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Best way to get to Vientiane from Bangkok

December 11, 2015 Evelyn Loh

Do I take the plane, bus or train from Bangkok to Vientiane?

There are 4 main ways to travel from Bangkok to Vientiane. When I made this trip, I had to weigh out the pros and cons as with any circumstance where I am about to spend 10 hours of my life doing something I’d rather not be doing, like sitting on a bus seat for 10 hours.

I designed this chart to help you decide which way you’d like to go. There’s lot of resources available online for detailed reference on how to do it once you’ve made your decision and all ways are simple enough.

As of December 2015:

Mode of Transport	Cost US$ (Baht)	Travel Time**	Pros	Cons
Fly	100-200* (4000 – 7000 baht)	1 hour	· Fastest · Direct city to city	· Most expensive · Restricted baggage
Bus	25 (900 baht)	11-12 hours	· Affordable · Direct city to city	· Save on accommodation
Train***	25 (900 baht)	12-13 hours	· Affordable · Comfortable	· Affordable · Comfortable · Save on accommodation
Fly and Ride (via Bus) offered by Nok Air***	50 (1800 baht)	4 hours	· Reasonable Price · Time efficient, cuts travel time via land by half	· Still not the cheapest mode of transport

*depends on the time of year and airlineI place this as a reminder that the cost will be approximate. Remember if you are flying you will need to factor in accommodation for the night versus if you travel via sleeper bus. Also, travel to the airport and airport food is way more expensive. So know that this is probably the most costly option.

** Time spent on mode of transportation. This excludes other time factors such as arriving at the airport 2 hours before, delays, wait times that are variable and impossible to gage.

*** These options include an additional mode of transportation, via either shuttle or minivan to cross the border. It’s all fairly simple and really easy to figure out once you are there

In the end, I decided with the guidance of Buddha to take the middle path and go with the option of Fly N Ride. I have being confined in a seat for long periods of time and would rather not if I didn’t have to, so I chose this option. My second option would have been to take the Train. Flying in my opinion is only for emergencies and if you are pressed for time.

Adventures in Thailand, how to, lifestyle, travel

Learning Thai Massage at Wat Po Thai Traditional Massage

December 8, 2015November 30, 2017 Evelyn Loh

Why I chose Wat Pho Massage School

After leaving Koh Chang, I headed to Bangkok and chose to study thai massage at the world renown Wat Pho massage school.

The #1 reason I chose this place instead of other schools in Chiang Mai is due to their deep rooted history and their accreditation.

Wat Pho is the birthplace of Thai Massage. Thai massage is said to have come from, or rather, inspired by the yogic asanas and Ayuvedic principles from India – which is why I have interest in Thai Massage. It is not relaxing form of massage, at times it can be slightly uncomfortable. It focuses more on the acupressure points of the body to form to release muscle tension or pain.

Wat Po was 1 of the 3 schools listed in Bangkok as being accredited with the National Health Practitioners of Canada (NHPC). One of other schools was Phussapa Thai Massage running fix course schedules from Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., alternate weeks. I like Phussapa and being Japanese-run, I think it would have had a more efficient way of running things, but it was more expensive at 12,000 baht, compared to Wat Pho at 9,500 baht. The other accredited schools were mostly in Chiang Mai with prices from around 6,000 baht and up, Sunshine being one of the top choices. Check if your school is accredited with NHPC.

Additional reasons why I chose Wat Pho were based on schedule flexibility. They have courses for General Thai Massage every single day 9-4, you just show up at 8:30 in the morning, register and pay.

I found hostel accommodation on Samsen 2 (near Khaosan Road) called Glory Hostel for about 200 baht a night and it cost merely 7 baht/day for my bus ride to and fro Wat Pho on Bus 53. The hostel was clean and tidy, albeit a little cramped as most hostels in Khaosan are, but the staff were super friendly and helpful. It is within walking distance to Wat Pho too, if you would like to stroll about 30 minutes each day.

Finding the Wat Pho Massage School

So recently, as of November 2015, I realized during my research that the location of the massage school was quite ambiguous, with Google Maps showing 2 locations. And I know people have been going there for years and locals will just give you instructions on how to get there. But let’s put a map to it.

Basically, you will first have to go to the (1) administration office to first to get registered. It’s right down the alley where the yellow building is.

You’ll need 3 passport sized photos – if you don’t have the photos right away they can be taken later by the 7-Eleven close by for 200 baht and they give you 12 photos! Once you are all registered, they will send you upstairs for “orientation” which is basically watching a video that explains the origin of Thai Massage. In the afternoon, you will move buildings down the street (2) at where the rest of your course will be held.

Reusi Dat Ton classes at the eastern of the temple grounds in front of the massage parlour is (3) every morning 8 – 8:30 then followed by my own gentle yoga practice. It is open to public and I practiced here every morning.

Overall Experience

My overall experience was pretty good. I like learning and that’s key to any experience I believe. There are no real bad experiences, only lessons to be learned. I also met a really cool Japanese guy living in America who had a sense of humour and made the experience a fun one.

The only complain I have is that our main teacher well wasn’t very interested in her job. On Day 1, a girl from my group ~~that talked to much~~ decided to ask for private lessons at her 5-star hotel. And thus, favouritism began in the class. Also, our teacher played with her telephone more than the others and had visitors throughout the day coming in to do business with her. I believe it was some sort of furniture building business because a guy came in one day with measurements of tables and handed her money. She left it up to other teachers to step in to show us the techniques in a more professional manner. If you are picky about teachers like I am, you can request for Pi Thip (the one I liked best) or the Indian Thai lady teach whose name escapes me. Request to start on the day that they start teaching Day 1, then they will be your main teacher for the rest of the course.

Adventures in Thailand, lifestyle, travel, yoga

Koh Chang Says Goodbye

November 29, 2015November 30, 2017 Evelyn Loh

The entire time I was on Koh Chang, time stood still. It was as if my life had been suspended in a state of surreal beauty as I watched stars in the sky night after night and butterflies swarming around me during the day – it was really one perfect day after another. Even the rainy days were absolutely beautiful.

During my last month here, time un-paused itself and suddenly, I found myself counting down the days. My last two week here on Koh Chang were incredible and it felt as is the entire island gave me a farewell party. I couldn’t arrange a more perfect ending to this chapter of my life. To capture it all in the writing style that I’m accustomed to (which is overly descriptive to a fault and lengthy) would probably put you to sleep. So I’ll try to keep my highlights short and allow for more pretty pictures instead.

My last two weeks on Koh Chang comprised of the following highlights:

Spontaneous photography session with my artist friends – My student/friend Cristina and I went to visit my friend Pi Jo at his artsy little boutique hotel Picasjo House via bicycle. When we arrived, Pi Noy and Kwang were there as well. Kwang, Pi Jo’s girlfriend, was visiting from Bangkok and wanted to take photos of the island as the sun was about to set which is when the lighting is most dramatic. We all jumped into the back of Pi Jo’s truck, loaded our bicycles and went around taking photos. Here are a few cool shots we got:
Sunset at Lonely Beach – After a beautiful afternoon lazing in the sun and sand with Cristina people watching, we watched the sun go down dramatically over the horizon.

As if that wasn’t perfect enough, a sailboat decides to float by creating a postcard scene with its silhouette against the blue and orange sky, as well as the silhouette of tiny islands offshore.

Bioluminesence – Simply put, bioluminescence is the process of microorganisms emitting light in reaction to movement in their environment. And what this means is that if the night and the water is calm and clear enough and there’s enough of these microorganisms, such as plankton, around. This is what you see…

Okay, I stole that picture from Google because I don’t have one. And although that is a very impressive photo, it was a similar experience. So you get the idea. It felt like I was in the Life of Pi. Only I wasn’t alone with a tiger but with friends, under a sky full of stars at 4 AM in the morning after an awesome night of live music and dancing. It was so beautiful, I almost cried. But I didn’t. But I could have, really, I just didn’t want to seem weird.

HTMS Chang Wreck Dive with Tim – Spent the night in Bang Bao and we went to check out Tim’s favourite bar, Mr. Tee Bar, where Mr. Tee and Tiger played amazing live music as we sat with sand in our feet and beers in our hands. The next day we went diving at the HTMS Chang. About 20m+ of visibility and huge schools of fish at the wreck, barracudas and a whole lot more. This video here gives you an idea of how massive those schools were.

Loy Krathong – I made my first krathong lantern and I couldn’t be more proud. I used two shades of green and trimmed it with red leaves, and poked the incense and candle right in the middle of a hisbiscus. It was so pretty. At night we went to the pier to release our krathongs to appease the river goddess. I wished for good luck for the rest of my journey.
Photo Credit: Atee Noy

Photo Credit: Atee Noy

Photo Credit: Atee Noy

So that’s a quick peek at my last two weeks on the island. I miss it so much as I sit here in Bangkok attending massage school. But life takes your where it wants to and I’ll leave you with the following words of my favourite song right now.

We’ll drive until the gas is gone
And then walk until our feet are torn
Crawl until we feed the soil
Film the whole thing
-Dan Mangan, Road Regrets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BiMSkmfYJ8