Day 78 – 1st May: Travelling to Koh Phi Phi Travel time 2 hrs Left hotel half 8 to be on ferry half 9. They seem to be very prompt here, if it says 9:30 it means 9:30 they will not wait. We chilled on the ferry People watching. Arrived in phi phi at around half 11. There is no transport on this island what so ever. You could have your luggage delivered to your hotel but we walked with ours. Jodi asked for directions and were told to follow the yellow path, or the yellow brick road as we fondly called it. We got so far before a lady asked us if we knew where we were going. We must have looked confused she gave us directions (she was American) and sent us straight past our hotel and along the beach. In fairness, it wasn’t clearly labelled and as we later found out there are many entrances to our hotel. Unable to check, we headed straight for the pool as we were hot and very very sweaty. Definitely the hottest island we had been on. We held off for check in before we did anything else. We managed to get into the room 5 minutes early – result. Checked in and decided to go up to the view point as we had read good things about it. We brought a fresh juice one the way to the stairs of hell. We paused a few times on the way up as it was very hot and very steep. Met two other travellers on the way up and we all stopped in the same place. We left first and realised it was only 10 rather large steps above us. When we were looking at the view they appeared and we had a laugh about it. We took loads of pictures and sweated buckets. The second view point was more amazing but higher up. After marvelling at the view and cooling down in the shade, we made our decent and headed straight for a shower! Went out for dinner and had a look around the markets. We saw a few people having tattoos done and ended up drinking buckets in an Irish pub. Great first day! Day 79- 2nd May: Early Bird Maya Bay trip This trip did exactly what it said on the tin. Up at 5am to get a speed boat to Maya bay to avoid the crowds. We set off from the pier at 6:30and headed straight over to Maya Bay. Our guide introduced himself as Coco Loco. We got off on the island and went for a wander to Losama Bay – just on the other side of the beach. We spent a couple of hours here, people watching- watching those who got long boats here and laughing at them as they waded through the waist deep water. We saw someone proposing to their girlfriend. It was sweet but a little bit awkward as we weren’t sure if she had said yes – he began to close the box … then they kissed and he opened to put the ring on her finger. We then realised we had to waded through waist deep water to get back to our boat! Karma we guess. Back on the boat we headed to Ton Sai Bay for some snorkelling. We were all a little tired from the night before so we took a life jacket – big mistake. When you’re a confident swimmer this hinders you so much, you roll over uncontrollably and when floating it either tips you back or forth. It was a laugh and an experience. We then headed to Ton Sai lagoon for swimming. The water was much colder here. Back on the boat and moved round to Viking cave. Apparently, there are paintings of boats inside look like Viking boats- hence the name. We couldn’t see in them, it was just a hole in the wall. It’s also where they pick the swallows birds’ nests for the soup, they don’t harm the birds or the eggs, they want the next mad from swallow saliva to munch. Moved swiftly on to Monkey Beach – not long enough here, we only had 15 minutes to get the pictures we wanted. The monkeys Stole someone’s glasses which caused a bit of stir. They steal things in reward for food from the tour guys. it’s always fruit as that is what they give you on the boat. She got them back anyway. We headed back to land for 10:30am. Went out to get a late breakfast and walked round the areas we had missed previously Again it was a rather hot day so we decide to spend the rest by the pool. We went to the other pool they had which was nicer and had a shaded area. Out for dinner, then found a cute little bar on the beach to have a drink. We were all quite tired from the early start, walking back to our hotel past Slinky’s there were some fire dancers. We watched them for a little bit before being tucked up in bed.
Day 80- 3rd May: Travelling to Koh Samui Travel time 8 hours total – Ferry 1- 1.5, coach 3.5, ferry 2- 2, taxi 1 Up at a reasonable time to have breakfast before leaving to catch our first ferry. Great breakfast shame we only had it once. Lots of variety and all good quality. We bundle ourselves up with our bags and walked to the pier, hopped on the boat which was taking up back to Krabi Town. We hopped off and walked off the pier to wait for a minivan to take us to the coach. We were a bit worried we would have to do the 3 and half hour journey in the minivan. Waited to be called to board the coach, use the most awful toilets as there wasn’t on the coach. The coach took us to Donsak pier, where we caught our second ferry which was rather empty to Koh Samui. Our taxi was waiting for us on the other side with a sign saying Jodi Walden. this journey was a further hour but we saw the most beautiful sunset from the car, the sky went all pink and purple but deep colours. We turned into a little road which seemed rather long and at the end of it was our hotel, Kirati Beach. We dumped our bags and had dinner at hotel, we were the only ones and there was a live musician. it was a bit awkward as it felt like he was singing for us. and chilled in bed. Set off at half 10, arrived half 7. On the plus side, it didn’t seem like a bad journey, went very quick. Day 81- 4th May: First Day in Koh Samui, walk around, Chaweng beach Despite our curtains being rather thin, we woke up a little late after a good sleep. Breakfast wasn’t included in this accommodation so we went on hunt for breakfast, we walked along the beach hoping to find some. We stumbled across the crystal restaurant which turned out to be a bit disastrous. It had a good menu but was so basic. Charlotte got a croissant with chocolate thinking it might be a pan au chocolate but it turned out to be one croissant with chocolate sauce. Mine and Jodi’s Muesli was good, the wait for bill was ridiculous. We asked numerous times and eventually got it. It was already stupidly hot and some of us had no shoes on, the sand was burning hot so we ran to the water’s edge. We then Went out for a walk. Not much to see, the area we are staying in is a bit quitter but saw a few places we are going to eat in over the next few days. Headed back to hotel decided to head to Central festival shopping centreKoh Samui’s largest shopping centre. We popped in a few shops and the turned out into the walking street. We stopped in a pub for a drink then continued our walk toward Chaweng beach. We walked along and got a bit lost, turned through a beach club and found a restaurant to eat in. It was a great meal and we headed back to our end for some cocktails in the cocktail King. Popular little place with two dogs. Day 82- 5th May: Organising/ fisherman village/cocotams Today was a cloudy day. We had breakfast at a nice little place before coming back to hotel. It looked like it was going to rain (although it didn’t) we ended up looking at the rest of Thailand. We booked lots of things today, pretty much all the way to Bangkok. Including flights and accommodation. This made us feel a bit better instead of doing it like 4 days before we were due to arrive or leave. The weather brightened up a little so we decided to head to the fisherman’s village. A vast array of eateries and shops, stall and if course Cocotams. A beach bar located on the beach front where you can a small sunset. We had a couple of drinks here and listened to the tropical house music coming from the speakers. We did manage to see some form of sunset even though it had been cloudy. It was a deep red and came out of nowhere. It also didn’t last long. In need of food, we saw a little steakhouse
which did Mexican too. Rather over priced for what it was, but good food nonetheless. We then looked around the night markets which were a maze and never ending. We ended back at Cocotams to see the fire dancers. Amy good some cool photos before moving back through the crowds. We came to the taxi rank and had to barter with the taxi man for a ride home. We ended up in a converted van – like a tuk tuk but longer. It was an experience to say the least and safety is the last priority on their list. Day 83- 6th May: Beach Day We chose to have breakfast at the hotel today as there aren’t many breakfast places around here. It was a set menu which was fine. When it arrived, it looked great and then we all took a mouthful and couldn’t decide whether it had a hint of onions or garlic running through it. It was overpriced for what it was. We had fruit with it but it also had a hint of garlic to it. We had a look at trips which didn’t include elephant trekking or shows with animals in them but this proved difficult. We found a company who do tours around the island following an itinerary set up by us. Whilst we were waiting for a reply, we decided to have a beach day. It was a rather hot day after the coolness of yesterday however it was rather nice. There was a good breeze on the beach. We searched for a swing as well which Jodi had found on Instagram but we were unsuccessful. Before dinner we had another wonder to look for the swings and managed to found both swings we were looking for! After having a good old sunbath, we went and got ready to head out for dinner once again. Day 84- 7th May: Another beach day Breakfast – possibly one of the hardest meals to eat. We chose to eat at the restaurant on our hotel grounds – mistake. We had healthy muesli with fruit but something in there tasted like onions or garlic not too sure on which one. The fruit platter Charlotte had also had a hint of something that wasn’t meant to be there. So being a little disappointed we grabbed ourselves some sunbeds to lay in the sunny cloudy weather. We decided to go to the jungle club for drinks and possibly dinner so we got changed a little earlier and called ourselves a cab. To get to the jungle club you need a 4x4 taxi. Unknowingly we got into the cab and headed towards the steepest climb ever. We drove for a little while before seeing the sign. Down a few winding corners we came to a hill which was at like a 70degree angle. This was simply the first one, hill after hill came and when we eventually reached the top, even the driver got out to stretch himself. He was joking around with Charlotte which completely went over her head, Jodi was laughing to herself at Amy’s face and white knuckles from holding on so tight. We walked into the hotel grounds and marvelled at the view that fell before us as well as the infinity pool. We took a seat and got some drinks. Took some photos of the view and ourselves. A few of the bean bags became available but they were only offering it to couples. We inquired if there were any free and they said they had to check. It was given to someone else before us so we weren’t too pleased. When a table became available, they gave it to us and positivity was restored. We ordered some food as well as another drink. The food was good, Amy had tomato soup (which wasn’t a patch on Nana’s) which was good. We then called a cab again and the decent was much more pleasant. Day 85 – 8th May: Fancy seeing you here Today we had booked a trip around a few of the sights we wanted to see. Mr. Samui wasn’t available so someone else came. We awoke to very undesirable weather, loud thunder storms and torrential rain. A very comfortable minivan pulled up for just the three of us, we hopped in and gave him the places we wanted to see. The rain was still present when we reached our first destination. Our first stop was Wat Plai Laem – a Buddhist temple which houses an 18-arm lady figure of impressive stature. There was also a laughing Buddha alongside other religious icons. Their temples are beautiful and colourful. We then moved onto the Big Buddha where the rain had stopped and the humidity had kicked in. This was a golden Buddha at the top of some rather wet stairs. We walked up no issues, walked around the Buddha and made our way back down
the stairs. Amy ended up slipping down six or seven and is now sporting a rather large bruise on the back of her leg. Despite this it was still a beautiful thing to see. Our next stop was Chaweng View point. This was a viewpoint where you can see the area where we were staying. We found some plinths which we stood on to take some pictures. A crowd of Asian tourists had gathered near us and were watching. We moved on and noticed they had done the same thing we just did. We headed back to the minivan and our driver asked us if we wanted to go and see the famous Hin Ta and Hin Yai rocks also known as Grandpa and grandma rocks. As we were paying for a few hours we said yes and off we drove. We knew they were meant to represent male and female gentiles but for what reason? Well we got out and wandered down, the male rock was very easy to spot. The female not so much. We followed a crowd of people and low and behold there she was. You can see from the picture as to why they are known for this. If you want to know the reason behind it, you can google it. Anyway, we then moved onto the Na Muang waterfall. This was exactly what it says. A waterfall, the water was rather grim so we didn’t swim, shame as it was sticky and sweaty by now. Our last stop was the Secret Buddha garden or Tarnim Magic garden. A garden set near a river/ stream surrounded by statues and replica houses. It was tranquil and different. We explored and took a few photos before heading back to the van to head back to the hotel. We were out for half the day so we got back and had lunch. We were due to meet Karen (Charlotte’s godmother) and her friend. Jodi cut charlotte’s hair and we headed out to meet them. We ate and then headed to CocoTams where we watched the show again. It was nice to see a familiar face. Before we left, the fire dancers came around with the tip box. They Moved the fire around Amy’s head which was really close. Anyway, we said our goodbyes and headed back home. Oh, on the way there we also had the same cab driver as yesterday, he recognised us and was absolutely nuts, apparently, he likes baked potatoes and pad Thai Day 86- 9th May: Moving onwards to Koh Phangan Travel time: 2 hrs 15 minutes -1hr taxi, Ferry 30 minutes, 45 minutes. We have had enough of eat disappointing breakfast so we brought some cereal and had that. We packed our bags and waited for our transfer back to Nathon pier. We waited for ages to get onto this ferry and noone tells you anything. We were called up, transferred to another waiting area at the end of the pier. The boat turned up, we all boarded, headed to the top as there were no seats together downstairs and pulled away from the port. We arrived which felt like a few minutes later and headed towards the taxi rank. We were directed to a mini bus full of other people who were coming to Haad Rin too. Driving along the roads, we hit these ridiculous hills, much like the hills at the jungle club. The van almost sounded like it wasn’t going to make it but luckily it did. We started stopping of at people’s accommodation and were cautious for what ours was going to look like. It isn’t the greatest area to be fair but it is the closest to the full moon party as we are spending quite a bit on transport, we thought it was best. We stopped at the top of a road and were directed to follow the signs. We found our hotel, Black & White Bungalows, and were still cautious about what to find. We were showed to our room and … it’s alright. It’s a bit like staying at your mate’s grandma’s house in the room that hasn’t seen a duster for a while. We are probably exaggerating but it’s a roof over our heads at the end of the day. We went out in search of food – another disaster, it wasn’t very good. We wandered around the area and found ourselves on the beach. Lots of other restaurants to choose from which is good. Later on, after getting out of the ridiculous heat in our air con, we ate dinner, popped to the shop for breakfast tomorrow and caught up with what we needed to do.
Day 87- 10th May: Pool Day and Bad Weather Torrential rain last night so we all didn’t sleep very well. Woke up little later than planned, headed out for a late breakfast. Whilst eating, the heavens opened. It’s safe to say we took our time to eat. Once the rain had passed and the clouds remained, we went to look in the shops. After a while you begin to realise they all sell the same thing. We returned to the hotel as it started to spit. We debated whether to go to the beach or not as it was still quite humid, we opted for the pool instead. We got changed and headed down to the miniature pool which was rather nice. We swam, chatted and people watched before it started to rain again. We stayed in it for a while but returned inside. We chilled before heading out for dinner. Had another wander around the area after dinner and return to our silky beds. Day 88 – 11Th May: Full Moon Party and a run of back luck Yesterday we booked a trip to Koh Tao and Koh Nangyaun so we were up at 7 to be picked up by 8am. We were taken to the Thong Sala pier in an open truck. The journey is hilly and felt rather unsafe in an open van. We arrived in one piece and boarded our speedboat. The weather wasn’t too great today either, so the sea was rather rough. It took us an hour to get to Koh Tao which was one of the roughest rides we had all been on. We pulled into a bay where we were going to snorkel. It was still quite rough comparing it to the other places we had snorkelled. We were told to wear our life jackets much to our distaste, but we complied. Into the sea, we bobbed in these fluorescent jackets, searching for some different fish we hadn’t seen. This was unsuccessful, pretty nonetheless. Charlotte managed to drop her snorkel so Otto had to retrieve it. We got back on board, a task with the stupid lifejackets, got a shower from the man with the feminine glasses and headed for Koh Nangyuan where we were to spend the rest of our day. This island was different to the other ones we had been on. You are not allowed bottles on the islands so our bags were searched when you passed the checkpoint and we weren’t allowed to lay out towels as you will take the sand with you when you leave and they wish to preserve the little sand they have. Random but hey. We went to have some lunch, a buffet which made you feel like you were in an orphanage but the food was decent. We went for a walk round the island to find a view point. This was a sweaty steep mosquito infested climb. By the time, we got to the top we were all ready to descend. The view was actually pretty cool, it’s just a shame it’s so small that everyone gets in each other’s was and it can become quite dangerous. We made it back down again and got straight into the sea. We chilled there for a little while, Charlotte went on a nature hunt and Jodi investigated the coral. Soon enough it was time to get back on the boat and head back to shore. It was still really rough so it felt like it took forever. On the other side, we had to wait for the other trip to arrive so we could return to the hotel. For some reason, the driver dropped everyone else of first passing our hotel and dropped us off last. Took us nearly 2 hours to get back. Anyway, we went out for dinner, where we waited just over an hour for our food, Jodi’s turning up when Amy and charlotte had practically finished. Got ready for the full moon party, had a few drinks and walked down to the beach. A few people were so drunk they were heading back with their mates we descended on to the beach and wandered up and down. Different sections were playing different styles of music so we headed for the fire skipping and limbo in the distance. This also turned out to be the better area for music. We watched a few people skip and limbo and basically danced the night away, sadly we didn’t make it to sunrise but it was still a really good night.
Day 89 – 12th May: Beach Day After getting in at 3:30am and not falling asleep until around 4ish (it rained while we were on the beach, so we all needed to shower to feel human and get the paint from other people off us) we awoke just after midday. Headed straight out for something to eat and found a restaurant which did café breakfasts- egg chips beans, sausages that sort of thing. We found somewhere to print our ticket off for tomorrow and went back to get changed. We walked back down to the beach and it was rather different to last night. It was quitter and less people but it was also very clean, people had been busy. We found a nice spot on the beach, watched the thai men take down the scaffolding from last night (health and safety nightmare) and people watched of course. All of a sudden there was this commotion in the sea. We saw a crowd of people swimming frantically to another area. It was then we realised someone was in trouble. There are no lifeguards on this beach so it was down to the public to gain attention from someone. Luckily, a man from the jetski’s rushed over on the jet ski with a life jacket. The sea was so rough it was scary. Luckily the man who was saved was shaken but okay. We continued to people watch, mainly at the sea just in case. We came back to the room just before sunset and packed our bags. Went out for dinner and chilled before bed. Day 90- 13th May: Koh Samui for one night only Travel time: 45 mins’ taxi, 45 mins’ ferry and 45mins – 2 hrs 15 minutes. Today was the day we leave Koh Phangan and so was everyone else. We got a cheap taxi to the port where there was a mass of backpackers (mainly) and holiday makers all looking to leave the island. We got in a queue which moved quickly. We then stood around searching for people with the same colour stickers as us and hang around them. The lady in charge then called something which we could only assume was our boat, we surged forward with the rest of the team and luckily it was us. There were others in the queue who would just stand there and not move, we basically moved them out the way so we could get to the bot. We then lined up in another queue to get on board. Something told us today was not going to be our day, the heavens opened upon us and rained down its hardest and wettest rain. We scurried along, pushing our way past people who were pissing about and dumped our bags, found and seat and promptly slumped down. It hadn’t even been an early start and we were knackered already. After the quick transfer, we were back in Koh Samui. Different hotel this time, Samui pier Resort. We found our taxi man and off we went. We checked in and were shown to our room. Shame it was only one night, it was huge. Decent sized shower, 2 separate bedrooms and a nice little patio. We unpacked our clothes which weren’t too wet but there were some casualties and went to eat. We went for a little walk after, not much to do as it’s not a town. We chilled on the patio watching them set up some tables and chairs for what appeared to be a wedding, turned out to be a birthday party. Attempted to watch a sunset, too cloudy. Showered, dressed and ate. Caught up on a few things as there wasn’t much to do and slept. Day 91 – 14th May: Flight to Chiang mmai and our first day there Travel time – 1 hr 50 minutes, 10-minute taxi and 20-minute taxi- 2 hrs 20 minutes. We were up, dressed and ready to head on a plane, which felt very weird as it wasn’t going to be on water. Anyway, hitched a taxi to the airport. Smooth and very quick check in. Beautiful airport. All open space, ponds, trees and flowers. Headed towards the gate where we had free snacks and drinks available for us. Open shuttle to the plane, quick boarding and take off. Before we knew it, we were landing in Chiang Mai. There was a bit of turbulence on the way down as the weather was bumpy, but all in all a very pleasant flight with Bangkok Airways. Our bags were first off, the plane so we ordered a taxi and off we went. We had a funny little thai man, must have been shorter
than Amy, looked a bit like Ronnie Corbett. Anyway, he was chatting away, recommending for us to go to the Sunday markets and saying we should go see the elephants. Time flew past and we pulled up outside our hostel, Love CNX. We couldn’t actually see the door, then realised we were standing infront of it. We checked in, sweet little place and headed straight out to explore. We booked two tours as well before leaving and that was our three days booked up. We walked around the city, saw lots of temples, discovered there are around 200 in total in Chiang Mai, stopped for a drink and something to eat. Our plan was to go to the Sunday markets earlier as they get really busy. So, we headed back to the hostel for a well-deserved shower. Day 92 – 15th May: The white Temple tour We knew it was going to be an early start but 5:00am- really. Anyway, the car was picking us up at 6 so we ate something and waited for them. There was only 6 of us on the tour. So, on the road we headed. It took us around 3 hours to get to Chiang Rai where would make our second stop. Our first stop were some hot springs in the middle of nowhere. We watched them boil eggs in the springs as well as try to shelter our noses from the eggy smell of sulphur. Our second stop was about 2 hours away from here. We passed small towns on the way to the White temple. Its design by an artist which is meant to represent heaven. With all temples, we covered up our shoulders and wandered on in. It was a stunning structure. We walked around the grounds, looked at some other structures, marvelled at the gold toilets which were made to represent a temple and then headed over the road for our lunch. It was a traditional thai lunch with vibrant blue pea juice. We jumped back onto the mini-van and carried on towards the blue temple (Amy’s favourite). Inside was beautiful, very different to the others we had previously seen. We took some photos and walked around the grounds, looking at the different Buddha statues. Back into the mini-van and onto the black house. This was a surprise visit as we thought we were going to another temple. It was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. It was an art installation celebrating the life of Thawan Duchanee. It had 40 different buildings, each on representing something else. It was very interesting and eerily peaceful. If you get the chance you should google it. We then had a four-hour drive back to Chiang Mai. We hit so much traffic on the way back, this was to be expected. We dropped everyone off and it was safe to say we were knackered. We went out for something to eat.
Day 93 – 16th May: Trip to Pai Another day another trip, this time it was just the three of us. We had the same guide as yesterday although we don’t think he recognised us. This was to be another long day as we were up at 7, on the road by 8. We hit some really winding roads about 2 hours into the journey. Pai is located on top of a hill, hair pin turns and sharp corners dominate the road up there. Our first stop was at the Memorial Bridge – a bridge built within a war which is still standing today. We moved onto Grand Canyon – Thailand’s version. A canyon which you can walk (we didn’t) with good views. Next on our hit list was the Love Pai strawberry fields. Jodi was in her element anything and everything was based around strawberries. We had some photos taken and by now the sun was beaming down on us, we were very grateful for the air con in the van. We moved onto the yellow house – a coffee brewers with a difference. For some unknown reason to us we went to these pink houses – a little hotel where everything was pink. It began to rain so we weren’t here for very long. We were then told we were going for lunch – result we were all starving. We pulled up to a little Chinese village and were handed the menu – crap. We ended up having peas with rice and steamed chicken. None of us were
impressed. We then realised it was Yuan style dishes. After we had eaten, we visited the village that was attached. It was cute and rather medieval. Our last stop on the tour before we headed back was the upside-down house. You can guess what this was. We were a little disappointed as we thought we were going to a temple, but I guess we were on a time frame so he skipped it and chose something a little closer to Pai. We were picking up other passengers on the way home. It was another 4 hours to get back to the hostel. And we were very relieved when we arrived. Day 94 – 17th May: Elephants! Today is the day we had all been waiting for and … it was raining. Not just a little drizzle, full on monsoon. Anyway, we had a little lay in before the van picked us up. We collected a few more people and were then on our way. It was going to take 2 hours to get there but we didn’t mind today. It rained all the way up to the nature park. We had briefing of the safety aspects and precautions to take. It was then time to feed them. We watched them wander over to eagerly and quickly. They held out their trunks searching for food. We held out pieces and the trunk found each and every piece, wrapping around our hands taking the fruit and popping it into their mouths. This was repeated several times and then the food ran out and off she walked away to the other elephants. We then went for a walk to meet some more of them. The Elephant nature park rescues, takes in and cares for elephants who have been exposed to the tourism and logging industry. Some of them have been injured, most of them have been mentally scared and some of them have permeant disabilities from the torment and torture they suffered. We saw some before and after photos of the elephants when they came to the park, they are so much happier and healthier. They have learnt to gain the trust back towards humans and now interact with them on a daily basis. They also have a breeding programme within the park, we met two of the babies. We met some of the other elephants and got up close to them. It was still raining but this didn’t put a damper on anything. We went back to the platform for lunch. We then went and spent some time in the cat kingdom. The park doesn’t just rescue elephants, they take in cats, dogs and even have a pig which escaped from the slaughter house. The dogs were saved from the floods and meat farms. We are not sure where the cats come from. After lunch, we fed them some more. We were meant to bathe with them but as it was raining, they elephants wouldn’t be up for it and we would all be cold. We went down to the river where a few of them were bathing. One of the elephants from the neighbouring sanctuary approach our bank. The baby was not happy about this and tried to protect the family by charging at him. He also attempted to charge at the crowd of people watching. He then went onto the neighbouring bank where the guides had to try and get him back on the right side of the river. We moved on to see some more before heading back to the platform to get out of the rain. Our trip was cut short a little but we had an amazing time nonetheless. The rain didn’t hold off until the next morning. Day 95 – 18th May: Flight to Bangkok Travel time – 20-minute taxi, 1 hr 20 mins’ flight, 30 mins’ taxi – 2 hours 10 minutes Our flight was a at a reasonable time, so we had breakfast downstairs before leaving for the airport. We hailed a tuk tuk taxi and headed for the airport. We checked in, cleared security and waited in the rather disappointing departure lounge. It was a very quick process and before we knew it we were up in the air. And then before we knew it we were landing again. We repeated the process we have done many times before, picked up our luggage and headed for the taxi rank. This time you take a ticket and it tells you which stand to wait at and the name of your taxi driver which was quite impressive. Our driver was very stingy with the air conditioning so we were all sweating in the back. The language barrier was proving difficult. We
witnessed the traffic first hand and turned into this dinghy little road, we all looked at each other in dismay. We pulled up alongside the hostel, the Neighbor Hoot Hostel, a little down the road and we were relieved. We struggled to check in as the receptionist spoke like a mouse and didn’t have very good English and our Thai was non-existent. She told us our room number 501, left our shoes in the cupboard (you’re not allowed them upstairs) and climbed the staircase. We were at the top of the building and it was hot. The room, the air temperature, the bathroomeverything was like a sauna. We dumped our stuff and connected to the Wi-Fi to find out where about we were. Turns out we were very far away from anything. We need to get a few bits such as passport photo’s, we figured out the metro and sky train system and headed to Siam. This is their shopping district, incredible malls, posh shops and wacky designs. We got the bits we needed, ate and then headed back to the hostel to chill. Day 96 – 19th May: Exploring Siam Our first full day in Bangkok and we decided to explore Siam a little more. We went down for breakfast expecting like a small continental and we were confronted with two young girls asking us if we wanted eggs. We had sausage and eggs for breakfast, it was all very awkward. We headed to some of the shopping malls – Terminal 21, Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery, Siam Centre and Central world. Our plan was to send something home from the FedEx office in Nana but they had awkward opening and closing times so we killed some time exploring the malls. We felt like we had walked miles by the end. We caught the train back and found a DHL office, chose that one instead, realised we had no passport so had a mad dash back to send a copy of it. Our efforts were wasted as we sent the copy at around 5 (even though he asked for it at half 4 or we would miss that courier) and he had already sent it off without the passport copy – result. Anyway, our next struggle was food. There was nothing around us expect from fast food. The sky had also turned very black and had started to spit so we decide on McDonalds. It was oddly satisfying, popped to the first supermarket we had seen in ages and headed back to bed.
Day 97 – 20th May: Unicorn Café and Chatuchak Market The plan for today was to visit 2 places on our list. The market was a switch up for the floating markets as they are 3 hours away and very expensive trips to take you there. Our first stop was to be the unicorn café in Sala Deang. Metro, Sky train, walked a little and there it was in all its glory. Actually, it was more impressive on the inside than it was on the outside. We were the first ones in there. Proceeded by a sassy group of Chinese tourists. We found a place to sit and looked at the menu. Everything was ridiculously sweet and we all chose a different flavoured Italian soda. We took some pictures – quite a few and sipped our juices. Charlotte and Jodi explored the onesie sections and came back in matching attire. Took a few more photo’s, observed the people in the café and headed back onto the sky train to our next destination, Mo Chit. We followed the crowd to the entrance of the market. It was huge, 3
sections each with about 60 or 70 stalls, winding in and out of countless rows and alleys. It was also very warm today, full sunshine and not much shade. The first section we encountered was a vintage section, very disappointed that we couldn’t pick anything up especially as levis jeans were 100 bht equating to £2.23! We moved on and around getting more and more lost. It took us around 4 hours to look at what we wanted, find what we wanted and find our way out. Hot sweaty and exhausted we made our way back to Siam to find something to eat. Day 98 – 21st May: Our River trip Tourist day today. We headed over to Santhorn pier and picked up a tourist boat to cruise along the river. It was 150 bht for hop on hop off as many times as you wanted, which was handy as we wanted to see quite a few things. Our first stop was Pakkhlong Taladd Pier for the fresh flower market. You could pick up a fresh bunch of flowers here for 20bht which is 44p in sterling. It was very much like wholesalers as they did fruit and veg too. Our second stop was Wat Arun Pier. There was a temple here that we wanted to see but it was under construction. Luckily, we found another that was around the corner, we saw someone being blessed by a monk and returned to the boat. There was a catch at most of the things you wanted to see, there was an entrance fee. And if you were a foreigner it tended to be nearly triple what a thai person would pay. So, most of the things we wanted to see, we saw from the outside as we would have been paying a ridiculous amount of money which we didn’t budget for. Stop number three was The Maharaj Pier where the Grand palace was. Again, this you had to pay for so we left that and went to get something to eat. It was another ridiculously hot day so we were grateful for the air-con in the cafe. They definitely know how to make money out of their tourists. We would have to pay nearly 3 times as much as you would if you lived there. This didn't deter people though it was still hugely busy everywhere. Our next stop was Phra Athit pier which is home to the famous Khoa San Road. It had spiked with heat where the traffic was more intense we popped in for a drink somewhere and steal their air-con. We also had a look at the Phra Sumane Fort which was nice to photograph. By this stop we were all knackered, hot and hungry. We headed back towards to food (it’s very sparse and spread out around Bangkok) and went back to the hotel to pack and get ready for the early start ahead of us tomorrow.
day 99 – 22nd May: flight to Cambodia Travel time – 1 hour 30-minute taxi, 1 hour flight, 40 minute tuk tuk ride – 3 hours 10 minutes. What a day – our flight was at 10:10am – we thought we had left with plenty of time to spare. How wrong we were. Every other day we had walked down our road, cabs would beep us or pull alongside us and shout taxi gesturing for us to get in the back. Today was a different story- no cabs or full cabs. After a few minutes one pulled up behind us – the divviest man ever. Again, the language barrier was a problem, it was already hot, we were already sweating and trying to communicate with a man who remind us of Dennis the menace. We finally got through to him that we wanted to go to DMK. Then came the traffic. The journey to the airport was only meant to take half an hour, this turned out to be nearly an hour and a half. The roads wind and join in the most bizarre of places. It was continuously stop and go as well as having a few near misses. We finally arrived at the airport and made a mad dash for the check in counter. It felt like time was moving so fast and we were moving so slow. We made it all the way to the gate … to find out we were delayed. We sat and waited and waited becoming even more delayed by 10 minutes every time. Our flight was now meant to be taking off at 11:40am. Soon enough we were taking off and landing again. We were not prepared for the amount of time it took us to get through security. We applied for our
visa’s which was quick, we then had to fill another form which we got sent back to do and then had to queue up to get let through passport control. We almost had to fill in the customs form too but the man let us off as there was none left. We found our transfer to the hotel – a tuk tuk. This was an experience with us three, our backpacks and rucksacks. It was a snug fit. We checked in, dumped our stuff and went to look for … yup you guessed it –food. We also had a wander round, found pub street and few other bits. Our hotel is Le Tigre. Day 100 – 23rd May: Exploring the area and Vietnam visas After the first decent night sleep, we had had in a while, we got up and looked for breakfast. We deicide that today would be a chilled day as we had booked a sunrise tour for tomorrow. We headed to a shop we knew which sorted out your Vietnam visa so we did this first. It was an interesting walk, we had gone into an area where I don’t think they have many tourists as they seemed to stare a lot. Anyway, we were on our way back to the area of Pub street, passing the hospital and the river thinking we need to sort out the next stage of our trip. Plus, it was ridiculously warm and sweaty. We went back to the hotel, did a load of washing that needed to be done, scoped out a few things to do in the upcoming days and then headed to the pool for a dip. It then started to spit with rain, not much just a little. Then the heavens widened little more so we returned upstairs, showered, waited for the rain to stop and went out for dinner. We had also booked to go and see the Phare circus tonight. We had a rather tasty meal and decided to take our receptionists advice and take a stroll to the circus – she couldn’t have been more wrong. The sun started setting and we realised there were no street lights, only the lights from the shops or stalls that were open. We walked down the long, dusty and winding road before arriving at the main road. Of course, we get hassled for tuk tuks everyday but was there one now? No. We carried on following the map. A driver pulled up in front of us and pointed to where it was. We thanked him and got the tickets. It was a great show and for a great cause- it’s a charity thing, look it up if you wish. Got A tuk tuk back to the hotel where we were to be in bed for our 3:30 start tomorrow morning.
Day 101 – 24th May: Angkor Wat trip The alarm went off at 3:30am, we gave ourselves enough time to meet our guy at 4:30am. We headed to the ticket office where we joined a convoy of tuk tuk with a multitude of tourists in. We jumped in the shortest queue. Got our tickets which required you to have the most hideous photo on them and back in the tuk tuk. We drove to Angkor Wat and found a place by the lake and awaited the sunset. It wasn’t the greatest sunset to be honest. but it was still an experience to be had and cherished. We had a look around the Wat with its intricate carvings and Buddha statues. It was rather eerie when we came to a section where there was no one else. It was definitely a structure to be marvelled at. It was only 6:00am and it was already 29 degrees. We moved onto our next Wat on the tour which was Angkor Wat Thom. Equally as stunning as the last. This one was slightly different, it was surround by constructions which all had faces. Made really good photos. Next on the list was The Bayon temple, bit more dilapidated than the last but the carvings were still so vivid. We also visited Ta Prohm, a temple which Lara Croft’s Tomb raider film was filmed. This one has trees growing out of and supporting the structures. We also saw some smaller Wats which we forget the names of and the terrace of elephants. All of
this was done and dusted by midday. We got dropped off back at the hotel where had much needed showers and an unexpected nap. We did the usual after that. Day 102 – 25th May: Wandering around and stumbling upon Wats Today we were unsure of what we were going to do so we set off with one Wat in mind. Their temples are slightly different to the ones we have seen previously. We were heading for Wat Damnak, a red and gold temple, we found it but weren’t that impressed with it. We moved onto Wat Bo which was closed for renovation. It was very very hot at this point and the sun was now beaming down on us. We saw children being dropped off at school on their parents’ mopeds or tuk tuks, little tiny ones with large rucksacks in their identical school uniforms. It was a pleasure to see them so happy entering the building. We made our way towards the river and stumbled upon the one we originally wanted to see but couldn’t find on the map. This one was spectacular. it had statues, tombs a temple and a school attached. It was a sight and the last one on our list, we hunted down a shop to fill up our water supply. And headed back to the hotel for a much-needed shower. Jodi and Charlotte had got tan lines from walking around in the sun- whoops they are not impressed. We went for an early dinner as we were all starving and on our last night we were going to explore the night markets. We had a couple of drinks in the famous Angkor What? Bar and chatted t the barman who was from Belgium. We added to the writing on the wall and went to explore the markets in the rain – as you can imagine this didn’t last very long.
Day 103 – 26th May: Drive to Phnom Penh Travel Time – 20 minute tuk tuk, 6-hour coach, 25 minute tuk tuk – 6 hours 45 minutes. We were up with plenty of time, had a light spot of breakfast and then got a tuk tuk to the bus stop – or so we thought. He attempted to drop us off at the ticket office which nearly made us late. We arrived at our coach at 8:26am, we left at 8:30am. It rained on and off for a while, we stopped somewhere unbeknown to us, grabbed some chips and iced tea then back on the coach for the last 3 hours. We arrived at the bus station, shocked at the sight of the tall buildings around us. We got a tuk tuk to our hotel/hostel/guesthouse, Top Banana. We went in the bar upstairs for a much-needed sugary drink. We chilled and sipped while the bar lady was rushing around pulling curtains. Just then the heavens opened like someone had popped a balloon. Apparently, it happens at the same time every day, we shall wait and see. It was like that for the rest of the evening. We went out for dinner in our macs/ ponchos. Day 104 – 27th May: Killing Fields We had booked to do a trip with the tuk tuk man from yesterday- he was very nice. He picked us up at ten and we went to the Genocide museum or S21. An old school which was turned into a secret prison during the Khmer Rouge. This prison was where they used to bring educated people or those from minority groups to torture them for information and eventually kill them or sent them to the killing fields. We were given audio guides to listen too as we walked around this eerie piece of Cambodian history. We came across cells with single beds in with irons attached used for torture, cells where people used to be held chained to the floor, thousands of pictures of prisoners who were kept there and clothes which they were stripped of when they arrived. It was an interesting tragedy and one which the Cambodians are keen for people to learn about. At the end of the trip, there were two survivors of the Khmer Rouge, ones that were more valuable to the men in charge. The audio guide told us stories of prisoners, excerpts from the court cases when it came to trial for war crimes, love letters sent by Bophana to her husband who worked within the prison and the rules and regulations of torture. We all came away from S21 a little sombre but glad that we went. The next stop were the killing fields. This was just outside the walls of the city so it got rather bumpy and dusty in our tuk tuk. We pulled up at the entrance, paid and got given another audio guide. Very handy- but a pain to hold and listen
to when they hurt your ears. We started our tour being shown where buildings used to stand which held equipment for the killings, chemicals and where they used to be held before their death sentences were carried out. We moved onto an office where prisoners were made to sign confessions even if they were not true. There were little ditches and holes where the mass graves had been found, areas blocked off where they had dedicated mass graves, bones and clothing visible in the ground where you walked and a strange sense of peace and tranquillity. The end of the tour was a glass cabinet 17 levels high filled with bones of the deceased, skulls – all separated into categories like age and wound and teeth. Some of the graves in the killing fields have been undiscovered due to land mines, being lost or covered by a lake. It really hit home that some of these were children and babies, all murdered in fear they would seek revenge as they grew older. It was a sad time for the Cambodians. We also went to the Russian Market which was awfully hot and smelly so we left and grabbed a drink. We headed back to the hostel after this. Day 105 – 28th May: Small Square trip We were unsure of what we wanted to do today so we used the trusted internet to find some things to do. It’s quite hard in Phnom Penh as the roads are rather wide and large and there is also a ridiculous number of cars and bikes. There were a few monuments close by so we decided that after breakfast we would go for a walk to find them. Low and behold they were extremely close, although this is handy, it also means we were done within 2 hours. Anyway, we walked to see the independence monument with coincidently is a large roundabout at the end of our road, the statue of the king and the Vietnamese and Cambodian friendship memorial. It was a very warm and sweaty walk so we headed back, showered, appreciated the air-con and went out for dinner-again. Oh, we also went to the penthouse bar for a few drinks which was nicethey had a good breeze up there. Ah and we tried to sort out the rest of our time in Cambodia as we were looking at moving on – however we extended our stay as everywhere was either badly reviewed or highly expensive for an unnecessary two days.
Day 106 – 29th May: Royal Palace and pool Today we were up early to head to the royal palace as it closed at awkward times and with the rain arriving at half 3 every day we didn’t want to take any chances. We jumped in a tuk tuk and got dropped of outside – we could have walked this we thought it was further away. We walked in fully covered as you are expected to be, already sweating with our $4 dollars in hand ready to go in. There was an unexpected price increase at the door to $10 each. Begrudgingly we paid and walked on through. The structure and grounds were amazing except half of it was shut off to the public, the throne room could only have been seen from the outside and poking your head through a window, the gardens were also closed off for some unknown reasons. As we were walking around we noticed a lot of people had their knees out and their chests uncovered, which you are meant to cover, this annoyed us even more as we were already hot. We carried on
walking through, looking at the statues, paintings which looked unfinished, buildings, artefacts and other tourists/ school groups. We also met a little boy and his mum who weren’t English but was very interested in Amy’s camera. She took a photo of him and showed him which his mum was very pleased with – bit strange but possibly the highlight of the trip to see the delight on both their faces. We exited the palace feeling a little deflated and disappointed and all this before 10am. We went back to the hostel and reconfirmed that we could use the pool next door, so we did. Finished off the day by the pool, chilling and tanning when the sun appeared. Day 107– 30th May: Walk to Sisowath Quay As we have more time in Phnom Penh, we decided to spread out what we wanted to do a little more. We decided to go down to Sisowath Quay, a road down by the river which has shops, restaurants and bars. It was something different to do. We started our walk and the sun came out, it proved to be very hot. We continued our walk, batting off tuk tuk offers like flies, avoiding the street beggars and ducking into every patch of shade we found. We eventually reached the start of the shops, an hour after the map had told us it was a 16-minute walk. We stopped off to have a well needed drink, were accosted by street beggars and stared at by everyone basically. We continued our walk coming across no shops just restaurants and bars, we turned off down a road and still found nothing just stares and tuk tuk offers. We carried on walking and found ourselves in front of the Russian market. - Slaps forehead- We got out the map and decided that it was too hot to be wandering around without a purpose or direction so we decided to head back to our next of the woods. We walked past posh car garages which explained the ever-burning question of where do these range rovers and Bentleys come from, schools and embassy’s before finding ourselves in front of the all too familiar independence monument. It is safe to say we all caught the sun despite having high factor sun cream on, we caught up on somethings before our nightly routine. Day 108 – 31st May: Phnom Penh’s first shopping mall and a little treat for us Today we were going to hit up a few Wats on our list however we changed our minds and deicide to go for a little retail therapy or browsing as we essentially cannot buy things. It was about an hour’s walk which took us down some rather odd (but safe) shortcuts. We passed – what felt like – some illegal barbers, it wasn’t but if there were illegal barbers, this is what I imagined them to look like. We found the entrance, were grateful for the air conditioning and began to look around. We saw a few shops we recognised Adidas, Krispy Kreme, Swensens and Mango. the others seem to represent the Japanese which is the brand of mall we were in, aeon. We knew they had a cinema up here somewhere so we made our way through the floors and found it. They were showing Pirates of the Caribbean 3: Salazar’s Revenge. It was $5 each so we thought it would be silly not to, plus we had nothing else planned and had lapped the mall – it’s very small. It was an English showing with Cambodian subtitles. It was in 3D too which was a bonus and turned out to be a good film. By the time it had finished, we headed back to our neck of the woods to get some food. What a lovely way to spend a Wednesday afternoon.