September 13th - 17th, days 150-154, Bangkok, Thailand

The journey from Siem Reap to Bangkok didn't quite go to plan. We had hoped to get the same bus all the way, but the buses all stop at the border, and we have to take everything off and and get onto another bus. I've often wondered what happens when a country where they drive on the right (Cambodia) shares a border crossing with one where they drive on the left (Thailand) - how to they sort out the traffic flow when they switch sides? Answer - they don't. Just no vehicles cross. Simple!
So we all get off a large, luxury, air-conditioned coach in Cambodia, and then squeeze onto minibuses in Thailand. These minibuses go for perhaps 2 or 3 minutes before stopping, and we all have to get off again. Still in sight of the border, almost. Then we need to get onto another set of minibuses which, amazingly, manage to get us all the way through to Bangkok. This bus fiasco will return to haunt us all later on...




I had been looking forward to Bangkok for a while now. It's supposed really great, it must be, all the tourists and backpackers flock there in their countless millions. Over my time there, however, I'm really starting to wonder why they all come. There's a really good Indian restaurant here, but surely they don't all come for that? Or is it the Palace? Or the massage parlours and the reclining Buddhas? No, it's be beer and the sex, I think. There's lots of beer, and as for sex, well.....

We looked round the Royal Palace and Temple Complex. That was glittery in the extreme, much more so than the one in Phnom Penh, but that's not surprising. There's a model of Angkor Wat there, too, although they have taken some liberty with that by giving it 4 extra spires. We saw the real thing, gloat gloat gloat.

The best thing about Bangkok (apart from the Indian Restuarant) is the river bus, but boat trips are always fun, and this one is seriously cheap.

September 17-20th, days 154-157, Kanchanaburi, Thailand

From the hustle and bustle of Bangkok to the relative peace and quiet of semi-rural Kanchanaburi. We have a nice resort on the banks of a river, which would have been the River Kwai had the River Kwai actually existed. The bridge over the river is real enough, and so it the hard work and suffering of all the POW's and locals who built it. It's close to where we are staying so we can walk down to it and cross over (looking out for trains) and think how privileged we are to walk across the bridge which gives its story to the "Bridge Over the River Kwai", although apparently it doesn't even feature.




On the final evening, we head back to Bangkok again to catch an overnight bus down south for the Island Week.

September 21st-28th, days 158-165, Koh Tao, Thailand

This is the Island Week, where we all do our own thing, a holiday in a holiday, a week off from travelling, a very welcome break. Some went to Koh Samiu, some to Koh Phagnan, some stayed on the mainland and beached around there, and 4 of us went to Koh Tao, the best place in Thailand for diving courses. I had already done some diving with BSAC (British Sub-Aqua Club) but that was a long time ago and I was quite out of practice and unable to prove my qualification, so I though I'd start again. An intoductory PADI course wasn't going to break the bank, and PADI probably doesn't really stand for 'Pay And Die Instantly'. In the end I did SSI (Scuba Schools International) Open Water and SSI Advanced.



Here's the 10 dive sites I visited during this week:

Japanese Garden
Laemtian Bay
Ao Leuk
Chumphom Pinnacle
Hin Wong Pinnacle (deep training, 30m)
Laemtian Caves
South West Pinnacle
Shark Island
White Rock

In the end we decided not to meet up with the others just yet, we wanted to spend the 7th night here, skip the National Park and meet up with the group in Penang, Malaysia. So, on 28th September, we caught the boat back to Chumphon, then the bus from the ferry to the train station. The train was due to leave for Butterworth, the closest station to Penang just over the water, at 10pm. It's an overnight sleeper, which is quite a comfy way to travel, and we're used to it now, we did in in China. About 8am, the train stopped at the border with Malaysia, so we got off with luggage and passports for the border formalities. The train took about 12 hours in total, then we got the ferry across to Penang.

September 29th - October 2nd, days 166-169, Penang, Malaysia

A city of faded colonial splendour. Unfortnately very much gone to seed, but Joy liked it. It wasn't short of historical sights once you know where to look, but it's not the sort of place where you can just wander round and chance upon interesting things, like you can in so many of the cities weve been to. It is also a lot less tourist-oriented after the excesses of Thailand - the streets aren't full of bars, restuarants, internet cafes and wi-fi spots, travel agents and hostels. There are a few, but not many. Perhaps a welcome change, but maybe I've gone soft.




That brings me to a question - what's the difference between tourists and travellers? Which are we? One of two of the group are very vocal on that subject and think that tourists are beneath comtempt. Someone said (a very good answer, and I forget who) "Travellers see what they see. Tourists see what they are shown". I'm not sure where backpackers fit in, but backpackers follow other backpackers and go to backpacker places. Penang isn't really a backpacker place yet, but it's coming. I like to think of us as 'Guided Travellers'. We are not completely shielded from the reality of the places we visit like tourists are, we are not shown everything, we go out and see it ourselves. But we are looked after.

Penang has a bustling cooked food market with many food stalls with a common seating area, even a band and dancing. It really comes to life at night, it's good cheap food and a good atmosphere.

After Penang, we moved on to Kuala Besut, a small no-horse town on the East coast. This a stopping off point for getting the boat to the Perhantian Islands tomorrow.

October 3rd-6th, days 170-173, Pulau Perhentian Besut, Malaysia

Three nights on the Perhantian Islands - a tropical island paradise with clear water, sandy beaches, jungles, sun, and a smattering of resorts, some look quite luxurious, others look more modest. The intrepid travellers we are, we have the more modest. Most of the time here is spent on the beach on in the sea, exploring the reef while snorkelling. Snorkelling is quite fun, I have to admit, although not a patch on diving it is more relaxing. I saw much sea-life including a stingray and many other species I can't name. I never was and never will be any sort of naturalist, and have the ability to miss some large and obvious things, such as sharks and barracudas.