A few photos from Phuket and Koh Phi Phi are now online.
Categories: Getting around
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21.11.2006
After a 10 hours flight I arrived at 6 o’clock local time (= 24.00 in Germany) at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. It is a big airport with 4 floors and a lot of shops but not very frequented today - probably because it just opened recently. Here I have 3 hours stopover so I thought it is time for the first Mango Magic fruit drink and to lie around a bit in the recreation area. The flight with Thai Airways was quite comfortable - legspace was ok and the service very good. In a few minutes I will transfer to Phuket. Phuket town is on the East side of the island and about 30km from the airport. As the main beaches are on the West side I decided to take a taxi straight to the beach. Of course, I didn’t know where to go so I just chose one (Laem Singh) which “may be that elusive piece of paradise” according to Lonely Planet. It was nice and not very crowded so I stayed there two hours for swimming and lying around. Then I went on to Patong beach. I heard it is the main beach of Phuket and very touristic so I at least wanted to see it once to be able to judge what touristic means. The beach is several kilometers long and people are lying everywhere side by side. Along the beach there is the village. I have never been to Mallorca but when I saw that, Ballermann came into my mind right away - bars and clubs everywhere but in a style that simply is too much. In the late afternoon I took the bus to Phuket town. At this time I realized for the first time how cheap public transport is in Thailand. Whereas paying 350 Bath (about 7 Euros) for 20km taxi from the airport to the beach is quite good. the 20 Bath (about 40 Cents) for maybe 15km by bus really surprised me. In Phuket I stayed in On On Hotel at Phan-Nga road which was very simple but ok for one night (170 Bath), I ate the first time traditinonal Thai food (’front cooking’ right at the sidwalk - they only had one kind of soup with noodles and vegetables as well as grilled meat on small sticks). Afterwards, I met Joy from Belgium and we alked around a bit. Phuket town is not a place where you want to spend several days. It is all very dirty (I saw the first rat on the street) and there is nothing special. But I wanted to leave for Koh Phi Phi the next day anyway.
22.11.2006
Joy wanted to see the sunrise so I decided to join her, We met at 5 o’clock and walked up the hill, It was nice and the view on Phuket really good but unfortunately there were too many trees on the side on which the sun was rising so we didn’t see very much. At 8.30 h my boat left to Koh Phi Phi, Joy planned to go to Krabi by bus a bit later. After arriving at Koh Phi Phi Don island I ignored all the people offering expensive bungalows, boat taxis and sumilar things and walked a bit through the village right at the pier. Finally, I ended up at a nice beach bar next to the Tsunami Memorial Park, went swimming and juggled a bit. I have to say that because I haven’t had much time during the last weeks I am not very prepared for the journey, so at the beginning the question always is where to go, The one-page information provided for Koh Phi Phi in the Lonely Plannet Sooutheast Asia is ridiculus and not very helpful. I planned to stay for a few hours near the pier and to go on in the afternoon. A few days ago I was in contact with Ronald, an American guy who is in Koh Phi Phi for a few years already. He owns the Sports Bar there and is Couchsurfer. So in the afternoon I called him to hear in which area he lives and when he has time to meet. But I expected the island to be a bit different. It finally turned out that the area around the pier is not only the reception for tourists to sell tours and overprized goods but the main village of Koh Phi Phi, so the Sports Bar is also there and Donald catched me up within two minutes. I regreted a bit that I didn’t call him earlier as by that time everything was full and it was unpossible to find a room for a reasonable price. Finally we found a place where they have put a few tents in addition to their bungalows. So I decided to take one of those for the first night and change to another place in the morning, ass I could leave my valuable things in the bar it was ok. One has to say that Koh Phi Phi is quite expensive compared to other places in Thailand (although Patong at Phuket is worst from what I’ve heard) - they even charged me 400 Bath for the tent. In the evening we stayed at the bar and later we went on to Tigers for dancing.
23.11.2006
As the tent was too hot I already woke up around half past eight so I had enough time to look for a room. The first ferry arrives around 11 o’clock at Koh Phi Phi. As people come and leave every day it is easy to find a room in the morning but later it gets more and more difficult during high season. I went to The Rock Backpackers, a place which offers simple dormitories for 200 Bath a night (for one person probably one of the cheapest possibilities here on Koh Phi Phi). I thought I will still have enough possibilities for nice bungalows so I do not necessarily need it here where they cost far more than somewhere else in Thailand. And I am there only for a few hours at night anyway.
In the afternoon we made a hiking tour. First we went up to view point and sunrise view point which is a few hundred meters away from the normal view point. Then throught the woods to Runtee Bay. There we were snorkeling for maybe an hour (it’s great there because you see small fishes and riefs directly in the bay without the need for a boat) and then continued to walk along the coast to Loh Moo Dee Beach. From there we crossed the hill to Long Beach and went back to the pier. Great tour. In the evening watching several fireshows. Best one was at 23.00 at Hippies.
24.11.2006
Just signed up for a Open Water Diving Course which starts tomorrow. So I will probably stay four more nights on Koh Phi Phi.
So far I really enjoy my time here. I also tried to upload a first selection of photos but somehow it didn`t work on this computer.
Categories: Getting around
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After I handed in my thesis in on Wednesday I went back to Heidelberg in order to move out of my room and bring back my company laptop. Of course I also had to celebrate a bit, sleep a few hours and think about what I need to buy for the tour. I now have a new backpack, a mosquito net and a CF-Card for my Psion to be able to store photos on it. Most people told me not to take too much things with me because everything is cheaper in Thailand. Anyway, now I will have no other chance as all shops are closed. One day left for packing - I hope I will find everything I need tomorrow.
Categories: Getting around
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I just found CouchSurfing.com. The idea of this site is really great. You meet with travellers visiting your city or even offer them a place to stay. By now, 126992 Surfers are registered. In North America and Europe it is more popular than in Asia but maybe I’ll have a try during my backpacking tour.
Categories: Various, Getting around
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Gestern fiel mir beim Überfliegen einiger Forenbeiträge plötzlich das Kürzel SOA ins Auge. Man mag denken das ist ja nichts ungewöhnliches wenn man gerade eine Diplomarbeit über serviceorientierte Architekturen schreibt. Was mich etwas irriert hat war, dass ich in einem Thailand-Forum und nicht in einem IT-Forum war. Das manche scheinbar SOA auch als Abkürzung für Südostasien verwenden war mir bis dahin nicht bewusst. Da will man sich also nach einer langen Diplomarbeitsphase endlich mal wieder etwas Auszeit von SOA gönnen und stellt fest, dass man versehentlich nochmal zwei Monate Intensivkurs gebucht hat um SOA hautnah zu erleben. Naja, ich habe meine Entscheidung bisher trotzdem nicht bereut, aber irgendwie hat mich diese Entdeckung nochmal darin bestärkt, dass ich die Reiseberichte wohl größtenteils auf Englisch schreiben werde.
Categories: Getting around
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I booked my flight for a two month backpacker tour this week. I will fly to Phuket on November 20th and back from Ho Chi Minh City on January 23th. My initial plan for the route is to start with some of the islands in the south of Thailand (e.g. Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, Ko Tao, Ko Phangan, Ko Samui), than go north direction Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Muang Sing. I might continue in Laos (Luang Prabang, Vientiane) and then go down to Kaombodscha (Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh); from there further to Vietnam, especially Ho Chi Minh City, Mui Ne, Hoi An and maybe Hanoi in the north but there is probably not enough time. I still don’t know for sure which route I will take and I will probably decide a lot of things spontaneously. So any insider-tips for e.g. cities, scenic attractions or good hostels in this regions are very welcome.
Categories: Getting around
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