Flying to Phnom Penh with Cambodia Angkor Air... with about £70 for a 40-minute flight on an ATR72 propeller plane they really charge a lot. There don't seem to be any other airlines operating domestic flights in Cambodia and therefore they don't have any competition. In comparison flights in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia are really cheap with most flights around £30-40 per person. The flight from Krabi to Bangkok was just £13 per person with Thai Lion Air. OK Lion Air has an airline safety rating of 1/7 and is blacklisted in the EU and USA, but hey at least it was a nice and modern Airbus for that price. ;-)
Thursday, 30 April 2015
Sunday, 26 April 2015
Thursday, 23 April 2015
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Sunday, 19 April 2015
Heading to Rai Ley beach today after 3 days on Koh Phi Phi.
Phi Phi is trashy and very touristy, but we did an amazing overnight trip to Maya Bay (i.e. "The Beach" from the movie) partying and sleeping on an empty beach and swimming at night with fluorescent plankton. Today we did some great diving at nearby Malong and Bida Nok islands.
Friday, 10 April 2015
Day 134 to 136 Langkawi, Malaysia - Beautiful mangrove and a home experience
30 March to 1 April
We had a short "technical stopover" at Langkawi, which is only one hour away by ferry to Koh Lipe, a Thai island highly recommended by our friends. Langkawi is a reasonably posh island and there is no shortage of high end resorts, despite its lack of stunning beaches and pristine water. Thanks to Lars' research, we picked a quite unusual accommodation this time and it gave us a unique experience in Langkawi.
We stayed at a "Tree Top House" - basically it's a bit like tree house except it's just high up in the air, not really on top of a tree! LOL The room turned out to be much smaller than on the pictures and we are almost too tall for the ceiling, but the view is great up there, especially for watching sunset. Surrounded by trees, flowers and occasionally monkeys and other insects, we were able to unwind for a few days. :)
Not sure why, the place has a special calming effect - maybe it's because the bungalows are quite spread out and are surrounded by trees and plants in the garden, or maybe because it is located away from the touristy area and in the middle of the greenery. We saw monkeys in trees behind our bungalow and eagles flying above us one day. Of course, we were also visited by other insects like mosquitoes, grass hoppers, giant wasps, etc. Maria does make the place feel like home. It seems many writers and composers stayed at Top Tree House before to complete their work. I can see how the place was good for the soul and creativity.
The best selling point for Lars was the 5 cats Maria has! Some of them are more sociable than others. The downside is that the Internet was limited and slow.
As for me, the best selling point is, once again, FOOD! I know, how can I possibly eat more! It's a road of no return. Once you start eating a lot, it's hard to stop. LOL. I found the food we had in Langkawi was even better than Penang, because Maria knows where to go. Maria first took us to a local restaurants on the first day with some of the other guests (5 of us plus a baby) and the food (mostly seafood) was delicious and super cheap! For the last 2 days, Maria's sister who is a chef from Penang had returned and cooked for us onsite. She made traditional Malay curry chicken (a typical wedding dish), sweet and sour fried snapper, steamed fish, morning glory, stir fried squid etc. The breakfast was also very good with variety on each morning. Everything was cooked to order and it feels like we had a personal chef!
The only sightseeing we did was a half day mangrove tour. Maria arranged a private boat for us and the Danish couple (and their baby) who were also staying at the resort. We had a great time together boating through the mangroves. It was good we had the boat to ourselves rather than joining a big tour. Along the way, we made a few stops to:
This concludes our time in Malaysia. I found the country easy and friendly to travel and it feels more modern than Indonesia (but maybe because we were only in the big cities/islands in Malaysia?) Also, I didnt have to worry about being ripped off here. There does not seem to be much haggling around or was I too unskillful? :P ... Hopefully one day we will return to visit more places including Borneo island for some diving!
We had a short "technical stopover" at Langkawi, which is only one hour away by ferry to Koh Lipe, a Thai island highly recommended by our friends. Langkawi is a reasonably posh island and there is no shortage of high end resorts, despite its lack of stunning beaches and pristine water. Thanks to Lars' research, we picked a quite unusual accommodation this time and it gave us a unique experience in Langkawi.
We stayed at a "Tree Top House" - basically it's a bit like tree house except it's just high up in the air, not really on top of a tree! LOL The room turned out to be much smaller than on the pictures and we are almost too tall for the ceiling, but the view is great up there, especially for watching sunset. Surrounded by trees, flowers and occasionally monkeys and other insects, we were able to unwind for a few days. :)
When we first arrived at the airport, we were grated by an older woman in A hijab. It turns out she is the owner Maria! Over the next few days, she proved to be a very interesting person. She moved to Langkawi about 5 years ago to take care of her husband. She built the 5 bungalows for her 5 children, some of which now live overseas. She also told us about the miracle cure for her breast cancer by a local spiritual healer. She also had a successful career in HR (she was VP of HR at Hewlett Packard Asia and at Seagate) and had many stories to share. Even for someone who enjoys talking, I was a bit exhausted from chatting with her after 3 days. :)
Not sure why, the place has a special calming effect - maybe it's because the bungalows are quite spread out and are surrounded by trees and plants in the garden, or maybe because it is located away from the touristy area and in the middle of the greenery. We saw monkeys in trees behind our bungalow and eagles flying above us one day. Of course, we were also visited by other insects like mosquitoes, grass hoppers, giant wasps, etc. Maria does make the place feel like home. It seems many writers and composers stayed at Top Tree House before to complete their work. I can see how the place was good for the soul and creativity.
The best selling point for Lars was the 5 cats Maria has! Some of them are more sociable than others. The downside is that the Internet was limited and slow.
As for me, the best selling point is, once again, FOOD! I know, how can I possibly eat more! It's a road of no return. Once you start eating a lot, it's hard to stop. LOL. I found the food we had in Langkawi was even better than Penang, because Maria knows where to go. Maria first took us to a local restaurants on the first day with some of the other guests (5 of us plus a baby) and the food (mostly seafood) was delicious and super cheap! For the last 2 days, Maria's sister who is a chef from Penang had returned and cooked for us onsite. She made traditional Malay curry chicken (a typical wedding dish), sweet and sour fried snapper, steamed fish, morning glory, stir fried squid etc. The breakfast was also very good with variety on each morning. Everything was cooked to order and it feels like we had a personal chef!
The only sightseeing we did was a half day mangrove tour. Maria arranged a private boat for us and the Danish couple (and their baby) who were also staying at the resort. We had a great time together boating through the mangroves. It was good we had the boat to ourselves rather than joining a big tour. Along the way, we made a few stops to:
- watch eagles: there was a spot for watching two kind of eagles - brown and grey; there were quite a few at one spot
- play with the monkeys who came quite close from the mangrove forest; one of which almost stole our bag, but Lars was quicker!
- visit the bat cave: this is a highlight as we can see hundreds of bat hanging from the top and side of the cave! The rock formation was also interesting
- visit a fish farm: it was sad to see that they caught large sting rays and even sharks and are waiting for someone to order them for dinner :(
We had a great time with the lovely Danish couple who also gave us great tips on Vietnam. :)
This concludes our time in Malaysia. I found the country easy and friendly to travel and it feels more modern than Indonesia (but maybe because we were only in the big cities/islands in Malaysia?) Also, I didnt have to worry about being ripped off here. There does not seem to be much haggling around or was I too unskillful? :P ... Hopefully one day we will return to visit more places including Borneo island for some diving!
Thursday, 9 April 2015
Day 130 to 133 Penang Island, Malaysia - Food, Food and More Food
26 to 29 March
We were debating, after KL, if we should visit Cameron Highlands for some greenery or Taman Negara for jungle trekking. And then we convinced ourselves that we want comfort travel after all the hard work in South America! :P So, instead, we ended up going to Penang Island, a decision made rather quickly after a local taxi driver recommended it. He mentioned the words 'good food'. :)
We were debating, after KL, if we should visit Cameron Highlands for some greenery or Taman Negara for jungle trekking. And then we convinced ourselves that we want comfort travel after all the hard work in South America! :P So, instead, we ended up going to Penang Island, a decision made rather quickly after a local taxi driver recommended it. He mentioned the words 'good food'. :)
My overall impression of Penang Island (mainly Georgetown) is that it feels like the largest, the most sophisticated and authentic Chinatown that I have seen outside of China. The town has been declared an UNESCO heritage site in 2008. I can see why - it gives you a glimpse to the past. All the Chinese temples, mansions, store fronts, streets and jetty areas all make me feel it's China stuck in time. In mainland China today, a lot of the history and architect was lost or damaged in the world wars and the more recent culture revolution. So, it was quite interesting for me to see some Chinese culture so intact outside of China. It is also very famous for its cuisine, especially street food (but I still prefer Taipei's night markets for the variety and price). We had our share of food sampling in Penang.
Day 1: We checked in our hotel in the centre of Georgetown late afternoon. We noticed that the staff at the hotel really likes cleaning. We almost got knocked over by the smell of the cleaning solution when we arrived and they are always mopping something - be it the cafeteria or the front lobby. We think we can eat off the floor without getting sick :) We also feel we were at the North Pole as the AC was cranked up to the maximum. I almost got a cold from it. In the evening, we went to Mews Cafe nearby for dinner and the Malaysian curry there was good!
Day 2: We visited the typical touristy sites in Georgetown:
Day 3: We took the cable car to Penang Hill. The way up and way down were steep but it was not fast enough to cause adrenaline rush. We took a walk at the top and saw a large centipede, but quickly returned after 2 hours as we became victims of mosquitos! After we returned to the bottom of the hill, we rewarded ourselves with food (Nasi Lembok) the local desserts (ABC Fruit and Ice Kacang). Lars' ABC Fruit dessert was so yum - it has fruit (mango, dragon fruit, kiwi), veggie (red beans, corn) and jelly (Lychee and other flavors), topped with Ice Cream! Lars said it would be better if it only has fruit and lots of Ice cream - he doesn't see the point of having veggies in desserts! LOL
We went to the big Chinese temple (Kek Lok Si Temple) afterwards. It is located on a hill, so it was a bit of work to get up there. On the way, we saw this small pond filled with more than a hundred turtles! The temple was very nice and quite big, although some statues seem to be made with plastic and cement - so it's not one of those really luxury temple where statues are gold plated or proper stones. I had mixed feelings about this temple because we got stranded on top! So the guy who sold us the lift tickets to see the big statue closed the gate early - we would have to walk half an hour to get down! I was cursing madly and planned to give them shit when I get down. You know Angry Bird? I was like that and ready to explode! Luckily a really kind tour guide saw us and gave us a ride down. So, I didn't bother to go back and teach them a lesson. Lucky them.
In the evening, we watched some Chinese performance at Khoo Kongsi (a big Chinese Clan House) - it has a beautiful temple and an opera stage. The stonework here is quite impressive. The temple looked especially magical with the laterns in the evening. We ended the night with some good and cheap Indian food in Little India - I had the best fresh Indian roti and dosa!
Day 4: We visited the Jetty area and spent more time especially at the Chew Jetty, which has the largest Chinese settlement. It was really nice for me to see how the Chinese settled in many years ago.
Day 1: We checked in our hotel in the centre of Georgetown late afternoon. We noticed that the staff at the hotel really likes cleaning. We almost got knocked over by the smell of the cleaning solution when we arrived and they are always mopping something - be it the cafeteria or the front lobby. We think we can eat off the floor without getting sick :) We also feel we were at the North Pole as the AC was cranked up to the maximum. I almost got a cold from it. In the evening, we went to Mews Cafe nearby for dinner and the Malaysian curry there was good!
Day 2: We visited the typical touristy sites in Georgetown:
- The Blue Mansion: the mansion itself is just OK, not much to see, but it has a very interesting history, and I didn't even know about Cheong Fatt Tze before, don't think we learned that in school in China
- Peranakan House: a beautiful Chinese/Malay house, architecturally more interesting than the Blue Mansion; we also tried the local Cendol dessert in the museum cafeteria for the first time - I quite liked it whereas Lars was lukewarm about the idea of eating an ice cream desert containing beans and corn. :P
- Goddess of Mercy (Guan Yin) Temple: nice temple with a nice Guan Yin statue
- Fort Wallis: historically important but not much to see
- Armenian Street: nice street with plenty street art, it has an artistic and quirky feel to it. We also discovered that there is Little India in Georgetown and planned to come back next day.
For the evening, we went to Kebaya, THE fine dining place in Penang. I felt guilty about dragging Lars to eat here as this restaurant was 10 times more expensive than most other restaurants in Penang. But I told Lars - for London standard, it is still cheap! £25 for 3 course, not too bad! :) The pork belly and beef curry were very good.
Day 3: We took the cable car to Penang Hill. The way up and way down were steep but it was not fast enough to cause adrenaline rush. We took a walk at the top and saw a large centipede, but quickly returned after 2 hours as we became victims of mosquitos! After we returned to the bottom of the hill, we rewarded ourselves with food (Nasi Lembok) the local desserts (ABC Fruit and Ice Kacang). Lars' ABC Fruit dessert was so yum - it has fruit (mango, dragon fruit, kiwi), veggie (red beans, corn) and jelly (Lychee and other flavors), topped with Ice Cream! Lars said it would be better if it only has fruit and lots of Ice cream - he doesn't see the point of having veggies in desserts! LOL
We went to the big Chinese temple (Kek Lok Si Temple) afterwards. It is located on a hill, so it was a bit of work to get up there. On the way, we saw this small pond filled with more than a hundred turtles! The temple was very nice and quite big, although some statues seem to be made with plastic and cement - so it's not one of those really luxury temple where statues are gold plated or proper stones. I had mixed feelings about this temple because we got stranded on top! So the guy who sold us the lift tickets to see the big statue closed the gate early - we would have to walk half an hour to get down! I was cursing madly and planned to give them shit when I get down. You know Angry Bird? I was like that and ready to explode! Luckily a really kind tour guide saw us and gave us a ride down. So, I didn't bother to go back and teach them a lesson. Lucky them.
In the evening, we watched some Chinese performance at Khoo Kongsi (a big Chinese Clan House) - it has a beautiful temple and an opera stage. The stonework here is quite impressive. The temple looked especially magical with the laterns in the evening. We ended the night with some good and cheap Indian food in Little India - I had the best fresh Indian roti and dosa!
Day 4: We visited the Jetty area and spent more time especially at the Chew Jetty, which has the largest Chinese settlement. It was really nice for me to see how the Chinese settled in many years ago.
For lunch, we tried Yeap Noodle, a local noodle place - good home made noodle, but average soup. I tried another street food Chee Cheong Fun after (similar to the Dim Sum Cheong Fun). I had planned to return in the evening to the area to try the Asam Laksa, but it rained heavily so we had to pick something nearby to eat.
Okay, I will remember Penang as where I started to gain weight! We ate so much - Lars fed on the free ice cream from our hotel (available 24/7) where I piled on Chinese street food and dessert (bc most are lactose free!). Second thing I will remember is that I did not have the best luck with the hotel! After first night, one of my bags got flooded in the room by the overflowing water from the broken fridge. My book got wet, but luckily everything else, especially electronics, still works. The manager bought me a few medical supplies as some got wet. Since the hotel offer free laundry, I put in some new clothes I bought in KL for washing. When they came back, 2 of my shorts got massive stains and had to be discarded. The hotel did ask me how much they cost and just paid me without any further questions. So now I only have one pair of shorts to wear! :( Hopefully, I get to do some shopping in Bangkok or China.
Overall, Penang or Georgetown is an interesting little town with nice buildings/areas, temples, culture and food! The added benefit is that everything, especially food, is cheap. We enjoyed our little food adventure in this culture heritage town.
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