Trip to Phuket, Khao Lak, and Ao Nang on the Andaman Sea coast

[daydreamer]

 

A photo from our last walk on Ao Nang beach, the evening before leaving the south

 

I had to make a new flight booking for us to return to Bangkok.  We had missed our return flight due to the quarantine period.  Since Thai Airways ignored my request to change our booking, I decided to give my money to a different airline for the return flight.  I purchased one way tickets to Bangkok for us on Nok Air.  

Phang Nga bay from the air, just after takeoff from Phuket:

 

On final approach into Bangkok, the plane flew over the mouth of the Chao Phraya River, where it snakes its way into the Gulf of Thailand

 

Nok Air uses the old Don Mueang airport.  The airport still looks much the same as it did years ago, with some renovations.  Even though it's a much smaller airport than Suvarnabhumi, they still somehow managed to park the plane at a gate that required about a kilometer of walking through the terminal to reach the baggage claim hall.

 

In Bangkok, we checked in to the same room we previously had three weeks earlier at the Furama Sathorn.  The next day was Chinese New Year, February 1st.  I had no plans, and that afternoon asked N what he wanted to do tomorrow.  I was pleased that he didn't give me that old Thai standby answer, "up to you".  I decided to go along with whatever he wanted to do for the next couple days after returning to Bangkok.  He made a phone call, and told me we were going on a road trip the next day.

What a nice experience he planned for us.  That morning, I found myself in a very nice new Honda van with some of N's friends and two Buddhist monks in saffron robes, on a road trip to Ayutthaya.  The van belonged to one his his friends, who drove.  

The plan for the day was visiting two large temples in the historic district of the former capital of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.  For the first part of the trip, N and I sat together in the second row of seats in the van.  When the two monks joined us along the way, I switched to riding shotgun in the front, the two monks sat in the second row, and N and a friend sat in the third row.

As we drove through heavy Ayutthaya traffic due to the holiday, songs from the Eagles and Aerosmith were pumping from the stereo.  I just went along for the ride, carefree and taking it all in, as it was N's chance to entertain me for the day.  I had no plans or agenda, and it was kind of amusing to watch N having fun, and acting as the guide, as the day he had planned for us played out.  Some of the best and most interesting experiences when you travel happen when you relax, and don't ask too many questions, or as the Thais say "don't think too much".    

In Ayutthaya, for a couple kilometers, there were vendors lining the main street that leads to the historic temple district.  The vendors all sell the same thing - huge bags of air puffed and brightly colored fish food, and small live fish in plastic bags.  The live fish are sold for release in the temple ponds, for merit making. 

This was the first time I've seen these huge bags of brightly colored fish food for sale anywhere in Thailand.  I have seen containers of small fish food pellets, and bags of day-old bread for sale near many other wats around Thailand, but not these giant sized bags of vividly colored fish food.  Apparently these Cheetos-looking fish snacks are something unique to Ayutthaya. 

Not to miss out on any potential customers, this vendor also had bags of day-old bread, and bags filled with fish food pellets for sale.  They can be seen in the lower right portion of the photo.

 

The first temple we went to was a Buddhist temple with a heavy Chinese influence.  There was a huge gold Buddha statue inside the main building.  The place was packed with people due to the Chinese New Year holiday.

 

 

 

I'm not sure what this man is doing, but he's holding an open bottle of Big C brand cooking oil in one hand and a white lotus bud in the other hand.  Of course the lotus bud is commonly found in temples, used in prayer rituals, but the cooking oil?

 

The tuk tuks in Ayutthaya are a different type than the Bangkok style.  They are kind of a mini songtaew, with two bench seats in the back, running along the sides.  In the front, there is a steering wheel, not handlebars.  Also, the front cab has doors, with roll-up windows.  They remind me of the three wheeled vehicles that were still in use in rural Japan until the 1980's.  This red model is kind of sporty, complete with a set of vintage mag wheels.

 

The second temple we visited had a huge ancient chedi,  There was a very steep staircase, where you could climb up into the inside of the chedi.  Once up in the chedi, we looked down through an iron grate to see two monks far down inside the base of the chedi, sitting and counting large piles of coins.  In the center of the photo, the staircase is visible, with people climbing up into the chedi.  

 

We had a fun day trip, and it was good to see Ayutthaya once again, after many years.

The following day N insisted we take a tuk tuk ride in Bangkok.  I hadn't been in a Bangkok tuk tuk in more than 30 years, but I did not want to deny him his fun.  It was my last full day in Thailand, and rather than resist, I decided not to "think too much".  

Of course, N chose a tuk tuk that made a mandatory stop at an Indian tailor shop on the way, one of the most common tourist scams in Bangkok.  The way it works is that if the tuk tuk driver delivers potential customers to a certain prearranged shop, for each visit, they receive a stamp.  After filling a card with 10 stamps from the shop, the driver receives 4 liters of free fuel from the shop.  Usually these shops are either jewelry stores or tailor shops.  So we spent 5 minutes inside, looking at bolts of cloth that could be made into clothing.  I had no intention of buying anything, and in 5 minutes, we were back on our way.

Our tuk tuk as it entered Silom Road, with Saladaeng Road on the left.

 

Looking back on my quarantine experience, as it worked out, it was really not as bad of an experience as it could have been.  I can think of many worse places to be than being sequestered in a hotel room with a hot Thai boy for 8 nights of mandated quarantine.

I could have just as easily have caught covid at home, and not in Thailand as I did.  But then I would have been in isolation by myself, instead of with N.

Luckily, I had enough time in Thailand, and the quarantine happened early enough in our trip that with some strategic juggling of our schedule, we were able to travel everywhere we had planned to, with one exception.  The only planned location we had to cancel on this trip due to the time spent in quarantine was a few days in Pattaya.  But Pattaya will still be there waiting for my next trip.  

 

One benefit of this quarantine escapade is that I didn't need to spend time in Bangkok during my last full day in Thailand to get a covid test to enter the USA.  Under the revised US CDC rules, if you can show a positive covid test result within the past 90 days, and have a medical certificate clearing you for travel, no test is required to enter the US.  Upon showing these medical papers at Suvarnabhumi, there was no issue checking in for my flight without a covid test.  

In case you are interested to know what the quarantine expenses were, I paid 30,500 baht for N to stay in the hospitel with me.  I exchanged money only once, at the beginning of my trip in Bangkok, enough to cover the entire trip.  I then deposited this money in my K-bank account, so I could withdraw it at ATM's.  Using the exchange rate at the time I bought my stack of baht, N's quarantine equated to about 910 US dollars.  This amount covered both his hotel fee and the hospital charges, and included N's ambulance ride.  The hotel and hospital fees were billed separately.  

My hotel fee and hospital charges came to 41,500 baht for the 8 nights, and there was no fee for an ambulance ride, as I drove myself to the hospitel.  This difference in pricing is because of dual pricing for Thai citizens and farang tourists.  And this was with my second PCR test being paid for by the Thai government under the amended rules for the 7 night Test & Go program.  

I have read that some people have been charged far more than this amount to be quarantined in other parts of the country.  It probably helped that we were not near any cities.  Khao Lak is not heavily developed, and is very lightly populated.  I'm guessing in Bangkok or other large cities, the charges may have been substantially more.  It also helped that we only needed to quarantine for 8 nights each, not the 10 days they originally told us we would be staying.

 

Several times during our month together, N told me that he really liked to be able to get away from Bangkok.  He said he enjoyed being in quiet locations with not so many people, like the bungalow resort where we stayed for a few days.  I surely hope to see N the next time I travel to Thailand, and I made that clear to him.  He has sent me messages already since I left, telling me he wants to travel with me again next time.

Another evening view from the 12th floor balcony of our room at the Furama Sathorn, my last night in Thailand.

 

With the way the world has dramatically changed in the last couple years, I just hope that it won't be much longer until many more people will travel to Thailand, and bring the tourist income that that is so much needed by many people and businesses there.  

Even though we had to be quarantined, I had a really nice time in Thailand.  Would I go again under the same circumstances?  You bet I would.  It sure beats sitting at home looking out the window, and waiting for who knows how long for the pandemic and travel restrictions to come to an end.   I've already started thinking about where I want to travel on my next trip to Thailand.   

I am counting the days until my next flight to Thailand, when I hear those electrifying words on the loudspeaker,  "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain speaking.  In a few minutes, we will be landing in Bangkok".  

Until that magical moment arrives, I will continue to be the daydreamer.    

 

 

[PeterRS]

What a wonderful report! Thank you for that and for all your truly wonderful photos.

[Londoner]

Agreed.

[vinapu]

now when you already home for 1 week, clothes are washed and bills paid,  it's time to start thinking about next trip

[vaughn]

Great report!

[TMax]

Great report and pictures, thank you for sharing. 

[Londoner]

There is nothing better than getting away from the Metropolis with a loved-one, experiencing rural Thailand. And then returning!

[Midguy1]

On 2/16/2022 at 2:42 AM, daydreamer said:

I am counting the days until my next flight to Thailand, when I hear those electrifying words on the loudspeaker,  "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain speaking.  In a few minutes, we will be landing in Bangkok".  

After all these visits theres nothing like hearing those words then shortly after landing the smells, the heat, sometimes the humidity, the smiles, the hussle and bustle.  An assault on the senses.  It's magical.

[Londoner]

Yes... my life becomes richer the moment the doors of the airport open and I'm assailed by  the smells and the heat. Seventy plus trips now; and it works every time.

And next time, it'll be even better after two years away.

[traveller123]

Thanks for taking the time to post such a wonderful series of photos and reports.

I'm so pleased you had such a great trip even with your Covid experience