Adventures in Thailand - Part 1

Our tour ended in Thailand. Harry - our guide made sure we had our Visa's and walked us across the border no problem. We made our way to Bangkok in fabulous air conditioned vans - definitely riding in style (and so much better than the bus!).

Bangkok is a really busy city and there's actually quite a bit to do and see. The first thing we did was take a nap, the second was to find Krissy! One of Ash's good friends from Uni who was with us for 10 days.

While in Bangkok we had a mix of sight seeing in the City and cultural experiences. We made it to the obligatory Wat's to see the various Buddha's (we are now officially Wat'd out) and the amazing Grand Palace as well as several of the markets. We ate out on the streets of China Town (rats and all!) and shopped Khao San Road. We saw Siam Niramit, the tallest and largest stage show in the world and it was fantastic, I would definitely recommend it! This country is definitely wealthier than Vietnam and Cambodia, and they definitely cater to us "Westerners".

Two days after our arrival we were greeted by another visitor, Silje will be with us for the next 5 weeks or so. Silje is Norwegian but she met Ash in Oz ... we are quite an eclectic mix of travellers!

We spent some time outside of the city as well, we took the train to Ayutthaya for the day which was well worth it. We had a great lunch overlooking the water with our delicious fruity drinks and we saw several sights within the city, one of the most famous being the embedded Buddha face in Wat Phra Mahathat. Ayutthaya is a beautiful little city, it's one of the Ancient Capitals of Thailand and it's the kind of place you can spend a relaxing couple of days if you need a break.

Our other trip out of the city we organized ourselves by hiring a car to take us to the places we wanted to see and they were Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets in Ratchaburi, Erawan National Park and Tiger Temple in Kanchanburi. We arrived very early to the floating markets and we basically had the whole place to ourselves, as we floated through the canals we watched the market get busier and busier until finally it was full of floating boats and vendors. A very cool experieince and some of us came out of the market with out pocketbooks a little lighter, haha.

Our next stop was Erawan National Park, which was my choice :) The park is beautiful and houses a 7 tiered waterfall where you can hike to and swim in all 7 levels. It's absolutely beautiful and we had a great time there, even though the nibbling fish are in the water (yech!) which makes swimming interesting. There was a movie being filmed at the first tier so there were loads of actors dressed in aboriginal costumes who kept smiling and laughing at us and even taking our photos!

Tiger Temple was up next. Tiger Temple is a Wat run by monks who take in and care for stray tigers, the monks raise them by hand and teach them to live in "harmony" with humans. I had some serious reservations about this place before going because I've read some negative reports online about the tigers being mistreated ... and you all know how much I love cats. We did have a good experieince there in that we didn't see any of the tigers being mistreated and the tigers looked very healthy with nice shiny coats and no wounds. Our visit was very short and rushed, they allow you to take photos with the tigers, but they rush you through the area, we figure it's for safety reasons, but it doesn't really allow you to observe much about the treatment of the tigers. The girls loved it but I'm still a little unsure, I did notice that some of the issues brought up in the report were resolved or responded to in the brochure which is good but I still don't like the fact that the tigers are being exploited for money. In the end it was a cool experieince and I do feel that it's better for the tigers to be there than being poached in the wild.

While in Bangkok we were staying in a really posh hotel (for a very good rate), and we took advantage of the delicious buffets and the luxurious pool and spa :) Ahhhh, the life of a Beverly Hills Backpacker!

We're in the South Islands now and we are having an amazing time, I'm hoping to put up a post from Northern Thailand before we fly out to our next destination on the 8th.

Bangkok and Area Pictures

Krissy and Ash with the delicious fish, our first night out in Bangkok


The ladies on Khao San Road


Street meat in China Town


Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho)


Me at the entrance to the Grand Palace


The stunning Grand Palace


The ladies hard at work at the Grand Palace (you have to wear long sleeves and pants/skirts in the temples)


The pool at our resort (Beverly Hills Backpackers!)


Ash and Silje on the train to Ayutthaya


Our first group tuk-tuk!


The most amazing fresh fruit drinks (lunch on the river in Ayutthaya)


Me at Wat Phra Mahathat with the embedded Buddha head


Krissy and Al floating through Damnoen Saduak Floating Market (Ratchaburi)


A busy market canal (Damnoen Saduak Floating Market - Ratchaburi)


Erawan Falls (7 tiered waterfall) - Erawan National Park


Me at Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi


Cute tiger nose!


The Asian Squat (apparently I do it the best)

An Amazing Week In Cambodia

We spent a week in Cambodia, a very hot and sweaty week ... we'd start sweating as soon as we walked out the door, but in the end it was well worth it.

Cambodia is a really amazing place, in some ways similar to Vietnam (countryside, vegetation, weather, etc). It is a Country where you can really see distinction between rich and poor people. Many people are very poor, living in houses built from what we would consider as scrap metal and wood, begging for food and money and some people are living in beautiful homes and driving Lexus and BMW SUV's ... like I said, a major distinction between rich and poor. Cambodia has suffered some horrific tragedies within the past 20 years and they are still feeling the effects today. More and more tourists are visiting Cambodia which is great! but at the same time it's estimated that only 20% of our tourist dollars are really going back to the people of the country who need it most, the other 80% disappears somewhere within the Government.

The people of Cambodia are truly amazing, so kind and helpful, friendly and happy. They thank you for your business after every purchase and you can tell they really appreciate it. The food in Cambodia is amazing as well, not spicy but very flavourful, just the way I like it!

Our spent most of our time in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat Complex and Battambang. Phnom Penh is a busy city centre along the Mekong and it was the first place we were told that we should really dress modestly so that we wouldn't offend the locals (shoulders and knees covered at all times). In Phnom Penh we saw many sights. I found it very interesting yet horrific to visit and learn about the Tuolsleng Genocide Museum and the Choeung Ex Genocidal Museum (the killing fields) this is a part of World History I knew very little about. We also spent some time visiting the markets and we saw Wat Phnom (pit stop in this season's amazing race!) where we encountered some local monkeys and an elephant. (A baby monkey tried to steal the beads from my bag!) We also saw the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda, both of which are very beautiful and have some stunning architecture.

Siem Reap and Angkor Wat Complex were of course my favourite. I thought I'd be templed out but I probably could have spent a few more days there walking through and learning about all of the remarkable architecture and temples. I'm not going to write much about this as it's just something you have to experience for yourself to really understand how amazing it is. I do have to admit though that I didn't love Angkor Wat Temple as much as I thought I would, it is really remarkable but I found Bayon Temple to be so much more interesting. In Siem Reap we shopped the Night Markets (they are really good markets, lots of beautiful quality items) and we saw a traditional Cambodian dance show which was pretty interesting. Their traditional dance is quite unique.

Near the end of the week we took a skinny river boat along Boeung Tonle Sap Lake to Battambong. This was a great experience as well, we got to see how the local people live along the Lake in river boats, floating houses and houses on stilts. Their lively hood is on the river, they raise animals on floating rafts, they eat and sell fish, prawn, etc from the river, they wash their clothes and bathe in the river, they go to school there, etc We experienced the river toilet which is basically a square cut out of the floor that goes directly into the lake while fish swim under you ...

In Battambang we did a motorbike tour, we visiting our Guide's home and saw how he and his family live, we visited a fish paste plant, a rice paper plant, a street vendor where we ate crickets (they taste like really crunchy chicken), we learned how they make bamboo sticky rice, saw some local temples and statues and took a ride on the bamboo train.

Whew .... we packed in the sights in Cambodia! This Country really left an impression on me, the Cambodian people have overcome so much and hopefully it will continue to get better for them. I very much enjoyed my visit here and as I did for Vietnam would reccomend a visit to anyone considering it.

Hope you're all doing well! I'll post our Bangkok travels in a few days.

Cambodia Pictures

A very small taste of the pictures I took in Cambodia:

Phnom Penh: The Royal Palace at night, Entrance to Choeung Ex Genocidal Centre (also known as the Killing Fields), The Killing Tree at the Killing Fields, Me at the entrance to Wat Phnom, Baby Monkey at Wat Phnom (he tried to steal the beads of my purse!), our first Tuk-Tuk ride, The Royal Palace during the day (gorgeous place!), a street vendors treat cart (yes those are deep fried tarantulas!)

Siem Reap/Angkor Wat: An entrance gate in Angkor Wat, Temple architecture, some of the faces at Bayon Temple, Bayon Temple (so amazing!), Ta Prom Temple (also known as the Tomb Raider Temple), our group at Ta Prom Temple, Me at Angkor Wat, a Dr. Fish Massage at the Siem Reap Night Market (the fish nibble the dead skin off your feet and I didn't like it at all!)

Chong Khneas/Boeung Tonle Sap Lake to Battambang: some of the houses on stilts, in Battambong at our guide's home with his family, me and my fresh coconut milk.

Stay tuned for a Bangkok post and pics in a couple of days!

Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City

Our last week in Vietnam was spent in Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City (and surrounding area).

Hoi An is a quaint little "sea-side" village which has over 300 tailors and shoe makers, as well as many other craftsman skilled in traditional Vietnamese arts. At this time of year many of the streets by the river are flooded and you have to walk on chairs or planks of wood, through the water or take a boat to get into the homes and restaurants in this area.

Our time in Hoi An was spent perusing the shops and market for original hand made clothing, shoes and souvenirs, eating some really good Vietnamese cuisine and chilling out at the spa, pool and beach. We spent a morning biking around the country side where we saw how many of the locals live, as well as earn a living in the rice paddies, vegetable fields and rivers/canals in this area. I loved seeing the many water buffalo working the fields which is something we hadn't seen up close before. Our last dinner in Hoi An was prepared by us, we took a Vietnamese Cooking class and learned how to make Sweet and Sour soup, Pork Spring rolls, Fish wrapped in Banana Leaf and an avocado and carrot salad. It was all delicious!

We eventually moved on to Ho Chi Minh City by air and stayed in a nice little place down town. Phuong (our tour leader) brought us for a traditional Vietnamese lunch to Banh Xeo where we had Vietnamese stuffed pancakes. They are actually really good, you take the pancake (I had palm heart, pork and shrimp) and you put it in a lettuce or cabbage leaf, roll it up like a spring roll, dip it in sweet chili sauce and enjoy!

In Ho Chi Minh we took a cyclo tour of the City, we saw many sights including the famous Post Office, Reunification Palace, The War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Church and the Night Market. The rest of our time in the area was spent outside of the city. We did a day trip to the amazing Mekong Delta. It was a really hot day which was spent cruising down the Mekong and it's many canals in a River Boat, with a visit to a Brick Factory, a Palm Leaf Mat Making Factory, a Wood Furniture Lacquer Shop and a Candy Factory, as well as a Motorcart ride to a lovely restaurant amongst the Rice Paddies where we had a delicious 5 course meal and a stroll and row boat ride down the Mekong. It was a very interesting day and we learned so much about how the local Mekong people live and earn a living from the river and the surrounding vegetation (mostly palm trees, fruit and rice).

We also spent a day at the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cu Chi Tunnels are definitely worth seeing, they are miles and miles of tunnels that were created by the Viet Comm during the war to live and fight in, they basically helped them survive. We learned all about the history of the tunnels and area, but also had the opportunity to go into and through some of them. I honestly can't imagine how anyone could live in these tunnels, they are small, damp, hot! and dark. I climbed through the 40 foot one and was so ready to get out! I definitley have respect for the men and women who had to live and fight here to survive the war.

All in all Vietnam was amazing, I really loved it and would definitely return. Cambodia is up next!

Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City Pictures

Pictures as follows:

Hoi An - pit stop at Langco Beach on the way to Hoi An, flooded streets of Hoi An, Me ready for our bike tour around the city, some water buffalo outside of a home in the coutryside, Ash and I at the beach, our cooking instructor Hanh.

Ho Chi Minh City - Me cruising down the Mekong on our riverboat (it was so hot!), fueling the fire at the Brick Factory, a fishing boat in the canals of the Mekong, Ash and I getting ready for our motorcart ride, the Elephant Ear fish we had for lunch, going underground to hide in the Cu Chi Tunnels, I heart TBay at the Cu Chi Tunnels.