We actually arrived in Koh Phangnan a day earlier than planned as we were originally going to Koh Samui to stay and get the boat over just for the party. And it was a good job that we did go early and stay on the island as when we arrived, the party was the next day! (Part of me was quite sad as I was slightly dreading the party!) I wanted to experience a moon party but from what I’ve heard it really isn’t my kind of thing – the music mainly and we were told that half moon would be hard techno – brilliant!!! So I wanted to go but didn’t, so if we had missed it I wouldn’t have been too sad!
As usual while everyone else who got off the boat disappeared within 5 minutes, 10 minutes later we were still standing there surrounded by ladies with leaflets trying to sell us their hostels. I was hoping to find a decent priced place with aircon but it didn’t look like that was going to happen. Only Barry and Art would be lucky enough to afford it! :0( There was one place that looked nice and seeing as we had been in party areas pretty much the whole time since the boys arrived I was trying to push to go North of the island which was much quieter but there was a lot of to and froing and in the end I gave up trying to say what I would like – I just wanted them to choose somewhere!! In the end we did go to the place I wanted which was quite a drive away but I was hoping that when we would arrive it would be worth it. However, it wasn’t! It was supposed to have its own private beach which it did – if you can call a rocky algae filled bay a beach! The huts were shacks and one even had a hole in the roof with the coconut still sitting on the floor! Dangerous!! So no need to say that we left there and went to another resort around the corner. The beach was lovely this time as a beach should be and quite deserted really. The boys found a lovely room, even though we had to go without aircon, and I really wanted to stay here the whole time as we could have easily have got a tuk tuk down to the party but it was too quiet for the boys so before we had even had dinner it was decided that we would move on to the bar strip the next day, which I was not happy about, but the boys were only out for another couple of days and it was their holiday so I had to go with it.
We didn’t hurry out the next day, had breakfast, relaxed on the beach for a while and then hit the town. The hunt for a place to stay was on again so I sat in a bar with the bags and let the boys go off. They were gone a while and came back in a car which took us to the hostel. Again it was a pretty nice room up the hill from the beach and bless Barry – he paid extra so we could have aircon!! THANK YOU!!! The room was nice but even nicer with aircon!
It was party night! We had some dinner and then went to another hostel for some pre party drinks and it was at this point that my dread was starting to take over. I was on the verge of not going. The drinks weren’t really going down very well and I was really torn between wanting to go and not wanting to. I thought maybe I could go for a while and then if it was really bad I could always grab a tuk tuk and leave the boys to party on, so off we went. All four of us!
Now, the half moon party is supposed to take place in the jungle so when we got in the tuk tuk I was expecting a 20 minute ride right out into the middle of the island. Well – I’m not sure what the definition of jungle is in Thailand but it can’t be the same definition as mine because we barely went anywhere in the 20 minutes let alone into the ‘jungle’! We pulled into a clearing in the woods shall we say. There were phosphorescent lights everywhere and glow sticks and glow tattoos so it looked quite atmospheric. Then came the entrance fee which was about EUR15, although you did get a cd with that!! As we walked up to the main area of the party we passed lots of food stalls and then to the left it was there. Just this large round space with a big tree in the middle. Jungle my ass!! It wasn’t even that big an area and it was absolutely empty. I mean we were quite early as it was just coming up to midnight but still – I thought these parties were the highlight of everyone’s trip to the islands. However, the music was not hardcore trance, so for now I was happy. It was just like any other club music – house, which I could deal with. We got some drinks and milled around before finding a quiet spot in which to fill up the buckets with our own booze that we had smuggled in. (Well that Tymon managed to smuggle, Barry and Art got busted so we lost 2 bottles of rum :0( ) All in all I’m not going to go on about the party. It was ok, it got fairly busy but no where near what I thought it would have done. Thankfully the music stayed housey all night so it was bearable, Tymon tried to get a MC gig but they didn’t trust an unknown in the end which was a shame, but maybe another time back in Thailand! I left the boys there at around 3am as I was done. Noting exciting was going on and I had done what I came to do – experience it. Although I certainly won’t be rushing back next year. What a hype for nothing!! But the boys seemed to enjoy it so that was the main thing.
The following day was Barry and Arts last day so we relaxed and sobered up on the beach in the sun, had a nice last supper and then had a fairly early night as the boys were up at 6am to get the boat back to the mainland.
It had been nice having the boys around for 2.5 weeks, although I didn’t realize it was going to be quite so girl mad as it was. I think we were both hoping for at least a couple of nights chilling, drinking and paying poker or something, but hey when you’re single you want to party right? And they had a great holiday!
Tymon and I hung around for one more day, hired a scooter (and saw the puppy get run over which I can’t even bring myself to talk about!) and then we headed to Koh Samui, our final destination for Thailand.
Most backpackers stay away from Koh Samui as it’s the honey moon island so it’s expensive, but I really like Koh Samui and finally we had a normal beach. The water was lovely and clear and there was water at the beach that graduated out normally so you could swim. You didn’t have to walk half a mile into the ocean and then another half mile to get wet beyond your waist!! We met a guy in the taxi from the jetty who said he had a decent place that was quiet and towards the end of the strip so we decided to follow him to check out the room. It was pretty decent and budget for the area so we decided to stay.
There’s not a great deal going on in Samui, I mean most people are there to drink and lie on the beach for 2 weeks. The main strip is about 7km which parallels the beach and is full of shops, bars and restaurants. It had all the Western requirements – a McDonalds, Starbucks, Boots etc. It also has loads of counterfeit shops selling bags and watches etc – so we did a little shopping!! The restaurants look amazing with all the fresh seafood and BBQ food out the front on ice and the bars look lovely, so it was definitely another island where I wanted some nice clothes, to be staying in a nice hotel and eat and drink lots of yummy food. I mean we still had a few beers and all the food we ate was yummy – it’s hard to go wrong when you’re in Thailand and we found this great food stand that we went to every morning for breakfast/lunch. I would get a papaya salad and a couple of satays and Tymon would get satays and sticky rice – she was amazing, the best papaya salad and the satay was delicious too. God I miss papaya salad!! :0(
We basically spent 5 days lazing on the beach, playing a lot of Frisbee. One day we hired a bike and decided to cruise around the island which was pretty nice. They had a huge prayer complex that had several massive Buddha statues which was pretty impressive and lovely beaches all around the coast. We also went to a boxing training gym that we had been told about. The owner wasn’t there yet and Tymon wanted to ask about taking some photos so later that day he went back while I sat doing the internet. When he came back he said he’d met 2 Moroccan boxers from Holland and they had sponsored him a ticket to watch the fighting in the stadium – the real Muay Thai and not a ‘show’. We had both wanted to go but it was really expensive! In the end we decided that Tymon would go alone and we’d save the money for buying me another ticket. He was going to be off at the ringside taking photos all night and I knew I’d get bored after one or two fights so it was great that he’d been given the money by the guys. It was sooo nice of them.
It was very tropical on the island and would usually cloud over and rain torrentially in the evenings. And I mean RAIN, but at this point we were either in the restaurant or the room watching TV. One night we were going to have a big night out but ended up getting drunk in the room until 2am playing cards (which was a feat for me as Tymon never plays cards with me – even though he beat me rotten at shithead! Beginners luck!!) We did amble up the long dark road to the bar area but it was soooooo dead! The bars were all barely a quarter full, if they had any people in them at all. And it was pretty young too. Drinks were expensive so we had a wander with our bottle of rum and coke, got a burger and headed back to the room!! Exciting!!! :0)
One night we could hold out no more. Walking past this amazing restaurant every night with all this food was too much – so we caved. I mean it’s pretty cheap really but just not for our budget, but the imported Australian steak was calling. So we went on in.
We had a blow out!! Oh my God it was heaven!! We got a platter with steak and ribs and schnitzel and jacket potato and corn on the cob and a beer and glass of red wine. It was perfect – so delicious and worth every penny!! It was a good job we didn’t have far to walk back to the hostel as I thought my belly was going to explode I was so full. But that was definitely a good night!
Mmm…what else. Not much I don’t think. Our time in Thailand came to an end. After 6.5 weeks travelling the country from North to South our time was up. It was onto Malaysia. We’d been struggling with our route into Malaysia as my mum and dad had finally booked their tickets to come out and meet us. We were hoping that we could go to the Perhentian islands which are North East of Malaysia, then travel down to the highlands, and onto to KL to meet them, but then we were on a tight schedule with my parents and we needed to sort out our Indian visas in KL so we really had to figure it all out for a while. In the end we decided to go to KL first and sort out our visa as that was the most important thing. Then we could go to the Cameron Highlands for a couple of days and Melaka while waiting for my mum and dad and then we could fly up to the Perhentian islands with them before heading to Singapore. It was messy but seemed the most logical.
And that was it, we booked our bus to KL and left on the 24 hours journey the next day.
So – Thailand. What can I say? I absolutely LOVED it! It wasn’t one of the countries I was really looking forward to. I mean I wanted to go, but thought it’s just full of Westerners on holiday – which it is! But Thailand’s charm and beauty is hard to deny. It’s relaxed and fun and you can find some home comforts too which is great after being on the road for a while. We met some great people and did some great things. The Thai New Year in Changmai is an event I will never forget! INSANE!! Playing with tiger cubs, scuba diving and the islands. It’s an incredible country and let’s not forget the food! YUMMY doesn’t even cover it. And it’s also where I started my love affair with dried broad beans. Seriously if you see them in the shops anywhere – buy some. They are super lekker!!
So with a heavy heart was boarded that bus onto our next adventure….
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Islanders
We had accommodation booked for our return to Bangkok and for the boys (Barry & Arthur) as they would arrive the next day. The first thing we noticed about being back in Kho San Road area that it was noticeably quieter and there were more police on the streets. We had been following it in the news and it seemed like one minute an agreement had been made, the next it was all going off again, although the worst finale was still a few weeks away yet! And it had obviously affected tourism what with the bar on all travel to the country – although I still to this day think it was a completely overhyped media sensation and no where near as awful as it was. (Not belittling the deaths and destruction that happened!! Just that it wasn’t ALL over Bangkok and Thailand. It’s like the action happening in Wimbledon and you want to visit Chingford and all travel to London and then the UK is banned! Or for you Dutchies, action in Amsterdam, you want to be in Rotterdam, all travel to Holland banned!) A little over the top I feel.
Anyway – the following day bright and early Tymon went off the airport to meet the boys. They arrived at the hostel safe and sound and it was really great to see them after all this time. Especially for Tymon as his mates are such a big part of his life and he’s really missed that. Which is why I let him go to the airport alone, so they could get all their male bonding and silly sayings like ‘Gerard, kenkerzooi, dat meen je niet, Duitser!!’ out of the way! These don’t really mean anything and are not said like normal words, it’s more like a string of funny sounds they come out with – boys!! I can only compare it to the kind of thing girls do when some exciting news is announced, a baby is around or an engagement ring is shown :0)
Even though they had had a really long flight and had hardly slept, they freshened up and we went straight out for a walk around town. It was déjà vu for us but it was good to be able to kind of show the boys around Kho San road. We decided to go a bit further out on the road to see where we would end up and at the main road a very nice friendly guy asked us how we were and where we were going. We said we were going to walk around and he started giving us some tips. He said that it was a holiday day so we should flag down a government tuk tuk as it would only be 10 Baht and all the temples would be free. He started telling us all these things and for the first time on our trip, what with the boys taking it all in, when 2 tuk tuks conveniently pulled up shortly after, while the guy was still talking to us, we climbed in. He told the drivers where we wanted to go after he had convinced us we wanted to go there and they took us to the temple we wanted to go which was fine. Then as we got back in to go to the next he said ‘oh we just stop at a clothes store for you to look in and then a jewellery store!’ We got scammed. Basically the nice guy would have known the drivers and got some money in the end and the driver gets commission for when he takes people to these shops and even more if they buy something so we ended up being carted around town, ‘shopping’. Even the guy in one of the temples was expecting us! Tymon was pretty annoyed as he prides himself on picking out a scam when he sees one! It was as if the boys had ‘new arrivals’ stamped on their foreheads! Can’t believe we got scammed! But all in all, it wasn’t so bad. I mean we were under no obligation to buy anything and it didn’t cost us anything. Tymon even said that if he went to one more place then we wouldn’t even pay him the 10 baht as he’d earned a fortune from carting us around to the shops so in the end it cost us nothing, and we got to see some of the sights.
What with being up so early (something we’re not used to) when we got back we all took a nap for a while before heading out for dinner. While we were out Tymon and Barry ended up going into a tailors and getting a suit made each so there was a lot of backward and forward there for fittings but the suits were looking pretty swish!!
We’d decided to leave the following day as we all wanted to get down to the islands as soon as possible and away from the unbearable heat of Bangkok. Luckily there was a night bus as it was going to be a mammoth journey. Ideally we would have gone to Koh Tao first, then to Koh Phangnan, onto Koh Samui and then cross overland to Koh Phi Phi, but the boys really wanted to go to a moon party on Koh Phangnan so our whole trip had to be tailored around the dates of the party. We weren’t going to be around for the full moon but if we travelled in a completely illogical way we could be there for half moon. So we were going to Koh Phi Phi first, which was the furthest away hence the mammoth journey! It involved several mini busses, a boat, one big bus, a boat and another mini bus! But 18 hours later and severely sleep deprived we finally arrived in Koh Phi Phi.
It was pretty hectic when we got off the boat. We had called ahead to one hostel to make a reservation and they said they would be at the jetty to meet us. There was someone there, along with loads of other touts pushing leaflets in our faces, and he told us to walk up to the main hotel office. We loaded our backpacks onto a trolley contraption that a local pushed and walked through the labyrinth small streets that made up central Phi Phi. It was scorching, so I was really happy that we didn’t have to carry our packs as it was quiet a walk. (Well not really but it always feels like miles away with your back pack!) The hostel was decent enough, clean room with bathroom, which believe me has become a luxury! It was mid afternoon so we immediately changed and headed to the beach and in all honestly I wasn’t that blown away. I guess I was expecting beautiful crystal blue water right up to the beach with a sand bottom, but the water was miles away! The tide was out (but even when it wasn’t it was still pretty far out to go before you reached anything above waist height!) It was really rocky and the whole stretch of beach within the ‘cove’ just wasn’t all that. I guess it was a bit like when we were in Indonesia – I had such high expectations that in reality it didn’t quite match. I mean don’t get me wrong, it was nice. It wasn’t a skank hole but for what you imagine from all the postcards of the islands…it was lacking. We tossed a Frisbee around for a while, grabbed some food before heading to the rooms to freshen up and have a nap before dinner. (We seemed to have fallen into a child like day with our afternoon naps – otherwise we got groggy! Haha) That night we walked around the main town area following the pathway that twisted and turned. There were lots of stalls selling jewellery and clothes and lots of bars. It was pretty busy and was quite a young crowd. And very British! You could hear all the shouting and yobbing going on, getting wrecked – ‘f*cking this and f*cking that mate! Havin’ it!!’ Girls wearing not very much (which pleased Barry and Art ;0) and god I sound old, but once again the whole atmosphere just wasn’t what I was expecting. I was still pretty knackered as was Tymon so we left the boys to go out and explore the girls!
As we were on quite a tight schedule to fit all four islands in, thankfully, we only had 2 days in Phi Phi before heading to Koh Tao. Our final day we took a boat trip out to ‘The Beach’ where they filmed the film, and I can’t argue, it is a lovely beach. The water is clear and sandy, although still not deep for a long way out, the sand clean and it’s set in a lovely cove surrounded by jungle. It even has a hanging penis!! Haha. There is a large rock formation hanging from one of the overhangs of a cliff that is unmistakingingly shaped like a willy. And of course the pictures of Barry hanging off it (like a sperm) was a great image the boys couldn’t pass up!
We also went round the corner of the island of ‘The Beach’ to the lagoon where they filmed the shark scene. This again is lovely, the water an amazing topaz blue with a lot of coral. We had a refreshing dip which was nice until something started taking nips out of us! At which point I promptly swam back to the boat!!
That night we went to the Reggae Bar which has a boxing ring in where you can train in the daytime with Muay Thai boxers and by night they have fights on. Or so they lead you to believe. When we first walked in it was the tourists turn to have a go in order to each receive a free bucket, so they put on the sweaty stinky shorts, leg stockings and helmet to fight an opponent, usually a friend. I mean in a very loose sense this is funny, especially when they aren’t friends and one person is better than the other and they actually get a bit of a knocking, and its even more entertaining of course when it’s girls, but overall it’s pretty pathetic. And unfortunately it doesn’t even get that exciting when the real Thai boxers come into the ring. At first I was really excited to see some real Muay Thai but as soon as the second punch/kick was thrown I knew instantly that it was a set up, choreographed to perfection. I mean they still hit each other and kick real hard, but it’s a lot less damaging when it’s expected. It was WWF Asian style. The saddest & almost funniest thing was the young boys who were whooping and gasping astonished when one guy went down, obviously believing in every second. Once again I had no desire to go out and get off my face in Phi Phi, plus it was ridiculously expensive, so we headed back to the room while Barry and Art continued their quest for girls.
Next island – Koh Tao. It was another massive mission as we had to cross the south of Thailand to the East coast and go back on ourselves up North, so it was another bus, boat, bus adventure and we arrived at the lovely hour of 6am. We got in the back of a truck which took us from the jetty to the central junction where we dumped all the bags and the boys went to look for accommodation. Now the thing with the islands is that they are full of lovely resorts and also budget accommodation and what with being on an island I just wanted to have a bit of luxury. I wanted to be able to eat the fresh seafood and stay in a place with aircon but it was so out of our budget, and the budget places were just beach huts that in reality were more like saunas than accommodation. I’m sure if people asked if they had a spa with a sauna they could pull it off and stick people in our room. But at that time of day the boys came back with somewhere to go which was better than nothing. We all crawled into bed for a couple of hours and woke up ready (albeit slightly roasted) to have a look around.
Our main criteria for Koh Tao was to do our Open Water diving course and become certified. We’d heard the diving was the best in the islands so we spent most of the day walking up the main strip getting all the deals from the dive shops. The further from the centre we went the cheaper they got, so it was worth holding out and going for a walk. We finally decided to go with Phoenix Divers, which were brilliant and had the best deal by far. We got our accommodation included, which was a resort with aircon (HURRAH) and breakfast included. We started that day by watching the intro films but sadly we had already paid for the night at the sauna so would have to sweat it out before moving.
We were all pretty excited and went out that night to celebrate. I left at 1am as we had to be in the classroom by 10am (hardly an early start) but I didn’t want to be all hung over. Tymon came home about 2.30am and of course the next morning we found out the boys had had about 1.5 hours sleep!! It was a new island therefore new girls!! ;0) Oh to be single again I guess.
Thankfully we packed up and left the sauna and moved into a beautiful massive room with aircon!! I blasted that baby on like there was no tomorrow. Thailand is just soooo hot in May! Then breakkie and off to the classroom. We spent the morning learning some theory and then after lunch we kitted up and went out for our first lesson in the water. I had already, many years ago in Egypt done my half Padi, which had already expired a long time ago, and Barry has also dived previously but for Tymon and Art it was a new experience. We didn’t go deep as we were just learning all the techniques and requisites for the certification and it was really fun. We were in the water nearly 2 hours but it flew by and as went through all the exercises I was happy it felt strangely familiar. The whole losing your mouthpiece and leaning over and finding it again with an arm sweep. The signals to your buddy that you are out of air, inflating and deflating and of course the dreaded filling up of your mask with water and emptying it again all under water. I hate that exercise and usually panic but I surprised myself and managed to do it with little stress. It’s a funny feeling as you have a mouthpiece in and you know you can breathe but you find yourself holding your breath in concentration. Then you forget to breathe, you have your eyes shut tightly so you don’t get salt water in them and they sting, so your senses are a bit off and then you still haven’t breathed so you start to panic because you can’t breathe and can’t see. You start to take big gulps from the tank which seems very alien and it’s like your brain doesn’t accept the air as it knows it’s underwater and you shouldn’t be able to breathe in. In some cases you find yourself floating to the surface cos you’ve inadvertently kicked your way to the top, breaking the surface time rule, so it can be a bit messy. (Well that was only me one time) but on the whole we all did well. Tymon felt a bit queasy but we think that was down to a hangover more than anything else.
Tymon and I were absolutely knackered by the end of the day so we just chilled (literally) in the room with our satellite TV and got takeaway pizza. Heaven!! Barry and Art – well you guessed it – went out to party ;0)
Next day was our first proper dives. After some more theory we went out to sea. It was all very exciting kitting up on the boat and going down the first time was really cool. It wasn’t that deep, only about 12 metres but the coral was nice and there were lots of fish. We also got to practice the exercises again in relatively shallow water in case anything goes wrong it’s not that far to the surface.
Scuba diving is in a word – awesome. If you have a good site and the visibility is good it’s out of the world. And it is. It’s a completely different world down there and it’s amazing to think that in reality we still know so very little about it. It’s not our domain it’s the fishes and coral and it’s so humbling. Nature is incredible; I mean the tropical fish are amazing. The colours and patterns are insane – so beautiful!!
Both dives went smoothly and we couldn’t wait for the morning to go again!
Our last day was two more dives at two more sites. It was an early start at 7am as early in the morning is when fish are more active. We also had a videographer come with us which was cool as we had been unable to really make any videos underwater as our camera is only made for up to 3 metres, so it was cool to have someone capturing footage. (Another video for you to watch when we’re back - & you will be watching it – it cost an arm & a leg!) Dive one went without a hitch but when we surfaced I could feel my right ear playing up. It had a little water in it so it sounded like everything was muffled but it cleared itself after a while which was great news!! However once under on the second dive (after making us all return to the boat as I lost my weight belt on the jump in and only realized when I couldn’t sink!) I had real trouble equalizing. We went down to about 18 metres on this dive but unfortunately I couldn’t really relax and enjoy it as I was constantly having to go up to re-equalize. It was really annoying and such a shame as it was our last dive!! But hey – when we got back to shore we were qualified divers!! Whooo hoo!! The world above and below sea level really is now our oyster! We spent the rest of the day relaxing and that night went out for a real party to celebrate. And we partied hard! It was brilliant. You will never guess what I spent the night dancing away to! Jungle! Oh my god, talk about flash back! All those Friday nights at the Palladium came rushing back to me. Trying to do the black girl move skipping from side to side (Helen and Lindz you’ll remember that classic move!) and listening to songs like “Badboy in a Kingston, rudeboy in a England (or whatever the words actually are…) and the best of all – I went crazy when it came on – “Eezer good eezer good, he’s Ebeneezer good!” Do you remember that??? How classic! “Got any salmon? Sorted!” Hahaha – the good old days. Tymon was amazed – he never even knew I liked Jungle and I just said – I grew up on it!! It was all the rage and I’ll have to rummage through the cupboards to see if I still have the ‘Now Jungle’ double cassette!!
We were supposed to leave the following day to Koh Phangnan but we took a vote and we had days to play with so decided to stay another 3 days. Barry and Art decided to do their advanced diving course and Tymon and I chilled on the beach. We also did a day quad biking around the island which was awesome! Tymon was nearly beside himself. He loves quadding and has been looking everywhere for somewhere to be able to do it and here it was. We all took one, including me and went for a tour around the island. Which is beautiful. We went to a couple of snorkel sites and off road, where Barry got his bike stuck! It was a really fun day!! Finished with a few drinks and a trip to the local Lady Boy cabaret show. This was hilarious – check out the video!!
And that was it for Koh Tao – we’d had a blast, but it was to move on – the Half Moon party called, so off to the next island, Koh Phangnan…..
Anyway – the following day bright and early Tymon went off the airport to meet the boys. They arrived at the hostel safe and sound and it was really great to see them after all this time. Especially for Tymon as his mates are such a big part of his life and he’s really missed that. Which is why I let him go to the airport alone, so they could get all their male bonding and silly sayings like ‘Gerard, kenkerzooi, dat meen je niet, Duitser!!’ out of the way! These don’t really mean anything and are not said like normal words, it’s more like a string of funny sounds they come out with – boys!! I can only compare it to the kind of thing girls do when some exciting news is announced, a baby is around or an engagement ring is shown :0)
Even though they had had a really long flight and had hardly slept, they freshened up and we went straight out for a walk around town. It was déjà vu for us but it was good to be able to kind of show the boys around Kho San road. We decided to go a bit further out on the road to see where we would end up and at the main road a very nice friendly guy asked us how we were and where we were going. We said we were going to walk around and he started giving us some tips. He said that it was a holiday day so we should flag down a government tuk tuk as it would only be 10 Baht and all the temples would be free. He started telling us all these things and for the first time on our trip, what with the boys taking it all in, when 2 tuk tuks conveniently pulled up shortly after, while the guy was still talking to us, we climbed in. He told the drivers where we wanted to go after he had convinced us we wanted to go there and they took us to the temple we wanted to go which was fine. Then as we got back in to go to the next he said ‘oh we just stop at a clothes store for you to look in and then a jewellery store!’ We got scammed. Basically the nice guy would have known the drivers and got some money in the end and the driver gets commission for when he takes people to these shops and even more if they buy something so we ended up being carted around town, ‘shopping’. Even the guy in one of the temples was expecting us! Tymon was pretty annoyed as he prides himself on picking out a scam when he sees one! It was as if the boys had ‘new arrivals’ stamped on their foreheads! Can’t believe we got scammed! But all in all, it wasn’t so bad. I mean we were under no obligation to buy anything and it didn’t cost us anything. Tymon even said that if he went to one more place then we wouldn’t even pay him the 10 baht as he’d earned a fortune from carting us around to the shops so in the end it cost us nothing, and we got to see some of the sights.
What with being up so early (something we’re not used to) when we got back we all took a nap for a while before heading out for dinner. While we were out Tymon and Barry ended up going into a tailors and getting a suit made each so there was a lot of backward and forward there for fittings but the suits were looking pretty swish!!
We’d decided to leave the following day as we all wanted to get down to the islands as soon as possible and away from the unbearable heat of Bangkok. Luckily there was a night bus as it was going to be a mammoth journey. Ideally we would have gone to Koh Tao first, then to Koh Phangnan, onto Koh Samui and then cross overland to Koh Phi Phi, but the boys really wanted to go to a moon party on Koh Phangnan so our whole trip had to be tailored around the dates of the party. We weren’t going to be around for the full moon but if we travelled in a completely illogical way we could be there for half moon. So we were going to Koh Phi Phi first, which was the furthest away hence the mammoth journey! It involved several mini busses, a boat, one big bus, a boat and another mini bus! But 18 hours later and severely sleep deprived we finally arrived in Koh Phi Phi.
It was pretty hectic when we got off the boat. We had called ahead to one hostel to make a reservation and they said they would be at the jetty to meet us. There was someone there, along with loads of other touts pushing leaflets in our faces, and he told us to walk up to the main hotel office. We loaded our backpacks onto a trolley contraption that a local pushed and walked through the labyrinth small streets that made up central Phi Phi. It was scorching, so I was really happy that we didn’t have to carry our packs as it was quiet a walk. (Well not really but it always feels like miles away with your back pack!) The hostel was decent enough, clean room with bathroom, which believe me has become a luxury! It was mid afternoon so we immediately changed and headed to the beach and in all honestly I wasn’t that blown away. I guess I was expecting beautiful crystal blue water right up to the beach with a sand bottom, but the water was miles away! The tide was out (but even when it wasn’t it was still pretty far out to go before you reached anything above waist height!) It was really rocky and the whole stretch of beach within the ‘cove’ just wasn’t all that. I guess it was a bit like when we were in Indonesia – I had such high expectations that in reality it didn’t quite match. I mean don’t get me wrong, it was nice. It wasn’t a skank hole but for what you imagine from all the postcards of the islands…it was lacking. We tossed a Frisbee around for a while, grabbed some food before heading to the rooms to freshen up and have a nap before dinner. (We seemed to have fallen into a child like day with our afternoon naps – otherwise we got groggy! Haha) That night we walked around the main town area following the pathway that twisted and turned. There were lots of stalls selling jewellery and clothes and lots of bars. It was pretty busy and was quite a young crowd. And very British! You could hear all the shouting and yobbing going on, getting wrecked – ‘f*cking this and f*cking that mate! Havin’ it!!’ Girls wearing not very much (which pleased Barry and Art ;0) and god I sound old, but once again the whole atmosphere just wasn’t what I was expecting. I was still pretty knackered as was Tymon so we left the boys to go out and explore the girls!
As we were on quite a tight schedule to fit all four islands in, thankfully, we only had 2 days in Phi Phi before heading to Koh Tao. Our final day we took a boat trip out to ‘The Beach’ where they filmed the film, and I can’t argue, it is a lovely beach. The water is clear and sandy, although still not deep for a long way out, the sand clean and it’s set in a lovely cove surrounded by jungle. It even has a hanging penis!! Haha. There is a large rock formation hanging from one of the overhangs of a cliff that is unmistakingingly shaped like a willy. And of course the pictures of Barry hanging off it (like a sperm) was a great image the boys couldn’t pass up!
We also went round the corner of the island of ‘The Beach’ to the lagoon where they filmed the shark scene. This again is lovely, the water an amazing topaz blue with a lot of coral. We had a refreshing dip which was nice until something started taking nips out of us! At which point I promptly swam back to the boat!!
That night we went to the Reggae Bar which has a boxing ring in where you can train in the daytime with Muay Thai boxers and by night they have fights on. Or so they lead you to believe. When we first walked in it was the tourists turn to have a go in order to each receive a free bucket, so they put on the sweaty stinky shorts, leg stockings and helmet to fight an opponent, usually a friend. I mean in a very loose sense this is funny, especially when they aren’t friends and one person is better than the other and they actually get a bit of a knocking, and its even more entertaining of course when it’s girls, but overall it’s pretty pathetic. And unfortunately it doesn’t even get that exciting when the real Thai boxers come into the ring. At first I was really excited to see some real Muay Thai but as soon as the second punch/kick was thrown I knew instantly that it was a set up, choreographed to perfection. I mean they still hit each other and kick real hard, but it’s a lot less damaging when it’s expected. It was WWF Asian style. The saddest & almost funniest thing was the young boys who were whooping and gasping astonished when one guy went down, obviously believing in every second. Once again I had no desire to go out and get off my face in Phi Phi, plus it was ridiculously expensive, so we headed back to the room while Barry and Art continued their quest for girls.
Next island – Koh Tao. It was another massive mission as we had to cross the south of Thailand to the East coast and go back on ourselves up North, so it was another bus, boat, bus adventure and we arrived at the lovely hour of 6am. We got in the back of a truck which took us from the jetty to the central junction where we dumped all the bags and the boys went to look for accommodation. Now the thing with the islands is that they are full of lovely resorts and also budget accommodation and what with being on an island I just wanted to have a bit of luxury. I wanted to be able to eat the fresh seafood and stay in a place with aircon but it was so out of our budget, and the budget places were just beach huts that in reality were more like saunas than accommodation. I’m sure if people asked if they had a spa with a sauna they could pull it off and stick people in our room. But at that time of day the boys came back with somewhere to go which was better than nothing. We all crawled into bed for a couple of hours and woke up ready (albeit slightly roasted) to have a look around.
Our main criteria for Koh Tao was to do our Open Water diving course and become certified. We’d heard the diving was the best in the islands so we spent most of the day walking up the main strip getting all the deals from the dive shops. The further from the centre we went the cheaper they got, so it was worth holding out and going for a walk. We finally decided to go with Phoenix Divers, which were brilliant and had the best deal by far. We got our accommodation included, which was a resort with aircon (HURRAH) and breakfast included. We started that day by watching the intro films but sadly we had already paid for the night at the sauna so would have to sweat it out before moving.
We were all pretty excited and went out that night to celebrate. I left at 1am as we had to be in the classroom by 10am (hardly an early start) but I didn’t want to be all hung over. Tymon came home about 2.30am and of course the next morning we found out the boys had had about 1.5 hours sleep!! It was a new island therefore new girls!! ;0) Oh to be single again I guess.
Thankfully we packed up and left the sauna and moved into a beautiful massive room with aircon!! I blasted that baby on like there was no tomorrow. Thailand is just soooo hot in May! Then breakkie and off to the classroom. We spent the morning learning some theory and then after lunch we kitted up and went out for our first lesson in the water. I had already, many years ago in Egypt done my half Padi, which had already expired a long time ago, and Barry has also dived previously but for Tymon and Art it was a new experience. We didn’t go deep as we were just learning all the techniques and requisites for the certification and it was really fun. We were in the water nearly 2 hours but it flew by and as went through all the exercises I was happy it felt strangely familiar. The whole losing your mouthpiece and leaning over and finding it again with an arm sweep. The signals to your buddy that you are out of air, inflating and deflating and of course the dreaded filling up of your mask with water and emptying it again all under water. I hate that exercise and usually panic but I surprised myself and managed to do it with little stress. It’s a funny feeling as you have a mouthpiece in and you know you can breathe but you find yourself holding your breath in concentration. Then you forget to breathe, you have your eyes shut tightly so you don’t get salt water in them and they sting, so your senses are a bit off and then you still haven’t breathed so you start to panic because you can’t breathe and can’t see. You start to take big gulps from the tank which seems very alien and it’s like your brain doesn’t accept the air as it knows it’s underwater and you shouldn’t be able to breathe in. In some cases you find yourself floating to the surface cos you’ve inadvertently kicked your way to the top, breaking the surface time rule, so it can be a bit messy. (Well that was only me one time) but on the whole we all did well. Tymon felt a bit queasy but we think that was down to a hangover more than anything else.
Tymon and I were absolutely knackered by the end of the day so we just chilled (literally) in the room with our satellite TV and got takeaway pizza. Heaven!! Barry and Art – well you guessed it – went out to party ;0)
Next day was our first proper dives. After some more theory we went out to sea. It was all very exciting kitting up on the boat and going down the first time was really cool. It wasn’t that deep, only about 12 metres but the coral was nice and there were lots of fish. We also got to practice the exercises again in relatively shallow water in case anything goes wrong it’s not that far to the surface.
Scuba diving is in a word – awesome. If you have a good site and the visibility is good it’s out of the world. And it is. It’s a completely different world down there and it’s amazing to think that in reality we still know so very little about it. It’s not our domain it’s the fishes and coral and it’s so humbling. Nature is incredible; I mean the tropical fish are amazing. The colours and patterns are insane – so beautiful!!
Both dives went smoothly and we couldn’t wait for the morning to go again!
Our last day was two more dives at two more sites. It was an early start at 7am as early in the morning is when fish are more active. We also had a videographer come with us which was cool as we had been unable to really make any videos underwater as our camera is only made for up to 3 metres, so it was cool to have someone capturing footage. (Another video for you to watch when we’re back - & you will be watching it – it cost an arm & a leg!) Dive one went without a hitch but when we surfaced I could feel my right ear playing up. It had a little water in it so it sounded like everything was muffled but it cleared itself after a while which was great news!! However once under on the second dive (after making us all return to the boat as I lost my weight belt on the jump in and only realized when I couldn’t sink!) I had real trouble equalizing. We went down to about 18 metres on this dive but unfortunately I couldn’t really relax and enjoy it as I was constantly having to go up to re-equalize. It was really annoying and such a shame as it was our last dive!! But hey – when we got back to shore we were qualified divers!! Whooo hoo!! The world above and below sea level really is now our oyster! We spent the rest of the day relaxing and that night went out for a real party to celebrate. And we partied hard! It was brilliant. You will never guess what I spent the night dancing away to! Jungle! Oh my god, talk about flash back! All those Friday nights at the Palladium came rushing back to me. Trying to do the black girl move skipping from side to side (Helen and Lindz you’ll remember that classic move!) and listening to songs like “Badboy in a Kingston, rudeboy in a England (or whatever the words actually are…) and the best of all – I went crazy when it came on – “Eezer good eezer good, he’s Ebeneezer good!” Do you remember that??? How classic! “Got any salmon? Sorted!” Hahaha – the good old days. Tymon was amazed – he never even knew I liked Jungle and I just said – I grew up on it!! It was all the rage and I’ll have to rummage through the cupboards to see if I still have the ‘Now Jungle’ double cassette!!
We were supposed to leave the following day to Koh Phangnan but we took a vote and we had days to play with so decided to stay another 3 days. Barry and Art decided to do their advanced diving course and Tymon and I chilled on the beach. We also did a day quad biking around the island which was awesome! Tymon was nearly beside himself. He loves quadding and has been looking everywhere for somewhere to be able to do it and here it was. We all took one, including me and went for a tour around the island. Which is beautiful. We went to a couple of snorkel sites and off road, where Barry got his bike stuck! It was a really fun day!! Finished with a few drinks and a trip to the local Lady Boy cabaret show. This was hilarious – check out the video!!
And that was it for Koh Tao – we’d had a blast, but it was to move on – the Half Moon party called, so off to the next island, Koh Phangnan…..
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Hong Kong & The Vegas of Asia, Macau
As we would be arriving into Hong Kong late at night we decided to book in advance a place to stay, so we spent hours online trying to find a good deal – which we realized was non existent. We knew HK would be expensive but not THAT expensive. Honestly it was a real shock looking for a place to stay. Compared to what we have been paying for decent rooms, the cheapest we could find was about EUR40!! It had the best reviews we could find but was in the worst building in HK. Mainly for backpackers and budget travelers, from what it said on the internet it was some kind of brothel, run down scum bag building with Indians harassing you every minute of the day! (That of course we need to start preparing for so it would be good practice.) The building is Chungking Mansions incase you were wondering – so you know to avoid the place in the future.
However, we had somewhere to go which was the main thing. We had also contacted some friends that live in HK, well one lives there the other is a pilot for Cathay and his girlfriend lives there so he is there all the time. Luckily Mike was actually flying in the day we arrived so we had already agreed to meet up with them that night – Sat!
We got the local bus from the airport into town which dropped us off right outside our lovely building. And I am so glad that we flew in at night because the drive into town was spectacular! Talk about a metropolis of light. There were lights everywhere!! The buildings we humungous and all in a row, They are soooo high too, it really is magical as they stretch on for miles all around. As we began to come into town we came in on Nathan Road which is one huge long road full of shops which are open till midnight everyday! You can go clothes shopping or buy jewellery all night! And the jewellery – oh my Lord!! I have never seen such massive diamonds in my life! I’m talking the size of marbles here. Dazzling in the light. I was a real magpie. I couldn’t take my eyes off the windows as we walked by, trying to convince Tymon that they would only cost him about 5 big paintings!! Haha – paint Tymon, paint like the wind!! :0) The streets were just like you would imagine Hong Kong from books or TV. Massive advert signs hanging in the street lit up in neon, buildings flashing the streets busy. Wicked! Then we pulled up outside our building and as promised there were loads of Indians and randoms hanging around outside. As we went in there were stalls selling Indian food and mobiles and just lots of people milling around in general, giving it the very dodgy feeling. It was very run down too. We got into the lift up to the 13th floor where we were staying and true to form as well as we had read, it looked like we were going to get passed onto another hostel as room bookings online aren’t always honoured apparently – but in the end it was all ok, after giving the guy a bit of a hard time and we took the room. If you can call it a room. A cupboard would be more appropriate! Honestly it was like a prison cell. Infact I’m sure prisoners have bigger cells!! Haha. But then HK is in the top 5 of the most expensive city’s in the world per square metre so what do you expect!
Not that it mattered much – we didn’t have much time in HK so we would be out and about anyway, starting that night. We dumped our bags and immediately headed into town to meet Mike and Vanny. We hopped on the metro as we had to cross the water from the peninsula to HK island and everything was so easy. Great service and great big stations! So clean and new looking, not like our skuzzy underground system! And they all have glass windows on the platforms like on the Jubilee line so no selfish buggers can off themselves at rush hour!! It was only 2 stops and Vanny met us at the station. It was great to see her again and took us up the road to where Mike was waiting with some more friends. We were right in the heart of HK’s night life district and it was heaving. Bright lights everywhere again, packed streets and everyone sitting and drinking outside bars. It looked like the city on a Thursday night in the summer. And while it wasn’t as hot as Thailand (thank god, it was a nice break) it was still T shirt only weather late at night! We sat down and met the guys and it was lovely. Sitting outside a bar having drinks in HK! It was so surreal! Only earlier that day we had been in Bangkok and now here we were, unexpectedly in HK – brilliant! We had a fab night moving from bar to bar and as Tymon and I are of course on a budget we couldn’t really afford to be drinking in the posh bars all night so we hit 7 11 and brought some drinks. It was so funny that we were there with these pilots, making them buy beers from 7 11 and drink on the streets! Haha. But it was all good and I brought 2 bottles of Strobe – do you remember that? It’s like a vodka redbull mix in a bottle – I felt like a real teenager again drinking on the streets a bottle of Strobe in hand! Lols. We ended up in a great bar full of mainly aeroplane crew as they get a 40% discount on drinks, that had a couple of live bands. The first one was incredible. They were a Filipino band and they were absolutely brilliant! They sang all the latest hits as well as the oldies and it was great to boogie to. Before I knew it was 5am and we headed off to the main street to get some food. So there we were at 5.30am sitting on some stools on the street in HK having some food which was delicious! Soups and duck and chicken – yummy! With full stomachs and heavy eyes we piled in a taxi back to the hostel which was still in full swing down in the lobby area. Deals galore going on!
The next day we had agreed to meet Vanny and Mike again for lunch and then to get shown around. We again had to cross the water but this time we walked to the pier and took the ferry across, which was cheaper that the train. It cost about EUR20 cent! Anyway the skyline at the pier from across the water was lovely and the island really is ram jammed with buildings. There’s just no space anywhere and it builds up! Up and up it’s amazing! And they stretch far out as you can see behind one another, filling in all the gaps. At the other end we walked the footbridge to the mall and met up with the guys who took us to this delicious dim sum place for lunch. Yum yum yum!! The best wanton soup I have ever had! Afterward we caught the bus to The Peak which is the summit of HK island and gives you spectacular views across the island and of the peninsula on the other side. The bus ride was great as it winds up and up a steep hill through the hillside of the island. The great thing about HK is that you can still see it’s an island. A rough island that has been developed the hell out of, but it still has vast areas of untouched forest making you forget all the buildings and commercialization. Once at the top, of course there’s a huge shopping complex. And…there was a Bubba Shrimp restaurant! How funny is that. I’ve no idea if the film came first or the restaurant did, but it was funny to see it! We didn’t have that much time with Vanny & Mike (as we had had a bit of a late start due to the late night) and Mike was flying back to London that night so he had to be back at the airport by 8pm, so we quickly headed to the pathway that takes you on a lovely walk around the top of the peak giving you a 360 degree view of HK. It really was amazing. Gorgeous views with the sun setting and it was a clear afternoon/evening as well (we were lucky actually as the following day was also nice but after that the peak was invisible through the clouds and smog - HK has a really high pollution rate). We walked around and then about ¾ of the way round said goodbye to the guys as they had to get back and we wanted to stay up until dark to see all the lights. Which we did, although it got pretty cold up there once the sun set. I only had a vest top on and while I had wanted to feel some cold weather, the rules were that I had a jumper or something in which to feel a little snug! I left Tymon snapping away just as it turned dark to go and get a coffee and would wait for him to come back to the complex so we could find a space to watch the laser show at 8pm. Well we thought it was laser show, but actually it was a light show! Basically most of the massive buildings on the island and the peninsula have light systems and at 8pm they all go off in order and together to create a little display, which was disappointing to say the least, especially when you’re waiting for an impressive laser show over the city! Haha. No, it’s ok. One building changes colours, another has a big cross on it that flashes on and off in different sequences and so on. I dread to think how much money HK spends on electricity!!
We didn’t stay to watch the whole the show so left to get on the long queue to get the tram back down. The tram ride is short but sweet and very very steep! Luckily you’re facing backwards otherwise you would fall out of your seat and going flying along the carriage!
We returned to the mansion and had a curry at a restaurant a few floors below us which was actually pretty good and then called it a night. I was knackered after the all nighter. Can’t do it like we used to!!
The next day we decided to do one of the city walks in the booklet we got about HK which would take us all around the West and central part of HK. We started off in the small old streets full of herbal medicines and wild and wonderful things they use for every ailment going. Dried funguses and herbs and wood and beans and god knows what in huge bags sitting outside the shop. They weigh it all on small scales for customers and package it all up and we saw an old man using an abacus type thing to do accounting on – an old school calculator. He was sooooo fast it was crazy – he didn’t need to look either, his fingers just worked it. Sadly each and every shop sold shark fins and I was really taken aback at just how many are on the market. Thousands and thousands, which means thousands and thousands of sharks dead! We even came across some factory style manufacturers on the small side streets who were packaging them up by the truck load. It was insane. I felt so sad. Tymon tried to take pictures but they wouldn’t let us – they knew it was wrong! But sadly not illegal! We then walked past the antique quarter which was full of boutique shops selling…well antiques, through to the central bar and restaurant area, which is called Soho (many places in HK have names from London, which makes sense seeing as they were ‘returned’ to China only in 1997) and onto the cathedral and botanical gardens which are actually smack bang in the middle of the city. It’s quite big and also has a bit of a zoo too, with some monkeys and birds and reptiles. The gardens didn’t seem to be that impressive to be honest and we were pretty knackered from all the walking so after a while we left and headed back to the hostel. When we got back I fell asleep pretty promptly and Tymon went out to take some pics as the sunset. We went back to the Indian for dinner and I was so sleepy. But after food and we got back to the room I was wide awake! I hate it when that happens but I did manage to get a bit of work done on the computer.
The following day after staying up till about 3am in the end we had agreed to meet Vanny for lunch at this all you can eat Japanese restaurant. It was very posh and right in the middle of the central bar area. The food was really really yummy, lots of dim sum and wantons. Lekker!! The rest of the afternoon was spent catching a boat to another island about 1hr away from HK. I can’t actually remember the name but it was a very small place. As we got off the boat and onto the pier street it seemed very old school. Like a village feel. Lots of fishing boats all lined up and fresh fish restaurants lined along the front. We walked to the left and followed the road around which led us into the middle of the island into the residential area which was very higgledy piggledy. Washing drying out everywhere and children’s toys lying around. We passed a school too and as every school does we soon passed the tuck shop!! And guess what they had outside? Shoelaces!!! I have been craving shoelaces since New Zealand maybe, and this is the first time I have found them – strawberry as well! I was like a child – we bought loads of sweets – fizzy laces and normal. It was brilliant. But sadly they were gone way too soon! They even had fruit pastels –so we brought some of them too! The little things that make you so happy when travelling. Stuff that you never knew you even missed until you see it – and taste it!! We still play our game of shopping at Aldi. All the stuff we would buy, the smoked salmon, the ciabatta bread, the pesto, the olives, the tuna…STOP! I’m drooling just thinking about it all. We wound our way to the beach side which was very nice, if not quiet as it’s not really hot enough yet to be jammed with tourists and locals, had a walk along before heading back to the pier to catch the boat back. It was a very nice day out!!
That night we went to the night market which was great fun. I found my flag too for my backpack but as they were more expensive than in Bangkok Tymon decided to wait. But I have strict rules about the badges. They can only be brought in another country if you cannot find it in the country at the time. I love looking at my bag with all my badges on it from South America and this trip. It makes me so proud and feel so lucky!! We had some great food too, some delicious duck and soup. I love the food in Hong Kong, although I was already looking forward to getting back to the Thai food – it’s pretty damn good!!
We were up bright and early the next morning for our day trip to Macau! The Vegas of Asia. We took the ferry which was very easy, although we nearly didn’t make it as we forgot our passports!! Duh!! But on we got for the 2 hour ride. It passed quickly even though it was so cold with the aircon it felt like a fridge! As we came into the port it was high rise hotels and casinos everywhere and even though it was only 10am it was very exciting! Lols.
We headed out and found that you could get free transfers to any of the hotels so I chose MGM Grand and off we went.
It so was decadent. I have never been in a hotel like it (any others as the day went on). The lobby was humungous with chandeliers everywhere and dark wood and as you walk through reception to the area out back you are bathed in what seems to be natural daylight, although it’s not, as you walk into a city centre square piazza type place. It had a huge avery with butterflys and balcony’s reminiscent of a European city. Then I spotted the casino off the left. We walked in and it had the air of being after dark even though it was only 10.30am! The darker lighting and the smoking (no ban here obviously) and gambling. It was huge as well and I just love Casinos! The excitement and possibility, even if it is a million to one. I suggested changing some money for chips but Tymon, ever sensible said we couldn’t really afford it each so said I could gamble! I got 10 EUR worth of chips and headed for the roulette table. I was like a little kid and amazingly I was winning. I played for about 1.5 hours and one point was up over double my money. But of course – you never stop then do you!? You always hope that you’ll continue to win and walk away with some real money! So I carried on playing and unfortunately in the end lost it all! I was gutted! I’m a bad loser anyway and this was not good. I almost got in a bad mood just because of it, but as we headed back outside the casino I realized I had to let it go. There was still a whole day ahead of me to explore Macau and as we walked through all the legendary hotels you expect to find only in Vegas, I found myself gazing like a kid at all the lights and buildings. We had a map so decided to pretty much walk around the city in a big circle and back to the ferry. We walked along the river past the Macau version of the Euromast in Rotterdam (which we wanted to go up but it was way too expensive!), through to the old quarter which is completely like something out of the Mediterranean! All the buildings are pastel colours and are so beautiful. Just as Hong Kong was owned by the British, Macau was owned by Portugal as was ‘returned’ to China just back in 1999. All the street names are Portuguese and so much of the city still has such a feel of its former occupier. The town square which holds the theatre and the cathedral (well one of them) and the library is beautiful, I really loved it. Unfortunately the theatre was closed for renovation, but the library and cathedral were open and they were lovely buildings. Even if there were still obviously freaky statues of Jesus everywhere! We then continued our walk along to the central shopping area. This was really lovely also with a big fountain in the middle and cobbled streets leading uphill, ultimately to the old remains of the first cathedral and the fortress. Macau really is a beautiful city and as you stare at the views from the top of the fortress you can see all its beauty mixed up with the old and new. The pastel coloured buildings blending in with the dirt colours of the old buildings that look like slums in some areas. At this point we had walked a long way and I was knackered. The sun was starting to set so we headed back towards the ferry. However, we knew we could get a free transfer from one of the hotels so we went to Wynn Hotel which looked extremely fancy and which also had an amazing fountain water show outside. Once there, I couldn’t go without trying to win my money back! But when I tried to find the low betting roulette table, they had higher bet limits, so we headed back to MGM. Dangerous thing gambling – I can easily understand why people get in so much trouble. We agreed to change another EUR10 for the roulette table and I felt all excited again. But this time unfortunately it was over in about 10 minutes. I think 2 numbers came up, maybe one and that was it. It was over before I could even enjoy it and that really was bitter end to the day! :0(
But all in all it had been well worth the trip, so EUR20 lighter we got back on the fridge ferry and went back to Hong Kong.
And that was it. An amazing 5 day trip and I’m so glad that we had trouble with our visa in the end as it meant that we got to experience Hong Kong and Macau.
Awesome cities, awesome food – awesome.
However, we had somewhere to go which was the main thing. We had also contacted some friends that live in HK, well one lives there the other is a pilot for Cathay and his girlfriend lives there so he is there all the time. Luckily Mike was actually flying in the day we arrived so we had already agreed to meet up with them that night – Sat!
We got the local bus from the airport into town which dropped us off right outside our lovely building. And I am so glad that we flew in at night because the drive into town was spectacular! Talk about a metropolis of light. There were lights everywhere!! The buildings we humungous and all in a row, They are soooo high too, it really is magical as they stretch on for miles all around. As we began to come into town we came in on Nathan Road which is one huge long road full of shops which are open till midnight everyday! You can go clothes shopping or buy jewellery all night! And the jewellery – oh my Lord!! I have never seen such massive diamonds in my life! I’m talking the size of marbles here. Dazzling in the light. I was a real magpie. I couldn’t take my eyes off the windows as we walked by, trying to convince Tymon that they would only cost him about 5 big paintings!! Haha – paint Tymon, paint like the wind!! :0) The streets were just like you would imagine Hong Kong from books or TV. Massive advert signs hanging in the street lit up in neon, buildings flashing the streets busy. Wicked! Then we pulled up outside our building and as promised there were loads of Indians and randoms hanging around outside. As we went in there were stalls selling Indian food and mobiles and just lots of people milling around in general, giving it the very dodgy feeling. It was very run down too. We got into the lift up to the 13th floor where we were staying and true to form as well as we had read, it looked like we were going to get passed onto another hostel as room bookings online aren’t always honoured apparently – but in the end it was all ok, after giving the guy a bit of a hard time and we took the room. If you can call it a room. A cupboard would be more appropriate! Honestly it was like a prison cell. Infact I’m sure prisoners have bigger cells!! Haha. But then HK is in the top 5 of the most expensive city’s in the world per square metre so what do you expect!
Not that it mattered much – we didn’t have much time in HK so we would be out and about anyway, starting that night. We dumped our bags and immediately headed into town to meet Mike and Vanny. We hopped on the metro as we had to cross the water from the peninsula to HK island and everything was so easy. Great service and great big stations! So clean and new looking, not like our skuzzy underground system! And they all have glass windows on the platforms like on the Jubilee line so no selfish buggers can off themselves at rush hour!! It was only 2 stops and Vanny met us at the station. It was great to see her again and took us up the road to where Mike was waiting with some more friends. We were right in the heart of HK’s night life district and it was heaving. Bright lights everywhere again, packed streets and everyone sitting and drinking outside bars. It looked like the city on a Thursday night in the summer. And while it wasn’t as hot as Thailand (thank god, it was a nice break) it was still T shirt only weather late at night! We sat down and met the guys and it was lovely. Sitting outside a bar having drinks in HK! It was so surreal! Only earlier that day we had been in Bangkok and now here we were, unexpectedly in HK – brilliant! We had a fab night moving from bar to bar and as Tymon and I are of course on a budget we couldn’t really afford to be drinking in the posh bars all night so we hit 7 11 and brought some drinks. It was so funny that we were there with these pilots, making them buy beers from 7 11 and drink on the streets! Haha. But it was all good and I brought 2 bottles of Strobe – do you remember that? It’s like a vodka redbull mix in a bottle – I felt like a real teenager again drinking on the streets a bottle of Strobe in hand! Lols. We ended up in a great bar full of mainly aeroplane crew as they get a 40% discount on drinks, that had a couple of live bands. The first one was incredible. They were a Filipino band and they were absolutely brilliant! They sang all the latest hits as well as the oldies and it was great to boogie to. Before I knew it was 5am and we headed off to the main street to get some food. So there we were at 5.30am sitting on some stools on the street in HK having some food which was delicious! Soups and duck and chicken – yummy! With full stomachs and heavy eyes we piled in a taxi back to the hostel which was still in full swing down in the lobby area. Deals galore going on!
The next day we had agreed to meet Vanny and Mike again for lunch and then to get shown around. We again had to cross the water but this time we walked to the pier and took the ferry across, which was cheaper that the train. It cost about EUR20 cent! Anyway the skyline at the pier from across the water was lovely and the island really is ram jammed with buildings. There’s just no space anywhere and it builds up! Up and up it’s amazing! And they stretch far out as you can see behind one another, filling in all the gaps. At the other end we walked the footbridge to the mall and met up with the guys who took us to this delicious dim sum place for lunch. Yum yum yum!! The best wanton soup I have ever had! Afterward we caught the bus to The Peak which is the summit of HK island and gives you spectacular views across the island and of the peninsula on the other side. The bus ride was great as it winds up and up a steep hill through the hillside of the island. The great thing about HK is that you can still see it’s an island. A rough island that has been developed the hell out of, but it still has vast areas of untouched forest making you forget all the buildings and commercialization. Once at the top, of course there’s a huge shopping complex. And…there was a Bubba Shrimp restaurant! How funny is that. I’ve no idea if the film came first or the restaurant did, but it was funny to see it! We didn’t have that much time with Vanny & Mike (as we had had a bit of a late start due to the late night) and Mike was flying back to London that night so he had to be back at the airport by 8pm, so we quickly headed to the pathway that takes you on a lovely walk around the top of the peak giving you a 360 degree view of HK. It really was amazing. Gorgeous views with the sun setting and it was a clear afternoon/evening as well (we were lucky actually as the following day was also nice but after that the peak was invisible through the clouds and smog - HK has a really high pollution rate). We walked around and then about ¾ of the way round said goodbye to the guys as they had to get back and we wanted to stay up until dark to see all the lights. Which we did, although it got pretty cold up there once the sun set. I only had a vest top on and while I had wanted to feel some cold weather, the rules were that I had a jumper or something in which to feel a little snug! I left Tymon snapping away just as it turned dark to go and get a coffee and would wait for him to come back to the complex so we could find a space to watch the laser show at 8pm. Well we thought it was laser show, but actually it was a light show! Basically most of the massive buildings on the island and the peninsula have light systems and at 8pm they all go off in order and together to create a little display, which was disappointing to say the least, especially when you’re waiting for an impressive laser show over the city! Haha. No, it’s ok. One building changes colours, another has a big cross on it that flashes on and off in different sequences and so on. I dread to think how much money HK spends on electricity!!
We didn’t stay to watch the whole the show so left to get on the long queue to get the tram back down. The tram ride is short but sweet and very very steep! Luckily you’re facing backwards otherwise you would fall out of your seat and going flying along the carriage!
We returned to the mansion and had a curry at a restaurant a few floors below us which was actually pretty good and then called it a night. I was knackered after the all nighter. Can’t do it like we used to!!
The next day we decided to do one of the city walks in the booklet we got about HK which would take us all around the West and central part of HK. We started off in the small old streets full of herbal medicines and wild and wonderful things they use for every ailment going. Dried funguses and herbs and wood and beans and god knows what in huge bags sitting outside the shop. They weigh it all on small scales for customers and package it all up and we saw an old man using an abacus type thing to do accounting on – an old school calculator. He was sooooo fast it was crazy – he didn’t need to look either, his fingers just worked it. Sadly each and every shop sold shark fins and I was really taken aback at just how many are on the market. Thousands and thousands, which means thousands and thousands of sharks dead! We even came across some factory style manufacturers on the small side streets who were packaging them up by the truck load. It was insane. I felt so sad. Tymon tried to take pictures but they wouldn’t let us – they knew it was wrong! But sadly not illegal! We then walked past the antique quarter which was full of boutique shops selling…well antiques, through to the central bar and restaurant area, which is called Soho (many places in HK have names from London, which makes sense seeing as they were ‘returned’ to China only in 1997) and onto the cathedral and botanical gardens which are actually smack bang in the middle of the city. It’s quite big and also has a bit of a zoo too, with some monkeys and birds and reptiles. The gardens didn’t seem to be that impressive to be honest and we were pretty knackered from all the walking so after a while we left and headed back to the hostel. When we got back I fell asleep pretty promptly and Tymon went out to take some pics as the sunset. We went back to the Indian for dinner and I was so sleepy. But after food and we got back to the room I was wide awake! I hate it when that happens but I did manage to get a bit of work done on the computer.
The following day after staying up till about 3am in the end we had agreed to meet Vanny for lunch at this all you can eat Japanese restaurant. It was very posh and right in the middle of the central bar area. The food was really really yummy, lots of dim sum and wantons. Lekker!! The rest of the afternoon was spent catching a boat to another island about 1hr away from HK. I can’t actually remember the name but it was a very small place. As we got off the boat and onto the pier street it seemed very old school. Like a village feel. Lots of fishing boats all lined up and fresh fish restaurants lined along the front. We walked to the left and followed the road around which led us into the middle of the island into the residential area which was very higgledy piggledy. Washing drying out everywhere and children’s toys lying around. We passed a school too and as every school does we soon passed the tuck shop!! And guess what they had outside? Shoelaces!!! I have been craving shoelaces since New Zealand maybe, and this is the first time I have found them – strawberry as well! I was like a child – we bought loads of sweets – fizzy laces and normal. It was brilliant. But sadly they were gone way too soon! They even had fruit pastels –so we brought some of them too! The little things that make you so happy when travelling. Stuff that you never knew you even missed until you see it – and taste it!! We still play our game of shopping at Aldi. All the stuff we would buy, the smoked salmon, the ciabatta bread, the pesto, the olives, the tuna…STOP! I’m drooling just thinking about it all. We wound our way to the beach side which was very nice, if not quiet as it’s not really hot enough yet to be jammed with tourists and locals, had a walk along before heading back to the pier to catch the boat back. It was a very nice day out!!
That night we went to the night market which was great fun. I found my flag too for my backpack but as they were more expensive than in Bangkok Tymon decided to wait. But I have strict rules about the badges. They can only be brought in another country if you cannot find it in the country at the time. I love looking at my bag with all my badges on it from South America and this trip. It makes me so proud and feel so lucky!! We had some great food too, some delicious duck and soup. I love the food in Hong Kong, although I was already looking forward to getting back to the Thai food – it’s pretty damn good!!
We were up bright and early the next morning for our day trip to Macau! The Vegas of Asia. We took the ferry which was very easy, although we nearly didn’t make it as we forgot our passports!! Duh!! But on we got for the 2 hour ride. It passed quickly even though it was so cold with the aircon it felt like a fridge! As we came into the port it was high rise hotels and casinos everywhere and even though it was only 10am it was very exciting! Lols.
We headed out and found that you could get free transfers to any of the hotels so I chose MGM Grand and off we went.
It so was decadent. I have never been in a hotel like it (any others as the day went on). The lobby was humungous with chandeliers everywhere and dark wood and as you walk through reception to the area out back you are bathed in what seems to be natural daylight, although it’s not, as you walk into a city centre square piazza type place. It had a huge avery with butterflys and balcony’s reminiscent of a European city. Then I spotted the casino off the left. We walked in and it had the air of being after dark even though it was only 10.30am! The darker lighting and the smoking (no ban here obviously) and gambling. It was huge as well and I just love Casinos! The excitement and possibility, even if it is a million to one. I suggested changing some money for chips but Tymon, ever sensible said we couldn’t really afford it each so said I could gamble! I got 10 EUR worth of chips and headed for the roulette table. I was like a little kid and amazingly I was winning. I played for about 1.5 hours and one point was up over double my money. But of course – you never stop then do you!? You always hope that you’ll continue to win and walk away with some real money! So I carried on playing and unfortunately in the end lost it all! I was gutted! I’m a bad loser anyway and this was not good. I almost got in a bad mood just because of it, but as we headed back outside the casino I realized I had to let it go. There was still a whole day ahead of me to explore Macau and as we walked through all the legendary hotels you expect to find only in Vegas, I found myself gazing like a kid at all the lights and buildings. We had a map so decided to pretty much walk around the city in a big circle and back to the ferry. We walked along the river past the Macau version of the Euromast in Rotterdam (which we wanted to go up but it was way too expensive!), through to the old quarter which is completely like something out of the Mediterranean! All the buildings are pastel colours and are so beautiful. Just as Hong Kong was owned by the British, Macau was owned by Portugal as was ‘returned’ to China just back in 1999. All the street names are Portuguese and so much of the city still has such a feel of its former occupier. The town square which holds the theatre and the cathedral (well one of them) and the library is beautiful, I really loved it. Unfortunately the theatre was closed for renovation, but the library and cathedral were open and they were lovely buildings. Even if there were still obviously freaky statues of Jesus everywhere! We then continued our walk along to the central shopping area. This was really lovely also with a big fountain in the middle and cobbled streets leading uphill, ultimately to the old remains of the first cathedral and the fortress. Macau really is a beautiful city and as you stare at the views from the top of the fortress you can see all its beauty mixed up with the old and new. The pastel coloured buildings blending in with the dirt colours of the old buildings that look like slums in some areas. At this point we had walked a long way and I was knackered. The sun was starting to set so we headed back towards the ferry. However, we knew we could get a free transfer from one of the hotels so we went to Wynn Hotel which looked extremely fancy and which also had an amazing fountain water show outside. Once there, I couldn’t go without trying to win my money back! But when I tried to find the low betting roulette table, they had higher bet limits, so we headed back to MGM. Dangerous thing gambling – I can easily understand why people get in so much trouble. We agreed to change another EUR10 for the roulette table and I felt all excited again. But this time unfortunately it was over in about 10 minutes. I think 2 numbers came up, maybe one and that was it. It was over before I could even enjoy it and that really was bitter end to the day! :0(
But all in all it had been well worth the trip, so EUR20 lighter we got back on the fridge ferry and went back to Hong Kong.
And that was it. An amazing 5 day trip and I’m so glad that we had trouble with our visa in the end as it meant that we got to experience Hong Kong and Macau.
Awesome cities, awesome food – awesome.
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