Thailand - Bangkok & Chiang Mai

Planning the trip to Thailand after reading through a lot of blogs and reviews, I must say, I had my apprehensions and, in my head, ran a high expectation in comparison to our Japan trip, a few months ago.

We took an afternoon flight from Melbourne, and I must say, it was the longest direct flight. The same flight on our way back was a breeze as we flew back at night, sleeping through the long way.

We landed in Bangkok - Suvarnabhumi Airport at 8PM and took the Sim card, previously booked through Klook. We grabbed our travel into the city and headed straight to the hotel. Bangkok is a 24 hrs city; I would say the same for Asia & Middle East. It’s never too late for a drink and dinner.

Sharing the next 3 days schedule:

Day 1 - Dinner and walking through the Sukhumvit city streets too shocked with the music, crowd, tourist, stuffs being sold on the street.

Day 2 - Morning: Cab to Grand Palace & Emerald Buddha (500 TBH entry per person) Food in the cafe outside the palace, an amazing foot massage right there at Wat Pho Massage Tha Tien, desserts at Heychom Thai Dessert Bar, shop on knick-knacks and back to the hotel. If you visit any day other than Saturday, try the food at the 6th.

Evening: Chatuchak weekend market. Take the MRT (underground Sukhumvit) to reach there     quickly, its 7 stations away. If you want the skyline view, head to the overhead BTS railway Asok and go 13 stations directly outside the market. There are 1500 shops, a lot of food stalls and an experience to bring back. 4 hours is an impossible time to cover the maze, you can never finish looking at everything as I said it is a maze and tiring day at the end. We headed straight back to the hotel as we grabbed food there and called it a night.

Day 3 - Morning - As we stayed in the Grande Centre Point Ploenchit, we were central to everything. We had our breakfast at the Breakfast Story and walked 12 minutes to the Saphan Wittayu Pier. we were heading to the Wat Arun after changing 3 long boats costing (6 TBH per person per boat ride) The entry for Wat Arun is 200 TBH per person.  Beware to check if most of the temples are closed. We did get to see most of it after climbing the steep stairs, but the view around was amazing. Once done, we did a Tuk Tuk ride of 9mins paying 250 TBH to the temple of The Reclining Buddha. It was 200 TBH per person. 

In the scorching summer of 35 degrees Celsius, we took a Grab to the ICONSIAM, did not shop but grabbed a beer to cool down. In the evening, we chilled around the Sukhumvit area, caught some Live Jazz with beer & dinner.

Day 4 - The last day in Bangkok was for the Souvenirs and Shopping. Since we booked our stay centrally, we could just hop & skip to the Terminal21 & Grand Central Mall. Looked around the stored, picked up some souvenirs, ate some mango on sticky rice, got a worldly massage at pitipata.official.

We had more than 10 well researched massage and I think, this is the best place to indulge. We walked into the Robinson mall, some of the official Thai elephant dress stores - Samadha Clothing stores. They have the original Elephant print, trousers, dresses, artifacts. You will be spared from the haggling and bargaining here.

Around 2PM, we checked out for the airport to our next destination - Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai - 1.34 hrs flight from BKK to CNX. I got a ticket as cheap as AUD$70 return.

Chiang Mai is a different world, serene, calm, peaceful and relaxed. It is All things Jazzy in Chiang Mai. Jazz came to Thailand during the 1940 through their saxophone-playing monarch. King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The king gave a great push and built a culture of music across the country. Live music is a thing in Thailand and Chiang Mai can make you jazz hop.

We had no agenda in Chiang Mai other than chilling and walking and absorbing the Thai culture and daily life. We gave a skip to the touristy things – The night safari, Elephant sanctuary, plantations & rice terraces. We have done those somewhere or the other.

Day1 – Reached around 6PM and grabbed a taxi to hotel in 15mins. Freshened up and walked into the town. There are food fairs, craft fairs, markets happening everyday in Chiang Mai till 10PM. We walked, had a few Mango smoothies, ice-cream and hung around for the vibe. We had dinner at a tiny Khao Soi, listen to some live music, got a foot massage done and retired early.

Day2 – We explored the Old city. We walked 3.5kms to the old city through the fort, canal and gorgeous temples.

Few of the walk throughs are – Saun Dok Gate (the fort), Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Inthakhin Sadue Muang, Wat Phantao, the 3-king monument, Wat Mahawan, Wat Chiang Man, Wat Lok Moli, Wat Upakhut, Wat Rajamontean, Chiang Mai gate and so many more.

Tired enough with all the walking, we decided to have quiet evening. We got a massage at Lila Massage and headed back to the hotel. After an hour till the sun cooled down, we headed off to the beautiful & boutique Nimman area, there was live music and jazz everywhere, so we grabbed a beer and hopped bars till we were hungry. The One Nimman has a fair, food and basking every evening. It is a great place to start. Next is the The camellia cafe & music bar,The East Bar live music, and Aura Nimman 

We were 6 Cocktails and 2 Khao Soi Curry happy to go back to our hotel and crash!!

Day 3 – We did more massages, ate more northern food and did some of the exclusive Chiang Mai things. I finally decided that Chiang Mai needs a non-touristy exclusive write up. Hence, we packed our bags, headed to Bangkok on Day 4.

We are 2 days in Bangkok and no planned agenda. We will do an amazing dinner at “JHOL” the Michelin-starred restaurant Coastal Indian Cuisine. It is a coast-to-coast Indian food experience and an expressive of the diverse food culture in comparison to the butt ugly curries that we get in so called Indian restaurants.

Bali ~ Indonesia

 Bali

Japan ~ The land of the rising sun

 

When we booked a 3 week holiday to Japan, we felt so overwhelmed by the thought of a 8:30 hrs direct flight being a long one, that we did not anticipate how action packed this trip is going to eventually be. I had planned to see the Cherry blossoms, however, ended up planning during the Christmas holidays and did not regret a bit.

 

High Level Itinerary:

·   Travel – Melbourne – Narita – Melbourne 2 days

·       Tokyo 4 days

·       Osaka 4 days

·       Hiroshima 4 days

·       Kyoto 2 days

·       Mount Fuji 1 day

·       Tokyo 3 days

Disclaimer – Japan is always beautiful and always packed.

3 months ago:

Book flight & Hotels in advance

•  Get JR Pass through Klook. Klook will post the voucher and it will reach within a month
•  Get Suica installed in iphone
• Japan wireless – pocket wifi through Klook. Klook will post the voucher and it will reach within a month
• If flying into Haneda or Narita, every facilities are available everywhere
• If inbound flight is through Osaka, get a ICOCA card, if SUICA is unavailable. ICOCA works everywhere as well.

I would advise doing these in advance due give enough time for postage to reach and get the best deals in hotels. Join a couple of social media forums but don’t get too carried away. Your experience is always your experience.

I will not detail around the touristy things we did there as the internet is flooded with information. One less will not hurt anyone.

Learnings from our Japan trip:

1. The best and the most expensive hotels are also very very small. Pack your luggage wisely.
2.  Every hotel will provide night toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, combs, face lotion, face pack, shampoo, conditioners, body lotion, hair dryer, shaving kit, shaving gel, grooming gel, hair gel, night gowns and slippers. Literally everything along with teas, coffee, milk along with towels and other regular stuffs. Consider carrying less clothes & baggage. Guests roam around the hotels in those clothes.
3. Carry good pair of sneakers – We ended up walking 20kms a day in average. This is not because we saw so much of the beautiful country, it is just the way of finding your way through Japan.  Eg: We stayed 300mts from the Shinjuka station. In the morning, we walked 2kms underground to reach the correct platform. Lost our way in the underground shopping alley, exited out of another end of the station, came back all the way and reached the platform. Another time, we planned to take a train from A station in Osaka to Station B in Osaka, ended up coming out of an exit 650mts from the B station. Decided to walk through the pavement and shops rather go back. 3-4kms done. Maybe we were stupid, but we were enjoying being stupid somewhere in the world.
4. Japan is aesthetically beautiful; however, it has certain Asian country traits. There are no water dispensers and buying bottled water is the only option. Keep the changes handy. There is barely a place to sit, regroup, rest your tired legs. There are no seats, no pavement rails and no place to take a breathe. It’s a keep walking culture. Pack accordingly.
5. Don’t wait till the last minute to get into a restaurant/izakaya if you are hungry. Don’t plan last minute shopping if you have a train/flight to catch or scheduled for something. Queueing up is another level of crazy there. People queue up at 11:15am onwards for a lunch at 12:00PM. People queue up for shopping, for a coffee, at transport stations. Queuing up is great, but just that there are never ending queue for everything. It is not 5-10 people you are queuing up after, its 30-50 people in the queue. That’s frustrating.
6. Stay the closest to the stations. We stayed 300m to every station, however from the station to the platforms which can be 7 floors below or above and several kms of underground shopping streets till the platform, the maze takes time. Save time walking between your hotel and the station
7. Stay close to a JR station. Use the JR Pass to travel local and long distance.
8. Use the Shinkansen. It is an experience; it saves a lot of time and man just do it.
9. Money exchange is a breeze. Just go into 7-11 store that says 7-11 bank and withdraw money. We used our Wise card in some transfers. We used the Suica for almost everything
10. Carry extra duffle bags to bring back shopping. We went with cabin baggage and came back with 45kgs checking baggage and a 1^st class upgrade which was oh so worth it.
11. TeamLabs Borderless is a must do. It is an experience and a true depiction of Japanese Tech.
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Experiences to cherish:

1. TeamLAB Planet - Book through https://teamlabplanets.dmm.com/en in advance and change the date as required upto 24hrs in advance
2. Shinkansen - The JRPAss and the experience of speed is forever the best experience. 
3. Kyoto - A dreamy city with beautiful history. The beautiful Geisha's made us pensive.
4. Hiroshima - Another painful history that carries so much pride from what it has been rebuilt into
5. Mt.Fuji - If there is anything thats larger than life, this is it.

Camping - The Start

If there is a bucket list and camping is one among the list, there are a few things that can be done for an awesome start.

We often think we must be comfortable when we camp and there is what goes wrong. Comfort is our home and we are camping for fun and to get out of the comfort zone. It is about being uncomfortable but safe.

While camping, key is travelling light. Let me give a step by step of what to splurge and what to save on.

1. Buy a good, sturdy tent that can withstand wind, keep you safe from wild weather, specious and has strong support. Choose a tent which is lighter to carry, easy to pack and is easy to store.

2.Buy additional tarps, pegs, guy ropes and supports. Depending on the place you tent, sometime double pegs act stronger. 

3. Buy guy ropes from Bunnings. They are stronger, often fluorescent in color ( You will not trip on them when you come out in the dark).

4. Have additional Tarpoline and ropes. Tarps can be used as floor mats or shades if it gets too sunny or windy. If there is a provision to save the car from the Sun, tarps are great. In that case, you can use the car AC if the temp reaches scortching high and the car is under a shade.

5. Buy a good Esky that will remain cool for long, has a water drainage and can be used as a table/seat/glass holder.

6. Sleeping bags are good for tents with thicker underlay. If the tent is for summer camping, a tent bed or a mat with a PVC base and soft flocked top. Self inflating sleeping mats save you from carrying a pump to inflate and deflate.

7. Tent Fan - must if you are summer camping. Do take precautions to keep yourselves hydrated and cool during the summer camping. Buy an tent fan, tent lights, mosquito and fly repelent.

8. Cooking - If camping location is offgrid, carry cooking stuffs. If  you are booking in a Big4/NRMA/ParkVic or anywhere with facilities, essentials will do. A kettle is a must.

9. Buy very good quality chairs, possibly one that extends like a deck chair. I got mine from Kings Outdoors.

10. Decor - If you are a long time camper, buy some fairy lights, tealight candles, keep some cushions and mossi repellant lights. It feels good.

GOR - Victoria: Coastal Drive

 

Melbourne - Geelong - Portarlington - Queenscliff - Torquay - Aireys Inlet - Lorne - Wye River - Apollo Bay - Great Otway - Laver Hills - Princetown - Port Campbell - Warnambool - Tower Hills - Port Fairy - Narrawong - Portland - Cape Bridgewater - Discovery Bay - Mount Richmond - Nelson - Melbourne.

Gippsland's - Grand Ridge Road

The Grand Ridge 

Route: - Warragul -> Morwell -> Traralgon -> Yarram -> Foster -> Leongatha -> Korumburra -> Warragul

Total Ridge Drive – 277 km

As a part of the drive, we finished another famous drive of Victoria – The Grand Ridge Road by the Strzelecki Ranges by the beautiful farmlands, emerald green valleys and dairies of South Gippsland and Latrobe Valley. Close to 150 km of the road along the ridges of the ranges. The roads are very well maintained and marked for safety. At places, the road narrows into gravel roads, however, all lookouts are breathtaking with parking spots and toilets. 

The Grand Ridge Road is beautiful, yet windy. Slow, cautious travel is recommended to decrease the likelihood of an accident. The gradual acceleration and careful braking are advised and drivers must always be careful to avoid wildlife. Wombats, wallabies, koalas and lyrebirds are common along the length of the road especially mid-afternoon and towards dusk.

Places to see on the way:

     1.      Traralgon: Boutique town with all brand     

     2.      Yarram:

a.      Aga Café is a must-have breakfast place and amazing coffee

b.      Yarram Bakery – Meat and potato Pizza Pie are a must-try.

c.      The Yarram Pantry:  Jams, jelly, relish and spreads from the local farmers

    3.      Foster: Gurneys Cidery for the fresh ciders and ploughman’s platter 

    4.      Leongatha: 72kms Great Southern Rail Trail. 

             From Leongatha, the trail goes through Koonwarra, Meeniyan, Stony Creek, Buffalo, Fish Creek, Foster, Toora, Welshpool and Port Welshpool, offering rural and bush views along the way

   5.      Korumburra: Bakery, dairy, farmlands, Prom country Cheese

   6.      Warragul: Petersville Milk Product Factory – Home of Peter’s Ice-cream

Note - the world's largest earthworms called Karmai lives in the area of Korumburra.

South Gippsland - Dairy Country Trip

The Trip Map: -

We headed to the Dairy Country of South Gippsland on a Friday afternoon after calling it an early sign-off to the weekend. We chalked our onward route and left for this tiny historic town of Yarram about 223 km from Melbourne. To beat the ongoing traffic, we made a quick exit from the city and into the M1.

Must-Visit:

1. Bulga National Park - https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/explore/parks/tarra-bulga-national-park. Located in South Gippsland is well known for its giant Mountain Ash trees, beautiful fern gullies and ancient myrtle beeches. Hidden within the Strzelecki Ranges.

It is a rainforest haven for plants, ferns and animals. There are a wide variety of birds residing in the park including the pilotbird, yellow-tailed black cockatoo, eastern whipbird, and currawongs. In the evenings, possums, owls and bats emerge to feed. Lyrebirds, wombats, swamp wallabies, gliders and platypuses can also be found within the park. 

  

The primary attractions are Fern Gully Nature Walk, Cyathea Falls and Tarra falls. 

2. Traralgon South Flora and Fauna Reserve - The beautiful Tarra Valley road from Yarram took us through the narrow and winding roads that offer magnificent scenery with panoramic views from several points.

3. Corrigan’s Suspension Bridge stretches through the rainforest canopy, affording spectacular views of the lush fern gully on the forest floor below

The rainforest is a haven for plants and wildlife and is particularly well known for its giant mountain ash trees and lush fern gullies. 

4. We spotted the dominating wet sclerophyll tall open forest of mountain ash, Blackwood trees whose top is generally vanished in the cloud and also spot a Lyrebird or two. 

5. Port Welshpool is a scenic coastal town located between the dairying community of Toora and historic Port Albert.  The Long Jetty at the port is unmissable, and it is extensive 800 metres stretch out to the waters of Corner Inlet provides a delightful view. Fish n Chips is another place you cannot miss when you are here.

 

 

While heading back we took a dirt road from the cafe at Balook to Yarram which was quite good and the road back to Melbourne we went through Alberton, Welshpool, Foster and Leongatha.

Mount Macedon

To capture the colour of Autumn, we headed to the cool breeze and beautiful Mt. Macedon 64 kms from Melbourne. 

Route :
Melbourne
Gisborne
Mount Macedon
Hanging Rocks
Kyneton
Castlemaine Diggings National Heritage Park
Woodend


We just went everywhere as everything were colourful and beautiful. The breakfast at the Aus Post Cafe was outstanding.

Things to do in Mt. Macedon:

1. Gardens of Tieve Tara. Entry $13 per person.

2. 1854 Post Office of Kyneton

3. 1935 Mt Macedon Memorial Cross

4. The valley view cafe at the Memorial cross Park

5. 18th Century Houses and villas

6. grab the award winning meat pie of Australia at country Cob Bakery. Kyneton.

Castlemaine