Swimming with stars

We left Thailand excited. We had heard only good things about Cambodia from fellow travellers. Everyone seemed to love it. We couldn't wait to see it with our own eyes. We booked a direct ticket from Ko Chang to Sihanoukville. We also booked a hostel ahead, because we would be arriving after dark. In a new country we like to get used to things first instead of exploring the city at night with a map and a guidebook in your hand. And it's easier to take a taxi or a tuk-tuk directly to the chosen hostel to avoid the worst of possible touts.

Our border crossing went easy enough. We got our exit stamps out of Thailand and a guy took our backpacks into a small cart and pulled them to the Cambodian border a short walk away. He asked for a 100-baht tip and we agreed to give 20 (50 cents) each. You do not need to tip in Thailand, but we think it's okay when we agree on a service like someone taking care of our luggage for us. You carry it yourself, or you pay something. A body temperature check, visa application, passport stamps, all the usual was done within less than half an hour. We still had passport photos left, so no worries there either. In the same bus was an older German lady, who was going on about how she had been charged over double the price we had paid, and her visa fee should have been covered by the ticket already. Nevertheless she had to pay for the visa at the border. It is still unclear to us what really happened there, but the lady did not seem to be very delighted. She kept going on about how she is constantly being ripped off. She was very proud not to have tipped anyone, because she lost so much money already.

From the border we jumped into a car owned by a person in the company which was responsible for taking us to the bus station towards Sihanoukville. We stopped on the way in a corner shop and the driver told us that we could now exchange our Thai baht into Cambodian riel. "Is good to exchange now, no is possible in Sihanoukville. No take Thai baht there". Right. "Is this a bank?", we asked, amused. "Yes, yes, private bank", he answered laughing. So it was obvious that it was again another quite common scam that you hear of all the time. The older lady and an older guy in the same car went directly to the counter and handed over their money. We thought about exchanging a small amount, 400 baht, just for the way, and the rest in Sihanoukville. We gave the money and without even telling the exchange rate the lady behind the counter started to count the riels. We asked how much the we would be getting, and after seeing the numbers on the calculator we wanted our money back. It was too ridiculous even for a small amount. She threw the money back at us. The driver was watching the situation, but never said a word about us not exchanging our money. We got back in the car and it turned out that the lady and other guy had lost about a third of their money, 16-20 euros out of 50. The rest of the journey the German lady was furious and refused to tip anyone.

Our bus arrived in Sihanoukville just at sunset and we saw about ten taxi and tuk-tuk drivers running towards the bus, competing for customers. Our hostel, Footprints, was located in the furthest corner of the city on Otres beach, about 6 or 7 kilometers out of town and even further away from the bus station. We took a taxi and looking for the hostel after a while we found out that it was located on the very end of Otres beach, already named Otres 2. Not much going on over there, which is quite what we like. The hostel was amazingly cozy with great atmosphere, with a selection of movies and good food. A bit noisy because of thin walls, but very good in every other way.

 

We spent most of our time relaxing on the beautiful white sand beach and reading books on the sofas. We also went to see the city and visited the local market and explored the surroundings by foot. It's quite small and easy get around walking. We were feeling a bit nostalgic about leaving the beaches soon for a few months, so we ended up following the beach all the way back. On the way we saw the popular Serendipity beach where most tourists decide to stay. It was full with sun chairs, music, bars, jet skis and not much for people who just want peace. Otres 1 beach was a little bit more to our liking, but still felt crowded. Once again we were happy with our chosen location.

And by the way, it was no problem getting rid of our bahts in Sihanoukville. Cambodia uses both riel and US dollars. So we got some dollars in a bank with a 3% commission instead of 30%.

 

One night we attended a party on the beach organised by few of the guys staying in the same hostel. It was a surprise party for their friend whose birthday it was. They collected money from everyone who wanted to join and they managed to get about 25 people. With the money they bought cheap booze and a cake. They also borrowed speakers and music player from the hostel! We joined the party, had a drink and talked to some people. After a short while we got a tip from an English guy that he had been swimming last night in the ocean and he couldn't believe his eyes when he started swimming. Right now, the ocean was full of bioluminescent plankton that glows in the dark when you move. (Read more about what it is: http://aquaviews.net/explore-the-blue/bioluminescent-plankton-what-makes-it-glow/# )

It was quite obvious what we had to do next. We had to go for a look. We walked to the shallows and started to splash the water with our feet. And we couldn't believe what we saw! Little shiny things were clearly visible in the crashing waves and also appeared with every splash we made! We had to get into the water. Apart from the party the beach was empty, so we walked a bit further away, took off our clothes and ran into the water like kids. It got better the deeper you went. These shiny things were everywhere. It looked like we were making little stars with every movement! We lost the track of time, just swimming and playing and being unable to believe how amazing it looked! We got out of the water when we were shivering with cold and just couldn't stay any longer. That was an absolute highlight on this whole trip. We walked back to find out that the party had pretty much ended already, but the guy who had told us about it was still there. We went to shake his hand and thanked for the advice before going to bed, still smiling.

 

Holiday's over

We left Ko Tao in the afternoon, 24 hours of travelling ahead of us. Our goal was to get to Ko Chang as soon as possible to be able to meet Anni's friend, Onni, who was somewhere on an island close to Ko Chang. The ferry to Chumphon took about 4 hours and there we jumped into an overnight bus to Bangkok. The overnight bus took 2 hours less than expected. We were woken up at three in the morning and we got dropped off somewhere that was not Khao San Road, like promised. Our next bus was supposed to leave from there, and we did not know where we were. It's not easy to stop and think when you just woke up in the middle of the night. We saw some people walking away and some jumping into taxis and tuk-tuks. We asked a taxi driver how far are we from Khao San Road, and he answered that it was far, and told us he would drive us there for 400 baht. We told him we would pay him 200 baht, and he nodded and wanted to carry our backpacks into the taxi. Wait, what? Our previous experience in Bangkok had proven that the taxi drivers barely let you haggle. They either give you a price and you take it, or you spend half an hour looking for a driver that is actually willing to use the meter, and still you get ripped off by driving in circles. If something seems too good to be true, it usually is. So we were saved by Anni's Nokia and its GPS and maps. She checked her phone and we realised we should be quite close to our destination. So we started walking. On the way we asked 7/11 cashiers, who confirmed that Khao San was about two minute walk away.

Last time we were in Khao San Road it was absolutely horrible. Khao San is THE backpacker hell in Bangkok with all the bars, touts, tailor shops, "cheap" clothes and souvenirs, two McDonalds's and guesthouses all somehow made to fit on this small street. By day, it was chaotic and busy. By night, it was bloody hilarious. We had plenty of time for people watching and indeed it kept us amused for five hours that we had to wait until our next bus at 8:00. The drunken people were fun to watch, and it was for sure safer waiting there than somewhere on an empty street. And you could get coffee and food at any time. Great!

Another bus and world's slowest boat ride later we arrived on Koh Chang to find out that Onni had already left. We had been planning to keep going to Koh Wai, a smaller island with excellent snorkeling and nice beaches. We were however too tired from traveling and we didn't think there were any more boats going to Ko Wai on the same day, so we decided to stay on Koh Chang for three nights and relax, swim and plan. Our next border crossing was only a few days away after all. Anni spent an hour or so looking for a cheap place while Ben was keeping an eye on the backpacks, but they were booked out for the next four days, so we ended up paying 700 baht (double the price we try to pay) for a room per night. Our room had hot water though, a nice change after a few months of cold showers! Most of our time we ended up spending in Hippo Cafe, a nice place with good food and fast wifi. In three days we got a pretty good idea on where to go and what to do next.

We did not expect Koh Chang to be amazing, we hadn't even planned to stay there. And because of that, we actually did not really know what to expect. It proved to be not bad but ridiculously overpriced. Most of all it seemed to be a playground for middle-aged sex tourists. It was sad to see in many ways. Sometimes we couldn't decide if we should feel more sorry for the girls or for the old, desperate men playing happy family with their barely 18 year old girlfriends. Sure, there were real couples too. But mostly it didn't look like that. We'd love to know how many of those men getting drunk from early morning, spending their time in girl bars were married men on a "business trip". Or actually, never mind. I guess it's not our place to judge. But sometimes you just can't help wondering why.

Other than that, Koh Chang was okay. Beach was okay, island itself was okay, weather was okay. For some reason it was especially popular with Russian tourists, almost every sign was written in Russian, English and Thai. Ko Chang left us with the impression that there is not really anything to complain about but nothing special to come back for.

After resting for a few days we felt good about getting out of Thailand. Thailand was a much needed holiday from travelling. For a while it was fantastic to be in a country where travelling is as easy as it gets. But after a while it becomes a bit boring when everything is done for you. Traveling without thinking and fighting a little to get what you want is fun and relaxing, but never as rewarding. It was also sad to see South Thailand's backpacker scene slowly disappearing and turning into overpriced resorts for rich tourists and the old budget places putting up their prices without doing anything to improve the quality. And who can blame them? There are more and more people coming for short holidays, willing to pay. Why not? Easy money. I'd do the same.

 

Thailand was good, but it was definitely time to move on and get back to travel mode. So we packed our bags again and left towards Cambodia.

 

Do's and dont's of December

This month we recommend:

wooden bungalows

sea view

hammocks

islands (Koh Ngai, Koh Tao)

visitors from home

snorkelling

antibiotics

Thailands farmacy staff and wifi at health clinics

Thailand sunsets

"Tok-ke" gekkos and hermit crabs

 

 

This month we do NOT recommend:

Being sick in the most amazing scuba dive spots

Price-quality ratio on most islands

Koh Phi Phi

loud music, everywhere

mosquitos

lack of books in English in hostel book exchanges

old spring mattresses and stone-filled, huge pillows

touts, especially tailor shop people

 

Underwater adventures

We basically gave up on finding a quiet place and headed towards the main piers, the village Mae Haad. Tanote Bay had been a bit more quiet for the last few nights with new years party and live music shows over. But we had another reason to change place. We were feeling good again, no signs of sickness anymore, so we needed a better located spot for doing the thing we came to Koh Tao for in the first place: diving.

Koh Tao is supposed to be the main spot for scuba diving in Thailand with its over 50 dive companies offering anything a dive shop can possibly offer: from open water (beginner) courses to instructor level as well as scuba reviews for people who haven't been diving in a while, or just fun dives for divers who are already certified and ready to go. The competition is tough and the prices are cheap. Most companies give free accommodation during a course. There is a dive shop in every corner. There are also 3 companies doing free diving courses, if you are not so much into all the bubbles and gear.

While being sick so long we had had time to look for a nice company. Our main reasons for choosing our dive company is to go with a smaller company that feels professional, no "look at me I'm a diver, so possibly the coolest person on the planet"- people, being safe and relaxed while having fun. We found a nice company on the first bay we stayed, Chalok Baan Kao bay. We chose to go with them based on the good attitude of the manager and nice people in the shop. He gave us a good price, because Anni decided to do her scuba review, "refresher", because it was a few years since her last dive. Every dive after that half a day course we both got our dives for 700 baht (18 euros) the normal price per dive being around 800-1000 baht on this island. They also agreed to pick us up from Mae Haad and drop us off after dives. Good deal!

Ben had been attracted to free diving for a while, so while Anni was getting used to the scuba gear and dive tables again with the refresher course, Ben went to shop around for a 2-day free diving course for himself. He chose the company Apnea Total, which was the first one on the island and was also recommended to us by an amazing instructor, Kwan, from Koh Tao Dive Resort, where we did our scuba dives. The course was due to start in a few days.

Anni did two dives with the course, in Jansom Bay and Buddha Rock. Shallow dives after practising basic underwater skills like taking the mask off and putting it back on and throwing the regulator off over the shoulder and finding it. Second dive was only for fun and Anni practised improving her buoyancy while enjoying the marine life around. After that we spent two days doing total 4 dives together, first in Green Rock, then a wreck dive and next day Chumphon pinnacle (which we never actually got to dive in, due to current, bad visibility, too many divers and other stuff that went wrong) and White Rock. A little disappointed of not seeing any whale sharks and of poor visibility after the rains, we still enjoyed diving because of the amount and variety of the fishes! We also witnessed an aggressively territorial trigger fish attacking two divers in our group, damn those things are scary and fast! We were luckily at the back of the group, so had the time to enjoy the show while swimming into safety. We both have done tens of dives before, but we have never been diving together, so we both enjoyed the experience of having a buddy that you know and trust more than anyone.

Next day Anni took a break from diving and early morning wake-ups, while Ben went off to start free diving. He learnt breathing techniques that allow him to calm down and relax before holding breath and swimming down. Every morning were first theory lessons and afterwards practicing in the ocean. The boat anchored in deep water with several ropes going down, disappearing in the abyss. On some were people trying to reach 30 meters but Bens goal was 12 meters, first with fins and then with pulling himself down the rope and up again. Second day's target was 20 meters, the end of the line wasn't visible from the surface and it sounded quite scary in the beginning, but with all the learnt stuff it was fairly easy to get down there and up alive.

Koh Tao ended up being good to us after all. We finally found peace and quiet. Unexpectedly our new place in Mae Haad almost next to the main piers was after all nice and quiet. Kallaphanga bungalows, run by a nice lady, who apparently "has small animals running around in her head" that make her a little bit crazy. And a little bit of music here and there is actually nice when it's not too loud. Sure, there were more people around the main street, but still we could wake up to the sound of waves in the morning. Anni got her confidence back with diving and is comfortable with the scuba gear again and is ready for new underwater adventures, and Ben absolutely loved free diving! Tonight when he finishes his course, we will celebrate his birthday with a couple of Magners ciders we managed to find in one of the restaurants. (Why is it so hard to find cider outside of Europe? That stuff is amazing.)

We will also book tickets out of Koh Tao and then out of the country, maybe with a short stop somewhere nice. A friend of Anni's is in Thailand at the moment, and we hope it's not too late to go meet him before he flies home and before we run out of our 2-month stamp.

 

Beautiful awful Tao

I'm sitting on the porch of our little, old, wooden bungalow in Tanote Bay on Koh Tao's east coast. Music comes from a bar behind us, a local band plays reggae music, a bit out of tune but not too bad, just too loud for sleep and that's why I'm writing the blog. Now suddenly it's quiet! Black out, as so often during night times here. Yesterday I sat at the same place reading because of the bar on the other side of our bungalow where bumping electronic music kept me away from sleeping but tonight it's quiet and dark in Poseidon's bar. Now the electricity is back, sadly those black outs never last long enough.

After our friends, Riikka and Mikko started their journey back home from the Krabi airport, we changed over to Thailand's east coast and across the gulf, the ferry stopped at Koh Samui first, at Koh Pha Ngan later where we changed the boat on to Koh Tao. We called ahead to book a room as christmas was only a week away and places started to fill up. We stayed in the JP Resort in Chalok Baan Kao bay, south of the famous Sairee beach because we wanted some quietness for reading, relaxing and snorkelling.

We then found out that a friend of Anni was on the same island, quite a coincidence because we met him in Ao Nang too. Together with him, his girlfriend, small son and family members, all Finnish of course, we booked a long-tail boat for a snorkelling trip around the island where we could decide where to go and where to stop. It was a brilliant day. The water around Koh Tao is incredibly clear and very rich in fish and corals where they haven't been destroyed yet, either by tourists or anchors of the numerous boats ashore. Highlight for everyone was probably Shark bay, not just a fancy name, we saw plenty of black tip reef sharks, some of them massive, I myself counted nine sharks in about 15 minutes. Another day all of us went to Nang Yuan island, basically three islands connected by sand and crowded with tourists. They have a funny or annoying rule, depends how you look at it, no one's allowed to bring fins or plastic bottles onto the island. Doesn't count for the hundred or so divers around all the dive spots nearby or near the beach, learning skills on the bottom of the ocean, with fins. What hurts the corals more, a snorkeler with fins on the surface or a diver with fins on the bottom? I didn't get it, especially because the beaches are sandy without corals a long way out into the sea. We also snorkelled off Sairee beach where we found a beautiful reef parallel to the beach, we didn't expect that in front of the busy main beach. And the sunsets viewed from there are stunning!

We spent a great time with great people in truly magnificent nature but they left soon for a visa run and we were alone again. Then I got a cold and couldn't snorkel anymore. We also decided to move to another place because ours at JP's was a bit characterless and very hot as it was a concrete and brick room. Anni asked around and found a nice place called Taraporn on the far north side of the same bay. We moved into our bungalow and were happy as we got quite a bargain, 500 Baht is relatively cheap during christmas peak season. I was getting sicker from day to day and was looking forward to a good night's sleep, the ocean only meters away and with gentle waves that would follow me into sleep, I hoped.

Then, after dinner time, the music started. First from the main beach, carried across the bay and then from Taraporns bar. First at a modest volume but with the rising consume of alcohol also the volume of the music rose. Peak was at around midnight, quietness came at 03:30am. Every night. I didn't mind a christmas party or two but it was every night. And at the 27th it was someone's birthday party, louder than anything before and trust me, earplugs didn't help. So I spent lots of time outside, waiting for 03:30 to come. After the five nights we already paid, we left for Tanote bay. We found a bungalow for 400 Baht and this bay is famous for its good snorkelling and as it is far away from everything, only accessible over an awful concrete and dirt track, so we were sure to find peace. And quietness.

When we first saw our little hut we were delighted. An old, wooden bungalow only about 50 meters from the sea, a porch facing it, just perfect. And quiet! Just the sounds of waves, geckos and squirrels that jump from tree to tree above our porch. Then nighttime came and so did the music. First only little but it got louder and louder the later it got. We saw the restaurant next to our bungalow when we moved in but we thought hey, we're in a far away place, who wants to party here? The same as in the last place, not many. First it was Sunshine divers, a big and busy dive company in Chalok Ban Kao and now it is Poseidon in Tanote bay. The Sunshine company had the AWARE sticker on their windows, an organisation dedicated to saving sharks, I'm also a member. This is all very nice but during the hours I lie awake and listened to their bumping sounds I couldn't get this sticker out of my mind. Aware. Most dive companies on Koh Tao are very aware of their environment, organise clean-up days to collect rubbish from beaches or the sea bottom, they save or breed turtles and help sharks but one of these companies I got to now only through their so cool parties and music and around the others gather people already at lunchtime, holding their beers. Where's the "aware" here? Do they only care about the divers environments but not about their neighbours? How can they blast music all night long when the next bungalow is only steps away? Does everyone have to join them and party, if not you're a loser anyway?

We met more people here that seek quietness than people that are in need of more party. Two minutes before midnight at new years eve I went over to Poseidon to grab a drink and I found the place basically empty. Five people sat or lied around a table, music blasting but no sign of party, the drunk barkeeper gave me a beer out of a coolbox and went back to "business". If even at new years evening the bars stay empty, why the hell don't they turn off their music and power a fridge instead? So our search goes on, we'll go back to the west coast soon in the new year and look for a quiet spot but we gave half up already. Why not go to Sairee beach with cheap accommodation and music everywhere, at least it's cheap.

It's 01:20am now and just when I decided to go to bed the music starts again in the reggae place after a short break. And it's quite bad by now. Maybe the singer was busy at the bar during the break or just tired, we'll never know. But it's time for some sleep now, at least a try, don't know where I put my earplugs though... Good night.

 

(Forgotten) Do's and dont's of November

This month we recommend:

"Go crazy" on your birthday with massage and ice-cream and other expensive food in China and manage to spend about 15 euros per person

Chinese blind massage, if you have the balls for it

Being a millionaire in Laos style

Party town become a sleepy village - Vang Vieng

Experiencing authentic Thai life in Chiang Rai and eating like a local in the night market

Beerlao, Chang and Singha

Improving your Thai cooking skills with taking lessons

Taking the time to apply for a 2-month Thai visa

Toilets with a view

 

This month we do NOT recommend:

Bed bugs (Thank you Vientiane and Sukhothai)

Luang Namtha "jungle experience", a walk through farmers' fields, more like

Khao San Road

Bangkok's taxi drivers

VIP minivans, aircon minivans, deluxe minivans or basically anything that has mini and van anywhere near

Shopping in Bangkok's malls without winter clothes

Using plastic bottles as soup bowls for the chicken feet dish