 |
| From Thailand Phot... |
 |
| From Thailand Phot... |
Friday 30 March 2007
Our Koh Phan Ngan Beach Hut
Arriving at our beach hut on Koh Phan Ngan we were in for a pleasant surprise. Just look at this ... it's right on the beach!!!
As the full moon party approaches the the guest house is getting busier and busier, although the area still seems quiet - There's loads of bars around with nobody in them near our guesthouse. The only busy place seems to be Hat Rin (where the full moon party will be on).
 |
| From Thailand Phot... |
As the full moon party approaches the the guest house is getting busier and busier, although the area still seems quiet - There's loads of bars around with nobody in them near our guesthouse. The only busy place seems to be Hat Rin (where the full moon party will be on).
The Beach
Traffic here on Koh Samui seemed a lot more manageable here than other places we'd seen, so we felt comfortable renting a scooter for the day. Only 200Baht (4Eur). It was quite nice to tour the island at your own pace. We passed a mini golf course and decided to drive up the dirt track to it. The place was empty except for the owner, so we headed in for the laugh. Half way through we went to the bar on the course for a not so well deserved break :-). The owner there was a really nice German guy. He had "The Beach" on DVD and he'd never seen it before. I saw it first when it came to the cinema (9 years ago?) but not since - perfect time and place to watch it since it's based around Samui, Phan Ngan and Ang Thong (where I'd only been the day before). It was great watching it with the owner - he'd been here six years and he was able to tell us all the locations and was getting nostalgic about how it had all changed. Interestingly, he was able to confirm that hippy communities do in fact exist on some of the islands, just like in the film ... cool!
Buy a Brick
We stopped at the "Big Buddha" on Koh Samui (Not so big by the way). The people here are trying to build a new temple and were looking for donations. They had a really cool idea, which was to allow visitors to buy a brick for the new temple - 20Baht (40c). You get to buy the brick, sign it and some day it will be part of the new temple when it gets built. I like it :-)
 |
| From Thailand Phot... |
 |
| From Thailand Phot... |
Ang Thong
We visited Ang Thong National Marine park on a day trip from Koh Samui. The park is a collection of islands off the coast of Thailand that border on the supernatural! One of the stops featured the "Emerald Lake" that was the setting for the film "The Beach". Spectacular! It's a saltwater lake hidden inside in the middle of the island with an underground cave route to the sea. The photos really don't do it justice.
We also did snorkling beside one of the islands. It was the first time I'd ever done snorkling, but it was a lot of fun. Some of the underwater views you'd get are class! Lots and lots of strange fish here.
We also did a little bit of sea kayaking where we kayaked between a couple of small islands.
The whole place just seemed out of this world - you can see why some people just don't want to leave.
 |
| From Thailand Phot... |
We also did snorkling beside one of the islands. It was the first time I'd ever done snorkling, but it was a lot of fun. Some of the underwater views you'd get are class! Lots and lots of strange fish here.
 |
| From Thailand Aqua... |
 |
| From Thailand Aqua... |
 |
| From Thailand Aqua... |
We also did a little bit of sea kayaking where we kayaked between a couple of small islands.
 |
| From Thailand Aqua... |
The whole place just seemed out of this world - you can see why some people just don't want to leave.
 |
| From Thailand Phot... |
Tuesday 27 March 2007
Moving South 26-3-2007
Next we went down south to hit some of the islands. Koh Samui, Koh Phan Ngan, then back to the mainland at Krabi. We really wanted to see Ang Thong marine park (where "the beach" was set) and catch a full moon party at Hat Rin. We'd spend about a week and a half around here before heading on to Malaysia.
Sunday 25 March 2007
Ayuthaya
We took a day trip out of Bangkok to visit the old capital of Ayutthaya. They moved the capital to Bangkok a little over 200 years ago after the Burmese sacked the place. It's quite interesting and some of the old temples there, would have been in use until they abandoned the place, are beautiful. When you look closely you'll see that a lot of the temple walls still look scorched after the Burmese burned the city.
A lot of the Buddha statues here would once have been covered in gold, but when the city was sacked they burned the statues to melt the gold off and take it away.
Also notice how all the smaller Buddha statues are beheaded - Talk about a symbolic stab in the heart to your enemy!
My favourite temple here was a temple they had built in the Khmer style after the Thai beat them - hence it looks very like Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
After the city was sacked somebody picked up one of the severed Buddha heads and laid it against a tree, where it stayed. As the tree grew, its roots curled around the head making it look like the head is part of the tree ...
 |
| From Thailand Photo... |
A lot of the Buddha statues here would once have been covered in gold, but when the city was sacked they burned the statues to melt the gold off and take it away.
 |
| From Thailand Photo... |
Also notice how all the smaller Buddha statues are beheaded - Talk about a symbolic stab in the heart to your enemy!
 |
| From Thailand Photo... |
My favourite temple here was a temple they had built in the Khmer style after the Thai beat them - hence it looks very like Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
 |
| From Thailand Photo... |
After the city was sacked somebody picked up one of the severed Buddha heads and laid it against a tree, where it stayed. As the tree grew, its roots curled around the head making it look like the head is part of the tree ...
 |
| From Thailand Photo... |
The Nicest Toilet in the Thailand
On our way back from our trip to Ayutthaya our guide stopped us at a Buddhist temple, which, he said, "has the nicest toilet in the world." Hilarious :-) I frequented it "just to say I did it." Not quite the nicest toilet in the world, but certainly the nicest in Thailand so far :-).
 |
| From Thailand Phot... |
 |
| From Thailand Phot... |
My New Suit
The two of us got our final fitting done in the tailor back in Bangkok. Really cool - never had something fit so exactly. Nici got a dress and it looked really nice. We'll see how they last now. Full suit, silk tie and three shirts, all tailor made, for just over 200eur ... and this wasn't even the cheapest place around, prices go rock bottom around Kho San road (although the quality there might be questionable). I might even get them to make me a leather jacket when I get back, if I like the quality of the suit ... as far as I know it's only about 250eur for a leather jacket. If I ever need more shirts I can just call him up now since they have my measurements. Deadly :-)
Making the Most of Tuk-Tuk "Scams"
The weekend is "coupon day" for most of the Tuk Tuk drivers in Bangkok. This means that if they can convince tourists to make a stop on their journey to a jewelery shop, a tailor or a souvenier shop and have them look around for 15mins (or even better buy something), the shop will buy the Tuk Tuk driver his petrol. The upside of this is that the driver will usually drop his prices very low just to get you to take a journey (since the petrol is worth quite a bit to him). We had a lot of time on our hands in Bangkok, so we played along with these schemes for the day getting driven everywhere for no more than 50c a pop ... and all we had to do is look around a few jewelery shops on the way. We never bought anything of course ... Good deal we thought :-)
Chatuchak Weekend Market
The last stop on the skytrain going north drops us at Chatuchak market - the worlds largest open air market. Everything is for sale - it's amazing! Souvenier heaven if you're a tourist, but also much much more. You can buy anything from rare birds to antique backscratchers. We didn't even get to explore a 10th of the place, but I've taken note for part of a future shopping trip ;-)
Jim Thompson
This was an interesting one. While getting off the sky train we noticed a sign for Jim Thompson's house (who?), so we said we'd take a peak. Turns out this man was an American entrepreneur living in Bangkok back in the '60's who single handedly revived the silk industry in the country. His house was five old Thai houses that he had transported to this site and reassembled here. While on holidays in Cameron, in Malaysia he went for a walk one day and never returned - his disappearance a complete mystery.
Worth a stop if you're passing by, but don't go out of your way for this.
Worth a stop if you're passing by, but don't go out of your way for this.
Back to Bangkok 23-3-2007
So on from Saigon and back to Bangkok for a few days. Everything seems so different to when we were here a month a ago. I think as we headed north to Chang Mai, then Laos, then Cambodia etc., things gradually got rawer and less western. Happening over a month we didn't event notice. Coming back here suddenly from Saigon is a real change though. Everything seems far more western, comfortable and calmer ... traffic is definitely a lot more civil than Saigon :-). We'll stay here a couple of days, visit Ayutthaya for a day trip, do our last fitting at the tailor, visit a few sights, then get the train south to explore the islands for a couple of weeks.
Thursday 22 March 2007
And the rains came ...
During the rainy season here there's a deluge once a day for an hour or two. And it did just that, like clockwork, for the past two days, except for one thing ... It's not the rainy season - this weather is two months early (cue errie music). And I here Ireland is getting it's winter now, in Spring and reports from New York are of unusually heavy snowfall ... What's going on?
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
The Mekong Delta
70% of the countries rice is produced here in the Mekong Delta. We took a 4 hour boat trip around some of the islands here and was the closest scenery yet to a Vietnam war movie. Really beautiful. I think it was Unicorn Island, Phoenix Island and Bentee province, but not sure. We took a short trip in a canal boat down a canal (traditional hats and all) and it felt just like Apocalypse Now (see Jim, I followed your orders).
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
Firing an AK47
At the Cu Chi tunnels they had a firing range and a choice of guns - Wohoo!!! $1.30 per bullet, so I went halves with this australian girl for 5 bullets. Amazing - I never expected it to be so loud! And the power off the thing is amazing, it jumps right back into your shoulder. Missed the target, but great craic. We chose the AK47, but we could have easily chosen others like the M1 or Carbine. This is one of these "must do's" :-).
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
The Cu Chi Tunnels
In Ben Dinh, not far from Saigon are the Cu Chi tunnels. The Viet Cong, during the American war dug themselves out of harms was from the American B52s - the result was a huge network or tunnels by the Saigon river. This was a great day out and very interesting. The whole place is set up quite well for tourists complete with a sample tunnel to go through, sample food that the tunnel inhabitants used to eat (tapiochas), a firing range and some other displays. Great fun well - worth the visit.
The Viet Cong even had backward sandals to confuse people running after them.
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
The Viet Cong even had backward sandals to confuse people running after them.
The Cao Dai Holy See
We visited the Cao Dai Cathedral in Tay Ninh. A very unusual religion, it's a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism, Confusianism, Christianity and Islam. As well as choosing their prophets and saints from traditional religous sources many famous authors are also saints - Saint Victor Hugo, for example. The cathedral itself is really beautiful - all religions should decorate like this, just take a look at some of the pictures below ...
A reoccuring symbol in the religion is the "all seeing eye," a bit like the lord of the rings. Pretty errie looking ...
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
A reoccuring symbol in the religion is the "all seeing eye," a bit like the lord of the rings. Pretty errie looking ...
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
Monday 19 March 2007
Internet Access in Asia
Internet access in SE Asia seems to be absolutely everywhere, way more than home, and practicaly giving it away (about 40c an hour). When I went to the beach in Sihanoukville I even saw internet access on the beach :-) !!!! (see below)
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
The People You'd Meet
A lot of tourists do more or less the same circuit through south east Asia - us included. You'll find youself meeting the same people over and over again. It feels really bizarre at first - what are the chances? When we were in Kanchanaburi, back in Thailand, we met an English couple who we ended up with in the same guesthouse a week later in Chang Mai. Loads of people from the slow boat we kept bumping into in various towns throughout Laos. And even a month later in Vietnam, we met two different groups of Aussies who we had met in Laos!
Saigon
Saigon is a lively city. We used this as a base for the week in Vietnam. As I mentioned earlier the traffic here is nuts. A lot of the 4 million motorbikes here are a Chinese made model that only cost $400 new and $200 second hand ... how bad?
Having read "The Quiet American" I was eager to catch some of the sights mentioned in the book. You'll find a lot of these in District one, the old French quarter. The Continental Hotel, Rue Catinat (now Dong Khoi), Notre Dame Cathedral and the post office.
And here's the American Consulate. Remember, where they had to be airlifted from the roof at the end of the war ...
Having read "The Quiet American" I was eager to catch some of the sights mentioned in the book. You'll find a lot of these in District one, the old French quarter. The Continental Hotel, Rue Catinat (now Dong Khoi), Notre Dame Cathedral and the post office.
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
And here's the American Consulate. Remember, where they had to be airlifted from the roof at the end of the war ...
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
St. Patrick's Day in Saigon
Of course we had to do something for St. Patrick's day, no matter where we were. We found a little Irish bar in Saigon called "O'Briens Factory". The place was jam packed full of Irish people! Amazing! Felt like home the second we walked in the door. Irish music playing, shamrocks everywhere, looked just like a bar from home. They even sold Guinness!
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
The War Remnants Museum
This was an interesting place. Formerly called the "War Crimes Museum" the place has, understandably, a very anti american slant. There's a very fun display of tanks and guns in the courtyard.
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
Bargaining
If you're going to buy anything in south east Asia, get ready to bargain. It's something you'll get to really like although as a tourist you can only expect so much of a reduction - we still get a little ripped off. That said I'm managing to get about 1/2 or 1/3 of the original offer price now. At the very least you feel good about your purchase, safely fooled into thinking you got a good deal :-).
Onward to Vietnam 17-3-2007
From Phnom Penh we made our way to Vietnam, crossing the border at Moc Bai. A fairly painless border crossing this time compared to entering Laos as we had bought our visas in advance back up in Chang Mai. We were headed for Saigon where we'd spend a week - to see the city itself and to use it as a base for tours beyond the city. Our plan then is to fly from Saigon back to Bangkok, saving us the horrible bus journey between Siem Reap and Thailand (or so we're told). The rumor is that some airline is paying the Cambodian government to not repair the road there, so that people keep buying flights to the city.
Unfortunately, we didn't have time to start making our way north through Vietnam as we were beginning to run out of time. But how bad? You need something to come back for right?
Unfortunately, we didn't have time to start making our way north through Vietnam as we were beginning to run out of time. But how bad? You need something to come back for right?
Toul Sleng
Before heading to Vietnam we took a short stop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital. A charmless town, but still a lot better than Vientiane, which I still maintain is the most boring capital EVER.
One of the important things to see here is the Toul Sleng genocide museum. This was the most notorious prision during the Khmer Rouge reign during the late 1970's. Under Pol Pot's rull more than 20% of the population of Cambodia were murdered. Pretty horrific stuff and the museum is worth seeing even if it is a little hard to take.
Of 20,000 people who went through the place only 7 survived. One was a painter who painted a lot of the scenes from the prison since.
One of the important things to see here is the Toul Sleng genocide museum. This was the most notorious prision during the Khmer Rouge reign during the late 1970's. Under Pol Pot's rull more than 20% of the population of Cambodia were murdered. Pretty horrific stuff and the museum is worth seeing even if it is a little hard to take.
Of 20,000 people who went through the place only 7 survived. One was a painter who painted a lot of the scenes from the prison since.
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
Delhi Belly
I'll spare you all the details, but it did happen :-) Had to spend an extra day in Sihanoukville recovering.
The Snake House
On our last night in Sihanoukville we went to a restaurant called the "Snake House" on the recommendation of our moto driver. It was really strange. I didn't like it. A glorious display of undue cruelty to animals. Huge snakes were on display around your table in tiny, tiny glass cages. You could constantly hear the croaking of parrots from their tiny cages. And these are big birds, being kept in a space the size of a monitor.
The place seemed to be owned by Russians. Good family men lets say ;-). Parked outside were their Hummers. The biggest cars I'd ever seen. Monstrous 7L cars.
The place seemed to be owned by Russians. Good family men lets say ;-). Parked outside were their Hummers. The biggest cars I'd ever seen. Monstrous 7L cars.
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
Sihanoukville
It was very, very hot in Angkor and we were wrecked from walking around, so we said we'd head to the beach to sea what it was like. Sihanoukville is Cambodias only sea side resort and was our first time on the coast since we'd gone away. Six white sand beaches - very beautiful. We had met another Irish girl (Anita) in the bus station and tagged along with her to find accomodation at Serendipity beach. By the time we got there it was dark but we headed down to the beach anyway. It was really cool, the beach was lined with bars and restaurants and we had dinner that evening on the sand, less than a meter from the waves.
During the day this beach is thronged with people trying to sell you stuff and it gets a little annoying after a while, so during the day we took a quick motorbike ride to Otres beach, which was deserted and we lay there for the day ... How bad?
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
During the day this beach is thronged with people trying to sell you stuff and it gets a little annoying after a while, so during the day we took a quick motorbike ride to Otres beach, which was deserted and we lay there for the day ... How bad?
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
Motos
Here's Nici on the back of a Moto. Very scary in Saigon traffic - she's only smiling for the photo ;-)
 |
| From Vietnam Photos |
The Temples of Angkor
From Siem Reap we made our way to the Temples of Angkor each day. This was definitely one of the best things I'd seen so far, they're amazing and nothing prepares you for the scale of some of them. The temples are spread over 300 square kilometers and some are over 1000 years old. This was the Manhattan of south east asia back in its prime.
We hired a driver for the two days to bring us around. 13USD for a day - not bad. We were in a tuk tuk for the first day, but we went a lot further the next day so it was myself, Nici and the driver all on the back of a motor bike for the second day! That was fun ;-).
I won't bore you with the details of every temple we saw, but here's some of the highlights below ...
The Angkor Wat
This is the postcard temple and you might have even seen it before. The thing is huge (63 meters tall!) and the approach is so long - first it's surrounded by a gigantic moat, followed by a massive outer wall, with the temple itself deep in the center.
Angkor Thom
Lying north of the Angkor Wat is a much larger, walled collection of temples called Angkor Thom. Very impressive. The centerpiece temple, Bayon, is covered with very errie carved faces looking in all directions. This is repeated at the entrance gate. Imagine how intimidating this would have been if you were a visitor coming here a thousand years ago.
Banteay Srei
This temple was a lot further away but worth the visit. Made from a red sandstone, the temple has very nice and very detailed carvings everywhere. It's strange how things change - Rob visited here six years ago and the temple was virtually untouristed. Today this was very much part of the beaten track and pack to the brim the day we visited.
Kbal Spean
Further still past Banteay Srei was Kbal Spean. This isn't a temple, but a series of carvings made directly into the river bed. Quite nice. The river was one of the water sources for Angkor. The idea was that as the water flowed over the carvings it would get blessed, before flowing into the city ... I like it.
Ta Prohm
This temple is worth a mention as it looks like something from Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider. Just look at how the Jungle has taken over the temple.
We hired a driver for the two days to bring us around. 13USD for a day - not bad. We were in a tuk tuk for the first day, but we went a lot further the next day so it was myself, Nici and the driver all on the back of a motor bike for the second day! That was fun ;-).
I won't bore you with the details of every temple we saw, but here's some of the highlights below ...
The Angkor Wat
This is the postcard temple and you might have even seen it before. The thing is huge (63 meters tall!) and the approach is so long - first it's surrounded by a gigantic moat, followed by a massive outer wall, with the temple itself deep in the center.
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
Angkor Thom
Lying north of the Angkor Wat is a much larger, walled collection of temples called Angkor Thom. Very impressive. The centerpiece temple, Bayon, is covered with very errie carved faces looking in all directions. This is repeated at the entrance gate. Imagine how intimidating this would have been if you were a visitor coming here a thousand years ago.
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
Banteay Srei
This temple was a lot further away but worth the visit. Made from a red sandstone, the temple has very nice and very detailed carvings everywhere. It's strange how things change - Rob visited here six years ago and the temple was virtually untouristed. Today this was very much part of the beaten track and pack to the brim the day we visited.
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
Kbal Spean
Further still past Banteay Srei was Kbal Spean. This isn't a temple, but a series of carvings made directly into the river bed. Quite nice. The river was one of the water sources for Angkor. The idea was that as the water flowed over the carvings it would get blessed, before flowing into the city ... I like it.
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
Ta Prohm
This temple is worth a mention as it looks like something from Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider. Just look at how the Jungle has taken over the temple.
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
 |
| From Cambodia Photos |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
