Posts Tagged ‘SE Asia’

Thailand: Bangkok
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to Thailand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

[singlepic=475,200,,,right]We left the quiet windy roads of New Zealand, where we were greeted by sheep at every turn, to the tuk-tuk filled traffic of Bangkok, where the King’s smiling face looked down at us from billboards, banners, and even buildings.  Bangkok travel would definitely prove to be a completely different experience.

Having arrived late afternoon, we decided to fight off travel lag by exploring the Suan Lum Night Bazaar for Michael’s first market experience in Thailand. Rows upon rows were filled with fabrics, t-shirts, carvings and jewelry, among hundreds of items. But bargaining would wait for another day as we headed to the open beer garden for Thai food and beer.

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Thailand: Koh Ngai
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to Thailand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

[singlepic=634,175,,,right]We barely got to Thailand and already we were off and running. Our next stop – Trang in the south. This is where CCS’s other Thailand program is based and I was excited to see the staff again and have Michael meet them. It’s a short flight to Trang so we arrived in time for an early lunch with the staff. All of the volunteers had already left for the weekend, so we had them all to ourselves.

Over a delicious spicy meal the staff deliberated on what Michael’s Thai nickname should be (everyone in Thailand has a nickname). When I was last here, they bestowed “Chabaa” upon me, which translates into hibiscus flower (or crazy woman, depending on the tone. And that’s how I probably pronounce it as I always get laughs after I introduce myself). So they decided Michael should be “Nahm” which means water. Because, as they say, Chabaa needs Nahm. Awwwww.

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Thailand: West Railay
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to Thailand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

[singlepic=664,200,,,right]One thing is for sure the Thais really have the tourist transportation down. Whether it’s by longtail, ferry or high-speed boat by water, or minivan, tuk tuk or bus on land, the various networks of getting from one destination to the next is relatively easy to do – even if you don’t speak the language.

Our next destination was West Railay beach, which is situated in the province on mainland Krabi. From Kho Ngai we took a high speek boat to Ko Lanta (1 hr.) where we met up with a ferry heading to Ao Nang – the drop off point for destinations to Krabi. And as West Railay was tucked in amongst massive limestone walls, the only way to get there is by longtail boat, which picked us up from the ferry.

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Thailand: Khao Lak & Tsunami
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to Thailand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

[singlepic=560,250,,,right]From West Railay we decided that our next port of call and home base would be Khao Lak, which is situated just 70km north of Phuket. All we knew about Khao Lak was it was a great starting point for dive trips to the Similan Islands and that it was the area of Thailand most affected by the December 2004 tsunami.

Curiosity factor did play in part to us staying here, as we wanted to learn and understand more how that tragic day affected the community. One of our first stops was to the Tsunami Volunteer Center, where we got more details about the “numbers” (of the almost 9,000 people killed in Thailand, nearly 5,000 were from this area alone) as well as the various sustainable projects they have set up in response to the immediate and long-term affects of that day. They also provided us some information on some of the “landmarks” that are still there, showing the physical signs of the devastation. We would later spend a day on scooter doing a self-guided tour (see slideshow).

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Thailand: Khao Sok & Similan Islands
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

Michael and I traveled to Thailand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

[singlepic=607,200,,,right]Of course our stop wasn’t just about the tsunami – we also managed to squeeze in some trips.  On one of these trips we visited Khao Sok National Park.  Known for its great jungle treks, we decided to let the elephants do all the work on this particular trek.  Lumbering along from atop our ride, we were taken along a beautiful hike to a waterfall, where we would stop for a “rest” and the elephants would get a bath.

After meandering back, we got to reward our ride with a “tip” – bananas.  We followed suit and had lunch at one of the parks lodges, which consisted of tree top bungalows.  Then a canoe trip down the jungle river, passing large limestone karsts that are believed to have been part of a reef system spanning from China to Borneo – five times the size of the Great Barrier Reef.

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Thailand: Homestay with Andaman Discoveries
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

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Michael and I traveled to Thailand as part of our 2007 career break. The following is an excerpt from our travel blog.

Of all the places we would visit on this trip, the last place I thought Michael would be able to relate to the most was a small Muslim Village in Thailand.  But surprisingly, he eased right into sleeping on a mattress on a floor under mosquito netting with roosters crowing at 2am, speaking a completely different language from anyone else around us, and feeding baby goats twice a day.  But he easily compared it to consulting – traveling endlessly from one hotel to the next, needing to learn a new dialect or corporate speak, and understanding a new corporate environment and supporting it.  Makes perfect sense.

Our stay in Tung Nang Dam was thanks to Andaman Discoveries – an offshoot of the North Andaman Tsunami Relief (NATR) organization.  As their website states “we started by doing relief projects FOR community members, then we progressed to development projects WITH community members, now we are assisting with projects led BY community members.”

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