After a night of birthday celebrations with out matey in Pokhara and a few other people we met before and others we hadn't, we spent the next day walking around the lake. We tried to get to the Pagoda at the top but after finding no way to get there other than hiring a boat we pathetically gave up and went to a bar to play some scrabble (they had a board) and have some drinks.We met up with Leo and a couple he was with and had another beer and said we would meet them later. As it turned out, we didn't meet them partly because we couldn't find where they were staying and also we were very short of funds. Later that day we bumped into a couple of friends we had met on the trek, Chris and Joke, a dutch couple. After a 7% Nepalese beer we happily passed out at our room. What a productive day. The next two days were spent doing more of the same really but with less beers. Partly because the only thing anyone seems to do in Pokhara is get stoned, and partly because we had no money, we didn't end up doing too much for these days. The highlights were Clare getting an ear piercing, playing cards, watching the Cricket World Cup and me buying a copy of Mein Kampf (honestly nothing to do with all the annoying Israelis we met on the trek). The bus to Kathmandu took 8 hours and I read 1984 and Animal farm on the same journey, a bit of a George Orwell marathon. We found a nice cheapish room and relaxed, its surprising how exhausting sitting down on a bus doing nothing can be. We had three days to spend in Kathmandu with not too much money, and that wasn't a very exciting thought really. We found out that Clare's friend who we were going to stay with in Thailand with had a family problem and had to fly home to England which was really sad for her, and also for Clare who was really looking forward to seeing her. Over the next few days we did our usual chilling out and exploring activity around Kathmandu, checking out Durbar square without paying for it so we couldn't stay long. Our last day in Kathmandu was quite sad as we had found out the night before that my dog Mazy had died the day before so we went out and toasted her and had some nice food and played with a puppy (reincarnation?). We had an early night though as we were to fly to Bangkok the following day. So leaving Nepal was quite sad as we had really enjoyed our time here but we were also happy to be leaving the big cities as we were definitely ready to.
The flight in terms of the steadiness and comfort was horrible, but when you looked out the window it was the most amazing flight we have ever been on. You fly out of Kathmandu and right over the Himalayas so you can see a wide view of all these snowy mountains including Everest, its really a nice way to take off. Arriving in Bangkok is not so beautiful, but it was actually nice arriving somewhere with a bit of a Western feel and 24 hour electricity. Was nice to leave Sari and Curry culture after a long time being within it. Our time in Bangkok was spent shopping around the markets, eating some really good food (Muesli every morning), and also spending a whole day at MBK, a huge shopping center with amazing range of things at really good prices. We bought all the gifts we can carry with us, which isn't very much so the family will have to make do with small things. The day after we shopped, we met a couple who went to St. Gregs a couple of years younger than us, but whose brothers were in Clare's year at school. We went for a beer with them that evening, even though we were still hungover from the night before, which wasn't a very good idea, and we didn't want to become part of the 'lad' culture all over Thailand. We bought bus tickets to Phuket, thinking that south-east Thailand would still be flooded and then spent our last day in Bangkok like every other day. I was told by a market salesman to 'Fuck off Fussy' because I wouldn't buy his t-shirt because it was too big. I also got my ear pierced and spent my last night in Bangkok staying up until 4 in the morning watching the Spurs v Real Madrid game. The bus journey to Phuket, due to leave at 6pm and arrive at 10am, actually left at 9pm and arrived at 5pm but the bus itself was really nice, but it was a shame to waste a whole day on it. In Phuket we stayed in the town as it was the cheapest area to stay and only a bus journey away from the beach areas etc Our Guesthouse was actually the same one that Leonardo Di Caprio stayed in from the film 'The Beach'. If you have seen the film then it is the one where he meets Robert Carlyle. Phuket was very very touristy and expensive but we kept ourselves entertained by buying all our meals and drinks from 7/11 shops and exploring on foot. In general it was very disappointing and we booked a boat to Koh Phi Phi for a few days afterward. Koh Phi Phi is an island that was hit badly by the Tsunami and I have been before with my family just after the Tsunami and the place was a wreck. When me and Clare arrived it was completely unrecognisable and the whole island was covered by hotels and beach bars like it probably was before the Tsunami. We actually found that nobody there even really talked about it. It was a very expensive island but very beautiful and lots of fun. We spent one day going round a few islands from a boat and snorkeling. It was quite good value for money and one of the islands contained 'Maya bay', where 'The Beach' was filmed. We were expecting to be blown away by it but actually, it is really horrible and touristy. The water is dirty and boats are everywhere, including 'Booze cruisers' full of 'lads' getting 'smashed'. The island is a tourist trap where people can camp on the beach for about 50 quid a night. It was OK to spend an hour there but definitely not as good as we were hoping, oh well, back to Koh Phi Phi. Other than that, there is not much to say about Phi Phi apart from that it had quite a nice small memorial park for victims of the Tsunami. Also, I found the area that my family and I were cleaning up when we stayed here about 6 or 7 years ago and that was strange but not too different from how it was then. Even the hotel we stayed in at the time that had survived the Tsunami from being raised on a hill was still there. After Koh Phi Phi, we went to Krabi on the west coast of mainland Thailand. I had been here before as well and although the streets are lined with dive shops, restaurants, bars and resorts, we actually really enjoyed it because it is very quiet. The beach isn't very nice so tourists tend not to stay here. We relaxed here for a couple of days and on our third day here celebrated Songkran (Thai New Year). In the South it is celebrated for only one day as opposed to three up North but it is really crazy. Its just a water fight all day long and people drinking and having fun. Its really cool and not many places in the World could have a New Year as good as that.
Anyway, that was our last stop in Thailand and the South was actually quite disappointing really. Everywhere is crammed with tourists and the prices are so high it put us off really. Even Thai people aren't as nice down south as they are more driven by scams on tourists. We met a few people who have been coming to Thailand for years and years and even they say they wont be coming back because of how bad everything has got. Was a shame really but all in all Thailand was very nice, we just prefer the North and central Thailand around Bangkok I think. We have spent less than a week in Malaysia so far, and have sort of rough plans as to what we are going to do. We have flights to The Phillipines on the 1st of May so in the next twelve days we have to spend getting to Kuala Lumpur. We have already spent a few days on the island of Penang, where we explored the streets which was really fun and also learnt a bit about its history, visited the fort amongst other things. They have some good food there and the whole city has a really nice atmosphere. They have a toy museum, Tropical fruit farm which had really high entrance fees so we didn't go but we did stroll into the floating Mosque, which if it wasn't full of Muslims, would have been really nice. The building was amazing, but Islamic rules and regulations meant we had separate entrances based on gender and things like that so we didn't stay to watch an open prayer session or anything, and didn't stay too long. We have since got a boat from Penang and are now at the Island of Langkawi, which is the main island in a cluster of 99 islands in total. It is quite a nice time to be in Malaysia as its not high season and the weather is still OK. We have spent a couple of days here reading and relaxing and will probably leave tomorrow to go back to the mainland and make our way very slowly down to Kuala Lumpur.
The flight in terms of the steadiness and comfort was horrible, but when you looked out the window it was the most amazing flight we have ever been on. You fly out of Kathmandu and right over the Himalayas so you can see a wide view of all these snowy mountains including Everest, its really a nice way to take off. Arriving in Bangkok is not so beautiful, but it was actually nice arriving somewhere with a bit of a Western feel and 24 hour electricity. Was nice to leave Sari and Curry culture after a long time being within it. Our time in Bangkok was spent shopping around the markets, eating some really good food (Muesli every morning), and also spending a whole day at MBK, a huge shopping center with amazing range of things at really good prices. We bought all the gifts we can carry with us, which isn't very much so the family will have to make do with small things. The day after we shopped, we met a couple who went to St. Gregs a couple of years younger than us, but whose brothers were in Clare's year at school. We went for a beer with them that evening, even though we were still hungover from the night before, which wasn't a very good idea, and we didn't want to become part of the 'lad' culture all over Thailand. We bought bus tickets to Phuket, thinking that south-east Thailand would still be flooded and then spent our last day in Bangkok like every other day. I was told by a market salesman to 'Fuck off Fussy' because I wouldn't buy his t-shirt because it was too big. I also got my ear pierced and spent my last night in Bangkok staying up until 4 in the morning watching the Spurs v Real Madrid game. The bus journey to Phuket, due to leave at 6pm and arrive at 10am, actually left at 9pm and arrived at 5pm but the bus itself was really nice, but it was a shame to waste a whole day on it. In Phuket we stayed in the town as it was the cheapest area to stay and only a bus journey away from the beach areas etc Our Guesthouse was actually the same one that Leonardo Di Caprio stayed in from the film 'The Beach'. If you have seen the film then it is the one where he meets Robert Carlyle. Phuket was very very touristy and expensive but we kept ourselves entertained by buying all our meals and drinks from 7/11 shops and exploring on foot. In general it was very disappointing and we booked a boat to Koh Phi Phi for a few days afterward. Koh Phi Phi is an island that was hit badly by the Tsunami and I have been before with my family just after the Tsunami and the place was a wreck. When me and Clare arrived it was completely unrecognisable and the whole island was covered by hotels and beach bars like it probably was before the Tsunami. We actually found that nobody there even really talked about it. It was a very expensive island but very beautiful and lots of fun. We spent one day going round a few islands from a boat and snorkeling. It was quite good value for money and one of the islands contained 'Maya bay', where 'The Beach' was filmed. We were expecting to be blown away by it but actually, it is really horrible and touristy. The water is dirty and boats are everywhere, including 'Booze cruisers' full of 'lads' getting 'smashed'. The island is a tourist trap where people can camp on the beach for about 50 quid a night. It was OK to spend an hour there but definitely not as good as we were hoping, oh well, back to Koh Phi Phi. Other than that, there is not much to say about Phi Phi apart from that it had quite a nice small memorial park for victims of the Tsunami. Also, I found the area that my family and I were cleaning up when we stayed here about 6 or 7 years ago and that was strange but not too different from how it was then. Even the hotel we stayed in at the time that had survived the Tsunami from being raised on a hill was still there. After Koh Phi Phi, we went to Krabi on the west coast of mainland Thailand. I had been here before as well and although the streets are lined with dive shops, restaurants, bars and resorts, we actually really enjoyed it because it is very quiet. The beach isn't very nice so tourists tend not to stay here. We relaxed here for a couple of days and on our third day here celebrated Songkran (Thai New Year). In the South it is celebrated for only one day as opposed to three up North but it is really crazy. Its just a water fight all day long and people drinking and having fun. Its really cool and not many places in the World could have a New Year as good as that.
Anyway, that was our last stop in Thailand and the South was actually quite disappointing really. Everywhere is crammed with tourists and the prices are so high it put us off really. Even Thai people aren't as nice down south as they are more driven by scams on tourists. We met a few people who have been coming to Thailand for years and years and even they say they wont be coming back because of how bad everything has got. Was a shame really but all in all Thailand was very nice, we just prefer the North and central Thailand around Bangkok I think. We have spent less than a week in Malaysia so far, and have sort of rough plans as to what we are going to do. We have flights to The Phillipines on the 1st of May so in the next twelve days we have to spend getting to Kuala Lumpur. We have already spent a few days on the island of Penang, where we explored the streets which was really fun and also learnt a bit about its history, visited the fort amongst other things. They have some good food there and the whole city has a really nice atmosphere. They have a toy museum, Tropical fruit farm which had really high entrance fees so we didn't go but we did stroll into the floating Mosque, which if it wasn't full of Muslims, would have been really nice. The building was amazing, but Islamic rules and regulations meant we had separate entrances based on gender and things like that so we didn't stay to watch an open prayer session or anything, and didn't stay too long. We have since got a boat from Penang and are now at the Island of Langkawi, which is the main island in a cluster of 99 islands in total. It is quite a nice time to be in Malaysia as its not high season and the weather is still OK. We have spent a couple of days here reading and relaxing and will probably leave tomorrow to go back to the mainland and make our way very slowly down to Kuala Lumpur.
