Mango shake and banana pancake, plus a burger

Once again, I have not been faithful to my word. The time of idleness in Australia did come to an end, with my relief. We took the road again, after a two-weeks roadtrip around the South of Australia we reached Asia, where we have been for nearly two months. And in all this time, not a single blogpost. Not one. I guess apologies would be necessary, to start with; plus a further promise of not letting my readership down once more. Readership! Do I have one? Apparently so. If you are reading this blog, please comment. Write whatever you like, be it good or bad. Well, what can I say? I will write, but not in retrospection; I will write about what I am doing, and every now and then post something about a past experience. I guess it could be an interesting read, playing hopscotch through the continents, from Asia to South America and back to the old Oz. I will start where I'm now: Thailand.



What does the word Thailand bring to mind? Lonely Planet reckons beaches, Buddhist monks, Hill Tribes and the hubbub of Bangkok. Personally, I believe beaches is all what many visitors to Thailand want. Not being a beach bum, I was tempted to skip the beach thing altogether. However, coming from Penang in Malaysia meant that a stop in the south of Thailand would have been a welcome break from a otherwise 36+ hours bus journey. We chose Koh Phi Phi, for its natural beauty and the fact that we received several suggestions to visit the island. We didn't want somewhere overrun with tourists, neither somewhere utterly remote. Koh Phi Phi seemed like a good choice. We picked the little-known (even to the locals!) Ao Toh Ko, a beach on the eastern side of the island, with cheapish bungalows, a laidback atmosphere and great snorkelling.



The resort itself was nice enough; still cheap by Western standards but extremely pricey by Thai standards. We were later to discover that the prices of the South are more or less triple of the ones in the North, with Bangkok somewhere in the middle. In Koh Phi Phi, we stayed in a 500 baht bungalow (about £10) which was really basic and next to the generator which ran all night. In Pai, Northern Thailand, we stayed in a bungalow which for the same price offers wifi, excellent furniture and facilities, private bathroom plus a deck from which it's possible to fish in a lake.

I personally wasn't impressed with Koh Phi Phi. The place was picturesque, with limestone cliffs, clear water and a beautiful reef for snorkelling. As a matter of fact, Toh Ko Beach Resort was a great place to stay. What I didn't like was how the island was geared towards tourism. In Ton Sai, the main village on the island, everything is built for tourists. Everything. Perhaps even more than the Gold Coast in Queensland. The main demographic that was seemingly targeted was what I call the 'mango shake and banana pancake' brigade. A variation on the shopping list travellers I mentioned in South America, this brigade is composed by those who visit Thailand but do not go beyond the islands, the parties and the mayhem. Those who travel on a budget but refuse to try local street food, except for the comforting but exotic-sounding specialties which give the brigade its name. People who do not seek a cultural experience in Thailand, but are interested in buckets of booze, nightclubs with cheesy western music and ping-pong shows. And after that they've 'done' Thailand, perhaps even Asia. Needless to say, three days and we were off.



I feel like I am not giving enough credit to Toh Ko Beach Resort, though. The place was really lovely, relaxing and friendly. Some lingered for weeks, I guess I would've too if I liked the beach life. Just steer clear of Ton Sai. Three days was enough for me, time to go to Bangkok. However, there is always the unexpected. After a suggestion by Ryan, the Canadian expat living on Toh Ko, we decided to stop in Krabi to go to see a Muay Thai fight night. The stadium is on Ao Nang, a horrid beach with an atmosphere possibly cheesier and more western-oriented than Ton Sai. I must admit, we stayed at an Irish pub and had a burger for lunch, partly because it looked good and because I fancied one. See, I am not always so high and mighty. The Muay Thai night was a real eye-opener. Firstly, I was able to appreciate for the first time the importance of the King for Thai people. Before the first fight the anthem was played with a projection of an image of the King on a screen. Everybody, even the naughtiest teenagers, stood up in perfect silence. Then the fights started. It was completely different from conventional boxing; at times it resembled a dance, at other time utter frenzied madness. A fighter was carried off with a broken leg. There seemed to be no rules; anybody can hit wherever and however they like. It was graphic but captivating, and a great photo opportunity for Nick. The first example of 'brutal Thailand', a darker face of the Land of Smiles, that we were to discover further in Bangkok.