August 2007 in Thailand & Cambodia

04 August 2007 - Valencia -> Madrid -> Qatar -> Bangkok

05 August 2007 - Evening arrival in Bangkok. Ger a 1st thai dinner, veryspicy! and the firsts Chang Beers to avoid jet lag

06 August 2007 - Bangkok: morning visit of the Golden Mount and Khao San to buy the bus tickets to go to Koh Samui. Tuk-tuk drive in the city. These are a touristic way to move in the city of Bangkok. More expensive than taxis, don't miss to jump at least once on them. Actually, I found them exactly than the cocotaxis in Cuba. On the afternoon take the bus to Surat-Thani. (The travel agency told me that there were no train available, but I was still few hours in Thailand to understand that the travel agencies will always advice you to take their buses). Of course, there were seats available at the train but... Anyway, after more than 10h at the bus you arrive at 5AM at Surat Thani, where you have to wait 2 more hours for the Ferry to bring us to Koh Samui.

07 August 2007 - Koh Samui: arrival to the island and take a cab to Choeng Moon beach, near Chaweng Beach (the area of bars, discos and fun!). I paid a fortune, 1000Baths (20€) for 1 day, but i was destroyed to look for other place to stay. August is high season and everywhere it was full. After a wodenrful rest-afternoon at the beach we went to have a dinner at the area of Chaweng. Samui is popular for having nice restaurants on the sand of the beach, very cheap and delicious. 

08 August 2007 - Koh Samui (Ang Thon Park)

09 August 2007 - Koh Phagnan - Trip to the island, swim at the beach and.. full moon party!

10 August 2007 - Koh Samui  - relaxing day, after the big party @Maenam Beah

11 August 2007 - Trip to Krabi with a van, then taxi-bus to Ao Nang. Walk around the beach, massage...

12 August 2007 - Koh Phi Phi - Ao Nang is a very cheap place and a perfect place for excursions

13 August 2007 - Ao Nang - Beach, shopping and excursion to the Shell Cemetery (very cheap and real great pearls)

14 August 2007 - Bus to Bangkok. Visit Standing Budha, Marble Temple and at night the famous Pat Pong market.

15 August 2007 - Bangkok - Visit the Royal Palace and the Wat Arun.

16 August 2007 - Very early, take the bus to Cambodia. Don´t forget to take 2 pictures for the visa. The visa costs 1200 BAT (plus 400 inside your passport if you dont have the pictures). Once you get to the border, the people from the travel agency will put you in very very old vans and you will get at 3AM to Siem Reap, very tired, so you won't have the chance to pick yourself a Guest House. But the one of the travel agency. It costed 5$ per night.

17 August 2007 - Angkor Wat - Pick a tuk-tuk the whole day for 30$/person. It is necessary as the temples are extended in a huge surface. The driver is also some kind of tourist guide. Don't miss the Bayoin bibliotheque (the smiling Faces building), Ta Phrom Temple and the big temple, Angkor Wat. You can spend the night at Siem Reap, not many bars but you can have some local beers. And yes, there are ATMs everywhere.

18 August 2007 - Picking a taxi at Siem Reap costs 30$/person but gets only in a couple of hours and you don't miss a whole day! Crossing the border of Cambodia, go to the bus station and take one to Bangkok. In another couple of hours you get to the capital. At night, you take a "night train" and enjoy one of the best experiences of Thailand to get to Chiang Mai. Don't miss the bar of the train, with music and lights!!

19 August 2007 - Chiang Mai - Visit as much as you can of this wonderful city: temples, markets. If you are on Sunday, there is a great night market, where you can buy all the souvenirs, much cheaper than in other city of Thailand. Very interesting all the crafts from the northern tribes. There is also plenty of bars ans it is crowded of backpackers. I stayed at Julie's Guest House, clean, cheap and happy ambience... for 3$/night with breakfast!!

20 August 2007 - Chiang Mai - Visit the Phuping Palace at the mountain to see great flowers and other botanical extrange things, and of course, go to the Wat Prathat Doi Suthep., one of the temples I have liked the most, incredible views at the sightseeing point. On the afternoon, visit more markets, shopping and party as much as you can!

21 August 2007 - Trip to Pai - After 4 hours surrounded by a magnificient landscape, you arrive to a little village at the mountains. A village full of alternative backpackers, hippies and rastamen. Rent a bike (24h-1€)or a motorbike and visit the hotsprings or the cascades. And don't miss the night ambience at the BeBop bar!

22 August 2007 - Pai - Trek,day1 - I was staying at "Villa de Pai guest houses", very cheap, clean, free water and free internet. This day and the following I rented a hiking tour at the Pai mountains to visit tribes and have some adventure. We were 6 people, 4 countries and lots of sport! this trekking was really hard: 6h up up up. We passed by a Lahu village, after 4 hours our guide was smoking some kind of opium and seemed so in good shape as I was trying to follow his steps up up...!! We arrived to a Lisu village where we stayed in a cottage and have dinner and sleep. Of course, no water to have a shower no nothing. just a wonderful landscape of the mountains.

23 August 2007 - Pai - Trek,day2 - I was thinking why I didnt stay at Chiang Mai with one of those tourist-treks, where you go on elephant and then do the bamboo rafting...I was exhausted and some weird bug had bitten my eyelid. We still had more than 9h to get back to Pai. It was 7AM and we started the way down. We passed by other tribes, rivers, we saw local hunters and miliions of bamboo forests. It was 6PM when we got to a place where a car picked us and gave lots of water and fruits to recover... I was sooo tired!! but it was one of the greatest adventures I have ever done in my life! At night and after a merited shower, we met to have some beers at  Mystic Guest House and again a great party at the BeBop.

24 August 2007 - Pai - Resting, massage, walking around... just relaxing. At night to a reggae concert at the "Reggae Bar". It was the inauguration of this place, so it was full of people!

25 August 2007 - Trip to Chiang Mai, then with a taxi to the airport and flight back to Bangkok - It costed me only 30€ and bought it only with 3days on advance at One-Two-Go. I went to Khao San road, take a room at one guest house and be prepared to have a great good bye party with some australian, irish and canadian friends I met. It was simply great.

26 August 2007 - I spent a day at Bangkok doing last-minute shopping and visiting the huge Chatuchack Sunday Market, as big as 5 football fields. A last walk on the Khao San road area, packing things... and getting some rest to wake up veeery early to pick the flicht back to Spain.

27 August 2007 - At 5AM i had booked a sit on a van to the airport... it was magical this trip!!