Amsterdam to Bangkok to Ko Phanang

So, we are waiting right now to take a bus to a ferry to go to Ko Phanang, an island off the Southern coast of Thailand. We have been traveling for 36 hours so we are needless to say ready to get somewhere.

Amsterdam did not disappoint the last 2 days and we really can't stop talking enough about the fact that there needs to be a train revolution (in flat cities) in the US. We were able to go to a town about 25 miles outside of Amsterdam completely on cruiser bikes and complete with bike paths the entire way. What was interesting to me was the fact that this was not a scenic route persay but we rode past factories, big box stores, major highways and I couldn't believe that there were bike paths along this entire road...this would be like having a bike path run up 1-75 to Marietta and where there is construction, detour paths have been made for the bikes. Amazing.

Anyway, we went to this cheezy little town called Zaase Schan...will finish late...bus is leaving...and now am back at the same computer but 4 days later waiting for our train to return to bangkok...

We rode out to Zaase Schan where the highlight was watching a shoe carver make some wooden shoes but the bike ride was actually the best part...interesting enough, Holland is a pretty industrial country and so it was not the riding through the fields of tulips and windmills but pretty neat to see how the bike paths even led to big factories...

Anyway, we got back to Amsterdam and strolled down to a local Indian restaurant for our final European meal (the irony) but the food was delightful and we fell quickly asleep afterwards preparing for the next day's travel...we strolled around Amsterdam before we caught the train the next morning and the only notable mention was when we took a turn down the prostitute street...I had heard of the prostitutes lining the streets but we had not seen this as of yet except for a few windows sporting scantily dressed women randomly throughout the city...but this was the real deal...young women every 2 feet hanging out of doors in their underwear...they giggled as I walked by due to my nervous laugh from being the only fully dressed woman on the street...it was interesting to learn about prostitution and the legal use of drugs in the country and how when not highly regulated...the economics of the trade are much more balanced and not laundered as much...the prostitutes have more rights and actually are somewhat bummed at the legality because they now have to report their income and you know what that means...taxes!

Anyway, off from Amsterdam, we flew to Cairo, transferred planes and flew into Bangkok. We took a bus to the train station and then hopped on a train south toward the coast so there is nothing spectacular to report from Bangkok...one notable item on the train ride was the amount of shacks the were all along the railroad track...I realized that this must be the cheapest property if their are property rights in Thailand and so the whole way we saw the poorest of the poor, dogs wandering by and all watching the trains go by but on the other hand the roads here are great which suprised me after many times being on terrible roads in developing countries...so the bus travel works well...we arrived at the train stop at 4am and then took a bus to a ferry to Ko Pahangan...which is beautiful...while at the train station we got a tip from a Scotish guy about the best beach to stay in on the island so we made our way to Thang Pan Noi and to our little piece of heaven for the next couple of days...

Our beach was mostly made up of 10-15 bungalow resorts ($15 - $40) for a bungalow with a hammock on the front porch where you could see the ocean about 20 ft down the way, interspersed with yummy restaurants and thai massage venues...the other guests were mostly older couples and families which was nice because it kept things pretty quiet...we woke up in the mornings, walked to a place that served mango shakes, yogurt and muesli and coffee, read alot on the beach (under umbrellas, mom, don't worry)...got a couple of massages (reason enough to come to Thailand) and ate lots of yummy thai food...including real pad thai...oops train gotta go