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Southeast Asia
  • Sean Plamondon
juin – juil. 2019

Southeast Asia

Wandering through Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. En savoir plus
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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Krabi - Day 2

    23 juillet 2019, Thaïlande ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Today did a hike in jungle to some rivers with aqua marine colours, swam in one for a while and then found a beautiful isolated beach outside the main town with almost no one there. Relaxed there for a few hours enjoying a few beers, and hopping in and out of the water to cool off. But not really because the water is warmer than my hotel shower. Incredibly tranquile

    Headed back to town and got a seaside table for some more amazing thai food and people watching while writing my blog entry :) My welsh friend Marianne eventually came and joined me and we set off to find a more happening spot. The nightlife never took off that night but we had fun playing jenga and connect 4 lol over several beers to wind down a very chill day. The northern ireland couple really overdid it the night prior and weren't able to come meet us but probably for the best as they were off to phi phi island the next morning and Marianne was off to some other island, which i completely forget now.

    Some fun facts about thailand. They drive on the left side of the road; they dont use chopsticks; and there's a pretty sizeable muslim population here that i wasn't expecting. There's also a bit of a dictatorship military government going on and all the elections are rigged in their favour. Protesting doesn't seem to be permitted so its a very hard road in Thailand to push forward change. Feel bad for them especially because they're all so friendly and nice.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    Ton Sai beach
    David and I finally reaching Railay beachPhra Nang beachView from unsuccessful jungle pass to phra nang beach

    Krabi - Day 3

    24 juillet 2019, Thaïlande ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Third day in one place. Nice to put down some roots for a change and relax a bit. Days are getting numbered so its appealing to stay in such a beautiful spot for a few days. Especially with my amazing hotel.

    Off to Railay beach today which is not accessible any other way but by boat because tall cliff rock walls create a huge natural barrier. Met a nice korean-american named david going to the same place. Our boat pulled into a beach and we got off but then quickly realized we were the only ones who got off and the boat was already gone. Wrong beach. Ton Sai beach. Pulled out my map and could see if we traipsed through some jungle we could hike to Railay beach, which we did.

    Railay was striking with more karst rock formations and loads of restaurants on the beach. Had lunch there and then i found another jungle trail to try to reach another beach. This trail was a lot less defined and rough terrain and david only had flipflops and had to abort. I kept going only to find out the other beach was accessible on this trail by going through a cave to the other side but you needed ropes to get up to it. So i had to head back too but got some nice shots from high up.

    David decided to call it a day and head back on next boat but i was more determined and found another path that lead me to Phra Nang Beach through some low level caves and was rewarded with more stunning views and monkeys everywhere! The whole reason david and i hiked that rough terrain was to find monkeys. Poor guy lol.

    From there caught a boat back to Ao Nang where i was staying, to avoid the big storm clouds rolling in. Walking down the road, i was cat called by a bunch of thai ladies having drinks on a patio, so i wandered over and joined them for a beer. Destroyed one of them in 4 games of pool haha and then headed off my hotel pool swim up bar to relax for a while.

    Went back out and had an amazing red snapper main, with green mango salad, and prawns for 10 dollars for supper, a few beers and off to bed to get up early for ferry trip to phi phi island in morning. Pretty sure i will return to Krabi some day. It was a gamble coming here because people i met in cambodia said it rained all day here for a few weeks straight. Its rainy season in all four countries but I haven't had a single day rained out so far. I have a sun-finding gift. And a monkey finding gift too apparently haha.    En savoir plus

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  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Phi Phi - Day 1

    25 juillet 2019, Thaïlande ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Took an early ferry to the island of Phi Phi. Hard decision because Krabi was so awesome but gotta see more before heading home. I've completely changed my rough plan and decided to make my way to phuket to witness the insanity i keep hearing about and fly to bangkok from there. Phi Phi is half way to Phuket. Sorta.

    Spent my entire two hour boat ride chatting with friendly Emily from Oregon, then made my way thru the pedestrian streets to hotel. There's no cars or scooters or even golf carts on this island. Foot power or boats.. thats it. Checked into hotel and they handed me ear plugs "in case"... uh oh lol

    After yesterday's hiking adventure in Krabi i looked at my map and looked for more hiking in phi phi. Found a trail that goes to other side of island to some different beaches. Yay.. giddyup. Immediately realized it went to top of mountain and back down other side. Thats ok could use more exercise. Half way up the people took left fork in road so i went right and found more monkeys!! ... suckers! Haha. My instincts are so fine tuned ha.

    Got to top and then descended down other side thru really dense jungle. I admit, it was a bit spooky. Lots of noises i have never heard before and really narrow trail which was hardly recognizable as one. And no one else was doing this part of trail. Hmmm.. lol. I got to the bottom to a nice beach but there was no charm to the eateries.. big buffet setups for chinese tourists. Asked about boats back to other side of island and i would have to wait two hours. Forget that. They asked how i got there and their jaws dropped when i told them i came via the jungle trail and said i was crazy haha. And i was sadly resigned to saving my day and re doing the jungle trail back up. Bleh. Could hear monkeys above me everywhere in trees moving about but needed to keep moving to stay ahead of bugs all over me.

    Finally got back to phi phi beach and ran into the water to cool off and met three really cool israeli girls who took me to the pool party of all pool parties. It was insane... to be brief. Also made a new friend helga from spain there who took me to a bunch of wild beach parties. And finished up a weird helium balloon party place and met a guy right out of game of thrones who is supposed to fight in a ring at the reggae bar on friday.. so stay tuned for that haha. Ridiculous day. So many new and fun friends.    En savoir plus

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    One of the thai fighters after his match
    Liam from england1Another dutch familyGirl who challenged me to fight. I would have gotten destroyed

    Phi Phi - Day 2

    26 juillet 2019, Strait of Malacca ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Spent the morning and afternoon lounging at a beach restaurant with feet in sand, sipping on beer and chatting with everyone unfortunate enough to sit at the table next to me haha. I decided my plan today was to do as little as possible. I think i executed it perfectly.

    First i met Aiesh who works for a business management group in dubai and is interested in investing in my web project codevscode. Made me a tempting offer. Then jasmine and yvonne helped book my hotels in phuket and bangkok because they live in thailand and know it well. Chatted with liam for an hour or two before realizing he's the best friend of the wildling i met the night before. Who incidentally is not going to fight in ring tonight. Boooooo. And finally Chris and his family from holland until sunset.

    Made my way to the reggae bar where the muay thai fighting ring is, and watched a bunch of amateur kickboxers. People were literally getting out of their seats in stands and putting on boxing gloves and into the ring. Very entertaining. A girl challenged me to a fight in ring but i declined lol.. of course.

    Hung out at an irish bar for a bit and then made my way to the beach and chatted with some canadians while sitting in the sand, watching the waves roll in under the moonlight. Next up.. phuket...    En savoir plus

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Patong (Phuket)

    27 juillet 2019, Thaïlande ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Took a late morning ferry to island of Phuket and headed to the city of Patong. There didnt seem to be any dramatic mountains or cliffs like everywhere else i have been in Thailand, but it did have a massive beautiful beach. So i got myself a lounging chair and had a relaxing afternoon in and out of water and kicking back.

    Then found a couple of gelato places and really gorged myself on ice cream. Oh boy i didn't feel so great for a while haha.. all self inflicted. But sooo good.

    Then went off to see what the hype is all about on the bar pedestrian street in patong. Its completely bananas. Gogo dancers at almost every establishment, even just normal pubs have them too, and a verrrry bizarre range of live shows you can take in. To be (sorta) clear, I'm not talking broadway stuff lol.. more like Amsterdam crazy stuff. And beyond. And every place has female hosts that come sit with you to keep you company.

    I didnt take in any shows but sat at a few gogo bars just to see what it was all about. Wasn't feeling terribly social today or making the effort to meet new people so was kinda just right to have hosts chat with me instead.

    I think the combination of end of trip being near and being on the move so much has worn me down a bit. Feeling a bit lethargic and content to just people watch. Which in this city is extremely entertaining!    En savoir plus

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    Crocodile street meat!
    Lovely buffets here

    Bangkok

    28 juillet 2019, Thaïlande ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Got into Bangkok late afternoon and checked into hotel with a concerning forewarning from reception... "the music will stop at 2am and you paid for a standard room, here are your earplugs". Lol. Uh oh. More on that later..

    Grabbed my last noodle dish of trip on bustling Khaosan Road and bought a few tshirts - as souvenirs but also because i really needed something to wear haha. Then did a walk through a bunch of markets and gorged on more gelato - this heat really brings out my ice cream sweet tooth. Found the craft beer place i was looking for, but it was disappointing.

    Back to hotel around 7 and napped until 9:30 off and on but the music was ramping up pretty good now and it felt like the speakers were in my room. Never, ever, get a hotel right on Khaosan Road. That was ill advised.

    Feeling refreshed and with the bass pretty much bouncing me out of my bed, i decided to have one last adventure and seek out a popular nightlife area of bangkok, and away from khaosan road, which was too touristy. Hopped in the back of a tuk tuk and hung on tight as he raced through the streets. Right away met 4 guys from Singapore and hopped in and out of a few places with them before heading back.

    Got back around 1am and things were 10x busier on my street and volumes were ridiculous. I had to be up at 4am so i wasn't even sure if i should bother trying. Lay down anyways and made the best of it.

    ...And that pretty much wraps up an amazingly fun romp through southeast asia.    En savoir plus

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Hong Kong

    29 juillet 2019, Hong Kong ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I was able to side step immigration and go straight to my gate at Hong Kong airport which is a relief. Was concerned my passport might trigger an issue. 15 hour flight to Toronto coming up..

    Fin du voyage
    29 juillet 2019