Ko Samui 01/22 – 01/26

The trek around the waterfall.  Not much time for pictures.

Resting at one of the beaches.  

The view from our ride. 

Every day is an adventure when you are on you own trying to get from place to place and explore without going on any organized tourist tours. We arrived to Surat Thani by plane and had no idea how we would get to Chaweng Beach on the island of Ko Samui other than some advice from wikitravel. But, there was a bus awaiting our plane at the airport so we hopped on that and it shuttled us to a ferry which took us to the main pier of the island. We then took a “songthaew” to the beach town and it was a pretty fun ride. A “songthaew” is basically an open pickup with some seats and a roof added on. The crazy driver swerved through the twisting hilly streets and we almost collided with other motorists several times. We almost fell out as well. I wondered how our backpacks, which were thrown on top of the roof, would make it. On arrival we walked the streets searching for a decent hotel and exploring the neighborhood.

Although it is not supposed to be monsoon time in Thailand, we learned that there are slight variations along the east and west coasts with a north and a south monsoon hitting the different coasts at different times of the year, so the weather was fairly gloomy and rainy. No beach time for us. Instead we rented a scooter and explored the island's towns and hilly terrain as well as took in some nightlife.

Our first day scooting around the island, we headed over to a nearby waterfall. There was also elephant trekking and a monkey show...but of course we would never indulge in such silly tourist attractions. No, we decided to hike up the muddy, slick mountain to see the waterfall from the top. There was a trail and plenty of jungle vines to help us along the way. But, we must have climbed way past where we were supposed to because we ended up at the top of the mountain and there was no way I would be able to make it down the slippery slope. It was too steep and slippery, soon to be dark, and it took us far too long to make it to the top. So, we decided to find a road and make our way down a more sensible way. We met some men at the top of the hill digging ditches and asked them for directions. They told us that they would give us a ride, but they still had much work to do. So, off we went. I was angry by that point, exhausted and hungry and wondering why in the world I let Peter talk me into such things. We walked and walked for what seemed like a very long time, our calf muscles burning from the constant up and down trekking when the nice men from the ditches finally picked us up and gave us a lift back to our scooter. The elephant park was closed by then and there were elephants roaming everywhere, eating and taking baths, resting from a full day of work.

The following day we did more scooting through the hills. The terrain was beautiful with lush groves of palm trees and hills full of tropical jungles and tiny villages. We got lost quite a bit. But, it wasn't our fault. The roads on the map (which were shown as large and paved) sometimes ended or were muddy dirt ditches filled with rain puddles. Most of the roads through the hills weren't even on the map. We spent all day on the bike and returned to our hotel exhausted with stiff legs and achy butts.

Hip bar on the island.

Today we are on our way to Phuket along Thailand's west coast. Thinking that it would save us hassle to book the trip (which includes transfer to the ferry, ferry ride, bus to Phuket Town, and then transfer to Patong Beach) through a travel agency, we were reminded once again what a trap the tourist trips are. They take you from one bus to another, shuttle you between minivans and busses, and basically take much longer to get anywhere than necessary. Also, our bus almost broke down on a steep incline through the hills. Everyone sat with wide eyes wondering when we would all make it to Phuket as we sat waiting in silence, the smell of burning engine in the air. Then, the bus turned into a commuter bus stopping at every bus stop picking and dropping people off. These people had to stand and they packed them in real good. But, at least they get you there at some point. We would have done each step of the way ourselves, but there are no songthaews available in town in the mornings, so we would have had to take a very expensive taxi. Ah, such a luxury does not exist in our very strict budget much less the very convenient 1 hour direct flight from Ko Samui to Phuket. I guess that is what we signed up for.

Fishing boats leaving for work as we depart Ko Samui.

The bus ride with local commuters.

Back in Bangkok

Tonight we are back in Bangkok for a short stop before our flight tomorrow to the islands.  We were dropped off at Banglamphu, the "Backpackers Ghetto" in Bangkok, and we ran into a bug cart so I thought I'd post a picture.  I have been building myself us to trying these, but I just couldn't do it.  Nope.  Too disgusting.  

Siemp Reap, Cambodia 01/18 – 01/21

Enormous tree roots take over the temples.

Can you find me in this picture?

More gigantic tree roots.

This is how I climb down the stairs.  What were the Kmers thinking making such narrow and steep steps?

A statue in Angkor Wat.

Enormous faces sculpted out of boulder like stone at Angkor Thom.

As usual, Peter is doing something he probably shouldn't be doing.

We made it across the border into Cambodia with no problem. Our bus dropped us off at the other end of a huge market and we had no idea where the border was, so we had to wander around a bit. I was pretty anxious because the crossing is notorious for scams and I was unsure if we were going to make it to the real Cambodian immigration once we cleared Thai customs. The guidebooks say there is a fake one somewhere at the border and that there are all sorts of touts pretending to be Cambodian officials so you essentially you end up either paying for a visa twice if you buy a fake one or just overpay for some guy to get you one. But we were prepared. We knew not to pay more than $20 for a visa and we researched where we should walk to get to the legitimate place. We arrived late so there were no lines and actually very little hassle. We cleared customs and got our Cambodian visa with only a 200 baht “processing fee.” Apparently you can stick to your guns and not pay the fees the officials claim as “processing fees” but by paying the fee you get your visa within a few minutes. If not, then you wait until the officials feel like giving it to you....which can be hours. Since there were no other tourists around to take a shared taxi we had to pay an enormous $40 for the 2 hour taxi ride into Siem Reap! The taxi/bus stand told us that there were no more buses, which was probably a lie, but how would we know. So, as it was getting late and it would be dark soon, there was no other choice. We were dropped off in Siem Reap on a dusty road where a “free” tuk-tuk picked us up and took us to our hotel. Free meant that he would drive us to our hotel if we would hire him to drive us around the next day.

We arrived at our hotel to a warm greeting, cool towels, and delicious Cambodian iced tea. Our hotel was very pretty, comfortable and the people were super nice. We learned that the amount quoted by the tuk-tuk driver was fair and that we would need transportation anyway to get to and around the temples. The next day we hit the temples full force. We spent about 8 hours driving around the archeological park. We visited several different sites including Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat. The following day we rented bikes and did a 30 mile loop from our hotel and back visiting the rest of the temples. We saw pretty much everything and it was totally awesome. By the end of the second day were exhausted and all templed-out. The Angkor temples are unlike anything I have seen before. Totally worth the trip. They are massive, some in very good shape with elaborate carvings and bas reliefs. Some in shambles and engulfed by tree roots. Some are terrifying to walk through due to the enormous boulders that make up arches, hallways, and lintels that seem to be collapsing. But the amazing thing is that you can. You can walk on and through the temples. You can climb up the narrow, steep boulder-like steps to the very tops of the structures. These are the remains of several capitals of the Khmer empire from the 9^th - 15^th centuries. There seems to be much speculation as to the purpose of the temples and the fall of the Khmer empire. But from the remains it seems that the empire was quite a large and powerful one.

Our way out of Siem Reap was yet another adventure. We were planning to head to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and then up north along the Vietnam coast up to Hanoi and Halong Bay. But, due to stormy weather along the coast and freezing temperatures up North, we decided to abort that mission and head back to Thailand instead. We will travel South and hopefully end up in Singapore. Maybe we will still make it to Vietnam afterwards, maybe we will go elsewhere, or maybe we will get stuck on Thailand's beaches. So, we booked another bus ticket to Bangkok. This one, all the way from Siem Reap to Bangkok, cost us $7 each. But, that ride was a fiasco. I guess that is why it was so cheap.

We woke up early to be ready for a driver to pick us up at 7:30 am, but he arrived way early so the hotel manager asked him to come back for us later. We waited and waited and the driver finally showed up at 8:15 (our bus was to depart at 8:00) and drove us down to the dusty road. I guess that was the “bus stand”. Tuk-tuk and cab drivers swarmed us, apparently knowing something we did not (like there was no bus or it had already left) and waiting for us to cave and hire them. We waited for about an hour before heading back to our hotel which took great care of us, called the agency where we bought our tickets, and had the travel agent come down to talk to us. He assured us that we would get on a bus at 11am. He said the bus was having some “problems.” Another driver would come for us. So we waited and a driver did come but didn't take us to a bus. We were taken to a shared taxi where we met two other travelers, one from Australia and one from South Africa. So, the ride was pretty good because we got to talk quite a bit and exchange travel information. We learned that the South African guy was told that he missed the bus and that he would have to buy another ticket. His ticket was $13, so he paid a total of $26 for his ride. We also learned that the man from Australia paid $41 for his Cambodian visa. Once at the border, I couldn't believe there was actually another bus waiting for us. It was a real bus, too, not a minivan or a scooter. Just another typical day in Asia, I guess.

Relaxing after an exhausting full day of temple visiting.

We also took our bikes into town.  This is downtown Siem Reap.

Peter made a new friend.  This one ate all of our bananas.

Peter is swarmed by cute little hawker girls.  Children were everywhere selling anything from clothing to jewelry to books. Everything also cost $1.

The "bus stop."

Bangkok 01/12 – 01/17

Peter is excited to be at the delicious food market.

Meat on a stick everywhere.

Temples upon temples.  Bangkok has tons of temples.

The giant reclining Buddha at Wat Pho.  Interior is solid brick with plaster exterior and gold finish.

A big, modern city, Bangkok was just what we needed after the last couple of weeks. Seems like we needed a bit of a vacation from our “vacation” in India. Don't get me wrong, India was a fun and exciting place to visit. However, our itinerary, constant illness, the cold weather at the end, and the general dirt and hassle were exhausting. So, we stayed longer than we intended in Bangkok. Peter found some sweet deal on a fancy hotel and we just didn't want to leave the never ending hot showers, the huge comfortable bed, and the rooftop pool. We explored the city some, visited some temples, but for the most part we just hung out, ate, and relaxed at the pool. We also learned about the death of our dear friend and family member, Reks. Reks was a great and loving dog and we were very sad to learn of his passing and that we were not there for his last days. We will miss you baby Reks.

Bangkok is a lot like western cities. We felt almost like we were at home except for the delicious street food, temples, and fried bug carts. Supposedly the city is pretty dense, but all the people must be in their cars stuck in traffic jams because the streets are fairly empty. Bangkok is huge and pretty hard to get around unless you are on a metro or skytrain line, which we were. We took a taxi a few times as well and it took forever. The other option would be to take a scooter taxi so you can weave between cars. Also, Bangkok is so clean. The guidebooks say it's dirty, but after seeing Madurai and Varanasi it seems to sparkle with cleanliness to us.

We were so relaxed that we actually managed to get scammed. I couldn't believe it after all those times we managed to avoid it in India! The difference in Bangkok, though, is that there are actually very few rickshaw-wallahs and touts hassling you so you forget about them. There many not be many, but the few that are there can be very organized and elaborate. Here is how the scam went. We were heading over to the city palace, walking and looking at our map, when a very friendly man approached us and told us that all the sights are closed for lunch. (First sign of a scam. Guidebook says to never listen to anyone who approaches you because they are touts and never trust anyone who tells you a sight is closed. Duh.) But, he said there are plenty of other sights to visit which he pointed out to us on our map. He even wrote down which bus lines to take to get to the sights. “But, it's much easier to take a tuk-tuk which only costs 20 baht.” (Second sign of scam - Tuk-tuks are not that cheap.) “Oh, here's a tuk-tuk right now. That's a good tuk-tuk because it has a yellow card which means its legit. You don't want the tuk-tuks with white cards.” (Third sign of scam - I have read nothing in our guidebooks about yellow vs. white-card tuk-tuks. Fourth sign of scam – his English was too good.) He explained to the driver where we are going and told him to charge us 20 baht. The friendly driver happily agreed and we were on our way. That's when I turned to Peter and said “I think we're being scammed.” But, we were already in the tuk-tuk. It all happened so fast. So we decided to see where this goes. First stop was some Buddha temple. Yes, this is where the guy said to go. It was pretty nice, but no other tourists there. We were approached by a very friendly “engineer” (Apparently in Thailand scammers are called “engineers”). We talked about where we are going. He told us about himself and offered to take us into the temple. He asked us where our next stop was. We told him it was the “National Textile Museum”. “Oh, how wonderful. I was just there with my wife last week. She bought so many dresses and suits because it is very cheap. This week is a special promotion. There are extreme discounts and no taxes charged. The quality is excellent and so inexpensive compared to the US. You have heard about famous Thai silk, yes? Famous Thai cashmere, yes?” I said yes, but no I have never heard of famous Thai cashmere. (Scam!) This guy was obviously working with the fist guy. I wasn't sure about the tuk-tuk driver though. But, now we were even more interested in where we were headed next. So, back to the tuk-tuk we went. We showed the driver on the map where he was to drive us. (LOL. As if he didn't know.) He took us to a shop called “National”. We went inside and it was a shop with cashmere suits....pretty much the kind you would get at Jcrew. We took a look around and walked right out. Onto our next stop we told the tuk-tuk driver. No big deal. He didn't seam distressed that we left so quickly and purchased nothing. We showed him where we were to head next and off we went. A few minutes later, he stopped and asked for our map again. He said he wanted to take us to another shop. His English was very poor so all I got was “shop” and “you give me 500 baht” and “no buy, just look”. We got out of the tuk-tuk and paid him the 20 baht, not so much for the ride as for the entertainment and the reminder about how careful to be with the touts. They're not dangerous, but they will definitely waste your time taking you to places you don't want to go.

Inside one of the temples.  This one had three levels, each level had a different framed architectural view.

So, after recharging on some much needed rest and delicious food (we sure have gotten skinny in India) we were ready to return to our vagabonding this morning. Last night we ended our stay with a Thai massage – one in which hands, feet, and elbows are used and stretching is involved. Mmmm...got to have more of those when we come back to Thailand. As I write, we are on a bus to Aranya Prathet, a Thai city at the Cambodian border. From Aranya Prathet we will try to locate the border where we will attempt to avoid minefields (just kidding) and visa scams and enter Cambodia. Then we will take a shuttle bus to Poipet (Cambodian border city). Here we will catch a shared taxi or bus to Siem Reap, home of the Angkor Temples which are supposedly the seventh wonder of the world (not sure if that's true). Once this is posted, you will know that we have safely reached our destination. Yes, it would have been easier flying in to Siem Reap....but what would be the fun in that?

New Delhi Belly 01/10 - 01/11

Crazy statue of Lord Hanuman at metro entrance.

New Delhi view from Moti Masjid Minaret.

Peter devours meat at Karim's.

Yes, the puddle is pee.

We arrived in New Delhi Monday morning and after checking in at our hotel immediately set out on exploring the city. Wow. New Delhi is huge. There is no way to see the whole city in 2 days. You probably need at least a week here if you want to hit up all the important points on the map. The monuments are enormous, the streets are jam packed with people and traffic, and the distances are far. We decided to make use of the brand new (2002) metro system and it was very nice...clean and modern. You have to go through security to get in just like at the airport. The cars are set up New York style to fit in as many people as possible and boy were there lots of people on the train. We took the train around 11 am, which is not a very high traffic time, and we were literally squished in the car. I was the only woman there as they have special woman only cars where most women seem to go. Those were not as packed. Getting in was daunting because a mass of people exits at about the same time as another mass of people enters and you can only hope that you will make it in, or out. Everyone pushes and shoves. But, I guess that is pretty typical of India. Usually, when you stand in line people stand super close to the point that you are pressed up against the person in front and in back of you....there is no such thing as personal space. And not everyone uses deodorant! Also, in line at the ATM everyone looks at your screen while you enter your information and get money.

So, our first day we visited Old Delhi and walked through walls of people on the street markets. It seemed like we walked for miles because it was so difficult to weave through the masses. We tried to visit the Fort, but it was closed and so we visited the Moti Masjid, which is the largest Mosque in India. We ate the best dinner we have had in our entire stay in India at Karim's. We had an entire tandoori chicken as well as a few kebabs and the best naan in the world. We tore into our dinner like meat deprived carnivores. We also tried to return to our hotel on the metro, but the masses during rush hour proved to be our breaking point. As we watched people attempt to contort their bodies in order to fit into the tiniest bit of space between arms, legs, and the closing doors, we decided to take a rickshaw back. I wish that I had taken a picture, but photography was “strictly” prohibited and I was not about to take any chances with law enforcement in Asia.

Unfortunately, though, that night the infamous Delhi Belly struck once again. This time it was nausea and vomiting. I spent most of the night in the bathroom and most of the next day sleeping. So, we did not get to explore any more in Delhi. We missed out on Connaught Place, the Lotus Temple, and Humayun's Tomb. My last dinner in India was a banana while Peter went back to Karim's for another meat and naan feast.

Today we boarded the plane for Bangkok. We had a great flight. Thai Airways is excellent. The plane was spacious and comfortable...probably the best flight I have been on. There was a whole bank of bathrooms in the back of the plane. Each seat had a TV with a ton of movie options. It was so pleasant. When we arrived in Bangkok the airport was spotless and the city seems to be deserted compared to Delhi.   

Udaipur 01/07 – 01/09

Peter admires the stonework at Jagdish Temple.

Jagdish Temple

A woman gives money to a Baba.  Baba's are religious gurus or priests.  They sit and think and take in the sun. 

Crazy mod stained glass at the City Palace.

View of Lake Pichola and hills beyond from the City Palace.

Room at the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Glass and Mirrors) inside City Palace.

Courtyard at the City Palace.

Me at the City Palace.

Rest stop on hike up to Monsoon Palace...destination can be seen in the distance.

View of Lake Pichola from Cable Car Summit.

Time for rest and taking in the views at the Moon Palace.

Some sights from our hike up to Moon Palace.

Udaipur street full of color, murals, and electric lines.

Indian style building.  If there is a tree in your way, you work around it.  We have seen this approach everywhere.

Udaipur street - visual chaos.

I was reckless and did not avoid photography.  I also climbed on it.

Sunset view from our hotel room.

Last meal in Udaipur

It was a long and bumpy bus ride to Udaipur but completely worth the trip. We arrived in the evening and found our hotel to be spotless and comfortable and the city cleaner and quieter than most Indian cities. Udaipur is located along a series of lakes in Rajasthan and surrounded by hills. It's a town full of palaces, one of which is located on Lake Pichola, now a fancy hotel. The antibiotics and fresh(er) Udaipur air turned out to be just what we needed.

Our intentions of taking it easy, though, did not last. Our first day we visited the main temple in town. Jagdish Temple is an extraordinary structure composed of intricately carved stone and built by Maharana Singh in 1651. Although we were not allowed to photograph the interior of the temple, here unlike in other Hindu temples we were allowed inside. There was a great deal of commotion as people lined up to pray to Vishnu whose image was portrayed at the main altar. There was an elderly woman sitting on the floor selling small chunks of rice and a man in front of the altar dispensing water. People ate the rice, drank the water and then ran their hands over their heads with the water. There was also a flame on the altar. People would capture the flame or smoke and then run their hand over their heads with this as well. I am not sure what any of this meant and there was quite a bit of chaos inside. Afterwards, we visited the City Palace. This was a spectacular complex located along Lake Pichola, composed of a series of palaces interlinked by a labyrinth of narrow passageways. Apparently it was specially planned this way to avoid surprise attacks by invaders. Each palace has its own particular style, one is made up of glass and mirrors another of pearls and intricate mosaics. We spent a good portion of the afternoon weaving through the passageways between palaces.

The next day we had “nature day.” We began by taking a cable car ride up to the top of one of Udaipur's hills and then hiking down. We ran into a very scary playground for children with rusty monkey bars, steep slides made of stone and others of poker hot metal breaking your fall at the end with jagged bits of rock. We then decided to hike all the way up to the “Monsoon Palace,” built to watch monsoon clouds and located in a wildlife preserve. We did not see any wildlife here, but we did see an elephant walking in the street on the way to the preserve. It took us a good 2 hours to hike up to the top. We were the only hikers there. The palace itself is not worth much of a visit, but the views from the top and the feeling of accomplishment were awesome.

As I post, we are on an overnight train to Delhi. Train and bus connections from Udaipur to Jaisalmer (next stop on our itinerary) turned out to be overly difficult. Plus we are pretty much ready to move on from India. There are only so many dosas one can eat and masala tea one can drink. The next leg of the trip was going to be Nepal. But, due to weather conditions, we are going to opt out. It's probably best not to hike in fog and sleep in freezing mountain teahouses. We will just have to add Nepal to the “to do list” for next year. Sometimes life can be really hard like that and one cannot have everything one wants. Sigh. So, next stop Delhi and then we are off to Bangkok.