From Wiki because I’m classy like that: “Bagan is an ancient city... From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2,200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day.” OVER TWO THOUSAND, TWO HUNDRED! You don’t even know how many that is until you are driving around and see them EVERYWHERE!
0 Comments
Mandalay didn’t have very many tourists. We really liked that it seemed less traveled. That doesn’t mean they lack people and motorbikes though. Walking is difficult because there are so many motorbikes that don’t stop for you to cross, and there are no side walks (that aren’t covered with parked motorbikes or food stands). If you stay outside of the city center area, plan to taxi to and from your hotel. We actually had a hard time finding taxis though. We could always get our hotel to call us one, but to get back to the hotel, it was usually a motorbike taxi that was around. I refused to ride any of them (I know, lame, whatever – I am not getting in a motorbike accident here), so we eventually found a little pickup truck with a cage over the back and a couple of seats.
We spent almost 3 weeks in Thailand and visited 4 areas: Bangkok, Kata Beach on Phuket, Railay Beach in Krabi, and Koh Tao. For more detail on each location as well as getting vaccines in Thailand, see the links to each separate blog post at the bottom of this overview blog post. Also, be sure to see the pictures from Thailand here.
I didn't take any pictures in Koh Tao. We planned a lot of our Thailand trip around scuba diving with whale sharks, and when we researched it, Koh Tao seemed to be the place to see them. It said so on several websites. Several. Well, turns out that it's extremely rare to see them here. I feel really misled even though it wasn't Koh Tao's fault that I didn't see any. I'd feel better if the scuba diving had been amazing anyway, but it wasn't. And the island was just like any other party island. If that's your thing, then go; but if it isn't, I'd suggest spending your time somewhere else.
Krabi is the main town in the Krabi province of Krabi on the west coast of southern Thailand. Railay Beach is a very small part of Krabi with no roads in or out. You have to get there by ferry. Railay is known for its rock climbing. There are a lot of cliffs hanging over the beach and several climbing companies to choose from.
My advice for going to Phuket is simple: don’t. I mean, if you like a beach swarming with tourists (and I mean swarming), then sure – go. But I urge you to do your research first on which area of the island you want to stay. Phuket has many beach towns, and then there is the actual town of Phuket. We stayed on Kata Beach. We didn’t even go into Phuket Town because we were so miserable with the million tourists on Kata Beach and didn’t want to add to the number of tourists pushing us off the sidewalk. And they are ALL Russian. Which is fine… don’t get me wrong. I have several close Russian friends. But it was just weird – they were literally all Russian in Kata Beach.
We LOVED Bangkok. I rarely visit the same place twice because there is so much to see in the world, but I could see myself going back to Bangkok. In fact, we’re considering going back as part of this trip. The street food is cheap and amazing. There are so many markets to visit, things to do, and temples to see!
New Zealand. Wow. We road tripped around South Island and North Island for 6 weeks. I think the photo above really says it all. That's me at the top of the Roys Peak Track celebrating the climb. New Zealand hikes are amazing, and the scenery is stunning. Colin and I combined forces to write a detailed blog here. I hope it helps your trip! Also, you'll definitely want to take a look at the photos we have from South Island here and North Island here.
Melbourne is a large hipster city. There are organic juices and smoothies everywhere, and everyone
eats fresh avocado smashed on sourdough bread (which is delicious by the way). I LOVE IT. If this isn’t your thing, there’s plenty else for you to eat, but I personally appreciated the easy access to healthy foods and vegan / vegetarian (and gluten free if you want that too). It's also near beaches and a beautiful route to drive for a day or more, the Great Ocean Road. Cairns is a smaller city in Australia that a lot of people use as a base point for excursions to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). There’s also a scenic railway to Kuranda – a village in the rainforest not too far from Cairns. And if you still have time (and money), there are things like skydiving, bungee jumping, etc. that you can do as well. In the actual town of Cairns, there’s a public swimming lagoon that you can use and great restaurants (and some gambling if you’re into that… gambling is EVERYWHERE in Australia though, so you don’t need to come here just for that).
|
About MeHi, I'm Sara Monica Patton. I love animals, traveling, and eating. Read more about me in my first blog post here. Categories
All
Archives
May 2021
|