Just got back...
Dec 1st, 2005, 08:54 AM
#4
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I am a bit jet lagged and I admit I am not one that writes reports and diaries...but I will share anything that comes to mind and will answer many questions...=I have over 1000 pictures and movies..I will have to figure a way and a place to share them.
In regards to accomodations we stayed in order:
3 nights in Bangkok at Bangkok Marriott Resort and Spa
2 nights in Bangkok at the Old Bangkok Inn
3 nights in Chiang Mai at the River View Lodge
2 nights in the Golden Triangle at the Anantara Resort
2 nights in Chiang Rai - at the Akka Village - 26 kms from Chiang Rai - stayed with the hill tribes
7 nights in Phuket at JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa
2 nights in Bangkok at the Ibrik Resort
more to come....
D
3 nights
In regards to accomodations we stayed in order:
3 nights in Bangkok at Bangkok Marriott Resort and Spa
2 nights in Bangkok at the Old Bangkok Inn
3 nights in Chiang Mai at the River View Lodge
2 nights in the Golden Triangle at the Anantara Resort
2 nights in Chiang Rai - at the Akka Village - 26 kms from Chiang Rai - stayed with the hill tribes
7 nights in Phuket at JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa
2 nights in Bangkok at the Ibrik Resort
more to come....
D
3 nights
Dec 2nd, 2005, 02:25 AM
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Thailand is not about Hotels ! Ok, I guess you want to know where you will be sleeping.
Marriott Resort and Spa - Words are hard to describe it. Pictures are hard to describe it as well. You have to experience it. It's out of this world. I stayed in a Deluxe suite - river view. The grounds are beautiful. It's an OASIS away from the hussle and bussle. It feels to good to go back there after a busy day. It's like you are in a Tropical Jungle away from the city. The staff cators to you. If they could wash your feet - they would. Very nice touches in everything. The little things add up, like nice cold wet cloths to cool you down waiting for you everywhere you go whether it be in the hotel or on the boat. Would go back and would highly recommend it.
Old Bangkok Inn - If you are expecting a 5 star American Hotel and it's services - forget it. I stayed here after the Marriott and I was sheltered shocked for a few hours. BUT wants you settle in and you know this is home for the next few days it's an amazing little place. The Inn is very clean and quaint decorated in THAI style. The staff is out of this world. Super Friendly. Anything you want you got it. I stayed in the Jasmine room, it is a loft. The Jasmine room has stairs going to the bed. It's the biggest and most quiet room. The stairs are quiet narrow and steep. So be prepared for a fun climb and decent. Again it was nice staying here, you felt you stayed in someone's home. The breakfast is nice. The only bad points I have to say about this place is that it is not conveniently located as all the other river hotels are. So to all major attractions you need to take a cab. But cabs are cheap. For some reason there was not hot water after one shower. I wondered why...but did not complain since a cool shower felt good. We could have used more pillows than the 2 pillows provided for 2 people..but my fault I should have asked. Would I stay here again? Yes, if I wanted to stay in the area. Again if you want something like a 5 star resort, this is not the place. If you want an Inn- Thai style, family run and super amazing friendly people and you don't mind catching a cab to go to places. This is it. I enjoyed staying here because this added up to my wonderful vacation expience. Oh by the way it's close to KHO SAN Road so you are close to some night life and close to some local nice temples.
More to come...ask away
Marriott Resort and Spa - Words are hard to describe it. Pictures are hard to describe it as well. You have to experience it. It's out of this world. I stayed in a Deluxe suite - river view. The grounds are beautiful. It's an OASIS away from the hussle and bussle. It feels to good to go back there after a busy day. It's like you are in a Tropical Jungle away from the city. The staff cators to you. If they could wash your feet - they would. Very nice touches in everything. The little things add up, like nice cold wet cloths to cool you down waiting for you everywhere you go whether it be in the hotel or on the boat. Would go back and would highly recommend it.
Old Bangkok Inn - If you are expecting a 5 star American Hotel and it's services - forget it. I stayed here after the Marriott and I was sheltered shocked for a few hours. BUT wants you settle in and you know this is home for the next few days it's an amazing little place. The Inn is very clean and quaint decorated in THAI style. The staff is out of this world. Super Friendly. Anything you want you got it. I stayed in the Jasmine room, it is a loft. The Jasmine room has stairs going to the bed. It's the biggest and most quiet room. The stairs are quiet narrow and steep. So be prepared for a fun climb and decent. Again it was nice staying here, you felt you stayed in someone's home. The breakfast is nice. The only bad points I have to say about this place is that it is not conveniently located as all the other river hotels are. So to all major attractions you need to take a cab. But cabs are cheap. For some reason there was not hot water after one shower. I wondered why...but did not complain since a cool shower felt good. We could have used more pillows than the 2 pillows provided for 2 people..but my fault I should have asked. Would I stay here again? Yes, if I wanted to stay in the area. Again if you want something like a 5 star resort, this is not the place. If you want an Inn- Thai style, family run and super amazing friendly people and you don't mind catching a cab to go to places. This is it. I enjoyed staying here because this added up to my wonderful vacation expience. Oh by the way it's close to KHO SAN Road so you are close to some night life and close to some local nice temples.
More to come...ask away
Dec 2nd, 2005, 06:41 AM
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In regards to the Akha Village....
Arrived in Chiang Rai on November 19 and walked into the TAT office. After staying at the Anantara, we were looking for something more rustic. So from the
comprehensive list of nearby resorts and hotels, and other choices such as going to TAN. We decided to go with the Akha Village. A hill tribe village in Chiang Rai the
only one in Chiang Rai that is open to tourists and operated by the hill tribe. I was bit worried, as I am not so adventurous from a rustic sense. We decided to go with the
most expensive place, 700 baht. That's right 700 baht for a private cabin, with hot private shower and a fan. Later we found out that some people were paying for some rooms as low as 80 baht. But did not want to see them. So in a few minutes a pick up truck came to pick us up that had Akha Village written on it. The driver was actually the Akha Village Tribe chief. It took us to a little village 2 minutes away from the TAT office, also operated by the hill tribe. This village is in Chiang Rai. They also rent lodging. The lodging was made out of mud. At the Akha Village the lodging is made out mud, bamboo, and wood. We were told that we would depart at 4:30. We had 2:30 hours to kill. We walked around Chiang Rai and found out that Chiang Rai had not much stuff going on from a Tourist point of view. Just like we had read, Chiang Rai is a popular base destination for Trekking. So after our walk we grabbed something to eat at a local restaurant had fun with the locals, trying to speak the language and asking questions on the menu. We then returned to our meeting place at 4:30. Finally after being tired and restless and listening to a lot of talking going on between the chief and his family/workers we departed at 5 PM. We were asked to go behind the driver and the passenger seat. We got squished in there and on the floor was a bag with fish head, chicken, and potatoes. We wondered if this was our supper. Some young guy was the driver and some old man maybe in his eighties was in the passenger seat and a girl rode in the back of the pick up. We made a few stops on the way. They picked up beer, bread, and cement. I was actually getting tired of these stops and wondered why I was paying for this. I felt like I was paying for punishment. The driver and the old man barely spoke to us. At this point in time we were thinking this was a bad choice. But too late to turn around. The ride was bumpy and the scenery was beautiful as we drove up the mountains. We were actually lucky on our way there and back as we got to ride in the back/inside of the truck. Usually the tourists ride in the back outside and hold on to their dear lives and sit on their luggages amongst the locals that have hitched a ride to and from the village. We stopped at a couple of villages before our final destination as they looked rustic, country looking. Kids running around barefoot, chickens on the ground. People sitting at their door steps smoking...It was interesting. When we arrived out our village. The trunk was put on a 4 wheel drive and up it went on 60 degree incline....more on Akha to come
Arrived in Chiang Rai on November 19 and walked into the TAT office. After staying at the Anantara, we were looking for something more rustic. So from the
comprehensive list of nearby resorts and hotels, and other choices such as going to TAN. We decided to go with the Akha Village. A hill tribe village in Chiang Rai the
only one in Chiang Rai that is open to tourists and operated by the hill tribe. I was bit worried, as I am not so adventurous from a rustic sense. We decided to go with the
most expensive place, 700 baht. That's right 700 baht for a private cabin, with hot private shower and a fan. Later we found out that some people were paying for some rooms as low as 80 baht. But did not want to see them. So in a few minutes a pick up truck came to pick us up that had Akha Village written on it. The driver was actually the Akha Village Tribe chief. It took us to a little village 2 minutes away from the TAT office, also operated by the hill tribe. This village is in Chiang Rai. They also rent lodging. The lodging was made out of mud. At the Akha Village the lodging is made out mud, bamboo, and wood. We were told that we would depart at 4:30. We had 2:30 hours to kill. We walked around Chiang Rai and found out that Chiang Rai had not much stuff going on from a Tourist point of view. Just like we had read, Chiang Rai is a popular base destination for Trekking. So after our walk we grabbed something to eat at a local restaurant had fun with the locals, trying to speak the language and asking questions on the menu. We then returned to our meeting place at 4:30. Finally after being tired and restless and listening to a lot of talking going on between the chief and his family/workers we departed at 5 PM. We were asked to go behind the driver and the passenger seat. We got squished in there and on the floor was a bag with fish head, chicken, and potatoes. We wondered if this was our supper. Some young guy was the driver and some old man maybe in his eighties was in the passenger seat and a girl rode in the back of the pick up. We made a few stops on the way. They picked up beer, bread, and cement. I was actually getting tired of these stops and wondered why I was paying for this. I felt like I was paying for punishment. The driver and the old man barely spoke to us. At this point in time we were thinking this was a bad choice. But too late to turn around. The ride was bumpy and the scenery was beautiful as we drove up the mountains. We were actually lucky on our way there and back as we got to ride in the back/inside of the truck. Usually the tourists ride in the back outside and hold on to their dear lives and sit on their luggages amongst the locals that have hitched a ride to and from the village. We stopped at a couple of villages before our final destination as they looked rustic, country looking. Kids running around barefoot, chickens on the ground. People sitting at their door steps smoking...It was interesting. When we arrived out our village. The trunk was put on a 4 wheel drive and up it went on 60 degree incline....more on Akha to come
Dec 2nd, 2005, 07:00 AM
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We came to a sudden stop at the top and got off and we were met by this man who welcomed us and asked us to register and asked us what room we wanted. Local people came around us we felt awkward and did not know what to do. I think the locals were more excited that the truck arrived with some goods as oppose to the tourists arriving. We automatically said that we wanted the room that they said they had available for us. The room that was the most expensive. Private cabin with a private bathroom, king size bed and hot shower. We were given the key. They introduced us to the local eating area which was an outside restaurant. The kitchen, which I only looked once and promised myself I would not go in anymore or else I wouldn't be able to eat my meals. The system they had was an honour system, whatever you took from the outside fridge or your room fridge or anything you ordered to eat, you would write it down in the book designated for your room and at the end of your stay you would add it up. Our bill was 2000 Baht for 2 nights, tons of food, teas, and lots of beer. Super cheap. We were then shown our private cabin. Yup it was rustic. We saw little lizards in our ceiling in the room. We were told that they were harmless by some people we met later that evening. The bathroom was made out of mud and had a shower with pebbles on the ground and when you took a shower a few spiders would come out of the pebbles because they were wet and climb up the wall and wait for you to be done so they could go back. I guess this was routine for them. Lets just put it this was, this was not a very clean place. The toilet needed to be cleaned and the cabin needed dusting. But this was rustic. But once you stepped out of the cabin the views, the sound of the local village people, reminded us why we had come. The views were phenomenal, you were actually in the country side, on the side of the mountain overlooking a valley and you were among the hill tribe people. This is as close as you could get. The nature was beautiful the birds were flying around as they dove down into the valley that we were facing.
Dec 2nd, 2005, 07:27 AM
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We then walked over to the open kitchen area. We were glad to meet an Australian middle age couple. They were wonderful people. It was their last night there. They stayed there for 2 nights. They told us that the place was rustic, food was good, and nobody had gotten sick. They had a mosquito net in their room, but their room was not as big as ours. We did not have a mosquito net. They were paying like 500 baht. We also met 2 Dutch girls. They actually hiked up to the village from another village and there hike was 4 hours. It was their first night and last night. They said the place was too rustic. They actually had a room with no mosquito net and no windows and the roof was partially open. They were paying like 250 baht....I guess you get what you pay for. We then met a New Zealander and a Japanese guy. Anyways, we had a good time, had some good cheap food and a few beers and shared our stories (tried to push the kitchen thought
away from my head). They told us about their day and what was there to do and some Trekking suggestions, they also shared with us their past experiences in other places. The local dogs gave us their paw asking for some food. Later in the night 2 ladies with messy hair and toothless asked us if we wanted a massage, we politely declined and said maybe tomorrow. It was like camping. Lots of bugs flying around the table , the lizards made funny sounds, but surprisingly no mosquitoes.
After a few hours of mingling we went to back to the cabin ready to go to bed. Took a shower, saw the spider. Decided to go to bed fully clothed, put the fan on, and crawled into bed. I then noticed an old blood stain on the nice white clean crisp sheets. A few blond hairs, wondered where they came from as we were not blond. Decided to forget about all the bad thoughts and focused on the good thoughts. This was an adventure. We went to sleep with the sheets over our head afraid what would crawl on top of us. Heard a couple of lizards calling oyt. We wondered how were going to get through the first night.
....more to come
away from my head). They told us about their day and what was there to do and some Trekking suggestions, they also shared with us their past experiences in other places. The local dogs gave us their paw asking for some food. Later in the night 2 ladies with messy hair and toothless asked us if we wanted a massage, we politely declined and said maybe tomorrow. It was like camping. Lots of bugs flying around the table , the lizards made funny sounds, but surprisingly no mosquitoes.
After a few hours of mingling we went to back to the cabin ready to go to bed. Took a shower, saw the spider. Decided to go to bed fully clothed, put the fan on, and crawled into bed. I then noticed an old blood stain on the nice white clean crisp sheets. A few blond hairs, wondered where they came from as we were not blond. Decided to forget about all the bad thoughts and focused on the good thoughts. This was an adventure. We went to sleep with the sheets over our head afraid what would crawl on top of us. Heard a couple of lizards calling oyt. We wondered how were going to get through the first night.
....more to come
Dec 2nd, 2005, 07:49 AM
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We woke up the next day and looked outside and went out to the porch and saw the beautiful mist over the mountains. Heard the waterfalls from a distance. We went over
to have breakfast at the open restaurant and ate with our new friends that we had met the night before. We had some toast and plate a fresh fruit and nice coffee. Surprisingly all the food was delicious and looked nice. By 9:30 they were ready to leave. We said our goodbyes and best wishes and all of them were herded onto the outside back of the pickup trunk along with some local hill tribe village people. We waved goodbye and looked forward to the day ahead.
We gathered our nap sack and headed out for our trek. By the way, we were the only tourists walking around all day, which was nice. We went up and away from the village, after a 30 minute walk with spectacular views of the mountains, village, valley, and ponds we saw the water falls. The water fall was pretty spectacular. It was a 3 level waterfall. It was powerful, beautiful and refreshing. If you wanted to swim you could. We crossed over it over a bamboo bridge. We were at first afraid. But it was exciting. We continued to walk for another 30 minutes, passed some green tea plantations and ended up at a Chinese Village. We mingled with some locals. We spoke a bit of Thai and did a lot of hand gestures, Saw a beautiful butterfly and took some photographs of kids that gathered around us with beautiful smiles wanting to look at our camera. As we walked through the village, with a few barking dogs behind us we came to an outside party that had tons of balloons outside. It was a wedding. The people signaled us to enter. But we were too shy, a bit nervous what was waiting for us at the party, and wanted to continue our trek we politely hand waived and said no thank you. We then headed over to the elephant camp. The walk was about 1.5 hours. And it was a beautiful walk. We heard the river flowing which carried water from the water fall and walked along the mountain following the elephant footsteps and poo.
We finally came to the village that had the elephant camp. They had 3 elephants. There was some hot springs and a pool by the hot springs. The pool was big and looked clean. We had a couple of cokes and chips and talked with the shop owners in THAI and rested there for a few minutes. This was as simple life could get. We then fed the elephant and rode the elephant back to the village. Since we had rode elephants before on this trip we wanted to ride it only half way, about 1 hour. We were the only ones riding the elephant. We were both sitting on the seat the guide was sitting on the elephants head. At some point on the mountain a pick up truck drove by us. This was unusual as we never saw any cars/trucks the time we were there and the guide started doing something weird to the elephant with his feet behind his ears, as the truck approached us. He motioned the elephant to the edge off the rode and then showed him some sort of tool..basically saying if you don’t behave, you are getting this. The elephant roared and gently moved toward the edge of the road on the cliff side. We were getting nervous. His front was facing the cliff and all 3 of us we slightly looking down the mountain as the truck drove beside us. The elephant just stood there. We were nervous that the elephant would lose his footing and down we would go. But I guess the guide and the elephant knew what they were doing as they did not hesitate on their moves. That part was heart racing. After 30 minutes we got off. Said our goodbyes. The guide and the elephant posed for a picture. And we headed back to the village. We saw a huge centipede, about 12 inches long. We decided to visit the waterfalls once again and in 1:30 hrs we were back at the village. The hike all day took us about 5 hours. It was pretty spectacular. Coming here was worthwhile after all…..more to come.
to have breakfast at the open restaurant and ate with our new friends that we had met the night before. We had some toast and plate a fresh fruit and nice coffee. Surprisingly all the food was delicious and looked nice. By 9:30 they were ready to leave. We said our goodbyes and best wishes and all of them were herded onto the outside back of the pickup trunk along with some local hill tribe village people. We waved goodbye and looked forward to the day ahead.
We gathered our nap sack and headed out for our trek. By the way, we were the only tourists walking around all day, which was nice. We went up and away from the village, after a 30 minute walk with spectacular views of the mountains, village, valley, and ponds we saw the water falls. The water fall was pretty spectacular. It was a 3 level waterfall. It was powerful, beautiful and refreshing. If you wanted to swim you could. We crossed over it over a bamboo bridge. We were at first afraid. But it was exciting. We continued to walk for another 30 minutes, passed some green tea plantations and ended up at a Chinese Village. We mingled with some locals. We spoke a bit of Thai and did a lot of hand gestures, Saw a beautiful butterfly and took some photographs of kids that gathered around us with beautiful smiles wanting to look at our camera. As we walked through the village, with a few barking dogs behind us we came to an outside party that had tons of balloons outside. It was a wedding. The people signaled us to enter. But we were too shy, a bit nervous what was waiting for us at the party, and wanted to continue our trek we politely hand waived and said no thank you. We then headed over to the elephant camp. The walk was about 1.5 hours. And it was a beautiful walk. We heard the river flowing which carried water from the water fall and walked along the mountain following the elephant footsteps and poo.
We finally came to the village that had the elephant camp. They had 3 elephants. There was some hot springs and a pool by the hot springs. The pool was big and looked clean. We had a couple of cokes and chips and talked with the shop owners in THAI and rested there for a few minutes. This was as simple life could get. We then fed the elephant and rode the elephant back to the village. Since we had rode elephants before on this trip we wanted to ride it only half way, about 1 hour. We were the only ones riding the elephant. We were both sitting on the seat the guide was sitting on the elephants head. At some point on the mountain a pick up truck drove by us. This was unusual as we never saw any cars/trucks the time we were there and the guide started doing something weird to the elephant with his feet behind his ears, as the truck approached us. He motioned the elephant to the edge off the rode and then showed him some sort of tool..basically saying if you don’t behave, you are getting this. The elephant roared and gently moved toward the edge of the road on the cliff side. We were getting nervous. His front was facing the cliff and all 3 of us we slightly looking down the mountain as the truck drove beside us. The elephant just stood there. We were nervous that the elephant would lose his footing and down we would go. But I guess the guide and the elephant knew what they were doing as they did not hesitate on their moves. That part was heart racing. After 30 minutes we got off. Said our goodbyes. The guide and the elephant posed for a picture. And we headed back to the village. We saw a huge centipede, about 12 inches long. We decided to visit the waterfalls once again and in 1:30 hrs we were back at the village. The hike all day took us about 5 hours. It was pretty spectacular. Coming here was worthwhile after all…..more to come.
Dec 2nd, 2005, 08:09 AM
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fabulous report. Sounds like the kind of thing I did when I first went to asia 20 years ago. Glad I did it then because I could never do it now but it is the way to really begin to understand the country.
Would love to hear the rest as well as your time in Chiang Mai and Ibrik.
Would love to hear the rest as well as your time in Chiang Mai and Ibrik.
Dec 2nd, 2005, 08:54 AM
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The remaining afternoon, we rested on our porch facing the valley and drank some green tea, while we watched birds flying in every direction and diving down to the valley. I guess they were eating insects. After our shower and a rest we headed over to the open restaurant where we saw the New Zealander helping the local kids with their homework and saw someone from Israel who has been there for 2 months and spends his time meditating in the cabin. We decided to head up to the Bamboo Bar, a local bar, up the road, with spectacular views. We sat on some THAI style mats, pads, and pillows while admiring the view. We drank some beer and bought some local crafts from a lady and kid that was helping her. We then headed back to the open restaurant, came across kids playing ball and locals trying to greet you and talk to you, and of course trying to sell you something whether it be crafts or food.
We sat at the open restaurant and the lady who was part of the team running this place built us a fire. It was nice. It was like camping. We drank some more beer. We talked with the locals. An hour later, about 6 pm the pick up truck arrived with more guests. a Canadian couple and a British couple. After they were settled in, they came by and we met them and spoke to them. We could relate to them as we were new comers the night before. We sat around the fire, shared stories, drank beer, and had supper. We had pad thai, chicken fried riced, fried vegetables, and rice. It was good. Later that night the toothless ladies with messy hair came by to offer some massages, Akha massages, they called it. Again we politely refused, but the New Zealander, gladly took up on the offer. For 100 Baht for an hour. Again, you get what you pay for. He came back after an hour, he was satisfied. We bonded more with the locals around the fire. The local kids ripped some branches off a nearby tree and roasted some nuts or seeds that were on the branches. Apparently it tasted like sun flower seeds. It was a nice crowd. Nice to have the locals sitting next to us and teaching us their Akha language. It was not touristy at all. Most of them do not speak Thai. They speak Akha. The kids speak Akha, Thai and some English. One of the guys who was also running the place was there sitting with us. He spoke some English, French and bit of other languages. I thought to myself, although this was a far cry from a 5 star resort this is as close I could get to the locals. It was a really nice experience. We called it a night and slept more comfortably that night. Partially because it was our second night, and partially because we knew we were going home. That night, for most part of the night we slept without the sheets over our head. We felt safer, for some odd reason.
We woke up at 7 AM. We had informed the chief that we had to leave at 8:15 because our flight was at 10:15 and we have to be at the airport at 9:15. Actually this was a small white lie. I told them that our flight was 30 minutes earlier, because from what I observed they were not so worried about departure times. I am glad I did because we were at the airport 30 minutes before our flight departure which was tight.
We had some fruit and toast and coffee. Did our so called “check out”, not much of a process other than paying up and returning the keys. We said our goodbyes and thank you. Got into the truck and the school kids and some locals went onto the back of the truck on the outside, sat on our luggage. Again we were the only tourists in the trucks. We made a few stops to drop off some people. Again, the ride was beautiful but bumpy. We were glad we came for such a wonderful experience but glad we were leaving to the airport on our way to our next destination, Phuket – JW Marriott Resort and Spa.
We sat at the open restaurant and the lady who was part of the team running this place built us a fire. It was nice. It was like camping. We drank some more beer. We talked with the locals. An hour later, about 6 pm the pick up truck arrived with more guests. a Canadian couple and a British couple. After they were settled in, they came by and we met them and spoke to them. We could relate to them as we were new comers the night before. We sat around the fire, shared stories, drank beer, and had supper. We had pad thai, chicken fried riced, fried vegetables, and rice. It was good. Later that night the toothless ladies with messy hair came by to offer some massages, Akha massages, they called it. Again we politely refused, but the New Zealander, gladly took up on the offer. For 100 Baht for an hour. Again, you get what you pay for. He came back after an hour, he was satisfied. We bonded more with the locals around the fire. The local kids ripped some branches off a nearby tree and roasted some nuts or seeds that were on the branches. Apparently it tasted like sun flower seeds. It was a nice crowd. Nice to have the locals sitting next to us and teaching us their Akha language. It was not touristy at all. Most of them do not speak Thai. They speak Akha. The kids speak Akha, Thai and some English. One of the guys who was also running the place was there sitting with us. He spoke some English, French and bit of other languages. I thought to myself, although this was a far cry from a 5 star resort this is as close I could get to the locals. It was a really nice experience. We called it a night and slept more comfortably that night. Partially because it was our second night, and partially because we knew we were going home. That night, for most part of the night we slept without the sheets over our head. We felt safer, for some odd reason.
We woke up at 7 AM. We had informed the chief that we had to leave at 8:15 because our flight was at 10:15 and we have to be at the airport at 9:15. Actually this was a small white lie. I told them that our flight was 30 minutes earlier, because from what I observed they were not so worried about departure times. I am glad I did because we were at the airport 30 minutes before our flight departure which was tight.
We had some fruit and toast and coffee. Did our so called “check out”, not much of a process other than paying up and returning the keys. We said our goodbyes and thank you. Got into the truck and the school kids and some locals went onto the back of the truck on the outside, sat on our luggage. Again we were the only tourists in the trucks. We made a few stops to drop off some people. Again, the ride was beautiful but bumpy. We were glad we came for such a wonderful experience but glad we were leaving to the airport on our way to our next destination, Phuket – JW Marriott Resort and Spa.
