Beach Bumming in the Gulf of Thailand

Among the biggest tourist draws in Thailand are the white sand beaches and crystal clear waters in the southern part of the country. During the past few decades, these previously remote islands have become some of the most popular locations for beach vacations in the world. Most visitors focus on two major sets of islands: those on the Andaman Coast (west of the mainland), and those in the Gulf of Thailand (east of the mainland). The Andaman Coast is home to infamous beaches like Phuket, Koh Phi Phi (seen in the movie The Beach), and the hippy hangout of Koh Lanta. Many of these areas were also devastated by the 2004 tsunami, and are still in the process of recovering. While we stopped over in Phuket for one night on a flight connection, we didn’t explore these islands extensively since they are in monsoon during May and June, and tend to be rainy and cloudy. On the other side of the country, the sunny Gulf of Thailand consists of three islands – Koh Samui, Koh Phan Ngan, and Koh Tao - all of which we visited while island-hopping. Below is a summary of our time in the Gulf of Thailand, and the experiences we had on each island.

Flight from Phuket to Koh Samui

Koh Samui

Phuket on the Andaman Coast and Koh Samui in the Gulf both have a reputation as built-up, commercialized, glitzy beaches. For this reason, we decided to spend a little less time on Koh Samui than on the other islands. We spent our first night at Buddha Beach on the north shore of the island, which had golden sand and a few local restaurants. We settled on this location since it made it easy for us to catch the ferry to Koh Phan Ngan the next morning at 8AM. On our way back, however, we stayed at the beach of Ko Samui: Chaweng. Known to be one of the most beautiful locations in Thailand due to miles of white sand shoreline, Chaweng was one of the beaches that began the initial influx of holiday tourism is Thailand. While Koh Samui was absolutely beautiful, it was difficult to appreciate since Koh Samui is so built-up. Five star resorts “own” stretches of beach, everything is over-priced, and Burger King/McDonalds/Pizza Hut are all on the same block. We stayed here on the last night since it’s also known as a good party beach (which it was – Australians will visit Thailand for week-long all-inclusives similar to how Canadians visit Cuba). However, despite the island’s natural beauty, it was far commercialized and felt more like Miami Beach than Asia. We were glad that we spent our last night there, but had no regrets spending most of our beach time elsewhere.

Big Buddha Beach

Koh Samui Airport Terminal

Koh Phan Ngan

Koh Phan Ngan is best known for the full-moon parties that happen about once a month (also the less popular half and black moon parties) at Haad Rin. We weren’t around for the Full Moon, so instead spent our time at the relatively untouched northwestern part of the island. We spend our time on Haad Salad (Salad Beach), at a resort with a stunning view of the bay called Cookies Salad Resort. We spent most of our time relaxing, eating, drinking, sitting on the beach, and wading in the crystal clear water. We also spent a day in a bay just north of where we were staying called Koh Ma, which is known to have some of the best snorkelling on the island. We hitched a ride in the back of a bumpy pick-up truck from a Cookies employee, and spent the day underwater with tropical fish and stunning coral. Koh Phan Ngan was definitely the most laid back of our destinations, especially since there were relatively few tourists, but tons of beach space, beachside bars, and palm trees.

View from Balcony

Stormy Koh Ma

Koh Tao 

Koh Tao (named “Turtle Island” in Thai for its shape) is the most remote of the islands, and is one of the most renowned scuba diving and snorkelling locations in the world. The only location that gives our more scuba diving certifications each year is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Koh Tao is definitely the most rugged of the islands, with rocky, dramatic shorelines and a laid back beach atmosphere. After debating where to spend our time on the island, we decided to stay at Ao Leuk, a small bay owned by a single family, famous for its snorkelling and shark sightings. After a bumpy pick-up truck ride through the main beach town Haad Sairee to the secluded bay, we were dropped off on the beach. There were hardly any other travellers at Ao Leuk – other than day-trippers that came to see the beach and scuba dive, the only people that kept us company were local Thais and our friendly Swiss neighbour on a solo backpacking journey. We absolutely loved Ko Tao, and spent all day every day underwater, and nights having dinner and beer on (next to empty) beachside restaurants. During our time in the water, we saw schools of thousands of fluorescent fish, coral formations as big as houses, and (possibly) a shark. Unfortunately, we didn’t have an underwater camera, but probably got more out of the experience because we were more focused on exploring than snapping good photographs. Koh Tao was definitely our favourite island, and the one we’d most like to visit again.  

Eco-Touring in the Foothills of the Himalayas

The main draw of northern Thailand is the natural beauty of the mountains outside of Chiang Mai. One of the most popular eco-tourism activities is a guided multi-day hike to visit remote hill-tribes. However, after hearing from other travellers that these were usually a (sometimes exploitative) rip-off that didn’t live up to the hype, we opted to do a few other eco-based activities instead.

1. Hiking a Waterfall

Instead of hiking for days through the mountains, we managed to squeeze in a shorter excursion to a waterfall. In the jungle canopy, we followed slippery stone steps up the side of a waterfall that seemed to go on forever. The waterfall was steep and narrow, and went even further than the steps ascended up the mountain. The short but strenuous hike allowed us to gauge how vast the mountains are – walking through a small fragment of the area, gave us some perspective on how vast and expansive the Himalayan foothills must be as they extend further north.

2. Elephant Riding

We also organized a trip to an elephant sanctuary recommended by our guesthouse. Elephant tourism is extremely popular in northern Thailand and on some of the islands in the south, but we wanted to make sure we went with a company that treated the animals well. There are many tour companies that are known to mistreat their animals or treat them like “circus” animals. The sanctuary that we visited (not mentioned in any guidebooks) was set in a valley surrounded by hills, where we came face to face with a dozen female elephants. From our experience, the elephants seemed happy, well-treated, and had seemingly close relationships with their individual caregivers (or mahouts). For the day, we learned about Asian elephants, fed them, rode them bareback through the jungle, and gave them baths. Even though I got the “aggressive” elephant Pai Coon (who kept trying to hit me with bamboo), it was a one-in-a-lifetime experience.

 3. Ziplining

One of the things that I looked most forward to when planning our trip was the chance to zipline through the jungle. After looking at a few different tour providers, we opted to spend a bit more and go with the Flight of the Gibbon, featured on the Amazing Race. On the drive into the jungle, the driver put on a taped clip of the episode. The experience was definitely one of the highlights of our time in Thailand. We spent hours flying down some of the largest ziplines in world, standing on platforms surrounding massive trees, “freefalling” and sliding into nets, abseiling, and getting 360 views of the forest canopy. One of the highlights was seeing a family of resident gibbons swinging through the trees, and getting free (and clean!) T-shirts after zipping around the mountains was like winning the backpacker lottery.

The Long and Winding Road to the Cultural Heart of Thailand

After our short stay in Bangkok, we took a 12-hour overnight bus to Chiang Mai, the hub of northern Thailand. The region is mountainous, and the small city-centre is contained by medieval-era walls. The city is one of the most sought after destinations in the country since it is perceived to preserve Thai culture, and is home to hundreds of Buddhist Temples. We would both consider Chiang Mai among our favourite cities here, but we only made it here after a hellish ordeal of overland travel.

In Bangkok we weren’t sure how we wanted to get to Chiang Mai (the two most popular options are overnight train and bus), but eventually opted for a sleeper bus that would leave at around 7PM and arrive at 7AM the next day. Our bus was full of other young backpackers – the ride consisted of watching the new Karate Kid movie on full volume, quasi-sleeping in our reclining chairs, and me finding a huge beetle in my hair when I woke up at a rest-stop. We ended up getting dropped off behind a gas station/bus stop just outside of Chiang Mai in the early hours of the morning (probably around 5AM), with everybody groggy and disoriented from the previous night. It took about half an hour to organize how the busload of us would travel in taxis (i.e. pick-up trucks with roofs) to the city, with little guidance from the “bus company,” and people constantly switching between the pick-ups in confusion. As a group of French Canadians began grabbing their bags, they noticed that they were missing valuables from their duffel bags stored under the bus. It is common practice for someone to search the bags and steal things, which is why I wasn’t overly worried, since all I had in my checked backpack were toiletries and clothes. But when the French Canadians tried to speak to the bus driver, he tried to drive away (to the point that a few of them were standing in front of the bus to stop it from moving). Eventually, we all made it into the city okay (and had to reorganize our backpacks, since everything had clearly been searched and haphazardly tossed back in). After we made it to Chiang Mai and to our guesthouse we weren’t so frustrated – guess it was just a part of the travel experience. It just wouldn’t have been the same if everything had gone smoothly.

When we finally had the opportunity to explore Chiang Mai, it had a sleepy small town vibe, and was a great place to walk around, eat, and drink. We also visited the main central temple (Wat Phra Singh), and the Sunday Night Market which were both great. The highlight of Chiang Mai’s “attractions” would likely be Doi Suthep – one of the holiest and most beautiful temples in the country on top of the mountain providing a stunning view over the city.

The best part of Chiang Mai, however, was the city itself – the city is good for walking and relaxing, and we stayed at the extremely hospitable Funky Monkey Guesthouse run by an English/Thai couple where we spent a lot of time chatting with them or playing with their dogs. We also established a “spot” that we would go a sit every night, which was at the East Gate of the city wall. We only realized on the last night that it’s also the prime city meeting point for sex tourists (meaning old American/European/Australian men courting barely legal Thai girls). Despite the grittiness, our time in the city was relaxing, and it was a great hub for exploring the natural beauty of Northern Thailand.

In the Land of Smiles and 7-11s

We’ve finally reached Thailand, the shining star of Southeast Asia. It took a lot to get us here, since we travelled one of the most infamous overland crossings in the region. We took an early taxi to the Cambodian border town of Poipet (2 hours), passed through Cambodian immigration, walked through No Man’s Land between Cambodia and Thailand (i.e. a bunch of seedy casinos), got through Thai immigration, then booked a 4 hour mini-bus to Bangkok. It was a long day, but overland travel is always an adventure.

Arriving in Bangkok was a bit of a shock since the places we’d been travelling were far smaller and had fewer tourists. We took a cab to Soi Rambuttri, a street very close to the infamous backpacker ghetto of Khao San Road, and found a guesthouse to stay in for the next few days. It might be hard for us to give a fair assessment of the city, since we only spent three days in Bangkok (which most people we met along the way said was more than enough time). It is even more difficult to judge the city since the circus of Khao San Road dominates the tourist scene, but is not at all reflective of the “real” Bangkok. While it wasn’t our favourite city, we still had a good time, and we able to enjoy some Western amenities that we had missed in Vietnam and Cambodia (there are more 7-11s in Bangkok than there are Starbucks in Manhattan). When we were just walking around the city, we did manage to make a few of the obligatory tourist stops.

1. Khao San Road

This street is one of the most famous in Bangkok for its backpacker and party scene. Bars, restaurants, and hostels line the street blaring Taylor Swift and Katy Perry, and all of them are filled with Western tourists or Thai peddlers that want to rip them off. While in no way representing Thai culture, it was definitely interesting to see how tourism has overtaken the country in the past few decades, and nice to have a few drinks in the presence of other “farangs” (i.e. foreigners).

 

2. The Royal Palace, Temple of the Emerald Buddha & Wat Pho

This area of Bangkok is considered a “must-see” in most guidebooks, since it contains the architectural highlights of old Bangkok. We visited the Royal Palace, and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in the same complex, which was like a larger version of the one we saw in Phnom Penh. The Temple was one of the most intricate buildings we’ve seen and housed dozens of Buddha figures, with the centerpiece, of course, being the Emerald Buddha. We probably would have been even more impressed if we hadn’t just visited Angkor Wat. Wat Pho is smaller, and houses an enormous reclining Buddha, and was definitely worth a visit. It was also easy for us to take a ferry up the central river back to the area of our hotel which gave us a chance to see the city from a different viewpoint.

3. Siam Square

Siam Square epitomizes modern Bangkok – it is an intersection of high-end shopping malls, main highway arteries, and the elegant Skytrain that goes through the more affluent parts of the city. While there were other tourists in this area, it was much less oppressive than at the Palaces or Khao San Road, and seemed to be mostly comprised of middle-class locals. We walked through a few of the interconnected malls, and ended up at MBK – the one that was less glitzy but a favourite of Thai locals. We ate at the food court which serves food from all over Asia, and saw Pirates of the Caribbean 4 with Thai subtitles. Before the film, we also had to stand while the national anthem played and a slideshow of the King came on the screen – a ritual that takes place before all movie screenings and usually twice a day in bus and train stations. Siam Square was probably the place that we enjoyed the most, since it seemed to cater to both the local population and tourists.

Our first impression of Bangkok was a combination of glitzy, grimy, ancient and modern, but we embraced it all as an essential part of our first taste of Thailand.

The Best of Cambodia

Top 5 Things We Learned

1. Cambodian people are the happiest/nicest people we’ve encountered despite living in one of the least developed countries in the world
2. The best way to avoid heat stroke at Angkor Wat it having a tuk-tuk driver for the day
3. Phnom Penh is home to the cutest children in the world
4. Touching your ankle to the exhaust pipe of your quad-bike leaves second-degree burns
5. Happy Hour never ends on Pub Street

     Top 5 Places to Eat

1. Friends – a tapas bar that employs former street youth, and has amazing food
2. The Blue Pumpkin – the best (and most expensive) bakery in Siem Reap that has discounts on pastries after 8PM
3. Angkor Palm – mediocre food, but the best coconut shakes
4. The Pavillion – enormous/delicious/free breakfast and good chicken curry
5. Aussie BBQ – mini-hamburgers, squid, and baked potatoes

     Top 5 Overall Experiences

1. Climbing and exploring the temples of Angkor
2. Eye-opening trips to S21 and the Killing Fields
3. Driving through Cambodian villages on quad-bikes
4. Sitting by the river at night with Phnom Penh locals
5. Getting (free!) Khmer massages at the Villa Siem Reap

Beyond the Temples

Since tourism in Cambodia has skyrocketed in the past few decades, particularly where the Angkor Temples are located, Siem Reap has been transformed from a sleepy town to a tourist Mecca. In addition to visiting Angkor Wat, we spent a few days relaxing in Siem Reap. We stayed at the Villa Siem Reap, which (in addition to being a great place to stay), was outside of the main tourist area, but an easy 10 minute walk from the city centre. The guesthouse is a quirky purple hotel run by Australians, complete with Thai style show racks outside the hotel and Aussie BBQ nights. They also gave us each a free Khmer massage when we had a minor issue with our room, and were really friendly and helpful. While there isn’t a ton to do in the city in and of itself, we were able to relax, and enjoy Siem Reap outside of Angkor for a few reasons.

1. Pub Street

This strip is blatantly and unabashedly touristy, with restaurants, pubs, bars, food stalls, and fish massage stalls (literally putting your feet in a fish tank and letting them eat grime off of you). But it was a great place to eat, get drinks and people-watch at night. We spent a lot of time here drinking Angkor, the Cambodian staple beer.

 

2. The Night Market

This little village of market stalls was easy to get lost in, and mostly sold clothes, shoes, and jewelry, just outside the city centre. It was worth walking through, especially since unlike other markets we’ve come across (like Ben Thanh Market in Saigon), you can just look around instead of every store clerk saying, “You Buy? Why Not?”

3. Backstreets

Fortunately, we stayed in a guesthouse outside of the craziness of Pub Street in a residential neighbourhood. Despite the mass tourism that Siem Reap receives, in many ways it is still a small Cambodian town where people are living their everyday lives. It was nice to see that despite the centre of Siem Reap being so built up; there are still some quiet corners that haven’t (yet) been marred by tourism.