Lazy Day in Koh Tao

Our first full day in Koh Tao started with breakfast out on the beach front, enjoying our first beach-life stay on our trip. Tough morning right? Nothing worse than waking up and taking in the sunshine and ocean out in front of us. Our plan was to go on a snorkelling excursion for the day.

Unfortunately, by the time we finished breakfast, we had just missed the cut-off time for the late morning excursion to get dropped off at the pier. (My fault for not booking it the day before, so we booked one for the next day). They recommended that we ask the long-tail boat taxis all along the beach, but the majority of them have already left taking diving schools out to the open.

Koh Tao is well known for their superb scuba diving sites. The abundant coral reefs And vast marine life (including whale sharks!), along with the lack of strong underwater currants, make it an ideal spot for beginners and to get your diving license.

Scuba Diving has been and will always be on my list of activities that I wish I could participate in. However, with my partially collapsed lung episode I had a few years back; I do not think I will be able to partake. I will definitely try to go to a dive doctor to have an examination though. Marine life just simply takes my breath away (literally lol) and there are just so many crazy creatures down there that I want to see in real life.

Rebecca and I decided to walk up and down the beach and check out what was around. There are many restaurants/cafes with outdoor patios with cushions and tables for people to eat and drink by the beach.

Check out this horizontal grown palm tree with a 90 degree tree top! But don't try climbing it, as it was wrapped in barbed wire.

The sky was clear of clouds except for further out in the horizon where this massive mountain of clouds could be seen.

We then decided to go snorkelling right out in the water of the beach for the rest of the afternoon. There was surprising quite a big section of coral but it seemed like the coral was dead or dying but there were a few small fish out there. This is most likely due to the high long tail boat traffic that are constantly disturbing and polluting the coral below.

 While enjoying the sunset, this stray dog came and sat down next to me for some company.

Today would be the only time I could record a time lapse video of a beach sunset, so we sat at the same table we did for breakfast at Sairee Beach. Thinking of it now, we should have gone to the cafe a few spots over with the triangular prism floor cushions but they are usually taken up pretty quickly for sunsets.

The sunset was beautiful as the sun set directly out on the ocean horizon.
Make sure you check out my sunset time-lapse videos in our Videos Section!

We went over to a restaurant a few buildings over and they had a display set out on the beach for their daily dinner BBQ. Several types of fish were offered that were caught the same day such as barracuda, along with chicken and beef skewers. We opted for the chicken BBQ skewers with a baked potato and veggies.

It was the BEST BBQ skewer I have EVER had! The pieces were big and juicy and the sauces complimented them nicely. I still think and crave these skewers to this day and always recommend those travelling to Koh Tao, or Thailand about them.

Thailand beach areas are also known to have fire dancers on the beach at night, twirling their batons at amazing speeds and patterns with the ends on fire to some chill music. The two performers this night were very impressive, and I would have to say they were the best ones we saw on our entire trip.

Too bad Toronto beaches doesn't have this type of entertainment at night (hmm...idea?)

After a long day, we decided to head back to our hut and Rebecca had passed out at 8pm lol.

Posted by Steven

Suit Up and Get Out of Bangkok

Today, we had set out to visit some custom tailored shops to get myself a suit and some dress shirts. Daniel had told us we can just google best tailored shops in Bangkok and there is a CNN article listing them. We set out to visit the number 1 rated shop that has done suits for US presidents and other high up personnel and it was right by the Nana BTS station, as well as the shop Richard suggested for dress shirts. I was a bit worried as most shops are closed on Sunday, and we come back from Chiang Mai on a Sunday morning and fly back home the next morning. So I was hoping the shop could do some special arrangement for me.

Once at Nana station, we stopped for lunch at a bar called "The Game" which was replaying a Bruins-Rangers NHL playoff game. It was nice to watch some playoff hockey again. After lunch, we went to the tailor but unfortunately because of our schedule, he could not work anything out for me as he was not open Sunday. Luckily, the area has many tailored shops and I went to another shop around the corner whose ad was in the BTS map. However, same issue, they were closed Sunday. We then walked back towards the station and had passed this store that tried to get us to come in previously, but I figured I would check them out anyway and if they can accommodate my schedule.

 

The shop was called Armani Tailors Studio, and the main tailor is Jimmy and he is from Italy I believe. He was a nice little guy and offered us cold water while we looked through magazines for idea. Not that I knew what to look for in a suit or the differences, or what I wanted,  I was counting on Rebecca to choose the styling lol. Jimmy explained that the basic differences were the number of buttons, the angle of the pockets, the collar style, and the rear cut.

So I finally chose a couple of designer styles that I liked; a Hugo Boss or the Ralph Lauren style that was in the magazine of designer suits. The next step was to choose the type and style of material. Jimmy showed us 3 different tiers or types of fabric. I decided to go with the top quality fabric in dark grey as I needed a nice suit. I planned on getting a couple of dress shirts as well but then Jimmy tried to sell me to get two suits and 6 shirts for 20,000 BHT. I was a bit hesitant at first as I did not want to spend that much, but the black suit I had from Mexx did not fit me that well, so eventually I caved in and agreed to 2 suits with my name embroidered inside, 6 dress shirts and 2 ties for 20,000 BHT (around $700 CDN). Not bad for a tailored suit and shirts.

After choosing the black fabric, I had to decide on the style of each suit. Th dark grey suit will have 2 buttons, a bit shorter,  angled pockets, Italian style collar and 2 rear cuts. While the black suit will be more traditional with 2 buttons, same length, straight pockets, regular collar and single rear cut.


I then had to choose, or rather Rebecca chose the patterns for the dress shirts.  After that they took my measurements and set up another meeting on June 2 where I will come in for the final fitting.


After getting suited up, Rebecca and I went to the mall at Silom station to stock up on some Chinese buns for the overnight train ride to Chumphon. The buns Bangkok were quite expensive to the prices in Toronto. They were about $1 each compared to like 50-60 cents. We then had to take the train back to our hotel to get our bags and then head back to the Hua Lomphon train station. It was quite a lot of back and forth but a lot better than carrying our bags all day.

Once at Hua Lomphon train station, I set out to look for dinner as I read that the food they sell on the train is not that good. The food court is kind of hidden on the side as you cannot really see it from the main waiting area of the station. There were a few small window like stands selling food for cheap and then there was a big open stand that sold pad Thai, and a bunch of other dishes, for only 40 BHT! What a deal! So I bought one for myself and one for Rebecca.

We boarded train #85 and were in the last car. We got the 2nd class A/C sleeper car, with two lower bunks. The trains in Thailand are quite old so they were definitely not that nice. It did have better seating and bunking arrangements compared to the overnight train I took from Amsterdam to Austria. It was an 8 hr train ride to Chumphon and I had no issue sleeping, but Rebecca didnt sleep as well because she was paranoid of people stealing stuff from our bags. The train was scheduled to arrive in Chumphon at 4 but did not arrive until 5am. We then had to wait for the Songserm "bus" transfer which was the back of a pickup truck, while the Lomprayah passengers had a double decker bus. After a 30-45 minute ride, we get to the Pier and board our boat which was pretty small and old. We sat in the bottom of the boat which had plastic seats and wasn't comfortable at all. The water was very wavy that morning so the oscillations for 2hrs was making us sick. it didnt help that the AC smelt like fumes for the entire ride. Sleeping helped a bit but woke up with 30 minutes left, and the constant big oscillations put me on the edge of sickness. I had to try hard not to feel sick and was thinking just 30 more minutes until we reached Koh Tao. Perhaps I should have went onto the deck and sat outside for a bit. I'm glad we were getting off at Koh Tao and not continuing to Koh Phangan.

To be continued on Day 9...

Posted by Steven

Bye, Bye Siem Reap, We're Going Back to Bangkok!

After enjoying a quick breakfast at Lotus Blanc Resort in the morning, Steven and I left to go to the Siem Reap airport at around 10:30am for our departure to Bangkok, Thailand.

While we were at the airport, we met another Canadian couple from Toronto, Dan and Joselyn, who have been traveling together for 3 months (with another month of traveling to go until they head back home!). They are so lucky to be able to find time to travel to so many different places around the world such as, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia! Their final destination before they head home is Thailand. Just like us, they were headed to the same flight as us to Bangkok, Thailand. Dan initially sparked up a conversation with Steven because he noticed the Canadian flag on Steven's backpack. At the same time, we couldn't help but notice that Dan had so many flags sewed onto his backpack of all the countries he's visited, so cool! It's so fascinating to hear the stories from other travelers. Anyway, we ended up chit-chatting with them for some time, while waiting for our flight. Not so surprisingly, the two of them were also planning to attend the Full Moon Party (which is a huge beach party with food vendors, people from all around the world, fire shows, fire jumping ropes, DJs, etc... that lasts overnight until the sun rises!). Steven and I were pretty stoked to go! We were also getting more excited about the event as we talked about it more and more!  With Dan and Joselyn, we also discussed our other plans in Thailand, exchanged e-mails, and suggested that we meet up again sometime in Koh Pangan for the Full Moon Party!

After our flight arrived in Bangkok, Steven and I were still unsure as to where we were headed to because we didn't book our hotel accommodation in advance (although we had a hotel in mind, we were open to other options). Either way, we figured that we would easily be able to find somewhere to settle in, as we only planned on staying in Bangkok for the night. Dan and Joselyn found a good deal online for $13 a night at NASA Vegas hotel, which was a short distance away along the airport transit line. The original hotel that we were interested in booking charges about $35 a night (average pricing for a standard room), so at $13 a night, the price of the hotel sounded more appealing. I'll have you know though, I was a little bit skeptical BECAUSE of the low price. We had such a great hotel experience in Cambodia, that I was worried about what we were getting ourselves into because my hotel standards were set quite high. Anyway, Steven was attracted to the price of the NASA Vegas hotel and decided that we should head over and book it for the night. The train ride to the hotel was really quick (about 5 stops) for approx. 30 baht each. The outside of NASA Vegas appeared nice with a fountain and stairs leading up to the entrance way. My initial thought was, for $13 a night, so far so good! Once we met up with the receptionist, we asked about the availability of the Junior Rooms offered at $13 a night. Although the rooms were available, the receptionist said that she wasn't able to book a Junior Room for us, but was willing to book a Deluxe Room ($31) for us on the spot. Apparently, if you want to book a Junior Room, you need to book online only, weird! With no free wifi available for hotel guests, the receptionist pointed us out to an internet cafe located across the street. We were pretty annoyed with this, but decided to head over there anyway to proceed with our online booking. 

Soon after, we headed back to the hotel receptionist, who then upgraded our rooms to the Deluxe Room for free (sweet!) and handed over our keys! Deluxe Room for $13 a night? I thought to myself, what a great value! After carrying our heavy backpacks all morning, I was excited to wind down and shower before we decided to head out again. Once we entered our room, my expectations for the room dropped even lower. Turns out, the Deluxe Room was not nearly as nice/adequate/standard as I thought it would be. I was certainly not impressed with the air conditioning that barely worked, rusty and leaky shower room with a window that you can't close, small room, mosquitoes flying everywhere, and extremely dim lights! For the entire time, I convinced myself to stick through with the hotel just for the night! But really, what could I have expected for just $13 a night?

After showering and getting ready to (eagerly) head out of the hotel, we decided to head to the weekend night market at Chatuchak station for some shopping and dinner. Steven and I used our BTS SkyTrain cards which we kept from the first night we were in Bangkok. We thought they were very handy for traveling around the city.

At first glance, the market seemed huge! There were so many little shops side by side, each selling similar goods as the other shops! Pure bargaining power for the customers, haha! The market also offered food stands which sold BBQ skewers, noodles, fruits, smoothies, and more!

Although we were both very hungry and looking for a place to eat for dinner, I was really hesitant and nervous about eating food from the market (it didn't look very sanitary/clean). Regardless, Steven didn't listen and decided to purchase some skewers for him to eat. Luckily, I packed a nutri-grain bar in my back pack and snacked on it until we found somewhere more adequate for dinner.

Soon enough, our hunger pains were calling us. Desperately looking for some 'real' food, we decided to head over to the Siam Center for dinner. Once we arrived, boy was is really nice over there! The mall was beautiful, clean, and with bright lights. Designer stores filled the mall which included Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel, and more! The famous Ocean World was also located at the basement of the mall!

We headed to the lower floor foodcourt/restaurant area and settled in a restaurant that seemed like a good place to eat! Steven and I both enjoyed a meal full of pad-thai, rice, and a beef meat dish! After dinner, we walked around the food court and stumbled across a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop!

Of course, we purchased a half a dozen to snack on (oh, how I've missed the sweet goodness!). We also headed to the grocery store located inside the mall to buy some Asian buns and snacks for our ferry ride tomorrow!

We decided to call is a day after our little shopping day.

Oh and P.S, Steven started to feel sick later that night. Tsk tsk...

Posted by Rebecca

Phnom Kulen Waterfall in Cambodia!

On our last day in Siem Reap, we booked a driver to take us to the Phnom Kulen waterfall where they had placed Lingas in the river bed so that the water is blessed.

Rebecca found our driver, Sam - Angkor Best Driver, on trip advisor. Sam was a few years older than us and was really nice. The first conversation we had was what we knew about Cambodia and he made sure to discuss the real Cambodia with us with some history and how corrupt the people in power were. He even discussed part of his personal life and how he had asked his parents not to put him in an arranged marriage, as it is tradition in Cambodia, as he felt he would be "blocked" (no more freedom) from many things he enjoyed. He met a country girl that does make up for weddings who is his current girlfriend. He said he would never marry a city girl because they would have had too many boyfriends lol.

Our drive to Phnom Kulen was about an hour and the "road" up the mountain was just red dirt and had a shit load of pot holes and bumps and was very uneven. (Side note: the roads at Angkor Wat use to be the same until an Australian? Couple filmed their ride and the road and complained to the government that the roads were horrendous for such a big tourist attraction)

We first visited a Buddhist temple that was in the mountain. It was nothing special. Then we saw the Lingas were in the river before we headed to the waterfall.

At the waterfall, there was a section at the top that had a mini 10ft waterfall before the big drop. We were able to stand in the water and take some pictures. We then walked down the hill to the pond where the waterfall was. It was not that busy but more people started to come shortly after we arrived. We found a spot on the right and I wanted to practice shooting flowing water pictures. I was able to get the water to appear flowing and smooth, but I think my shutter speed was a bit too slow as the pictures seem over exposed. Hopefully some post editing can make the pictures of Rebecca and I better.

I then decided to go into the water and it was so refreshing! And to my surprise, there were small fish in there that would nibble at your legs to eat your dead skin! I brought my GoPro in with me and caught some close up footage of the waterfall. I also recorded myself going under the waterfall and getting hit in the head hard by the water. Video to come!

We somehow spent a couple of hours down there and didn't realize it was 3:30 when we decided to go back up with meet Sam. We drove back into town and decided to go to the Old Market to get lunch and to walk around as we never went the previous evenings. We found a small cafe on a corner and ordered food. Rebecca ordered a chicken Caesar wrap and I ordered curry chicken.

After that we walked around to shop for souvenirs. Again, all the stores sold mostly the same items. Rebecca bought theses small stuffed fabric keychain elephants that are cute.

I wanted to buy a painting, as I've always wanted to buy one from my travels but we were short on US dollars and only had enough left to take a tuk tuk back to our hotel. I visited a few shops and the last one I visited, the price went from $15 to $2-$3 once I walked away! I really wished i had the cash as that would have been an amazing deal. I was even willing to buy them at $12!

We decided that we would go back to our hotel and then come back to shop more and have dinner. But as always, once we get back to the hotel, fatigue starts to set in and Rebecca passes out. So no Angkor Wat painting for me and I ordered a pizza from the bar downstairs.

Posted by Steven

Angkor Wat Tour Day 2

This morning at 4:30am, Steven and I woke up to get ready to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. We have been looking forward to watching the sunrise ever since we arrived in Cambodia because the view is supposedly breathtaking! According to our tour guide, David Angkor Guide, this time of the year isn't exactly the best time to capture the rise of the sun directly behind the temples. Cambodia`s winter season (September - December), is the peak season and the most beautiful time to visit the temples. Unfortunately for us, it is now summer and the beginning of the rainy season here, where temperatures rise upwards to 40 degrees Celsius.

By the time we got to Angkor Wat (around 5:50am), there were already many people who arrived much earlier to save their spots. The weather was very cloudy from yesterday`s rain. I suspect that it will rain again later today. Steven was upset about the cloudy weather because he wanted to shoot a time lapse of the sun rising with clear skies, oh well (funny story though, he was actually shooting a video instead of a time lapse during the sunrise, so he was really mad about that). I thought the view was still beautiful, despite the clouds. The sun rose on the left side of the temple, so we were still able to get a glimpse of the sun. In the future, I think I`ll revisit Cambodia to watch the sunrise again.

Last night, we let the receptionist at our resort know that we will be leaving early in the morning for the sunrise. They kindly prepared breakfast boxes for us to bring and eat at Angkor Wat during the sunrise. I thought that was very nice of them! Our breakfast box included; a bunch of pastries, bread with butter and jam, sausages, and bacon. Yum!

After the sunrise, David took us around the temples again, where we visited Ta Prohm (Tomb Radier temple), Pre Rup, Ta Keo, Thommanon, Preah Kahn, Neak Pean, and Ta Som (Overgrowing tree).

Five towers of Pre Rup (above picture)

Preah Kahn and Ta Som were both built as Buddhist sites in dedication to King Jayavarmn VII's father, Dharanindravarman II (King of Khmer Empire in 1150 to 1160).

Overgrowing tree at Preah Kahn (above picture)

 Lions guarding the ruins of Preah Kahn (above picture)

After the King's passing, his successors tried to convert the Buddhist temples to worship the Hindu gods. While we were there, we noticed that the Buddhist carvings on the walls were destroyed, scrapped off or replaced with Hindu statues.

 Hindu statues of the god. They look noticeably different than Buddha statues because of their high knees and long beards (above picture)

On the right side of the photo, notice the carved out Buddha statues (above picture)

 Preah Kahn was built in the late 12th century, where its name "Preah Kahn" also translates to the meaning of "Sacred Sword," which refers to the legendary sword owned by King Jayavarmn VII. Inside the courtyard of the temple lays a structure which guarded the King's sword. 

Temple structure which once guarded the King's sacred sword (above picture)

Ta Prohm, also known as the "Tomb Radier Temple" was built in the late 12th to early 13th century (one of the first major temples to be built). Ta Prohm was constructed as a Buddhist monastery and built in dedication to King Jayavarmn VII's mother.

Tree strangling, yet conserving the Ta Prohm temple. Balance of nature.

Columns loosing support at Ta Prohm

Currently, the temple is undergoing some reconstruction. From our observation, we noticed that there was a lot of rope blockage to avoid tourists from touching parts of the ruins as well as for construction.

Overgrowing tree blocked off at Ta Prohm "Tomb Radier" Temple 

Restoration project at Ta Prohm

Today, Ta Prohm remains one of the most visited temples in Angkor Wat, largely due to the trees growing over the ruins and the jungle surroundings (or maybe because Tomb Radier was filmed there?).

Steven and I posing at the scene where Lara Croft "Tomb Radier" movie was filmed

Ta Som is one of the smaller temples in Angkor Wat complex. It was built at the end of the 12th century dedicated to King Jayavarman VII's father, Dharanindravarman II (as mentioned previously). Similar to Ta Prohm temple, the ruins of Ta Som are engulfed by the destruction of the overgrowing trees.   

Overgrowing tree reclaiming parts of Ta Som (above picture)

  Steven and I at Ta Som (above picture) 

We left the temples at around 4pm. Before calling it a day, David took us to a memorial site around our resort dedicated to the horrific genocide of The Khmer Rouge in 1975 to 1979. When the Khmer Rouge was in power, they enforced policies and rules that caused repression and massacres across the country. Cambodia turned into a strict detention center, where anyone (including own members, professionals, or senior leaders) suspected of connections with the former/foreign government were executed. The Khmer Rouge costed the lives of over a million innocent Cambodians. Plus other deaths due to starvation and diseases such as malaria broke out, which resulted in a total number of deaths: 1.7 to 2.5 million. R.I.P.

At the memorial site, there was a viewing glass of a few hundred human skulls and bones that were collected around the Siem Reap area. All of the remains found were left undentified and unknown. Tombs were also built around the memorial where people pay respect to the lost ones. It was a very emotional place, as many Cambodians were affected by the incident.

We didn't`t have much time to explore the memorial site because the weather was starting to act up on us. Strong gusts of wind, sounds of thunder, and rain started to fall. The winds in Cambodia were so strong that tree branches started to fall on the ground! We ended up heading back to the resort to rest for the night.

Posted by Rebecca