Siem Reap continued

The next day, my actual birthday, we went to the Siem Reap War Museum. It was very interesting learning about the war and all the vehicles, weapons and landmines there. It was sad to see all the photos of people who had lost arms and legs; the man who took our tickets on the way in had an arm missing. There are still many landmines in Cambodia now. There were guns there which we were allowed to touch and pick up and different types of landmines. There was a helicopter, an airplane with bullet holes in it and a few tanks and other vehicles all looking very worse for wear. The next stop was Wat Tmei, a temple where there was lots of human skulls encased behind glass. They are the skulls of people killed under the Khmer regime led by Pol Pot. We learnt about how he had millions of people killed in horrible ways. We went to a couple of other places, then on the way back Stuart picked up my birthday cake. It said ‘Happy Birthday Megs’, was white and pink and had teddies and a flower on it. It was delicious! We had to stay longer than we planned in Cambodia so just spent the last couple of days walking round the shops and markets, when it wasn’t raining, and at a nearby swimming pool. We also went back to the children’s play area which was lots of fun.

My day to remember

We set off early for the Temples of Angkor, where there are more than one thousand temples, eating fresh croissants on the way in the tuk tuk. We visited just six of them which took us over six hours. The first of temple was Angkor Wat and I was in charge of leading us all around it. Angkor Wat is the main temple at Angkor; it was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II. Next was Bayon which has lots of massive stone faces on it. I got an elephant ride around this temple all by myself and I couldn’t stop smiling all the way around. After a couple of smaller temples we got to the one I was most looking forward to which was Ta Keo, known as the Tomb Raider temple because it is used in the Tomb Raider film. We climbed up the very steep and very narrow steps all the way to the top using our hands as well as our feet. The final, and most spectacular looking, temple we explored was Preah Khan. There is lots of huge tree growing around and over parts of the temple. It looked absolutely amazing, like nothing any of us had ever seen before. At the temples there were lots of children selling things and some begging. We saw a little girl, who was only about four, on her own looking after a tiny baby about 6 months old. It was very sad to see and it really upset Mum. Angkor is the most amazing place I have ever seen and I’m sure I will remember it forever.
On the way back the tuk tuk stopped outside Lucky Mall to let me and Mum out. We got to the top floor of the mall and Mum told me my next surprise was having my nails done. I got to choose whichever nail art I wanted so I had them painted in glittery gold and purple with monkey stickers. Later we went out for a meal and I got to wear my Thai dress and order anything I wanted from the menu. I just wanted cheeseburger and chips, but I did try a little bit of snake which was disgusting. After the meal Mum and Stuart gave me a little gold Buddha to remember my special day by. On the walk back to the hotel I had one last surprise, a 20 minute Dr Fish. I loved the feeling of all the fish nibbling at my feet and toes. It felt really weird and tickly. I had an amazing day; it was my best birthday ever!

Siem Reap

We got the train to Aranyprathet, a tuk tuk to the boarder and then walked across to the Cambodian side, getting our visas along the way. We then got a taxi to our hotel in Siem Reap, which too about 2 hours. Once we arrived we went straight out for tea at Johnny Walkers as all we had eaten all day was sausage on a stick and some horrible rice. The first full day we spent walking around Siem Reap. We went Wat Preah Prom Rath, a small and mostly red and gold temple. Next we called off at a butterfly garden where we saw some big and very pretty butterflies and we saw a lizard eating one of them. We also went to a children’s soft play area which was ace. There was a little battery powered motorbike there that Jack loved. There was also an arcade there which kept the adults entertained. Mum kicked Stuarts butt on the Street Fighter game and he wasn’t impressed at all.

With my birthday coming up I was given a choice, I could either have a present or a day to remember, but because of the weather if I chose the special day it would be the day before my birthday. Straight away I chose the day to remember and I can’t wait!

Back to Koh Samui then Bangkok

After an early morning and a short ferry ride we were back in Koh Samui. We went back to the same resort where we had stayed before and were soon back on Chaweng Beach. We spent the following day on the beach too. It was great. The next morning we set off to get the 7am boat to Don Sak Pier. From there we got a bus to Surat Thani just in time to get the train to Bangkok. It was a very small train with just 2 carriages. The journey took about 10 hours, so when we arrived we got the MRT to Sutthisani and then walked straight to the hotel. The next day we went to the mall for a good walk around. We were going to watch Toy Story 3 at the Cinema until we found out it would cost 350thb (£7) each. We headed back to the hotel early as we had to be up at about 4.30am to catch the 5.55am train to Aranyprathet which is the where the crossing from Thailand to Cambodia is. There were 2 main reasons Mum extended our trip, other than because we were having such an amazing time, those were Vietnam and Cambodia. Unfortunately due to time and cost we are unable to go to Vietnam now, however we are still going to Cambodia. We will be going to Siem Reap and to the Temples of Angkor and I can’t wait!

Koh Phangan

We got a small boat from Koh Samui to Koh Phangan that didn’t take long at all. It was one where you walk in to the sea a little bit to climb onto it. We got off the boat at Haad Rin and walked to the hotel. Within about an hour of getting there it started to pour down with rain and continued on and off for the rest of the day. After a night of little sleep, because of lots of noisy people, we hired a bike to find a quieter part of the island. We ended up at a place called Haad Salad where we stayed for two nights in a little beach hut by the sea, which had a hammock on the porch. The day we arrived it was raining there so we had a meal then an early night to catch up on some sleep.
On the first full day we headed straight for the beach where we soon realised we would need to wear our sandals in the water because of all the broken shells at the shoreline. Even with my sandals on though I sliced my toe open on something sharp in the water so it was decided we would have to find another beach to play on. We found one not far away called Koh Ma, where there is coral reef. I saw so many different fishes of all colours and shapes as well as lots of other creatures in the coral reef like huge slugs, big spiky things and a little creature like Jacques from Finding Nemo. The beach itself was gorgeous, with golden sand and clear water. There was a big swing hanging from a tree which Jack loved.
The next morning we headed back to Haad Rin to spend one night there before getting the boat back to Koh Samui. We spent most of the day on the beach, but we hadn’t been in the sea long before we saw jellyfish so had to get out. Mum even got stung by one. Later we spent a couple of hours in the hotel pool which overlooked the ocean and then in the evening we went out for a meal at a place that shows films on a big screen tv, which we all loved.

Note from Mum
The best way to describe Koh Phangan would be paradise. In Haad Salad we would sit outside the restaurant of our resort in the evening and watch the sunset over the little cove, with Bob Marley tunes playing in the background and the tinkling of wind chimes. There were coconut trees everywhere you turned, ropes covered with shells hanging down all around and two small boats bobbing gently in the water. At the other side of the island, Haad Rin is fantastic too. There are loads of restaurants all in close proximity showing films one after another. After spending so much time travelling, mostly with no tv or with only the odd English channel, it was great to sit and chill out watching a film. Koh Phangan is somewhere we would love to have stayed longer if we hadn’t had the children with us. As beautiful and amazing as the island is, it’s just not a great place for kids. There have been small problems with every beach we have tried in terms of their safety, which is why we made the decision to head back to Chaweng beach, Koh Samui, which is perfect for them.

Koh Samui

Chaweng Beach is the best we have seen on the holiday so far, it’s stunning. The sand is so soft and white; the sea is a beautiful turquoise and is calm and warm. On the first day we hired a jet ski and it was awesome. We got up to 54kmh and Jack and I were screaming with excitement. We spent most of our time in Samui playing on the beach and in the water, even at night we were still out there playing games and watching fireworks go off and lanterns float up into the sky. We still hired a moped again though. I went on a long trip to top of the island and Jack went on a different trip to see a rock which is shaped like a willy, which he found hilarious.

On the second day we decided to do some snorkelling. As my dad had given me some extra money I decided to buy a snorkelling set out of it. It’s fantastic; it’s a professional set, with kid size flippers. . I have seen lots of tropical fish as well as crabs and some jellyfish. I absolutely love it and just want to say a massive thank you to my dad. I love and miss you loads. x

Whilst I was snorkelling, Jack chilled out in the water in his rubber ring which he really loves. He floats about in it for hours, doing s little bit of swimming now and again as well as playing with his inflatable ball and aeroplane. We all had a brilliant time in Koh Samui just relaxing on the beach.

Journey back to Thailand

We set off early to get the first ferry from Langkawi to Satun. From there we got a bus to Hat Yai then a minibus to Surat Thani. Because it was late when we arrived in Surat Thani and we were all tired we got a hotel for the night and went straight to bed. The following morning we continued our journey. We got a pickup bus to the port in Don Sak, then finally a ferry to Koh Samui. The views from the ferry were fantastic, particularly the colour of the water. From the port we got a taxi to our hotel in Chaweng, dropped off our bags and headed to the beach which was right on our doorstep.