Koh Kood you be loved

We were flung off a speedboat onto a beach somewhere (we've never quite worked out where), someone from the Sunshine Resort was meant to pick us up, but there was no one there. No worries, a Russian couple headed for the same place got on the case and sorted it out.






The Sunshine Resort had the romantic remoteness we didn't get in Koh Chang. A simple yet clean and bright bungalow set in a landscaped garden steps from a beautiful almost deserted beach. Happy days!

Remote as it is, the next morning we rented a scooter to explore this wonderfully under developed island. We visited waterfalls, floating villages, abandoned resorts with crazy hippy squatters, and a myriad of beautiful but alas littered deserted white sand beaches.


















After a blissful few days in the Sunshine, it was time to head into town. We stayed at Mark's House, the room was cheap and I'd like to say cheerful but they didn't just fail to clean the room during our stay but told us to clean it ourselves, this in a country where you cannot flush the toilet paper....





Anyways, we rented another bike and found what Mark's House lacked in character it made up for in location. Just off the main road we were able to easily traverse the west coast and some parts in land. Driving a scooter in Koh Kood is great fun, the sun is shining, wind in your hair and barely anyone else on the road.

We spent our days mooching about the island and our evenings enjoying the fabulous food at The Fisherman's hut and drinking and dancing at the road side beer huts. Including drinking cocktails at a beach bar with some staff from the fancy Soneva Kiri whilst watching a rather good fire show.











Then it was time to take a ferry and a bus back to Bangkok, where we spent longer than expected in the classic cinema themed Playhaus Thonglor. We had returned to the city to apply for visas at the Vietnamese embassy which, due to Songkran (New Year) celebrations, processing was delayed, leaving us to get soaked at the street parties and pay a fine upon departure for overstaying for 2 days, oops!






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Ko Chang a lang a ding dong!

After another brief sojourn in Bangkok we took a bus to Survanhabumi, got in a mini bus that went to Trat. Then the mini bus took us on to a ferry to Koh Chang. On arrival in Koh Chang we were transferred to a taxi and dropped off at the Nest Sense Resort.










Lonely Beach

Lonely Beach, although we never saw the beach, is anything but lonely. It's more of a hippie, backpacker village which we later discovered has a techno party soul. The Nest Sense Resort is located on a hillside overlooking the sea. As we were celebrating my big birthday here, I opted for the sea view, pool villa. It was a delight!








We checked in, we marvelled at the loveliness, we took advantage of the cocktail happy hour and retired to our private pool to watch the sunset. Then it was time to hit the strip, we ventured out to a typical Thai kitchen - a kitchen with an extended corrugated roof under which there are tables and chairs. When we ordered The Beard lamented that thus far his food had not been spicy enough and asked for extra spicy, I thought, gourmand that he is, he must be right! What we were given was essentially sourced from the devil's cauldron, however we gave it our best shot, washed down with several Leo beers.





After a wander about we found a "reggae" shack playing some good tunes and serving up some damn fine gin and tonics. Next, we found ourselves at the Q Bar for more cocktails as by now it was midnight and officially MY BIRTHDAAAY! So good, so drunk.


The next morning, still somewhat inebriated, I ordered everything meat free on the breakfast menu, twice. On returning to our villa, The Beard cracked open the Laurent Perrier as the staff popped round with a birthday cake and candles - huzzah, yes?!







No! The devil's cauldron took it's revenge on both of us. I bounced back but The Beard said he felt tired and went for a siesta, he didn't look too good. After a while I attempted to entice him into the pool, "in a bit" he replied. Our next conversation went like this:


Xarini - "Are you alright?"

The Beard - "I want to go on holiday"

Xarini - "We are on holiday"

The Beard - "But I want to go on holiday"


Oh dear, he had a fever. The next day I hauled his ass to the pharmacy and got him some antibiotics. I put him to bed as I finished the Laurent Perrier.


The next day, I was sad to leave Nest Sense, my birthday stay hadn't quite been what I imagined it would be.

Kai Bae


Kai Bae is a little further north on the west coast of Koh Chang. Here, we stayed at The Stage, not as fancy as Nest Sense but what it lacked in luxury it made up for in location. Kai Bae beach is split into north and south with a road of bars, shops and restaurants running behind the beachfront properties, The Stage is slap bang in the middle of the road. With The Beard feeling better we mooched about getting massages, eating seafood, drinking coconuts and getting howling drunk first at Hurban Lounge.

The Beard and I have been told our sparkle dust is infectious, well at Hurban Lounge we met a younger, sparklier couple Jimmy & Nice. They have recently opened the bar, selling designer cocktails, fancy tea and cakes, served up with good tunes and a lovely ambience. Just our kind of place. That night was an impromptu leaving party for Cliff, a Canadian who had come to the end of his time on the road but was heading to a new adventure back in Canada.



We drank, we danced, there was shot roulette.... A top night out!



The next evening, we took a taxi up to White Sands beach to Sun & Soul a beach lounge with an alright dj, good drinks but terrible food. A nice spot to watch the sunset. Then it was back to Kai Bae as we had been invited to dinner by a drunken Yai the night before. He has a restaurant, The Lobby, a couple of doors down from Hurban. After dinner we had planned to see Jimmy & Nice again, "they're closed" said Yai and pointed us down the road to Jonas Jonasson.



We had already met Bang the night before, he was there working with Baz and Nia. Propping up the bar was Jonas, but not the Jonas, especially as a few weeks later we discovered his name was actually Johan... We whiled away the evening drinking beers and playing old school reggae tunes.

At closing time Jonas/Johan suggested a party in Lonely Beach so the six of us on I think only two scooters (relax Mother, we had helmets!) were off down the road. The techno party was madness! Young Thais fuelled by beers and cocktails going nuts! We had a great time.

The next day suitably hungover, we planned to (the day after) move on to Bang Bao.

Bang Bao

Bang Bao, in the South of the island, is a former fisherman's village built on the pier where most boats leave from destined for other islands in the archipelago.

After our excesses in Kai Bae we wanted some romantic remoteness and had booked the Resolution Resort. Remote it most certainly was, after the road ran out the taxi took a rough track for too long, down to the resort. The view was incredible, that's where the romance ended.

Reception is next to the pool and you are asked to remove your shoes, normal practice in South East Asia, right? Wrong, the deck of the pool was filthy dirty as well as having pieces missing, a health and safety nightmare!

Next, the room, obviously the photos on the website were taken when the hotel was built back in the early 90s and nothing has changed or been maintained/renovated or cleaned since. Xarini was not happy. "It's ok" said The Beard, "There's the taxi service".



The resort offered a taxi service to Bang Bao pier three times a day, great, right? Wrong! The last taxi was at 18:30 meaning they would pick you up at 20:30 once you've finished having tea with the kids or your grandma. However, we had a superb, albeit early dinner of soft shell crab soup and spicy raw prawn salad at Chow Lay, a seafood restaurant on the pier.

They also offered a boat service to Ko Kloi beach. Great, right? The morning we decided to avail of this service was a little overcast and breezy. As we and an extended Russian family boarded the small boat, the wind picked up. "Will it be alright?" I asked The Beard, after all he knows about these things, "Should be" he replied.

Needless to say, it was not as the two guys operating said boat lost control of it in the swell and nearly drowned us all. La Xarini arrived at the beach drenched, but thankful to be alive.







That evening we dined at Buddha View a modern, stylish place with a solid menu and a damn fine wine list. "I like this place" I said to The Beard, "Me too" he replied. When perusing their website, I noticed they had rooms too, it was a done deal.

The next day, in need of exercise, we took the taxi to the pier The Beard booked a dive and then walked down to the beach for his and hers massages. On the way we passed the obligatory Thai reggae bar, "We should check it out" we said in unison.

Bruised from the massages we walked back to the reggae bar for an aperitif. An aperitif that turned into cocktails, beers, dinner more beers and missing the 20:30 pick up, we felt like rebels! The music was great old school classics mixed up with new stuff, Tarrus Riley, Chronnix etc. The location is perfect, built into the hillside the bar affords a lovely view of the bay. A very good time was had by all.

The next day we checked out of Resolution Resort - "I have only one resolution and that's never to stay here again" I sneered. Remember the taxi service? The first departs at 11:00. At 10:50 we were packed, breakfasted and ready to get the hell out of there only to be told it had left already, WHAT???!!! Eventually, it was summoned back for us.

Checking in to Buddha View, The Beard said, "I don't feel so good" I suggested we have a siesta, he looked a tad clammy. Without wishing to go into full details, although believe me, he will if you ask him, it's fair to say he had a full body evacuation. This continued all night.



The next morning I had to explain to the dive centre, The Beard was going nowhere. I spent the next two days, resisting the gorgeous handbag in the leather goods shop on the pier and lounging on a sun lounger on the Buddha View's deck.

As The Beard recovered, the weekend approached. Not sure that he could manage a ferry journey but determined to get off the pier as he was convinced it was making him sick, we headed back to Kai Bae.

Kai Bae

Creatures of habit that we are, we stayed at The Stage! Upon check in I said, "I don't feel so good" and went on to suffer the same affliction. The Beard spent the next day and a half talking to himself and failing to get drunk at Hurban Lounge because, "It's not the same without you".

When I recovered, I demanded we stay an extra night as I had missed the weekend's drinking. So we did and had another nice evening at Hurban.

Then it really was time to go, we jumped on a speedboat bound for Koh Kood.























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Angkor What?!

We flew Air Asia to Siem Reap where we were greeted by our remorque (tuk, tuk) driver, Terry, sent from The Clay d'Angkor Villa.


Cambodia was a first for both myself and the Beard. With the history of a once great Empire, on the road to recovery from the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge and ripe for investment/exploitation by Western commerce, it was a fascinating and sometimes perplexing place to be.

The main road into Siem Reap is flanked by mammoth, characterless big chain hotels clearly built with no thought to their surroundings or environmental impact. Eventually, Terry turned off down a dirt road, through a little village to our destination,The Clay d'Angkor Villa. It was lovely, an oasis among the dusty commotion that is downtown Siem Reap.


After checking in, we were in full explorer mode and had Terry take us to Angkor Wat. You've read about it, seen your mates' photos, read some blogs but nothing really prepares you, our first afternoon was spent exploring the temple of Angkor Wat. The complex itself, dating from the 12th century at 1,626,000 sq meters, it is the largest religious monument in the world.


We purchased the 3 day pass for 40 USD, top tip when visiting Cambodia, take USD in small denominations and fresh notes. When trying to break even a 20$ many will claim not to have change and if the notes are creased or marked, they won't take those either.



Anyways, back to the temple, next tip: dress appropriately. It was hot and sticky when we arrived, I opted for a strapless maxi dress with a shawl to cover my shoulders and upper arms. This was all well and good, however, Angkor Wat is still a working temple, attempting to enter one of the main towers, essentially a stairway to heaven, I was politely told by a temple attendant that my shawl was not enough. I left The Beard to climb the near vertical staircase.






We continued to wander around the site admiring the decorative apsaras, Vishnu and Buddha and this brings me to my next tip: get a guide! Not sure how we managed to miss this one, in fact, The Beard did ask when we bought the passes and was answered in the negative. Undeterred, we had pressed on only to find that we didn't really know what we were looking at, although occasionally a group would pass being led by an English/Spanish speaking guide and we'd glean a nugget or two!


Then it was time to meet Terry who whisked us back to The Clay for a pre dinner dip in the pool. For dinner, we decided to explore Pub Street. It is exactly what it sounds like, a mini Khao San Road. Nonetheless, we found a little place serving up some authentic Khmer cuisine and were served by one of the best and most experienced waiters I have ever seen, an English speaking child who had to use a step to reach the bar tap. The food was good and we agreed that child labour is in fact to be applauded.

The next day we were back on the the temple trail, me in a t-shirt and jeans. I had high hopes, when I visited the pyramids of Giza, I was left breathless and years later still struggle to find words to describe it. Angkor Wat was a a finalist for the New7Wonders of the world but I hadn't had that feeling yet. We started at Ta Prohm or as we called it, "the trees!".






Here was my pyramid, the temple has largely been taken over by the jungle with conservationists choosing to mostly just stabilise the ruins, keeping it as it is. It is beautiful.

Even without a guide, you are directed by a series of signposts and there are a couple of information boards. We were both enchanted and upon making a donation, I received my red string bracelet, believed to bring good luck and protect against all untoward things in life.

Next, we were off to Bayon or as we liked to call it, "the faces!!". Before Terry had even ejected us from the vehicle we had become a pair of overgrown children, giddy at the sight of all - the faces!!!!!







Entering the site, we were approached by an English speaking guide and decided to take him up on his offer. He was very informative and almost strict with his instructions on where we should sit and what we should photograph. The Beard and I are both areligious but have Buddhist leanings so the opportunity to give thank/contemplate/pray - whatever you want to call it, inside the temple was a meaningful experience for us.





All templed out, we returned to The Clay to freshen up. Wanting to sample some proper local food, I demanded of the young receptionist, "Where do you like to eat?" and had him instruct Terry to take us to his favourite eatery. We were taken into town then down a side road to a hole in the wall joint, again served by a small English speaking child and our bellies were very happy.

That evening we met up with our friend Matt the chef, at the fancy hotel he pretty much takes charge of. I first met Matt in Mallorca just before his wedding to the lovely Vicky but she was away visiting family in France so it was just the three of us for dinner. Matt treated us to some tasty morsels as he told us about his ongoing plans to promote Khmer cuisine as well as returning to traditional and sustainable farming methods. He is very passionate about what he does and his evident success is testament to that.

The next day we met Matt for lunch at Marum a restaurant run by Kaliyan Mith, an NGO that works with street children and other marginalised youth in Siem Reap. Ordering is a challenge as everything sounds, and is, delicious. Next to the restaurant is a shop, Friends 'n' Stuff another NGO working with marginalised urban children. The shop and the restaurant are functional businesses providing vocational training to these young people. The shop also sells curios made by the children. We came out with an iPad case made from an old tyre and a pair of earrings fashioned from some forks, fabulous!


Then it was on to the war museum, an outdoor museum shaded by mango trees. In the tranquil environment survivors and collaborators of Pol Pot's regime now work as guides, lest we forget. There are tanks, shells and aircraft salvaged from the area. Most poignantly are the land mines, thousands have been killed or maimed by them and the clear up is still ongoing.


As the sun was setting, it was time to bid Matt and Siem Reap farewell and head back to Bangkok to start our island adventures.


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Ready, steady, goooooooo!

Birthday 2016 was planned as a two week hop, skip and jump to Thailand, a birthday gift from the Beard (spoilt, moi?!). However, as the new year began we both found ourselves relieved of gainful employment and thus decided to extend the trip to a six month South East Asian adventure, yeeha!

As our departure drew near, the Beard went off skiing for three weeks leaving me to put together the perfect fashionable/functional, less than 20kgs, capsule wardrobe. Oh, and conjure up some sort of itinerary, and visas, and accommodation and when the f*ck are you coming back???!!!

But return he did in enough time for our pre birthday/bon voyage party, to fling some shorts & t-shirts into a bag, fail to find some new trek/trail sandals but successfully purchase me the Merrel ladies equivalent - yes, they have velcro straps but the back strap is removal making them look like a cool slider, at least that's what I'm telling myself!



Then all of a sudden, it was time to go. From Barcelona, we excitedly boarded an Emirates A380. Prior to departure and due to my past experiences, I was prone to singing Emirates' praises, the flight into Dubai was fine.



However, after a brief stop at the Heineken Lounge in the terminal, we boarded another A380 bound for Bangkok. Alas, parts of this aircraft were quite literally held together with tape, my tray table unfolded at a jaunty angle, but I needn't have worried as the service was almost non existent. Emirates, what happened to you?
















We arrived in Bangkok on a mission! As part of the original two week plan we were to visit friends in Cambodia for the weekend. This meant, arriving at Suvarnabhumi, transferring to Don Muang to overnight there and fly to Siem Reap the following morning. We stayed at the Amari Don Muang, from there we ventured out for suitable nourishment. This is the Beard's first trip to Thailand and gourmand that he is, he wanted to sample some real Thai food.

Lucky for him, we stumbled across a picture perfect night market, complete with "what is that?!" "Mmm, that smells good!" deliciousness. To top it off, we were the only Westerners there, myself causing as much of a cultural sensation as we were experiencing.


This is what it's all about, right?




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