Loving island life
24 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
Today was our only full day on Koh Phangan and having discovered there isn't much to do on the island we decided to have a beach day. We enjoyed a great lie in and while Nick did yoga I chilled out on our hammock in my pj's without a care in the world. We got ready and headed to the beach for some brunch. One benefit to this island being very tourist aimed is beans on toast, something so simple but something I do miss from home so it was brilliant having that for breakfast. We headed down the beautiful beach after and rented a kayak for £2.20 for an hours use. We lasted 20 minutes on the sea! The sea was quite rough and the waves amplified by the shallow rocks below so it we were quite worried about tipping over especially as the waves began to crash over the kayak. We decided to head back to shore and swim instead. The shoreline has a few metres of sand and then it turns into a reef with many rocks and plants around. We put on our goggles and explored the wonders of this seabed. It was crazy seeing people up the beach just walking through the water when we could see the many rocks, sea urchins and sea cucumbers that were on the bed below their feet. The first section of reef has been badly damaged, probably from people walking on it but there still is a surprising amount of life there. So many sea cucumbers! We ventured beyond this point as well which we both found unnerving at first but relaxed into it after a few tries. There's always that worry that something is out there just beyond your vision. We spent all afternoon in the water before heading to get a juice at one of the beach side restuarants. The wind really picked up unfortunately knocking my drink over so we headed inside for shelter and had some food there as well. We'd been trying to arrange a ferry for tomorrow all day but the receptionist couldn't get hold of anyone so we were looking into accommodation without knowing if we were able to get to the next island or not. In the end we headed back again to see if she'd had success and she did get through but the time we'd asked for had sold out. Unfortunately we're getting a much early ferry for a higher price but at least we are on our way. We have no wifi in our bungalow so headed back to get a drink and use the wifi to book some accommodation. On route Nick befriended a cat who proceeded to chase after us and follow us half way to the beach. I think he's missing our cats back home! We enjoyed two milkshakes on the beach front while the sun set and we sorted out where we're staying on Koh Tao.Leer más
Another day, another island
23 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
It was time to pack up our things and be on our way once again. We were being picked up at 9:30 to catch the ferry so we decided to have another breakfast like we did yesterday to keep us going. Luckily the town now has power so we were able to have baked beans yay! We sat eating breakfast to the sounds of the waves crashing and overlooking the beach one last time. The mini bus arrived and we made it to the ferry port an hour before our boat was due to arrive, I'm not sure why we needed so much time. Luckily we had our books to hand to pass the time. The ferry took less than an hour as it's a speed boat with only pedestrians on board so we arrived at Koh Phangan in no time. We have discovered that this island is where they hold the full moon party and when this isn't going on there isn't loads to do. However it is apparently raining on the other side of Thailand where we plan to head soon so we decided it's actually a good thing we're going there even if it's just to be beach bums for a while longer in the sunshine. We caught a jeep style taxi to take us with some others to hotels and resorts on the west side of the island. Our home for the next two nights is our own little bungalow building complete with a hammock on the porch. We have access to a huge pool and then to the beach through our hotel. They've tried to be modern and leave some walls as concrete but I'm not sure it's really having that effect. There's no wifi in the rooms so we're going back to having to talk to each other! It's actually quite nice switching off from the outside world once you're back at the room. We had the whole afternoon on our hands so we headed down to the beach to check it out. Our own restuarant is quite expensive but next doors isn't so we hang out there for the rest of the day until the sun set in front of us. They also had cute little rope swings coming down from the trees which I thoroughly enjoyed using. The sun set was stunning. We haven't seen one for a while as we've been inland or on the wrong side of the island so this was the cherry on top of a great afternoon. I've managed to finish my second book now and was able to swap this for another one from reception which was handy. Now it's back to the bungalow with a fresh pineapple juice while listening to all the amazing sounds of the insects that are coming to life as we speak.Leer más
Relaxing beach time
22 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
After having two busy days doing activities and getting up early we decided that our last day on Koh Samui should be spent by relaxing. We set no alarms and had an amazing lie in before getting geared in our swimming stuff ready to hit the beach. We walked around the town trying to find a place I had seen that do good breakfasts but unfortunately it seems that this bakery no longer exists. We then discovered the town had a power cut so a lot of shops were shut. The convenience stores were open and we did a little shopping in the dark here. We headed back to the restuarant linked to our hotel that's on the beach front and found that they could still cook most items on the breakfast list. It wasn't the best fry up and it was missing the beans that they said they couldn't make but it was a welcome comfort when we haven't had more than snacks or toast for breakfast in so long. Afterwards we set up on the loungers outside our hotel. We stayed there a little while trying to read our books but there was a large family of around 12 people behind us making lots of noise and it was rather distracting so we decided to move further down the beach to another set of loungers. We had remembered our goggles so we enjoyed going in the sea twice to see the fish swimming in the shallows. After chilling there for a good few hours we walked away from our hotel to the next beach past two areas of rocks on the hunt for rock pools. We did find a few and saw some fish as well as many crabs. We even found a secluded area in the rocks where the water was so clear you could see all the fish below while walking around in it. We had a great time exploring the shore line before heading back and walking up to where we have ate a couple of times now as it's cheap and their fresh fruit juices are actually fresh fruit! You'd be surprised how many aren't. We watched the sky transform as the sun set on the other side of the island and as we left the sky was filled with hundreds of stars. Luckily we used our phone torch to light up the sand while walking past as Nick discovered we walked inches away from a large 5 inch knife blade that was just on the sand. We disposed of it but we're left shocked that anyone would even own that and then feel it's okay to leave it on the beach. We headed back to pack up our things ready for our ferry tomorrow. A much needed day of relaxing indeed.Leer más
Island exploring
21 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C
Today has been fantastic! We booked onto a tour that takes you to Ang Thong National Marine Park, a collection of islands off the North West coast of Koh Samui. We were picked up from our hotel and happened to be in a mini bus with a girl we met previously at the airport when she was in our bus to go to the hotels. We drove to the pier and took a long boat ride to the first island. We had a light breakfast provided which was great and so nice to have coffee! At the island we were greeted with blue clear waters, white fine sand and stunning jungle covered cliff faces creating a dramatic beach scene. Our first task was to climb to a view point which we all did in our own time. There were 5 platforms along the 500 metre climb to stop to see the view and come back down if you wanted to. The climb was steep stone steps and in the 34 degree heat it was torture. Every time we do these climbs I realise how unfit I am! We pushed on higher and higher passing the many platforms until we got between the 3rd and 4th and I started to feel sick and faint which really didn't help. We took it slowly and finally made it to the top and boy was it worth it! The view was incredible. After soaking it in we made our way back down slowly. We saw monkeys, two huge processions of termites and some weird insects along the way. Back at the beach we changed and got into the sea which felt amazing after the climb. We got snorkels and gave that a go and it's harder to get the hang off then you think. We wished we had just brought our goggles. Unfortunately we didn't have long in the sea before being called back to the long boats. Once back on the big boat we had lunch which was also provided. Our next stop was for anyone who had paid more to kayak. Nick hasn't done it before and I only have at guides and in year 8 at school which was so long ago so it felt like a new experience to us and to do it in the open sea was brilliant. We saw all the islands up close, the overhanging rocks and small caves and cracks that had formed. We managed to get ourselves stuck on a rock at one point but luckily after a minute or so we pushed ourselves off without capsizing. We kayaked to the next beach where the other members of the boat had been dropped off. Here we were able to climb up to see an emerald lake which is so named because of the algae that blooms there turns the water green. It was a much easier climb than before and didn't take as long so it gave us an hour in the water to snorkel. Unfortunately we realised that this is actually coral and that a lot of it is ruined and covered in debris. I remember learning in school that coral dies if you touch it so it wasn't that nice seeing what had happened because of the tourists coming here. I swam further out and the reef was so alive and clear which was reassuring as not many people ventured out that far so hopefully this part continues to thrive. Seeing as they had a nice sign that says "take only photos, leave only footprints" it didn't really fit into that motto. After chilling at the beach a while it was back to the boat to head back. We had chocolate wafer snacks and sat back up on the top deck with the people we had been talking to all day. The ride back was long, 2 hours in total but the views did make up for that. Even though we applied factor 50 twice we felt like we'd burnt so covered up as we sailed back in the afternoon sun. We have burnt a bit but the whole day was definitely worth it! So many amazing memories created today.Leer más
Island touring and beach lounging
20 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
One of the tours we booked onto yesterday was an island tour that shows you the main sites on the island. We opted for the half a day tour as the only thing extra you got with the full day was visiting a town over the other side of the island and for the additional money it didn't sound worth it. Our first stop was a very picturesque temple that was surrounded by a small lake. The sun was shining brightly which made many of the mosaic tiles on the temple glisten in the light. I had brought my wrap around skirt and shirt to put on before entering but another girl we were with was quite disrespectful and went inside in shorts when it states no to. Our next stop was to a huge golden Buddha on top of a tall mound with 75 steps up. The level of detail on the Buddha was very impressive as he sits on a bed of lotus flowers. We had a brief stop at a view point that overlooked the clear blue oceans below. Even though it was super hot by this point we were never out of the air conditioned van for more than 25 minutes so we were not overheating as much as we have been in the past. We stopped at a rather odd place which we didn't know what to expect in terms of looks. The site is called grandmother and grandfather rocks so we were naively expecting some traditional story with two tall rocks standing next to each other. This was not the case! They are called these names because the people believe they look like genitalia! Not so lovely to see I tell you! We'd specifically opted for a tour that did not include an elephant ride or a monkey show, the picture for which was literally a monkey riding a tricycle. I don't agree with these kind of things and never have, even sea lion shows at the zoo! This one however did have a stop to what they called a monkey show but our receptionist reassured us that on this island monkeys are trained and used to pick coconuts as it's safer and easier for the locals. We felt that if this is something that does happen then we could have a look and find out. Unfortunately we were too optimistic. We saw two monkeys changed to the bottom of trees, we pull up and get out and a man shouts at one until it goes up and picks and drops coconuts down. It then climbs down and is brought to stand on a post and demonstrate how it uses its front and back foot to twist the coconut until it breaks off. The money then returned to its area and that was that. We saw no water for them under their trees and there were huge bundles of coconuts picked together with a knife near by. It all felt staged and set up. The monkey also split 2 out of 4 coconuts when dropping them so it does not seem a logical method anyway. Luckily we weren't their long and we headed off to see another temple with a mummified monk before our final stop at a waterfall. We didn't swim in the waterfall but instead climbed over to the other side to a nice secluded spot to take in the amazing sounds and sight of this fall. Upon heading back we chilled out for a while and went and got some antihistamines for my bites before hitting the beach. It felt so good to get in the sea! We chilled out and had dinner there before coming back to look into accommodation for our next island. We managed to see so much by doing the tour and I'm so pleased that I can say that I've seen a pickled Pope in Rome and a mummified monk in Thailand!Leer más
Reunited with the sea
19 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
It's been too long since we were last at a beach so enough was enough and we packed up our things and headed south to the island of Koh Samui. Our flight wasn't until 4pm so we made the most of the 12pm check out and did some research and booking for our Australia part of our trip. When 12pm came we said a farewell to our hostel and only had to speak to two taxis before we found one who would use a meter. The journey was incredibly long and the heavens opened once we were in the car luckily. Once we arrived at the airport we couldn't see our flight on the board so went to check and turned out it had been cancelled. Luckily they could put us on an earlier flight which worked perfectly for us when we were there early anyway. The flight was only 45 minutes but we got a free on flight meal so that was a great perk. Once we landed we saved money by getting on a mini bus to our hotel instead of a taxi on our own. Turns out we were quite far from the airport so this really worked out well for us in terms of money. The hotel is pretty lovely and right on the beach with a pool and bar on offer. We booked some excursions to do over the next few days and also a ferry to the next island before we headed out for some dinner on the beach front. Our reception told us a fire show was happening on the beach ronight outside our hotel so we headed to watch that after food. It was incredible. A little disorganised but amazing what these men and boys can do, one boy looked only around 13! They used all manner of devices to swing the fire around pulling off many stunts and tricks. Our favourite was two huge balls of some sort of fabric on chains that once lit and being swung just disintegrated creating a sea of sparks. They preformed these on high platforms or with two at once, one on the platform and one on the beach. We had a front row seat and they kept coming up to the end of our loungers performing the tricks. The heat was so overpowering, I'm not sure how they stand it for so long! At one stage they had the boy on a guys shoulders with another guy hanging off the front of him all swinging their own chains of fire. The show went on for 2 hours which did drag a little but it was so worth seeing and a great perk of the hotel. Hopefully more shows like tonight will happen while we are here.Leer más
Visiting the royalty
18 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C
We couldn't visit the capital city of Thailand without a visit to the royal palace. Despite the bad predictions on the weather forecast the sun was shining and we were ready for a full day of being typical tourists. We took a taxi to the palace and I had prepared for this and was wearing a t shirt that covered the shoulders and leggings to cover the legs, I've got the hang of it after visiting so many places with dress codes. However we were surprised to find that leggings are not allowed in the palace! I was turned away and we had to visit a store across the road to buy a wrap around skirt for me to wear, luckily it was cheap. That shop must make a killing as so many people turned up in shorts and vest tops. The palace was incredibly grand with all the buildings covered in mosaics of bright colours and even gold. It was very heavily decorative and we enjoyed exploring all the buildings that made up the main section. In the heart of the area is a temple where an emerald Buddha is housed inside. From past experience of emerald Buddhas we knew not to expect anything bigger than a foot or two tall and we were right! At the top of a huge decorative tower sat the small emerald Buddha. Our tickets allowed us entrance to also a coin exhibition at the palace. This has currency dating back hundreds of years on display and it was really interesting to see how it had developed and changed. We also had entry to a textiles exhibition that was organised by the Queen to showcase her own dress but the craftsmanship of others around Thailand in relation to Textiles. Something right up my street and it was such a shame we couldn't take photos. Our next stop to visit was a temple called Wat Pho, about a 10 minute walk from the palace. We did stop off for a juice and ice cream on the way though as it was so unbelievable hot without the rain. One of the buildings inside houses the largest reclining Buddha who completely stretches the whole length of the building. He was huge! So huge that you just could not get a good photo of him at all. You loop round and go back to the start of the building behind the Buddha. Here they sold coins for a donation and as you walk you drop them into cauldron like pots along the way. The sound created from many people doing this echos throughout the room creating a beautiful noise. We have no idea what doing it means but it was pretty cool. We explored the many tucked away places of this site before calling it a day and heading back. As it's our last day in Bangkok we headed back to the restaurant where I had my amazing cashew nut dish. It was still amazing but not quite as good as the other day. I found out it's a signature thai dish with plenty of recipes online so that's good to know! A pretty good sight seeing day really.Leer más
Bangkok knows how to produce rain!
17 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ 🌧 26 °C
We woke up this morning to the sound of roaring thunderstorms and a waterfall of rain that sounded like stones being chucked at the building. The monsoon season has definitely arrived in Thailand! Because of the weather we decided to use the morning to plan the next part of our journey and after much consideration we have booked a flight down to a south eastern island called Koh Samui. The weather looks similar to here so we are just going to go anyway and hope for the best. We've found a nice beach side hostel to stay in so fingers crossed we get some sunshine. We also asked the reception to print out our proxy vote application forms. It's unlikely to reach the UK in time for us to be able to vote but at least we can say we tried. Unfortunately she spent the next two hours trying to sort the printer to make it work. We decided to give up and try somewhere else, maybe another hostel but then all of sudden with that idea it worked! We planned to therefore head to a post office to send our forms and then to an art exhibition called Art in Paradise. We headed to the main road and tried to find a taxi. Taxis are proving to be so much cheaper than tuktuks as long as they will use their meter. Some out right said no to the meter so we swiftly called another one in and it took at least speaking to 4 guys and several maps and addresses for one to understand where the post office is. Finally we were on our way and our journey of 20 minutes cost less than £2. We sent off the forms with tracked service to hope this speeds it up. We then began trying to get a taxi to take us to an exhibition called Art in Paradise but it was either they didn't know where it was, didn't want to use the meter or just decided it's not worth their time. We were right by a sky train station so after around 8 taxi attempts we gave up and went on the train and then the tube which wasn't that expensive either. We struggled to find the exhibition from the station but eventually found the mall it was in. After a quick Starbucks pick me up we headed there. It was so amazing! Everything was interactive 3D effect art which you pose in for photographs or cool illusions and trick of the eye pictures. So so so annoyingly all the research had meant my phone with the best camera had 15% battery and I didn't even think to check before we left. With that in mind we raced round and did all the cool ones we wanted to before it sadly died. Nick's phone doesn't have a great camera but we still took some on his after as well. We throughly enjoyed posing for the photos and seeing how great the results came out. Afterwards we managed to find a taxi that took us all the way back to our hostel area for super cheap on the meter. We went to a burger restuarant we saw the night before for tea and ended up after eating speaking to the owner for about an hour. He's 24 and just opened 2 weeks ago so wanted some advise and tips on the menu, the look and design of it as well as other dishes and avenues he could take the restuarant in. One of the biggest flaws we pointed out was he had written that you get free side dishes with a burger not a single dish! He instantly was so grateful that we'd noticed that. We talked about burger places in the UK and have added him on Facebook and sent him lots of links to UK menus for ideas. We've told him any help he needs even if it's just spelling and grammar to email us and let us know. He was so lovely and it was great to see him taking his love of cooking and giving it a real go. His food was also amazing so he has a good thing going here. He offered us 10% discount as a thankful but of course we refused and reassured him we are helping him because we want to and not for free food. It's his first day off tomorrow so sadly no second visit tomorrow before we leave but we are pleased we had to opportunity to help him out.Leer más
A lovely rainy Bangkok
16 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
It was time to pack up again and continue our journey down to Bangkok. With a 7 hour journey ahead of us we had bought plenty of snacks for the trip. What the woman at the desk failed to tell us was that when you buy first class bus tickets you get given snacks and a meal so we definitely had plenty of food! Before we checked out we did have the small issue of a tiny lizard inside our mosquito net. Trying to get him outside the room resulted in him detaching the end of his tail in defence, much to my apologetic horror, so we decided if he's happy living here then let him be (in the room not the net that is!) We arrived early to the bus station and typically the bus was late but we boarded smoothly and had comfortable seats with enough leg room so we were pleased with our first class choice. We both spent the time mostly reading which I'm so glad I've not got in to as it really does make the time fly. Sleeping also helps. We finally arrived and we were instantly bombarded with people offering taxis. Once we had sorted our bags out Nick show one guy the address and he said he knew it and his taxi is by the meter so we followed him for quite a walk to the car. Turned out he didn't know the place and luckily we had their number so they called up to find out how to get there. Also he then quoted us 600 bhat (£13.50) for the journey which we disputed when he said he had a meter. He said the journey is 1 hour and 40 minutes away but we were frustrated that he lied and took our stuff from the car to find a metered taxi instead. When you have no idea where you are in relation to your destination to pay upfront is just stupid. We then upon further inspection found a legitimate organised taxi rank with metered taxis and 30 minutes later at the hostel the grand total of the trip was 137 bhat (£3). Not only did the original driver lie about the distance by over an hour he wanted to charge over £10 more than the trip was worth! Totally trying to con us because we're tourists. After checking in we headed for some food only to have to run back to get waterproofs as the heavens had opened! We got a little soaked walking to find somewhere but finally chose a lovely restuarant and had the most amazing meal. My main of stir fried chicken with cashew nuts was outstanding. It's the best thing I've eaten since we left and we've already planned to go back so I can have it again. I may even ask for the recipe for a tip! The mosquito net is up and ready and the torrential rain continues. From our room is sounds like we are outside in the rain which is both relaxing and very noisy! Fingers crossed it eases tomorrow for sight seeing.Leer más
Sunburn, bike rides and temple ruins
15 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
We chose to stop at Sukhothai on our way to Bangkok one because it was near enough in the middle but also because of the historical park it has. The park holds Thailand's oldest temples and stupas in the country and with that in mind we were shocked by how little tourists there were there. We wondered how the many small shops and food places stay open with hardly any people visiting the area let alone customers who want their services or goods. After a 15km tuktuk ride we found out that unlike Angkor Wat tuktuks are not allowed in the park so instead we hired bikes to ride around on. It was already very hot so after visiting the main temple we went to a cafe to have a drink and some snacks as breakfast. The temples are very ruined but they also have the strong feeling of being reconstructed and there's no stone flooring conecting all the rooms or areas but instead grass with a stone path made for visitors. It feels more structured than other ruined temples we have been to. After a short break we carried on and visited the other main temples on this inside site. We decided we needed lunch by this point and with the weight of the sun bearing down on us we went to a food place that we probably wouldn't go at all normally. We stuck to vegetarian so fingers crossed we'll be alright. Upon looking at the shops we saw a postcard with a huge Buddha on it and using the name on the card managed to find it on the map. Armed with this location in mind we set off for the North outskirts of the site. It was a little bit cheeky that you have to buy another ticket to access the North section and same again for any other section that isn't central. It was worth it for the giant Buddha that greeted us upon arrival though. It seemed like visitors had rubbed the hand with gold leaf as we had seen worshipers doing before in Chiang Mai. There was only one other main temple to visit on this section and after this point we felt like we were burning in the sun so we decided to head back to town. We managed to get the bike hire woman to call us a tuktuk and after eating at the same restuarant as we did last night, which is actually called Poo Restuarant, we headed back to pack and to catch up on the latest Britain's Got Talent. We know how to live! The sunburn is appallingly bad. Our Vietnamese factor 60 suncream has failed us and now lives in our lovely guesthouse bin.Leer más
We love a long bus ride
14 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 2 °C
Today we began our journey towards Bangkok. We have planned to use Sukhothai as a stop over point and luckily it has a historical park similar to Angkor Wat in Cambodia to visit. We set off early with hopes of getting an early bus as advertised but unfortunately when we arrived at 8.10am they only have tickets for the 10.30 bus left. While waiting in the bus station we both read our books and enjoyed a lovely and surprisingly cheap cup of coffee. The waiting was painful especially knowing we had so much more waiting to come. Finally our bus came and we boarded a pretty empty bus. We began the journey and stopped to pick people up and drop people off at random points. I'm not sure how anyone knows when to get off but they seem to manage somehow. By the end of the trip every seat was full. We had a few stops at bus stations where we picked people up but it was also our toilet opportunity. There was much stress from the driver to be back quickly so we weren't able to buy any food or drinks with a toilet use as well. In the end at our last stop we sacrificed our toilet usage to get some snacks. I had the tiniest Pringles ever! I finished my book and started a second one straight away after. I'm getting a bit hooked on this reading thing now. We finally made it to Sukhothai after 7 and a half hours and to much relief discovered our guest house is opposite the bus station. This does mean we're further away from everything but after heading into town for dinner we soon discovered there's not much we are missing as it's really not a tourism aimed town yet. It took us 15 minutes to find a restuarant. We had been informed that the route to the centre had many barking dogs so we decided to get a tuktuk instead. After some yummy food it was already 9pm so we got a tuktuk back for the fun and games of trying to put up the mosquito net.Leer más
Cats, cats everywhere!
13 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C
We discovered that apart from all the things we did on our trip yesterday there isn't much else to do in Chiang Rai. With that in mind our plan for today was to visit a cat cafe and plan the next steps of our trip. Firstly we had to go to the bus terminal to enquire about bus tickets for tomorrow. The journey to Bangkok is something like 14 hours so we're splitting it up with a trip to another town part of the way down. Only one company operates the bus to go there and annoyingly even though their stand closes at 12 they were closed at 11.30 this morning. We did see a timetable though so we now know they have 6 buses in the morning that leave so our plan is to get there earlier tomorrow and buy a ticket first thing. Once we came back we headed to the cafe and it was nice to discover that unlike Japan you do not pay an entrance fee so we were able to enjoy the cafe more without that initial expense. The menu of drinks was extensive and they served some of the best food and drinks we've found in a cafe since we left. I had a beautiful mint milk which is just froffy milk flavoured with mint but it was so delicious. We also had a few fruit smoothies during the time we spent there. We used the time to initially play with cats but then plan the next stages of our journey and book some accommodation. For lunch Nick had prawn fried rice and I had the best scrambled eggs I've had in a long time, so very tasty. Even without the cats this cafe was well worth the visit for the food. We spent almost 4 hours there before we decided to call it a day and head back, mainly as our phones were dying. Once back though my arm was in a lot of achy pain from a bite that I have. I was sure it had become infected so we decided to visit a Boots store we'd seen and get some advice. Luckily it's the first Boots we've seen since we left the UK and it's happens to be around when we need it most. Afterwards as we were out anyway we went and had some dinner at a cute little restuarant that's tucked away on the main road. Nick was feeling a pudding so back to the cat cafe we went to have a waffle tower with ice cream and caramel sauce as well as time feeding the cats some treats. We leave tomorrow so it was back to the guest house to pack up and get ready to move out, yet again!Leer más
Our first modern temples
12 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Today has been brilliant. We booked onto a tour that visited all the main sites of Chiang Rai, a method we always find helpful to see things we wouldn't be able to on our own. We started our day early with a visit to the White Temple or Wat Rong Khun as it's locally known. The renovated temple is only 15 years old and man who created it wanted to build a gift for the King. His ideas were laughed at so he borrowed money from his own family and friends as no one would help fund his project to renovate the temple. Now when they see the work he has created and the money the temple is bringing to the area he's had offers flooding in for funding all of which he declines. I admire him for believing in his design and idea so much that he made it happen and oh boy are we glad he did. This place is incredible. White ornate winding structures and statues all lined with reflective silver mirrors. Symbolic sculptures of hands rise from the floor near the entrance to remind you of the horrors that lie awaiting in the underworld. Traditionally temples are decorated inside with the story of the Buddha but he decided to honour modern heroes and icons in his own amazing art style. Now the walls are decorated with scenes including small characters of Michael Jackson, Harry Potter, pikachu, Iron Man and even Ben 10 amongst so many others. A large dragon's face is painted over the door and within the eyes he has painted George W Bush and Osama Bin Laden as a reminder that sometimes hell and evil lives on earth, so our guide said. The site also had amazing golden buildings which were used as the grandest toilets in the world, in my opinion. After spending time taking in how amazing this place and the creator is we headed to the Blue Temple otherwise known as Wat Rong Suea Ten. This temple was recently renovated in the past two years and has some incredible artwork inside on the walls. I found the colours and details of the painting in this temple so captivating that it has become my favourite temple so far. Next we visited the Black House museum which showed how local people lived and portrayed and very Africa/American feel and style with many bull skulls and animal skins shown. A tea plantation was next on the list and despite the rain the views were beautiful. We were able to sample some of the green teas grown there so that really added to the experience. We also visited a place near a cave where monkeys live. We didn't go in the cave as apparently the monkeys are quite aggressive and since we saw a girl get attacked by one we have become quite nervous of them. We were definitely happy when we left this stop. We next went to the boarder of Thailand and Burma where we could jump from country to country. This was followed up by a visited to the golden triangle where you can see Laos in the distance and to the right, Burma to the left and Thailand where we stood. All countries were separated by the Mekong River and it was so weird standing knowing you're looking at 3 countries at once. Not many people can say they've done that! We had a stop at a opium museum which was very interesting before one final view point before we returned back to town. Our guide was trying very hard to make it a fun and enjoyable day and he definitely succeeded. Apart from my beautiful trousers ripping we had a great day and managed to see so many wonderful places.Leer más
On the move once again
11 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
Today we packed up our things and made the journey to Chiang Rai. The mini bus was picking us up between 9 and 9:30 so we went to have a breakfast before our journey began. The journey was said to take 3 hours but you never know how accurate that will be and whether they include breaks into these timings. The journey was surprisingly quick. I've really got into a book I bought so that probably helped the journey go a lot quicker. We had 3 stops in total which I was surprised about for such a short drive. One for the toilet, one for lunch but we held off until we arrived and one for a visit to the white temple on the outskirts of Chiang Rai, our final destination. We only had 30 minutes here so we decided not to enter the temple and wait until we did a day trip over the next couple of days. We didn't want to be rushed at a place so beautifully decorated. We simply admired from afar and went and got a sprite instead! We continued on and not long later we had arrived. We spent a while getting our barings and trying to find the place we are staying in and finally we did. It's a lovely complex of single storey guest house rooms around a central courtyard which has the most gorgeous flooring tiles! Ones I need in my future bathroom for sure. We had some time researching and planned to head out for food but the heavens opened heavily and it rained and poured for a good half an hour so our very late lunch actually became dinner. We ate at s lovely restaurant and had a Japanese Katsu curry each, something I feel we have both been missing! We've booked onto a heavy 11 hour tour tomorrow which goes to around 8 sites including the temple we saw today so we're up early for that. Unfortunately we have discovered we have a karaoke style bar or something behind our guesthouse as all we can hear is the thumping music and singing. Hopefully it ends soon and we get some peace!Leer más
We love a good temple day
10 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Our day started out amazingly becuase we treated ourselves to a full English breakfast in an Irish pub around the corner from our guesthouse. We were savvy and shared a breakfast and then added extras to it which saved us a few pounds and we certainly had more than enough food. After breakfast we walked to our first temple of the day. We had 3 in mind that we wanted to visit, all within walking distance within the city walls. At this site they had a men only temple and the sign said women are not allowed in because of their menstrual cycles becuase they believe that this will make the temple unsanitary and dirty. Look at Nick's smug face as he strides on in the temple while I have to wait outside. There were other temples on this site that luckily I was allowed to enter and the level of detail and decoration that they all have always still amazes me. They also love the colour gold! We visited another temple later on which had two huge stupas completely covered in gold paint. We witnessed the worshipers offering a donation and in exchange they received a piece of paper with gold leaf on it. They would then approach a Buddha statue nearby and rub the gold leaf onto it. You could see the top half of the Buddha was the most popular to cover as it was now layered with a beautiful shiny textured coating where as the bottom half still had many areas not covered. This seemed to be a popular ritual throughout all the temples we saw. Along our way we had a few fruit juices and ice lollies to keep up the energy levels in the blistering sun. As it's our last night in Chiang Mai before we head to Chiang Rai tomorrow we decided to have dinner back at the pizza restuarant we loved so much the other night. It did not disappoint and they will forever be the best pizzas, apart from my mum's of course, that we have ever had. My walking sandals are breaking even more now so after dinner we visited the night market with hopes of finding some new ones. Unfortunately no walking sandals but we saw some amazing works of craftsmanship and lovely items for sale. They also had a food area playing music with hay bales for seating. It would of been rude not to get an ice cream here! We were so glad we went as there was so many beautiful things to see and the atmosphere was amazing. It was quite late and dark when we were ready to leave so we got a tuktuk back to be safe and had an early night ready to get up and pack for our mini bus journey tomorrow. Onwards and upwards!Leer más
Zip wiring jungle fun
9 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
We survived! This morning was fantastic! We booked to go to a zip wire assault course which has 35 platforms and includes jumps, rope ladders and many other challenges as well as the zip wires themselves. We were nervous to start with but the feeling of flying through the trees is just incredible so we soon began to love it. That was until we had to jump off a ledge to drop down. It was only 15 metres but it seemed so much more from above! We both screamed the whole way. We then discovered that the last activity is a 40m drop off a platform to the finish below. We did freak out a little by the prospect of this. When we made it to this last stage we were the last two to do it so had to watch as all the others screamed and fell downwards to the cushion below. I'm not sure this really helped with the nerves! Finally it came to Nick's turn and he was hoisted out sat down but for some reason there was an issue below so he wasn't dropped straight away and hang there for a good 30 seconds. I'm sure this didn't help him at all! Lastly came myself and I asked the guy to go fast but not too fast at which he joked that he'll make it go super fast. I feel this was a bad thing to say as it resulted in him swinging me around about 10 metres from the ground after the drop over everyone's heads before he finally let me down. It was an amazing but terrifying experience and it was surreal actually free falling without your harness pulling on you to start with. The instructors we had were amazing. They'd just hop past jump and clip onto a wire and within a second they're zoom down it. On the 40m drop the guy who was dropping everyone ended by jumping off the platform and falling upside down like spiderman and stopping just a metre or so above the cushion. What a cool job they have! The trip included a buffet lunch which we made full use of and we even got t shirts and certificates too! After we came back we chilled out for a bit before heading to the market to look for some new sandals for me. We spent a good couple of hours wondering around exploring all the weird and wonderful stalls. We decided to try the night market but found out it doesn't open until 7 so we came back instead and went for dinner at an organic restuarant near by which was recommended to us by our guest house host. We haven't planned this part of our journey all. We have a flight to Bali on the 20th of June but that's all we have so this has given us some freedom and with that in mind we found a great place to visit up north so have booked a mini bus to go there the day after tomorrow. It's fun actually travelling the way most people do with little to no planning in advance so here's hoping it all works out.Leer más
Welcome to Thailand!
8 de mayo de 2017, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
We've left the wonderfully beautiful Cambodia and safely arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We had a three day ticket to the Angkor Wat site so we decided after our disappointing sunrise attempt yesterday and that we will only be here once to get up at 3:45am again to give it a go. Much to the disappointment of our driver I'm sure, who also had to get up at this time to take us! It was so worth it. The sky was illuminated with pinks, oranges and yellows as we watched the sun make its appearance and bring in the new day. There's something so spectacular about clouds when sunrise is happening because they add so much depth and drama to the scene. After taking in the event for a while we headed back to the hotel to pack up the last of our bits and get ready for our flight. We had time to watch something on YouTube before we headed for our last tuktuk ride with our driver to the airport. I like to be super early for flights so we did have a bit of a wait but it's better to be there relaxed then rushing. They had a Costa so that was a welcomed sight after already being up for 7 hours at this point at 11am! I've also bought a book from a shop so I now have something to do while waiting, yay! We were separated on the first flight across the aisle which was weird as we always have been together and hold hands during take off. We still did this, the gap wasn't going to stop us! After a short 1 hour we arrived in Bangkok and began queueing to pass customs to get our connection flight. We were with a lot of people also getting connections so the queue was huge and took well over an hour with only two women on the desk. We hadn't eaten at this point and then had the stress of meeting our connection so we rushed to a convenience store and picked up some things to then find that they have a £6 minimum card spend! We hadn't taken money out yet so we had to put it all back. We considered Burger King but it was now half an hour until our flight and I was panicking so we decided to abandon food and get the flight. Of course our gate was the furthest away as well but we made it and as we went through the woman called the last call on the tannoy so we were so glad we left! They took dollars on the flight so we got a very overpriced snickers and sprite to tie us over. We landed safely and the first taxi stand we saw offered us a taxi for £6 which seemed high when we knew it was only 15 minutes away. We asked is there another company and she openly pointed us in the direction of another stand and admitted it is half the price! Always shop around is the lesson here. We checked in our guesthouse, the owners are amazing, so welcoming and willing to help with anything. She told us about a pizza place around the corner that makes great pizza in the traditional clay oven in front of you. It was the best pizza we have ever had! And reasonably priced too. We spend the rest of the evening looking at flyers before deciding to go with another guest to an amazing zip wire course tomorrow. We're up bright and early so it's an early night tonight ready for the thrill of tomorrow!Leer más
Another day, another temple
7 de mayo de 2017, Camboya ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
It's our last full day in Cambodia before we head to Thailand. We decided today was the day to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat temple. This meant waking up at 3:45am to be at the temple in time for the sunrise. The weather had said it would be partially cloudy but we were still optimistic. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be and the clouds masked the sunrise completely to the point that we weren't even sure if the sun had come up until we turned around and saw how light now was. We did get some cool photos of the silhouette of the temple though. We then set off with our driver to complete the outskirt circuit of temples at Angkor Wat archaeological site. Today we visited Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, East Mebon, Sras Srang and Banteay Kdei. When we arrived at Preah Khan we discovered that it didn't open until 7.30 so we hung around in the tuktuk and they actually kindly let us in at ten past instead. While waiting we heard a noise behind us but didn't think much of it until our driver pointed and we saw a thin long white snake on the ground that had fallen out of the tree. By the way our driver was reacting we're pretty sure it's venomous if not deadly as he was pretty scared and kept moving our tuktuk further away every time it moved. Luckily after a while it just climbed back up a tree. It did bring home how close we are to wildlife here. This first temple was particularly amazing as a lot of it hadn't been rebuilt or restored so climbing around you can easily get lost in the abundance of corridors, rooms and outside spaces. We also visited a temple which is completely surrounded by water so you cannot actually go inside this temple only look from the fence line. All the temples we saw were beautiful and I do love how each temple is created in the same style but they all look completely unique and individual. After 5 hours we were feeling the early morning for sure and the energy levels were dwindling. We only had a couple of temples left so we did those and headed back to town around lunchtime. We got our driver to drop us at the old market so I could buy a few things I wished I had bought yesterday. We went to a place called the Pizza Company for lunch as a pick me up. We have seen this restaurant all over Asia so thought it must be good. The food was nice but massively overpriced and the portions were tiny. We were so glad we shared and didn't spend more money there. We headed back to the hotel and chilled out for a bit and had a nap before hitting the pool. I throughly enjoyed a banana shake by the pool, a drink our hotel makes which I've become obsessed with! We've decided as we have a 3 day pass to the Angkor Wat site to attempt sunset again tomorrow morning before our flight at midday so fingers crossed it will be better tomorrow.Leer más
Discovering the history of Angkor Wat
6 de mayo de 2017, Camboya ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
We found out that this morning was going to be quite cloudy so we decided to do our sunrise trip to Angkor Wat until tomorrow instead. After all when youre waking up at 3:45am it has to be the best it can be! Instead we decided to visit the Old Market and the National Museum. The market was extensive and you just get lost amongst the stalls. The smells of meat and fish were so awful though do we did avoid some areas! Luckily no durian fruit though which is a speciality here. It smells so awful that even passing by a street seller in a tuktuk requires you holding your breath until you're a safe distance away. It's very hard to browse the market as you get bombarded by sellers asking you straight away if you want to buy anything. I did try on one top which was too small and it was very hard to get away as I was being offered every other top under the sun even though I was saying I only wanted that design and colour. It was a nice place to visit though and to see all the products and fake goods. After the old market we headed to a supermarket to do a little bit of shopping before visiting get the central market. Turns out that the central market is a building site right now, something our tuktuk driver failed to tell us. Instead we headed to our main destination for today, the National Museum. After seeing the amazement of Angkor wat it felt only right to learn more about the history of the era and people as well as the building itself. It was 5 dollars for an audio guide and so we decided to only get one and share the information with each other. The museum was very modern and had some fantastic exhibits. It did become a bit information heavy but it was worth while to find out all about Angkor Wat and the people. After spending all afternoon there we headed back to the hostel where we decided we needed to hit the swimming pool. I went up to the roof to check out the sunset which was so beautiful and warming. You can just see Nick popping his head out from behind the building on the left eating passion fruit, as only Nick would be! We enjoyed paying basketball with the others in the pool although the salt water splashing in your eyes wasn't so nice! After a lot of tries I managed to get in the football and basketball! Nick was a natural at it. We practiced our best handstands and somersaults before deciding to call it a night and get some food. Once again we're just eating at the hotel as it's easier for tonight when we have to be up so early tomorrow. It'll be worth it though!Leer más
The amazing Angkor Wat
5 de mayo de 2017, Camboya ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Despite the high price entry cost we couldn't come to Cambodia without visiting Angkor wat archaeological site, a complex made up of a loads of temples and sacred ruins. We hired a tuktuk driver for the day and set off after breakfast for the site. Unfortunately we had a bed bug in our bed this morning, we'd thought we'd escaped them, so the staff are letting us move rooms which is great especially when we still have 3 more nights here. Upon setting off and having stopped at the ticket office to buy our tickets we went to the main temple Angkor wat first. It seems to be the main and iconic temple of this site and indeed what the place is named after because of its grand silhouette and size. It was incredible exploring the winding elaborately engraved corridors and rooms of this temple. Many people stuck to a route but we strayed from the path and explored every inch of the place and found our own path. It's so impressive to think that every inch of this place was built and carved by hand and how many years and men that must of taken to complete just this one temple on the site. It's a shame this level of craftsmanship isn't used to the same high ornate detail in today's buildings. After spending a good 3 hours exploring we headed to the next temple, Bayon. A more compact temple it boasted grand tall towers featuring faces on each side. The temple was made even more magical by the weathering of the stone and the pale lichen that had taken over leaving a beautiful effect on the stone work. We found many different levels and small alleyways that we explored to see more beautiful carvings in the stone. We discovered that there were other temples and small ruins near by hidden in the forest so we set off exploring these. It was so nice getting off the beaten track and stumbling across beautiful temples, ruins and gates scattered throughout the trees. After a quick drink and toilet stop it was time for the Ta Prohm temple where a tomb raider scene was filmed. This temple was the most worn down and they have rebuilt a lot of the sections but what is most incredible is it has been taken over by huge grand trees. They were growing all over the stone work, on top of walls and their roots spread out weaving through cracks in the bricks and tumbling down walls like a waterfall. It is a truly remarkable place where nature has decided to take back the forest that was once their own. After a while of just taking in the sheer amazement of this place we headed to our last temple stop, Phnom Bakheng, to watch the sunset. We arrived super early but this meant we got a great stop at the top of the temple right on the edge looking out over the jungle where the sun would set. It was a cloudy day so that hindered the sight a little but it was still amazing to see and the sunset illuminated the temple behind us in a gorgeous orange glow. It was the perfect way to end our first day at Angkor Wat before we return for sunrise either tomorrow or the next day.Leer más
We made it to Siem Reap
4 de mayo de 2017, Camboya ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C
We're so happy that we left our bed bug infested hotel! We had a 2pm coach booked to Siem Reap so we had a bit of a lie in before packing up and getting ready to check out at 12. We were being picked up at 1.30 so we had lunch in the hotel cafe and chilled out there for a while as they played every Katy Perry song that ever existed! We boarded the bus and unfortunately it wasn't the small mini bus we'd had before and loved but a bus. I think they may have sold too many tickets and had to change it to a larger vehicle. The bus journey was only 3 hours but it seemed to drag so much more than the 6 hour one we had before. The seats were narrow and uncomfortable and the driver was going quite fast so it was very bumpy and we were being thrown about a lot. We also went through 3 massive downpours and thunderstorms which resulted in our luggage being quite wet when we arrived. The hostel we were staying at had arranged to pick us up but they had written the time down wrong so we got a tuktuk in the end after some waiting. Kindly to make up for it they have offered to take us to the airport on Monday instead which is lovely of them. The hostel is lovely with a small pond, Buddha and water feature at the entrance where we were greeted with ice cool flannels to cool us off. Our room is also very big with high ceilings and even complete with our own pet lizard! We just ate at the restuarant outside tonight but we think we'll venture elsewhere tomorrow. We hung the mosquito net using washing lines and bags (we're becoming quite inventive with it now) and got ready for an early night, after some miranda of course! We have organised a tour of Ankor Wat tomorrow and the next day so we need to conserve our energy for two full days of sight seeing in the 34 degree heat. Here's hoping it's a bed bug and mosquito free night for us!Leer más
Seeing the real Cambodia
3 de mayo de 2017, Camboya ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
We have only booked two nights in Battambang so today was our real full day of doing things in this city and province. We arranged with the tuktuk driver who brought us to the hotel yesterday to take us on a day tour around many different places we wanted to see and then with a few extra stops added in. It was so worth it! We were able to see so many places and experience many things we wouldn't of been able to on our own. We started our day with a ride on the bamboo train. It's a large light platform made from bamboo that sits on two wheel arches and has a motor attached. It's used by the locals to transport goods between two villages roughly 4km apart. It was so much fun! Like being on a vintage roller coaster. The cart went surprisingly fast down the tree lined wonky track and we had to dodge many crickets, flies and other insects hitting into us. It's a single track so when a cart is coming the other way the solution is for one cart to get off and dismantle the carriage off the track while the other passes and then reassemble. It was a very memorable ride. After the train we went to another prison and killing field used during 1976. Before we entered we visited a bamboo place where they make what they call 'sticky rice' inside of bamboo. They cut up the bamboo into segments and fill it with the rice mixture and pack the ends with banana leaves. It's then cooked and the outside of the bamboo removed so when you eat it you can peel it like a banana to get to the rice inside. It was very tasty and something we wouldn't of seen or tried if we'd been on our own. The killing field site was very unnerving. The building used as a prison is completely boarded up now and laid to rest as it is. They've built a large monument to acknowledge what happened here and to honour those who died on this site. The road to our next stop lead us to a small bridge down a steep bank so Nick and I had to get off and help support the tuktuk carriage from just rolling down the hill. We visited a fishing village where we saw, and smelt, the locals cutting (hacking) up the fish, they even make fish cheese here! We also went to see how rice paper is made and tried some of the spring rolls they make from the paper. Our last stop of the morning was an amazing ruined temple. We climbed in and out of the crumbling archways that are now only reinforced with wooden planks. They've built a more modern grand temple on this site now as well. We also went inside a very weathered looking Buddha to see a small shrine inside. We had a break back at the hotel for lunch for a couple of hours before heading to the bat caves. We opted to pay for the jeep to take us up the steep 1000 step hill where we saw a golden temple and progoda at the top surrounded by monkeys. The views from the top were also spectacular. We also visited the 'killing cave', a very chilling site where victims were hit or pushed down into a skylight of the cave below, a drop of at least 6 storeys high. It was very eerie being inside the cave where they have now put in place a golden Buddha and a glass cabinet containing the bones found there. After taking our time to take in what we were seeing we headed back down the hill to watch the bats fly out the cave and what an amazing sight that was. They poured out in flowing waves in a stream that even after half an hour was not dwindling in numbers. After enjoying the spectacle we headed back for a much need swim and to deal with our bed bug friends in our bed! A very packed but brilliant day indeed.Leer más
Pure bliss
2 de mayo de 2017, Camboya ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
We're on the move again! It was time to pack up our things and hit the road once more. This time our destination was Battambang, a 5 and a half hour mini bus ride away with stops. We arranged to be picked up from the hostel so this made our life a lot easier and we were able to enjoy one last breakfast and amazing chocolate milkshake before leveling. It turned out that I booked pretty good seats in the van. We were at the front so had extra leg room, wider seats as we had 3 seats fill the width of the van where as the back had 4 seats and a handy shelf in front for bags and putting our feet up. I sat right in the middle so had a front row seat of the crazy driving and risks people take in Cambodia. There were a few scary moments when a car would be overtaking so is in our lane and driving head on towards us and at the last minute would swerve back into their lane. We had 2 stops in total for the toilet and lunch and the journey went pretty quickly in the end which was nice. As soon as we arrived we had tuktuk drivers swarm the van with signs offering ridiculously low rates to any hostel or hotel when they didn't even know where we were staying yet. We knew ours was a 4 minute walk away so after many times repeating ourselves we decided to walk. We did get picked up by one of the drivers though on the walk who worked for the hotel and offered it to us for free. We arrived and there are two hotels and only one had the pool so we decided to ask to move to that hotel as we were originally put into the other one. We dumped our stuff and came down to have a quick juice before hitting the pool. It sticks out from the third floor so you have some nice views over the city. The pool was an amazing relief from the heat although it was so weird getting into an outside non heated pool and it being warm, you don't get that in Europe! We had a couple with us to start with but after twenty minutes or so they left and we enjoyed the pool to ourselves for nearly 3 hours. We put on YouTube and enjoyed just floating and dancing to the music. A storm rolled in which brought out hundreds of swifts all darting around to catch insects. Nick was a little scared we'd get hit by lightening! We waited it out and then the rain started, it felt so liberating. I can't tell you how amazing it was floating on your back in the water, the rain hitting your face and body while watching the birds dance across the stormy sky. I've never felt so free as in that moment, it was incredible. We practiced our best dance and gymnastic routines and singing voices before deciding we were so very wrinkly! We stood on the balcony watching the beautiful stormy sunset with all the birds swooping through the clouds. We also saw some impressive lightning bolts and of course just when I'm about to photograph the best one yet my phone dies! Typical! I went to get Nick's but it pretty much had died down by then. After showers we headed out and had some western style food, it was very nice but so filling and did leave us quite bloated. A pretty relaxing lovely afternoon really and one that I'll never forget.Leer más
Supporting a good cause
1 de mayo de 2017, Camboya ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
It was our last day in the capital today before we head to Battambang so we decided to make the most of the hostels tours and visit a wildlife sanctuary and conservation park. We researched heavily into the park to ensure that it was legitimate and only took on animals that needed it. It was a lot further away than we thought! We went in a tuktuk which surprised us with a guy who came with us yesterday. Reception gave us some lovely fetching masks to wear as the roads got very dusty most of the way. After two hours and stopping to fix the tuktuk at one point we finally made it to a long road that lead up to the park. Travelling this road was hard as on both sides were people, including young children and elderly, begging as the cars went past. It was a difficult situation to see. Having arrived at the park it was situated inside a forest area and everything was very spaced out so if felt more natural than any wildlife park back home. They also had people living in small sheltered areas with hammocks in the park that had stalls selling food for both you and the animals. We'd read online about how a large troop of wild monkeys had moved into the park to get the food so we chose not to buy anything and steer clear. Other people fed them bananas though. We walked around a large enclosure with many animals wondering around and there were enclosures inside here as well to house other animals. We chose not to have a guide but after a while we wished we had as there was no information on the animals or what their rescue story was. The main rehabilitation project at this park seems to be the sun bears and sloth bears. Since they opened in 1998 the demand for space for bears in need has grown massively so they've built 7 more enclosures and have cared for hundreds of bears over this time. These enclosures were so impressive with the layout and features inside and they did have stories up of some of the current rescued bears they house. Many had been taken as cubs to be caged for visitors to touch and look at in restuarants or other attractions. The centre responds to tip offs and with the police or government backing save these bears from this cruelty and where possible rehabilitate them to be released back into the wild. The other main enclosure here was for the elephants. All had been rescued from lives of giving tourists rides or being an attraction at a holiday resort. One elephant had injured it's foot when they saved it and had to have part of it's leg removed so no the organisation had a special prosthetic leg and foot made for him so he can still walk as normal. Unfortunately this means he cannot be released back into the wild but he would not of survived on his own with his injury anyway. We felt like the other person we were with wasn't bothered about being there so this made it a little hard as we couldn't take as long as we wanted at each stop but we still had an enjoyable day despite the blistering heat and dusty roads! It's good knowing that our money has gone to an organisation that is really making a difference in this part of the country.Leer más
A very emotional day
30 de abril de 2017, Camboya ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C
No pictures or selfies of us today. Cambodia has a dark and interesting history and it was time that we both learnt more about this country's past. With the hostel we organised a tuktuk for the day to take us with two others to the S-21 prison and then the killing fields. The prison had a fantastic audio guide that went into so much detail about the site and what happened there with true accounts from prisoners as well. The level or torture and inhumanity that took place in this prison is horrifying. There was no level of distinction between women, children and men either in terms of the level of brutality that was inflicted on these victims. To learn that this prison is one of hundreds that spread all across the country gives you the sheer scale of this mass genocide which killed 1/4 of the population in 3 and half years. It's so scary to think one man and organisation can cause so much destruction especially after what happened in Europe during the war. I also find it sad that we didn't learn this or the Vietnam war in school. There's so many other historical events that happened that you're not aware of because you don't learn about them. One story that touched us both was of a New Zealand man who was trying to sail around the world. His boat entered Cambodian waters and he was captured, his friend was instantly killed. He was taken to S-21 and tortured to give up names of anyone conspiring against them or agents from the CIA. Of course he knew nothing, as most people didn't, but they were tortured until they confessed (gave in) and then were killed. The names he gave included saying that Colonel Sanders, AKA creator of KFC, was his leader and he also gave names of other western celebrities or family members and used the beetles' song Sargent Pepper as a name as well. He was killed after his confession. We listened to his brother speaking in court in 2011 to the man who was in charge of this prison and he said how he found comfort in knowing he kept his sense of humour right until the end. It's so horrible to think someone who's not even part of anything to do with the country and situation could be swept right into the heart of the nightmare. It's sad knowing it also took until 2011 for families to get some justice. Even after the regime was overthrown western countries still named them as Cambodia's leaders and gave them a seat in the UN. It took the World a while to realise the horror that took place. After the prison we visited the killing fields with another great audio guide. Many people from the prison were bought here to be killed into a mass grave here. The place is eerie but has a beautiful feel to it. I say this because the ground is now covered in lush green grass and meadow flowers and butterflies swarm everywhere while chickens and wild birds roam freely. It felt as though nature had worked it's magic to turn such a horrific place into a peaceful scene so that the victims can finally find some tranquility. It was distressing to see bones, teeth and clothing rising to the surface of soil. The first victims were stripped of their clothes but towards the end there was no time to when trying to keep up with the demand of executions. We listened to survivors harrowing tales as we walked around a beautiful lake where they have chosen to leave the graves in peace and not to excavate them. The hardest part was a tree they had named as the killing tree. Next to the tree is a mass grave of women and children. The tree now is covered in friendship bracelets left by visitors but at the time it was used to kill babies and children as their mother's watched before being killed themselves. You had to just spend some time taking that in and paying your respects to the victims and heartache that took place, particularly here. You pray that this level of cruelty does not happen again knowing full well that it more than likely already is somewhere in the world, and just like Cambodia, we just don't know about it yet.Leer más