Siem Reap, Cambodia

Well....you are right Joe Mullen, Noel certainly does land on his feet:):) Thankfully when we arrived yesterday here, we walked out of baggage claim to the outside heat....so no accomodation desk or anything....which we thought could happen! Decided for 5 US dollars to take a taxi into the city, only 10 km away. The Cambodian currency is Riel ( 1 USD = 4,067.00 Riel) So to make it easier for every country represented here, everything is listed in USD....alot easier to do quick math that way:):)

We were so lucky as we sat into the taxi and were greeted by the kindest Cambodian, Muy Kim Soung who had fabulous english. So after experiencing some of the taxi drivers in Bangkok we were a little skeptical. But as we drove along he started giving lots of interesting information including suggestions of hotels....how much each of them cost per night in USD, even stopped at a few as we went to check on availablity. We had known from a little research that the best way to get to Angkor Wat and see the various temples surrounding Siem Reap was to do so with a driver. So we asked Kim Soung if he would mind taking us around during our stay.

He was overjoyed with the request, he told us many tourists like a bigger, newer car to be taken around in and not his 88 Toyota Camry! Noel quickly told him that I drive a 99 Peugeot with 180,000 miles on it ( he always feels the need to tell people that I drive alot of miles in Ireland!!)

Anyways.....he dropped us at hotel and a really nice one at that for 80USD per night. Picked us back up a few hours later to go watch the sunset from one of the temples. Really beautiful spot....accept the clouds came up right before but we'll have a couple nights to see it again.

He then drove us back into Siem Reap, made many more suggestions for us...they dropped me off for an hour massage (10 USD!!!!) and it was pure heaven...as the two of them went for a drink.

So to my mom...who was a little worried about us here in Cambodia, we have seen no sacred monkeys, snakes or cockroaches yet....in fact...its been one of the best days since we arrived, we thought the THai people were kind but the Cambodians couldnt be more helpful.

In saying that...we do have to be careful as Kim Soung did tell us that his family farm is only 10Km from here and last week a cobra bit one of the few calves they have and killed it.

So we'll just have to stay out of the jungle and watch out for snakes.

But we are looking very forward to the next couple of days.

Hope I'm not rambling on here...and thanks for keeping in touch.

maureen and noel

Bangkok

Well....had a fantastic weekend in Bangkok...definately a change from the peace and solitude of Koh Samui....to the hustle and bustle of city life. Our hotel was on the 25th floor overlooking the city and the outdoor pool....so we managed a few hours of sunshine at the poolside...but have to say it was a little too hot so we ventured into the MBK shopping center....so for those big shoppers our there...this would be heaven, so many different floors and directions that would be very easy to get lost. We had to remind one another that we have 8 weeks ahead of us to lug around luggage so really did more looking than anything else.

Noel however found an electronic shopping center (7 floors) where he bought a digital camera ( after apparently going back and forth with the sales assistance to the computer to check "customer rating websites" so I'd say the salesman wasnt soorry to see him go:):) (sorry Noel)

We then decided rather than spend another day in the city...we would check out rural thai country life and went on a organized tour..departed Sunday at 650am from hotel and traveled 120km to Damnoen to see the floating markets....wow what an experience. The bus dropped us at these irrigation waterways that we then traveled by boat for about 20 minutes to these floating markets. ( We'll include a photo here to give you a better idea) This is the area in Thailand where all the farmers bring their crops (mango, coconut, rice,tapioca, pineapple...every thai fruit imaginable and much more....) to sell and then all of the goods to be sold to the tourist as well (bags, clothes, jewelry....knick knacks) As bus loads of us arrive here daily.

On the return back to Bangkok we stopped at a factory where they make teak furniture. The workers here make only 40 us dollars a month and to see the craftsmanship is unbeleivable for so little money.

So back that evening for another yummy thai meal.....never realized all the different types of curry you could get....and not even getting sick of it.

To bed early to rise for a morning departure to Cambodia.....only realizing that eve that we have no accomodation when we arrive in Siem Reap, apparently they emailed Noel to say the hotel was full.....so should be interesting....but of course Noel so laid back.....not to worry.."sure it will all work out OK, will get something when we arrive"

And so we did...here in Cambodia now but have to finish for tonight so will sign on tomorrow.

Take care

xoxo

Last day in Napasai /Ko Samui

Well....our first stop coming to an end, we are defnately well rested and ready to hit the city of Bangkok. We managed to get 2 days (well partial days) without rain....and did some kayaking on both occasions....we are able to see Koh Phangan from the resort here...about 15 km away so the minute we started paddling.... I had a hard time convincing Noel we were not going to kayak over to it.......he had heard lots about the "full moon parties"....I think Seamus knows about those!!! In a strange way I think the rain may have been a good thing to force use to rest....as many of you in Clonmel know its difficult to keep Noel still for very long.....he probably would have been out on motorbikes with the locals and hiking in the national park....we have lots of time ahead of us for that...BUT INSTEAD.....we took advantage of the very posh suite we had and the resort offering dvd's....so we watched an entire series of Prison Break...series 2 for those of you who follow it and we are hooked....so if we experience more rainy nights...I think we will look onto the web for series 3:):)

Heading shortly now for a 4 hour tour around Koh Samui to see some of the sights as we dont fly until tonight at 8pm and its dry.

Thanks for your comments...and yesterday we were able to access the wedding photos...for anyone interested in the 400+ of them.....www.kathleenvoss.com...

Take care

maureen and noel

Koh Samui

Well we have arrived safely yesterday after about 11 hours on flight, slept most of it so that was a bonus. Had to wait in Bangkok airport for about 3 hours and then to Koh Samui,only 45 min. flight, the resort is just amazing, and I know we better savor every moment because our accomodation will not be like this for a long time ( as Noel reminds me:)
Its 90 degrees but lots of rain/thunder and lightning the last 24 hours, probably a good thing as it forced us to sleep...alot. We are assuming there will be plenty of sunshine in the next 2 months so we wont mind the rain. Our bodies are a little unsure of the time but will adjust I imagine.
The spa is booked for tomorrow and I am again reminded by my husband these pleasures will only be allowed in the first week.

So this will be a great way to keep in touch so thanks for the comments....and I liked the definition Mary...hopefully there will be more harmony than anything else:):)

Take Care
xox

ok...this blog here is in another language, and apparently not Thai cause we wanted to make sure we were posting it and the gentleman here does not know......so will take a guess and hope it works
Maureen and Noel

Test

I have no idea what this is going to do?