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  • Darryl C

SE Asia

A 98-day adventure by Darryl Read more
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  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Railay Beach

    January 29, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Took the water taxi to Railay Beach. It was about a 10 minute ride from Ao Nang. Railay is a cute little village with beautiful beaches, restaurants, and shops. There were some cool trails as well for exploring the area. There were a few climbing spots that were fun to watch and also found a penis shrine Phra Nang Cave, which is visited for fertility help apparently. Travel to Koh Samui tomorrow.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler

    Arrived in Koh Samui

    January 30, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Our flight didn't leave Krabi until 1:30 p.m., so we had our last buffet breakfast at the hotel in Ao Nang, then finished packing. It was a great hotel and we enjoyed our stay there. While packing, we were concerned as our knapsacks were weighing in around 9kg each, and the allowance on this flight was 7kg. We couldn't reduce any more, so we just went. We took a Grab to the airport, which was about at 45 minute ride. After we arrived, we had a quick lunch and then went through security and went to our gate. Our name was called on the speaker, so once we figured out where to go (it was a common gate for many flights), the ladies flagged our bags as being to large (nothing to with weight lol) for the overhead bins on the smaller airplane, and we would have to check them at the airplane - no big deal, but this was the first time so far we had to check them. Once we arrived at Koh Samui, it didn't take long to get our bags after we landed as it is a small airport. Our hotel had a driver waiting for us, and it was an enjoyable 30-minute ride. There are a ton of motorcycles here, more than any spot we have been so far, and the roads are very narrow. The Sandalwood hotel we are staying at is on a mountainside, so the climb from the seaside highway was pretty extreme. Our check-in process was so nice and pleasant, and once we saw our room, our jaws dropped in disbelief. It was so perfect - our room is called "Jumpee" lol! We had a couple of drinks by our private pool soaking in the views, then went for supper to the restaurant. We were welcomed by the resident puppy, and the meals were fantastic.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    12

    Chaweng Beach

    January 31, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Took an early morning stroll down to the ocean, then had breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Afterward, we took the shuttle to an area called Chaweng and explored the area. We hiked up to a shrine and checked out a few shopping areas. Saw a massive spider in a web up in some trees. It had to be 6" long! This area is definitely a party area at night, but in the early afternoon, it was pretty quiet. It was interesting to see some impromptu gas stations for the many scooters driving around. beach access was very limited through resorts, and when we were there, it was high tide, so there was not much sand area. Headed back to our resort mid afternoon for a swim and relaxed, then ordered room service to our table by the pool - ahhhh paradise.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler

    Koh Samui Island Tour

    February 1, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Took a tour around the island today and saw a few temples. I must admit, they are all starting to look very similar, and I am sure we will have a few dozen more to see over the next couple of months. Chris and I were both born on a Saturday so the Saturday Buddha is represented in full lotus position in the midst of meditation under the protection of the Naga Muchalinda. It is said that the pose reflects a time following enlightenment when the Naga King protected a meditating Buddha against exposure to heavy rainfall by using his multi-headed hood for shelter while lifting him above flooded waters using his body. Our lucky color is supposed to be blue and our lucky day is Friday. We also saw grandmothers and grandfather's rocks - see the pics. And a neat waterfall where Chris took a little plunge to cool off. The humidity is very high and adds to the high temps. Had a good but quick lunch there as well. It was a good day that was capped off by a skunk win over Chris in Crib.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Day in Lamai

    February 2, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Took the hotel shuttle over to Lamai. Had lunch at Pizza Del Sol. The owner was from France, and we had a good chat with him. Wandered around town after lunch and checked out the beach. It was so hot with the humidity. Found a pub and had a couple of beer and played a few games of Connect 4. I won the final game against Chris (hehe). Walked around some more, then had supper at Bondi Aussie Bar. Ribs were great. Back at the hotel, last night here, going to miss this resort. We're off to Bangkok tomorrow.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Back in Bangkok

    February 3, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Travel day back to Bangkok. Koh Sumai has a cool little airport. It is an open-air space that gives you one last feel of the island warmth and charm. Arrived in Bangkok, and on the hour long drive from the airport to our condo, it is definitely not the quiet island life, lol. The condo called Citi Smart is a nice building, and our suite has a cool chic feel. It is on the 11th floor and is a 2 bedroom. After getting settled, we walked over and grabbed some groceries for breakfasts and snacks for the week. Then we walked to a pub for dinner, early night for us.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler

    Chatuchak Market

    February 4, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    Took the Sky Train to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. Over 200,000 people visit every weekend, and it is the world's largest weekend market. The market has over 15,000 stalls, which is spread out over 35 acres featuring every imaginable type of vendor from food, art, antiques, fashion, and much more.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Around our condo

    February 6, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Explored some areas within walking distance of where we are staying. It has been 39 degrees with the humidity, so late afternoon, the last couple of days we chilled in with the AC in the condo. Some cool malls are nearby with high-end stores. One great thing about backpacking is that there is no room to buy stuff. Chinese New Year celebrations are starting soon, so there are some decorations happening in various locations. It is amazing watching the traffic here and even more amazing there aren't more accidents. Crossing the streets is always an adventure. You have to make sure your head is on a swivel. There are quite a few massage parlors around, some with and some without "happy endings" offered. You can tell by how the masseuses dress outside the parlors. Red light districts are also common throughout Thailand. We went to one last night and found a fun bar with live music. Lots of Ladyboys here. Some are really hard to identify.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Bike Tour in Bangkok

    February 7, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Booked a bike tour for today from 2 -5. Took the train and jumped off a few stops early and had some lunch before the tour started. We had 10 people on the bike tour, a family from England, a couple from France, and another couple from somewhere, lol. The tour was so cool because we traveled a lot of back alleys and sidewalks away from the regular tourist areas. It was so nice seeing the locals in their environment, and they seemed so happy to say hi as we passed. It was interesting crossing some busy streets with a big group of bikes. After the tour, we jumped back on the train and stopped at the Patong Night Market. Lots of fake Rolex watches and even was dealing on a taser had him down to 200 Baht ($8CAD). He also had brass knuckles and Chinese throwing stars, lol. Had some street food, then came back to throw the clothes in the dryer and headed back to some live music for a night cap.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler

    Topgolf Bangkok

    February 9, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Decided to trek across the city for a couple of hours at Topgolf. Took the train part way and a Grab the rest of the way, was over an hour each way. We tried this before in Vegas so we were looking forward to this and it was a lot of fun. We also experienced a couple of great dinners last night and tonight. Last night, we went to the Smokin Pug BBQ. Chris had ribs, which she said was the best she can remember eating, I had the Brisket, and it was also fabulous. Tonight, we went to an out of the way pizza place that had great reviews, and it didn't disappoint. Chef Bing Pizza was about a 35-minute walk but was well worth it. It was a thin crust, but just the right amount of crispy, so it didn't sag when you lifted a piece. Last night, we also went to listen to some live music where a couple of great bands were playing. The waitress really liked Chris, lol. More and more Chinese New Year decorations are also popping up.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler

    A day walking around Chiang Mai

    February 12, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Spent the day exploring Chiang Mai. There are a lot of temples here. We saw at least a dozen, and there were more that we hadn't seen. The detail and color are always so vibrant, and it was nice hearing the kids playing at the schools next to every temple. It is definitely less busy here than in Bangkok, which is a nice change. Had some downtime back at the condo after lunch, then decided it was time for a haircut. Doing some google review searches, I decided to try Skill Barber 2. Learning from past experiences with language barriers at foreign barbers, I went armed with some pictures. I am happy to say the haircut was a success. Afterward, we went for some dinner and then explored the night markets. It is hard to fathom how massive these markets are from looking at pictures, but one of them was a 15 -20 minute walk nonstop from one end to the other, and there are multiple rows of tables.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler

    Thai cooking class

    February 13, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We were picked up mid afternoon for a Thai cooking class we signed up for. There were 10 of us in our group, but the farm we went to for the classes could hold 5 different groups. Our first stop was the market where they would buy most of their fresh produce and meat that they didn't have on the farm. After about a 30-minute drive from Chiang Mai, we arrived at the farm where the cooking classes were held. We went to our station for an explanation of how the evening would go and also showed the menu that each of us picked a curry dish, a stir fry, a soup and spring rolls that we would then cook for ourselves. Our teacher explained all the spices and how to cook each dish. They had all the supplies ready, but we had to cut up our veggies and had to grind the spices for the curry paste, then cook everything. We all will get the recipes so we can try these dishes at home. After we did some prep work and cooked the spring roll contents, we toured the garden where they grow a lot of the species we used in our dishes. The class was a lot of fun and we had great young people in our group and the meals were so tasty!Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Doi Suthep Temple, Wat Pha Lat hike

    February 14, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Found a great place for brunch, then went to a meeting place for a tour we booked to Doi Suthep Temple and the Wat Pha Lak Hike. We were watching for a typical van that has picked us up for every other tour we have done so far, which usually had nice captain chairs and cold A/C. However, we were picked up in a Songthaews, which is a truck taxi where you ride in the back on a bench, no A/C. 5 other people were on the tour with us, all nice people. After about a 30-minute drive, we hiked up to Wat Pha Lat, which was a 30-minute elevated hike to a hidden forest temple on Doi Suthep. This secret temple was a beautiful haven with nice gardens with beautiful statues. This area also has housing for monks. From there, we drove further up the mountain to see the Doi Suthep Temple one of Northern Thailands' most sacred temples, and there were great views of Chiang Mai. Unfortunately the main part of the temple had some hail damage a few weeks ago so they had scaffolding all around it and it is also the start of burning season, especially in neighboring Laos, so the views from the top were not very clear. After we came back down to Chiang Mai, we found an Italian restaurant that we tried and the the food was great, after dinner we stopped by a highly reviewed cookie shop to grab some dessert and met a lady there from the States who was praising the cookies and said she always came to get a cookie after a fight. Turns out she was fighting that night in a Muay Thai boxing match, so we went and watched. She won her match and came over after and thanked us for coming to watch. Long day, but there was lots of cool stuff.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Chris's Bday in Chiang Mai

    February 15, 2024 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Had a great day celebrating Chris's birthday. Hung by the pool late morning, then walked to the massage place that we had booked for 1pm. OMG!!! We both had such a great experience. Will be doing that again. We eqch had a 90-minute massage, and the total was 2,500 baht (about 100 CAD ).Went for lunch after, found a great place on the way back from the massage (Alice's restaurant), then chilled for a couple hours, then headed out to the bar area to play some more connect 4 and some pool. Chris won the best of 10 Connect 4. All packed up for our early flight to Phnom Penh, where we connect through Bangkok.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Travel day to Phnom Penh

    February 16, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    Early flight to Bangkok and connecting to Phnom Penh. The 2 hour layover was just enough time with having to clear international security and the 20-minute walk to our gate, BKK is a huge airport. The backpacks have been working great, easy to get around, and no waiting for luggage. Arriving in a new country for the first time is always a bit stressful, hoping you have everything in order with the VISA's, declaration cards, immigration cards, and hoping nothing was missed. All was good, went through, and called a Grab through the app. It was a 45-minute entertaining ride. We have seen things that just didn't make sense, but somehow, the traffic works. It is more chaotic than Thailand, and motorbikes are used for all kinds of utilitarian uses. Checking into our hotel was nice, such a tranquil place, and we overlook one of the pools. After we got settled, we went for a walk and explored the riverfront area. Many cool sights, and we found a street food market that was eye-opening. Everything you could imagine. Frogs, insects, every type of meat, nothing wasted either, just not sure about all the flies on the meat!? English seems to be much more prevalent and clearer here compared to Thailand. We had a nice dinner and back for an early nightRead more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler

    Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

    February 17, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    I wanted to see the Tuol Sleng genocide museum (Prison S21). It is one of 196 genocide prison sites that occurred under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge's totalitarian regime (1975–79). Chris wanted to chill at the hotel. At this site, over 18,000 were killed. I took a self guided tour with audio, which explained the site as I walked through. The torturing and suffering that occurred here was unbelievable. After the Americans dropped more bombs in Cambodia during the Vietnam War than in all of WWII, a lot of Cambodians moved to urban centers. Pol Pot's revolutionary army moved into the urban centers, and many people were initially happy as they saw it as a save from what they just experienced. But his goal was to kill all educated people, politicians, monks - who he deemed as "new" people. He moved these people into the prisons where they were tortured until they admitted that they were basically against the movement and they were killed. An estimated 2 million Cambodians were killed (1 in 4 Cambodians) during these short years. S21 was a school that was turned into a secret torturing prison where no one left alive, except 12 people at the end when Pol was defeated. Prisoners were shackled together laying down in a room, some were in small rooms with an old ammunition tin for their toilet and if they overfilled it they had to lick the floor clean, the old school swing was converted into a gallows where people were hung for torture and then lowered into a big pot of urine and feces. The rules for obeying until death were posted. It was a surreal experience that must have been so horrific.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Walking around Phnom Penh

    February 17, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    After I got back from my tour of S21, Chris and I met up for lunch and we toured more around the river front area of Phnom Penh. We both agreed that Cambodia has offered so much new visual stimulation from what we have seen so far. Thailand, in retrospect, was pretty familiar to the typical Western world, we have seen so many new things here that just seem so unreal, but people here seem so friendly, and it has been a positive experience so far. Look closely at the back alley markets, so many things going on, from a lady getting Her armpits waxed, to full hair salons, to a meat place between two quilt places, it was bizarre world. US and Cambodian Riel are accepted currencies here. US is used for more substantial purchases, and Riel is smaller. Change is usually in Riel, so the challenge is to use up the Riel's as you can't convert them once you leave country.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Phnom Penh Bike Tour

    February 18, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Did a 25km bike tour today. Our guide picked us up at 7:30 in a tuk tuk. The tour was great, Chris and I were the only ones on the tour, so we had a private guide for the whole trip. We went to Silk Island, but some other areas we went to also required a ferry crossing, we took 4 ferrys in total. You get a different perspective on a bike compared to touring in a van or car. We stopped at a rural market, still unbelievable on what they sell, but our guide was helpful in explaining some of the different foods, and we tried some things we never had before. He made a note that most people will come to a market twice a day, because they either don't have a refrigerator or the one they have is really small so they have no way of keeping large quantities fresh. Stopped at a tofu skin plant made from soybeans, the process is extremely hot, and the cooking pots must be within a certain temperature range, or the batch is ruined and becomes animal feed. The Master is responsible for ensuring the fire is right and also responsible for cutting and pulling the tofu skin off to hang when it is ready. There are about a dozen helpers who do the manual work, and they only get paid about $5 a day. The fires are a combination of wood and coal to get the right temperature. We tried some of the tofu skin, and it tasted like potato chips. It was interesting because they actually make the most money from the ashes afterward. The Chinese buy a lot of it for cosmetics and for incense base. We then stopped at a small family silk operation. It was really interesting to see the process from the larvae to feeding the worms a specific leaf in a certain size depending on the stage of their growth, then timing the cocoon to be boiled is crucial. You can get from 100 to 300m of silk Strand from one cocoon depending on its size. The work that is done to get the final product is time-consuming and requires so much concentration. It was nice to see the whole family doing a part. On the way back, one of the roads had fresh sand layered very thick, which was extremely hard to ride in. Thankfully, it wasn't very long. By the end of the tour, it was extremely hot outside, and we went for a couple cold beers and lunch. The first night here, our A/C failed so we didn't sleep very well, the hotel promptly installed a new A/C in the morning and comped us a free 90 minute massage and dinner so we did that today as well. We are all packed and ready for or 5 hour van ride to Siem Reap.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    21

    Travel day to Siem Reap

    February 19, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 35 °C

    We had a van scheduled to take us from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. It left at 730, so we grabbed a tuk tuk from our hotel to the pickup place. It was a 5.5-hour ride. It was only $20 for both of us, but we got to see the countryside and some interesting driving. People pass all over the place, and it all seems to work, we did see one accident on the way, but it was the first one we saw. A big thing we noticed is that with all the "crazy " lane changes, cutting in, following close, there appears to be no road rage, it is just the way people drive and it is accepted. If people drove like this in Canada, there would be fights every 50'. Arrived in Siem Reap just after 1. It was hot, we had about a 20-minute walk to our hotel. One thing that was very apparent here is how aggressive the people are here in pushing what they are selling, be it a tuk tuk driver, store owner, restaurant, etc. They are all trying to get you to buy what they are selling. We noticed that people are also trying so hard to provide great customer service, almost trying to hard. The hotel is great, and we are looking forward to seeing the area over the next few days.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler

    Kulen Waterfall

    February 21, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

    Yesterday was a chill day. Today, we took an all-day tour exploring Kulen Mountain, which included the kulen waterfalls, 1000 Lingas (symbols have been carved into the riverbed) temples and ruins, land mine museum, and palm sugar place. The Phnom Mulen National Park is known as the site where the Khmer Empire originated and has religious significance to both Buddhist and Hindus. It was a great day. We had another couple from Arizona, a lady from Germany and a fellow from Ireland on our tour. Got back at 530. Later, we went out for a Greek dinner.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Angkor Wat

    February 22, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    We went to Angor Wat today. I convinced Chris to go for sunrise so we left the hotel at 5:15am. The area is so huge, and there is a lot to see, we also walked over to Bayon Temple as well. Angkor Wat is an architectural masterpiece and is the largest religious monument in the world. It is 4 times the size of vatican city and was built in the first half of the 12th century. We didn't get a tour guide, which would have been helpful in understanding the full history of the site, but we just wanted to explore the intricate beauty by ourselves at our own pace. Came back and spent a few hours by the pool reading, then went out for our last supper in Cambodia, off to Vietnam tomorrow.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Travel to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

    February 23, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 35 °C

    Travel day, we had our last breakfast at the hotel in Siem Reap, took the one hour drive to the shiny new Siem Reap Airport that just opened in October. We flew Air Asia, and they weighed our back packs, luckily Chris had her hand on the backpack to lift some weight off, and it worked, I did the same. We were both over the 7kg limit they had by about 3kg, which turned out to be huge that we didn't have to check our bags. We flew through Bangkok and had to transfer to Ho Chi Mihn. It was a pain because we had to clear Thai customs then, go out and check in again because they had to do a document check to make sure we had our Vietnamese Visas in order. Luckily, we had enough time. The flights were all good, and once we got into our Grab ride, it was total chaos all the way to our condo, I can't believe we didn't have one scooter hit us, they drive all over the place and much more horn honking that the other countries by a lot. All checked it, it is 7:30, heading out for supper.Read more

  • Darryl CSE AsiaTraveler
    1

    Walking around Ho Chi Minh

    February 24, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Walked around, checking things out. Clocked a good 29k steps today. Chris had her nails done, and I walked around, taking in the sites. We learned of a full moon parade that we wanted to check out. It ended at a cultural center, and it turns out there is more than one. We walked for an hour and twenty minutes to the wrong one, lol. We took a Grab to the right one and saw the tail end of the parade. There were thousands of people lining the streets watching. We walked back for another hour and had dinner and listened to some live music on the walking party street. Some great people watching. During our strolls, we saw some strange things, a chicken in a cage on the sidewalk, a burning donkey piñata thingy, people getting their hair cut on a sidewalk, a bonsai tree farm, kids and a dog on a pool table, and countless scooter ballets.Read more

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