22. - 07.05.2012 Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand

After a long journey, which included a ferry on which you could sleep, we arrived in the early morning in Koh Pha Ngan at 6:30. As it was still so early we just kept on sleeping as they still had to unload all the goods from the ship. We disembarked at 8:00 and nobody complained.




We saw a German Bakery at the beach and were already excited to see Bretzeln on the menu. Unfortunately there was a guy in the morning who bought all of them before we came! So we had some good bread rolls instead. With fresh energy we took a taxi to one of the beaches on the north west coast, which was famous for it's yoga places. I know, most of the people on this world know this island for it's Parties like: Jungle party, waterfall party, shiva party, half moon party, pool party and most famous the "Full Moon Party".
After dropping of our bags on the porch of a guest house, we wanted to walk and visit a couple of different yoga places to compare. After 20min walking we decided it was far too hot to walk and we rented a scooter from one of the many places which offered them. So we drove around over half of the island to different places. On one of the steep hills with unsealed and washed out road it happened: the front wheel slid away and the scooter slowly gave way under us. I was able to keep unharmed. Chrisy however got a "Thai Tattoo"! Her leg got caught by the exhaust and left a bad burn! I think she still thinks I tried to kill her! (no, I don't thinks so)




As we were still not sure to which yoga place to go, we went back to the "Sun Hut Bungalow" where we had left our luggage earlier that day and checked in room no.5. We enjoyed a refreshing fruit shake and did more research on the Internet and found on TripAdvisor some information about the "Monte Vista Center" and the fact that they also took volunteers. As it wasn't too far away, we jumped back on the scooter to go and visit them personally. The last bit of the path to get to them was a steep hill, which our scooter barely made. We talked to Andy and got a little feeling for this magical place. He asked us to apply online and he would let us know shortly afterwards if we would be able to come, but the chances were good.
So we went back and wrote an application for a job to volunteer.
Until the late evening we didn't hear back. So we went to bed. As of Chrisy didn't already had enough suffered with the burn, next day we found little bugs and blood all over our sheet. There were so many and we even were able to squeeze some to show it to the owner and to see what they are on the internet. Outcome: Huge bedbugs. Shortly after we found swollen bites all over Chrisy! Poor thing! And didn't she got told by a sales rep back in the states that this was a myth? Well, this doesn't look like a myth to me!




After breakfast we finally heard back from Andy and we successfully passed our application and could start immediately. So we drove back to the "Monte Vista Retreat". I left Chrisy there, where she could start working immediately, whilst I went back to get our big backpacks. I thought I might need to do 2 trips, however I managed to put one in front of my legs and took one on my back and started my journey. Luckily I didn't have any challenges with all the bulky items on the scooter.




We were lucky and got this beautiful bungalow for the duration of our stay. We planned to stay for 2 weeks and work and receive free accommodation, yoga in the morning and meditation in the afternoon in return. Look for yourself on their website http://www.montevistathailand.com/ what they offer.




Every evening we had a different sunset to experience from the porch of the main house, which was also the spot where we had yoga and had all our meals.




On the first evening the nights sky was illuminated by green lights on the horizon. The squid fisher boats were the most intense of the entire time we stayed there.




The two cats loved each other and usually had their afternoon nap together on top of the freezer. Only the last few days we had kitty (red) sitting on the porch of our bungalow the entire time.




Here is another romantic sunset for your pleasure.




The first 3 days we had Lisa and Marelyn with us and enjoyed their company.




All the food we got served was fresh, healthy vegetarian dishes. Jacky had a good hand and loved cooking with Thai influence.




Our work included opening the kitchen and main area in the morning. We opened all the windows, swept all the dust from the termites away and prepared the porch for yoga. After yoga and breakfast we would do things like: sweeping leafs away so snakes and scorpions don't have a place to hide. (I saw one scorpion and 3 snakes in total). Chrisy did mostly cleaning tasks in the kitchen, the bungalows and doing the laundry. I also did a lot of handy man work including harvesting bananas and coconuts. Even though it was very hot, we enjoyed working and the fact to be able to stay at one place for 2 weeks at a time. This is the longest since we started back in August.




Chrisy did an outstanding job in bringing the rooms into a spotless condition and even wrote an "ABC of Bungalow Keeping"




Jacky, Andy and their son Kian (alias "Spiderman" or superhero) were absolutely lovely. Their friend from their time back in Mexico, Lucy was an incredible person and we enjoyed eating her food and her company.




We went on one of our days off and rented a scooter together with Yugesh and went visiting a couple of different places. First though we had to drink a fresh fruit shake for 20 Baht ($0.7).




We were on the search for a waterfall where we could go swimming in. At the place where the "Waterfall Party" is hosted, we found a 20cm high waterfall and decided this wasn't that impressive and moved on. The roads got worse and worse. Especially downhill on washed out parts Chrisy insisted on walking. I wonder why?




Finally we found a waterfall called "Than Sadet" with flowing water and a beautiful surrounding. I think even the king has visited this spot, so it must be good. The dip in the water was just the right thing to wash the dust and the sweat away.




On the way we saw even some elephants. This particular one was dancing for us when we saw him.




The next day we went to the "Had Rin" beach were the "Full Moon Party" takes place. What a wonderful beach! Can you imagine to have 20 to 30.000 people here in the main season for the party?




For dinner we went to the local market in Tonsala. A wide range of delicious food was offered on mobil food stalls.




Afterwards we went for our first Thai Massage. Chrisy was afterwards able to sit in the "Lotus Seat" I was in pain!




Later we went to visit one of the "Muay Thai" rinks,which hosted a fight evening. We were able to get a good introduction into the sport and many interesting and useful information about the island and the upcoming full moon party by one of the commentators. We were able to see some very good fights from the young and older fighters. Even a girl fight of two 12 year old girls was on the agenda. It was an experience I wouldn't miss!




We had a great time on the island and as a treat for our second last day we were able to visit the famous party ourselves together with 10.000 other people. There were amazing fire shows and hundreds of food stalls and bars which sold "buckets" with alcohol. So we had a bucket of "mojito" and walked back and forth at the beach to intake the atmosphere. A lot of people had neon colored shirts on, eighties sweat bands, crazy glasses and body paint. It was all very colorful and every few meters another bar had big speakers blasting their music out. You found all different kinds of electronic and other music along the beach. For those who liked mushrooms, there were places which offered "Happy Shakes". Supposedly there were other things offered as well, however I didn't observe anything and the risk that it might have been an undercover cop trying to bust you are just too big. So by 4.30am we were back at home after a fun evening. With such an incredible finale, we enjoyed our last day on the island before packing our backpacks again and heading towards Kho Toa next.




More pictures from Kho Pagn Nagn.
See our TripAdvisor review A magical time.

17. - 22.04.2012 (Tonsai Beach) Krabi, Thailand

Our first stop in Thailand was Krabi. We arrived on a bus terminal and we were looking for a transportation to get to the peninsula. A crowd of taxi drivers surrounded us and wanted to offer their services. They asked for 600 Baht. This is 20$ and a little much in our opinion. So after having a lunch of Pad Thai, we found a pick-up truck taxi service for 60 Baht. It drove us to a different location, however it was just as good and... a lot cheaper! After changing some money we walked to the harbor where we found a long boat driver who was going to take us to Railey on the peninsula. With the longboats you always have to wait until they have at least 6 people before they start the engine. Luckily there was another group and we took of within 15 min. The engines are very interesting. They are open with nothing around them and a long stick with the propeller directly attached on the back of it. The drivers have a handle to steer the boat by lifting the propeller out of the water or turning the entire engine! Very advanced technical engineering is going on here.





We had a 45 min ride and started to pass spectacular little islands with amazing rock formations on it.


We arrived at Railey beach west. As it was low tide we had to embark the boat 100 m of the shore and walk through the knee deep water to the beach with our backpacks on. We joined up with the other travelers who were with us on the boat as they also wanted to go to Tonsai. Then we crossed for 5 min through a resort to come to the east side beach of Railey. There we walked over the beach for 5 min until we reached the end where we had to climb a steep hill. There were ropes attached to trees to be able to get up the hill. Not easy with a bag on the back and one in the front! We had to climb through narrow passages between rocks and boulders. After 15 min we reached the Tonsai Beach. As we heard from our Spanish friends about a cheap bungalow, we searched for the Tonsai Bungalows. We had to go through the beach settlement up the hill and after 15min we finally arrived, completely soaked in sweat. The bungalows were made out of bamboo, airy and had a ventilator. Electricity was available only from 6pm to 1am. We stayed as the price was good and it was clean.


After a shower we went back to the beach, which might not be as nice as in Railey, but the area was far more secluded and charming, cheaper as well.


Close to the beach were lot of little bars, shops and little restaurants. We enjoyed dinner at a place with fresh fish. You could choose from King Fish, Shark, Barracuda, Squid, Tiger Prawns, Snapper. They were all presented on ice and a lady cut a piece off of it in front of you. Then it got wrapped in aluminum foil with a special dressing and cooked on the open fire. A salad buffet was included and it was sooooo delicious!





The next day we walked over to the other beach again to explore some hiking track and go to a lookout. Below is the view of one of the pools of a fancy resort.


To reach the viewpoint included steep and slippery paths in the middle of the heat.


As it was easier to go barefoot then in shoes, we got a nice mud packet for our feet.


We also reached a beach with this shrine where people come to ask for all different kind of things, including babies. Hundreds of wooden penises in all different kind of sizes where all over this cave. The legend says that if you ask this god for something, you need to promise something in return, if your wish comes true. If you do not follow up on your promise, bad luck will come over you! So be careful what you wish and what you promise this god!


The sunsets were every evening spectacular.


As our local girl of our group Noi was not only lovely crazy, but also very adventurous, she decided that the way throughout the water would be faster and easier then the way along the hill, they went the water way and Luke and me went the land way. We waited for 15 min until they finally arrived.


For the following day we planned a "deep climbing" trip. All we needed were some climbing shoes. A long boat took us out to one of the many small islands with some rocks on it. A kayak took us individually to the rock face, where we started to climb. The rock was great and had a great grip. All you had to do was to climb. You either climbed until you found a spot you liked or until gravity won and you fell. Either way, you always ended up in the clear and warm water.





We had 2 different stops and both were very different. As the tide changed to low tide, the jumps we had to do to get back on the boat got higher and higher. I would say the last one was good over 15 m and that's a long way and a lot of time to think about many different things whilst falling! It was a great thrill and experience. Especially as I wouldn't take my own climbing shoes to jump into the water with. There were some really good climbers which mastered the rock face spectacularly. After a couple of hours of climbing and watching others climb we headed towards a romantic little beach for lunch.


We did a little bit of snorkeling and relaxing in this beautiful surrounding. It was a wonderful day and experience. Tonasi is in general a paradise for climbers, also for those who don't want to get wet. There are many different shops who offer lessons or rent equipment. The area has for all skill levels something to offer and the views are usually for free.



We eventually had to leave the view of our little bungalow above and head to the beach. There we waited for a long boat to fill up so we would be able to get a ride back to the mainland beach from where we had a bus booked to get to Surathani and the to Kho Pagn Nagn. It's hard to leave such a little remote and cozy spot! The group of people we had around us was fantastic and we hope to see them soon again.


Here are more pictures from our lovely stay at Tonsai Beach

13. - 16.04.2012 Georgetown (Pengang), Malaysia

The bus from Cameron Highlands arrived in Butterworth after dark. We only had to take the ferry close by to reach Georgetown on the Island of Pegngang. It only cost 1.20 RM (3 RM = 1 US$) to cross by ferry to George Town and there is no charge on the way back.


We were looking on the map how to get to "Love Lane", where most of the low budget accommodations are. The locals were very helpful to point out the way. We got the last room at the Pin Seng Hotel.


After we checked in and dropped our belongings we walked around the corner where a lot of food stalls were as well as many people.


We tried a lot of different and liked especially the above stand with all different items on a stick and you dropped it in a hot broth and ate it with different sauces. The sticks were color coded, a price for every color.


In the morning we started to walk around town to see more of the many, many, many temples.


Here, admiring the Hainan Temple just around the corner from our Guesthouse, with I don't know how many buddah's in just this object itself.





In the steaming heat we kept on walking to complete our round.


We also reached the "Kuan Yin Teng" where we saw the biggest scented sticks in our life time. This are the "Bob Marley sticks" under the scented sticks! (judge for yourself!)


We saw some clouds coming when we reached the "Kapitan Keling" Mosque. (nothing to do with the beautiful and historic mosque)


The prayers were coming out of the speakers at the time we visited and the mosque looked absolutely lovely. There was also a Christian church close by, but not pretty enough to take a pictures of it. (so the prayers are much more worthy to listen to! Judge for yourself!)

It is just great to see so many different religious ethnics live next to each other or even together in peace and harmony. It also brings great diversity in culture and especially in a famous mix of food in Georgetown. (The guy below is a rising star, trying to do some advertisement for local food vendors. As of now he is not too famous. This might change soon. Stay tuned!)


In the evening we had dinner at the "Sup Hameed" hawker center, were we tried fish head curry, Laksa and Tom Yam with pork.

The next day was another hot sunny day, so we decided to visit the Penang Museum it was nicely air-conditioned, what a relieve. We went together with Sheena who we met the first night in front of the our hotel in Georgetown. She is this amazing girls with incredible stories!


The museum for 1 RM was very interesting and it was especially fun when we learned how to play the stone game also called "Congkak". (Robert won against his legendary teacher!)





We also walked to the area that is like Venice above water on timber. Just more Asian!


The street next to "Love Lane" called "Lebuh Chulia" at sun set. The food stands would be to the left.

We stayed one day longer as we decided to apply for a two month visa for Thailand. There were some changes for tourist visas in 2012. When you enter by land Thailand you only receive a 15 day visa. If you arrive by air you will receive 30 days. We would enter by land and as we wanted to do a Yoga retreat for up to 10 days, we needed more than 15 days in Thailand. The visa was easy to get. We applied at 9 am at the Thailand consulate and received our passport with a 2 month Thai visa in the afternoon back. It costs 110 RM.


While we we were waiting for our visa we went back to have lunch. We met Kathy and Mirco at our hotel who told us to have a banana leave meal at Veloo Villas. The restaurant is on Lebuh Penang in Little India and they even said the indian food here in Georgetown is better than in India itself. We can confirm this. (not that we've been ever in India, but the food is bloody good!)



I also met Sonia from Spain, she gave us great tips for our travels. She also has a great blog. It is more like a travel guide and very good information: see for yourself: http://www.viajesconmochila.blogspot.com/

More pictures from: George Town