FINAL PART 17 Nov 2017

Managed an early rise and had breakfast in a lov

ely cafe just round from hostel. Hot today so planned on taking it slow. Headed to harbour, Grand Palace and then our last stop to khosan Road for dinner. All in all we have had a blast of a time. Couldn't have dreamed of such an amazing holiday. Catch you all soon and hope everyone has enjoyed following us. THE END

Wed 15 Nov - Kanchanaburi to Bangkok.

So here we are, our final journey back to Bangkok where it all began. Seems like yesterday since we first arrived!! We were up at 6am to catch the 7.20am train to Bangkok. It was a pleasant 3hr journey with beautiful views along the route. Met up with Alex who we had met yesterday as he was heading there too. Said our goodbyes at bangkok (Thonburi Station) and tried to find the boat that takes you to roughly where we were heading. Decided on a hostel called The Twins which was just around the corner from the hotel we stayed in when we first arrived. £10 a night, no frills but lively and fun. We walked for about 30 mins in 32°heat but couldn't find the ferry and everyone we asked kept sending us in opposite directions. We ended up talking to a guy who said he would take us on his small sailboat but he was trying his hand and charging 400 bhat which was alot considering we paid 500 bhat from the airport first time around. We went to walk away and he said he would take us to khosan Road for 200! We agreed but what we didnt know was that it was on the back of his motorbike. Lol. I was a bit wary but knew I couldn't keep walking with backpack for much longer so on we got and off we went. I was wedged in the middle and jack on the back, driver and 3 backpacks!! Off we went and hit the main Bangkok interchange. Traffic heaving and us weaving in and out of traffic! It was an experience but we got there safely and another story to tell. Found hostel and had a few drinks before heading to room and collapsing for a couple of hours. Got up, showered then headed out for dinner and a look around the area once again. It was good to feel familiar again in a place we knew. Headed back to hostel around 10pm and joined in with the partying. Got speaking with Thorna Who had just arrived yesterday and already lost his wallet and money. Poor guy. The group of "Young ones" headed out at midnight but we declined on offer and went to bed. How times have changed. 😂. We also wanted to get up sharp tomo as it would be our last full day and we didn't want to waste it being hungover.

Tues 14 Nov - Death Railway

Up at 7am today and a quick bite to eat before heading to catch a bus to "Hell Fire Pass". This is the railway track that was dug out in the jungle through rock by the POWs during 2nd world war. Then we had to get back to Nam Tok to catch the train which brought us back into kanchanaburi via Death Railway. When u see the pics you understand why it has this name. Finally the train went over river kwai bridge and we got back about 6.30pm. Was a quick but tiring day. Didn't help that we were running to catch the train in this heat. Some things never change!!Home, showered and back out for a bite to eat and a farewell to this lovely place. Tuk tuk booked for 6.45am to take us to the train station for our journey back to Bangkok. No way was I getting a mini bus, so it was that or walk. 2 nights still left but we're not thinking of home just yet.

Mon 13 Nov - Kanchanaburi

Loving it here and another change of plan. We had only booked here for 2 nights but it has turned out to be our wee chilling haven so we are staying another 2 nights. Our final 2 nights will be Bangkok where we started this journey but neither of us want to head there too early as it is very busy and also signifies that our time is nearly over. 😢 Today was a lazy day. Caught up on some sleep in the afternoon and also to keep out of the heat. Very humid today. Had dinner in a pizza cafe then walked into centre of town to plan our day tomorrow. We are going to Hell Fire Pass by bus and then hoping to catch the train back along Death Railway.

Sun 12 Nov - Kanchanaburi

Woke up at 6am very hungover so sat at the riverside and had lots of coffee and then toast which is in with cost of our stay. Jack finally surfaced around 10.30 and we got showered and off to see the sights. Like everywhere I suppose, the place looks better in sunshine. We headed in opposite direction from last night and made our way to the Bridge over the river Kwai. It was heaving but great area of town, bustling with markets, cafes etc. We sat down on the river and just relaxed taking it all in. We walked over the Bridge and did the usual touristy thing. Visited the war museum and really enjoyed. Was very hot today. We were both struggling with the heat after our alcohol consumption last night so it was nice to just take our time. About 5pm we didn't think it was worth it going back to change and go back out so we had dinner under the Bridge then walked home around 9pm. You can actually see the Bridge from our room so we didn't have far to walk. Lay down to chill under the aircon and fell asleep. First early night and again, what a day.

Sat 11 Nov - Phuket to Kanchanaburi

Managed to crawl out of bed about 4.20am and our taxi arrived at 5am. Flight to Bangkok then had to make our way to the bus terminal which through centre of Bangkok was a sight to see. Volume of traffic was a nightmare. Managed to find the ticket office and booked our 1st class air conditioned travel to Kanchanaburi. NOT!!! So we get on this local mini bus and off we go. The journey was 3 hrs and it was 3 hrs of hell. We have been lucky with the weather as the days we have been travelling to our next destinations, the weather has been either cloudy or raining. Today it was raining- infact it was like a monsoon. Our driver was an asshole. At one point I thought we were going to be another statistic of Brits killed abroad. No kidding. Jack was at one point sat with his legs crossed and said "I'm uncrossing my legs in case anything happens!! Dont want broken legs"! I've never seen rain like it and within 30 mins into journey we were travelling through "rivers" on the 2 laned road. Our driver was driving about 70mph, in and out of traffic and right up the back of the car in front. If he had to brake, we'd have had no chance. Seatbelt was on but i so wanted to get off. He had no consideration for his passengers whilst he was on his mobile phone and fixing his hair in the mirror. How we got there in 1 piece I don't know but we have never experienced that in either of our whole lives. Arrived in Kanchanaburi and took a taxi tuk tuk to our hotel/hostel. The place was deserted due to weather and it looked like we had made a mistake. We got ready then headed out to explore and had dinner in a local cafe. Rain was now off so we went looking for the bungalow on stilts that Jack had stayed in here 20 yrs ago. We couldn't find it but we did find a pub in heart of town that looked good and had a pool table. We sat there and that was us until 1.30am! Great night and met lots of people either travelling or working out here. Our only trouble was trying to find our way home. Lol

Friday 10 November - Maya Bay "The Beach"

Bus picked us up at 7.45 and took us to Phuket Marina. Got onto the boat and headed out. Maya Bay was our last stop of the day but so worth waiting on. The sun was splitting the sky so we sat at the front of the boat which was the only area not under cover! 2 other couples joined us and we had a good laugh even although there was a communication barrier. We travelled for about 45mins and first of all visited bamboo Island. Absolutely beautiful. It was off the boat and straight for shelter. After an hour, back on boat and then we stopped for a bit of snorkelling. I'm not one for the water but couldn't not go in. So on with a life jacket (which was optional) and in we went. Fish swimming about us which was weird - and the water was warm and refreshing. Then we visited monkey island but never got off the boat as the monkeys are cheeky and steal food and nip at people. Some tours let u off but ours didn't which was fine as only a tiny sandy beach. Next we had lunch on phi phi which was included in price. After lunch we stopped at a lagoon and had another swim. The sea was crystal clear and absolutely stunning. Finally, it was Maya Bay. It was a big count down as we came round into the bay and there it was - My number 1 bucket list. It didn't disappoint (apart from no Leonardo) lol. This is such a tourist must-see that it was very busy but still amazing and very beautiful. I thought i was going to cry as I couldn't believe I was actually here. Lol. Loved it.... After that it was back to the harbour around 6pm. By this point in the day, cloud was starting to build up, so the hour back to the harbour looked a bit daunting. Luckily the weather didn't hit us. It was a brilliant day. Our "crew" Chris and Paul were a comedy act and kept us laughing from start to finish. A day I will never forget. Back to hotel and then down to bar as this was our last night in Phuket and we needed to plan how we were going to get to kanchanaburi. It was going to be a 12 hr bus journey costing about £50 which neither of us wanted to do so booked a flight for 7.20am. This cost £98. It made sense as we didnt want to lose any days as time was running out. We sat with Mol, Rung and Bole and they kept pouring us shots, free of charge. They were nearly in tears at us leaving and didn't want us to go. Jack was in full party mode so had to finally drag him to bed around midnight. Luckily alarms were set for 4am!!! Don't think either of us remember hitting the pillow.

Thurs 9th Nov - Patong, Phuket

Staying here for 4 nights to catch our breathe. Mol from hotel is amazing. She couldn't do enough for us. Had a long lie this morning then got a taxi into phuket old town. Walked about for about an hour but eventually had to get out the heat so we went for a McDonald's. Very humid here although it's not always been blue sky. Nice relaxing afternoon, and a nice walk along patong beach when we got back to resort. Patong beach was one of the areas affected by the Tsunami in 2004. Had dinner out and then went to see about arranging our trip to Phi Phi islands. Woo hoo. Booked for tomo. Back to hotel bar and enjoyed a few hrs before bed as we had an early rise in morning. All in all a nice chilled day.

Patong - Wed 8 November

Had an amazing sleep. Air con is a must over here. We've been pretty lucky with that. Showered and then headed out to look around. Weather has been very hot and humid although cloudy which has been a blessing. Don't think we could manage this in peak season. Walked down to a cafe and had lunch then off to see Bangla Road. Cameron had told us all about this area as him and Sophie had partied here last year. It was busy, very busy but good to just wander and feel safe. Walked along the beach and took it all in. Back to villa and lazed about the pool for a few hours before getting ready to hit the nightlife. A bit old for all this but why not?

Tuesday 7 November - Phuket

Decided late last night that we were going to move on today. Phenom penh was good to see what we did but it's very big and I was feeling a bit intimidated there. The tuk tuks (unlike the north) have sides on them and when we got into it we were warned to stay safe and keep bags out of sight. It has a bad reputation of bag thefts and scammers! So after much deliberation, we booked our flight to phuket. That was always our plan and we were on schedule. We left late afternoon after a wander round the market and headed to airport. It took 2 flights as we had to fly back via bangkok with a connecting flight. Our 1st flight was delayed by half an hour so when we landed, an airport guard was waiting with a sign showing our names. He had to whisk us through customs and usher us to the gate for next flight. Managed it with plenty time and landed in phuket at 9.20pm. As It was late arriving I had emailed the villa and they organised a taxi to pick us up and take us to patong. On arriving, Mol the owner and her friends were waiting on us. Room was back up to standard and clean. It was a case of dumping bags and going down for a drink at bar. That was us until 1.45am lol. They were practically pouring drink down our necks. We had a ball. Music playing and great company. Another excellent end to another day. Hit our bed and slept right though to 11am this morning.

Phnom Penh 6 November

Got up about 9am and showered, breakfast and planned our day. It's again been full on. Took a tuk tuk to genocide museum and killing fields then onto s21, the ex school which was turned into a torture centre. I'm not going to say anymore about today as it was very sad and harrowing but Jack wanted to go as he loves his history. I've become quite educated on it all now but the memories will prob haunt me for a long time. I sat out on a bench for a few hours at s21 as I couldn't look at these crimes of torture. I've kind of been updating my blog over the last 24hrs as I would forget what and where we've been. Lol. So I'm now up to date with it all. Now back at hostel having a drink and going for food. We are only booked here until tomo but thinking maybe do another night. We are going to plan later and see where to next. If we leave tomo, it will be heading back to thailand to the beach and some chill out time. Maybe phuket or ko samui, unsure but defo to somewhere where we can access the phi phi islands and Maya bay, the top of my bucket list. Time seems to be going too fast to fit it all in.

Sunday 5 Nov - Battambang to Phnom Penh

Another early rise. Jen the owner of our hostel had organised a taxi to take us to Phnom Penh this morning. We booked the back seat and it Was picking us up at 8am for what should have been a 4 hr journey. When it did eventually turn up there was someone in front and another in the back. He still wanted the same money and jen said no as it had been booked and that is the usual price of 40 dollars. So he drove off. This left us with no transport. After a few hrs of trying to decide what to do, jen said our only option was to take a bus. 7hrs on a bus wasnt too apealing but this was our last option or spend another night in Battambang. It was raining so we decided that we would be as well getting on our way so thats what we did. She gave us $20 back from our stay and paid for our bus to phnom penh as she felt responsible. So off went. Left at 11am and arrived in phnom penh at 7pm! What a journey. Lol. We were the only westerners and it did feel a bit daunting. Even when arriving there seemed no other westerners and we had been warned about the dangers here. Not a place u want to be walking about in. We jumped straight into a tuk tuk and right to the hostel. Definitely felt more comfortable at hostel as it's in a better area full of backpackers. We did go out for a short walk in lit up places but then went back for dinner, some drinks and hit our bed about midnight exhausted. Planned on having a lie in for another busy day tomo.

Battambang - Saturday 4 November

Met Dj at 9.30 after a lovely breakfast in hostel. 4 girls joined us from the hostel. Nicky, Toni, honey and Vicky. German and Austrian and all spoke good English but we had to talk very slowly for them to understand us. So our first stop was a Buddhist temple. Jack got talking to a monk and he walked us round talking about his religion. Have attached photo of the lady's face and her eyes that followed you!!. After the temple We went to see how they use the bamboo for making food. It was cored, filled with rice and baked. Tasted amazing. Then we went to a small killing fields area to commemorate 10008 people who were murdered during this period in Battambang area. First tears of the holiday as it really gets you. Don't know how I'll manage the genocide museum and largest killing fields when in phenom penh. On a happier note went to a fish market! Yuk. Lol I had to cover my nose with tiger balm to avoid the smell... then stopped to see a local make her dried chewy bananas which they sell by the bag and then onto a place where they make rice paper. At each of these stops we got to try all the food and it was "interesting" but we did try it all. Some nice some not so nice. Then we visited where they make rice wine using the cobra. 40% proof. People drink this with the blood from the cobra which looks disgusting. Then we stopped for lunch at a street vendor but i chose not to eat but did have a few mouthfuls. My stomach has been good up until now so didnt want to take any chances. Jack wolfed in and enjoyed but again a bit wary. Then our final stop was the mountains and caves. Had to walk up this steep climb for about an hour. Was exhausting but the view point over cambodia was Stunning. Had to sit with my fan and catch my breath. We got back down for 5.45 grabbed a quick beer and then along the road a bit to watch the bats leave the cave. At sunset every night (6pm today) the bats fly from the cave to go and find food and eat off the rice fields. It was on the dot. There are approx 5 million bats in this cave and to see them come out in droves was awesome. Took like 8 mins before the sky cleared. So that was our day. Busy but brilliant. Was only one thing to do now. Hostel beer and bed and thats what we did. Moving on tomo to phnom penh so had to get organised yet again.