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18th December 2010
The past two days in Pattaya have been the coolest since I have been here (almost two years). The maximum temperature has been in the mid 20C degree range (usually high 20's) and the humidity has been lower than normal with a strong
wind. All this combines to make it feel quite cool.
Next week I leave for Sydney, Australia, where I will be for three weeks followed by a week in Bali before returning to Thailand.
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20th November 2010
I took a trip over to Koh Larn (Coral Island) today and went to Tawaen Beach - There is a ferry that runs from Bali Hai Pier in Pattaya to the pier at Tawaen Beach - The trip costs 30 Baht each way and takes about 45 minutes. The beach is excellent with clean, clear water. There is also a large variety of vendors selling food and drinks, beach wear and souvenirs. The bulk of the people at the beach come on organised group day trips and comprise Chinese, Taiwanese and Indian.
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13th November 2010
Air Asia has been having another "Sale" over the past few days so I ended up booking another four trips for late next year. I now have a total of thirteen trips already booked over the next twelve months - a total of thirty three individual flights.
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19th October 2010
Back in Jomtien after my trip to Narathiwat, Thailand and Kota Bharu in Malaysia. Narathiwat is a small fishing town in the far South of Thailand and is not a tourist destination at all as far as I could tell despite having good beaches, friendly people, a first class hotel (The Imperial Hotel) and being quite accessable (via Air Asia). There has been some security issues over the past few years and there is quite a few army check points between Narathiwat and Sungai Kolok (the Thai town on the border with Malaysia) but within Narathiwat and Sungai Kolok I felt safe at all times and as I said previously the people are very friendly (especially in Narathiwat).
Kota Bharu is exactly what I had always imagined Malaysia to be like - that is that the population is almost all Malay and Muslim - the Kota Bharu area is apparently has the highest percentage of Muslims in Malaysia.
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8th October 2010
I have decided to take a trip back to Australia over the Chrsitmas New Year Period. I am flying to Sydney on 25th December and return to Thailand on the 24th January via Bali, Indonesia, where I will be from 17th January.
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28th September 2010
I have not been doing any travelling in the past couple of weeks and have just been hard at work.
Next month I am going to Narathiwat, Thailand, and across the border into Malaysia. Narathiwat is in the very far South of Thailand and as far as I know the majority of the population is Muslim. The main reason for this trip is simply that I have to leave the country every two months as part of the Visa restrictions. I will need to leave the country again this year but have not made any plans yet.
I have already arranged several trips for next year:
In January next year I am going to Bali again to just go to the beach and be lazy for a few days (the return airfare from Bangkok was $75).
In February I go to Yangon, Myanmar and also to Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand.
In March I fly to Udon Thani, Thailand, and across the Friendship Bridge to Vientiane, Laos.
In April/May I fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and on to Tianjin, China.
In June I visit Chinag Rai, Thailand.
In July I again fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and then to Kota Kinabalu, Borneo.
In August once again to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and then Colombo, Sri Lanka.
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10th September 2010
I have been doing a bit of "Local" Thailand touring over the past week or so. I went from Jomtien to Sattahip by bus (Sattahip is the next town along the coast South from Jomtien) - Sattahip is a fishing town and also a base for the Thai Navy. The same day I also went from Sattahip to Rayong which is the next town down the coast and although larger than Sattahip it is also mainly a fishing town. Rayong is being developed as a major industrial area with a lot of chemical refineries etc already in action. I did not see any other foreigners during my visits to both Sattahip and Rayong.
The new rail line from Bangkok airport into Bangkok city is now finally operating (I think it is more than a year late). I decided to see how it was and to check where it ended in Bangkok. I caught the airport bus from Pattaya and then the train from the airport into Bangkok city. The main airport train terminal in Bangkok city is Makkasan and this is where the "Express Train" ends. The "All Stops" train goes two stops further and ends at Phaya Thai which is the better option if you want to connect with the BTS (Skytrain) as there is a Skytrain station at Phaya Thai but no direct connections at Makkasan. The trip from Pattaya into Bangkok via bus and train took about two hours (1 hour 30 mins on the bus and 30 mins on the train). When I need to visit Bangkok city in the future I will travel this way as I believe it is more comfortable and more convenient than taking the regular bus to Ekamai and then the Skytrain into Bangkok city centre.
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