The next leg.
by the way...thanks CasadeTodd...you are right. 3 weeks is making it worthwhile.
------
The next leg.
I'm in the Hotel Atlanta in Bangkok...my sort of home base for these little excursions...as I prepare to set off for the south islands.
I am heading to the Eastern side islands in the almost deep south, but not too near the border.
I'm heading to Ko Samoi...but actually, not really as I will be staying and spending time on the 2 neighboring island just north of Ko Samoi which are Ko Tao and one that is very hard to spell which is actually my preferred destination of all of it.
What I do might depend to some degree on how hard the fisherman try to work me with the wallet. If they play nice, I will happily give them the baht (money), and I will go exactly where I wanna go. Otherwise, some cool other door will open up.
After that, I will probably spend a day in Krabi just to lay my peepers on it.
That's about as far ahead as I have planned, and that little leg will probably take 5 or 6 of my 10 remaining days in Thailand...or is it 11?
I would really like to see Sukhotai, but don't know if it's gonna happen, and I would somewhat, but don't care too much, like to see Ko Samet.
I will skip Phuket because of various things I've heard none of which I can remember at the moment. I'm sure it's worth seeing and very cool (but a bit sad, of course), but I'm not feelin it this time around. Same for Ko Lanta which was rapidly becoming the next in spot before the tsunami hit (Or so the Lonely Planet says, haha)
I stayed in a kick ass place in Chiang Mai in the fairly far up north called the Awana Guest House near the Tapae Gate and right ON the walking market of Sundays. The night Bazzaar in Chiang Mai is THE tourist attraction in the city every night, but I preferred the walking market. The night market is INSANE, but you must do it. You will get better prices at the walking market, however.
Montri Hotel seems to be pretty cool too (in Chiang Mai) right near Awana, and they have a GREAT Internet cafe for people watching and fast DSL speed and they serve you drinks and food and everything.
I went for the Thai New Year (Songkran) as I think I have already mentioned, and it is REALLY REALLY fun. Put your money and passport in a GOOD plastic bag or leave it at the hotel. YOu will be soaked 100 times over. And, NO, that was not an exaggeration.
YOU WILL GET SOAKED UNTIL NIGHTFALL!
Whole battalion of cars and mostly open roofed trucks will transport 5-10 little "soldiers" armed with the best most powerful squirtguns you've ever seen.
Some of them just use a huge pail of ice water and it leaves a mark, baby.
You will f'n shiver if it happens to you, and it's like 90 degrees outside, and you will STILL shiver for a few minutes.
The street looks like a bloody riot. Traffic consisting of HUNDREDS of motorbikes and open backed trucks (mostly) and people weaving in and out of them STOPS completely for hours. You cannot get anywhere. DO NOT bring your camera!!!!
Although, I've got some pictures for you, mon freres, because I spent the first of the 3 days of Songkran riding around in a air-conditioned cab like the little LA bitch I can sometimes be.
And I burned them bitches to CD at the local shop for 3 dollars US...kind of expensive actually for Thailand!
But seriously, folks, I really did wanna get the good pictures, and it was the only way that I could think to do it driving around in the cab.
Day 3, however, I really got out there and soaked some people...hundreds of them. I took my squirtgun, too, but it wasn't very good firepower...I lost many a battle!!!
I lost many a battle to 4 and 5 year olds!!! They grinned and laughed like hyenas while I was target practice. Oh, the farang (foreigners) are so funny to them!
By the way what's cuter than a baby?
A Thai baby.
They blow away the cute-o-meter.
Just something that popped into my head.
I went around on the motorbike in Chiang Mai to see the Snake Farm and the birds and some exotic other animals and to see the racing countryside peel back the odometer.
The perimeter of Chiang Mai (where the Snake Farm, Waterfall, the Four Seasons Hotel Resort and a bunch of other stuff is) is absolutely essential to see.
A random thought:
I have heard this: DO NOT fall in love with a bar girl!!!!
DO NOT DO IT.
I didn't happen to me, cuz I ain't here for that sort of thing, so I'm not as easy prey.
Jesus Christ man!
I'm in Thailand. It's like...a lot different, even, than ECHO PARK!!!!
It's, like, so fuckin cool!
I am having massive difficulties learning even the simplest phrases. But I am really starting to work on it.
See ya kiddies.
------
The next leg.
I'm in the Hotel Atlanta in Bangkok...my sort of home base for these little excursions...as I prepare to set off for the south islands.
I am heading to the Eastern side islands in the almost deep south, but not too near the border.
I'm heading to Ko Samoi...but actually, not really as I will be staying and spending time on the 2 neighboring island just north of Ko Samoi which are Ko Tao and one that is very hard to spell which is actually my preferred destination of all of it.
What I do might depend to some degree on how hard the fisherman try to work me with the wallet. If they play nice, I will happily give them the baht (money), and I will go exactly where I wanna go. Otherwise, some cool other door will open up.
After that, I will probably spend a day in Krabi just to lay my peepers on it.
That's about as far ahead as I have planned, and that little leg will probably take 5 or 6 of my 10 remaining days in Thailand...or is it 11?
I would really like to see Sukhotai, but don't know if it's gonna happen, and I would somewhat, but don't care too much, like to see Ko Samet.
I will skip Phuket because of various things I've heard none of which I can remember at the moment. I'm sure it's worth seeing and very cool (but a bit sad, of course), but I'm not feelin it this time around. Same for Ko Lanta which was rapidly becoming the next in spot before the tsunami hit (Or so the Lonely Planet says, haha)
I stayed in a kick ass place in Chiang Mai in the fairly far up north called the Awana Guest House near the Tapae Gate and right ON the walking market of Sundays. The night Bazzaar in Chiang Mai is THE tourist attraction in the city every night, but I preferred the walking market. The night market is INSANE, but you must do it. You will get better prices at the walking market, however.
Montri Hotel seems to be pretty cool too (in Chiang Mai) right near Awana, and they have a GREAT Internet cafe for people watching and fast DSL speed and they serve you drinks and food and everything.
I went for the Thai New Year (Songkran) as I think I have already mentioned, and it is REALLY REALLY fun. Put your money and passport in a GOOD plastic bag or leave it at the hotel. YOu will be soaked 100 times over. And, NO, that was not an exaggeration.
YOU WILL GET SOAKED UNTIL NIGHTFALL!
Whole battalion of cars and mostly open roofed trucks will transport 5-10 little "soldiers" armed with the best most powerful squirtguns you've ever seen.
Some of them just use a huge pail of ice water and it leaves a mark, baby.
You will f'n shiver if it happens to you, and it's like 90 degrees outside, and you will STILL shiver for a few minutes.
The street looks like a bloody riot. Traffic consisting of HUNDREDS of motorbikes and open backed trucks (mostly) and people weaving in and out of them STOPS completely for hours. You cannot get anywhere. DO NOT bring your camera!!!!
Although, I've got some pictures for you, mon freres, because I spent the first of the 3 days of Songkran riding around in a air-conditioned cab like the little LA bitch I can sometimes be.
And I burned them bitches to CD at the local shop for 3 dollars US...kind of expensive actually for Thailand!
But seriously, folks, I really did wanna get the good pictures, and it was the only way that I could think to do it driving around in the cab.
Day 3, however, I really got out there and soaked some people...hundreds of them. I took my squirtgun, too, but it wasn't very good firepower...I lost many a battle!!!
I lost many a battle to 4 and 5 year olds!!! They grinned and laughed like hyenas while I was target practice. Oh, the farang (foreigners) are so funny to them!
By the way what's cuter than a baby?
A Thai baby.
They blow away the cute-o-meter.
Just something that popped into my head.
I went around on the motorbike in Chiang Mai to see the Snake Farm and the birds and some exotic other animals and to see the racing countryside peel back the odometer.
The perimeter of Chiang Mai (where the Snake Farm, Waterfall, the Four Seasons Hotel Resort and a bunch of other stuff is) is absolutely essential to see.
A random thought:
I have heard this: DO NOT fall in love with a bar girl!!!!
DO NOT DO IT.
I didn't happen to me, cuz I ain't here for that sort of thing, so I'm not as easy prey.
Jesus Christ man!
I'm in Thailand. It's like...a lot different, even, than ECHO PARK!!!!
It's, like, so fuckin cool!
I am having massive difficulties learning even the simplest phrases. But I am really starting to work on it.
See ya kiddies.