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Trip report and photos from Thailand
Trip report and photos from Thailand
We spent 9 days in Thailand and it was a great trip. It didn’t start very well, but fortunately it continued much better. Our SAS flight to Bangkok was supposed to leave at 8PM and we traveled on standby tickets. Got seats in business class and we sat there so happy in our comfortable seats, with a glass of champagne that was offered, looking forward to a nice tasty dinner. Life was good and we pushed back on time. On the way to the runway we suddenly stopped and we immediately got suspicious. And we were right, a technical problem had occur and after the mechanics tried to fix it for 3 hours, the flight was cancelled. We were back home again 2AM tired, hungry and disappointed. Anyway, in the morning we went back to the airport (we live just 20 minutes from the airport luckily) and tried on Thai's flight and managed to get a seat on that flight. So we only missed one day. From Bangkok we flew to Krabi, which is about one hour.
Arriving to Krabi we went to Ko Lanta, which is an island on the west coast south of Phuket and Krabi. We had booked 5 nights in a resort named Pimalai and it's a 5 star resort. It's a resort we normally couldn't’t afford, but Thailand is also suffering from the economic crises so many resorts have special offers. Pimalai offered “stay 5 pay for 3” which we found affordable. It was less than $200 per night but that is still much in Thailand. That included breakfast which was the best you could ever imagine. Nothing you could possibly miss and the best tasted coffee I have ever had in my life. It also included free internet, water sports like Hobie cats and kayaks and lots of other things. The resort itself was just wonderful, beautiful settled on a hill with great views and lush gardens. We stayed in their least expensive room, but that was still fantastic. Here are a couple of pictures from the resort.
From the sea
Resort house
Sunbeds
View from sunbeds
Inside room:
On the bed every evening
Balcony
View from the upper pool
Christer and me in the pool
Thailand is still very cheap, even if it has been more expensive lately. You could easily have a meal (main course) for 3 USD and a beer for the same. A main course at the resort started from 10 USD. One of the nicest things in Thailand, is to stroll down the beach at night and find small local restaurants, with cheap good meals. No need for self catering there. Often you drink beer as wine is both expensive and not very good. Of course, resorts like Pimalai, could offer really good wine.
We took one day trip with the resort diving operation to an group of limestone islands called Koh Haa (five islands). I did two dives and Christer snorkeled.
The diving was really good but more challenging than the dives I done in the Caribbean. I did my deepest dive ever (90ft or 27 meters). These photos are taken deeper, so they are not so good when it comes to light. I would probably need a strobe to take photos this deep. I also should install the Photoshop program my brother gave me, but I still just have the edit program that came with my previous camera. So I know these photos can be better. I also had a couple of issues during these dives, that made me take less photos.
Lionfish (saw many of those)
Nudibranch
Scorpionfish
Moray
False Anemonefish
The last part of the trip we went to Ao Nang, which is a village on the coast in Krabi, just perfectly situated of excursions to the beautiful archipelago. It had really changed since we were there the last time (2002). We would probably not go back, as it was too crowded and you couldn't’t even be undisturbed by people trying to sell stuff to you , while you were eating dinner in a restaurant. Who wants to buy a fake Rolex while you are enjoying your dinner? I can understand the people walking down the beaches selling drinks and clothes, but this was too much. We had still a good time and stayed only 3 nights. One day we went on a full day diving and snorkeling trip to Phi Phi islands. It was a great day at sea, with beautiful weather and nice sea conditions.
Here are a few picture from that trip:
Christer
We dived at Koh Bid Nok which was great. Crowded with divers, but still good. Here are a few picture from these dives:
White eyed Moray
Sea slug
Yellowback fusilier
Singular Bannerfish
Java Rabbitfish
Rabbitfish feating on jellyfish
Colorful reef
Red Saddleback Anemonefish
Just surfaced
On our last day we did take a longtail boat to a couple of beaches we visited before, but once again we were disappointed (even if we were prepared it shouldn't’t be as before). Much more crowded and not as beautiful as we remembered. Yet the archipelago with all the limestone cliffs are still magnificent and stunning to watch. The water has all colors of green. A few shots taken from the boat:
In Ao Nang we stayed for 70USD and it was a 4 star resort named Pakasai which was very good. Here are a few shots from there:
Our room:
Resort flowers:
Overall we are very happy with our trip and would definitely go back again. This was out fourth time in Thailand. The Pimalai resort and Koh Lanta is less crowded, especially in the south where we stayed, and it’s a perfect place to recharge the batteries.
More photos on my photoside (link in my signature). But I guess you already had too much of those
Anyway, if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer if I can.
Arriving to Krabi we went to Ko Lanta, which is an island on the west coast south of Phuket and Krabi. We had booked 5 nights in a resort named Pimalai and it's a 5 star resort. It's a resort we normally couldn't’t afford, but Thailand is also suffering from the economic crises so many resorts have special offers. Pimalai offered “stay 5 pay for 3” which we found affordable. It was less than $200 per night but that is still much in Thailand. That included breakfast which was the best you could ever imagine. Nothing you could possibly miss and the best tasted coffee I have ever had in my life. It also included free internet, water sports like Hobie cats and kayaks and lots of other things. The resort itself was just wonderful, beautiful settled on a hill with great views and lush gardens. We stayed in their least expensive room, but that was still fantastic. Here are a couple of pictures from the resort.
From the sea
Resort house
Sunbeds
View from sunbeds
Inside room:
On the bed every evening
Balcony
View from the upper pool
Christer and me in the pool
Thailand is still very cheap, even if it has been more expensive lately. You could easily have a meal (main course) for 3 USD and a beer for the same. A main course at the resort started from 10 USD. One of the nicest things in Thailand, is to stroll down the beach at night and find small local restaurants, with cheap good meals. No need for self catering there. Often you drink beer as wine is both expensive and not very good. Of course, resorts like Pimalai, could offer really good wine.
We took one day trip with the resort diving operation to an group of limestone islands called Koh Haa (five islands). I did two dives and Christer snorkeled.
The diving was really good but more challenging than the dives I done in the Caribbean. I did my deepest dive ever (90ft or 27 meters). These photos are taken deeper, so they are not so good when it comes to light. I would probably need a strobe to take photos this deep. I also should install the Photoshop program my brother gave me, but I still just have the edit program that came with my previous camera. So I know these photos can be better. I also had a couple of issues during these dives, that made me take less photos.
Lionfish (saw many of those)
Nudibranch
Scorpionfish
Moray
False Anemonefish
The last part of the trip we went to Ao Nang, which is a village on the coast in Krabi, just perfectly situated of excursions to the beautiful archipelago. It had really changed since we were there the last time (2002). We would probably not go back, as it was too crowded and you couldn't’t even be undisturbed by people trying to sell stuff to you , while you were eating dinner in a restaurant. Who wants to buy a fake Rolex while you are enjoying your dinner? I can understand the people walking down the beaches selling drinks and clothes, but this was too much. We had still a good time and stayed only 3 nights. One day we went on a full day diving and snorkeling trip to Phi Phi islands. It was a great day at sea, with beautiful weather and nice sea conditions.
Here are a few picture from that trip:
Christer
We dived at Koh Bid Nok which was great. Crowded with divers, but still good. Here are a few picture from these dives:
White eyed Moray
Sea slug
Yellowback fusilier
Singular Bannerfish
Java Rabbitfish
Rabbitfish feating on jellyfish
Colorful reef
Red Saddleback Anemonefish
Just surfaced
On our last day we did take a longtail boat to a couple of beaches we visited before, but once again we were disappointed (even if we were prepared it shouldn't’t be as before). Much more crowded and not as beautiful as we remembered. Yet the archipelago with all the limestone cliffs are still magnificent and stunning to watch. The water has all colors of green. A few shots taken from the boat:
In Ao Nang we stayed for 70USD and it was a 4 star resort named Pakasai which was very good. Here are a few shots from there:
Our room:
Resort flowers:
Overall we are very happy with our trip and would definitely go back again. This was out fourth time in Thailand. The Pimalai resort and Koh Lanta is less crowded, especially in the south where we stayed, and it’s a perfect place to recharge the batteries.
More photos on my photoside (link in my signature). But I guess you already had too much of those
Anyway, if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer if I can.
Last edited by Maggy on Sun Feb 22, 2009 9:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
Thanks. Yes, it's value for money for sure!iowaguy wrote:Wow---great report Maggy, and it sounds like a fantastic trip. I'm curious how long it took you to get to Thailand from Sweden, after you finally got on the plane. Sounds like an amazing value. Loved all the photos.
The flight from Stockholm to Bangkok was little over 10 hours (11 hours back). And 1:20 from Bankok to Krabi.
Thanks Janet! To be honest, it's so much harder to ID fish in the Pacific, because there are so many more species there than in the Caribbean. I sure needed the ID book for some of them and also took help from experts on scubaboard (divers forum).jayseadee wrote:Thanks for sharing - great pictures.
Your UW photos are fantastic - and I know you probably didn't even check the reference book to identify them!
Maggy:
I loved reading you trip report. I grew up with an Uncle who spoke about Thailand all the time. He spent the last part of his military career there and ended up staying for many year after. He loved it so very much.
It is a place that always had a "magic" aspect to me since I was so young hearing about this far away foreign place. I hope to visit one day!
XOXO
Bug
I loved reading you trip report. I grew up with an Uncle who spoke about Thailand all the time. He spent the last part of his military career there and ended up staying for many year after. He loved it so very much.
It is a place that always had a "magic" aspect to me since I was so young hearing about this far away foreign place. I hope to visit one day!
XOXO
Bug
-
Sun4MySoul
- Posts: 524
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 1:37 pm
- Location: NC
Great report, Maggy! I loved your pics.
I was fortunate enough to visit Thailand a few years ago. I spent most of my time on the island of Koh Samuai and it was beautiful as well. Not a resort style trip..I recall staying in a hut on the beach for $9/night USD! Everything was so cheap there and the Thai were so laid back. Like you, my favorite thing was just walking down the beach to find some great food. Although, I did like watching the monkeys and getting kissed by an elephant! Thanks for bringing back these memories for me!
I was there for the Thai New Year...in April I think. And that was quite an experience. Nationwide Water Fight for 3 days! Quite fun. I recommend it!
I was fortunate enough to visit Thailand a few years ago. I spent most of my time on the island of Koh Samuai and it was beautiful as well. Not a resort style trip..I recall staying in a hut on the beach for $9/night USD! Everything was so cheap there and the Thai were so laid back. Like you, my favorite thing was just walking down the beach to find some great food. Although, I did like watching the monkeys and getting kissed by an elephant! Thanks for bringing back these memories for me!
I was there for the Thai New Year...in April I think. And that was quite an experience. Nationwide Water Fight for 3 days! Quite fun. I recommend it!
Nice pic of Dora the clown fish