Relaxing Beach Days in Koh Lipe, Thailand

Arriving in Koh Lipe was breathtaking! The water was crystal clear turquoise. Sunrise Beach was picturesque with longboards were floating in the bay. Yay! This is what I was looking for in an island. Tony had told me I could snorkel from the beaches and the sand was soft and white. I could see Mila Resort had sent someone to pick me up! Yes! Nothing better than your name on a sign. I waded in to shore and waited for them to unload the bags. I saw that I was going to have to wade back to the boat to get my bag. Ugh! I always expect to fall into the water with my backpack. It is inevitable and the waves always make it harder to balance with a full load. At least the water was perfect temperature. I was excited to get to Mila Resort and hit the beach.

There were 3 of us going to Mila Resort in one small cart hooked to the side of a scooter. I looked at the amount of luggage and all 3 of us were bigger. I know the guy was trying to figure out how we were all going to arrive in one piece. When I saw the roads, I wondered too! We got stuck at two hills. The first hill the driver got 2 people to grab hold of the back of the cart and run uphill pushing us. At the second hill, I looked at him and asked if he wants us to walk up. He smiled and asked if we minded. No problem. As we rode across the back roads of the island I wondered if I had made a bad decision. We passed a dump and I giggled. I have seen so many dumps in my travels! The areas we passed were homes of the villagers. It was poor. One of the guys at the resort described it as "I thought I was in the slums of South Africa." It did not have the island beach feel that I had seen as I goggled Koh Lipe. I realized this is how the people live. While those of us on vacation live it up at the big resorts with beautiful settings, the people that work at the resort have much different living situations. When we pulled into Mila Resort, I smiled. This is what I wanted. A relaxing beach stay.  It was the first grass lawn I had seen at an island resort. It was a beautiful courtyard of grass and trees surrounded by wood Balinese bungalows and a turquoise beach in the distance. I had just stepped into heaven.

Now, I am on a budget and went with the cheap option, I did not book the Balinese bungalows. I went for the cheap garden view bungalow. It was the best room I have had in my 4 months of travel. And the bed! OMG! It was soft and cozy! There were 4 pillows on the bed. I laid down and new immediately I was going to sleep really well here. I have loved Asia, but the beds are rock hard.

I settled in, put on my swimsuit and hit the beach. It was perfect! The water was clear. I barrowed snorkel gear and went out to explore. I was having a hard time finding a mask that fit. I finally decided to ask if anyplace on the island sold snorkeling gear. After lunch, I walked to town to the Walking Street. The first shop was a dive shop and they helped me find a mask. Afterwards, I walked down the main street it was evident that I was visiting during low season. Most of the shops were closed. I did not see many people or restaurants that were open. I liked it. My own island! 

I loved this sign in town! No, I did not get a tattoo. 

When I got back to the resort I enjoyed the beach and relaxed before dinner. I filled my days with sleeping, snorkeling, kayaking and eating. It was a perfect getaway and I extended my stay to 5 days. Koh Lipe is small enough you can walk from one side to the other to swim or snorkel. I loved my time at Mila Resort. The staff are friendly and welcoming. Most of them were from Myanmar and were excited to hear that I had visited their home.

I had planned to take a snorkeling trip of the islands but never found an opening for one person. I decided the snorkeling was good off the beach. It was a relaxing 5 days just enjoying life. Ahhh...this is living! How will I ever go back to a 9-5 job? No worries, I have several more months of pure joy ahead of me!

Snorkeling and Relaxing in Koh Tao, Thailand

I left Myanmar on June 18 and made a quick stopover in Bangkok. I enjoyed some good food, bought a few supplies and was ready to head south to the islands! I am planning on the next month hopping from one island to the next looking for some relaxation, snorkeling and a little break from sightseeing. I am tired and need a break from sightseeing. I need to just to live life. I may even try to find an apartment for a week just to decompress and get ready for China. Yes, this daily life traveling is hard work! Ha, ha! But I love it!

My first island of choice was Koh Tao. I have decided to skip Phuket and Phi Phi since it is rainy season. I booked the night bus leaving Bangkok and a ferry to Koh Tao. Why Koh Tao? Well, it is in the Gulf of Thailand and it is not rainy season. Most people head to Koh Tao to get certified to scuba diving. With asthma, I know better so I was planning a snorkeling trip and relaxing in a hammock while I figured out where to go next.

The bus trip was long and hot. You put a bus load full of westerners on an overnight bus and it is long, hot and sweaty. Add in that it was the week of the full moon party in Koh Phengan and it was an adventure on its own. People were drinking on the bus and it felt like the days of a frat party! Not in the good way, the bad way. It was a long trip to the ferry. After 7.5 hours we arrived at Chumphon to wait 2 hours for the first ferry to Koh Tao. As we boarded the boat and left the harbor I was happy to be at the sea. I have noticed I get calmer when I am surrounded by water. The ferry ride was pretty rough. Guys were throwing up over the side....probably from the beer on the bus all night. On of them was shocked as he talked to a scuba diver and realized he had to take tests. He actually thought he could just put on the gear and go in the water. He asked if he had to be sober. Seriously!?!?! The ferries first stop was the national park Koh Nuang Tuan. It was beautiful. Three small islands connected by sandbars. Only one hotel/bungalows were on the island. The water was crystal clear.  I knew when I saw it that I wanted to get back over to swim at this beach. It was beautiful! 

Moondance Majic View Bungalows

I was lucky I had read the reveiws to request a pick-up at the pier. The hotel was on the east side and a 10 minute ride but 45 minute walk to the main town. You definitely need 4x4 to get there as the raod was not paved and a rocky. But when I arrived at the hotel I was happy. I had a great bungalow overlooking the ocean with a fantastic bamboo hammock on the porch.  

It was a small hotel and more suitable for newlyweds so I was prepared for some quiet time. When I checked in to the hotel, I was greeted by Tony. He does everything and makes sure the guests get what they want/need. He showed me the path to get down to the water and where to find the snorkel gear. I told him thanks and asked for breakfast first. After 3 weeks of eggs and toast I was happy to see museli, yougurt and fruit on the menu! Afterwards I decided to hike down to the beach and enjoy some swimming. The hike was fun and felt a little adventurous. I enjoyed the water and had it to myself. This was perfect.

When I went back up to the restaurant, I sat and had a beer with Tony and met a couple of guys that were traveling. We shared stories and felt like old friends in no time. The joys of a small resort means making friends quickly.

I scheduled a snorkeling trip for me second day. It was a full day of fun. Our guide was jovial and made sure everyone had fun. He was one of the few guides that got in the water and would take and show you the area. 

I learned quickly to follow him. As we were swimming, he went down and got a clam. It was huge. was watching and he grabbed my camera and handed the clam to me. I think it weighed 15 lbs. I started sinking.

Then, I felt bad that he had picked it up off the ocean floor. Later, girls were screaming because they saw barracuda. He looked at me and told me to follow him. I was stupid and did not realize we were going looking for the barracuda. Ha ha! He liked the few of us that were open to anything. I loved snorkeling and was looking forward to more of this over the next few weeks. At the end of the trip, we stopped at Koh Nuang Tuan beach for 2 hours. It was so relaxing and beautiful. 

At then end of the day I had swallowed enough sea water and was ready to go back to the bungalow. Tony was waiting and I told him it was a great day. He had cold beer waiting and I sat and talked with the other guests. It was a nice little group of fun and relaxed people just chilling and enjoying the views. I went to bed tired and happy. 

I decided to extend my stay on Koh Tao and went down to the beach for another day of relaxing by the ocean. I was swimming with a couple of German guys. We see what we thought was a dolphin and all start swimming towards it. Then, we realized it was a shark. The German guys almost drowned me trying t get to the steps first! I gave them a hard time about how chicken they were. It was a baby reef shark and does not like to eat humans. It was a good laugh over beers.

I talked to the knowledgeable Tony about my next plan. I was trying to decide between Koh Phangan and Koh Samui when he had a better suggestion. He suggested Koh Lipe as a beautiful quiet resort. I asked him if he could book transportation for me. Yes! I decided to take his suggestion and was headed on my 2 day trip to Koh Lipe.

I left Koh Tao the next night on the night ferry. Tony had told me it was like the trains for sleeping. Stupid me thought that meant I was getting a bunk bed. I was happy to have a bed for the 8 hour trip to Saranhatti. It just was not what I had expected. I walked the plank to board.... it was a plank and I had two backpacks on! Thank goodness Noah, my personal trainer, had made me work on my balance for the previous 2 years! I was happy not to be in the water! The beds on the ferry were pads that were laid out on the floor with a pillow. They were small, Asian sized. All of the westerners were complaining our feet hung out over the board on the aisle. The aisle was down the center with 31 beds on each side. 

I laid down and looked around. I realized this was going to be a fun social experience. Stupid old me! Maybe back in the 1990's but today, everyone was on their iphone, ipad or had their headphones on with music. Nobody was talking to each other. I am still shocked as I see this. We have more and more technology and people turn to it rather than talking to the person next to them. I am an oldie and love the socialization of these types of travel. Two girls sit down next to me and I said hi. They start talking and I bring up that nobody talks. One of the girl said that her parents had backpacked after college and are amazed that she does not meet more people. She said it was because everyone has all their entertainment with them. They don't need to talk. Ha ha! So true! But I find it sad. they don't know what they are missing. She talked tome about   her travels to India and encouraged me to give it two weeks. I will love it or hate it. Hmmm...still thinking about it. I have to make a plan. I am starting month 5 and will have to decide what is next.

We arrived at 5 AM and I had time for a quick bathroom break before my minivan was ready to leave for Pakbara, Thailand. Thank goodness I had time because that was it until I arrived in Pakbara at 4:30 PM. My minivan driver took me to Hat Yai where I had to switch vans. The problem was he could not find the location where I was suppose to go. We went to 3 bus stops and I followed him around as he tried to find my minivan to Pakbara. I arrived an hour late and expected to have to spend the night in Hat Yai. Lucky for me the minivan was waiting for me to arrive. Whew! I felt bad that 12 other people were delayed. I apologized and waited to take the bad seat nobody else wanted. it was the least I could do. The van driver was nice enough to take me to a hotel where I could spend the night and catch the ferry to Koh Lipe in the morning.

Back to Bangkok to Prepare for Myanmar

I awoke the next morning to leave on the ferry/van combo back to Bangkok. I checked out of my little bungalow and was told to walk a half mile to the taxi stand. No problem. I was use to carrying my backpack and I always felt like it was a great workout when I could get a nice walk before sitting for a few hours. I got to the taxi stand and there were no taxis. I had a half hour to spare so I waited. After 10 minutes, a man came by and said "no taxi here today. Rain coming. You walk." Darn! I had 20 minutes to get to the port. It started to rain.  I looked at the others waiting and we all decided to be start walking. I was leading the pack and went up over a hill and around a corner. Over the week, I had witnessed that everyone honked as they came over the hill. I heard no honks and turned to look behind us. Nothing was coming as I walked up the hill. I was over to the side and being careful.  I looked up and a motorbike was passing a truck coming up the hill. The motorbike swerved towards me. I tried to move quickly to the brush and tripped over tree roots. Oh nooooooo!!! Everything else was in slow motion. I lost my balance and the weight of my backpack threw me forward. I thought I was going to make a "graceful" recovery. My hands hit the ground but I still had my feet on the ground and was in a downward facing dog pose and moving forward. The couple behind me screamed. I lost balance and fell face first onto the dirt road. My backpack was still moving forward. It came to a stop over my head. I laid there a second waiting for the truck to hit me. Suddenly, it swerved around and flew down the road. The couple and the motorbike all came to help me. As I sat up I looked at them and laughed. I wiped out and was covered in a wet dirt. I looked at my watch, thanked them and said "hurry, we only have 8 minutes to make the ferry." Ahead of us was a taxi. We grabbed it and asked if he could get us there in time. We arrived at the ferry with a couple of minutes to spare. I was a mess. The couple was nice enough to help me clean up. As we sat there we all got to laughing and wished someone had taken a photo. It was a classic Michelle moment!

The ferry left port, the rain got heavier and the waves were huge. Our little boat rocked as we went up over the huge waves. Then the lightening started. I saw the look on the faces of the Thai girls sitting across from me. They were getting sea sick. Great....here comes the puking. I adverted my attention towards the sea. I noticed the lightening was getting closer and got a little concerned. The guy across from me started to sing the theme song of Gilligan's Island as our boat was tossed in the waves.  The good thing about the storm was it made a one hour trip only take 35 minutes! We arrived at the dock and gathered our belongings. It was taking everyone a long time to disembark. Then, I saw the problem. The boat was  pulled up to a dock but the dock was a good 3.5 feet above the boat. Everyone was throwing there bags to the dock and trying to crawl up to the deck. I had a bad feeling about this. The couple that saw me wipe out looked at me and promised to help. I heaved my bag to the deck, reached for his hand and crawled up. Whew! I was thankful I did not end up in the sea!
The van to Bangkok was uneventful and I was thankful. I successfully negotiated for a taxi and made it to Khao San Road. I had decided it was the best location to get things prepared for my trip to Myanmar. I was also ready for some street food. Yum, yum!

I was excited to go to Myanmar but needed to get my visa before I finalized my plans. I had used a travel agency to get my visa while I enjoyed the islands. I had an appointment at 5:00 PM on Monday, May 20th to pick up my passport and my Thailand visa was expiring on May 21st. I was anxious to get confirmation of my visa. There are several regulations around Myanmar travel so I had to prepare a little.

1. All tourists are required to fly into the country which meant I needed to buy an airline ticket. I had been tracking prices on AirAsia and the tickets from Bangkok to Yangon were cheap ($145 USD). There were seats available and I was fine waiting until I got my visa verified.
2. Myanmar has very limited ATM machines (12 in the entire country) and tourists are required to take USD. You have to bring all of the cash you plan to spend with you into the country. The bills must be "clean, green" and newer than 2006. All of the information I could find said that your bills could not have any tares, writing, folds or discolorations. It was also suggested that you bring $100 bills as they have a higher exchange rate. So, I started going to the ATM daily to remove my maximum daily allowance.  Then, on Monday I would go to a bank to change it all from Thai Baht to USD. The country only deals with USD and kyat (Myanmar money) and no other currencies.
3. All hotels and trains have to be paid in USD. Everything else is paid in kyat.
4. To change USD to kyat, the guidebook (Lonely Planet) recommends changing money at your hotel or the black market for the best exchange rate. The black market rate was 850 kyat =$1USD where the airport was 8 kyat = $1USD. That was going to be a fun experience. I was looking forward to it!
5. I got a lot of mixed information on hotels. Everyone on blogs were recommending to pre-book your room due to the increased number of tourists and a shortage of hotel rooms. So, I booked my first 3 nights in Yangon.

I planned to spend the next 2 days reading and relaxing in Bangkok. I explored Khao San Road and enjoyed the street food. Yummy! It was cheap and good. I even found an AMAZING vegetarian and vegan restaurant (ETHOS). Delicious breakfast and loved the falafels too! I had decided that I would do a little sightseeing using the river ferries. I loved the ferries! It was a fantastic way to see the city. I spent the day hoping from one sight to the next. I got down to Asiatique Riverfront and spent some time window shopping waiting for the sun to set and the lights of Bangkok to light up the sky. It was a beautiful view in the evening from the boats. Probably my favorite sight in Bangkok!

 

Monday arrived and I got my Thai baht changed to US dollars. I haven't seen them for awhile and forgot how plain they are compared the colorful money I had been using in SE Asia. Yes, the greenbacks felt like home and I knew exactly how much money I had but I remembered them as more green color and the $100 bill seemed to have more black. I found it strange. Eventually, I decided it was because I don't use $100 bills at home! I bought supplies (shampoo, soap, bug spray and sunscreen) and then headed to the travel agency to get my passport. I was ecstatic when I saw my Myanmar visa! I was approved and could book the ticket.

I returned to the hotel and bought my ticket through AirAsia ($145), booked the hotel room and a bus to the airport. Then, it was time to pack. Myanmar here I come! I have no idea what to expect. Myanmar (Burma) tourism has been limited historically due to the political situations. Tourism really increased the past two years but is still significantly less than the other SE Asian countries. Increased tourism means the country is changing quickly.....what will happen and how hard is the travel? I look forward to this next adventure. 

Beach Crawl on Koh Samet, Thailand

Next stop was Koh Samet. It was a short 4 hour bus and ferry trip to the island. Koh Samet is only a few hours from Bangkok so, it is a weekend getaway from the city. I was prepared for higher prices and more tourists. I had made reservations at Jep's Bungalow and was happy with my choice. I got a cute little bungalow on the slope of the hill.

The restaurant and beach were a short 2 minute walk. Ahhh...this is the life! Even the dogs enjoy the afternoon on the beach! I had met an English girl, Gem, on the ferry and we bonded quickly as we were two woman traveling alone. We made plans to explore the island the next day on motorbikes. Yippee! I have missed being on a motorbike. I spent the first afternoon relaxing on the beach. It was easy to get use to this life.

The next morning, Gem and I met up to rent a motorbike. We had decided to share one scooter. She would drive and I was the passenger. Gem looked at me and told me that everyone said the roads are pretty rough. This was going to be an adventure! I was fine as long as we didn't fall and break anything. We decided to start off exploring the north side of the island where the roads were good. As we took off up the hill and hit all the potholes we both were a little leary about how much worse the roads could get. We hit potholes and I accidently grabbed her boob to try to hold on. Talk about embarrassing..but a great way to get to know someone! We laughed as we bounced down the road. I was convinced the Thai people heard us coming before they ever saw us. We had our own way of riding the bike. Since Gem was wearing a bikini and a top her bum was sweating on the hot seat. So, I would get on and lay my skirt out across the seat so she could sit on it. We also decided to have me put my feet down anytime we stopped or needed extra pushes to get out of a pothole or up a hill. Yes, it was just like the Flintstone's..."yabbadabbadoo!"

We saw a beautiful beach and decided to take a dip. We were on a beach crawl to see and swim in the coves of Koh Samet. The water was sparkling clear and felt fantastic. We swam around, took some photos and headed to our next destination. We saw a road behind a nice resort and decided to follow it. We bounced and giggled our way down the road and then saw our destination. No, not a beautiful beach....a garbage dump. (I know my friend Fara is laughing and blaming all of her trips to garbage dumps in other countries on me!) We used our super motorbike skills to turnaround and head to the southern end of the island. As we bounced and laughed back down the island, we decided we would switch the motorbike for an ATV. This was just too dangerous! When we stopped and asked the woman told us the $400 Baht price was for an hour, not the day. We decided to get a second motorbike and we would each drive. It was safer and the roads were going to get worse. Then, we were off to explore more beaches. Each beach was different. Some were secluded beaches where boats would pull up to shuttle passengers to/from the ferry. Others were large with restaurants and hotels.

We met 2 Chinese men (Fish and Shark) and a woman from Hong Kong (Andrea) at one stop. All three of them were all sharing one motorcycle. We laughed as we saw them pass us. Guess they were more comfortable on these then we were! We ended up meeting up with them at our last 2 stops.

Gem and I saw the swing and knew we had to take a break and enjoy it. I laughed as a man said to Gem "Hey, weren't you the girl at the fire show last night? I saw you limbo under the fire! You are enjoying this trip." She laughed and confirmed that she had enjoyed the fire show. As we giggled and played on the swing like we were 5 year olds we wondered how many people thought we were drunk. We were 100% sober and having a fantastic day!

We went out to swim and Gem and Fish (Chinese guy) noticed the raft. Of course we had to go up and jump off. The hardest part was getting up. No ladder. I pushed Gem up. Then Fish got up and helped me onto the raft. I banged up my good knee but who cares. We were enjoying life. The three of us joined hands and jumped off the raft. Then, we had to repeat a second time because Shark and Andrea did not get a photo. It was getting darker and we decided to head back. We made a pit-stop to see the sunset viewpoint. No sunset tonight, too many clouds. Then we bounced back towards our resorts. I came up over a hill and saw a huge lizard walk out onto the road. I stopped. It was at least 3 ft long. Gem tried to get her camera but 2 dogs came running and scared it into the jungle. Mean dogs!

We returned our motorbikes and were contemplating another swim. Gem looked at me and said "good job! We did not fall off our bikes." She took a step and I turned to get my camera from my bag. She screamed and I looked down and she was lying on the ground. She was fine. Just slipped on the rock she was standing on. We giggled and decided that we needed a last swim at this beach. As we walked out to the beach, I see a man raise his arms and wave to us. It was Fish, Shark and Andrea! We ran to them and chatted again. They were leaving the next day so, this was goodbye.

The next morning, Gem and I met up after breakfast and planned to rent a kayak. We stopped to rent a kayak from an old woman. We paid and she pointed to the beach and handed us each an oar. When we got down to the beach there was only one kayak for one person. We looked around and the woman pointed to it. We went back up and she said we would have to take turns in it. We asked for our money back and wandered further down the beach. It was hot and we were dehydrated by the time we found a kayak for 2 people. The woman was ready to rent it to us when we decided we needed a good cold drink. We sat down and relaxed as we drank fruit shakes. Ahhh! Gem was still hot so she asked for a bowl of ice for her sunburn. The guy brought out a bucket of ice.

We laughed and used it to cool ourselves. I was starting to think it was a hot flash hitting me. I could not cool off! The ice felt great! The man told us we could take it with us and return the bucket later. Yippeee! By this time, the kayak was gone and we decided to snorkel and float on a tube around the coves.

Another fantastic day ended at the beach. As we walked back, we passed a woman selling jewelry. I found a great necklace and bracelet set and decided it was my birthday present to myself!  I asked her if she would hold it until dinner when I would pay for it on my way back to the restaurant. The sweet girl, Sai, handed me the jewelry and said take it now and bring back the money when you have time. Seriously!?! I thanked her and promised to bring it right back. She was not worried at all. I was shocked that this had worked so well for her and nobody had stolen from her. I returned 10 minutes later with the money. She was surprised I came back so soon.

When Gem and I returned for dinner with the green bucket. We sat down and the waiter came over laughing and thanked us for returning it. As soon as it left our sight, we wished we had it filled with ice again. Then the fire show started, we were sitting in the front and it was HOT! It was inevitable that we ordered another bucket of ice.

We sat on the beach eating a delicious BBQ seafood dinner and laughing at the events of the day. We ran into some of the tourists from the previous day and they commented that we were still laughing and having fun. Of course! We said our goodbyes at the end of the night. I was heading to Bangkok and Gem was off to Koh Chang. It was a great beach vacation! 

Chilling on Koh Chang

I arrived on the beautiful island of Koh Chang with a smile on my face and happiness in my heart. I was ready to relax on the beach for a few days and this was the perfect location. Crystal clear water, white sand beach and the smell of salt water. I felt like I was at home immediately! It was an extra bonus because I arrived on my birthday! Happy Birthday to me!

The trip was very easy. A bus ride from Bangkok to the ferry, a short ferry ride to Koh Chang and then a taxi ride to White Sand Beach.  I had wanted to be on the beach for the weekend so I booked a room at the Rock Sand Resort. The taxi dropped me off at the local 7-11. I had directions to my hotel. I was told to walk along the path beside the 7-11 that goes to the beach.

I had met 5 Chinese girls that were going to Rock Sand Resort so, we had shared a taxi . I told them I had directions and they could follow me. I waited while the got their luggage. Oh no! They had rolling suitcases! I laughed as they tried to get the taxi to take them to the hotel. You just walk the beach until you get there. I was hungry and decided to get a little street food for the walk (500 m). They started tugging their suitcases towards the beach. I decided to grab a light meal outside the 7-11.

I got my corn and ate as I walked down the beach. Thank goodness for the backpack. The girls were struggling carrying their suitcases in the powdery sand. I passed them and smiled. People on the beach were laughing at the scene. Small girls with huge suitcases! Luckily, it was an easy walk for me and a beautiful view. I was already thinking about a swim!

I was greeted at Rock Sand Resort with a cool iced tea and a quick check in. As I was waiting, a man came up and asked "Where are you from?" As we talked, I found out that he was the owner of the hotel and he even bought me a birthday beer! It was so nice and I appreciated the kind hospitality. I knew I was going to like my stay here on Koh Chang. A nice peaceful birthday weekend. Ahhhh! I went to my room, unpacked (I was staying 3 nights) and put on my swimsuit. I had time for an evening swim before the sunset. I have one goal for this trip to Koh Chang....to get rid of my crazy tan lines!

I swam out in the water and relaxed. It was wonderful. Then, I grabbed my camera to get some sunset photos of the area. 

I spent the next few days relaxing on the beach, reading my Myanmar travel book, watching dogs and crabs and napping on the beach. It was fantastic! I was relaxed and rested.  After 3 days, it was time to book a trip over to Koh Samet. I was ready for a few more people and some activity.

Adventures with the Thai Mafia in Bangkok

My time in Laos was running out. I had some personal business I had to do and needed to call the USA from Bangkok. So, Bangkok here I come! I decided to do an overnight journey by train. This required a 2 hour mini-van to the Thai border, a walk across the border, another 1 hour mini-van to Ubon-Ratchanthani, Thailand and then a 12 hour train to Bangkok. The one thing you find as you travel this distance is that you meet other travelers with suggestions. We all shared our experiences and I got several suggestions from others to only spend 2 days in Bangkok. Everyone said to get in and out. I was warned about the Thai Mafia (tuk-tuk drivers) and to hold my grounds. As everyone talked, my first reaction was they were all overreacting. I stayed optimistic.

As I was sitting in the back of the minivan, the back of the van flew open and two backpacks went flying out onto the highway. We were all thankful nobody was behind us because it would have been a serious accident. The van stopped and backed up down the highway to the bags, loaded them up and we were off again. Who knew you could backup down the middle ot the road. Everyone was cordial and moved over as we went backwards. Luckily the bags were fine. They were placed back in the minivan and we were off to Ubon-Ratchanthani. When we arrived at the train station, we waited and waited for the train. It arrived an hour and a half late. We noticed that there were no sleeper cars. Our car number did not exist. At this point the 4 of us compared tickets. The van driver had randomly handed these out to the 4 of us that were going to Bangkok. As we waited, the girl from Spain asked what our bed numbers we were assigned. I said 21, a guy from New Zealand responded 19 and the guy from England said 17. The Spanish girls eyes got huge and she said she had seat 19 also. We all compared tickets and laughed as we realized Spain and New Zealand were sharing a small bed for 12 hours. The sleeping cars were brought from the train yard and added to the train. We decided to play dumb and get on the train and deal with the seat issues when they came to check the tickets. It ended up that the Spanish girl and the New Zealand guy actually had the same seat but NZ's ticket was booked for two months from now! What?!?! He showed them the paperwork for his ticket with the correct date. The conductor told us he would have to buy a ticket for second class seating as the beds were sold out. He said they do this frequently when tickets are over sold and a tourist wants to go to Bangkok. He could get a refund of his sleeper seat when we get to the station. We all offered to rotate seats with him but he said no. We bought him beer and gave him some sleeping pills to make it easier on him. I felt so bad. We all crawled into our sleepers and went to sleep.

I was rocked to sleep by the train. I was fine until I woke up and had to use the facilities. I looked up and on my curtain was a huge cockroach! UGH! I grabbed a book and swatted it. I was really grossed out. I did not sleep the rest of the night. I swear I could feel bugs crawling on me! It was worse because the next morning I had little bite marks all over my ankles. Ugh! Yuck! The train was really gross and I could not wait to get to the hotel and take a shower.

I arrived at my hotel, Baan Dinso 2, and they let me check-in at 10 am! Yes! The woman was very sweet and insisted I have free breakfast. I asked if I could take a shower first and she said of course. I felt better once I had washed off the grime of the Thai train. After a quick breakfast, I was off to explore Bangkok. I needed to get a little business done so my first stop was Pantib Plaza for an external drive. I had filled up my computer and dropbox was downloading very slowly. Time to  just get a portable external drive to make certain I would not lose all my photos. I was told the easiest way was to take a taxi to the shopping area. I could do that. It was suppose to be about 75 Baht. I walked over to a taxi and asked if I could get a meter. He looked at his tuk-tuk buddies, they all talked in Thai and came back and told me 300 Baht ($10). I looked at them and laughed. I said "no, this is Bangkok not LA!" I offered them 50 Baht and they all laughed. One tuk-tuk driver offered me 60 Baht. I asked him how many stops. He got out his map and told me "No my friend. I take you to Big Buddha, another Buddha and Pantib for 60 Baht ($2). I was tired and just wanted to get my external drive. I countered with "No, just Pantib for 60 Baht." He responded that he wanted me to see the beautiful temples because it was Buddha day. I was tired of negotiating and said fine...against my better judgment. We traveled from temple to temple.

I walked in looked around but really I just wanted to go to the electronic store. I was a girl on a mission. I insisted he takes me to Pantib. He starts driving. He stops. Yes, this has to be my destination! I look around and he points to a travel agency. No, no,  no! I explained I want to go to Pantib. He gets the man out of the store and I am told we will not go anywhere unless I go in and talk to them. I was angry and kicking myself for not insisting on a meter taxi. I felt sorry for the girl. I chatted with her watching my watch. After 10 minutes I thanked her and left the store. Again, I insisted he take me to Pantib. He said "Next stop Pantib." Ok. Off we went, but not to Pantib. It was another tourist agency. I refused to go in. He finally said he would take me to Pantib. When we arriaved I asked "Pantib?"  He said yes and pointed to a large building. I paid him and walked into the store. It was a book store. Ugh! I found a sales clerk that informed me my tuk-tuk driver had taken me to another area. I was a long ways from Pantib. She explained how to get there on the bus. I was angry and mumbling to myself as I started walking. Several tuk-tuk drivers stopped to ask if I wanted a ride.  I said no and that was when they started calling me stupid. For some reason they thought this would stop me from taking the bus?!?! I had sworn off the tuk-tuks (Thai mafia).  I finally arrived at Pantib and got my external drive and a cheap waterproof camera. Then I asked for directions on the bus back to my hotel. The saleswoman was wonderful and helped me get to the right bus. The trip back was easy and relaxing. If you are in Bangkok, figure out the bus system. It is cheap and easy.

The next morning I was off to see the sights in Bangkok. I started off walking and found out it was "Buddha day." A man walked up to me and told me he was a school teacher and off for the day. I thought he was just friendly, like the Laos people, and chatted with him. Then a tuk-tuk driver pulled up and I got told how I need to use the tuk-tuks with yellow license cause they were government sponsored. When I said "no thank you, I prefer to walk" he got angry at me and told me I was a stupid girl. Whatever! I walked off. An hour later I met another teacher off for "Buddha day" and he was insisting that I wanted to go see a Thai boxing match today. I nicely told him no and I was not interested. The man had a complete meltdown. I don't know why or what caused it. At this point, a tuk-tuk driver pulled up and he got in. It was humiliating because he kept yelling that I was a stupid American that did not know anything. I just wanted him to go away. I waved goodbye and smiled then turned and walked away. He circled the block to yell at me. Ugh! Nice hospitality. I walked along to the river, through a park and then back down Koh San road for some street food.

I was full, happy and hot. It was time for a shower. Since it was starting to get dark, I walked a little faster. I stopped to throw an empty water bottle in the trash and turned to walk away when 2 huge rats ran in front of me. I screamed! Ick! Time to get home and off the dirty streets of Bangkok!

The next day, I had to go to the Myanmar Embassy to get a visa. From all of the books, this was relatively easy. I just had to get a taxi and arrive by 9 AM. I had the address and was ready. Now to negotiate a taxi. I waited and waited for a taxi to stop. Everyone was full. All I was getting were the damn Thai mafia tuk-tuks. I did not want to do this. The guy kept telling me he would take me there for 100 Baht with no stops. I finally agreed. Stupid, stupid me! He stops and I look around. I told him no, this is not the Myanmar Embassy. I knew that because I learned my lesson yesterday and looked up a photos of the Embassy. He had taken me to another travel agency. I was angry. I refused to pay him 100 Baht because this was not the address I had given to him and showed him on the map. The manager from the travel agency walked over and asked what was the problem. I explained I was suppose to be at the Myanmar embassy and was not paying him 100 Baht until I was taken there. After some lengthy discussions in Thai, it was agreed I did not need to pay anything, the manager gave him 2 fuel tickets and I could get the visa at the travel agency for the same price as the embassy. I was ok with this. I thanked him and went in. Yes, I know this is another scam. I am just glad I did not have to pay the lying, cheating tuk-tuk driver! The manager was very nice and accommodating. He apologized several times for the issue. I got everything worked out and bought a bus ticket to Koh Chang island for the following day. The next problem was getting back to my hotel. Ugh! The manager arranged a ride for me for 20 Baht and 2 fuel tickets. I thanked him and off we went. When he pulled over I was immediately irritated. This was not my hotel. I just wanted a drink at this point. He had stopped at a tailor shop. No! I finally went in just to get the pain over. The stupid thing I did was I actually looked at the skirts and found a linen skirt I really liked. It would be cool for Myanmar. The guy wanted to make a hard sale. I told him "no, I am leaving in the morning." He insisted he would have it done by the 7 PM. I just had to come back and pick it up. He was going to do it for $30 USD. I told them no, I was not coming back down to the shop. I went for the door. He followed me and promised to have it to the hotel at 8PM and would make any alterations I needed. I finally agreed. What was I going to be out? I waited in the lobby of the hotel from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. No skirt. Damn! I was irritated and finally called the shop. After several calls, I was told that I was not at the hotel and nobody was at the desk so they left it with the woman selling banana pancakes on the corner. Seriously!?!?! I was so stupid! I went out to find this woman. I knew the shop was lying to me. They never came into the hotel lobby. I found her and she had my skirt. After all of this, I decided I needed a banana pancake. Could this woman be in on the scam with the tuk-tuk drivers and the tailor? I don't know but the banana pancake was delicious! One good thing came of this day! Nom, nom, nom!

I returned to the hotel and tried on the skirt. No way! It was too big! Now I was tired and had a couple of options.

1) Throw/donate the skirt and be done with it.
2) Return to the shop to have it altered for free.
3) Return to the shop and demand my money back.
4) Find a new tailor to alter it and pay more money.
5) Throw it in my backpack and decide later.
I chose option 5.  I was tired and would deal with this later. I was going to bed and leaving for Koh Chang in the morning. I am ready for some beach life!