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Bangkok
Ko Samui |
Ko
Pha Ngan |
Ko
Phi Phi |
Chiang
Mai |
Ko
Tao
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Ayutthaya
Bangkok |
Return
to Thailand |
 8th
of July Stopover in Bangkok
We arrived in Bangkok early in the morning. Our first
stop was at the travel agency where we booked the trip
to Ko Tao. We then went to the Siamsquare shopping centre.
If you are in Bangkok and the weather is very hot, that's
one of the best places to go. Air-condition and hundreds
of shops. The whole building can be quiet confusing, we
couldn't find a plan or a map in the whole building and
most of the shop seemed to sell similar stuff. At 6:30
we went on the bus to Chumpon.
29th of July, Boat to Ko Tao
We arrived at Chumpon at 3:00 o Clock in the morning.
The bus ride was very uncomfortable, sometimes the air
condition turned off and the bus heated up within minutes.
The boat from Chumpon to Ko Tao left at 6:30, so we had
to wait another three hours. Another four hours later
and we arrived at "Turtle Island" (the other name of Ko
Tao). We stayed at Ao Thian in the South of Ko Tao. The
Bungalows where quiet interesting, ours got a huge rock
in the bathroom and all of them where built on rocks.
At least they didn't cut off another coconut wood to built
those huts. |
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 30th
of July, Ko Tao
We decided to walk to Ban Mae Hat, the "main town"
on Ko Tao. All the guidebooks I read about Ko Tao wrote
that it's less touristiy then Ko Pha Nang and more beautiful.
Unfortunately those books are not longer "up to date".
Ban Mae Hat is not longer a "one street town" it start's
to look like a little Thong Sala. You find diving-shops,
bars and restaurants all over the island. After dinner
we decided to walk north along the beach of Ban Mae
Hat.
 31st
of July, Ko Pha Nang.
My second visit on the "Party Island". Martin and
I decided to stay up in the north of the Island at a bungalow
village I discovered during my first stay. The northern
part of Ko Pha Nang is still a quiet and peaceful place,
you don't have the mass tourism there and the local people
and tourists are more like a little "community". The place
we stayed is next to Bottle Bay, but still reachable by
car and called "Coral Bay".
1st of August, Worst Case Scenario
The day started usual, the sun was shining and we
planed how to spend the day. We wanted to hike up the
highest mountain on Ko Pha Nang, which was supposed
to be a great experience. Unfortunately the car driver
took us to Thong Sa La instead of dropping us of at
the entrance of the hiking trail. Planes changed, like
many times before, so we decided to do some shopping
and get money from the ATM-Machine. We thought that
we would hike up the mountain just a bit later.
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where already back on the way to the taxi, when I suddenly
had this "feeling" that something was wrong. I checked
my stuff and discovered that my "VIP Bag" was missing.
OH OH credit card, passport, flight tickets, almost everything
of importance to me (and also the passport of my friend)
was in that bag. First we checked all the shops we went
before, even started to look in the garbage cans. Someone
must have had stolen it.
The most important thing in a situation like that is to
stay calm, and try to get a clear mind. I immediately
called my credit-card company to cancel my card. After
that we went to the police station to report the loss.
Thank god the policeman was friendly and we got a report
in no time. Next we got tickets for a trip back to Bangkok
the next day. My friend was leaving soon and needed a
new passport. We went back to our bungalow to pack our
stuff and prepare to leave. I also had to get new travellers
cheques so I had to call American Express. They told me
that I would get my traveller cheques the next day at
a bank in Thong Sa La.
2nd of August, On the Way to Bangkok
We had to stay up early to catch our ferry back to
Surat Thani. I got new traveller cheques 23 hours after
they where stolen, which was a big relief for me. We also
went to the police station to ask if the found our passports
or something, unfortunately not. On the ferry back to
Surat Thani I met old friends again. Steve and his wife.
I met them first when I went to Ko Samui and now they
also where on their way back to Bangkok.
3rd of August, Bangkok, Austrian embassy
Arriving in Bangkok, once again. We first went to the travel agency RICHLY,
where we left our luggage. I want to mention RICHLY,
because they where a very big help during our stay in
Thailand. The told us how to get to the embassy, how
to get a new airline ticket, helped me with my new credit
card and even phoned the police station in Thong Sala
to ask if our passports where found. RICHLY is next
to the main train station in Bangkok at the Longmuang
Road.
At the Austrian embassy we watched a quiet strange situation.
A guy (he looked really nasty.) asked for a visa extension
for a Thai woman, standing behind him. He said that
he already went to Austria with that woman to three
months, and now he wanted to get another extension for
three months again. We saw another men the next day
at the Austrian embassy, asking the same questions,
and also when we went to the embassy of Australia. I
don't want to judge people for the way the dress and
I don't know what those guys do with the Thai woman
in their home countries, but I think its not just conversation,
and I feel very bad about what's going on in Thailand
and probably other places on this planet. |
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Bangkok
Ko Samui |
Ko
Pha Ngan |
Ko
Phi Phi |
Chiang
Mai |
Ko
Tao
|
Ayutthaya
Bangkok |
Return
to Thailand |
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