Since I last wrote, a lot has happened, including pretty much every form of transport and entry into a whole new country! Right now I am sat in the capital city of Cambodia (Phohm Pehn) and watching children playing in the monsoon puddles in front of the mosque opposite!
From Chiang Mai we took a plane to Bangkok, and whilst on the plane we made the snap decision not to take the backpacker route to the south west (Koh Phangan etc) but instead to go east. This may have been a little hasty as we headed into the foul depths of Pattaya. For one of the first times in my life I felt ashamed to be British as we were overwhelmed by bright lights and an extremely large number of sex tourists preying on vulnerable and beautiful thai girls. We were only using the city as a point of stop off however, and found the cheapest and seediest room (sorry nana!) before consoling ourselves with a Pizza Hut meal. Without doubt this was the best, and most expensive of the trip.
In the morning we were dismayed to find we had missed the bus to Koh Chang so made a snap decision to go to Koh Samet instead, a tiny island favoured by Thai's for its beauty and isolation. Several more buses and a ferry later we arrived as dusk fell. I cannot express how incredible the beach was. The sand was literally like snow, white and powdery, and the sea was warm and aquamarine. We managed to find some beach bungalows and headed for our first meal on the beach, where we ate on mats literally metres from the sea front. The food has grown on us all, and Colin has progressed from 3 Pad Thai's a day to 3 Thai Curries a day so it is all good! We took advantage of some off season drinks offers and generally enjoyed the fire throwers, lanterns and relaxed ambience of the place.
The day after can only be described as a recovery day from all our other travelling. We sat in the sun and swam in the sea, in the scorching heat. I am horrifically sunburnt and already peeling! Danny was pretty poorly so we didn't see him for most of the day; it is very easy to get dehydrated in this climate.
The morning after it was pouring, which kind of destroyed our plans of another day on the island, so we decided to try and get across the Cambodian border. A ferry, a 4 hour taxi and some very suspicious negotiations at the border last, I officially got my Cambodian visa. Unfortunately we were stranded in Koh Kong, an utter shithole, for the night! Our hotel was called THE DUGOUT and run by a sleazy Australian who had evidentally missed Pattaya by several hundred miles! We were also fairly paranoid about the Malaria risks, so had a quick dip in the swimming pool, slathered ourselves in DEET and crammed into our double bed (come on, it saves costs!)
Not a lot to report for today. We spent 5 hours on a stinking coach and ended up in this hole, Phohm Pehn, where it is monsooning bucketloads and we are not entirely sure what to do! A 6 hour trip to Angkor Wat awaits at some stage but I am keen to have a day without travelling.
Love to everyone, may try and hit some shops here to take advantage of Cambodian prices. It very much is a third world country and feels much more like the 'Nam than good old Thailand.
