All about the money.....

Today I sat down and went through our online bank account in detail. I did so not out of want, but more so out of boredom seeing as we have to spend the majority of the day hiding inside from the tropical heat!

It made for hilarious reading!!!! I won't go through every detail but I'll break it down country by country...

Thailand (5 weeks) €3,265

Malaysia (2 weeks) €776

Nepal (4 weeks) €1321

India so far.. (2weeks) €409

Thankfully our expenditure has been steadily declining and we are learning how to be more backpacker savvy. Thailand was the real killer, in the first week alone we spent €1000! I don't know what we were doing, that would get us about six weeks travel in India!!

I thought about what has changed in our spending habits and complied a list of the main culprits. Future wanderers take note..this could help you add an extra few months onto your trip!!

Cleaning clothes the good old fashion way ourselves, rather than handing them in to a laundrette. Dancing on a pile of rags in the shower isn't all that bad and you get a strange satisfaction as you watch your underwear dangle proudly from the window latch.

 

 

Replacing rum with water. Sometimes, if the water is cold enough it can be just as thrilling a drink!

 

 

Curb chocoholisim with miniature 10cent bars. I still remember how Eddie McKenna watched in horror as I spent €3 on a small packet of M&M's in Thailand.

 

 

Replacing starbucks coffee (€2.50) with local teas and coffees (20cent).

 

 

Staying in budget accommodation. Our first hotel cost €50 per night, our current guest house costs just €5, and it's not even in squalor!

 

 

Eating two simple meals a day.

 

 

Replacing loo roll with acquired napkins.

 

 

NO travel agent day trips/tours. They cost a bloody fortune and you can easily do things yourself. If you're really thirsty for knowledge you will easily find a local at the entrance who will act as your guide for half the price!.

 

 

Luke shaving his head has significantly reduced our shampoo usage. Taking one for the team, nice one Lukey!

 

 

Skype is a saviour!! We can call home to any landline for like 1.2cent per minute or something mad like that. Cheap and chearful chats :)

 

 

Sussing out family members who are holidaying along your route and crashing said hotel for the duration of their stay. We spent an entire week whizzing down the slide into the Hilton pool and lying back on sun loungers sipping cocktails!!! Nice one Luke's Mammy Mia!!!!!

 

 

On a serious note one of the greatest lessons we have learnt is to ALWAYS haggle on a price before you accept a service/trip/guest house/product/bus ticket etc. Every price in Asia in negotiable. If you're willing to play the game you will receive huge reductions and will not fall prey to the ridiculous tourist extortion racket.

Then all you have to do is shoot for the stars, smile :) and see where you land...

13th March - Phraya Nakhon Cave Hua Hin

Maria's travelling buddy and best friend Carol has been to Hua Hin before. When she visited, she went to see Phraya Nakhon cave. It's about an hour outside the city, housed in their national park. We set off today to see it. We hired a taxi driver who took us directly to the park. As we left the car he was laughing about how tough the walk is and told us he'd done it once before but would never do it again! Lovely!

We took a long tail boat to the other side of the beach and began our adventure there. The climb was quite steep at 460m, we slowly tackled the steps, trying not to look ahead at the incline! It took about forty minutes to reach the entrance to the cave, then we began the descent to reach the entrance.

I can't explain what awaited us! You climb through this narrow passage and emerge in the centre of a gigantic open top cave. Mia walked in first and by the time I caught up to her she was overcome by tears. Neither of us could speak. It is by far the most amazing thing we've seen since leaving for our travels. The light shines into the cave at an angle and hits this beautifully ornate Buddhist shrine which sits in the centre of the huge space. The cave stretched high into the sky, decorated with vegetation and tangled in vines.

We all walked in separate directions and the four of us wandered around the space in awe.

We spent about an hour there and just as we left, a huge tour of Japanese school kids entered the cave, obnoxious and loud, like most teenagers. We were grateful we had the cave to ourselves for that brief time and go to experience it as it should be.

Booming Bangkok

Thursday 2nd Feb

street off chinatown

Got up early this morning. Had to get our new foreign phones, plug adaptors and other malarky we didn't bring so said we'd go to MBK center. Got a taxi from Chinatown...it was the most terrifying journey of my life! Driver was a lunatic!! Speeding down the freeway at 130km, literally driving bumper to bumper then ducking out from behind cars in front of other when changing lanes...and the worst part WE HAD NO SEAT BELTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Had to close my eyes for most of the journey.

So we eventually got there after half an hour of pure terror! Went into the mall. Lots of little stalls selling all kinds of everything. Wasn't as amazing as we had been told, so left, then saw he had brought us to a place called JJ Mall, not MBK! There was a huge thunder storm so we sat at the side of the road watching it, then got another taxi



rain!!!!!!!

 . This guy was far more relaxed and we were at MBK in about 15mins. Now this was the real deal!!!! I've never seen anything like it! 8 floors of every kind of shop stretching as far as the eye can see. First three floors were overwhelming clothing madness!!! We were going to leave then said we'd check the next floor. Lucky we did, this was the electronic Aladdin's cave!!!!! Cameras, laptops, phones, mp3s EVERYTHING!!!! And so cheap. We were looking at Dr Dre headphones in the airport duty free before coming over. Amazing sound but ridiculously priced at €360! We got a pair in MBK for 1500baht, €35!! And lots more bargains of the same!!

We got some food then after our shopping bonanza and went across the road to Thailand arts and cultural center. Fabulous building and nice photography exhibition inside featuring work from people all over the world. Couldn't take photos in there unfortunately. After that, we went back to Chinatown and got some street food for dinner, very lovely!

Friday 3rd Feb

We slept in til 12 this morning...jet lag getting the better of us! We were woken then by a call from reception asking us why we hadn't checked out? We were booked to stay friday night too but they had mixed it up on their system. Had to move rooms as a result, didn't mind cause we got to see another one of the suites at this unbelievable hotel, if anyones going to Bangkok I'd seriously recommend this place.

chaturk park

Anyway, didn't get out of the hotel til around 2. We knew we wouldn't get much out of the day before dark so said we'd just go to the park for a walk...which is at the other side of Bangkok! Chaturk park is the name of the place and we took the underground metro and sky train to get there. Was actually very easy to navigate our way around. Got there after about half an hour, had a lovely walk and then came back.
...this is where the story gets messy!!! I had drunk a ridiculous amount of water that day, was dyin for a whizz before leaving Chaturk but there was no loo so I said I'd be grand. Not the case my friends!!! About half way through the journey back and I thought my bladder was actually going to explode!! I waddled off the metro, went upstairs to find the loo. There is none!!! Agghhhhh the panic!!!! Out we went onto the street,it literally looked like the Bronx. All run down shacks, the odd shop but nothing commercial. Crap!! Luke asked one old lady in the shop if she had a toilet, she just looked at him in pure terror like she had just seen an alien! Waddled back up to the station, getting desperate, go down the side alley. There's an old man doing yoga stretches at the end. Go away man!!!!!!! No option but for Luke to stand between the two of us and I squat down for the most embarrassing, but relieving wee of all time!!! Win!

Luke having dinner at the side of the road in chinatown

We hopped back on the metro to Chinatown. Got some really hot Thai food off a street vendor, thought my mouth would never be the same again! Went to the hotel bar for a few beers.

One thing I can't get over is how the streets are so clean. I walk around all day in my sandals and come back in the evening and my feet are perfectly clean. Walk around London for an hour in sandals and you're guaranteed to have to scrub your feet when you get home.

Another thing I learned today, the only person cars stop for is a monk!!!! Need to go get me some orange robes!!!!
Saturday 4th Feb

Today we left for Kanchanaburi. For the first time we woke up early enough for the hotel breakfast...we had bloody well been missing out!!! Full fry, toast, cereal, fruit and Thai snacks. Filled ourselves up nicely and set off for Thonburi station.

 Station was so basic, Sat around for two hours chatting to people and taking in the place. We met a really nice guy called Jim. He is from Tazmania and is almost 70! Spent all his life travelling so he shared some great stories.

 Eventually the train arrives and we all jump on. it's a 2.5hr journey and the sights we saw were amazing, as were the scents...the windows are all pulled up so the breeze is phenomenal but lovely.

There's little shanty huts scattered all the way along the track. So cool seeing into these peoples homes, watching the kids play together and seeing the people at work in the paddy fields.

We had a few beers with Jim and his friend, listened to more stories and just took everything in!

Was a relief to get to Kanchanaburi, the heat was crazy!! Got a taxi bike to our next place of rest. He dropped us off and we were terrified. It was at the top of an alley and he just told us we had to go down to the end of it. It was dark at this stage too so seemed a million times scarier!! Off we went anyway, hoping for the best! Got down and the place was fine! It opens out onto this big swampy reserve and the lodges are all built of stilts over the swamp. It was so unexpected!!!

sam's house kanchanaburi

 We freshened up..much needed, then headed out for some food. Can't get over the Thai food. Had another amazing dinner, no dodgy belly and went for drinks then.



The lovely couple Blandine and Erwan who we had lots of fun with!



We stumbled upon a reggae bar so decided to stay put there. Music was brilliant! Six Asian dudes looking like Jamacians singing and playing brilliantly!!! Met a lovely french couple, any language barrier that existed was soon irrelievnt as the buckets of rum flowed! I had a great time dancing with Blandine when Erwan and  Luke got up on stage to jam with the band!

 Was so much fun. We stayed there with the our french amigos and the band, sitting around a table drinking, laughing and sharing stories until they shut the bar for the night, about 4am.....a wonderful first night in Kanachanaburi, I think we will like this place a lot.

Today we took a total chill out day. Have been sitting by the river reading, writing and listening to music in the sunshine. A perfect day!

we're here!!!

leaving home...

We left home yesterday at 6pm...hard to believe we've managed to make it half way across the world since then....and in one piece! We had two connecting flights to catch, route was dublin - london, london- new dehli, then new dehli- bangkok.

holy crap the boarding passes..how are we goinbg to get there?!!!

Thought we'd be casual out, loads of time between flights..but we ended up running off one plane and onto another each time, suppose it wasn't ryanair we were flying with after all!

couldn't believe our eyes when we saw they had Robot..if you haven't seen this yet watch it! we spent new years eve watching this last year... hilarious viewing

The journey was grand, got a bit long towards the end but we had little video screens in front of each chair with films on so that made the time pass nicely. Have to say the dinner of the flight from london to new dehli was epic, one of the nicest Indians I've ever tasted, and to think it was airline food is mad! And my question of the free drink was confirmed...ridiculously strong whiskey all the way!!!!

We arrived in Bangkok airport, really beautiful. Seriously long que at emigration but we eventually got out then found a taxi driver. He had no idea where we were staying. Took off anyway, flying down the motorway ringing all his taxi friends to try suss it out. No luck so he's getting me to google it on his phone..text is in Thai so I don't have a hope, takes back the phone anyway and calls another guy, after a few minutes he erupts in laughter, can barely speak, then he explains to us were looking for Tshanghai, not Shanghai (both which sound identical!) ..we politely laugh along..he's still in stitches.

Eventually, we turn the corner into Chinatown. There are no words. The New Year has just been celebrated and as a result the streets were decorated amazingly. We were literally in the back of the cab in awe.

we passed this guy, his dog was wrapped in fairy lights and wearing a top hat...

Stopped outside the hotel to be met by a gang of taxi men laughing hysterically (obviously the guys our driver had been speaking to!) Three couriers then run out of the hotel to carry our bags and check us in..all I'm thinking is how we are so unworthy of this treatment.

trying to phone home, we made it here alive!!

So hotel is crazy beautiful. We get in, have a shower (which was definitely the most amazing wash of all time, felt so rotten after the journey,) and then get out on the street and get our first taste of Thailand. Wandering around with our mouths wide open and pointing at everything...snap happy too as you can see!

To end the evening we got a tuk tuk to take us around all Chinatown, as we were whizzing through the streets experiencing the sights, sounds and smells, I couldn't help but think how lucky we are to be doing this.


Leaving home yesterday was the hardest day both of us have experienced. I actually feel a bit teary even thinking about it now, but it's starting to feel like it's all going to be worth it...