Category: Journey logs – Thailand

Travel: Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai, Thailand

Travel: Wat Rong Khun, Chiang Rai, Thailand

by eastasianlover ♥ 2 Comments

Finally, I’m writing about the memories from my last big holiday in Thailand. The two famous cities in the north of Thailand are Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. And Chiang Rai has this very famous temple called Wat Rong Khun. Also, called white temple and glass temple, this place is literally a piece of art. Even the wash rooms can be deceiving from the outside and you won’t know what they are until you go near the building.

Two words (I mean whole sentences hehe) of caution – 1. The temple is situated at a little distance from the main city but other main attractions of this place are far far away from the main city. So better take a hotel near Doi Tung rather in the main city. The Golden Triangle is also nearer to Doi Tung and like 1.5-2 hours away from the main Chiang Rai. Be cautious, we already committed the mistake of booking our hotel in the main city . Oh! And if you’re lured by the night market of Chiang Rai, there is nothing much.

I’m not saying that it’s bad, but considering that it’s really difficult to get any conveyance from Doi Tung to main city in the night and the passport checks by Thai police in between, I’ll say it’s safer to spend the night in the city of Chiang Saen. If you want the night market, look forward to Chiang Mai’s night market. It’s huge and by huge I mean really really huge. That’s for one of the future posts.

2. Wear whole clothes especially down – pants or something. No shorts or skirts. It’s not that they don’t allow you to go but it’s better to click photos in your pretty jeans or long skirts than a white cloth covering your legs in my honest opinion.

Near the place, there are not many other sight seeing spots. As I said they are far far away. But the main bus stand is in the city. Well, we had only one and a half day for whole Chaing Rai and hence, we were disappointed when we had to leave some of the major attractions due to lack of time.

So ideally, the ideal plan, if you don’t have much time on your hands, should be, take a ticket to the Chiang Rai bus station, visit Wat Rong Khun and then again take a bus to Chiang Saen from the same station to get to your hotel (which, you would have, of course, booked there itself, I hope, after reading this post). From there, go to other places which will be coming in subsequent posts.

Enjoy!

Travel: The Fun Filled Weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand: Part-3

Travel: The Fun Filled Weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand: Part-3

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

How many weekends before was it? I can’t remember. But the feelings, the memories, after I see the photos are still fresh. Concluding this series (which is very very late, I know) I will take you to three places – The view point, King Chulalongkorn Palace and Yellow Buddha.

The View point is nothing more than a view point (of course, it’s name says that). There is a bridge leading to rocky beach (not exactly) which tempts you to go and check out the caves which seem very near from above. If you go downwards, you’ll be probably disappointed as you can’t reach there. I can’t say for the evening though when the water generally recedes. Anyways, not more than half an hour worth is this place. May be good for photographers though. Check out the photos below –

Next is King Chulalongkorn Palace. Also called King Rama V Palace, this is very beautiful place to visit. Itself contains a lot of places for sightseeing, do eat a lot before going to this place as you’ll need energy. Lots of stairs and rocks to climb. Especially for history enthusiasts, who are interested to learn more about royal family’s history. Each palace dedicated to various princes of their times contains books and accounts for their and people’s under them lives. Don’t miss the stone bell and the temple. If you get tempted to go to further up ahead for another viewpoint, take a lots of water and heart, as you may get a little disappointed there. A fun place and has appropriate rest points. You can actually enjoy sea too. And some spots to enjoy are just so accurate that – how do I describe it – you sit,wind blows, sea is before you, it’s peaceful, not even birds, just waves’ sounds and you can ponder about life after reading the charity works and great developments done by the Kings there. Very much coverable on foot but if you want to hire bike, I think they allow that too. The pics are below:

We went to beach (where our tuk tuk driver took us) after that but that is not a very special place. Ah! You can have your lunch there though. Lots of places to eat. And the time we reached was about right too. You can play first or take lunch first. But beware! The rocks are very slippery and the beach has a lot of shells and stones.

Lastly we went to the Yellow Buddha on our own. It wasn’t included in our Tuk-Tuk trip. But it’s not very far away from the main pier. Also, it’s a curvy road climbing – very tiring – but worth it. We were lucky that when we reached there, no one was around. Although we were afraid of entering the cave, nonetheless, we did and I’m glad we did. The big Yellow Buddha is just at the entrance and there is just an old rusted sign pointing to the cave, so it’s very much possible to miss it. But if you go down, you’ll find reclining Buddha and big Buddha’s foot.

And it’s really interesting to go down a cave. We got a little lost but if you fell like that, just take the muddy road you see before you and go down, you’ll meet with the main road which took you to the temple. But where is fun in that. It’s the only place you can explore like a real adventurer. Like in search of some treasure. The fallen apart or being newly constructed buildings are not less than that.

There is a Golden Buddha too but we had heard it had 500 stairs! Due to lack of time and strength, we decided to go back. The ferry leaves every hour from the pier but the place for leaving may as well change, so it’s better to ask first.

In the end, these are the photo of the Yellow Buddha and around –

Enjoy! Oh! And we had our lunch at Pan and David’s. Really good food. You should try out there too! They have a site about the island too – http://www.ko-sichang.com/

Side Story 1 – I have been trying more groups now and I was trying Japanese groups. What caught my eyes was the biggest group I have come across – AKB48. I had heard about it’s anime but never watched that and never realized that it was based on real idol group. And when you check out the ages, they start from like 12 years!! Now since they have a lot of members and a lot of songs, I don’t think I’ll be able to learn the faces anytime soon. I just hope to learn a lot of Japanese from them. I got surprised when I could get a lot of lyrics from their songs. Really boosted my confidence. I am very happy!!

Side Story 2 – Oh well! I think I am going in depression now considering I had lots of plans after I would have got placed but it seems, everything is falling apart because the companies are not coming on campus TT_TT. If there was such problem, why were we called in such winter and our holidays in the first place? It’s too unfair that I have to spend my holidays and the festivals almost all alone in the college.

Side Story 3 – Since there are very less people on campus right now, I got to join this group of people and they are really fun. Why did I not meet them in my past three years here? Oh well! My mistake only. I was the one who was reluctant to come out of my room. But now I want to change. Thailand has already changed me a lot. Although it’s my last semester, but I am finally getting to know people – good people. Also, one of the girl told me today that I am fun to be around. Oh! I am so happy right now. It’s probably the first time someone has told me this. Thank you friend 😀 😀

Today’s song – Isn’t it obvious, it’s going to be AKB48? Nopes, it’s MissA today. I have been stuck on two songs from them and if I am not trying out Japanese groups, then these two are the only songs on my playlist. Posting one of them. Here: 

Gallery

Travel: Erawan Waterfall – Seven Steps to Heaven (Updated till 7th level)

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I have updated it till the 7th level. Now I realize it’s become too long. But I love that blue water ❤

eastasianlover's avatarThe Joys and Worries of an East Asia Lover

Alright, before starting, I need to say some things first. If you don’t want to hear my story and want to know about the the places I went in Kanchanaburi only, skip to third para. And if you specifically want to know about the waterfall, then you may skip to sixth para directly.

Hello all. It’s been a while. I’m taking break from blogging, coz I’ve got tons of work – final reports + A daily journal by college which has to be completed no matter what + last experiments + last sightseeings in Thailand. I’ve got 15 days left and now I want to cover as much Thailand (and work too) as possible. I haven’t visited any of the mainstream places nor have time for that now – Pattaya, Phuket, Krabi etc. etc. Last trip for me in Thailand would be Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, if we are…

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Travel: Erawan Waterfall – Seven Steps to Heaven (Updated till 7th level)

Travel: Erawan Waterfall – Seven Steps to Heaven (Updated till 7th level)

by eastasianlover ♥ 1 Comment

Alright, before starting, I need to say some things first. If you don’t want to hear my story and want to know about the the places I went in Kanchanaburi only, skip to third para. And if you specifically want to know about the waterfall, then you may skip to sixth para directly.

Hello all. It’s been a while. I’m taking break from blogging, coz I’ve got tons of work – final reports + A daily journal by college which has to be completed no matter what + last experiments + last sightseeings in Thailand. I’ve got 15 days left and now I want to cover as much Thailand (and work too) as possible. I haven’t visited any of the mainstream places nor have time for that now – Pattaya, Phuket, Krabi etc. etc. Last trip for me in Thailand would be Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, if we are able to reach there considering the protests going on all over Bangkok and other places.

Now, yesterday, we went to Kanchanaburi and our plan was as follows – Erawan Waterfall, Tiger Temple, Hin Dat Hot Springs, Hell Fire pass and River Kwai bridge. We started from Saraburi at around 6 a.m. and reached Kanchanaburi in about three hours. The roads were empty and it was possible to drive the car at a speed of 110 km/hr. The driver probably didn’t understand the name, so we first stopped at River Kwai Bridge. A beautiful bridge, made by prisoners of war. I also saw Japan’s “rising sun” flag.

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Here are many shops to buy souvenirs for your friends – lots of jewelary and showpieces and other things including hats etc. Then there is a mini train too, which takes you for a round. But we didn’t go in it, so I can’t tell you about fare and all. And if you’re hungry, there are tons of shops to eat your favorite non-veg food. Us, veg people, get many 7-eleven nearby, so we can get various eggless breads or che rice porridge or che mama.

We spent around one hour here. Then went to the nearest war cemetery which was 3km away from the bridge. You do get that sad feeling there – remains of prisoners of war are buried there. My friends were taking pics there but I just couldn’t dare to. So no pics from there.

After this, we went to Erawan waterfalls, which took us around one and half to two hours to reach by car. You need to pay an entrance fee of 200 Baht per person if you’re a foreigner who doesn’t work in Thailand and 40 Baht per person if you are working here. Car charges are separate – 30 baht. Nice parking, lots of people and lots of shops to eat. Better eat something before going to conquer the waterfall as it’s 2 km of climbing, not to mention the walkway which is made of stones and wood naturally and very undefined terrain. And if you’re looking for some more adventure, you can take dip in cold pure water and climb the seventh level from the sixth one on waterfall itself and not go on the conventional way.

Starting from the first level, following are the pics:

Level one and around

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Level two and around

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Level three and around

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Level four and around

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Ouch! I don’t think I have photos from further here. They are in my friends cam. I’ll update by today though if I get those.

Some advices

1. Don’t make the trip plan with Tiger temple if you’re planning to go upto 7th level since the waterfall closes at 3:30 p.m. and temple at 4 or 4:30 p.m. We had one day only and had plans for some 5-6 places but ended up enjoying this one place only.

2. Do take swimming suit along. There are washrooms at second level if you’re wondering where you’ll change. Had we known that, we would have taken too. From there, you can walk all the way up in those swimming suits only.

3. Don’t, if possible, take bags with you as they’ll just become hindrance. Just have a waterproof camera and you’re ready to go. You can take some money too in case you want some refreshing drinks. I would suggest leaving everything behind in the car or bus, whichever you take.

4. Try wearing sneakers (if you don’t feel yuck with wet shoes) or floaters as climbing the waterfall is same as climbing a hill – rocky muddy path.

PS for girls – If you have a boyfriend, take him with you for sure and if not, then make one. Coz if your friends leave you behind coz you’re slow and don’t even stop to look back for you, you’ll feel need for a boyfriend seeing so many couples there, guys helping their girls.

PS for boys who have girlfriends – Don’t leave your girls on your own and help her on the way (although, it’s given). Don’t let her hand go. She’ll feel loved and you’ll get her in one piece (no broken bones may be or even scratches) at the end of the journey. I had lots.

PS for people going in groups of two+ people – Don’t leave your groupmates behind just because they are slow. Wait for them. It may save your time because ultimately the rate of reaction depends on the slowest step (Sorry but I think I have gone nuts *shrugs*). And those who are the ones to be left behind, don’t let your anger come into play. Keep looking for them ahead.

I went just ahead without looking for them and they stopped somewhere. I went ahead and reached my car. They had my phone and all. So no contact. I went to the driver of our car and the people (who were now left behind) thought I got lost. They waited for me, went back to look for me and what not. Real drama is, they got separated too and one of them who didn’t have my phone, went ahead. His phone’s battery went dead. And the third person who was girl, then went somewhere else. In short, we all got separated, couldn’t contact each other and wasted some one hour. Had we had that one hour, we could’ve visited tiger temple too. So please, keep on watchout.

Side Story 1 – As I stated earlier, I’m taking a break from blogging and plan to do so for some more time. This will not be the last post though. I need to finish the Koh Si Chang Series, I started earlier. Then, I know I’ll study at the last moment but I do need to remind myself again and again that I need to study. So, my posts (if any at all) will basically be reblogs or the photos I’ll take or have taken as last memories in Thailand.

Today’s Song – I’m back to the Side Story and Today’s song mode. But today – no song. I don’t have a song that goes well with this place yet. So, I don’t want to spoil the fun. Actually looking on the adventurous side, some very rocking dashing happy song would do, but right now, I don’t have any idea. If you have suggestions after seeing the photos, please do tell me.

Update 26th Dec 2013 – Alright! Time to finish the work. Last three level, here they come-

Level five and around-

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Level six and around –

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Well, the no. of photos is becoming less and less coz we were too busy in worrying about how to reach 7th level and go there or not. So you’ll have to bear even me in some photos. People were just climbing the waterfall itself and it was so slippery and scary. And the one who had nothing in his hands and could take photos was not even interested in taking photos without people (¬_¬”)

And the final level, the seventh level –

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Phew! Finally it’s complete! I hope you enjoy them (I apologize for the pics with too many people but I didn’t have any choice …….)

Travel: The fun filled Weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand – Part 2

Travel: The fun filled Weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand – Part 2

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So, although we roamed a lot the night before , we still didn’t know about the pier from where ferry to the island went. We hired a TukTuk to drop us at the place. Turned out that the pier was the same place where the fair was going on the previous night and because of traffic, they didn’t take us even though there were 10 minutes left to the last ferry.

The first ferry to Koh Si Chang starts at 6 a.m. and then leaves every hour for 50 Baht per person. We took 7 a.m. one. The boat was small and crowded but I forgot everything, the moment I realized that the place I’m sitting at is filled with Japanese people who are going for fishing. Oh boy! For all 45 minutes journey + waiting time, I could hear Japanese. I couldn’t approach them. But it was really good to listen to and actually understand quite a few words 🙂

Anyways, so the ferry takes about 45 min to 1 hour to reach the destination. As soon as you set foot on land, you’re pestered by TukTuk drivers and motor bike renters to hire them to see the island. TukTuk driver was asking for 250 Baht for 2 hours for 4 places including beach. I mean, how can you enjoy the places, when you’ve a strict time limit on you? Also, we had half a day, that means around 6-8 hours. You can’t spend rest of your time on beach only.

And it wasn’t a place for motorbike. We had hired motorbikes in Koh Chang because that was big and difficult to cover on foot, not to mention the roller coaster ride like roads. So we weren’t in favor of motorbikes either. We had plans to go on foot from the starting.

But this one TukTuk driver was really persistent and followed us a bit. Somehow, we were able to leave him behind but realized that the Palace was too far to go on foot on the slanted roads, so ultimately we hired a TukTuk for 250 Baht for 5 hours. The person showed us four places – Chinese Temple, SeaView Point, The King’s Palace and at last beach.

First we went to the Chinese temple known as Saan Chao Pho Khao Yai, or Shrine of the Father Spirit of the Great Hill. There are a lot of small temples around the main temple. The temples are based in a cave and there are a lot of stairs – LOT OF! But it’s worth it! Also, one needs to light the incense sticks that too right no. (which is generally written over pots) and then strike the musical instruments – bells, drums etc. etc. in correct no. The caves are really imposing. Many have stuck their wishes on the walls of the temple too. Now I think about it, I should’ve done that too…..

Best part I find about the temples here is that there is no restriction in clicking photos in or outside. I finally saw a Korean currency note too. And the dragons! I love dragons!! All in all, the place is peaceful and beautiful. At the top, you’ll indeed feel on the top of the world. And if you really decide to walk down the island, then, the temple is very near to the starting point. So, don’t get allured by the people trying to convince you to hire them. But if you want to see just the main attractions of the island, do go for TukTuk taxi.

Here are the pics-

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Travel: The fun filled weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand – Part 1

Travel: The fun filled weekend at Koh Si Chang, Thailand – Part 1

by eastasianlover ♥ 1 Comment

This weekend, we planned for a trip to Koh Si Chang. Actually, our plan was to go to Hua Hin, another island, but it was too big to cover in one day. So we decided for Koh Si Chang. I may have mentioned in my Koh Chang post too, Koh means Island, Chang means Elephant. They are famous for their shape as an elephant. Si means small and as the name suggests, it really is very small – around 17 km in length. Seems easy to cover in one day on foot, right? We thought so too.

Also, this time, I’ll cover the places we visited on the island one by one. So it will be a 4-5 part series probably.

Now, let’s start. We had plans to reach SriRacha to catch the ferry to Koh Si Chang in the night, but unfortunately, due to traffic, we couldn’t reach on time and the last ferry left. We had to stay in SriRacha and we’re glad we had to.

We took van from Victory Monument (also called Anu Savari) in Bangkok for Sri Racha. It is the place from where you get the ferry for not only Koh Si Chang but for very famous Pattaya also. The van took 120 Baht per person and about one and a half hour (without traffic) to reach the destination. They dropped us at Robinson and from there only you can get Tuk Tuk to take you to the pier. It was still 10 minutes to 8 (8 PM is the time for the last ferry to the island) but Tuk Tuk drivers refused to take us saying that it was too late. We later came to know the reason.

Anyways, upset, we entered Robinson to roam around but we were too disappointed and nothing was cheering us up. It had ruined our whole plan. Only one thing was in our mind, “How will we cover the whole island in half a day?” We were hungry too. This mall had our favourite veg pizza place – The Pizza Company. But by the time we finished the mall, every shop got closed too including the pizza shop (Bad day, I know). Again I decided, I would go for veg cup noodles (che mama) from Seven Eleven, but I don’t now why, my friends wanted to eat in a restaurant. The biggest tragedy was – more or less, all the restaurants were Japanese and I wasn’t expecting Veg food anywhere.

We hadn’t booked any hotel too neither at Koh Si Chang nor at Sri Racha (we were in adventurous mode). Devoid of any info, we were still looking for a place to have dinner and rest for sometime. We asked at many places and nowhere, there was veg available. This particular shop (Oops! I didn’t notice it’s name. How bad I am!) agreed to cook us veg food specially and the lady found us a hotel too. I saw on Google Earth and I found out the name – Bangkok Grill.

After filling ourselves, we started to look for accommodation. Now the hotels can be real expensive for students like me. They generally start from 1000 Baht. The first hotel we were suggested was SriChai hotel. We didn’t find that one but did come across SamChai hotel. She was offering us an AC room in 900 Baht and we were getting two rooms in 1500 Baht. Not a bad deal I guess. But we kept looking and this SriChai hotel was already full. Ultimately, we came back to Samchai and got the room in 1400 Baht! Satisfied!

It was already 10:30 in the night and we were tired. But the explorer inside wasn’t ready to keep quiet. So we went out and this huge Loi Krathong fair was going on. Loi Krathong is Thailand’s light festival. Many many lanterns in the sky, and candles afloat the water. Read more about Loi Krathong here. There were many shops ranging from clothes to accessories to eatables to shooting games to even pets and there were small rides also. And there was a concert going on too but since my two friends weren’t interested in listening to the songs they didn’t understand, they didn’t bother to take even a look. Dude! That was such cool music. Do you always understand rock songs when you listen them for the first time?

We clicked a lot of pics, played games, took rides and had lots of fun. When the people started closing the stalls, we had to leave too 😦

But it was super-fun. On the bridge over sea, calm waves, festive atmosphere, loud music. What else to enjoy the evening? (Ok, drinks may be? But unfortunately, I don’t drink so that’s it for me.) And thus ended an unforgettable night. Here are some pics from the festival. Enjoy!

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Oh, and next time, I’ll tell about irritating Tuk Tuk drivers and motor bike renters and the really beautiful Chinese Temple.

Travel: Khun Dan Prakan Chon Dam – Tranquility at its best

Travel: Khun Dan Prakan Chon Dam – Tranquility at its best

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Although the post is one week late, that means I got to visit this place on last Wednesday, but this place does need a bragging.

Also known as Khlong Tha Dan Dam, this dam is situated in Nakhon Nayok. Since we went there directly from Ayutthya, I have no idea about the time required or the distance from Saraburi (or Ayutthaya as a matter of fact). All I can tell you is that in a minute, the pics will speak for themselves and that no bus goes to this area. All you can hire is a rental car. But if you’re in above three areas mentioned, this place is worth a visit. Read more here.

Surrounded by hills, the roads are too curvy (and fun until and unless you’re not driving). You can feel the atmosphere from a large distance. And when you reach there, it’s like the world has been divided by that bridge (the dam) – one side you’ve a vast ocean and other side a beautiful valley. One cannot describe the change in mood and feelings inside as we roll from one side to the other. We went when it was cloudy, so it reminded me of starting of winters in India. We were wearing summer clothes though.

The winds are different too. Since it was a holiday, many people were there – many indeed. But call it weather or call of the winds, it was just peaceful. The noises were getting dissolved in the serenity of the place. All you could feel there was relaxed. Seeing so many people, I was expecting a lot of ruckus and I don’t like that. But I was wrong indeed.

Also, on foot, you’ve a limit of distance you can walk on the bridge. You’ve to take a special bus for whole round and the guide keeps telling you things. It could be good but we didn’t take that so I can’t tell you much about that.

More about the place which we didn’t do. So they are just points to let you know. I cannot provide much information on those either.

  • You can do mountain biking there. You can hire bicycles but I don’t know the price. I did see many people do mountain biking and before the hilly area starts, there are a lot of shops.
  • There are many water falls near the place – Sarika waterfall being the one of those for which I remember the name.
  • We could see the motorboats too, so I’m sure there is a provision for that too.

Now the pics –

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We just went there out of the blue. If you want to give time to everything around, do keep one day for it. We just couldn’t find time for nearby places. And it has way for Khao Yai also (which was the first place I visited as a tourist in Thailand and I haven’t posted review for it) which mostly has Italian styled famous parks or streets and waterfalls in and around the Khao Yai national park. So if you’re planning a trip for here, you can as well take out 2-3 days and enjoy the beauty and different experience this whole area has to offer.

Side Story 1 – I need to post about Ayutthaya too, soon. Otherwise it’ll become pending same as my Khao Yai trip. Not that I’ll not post about it. But it will take time to be immersed in the same feelings again. I hope I get time to visit the place again with some new places in the side.

Side Story 2 – Now only four Sundays are left and me and my friend, who is an employee here, are planning extensively for the rest. She has been here for like more than one year, but she hasn’t been able to go out much and I want her to cover as much as she can before I go. The other person is never interested in planning. All I hear as an answer is “I have no problem. You can plan for wherever you want to go.” I have stopped asking him now and hence, there have been many places where he couldn’t go including the above one. Oh well! It was my above mentioned friend’s colleague who took us and she was with her family. She couldn’t accommodate more people anyway.

And today’s song is not going to be an MV but just a track from EXO’s album – 

Travel: The Museum of Floral Culture, Thailand

Travel: The Museum of Floral Culture, Thailand

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Today, I’ll take you to this small beautiful unknown place called The Museum of Floral Culture. Situated in very inner parts of the area Bang Kra Bu, just outside of Bangkok, it is very easy to reach there. Many buses go to Bang Kra Bu and drop you on the main road. Beware! There would be bike taxi people who will offer you to take at the place but they themselves don’t know the place or pretend to do so. Ours one agreed to take us there in minimal charges of 20 Baht and then got lost, went somewhere else and then asked for 40 Baht per person. The place is very near the main road at a walking distance.

The museum of floral culture

Ok, now the place. It would have been a house with people living in them at some point of time. Now it has been converted to a museum. The outside arouses one’s curiosity as to what would be inside. Flowers, as the name suggests? Nopes. The museum shows the history of flowers, how they and the art of flower arrangement in vases, garlands and such travelled in Asia. Very beautiful art and decoration. There is a minimal fee of 150 Baht if you just want to see the floral museum. There is something called tea set museum (which we didn’t see btw) with additional fee.

Biggest regret, they don’t let you click inside the museum. You can enjoy the outside sceneries here though:

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This place is not for biology people nor for those who wish to see botanical garden kind of thing. It’s for history enthusiasts who like to know the connections between cultures of various countries. The tour hardly takes 45 minutes to complete and then they allow you to take as many photographs as you want in the outside premises.

Great time pass if you are left with some 2-3 hours and don’t have anywhere else to go. Not very far from Siam Paragon. Highly recommended!

Travel: What I could’ve only dreamt of – Japan Festa in Bangkok

Travel: What I could’ve only dreamt of – Japan Festa in Bangkok

by eastasianlover ♥ 2 Comments

So today, my day started very bad coz everybody in my friends circle refused to go to Bangkok due to one reason or other. I mean, each and every single one of them backed out! But i dared today – to go alone to Bangkok. And guess what! I got the model of the mobile phone which I wanted to buy and was out of stock till yesterday afternoon. And…….. And I got to see Japan Festa in Bangkok 2013, being held outside Central World Mall. There were a lot of cosplayers and there were a lot of random outlets. There were Japanese food stalls too; but I’m a veg so I couldn’t taste that. :-/

Some gen pics –

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Here are some cosplay pics of the characters I know :

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Then I went to KoreaTown situated on Sukhumvit 12. I went there by BTS train (just like metros) and the place was some three stations away from the above place. And to tell you the truth, it was a huge disappointment. After the pleasant surprise of attending an unexpected cosplay event, I was excited what the day was to unfold for me and I was really upset after seeing a deserted place with only Korean food shops and dental clinics and hair salons. What would have I done there? I thought I could buy some books for my Korean learning there. But there wasn’t even one book shop in KoreaTown (at least I didn’t find any). I did find one book shop a little far away but all it had was Korean books for Thai people 😦

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The I went back to the event again and had more clicks. This time, since it was around 4:30 in the evening, the weather was pleasant. So I had some more fun. By 5:00 p.m. I had to reach the headquarters to take the company’s van, so I had to leave this awesome and fantastic place, much to my regret. Why did I waste time going to Sukhumvit. If only had I attended this festival properly, I could have a chance to finally try a kimono TT_TT

Some more pics with cosplays I don’t know or don’t seem to recall –

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But truly. The people were there from the morning to the evening. Must have been sooo tiring. Hats off to the cosplayers! Getting clicked by so many strangers, posing for each one of them differently……. truly amazing.

With this, I’ll end my post today. I hope you enjoy the pics 🙂

Travel: Discovering Ko-Chang, Day-2, The End

Travel: Discovering Ko-Chang, Day-2, The End

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

We had plans to go for snorkeling but the accident last night left us with no choice. We didn’t want to really leave our friend behind and have fun. So we decided to go for elephant jungle trekking. It was around 500 Baht initially (probably) but after some insistence and persistence, we bargained for 450 Baht/person. The arrangement was done by the resort people only. To tell you the truth, we would not have got the deal if we would have gone on our own.

The taxi came to pick us up and we reached the place, full of big and small elephants. We were offered water first. Oh, I remember, there are two choices you can pick – One hour or Two hours. The one we took was one hour one. The Two Hour program would have cost 650 Baht/person. In one hour, we were taken to the mountain and in the Klong River. That’s it! But it was really fun ride, you see. The elephant went into the water, deep down. We didn’t get water splashed on us (Thank God! Otherwise, I didn’t have any other clothes ‘NOT’ intended for beaches since we were going back after this). And the scenes! When you reach almost top of the mountain, you can see whole island in front of you. Felt like touching the sky!

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We were photographed by the camp people and by the time we reached the camp, it had been prepared and framed. We could buy it for 200 Baht. The fruits had been prepared for us already and then the baby elephants came out. He was sooo cute!! He took me by surprise when he suddenly lifted me up on his trunk! And when his master used to say “Khorp Khun Khrub” meaning thank you (said by males), the baby use to bow down by stretching his front legs. We took some clicks and had delicious fruits. The fruits and water were included in the ticket itself and we were not charged for them separately.

Now in two hour program, they take you to the beach with the elephants and you can have a lot of games and rides with them. We did want to do that but time constraints were there. You can feed the elephants too! Baskets with small bananas are kept for 20 Baht/basket. It could have been free if we went to hotel back, but we had to go back to pier for ferry. So for there, they themselves brought a taxi and with heavy heart, we started our journey back to our home. Once again roller coasters and a lot of tourists in the taxi, we reached the pier, took the ferry and…… sigh!

And this is how, we ended our memorable trip. (Lol! While writing this sentence, I suddenly remembered “How I Met Your Mother”)

Travel: Discovering Ko-Chang, Day-1

Travel: Discovering Ko-Chang, Day-1

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Alright, time to complete the task which I have been procrastinating from long time (one week, that is). Yup, it’s been week since I travelled to this faraway land and I’m not able to forget the serenity and beauty of this place (not that I haven’t travelled to any seaside place before but this has been a particularly memorable one). And, this post is gonna be a long one!

Ko-Chang (meaning Elephants Island) is a district in Trat province located around 310 km from Bangkok and second largest island of the country (Source – Wikipedia……. Who goes on a fun trip and asks for geographical data?………Well, at least, I don’t)

Since, I’m living in Saraburi, I’ll describe my journey from here only. We went to Bangkok from our company taxi (which, obviously, cost me nothing). Reached Bangkok, roamed around, visited some malls and blah, blah, blah……..

Random Roaming and Clicking in Bangkok
Random Roaming and Clicking in Bangkok

Bus time! We took 11:30 p.m. VIP bus from Ekamai bus station to Trat. Awesome and comfortable journey. Good condition seats and AC. Best part, you have got toilets on board!!! (For Indians, it is a new thing). Four and a half hours and we reached Trat bus station (must have been the closest district to Ko Chang island but I forgot to see the name……. anyway, it will drop you at the right place, if you are in right bus, so don’t worry). Our ferry to Ko Chang was around 6 in the morning, so we decided to wait at the bus station itself, but the driver who was supposed to take us to ferrypoint kept pestering us to hurry up, hence, we had to leave the place earlier. It took us about half hour and we made a stop at the ferry ticket counter (which was about 15min away from actual pier). This lady, who was booking tickets, was very helpful (and real business-minded, I must warn). She not only booked ferry but convinced us to book ‘open’ tickets for returning bus from Trat to Bangkok, since 12th, Monday (the day we were supposed to return home) was holiday all over Thailand in honor of The Honorable Queen’s Birthday and many people would be going back. Since the ferry and bus tickets were both open, we weighed our options and decided to go with it. We just needed to inform the lady when we would board the ferry while coming back so that she would confirm our bus tickets. Not bad. Now, no tension and no hassle of buying tickets to our way back.

We were taken to the pier and we were lucky enough to see the sunrise (bumper bonus!). See for yourself. Although it was cloudy, sun came out for enough time to get clicked by us.

The sun is also a fan of being photographed!
The sun is also a fan of being photographed!

Ferry took around half an hour to reach the actual island! Although slow, it was a fun ride, giving us a chance to feast our eyes on beautiful sceneries, never seen before.

Oh finally
Oh finally

Oh, prices…. I’ll make sure to ask coz till now everything was paid by one of my friends and I just received the cumulative bill in the end (Oops! that reminded me, i still haven’t paid her). From now on, I can tell you. After climbing down the ferry, we took a taxi who’s driver was charging 100 Baht per person from foreigners till our hotel (which was quite far, I must admit).

And trust me, that was one hell of a ride. Why, you ask? If you want a roller coaster ride without an amusement park, this is the place. The roads are so steep, so steep, that at some places, you are literally at a perpendicular plane to that of the sea you can see from there (Sorry if you are bad at maths, but this is the only way I can say that). Since we were moving, we couldn’t click the exact thing but I hope that these give you some idea.

The downward slanted road as can be seen from side wall
The angle !
The dangerous turn
Is it same as second one?

So, somehow we arrived at the hotel “Bai Lan Beach Resort” at 8 in the morning but our check in was at 11. And while my friends were talking to the receptionist, asking for information, I had a look over the place and it was really breathtaking scene.

Ok, so the resort was good. We had already booked the rooms since we were afraid of holiday season. We relaxed a little bit and rented motorbikes (scooties actually) and tried to find veg food. Now, it’s not like we were not getting veg food in the resort but it was a little expensive for people like me. Again, the roads are really up and down, so until and unless you have confidence to drive on such roads (where you can barely control the speed of the vehicle while going down), I would suggest you sit behind some expert. Keeping this in mind, I opted to be the passenger rather than driver. There are a lot of marts out there where you can buy various kinds of bread (without egg too) and frozen food. Meanwhile, we stopped in between to have a look on other small waterfalls and beaches (our resort’s was a rocky one). Here-

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A little more masti, some more clicks and we went to the resort again. Oops! 11a.m. was check out time for previous customer and check in time was 12 noon. One more hour we waited.

Rooms were good, clean bathrooms, mini fridge (equipped with beer which is NOT included in your room rent), TV, AC etc. Our room was with garden view and a double bed, so the price was around 1000 Baht for one night and it included one time breakfast and all the service taxes. Time to freshen up and leave all the tiredness of the whole night journey behind, to enjoy the day’s endeavours. And then we went for kayaking, since it was free and available at that time. Other sports were far away and their time was in morning. We had nothing to do so we went kayaking. And the whole team – amateurs! (Since there were no trainers or anyone like that….. you were free to go by yourself, which we did). It’s easy to see someone and analyze how they do the things they do but very difficult to do it by self, which was the case here too. We turned the kayak upside down a hundred times (a little exaggeration) but still had loads of fun. Then we went to a beautiful whitesand and clear beach called ‘The Lonely Beach’ (and it was exact opposite to it’s name). The tides are a little high in the afternoon. There are massage parlors too (genuine ones please, not those kinds). So while having a good view, you can have a good massage too. Lunch at 5 and then we took our motorbikes to explore more. A little unfortunate accident stopped our little expedition then and there, but you can still find lagoons, small streams and waterfalls to visit by the road itself. Many people were taking a bath too, in these fresh water streams. Went back and had dinner at some peaceful place. The place was a little empty, so it was nicer atmosphere. The prices were reasonable too, not very expensive but not very cheap either. Came back and relaxed on lounge chairs by the seaside till midnight. Had some drinks and the day finished. The accident did upset us a lot and how we wished, we could go further up ahead but, oh well.

Now, my dear vegetarian friends, if you are worried about your food, I suggest you don’t. When we were planning our trip, many people told me, I won’t get anything since I’m a person who doesn’t take egg even in cake. But, I did get fantastic food there, that too pure veg. Thai people call “no egg, no meat” food as “che”. All you have to do is, use this word, if they don’t understand, while ordering food and they will prepare it for you or tell you what are the dishes suitable for you on the menu.

Next part – Elephant Jungle trekking….. Coming soon

 

Travel: Goodbye Ko Chang

Travel: Goodbye Ko Chang

by eastasianlover ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Sitting on the beach lounge chair by the seaside, I can see the vast ocean before me. There are three, rather four islands in the sea. People are playing in cold water on the beach. The sounds of waves are shadowing their joyful screams. It is drizzling; small droplets going through my hair and falling on the ground. There are big mountains in the background afar, covered with lush green trees, looking so fresh after heavy rains last night. Clouds are touching the top of the hills making them look like a factory where they are being manufactured, defying all laws of science. It is peaceful, it is relaxing. I have left all the worries of the world behind.

But why does it make me so sad? Is it because, it is almost time to leave this place? Just one day trip is not enough to grab all the gifts this place has to offer. I regret not taking more leaves now, as the time draws near. At this serene place, I can spend days sitting and doing nothing.

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Then, is it due to jealousy, I’m feeling against people arriving here and checking in to the resort now, because they can start enjoying and for me, it is the end? Or, is this vastness of the ocean making me feel so? Because, I can’t see myself anywhere. This does make me seem insignificant similar to those four islands which are looking like small dots from here, or the speed boats going to and fro, even smaller.

What is this feeling? I have never had any attachment to any place before, not even my college or school. But, why here? Why does it feel like my last trip I’ll ever have? Is it some bad omen? Female’s intuition?

It’s time to go on the last adventure for this trip – elephant jungle trekking. As I gather my thoughts and my emotions and my belongings, the sun is coming from behind the clouds, shining its hopeful rays on me, inspiring me to start anew and do something for myself and the world.

PS – I wrote this, when we were just going to leave Ko Chang as you can make out from above. I did not have any internet though, that’s why I’m posting it today. The review of the place is coming soon with lots of photographs. For now, enjoy these sceneries from where I sat and wrote.

Oh! And about my intuition, something bad did happen but that I will tell in other parts.