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Thailand with Gi - 2024Thailand with Gi - 2024
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A 29-day adventure by umm...mad for travel Read more
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  • TravelerThailand with Gi - 2024
    Day 14–17

    Charming Mekong town

    April 15 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Chiang Khan, once a sleepy, little-known Mekong-side town in the Northeast of Thailand. The main street, Th Chai Khong, that runs parallel to the Mekong river, short streets that run off Th Chai Khong, and the waterfront walking and biking path are all full of traditional timber houses and shophouses. This place couldn't stay a secret forever, at least not to Thais, and it's became a trendy destination for well to do Thais and is now full of gift shops, cute cafes and places for taking selfies. We encountered very few westerners here, and spent a few lazy days walking Th Chai Khong, the small streets, and the waterfront, where everything was very quiet and peaceful in the daytime before the evening shopping and eating begins. Every evening Th Chai Khong turns into a busy Walking Street market with buskers, artists and street-food vendors. We saw a lot less than there might normally be as we arrived towards the end of the Songkran festival and most vendors and Thais in general seemed to have stayed home.

    So we strolled, we drank, we ate, we chilled, we took pictures...    Read more

  • TravelerThailand with Gi - 2024
    Day 16

    Trip or Adventure?

    April 17 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 37 °C

    A trip or an adventure? Same same or different? What are we on? Let me see...walking dozens of kilometres on city streets in 40+ celsius (up to 47 with humidity) temperatures, sometimes taking third class trains and buses with no a/c still in those crazy temperatures, hiking up 7 levels in Erawan National Park for waterfalls, avoid getting mugged by monkeys on streets and temple of Lopburi, riding 3 up on a scooter at night with no helmets (wasn't our choice but we got stranded after visiting a night market and there was no other way to get back to our hotel), crashing on bus station seats overnight to catch 5 am bus to get to Phu Kradueng National Park, then same day hiking three hours up a steep rocky mountain path to sleep in rustic cabin on mountain top to see a sunrise then tough hike back down the mountain, taking a bike ride and a songthaew through water-throwing/splashing locals during Songkran - the water-splashing festival celebration of the traditional new year that is widely celebrated across South and Southeast Asia from April 13-15 or 16, adventures and misadventures trying to communicate with locals for transportation and food where there are very few foreigners so very few locals speak English (Google Translate with camera and microphone has been a huge help!), ripping up toe, etc. I think I'll go with adventure.Read more

  • TravelerThailand with Gi - 2024
    Day 17–19

    almost done...Khao Yai National Park

    April 18 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Our trip is winding down...we are actually on an island a little Southeast of Bangkok, our last stop before going back to Bangkok for our flight home. On our way here from Chiangkhan we stopped in Pak Chong for a couple of days where we rented a scooter to get to the nearby Khao Yai National Park for some hiking, went back to Bangkok for a couple of days to experience a floating market, onwards to Trat which is a couple of hours South of Bangkok and serves as the main jumping off point for ferry rides to a few islands.

    The hikes were OK but not spectacular since it is the hot season and without rain, the waterfalls in the park are mostly dry. Also, of the 9 available hikes, 6 have to be done with a park ranger for an additional, rather substantial fee, so only 3 hikes were available to us. We saw birds, butterflies, monkeys, a lizard or two, cool flora, and lots of elephant poo, some of it pretty fresh which had us a bit nervous, but we never saw any of the great beasts.     Read more

  • TravelerThailand with Gi - 2024
    Day 22–28

    and here we are...

    April 23 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    After an overnight in Trat, we took a songthaew taxi to the pier to catch the Boonsiri Ferry to the very chilled island of Koh Kood also known as Koh Kut, in the Gulf of Thailand. The ferry ticket includes transportation to your hotel which is good because the beach we chose, Ao Phrao Beach is the most southern beach on the island but it's also supposed to be the most beautiful. We've been excelling at extreme laziness here and have not ventured off this beach, so I can neither confirm nor deny this.

    Beach life is the best! This beach in particular is almost perfect. Fine, soft sand, in appearance and touch. Calm, crystal-clear, blue-like waters with the gentlest of waves courtesy of a constant and welcome breeze that almost makes one forget the low to mid 30s' temperature. Apart from the usual coconut and almond trees one often sees beachside, there are also many coastal sheoak trees (Casuarina equisetifolia). They look like pine trees and even have needles and cones! https://pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Casu…

    Jellyfish are also in the hood (see attached pic of a poor swimmer being swarmed by said j-fish). Apparently they make the occasional appearance in the Gulf of Thailand - https://iamkohchang.com/blog/box-jellyfish-in-t… - but not, thankfully, in April as it's too hot, especially this year. We swam freely and without incidence...phew because I've been stung by a jellyfish, not a box jellyfish thankfully, but it still hurt like fuck! It happened in Sayulita, Mexico a few years ago and I thought I was having a heart attack until I saw all the red welts across my chest.

    More pics in the next post along with the less than perfect side of beaches in Thailand.    Read more

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