Firdaus Mohandas

"we haven´t even started packing yet", I screamed on June 14th 2009. You see it was like this - my family and I were leaving for Thailand at midnight on the 15th of June 2009. Here we were on the 14th, and not a thing was packed. There was a note of extreme panic and urgency in my voice. My parents just replied, "None of our holidays have gone wrong till now, have they?"

Till now?

Huh?

We Managed Finally 15th June 2009 11:31 - Tension, tension and more tension. I had been sick the whole day and had got a cavity and been taken to the dentist and had lost a tooth. I was shoving in stuffed toys and books into my bag busily. My mother was shoving in clothes, her own books and trying to lock the doors (unsuccessfully). My father was locking our bags, helping my mother to lose the house keys, putting all our bookings and tickets in a gray and black pouch, while I kept pestering him to unlock the bags so I could put in more books in it. (He refused once or twice then let me put in three books).

On the Plane Finally, when the taxi reached the airport we all heaved a sigh of relief. The whole way the cab´s speedometer hadnt dipped below 105. We got a luggage trolley and put stuff on it and disaster! I was wheeling the trolley, and to my credit I bumped into people only seven or eight times. We got into the airport and checked in our luggage and then we went to the airport stores which were open at past midnight. Some night bazaar, huh, totally bizarre. I bought nothing but smarties and chocolates. Finally at 3:00 a.m. our plane arrived - Cathay Pacific. It left at 3:30. Our seats were A38, A39, and A40. There were three families with loads of children, who kept on yelling and crying. Whenever they would start howling my parents and I wished. (Well, never mind what we wished.) When I put on the T.V, after searching I managed to find Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Finally, when we reached Bangkok we were surprised to see the colour of the taxis. They were red, yellow, blue, pink, blue+pink, green, green+red, orange and orange+yellow. For the first time in my life I saw Tuk-Tuks. They were like Indian autos but much bigger and very colourful and extremely clean and tidy.

In Bangkok We took a blue+pink taxi from the airport to our hotel Sawasdee Langsuan Inn. It was an extremely cold day in Bangkok with chances of a light shower later in the day. After about three hours of being in the hotel we went to a shopping mall called MBK. It was an indoor mall but it was humongous and there was almost everything you could think of. It was there that I got my camera. After leaving MBK we went back to our hotel. After playing some games and reading a bit, we went out and had dinner. It was a carnivore´s delight. Soon after dinner I popped off to sleep.

Phew! The next day at about 7:00 we took a tuk-tuk to a car rental store from where we had booked a Toyota Vios. We paid the money, got into the car, drove back to the hotel, checked out, got our luggage and away we drove. You wouldn´t believe the amount of wrong turns we took in Bangkok. We were sent to almost every street there was to go to. At 12:15 am we were still driving. Around us was complete wilderness, absolute darkness, no streets lights or (gulp) people, very heavy rain on all sides. We had no hope. We had almost given up. We seriously thought of spending the night in the car, at least I did. Then, all of a sudden, we saw a large pretty building which was a hotel. We went in and asked if they had any empty rooms. They did. In fact, they had only empty rooms. As you can imagine, the very minute I lay on the bed my eyes closed and I was asleep.

Another Day In the morning when we looked around the hotel it was absolutely beautiful and scenic. It had a lovely private beach and as soon as I stepped on to the soft sand, it sank under my feet. I went absolutely crazy because I hadn´t been to a beach for ages. Then we went and had breakfast at the restaurant and I happily tucked in to the food because I was really starving. The truth is, I threw a most beastly tantrum and had to be coaxed into eating my egg. After that we got into the car and hit the road. The drive was really great, partly because of the view and partly because of the weather. We reached Phuket at around 2:00 (an earthly hour, thankfully.) We found a hotel at 6:00 (oops). It was a nice hotel, not located right on the beach but on a road going straight to it.

From Phuket to Phi-Phi We had a great time at the beach. I kept jumping waves and swimming with them. My parents swam with the waves. At night we went to a nice open air restaurant (all the restaurants were) and had an exotic dinner (pizza for me, as usual). The next day when we woke up in the morning, we started packing our things because we were going on a ferry to Phi-Phi Islands. It was past ferry time and we were still on the road. We decided that we would catch the 3:00 p.m. ferry instead of the 9:00 a.m. one. We went to the Rasada Pier anyway to wait for the next one, and found that our ferry hadn´t reached yet.

When we clambered on to the ferry with everyone else, I noticed that the ferry had three levels. First we went and sat in the lounge, chose our seats and kept our luggage. We then went and sat on the deck admiring the spectacular view. There were many rocks with green seaweed on them. They were growing right in the middle of the Andaman Sea. When we first saw Phi-Phi we wondered how there could be any hotels on it because it was just one big rock. Then, when we got closer we noticed that Phi-Phi was like a ´U´ with a lovely row of beaches inside it. Our ferry stopped at the port and we got off and did not know what to do. Suddenly we noticed that there were all these guys waving signs for various hotels.

We found one who was waving a sign for our hotel. When we went up to him he told us that his boat was coming since Bay View was on the other side of the island. So after waiting for some time, the boat came and away we went. The sea was very calm and the water was a perfect temperature. Just by looking into the water you could see lots of coral reefs. When we reached Bay View it was impossible for the boat to go right to the land. So, our boat guy lifted me up and when he was putting me on the land I tumbled out of his grasp and fell straight on the soft sand. It didn´t hurt at all. Then we went into the hotel and drank some orange juice. Then we went up the little island and got into our cottage.

Phi-Phi was amazing. It had lovely calm blue waters which looked as if they stretched for miles. The water rippled gently about with big rocks jutting out of unexpected places, as the never ending sea shone in the sunlight. Suddenly a happy feeling came over me and I started jumping around in pure delight. The wooden floor creaked as I jumped on it.

Phi-Phi and Phi-Phi Town We didn´t do much that day. We just lazed around the beach and explored the hotel. We didn´t do any swimming. It was a calm, peaceful day for us to get our senses back after a couple of rushing and manic days and we were thoroughly relaxed. When it was time for dinner we went down to the beach and ate some really good Thai seafood (Pizza for me as usual).Then we went for a walk around the beach and found that it was a very lively little place at night. There were fireflies roaming around and the sea was gently swaying in the night breeze. We started to feel sleepy, so we went to the hotel and to bed.

The next day we woke up and went down to the breakfast hall and helped ourselves to a buffet breakfast. After that we went down to the beach and rested and I took some photographs of the sea. Then we went and had a good look at Phi-Phi town. It was a magical little place. There were little restaurants everywhere and it was very merry. After having a good look at the town, we went back to Bay View and just lazed around till lunch when we went back to town. We found this little place which had super seafood. I had a meal which consisted of only prawns. After lunch we went to the beach and swam.

Well, we didn´t do much swimming, because the water was so shallow. But we did wade out quite far into the sea. We saw a gigantic coral reef deep out in the water. Of course, after all that swimming we were really tired, so we went and slept till about tea time. At tea time we went into town and had cakes beside the beach. After that we went shopping. The shops were not like the shops in MBK where it was completely modern and air-conditioned. It had a very nice, quaint feel about it. The shops were open-air and the weather was simply superb. We bought lots of clothes and after reaching the hotel we went and looked at the other hotels on the island. Then we went and played beach volleyball and I kept falling on the sand. Once when I smashed the ball, I fell over the net. The amount of sand that fell on me was really unbelievable. For the next two minutes I did nothing but cough out sand. We went and lazed around watched a movie, played a game and stuff like that, till dinner. Dinner consisted of sour curry and a fish with a long name. (Pizza...you guessed it) After dinner it was bed. Oh man! Straight away.

Calm Wind, Blue Waters...Quicksand and Sharks The next day after a huge breakfast we took a motorboat to our hotel, Zeavola. It was a very nice hotel because it was in a tropical forest. When you went out you were on the beach. The only problem was the mosquitoes. But it was not much of a problem anyway. Zeavola was not on Phi-Phi Don, unlike most hotels, but on Phi-Phi Leh. On a small island quite far away from Phi-Phi Leh there was another island which had a beach called Long Beach where there was quicksand and sharks. (Oops, I´m scared) But the sharks couldn´t go to far from Long Beach because there was some kind of underwater netting which the sharks could not cross. (Thank goodness) We spent the day at Zeavola in a very relaxed fashion. No tension, no boats to catch and lots of time on our hands. We found a nice little restaurant on the beach, ate, went back to the room and played a game and went to sleep.

Lost! The next day after breakfast we went and saw normal fish, jellyfish and anonymous fish. At least anonymous to me, that is. At about 1:00 p.m. we left Phi-Phi hoping that Chaing-Mai would also be nice. The ferry took us to Phuket Rasada Pier from where we took our car and drove off. We spent the night at Phang-Na.

Tt was 12:30 p.m. We were goodness knows where. (Are we in trouble, or what??) We had been asking people the way to Ayuthaya, which was our destination and getting a volley of different directions from each person. Finally we ended up on a highway to Myanmar, (What next?) when my father said "I think we are going wrong". He stopped the car and asked a man who informed us that we were on target for Myanmar and even drove us to the right highway. (Nice guy) Then we kept going and finally reached Ayuthaya. Well, you might think that after all that driving we deserved a good rest. But you thought wrong. For miles we found nothing but empty roads. Finally there was a hotel in sight. We spent the night there. Ayuthaya turned out to be a rather old, forgotten town, but lively at the same time. And as soon as I touched the bed I was asleep.

Chiang Mai After reaching our hotel, Holiday Inn at a reasonable time, we had a normal day. The next day we drove of for Shangri-La and reached in 20 minutes. It was a combination of old fashioned style and modern material, which was quite nice. The days at Shangri-La went peacefully, playing golf and tennis and swimming and having a good time. The staff was rather pleasant as well. Then suddenly I realized that the holiday was almost over and in 5 days it was back to Delhi. The night malls at Chiang Mai were quite interesting. You would ask a ´took-took´ to take you there and then you could shop to your hearts content. After two days at Shangri-La we drove off for Bangkok. Goodness, how time flies.

The End of the Holidays We reached Bangkok at 12. I said Bangkok, not our hotel Amari, so don´t think that we are on time. When we looked at the map we realized that Amari was on a 10 km road. (When will this ever stop?) The road went on for about half an hour, (Well, not so bad) and when Amari finally came in sight we were so hungry, that includes everyone except me, that we couldn´t wait to eat. So we stopped at a mini soup place on the road. My parents ate, but I only grumbled. (Bad boy, Dausi) So we went into Amari, soaking wet. Oh, I forgot it was raining outside. Now, where was I? Oh, right. We entered Amari, soaking wet, checked in and found that we didn´t know how to control the lift. Then we saw people were putting their keys into a slit and felt rather sheepish. Amari was quite a decent hotel. We spent two days there rather peacefully. A small restaurant opposite Amari had an amazing variety of foods. Finally, the leaving day came. We were all rather sober. The flight went quite comfortably all the way. When we reached Delhi, there was a large valley of clouds and mist below us. Staring at the clouds and mist I thought to myself - What a holiday, explored half of Thailand, seen such gorgeous places. Hmm, I wonder what we would do next holiday. Maybe we would have a look at the other half of Thailand.

But, that´s another story!

Alisha Gupta

I along with my parents and elder brother Abhishek started our journey to Thailand from Indira Gandhi International Airport at New Delhi. As our Cathay Pacific flight was to leave on September 19 at 0330 hours we reached the airport by a private taxi by around 0030 hours. We stood at the Airline Check-in counter and waited for our turn. At the time of check-in we were politely informed about the delay in our flight by over 3 hours.  With heavy heart and at this bad omen, we checked in our luggage and I got my first international flight boarding pass. Thereafter we went to the Immigration counters and I was thrilled to get first stamp on my Passport. Once the immigration formality was over, my father told that we were not outside the territorial jurisdiction of India. It evoked a mixed and a sad feeling in me to be leaving my beloved country, though temporarily.

I along with my parents and elder brother Abhishek started our journey to Thailand from Indira Gandhi International Airport at New Delhi. As our Cathay Pacific flight was to leave on September 19 at 0330 hours we reached the airport by a private taxi by around 0030 hours. We stood at the Airline Check-in counter and waited for our turn. At the time of check-in we were politely informed about the delay in our flight by over 3 hours.  With heavy heart and at this bad omen, we checked in our luggage and I got my first international flight boarding pass. Thereafter we went to the Immigration counters and I was thrilled to get first stamp on my Passport. Once the immigration formality was over, my father told that we were not outside the territorial jurisdiction of India. It evoked a mixed and a sad feeling in me to be leaving my beloved country, though temporarily.

I spent the next few hours wandering all over the airport, window shopping for the duty free goodies and other stuff. It was such an amazing sight, seeing and meeting fellow travellers from all over the world with people belonging to diverse countries, speaking different languages, wearing varied costumes and belonging to different cultures, all under one roof. After getting tired, I massaged my feet in the automatic foot massager and fell asleep within my seat at the airport.

My mother woke me up in the morning and told that Boarding has been announced. I stood in the queue and was happy to be finally entering the Cathay Pacific aircraft. On taking my seat, I immediately began using the in-flight entertainment system and started enjoying the same. However, my joy was cut short by the in-flight announcement requesting us to vacate the flight as the aircraft needed to be fumigated against swine flu. We finally re entered the aircraft after about half an hour and I prayed to God to let me have an uninterrupted flight hereafter.

God heard my prayers and there were no interruptions thereafter. After enjoying a sumptuous breakfast, our flight landed at the Bankok’s Swarnabhumi airport at 1230 hrs. As Bangkok is one hour thirty minutes ahead of India, I moved forward my watch by 90 minutes to be in line with local time, i.e. 1400 hrs. The experience of using a floor escalator for the first time in life was left me dumbfounded. The experience of going through the immigration, filling up Thai language form, passport stamping and customs clearance was a new and educative one. We were now officially in Bangkok, Thailand.

We came out of the airport and were welcomed by Thai girls in their traditional nationalistic style. I enjoyed some wonderful new ice cream flavours at the airport arrival lounge. We ate lunch prepared by mother and carried with her.

Hereafter, we began our journey to Pattaya by luxury, air-conditioned coach along with our guide Mr. Sam and fellow travellers of the group. On the way to Pattaya we stopped at McDonalds and KFC restaurants for light snacks and water. The items on the menu were very different from the ones we generally see at our local outlets in India and the taste though different was delicious. The roads during the journey were very clean and comfortable and offered a beautiful view of the countryside with vast greenery, large trucks, flyovers and markets.

The first sights of Pattaya were very beautiful. The clean beaches with blue waters, white sands, sunny beaches, crowded markets, colourful vehicles, tall buildings, boats and street food were a totally new experience for me. We checked into Pattaya Garden Hotel and went to our rooms. The rooms were large, air-conditioned, and had a Television as well as a well stocked refrigerator. After having a comforting swim we went to watch the world famous Tiffany’s cabaret show.

The Tiffany´s Show is one of the world´s most famous Cabaret Show, which was watched by about 500 people who enjoyed its spectacular performances. Tiffany´s artists’ talent was undeniable and the artists performed on various sets (15 different sets and backdrops), languages and numbers. I especially enjoyed the artists beautiful performance on our very own Hindi film song, “Dola re” of Devdas.  The show with its star-studded music and dance extravaganza complete with light and sound systems was amazing, spectacular and touched my heart.

We walked back from the Tiffany’s show to our Hotel enjoying the evening and the cool sea breeze. The roads were full of tourists who were enjoying themselves. On the way back we relished the famous Thai street food and also had ice creams at the omnipresent seven eleven stores.

The next day morning we woke u early and went for a swim in the Hotel´s pool and enjoyed continental buffet breakfast thereafter. At 9 AM our Guide Mr.Sam took us to the Pattaya beach by bus. The beach was very neat and clean with its clear blue waters in the shining sun. Once on the beach we wore life jackets and boarded high speed boat which was to take up to Coral island. The boat with its powerful propellers moved on the South China sea at such a tremendous speed that all of us were enthralled. The cool morning breeze striking my hair and cheeks made the moments unforgettable. In no time we reached our first halt, that was, a platform on the sea.

I was scared to see so many people participating in parachute gliding but still wanted to do it. My father purchased the tickets and much against my thoughts, I decided to take the plunge.  I wore the life jacket and the parachute with nylon cords and shackles. The cord was tied on one end of the speed boat and as the speed boat started its journey in the sea it pulled me and in no time I was in the air. It was such a terrifying moment and for once I thought that I am going to fall down and drown in the sea. However, after a few seconds I actually started enjoying the sail in the air. I was like on top of the worlds and from where everything appeared so tiny. The speed boat operator then played a game with me. He suddenly stopped cruising and in I yelled and cried since I was rapidly falling and reaching the sea. Within few moments I had dropped in the sea and was fearing for my life and thinking that the sharks in the sea would attack me and eat me up. I sincerely started praying to the God for my safety. The next moment I found that the boat had restarted and was picking up speed. I was once again in the air and started enjoying the natural beauty. After some time, I landed back on the platform safely and in one piece. My God! what a terrifying yet fulfilling experience it was.

The next halt was on a platform in the middle of sea just near the Coral islands. People on this platform were enjoying scuba diving along with professional divers. I also wanted to explore the depths of the sea and be amongst the fish and marine vegetation. Though I was slightly anxious, I decided to undertake this scary activity as well. I put on the glove and a glass mask with oxygen supply and went in the sea along with a professional diver to escort me. The sea was about 5 meters deep and the view was unimaginable. I could see large number of fish in all sizes, shapes and colours. I fed some food items to the fish and touched few of them. The fish also touched me all over the body and I felt a strange tickling sensation. The rich vegetation, marine life left be dumbfounded. We walked on the sea floor for some time. A video shoot of our underwater adventure was also taken by the divers. They gave the same to us in the form of a CD. We came out of the sea after about 25 minutes. The experience was completely new and adventurous.

We finally reached the Coral island after travelling on the speed boat. After alighting from the boat I realized that the sand was very white and the sea water crystal clear and I could see fish in the water. We took some rest in the tents and enjoyed boiled corn along with coconut water which was very tasty. Changing into our swimming costumes, we went for a swim in the clean, cool comforting waters. I was amazed to see that my body could actually float in the sea water without any difficulty and I realized that the salinity of sea water was high and may be similar to the salt content of dead sea, which allowed me to float freely. I also did a round of water skiing on the sea and enjoyed it thoroughly.

The journey back to the shore took about 30 minutes and was rather uneventful. Once ashore we had lunch at an Indian restaurant which was very delicious.

After lunch, we did some shopping at the local floating market and bought very many handicrafts and mementos. The entire market is situated around water and can be reached by way of wooden bridges. Journey around the market is also possible in boats. I fed bananas and other fruits to a baby elephant at the market. In the evening we went out in the markets and explored the various goodies which were on offer including gems and jewellery, clothes, leather items, etc. It was an altogether new experience for me to be going around and shopping in a floating market.

The next day morning we checked out of the Hotel and started on our journey to the capital city of Thailand, Bangkok in an AC bus. After about two hours we reached Bangkok. It is a lovely city, distinctly modern and westernized, with tall buildings, good roads, sky trains, flyovers and very polite and disciplined people. Major tourist attractions include glittering Buddhist temples, palaces, canal and river scenes, rich cuisine, classical dance extravaganzas, and numerous shopping centres. Before checking in to our Hotel we visited the world famous Buddhist temple Wat Trimit. The large standing Gold statue of Lord Buddha inspired religious feelings in me. We were told that the statue is made of solid gold and weighs 5.5 tonnes. The temple was very huge and large number of Thai people were worshipping for good health and speedy recovery of their King, who was not keeping well.

At Bangkok we checked in at the Hotel White Orchid which was situated in a busy market place, the Chinatown. It was a good comfortable Hotel but lacked a swimming pool. After taking rest, we went out and did shopping at the MVK Mall and came back to the Hotel in the evening. At the Mall we had snacks at McDonalds as well as KFC. The Mall had a lot of gold jewellery shops, clothes, leather goods and electronics. A large number of Indians were also shopping at the Mall.

At night we went out and tasted the ethnic Chinese food being sold by the roadside. Though tasty it was not the same as the Chinese food available in India.

The next morning, we started our journey to Safari World by a private airconditioned Van, after enjoying buffet breakfast at the Hotel. The entry to the Safari World was very inspiring and there were a large number of three dimensional, real like replicas of various wild animals like giraffe, elephants and zebra welcoming us.

The park is spread over a large area with animals housed in various enclosures. In between all throughout the day various animal shows are organised. In the Safari world we saw many kinds of different birds, tigers, polar bear, crocodiles, elephants, sea lions, etc. We also saw beautiful performances by various animals during the 20-30 minute shows like sea lions, chimpanzees, elephants and dolphins. I really loved the dolphin show as well as the elephant show. The shows evoked enthusiastic clapping by the audience specially a large number of smartly dressed school children from Bangkok. I also remembered about my beloved country India when I realized that Hindi film songs sung by Mr.Himmesh Reshamiya were playing in the background at the venue.

The most thrilling moment of the entire trip was the time when I along with my parents and brother held a 5 feet tiger cub in my lap and fed milk to him. Its body was so soft, ferocious looking teeth and claws. It was looking extremely dangerous. Though initially terrified, I could handle it without much problems. I also held another young tiger cub which was very cuddly and hardly 1.5 feet in length. It was all so very exciting and something I may never forget.

I along with many many school children fed bananas to tall giraffes by climbing on a platform. Though I had fed cows, buffaloes, dogs and elephants, feeding so many tall giraffes was something entirely new to me.

In the evening, we went for a wild safari to protected national park in ac buses. In the park we saw lions, tigers, rhinoceros, various types of deer, giraffe, zebra, bear, birds and many other animals. We could see the animals in their natural habitat away from captivity. It was so very interesting to see these ferocious animals roaming about freely in the wild without any fear.

We returned back to the Hotel after a memorable day spent amongst the wild animals taking pictures and feeding tiger cub and giraffes and seeing the acrobatic activities of dolphins..

The next day morning we went to see the largest statue of reclining Buddha at the Wat Po temple. The statue was marvellous and the environment in the temple was very peaceful and quite. Large number of tourists and devotees from across the world were visiting the temple. The tourists were also putting a large number of small coins in many vessels kept in the temple.

Coming back to the Hotel we had lunch and started our return journey to the Bangkok airport. At the airport we did some shopping at the Duty Free shops and killed our time enjoying the large, clean and imposing airport. We took the Cathay Pacific flight from Bangkok to New Delhi and fortunately the flight was on time. The flight arrived at New Delhi as per schedule and we reached back sweet home after clearing the emigration and customs.

Though happy at being home, I would always remember my maiden journey abroad and that too amongst very hospitable, friendly and polite people. I learnt about the culture of Thai people, foods, currency, environment, cleanliness, occupations, natural beauty, wild life, water sports and marine life. I would never forget the thoroughly enjoyable trip to Thailand.

Venus Williams

Actually this is only my second time in Thailand, but my family´s been here too my sister Serena, my Mom and my sister Eisha and we just had a great time here, we obviously know about all the great vacation spots like pattaya, phi phi and Koh Samui and went to Chiva Som in Hua Hin and she always talks about that you know how is was great and she lost weight and it was amazing and I have been hearing that for 2 years.

I think what´s amazing about Thailand is that the people are really so nice and warm, really friendly and sweet, they always want to give you a hugg so its feels great and I have lots of friends here too and I think its amazing too like in Thailand you can be in the mountains, and you can be on the beach, and you can be like where the planes are so I think its amazing different kinds of land.

Katie Dickie

I´ve never been here before, but I´ve been so excited about coming, I´ve heard some amazing things, I arrived this morning at 6 o´clock, so I haven´t had much of a chance to look around, but I´ve got so many friends who have been here before, and they told me how wonderful this place is so far the people are so friendly & happy.

The country looks beautiful, Bangkok looks a really exciting city.

Thomas Livezey

"I have family in Thailand that´s why I come here very often. I´ve really fallen in love with Thailand and Thai food, my favorite dish is red-pork with rice. After BKKIFF 2007

I will take a relaxing break in Chiang Mai, it´s such a beautiful place.

Diana Zubiri

Thailand is great, I have been here so many times, it´s very nice, and I love to go shopping here. Thai´s are very nice as well, their hospitality is awesome, we enjoy it very much, and that´s why we love coming here.

We love Thailand for the Sun and food, we hope to go to Phuket one day, I have heard it is amazing there.

Sho Yokouchi

I love this place, I´ve been to Thailand lots of times, I usually go to the islands they are very beautiful. Thai people are so kind, also Thai food is very delicious, and Tom Yum goong

and spicy Thai Salad are my favourites

Hema Malini

I´ve been here so many times. Thailand is always wonderful, and this time very even more so, Thailand and India are like brother and Sister the culture and everything is the same, we don´t feel it´s a different country.

All the love and affection given out by the Thai´s is so good.