Well we finally did it. We have been planning a trip to Thailand for many years now but always changed our plans for one reason or another. I have been going to Bali regularly since 1982 and my husband who is not originally from Australia but from Canada fell in love with Bali on his first trip in 1993. We have traveled extensively, we have lived and worked overseas, my husband had never been to Thailand, I went once about 20 years ago.
Where we went:
Bangkok: 5 nights Centrepoint Silom, great apartment close to the skytrain & river. Sightseeing, shopping & eating.
Kanchanaburi: 4 nights River Kwai Hotel, not so good hotel but in a good location in town. We went to and from by public 1st class aircon bus for about AU$3.00 each, we were quoted AU$80.00 and up for transfers. (Around 8am each morning they do the national anthem and flag raising ceremony, for the King & Queen. On our last morning and at the bus station this happened, H motioned for me to stop and to turn towards the ceremony which I did, after it had finished most of the local people in our vicinity turned to us and smiled giving us the bow & prayer greeting. One very old man gave us two thumbs up and a huge toothless grin.) Visited Saiyoke waterfall, war museums & war cemeteries, bridge over the River Kwai, walked hellfire pass and took a very scary trip on the train over the very high, sheer sided creaking viaduct and through the countryside.
Bangkok: 1 night Centrepoint Petchaburi again great apartment in a good location. (Stayed here due to an early morning flight to Krabi, originally booked 5 nights Kanchanaburi but we had a flight time and airport change due to problems with new airport in Bangkok.)
Krabi: 7 nights in a villa with own pool that I found surfing the net. Beautiful area surrounded by jungle 10 minutes from Ao Nang. Sightseeing, boat trip on Phang Nga Bay, relaxing, eating. Villa beautiful, staff great. The only thing I could have done without was the huge snake that slithered along the front of our Villa and past the exact position that our pool lounges would have been in if we had been outside. We had been outside at this time every other day, wanting to take full advantage of the pool, for some reason I suggested we stay in and put on a movie instead, how glad am I!
Phuket: 3 nights Kata Palm Hotel in a pool access room. Beautiful room, could have stayed much longer, liked the Kata area, lots of restaurants close by. Only booked 3 nights due to the time of year, glad we did as it was raining and overcast most of the time. Went to Patong for a visit, very busy, lots of Aussies, we didn't stay long, too busy & not a lot of charm, liked Kata much more.
Koh Samui: 7 nights Serene Hill Resort, Lamai, Wooden Villa at the very top of the hill, whewww! my legs can still feel the pain. They have a golf buggy to take you up and down but most of the time we tackled the climb. Small resort set on a hill overlooking Lamai beach. What a find, we had the resort to ourselves for most of our stay, only a handful of tourists passed through while we were there. Beautiful two tiered overflow pool & spa. Hundreds of birds & butterflies flitting through the fantastic gardens and drinking from and bathing in the pool, we didn't mind sharing with them at all. Hired a car & drove around the Island about three times, finding out of the way beaches & restaurants. Took an elephant ride in the jungle, this was a highlight.
Bangkok: 2 nights Marriott resort & Spa. We enjoyed this hotel as a place to relax prior to our 8am flight home. The hotel is lovely, the best beds & pillows ever found in a hotel. They have their own teak boat on the river that transfers you to Saphin Taksin pier & skytrain. The mini bar here was a shocker, small can of Singha beer, 30baht (AU$1.00 approx.) in most mini marts was 220baht (AU$7.30 approx.)
Overview:
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip, enjoyed the quality of all but one of the places that we stayed at. Loved the food and the quality of the food that we tried, whether it be from large or small restaurants or from the few food stalls we tried.
We walked extensively everywhere we went, a lot of the time we were the only tourists around. We never felt uncomfortable or threatened. We found Bangkok to be very clean for the amount of people. One amazing thing that we both commented on, was that even in crowded areas teaming with people it was very rare for anyone to invade your personal space, to touch you or to bump into you. We loved commuting by skytrain and riverboats. Loved Bangkok, thoroughly enjoyed the whole Kanchanaburi experience. Enjoyed Krabi but probably wouldn't return, we found it very expensive compared to Bangkok. We would return to Bangkok and to Kata Beach and maybe we would return to Koh Samui. Taxi drivers in Krabi & Koh Samui can be over the top in their pricing and heaven help you if you are caught in a downpour because the price can go up big time.
Comparison - Thailand & Bali
As I have said above we thoroughly enjoyed this trip and we in no way regret going. However!, there was something missing and yes we could put a finger on it. No it wasn't the cheaper prices of most things or the proximity to Australia.
We missed the genuinely beautiful nature of the Balinese people, we missed the 'good mornings'. We missed the smells & scents of Bali. We missed the character & the culture of Bali. We missed having our paths blocked by a colorful ceremony and we missed finding piglets playing in the laneway outside our hotel. We missed the good natured bargaining., That is exactly what bargaining in Bali can be if you yourself approach it that way. Some people may not like it but it's a way of life that has been around for a long time and to us it is what you make it.
"But most of all we missed the smiles".
I feel sorry for people who are not able to see past what they see as annoying bargaining, the cry's of Transport, transport, and people trying to rip them off. Yes some people in Bali may try to rip you off but where in the world don't you find this. The shop keepers & the transport drivers are only trying to make a living and yes they can be over the top at times but they have been doing it tough for a long time now, you need to try to keep all of this in perspective. If you let such things close your eyes and your mind you will certainly miss the things that keep most of us going back to Bali.
We were already planning another trip to Bali prior to going to Thailand and our trip as much as we enjoyed it has only made us want to return to Bali as soon as possible.
P.S.
To all of you who know of Joe & Flo, we decided to leave them at home this time. We had many flights and land transport and we were trying to travel light. We did however bring home a gift for Joe, Kata is a very large carved elephant and the first thing Joe did was take up the position of Mahout(spelling? or elephant trainer)
Coco