TravelStream™ news feed for member guykb on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/guykb en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:59:42 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1202097480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1202097480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1202097480/tpod.html Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:59:42 -0500 A journey through the exotic - Turkey, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Prague and Portugal. The KBs explore some new turf.

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Yackandandah, Australia

The plane landed on time, the luggage all turned up, we passed through customs like a breeze, our daughter Jean and her friend Tahnee were there to greet us. In a way, I felt that the seamless way this went was symbolic of the trip itself. We had visited 12 different countries for periods ranging from a few hours to a month. We had stayed in 27 different beds over the time, all booked through the Internet or on the spot. We had caught 13 flights, countless buses, trains, ferries, trams, taxis and tuk tuks. We had experienced a few glitches but nothing serious, nothing to spoil our holiday and nothing that you would say did anything other than add to the adventure.As we headed back up the road to Yackandandah I reflected on what a fantastic trip it had been. From the frenetic pace of Istanbul to the majesty of Cappadocia. From the ravages of Bosnia to the crystal waters of Croatia. The warm winter sun of Opatija and the awesome Plitvice Lakes. The snow and mulled wine in Ljubljana and the inspiration of Prague. The flea market in Brussels and the Fado in Lisbon's Alfama. The delicious pastries of Belem and the easygoing atmosphere of Lagos. From relaxing by the beach in Hua Hin to the hectic Bangkok.We had met many people - some of them rascals but most of them wonderful. We had been honoured to see some of the most beautiful sites that the world has to offer. We have a bank of experiences that will live in our memories for ever.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1202010840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1202010840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1202010840/tpod.html Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:58:34 -0500 A journey through the exotic - Turkey, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Prague and Portugal. The KBs explore some new turf.

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Melbourne, Australia

On our last day we didn't have to hurry. Our flight from Bangkok to Singapore wasn't until 5pm. So we relaxed by the pool. We read, the girls swam. I went for a walk to find a man who operated a small booth on the side of the street who specialised in fixing watches. His specific skill was in removing links from watch straps which is exactly what I needed him for. I took a couple of wrong turns but eventually I found him. I showed him my watch. I figured he spoke no English but knew what I needed. I said 'how much?' He must have known some English because he said '20 baht'. So 70 cents to fix the watch. Five minutes later and I was on my way back to the hotel.We read some more, the girls swam some more. About 1 o'clock we headed back to our room to shower, change and head off to the airport. We'd had a wonderful stay in the Pantip Court and I can recommend it as an excellent place to stay in Bangkok.Our 3 days in Bangkok had been a frenetic shopping extravaganza. Because it was our fourth trip to Bangkok I didn't feel too guilty about not taking in any cultural activities. Anyway, we'd had a great time.The ride to the airport took about 45 minutes, much of it at high speed. Once again the meter of the poor taxi driver crawled upwards. All that effort and the fare was 210 baht. The new airport in Bangkok is quite impressive. We had a couple of hours to spare to check out the shops and to eat a very nice meal at one of the restaurants inside. It was a juggling game because I wanted to use up the last of the baht we had. As I wandered around the shops selling designer label stuff I wondered who on earth would buy it when the whole of Thailand is swimming in designer knockoffs.Another battle with the 'free seating' on the Thai Air Asia flight and we were on our way to Singapore. When we got there we picked up our gargantuan suitcases containing all our European stuff and headed to check in. We scraped in with our luggage - 2 kilos over the limit but we got away with it.The overnight flight from Singapore is only 7 hours but also includes 3 hours of time difference so you leave at 11pm but arrive at 9am. Into these 7 hours Singapore Airlines squeeze 2 meals. Between eating, reading and playing with my new toy (PSP) the time went by in a flash. No sleep for me, but the others managed to grab some rest.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201923420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201923420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201923420/tpod.html Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:54:36 -0500 A journey through the exotic - Turkey, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Prague and Portugal. The KBs explore some new turf.

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Bangkok, Thailand

I wanted to go to the Pantip Plaza today. It's nowhere near our hotel, the Pantip Court, but it is the largest single shopping area for IT products in Thailand, probably the entire galaxy. Jess and the girls decided they would come along and shop in the nearby Pratunam Centre which specialises in fashion.The hotel called a taxi and we were off. I feel very sorry for the taxi drivers in Bangkok. The starting fare is 35 baht and then as they drive the meter crawls along at a pace that would make you cry. On this trip we had been driving for about five minutes, some of it in traffic and the meter had gone up by just 2 baht. The whole ride took more than 20 minutes and the cost on the meter was 67 baht. That's a bit over $2. We went our separate ways and I entered the Aladdin's cave of IT stuff. I mean everything you could possibly imagine. I wandered about in there for a couple of hours checking out all of the things I could buy. I had promised Jess I would buy myself something as a late birthday present so I decided upon a pair of foldable Sennheiser headphones and a Sony Playstation Portable (PSP). This was the kind of frivolous purchase that I would never normally make even though I had been interested in them since they were first released. There is a new 'slim' version which I just had to have. Next came the negotiating. I tried about 4 different shops to get a feel for what I could get the PSP for, including cases, modifications and memory sticks. I told them I could get it much cheaper on eBay and this seemed to worry them a bit. After a while I figured out what their lowest price was going to be and then I negotiated the best 'package' I could. I think I ended up paying just on $200 for the PSP itself which I was very happy with.Meanwhile Jess and the girls had been exploring the Pratunam market which is meant to be the best in Bangkok for clothes. What we didn't realise is that this is described as a 24 hour market which means, in effect, that it is very quiet in the mornings and is more like a night market with shops opening from late afternoon. Despite this they had fun looking at the shops that were open.I joined them after my Pantip Plaza jaunt. I agreed that the centre was a bit dead so we went on to centre next door called 'City Central'. We would have stayed longer in here but there was no food available within the centre anywhere. We made a dash for it across the road to the very glossy looking Platinum Centre which had an excellent food court on the sixth floor. Not only that, but if you want to buy clothes in Bangkok, this is THE place to go. It's primarily aimed at the wholesale market so that means of you can buy three items or more you will get it up to half the price you will pay for just one item. And the price for one item is very cheap anyway. A modern t-shirt made with quality material would be maybe 150 baht ($5). Highly recommended particularly for women and girls.We stayed until the shops were shutting. We found an exit and then tried to get a taxi. We found a tuk tuk and negotiated the price down to 100 baht. He agreed (eventually) and in we hopped, squashed in yet again.Halfway home the tuk tuk driver turns around and says to me 'boss, you do favour for me?' 'What's that?' I asked. 'I give you cheap price so is it ok if you do me a favour by coming to a shop.' He went on to explain that if we agreed to go to this shop where a man was doing a 'big promotion' they would give him a fuel voucher for 50 baht. He told us it didn't matter if we didn't buy anything. Of course this deal smelt to high heaven but hey, nothing ventured nothing gained so off we went to check out this big promotion.We groaned as we turned up outside... a tailor. Yes, that's right. First thing I said as the Indian man in the shop greeted us was that we were 'leaving tonight'. I figured that way they would have no timeframe at all to make us some clothes and so they wouldn't try to sell us anything. Wrong - they tried to sell us their fabric but to be honest their heart wasn't in it. We all played along appearing to be interested for the sake of the tuk tuk driver's voucher. We had a chat for a few minutes and then discreetly left.The tuk tuk guy was very happy and took us the rest of the way home. When we arrived I suggested we take a quick look at the famous Patpong Night Market as it was our last night in Bangkok, the last night of our long adventure. We all agreed that we could put in the last of our energy to check this place out. We talked the driver into taking us for an additional 50 baht, but when we got there it was further than I thought so I paid him 100 extra baht (hey, last of the big spenders me!).I was a bit worried about taking the girls to Patpong because of its reputation for sleaze. However, I was reassured by the guidebooks that advised that the markets are kept well away from the sleazier aspects.What we found when we got there was a fairly typical Thai night market with much of the same goods we had already seen elsewhere, but at much higher prices. What we also found were plenty of girlie bars. We managed to move the girls into the middle of the markets where you couldn't see skimpily clad girls dancing around a pole. The markets stretched down the street for a long long way. We went as far as we could in one direction and then stopped for drinks and then went as far as we could in the other direction. The clever tuk tuk drivers set up where the markets peter out. They know that you are tired and hot and ready for a speedy life home. We found one who wanted 300 baht, then 200 baht then eventually settled for 100 baht.We arrived home tired and sore, but we still had enough energy left to look through our booty. You do actually feel like a pirate returning with treasure. I'm not normally a big fan of consumerism, but the Thai experience is centred on consumption. It's almost expected of you. I suspect that they tolerate us westerners on the basis that we spend enough to justify our presence here. Well, that's what I tell myself to justify all of the things that I have just bought...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201834920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201834920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201834920/tpod.html Wed, 06 Feb 2008 22:19:52 -0500 A journey through the exotic - Turkey, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Prague and Portugal. The KBs explore some new turf.

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Bangkok, Thailand

Now I know what that expression means. I thought it was just a figure of speech. I didn't realise that you could actually drop from shopping-based exhaustion.We woke up around 8 and Jess being the good mother that she is took the girls for a swim while I lazed around. We had breakfast at 9 because our concierge had made an appointment at 10 for us with a tailor he recommended. The buffet breakfast here at Pantip Court is good, including all of the things you would expect. It's not spectacular but there is plenty of fresh fruit and an omelette chef so I am happy.Just before 10am the tailor's van arrived to pick us up. The tailor recommended was called Chinese Tailor and was about a 20 minute ride from the hotel. This is quite close for Bangkok. Twenty minutes in typical Bangkok traffic is just a stone's throw.Before we arrived at the tailor I had a strategy worked out. We were to tell them that we only wanted a couple of pieces made as a trial as we were looking to establish a relationship with a Bangkok tailor for our frequent visits here. Jess had carried a beautiful linen dress around Europe just for this purpose of copying.When we arrived at the tailor I told the Indian man serving us my story and he said that was fine, no pressure. Jess took out the dress. He showed it to his tailor and they conferred for a while. He said no problem, come and look at the fabrics while we work out the price. We went and looked at the fabrics and Jess selected a couple that she liked. We sat down again and the man typed in the price into the calculator. 15000 baht. I said 'I think you have an extra zero by mistake'. 'No mistake' he said 'there is a lot of material in this dress'. I couldn't help but laugh, and said 'do you realise that's $500 dollars? That's a lot more than we paid for the original'. He stuck to his line and that was that. No copy.Jess also had a blouse for copying, again linen and he quoted 1500 baht (about $50).This was still a lot but at least it was less than Jess had paid for the original shirt. We organised for the work to be done and asked the tailor's driver to drop us at our next destination: MBKMBK is a massive shopping mall in the heart of Bangkok.  It has lots of fashion and lots of electronics and more besides. Spread over 8 floors, there are thousands of small shops and stalls. We grabbed some sustenance and tried to work out a plan of attack. Really, the MBK is so vast it's very hard to know where to start. Because we had only a few ideas about what we wanted to buy we had to look at everything (of course). We knew we wanted a suitcase so we went into the first 50 or so suitcase shops (OK so it was more like 10 but it seemed like 50) and compared models and prices. This is definitely not a fixed price venue so you need to haggle and haggle hard. On the plus side there are many versions of the same shop so it's pretty easy to say 'no thanks I'll try somewhere else' to test out if that really is as low as they will go.We wanted some shoes for the girls so we went into lots of shoe shops. And so it went on. Without giving you all the gory details we bought lots of stuff and let's just say that the suitcase came in handy...We had started shopping at lunchtime and when we stopped to look at the time it had gone past 7 o'clock and some of the shops were starting to close. We found the taxi rank but it had a huge crowd of people waiting. Just then a tuk tuk screamed to a halt beside us and offered us to jump in. He was blocking the traffic so there was no time to negotiate or even tell him where we wanted to go. We all squashed in - four of us and a suitcase squashed into a tuk tuk built for two - three at a pinch.We stopped at the Pantip's restaurant for some mai tais and a supper snack before heading off to bed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201749180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201749180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201749180/tpod.html Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:15:34 -0500 A journey through the exotic - Turkey, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Prague and Portugal. The KBs explore some new turf.

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Bangkok, Thailand

I had arranged the same car company that had transferred us from Bangkok to Hua Hin to bring us back to Bangkok again. The beauty of this was that we could say what time we wanted to leave and didn't have to worry about missing our bus/train/ferry/flight. So I planned the car for 12 noon, which meant that we could enjoy a leisurely morning at Hua Hin and an action packed afternoon in Bangkok.We woke up early (for us) and were ready to eat breakfast by 8 o'clock. Unfortunately the staff at Ocean Breeze had got used to our late breakfasts so we didn't finish breakfast until 9. Never mind. We headed down to the beach and swam, read and fossicked for shells until it was time to leave. We had time for one last corn from the corn vendor and bade him farewell. He shook all our hands and wished us a safe trip.Our mini-bus was waiting for us when we got back to our bungalow having arrived early after driving down from Bangkok. We showered and finished packing then loaded up the van. The trip back was much as we had expected, except an hour shorter than the trip down so we arrived by 3pm.The Pantip Court is a very glamorous looking building, with a huge pool and outdoor lounge area. We received a warm welcome and a glass of fresh punch as we checked in. We were shown up to our suite which is on the 20th floor and is simply enormous. It has spectacular views of Bangkok on three sides of the building.We dumped our bags, checked out the apartment and went back downstairs, the girls anxious to try out the beautiful pool. While the girls swam about happily, Jess and I ordered some poolside snacks and drinks. The food here is very good and very reasonable. The mai tais are also refreshing.After suitable recharging we headed off to Suan Lum Night Bazaar. It's a huge sprawling night market that has lots of handicrafts, clothing and it was nice to see, lots of artwork and craft items such as boutique fashion - not your run-of-the-mill bulk items.We attacked Suan Lum with a vengeance. For three months we have been telling the girls 'wait till you get to Bangkok to buy things' and so there was all that pent-up consumerism to contend with. We stopped a few times for eating and drinking but it was about 11 o'clock when we called it a day. The night bazaar is open until midnight but by the time we left it was winding down quite quickly.We carried our booty back home. No, I tell a lie: even though we are only ten minutes walk from Suan Lum we took a tuk tuk. We haggled the fare down to 100 baht but I think he overcharged me. I figured it's only $3.50 so who cares?
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201662540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201662540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201662540/tpod.html Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:13:22 -0500 A journey through the exotic - Turkey, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Prague and Portugal. The KBs explore some new turf.

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Hua Hin, Thailand

Today was spent much like the others. This relaxing beach holiday was exactly what we had planned for the end of our trip away. We were able to get our usual benches (thank goodness) and took our place among the overfed lobsters.We swam, collected shells, ate, drank, read and relaxed. Also we tried to avoid looking at the 80 year old woman standing in front of us with her breasts out for all the world to see. Another woman took off her bikini bottoms and stood there in full view, cabbage bottom proudly on display.I went shell hunting with the girls while Jess had a chance to read some more. We found lots of very interesting ones, but the girls know they will have to put them all back before we leave. In fact most of them never leave the beach at all. At the end each day the girls choose their favourite one or two and take them back to the bungalow.After the beach we headed into Hua Hin for a Japanese meal. Our host again suggested a number we could choose from. We went to the Hua Hin Market Village, a modern complex with a number of restaurants and shops. Normally not our sort of thing, we were intrigued mainly because it was something a bit different. The shops turned out to be fairly typical mall stuff but the restaurant we chose was good and we had a foot massage in the basement of the complex. As we were leaving the girls spotted some shoes that they had to have. For 179 baht I wasn't going to argue.We came home pretty early and I spent the next few hours typing up the blog that I had neglected for almost a week. Hopefully there will be an Internet connection in Bangkok so I can post it!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201579080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201579080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201579080/tpod.html Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:08:53 -0500 A journey through the exotic - Turkey, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Prague and Portugal. The KBs explore some new turf.

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Hua Hin, Thailand

Another one of the joys of being the trip's organiser is that you get to choose where you have your anniversary. Not just any anniversary. Today Jess and I have been married for 25 years. Our silver wedding anniversary, and in all truth the happiest 25 years of my life. Jess presented me with an American Silver Dollar from 1876 - a very lucky charm - and a mounted photo of some tuk tuks that will take our minds straight back here when we hang in on our wall at home (once we find some room). She has exquisite taste. I gave her the Tiffany silver necklace that I had bought back in Europe and had been hanging onto for her. She was suitably impressed.We slept in late, not sitting down for breakfast until after 10. Cameron sent us a text message with some bad news - he had broken his toe. Six weeks to get better. Not good timing at all from his point of view.Unfortunately, horror of horrors, when we got down to the beach they had given our beds away. They looked very embarrassed, even though we hadn't asked them to reserve it for us and we were more than an hour later than usual. Feeling quite put out we took another bed further down the beach. More swimming, tyre play, reading and observing ensued. It is quite amusing to watch the antics of the elderly Scandinavian bathers here. Once they are out of the water (most of them never go anywhere near it) they have to change from one costume into another. No idea why, but it involves the women, no matter how fat or old they are, baring their cauliflower breasts to the wide world. They don't appear to care one jot that this is deeply offensive to Thai people. I can add that it is also offensive to good taste. I watched a woman who weighed perhaps 120 kilo walk past in a g-string. Hmmm... there oughta be a law...Around lunchtime the weather changed. A squall came in from the south, driving some rain with it. The clouds moved over and most of the beachgoers disappeared faster than a rat up a drainpipe. We toughed it out for a while, but then the rain got heavier so we took shelter under a nearby tree. After a while we decided to go to the restaurant and have something to eat. After this the rain had gone and we were able to take our place again, this time on an almost deserted beach. The squall had brought in a fresh bunch of shells and the girls were keen to investigate what had turned up. They were soon joined by some Thais who appeared to be looking for unopened shells perhaps for their dinner.We had asked our host for some advice on where to eat for a special night out. Once again he came to the fore, providing some excellent ideas and booking it all for us, including taxis to and from. He also organised a posy of roses for Jess to carry and arranged with the restaurant that we were eating at for a celebration cake to be brought to our table.The Sasi Restaurant describes itself as 'Dinner Theatre'. To be fair to them they probably don't realise the connotations this has with a western audience with any sense of taste. I was a bit apprehensive as we headed off. When we arrived we were put at ease by the surroundings straight away. The setting is a lovely garden with fairy lights all around. We took a table overlooking the stage. Jess and the girls, not knowing what was in store, pondered about the use of the stage. All of a sudden some musicians started playing and some lights came on to illuminate them. Some time later the dance show began. Full of traditional Thai costumes and a huge cast - at least 20 of them - the show was very tastefully done and held our attention the entire 80 minutes that it went for.All the while we were served out four course dinner. It was a set menu, but we had four choices for each course. The food was very good and beautifully presented. My only complaint was that they brought the courses too quickly. As they took the plates for one course they dropped the next course in front of us. This was only a minor concern though. Overall it was splendid. At the end of the meal they presented us with our anniversary cake. It was a butter cake iced gorgeously with red roses and a happy anniversary message.At one point in the show audience members were asked to come up on the stage and try their luck at the dancing though the clacking bamboo. I had no intention of going up, but the girls begged me to go so I dragged myself up there and had a go. Of course I made a complete fool of myself and stuffed it up completely but it was all in good fun. Jess assured me that I didn't look that bad but then I reminded her that the girls had videoed the whole thing and she looked a bit concerned.After this our taxi turned up to take us to Let's Sea, a wonderful restaurant/bar by the, err, sea. Tastefully decorated and reeking of wealth this very mellow place was the perfect way to end our day. We ordered enormous cocktails - recommended by the waitress and the girls had mocktails. We sat and watched the waves crashing against the beach and the twinkling of the lights on the fishing boats out to sea. The balmy evening air washed over us as we chatted and day dreamed. It was really very pleasant.Our happy-go-lucky cab driver was still waiting for us as we left. He took us home and we tumbled into bed.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201491900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201491900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201491900/tpod.html Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:46:12 -0500 A journey through the exotic - Turkey, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Prague and Portugal. The KBs explore some new turf.

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Hua Hin, Thailand

Sunday started out very much like the previous day, and ended up pretty much like the previous day too! We went to the beach around 10 after a late breakfast. The breakfasts at Ocean Breeze are excellent and cooked just for us. Juice, yoghurt, bacon and eggs and lashings of fresh fruit. Once again the girls hired the tyre tubes and we sat and read in the shade of our umbrellas. We observed that we and a couple of other Australian groups we had spotted were craving the shade, while the Scandinavians, clearly not sun rich like us, were dragging their beds into the sun. This despite that fact that most of them resembled lobsters. Very fat old lobsters mind you.Once again I succumbed to the lure of the beach-side massage, this time opting for the traditional Thai massage. We ate in the same restaurant and pretty much had the same food and drinks. Hey - why mess with what works?After a while Vendor 111 caught up with me. This was a fellow selling bedspreads who yesterday I had been able to put off saying my wife was not there but today was another story. Luckily Jess liked what he had to sell. We selected the bedspread we liked and haggled the man down from his opening bid of 2500 baht to 1300. I think I paid too much. Later this was confirmed when he offered to sell me a second one for just 1000 baht.By this stage I had run out of cash but the man said that was fine, we could pay him later. He left the goods with us, trusting us to come up with the cash. I walked back to our bungalow and asked our host (who always seems to be around) where the nearest ATM was. He said it was too far to walk. 'The boy will take you on the motorcycle.' The 'boy' was in fact a young man who is the assistant here. I jumped on the back of his bike and we were off. He took me halfway back to Hua Hin to the closest ATM. I took out some cash and so did he. While I was taking out the cash a pretty young girl emerged from a nearby shop, all smiles and came running up to greet my lift provider. He seemed very pleased to see her too. They exchanged a few words and then she held his hand for a second and went away again. 'Is that your girlfriend?' I asked him. 'Yes' he said shyly. 'She's pretty' I said. He smiled and we jumped back on the bike for the mad dash back to the beach.After our beach adventure the kids and I wanted to take Jess to SuSaMas, so we showered and changed and headed down the road. After another great meal we all agreed that we would head into town again, but to the Hua Hin Bazaar instead of the night market. We found a tuk tuk and told the drive to take us to the bazaar. He looked a bit unsure, but conferred with another driver and then realisation struck him and he told us to jump in.He took us straight to the night market. Clearly he had misunderstood. But no, he pointed away from the night market, across the street. As he drove off we looked where he had pointed. Sure enough, there was... a pizza shop. Not bazaar, but pizza. The girls were horrified. 'Now he thinks we're like ugly tourist who can only eat pizza' Maggie said astutely. 'Yes', I agreed. 'But I don't like that' she protested. She had a point. We are, after all, citizens of the world. Here we are at the tail end of a three month journey where we have sampled all manner of foreign delights and we are mistaken for a pizza loving red-neck. How very awful. Trying to put that embarrassment behind us we walked to where on the map I though the bazaar is. I'm not sure if we did actually find it, but we did find lots of markets, including a different night market which had lots of great stuff. We bought quite a bit more here, the when we were tired we headed back to a spot where we had discovered foot massages for just 200 baht.In the middle of the massage I asked Jess is she felt like a drink. 'Wouldn't that be naughty?' she asked. ' All the more reason' I replied. I checked with our masseuse who was all in favour. She called out our oder to the restaurant beside us and few minutes later our orders turned up. Mai Tais for Jess and I and soft drinks for the kids. Lovely.When we got home Maggie reported that she hadn't seen Edward (her teddy bear) for a few days. This was a major disaster to rival my missing jacket back in Turkey. Actually it was far worse because Edward has been with Maggie since the day she was born. Her big sister Jean had picked it for her. We gathered our thoughts and realised that we must have left him behind in Barcelona. I looked at my phone which still had Spanish time on it and it was only lunch time there. I rang and asked them if they had found a missing teddy bear. They said they would check and ring me back.We all went to bed hoping for some good news.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201404960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201404960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/guykb/easterneurope/1201404960/tpod.html Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:45:04 -0500 A journey through the exotic - Turkey, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Prague and Portugal. The KBs explore some new turf.

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Hua Hin, Thailand

Jess was still feeling out of sorts but managed to get us up 8 o'clock for breakfast and joined us for breakfast although I could tell that her heart wasn't in it. After breakfast she went back to bed and the girls and I headed down to the beach.We arrived pretty early and found a lot of empty lounge beds. We hired two for 50 baht each, This allowed us to run a tab with the restaurant behind and to use their toilets as well. Not bad value for $1.70 I thought. I stretched out our towels and we all went in for a swim. The waves here are pretty gentle but enough for a bit of a body surf. The girls discovered some tyres that were available for hire so I sent them off to sort it out. They came back excitedly telling me that they tyres were 20 baht each for a full day hire. I gave them each 20 baht and off they went again, returning a minute later with the tyres. They had a great play in the surf with the tyres, and I had to take a turn as well (great hardship).As I watched the endless stream of beach vendors trudging back and forth laden with various goods I saw some pretty dresses that I thought the girls might like. Calling them over I asked them to pick out one each. This took some time, but the women selling didn't mind - it was a sale after all and they appeared to be fairly hard to come by. Eventually the girls made their choices, tried them on and then the woman and I got down to haggling. 450 baht she typed into her calculator. 'For how many?' I asked. 'For one' she said laughing, knowing her opening bid was way too high. I typed 150 into the calculator. 'Oh no' she said, 'not possible'. She typed in 350. I said no way and typed in 170. By now she could see I was going to move slowly upwards. She came down to 300, I went up to 180. She said 'final offer' and typed in 250.  I said no, here is my final offer and typed in 200. She said no, I said okay then forget it. She looked alarmed and said '220'. I said no, I'll leave it thanks. She said 'OK 200' and the deal was done.It was time for lunch so what could be more convenient that walking 10 metres to the restaurant immediately behind our lounge beds? We had another good meal for a reasonable price. The girls had fried rice with chicken which was very tasty, but my green curry was a bit watery sadly.After lunch we walked back to our bungalow to check on the invalid. Jess was sleeping but woke when we prodded her hard enough. She said she was OK but still needed to lay low. We desperately needed sun screen. Although there was no sun and the girls were only out in the non-sun for 2 hours they had already been sunburnt a little. Thailand is deceptive that way. Often it can be hazy, seemingly harmless but the UV rays are just as damaging. Anyway we walked to the nearby market and bought the sunscreen. Strangely, this is one commodity that is never cheaper in Thailand. In fact it is about twice what we would pay for it at home.We called back in on Jess on the way back to the beach, dropping off some crisps that she had requested and went back to reclaim our beds by the sea. A corn vendor came by. This fellow carries around an overgrown set of scales on his shoulders (the name of which escapes me for the moment) with sheafs of corn on one end and hot coals on the other. For 50 baht he will roast the corn over the hot coals, brushing it with butter and lashings of salt then presenting it on a stick complete with a toothpick for post-eating enjoyment. We ordered two of them. The girls then went for another play on their tyres. This time they had rash tops on to save them from both the sun's rays and the rubbing against the tyre.After a while I succumbed to the urge for a foot massage. The massage station was just behind our lounges and from there I could watch the girls playing in the sand. For 250 baht I was treated to an hour of blissful attention to my feet. While this was happening Jess emerged feeling much better and enjoyed the last of the daylight. As we sat we watched the legions of very fat, very red, very old, very skimpily clad Scandinavians pack up their belongings and head back from whence they came. It is remarkable just how much flesh is on display here, and not in a good way. God knows what the Thais, naturally very modest people, make of it all. As we were leaving we were asked if we wanted to reserve our beds for the next day. 'Many people come' we were assured. I was somewhat sceptical of the hoards expected but reserving the beds sounded like a good idea anyway, so we did.After dark our host suggested that as it was Saturday we might enjoy a trip into Hua Hin night market. For 150 baht a taxi or tuk tuk would take us there. We walked to the end of our soi where sure enough there were a number of taxis waiting to take us into town.The night market is a series of stalls set up on either side of the street over 2 blocks. It has the usual assortment of stalls that you might expect in Thailand, including food, handicrafts, knock-off watches, clothing, luggage and heaps more. We had fun walking around and asking prices with not much intention to buy - we have three days in Bangkok for shopping at the end of our trip. We made a couple of small purchases (complete with requisite haggling) and ate at one of the restaurants that flank the markets. The food was ok but not spectacular. Cheap as anything though.After the night market, at around 10:30 we went for a walk around Hua Hin but it was mostly closed except for the bars and massage shops. So we all had a massage, then around midnight jumped into a tuk tuk and headed home. It was the end of a very full day.
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Hua Hin, Thailand

The final two legs of our long journey that started in Porto then went to Barcelona, Milan and then Singapore would see us taking a Thai Air Asia flight from Singapore to Bangkok and then a 'limousine' from Bangkok to Hua Hin.Boarding the Thai Air Asia flight was a typical experience for a budget carrier - a mad scramble for seats. I have no idea why so many of the budget carriers have unreserved seating on their flights. It couldn't take any extra time during check-in to allocate seats nor is there any way it could save them money. What it does create is a vast pool of extremely anxious passengers, and a lot of ill will. As you ready to board you are filled with a rush of adrenaline as you push and shove your way into a seat. The only conclusion I can make is that they are trying to make passengers pay to get the 'express boarding' service which allows you onto the plane first. Mind you, if all the passengers bought this there would be a mad scramble of all the 'express boarding' people. Basically any extra revenue they might receive is completely wiped by the ill feelings generated and also makes the airline appear disorganised and slap-dash. It can't be good for them and it certainly no good for us travellers.Anyway, rant over. Apart from this the Thai Air Asia flight was smooth and comfortable. We landed in Bangkok, collected our luggage (now down to a single bag since we left most of it in Singapore) and headed out through customs to find the man waiting with a sign with our name on it. I had successfully managed to book an online limousine transfer for the 4 hour journey from the airport to Hua Hin. This service www.taxihuahin.net was simple and easy and the price quoted online was 3000 baht for a minibus. The minibus was clean and comfortable and the driver offered us water which we gratefully received. We had a pretty straight ride to Hua Hin although I had thought it was 3 hours but it ended up being closer to 4.Hua Hin is on the western shore of the Gulf of Siam and is Thailand's earliest coastal resort. It came to prominence when the King of Thailand built a palace here and the southern railway was built and provided a way for Thai people to get here. Hua Hin definitely has a different pace to other Thai resorts. It is aimed far more towards the Thai domestic tourism market and it is nice to see so many Thais on holidays relaxing and playing rather than just providing services for us fat and lazy westerners.Having said all of that, Hua Hin still had the requisite number of massage shops, bars, restaurants, night markets, beach vendors, tuk tuks and everything else that goes with a typical Thai holiday. Hua Hin is also a traditional resort for Swedes, Fins and Danish people escaping the horrors of the northern winter. More on that later.We reached our destination, Ocean Breeze, without incident. Ocean Breeze is a tiny resort with just a few bungalows. Ours has a garden of its own, a small pool just for us which is enough for the girls to splash about in when we are not at the beach, and a two bedroom cottage. The cottage is a bit rustic - certainly not your up-market resort experience, but I had booked it for this very reason. Ocean Breeze is located about 4km out of Hua Hin in an area known as Kao Takiab, named after the large rocky knoll that sits at the northern end of the beach.We were greeted warmly by the staff and gratefully sat down to a glass of refreshing orange juice. Our body clocks were completely out of whack by now. Although the girls had snatched some sleep on the planes and on the car trip down here, neither Jess or I had had any sleep in more than 24 hours and our bodies were telling us that it was ten in the morning although the clock said four in the afternoon. Jess and I lay down for a few minutes while the girls had a splash in the pool. About 5 o'clock we headed down to the beach for a bit of a stroll. The beach is OK - nothing too flash - but only a 2 minute walk from our bungalow.On our first evening we walked up to the northern end of the beach and then on the way back Jess came down with Maggie's bug. I guess it was inevitable, because Jess had taken the primary nursing role for Maggie. The girls and I left Jess sleeping while we went to find some dinner. Our host recommended SuSaMas, just a five minute walk away. We took him up on his recommendation and discovered a small unassuming restaurant on the side of the road. It has great Thai food, however, and at very cheap prices. The girls and I had a big feast and the bill was just 400 baht (about $14). At home the same meal costs us around $100.We went for a bit of an explore before heading home to give Jess a chance for some time on her own. By 9 o'clock we were exhausted and headed home and to bed. I crashed out completely but the girls stayed awake until after midnight!
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