TravelBio

Andrew and I arrived in Krabi, a small town in southern Thailand, on Thursday evening.  We'd had our fun in Pattaya, and particularly in Bangkok for Songkran, but it was time now for a break.  Some 780 kilometers south of Bangkok, Krabi is a far cry from the hustle and bustle of the capital.  The town has about 50,000 residents and attracts its fair share of tourists too. Krabi is in the south, near Phuket; it's physically close but definitely a different vibe than Phuket. Visitors come to enjoy the nearby beach, natural scenery, wildlife, and surrounding islands such as Koh Phi Phi and Koh Lanta.  I'd been to both on my 2013 trip (here's a link to that post) but missed out on Krabi the first time around.  Andrew was excited to see another side of Thailand and get away from the crowds.  Riding an elephant was on his bucket list, and I was eager to rent motorbikes for a ride in the countryside. On Thursday we checked into the Krabi River V...

Andrew and I both agreed that four nights in Pattaya were more than enough, and we were happy to head back to Bangkok.  You can't exactly escape from the sleazy side of Thailand in the capital; heck, many travelers go to Bangkok for the strip clubs, prostitutes, and sex shows.  But while Pattaya is a small city, Bangkok is a major metropolis of over 14 million, so there is a lot more to explore. Andrew and I did do some cultural sightseeing, visiting Wat Pho, a temple complex that houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand ( wiki ).  The most impressive piece on display is the Reclining Buddha statue, which is 46 meters long!  We also explore several areas of the city and checked out a few markets where Andrew bought souvenirs.  I didn't mind window shopping, but am not particularly keen on collecting more stuff at that point, especially when it requires me lugging it around for an undetermined number of months. part of the Wat Ph...

Once again I found myself in Thailand.  This was my second visit in three weeks and probably my fifth overall (I criss-crossed SE Asia too many times to remember on my original trip back in 2013...check out the sidebar for more info).  It was nice to be back in a familiar city; I felt comfortable arriving at the airport and navigating the public transit system.  Ha, I thought, looking at the backpackers on the train, they're fresh faced newbies!  Oh how quickly I can inflate my ego! ahh, so many backpackers in Bangkok!  Well I'm one too! On one level or another I was tired of Thailand - certainly the tourist crowds and backpacker scene.  But I was coming back not so much for myself, but to travel with a high school buddy.  Not just any buddy, but Andrew, my best friend from my New Albany High School years.  Andrew's parents are Korean, and they moved to the US when he was a toddler.  He spent his elementary days in Alabama (of all the...

My stopover in Taitung lasted two nights, after which I continued my loop around the island, heading north to the town of Hualien.  Hualien, like Taitung, has just over 100,000 residents, and the two towns are the largest on the east coast.  Although Hualien county is sparsely populated (compared to the west coast) it draws many tourists from across the country.  Visitors come primarily for the beautiful natural scenery, from the sandy beaches to the mountainous interior. This time around I lucked out and found a local willing to host me through Couchsurfing.  Dylan, who grew up 40 minutes away from the town of Hualien, teaches at a primary school near his hometown but often stays with family in the city.  Even though he already had another guest scheduled to stay with him Dylan accepted my request; he's hosted over 150 surfers so an extra traveler didn't bother him one bit! Dylan, probably with other couchsurfers I spent three nights with Dylan...

I felt that three nights was a solid amount to spend in Tainan, and by Friday I was ready to head on to Kaohsiung, the largest city in the south.  Instead of Couchsurfing this time around I had booked a cheap hotel; I had looked for a host but, being that it was last minute (as I often do things), no one took up my request.  The hotel wasn't anything to rave about, but I did enjoy having a place to myself for a few days. Kaohsiung is a city of about 2.8 million, and although it's similar in size to Taichung it felt bigger to me.  Maybe that was because I was staying in the city center as opposed to the host's apartment in a quieter neighborhood in Taichung.  Either way there was something about Kaohsiung that impressed me - I can't put my finger on one particular thing but the city made a good impression on me. Downtown Kaohsiung; it seems bigger than a city of less than 3 million On reason I took a liking to the city was the favorable weather compa...