Thailand Ticked Off

These holidays Pete and I travelled to Thailand to get the sun that we so missed last NZ summer.  Unfortunately the weather gods were not with us and I think I can honestly say it rained EVERY day.  Yes I know it was their rainy season so we could expect some rain but just like England now Thailand is having unseasonably high rainfall.  

So no sitting beside the pool catching the rays and downing cocktails so what did we do instead.  Like every good kiwi we got on and enjoyed the sights on offer.  At least the weather was still hot (around 34 degrees most days) so the best wet weather protection was an umbrella as jackets soon became too hot.  Our first stop was Phuket, our resort at Kata Beach was well situated and very well presented.  Don't think I have ever stayed in such a quiet place in terms of no noise from adjoining rooms. One does need to sleep with the air conditioning going all night though because of the heat and I can assure you they are not Mitsubishi super quiet ones, however one soon gets used to them.  Breakfasts at the resort were fabulous although at the beginning of the holiday we were having several courses eg cooked breakfast, pastries, yoghurt and fruit but by the end we were so over them it was just fruit for me. 

Pete on our room balcony overlooking the pool

Breakfast

Out the main driveway of the resort and we were straight into the shopping area of Kata with a short stroll to the beach.  Every second shop was a massage parlor so one of our first treats was a shoulder, neck, back and head Thai massage each.  Did I say treat?  After having being elbowed, knee'd, pulled, stretched and plummelled  while on a thin mat on the floor, we felt a bit sore and yes even bruised.  At only around $15 each for an hour it was good value for the experience. 

Kata Beach

Our second day we ventured out on a guided tour of the Island.  The day started out fine but our first stop was a look out which was where the rain started and we looked out over nothing - its amazing how quick the rain rolls over.  We went on a short elephant trek which was great fun until Lily (our elephant) decided she had an itch so stopped to scratch her side on a tree, this had us rocking side to side, and considering the belt that held us in was of no use, I was sure we were going to end up on the ground.  The driver then grabbed a barbed stick and was whacking Lily on the head to get her moving again. Poor animal. 

Lily

The elephant in front, truly a rainforest this day

We also visited a cashew nut factory, a farm where we were shown how they tapped rubber and made it into a solid mass, rode on a cart drawn by a water buffalo (what a massive beast) and as I was sitting at the front of the cart I hoped that he wouldn't lift his tail for a poo as I'm sure I would have worn some of it. We went to a Buddhist Temple, Old Phuket Town where we visited a Chinese Temple and an  100 year old Chinese Mansion as the Chinese played quite a part in the history of Thailand.  We also went to see "The Big Buddha" that is being built high up on a hill.  All in all a great day.  

Another day we went on a speed boat trip to Phi Phi Island which included stopping off at other Islands, going into Lagoons for swimming and snorkelling and generally cruising around.  This day was a lot of fun and made even more so by rough seas which had the boat thumping down off the waves.  This trip was mainly young Asians with us and they got very upset at our first stop for a swim in a sheltered bay as a dived straight in whilst they were all putting life jackets on to go swimming in!  Pete was still in the boat getting ready and he understood that apparently they thought I would drown.  The guide with us explained to them that Kiwis can swim.  

Lagoon for a swim

Coming into Phi Phi Island

The second place we stopped for snorkelling there were so many fish and they were eating the bread from my hand.  Lunch and some free time was on Phi Phi Island which has a few resorts and shops, a lovely Island and a great day with the rain holding off until about 2 in the afternoon.  A few days on we did another boat trip out to James Bond Island made famous by the 1970's James Bond movie "The Man with The Golden Gun".  Another great day with visits to several Islands and bays, canoeing through caves and exploring the mangrove swamps.  Lunch was at a Sea Gypsy Village (a floating village) where after lunch we were shown around the village.  Very squalid and extremely smelly and so sad to see how the people lived there.  Must say all the children in the school seemed very happy though. 

Looking out from a cave we visited

What we were told to do

The pose we struck

Pete having a go, our paddler behind him relaxing

On the boat

A floating soccer pitch at the Sea Gypsy Village.  Dual purpose, soccer and if they miss the ball, swimming lessons

Sea Gypsy Village

On the days that we didn't do organised tours, we explored around Phuket Island by Tuk-Tuks mainly and once very bravely by bus.  We also walked heaps so for me that was a good excuse to enjoy a fish pedicure followed by an hour long foot massage, once again only approx $15 and pure bliss.  Michelle, the fish were twice the size and about 10 times as many as our fish pedicure at Camden Market.  I thought I'd have no toes left at the end!  

We went to Patong a couple of times, once during the day and once at night to experience "Bangla Rd" home of the night clubs and the "lady boys".  An interesting night!  No, we didn't go to a Ping Pong show even though every few yards one got approached to go to one.

Patong Beach

After a week on Phuket we flew to Bangkok to spend 4 days there.  Unfortunately our last night in Phuket Pete went down with diarrhoea and was most unwell.  We had medication from the doctor so I started him on that straight away and he was well enough the next day for our flight and trip into our hotel.  By this time I was unwell and after a short walk around the immediate area of the hotel had to take to bed with both D & V.    There I spent the next 24 hours, not a pleasant experience.  Meanwhile Pete also had a relapse. When we felt well enough to go out and about again, we got ourselves to the Sky Train (there was a station close to our hotel) where we caught the train into the big MBK Shopping Complex.  This complex was amazing because of the size of it but as far as I was concerned, just fill of crap!  A few hours and it was back to the hotel for another rest, we were both amazed at how weak we felt although considering we were not eating probably no wonder.  The next day we were well enough to do our tour, which had been planned for the day before, of the Golden Buddha, the Reclining Buddha and the Royal Temple. 

Reclining Buddha

5.5 ton solid gold Buddha

 These are all listed as must sees when you are in Bangkok and were pretty impressive but somehow the poverty right outside the gates of these treasures  takes the gloss off.  The next day we did a trip out to Damnern Saduak floating markets, an hour and a half's drive out of Bangkok.  It was neat to get out of the city and see life beyond and to experience the floating markets.  Nathan, here was where we finally saw and bought some sticky rice and mango.  I was surprised you liked it, thought it would be too sweet for you. 

Mango and Sticky Rice at last

Even the floating markets are after the tourist dollar

Floating markets from a bridge

Cuddles at the floating market

And kisses! (No tongues though)

 

Around our hotel the streets were fill of markets,some of which were there all the time but from mid afternoon further stall holders arrived to set up and work late into the night.  Prostitutes were everywhere and the night I was on my death bed Pete went out on his own. I think he lost count of how many times he was propositioned. They must  keep busy though as one night when we went out for a stroll we passed 5 of them in a short space, about 10 mins later when we came back the same way there was only 1 left.  Viagra, Cialis and all sorts of other drugs and aids were readily available at the markets.  I'm sure sales were good considering some of the old guys I saw chatting up Thai ladies.

No comment

I was pleased that Nathan had warned us to shop around in Thailand and to be forceful and wary and to bargin hard e.g.  One of our trips to Islands in Phuket we got for 2600 Baht for both of us, at resort it was going to be 6200 baht. On Phuket tuk tuk drivers were good, negotiate a price and they took you straight to your destination but in Bagkok they would want to take you via a shop so we would just say no and walk away. Food and alcohol was very cheap (although not wine) and of course shopping was cheap too although not sure how long my Jimmy Choo handbags will last for!

Back home to the cold and unfortunately we are both still unwell, this tummy upset keeps coming back to bite us.  We are now on antibiotics for it and still not eating much. I was so looking forward to a decent coffee and yet still cannot face one.  The first holiday I have ever been on where I have come home weighing less than when I went (although not my bags)

Shanghai

We arrived in Shanghai tired and emotionally drained.  We had a 5am wake up call in Athens, 5.30am left for airport, 8.30am left Athens for Heathrow. The flight was 4 hours but with time differences we arrived at Heathrow at 10.30am to be met by Michelle and Nathan B who had come to see us and help us get through a 5 hour stopover before our flight to Shanghai. It was great to see the kids again but hard having to part knowing it would be some time before we would see them again.  However they are all well and happy and having such a great time seeing as much as they can.  Their experiences will last them a lifetime and I am very envious.

We left Heathrow at 3.30pm and after a 11.50  hour flight arrived in Shanghai at 10.00am the next day.  We flew Virgin Atlantic for this section of our travel and they were an excellent air line.  Got the full pack of give aways containing socks, eye mask, toothbrush and paste and a pen whereas Air NZ gave us nothing even on our 24 hour flight from NZ to London.  I did get a toothbrush and some paste when I asked for one but I noticed there was only a couple of brushes to give out.  Food on Virgin was also very tasty, I thought better than our big Air NZ flight but then on our flight from Shanghai to Auckland with Air NZ the food would have been the best we had.

We were met by our guide Maria (a Chinese lady of indeterminate age) who was to be our guide for the next four days and Mr (sounded like shit) who was our driver. First impressions of Shanghai driving in from the airport were that it was a very vast yet clean city. 23 million people live in Shanghai so once again like Istanbul lots of multi story apartment buildings for housing.  Our hotel, The Bund Riverside, was not as the name suggests by the Bund River but certainly not far from it and we could see it from our room on the 16th floor.

Window seat in our Hotel Room

Views from our room.  This is not The Bund River but a subsidary

After being dropped at our hotel around mid day the rest of that day was free time. We were not far from a main shopping street where there were lots of "Western" shops ie Zara, Espirit, Lacoste etc in big shopping malls.  We made our way here through side streets which is where we saw the seedier side of Shanghai. We lunched and had a look around, headed back to the hotel for a rest and then out again for our dinner. We got a couple of Chinese dishes from a restaurant in one of the malls as weren't game to try some of the more "authentic" take aways.  

Our guide arranged to pick us up in the hotel lobby at 9.30am the next morning.  As this was late for us we didn't bother setting an alarm as we were sure we would awaken hours earlier.  However we slept in until 8.45am, unheard of for Pete, so it was a quick scramble for showers and breakfast.  The day started with a tour of Yu Gardens in the Old China part of Shanghai. It is a traditional Chinese garden with many Pavilions linked by corridors and bridges over ponds.

A Pavilion in Yu Gardens

Yu Gardens

Bridge of 9 turns -evil spirits have problems with corners and therefore cannot follow you

After the gardens we were taken to a shop for a traditional tea ceremony.  We tried several teas but of course the real reason we were there was to BUY the tea and cups etc.  We did get some green tea and paid 100 yuan for it, the same amount in the shop in our hotel lobby was 30 yuan! Difference of NZ$20 as opposed to NZ$6.  Next stop was for lunch which was in a very nice restaurant and as lunches for our guided days were all included in the cost of our tour, we were bought out the food and had a choice of drinks. BUT there is always a catch.  This restaurant was right next door to (and obviously part of the business) a Pearl and Jade factory.  We were shown how freshwater and sea water pearls are grown with a couple of oysters being opened in front of us, this was interesting, but then it was onto the selling. Not only do they try to sell you something but also something for the daughters.  I said to Pete once we got out for goodness sake from now on we have no children if we're asked.  Sorry Mich and Al nothing for you. Next we were taken to the Shanghai Museum which is in a modern well set out building.  We were given a couple of hours to wander through this ourselves which was great as we could spend time at things we were interested in.  There special display  for a couple of months was "Maori" with everything on display from the Otago Museum.  By now it was raining and our next stop was a walk beside the Bund River which would have been great in fine weather but was not very pleasant in the pouring rain.  Our guide was not to be deterred though and still prattled on about this building and that building in great depth.  Pete was on the verge of telling her we had had enough when eventually she called for the driver to pick us up.

Jasmine Tea

Beautiful Ming Plate

We had a couple of hours to have our dinner and then we were being picked up at 7.30pm to be taken on a night cruise of the Bund River to see all the buildings lit up.  This is obviously "the thing to do" when in Shanghai as there were several boats doing about three trips a night.  We certainly enjoyed the evening. However it was somewhat interrupted as we ourselves experienced a little of what being famous must feel like.  We were the only Europeans on our boat and as our guide later explained a lot of the Chinese on board would be from areas that aren't freely accessible to Europeans and they would not have seen any before.  Hence we kept getting asked to be photographed with them or with their children.  If they didn't actually ask to be photographed with us they would take our photos when we were just standing looking at the sights and you could feel them watching us and talking about us.  Really weird.  

Even the boats are lit up

Shanghai by night

Our last full day in Shanghai started with an hour trip out of town to Zhujiajiao which is an ancient water town with a history of more than 1700 years. It is known as the Venice of Asia.  This was the only place where we had to use squat toilets! To start with we were shown another traditional Chinese garden but on a much smaller scale than Yu Gardens and nowhere near as impressive.  Quite ho hum. We were then taken on a walk around the town and taken to lunch.  I was a bit worried as this area was fairly "uncivilised". The restaurant was one of the better eating establishments and once again we were given a couple of dishes with no choosing by us.  The traditional pork one which was on a lot of stalls we passed was more fat than meat.  We were then let loose to wander around and meet our guide 45 minutes later.  I didn't like this area, felt uncomfortable, with shop holders trying to intice us to buy.  We made our way to the boats and got a ride back to our meeting place.  This was the best  part of the day.

Canal boat

Views of the canals

My only regret of the day was that I did not buy some of these little turtles and let them go

Our boatmen kept insisting he take our photo, he had amazing sign language skills.

The last stop of the day was at a Silk Factory where we were shown the process of harvesting and spinning silk (we had seen this at the carpet factory in Turkey). Then of course, yes you guessed it, the hard sell. The sales lady in this shop was particularly obnoxious so there was no way I was going to buy anything.  I must admit the silk duvet inners were exceptional value at NZ $120.  For our last night we decided to shout ourselves a meal at the hotel to use up the yuan we had left.  We chose the Western restaurant over the Asian one.

Shanghai was certainly somewhere different to visit, although I was more than ready to leave.  Our guide was lovely but she has obviously never been anywhere else and is so proud of Shanghai.  She needs to get out and see the rest of the world.

e.g Behind this netting is what our guide proudly told us was a golf course! More like a very small driving range.

Stunning Santorini

We travelled from Mykonos to Santorini on Friday after waiting for 1 hour in the blazing sun on the wharf.  The ferry was running late due to rough seas.  The trip over was a bit bumpy and rocky which didn't worry Pete and I but a few people were sick or complaining of feeling unwell.  All added to the fun really. 

Santorini is just as you see it in the photos (obviously!).  From our hotel you can see the sea on both sides of the Island.  Coming in on the ferry you see the steep side of the island and the towns are dotted along the top ridge.  Quite an amazing sight.  Our hotel is a five minute walk to the main town of Thira where we caught a bus from yesterday to the sea side town of Kamari.  Written up as having coarse black sand, yeah right, really it was a stoney beach.  This could be a new description for Napier, and the waves were even dumping in like Napier.

Kamari Beach

The swimming beaches at Mykonos were just like Lake Taupo, hardly a ripple on them, and really sandy.   Anyway Kamari still covered in deck chairs and sun umbrellas that of course you could hire for the day.  Even at 10 in morning some people had staked their claim.  Kamari is on the side of the Island that you don't see when coming in by ferry which doesn't have the steep inclines up from the beach. Back in Thira we decided to walk the Caldera a 3 km walk from town centre to the highest point of Thira.  Absolutely amazing views but by this time it was early afternoon so very hot.  Also of course had to walk 3kms back didn't we.  I'm sure normal people would have got a bus.  Then because that wasn't enough hard work, in the evening we walked down to the old port, hundreds and hundreds of steps and then got a donkey ride back up.  Lot of fun but a bit scary when the donkey just starts walking and you have no reins or anything to control it with (and they don't understand English!)  

On the Caldera walk

View of the cruise ships at Thira from the Caldera walk

Another view on Caldera walk which shows how high up we were

So many photo opportunities

The donkey ride

Today we have caught another bus to Oia (pronounced e a) which is right on the end of the island and was devasted by an earthquake in 1956.  With the rebuilding power supply went underground so amazing photos with no power lines.   There as lots of artists shops (and souvenirs) as well as lots of photo opportunities.  Also had to have what they called a cup of coffee in a cafe just so we could admire the amazing views.

At the Cafe

Views from Oia

Thira has lots of narrow winding streets with all sorts of shops and many hours could be wasted just wandering among them.  Some places one got to browse freely but in a lot of places as soon as you walked in the door someone was tailing you giving you the sales talk.  Nowhere near as bad as Turkey though.  


A great week of sun, relaxation and stunning views.  We were very sorry to leave these magical islands and head back to Athens to start our homeward journey.  Once again the ferry was running an hour late and lost another hour on the four hour journey to Athens so by the time we got to our hotel it was 6.30pm. Unfortunately no chance for sight seeing as we had a 5.00am wake up call next morning for our flight to Heathrow.

Interestingly, our thoughts had been that maybe we should have seen more of the Greek Islands as we had enjoyed the two we did stay on.  However on the ferry to Athens we met an Australian family, Mother and her adult children, and they had done 4 islands in 10 days but were saying that they felt they would have been better to have done less islands and stayed longer on the ones they did. They said after a while they all seemed the same.