight and I wore a headlamp.  Wish I could show the video but it's four minutes (that's how long the cave is) and I don't think it would work.  Very cool though!
Boat #3 - This was the ferry from Koh Ngai to Koh Lanta.  Nothing exciting really except that the boat stopped in the middle of the Andaman Sea.  No explanations and everyone was looking at each other wondering.  All of the sudden, another ferry pulls up next to us and a man jumps from that boat to ours.  He was the man who arranges the free taxi service!  When we got to Lanta, it took the boat driver so long to dock, that he received a round of applause when he finally did it!  Yay! I was so dubious about the taxi being free that they laughed at me, but it was free!
Okay - a few words about massages.  I've had two and both made me laugh.
Massage #1 - On Koh Ngai (happy hour massage - only 200 baht (about $6).  She was very nice and it was an okay massage.  It's outside at sunset and the waves are gently lapping the shore and I'm totally relaxing when she yells (her mouth is near my head) to her daughter who has shown up.  I'm guessing it was something like, "Stop playing games on that phone and do your chores." But I really have no idea!  She then had a conversation with her husband who came by - maybe about dinner?
Massage number two was today in Lanta and w's on the beach also.  I saw this place that was doing a lot of business and figured they were probably good.  I walked up and said Thai massage please.  She said, "No, you hot.  You need aloe cooling massage only 100 baht more.  You lay here.". Okay, okay.  I lie down and she says, "Take off shirt.". I looked around and a British woman getting massaged next to me said, "She wants you to take off your shirt." Okay, okay!  So, here I am without my shirt on the beach getting an aloe massage.  She covered me with a wrap so I wasn't exposed and it was great!  Best massage so far and she also did my toenails which haven't seen any attention since I left home and I've hiked many miles, snorkeled twice every day and gone barefoot in the sand so they needed it.  I told her to pick out the color and my toes are now bright tangerine orange.  Woohoo!
Okay, enough talking.  Here's some photos. . . .

 

From the Leaky Boat on the Way to the Island

 

hornbills visited every morning
 and evening. Those who know me
know I have a million photos.

I'm only posting three.



 

Beach Where I Snorkeled Twice a Day

 

Koh Ngai Pier - Both Photos Above

Inside the Island After Going Through the Cave (see cave in water)

A Frozen Pineapple Drink After Massage

Sunset in Koh Lanta

Nepal - See You Again!

Before I totally move on, I have some thoughts on Nepal.  First - the title is because people never say good-by in Nepal - always see you again (or something like that).
Nepal is not what I thought it would be and I'm not really sure what I expected, but here are some observations.
There are NO traffic lights.  Everyone that I mentioned this to said that of course there were traffic lights but I never saw one.  The driving is chaotic at best.  The roads are horrible and people beep their horns and pass on two lane roads on curves - it doesn't matter.  It's crazy and I'm surprised there aren't more accidents.
The country is over 80% Hindu (I think I mentioned this previously) but there are prayer flags everywhere.  It's some interesting combination of Hindu/Buddhist but mainly Hindu with women in red (married) everywhere with a red sindhur or Bindi on their foreheads.  A lot of the prayer flags in the mountains are left by travelers to ensure good fortune on their journeys.
People in Nepal cook with fire, burn their trash and burn their weeds also which makes the valleys, especially the Kathmandu valley but also Pokhara, very smoggy.  If you ask about it though, it's haze.
The cities have rolling blackouts every day because there is not enough power for the population.  (The mountain villages don't have this problem.  I think I explained why in a previous blog but, in case you missed it, they have their own hydroelectric power due so few people and so many streams in the mountains.) The people in the cities have adjusted and just  expect that it will come back on.  They usually have a (somewhat) designated time for its return.
There were two plane accidents while I was there: one in which everyone perished (22 people returning from a trek) and the other in which the pilots died but the passengers survived -also returning from a trek. (I had read about this and it's why I took the bus.)
I don't know if taking buses is any safer, but the rides sure were interesting - and long. (Thank you India for building a new road to Pokhara! In a year it will be easy travels.)
The other side of the coin:
The PEOPLE.  They are so amazing, kind, friendly and the most honest people I have ever met.  They will tell you the absolute truth whether you want to hear it or not and they will be your friend for life.
The mountains!  They are nothing short of spectacular as are the little villages with lodges and teahouses along the way and all of this in a rhododendron forest!  My friends from Singapore who I trekked with for the first three day went on to Annapurna Base Camp and showed me some photos.  It was dark, the mountains were literally glowing, the moon was full and it was  minute 7 degrees centigrade but, boy, was it beautiful.
There is no place on earth like Nepal - at least not that I have seen.  I wish I had discovered it when I was younger and my legs were better.  I would love to trek further - to monasteries high in the mountains and I would love to see Everest and yaks!  I would also like to stay in a tower in the jungle and wait for tigers to meander by. Maybe another time.  Here are a few photos taken from the bus.

Traffic Jam #1

The Food - How could I forget to mention the food?  The staple of Nepal is Daal Bat.  My guides (and many Nepalese it seems) eat it twice a day.  It is a huge mound of rice, a cup (usually brass) of lentil soup, a serving of greens (spinach or chard usually), a vegetable of either cauliflower, green beans, carrots or broccoli or an assortment of these, some little crunchy fried things (I got different answers as to what these were – onions/potatoes?) and a spicy sour dollop of sauce.  You are usually offered refills of rice and lentils which is why guides like it – very filling and nutritious!  Nepalese eat this with their right hand and it is like a dance the way all of the ingredients are mixed.  It was fascinating, but I tired of this dish after a few days and branched out.  Nepal offers a variety of food.  You can even get apple pie in some of the teahouses.  All serve macaroni and spaghetti and some have pizza.  I fell in love with the momos which are a little like potstickers – but different.  They come steamed or fried and you can get either veg, chicken or buff (buffalo).  They have delicious sauces and I want to take them home with me!  My guide would survey the situation in each village to let me know if it was okay to order chicken (usually not).  In Ghandruk, however, after speaking with the proprietor he said, “Chicken here is okay.  Killed yesterday.”  I had the veg momos!

 

 

Chitwan Park and Rhinos!

What an amazing place!  I've taken so many photos and can't decide which ones to post, so please skip the ones that don't interest you.  There are so many! Nepal was great!  I loved the mountains and the jungle equally for very different reasons.  The country is an unusual place full of dichotomies.  The nature is remarkable in its beauty and you could spend a lot of time exploring mountains, rivers and jungles there.  The cities are unlike any I've seen in the levels of congestion and pollution but have a charm nonetheless.  The people are wonderful - friendly, kind and helpful.  I am now in Bangkok and it's the same strange place.  I guess today is Thai Mother's Day so the free shuttle bus between airports had a ticker tape that said, "When you feel there is no love, there is always someone that will always love you.  Happy Mother's Day.". Then there was the  billboard I saw from the bus that said, "DO NOT USE BUDDHA FOR TATTOO.".  I didn't get the rest of it.   I am currently drinking a Singha and eating cashew nuts that make my lips sting they're so spicy.  Yay!  There is also good WiFi!  Double Yay!  Off to the islands tomorrow.  Meanwhile, here are some photos from the jungle.

Jungle World Resort Where I stayed - Nice Dahlias

Tharu Ladies - This one is making food for ducks;
The one below is hulling rice.

Tharu Home in the Village

Barking Deer

Spotted Deer

Hog Deer

Jackal

Two Jackals

Rhesus Macaque

Sloth Bear - Horrible Photo but They're Shy!

And an assortment of beautiful birds.

Gharial Crocodiles
These crocodiles eat only fish and are indigenous to this area.
These are being bred and released into the river once they're big enough to not
Be eaten by the other crocodiles.

Subash holding jungle lettuce (yummy) and his friend Ram