Bangkok, East coast of S. Thailand East coast of Malayasia, Singapore

2/4-19/98 During Feb 4 through Feb 19, 1998 I took a trip to Bangkok, East coast of S. Thailand East coast of Malayasia, Singapore, here are my trip notes.

1. Try to walk outside Toyko airport - no luck. Wait in Bangkok airport for train to city. Meet French guy who lived in Brazil for two years. Wiat around main Bangkok station then try to walk to other train station. The map must be screwed up. Run ito market at 3AM! Lots of stuff for sale, wait around train station/other market till train to Hua Hin. Get a place which turns out to be on the "girly bar" side of town but it's okay. Rent bike and go up and down the coast.

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Pagoda

Hua Hin

Hua Hin

2. Rent motorcycle and goto National Park, walk up rock creek with waterfalls. Meet Thai/NZ guy and wife. Meet Danish couple.

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Hua Hin

Anti Durian sign

3. Try walking to hill with Budda. Rent bike, ride there, walk around. Take train to Surat Thani - arrive at 00:00. Sleep.

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Quiet country road

School kids

4. Take bus into town -crowded. Buy ticket to Koh Phangan. Discover mountain bike/internet store. Get place in town w/L.A. American & Thai wife. Rent one and try to go to Haadrin - one hill short. Meet Italian Gabriel - Legs of energy - Ex-pro cycle racer. He goes up hills faster than I go down! Pretty gruelling ride with him. Have to walk a few hills. Meet Petra (Duch) and Peirre (Quebec) bike some more. Swim. Very tired - zombie. Ride back under full moon - ride around kick box.

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Boat

Boat

5. Take train to Chumphon, get room to store luggage. Rent bike from funny guys at moto taxi stand. Ride way up north, then way south by military stuff. Talked to lots of kids (one mute) at store on north. Get attacked by monkey in search of food.

6. Make it to Haavrin, pretty hilly. Cramped little town, overloaded with tourists. Look for Gabriel to pay him back his $1 but it's too big a place. Go out to Seetanu and have breakfast with Pierre and Petra. Arrange room and luggage pickup from town. Go for nice ride on same route Gabriel and I did. Swim at German diving resort - move bikes two time. Walk beach. Take more scenic route back - really nice views. Pierre - flat. Seetamu - no luggage - stomach ache. Get luggage and return with Pierre under full moon, send email. watch traditional Thai music at Seetanu.

7. Moap around - go to town with P & P, get email. Take A/C boat to Surat Thani - walk town. Nice night markets, leave luggage at guest house across from bus station. Go go taxi stand and wait - meet Ott and have a drink with him at train station. Go to his house and meet his wife and see his kids sleeping. One room cinder walls. He is a cook and works 13 ours a day. Train at 1:30 AM to Hat Yai. Lots of workers to Singapore? 7AM Hat Yai, check luggage at train station. Rent bike by the hour, go to municipal park and aviary - must be the best avairy in the world - seems like an unbelievable waste of money for such a poor country. Train to Yala.

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Pretty beach

8. Rent hairdressers bike. Go out into country. It's almost like Vietnam with the looks you get. More moslem here - no tourists. Train to Golok, change money, Baht to RM, moto to border, bus to Kota Bahru, Pasir Puteh, Kual Besut. Crummy town - no nite boat to Island. Meet Dutch biker. Have dinner together. Let air out of tire - try roberts pump.

9. Ride bike around, have pancakes with Robert. Decide to go to Island (Perhentian). Meet Brit med students. Absolutely beautiful island - go trekking with Robert, see black/yellow snake in tree all coiled up. See huge iguana, hear 100 decibel 5000 Hertz bugs (cecada?). Rent scuba stuff for tomorrow.

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Robert

Snake in tree

10. Scuba - lots of little fish - clown fish - bright florescent purple ones - coral eating ones. Jungle trek some more. Take boat ack - walk back to get water. Bus to Pajar Pateh, Terengganu. Get lost, walk around mall/bus station. Hear mosque.

11. Walk to market, closed. Walk China town - eat with cell phone exec's, walk littered river front. Market is open - shop, shop, shop. Bus to Kuantin - enroute decide to try cherating - long shallow beach - lots of europeans. Rent bike but can't go too far - ride around in circles. Meet more Dutch. Cuttlefish - beer with Brit - expert at doing nothing.

12. Miss alarm - muddy kayak up cool river take right turn at creek and see monkeys in trees, crab traps, fish nets. Cruise back. Hitch ride with Ausie (Malay) welding inspector with wife and 2 kids. Change money in Dauntan. Hike to bus station, nice town too bad I'm leaving - get ticket to Johor Bahru - plan to get off somewhere along the coast - hop off at tiny Labis - nice little town - they haven't had a tourist in six months! Borrow bike and head towards hot springs - but the tire is coming off and the chain slips (seems to be a common problem). Have hot curry for dinner. Big D hits - bigtime.

13. Decide not to wake up for the early train to Singapore. Take slow one - nice though - lots of African Palms and banana's - see built-up high-rise city. Is it a California resort town? Is this Asia? It's too clean, organized, modern. Cruise Funan Center (computer), cruise little India and Sim Lim tower (elect. parts), cool place. Cruise Chinatown and shop, shop, shop. Go to botanical gardens, orchid garden - jungle turtles. Cruise Chinatown some more - walk to railroad station and pick up luggage - go to Raffles Hotel and spill one and have another beer at SG$11/beer! Bus to airport, shave - long pants!

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