Adventures in Australia and South East Asia: Seim Reap,Bangkok,Chumphon,Koh Tau

March 15,16,17, 18,19, 2012.

From Seim Reap to Bangkok and on to Chumphon.

Day started by being up at 5:30 AM to get picked up to take us to our van. We have paid extra for a van rather than a bus as we want to be in Bangkok in the early afternoon to catch the bus to Chumphon.

Tuk-tuk finally arrived and we were taken to a local backpackers hostel and had to wait for the van, which arrived and we were off to Bangkok. The ride was uneventful and we arrived at the Thailand border, we dropped off and had to go through Cambodian departure / immigration centre, then walk 300 meters to the Thailand immigration center to have our passports stamped. We have a 15 day visa and it did not cost anything. Then we had to walk to the van and then on to Bangkok. When you book a bus or van do not trust that it will be exactly the same as the one pictured on the brochure for the trip. The van will usually get you where you paid to go but the drop off zones may be a little bit different than what you had expected. But traveling on a budget is a great experience. $17.00 from Seim Reap to Bangkok, about 525 kilometer, and the air conditioner worked and we were not crowded.

The countryside in Cambodia is very flat, so in open areas you can see for miles, very rural with lots of small villages.

Arrived in Bangkok at 2:20PM want to get the 2:45 train to Chumphon, so off the van onto a tuktuk and off to the railway station with only minutes to spare, a very friendly tourist person has helped us to get our tickets and we boarded the train for a very leisurely trip. Train is very modern and did not cost much, 1330 Bot which is about $12:00 each, and we will be on the train for 8 hours, do not know how many miles we will travel. The only complaint was that the air conditioning on the train was set so cold that we had to put on extra clothing to keep warm and then upon arrival in Chumphon we had to remove the extra clothing as it was very warm out side. We arrive in Chumphon at about 10:30 PM and will stay here for one night.

Stayed at the Fame Guest House, not bad for the price $10.00 for the night and then in the morning we are off to Koh Tao by fast ferry, but first a 20 minute bus ride to the ferry wharf, then a 2 hour ride on a fast cat to the island. Not having been able to book a room, we arrived and had to search out one, tried several before we found the Sairee Cottages. Will cost us 6400 B which is about $150.00 for four days, but this is high season and thing are a bit more than usual. But we are staying just off the beach and can walk to this open type restaurant and sit and drink tea and look out at the beach and it has wireless to can get all my email and do my blog. Have booked zip lining and snorkeling for this afternoon. So beautiful here.

Zip lining was great fun but did not do any snorkeling this afternoon, was just too hot so sat in the shade and relaxed.

Second full day here and I am going to the post office to post some post cards, but cooler today and so I will go exploring, Elicia has gone rock climbing and boldering for the day. She has book several dives for tomorrow so I think I will do a trip around the island – did not take the trip as it is far too expensive if just one person if doing it.
This is a beautiful place and if you are young or a avid diver or snorkeler then this is the ideal place to be . For the older traveler however there is not much too do and they do not cater to this age group.
I have explored the beach area , gone to the shops and walked down to the other beach and gone out to the smaller island near by but that is about all there is to do because to hire a boat or taxi to go anywhere by one's self is far to expensive for the time traveled.
The food is good and although the internet is rather spotty at times, can usually find some place where one can use there computer.
We have stayed at Sairee Beach, in the Sairee Cottages, good value for the price but the staff are a bit too laid back at times and get the impression that do not really care at times.
So if you are going to visit here keep this in mind and check out the accommodations before you arrive.
March 21, 2012.
Have booked to go to Krabi where Elicia wants to go rock climbing. Will check it out today and see what there is that I might be able to do , definitely not going rock climbing.