Home Safe

Well we finally made it home – the journey was a bit of a slog - 14 hours flight from Singapore to Heathrow but the plane was virtually empty and we had 10 seats between us so were able to lie down flat for lots of it.
We had a fabulous time and highlights for David at each place were…..Singapore – the Singapore Slings; Penang – Hawker delights; Cameron Highlands – the tea plantation tour; KL – the bird park; Siboya – the beach and BKK – the shopping experiences. For Amanda the highlights were…….. Singapore – the lion dances; Penang – living in Georgetown; Cameron Highlands – the jungle trekking; KL – the bird park; Siboya – the crab lunch and BKK – IT city!
In the 28 days we were away we went on 7 flights, numerous taxis including Mr Dean’s in Krabi and Mr Ooi’s in Georgetown, local buses and coaches, mini bus tour, trishaws and tuk tuks, cable car up the side of the temple in Penang, pick up truck (D) and motorbike (A) trying to get to the ferry in time in Siboya because the tuk tuk wouldn’t start, Mike’s 4x4, the sky train in Bangkok and several different types of boats including the Thai longtail boats and the paddle boat in the floating market!
We reckoned our best meals were the (1) “all you can eat buffet at the Eastern and Oriental Hotel in Penang, (2) Crab lunch at Kob Siboya, (3) satay sticks in Chinatown, Singapore and (4) the Indonesian prawns at Clark’s Quay in Singapore. Worst meal was an unspeakable one at 4.00 in the afternoon after arriving at our apartment in Kuala Lumpar, but still we managed to avoid jippy tummies!
It is lovely to be home and hope to see / talk to you all soon. In the meantime, we took 2,624 photos between us, so be warned…. We’ll post a few now though!
David and Amanda xx

On Our Way

Yesterday we met up with an old friend of Amanda's and he took us to the floating market way up north of Bangkok city....very interesting to see all the people there buying and selling food and veg as well as all the touristy stuff. On our way back into Bangkok, we stopped at the side of the road to watch the people farming the salt fields. They let in seawater and once it has evaporated, they collect the salt into little pyramids first and then into a huge mound of it. Afterwards he took us to the British Club for lunch.
The previous evening we went to Patpong Night Market specifically to find watches and were successful. What was strange about the watch purchasing was that we had to select from books and once we'd determined which watch we wanted.... the stall holder disappeared and returned a few minutes later with them in hand....and then the bargaining starts!
We are now at Bkk airport awaiting our flight back to Penang and then the next day onto London. Final report to come when we get home!!

Bangkok Old City

Today we did more of a tourist thing....took a boat trip up the main river called Chao Phraya and saw lots of temples and other religious buildings from the water. Apparently there are 400 temples in Bangkok and 30,000 in Thailand! We alighted at Wat Aroon - the temple of Dawn and 'did' that for a bit. The Temple of Dawn is huge and apparently built even before Bangkok existed. We are in an internet cafe so can't upload a picture of it!
On the other side of the river was the Grand Palace where the king used to live which we walked around in the heat of the sun!
Yesterday, after blogging we headed for IT City to track down a list of software. IT City has to be seen to be believed - it was five floors of computer shops....we reckon about 500 outlets selling computer hardware and software both legal and possibly not so legal. Once the decision is taken to buy the software we were given a slip of not very official looking paper and told to return in 15 mins! Draw your own conclusions!
We left IT City and jumped into a tuk tuk who took us kind of willingly to his 'shop' for a very cheap fare....the deal was we had to go look and hopefully buy, but there was no obligation to buy.....but we did - the shop was a Nepalese tailors shop and we have ordered tailor made trousers for Amanda and silk shirts for David which will apparently be delivered to our apartment this evening! We shall see!
Tonight we are on the hunt for Rolex watches in the red light district of Bangkok called Patpong - the night market is the place to find them and we have just seen the stalls being set up in readiness.
Its really really hot in Bangkok and we are looking forward now to coming home to some February weather! See you soon.

Bangkok Shopping

We've just hacked our way through the 'mother of all markets' at Chatuchak. Not a watch in sight, but tons of food, flowers, clothing both second hand and new, 'antiques', souvenirs and general junk. We rode the sky train from end to end - very comfortable, air conditioned etc., and are now in a mall where we got 20 mins of internet access for 20p. Not bad!! Now heading off to another mall where we hope to get watches and software...... which we have a list of. Bangkok apartment is compact but clean and airconditioned and still bigger than a hotel room! People here friendly and not nearly as aggressive in the market as we found in KL and still the iced coffee is top of our refreshment choices!! Last night we managed to buy deep fried chicken take away from a hawker stall down the road along with a nice salad and a couple of beers....no one seems to speak much English beyond hello and how are you! No internet access in the apartment, so blogging could be a bit intermittent...... take care all - see you soon!

Farewell Koh Siboya

Our island of Koh Siboya is around 5 miles long about 3 miles across at its widest point. We took the tuk tuk to the North Pier and watched the locals fishing for small silver fish. We returned via another beach resort and the island duka (General Stores). All around the shores are blue tsunami signs explaining what to do in the event of a tidal wave and showing the “escape routes” to take to higher ground. The signs are fairly new and “stable doors and horses bolting” springs to mind. The people smile and wave everywhere. The island is home to around 1,000 locals although it is difficult to see how they sustain themselves. Most of the island is covered in rubber plantations, offering some jobs; there are a few eating places, small shops and resorts offering other employment. There are chickens, goats and a few cows and evidence of some fruit and veg growing. Fishing, ferrying and tourism are other outlets although most of the resorts, like ours, are virtually empty – a consequence of the worldwide economy, the political unrest in parts of Thailand and probably still concerns about the tsunami.

The tsunami on the island was around 1 metre high, enough to cause significant damage but we don’t believe any loss of life. Most of the houses are built on stilts and are made of bamboo and palm leaves, sometimes woven in pretty patterns. The stilts are to keep the houses cool with the air circulation rather than anything to do with water, or flooding or tidal waves.

Our trip across the island today, was interesting but we obviously have the prime location at Thai-West due to the clean beach, standard of accommodation and facilities. Mains electricity is in the process of being supplied to the island and should reach Thai-West by the end of the year. In the meantime, the generators seem to work well. We continue to be looked after well by Intion and her family. We are the only guests! Her sister is chief cook, cleaner and laundress; she is married to Ban who is the only one, apart from Intion, who speaks any English – so is our waiter, sorts out our menus and drives the tuk tuk. They have two little girls of about 6 and 8. Intion’s brother Akom is in the house next door to us by the beach. He is a furniture maker by trade and does a little bit of everything around the site including setting out the fishing pots. He also has a wife and two children a little boy and a little girl. They all muck in together for example, at dinner last night Ban barbequed three huge prawns and baked the potatoes, his wife prepared the salad and coconut chicken soup, Akom carved the decorations and Intion served and entertained! To complete the family picture Intion has her two year old son Martin and her mum and dad here too. Her husband, Elik who we corresponded with regularly in setting up the trip is an American lawyer; they have a house in California as well as the Thai-West business and travel between the two.

Well that is Thai-West and the end of our paradise island. Tomorrow we fly to Bangkok providing we can get the problematic tuk tuk started, negotiate the long tailed ferry boat at low tide (wading through the water again) and persuade Mr Dean, our taxi driver, to drive fast enough to get to Phuket airport in good time!

Another relaxing day at the beach!

Happy Birthday Sue xx

Daily Grind

Sat on the beach at Thai-West
Flip flops, shorts and vest
Breakfast is done
Lunch still to come
Then it will be time for a rest!
******
Today’s the day to sit on the beach
It really has been a peach.
Reading, swimming, sunning and all
We must say, we are having a ball!
******
We went for a wander by the sea
David and me
We watched the tide go out
And all the little crabs running about.
We saw a man flying a kite
Then came back to the site
Cos it was time for a bite!
*****
Sat on the verandah
Me and Amanda
Watching the sun go down
Beers at our feet
It’s really a treat
And now we are both quite brown!