Songkran

Happy New Year !!!!!
It's New Year in Thailand & time for Songkran - the water festival.  Its a very dangerous occupation wandering the streets this time of year as every second person has a bucket or a water pistol & they take great delight in "cooling you down".

We were not treated as neutrals... as you can see.

We also had a fragrant paste adorned on our cheeks as a new year blessing.

Mel then had her nails done....... for $3.  



Of Course we ended up doing a bit more shopping - Smithy - we bought you your new favourite T Shirt mate...8^)

Off to the State Tower tonight for a few drinks so this is likely to be the final post as we will be getting up at 5am to head to the airport.

We have had an amazing time but we are looking forward to getting home - we both miss the hounds a bit.

Thanks for following our journey - see you all soon !!!!!

Wat Arun - "Temple of the Dawn"

As mentioned in the previous post - here is the sunset of Wat Arun.
Was pretty spectacular to watch the transformation.  (Tip - click on an image & you can scroll thru them all in a a larger size)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Arun

Shopping, Temples.... & missing Americans.......

An early start today - which Jas was not too happy about being woken at 730am to get up and get ready.  After breakfast we headed for Jim Thompson house , an American who was an architect prior to WWII who volunteered for the US Army campainging in Europe and later he was sent to Asia.   He did not see any action before the end of the war and he came to Bangkok as a military officer who fell in love with Thailand, after he left the service he returned permanently.  

Jim turned his attention to the hand weaving of silk, a long neglected cottage industry, in which he devoted himself to reviving the craft.  He was a gifted designer and colorist, who made a substantial contribution to the growth of the industry and worldwide recognition of Thai silk.

His house was amazing, he joined six houses into one house, with beautiful gardens and many artifacts.  Too much to describe here but it was well worth the visit and the guided tour of the house was really interesting.  Sadly for Jim he disappeared shortly after his 61st birthday while on visit to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia 1967.   He walked into the jungle and was never seen again. 

Ed: Strangely - his Chinese horoscope (which had the local monks complete for him) indicated that he should take particular care in the year of his 61st birthday - he disappeared 5 days after he turned 61.   http://www.jimthompson.com/index.asp


It was then time for some Shopping, which although he did not complain at all I don't think Jas really enjoyed it all.  Especially when I tried on the same pair of jeans about 4 times as I was getting confused with the sizes - turns out they had the wrong label on them so it was not my fault at all!!! 

When it was time to head home I decided we would go via another shopping centre to get something to eat, which was a small trick to do a little bit more shopping - lucky for me I did have something to eat and it may have seemed less obvious to Jas that it was a ploy!  (Ed: Yes... very clever subterfuge)

Ed: Mel put the M in MBK.

 Colourful Traffic...

We headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and change and decided to head to the Wat Arun temple (more on that later).  We got talking to the the lady from the Tour East company in the lobby who told me where to get the best fake handbags -  leather ones - and the best price away from the tourist traps.   We headed for the sky rail with a map and walked and walked and walked -  it didn't help we could not decide which way to work so until we finally figured it (after we walked past the same places 4 times) we were on our way.   When we arrived I was very happy but I did consider giving up a few times it was 37 degrees and I was tired - well worth the visit though new handbag and wallet in tow, just what I need!!   (Ed: They will sit very nicely next to the other 17 she owns....)

It was then that we tried to get a taxi to go to the Pier for a boat ride when a nice Policeman said it was not far to go only another 2 kms .........  So we walked and we walked and got there in the end.  We got ripped off and knew it but we were running out of time to make Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) so we just paid up and had our own private boat ride.   It was a very slow trip but we made it in the end and Jas took some amazing photos.   

Ed:  Just check the tyres & give the windscreen a wash please.....

We really knew how ripped off we had been when it cost 3 baht about 10c to get back to the other side of the river. We found a place called the Deck bar although not sure how as there was no sign (which was recommended to us by the general manager of the resort we stayed at) to watch the temple and take photos when it was all lit up at night. What a terrific sight as I am sure you will all agree from the photos. (Nice work Jas).


Ed:  The trick to Wat Arun is in the way they increase the lighting of the temple as the sun retreats, see piccies in the next post to see what we mean.


By this stage we were tired and hungry and decided to get a taxi and head back to the hotel.  After some haggling with the taxi drivers who were refusing to put the meter on and would only do a fixed price we decided to accept it.  (We just had to wait for the driver to finish off his beer).   I was not looking forward to it but suprisingly he was quite a careful driver. 


We came back to the hotel and decided to stay in for dinner and have the Korean BBQ for dinner it was very very nice.   A very busy day indeed and not an ounce of whinging from Jas about the shopping!  Things are looking up now he is my husband!!

Ed:  My medicinal needs were attended too sufficently during this arduous day.

farewell Pimalai - hello Bangkok !.... & psst... we saw where the Phantom lives....

Well we have our last few hours in paradise........ a sad day but we are a bit excited about getting to Bangers so there are no tears.  On the trip back we took a few snaps.

The local huts on the hill.

Pimalai cat & resort in the background - our bungalow is the closest one to the cat.

Old Lanta Town from sea & an old cargo boat.

And perhaps our most surprising find... Phantom Island !!!!!   Seriuosly - he has to live here !

 Another transfer in a limo... could easily get used to this tho Mel was a bit "sweaty" about the local drivers & their "overtaking skills"....

Once again we arrived to a creation on our bed - this one does take the cake tho....

 The trip from the airport to the hotel was crazy - there appears to be very little in the way of road rules but some pretty clever drivers.  We saw a young girl "sans helmet" in peak hour traffic - riding her moped one handed while texting.   This was only outdone buy the bloke riding his moped with no hands... tho at least he was wearing a helmet.
Having said all that - we got to the hotel safe & sound & did not see a single accident.  Within 30mins we were of course in the adjourning shopping centre - the MBK.  2 hours of shopping earned me an italian dinner which was brilliant !
The view from the 20th floor is ok too.....

A Last Supper.....

Well - it was our last day in Pimalai - it began very well with a two hour all body massage - not normally one for massages - I could get used to this.
We decided to take things easy today & just enjoy the resort.  This meant a bit of pool & sea.  The view was pretty average as you can see below.

We had lunch down in the village & Mel visited a local beautician - there is a very funny story attached to that but it is not really suitable for print here - I am sure Mel will share it with you at a later point.

We had a last visit to Why Not ? and consummed a few cocktails - Mel discovered a "Blue Hawaii" which seems the new fav.
We then ventured up to Alama Restuarant - it was without doubt the find of the stay so far in the food stakes.  I had a whole baby red snapper in curry & coconut milk - it was incredible.  Shame it will be a while before we can eat there again.  We were situated on the roof of the building with a tree growing through it right beside our table.  It was a truely amazing evening & a great way to finish our stay on Pimalai. 

Mel is very excited about Bangkok - so the next post will no doubt be full of shopping stories from her.

Nemo, Lost Rings & Sunsets

Apologies for the break in transmission ... we have had a few technical difficulties this end & tbh - been a tad busy on the last few days on Koh Lanta.

First off - yesterday .... we were on a waiting list for a snorkeling tour of Koh Rok (an island 26 kms sw of Koh Lanta) which we didn't get confirmation of till 9.30 am ..... when the boat left.... while we were still in bed.... so in a new olympic record we made it from bed to boat in 10 mins with a shower in between.

It was well worth the rush - Koh Rok was amazing.

The water was crystal clear which came into good use as after putting suntan lotion on Mel & jumping in for the first snorkel spot I had made all of 30 meters & my wedding ring slipped from my finger & dropped to the bottom - about 15 mtrs down - luckily I felt it go & was able to dive after it.... also fortunately it landed in the sand not down a coral crevasse so I was able to retrieve it. 

Our second port of call was a private beach - as you can see below it was pretty speccie.

The last spot was brilliant - very clear & a great variety of fish - we were actually able to swim with schools of juvenille baracuda and dive down to see clown fish - the cute orange & white critters you would remember from Nemo.  We also saw parrot & angel fish, clams the size of suitcases & a huge range of sea urchins & other sea going critters.

This swim was cut short by a huge storm that swept in from nowhere.. we were snorkelling at the time & the light in the water went from crystal to dark in an instant - it was crazy how quickly it came in.

We finished the day at the famed Seven Seas Restaurant.  We had sunset drinks with a nice bottle of NZ Pinot Gris - as you can see from the shots below - the sunset was brilliant.

I had lobster tail followed by Quail & Mel had an avacado salad & Lamb Loin - it was a very nice evening.

Only 2 days to go till Bangkok but we do have a 2 hour massage to look forward to in the morning !



Island time......

Today was a very good day........

Starting as normal with a wake up time of approx 9am.... very civilised....

We had a light breakfast... well I had sultana bran & Mel had a cheese bacon & egg muffin - make your own judgements as too what married life has in store for us....

Quiet morning by the pool until we headed out with Musa (our driver for the day)for our island tour .....

First up - Mel & Shaun - we have found you a home... cute little bungalow in Old Lanta Town & the landlord looks friendly.  May be a little far from the F3 for your likling tho...



Old Lanta Town has been here for over 300 years  (older then Sydney) & this cafe has been in operation since 1888 - still sell great sprite as you can tell from Mels happy face.



These cats have the right idea.... the fact we have only seen one dog in Koh Lanta makes me think there this something more to this relaxed feline lifestyle then is intially apparent.....

Post Old Lanta Town we visted the local fish farm at the mangove forrest - quite an interesting wander over mangroves on handbuild wooden paths to the farm where they hand feed fish.  Nod - even you could catch one here mate.... M-A would have to end up throwing them back !

We the went to the markets ... crazy place.... raw seafood & chicken - just lying out in the open in 35+ deg heat..... it was ridiculously hot with 90% humidity & in the markets even worse.

I took the punt & bought a 2 skewers blind... ended up being shrimp & the other tofu & vege....  both were brilliant - cost about 60 cents total.  Mel was not so adventurous - she got a bag of plain chips.... smith crisps style...

They had an amazing selection of vegies & meat - many things we had not seen before.



Would have loved to have my own cooking facilities - they had a heap of raw spices & herbs that would have been brilliant to experiment with.

Most folk who know me realise I love my chilli !

This was heaven for me - but after a few meetings with the local varieties - I am a humbled man.

The local fav is a small crab - did not partake myself but you buy them live (as per below) & have someone cook them as you like.

The day ended in great style with pre dinner drinks with Otmar & Margaret in their hillside pool villa, followed by dinner down the beach at Why Not.
We are trying to talk them into travelling to Oz in the near the future - great couple who enjoy food & wine... hense why we do get along so well.

Tomorrow is a quiet day - so plenty of pool time....8^)