Curry country
Vacation is over. . .
So unforgettable in terms of emotions, so rich in impressions… From time to time, fragments from the two weeks spent in Thailand pop up in my memory and a smile fleetingly slips on my face.
Sometimes it happens that the rest passes and it seems that it didn’t exist, that it passed like one day. In Thailand, it's different. Now, if you turn back now, look at the time you lived there, then by day you can remember in detail what you did and where you were - everything is so rich that it simply will not be possible to fit impressions in one day.
And it all started with a simple question, "Let's go to the sea in winter? ". . .
Half of December and the beginning of January passed in search of the best hotel, the best beach in... Hurghada. Yes, we were planning to go to Egypt. I chose a hotel, started choosing an agency with the most reasonable prices, and then I was pulled into a forum thread under such an alluring name "Thailand". A picture immediately grew in my head with numerous palm trees, orchids, jungles... There are few countries that I would like to visit, about which you read with great interest, about which you look at photos, forgetting about everything, and Thailand, from the list of these countries, is on the first place. As soon as the associative series "Thailand - palm trees - jungle - orchids" lined up in my head, another side suddenly appeared - the cost of tours, which puts an end to the possibility of making dreams come true. With sadness and a preliminary feeling of disappointment, I nevertheless went to the forum thread and the first question I saw was: “Is it true that you can travel to Thailand without travel agencies and it costs much less? ” The answers that I saw to this question took me out of a sense of emotional balance, caused joy, fear, and excitement... Everything in my head was mixed up from the mere understanding that the country of dreams is more accessible than ever. A couple of days were allocated to fight the fear of independent travel and read articles on this topic, and after a while the fear was overcome, Egypt was forgotten and a trip to Thailand was being prepared. Looking ahead, I’ll say that Egypt was forgotten forever))))
Then came a series of unpleasant moments and began to give the impression that the whole world was against this trip. "Aerosvit" frankly "threw" with promotional tickets; when trying to pay a hotel reservation bill, it turned out that with our two bank cards - Visa Classic and Master Card, issued in two different banks long before, the Internet payment service has been closed since the beginning of 2009 and there is no way to renew it. It was going to be that our reservation would be canceled, but thanks a lot to the Thai resource sawadee, who went to meet us halfway. As a result, a hotel was booked in Thongtakian Bay on Koh Samui and rooms in the sky zone at Baiyoke Sky in Bangkok.
And here it is, the day of departure... March 14th. For some it will be the worst day of their lives, for others it will be the opposite. In the distance you can see the international terminal of Boryspil, outside the window it is raining with snow and the temperature is +2. The minibus famously takes you to the airport stop and with quick jumps you run across to the terminal "B" to warm up and tune in for the upcoming flight. Check-in for the flight is completed, sweets and Martini in Duty Free are bought, an hour and a half waiting for boarding begins. In the meantime, there is an opportunity to study the people around us and place bets on who is flying with us to Bangkok, and who is flying to the UAE or Sharm el-Sheikh...
The Boeing of Turkmenistan Airlines takes off quickly and leaves rainy and cold Kyiv behind. A slight turbulence does not prevent our compatriots from absorbing all the stocks of alcohol bought in the duty-free zone and, fortunately, in an hour of flight they manage to get drunk and go to bed. Flying and landing in Ashgabat is easy and now you are already standing on the Turkmen asphalt, inhaling the warm air, waiting for the majority of passengers to leave the small Boeing and start moving towards the transit hall. And here it is in all its glory the transit hall of Ashgabat. Everyone who lived in the Soviet Union got a great chance to remember how it was, while the rest got a free excursion into the past. The non-functioning arrivals and departures board, the lack of a loudspeaker in the transit hall and the aunt screaming “Bangkok, Bangkok”, one working check-in window are far from all that evoked memories of the past of our country. Probably, for us, the most shocking thing was that the boarding passes are written out by hand (!!! ), yes, yes, you heard right. The employee takes something like a boarding pass and by hand enters your flight number and seat. I also remember on the plane we were thinking about the topic “is there wi-fi at the transit airport”. Now we understood that there are not even computers here.
One and a half hours of waiting at the airport, communicating with people, and now, we understand that there are no backpackers among tourists, only two of us. Everyone flew to Pattaya. We smiled and agreed with one couple on the way back to talk about all the pros and cons of the holiday. Time flew by unnoticed. We managed to change into summer clothes, which we had put in hand luggage in Kyiv, to watch the Ukrainians, who until recently drank alcohol on the plane, and now they are trying on Turkmen hats and examining carpets in the airport shop. There is no duty free in Ashgabat, or rather there is a room for it, but it has long been empty, judging by the amount of dust inside.
In general, there are many impressions, because at least once you need to fly through Turkmenistan to find yourself in such a distant Soviet Union.
Boarding the plane and another surprise - the seats were given out in an incomprehensible order, those who flew in pairs could now sit separately from each other, although two were suitable for registration. We were lucky, there were immediately empty rows behind us and we managed to take one of them. The plane was already larger and took a long time to gain the desired height. Here there was turbulence that I had to take pills for motion sickness. Then they started to feed us and again turbulence - we ate a lot of fun)))
Unfortunately, on this day there were clouds and we did not manage to see the dawn over the mountains from the porthole, so we retired to sleep. Bangkok is ahead of us. . .
Suvarnabumi greeted us in a friendly way: rays of light made their way through the glass walls, running walkways took us to the very heart of the airport, the design of which fascinated with its originality and grandeur; everything was thought out here, down to the smallest detail.
Filling out forms, a visa (it was free this time - a gift from the king to all tourists), passport control and baggage claim - and you are free. Really free, because you don't have to wait for everyone to gather, while everyone takes turns taking pictures against a plain background. On the second floor, we saw a lot of Thais calling for a ride in their taxi. I was amazed at how people follow the rules. There is a red line drawn on the floor of the airport and none of the Thais cross it, no one grabs your hand and pulls you into their taxi, does not begin to offer their services. We went up to the fourth floor, put our winter things in our luggage (100 baht/day) and went to the exit.
Warm air filled the lungs and you don’t even immediately understand that it’s 35 degrees Celsius outside. The second breath and a feeling of warmth fills your body, and also this smell. In Thailand, the air is soft, silky, sweet. . . Local taxi drivers attacked us like fish on bait. It was very difficult to bargain with them - no one wanted to reduce the price of a trip to the railway station. As a result, we left for 350 baht and this is from the fourth floor of the airport, where it should be cheaper according to reviews. I think that the Thais have understood the strategy of tourists and soon it will be cheaper to leave from the second floor than from the fourth.
Palm trees and flowering trees fly around. A brand new Honda famously flies past other taxis and here we are at the station. Before the trip, I read a lot of reviews and recommendations not to go to the “Tourist Information” window, because they will hang noodles there (oh, by the way, noodles in soups are very tasty here). At the entrance to the station, we were immediately surrounded by local lovers of easy money and began to say that there were no train tickets, I immediately even believed them, and then they realized that now they would offer us bus tickets, as they led us to that very window. We refused and went to the joint ticket’s ticket office (window number 2 to the left of the entrance to the station). And oh, miracle, there are tickets for tonight (I recommend taking tickets for train number 85, which leaves at 19:35, because upon arrival in Surat Thani, and then at the pier, you will see crowds of tourists waiting for you). The cost of such a ticket for two cost us, it seems, 2000 baht. The night on the train on the bottom shelf together (it's warmer and there is enough space) has flown by. Koh Samui just got closer. . .
The journey by bus to the pier from the train lasted approximately 2 hours. Watching the flickering landscape, I became more and more aware that now, the dream has become a reality and we are waiting for a meeting with a piece of Paradise.
Loading into the ferry and the first surprises of nature - rain and strong wind. The ship rocked and the motion sickness pills came in handy again. The mood gradually became unhappy, and the local Thai, who soared us his bus tickets for 150 baht per person, unbalanced and there was a great desire to send him, because a person does not understand that if they say “no”, it means “no” . I remember Egypt and the Arabs. One Russian tourist nevertheless sent him and it worked - he no longer approached him.
Koh Samui. . . Pier. . . Rain. . . The mood is completely ruined. The local population again offers their services and now you answer them more sharply and they understand everything from the first time. The bulk of the tourists have already left, but we are still standing not far from the pier and recovering, collecting thoughts together, collecting emotions, go to the nearest tuk-tuk driver and after 10 minutes he rushes us and a couple of tourists towards Lamai.
The jungle is getting thicker, the sky is brighter and now the sun is tickling your fingers with its rays. Sadness is gone. . .
Thongtakain Bay is located between Chaweng and Lamai. There are only 5 hotels here: Samui Yacht Club, Silver Beach, Crystal Bay, Promtsuk Buri and Thongtakain Resort. It was on the latter that we chose. Not many people have heard about this hotel, and you will not find reviews about it on Russian-language resources, and on sawadee. com all European reviews about it are only positive (!!! ). So I wanted to check how true this is. In addition, I wanted to live in a European environment, without compatriots. Unfortunately, we didn't succeed. Muscovites lived next door (there were only 7-8 people in the hotel) and Russian speech periodically shook the air with dissatisfied exclamations.
Our room was unremarkable, no bathtub, shower separated from other toiletries by a curtain, the walls painted in a gloomy color and the light from the light bulbs weak. Therefore, if you are going on vacation to wallow in a room, then choose rooms in the main building - there are plasma panels and bathrooms (although I'm not sure about this) and they look more comfortable. Immediately, the view of the room confused me, and then, having appreciated the charms of the bay, I realized that for such money and in such a place it was a very good option. The main contingent of vacationers are Germans and, most likely, regular customers. They all lived in the main building. There were also Italians and French. On our last day, three Chinese families arrived.
Breakfasts are classic and have not become boring in 9 days - I ate omelettes with bacon with great pleasure. We had lunch and dinner in our restaurant (of all the hotels on the coast, the cheapest prices in the restaurant were with us, because there was often a full house there). On average, a dinner for two came out at 400 - 500 baht. They also serve very tasty food in the restaurant of the Silver Beach Hotel, where the assortment is better. Lunch at Samui Yacht Club was the most expensive, although it consisted of two soups and fresh juices, after which we no longer appeared at this hotel.
Every day after breakfast and morning swimming in the refreshing sea, we got on a rented scooter, and then a bike and raced around the island. Behind your back is a backpack, in your hands is a map (in hotels they are given for free, in any quantity; although they are a little outdated and not all roads are marked on them) and you rush at speed towards the jungle. Even here, in Kyiv, we made a plan where we want to go, what to see, but when we arrived on the island, when we found ourselves in this place full of freedom, all plans were forgotten and I wanted to feel the surrounding reality, let the local color, life, customs pass through me . Therefore, getting on the bike, they chose the most abandoned places on the map and drove there. As a result of such travels, they found an absolutely wild beach, which can only be reached through boulders; climbed above Namuang Waterfall 2 and visited a waterfall, to which there is no road on the map. The sunsets on Lipa Noi beach, the color of the sea on the territory of the military base and the people who live there made the biggest impression on me. For them, you are like a curiosity, they greet you from afar, smile and even ask to be photographed. In return, you get the opportunity to see a real, sincere Thai smile - such smiles as there, you have not seen anywhere else. It is one thing when a hostess in a restaurant smiles at you, a Thai from whom you bought fruits or a masseuse, whom you gave 200 baht for a massage and another tip when there is a financial benefit. Another thing is these Thais. They smile not because you are about to spend / spent money with him, but they smile just like that, disinterestedly and sincerely. They seem to charge you with their energy, their good nature. Indescribable feelings.
There were also the main tourist check-points of Koh Samui, a trip to the national park, kayaking, a salt lake and a view-point at an altitude of 500 meters. The sight is indescribable, but the road there is not easy, so not many dare to take this height, and if there are health problems, then it is better to postpone this undertaking. From a height of 150 meters, a bewitching view of the beach opens up, so I recommend that everyone overcome this height. After Namuang'a, the first check-point was quickly submitted to us.
March 25... Koh Samui airport opened its doors to us, not even doors - (they are not there, however, like walls) their arms. I have not yet seen the best airports: flowers, paths, shops, birds. It's amazing how people can keep such an area clean. . .
Free juice and a croissant, boarding a plane, a light lunch, and now Suvarnabumi welcomes you with a Thai smile. Highway ride, settlement in Baiyoke Sky and hello city of smog and Buddhist temples. We lived on the 56th floor (at first they gave a room on the 61st, but the hotel had an advertisement for floors 10 high and a fine mesh was pasted on the windows of the 61st floor - you won’t look out the window for a long time - everything ripples). Thanks to the Russian employee of the hotel - agreed and moved. Now the view was on the highway. It is better to book a hotel via the Internet - prices are cheaper by one and a half times. Think crazy, but I want to say about the bed. The bed in the hotel is so wonderful in quality that you didn’t want to get out of bed, something with an admixture of silk, but not in its pure form - you lie down in bed and dissolve. At night from the hotel you photograph the running lights on the streets, the luminous tops of buildings and hotels, and in the morning - the gray sky and smog - the complete opposite of the night city. The most annoying thing about the hotel is the cost of the Internet: 30 minutes of access costs 300 baht.
We visited the Royal Palace, visited the Reclining Buddha, floated to Wat Arun. The most memorable is the trip up the river on a boat that runs regularly on schedule and takes Thais home. A ticket to the farthest point (N31) cost 13 baht per person. For this money, you get the opportunity to find yourself where there are no Europeans, Indians, Americans. The boat is filled to capacity with Thais (we saw a couple more Europeans). Feelings are as if you are a resident of African tribes, who found himself in our minibuses at rush hour. You go ashore and wander through the narrow streets, watch the Thais eating food, sitting right on the pavement, watching the city life. The nose does not withstand these smells for a long time and you start moving back towards the port. On the way back, we decided to drive one stop further and stop at the flower market (stop N7). By the way, we found it without any problems. And here we plunged into a riot of colors, shapes and types of plants. Being an ardent lover of orchids, I did not miss the opportunity to photograph mountains of flowers and bouquets. Back in Kyiv, I had the idea to buy orchid sprouts and bring them home, so we decided to ask at the market where you can buy them here. What was our surprise when the questions “Do you speak English? ” we were getting some incomprehensible Thai gibberish. It turned out that no one there knew English, so we had to act out scenes from the life of orchids in roles to show what we needed, draw on pieces of paper... We laughed at ourselves and without sprouts, we went to the hotel. On this day in Bangkok there was a rally of the "Reds", they were dispersed by the police and the road was blocked - they thought that we would not leave, but in the future - we would not fly away from Thailand - you never know what could be.
I remember the massage in Bangkok. At one o'clock in the morning we decided to have a massage. Fortunately, there are quite a few massage parlors near the hotel, and we, having chosen one, went to him. The girls warmly welcomed us and took us to the second floor of their salon. And then the following picture presented itself to our eyes: curtains are hanging everywhere, the light is very dim, light music is playing somewhere and a couple of Thais come out to meet us - a guy and a girl and smile... We were seized by a slight shock, we did not order a body massage... Our fears were not justified. It was in this salon that they gave me the best oil massage for all the time that we spent in Thailand.
March 28 is the day of farewell to the country of smiles. Around 1:00 a. m. , a taxi quickly took us to the airport. It was very quiet on the fourth floor - the airport was dozing and only occasionally crowds of people passed in search of a cafe for a midnight dinner. The plane of "Turkmenistan Airlines" should take us at 05:00 in the morning. Check-in for the flight began at 02:00, which was very surprising. Then we realized that even this time might not be enough for someone. It's all about the size of "Duty Free". The hall is full of signboards of D&G, Barberry, Armani and other world brands and invites everyone to buy a new handbag, shoes or suit from the latest spring/summer 2009 collection. But their prices are not quite "duty free". Everyone who wanted to buy souvenirs here came across prices of 100 baht for a magnet. Of course, on Chaweng Beach on Koh Samui, prices are exactly twice as high, but here is Duty Free.
We walked around almost the entire duty-free zone, found orchids in jars, and with great pleasure I bought a couple of jars.
On the plane, it was very useful to have warm clothes that did not fit in a suitcase and were taken in hand luggage - many looked at us with envy, since the temperature on the plane was 19 degrees.
Takeoff and 7 hours of flight passed quickly. We slept almost all the way. Occasionally, our sleep was disturbed by a compatriot who, two weeks ago, on the way to Bangkok, was pouring alcohol for everyone. Now he was sitting next to me and everyone ran to him for another portion of whiskey, said a toast and ran to their places.
Ashgabat met us with its red metal seats and a temperature of 11 degrees. Four hours of waiting for the flight passed in a warm conversation with a couple who were vacationing in Pattaya: they looked at photos, shared their impressions and already began to miss Thailand.
Kyiv. The plane somehow for a long time lowered its altitude and reluctantly came in for a landing. He felt that we did not want to return home. Buses approached the plane and people in flip flops and summer clothes flopped into it in quick dashes.
A road, a taxi, a house… And there are still long days of adaptation and long months of missing Thailand.
1. On Koh Samui, of all the prices for souvenirs found, the lowest were near Grandma and Grandpa for 50 baht, while on Chaweng, for example, they wanted to rip off 200 baht from us for similar magnets. We bargained and brought down the price only to 100.
2. Girls. If your figure is close to European standards 90 * 60 * 90, then I recommend taking clothes from home. In supermarkets, I did not find a single blouse in size XS (there are fitting rooms and you can try on clothes, unlike shops and other shops where you need to buy “at random” without trying on), and the blouse in size S that you try on turned out to be huge. As for the swimsuit. There are a lot of them, there is a cool shop in Chaweng with swimsuits and you can try them on, but if you are the owner of a beautiful priest with a volume of 90cm or more, then you will be disappointed, like me. The store has 5 copies of the same swimsuit model and all of the same size - small in the pope.
3. Shopping. If you want to buy original bags or shoes in the spirit of Thai fashionistas, then I recommend that you visit the Platinum shopping center in Bangkok without fail. You will find a lot of bright shoes of light green, yellow, lilac, hot pink colors in this super store. In addition, there are a lot of jewelry, bags, clothes. Everything is so original that your eyes run wide, and most importantly, you can’t buy such bright things from us. One caveat, though, is the shoe size. My 36th by European standards, corresponded to the 38th Thai and it was not always possible to find the right one.
4. Maps. On Koh Samui in hotels you can take wonderful maps for orientation on the ground for free (I brought two copies with me to Kyiv). In Bangkok, all free cards are, to put it mildly, terrible, so either buy in advance or on the spot. It's not even that most of the streets there are not plotted (on the map that I printed out here in Kyiv on A3 format, there are more objects plotted than on Bangkok), but that on this map, the north and east landmarks are mixed up. I had to fiddle with the map for a long time before we realized what was wrong with it, and then we returned to the printed one anyway.
5. Bangkok flower market. The easiest way to get to it is from pier N7. A small stream leads to the pier, and a bridge crosses it. Cross it and see how the street goes to the right - after 19:00, on the one hand it is filled with vegetable merchants, and on the other - with flowers.
And finally: forget about fear, refuse travel agencies, travel on your own and get ready to get sick of Thailand forever.
