 The one you've been waiting for! |
AfricaAntarcticaAsiaCentral America CaribbeanEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaOceaniaSouth AmericaOceans and Seas
Just arrived in Sein Reap and thought we'd update you. Hope you've not been waiting in anticipation (I know you have Donna) and are about to be disappointed!
Well, a few days ago (who knows what day - tha't what got us into trouble), we got up and dressed to visit the palace - you have to cover your legs and shoulders. Talking over breakfast we decided we should check the date - Oh my God what a surprise when we realised our plane for Chaing Mai took off an hour before. A mad rush to pack and get to the airport (leaving behind Tina's towel and taking the key! - No change there as you'll know I've got a drawer full of Red 27s! Managed to get ourselves a flight at 1pm (thought it would cost a bomb but luckily it only cost you kids a mere 40 quid out of your inheritances - less than a tenner each - bargain!).
Our feet didn't touch the ground - the poor manager of Tanita had been waiting for us all morning and when we told him we wanted a cooking class he arranged it for that afternoon. We arrived at our accommodation and I loved it and Tina hated it. It was a typical thai house - on stilts and made of wood with very minimalistic furnishings (Bim you would have been wetting your knickers!). Both very soon got worried about the mossies and when I realised it had no mini bar I got concerned too. Anyway no time to worry about things like that we had a cooking class to go to!
(Tina) Wow, now this I did love, first we were taken off to the market for a quick lesson in the spices (difference between Red and Green curries, etc), then a quick lesson in all the different veggies they use but I'm thinking you just put in what you like, we did some buying and then off to cook. There were ten of us in the class a mixture of nationalities, we were in a group with a Kuwaiti man and a dutch girl. Lynda and I both picked different menus to prepare, in all we made 5 different dishes each incl soups, salads, appetisers, main dish and a curry each, then you get to eat them all. Yummy! The girl told me mine tasted like it had been cooked by a Thai lady, I bet she says that to all the girls!
We were there for about 5 hours and it cost us 800 Baht, what a bargain cos we didn't have to buy any dinner that night.
We decided to have a quick mooch around the night bazaar and a few drinks and then head home. By this time it was about 11ish and we didn't want to call out the manager of the hotel to come and get us so we got a taxi. We should have known better when it took three taxi drivers, a map and 10 minutes to decide where it was!! Any way off we went - obviously we were no bloody good we'd only just got there! After about half an hour and stopping to ask two people on the way we began to worry. He then pulled into a garage and while I was having a wee (my first squat!!) he told Tina he was lost and to take us he wanted more money! When we argued he told us to get out - the bastard was going to leave us there. Well Tina was spitting feathers and up for a right row, but I decided that this wasn't the place or time. He drove off in a right strop! (Susie, you would have been pooing your pants), I really thought we'e end up in the jungle with our throats cut!! It was then we decided we would have to ring Tanit (the manager) who gave the driver instructions and after about another half hour we arrived at the tree house. Thank God! In all it had taken us 2 hours to do a 20 minute journey.
We were right wound up by the time we got home and couldn't sleep just kept thinking about the situation and the noises of the jungle were quite daunting.
Anyway the next day was a totally different kettle of fish. Tina's feet and legs were still playing up and she needed to take a tablet so she decided to stay at the tree house. I went on a trekking tour. First of all we rode elephants - Wow they're big. Can't say it was the most comfortable of journeys especially downhill - I was pooping my pants! But so glad I did it - amazing.
Next we visited a hill tribe called Karen - so friendly and welcoming and all the little kids wanted to sell bead bracelets they'd made for 5 Baht (probably about a penny!).
After that we trekked through the jungle for about 2 hours where we had lunch, so many different landscapes and vistas - amazing.
After lunch we went white water rafting on bamboo rafts - such a laugh and so much fun - got absolutely drenched - sorry no pictures of this as we could't take cameras.
That evening we went back to the night bazaar only this time we had Tanit's phone and we phoned him! (Tina) We sent the last blog entry then. Brilliant market really busy with lots of noise and loads to buy, trouble is we haven't got much room, we have decided that whatever we buy we will send a parcel home so as not to restrict our shopping excursions too much, well mine anyway, don't think Lynda is as shopping friendly as me! Tanit picked us up around half 12 and we took a little carry out back to the shack and had a night cap on the terrace, no trouble sleeping that night.
Slept late this morning, got up around 10 and the nice lady bought us yummy chicken and rice soup for breakfast, have a guess what happened to that? Yep you guessed it went straight down the toilet, not that it wasn't nice but for breakfast, we thought yesterday's was strange enough when she bought us savoury rice and what looked like raw chicken wrapped in banana leaves! The massage lady was coming at 11 am (sorry did we not mention that we had booked a full body massage), we thought it might be a bit rude to leave there without having had one! Had to take it all off apart from knickers (although Lynda was able to keep her bra on, don't think the lady fancied her!). Felt really great after that stretching, thought I could run the 1200m hurdles!!
Anyway I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that we must be getting the hang of this travelling lark because we made the plane today and are now in Siem Reap and have booked a guide to take us to Ankor Wat tomorrow - very early - so off to bed as soon as we've posted this. And so it's goodnight from me and it's goodnight from her xx
p.s By the way our dinner tonight together with two large beers cost pounds 3.20!! (Kids - saved you a bit there!!)
18 Comments - Add Public Comment or Send Private Message
January 19th 2008 - Anne & John: Hello
Hi Tina & Lynda
Glad you are having a good time and managing to catch the right plane now & again. We are fine and came to Spain last Tuesday. Saw Carrie & Natalie on Thusday and they are both well. Emma comes out for the weekend next Friday and so I think we are all going to Miguel's on Saturday. I will ring Paul tonight to see if he can meet us there. No other news really except that I am having a great deal of fun currently doing our family tree. You must do one.
Lots of love and enjoy.
Anne & John xxxxx
January 20th 2008 - JulieP: ONLY ONE WEEK!!
Is there no end to your amazing adventures! Keep the blogs coming it's so good. Just to let you know if you need a back-up from the Foreign Office toilet lady, I am available at extremely short notice for Dobby duties, hours 10:00 pm to midnight when I will ensure that Mistress Tina and her companion, Ms Jackaman do not go without ice in their brandy and cokes! Finally, decided on TL's birthday bash - without her help. We are going to the Charlotte (wherever that is, for a meal and drinks). Keep safe. Love Jools.
January 20th 2008 - PAUL: Hi Girls
How lovely to speak to you yestaday even if your phone was a bit middle ages. Been digging the bar footings and have hit clay and rock (hard work) so have decided today to visit a few bars to get some ideas! Four hours later didnt get many ideas but met lots of people who wanna come to our opening !! Love reading the blog and seeing the photos (David your a star for setting this up ) keep the updates coming and you have a flight to catch TUESDAY dont miss it xxxxxxx
January 20th 2008 - JIMMY: MUMMY
Hi mummy , i went to the fair in Dartford this weekend and met some travellers who work there, i told them you were away and i was on my own and they suggested i had a bbq and they would come to keep me company, i couldnt believe how many turned up .Tobyboy (one of my new friends ) said the picture on our telly looked blured and he would take it away along with the dvd, x-box and video in your car to see if he could fix it ! how nice is that . Any way back to the bbq i didnt realise i was so good at them although the fireman said it might be better outdoors next time, all the neighbours came ,( well that policeman from two doors down) Think he might have upset tobyboy and hes family as they left about the same time . Hope your having a lovely time say hello to auntie xx ps.have we got house insurance xx
January 20th 2008 - sally,dennis,frankie & mitch: the barnes say hello...............
dennis says sorry we hav,nt been in touch he has been busy helping jimmy dry his bed out. he has told him to sleep in lyndas at the weekend. i havn,t been in touch because i didn,t know the email address and i have never sent an email in my life. so this is my first and i can,t think of two nicer people who to send it to. you really are having a lovely time by the looks of things and we are all really really jealous, i loved the elephants and would love to ride on one myself, actually i,d love to do all the things you,ve done except the cooking, you know i hate cooking. dad was here for dinner today we showed him the blog he says to say hello to you, he thinks the internet is a wonderful thing. we have booked our flights for the 12th of june, we,re flying out with ben and nicky. please don,t send me any parcels as we are being watched by customs and excise after the last time. i love reading all the comments from everyone i can,t wait to read it every evening it makes me feel a little bit involved, you know i don,t like being left out. well i,m going to go now, carry on having a lovely time and keep sending the pictures and messages and like everyone has been saying keep yourselves safe, lots of love and kisses sally dennis frakie and mitch xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
January 20th 2008 - Karen: big shout out to youse guys
Hey cousies, fab blog. Such a laugh to read and soooooo informative on family matters. Good to see you're having such an amazing time of things. I'm really jealous (except perhaps about the squat toilets). Here's an unsolicited travel tip - plastic shoes come in very handy in case you pee on your feet by accident so you can wash it off again. And what's wrong with chicken soup for breakfast??? Promise to give you good old fashioned bacon and eggs when you get here. Mum reckons New Zealand will be too quiet for you in comparison to Asia, but she doesn't know what I've got planned. Donna, Dazza!!!! Didn't know you were pregnant, this is fantastic news :) We are VERY excited for you and hope it all goes well. Hi Jimmy, Kev, Paul, Carrie, Nicky, Ben, Mo, Joyce, Jody etc from us. Safe travels Lynda and Tina, avoid the sex bars - a game of ping-pong will never be the same again. Kiss kiss, love Karen
January 20th 2008 - david groves: following the travels
You two seem to be getting into this blogging lark, perhaps we could set a HomeAlone blog up so Jimmi can keep you updated about the house and pictures of various bedrooms. There seems to be some censorship going on here. Didn't you go to the Girlie bars in Bangkok. Think for completeness some shots of these should be included, not too rude though; or perhaps you didnt go! Looking forward to pictures of Angkor Wat; the quiz question is who was it built by. and who is it dedicated to.
January 21st 2008 - Des Lynam: Footie update
Hi gals, Des here with your weekend footie news. West Ham were held to a 1-1 draw away to Man City (yes we played them again). In one of the most one sided draws you will ever see, the Hammers played them off the park throughout the 90 minutes. But an inspired performance from City's young goalkeeper and a goal that was clearly offside earned the Mancs a point. Elsewhere there were wins for the top 3 to keep it very tight at the top. Here are the weekends results, Fulham 0 - 3 Arsenal, Portsmouth 3 - 1 Derby, Brum 0 - 1 Chelsea, Blackburn 1 - 1 Middlesbrough, Reading 0 - 2 Man Utd, Spurs 2 - 0 Sunderland, Newcastle 0 - 0 Bolton, Wigan 1 - 2 Everton, Man City 1 - 1 West Ham. Liverpool and Villa playing Mon night. xx
January 21st 2008 - carrie: thank you
thank you for my elephant photo, i think i have finally stopped crying enough to write this message, i dont no what is the matter with me! what a lovely picture cant beleive you were that close to an elephant did you kiss it? Dad is fine mum i cooked him a roast again this week so thats two i have done is as many weeks and to be honest thats enough dont know how you do it every week.
Natalie is going on a school trip to the olive oil factory tomorrow she is so excited about it and dad wants to go with her.
love and hugs
carrie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
January 21st 2008 - Sam Owen: Hello there
Hi Tina and Lynda, so cool to see your photos and read what you've been up to. I'm soooo jealous! Glad you're having such a fab time. Not much to report from sunny Spain. We're all missing you tina but we'll struggle on! Lots of love Sam and family XXXX
January 21st 2008 - ARC: From us all in the A Team
Common this is so unfair, we're all slogging away while you are having soooooo much fun. Three guesses as to how the weather is.....Wet, Wet, Wet !!! Winston wants to know if your sob sorry to the traffic warden resulted in non payment of the fine ? In other words did all the bullshit mean you got off. James asks if you got his hotmail for Singapre and Ko sumi ? A word of caution about squatting....make sure you are facing looking DOWN any slopes, pee plays havoc with your shoes. Everyone is missing you including all the young people who keep telling everyone you've gone for a year !!! Do they know something I don't ? Love lo and all the gang xxxxxxxxx
January 21st 2008 - JulieP: Keep on blogging
I think we should have a Bloggers party - where shall we meet, the world is our oyster!? I did try to send both of you a text but it failed, so... will have to keep on blogging. Jimmy, I'm only 20 minutes away from Wilmington, so if you need any assistance? That should keep him in order, don't you think Lynda.? Love from Joolsxxx
January 22nd 2008 - fletch: wish i was there
Hi girlies, hope all ok, How,s your poorly ankles tina? Im off to Bingo tonight to see if I can win the National oh boy, Id be there in a flash. Well enough of the dreaming. Iv just organised Tracy Luvs birthday for fri night so think of us as we will be thinking and talking about you 2, wishing your were here and we were there. Bet you got scared with the elephants, you were brave going that near. Iv spoken to Daddy he is ok and Mummy was as bingo so Ill speak to her tomorrow. Keep up the good work only about 75 more sleeps and youll be back. take care love you both lots you Fletch xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
January 22nd 2008 - Auntie Julie: MESSAGE FOR JIMMY
Dear Jimmy - Auntie Bim and I are becoming very worried about you! I promised your mother that I would look after you whilst she is away having a great time so Auntie Barbara and I have decided that we will come and stay with you this Friday night.. We may even stay the whole weekend. So...Jimmy, please make up our beds and have a bottle of brandy and vodka available for us. As you seem to be having a 'little problem' I will bring a plastic mattress cover for you. Jimmy - Auntie Barbara and I think that you are being a little selfish, worrying your poor mother whilst she and Auntie Tina are away on their very important fact finding mission in Asia, Australasia and North America. However, you needn't worry, because myself, Aunties Barbara, Tracey Luv, Julie Fletch and Susie are here for you. Love Auntie Juliexx
January 22nd 2008 - Julie P: DON'T WORRY
As you will see from another blog, Bim and I are looking after your baby boy! Rest assured he will be ok in our hands. Love you both, let's have some more news. You've a lot of fans out there and we are all waiting in anticipation. Friday night out with TL at the Charlotte in Crayford. Not so exciting as your night out but at least we are still out and about. Lots of love, Joolsx ps Glad to hear Lynda kept her bra on - one has to maintain some kind of standard. Love JulieP
January 22nd 2008 - Jade Town: hellooooo
Hi auntie Tina. Thank you for the bears, make up and brush set for mybirthday. i did have a lovely day. Mum got me a fondue set, coleen perfume, sprays and a few chocolates. Nan got me a new coat and clothes. I thought it was very nice of u 2 txt me from all the way on the other side of da world. Thank you. Keep safe and enjoy yourselves - you lucky things xxxxxxx jade xxxxxx
January 24th 2008 - margaret raymond: keep sending the blogs
spending a few hours at Claire and Bills between treatments. Enjoyed reading your reports, have contacts at channel 4 news and french news agency then perhaps not. Tom has just been to see his friend Joe Coral and we've got steak for tea,! he's not saying anything.
Everyone here is well and send their love, Claire says to say Hi and wishes she was there. Take care, Best Love Margaret
February 26th 2008 - sally: hi from the barnes
hi lovley ladies hope you ok, i can see tour having a great time i'm quite envious, we love the blogg we're just no good at adding our messages (sorry) don't hold it against me. tina strictly come dancing at the o2 was fab, me and lisa loved it. was the dolphin meant to be pink or did it have a skin complaint? den and mitch are off skiing this week, den says that the weather is lovely out there really sunny i'm gutted i didn't go now' it was good fun last year but hopefully ben will still do the skiing holiday for his 30th next year, and we all can can go. i know i wasn't good at it but what a laugh. den and i have booked to go to new york for new year with gavin and tracy (loof),we're staying in the hilton in time square,how cool is that. tina, frankie says thankyou for her birthday money. she had a lovely birthday,lynda , nicky came down with the kids they really are lovely. keep on with the blogg it makes me laugh, i will try to add comments more often but don't think i've forgotten your out there doing your thing. carry on doing what your doing, look after yourselves and each other love to you both, sally den frankie and mitch xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
All Comments
Cambodia's Flag
Map of Cambodia
Copyright notice.
The text and photos of this article remain the copyright of the Author (Lynda and Tina). Under no circumstances should the photos or text be used without the express written permission of the Author (Lynda and Tina). If you wish to use or publish photos or text from this article - please
Contact Lynda and Tina.