Not All Buses are Equal

It was another day of travel today so it is often hard. Sue had booked the tickets to Bangkok the day before so all we had to do was turn up. When we got there at 7.45am we were the first but unfortunately it wasn't the flashest. In fact much of the trip felt like a hippie trip across India as the bus was out of the 70's. It helps to ask about basic things like, does it stop, what time does it get there, how long does it take or does it have space for luggage?

You can ask but you are likely to get the answer you are looking for rather than the truth. Definitely no toilet or TV, those are reserved for tourist buses full of Asian tour groups. In fact our bus lumbered along just faster than the trucks often being over taken by other buses. This first photo is of the front of the bus with the luggage placed to the ceiling of the the seat I needed to vacate.

The second photo is of the rare of the bus where packs are stacked to the ceiling in a very narrow space behind the rear seats. As you can see it is the backpacker bus. It was surprisingly pleasant however. Naturally we stopped at places where the company got cuts from the shops at odd times.

They are so well organised in Cambodia, all these buses (at least 8) arrive at the same time so all the backpackers are lined up at the departure counters. Hundreds of people waiting for 4 open counters. Thirty minutes later and starting to get tired we moved onto the arrivals queue for Thailand. It was massive. Like you can't believe as it takes a lot longer to be processed for arrivals. Luckily we were fast tracked to the front because we had kids, thank God.

After exiting and walking through the boarder we were gathered like sheep by guides from our bus company. Before exiting the bus we were given a very simple colours and numbered sticker to identify us by. Then as we reappeared through the other side someone else ushered us back into our group and we arrived in dribs and drabs.

Next we were ushered onto mini vans for the rest of the journey. This was nicer as I had a good conversation with a Dutch backpacker. Everything was great until we entered Bangkok and the endless waiting for lights. The van only had one destination Kao san Road, Backpacker heaven. We walked around to our previous guesthouse New Siam 2 and arrived about 6pm. I went to get the two suits I had ordered before returning to get all our luggage. Sue went into the guesthouse with the girls to have some dinner. I returned and asked for a mini van to bring us to our new guesthouse about 5km across the city. You would think this would be easy or that the guesthouse would help. Think again. The guesthouse van was busy and they seemed unable or unwilling to help beyond. One of the many taxis rang a friend with a minivan to take us. He turned up with a station wagon. He was less than keen to take my bike box. I spent about the next 40mins trying to flag one down. The guest house were becoming embarrassed with 5 destitutes outside their place, at  now 7.40pm with masses of luggage.

It was suggested I use a tuk tuk and a taxi. I'm there with 2 people from the guesthouse, 3 taxi drivers and a tuk tuk driver and its all bullshit. I asked for the taxi to be on the meter and was given bullshit from the guesthouse people about grid lock traffic until 10pm. The taxi driver wanted 500Bt and when I mentioned the law (having to use a meter) and police, he walks across the road. It was all a major scam and bullshit. When they know your stuck and vulnerable they go for it.

Luckily a dutch couple had been watching some of the proceedings and asked another taxi if he would take us. He wouldn't use a meter but would do it for 300Bt. Better compromise. So I'm in the tuk tuk and Sue with the kids are in the taxi. I realised that night that most Taxi drivers and tuk tuk drivers can't read. We had a reservation print out with the address in English and Thai. They both got lost and needed local help to find it. Big learning curve for me.

We arrived at the King Royal Garden Inn Hotel at about 8.40pm. The kids coped remarkably well but we are both shot. Its never easy on the travel days and we have learnt to just cope. Don't get any allusions about the name of our hotel. It is very basic but with two separate bedrooms, so we are very content. The wifi works as long as I stay near the door and there is a pool on the roof but watch out for broken tiles. This is more our style. The night manager was a good guy.

I would recommend not going to the New Siam 2 Guesthouse because much of their niceness is just superficial.

A Couple of Days in the Ancient Wats

Siem Reap is a great place to just hang out. We have spent the last three days just wandering around the different sights. Usually only for about 4hrs a day. Believe it or not we still missed quite a bit out. It is unbelievable how much impressive building they did back in the 10th and 11th centuries. We were disappointed tho as tonight we went to walk up a hill which overlooks some of the wats only to be turned away as we were 15min late. I was keen to offer a bribe but our companion Daniel thought better of it as there were too many people around.

Its also very hot when doing the sightseeing. We spent about 5hrs yesterday in the hot sun and it really wore us out. Sue ended up carrying Holly through the last one. It always amazes me how quickly the kids recover once they are back in the pool.

We leave Cambodia tomorrow morning. We have decided to take a Bus all the way to Bangkok as it is three hours quicker than a train bus combination. Still only $45US for the whole family which is good. I am a little worried about the kids in the bus for 9hrs but it must be done.

Cambodia is a great place to visit. I have been quite surprised by just how many tourists are in this place. There are so many hotels and guest houses. At Angkor Wat park there are buses everywhere. Its bewildering.

Here are some of our favourite pics of the Wats. This is Ta Keo. Really high and steep. Great views of the surroundings.


















Ta Prohm is a very famous Wat where it has been left in it's original state, that is with the trees growing over it.

 Sue took the girls out to a Butterfly Garden today.

Incredible Angkor Wat

We decided to head out to this historic place early. Up at 6.30am and left the hotel at 7.30am. The park is located about 5km north of the town. We have decided to visit the area over three days as there are a number of massive sites. The main attraction is Angkor Wat itself, built within a square with a man made lake surrounding it. This site is 1.3km x 1.5km. 

We hired a tuk tuk for the morning for $8US. Every thing in Cambodia is in US dollars. They have their own currency the "riel" but it is only used in a tourist area like this as change. The tuk tuk was great and it wasn't long before we were at Angkor Wat. We walked across the causeway as seen in the photo. There is an entire wall inside the lake and then further inside, the wat which you can just see in the very distance.

It's great to just wander around the massive complex. Usually we just followed Holly as she explored. Sometimes however she would end up in rather precarious places and unaware of any danger or wanting help. She often tried to play hide and go seek but left signs for us to find her, as can be seen in the photo above. The major Wat is massive and very impressive. We managed to leave the thronging crowds by walking through to the other side. Here we found all the monkeys to the kids delight.

Angkor Wat from the side

After a couple of hours we went into the market area. They're really pushy but we did buy some watermelon and bananas.

From here we went further into the park to the Angkor Thom which is a much bigger area, again surrounded by a lake. The wat (Bayon) in the middle is still large but more decayed even though it is nearly 100 years newer than Angkor Wat. The whole area was lost until rediscovered in 1860. It was all over grown in trees and so somewhat damaged. The entrance to the island was amazing.

There were smaller crowds at Bayon and it was a real opportunity for our kids to just explore. Of course we still had to deal with the Holly star status.

It was really hot so we went home at about noon for a swim and rest. Later I went out to the old market for various items. Really cheap Levi Jeans (the real McCoy), its good to have a local with me. The markets are fun with an opportunity to barter. Even after bringing them down from $25US to $16 they still seem really happy. It makes you wonder what the mark up is.

A Life of Luxury

We have spent yesterday doing as little as possible which is not hard in a hotel like this. The kids spent the entire morning in the pool after Sophia and I went for a run at about 7am. I could not keep up with her but she only lasted about 15 mins in the heat. By the pool in the shade it was 36 degrees and in the sun 46. Its OK as long as you keep wet. In the afternoon we had cool time by watching a movie in our room.

The buffet breakfast is great and it isn't hard to eat for lunch at the same time. I am getting worried I will put on weight.

We spent the evening at the night market. Not as good as I was hoping for but the kids each bought a small souvenir.

Slow Train to Cambodia

We are in Cambodia now, staying in what is the Ree Hotel Siem Reap. Five star, it could be a while before I stay in a place like this again. Not really my style but certainly a change from what we are used to. Nice big pool though.

We left our Guesthouse at 4.45am and caught a taxi to the railway station for a 5.55am departure. The train was right on time. It was easy to get tickets as I am sure it is a well used trail. There are only 3rd class tickets but the seating was fine. We swivelled one of the twin seats so we were facing each other. It is the poor mans train, it only cost 48Bt ($2NZ) for an adult and half that for a child to travel for 6 hours to the boarder. It must have stopped 15 times in Bangkok and another 30 on our way.

Every so often some traders would get on board and sell various items, which many we were unable to identify. We were well stocked luckily and bought some corn later on. A pastry with beans inside seems to be very popular.

Holly is still as popular as ever and entertained the local passengers anytime she venture down the isle. Some people left and just had to touch Julia and Holly. The Immigration people on the boarder had Julia and Sophia sitting on their lap. They are very family focused in this part of the world.

The landscape on our journey was rather bland. Once we left the outskirts of Bangkok there were continuous rice paddies and the occasional villages and towns. The train stops everywhere and there were always people coming on and off the train. Some of the stations were very small.

Eventually we stopped at a town call Aranyaprathet. From there we caught a tuk tuk to the boarder, about 10kms. I should have known but he dropped us off at their illegal visa office. There were about 8 Europeans sitting around filling in forms. It just didn't look right, told the guy ushering us in what I thought of him and started walking down the road towards the boarder. The guidebook warns about places like that. I was annoyed because we had luggage, a family and about a 200m extra walking in the heat because of it. 

The real official officers were very helpful and an hour later we were out the other side, meeting our good friend Dan who came from Siam Reap to meet us. It was quite serial being in the front seat of the car. Didn't last tho as I had to sit in the back seat for the second hour, Sophia sleeping on my lap.

Cambodia is what I would call more authentic. Lots of bicycles and dirt everywhere. Rubbish is left on the side of the road. The people are just as friendly especially when you go walking down the road. I went to a couple of stores last night and people were very helpful. 

My Intrepid Adventure Cycling Girls :)

We started our day at 7.30am, comsumed our cornflakes and then started the 15min walk to 'grasshopper adventure tours' shop near Khao San Rd.

We were warmly greeted by Tek our personal guide for our 35km cycling tour. Tek has lived in the Bay of Islands with his wife for 7 years. She is a guide also, she does golf tours, they guide all around the world, Laos, Cambodia to mention just a few.

Its hard to believe that there is scenery close to the heart of bustling Bangkok, but Tek had mapped out a trail that really did give a great cross-section of the city.

After our 'bike fitting', and briefing we started to negotiate the tiny alleyways/dense housing- it was like cycling through living rooms at times. There were many surprised locals, we were as interesting to them as they are to us! :)

The day ride ranked no.1 on tripadvisor.com as recommended by Paula Wilks from Garin College was my best day spent in Bangkok yet!

We winded our way through the suburbs to countryside leaving the skyscrapers behind, the tall buildings became small wooden houses, the roads became narrow concrete paths/dirt tracks. The crowds were replaced by lush vegetation and trees. The locals were getting around on small paddle boats to take their produce to the markets. It was a bit of a time warp. Being taken back in history.

We stopped for complimentary drinks, and had lunch at a local eatery. I had to discretely remove a large ant from my meal so that I didn't put the girls off eating their meals. Mmm bit of a difficult meal to consume. At the eatery there was a playground and the girls had soo much fun, they hadn't been on a playground since N.Z

At our lunch break we fed fish which were in mass in front of a temple. They were jumping out of the water to grab the bread we had. There were so many there as it is considered bad luck to catch fish in front of a temple.

We continued to meander our way through jungle along narrow concrete paths, they were along canals and farmland. We glided through temple sites and saw large old trees.

After our ice cream stop in the afternoon about 3.30pmish- we still had about 11/2, hours to go  we could hear the rumble of thunder, the sky started to darken and within minutes the skies opened up! Tek directed us to a place we could stop for shelter but 'we' the crazy kiwis wanted to keep going! Tek got a lot of hassles from local people about us cycling in the rain! Of course it wasn't his fault, we considered it all part of the adventure!

Tek made the comment "your girls are strong, most girls stop, start, stop,start, not your girls! And when it rains they think it is fun!!"

Henry and I were very proud of them, it really was a big ask a 35km ride in the heat. It was flat and there were lots of breaks but all credit to the little troopers!

We arrived back at the start at about 4.30-5ish looking like drowned rats, but happy ones who had experienced the multi-faceted Bangkok.

Loving the adventure-Sue

Rest Day with Action

I think the main difference with a rest day is that we start off much later. This often works badly as we end up leaving at about noon and in the hottest part of the day.

Today we ventured into Khao San Road, the crazy place of Bangkok where 80% of the backpackers hang out and stay. We live about a 10min walk from there. Its really a neat place to go because of all the street side stalls, restaurants and shops we could be interested in.

Sophia had been keen to get her hair braided but up till now it had been too expensive. We ventured through various narrow alleyways and came across a hair dresser who would do it for 600Bt. Sophia was rapped. It took about 1.5hours so Sue and I had a Thai massage in the interim. I think it is an opportunity for the locals to enact some revenge. Lots of elbows and knees creating pressure upon points I suppose. It was nice in the end but Sue seemed to be going through agony.

During our wait I had ventured off with the other two girls into one of the many 7 11s. There is literally 1 every couple of hundred metres.  I purchased various goods worth 187Bt, gave 1000Bt note and was given a heap of change. Something didn't seem right though as there were heaps of 20Bt notes. Got about 3ms from the counter and had a count up. 600Bt short, even as I turned to go back she looked coy and handed over the rest. She obviously couldn't tell I am dutch.

Most of the Thai are so helpful and friendly. However, there is this thing that if you are under 25, female and work in some sort of shop you tend to be very unengaged and disinterested. Some aren't like this but many are which is very off putting.


Usually each day we have travel school with the girls. Either mathletic, reading or geography for about an hour. Anyway today we had cultural interaction. Their task was to find out another child's name and nationality from those using the pool. They tried and failed as the only other kid there, couldn't speak English. We sat there considering our dilemma when we all started laughing. Holly had used our soccer ball and thrown it at the girl which turned into a game of pass the ball. Holly was the only one to pass class that day.

Great day planned for tomorrow as we are off on a 35Km cycle tour.

Temples and Markets

We got up early today as it gets real hot later, caught a Tuk Tuk and headed through the crazy traffic to the Grand Palace.

The Grand Palace is amazing even tho I have been there before it never ceases to amaze me. The intricate carving and decoration are unbelievable. Incredibly hot tho, as there is no wind and even by 10 am it is getting unbearable. Sophia was in flake mode again and kept wanting to go back to the guesthouse. We were probably there for a couple of hours.

Its amazing how quickly they recover tho. We left the complex and bought a drink, donuts and bananas from street side vendors. It was about a 15min walk to the river. The whole way there were vendors. Makes for interesting walking. It becomes a hassle tho to ignore the Tuk Tuk drivers asking where we are going etc. We still have people touching Julia and Holly amazed by how they look.

It was 3Bt to cross the main river in Bangkok, public boat. Awesome river (Chao Phraya), water being churned up in every direction. The kids loved this experience and it was much cooler with the wind blowing through.

Across the other side we found the Wat Arun "Temple of the Dawn", Named after Aruna, the Indian God of Dawn. Its a traditional type of Wat, real tall and steep. The kids loved climbing up the almost vertical steps and having a great view of the surrounding city.

This was the highlight of the day for the kids, except of course for the pool. They must have spent 3 hours in it today.

Bangkok

The trip over from Phuket was pretty smooth. Saying goodbye to Si our host wasn't easy but e-mail accounts were shared. As predictable as chips at McD's the Air Asia flight was delayed.

I must watch myself, as I allowed myself to get upset in the baggage queue. There we were lined up for an age when they opened a second counter right next to ours, great twice as quick. After another 5 minutes a man moves to the front of the second counter and ignored the other 40 people lined up. I can't help myself and very ungraciously asked him what he was up to. He suggested that it made no difference to me as it was a new counter. Needless to say I disagreed loudly, probably inappropriate comments were made. Didn't seem to change his mind tho. He certainly was embarrassed as I probably should also have been. Sue thought given his ethnicity I needed to be more careful.

The flight was good but after picking up our baggage they managed to ruin one of our bigger suitcases. Apparently the maximum Air Asia can give out on the claim is 500Bt, $20NZ. Not much but probably much more than I paid for it.

It was an eye opener driving into Bangkok from the airport. Massive Motorways some times 5 lanes wide. Oh how Bangkok has changed. Our ride was long and it had been a long day for the girls. Wasn't much fun being with them in the taxi. About 1hr 10min later, 7 hours since we left out Phuket guesthouse for a 80 minute flight we arrived at our new guest house called New Siam 2.

The hours of effort finding great accommodation have been well worth it. We have two rooms, a good cheap restaurant and a pool which the kids are hard to drag out of. There are a number of families with kids the same age as ours.

Thoughts of Phuket

It isn't exactly an intrepid destination but can be a great adventure if you do certain things. Avoid resorts is the key. Yesterday we had a day without electricity. About 32 degrees inside. Doesn't sound much but when air isn't moving it is real stifling.

I followed the directions of a blogger two days a go and took the family into Phuket Town. Narrow streets going in all directions with Chinese and Portuguese history. We were supposed to just wander the streets. Again that wasn't so much fun in the heat. I enjoyed it tho and saw a couple of old manors used in various movies. Eventually we relented and used one of the Tuk Tuks to visit a mall on the outskirts of the town.

If you are ever looking for a guesthouse in Phuket for a family "Pineapple Guesthouse" is the place. The apartment is very basic but has two separate bedroom with huge king sized beds. Our three girls slept in one very happily, usually facing in all directions. There is cable TV and broadband Internet. The managers are a family outfit and were fantastic. They took our kids on motorbike rides and helped immensely. Use them to arrange bookings and taxis. They always get a very cut price.

Phuket is much better than I thought it would be. As long as you get out of the main tourist areas you will meet the real people. Had a great talk to a taxi driver yesterday.

Well off to Bangkok in 2 hours and better get cracking. Time has gone so fast.

Henry



Phuket in the back of a Tuk Tuk



Outside the Guesthouse, Holly and Si's daughter (Pen) off for a ride

PS the kids are complaining it is to cold and it is 29 degrees, they're nuts!!

Best Day Yet

The Thai people are great, really friendly and don't ever appear to argue (much). That is until you go to the local 7 11 and some young person who is probably totally sick of the number of tourists says nothing as you pay and appears on another planet. Somethings don't change no matter where you are.

Yesterday we went on a boat tour to Phi Phi island. Us along with about a thousand other people. Awesome tho. First we went to Maya Bay. This is where they set the movie "The Beach". Unbelievable landscapes. The island just shoots up straight out of the sea in vertical cliffs. 

We landed at the beach and walked through to the other side. On the way (about 200m) you could see the areas they had used for the film setting. The kids just wanted to go swimming all the time. I can't blame them tho as it was so hot. Sophs, Julia and I were in the water about 15m off shore watching Holly playing in the sand. Sue was off for a walk. People kept coming up to Holly and bending down and taking photos. You would think that the Island would be a bigger attraction but everywhere we go Holly is waved at, touched and photographed. She just seems to take it in her stride and ignores most people.

Next we were off to visit the moneys. We stayed on the boat and the monkeys come jumping out of the trees on board. We were given bananas to feed them. They politely take them out of your hand and eat them. Apparently it is only an issue if there are two next to each other.

Along the way in the boat the guide entertained the kids by making cup straw flowers and gold fish. He was great and took great amusement when Holly was singing during the rough seas.

The next stop was the main attraction, snorkeling. They put bread into the water to attract fish and in we went. Luckily the Masks fitted.

Julia and Sophia and Holly seemed happy to get a ride with me. Its quite surreal swimming around coral reefs mixing it with heaps of different fish. At our second snorkeling swim I found a fish about 15cm long who kept swimming at me just darting away before reaching me, as I waved a hand in front of him. I called Sophia over. We were both watching, it swam away about three meters turned, appearing to look at the two of us and then darted straight at Sophia (kind of like they do in the Parana movies). Sophia screamed and at the last second it darted away again. I was just cracking up.

The lunch we received was amazing. Basically a smorgasbord Korean style. Move the inner platter around to select what you wanted to eat. The main Island has a myriad of shops and markets. There is even backpacker accommodation. I would recommend this as a destination to anyone.

The voyage back wasn't without incident. A storm had been brewing and it had begun to rain, quite hard at times. The speed boat bounced along to the amusement of the kids. We were getting really wet and the towel we were hiding behind was getting saturated. Forty minutes later we arrived at our last stop, an island about 60m in diameter with a couple of restaurants. There was a couple of questions, like, "can't we skip this part" which everyone agreed with but to no avail. I presume the company owns the restaurants or at least takes a cut. We just hit the water and soon were warm enough again.

The tour was run by Siam Seacanoe Ltd. I would recommend it to anyone. I was really impressed at the level of organisation and care. It is the first time I have been involved in mass tourism and it was quite good. Again I put this down to the care and genuine attitude of the Thai people.

Splash Jungle, Dino park/fun in the sun

Lots of water fun/play yesterday...big girls had a blast on the hydro slides & of course Henry the biggest kid.

Holly not at all put out that she was not the 122cm required to go on the 'big' slides, the water play area designed for the younger kids was just amazing! Julia however totally relieved that she scraped in with her stretch of 122cm. Heneke and I had a go together while the girls watched, our combined weight meant a lot of speed as we shot right to the top of a ramp...I started to wonder if we might go all the way over!! Big kids I know!!

Getting far to comfortable with eating out ...luxury for us, lunch at the water park-very nice!

Today we had a very quiet morning at home, very hot today 35 at one point but that wasn't the hottest part. Its now 9pm and 30.3 degrees. Hen and the girls played mini golf at dino world, Holly and I had fun just walking the attraction, she ran this way and that ensuring I got my exercise for the day. At the end of it she started to melt...hot cheeks, taking clothes off!!

We had fresh fish for tea, and as the sun was setting (Hen took some national geographic photos ;)...we went for a cooling down swim...took half the sand back to our apartment and showered and into bed. When kids are in bed I go and get the food supplies for the next day which is nice, cooler, quieter, and I can talk with the locals.
Tomorrow evening our guest house host is to take me to find some good local fish to buy...it will be a good experience to be out with her I'm sure. She manages everything at this place very well.

Will post some pics now....whats the saying? A picture speaks a thousand words. xox :)

Another day in Phuket

Its our hottest day yet. The sun has been out all day. It was 35 degrees in the shade and 30 degrees inside. A good day for a rest day. Later we're going out to what is called Dino Park. A mini putt course built around dinosaurs.

I went for a ride today. Made it back which is always great. I went north past Pa Tong and a couple of the other beaches. Beautiful beaches and a great road. Eventually it went slightly inland and over the hills. Straight over the hills. Near the top I veered off onto a small side road. It went up even steeper (good thing for Baldwin St this is not in the Southern Hemisphere), About 2/3rds of the way up I actually had to walk. Never done that on a road bike before. I thought I might get a nice view but having got to the top and a couple of hundred meters it just starting going down real steep. I wasn't having any of that so turned around and went back. You kind of lose the concept of false flats. It seems like I was either going 25Km or slower or 40Km or quicker. Its most disconcerting to be cruising along thinking I am going at 40Km/hr only to look down to realise I am going 50. That sounds great but I prefer to be going a little slower so I can react to whatever is happening on the road. I also found my focus starting to drift in the heat. Kind of like you get after a hard 100Km of riding. My total trip war 35Km, or about 1.5hrs.

Splash Planet yesterday was a great distraction from our earlier issues. This place is great. The price is supposed to be about 3900Bt but by ringing up we got a reservation and paid 3200Bt. This appears to happen all the time as it is off season. Catching a regular taxi would have cost 2000Bt but through our guest house it cost 1500 return.

The park itself is fantastic for kids under 13. Two very high rides called the Super Bowl and the Boomerang. Julia by herself may have been tall enough but was not heavy enough. She got stuck and needed to manoeuvre herself out. I went with Sue on the Boomerang and because of our combined weight we went shooting up real high on a near vertical side before flying back and almost capsizing in the stopping pool due to our speed.

The park is very well catered for and unlike the rest of Phuket all rules are adhered to rigidly. Some of us had heat stroke last night because of all the time in the sun. Its supposed to be thunderstorms and occasional sun. However, after the first couple of days its just been sun, sun and sun. I preferred the occasional rain.

Anyway off snorkeling tomorrow and I think the girls are going to have a blast.

Henry

Water Park Fun

Wow it's all ready happening, I'm on the twisty water slide wow I kept on going round and round then I suddenly stopped so I had to push my floaty into the hole. Really really fast zooming down the hill splash I went into the water. The last time I went on the twisty water slide my floaty went really fast around and into the hole really quickly then down I went into the water.

Julia