Thailand: Koh Lanta

We got on an 11.30am ferry from Koh Phi Phi to Koh Lanta which took around 2 hours and cost around 400Baht, (£9 per person). The ferry this time wasn't too much of a problem for anyone, the sea was very calm and there were outside seating areas for fresh air. Arriving into Koh Lanta we again had no accommodation booked as all the options we had found online were a little out of our budget. Getting off the ferry we found a tuk-tuk driver who said he knew of a few cheaper places so we hopped in expecting to view a few rooms before finding one that suited us. 

We were pleasantly surprised when we pulled up to our first location The Leaf House Bungalow. It was a small garden area with a few two storey beach shacks surrounding it, with a larger hut used as a social area and numerous smaller undercover seating areas, all within a stones throw of the beach. We all jumped out of the tuk-tuk thinking that this place was going to be well over our budget. The lady said that the only room she had available was a 5 bed dorm room above the social area, and upon showing us we completely fell in love. We negotiated a good price for the room and even got ourselves a free breakfast thrown in. 

We were all feeling pretty excited about having the beach so close, so we got into our swimwear and headed straight there. Rebecca and Sophie being the most excited of us all, literally dumped their stuff and ran into the sea. After about 20 seconds there were a lot screams coming from Rebecca and we all started panicking thinking she had got into some sort of trouble. As fast as she ran into the sea was as fast as she ran out of it again! She comes over to us claiming that she is covered in this horrible slimy stuff, which we later found out to be jellyfish babies! Luckily enough they were too young to sting yet, but from then on nobody wanted to enter the water. Because of this we found that lying on the beach was complete torture as we couldn't enter the sea to cool down. After only an hour or so Bethan and Sarah gave up and walked back to the Bungalow. That night we were delighted to find so many cats living at the hostel. The cutest one was this white and grey one who took a special liking to us and even followed us up the stairs to bed.

The next day we were all feeling like we had had enough of the sunbathing so we headed out to a coffee shop for some food and a few cups of coffee. After an amazing feed we wandered up and down the main road going in and out of a few shops. But, the area in which we were staying didn't really have too much to see so it wasn't long before we found ourselves at the bungalow again. Missing our scuba diving we thought watching Finding Nemo would be a good idea - of which we all enjoyed (even Rebecca)! That evening we headed out for a walk on the beach to check out some of the food places. We settled into one of the restaurants, ordered the same amazing pasta dish and Sarah ordered a pizza which we thoroughly enjoyed. 

After a short 2 night stay we decided that there wasn't really enough to see here, so we decided to move on to Krabi. Sorry for the lack of pictures but we really didn't do too much. 

Beach Time!

Seating Area at the Bungalow

Yummmmyyy!

Our cat friend for a couple of days

The Happy Wanderers

♥

Cambodia: Sihanoukville

We got the bus from Phnom Penh down to the beaches of Sihanoukville for some well deserved beach time after all the history lessons of Cambodia. We decided to stay in Led Zephur Hostel on Serendipity Beach. We had heard that this was the more lively section of Sihanoukville and was advised to seek accommodation on a more chilled area, however we felt that a more busy location would be suitable for some party time, and we could always do a day to another more quiet area for some relaxing. On arrival at the hostel we were amazed to find a Sunday roast on the menu and quickly jumped at the chance - we were not disappointed! After months and months of seeing pictures every Sunday on Facebook and getting suuuuuuuper jealous, we finally had our own roast dinner to devour, oh god the gravy!

After stuffing ourselves silly we took a wander down the road to the beach front. We were soon ambushed by a group of small children trying to sell us string bracelets/anklets. We politely refused their offer but they proceeded to follow us anyway and it wasn't long before we had a group of them join us at our table while we ate. We didn't mind though, we had lots of fun chatting with them and taking selfies. Bethan was sporting a 'double bun' hairstyle that day which was quite the hit with the children. They kept asking why she had a hairstyle that looked like a cat - "meeeowwww" haha! It was cute to make these little friends because for the remainder of our stay they would spot us on the beach and come over for a while to sit with us. They even made us all friendship bracelets of our favourite colours for no charge whatsoever.

With everyone in high spirits we spotted a fire show going on at JJ's Playground just a few bars down, so we headed over for a closer look. We were happy to find an amazing drinks offer - buy one get three free, for a tiny 40p! We settled onto a table and were mesmerised by the skills of the fire show. It wasn't long before one of the guys, Danny, decided to join us and even convinced Rebecca to have a go herself. As you can imagine this didn't end well, Rebecca attempted to twirl the fire stick around a few times and decided it was too hot so dropped it on the floor. The table next door seemed very impressed with Rebecca's efforts and decided to leave us 2 beer towers as they were heading back home and we proceeded to dance the night away - thanks Mr Hong Kong!

After that heavy night we decided to check out the more chilled area of Sihanoukville, so asked a tuk-tuk driver to take us to Otres Beach. We were met with just a few beach shacks along the beach front but decided to take refuge on a deserted section of the beach under a palm tree. We had a wonderful day dipping in an out of the sea and sipping fresh coconut water. Soon enough the sun was setting so we went into one of the restaurants for dinner, where we were treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets we've seen to date!

So that's our Cambodian Trip all over with - now for a 20 hour bus ride back to Bangkok to apply for our Myanmar Visas!

Dinnerrrrrr!

Serendipity Beach

Drinks with Danny

Courtesy of 'Mr Hong Kong'

Otres Beach

Otres Beach

Sunset at Otres Beach

The Happy Wanderers

♥

Cambodia: Battambang

Next stop in Cambodia was Battambang, a little town not too far from Siem Reap. Despite being Cambodia's second most populous city, it has a real small town feel which we really liked after the hustle and bustle of Siem Reap, especially at New Year's. The city centre itself is quite compact and we walked around it all by foot in barely no time at all. After the 5 hour journey on a local bus which was an experience in itself, we arrived at our hostel, Chaya Hotel, which we had booked as a 5 bed dorm. What we actually got was a box room with 4 mattresses on the floor and two ceiling fans which looked like they might fall into our heads at any moment. Not ones to complain, we snuggled up on our giant floor bed and researched what we wanted to do that day.

We managed to hire a tuk-tuk for the day for around $12 between us all which was a bargain. First stop was the Bamboo Train (the  term 'train' being used loosely). It was literally a large bamboo platform mounted on train axles and was powered by a small go-kart engine. We sat on little pillows while our driver drove us down the track. The journey consisted of an hour of clickety clacking along misaligned tracks and very rickety bridges. It was a single line track so when two trains meet the one with the fewest passengers has to disassemble their train and move off the track for the other to pass. It was certainly an experience but a very fun one at that.

Next up we visited the Killing Cave of Phnom Sampov. From the outside you see beautiful lonesome caves in the Cambodian countryside but inside you learn of the tragic genocide horrors that occurred just a few years ago. The cave is located halfway up a mountain which is covered with beautiful temples and beautiful lookout points over the village below. There is a concrete road and looooooads of steps up the mountain and back down again which peek into caves - the most fascinating being the Killing Cave. The cave is huge inside, complete with a huge reclining golden Buddha lying across the whole cave. As you walk down the stairs into the cave, however, the atrocities that occurred in this spot become increasingly apparent. A massive cage full of bones catches your eye on one side of the room while on the other is another memorial of human remains in a glass box. The bones belong to all different types of people who were killed by the Khmer Rouge in the cave itself. At the top of the cave is the natural skylight which the Khmer Rouge marched people to, lining them up, then bludgeoning them and letting their bodies fall into the cave to eventually die. It's a really eerie place to visit but it really made us appreciate how lucky we are to have such freedoms in our lives. We didn't stay down in the cave too long because it made us feel really drained and uneasy so headed back onto the mountain track to get a glimpse of some more of the beautiful views around us.

After exploring the mountain for a while we headed back down to ground level to find the Bat Cave. At 5:30 every evening around 3 million bats fly out of the cave in the mountain into the wilderness before returning back 12 hours later. We're not the biggest fans of bats but this was actually pretty cool to see! 

The most exciting time in Battambang, however, was the decision by Rebecca to get her hair cut at a hairdressers. In typical Rebecca form, this was a spur of the moment idea. After a mini debate with the lady in the shop who barely spoke a word of English, she managed to agree a deal of $4 for a dry cut. Minutes later (speediest haircut in history) Becca emerged from the shop with inches off her hair, and unfortunately off her fringe too. And an inch is definitely a lot in fringe terms. See below for the transformation!

All in all, our whistle stop tour of Battambang was a pretty good one. We learnt a little about the French colonisation of the town and the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime, saw some pretty cool sights, and also got ourselves a well deserved rest after the busy few days in Siem Reap. Win!

Next stop - Phnom Penh!

Bamboo Train

Phnom Sampeau Temple

Phnom Sampeau Temple

Phnom Sampeau Temple

The bats leaving the cave

Beautiful Sunset

Nice Fringe Bec!


The Happy Wanderers♥

India: Udaipur

So, we were the original three Happy Wanderers again and with all of India at our feet it was a hard decision where to go next. After a hectic two weeks with our friends, it's fair to say we were exhausted and could do with some chill out time. Reading up on place after place, we decided on Udaipur, Rajasthan which is described as 'The Venice of India' - ideal! We hopped on our 7 hour train journey and settled into our hostel in no time. We stayed in yet another Zostel which had the most amazing views across Lake Pichola. It wasn't long before the peace of the city was ruined by a large family staying at the hostel to celebrate Diwali, all of varying ages from around 4 to 40. They spent all day and night sitting on the roof terrace making so much noise it was unbearable - we were beginning to think that sleeping for more than 4 hours was a crime in India! Luckily the family were only present for the first 2 nights of our stay, which meant we eventually got the rest we so desperately needed. 

Udaipur is like no other place we visited in Rajasthan, it's very much a safe haven for travellers. We had very little hassle from shops and rickshaws, no beggars or street children and the most amazing selection of cute cafes - what more could we ask for! Pretty much all we did during our time in Udaipur was eat, eat, eat... chat to the locals, chill out, then eat some more haha! Anyone who has travelled in India will understand that getting into a conversation with a local can sometimes cause trouble as they are more than likely just trying to sell you something. It starts off as a friendly chat of 'Where do you come from?', 'What is your job?' etc.. but ultimately they are interested in how much money you are going to give them. We get it, they're making a living, but sadly this makes you weary of getting chatting to the next person for fear of letting them down when you genuinely can't buy another pashmina! You'll be happy to know that Udaipur was not like this at all. We chatted to countless people whilst roaming around the shops, all of which were just interested in getting to know a little bit about us and our culture - it was like a breath of fresh air. 

We ate more food and visited more cafes than we care to admit during our stay in Udaipur. The best of which were Millets of Mewar and Lotus Cafe. 

Millets of Mewar: Strives itself on serving healthy vegan foods. The variety on the menu was amazing, all at a decent price. For dinner we ordered pizza, chickpea masala and cookies. We enjoyed so much that we went back for breakfast the next morning where we ordered mixed fruit porridge, nutella pancakes, breakfast burittos and coffee and ice-cream (all of which was claimed to be healthy so we didn't feel too bad!). The atmosphere in the restaurant was what gave Millets its personality - the entire first floor is covered with floor seating and you can get some great views of the lake. The service was a little slow on occasion, but this was understandable considering how busy it got during dinner time. 

Lotus Cafe: Conveniently located in the centre of the town, we stumbled into Lotus Cafe on a whim after looking for somewhere with a decent menu. Once we saw the cheap prices we decided it was worth a try - turns out it was soo yummy we went back a total of 5 times! Every time we were met by the cutest waiter who was happy to accommodate any request we had - swapping salad for baked beans was a Samantha special! Lotus Cafe was located upon a rooftop with views across to the City Palace which looked so beautiful lit up at night time.

After all the delicious food we thought it was time for some culture so we gave Jagdish Temple a visit. This temple is right in the centre of Udaipur so cannot be missed. Walking around the temple itself the detail of the building is so intricate with tiny elephants, people, flowers and patterns carved into the pillars. We stood at the back of the main shrine to watch and listen as women and children chanted and sang to worship Lord Vishnu, it gave the entire place such a magical feel which gave us all goosebumps. 

On our way out of Jagdish Temple we were distracted by really loud music and a crowd of people covered in coloured paint. One man pulled us to the side of the street and requested we follow him shouting "Hurry, you're going to miss it!". Intrigued we followed him through the small streets, into a cafe and out the other side where we were met with the most incredible sight. The entire street filled with people dancing to music so loud we couldn't hear each other speak. We had to insert a video as we couldn't explain the experience in words. We were later told that this was all in celebration of Navratri. A celebration spread over nine nights in worship of the Hindu deity Durga (the goddess of power and energy). 

Next morning we thought some more down time was in order so we entered one of the fancy hotels to use their rooftop pool facilities. It was so lovely to have this little luxury, and for only 300 rupees (£3) each for the whole day! We enjoyed soaking up the sun whilst listening to some music and catching up on writing our journals. 

There are numerous other activities available in Udaipur including a boat tour of Lake Pichola, a visit to the City Palace and Monsoon Palace and a cable car ride up to sunset point. We had every intention of covering all of this whilst in Udaipur but it seemed time just ran away from us and before we knew it, it was time for us to get on the road again. 

Here are our favourite pictures from our time in Udaipur: 

Jagdish Temple

Elephant with love heart! awwwh

Inside was filled with ladies chanting and singing - very magical

Navratri Celebration

The trucks playing music were stopped near the lake for dancing to commence

Food was so good...

...we came back for breakfast! COFFEE AND ICE CREAM!

Buying anklets - can't resist a bargain

Lotus Cafe - Look how cheeeeap!

Sarah cannot contain her excitement for her butter masala 

Pool Day!

Thanks for allowing us to recuperate Udaipur :D 

Happy Wanderers 
♥