THAILAND - The South

KOH TAO

Koh Tao literally mean 'Turtle Island' and was once a favored hide out for pirates who stashed their gems deep with in the jungle. This magical island now has a reputation for its treasures under the sea. This tiny island, with a population of only 5000, issues more diving certifications than any other place in the world (yes, even more that the Great Barrier Reef in Australia!) So it doesn't take a genius to work out how I spent my time on Koh Tao!

I met with my dive school early in the morning to set off on the boat at 7am. On the way out I was a little bit nervous, not having dived since last summer when qualifying in Greece, but when in the water it all came flooding back to me!

"Chumphon Pinnacle", the first dive site, had a colorful assortment of sea anemones along the 4 interconnected pinnacles and is home to schools of Giant Trevally, Yellow Barracudas and Moray Eels. Sadly, at this time of the year the water is too warm to see any of the Whale Sharks that are known to come by in the cooler temperatures.

"Green Rock", the second dive site, was like an under water jungle gym! The site featured many caverns and caves in the rocks that we were able to swim through. At Green Rock we saw so much sea life, including more Moray Eels hiding in the rocks, lots of Angel Fish and Parrot Fish and many of the territorial Trigger Fish.
Diving in Thailand had been highly anticipated and I can say that it had definitely surpassed all expectations. I really had the most fantastic time and I can't wait to get back to the under water world!

To finish our visit to Koh Tao on a high note we managed to meet up with Bex & Rosie and Chris & Orla, who were also staying on the island, and have a night out with the famous Thai Lady-Boys!

KOH PHA-NGNAN

Koh Pha Ngnan...the party pilgrimage! Caitlin and I were two of thousands of people who flock to the island every month for the epic Full Moon Party. We based ourselves in Baan Tai, a less touristy part of Koh Pha Ngnan, and stayed in a bungalow on the beach that over looked the neibouring island, Koh Samui. During the time we were there we went on a snorkeling trip around the coast which also included a small trek to a waterfall inland. It Was a great way to see more of the island but unfortunately I came returned with a sun burnt bottom from too much snorkeling!!

The day of the Full Moon we spent on the beach sunbathing, I was careful to only expose the front side of my body- still nursing the sunburn! To prepare for the party the evening was spent decorating ourselves with neon body paint. Caitlin and I teamed up with some guys staying at the same place as us, Rob, Chris and K, to share 'artistic skills'. However our bungalow ended up looking like a fluorescent play group! Ready to go we piled into the back of a truck to meet fellow party go-ers on the Hat Rin Beach...
It was a crazy night that was proved by our 6am home time. The following day was a day of recovery spent in the shade re-hydrating, eating spring rolls and playing UNO!


KOH SAMUI

One of the original islands that started the backpackers migration to Thailand. We found a place to stay on Hat Lamai Beach where we found Hin-Ta and Hin-Yai stone formations. (Also known as the Grandfather and Grandmother rocks.) These genitalia shaped rocks were able to provide a good source of entertainment! Regrettably we were only able to stay one the island for one night before an early start for our journey to the Andaman Coast.


PHUKET

Caitlin and I had a long journey from Koh Samui across to Phuket, using 5 different modes of transport. Eventually we found a grotty guesthouse to call home for the night; the 'On On Hotel'. Despite the droopy beds and the peeling paint we thought it would be fun to stay here as this bare bones hotel scooped a part as a dirty flophouse in the 2000 hit film The Beach, staring Leonardo Di'Caprio.

I had set an early alarm for the next morning but getting out of bed was easy as I was going to meet Guy, my boyfriend, from the airport who was flying out to see me in Thailand for his summer holiday. From the airport we headed to Patong Beach. Until then I did not know that Patong was well known for ladyboy's, PingPong shows and prostitution, so I don't think it was the best first impression of Thailand that I could have given Guy! So the next day we went to Hat Karon instead; a long sweep of gently curving beach. Even though Caitlin and I were both applying factor 30 sun cream Guy rejected the idea in hope of tanning, however the consequences of his mistakes soon followed!



KOH PHI PHI DON

A truly jaw-dropping beauty, Koh Phi Phi Don is blessed with bodacious jungles, arcs of white sand, bejewelled tropical waters and technicolour corals. Our time on the island was spent mostly on the beach, Ao Loh Dalam, lying on the sand or bathing in the sea.


But I did make time for a scuba diving trip. Guy and Caitlin wanted to come along for the ride to which was lovely having their company on the boat. Whilst I was underwater Guy went swimming and Caitlin opted for sun bathing. Again I dove at 2 dive sites, "Bida Nok" and "Ma Long", which were situated within the National Marine Park surrounding Koh Phi Phi Leh- Koh Phi Phi Don's uninhabited twin island. The dives were fantastic and the marine life was incredible. It included Clown Fish, Jelly Fish, Scorpion Fish, Sea Turtles and one Black Tip Reef Shark!

That afternoon, back on land, Guy and I took a little trek across one of the headlands on the island to reach Monkey(less) Beach. It was a shame we didn't see any of the monkeys but it was a beautiful beach to visit that could only be reached by foot or by boat.

In the evening we went out for a BBQ dinner in town. Guy and I tried the barracuda, to be honest it wasn't very exciting but Caitlin's curry looked good!

The morning we left Koh Phi Phi Don I got up early to go and see the viewpoint before we caught the boat. Unfortunately I was unable to persuade Guy or Caitlin to come with me! The viewpoint was a short hike up a 300m vertical climb including hundreds of steps and narrow twisting paths. But the views at the top were amazing, over looking twin bays Ao Ton Sai and Ao Loh Dalam and the Marine Park that seemed to stretch on forever in colours of aqua, emerald and jade.



Back to PHUKET

We arrived back on Phuket to check into a new hotel for the night and spend some time on Kata Beach. Later that afternoon, Guy and I rented out a motorbike and headed inland to the cable lake. Guy was on a wake board and i chose water skis. neither of us had done it since last summer whilst in Greece so it was great fun to get back on the water.

The next day we took the bike again and headed to the north of the island where we spent the second half of Guy's holiday. On one night we treated ourselves to 'luxury' accommodation at @@ beach where we stayed in a pretty poolside villa that served up an enormous breakfast in the morning. The rest of our time we stayed in a bamboo hut on @@ beach. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great so we decided to explore the island on the motorbike. Our days were filled with:

• visiting gibbon rehab centers,

• climbing Bang Pae Waterfall,

• elephant trekking

• and even an afternoon at the 3D cinema!

On the last afternoon we had had the idea to try out some of the recipes I had learnt at the cookery course in Chang Mai. We were lucky to find a quiet bar/ restaurant run by a Thai family who very kindly lent us the use of their kitchen for the evening! After a trip to the market to get supplies we were on a roll... Together we replicated the Tom Yum Soup with prawns, Green Thai Curry (yes, we even made the curry paste!) and Fried Bananas. We ended up cooking a huge amount and shared it with our hosts, who said it tasted good - for our first time!

The following morning was a little teary saying goodbye to Guy at the airport. But Caitlin was able to cheer me up on the bus on the way out of Phuket as we shared sweets and headed further south down Thailand.

HAT YAO

Hat Yao was our final beach destination in Thailand. We found a great bungalow to stay in opposite the beach nestled under the towering limestone cliffs. The beach at Hat Yao was lovely and wide and we had it all to ourselves as it was low season and we were the only guests. In the afternoon I went exploring around the caves, cliffs and secret beaches while the tide was out.

Hat Yao is a tiny Muslim fishing village and Caitlin and I were there during the festival of Ramadan. Because of this it was quite difficult finding food to eat! When the sun had gone down we were able to order in a nice restaurant that stood over the sea on stilts, I chose Poo (Thai for crab!). Later that night we struggled getting back to the bungalow in the darkness, but came prepared the following evening with the head torch!

HAT YAI

I am now in Hat Yai, this town is mainly used by travelers coming from and going to Malaysia, like Caitlin and I who are off tomorrow! To pass the time, today, we snuck into a posh hotel to take a dip in their pool and sun bath on the terrace while the sun was out!

Since being away Thailand had been the country Caitlin and I have spent longest in, exploring the country has been remarkably exciting and rewarding.

Thailand is exotic, yet chaotic!

THAILAND - The North

BANGKOK

My bum hurts! Well it did do after a full day of cycling (in Cambodia) followed by a long bus ride from Cambodia to Thailand. After the tedious boarder crossing we weren't sure what to expect from the capital city,Bangkok. We had heard mixed reviews: some brilliant and some horrific! So Caitlin and I were looking forward to making up our own opinions. It was getting dark by the time we had reached the city center and were getting off the bus. We were hit by the noise from the crowds, the strange smells from the street food stalls and the neon lights from Khao San Road... and we absolutely LOVED it!

The next day we made our way across the city trying out the different modes of transport: the river boat taxi and the BTS Sky Train, to reach the monstrous "BMK" shopping mall. I was on the hunt for a new digital camera. After a successful shopping trip we headed back to the centre to go to Wat Pho, the temple that houses the enormous Reclining Buddha. After wards we went to check out the Grand Palace. On entry we were given a long list of clothing that we were not aloud to wear, confused and unsure of what we were aloud to wear we decided to do a U-turn and quietly back out!

During the time we were in Bangkok, Thailand was in full swing of a national holiday to celebrate the Queen's birthday. But fear struck when loud booms were heard and the floor beneath us shook. Bangkok was being bombed, we were terrified and needed to find shelter. However it turned out to be the Royal Family firing cannons -all part of the party. PANIC OVER!

CHAING MAI

The old city of Chaing Mai is a neat square bounded by a moatand remains of a medi-eval style wall built 700 years ago to defend against Burmese invaders. Inside the old wall is a district of narrow streets that lead to a quiet world of family run coffee houses, leafy gardens and friendly smiles. After getting off the over night bus ride from Bangkok we soon found a room to stay in at Mr. Whiskey's guest house.Later that afternoon Caitlin and I were out about the town when I heard another TukTuk driver trying to to get our attention. It was strange on this occasion because they knew my name... we turned round and saw Bex, a close friend from college, and her travel buddy Rosie. It was odd "bumping into" old friends 1000's of miles from home! We joined them for coffee to swap stories and arranged to meet later for dinner and explore the Chain Mai Night Bazaar (street market).

After a good nights sleep i was feeling like a culture vulture and so signed myself up to do a cookery course with Baan Thai Cooking School. That morning I met my group and we headed to the local market with our wicker baskets to collect our ingredients for the day. Throughout the day I learnt to cook 5 different traditional Thai dishes:

Pad Thai

Thai Fish Cakes

Tom Yum Soup

Green Thai Curry

Deep Fried Battered Banana

Of course we got to eat everything that we cooked and it was also great trying the other different dishes that had been cooked in my class. I had the best time and met a fantastic group of people!

PAI

Pai is slightly further north than Chaing Mai and the dusty little town is found within a picturesque valley. The stress reducing setting appealed to Caitlin and I so we decided to give Pai a try! The afternoon the we arrived we went out to explore the town, taking pictures of the funny road signs and farm animals, and enjoyed the bohemian way of life adopted by the locals.

During our time in Pai we went to visit a couple of the temples in the surrounding mountains, went to an elephant camp, saw Pai Canyon, swam at Mo Paeng Waterfall and spent the evening trying out local delights, my favorite was Panang Curry followed by pancakes!

Our last day in Pai we decided to move accommodation and found budget huts over looking the river and mountain scenery. We wanted to spend the day relaxing and sunbathing on our balcony but once again had to change our plans due to the continuous rain! Getting restless inside our hut we stuck 2 fingers at the weather and went on a Wet'n'Wild adventure...

The morning we left - of course the rain had stopped by now!

We are now back in Bangkok for one more night in the city before heading south to the islands... :)

CAMBODIA

PHNOM PENH

The journey into Cambodia was beautiful. We decided to cross the boarder from Vietnam by boat - up the Mekong River, in total we were on the water for about 7 hours! Along the way we saw everything from women doing the washing up at the water edge to farmers bathing their cows to children playing in the river and making use of the steep banks as mud slides!!!

(Caitlin taking in the river views on the boarder crossing)

It felt like we had been on the move for a long time so we spent our day in the city at our own pace...SLOW. We enjoyed most of our day reading in hammocks over looking the Boeng Kak Lake, but we did make an effort to check out the Psar Themei Central Market and the impressive Silver Pagoda. That night we met up with a couple that we had met whilst in Vietnam, Orla & Chris, to go out for a traditional Cambodian Khmer meal.

BATTAMBANG
Caitlin and I opted to get the bus to Battambang, which was fine until we drove into the monsoon and the bus started leaking above mine and Caitlins seats! When we got off the bus we thought it would be a good idea to go for a coffee, but ended up getting in a riff with the waiter who tried to short change us (80p!).

The next day Caitlin and i got carried away and took a ride out of town on a TukTuk. We were taken to Phnom Sampeau, set upon a high limestone outcrop. We were dropped off at the bottom and walked up to the top with one of the kids from the village to point us in the right direction. Halfway up we stopped at the Killing Caves. It was an eerie place with a gruesome tale to tell of the power struggle between the "Khmer Rouge" and the people of Cambodia.

Making our way to the top we wondered through the complex of temples (and monkeys) and took in the spectacular view from the top that seemed to stretch out for miles. On our way back to town we stopped at Phnom Banan - exactly 358 steps to reach the 5 towers. Locals claim it was the inspiration for Ankor Wat!Battambang was an elegant river side town that was able to charm both Caitlin and I but also chill to the bone.


SIEM REAP
Getting of the bus at Siem Reap we were harassed my too many sweaty, male TukTuk drivers, we eventually were able to make an escape and track down a nice hostel - Garden Village with a $0.50 beer roof top bar. We went into town for the rest of the afternoon and had a great lunch in the middle of the market, Cambodian pancakes filled with bean sprouts and shrimps and lots of salad :)We couldn't resist not looking around the market and ended up spending much more money that intended! Feeling tired we got chatted up by a friendly (and younger) TukTuk driver and managed to score a free lift home! That night we we needed to be in bed early for the following days adventure...

ANGKOR WAT
It was 4.00am and our alarm went off! Today was the day of Angkor Wat. We got up early so that we could cycle (YES CYCLE) to the temples in time to see the sun rise. The ride took us about an hour to get there and it seemed strange cycling through the city in the pitch black as most parts has no street lights, but it wasn't much of a struggle as the land was so flat. It was well worth the early start as the sight when we got there was great!

After a banana breakfast we carried on cycling around the rest of the archilogical sight to see some of the surrounding temples, including Bayon and Ta Prohm- the set for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider! The sights were extreemly impressive and it was a fantastic day out... I definitly slept well that night.

VIETNAM

HANOI
Our train arrived at Hanoi, the capital city if Vietnam, at 5am! We managed to avoid the taxi scams ($10 for 2km!) - waited for the first bus into town and checked into one of the many grotty backpacker hostels. After we re-cooperated some energy we went for lunch by the lake with some girls who were staying in our dorm and spent the rest of the day sight seeing around the "Old Quarter" of town, including the Hoa Lo Prison where we saw the horrible conditions the old Vietnamese prisoners were kept in and the Doam Xuan Market (and got a new bag). The following day we got up early for a trip to see the temples at Hoa Lu and Tam Coc, we had a funny tour guide who's favorite phrase was "And now we go into...DISCOVERY!". As we were having lunch it began to thunder.... just in time for the river cruise! Luckily we were bombarded by a mob of women selling disposable rain macs! Aside from the rain we had a fun afternoon and the scenery was beautiful- clean, wide river with huge limestone pillars jetting out from the ground. That evening we feasted on heart and kidney with noodles and pig brain soup, we were both in agreement that the noodles were okay but the pig brain soup did not go down well!!


HUE
Our next stop in Vietnam was Hue, which was a small sweet town divided in two by the Perfume River running through the middle. On the afternoon we arrived we visited The Forbidden Purple City and went shopping in the market. Our second day was spent entirely on the river. Caitlin and I found a boat to take us down the Perfume River to see the temples and pagodas that have been built on the banks. Later on that evening we had dinner on the river, eating out on a floating restaurant! That night frog was on the menu, which i would happily eat again- it was actually quite nice!

Hoi An
Hoi An was the next stop, we arrived early afternoon and headed straight for the beach!

white sands - CHECK, blue seas - CHECK, palm trees - CHECK

By now we have been away nearly a month and I can't believe it has taken us this long to find a place to lay in the sun! We left the following day free of plans to do exactly the same as the day before- lie on the beach with no interruptions, only to be woken by the tropical storm that had rolled in over night....brilliant!


Nha Trang
We got the night bus to Nha Trang and prayed for good weather all the way there- even though heavy rain had been forecast for the next few days. When the bus arrived at 7am we could not have asked for a better wake up call than the clear skies we were greeted by. We decided to have breakfast on the beach and spent the rest of the day sun bathing on the white sands and swimming in the sea :) The following day I did exactly the same, unfortunately Caitlin did not make it out of bed due to the antics of the night before, when we went for a heavy night out with a group of guys we had met on the night bus. I came home to meet her later with a sun burnt knee! It was agreed that an early night was in order due to our early bus departure in the morning.


DALAT
Dalat is situated in the central highlands of Vietnam and prides itself on its rebellious spirit! The weather is spring cool instead of the tropical heat, the town is dotted with elegant french villas and the farms around are thick with flowers and strawberries- not rice! Dotted with lakes and waterfalls and surrounded by evergreen forests, Dalat is nicknamed The City of Emerald Spring. After our first night we woke early again for our french baker breakfast- banana bread and pain au chocolate. Then went to meet our "Easy Riders"- a witty and knowledgeable crew of local motorbike guides who were about to take us around Dalat and its surroundings. We got going and straight away were hit by the breath taking views of the farm land. Shortly into our journey we took a break from the motor bikes to make a short, but steep, ascent! It was worth it tough as a panoramic view of the land was waiting for us at the top. Back on the bikes we drove around the mountains stopping at a flower farm, a silk far and introduced to a family who had a coffe plantation. The main event of the day was seeing The Elephant Waterfall. We saw it first from the top and was able to scramble down the side to see it from the bottom- at its best! Back up top we were spoilt with a real feats of Vietnamese food. That evening we met up with some people we had previously met in Hoi An who had invited us to there hotel to use the sauna and hot tub on the roof terrace! This was one of my favorite days since I have been away, doing the Easy Riders tour was such a great way to see the REAL Vietnam. I had an amazing time and Mr Hung, my guide, was able to take our sleeping bags (which we had not used once since being away- I don't know why we took them with us) and give them to a family in the very rural areas of Dalat as the nights are much cooler in the highlands.


HO CHI MIN CITY (SAIGON)
We had only a short stay in HCMC and spent most of it outside the city. We went to visit the Cu CHi Tunnels. It was fantastic to see how the people of Cu Chi survived attacks of the USA by living underground and interesting to learn all about their survival e.g. the air holes built in termite hills and tiger traps. We even got to go in the tunnels, since 1960 the tunnels have been widened so that fat westerners can fit down them!!

MEKONG DELTA
Our last few days in Vietnam were spent on the Mekong Delta. After a short drive, including a stop at The Giant Buddha we got on board a river boat with our tour guide JJ (short for James Bond!) and cruised along the Mekong River and seeing the 4 islands- Dragon, Phoenix, Tortoise and Unicorn where we stopped to talk a walk through the village and went to see the coconut candy workshop. That night Caitlin and I did a home-stay and spent the night with a Vietnamese family. To get to the family home we were dropped of by taxis on the side of a motorway (by the way by this time it was way after dark!) and we had to walk down a very muddy and a very slippery track, luggage and all, down to the river. The last part of our journey was a ride on a very rickety boat that took us to our accommodation for the night. The ride down the river was beautiful, even thought it was pitch black, the trees on the river bank were lit up by thousands of fire flies - so pretty. We arrived at the home-stay quite late and s had dinner straight away, where we made our own spring rolls with the family. It was a lovely evening spent with the family and meeting there children and their pets!
Caitlin and I had a little cabin top share that was made out of bamboo and had a balcony which over looked the river. In the morning we were able to take a better look around the place in the light. That day we visited the Cai Rang Floating Market. It is quite an interesting concept! Most of the produce that is bought there is later taken to sell at markets on land. That evening we went to Sam Mountain (it's a hill really) where we could see Cambodia in the distance once at the top. That night we slept in a small town called Chau Doc before we crossed the Cambodian boarder the following day.


Vietnam is a beautiful country with so much to see, if you blink you miss something special! But my favorite thing about Vietnam is... withdrawing cash!!!! The exchange rate is ridiculous, 1 British Pound is equal to 30,000 Vietnamese Dong, so on my first day there I felt like a millionaire when taking out 5,000,000 Dong! But seriously I loved my time in Vietnam! It's a shame we only got to spend 2 weeks there as it did not seem long enough at all.