Clare ODonoghue
Traversing Southern Asia in search of fulfilment, redemption and a tan.Clare_OD
Travel Blog Posts
And now, the end is near, and so I face the final curtain...
Published: September 6th 2006Asia » Thailand
September 4th 2006
After almost four months in South Asia, I've now left Thailand to return to Mumbai for a brief stopover (read= shopping session) before I jet back to the Emerald Isle tomorrow. My apologies for the lack of blog updates of late, this is partly due to having been immersed in work (uh-huh), partly due to innate laziness (more likely) and partly so I'll have something to talk to you about next time I see you - as you know, I do like to talk. So, whether I should see you in a few short days back in Dublinia, or whether more moons shall pass until our reacquaintance, please indulge me a few minutes to blather on about: * drinking games in stunning Railay, accessible only by near-death-experience long-tail boat * a quick glimpse into fascinating and ... read more
July 13th 2006
Cambodia is a revelation. Pretty much all I previously knew about the place could be personified in two rather unsavoury men - Pol Pot and Gary Glitter (for the non-UK-celeb-focused, Glitter was a 70s glam popstar turned paedophile who relocated to Cambodia following his release from prison in the UK - old, bald, failed, evil). Yet this poor embattled country has a strongly beating heart and a warm character all of its own, and I can’t wait to get to know it better. We only had four days scheduled for our trip - essentially an extended run across the border and back to renew our Thai visas. We planned to spend a day in Phnom Penh, which was meant to be vile, and visit the Killing Fields - an unpleasant but important dose of history in ... read more
Lack of cows in Khao Lak but little pee-pee in Phi Phi
Published: June 30th 2006Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Khao Lak
June 30th 2006
Howayiz. Only 2 weeks in Khao Lak and already it’s starting to feel like home. It’s so nice simply to have somewhere to unpack your bag - I’m realising how I really am getting too old and accustomed to my creature comforts for hardcore haven’t-washed-in-a-week backpacking. But it’s more than that. Khao Lak, and the whole of Thailand so far, exhibits a warmth and openness which make you feel immediately that you’re amongst friends. Despite the language barrier, the Thais have a great sense of humour, and even in places which have experienced immense tragedy, you are surrounded by smiles and a sense of laidback optimism. On my first day of work, we were taken on an orientation trip round the various project sites in which the Tsunami Volunteer Center is involved. Visiting one village about ... read more
And now for something completely different
Published: June 14th 2006Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Phuket
June 14th 2006
So, last you heard we were sitting in the rain in India, no job, no home, no prospects. So we decided sod it, we’d go to Thailand. Bit more sun, bit more relaxed, hopefully a few more job opportunities for me. A week later, following a brief sojourn in Pondicherry where we consumed beautiful french food and wine and got groped by horrible indian men, and here we are in the Land of Smiles! We spent a couple of days lounging on the beach in Kata, Phuket, which isn’t hugely interesting culturally but provided a welcome respite from our previous woes - we worked on our tans, watched the sun set, guzzled cheap drinks, ate steaks (enforced Hinduism has a remarkable way of turning you into a voracious beef-eater) and generally chilled the hell out. Badly ... read more
June 3rd 2006
Leaving Goa was difficult. Not only emotionally but physically also. As my teary eyes took one last look towards the sea over the rim of my cup of rum-soaked espresso, there was a power cut. Palolem was pitch black. Our bags were in our coconut hut at the far end of the pitch black beach. To reach the road where our taxi was waiting we had to battle through pitch black forest, emerging just as the street lights came back on to show that our taxi was a no-show. A distinctly un-Goan (i.e. sweaty & stressful) 30 minutes later, we finally arrived at the train station in the nick of time and waited... for four hours. Yes, at 3am, our 11pm train arrived. Never would I have believed that I could doze off on a concrete ... read more
May 25th 2006
Dreadful to say but true, the wealthy Westerner guilt I’d felt in Mumbai began to fade away the moment we arrived in Goa (together with all the stress, anxiety and sweat we’d accumulated in the previous few days). As the sea breeze blew gently through the many coconut palms, we could feel immediately that life moves at a different pace in Goa, people are happier, more relaxed, appreciative that they live in this (relatively) wealthy little pocket of paradise. Our destination was Palolem, an idyllic curve of beach nestled between palm trees, where the only developments are a few restaurants and little clusters of coconut huts on stilts. The water of the Arabian sea is deliciously warm with gentle waves, the sand is soft and yellow, the beer is cold, the food is sensational and everything ... read more
May 19th 2006
Our introduction to Mumbai (Bombay) was probably quite suitable and apt, though at the time it felt more like a stereotypical nightmare. Arriving into 41 degree heat at 7.30am, jet-lagged and hungry, our taxi driver seemed no more acquainted with the city than we did. At 25mph, he drove around in ever expanding loops, once threatening to drop us at the wrong hotel, several times refusing our gently proffered maps and directions, finally (after a three hour sweat-drenched jaw-clenched tip) on our eventual arrival, demanding double fare as his misunderstanding of directions had been "our loss". The views from the taxi windows added confusion to our ire, as this vast city of contradictions unfurled around us. Leaving the airport, we passed tall glitzy Hilton and Marriott hotels, before plunging immediately into mile after mile of slums. ... read more
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