Gee Gee’s Gossip

So by now Brendan and I had been to a few airports, which consisted of various big brand stores with escalators and the joys of modern technology. So we were a lil surprised to make our way to the airport that consisted of a straw type roof with no walls. But in this heat there were plenty of reasons why this was. So we were greeted by our lovely tour guide that would assist us to our hotel (so worth organising a transfer with your travel agent, as Brendan and I experienced on our flight out - she pushed us through as we had stood in the queue for a hour with no result as the final boarding call for our plane was being announced).

As we drove through the streets, well one long street, we witnessed the third world trying to replicate modern society (if that makes any sense). Again, this was missed off our travel brochures… I was wondering what kind of place I had booked us into. Luckily, the fifty hours on the internet of trying to find a suitable, affordable, stylish resort paid off! Baan Hin Sai - an excellent resort in the middle of Chaweng Beach and Lami (two quite developed ‘towns’).

We had a lovely villa near the rocky cliffside - not suitable for swimming but an amazing view. And we had two pools at the resort which consisted of three tiers - so I couldn’t really complain. It was definitely hotter here and I was ‘glowing’ (perspiring) a lot and Singha beer was a friend at every meal.

The highlight of the trip was the pink scooter (my favourite accessory colour!) that I got to spend four hours glued to the back of Brendan while we were touring the wee island. As there were no fancy shopping malls which meant no fancy eaterys, so we dined with the locals and the best Pad Thai we have had (no Singha’s for Brendan that lunch time). We managed to make our way safely around with no major bouts of cramp. We saw the Grandmother and Grandfather rocks - very suggestive to say the least… I’m sure Bren would of put the photos up on his site by now…

We also went on a boat tour of the small island around Koh Samui. This was brilliant!! We went snorkling and after I stopped inhaling the sea the view was amazing! Not so much fun when you are amongst the loaf of bread in the water and the lil intimidating fishes aren’t that cute anymore. We went to several island and after walking up several flights of steps we had the most amazing few of the Emerald Lake and the beach. Then on to another island to be feed authentic thai lunch where the power is generated from solar panels. Amazing. Bren and I got good tans that day!!

We thought we would check out the famous kick boxing scene ‘da fight of da fight’ (just think the Rocky theme times cheese plus dodgey accent). We found out the location for one of the stadiums in Chawang - they advertise these everywhere. The place was a few streets over from the main drag so we set off. As the lights got dimmer slash dark, a familiar feeling arose in me - Pat Pong?? The stadium was in the heart of the ‘friendly’ area. So I took Brendan’s wallet and his hand and we darted into the stadium to find that it was empty! The fight was the night before. We were a tad disappointed but decided to check out the area clinging to each other. And we were tempted to go in to the Reggae bar - reminded me of Foxton - but couldn’t quite forget the fear that Pat Pong had inflicted upon us so we went to Murphey’s - yup, an Irish pub.

One thing I would like to point out that is not in the travel brochures - Bangkok is a little SMELLY! And the intense humidity, food flavours (not all thai spices are good!) and the pollution. Hehee, not very positive, I know. But I have to say after venturing out for a day, we soon adopted the lifestyle (only as a tourists), and made good shopping progress… bartering is great! I think the western society has a lot to learn from this technique. In retrospect, we were quite lucky that our hotel was surrounded by all the cheap market stalls - able to drop the items back to the hotel quicker. I’m sure at the start Brendan and I overpaid for our ‘genuine rip-offs’ but we soon copped on. A puma bag for $8 NZD, puma shoes for $20 NZD (I am now seeing why…) and Diesel watch(es) - yes plural, for $4-6 NZD and plentiful t-shirts managed to find their way in to our bags - great, even heavier, poor Brendan… muscley Brendan!

The department stores were amazing - MBK centre for example, I think we spent about 3 hours looking at cell phones and electronics on the one floor (I think I was quite patient!!) before leaving with a new cell phone cover for Brendan…

The food was lovely and spicy… though the golden arches (and I don’t mean from a thai palace) was our saviour from the dodgy food vendors.

We also did do some proper sight-seeing, not just Patpong, but on an actual tour. We went to The Golden Palace. Amazing! We took loads of photos and no doubt we will upload them as soon as possible. Gold leafed buildings, jade buddhas and ornate designs, all handmade by the people of their Kingdom. And then of course, and this was probably the reason why we never did another tour, was that you always ended up at a ’store’. In our case, we went to a jewellery manufacturer were we watched a video in their theatre room on how the jewellery was made. A very cheesy but not proud presentation was pitched to the western people. Then we were given a tour lady per couple, who was secretly not actually a tour lady but a evil pushy sales person who made Gwen try on different rings with big diamonds and various flashy gems that were way out of Gwen’s budget (being unemployed at all). So Brendan and I did a runner…

I have to say, the tuk-tuk rides are well worth doing. No need to go to a fancy amusement parks for crazy dodgem rides, just hop on one of these things for like $1.60 NZD (be only .80 if you let him take you to a ’store’). Brendan and I were so impressed with one driver we tipped him 100 BAHT (which is only like $4.00 NZD but sounds impressive). I think it was because we made it back to our hotel alive. He took on rush hour and zig zagged his way through, narrowly escaping traffic without even flinching and still managing to make polite conversation.

And now for Patpong… well, I have to say that the Patpong markets are fantastic. I was not impressed by all the ‘nudie’ bars surrounding them. Especially when they won’t leave you alone. So unfortunately, as all red blooded males, Brendans ‘curosity’ won the better of him… to put it politely. We ended up going in to a club. A huge swarm of ‘employees’ surrounded us and were not shy. So they offered us some beers and Bren accepted by saying ‘open them on the table’, which was quite smart of him to remember because we have heard of dodgy stories where they have messed with the drinks. The average beer in Bangkok costs about 55-100 BAHT (so say $2.00 to $4.00) depending where you go, so when Brendans new friend came back saying 800 BAHT for two, we were a little surprised. We were even more surprised when the lil thai lady lost it at Brendan demanding her money for the beers plus a ‘tip’. Brendan reached for his wallet in sheer terror to get the harrassing gaggle away from us, he told and showed that he only had 800 BAHT (good guess lady!) and that that was too expensive for the beers. So she snatched the money in disappointment and her and her feely touchy fleet deserted us. I was still trying to figure out what had just happened and feeling slighty vunerable. Then before I had even had a sip of my $16 Heinken, a thought crossed my mind… if they have taken all our money, how the hell are we suppose to get back to our hotel room which was like 4kms away?? So Brendan drank both the beers because I was spewing at what had just happened and was ready to throttle someone, when a western couple game in and were fleeced the same way we were. We managed to see a bit of the show which was NOT impressive and quite frankly disturbing. So we left and flagged down a taxi which we arranged to pay back at the hotel at double rate but who really cared, I was just stoked to get out of that situation.

So that was Bangkok…

So Brendan and I have made the jump across the ditch… FINALLY! And so far, so good.

We have finished our lives in lil old Napier (for the moment…) and filled my mums house up with what little assets we own.

So far we have survived 11 days with eachothers company with a bit of input from the rellies. I thoroughly enjoyed Brisbane. Meeting Brendan’s relations and seeing my own. Lots of boozing and yacking. We even managed a bit of sightseeing. Twas GRAND! Went to the Gold Coast. I couldn’t believe how beautiful the sand and beach was… gold sand! None of this black ash volcanic grit that we have in Kiwiland. And even though I come from Foxton with our own famous (well, nationally anyway) beach, I was very impressed. Not to mention the massive skyscraper surrounding the place and the fact that the water was 25 degrees!

We also went to Mallullaba Beach which was great except for the little stingy things in the water. O yeah, and when Brendan dunked me under a MASSIVE (LIKE MASSIVE) wave which then three waves proceeded to suffocate me and make me in to a sand queen. Not cool, especially after seeing a guy with blood running down his face after being rescued from the wicked surf.

We then went and saw my Auntie Liz in Ipswich where we drank loads of wine and caught up with my cousin and second cousins. FANTASTIC! A lovely hangover for our next flight.

Melbourne was the next destination. We stayed with Brendan’s third cousins. Which confirms the theory, that all Irish convicts from a few years ago were all sent off to Australia… hehee.

Seriously, it was fantastic and not just because the company was brilliant or the sights, but because we didn’t have to lug our gear around for six days. I thought backpacks were suppose to be easier than suitcases?? Unfortunately, the only complain I have had so far is that my knee is definitely not 100% and am seriously considering the knee operation that I promised by physiotherapist I would have with my fingers crossed. On a plus side, Brendans arm muscles have quite developed… after carrying both our 20kg bags for a lot of the time (hey, he insisted!)… and bless him!

It was great for both Brendan and I to catch up with some friends in Melbourne. And we had a fantastic time with his cousins; we were taken to Mansfield in Yarra Valley, and plenty of wineries just happened to be on the way… Was just like being back in Napier. We really appreciated their hospitality!!