rokna blue: perspectives // weblog: 2013/04

#4: NORTHERN and SOUTHERN THAILAND - PENANG (MALAYSIA)
April 24 | Berlin, Germany.
Ignoring the fact to be finally back home in not-so-much-freezing-anymore Berlin and contemporaneously envying all the people who are still able to enjoy infinite freedom on the road, devouring fruit shakes, sunshine, coral reefs and the like. Hooray, you people! (It's still alright to be back home, one only now entirely appreciates really, as usual). I see you again one day.
Having remarked that it's time to look back on the last and final chapter of this year's South-East Asian travel - my good friend and wonderful travel companion cK has just recently published an excellent travel survey with the very likable title "Whale of a Time".

The following report covers some wonderfully magic places in Northern Thailand (Tha Ton, Pai and Chiang Mai), Thailand's South (Phuket Town and Island, Ko Phayam, Chumphon and Ko Tao) as well as a short, but certainly amazing detour to Malaysia's Penang Island (with its historical Georgetown).
From Chiang Rai (about a month ago) we took a long tail boat to a sleepy town near the Myanmar boarder: Tha Ton. Most notably were the stunning surrounding scenery (that made one wish to simply hold on and take some time out camping within the mountains and forests on either shore), an elephant range (that allowed feeding to and picture-taking from these all-time sublime creatures) and, once having settled in Tha Ton, discovering a rather complex Buddhist temple and stairs complex including a very curious young to-be-monk boy and a sunset view beyond the river and vast forests.

Next morning we headed on South. Next target had been a place celebrated with the following description in our guide book: "Pai is something of a traveler's mecca, a little corner of the world that happens to be in Thailand that seems to attract artists, musicians and foodies [having a] live-music scene". That actually hits it pretty much, hence the quote. If you happen to be around, don't hesitate - come and visit! It's one of these places you might actually get stuck in (very much like Don Det in the Mekong archipelago) and we met several people who did. Granted, the hairpin curves on the way up were rather devastating (and might actually be one more reason why people don't fancy leaving). However, there is much to do around town and it is actually doable by bicycle (even though the waterfalls might be horribly far away - so start early and ignore all distance scales (inaccurate and hence frustrating) as well as yelling old women on the side roads, they likely want to sell you opium (but maybe you actually wanna try some? In Thailand? Nothing's impossible, it seems). We saw more elephants on the way (which keep being abused for pointless riding around on the countryside - still better than making them work on construction sites or the-like), fed them with tasty bananas in exchange for tons of gorgeous photo material (check on the upcoming picture gallery!) and, again, got stuck - enchanted by their striking presence.
We heard about a monthly art/music/fire exhibition/gig from a fellow traveler who happened to be from Berlin (hi there, Philine!), got the flyer and found our way there by walking through nightly dark roads off town. That place worked as some kind of festival-foreboding for me, we fancied it a lot and soon decided to stay longer than originally planned. Rightly so: Old friends from Sweden joined us on our last night and we made it a blast - there is basically one major street filled with bars that connects to a bridge and two more clubs on the other side and we again ended up playing our own electronic music favorites) one time, later simply hanging around at a lovely fireplace, sipping cheap and tasty beers, exchanging perceptions of mind-thrilling musical moments (this will destroy you and pbx funicular intaglio zone) and wondering about life and love.

Chiang Mai (pop 150,000), also proudly known as Thailand's Capital of the North, was next and we basically did the following: getting lost on night markets, in several excellent book shops and while riding bikes (definitely being worth it) - ending up strolling around the Foreigner's Cemetery in the South East and certainly buying too many books (can there ever really be too many of 'em, though?). It was massively hot! - and no wonder, only days away from the annual lunar New Year celebration (called Songkran) between April 13 to 15, which will undoubtedly used to get you wet (and everyone everywhere around you. Sadly we missed all the fun... at least we didn't get all those books watered. However, we also chatted with monks, met and hang out with the Swedish one last time and I even considered taking a meditation course in one of the temples, but discarded the idea due to lack of time (how ironic).

From Chiang Mai it meant long-distance bus again (since we decided against the train hassle at this stage), mission: avoiding to get stuck in Bangkok and getting further South as quick and efficient as possible, precise target unknown. And we managed. Right after a real smooth and very comfy night trip (which always saves up money for accommodation - not that it would be too expensive, anyways) we got on a cab and made our way to the Southern Bus Terminal. Still not having any clue where to go we decided for what seemed furthest away (and closest to the Malaysian boarder) and this happened to be the island of Phuket, once "an important centre for Arab, Indian, Malay, Chinese and Portuguese traders" (LP) where we spent a whole lot of time walking around at night just after arrival, seeking a reasonably cheap room (knowing that it would be harder in the South and on the islands), indeed struggling at first, but eventually being rewarded by quite a cheapie (the Thavorn Hotel at Thanon Rasada). After some more-than-necessary hours of sleep it was Kuta Beach the next day (March 29). Just as a reminder: the whole Andaman coast (the one towards West/the Indian Ocean had been hit by a magnitude 9.3 tsunami on December 26, 2004, reaching as high as 10 metres, killing at least 5,000 in Thailand (many more in surrounding countries). I later watched the Spanish film Lo Imposible (starring Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor) dealing with a more personal approach to the disaster, telling it from one family's perspective - highly recommendable.

Just another night bus carried us further South, to Hat Yay. While waiting there for the sun to rise and the first bus of the day making its way to the Malaysian frontier we got to know Brandon, a mid-twenty U.S. American who was just on his way to Kuala Lumpur (better known as simply KL) for visa purposes, an impressive source for blasting stories that makes one think of Bret Easton Ellis' The Rules of Attraction, just loads more likable. Hope our ways will cross again one day, life might just be long enough.
After having walked over the boarder we managed to get on a local bus to the next big city (Kangar) where our ways split after one tasty lunch break; cK and I took a Butterworth-bound bus, Brandon one to the Malaysian capital. In Butterworth, where they're just building a new railway station, we immediately booked tickets for a sleeper carriage back up into Thailand, then got on the ferry to long yearned-for Georgetown on the island of Penang, "affectionately known as the Pearl of the Orient, one of the best-known an most-visited corners of Malaysia [and] the only one of the country's 13 states to have a Chinese majority population" (LP). My sister had been here various times whose stories left me more or less biased on whether I would like Georgetown. I, indeed, fancied it a lot - we both did. Its architecture is delightful, no doubt - better even are its food choices (we went for everything Indian mostly - incredibly tasty, hot, cheap and vegan. What more could one ask for?). Transport on the island is fairly straight-forward - buses to anywhere leave right from the ferry terminal and prizes are okay, too (about a €1 on average). We stayed one night in a guest house opposite of famous Love Lane, the remaining two in a reggae place owned and/or operated by a guy called Jim (a little further North in Lebuh Chulia) - probably the cheapest place in town. I soon connected to some fellow travelers (two German girls called Alice and Patricia, another German couple and a French girl) and spent my nights talking and consuming, erm, beer with them. Excellent place, excellent target audience. Unforgettable. We spent one long afternoon reading on quite a boring beach near Teluk Bahang (North coast) and another exploring the Southwest (beyond Balik Pulau) - Pulau Penang clearly isn't much of a place for water-related activities and I didn't spend much time swimming (even though the beach at Batu Ferringhi is supposed to be acceptable, even if likely crowded). Apart from watching On The Road, shortly considering a life in Bali, Indonesia I feel the urge to mention a thunderstorm over Georgetown - not at all unlike one I've witnessed with my beloved friend Rita on a far-off farm in Guatemala, two years ago. Some unique magical moments keep adjunct throughout time and space.

The sleeper train towards Thailand had been more than we could have wished for: delightfully comfortable - just the right thing after a severe hang over from three intense nights. They dropped us in Chumphon, a city mostly known to travelers as the ferry port to the island of Ko Tao. We weren't going to the Gulf yet, though, and spent quite some time wandering around in darkness, one more time seeking the proper bus station, again realizing how tricky things can turn out if you simply don't speak the local language (I indeed wish I would have put more efforts in learning phrases at least). It had been a pure mess, but not too long after passing through a huge inside food market we found ourselves on the bus to Ranong from where we hopped on a ferry to an island named Ko Phayam that had been recommended to us by both Philine in Pai and the German couple in Georgetown, Malaysia. Both parties mentioned a Thai guy called Juppi who would evidently speak fluent German with a strong Berlin accent (how very fetching!) who happened to be the owner of one of the bungalow places on the island's very South. Once arrived we indeed found ourselves speaking German again - plus a very beautiful, reasonably empty long-stretched beach, just what we were dreaming of. The season, now in early April, had already been quite low and so had been the general amount of foreigners in the surrounding beach bars. We stayed another two nights and used one of 'em for quite an adventurous walk crossing the island in utter darkness (wouldn't it be for the torches), only to end up at a half-moon party. And then I can't help it but wonder why it is that so many Thai people handling money seem to be incapable of counting it correctly... however, lay back and relish is the motto.

The return trip from Ranong to Chumphon turned out slightly more complicated than we expected, but nothing could stop us now. One more island to come, one last time beach-bumming in South-East Asia for, possibly, a very long time indeed. Ko Tao it was. LP describes it as a "lush, pistachio-coloured island blessed with crystal clear water and trippy coral reefs shallow enough for beginners to explore" (it's also one of the world's cheapest places to learn diving). We decided against staying in Hat Sai Ri, but headed South again: Ao Chalok Ban Kao it was in the end and we didn't regret it (not for the two days and nights we had left). However, that major bay actually wasn't the nicest place for a swim (and neither is the West coast in general). After getting on a boat to do some snorkeling on Ko Nang Yuan (certainly alright, but nothing special really), we spent a whole day devouring Ao Leuk which also happened to be our final place to swim in: brilliant water quality, pleasant and very relaxed traveler folks, real nice coral reefs. Perfect place for some ultimate sunbathing. (I dare-say that any of the East-side beaches might be as blissful, so if you get the chance...)

Food and all kind of shopping naturally happens to be noticeably more expensive on any island than on the mainland, hence we waited for Bangkok to get things done shopping-wise. And we did, indeed! After a mellow ferry ride back to Chumphon (again!) we got on the train right after revisiting our personal most favorite Vegetarian food stall. The train hadn't been as charming as the last one, but clearly much cheaper. And now everything was happening reasonably swift - cab to good ol' Thanon Khao San - dropping our backpacks in some guest house - breakfast (Pad Thai without eggs and way too hot) - parting ways from cK - trying to figure out how much additional money would be needed - strolling around until the shirt stalls would open up - getting as many as I could justify with my conscience (and wallet interiors) - getting back with cK again and doing some shopping together - sarongs still being unbelievably expensive, wifebeater shirts reasonably cheaper in turn - buying a fake brand day-pack just to transport all the novels that happened to catch my attention - negotiating prices - savoring a last fruit shake and one very final Pad Thai for each of us. And that was it. Missing our plane because of the cab we got stuck in traffic... nah, not quite - but not far from it! I can't stress enough how very exhausting and annoying it might turn out when being under time pressure before a flight departure: Bangkok traffic is notorious, especially in rush hour and we should have known better. In case you're reading this, still being on the road: make sure to give it a rather generous spare hour (or maybe you want to miss your plane, by pure accident, of course - then never mind, it's not your fault, it's the traffic's. Enjoy an additional month of traveling in the area - or how long it will take ya to get off, maybe forever. Either way: You will be back. I will, we will.