Siem Reap, Cambodia, 1st to 5th August 2011

Happy Birthday to me !!!

After getting up at 4.30am on my birthday we got another early morning train from Bangkok and headed towards the Thai Cambodian border crossing at Poipet.
Leanne had carefully wrapped presents for me in newspaper and we decided on opening one every hour until we got to Siem Reap which made the trip much more interesting! I ended up with a Liverpool shirt, headphones, face scrub, new boxers, nerds, refreshers and jammie dodgers!!! Not to mention lots of cards that had been sent over secretly from home which made me a little emotional.
We crossed the border relatively easily and headed on a free government bus to the nearest town, which was where the fun started. The people who where nice to us started quoting us stupid prices for a taxi to Siem Reap so we teamed up with a newly married English/American couple and split the 3 hour taxi ride which cost us US$7.50 each (bargain).
We eventually arrived at our guesthouse which was called Hak's House and it is a really great place and Hak helps you out without ripping you off and he even sorts Tuk Tuk's at set prices which saved us a few dollars. That night we went for a nice Cambodian/Indian curry to celebrate the big 30 and enjoyed a few Angkor beers.
The next day we chilled out and looked around Siem Reap which is an awesome little city and booked our Tuk Tuk to go around Angkor Wat the next morning. So we awoke again at 4.30am and headed to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise, it is a truly magical place and it is hard to describe the scale of the place unless you've been - but it is basically a city that has been abandoned to the jungle after it was sacked by Siam. Despite the hoards of tourists it is still easy to find places where you can be totally alone. We then moved onto Angkor Thom (which is even bigger than Wat) and included Bayon (which is the temple of 4 faces), next on the list was Ta Keo which was nice and secluded and we enjoyed a walk through the ruins that are scattered about the jungle. The next big ruin worth mentioning is Ta Prom which is a massive temple complex that has been uprooted by huge trees and there giant roots and it is quite a surreal sight.
At the end of the day we where templed out and it was extremely hot!!! so we headed back for a few beers and to sample some fish Amok (traditional Cambodian fish dish) and it's pretty spectacular.
We spent the next day exploring the markets and enjoying some cake at the Blue Pumpkin which is an amazing bakery. We then booked our tickets for Phnom Penh and the following morning said goodbye and thanks to Hak and headed for the bus station.

Next stop Phnom Penh......

To see our pictures from Siem Reap please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/SiemReapCambodia1stTo5thAugust2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCPiw_tfmiJuXJQ#

Kanchanaburi, Thailand - 30th-31st July 2011

Located around a 3 hour drive from Ayutthaya, Kanchanaburi was our next stop. We hopped on a mini bus and were there in no time!

We were originally dropped at a guesthouse we had pre-booked but they were buggering us about on price and room so we decided to have a wander. We found a little place with River Raft rooms (Floating raft rooms just out on the river) at just 300B per night we thought we would go for it. In hindsight you get what you pay for! But it did us for the night!

That afternoon we had a bit of a pamper session. I had my hair done (for a fiver, Colour and blow dry) and then we both invested a couple of quid into a lovely oil massage. I think Dave enjoyed this one much more than the other crazy Thai lady he had on him the previous week. This one was very gentle on him and i think he actually fell asleep. We had an early night as we had booked onto a tour for the next day.

We were picked up at 8am and headed straight out to Erawan National Park falls. It was absolutely chucking it down and we were a bit gutted but hoped that it would just increase the flow of the waterfalls and make them even more spectacular. The mini bus that we were all was unfortunately full of 'Mummy and Daddy are paying for my travel idiots' we immediately knew that it was not going to be a peaceful day!
We arrived at the falls and the rain was just not letting up. Luckily we had brought our rain coats, umbrellas and even added a poncho to the mix. There were hoards and hoards of people at the entrance but we hoped it wouldn't spoil the scenery.
The waterfall was 7 tiers high and with pouring rain and sweaty rain forest heat and humidity we only managed it to tier 6. We were dripping with sweat and everything was so damp so we decided to head back down through the hoards of people jumping off rocks into the pools and graffiti on tree's and sign posts. Unfortunately us humans do ruin beautiful spots.
I kinda wish we would have visited these before visiting Lichfield in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Nothing has yet come close to those.

After lunch we then headed to the Death Railway. This was a construction that killed many a man whilst building. It looked unsteady from the platform and we could see the track winding along the edge of a very high cliff face. I suppose Adrenaline is good for you at least once a day! We boarded the rickety old wooden train with hoards of other Tourists and took a scenic ride along the track for about 4 stops before our guide met us.

We then went to The Hellfire Pass Memorial Museum where we took an Audio Tour around the cliffs and into the pass. For those of you who don't know (i didn't until Dave told me) this pass was made through a sheer cliff face by mans bear hands to make a train track. POW's in Thailand during the Japanese occupation were forced to build a railway day and night linking Burma with Thailand for importation of goods during the war. Many of the men (pow) were Australian and all of them were subjected to the unimaginable. The were rationed to 2 spoons of rice per day and were forced to work in the blazing sun with Malaria, Cholera and Dysentery. The only thing that would prevent you from being forced to work was death. It was horrific to see some of the photos and listen to the real life accounts of old Aussies who survived the ordeal. Thousands of men died during this time and the museum is well set up as a memorial to all of those who suffered. It was an interesting walk down into the pass.

Finally we arrived at the 'Bridge over the River Kwai' This was what Dave had been waiting for. It has been reconstructed lots overtime and still actively has trains running across it. A bit of a metal monstrosity however. We had a walk across it and took some photos.

We were returned to town and we only had around an hour before our bus back to Bangkok. 3 hours later we arrived and absolutely knackered we checked into out favorite little cafe/guesthouse which we had loved when we were in Bangkok before.

We have to be up at 4.30 am to Catch our train to Cambodia....its never ending!

To see our pictures from Kanchanaburi please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/KanchanaburiThailand30thTo31stJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCJncoKCOnMXboQE#

Ayutthaya, Thailand - 29th - 30th July 2011

After all we had heard about obtaining a visa into China we expected a complicated lengthy process. But it was simple 4 days after submitting our application our passports were sorted. It was even cheaper than we expected too so that was a bonus.

That evening we got yet another night train to Ayutthaya (ay-a- thaya) (said with kind of a lisp)
It is a little town which was a little off the tourist trail around 2 hours from Bangkok. We had heard and read that there was some stunning temples and Burmese ruins there so decided to check it out.

We arrived at 6am. Not the best of times to be checking into accommodation but in our experience definitely the best time of day to be lugging our bags around! Midday is unforgiving!

After checking into our Bungalow which was very unique, we ventured out in the early morning for breakfast. We were soon picked up (as always in Thailand) by a Tuk Tuk driver who offered us a great rate for going around all the temples. He even dropped us at a gorgeous little guesthouse restaurant for breakfast where i have to say i had the best Poached eggs i have had in Asia! Dave was elated to also see hash browns on the Menu!

So after filling our boots it was time to get out and about. We let 'Anan' our driver take us to where he thought as locals generally know which is best.

The first ruin we went to was just stunning. Wat Chai Watthanaram (1630). I never thought piles of old rubbled areas could intrigue me so much! The Camera was out and ready for action. Amongst these ruins there were hundreds of stone figures of Buddha which had been beheaded! Eerie but beautiful at the same time. The entire inside walls were lined with them.

The second place we visited was a 12meter sleeping Buddha. Built in the 1300's it was still in amazingly good shape considering the harsh Thai sun and monsoonal rains! We were approached by a Buddhist lady who gave us some lit incense and some flowers and told us to present them to Buddha. We did it but could help 1: feeling pressured (as afterwards she asked for money) and 2: feeling cheeky as we are not Buddhist (imagine a person tapping the cross on themselves and not believing in God) I'm all for the up keep of temples and pagodas and helping towards the monks but we did feel that 'The woman from the lemonade stall' was not worthy of our charity and felt we had been targeted, almost singled out as a quick buck.

The third temple was in complete contrast to the 1st it was an old white, almost Pyramid looking Burmese built structure. We climbed the VERY steep steps to the top and were lucky enough to see a beautiful rainbow form right over the peak. Great photos right there! It was getting really hot now and our driver then took us to the Royal Palace which was a giant Bronze Buddha. He was huge and i imagine he weighed a bit more than a ton! The building was very impressive and we managed to bag a cool drink as the midday sun was getting a little to much.

We then finally hit the last Ruin. Wat Phra Mahathat. This was impressive. One of the defining items was the Buddha's head surrounded by a tree roots. No body knows if it is just a lone head taken from a beheaded Buddha and stashed in the tree roots or if the body is buried deep beneath. The was eerie to look at though and i imagine if it wasn't signposted you wouldn't see it!

We were shattered after our morning and decided to escape the midday heat and had a well deserved power nap.

We met a German couple who that evening we went for some local grub with!

Just a short stop here and we are off to Kanchanaburi tomorrow....

To see our pictures from Ayutthaya click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/AyutthayaThailand29thTo30thJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCOmEvKfGpYbJDg#

Chiang Mai, Thailand - 22nd to 28th July 2011

We arrived in Chiang Mai surprisingly refreshed and feeling awake after the night train from Bangkok. It turned out I was separated from Leanne and Amy and on a separate carriage where I met 2 American friends travelling together called Alex and Tracy. So we all went to the restaurant car and shared a lot of large Singha's and discussed the similarities and differences between English and American life.

We left the train and discovered the guesthouse we had reserved rooms in had over booked so we jumped into the nearest Tuk Tuk and went for some breakfast and tried to decide where to stay. We opted for the 'Night Bazaar Place' funnily enough because it was near the night bazaar and Thai boxing areas - little did we know that it was actually right on top of the bazaar and boxing stadium (I use the term stadium loosely).
We needed to get to the Chinese consulate to apply for our Visa's so we decided to walk, which was a bad mistake! as it suddenly became very hot and by the time we got there we where soaked in sweat and then they had stopped processing applications! so we would have to go back on Monday and re-apply.
That night we went to a Thai boxing event and we treated ourselves to VIP seats which was basically plastic patio chairs and a plastic table near the ringside and a free bottle of water. The night had 6 or 7 fights of different weight categories - the lighter weights where basically kid's gaining experience of fighting in front of a crowd. The fight of the night was the 70kg weight category and Leanne and Amy both took a shine to the fighter in the blue corner. There was a good local presence at the fights so there was a good atmosphere and plenty of shouting and gambling taking place which made the whole night a lot more enjoyable. Also between rounds the fighters in the blue corner (all from the same gym) stretched out their backs by being held in the air by their trainers, needless to say Leanne and Amy thought this was hilarious and reminded them of a kid being picked up by their dad (yes we got a few strange looks from nearby tables).
We decided to look around the bazaar in the evening and there are too many stalls to describe but they sell everything and I mean EVERYTHING! So I picked up an early birthday present in the new white LFC shirt - for 12 quid so I am very happy.
Sunday came and we decide to take part in a Thai cookery school at the 'Thai Cottage' and it was really amazing - they took us to the local market and explained all the ingredients used and how they made Thai curry paste. We then selected different dishes and prepared them from scratch and between us all we made hot and sour prawn soup, veg and tofu soup, and coconut and chili soup for starters - then spring rolls - a red, green and yellow curry (we made the curry pastes from scratch) and Leanne made sticky rice and mango for dessert. It was hosted by a brother and sister and they both had a good use of English, could tell a good joke and made the whole experience fun.
The next morning we said goodbye to Amy who had been with us for nearly 6 weeks and we will miss her a lot - but I won't miss her farts!
Leanne and I then moved to another guesthouse called the Kavil Guesthouse and went to the Chinese consulate to drop our visas off AGAIN!
We then rented a scooter for the last few days and went to see temples that are further out of the city and enjoyed a few more different coffee houses.
Today came and we went to collect our visas from the consulate and we are now very happy we have them and it was relatively stress free and cheap (we had heard some horror stories about trying to get visas for China).
We are now sat in a tiny coffee/bakery opposite Chiang Mai train station waiting for the 5.55pm train to Ayutthaya and hopefully we will be there by 6am.

So next stop Ayutthaya....

To see our photos from Chiang Mai please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/ChiangMaiThailand22ndTo28thJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCPGSs4_Ljcr7xwE#

Bangkok, Thailand - 19th -21st July 2011

What a lovely sleep we had on the train to Bangkok. I was raving about the Vietnamese sleeper trains but i would definitely say that Thai trains slap them right in the face!  They were so comfortable and with our terrible Hangovers were a very welcome luxury.

We arrived in Bangkok 2 hours late as we had some delays at the other end. We jumped into 2 Tuk Tuk's thinking that so far we haven't really even seen them! Generally the taxis are covered Ute's with sideways slanting seats which hold up to 12 people. We helled off with me and Amy in one and Dave and Gemma in another. It was definitely a race between the 2 drivers to see who could get there first! Dave and Gemma's tuk tuk had an obvious hole in the exhaust (brrrraaammmmmm) plus they kept doing wheelies off the traffic lights. Our one was a little more tame and goes to show that slow and steady really does win the race, despite the random torrential down pour!

Our hotel was sweet but much to Gemma absolute disgust there were no carpets on the floor. I had the theory that it was in with the Aztec theme but Gemma had other ideas presuming that they couldn't be bothered to lay it in the first place! ha ha! The lift was definitely interesting! Old style and I'm sure health and safety wise not good (god i am turning into my father).

We hit Ko San road as soon as because Gem had such little time left and she needed to finish her souvenir shopping. I have to say it wasn't what i expected. It was hyped up as this huge crowded shopping street with loads of food stalls and a mass of clothing stalls. I wouldn't say it was bad shopping but as with typical south east Asia it was 'same same' just an array of Chang and Singha beer vests and wooden croaking frog after wooden croaking frog (which Gemma did buy!). We tired ourselves out pretty quickly and soon found a little bar to relax in.

We found a little gem of a cafe just opposite from our hotel called The KC cafe. They served a mixture of western and Thai food so we were all happy. I think it did the best Tom Kah i have ever eaten!

The following day was one that needed to be nice and relaxing for Gem as she had her long flight home that evening. We opted for an hour river cruise which turned out to be one of the best things we did in Bangkok. The four of us rented out a longtail boat for the equivalent of 5 quid each and off we went speeding along the river at full pelt. The little wooden boat was smashing down so hard off the waves i honestly thought it was going to snap in half!! Because the Skipper was calm and collected Dave didn't see the need of worrying and i only stayed calm so that Gemma would stay calm. Amy just sat looking herself.
It wasn't long before we saw these giant Lizard's (monitors) our guide had a very good eye and kept seeing them on the banks sunbathing. Some were seen sneaking into the stilt houses more than likely to steal eggs. They swam just like dogs in the water and honestly were bigger than most dogs i have seen. It was something very unexpected especially as Amy piped up at the start of the trip "i doubt we will see any wildlife in the city" lol.

After Gemma went for not one...but 2 massages getting her fill before she went home! We sadly waved her off on the bus to the airport. It was an amazing time and I'm so glad she came! I hope she remembers it for years to come and now i can say ' i travelled with my little sister!'

Next stop Chiang Mai and another night train (kinda like them though!).......

To view our pictures from Bangkok please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/BangkokThailand19thTo21stJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCN-g4sPLpfb-Ww#

Koh Phangan, Thailand, 15th to 18th July 2011

When we left Ko Samui we where crammed onto a large catamaran without 200 other people - the weather was fine until we left the port!
All of a sudden the biggest storm came and slowly the sea became rougher and rougher! after about 30 minutes all you could hear was people pushing their way through to the nearest toilet to be sick - and towards the end of the crossing nearly every one's bags that had been neatly stacked on top of each other where all over the place!
Once we where at Thong Sala on Koh Phangan the storm stopped....

The girls where feeling a little worse for wear after that and it didn't get any easier as had a nice 25 minute winding taxi ride through the islands countryside (in case you hadn't guessed or know already the girls suffer from travel sickness). We arrived at our hotel/resort and we where greeted by what I can only describe as a pregnant lady boy!!
Luckily we where right on the beach in a nice little area called Hat Yao and the beach was sheltered by nice rock pools and the water was really clear.
We decided to just chill out on the island and get ready for the full moon party which was on the 17th.

The next day we rented an awesome 4x4 'ute' and went off exploring the island and searching for party gear - after a lot of shopping we where sorted and that evening we headed to an amazing restaurant in Ban Chaloaklam which was Italian but run by Thais - either way it was pretty awesome.

The 17th came and the girls spent the day having their usual massage before we jumped in the taxi and headed to Hat Rin for the full moon party. I have to say i was pleasantly surprised at how much of a good time I/we all had. Luckily we met up with Will and Christian two Aussie guys we met on Samui and 2 other Aussie's who they met on Samui. So we ended up with a nice crowd of people and started on the buckets of Thai whisky (which are lethal!) before Will and I beat everyone at beer pong in a nearby bar. We then spent some time walking up and down the beach enjoying people skipping with giant skipping ropes that where on fire!
We all inevitably got lost but we fortunately found each other later on and headed home.

As you can imagine the next morning was not pretty as we left the resort to get a 4 hour ferry back to Surat Thani where we then had to wait 5 hours for the night train to Bangkok only to find out it was delayed! so we eventually boarded the train at 12.40am and we all passed out...

Next stop Bangkok.

To see our pictures from Koh Phangan please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/KohPhanganThailand15thTo18thJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCO_z9Yyvl6mC5wE#

Ko Samui, Thailand - 12th-15th July 2011

This was the part we had been waiting for. The idyllic Thai Islands. After our bus trip from Phuket we boarded a pleasantly smooth ferry to Ko Samui. As soon as we arrived it started piddling down! Luckily it was just a bit of the passing daily monsoon and it soon stopped!

Our hotel was amazing we had our own little bungalows which were just a few meters from the beach!

The beach was a welcome site with its beautiful sands and gently lapping waters. Amy would have no worries swimming here after her experience in Kata beach when she was thrown to and fro in the sea for around 5 minutes before finally finding her way out of the white horses. If only you could have seen it!

Although the beach looked idyllic the water i have to say was disgusting. It was full of black sludge which made it so murky you couldn't even see your hand! Plus there was a lovely layer of suntan lotion floating on the surface! ewww. Again another area spoilt by pure tourism. The beach did have some amazing little eateries though and we did spend alot of time grazing! We also managed to have a much more relaxing massage right on the beach listening to the waves gently lapping on the sand. Sorry for all those who are reading this after a hard days work. We have forgotton what that feels like!

For the day we decided to rent mopeds. Me and Dave shared and Amy and Gem did. Everything was going swimmingly until Gembo had a little blip which resulted in a bruised knee for Amy and Ego for Gem haha! Everyone was fine though and we soon set off again. We must have covered around 30k that day which on tiny seated mopeds isn't the most comfortable of rides. We did see a beautiful waterfall and the Big Buddha though so was worth the sore bums. On our return to the hotel we did get caught in the biggest Monsoon yet! Driving the mopeds was rather amusing but definitely an experience i would want to repeat!

We headed in to the Main town on Samui Island, Chaweng, for the evening. Me and the girls went out for a lovely tea while we left Dave to watch the Liverpool game with some Aussies. It was similar to Patong with stall lined streets and touts everywhere. We were in our shopping element and all went a bit mad especially Amy and Gem with their souvenirs.

It was then time again to move on and the following afternoon we boarded a ferry to Ko Phangan......

To see our pictures from Ko Samui please click on the link below;
https://picasaweb.google.com/112941139607408893724/KoSamuiThailand12thTo15thJuly2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCObB8eeM9-vAjgE#