This slide show is a compilation of photographs I took while travelling Thailand from November 2007 to May 2008. It includes pictures of Bangkok, Koh Phi Phi, Kon Lanta, Koh Lipe, and the Songkran festival.
Thailand borders Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia
I arrived in Thailand during the “mild” season which lasts from about November to February. I put “mild” in quotes because, as a Canadian from Calgary, I am more accustomed to -10 degrees and snow in November! The seasons will vary slightly, depending on which part of the country you are in. Below are the seasons and corresponding months for southern Thailand:
May – Nov Rainy
Dec – Feb Mild
Mar – May Hot
My entire flight plan was from Vancouver to San Francisco to Tokyo to Bangkok. The flight from Tokyo landed in Bangkok at the massive, spectacular, and (somewhat) new Suvarnabhumi international airport. Here immigration took my photograph as I officially entered the country. They also stamped my passport with the date I was expected to leave. If you come to Thailand without a Visa, you will receive a 30 day stamp. Since I purchased a tourist visa in Canada, I was given a sixty day stamp. After sixty days, I had to leave the country and come back in – commonly referred to as a “Visa Run”.
It's customary to remove your footwear before entering a guesthouse
Leaving the airport, my friend and I made our way to the metered taxi stand and took a cab to Khao San Road, a popular destination for backpackers. Although we did not have a hotel booked, a fellow traveller was kind enough to direct us to a comfortable guesthouse.
One of the primary reasons I travelled to Thailand was to witness the exceptionally beautiful beaches of the south, especially Maya Bay (located on Koh Phi Phi Leh) where they filmed the movie “The Beach”.
Koh Phi Phi Don is an amazing island. As we approached from the Ferry, I was blown away by the scenery. Limestone cliffs with green vegetation stretched high into the sky. Palm trees lined the powdery white beaches and the ocean water was blue and crystal clear. The only downside to Koh Phi Phi Don, in my opinion, was that it was over crowded and too commercialized. In any case, make sure you check it out. And definitely take a long tail boat out to Maya Bay, you won’t regret it!
I felt just like Leonardo DiCaprio in Maya Bay
Koh Lanta is a great place to relax. There’s plenty of beach for everyone there. Long Beach, were I stayed, sometimes had high waves so body surfing was possible. I rented a motorbike and toured the island’s beaches and resorts (as a responsible adult, who wore his helmet at all times). However, after seeing several fellow backpackers in bandages and casts due to motorbike accidents, I decided to avoid the road.
Koh Lipe, located 60KM off the coast of southwestern Thailand, took a long time to get to. From Bangkok, my friends and I had to take a 12 hour long night bus to Hat Yai. From Hat Yai we had to take a couple mini buses, a speed boat, and a long tail boat to finally reach Koh Lipe (). Was it worth it? Yes! We stayed on Pattaya beach where the sand was pure white and amazing snorkeling was within swimming distance! The resort we stayed at was about almost right on the beach and, at the time, cost about $20CAD/night. Since it was April (hot season), the sun was blazingly hot which kept me in the shade during most of the afternoon.
Fully Furnished Apartment - Good Deal!
After spending a couple of months in Thailand, I decided to settle down in an apartment in north east Bangkok. The cost of the apartment was about $160 CAD per month plus A/C. It was a pretty good deal considering the place was relatively new, fully furnished, had A/C, badminton courts, and an indoor fitness facility.
After settling in, I began to explore Bangkok. In this presentation I have pictures of the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Keow, and Wat Pho (“Wat” meaning “Temple” in Thai). Many temples have an entrance fee for foreign guests, but it’s quite affordable. I always took a metered taxi around the city because they are plentiful and comfortable. At the time, you could get almost anywhere in the city for less than $5CAD.
The slide show concludes with pictures of the Songkran festival (Thai New Year) which occurs annually from April 13th to April 15th throughout the entire country. Everyone gets absolutely soaked and clay covered in a massive country-wide water fight. If you are a foreigner, you can expect to get special treatment! (And by that I mean they are a priority target.)
I used Windows Movie Maker to arrange the photographs and add effects, titles, and music. I downloaded the music from two different websites which both offer “copyleft” music (free to download, modify, and distribute). The first site is opsound.org and the second is dance-industries.com. Thanks so much to the artists and the websites for their contribution!
Please enjoy the show. If you like it, check out my video presentation as well.
If you’d like to learn how to make your own slide shows in Windows Movie Maker, check out this tutorial.
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