Saturday, May 22, 2010
It's Raining... Ladyboys!
Our first Thai beach destination was the mainland beach of Rai Leh, outside of Krabi, which is only accessible by longtail boat. Longtail boats are long (surprise!) wooden boats seating about ten people, similar to an oversized canoe, with a propellor on the end of a three metre long driveshaft (hence the name "longtail").
We spent two days on Rai Leh, which is surrounded by soaring limestone cliffs covered with rock climbers. 90% of the places to stay were expensive resorts, contrary to what our guide book says, which means it's one of the many beaches quickly changing from a budget backpacking destination to a flashpacking mecca. We left early hoping to find a more budget-friendly place.
Three boat rides and a minibus ride later we arrived on the island of Koh Lanta. Since it's the island's low season we were able to find a great bungalow 50 metres from the beach for 1/4 of the regular price. Just down the road was a restaurant serving cheap, fresh home-cooked Thai meals where we quickly became regulars. One day we rented a scooter and explored the 32-kilometre long island (which just added to Craig's desire for a motorcycle back home), stopping to pet a baby elephant that barely came up to Andrea's waist. The rest of our week there we spent relaxing on the beach or in the shade of our hut, reading like mad.
Now we're on Koh Samui, one of Thailand's most famous islands. After hearing numerous people say it's very built up and touristy we weren't sure how we'd like it and if it would be in our budget. Luckily we've found a bungalow by the beach that is a wonderful deal ($10 CAD/night). We're on Lamai Beach, where the busy strip comes alive after sundown with street markets, street food, ladyboys (of course!), and old white men with their young Thai girlfriends (which always freaks Andrea out). It all makes for great eating and people watching, so we figure we'll stay here a few more days.
It's getting into the rainy season here, which means occasional showers. On Koh Lanta it rained almost every afternoon for about an hour. The rain cools the air and the sun always returns. At night there are pretty cool lightning storms over the sea rivalling the intensity of a Pink Floyd laser show.
We are often surprised at how few travellers we meet who are as "budget" as us. Since most people only come here for a few weeks to a few months, and so many are European, they are on a bigger daily budget than we are. We try to spend no more than $10 CAD (300 baht) on our accomodation (which usually means a fan room with our own bathroom but no air conditioning, TV, or fridge), but at some places (like Rai Leh) that's close to impossible. We've started getting breakfast at 7/11 (which are as ubiquitous as Tim Hortons in Canada and are usually found every 100 metres down the road - literally), since yogurt-and-cereal is half the price of restaurant breakfasts. When going on the internet or booking a bus trip, we hunt around for the absolute cheapest price. And we always try to get out of the tourist bubble to find the restaurants where locals are eating authentic Thai food, which is cheaper and much better tasting than the Westernized versions of the same dishes they sell for double (or triple!) the price near all the resorts. All these efforts mean we're able to eat like royalty while still coming in well under our budget of $50 CAD per day.
We spent two days on Rai Leh, which is surrounded by soaring limestone cliffs covered with rock climbers. 90% of the places to stay were expensive resorts, contrary to what our guide book says, which means it's one of the many beaches quickly changing from a budget backpacking destination to a flashpacking mecca. We left early hoping to find a more budget-friendly place.
Three boat rides and a minibus ride later we arrived on the island of Koh Lanta. Since it's the island's low season we were able to find a great bungalow 50 metres from the beach for 1/4 of the regular price. Just down the road was a restaurant serving cheap, fresh home-cooked Thai meals where we quickly became regulars. One day we rented a scooter and explored the 32-kilometre long island (which just added to Craig's desire for a motorcycle back home), stopping to pet a baby elephant that barely came up to Andrea's waist. The rest of our week there we spent relaxing on the beach or in the shade of our hut, reading like mad.
Now we're on Koh Samui, one of Thailand's most famous islands. After hearing numerous people say it's very built up and touristy we weren't sure how we'd like it and if it would be in our budget. Luckily we've found a bungalow by the beach that is a wonderful deal ($10 CAD/night). We're on Lamai Beach, where the busy strip comes alive after sundown with street markets, street food, ladyboys (of course!), and old white men with their young Thai girlfriends (which always freaks Andrea out). It all makes for great eating and people watching, so we figure we'll stay here a few more days.
It's getting into the rainy season here, which means occasional showers. On Koh Lanta it rained almost every afternoon for about an hour. The rain cools the air and the sun always returns. At night there are pretty cool lightning storms over the sea rivalling the intensity of a Pink Floyd laser show.
We are often surprised at how few travellers we meet who are as "budget" as us. Since most people only come here for a few weeks to a few months, and so many are European, they are on a bigger daily budget than we are. We try to spend no more than $10 CAD (300 baht) on our accomodation (which usually means a fan room with our own bathroom but no air conditioning, TV, or fridge), but at some places (like Rai Leh) that's close to impossible. We've started getting breakfast at 7/11 (which are as ubiquitous as Tim Hortons in Canada and are usually found every 100 metres down the road - literally), since yogurt-and-cereal is half the price of restaurant breakfasts. When going on the internet or booking a bus trip, we hunt around for the absolute cheapest price. And we always try to get out of the tourist bubble to find the restaurants where locals are eating authentic Thai food, which is cheaper and much better tasting than the Westernized versions of the same dishes they sell for double (or triple!) the price near all the resorts. All these efforts mean we're able to eat like royalty while still coming in well under our budget of $50 CAD per day.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Craig Loves Malaysia So Much He Wants To Take It Behind The Middle School And Get It Pregnant
We ended up staying on Pulau Perhentian Kecil for five nights. It was a very narrow island; we were staying on the west coast, but walked along a jungle-y, ten minute trail every day to enjoy the clear blue water and white sand on the est coast. The food was disappointing - overpriced, Westernized versions of Malay food - with not a drop of duty-free alcohol in sight. I guess you trade good quality food for the beautiful beaches.
Because of the shallow depth and crystal clear water, we opted to put off scuba diving until Thailand and took a snorkelling trip instead. We went by boat to five locations around the two islands in the area. The underwater scenery was wonderful, with unusal coral formations and cool sea creatures. At Shark Point, our first location, we saw a black-tip shark within three minutes of getting in the water. By the end of the day, we'd seen multiple sharks, sting rays, thousands of colourful fish (many of which enjoyed nibbling on Craig's peeling back skin - ew!), a school of teethy, menacing barracudas, and a giant green sea turtle well over a metre long who Craig dove down over five metres to stare in the eyes as it chomped on coral.
Next we headed to Kota Bharu where we spent three days eating our hearts out. Delicious street food was everywhere, at real prices not set to exploit tourists. Our favourite eatery was the nightly food markets, where rows of local vendors sold an astonishing array of Malaysian food. Everything from marinated skewers of chicken breast/neck/feet to every size and shape of noodle that your heart could desire to the biggest spread of exotic sweets Andrea had ever laid eyes on was for sale at the markets. If you haven't guessed it by now, somewhere in India, our trip has turned into an International Culinary Tour Extravaganza.
Our final stop in Malaysia was the big well-developed island of Penang on the west coast, which wasn't very far offshore and had more of a big-city feel than a touristy beach vibe. The town has a large Chinatown area and a giant Little India. Since we're both still going through Indian food withdrawl, we ensured our first meal was an Indian feast of paneer butter masala, aloo gobi masala, chapathi, and Indian chai, all enjoyed over the sweet smell of incense and ear-splittingly loud Bollywood music. Just like old times. Andrea had to restrain Craig from booking a plane ticket back to India.
Probably the strangest treat we've had so far Craig has voted to be in his Top Five dishes consumed thus far (and Andrea's tastebuds were too confused to decide): a local specialty called ABC. The small mom-and-pop stand always had a line-up, and people were buying them as fast as they could make them. Disclaimer: ABC is going to sound disgusting, but it's really delicious (says Craig) and confusingly alright (says Andrea). ABC consists of a bowl of shaved ice, covered with a sweet red syrup, green gummy tapioca balls, stringy black gummy pieces which can only be described as "leech-like" (honestly, we have no idea what half of these ingredients are), clear lychee-flavoured jube jubes, spoonfuls of red kidney beans and creamed corn (seriously), all topped with a heavy pour of sweetened condensed milk. Craig usually ate two bowls of ABC a day, which Andrea stole spoonfuls without beans.
Today we caught a mini-bus from Penang to Thailand. We were slightly apprehensive about the land border crossing, since it was our first outside of Canada. However, it went as smoothly as Big Dave's head. We are currently in the town of Hat Yai, and will be leaving Monday for our first Thai beach destination (yet to be decided since there are so many to choose from).
After spending three weeks in Malaysia we have found it to be the most liveable country we've visited (outside of Australia) - it's clean, friendly, and safe. That said, we don't fully understand the current government situation regarding the well-being of its citizens (for instance, the government tightly censors the media). However it was a lovely country to visit, and if we end up liking another country in South East Asia as much, we'd be very surprised.
It hasn't taken us long to get back on the beer bandwagon, since alcohol in Malaysia usually had very high taxes. Here, Chang beer (7%) costs under $1 CAD, so we sit here enjoying a beer (or three) in the muggy 30-degree Thai evening. We definitely don't live a rough life!
Because of the shallow depth and crystal clear water, we opted to put off scuba diving until Thailand and took a snorkelling trip instead. We went by boat to five locations around the two islands in the area. The underwater scenery was wonderful, with unusal coral formations and cool sea creatures. At Shark Point, our first location, we saw a black-tip shark within three minutes of getting in the water. By the end of the day, we'd seen multiple sharks, sting rays, thousands of colourful fish (many of which enjoyed nibbling on Craig's peeling back skin - ew!), a school of teethy, menacing barracudas, and a giant green sea turtle well over a metre long who Craig dove down over five metres to stare in the eyes as it chomped on coral.
Next we headed to Kota Bharu where we spent three days eating our hearts out. Delicious street food was everywhere, at real prices not set to exploit tourists. Our favourite eatery was the nightly food markets, where rows of local vendors sold an astonishing array of Malaysian food. Everything from marinated skewers of chicken breast/neck/feet to every size and shape of noodle that your heart could desire to the biggest spread of exotic sweets Andrea had ever laid eyes on was for sale at the markets. If you haven't guessed it by now, somewhere in India, our trip has turned into an International Culinary Tour Extravaganza.
Our final stop in Malaysia was the big well-developed island of Penang on the west coast, which wasn't very far offshore and had more of a big-city feel than a touristy beach vibe. The town has a large Chinatown area and a giant Little India. Since we're both still going through Indian food withdrawl, we ensured our first meal was an Indian feast of paneer butter masala, aloo gobi masala, chapathi, and Indian chai, all enjoyed over the sweet smell of incense and ear-splittingly loud Bollywood music. Just like old times. Andrea had to restrain Craig from booking a plane ticket back to India.
Probably the strangest treat we've had so far Craig has voted to be in his Top Five dishes consumed thus far (and Andrea's tastebuds were too confused to decide): a local specialty called ABC. The small mom-and-pop stand always had a line-up, and people were buying them as fast as they could make them. Disclaimer: ABC is going to sound disgusting, but it's really delicious (says Craig) and confusingly alright (says Andrea). ABC consists of a bowl of shaved ice, covered with a sweet red syrup, green gummy tapioca balls, stringy black gummy pieces which can only be described as "leech-like" (honestly, we have no idea what half of these ingredients are), clear lychee-flavoured jube jubes, spoonfuls of red kidney beans and creamed corn (seriously), all topped with a heavy pour of sweetened condensed milk. Craig usually ate two bowls of ABC a day, which Andrea stole spoonfuls without beans.
Today we caught a mini-bus from Penang to Thailand. We were slightly apprehensive about the land border crossing, since it was our first outside of Canada. However, it went as smoothly as Big Dave's head. We are currently in the town of Hat Yai, and will be leaving Monday for our first Thai beach destination (yet to be decided since there are so many to choose from).
After spending three weeks in Malaysia we have found it to be the most liveable country we've visited (outside of Australia) - it's clean, friendly, and safe. That said, we don't fully understand the current government situation regarding the well-being of its citizens (for instance, the government tightly censors the media). However it was a lovely country to visit, and if we end up liking another country in South East Asia as much, we'd be very surprised.
It hasn't taken us long to get back on the beer bandwagon, since alcohol in Malaysia usually had very high taxes. Here, Chang beer (7%) costs under $1 CAD, so we sit here enjoying a beer (or three) in the muggy 30-degree Thai evening. We definitely don't live a rough life!
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