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| Author : sue_and_nathan | Diary name : yearaway | ||
| 15 Jun 2001 : Bangkok - Thailand | |||
| End of Part I - Indochina | |||
| Arriving back in Bangkok marks the end of the first stage of our trip. This part was Sue's baby really. I was the apprehensive one. But, we have both enjoyed the last 60 days immensely and feel a little sad, but excited nonetheless, about moving on to the next stage. We both feel that a rounding-up is needed and here follows a few thoughts and observations we've made along the way. Animals we've known 1. Who can forget the jellyfish (Nathan won't!), the barking lizard and the 20 foot spider on the antique four-poster? 2. A dog went for Nathan on our first night in Bangkok. Lucky Nath's shoe hit the dogs teeth before they hit his leg! 3. Some rather unpleasant flying beetle/cockroach things which appeared after monsoonal rains in Siem Reap. While we were having dinner hundreds of the things started nose-diving into our faces and, even worse, our food. Sue decided enough was enough and went back to the room only to discover that one had followed her in there too! I got back to the room a little later only to find her hiding in the bathroom waiting for me to return to deal with the beast. (I always get the good jobs!) 4. Sticky red ants that in seconds managed to get into Sues clothes and start stinging her, in a temple at Angkor. She literally had ants in her pants although I doubt she'll find that funny just yet!! 5. And then there's the mozzies...the occasional cockroach on your soap in the morning...and even the odd lizard pooing on the duvet! Best moment For me (Sue) it was when we went trekking in the Northern highlands of Vietnam. We went through a Hmong village via the paddy fields surrounding it and we had to balance along the edges of the paddies while water buffalo trudged past us ploughing them. And for me (Nathan) it was when we were sea-canoeing in Halong Bay. When we went through the first dark tunnel and came out into a crystal blue lagoon. It was just amazing - I'll never forget that feeling. Most poignant memory For both of us it was Choeung Ek - the Killing Fields. 17 storeys of skulls - this is something that we'll never forget ever... Most surreal moment Sue waking up on a long distance train as it pulled into our stop, waking me up and both of us standing on the platform within seconds not sure whether we were really at the right station, me half dressed, no glasses, after having only 4 hours kip and it was 5am and raining! Sue, hair everywhere, worrying that we'd left something on the departing train. It was the soggy croissant for breakfast and the tea without a teabag that topped it! Most frustrating moment Sue - trying to shake off five very noisy little Khymer girls who each wanted me to buy a scarf from them. Needless to say I ended up buying four! Nathan - trying to order an omelette and chips in Siem Reap. 'Can I have an omelette and chips, please.' 'No chips - only rice or bread.' 'Do you do chips?' 'Yes.' 'Can I have chips with my omelette?' 'No - only bread or rice.'....five minutes pass...'Oh, so I can have chips on a separate plate then?' 'Yes. But do you want bread or rice with the omelette?' 'Bread!' Best hotel Tongsai Bay Cottages (http://www.tongsaibay.com) in Koh Samui. It was sheer luxury in a paradise setting. The staff were the best, the most attentive hotel staff we've come across so far and the manager took such good care of Nathan after the jellyfish sting. Best restaurant Hoa Sua in Hanoi - just superb! The place is a goodwill project where streetkids get trained to be chefs so all the food is cooked by trainees, but it really was delicious. The duck would compete with the best restaurants in London. A close contender was 'Why Not?' in Saigon - another French place. The waiters were great, the goats cheese salad gave us the olive oil fix we needed and the cointreau souffle..well..I would travel across the world for another taste of that! | |||