tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50840343690520421092012-02-15T22:51:25.072-08:00Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-32750250276236732822009-01-25T10:44:00.000-08:002009-01-25T10:45:13.408-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-69996466729546531382008-11-10T03:55:00.003-08:002009-01-25T10:44:00.209-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-14128571412442174782008-11-10T03:55:00.001-08:002008-11-10T09:04:48.964-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-59402366661652785592008-11-10T03:43:00.000-08:002008-11-10T03:54:29.410-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-56146904996511353592008-08-09T08:51:00.000-07:002008-11-10T03:43:34.289-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-47490321502453921632008-08-09T08:50:00.000-07:002008-11-10T03:10:57.998-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-25387249863625320552008-08-09T08:46:00.000-07:002008-11-10T02:56:56.034-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-63106969421512861042008-07-29T02:00:00.000-07:002008-11-10T02:33:56.611-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-68032872526585174132008-07-29T01:59:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:38:42.817-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-42313134911592655532008-07-29T01:58:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:38:43.492-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-11750417102263047412008-07-29T01:53:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:38:43.857-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-64189100118820325702008-07-22T00:46:00.001-07:002008-07-29T02:02:27.381-07:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-61970914376321022482008-07-22T00:45:00.002-07:002008-12-12T20:38:45.201-08:00

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Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-65688410108053523982008-07-22T00:40:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:38:46.766-08:00

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Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-52332881447537622782008-07-16T04:09:00.005-07:002008-12-12T20:38:49.342-08:00

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Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-41010754415620341982008-07-16T04:09:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:38:51.795-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-13752252880526539862008-07-16T02:52:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:38:53.799-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-38247123087212229132008-07-16T02:51:00.003-07:002008-12-12T20:38:57.216-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-49424173365369242342008-07-16T02:51:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:38:57.650-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-21334436607131513452008-07-05T01:20:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:38:58.069-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-28515726903551536422008-07-03T03:16:00.003-07:002008-12-12T20:39:00.231-08:00

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Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-63573323899312795592008-06-10T19:41:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:03.940-08:00

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Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-48806781759617931782008-06-08T04:27:00.003-07:002008-12-12T20:39:05.861-08:00

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Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-71677146957716865042008-06-08T04:26:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:08.700-08:00

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Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-80634061355627047522008-05-27T06:53:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:39:11.838-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-12665236581793251072008-05-27T06:52:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:12.521-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-32693391216696463552008-05-22T05:47:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:13.391-08:00

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-67404624666651921712008-05-22T05:46:00.004-07:002008-12-12T20:39:13.768-08:00

We had two relaxing days in Luang Nam Tha. The weather was sunny and it gave us a better image of the area than when we first stayed in this town. We rented a bike and cycled to the waterfalls of Ban Nam Dee (6km from Luang Nam Tha). The landscapes were pretty nice and the people friendly, especially the kids. We also ventured in the countryside with no specific destination and we ended up having

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-27307819721135789892008-05-22T05:46:00.003-07:002008-12-12T20:39:15.371-08:00

The mini-vans and songthaews to Muang Sing depart from Luang Nam Tha bus station, a short 5min walk away from the guesthouses. We aimed to catch the one at 9.30am and did well to arrive early as the mini-van left at 8.40am. We were very surprised when our driver switched on the music, what we thought was a normal car CD player turned out to be a DVD player with a 3cm x 8cm screen! However the

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-17327494552537057332008-05-22T05:46:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:15.654-08:00

In Udomxai the bus station is only 10min walk away from the centre of the town so there is no need to get a tuk-tuk. As we aimed to catch the 11.30am (official time!) local bus to Luang Nam Tha we turned up at the bus station at 9.50am and we were just on time to grab the last seats on the very old 20 seats bus (35.000 Kips each) which ended up being totally packed with people seating in plastic

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-31643380079593696032008-05-22T05:45:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:39:15.818-08:00

Our aim today was to reach Luang Nam Tha but it turned out that it was too ambitious. The boat to Nong Khiaw left Muang Ngoi 30min late (at 10am instead of 9.30am) as we had to swap boats at the last minute for unknown reasons. Then before the biggest rapids some tourists had to get off the boat. Luckily we managed to stay on the boat, apparently the tourists who could not stay on the boat had to

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-76800534774640537522008-05-22T05:42:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:39:16.810-08:00

Muang Ngoi is an idyllic village surrounded by majestic mountains. The village is only accessible by boat from Nong Khiaw and is very peaceful as there are no cars and motorbikes. We stayed 2 days and an half and we wished we could have stayed longer. We met very nice people, travellers and locals, saw very nice landscapes and had a relaxing time in this special place.Initially we wanted to go to

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-29832119557182431922008-05-12T06:29:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:17.887-08:00

Luang Prabang is very touristic but unlike Vang Vieng it has a lot of charm. The main street is very busy but the rest of the city is peaceful.There are expensive accommodations in town but backpackers, like us (!), can find cheap guesthouses along the Mekong. We got a basic but clean twin room with bathroom and hot water for 40.000 Kips at Saysana Guesthouse.We did the walking tour suggested by

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-4080209168866627372008-05-12T06:27:00.003-07:002008-12-12T20:39:18.808-08:00

We have hesitated a lot before deciding to go to Phonsavan as it was not really on our way and it involved spending a lot of hours in buses. We are now so glad we visited this region. The Plain of Jars is an interesting place to see and going to Phonsavan was also the occasion to discover a nice region and learn a bit more about the history of Laos.From Vang Vieng it took us 7h30 to reach

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-46164238617357152382008-05-12T06:27:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:19.280-08:00

Until now we had always travelled by VIP buses but to go to Vang Vieng from Vientiane we have opted for the local bus, half the price of the VIP bus (30.000 Kips, 4h30). It has been an "interesting experience", the bus left 30min late, it was very full, people were seating on plastic stools in the aisle, we had the company of a few chicken stuck in boxes under the seats, there were no fans unlike

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-37483617233016394832008-05-04T06:25:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:39:19.895-08:00

We arrived in Vientiane straight from Pakse with our "sleeper bus" which dropped us at 6am at the Southern Bus Station (6km from the town centre). As soon as we got off the bus we had already a guy following us, he offered to take us in his songthaew to the town for 15.000 Kips each. Not well awake, we thought that the price was too high but could not be bothered to negotiate, so we refused his

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-37240324149084784622008-05-02T03:07:00.002-07:002008-12-12T20:39:20.143-08:00

We spent another day relaxing in Pakse, eating delicious fries at our favourite cafe just on the right of the Lankham hotel (the service is not that good but the food is tasty!) and having nice cappuccinos at Sinouk Café. It rained nearly all the day making us realise that May is really the beginning of the rainy season in Laos. In the evening we caught our night bus to Ventiane, a "sleeper bus"

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-10428629531673304182008-05-02T03:07:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:21.006-08:00

The Bolaven Plateau is famous for its cool climate, nice waterfalls and coffee plantations. To explore the plateau tourists can book tours in Pakse (not so cheap), travel with local buses (not so easy) or rent a motorbike (80.000 Kips/day). We opted to rent a motorbike as it is cheap and flexible. To prepare our trip we found very useful information at Sabaidy II Guesthouse. This Guesthouse also

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-59556245207506319002008-04-28T07:22:00.001-07:002008-05-01T06:20:18.746-07:00

Today the plan was to start a 4 days motorbike tour of the Bolaven Plateau but at 5am we were awaken by a thunderstorm with very heavy rain. When we got up it was still raining and as it did not look like it will stop we decided to give back our motorbike and postpone our trip to the next day. Before giving back the motorbike a guy at our hotel kindly helped us to empty the tank and put our

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-29343868192984951412008-04-28T07:21:00.002-07:002008-12-12T20:39:21.891-08:00

As it seemed complicated to reach Champasak by public transport, we decided to rent a motorbike (80.000 Kips a day for a manual Honda 100cc). Before leaving Pakse we had a little incident... We stopped at a petrol station to tank our motorbike and the guys tried to rip us off as the pump was not showing the price to pay. We argued with them over the price that was too high (double of what

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-28580004578899439902008-04-28T07:21:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:22.039-08:00

All the guesthouses on Don Det and Don Khone sell bus tickets to get to various destinations in Laos and Cambodia. They all offer the same prices, except some guesthouses in Don Khone and our guesthouse that sell the same tickets but for a higher price. Initially we wanted to go to Champasak but realised that it might be a bit too complicated. None of the VIP and local buses go all the way to

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-40048269542765046252008-04-28T07:20:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:22.800-08:00

South of Laos the Mekong finds its way to Cambodia through thousands of islands, that is why this area is called the "4000 Islands". The landscapes are beautiful and the atmosphere is very relaxed. Don Det and Don Khone are two islands that are very popular with travellers, they both counts numerous guesthouses (most of them called Mr something!), it seems that all the locals have opened a

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-86403544751982944672008-04-28T06:53:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:39:23.469-08:00

Another border crossing that took almost a full day :) It is maybe possible to travel by local transport but it might take even longer than the "easy" option we have chosen. We bought a ticket with our guesthouse for $13 each (after negotiations) to Don Det in Laos (an island in the "4000 Islands" region). The ticket included 3 mini-van trips and a boat trip: mini-van from Kratie to Stung Treng,

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-48939215046898775762008-04-27T07:09:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:39:24.157-08:00

We rented a motorbike for the day at our guesthouse ($6 for a manual....we finally got to learn how to drive one of those). Most of the tourists in Kratie go to see the dolphins (that can be seen only from far!) or/and go to Sambor. We opted to go to the opposite direction towards Chlong. Chlong is a small town 30km south of Kratie, the town itself is small and quiet but is not really a place to

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-42622051405383957532008-04-27T07:07:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:39:24.417-08:00

On our way to Laos we decided to break the journey by stopping in Kratie. We bought our bus ticket in Phnom Penh at one of the agencies of the lake side for $5 each. We had been told the trip from the agency to the bus station was included, but the girl from the agency who came with us in a tuk-tuk to the bus station ask us for money! However when we refused to pay she did not complain ...well

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-74196704100277294492008-04-19T05:31:00.005-07:002008-12-12T20:39:25.379-08:00

Siem Reap - Phnom PenhTo go to Phnom Penh from Siem Reap we had two options, the bus or the boat. A few years ago the boat was the only way to go to Phnom Penh via the Tonle Sap lake and river but now that there is a sealed road from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh it is quicker and cheaper to travel by bus. To buy our bus tickets we checked a few agencies in town and found out that many of them used the

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-2464310095253456712008-04-19T05:31:00.003-07:002008-12-12T20:39:25.534-08:00

We had a "day off" to relax and plan the rest of our trip in Cambodia. It was very nice to stay away from the heat hiding in air-conditioned cafes, but we also took some time to wander in Siem Reap. This town is full of contrasts. Poor houses on one side of the river face luxurious hotels for tourists on this other side. To cater for the numerous tourists coming each year to visit Angkor, Siem

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-42481061002116632212008-04-19T05:31:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:26.057-08:00

Angkor... this is why most of the tourists come to Cambodia, us included! Angkor it is hundreds of temples built in the IX - XV centuries, when the Khmer empire was vast and powerful. We did not do it in purpose but we ended up visiting Angkor during the Khmer New Year, our third new year this year, after the first one in Sydney and the second one in Malaysia for the Chinese New Year!!!Visiting

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-88233371614080969822008-04-19T05:30:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:26.652-08:00

Having visited quite a few Khmer temples in our last week in Thailand we thought that we better had a break from visiting temples before going to Angkor. We opted to visit two villages located on the Tonle Sap Lake, the biggest lake in South East Asia. We went in the morning to Kampong Phluk, a village where houses are built on very high stilts, and in the afternoon we went to Chong Khneas, a

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-57306891199579377102008-04-10T03:56:00.000-07:002008-12-12T20:39:26.980-08:00

We had heard a lot of stories about travelling from Thailand to Cambodia overland, mainly about all the scams when crossing via the busiest border of Aranyaprapet/Poipet: cheap buses from Khao San Road arriving very late in Siem Reap to make sure the tourists will stay in a specific guesthouse, custom officers asking for extra money to process visas or touts offering very expensive taxi rides to

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-89423705350938376862008-04-10T03:55:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:27.124-08:00

We had a very early start today as we left our hotel at 6.15am to catch the 7am train to Sikhoraphum. The final destination for the day was Surin but we wanted to stop in Sikhoraphum to visit a Khmer temple. As soon as we left our hotel we were glad we did get up that early as we saw around 40 monks, mainly kids, walking one after another in the streets of Ubon to collect food. We had seen before

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-25653555896104439202008-04-10T03:54:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:29.203-08:00

We went for a couple of hours to Cambodia today as we visited The Prasat Khao Preah Viharn. This Khmer temple is located in Cambodia but it is easier to visit it from Thailand. Visitors of the temple don't need a visa, they just need to pay two times the entrance fee, as both the Thais and the Cambodians make tourists pay for the visit. It is a bit complicated to reach the temple by public

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-3805210561127408932008-04-08T02:44:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:29.350-08:00

Even if we could easily stay longer in this peaceful place, we had to leave Khong Chiam to make sure we will be back in Surin on time to enter Cambodia on the 11th of April, the date Laurence's visa will expire! We left Khong Chiam early in the morning, we got a songthaew next to the market at 7.30am and it took us 1h to reach Phubin (Bh30). In Phubin we easily got a bus to Ubon Ratchathani and

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-87271929335378546222008-04-08T02:43:00.005-07:002008-12-12T20:39:29.602-08:00

Khong Chiam is a small village located next to the point where the Mekong meets the Moon River. It is very touristic but mainly for Thai who come in organised tours. There are only two Guesthouses, a few expensive resorts and around 5 big restaurants set up to cater for the groups of tourists....luckily they had 2 menus with an English translation and at least one of the waiters spoke a few words

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-21445012725721678392008-04-08T02:43:00.003-07:002008-12-12T20:39:29.939-08:00

We got up late and managed to be at the bus station only at 9.30am....this was not a good idea as the last morning bus to Ubon Ratchathani, the town we had to go on our way to Khong Chiam, was at 9am. Not willing to wait for the 1pm bus we caught the first bus to Si Saket, a town from where we would be able to catch a bus to Ubon Ratchathani. Well we managed to get to Ubon Ratchathani but it took

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-22291769172021098342008-04-08T02:43:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:30.942-08:00

We got up this morning not knowing how to get to the temples we wanted to visit. As we could not rent a motorbike, there were only manuals available and we had never driven those before, we had to find another way to get to the temples. Other options included renting a car with driver or using the local buses. As per our guide book it looked like it would have been a bit complicated to reach the

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-83388307751663501592008-04-08T02:42:00.003-07:002008-12-12T20:39:31.383-08:00

We arrived around 9am in Nakhon Ratchasima and we did not have to wait long until we could catch a bus to Phimai (Bh50 air-con, 1h15 trip). In Phimai we dropped our bags at Old Phimai guesthouse, a place we will recommend for who wants to stay for a night in Phimai. The house is basic but well kept and the lady who can speak a bit of English is lovely.The Prasat Hin Phimai, a Khmer temple that

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Today was supposed to be a relaxing day but ended up being a busy day. We had to post our souvenirs, get our trousers fixed.....after 6 months of intensive usage, do some shopping, sort out our pictures......we still found some time to relax and enjoy the nice cafes and pubs Chiang Mai has to offer. In the evening we got a tuk-tuk to get to the bus station (Bh50) to catch our night bus to Nakhon

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We rented a scooter, a Honda Air Blade, for Bh200 a day (we needed a powerful scooter to be able to tackle the mountain roads being 2 on the same scooter), left our backpacks at our guesthouse, packed a few clothes and took off for 5 days to discover the mountainous province of Mae Hong Son, a region North of Thailand located along the Myanmar border.

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We had such a great day! The first 30km were not that pleasant as we drove North via a very busy highway, but as soon as we turned onto the road towards Pai it all changed...no more traffic, beautiful landscapes, a lot of "sharp curves" and many viewpoints. It was very exciting to discover this mountainous area. The locals were very friendly, always returning our smiles, we saw a lot of small

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We had a little problem in the morning ... The battery of our scooter was flat, but the guys of the garage near our guesthouse showed us how to kick start our scooter and after an hour driving the battery was fine again :) When we left Pai the sky was cloudy and the mountains were hiding behind the mist, so we did not get a chance to see much of the landscapes. It took us 1h30 to reach Soppong

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We thought we will have a relaxing day after all the driving we did in the last two days....but we ended up driving a lot of kilometers. We first went to Ban Rak Thai, a village of Chinese refugees just next to the border with Myanmar (50km North of Mae Hong Son). On the way we saw very nice landscapes, passed through small villages and saw people working in fields...full of cabbages! We stopped

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Before leaving Mae Hong Son we stopped at the market as it is always very interesting for westerners to witness those authentic places that are the locals market. We are always amazed by the number of bikes parked outside the markets...this time we had to park our scooter, it was not that easy to find a free space! Mae Hong Son market is quite small and quick to visit but there was some very

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The last day of our trip went fine, no rain, no sliding :) We visited the Pai Canyon as it was on our way just a few kilometers out of town. Not that impressive, nothing to do with the Colca Canyon in Peru (!), but still nice. To reach it we did a 5min walk within some trees that have giant leaves (see pictures). We also stopped to see a geyser but the Bh400 entrance fee pull us off. Again we had

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Today we finally discovered Chiang Mai, this town North of Thailand that attracts so many travellers. We left Sukhotai in the morning and started our trip by a pleasant short ride to the bus station in a mototaxi for Bh40. We could not book our bus ticket the day before but we easily got a place in the first bus to Chiang Mai.... 6h later we finally arrived (cost of bus ride: Bh229/pers). The bus

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We could have caught one of the numerous songthaews going to the Old Sukhotai (Bh20/pers) but we decided to rent a motorbike to be able to explore the countryside in the afternoon. We got an automatic for the day (12hr for Bh250) from one of the guesthouses in town. It took us 15min to drive the 12km to the Old Sukhotai. The entrance to the historical park is Bh40/pers plus Bh20 for the motorbike

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We got a tuk-tuk to get to the long distance bus station of Ayutthaya (Bh50). Arriving at the station we realised why the day before we did not manage to find the station to buy our tickets in advance. We were looking for a big building with a lot of buses parked around it but the station is in fact a very small building located on the side of the highway where the buses from/to Bangkok quickly

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We spent Saturday morning at Chaling Cham Market with our Polish friends Dominik and Bety before catching a train to Ayutthaya in the afternoon at Bang Sue station (a 20min ride from Thewet, Bh60 with a taxi-meter). We thought it will be quicker to get to Bang Sue Station located North of Bangkok than going to Hua Lamphong, the main train station located in the centre of Bangkok. In Bang Sue we

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We thought Bangkok will be like Kuala Lumpur, a very busy, noisy and tiring town to visit, but we have been very nicely surprised. Bangkok has so much more to offer than Kuala Lumpur. Yes it is a busy town with a lot of traffic jams and crazy drivers, but the streets are clean, the markets are great to explore, the canals called khlongs are surprising and the temples are very impressive. Moreover

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Our initial plan was to stay in Thailand a month so Laurence entered the country on a free 30 days visa. As Polish travellers only get a free 15 days visa Gosia had to purchase a 2 months visa before entering the country. However, as we really liked the islands of South Thailand .....and to be honest we also needed to rest after 5 months of travelling (!) we ended up staying for a month in the

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-45631167257336183152008-03-15T07:03:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:43.469-08:00

Ko Tao is a small island famous worldwide for being a great place for scuba diving and snorkeling. From Ko Samui, the trip was 3h long with Songserm express boat (the cheapest company!). Agencies in Lamai sell the Songserm boat ticket plus the taxi ride to the port for Bh400, but checking a few agencies we easily got a discount and paid Bh330 (we could have paid Bh250 without the taxi ride). The

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-41681997299760318952008-03-15T07:02:00.001-07:002008-12-12T20:39:46.542-08:00

Ko Samui is the third biggest island in Thailand after Phuket and Ko Chang. It has nothing to do with smaller islands like Ko Lipe and Ko Phi Phi, but it still has a lot to offer. There is a very busy road going around the island, on the East coast there are buildings all along this road as this is where the best beaches are. Inland there are low mountains (the highest point is at 635m) that

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It took us a full day to go to Ko Samui from Phang Nga. We started our journey by a 3 hours trip from Phang Nga to Surat Thani. As the bus was packed we ended up sitting on the stairs next to the driver...this was an interesting but scary experience. On one hand we got to see better the landscapes and the road. We were amazed by what the Thai can do with their scooters, they can fit up to 3

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To get to Phang Nga from Krabi there are many buses, we got an early one to be able to visit Phang Nga Bay in the afternoon. The trip lasted 2h and cost Bh60. Phang Nga is an ugly town, but we were glad to find a nice Guesthouse, newly opened, Phang Nga Guesthouse. However we did not find any nice place to eat :( We stayed just one night after visiting the famous Phang Nga Bay and left early

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We left Ko Phi Phi under the sun and arrived in Krabi under the rain :( We planned to stay only a day but because of the rain our washing was not ready on time (!) so we had to stay another day. Krabi town has nothing special to offer but the beaches around Krabi that can be reached by boat or collective taxis are very nice (from Ralley Beach we have been told that there is a very steep

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-69725411328504316572008-02-28T21:05:00.000-08:002008-12-12T20:39:49.596-08:00

A beautiful islandKo Phi Phi is such a beautiful island! We were not sure if we should go to this island as it appeared to be very touristic and crowded, but the description in our guide book convinced us to go and check it out. We planned to stay for 3 days but ended up staying for a week! We caught the ferry from Krabi (return ticket Bh650, 1h30 trip, twice a day) but there are plenty of

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In Ko Lipe when buying our ferry ticket we also booked a direct bus from La-ngu to Krabi with a transfer from Pakbara to La-ngu included (10km). We were very happy to not have to go back to Hat Yai. We paid Bh350 for the "big bus" but on the ticket that we got given by the agency before entering the bus we saw that the price of this bus is in fact Bh180! With the speed boat that left at 10am we

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It was very hard to find a place to have something different than rice or noddles for breakfast in Hat Yai early in the morning. We were glad to find our donuts place opened so we could at least eat something...we are not yet up for having rice or noddles for breakfast! The trip to Pakbara lasted 2h30min and the arrival was painful....all the local agencies send people to jump on the tourists to

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Ko TarutaoOur first stop was Ko Tarutao, a big and beautiful island covered with mountains and rain forest. Most of the tourists stay on the ferry to go Ko Lipe and just a few of them stop in Ko Tarutao. We stayed at the bungalows next to the park headquarters (Bh600) but wished we would have stayed at the bungalows on Malae Bay, same price but the bay is much nicer and quieter (1h walk from the

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-17363101436657483172008-02-28T02:30:00.000-08:002008-12-12T20:39:51.871-08:00

Ko LipeInitially we did not plan to go to Ko Lipe but decided to spend a few days on this island that all the travellers we met described as very nice and quiet. We were happy we had changed our mind as we really liked this very small island (it can be crossed in 20min) surrounded by beautiful turquoise water. There is no port in Ko Lipe so from the ferry or speed boat you have to get a long tail

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We booked in Pennang via our hotel a private mini bus to get directly to Hat Yai for RM25. The minibus was very comfortable, however it will have been better without the loud Chinese music! We had special guests in the mini bus...a group of 4 monks! Gosia was very shocked, as the monks were smoking, chatting on their mobile phones, possessing a lot of money and having laptops! The trip via the

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The 5 hours bus trip to Penang (RM23) from Tanah Rata was again very boring except when we went through the Cameron Highlands towards Ipoh via a new road that has been opened recently, travelling on this road we saw great landscapes. The bus stopped for a while in the very busy bus station of Ipoh and soon after leaving Ipoh it stopped again but this time on the side of the highway behind another

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We caught a direct bus from Kuala Lumpur to Tanah Rata, the main town in the Cameron Highlands (5h, RM23). The last 2 hours of the trip were very painful, the bus went up the very windy road from Tapah to Tanah Rata, at a very low speed (20-30km/h)....but it was still too fast for our stomachs! On the other end this was the part of the trip when the landscapes were the nicest, much better than

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Tracks 10 & 12 to Gunnung Jasar (1670m)***Medium difficulty, 3h return from Tanah Rata, very bad signage (very hard to find the start of the track 10, to get to the track you have to walk through the garden of somebody's home and then the track looks abandonned, afterwards the track is better maintained but there are not many signs).We did not find the beginning of the track that nice as it is

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Track 1 to Gunnung Brinchang (2000m), Sungai Palas Tea Plantation***To Gunnung Brinchang 1h30, difficult (steep and involves some "roots climbing" - see picture), easy to find and follow the track. Afterwards, 1h30 to the tea plantation walking along a narrow road. To go back to Tanah Rata from the tea plantation we got a lift to the main road and then caught a taxi to Tanah Rata - RM3 each. The

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Tracks 9 & 9a, Bho Tea Plantation***Easy, 2h30, easy to find and follow the track.After 10min you reach the Robinson Waterfalls that are nice but not that special, then there is the turn to catch 9a on the left. The walk through the jungle was pleasant but tricky as we had to go through the branches of trees that had fallen across the track. The tracks ends in a farm, we found ourselves walking

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The bus trip from Malacca to Kuala Lumpur lasted 2h30 (RM9.5) and was again very boring, going through palm oil plantations via the highway. We arrived at Pudu Raya Bus station in Chinatown and it showed us the very messy and dirty side of Kuala Lumpur. Very different from the clean and rich area around the Petronas Twin Towers that we discovered later on. We stayed in a hotel called StayOrange

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We started our visit of the town by the historical centre. From our hotel it was only a short walk to the Porta de Santiago, the only part remaining of the famous fortress A Famosa built by the Portuguese in 1512. The Deutch that took over the city later on kept it but the English that came after destoyed the fortress and only this door was left. Next to this door two very nice buildings can be

Gosia & Laurence's tripnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5084034369052042109.post-55641133360913521112008-02-13T04:44:00.000-08:002008-12-12T20:40:00.010-08:00

We woke up late and found out that it was raining, so we stayed at our hotel to try to plan our stay in Malaysia. When the rain stopped later in the afternoon we went to the city centre. On our way we saw the nice caravelle of the maritime museum (used by the Portuguese during the XVI century) and stopped at the very touristic Red Place (all the buildings around it are red!). Around this place

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In the morning we wanted to send home some souvenirs that we had bought in Australia! We went to the post office located next to Raffles place MRT station and struggled to find it as it is located in one of the skyscrapers, a labyrinth full of shops and restaurants....even people working in shops were not sure where exactly the post office was! Afterwards we had lunch in a massive and very busy

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