Backpacking then…and now

In January 1991, I left on a solo six-month adventure “around the world.” It was going to be one year but the company I worked for at the time said they’d hold my job for 6 months so I shortened the trip and then it was really a “half way around the world” trip to New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong (+ day trip to China), and Japan. I spent a lot of time in Europe during my junior year abroad in college studying in Vienna.

Hong Kong: this is my third visit here. First in 1991 when I stayed at a hostel with 20+ bunk beds as my rule at the time was not to spend more than $5 per night for a bed. I visited again about 10 years ago while consulting for Exxon Mobil. Work took me to an F1 race in China then my colleague and I went to Hong Kong (her first time) to fly home. Funny story – we planned to take a train to Hong Kong from mainland China, but when we got to the station, we were not permitted. We went to the airport and booked a ticket there – whew! There are a lot of similarities in walking around the city on this trip compared to my previous visits – same vibe, street markets, Victoria peak views and using ferries as transportation. Obviously, there are a lot of new buildings now and the longest escalator in the world. And 33 years later, the accommodations were so much nicer than that hostel! I’m glad that we flew into Hong Kong first on this trip to show Darryl a gem of a city.

Thailand: I’ve been fortunate to travel to every continent and when people ask my favorite, my answer is Thailand and New Zealand. So, I was excited to return to Thailand and yes, New Zealand is in our plans for a future trip.

Bangkok: during my first visit here in 1991, I planned to stay a week but after the first day or 2, I was so overwhelmed with the dirty air (the red handkerchief over my mouth/nose was black within hours). The last straw was when I took an open-air local bus with goats and chickens aboard combined with the smog, I decided to leave for the islands that day. That said I do have great memories of the stunning floating flower markets, tuk-tuk and Klong (long tail boat) rides. We experienced all of those too on this trip but with cleaner air!! I did learn about the “spirit houses” that are at nearly every home and temple to honor deceased family and protect/keep out bad luck. My favorite new find was at the Jim Thompson house/museum, we discovered a watercolor painted by him of Rehoboth Beach. He was born in Wilmington (so was I). There was a great quote from an article about his global travels, The Intrepid Traveler, “never a dull moment” and we’re living that now on this fascinating 6-week adventure.

Koh Samui: more than 30 years ago, I came here to escape Phuket. As noted above, I left Bangkok early because of the poor air quality to Phuket. After a day in Phuket, I left due to the overwhelming “red light district” vibe, especially for a young woman traveling alone. I landed in Koh Samui and stayed at a hut right on the beach – yes for $5/night by myself. Looking back it seems brave, as I stayed alone for about a week. Since I wasn’t at a hostel, I didn’t interact with fellow travelers, and had a quiet week by myself reading and hanging on the beach. The water was exactly as I remembered — crystal clear light teal luminescent color and warm. I also vividly remember walking to the local markets and none of the locals spoke English so I just pointed to food. I don’t know what I was eating but I do know I didn’t get sick the entire 6-month trip. During this trip, we stayed at a spectacular resort with a private pool overlooking the Gulf of Thailand. We explored Chewang’s nightlife and a snorkeling trip. Other than my first snorkeling experience ever in the Caymen islands, the colorful and varied fish as well as the unique coral reefs are stunning. We also had a great view of many hornbill birds with the most unique beak. It was a different experience than my first trip, but just as enjoyable.

Krabi: this was my first visit here, and my favorite part was the stunning boutique wellness & spa hotel that Darryl booked (unknowingly). It has a perfect spa (one of the best I’ve been to and that’s a lot) on a stunning and unique property with a beach club so we barely left which was fine because the beach in town wasn’t great. We did enjoy the night market and the Tiki Taco food stand, music, traditional dance performance and Thai Muay boxing (it’s HUGE here and there was an outdoor match that I watched for less than 2 minutes).

Phi Phi Islands: I’ve was here 30+ years ago but only from a boat from Phuket so I didn’t stay here then. On this visit I was able to experience the island. We stayed at the Relax Resort, which is a 40 minute longtail boat ride from town. The water is breathtaking – the light green aqua color is unmatchable. Only our family will get this, but after visiting our brother-in-law’s cabin in Canada, Lela and I called it stunning but after 5 days, a bit TOO remote. The nephew/niece’s nickname for Pierre is Uncle Pi Pi so how fitting that the bungalows we stayed at here on Phi Phi (pronounced the same) is just as remote. We only stayed 2 nights so Loved it! We will most likely come back to this spectacular area.

Phuket: in 1991, I planned to stay a week but left for Koh Samui (see above). This time around, due to a change of the ferry schedule, we arrived at 1p rather than 6p. We were pleasantly surprised to find out our airport hotel (2 minute drive) had bikes and we took them a mile or so to a beautiful national park on the beach. It was semi-crowded and we had an enjoyable day riding bikes and hanging at the Nai Yang beach. We also had a lovely dinner at the restaurant next to our hotel. Again, a much better time than my first visit.

Chiang Mai: thirty years ago, I took the 24-hr bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. It was an extremely memorable drive as the “bus attendant” (?) was dressed in a light pink suit with a pillbox hat – YES, think Jackie O and you can visualize it. About every hour or so she walked down the aisle and handed us food. Again, I had no idea what I was eating. I was the only one on the bus who was not a local and she only spoke one word to me over and over again, “lady” then giggled a lot as did other passengers. On this visit, we took a 2hr flight. Much better! We had an amazing cooking class last night and the soup and curry I made (yes they supplied all the fresh ingredients and tools), was possibly the best food I’ve had to date on this trip. Today we spent the day at the elephant nature park which I highly recommend. Thirty years ago I rode on the elephant – yes illegal now but in the 90’s, it was the tourist experience.

Next steps: we leave for Laos Friday — a first time for me. I didn’t think about this until we were on this trip but I’m going to find the photos (pre-iPhone) and letters I wrote Darryl (yes he kept them) to see and read about the places I visited 30+ years ago. Will follow up with those details on this blog when we get back home.