Sunday, October 31, 2004
Ao Nang
Mat: We had lunch in the restaurant attached to the internet cafe where we posted the last blog entry, in Ao Nang, and both spent the rest of the day feeling really ill. It was Trish's (the group leader) birthday so we all went out for a drink in the evening to a fantastic beachfront bar called The Last Fisherman - they've probably all become bar tenders instead. Trish had been bigging up the sunset at the bar, so I took my camera for some pics but it was cloudy so we didn't see much. We wandered around the town looking for the Night Market and totally failed to find it (probably too dark). The room had air conditioning, but it was 500B so we sweltered all night in the heat.Thursday (28/10) morning we were supposed to go snorkeling at 8am, however I still felt really rough, so I stayed in bed most of the day and wandered along the beach. By all accounts the fish were amazing including clown fish, and so was my lunch (pasta and red sauce at one of Ao Nang's strangely numerous Italian restaurants). The group all met at the Last Fisherman again for sunset, but again it was cloudy, so we went to another Italian for what must have been the best pizza in the tropics, and ice cream to finish up in a wonderfully air-conditioned shop.
On Friday (29/10) we got a long-tail boat to Railay, a part of the peninsula only reachable by boat, where we saw loads of monkeys (including maybe a gibbon) and got bitten by numerous small insects. At last count Kat has a dozen bites including some nasty ones on her legs, and I have 14, all but one on my feet. We tried to walk all around the peninsula, but got stuck between undergrowth and rocks and had to retrace our steps. Returning to Ao Nang in the afternoon we had a very intense Thai massage which Kat still aches from 24 hours later, and back to the Last Fisherman for a final go at the sunset, and it was fantastic! For dinner we all went to the house of a friendly local Thai Muslim family where we all sat on the floor and stuffed ourselves with fantastic food - Tom Yum soup, vegetable curry and rice, followed by as much mango and watermelon as you could pack in.
This morning (30/10) we had a ridiculously early start for a nine hour minibus drive to Penang in Malaysia, N 5°25'04.4" E 100°20'13.3". At one early rest break I bought some interesting fairy cakes that were bright blue and green and had the texture and taste of bath sponges. Just before the Malaysia border we had to get in a different van - in Malaysia you're not allowed more than ten people in a van. Our new driver obviously liked driving as we did the remaining three hours without a break, straight onto the ferry and onto the island of Penang. Malaysia seems a lot more western than Southern Thailand (we've got A/C in the room!), but everything's just as cheap - dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant was RM12 (about £1.80) for both of us. Our room has weird plumbing though - there are at least half a dozen taps in the bathroom, and a small pink bath-ette on one wall in which you couldn't bathe anything larger than a small dog.
After dinner we wandered about the local streets. We seem to be between the Chinese and Indian quarters (where there was a big wedding celebration, and also loads of people out as it's Deepavali at the moment). Malaysia has a very large Indian and Chinese population, and so it seems best to speak English to everyone as not everyone speaks Malaysian, especially me...
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Jungle
Kat: Overnight train was amazing feat of compact engineering: carriage hadpairs of facing seats which converted to a bunk and one which folded
down from the ceiling. Supper on train was typical Thai style, cooked
one person at a time, but it was great and worth the wait. Very long
stops at each station where there were food stalls as vendors wandered
up and down the train. Blaring horns from each passing train didn't
allow much sleep.
Arrived at Surat Thani an hour later than time-tabled. Group leader
very jittery as this was where last leader was arrested; our Thai
*guide* is called Mr T and is very funny. He wore a Mr T tee-shirt ("I
pity da fool!") so we didn't forget his name. Jumped straight on the
7.15am bus to Khao Sok; standing room only but we managed to get
seats. Journey was a couple of hours. After 5 minutes in the back of a
pick-up truck and we arrived at "Our Jungle House". Our guest house
was on stilts with a double bed in the attic. Dumped our bags, wolfed
down breakfast (banana pancakes, naturally) and went inner tubing in
the river running past the guest houses. Great fun but some bitey fish
in the water.
Scenery is spectacular: limestone cliffs (karst landsape) and tropical forest.
Monkeys play in the trees opposite the guest houses (we heard them
on the roof too). Cicadas are almost deafening at night.
Tuesday we got up early and went elephant trekking to watefalls where we could
swim. Saw many butterflies and dragonflies, few birds though. Rubber
tree plantations and banana palms everywhere. Guest house food is
delicious: I've tried banana flower curry, thai iced tea (with milk)
and pineapple pancakes (good, but not as good as banana).
In the afternoon we took sandwiches into the park and went for 9km
trek; very hot even under tree canopies and hard work clambering up
tree roots over banks and scrambling down the other side. Spectacular
banyan tree and bamboo forests. Didn't take enough water to go further
but we got off lightly: other people in the group got covered in
leeches, ran out of water and had to break into the visitor centre for
more and got caught in the afternoon downpour just before they got
back.
Wednesday morning we went by sawng-tow (pick-up with 2 rows of seats
in the back) to Krabi province, N 8°01'48.0" E 98°49'22.6". Our hotel here is minutes from the
beach and it's hot hot hot. Finally able to dry clothes ... everything
was starting to smell musty.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Bangkok to Surat Thani
Kat: Saturday we checked out of our lovely 5* hotel and took a taxi to the scummy backpacker area of Bangkok, Banglamphu. New World Lodge is fine though - we even have a balcony! Lunched with Thom and Roisin in their guest house; they're mad for cheese and moved there just because they serve it. Even Mat caved in last night and had a cheeseburger from room service.Visited Chatuchak which is the biggest, most hectic market I've ever seen. Everything from kittens to clothes and home furnishing. In fact you can buy anything in Bangkok: contact lenses, prescription drugs, electrical goods ... piracy is a fine art and in Banglamphu you can buy copies (photocopied in the case of books) of any film or book you can think of. In the evening we met the group we're travelling to Singapore with: 9 so far, including one from Brighton (of course). Our tour leader says we can't call her a guide - it's illegal for non-Thais to be guides in Thailand and the last group had their *leader* deported for that reason.
Sunday morning we had the best banana pancakes ever, with freshly squeezed orange juice (tastes more like satsuma juice and the oranges are green). Thai massage was refreshing - lots of bone cracking and limb stretching! Lunch with Thom, Roisin and their mate Dustin. Tried the yellow curry this time - only one more colour to go: red. Tonight we're catching the overnight train to Surat Thani, about 13 hours.
Friday, October 22, 2004
Bangkok and Kanchanaburi
Mat: Found a really great camera shop where they managed to recoverall our pics, so they're available for your perusal.
Finally feel that we're starting to get the hang of this city: our
travel fares have reduced since we realised that getting a metered
taxi is under half the price (but half the fun) of getting tuk-tuks
everywhere, and we know not to pay more than B55 (90p) for a green
curry and rice.
Wednesday morning we walked to the Snake Farm, about half a mile from
the hotel. They milk Thailand's venomous snakes to produce antivenom
there, and of course in a crazy Thai way also do displays where they
provoke the snakes into striking for the amusement of the tourists.
Afterwards we walked over to Chinatown (walking in 35°C not
advised) which was very hectic - lots of markets, hundreds of temples
and thousands of people and cars everywhere. Crossing the road is a
serious adventure in parts of Bangkok. Eventually found ourselves at
the Golden Mount, and faint with hunger (three hours of walking and no
lunch) we spied a Thai Coca-Cola sign and stuffed ourselves with
noodles and fried mixed veg. Renewed with energy we ran up the Golden
Mount (not) and admired the views.
In the evening we met up with Thom and Roisin who are living out here
hoping to get jobs teaching English. We all got a taxi over to the
Khao San Road, which makes the rest of crazy Bangkok look like a
funeral - you can't move for ladyboys, backpackers and counterfeit
goods. Had the best green curry ever and nobody got ill (double
bonus!)
On Thursday we went walking again, through Siam Square to get a photo
of two restaurants - Santa's Hamburgers and Holy Pizza - and to the
Erawan shrine, where you can pay a group of women to dance for your
soul. Got the SkyTrain to Jim Thompson's house, an american architect
who fell in love with Thailand and revived the silk industry. He built
himself a fantastic compound and garden - check out the photos. Took
in some more Bangkok tourist traps including the Giant Swing (very
disappointing) and went back to the Khao San Road to book a day trip
to Kanchanaburi (starting at 7am!) Thom and Roisin came over to our
hotel for a swim and jacuzzi at our hotel. V. nice.
Got up incredibly early on Friday morning for the two hour bus trip to
Kanchanaburi (pronounced almost exactly like Canterbury). The town's
main tourist focus is the bridge over the river Kwai, and also has at
least two museums telling the story of the Death Railway (or as one
caption called it, the Railway of Mortality). After lunch we went to
Saiyok Noi national park and waterfalls, a bit like a tropical Burnham
Beeches. We saw caves, lots of butterflies and the world's biggest
spider (larger than Mat's hand, bright yellow and black), but I don't
think the photo does it justice. Included in the trip was a train ride
from Nam Tok to Tha Kilen, and then a sweaty three hour bus ride back
to Bangkok.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
First stop Bangkok
N 13°44'35.3" E 100°31'48"Kat: Our flight was great - only 10 and a half hours so we arrived
(fairly) bright at 3pm Thailand time. A wall of heat greeted us at
airport. Took bus to Siam Square in the city centre. Our hotel is
amazing - 5 star and our room is on the 26th floor so we have a
fantastic view over the city. Pool and jacuzzis on the 8th floor roof
garden; we saw bats there last night!
After lounging around in complimentary dressing gowns and slippers we
went out for a bite to eat. Took a few tries to find somewhere with
veggie food but not too difficult. Tesco and Boots are here, as are
Starbucks in abundance and even a Habitat. Flaked out and slept for
over 12 hours :)
Went to Grand Palace and temples today. Tried to take a tuk-tuk but
since we didn't believe Grand Palace was closed and wouldn't stop at
shops they refused! Got a metered taxi instead and still had to spend
10 minutes refusing a shopping detour (drivers get coupons from the
shops in return for tourists).
Grand Palace opulent beyond belief, Wat Po with enormous reclining
Buddha figure filling one temple and Wat Arun Ratchawararan (by river
taxi) equally jaw-dropping. Misinformation from Thais everywhere - we
trust no-one! Mat's camera currently claiming to have spontaneously
deleted all photos from today so no pictures so far :(
Monday, October 18, 2004
Amersham, and off!
Mat: Had a lovely chinese meal with the Bailey family in Reading onFriday night, and Mat only got roped into doing IT twice ;) Stayed the
night at Kat's parents in Henley where they have a cockerel that
started up pretty early, but gave a nice countryside ambience to the
night's sleep. Do they have chickens in SE Asia any more? Said goodbye
to the hire car on Saturday morning: we've done 801 miles on our trek
round the UK saying goodbye.
Kat: Spent Saturday seeing Mat's grandparents in Amersham and Little
Chalfont and committed ourselves to sending many postcards. Mat's
gran, Isobel, didn't understand where we were going and decided we're
off to Newbiggin in Northumberland.
Today Lesley cooked a fantastic banquet for my parents and us as our
last meal in the UK: three courses (including two puddings) and we
haven't even started on the four cakes! After a bit of ruthless
packing and repacking, rucksacks are down to 1st 3lb, plus day packs
for the plane. Certain items are expected to be redundant - sleeping
bags, towels (very lightweight), Mat's spare pants - but otherwise
it's fairly basic.
We'll be heading to Heathrow in a couple of hours. Very strange
feeling to be going; after spending so long packing and saying goodbye
it seems like an ending although it's actually a new start.
Here are some photos of our last few days.
Friday, October 15, 2004
Bristol
N 51°28'33.9" W 02°35'17.1"Kat: on Tuesday we left for Bristol, after a brief stop in Henley to find our passports (fairly important). Spent a pleasant couple of hours in a Gloucester road cafe before John Pitts got back from school where he teaches. A good day - only 1 detention!
Wednesday we were sofa spuds and watched films until Vicky finished work and Jon W arrived from teaching college in Exeter. Strolled round Ashton Court park and returned to find John asleep in front of the telly (bad day - 19 detentions).
Thursday we went to lunch in Wells with my relatives, Morag and Romaine. They've also been to NZ - I've seen so many photos I feel like I've been there already! In the evening went for a Morroccan meal with Mat's ex-uni mates Mark, Natalia, Pip then met Rich for a drink. Diet will begin in Thailand. Here are pictures from our time in Bristol.
Have stayed with so many people lately am starting to see patterns. Most have Marmite and Spycatcher book. Surprising number have grapefruit not orange juice.
Troublesome welly-related foot injury is making walking difficult. I hope it's better before we get to Thailand.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Amersham
N 51°40'12.4" W 0°35'41.8"Mat: Ah, sweet internet. We arrived back at my parents' house in Amersham at about 11am, and we're still both on the web at 5pm. Michael's been home most of the day, but Kat and I have pretty much ignored him and played with our square-headed friends. Kat's been scanning useful documents and photos of our trip so far, and I've been approving beliefs.
Sadly we found out today that another one of my parents' cats has died - Lily had a tumour inside her mouth, and was put down last week. This time last year they had nine cats, but are now down to just five.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Cambridge
N 52°11'13.2" E 0°09'17.4" (Cambridge, UK)Mat: Ooh, eastern hemisphere! How exciting. Yesterday we went to Kat's cousin Mary's wedding party. She married Don, a Kiwi, on Lake Taupo, NZ in JuIy, and this was their British do for those who couldn't make it over there. He's lovely and they're perfect together as they're both obsessed with rowing (that's the sport, not arguing). Had a very nice time and managed to say goodbye to loads of people at once, so lots of bonus points there. The do was in a place called Quy (no idea how to pronounce that), outside Cambridge. Woke up in the morning feeling really bloated from so much food recently and spent half an hour in bed fantasising about salad.
This morning we came into Cambridge to see Clare & Nick Hardy, and totally used The Force to successfully find their house - we've been to theirs once before, but they picked us up from the station, and I was only vaguely paying attention to where it was.
We all went for a lovely bike ride around Cambridge (very flat here) and had salad for lunch! Ah, my stomach thanked me.
Kat and I are both getting shaky from internet withdrawal - it's been four days since we checked email or read Slashdot. Luckily tomorrow we're going back to Amersham for a day of surfing.
Saturday, October 09, 2004
Woodnook
N 52°52.968' W 0°35.932'Kat: Fi and Kevin took us to a fab noodle bar called Tampopo. Hopefully we'll meet them somewhere exotic and Pacific next year when they go travelling.
After picking up the car from Claire's house we set off on a lazy journey to Woodnook, near Grantham. Stopped in Buxton and Matlock and saw much beautiful Peaks countryside and lunched in Matlock's alternative cafe with resident TV/TS.
Janet and Derek have given us a warm welcome. We've been very well fed, ambled round the fields, had a tour of Derek's barns and collected 10 point-of-lay chickens with Janet, all of which you can see here. I've also begun my anti-malarial marmite regime, based on anecdotal reports that it keeps the mossies away (eating it not wearing it).
Today was my turn to drive - so far no crashes although the gear changes leave a little to be desired.
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Manchester
Mat: Got back to Amersham about 10:30pm on Monday to find that my superstar parents had already packed our stuff in the loft! Aren't parents great...Got up early on Tuesday and picked up the hire car - a 2.2 litre Vectra. Kat had a short driving lesson (it's been 8 years since she got behind the wheel) on the quiet roads around Henley and then she drove almost all the way to Manchester, with Mat only holding on for dear life the first fifty miles or so ;)
Spent last night with Claire, dodging the rain and talking travelling - she's off to Nepal soon with her mum.
Today we've been walking around Manc admiring the new buildings and enjoying the second city. Went to Urbis and Afflecks Palace (for old times' sake). Might catch a film before meeting Fi and Kevin this evening.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Homeless
Kat: we spent the weekend scrubbing our flat from top to bottom and it's never looked so clean. I'm sure it won't last. Even after upgrading to a long wheel base transit van we could barely cram in the rest of our stuff - in fact we only managed to clear the flat when a passing gent offered to take a plant and chair off our hands. This narrowly beats Friday's record when freebies were taken before I had time to write a "help yourself" note. The flat now looks like this.The journey to Henley was slow due to 5 breakdowns in 3 miles in the midst of the T5 roadworks at Heathrow. I remember why I prefer trains. We're on one now, heading to Amersham after taking the van back to Brighton and a final wistful look round the flat.
The plan was to put everything else in the lofts but we only had time to dump it in our parents' hallways, so we have that to look forward to tomorrow. Definitely need a holiday after this.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Packing
Mat: Only two days of packing left, but it's almost all done now. In the last 24 hours we've repainted a room, cleaned the carpets throughout the flat, packed a dozen more boxes and patched up about a thousand holes in the walls. It's going to feel like a holiday once we get all this done!Last night was Mat's leaving do at The Prodigal with the Epic peeps. My boss, Martin, was also leaving to go travelling, but we're going the other way round the world to him.