All Thai'd Up... Thai Islands

Rai Ley Beach, Ton Sai Beach, Koh Pha Ngan, Koh Tao, Thailand
October 3 - 12, 2008

Rai Ley Beach is the small piece of karst limestone paradise that everyone expects from a Thai island... except this isn't actually an island! Accessible only by boat, the area is divided into four distinct attitudes... the $1000 a night resort of Phra Nang beach, the overdeveloped West Rai Ley beach resorts, the urban backpacker scene of East Rai Ley, and the cool /chill / sporty vibe of Ton Sai beach. Although the area is far from undiscovered, I am sure it is a better destination than the heavily touristed Koh Phi Phi (ie - The Beach) and Phuket.

Ton Sai beach lured me into an extended stay where I got slightly tangled and tied up in the climbing scene, enjoyed relaxing massages, and chilled completely on the nearby beaches. The tempermental weather often churned the afternoon and evening skies into a stunning display of electrical storms, perfect for photographing. I spent a day snorkeling around the sheer limestone islands rising impossibly out of the water, followed by a curry dinner eaten on a spit of sand connecting three lone islands. At dusk, bats the size of small dogs emerged from their island caves slowly beating their wings in prehistoric silhouettes against the colours of the sunset. Behind us, another dazzling lightning display erupted in the distance. Before arriving back at the beaches, we snorkeled in darkness through the magical bioluminescence while the lightning bolt rapidly approched.

I decided that I had to move on from the vacuum of Ton Sai Beach, and the infamous Full Moon Party provided a deadline and a destination. I finally made it to the quiet shores of Bottle Beach to enjoy a few days of reading and writing before moving along to the diving island of Koh Tao. I only went on a single dive since the visibility was exceptionally bad, but from what I saw, I would choose the underground wonderland of diving in Honduras over Thailand any day.

Since the overland journey into Cambodia is rumoured to be hell, I opted for a cheap flight into Phnom Penh from Bangkok. When I grew up I remember listening to the song "One Night In Bangkok", but I never really understood the lyrics. One night in Bangkok in the Pat Pong district was certainly more than an eyeful than I had expected!


Rai Ley Beaches, Thailand. This is a view from an observation point which overlooks Rai Ley East on the right, Rai Ley West on the left, and Ton Sai beach in the distance. The best beach, Phra Nang, is out of the photo on the far left, where the resort charges $1000 a night! The karst limestone formations make for a climbers paradise!


Rai Ley Beaches, Thailand. The view from Phra Nang beach.


Rai Ley East, Thailand. When the tide goes out, Rai Ley East dries up completely!


Rai Ley, Thailand. Climbing up the strange limestone formations on the edge of the jungle.


Rai Ley, Thailand. It seems that most of the public miss this hike, or are too afraid for the climbing involved to get here, but it is well worth the trouble. In the middle of the jungle the limestone opens up into a fully enclosed 360 degree lagoon, completely isolated!


Rai Ley, Thailand. View towards the sky while floating in the middle of the lagoon!


Ton Sai Beach, Thailand. Looking towards Rai Ley beach, this vicious storm stirred up in only a few minutes, loading up the sky with crazy textures and colours.


Ton Sai Beach. A view of the incoming storm and the popular hangout at the Freedom Bar. You can see one of the popular multi-pitch climbing walls overhanging the Freedom Bar.


Ton Sai Beach, Thailand. The calm before the storm.


Rai Ley, Thailand. Snorkeling tour around some of the limestone formations.


Near Rai Ley, Thailand. The beach at night before the sunset.


Near Rai Ley, Thailand. Islands at sunset.


Near Rai Ley, Thailand. Sun setting over the narrow sand strips joining three islands.


Near Rai Ley, Thailand. An electrical storm off in the distance made for a spectacular light show.


Near Rai Ley Beach. The people from our tour enjoying a seafood curry and rice dinner under the stars while a lightning storm threatened in the distance.

Koh Phangan, Thailand. Crazy Australian guy named Lucas who bought a strange and magical pot filled with some sort of fermented grains... stick a couple of straws in, suck away, and enjoy the Full Moon Party...

Koh Phangan, Thailand. All painted up for the FMP, Lucas performs a dramatization of his possibilities for the evening, after he disposed of the contents of the magical jar into the toilet.

Koh Phangan, Thailand. Full Moon Party...

Koh Phangan, Thailand. The dutch girls releasing a balloon into the sky at the FMP.

Koh Phangan, Thailand. View of the full moon through the torches while the ghosted image of one of the girls dances it up!

Bottle Beach, Koh Phangan, Thailand. The ultra-sedate Bottle Beach.

Koh Tao. Sunset from the restaurant during happy hour.

Koh Tao. The fire dancers in Koh Tao were undoubtedly the best I have ever seen.

Koh Tao. Fire-enhanced skipping rope in slow motion!

Koh Tao. The fire dancers in Koh Tao were undoubtedly the best I have ever seen.

Koh Tao, Thailand. Watching a storm rip across the sky.

Koh Tao, Thailand. Watching a storm rip across the sky.

Thai Vegetarian Festival, Thailand

Bangkok / Krabi, Thailand
September 26-October 3, 2008

WARNING - Parental Guidance Required. This blog is not for the faint-hearted... most of the photographs below are rather disturbing, so please be forewarned should you be curious enough to sneak a peek. Just remember, I bloody well warned ya!

In Thailand I met up with Greg, a buddy from university, and we hit the infamous bohemian backpacker district of Khaosan Road. Things have changed since I was in Bangkok four years ago. This area is now a bit more polished, a bit more commercialized, and quality is the only thing that is cheaper. There were noticeably more Thai people out at the bars and clubs, and they were spending money at the same rate as the Westerners do. Bangkok used to have a characteristic smell somewhere between wet rotting garbage and sewers, but now, the place smells a lot more like money.

To escape the madness of the Bangkok, I aimed myself towards the beaches further down south, stopping by the coastal town of Krabi. I was surprised by the Vegetarian Festival, where followers of Chinese Taoist religion entered into a short period of alcohol-free celibacy and vegetarianism, and dropped trance-like states to literally hammer out their sins... Axes were hammered into chests and foreheads, cheeks were pierced with various objects, tongues were slashed with blades, and revelers danced in the smoky midst of ear-shattering firecrackers. Unfortunately, when my backpack got stuck on a barbed wire fence, I was unable to retreat to safe location and also had to endure a close-fire round of painful explosions bursting withing a few feet of me. I had no other recourse than to keep the protective camera in front of my face and continue shooting. In a bizarre finale, the bloody participants were brought out of their trances in a ceremonious freaky-Baptist-sort-of-manner, cleansed of their sins. In a very scary way, this whole affair is somewhat reminiscent of the horrors I felt while watching the children in the movie "Jesus Camp". After witnessing such a bizarre vegetarian affair, we withdrew to the night market food stalls for a distinctly non-vegetarian meal.


Khaosan Road, Bangkok, Thailand. This bar was full of Thai university student causing all sorts of mayhem after two of the lady boys threw each other in the pool while partying. Fortunately, nobody thought it would be fun to throw the white guy into the pool...


Krabi Vegetarian Festival, Thailand. Overlooking the scenic karst limestone hills, the Vegetarian Festival walked through the streets of Krabi. This guy has umbrellas pierced right through his cheeks.


Krabi Vegetarian Festival, Thailand. After parading through the streets, this group seemed to be posing for a photo while self-mutilating themselves.


Krabi Vegetarian Festival, Thailand. Yup, that's actually a fire extinguisher. I wonder if he found the Thai food too spicy!


Krabi Vegetarian Festival, Thailand. Tongue cutting with an axe.


Krabi Vegetarian Festival, Thailand. This looks a little more painful than a nipple piercing.


Krabi Vegetarian Festival, Thailand. Tongue slicing...


Krabi Vegetarian Festival, Thailand. This guy enjoys candle light dinners, long walks on beach, and pounding axes into his forehead and chest.


Krabi Vegetarian Festival, Thailand. Such a cheeky fellow.


Krabi Vegetarian Festival, Thailand. Shish-kaThai.


Krabi Vegetarian Festival, Thailand. This is not the flower boy that I envision at my wedding...


Krabi Vegetarian Festival, Thailand. The night market food stalls at sunset... no vegetarian meals for me!