A week ago, I arrived in Bangkok and met up with Dave and Taylor. Chances are, everything you have ever heard about Bangkok is true- the sex trade, the heat, the pollution, the overpopulation. There are more than 8 million people that live within the city limits of Bangkok. It is a sprawling Asian megalopolis, and from the Skytrain you can see tall buildings for maybe 15 miles in all directions.
For those of you that know me, it is probably no surprise that this is not really my kind of place. Luckily, Dave and Taylor don't like it much either. After one night, we headed north towards one of the national parks that is about 4 hours outside Bangkok. We then spent the about two days making plans for our trip to Southern Thailand and sightseeing. I was surprised at how much I did like Northern Thailand. We had some good wildlife viewing, and visited some large caves and a freshwater spring where we swam.
The highlight of my time up north was seeing millions of bats leave their cave at sunset. For about 30 minutes there was a constant stream of bats flying out into the hills to go hunting at night. It was an incredible spectacle, complete with about half a dozen birds of prey making dive attacks on the scores of bats. See the video here
After two nights, we traveled for about 24 hours straight to get to the small gulf island of Koh Tao. (3 hour bus ride, 3 hour layover, 10 hour train ride, 7 hour overnight ferry- all for about $25 or so) Koh Tao is known for its diving, but also has good snorkeling, sightseeing, kayaking, and 4 wheeling. Yesterday I rented a 4 wheeler and explored the islands 4x4 roads and hidden beach spots and today Dave, Taylor, and I explored a bit more and went for a sunset kayak trip along the islands west coast.
All in all, I like Thailand. The heat and humidity takes a lot for me to get used to, and yes, it is played when it comes to the tourist scene. There are a ton of westerners here and I've found it a little hard to find the “heart and soul” of Thailand so to speak. I'm sure it exists in the more remote areas of the north, but I've only caught glimpses of it in the genuine smiles of the people. I'm glad to be visiting now, before it gets any more touristed out.
Tomorrow we leave Koh Tao for Suratani and hopefully the Similain Islands on the Andaman (West) Coast. If we can manage, we plan to try to make it down to Tarotao National Park and Krabi before we spend a week in Phuket. I can't wait to see Jen in only 11 days!
Nepal is also on my mind, as Dave and I will be heading there in less than three weeks. I am excited for what is to come and what I will experience and learn in Nepal and Northern India. The next three months will undoubtedly be three of the most exciting months so far in my life.
