Síle & Bruce’s Travel Blog

Well it was until a few days ago, by which time I had spent 5 hours in the water trying to get up on the board, ended up busting two fins on the back of it (due to fatigue) and realized my nipples and chest had turned into a tandoori oven. Walking back to the guest house down beat with my tail between my legs Shee tried to console me by trying not to laugh to much and explaining I should of had a lesson in the first place like she suggested.

But anyway bali’s great, everywhere we have been is pretty cool, we left koh tao and head back to pattaya to see my 3 uncles. Linz had sorted us the best room we’ve had so far which was abit of a treat. we spent 5 days there in which time they took us on a tour of some very entertaining drinking establishments, the one with a jacuzzi in was the standout of the night. Cheers for a good tour guys!

So we left there and flow to Kuala Lumpur. Really enjoyed it great blend of people, amazing buildings, got some great photos. We were going to cruise overland from there all they way to bali, but time wasn’t on our side, so we opted for 6 weeks in bali and islands east of. We have found a great guest house with a pool for 4 quid a night, top stuff and are meeting some really interesting characters.

Hope alls well back home

Take it easy Sile and Bruce

So it’s been ages since we’ve last written so I’ll try to get you upto date!

We left Hanoi (the city where dreams are destroyed!) and flew to Bankgok. Once we got to the airport we realised that it was the start of the Water Festival, this meant a giant water fight all around Thailand for the next 4 days, it’s for their New Year. Our plan was to get a taxi to the train station then hop on a train to bring us down to the sun soaked islands. Once we got out of the airport we were told that this was near impossible (due to the water fest!) as all the trains were fully booked and it was unlikely that we’d get a room for a reasonable price in Bangkok! Oh dear, slight error in planning on our part, but we decided to get the taxi to the train station anyway, just for the craic!

Well we got to the train staion at about noon time and there were only a few places left on the train for 19:30. No worries, at least we got a ride! As we had our big bags with us (and because we were likely to get soaked if we went anywhere else) we hung around at the station for 7hrs - our second home!

The train journey was uneventful, apart from water being thrown through the windows at us and we arrive at Champon (or Chumporn as we saw a few times) at around 3 in the morning, then it was a tuk tuk to the pier and then boat to Koh Tao. It has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. We stepped onto the pier, look down into the water and could see to the bottom of the sea with only the fish in the way!

We were expecting the accomodation prices to be sky high but we managed to find a little bungalow with a bathroom inside spitting distance from the sea for 450 Baht (7.50) a night - bargain! Our plan was to stay there for 7 days then head over to some of the other island for a week. However, we found it to be so laidback and easy going that we just spent another week on the island.

It’s a funny little place, the main “road” that everyone uses is infact a walkway that runs almost the whole lenght of the island with motorbikes and cars speeding down it. One day we hired out a motorbike and, with the couple in the bungalow next to ours, headed to Shark Bay! Aparently there you can get a glimps of a shark if you’re very lucky. Bruce and Freddie spend hours snorkelling while Mel and I chatted away on the beach under the coconut trees - bliss! Aparently the fish that Bruce saw were amazing, he even claims to have seen a little shark swimming away from him - “It was THAT big!!”, hmmm fishermans tale anyone?!

We waited a while to get a good sunset, but when it happened it was stunning, Bruce got a really good pic of it (at the top of the blog). The sand was pure white and the sea completely clear. To be honest, we were too busy chilling out to do a lot more, I would go back to Koh Tao in an instant!

I also managed to get hooked up with Skype and with the aid of a webcam got to see some family, it was really nice; not that I was forgetting what people looked like but it just nice to know that everyone is still there!

Well I’ll let Bruce fill you in on our next set of adventures…!

love at all back home, we miss and love you all! Keep in touch!
Sile

xxxx

Im never gonna complain about bus trips in the uk again, Lands End to John O’Groats is a walk in the park compare to the journey we injured about a week ago. VIP bus from laos to bangkok, Vip, I don’t think so, we didn’t feel very important, more like cramped. About 3 hours in my tummy decided to expand some what, which for the next 3 hours would become a major concern for myself and my underpants. Lucky as time went by the trouble subsided after another 3 hours it gave me the green light, and i was back in the room. We struggled into bangkok and got a quick connection to the cambodian border, where phase 3 of the journey would start. Local propain rally taxi (express) I have never seen a highway stroke dirt track like it, unbeliveable. The taxi drivers horn had given up the ghost 2 hours in and instead of a loud blast it had turn into a quiet whimper. By the way, sile’s remarks about me having to wear a sports bra are unfounded, my peks are in good shape due to the healthy 7 pints a day of local beer i am consuming, they’re in good shape. Siem Reip was good, im not a religous person but sites we visited were pretty awsome, it was like been in Indiana Jones and the temple of doom. We headed to the capital where I was looking forward to another couple of days on the bike, I quickly decided against that when we entered the place. It is a complete free for all on the roads, drive the wrong way up a dual carriage way or take the whole family for a bit of dinner, record so far is 6 people on one bike.

We are now at the coast and back on the bike and enjoying the beach and local curry and beer, 50p for a pint of ankor draft. (Back of the net) Hope everyones well. Take it easy

Hello Hello!

So we’ve been in Chiang Mai over a week now and we both love it. Its very different to Bangkok but there is enough going on to keep us happy.

 Updates on a  few things, after having my Chest X-Ray in one of the local hospitals I finally have my working Visa for Oz! So, no more worries for me, we are just waiting to hear about Bruce’s now - but fingers crossed!

We went on a one day trek on Monday. It was fantastic! it started with a drive to a local village, I didn’t enjoy this too much, it felt a little intrusive or something - all the ”westeners” with their cameras out! It did only last about 20 mins though and then it was another short drive to go on a elephant ride. It was amazing, honestly, I know this sounds stupid but I never really realised how massive they are. It lasted about 40 mins and throughout it we were feeding our elephant bananas, when we didn’t it ’snotted’ at us! At one point a guy on a motorbike pulled up and took photos of us all, at the end of the ride the photos were printed and framed and ready for us to pay for (only about 100 Baht!)

After Lunch it was time for the trek to the waterfall, the first half was beautiful, going deeper into the jungle/forest. The second half was a little hairy! At points, if we fell, it was a vertical drop to the river. The waterfall was beautiful though, and we got some nice pics which we’ll pop up soon. Then we had to do the trek back again, it wasn’t so bad this time round. The afternoon was spend on the river, white water rafting (very tame, more a meander down the river) and bamboo rafting! It was the perfect end to a great day!

 Yesterday and today we hired out a motorbike (although Bruce won’t let me have a go on it!), we spent yesterday going to see elephants and snakes which was slightly bizarre, I mean elephants playing football?! We were told they were happy but i wasn’t so sure. And the ”Snake Man” kept on getting bitten! Not so big, and not so clever!

 Today we rode to a quiet little place up a mountain and chilled for a few hours with the most beautiful of Chiang Mai below us. We picked up some food and had lunch up there, totally chilled!

 Well, we’ll be leaving Chiang Mai in a few days and heading slightly north to Pai, it sounds nice and quiet, and its somewhere new before going into Laos.

 Thanks for all your emails and comments, its lovely to have them so keep ‘em coming.

Love to all

xxx