The second visit to Kuala Lumpur was only to catch the train from there to Singapore a daunting seven and a half hour trip. It turned out to be OK apart from the border crossing at Singapore where we had to leave the train with all our baggage and go through the checkpoint and re-board the train again.
There are quite a few craft beer pubs in Singapore and I got to try the beer in two of them, Brewerkz and Paulaner, both had excellent beers.
Singapore has not changed that much apart from Sentosa island where they are building lots of resorts.
In our opinion it has changed for the worse as the first time we visited, some twenty years ago, it was an original island without modern buildings and lots of open green areas, now it’s trying to compete with Disneyland with monorail attendants waving as you leave and arrive at stations.
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Kho Samui
On arrival at Koh Samui airport the transportation to the arrivals hall is by decorated open trolley cars. The arrivals hall is very small with no air conditioning so it was rather hot as we waited for our baggage.
The Fisherman’s Village of Bophut was where we were staying in a small boutique hotel just a short walk from the main street. The hotel was directly on the beach and all the rooms had a superb view out over the bay and outlying islands.
The first couple of days were spent lazing on the beach and in the pool, not what we usually do but after the past hectic days it was just what was needed.
I said that I was going to go fishing at least once during this tour so I booked a full days fishing to the outer islands.
The vehicle that picked us up was fully air conditioned, meaning it was the back of a pickup truck, a bit of a hurdle for Sheila to climb but managed it in the end. There were only ten people on the boat which meant plenty of room but to get onto the boat there was an obstacle course of ropes and long tail propellers to negotiate and a very rickety ladder to climb to get onto the boat itself.
I managed to catch three fish during the day but Sheila was disappointed not to get a bite. She did however lose her hat overboard and the boat had to turn around to net it. There were no photos taken of the fish as it would need a large zoom lens to capture them. All in all a very enjoyable day out as we always like to go fishing anywhere.
The outstanding part of Kho Samui is the food and the all the meals we had there were excellent, especially the steaks at The Shack, probably the best we have eaten anywhere.
To get around the island we hired a car for the day but it only took four hours, the only bad area is Chaweng beach which is like a very smelly Blackpool and it confirmed that we were definitely staying in the best part of the island.
The Fisherman’s Village of Bophut was where we were staying in a small boutique hotel just a short walk from the main street. The hotel was directly on the beach and all the rooms had a superb view out over the bay and outlying islands.
The first couple of days were spent lazing on the beach and in the pool, not what we usually do but after the past hectic days it was just what was needed.
I said that I was going to go fishing at least once during this tour so I booked a full days fishing to the outer islands.
The vehicle that picked us up was fully air conditioned, meaning it was the back of a pickup truck, a bit of a hurdle for Sheila to climb but managed it in the end. There were only ten people on the boat which meant plenty of room but to get onto the boat there was an obstacle course of ropes and long tail propellers to negotiate and a very rickety ladder to climb to get onto the boat itself.
I managed to catch three fish during the day but Sheila was disappointed not to get a bite. She did however lose her hat overboard and the boat had to turn around to net it. There were no photos taken of the fish as it would need a large zoom lens to capture them. All in all a very enjoyable day out as we always like to go fishing anywhere.
The outstanding part of Kho Samui is the food and the all the meals we had there were excellent, especially the steaks at The Shack, probably the best we have eaten anywhere.
To get around the island we hired a car for the day but it only took four hours, the only bad area is Chaweng beach which is like a very smelly Blackpool and it confirmed that we were definitely staying in the best part of the island.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Phuket
It’s been 5 days of total relaxation, just sitting on the beach, walking out into the shallow bay where the sea is like a tepid bath.
The hotel is superb considering the price we paid and we upgraded to a suite for a very small amount per day.
The food at the hotel is expensive and not that good but a 15 min walk down the beach and there were a dozen or so restaurants lining the shore where you can dine and watch the sun go down, the food was very cheap and excellent especially the deep fried crab pancakes and the ginger and mushroom chicken. The singer gave an excellent rendition of The Eagles ‘Despelado’.
It was quite amusing as it got darker to watch the waiters running around trying to find the correct table number for the order.
After dinner out on the room terrace all you could hear was flogs cloaking and chit-chats chattering.
Another flight today to Samui and 6 more days of R&R.
The hotel is superb considering the price we paid and we upgraded to a suite for a very small amount per day.
The food at the hotel is expensive and not that good but a 15 min walk down the beach and there were a dozen or so restaurants lining the shore where you can dine and watch the sun go down, the food was very cheap and excellent especially the deep fried crab pancakes and the ginger and mushroom chicken. The singer gave an excellent rendition of The Eagles ‘Despelado’.
It was quite amusing as it got darker to watch the waiters running around trying to find the correct table number for the order.
After dinner out on the room terrace all you could hear was flogs cloaking and chit-chats chattering.
Another flight today to Samui and 6 more days of R&R.
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Chiang Mai
The weather in Chiang Mai is a bit cooler than in Bangkok especially at night, the humidity drops and it gets quite pleasant. The Night Bazaar downtown is huge it covers the same area as the Arndale Centre with stalls selling everything you might need. Getting down there was rather funny as Sheila has not quite mastered the art of getting in and out of a Tuk Tuk but hey life’s an adventure and by the time we left she was an expert. There are rows and rows of reclining chairs out in the square where you can get a Thai, neck or foot massage, we opted for the foot massage and spent the next hour relaxing as the sun went down. This was followed by a lobster dinner which was huge, we were just about to abandon hopes of getting more meat from it when the waitress dissected it and got nearly as much meat out of what we thought was finished. The only trip we decided to go on was the big whammy of ox carting, elephant riding and liver lafting. First there was a show to display the elephant’s talents, one of these was painting and if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would not have believed it. The elephant painted a picture of an elephant holding some balloons with its trunk, the painting was inevitably being sold for a large sum of money. The elephant ride being the highlight of the day. It’s really strange riding atop an elephant, the motion is swaying and rolling and your muscles you don’t usually use are definitely exercised. The video below will give you an idea. Going down steps to the river was scary as you get thrown forward and it’s uncanny how the elephant picks its way through the rocks, bundles of bananas and sugar cane are eaten in one by the elephant on the ride. Back at the camp a baby elephant had been born at three o’clock that morning and it was still a little unsteady on its feet but by the time we had finished the ride it was wandering round the pen. The ox carting was a bone shaking experience and we were glad when it was over but the river rafting on bamboo rafts was very good. At one point the raft got stuck on a rock and at another a water snake was swimming along the bank. An opportunity was given to take over the poling at some point and a kid of about 9 on the raft in front tried his hand, unfortunately he somehow ended up falling in the water and a missed chance for me to earn £250 on You’ve been framed. All in all a really good day out and we were really tired by the end. We are off to Phuket today and 5 days of R&R.
Friday, 12 February 2010
Bangkok
On the way into Bangkok from the airport the first thing we noticed was the improved road system. It is 18 years since we last visited and the change is quite significant, it is now almost on a par with Singapore.
We stayed in the Siam Square area with large modern shopping malls, plenty of restaurants and the whole area was very busy. We decided to eat at the Outback Steakhouse as we needed a change from the Asian food we have eaten for the last two weeks and although expensive in relative terms, it was also good to eat juicy filet steaks.
It’s very hot here and a half day trip down the Chao Phraya river brought some nice cool breezes but the second trip of the city and temples was really hot.
The beer is also good with draught Singha and Changi, not expensive at £1 a pint. Whilst walking through the small shopping lanes it’s interesting to see that there are more men looking at the ladies clothing than women and a sign advertising ‘Miss Puke’ for thai massages.
There isn’t a great deal to write about Bangkok and wer’e off again to Chiang Mai.
We stayed in the Siam Square area with large modern shopping malls, plenty of restaurants and the whole area was very busy. We decided to eat at the Outback Steakhouse as we needed a change from the Asian food we have eaten for the last two weeks and although expensive in relative terms, it was also good to eat juicy filet steaks.
It’s very hot here and a half day trip down the Chao Phraya river brought some nice cool breezes but the second trip of the city and temples was really hot.
The beer is also good with draught Singha and Changi, not expensive at £1 a pint. Whilst walking through the small shopping lanes it’s interesting to see that there are more men looking at the ladies clothing than women and a sign advertising ‘Miss Puke’ for thai massages.
There isn’t a great deal to write about Bangkok and wer’e off again to Chiang Mai.
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Hanoi
Hanoi is just as bad as Saigon for traffic and in some cases even worse. The video below shows the chaos at most junctions. On the way from the airport we spotted what we thought were small orange trees being transported on the back of motorcycles, these are actually Kumquats that are used during the Chinese New Year like our Xmas trees and are decorated with red packets of money. On the first night we went to the Hanoi branch of the Hoa Vien and it was packed to the rafters with locals drinking beer, Sheila was a bit dubious about going in but the staff was very friendly and the food was fantastic. On the second day we walked round the Hoan Kiem Lake which has some kind of religious significance. While we were taking a rest people were coming to the lake shore and putting goldfish into the lake from all sorts of containers, plastic bags, pans and basins. This practice is in connection with the New Year celebrations although rather odd as there must have been over a hundred fish put in while we were there for 15 mins.
The local people are very resourceful in trying to make a buck, a guy with a plastic shopping bag full of shoe cleaning kit asked if I wanted a shoe shine and was disappointed when I pointed out that I had trainers on. All the streets are named after the products they sell, silk street, shoe street, bag street etc. etc.
The long awaited overnight trip to Halong Bay turned out to be the highlight of our trip so far. It took over three hours by road to get there but was well worth it as it lived up to all expectations. The boat was a 5 star Junk with everything on board you might need. The food was outstanding as was the service and the cabins had en suite facilities and air conditioning. A side trip was made to the floating fisherman’s village, the same as Rick Stein visited. After dinner you had the option of watching a movie or squid fishing and there is no doubt which option I took. The really strange thing was that they played I’m dreaming of a white Christmas as we left the boat at the end of the trip.
The last night was spent at the same hotel but in a different room which contained a toilet representative of the hotel’s name, Elegance, picture attached. We have really enjoyed our trip through Vietnam and will definitely return one day just as long it is still as cheap.
The local people are very resourceful in trying to make a buck, a guy with a plastic shopping bag full of shoe cleaning kit asked if I wanted a shoe shine and was disappointed when I pointed out that I had trainers on. All the streets are named after the products they sell, silk street, shoe street, bag street etc. etc.
The long awaited overnight trip to Halong Bay turned out to be the highlight of our trip so far. It took over three hours by road to get there but was well worth it as it lived up to all expectations. The boat was a 5 star Junk with everything on board you might need. The food was outstanding as was the service and the cabins had en suite facilities and air conditioning. A side trip was made to the floating fisherman’s village, the same as Rick Stein visited. After dinner you had the option of watching a movie or squid fishing and there is no doubt which option I took. The really strange thing was that they played I’m dreaming of a white Christmas as we left the boat at the end of the trip.
The last night was spent at the same hotel but in a different room which contained a toilet representative of the hotel’s name, Elegance, picture attached. We have really enjoyed our trip through Vietnam and will definitely return one day just as long it is still as cheap.
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Hoi An
On the way from Danang airport to Hoi An there is a lot of construction work, building new resorts for Hyatt and Meridien so we thought that would carry on into Hoi An. We were wrong as Hoi An is relatively untouched by modern resorts and comprises mainly of boutique hotels. After consulting Tripadvisor we are staying at a French colonial style hotel and on the way to breakfast we are expecting Inspector Poirot to be sitting in the lounge area.
Old town Hoi An is very nice with lanes and alleys leading down to the river where there are rows of restaurants but on your way down there you have to pass countless shops vying for your trade, from tailors to shoe shops and of course the inevitable t-shirt and polo shop. There are very cheap restaurants where you sit on long tables like Wagamama, you can eat and drink all night for less than £5. Cars and buses are banned from the old town so there are strings of rickshaws lined up carrying tourists around.
One night on the way to the restaurant we decided to cut through the market and it was a bit busy, a cart pushed it’s way through and unfortunately Sheila could not manage to get out of the way and ended up sitting in a basket of vegetables and couldn’t get up, the real pity is that she had the camera so I couldn’t get a shot of it.
The food here is outstanding and really cheap. I tried some of the local ‘Bia Hoi’ which they call fresh beer, it’s an acquired taste but only 20p per glass, drinkable if there’s nothing else available.
On the way back we passed what we thought was an impromptu concert but turned out to be the Vietnamese version of bingo where they dish out papers with letters on them and start singing as a man gets a member of the audience to pick a stick out of a bamboo tube, this has a number of letters on and this is shouted out. If you get three of these on your paper then you win a Chinese Lantern. The video below should make it clearer although I was laughing quite a lot when taking it.
There are also a lot of strange signs and names above shop doors that mean something quite different in English.
An hour trip on the river was negotiated at £3 and on the way out we saw some Vietnamese fishing by the old method but came to the boat for payment after taking photos, all very well staged and worth the 33p tip.
I still can't get used to the money here like drawing 4 million Dong from the ATM or paying 300,000 for a night out, which is all of £11.
Hanoi tomorrow and a trip to Halong Bay.
Old town Hoi An is very nice with lanes and alleys leading down to the river where there are rows of restaurants but on your way down there you have to pass countless shops vying for your trade, from tailors to shoe shops and of course the inevitable t-shirt and polo shop. There are very cheap restaurants where you sit on long tables like Wagamama, you can eat and drink all night for less than £5. Cars and buses are banned from the old town so there are strings of rickshaws lined up carrying tourists around.
One night on the way to the restaurant we decided to cut through the market and it was a bit busy, a cart pushed it’s way through and unfortunately Sheila could not manage to get out of the way and ended up sitting in a basket of vegetables and couldn’t get up, the real pity is that she had the camera so I couldn’t get a shot of it.
The food here is outstanding and really cheap. I tried some of the local ‘Bia Hoi’ which they call fresh beer, it’s an acquired taste but only 20p per glass, drinkable if there’s nothing else available.
On the way back we passed what we thought was an impromptu concert but turned out to be the Vietnamese version of bingo where they dish out papers with letters on them and start singing as a man gets a member of the audience to pick a stick out of a bamboo tube, this has a number of letters on and this is shouted out. If you get three of these on your paper then you win a Chinese Lantern. The video below should make it clearer although I was laughing quite a lot when taking it.
There are also a lot of strange signs and names above shop doors that mean something quite different in English.
An hour trip on the river was negotiated at £3 and on the way out we saw some Vietnamese fishing by the old method but came to the boat for payment after taking photos, all very well staged and worth the 33p tip.
I still can't get used to the money here like drawing 4 million Dong from the ATM or paying 300,000 for a night out, which is all of £11.
Hanoi tomorrow and a trip to Halong Bay.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a Vietnamese seaside town and it certainly lives up to its name. Large curving bay with an excellent sandy beach, plenty of restaurants and bars. I may just have found the best bar in Vietnam called the Louisiane Brewery, we went there on the first night and it did not disappoint. The beers were first class, especially the Pilsner which tasted like a hoppy Jaipur. There was supposed to be a Blues and Rock band on but the ‘rockiest’ number was Delilah sang with some Vietnamese inspired words which were ‘lost in translation’. It was just so funny that I captured a video on the camera and by the end the camera was shaking because I was laughing that much. A link to the video is below. There was also a large potted tree placed in the centre of the Gents toilet, so large you had to manoeuvre around it to get the stones, very bizarre. It was so good at this pub that we just had to go back for more on the Sunday lunch, I even took Sheila! Time is passing all too quickly and we’re off to Hoi An tomorrow, early flight so only a little drinking tonight.
Friday, 29 January 2010
Saigon
I read quite a few forum articles on Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as I prefer to call it, before we set off on the trip, but nothing, not anything could prepare you for the chaos that is Saigon traffic. We were transferred to the hotel during the rush hour and were met with wall to wall motorcycles with up to four people on board. There are apparently no rules and driving on the pavement is standard and stopping at traffic lights optional.
There are various recommendations for crossing the road but essentially once started you must never stop, the motorcycles will swerve round you as long as you continue in motion, Ok in theory but putting it to the test is unnerving.
A trip to the Behn Trahn market was also eventful with all the sellers trying to get your attention, but I did manage to haggle a real leather belt for $7 which was probably too much but I was happy enough.
The city itself varies between good areas and bad areas and on the city tour we had a guide called Yu and it took me back to the old joke ‘Hey you’—‘How you know my name’. For those of you who can remember the iconic photos of the American withdrawal from Saigon in the early seventies it was like déjà vu seeing the building now called the Palace of reunification and the plinth on the roof where helicopters were evacuating the last to leave.
The food here is excellent and we managed to find a Beerhaus called Hoa Vien which I had seen on the net, but it was packed with locals who apparently love their beer.
We had a really good trip to the Mekong Delta even though it took a four hour round trip in a van, jumped onto a Sampan and visited the floating market and places where they make all kinds of sweet stuff with rice and coconuts. The restaurant we called in to for lunch was raised on stilts over the river and the starter was Elephant Ear Fish which was wrapped in rice paper with cucumber and mint very similar to Peking Duck style.
I also found another Beerhaus called the Lion Brewery which was decked out like a Munich beer hall, the beer was very good, even Sheila liked it.
There are various recommendations for crossing the road but essentially once started you must never stop, the motorcycles will swerve round you as long as you continue in motion, Ok in theory but putting it to the test is unnerving.
A trip to the Behn Trahn market was also eventful with all the sellers trying to get your attention, but I did manage to haggle a real leather belt for $7 which was probably too much but I was happy enough.
The city itself varies between good areas and bad areas and on the city tour we had a guide called Yu and it took me back to the old joke ‘Hey you’—‘How you know my name’. For those of you who can remember the iconic photos of the American withdrawal from Saigon in the early seventies it was like déjà vu seeing the building now called the Palace of reunification and the plinth on the roof where helicopters were evacuating the last to leave.
The food here is excellent and we managed to find a Beerhaus called Hoa Vien which I had seen on the net, but it was packed with locals who apparently love their beer.
We had a really good trip to the Mekong Delta even though it took a four hour round trip in a van, jumped onto a Sampan and visited the floating market and places where they make all kinds of sweet stuff with rice and coconuts. The restaurant we called in to for lunch was raised on stilts over the river and the starter was Elephant Ear Fish which was wrapped in rice paper with cucumber and mint very similar to Peking Duck style.
I also found another Beerhaus called the Lion Brewery which was decked out like a Munich beer hall, the beer was very good, even Sheila liked it.
Kuala Lumpur
We eventually arrived at the hotel in KL at 4.30 PM and went out to eat what was breakfast for us. It is a lot more expensive here than the last time we visited, especially alcohol, at around £5-6 a pint. There also seems to be a lot of Chinese around here that are a bit light on their feet.
The weather is really draining, high humidity and temps around 32C, how we managed in Oman for so long I do not know or is it maybe we are just getting older and the jet lag is compounding the problem.
A visit to the Central Market for reflexology which was very cheap at £5 an hour and there was a fish spa where you put your feet in a pool and the fish nibble at them and remove dead skin cells. I decided not to inflict Sheila’s feet on them as I could envisage them all floating to the surface when she put them in.
We are off to Vietnam tomorrow which means the past 5 days have flown past.
The weather is really draining, high humidity and temps around 32C, how we managed in Oman for so long I do not know or is it maybe we are just getting older and the jet lag is compounding the problem.
A visit to the Central Market for reflexology which was very cheap at £5 an hour and there was a fish spa where you put your feet in a pool and the fish nibble at them and remove dead skin cells. I decided not to inflict Sheila’s feet on them as I could envisage them all floating to the surface when she put them in.
We are off to Vietnam tomorrow which means the past 5 days have flown past.
Monday, 18 January 2010
Overview
I was not too sure whether to write a blog for this tour after the epic that was the NZOZ blog but I must admit that I enjoyed writing it and there are so many beer encounters that necessitate a detailed description.I will try to slip in a few travel details in between.
We leave UK on 21st Jan and arrive in Kuala Lumpur the following day, changing aircraft in Doha, Qatar. Our itinerary includes 5 days in Malaysia, 13 days in Vietnam, 17 days in Thailand, 2 I don't know where yet days and 3 days in Singapore.
After the sub arctic weather we have experienced lately I can definitely say we are looking forward to leaving.
We leave UK on 21st Jan and arrive in Kuala Lumpur the following day, changing aircraft in Doha, Qatar. Our itinerary includes 5 days in Malaysia, 13 days in Vietnam, 17 days in Thailand, 2 I don't know where yet days and 3 days in Singapore.
After the sub arctic weather we have experienced lately I can definitely say we are looking forward to leaving.
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