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Sunday, January 10, 2010
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Greetings From Thailand!
Its been awhile since the previous update to our blog… As you know we managed to sell the old thing called a Jeep back in Australia and purchase some sweet flight tickets to Thailand.
On our first day in Bangkok we actually made it to the Grand Palace, which we missed during our last trip here as we were scammed into thinking that it was closed. A couple of hustlers tried the same scams again but now we are experienced Thailand travelers so we weren’t going to fall for it again. Its seriously unbelievable how many people try to scam you by telling you the Grand Palace is closed or that you can’t wear those in there, here I just happen to have some appropriate ra…. clothes for you.. The Grand Palace was grand, alright, its surely taken some time and effort to build the place.
The Grand Palace! Finally!
Actually inside.....
.....the gates...
After leaving the palace we went to see a luxurious shopping mall called Siam Paragon. We went down to the inner food court to grab some lunch and that’s when it hit us again of what it can feel like to eat in Thailand. Our lunch cost around 3 €, including three bottles of water and both of our meals. Fantastic!
Linda decided to surprise me already back in Australia after our Thailand trip was confirmed. She had booked us a table at the world famous Bed Supper Club. Those of you who haven’t heard of the place, it’s a restaurant/club, where you eat a five course surprise menu on beds of course! The whole interior is white and the theme changes weekly. This time there were washing machines scattered around the place and clothes lines hanging from the ceiling and because the place is totally white, they can add effects through lighting which was awesome. A pink light comes on and the whole place turns pink etc. The food was fabulous also, a definite recommendation!
Having dinner....
....at the Bed Supper Club
The next day, after making yet again more travel arrangements we hopped on plane and flew to Phuket. When we got there we were astonished by the local taxi mafia, which cannot be compared by anywhere in Thailand. If an hour in a cab in Bangkok costs about 70-80 baht it will cost approximately 300 to get a 5 min ride here, nice rip off wouldn’t you say…. We called Tiina to let her know that we’ve arrived and got ourselves invited to a Thai sauna which was great!
Getting a ride...
...from the overpriced tuk tuk taxis!
At the Thai sauna
Having dinner with Tiina at a really good Japanese restaurant
Henkka and some bananas...
The chilling memories...
....of the Tsumani.
Our next adventure was to set off to an island called Raya, 50 km of the coast of Phuket. Seeing Phuket was not the kind of place we would like to go for a vacation, it was more like Las Palmas with 1000 go go bars. Once we arrived to Raya Island with about 70 finnish tourists named Jaska and Reino being on a day trip with Aurinkomatkat, to our relief we knew that 1: they would be gone in four hours and 2: the island was a sweet place to be… not that big, many beaches, few tourists and the clear waters of the Andaman Sea.
The main beach of Raya by day...
and by...
....evening
The local island transportation...
Enjoying a...
...beautiful sunset
On the next day it was time to begin our PADI instructed diving experience… Those of you who have been with me to the beach might have realized that although I’m very fond of the sea, I’m not really what you could call a fish IN water. Sure, I enjoy swimming and snorkeling on a beautiful beach on a perfect day but the idea of being say 15-20m under it slightly terrified me… Perfectly able to hide this nervous feeling from Linda and my instructor, we got a quick briefing of how to breathe and off we were into the depths of the Andaman… It wasn’t as terrifying being underwater as I thought it would be and I actually didn’t pass out. I decided to do a couple of more dives and be a certified scuba diver but Linda really enjoyed diving and decided to dive for over a week and become an Advanced Open Water Diver!
The office
Linda and instructor Heikki reviewing some theory
Getting the equipment ready
embarking from the beach....
Back after another....
....adventure dive
After the great time we had at Raya Island we went back to Phuket and meet my mom and Olli. We had a really nice couple of days just taking it easy and eating well. Although we also realized that our visas weren’t valid for our whole time in Thailand and after visiting the local immigration office we learned we could not extend our visas by 16 days but leave the country for a visa run to get another stamp for 30 days. Unbelievable system they got here! So we drove to the border of Thailand and Burma on a rented car and went on a the boat over to Burma for 30 mins and back. This meant driving for 9 hours plus the boat ride but it went well and we’re legal tourists again…
Going back to Phuket
Mom and Olli!
Evidence that we've been to Burma and had lunch there..
The things you see....
...on the road...
Passports stamped!
After our Burma experience we took of back to our favourite place in Thailand, Koh Samui. We rented a bungalow for a week at Matlang Resort in Chaweng Beach, where we stayed also the last time we were here.
Our bungalow at Matlang Resort
The porch
The view...
...sweet!
Dinner on the beach in Chaweng
Bo Phut Fisherman's Village
and dinner there as well!
Now we’re at Lamai Beach at a really nice resort called Spa Samui. Linda decided to try the cleansing program which meant fasting for 7 days! She’s been doing great and its her last fasting day today! I hope everything is well with all of you and we will be coming back on the 29th of April so see you then!!
Linda & Henkka
Linda moving to Lamai beach....
and me tailing with a scooter...
Fasting can be accomplished in a perfect enviroment!
On our first day in Bangkok we actually made it to the Grand Palace, which we missed during our last trip here as we were scammed into thinking that it was closed. A couple of hustlers tried the same scams again but now we are experienced Thailand travelers so we weren’t going to fall for it again. Its seriously unbelievable how many people try to scam you by telling you the Grand Palace is closed or that you can’t wear those in there, here I just happen to have some appropriate ra…. clothes for you.. The Grand Palace was grand, alright, its surely taken some time and effort to build the place.
The Grand Palace! Finally!
Actually inside.....
.....the gates...
After leaving the palace we went to see a luxurious shopping mall called Siam Paragon. We went down to the inner food court to grab some lunch and that’s when it hit us again of what it can feel like to eat in Thailand. Our lunch cost around 3 €, including three bottles of water and both of our meals. Fantastic!
Linda decided to surprise me already back in Australia after our Thailand trip was confirmed. She had booked us a table at the world famous Bed Supper Club. Those of you who haven’t heard of the place, it’s a restaurant/club, where you eat a five course surprise menu on beds of course! The whole interior is white and the theme changes weekly. This time there were washing machines scattered around the place and clothes lines hanging from the ceiling and because the place is totally white, they can add effects through lighting which was awesome. A pink light comes on and the whole place turns pink etc. The food was fabulous also, a definite recommendation!
Having dinner....
....at the Bed Supper Club
The next day, after making yet again more travel arrangements we hopped on plane and flew to Phuket. When we got there we were astonished by the local taxi mafia, which cannot be compared by anywhere in Thailand. If an hour in a cab in Bangkok costs about 70-80 baht it will cost approximately 300 to get a 5 min ride here, nice rip off wouldn’t you say…. We called Tiina to let her know that we’ve arrived and got ourselves invited to a Thai sauna which was great!
Getting a ride...
...from the overpriced tuk tuk taxis!
At the Thai sauna
Having dinner with Tiina at a really good Japanese restaurant
Henkka and some bananas...
The chilling memories...
....of the Tsumani.
Our next adventure was to set off to an island called Raya, 50 km of the coast of Phuket. Seeing Phuket was not the kind of place we would like to go for a vacation, it was more like Las Palmas with 1000 go go bars. Once we arrived to Raya Island with about 70 finnish tourists named Jaska and Reino being on a day trip with Aurinkomatkat, to our relief we knew that 1: they would be gone in four hours and 2: the island was a sweet place to be… not that big, many beaches, few tourists and the clear waters of the Andaman Sea.
The main beach of Raya by day...
and by...
....evening
The local island transportation...
Enjoying a...
...beautiful sunset
On the next day it was time to begin our PADI instructed diving experience… Those of you who have been with me to the beach might have realized that although I’m very fond of the sea, I’m not really what you could call a fish IN water. Sure, I enjoy swimming and snorkeling on a beautiful beach on a perfect day but the idea of being say 15-20m under it slightly terrified me… Perfectly able to hide this nervous feeling from Linda and my instructor, we got a quick briefing of how to breathe and off we were into the depths of the Andaman… It wasn’t as terrifying being underwater as I thought it would be and I actually didn’t pass out. I decided to do a couple of more dives and be a certified scuba diver but Linda really enjoyed diving and decided to dive for over a week and become an Advanced Open Water Diver!
The office
Linda and instructor Heikki reviewing some theory
Getting the equipment ready
embarking from the beach....
Back after another....
....adventure dive
After the great time we had at Raya Island we went back to Phuket and meet my mom and Olli. We had a really nice couple of days just taking it easy and eating well. Although we also realized that our visas weren’t valid for our whole time in Thailand and after visiting the local immigration office we learned we could not extend our visas by 16 days but leave the country for a visa run to get another stamp for 30 days. Unbelievable system they got here! So we drove to the border of Thailand and Burma on a rented car and went on a the boat over to Burma for 30 mins and back. This meant driving for 9 hours plus the boat ride but it went well and we’re legal tourists again…
Going back to Phuket
Mom and Olli!
Evidence that we've been to Burma and had lunch there..
The things you see....
...on the road...
Passports stamped!
After our Burma experience we took of back to our favourite place in Thailand, Koh Samui. We rented a bungalow for a week at Matlang Resort in Chaweng Beach, where we stayed also the last time we were here.
Our bungalow at Matlang Resort
The porch
The view...
...sweet!
Dinner on the beach in Chaweng
Bo Phut Fisherman's Village
and dinner there as well!
Now we’re at Lamai Beach at a really nice resort called Spa Samui. Linda decided to try the cleansing program which meant fasting for 7 days! She’s been doing great and its her last fasting day today! I hope everything is well with all of you and we will be coming back on the 29th of April so see you then!!
Linda & Henkka
Linda moving to Lamai beach....
and me tailing with a scooter...
Fasting can be accomplished in a perfect enviroment!
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Jump on the beach!
Mission Beach...the last day...
Check out what we did:
Celebrating a successful weekend...
Glad to be here... couse look what I did!
Jump on the beach
The Dore family are an adventurous bunch and the three brothers do skydiving all around the world. As this is something I’ve always wanted to try I decided to do my first tandem-jump on one of the best skydiving spots in the world, on the beach. Izzy, Jamie and Michelle’s brother’s fiancée was my tandem instructor and game me the rush of my life jumping off a small plane at 14,000 ft. The freefall was crazy and she let me fly the parachute after opening it. It was a beautiful clear day, you could see the Reefs and Dunk Island. We were the last to jump off the plane (which was filled up with 5 jumpers) and the adrenalin rush was unbelievable. There was a moment when we were freefalling when I thought this was it, the end, but I loved it. Hooked on jumping for sure! Landing on the beach was incredible and Henkka, my personal paparazzi followed our progress from below. You really get a sense of time freefalling. Sensory overloaded minutes that came back to me days and days later. You just remember the feeling, get pumped up and smile. Great experience, I recommend it to everybody, talk about stress-relief. Nothing for the queasy though, as even I felt like I left my stomach behind in the plane when freefalling. Great fun!
The line-up for the day...
Waiting...waiting...
I get a quick lesson from Izzy...
Castaway beach...where I land...hopefully...
The shute is open...
Dunk Island in the distance...
Coming down...a perfect landing...
Great to be back..
Adrenaline rush...get me back up there...
The beautiful sunset...the last in Australia!
Guess what! We sold the car! At last! An army couple in Townsville took the diseased Jeep off our hands and made us very happy with a fair deal. We immediately rebooked our tickets back home and headed off to Sydney. After nine hours we landed in Bangkok and now we are in Thailand. Yes, Thailand! We are in Bangkok for the weekend and then off to Phuket, where Henkka’s friend Tiina lives, to do some serious diving and R&R. We are planning to hang around in Thailand until end of April and then we will be coming home to Helsinki in time for Vappu!
Our Aussie adventure was great, a trip of a lifetime even if we decided to only stay for two months. We managed to see and do most of what we wanted to in Australia but decided not to work there, instead treating it as a holiday and coming home to family and friends. Australia is a wonderful country with great people and weather, but at the moment we felt we still had unfinished business at home. So, Thailand and then we are coming home! So we will see a lot of you guys soon enough!
Check out what we did:
Celebrating a successful weekend...
Glad to be here... couse look what I did!
Jump on the beach
The Dore family are an adventurous bunch and the three brothers do skydiving all around the world. As this is something I’ve always wanted to try I decided to do my first tandem-jump on one of the best skydiving spots in the world, on the beach. Izzy, Jamie and Michelle’s brother’s fiancée was my tandem instructor and game me the rush of my life jumping off a small plane at 14,000 ft. The freefall was crazy and she let me fly the parachute after opening it. It was a beautiful clear day, you could see the Reefs and Dunk Island. We were the last to jump off the plane (which was filled up with 5 jumpers) and the adrenalin rush was unbelievable. There was a moment when we were freefalling when I thought this was it, the end, but I loved it. Hooked on jumping for sure! Landing on the beach was incredible and Henkka, my personal paparazzi followed our progress from below. You really get a sense of time freefalling. Sensory overloaded minutes that came back to me days and days later. You just remember the feeling, get pumped up and smile. Great experience, I recommend it to everybody, talk about stress-relief. Nothing for the queasy though, as even I felt like I left my stomach behind in the plane when freefalling. Great fun!
The line-up for the day...
Waiting...waiting...
I get a quick lesson from Izzy...
Castaway beach...where I land...hopefully...
The shute is open...
Dunk Island in the distance...
Coming down...a perfect landing...
Great to be back..
Adrenaline rush...get me back up there...
The beautiful sunset...the last in Australia!
Guess what! We sold the car! At last! An army couple in Townsville took the diseased Jeep off our hands and made us very happy with a fair deal. We immediately rebooked our tickets back home and headed off to Sydney. After nine hours we landed in Bangkok and now we are in Thailand. Yes, Thailand! We are in Bangkok for the weekend and then off to Phuket, where Henkka’s friend Tiina lives, to do some serious diving and R&R. We are planning to hang around in Thailand until end of April and then we will be coming home to Helsinki in time for Vappu!
Our Aussie adventure was great, a trip of a lifetime even if we decided to only stay for two months. We managed to see and do most of what we wanted to in Australia but decided not to work there, instead treating it as a holiday and coming home to family and friends. Australia is a wonderful country with great people and weather, but at the moment we felt we still had unfinished business at home. So, Thailand and then we are coming home! So we will see a lot of you guys soon enough!
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