Advertisement
Published: March 23rd 2006
Edit Blog Post
Have you seen this man?
It had to go... the beard had to go... it was far too hot! I tried to leave the room with my 'Handlebar Moustache' but Helen wouldn't let me!!! BEARD ALERT!! BEARD ALERT!! BEARD ALERT!!
Unfortunately due to freak weather conditions (it being far too hot) the beard has been killed. Fortunately, it was replaced by Sam's greatest ever masterpiece - a HANDLEBAR MOUSTACHE.
What a marvel! How amazing does he look? Unfortunately Helen destested the masterpiece and told Sam to get rid of it immediately. Begrudgingly Sam relented.
MALAYSIA TO THAILAND
So a new day a new country. We have now moved into Thailand and have spent the last week on beaches. The last week of Malaysia was a mixed bag. We had an amazing time in the Cameron Highlands and a not-so-amazing time on Penang.
The Cameron Highlands is one mile above sea level and we certainly reaped the benefits as the temperature was a chilling 23degrees each day. We had no fan or air con when we got into our room which worried us but to our relief the temperature dropped at night which made for our first nights sleep without fear of even a drop of sweat.
We loved the Cameron Highlands. Wearing a jumper and a pair of trousers during the evenings was a welcome change and we
The Cameron Highlands
This was one of the tea plantations we visited. Helen enjoyed numerous cups of tea and scones during our stay. delighted in the small pleasure (Bearing in mind that the temperature has been above 35degrees for the last month, the act of wearing any clothes at all has been quite traumatic - unfortunately walking along the streets naked is for some reason illegal in these countries).
We then moved onto Penang which was billed as 'a highlight on any itinerary' and proved to be a low-light on ours. It was dirty and sweaty with nothing really to see or do. We were glad to move on within a couple of days into Thailand.
The journey across the border was seamless, from a mini-van we were ferried to a desk and the required stamps were stamped within minutes. We had moved from Malaysia to Thailand within ten minutes. The only drawback was the Mini-van we had paid for, it was absolutely boiling and we were on it for 9 hours! Helen tried to sleep but ended up waking up every few minutes pouring with sweat and very grumpy.
Thailand has been brilliant. We have already found it much better than Malaysia. Although Malaysia was lovely and we had a great time there, you can really sense Thailand has
The lovely couple
Taking a break from drinking tea Sam and Helen pose for the camera a better infrastructure for backpackers. There are more things to see and do, better food, better information available, generally more highlights.
Our first destination was Krabi (pronounced Gra-bee). We treated ouselves to a nice hotel and spent most of the time enjoying the hotel and talking to the two sisters who ran the hotel.
On the second day we went ELEPHANT TREKKING! It was amazing. See the photos - notice that Sam is actually riding on the neck of the elephant, while Helen is sat on the seat. Sam didn't have much choice about whether he wanted to stay on the seat or sit on the elephants neck as the local instructing the elephant practically forced him there. However, after a few nervous minutes Sam soon realised he was getting the experience of a lifetime and enjoyed it immensely.
We also went white wafter rafting on the same day and quad biking which was brilliant.
Moving from Krabi we went to Koh Lanta which wasn't in any of the guidebooks but was recommended by a couple from New York that we met in the Cameron Highlands. Koh Lanta was brilliant, a real paradise, and practically deserted.
Look at the size of that!
During our tour of the highlands we visited a butterfly farm and also got to see huge insects. It was much nicer than Phi Phi which was our next stop. Phi Phi was a little like being in Ibiza (a scaled down version at least). Lots of 18 year olds preparing for the acts of fornication.
Even though there are memories and pictures of the Tsunami if you didn't know that it had happened you probably wouldn't have known from being on the islands. They must have done a great job clearing up and rebuilding because the places we have visited have been in great shape. When we were on Koh Lanta we walked round to beach that had obviously been affected, there were hundreds of trees lying on the beach completely detatched from the earth. It looked like a giant had plucked them from the ground and dropped them on the beach. It was truly amazing.
Some of the restaurants we were eating in had pictures showing the wreckage caused by the Tsunami; it was amazing to be sat in these places (that were beautifully redecorated), you couldn't help but think that one year ago they had no walls and no roofs. It really was an eye opener. Even though the islands have been
The Scorpion King
Can anyone spot the SCORPION crawling along Sam's chest? a bit too 'package holiday' for us we are glad we came because it is good to put money back into the economy. Hopefully more tourists will flock and keep the money flowing so that they can finish rebuilding.
Soon we will be heading up to Bangkok and then into Cambodia. We fly from Bangkok to Pnom Penh on April 5th. So the next blog will be about Cambodia. From there we make our way overground back to Bangkok and then up to Chang Mai.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.16s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 9; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0825s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
benners
non-member comment
his name is...
Earl! as I look out over a deserted campus, with a day who's future looks to be wrapped in cold, I think... "grrrr damn yous twos!". keep on having a fandabydozy time! benx