30/5/09 - Hat Yai to Ko Lanta
Up, packed, brekkie over the road consisted of tuna salad & J had the usual Pad Thai noodles!
Checked out & hailed a Tuk Tuk to the main bus station. Saw a cute kiddie on the way who kept waving at us foreigners, bless! Eventually got the mini bus to Trang for 100B pp 2 hours & result the bus didn't stop every 10 mins to drop someone off yippee!
Arrived at Trang train station after another hairy minibus drive & booked our onward bus to Ko Lanta Yai with the promise of a hotel/beach bungalow for 600B. Had a quick lunch then off to another minivan (found out we'd been ripped off again!)& two car ferries later we arrived! Haggled with the lady in the Tourist office for a bungalow, sooo tired I just want somewhere nice, free of rat poo, insects that has a nice pool! No crying though this time! Booked into 'Blue Adaman' for 500b pn, double room, ensuite, tv & aircon approx a tenner let's see what it's like! Another ride in the back of a cattle truck, funny down a dirt track & we arrived. Lush bungalow, lush pool, hallelujah bring it on & the best bit is the price drops to 400B tomorrow, yes let the hols commence! Big sigh of relief!
Dumped bags, had Happy Hour cocktails in the bar, strangest Long Island Ice Tea I've ever had but the cheapest, watched the sunset ahhhh.
Both vowed to drink water (during the day - come on now!) & to eat fruit for brekkie!
J fell asleep watching the FA Cup!
31/5/09-3/6/09
Spent the last few days lazing by the pool, very quiet here off season. Watched sunsets, v.nice ate, the waitress kept mixing up the orders & it was difficult to tell what was what in the dark....
On our last day we hired a moped, I was on the back no surprise there that Ginge didn't trust me & we went all around the island, didn't take long! Four pounds for the whole day, not bad. Had a nice home made ciabatta sandwich for lunch, made a change from the bungalow food.
Met a guy called Rich & a strange lady in her 60's who'd been travelling forever! Rich decided to come to Phi Phi with us the next day in search of 'striking limestone formations!'& the James Bond Island. Left J & Rich drinking & went to bed.
Oh, we managed to get a discount on the bus ticket from 'smiler' that's gotta be a 1st!
Friday, 29 May 2009
Thursday, 28 May 2009
27/05/2009 - 29/05/2009 Hat Yai
27/05/2009 - Mummy's Birthday, we sent some flowers
4 hours on the shuttle, no probs thru border and visa all good.. English Budhist with mobile phone and smoking at every chance, didn't seem right... he was delighted that Thailand were an hour behind so he could still eat before 12... we think thats cheating a bit
What a crap hole, I thought Nic was going to cry again... nice hotel tho, we are staying at the Kosit http://www.kosithotel.com/ for about 10.0 per night, made sure we had satellite TV ready for the champs league final which I just about stayed awake to see then fell asleep, woke up 4 minutes into it to see the first Barca goal, then I woke again with Nic moaning about the noise when Alex ferguson was being interviewed... gutted I missed it.. I hear Utd weren't up to it, did they really miss Darren Fletcher that much? they will probably re-run it today (28th).
we wandered, got a Tuk Tuk down to the main bus station, some wierd girl jumped on with us for the ride, kept squeezing my leg, very strange, and singin, Nic was well pissed off!!! got ripped off a bit apparently Tuk Tuk should be 20 Baht a person, we paid 60... will know for tomorrow (29th)... we'll need to get back down there for a bus tomorrow, should be fun, can't buy a ticket just pay as you get on, they go to Trang every 40 mins..
We met some really nice guys from Singapore, Leo, Li and Eye.. we sat chatting for ages and they invited us to dinner with them, they are Muslim so we went to a Halal place, no pork on the premises, Eye ordered everything, they even slyly paid... we had Sea fungus, like white mushroom, salt fish, dry beef, rice, veg, Tom yam prawn soup, fish noodle salad, was really good...
We saw an elephant in the street after, very odd, they wanted you to buy food to feed it...
We took the guys for a drink, they don't drink alcohol but gave us a chance to chat a bit more..
We might see them tomorrow, they are getting mopeds... Nics isn't feeling too good so we'll see... I had to check the symptoms of swine flu for her...
28/05/2009
Nic still not too good... went and found Dim Sum which was really good... we came back to the Hotel to do a bit of the blogg, Nic felt ill again so went up 3 hours ago, I've been sitting here for 5 hours according to the time, thats 100 Baht altogether... and I need a beer.. have finished everythin since Singapore, not bad with me 2 finger typing... we now need to catch up New zealand
Don't know what we'll do later, should go see the guys from last night...
We picked up the email from Mich about Bob popping the question, well done guys...
TO BE CONTINUED....
Nic here! Well, we ventured out again for dinner, I was feeling a bit better. Wandered around & saw the guys from Singapore & walked around a shopping mall with them for a bit....J resisted the nice white Y fronts! Said godbye to the guys & found a restaurant for dinner. Mmmmm Chicken & Ginger, rice, veggies & crispy pork all washed down with a beer for J & another water for me! God 1st beer free day for ages! Back to the hotel stopping on route for room supplies, beers, OJ & some nice fresh fruit from a roadside stall! Watched a movie then bed!
29/5/09
Got up, I'm feeling a bit better so went for brekkie which was a disaster, ham & eggs on toast but their toast has sugar in it so didn't taste that good. Stopped for another dim sum brekkie, so, so, then off to the internet cafe to update BLOG on NZ & J's looking at Ko Lanta accomodation, looking good nice beach bungalow's with pool! Yes we decided where to go next!
Well after hours in the internet cafe & finding the most recent Lonely Planet guide to Thailand where it said not to go to H.Yai because of it's terrorist bombings we found the Irish bar & 4 vodka tonics & a few beers later we were steamin!
I went to 'Siam & Guy' instead of 'Toni & Guy' for a haircut, Jay came looking for me after 1 hour as he was worried, ahh bless!! Really gopod haircut, bit short but straight & shiny yes!
Beers in hotel then out for dinner to a steakhouse for fried chicken, pork steak & proper veggies yum. Found a bar with a funny menu that included crispy swamp cabbage, Pork innards, deep fried snake head & stinky bean with pork! Oh & not forgetting deep fried bird with garlic & pepper! Obviously this was the best dish in the house!
Off now for sleep before journey tomorrow to ko Lanta!
4 hours on the shuttle, no probs thru border and visa all good.. English Budhist with mobile phone and smoking at every chance, didn't seem right... he was delighted that Thailand were an hour behind so he could still eat before 12... we think thats cheating a bit
What a crap hole, I thought Nic was going to cry again... nice hotel tho, we are staying at the Kosit http://www.kosithotel.com/ for about 10.0 per night, made sure we had satellite TV ready for the champs league final which I just about stayed awake to see then fell asleep, woke up 4 minutes into it to see the first Barca goal, then I woke again with Nic moaning about the noise when Alex ferguson was being interviewed... gutted I missed it.. I hear Utd weren't up to it, did they really miss Darren Fletcher that much? they will probably re-run it today (28th).
we wandered, got a Tuk Tuk down to the main bus station, some wierd girl jumped on with us for the ride, kept squeezing my leg, very strange, and singin, Nic was well pissed off!!! got ripped off a bit apparently Tuk Tuk should be 20 Baht a person, we paid 60... will know for tomorrow (29th)... we'll need to get back down there for a bus tomorrow, should be fun, can't buy a ticket just pay as you get on, they go to Trang every 40 mins..
We met some really nice guys from Singapore, Leo, Li and Eye.. we sat chatting for ages and they invited us to dinner with them, they are Muslim so we went to a Halal place, no pork on the premises, Eye ordered everything, they even slyly paid... we had Sea fungus, like white mushroom, salt fish, dry beef, rice, veg, Tom yam prawn soup, fish noodle salad, was really good...
We saw an elephant in the street after, very odd, they wanted you to buy food to feed it...
We took the guys for a drink, they don't drink alcohol but gave us a chance to chat a bit more..
We might see them tomorrow, they are getting mopeds... Nics isn't feeling too good so we'll see... I had to check the symptoms of swine flu for her...
28/05/2009
Nic still not too good... went and found Dim Sum which was really good... we came back to the Hotel to do a bit of the blogg, Nic felt ill again so went up 3 hours ago, I've been sitting here for 5 hours according to the time, thats 100 Baht altogether... and I need a beer.. have finished everythin since Singapore, not bad with me 2 finger typing... we now need to catch up New zealand
Don't know what we'll do later, should go see the guys from last night...
We picked up the email from Mich about Bob popping the question, well done guys...
TO BE CONTINUED....
Nic here! Well, we ventured out again for dinner, I was feeling a bit better. Wandered around & saw the guys from Singapore & walked around a shopping mall with them for a bit....J resisted the nice white Y fronts! Said godbye to the guys & found a restaurant for dinner. Mmmmm Chicken & Ginger, rice, veggies & crispy pork all washed down with a beer for J & another water for me! God 1st beer free day for ages! Back to the hotel stopping on route for room supplies, beers, OJ & some nice fresh fruit from a roadside stall! Watched a movie then bed!
29/5/09
Got up, I'm feeling a bit better so went for brekkie which was a disaster, ham & eggs on toast but their toast has sugar in it so didn't taste that good. Stopped for another dim sum brekkie, so, so, then off to the internet cafe to update BLOG on NZ & J's looking at Ko Lanta accomodation, looking good nice beach bungalow's with pool! Yes we decided where to go next!
Well after hours in the internet cafe & finding the most recent Lonely Planet guide to Thailand where it said not to go to H.Yai because of it's terrorist bombings we found the Irish bar & 4 vodka tonics & a few beers later we were steamin!
I went to 'Siam & Guy' instead of 'Toni & Guy' for a haircut, Jay came looking for me after 1 hour as he was worried, ahh bless!! Really gopod haircut, bit short but straight & shiny yes!
Beers in hotel then out for dinner to a steakhouse for fried chicken, pork steak & proper veggies yum. Found a bar with a funny menu that included crispy swamp cabbage, Pork innards, deep fried snake head & stinky bean with pork! Oh & not forgetting deep fried bird with garlic & pepper! Obviously this was the best dish in the house!
Off now for sleep before journey tomorrow to ko Lanta!
23/05/2009 - 27/05/2009 Penang
23/05/2009
So bus left an hour late, we stopped at a realldodgy looking place en-route.. stopped for diesel again while full of passengers and engine running, seems to be the normal thing over here.. went thru a couple of roads blocks, one of them plain clothed police came on looking for a fugitive, all good fun..
Arrived at the long distance bus station and shared a cab to Georgetown with a couple of girls, we fixed a price but the guy still tried to squeeze us for 2 drops as agreed, he got nothing, I swear I'm gonna slap one of these f*ckers soon...
Arrive at the Hutton Lodge, was lovely.. we had shared bathroom but it was so clean that you didn't really notice, was lush and cost 60RM, nice staff and TV where I could watch F1 and last day of the Premiership tomorrow...
They have a guy who does a Thai visa service so we arranged that for Monday
We had a wander round near to the hotel, had beer for a change at D'joint watched the grand Prix qualifiers Monaco, Button pole, Lewis crashed out, had food at the Red Garden Food stalls, was really good, BBQ Butter Prawns, Thai bit, veg, Satay... excellent.. they had some singers on, was hilarious..
24/05/2009
Good nights sleep..
Went to get photos for our Visa with Stephen and the 2 girls Bianca and Mand who were getting there's too, it was a proper photo studio place, we got 12 done and a CD.. there is an excellent free bus in Penang round the main parts of the city, don't get any cabs!! while they were being developed Stephen took us on a mini tour then when we had all the photos he got us to the 101 bus, the 4 of us went to watch the International dragon boat racing, he hadn't told us how far it was, took about 3/4 hour then we had to walk on what must have been the hottest most humid day on record up to the lake, its fomed by a damned river... we watched the first race fter a water stop, met some Ozzy guys who were over for 5 days from Perth, its only 5 hours for them.. her mate goes to Bali on a days shopping from Perth apparently, its only 2 and half hours, lucky buggers..
we headed back after the first race, we weren't all that interested in seeing more of the same...
Went for a pint, then back to hotel, I watched the F1 then the football.. I loved it.. nic stayed up til about 10, she didn't do too bad... I waited for the Liverpool goals after the game and went to bed at about 0130... the guy I was chatting to was a Spurs supporter which made it sweeter, 3 - 1, who cares if Keene scored against us..
25/05/2008 - Our Anniversary
Had to go with Stephen with our 4 Passports on the back of his moped, I don't think this was part of the service, was funny tho, I had to pretend to be the girls uncle.. hee hee
I had to go back with him in the afternoon so me and Nic just went for lunch and a coffee close by, all very un-romantic.. then I had to go back and get the passports..
For some silly reason we had arranged to go to the big night market with Stephen and the Girls, left at 6pm on the free bus, went into a couple of Chinese family Jetty's they live all together, a bit like the Malay long houses but obviously not exactly, we saw the Chew's and Li's, went into one of the houses as it was a relative of Stephens, shews had there own Temple on their's.. wandered down to the market had a couple of Satyays and a sweet corn and got the bus back... we intended to go back out but we weren't all that hungry so se cracked open the bottle of Pirates 24RM Rum and ended up sitting there and drinking the whole bottle with diet pepsi, we had a good laugh, met a few other people and got very drunk, there are few good pics to go up of all that...
26/05/2009
Had a proper look round Geogretown, got the free bus about... had lunch in Little India at Sri Ananda Bahwan, vegetarian place, North India special Thali was lush... walked thru and had a coffee at same place as the day before, nice to have proper brewed coffee... we walked past the Eastern and Orient hotel and then stopped on the way at bar Thirty-Two which has a little beach terrace, we had a quick drink at happy hour, I had beer, Nic Mohito... we wlked back past a place we were thinking about going for tea, Local Peneng cooking is Nonya so we thought maybe we should try on our last night... we didn't in the end but it looked good...
walked down the hotel, got cleaned up, went down to Red Garden again, at least we knew what the score was down there, we had Dim Sum then Nic had Chicken Curry in bread and I had the set BBQ pork, rice veg and soup.. we well over ate after such a good day yesterday... there were lots of older couples about at tables just drinking water, seemed a bit strange until later on when the Ballroom dancing started, was really good, the old folks loved it..
we walked back and I got a little bottle of Brandy, what an alcy, was about 3 larges ones wort, was about the same as one beer at the hotel, was just ecomomising I told myself.. Nic went to bed I finished me bottle chatting to the Manchester guys with the 3 year old who had been out and bought the same maharaja cheap Brandy, think we had started a bit of a trend there...
27/05/2009
0830 shuttle bus to Hat Yai in Thailand - hopefully we can decide our route thru Thailand from there...
So bus left an hour late, we stopped at a realldodgy looking place en-route.. stopped for diesel again while full of passengers and engine running, seems to be the normal thing over here.. went thru a couple of roads blocks, one of them plain clothed police came on looking for a fugitive, all good fun..
Arrived at the long distance bus station and shared a cab to Georgetown with a couple of girls, we fixed a price but the guy still tried to squeeze us for 2 drops as agreed, he got nothing, I swear I'm gonna slap one of these f*ckers soon...
Arrive at the Hutton Lodge, was lovely.. we had shared bathroom but it was so clean that you didn't really notice, was lush and cost 60RM, nice staff and TV where I could watch F1 and last day of the Premiership tomorrow...
They have a guy who does a Thai visa service so we arranged that for Monday
We had a wander round near to the hotel, had beer for a change at D'joint watched the grand Prix qualifiers Monaco, Button pole, Lewis crashed out, had food at the Red Garden Food stalls, was really good, BBQ Butter Prawns, Thai bit, veg, Satay... excellent.. they had some singers on, was hilarious..
24/05/2009
Good nights sleep..
Went to get photos for our Visa with Stephen and the 2 girls Bianca and Mand who were getting there's too, it was a proper photo studio place, we got 12 done and a CD.. there is an excellent free bus in Penang round the main parts of the city, don't get any cabs!! while they were being developed Stephen took us on a mini tour then when we had all the photos he got us to the 101 bus, the 4 of us went to watch the International dragon boat racing, he hadn't told us how far it was, took about 3/4 hour then we had to walk on what must have been the hottest most humid day on record up to the lake, its fomed by a damned river... we watched the first race fter a water stop, met some Ozzy guys who were over for 5 days from Perth, its only 5 hours for them.. her mate goes to Bali on a days shopping from Perth apparently, its only 2 and half hours, lucky buggers..
we headed back after the first race, we weren't all that interested in seeing more of the same...
Went for a pint, then back to hotel, I watched the F1 then the football.. I loved it.. nic stayed up til about 10, she didn't do too bad... I waited for the Liverpool goals after the game and went to bed at about 0130... the guy I was chatting to was a Spurs supporter which made it sweeter, 3 - 1, who cares if Keene scored against us..
25/05/2008 - Our Anniversary
Had to go with Stephen with our 4 Passports on the back of his moped, I don't think this was part of the service, was funny tho, I had to pretend to be the girls uncle.. hee hee
I had to go back with him in the afternoon so me and Nic just went for lunch and a coffee close by, all very un-romantic.. then I had to go back and get the passports..
For some silly reason we had arranged to go to the big night market with Stephen and the Girls, left at 6pm on the free bus, went into a couple of Chinese family Jetty's they live all together, a bit like the Malay long houses but obviously not exactly, we saw the Chew's and Li's, went into one of the houses as it was a relative of Stephens, shews had there own Temple on their's.. wandered down to the market had a couple of Satyays and a sweet corn and got the bus back... we intended to go back out but we weren't all that hungry so se cracked open the bottle of Pirates 24RM Rum and ended up sitting there and drinking the whole bottle with diet pepsi, we had a good laugh, met a few other people and got very drunk, there are few good pics to go up of all that...
26/05/2009
Had a proper look round Geogretown, got the free bus about... had lunch in Little India at Sri Ananda Bahwan, vegetarian place, North India special Thali was lush... walked thru and had a coffee at same place as the day before, nice to have proper brewed coffee... we walked past the Eastern and Orient hotel and then stopped on the way at bar Thirty-Two which has a little beach terrace, we had a quick drink at happy hour, I had beer, Nic Mohito... we wlked back past a place we were thinking about going for tea, Local Peneng cooking is Nonya so we thought maybe we should try on our last night... we didn't in the end but it looked good...
walked down the hotel, got cleaned up, went down to Red Garden again, at least we knew what the score was down there, we had Dim Sum then Nic had Chicken Curry in bread and I had the set BBQ pork, rice veg and soup.. we well over ate after such a good day yesterday... there were lots of older couples about at tables just drinking water, seemed a bit strange until later on when the Ballroom dancing started, was really good, the old folks loved it..
we walked back and I got a little bottle of Brandy, what an alcy, was about 3 larges ones wort, was about the same as one beer at the hotel, was just ecomomising I told myself.. Nic went to bed I finished me bottle chatting to the Manchester guys with the 3 year old who had been out and bought the same maharaja cheap Brandy, think we had started a bit of a trend there...
27/05/2009
0830 shuttle bus to Hat Yai in Thailand - hopefully we can decide our route thru Thailand from there...
21/05/2009 - 23/05/2009 Kota Bharu
21/05/2009
so, after the water taxi we caught a cab up to Kota Bahru. It was the oldest cab with the oldest driver, we got just out of Besut when we had a blow out tyre, good start, people stopped or waved as they went past, I left the old man to do his own tyre to nics discust, well tough I thought, plus it was bloody hot too...
we got into the city but instead of dropping us at the Hotel he decides to turn the other way and leave us a 10 minute walk and sweat, I was now very happy that he'd done his own tyre, the git, I nearly gave him less than we had agreed but Nic wouldn't let me.. she's too soft.
Got to 'Kencana Lodge'.. I had a bit of a hissy fit cos it was very old but it was actually ok in the end, we showered and went to see about doing our thai visa's, we couldn't do it in the 3 days we wre there cos they have there weekend friday and Saturday and we weren't staying long enough, tomorrow was Friday, we always do this, we need to get a bit wiser I think..
We wlked towards town, had a beer,we discovered Malay Jaz Beer, cheap and very nice, ended up being the place in the planet book with out knowing it, then we walked to the nigh market which wasn't all that good, had a quick satay, lucky nic read the labels, choice was chick neck, liver or body... I'd picked liver without looking properly... after that we went back to where we had come from... good food and more beers, had a TV in our room so we watched a movie
22/05/2009
Went to the city market, very busy, had a wandr round, couldn't decide what to eat so we had McDonalds, very bad but needed a break from noodles...
Went and done a load of Blog stuff then went to yesterdays bar for beers, got chatting to some great guys from West Oz, Tony and Lynne, Lynne does handi-crafts and arty stuff, she made me an ashtray out the Tiger beer can, all good re-cycled stuff.. we sat with them for probably a couple of hours then we went off to find the four season chinese restaurant we;d walked past the day before, you've guessed it, it was closed.. next door to the hotel was a chinese hawker place, we managed to find someone who spoke English so we ate and had a couple of beers...
23/05/2009
Bus to Penang... an hour late, no surprise
Tony and Lynne
so, after the water taxi we caught a cab up to Kota Bahru. It was the oldest cab with the oldest driver, we got just out of Besut when we had a blow out tyre, good start, people stopped or waved as they went past, I left the old man to do his own tyre to nics discust, well tough I thought, plus it was bloody hot too...
we got into the city but instead of dropping us at the Hotel he decides to turn the other way and leave us a 10 minute walk and sweat, I was now very happy that he'd done his own tyre, the git, I nearly gave him less than we had agreed but Nic wouldn't let me.. she's too soft.
Got to 'Kencana Lodge'.. I had a bit of a hissy fit cos it was very old but it was actually ok in the end, we showered and went to see about doing our thai visa's, we couldn't do it in the 3 days we wre there cos they have there weekend friday and Saturday and we weren't staying long enough, tomorrow was Friday, we always do this, we need to get a bit wiser I think..
We wlked towards town, had a beer,we discovered Malay Jaz Beer, cheap and very nice, ended up being the place in the planet book with out knowing it, then we walked to the nigh market which wasn't all that good, had a quick satay, lucky nic read the labels, choice was chick neck, liver or body... I'd picked liver without looking properly... after that we went back to where we had come from... good food and more beers, had a TV in our room so we watched a movie
22/05/2009
Went to the city market, very busy, had a wandr round, couldn't decide what to eat so we had McDonalds, very bad but needed a break from noodles...
Went and done a load of Blog stuff then went to yesterdays bar for beers, got chatting to some great guys from West Oz, Tony and Lynne, Lynne does handi-crafts and arty stuff, she made me an ashtray out the Tiger beer can, all good re-cycled stuff.. we sat with them for probably a couple of hours then we went off to find the four season chinese restaurant we;d walked past the day before, you've guessed it, it was closed.. next door to the hotel was a chinese hawker place, we managed to find someone who spoke English so we ate and had a couple of beers...
23/05/2009
Bus to Penang... an hour late, no surprise
Tony and Lynne
18/05/2009 - 21/05/2009 Pulau Perhentian Kecil - Perhentian Islands
Arrived at D'lagoon, it was a small beach with only their own bar and restaurant, there were bungalows, tree house and Dorm accommodations...
We had a bungalow, it had a great view but the place was lets just say a bit too basic for us posh travellers, thee was some kind of poo in the shower/toilet room, we later worked out it was from the Geckos that shared the open shower room with us... all very nice, not. The food wasn't bad but there wasn't much to chose from, they did have beer tho, and we had brought a bottle of rum and some vodka just in case
The next morning Nic got a bit upset cos she was hoping for a beach paradise, it wasn't quite that, although it looked OK it just wasn't clean, a real shame, it spoilt it a bit for us... trying to be positive I got us a water taxi round to Long beach, the busy bit, we had a coke and then walked over to Coral beach. We had a look at some other rooms but in the end decided not to hassle ourselves with moving, we had lunch served by the moodiest women..
went back to our place a laid on the beach for a bit, the water was lovely and warm.
we lounged for the next day then went... it ws ok but next time we'll be a bit more careful with where we stay I think...
They have good snorkling and diving but we decided to leave that for maybe Thailand, we'll see...
We had a bungalow, it had a great view but the place was lets just say a bit too basic for us posh travellers, thee was some kind of poo in the shower/toilet room, we later worked out it was from the Geckos that shared the open shower room with us... all very nice, not. The food wasn't bad but there wasn't much to chose from, they did have beer tho, and we had brought a bottle of rum and some vodka just in case
The next morning Nic got a bit upset cos she was hoping for a beach paradise, it wasn't quite that, although it looked OK it just wasn't clean, a real shame, it spoilt it a bit for us... trying to be positive I got us a water taxi round to Long beach, the busy bit, we had a coke and then walked over to Coral beach. We had a look at some other rooms but in the end decided not to hassle ourselves with moving, we had lunch served by the moodiest women..
went back to our place a laid on the beach for a bit, the water was lovely and warm.
we lounged for the next day then went... it ws ok but next time we'll be a bit more careful with where we stay I think...
They have good snorkling and diving but we decided to leave that for maybe Thailand, we'll see...
15/05/2009 - 18/05/2009 Cameron Highlands
15/05/2009
Arrived at Tanah Rata Bus station and got met by Paul from Fathers guest house, got into our room which was nice and clean again, we were just in time for dinner, they have food and beer there so you don't really need to go anywhere else... met up with James and Megan & compared notes about bus trip, they were delayed by an hour as well..
16/05/2009
4 of us took a taxi up to the Honey Bee Farm for 15 RM, then we made our way back down the road stopping at the Butterfly garden, which was rubbish, and the Strawberry farm where we had tea and scones with home made local jam, local tea and squirty cream (no clotted).. stopped at a few food places, the guys had chicken nuggets, we had corns and a bit of skewer stuff, tried the smelly Durian fruit which was quite nice, had some black drink full of molasses sugar.. Got to Brinchan and walked round Cactus valley, was just like a cactus garden centre, took some silly picture and messed around like kids..
Got a taxi back, me and Nic had a couple of beers then walked back to the Guesthouse for tea... I watched the Man Utd game, they got the point they needed so won the title, the Fulham game was on straight after so didn't have to watch them get the thophy again!!
17/05/2009
Went for an organised day trip with the guest house guide plus James and Meg, drove to a track that we then followed off road up to where we started our hour walk up to see the large Rafflesia flowers, the off road ten minute ride was hilarious, the flowers were quite disappointing to be completely honest.. managed not to get stung by the the honey bees which kept landing on my sweaty salty arms, sweat towel helped me flick them of.. it was raining by the time we got the jeep back down the track, was even better than the way up..
Stopped at a small village for a blow pipe demo in the rain, don't think anyone was that interested but some of us had a go, some of the suckers bought a short version..
Left there and drover up to the Tea plantation, had a quick tour then tried the garden, best tea, at last could get a sandwich we were starving, was 3 already.. on the way down we went past a temple where the guys were throwing yellow paint at each other (was curry powder and water), they knew our driver Bob so they stopped our Jeep to throw paint at us, we held our doors but Bob (now curry Bob) had to let his best mate in to give him a covering, was very funny... took some photos of the Tea Plantation, was really nice and so quiet..
Drove up to the highest mountain in the Highlands for the view and Francis the other guide told us about some of the plants and what to do if we get bitten by a snake, all good info..
Went for a quick tramp in the Mossy Forest, another great view and wierd walking on the mossy forest floor.. dropped a few farts on James hee hee
Then back to the guesthouse... we got cleaned up and went for Banana leaf Indian with James and Meg in town then back to the TV for Liverpool Newcastle, the writing was on the wall for them after our win...
18/05/2009
10am Suttle van transfer to Kuala Besut then water Taxi to D'Lagoon on Perenthian Islands
Arrived at Tanah Rata Bus station and got met by Paul from Fathers guest house, got into our room which was nice and clean again, we were just in time for dinner, they have food and beer there so you don't really need to go anywhere else... met up with James and Megan & compared notes about bus trip, they were delayed by an hour as well..
16/05/2009
4 of us took a taxi up to the Honey Bee Farm for 15 RM, then we made our way back down the road stopping at the Butterfly garden, which was rubbish, and the Strawberry farm where we had tea and scones with home made local jam, local tea and squirty cream (no clotted).. stopped at a few food places, the guys had chicken nuggets, we had corns and a bit of skewer stuff, tried the smelly Durian fruit which was quite nice, had some black drink full of molasses sugar.. Got to Brinchan and walked round Cactus valley, was just like a cactus garden centre, took some silly picture and messed around like kids..
Got a taxi back, me and Nic had a couple of beers then walked back to the Guesthouse for tea... I watched the Man Utd game, they got the point they needed so won the title, the Fulham game was on straight after so didn't have to watch them get the thophy again!!
17/05/2009
Went for an organised day trip with the guest house guide plus James and Meg, drove to a track that we then followed off road up to where we started our hour walk up to see the large Rafflesia flowers, the off road ten minute ride was hilarious, the flowers were quite disappointing to be completely honest.. managed not to get stung by the the honey bees which kept landing on my sweaty salty arms, sweat towel helped me flick them of.. it was raining by the time we got the jeep back down the track, was even better than the way up..
Stopped at a small village for a blow pipe demo in the rain, don't think anyone was that interested but some of us had a go, some of the suckers bought a short version..
Left there and drover up to the Tea plantation, had a quick tour then tried the garden, best tea, at last could get a sandwich we were starving, was 3 already.. on the way down we went past a temple where the guys were throwing yellow paint at each other (was curry powder and water), they knew our driver Bob so they stopped our Jeep to throw paint at us, we held our doors but Bob (now curry Bob) had to let his best mate in to give him a covering, was very funny... took some photos of the Tea Plantation, was really nice and so quiet..
Drove up to the highest mountain in the Highlands for the view and Francis the other guide told us about some of the plants and what to do if we get bitten by a snake, all good info..
Went for a quick tramp in the Mossy Forest, another great view and wierd walking on the mossy forest floor.. dropped a few farts on James hee hee
Then back to the guesthouse... we got cleaned up and went for Banana leaf Indian with James and Meg in town then back to the TV for Liverpool Newcastle, the writing was on the wall for them after our win...
18/05/2009
10am Suttle van transfer to Kuala Besut then water Taxi to D'Lagoon on Perenthian Islands
12/5/09 - 15/5/09 Kuala Lumpur & Melacca
12/5/09
Arrived on the bus from the airpot & walked down to our hostel 'Matahari Lodge'http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/malaysia/kuala-lumpur/31465/ near China Town.
Got a great welcome & the room was lovely & clean & tidy! Result! after a while we elt at home, friedly staff who remembered our names & just a chilled out place, you need one of those once in a while!
Popped to the 'Beatles Bar' for a beer & Happy Hour G & T. It was a funny bar all they played was Beatles music & i do't even like it! Then one of the local guys started Kareoke! He was really bad & was singing in broken English, the couple of guys that were also in there soon got up & left, so we thanked them for leaving us!
Wet for an Indian dinner, God klnow's how we odered as there were no menu's but we had a great dinner in the end for about 1.30!
13/5/09
Got the train to the Petronas Towers & got our tickets to go back at 4:30pm.
Then we had a quick look around M&S at the wine & got the bus to the Indian Embassy to get our visa's sorted. Got all the way there only to be told that the Tourist Visa's are done at another office 2 blocks from our hostel, gutted!
Submitted the visa & then it started to rain so we went back to the hostel for a beer
& then got up the momentum to go to the Towers! Towers were ok, just more tall towers really!
Met a guy called Tom in the evening & again when we were in the Beatles Bar again. He couldn't resist the singing!
14/5/09
Day trip out to Melacca with a couple we met at the hostel, James & Megan. James is as silly as Jay! The Drivers there and back were clearing their thoats and gobbing out the window, Jay and James were cracking up...
Wandered around the old town in Melacca, had a cheap Laksa lunch & a couple of beers then got the bus home, missed the big Tesco's that was next to the bus station to go for Dim Sum in KL.
Found the hawker stand on Jalan Alor & ordered loads of lush Dims. I went to the loo & saw a nice huge rat in the kitchen on the way back but tummies were all good the next day!
Got a taxi back in the rain, beers & bed!
15/05/2009
Had luch with Tom in China town, was really good, had a couple of beers, last thing we wanted to do was get on a bus for a few hours...well 6 hours..
Went back and got our sacks and walked up to the bus station, sweating again, then we had to walk across the road to where the bus went from, then we had to walk again to find it... got on the bus sweaty and very happy, not.. the bus was really crappy, did have air con, we were lucky..
On the way up to the highlands its really twisty and the driver goes like a crazy man, shame it was dark,more gobbing from the driver, we heard from James and Meg that the views were really good..
ArrivedCameron Highlands, Tanh Rata the main town...
Arrived on the bus from the airpot & walked down to our hostel 'Matahari Lodge'http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/malaysia/kuala-lumpur/31465/ near China Town.
Got a great welcome & the room was lovely & clean & tidy! Result! after a while we elt at home, friedly staff who remembered our names & just a chilled out place, you need one of those once in a while!
Popped to the 'Beatles Bar' for a beer & Happy Hour G & T. It was a funny bar all they played was Beatles music & i do't even like it! Then one of the local guys started Kareoke! He was really bad & was singing in broken English, the couple of guys that were also in there soon got up & left, so we thanked them for leaving us!
Wet for an Indian dinner, God klnow's how we odered as there were no menu's but we had a great dinner in the end for about 1.30!
13/5/09
Got the train to the Petronas Towers & got our tickets to go back at 4:30pm.
Then we had a quick look around M&S at the wine & got the bus to the Indian Embassy to get our visa's sorted. Got all the way there only to be told that the Tourist Visa's are done at another office 2 blocks from our hostel, gutted!
Submitted the visa & then it started to rain so we went back to the hostel for a beer
& then got up the momentum to go to the Towers! Towers were ok, just more tall towers really!
Met a guy called Tom in the evening & again when we were in the Beatles Bar again. He couldn't resist the singing!
14/5/09
Day trip out to Melacca with a couple we met at the hostel, James & Megan. James is as silly as Jay! The Drivers there and back were clearing their thoats and gobbing out the window, Jay and James were cracking up...
Wandered around the old town in Melacca, had a cheap Laksa lunch & a couple of beers then got the bus home, missed the big Tesco's that was next to the bus station to go for Dim Sum in KL.
Found the hawker stand on Jalan Alor & ordered loads of lush Dims. I went to the loo & saw a nice huge rat in the kitchen on the way back but tummies were all good the next day!
Got a taxi back in the rain, beers & bed!
15/05/2009
Had luch with Tom in China town, was really good, had a couple of beers, last thing we wanted to do was get on a bus for a few hours...well 6 hours..
Went back and got our sacks and walked up to the bus station, sweating again, then we had to walk across the road to where the bus went from, then we had to walk again to find it... got on the bus sweaty and very happy, not.. the bus was really crappy, did have air con, we were lucky..
On the way up to the highlands its really twisty and the driver goes like a crazy man, shame it was dark,more gobbing from the driver, we heard from James and Meg that the views were really good..
ArrivedCameron Highlands, Tanh Rata the main town...
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