The Great Barrier Reef

Doing something I never thought that I would do, scuba diving.

We arrived in Cairns yesterday, to find that we're now only 10 hours ahead of the UK, as Queensland doesn't have DST like NSW. Checking into the YHA, we asked about reef trips today. The bloke behind the counter asked what we wanted (we both said snorkelling) and he called up a few places. In typical Aussie style, he booked me onto an introduction dive course without asking. 'You'll love it, I'm a dive instructor' was the response I got out of him.

So at 10 this morning (whilst most of you were asleep) I squeezed into a wetsuit and after 10 minutes of briefing (which amounted to 'don't forget to breathe') off I went down into the depths of the barrier reef. The first few minutes were very strange - breathing was quite a conscious effort, but once I got used it, I really enjoyed it. I saw Clown Fish (Great Barrier Reef Variant - not a true Nemo) and amazing coral. In fact I liked it so much I went for a second time, despite seeing a shark

Second dive I saw some true Clown Fish (Nemo), a Ray of some sort (not sure if it was a Stingray or not) and some huge clams. The only thing I didn't see was a turtle, which I'm a bit disappointed about, but ah well...

Some Stats

Number of dives - 2
Total time under the water - 50 minutes
Deepest depth - 8.4 metres
Number of Nemos found - 4

Sydney

Photo taken correctly in Australia - People in the northern hemisphere may have to adjust their viewing angle to see correctly...

Bangkok (again)

We both survived the night safari in the Khao Sok rainforest and managed to see a civit (look it up, it's a cat/lemur/fox/raccon hybrid), small deer (Mouse deer we think) some frogs, bats, fireflies and the largest spider I've ever seen (about the size of my outstretched hand) - which our guide started to torment in order to make it more active and then told us it was poisionous...

Khao Sok is apparently part of the oldest Rainforest ecosystem on the planet, 160 million years old. The trek where we were leeched was amazing, having to cross ravines and push through bamboo trees whilst trying to follow a very disused trail - and then we discovered the leeches. We were later shown the way to not get leeched - by smeering tobacco juice over your shoes, socks and trousers. How someone found that out I will probably never know.

After a night in Surat Thani (tip - don't go, nothing is open after 6 pm other than the 7-11) and another chat with a monk (in the 7-11) we got a 9 hour train up to Bangkok, where we arrived on Friday, 2 months after we first arrived. I can't believe that we've been gone that long. The past 3 weeks in Thailand has flown by to say the least.

I still don't like Bangkok much, but I will say that you can get glasses very cheap (I scratched mine on the beaches somewhere, I think some sand must have got in the cloth I was using) so I got mine re-lensed and some new ones for not very much at all.

So we're nearly half-way (cue quiet sobbing) and the next post will be whilst I am upside down in Australia!

Some stats -

Number of crying babies on the train - 2 (for 9 hours...)

Final number of leech bites - 8 a leg (they're easier to count once they've gone down slightly)

And go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4exo9q4-tw to see some Elephant Video goodness!

Attack of the Leeches

I hate leeches (to be said in an Indiana Jones 'I hate Snakes' styleeeeee)

Some Stats.

Number of km trekked through rainforest - 4
Number of bites on left leg - 6
Number of bites on right leg - 4 (I think - need to clean off the blood properly)
Number of leeches in shoes/socks - 15

And we're going on a night trek later (as that's when the lions, tigers and bears come out. Well maybe not the lions, but definately the other two) so I'm guessing I'll have even more leech wounds later...

Koh Pha-Ngan

Not much to update once again, sorry! After the trauma of getting here, Koh Pha-Ngan is a really beautiful, peaceful place, and it doesn't live up to the image created by the Full/Half/Black/Shiva* Moon party (*delete where applicable)

We have been staying at a little resort to the north of the island, on a very secluded beach . So secluded that it's a 15 minute walk/boat ride or a 20 minute drive to civilisation (for civilisation read internet cafe and 7-11)

We've done more activities over the past few days including archery (if the law that all Englishmen have to practise archery once a week is ever enforced, I'm not that bad at all!) and a cooking course. We've been trying to get to a cooking course for 2 weeks now and have finally succeeded and if I do say so myself, I'm very good...

We're currently waiting for a ferry back to the mainland before heading on to a national park.

Some stats

Number of times I've written this blog - 2 (I hate satellite broadband, it costs a fortune and will crash at the mere mention of the word 'cloud')
Number of mozzie bites - 150 (I seem to be being used as target practise at the moment...)

A Crime Fighting Caper

(or how I stopped the bad guys from getting away with everyone's stuff)

Yesterday we travelled across Thailand to Koh Phagnan, in the gulf of Thailand. It was all booked at our previous hotel and we had to get a bus, then a ferry, then a bus then a ferry. Or so we thought.

The first bus/ferry combo was fine, and to be honest the second bus was also fine. However we weren't dropped off at the ferry terminal at Surat Thani to get the final ferry. We were dropped at a rough looking cafe and told we needed to get another bus to the ferry in a few hours time. This was strange and started some alarm bells ringing.

(cue catchup/flashback... after our cameras were stolen in Cambodia, we did some t'internet research to see if it was common - it's not, we were very very unlucky. However, in Thailand accorting to t'internet, dodgy bus companies will steal stuff by putting it in a large hold below the cabin and driving very slowly with loud films/music on whilst the bags are ransacked below. End of flashback)

So anyway, this very very large bus turns up, with a hold you could stand up in. It then proceeded to travel at below 30 kph for over 2 hours to a pier far far away, whilst playing a rubbish movie (Hidalgo - Hollywood tripe which they didn't even start at the beginning!) at an ear splitting level. Hmmmmmmmm. There were some others on the bus who were concerned and they even got the bus stopped to check - but there seemed nothing amiss. I was not having any of it and tried to get into the hold from the main deck, but couldn't quite see in. So as soon as the bus turned up at the port, I checked my bag. They'd picked the lock (it's a huge thing, so they were good!) and stolen two memory cards.

At this, I shouted out and ran back to the bus. Everyone else started checking their bags and found money and other things gone. Whilst some of the backpackers shouted at the driver, I got into the hold and looked around. There was a dodgy partition which I started to move, but then the bus also started driving off, so I ran back to the door and jumped out. Once the bus had been stopped again (and the police called) another guy and I went back in to find two people with all the stolen stuff...

The police were, quite frankly useless and it's only because there were some massive Americans/Canadians who managed to break the drivers window that the bus didn't drive off before we salvaged the gear. After that, we discovered they'd sold us the tickets to the wrong island... (but they'd done it to everyone, so we were able to swap)

But now we're on a stunning island in a little bay called Haad Khoan (I think the spelling is right) which is really secluded. We were the only people on the beach earlier. Apparently there's a coral reef 50 metres off the beach, so we're going to snorkel out there later on today.

Some Stats.

Number of things stolen from me - 2
Number of things got back - 2 (hurrah!)

Ko Lanta

Not that much to report this time, as we're in the beach part of the trip. We flew down to Krabi (after an interesting bus journey to Bangkok - we were an hour late as the bus driver and conductress needed to stop to get food for the little yappy type dog they had on board) and then moved onto Ko Lanta. We've rented a few motorbikes (one at a time, don't fear Rach's parents, she didn't drive one) and also spent a day snorkelling out on some reefs. I didn't find Nemo, which was a disappointment, but I did find some of the other fish featured in the film.

That's about it. We're currently in a really nice bay (Kantiang Bay) staying in a hut next to the beach - I am surprised at myself as I am enjoying it - not a great fan of beach holidays really, but after 6 weeks of haring around Indochina a bit of R&R is appreciated!

Some Stats

Number of fire shows seen - 5
Number of people dropping things in fire shows - 2
Number of sand crabs seen large enough to kidnap the cats around here - 4
Number of really cute cats that look like Blonde versions of Rosie the cat at home - 1 (other cats - 10, never seen a cat on a beach before)

The River Kwai (both with and without an Elephant)

but I fell of my Elephant less than my Mahout (Elephant guide/trainer)...

The first day in Kanchaniburi we spent going to the Erawan waterfalls, which are amazing. We hiked 2.2 km up past six fall formations, went swimming in the plunge pool of the seventh fall formation and then had hiked back down again. We then went on to Hellfire Pass, part of the Thai-Burma 'Death Railway' built during the Second World War. A very moving place and beautiful place, with a very well done museum. Finally we took a trip on part of the railway back towards Kanchaniburi. (I'll post photos later, but I left the CD with the guesthouse)

However, yesterday, following another lead from another random traveller (this time a Kiwi we met in a mud bath in Nha Trang, Vietnam) we went north to Elephants and Friends, a small conservation project that looks after old and badly treated Elephants. We arrived around lunchtime and settled into our Bamboo hut and talked to the people running it, John and Phot. There are 6 Elephants at the site (including one who's 73 years old!) , together with 3 horses, 3 dogs and 2 cats, all of which wander around freely (although the Elephants do have a fenced off area of their own). We each got assigned an Elephant, mine was a 40 year old female called Kamoon, and rode off to the River Kwai to give them their afternoon bath. It really was a surreal experience, lumbering along on the top of a very tall Elephant (it was only when I was up I realised how far up an Elephant goes!) down a small road and through a path in the Jungle to the river. Once we got there, we stayed on top of the Elephants whilst they were in the river and helped wash them. The Mahout moved to the back so I sat on the Elephant's neck and held on to the ears whilst they dunked themselves under the water. Well that's the idea as I got swept off at one point (hence the title of the post) The River Kwai is a very, very fast flowing river, but luckily I was close to shore and only went about 10 metres or so. Once the Elephants were clean, we took them back to the jungle where they spent the night.

The process was repeated in the Morning, except this time Rach fell off and was swept away, complete with her Mahout and My Mahout who went in after them! They were swept further than me and had to be rescued by Boomi, the 73 year old Elephant (now also known as Rach's Rescue Elephant). This left me to guide Kamoon back to the camp on my own... I was told what commands to use and as and Elephant never forgets, I didn't have to steer that much.

We then set off back to Kanchaniburi to get them some Banana trees for the Elephants to eat, before returning for one final ride/clean in the river this evening.

It really was an amazing 24 hours and I'm going to nag at everyone I know who's even considering coming to Thailand to come up here and visit, as it's a really worthwhile foundation, run by great people and you do get to go swimming with Elephants (Swimming optional - only if you fall off...)

John, one of the people working at E&F got alot of video of us, so when I figure out how to upload to Youtube, I'll post the links.

Some Stats

Number of Elephants Ridden - 1 (of 6)
Number of Ice Creams given to Elephants - 1




Feeding Kamoon after getting the Banana trees

Coming out of the river on Kamoon - after falling in

End of the first day/dunking!

Kanchanaburi (Bridge over the River Kwai)

We're back in Thailand, having traveled from Siem Reap to Bangkok overland. We spent a very fun last day in Angkor on bikes (Thanks for the tip Ant & Anna). It's the first time I've ever had to overtake Elephants in the road, they're very slow. I also had a great chat with a monk (not the one in the photo) as Rach had to run to the loo in a Pagoda... We visited the Landmine museum as well, which might seem a strange thing to do but is really interesting.

The journey from SR to Bangkok was possibly one of the worst I've ever done. I know understand why it's nicknamed the road from/to Hell. It was like being in a rock tumbler for 12 hours. The first bus to the border at Poipet was too small for the number of people/bags. I was initially over the wheel arch at the back, with my knees around my chin. I also suspect that it didn't have any suspension as you could feel every single bump in the road, and there were alot. We've been warned that the road had been washed out over the past few weeks The road didn't exist in places, it had become an extension of the surrounding paddy fields and we passed countless HGV's that were stuck over their axles in mud. Poipet, well I'm going to have to borrow Ant's description of the place - You know the alternate Hill Valley 1985 in Back to the Future 2 - it's like that with less burning cars (although I did see a car with a huge scorch mark down the side). It's possibly the worst place I've ever been - an absolute toxic waste dump of a town. The last bus from the Thai border to Bangkok was alright, but it did have a huge painting of the little mermaid down the side...

We spent yesterday shopping (Rach got very excited when she saw Boots...) and generally marvelling at all the 'traveller types' i.e. the long haired, tie-dyed tee-shirted lot and wondering why we haven't seen them anywhere else (we think they're too scared to leave the Khao San Road)

Today we got the train from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi. It's certainly not a Virgin Pendolino - the seats were wooden and cooling came from the windows which was done by lowering them. It was fun though, you can just lean out the train to see in front, although you have to duck in to avoid various bits of foliage.

Some stats...

Number of Boots visited on the Khao San Road - 1 (of 3)
Number of books read on trip so far - 5 (1 a week, impressive!)
Number of t-shirts now bought - 5 (My bag has become very heavy for some reason)

a forgetful frame of mind

I'm sure there's something I should remember, remember today, but can't for the life of me figure it out...










(Sorry, bad joke, but had to do it as we both didn't notice what the date/day was until we saw it printed on our train tickets today!)

Angkor

Some photos from the last two days (We bought a new camera in PP before we came out here, we were not coming to Angkor without a camera! It's a Sony DSC-T10 for you techies out there)


The Monk Mobile! I'd say there's over 30 in there...



A very kind monk on the third level of Angkor Wat itself who let me take his photo



Sunrise at Angkor Wat at stupid o'clock this morning. We were up so early that we were able to catch the last 10 minutes of the Barca - Chelsea game live on the TV.



A bit later this morning, when the sun had almost pushed through the clouds.

Some stats

Number of temples seen - 12
Number of monks with mobile phones seen - 1
Number of monks with cameras (obviously tourists too!) seen - 2

Another internet cafe that allows me to post photos (hurrah!)

Here's some random ones from the last few weeks...



Danang - Aftermath of Typhoon Xangsane



Floating petrol station - somewhere in the Mekong Delta



No Comment (Actual sign in Phnom Penh)



King Kong in training - the ground of Wat Phnom, Phnom Penh



Count the dragonflies! - Somewhere outside of Kampot