Bangkok (giggle) & Cambodia

So after our relaxing time in Ko Samui, we flew to Bangkok for a couple of nights before heading to Cambodia.  We arrived in Bangkok in the late afternoon and the first thing we did after checking into our hotel was go on a hunt for some Korean food which Sharon had been craving for some time.  After a quick internet search, we discovered that Korea Town was only a few stops away on the SkyTrain and off we went.  We found it with little difficulty.

Perhaps the most excited Sharon has been during our travels so far.

After checking out several restaurants, Sharon finally decided on one and we sat down and had a delicious Korean feast.  I had some 김밥 and some 됀창찌께, and Sharon had some 냉면 and some 생선.

After dinner we walked around Bangkok a bit and found a really nice park.  You can tell Bangkokians are pretty fit as the park was filled with people working out at the outdoor gyms, running, and playing sports.  We came across people playing a game which looked almost like volleyball, except they play it with only their feet.  I was mesmerized.  Sharon had to pull me away.

The guy's foot went over his head as he served the ball.  Crazy.

The next day we headed out to for some Bangkok sightseeing.  I've already forgotten most of the names of the places we visited, but here are some pics to fill you in on our day:

My first tuktuk ride since I was six.

We had our first of many tuktuk rides throughout SE Asia, which was my first tuktuk ride since I was last in Bangkok when I was six with my family.  On that ride our driver bumped into a motorcycle with a whole family of five on it, which eventually resulted in the father on the bike pulling a knife on our driver.  So fortunately, our tuktuk drive was much less eventful although Sharon was still scared for her life through much of the ride.

Who can resist a gong?  Not me.

Sharon & a giant reclining Buddha at Wat Pho.

High fiving it with some Buddhas at Wat Pho.

"Mix it up.  Give me ten!"

Taking a boat ride through the canals of Bangkok with gun drawn.

The highlight of Bangkok for me.  Sweet Blizzard how I love thee.

The next day we had to get up at 3am so we could make it over to the train station to buy tickets for the 6am train to the Thailand-Cambodia border.  The good news was that we had no trouble getting our tickets.  The bad news was that this was by far the worst train ride of my life.  First off, we didn't realize that you could board the train more than 40 minutes before departure.  So by the time we boarded the train, all the seats we already taken.  Thank goodness a train attendant took pity on us and found us some seats after telling a Thai family to move over to make room for us.  I think I would have jumped off the train at some point if I had to stand the entire 8 hour trip (which many people had to do).  Oh yeah, did I forget to mention the train was not air conditioned?  And the temperature that day was in the mid 90's with close to 100% humidity.  The only saving grace was that there was a fan directly above us.  Unfortunately, we got into a fan tug of war match between another Thai passenger who kept moving the fan direction away from us and on to him.  After many back and forths, I think he finally realized that Sharon wasn't going to back down and he finally gave up.  Yay wife!

"Will somebody please put me out of my misery????"

The trip was originally supposed to leave at 6am, but didn't depart until 7am, and then took an hour longer than scheduled to get to the border, so the six hour trip turned into eight.  The train was completely packed, with the aisle crowded with passengers making the trip standing up.  I had a butt in my face most of the trip.  At one point, this girl spotted an inch of seat next to me and decided to sit down next to me.  I was not amused...

Unfortunately my Superman shirt did not give me the power to shoot lasers out of me eyes.

The ride from hell finally ended though, and we found ourselves at the border, and after 30 minutes of waiting in lines, we walked our way into Cambodia.

Hellooooo Cambodia!

After crossing into Cambodia, we had to hop on a bus for another 3 hours of travel to get ourselves to Siem Reap.  Once we arrived at our hotel in Siem Reap I had one of the best showers of my life.

We stayed 2 full days in Siem Reap to check out all the old Khmer temples in the area including Angkor Wat.  The temples were all amazing, especially Angkor Wat.  We hired a tuktuk for two days to drive us around to all the sights, and hired a guide on the second day when we went to see Angkor Wat.  Too bad for us our guide's english was pretty bad so we pretty much just nodded our heads at him the entire time while having no clue what he was talking about.

Here are some pics of our Khmer temple adventures:

Real life Ents taking over a Khmer temple.

Sharon giving some love to a Buddha.

Good to know cock fighting has been around for over 800 years.

Just after sunrise in front of Angkor Wat.

Sharon contemplating life inside Angkor Wat.

While in Siem Reap, we also came across some interesting restaurants while walking around town one day.  First we saw this sign...

And then this sign...

And then finally this sign...

Our interest was finally piqued so we had to try one of these joy giving pizzas.  We opted to go to Happy Special Pizza and ordered an "extra happy" Hawaiian pizza.  While it was actually quite tasty, we didn't find anything truly "happy" or "special" about it.

A happy Sharon and our "extra happy" pizza.

After Siem Reap, we took a 6 hour bus to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.  Though there was nothing that stood out about the city, Sharon and I both really enjoyed our two days there.  So much so that we would describe our time there as Phnomenal (you can thank me for that amazing word play).  It was really easy to get around the city, everything was super cheap, and things were just really laid back there.  Our lone tourist venture of note while we were there was to visit the S-21 prison which was used as a detention and torture facility by the Khmer Rouge when they took over Cambodia in the late 70's.  Over 20,000 prisoners made their way through the prison, while only seven survivors were found when the Vietnamese liberated the city in 1979.  It was very depressing touring the place, but also very interesting.

Torture/interrogation room as it was found in 1979.

A sign forbidding laughing or smiling during the tour.  It gave us a good chuckle.

After Phnom Penh, we bused it to Vietnam for two weeks which Sharon will share with you in her next blog post.  Later.

Ko Samui, Thailand

Off to Ko Samui...just a public bus, ferry, minibus, train, big bus, ferry, cab ride, and golf cart ride away....

Getting to Ko Samui from Penang was quite the adventure. 

Step 1:  Take a 10 minute public bus from our hostel to the ferry.  No problem.

Step 2:  Take the ferry from Penanag Island to mainland Malaysia near the Butterworth train station.  No problem.

Butterworth Ferry

View of Georgetown from the ferry

Step 3:  Take a 10 hour train from Malaysia to Surat Thani, Thailand which is near the port where we could catch the ferry to Ko Samui.  Big problem #1.

When we arrived at Butterworth train station we learned that our train had been canceled due to major delays in Thailand.  Luckily, the guy at the ticket window spoke English and directed us to take a mini bus across the border into Thailand.  Unluckily, that minibus would drop us off at Hat Yai, Thailand, the city that had a terrorist bombing a few weeks before. Big problem #2. For the record, I was reluctant to go to Hat Yai...I'm neurotic about my safety.  T on the other hand vetoed my refusal to go to Hat Yai, claiming it was the safest time to go since the attack already happened.  Well, we're still alive so you were right Luke, you were riiight.

Step 4:  Take a 3 hour mini bus with 7 other people (T was the only whitey) across the border to Hat Yai.  No problem.  Crossing the border by foot was actually kind of neat.  T suspected that the women sitting next to him was Korean so he ask her first in English "Are you visiting from Korea?".  She stared at him blankly not understanding a word he said.  Then he busted out his Korean and asked her again.  She got a bit excited and started talking to him in Korean at which point T stared at her blankly not understanding a word she said.  It was pretty cute.

Step 5:  Take the train from Hat Yai to Surat Thani.  No major problems except waiting in scorching heat for a train that was 2 hours late.  Otherwise, the train was pretty fun.  It was my first time on a train where a waiter took your dinner order and then afterwards turned your seats into beds.  Pretty cool huh?

"Hat Yai is the BOMB" by Ted

Yayyyy.  2 buckets of sweat later, our train is finally here!!

Quenching our thirst with $1 cold beers! Beat that America.

Our cheap but pretty tasty train food.

Our dinner table turned into T's bed

My bed folded down from the ceiling.  So fun right?

 Step 6:  By the time we got to Surat Thani it was close to midnight and too late to take a ferry across to Samui so we booked a room for $8 dollars at a place called the Queen Hotel.  Big problem #3.  Its the only hotel near the station and it was AWFUL.  I wish a took a picture of the bathroom.  The sink had a drain, but it drained onto the floor.  You turn on the water to wash your hands...the water goes into the sink and down a drain that empties on the bathroom floor directly under the sink near your feet!!!  You spit your toothpaste into the sink, it ends up on the floor splashing onto your feet!!!!  I know, I know, you get the picture, but I just can't get over it.

Step 7:  We got up as early as we could mostly because I felt like I was getting dirtier by the minute just by standing inside the Queen hotel and set out to find a bus that would take us to the ferry.  Big problem #4.  The bus which was supposed to leave at 7am left at 10.  So there we sat on a NON air con bus for 3 hours before it started moving. And what was supposed to be a 1 hour ride to the ferry was more like 2 because our driver picked himself up lunch along the side of the road, picked up his son from school along the side of the road, and then had to stop at a gas station because 2 passengers had to pee really bad. 

Step 8:  We finally got on our ferry which was about 2 hours and grabbed some much deserved beers.

View from the ferry.  Finally getting closer....

We decided to name our first born Leo Chang Provins.  haha.

Step 9:  Take a  cab to our hotel!  We made it!!! Our hotel was at the top of a steep hill so after we checked in at reception we got into a little resort golf cart to our room.

Our hotel balcony...finally some rest

Hanging at the hotel pool

Our spot on the beach

Exactly where you would find us everyday promptly at 4

The journey to Ko Samui was probably the most interesting and blog worthy event during our time there since we spent most of our week just hanging by the pool and drinking at the beach.  We also spent a significant amount of time looking for a tanktop for T.  Yes, you read that correctly, a tanktop for Ted.  He had developed an unbelievable farmer's tan.  There was nothing he could do about his legs unless he was willing to rock a speedo, but he decided to save his arms by sporting a euro tank top look.  We didn't find one though...there just wasn't one out there that didn't make T look...just wrong.  I suggested cutting the sleeves off his Captain America tshirt, but I think that would just devastate our friend Tom and Jen who just love to see T is that tshirt :)

See what I mean?  I don't normally condone man tanks but drastic times call for drastic measures

Oh and I did a half day tour by myself while T stayed back and did our taxes all day...though I'm sure he managed in some Starcraft time with Brian...the highlight of Ted's time in Ko Samui.  I'll end this post with some pics from my tour.  Enjoy!

The temples and Buddhas I visited...

This guy isn't a Buddha obviously but its a cool statue made entirely of car parts.

 

 

 

 

 

The tour I signed up for also took us to a place called the grandma and grandpa rocks.  I would just like to make it clear that I went only because it was included in the tour and not by choice.

This is grandpa rock

This is grandma rock

And this is their son which they obviously call grandson rock

I also visited the most famous monk in Ko Samui who died 20 or something years ago.  I was told his body did not decompose so they decided to position him in a meditating position to show the world the benefits of healthy meditation.  I had so many questions about this...how did they figure out his body doesn't decompose...did his family keep his body after he died and wait to see if it would decompose?  I mean...how is this possible?  They claim they don't treat the body with any chemicals and all his organs are still in tact!  It doesn't make sense right?  Oh, he sports a pair of classic Ray Bans too.  Maybe its the Ray Bans that have the magical power.

And last but not least, I did an hour hike to a waterfall with the tour group.  Ted would have LOVED it.

 

Singapore & Penang

After Bali, we flew to Singapore for a quick two nights to quickly check this city-state out.  It was a very nice change of pace to spend some time in a modern city with all its conveniences (but not its higher prices).

We arrived at our hostel around dinner time so we just dropped off our bags and headed out to find some good food.  India Town was close by so we headed there to find some good Indian food. It was a Sunday night, so Sharon and I were very surprised at how hoppin' the area was.  The crazy part was that the male to female ratio was at least 100 to 1.  I'd like to know where all the ladies were at.  Anyways, we found a good place to eat and we proceeded to gorge ourselves.  I'm not sure why, but I don't think I ate any Indian food until I was 28 or so, and since then I think it has become my favourite food to eat.  I love Indian food.  10 days and counting and I have all the Indian food I could ever need.

We only had only one full day in Singapore, so we decided to buy tickets for the hop on/hop off tour bus so we could see as much of the city as possible.

 Rocking the Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus in Singapore (aka the Hippo Bus).

One of our first stops at my request, was the Marina Bay Sands which is this recently built hotel/conference center/casino/mall that I first became aware of when I saw it on an episode on Build It Bigger on the Discovery Channel.  The coolest thing about the show, was that it showed how they were going to build a large park on top of the three hotel towers.  So of course being in Singapore, we had to go check it out.

A scaled model of the Marina Bay Sands.

First stop was the observation deck which provided a crazy view of Singapore.  Unfortunately, they had closed off public access to the gardens and pools, so I was a little bit disappointed about that.  Next time we are in Singapore we will have to stay at the hotel so we can get free access.

Some of the views of Singapore from the viewing deck.

This is as close as I could get to the gardens and infinity pool.

Sharon was super excited about the "floating" Louis Vuitton store.

Next stop was of course the casino, but unfortunately you needed your passport to get in, and we had left ours at the hotel.  Huge bummer.  Sharon's plan of winning enough money to buy a new bag at the floating Louis store were dashed.  So instead we decided to go check out the mall which was pretty crazy.  Along with numerous super high end stores, was a canal reminiscent of Venice where you could pay to have someone take you from one end of the mall to the other in a boat, and a sweet fountain which I deemed the "Toilet Fountain".  It consisted of a huge bowl that water was sent into which proceeded to swirl around the bowl until it reached a hole in the bottom where it would then fall into the pool below.

Too tired to walk the 100 meters to the other end of the mall?  No problem, hire a boat.

The "Toilet Fountain".  Where's a giant O'Henry bar when you need it?

After the Marina Bay Sands, we road the Hippo Bus all around Singapore, getting a feel for what the city has to offer.  In the late afternoon, we went to a movie theatre to watch Hunger Games.  Yes, I know, kind of a lame thing to do with only one full day in Singapore, but we had both read the book and were dying to see it, and we weren't sure when our next opportunity would be to check it out.

After the movie, we were pretty hungry, so we went out looking for a good place for dinner.  This was my top choice:

"Come on Sharon!  What screams Singapore more some delicious Hooters wings?"

Unfortunately, Sharon vetoed this idea.  Seriously though, we had made plans to meet an old friend of Sharon's back from her high school days in Chicago for dinner.  For a while now, Sharon has been dying to try some chili crab, so we decided to meet up with her friend Eddie at a top chili crab restaurant.  The crab was fantastic (we preferred the pepper crab over the chili crab though), and we had a really good time catching up with Eddie and hearing all about his adventures in Singapore.  Eddie also picked up the tab for dinner, which was incredibly nice of him to do.  So thanks again Eddie if you are reading this.  We owe you a really nice dinner in the U.S. next time we see you.

Sharon & Eddie, wearing some bibs, and eating some chili crab.

The next day we flew to Penang for another quick two nights before heading to Ko Samui.  Our time in Penang basically revolved around food.  After dropping our stuff off at our hostel in Old Georgetown, we walked a bit around town, checking out some of the old colonial buildings, and then proceeded to try to find us some good street food.  We hit up a bunch of spots, but the most interesting thing we ate was at our last stop of the night where we ordered a rama burger...

Step #1: Fry egg.

Step #2: Place burger on top of fried egg.

Step #3: Wrap burger in fried egg.

Step #4: Add bun, veggies, mayo, ketchup, etc. = DELICIOUSNESS.

The next day we slept in a bit before heading out to grab some lunch at a delicious chicken rice stall just down the street.  This was our first time eating chicken rice, and it has since become one of our go to meals in SE Asia.

Yummy, chicken rice.

After lunch, we looked to rent some bikes so we could continue our search for some more delicious food.  Sharon had read about this supposedly awesome outdoor food center that was about a half hour bike ride away.  We found some pretty decent mountain bikes to rent and were on our way.  We made it to the food center at around 3pm, but found out it wasn't open until around six, so we decided continue riding along the coast to see what we could find.

Sharon braving the streets and traffic of Penang.

We road another 15 to 20km along the ocean until we hit a nice beach where we stopped to grab a couple of cold, refreshing beers.  While we were stopped, Sharon spotted a women who was selling grilled corn on the cob which Sharon had to try.  She was not disappointed.

A happy Sharon eating some grilled corn on the cob.

A nice view to enjoy while drink some cold, refreshing beer.

After our beers, we turned around and headed back the way we came.  On the way back we stopped at the "Floating Mosque" which was a total letdown as it wasn't floating at all, but merely supported by stilts on the shore.  What a ripoff.

Floating mosque my ass.

We finally made it back to the outdoor food center which was now bustling with activity.  The food there is dirt cheap, so we decided to get a sampling of many different dishes.  We made sure to eat up all the calories we had burned during the bike ride and then some.

Can you spot Sharon surveying our food options in this pic?

After dinner we rode the rest of the way back to our hostel so we could get a good night's sleep before our long day of travel to Thailand the next day.  

That's it for now.  Sharon will write about our time in Thailand shortly.