50 something on her travels

Our original plan was to stay on Koh Rong island and visit Kampot during our stay in Cambodia.  Luckily we have the flexibility to change plans if required. We read some negative reports about the island (one of them was about rubbish again!) And that Kampot had experienced severe flooding.  So after visiting Siem Reap, Battambang and Phnom Penh it was an earlier return to Bangkok than expected. Last minute we booked a B&B over the other side of the Chao Phraya River in the old city.  Vera Nidhra is a cute guest house tucked down a residential side road away from the screaming traffic.  It is perfect. Apart from two single beds which means I am unable to shake George when he starts snoring 😴 #veranidhra #bangkok #thailand 

After a relaxing Christmas and New Year we took the four hour coach back to Bangkok for a brief two nights stay. We decided to return back to the lovely Mooncome Homestay Airbnb which I highly recommended to any traveller to Bangkok.  #mooncomehomestay #bangkok #airbnb

On 20 December we moved down south to spend Christmas and New Year at the beach resort of Hua Hin. As we have the luxury of time (and its more fun), we opted for a sleeper train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok which took 12 hours. Arriving on 21 December early morning we then took a 4 hour long morning train to our final destination. I would highly recommend the newer Chinese sleeper train experience  in second class.  First comment to make is the train is very clean.  There are a team of cleaners sweeping and mopping the floor during the evening, collecting your rubbish and cleaning the toilets.  There is no restaurant carriage open since Covid, but there is a caterer taking orders and delivering dinner to your table. We did buy a meal but it wasn't the best - now we know why the locals brought food on the train with them!  When you board the train you sit in normal seats. A little too hard if you opt to take a day train. Around 8...

After a week in Bangkok it was time to move on. George was ill for a few days with a cold (unsure if it was covid) so it was a low key visit. Luckily he is feeling much better 😁 On 1 December we took the train from the famous Bangkok Hua Lamphong Station to Ayutthaya which is around 64 kilometres north.  We had a choice of many trains but opted for a 3rd class experience at 15 baht each or 35p each for the 2 hour journey. For this we got a hard plastic seat, ceiling fans and an open window. It was very enjoyable for the price! 

No trip to Bangkok is complete without a visit to the historical sites in the city. First you must navigate your way around the swarm of touts who tell you the Palace is closed/you can't buy a ticket/tell you a better attraction to pay for. Their methods are well known and we were prepared with the response of no thank you, smile, ignore and walk away.  We visited the Grand Palace, Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Wat Pho (reclining Buddha). Tourists have to pay to get in and must wear modest clothing - but it will well worth the sweat! My favourite was the reclining Buddha which is 15 metres high and 46 metres long😲

On 25 November we left Penang - I won't lie, I was glad to leave as I thought it was a dump.  The intention was to take the train and then ferry to the Malaysian island of Langkawi for a few days of sun and beach. However the weather in SE Asia is unseasonably wet at the moment making a beach trip a waste of time.  This is unfortunately also the case for the lower Thai islands.  So we've rejigged our onward journey. We hope to visit the Thai Islands later in our trip. We decided to head next for Bangkok. We looked at various options for trains and buses to take us there as we did not want to fly. However the logistics did not work out well so we  booked a last minute Air Asia flight. We are now in Bangkok for 6 nights. It is good to be back!  We booked a delightful Airbnb very close to the centre. Mooncome Homestay is an oasis of calm at the end of a very quiet alley. You only know you're in Bangkok when you come out of the alley!   I will ...

Last night we were recommended a local restaurant to try. When we arrived we realised it was a former Michelin star rated restaurant (2019-2021). Before turning away we looked at the prices and then went in for a delicious meal. Even more delicious as two main courses and two juices cost under £10! I highly recommend Ongtong Khaosoi 😍