Return to Bangkok

I hadn't been to Bangkok since back in 2002 (I think it was back then).  It had been a very long time since I had stepped foot in this city.  My memories were of a crazy place.  It was dirty, disorganised and crowded with people.  It was not a pretty city at all, and it felt in every way a enormous sprawling third world city.  Everywhere we went, there was poverty and a desperate need for infrastructure investment.

However, even then, there were small shoots of change.  When we were there, the first line of the new mass transit railway had just opened.  I remember going for a ride on it with my friends who lived in Thailand.  They mentioned that not many people rode it yet because of its cost, but it was a gleaming new example of some of the changes that seemed to be coming.  Still, for us it was nothing more than a novelty as we soon jumped back onto the trusty old tuktuks to get to where we needed to.

This trip showed something very different.  The Bangkok I remembered had been consigned the pages of history.  In its place was a city developing fast.

There was modern buildings everywhere, the mass transit system had been developed further.  The entire city just felt cleaner and more organised as well.  The streets were no longer strewn with rubbish, but instead, it felt like this was a city that was on the cusp of joining the ranks of the global modern metropolises.  Even something as simple as the tuktuks weren't what I remembered.  There were now taxis everywhere, modern taxis which actually put the taxis in Hong Kong to shame in terms of their comfort and make.  Everyone seemed to be using these taxis as their day to day transport instead of the tuktuks.  When we went to catch a tuktuk, I was shocked that the prices were higher than the taxis and there was a general refusal to negotiate the prices much at all.  The tuktuks weren't a integral part of the transport system anymore, and were now clearly something reserved for tourists looking for an "authentic experience". 

Island hopping

I couldn't stop thinking back to my Thailand trips when I was younger and with my family.  I like to think that I'm still young, but there was definitely a feeling to those trips.  Those were the tail end of the "family trips", where I was still effectively a child following my parents and their directions.  Now, I was in a very different position, dictating my own way and making my own decisions.

I booked a day trip out to the islands with Renee.  We were taken out on one of the large tour boats that I remembered from when I was younger.

One of the first stops was at an island which had a small hike to reach a peak with stunning views of the whole group of islands.  Most people seemed to have been a touch more prepared than me with hiking shoes and sneakers, but for me, the thongs/flip flops would have to suffice.  I managed to climb up to the top of the peak, even over the jagged rocks and the views were worth the climb.  Shoes may have been the better option to climb with though.

The trip around all the islands and the various beaches was what you would expect when visiting such an idyllic paradise.  The waters were clear, the beaches were soft and the sun was warm.

The day was spent moving from island to island, and each place we stopped to admire our surroundings and to just enjoy being there.

Having experienced trips like this before, I didn't have the same level of wonder and amazement that Renee seemed to have.  This was her first time in South East Asia, and it's easy to forget how much of a paradise everything can appear when you first arrive.

When arriving at each of the little islands with their secluded beaches, the scenes are always like something out of a movie.  Each one of these places is its own perfect little wonder, completely cut off from any of the troubles of the outside world.

At one of the beaches, we were given the opportunity to paddle around and to the shore from the boats.  As we slowly paddled and looked up, we could see just how sharply each of the islands jutted out from the sea.  They created a shadow which you slowly moved into and which changed the whole scene from one of brightness to one with far more intimacy.  It all of which just seemed to add to the feeling that we really were truly far from the intensity and rush of modern city life. 

Koh Samui

It had been a very long time since I had been to Thailand.  The last trip was probably to Krabi or Phuket with my family.  Time really does skip along faster than you'd expect.

For my first trip in many years, I found myself in Koh Samui.  This island has a reputation as a tropical paradise, so I was keep to see if this was all true.  I hadn't really thought about Koh Samui as a destination, but Renee was very keen.  She had heard amazing things about this place and she had her heart completely set on visiting.  I was eventually swayed and booked the tickets for us to go.  We had a quick stopover in Bangkok and then we were off to the island.  The car ride that took us to the resort was like many of the trips I've been on in the past, winding through small villages, through derelict areas and past lush, dense forests.  So far, there was nothing about this place that seemed particularly unique by the standards of South East Asia.

We arrived at the resort, after the circuitous car ride.  We had visited various other resorts where other vacationers were staying and we were lucky last.  We entered into the old colonial style building which had been renovated into this new resort.  It had that lovely combination of white walls and dark wooden features which seem to match up so well with this tropical climate.  I felt immediately more relaxed as I walked through the halls.  The girl behind the reception welcomed us as we checked in.  She smiled and said that it was very loud in the hotel because of some of the guests (she glanced towards what I assumed was a large tour group) and so she was giving us an upgrade!  We found ourselves in an enormous suite that was far larger than my apartment in Hong Kong.  The sitting room of the suite was probably bigger than my apartment.  We unpacked and then headed out to the beach.

I started to understand more why people loved it here.  It was a paradise.  The waters were clear and the beach was empty.  We had this lovely spot largely to ourselves as most people seemed to instead congregate next to the pool.  I couldn't completely understand this.  Why go to a generic resort pool when you could sit next to this natural wonder?

Happiest place in the world?

Renee loves Disney.  I can take it or leave it.  There are some great movies, but I'm not a passionate fan by any measure.

Since Renee was in Hong Kong with me, I decided to take her to visit Disneyland.  She had been to several in the US, whereas I had never been to any, so it seemed like an ideal opportunity for us to both experience the "Happiest Place in the World".

I was actually a bit excited about going.  Even though I had grown out of the prime age for this type of activity, it was still one of those experiences that everyone wants to have at least once in their life.  The idea of going to Disneyland is so filled with joy and happiness, it wasn't something I wanted to miss because of some self imposed ideas on what was and wasn't age appropriate.  As we arrived at the front of the park, I could feel my excitement growing.

Sadly, not much of this excitement was to last.

I was definitely too old for most of this.

The rides were heavily geared towards very young children which made it hard for me to enjoy too much of it other than for nostalgia reasons.

Worst of all was that the upkeep and general care shown to the park as a whole was terrible.  It was dirty, poorly maintained and the whole place felt in need of a big renovation.  Given the cost of entry and the reputation it has, I definitely felt like I had been taken on a bit of a "ride" (puns can be funny).

There were still moments when I felt lost in the magic of Disney though.  Sitting through the Winnie the Pooh ride, I felt a rush of the memories of childhood.  I loved Winnie the Pooh when I was young.  I remember watching the cartoons and my parents reading me the stories.  One of my oldest memories of school was the Winnie the Pooh themed activity days we did in my first year.  My mum came in with the other parents to help and unbeknownst to the teachers and other parents, my mother was and is a talented artist.  They asked her to help with some of the drawings to decorate the classroom, she very quickly drew enormous versions of all of the characters on large sheets of butchers paper that soon adorned the walls of the entire classroom.  I still remember seeing this perfectly rendered, enormous pictures of all my favourite characters.  This all seemed normal to me as my mum had always been able to help me with my drawings when I was at home.  I didn't fully appreciate her skills as a young child, but I definitely noticed when all the parents came to visit, with all of them standing around in awe, looking at all the drawings my mum had created.  When these activity days finished, since my mum had been the one to draw them, I was given the first choice of the pictures to take home with me.