Bangkok & Beyond Travel Adventures

By Christopher Evans

Here is a guide to the most amazing city in Thailand, perhaps in all of the Far East - Bangkok - and to all the surrounding sites. This is based on sections extracted from the more comprehensive Hunter guide to the number-one tourist destination in South

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hunter Publishing
• Release date: Jul 15, 2009
• ISBN: 9781588437440

Christopher Evans

Christopher Evans has been the Member of Parliament for Islwyn since 2010. Currently he serves as the Shadow Minister for Defence Procurement. His first book, Fearless Freddie: The Life and Times of Freddie Mills was published in 2017 and shortlisted for The Times Biography of the Year at the 2018 Sports Book Awards. Christopher Evans lives in South Wales and is married to Julia and has two children. @Chris_EvansMP

Book preview

Bangkok & Beyond - Travel Adventures

Christoper & Lindsey Evans

HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC,

www.hunterpublishing.com

Ulysses Travel Publications

4176 Saint-Denis, Montréal, Québec

Canada H2W 2M5

 514-843-9882, ext. 2232; fax [phone]

Windsor Books

The Boundary, Wheatley Road, Garsington

Oxford, OX44 9EJ England

 01865-361122; fax [phone]

©  Hunter Publishing, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, liability for any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

About the Book

The tsunami that hurtled into Southeast Asia, including the southern coasts of Thailand, on December 26, 2004, was the worst natural disaster the world has known. It killed hundreds of thousands and affected the lives of millions (see The Tsunami). We were in Phuket when the murderous waves struck, and were among the very fortunate who suffered no ill effects.

The exact number of deaths will never be known. In Thailand thousands of tourists and Thais died. The country is also home to thousands of illegal immigrants whose bodies were never claimed, and many more who would have been sucked to a watery grave, their families frightened to report them missing. Throughout Southeast Asia and beyond the total loss of life was in the hundreds of thousands. We witnessed the scenes of devastation and stood by helplessly, watching the grieving and agony of those trying to locate lost loved ones.

Throughout it all the Thais, a remarkably friendly and resilient people, retained an unbelievable dignity and desire to help others. They sought no pity. Instead we saw nothing but heroic acts of kindness and a determination to rebuild and return to a normal life.

Our work on this book was halfway complete when disaster struck. Days earlier we had visited resorts that now no longer exist. We had been on the Khao Lak strip and marveled at the luxury hotels that had been created. We returned to find the area flattened. Rubble of those fine buildings had become an early grave for hundreds. We had stood on the beaches of Phi Phi and saw some of Mother Nature's finest scenery. Now she had smashed the area from both sides and claimed hundreds of innocent lives.

Amazingly, just days after the disaster most of the southern Thai resorts were operating normally. But the world did not see that. Instead it saw the gruesome scenes of body bags and decomposed corpses. It saw the frantic faces of relatives searching for a loved one.

Through it all the Thais involved in the tourist industry took care of their personal problems and returned to work - if they were lucky enough to still have a place of employment - with a determined effort to make sure the remaining visitors enjoyed the pleasures that Thailand has to offer.

Understandably, the tourist numbers fell rapidly in the affected areas as people scurried home either hurt or horrified by what had happened. We stayed to continue our work and marveled at how quickly rubble and ruin were replaced with improved facilities. Not every area was able to recover so quickly; it is unlikely that Khao Lak will ever be the resort it was. But Phuket's hard-hit areas were soon to be ready for visitors once again.

When we began the work for this guide we had no inkling that it would be interrupted by such a catastrophe. We still intend to follow our initial plan, which was to create a book for those who seek luxury at an affordable price.

This book is one of an adventure series. But if you were expecting tough treks into the unknown at bargain prices you have bought the wrong book. While we much appreciate your purchase we suggest you close the volume now and gift wrap it as a surprise for someone else. To us, adventure means a gentle exploration or escapade, not a nightmare journey into uncharted jungles.

We believe that Thailand can provide a high degree of luxury at an affordable price. The words mosquito net appear now for the one and only time. We confess that we have never spent a night in Thailand without air conditioning, nor do we plan to do so. At home we do not travel on buses with chickens or goats so we don't do it when we are away. We are slightly more adventurous when it comes to food; in Thailand we try everything - well almost everything - once. And most times we come back for more. We are never far away from a television with news in the English language or a telephone that works. We enjoy getting lost as long as we are home in time for dinner and always sleep in something that resembles and feels like a bed.

To us luxury means lots of large, white fluffy towels in the bathroom. It means an ample supply of sweet-smelling lotions and soaps that are replenished daily. We relish not having not having to handle our baggage once we've lifted it from an airport carousel. We enjoy being whisked away in a limousine from the airport and not being kept waiting on a tour bus while Mrs. Brown argues about the scratches that have appeared on her brightly colored suitcases. Luxury to us is picking our favorite items from the menu and not having to flinch when the bill arrives.

At most Thai hotels you are greeted with genuine smiles. The necessary check-in formalities are conducted over a welcoming drink, while your luggage seems to find its own way to the room. These niceties, which seem to come automatically in Thailand whether you spend $50 a night or $500, are just one of the aspects that attract us, and millions of others, back to the shores of this magical kingdom. Thailand is a very foreign country with its own peculiar ways and culture. Respecting the different customs and lifestyle will make your stay here more enjoyable.

We hope that this book will give you ideas that will enhance your stay in this land of silk and smiles. If in some small way we can convert you to becoming a returning visitor then the words we have written have not been wasted.

Christopher Evans began his newspaper career as a copy boy in Fleet Street when it was home to the newspapers of the world. He learned from the bottom rung of the ladder how newspapers worked. His first income as a writer was as a junior reporter in northwest London, covering everything from births to burials. After three years he became news editor, the newspaper expanded, and his territory extended south of the River Thames.

At 21 he joined the London Daily Mirror as a sub-editor, the youngest person to hold such a position. In the middle of a bitter British winter he was lured away to the Bahamas to become editor of the country's morning newspaper, The Nassau Guardian.

He met Lindsey Hedger, who hailed from the same town in England, at a wedding reception in Nassau. Five months later they were married. Three children and three grandchildren later they are still together and split their time between southern Spain and Thailand.

In addition to writing travel articles and novels, Christopher was a pioneer in the cable-television industry in Florida, where he started the first pay-per-view cable channel. He owned and operated a printing company in Atlanta, Georgia which employed 150 people. And together they owned a travel agency in Atlanta, which heightened their desire to see more of the world.

About the Book

The Tsunami

Force of Nature

A Personal Account

The Aftermath

Recovery

Rebuilding

Our Day Of Giving

Planning for the Future

The Summer After

Introduction

Facts & Figures

Exchange Rates

Geography

Tourism

Climate

Prices

Public Holidays

Practicalities

Visas & Immigration Laws

Safety & Crime Prevention

Medical Attention

Money

Telephone Service

The Royal Family

Religion

Buddhism and Society

Culture & Society

National Temperament

Food

Recreation

Shopping

Thai Massage

Nightlife

Language

Spirit Houses

Where Do You Stay?

Where Do You Eat?

Bangkok

Introduction

Climate

History

Getting Here

Getting Around

Touring the City

Getting Away

Things to See

Temples

Museums

Around the City

Things to Do

Recreational Activities

Shopping

Festivals

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Nightlife

Beyond Bangkok

North

Ayutthaya

Bang Sai

West

Kanchanaburi

South

Hua Hin

Pattaya

Rayong

Klaeng

Chanthaburi

Trat

National Marine Park Islands

Living in Thailand

Climate

Cuisine

Language

The Very Basics

Place Names

Numbers

Useful Terms

At the Airport

Eating & Shopping

Days of the Week

Medical Terms

Popular Thai Proverbs

Politics

Tying the Knot

Owning a Home

Legalities

Where to Buy?

Medical Vacations

Health & Wellness

Call Me Mister

Practicalities

Cost

Referrals

Insurance & Claims

Hospitals

Traditional Thai Medicine

Herbal Medicine

Massage

Psycho-spiritual Healing

Afterword

Top 20 Hotels

The Tsunami

Force of Nature

At 9am on December 26, 2004 the western coastline of Phuket Island was battered by giant waves, resulting from an undersea earthquake near the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

Within hours of the quake thousands of people had died. It was one of the world's biggest natural disasters. The tsunami's waves caused tremendous damage to a small part of Thailand and claimed several thousand lives but, as horrific as that was, it was minor compared to the havoc and death that occurred in other parts of Southeast Asia.

A Personal Account

We were on the island of Phuket when the tsunami hit. We had taken a couple of days off from working on this guidebook to enjoy the Christmas holidays with our three-year-old granddaughter and her mother, who were visiting us from Spain.

As we wound up our Christmas Day celebrations we had no idea of the devastation and disaster that was happening just a few hundred yards away from our rented home. We had decided not to visit the beach that morning, an incredibly lucky decision. Instead we planned to attend a Christmas pantomime that was to be staged at Phuket's English pub, The Green Man. (If you don't know about the Brits and their love of Christmas pantomimes, look in at the Simon Cabaret listing in the Phuket chapter.)

We were taking a leisurely breakfast at the nearby Orchid Coffee Garden when an English family arrived telling us that Nai Harn Beach had been washed away by a giant wave. They said there had been an earthquake. The girls operating the café look stunned, as did we. There was no radio or television nearby so we headed home and switched on the news. Yes, there had been an earthquake but at this point no mention of the tsunami. Then minutes later came word that giant waves had hit various coasts of the Indian Ocean.

We drove across the island and, as we reached a high point, saw hundreds of cars and motorcycles parked as their occupants looked down at Phang Nga Bay, where hundreds of boats sat safely in still water. Somehow the powerful tsunami had passed below them. As we drove down to the western beaches the first signs of the powerful battering began to appear. Outside The Boathouse the road was strewn with broken chairs, chunks of concrete and assorted debris.

Farther around Kata Beach, near the entrance to Club Med, a light pole lay across the road over a mountain of trash and rubble. A call went out that another wave was coming and people scurried to higher ground. The scores of motorcycles suddenly vanished into side streets and we turned inland and sped away. It had been a false alarm but few waited to find that out.

Hundreds of Burmese are thought to have died on boats just off Baan Nam Khem. They were moored close to shore since the Burmese thought it unlucky to be at sea when the moon was full, which is when the tsunami hit. Had they been at sea they would probably have survived.

At the Green Man the cheerfulness of Christmas had been replaced by somber faces watching a giant TV screen as, slowly, the dreadful drama unfolded. Contact with much of the island was lost and many feared the worst. The Boxing Day pantomime was replaced by TV pictures from CNN and BBC World, and everyone tried to contact friends to find out what was happening. Just hours after the tsunami hit nobody here had any idea of the magnitude of the disaster. It was just a normal hot Sunday afternoon. Children enjoyed the bounce house that had been inflated for the holiday. Their parents sipped mulled wine unaware that within a mile in any direction hundreds lay dead on the beaches or had been sucked out to sea by the vicious tsunami.

As new faces arrived an inkling of the gravity of the disaster began to unfold. The new arrivals told of escaping from hotels when water cascaded into their rooms. They had lost everything. The sound of police and ambulance sirens was heard over the children at play. We headed home feeling almost guilty that we were all safe and content relaxing in the swimming pool.

Many tourists who were offered alternative accommodation at other beachfront hotels refused it, opting to take shelter at the Phuket Provincial Hall.

Here at the southern end of Phuket nothing had changed and we sent e-mails to our nearest and dearest saying all was well. We telephoned as well. Never once did we lose contact with the outside world. Our power and water supplies remained constant and we slept uneasily, aware of the drama that was unfolding around us but miraculously leaving us safe and secure.

A gutsy waitress at a Kata resort not only pulled one of the beach chair attendants from the water, but she screamed at workers to evacuate the underground kitchens. She was one of the last to leave the resort before a mighty wave devastated the ground floor. She helped elder guests to higher ground and fortunately no employees or clients were hurt. She said later, I was very lucky. So were the people she saved.

The Aftermath

It was not until New Year's Eve that we really learned the true severity of the damage to Thailand. It was then that rescue workers were able to reach Khao Lak, the coastal area just north of Phuket, to discover more than four thousand bodies. Just a few weeks earlier we had toured this area and marveled at the new resorts that were preparing for the Christmas onslaught of guests. For many of the resorts it would be the first Christmas of operation. And for many of them it would also be their last. Today the death toll stands at 4,510 (2,092 Thai, 2,230 foreigners and 188 of unknown nationality). A total of 9,849 were reported injured and 6,475 people are listed as missing. Officials warned that the fatality figures account only for bodies recovered. Actual number of deaths is far higher as many people would have been sucked out to sea by the undertow and it is unlikely their bodies will ever be recovered.

Our days between Christmas and the New Year were filled with sadness at the distress of others. Our own lives remained untouched. We kept a dental appointment at the Bangkok Phuket Hospital, which we had visited two days before the tsunami struck. Then, we noted its spacious public areas and wide halls. Now those areas were filled with mattresses providing some comfort for the injured who lay dazed and bandaged. Saddest sight of all was in the entrance lobby where the walls were covered by photos and pictures of children from around the world. They had been placed there by parents and family in the vain hope that the young ones would be found alive and not added to the list of those lost. There were numerous wonderful stories of children being reunited with their families but far more sad ones; the estimates put the loss of children as high as 30% of the total.

Patong Mayor Pian Keesin had a lucky escape. He was standing in front of his hotel, the Patong Bay Garden Resort, when the first wave hit. He was carried some 200 meters before managing to hold onto a tree. He said some of the debris being washed away must have weighted as much as two tons. He hoped that one benefit from the disaster might be that redevelopment would be made strictly according to the town's planning codes. He also told of the difficulty convincing municipal workers that it was safe to begin the massive cleanup that Patong needed. He said he had offered as much as 10,000 Baht an hour to get road sweeping trucks into action but initially nobody wanted the work. A day later that changed and the massive cleanup began.

New Year's Eve was not the lively event that Phuket is noted for. Several of the Patong bars had opened, though attendance was at a minimum, and those resorts that were still open attempted a fun evening for the guests who remained. Many had left the island before the festivities and sadly so many others were lost. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who came to Phuket soon after the tsunami struck, had said he was not going to take part in any New Year celebrations and many of his countrymen followed his lead.

The most moving event of the day was a special memorial service held at the recently opened Central Festival Shopping Mall in the center of the island. Several hundred people gathered and were given white roses and yellow candles. Songs were sung in Thai and English to remember those who had died.

Since the devastating event, all the major stores have remined open as usual. There has been no lack of supplies and no panic buying. Prices at the stores and from street vendors have remained unchanged. The only price gouging we have heard of is from some small hotels in resort areas not affected by the tsunami that upped the rates for their few remaining rooms. Travel agents were quick to announce they were not going to act for those properties.

An Englishman living in Chalong returned home on Boxing Day night and told his family to put all their clothes and shoes in two piles. He then took one of the piles, together with half of the items in his kitchen and an assortment of toys to Khao Lak. Lots of people there had nothing. At least we've still got 50%, he explained.

There was looting initially along Patong Beach and police immediately arrested the culprits, who were jailed without bail as a deterrent to others. There were more Burmese arrested than Thais.

After the candlelight service at Central Festival Mall, we joined the New Year festivities at Mimmi's restaurant close to our home. Pleasant as it was, the aura of missing friends and grieving neighbors was apparent. At midnight just a few guests remained. They joined with the restaurant staff in a rare show of emotion wishing each other a safe 2005. Just a few fireworks could be seen the sky but all over the island Chinese firecrackers were set off in the belief they would dispel bad luck.

On New Year's Day we decided to visit other parts of the island to see first-hand what damage had been done. Our first stop was at The Boathouse on Kata Beach. Damage to the ground floor had been substantial but the cleanup was well underway and everyone was confident of reopening within two weeks. The accommodation on the second and third floors was ready for occupancy but the ground floor needed a lot of work. Best news, however, was that no member of staff or guest was killed or even injured.

The story was not so happy farther along the beach at the larger Kata Beach resorts, where several guests had been lost to the tsunami. Most of the resorts were open as were those farther north at Karon.

Our journey north became more depressing as we saw the beachfront at Patong. Despite the days of clean-up the area was still suffering under a mountain of debris. Trees that once provided shade for the beach were uprooted and dying. We understood now why so many people had been so badly injured. The large planks of wood and rubble would have been hurled at buildings where bodies hid or thrown at victims as they strived to beat the torturous currents. Like so many places on the island the damage only extended a few dozens yards into the side streets.

Along the roads we spotted divers working in canals and lagoons searching for additional bodies, and everywhere there was an eerie sense of thankfulness from those who had been spared and unspoken condolences for those who mourned the missing.

A young Karon hairdresser and her neighbors put together 200 food parcels, collected all the money they could muster and split it between the boxes, added clothes, loaded the relief packages into pickups and cars and took them to the devastated victims in villages around Khao Lak.

Worst hit along the stretch was Kamala Beach, where bungalows and cabins once faced the sea. They were gone as were many of their occupants. In one area the need for cleanup was minimal. The tsunami had done its own vacuuming. Farther along, soldiers in fatigues worked with military land-moving equipment to remove broken buildings and clear the roads.

Happily at Surin Beach, hardly touched by the tidal torrent, it was business as usual. Tourists stretched out on sun loungers while the Thai vendors along the beach edge continued their trades providing refreshment as the classic beach massages.

On Sunday, a week after the tsunami, we walked along Kata Beach. It was quiet and peaceful. The sea was shamefully calm and the beach incredibly clean and sparkling in the early morning sun. Seven days earlier, morning swimmers and sunbathers would have been tossed around like matchsticks in a whirlwind when the tsunami hit. A few survived with cuts and bruises, others had broken bones as they were thrown against the sea wall or onto the nearby road. Children unable to grip onto anything would have been sucked to a watery grave. Again we felt the pangs of guilt that we were safe enjoying the best that Mother Nature could afford and not a victim of her deadliest deed.

The news from elsewhere continued grim. On the Phi Phi islands 99 more bodies were found at a sewage farm. They were near a viewing platform where they