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Boat Tour Thailand

April 29, 2014

For one of our days staying in Krabi, we booked a day trip out to some of the smaller islands. Heading out via longboat, we had three main stops – one for snorkling, one for lunch and one for a few hours swimming.

One thing that became apparent in Thailand, starting with this trip, was the struggle the country appears to have with litter/rubbish, and dealing with it.

Each of the stops was beautiful, and away from the mainland, relatively free of rubbish. However, stopping at the lunch spot, walking on the beach, I could smell the familiar scent of ash/burnt goods. At the back of the small beach area, it was clear that all rubbish on the island just gets piled up and burnt. Relatively small stuff, but I’ll touch on it again in future posts where the issue was more obvious.

Anyway… Landing at the final beach and being left for the rest of the afternoon I went for a bit of a stroll. Thailand was hit by a nasty tsunami in 2004. This beach paradise, like many other places was hit, with old wreckage sitting in the bush as a reminder.

With the Thai authorities estimating that at least 8,150 are likely to have died, the bits of boats and other things around the coastal areas serve as a reminder, and sorts of shrines to remind us of the loss.

From Krabi and back on a boat tomorrow!
The Monkeys of Krabi

April 28, 2014

Up to this point of the holiday I had not seen any ‘in the wild’ monkeys. I did see a number of pet/trick/show monkeys both in Bangkok and Chiang Mai – but I don’t overly like seeing them chained or roped up as they were in these areas.

Walking around the township I came across this statue:

A fairly good clue that there might be monkeys around. After talking to one of our hosts, they also recommended we visit ‘the end of the beach’ around lunch or sundown time – the monkeys get fed during those times, no doubt for tourism. We can look at that in two lights – one, its teaching them to eat bad food, and get poor behaviours (more about that in a moment). I guess on the other hand, the monkeys are being opportunistic – good on them…

Walking to the end of the beach, several families appeared.

Watching with amusement, I went and grabbed the other half so she could see them also. No sooner had we arrived back, and the monkeys came down to the beach. This is where the bad behaviour comes in. The opportunistic little monkeys, knowing people come to see them, and often feed them, will run and snatch bags looking for tasty treats. Suddenly one of the little ones ran up to us, grabbed our bag with locally made biscuits (I had wanted to see how they compare), threw away all the uninteresting food (including pineapple) and started snatching the cookies off each other (look closely at the first image for the cookie in mouth).

More tomorrow (but not awesome monkeys).
Krabi Seaside

April 27, 2014

Saying farewell to Chiang Mai and the Northern region of Thailand, we boarded an early morning plane and flew to the west coast, southern side of Thailand – aimed for Krabi (the seaside part of it). Landing in Phuket, and hopping on a transfer coach for several hours, we arrived at out destination. After a short unpacking, it was time to take a bit of a walk around the beach for a look.

What a change in environment. It was busy, but much less busy. Far less taxis and tuk tuks offering rides. And sea! – something I always love being near and take for granted back here in Auckland New Zealand. Sitting down for a drink, we watched the longboats struggling to get out at low time, and zooming around as the tide came up.

The area we stayed at had two beach areas – one, were were told was not really ideal to go to at night (well, he actually said keep away from thee at night). The other good all night long. Walking around both in the day, one looked less touristy, more local. The beach on that side wasn’t as nice as the other side either. Todays shots are all from the ‘tourist’ side.

More of the Krabi area tomorrow!
Farewell Shots from Chiang Mai

April 26, 2014

A lot of the rest of my time whilst up in Chiang Mai was spent wandering the streets,looking at ‘things’ – the buildings, the people, the tourists, the history.

Here’s a bit of a random pick of shots to view.

Tomorrow, its down south.

Tuk tuk?
The 99th ANZAC Year

April 25, 2014

Today marks the 99th ANZAC day anniversary. Its a day where New Zealanders and Australians respect and remember those who have fallen in battle/war, giving up their lives, so we could live ours. The date itself marks the anniversary of the landing of New Zealand and Australian soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915.

Ive attended the dawn service for ANZAC day in my home town for years now. I think as I age each year, the day feels like it means more to me. Unlike many other public holidays that celebrate something, this one is more emotional. No one celebrates those who fall in war. We remember them. Giving ones life is the ultimate sacrifice.

When the First World War hit, New Zealand had a population of just over one million. About 120,000 of our men enlisted and went to battle. Of that 120,000 almost half were casualties of war – be it wounded or killed. Many never returned, and remain in the various unmarked graves around the battle fields of the world. For such a small population, we took a big hit.

Attending the service this morning, I walked away reflective and with a sense of emotion remembering the fallen.

I also walked away a little angry and offended. Why? – technology. A number (a very small percentage – but noticeable enough) of people either took phone calls, or failed to silence ringing phones once the service begun. A number (same percentage comment again) of children/young adults were permitted by their parents to play their digital device (pick your favourite), and play it with sound even. Im not quite at the stage of being a grumpy old man (grumpy young man?), but seriously, I found it really disrespectful. The closest example I could give is someone using their phone or playing games when one attends a funeral service – thats never ok.

Said people aside, it was a great and well attended ceremony. Being essentially a 5am start, New Zealand (and other places) holds a number of ceremonies at different times, and in all main cities, towns and suburbs. Next year marks 100 years. Its going to be big. I just hope people bring along their respect.

Back to more Thailand tomorrow!

Lest We Forget