Week 66 - Adelaide (Australia)

We were awoken on Christmas morning by Al, who in turn had been woken by the smell of cooking bacon wafting into his room. Slater had breakfast covered. Next up was present opening with a bottle of bubbles to wash it down. Santa had found his way in and left us all with a little pile of presents, mostly purchased from the dollar store down the road or brought in with us from the duty free shops in Malaysia. Some of the particular highlights - clip in hair for Al (I would post the picture but I don’t think he’d be too impressed), a giant cow pat Al acquired from the Ben&Jerry’s OpenAir cinema for Slater, hip flasks, cap guns, bikini girl glasses and an inflatable frog for the pool (which Al immediately blew up and put on).

Once the boys were settled with drinks in the garden I got dinner started. As always there were many things that could have been better but as an overall first attempt at cooking a full Christmas dinner I think it went pretty well despite being an hour earlier than expected, oops. We had a massive turkey that has fed us for the rest of the week and all the trimmings, including yorkshire puddings, pigs in blankets, bread sauce, bacon sprouts, honey roast parsnips and lemon meringue for dessert- all made from scratch. Dinner was followed by more drinks, calls home to the UK, movies and chocolates to round off the evening. All up a pretty good Christmas albeit stupidly hot for a full turkey dinner. 

Rhys and Al enjoying the pool on Christmas morning.

Rhys and Slater ready to start Christmas dinner.

Boxing day was a chill day, there was more food, this time a pork joint (they don’t sell raw ham anywhere here, these Aussie’s never even knew there was such a thing as raw ham and they don’t even get their bacon raw, it’s kind of half cooked, very odd), more TV, more drinking and more sleeping. We popped to the bar around the corner for a couple of Boxing Day drinks in the sun and other than that just kicked back and relaxed.

Slater had the Friday off work and decided to take it upon himself to show us some of the tourist hot spots of Adelaide. First stop was Mount Lofty, one of the tallest mountains in the area with views out over Adelaide to the sea. We sat down for a coffee while admiring the view. Next up was Hahndorf, a quaint little postcard perfect German town about 20km out of the city. We decided to take the scenic route from Mount Lofty and spent about an hour driving around the back roads, lost. The detour worked out for the best though, a toss of a coin at a junction took us into the bush and down a road that turned into a little track before passing an abandoned copper mine that has been put aside as a conservation area. We got out of the truck to stretch our legs and explore and within a minute Rhys had spotted a koala. We were so excited to see one in the wild and took a million photos before doing a short circuit of the mine ruins and spotting another two koalas, cue another million photos. Back on the road and heading in the right direction we happened across the freeway and sped out to Hahndoff. It was incredibly busy but quite homely with old school ice cream and sweet shops, antique shops and loads and loads of cafes, restaurants and pubs. We chose the pub with the biggest schnitzel menu and grabbed a table outside to watch the world go by while we stuffed down yet more food. A quick stop to watch a farrier shoeing his horse and a brief exploration of the museum/art gallery and we were back in the truck to head back to the house.

Me and Slater at the top of Mount Lofty.

Rhys and Slater, lost in the bush.

Koala at the copper mine.

A bit of history, Hahndoff.

We had a quick turn around and were out the door again to head into the city to meet Al to go to a baseball game in Norwood, a suburb a bit like London’s Kensington, the other side of Adelaide. Just as we were pulling into the city Slater got in a bit of an altercation with a bus driver who kept cutting everyone up and when his eyes were off the road we rolled into the car in front. Slaters truck was untouched, the bullbar however destroyed the back end of the car in front who in turn had shunted the car in front of him. Insurance details were swapped and we were on our way again in no time, no one was hurt and the damage was only so bad because Slaters truck is a monster. We found Al at the bar opposite his office and got a drink in just as it closed. Next we hopped over to the hostel terrace bar where there are really cheap drinks and a surprisingly local clientele. About 8pm we we headed to the truck and drove out to Norwood. The baseball was a groupon deal and tickets were a bargain £3.80 each, we found ourselves a seat and settled in to shout at the Adelaide Bites who were losing to Canbarra. Our shouting didn’t seem to help and they lost the game but I think we’ve all found a new understanding and love of baseball despite it being an extremely slow sport. The best bit though was as we were leaving, the players were signing autographs and Alan ended up down in the throng asking to get his head signed. A couple of minutes later and a sharpie was found (the biro didn’t work) and he came back to us happy until we pointed out that the player hadn’t signed his name but drawn a penis on his head. Ben Lodge, you are a champion. Back at the house and we had a night cap, before bed.

The boys at the baseball.

Us enjoying the baseball.

Slater was working Saturday and Sunday so it was just me, Rhys and Alan. We didn’t really get up to much, more eating, more drinking, more sleeping, more sitting in the pool in the garden. Rhys went for a walk to the beach while I popped to Coles and that was about it. The boys watched the Hobbit while I pottered around and we made a huge turkey pie to finish off the last of the Christmas meat.

On Monday we had an appointment at the Apple store in Rundle Mall to see if they could fix our ipods (they couldn’t). Afterwards we walked out to the botanic gardens and were amazed at the sheer size of them, we spent a couple of hours wandering between rose gardens and cactus gardens, conservatories sheltering giant lily pads and conservatories holding huge rainforests (where we got caught in a rain shower). When we left the gardens we walked along the river to the Adelaide Oval and stopped at a pretty church before heading back to meet Slater in Rundle Mall. Lunch was another cheap food court meal in China Town. Rhys jumped on the tram to head home and me and Slater went back to the mall to pop in a couple of shops before stopping off for a drink on a little terrace in the Richmond Hotel, a perfect spot for people watching. On the way back to the tram we ended up back in the hostel bar and then when we got to Glenelg we stopped for one last drink at the Jetty Bar. A bit more shopping on Jetty Road and we headed home. It turned in to a big night. We gave Al a hair cut, watched some horrid UFC matches, had a go at UFC (I even tapped Al out twice with only a few rule breaches (who knew you couldn’t bite)) and drank the rest of the goon. At one point Slater had his fancy dress genie costume on and there was a bet that Al will have kids in the next 5 years (it’s on video so we remember it).

NYE morning we weren’t feeling too fresh (who drinks the night before New Years Eve?!), we cleaned a bit, watched TV and packed for our trip to Melbourne. Our biggest excursion was a trip to the post office to collect my passport and to the dollar store to buy glow sticks for the Glo Glenelg NYE party. By the time Alan got home from work we’d left it to late to buy tickets for any of the bars in Glenelg and opted to start the party at the house. We popped next door to the Holdfast bar which was so empty it was closing early, before heading back to the house. As midnight drew close we trundled down to the beach, equipped with a wide selection of glow sticks. We were a bit disappointed to find the beach scattered with small groups of people sitting on rugs and had expected there to be more of a party atmosphere and a DJ or two. After the midnight fireworks we stopped at Subway and headed home. Despite it not being a mad New Years it was all we wanted, to spend it with Alan and Slater without spending a fortune.

Week 65 - Adelaide (Australia)

The week started with a ridiculously hot day and the temperature soared to 44°C. Alan had tasked us with picking up a paddling pool for the garden while he was at work. When we got it home it took us over 5 hours to set it up and fill it, it’s a pretty big paddling pool. While it was filling we packed a picnic and headed down to the beach for a swim in the sea. Alan had been paddling when his mum was down (despite his constant shark warnings) and led us to belive it was warm, along with the hundreds of people frolicking in the waves when we got there we figured it must be lovely. It was freezing, I don’t know what these Australians consider warm but that isn’t it, Rhys didn’t even go all the way in and he’s Welsh. 

Back at the house we finished filling the pool and headed into the city for a walk around before we were due to meet Alan from work. We checked out Rundle Mall which isn’t a mall but a pedestrianised street lined with shops and shopping centres. We were expecting some spectacular Christmas decorations but they really don’t seem to go in for that here. After a mooch around some of the shops and realising we don’t have any money so shopping is a bit of a waste of time, we ended up walking towards what we thought was a church for a quick look as it was too hot to walk far. It turned out to be one of the university buildings and among a strip of really nice 19th century buildings, set around little grassy squares we stumbled upon the Art Gallery of South Australia. The air con was a saviour and the gallery was actually really good, a great amalgamation of pieces, lots of William Morris and Pre-Raphaelite interspersed with Aboriginal, Asian and Roman.

Adelaide Arcade, Rundle Mall, Adelaide.

An attempt at Christmas decoration, Rundle Mall, Adelaide.

University buildings, Adelaide.

Our next stop was at the bar across from Alan’s office where we met up with Al and Slater who had sacked off his work Christmas party to come into the city and join us. After a few drinks we wandered over to a hostel bar with a roof terrace for happy hour before heading to Heinley Street, a street lined with bars. The bar we ended up in had a rodeo bull, after several attempts Al won by one second, staying on the bull for a massive 17 seconds. We were then completely shown up by a girl who stayed on for 27 seconds. After a few more drinks and a lot of dancing by Slater and Rhys, we grabbed a gyros (Al swears it is different to a donor kebab but that’s very debatable) and caught a taxi with a very grumpy driver home.

Rhys, Al and Slater at the hostel bar, Adelaide.

Rhys showing off his rodeo skills!

Bad planning meant we all woke feeling a bit worse for wears just as Alan’s dad’s flight arrived from Sydney. It was great to finally meet David, Nettie and Nettie’s daughter Rochelle, David looks so much like Rhys’s dad Billy it’s a bit unnerving! We spent the morning in the garden making the most of the pool before they headed over to the house they’d rented nearby to drop off their luggage. Later that afternoon we met at the tram stop to head to the Morphettville racetrack for the twilight horse races. We set a $30 limit to betting and all put $5 in a pot as a prize for the person who ended the night with the most money. Rhys was having a blinder and chose 3 winners and a place out of the 6 races we saw but was overtaken by David when his outside bet came in. David ended up winning the prize pot and was the only person to end the night having made an overall profit. We had a great night, we had a table out on the grass near the finish line and close to the parade ground and the sparkling wine was cheaper than beer so we got to feel posh with our champagne flutes. By the time we got back to Glenelg we were all pretty tired and tipsy and after grabbing fast food for dinner, called it a night.

Rhys picking his horse, Morphettville races, Adelaide.

Rhys, Al, Nettie, David and Rochelle at the Morphettville races, Adelaide.

David and Nettie stopped by the next morning and we arranged to meet them later at the tram station to head into the city to the Central Market. Lauren, another of Nettie’s daughters had flown in and joined us to make it a real outing. We stopped at the China town food court for super cheap lunch and then dived in to the crowds at the market. As it was near closing time everything was on offer and we walked around picking up sausages, veg and cheeses. We left Al and the family and darted off to K-Mart to buy Rhys a cheap hat (surprise surprise, he lost another one leaving it in immigration when we flew in). That evening we headed over to the house David had rented for a delicious BBQ. We ended up staying there quite late, drinking goon, eating sausages and chatting. On the walk home we finished off the goon then sat up in the garden talking some more.

David, Nettie and family were flying the following afternoon and after they checked out of their house they headed over to ours for another BBQ. Although it was a very slow start (we’re really not very good at lighting charcoal BBQ’s) the meat cooked in the end and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. 

That evening we had tickets to the Ben & Jerry’s Openair cinema. We arrived with a bottle of vodka to find we couldn’t take liquids in and ended up sitting on the beach, watching the final of a beach volleyball contest until it was empty. Then we headed in to the cinema and had a couple of hours to eat free ice cream, sample wine (we went back 4 times, we had a lot of free wine) and play giant jenga and mini golf, along with our goody bags we definitely got our moneys worth. Once the film started we got all wrapped up in our sleeping bag liners against the cold sea wind and laid down on our blanket to enjoy. Within minutes Rhys and Alan were asleep. Al was snoring so loudly the people behind were laughing and I had to wake him up. I don’t think anyone knew what the film was about- The Counselor, I don’t recommend it. I do recommend the Openair cinema though. Alan snuck out with a giant cowpat stuffed in the cool bag and nearly got chased by security and we headed home.

Beach volleyball, Adelaide.

Al, me and Rhys with our snazzy free hats at the Ben & Jerry's Openair cinema.

Sunset over Adelaide beach.

Monday was pretty uneventful, me and Rhys did the final Christmas food shop and other than that we just chilled at the house. It’s so different to at home, there are no queues in the supermarkets and there were even still turkeys left!

Tuesday was Christmas Eve. Al worked and me, Rhys and Slater had final chores before the big day. Slater bought a whole heap of chemicals for the paddling pool as the water had gone worryingly cloudy and him and Rhys spent a lot of time cleaning it and making it usable. I got my bake on and pumped out mince pies, sausage rolls, cheese sticks and the pastry case for the lemon meringue pie. Rhys did a final shop run to pick up the bits we’d forgotten. We stopped by the local bar for a few pre-Christmas ciders in the sun and when Al got home, we watched a rubbish Christmas movie - Bad Santa.

Week 64 - Kuala Lumpur, Adelaide (Malaysia, Australia)

Our flight to Melbourne didn’t leave Kuala Lumpur until lunchtime so we weren’t in a rush to get to the airport. We ended up jumping in a cab for ease since the buses only run every half an hour and managed to find the looniest cab driver in the whole of KL. He started off nice and chatty, offering us fruit to try and asking about our travels, then he started getting out the bible and making me read from it and showing us news articles about him, saying he’s a miracle man and showing us how he ‘wins’ the lottery! It was a very long hour and a quarter drive. 

The flight to Melbourne was 7:30 hours and we landed at midnight. We flew Air Aisa and we know it’s a cheap airline but we didn’t expect to have to pay for everything, including water. We then had a 5 hour stay at Melbourne airport before we could check in for our 7am flight to Adelaide. We grabbed a MacDonalds for dinner and found a quiet corner to try and get a couple of hours kip. We failed miserably and ended up sitting up playing cards and drinking some of our duty free. Finally we could check in for our flight and head into the departure lounge. The flight to Adelaide was only an hour and we were met by our mate Slater who had been working nights and waited up to collect us. Slater took us straight back to his house and settled us into the living room on the sofa bed. We were out before our heads hit the pillow and slept until gone 3pm. 

That night we met Alan (Rhys’s cousin and Slater’s housemate) in a bar on Jetty Road, the main street in Glenelg, a trendy beach suburb of Adelaide where they live. It was great to see them both (we saw Alan last at our wedding reception in Wales and Slater, just over 4 years ago in Brisbane). We drank a lot of cider, were shocked at the extortionate prices of drinks in bars (£8 a pint of Bulmers anyone?!) and headed back to the house to finish the night with a couple of bottles of red wine. 

We’ve been in Adelaide at Slater and Alan’s house ever since. The house is perfect, huge rooms that stay cool despite the 38 degree heat, a fence that circles the garden for privacy and loads of fruit trees heavy with fruit (the orange and lemon trees are our particular favourite and have provided litres and litres of fresh juice).

Orange tree in the garden of Slater and Alans house, Adelaide.

Lorikeet eating all the crab apples in the garden, Adelaide.

Alan’s mum and her husband Chris were in town to visit Al for 3 nights and we met up with them each day for a couple of drinks at various bars along Jetty Road, the beach front and the Marina (all within 10 minutes walk of the house). One day Alan took us all in to town to the Central Market on the tram (family outing!), a great little place with all kinds of gourmet ingredients (think Borough Market in London) and to China Town for a cheap food court lunch. 

Me, Rhys and Alan with Alan's mum Jan, Jetty Road, Adelaide.

We’ve filled the rest of our days buying and putting up Christmas decorations, sorting out odds and ends for Christmas dinner and preparing anything we could in advance, cleaning everything in our backpacks, drinking goon (the cheapest wine you could ever dream of and the only thing we can afford to drink here), visiting Coles and Woolworths and their equivalent of the £ store to stock up the cupboards in preparation for Christmas and just generally enjoying being in the garden and sitting on couches in front of the TV. We ventured out on the bus to Bunnings, a DIY shop to pick up a cheap BBQ and managed to get on the wrong bus home which resulted in Rhys being given a lot of stick about the Ashes and a 95 year old man saving us and pointing us in the right direction to get a bus home. We’re just enjoying living a semi-normal life, we’ve unpacked our bags and slept in the same bed now for 6 nights running, a real treat.

Week 63 - Georgetown, Tanah Rata, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

After a chilled morning we headed out to explore Georgetown, Penang. Rhys had found a map showing a walking route to see some street art, mostly by the Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic, and we set out to follow the trail. The works are scattered over a relatively small area of the old town and gave a bit of structure to our wanderings, taking us to some of the more attractive corners of town including the floating village of the clan jetties (where we stopped in a food court for lunch). Georgetown is a bit of a dirty town but with a bit of a clean could be really cool, it already has lots of accommodation options in renovated old town houses, boutique shops and cafes and restaurants. We tried to visit the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion but it was outside of visiting hours so we headed back to the hostel. 

Street art, Georgetown, Penang

That afternoon I headed out again to visit the Khoo Kongsi and the Peranakan Mansion. The first is an elaborate Chinese clanhouse, the second, an old mansion house lived in by an aristocratic Nonya Baba family (a mixture of immigrant Chinese assimilated into Malay culture). The clanhouse is the biggest in Malaysia and comprises a group of buildings arranged around a paved square with an ornate temple at one edge. It was a peaceful oasis from the bustle of the town and despite the hordes of tour buses, it was really quite peaceful. The mansion house was equally ornate and very informative with display cases full of beaded shoes, gowns, glassware, jewellery and porcelain, offering a glimpse into the lifestyle of the Nonya Baba.

The temple at the Khoo Kongsi, Georgetown, Penang.

Singer sewing machine at Peranakan Mansion, Georgetown, Penang.

Back at the hostel I found Rhys and we wandered over to a food court to try some of the hawker stalls. The food courts get really busy and hectic, you order from any food cart that takes your fancy and grab a seat anywhere in the court. When it’s ready, they track you down and deliver the food to your table where you pay. The choice was incredible and we ended up getting lots of snacks from a number of stalls.

Food court, Georgetown, Penang.

We left Penang and Georgetown the following day on a minibus headed to the Cameron Highlands. It was a fairly comfortable 6 hour ride with some beautiful scenery as we neared the highlands and we arrived in the early afternoon to check into out hostel, Fathers Inn. I highly recommend it, great place near the centre of Tanah Rata with lots of couches and communal space. We grabbed a late lunch from a hawker stall, a selection of unidentifiable deep fried goodies along with a packet of salt and vinegar Walkers and a bottle of Ribena. That afternoon we explored the town which has a kind of a tired looking ski resort feel to it.

We were up early the next day for a jungle hike to see the Rafflesia flower in bloom. We had a small group with only us and another couple so we made good time and the return hike only took 3 hours, including a couple of stream crossings and some very slippery patches from all the rain in recent days. The weather held for us though and we were at the flower in no time. The plant has no stems or leaves and the ones we saw bloomed on the forest floor. They’re certainly not the prettiest flower with petals like slabs of rotting meat (and a smell to match for the first 30 mins of flowering so we’re told) but they are the worlds largest, with blooms growing up to a metre across. Each flower only lasts for about 7 days after taking 6-9 months to grow so we considered ourselves lucky to see one. After a short stop at a murky waterfall, we hiked back to the minivan stopping only briefly at the road side to have a go with a blow dart. Next stop was lunch. We had a super cheap Indian buffet and it was delicious. 

Rafflesia flower, Cameron Highlands.

After lunch we continued to the Boh Tea Plantations, founded by a British guy in 1929. By that point the weather was turning, it had started to drizzle and the clouds somewhat obscured the view but it was still pretty spectacular, rolling green hills covered in stripes of tea bushes as far as the eye could see (the plantation covers 8,000 acres and is only one of many plantations in the area). We pulled over to take some photos and our guide took us into a plantation to see how they harvest the tea leaves and to take photos of the smiley Bangladeshi workers. The tea centre itself was extremely touristy with a couple of information boards and a peek into the factory to see the production process before a stop at the cafe. It would have been really serene sitting on the veranda overlooking the plantation with our tea and cake but the place was full of screaming kids. On the way back into town we made two last stops, the first was at a strawberry farm for PYO - there are hundreds of strawberry farms littering the highlands. The second stop was at a butterfly and reptile farm which wasn’t really a farm but did have an amazing array of creatures for us to find and admire. All up it was a good day.

Harvesting the tea, Boh Tea Plantation, Cameron Highlands.

Rolling hills, Boh Tea Plantation, Cameron Highlands.

We had intended to spend the next day hiking around the highlands on some of the numbered trails around town. When we woke it was drizzling and it didn’t stop until late afternoon and by that time it was too late to head out. As there’s not a whole lot to do in the town itself and much of the activity involves tea plantations, various fruit, flower and honey farms and hiking, we ended up having a chill day.

Our bus to Kuala Lumpur left Tanah Rata the following morning. Again, it was a pretty painless journey and we were dropped off at the edge of China Town 4 hours later. We checked in to our miniature room at our hostel and wandered out to explore the markets of Chinatown and the surrounding streets. It’s a great area, very busy, lots of cheap places to eat and fake sunglasses, handbags and watch stalls everywhere you turn. Bargains of the week, Rhys haggled a pair of fake RayBans down from £26 to £3 and bought a Spurs shirt for £4 (£48 at home) and we picked up a fake Rolex watch and a G-shock for the princely sum of £10. We ate BBQ at a hawker stall that night and headed home to enjoy a few drinks in front of the TV.

After a lay in and a chilled morning we jumped on the train and headed out to the Batu Caves. On the outskirts of KL there is a range of limestone hills pitted with caves that have been turned into temples. The main attraction is the world's tallest (42.7m) murti (consecrated statue) of Sri Murugan Swami, a Hindu deity, that looms over the entrance stairs to the main cave. We spent an hour or so looking around before heading back into KL. More shopping in Chinatown and another BBQ feast and we headed to bed.

World's tallest Sri Murugan Swami statue, Batu Caves, KL.

Inside the Batu Caves, KL.

Our last day in KL we headed out to walk to the National Mosque but ended up in a huge office building and took a wrong turning and came out near Merdeka Square, a bizarre place, an old cricket pitch surrounded by a mix of British mock tudor and Arabic style buildings where the Malaysian flag was raised for the first time on independence in 1957. We walked back to the hostel through Chinatown. Later that afternoon I left Rhys watching movies and wandered out again to try to find the National Mosque. As soon as I got clear of any kind of cover a tropical thunder storm rolled in and within minutes I was completely drenched. I could see the mosque from the road but decided I was too wet to really go inside and enjoy it so turned back to wade through the rivers that the roads had become and wave off all the kindly people offering me lifts (I was wet through, I couldn’t get any wetter). Back at the hostel the roof was leaking. Our plans to see the Petronas Towers were out the window and we headed out only briefly to grab more BBQ for dinner.

Week 62 - Ko Lipe, Langkawi, Penang (Thailand, Malaysia)

We spent four nights in our room in a budget resort at the far end of Pattaya Beach on Ko Lipe, having already spent two nights on the island and a bamboo bungalow in the centre. We whiled away the days split between Pattaya Beach and the nicer Sunrise Beach on the other side of the island and at least once a day ventured out to the reef just offshore for some great snorkeling. Alongside the thousands of clown fish (Nemos) we saw moray eels and pipefish (that look like straightened out seahorses), a poisonous stone fish and a trumpet fish, brightly coloured giant clams and box fish. All up, the snorkeling was among the best we’ve done since we’ve been away and it was so close to shore that no boat trips were required. We did hope to rent a canoe to paddle across the thin strip of sea to the national park but towards the end of the week the weather turned a little unpredictable and a few hours of glorious sun would be followed by black clouds sweeping in and drenching the island, making the waves choppy and stirring up the seabed making the snorkeling visibility not quite so good.

View from our resort, sunset on Pattaya Beach, Ko Lipe.

Other than sitting on beaches, we played a great game of boules with coral, drank delightful cocktails at a little bar with a Swedish couple, ate an amazing fish BBQ on the beach by candlelight (we chose a grouper and a white snapper from that days catch and they prepared and cooked it to order), adopted a scraggy cat who needed a good feed and just generally enjoyed having down time to relax.

Fish feast, Daya Resort, Ko Lipe.

But the beach time had to end and our Thai visas were coming to the end of the 30 day period so we booked a speedboat to take us in to Malaysia. We handed in our passports at immigration and boarded the boat, an hour late at 11:30am. 30 minutes out at sea, when we were all drenched from the spray, our motor broke down and we spent another 30 minutes floating while they tried to fix it. It was pretty choppy and by the time a rescue boat came out to get us and take us back to Ko Lipe, everyone was feeling a bit seasick. No other boats were available and we ended up waiting around until 3pm for another boat. The second time the boat was much bigger and the sea much calmer. We arrived in Langkawi, bumped into a group of English guys (Swift, who has been working at the same hostel in Vietnam where me and Rhys met 5 years ago, and Ben and Ken who met Swift at the same hostel) who were staying at the same hostel as us in Langkawi and jumped in a taxi for the short drive to another ferry pier to get our passports returned and stamped. 

We’d been upgraded to an ensuite room at the hostel that night and were grateful for the warm shower. Sam, the guy who runs the hostel was extremely good at getting everyone together and talking, and before long we were all sitting around the table working our way through the beer in the hostel bar and watching the Wales rugby game until the early hours. 

The weather wasn’t great the next day and Rhys was under the weather so we didn’t venture far, only to have a quick look at the beach (a decent crescent of golden sand surrounded by lush green hills) and to the nearby duty free shop to stock up on ridiculously cheap vodka to take to Australia with us for Christmas. On the way back to the hostel we discovered a family of hornbills living in the trees on our street. We rounded off the night watching the Spurs game on TV before bed.

Another lay in and we headed out the following day to rent a scooter. We drove north and stopped at a bedraggled lighthouse before we reached the cable car. After queuing for 10 minutes we decided the hoards of tourists and theme park atmosphere weren’t really conducive to a pleasant afternoon and jumped back on the scooter for the short drive to a quiet, rather pretty waterfall in a little wooded area, home to a family of monkeys. After shooing away the monkey who was sitting on our scooter we decided to head along the north side of the island so we could loop back to the main town of Kuah. Just as we got on to the road, miles from anywhere, it started to rain. We ended up pulling into a little shelter to wait out the worst of it by the roadside. Once the rain lessened we carried on and mad it to a craft centre before the rain started again, even harder than before. We ended up staying there for lunch, which was incredibly cheap and pretty tasty. The rain finally stopped enough for us to leave and we carried on to Kuah where we stopped at a deserted duty free mall to look for a GoPro camera with no luck. 30 minutes and a stop at the petrol station (40p a litre anyone?!) and we were back at the hostel. For dinner that night we took the bike and had a huge plate of squid and claypot chicken before joining the fun in the bar back at the hostel. 

Waterfall on Langkawi.

Monkey making himself at home on our scooter, Langkawi.

Tuesday we had tickets booked for the ferry from Langkawi to Penang at 2:30pm along with the other 7 Brits we’d been hanging out with at the hostel. After returning the scooter, we had an early lunch of bake beans on toast and flagged taxis to take us to the ferry port, glad that we’d gone to bed at midnight when everyone else had gone out and rocked home at 6am (oh to be young again!). We had a while to wait at the ferry terminal and after a go on the massage chairs and the purchase of some snazzy hats we boarded and settled in for the 3 hour journey. We fed Rhys some seaksickness tablets before finding the instructions with the dosage and realising we’d given him a double dose and he was out for the count as soon as we sat down.

We checked in to our hostel, changed rooms to a quieter room, and headed out for dinner, the food scene in Penang is renowned and we weren’t disappointed with the little noodle cafe where we ate. Later, we popped out for a drink at a reggae bar with the Brits from Langkawi before turning in for a relatively early night.

Week 61 - Ko Ngai, Ko Lipe (Thailand)

When we’d been to Ko Ngai before it had been a glorious sunny day with a white sandy beach and turquoise sea. This time we arrived in the rain and it didn’t stop. We tried to leave after three nights but none of the boats were running and we ended up staying a fourth. It wasn’t the end of the world because they gave us a free nights accommodation and we were in a bargain giant tent right on the beach, we’ve been burning money since we got to Thailand so it gave us a chance to catch up a bit. Since it pretty much rained non-stop for the whole while we were there we had plenty of time to read, sleep, drink rum, play computer games and watch films. It was a great opportunity to recharge. Ko Ngai is pretty small though and there was only one restaurant that was open in our price range and we ended up structuring our days around lunch and dinner times. On one occasion we tried to make it to the other side of the island to visit some little coves but the cross island forest route was slick with mud and infested by mosquitoes so we ended up turning back. We managed to swim once in the sea, and then it was cold, and one night we stole in to the swimming pool of the resort next door for a quick dip but that was about the extent of the excitement - other than a massive hornbill with a huge beak eating berries from a tree by the beach. It’s a shame because it was such a beautiful place, off the tourist track with a beautiful crescent of sand and it would have been great to have spent time there when it was at its best, not when we were rained in and the beach was scattered with jellyfish.

Me outside our giant tent, hiding from the rain, Ko Ngai

When the boats were finally running we decided that we’d head straight for Ko Lipe. Our original plan had been to hop through the Trang islands from Ko Lanta to Ko Lipe, spending 10 days on 4 different islands. As the weather forecast predicted nothing but grey skies for the next week we thought it better to be in a more touristy place. The whole 2 1/2 hour bumpy (think rollercoaster bumpy) journey on the speedboat we were heading towards a patch of blue sky and our hopes were high. When we arrived it took us a while to find somewhere decent to stay in our price range, wading through huge puddles and walking along sandy tracks in the midday heat, and ended up in a little bamboo bungalow in the centre of the island. After lunch and a walk along the main beach, Pattaya beach, we found some cheaper bungalows and booked a room for the rest of our stay.

That evening the Spurs game was being shown in the sports bar so we wandered across to lay on the mattresses and watch, surprised how many Spurs fans were there. After an embarrassing defeat we decided to turn in for the night to find a crazy cat sitting in wait outside our room.

The next morning we grabbed a fresh fruit shake and walked across the island to Sunrise Beach (the island is tiny so no where is far away). We stayed there enjoying the sun until the afternoon, whiling away the day wandering along the shore, swimming and reading. We had a late lunch and had a couple of hours out of the sun back at our bungalow before heading out again, this time to Sunset Beach, the smallest of the three main beaches on the island. We propped ourselves up in some deckchairs outside a beach bar and waited for the sunset. It was the best sunset we’ve seen in a while and after finally having the beach day we’d been craving all week we were happy. We ate in town again that night and had a walk on the beach before bed.

Sunrise Beach, Ko Lipe.

Sunrise Beach, Ko Lipe.

Rhys watching the sunset, Sunset Beach, Ko Lipe.

Sunset over Ko Lipe.

We were moving to the room near the beach the next day so we were up and packed and took our backpacks with us for our breakfast fruit shakes and pancakes. The walk was hot and sticky and we’d forgotten how far it was but we made it, dropped off our bags and headed to the beach just out front. Pattaya Beach isn’t as nice as Sunrise Beach, it feels less remote and there are lots of bars and bungalows, saying that, it still has beautiful white sand and turquoise blue sea so we’re not really complaining. Rhys wasn’t feeling well so after a swim he stayed out of the sun in the restaurant with the laptop. For lunch, Rhys popped in to town and came back with crisps and pizza and we spent the rest of the afternoon split between the beach and our room. That night we ate at the restaurant attached to our resort. All up we’re impressed with Ko Lipe, it’s like a smaller version of Ko Phi Phi but on a sedative, lots of places are fully booked but it still feels quite quiet and chilled, although it doesn’t have the limestone karsts that Phi Phi has, the beaches are stunning and more than make up for it.

Week 60 - Ko Phi Phi, Phuket, Ao Nang (Thailand)

We decided it was time to leave Ko Phi Phi and caught a lunchtime ferry to Phuket. The ferry was delayed an hour and it was late afternoon by the time we checked in to our hotel in Patong. We’d found a great deal and the hotel was amazing, boutique rooms all with their own theme and sofa area - Karen’s was chitz with a four poster bed and ours was a sailor theme. Rhys and Karen were desperate for Macdonalds so we tracked one down, had a bite to eat and turned in for an early night to enjoy our snazzy rooms.

We woke late and spent the morning making the most of staying in a decent hotel with a pool. Around lunchtime Rhys and Karen headed out to explore Patong and check out the beach, I stayed by the pool as I had caught Rhys’s bug. They passed through a fish market, ate some BBQ ribs and sat on the crowded beach watching the acrobatic parascenders and sun burnt tourists. From the way they tell it, I didn’t miss out, Patong is not somewhere any of us would recommend unless you’re a dirty old man looking for a Thai bride or a lady boy or if you’re on an 18-30’s holiday. That night we headed out to Bangla, the main bar street in Patong. We visited the obligatory free ping pong show where we had to pay £18 for a beer and were pretty disappointed in the lack of theatrics, other than darts being fired at a balloon Rhys was holding, it all seemed a bit suss and we could even see a padded nappy contraption one of the girls was wearing to pull needles out of. After the ‘show’ we stopped by another bar where we played the Austrian hammer and nail game before deciding to call it a night.  

Cocktails and nails in Patong, Phuket.

We had a transfer to Ao Nang booked for 8am the next day but Karen went missing. She turned up an hour later and we sent her out to buy tickets for the next minivan, leaving at lunch time, going to Krabi from where we could get another van to Ao Nang. The drive was uneventful but uncomfortable, Karen spent the three hours with a very chatty Danish guy sitting next to her when all she wanted to do was sleep and me and Rhys had the hot engine and no leg room to deal with. Once in Krabi we were told the next bus wasn’t for an hour so we jumped in a taxi along with the Danish guy who kindly paid for the trip for us. Our hotel was decent, me and Rhys had a huge room and Karen had a roof top terrace with views out over the bay. It took us a couple of hours to get up to date on all our chores then we wandered out for a cheap dinner and had an early night.

We booked a boat trip for the following day and were picked up and taken to the pier where after a lot of faffing around we were finally allocated to a long boat with twenty other people. We all squashed in and the boat started out for our first stop at Phranang Cave in Railay. Although heaving with tourists, there was a beautiful beach with crystal clear turquoise waters and towering limestone karsts. The base of the cave itself had become a fisherman shrine and was filled with phallic statues of all shapes and sizes and the rockface had huge stalactites stretching down to the sea. Back in the boat our next stop was a photo opportunity at Chicken Island (surprisingly enough, an island in the shape of a chicken). We then moored up in a cove by the side of Chicken Island for snorkeling. Although the visibility wasn’t great the marine life was good, lots of interesting coral and brightly coloured fish. Next, we headed to Tup Island, a tiny little island joined to another and to the backside of Chicken Island by sand banks, the latter only being visible at low tide. We had a couple of hours to eat lunch, wander along the sand banks and relax before our boat headed to the last stop of the day, Poda Island. The last island had a long curving sandy beach and views across to some craggy limestone towers. We had ice creams and beers and sat enjoying the last of the sun before we headed back to Ao Nang. 

Karen grabbing breakfast from a floating cafe, Railay.

Rhys and Karen enjoying the sun, Tup Island.

White sand beaches, Poda Island.

In town, Rhys headed back to the hotel and me and Karen finished off her souvenir/gift shopping. After showers, we congregated in our room for a pre dinner rum and coke before ambling across the road for an Indian banquet, we ordered so much we had enough for breakfast the next day. As it was our last night with Karen we throught we should end it with a few drinks and headed to a little alley lined with bars and found a biker bar. We were all so stuffed the only thing we could manage were shots (and Karen and Rhys couldn’t even manage that...). We didn’t give up and instead headed to another bar with live music for a final nightcap before bed.

The weather had turned and we woke to rain the next day. Instead of the beach day that we’d anticipated we ended up wandering around Ao Nang. There isn’t that much to see in town and before long we found a bar with cheap wine and stopped for a couple of glasses and a pizza. Rhys went back to the hotel and me and Karen decided to get massages. We started with a back, neck and shoulder and it was so good that we ended up getting foot massages too (although i’m still a bit confused as to definitions, the first included face, legs and bums and the second included hands and shoulder?!). Two hours later and we went to check on Rhys who was waiting in our new accommodation, a shed at the bottom of garden of some smart bungalows. We had a couple of hours to spare before Karen’s airport transfer would arrive to collect her so we found another bar with cheap wine and settled in. Karen headed off at 6pm, we were very sorry to see her go although glad that our livers would have some recovery time, we’re definitely not as hard core as Karen. She was a great travel buddy and couldn’t have been easier, just going with the flow and filling in gaps entertaining herself. There is talk of another Thai adventure in April...

Once Karen left we retired to our shed to watch TV. At about 8pm, it being full moon, we decided we should really make the effort to at least walk to the beach even if we didn’t intend to join the party. We bought floating flower candle/incense things on the way and made our offering to the sea with a piece of hair, a nail and some coins. It was quite magical seeing all the chinese lanterns being set off and the floating candles (although they didn’t stay lit for long and most ended up being washed back ashore).

Our floating candles, Ao Nang.

We had a lazy day the next day and didn’t even leave our shed until it was time for our pick up to take us to our Thai cookery course at 4pm. When we got there we realised we were the only people booked on to the evening course so we had the tutor to ourselves, jackpot. We were give a choice of dishes and each chose six, starting with spring rolls and pad thai, followed by chicken in coconut soup and tom yum soup, then papaya salad and a seafood salad, next came stir fried chicken in ginger and sweet and sour chicken, then we made curry paste from scratch and made panang curry and red curry (Billy and Ian would be jealous) before finishing it off with bananas cooked in coconut milk. We got to eat everything that we cooked and by the end of the course we were completely stuffed. We will definitely be trying our new recipes when we get home.

Engrossed in our Thai cooking class, Ao Nang.

We had another trip booked for our last day in Ao Nang, half day rock climbing in Railay. After we were picked up in a truck ad transferred by boat we picked up our equipment and headed to an inland rock face were we would spend our morning. All up we only did 3 climbs each but that was enough, it was so tiring and the routes were so much longer than any indoor climbs we’ve done in London. Two of the routes were quite technical and required a lot of perseverance. At lunch we left the people who had booked on to a full day and headed to the beach to pass the time until the boat back to Ao Nang. We were a little jealous because the afternoon climbs were on the beach as the tide had gone out. That night we’d worked up an appetite from climbing and ended up having pizza before bed.

Rhys rock climbing, Railay.

Relaxing on Railay beach.