SummaryAirport Rating N/A Reception of locals ***** Cost: £
Whenever I get asked what my favourite city that I visited is, the answer is always the same - Chiang Mai.
There is a buzz about this city that isn't easily explained and must be experienced. I travelled to Chiang Mai via coach after spending a few days in Lampang. Surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains, Chiang Mai is built in the valley and naturally very beautiful, although the fact it is built in a valley could explain the humidity. I thought Bangkok was humid, this wasn't far off. After getting some food, I headed off to Doi Suthep, a temple on the edge of the city. The temple is about a 45 minute drive from the city centre along a beautiful ,scenic winding road up the side of a very steep hill. As I reached the end of the road for cars, I stepped outside into a busy market place set up at the base of the temple, as with most other tourist attractions in Thailand, stalls ranged from Doi Suthep themed souvenirs, to strange objects, clothes and quite uniquely, swords. As I walked through the markets I reached the end of the paved road and was greeted by a 300 step naga guarded staircase. SummaryAirport Rating N/A Reception of locals *****
The drive from Sukhothai to Lampang was a pleasant 3/4 hours. The roads weren't particularly bumpy and greenery of the central Thai countryside was slowly transformed into more mountainous terrain as we moved north.
Lampang is one of Thailand's relatively untouched cities. Locals refer to it as the 'last paradise' in their country. Tourism has brought a significant amount of benefits for the north of the country, but with tourist money has come new developments. The traditional cities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai have been transformed into cities with skyscrapers, catering to the tourism industry. Lampang stands out in this development. The cityscape has remained broadly the same, and tourism is still in its infancy. Those tourists that do stay, tend only to stop off for a lunch break. I fell into a third category, staying slightly longer to explore the surrounding area. SummaryAirport Rating ***** Reception of locals ***** Cost: £
Centred on the Historical Park and Old Sukhothai, the modern city is a friendly and welcoming place with a number of activities to keep you occupied and numerous small industries and factories that give Sukhothai a distinctive vibe.
The city is about a 6 hour drive north of Bangkok. During the whole of my travels to SE Asia, I tried to avoid internal flights as much as possible. There's a number of reasons for this, (1) you get to see the more rural side to a country, (2) its cheaper (I'm not rich...yet) and (3) internal flights in some of these countries can be nothing short of scary. SummaryAirport Rating ***** Reception of locals *****
There's a few ways to get to these islands, you can either catch a ferry from Surat Thani or fly in from Bangkok. I decided to catch an overnight train from Bangkok to Surat Thani and then a ferry to the islands. Unlike the overnight train from the north to Bangkok, this train was much small, and significantly less comfortable. On the train I met a group who were travelling to Singapore and Malaysia and got chatting to a few of them to kill some time. They were at the beginning of their 6 month adventure and seemed very excited, it helped me a second wind as I was about halfway through my summer and getting quite exhausted.
The three islands are very different, but the one thing that connects them all is the feeling you are in paradise. Koh Samui is the largest of the islands, and also the busiest. Whilst not quite as noisy or humid as the north, there was definitely a feeling of a busy island in certain places. I had met a few people in the north of Thailand including one who lived in Koh Samui so she showed me around some of the main sights which I was thankful for. First stop was the lookout point, a part of the island where you can look out across the island also the sea surrounding the island. Stopping off the side of a main road, I managed to take a few pictures. Its strange, as soon as you step away from the road and look out over the side, you forget you are on a pretty busy island. The Golden Buddha is possibly the main attraction in Koh Samui and its an imposing sight. A large, golden statue of Buddha on the side of a large cliff is impressive and definitely a unique sight. Surrounded by busy markets, you walk up a fair few steps before reaching the temple where the statue sits. You walk around ringing every bell in a clockwise direction before coming back to face the statue. I visited quite a few temples in SE Asia, but this did stand out. SummaryAirport Rating ***** Reception of locals ***** Cost: £££££
If there is one place that I have visited that I wish I had spent more time in, Singapore would be the place. Not quite as charming as Chiang Mai, not as loud as Bangkok, there is nevertheless a lot to do in this small city state. I only had a handful of days available in Singapore so I had to pick and choose the sights that I wanted to see.
Singapore Changi Airport has won numerous awards over the years, and its not difficult to see why. The airport is clean and efficient and staff are friendly and knowledgeable. It really makes the whole experience of flying more relaxed and pleasant. I got a cab from the airport into the city. I decided to stay in little India, a cultural gem in the city and even in traffic it didn't take much longer than 30 minutes to get there from the airport. The cab driver was friendly and all he wanted to do was talk about English football, something I was happy to talk about. It was during my trips to SE Asia that I realised the greatest British export of the 21st century so far is the Premier league. Everyone watches it and everyone wants to talk about once they realise you are from England. They all tend to support the big teams, so when I mention Aston Villa, I always get asked why. Sometimes I ask myself the same question. SummaryAirport Rating N/A Reception of locals *****
Battambang is the gateway to Thailand from Cambodia, but more than this it is an important city in its own right. It's the capital of the Battambang province, the second largest city in Cambodia and the largest city in western half of the country
The city itself was founded in the Khmer Empire in the 11th century, although its proximity to Thailand means that at various times it has been ruled as part of the Thai kingdom. The city is located by the Sankae River, which adds to its picturesque image. SummaryAirport Rating N/A Reception of locals *****
It was a couple of weeks into my cross Cambodia road trip that I finally reached Siem Reap. I had specifically gone with a tour group to ensure I understood the history and meaning of the Angkor Temples, however, even if you go on your own, you can hire tour guides at the temples, something I would definitely recommend.
The first thing I noticed about the city was it was much smaller than some of the larger cities in SE Asia such as Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok. The city it most reminded me of was Chiang Mai with its small roads and large tourist population. The first night I had a walk around the night market, which is pretty large considering the size of the city and seems to stretch forever. As with other night markets in Cambodia, you can find anything from clothes, to paintings, little souvenirs and food stalls. The night market here is relatively cheap and you can haggle prices at pretty much every stand. I was told to begin at a third of the price and work my way up, which seemed to work well. Massages are very cheap throughout Cambodia, and it was no different here, a 30 minute foot massage costing less than GBP 2. You can get all sorts from a back massage to head massages (which I couldn't really have with a patka/dastaar). SummaryAirport Rating N/A Reception of locals ***** Cost: £
The drive from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is about 7/8 hours long, taking you through the beautiful Cambodian countryside. During the reign of the Khmer Rouge, government officials forced an urban depopulation, moving city dwelling Cambodians to work manual labour in the countryside, This had the inevitable consequence of causing large famines and many deaths. However, today, the countryside is full of farmers, ploughing their fields and tending to their crops. There was a lot of greenery during my trip and the vivid colours painted an amazing backdrop to this beautiful country.
SummaryAirport Rating N/A Reception of locals *****
Arriving into the Cambodian border town of Ba Vet via the Vietnamese town of Moc Bai, you could almost immediately see the difference in wealth between the two countries. As we entered the immigration office, we were stuck in a hoard of people, with barely a working fan overhead in hot, sticky conditions. I'd like to say I was in the queue for about an hour, but it is less a queue and more a mass of humanity in one big shapeless group.
The process itself wasn't overly complicated, a quick scan of your fingers and thumb and you are off through the otherside and into Cambodia. The bus from Ho Chi Minh to the border was about 3 hours, but we had another 4/5 hours ahead of us before we reached Phnom Penh. SummaryAirport Rating ***** Reception of locals ***** Cost: ££
Ho Chi Minh has a definite big city feel to it. While Hanoi had a quiet charm, Ho Chi Minh is a loud, brash, confident city - one that wouldn't feel particularly out of place in Europe.
As with other areas of SE Asia, you can very quickly feel the French influences, however, Ho Chi Minh City has developed significantly, firstly as part of the the Republic of Vietnam, and then as part of a reunified Vietnam. Skyscrapers such as the Bitexco Financial Tower dominate the skyline, streets are wide and clean and the core of the city is devoid of the street vendors that dominate other large cities in the area. |
AuthorBritish Sikh, born in the Midlands, based in London, travelling the world seeing new cultures. Categories
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