We were up bright and early to have a nice breakfast, enjoy the picturesque views from our guest house and then make our way to the bus station. Luckily for us it was a public holiday and taxis were very hard to come by, so the manageress of the guest house kindly gave us a lift down to our bus. We weren't able to book a VIP bus this time, so we had to make do with the regular one.
As we were waiting an old bus limped into the station and sure enough this was ours. We quickly stowed our luggage and got on board of the bus, it wasn't too bad really, at least the aircon was working which was an improvement over the last one! The journey was good and afforded some lovely views of the stunning countryside, until of course our driver started driving like Jenson Button! Bearing in mind that the road weaves in and out of the mountains on very high, small hairpin bends, this proved pretty hair raising at times. Luckily though, we didn't have any incidents out of 'The Italian Job' and within 5 hours we were back in the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur, with decent temperatures we were now used to. The bus driver didn't drop us off at the bus station, for some unexplained reason, but around a block away, so we had to walk almost a mile through the unpleasant bus station to get to our hotel. Now of course we were complaining that it was too hot!
We had booked ourselves into a different hotel this time called 'Hotel Malaya', on our last visit to KL we had checked the rooms out and they seemed ok, but the real bonus was that breakfast was included, which is indeed a hard thing to find in Chinatown at the best of times!
We checked in and dropped off our bags, it wasn't too bad, just no windows again, but it was only for one night. Our flight back to Bangkok was the following morning, so it was time to get shopping for souvenirs, as this was our last time here.
After a quick lunch, Clare got straight to work and after some very good haggling managed to get herself her much desired Gucci handbag. After the deal was sealed, the stall worker disappeared to get a new one from the warehouse, only much to his embarrassment this one ended being the same in every way, but no Gucci logo! We finally got one with the correct logo and then it was Adams turn for a little shopping, this time for a leather wallet. We had seen a nice one the week before, so we headed off to find it. In no time at all and after some more heavy haggling he had bought his Hugo Boss wallet at a good price. This was again funny as they all had exactly the same wallet but all with different logos stamped on them! The stall owner quickly spotted that Clare had been buying handbags and after asking her the price she had paid, was quick to tell her it was cheaper at his stall, he then pointed at a better quality YSL bag and told her the cheap price he would've accepted. We thanked the man and got on our way. We retired to our hotel to admire all of our shopping, they do sell very good leather goods at the Chinatown market, be it fake or not.
A little later we went out to get ourselves some dinner. It can be very expensive in Chinatown, but we managed to find a great little Chinese stall and enjoyed some great tasting noodles with chicken and Chinese mushrooms. After dinner we decided to have a last look around the market, we went past the stall where Adam bought his wallet and Clare couldn't resist asking about the YSL bag. The owner told us a very hefty price, but we quickly reminded him of the bargain price he told us earlier. Smiling, knowing he was well and truly beaten, he reluctantly sold the bag to Clare. On our way back to the back to the hotel Adam treated himself to some delicious roasted chestnuts, it was weird seeing them outside of London, nevermind in this heat and not in winter! After more than enough shopping we headed back to the hotel to get some rest for our flight back to Bangkok the following morning.
We awoke early with the rare treat of a breakfast provided at the hotel. As our flight was quite early, we checked out first and then headed to the breakfast room excitedly. Unfortunately the selection was far from good, with a choice of rice, rice porridge, stale triangular sandwiches or toast, not an egg to be seen anywhere! So, after a quick cup of tea and a slice of toast, we decided it was time to get on our way.
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
4th May 2009
The bus station at Kuala Lumpur can only be described as dark, dingy, chaotic and very noisey! We sat patiently at the platform number, it was obvious this bus was not going to arrive on time! 45 minutes late it eventually pulled in, we stowed our backpacks and settled in for our apparent 4 hour journey to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands.
It did not get off to a good start as we were informed that the air conditioning was not working! So we spent the first 2 hours travelling in what canonly be described as a greenhouse on wheels! Although the sears were very comfy, the heat made us both feel pretty uncomfortable and ill.
We pulled into our rest point and after watching people tinker around with the engine we were pleased to hear that the air con was back on and we continued with the journey. The last stretch took a further 3 hours, but as we got closer the views began to amaze us even if the bus drivers speed around the bends were pretty eratic!!
We were climbing higher into the hills passing the many tea plantations that we had been excited to see.
We had booked our 3 nights stay in Tanah Rata at Fathers Guest house and they kindly met us off the bus. A short minivan journey took us even higher into the hills and we checked into our room. It was pretty basic fir the price but afforded the best views we had seen. It was also obvious that due to the location the temperature had dropped some what, but for the start it was nice not to sweat with every tiny move!
That afternoon we explored the small own and found a restaurant for our evening meal. This proved interesting! We went along with a recommendation from our guest house and opted for a selection of curries served on a banana leaf! It included a lentil curry, popudoms, chutney, a chicken Korma, spicy vegetables and something that resembled aspinge cake in a spicy sauce!! It all tasted pretty nasty and was not helped that it was all served up on a big banana leaf! Not a plate in sight!!!
After the meal we headed back to the guest house, it was at this point that we really felt the cold for the first time in 5 months. We did not handle this too well and slept in our flight socks and layered up with t-shirts!! It felt freezing, little did we know but the temperature had only dropped to 24•c!!!
After a good breakfast, although still chilly we went for a walk. After taking a few photos we came across a rather bizarre sculpture of giant vegetables! Thinking this was pretty strange and knowing Clare's absolute hatred for sweetcorn we could not miss this opportunity. So over the fence Clare jumped and clambered over the giant corn on the cob for the necessary kodak moment! Continuing our walk we spotted a sign for a waterfall so off we trotted alongside a river into the jungle. We were not exactly dressed for this, but after climbing the temple ruins at Angkor in our flip flops, a walk in the jungle was easy! Eventually the jungle opened and we cane across a beautiful waterfall, bit the biggest we had seen but a pretty spot none the less.
Later that day we booked a half day trip for the following morning. That evening we could not face another curry served up on a leaf so we ate at the guest house and relaxed with a few beers!
We were being collected at 8.30am for our trip so we got up early to fill our bellies! As we nervously waitied, we noticed a 4 wheel drive land rover approaching, complete with horns on the bonnet, this was our ride for the trip!!
We were the only 2 on this trip, we do enjoy a bit of VIP service! We were soon on our way,the first stop was one of the highest viewpoints in the Cameron Highlands, up we went, higher and higher until we were up in the clouds. We climbed the viewpoint tower, which to Clares relief was not the pylon she had first spotted, but decided the 2nd level was enough as our heads were already up in the clouds and we did bit think we would benefit by climbing any higher! Although, due to the clouds, the view was a little disappointing we still enjoyed the moment and were able to capture some good views when the clouds moved along a little.
Our next stop was a teen through the Mossy Forest, we think our tour guide was being gentle with us as we went on an easier trek than some other options. This again afforded us some fantastic views and got us close to nature. Our guide also told us the story of school children getting lost in this forest so the army and police began a search. The children managed to find their way out alone but the police got lost and it took them 12 days to find their way back to civilisation! Adam looked very at home in the jungle as he clambered around looking the part in his Bear Grylls shorts!! Good luck starting a fire out here, it was so wet I think even Bear Grylls would struggle!!
After our trek we made our way to the high light of the trip, the Boh tea plantation. We were given a tour around the factory which showed the full process from picking the tea leaves to it being packed for distribution. We were then shown through to the gift shop, where of course we parted with some well earned Ringits and then moved on to the cafe. This was a gorgeous glass building with an open air wooden decking area, which overlooked spectacular views of the rolling tea plantations. Here we enjoyed a splendid, fresh pot of tea and we both had a slice of cake! After our refreshing cup of tea, we had a little walk into the tea plantation where Clare cheekily picked some tea off the plants!
Getting back into the car, Bala, our driver, began to explain to us how the tea is not such a good quality anymore. The tea used to be picked by hand and only the best leaves were selected, but now due to the use of machinery they are not able to be so precise. Not only are the older leaves selected, but also any wildlife that may have taken up residence will be processed to make that ultimate cuppa that us Brits so enjoy!
Our next stop was the butterfly farm, they also had a number of other insects and gave us the opportunity to hold various creepy crawlies, such as, a rhino beetle, a lizard, a toad, a giant grasshopper (well, Adam held that!) and finally we both held a scorpion. There were also many snakes, gekkos and obviously butterflies, they were huge and one even landed on Adams hand. We then made our way to the flower garden, which wasn't really Adams cup of tea, but beautiful and enabled Clare to get snap happy taking photos for her Mum. The plants in here were so tropical, we even spotted a marijuana plant growing in the corner!
Last of all was the Strawberry Farm, this was very much like a pick your own at home, but they were all grown hydroponically. Luckily for us we had our guide with us, so he picked a few sneaky ones for us and in his words, "they always taste nicer when they are free"! Again we found ourselves in a gift shop, where we were able to buy ourselves another fridge magnet. We then enjoyed a delicious strawberry milkshake!
Before we were dropped off, Bala took us to a local shop for Clare to buy his preferred cigarettes. They were black and flavoured with cherry, much to Clares excitement, she was also able to buy some pink ones, this time strawberry flavour! Surely as they are fruit flavoured they musnt be as bad for you!!
We had our bus booked for 10.30am the following day, so again we ate in our guest house and packed our backpacks ready to head back to Kuala Lumpur. We had a very good time in the Cameron Highlands but we will be glad to return to the 34 degrees that we are now very used to!
It did not get off to a good start as we were informed that the air conditioning was not working! So we spent the first 2 hours travelling in what canonly be described as a greenhouse on wheels! Although the sears were very comfy, the heat made us both feel pretty uncomfortable and ill.
We pulled into our rest point and after watching people tinker around with the engine we were pleased to hear that the air con was back on and we continued with the journey. The last stretch took a further 3 hours, but as we got closer the views began to amaze us even if the bus drivers speed around the bends were pretty eratic!!
We were climbing higher into the hills passing the many tea plantations that we had been excited to see.
We had booked our 3 nights stay in Tanah Rata at Fathers Guest house and they kindly met us off the bus. A short minivan journey took us even higher into the hills and we checked into our room. It was pretty basic fir the price but afforded the best views we had seen. It was also obvious that due to the location the temperature had dropped some what, but for the start it was nice not to sweat with every tiny move!
That afternoon we explored the small own and found a restaurant for our evening meal. This proved interesting! We went along with a recommendation from our guest house and opted for a selection of curries served on a banana leaf! It included a lentil curry, popudoms, chutney, a chicken Korma, spicy vegetables and something that resembled aspinge cake in a spicy sauce!! It all tasted pretty nasty and was not helped that it was all served up on a big banana leaf! Not a plate in sight!!!
After the meal we headed back to the guest house, it was at this point that we really felt the cold for the first time in 5 months. We did not handle this too well and slept in our flight socks and layered up with t-shirts!! It felt freezing, little did we know but the temperature had only dropped to 24•c!!!
After a good breakfast, although still chilly we went for a walk. After taking a few photos we came across a rather bizarre sculpture of giant vegetables! Thinking this was pretty strange and knowing Clare's absolute hatred for sweetcorn we could not miss this opportunity. So over the fence Clare jumped and clambered over the giant corn on the cob for the necessary kodak moment! Continuing our walk we spotted a sign for a waterfall so off we trotted alongside a river into the jungle. We were not exactly dressed for this, but after climbing the temple ruins at Angkor in our flip flops, a walk in the jungle was easy! Eventually the jungle opened and we cane across a beautiful waterfall, bit the biggest we had seen but a pretty spot none the less.
Later that day we booked a half day trip for the following morning. That evening we could not face another curry served up on a leaf so we ate at the guest house and relaxed with a few beers!
We were being collected at 8.30am for our trip so we got up early to fill our bellies! As we nervously waitied, we noticed a 4 wheel drive land rover approaching, complete with horns on the bonnet, this was our ride for the trip!!
We were the only 2 on this trip, we do enjoy a bit of VIP service! We were soon on our way,the first stop was one of the highest viewpoints in the Cameron Highlands, up we went, higher and higher until we were up in the clouds. We climbed the viewpoint tower, which to Clares relief was not the pylon she had first spotted, but decided the 2nd level was enough as our heads were already up in the clouds and we did bit think we would benefit by climbing any higher! Although, due to the clouds, the view was a little disappointing we still enjoyed the moment and were able to capture some good views when the clouds moved along a little.
Our next stop was a teen through the Mossy Forest, we think our tour guide was being gentle with us as we went on an easier trek than some other options. This again afforded us some fantastic views and got us close to nature. Our guide also told us the story of school children getting lost in this forest so the army and police began a search. The children managed to find their way out alone but the police got lost and it took them 12 days to find their way back to civilisation! Adam looked very at home in the jungle as he clambered around looking the part in his Bear Grylls shorts!! Good luck starting a fire out here, it was so wet I think even Bear Grylls would struggle!!
After our trek we made our way to the high light of the trip, the Boh tea plantation. We were given a tour around the factory which showed the full process from picking the tea leaves to it being packed for distribution. We were then shown through to the gift shop, where of course we parted with some well earned Ringits and then moved on to the cafe. This was a gorgeous glass building with an open air wooden decking area, which overlooked spectacular views of the rolling tea plantations. Here we enjoyed a splendid, fresh pot of tea and we both had a slice of cake! After our refreshing cup of tea, we had a little walk into the tea plantation where Clare cheekily picked some tea off the plants!
Getting back into the car, Bala, our driver, began to explain to us how the tea is not such a good quality anymore. The tea used to be picked by hand and only the best leaves were selected, but now due to the use of machinery they are not able to be so precise. Not only are the older leaves selected, but also any wildlife that may have taken up residence will be processed to make that ultimate cuppa that us Brits so enjoy!
Our next stop was the butterfly farm, they also had a number of other insects and gave us the opportunity to hold various creepy crawlies, such as, a rhino beetle, a lizard, a toad, a giant grasshopper (well, Adam held that!) and finally we both held a scorpion. There were also many snakes, gekkos and obviously butterflies, they were huge and one even landed on Adams hand. We then made our way to the flower garden, which wasn't really Adams cup of tea, but beautiful and enabled Clare to get snap happy taking photos for her Mum. The plants in here were so tropical, we even spotted a marijuana plant growing in the corner!
Last of all was the Strawberry Farm, this was very much like a pick your own at home, but they were all grown hydroponically. Luckily for us we had our guide with us, so he picked a few sneaky ones for us and in his words, "they always taste nicer when they are free"! Again we found ourselves in a gift shop, where we were able to buy ourselves another fridge magnet. We then enjoyed a delicious strawberry milkshake!
Before we were dropped off, Bala took us to a local shop for Clare to buy his preferred cigarettes. They were black and flavoured with cherry, much to Clares excitement, she was also able to buy some pink ones, this time strawberry flavour! Surely as they are fruit flavoured they musnt be as bad for you!!
We had our bus booked for 10.30am the following day, so again we ate in our guest house and packed our backpacks ready to head back to Kuala Lumpur. We had a very good time in the Cameron Highlands but we will be glad to return to the 34 degrees that we are now very used to!
2nd May 2009
Arriving at Bangkok airport we quickly checked into our flight and soon realized we had far too much hand luggage to be carrying on and off buses. After searching around we found a left luggage service, so we quickly transferred all the heavy gifts into the one bag and checked it in with them. It was a pretty decent price at only 100Baht (£2) a day, money well spent for the convenience, little did we realize it would give us free reign to buy more gifts for ourselves!
We were flying with the budget airline Air Asia, it was a small plane, but very comfortable and brand new. A little different to our last experience at the hands of Laos Airlines! After getting ready for take off, the stewardess asked us if we would mind changing our seats. Although this meant we would not be sitting together, it did mean that we had the exit seats, giving us plenty of legroom and a pretty enjoyable 2 hour flight.
After completing yet another entry card, but thanfully with no visa fee, we soon had our backpacks and began how to figure out how to get to KL Sentral. Yet again it would appear that our guidebook was not all that accurate, as the train station we were hoping to find was at a different terminal. After getting some quotes for a taxi and nor liking the prices, we ventured back into the airport to ask for any cheaper options. We were soon directed towards ticket booths for buses that ran to KL Sentral every fifteen minutes. This was great, for the hours journey it only cost 9RM (£1.80) each. The journey went very quickly and took us past the famous Malaysian Grand Prix circuit, if only we'd have been here a few weeks earlier!
The bus dropped us off right outside KL Sentral, so we grabbed our bags, bought a train ticket for the monorail and we were soon checking into the Chinatown Hotel Inn. Making our way to the hotel was pretty dificult as it's in the heart of the Chinatown market. As it was now early evening and the market was in full swing it was absolutely full of people trying to get the best price for their fake Gucci and Prada goods!
That evening we found an Indian cafe serving all types of curry to have our dinner, it was really cheap, but boy did it blow away the cobwebs! It was really very spicy, Adam seems to now be immune to even the most fiery chilies, but Clare did struggle!
Yet again we had some email correspondence to catch up on, this time it was our final letter to Andrews estate agents threatening legal action, so we made our way to the Internet cafe. This was really a one person job, so Clare left Adam to do his best. After a couple of hours Adam returned with the completed letter, we drunk a couple of beers to celebrate and then went to bed.
The next morning Clare awoke with a spring in her step as finally they day had arrived for her to hopefully get her hair back to a respectable colour! We had a very quick breakfast and made our way by train to the Suria shopping mall to find the 'Saw' salon. We found it very quickly and Clare was soon getting some much needed advice. The salon was beautiful and gave Clare the confidence that they knew what they were doing. We were given an appointment at 1pm, so we had a walk around the many shops and grabbed a quick lunch.
Knowing Clare would be in the salon for quite a while, we headed to the cinema complex to see if there were any good films for Adam to watch. It all worked out perfectly, Wolverine was starting at the time of Clares appointment, so Adam got himself a ticket and walked Clare back to the salon. Once Adam knew Clare was settled and knew she was in good hands he headed off to watch his film.
After a long time in the salon it became apparent that Clares hair was severely damaged and that the previous salon had got the colour so wrong that they decided to put peroxide on it! Luckily the owner of 'Saw' used to be a stylist to the stars in London, well the Spice Girls and Tony Blair, but he certainly knew his stuff and soon Clares scarf, which had become permanantly attached to her head, was no longer needed! Adam had already returned from his film to meet Clare and was amazed at what a good job they had done! So off we both went, Adam happy to have been to the cinema and Clare happy that she didn't look like Dolly Parton anymore!
That evening we got a take away of fried noodles, chicken satays and some cold beer! We then felt the need to explore the market and to see if we could pick up some bargains. Adam found himself a rather nice Armani brown leather bag for work and after some good haggling, he made his purchase!
As we have a VIP bus booked for the following morning to take us to the Cameron Highlands, it was time to relax back at the hotel in preparation for our early start.
We were flying with the budget airline Air Asia, it was a small plane, but very comfortable and brand new. A little different to our last experience at the hands of Laos Airlines! After getting ready for take off, the stewardess asked us if we would mind changing our seats. Although this meant we would not be sitting together, it did mean that we had the exit seats, giving us plenty of legroom and a pretty enjoyable 2 hour flight.
After completing yet another entry card, but thanfully with no visa fee, we soon had our backpacks and began how to figure out how to get to KL Sentral. Yet again it would appear that our guidebook was not all that accurate, as the train station we were hoping to find was at a different terminal. After getting some quotes for a taxi and nor liking the prices, we ventured back into the airport to ask for any cheaper options. We were soon directed towards ticket booths for buses that ran to KL Sentral every fifteen minutes. This was great, for the hours journey it only cost 9RM (£1.80) each. The journey went very quickly and took us past the famous Malaysian Grand Prix circuit, if only we'd have been here a few weeks earlier!
The bus dropped us off right outside KL Sentral, so we grabbed our bags, bought a train ticket for the monorail and we were soon checking into the Chinatown Hotel Inn. Making our way to the hotel was pretty dificult as it's in the heart of the Chinatown market. As it was now early evening and the market was in full swing it was absolutely full of people trying to get the best price for their fake Gucci and Prada goods!
That evening we found an Indian cafe serving all types of curry to have our dinner, it was really cheap, but boy did it blow away the cobwebs! It was really very spicy, Adam seems to now be immune to even the most fiery chilies, but Clare did struggle!
Yet again we had some email correspondence to catch up on, this time it was our final letter to Andrews estate agents threatening legal action, so we made our way to the Internet cafe. This was really a one person job, so Clare left Adam to do his best. After a couple of hours Adam returned with the completed letter, we drunk a couple of beers to celebrate and then went to bed.
The next morning Clare awoke with a spring in her step as finally they day had arrived for her to hopefully get her hair back to a respectable colour! We had a very quick breakfast and made our way by train to the Suria shopping mall to find the 'Saw' salon. We found it very quickly and Clare was soon getting some much needed advice. The salon was beautiful and gave Clare the confidence that they knew what they were doing. We were given an appointment at 1pm, so we had a walk around the many shops and grabbed a quick lunch.
Knowing Clare would be in the salon for quite a while, we headed to the cinema complex to see if there were any good films for Adam to watch. It all worked out perfectly, Wolverine was starting at the time of Clares appointment, so Adam got himself a ticket and walked Clare back to the salon. Once Adam knew Clare was settled and knew she was in good hands he headed off to watch his film.
After a long time in the salon it became apparent that Clares hair was severely damaged and that the previous salon had got the colour so wrong that they decided to put peroxide on it! Luckily the owner of 'Saw' used to be a stylist to the stars in London, well the Spice Girls and Tony Blair, but he certainly knew his stuff and soon Clares scarf, which had become permanantly attached to her head, was no longer needed! Adam had already returned from his film to meet Clare and was amazed at what a good job they had done! So off we both went, Adam happy to have been to the cinema and Clare happy that she didn't look like Dolly Parton anymore!
That evening we got a take away of fried noodles, chicken satays and some cold beer! We then felt the need to explore the market and to see if we could pick up some bargains. Adam found himself a rather nice Armani brown leather bag for work and after some good haggling, he made his purchase!
As we have a VIP bus booked for the following morning to take us to the Cameron Highlands, it was time to relax back at the hotel in preparation for our early start.
Monday, 25 May 2009
1st May 2009
We were up bright and early for the 9am bus to Bangkok and had enough time to grab a quick cheese and ham toasty from the 7-11 for breakfast. We were soon on our way and the three hour journey passed very quickly.
As we arrived into Bangkok it became apparent that we were heading to a different bus terminal than usual, Mo Chit. This was a great result for us as it was much closer to our hotel and a much cheaper taxi fare. We quickly collected our luggage from the bus and hailed ourselves a taxi.
In no time at all we arrived at our hotel, Suk 11, the first hotel that we stayed in on this trip. We checked in and discovered that we were on the 4th floor, this was a real shame as there was no lift here and our luggage seemed to be getting heavier by the day! After we carried our luggage up the tiny staircases we were surprised to find that we had a balcony. It wasn't much of a view, but nevertheless it was nice to have. We did however discover that our balcony was the main fire escape, which apparently meant jumping 2 metres from the balcony onto a small metal pole with the odd rusty step welded on to it. After seeing this we hoped and prayed that there wouldn't be a fire!
We were only in Bangkok for a quick overnight stay as we had to be at the airport the next morning, so we didn't have any plans. We were originally going to Toni & Guys, but thankfully had thought better of it. We spent a lazy afternoon and enjoyed a tasty take away in the evening in our guest houses garden, fried rice and some lovely chicken skewers. We had ourselves an early night as we had to be on the way to the airport at 9am.
After a good sleep we were looking forward to a good breakfast as Adam had fond memories from our last stay with toast, fruit and blueberry muffins! No such luck this time, there was no sign of the muffins, just toast and jam! After dragging our backpacks down the 4 flights of stairs again, we hailed a taxi and were soon heading towards the airport.
As we arrived into Bangkok it became apparent that we were heading to a different bus terminal than usual, Mo Chit. This was a great result for us as it was much closer to our hotel and a much cheaper taxi fare. We quickly collected our luggage from the bus and hailed ourselves a taxi.
In no time at all we arrived at our hotel, Suk 11, the first hotel that we stayed in on this trip. We checked in and discovered that we were on the 4th floor, this was a real shame as there was no lift here and our luggage seemed to be getting heavier by the day! After we carried our luggage up the tiny staircases we were surprised to find that we had a balcony. It wasn't much of a view, but nevertheless it was nice to have. We did however discover that our balcony was the main fire escape, which apparently meant jumping 2 metres from the balcony onto a small metal pole with the odd rusty step welded on to it. After seeing this we hoped and prayed that there wouldn't be a fire!
We were only in Bangkok for a quick overnight stay as we had to be at the airport the next morning, so we didn't have any plans. We were originally going to Toni & Guys, but thankfully had thought better of it. We spent a lazy afternoon and enjoyed a tasty take away in the evening in our guest houses garden, fried rice and some lovely chicken skewers. We had ourselves an early night as we had to be on the way to the airport at 9am.
After a good sleep we were looking forward to a good breakfast as Adam had fond memories from our last stay with toast, fruit and blueberry muffins! No such luck this time, there was no sign of the muffins, just toast and jam! After dragging our backpacks down the 4 flights of stairs again, we hailed a taxi and were soon heading towards the airport.
24th April 2009
We arrived at Trat bus station early for our 9am departure and in good time as there was a torrential downpour after we arrived. This was very welcome and cooled us down no end. The bus left on time, but it took longer than the expected 5 hours, it ended up being almost 6 hours in total, just what we needed! So, at just before 3pm we arrived at Bangkoks Ekami bus terminal and after a few moments of stretching our aching legs, we jumped into a taxi to take us to the Southern bus terminal. Our driver was good and seemed to know all the back roads, but it still took us about an hour to reach the bus terminal.
As soon as we arrived we wended our way up all the escalators at the terminal and quickly found the correct desk to buy a ticket from. The next available bus wasn't until 5pm, which was useful as it gave us time to grab a naughty KFC for our lunch. 5pm soon came and after the usual confusion on seat numbers (the seats are always numbered differently to the tickets!), our luggage was on board and we were heading to our destination of Hua Hin.
In almost exactly three hours we arrived at Hua Hin and were dropped off only a few steps from our hotel, Cha-Ba Chalet. We had finally done it, we were at our final destination after 19 hours of buses over 2 days, we are getting pros at this travelling business!
After a few language difficulties we managed to check into our hotel and we were soon shown to our room. Unfortunately our memories of our first stay here had been a little on the wrong side, the aircon was very smelly (and didn't appear to work very well), the bed uncomfortable, and to top it all off, the TV was all in Thai! We were far too tired to do anything about it, so we quickly showered and headed to our favourite street food vendor, 'Top Restaurant', which was just up the road. We had some delicious food here, washed down with a few welcome beers, this made us glad to be back and helped us forget about all those buses.
After dinner, on our way to the 7-11, we noticed a new hotel with a swimming pool. We went in and inquired about their prices, they were very reasonable and the rooms looked new, so we decided to return the following morning to have a look at the rooms. We headed back to our hotel for a well deserved sleep, but unfortunately for us it didn't really happen. Alternating between the pungent aircon smell and the humidity without it, proved a fairly restless night all in all!
The following morning we had an early breakfast and headed to Baan Manthana Hotel to have a look at their rooms. They showed us a room in the new block, it was very nice, no nasty aroma, had a lovely bathroom and even a balcony. We bargained them down on their asking price and headed back to Cha-Ba Chalet to pick up our belongings. We settled our bill at reception much to the staffs surprise, we think they presumed we were going to be staying longer, after all we had booked 7 nights! We headed straight back to Baan Manthana luggage in hand, it was much nicer there, more comfortable, the staff were friendlier, we felt much more at home already!
We spent another six nights in Hua Hin, our days were spent walking on the beach and swimming in the pool and our nights were spent eating great food at 'Top Restaurant', exploring the night market and playing cards and drinking beer on our balcony. We had also booked ourselves flights to Kuala Lumpur leaving on the 2nd May as we wanted to explore a little more of Malaysia.
Two days before we were due to leave for Bangkok to catch our flights, Clare decided to visit a hair salon and have her hair high lights re-coloured, as she thougt she would save some money having it done here in Asia. She managed to find a reputable one in town and nervously she made her way to the salon with Adam in tow for moral support. We enterted the salon and Clare tried to make herself clear in what she wanted doing, she chose a colour from a set of examples and was led to a waiting chair. Her stylist for today was a ladyboy, which raised some eyebrows to say the least. It all seemed to start very well as they were applying the colour and they seemed to know what they were doing. After about an hour, boredom had set in for Adam and he decided to get his hair shaved. They did a good job and he even had a nice head massage.
A little later and it was time for Clares big reveal. The ladyboy stylist unravelled the towel from Clares head and as she looked into the mirror, all Clare could say was "Woah!". The colour of her hair was bright yellow all over, apart from the underneath back part which was still brown. Clare did well to hold back the tears at this point as it looked truly awful, as she looked over to Adam, his expression confirmed that it was far from good. All this was compounded by the fact that they ladyboy stylist kept repeating "very beautiful madam", when it obviously was not.
Very quickly we left the salon and Clare could no longer hold back the tears, not surprisingly as they had completely butchered her hair! We went straight back to the hotel and both of us were in need of a beer in the light of this trauma. There were no two ways about it, it was terrible and it needed sorting out. It's hard to describle how bad it actually was, but we think a blind stylist could have done a much better job! Clare quickly found a hair band, which thanfully hid the worst of it and we got straight onto the Internet to find a decent hair salon that could fix this mess. We found a Toni & Guy salon in Bangkok, so we decided to leave early on the Friday so Clare could pay them a visit. But after a little more research, it seemed that even Toni & Guy in Bangkok were damaging and mis-colouring western hair, so we quickly abandoned that idea. Luckily Adam found a top hair salon at the Suria shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur called 'Saw' and this was a top notch salon and very used to western hair. Clare emailed them and managed to get an appointment for the Sunday, good news, as we were flying in on Saturday! Hopefully they'll be able to fix it!
The remainder of our time in Hua Hin went very quickly and Clare got her moneys worth from her hair band, but before we knew it our bus was booked to take us back to Bangkok in preparation for our flight to Kuala Lumpur.
As soon as we arrived we wended our way up all the escalators at the terminal and quickly found the correct desk to buy a ticket from. The next available bus wasn't until 5pm, which was useful as it gave us time to grab a naughty KFC for our lunch. 5pm soon came and after the usual confusion on seat numbers (the seats are always numbered differently to the tickets!), our luggage was on board and we were heading to our destination of Hua Hin.
In almost exactly three hours we arrived at Hua Hin and were dropped off only a few steps from our hotel, Cha-Ba Chalet. We had finally done it, we were at our final destination after 19 hours of buses over 2 days, we are getting pros at this travelling business!
After a few language difficulties we managed to check into our hotel and we were soon shown to our room. Unfortunately our memories of our first stay here had been a little on the wrong side, the aircon was very smelly (and didn't appear to work very well), the bed uncomfortable, and to top it all off, the TV was all in Thai! We were far too tired to do anything about it, so we quickly showered and headed to our favourite street food vendor, 'Top Restaurant', which was just up the road. We had some delicious food here, washed down with a few welcome beers, this made us glad to be back and helped us forget about all those buses.
After dinner, on our way to the 7-11, we noticed a new hotel with a swimming pool. We went in and inquired about their prices, they were very reasonable and the rooms looked new, so we decided to return the following morning to have a look at the rooms. We headed back to our hotel for a well deserved sleep, but unfortunately for us it didn't really happen. Alternating between the pungent aircon smell and the humidity without it, proved a fairly restless night all in all!
The following morning we had an early breakfast and headed to Baan Manthana Hotel to have a look at their rooms. They showed us a room in the new block, it was very nice, no nasty aroma, had a lovely bathroom and even a balcony. We bargained them down on their asking price and headed back to Cha-Ba Chalet to pick up our belongings. We settled our bill at reception much to the staffs surprise, we think they presumed we were going to be staying longer, after all we had booked 7 nights! We headed straight back to Baan Manthana luggage in hand, it was much nicer there, more comfortable, the staff were friendlier, we felt much more at home already!
We spent another six nights in Hua Hin, our days were spent walking on the beach and swimming in the pool and our nights were spent eating great food at 'Top Restaurant', exploring the night market and playing cards and drinking beer on our balcony. We had also booked ourselves flights to Kuala Lumpur leaving on the 2nd May as we wanted to explore a little more of Malaysia.
Two days before we were due to leave for Bangkok to catch our flights, Clare decided to visit a hair salon and have her hair high lights re-coloured, as she thougt she would save some money having it done here in Asia. She managed to find a reputable one in town and nervously she made her way to the salon with Adam in tow for moral support. We enterted the salon and Clare tried to make herself clear in what she wanted doing, she chose a colour from a set of examples and was led to a waiting chair. Her stylist for today was a ladyboy, which raised some eyebrows to say the least. It all seemed to start very well as they were applying the colour and they seemed to know what they were doing. After about an hour, boredom had set in for Adam and he decided to get his hair shaved. They did a good job and he even had a nice head massage.
A little later and it was time for Clares big reveal. The ladyboy stylist unravelled the towel from Clares head and as she looked into the mirror, all Clare could say was "Woah!". The colour of her hair was bright yellow all over, apart from the underneath back part which was still brown. Clare did well to hold back the tears at this point as it looked truly awful, as she looked over to Adam, his expression confirmed that it was far from good. All this was compounded by the fact that they ladyboy stylist kept repeating "very beautiful madam", when it obviously was not.
Very quickly we left the salon and Clare could no longer hold back the tears, not surprisingly as they had completely butchered her hair! We went straight back to the hotel and both of us were in need of a beer in the light of this trauma. There were no two ways about it, it was terrible and it needed sorting out. It's hard to describle how bad it actually was, but we think a blind stylist could have done a much better job! Clare quickly found a hair band, which thanfully hid the worst of it and we got straight onto the Internet to find a decent hair salon that could fix this mess. We found a Toni & Guy salon in Bangkok, so we decided to leave early on the Friday so Clare could pay them a visit. But after a little more research, it seemed that even Toni & Guy in Bangkok were damaging and mis-colouring western hair, so we quickly abandoned that idea. Luckily Adam found a top hair salon at the Suria shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur called 'Saw' and this was a top notch salon and very used to western hair. Clare emailed them and managed to get an appointment for the Sunday, good news, as we were flying in on Saturday! Hopefully they'll be able to fix it!
The remainder of our time in Hua Hin went very quickly and Clare got her moneys worth from her hair band, but before we knew it our bus was booked to take us back to Bangkok in preparation for our flight to Kuala Lumpur.
23rd April 2009
After a quick breakfast, we were soon picked up by one of the tuk tuk drivers that we had got to know during our stay and we were speeding towards Sihanoukville bus station. We were feeling very emotional on this little journey, knowing that we were finally leaving Cambodia for good, a place we had grown to love. We said goodbye to our driver and quickly boarded our bus, before we knew it we were heading out of Sihanoukville, feeling very sad and emotional.
The four hour journey passed very quickly and we were soon at the border town of Koh Kong. We were handed our Thai arrival cards to fill out and soon we were heading towards the border, hoping for a smoother exit than the entry we had. It was all very civilized, we grabbed our luggage, quickly had our exit visa stamped in Cambodia, crossed no mans land and soon we were in Thailand again. It was a nice feeling not to be paying any visa fees this time!
Our ticket included transport all the way to a town called Trat, so we had to wait for a bus or van at the border, we weren't quite sure at this point. We were a little confused as to where to wait or for what we were waiting for, so we asked some Thais (who seemed to be arranging the transport) what exactly to do. We were told quite bluntly, just to wait. All very helpful, it was so much clearer now! It was a particularly hot day and thankfully we managed to find ourselves a small spot in the shade to wait. We waited and we waited... We tried asking several times as to when our transport was going to arrive, but again we were told just to wait! Our frustration levels were growing high, as one by one, everyone else seemed to be getting onto buses and minivans, no one seemed to be going to Trat apart from us. After a very hot 2 hours of waiting we eventually gave up 'just waiting' and told the Thais that we would be getting on the minivan to Koh Chang and that they could drop us off en route! Thankfully, but in a very offhanded manner, they agreed. This was a great welcome back to Thailand!
So after a very hot 90 minute drive, as the aircon didn't appear to work, we were dropped off at our accomodation, the SA Hotel. This was only going to be an overnight stopover on our way to Hua Hin the following day, so we decided to go with one of the two bigger hotels in Trat. So after our 8 hour journey, our first impression of the hotel was not a positive one, it looked a little run down from the outside, but hey, appearances can be very deceptive.
We checked in and headed up to our room, unfortunately our expectations were a little let down. It wasn't a bad room on the whole, just not very comfortable, it almost resembled a very sparse dentists waiting room, all white and chrome and very bare looking!
We didn't want to really hang around in our room and as we hadn't eaten since breakfast, we decided to head out early for some dinner. On our previous stay in Trat we found a very nice restaurant serving great Thai food, so no surprises, we headed straight there! We had been looking forward to eating here again, so we ordered our favourites, a Thai seafood salad and a chicken and chili dish. Somehow the chef managed to get the order wrong and served us breaded prawns instead! When we told then this, they moaned and finally gave us the dishes we ordered, although we do think they made the dishes extra spicy just to annoy us! It seemed that they had a new, grumpy chef and unfortunately the food was a real let down.
After eating we decided to head to Basar Garden to see Noi, who we'd befriended on our last stay in Trat. It was no disappointment here, she remembered us from all those weeks and months ago and gave us a very warm welcome, even remembering where we had been off travelling to. After a few beers and a good catch up, we were given a bunch of bananas to take for our journey the following day. We said our goodbyes to Noi and headed off back to our waiting room.
After a decent nights sleep and a quick breakfast we were on the back of a sangathaew heading towards Trat bus station for another marathon day of buses to get us to Hua Hin.
The four hour journey passed very quickly and we were soon at the border town of Koh Kong. We were handed our Thai arrival cards to fill out and soon we were heading towards the border, hoping for a smoother exit than the entry we had. It was all very civilized, we grabbed our luggage, quickly had our exit visa stamped in Cambodia, crossed no mans land and soon we were in Thailand again. It was a nice feeling not to be paying any visa fees this time!
Our ticket included transport all the way to a town called Trat, so we had to wait for a bus or van at the border, we weren't quite sure at this point. We were a little confused as to where to wait or for what we were waiting for, so we asked some Thais (who seemed to be arranging the transport) what exactly to do. We were told quite bluntly, just to wait. All very helpful, it was so much clearer now! It was a particularly hot day and thankfully we managed to find ourselves a small spot in the shade to wait. We waited and we waited... We tried asking several times as to when our transport was going to arrive, but again we were told just to wait! Our frustration levels were growing high, as one by one, everyone else seemed to be getting onto buses and minivans, no one seemed to be going to Trat apart from us. After a very hot 2 hours of waiting we eventually gave up 'just waiting' and told the Thais that we would be getting on the minivan to Koh Chang and that they could drop us off en route! Thankfully, but in a very offhanded manner, they agreed. This was a great welcome back to Thailand!
So after a very hot 90 minute drive, as the aircon didn't appear to work, we were dropped off at our accomodation, the SA Hotel. This was only going to be an overnight stopover on our way to Hua Hin the following day, so we decided to go with one of the two bigger hotels in Trat. So after our 8 hour journey, our first impression of the hotel was not a positive one, it looked a little run down from the outside, but hey, appearances can be very deceptive.
We checked in and headed up to our room, unfortunately our expectations were a little let down. It wasn't a bad room on the whole, just not very comfortable, it almost resembled a very sparse dentists waiting room, all white and chrome and very bare looking!
We didn't want to really hang around in our room and as we hadn't eaten since breakfast, we decided to head out early for some dinner. On our previous stay in Trat we found a very nice restaurant serving great Thai food, so no surprises, we headed straight there! We had been looking forward to eating here again, so we ordered our favourites, a Thai seafood salad and a chicken and chili dish. Somehow the chef managed to get the order wrong and served us breaded prawns instead! When we told then this, they moaned and finally gave us the dishes we ordered, although we do think they made the dishes extra spicy just to annoy us! It seemed that they had a new, grumpy chef and unfortunately the food was a real let down.
After eating we decided to head to Basar Garden to see Noi, who we'd befriended on our last stay in Trat. It was no disappointment here, she remembered us from all those weeks and months ago and gave us a very warm welcome, even remembering where we had been off travelling to. After a few beers and a good catch up, we were given a bunch of bananas to take for our journey the following day. We said our goodbyes to Noi and headed off back to our waiting room.
After a decent nights sleep and a quick breakfast we were on the back of a sangathaew heading towards Trat bus station for another marathon day of buses to get us to Hua Hin.
13th April 2009
We were not being collected for our bus as it was the Khmer New Year, so we jumped on a tuk tuk and arrived at the chaotic office at Paramount Angkor Express. Buses came and went and eventually ours turned up an hour and a half late! It takes a while to load and unload these buses mainly due to the fact that people travel with their mopeds and these are stored on the lower floor of the bus! As you can imagine loading 6 mopeds in a bus takes careful planning and precision!
We were feeling a bit nervous about arriving at Sihanoukville as the previous night we had called to reserve a room at the now familiar Beach Road Hotel, but we received mixed messages about the price and whether or not they had rooms available.
We need not have worried, we arrived to an awesome welcome from the hotel staff, this is our third visit here! We were shown to our room, the had put us in a brand new room overlooking the gorgeous 25m swimming pool. The room was fantastic, very nicely finished and the bathroom was amazing complete with a black slate tiled floor. We dumped our bags and headed straight to the bar for a cold draft beer and possibly a game of pool.
The Estonian girl behind the bar came over and chatted and asked where we had been. We explained that it was Clare's birthday and we had been back to Angkor Wat. She then disappeared and return with 2 complimentry drinks which were a local Estonian liquor, we don't like to offend anyone, so we accepted the free drink! It was delicious and just what we needed after a long day if travelling! As we were enjoying a beer we noticed that our new friend Li was beckoning Adam over. So off Adam went leaving Clare to relax with her beer! After some 30 minutes Adam returned with a big cheeky grin on his face. A group of 4 tuk tuk drivers had invited him along to begin their New Year celebrations, which included plenty of beer and some Khmer food such as grillled fish with chili and spring onions. No wonder Adam looked so cheeky, the Khmer tradition is that each person makes a toast and then everybody has a drink!
The following day was the beginning of the major celebrations for the Khmer New Year and we experienced this almost straight away. As we had yet more emails to check from Andrews Estate Agents, we made our way to the Internet cafe, only to be met by Li throwing talcum powder all over us! For some reason, and we never managed to find out why, they celebrate new year by throwing talc and water! This was going to be an interesting day!! We managed to avoid the offenders by chilling by the pool for the rest of the day, knowing full well we would be under attack when night time came!
That evening we had dinner at the Bayon and then made our way to meet Dave and the gang at The Cool Banana. At midnight they were all heading to the beach to really start celebrating! We were asked to join them so at 12.30am we made our way to meet them. It was great, we were all dancing, drinking and having fun. The next thing we noticed was that Sara and Jen had just purchased some more talc and we got smothered in the stuff! It was so funny, it did not stop us at all, but by 2.30am we decided to head back to the hotel, leaving them to continue dancing on the beach and enjoying their celebrations. When we returned to our room we remembered Liverpool were playing that night so we stayed up until 5am to watch the whole match!
The next day began quite slowly as we woke feeling a little but muzzy and tired from all the celebrating. We did not have any plans so we went for a long walk on the beach to clear our heads! We had never seen the beach so busy filled with Khmer families enjoying their New Year holiday. Their celebrations last for 3 days and they really go to town, unlike us Brits who only really celebrate New Year for a few minutes and the stroke of midnight!
In total we spent 10 days back at the Beach Road Hotel and had a truly excellent time, swimming, walking on the beach, spending time with Dave, Sara, Jen, Nick, Pat and not forgetting the crazy Li!!
Unfortunately our Cambodian visa was coming to an end so we booked a bus for the next day to take us across the border of Thailand and onto a small town called Trat.
On our last night we went to the Cool Banana and The Bayon to say our goodbyes to all of the nice people we had met and spent time with. We all swapped email addresses and made our way back to our hotel for a good sleep. It us an early start for us tomorrow and a full day of buses!!!!
We were feeling a bit nervous about arriving at Sihanoukville as the previous night we had called to reserve a room at the now familiar Beach Road Hotel, but we received mixed messages about the price and whether or not they had rooms available.
We need not have worried, we arrived to an awesome welcome from the hotel staff, this is our third visit here! We were shown to our room, the had put us in a brand new room overlooking the gorgeous 25m swimming pool. The room was fantastic, very nicely finished and the bathroom was amazing complete with a black slate tiled floor. We dumped our bags and headed straight to the bar for a cold draft beer and possibly a game of pool.
The Estonian girl behind the bar came over and chatted and asked where we had been. We explained that it was Clare's birthday and we had been back to Angkor Wat. She then disappeared and return with 2 complimentry drinks which were a local Estonian liquor, we don't like to offend anyone, so we accepted the free drink! It was delicious and just what we needed after a long day if travelling! As we were enjoying a beer we noticed that our new friend Li was beckoning Adam over. So off Adam went leaving Clare to relax with her beer! After some 30 minutes Adam returned with a big cheeky grin on his face. A group of 4 tuk tuk drivers had invited him along to begin their New Year celebrations, which included plenty of beer and some Khmer food such as grillled fish with chili and spring onions. No wonder Adam looked so cheeky, the Khmer tradition is that each person makes a toast and then everybody has a drink!
The following day was the beginning of the major celebrations for the Khmer New Year and we experienced this almost straight away. As we had yet more emails to check from Andrews Estate Agents, we made our way to the Internet cafe, only to be met by Li throwing talcum powder all over us! For some reason, and we never managed to find out why, they celebrate new year by throwing talc and water! This was going to be an interesting day!! We managed to avoid the offenders by chilling by the pool for the rest of the day, knowing full well we would be under attack when night time came!
That evening we had dinner at the Bayon and then made our way to meet Dave and the gang at The Cool Banana. At midnight they were all heading to the beach to really start celebrating! We were asked to join them so at 12.30am we made our way to meet them. It was great, we were all dancing, drinking and having fun. The next thing we noticed was that Sara and Jen had just purchased some more talc and we got smothered in the stuff! It was so funny, it did not stop us at all, but by 2.30am we decided to head back to the hotel, leaving them to continue dancing on the beach and enjoying their celebrations. When we returned to our room we remembered Liverpool were playing that night so we stayed up until 5am to watch the whole match!
The next day began quite slowly as we woke feeling a little but muzzy and tired from all the celebrating. We did not have any plans so we went for a long walk on the beach to clear our heads! We had never seen the beach so busy filled with Khmer families enjoying their New Year holiday. Their celebrations last for 3 days and they really go to town, unlike us Brits who only really celebrate New Year for a few minutes and the stroke of midnight!
In total we spent 10 days back at the Beach Road Hotel and had a truly excellent time, swimming, walking on the beach, spending time with Dave, Sara, Jen, Nick, Pat and not forgetting the crazy Li!!
Unfortunately our Cambodian visa was coming to an end so we booked a bus for the next day to take us across the border of Thailand and onto a small town called Trat.
On our last night we went to the Cool Banana and The Bayon to say our goodbyes to all of the nice people we had met and spent time with. We all swapped email addresses and made our way back to our hotel for a good sleep. It us an early start for us tomorrow and a full day of buses!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)