Friday 24 July 2009
23/7/09 - 24/7/09 Cambodia - Kratie -Irrwaddy Dolphins
23/7/09
Said goodbye to 'No have', Massage' & 'Where you go' land!!!
Hmmmm how do I explain the journey from Pakse in Laos to the Cambodian border & then onto Kratie......You know those trucks you see on the motorway at home that have cattle stuffed in them with just about enough room to breath, flies all round them with the thought that they will soon be slaughtered?
Well it's kinda like that, you are stuffed into a minivan(not the nice VIP one you have just seen leave with the travellers that have yet again got the whole ticket thing sussed) with Argentinian travellers playing strange hippy music, flies & muddy seats, travel to weird villages down mud tracks stopping now & then to drop off & pick up new people or to collect the drivers shopping, when you do stop you have to pay to use the worst squat toilet ever & the woman smiles as she takes the money & looks on bemused while you frantically squirt on hand sanitizer!
At the 1st border to leave, yes, leave Laos you have to pay $2 each for the exit stamp, must be $1 to raise the arm & the same to lower it, straight into their back pocket. Then walk 1/2 a mile in the heat with your bag across no mans land to enter Cambodia where again they charge you $2 each for a stamp & of course are very moody as they ask for it! Then you go through customs where for the first time ever he asks to see our immunisation records & passports again (give this guy his due he was smiley & nice) then lets you on your way.
Back on the minivan, then you arrive at the lunch stop & the cheese baguette (if I see another one of those it will be too soon!) you ordered arrives with 2 Laughing Cow triangles (yes even the cheese laughs at you over here)& ants all over it, you then get your seat on the next minivan 1st, to ensure you have one only to be told 'You BIG, you sit in the front' so you get sat next to the tiniest Cambodian girl you've ever seen just to rub it in! Face masks are passed out by the driver to his fellow Cambodians so we asked for one too for a laugh, well I'm sure we have more to worry about than they do!
Eventually we arrive in Kratie & wave goodbye to the suckers that are doing the trip all the way to Siam Riep (another 5 hours, stay overnight then another 4ish hours)!
Bonus, the hotel we sort of made a b line for is $13, great & the boys on the desk are great fun. Wow the shower never felt so good! We even get free flip flop slippers, no robes though!
We are assured that we will see the rare, critically endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins. So with the thought in our minds that that was what they said about the bloody elephants we hand over our $28 & book the trip! Suckers!!!!
Sat in the bar next door & found cheap vodka & orange's, J had his first 'Angkor' beer, planned our next steps in Cambodia, dinner then bed to dream of dolphins!!
24/7/09
Luckily we woke up as the alarm didn't go off, shot out for brekkie before 8am when we leave to go & see the dolphins.
J had Heinz Baked Beans on toast, no not the ones he got for his birthday!
Bought a couple of books too, Treasure Island & 'A Cooks Tour' by Anthony Bourdain for when we've finished all the Godfather/Mafia books!
Got picked up by our 2 man motorbike tuk tuk & drove for about 40 mins along the mighty Mekong River through various little villages with all the people waving & saying 'Hello' as we went by. The kiddies are soooo cute & smiley! Saw a few pigs & some mud for good measure!
Got on the boat & surprisingly didn't have to walk in any mud, what's going on? Met our nice smiley boat driver & headed out to dolphin watch!
WOW, we saw them! I know this sounds like a proper'you've turned into a traveller' comment but we both felt so, so lucky & privileged to see these dolphins as they are so rare. Took loads of pictures which was fun as the water is so muddy you have trouble guessing where they will pop up next but we got a few & some film clips.
Spent about an hour just watching them........
Back at base we walked around, booked the bus for tomorrow am to Siem Riep, only a 9 hour journey hope JJ gets enough leg room or I'll chuck him in the Mekong!!
J got a well needed hair cut for $2, well funny all the hairdressing team came out to watch, still amazed by the ginger locks!
Well we're in Cambodia now & have been greeted with happy smiley faces everywhere we go bring it on!!
Things we have noticed just crossing over the border:
1. Mechanical farm equipment has been replaced with horse/cow & cart.
2. Mopeds have no electric start, they are all kick start.
3. Saw the first rubbish bins for a long time & a big sign warning people not to drop rubbish in the Mekong. Shame, a walk around & it seems to be that the bins are not being used.....
4. Poorer people but seem really happy & would do anything for you.......
Said goodbye to 'No have', Massage' & 'Where you go' land!!!
Hmmmm how do I explain the journey from Pakse in Laos to the Cambodian border & then onto Kratie......You know those trucks you see on the motorway at home that have cattle stuffed in them with just about enough room to breath, flies all round them with the thought that they will soon be slaughtered?
Well it's kinda like that, you are stuffed into a minivan(not the nice VIP one you have just seen leave with the travellers that have yet again got the whole ticket thing sussed) with Argentinian travellers playing strange hippy music, flies & muddy seats, travel to weird villages down mud tracks stopping now & then to drop off & pick up new people or to collect the drivers shopping, when you do stop you have to pay to use the worst squat toilet ever & the woman smiles as she takes the money & looks on bemused while you frantically squirt on hand sanitizer!
At the 1st border to leave, yes, leave Laos you have to pay $2 each for the exit stamp, must be $1 to raise the arm & the same to lower it, straight into their back pocket. Then walk 1/2 a mile in the heat with your bag across no mans land to enter Cambodia where again they charge you $2 each for a stamp & of course are very moody as they ask for it! Then you go through customs where for the first time ever he asks to see our immunisation records & passports again (give this guy his due he was smiley & nice) then lets you on your way.
Back on the minivan, then you arrive at the lunch stop & the cheese baguette (if I see another one of those it will be too soon!) you ordered arrives with 2 Laughing Cow triangles (yes even the cheese laughs at you over here)& ants all over it, you then get your seat on the next minivan 1st, to ensure you have one only to be told 'You BIG, you sit in the front' so you get sat next to the tiniest Cambodian girl you've ever seen just to rub it in! Face masks are passed out by the driver to his fellow Cambodians so we asked for one too for a laugh, well I'm sure we have more to worry about than they do!
Eventually we arrive in Kratie & wave goodbye to the suckers that are doing the trip all the way to Siam Riep (another 5 hours, stay overnight then another 4ish hours)!
Bonus, the hotel we sort of made a b line for is $13, great & the boys on the desk are great fun. Wow the shower never felt so good! We even get free flip flop slippers, no robes though!
We are assured that we will see the rare, critically endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins. So with the thought in our minds that that was what they said about the bloody elephants we hand over our $28 & book the trip! Suckers!!!!
Sat in the bar next door & found cheap vodka & orange's, J had his first 'Angkor' beer, planned our next steps in Cambodia, dinner then bed to dream of dolphins!!
24/7/09
Luckily we woke up as the alarm didn't go off, shot out for brekkie before 8am when we leave to go & see the dolphins.
J had Heinz Baked Beans on toast, no not the ones he got for his birthday!
Bought a couple of books too, Treasure Island & 'A Cooks Tour' by Anthony Bourdain for when we've finished all the Godfather/Mafia books!
Got picked up by our 2 man motorbike tuk tuk & drove for about 40 mins along the mighty Mekong River through various little villages with all the people waving & saying 'Hello' as we went by. The kiddies are soooo cute & smiley! Saw a few pigs & some mud for good measure!
Got on the boat & surprisingly didn't have to walk in any mud, what's going on? Met our nice smiley boat driver & headed out to dolphin watch!
WOW, we saw them! I know this sounds like a proper'you've turned into a traveller' comment but we both felt so, so lucky & privileged to see these dolphins as they are so rare. Took loads of pictures which was fun as the water is so muddy you have trouble guessing where they will pop up next but we got a few & some film clips.
Spent about an hour just watching them........
Back at base we walked around, booked the bus for tomorrow am to Siem Riep, only a 9 hour journey hope JJ gets enough leg room or I'll chuck him in the Mekong!!
J got a well needed hair cut for $2, well funny all the hairdressing team came out to watch, still amazed by the ginger locks!
Well we're in Cambodia now & have been greeted with happy smiley faces everywhere we go bring it on!!
Things we have noticed just crossing over the border:
1. Mechanical farm equipment has been replaced with horse/cow & cart.
2. Mopeds have no electric start, they are all kick start.
3. Saw the first rubbish bins for a long time & a big sign warning people not to drop rubbish in the Mekong. Shame, a walk around & it seems to be that the bins are not being used.....
4. Poorer people but seem really happy & would do anything for you.......
10/7/09 - 11/7/09 Vang Vieng River tubing
10/7/09
Left Luang Prubang on the bus to Vieng Vieng. On the way the scenery was AMAZING, up through the northernish hills, past remote villages with people showering on the roadside etc....Had an amazing & free lunch about 1/2 way & arrived early afternoon.
What a funny, funny place well s**t hole springs to mind really! It is purely set up for backpackers who want to watch 'Friends' on TV all day & go river tubing!
So what did we do, walked around in the heat,J talked to a weird looking slightly ill looking man who mentioned spermicide at one point & who we then avoided like the plague, found a guest house & sat downstairs watching friends! Yes J too & he loved it! Ha wait til we get home!
Bumped into Jasmin, Reenie, Erin & Marcel. Ended up going to a bar with Marcel& Reenie for a few more, well until about 1am & J and Marcel order 'Happy' Garlic bread! Say no more!!!!
11/7/09
J & Marcel feeling a bit rough from the potent 'Happy' garlic bread!
Matching 'Team' t-shirts on the 6 of us, 2 Brits, 2 Aussie's & 2 Austrians headed to the office to get our tuuuubes for river tubing!
Very drunk & very, very funny, you tube down the river & they pull you into bars by throwing you a life line, lots of free Laos Whiskey, mud vollyball, mud bath, mud fights, death slides & zip wire's into the river!!!! Not sure it's the safest thing we've done but was definatly the funniest!! Erin excelled in the zip line acrobatic's competition!!
Lost Erin on the way but she managed to find her way back by walking through paddy fields, loosing her camera & watch, scratching up her legs but at least she got back safe & sound!
However.......On the way back I had a near death experience, we were all holding hands on our rings to stay together & my tube hit a tree stump, I was thrown off & went under water & then was caught by my lifejacket on the stump in the middle of the rushing water!!! Luckily Jay managed to hold onto a stump near me otherwise I'd have been well scared, yes I did cry!!! Managed to free myself eventually & get back on my ring, phew the Bird lives to see another day!!! Had massive bruises the next day on my dinner ladies though!!
Check out the photo's on Facebook!
Got back at 1 minute to 6pm so got our full deposit back yay! Oh & I also got a refund on the loan of the waterproof bag which made the near death experience a bit better!
Left Luang Prubang on the bus to Vieng Vieng. On the way the scenery was AMAZING, up through the northernish hills, past remote villages with people showering on the roadside etc....Had an amazing & free lunch about 1/2 way & arrived early afternoon.
What a funny, funny place well s**t hole springs to mind really! It is purely set up for backpackers who want to watch 'Friends' on TV all day & go river tubing!
So what did we do, walked around in the heat,J talked to a weird looking slightly ill looking man who mentioned spermicide at one point & who we then avoided like the plague, found a guest house & sat downstairs watching friends! Yes J too & he loved it! Ha wait til we get home!
Bumped into Jasmin, Reenie, Erin & Marcel. Ended up going to a bar with Marcel& Reenie for a few more, well until about 1am & J and Marcel order 'Happy' Garlic bread! Say no more!!!!
11/7/09
J & Marcel feeling a bit rough from the potent 'Happy' garlic bread!
Matching 'Team' t-shirts on the 6 of us, 2 Brits, 2 Aussie's & 2 Austrians headed to the office to get our tuuuubes for river tubing!
Very drunk & very, very funny, you tube down the river & they pull you into bars by throwing you a life line, lots of free Laos Whiskey, mud vollyball, mud bath, mud fights, death slides & zip wire's into the river!!!! Not sure it's the safest thing we've done but was definatly the funniest!! Erin excelled in the zip line acrobatic's competition!!
Lost Erin on the way but she managed to find her way back by walking through paddy fields, loosing her camera & watch, scratching up her legs but at least she got back safe & sound!
However.......On the way back I had a near death experience, we were all holding hands on our rings to stay together & my tube hit a tree stump, I was thrown off & went under water & then was caught by my lifejacket on the stump in the middle of the rushing water!!! Luckily Jay managed to hold onto a stump near me otherwise I'd have been well scared, yes I did cry!!! Managed to free myself eventually & get back on my ring, phew the Bird lives to see another day!!! Had massive bruises the next day on my dinner ladies though!!
Check out the photo's on Facebook!
Got back at 1 minute to 6pm so got our full deposit back yay! Oh & I also got a refund on the loan of the waterproof bag which made the near death experience a bit better!
Wednesday 22 July 2009
6/7/09 - 7/7/09 Chaing Rai - Laos Mekong River trip
6/7/09
I think it must have rained all night & yes it was still raining when we got up in the early hours for our pick up at 6:30am to get to Laos!
So rain mac's & umbrella's in hand off we went!
1st leg was in a minivan, just us, wow, to the Thailand border up North, here we got our exit stamps & slipped on the muddy bank, nearly went arse over tit but brought it back at the last minute & got on our boat to cross the Mekong to the Laos entry border. Got visa all OK, tuk, tuk to the longboat, bought baguettes on the way as was told there was no food or drink on board (liars!), I asked for more filling as she well scrimped!
Got on the boat that was meant to leave at 11am but eventually left at 12 after letting scarily loads more people on board! No life jackets to be seen!
Still raining.......
Met two guys from Thailand on the boat who were sat in front of us, they were really nice, just on their hols.
Seats were well uncomfortable, just wooden benches......J softened the blow by having a beer, his first Beer Lao! Oh yes, forgot to say, there was a bar on board & they sold food after all!!!!
Arrived in Pak Beng the 1/2 way stop, grabbed the bags & then had to walk on the thinnest piece of wood to get to shore, could have all ended badly! Usual crowd there selling rooms so we opted for the one furthest away unbeknown to us, oh well....
Anyway, I was in the shower & J was naked waiting for his turn (in the shower) & there was a knock at the door, J answered & there was this kid there saying 'you check in?', yes J said, we'll come down & pay for the room soon. The kid then said 'You want weed?' how funny, J was shocked, well funny!
Oh, he said no by the way, good JJ!
Went to the only Indian restaurant & experienced our first blackout! The whole place was run on generators so we ate by candlelight, ahhh it's been a long time, oh hold on, no can't remember it ever happening before! Oh J got offered weed again by the waiter.....
Well on the generators it's lights out at 10pm, literally, all power is shut off, so why did we pay extra for a fan room I hear you cry?!!! Ahhhhhhhh!
7/7/09
Up, bacon roll, sorry baguette, then off to get to the boat early to get a good seat!
I walked up back & met Reenie & Erin from OZ who had a pukka spot at the back.....
Really enjoyed the 2nd leg to Luang Prubang. We saw elephants on the bank of the Mekong working, pulling logs up the bank, great scenery, cheeky kids playing & just settled back & enjoyed. Oh & we nearly capsized much to the skipper's amusement! It woke J up though!
Left at 9am & got in about 4pm so a full days boating, no boat sticks though!
Checked into a guest house after a little walk around. Loads of French Colonial houses here that have been made into guesthouses, nice. Had a beer on the corner & bumped into the Thai guys cycling past, said hello & had a chat.
Went to a L.Planet recommendation for dinner which was a bit rubbish, I see a theme occurring, we tried dried river moss, dried pork then went to a bar on the river where we bumped into Reenie & Erin then got introduced to Jasmin & Marcel from Austria. I had my 1st glass of wine for ages......mmmmmmmm yummy! I'll sleep well tonight!
I think it must have rained all night & yes it was still raining when we got up in the early hours for our pick up at 6:30am to get to Laos!
So rain mac's & umbrella's in hand off we went!
1st leg was in a minivan, just us, wow, to the Thailand border up North, here we got our exit stamps & slipped on the muddy bank, nearly went arse over tit but brought it back at the last minute & got on our boat to cross the Mekong to the Laos entry border. Got visa all OK, tuk, tuk to the longboat, bought baguettes on the way as was told there was no food or drink on board (liars!), I asked for more filling as she well scrimped!
Got on the boat that was meant to leave at 11am but eventually left at 12 after letting scarily loads more people on board! No life jackets to be seen!
Still raining.......
Met two guys from Thailand on the boat who were sat in front of us, they were really nice, just on their hols.
Seats were well uncomfortable, just wooden benches......J softened the blow by having a beer, his first Beer Lao! Oh yes, forgot to say, there was a bar on board & they sold food after all!!!!
Arrived in Pak Beng the 1/2 way stop, grabbed the bags & then had to walk on the thinnest piece of wood to get to shore, could have all ended badly! Usual crowd there selling rooms so we opted for the one furthest away unbeknown to us, oh well....
Anyway, I was in the shower & J was naked waiting for his turn (in the shower) & there was a knock at the door, J answered & there was this kid there saying 'you check in?', yes J said, we'll come down & pay for the room soon. The kid then said 'You want weed?' how funny, J was shocked, well funny!
Oh, he said no by the way, good JJ!
Went to the only Indian restaurant & experienced our first blackout! The whole place was run on generators so we ate by candlelight, ahhh it's been a long time, oh hold on, no can't remember it ever happening before! Oh J got offered weed again by the waiter.....
Well on the generators it's lights out at 10pm, literally, all power is shut off, so why did we pay extra for a fan room I hear you cry?!!! Ahhhhhhhh!
7/7/09
Up, bacon roll, sorry baguette, then off to get to the boat early to get a good seat!
I walked up back & met Reenie & Erin from OZ who had a pukka spot at the back.....
Really enjoyed the 2nd leg to Luang Prubang. We saw elephants on the bank of the Mekong working, pulling logs up the bank, great scenery, cheeky kids playing & just settled back & enjoyed. Oh & we nearly capsized much to the skipper's amusement! It woke J up though!
Left at 9am & got in about 4pm so a full days boating, no boat sticks though!
Checked into a guest house after a little walk around. Loads of French Colonial houses here that have been made into guesthouses, nice. Had a beer on the corner & bumped into the Thai guys cycling past, said hello & had a chat.
Went to a L.Planet recommendation for dinner which was a bit rubbish, I see a theme occurring, we tried dried river moss, dried pork then went to a bar on the river where we bumped into Reenie & Erin then got introduced to Jasmin & Marcel from Austria. I had my 1st glass of wine for ages......mmmmmmmm yummy! I'll sleep well tonight!
4/7/09 - 5/7/09 - Chaing Rai
Got on the VIP bus for the 3 hour journey to Chaing Rai.
We figured out after a while that the hostess was infact a man dressed as a girl, very funny! Kept looking for a willy! How childish!
J delighted with the leg room & fully reclining seats, we even got to watch a film in Thai, got free peanuts (chicken flavour) & a bottle of water.....what more could you ask for I hear you cry?
Stumbled accross the best roast dinner ever in the Coconut bar, loads of meat & roast potatoes proper like! Got chatting to a few of the locals there & on the way back the huge golden clocktower in the middle of the roundabout was going off only we didn't know why there were crowds of people there. Turns out this thing turns into an all dancin, all singin clock tower complete with moving parts, music, flourescent lights & all! Very surreal & quite scary.....
Didn't help the traffic either!
Went to the walking market on Saturday night & luckily hadn't eaten so we had walking eating market!
This comprised of walking up & down with the locals trying to explain what each dish was, us then deciding if it was anything weird like hearts, chicken cartilage etc & generlly deciding if it looked ok then let's try it!
We had JJ's favourite satays, pork balls (no not testicles), massive pork dumplings filled with minced pork, spring onions with a parsnip like taste that looked like a flattened char sui bun, wantons, funny taco shell like things with a coconut cream & pumpkin topping.
I want to know how to make noodles? Any ideas?
The rain didn't let up at all so trekking was out of the question, as if we needed an excuse, so we booked to leave the next day for Laos!
We figured out after a while that the hostess was infact a man dressed as a girl, very funny! Kept looking for a willy! How childish!
J delighted with the leg room & fully reclining seats, we even got to watch a film in Thai, got free peanuts (chicken flavour) & a bottle of water.....what more could you ask for I hear you cry?
Stumbled accross the best roast dinner ever in the Coconut bar, loads of meat & roast potatoes proper like! Got chatting to a few of the locals there & on the way back the huge golden clocktower in the middle of the roundabout was going off only we didn't know why there were crowds of people there. Turns out this thing turns into an all dancin, all singin clock tower complete with moving parts, music, flourescent lights & all! Very surreal & quite scary.....
Didn't help the traffic either!
Went to the walking market on Saturday night & luckily hadn't eaten so we had walking eating market!
This comprised of walking up & down with the locals trying to explain what each dish was, us then deciding if it was anything weird like hearts, chicken cartilage etc & generlly deciding if it looked ok then let's try it!
We had JJ's favourite satays, pork balls (no not testicles), massive pork dumplings filled with minced pork, spring onions with a parsnip like taste that looked like a flattened char sui bun, wantons, funny taco shell like things with a coconut cream & pumpkin topping.
I want to know how to make noodles? Any ideas?
The rain didn't let up at all so trekking was out of the question, as if we needed an excuse, so we booked to leave the next day for Laos!
Wednesday 1 July 2009
26/6/08-3/7/09 Chaing Mai
Main objective to GET CHINESE VISA! But as usual we arrived on a weekend & the Embassy is shut!
Checked out of boring, crappy hostel (why they kept asking us if we wanted a cheaper room with no hot water God only knows, do we look poor now?!) & walked to the Chinese Embassy to put in our application, funny security giggled at us with our big rucksacks but let us in without a search anyway! I heard security is more tight with swine flu!
Hey ho, that done off we went to our new nice hotel with air con, hot water (we hope) & cable tv.....
Here until Thursday min until we can pick up our visa's.
What to do for 4 days.......
Well we updated our BLOG which was a mammouth feat as was uploading & sorting out all of our pictures, I gave Jay that job as I can type faster!!
Well we found a proper supermarket here with actual french sticks! Yum!
Went to the cinema twice to watch 'UP' & 'Ice Age 3', UP was hilarious & the one liner when the dog is put in 'The Cone of shame' was hilarious! Didn't know that at the start of each film in Thailand you have to stand while a film clip of the King is played, very weird! J loved the reclining seats though!
Not a lot else to report really just ate, drank, got another bout of food poisoning after a dodgy burger after drinking too much with a German guy again on our last night so we had a hangover on the bus to Chaing Rai, well if I'm telling the truth we missed the bus out completly & went the next day! JJ looked after me again & went on a Tuk Tuk (who had his own business cards!) & changed the tickets!
Oh & most importantly we got our China visa yippeeee!!!!!
Checked out of boring, crappy hostel (why they kept asking us if we wanted a cheaper room with no hot water God only knows, do we look poor now?!) & walked to the Chinese Embassy to put in our application, funny security giggled at us with our big rucksacks but let us in without a search anyway! I heard security is more tight with swine flu!
Hey ho, that done off we went to our new nice hotel with air con, hot water (we hope) & cable tv.....
Here until Thursday min until we can pick up our visa's.
What to do for 4 days.......
Well we updated our BLOG which was a mammouth feat as was uploading & sorting out all of our pictures, I gave Jay that job as I can type faster!!
Well we found a proper supermarket here with actual french sticks! Yum!
Went to the cinema twice to watch 'UP' & 'Ice Age 3', UP was hilarious & the one liner when the dog is put in 'The Cone of shame' was hilarious! Didn't know that at the start of each film in Thailand you have to stand while a film clip of the King is played, very weird! J loved the reclining seats though!
Not a lot else to report really just ate, drank, got another bout of food poisoning after a dodgy burger after drinking too much with a German guy again on our last night so we had a hangover on the bus to Chaing Rai, well if I'm telling the truth we missed the bus out completly & went the next day! JJ looked after me again & went on a Tuk Tuk (who had his own business cards!) & changed the tickets!
Oh & most importantly we got our China visa yippeeee!!!!!
20/6/09 - 25/6/09 - Bangkok
20/6/09
Yuck, why oh why do we do it to ourselves & always on a travelling day!
Hangover number 3 on K/Samui!!!!! Yes a theme is developing, sometimes I think we've just eaten & drunken our way around the world so far!!!
Luckily had made sarnies the night before so had hangover food!
Got the boat to Chumpon, high speed catamaran, I spent most of the journey in the toilet & it was rough as well so J nearly puked too!!! Don't know how but made it, disembarked & waited for the bus to arrive for Bangkok ready for our 8 hour bus ride! Yeh!
After our 12 hour total journey with hangovers eating Pringles (thought I'd found Walkers Salt & Vinegar crisps but on closer inspection they were seaweed flavour!) we arrived in Bangkok. Bartered AGAIN with another Tuk Tuk driver, why o why can't they be nice & just tell us the actual price to save all this hassle??!!! Arrived at the HI Bangkok, boutique hostel 600B per night with breakfast in the city but not too near the noise as we are getting on a bit & the place was lush!
21/6/09 - Fathers Day
Walked to the backpacker central which is Khoasan Road then onto the 'Golden Palace', had a wander around the massive place then hopped on a boat down to China Town seeing 'Wat Arun - The Temple Of Dawn' on the way, tick one more temple done!
China Town was a miss mash of shops, restaurants, alley's everywhere, struggled but found some dim sum in the end, bought a phone card to call Daddy's on Fathers Day then went back to Khoasan Road from the pier through the nice alleyways around there.
Watched the Grand Prix over a few bevvies met a really nice cheq guy & his girlfriend who had lived here for about 8 years & he invited us to his home the next day. He told us exactly how to get there & his girlfriend wrote it all down in Thai to show the boat/Tuk Tuk drivers.
Gave up hope of calling Dad's as our card wouldn't work in any phone box!
While we were sitting in the pub we got chatting to Ben & Mariah from San Fransisco who were on their honeymoon, we swapped engagement & funny travel stories with them & we each promised to cook each other breakfast either in the U.S or UK who ever made it over first! Had a right laugh with them!
Went for curry Sunday & met a nice Indian guy (no he didn't work there!) who was watching the cricket 20/20 Sri Lanka Vs Pakistan, Pakistan won!
22/6/09
Yes, you guessed it hungover today!
Called the Cheq & said we couldn't visit as too many beers, he was ok about it, might call him on our 2nd trip to Bangkok.....
Booked a trip for tomorrow to visit among other things the River Kwai.
Posted some stuff back home to Suze which will take approx 3 months by sea so don't hold your breath Suze!
Got the river boat to the Sky train station, then the Sky train to Siam Square for a look around. Ended up surprise, surprise in the Food Court of the big shopping centre there looking around the 'Gourmet Market' supermarket, had lots of free tastings & bought some BBQ pork for lunch! Saw some fresh salad wraps that looked like little flower pots with carrot thin slices as the pot & curly lettuce coming out of the top like the plant! It looked better in the flesh!
Walked to Soi 4, had a beer to shelter from the rain, I was the only Western woman with my husband! J bought s 'new sexy model' lighter that I later sussed had a light on it that was a picture of a naked lady, I'm sooo slow!!!
Got a cab back to Khosan Road or nearby, had soup from a stall a few satay's then home to bed!
23/6/08
Day trip!
Picked up at 7am! Yuck! Went round picking up all the others on our trip who were all late except us! Then off we went 1st stop:
Damnoen Floating Market: Hired a guide boat to look around the market, all very touristy then got in a Long Tail boat to go on a trip around the canals, saw a snake in the river!
2. Allied War Cemetery - Kanchanaburi
Walked around looking at all of the burial plaques, names, short messages from family/loved ones for the Dutch, British, French & Australian soldiers that died. It was really moving.....
3. Bridge over the River Kwai: walked over the bridge & some woman fell off it, what a numpty!
4. Phra Pathom Chedi: 127m tallest Buddhist monument in the world. Built in the early 6th century...... Another temple!!!!
Got dropped back at the hostel about 7pm & went for dinner at this local restaurant where all the locals stared at us as we were the only Westerners in there, but they were very nice with it!
24/6/09
Lazzzzzzy day today!
Did 2 loads of washing in a machine ourselves, God it's sad the things you miss!
Went on the Internet for ages then took the bus to go get the train tickets to Chaing Mai.
The bus was funny, it had no suspension so we flew into the air over each bump, but compared to local buses in Malaysia with their plastic hard seats & no suspension what so ever the Bangkok bus was luxury!
Got our train ticket no probs after we jumped off at the right stop, the conductor woman refused to tell us where to get off, v.helpful but 2 locals did so all was good, nice people!
Thought we would try to find the Golden Buddha as it was nearby......
After walking past it 3 or so times in the sweltering heat we sussed it was INSIDE Wat Traimit(a temple!) & not just a huge Golden Buddha as shown on our tourist map (no wonder the woman in the train station laughed when we said we'll be able to see it from the road!), doh! Met a girl on the way who'd left her sick boyfriend at the hotel & ventured out only to fall for the classic Tuk Tuk driver scams of taking her everywhere except the place she wanted to go....She tagged along to the Giant Buddha & we all were amazed at it's size, NOT when we found it! It was only 3m tall, we were looking for something 50m high!!! So with heat exhaustion setting in we took a quick piccie from the doorway, couldn't be bothered to take our shoes off & went on our way with new friend to the ferry terminal! God we're rubbish travellers!
Made sure our new friend (didn't ask her name!) was safely on the right ferry & we headed back home eventually after missing our boat stop as the spelling was wrong!
25/6/09
One more load of washing, packed sacks & hopped on the bus to Wat Po (yes, you guessed it, another temple, see what Wat means now don't you!)thought we'd get on the bus we went on yesterday but just stay on it to see the city as it did a bit of a loop, had to rely on locals taking pity on us again & showing us the stop to get off at!
I went to the Wat Po school of massage for a Thai massage. Oh my God it was great, best massage ever 480B (J said it had better be good) about 8 quid for 1 hour, Thai herbal heat massage. I was put in funny loose clothes (wasn't sure if I should remove bra or not so did for good measure anyway!) & then was pushed & pulled all over for 1 hour with hot herbal compress things on me! WOW!!!!!
J in the meantime found a bar & drank beer! He kept it cheap though & stuck to Chang's to counteract my budget breaking massage, ahhh bless!!
Got on the boat & found a place the L.Planet recommended for Roti, which we found & it was rubbish but we'd already had a cheeky Thai sausage on the way to the ferry so we didn't starve! A few beers later we deliberated how do you get fat Monks if they can only eat twice a day & not drink beer, J's ways to spot a typical Argentinian traveller (see guidelines below) & after bartering with one of the local lady street sellers for a wooden croaking frog & fake arm tattoo which was a patterned pair of tight we got some satay, Tuk, Tuk back to base camp, ordered a pizza delivery & ate it in bed yuuuuummmmmyyyyy!!!!
J's Ways To Spot An Argentinian Traveller (no offence to Argentinians out there!)
1. Dirty dread locked hair.
2. Visible tattoos that look like shit....
3. Dirty loose clothes that usually include Fisherman's trousers, bandanna's, funny beads & Jesus creeper shoes.
4. Speak Spanish.
5. Carry a musical instrument(wooden or home made).
As he kindly pointed out I have at least 2 out of the 5 & if I buy some Fisherman's trousers then he's dumping me!!!
Yuck, why oh why do we do it to ourselves & always on a travelling day!
Hangover number 3 on K/Samui!!!!! Yes a theme is developing, sometimes I think we've just eaten & drunken our way around the world so far!!!
Luckily had made sarnies the night before so had hangover food!
Got the boat to Chumpon, high speed catamaran, I spent most of the journey in the toilet & it was rough as well so J nearly puked too!!! Don't know how but made it, disembarked & waited for the bus to arrive for Bangkok ready for our 8 hour bus ride! Yeh!
After our 12 hour total journey with hangovers eating Pringles (thought I'd found Walkers Salt & Vinegar crisps but on closer inspection they were seaweed flavour!) we arrived in Bangkok. Bartered AGAIN with another Tuk Tuk driver, why o why can't they be nice & just tell us the actual price to save all this hassle??!!! Arrived at the HI Bangkok, boutique hostel 600B per night with breakfast in the city but not too near the noise as we are getting on a bit & the place was lush!
21/6/09 - Fathers Day
Walked to the backpacker central which is Khoasan Road then onto the 'Golden Palace', had a wander around the massive place then hopped on a boat down to China Town seeing 'Wat Arun - The Temple Of Dawn' on the way, tick one more temple done!
China Town was a miss mash of shops, restaurants, alley's everywhere, struggled but found some dim sum in the end, bought a phone card to call Daddy's on Fathers Day then went back to Khoasan Road from the pier through the nice alleyways around there.
Watched the Grand Prix over a few bevvies met a really nice cheq guy & his girlfriend who had lived here for about 8 years & he invited us to his home the next day. He told us exactly how to get there & his girlfriend wrote it all down in Thai to show the boat/Tuk Tuk drivers.
Gave up hope of calling Dad's as our card wouldn't work in any phone box!
While we were sitting in the pub we got chatting to Ben & Mariah from San Fransisco who were on their honeymoon, we swapped engagement & funny travel stories with them & we each promised to cook each other breakfast either in the U.S or UK who ever made it over first! Had a right laugh with them!
Went for curry Sunday & met a nice Indian guy (no he didn't work there!) who was watching the cricket 20/20 Sri Lanka Vs Pakistan, Pakistan won!
22/6/09
Yes, you guessed it hungover today!
Called the Cheq & said we couldn't visit as too many beers, he was ok about it, might call him on our 2nd trip to Bangkok.....
Booked a trip for tomorrow to visit among other things the River Kwai.
Posted some stuff back home to Suze which will take approx 3 months by sea so don't hold your breath Suze!
Got the river boat to the Sky train station, then the Sky train to Siam Square for a look around. Ended up surprise, surprise in the Food Court of the big shopping centre there looking around the 'Gourmet Market' supermarket, had lots of free tastings & bought some BBQ pork for lunch! Saw some fresh salad wraps that looked like little flower pots with carrot thin slices as the pot & curly lettuce coming out of the top like the plant! It looked better in the flesh!
Walked to Soi 4, had a beer to shelter from the rain, I was the only Western woman with my husband! J bought s 'new sexy model' lighter that I later sussed had a light on it that was a picture of a naked lady, I'm sooo slow!!!
Got a cab back to Khosan Road or nearby, had soup from a stall a few satay's then home to bed!
23/6/08
Day trip!
Picked up at 7am! Yuck! Went round picking up all the others on our trip who were all late except us! Then off we went 1st stop:
Damnoen Floating Market: Hired a guide boat to look around the market, all very touristy then got in a Long Tail boat to go on a trip around the canals, saw a snake in the river!
2. Allied War Cemetery - Kanchanaburi
Walked around looking at all of the burial plaques, names, short messages from family/loved ones for the Dutch, British, French & Australian soldiers that died. It was really moving.....
3. Bridge over the River Kwai: walked over the bridge & some woman fell off it, what a numpty!
4. Phra Pathom Chedi: 127m tallest Buddhist monument in the world. Built in the early 6th century...... Another temple!!!!
Got dropped back at the hostel about 7pm & went for dinner at this local restaurant where all the locals stared at us as we were the only Westerners in there, but they were very nice with it!
24/6/09
Lazzzzzzy day today!
Did 2 loads of washing in a machine ourselves, God it's sad the things you miss!
Went on the Internet for ages then took the bus to go get the train tickets to Chaing Mai.
The bus was funny, it had no suspension so we flew into the air over each bump, but compared to local buses in Malaysia with their plastic hard seats & no suspension what so ever the Bangkok bus was luxury!
Got our train ticket no probs after we jumped off at the right stop, the conductor woman refused to tell us where to get off, v.helpful but 2 locals did so all was good, nice people!
Thought we would try to find the Golden Buddha as it was nearby......
After walking past it 3 or so times in the sweltering heat we sussed it was INSIDE Wat Traimit(a temple!) & not just a huge Golden Buddha as shown on our tourist map (no wonder the woman in the train station laughed when we said we'll be able to see it from the road!), doh! Met a girl on the way who'd left her sick boyfriend at the hotel & ventured out only to fall for the classic Tuk Tuk driver scams of taking her everywhere except the place she wanted to go....She tagged along to the Giant Buddha & we all were amazed at it's size, NOT when we found it! It was only 3m tall, we were looking for something 50m high!!! So with heat exhaustion setting in we took a quick piccie from the doorway, couldn't be bothered to take our shoes off & went on our way with new friend to the ferry terminal! God we're rubbish travellers!
Made sure our new friend (didn't ask her name!) was safely on the right ferry & we headed back home eventually after missing our boat stop as the spelling was wrong!
25/6/09
One more load of washing, packed sacks & hopped on the bus to Wat Po (yes, you guessed it, another temple, see what Wat means now don't you!)thought we'd get on the bus we went on yesterday but just stay on it to see the city as it did a bit of a loop, had to rely on locals taking pity on us again & showing us the stop to get off at!
I went to the Wat Po school of massage for a Thai massage. Oh my God it was great, best massage ever 480B (J said it had better be good) about 8 quid for 1 hour, Thai herbal heat massage. I was put in funny loose clothes (wasn't sure if I should remove bra or not so did for good measure anyway!) & then was pushed & pulled all over for 1 hour with hot herbal compress things on me! WOW!!!!!
J in the meantime found a bar & drank beer! He kept it cheap though & stuck to Chang's to counteract my budget breaking massage, ahhh bless!!
Got on the boat & found a place the L.Planet recommended for Roti, which we found & it was rubbish but we'd already had a cheeky Thai sausage on the way to the ferry so we didn't starve! A few beers later we deliberated how do you get fat Monks if they can only eat twice a day & not drink beer, J's ways to spot a typical Argentinian traveller (see guidelines below) & after bartering with one of the local lady street sellers for a wooden croaking frog & fake arm tattoo which was a patterned pair of tight we got some satay, Tuk, Tuk back to base camp, ordered a pizza delivery & ate it in bed yuuuuummmmmyyyyy!!!!
J's Ways To Spot An Argentinian Traveller (no offence to Argentinians out there!)
1. Dirty dread locked hair.
2. Visible tattoos that look like shit....
3. Dirty loose clothes that usually include Fisherman's trousers, bandanna's, funny beads & Jesus creeper shoes.
4. Speak Spanish.
5. Carry a musical instrument(wooden or home made).
As he kindly pointed out I have at least 2 out of the 5 & if I buy some Fisherman's trousers then he's dumping me!!!
13/6/09 - 19/6/09 Ko Samui
13/6/09 Phucket - Ko Samui
Ahhhh off to another island!!! More hassle haggling for accomodation & will it be shit or not!!
Got mini bus at 8 am, changed buses to get to KS, not in the plan!
Very bumpy ride! Got a puncture so hung around by the roadside eating our sarnie, how glad were we we had food & chatted to 4 guys from London 2 of which were travelling too! Back on the bus to Surat Thani arrived about 12:30, swapped buses again just after J got thrown out of a tourist office cause he wouldn't buy a bus ticket from her! Cheekt B**ch!
Got to the port, got the ferry to Ko Samui. Waded through the local taxi guys to get the local bus, there was no local bus or it was a 4km walk away so hopped on a Tuk Tuk anyway after all that! 400B lighter (result as less than the lady quoted in S.Thani & 200B less than the 1st taxi quote so JJ very happy) & later arrived at hotel the 'Chewang Residence' not great but okfor a night, dumped bags & went to explore.
Yuck what a dump Chewang is! McDonalds etc... hardly paradise so decided to move on tomorrow am!
Had a few jugs in the Irish bar, met some guys on hols, wandered over the road to get vodka & Rum supplies, very cheap! Stopped at a Mamma's place for dinner, J went to buy some more beers to drink with dinner then diet cokes we wandered back!
14/6/09
What a hangover, mingin!
Managed to get up, showered, packed & left the hotel, don't know how but we did!
Went for a McDonalds brekkie to cure the hangover!
Got a Tuk Tuk for the correct price of 200B to Bophut Fisherman's Village where we found 'The Lord Nelson'. Hair of the dog later I left J with all the bags & went off in search of digs!!
3 hours later I returned to the pub, J was about to come & look for me as he thought I'd been kidnapped! He made sure he had a photo of me & even stopped drinking beer he was that worried! Said he was gonna call Suzanne as she'd fly over & know what to do!
Well, the 3 options were:
1. Sandy Resort: 600B (thought I'd knocked her down from 800B til we saw the big banner outside advertising it at 600B per room with a/c!!) It had a pool & was on the beach.
2. Smile House: 1,000B a/c & lush pool with great loungers on the otherside of the road to the beach. Knocked her down by 500B to the 1000B.
3. Can't remember the name but 700B would drop to 600B if booked in for 5 nights or more. Managed to knock from 800B. Had tea/coffee making facilities, a/c, no pool & on the other side of the road to the beach.
J was happy to up the budget to go for option 2 if I really wanted it but common sense prevailed & I kept to budget & we went for option 1! This meant I could have massage's galore with the saving hee hee!!
Arrived, unpacked & hit the beach as on closer inspection the pool was a bit yuck! After a swim in the sea we also found out the sea was yuck all muddy slimy sand double yuck & BOO HOO!!! I need tropical paradise, stamp feet!!
15/6/09
Decided to stay 1 more night & got a moped.
Got a puncture 10 mins down the road, got a lady mechanic to fix it for 180B, drove back to complain, had an argument with the bloke who'd only give us 70B & we were lucky to get that, he didn't get it was his fault for a crap repair first off that had leaked! Found out Thai's don't like swearing! Oops!!
That ruined the day a bit then. Went for lunch at a very basic stall for chicken, sticky rice & papaya salad, took the bike back then hit the beach.
Ventured out for dinner after the rain & found an all U can eat BBQ Steamboat for 109B pp, well funny picking our meat & veggies & cooking it ourselves on our own funny stemboat, bbq, grill thingy! Luckily the guy helped us out loads then we laughed later at the English people who came in & didn't have a clue & by then all the locals we'd watched & copied had finished so they didn't have a hope! See the early Bird & Ginge always catch the worms!
Drove back in the rain & vowed to move to original expensive option 2 in the morning! No point in being on an island paradise if you are staying in depressing digs! So I promised JJ I'd eat noodle soup all the time to bring us back in budget!
16/6/09
Yippeee moving day!
Packed, checked out & managed to get another taxi for the price it should be to go down the road, 100B, no haggling involved & also got me out of walking to help the budget!
Checked into 'Smile House'
for 1000B/night resssssult! Well done Birdy, happy, happy now! Had to barter to get the best room for a bit but all good in the end......
Drank beer to celebrate as it was a bit overcast, went to the Lord Nelson for jugs at 119B each (noo, noo, not in budget) then onto the Billabong Surf CLub, back to room for Vodka/Rum & cokes, steaming then went for a ruby! All day session really!
17/6/09
Hangover number 2 on Ko Samui!
Me = Bacon & sausage baguette
J = Poached eggs on toast
Why can't I eat healthily after a day's drinking????
Lush day by the lush pool on the lush loungers, cheap noodle soup for lunch to help the ole budget!
18/6/09-19/6/09
Pool days!Toyed with the idea of going on a boat trip but really couldn't be arsed!
Lived on noodle soup for 50B each & drinks in the room San Song Rum/Vodka & Pepsi Max!
Planned & booked to go to Bangkok as all island'd out now.......
Found out that our room was a deluxe & should have cost us 2,528B so just over a grand and a 1/2 saved!
J had his 1st haircut since Sydney for 4.50!
On our last night we were just popping out for a bite (no drinks) then back to base camp alpha for an early night as we were being picked up at some unGodly hour in the morning. But we turned left out of the place instead of the normal right (towards the Lord Nelson) & walked past this restaurant where J thought he recognised Jay a guy he used to work with, anyway said nothing & walked back passed & J went up to him & it was him & his wife Jo on their hols! How funny, was so nice to meet someone we knew, so needless to say a few jugs & a toasted Ham & Cheese sarnie later we staggered back to base, set the alarm & crashed out!
Ahhhh off to another island!!! More hassle haggling for accomodation & will it be shit or not!!
Got mini bus at 8 am, changed buses to get to KS, not in the plan!
Very bumpy ride! Got a puncture so hung around by the roadside eating our sarnie, how glad were we we had food & chatted to 4 guys from London 2 of which were travelling too! Back on the bus to Surat Thani arrived about 12:30, swapped buses again just after J got thrown out of a tourist office cause he wouldn't buy a bus ticket from her! Cheekt B**ch!
Got to the port, got the ferry to Ko Samui. Waded through the local taxi guys to get the local bus, there was no local bus or it was a 4km walk away so hopped on a Tuk Tuk anyway after all that! 400B lighter (result as less than the lady quoted in S.Thani & 200B less than the 1st taxi quote so JJ very happy) & later arrived at hotel the 'Chewang Residence' not great but okfor a night, dumped bags & went to explore.
Yuck what a dump Chewang is! McDonalds etc... hardly paradise so decided to move on tomorrow am!
Had a few jugs in the Irish bar, met some guys on hols, wandered over the road to get vodka & Rum supplies, very cheap! Stopped at a Mamma's place for dinner, J went to buy some more beers to drink with dinner then diet cokes we wandered back!
14/6/09
What a hangover, mingin!
Managed to get up, showered, packed & left the hotel, don't know how but we did!
Went for a McDonalds brekkie to cure the hangover!
Got a Tuk Tuk for the correct price of 200B to Bophut Fisherman's Village where we found 'The Lord Nelson'. Hair of the dog later I left J with all the bags & went off in search of digs!!
3 hours later I returned to the pub, J was about to come & look for me as he thought I'd been kidnapped! He made sure he had a photo of me & even stopped drinking beer he was that worried! Said he was gonna call Suzanne as she'd fly over & know what to do!
Well, the 3 options were:
1. Sandy Resort: 600B (thought I'd knocked her down from 800B til we saw the big banner outside advertising it at 600B per room with a/c!!) It had a pool & was on the beach.
2. Smile House: 1,000B a/c & lush pool with great loungers on the otherside of the road to the beach. Knocked her down by 500B to the 1000B.
3. Can't remember the name but 700B would drop to 600B if booked in for 5 nights or more. Managed to knock from 800B. Had tea/coffee making facilities, a/c, no pool & on the other side of the road to the beach.
J was happy to up the budget to go for option 2 if I really wanted it but common sense prevailed & I kept to budget & we went for option 1! This meant I could have massage's galore with the saving hee hee!!
Arrived, unpacked & hit the beach as on closer inspection the pool was a bit yuck! After a swim in the sea we also found out the sea was yuck all muddy slimy sand double yuck & BOO HOO!!! I need tropical paradise, stamp feet!!
15/6/09
Decided to stay 1 more night & got a moped.
Got a puncture 10 mins down the road, got a lady mechanic to fix it for 180B, drove back to complain, had an argument with the bloke who'd only give us 70B & we were lucky to get that, he didn't get it was his fault for a crap repair first off that had leaked! Found out Thai's don't like swearing! Oops!!
That ruined the day a bit then. Went for lunch at a very basic stall for chicken, sticky rice & papaya salad, took the bike back then hit the beach.
Ventured out for dinner after the rain & found an all U can eat BBQ Steamboat for 109B pp, well funny picking our meat & veggies & cooking it ourselves on our own funny stemboat, bbq, grill thingy! Luckily the guy helped us out loads then we laughed later at the English people who came in & didn't have a clue & by then all the locals we'd watched & copied had finished so they didn't have a hope! See the early Bird & Ginge always catch the worms!
Drove back in the rain & vowed to move to original expensive option 2 in the morning! No point in being on an island paradise if you are staying in depressing digs! So I promised JJ I'd eat noodle soup all the time to bring us back in budget!
16/6/09
Yippeee moving day!
Packed, checked out & managed to get another taxi for the price it should be to go down the road, 100B, no haggling involved & also got me out of walking to help the budget!
Checked into 'Smile House'
for 1000B/night resssssult! Well done Birdy, happy, happy now! Had to barter to get the best room for a bit but all good in the end......
Drank beer to celebrate as it was a bit overcast, went to the Lord Nelson for jugs at 119B each (noo, noo, not in budget) then onto the Billabong Surf CLub, back to room for Vodka/Rum & cokes, steaming then went for a ruby! All day session really!
17/6/09
Hangover number 2 on Ko Samui!
Me = Bacon & sausage baguette
J = Poached eggs on toast
Why can't I eat healthily after a day's drinking????
Lush day by the lush pool on the lush loungers, cheap noodle soup for lunch to help the ole budget!
18/6/09-19/6/09
Pool days!Toyed with the idea of going on a boat trip but really couldn't be arsed!
Lived on noodle soup for 50B each & drinks in the room San Song Rum/Vodka & Pepsi Max!
Planned & booked to go to Bangkok as all island'd out now.......
Found out that our room was a deluxe & should have cost us 2,528B so just over a grand and a 1/2 saved!
J had his 1st haircut since Sydney for 4.50!
On our last night we were just popping out for a bite (no drinks) then back to base camp alpha for an early night as we were being picked up at some unGodly hour in the morning. But we turned left out of the place instead of the normal right (towards the Lord Nelson) & walked past this restaurant where J thought he recognised Jay a guy he used to work with, anyway said nothing & walked back passed & J went up to him & it was him & his wife Jo on their hols! How funny, was so nice to meet someone we knew, so needless to say a few jugs & a toasted Ham & Cheese sarnie later we staggered back to base, set the alarm & crashed out!
7/6/09-12/6/09 Phucket
7/6/09 - Phi Phi to Phucket
Slept in & missed the 1st ferry to Phucket!
Packed, nice cup of cha (in a real mug!) got the woman to change our ferry ticket to the afternoon one then went back to the Sports Bar again for lunch & to wait for the ferry. Both a bit hangin again!
Yum jacket potato with chilli & cheese & J had 2 cheese & bean toasties! Lush hangover food again, both feeling fat!
Got ferry & then minibus to our hotel'Karon Living Room'
I negotiated 100B off the room bringing it down to 600B or 12 pounds pn for a lush room a/c, massive bed, nice bathroom & beer fridge nice one!
Went for a Sunday Roast which was OK & met some Northern girls, one of which had only eaten tomato soup for her whole 2 week holiday!
8/6/09
Best nights sleep in a long time!! Woke up at 10am with earplugs in & face mask on!
Beach, hired jeep for the next day 700B, got transport quotes to Ko Samui & Noodle soup for lunch (back into spending less mode now).
I had a foot massage, heaven, stocked beer fridge with vodka & coke, J kept rowing across the tiled floor to the fridge for re-fills in his boxers, well funny!
He also threatened to take my England shirt off of me for asking what he would do if England lost against Andorra!
Oh & we met some small boys selling roses in the bar with two northern girls we met, they asked where their Mum was 'She's dead' was the reply and the Dad too! Lying little......!!!
9/6/09
Hired the jeep for the day & drove to try to get to the James Bond Island on the cheap! That'll teach us! No cheaper at all so we headed back, popped into Phucket town for lunch, went to look in Tesco's then made our way along the coast passing the view points & nice beaches back to base!
10/6/09-12/6/09
Hired a moped for beach days, had a 7 Eleven pick nick in the room with drinkies & got a bit drunk!
England 6 Andorra 0!!
Got roped into one of these 'time share' style holiday clubs (I know, we're supposed to be intelligent) with the promise of me winning the star prize of a laptop! Got a free brekkie out of it though it did take up 4 hours of the day!
Bought bus ticket to Ko Samui for 10 pounds each!
Slept in & missed the 1st ferry to Phucket!
Packed, nice cup of cha (in a real mug!) got the woman to change our ferry ticket to the afternoon one then went back to the Sports Bar again for lunch & to wait for the ferry. Both a bit hangin again!
Yum jacket potato with chilli & cheese & J had 2 cheese & bean toasties! Lush hangover food again, both feeling fat!
Got ferry & then minibus to our hotel'Karon Living Room'
I negotiated 100B off the room bringing it down to 600B or 12 pounds pn for a lush room a/c, massive bed, nice bathroom & beer fridge nice one!
Went for a Sunday Roast which was OK & met some Northern girls, one of which had only eaten tomato soup for her whole 2 week holiday!
8/6/09
Best nights sleep in a long time!! Woke up at 10am with earplugs in & face mask on!
Beach, hired jeep for the next day 700B, got transport quotes to Ko Samui & Noodle soup for lunch (back into spending less mode now).
I had a foot massage, heaven, stocked beer fridge with vodka & coke, J kept rowing across the tiled floor to the fridge for re-fills in his boxers, well funny!
He also threatened to take my England shirt off of me for asking what he would do if England lost against Andorra!
Oh & we met some small boys selling roses in the bar with two northern girls we met, they asked where their Mum was 'She's dead' was the reply and the Dad too! Lying little......!!!
9/6/09
Hired the jeep for the day & drove to try to get to the James Bond Island on the cheap! That'll teach us! No cheaper at all so we headed back, popped into Phucket town for lunch, went to look in Tesco's then made our way along the coast passing the view points & nice beaches back to base!
10/6/09-12/6/09
Hired a moped for beach days, had a 7 Eleven pick nick in the room with drinkies & got a bit drunk!
England 6 Andorra 0!!
Got roped into one of these 'time share' style holiday clubs (I know, we're supposed to be intelligent) with the promise of me winning the star prize of a laptop! Got a free brekkie out of it though it did take up 4 hours of the day!
Bought bus ticket to Ko Samui for 10 pounds each!
4/6/09-6/6/09 - Phi Phi
4/6/09 - Ko Lanta to Phi Phi
Minibus picked the three of us up after brekkie at 8:30am. Got accross on the 2 ferries straight away then onto Krabi town (had to do it this way as the direct boat had stopped in the rainy season), had some argy on the bus when they thought this French guy had kept his room key, threatened to charge him 500B for it! Little shit in the front stopped outside the police station to search the guy & his bags & then threatened he wouldn't make his flight! They found the key back at the hotel so they let him off, no apology though!
Got dropped off at another tourist office, not the ferry terminal as asked to haggle for the ferry ticket to Phi Phi! J got quoted 350B, went next door & it was 300, back next door & got him down to 300 too! Haggled for a room too & was told no air con room for under 800B so we said we'd get it when we arrived! Got quoted 350B for the ferry Phi Phi to Phucket & Rich at the desk behind us got quoted 400B, he was just sitting behind us the cheeky buggers! He played up & got his 50B back though!
Went for lush Pad Thai for lunch, beat the boys again with my food choice! The lady had to hold back the savage dog while we went to the loo!
Back to the Tourist Office to get the 'free' bus to the ferry terminal. Rich went next door & asked their price Phi Phi - Phucket & was told 300B, 50 less again so he came back in & kicked off at the guy, was well funny, he told all the customers not to buy from here & then said he would take drinks from the fridge to the value of the 50B if they didn't give him the refund of 50B! The little guy hid behind J & said 'Fuck you' in broken English, funny then gave him back the 50B! Total silence in the office then with tumble weed & everything!
Got to the ferry & found the tickets should be 400B, oh well!
Nice trip over, me & Rich fell asleep but J managed to stay awake. We all hatched the plan of attack to get digs at the best price on Phi Phi. Arrived & told no cheaper than 700B with a/c for a room & well, well the 2nd place we went into was 600B, a/c & sea glimpses, I tried my crap haggling skills to get it for 550B but failed miserably much to the amusement of the boys!
Dumped bags (place was above a snooker hall!) then went for ciders(God haven't had that for ages!) with Rich. Found a place on the beach with large beers & G&T's, got chatting to 2 Israel's, had a few too many, watched the sunset, wandered back to the room, showered then out for din dins. Rich had been told about this place with a real salad bar & BBQ so we headed there, God it was soooo nice having proper salad, jacket pots, corns & BBQ meat. Rich had the salmon steak, gutted his looked lush! Couple more'buy 1 get 1 free' cocktails at the flame throwers beach bar in the rain then bed!
Nice to have different food choices again after Lanta but need to dump Rich as spending too much money, hee hee!!
5/6/09
Brekkie, quick check of e-mails, had another one from Bob well funny, made us both LOL!
3 of us decided to walk up to the view point. Got a map & set off. Walked up the steepest hill for ages with no water (all well prepped as usual!), in the midday sun only to meet a girl who said we'd gone the wrong way! Dying, we walked back down feeling a bit dizzy, water was needed. Found the right turning for the viewpoint & Rich went up but we went to the beach!
Swam in the really shallow water, Rich (Hero!)took out a kayak & we went for lunch & beer, too much sun today!
Went out in the evening for burger & pasta in the '2 4 1' cocktail bar, then off to the Apache Bar to use the 'Free bucket' voucher, had a bucket each made with nearly 2 bottles of vodka then went onto the beach party for dancin & more buckets which were the find of the day! Think we got back at 4am ish!
6/6/09
HANGIN!!!!!! NO MORE BUCKETS EVER THEY ARE BAD!!!!!
Went for brekkie pizza & a fry up & Rich turned up, he'd missed the first ferry!!
I had to go back to the room soon after, watched movies all day puked & drank water!
Good JJ came back after saying bye to Rich on the afternoon ferry with more water & a doughnut for me. Both slept some more, managed to get a few beers down in the room then donned the England shirts (felt like a pikie!) to watch the 1st World Cup qualifier, result = England 4 Kazakhstan 0!! Mmm cheese & bean toasties & cheesy chips!!
Minibus picked the three of us up after brekkie at 8:30am. Got accross on the 2 ferries straight away then onto Krabi town (had to do it this way as the direct boat had stopped in the rainy season), had some argy on the bus when they thought this French guy had kept his room key, threatened to charge him 500B for it! Little shit in the front stopped outside the police station to search the guy & his bags & then threatened he wouldn't make his flight! They found the key back at the hotel so they let him off, no apology though!
Got dropped off at another tourist office, not the ferry terminal as asked to haggle for the ferry ticket to Phi Phi! J got quoted 350B, went next door & it was 300, back next door & got him down to 300 too! Haggled for a room too & was told no air con room for under 800B so we said we'd get it when we arrived! Got quoted 350B for the ferry Phi Phi to Phucket & Rich at the desk behind us got quoted 400B, he was just sitting behind us the cheeky buggers! He played up & got his 50B back though!
Went for lush Pad Thai for lunch, beat the boys again with my food choice! The lady had to hold back the savage dog while we went to the loo!
Back to the Tourist Office to get the 'free' bus to the ferry terminal. Rich went next door & asked their price Phi Phi - Phucket & was told 300B, 50 less again so he came back in & kicked off at the guy, was well funny, he told all the customers not to buy from here & then said he would take drinks from the fridge to the value of the 50B if they didn't give him the refund of 50B! The little guy hid behind J & said 'Fuck you' in broken English, funny then gave him back the 50B! Total silence in the office then with tumble weed & everything!
Got to the ferry & found the tickets should be 400B, oh well!
Nice trip over, me & Rich fell asleep but J managed to stay awake. We all hatched the plan of attack to get digs at the best price on Phi Phi. Arrived & told no cheaper than 700B with a/c for a room & well, well the 2nd place we went into was 600B, a/c & sea glimpses, I tried my crap haggling skills to get it for 550B but failed miserably much to the amusement of the boys!
Dumped bags (place was above a snooker hall!) then went for ciders(God haven't had that for ages!) with Rich. Found a place on the beach with large beers & G&T's, got chatting to 2 Israel's, had a few too many, watched the sunset, wandered back to the room, showered then out for din dins. Rich had been told about this place with a real salad bar & BBQ so we headed there, God it was soooo nice having proper salad, jacket pots, corns & BBQ meat. Rich had the salmon steak, gutted his looked lush! Couple more'buy 1 get 1 free' cocktails at the flame throwers beach bar in the rain then bed!
Nice to have different food choices again after Lanta but need to dump Rich as spending too much money, hee hee!!
5/6/09
Brekkie, quick check of e-mails, had another one from Bob well funny, made us both LOL!
3 of us decided to walk up to the view point. Got a map & set off. Walked up the steepest hill for ages with no water (all well prepped as usual!), in the midday sun only to meet a girl who said we'd gone the wrong way! Dying, we walked back down feeling a bit dizzy, water was needed. Found the right turning for the viewpoint & Rich went up but we went to the beach!
Swam in the really shallow water, Rich (Hero!)took out a kayak & we went for lunch & beer, too much sun today!
Went out in the evening for burger & pasta in the '2 4 1' cocktail bar, then off to the Apache Bar to use the 'Free bucket' voucher, had a bucket each made with nearly 2 bottles of vodka then went onto the beach party for dancin & more buckets which were the find of the day! Think we got back at 4am ish!
6/6/09
HANGIN!!!!!! NO MORE BUCKETS EVER THEY ARE BAD!!!!!
Went for brekkie pizza & a fry up & Rich turned up, he'd missed the first ferry!!
I had to go back to the room soon after, watched movies all day puked & drank water!
Good JJ came back after saying bye to Rich on the afternoon ferry with more water & a doughnut for me. Both slept some more, managed to get a few beers down in the room then donned the England shirts (felt like a pikie!) to watch the 1st World Cup qualifier, result = England 4 Kazakhstan 0!! Mmm cheese & bean toasties & cheesy chips!!
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