Visa Run: Vientiane, Laos

3rd August to 4th August 2011 Getting back to Bangkok Ned and Berna decided to head up North to Chiang Mai for a week while Djalma and I headed to the Lao capital to apply for a couple of two month visas.

From Laos Vientiane: Visa run 2

I must admit we didn't do a fat lot. We decided to stay in, try and flick the bed bugs off and watch endless amounts of the same adverts interspersed with a little American TV series. We did manage a bike round a couple of sights though.

From Laos Vientiane: Visa run 2

Unfortunately we also found out, at the border that Djalma could get another 3 month visa without visiting an Embassy. Not cool. On the plus side because of my mess up we travelled back to Bangkok first class.

From Laos Vientiane: Visa run 2

Phuket, Thailand

26th - 29th July 2011 Phuket is the largest island in Thailand. Fact. Roughly the size of Singapore it's main income is derived from tourism although it used to rely on Tin and Rubber. It also has a rather unfortunate reputation as a destination for sex tourism, fortunately, like most places these "hot spots" are rather confined to particular places. If you're really interested in where these places are, you can do your own internet search. It's also well known for it's gorgeous if developed coastline.

From Phuket, Thailand

I actually didn't see any beaches in Phuket, I spent some quality time with myself and those girls from Sex And The City when I should have been keeping my diary. Whoops. I also spent a lovely couple of hours on the phone to my wife. Got to love that woman!

From Phuket, Thailand

Djalma went out with his folks for a little stroll around town;

From Phuket, Thailand

And on the last day we all went out and got some excellent food at this amazing foodcourt - have you ever had raw spring rolls? Oh My God. Really they were that good , we didn't do much other than eat, Ned and Djalma went off to the hospital to get Ned a vaccination for rabies while Berna and I kicked back at the hotel. Fortunately the puke ferry wasn't repeated and we flew back to Bangkok.

Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

The beers I'm drinking, still ain't helpin'. Lets get through the beautiful spot on Earth that is Ko Phi Phi... Pulling up on our ferry we booked our (rather expensive) hotel rooms and then headed straight back out for another longtail boat tour. Don't get me wrong, southern Thailand is extraordinarily beautiful but it's all rather similar after a while. Kind of 'same, same but (not that) different' to put it in local Thai-glish.

From Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

We stopped round a few beautiful spots, no idea where we were save for the last spot...

From Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

the photo below was taken near the beach of one of these islands

From Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

as Djalma and Ned swam with the fish, Berna and I watched them as they crowded round the bread our Captain threw in from his packed lunch, they rather liked the curry too actually, now that's a Thai fish for you 'Massaman for me please'.

From Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

For those of you who didn't know, there are actually two islands called Ko Phi Phi. I know. Exciting. The one that EVERYONE stays on and is beautiful although very touristy is Ko Phi Phi Don and the smaller one, Ko Phi Phi Leh's claim to fame is that it appeared in 'The Beach' it also features plenty of signs advising to head to high ground in the event of a Tsunami. The brilliant white sand is one of the reasons you see that gorgeous transparent green in so many postcards, unfortunately you also need plenty of sun, it doesn't happen when it's hiding behind storm clouds.

From Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

Between my best efforts and the Picasa Photo editing system I think we managed the situation fairly well. We pottered round the beautiful beach while Djalma went round the back to snorkel a bit with the boatloads of other tourists keen to see the partially dead and dying coral.

From Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

I must confess that I'd been struggling with an attitude problem for a while. After much introspection I've come to the conclusion that adapting to new parents is a challenge that many people under estimate especially when it comes to situations when you're together for long periods of time. I must admit that I have some PRETTY FUCKING AWESOME parents in law, they're beautiful, generous and fun. Seriously, what more could I ask for?! Unfortunately, for me, I'm not Brazilian, I don't always get the Brazilian way of doing things and I am easily confused. I like to know what's going on (although I may present appearances to the contrary) and why people do the things they do, I like to know what things are important, which things aren't and generally where I stand. I think that most people out there, especially those who are in relationships with someone from a different cultural background, will agree with me when I say that things can be difficult when you don't always get the references for behaviour. Basically what this amounted to was a desire for space, which I got in Phuket. Result. In between we visited the natural amphitheatre on Ko Phi Phi Leh, which was really quite beautiful. Djalma and Ned got out for a swim.

From Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

After that we headed back to the Don to grab some beers and some food. The next day we headed out to Phuket.

Railay, Thailand

This is an awful cop out, but frankly, I CAN NOT BE BOTHERED TO BLOG. Sorry. After being dropped off on Railay we found a rather lovely hotel, a big step up from the roach friendly shacks the previous night.

From Railay, Thailand

We had dinner and the next day Djalma went out climbing, although it was supposed to be a half day course he basically got guided up the rock face but wihout the tips for technique, I must say that he looked pretty ripped when I eventually managed to get there and take some photos, see for yourselves:

From Railay, Thailand

We stayed the following night and then got a boat over to the legendary Ko Phi Phi of famed sandy beaches.

From Railay, Thailand

Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

23rd - 24th July 2011 Did I mention that Ko Tao was full of adolescent well muscled European party animals? Well, a large percentage of them also happened to take the night ferry back to the mainland. Joy. Kicking a couple of them off our mattresses and exchanging the condensation soaked sheets (from large bottles of Chang beer) with dry sheets from those yet to arrive and claim their 2 foot mattresses, we settled in to watch the young brown/pink crowd of youngsters talk loudly about recent drug experiences on Ko Pa-Ngan (THE full moon party Island), how messed up they were, who they'd met and slept with and how many of their bestest buddies they'd fallen out with, 'coz' like she was such a bitch'. The chatter started up periodically throughout the night but we did our best to sleep through the noise to be woken up around 5am when our boat shuddered to a halt and we got off.

From Ko Tao, Thailand

Bundled into a very comfortable minibus to be shipped to a not-so-busy toilet we then got into another minibus and from there dropped off in the middle of nowhere to wait for a tour bus to take us across land to Krabi. Of course, despite checking and being reassured that we were being dropped off in the centre of town we were in fact plonked down at a bus stop in the middle of no-where. Rather unimpressed, we had to pay a hundred baht more to get to the ferry point and then a boat round to Hat Son Tai. Note to anyone travelling this way, if you're getting the ferry from the Islands to the mainland, get yourself into town, ignore the touts surrounding the dock and use the government run minibus service, cheaper, less hassle and they'll drop you somewhere central. What a palaver.

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

On the upside, it was damn beautiful. As we bundled onto the boat for the last leg of our little trip, it was late morning, the sun was strong behind some white clouds and the karsts (the name of the rock formations here) were dotted about just offshore and in the distance looking rather surreal.

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

A few minutes later we pitched up at our rocky beach which, surrounded by towering limestone cliffs and accessible only by water, felt like a tiny remote island in the middle of no-where. We walked up the beach to the first set of shacks we came to and scored ourselves a couple of very basic cheap huts. Interestingly two huts cost just over half of what we paid for one hut on Ko Tao. We put our bags in the room making sure the zips were all done up, Berna had spotted a couple of spiders in their room (oh little did I know), and went out for some much needed breakfast/lunch.

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

Engines re-fuelled we spent the afternoon wandering up and down the little beach, Djalma and his Mum swimming while Ned and I walked at our own paces, exploring the stunning coastline. There were huge open rock-faces dotted with climbers almost as agile as the legions of monkeys that clambered across the rock and through the odd tree.

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

Staying out of our dark, damp rooms we decided to sit and play cards in the same restaurant we ate our lunch in, we watched the clouds roll in. Out across our little bay was a a group of small Islands and before long they were completely obscured by the heavy grey rain-clouds but the water in-between us as illuminated by the sun and shone a brilliant green.

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

We didn't and watch the spectacle for long thoughtfully the storm was headed directly for us and we bundled our things and ourselves behind the huge tarpaulins rolled down to provide the restaurant a bit of protection, Ned was the last to follow, calmly topping up his glass with the last his his beer confident he'd be quicker than the rain. Inside, safe from the battering wind and the driving rain Djalma and I decided to join his Dad and have a couple of beers as well. We passed the rest of the afternoon playing cards and drinking Singha, a very pleasant if unproductive way to spend the afternoon (practising yoga has been all too inconsistent since leaving Bangkok).

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

The rains cleared later in the afternoon, it had rained for hours and we'd been drinking all that time, needless to say that after dinner was over we had a very early night. Which brings us nicely to my little bedroom encounter... Walking into our room I noticed something move out of the corner of my eye, a good two inches of something, I let Djalma deal with our cocky uninvited visitor and started getting ready for bed, meanwhile in the bathroom Djalma swiftly despatched another two biggies and three smaller roaches. Teeth brushed, face washed I turned off the lights and lifted the mosquito net to get into bed. Horror of horrors, I felt something scratch against the bare skin of my stomach and screamed. Djalma, entirely unconvinced that I'd encountered yet another of the six legged kind, told me to stop being silly and come to bed. Feeling stupid but shaky I checked the mosquito net and saw the culprit, a shiny hard backed cockroach, feeling much more justified with my verbal outburst I told Djalma to have a look while I sat on the bed scratching my tummy and trying not to cry (I didn't last for very long before I allowed my violated self a tear or five). We made extra sure that the holey mosquito net was well and truly tucked in all the way round and then spent the rest of the night gasping for water but not drinking in case we should need the toilet and have to get out in the middle of the night. To cap off a nights sleep haunted by the thought of creepy crawlies, I awoke with the shits. Well ain't that the cherry on the top. I sat on the loo peeing from the wrong hole and feeling sorry for myself before sending out for some Imodium. Popping a couple of caps in my mouth I felt safe enough to leave the bathroom and venture out for breakfast. We ate, drank lots of tea and played some more cards, whereas Berna and Djalma had won last night, Ned and I kicked their asses in the morning which improved my mood no end. After a little rest back in the bedroom we went out to make the most of the day. From what I recall, we packed up our bags, waved goodbye to the 'roaches and chartered a long tail boat for a tour round some of the surrounding beaches and islands. I must confess that I was a wee bit stroppy and of the two photos there are of me, the only one showing my face, I look it.

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

We started off at a gorgeous beach with blindingly white sand and clear water, the Borges Martins' went for a dip, while I stomped about and took pictures of shells and reassured myself that the Imodium was working and that is was safe to fart.

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

From there we passed Chicken Island so named after the fowl like rock formation at one end of the island.

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

There were more stops in between, I think, but the second to last was a small spit of sand connecting two diminutive islands one of which was a nature reserve.

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

After more dips in the sea and more photos we headed to Railay West which while feeling like an island is actually on a peninsula with Railay East (mangrove and rock climbing) and Railay West (beautiful beach and more climbing).

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand

We had a look round the beach which was beautiful, surrounded by towering limestone cliffs with a Lingam Shrine at one end and then got back on the boat to be dropped off on the East side where cheaper hotels were based.

From Hat Ton Sai, Thailand