Its been a long journey really, we hopped on a plane from NZ to Indonesia on 13th January 2013 with a 9kg backpack each. We went to 10 countries in 9 months around South East Asia. Following this we headed to Canada and began the search for a job on a ski resort which was easier than we hoped, we signed up to a job fair for Sunshine Village Ski and Snowboard Resort and both had a job offer by the end of the day with staff accommodation on the mountain. After our 8 month contract was up we purchased a Dodge Grand Caravan (soccer mum van), took out the seats and converted it to a camper put a bed in the back and drove around Canada and the USA. Due to a few factors like breaking down in small town Texas and getting stuck for 3 weeks, visa rapidly running out and finances dwindling we decide to fly to Central America instead of go back to Canada for a month as planned. We jump on a plane from New York to Nicaragua and find ourselves giggling in the back of a beaten up taxi with our driver yelling in Spanish at everyone in his way. We spent 3 months in Central America going up from Nicaragua to Guatemala and onto Mexico where we had a flight booked to LA and from there back home to NZ.
What a journey.
We arrive home excited and happy to see family again. Its been really great to come back over the Christmas and New Year period because this means we don’t have to jump straight back into finding a job, we get to hang out in the glorious kiwi summer with family and friends, go camping and swim on some of the best beaches in the world. Seriously, beaches here are better than any we have been to around the world, equal perhaps to a few in Thailand just without the trash!
Hanging with my mum again!
The latest development in our lives now is we have a place to call our own I’m calling it a house but reality is; its a flat, one of 4 in a street full of other flats. This does not matter to us. We have our own space without flatmates, without backpackers, without mess and dirt and shambles and someone else’s possessions. Finally after all this time we can call somewhere home. We can set it up how we want. We can put things we’ve collected on our travels on the walls and be happy here!
Family Christmas 🙂
Its been one hell of a journey to get here, we have seen and experienced things that most Kiwis will struggle to understand. We have a changed outlook on life, and the beauty of this is that we have done it together. Recently we celebrated 8 years together, a huge milestone for two people of 26! We are happy together and happy to have people we love surrounding us. I want to say a special thanks to those who have been part of our journey up till now, in a small way you have all helped us become who we are today, so, cheers!
If given the choice back in NZ we would happily spend all of our time at the beech or camping. Our favorite past times are from summer holidays and now we have some great times in Thailand to add to them! Weeks 7,8 & 9 of our travels have been spent in bliss hopping from beech to beech, island to island. Warning: this will make you jealous, you will just have to visit these stunning places yourselves!!
Malaysia to Thailand: Langkawi to Ko Lipe
Going over sea across the boarder was rather strange, we got a ferry from Langkawi across. It only took an hour and was a strange sensation to all of a sudden have a new currency to deal with but joy oh joy THAI FOOD!
**Something we found out the hard way and given a tiny bit of research we could have easily avoided it but alas: When you enter Thailand overland (or sea), not an airport. You get issued with a 15 day visa on arrival instead of the standard 30 day visa. If we had known (looked into) this we could have gone to the Thai consulate in Malaysia and gotten the 30 day visa but this needs to be done before entering Thailand, otherwise you only get the 15 days issued. This ended up costing us a lot 1900 Bhat ($80) each to extend this visa another 7 days. We then had no chance of extending this visa any further so tomorrow we have to leave Thailand instead of going up to explore northern Thailand as planned….. **
Ko Lipe is beautiful! Well the sea is, I have never seen water so clear! Snorkeling here is said to be the best in Thailand with coral reefs 50m off the beech. We struggled to find cheep accommodation and ended in a place for 500B along the main beech. It was simple and had lots of rooms with good Wifi connection. No cell reception on the island so this was a bonus. I managed to raid the book exchange section with the rate I am chewing through books this was fantastic! Ko Lipe is nice but for us not really having the money to go out drinking each night we found it boring after the first day. We decided to ask at one of the travel agents (on walking street opposite Thai Pancake Lady) where to go next and what they recommend we do. We booked to the next island and from there to the mainland with a flexible date and even our first night on Ko Tarutao. They took no commission and were super helpful. Recommend!
Ko Tarutao National Park
I will never ever forget Ko Tarutao. I want to go back already! Entry fee into the National Park cost 400 Bhat each and was valid for 5 days. This is the first place we have been with beeches comparable to NZ. We had decided to stay in Ao Molae a beech 4KM from the port where the boats arrive. Our mistake… Choosing not to pay the $2 for the taxi and walking the 4kms…. at midday this was a hot and long walk with all our gear. Lets just say the swim when we arrived was the best ever!!! Each beech in Ko Tarutao National Park has its own restaurant so you don’t need to worry about food so much. It was pricey but its an island so we could accept it, besides what other choice did we have?
We stayed our first night in the bungalow we booked from Ko Lipe but with no power we decided at a fraction of the cost we would much rather be camping. You can imagine our joy when we found the tent already pitched in a great spot right on the beech. Views better than the bungalow and cooler in temperature too as the room hasn’t spent all day absorbing the suns rays. We did have to make sure all food was away and the tent was zipped up, pesky monkeys will take any chance for to forage through your stuff! I could have stayed here endlessly. Swimming all day, relaxing with a book ahhhh! We did wish we had a hammock but this is something we have been able to find in Bangkok so our next camping excursion will be all inclusive 🙂
Krabi: Railay & Ton Sai
Leaving Tarutao was sad but we will go back. Finally after 3 weeks it was time to go back to the mainland, Pakbara pier half an hour away got us on the road to Krabi area. From Krabi we went to Ao Nang beech and got a longtail boat to Railay beech. Arriving at West Railay to get to all the cheep accommodation we walked through the bush to East beech and found a place called Railay Cabana. Very far away and in the bush right beneath stunning limestone cliffs. Our lonely planet said 200b per bungalow but being 2 years old prices have varied since and 500b is the cheapest we got. We moved the next day to a place called Rapala, right in the village and up about 100 stairs, also had the cheapest food in East Railay. Nice here away from noise but still close enough to everything and our own hammock to relax in. Sweet!
We read that the next beech over Ton Sai is quieter and cheaper and a whole lot more relaxed! Instead of paying for a longtail we walked to 40 mins over the hill with our gear and found a chilled place with fit tanned climbers everywhere! Much nicer place to stay, we could have stayed waaaaay longer if not for getting to Bangkok on 13th March. Swimming not as nice as Railay beech but when its a short walk through the hill you can easily go over for the day!
Stunning view from our bungalow on top of the hill
Surrounded by limestone cliffs Krabi area is so worth it!
Two things about krabi you should know. 1.) the immigration office has moved 5kms from town center to the middle of nowhere. 2.) The bus station is also 5Kms from town in the other direction. Needless to say we did a LOT of walking this day before jumping on our overnight bus to Bangkok!
Bangkok
Arriving in a city at 5am after being on beeches for 2 weeks is odd. Suddenly finding where to go and all the fun navigational nightmares that come with big cities are back. We made it though so that’s the important thing….. Staying at Helen and Marks recommendation in a place called Riverline. Lovely place down a few lanes off the main road, you feel worlds away from all the hustle and bustle. Rooftop views overlook the busy river.
Meeting Helen: how weird to be seeing someone from home after 2 months of backpacking! I think it took us a few days to even get used to the idea of someone familiar being there! Its been so great spending the week with Helen. We have been spoilt totally rotten! By our cheep standards especially! Its been a bit like having a personal guide here as they spent 16 days exploring Bangkok so Helen knows all the great things to do. Time has flown by so quickly and i find it hard to believe that today we are leaving on our way to Burma!
Something that should be done once is visiting the Grand palace. Its as expensive as a room for the night but something I think everyone should do. sweltering hot in long pants, shoes and long sleeve T we made our way around the ornate palace. Highlight for us all: the emerald buddha (actually jade). Our escape to the air con mall MBK after this was welcomed. The city really feels so much hotter than the beeches we had been spending time in.
Weekend market with 15,000 stalls was crazy! I did pretty well walking away with a new t-shirt, Bikini Bracelet, sunnies and a cute new notebook. Simon got a hammock which we may not have the chance to use for a while. Here was I thinking we would be there for a few hours but actually we were there for about 6… Helen really is an endurance shopper! A well deserved beer tasted like nectar!
We have eaten like kings, gosh I love Thai food! Its never a let down. Tom Kha Gai, Tom Yum Gai, Larb Moo (pork), Green Curry, Red Curry, Penang Curry, Spring Rolls & Mango sticky Rice. Everything I ever dreamed it could be plus some! Helen has got me into iced coffees here. YUM!
I am so thankful to Helen for showing us such a great time here, so generous and full of energy! She has made our time in Bangkok awesome and we will come back after a month in Burma looking forward to the hustle and bustle again. It wont be the same without her here. Thank you thank you to Helen for everything! Even though its only 2 months into our trip I think saying goodbye again will make us miss family a whole bunch more. At least Simon and I have each other, I would really struggle to travel on my own!
Wont be using internet in Burma so ill do the next update when we get back to Bangkok in a months time.
slyzotravels.wordpress.com 