Thailand Part 1 - The Ultimate 'Neo-Syden'...

For more photos of 'neo-Syden' click album 1, album 2

After a few relaxing days on Langkawi, we were off to the all time Scandinavian favorite, Thailand. Thailand to me is the ultimate 'neo-Syden'. Most of you Norwegians reading this blog are familiar and probably very comfortable with the concept of 'Syden'. When explaining this concept, some of my foreign friends have found it quite amusing. For you who don't know it, let me explain it very briefly. Traditionally 'Syden' has been the warmer areas of southern Europe; places with beaches, cheap food and drinks; places that are a little different but not too different from home. In Syden you can get Norwegian food, Norwegian newspapers and you'll meet Norwegians working in the restaurants etc. Another characteristic is that you can go on charter or package tours directly from Norway. Traditional Syden destinations are, for instance, Mallorca, Cyprus, the Greek islands, the Canary Islands etc. You get the picture. In recent years, however, Syden as a geographic area has broadened and Thailand, among other non-Mediterranean countries, has emerged as a top Syden destination; or what I will call 'neo-Syden'.

Anyway, from Langkawi we took the boat across the border and got on shore in Satun, a city that doesn't have too much to offer, so we went straight to Krabi. Krabi is a quiet and charming town worth staying for a day or two, although it is not too exciting. We stayed here one night only, but we had time to walk around the night market and go on a boat trip up the river to see a cave and a fish farm. Early next morning we were picked up and started the journey towards the famous Phi Phi Islands. Phi Phi is not only known for its towering mountains, pristine beaches, and marine life. The islands were also devastated by the tsunami in 2004. On the main island, Ko Phi Phi Don, which is the only island that is inhabited, around 5000 people was killed by the tsunami. Today it is all rebuilt and not much remind you of that tragic event four years ago.

Krabi is a small and charming city nicely situated by a river. We had an interesting encounter with a few of the inhabitants of the fish farm...

To get to the Phi Phis we booked a day trip to some of the islands, and as the tour stopped at Phi Phi Don for lunch we grabbed our luggage and left the group. The next two days were spent here, on one of the most touristic islands you can imagine. We hadn't seen too many Scandinavians on our travels so far, but Phi Phi almost gave us an overdose...

The islands around Phi Phi Don are stunningly beautiful, if you manage to see past the masses of tourists, which isn't always so easy. For instance, we stopped at the famous 'the Beach', known from the movie with the same name, and we literally had to fight our way through all the speedos in world. At least that is how it felt. 'The Beach' was more packed than Bondi Beach on a hot Australian summer day. But again, with a little effort, you can see through the crowds and experience some extraordinary natural pieces of art. Imagine to be the only one there! I made an effort to capture these natural sights without too many people spoiling them, and I think it worked. However, here is one showing how the Phi Phi islands really look like....

On one of the days we went sea kayaking. We figured it would give us a better chance to get a bit away from biggest crowds, and we were right. Although Monkey Beach was quite packed at times, we had some moments almost by ourselves. After two days of Swedish meatballs, Norwegian waffles, Russians wearing stilettos on the beach, restaurants named 'Viking-something' and techno music it was time to move on. We took the ferry to Phuket, on the other side of the Andaman sea. In Phuket we stayed for one night, in the city, before taking the long road up to 'the Venice of Asia', also known as Bangkok, and further up to the north of Thailand.

Sea kayaking is a nice way of escaping the biggest boat-loads of tourists

The next part of our Thai adventure is under construction, but will be out soon. So stay tuned for 'Thailand Part 2 - More than just 'Neo-Syden'!!