The SE Asia adventure begins...

Bangkok Craziness!

hannahbell — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:41:00 GMT

We decided to get the overnight train from Chaing Mai to Bangkok which took 12hours and I was so impressed with this service. The train actually left on time which is always a bonus, I had my own bed with curtains and a little reading light, it was fab! Would definately recommend this mode of transport and it only cost £18, bargain!

We arrived in Bangkok around 7.30am and got a tuk tuk to our hostel which was located just off Kho San Road which is the main backpacker area of Bangkok. The driver strapped our bags to the back of his tuk tuk with abit of frayed rope- I was convinced that I was going to loose my luggage at any moment during that journey!! and of course the Bangkok traffic was as manic as ever, even at that time in the morning!

We stayed at a place called Rainbow Guest House which I swear is used for a 'rent a room by the hour' place as I saw so many men coming and going with the same woman- classy! That's what you get for £2 a night!!!

We spent the first day trying to sort out transport and visa for Cambodia, this proved to be more difficult than originally thought and we felt like we were being scammed at every corner which in theory, we were!! Unfortunately, that's Kho San Road for you!

We eventually went with the not so dodgy company (that's what we thought) and had to pay £37 for the bus and visa for Cambodia. The bus was due to pick us up at 7.30am, take us to the border for Cambodia, get our passports stamped and then onto another bus to Siem Reap! What could possibly go wrong??. We decided after a hectic day that beer and people watching was needed!

Our final day in Bangkok was spent visiting the Grand Palace, sampling more fruit smoothies and having a famous thai massage which involved the lady trying out some acrobat moves on me which I must say wasn't pleasant at times!!!, however for £2.50- I thought it was a bargain and was well needed!!

Next stop- Siem Reap, Cambodia! Let's hope we get there in one piece!!

For the love of cake- Chaing Mai- Thailand

hannahbell — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:01:00 GMT

We finally made a plan in Singapore and decided to fly to Chaing Mai in Thailand. The first flight from Singapore to KL went swimmingly, we had a 6 hour wait at KL airport and thought 'we can find somewhere to have a cheeky little nap'! I expected a little carpeted area in the airport or some seats! KL airport is just full of marbled floors and had a lack of seats so we opted for the marble floor as there wasn't any other option! I popped my headphones in and tried to have a little snooze, this lasted all of 20mins and then we were being told we had to leave the departure lounge as they wanted to fumergate! So we basically ended up sleeping outside on the carpark which you can imagine was interesting! No marble just pure concrete!!

We finally boarded our flight for Chaing Mai and arrived early morning. We stayed at a lovely hotel called Imm Eco which had a swimming pool, lovely clean rooms with air-con, breakfast, good fruit smoothies- absolute luxury! and all for £4 a night- bargain!

I met up with my friend Jaks, and we all ventured off to the night bazaar for some dinner, we went to a place called 'The Yellow Tables' which consisted of many food stalls which sold everything from Thai, noodles, rice, indian, fruit smoothies, pancakes, ice-cream and much more. Once you had decided what you wanted to eat, you visited the lady in the booth and brought some food coupons. This was where I enjoyed my first Pad Thai dish and some lovely cookies and cream ice-cream!!

The next day we decided to find a local cake shop called Love At First Bite and boy it was love at first bite. I have never seen such an extensive cake menu and fell in love with the look of the chocolate brownie and homemade vanilla ice-cream! I was not disappointed, it was the best chocolate brownie I have ever tasted! A beautiful friendship was formed that day!!

I decided to attend a thai cookery course which was run by a company called Asia Scenic. The course consisted of a visiting the herb garden and learning about all the herbs and spices that are used in thai cooking. We visited the local market and saw the locals making noodles ( I didn't know they were so many different types of noodles)! and then it was back into the kitchen to start preparing our first dish.

I decided to make the following dishes:

Pad Thai- noodle dish with egg- one of the easist dishes to make and it consisted of hardly any ingredients. I will definately be able to source these ingredients back at home.

Massaman curry- I learnt how to make a massaman curry paste which consisted of many spices that needed to be grinded together- you need good arm muscles for this! Once all the spices were grinded together, you basically add coconut milk, meat/fish and some vegetables- and there you have a massaman curry! Served with rice.

Chicken and cashew nut stirfry (my favourite dish). This was very easy to make and was delicious if I do say so myself!

Coconut curry soup- this was my least favourite dish, mainly because I put too much lime in it, but I would definately try cooking this at home. Minus the lime!

During cooking all the dishes, I realised I shouldn't apply for next year's masterchef! The pressure of cooking 4 dishes was challenging enough for me. After spending four hours in total going to the market and learning to cook a range of dishes, it was time to sit back and enjoy our masterpieces. Watch out friends and family, your going to be subjected to trying these dishes when I get back home!!

The following days in Chaing Mai consisted of swimming, eating yummy cake, drinking amazing fruit smoothies, shopping and more shopping. I LOVE CHAING MAI!

Singapore- The land of fines!

hannahbell — Wed, 7 Jul 2010 19:45:00 GMT

We eventually got to Singapore around 11pm after a ferry journey from Tioman and a car journey (thanks to the Dyson boys for dropping us off at the border!) After finally finding out where we had to go to get over the border crossing, we eventually got our passports stamped and off we went! We didn't have a clue what bus we needed to get etc! Thankfully a lovely man helped us get on the right bus and told us where we needed to go! By this point my back was about to break and I ended up dragging my rucksack through the bus terminal (getting on the bus with all the luggage is a fine art- one that I feel I need to practice abit more!)

Of course being the traveller types we are, we didn't have any local currency on us so first stop ATM! We eventually found the MRT Metro station and found out which stop we had to get off- by this point I was in pain (I either need to pack lighter or invest in a rucksack with wheels as this was pretty ridiculous! We found our hostel and had to walk up 3 flights of stairs! I think the guy on reception could see how tired we looked and offered to carry our bags (of course we didn't accept that kind offer- us being the independent girl traveller types! We eventually fell into bed for a good nights sleep!

My good night's sleep was rudely awaken by some idiot's phone alarm (yes we are in dorm rooms with about 16 beds) This is where every one should learn dorm etiquette! (Fellow dorm room users will understand). This geezer's alarm was so loud and went off every 10 seconds and he slept through it! So RUDE!

After discovering there was a washing machine in the hostel (yes I was excited at the thought of clean clothes), we ventured into the city. We purchased a tourist pass which we could use on the MRT and buses- soon we were to become MRT Pro's!! We wondered around China Town and sampled some local food and just watched the world go by! We then ventured to this poshy la la bar which was at the top of the Swiss Hotel and had excellent views of the city at night. I had a cocktail (thought it would be rude not too) and we did some more people watching! Then like children we went to watch Toy Story 3 in 3D! It was a great day!

Singapore is a very cool and clean place, you get fined for quite alot of things- Here are a few examples!

MRT-No smoking, eating or drinking on the MRT or in the station
No Jaywalking
No picking your nose (although you don't get fined for that)
No cycling through the underpass
No Littering

No wonder Singapore is so clean!

After another lazy morning, we decided to go to Singapore Zoo for the afternoon. I am not really into zoo's that much but I was quite impressed with this one (there were only a few animals that looked like they were going insane)! We had a nice jolly, walking round and seeing the animals etc- and then it was time for the night safari! We hopped on the tram with all the other tourists and set off into the depths of the jungle on a tram (I felt like I was at Alton Towers). Our commentator sounded like Lloyd Grossman and I really wanted her to say 'who's house is this' but she didn't, I was disappointed! That was the end of our day in Singapore!

Next stop- Chaing Mai, Thailand! Whoo!

Kuala Lumpur & Beach Action on Tioman Island

hannahbell — Wed, 7 Jul 2010 18:31:00 GMT

After filling up on our brekkie from our hotel in Dubai, we got our flight to Kuala Lumpur and got into the city around midnight. We stayed at a cool backpackers in China Town called Reggae Guest House! After sleeping in till 11am, we decided to go out and explore parts of the city. We went and took some touristy pictures of old buildings (you know the pics)! and as we were baking hot decided to go to the Reggae Bar for a bevy! This bar was very cool indeed! Judging by the name of it, the bar was full of pictures of Bob Marley and other reggae artists posters and memorabilia! I really wish my fellow reggae lovers were with me! You would love it! I ordered a Rum and Coke and Frankie ordered a Rum and Ginger Beer which blew our heads off! That night, we ventured out for our first experience of Malaysian street food and found a nice little place and had a nice meal for about a quid- bargain! I also purchased some fake ray-bans! Oh yeahhh!!!

The following day we decided to visit the Batu Caves, but first we had to get our bus tickets to Mersing! After finally finding the bus station, we had to go out of town to another bus depot to purchase or tickets- all very odd! As soon as we pulled in, memories of africa came back! All the touts were there, shouting and screaming at you before you'd even got off the bus! I thought, its hot and i really just want to get my ticket and get out of here! Ticket purchased, back on the bus into town to get another bus to the Batu Caves! What should have taken us half an hour took us an hour and a half! oh well, I need to remember I am on Malaysian time!

We got the bus to the Batu Caves and decided to sit by the door, big mistake as every time it opened, my foot nearly got trapped in the door! I thought, its a good job I have adequate travel insurance!

To get up to the caves, we had to climb some steepish steps and dodge the monkeys which we found out were EVIL ones on our way back down! More about that later... The caves were very cool in a weird way, total tourist trap but it was nice to see them and take some cool pics. Inside the caves, were lots of Hindu statues, these pieces of work are amazing and are the colours of them are incredible. So after taking a million photo's, we headed back down the steps passing the evil monkeys! These monkeys were vile and hissed, spat and were generally annoying! Frankie decided to wind one of them up, which wasn't such a great idea, as it soon hissed and took a swipe at her! We then decided it was time for ice cream and headed back into the city! I was quite impressed by the public transport up until the journey back- the driver was dreadful (I don't even think he had a license). He spent most of the time on his phone and talking to his mate who was sat on the floor, only used the brake at the last minute so every time you stopped you nearly fell off the seat! I should be grateful I even had a seat to be fair! On the evening, we tried some more street food- this time Laksa which was yum, although the lady was a little annoyed when I asked for no meat. She even started shouting some malay to all the other locals- she was probably shouting. no meat- who is this girl!

The following day, we got a coach to Mersing. After being used to African public transport, I don't really have any expectations with regards to transport as your mainly always dis-appointed! However this coach was amazing! I had my own seat which was a bonus, the seat even reclined back- Genius! and I even had room to put my day bag in front of my seat- what luxury!

The journey lasted around 5 1/2 hours, then we had to get a 2 hour ferry journey to Tioman Island. I'm not very good on boats (must follow my Aunty Lynn), so took some travel calm tablets and knocked myself out for a couple of hours- its always a winner! Finally reached Tioman Island and ventured to find some accommodation- we ended up staying at 'My Friend's Place'. We had our own room with ensuite- whoo! However in the ensuite we had no sink and the flush on the toilet didn't work- thats what you get when you pay 3quid a night! For the next 5 days I mainly sunbathed, read books, did abit of snorkeling and drank far too much beer, whiskey and coke and neat rum (who's idea was this)! All in all, I had a cool time and it was nice to get away from the hustle of city life! Next stop- Singapore!

The Land Of Air-Con Bus Stops- Amazing!

hannahbell — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:01:00 GMT

After a long journey, well 7 hours which isn't that long really, we arrived in Dubai! I have never felt heat like it! We got our transfer to the hotel and as we were driving through the city... I thought, oh dear, we are poor backpackers, how are we going to survive in this place! Dubai just symbolises money money money!

As we had arrived early morning, out hotel room wasn't ready and we were informed that it may not be ready till the afternoon, so as backpackers do, we went to sleep in the lobby with our feet on the tables and all of our luggage sprawled over the floor! After only an hour and a half waiting, they took pity on us and gave us our room key! RESULT!

As Frankie and I discussed what we were going to do for the next few days, we realised that we may not be able to afford much food but thankfully we had our secret stash of Mrs D's homemade flapjack, mini cheddars and Nature Valley Gronola Bars- that was to be our diet for the next 3 days! JOKES!

After stuffing our faces with the hotel breakfast, making sandwiches for lunch and stealing fruit, Thanks G'MA for the bag- its great for stealing food from hotels! We decided to head to the gold and spic souq, off we went to the reception to ask for information on how to get there etc. We asked if we could walk, he looked at us completely gone out- like he had never heard the word 'walk' before!

There is a reason why people don't walk!

1) Too HOT
2) There isn't any sidewalks in most places
3) Everything is so far apart

Ok, so we asked about public transport. No, the only way to get around is in a taxi- great, we have 50quid for 3 days, we definately won't be eating if we have to get taxi's everywhere! So we got a taxi to the gold souq and drove past a massive swanky bus station- Hello to public transport!

After lasting about an hour in the souqs, we ventured to the bus stops information centre, yippee for aircon! The guy that worked there was very helpful and we ended up buying a travel card that we could use on buses, water taxi and metro- Result we thought, we can get around the city! We headed on number 8a bus to the beach for a swim!

We arrived at the beach, in which you had to pay for! It was baking hot so we wanted some shade, you had to pay for the shade also! So we settled for some shade under some coconut trees (death by coconut sprang to mind!) The beach was ok, although I have been spoiled with Zanzibar! We lasted for about 2 hours before I felt like I was going to pass out and thought, I really should drink some water!

Then we discovered the most amazing invention... Bus stops with aircon! I was so hot I just wanted to lye down on the cold bus stop floor but resisted as I thought it wasn't very lady like!!

We ventured back to the hotel to get some food from the shopping mall (where are the street food venders)! However I did have a mean curry! We decided that as we hadn't spent much money that day we could treat ourselves to Baskin Robbins Icecream! We looked at the prices and thought bargain 11dhms each, we can afford that! It ended up costings us 48dhms! 5 quid for icecream! We had a browse round the mall as it had aircon and dreamed about what we could buy!

The next day, armed with our travel passes we ventured to the posh mall and hung out with the cool kids in the designer section- god we looked so out of place!!! After eating our sandwiches made at breakfast and our water from the tap, we decided that this mall wasnt as good as ours and got the bus back to Deira City Centre.

We decided to get the metro to Little India as we thought we may be able to get some local food. From our previous track record of feeling too hot walking from the hotel over the road to the mall, we were abit ambitious thinking we were going to last any longer! We lasted 15mins! Our number 27 bus appeared so we jumped on that for abit of air-con!!!

Then packing commenced for our flight to Kaula Lumpar! That's after I went shopping in Accessories!!

So, Dubai in three words! Aircon, Aircon, Aircon!