Thailand
Ban Phra Ae

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    • Day 12

      Day 11 - Heading South for Christmas

      December 21, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      Dragged ourselves out of bed at 9.00am & I popped next door for 2 Americano Frappes. There is no such thing, so I ordered a hot & an iced Americano. We sat on our balcony & had some dry doughnuts with our coffee.

      It was boiling hot already so we returned to our air conditioned room to stay cool whilst we packed. At 11.50am we checked out of our Homestay & laden down with our rucksacks we ventured out into the midday sun.

      Luckily we only had to walk 400 metres to our van pick-up point & we had an hour and a half to get there. Halfway we stopped for a beer. At 1.10pm we arrived at the van pick-up point & got mobbed by Tuk Tuk 🛺 drivers. After explaining we had a pre-booked van, they herded us to a waiting van. It turned out to be a 9 seater luxury van & we were the only 2 passengers scheduled to travel on it, so we departed immediately. Not bad for just 300 Baht each, particularly when the driver had to pay 140 Baht at a toll!

      We were soon heading south towards Makkasan Station in Bangkok on the Super Highway. During the journey we explained to our driver that we were heading for Hua Lampthong Railway Station. He told us that he couldn’t take us, but we could get a taxi. Thank you, we hadn’t thought of that!

      As we made our through the outskirts of Bangkok, our driver suddenly pulled over at the side of the road outside a petrol station & said you pay 50 Baht toll. We didn’t really know what was going on, but a taxi pulled up behind & we jumped in.

      Ten minutes later we were delivered right outside Hua Lampthong Station for just 100 Baht & the 50 Baht toll. After Jackie had picked up our tickets from an office across the road, we set up camp in a Black Canyon Coffee cafe, where we treated ourselves to a sandwich, a croissant & a coffee.

      At 4.35pm we boarded our night train for the 15 hour journey down to Trang in the south of Thailand. We had a First Class sleeper cabin that resembled a prison cell, a grey metal box that contained a seat that doubled up as 2 bunk beds, a sink with a bar of soap & a floppy table. The toilet was a hole in the ground at the end of the carriage.

      We sorted all our bits & pieces out, then with less than 15 minutes to departure, Jackie shouted “Oh shit, they didn’t give me my passport back in the ticket office”. With a volley of expletives, to the effect she had better run back to get it & Jackie saying she didn’t have time, she frantically rummaged through her document folder & found it.

      Our hearts were still racing at ten to the dozen as our train pulled out of the station at 5.06pm. We settled back for the long haul, but at 7.20pm, the steward insisted on making up our beds. We finished our bottle of Hong Thong, ate our crisps & lay down on our beds.
      It was a jerky old train ride & at gone 2.00am, I was still awake.

      Song of the Day - Night Train by The Kills.
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    • Day 13

      Day 12 - Lanta Happy Hills Resort

      December 22, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      I had a fitful night sleep of about 2 hours, Jackie had not much more. We had a scare at 5.00am, when the train stopped & loads of passengers got off, but it wasn’t our stop.

      At 7.00am we were forced out of bed by the steward insisting he come in turn the beds back to a seat. At 8.30am we pulled into Trang Railway Station & went to a travel agent opposite to arrange our onward travels. We purchased 2 tickets for the 9.30am mini van departing from
      Trang Bus Terminal costing just 350 Baht each.

      We left our rucksacks with the ladies in the travel agent & went in search of breakfast. We ended up in the same ‘1952 Cafe’ that we visited in similar circumstances about 10 years ago. We ordered coffee & a baguette each.

      Returning to the travel agent, we boarded a Tuk Tuk to take us to Trang Bus Terminal. Before we departed, the girls insisted on taking a photo of us in the back of the Tuk Tuk, whilst Jackie held their company sign!

      The Tuk Tuk delivered us to the Ko Lanta bound mini van & checked us in....all part of the service. Not long after 9.30am we departed in a virtually full mini van for the 2.5 plus hour drive, which included a ferry ride. It was an uncomfortable ride, particularly as we were tired.

      Not long after midday, we were dropped off at our Christmas destination, Lanta Happy Hills Resort. The girl who greeted us was so lovely & provided us with lots of useful information. She didn’t actually tell us, but we suspected she & her family were Muslims......the hijabs & burkas gave it away!!!

      She kindly recommended Yawee Restaurant for lunch, which we soon discovered didn’t sell alcohol. Yawee Restaurant was very popular & we now know why, the food was excellent. I had chicken in coconut sauce & Jackie had a crispy chicken salad. There was water on the table, but we ordered a Diet Coke each, which didn’t actually arrive with our meal. When Jackie informed them, the waitress insisted we have them free. Probably put a bit of Hong Thong in them!

      After we walked the couple of minutes down to our local beach, Relax Beach. As we walked out on to the beach, the nearest bar owner shouted over to visit his bar. One of our pet hates!!! We walked along to the southern end & found a tiny sandy cove called Bamboo Beach for a swim.

      The afternoon ended with us visiting 2 bars for a beer in each, unfortunately the 2nd belonged to the shouty man & guess what it was the most expensive!

      We returned to our room, got ready & then went straight out for dinner to the sounds of the call to prayer at the local mosque. Tonight was the Mushroom Restaurant where I had a Penang Chicken curry & Jackie had chicken & cashew nuts, followed by a naughty banana pancake each.

      We were back on our balcony by 9pm. After failing to get the television working to watch the Man Utd game, we called it a night.

      Despite Booking.com showing that Lanta Happy Hills Resort is fully booked in the days after we are scheduled to check out, Jackie has already sweet-talked the young girl at reception in to letting us stay longer & (a big AND) letting us keep our room. It is in the prime location.

      Song of the Day - Slow Train to Dawn by The The.
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    • Day 14

      Day 13 - Toe Stubbing Agony

      December 23, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      At 9.00am, we donned our trainers & went out for a pre-breakfast jog. We run a little way along the road, then took a side road down to a beach.

      It was a eureka moment, when at the end of the road we discovered our idea of a perfect beach, a Palm Tree encircled sandy cove. It was actually the other half of Bamboo Beach we had been to the previous day.

      We ran along the Beach & headed home. Unfortunately with the tide in, we had to cross a small river. We could have just removed our trainers & paddled through it, but that would have been too easy. I wasn’t confident about jumping it, but Jackie was. Ladies first.

      It wasn’t pretty, she managed to get one foot wet on the takeoff & then land with both feet in the water, but worst still she tumbled forward on to all fours. Ending up in a similar position to someone I went fishing with!

      I was not so brave or stupid, so I took one shoe off & triple jumped it. We jogged and squelched home

      After a cold shower, there was a power cut for 8 hours we went out to Yawee Restaurant for coffee, mango & sticky rice, whilst Jackie had an enormous Club Sandwich. The food was excellent again.

      We then walked to our new found beach for some serious sun. We had a liquid lunch & more sun. Nothing could ruin the day.

      Around 4pm, Jackie asked if I would go back to the beach shack to get a bottle of water. Being the dutiful husband, I did without too much moaning, but less than 10 yards later, I kicked a buried chunk of dead coral. Flesh was hanging off the end of my middle toe of my left foot. There was blood everywhere & I was hopping around like a lunatic in absolute agony. I looked back at Jackie, only to discover she was openly laughing at me. She insisted on taking me down to the sea to wash it & presumably get attacked by a shark.

      When the pain finally subsided a little, about 2 hours later, I put on my flip flops & limped home. I can’t walk in flip flops at the best of times!

      Back at our room, I pulled off my flip flop & hobbled to the shower leaving a trail of blood in my wake. Brilliant, I am now going to be eaten alive by mosquitoes 🦟.

      That evening, I struggled out to the beach & we had spring rolls, green curry & Penang curry washed down with beer & wine to numb the pain. It was a very pleasant setting & ambiance, but the food wasn’t to the standard we have had in other restaurants on this trip.

      Song of the Day - Coral Fang by The Distillers.
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    • Day 15

      Day 14 - Santa Hat Selfies

      December 24, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      Who’d be so cliche’d & immature!

      Today we were awoken by an enormous gecko in our room squawking. We got up & hired a scooter from our lovely lady. She found us the best available bike & gave us a couple of ill-fitting helmets.

      The plan was go for a recce further a field & spend the day on the beach at the southern end of the island where the Same Same But Different Restaurant was situated. We recall that the beach was nice, but more importantly the restaurant did the best chicken & cashew nuts we had ever had.

      We set off on the coast road heading south, when after about 10 miles we found a French bakery that took our fancy. We got off the scooter & went to open up the seat under which was my bag & all our money. Hunting high & low, we couldn’t work it out, but a little old lady came over & showed us that it was the button next to the ignition. She tried it several times but still it didn’t work.

      In the end we had to get back on the bike & return to Lanta Happy Hills where our lady opened in a second, it was the switch next to the ignition, but the ignition key had to be at a certain position. So easy when you know how!

      We drove back again on the quite frankly terrible roads & stopped at our intended stop. We had half a homemade fresh baguette & coffee. Lovely, but naughty.

      On we continued to where I thought Same Same was. Every hundred yards or so, Jackie would pipe up ‘You sure we’ve not just gone past it’. Another 10 miles down the road, we arrived at Mu Ko Lanta National Park, where I thought Same Same was. Now there was an entry fee, 420 Baht (over £10). We paid it & very soon realised I was wrong. We had been here before when it was free & in-fact went for a jungle trek that turned into a nightmare for Jackie. She wasn’t wearing the correct footwear and fell over. Luckily Jackie didn’t say I told you so about a thousand times or say that it was a waste of money.

      Mu Ko Lanta National Park is a jungle swarming with monkeys & has a decent beach. We sat on the nice sandy beach for about an hour to try & justify the entrance fee, then we left. This was only after monkeys had raided another couple’s belongings whilst they were swimming and then returned a second time & actually opened their bag & stole a 100 Baht note & their wet wipes.

      We returned to the scooter & as we did on our previous visit, Jackie had to walk up the hill as it was too steep for both of us on the scooter. When Jackie finally reached me at the top of the hill, she got back on & we headed back the way we came. We stopped at another beach, thinking it was the one, it wasn’t, but we had a beer.

      Same Same turned out to be another 1.4 miles up the road. We stopped & both ordered the chicken & cashew nuts. It was nice, but not as fantastic as we remembered.

      After spending the rest of the day on the beach we returned home, not before stopping to buy a Santa hat & some reindeer ears for a selfie. That night we went out for a curry, then sat on our balcony & managed to stay up, just, to see Christmas morning in.

      Note the beaches & restaurants were full of tourists wearing Christmas headwear & taking selfies. I wouldn’t be lying if it was more than 50%.

      Song of the Day - We’re Not The Same by Wolf Alice.
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    • Day 16

      Day 15 - S̄uk̄hs̄ạnt̒ wạn khris̄t̒mās̄

      December 25, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      No presents to open on Christmas Day. We had already exchanged cards last night & Jackie’s was embarrassingly much better than mine to her.

      No one was up at our Lanta Happy Hills so we didn’t have the opportunity to say Merry Christmas to any fellow guests. We had breakfast at Yawee, then hit the beach.

      We had a few beers at lunchtime, then returned home at sunset for a shower & did the rounds of Christmas wishes by WhatsApp video calls & messages.

      Our big Christmas dinner was Pad Thai & Fried Chicken with garlic on the beach & a little bit of Christmas cake brought from home. It was nice, but not the Roast Turkey & all the trimmings that Chris & Angela had kindly laid on for us before we left.

      Song of the Day - All I Want For Christmas Is A Real Good Tan by Kenny Chesney.
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    • Day 19

      Day 18 - Ditto

      December 28, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      For the 1st time, we tried out breakfast in the canteen of our Lanta Happy Hills Resort. Bloomin’ good it was too. We had a huge bowl of muesli & pancakes to share.

      We returned to our spot on Beautiful Beach & stayed there all day apart from going to the
      shack for a lunchtime beer. We even stayed for sunset on the same spot.

      That night we went all Italian, when in Rome...... I had gnocchi & Jackie had mushroom tagliatelle. We even finished with a Tiramisu, which Jackie confirmed she still hates. We would have had wine, but they started at £25 a bottle!

      The end of the evening was spent on the balcony with a Hong Thong & watching Christmas telly on YouTube.

      Song of the Day - Sunset by Nitin Sawhney.
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    • Day 21

      Day 20 - Rude & Disrespectful

      December 30, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

      We had breakfast at the canteen, we both ordered muesli & coffee. It was then back to Beautiful Beach to secure our usual spot.

      Our usual route took us down to Relax Bay Beach, then across to Bamboo Beach & on to Beautiful Beach. As we passed Bamboo Beach, we saw a western man in his 70s walking stark bo£&%ck naked along the sand & enter the sea. Now we are not prudes, but there is absolutely no need for that behaviour, there are signs everywhere requesting that people dress modestly, including no topless sunbathing, let alone bottomless.

      By the time we reached Beautiful Beach we were all hot & bothered, it was an exceptionally hot day, so we chose to sit under the palm trees. At lunchtime we went liquid at the beach shack.

      In the afternoon we returned to the palm trees 🌴, but before long we had been invaded by ants, our mats were crawling with them. We vacated back to the sand, unfortunately taking a lot of the little buggers with us. Not the relaxing afternoon we had envisioned.

      That night we took a beach stroll & used my phone to identify the really bright star that from our location shines directly below the moon & half way between the moon & the horizon. It was the planet Venus.

      We ended up in Yawee Restaurant for dinner, which doesn’t serve alcohol. We were really hungry, which was bad news, because we started ordering comfort food. I had fried chicken for starters & main. Jackie had fried prawns. After we had finished our 2nd starter arrived, vegetable spring rolls which were also fried. We left feeling a bit sick.

      Song of the Day - Venus by the feelers.
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    • Day 22

      Day 21 - Too Old To Party

      December 31, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

      Started the morning with a sugar rush. We went native & ordered iced coffees from a roadside shack opposite Lanta Happy Hills. Jackie had an iced latte & I, an iced caramel, both made fresh to order with mainly sugar & carnation milk, making them ultra sweet.

      With breakfast done, it was then back to the beach for ant-free sunshine. At lunch we had Pad Thai & pineapple fried rice with a couple of Changs, then back to the sunshine.

      Now, over the last week we had noticed that in the afternoon young lads had come to the beach & handed out flyers for Beach Parties & Clubs, but they swerved around us. We presume we sadly look too old in their eyes to party. Well, it happened again but as the lad passed us, I guilt tripped him into giving us a flyer for tonight’s party at ‘Fusion Club Thailand’. Funky Tech House Music - we won’t be going!!

      We stayed for the last sunset of 2019, with a Chang & some selfies AND slow-mo Hoff impersonations.

      After walking home, we met Ling at reception without her hijab 🧕. She was on her hands & knees, not praying, but wrapping up a paper lantern which she presented to us as a gift. We enquired about where she would recommend we go for New Years Eve & she gave us a couple of options, but she was having an early night.

      We had dinner at Ni Restaurant, sat at the best table (for 4) in the house & had chilli chicken & a superb Massaman. A group, in just bras on their tops I hasten to add, were waiting for a table, but my thug face seems to have some benefits, because the owner asked another couple to move to a smaller table, instead of us.

      After dinner Jackie went to loo & was gone ages, other customers were waiting to go in. Eventually Jackie came back out with her trousers on back to front!! Yes I did just say that. Apparently her snazzy pantaloons fell to the soggy floor when she undid them, then she couldn’t remember how to put them back on. She tried several times to get them
      the right way round then gave up.

      Now 10pm, we walked a mile along to Phra Ae Beach to sus it out. It was full of locals waiting for midnight. We decided it wasn’t for us, so left straight away. I could hear a lot of chanting coming out of speakers within a market. I had to investigate, but Jackie wasn’t having any of it, so we agreed to meet up in Funky Monkey.

      I trotted into the market to discover it was very Muslim & I was the only westerner, but undeterred I found the source of the chanting. It was what looked like a prayer meeting (hopefully) led by an Imam sat on a stage & talking into a microphone to his worshippers or followers. I took a sneaky photo & got myself out of there.

      Jackie wasn’t in the Funky Monkey, she had gone shopping instead, but we luckily reunited, then walked home for a Hong Thong. At 11.30pm, armed with our paper lantern we headed for Relax Bay Beach. We based ourselves at the front of Blue Wave Bar with a Chang, then lit our lantern at 5 minutes to midnight. Our lantern set off into the night sky at the 1st time of asking & without disaster. That couldn’t be said for another hapless halfwit near us who managed to set light to the paper of his lantern & had to take a walk of shame back to the bar with just the circular metal frame & a still burning ring in the middle.

      At midnight we were treated to a decent firework display & a couple next to us even offered us a glass of their champagne 🍾 🥂, but Jackie declined before I could say anything. It was a lovely end to the year.

      Song of the Day - Lanterns by Passenger.

      Alternative Song of the Day - Back To Front by Stiff Little Fingers.
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    • Day 10

      This day started and ended with swimming

      November 6, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      At 6 o'clock, we both woke up to watch the sunrise and take an early morning swim in the beautiful lake . After breakfast, we had our last activity at the rainforest camp , we all stepped into a canoe . We explored the lake and the jungle from our boot . It was an amazing tour, and at the end, we were lucky to see a group of monkeys 🐒 . After a nice Thai lunch we had to leave the camp again we were boating for almost an hour over this beautiful lake . It was hard to leave this special place ...but.....our next stop Koh Lanta was waiting for us. A little bus was waiting for the two of us . The drive should be 4 hours. On the way e noticed that suddenly the air-condition wasn't working anymore and the car was slowing down and making funny noises ....that was the end ! 500 meters for the ferrie we couldn't go further. The driver didn't speak English, so the communication wasn't perfect , after a while speaking to somebody responsible for us in English they told us to walk to the ferry and at the other side would an other car wait for us . But walking 500 meters by this temperature with 2 bagpacks, 1 suitcase and 2 big sportbags ....no fun . Then the driver came with a scooter , Mees on the back with backpack and a sports bag, the suitcase between the drivers legs, me waiting for the next pick up 😂. But then suddenly a Thai family with a big pickup car with an empty trunk took us with them on the ferry . You can imagine the fun we had . We arrived at our hotel with a nice sunset , we dived into the lukewarm sea and finished this long and intense day with a nice meal.Read more

    • Day 12

      Biking on Koh Lanta

      November 8, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      This morning, we had again a little walk and swim in the sea. After breakfast, on our way to the ATM ,we saw rental bikes and decided to rent them for today. But first at 11 o'clock I sinded up for a Roti cooking class. Its a lot of work to make them, but for sure worthwhile. Some day back in Switzerland, I'll try to make them , that's a promise 😉. After that, we jumped on our bikes and went south and had at a very quiet restaurant with a great view our 🍜. Then we went uphill.... and uphill and at some point also downhill ! I think just Dutch foreigners do that with a temperature from 35° C 😋🙃. On the top ,at view point café we had a cold drink and really a nice view . Then we completed our tour , with a red head but also with a satisfied feeling we arrived back at our hotel where the pool was waiting for us .Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Ban Phra Ae, บ้านพระแอะ

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