Khao Sok, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai - A Picture Tour

After being in Bangkok for so long, it was time for me to go exploring and see more of Thailand than just its capital.

Side note: Bangkok is the most traveled to city in the world.

But the country has so much to offer, from the beaches in the south to the mountains in the north. You can spend months... years here, and some do. My goal was to see a little bit of everything without growing roots and staying in one place for too long like I did in Bangkok. 

Here's a picture tour of my time in Khao Sok, Koh Samui, and Chiang Mai. 

Khao Sok, Koh Samui and Chiang Mai Photo Tour

Cheow Lan Lake, just outside of Khao Sok National Park. It's a man-made lake with giant limestone pillars that rise above the water line. For some reason, I took very few pictures on this trip, and the few I have don't do it justice. 

We stayed on the lake in little floating houses. You can see them in the far right of the picture. The water was so clear and clean. After a long day of caving and hiking, it was nice to take a dip. 

My next-door neighbor at Jungle Huts Resort in Khao Sok. I took this picture from 25 feet away and used all of my 30x zoom.  

Aboard the traditional Thai long-tail boat. This is how everyone gets around the lake since there are no roads.  

Welcome to Koh Samui Island.

Big Buddha Temple (Wat Phra Yai). Shout-out to Tracey for being my travel buddy while touring the island. She may be the goofiest, most fun person I ever met. 

The turquoise waters of Koh Samui. 

Ko Pha Ngan Christmas Day full moon party. Haaawwwwool!  

This picture isn't anything artistically special, but to me it represents the most difficult bike ride of my life. It's significant because I rode from Lisbon to Berlin and this is the one that I struggled with the most. I went from my guest house, in the heart of the city center, to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. It's a 30 km ride almost straight up. It took me three hours to climb the "mountain" with a 45-minute descent. The climb had me almost in tears, but the descent was exhilarating. Can't wait to get back in cycling shape. 

Chiang Mai is a digital nomad hub. I know many people who call this place home, if only for part of the year. It's dirt cheap (check out the sign above, that comes out to about $1,000 PER YEAR for an apartment). You can be entrepreneurial and not worry about your living expenses. 

Chiang Mai is said to have the best food in Thailand, although every region would argue. I would not. This is the famous Cowboy Lady. She serves up some great street food. Thanks, Mr. Bourdain, for the recommendation.  

Did I miss it? A Short Story

For years I heard of legendary adventures about people traveling through Southeast Asia, specifically Thailand. Island hopping, epic full moon parties, and outlaws living off the grid. I needed to know how to navigate it all. Even though I'd been traveling for a while, when I first arrived in Thailand, I felt like I was new to the "backpacking" scene. I found myself asking other travelers, "What's Thailand all about?" I was trying to get tips on navigating the region like a pro, and here and there I managed to collect a few secrets. I remember asking the same question to a guy I ran into at my hostel, thinking this guy would know. He was probably in his early 40s, but looked 50. His skin was leathery from the sun, his bleached hair kinda resembled dreadlocks, and he was inked up with dated tattoos. He was always, always looking for a cigarette. You could just tell that the guy had been through it. He looked like a veteran traveler, so I asked him, "Do you have any tips? What do I need to know?" I was surprised by his answer. He said, "Mate, you missed it. Ten years ago, Thailand used to be great. Everything was a quarter of the price it is now, and there were no tourists, just a small, cool backpacker scene." I thought, "Shit, I just arrived. Did I miss it?" In fairness, I probably caught him at a bad time. After 15 years of traveling through the region, he had just sold his bar in Koh Rong, Cambodia, and was headed home. He said he needed some normalcy.

I had some of the best times in Thailand, but after he said, "you missed it," I can't help but wonder what it was like ten years ago. I ask myself, "What's next?" Where's the next backpacker scene? Vietnam? Cambodia? Philippines? Papua New Guinea?

My Bangkok Neighborhood - Premrutai Village

Out of all the countries I've traveled to, I've spent the most time in Thailand, and most of that time was spent in Bangkok. Between two visas, one visa extension, and three return trips, I probably spent over 50 nights in the city.

The majority of my time in BKK was spent in the neighborhood of Premrutai Village. It's a small working- and retirement-class community on the east side of Bangkok's city center. Picture a retirement community in Florida with motorbikes instead of golf carts. It's far from the craziness of Khao San Road and offered some normalcy at a time I needed it. The neighborhood is tucked between the BTS sky train (On Nutt) and the Phra Khanong tributary, roughly at Soi Sukhumvit 50. It's a pretty isolated community because there are only two ways to get to my neighborhood, and one of those ways closes at 9 p.m. (picture below). 

The City @50 Hostel became my home and the people in the community became my neighbors. Here are some of their stories. 

Premrutai Village: My Bangkok Neighborhood

Mr. Sittisak Tub-Ngarm (aka Tui): Works for the City @ 50 Hostel and takes care of all guests during the day shift 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. He's originally from Surin Province but has been living in the area for the last 40 years. He's a lifelong music lover, singer, guitar player, and performer. In his 20s, Tui and his group used to play for vacationing GIs during the Vietnam War. They would entertain by imitating the Brit-rock bands like the Beatles. 

Sway (Beautiful in Thai): Sway was accidentally hit by the owner of the hostel but cared for, loved, and mended back to health. She's now the house dog. Nobody knows how old she is. 

Tao and Pool: Married and have been living in the area for 20 years. They have 1 son and 1 daughter. Tao's machine shop and house is right across from the hostel (you can see the hostel in the background). Tao and his employees are extremely hard workers. They work six days a week and 12 to 14 hours a day. Pool is the life of any party, and what she says goes. She radiates a positive energy that is addicting. After a few Johnnie Walkers, she's been known to speak English and even dance! 

Poom: His mother's family owns the hostel, so he's been living here for the last 2 years. He was kind enough to help translate my questions for the soup lady (picture below). At only 11 years old, he may be shy, but he's intelligent and courageous. He loves soccer and plans to spend a lot of time at the Pattaya water park during his three-month summer vacation.  

Kamporng: She's been living in the neighborhood for 20 years and has been making Tom Yam soup for just as long. She's seen a lot of change in those 20 years, including many more people, but it's good for business! 

Green Gate (closes at 9pm)

Neighborhood Sign

View From My Window

Bridge To Other Village

My 7 Eleven

Thailand - My Taste Buds Thank You!

One of the reasons I enjoy traveling so much is to experience new food, and there's no better place to do that than in Thailand. There's a buffet of new flavors and strange food on every corner of every street in any town all over the region. It's cheap, delicious, and inspires you to go further than you're comfortable with. You never know: you might just discover something you love.

The one dish that is a common theme all over Southeast Asia is spicy noodle soup. For me, it was love at first slurp. It was a palate changer. I've never had a dish satisfy every taste sensation on my tongue, and all at one time. It's prepared a variety of different ways from techniques grandmothers have been passing down for generations. 

While I was in Bangkok, I got really familiar with where to eat, the cheapest place for a beer, where to pick up a motorbike, and specifically, where to find the best Tom Yam (spicy noodle soup). One food stall in particular had my heart, and luckily for me, it was within a few hundred steps from the City @ 50 Hostel, my Bangkok home. I've told other travelers that if I could have communicated at all with the woman (Kamporng) preparing the soup I'd have proposed to her. 

I'm not proud of it, but I kinda stalked her preparation. From what I observed, she prepared the fresh ingredients two hours before opening: boiling the pork-bone broth, cleaning the vegetables, and separating the ingredients. Her food stall and house opened at 10 a.m., and she served bowls of soup until she sold out, usually before 2 p.m.  

Here are the "ingredients" she uses for her special "clear pork noodle soup", a version of Tom Yam (just guessing from my 30+ visits):

-Pork Bone Broth

-Morning Glory

-Sliced Garlic

-Scallions

-Sprouts

-Cilantro

-Crushed Peanuts

-Crushed Red Chilies 

-Fish Cake Slices

-Fish Balls

-Fish Sauce

-Pork Cracklings

-Wonton Cracker 

-Minced Pork

-Chicken Slices

-Salt 

-Sugar

-Soy Sauce

You could get the soup and a local Coke for 43 THB ($1.21).

Thailand Food: A Traveler’s Favorite Dishes

After mixing and slurping, this is how the broth should look. A deep blood-like color with all the good pork juices sticking to the sides of the bowl. Yum!

Kamporng doing work! House rules, socks all day. 

Me and the soup lady. 

Bangkok - A Picture Tour

Grand Palace, dusk. A wonderland of temples and spectacle. 

Muay Thai fight at Rajadmnern Stadium. Thailand’s number one sport. The gambling appears to be as much a part of the spectacle as the fighting, which is still cool to see. Not taking anything away from the fighters, it’s just that there’s a lot of betting.

This boat (I believe it was the orange line) is a great way to see the west bank of the city. For less than 20 baht ($0.50), you can take a 1.5-hour sunset cruise along the Chao Phraya River. It's typically used as local transportation, but some savvy tourists use it as a cruise. It runs along major tourist destinations like Khao San Road and under the Kanchanaphisek Bridge (yellow cable bridge). I hopped on at Saphan Taksin (BTS) and took it all the way to Bangkwang Central Prison (the last stop on the line). 

Bangkwang Central Prison, otherwise known as the Bangkok Hilton. A place where you see tourists from "Locked Up Abroad" go. I had full intentions of donating some food and money to inmate accounts, but they were closed. I later went to the Immigration Detention Center with my pal Dirk, who I met on the road in Pokhara, Nepal. You can read the full story here. 

Khao San Road, a legendary backpacker rite of passage. It offers everything you want, and some things you'll regret (like the fried scorpions!), for cheap. This place goes hard every night of the week. 

Thailand has 7-Elevens on every corner, but I guess this artist isn't too happy with that.  

If you're at the club, or really any decent restaurant in BKK, and you don't finish your bottle, no worries. Put your name on it and tell them you'll be back to drink the rest next Saturday. Everyone buys a bottle when they go out because it's cheap and a quick way to make friends. 

Bangkok is known for its sky bars. If you're in the city, do yourself a favor and hit one sky bar for a sunset. This view is courtesy of the Vertigo & Moon Bar in the Banyan Hotel.  

One of the coolest bars in BKK, and in my favorite neighborhood of Thung Lo. It's called Iron Fairies. It will get crowded, so head to Fat Gutz next door. They usually have live blues and jazz music.  

Need to get through the day? Have the original Red Bull, or one of its hundred other brands. As I've been told, an Austrian man found Red Bull while he was traveling in the 80s. He tailored it to Western taste buds (aka carbonated it) and is now a billionaire. That's my business plan for my next venture. 

Hua Lamphong Station (Central Railroad Station). This pic was taken from a food stall right outside the station while waiting to head south towards the islands. I daydreamed for a good hour... how many backpackers have walked through these doors and how many memories have been created while traveling through Southeast Asia (SEA)? Too many to count...

Weird and Delicious Street Food! 

The Kids! Forum for the Welfare of Himalayan Children

Soon after my Silence in Pokhara video was filmed, I came across this sign... 

So I had to visit, right? 

It just so happens that the founder of the Forum for the Welfare of Himalayan Children (FWHC), Alex, was back from Germany on his annual trip to celebrate the organization's 20th anniversary. He's a remarkable man who has devoted most of his life to helping the orphaned children of Nepal. He showed me around the property, shared his story, and explained the mission of the foundation. 

As we were saying our goodbyes, I felt a need to help out and asked if I could come back. I didn't know what I'd do. I just thought I wanted to hang around the kids for a few hours, maybe teach them how to shoot a basketball. I didn't know... Luckily, and without hesitation, Alex invited me to join a student-led hike to Sarangkot (a mountain village and the best views of Pokhara). Below is a short clip from the trek, led by my pal Santa Raj. He's just one of over ninety kids at the village. 

The children that you see in the video come from the families of poor villagers who can't afford them, families that were displaced during the earthquakes, or parents who had abandoned them. They're basically street kids who've lived on their own until they were found by local governments and brought to FWHC. 

The village educates the children up to age 16. They provide clothes, meals, housing, medical care, and love. FWHC instills a work ethic, discipline, and a set of rules that must be followed. It's the responsibility of each student to wash their clothes, make their bed, work in the garden, and help prepare meals. 

The village also has its own set of rules. It's agreed that the village must generate at least 25% of the expenses in order for the organization to keep its funding. They come up with some pretty creative ways to do this:

- Gardening, which supplies them with fresh fruits and vegetables that they don't have to buy.

- They sell arts and crafts to generate income. 

- They have a guesthouse that they rent out to tourists.

- Local farmers supply them with manure which is converted into methane gas and burned for their stoves.  

- A solar water heater to reduce energy costs. 

- Donations  

I can't say enough about the love and support the housemothers provide for the children. They've created such a warm and loving environment. You feel it as soon as you walk through the doors. You could see from the smiles on their faces that the kids were genuinely happy. 

It's heartbreaking to imagine what would happen to these kids without the village. The Forum for the Welfare of Himalayan Children gives them hope. Life hasn't been fair to these children, but with the love of a village, these kids can grow and excel in life. They've proven to be resilient, so if you feel moved to donate, know that you could be saving the next Santa Raj. If you'd like to support the cause you can send donations here. Since their donations page is not live yet, I will send the money directly to Alex at FWHC.