Itinerary:
London - Bangkok - Ko Samui - Krabi - Ko Lanta - Langkawi - Cambodia - Laos - Vietnam (Hanoi, Da Nang, Hoi An, Ho Chi Min) - Singapore - Bali - Bangkok - London
We arrived in Bangkok on the 24th July 2006 and spent 2 days touring the temples and the Palace.
We were really lucky as we arrived on the day of the king’s birthday and there were a series of things happening. One of which was doing the tour of the temples for 30 baht, which is peanuts if you think £1 is 70 baht… We felt so sorry for our tuk-tuk driver and gave him 50 baht. Somehow it still seemed wrong but that was the deal. They would take us to the temples and to a jewellery factory, have their card stamped and then they would get a payment from the government and petrol vouchers.
The next day we did a trip up the Chao Phraya river, rode on tuk tuks and managed to find a good restaurant near the hotel but failed to like the lack of cleanliness of the city as a whole. There was rubbish everywhere.
Anyway Ko Samui came next, the flight was good and the island seemed ok in the early morning sun.
We chose a hotel on the beach – The Golden Sands in Lamai beach, a quieter area – and rented a bike (50cc) to tour the island. We liked the beach in Lamai and the bike rides but the busy area of Chaweng was just a bit too much for my taste, a mix of Bournemouth and red light district in Amsterdam, no offence. For those from Portugal it is a mix of Feira Popular and Cais do Sodré. Not our cup of tea so after 2 days we took a ferry to the continent and a bus to Ko Lanta another island but on the other side of Thailand, near Krabi. It was a long day travelling but worth it. The countryside is actually quite beautiful, again shame about the litter everywhere.
Ko Lanta was much quieter and a drag to get there, 2 ferries to catch from the mainland but unfortunately the standards of cleanliness was the same. Shame. We chose a great place to stay, we felt like Tarzan and Jane living in the tree tops, but as soon as we got in the room we were ever so disappointed, so disappointed in fact that we told them we were living. The bathroom was disgustingly dirty, so dirty that they changed us to another room, anyhow the initial beauty of the place was soon gone and we were left with another trip around the island by motorbike. In the meantime I was bitten by every mosquito in the island and looked pitiful.
Thailand can be summed up in 2 words “Under construction”. We were so disappointed with Thailand that we resorted to changing countries, that’s how bad it was. So we went to Langkawi in Malaysia (the place where I had been in March) for a few days to wait for the next flight we had booked to Hanoi in Vietnam.
We settled easily in relaxing Langkawi. We enjoyed the beach, going to dinner, having fresh fish, walking the streets without being molested, roaming the markets, and after a brilliant time in Langkawi we had another surprise reserved for us.
On arrival in Hanoi we were refused entry because we did not have a visa. I had been told that Portuguese passports get a visa on arrival so didn’t check again. So we came back on the same flight back to Bangkok for free because the airline should have refused to carry us without a visa… anyway we were back in Bangkok on the same day we left without a stamp of departure from another country so we were told we cannot enter Bangkok… we were in transit from 1am till 6am to get on a flight to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, which was the earliest one to a country we wanted to go and could get a visa on arrival.
As soon as we stood outside the plane we liked Cambodia, clean airport, much cleaner place if compared to Thailand. We were pleased. To see some of the country we took the bus from Vientiane up to Siem Reap (5 hours with stops for lunch and for the men to pee by the side of the road… lol, I am serious, shame I was too chicken to take a picture of them). The landscape resumes itself to huts, some villas, thousands of motorbikes and tuk tuks and loads of rice fields…
We arrived hungry but we waited for most of the tourists to get out of the bus. We had been told that tuc-tuc drivers were very aggressive once you step off the bus so we waited. Things did calm down and we were lucky again, Sohan the tuk tuk driver said he would take us to a hotel for free if we booked him for the day after ($10) to go around the temples. We accepted. So the next day, Saturday, we bought a 3 day pass and went to see the Angkor temples (where Lara Croft was filmed). We started with Angkor Wat the biggest one and closer to the city and moved on to Bayon (picture of faces) and onto Ta Prohm the one with the trees growing amongst the temple stones, where Tomb Raider was filmed.
On Saturday evening we went to see a free cello concert, at the local children hospital, called Beatoncello (see www.beatoncello.com ) to raise awareness of the number of children that die from the dengue fever and TB related illnesses. They were asking for money and blood the only two items needed to continue to provide free healthcare to all Cambodian children in the Siem Reap area. It was a great idea as the music was kind of appropriate to the message and the films could depict the reality in this country. Of course the majority of people there (maybe around 100 tourists) gave a donation, me included, I just wish I could do more. I was very touched by the number of children affected, 37 new cases everyday, and appalled by the rich world lack of intervention here. They rely on donations from individuals and charities. We already knew we weren’t going to give to the beggars, mostly land mine victims, and we were pleased we could contribute to a just and honourable cause.
On Sunday we went to other temples nearby (the Roluos group of temples) slightly older and more damaged. Most stones were stolen and no attempt was made at recreating this group of temples.
We followed onto see the floating village. This was an educational trip. We were humbled and touched by the poorness of the place and simple way of living. The huts are built on stilts or on a platform made of wood and the ‘houses’ float on the Tonle Sap Lake (fresh water lake), where tourists can take a boat trip to take pictures for $10 a boat ride. Shame that the money does not seem to go to the local people and to improve the roads accessing the lake as advertised.
Monday, we went a bit further a field to Bantei Samre and Bantei Sre (also called the citadel of women) where large carvings of women can be seen.
Laos, yes we liked sleepy, quiet, spiritual Laos, and the beauty of it all is that it is contagious. We walk slower, drink plenty and eat well, that’s pretty much what there is to do in Laos. That and see the temples, which are completely different from the ones in Thailand or Cambodia. We did a boat trip up the river to the 1000 Buddha cave but it was a waste of time, in the afternoon we went on another trip this time to a waterfall, despite the bugs in some places the pools were great, people were jumping from the rocks and the trees… basically having fun.
The following day it was spitting so we decided to stay in until noon, I worked a bit on my laptop and spent the rest of the day deciding where to eat and which t-shirt to buy. LoL What a life… I did not dare thinking too much, here it seemed forbid. Used to life in the UK you cannot believe some people could have such basic and simple lives, be grateful for it and happy to continue like that.
Needing some excitement, the following day we headed again to the waterfall, we had great fun there. The food in Laos is very good, both the food served in restaurants and the food sold in the streets and not spicy all the time. Some restaurants offer a few choices of western food, which we steered well away from, except for one day in Cambodia that we craved a steak. I think they should all stick to their own local foods and force us to eat it… I miss the coconut puddings already… But everything comes to an end and as we managed to get our visas to Vietnam sorted off we went to Hanoi.
OH MY GOD! Where did I land… the sounds were agonisingly loud after quiet Laos. Hanoi is so busy it’s unbelievable. Anyway we stayed in the old quarter and close to everything which was great, it was good to just get lost in the thousands of streets that sell absolutely everything from clothes to buttons, from car parts to crafts, and on to food… We booked a trip to Halong Bay and slept on a Junk. What an amazing little cruise around the almost 2000 islands and islets.
Beautiful scenery, good service and good seafood all the way. We booked the trip at the airport and were really lucky with the choice of tour. We were taken by car not by mini van or worse by bus like cattle and our guide steered us away from the queues and put us on a boat. Our guide (the tour includes one) works with a company which has small junks and big junks, for 8 and 16 people respectively, we were offered the choice and we opted for the small one. Our group was great, a French family of 4 (all grown ups) and a Spanish couple, together with us 2 from Portugal it looked like the European tour of Halong Bay. Some boats anchored for the night were busier and bustling with laughter so there is something for everyone. We visited a cave, this time a proper cave. Huge and impressive, by the end of that day I had something like over 300 photos.
I thoroughly recommend Halong Bay, it is a world heritage site after all, so it had to be something out of the ordinary. But we had to move on and so we took a plane to Danang in the centre costal area of Vietnam. Here the food is excellent as well, we discovered a little family restaurant one lunch and went back for dinner that’s how good it was. Cua Dai beach is a huge extension of sandy beach in Hoi An, 40 min south of Danang. We lied on the beach recovering from the recent travels. However the busier side of the beach there are too many sellers and so we hopped on our motorbike and went down the road to discover a beach just all to ourselves. Paradise. We discovered that on this side of the world time takes its time to allow us all the pleasures of life, resting, eating, resting, eating, window shopping in the evening (too hot during the day) eating and resting to complete the circle of good relaxing life.
Flights to Nha Treang, our next destination, were full so we decided to take the train, we bought the cabin as we were not inclined to share a very confined space with 2 other people. The prices are ridiculously cheap so affordable to do so. The journey itself was fine and pleasant the only draw back was again cleanliness. I don’t think people from this side of the world have any idea of what cleanliness mean let alone have any concerns over hygiene, health and safety. Anyhow we slept dressed over clean sheets that I had to ask for. Upon arrival the taxi drivers once again tried to rip us off asking double the price for a journey to Jungle Beach 60km north of Nha Trang. But being used to it by now I called the resort and asked how much a taxi fare is from the city to the resort. After finding a driver that accepted our fare we were still concerned that he did not know the way there.
Our suspicions were confirmed when we ended up a few km up Jungle beach in Doclet Bay. As we had also seen on the internet a great looking resort in this bay (www.ki-em.com) we decided to go in and see the place and ask the prices. We were in love with the place as soon as we stepped in. The rooms were exceptionally decorated, the gardens well kept, the whole place clean, we opted for the sea view bungalow which had a view of the mountains, the beach, the fishing boats and the whole of the bay. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived for dinner to discover that there were no menus, we needed not to ask for anything, we were just served the food, starter, main course and fruit. We were equally surprised to find out that we had the resort to ourselves. Yes, we were the only ones there on the first day and again the second day.
Vietnam is a beautiful place to visit and the beaches have great possibilities to become well known tourist spots but the attitude here towards cleanliness needs to change or nobody will return. The beaches are dirty, really dirty and that will deter many people from coming again. We were lucky because in front of our resort the beach was slightly cleaner but we still saw some packets of crisps and blue plastic bags here and there.
HoChiMin (Saigon) was very similar to Hanoi but more unattractive. I did like the shopping mainly because I found a clothes shop with my name (Helena) and not having found anything I liked to buy I offered to buy a couple of hangers with my name. The shop assistant smiled surprised and gave me 2 hangers. I was delighted. Maybe I am just easy to please. After seeing the city we were getting tired of people trying to rip us off everywhere. If you do not have the right change for a bottle of water they ask you whatever they feel like on that day. We learned our lesson quickly.
So when the following day came and we arrived in civilized Singapore – I jumped for joy. What can I say… I loved Singapore from the moment I arrived. The clean and wide streets, the new buildings and cars, comfortable and clean transport, nice sunny days and an array of places to spend my S$…
You have everything at your feet in Singapore. In ½ hour you can be at the beach or in up a hill. You can choose to go shopping in busy, busy Orchard Road, the biggest shopping road I ever seen, or take a taxi and in 20 minutes you can be in a park where after waking 10 min you cannot hear a soul, just the leaves and some strange noises which I dare not to question…
We chose to go to the beach - Sentosa – by cable car but one can also go by bus or taxi. I just thought cable car was cool… At the weekends there are always family day events at the beach and so it may get a bit crowded however I thought it kind of added a bit of colour to the atmosphere of the place.
There is a great Underwater World and a Dolphin Show which kept us entertained for half of the day, there are restaurants at the beach and best of all you can travel around Sentosa by train or bus for free, yes transport is free inside Sentosa… unbelievable. The buses and trains run frequently and are clean, so organized I felt like screaming can someone make a mistake please so I can say something negative about this place, but no… everything was spot on. Can’t wait to go back.
Clarke Quay is the place to be seen and where a lot of the night live is, like Ministry of Sound and Crazy Horse… nothing farther apart I know... but both are located in the Quay along side many other bars. They also have a great Zoo and most amazing a Night Safari. Recommended. One can spend a great week in this place.
Their MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) is amazingly modern and mostly above ground so one can see the city for next to nothing. Even their MRT tickets are amazing, let’s say your fare was S$2.70 once you leave at the station of your choice you can introduce the ticket in the ticket machine and get a refund of S$1. Where else do they refund you the cost of issuing a ticket ??? This is recycling with class…
From Singapore I flew to Bali and stayed 3 days there. Bali’s countryside is very beautiful, the trip up north through the lakes is indeed scenic and recommended, but the towns are very similar to resort towns in Thailand, shops and shops and more shops of the same old same arts & crafts for the tourists, and then the restaurants that cater to all tastes. The beaches were ok, the water colder than in the rest of Asia, only Nusa Dua was warmer and nicer too. I stayed in Seminyak, north of Kuta and much quieter, still close to the bustling centre. However I have to say that a trip to Bali is not complete without a romantic dinner at Jimbaran Bay (south of Kuta). The seafood was fresh and very tasty. We went twice although we were expecting a lot more food to be honest but never mind. I had another day of travel ahead and another great surprise on my trip from Bali to Bangkok via Singapore.
The days in Singapore were for sure a great highlight of my holiday, they were still fresh on my mind so what could truly make Singapore unforgettable? Guess... a pool at the airport!!! You would never have guessed... What an amazing way of waiting for my connection flight to Bangkok... in the pool. Yes, in the airport, looking at the planes landing and taking off… (lol). I tell you this is truly an amazing place and if I ever go back to that side of the world I will make sure I do a stop over in Singapore just for the day at the pool. Awesome.
I will not forget Asia, it is indeed a place to return to.
I will not forget Asia, it is indeed a place to return to.
A day shopping in Bangkok before coming home was just what the unconventional medicine doctor recommended… and so I found my bargains, shoes for £7 and cool bags for £11… and off I boarded the plane to boring perfect England where the dosh is so I can go back travelling to other shores…
Until my next adventure, take care…
