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Published: September 28th 2010
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Okay, okay, no excuses, as time goes on, it sems like we are leaving more time between each blog! Will point out that a bout of flu and lack of internet resources severely hampered the chances, but that is not an excuse, merely some info!
So what have we been up to? Well, we made it to Bangkok, across the border from Cambodia without too much hassle. We got a taxi to the border and after about an hour of queuing there, we got across and asked a tuktuk to take us to the bus station. We ended up, however, at the train station and decided we'd give that a rattle seeing there was a train that looked ready to go. There was no aircon and only 3rd class travel so Darren was feeling a bit dubious, but as the eternal optimist, I thought we'd be just fine once we got going. That was until the rain started and got heavier, and we couldn't get the window up...and until everybody and their granny got on our carriage and decided to sit either beside us, and then on top of us and eventually pushed Darren out of his seat! The train
journey was a good 7 hours so we were glad to make it to Bangkok and find our hotel, even if we did get ripped off by a tuktuk driver to get there! We were cheered up by some amazing green curry by the roadside before bed.
We spent the next day 'exploring' Bangkok-well, having a look around Khao San Road and we went to the Democracy Monument. We had lunch in a rather crap Irish bar and then we were ready to head for the train again, this time to take us up to Chiang Mai.
We didn't know what to expect as we were on a sleeper train, but we were pretty impressed when the conductors came and converted our seats into beds that were big enough to sleep in and they provided blankets and pillows-more impressive than the sleeping buses for definite! Managed to get a few hours sleep on the 14 hour trip, though we had some bruises from all the bumping around!
We arrived in Chiang Mai and headed for the temple, Wat Suan Dok, where we had our 2 day meditation workshop. W met up with about another 12 novice meditators
and after an introduction to Buddhism, we were all crammed onto a little truck and brought out into the country. We really didn't know what to expect!
After about an hour of getting to know everyone, we were told that then we were to be silent for the rest of the night until the next day after lots of meditation! This was going to be hard! Though all seemed to be going well and they even provided a nice dinner. The downside was having to chant for at least 10 minutes before we could eat it and the chanting was all about how we were to eat it only for our body's needs-not for enjoyment!! Well, this was a shock!
The meditation course itself was really good though, and a really good chance to learn a bit about Buddhism from a real Monk who had been a Monk for 18 years (since he was 10) and understand more about the way they live. It was probably good for us to be quiet for once too, though that didn't last too long. The only other thing that was bad was that the mosquitoes in Chiang Mai seemed to be
out in force and we were eaten alive those days!
We headed back to Chiang Mai the next day and after much deprivation (really!) we were happy to settle in the hotel room with the movie 'Chocolat' on the telly and some munchies. Exploring could wait until we caught up on our sleep!
The next couple of days in Chiang Mai were spent exploring the streets of this pretty town and trying out various restaurants to see who had the best curries/thai salads, etc etc, oh, and some nachos at the Western bar one night! We did plenty of walking and worked up enough appetite to need afternoon milkshakes in a great wee place that did amazing peanut butter and banana milkshakes-aaah, home comforts!
By the last day there, Debs had come down with a rotten flu and was just sleeping loads and not doing a lot else. We went to the zoo and saw the pandas which was good, though involved a lot of heat and walking, plus too many animals that didn't really seem to have enough space to roam around. Don't think I would recommend it to anyone. We headed back to Bangkok that
night on the sleeper train with the intention of spending a couple of days more in Bangkok and seeing what else it had to offer.
In the end, we saw very little as Deb's flu didn't want to go away and she just stayed in bed for a few days. We did, however, manage to sample the great street food on Khao San-probably the best phad thai and spring rolls yet-and the cheapest! We delayed the train to Surat Thani for a day so Debs could recover, and when she finally seemed to be on the mend, we took another overnight train southwards. All the long travelling was starting to get to us, and after this trip-12 hours on the train, followed by about 2 hours on a non air con bus and another 2 hours on a boat, we were ready for the beaches-and not thinking it at all excessive to spend a month just relaxing down here!
We made in to the north of Koh Samui near Big Buddha beach, and after some confusion over whether our beach bungalows we had booked actually existed, we found them and settled in for a few days of R&R!
The bungalow was beautiful-right beside the beach and even though the water wasn't crystal clear, we were pretty impressed and hapy to sunbathe and swim til our hearts' content!
For the weekend, we decided to check out the more lively Chaweng, full of bars and other tourists-even equipped with 2 Starbucks (yippeeee), McD's and Burger King. D even got a chance to watch City beat Chelsea on a BIG screen with sound and even another couple of fans-and not to forget, a proper pint in his hands!
On our second night here, we booked into a beach bungalow complex where there was a new gorgeous pool overlooking the sea. We spent a happy day here, in and out of the pool and the sea, munching on fresh pineapple and corn on the cob, but leaving enough room for amazing yellow curry that we had 2 night's running!
We decided to return to the quiet life after the hussle and bussle of Chaweng, and returned to the Kinarree Resort, which we had found on the second day here ($19 a night) and met up with Kyle and Hui who we first met in Nha Trang. We caught up
over a couple of beers and a few games of pool and then today we hired bikes and hit the mini golf course! Sad to say that we occupied 3rd and 4th place! Need to get in some practice!
So here we are, sitting in the bar at the complex, just chilling out before we find another place for some phad thai for tea. We plan to leave in a couple of days to head across to Khao Lak and then towards Phuket. Hopefully we will update sooner next time. Hope everybody is enjoying Autumn at home! Miss you all!
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Michael
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You two are plain mad. What's going on with that guy behind you? The things people do to release trapped wind.