Bangkok

Thanks to Papa Branco’s superb organization skills, the trip from Koh Tao to Bangkok by ferry and plane was smooth and uneventful. No, that’s not entirely true – our jaws dropped to the floor when we pulled up into the front entrance of our hotel for the next four days, the Shangri-la.

By far and away, the nicest hotel we had ever stayed at, an amazingly gorgeous place!! It had everything a person could wish for in a hotel – wonderful friendly staff and customer service, top-end restaurants, pool, sumptuous rooms…it promised to be a fantastic experience in and of itself. And they even graciously overlooked our backpacker aesthetic…

What was amazing was the attention to detail, from the morning delivery of newspaper and afternoon delivery of fresh fruits, to the night lights leading you to safety for that midnight bathroom break. Ben took full advantage of all the hotel services, including the phone located beside the toilet “just in case you need to take care of business while taking care of business.”

We tried the two incredible restaurants in the hotel – one a tastefully decorated pagoda in the garden with dinner and Thai dancing, the other with delicious Italian food and ambience. We would sit for hours chatting away, enjoying the music, food, wine, and each others company.

We started every day with a breakfast buffet in the hotel that had the most incredible selection we had ever seen. The experience would start with a cup of rejuvenating coffee, and then we would run around the tables trying a little bit of everything, eagerly seeing what the others would find amongst all of the delicacies. When the manager asked us at the end if there was anything that was missing, we honestly could not think of a single thing. Thank goodness they never caught us smuggling out the supplies of dried fruits and nuts that we would stow away in our bags for snacks throughout the day! Backpacker living dies hard.

We visited the shopping mall district, and wandered into the Bangkok Museum of Modern Art with its quirky pieces both inside and out. The larger-than-life sized dog was a particular favourite as it reminded us of Chloe, our family dog back home…if you’re reading this, hello Chloe!!

After our art education, we visited the Jim Thompson House Museum. Jim Thompson was an American businessman who made a big impact in Thailand by almost single-handedly helping revitalize the Thai silk industry around the 1950s. He constructed a beautiful home in Bangkok consisting of six traditional Thai houses where he kept his extensive art and antiques collection, and then mysteriously disappeared at the age of sixty one on a trip to Malaysia. His home was eventually turned into a museum, and it was a beautiful oasis to visit in the middle of the bustling city. We enjoyed a snack in the Jim Thompson restaurant (yes, they are milking it for all it is worth).

The next day we took a public ferry to Chinatown, which was an interesting experience in and of itself – a very popular method of transportation for locals and tourists alike, great way to beat the notoriously crazy traffic of Bangkok!

A visit to some of the many temples was in order, and a peek at the largest reclining Buddha measuring 46 metres in length and covered entirely in gold foil.

The artwork was intricate and beautiful, with serene Buddhas and porcelain-clad stupas.

Paulo and Lucila treated us to a guided tour of the intricate waterways that connect many of the diverse neighbourhoods in Bangkok, providing a look into the lives of those who live on the riverbanks, rich and poor alike. We also witnessed the amazing sight of 2m long River Monitors, giant iguana-looking lizards that somehow survive in the relative cesspool of the city waterways, feeding on food poached from the nearby households. Crazy!

The tour included a stopover at a beautiful temple on the river, where we braved the steep stairs for a view from the top. Ben thought he would lend a helping hand to the endlessly supportive statues along the stupa – looks like hard work, no wonder they are perpetually grimacing!

Thanks to Lucila and Paulo’s wonderful “up for anything” attitude, one night we headed out on an adventure to the Bed Supper Club, where Ben had made reservations for an interesting dinner. This included a mystery menu by the chef and random performance theatre running throughout the evening. Dinner was served in big white beds lining the walls of the pod-like structure decorated all in white, with a very hip vibe.

It felt very luxurious, and definitely a different dining experience. We arrived and were shown to our bed/table and after ordering wine sat back to enjoy the imaginative entertainment which consisted of actors performing a funny skit in the middle of the floor that was acted out intermittently throughout the dinner. There was interaction between the actors and the diners, which lead to a lot of laughs, and the skit was cleverly intertwined with the dining experience.

The menu turned out to be incredibly delicious, compliments to the chef!! We toasted the night away, and by the end left with big smiles from the all-around fantastic experience of one of Bangkok’s nightlife hotspots.

It wouldn’t be fair to Bangkok if we didn’t mention how wonderful most of the Thai people we met were – always a smile, a keen desire to help and the welcoming Buddhist practice of placing both hands in prayer pose with a little bow with any greeting or thanks. That man of the world, Ronald McDonald, even got in on the action!

As we discovered along the way, Bangkok is a city of contrasts, from temples with orange-clad monks to towering sky-scrapers, cheap sidewalk eateries to internationally acclaimed restaurants...an intriguing mix!

Of course no visit to Bangkok would be complete without… shopping!!! Oh yes, Patricia and Lucila were in their element, while Ben and Paulo were amazing husbands with unlimited patience (obviously storing points to be used later) while the ladies selected from the amazing array of Thai products, including the famous Thai silk. We found a fantastic tailor in a nearby mall and had some beautiful clothes made to order in record time – these seamstresses are incredibly talented!

On our last day we decided to stay in at Shangri-La and relax at the beautiful pool. It was so nice to wind down and enjoy the sunshine and fantastic service, a mini-vacation from our vacation.

Suddenly we had to say our goodbyes, and it felt like the two weeks had just flown by. It was hard to part ways as we really enjoy every minute we get to spend with our families, but it was an amazing experience to have shared together half way across the world!

Koh Tao

We arrived in Koh Tao on a mission: to find a cheap, clean bungalow with a hammock and a view near a bit of a nightlife scene. Mission impossible? Never. However, it took some perseverance and sleuthing skills.

On arriving into the Mae Haad harbour by ferry from Koh Phagnan, we took a truck taxi into the south of the Island, to June Juea Beach. It was small and cute with just a few resorts, and our bungalow had a killer view – up a killer set of stairs.

The beach seemed a little too deserted and isolated for our tastes, so after settling in we went for an exploration walk up and over the hill to the next bay to see if there were more bars and restaurants to visit at night. Our prayers were answered – Chalok Baan Kao was a picturesque beach with everything we had hoped for. Ringed by large gray boulders, soft white sand and aquamarine waters, it also had more people with cool little places to hang out.

Ben spotted a perfect bungalow with a large patio, hammock and an amazing view of the bay, and after confirming with the owners at Taraporn Restaurant that it was available, we headed back to our beach with plans of moving there the next day. That night we chilled out at our secluded spot, with a drink at the funky little bar on the sand.

The next day we made the final hike down the steep stairs to our bungalow (thank goodness!) and headed over the hill to our new abode. There we spent the next few days fully enjoying the hammock on our patio and relaxing on the beach.

We would venture into the small town for our meals, and hang out at one of the very cool beach bars, Babaloo, at night. The owners put a very creative effort into the hangout area, with funny details like a microwave fish bowl and glow-in-the-dark décor. We spent a night there giggling away while exploring all the funny little features.

Every night one of the locals working at the bar would put on a fire show – it seems like all Thai are really good at playing with fire!

After three days of bliss, we packed up and headed north to Sairee Beach for the next phase of our Koh Tao adventure: Patricia’s parents, Paulo and Lucila, were arriving for two weeks of Thailand fun!!

We arrived at our home away from home for the next nine days, Coral Grand Resort, and were shown to a great bungalow right on the beach - pure luxury. Thanks Mama and Papa Branco!! As we settled in to wait for the arrival of our sponsors we received word that their luggage got left behind in Tokyo and they would be waiting in Bangkok for one more day. We made the best of our entrapment in paradise and when they arrived the next day we greeted them with much excitement and enthusiasm!! It was so nice to be with family again, we enjoyed every minute of it, with lots of fun and laughter.

We spent the time with a mix of activity and relaxation. We got our first day started off right with a yoga class at Shambala, a pretty little studio with excellent instructors. We ended up going there almost every morning, enjoying the feeling of getting back in touch with our flexible side.

Paulo’s goal was to complete his Advanced Open Water Diver course and he invited us to join him in the underwater adventure. We went to various dive sights, including a shipwreck as part of our deep dive experience.

After completing our course (yay!!!) Paulo treated us to a fun dive, which also happened to be his 100th dive – congratulations, dad!!!! If we keep up this pace of dive instruction we’ll likely end up as super secret underwater ninjas or perhaps grow a set of gills.

It was an incredible experience to share with him, and we look forward to many more amazing dives in the future.

If you are wondering what Lucila was doing with her time while we were on the two day course, no worries – she got into full relaxation mode with reading, yoga and daily massages – one day even two hours in a row!! We love Thailand prices. Patricia joined Lucila whenever there was no scuba diving and achieved complete bliss with one hour oil massages to the sound of the waves, the feel of the ocean breeze, and a nice cup of tea afterwards while looking out over the view.

Not surprisingly, the massage ladies were very sad to say goodbye to Lucila at the end of the trip, who had become a regular customer during our stay.

One day we put on our walking shoes and hiked from Sairee beach along the coast, with the final destination of Chalok Baan Kao, where we had stayed previously. It was a beautiful walk, over boardwalks and through resorts, with gorgeous views of the water. We made frequent stops for lunch, pictures and swimming breaks.

Another day we took a taxi across the island into the picturesque Tanote bay, with a beautiful beach for swimming, surrounded by boulders, and a cute restaurant complete with little ducklings wandering about. Never grow up little ducklings - you’ll end up on a plate!

Meals were always a fun affair, and one of our favourites for lunch and coffee was a laid back restaurant by our bungalow where we…well…laid back. The comfy pillows encouraged a resting pose, and we spent hours just sitting back and catching up with good chats.

For snacks we would have our favourite treat, barbequed corn from a friendly little Thai man who would grill it right up on the beach on his portable grill. We got to like his smiling face so much that by the end we would order food even without being hungry!

The Thai people on the islands were all incredibly friendly, and with a “Sabai dee ka” and little salute with hands in prayer pose, we felt very welcome indeed. As the end of our time on the islands drew near, we made sure to enjoy every single second of the beautiful weather, beaches and restaurants.

All the rich, spicy food may not have been too good on our stomachs, as by the end we all got a little sick, but thankfully after a day of taking it easy we were back on our feet and ready to head to Bangkok for four days of big city fun.

Bangkok, get ready, here comes the Branco-Mills family!!