Day 41, Wed May 29 - Lazy Wednesday......

Well after all the activity yesterday the intrepid 4 needed a rest day!

Another day off for the cameras, the foursome spent the day between the beach, the pool and the markets.  K and R finalised their spectacles and have invested heavily!  B and L did a spot of browsing and a couple of small purchases.

After some research we were full of high hopes for tonight's restaurant .... The Lair Lay Tong..... Yay! We think we may be on to something.  Spicy shrimp soup, Tom Yum Gong, Red Chicken Curry, Veggie Pad Thai and all pretty good, we agreed it was 8.5 out of 10.  Aiming for 9 tomorrow.  

Day 40, Tues 28 May - Browsing in Old Phuket

Starting to get a bit worried about coming home..... We are turning our air-con DOWN to 28 degrees and we are reading about wild weather in NZ and snow on the Rimutaka's Yikes we might be needing the thermal underwear!

Decided that after two days of lazing about we needed to "do" something today so it was on to the open air local bus to Phuket town for BHT30 - $1.20.  

Took about 45 minutes to get out of Patong Beach, over the hill and in to Phuket.  Kim had a map with about 26 points of interest in Old Phuket Town and we managed to see about half of them.

    A Mansion dating from when Phuket was a tin mining town inhabited by Portugese and Chinese.

   The Governer's Residence

   Phuket Shopping Centre

One of the highlights was to be a late lunch at the VEGAN/VEGETARIAN restaurant in the heart of Old Phuket.  Having read that the owner/chef cooks ups a variety of treats everyday Kim and Les could hardly wait..... We need to learn to have lower expectations.  Turns out that the dishes are all prepared early morning and sit in the heat and "insects" all day and by 2 pm we just weren't prepared to risk it. After five and a half weeks of no tummy upsets it just wasn't worth it.  Instead we opted for a pretty good meal at the Phuket Youth Hostel and very timely it was as the heavens opened and it poured solidly for the whole hour while we had lunch.

Back on the bus about 4pm and home again just after 5.  Brent and Les had a tailors appointment at 8pm - looking good!  Kim and Russell had spied a promising Thai restaurant with the promise of authentic Thai food .... hmmmmmm getting better but still not the clean spicy flavours we have been looking forward to... Better luck tomorrow! 

Day 39 Mon 27 May - Lazing in the sun, surf and swimming pool!

Another lovely comfy sleep and Brent and Les were a bit slow on the start this morning and by the time we were ready to check out the beach Kim was already happily sunning herself on a beach lounger on Patong beach.... Well actually nearly on the footpath the tide was so far in she had to keep moving up to get away from the waves!

   Brent and Les were straight in the water and stayed for over an hour, it was lovely though a few blocks of ice to cool it a few degrees would have been good.  Great waves to make it an interesting swim.

   Russell followed after giving Johnson a bit of a work out and we all enjoyed our first Thailand swim.  We decided that we'd had enough sun for now so headed over the road to shower off and jump in the pool which was a bit more refreshing and probably only 30 degrees!

   The legs of Les, Brent and Kim sheltering by the pool with the beach in the background.

After a couple of hours the foursome decided that was enough sun for the day and headed for the relative cool of the rooms.  Brent and Les the headed out to investigate a possible venue for the evening meal and got waylaid and enticed into a Spa and sampled their first Thai foot massage aaaahhhh! 

Now about dinner.......... a warning to fellow travellers, if you want Thai food, don't go to an Indian restaurant!  The less said the better, but let us say this, we are still in search of excellent Thai food?@&!?!

Brent and Les went to a tailor and have got a few shirts and skirts etc being made, Russell has nearly decided on the purchase of some new eyes so a bit of money will be changing hands in the next few days.

Back to the Hotel and another day bites the dust, but what lovely surroundings to spend our last weeks in.

   The atrium of the Absolute Sea Pearl Beach.  Very salubrious!

Day 38, Sunday 26 May - A day of rest and relaxation...

It's amazing what a quiet room and a comfy bed can do, several good hours of sleep and we were all feeling refreshed and ready to take on Patong Beach. Well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, all feeling great but just going to take the day to get our bearings and plan our strategy for the next couple of weeks.   And, thanks to Groupy, our accommodation was secured for the rock bottom price of NZ$250 per week!

Had toast and spreads in our rooms, and simply chilled out for a couple of hours chatting, doing the blog and not much else.  

Russell is after some eye wear and Brent keen to see about a bike jacket so one of the rare times that the foursome split to follow different paths for a few hours.  Met back up around 3.30 to compare notes and K & R had bumped in to a guy from the UK married to a fabulous Thai cook and they have a bar restaurant just around the corner that puts on a BBQ 3 nights a week with a promise of some delectable vegetarian delights for the girls so that tonight's tea all sorted out.

Looks like the boys have given the cameras the day off today so no photos, you'll just have to imagine how lovely Patong Beach is ..... will try to give you some photos tomorrow!

Day 37, Sat 25 May. - The end of the long road to Phuket

After differing amounts of sleep for the foursome it was croissants or sausage bread for breakfast, along with coffee for the boys.  Got the beds "un-made" and watched the world go by until our arrival in Surat Thani around 8.30 am.  The transfer seemed like a well oiled machine with boards advising of different destinations and people being shepherded to their correct bus...... except for us and about 6 others headed for Phuket, our bus was delayed, and delayed, and delayed, but eventually we were on the road about 10.40 and sorry to say it definitely wasn't the express bus.  

SuratThani seems like a lovely city, clean wide streets and some beautiful buildings.

It was quite a long journey and by 3.15 one of the intrepid four was jiggling about rather alot and finally asked the "not so helpful" bus assistant if it might be possible to have a comfort stop.... Raised eyebrows and "toilet downstairs"... well THAT would have been a handy piece of information 4 hours ago, unfortunately 4 other passengers were faster down the stairs so the jiggling went on a bit longer!  

Got to,Phuket town around 4pm in the pouring rain and added another mode of transport to the list.

    The journey to Patong beach in the enclosed Tuk Tuk, very cool.

After 33 hours of travelling Bus, Walk, Bus, Train, Bus, Tuk Tuk, the intrepid four arrived at their final accommodation for the journey.  The Absolute Sea Pearl Beach Resort and Spa.

Wow!  B & L and R & K had different Bell Boys to show us to our adjoining rooms and you just about could have heard a pin drop until the Bell Boys were in the llift and then whoops of joy... are these really our rooms for TWO WEEKS?!@?!

    The living area...

   The bedroom.....

    The bathroom.....

Yes, we are happy campers!  We have thoroughly enjoyed our 5 week adventure and would do it all again in a heart beat but boy this luxury is a lovely way to round off the holiday.

Shame about the pouring rain but nothing could dampen our spirits.  Unpacked, showered and headed into Patong town in search of some authentic Thai food, took a while in the rain but found a lovely restaurant, enjoyed our meal.  Found a large supermarket and bought a few supplies for breakfasts and quiet ones on the balcony and off home to bed!

The holiday begins.......

Day 36, Fri May 24 - Heading into a 33 hour travel day...

The adventure portion of our trip is winding down and the holiday is beckoning!  The day started with a 6.30 breakfast and a 7am pick up to go to the bus depot.  Finally got away around 8.20 once the driver had found the keys!

Our trip to the Cambodian border took just under 2.5 hours and we all left the bus with just our passports..... 

    Walking towards the Cambodian border.

Back on the bus about 15 minutes later and a few minutes to the Thai border.  This was a bit more official and we had to take everything off the bus and queue to pass through. But still only took about 40 minutes and the intrepid foursome were all in Thailand! 

Had to wait a few more minutes for all the passengers to get through but by mid-day we were all on board and zipping away toward Bangkok.

About 20 minutes later Kim had this look of absolute horror on her face, my goodness what's wrong?  Turns out the army guys with machine guns and road spikes was a bit OTT and Kim thought it was a raid or something...NO they just wanted to board the bus and check us all out.  Though we must have looked reasonably harmless we didn't pass the test completely because on came the drug dog and went up and down the bus aisle checking us again.  Funny even when you know 100% that you have done nothing wrong you get a bit freaked so it was with great relief that the drug dog, the road spikes, the army guys and the machine guns receded in the rear vision mirror and we continued our journey.

Started to notice the landscape was changing, looked a bit more cared for and as we got closer to Bangkok the buildings looked more and more westernised.  Arrived in Bangkok about an hour later than expected, around 4.30.  First stop an ATM to get some Baht and then a taxi to the train station to see if our Internet train reservation had worked.....?  No, but once again the lucky travellers were in luck, usually the train is full by this time of day but we got exactly what we wanted, 4 second class sleeper tickets to Surat Thani and a connecting bus to Phuket town for BHT980 each, around $40.

Had a couple of hours to wait so popped upstairs to a cafe bar to have a cold one and a snack.... NO it's Buddha day so no alcohol today!  Ha, so the boys settled for iced coffee - should have got a photo!  Then, the music started and everyone stood for the National Anthem to be played so being the good little travellers that we are we stood for the minute as well!

   Looking down at the Bangkok Railway station

Boarded the train and thought we'd got the wrong carriage but it turns out Thai trains are quite different and the beds aren't in 4 bed rooms but along each side of the carriage, and during the day they are set up as seats and at night the attendants come around and fold them out, pull out mattresses and sheets etc and hey presto you have a lower and an upper bunk!  The girls took the top ones as they were a bit narrower.

    The seats.....

    The beds.  Brent and Les want this arrangement for the bus!

After a few games of cards and dice it was time to hit the sack and attempt to get some sleep which most of us did ..... 

    Kim sleeping, until.......

Around 4am Kim thought she heard someone running to get off the train, she sat bolt upright in her bunk,  jumped down and roused Russell rather loudly and told him to wake up, wake up we've gotta go.....Waaaaa? Says Russell everyone else is fast asleep.....Oooooops I think I've made a mistake.... Go back to sleep Russell!

Kim has had even more of an adventure than the rest of us today!

Day 35, Thurs 23 May - In awe of the Temples of Angkor Wat

Appreciated that we didn't have to be ready for a sparrows fart start today! Narith picked us up at 8.30 for our day exploring the temples surrounding Angkor Wat. We had a great map from reception and Kim's research had identified the key highlights for us to visit. The photos of the day will no doubt speak for themselves. We started off at Angkor Thom.

    Angkor Thom

  

   Detailed wall carvings found all around the temples.

   Entrance to the Royal Palace

   The Elephant Terraces

   Ta Prohm where the trees have created havoc but are amazing!

   Ta Prohm

   Ta Prohm

    And again ..... Ta Prohm

   The Sras Srang lake was our last stop before heading back, fairly templed out and ready for a swim. In our pool ....... not the lake, though it was very tempting!!!

Had a lovely couple of hours chilling and re-hydrating then made our way to the Temple Bar Balcony restaurant for dinner and to watch the Apsara Dancers, traditional Cambodian dancers who put in a free show from 7.30-9.30 every night.

   Apsara dancers.

A lovely finish to our stay in Cambodia, tomorrow we head towards the Cambodia/Thailand border.

Day 34, Wed May 22 - A good excuse to Re-Hydrate!

Wow, a great sleep all around for the travellers. An early wake up call by the neighbourhood dogs, music, singing and traffic but when you've had a good sleep that's ok!

As breakfast is included in the room rate we all headed upstairs to the covered open air rooftop restaurant and enjoyed eggs and French stick and fresh fruit, a good start to the day.  Have finalised our next travel requirements, a bus to Bangkok on Friday morning so the first stop was to Nattakarn Travel to book our tickets for US$28 each.  Being the first passengers we got to choose our own seats, that's a first!

Had a bit of a walk around the town of approx 900,000 people and confirmed what we thought last night...... we like Siem Reap.  Lovely river town, though the river is very low as they are just about to head in to their rainy season!  Hopefully we'll be gone before it arrives!

   The food market in Central Siem Reap

Another melting day, a high of 37 (feels like 44!) so decided we really should check out the pool.  Ahhhhhhhh! Fantastic - though slightly warm at what we think is probably 32 or 33 degrees, but still the bodies had a chance to rehydrate and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Had to get out and get ready for a 3pm pick up from Narith, a Tuk Tuk driver we met last night and who offered a very good price.  We found out from a fellow traveller that if you purchase your 1day pass to Angkor Wat after 4.30 pm you get to use it to see the sunset for free on the day you buy it and it is validated for the following day.... being the thrifty travellers that we are that was too good a deal to miss out on so Narith took us for a tour of some of Siem Reaps sights and got us to the Angkor Wat ticket office just before 4.30.

   Russell and a Buddhist monk who may have seen the all seeing eye....

Tickets duly purchased it was a mad dash to Angkor Wat entrance to get a prime spot before sunset.... Except with the heavy clouds there was no sunset to be seen.  However Angkor Wat is absolutely incredible, it's right up there with the Great Wall of China as a highlight of our trip.  We did get rained on but that only added to the beauty of the Temple and its surrounds.  To think it was built in the twelfth century is just mind blowing, one that they built it and two that it has survived as well as it has.

   Our first view of Angkor Wat!  A shame about the restoration works but an incredible sight.

We spent about an hour and a half just gazing and taking photos, unfortunately the main entrance is undergoing maintenance so we couldn't enter through there and it did affect the photos but there was so many other photo opportunities it didn't bother us too much.

Also, due to low season and the time of day there were very few other tourists so we could wander freely wherever we felt like.

   The rain seemed to enhance the impact of some parts of Angkor Wat.

   A few more steps to a fantastic view

   Just a sample of the many photos ..... the cameras got a real workout today.

Narith was waiting opposite the entrance and safely delivered us "home".  Shortly afterwards the sky was ablaze with the most amazing lightening storm we've ever seen so it was back up to the rooftop to watch the free entertainment.  Finally the clouds opened and the deluge began, enough to put K and L off walking in to town for tea but the boys braved it and for the first time actually got to choose the restaurant they wanted to eat in, we won't let them get too used to that!

Day 33, Tues May 21 - Whistle stop tour of Phnom Penh

When we arrived last night Brent arranged a Tuk Tuk pick up at 8.30 to take us on a whirlwind tour of the highlights of Phnom Penh. We only have this morning as we head off to Siem Reap early afternoon. First stop is the Golden Palace ($5 entry fee) and for the hour and a half we spent in there it was worthwhile.

   One of the many stunning pavilions in the palace grounds.

   The Silver Pagoda inside the Palace grounds

   Stunning Palace buildings set in beautiful gardens in the centre of Phnom Penh.

    The tour continued.... We all declined to visit the Geonicide Museum after our experience at the War Remnants Museum in Saigon.

A quick stop off at the Central Markets and R and K picked up a spare battery for the new camera ..... with the number of photos being taken daily the cameras are getting a hammering.

   One of the ten entrances to the Central Market - the trick is to find the same one to exit!

Next stop was to the only hill in Phnom Penh.

    Wat Phnom on top of Phnom Penhs only "hill"

After another half hour cruising the sights of Phnom Penh it was time to go back to the Hotel, check out, have a bite to eat and get to the pick up point for the mini bus to Siem Reap.

Bus departed at 2 pm, a 14 seater with 15 people on board, not much room to move! Thank goodness the aircon was working at least some of the time. 

Some interesting scenery on the way but as usual in our travels we find you are more likely to be late arriving than on time ..... and never early!  Meant to be in to Siem Reap at 6.30 pm but told on the way that we'd be an hour late.  Luckily we had arranged a pick up from the bus station as this is the first time we have arrived at a new city after dark.

Two Tuk Tuks ready and waiting and dropped us off at the Siem Reap Riverside, at the discounted price of US$18 per room per night.....AND we have a pool for the first time this adventure, we are the a happy Travellers today.

Dropped of the bags and walked the short 7 - 8 minutes in to town, what a lovely place, even at night we can tell we are going to like Siem Reap.

    The Siem Reap Riverside

   The walking bridge.

    Siem Reap at night.

Had a lovely meal at the first restaurant we checked out, it had a great variety of veggie dishes so the girls were happy!  The boys are easy pleased so,the intrepid 4 ate well and headed home to bed, the pool will have to,wait for another day!

Day 32, May 20 - Cruising through to Cambodia

Unexpected wake up call at 5.40am was a bit unnecessary for a 7am boat departure but it sure got us awake!  A basic but welcome breakfast of French stick and eggs and then on to a small boat for a couple of stops before we head to the border.

Fish farmers have floating houses with a "tank" 10 metres wide, 20 metres long and 6 metres deep floating under their house.  There are a couple of lift off hatches to allow them to feed their several thousand strong fish factory and once they are big enough sell to the local and export market.  Very ingenious.

Feeding time at the fish farm.

Stopped off to visit and walk through the Cham village.  They would have to be the friendliest people we have encountered in Vietnam so far even though we were intruding on their daily life around 8am in the morning.

   A typical Cham village house.

   River houses across from the Cham village

Around 8.45 we boarded the "fast" boat and headed toward the Vietnam/Cambodia border.  A short stop to check out the propellor after we struck something very hard!  Must be ok we kept going and got to the Vietnam border at 9.55. 

While it can take up to two hours during the busy season we were there at low season and were all processed within 15 minutes, then a short 5 minutes boat ride to the Cambodian side and luckily another 15 to 20 minutes and we were back on our way.

At first you think there is not much different then you realise that 1. There are no longer houses all along the river banks, 2. The land is flatter and seems less densely covered in trees and scrub, and 3. There are virtually no commercial boats on the river and very little other river craft either.  

The fast boat is not really that fast and instead of the 1.30 arrival in Phnom Penh we are told it's likely to be closer to 3.30, but, there's a lovely breeze and pleasant scenery so we settle in for the ride.  

One short stop at a tree stump by the river and we meet another boat exactly the same as ours, their passengers disembark and board our boat and we board their boat - they are heading to Vietnam and we continue our journey to Cambodia.

Around 2.30 we see some tall buildings in the distance and rightly figure that's our first sighting of Phnom Penh.  

The buildings are also slightly different design.

Cruise in to Phnom Penh just after 3.15 and as we disembark the heat hits us....Pow! Feels like 40 plus.  But stick to our plan and walk the short (7-800m) walk to our hotel only to find they have double booked and ask us to take a complimentary TukTuk ride to their partner hotel around the corner.  The rooms look ok so we check in....

 Hmmmmm think we may be in a house of ill repute but only for one night and it's too hot to be bothered moving.  Time for a cold shower and a pause to catch our breath then out to view the sights.  Boys had a cold one and the girls walked the lovely promenade along the rivers edge and caught a bit of the breeze.  Can't believe the 50 or 60 locals participating in a step class on the banks of the river but it's interesting to watch.

Our TukTuk driver has recommended a local restaurant and has agreed to pick us up at 7 to take us there.  Apparently a great menu including a good vegetarian section.  Kim and Russell decide on Khumer curries and Brent had a really nice spicy Khumer chicken dish and Lesley had vegetarian spring rolls (with chicken!) and a green Mango salad. Slightly more expensive than Vietnam or China but still very reasonable.  

   Messages from kids all around the world - note one on the left behind Russell is from Timaru

We all enjoyed our meal and the walked along the river back to our hotel ....... most pleasant way to finish the evening.

A "quiet" drink on the balcony has B and L realising that sleep won't be that easy tonight - the bar across the road is very kindly sharing their music to the whole of Phnom Penh! Oh well we're so tired hopefully sleep will come.  At least our light turns off - unlike the one in 301 where Kim and Russell are trying to get to sleep!  One night, one night, one night. It's like counting sheep.....