Hello all,
Hope you all had a great christmas and caught up with your nearest and dearest. We have just looked at our stats on our blogg (we cant help ourselves,we are so competetive) and saw that 40 people looked at our blogg on Christmas day. It is lovely that so many people logged on to see what we are up to,which means you were either thinking of us or wanted an excuse to get away from your family celebrations.
also a special hello to the gorgeous Amber who sent us a photo on Christmas day with all her presents around her !
We had a pretty quiet Christmas in Bangkok,we managed to find some beer despite the alcohol restrictions in a rather dubious part of town called Patpong.Fascinating place and spent 23rd sat outside a bar listening to a woman who sang everything from Amy Winehouse to Beyonce.There was an openair market selling rip offs and lot of fellas trying to get people in for dodgy shows.
After a few beers in the crazy night heat Chris decided he could not take anymore of the scalp sweats so we went in to the late night hairdressers.It was so humid that we had faces like beetroots,booze not helping and chris asked the hairdressor to “shave the lot off.”The chap battled away with scissors,shaver and talc,Chris”s hair is so thick that he kind of gave up and just gave him a short all over,action man type cut.Very nice! While we were in the hairdressers we soon realised we had stumbled in to the place that the working ladies come in to to have their hair tidied.We saw a couple of woman massively glamous re applying piles of dramatic make up,having hair straightened,curled or washed and blowdried.At one point a stunning lady boy came in wearing huge silver heels and a tiny blue satin dress.He was beautiful and flounced around,pouting and moaning about his hair.After a quick re style he strutted out,then stopped and flashing his bum in a tiny satin thong.Very entertaining and much better than any show ,wish i had had my camera to take pictures (if they had let me) as it was a completely different side to the seedy area and they all looked so beautiful.
We had a great night and returned to our massively luxurious hotel to recover.The next day was spent laying by the brilliant roof pool that over looks a 360 view of Bangkok skyscrapers.I went for a swim at sunset with all the lights of the town flashing around and a pool all to myself lit up by roman statues,really fantastic and felt very lucky to be travelling and seeing these amazing things.It was a bit like puff daddies crib, i thought to myself. When we pepared ourselves for our christmas eve celebrations we realised the hotel was really quiet and unfortunately no brits and still no sign of much Christmas cheer. We found this out by going to dinner in flashing santa hats to discover that Christmas was not coming to this restaurant!.We decided to do what any self respecting hardcore traveller would do,we found out where the nearest english theme pub was!
Luckily people were all ready really drunk at The Black swan so we were soon best friends with everyone (thank god for brits and booze)and talked drunkenly through the night about everyones personal issue.Quite a few people worked at the british embassy and drunkenly told us about their divorces and childrens skin problems????!!!(i kid you not.) It was a great way to see in the day and we sang loudly to The Pogues before returning to our hotel for running up and down corridors,locking each other out and other suitably drunken activities.
Christmas day was quiet and hungover with a big lack of christmas food,pressies and all the people we loved.I think it was the only day so far that we have missed home and we talked about what everyone was up to and what we would be doing if we were at home.
Our lovely mates Charlie and Mike (newly wedds!)had my mum staying with them over christmas so we were able to use web cam.Phoned home to speak to our sisters,neices and nephews.Great to see and speak to everyone especially mum(hope that she has stopped crying by now) and seeing all 343 photos of Charlie and Mikes wedding made us smile all day.
We were back travelling at 4am on boxing day and felt very sorry for ourselves as we dragged ourselves up after 2 hours sleep.Our self pity was short lived as we left the hotel we became aware that hundreds of people were awake and working opening shops and putting out market stock already in Thailand.
One quick flight later we were in Koh Samui a beautiful island of beaches and palm trees.We were a little anxious going to a resort as we booked last minute on line.As we pulled up by a pool that led your eyes out onto the beach with clear blue water we realised we were somewhere really special and after a couple of hours snooze we were bathing in warm clear water and looking at a beach a couple of miles long and pretty quiet.Stunning place and really laid back. We have been tucking into the cocktails,chang beers and Thai food ever since.
We bit the bullet and booked a Thai boxing match 3 days into the trip.We were both really looking forward to it and as we sat by the ring and thumping loud rave music and flashing lights took over i could feel my heart racing.The fighters came in really calmly,several blessings followed and we all stood for the King and National Anthem.The stadium was a barn size open air construction(we thought maybe Dan Venables could start it up in one of his dads barns?)and mostly filled with tourists.Everyone is sat really close to the ring and lots of Thai Chaps begin shouting and betting at both fighters corners.
The fighters physiques were amazing,no fat at all,really tough muscley legs,six pack and incredibly light on their feet.All oiled up they began fighting,gloves up and bouncing heads along to this eerie live hypnotic music.It wasn’t a slogging match but lots of high kicks,dodging,huddling up,kidney kicking and sweat.We saw a couple of fights and left feeling emergised and in awe of these very talented chaps.They also looked really gentle and had beautiful faces which seemed strange as they were so tough.A real adventure and i was glad that nobody was knocked out or seriously injured.
We were up early the next day for our first organised trip since our travelling started.Off to the harbour where we cruised for 2 hours by boat to a tiny tropical island called Angthong.There were lots of islands close together and apparently it inspired thye film ‘the beach’!We began a bit of Kayacking,disagreeing continuously about pace,direction and steering.However we were universal in the fact that we were the best Kayakers in the whole group and to prove a point we began a mini race(i dont think anyone else knew about this though)and overtook people on the return journey.Great fun and at one point we went through a small hole in the rock (deftly manovered)and arrived at a small inclosed green water area that was once a volcano. After our successful kayacking we agreed not only where we incredibly gifted at it,but indeed we must buy a kayack as soon as possible.Basking in glory (again i dont think anyone was aware of this)we did a bit of snorkeling and lunched bobbing up and down in the bay.
After lunch to a tiny beach with a sweaty ascent to another enclosed lake area, no swimming allowed due to sharks, but photos enclosed. So hot but great to see. And finally to the elephant rides(party hats have been bought and they WILL be worn.)
Felt a bit out of place at elephant ride as very commercial and poor knackered elephants basically walk around a boring track.Felt guilty as they looked depressed and were happy to have not joined to many touristy things in the past.Wont be doing it again and thought it was unethical.Sorry elephants!
Returned to cocktails on the beach shack with a pool table so old and massive that it was more a game of chance.There were ants carrying a fly accross the table that briefly stopped play.We are now on our final day here and sorry to leave as it has been a fabulous holiday.It hasnt been proper travelling and we have really relaxed and had lots of treats here.Our hut here costs20 quid a night but is all that we need,the air com and tv are a bonus! Thailand really is so beautiful ,i can see why people come here for their honeymoons.We would definitely be back some day ,especially if we have a child and hopefully with some of you lot! But onwards now to Kuala Lumpar for New Year.We go early tomorrow and now are tans are topped up we can celebrate in style.HAPPY NEW YEAR to all ,whatever you are doing!We will raise a glass to all we love and wish for health and happiness for the coming years.Speaking of people we love,we have left the best to last.Our friend Rosy and Chris had a baby girl on boxing day called Charlie Hope. Congratulations you lovely people and cant wait to have a good look at Little Charlie on web cam as we now have one! Bye for now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thailand Mykindaland!Soph(30thdec07) December 30, 2007
Christmas in Thailand December 24, 2007
just a very quick note to wish you all a very merry christmas and a happy new year. Peace on earth and and pina coladas to all mankind.
Another day another country – on to Thailand (Chris 23/12) December 23, 2007
Well we got away from Puri and up to the old English Capital of India, Kolkata. Overnight train journey, pretty uneventful apart from being the only train that has been bang on time, this time no cockroachs just a few mice. Woke up to a golden light shining onto the agricultural outskirts of Kolkata, the tawny plain punctuated by palms and pylons, very nice. Kolkata instantly felt a bit cleaner and was the nicest big city we’ve been to, we were very tough with the taxi drivers and just walked away from their requests for ‘parking money’, we’re definitely feeling more travelly by the day and don’t broker any argument! Hotel Lytton was on the grubby Sudder street but was a nice place with clean rooms and a good feel. we dumped the bags and went for a stroll looking for a web-cam so that Soph could get connectivity (for all you Americans reading this!) with her wino club buddies. searched for a while along busy loud streets, not many beggars but a lot of wheelers and dealers all shouting the odds, quite exciting. No luck with web-cam, but my spidy sense detected a cake shop and we spent a very pleasurable hour eating buns in Flury’s confectioners (fists of flury’s as I am now known in these parts, the chocolate-pistachio bun was awesome, eaten in record time). Still no luck with web-cam so Soph decided to counter my treat with one of her own – a hair salon visit to get rid of roots etc (i don’t really understand) anyway she spent 3 hours there and looked b-e-a-utiful on completion smiling like it was christmas already! The web link situation was getting a bit desperate but finally we established comms with Paula’s Rich (he was at home loafing which was lucky for us, there’s a lesson there somewhere) exciting for us, our first web link and it was a little bit sad seeing all christmas deccies up and the fire roaring but cheers for that Rich. Came to the conclusion that because of time differences and the fact that no internet cafes opened late, soph would ring the girls which she did lying in bed after a few Kingfisher beers! Next day Soph suffering from cold so I walked around the Maidan (large park in centre of town) and visited the old Fort William, which you can’t get close to because it’s for the rich and famous only (don’t they know who I am?) and surrounded by the golf course. The Maidan is about 1×3 km and is a grassy space (cleared by the english to offer clear lines of fire for the Fort cannons, ironically never used in anger – what a waste of time) kept close cropped by herds of goats and cows and the occasional horse. The area is packed with sports clubs and every bloke there seems to be playing cricket or weatching cricket or talking about cricket, I was in my element smiling and shouting Dhoni (Indian wicket-keeper) to the yells of my fellow sports lovers! At the southern end is the magnificent Victoria Monumnet built for Vicky in early 20th century. Fantastic setting and building, next to the st pauls Church which again is immac and still a working church. Inside I saw the biggest fans in the world hanging a full 40ft from the vaulted ceiling on long thin, dodgy looking metal poles. Loads of memorials to the great and good who made the Empire in India, plaques with phrases like ‘ a true Englishmen cut down in the prime of his life in devilish ambush, barbariously murdered by rampaging hordes’ etc, all very unfair, describing people defending their own right to independence. Returned to hotel and by then we had both pretty much had it with India (as Kipling said East is East and West is West) so stayed there with room service waiting for the last taxi to the airport. Travelling along, witnessing our last shouts, smell, bustle and car horn beeping before arrival at the spectacularly unluxurious Kolkata airport, soph’s plans for a Clinique buying session dashed against the rocks of an empty waiting room and overpriced snickers bars. And then onto the plane for Thailand and Bangkok. Arrived 3 hours later to a spanking new airport with a spankingly huge immigration queue! Still, felt instantly at home really hot and humid but OH SO CLEAN!! Got a taxi to hotel and fell in love here as well. We booked on-line and everything else through expedia has been a bit of a let down, but the Prince Palace Hotel is huge, 3 massive towers of 500 rooms and several restaurants, poolside bars and fantastic rooms with NO bugs and working flush/AC. It also had a huge Christmas tree in the foyer with fake presents and lots of lights and piped Christmas carols in Thai, so we felt for the first time really festive. We arrived just in time for sundowners by the poolside bar, a pina colada and a few Singha beers. Then had hotel food which wasn’t curried, marvellous! Woke next day and stayed by pool so not much to report, just topping up tan and behaving like real tourists!! Yesterday back out in the midday sun like true mad-dogs to walk along the bangkok waterway, a canal running through the city with the fastest water taxis I’ve ever seen. At the Golden Mount we took a tuk-tuk to visit the Grand Palace in the centre of Bangkok, this has been progressively built from about early 1700s through to latest building in 1950 and is magnificent. The emerald budha, gold leaf covered temples, beautifully ornate pillars and colour and vibrancy it was pretty cool. The only trouble was it wasn’t pretty cool, in fact it was v hot and sweaty we had to stop regularly in the shade with all the other pasty westerners, swabbing themselves down and trying to hide their damp clothing. In addition, we were both dressed as buffoons, with the borrowed clothing to hide our legs making us look like cast rejects from the programme Tenko! We scuttled back in a fast tuk-tuk (much more stylish than their Indian counter parts, more Chrome, coloured glass and extra wide wheels!) to seek comfort in the hotel AC! Spent more time by the pool, before deciding it was Saturday night and it was time to PARTY in the notorious Patpong district. So we had a Leo beer, donned glad rags, put on the MP3 player and got down brothers, let me hear you say YEAH………ok let me hear you say ‘the whole of Bangkok is having an election tonight and Sunday night, so therefore the sale of alchohol is restricted apart from in a very few designated restaurants!’ – unbelievable, we felt very deflated I’ve got to say but there it was no beers in Bangkok this weekend, quick change of plan and back to hotel, we’ll do the ‘wild-thang’ some other night I guess. Please look out for phot of my hair, this is last time you’ll see it this long for a while! We very happy in Bangkok, but sad to be missing the wedding celebrations of Mike and Charlie and we wish them the very best. That’s about it for now, we’re going to put up a Christmas Day blog so look out for that, Happy Christmas!
