Went to the Elephant Nature Park and fed and washed elephants all day. I didn’t realize the way elephants are trained to be ridden and do tricks is so brutal and inhumane. Returned to the hostel and planned my next few days. Craved McDonalds, so I ate dinner there. Watched some Battlestar Galactica.
Rented a bicycle and headed for the interior of the old quarter. Stopped to east some street food for lunch. Saw several temples. Rode to a neighborhood outside the old quarter that supposedly was a nice place to shop, but was sorely disappointed. Returned to the hostel for a couple hours. Ate dinner nearby. Rode my bicycle to the night market a few blocks away and browsed the stalls there for an hour or so. Returned to the hostel and went to bed.
Ate an American breakfast at a restaurant across the street. Rode the minibus to the Ko Phuket airport and arrived at 1:30 p.m. Ate lunch at Burger King and then had four or so hours to kill. Drank some beers in a bar to use their free wifi. Flew to Chiang Mai at about 7:30 p.m. and arrived at about 9:30 p.m. Rode a taxi to my hostel, A Little Bird Guesthouse, in the old quarter of the city. Walked around the nearby streets a little, then returned and went to bed.
Bought some lunch to go and put it in my day pack. Rode a long tail boat from Krabi to Railay East. Climbed to the vista point overlooking the Railay area. Ate my lunch while admiring the view. Tried to hike to a nearby lagoon, but it was too muddy. Walked to Railay West and went for a quick dip in the ocean and then laid on the sand and read for an hour or so. Got up and walked along the entire beach. It was even more beautiful at the other end. Storm clouds were gathering, so I arranged a long tail boat back to Krabi. It started raining heavily and ocean grew choppy, and I grew concerned about my camera and phone in my day pack; but everything stayed dry and we made it back in one piece. I arranged a minibus from my hostel to the Ko Phuket airport the following day to fly to Chiang Mai.
Rode the ferry in the morning to Krabi. Met a girl my age from England named Louisa who had been teaching English in South Korea. We were both going to the same hostel. Checked in. Planned what to do the next day. Walked to see a nearby temple. Walked from the temple to a nearby night street market for a delicious dinner of street food. Returned to the hostel for some quality computer time.
Got up early and had the showers to myself. Walked to the travel agency where I’d booked the boat tour and bought some bananas on the way. Was led to the boat tour company office, then to the pier, then to the boat itself and boarded. The tour wasn’t organized as well as the Angthong Marine Park one, so we didn’t really know where the next stop was, or how they would signal us that the boat was leaving when everyone was snorkeling. And no free Cokes. They did take us to all the places they promised, and it was all beautiful, and we had great weather. I saw Maya Bay on Ko Phi Phi Leh, better known as the beach from the movie The Beach. It was literally overrun with bodies, just totally ruined. It might be worth it to camp there overnight just so you can get the beach mostly to yourself. Actually, in the movie it looks much more secluded because they used graphics or something to make the bay opening look much narrower than it actually is. We went to Monkey Beach and I saw several tiny monkeys eating sugar packets and small fruits and attacking unwitting girls that weren’t paying attention. They were really cute and funny (because I wasn’t attacked). I ended up getting burned a little on my upper back and shoulders despite heaps of sunscreen because I switched from SPF 50 to 20 that day. The burns felt hot for several days after, but it wasn’t too bad. I met a Scottish girl about my age who was also going it alone and a nice couple from Austin. I can’t remember the names of all the beaches we saw, but there were about seven or eight of them. By the end, I could feel the burn on my back, and didn’t go out into the sun anymore. We returned to the Ko Phi Phi Don pier, and I showered, ate, bought a ferry ticket to Krabi, and then bought a beer and walked the beach a little, but there weren’t any fire dancers at the time, so I called it an early night again.
Rode a minibus to a nearby pier and boarded a ferry bound for Ko Phi Phi. Was a little worried about my pack — as I usually am — after I stowed it on the deck like everyone else, but it was soon buried under a bunch of packs. Safety in numbers. Got off the boat without trouble a couple hours later. Wandered the streets of Tonsai Village for over an hour in the burning sun, sweat running down to my chin and in my eyes, looking for a dorm bed somewhere. The first three or four places I went to were full. I found a hotel room for 800 baht, but wasn’t ready to pay that just yet. I made another round of the streets and managed to find a dorm I had missed before and got a bed there for 300 baht. I wouldn’t call it a hostel; it was just a tattoo parlor with a dorm and showers attached. The dorm was open to the air, no air con, several fans, “mattresses” were hard as boards, and my torso was covered in small, red bites by the end. Showers were challenging. But it was cheap. Laid down my stuff, cooled off in a 7-11, then ate lunch. Returned to the dorm, changed into my swimsuit, and hung out at the nearby beach for a couple hours reading a book until the light faded. The tide was low and the water had gross bits floating in it. Booked a boat tour of the Ko Phi Phi islands. Bought a few Chang beers and wandered around town and up and down the beach watching the fire dancers and fire breathers. Called it an early night.
A really well-written review of the 2011 American movie by James Berardinelli.
Arrived in Hanoi by sleeper bus feeling disheveled, greasy, and tired. The weather was gray and a tiny bit rainy. Wasn’t sure where to go or what to do. A motorbike taxi driver offered to take me to the Old Quarter, so I went with him. He took me to a travel agency there. Spoke with the agent inside and decided to go to Ha Long Bay first to ensure I had enough time to see it.
Booked transportation to Cat Ba island in Ha Long Bay at the travel agency and then went in search of breakfast. Someone showed up on a motorbike to take me to the bus, and I went with him, and then boarded the bus to Ha Long City.
At the pier, I boarded a tour boat and was stuck with them all day. The weather was still gray and a little rainy. Saw some of the stone karst islands in Ha Long Bay. Went with the boat tourists to see a large cave in one of the karsts.
The boat landed on Cat Ba island just after sunset in the dark. I boarded another bus and dozed a little until we arrived in Cat Ba City on the south shore. I went to the nearest hotel, followed by a couple I had met on the boat, and we checked in. We walked the strip along the hotels and waterfront and then chose a restaurant for dinner.
After dinner, I shopped around for a day cruise of the islands.
The next day, I boarded a tour boat bound for the Ha Long Bay islands and spent the day cruising around, snapping photos of karsts, kayaking around karsts, and gazing at karsts. It was a day of karsts all around. Did I mention there were karsts? The sky was gray, but it didn’t rain. At the end, the boat returned us to Cat Ba Island, and I went to the same restaurant as before for a delicious dinner and a quiet evening alone.
The next day it was still cloudy and gray, so I decided that I’d had enough of Ha Long Bay, having seen karsts to my heart’s content the day before, so I booked transportation back to Hanoi by bus for the same day and departed around noon.
After Hoi An, I went to Hue. At this point, I was worried about running out of time, since I could only stay in Vietnam for thirty days. I stayed in Hue for two days. It was lightly raining the entire time, so I wore my poncho and gritted my teeth.
The first day, after I checked into my hotel, I walked to the Imperial Citadel and spent all afternoon exploring the ruins (bombed by the Americans) and the buildings still standing.
The second day, I hired a private motorbike guide to take me to three emperor tombs and a pagoda in the surrounding area.
Bought an open tour bus ticket for Hanoi.
