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| Koh NangYuan |
Well, I have no idea how am I
gonna share about all those fun, adventures and beautiful memories I have
collected during my 3 months' stay in Thailand.I was there for a internship of
2.5 months through Flyway Foundation to assist raptor migration count at Khao
Dinsor, Chumphon which is one of the best sites in Asia to observe raptor
migration.I will share all about it on my next post. Then, after those 2.5 months of learnings, working, and withering
myself from the extreme sun, I yet took a refuge to the aquatic life, enjoying
spectacular beaches, islands and some national parks. I thought of sharing my
rest travelling in my first part of the Thailand blog. I hope it will make you
giggle, enjoy and also literally take you into the world of sun, sand and shops. wohooo! Welcome to Thailand!!
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| Sunset at Koh Tao |
On 16th Nov, I took an
early morning high speed Lomprayah ferry to the island. It took almost 2 hours.
My eyes were wide open when I saw those beautiful islands from distance. I was quite excited about the journey I am
about to begin; most awaited holiday. I had planned to be there for 3 days so I
had to enjoy it to the fullest. It included walking along the stunning Sairee
beach, riding scooter to different look outs and streets in the island, and the
most important; snorkeling.
However, I was extremely
interested to see the under-water organisms and being in Thailand was the best
opportunity for me which I didn’t want to miss. I so repented not knowing how
to swim but yet the transparent blue water was so luring that I cudn't help
myself and jumped in the water with my life jacket. I enjoyed snorkeling in
Freedom beach which is so stunning. I was jumping in awe when hundreds of fish
were around me. All those creatures that I have either studied or seen only in
television were in front of me. Sea anemones, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, coral
reefs, jelly fish and many more. I already had wings and now I got fins as
well, hehe! Yeah I ticked one of my bucket lists.
After that I definitely made a
silly decision (which wasn't so but it turned out that way). I was thinking to
go to the other side of the island i.e. Mango Bay which was equally famous for
snorkeling. So, hiring a long tail boat, me and some of my friends hopped on
towards the bay however after reaching the half way, driver informed that the
waves are big so its difficult to go there rather he dropped us in Koh
Nangyuan(another beautiful island) which I had planned coming the other day. Oh
well sometimes it's not good being too smarty, hehe, may be as it was quite
expensive already plus I had to pay twice. Silly me! . How could I forget a lil
bit of mishap on my way back from Leuk Bay (ssshh) umm just a minor incident
and scars. Anyways, I also have learned to not to feel bad for what went wrong
but feel good as it could have been worst. I wasn't aware about it but before
coming Koh Tao, I had already made my mind to have a background picture of a
particular place that was in internet. The viewpoint happened to be at Koh Nangyuan,
which is soooo pretty small island. I was also lured to go to the place when I
reached Nangyuan Terrace; spectacular view of sun set and the other island. Another
important confession, Thai food is solely responsible for making me a glutton
;) hehe!! But to be frank, I loved the Som Tam and Tom yum there, try the
spiciest version, you wouldn't regret it. But some of my white friends turn
Prawn (informal version of saying they turn completely red after having spicy
food or tanned ;)) Lol! |
| Cheow Lan Lake |
After flaunting my caramelized skin n enjoying my aquatic life in
two islands, I went back to mainland's Khao Sok National park which falls under
Surat Thani province. I was quite excited about it. I stayed at Jungle hut
which offered fun as soon as I reach there. I saw some monkeys entering in to a
room and stealing chips and chocolates out of the room. It reminded me of home
as we see many monkeys trying to snatch the fruits or even flowers sometimes. I
was little tired so just laid back for some time and later enquired about various activities they
offer, I booked for the 2 days and one night package at Cheow Lan Lake also
called Ratchaprapha dam. Trust me, it is one of the highlights of my trip. The
beautiful greenish water with majestic limestone cliffs in the backdrop was
something to be mesmerized. The package also included night stay at one of the
floating bungalows in the lake which was something I was intending to try. I
was super happy to enjoy fresh water after getting overdose of salty water.
Swimming(of course with life jacket), kayaking, evening and morning trips in
the long tailed boat to explore the lake and some islands where we did see some
mammals including Gibbons, gray macaque, dusky langur and some birds made it
special.
However, the most adventurous part of the trip was the hike to Nam Ta
Lu cave. Walking in the tropical forest, escaping the leeches, termites, ants,
slippery paths, crossing neck deep water holes, swinging in lianas was fun but
when we entered the cave with running water was quite thrilling. At one point,
water level was so high in the cave that I had to crawl and walk holding on the
walls. Then, the scariest part was waiting where the water current was very
strong and we had to climb up holding unto a rope. We made it at the end. Then,
we decided to close our torch and enjoy the darkness for a minute. But the
adventure hadn't ended, when we came out of the cave, it was raining cats n
dogs. So, we were walking, slipping, laughing on our way back to our Smiley's
floating bungalows. I also sneaked sometime for birdwatching which was fun.
Before leaving the lake, we hiked upto a bat n spider cave which was pretty
cool. I must say, Khao Sok National Park is a must visit place to the adrenaline
junkies and nature lovers
.
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| Grand Palace and Temple of Emerald Buddha |
I had only planned for these
places but I came to realize that the western Thai beach is just 2 hours away
i.e. Khao Lak. So, I thought of making a quick visit before I head back to the
concrete jungle. I was rejuvenated to be
back to the beach. Walked along the Andaman Sea, enjoyed some refreshing
coconut juice to beat the sun and also tried Thai massage for the first
time. This concluded my southern
Thailand trip and got back to Bangkok. Well, I was too nervous and overwhelmed
about it because I hadn’t got to see Bangkok when I entered the country. When
the bus dropped us at the bus station, I even didn’t know where I was. The only
place I remembered Khao San, hehe. So asked a taxi driver to take Khao San, but
the problem was it was so early to check into a room. At that time, I only
needed a restaurant with wifi ;) so that I can look for some place to stay
nearby. The famous Khao San road is worth a visit which is also nearby Grand
Palace, Temple of Emerald Buddha, Wat Arun. These heritages are so spectacular.
Besides, I loved the fish feet spa hehe
which was so ticklish that I could hardly keep my feet in the water as the fish
start biting you feet. Besides, you can literally get to eat everything
including scorpions, cockroaches and even dog's meat.
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| Fish spa |
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| BKK |
In Bangkok, I walked till my feet
hurt strolling around some crazy markets, some city parks, ancient cultural
heritages and whale watching trip sadly I couldn't see any. Bangkok is definitely a shopping spree where
some economic yet interesting markets like Chatuchak, MBK and excruciatingly
lavish Siam, Central World, Emporium are attracting large number of shopaholics.
Even to a person like me who doesn’t like shopping much, it would make you
drool for sure. Talking about Thai food, I need not say anything as it is
famous worldwide. However, being a vegetarian, it was a little bit of challenge
to get a proper food for me. I either had to repeat the food I wanted 2 or 3
times and sometimes they would still add meat on it, which was frustrating. But
still I had fun customizing the food and requesting to make the veg versions
and they were still very delicious. To be specific, I am head over heels for
Pad Thai and Tom yum plus all the foods prepared by Pioy(my Thai mom J). I already miss them so badly.
Thank you so much for everyone who made it special <3
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