Around the world in 30 days

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I have always been fascinated by around the world travel , backpacking particularly. There have been several excuses for not pursuing my dream, lack of funds , lack of vacation time, small children etc. But all this did not stop me from travelling from my country Canada to India where I have a lot of family ties once every 3 or so years. Turning an Asian vacation into around the world travel was so much easier than I had thought. All I had to do is to get 2 extra weeks of vacation , find $350 extra per person to convert the round-trip India ticket to an RTW ticket. My strategy was to use three one way trips with free (or $100 fee) stop-overs to create a cheap RTW ticket. All done with 4 weeks of vacation.Before we go on, let me define around the world travel. There are only 3 rules.Rule 1: Travel to start and end in the same country.Rule 2 : Travel in one continuous direction East or West.Rule 3: Cross the International date line once.Rule 4: Cross Atlantic and Pacific at-least once. Although it is hard these days as most flights from North America flies over the poles non-stop to many Asian and European destinations.

It took 4 one-way trips to build a reasonable RTW ticket.1. Toronto to Hong-Kong on Air Canada.2. Hong-Kong to Bangkok on Air Asia.3. Bangkok to Chennai on Air Asia.4. Bangalore to Toronto with a stop-over in Frankfurt and London on Air Canada (Lufthansa).

Day 1 - Departure

Departure from Toronto was very exhilarating. We have gone to India from Chicago and Tornto a dozen times, but through Europe and Dubai. For the first time we will be in Asia. Altough it would have made sense to fly East first with the Jet Stream, we chose to fly West for 2 reasons. We wanted Europe to be the last stop before returning home. Also it is cheaper to from to North America from India with a Europe stop-over.

I have to say Air Canada was very comfortable. It was a very long flight.

Day 2 - Hong Kong

AC 015 touched down Hong Kong sharp at 14:30. Clearing immigration and claiming baggage was a breeze. As a budget traveler I followed Wikitravel and took bus S1 to Tung Chung. After quickly buying a tourist pass I was on my way to the harbor , Tsim Sha Tsui ,TST station. The direction to the star ferry was well marked from TST station.

Top things to do in Hong Kong.

1. View the city from the Harbor.

2. Ride the star ferry.

3. Get to the peak. Ideally in the evening and get sweeping views of the city after sunset.

4. Ride the cable car to Ngong Ping.

5. Visit Tin Tan Budha.

Day 3 - Hello Bangkok

Arrived in Bangkok and swiftly proceeded to my hostel. Yes, I stayed in a hostel. Its called Nappark Hostel and is located in the old city very close to Kao San road and the major attractions. It is arguably one of the best hostels in the region and certainly the best I have ever stayed in.
Despite the Jet lag, I started to explore the city and did the major attractions.
The Grand palace. Absolutely stunning. Do your home work and learn about the scams in the area. It is very notorious for petty crime and tuk tuk tour scams.

Day 4 - More Bangkok

Day 4 was a bit harder to wake up. But a promise of more sights (in the sweltering hot day) did shake me up from my lethargy. After a quick bite form 711 and a coffee I proceed for a ride on the Chao Phraya river to visit to Wat Pho. The temple was huge and very peaceful. Don't miss traditional Thai massage given on the temple grounds.

I quickly returned to the hostel for a Nap, the jet lag was killing me at this time. Perhaps it was the beer, who cares, I am on vacation.

Bangkok roof-top Bar: My choice the quiet and river side Hilton Millennium hotel. Accessible via the Chao Phraya ferry, the ride in the early evening was cool , cheap and comfortable. The happy hour was till 8pm with buy one get one drink. The sun usually sets between 6 and 6:30.

Day 5 - To Krabi

I decided to go to Krabi instead of Phuket. Phuket is very crowded and I always wanted to see picture perfect beaches I see on post-cards. The flight to Krabi was on AirAsia.I stayed in a cute little beach village called Ao Nang. J Hotel was very affordable and comfortable.

Day 6 - Maya Bay tour

I had booked my tour online with JC Tours. I would nor recommend them as they were very pricey.I think I didn't loose much as I was offered a private car ride to my hotel to book this tour. It is much cheaper to book the tours once you are on Thailand and at your hotel front desk.

Maya Bay

Maya Bay was absolutely wonderful and stunning. The water was crystal clear. All the beaches and stops on this trip was wonderful. This was living the dream. I feel great every time I look at this picture.Truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Day 7 - Four Island tour

Second day of tours in Ao Nang. Breakfast was cheap and my favorite filled parathas. I like the savory kind, paratha filled with egg with salt and pepper. Ridiculously cheap and filling.

After a nice and filling breakfast , I was ready for the tour. I was particularly excited to see Thale-Whake or separated sea. At low tides, there is a sand bar that emerges between two islands. A pretty sight to see.

Thale-Whake

Iconic Long-tail boat

Chiken Island

Day 8 - Hot Springs and Emerald Pool tour

One of the reasons I picked Krabi Vs Phuket is other nature attractions around Krabi area. My personal favorite are the Hot Springs and Emerald pool.

Again I booked the tour from my hotel front desk for a ridiculously cheap THB350 ($12). This was a half a day tour on an Air Conditioned Van. After about an hour ride picking up guests from various hotels, we rode into real Thailand and onto Thung Tieo- Emerald pool Nature reserve. There are well marked trails and trail map at the entrance. Cost of entrance was paid for by the tour. I recommend you take a picture of the trail map for reference if you plan on exploring the trails. I did my homework and wore my running shoes. It is very uncomfortable walking with flip-flops or beach wear.

At the entrance there were many vendors selling barbecued duck eggs and other local eats with bottled water. If you did not bring water and plan to hike to the blue lagoon I would highly recommend getting some water. It is always hot in Thailand and the trails are deserted.
It is a quick 10-15 min walk to the Green pool where one could swim. The water is very refreshing. The hike to the blue lagoon is another 10-15 min and not many people do this. The blue lagoon is considered sacred and no swimming is allowed. So the walk is only to click a picture. In hindsight I was glad I did that and saw the sight. But at that time, it was a hot uncomfortable walk.

After another 30 minute ride we arrived at the Thermal waterfall. It is a short walk from the parking lot to the thermal pools. It has several tiers and the water was hottest at the top and cooled down towards the bottom. It was a good spa experience.
I was very satisfied with this trip as my expectations were kinda low. My main reason to come to this region was picture perfect beaches and yes I had very high expectations. Maya Bay, Bamboo island, Tup island beat my expectations easily.

Day 9 - Beaches and Night Market

My time in Thailand was slowly coming to an end. On day 8 I was very tired and I think something I ate got to my stomach. I usually do not treat diarrhea, its my way of cleaning the system and loosing some weight. So I took it easy during the day and bought a THB120 trip to the night market in Krabi.

Ao Nang Beach

Night Market Krabi

Thai Dance

The night market was not all that great. It was a good experience, but nothing special in the market to buy. Lots of food which I could not eat because of my stomach condition. I was glad I got a tour which is basically air conditioned transport to and back. It is possible to take a songthawe, the open truck for a fraction of what I paid.

Day 10 - So long Thailand.

I was flying out of Phuket (dont ask why) so I decided to take a bus from Ao Nang to Krabi to Phuket Airport. Ao Nang has a comfortable reliable but very slow airport shuttle. Very reasonable price but took over 90 min to drop me at the bus stop. Bus station was easy to find and there were several buses to Phuket. It was a comfortable ride and got just off the side road to Phuket airport. I budgeted several hours to be safe , but reached the Airport in about 5 hours, including the ride from Ao Nang to Krabi. If you have any questions please ask in the comments and I will answer.

See you all in India, my next stop.