SE Asia

December 2023 - April 2024
A 98-day adventure by Darryl Read more
  • 81footprints
  • 7countries
  • 98days
  • 1.4kphotos
  • 39videos
  • 22.3kkilometers
  • 18.5kkilometers
  • 278kilometers
  • Day 26

    Travel to Koh Phi Phi Don

    January 23 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    It was move day, hired a van to take us to the ferry terminal in Phuket. Ferry left at 9:00am and we arrived in Phi Phi at 11:00. It was a nice surprise that the ferry went around another island named Koh Phi Phi Lee, which has Maya Bay and Viking Caves before docking in Phi Phi. Our hotel isn't located right in Phi Phi village so we needed to take a water taxi for a 5 minute ride to our hotel. The Hotel, Phi Phi The Beach Resort, is very nice. The individual villas are located on a hill side and have a nice deck overlooking the bay. It is the equivalent of 15 flights of stairs to our room. There are a couple of restaurants and a bar here. As I type this, I can hear a chorus of geckos chipping away. Chilling at the resort today, exploring tomorrow.Read more

  • Day 27

    Day in Phi Phi

    January 24 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Did a 4k run around the resort this morning before breakfast. It was a great workout with the steep hills. Buffet breakfast is included, and there were some decent choices to fill us up before catching the water taxi to the village. Taxi is 100 Baht (3.75 CAD) per person each way. We explored the town and then did the hike up to the 3 view points they have. The views were spectacular. Afterward, we grabbed some lunch and lazed around the beach for a couple of hours. Checked a few areas out where the locals lived, and it was great to see the kids coming home from school in their uniforms and playing without phones in their hands. No vehicles are allowed in the village tourist center, so all deliveries are made with homemade steel carts that are pushed. The area is filled with young backpackers. Grabbed supper and headed back to the resort for a cool shower and some wine on the deck. It was a great day, clocked 29k steps and 196 floors on the watch. Just came back from a nightcap on the beach.Read more

  • Day 28

    Wander and massage day

    January 25 in Thailand ⋅ 🌬 30 °C

    Our plan after breakfast was to walk over to the other side of the island to check out a remote beach, but as we got closer, there were a bunch of restricted area signs, so we ditched that plan and decided to trek over the mountain to the village to get our steps in and have lunch while we were there and then walk back. It was about 50 minutes each way on a single lane road, and the walk over and down each side of the mountain was pretty steep. In the village, we saw the diesel filling station for the long boats, pretty hokey as they just come with some old containers and fill up. When we got back to the resort, we jumped into the ocean for a cool down, then lazed for a couple of hours and went to our couples massage we had booked. I had the coconut oil massage, and Chris had the aromatic oil massage. Our massages were a bit more intense than we imagined, but we both felt great afterward. The massage for both of us for one hour was about $40 CAD. After the massage, we went to the restaurant and had a slow meal with appetizers and salad, then Chris had chicken satay and I had a chicken soup, all the meals were great. All ready for the ferry over the Ao Nang Krabi tomorrow morning.Read more

  • Day 29

    Travel to Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand

    January 26 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Move day to Ao Nang. Took a high-speed ferry boat from Phi Phi. The water was pretty rough, so we had a few pukers on the boat. The boat was covered, but there were a few gaps where the boat spray got a few of us wet. It's pretty here as well. It was an hour walk from the ferry dock to our hotel, stopped half was for some lunch and a cold beer. Some school girls stopped us and wanted to take pictures with us, lol. All checked in, the hotel seems nice and about a 5 minute walk to the beachRead more

  • Day 31

    Around Ao Nang

    January 28 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Chilling last couple of days. Dropped off some clothes at a laundry service this morning, for rush service for 2.5kg of clothes it was $10 CAD. Checked out the monkey trail and the night market. It was pizza night tonight, great thin crust. It's been nice a sunny.Read more

  • Day 32

    Railay Beach

    January 29 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Took the water taxi to Railay Beach. It was about a 10 minute ride from Ao Nang. Railay is a cute little village with beautiful beaches, restaurants, and shops. There were some cool trails as well for exploring the area. There were a few climbing spots that were fun to watch and also found a penis shrine Phra Nang Cave, which is visited for fertility help apparently. Travel to Koh Samui tomorrow.Read more

  • Day 33

    Arrived in Koh Samui

    January 30 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Our flight didn't leave Krabi until 1:30 p.m., so we had our last buffet breakfast at the hotel in Ao Nang, then finished packing. It was a great hotel and we enjoyed our stay there. While packing, we were concerned as our knapsacks were weighing in around 9kg each, and the allowance on this flight was 7kg. We couldn't reduce any more, so we just went. We took a Grab to the airport, which was about at 45 minute ride. After we arrived, we had a quick lunch and then went through security and went to our gate. Our name was called on the speaker, so once we figured out where to go (it was a common gate for many flights), the ladies flagged our bags as being to large (nothing to with weight lol) for the overhead bins on the smaller airplane, and we would have to check them at the airplane - no big deal, but this was the first time so far we had to check them. Once we arrived at Koh Samui, it didn't take long to get our bags after we landed as it is a small airport. Our hotel had a driver waiting for us, and it was an enjoyable 30-minute ride. There are a ton of motorcycles here, more than any spot we have been so far, and the roads are very narrow. The Sandalwood hotel we are staying at is on a mountainside, so the climb from the seaside highway was pretty extreme. Our check-in process was so nice and pleasant, and once we saw our room, our jaws dropped in disbelief. It was so perfect - our room is called "Jumpee" lol! We had a couple of drinks by our private pool soaking in the views, then went for supper to the restaurant. We were welcomed by the resident puppy, and the meals were fantastic.Read more

  • Day 34

    Chaweng Beach

    January 31 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Took an early morning stroll down to the ocean, then had breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Afterward, we took the shuttle to an area called Chaweng and explored the area. We hiked up to a shrine and checked out a few shopping areas. Saw a massive spider in a web up in some trees. It had to be 6" long! This area is definitely a party area at night, but in the early afternoon, it was pretty quiet. It was interesting to see some impromptu gas stations for the many scooters driving around. beach access was very limited through resorts, and when we were there, it was high tide, so there was not much sand area. Headed back to our resort mid afternoon for a swim and relaxed, then ordered room service to our table by the pool - ahhhh paradise.Read more

  • Day 35

    Koh Samui Island Tour

    February 1 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Took a tour around the island today and saw a few temples. I must admit, they are all starting to look very similar, and I am sure we will have a few dozen more to see over the next couple of months. Chris and I were both born on a Saturday so the Saturday Buddha is represented in full lotus position in the midst of meditation under the protection of the Naga Muchalinda. It is said that the pose reflects a time following enlightenment when the Naga King protected a meditating Buddha against exposure to heavy rainfall by using his multi-headed hood for shelter while lifting him above flooded waters using his body. Our lucky color is supposed to be blue and our lucky day is Friday. We also saw grandmothers and grandfather's rocks - see the pics. And a neat waterfall where Chris took a little plunge to cool off. The humidity is very high and adds to the high temps. Had a good but quick lunch there as well. It was a good day that was capped off by a skunk win over Chris in Crib.Read more

  • Day 36

    Day in Lamai

    February 2 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Took the hotel shuttle over to Lamai. Had lunch at Pizza Del Sol. The owner was from France, and we had a good chat with him. Wandered around town after lunch and checked out the beach. It was so hot with the humidity. Found a pub and had a couple of beer and played a few games of Connect 4. I won the final game against Chris (hehe). Walked around some more, then had supper at Bondi Aussie Bar. Ribs were great. Back at the hotel, last night here, going to miss this resort. We're off to Bangkok tomorrow.Read more