Thailand – Koh Samui and Koh Tao (Joe and Dunc reunited)

From Bangkok I headed south towards the Thai islands of Koh Samui and Koh Tao. One of the best parts of this stretch is I was going to overlap with Joe in the islands. Joe had been on the island Koh Samui for a couple nights, and he had already visited Bangkok and Chiang Mai, a city in the north. It was fortunate that we were overlapping in the islands to see each other again, especially where it was a more social atmosphere.

We spent one night on Koh Samui enjoying the beach and a few delicious meals, and then we headed by ferry up to a smaller island called Koh Tao, famous for its diving schools. Koh Tao was a lovely island, and we stayed a little bit outside of town, about a twenty minute walk away.

On the first day in Koh Tao, we took advantage of the diving opportunities to go on a snorkeling trip. At first we were a bit disappointed because the boat was packed with people, but it ended up being quite fun, and we snorkeled all day at various points around the island. By the end of the day we were exhausted.

The second day on Koh Tao we rented scooters and zigzagged our way across the island.

It was fun to explore such a beautiful place and we made it into various nooks and crannies before heading back for dinner on a day that happened to be my birthday.

I was happy to be celebrating my birthday with Joe around. We feasted on fish, went to some bars in the area, and had some drinks on the beach as we watched the green florescent lights of the squid boats turn on along the horizon as it became dark.

I’m pretty sure I won

After Koh Tao we headed back to Koh Samui and I said goodbye to Joe for the second time before we’d be reunited in Nashville for our friends’ wedding on Labor Day weekend.

Goodbye number 2

I’d really enjoyed exploring Koh Tao by scooter, so I did the same on Koh Samui. I saw some beautiful and secluded parts of the island during the two additional days I was there.

Thailand – Chiang Mai and Pai

From Koh Samui, I flew up to Chiang Mai, a city in the north of Thailand. I stayed at a hostel there with a lot of really nice people, some who were there for a short time, and others who were there for longer stretches–travel bloggers and the like. Chiang Mai is known for having a large expat community.

Chiang Mai was touristy, but still fun. The first day I was there, I visited a town about three hours north, called Pai, that had been recommended to me by multiple folks at the hostel. Motorcycles and scooters are such a part of life in Thailand that it seemed like going by motorcycle would add to the adventure of the trip. I had thought by this point about renting a motorcycle to travel through Vietnam, and this seemed like a good test-run opportunity before committing to a longer term trip in Vietnam.

I’d taken a motorcycle training class in the US, but I didn’t actually have any real road experience. So when I arrived at the motorcycle shop, I was pretty nervous about riding the Honda CRF 150–engine wise, smaller than the bikes I’d ridden in my motorcycle class, but by weight and height, more unwieldy than I was used to.

It took some getting used to, but as I set off down a backstreet on the test ride I was happy that I managed to get going without stalling–something that had plagued me in my motorcycle training course. Things weren’t completely smooth after that, though. When filling up at the gas station, my foot got caught next to a curb and I nearly fell body-first, motorcycle and all, into the gas pump. It was clear I would have to be careful.

Riding in Thailand was easier than I expected. The roads were well paved and the traffic system wasn’t too crazy, especially not compared to India, which was really in a league of its own. It took some getting used to on the bike, though, and I was just getting acquainted with how to actually ride a motorcycle outside of a parking lot. At one point going up a tight uphill turn I didn’t drop into a low enough gear fast enough, and my bike stalled out. I’d managed to get over to the shoulder of the road, but the bike wouldn’t start up again and I couldn’t figure out why.

I tried everything, but thankfully it wasn’t too long until some locals came along who were more well versed in motorcycles than I was. They spoke little English, but they were suggesting we point the motorcycle downhill and one of them would hop on and try to start it while it was going downhill. I couldn’t believe this and I said that was a bad idea multiple times, but they kept on insisting. And this was a steep hill. And they were both under 5’6” and I, at 6’2”, found this bike too tall for me.

They were insistent, so I acquiesced, thinking it was a good idea I opted for insurance on the bike before I left. Somehow, though, as one of the guys is riding the bike in neutral down this steep hill, he manages to get it running. The next problem was actually stopping, because the bike was too tall for this guy to put his foot down. So he navigates over to the side of the road and puts his foot up on the jersey barrier while the other guy and I run after him nervously laughing. We shook hands and I said my heartfelt thanks before, more carefully this time, making my way up the mountain road.

I made it to Pai in one piece. It was a sleepy town. And I’d heard this, but its was definitely true that it was the type of place you go to get away from anything busy. So after about two hours I was ready to head back. It took longer than expected to get on the road back, though. I’d stopped at a beautiful park called Pai Canyon, but unfortunately slipped off the side of one of the narrow paths and fell about fifteen feet down through rock and brush.

Thankfully I was mostly unharmed, but I had to spent some time cleaning up the cuts on my leg and arm before heading back to Chiang Mai.

This meant about two thirds of the three-hour route home was in the dark. I did my best to take it slow on the way back through the famously curvy 762 turns.

Snacking on the way back. From the looks of it, I was ready to be back at the hostel already.

I spent the rest of the time in Chiang Mai doing tourist activities, notably a great cooking class there where we learned how to cook Pad Thai and Green Curry.

All in all it was an amazing place, and I could see myself living there in the future if it perhaps weren’t so hot. I headed off to Cambodia excited to see what it had in store.

Cambodia – Siem Reap and Phnom Penh

Entering Cambodia felt similar to going back to India in many regards. Thailand was so developed that I had missed some of the grittiness from India, but I felt like I had regained some of that in Cambodia.

I landed in Siem Reap excited to explore the city and to see the temples at Angkor Wat that the city is famous for. I was staying at a nice hotel there and had and overall amazing stay. The first day I explored the city by bicycle, and had a great time riding around the back streets, happy to be exploring a place at a slower pace than on a scooter.

Taking some time to meditate at one of the numerous temples throughout Siem Reap.

I biked up to Angkor Wat to see sunset in the evening, even though I would be back just a few hours later for sunrise.

Getting to explore the temples without a soul in sight was one of the benefits of coming in the evening.

The next day I set out early for sunrise at Angkor Wat. Despite the early wakeup, I’d heard so many great things about the sunrise that it seemed it would be a shame to miss it. There was a bit of a snafu, though, around 5am. I thought I knew where the park entrance ticket stand was located, but it was actually two miles off the normal route from downtown Siem Reap to the temples. I was racing furiously on the bike to backtrack, get to the ticket stand, and still make it by sunrise. Somehow I make it there right as the sun is coming up, and I watch the sun rise over the temple as I sit there and pretend to not be uncomfortable in my sweat-drenched clothes at 6am.

The temple complex was amazing, and it was well worth the trip to see it. At a certain point the temples started to blur together, but the main ones are really incredible. It’s easy to get from one to the next by bike. By mid-afternoon I was exhausted.

On the way home it started to downpour, and I was able to find cover, but was able to do little on the way back to my hotel to keep from getting covered in mud. I took some much deserved rest at the hotel before heading back into town to return my bike and grab some dinner.

The next day I took the bus down to Phnom Penh. In Phnom Penh I stayed in a tiny house room within a larger room on the top floor of a high-rise building–quite the interesting setup.

The main area had 360 degree views over Phnom Penh.

Most of my time in Cambodia’s capital was spent in the genocide museums. The family of one of my good friends came over after the genocide, so I knew a little about it, but hadn’t really studied it in much detail. It’s unfortunate how little in the US is taught about the Khmer Rouge and the genocide in Cambodia. I started out by visiting S21, one of the prisons used for torture by the Khmer Rouge, and then went out to the killing fields where political prisoners were executed and buried. It was a heavy and sad day, but it was important to see these places.

I met some other tourists over an early dinner, and then headed back to the hotel for a drink as I watched the sun set over the city from the top floor of the hotel.

By the next day, it was time to head to Vietnam. There was a problem with my visa, though, and I misunderstood which documents I actually needed to arrive by bus in Ho Chi Minh city. Somehow this dawned on me in the morning when I did some more research. Thankfully, I was able to get the visa expedited, and though it added at bit of excitement to the morning, I was able to board the bus as planned around noon and made it into Vietnam that evening.

Racing to the embassy.

I was excited for Vietnam. I had heard tremendous things about the country from many people along the way and from my friends back in the US. I was interested in the idea of traveling the country by motorcycle, but I was also uncertain about the effort that would entail, and I knew there would need to be a lot of organizational tasks to do along the way to make it happen.