Hi Friends!
2014 was also a very busy year!
Another couple of travels to Colombia and Chile, for business... But also a couple of vacation time!!
First of all, in March I went to Thailand. After 2 days of travels, I finally arrived to Bangkok. It`s crazy, you are completely insane with the jet leg, it`s the hottest place I have ever been, the transit is chaotic, no one understands you, it`s terrible! But I finally managed to find the hotel, and meet my Brother, his wife and my nephew and take a shower! The best shower in the world! =) Since it was around 9am and I couldn`t sleep, I had to try to get used to the 10h difference time zone, we went straight to the Emerald Temple, and Palace and Reclining Buda Temple. The places are beautiful!! All the details on the engravings, the culture, everything, very nice! The problem, again, was the heat, it`s insane! I was melting, but kept walking.
The next day, we went south, got a plane to Krabi, stayed there for the night and next day we went to Railay, where we relaxed for a couple of days on a resort (they are excellent and a lot cheaper than anywhere else). From there we went by boat to Ko Lanta, not as famous as other places, but still with a very good structure and with a lot of possible day trips. Even though it`s really hard to get there, I recommend. I LOVED the coast, the beaches are amazing! The water is clearer than you can ever imagine and the snorkeling is beautiful, so many colors!!! I would go back, no doubt!!
From there I said goodbye to my brother and his family and went to Cambodia, to visit Angkor Wat. There I met a friend of my from Brazil that was travelling with other friends! It was a lot of fun, we went to a bar and ate and drank and had lots of fun! It`s so cheap everything there... The next day I went to see the sunrise at the main temple, it was nice, but not as I expected. Too many tourists, not peaceful... I visited a lot of places, took some amazing pics, it was great! From there I went back to Bangkok to visit the last couple of places on my list but mainly to enjoy their new year with my friends. They have a tradition to throw water on everyone, for 3 days! It`s nice, but not as nice when you need to get from one place to another... I though I would enjoy more, but I wasn`t in the mood, I guess... The next day I hopped onto a new plane to Chiang Rai. The new years continued, so I couldn`t visit the city. By myself was even less fun!! I went in a day trip to Chiang Mai (where is the White Temple, amazing and still under construction) and to the border of Burma and Laos. It feels like the border of Brazil and Paraguay, but it`s interesting. And on the last day I finally visited the old city and a couple more temples. I LOVED the beaches and in terms of city, the one I enjoyed the most was Chiang Mai, it`s calmer, has more trees, feels nicer...
What I still have with me regarding Thailand are the things I saw and felt, due to the cultural diferences. I still feel very sad when I think of the people, and how they suffer with poverty. Because of that, the environment is not very well taken care of, there`s a lot of trash and the corals are being destroyed. And finally, that I got traumatized with the large groups of Chinese tourists, they have no respect for nothing, walk in front of your picture, don`t respect lines, fart inside the tourism vans, it`s terrible... I know I shouldn`t judge, and that is other culture and all that, but I got annoyed... The Thai people are not like this, and I believe that when you are visiting a place, you should try to blend in and respect their ways and culture. Of course my memories are not all bad, the cheap massages everywere are amazing, once you get to communicate with the people they are very friendly, the fried rice is very good, and the places are beautiful!
In June, I had a business trip to Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama. I stayed the weekend in Panama, and went to the islands of San Blas. The water is like the water in Thailand, as well as the white sand beaches. It`s really hard to get there, I booked a Van with a touristic guide/group. It takes you a couple of hours on the road (take something for sea sickness, I don`t have problems, but I would have if I had not taken the medicine... The road is terrible!!!), than you get to an indian reserve, and jump in a boat. They have a main island (where we stayed) and spent the days on other islands. The experience of staying with the indigenous people is very nice, they don`t have running water or electricity, you sleep on hammocks in a school or as I booked a room not shared, it was above the water. Sleeping with the water just under you was amazing, so peaceful! I loved it and I recommend!
Ok, this post is becoming too long... I`ll leave the next 2014 trip to a next post!
Safe travels!
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