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Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest
  • Jane Robinson
  • Mark Sharp
Sep – Dec 2023

Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

This is Jane and Mark's sabbatical blog. We're spending a month cycling the Camino Frances in Spain. Then we're off to Jordan - Dubai - India - Bhutan (two wheels by motorbike to the Tiger's Nest) - Thailand - Malaysia - Singapore. Back for Xmas. Read more
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  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 78 - Kanchanaburi

    November 24, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    A bit more of a relaxing day today without any major travel. We took in the bridge over the River Kwae and then went to a few of the museums and war graves before ending up at the Sky Walk. The first museum was a bit eclectic, covering both the story of the POWs and the Miss Thailand competition. The second museum was much more professional and situated next to the war graves. Having had 2 days of WW2 stories we went for a bit of a wander down the river and found the glass floor Sky Walk. You had to be very careful to keep hold of the metal railing as the slip-on shoe covers caused a very fast build up of static electricity. Anything more than a minute without grounding resulted in a painful electric shock.Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest
    Try failt finding this then!

    Day 79 - Bangkok

    November 25, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Back to Bangkok today. Our plan was to catch the sleeper train to the islands in the south but the forecast shows rain for the next week. So, we've changed our plans and are now heading east to the island of Koh Kood following a recommendation from our hotel receptionist.
    After a few hours replanning we visited Chatuchak Market. This is one of the largest market in Thailand with 10,000+ stalls, although many of the items for sale are starting to look very familiar. We must be one of the few tourists not to have bought any elephant trousers yet!
    Also tried out the Skytrain, an elevated tram, and headed to Victory Monument and the Siam Center shopping mall for dinner.    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 80 - Koh Kood

    November 26, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    A bit of a full on day of travelling (by taxi and ferry) but we have now arrived on the island of Koh Kood. Not very touristy and very much off the beaten path this place is like the set of Death in Paradise. The good news is that it isn’t forecast to have rain for the next week at least. Accommodation is fairly basic but the place we are staying has got rave reviews for food, ambience and staff.Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 81 - Koh Kood

    November 27, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Our laziest day of the sabbatical so far! Hired two scooters and headed down to Bang Bao beach to spend the day swimming and reading. This must have been our first ever 'beach holiday' day together in 20+ years!
    This is meant to be one of the most beautiful beaches on Koh Kood, which we can believe, so we were surprised to find relatively few people there.
    The scooters were good fun and only cost £5/day, although fuel was ridiculously expensive at £1.33/litre - the only practical way to get around the island is by scooter, so they have a captive market!    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest
    Our accomodation - Baan Bua Cottages2Thai toast

    Day 82 - Koh Kood (Snorkelling)

    November 28, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    A full day on the dive boat today doing snorkelling and swimming. Saw lots of reef fish (clown fish (sergeant major), damsel fish, parrotfish) and coral. One of the scuba groups even found a shark. A very interesting day but now completely exhausted!Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 83 - Koh Kood

    November 29, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Spent another day exploring Koh Kood on the scooters. This morning we hired a kayak and paddled up Klong Chao river and mangrove trees to the waterfall, stopping at the beach on the way back. Lots of jumping fish and giant butterflies.
    After lunch we headed to the SE of the island, as far as the road goes, to the floating fishing village of Ao Yai. Finished the day with a swim at Klong Hin beach - a very secluded beach at the end of a narrow track.    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 84 - Koh Kood

    November 30, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Today marks our last day on the wonderful island of Koh Kood. This place was never actually on the itinerary but we are so pleased that we came. It will be a real shame to leave the bathtub warm waters and gently shelving beaches but we have now got to head south (onto the rain we think). We made the most of today with stand up paddle boarding, swimming, some sun bathing and a waterfall walk. We’ve just seen the sunset at the Neverland Resort before heading back on the scooters to Baan Bua.Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 85 - Back to Bangkok

    December 1, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Time to leave the lovely Bua Baan Cottages in the jungle. We were picked up at 10:30 in a pickup truck and driven at great speed back to the port for the 1.25hr ferry back to the mainland. It was then a 6hr taxi ride back to Bangkok, unfortunately hitting the Friday evening rush hour. Annoyingly we left a credit card in an ATM at one of the rest stops - not the end of the world but a bit of a hassle!
    Really wasn't expecting to be back in Bangkok for the third time! We weren't able to rebook our sleeper train so we're having to fly down south tomorrow.
    Currently sitting in the roof-top bar listening to jazzy Christmas carols in 31C - very odd!
    22:30 UPDATE: Just been out for a walk and look at the new shopping mall that opened today, complete with fireworks, Christmas lights, a German market, and IKEA!    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest
    3Our blinged-up taxi, Thailand-style.

    Day 86 - Krabi

    December 2, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    The morning has been dominated by travelling (tube and then sky train before getting on a plane again for the first time in a while). We arrived in time to go for an explore on the river in a long tail boat (caves, mangroves and fish farm). There was a small storm during the trip but this is the first rain we have had in 3 months. It only actually rained for 20 minutes heavily. Tomorrow is now all arranged and then we head off again the next day. Oh yes - we haven’t thought to mention it before but Thailand has a huge number of cannabis shops and a lot the country has been planted with them. This place legalised the drug in 2022 and people have been busy in the last year or so! Not really our thing!Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 87 - Krabi and Railay

    December 3, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    A busy day today making the most of our limited time in Krabi.
    Started the day with a visit to the Tiger Cave Temple. The main activity was an energetic climb up 1270 steps (300m) to the Buddha statue at the summit, making sure that the monkeys didn't pinch any of our belongings on the way. Great views of the distinctive limestone (karst) scenery from the top.
    This afternoon we headed to Railay Beach (only accessible by long-tail boat) for a new experience - night kayaking in clear bottom boats to see the bioluminescence (glowing plankton). Floating amongst the towering rocks in the dark, looking at the coral through the bottom of the boat (using night lights), and splashing the water to see the plankton, turned out to be a fun and unique experience. We even had a fish which jumped into the kayak and had to be rescued.
    Off to Malaysia tomorrow!    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest
    2Tuk tuk back to SatunView from hotel room

    Day 88 - Satun

    December 4, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌩️ 30 °C

    NOT IN MALAYSIA!
    Woke up early today as we had another big travel day planned to Lankawi. We also wanted to ensure that we could stop off at the hot waterfall which is caused by a hot natural spring. It was great to soak in the water but you needed to watch the time in the water due to the high temperature. We arrived at opening time which was good because we missed the crowds. I can imagine it getting very cosy in all the natural pools when the buses all arrive. As we were leaving a lot of buses were coming in.
    We arrived at our ferry departure point in a bit of a storm (it rains very heavily here). Unfortunately the pier was deserted and we discovered that the ferry advertised on the website no longer runs. We’ve now gone back to Satun and checked into a £15 a night place in downtown. It’s fine - but not quite the 5 star resort that we had booked in Langkawi! We’ll see downtown Satun tonight and then press on for Lankawi tomorrow!    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 89 - Langkawi

    December 5, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    Hurray - Arrived in Langkawi on our second attempt!
    This time the port wasn't completely deserted when we arrived, although we were starting to get a bit worried when passport control still wasn't open 5 mins before our departure time. The ferry eventually departed 30 mins late for the 1.5hr crossing. It was a bit tatty but unlike other ferries the air-con wasn't turned up to arctic conditions! Glad not to be spending another night in Satun.
    First impressions of Langkawi are that it is a richer and more developed place than anywhere else we've been in Asia. However, it's the first time we haven't had 5G for a while - it was pretty much everywhere in Thailand. Good in terms of internet speed, but uses lots of MBs and depletes your battery very quickly.    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 90 - Langkawi

    December 6, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    A really nice sleep last night. No waking up at 5am for morning prayers! Today we spent the day on the water doing a jet ski tour of the islands. A bit of an eclectic group - some Malaysians with one wearing a full Hijab and some Canadian girls with micro bikinis!

    It was really good fun and we visited 4 or 5 different islands. The highlight was sea eagle island. Unfortunately the sea eagles have got a bit podgy as the jet ski people feed them chicken skins to get them to come closer and dive at the water. They’ve also been joined on the island by some kites who are up for an easy meal. The practice is now officially banned but the group after us still did it (see video).    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest
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    Day 91 - Langkawi

    December 7, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    FOUND PENGUINS!
    Feeling a bit travel weary today, so had an easy morning and visited the aquarium. Our taxi driver suggested that there were much better places we should be going to ... and was probably right. The fish tunnel was ok but sadly the penguins, seal, and otters had very little space to move around. We left feeling a bit uncomfortable about the whole place.
    After a late lunch we hired a couple of scooters and went for a tour of the island, stopping at Tanjung Rhu beach. This was a very idyllic location, but didn't quite live up to Koh Kood standards - I think we've been spoilt!    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest
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    Day 92 - Langkawi Skybridge

    December 8, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    We’ve crammed a lot into our final day on holiday island, scootering to the cable car then up the mountain to the skybridge (the longest curved suspension cantilever in the world). Really good views over the whole island from there. We then climbed up hundreds more steps to see the Seven Wells waterfall from a variety of places. Saw some eagles, hornbills, and a black monkey. We finished off the day at the beach having a drink at a posh pool bar. Tonight it’s time for a dip in the hotel pool and then we are off for a final nice meal in town. Finished the evening watching the fire jugglers on the beach.Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest
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    Day 93 - Penang (George Town)

    December 9, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Shortest flight ever today to Penang - less than 25mins in the air. We would have taken the ferry but it hasn't restarted since Covid. Lots of congestion on the drive into George Town. This looks the most developed place we've been since Dubai, although we've staying in a restored mansion house in the historic (UNESCO) centre. Our room is called 'Nutmeg' and we were welcomed with Nutmeg drinks - so there's a strong link with the Spice trade.
    Went on a Street Art walk this afternoon. Unfortunately, some of the art work has faded, but it was a good way of seeing the town.
    It's very hot here!    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 94 - Penang

    December 10, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    We’ve been out and about today around the island on scooters. It’s a lot busier here than everywhere else where we have rented. You really need to have a lot of nerve and confidence to venture out in the centre of Penang. Once you get out of the city however things calm down a lot and you can relax.
    First stop was the Chinese Kek Lok Si temple where we did all the standard Buddha experiences. For good measure we also adopted a roof tile (for £12) that will form the new extension to the temple. It does have our name written on it!
    We took things to another level by riding up the top of a mountain on a closed road (past the no entry sign! ... and the hydroelectric dam). The jungle had started to encroach but the road was still rideable and it was really interesting.
    Before heading back we stopped at the Art and Garden Centre. We paid the £9 entry fee before discovering that the gardens were home to some massive spiders (about 6 inches in length). We did the whole garden but we were looking out for webs across the paths the whole time. The owner could see that we were a bit uncertain and assigned us a guide to deal with any unfortunate arachnids that we came across! On a positive note we did get to see four giant tortoise that were in residence there.    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 95 - Penang

    December 11, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌩️ 30 °C

    And then there were four! Joined by Abi and Mike last night for the rest of our time in Malaysia and 3 days in Singapore. They then head off to Australia and New Zealand.
    This morning we visited the Tropical Spice Garden to learn about the local plants and spices and cook some Malay food. Our menu comprised Penang Char Koay Teow, Spring Rolls, and Banana fritters. Also learnt that Japanese peace lilies are poisonous, chewing cardamom disinfects your mouth and is good for preventing Covid, and 'Pandan' is used in Malaysia instead of vanilla and as a green colouring. Also had our feet nibbled by lots of small fish to get rid of the dead skin - some people's feet were definitely more tasty than others!
    Tried to explore a bit more of George Town this afternoon, but rain meant we didn't get very far. Have just got back to the hotel drenched after being caught in a monsoon deluge.    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 96 - Penang (Last day)

    December 12, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Two main activities today. First was a wander around Georgetown taking in Fort Cornwallis and the Chinese clan houses (where incoming Chinese families in ghettos last century were introduced to Malaysian culture).
    From there we headed to the funicular railway (which we had failed to get on the first day, due to a three hour wait). There was still a two hour queue so we decided to walk up through the jungle. 350m of climbing later we were drenched in sweat and exhausted. It’s really hard to believe that 6 ‘coolies’ used to carry up the English in sedan chairs. Even carrying ourselves we only made it halfway. We managed to get onto the funicular at the mid station (unfortunate for the other travellers!) and made it to the top. Once there we headed to The Habitat which had a sky bridge and some great viewpoints. To round off the day we headed back down the hill to the botanical gardens where we caught a cab. We were lucky enough to see a rare black dusky leaf monkey with an orange baby (they change colour from orange to black after 6 months).
    The 800m descent was so steep we were advised to walk down backwards to save our muscles - seemed to work but looked quite comical. Unfortunately halfway down it started raining monsoon style! We paid the taxi driver a big tip (five times the original fare) to compensate for leaving his seats soaking wet.
    Finished the evening at China House for a meal and live music!    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 97 - Kuala Lumpur

    December 13, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

    Up early for a final walk around George Town with Abi before meeting up with Mark and Mike for breakfast at the Postcard Cafe.
    Then caught the ferry to Butterworth to catch the train to KL. Almost 9 hours later we finally arrived at our appartment, several hours later than planned due to a bus replacement service for part of the trip (caused by a crane collapsing on the line) and several long waits at signals. Lots of rain, thunder and lightning en route...
    We're staying in the centre of KL, with good views of the Petronas Towers (previously the tallest building in the world) and Merdeka 118 (the second tallest building in the world) from the rooftop.
    KL is definitely one of the cheapest places we've stayed. Just paid £10 for dinner for four of us!    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 98 - Kuala Lumpur

    December 14, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    We’ve spent today exploring Kuala Lumpur and seeing as much as possible. Luckily most of the sights are within walking distance of the apartment and so we have seen quite a bit. This included:
    - China Town (Petaling Market)
    - Central Market
    - The old colonial buildings
    - The 'River of Life' (a project to redevelop the area around the river - at night the river is lit up with blue lights and artificial mist)
    - the Petronas Towers.
    Our walk home was interrupted by another torrential downpour so we escaped into a hotel for a nice meal - ten times the cost of yesterday's!    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest
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    Day 99 - Putrajaya, Malacca, Singapore

    December 15, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Another big travelling day today and our last day in Malaysia. Our 5-6 hour taxi journey was broken up with a couple of tourist stops on the way so that we could see a bit more of Malaysia.
    First stop was to the pink mosque in Putrajaya, where some of us had to dress up in dark red (Harry Potter style) robes. Putrajaya is a new planned city built in the 1990s which now houses all parliament buildings.
    Second stop was Malacca (a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Portuguese, Dutch and British links) for a whirlwind tour of the city. Included:
    -the floating mosque (which only looks floating if viewed from the sea, not from the main gate);
    -lunch at a popular Nonya (Malay / Chinese) restaurant where we tried 'chendol' (a sweet green dessert); and
    -a comical ride on a trishaw, complete with decorations and party music. Having specifically said we didn't want a 'Hello Kitty' one, that's exactly what we got! Abi and Mike got 'Baby Shark' trishaws, marginally better.
    Malacca seemed a nice town so it was a shame to have to leave so quickly.
    Arrived in Singapore at 19:30, after a long drive. Feeling sorry for the taxi drive who now has to drive back to KL!
    Currently having dinner by the river in Singapore at a much more expensive restaurant than we are used to!    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 100 - Singapore (Walk+Night Safari)

    December 16, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 31 °C

    We have now been on sabbatical for 100 days! We started the day with a decent walk covering Raffles Hotel and the colonial area, Boat Quay, the original docks (now a reservoir) and the 150m high ferris wheel (the Singapore Flyer) that overlooks the Grand Prix track, and Marina Bay. It was nice to pop into Raffles and relax in the gardens. We are still not certain that we’ll be able to visit officially as we haven’t got clothes that fully meet the dress code, but we might try and have a drink at the Long Bar.
    In the evening we headed off to the Night Safari, with walks and a tram ride through the zoo to see some of the animals that are a bit more active at night. We saw many including elephants, otters and a tiger (at last)!    Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 101 - Singapore (Marina Bay)

    December 17, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Another busy day exploring Singapore. First to Kampong Glam (the Muslim Quarter) for lunch - chicken shawarma and baklava to remind us of our Jordan trip. Then to The Gardens in the Bay to visit the Supertrees Observatory, the Flower Dome and the light show. Finished the evening with some very expensive drinks (including Singapore Slings) and another light show at Marina Bay.Read more

  • Two wheels to the Tiger's Nest

    Day 102 - Singapore (Bike Ride)

    December 18, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 30 °C

    Back on the bikes today after a couple of months hiatus. We rented some cheap bikes (that had certainly seen better days) from near the Singapore Flyer and headed out to cover a 10 mile circular route taking in the marina and connecting reservoir. There were a few detours due to building work (especially to the f1 stands) but we managed to navigate most of it. It did take us longer than planned due to a few thunderstorms that threatened to soak us. Luckily we managed to take shelter on each occasion just in time! From the river it was a short walk back to the hotel where we bid farewell to Mike and Abi. Good luck on the next months adventure guys!Read more

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