Sawadee Krup TBF Travelers!
In about 24 weeks the Beach Party
Adventure to Thailand will depart for two weeks to two of Thailand ’s best
tropical destinations: Railay Bay and Koh Samui, after two nights in Bangkok ,
for the trip of a lifetime! If you have not yet looked into international
flights send me an email and we can get the current price for joining the TBF
flight leaving out of San Francisco on the night of Friday November 16th.
If you are traveling for the first
time with China Air, or if you have not signed up yet for their frequent flyer
program, called Dynasty Flyer, information is at: http://www.china-airlines.com/en/club/club_mi_2.htm - it is
well worth the effort as you will accumulate enough mileage for an upgrade to
Business class after just a few trips to Thailand. And you never know how many
times you will go back to Thailand .
Passports
At this time everyone should have
your passports. Your passport needs to be valid at least 6 months past the date
of your stay in Thailand . Please check to make sure your passport does not
expire before June 2013. As a United States or Canadian citizen we are
automatically granted visas for 30 days.
Vaccinations
If you have not traveled to South
East Asia before you may need to get some travel vaccinations. Information is
available on the CDC website at: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/destinationThailand.aspx. For most
adults the only shots you may need would be updates of measles, tetanus, and
polio vaccines, and possibly the Hepatitis A vaccine if you have never received
that before. Your regular doctor or a doctor at the county Health Center can
provide the vaccinations for you. It is recommended that you receive the shots
4-6 weeks before traveling, in case of any side effects. You will NOT need any
Malaria medicine, as we will not be traveling into any contaminated zones.
The
Flight
The TBF flight will be departing
from San Francisco International Airport on Friday night, November
16th led by Mark Shaw and Mitch Morrow . The flight actually departs
a little after 1 am on Saturday the 17th. From San Francisco the
flight to Taipei is 13 hours and 55 minutes. Dinner will be served shortly after
takeoff and then there will be two movies before landing in Taipei at 6 am local
time on Sunday morning. The airport at Taipei is very new and modern with
shopping, exhibits, and some small noodle shops also. The connecting flight to
Bangkok will depart at 7:35 am, just long enough for a short nap, stroll, or
snack before boarding. Breakfast will be served shortly after take off, and the
flight into Thailand is 3 hours and 50 minutes, arriving at 10:25 am on Sunday
November 18th.
The
Trip
The trip will start with a private
transfer to the Silom Sofitel, our accommodations for the first two nights in
Bangkok , where TBF Guide Dan Foster will be awaiting. This luxury hotel is
conveniently located in the midst of one of the main tourist areas in the city
and has easy access to the Skytrain as well. After checking in you will have
the afternoon to rest and relax, get a nice Thai massage, or stroll through the
local streets and shop until we meet for a welcome dinner at a local Thai
restaurant to start – or finish, the evening.
The following day, Monday November
19th, there will be an early morning option to explore the famous
Lumpini Park, where thousands of local residents come every morning to exercise,
socialize, and shop at the outdoor markets. For about three hours – from
pre-sunrise to around 8 am, the park is bustling with joggers, martial artists,
dancers, and other athletes of all kinds. This large park is centrally located
in Bangkok and has four large lakes with giant old trees and running paths
circling the entire area. The famous giant water monitor lizard of Thailand is
often spotted in the lakes or even walking the paths in the mornings. Dan will
lead a trip to the park for an hour of exercise/sight-seeing before breakfast.
The main activity for the day will be a guided tour by longtail boat through the
ancient canals of Thonburi and Bangkok , culminating with a walking tour of the
Royal Grand Palace . This tour is one of my favorite activities in all of
Thailand , combining local culture, ancient history, spectacular architecture
and exotic mysteries. You will travel though local communities and see centuries
old Buddhist temples, including the famous Temple of Dawn : Wat Arun. The tour
of the Royal Grand Palace is an incredible glimpse of the majesty and fantastic
history of the Thai people. You will have a chance to shop at a local market on
the way to the Royal Grand Palace , and after the tour will have lunch together
at a Thai market.
Tuesday you will check out of the
Sofitel and fly from Bangkok to Krabi, a short flight of about 70 minutes. After
arriving in Krabi, a private transfer will take you to the beach town of Ao Nang
where you will take a private longtail boat out to the secluded and scenic
peninsula that is Railay Bay . Here you will meet up with the Beach Adventure
group that is on their second week in Thailand . After a free afternoon and a
tour of the Railay Bay beaches we will have a nice Thai welcome dinner served at
our favorite restaurant on the beach.
On Wednesday we will have a
pre-breakfast exploration hike over to one of the most beautiful beaches in the
world: Princess Beach , along the Monkey Trail. We will have a chance to swim,
play and explore before breakfast. After breakfast there will be an option to
hike up to a famous local viewpoint that overlooks the entire peninsula, and get
in a little warm-up for the activities coming after lunch. Those activities will
include some rock climbing lessons from the professional guides at HOT Rock,
along with a chance to climb as high as you want on the karsts overlooking the
ocean and nearby islands. Following this we will trek along Princess Beach to a
hidden cave, then hike up into the cave and abseil out of the cave into the
jungle below!
On Thursday we will have a private
longtail boat take us around the island to visit bays, beaches, and small
islands for snorkeling and swimming. These will include the famous ‘Disappearing
Beach’ which connects three islands in the middle of the Andaman Sea at low
tide, Chicken Island, Koh Poda (Dan’s favorite island in Thailand) and Koh Tup,
where we will get a chance to see the world’s largest bat: called the Flying
Fox. Early afternoon we will return to Railay Bay and have the rest of the
afternoon and evening open for fun and relaxation.
Friday is a free day at leisure with
options of relaxing poolside or getting a Thai massage, sea kayaking along the
limestone karsts, some more rock climbing, trekking to the nearby Ton Sai Beach
or arranging one of the other local activities available. This morning will also
be the Railay Bay Adventure Race which features sea kayaking, trail running,
beach running, swimming, jungle trekking, cave abseiling (the same cave we
rappelled out of on Wednesday) and a more. The race is totally fun, easy to
complete and open to all ages and fitness levels.
Saturday we will visit the sacred
Tiger Cave Temple , or Wat Tham Sua, one of the most famous and largest Buddhist
temples in southern Thailand , with a remarkable Buddha image housed on top of a
giant karst and a 1,000-year-old forest with secret caves tucked into a hidden
valley. On the way to the temple we will stop at a local market to shop for
ourselves and the monkeys at the temple. We will enjoy lunch at a local Thai
food market, located inside a modern mall, and then we will visit a National
Park in the area that has wonderful waterfalls, jungle trails to trek, and
possible even a cave or to explore.
Sunday will be our travel day to the
beautiful island of Koh Samui , located in the Gulf of Thailand . We will fly
from Krabi to the island, and then take a private van transfer to the Fair House
Beach Resort, located on the nicest and whitest sand beach on the island! After
some free time to check in and wander down to the beach or pools, we will have a
welcome dinner served in the restaurant on the beach.
Monday on Koh Samui we will have a
free morning to enjoy our beach and resort, then take a guided tour around the
island to visit some of the famous island attractions such as the Big Buddha,
Grandmother and Grandfather Rock, Choeng Mon Beach, and the main shopping strip
on the island called Chaweng. That night we will try out one of the popular
beach restaurants on Chaweng and have some cocktails at the famous Ark Bar.
On Tuesday we will take a longtail
boat to some islands off the southern coast of Koh Samui called Koh Mudsom and
Koh Taen for snorkeling, swimming, beach play, sea kayaking, and a trek through
a mangrove forest. These two islands are located very close to Koh Samui with
only a short scenic boat ride to their beautiful beaches and coral reefs. After
the snorkeling excursion we will return to the sea village that we departed from
for a delicious all-you-can-eat Thai lunch. Tuesday night should be a relaxing
night – to prepare for the big adventure night coming on Wednesday.
This day we will have a lot of
excitement and adventure, beginning with a trip to the island’s largest
waterfall for some elephant trekking and swimming (possibly even some cliff
jumping!) and a delicious Thai bbq chicken lunch. This will take place in the
morning, and after lunch we will start getting ready for our trip to the
sister-island of Koh Phangan for the world famous Full Moon Party. We will
travel over to the island by speedboat, and then experience Thailand ’s most
famous celebration called Loy Krathong, before heading the Had Rin Beach for the
Full Moon Party. Since this party goes all night – and into the next day, we
will offer an ‘early return’ option of around midnight and then a ‘late-return’
option to Koh Samui in the morning. Both groups will be guided and escorted by
TBF Travel.
On Thursday it is assured that
everyone will be slightly to extremely exhausted from all of the fun and
festivities of the previous day/night so we will have a free day to relax at the
resort, or to add in some last minute shopping or other activities since this is
our last full day on Koh Samui. Thursday night would be a great night to visit
one of the local Cabaret Shows, or perhaps the professional Muay Thai Boxing
fights on the island.
Friday we will check out of the Fair
House Beach Resort in the early afternoon and return to Bangkok to catch the
international flight back to the US , arriving on the same day that you depart
Thailand : Friday November 18th about 7:30 pm in San Francisco .
Travel
Details
We do still have room on the Beach
Party Adventure. If you have friends or co-workers that are interested in
joining please ask them to contact me with any questions they may have about the
trip or Thailand .
Please send over any questions you
have about the trip or Thailand .
Sawadee Krup!
Bill
P.S. “Sawadee” is a general greeting
in Thai that means: Hello and Goodbye. The “Krup” is a polite ending, placed at
the end of every sentence or phrase said by a man in Thai. Women speaking Thai
would place the polite ending “Ka” at the end, replying: “Sawadee Ka” back to
me.
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