Days 38 - 43 - Bangkok, Phetchaburi, Kaeng Krachan & Hua Hin

Day 38 – Bangkok
Leisurely start with Mandy planning our coming week in Thailand and updating the blog. Not really sure what I did…… Lunch at the restaurant that adjoins the hostel and then we got a taxi (courtesy of the hostel) to the wrong subway station…. Thanks?

So we made our way into the city with our first stop at the tourist office so Dalziel tours could confirm bus timetables etc.. for the week ahead. Then it was off to our friendly tailors for another ‘final’ fitting on my jacket. As you may recall, both our suits were fine but my coat had lapels, not collars. This time it had collars, only they were in the wrong place and with too few buttons… not impressed

After much negotiating and arm waving, they eventually saw the error of their ways and agreed to make it again – no charge. So we have to go back ‘again’ for yet another ‘final’ fitting next week before flying to Oz – this better be worth it!

So we then wandered along to the shopping district through the joy that is Bangkok traffic and stopped off at yet another internet café to book some hotels for New Zealand and Australia and research a camper van for our Australian road trip!

Both pretty hungry by this time we headed off in search of a restaurant that was recommended in the Lonely Planet. On our way we passed a decent looking hostel conveniently located to a subway station which we thought we might stay at on our last night when we return to Bangkok before flying out to Australia.

Found the restaurant, dinner was OK – lizards climbing the windows caused some amusement (little things) whilst Mandy once again ordered a nice spicy number!

Back to the hotel fairly early and both feeling pretty tired after what seemed another long day in Bangkok. Thoughts were already turning towards our trip for the upper Southern Gulf of Thailand… and looking forward to some quiet time.

D x

Day 39 – Bangkok to Phetchaburi
Up at 6:30, home made breakfast again of frosties, fresh fruit and tea and then a taxi to Bangkok’s Southern Bus Terminal – absolutely huge. Straight on to a nice air-con bus which left at 9:30 and was due to take about 2.5 hours.

20 minutes in to the journey and I was regretting not having visited the little boys room before we left. Good news was the bus had a toilet, bad news was it was closed!

Arrived in Phetchaburi, a small provincial town with a nice friendly feel and lots of nearby sights and monkeys to keep us amused. There seemed to be only only 2 tourists in town – Mandy and I!

We got a tuk-tuk to the hotel with about 6 giggling school girls which was amusing. Apparently according to the driver they took a liking to me, but then again he was smiling at me a lot too?

We phoned a local hotel and managed to get a room for the night. A bargain as it was just 10 GBP for the night and the room was big enough to swing a rhino in! (not that we have one)
We found a nearby bar/restaurant with a friendly chef who allowed us to point at what we wanted on the grill as the menu was in Thai. Spicy broth for M and noodle and pork sausages for D – best meal in Thailand so far. It was fair to say that we liked Phetchaburi.

We then negotiated a fee for a tuk-tuk driver to take us to two of the nearby shrines that were deep within limestone caves. Very interesting. Lots of monkeys there too.

Tuk-tuk home and then showered and a walk into the town for dinner. Nice riverside restaurant with a friendly cat that M befriended (against my advice…. Fleas!) and then it was off to an internet café to figure out the best way to get to the National Park tomorrow. We could just sign up for a tour but none were exactly what we wanted and Dalziel tours had a better idea. We’d hire a moped, ride to the park ourselves (about 60km away) and then do the park from there. Sounded like a great plan and a lot cheaper than the organized tours too so we went back to the restaurant/hostel where we’d just eaten and hired a moped (+ helmets) for 2 days at just 8 GBP.

Having not ridden one for 9 years I was a little nervous because it was dark, I was wearing flip flops (not ideal), and this moped had gears. Still, with a little scoot up the road and back I was reasonably confident (?) so Mandy hopped on the back, willingly I must add, and we went back to the hotel without incident – anyone ever seen Dumb & Dumber?

(Chris (Mandy’s Mum) - Mandy did say that you’d kill her if you knew what we were doing. All l can say is, we were fine)

We packed our bags ready for an early departure (I’m learning that Dalziel tours run on a very strict schedule) both excited at the prospect of tomorrows adventure.

D x

Day 40 – Phetchaburi to Kaeng Krachan National Park
Up at 6:30 on the dot, I went and had another go on the moped in decent shoes and daylight and felt far more comfortable with things.

Breakfast at the hotel and then, after checking out and leaving our suitcases there, we headed off with our bare essentials in a ruck-sack and hit the road.

Not quite Easy Rider, but we rode to the Park in about 90 minutes and got to a bungalow resort just before the park (again recommended in Lonely Planet) where we had no problem getting a room as once again, we seemed to be the only ones there.

After we’d regained feeling in our bums (from the moped I add) we rode the 3km up the road to the visitors centre where we hoped to get maps for hiking trails that are detailed in the Lonely Planet and set off. One problem, it seemed you could only enter the park in a 4x4, and at certain times of the day as the road in is a single lane track and only operates certain ways at certain times.

A little frustrating so we booked ourselves a 4x4 for the following morning (5 a.m. start Aghhhhh) After a quick lunch, we set off on foot for the nearby Kaeng Krachan Dam. I don’t know about Mandy but I had pictured something in my head very impressive like the Hoover Dam but clearly I was way off the mark. We did though have a great 3-4km walk alongside the reservoir to the dam in virtual isolation – beautiful!

Got to the dam, had a welcome drink and papaya from a mobile greengrocer on a moped, and then met a friendly Thai family who offered us a lift back to the Park as they were headed that way and clearly saw how hot we both were. Fantastic.

Back to the park and then on from there to the bungalow after a brief ride around the area. Both pretty tired, we had a little snooze which turned into a 3 hour sleep.
Both awoke feeling groggy so we hauled ourselves into town for cash, petrol and a ride up to the dam for sunset – absolutely stunning.
Back to the bungalow and then a really nice meal at the resort, with the owners puppy causing much amusement. Then we popped over the road for a beer before heading back to bed ahead of our ridiculously early start tomorrow.

D x

Day 41 – Kaeng Krachan National Park & Phetchaburi
I was awake from about 2 (no doubt thanks to the 3 hour sleep yesterday afternoon) and waited for the alarm at 4:30. Both up and out and at the Park for 5:15. (after picking up our packed breakfasts and lunches from the resort owner)

Hopped into the back of a converted pick-up and rode/bounced for 2 hours up into the Park to Phanoen Thung view point from which we got a great view of the jungle clad mountains.

We then got our 4x4 driver to take us the 6km further along the track to the walking trail to Thor Thip waterfall. This is a 9 tier waterfall in the middle of the jungle. It was beautiful. It took us about 90 minutes to walk there through dense jungle with only monkeys swinging through the trees for company. We saw nobody else on our way there or back – total isolation. This continued when we got back to the start of the trail and even our 4x4 driver wasn’t to be seen (he was supposed to wait for us). We weren’t amused as we’d finished our water and it was now 11 O’Clock and pretty toasty, and we couldn’t phone to be collected as we had no phone signal.

We waited for about 15 minutes before deciding to plod back towards the camp in the hope that he’d be along shortly. I was not happy. Not so much that we potentially had a long walk ahead but that I’d read the park leaflet and the park contained monkeys, civets, lots of other cute and furry things, elephants and TIGERS! This didn’t seem to bother Mandy but I’ve seen too many films where naïve tourists get mauled whilst out wandering in foreign places. I was a little edgy to say the least knowing that there were tigers roaming the same forests that we were without any fences in between. This was made a lot worse when we heard loud rustling in the bushes to our left. I swear I saw what looked like a large cat (albeit black) so I felt a little better that it didn't have yellow stripes, but we then heard sounds of what can only have been a monkey so we carried on…

Then, 5 minutes later we heard a roar to which Mandy excitedly said,

“Now that’s a tiger!”

Unfortunately she was right. I knew she was right, but I tried to make myself at least feel better by saying that it could have been an elephant knowing full well that it wasn’t. This was not fun. At least it sounded like it was a good way away.

So we quickened the pace and thankfully after another 5 or 10 minutes our 4x4 driver came around the corner - saviour! 10 minutes later with blood pressure having returned to normal, we were back at the viewpoint with 4 hours to kill before the road opened again for our return journey. So with little else to do we ate our packed lunches, reflected on our flirt with danger and found a nice bit of shade at the viewpoint and lay down and did what we do best - snoozed, chatted and played cards.

On the way back, bouncing down the road in the 4x4 we saw wild monkeys up close and a small family of elephants drinking at a watering hole – we were chuffed to bits as there are only 200 elephants in 30,000 sq km and our chances of seeing them were really slim.
Back to visitors centre, we had a ginger nut or 2, jumped onto the speedmobile and headed back to Phetchaburi. Got back in the dark, (which was a little interesting whilst on the Highway) checked back in to the hotel, had a much needed shower, and took the moped back to the hostel before wandering back via a pizza place for a quick and easy dinner.

Flopped into bed and was out like a light! What a day.

D x

Day 42 – Phetchaburi to Hua Hin
Again up fairly early and down for breakfast at the hotel. The hotel is opposite a large hill (they call it a mountain here but it’s not) with a temple and shrine on the summit. Today was the most humid we’ve had so far so our plan to get the funicular railway to the top was a bonus.

We stopped off at some stalls en-route where M bought herself a nice bag. (it’s got elephants on it)
Got to the top where we joined a school trip and loads of mischievous little monkeys. We left the school tour and the monkeys behind and wandered around the temples and shrines which had great views across Phetchaburi. Heat was getting the better of us, even M, so we headed back down for a well earned ice-cream before getting a tuk-tuk to the bus station.

No sooner had we arrived than a bus headed for Hua Hin pulled up so we jumped on board and settled back for the 1 hour journey. M phoned Harley, a friend of Niamh’s who hopefully would be able to meet us in Hua Hin and give us the keys to Niamh’s condo.

Harley met us shortly after we arrived and whisked us away to what can only be described as sheer luxury. A brand new, unused flat (not even Niamh’s stayed here, so we felt a little bad… for about 3 seconds) with the use of a pool, gym, bar, restaurant etc… so we were in heaven.

We were straight down to the pool where we had a great afternoon, swimming, reading, sun bathing, surfing the web and generally being lazy – thanks Niamh!

Dinner at the restaurant with a few beers and games of pool before we went up to the flat and chilled out in front of a random French film with English subtitles… was actually quite good.

Early to bed with another tough day to look forward to tomorrow :o).

D x

Day 43 – Hua Hin
Up at a reasonable hour for breakfast by the pool. Decided to head into town straight away to have a wander around. Booked our train tickets back to Bangkok for the following afternoon and then meandered around town looking through the day market which sold every type of seafood known to man. Shopped for a few essentials including some genuine fake polo shirts for me and then it was off to the beach.

We soon discovered that unlike Phetchaburi, Hua Hin is full of westerners, retired by my guess, who seem to spend most of their time roasting themselves on the beach. Away from the crinklies, we found a quietish spot and cooled off with a quick dip in the sea – not before we (M) bought a red sarong to lie on.

Hour or so spent sun bathing (M) and reading (D) and we were off for lunch at a nearby restaurant before heading home via a salon where I got my hair cut, washed and blow dryed (not really necessary) for about 3 quid, whilst Mandy got a pedicure.

Negotiated a ride home with a tuk-tuk driver and lazed around the pool for a few hours whilst I wrote this blog. Time for dinner and we agreed that we really should head into town so we managed to scrounge a lift off the barmaid at the resort and had a great meal in town before wandering around the night market (bought a few small goodies) and then taxi back.

Home and in to bed after some late night cards.

D x

Days 29 - 37 - Koh Pha Ngang, Bangkok and Japan

More photos now added... 25-02-08

Day 29 – Koh Pha Ngang
Today we tried to avoid the sun as we were both burnt! Another lazy day during which we decided we’re not really cut out for being lazy so were looking forward to continuing with our journeys.

Run in the evening which was lovely! (said in a sarcastic tone of voice). Dave decided that after weeks of not running, he’d head off on the hilliest run I’ve ever been on. I turned round at the top of the second hill and continued the run on my own on flatter ground. The joys of exercise!

Met back at the room for a sunset dip in the sea and dinner at a new restaurant a little further up the beach. We both decided that we’d try the fish as we were by the sea. Big mistake! Whilst it tasted OK, you first had to get through the layers of charcoal and the crunchiest skin ever. Dave’s was no larger than a pringle and didn’t tatste that great! Back at our usual restaurant we had a delicious ice cream sundae before heading back to the room for packing and bed.

M x

Day 30 – Koh Pha Ngang to Surat Thani
Up and showered then off for our final breakfast at the resort. Also bought take away baguettes for lunch before being picked up by a taxi at 11:30. Short journey to the ferry terminal where we were given our tickets for the boat and bus and set off on our return journey to Surat Thani.

We deicded to upgrade to the VIP suite on the ferry (40 Baht each, about 80p) and got comfy chairs and air con for the privelage! Also a film was showing – resident evil, not the most appropriate or light hearted film for midday!

Bus to Surat Thani – Dave got to sit with the driver as there weren’t enough seats for everyone. He was very excited about it – sad!
Supplies bought from 7-11 (chocolate!) then on to the train.

Having still got pot noodles that we'd bought a week earlier with the intention of having them on the first train to Chiang Mai, we decided not to buy dinner but just to get boiling water on the train. We asked the 'maid' for some hot water but were told that boiling water was only available between the hours of 7 to 9 am! I was not happy about this and protested by refusing to buy anything from the buffet car. We both went to bed hungry!! (thank goodness we’d bought the chocolate) and left the pot noodles on the train.

M x

Day 31 – Bangkok
Arrived at Hua Lamphong station in Bangkok to await our pick up. It didn’t arrive. We waited for an hour then gave up, leaving our bags at the station and making our own way to Silom for Starbucks. A lovely start to Valentines Day! Dave had ‘bought’ me a flower from Koh Pha Ngang!

Off to Siam for internet and shopping (D bought a new rucksack – thank you mummy & daddy for the money for Christmas!)

Then on to Silom for a massage. Dave decided that he’d go for the back and shoulder massage rather than a Thai massage after the pummeling we’d received the last time. I think he thought it was going to be softer and not hurt so much. Oh how wrong he was! I think the guy decided that he’d try and bruise all of Dave’s back, using his elbows and all his body weight and strength to cause excruciating pain. D commented to me afterwards that he was almost sick on the guy’s shoes!!!
My massage was lovely with no feelings of nausea.

Noodles for lunch from a street vendor – yummy – then off to the start of the river cruise.
Saw lots of old and new Bangkok, the cruise lasted for about 40 minutes and cost about 30p. Bargain! Made us realise quite how much we would have been ripped off by the guy wanting to charge us 800 Baht (12 GBP) the first day we arrived at the river!

At the ferry landing stage we saw men feeding what looked like thousands of huge catfish, all fighting over each other to get at the food.

Off to the TAT to find out what had happened to our pick up from the station first thing and also to check that we would be taken to the airport later on in the day.
It would seem that our pick up had arrived 24 hours early (whilst we were lying n a beach) and had waited around for 3 hours before deciding we weren’t coming – poor thing! Fortunately our taxi to the airport was still OK.

Finally made it to the Koh San Road where all the backpacker hostels are and where it’s supposed to be a bit crazy! It wasn’t. Not that impressed really but maybe we need to go at night.
Anyway, left there and went to see our friendly tailor for our final suit fitting. Turns out it wouldn’t be as Dave’s coat seemed to have lapels rather than collars. It looked a little silly to say the least but was quickly marked up to be modified. We return again next week for the final fitting.
Both the suits were great!

Back at the TAT we were taken to the airport where we checked in then hunted around for showers having not had one for over 36 hours – yuk!
Luckily we were able to find some and then Dave treated me to Burger King – it was Valentines Day after all!!

On to the flight at around 11:30 pm where we both promptly fell asleep – emergency exit seats were great for Dave and we both fell asleep excited at the thought of arriving in Japan and seeing Mark & Em.

M x

Day 32 – Wakayama & Osaka
Arrived in Osaka at 7:00am ish. I’d slept all night and Dave had for a few hours. It was cold. Very cold. 4 degrees!
Got some details from the Tourist Information of things to do and decided on Wakayama City.

Managed to get two buses to the castle and wandered up the steps to the entrance. Half way up we found some people feeding squirrels!! So, we stopped and were given a few nuts by a little old lady and were soon feeding them too (the squirrels, not the old ladies!).

The castle was very typical of Japan but had been re-built in the 1950’s so a little disappointing. Great views from the top and a nice garden which we wandered through on our walk back to the station.

Back at Osaka Airport, we waited for a little while for Mark to arrive. I amused myself by guessing when he would come through the doors and when I announced that he had, Dave didn’t believe me. I think I’d cried wolf too many times!

With Mark in tow we made our way over to Nagahoribashi station in Osaka to check in to the hotel and await Em’s arrival. So excited!
Lunch then a few hours much needed kip (for Dave at least) and Em was soon there. So great to see both her and Mark and also Crabbers (Em’s friend from work).

Quick change then off for what was planned to be a quiet night, in search of a Yaki Niku (barbeque) restaurant that Em had been to before. We didn’t find it but did go to a lovely restaurant after a quick beer at the Cactus Bar.

Left the restaurant around 11:30pm and decided to try and find another bar. Hidden away on the 5th floor on a back street, we found Piembo - room for about 8 customers so our arrival filled the place.
Beers to start then we each decided (I think Dave was the driving force) to choose a random short to try.
I definitely came off best with apple schnapps (Boscop) whilst others had rum, tequilla and whisky. Yuk!
Crabbers also tried a few of the local whiskies and we all left feeling jolly at around 3:00am. So much for the quiet night!

M x

Day 33 – Osaka & Himeji
Up to meet around 10:00am for a Starbucks breakfast then train to Himeji. All feeling a little jaded but looking forward to seeing the castle – the best in Japan according to Lonely Planet!

We arrived and went straight for an early lunch – kebabs at an Iranian restaurant, a bit strange but tasty all the same.

At the castle we had to remove our shoes and wear slippers. It was freezing, even colder inside the castle than outside. It was a beautiful castle though and I tend to agree with Lonely Planet that it’s probably the best in Japan – although I still have a soft spot for Crow Castle in Matsumoto!

A quick Starbucks for a cup of tea before making our way back to the hotel to ready ourselves for the evening.

Crabbers had asked at the hotel for a good yaki niku restaurant and they didn’t disappoint. We had a lovely meal with a few drinks then walked down to Yellow Bar in Shinbsaibashi. A few drinks later we decided it was time for karaoke – finally!

We chose the fishbone room which was oval in shape and the singing started straight away. We’d also chosen ‘all you can drink’ and the first hour was up much too quickly! We decided to stay on for another hour, and another, and another!
4 hours later after us all having a superb evening with lots of great singing and laughing, we decided it was time to call it a night.

Em and I thought it would be a good idea to climb a small class pyramid just outside the karaoke bar before we headed for the hotel and bed. Another early one – about 5:00am!!

M x

Day 34 – Osaka & Nara
Dave and I were woken by a knock at the door. It was 11:00am and Mark & Em had checked out of their room as Em was returning to Nagoya that night.
An hour later and we were all up, dressed and ready for Starbucks! Dave and Mark seeming to be the worse for the previous night’s antics.

Walking past the karaoke bar, we noticed streak marks down two sides of a small glass pyramid. You can’t take us anywhere!

Soon we were walking past areas that were much more familiar to me from my stays with Sam and Jase when they lived in Osaka. The dancing crab and the Glico man. Such great times!

We left Crabbers to get a train back to Nagoya and the rest of us headed to Namba to get our train to Nara.
Convinced that I’d never been to Nara, I realised pretty much as soon as we got there that I had with Leah when we were both in Japan.
There were lots of deer roaming around and wanting to be fed and lots of groups of Japanese tourists being shouted at through megaphones. So peaceful!

Once inside the temple (Tadaiji) we found it to be a lot quieter as we stood with others to look at the huge wooden Buddha. Housed in the largest wooden structure in the world it was all very impressive.

Back outside, we realised that Mark and Em weren’t with us. We stood and waited for a few minutes when they both appeared grinning from ear to ear. Em proudly walked up to us, removed her glove and there was a beautiful diamond ring on her finger!! Mark had asked her to marry him and she obviously said yes! So exciting and all a bit emotional. Hugs all round and Dave and I were asked to be best man and chief bridesmaid respectively. We immediately both said yes!

Walk back to the station filled with thoughts and converstaions of weddings where we stopped for dinner before getting the train back to the hotel.

Quick turn around and we walked down to Shinsaibashi and had a delicious yaki-tori meal (skewered chicken, meat, veg) and a celebratory beer.

All too soon, we had to say bye to Em who was travelling back to Nagoya for work tomorrow. Back at the hotel, Mark & Dave played cards whilst I updated my diary.

A really, really great weekend with Mark & Em, made all the more special by Mark’s proposal. Thanks guys for letting us be a part of it. We’re both so, so happy for you and can’t wait for the planning to start!

M x

Day 35 – Osaka, Kyoto & Nagoya
Mark, Dave and I headed for Starbucks (surprised?) then the train to Kyoto. Managed to end up on a subway train instead of the correct one so had to break our way through the barriers on arrival. No-one saw us!

Walked to the first temple (we'll add the name when we've got the info. with us!) and then on to Ni-jo castle. It has a nightingale floor whch squeaks when you walk on it - to alert the residents of the castle that there was someone approaching. It was great to start with but the continuous squeaking would have got on my nerves if I'd have lived there!

We each decided that we were really hungry so set off in search of a tempura restaurant (lightly battered fish & veg) that Em, Mark & Crabbers had been to before and had the most delicious tempura in the world!
We arrived. It was shut. Gutted!
So, we walked across the river and had a tempura set lunch which was delicious and set us up for more walking...

Into the older part of Kyoto (Gion / Ginza) and we made our way to a temple on the hill. It's supported by massive timber stilts and overlooks beautiful valleys and in the background you can see the newer, high rise side of Kyoto.

Time was getting on so we jumped in a taxi to take us to the Heian shrine where we hot footed it round the Japanese gardens before returning to the station to get a shinkansen (bullet train) to Nagoya to meet with Em.
The shinkansen whisked us along at around 200 mph, delivering us to Nagoya within 30 minutes. A subway to Fushima and we found Em in a.... Starbucks!

A much needed cup of tea for us all before we made our way to the 28th floor of the Hilton hotel for a few drinks before dinner. The view was great at night with so many high rise buildings with flashing lights.

On to Hard Rock Cafe for a delicious dinner and for a few more drinks. Final stop off at Sega World to have some photographs taken!
You can go into a booth and have silly photos taken and then edit them with funny ears, hats etc. and write on them. We had great fun and I think I pulled a muscle in my back trying to hang upside down on the rails!

All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Em. I was so sad to be saying goodbye so can only imagine how Mark must have been feeling.

Shinkansen back to Osaka and a short subway drive before a brief walk home via a 7-11 to get a few supplies.

Back at the hotel Mark packed whilst we found some things for him to take back with him to lighten our load!
Final goodbyes and then to bed.

A really, really great few days and so much fun being with Mark & Em. So good to be back in Japan and surprised at how much Japanese I could remember!

Dave & I have decided that we need to come back with a rail pass and do Japan properly. Maybe next year....

M x

Day 36 - Osaka
Finally, a lie in! We woke up at around 11:30 feeling much refreshed and ready for the rest of the day. Mark had left early to catch his flight back to the UK so it was just Dave and I set off exploring.
Wandering through the shops to try and find an internet cafe proved fruitless so we gave up and went for lunch.
A yummy set meal again - Dave finally getting some sashimi (raw fish).

A bit more wandering and a visit to Bic Camera to buy a new memory stick & compact flash before we decided to head back to the hotel for a bit of research about Australia and Thailand. Dave had a bath then we went for dinner.

A restaurant attached to the hotel served lots of different Japanese dishes (the place we'd tried to go to on Sunday night Em & Mark).
We ordered those that looked good and had a great feast. More sashimi (including horse meat), noodles, salad, cheese and wasabi croquettes etc.etc.

Back to the room to pick up the camera, we made our way back to the dancing crab & glico man for some night shots. Photo now uploaded! I has taken almost as much effort to upload it as it took Dave to take it!

Soon it was time to head back to the hotel for packing and bed. I tried to plan what we were going to do in Australia - finally deciding that we do have enough time to drive to Uluru and still do the drive from Adelaide to Melbourne. All that to come in just over a week!

M x

Day 37 - Osaka to Bangkok
Up early (6:30) for a quick shower then the return journey to Kansai airport.
Arrived with a few hours to spare so headed to Starbucks for breakfast then for a quick session on the internet.

With a few coins spare, we decided to make use of the massage chairs and felt fully relaxed for our flight.
Boarded and left on time - I started to watch a film and was very annoyed when they decided to switch it to another one half way through. Oh well!
Lunch was good if a little fatty and the ice cream before we landed was a welcome treat.

Having learnt from our queueing experience the last time we arrived in Bangkok, we rushed to immigration and were rewarded with no queues. We then waited for our luggage to arrive and made our way to the taxi stand.

Taxi back to Ban Sabai hostel (where we'd stayed the first few nights in Bangkok) and upgraded for an extra 1GBP to a superior room. It's lovely!
Up to the pool to see the sun set and to make plans for our next few days in Thailand then a walk down the main street for dinner.

We found a lovely little street cafe where we had a soup with wontons, vegetables and fish balls for less then 1 GBP for us both!
A short stroll to Tesco to get breakfast supplies and we were both ready for bed.

On our way back to the hostel, we saw a man riding an elephant down the street. Not something you would normally see on your way home from Tesco!!

M x

We're Still Here!!

Sorry we've been out of communication for a few days.
We're in Japan, about to leave for our return to Bangkok and have had so many problems trying to get on to the internet - for a country so advanced in technology, they're not that good catering for foreigners!

Rather than spend days trying to work out where the keys are on the Japanese keyboard, we'll wait until we're back in Bangkok.

Just to say that we've had an awesome few days with Mark & Em and will update on all our adventures tomorrow.

Hope all's well with everyone.

M x

Day 27 & 28 - Lazing & Diving...

Day 27 – Koh Pha Ngan
Again, another extremely lazy day. Up at … some time before 10 for breakfast and then spent pretty much the whole day either lazing by the pool, swimming in the pool or sea, reading, walking the 11 yards to and from the pool to the restaurant for lunch and then dinner.

Only real venture out was to walk the 100 or so yards up the beach to the dive place to sign up for the Mondays dive trip to ‘Sail Rock!’

Both Mandy and I went snorkeling in the afternoon. Visibility wasn’t great which wasn’t good news for our dive the next day (plus my mask kept misting up) so we returned to what we’ve been doing best recently… Lying down and reading.

For some reason we were both tired quite early so we got an early night after a bit of catch up reading on scuba procedures as it had been over a year since our last dive. We agreed/hoped that it would be like riding a bike. (not literally)

D xx


Day 28 – Sail Rock

Pretty poor nights sleep due to a) air conditioning set at -16 degrees, and b) a towel for a bed-spread. But both in good spirits and looking forward to the dive. Picked up at 8 and met our Divemaster (Wendy from London) and our fellow divers – all 3 of them also English.

Boarded the boat and headed out to sea for about an hour or so to the north west of the island towards Sail Rock, a small rocky outcrop, about the size of a tennis court, in the middle of the Gulf. M suffering a little from sea-sickness but quickly recovered after our dive brief and then into the water. Visibility wasn’t great (around 5-6m) but we saw loads of fish (thousands) including angels, barracuda, ox-eyed-scud, scorpion fish and lots lots more. We circled the Rock at a depth of 7-18m, culminating with us coming up the chimney. A circular formation of coral/rock about 2m in diameter – very cool!

Then it was back to the surface. Mandy’s first words on surfacing were “you’re a crap buddy!” Apparently l was going from one side of her to the other and she didn’t know where l was half the time. I have a different view of things but either way, we both really enjoyed it and were grinning from ear to ear! Both agreed that we shouldn’t leave it so long between dives at it is so much fun.

Back on board for a couple of hours – enough time for lunch and M to take a sickness tablet which kicked in almost right away.

Just about to go in for our 2nd dive and the group in front said they saw a ‘whale shark’ so we thought our luck was in. We quickly got kitted up and jumped in hoping for a glimpse of one. (Can grow up to 12m long but they only eat plankton which is a good thing) Unfortunately we didn’t see it but we saw loads more stuff again including a trigger fish which decided not to attack – phew! Visibility dropped towards the end plus my mask was killing me so l was pleased to hit the surface.

Both nodded off on the back of the boat (sorry Dad, the stern) as we headed back to the island. Later discovered than M got a fair bit of sun-burn from this but all things considered – a great day!

Surprise surprise, a lazy evening of reading (both in the room and on the beach) and then to the restaurant for dinner and a film on the big screen. (Ratatouille – great film which clearly drew in the crowds as there were at least 9 people in the restaurant… busy busy!)

D xx

Days 24 - 26 - Bangkok to Koh Pha Ngang

All photos now added. We've found a much more reliable internet cafe that takes a fraction of the time to upload them. Yippee!

Day 24 - Bangkok
Arrived in Bangkok very early after a good nights sleep. Those trains are great!
With 12 hours to kill until our onward train journey down south, we decided that after our previous experience of hunting down breakfast in Bangkok we would head to Siam Paragon which is the modern shopping mall where we knew there was a Starbucks! Terrible I know but we’re sick of strange food!

We arrived only to find that the mall didn’t open until 10:00 and it was about 7:30. So, we crossed the road and had a bagel and a cup of tea. Also asked one of the local school children where there was an internet café and wrote the latest blog.
Having spent a few hours there, we decided that we both really needed a shower to make us feel more human. So the search began!

We wandered around the mall and went to a few spas but there wasn’t anywhere to get just a shower – obviously a luxury reserved only for Ayutthaya.
In desperation we tried the tourist information office but they were next to useless telling us that there were showers at a park across the city but she couldn’t promise they would be clean. No thank you!
Wandering around the market, Dave was tempted by the Ralph Lauren shirts for 2GBP each but decided against it.
Finally, we bit the bullet and paid about a fiver each to use a hotel for the day – with swimming pool, sauna and more importantly a shower. We had a lovely relaxing day there and swam around in the pool – even when the heavens opened and the rain started bouncing off the water. Dave was left to amuse himself seeing how long he could hold his breath under water and other such exciting games as I read my book and tried not to look too cold!

It was soon time to head back to the station but not before we went for a delicious burger. Finally some western food!
Back at the station we collected our bags and headed for the train. Another game of rummy ended in a second day win for Mandy (10-7) and then to bed with thoughts in our minds of the tropical island we were heading for. (Our third night on a train!)

M xx

Day 25 – Koh Pha-Ngang
Awoken at 6:28 by Dave panicking that we had missed our stop! Needless to say, we hadn’t and had to sit for another hour before the train finally pulled in to Surit Thani station (an hour late admittedly but running on Thai time, not too bad!)

We handed our luggage over at the coach and climbed aboard. I slept for most of the journey into the town where some people were dropped off and others joined us for the journey to the port.
Ferry ride was long and hot (about 2.5 hours). I read whilst Dave sweated and kept popping outside to catch a breeze!

Soon the island was in our sights and it was everything you can imagine. Beautiful white sandy beaches, tall hills covered in greenery and a bright blue sky (filled with grey clouds).
We were eventually collected and transported to our cabin. Basically a simple bungalow with a small bathroom at the back. But with a pool and the sea at the end of a short path, heaven!
We spent as little time as possible in the room unpacking and changing into our swim stuff and then hot footed it to the sea for our first swim. Bliss!

Lazing by the pool and reading filled the rest of the afternoon before we ventured not very far, it had to be said, to explore our surroundings. We stumbled across a small but professional looking dive-shop and spoke to the German/Swiss owner (who seemed very friendly) about doing some diving over the next few days. A site called ‘Sail Rock’ seems to be favourite and there’s a dive on Monday which we may well do. We’ll tell you all about it then!
Back to the resort for dinner (carbonara for D, Thai green curry (again!) for M) and soon to bed. It’d been a long day!

M xx

Day 26 – Koh Pha-Ngang
Up earlyish (9:00!) and off for a yummy breakfast. So far all we’ve done is laze by the pool, Dave went for a bit of a snorkel this morning (saw a huge puffa fish) and we’ve both been this afternoon, we’ve checked emails, sorted out our finances (ouch!) and are currently uploading photos on to the blog – sorry mum for not doing them at the time!

Will write again in a few days once we’ve done something worth writing about – could get a bit boring if all we say is… got up, sat by the pool, had lunch, sat by the pool, had dinner, went to bed!

Thanks for all your comments and emails still coming flooding through. It’s strange being away for so long and knowing we’ve got another 2 months still before we see everyone again so the comments help to keep in touch. Thanks!
Miss you all.

M xx

Days 19 - 23 - Ayutthaya & Chiang Mai

Day 19 & 20 - Ayutthaya & Chiang Mai
Following our internet spell, we headed over the road to a lovely restaurant for dinner. I had Thai Green Curry (finally!) and found a small caterpillar was also trying to enjoy it! It's not been a good day...

It was exchanged and the second curry was delicious. Dave had chicken with cashew nuts which was equally yummy.
Then it was time to start thinking about the overnight train to Chiang Mai. We'd seen showers at the station but I wasn't keen to use them. Fortunately we found a little cafe that was advertising showers for 20 Baht (about 30p) so after I'd thoroughly inspected it, we both showered in readiness for the journey. We were both grimey and hot and bothered from the days adventures.

On to the train and we found our berths. Very exciting! We sat and chatted for a little while before the guards came and told us it was bed time - it was about 9:30 after all!
We both slept surprisingly well - the rocking motion of the train obviously condusive to sleeping. The air con was cranked up to the max so we were both a little chilly. I had the top bunk which had a couple of ropes strapped from the roof to the bottom of the bed - I had visions of falling out during the night!

We arrived in Chiang Mai at around 11:00am where we were met by the local TAT office. Whisked efficiently to the office, we were told about the trek the following day and what we would need to bring with us - not much as we were having to carry our backpacks for the trek.
Once at the hotel, we checked in and were shown to our room - lovely! Really nice and clean and decorated in traditional Thai style. The hotel also had a pool so we quickly changed and headed down to lounge there for a few hours. Well deserved after our long journey! We even managed a few lengths in the very cold pool.

Fully revived, we set off to the Sunday walking market. Two of the main streets are closed off every Sunday evening and stalls are set up selling everything you can want and more. We were even able to get a massage for about 2 GBP. Dave had a foot massage whilst I had my back realligned by a kindly gentleman - felt great!
Ratana's kitchen was recommended as a place to eat by Lonely Planet and they were right - great food although the apple pie for dessert was a bit manky.

Back to the hotel and we packed our bags for the trek - so excited!

M xx

Day 21 - Jungle Trekking
Up earlyish for breakfast (not great) and finally picked up around 10:00am for the trek. Met with our group (Olly & John from England, Jase from Singapore, Francoise and her daughter from France and 3 Korean ladies from... Korea!)
About an hours drive North, stopping off briefly at the market to buy a torch, and we soon arrived at the Elephant Station.
For 30p we were able to buy a huge bunch of banana's which the elephants loved. Then we were introduced to our elephant and told to climb aboard. We decided he looked like an Alfred, the largest of the group and obviously the leader as he headed off of his own accord without a guide.
Not the most comfortable form of transport but caused great amusement as he threw his trunk over his head to 'ask' for bananas and sugar cane.
All too soon, we had to leave Alfred and start walking for ourselves.

First challenge was to ride in a cage over a river on a rope! It didn't look too safe and reminded me of a challenge you would be expeceted to do on 'I'm a Celebrity Get me out of here!'. Unfortunatley we weren't able to get out of it so in we climbed and were whisked across the river. Not too scary really.

Quick break for lunch of fried rice and water then the serious walking (and sweating) began. Very steep climb in parts through beautiful jungle scenery, past waterfalls and trees. We had a crazy guide who kept us entertained.
Soon we were able to see the camp ahead so our steps quickened at the thought of a rest!

Our accomodation was a little basic (10 very thin futon type matresses on the floor of a bamboo cabin on stilts) but the view from the veranda was amazing (1040m up).
A very cold shower revived us all and we were soon watching the sunset and starting on our feast of Thai curries with rice. Yum!
A fun evening of games ensued - the best being a new game we were introduced to called spoons. So much fun and helped to break the language barrier as there was no need for speaking other than to tell the loser to paint a black mark on their face.

A really great but exhausting day. Bed was calling around 10:00 and we fell asleep to the sound of crickets and pigs and the occasional cry of a cockerel - I thought they were only supposed to 'call' in the morning!

M xx

Day 22 - Trekking
Awake early (about 6:30) and welcomed by the most beautiful view from the veranda of clouds sitting in the valley.

Had a brief wander around the village where we saw little piglets suckling for breakfast, puppies scampering, chickens fighting and lots more wildlife.
Back at the cabin we had breakfast then it was time to cover up with mosquitoe spray, sun cream and set off on the trek again.

Thankfully it was mostly downhill today and we were soon at a waterfalll where we were able to have a very refreshing 'shower'. I was scared I might be knocked over with the force of the water but Dave took full advantage and felt greatly invigorated.

More trekking along the river was beautiful. We commented that there was no way such a trek would happen in the UK as it would have been classed as being far too dangerous and closed down!


Next we were kitted up with life jackets, helmets and paddles and set off down the river in our white water raft in a friendly competition of Europe vs Asia! Needless to say Europe won and a great time was had by all. A bit hairy in places as we headed directly towards rocks but all came away unscathed.
Transferred onto our bamboo raft (a traditional Thai form of transport down the river) for a much more leisurely cruise to lunch.
Pad Thai not great but we were able to buy photographs that had been taken of us on Alfred and in the white water raft - great souvenirs!

Transport back to the hotel and we said goodbye to our new found friends and checked into our Deluxe free upgrade. Great!
Plans to head to the pool were scuppered as we both fell asleep after doing some washing.
Headed out around 8:00 to find a pizza restaurant (another Lonely Planet recommendation) which was no longer there! We settled instead for the Red Brick Cafe which served lasagne and spaghetti bolognaise and returned to the hotel via Tesco where we bought supplies for our return train journey to Bangkok the following day.

M xx

Day 23 - Cooking School
Breakfast again at the hotel (still not great) and checked out. Picked up around 9:30 to be taken to our Thai cooking school. Very exciting!
We stopped off at the local market where we were shown the spices and vegetables that we would be using in the recipes for the day and sampled a sticky rice and banana snack. Delicious.

Once at the school we were given aprons, a cleaver, a chopping block and a cloth and talked through a number of different recipes. Once we'd decided on the menus we wanted to cook, it was down to business as we chopped, fried, rolled and sliced our way through 14 recipes (7 each). We were able to eat all the food that we cooked and were pleasantly surprised at how good everything tasted. Pretty stuffed by the end of the day we were able to take our Thai curries home in doggy bags - great as we had bought pot noodles for the train so we no longer needed to eat them. Brilliant!

Menus have been emailed to us so we'll be able to let you all try our wonderful culinary delights!

The day over, we were transported to the train station for our night train. With 90 minutes to kill we popped in for a 60 minute foot massage for about 2GBP which was wonderful after the trekking the days before. D was a bit ticklish but I loved it. The lady kept tutting at me though as my calves were so tight from the walking and laughing as she wobbled my legs around. Nice!

Finally it was time to board the train. As it was an earlier train than our outward journey we had a few hours to kill before we were made to go to bed. Fortunately we'd managed to buy some playing cards so set into a serious game of rummy. Final score 10-8 to Mandy. Yay!

Both had top bunks this time but had packed more clothes so we weren't cold.
Lights out (well, not really as they leave them on blinding you through the night) at around 10:00pm and soon the sounds of snoring could be heard from the berths around me - including Dave's!

M xx

Days 15 - 19 - Singapore, Bangkok & Ayutthaya

Day 15 - Singapore
Woke up around 9 after a good nights kip and then we were up and out fairly sharpish. Wandered down the road for what can only have been breakfast with the worst tea ever! Then a quick MRT and bus ride to the Botanical Gardens where we wandered around for a couple of hours with numerous drink stops made compulsory by the heat & humidity. (D struggling) The gardens are beautiful and also massive – we only covered about half of it.

Then it was back to Sentosa Island (by bus this time not cable car) for some beach time. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas as it “chucked” it down. Spent our time wandering around dodging raindrops before finally admitting defeat and heading back to the city. Straight to the hotel for a shower and a change and we were back pounding the pavement. Walked to Raffles bar – Bar made famous as the Singapore Sling was invented there. M had one, l had a beer (+ some of M’s sling!). Very nice.
Also it appears that it’s OK to throw your peanut shells on the floor – just plain untidy if you ask me!

Then it was off to the riverside – spectacular back drop of skyscrapers. Quick stop at the Sir Stamford Raffles statue (British founder of Singapore) and then we wandered along the river to sit at a outdoor riverside Chinese restaurant. Treated to a free fireworks display as well courtesy of some posh party going on across the river – thanks!
Then it was time to call it a day as we had an early start to get our flight to Bangkok tomorrow….. Zzzzz

D xx

Day 16 – Singapore - Bangkok
Up at 6:30, checked out and to the airport with ruthless Singaporian efficiency. Made use of the free internet and even time for a quick smoothie.
Flight was OK, though not quite long enough for either of us to finish our films.
Arrived in Bangkok and decided to choose the slowest passport control queue….. 50 minutes later we got our taxi to the hostel – Ban Sabai hostel which we later learnt means relaxing house. We certainly agree. We went straight up to the rooftop pool and reveled in our good fortune – Thanks Niamh, great recommendation.

Finally tore ourselves away from the pool and went to the city. (minus guide book and map – big mistake) Had some noodles and ‘Pad Thai’ at a cheapy market and then wandered around fairly aimlessly hoping to stumble across an internet café so we could print off a map so we could get back to our hotel – eventually found one so all was right in the world once more!

Both pretty tired and a little fed up we headed back towards the MRT station. We both somewhat impulsively decided to stop off for a Thai Massage. (Only 3 GBP for hour) The place looked a little seedy but once inside we were given tea, had our feet washed and then both ushered upstairs to change into what can best be described as stripey pyjamas (not sure there are many 6ft tall Thai’s…… I’m sure you can picture it) We were then both pummeled and poked all over for an hour. The girls can’t have weighed more than 5 stone but they poked well above their weight. We then left, much happier if a little sorer, and headed back to the hotel. An interesting day to say the least.

D xx

Day 17 - Bangkok
Up fairly early and straight into town. Ended up in what l hope I the worst area of Bangkok… hot, dirty, smelly… and nowhere to eat. At least nowhere that we wanted to eat. Tried to head up river on a riverboat but were blatantly approached by some rip-off merchant who spotted us as potential prey. Not sure what gave us away, could have been the map, camera, confused look on our faces and the buckets of sweat pouring off my head!

Finally got a taxi to the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha, (It’s actually jade and not emerald) had some food (at last) Mandy was about to keel over from exhaustion and headed into the palace.
Amazing. Full of extremely ornate, decorative temples and shrines. Saw the little green man (only 75cm tall – bit like Yoda really) and then we were done there.




Approached by another guy outside (so we were both a bit sceptical) who told us where we should go and called a tuk-tuk driver over. (3 wheeled motorbike with seats for 2 or 3 on the back – there are 1000’s of these in Bangkok and most take advantage of tourists) Luckily, as it turned out, the guy was genuine and our tuk-tuk driver drove us all around Bangkok for the rest of the day, (about 5 hours) waiting for us at all our stops, and all for just 20 Baht. (About 30p) Being the generous guy that I am, I tipped him another 20 Baht – he seemed pleased enough!

Our stops included; Standing Buddha (very tall gold Buddha), Reclining Buddha, (about 50m long and 8m high, also gold), Thai tailors where we both decided to spoil ourselves and get measured up for a fully tailored suit. All for just 75 GBP each – bargain. And finally, to the Thai Authority for Tourism (TAT) where they helped us sort out in just 1 hour the rest of our time in Thailand – flights, bus tickets, train tickets, ferry ticket, hotels, treks, cooking schools… everything! All of which you’ll hear about in the coming weeks!

Both absolutely knackered (M with really bad headache, sorry, I’ve just been told “it was a migraine”) we headed back to the hotel with food en-route.
Bed was calling. We both agreed that tomorrow would be a lazy day. Mandy should have listened to her Mummy!

D xx

Day 18 - Bangkok
Finally, a lazy morning. 12 hours sleep, and a hearty breakfast of Cornflakes, yoghurt and tea (which was bought at Tesco’s of all places late the night before) we lounged around the pool for a few hours – bliss!

Headed out for lunch, M had the spiciest of curries whilst D played safe with sweet & sour. We had an appointment with the tailors for a fitting so we headed over on the Sky Train (elevated train) which gave us a good view of the city – some nice parts that we’d yet to see so some faith was restored in Bangkok.

Was fun getting measured for our suits – M’s wasn’t quite right. They’d given her a baggy bum! All tucked up we walked back to the Sky Train station by a huge shopping mall. (D not happy on the heat) Had a delicious dinner followed by ice-cream – yum!

Thoughts of going to the cinema or IMAX or bowling were all abandoned for one reason or another so we headed home (via a very elongated taxi ride – another rip off merchant) to pack our bags for an early start.

D xx

Day 19 – Bangkok - Ayutthaya
Today (so far) l have mostly been sweating!
Up at 5:30 for our hotel pick up to take us to the train station. Got there with loads of time to spare. (Both cursing as we could have done with the sleep)

Got the train to Ayutthaya (original capital of Thailand) which took around 90 mins. Train was rammed, but we managed to pinch some seats despite only having standing tickets. Ignorance is bliss.

Arrived in Ayutthaya, stored our bags at the station and went exploring. River ferry in to the old town (is on an island) and after a riverside drink we hired some bicycles for the day. (60p each) Spent 4 or 5 hours cycling/sweating around the town visiting various ruins of temples which are very impressive. They’re classed as a world heritage site so they were well worth seeing.

We’ve just dropped the bikes off and 3 hours to kill before getting our overnight train north to Chiang Mai. (both excited at the prospect)
We took your advice Sam and are going on the air conditioned carriage.

Took a while to find a decent internet café to write this blog. We left the first one rather quickly after a cockroach scurried over Mandy’s foot – Ugh!

We may be out of communication for a few days as we’re going trekking in the jungle.

Speak soon,

D xx