Thailand to Cambodia in 6 weeks

Starting on the sunny shores of Koh Phi Phi and ending up at the ancient ruins of Angkor; we spent 5 and a half weeks making our way through Thailand, Laos and Cambodia with Matt's sister Lauren and her boyfriend, Tom.

When we leave each place we always ask each other 'best and worst?' so we thought we'd share our highs and lows with you...

Here in Chiang Rai: The Motorcycle Diary

On our third day in Chiang Rai we hired some twist-and-go scooters and headed for the hills. 

We’d asked our friendly guesthouse where would be a good place to drive and they’d recommended heading for Doi Maesalong. Doi is the Thai word for Mountain, and our host told us it was a nice road, with scenic views of the Northern hills which dominate the border regions between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. 

It’s a really liberating feeling riding out to somewhere new with no specific destination in mind. As soon as we got off the main Highway, the road became more rural and certainly more windy! 

We saw some signs for Choui Fong Tea Plantation and decided we’d check it out. The small road which wound through the forest was very quiet and peaceful and it soon opened up into rolling hills covered in neat lines of tea plants. We followed the little winding road to the Plantation HQ and had a little wonder among the bushes. It was very quiet and very beautiful. 

Here on Koh Lanta

Stepping off the ferry at Koh Lanta after 3 days on Koh Phi Phi felt like returning to Thailand and 'real life'. There were motorbikes and songtaews on the roads (there were roads!) and we could smell grilled chicken from the road-side stalls. 

You can see local life; children playing in the street, schools, hospitals, people's homes and the places they eat. Don't get me wrong, there's tourism in abundance but in amongst the sports bars and neon lights there are rice shops with tin tables where you can eat and chat with local people.

How to stay cool in 38 degrees

I've never been someone who loves hot weather, sure I love to get my shorts out on a summers day and cool down with an ice lolly but 24 degrees is quite enough for me thank you. Then we fell in love with life in Thailand and right now are sweating away in 38 degree heat. 

Whenever we speak to someone from bcd home, they always ask how hot it is and how we cope with the high temperatures over here. So what's our secret? How do we survive? Well firstly we accept that it's hot and we will sweat; my hair straighteners and makeup bag are redundant and we drink our coffee iced.

But we do have a few tips for surviving the heat:

Here on Koh Phi Phi

I was slightly apprehensive about going to Koh Phi Phi. I had read and heard a wide range of opinions - from 'you HAVE to go there, it’s the most beautiful place in Thailand’ to 'don’t go there, it’s totally ruined’...who was I supposed to believe? 

So I stopped reading, we packed our swimsuits and hopped on a bus with an open mind...

We were reunited with family.

Here on Koh Samed

About a month ago, a lucky combination of public holidays and other days of school gave us a surprise week long holiday. Making the most of the time off work, we decided to hop down to Koh Samed with our friends for a bit of beach action.

Christmas in Nakhon Sawan

The roaring fire has been replaced with a fan and I will be eating vegan duck instead of a stuffed goose but don't worry, we know it's Christmas time...

Here in Nakhon Sawan Christmas doesn't happen unless you make it yourself. So that's exactly what we've done. We've filled our flat with fairy lights and paper chains, the fridge is full of chocolate and cheese and I am listening to Carols from Kings as I type.

Here in Nakhon Sawan: Loi Krathong

Apologies for being lax on the blogging front lately, being back at school has kept us busy but I promise there is a Hong Kong post and a video from way back in July coming your way.

Our first week back in Nakhon Sawan coincided with the Loi Krathong festival which celebrates the end of the rainy season. Thais Light 'krathongs' (traditional made from banana tree and leaf but these days can be anything from plastic to bread)  and set them off on the river along with all their bad feelings. Some people also set off lanterns and in Chiang Mai, where this festival is a much bigger occasion, it can be quite a spectacular sight!

Here in Khao Sok

After a week lying on the sandy beaches of Koh Phangan, we are all beached out and ready for adventure. So we headed back to mainland Thailand and to the striking limestone cliffs and jungles of Khao Sok National Park. Arriving in the dark and rain, we briefly missed our warm, sandy bungalows but soon we grabbed some dinner and booked ourselves on to a two-day guided trip to Cheow Lan Lake, starting 8am the very next morning.

Cheow Lan is a man-made lake which is used to produce hydro-electricity. Damning the Klong Saeng river created the 165sqkm lake and more than 100 islands. The limestone cliffs jut out from the still water, dwarfing the long tail boats fishing for dinner or ferrying tourists.

Here on Bottle Beach

We swapped the postcard beach of Haad Salad for the waves, rocks and power outages of Bottle Beach and I loved it! Haad Salad was beautiful, it was everything a beach lover would want from a Thai island - the soft white sand, lined with palm trees leading you to calm, clear water warm enough to lie in for hours. There was an array of resorts and restaurants, some average but some served up really great Thai food. 

But still I have to say that I preferred Bottle Beach. It is more remote and can be reached by an extremely rough track or by boat. There are just four accommodation options and they all run off a generator which is switched off for a couple of hours each day. It was quiet. Very quiet. There were far more workers than guests and at one point we could have told you by name the only three other guests on the whole beach!

Here on Haad Salad

After travelling for 18 hours by train, bus and ferry we arrived on the infamous party island of Koh Phangnan. I was bit nervous about coming here because the island is so well known for it’s full-moon parties and we are far too boring to wear rave paint and drink from buckets. 

So we ventured further round the coast from the bright lights and beer bottles of Haad Rin and found that most of the island remains fairly unspoiled. We found some nice little bungalows set slightly back from the beach at Haad Salad and then it was a race to the sea!

We spent a lazy few days enjoying the tranquility of low season, dipping in and out of the warm turquoise sea and rediscovering the joys of hot showers. I wish I could start every day with a swim in the sea and accompany my breakfast with the sounds of gentle waves lapping the soft white sand. 

Here in Chiang Mai

A four day weekend saw us finally visit the northern city of Chiang Mai. This is the most northern part of Thailand we have visited and it was considerably cooler than our home of Nakhon Sawan.

It's seems that everyone had the same idea for the holiday and the buses were so packed that we ended up travelling as stowaways in with the luggage but it was surprisingly comfortable and I had a pretty good sleep as well as a free meal!

Chiang Mai is a tourist destination and we enjoyed the associated the perks which included plenty of markets, a variety of different cuisines and …… wait for it……. wine. In a proper, long stemmed wine glass. And that's not all……….. gin. That's right, I shared a litre of delicious red wine over some delicious buttery cheese filled pasta and then followed it with a gin and tonic. That's what I call a holiday!

Here in Khorat

Thanks to the start of Buddhist Lent and the offical start of the rainy season here in Thailand, we enjoyed a nice long weekend in July. We were considering treating ourselves to some gin and tonics in Chang Mai but then one of our Thai friends invited us to go with them to Khorat where there is an annual candle festival. Keen not to pass up an opportunity to experience a bit of Thai culture and our first Thai festival, we took her up on this kind offer.

We did not regret this decision and our 'family' of 6 plus chauffeur went on a 2 day road trip in a rather plush minivan including an unnecessary trip to the Cambodian border and a magic double banana.

Here in Nakhon Sawan #1

http://youtu.be/yw297I52GG0

Welcome to Nakhon Sawan and our new home! We have found a great little bargain of a flat round the corner from our friends in a lovely little community. Our neighbours are very friendly and have really helped us out. It’s wonderful to have a place just for the two of us at last and we are slowly making it into our little home :)