Rain Forest Resort

These are more pictures from the Rain Forest Resort in Phitsanulok.

This is a chalet. Note how cleverly they have built it around the trees.

That is the chalet we stayed in, on the top left. Most of them are built on high ground giving you an elevated feel.

The dining area ... we are having breakfast!

The dining area from a different angle

The 3 kids enjoying the beautiful grounds of the resort

Ali on the tree house where you can have your meals, enjoy a nap or just chill!

This is the verandah of our room. This picture was taken early in the morning

The view from one of the many tree houses. You can see the river. When we left the resort just before lunch time it was not very crowded and the staff were enjoying their lunch in one of the tree houses along the river. Lucky them!

The river ... I forgot its name, it sounds like the dish khaen som. Will update you the name later. Again this place is about 20 mins out of Phitsanulok town.

Our room, these are 3 out of the 7 beds.

This is the toilet, which is very al-fresco :) On the right is part of the shower and the toilet is on the left. It is hidden as I want you to see the open air roof. Quite nice to bathe or take a pee under the stars!

Can You Believe This Place

We stayed in Phitsanulok the night before we arrived in Chieng Mai. As soon as we arrived in this town we did the usual, look for Muslim food. Thw town of Phitsanulok reminds me of Jakarta. Jam everywhere and rather messy. There was a food festival going on but we decided to stay out of town.

We drove out a little bit off the highway 11 which would take us to Chiang Mai. It was a long and winding road and very dark. The air was getting cooler and it was also late. Felt a bit scary as we didn't know where we were heading.

The catalogue of hotels in Thailand said it was a resort on the river front. What greeted us was something we didn not expect at all. It was spectacular. You know how I was saying about how the Thais build around the trees unlike us Malaysians who take down the trees to build. Well, this resort is the perfect answer for all those idiot Malaysians who don't like trees. This is how to appreciate what god has given us. Malaysians should learn something from this people!

The name of the resort was Rain Forest Resort.

The first picture on top is the toilet. it has several cubicles but see how nice they made it. The second picture is our room. It has seven beds but the layout was really simple. It was nestled within the forest trees.

This is a part of the resort. The resort has only several chalets and each of them is built differently.

Check out the view. There are "tree houses" all over the resort for you to have your meals in. It is a great way to enjoy the view of the river

The kids loved this swing. There were also all kinds of pets around the resort. Parrots, rabbits, birds...

This is our verandah which of course over looked the river. Check out the arhitecture and simple ID. Nothing pretentious or in your face at all

This is the dining area. Loved the lighthing, so romantic!

There are more pictures but I will have to load them later!

Chiang Mai is Cool

We have reached Chiang Mai! We arrived safe and sound after a week of travelling on Sunday Dec 21 2008. I think there were many sighs of relieve that we actually did it! I think I heaved the biggest sigh as it was not easy at all. Travelling with Ali is indeed a challenge.

Actually for that matter travelling with kids for so many hours in a car is a feat and a challenge. The constant cries of how many hours more, why do we have to take so long, when can we stop, where are we now. You who have kids would know what I mean. Travelling to Penang is enough of a challenge for some of us so imgaine being in a confined space for more than 5 hours.

Yup ... I did it. Many a times I had to take Ali out of his car seat as he was getting restless. I can't blame the boy I mean he is 1 and half years old and is crazy about being on his feet exploring this and that and then suddenly you ask him to sit still. GILA lah he is proabably saying.

Anyways, we started at Wang Kelian last Monday. Today we are in Chiang Mai. We stopped at Krabi for 2 night ( I was sick ...), Khao Lak for a night, Chumpon for a night, SuphanBuri one night, Phitsanulok one night and probably spend another night in Chiang Mai.

The drive up was pretty interesting. What I noticed about the drive up is that there are always people and villages about. We travelled on major highways but their highways are not like Malaysia's PLUS. No toll for one and a steady stream of cars. Village after village, just a matter of size. There is always a petrol station in sight and a 7-11 too. So you never have to worry about going hungry. The scene changed a bit as we we were entering the Chumpon area as it is a big town and traffic is heavier with the number of people increasing and the night life more happening. After Champun you get nearer Bangkok. We didn't go into Bangkok but being around it (Rathchaburi etc) is enough as you can feel the hustle and bustle of the city life. The highway at this point gets busier too.

After Phitsanulok, going into Lamphun and the Chiang Mai area, the scenery starts to change too. One because of the weather. the greens get a little brown and the paddy fields are a little drier. The highway changes as there are no more villages but instead a windy road. As we get nearer Chiang Mai then the highway changes and you see again the big intersections.

What is Chiang Mai like? Bob said reminds him of Jakarta. I think its a bigger Hat Yai. The feel? Not sure yet. Have been here for less than 24 hours and have not seen much of the city. There are a lot og temples around, some are pretty nice. They say shopping here is heaven but I have not experienced the night markets yet. Will update you on that later. The weather is nice. It is cool, not humid.

We have run into some car trouble now. Bob has just come back from Land Rover and they are not much help. We have to figure out what to do now cause the car might now be able to take a long drive home. Well, am assured that the airport is not far!

Khao Lak

Thursday Dec 18 2008: Khao Lak

I treat this place as the perfect recovery location. Look at this scenic beauty and tell me you won't agree?

I missed the entire drive there as I fell asleep when I got into the car as Bob drove us out of Krabi. I woke up somewhere in Phang-Nga about two hours later and I said we needed to stop as I really needed to lie down.

Next thing I knew we were in Khao Lak. Barely saw the town as we drove by, half my eyes were closed. It looks a little like Krabi, dotted with internet cafes, laundry houses, cafes, bistros and little novelty shops. But the streets are broader and you can see it is still a development site. The sea is a gorgeous blue as far as the horizon can see, definitely a must visit for any beach lover.

We stayed at the Khao Lak Resort, it was nestled within the forest and like most Thai resorts, they build around the trees instead if chopping them down to make way for the concrete buildings.

This is the verandah from our room overlooking the sea, the breeze was really nice. It was so cool I slept with the fan only and left the sliding doors open. There was a mosquitoe net and this helped keep the insects at bay.

Bob and the kids disappeared soon enough to the pool while I got my much needed rest. After all this was recovery zone rite! Oh yes, we paid 4300Baht, not bad for what we got. For this price at this time, we couldn't find anything reasonable in Krabi. Must say Krabi is getting a little overpriced.


The beach view from the coffee house ...

There is a buggy to take you to your rooms which are nestled among the trees but the walk alone is really nice and cool. The trees whispering in the wind, the leaves rustling. Wish I was well to enjoy it as much as the rest did but I did get half of it when I woke up the next day

The kids really enjoyed the beach. It was not crowded at all and exceptionally clean. There were little crabs crawling in and out of the holes which Ali loved chasing

The waves were really nice to place with. Even Ali braved the waves and enjoyed the salty water. Check out the view of the hills in the horizon

This is a perfect postcard picture isn't it?!?

Another nice view of the resort. We were the only Asians there by the way. A nice place for the family. There were many swimming pools too. All were hidden behind the trees. The concept would be you don't have to walk for to get to a pool

One of the many pools the kids had their share of

That night Bob went to the night market to check out dinner. It was really happening and lively. Almost like a funfair. There was so much food to choose from. Bob came back with many sticky rice dishes including our favourite mango sticky rice! The night life is definitely for the lively and young. Give it a few years time and I am sure Khao Lak will boom like Krabi now and perhaps Phuket someday

Khao Lak was also hit by the Tsunami in 2004 but it recovered just as fast. There are shops all along the beach and some resort owners have been brave enough to even build off the beach. There are many beach resorts/hotels and bed and breakfast options to choose from. It being peak season, the prices are very reasonable.

This is Ali trying to befriend this little girl on the beach ...

We even stopped at the Le Meridien to ask for the price and was expecting 1000RM a night or something but was surpriced when they said 6000Baht. About the same price of a not so many star resort in Krabi. It was about three hours off Krabi but from the map its very near Phuket.

I think this will definitely be a favourite destination of ours in future. We can fly to Phuket and take public transport there. RATING ****

Krabi Dec 16 to 18

This time around in Krabi we stayed at the Phra Nang Inn which is on the beach front. The pool is kinda wierd but the kids liked it. It was a lonnnnnggggg rectangle! it was divided by a little bridge and was narrow. But kids and a pool, whatever the shape, it doesn't matter.

Have to apologise here as there are no picture of Krabi as I was sick! And I mean seriously sick, I was in bed most of the time. Had a bad attack of tonsils and fever due to that cat allergy I wrote about earlier ...

The two girls in Krabi ...

This is Uncle Sam and Kak Sharifah and their kids. This was at out favourite beach front restaurant, YaYa Beach. The seafood is EXCELLENT and fresh. The price, cheaper than most places even for the lobster. If ever you are in Krabi, this is where you have to go to get good food.

In Krabi, stay on Aonang Beach. This is the best part of Krabi and the most happening area. I don't see much night life in Aonang therefore find it to be a very suitable place indeed for families. It is very different from Phuket (but I have only been there once). It is peak season in Krabi during the Nov to March with the highest in December but sadly our friends sad that this year there is not much traffic at all. Could be due to several reasons, economy, negative media reports on the "events" in Bangkok or the shoe size 10 flying on Bush's face (ok ...uncalled for) but whatever it is, the retailers and hoteliers there are suffering!

We have several favourite hotels in Krabi so this one was a first for us. Out favourites are Somkiet Buri (the owner is Muslim so the food is halal) and Peace Laguna ( the chalets are really nice). Best you go on the internet to surf hotels and prices.

Krabi is a good place for the kids and family holidays. RATING ***

Dinner at Koh Lanta

Monday Dec 15 2008 8.30pm

We arrived at Koh Lanta, Thailand at about 8.30pm that night. Not so bad as to how we crossed the border so late. Koh Lanta is where our Thai friend Rath is from. He will accompany us on our great drive up to Chieng Mai. He cooked us a nice dinner, there were so many dishes we didn't know where to start.

Can't remember what fish this is but it was really very very good. Crispy and a little burnt, just the way I like it!

This is a beef dish, almost like rendang. Now the picture taken is the right way up and I can't seem to find the right way to rotate it so ... better this than none!

This is a whole set of ulams. Thais are very big on ulams....

Ahhhh....this was the killer dish. Steamed crab .....

Which goes very well with your five choices of sambal. One not good enough, there were five! And all were verry hot .... as in PEDAS!

There were other dishes too of course. Tom Yam, vege soup for the kids, sweet and sour something, mussels in kein som (not sure if I spelt it right), mushrooms with egg ....

YUMMY! A great way to end a long drive....

The Road Trip Begins!

Sunday: Dec 14 2008

We woke up on a high note that morning and started rushing about the house seeing to last minute things. I woke up feeling a little out of it as I was suffering from a bad allergy attack due to my cousin's cat but I said let's go anyway. If we keep on postponing we might never go!

Bob loaded the carrier box which was just fixed on the day before, packed our other stuff in (believe me we had a lot! there was a recovery box, a food box (the MAGGI remember) and diapers and Ali's milk ....We loaded the kids in and we were off at 10.43am.

Our first destination was Bukit Mertajam. We were thinking of breaking the journey there but it seemed like the longest drive we ever took there because we knew we had a way longer drive ahead we stopped everywhere. To get water, to get panadol soluble for me, to go to the toilet...

Nadiah was seated right at the back and she was quite fast at making a bed shift bed for herself ... and as usual her snacks!
Oh yes! Forgot to tell you that Bob invested in a latest gadget that has proven to be very useful on the trip, a Garmin GPS (yes Ebi....) It talks really well too, no broken English, even in Thailand.

We finally arrived in Bukit Mertajam and decided to just visit the relatives and sleep nearer the border so we had a shorter drive the next day. We ended up in Sungai Petani which is quite good too considering I have never spent the night there.

Ali managed to hitch a ride from the bellboy when we got to the hotel we were staying at in Sungai Petani. It was the Park Avenue Hotel with a Pelita nearby. Since then, he can't seem to let any bellboy go, he wants a ride!

Monday Dec 15 2008:

We left Sungai Petani quite early and we were joined by family friends Uncle Sam and Kak Sharifah and their kids. Bob and I headed up first to the border as Sam had some car problems which required them to stop in Alor Star. We decided to visit Bob's uncle in Kuala Perlis...had a good lunch of ikan pekasam! It is nice and green up north in Perlis ... all the paddy fields as far as your eyes can see

We finally made our way to the Wang Kelian border about 4ish I believe. I also didn't take any pictures at the border. Why? It looked gray. We prefer using that border entry now cause it is not congested at all especially during the weekdays. We don't have to queue like usual in Bukit Kayu Hitam and there is no long long long line of lorries. I can't stand that. Besides the drives there is more pleasant, a bit windy but has a better feel to it. This picture is the drive up to Wang Kelian ... this is the valley below, nice and green, still preserved. I am sure some greedy person is wondering what he/she can do with it!!!

Even as you enter Thailand you feel calm ... cause the entry point was calm. The only thing is it closes at 6pm. But seriouslu, I advise you to try this checkpoint to Thailand next time, even the immigration officers on both sides are nicer!