Bangkok

We woke up just before 7 today to get ready as we were being picked up between 7.15-7.30, about 2 minutes after our alarm went off reception called to tell us our bus was here! So we scrambled to get dressed and ready and we were out by 15 past, our driver was already a little pissed off, too bad for him he had to wait another 20-30 minutes at our hotel for 1 other girl! As you can guess he was very pissed off by that stage. He zoomed through the city streets like a psycho to the first of many bus changes for us today, so bus change #1, we were split into different groups and off we went again. Fast forward about 3 hours and we arrived at the bridge over the river Kwai, here we went into probably the lamest museum ive ever been in and then walked over the bridge, a quick drive away we stopped at a war cemetery for about 10 minutes and then off again to have some lunch, after lunch was our 2nd bus change and off we went to a small waterfall, looked around here for about 15 or so minutes and swapped to our 3rd bus and headed to the tiger temple. Once there we quickly ran inside as we only had about an hour to look around, we first came upon the larger tigers which were in a canyon and most were asleep, they were chained up but to be fair they did look in good condition and all of them were in the shade out of the scorching hot sun, here we individually were given the chance to walk around with one of the escorts who told you where you could go/sit/stand and then took photos of you with the tigers. It was all over very quickly and so we moved on to the younger tigers, these tigers were about 7 months old and probably a little smaller then ½ the size of the adults. The younger tigers have an enclosure similar to one you would see at Melbourne zoo and they were very active and playing with each other in the pool they have, there were 2 tigers out of the enclosure that you could pat and sit with for a little while and take some photos, they were absolutely stunning animals, near here was a little nursery where 6 or so cubs were sleeping these tiny little cats were only 7 days old! So cute but hard to see behind all the bars. We didn’t want to leave but our short hour quickly came to an end and we headed back to the bus for our 4th change and next stop, a ride on the Thai - Burma railway, we were only on for 4 stops but it was well and truly enough (neither of us are interested in anyway in trains) and we were both very fed up by the rushed and disorganized tour by this stage (in all honesty we only wanted to see the tigers!). 5th bus change and we were on our way home, 2 and a half hours later we stopped for petrol and to stretch our legs, we all cram back in only to stop 5 minutes later for our 6th bus change which luckily was the last one! 2 couples asked to be dropped off first as they had flights to catch, the driver dropped the first couple off but forgot about the second! Whom then started complaining, the poor driver was so stressed by the end of it he was cursing the traffic and making mistakes like taking us to the wrong hotel, we ended up giving him a tip and told him we hoped his night would get better, it seemed to cheer him up but im guessing the last couple who were the ones complaining and the last on the bus probably gave him a hard time after we had left. So that was pretty much our day, bad tour just trying to squeeze way too much into the day which meant you had no time to enjoy anything really! We went out for dinner and walked back through the market stalls on the way home.

Bangkok

Well it was bye to Koh Samui bright and early. Our hotel drove us to the airport for an expensive fee and we were off to Bangkok. The flight was only about 1hr so pretty short. When we got to Bangkok we got a taxi to the hotel and it was pink! I was very excited! Anyway for some stupid reason I booked a hostel and it is very expensive the most we have paid anywhere except Koh Samui and it isn’t very good! Anyway it will do, its clean just very plain for the price we are paying. Anyway we had to wait like 2 ½ hrs before they would let us check in which was ridiculous but we just sat on the couch and vegged. We had a little rest once we got our room then headed to a huge shopping centre/market across the road. It is the craziest place. We didn’t buy anything though! We had some dinner and then headed back to the hotel as I was sick AGAIN! After a short rest we headed into Patpong Night Bazaar, another market selling fake everything! It is also one of the red light districts in Bangkok and we were constantly harassed into coming into one of the bars to see a ping pong show. We eventually said ok to one after he assured us there was no cover charge and we just had to buy a beer each for 100 baht. We went in and got our beer and we were swamped by girls in bikinis massaging us and talking to us and bringing drinks over and cheersing us. Then the drinks piled up in front of us and after we told them to stop another scary lady came over with the bill for our drinks and instead of the 200 baht we were told for our two beers the bill was 2200 baht! We cracked the shits and after a short argument with them we stormed out with our almost full beers and left 200 baht for them! We didn’t see any ping pong balls! A few shooting balloons and some bday candles being blown out but our Bangkok Ping Pong Show experience only lasted a disappointing 5 minutes. After that we were not game to try another place so we headed to Mc.D’s for a light snack and then got a Tuk Tuk back to near the hotel. We walked through more market stalls and some were just setting up at 10pm at night! Crazy place! Anyway we just booked a tour for our last day tomorrow and we are off to the Tiger Temple along with many other places so a big day ahead!

ps. sorry about the photo, we took about 4 photos today!

Koh Samui

We booked ourselves on a fishing and snorkeling tour and after waiting an hour to be picked up our lift finally arrived. We got a tuk tuk with 2 other couples and thought it would be a good day with a small group and when we arrived at the beach and the boats, we were given our own guide and our own boat! Was a great surprise. So we headed out on a long boat and dropped our lines in. We were fishing “thai style” which meant we were using hand reels. In the first 5 minutes our guide had caught 2 small fish and Rudi and I were getting nibbled but that’s about all! About an hour or so in and asking Pop to help me catch a fish, I got a huge bite and actually thought I was snagged. I pulled it in and to everyone’s surprise I had a small ( but very very big, humungous and ferocious) shark! We asked the guide to throw it back and I don’t think he really wanted to but after showing it off to the other nearby boat and a brag photo for me, he threw it back! Rudi had a big bite too, that nearly pulled him and the reel into the water but it got away so I think he was just faking it! Hehe! Anyway our guide caught another fish and after a couple of hours we headed to a nearby island for a bit of a swim and some lunch. The guide cooked the fish he had caught for us, was pretty yummy and we had lots of other food aswell at our own private picnic on the beach! Oh and for the first time in Koh Samui the sun is shining today! After lunch we were supposed to go snorkeling but the sea was quite rough and cloudy so he said it wasn’t very good for snorkeling so we spent another half an hour fishing for Rudi to redeem himself and catch something! No luck…more nibbles but no bites! We headed back to shore which was a very rough boat ride. The waves were big, we got soaked and I’m surprised the boat stayed upright! Anyway we had an ice-cream and a beer then headed back to the hotel. After a quick power nap Rudi got me up and we headed to the beach as we hadn’t had a swim in the beach near the hotel and since the sun was out today and it was our last day we thought we better. We walked down and it was quite busy. We went to go in and as we got near the water the waves looked quite scary. They were crashing right on the shore and it was almost impossible to even get past them to calmer water. Rudi eventually succeeded only to be picked up and dumped face first into the sand! The funniest thing I have seen in ages after I knew he was conscious and ok! I didn’t make it past knee level! We had a sleep on the beach for an hour or so then headed back to the hotel for a swim in the pool! More drinks in the pool and our last swim in Koh Samui. We packed all our bags ready to go for the morning then headed into town to our fav restaurant where we shared a beautiful BBQ Red Snapper. Delicious! We walked back along the beach sad to say goodbye and now we are exhausted and looking forward to a good sleep.

Koh Samui

Well I woke up feeling a bit better after a day of rest and we headed out on the bikes about 9:30am and headed north towards Chaweng. I was doing a lot better on the bike than the other day and felt a lot safer now we had helmets! We stopped on the way when we found another shooting range and Rudi shot a .44 magnum. It was very loud and he loved it! He even got a bulls eye! We then continued on in search of Football Golf. We had seen a pamphlet and after asking a few times for directions and driving a bloody long way we found it. It was heaps of fun kicking a soccer ball into a large hole just like a pitch and put course! I was winning by 2 shots after the first 9 and the final score was a draw! Oh and I fluked a hole in one! Was really good fun! The weather was quite overcast but still very warm! We then headed down the road and we had a round of mini golf. Just as we paid our money it bucketed down so we sat and chilled for awhile glad that we weren’t on our bikes and waited about half an hour for the rain to clear. Rudi won by 2 shots! Next stop we went in search of Big Buddha, we stopped at a temple that had a Big Buddha and thought we found it but later saw a sign for big Buddha so we realized we saw a fraud! At the fake Big Buddha were the cutest puppies. As soon as we stopped our bikes they ran up to us and just wanted cuddles, we wished we could bring one home! Anyway so then we went to the real Big Buddha which was down a very muddy dirt track with hundreds of potholes, was an interesting drive! Big Buddha was a large gold statue at the top of a big flight of stairs that looked out over the beautiful mountains and beach. After that we were both hungry so we jumped back on the bikes and found a nice English Pub in a small town along the beach. We both ordered a roast beef and it was amazing! First lot of food I have really enjoyed in a very long time! After enjoying a very yummy lunch in a beautiful setting right on the beach we continued on our journey. We stopped at Chaweng to see what it was like but was just lots of shops so we kept going and stopped at a look out point and walked down to the rocks on the water. We sat there for awhile and enjoyed what we could of the very dark and overcast view! From there it was speed demon all the way home! No falls or near misses today although apparently I scared Rudi when I went flying into a big puddle which had a big pothole in it you couldn’t see and nearly went flying off my bike, I had it under control though! As soon as we got home we went for a swim and a drink in the pool and it was quite chilly tonight. Bit of a cold breeze so not as nice as the last couple of nights! Rudi is addicted to the bike so he has headed into town to buy some more drinks and we are going to chill here and play some snooker then head back to the restaurant on the beach we were at the other night and enjoy some more shisha and some yummy dinner. Only one day left in Koh Samui…very sad! Ok well I wasn’t going to write anymore but just got back from dinner and Rudi said I had to make an addition to the blog! So there were no accidents on the bikes today but you cant take me anymore. We are sitting at a beautiful restaurant with table and chairs on the sand, candles, waves crashing and out comes my beautiful sirloin steak. One bite delicious…second go I flipped the whole plate off the table and into the sand, knocked the candle and shisha off and our drinks! It was a clean sweep and very embarrassing. Rudi and the staff thought it was hilarious while I just wanted to run and hide! The lovely staff made me another one but I felt terrible and was such a waste of beautiful food. We asked if they could put the steak I dropped in a bag and we took it and left it for a stray dog! Not completely wasted!

Koh Samui

Well today was recovery day for me and boredom day for Rudi! I hadn’t been feeling great still so opted for a day at the hotel. As we went to breakfast it was pouring rain! Was a horrible morning so a good day to spend in bed. When it cleared Rudi jumped on the bike and went to town to get some DVDs to watch, Was nice just doing nothing for a day. We watched Dinner for Schmucks…was a funny movie but the DVD quality wasn’t good…that made me laugh more especially the subtitles! I was so lazy we didn’t even go out for dinner we opted for room service and had dinner on our balcony and played a few games of cards before going back to bed to watch another DVD, Fighter which was a little better quality!

Koh Samui

Well for the first time in a long time we were both awake before the alarm and headed to the resort restaurant for breakfast which put on an amazing buffet. I’m still not back to my healthy self so cornflakes and toast for me but Rudi enjoyed some eggs and sausages. We then came back and packed a bag for the day and headed off on our scooters we hired from the resort. We both got off to a wobbly start and Rudi nearly scared another scooter off the road with his attempt at crossing the road! Quite funny! We had some trouble starting the bikes too, Rudi’s didn’t like him sitting on it and mine liked to be on a down hill…the truth we were just idiots and didn’t know how to start them! We went north for a bit but didn’t see any touristy signs so we turned around, I stacked turning around, very funny apparently for some, and headed back south and followed the signs to a waterfall. It rained for a fair way of the journey and some of the roads were quite flooded. We turned off the main road to check out an aquarium and tiger zoo but when we got there it looked pretty lame and was quite expensive so we jumped back on the bikes and kept going. We eventually made it to the waterfall, Namuang Waterfall 2, and I was quite relieved to have made it in one piece! We walked about 30 minutes to the waterfall and it was quite amazing. The waterfall is 80m high and really stunning. There were quite a few tourists when we arrived but they disappeared pretty quick. We were standing watching on the side for awhile and a local guide came over to us and told us not to stand there because we were standing right under a massive coconut tree with heaps of coconuts just waiting to drop on our heads. Apparently more people die from coconuts falling on their heads than lightning strikes or something stupid like that! We climbed across some rocks to the other side of the waterfall and sat and ate our lunch and took some photos. Was beautiful and very peaceful. We headed back down and at the bottom was a Safari Park, which had an elephant show, monkey show and crocodile show about to start so we paid the expensive entry fee, bought some bananas to feed the animals and headed in. it was really quite horrible. The animals were kept in small bare enclosures some even chained inside the enclosures. We fed a couple of the monkeys and then wandered around. When we were sitting waiting for the elephant show Rudi spotted a tiger and we went to check it out. It was the most beautiful tiger in the tiniest of cages with absolutely nothing and it was pacing around in circles. Was really sad, there excuse was that it is temporary and they are building nice big natural enclosures but there was no work being done anywhere in the park. We sat for the elephant show now not really wanting to be there and it was an eye opener. When the young elephant came running in he charged a family past us coz he could see bananas then when they screamed and ran away it came for me and I rescued one bunch of bananas but he stole the whole other bunch we had! Cheeky devil! We took some photos and fed the elephants some more then the show began! They had elephants standing on two legs bum up and head up, playing hula hoops, tug of war against the crowd, soccer and then Rudi volunteered to go up. They laid him down on his back and then the elephant came over and they said he was getting a massage. The elephant starting feeling around with his trunk and they were making jokes…”that’s not a banana…so in other words the elephant attempted a happy ending! Anyway then it gently stomped, (not so gently Rudi said) to massage him, no kids for us anymore! We then went to the monkey show where they were dressed up and some had makeup on…was very over the top and not very nice. They had the monkeys jumping through hoops, fire twirling, playing basketball, singing etc. The kids loved it but was all a bit cruel for the poor animals. Last was the Croc show and the croc trainers were psycho. The crocs did seem rather doped out but the trainers were sticking there heads in there jaws and getting money out from not just in its jaws but down its throat (they opened the flap at the back of its mouth to put the money in and out) Pretty insane but the croc didn’t move once while they did it! Anyway we fed the rest of the bananas to the caged monkeys on our way out and were glad to get out of there. We then headed about a km down the road to check out the shooting range and Rudi shot a 9mm Special Handgun. It wasn’t cheap but Rudi hadn’t shot one before and wanted to give it a go! After he finished we had a drink and a game of table tennis…which I won! Hehe! Back on the bike and we were home on no time…I was setting the pace all day because I was scared so all morning I think I averaged about 25km/h with a one off max speed of about 40km/h. On the way home average speed about 35km/h with maz speed of 50km/h! What a speed demon! Once back at the resort we dumped our bags and then headed to the pool with a drink in hand! The pool was coolish but nice once in and we chilled in the pool admiring the beautiful view of the cliffs and the beach. After an hour or so we headed back into town on foot and had a lovely dinner on the beach! We shared a very good Shisha , a couple more drinks and great food in a beautiful setting! We headed back home about 8:30 and we were exhausted…such old folks! Off to bed for a good nites sleep and another day of adventures tomorrow!

Siem Reap - Koh Samui

So with good intentions of taking some nice photos today I got up at 5.15 and got a Tuk Tuk back past the already busy Angkor Wat straight to Bayon temple (one with the big faces) I got there at about 6 and it was still pitch black, headed straight into the temple and set up my tripod to take a photo of the moonlit ruins, go to turn the camera on and guess what! I bloody forgot to bring my battery! So after about 10 minutes of cursing and considering going back home to get it (would have taken too long) I decided to stay and just enjoy it, watching the sunrise with bats screeching and going to sleep, birds screeching and waking up, giant 1000 year old faces looking down on me and only about 4 other people there whom 90% of the time I couldn’t see! It was simply amazing, it felt as if I was the first person to be here in hundreds of years - then and there I decided I was coming back here next chance I get. I left Bayon at about 7.15, the sun had come up but it was fairly cloudy so no beautiful morning sunlight (I would have been cursing even more about not being able to take photos if there was) I headed back to the hotel and Bec was awake but still in bed. We had breakfast and then I had a quick sleep and then off to catch our flights to Bangkok, then after a brief visa scare in Bangkok we continued on to Koh Samui in another little propeller plane, an hour and a half later we arrived in Koh Samui where it was a nice hot 31 degrees, we were picked up by our hotel and driven to pretty much the other side of the island which took about 45 min. After checking in we headed out to check out whats near us, found the beach and a nice little pizza place on the sand so we had some pizza and beer on the sand watching the waves roll in, it was really beautiful.