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Attached is our latest update. Sorry we have been off the air for so long.

One of the pics shows tables and chairs on the beach which is the beachfront restaurant in our hotel - great place to spend time with family and friends.
How about it everyone. Who's up to coming over for a visit??

 

 

Anyway, will catch up again soon.

Luv to all.

Maz & lee

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Well, just checked my 3rd email and can’t believe I have not touched base since we were in Kuala Lumpur.  Now in Phuket and have a lot to catch up on.  Will keep it short.

We stayed in KL for 5 nights in total.  Really is just another city but had a good time just the same.

Early departure from KL to the Cameron Highlands which took about 6 hours by coach.  Good trip through all the countryside.  Last stage of trip up to the highlands was really great – thick jungle and rainforest.  Quite a bit cooler than in the lowlands, stayed just 2 nights which was just enough.  Did a day trip which included a visit to a tea plantation.  Took lots of photos – Boh Tea Plantation – don’t know if you know it Ron & Suz’s prob do.  Not on level ground like yours – all up and over hills and on side of mountains.  All picked by man but use hand shears, not picked by hand apparently.

Anyway, another bus down to Penang.  As we waited on the side of the road for the bus, Lee and I played catch with a small rock, standing across the road from each other, and tossing in between traffic.  Filled in the 45min wait, then we panicked as our bus went straight past us.  Luckily, a taxi driver noticed we had been waiting for the bus, so he jumped in his cab and stopped the bus, came back and picked us up, and then refused some payment from us for his help until we insisted.  Boy that was close!  Good trip down, not jungle like trip up and all through market garden type farms and orchards.  Arrived in Penang in early afternoon.  Bridge from the mainland to Paulu Penang is about 1.5 klm’s in length and was quite impressive.  As driving over, the water on both sides looked a bit suss – patches of beautiful crystal clear blue / green and then cloudy brown murky bits – so not quite sure what to expect.  Staying on northern coast of island so it should be really nice.  Yeh right.  Not!!  Anyway, had booked at the Ferrenghi Beach Hotel resort in Ferrenghi Beach.  Yeh right!  Now called the Hydro Majestic Resort and about 4 to 5 klm’s from the Ferrenghi Beach, the main area with night markets and food halls.  Not to worry though – local bus trip 1 Ringgit each which is 30cents so not to worry.  Hotel room OK – had small balcony with ocean view – pretty good for booking over the net.  Pool’s with yellow tiles on the bottom is not a good look.  Part of the pool had blue tiles so we swam over that section – mentally it just felt better.  Anyway, first day, local bus trip to the beach, and the road is very bendy – following the flow of the side of the hills, and bus driver takes the corner a bit sharp, dodging on-coming traffic and we hit the side of the hill / concrete guttering and the bus is stuck tight.  Can’t go forward, can’t go back.  They travel with the back door tied open which is great as it lets in the breeze and that’s just where the bus jammed – the doorway step jammed in the concrete.  Lee tried to break away the lumps of concrete, but wouldn’t budge.  So everyone off the bus, then some tooing and frowing, locals redirecting traffic, and the driver gets the bus clear – after many missed gear changes – very reassuring.  Finally, we’re clear so all back on the bus, and we off.  Driver gives Lee and very appreciative wave as we get off.  Find our way to the beach through a very flash hotel, walk along for a way, and then walk into the Holiday Inn – this looks nice, so make ourselves at home on one of their 100 or so lounges and sunbake and swim in their pool.  Very nice.  Have to swim in the pool ‘cause you’d have to catch something if you even stepped foot in the ocean.  Looked like sludge soup, and the jet skis are churning up and down – yuk.  Went to do the same the next day, but pushed our luck a bit far.  Shouldn’t be greedy – had been settled in for a while on the banana lounges, then we were approached by a security guard – Lee tried a couple of swifties, but to no avail.  We were told we had 5 mins to move on.  The guard was really quite nice about it.  How embarrassing!!  I’m not doing that again.  Anyway, ads a bit of spice!!

Wouldn’t recommend bothering to go to Penang – not much.  Went to the capitol Georgetown ‘cause we thought we should.  We shouldn’t.  Absolutely nothing to see.  Did Penang Hill Railway which was worth it but only to see the railway which was built by the British in 1913.  Some feat.  Just more of the same up top.

Stayed 4 nights in Penang, then Ferry to Langkawi.  Quite a nice little island – very lay back and not hectic and commercialised as other places.  The best part is that it is Duty Free - so alcohol is cheaper than Coke.  Lee says they are selling it cheaper than he could make his.  In all the rush to leave Aus, I couldn’t find my bikini, so finally made my first purchase and bought one for $8 AUS – tie sides so not much to it but still cheaper than home.  We hired a car for 2 days for $13 AUS per day, and drove around the whole island – can do it in 2 hours straight.  A really pretty island with some nice little bays with good sand.  The nicest thing I guess was that there were lots of little limestone islands jutting out of the ocean everywhere – so very picturesque.  Hotel had cocktail hour every afternoon.  I never seem to know when to stop, and they shouldn’t taste so nice going down.  The second night, I decided to have 3 – previous night I had 2 and I was OK – just very happy.  Will I ever learn!  Decided that once I have something to eat, I’ll be better – Yeh right!  We drove to the main street, ordered a couple of courses, managed to get one tiny spring roll down, and that was it.  Lee had to cancel the rest and thank God we had the car.  Lee put me to bed, with a drink of water – then the usual at about 3am – dying of thirst and the hangover just beginning.  Few pills and back to bed – Apples in the morning, but no more cocktails thank you!!  Dinner at the same restaurant the next night, and they remembered and asked after my health.  Didn’t tell them it was self-inflicted – they were very sympathetic, which I didn’t deserve.

When we first arrived in Langkawi, we decided to purchase our return ferry ticket there and then as it would save us having to come back.  We happened upon a very helpful fellow who ended up selling us a full ticket to Phuket, which included the ferry to Satun which was the border crossing into Thailand, then bus all the way to Phuket.  Cost per person was $40 which was excellent for pick up from our hotel which was about a 30 mins trip, the one hour ferry trip to Satun, then six hour bus trip.  Paid him there and then, gave us an official receipt, and a couple of little yellow stickers which we were to stick on our shirts.  As we had hired a car, we didn’t end up needing the transfer from our hotel, so as we happened to be in town the day before departure, we left a message at the counter that we didn’t need the pick up.  Thank goodness we had the car!!  When we arrived at the Ferry terminal, no sign of the guy who we bought our ticket from, and his office empty and nobody had seen him for 2 days.  Of all the counters, of which there were heaps, the one we need is empty.  Anyway, we got a bit toey as you would, when we were approached by a helpful fellow, who used his mobile to ring this agent, we had his business card.  Our agent was at the KL airport, and asked this fellow to pay our way, and he would fix him up.  They don’t know each other so of course that wasn’t going to happen.  Luckily a girl at the next counter uses the bus people who we were supposed to be booked on as per the little yellow stickers, and she assured up our bus trip should be OK, so we had to purchase ferry tickets ourselves, $9 AUS each, and this helpful fellow then showed us to the police office where we lodged a formal complaint.  Anyway, we put the stickers on us and hoped for the best.  Thankfully, at Satun, they were worth their weight in gold, the spotter saw the stickers and took us under his wing and led us to the office once we had cleared immigration and customs.  The six hr bus trip that was suppose to leave at 10.30 ended up being an eight hour trip that didn’t leave until 12.15 - And it was the local bus that stopped at all stops along the way.  Anyway, although a bit cramped, lots to see and the most amazing landscape once again with tree covered limestone jagged outcrops jutting out of the earth.  Had to get transport from Phuket town to Patong Beach, so suggested to a Saudi Arabi couple with their 15 year old son who we met on the bus, to share a taxi.  Did the deal, and was led to a tuk-tuk – they had to be kidding.  Four quite large adults and a pretty average kid with luggage – it never ceases to amaze me what these people can achieve – they got us in alright – no worries.  

Anyway, arrived finally at Patong Beach, Phuket.  We booked over the net 4 nights at Patong Bay Garden Resort - an absolute beachfront small hotel, and what a find - absolutely magic.  After looking into more permanent apartments the following day or so, we have done a deal with Patong Bay.  Their peak season starts on 1st Nov, so have basically booked our room until then for $42.00 AUD per night which includes buffet brekky every morning.  A little bit more than what we had budgeted, but wait till you see the photos.  For those of you who may know Patong Beach, we are about 30m north of Bang-La Road which is the main street heading inland from the beach, stacked full of night bars and all the action.  So we are in dead centre.  I have sent some more pics and as we sunbake by the pool with the ocean at our backs, you can see the traffic cruising by through the open reception area.  Each night we just walk out and our biggest decision is whether to turn left or right!!   I have also included a pic showing me writing this to you all whilst sitting by the pool; just to make you all envious.  Not really. 

From here, we will prob just do a few nights stay at Krabi, looking at hiring a motor bike to get around, but at the moment just doing absolutely nothing.  Don’t know how long we can do that for, but time will tell.

The Tsunami has really knocked the place around in tourist numbers.  We have seen several photos taken during and of course after the event.  Some photos show people with just their heads above the swirling waters, and you can’t help but wonder - did they make it!  Others showing many standing on the beach watching the water recede and then next all running as the reality hits.  These photos are all for sale, and I really can’t get my head around making money out of something that killed so many people.  The Thai are very resilient people and seem to be able to turn something so devastating into a positive.  I guess it’s just natural survival.  Most of what was destroyed has been rebuilt, but some not so.  As we walk around, I can recognise (Lee can’t) places were we had eaten, or shops we had been in, as the northern end of Patong had damage mostly only to the ground floor of the buildings, which had been essentially completely stripped.  The density of the buildings in the northern end is what probably saved most of the structures, as the water wound it’s way through alleys and streets. The southern end, not so lucky, buildings completely destroyed, and still some vacant blocks.

There is an elderly couple from Perth who spend 3 months each year in this hotel, and they have told us that there was a second Tsunami in March last year, that hit about midnight.  They told us they were woken with loud banging on the door, staff yelling saying “Mamma, Pappa, Tsunami run quick” so they quickly threw on some clothes, grabbed their passports and flight tickets out of their safe, and ran to reception.  They said that the whole street was full of Tuk-Tuk’s ready to get everyone to high ground.  Within no time, they were up in the hills, safe and waited for the all clear.  At about 4.00am they were taken back after being given breakfast up in the hills.  It was only a small wave that just reached the pool in our hotel, but they said that the early warning system and evacuation plans they now have in place were terrific.

From our perspective, the only positive we can see from the Tsunami is that it has made them clean up everything.  The Thai’s, as in all Asian countries we have visited, know nothing about general maintenance.  Once it’s built that’s it.  So along the beachfront, it is a lot cleaner, not as smelly as before, but unfortunately, it will just be a matter of time, and things will be as they were.

Anyway, a complete update about us.  Trust all is well with everyone.  Now that we have settled, will get some more personal emails off.  Sorry, it has been so long.  In Penang, there was no such thing as a phone connection, just wires coming out of the wall, and Lee didn’t bring his little tool kit, what a shame.  In Langkawi, well even though there was a phone in the room that was just so you could speak to reception.  If you wanted to make a call, you had to do it from the phone adjacent to reception.  To use the internet at the hotels, only one computer, so you had to just about book in, so always in a rush.  Hard to write a letter when the clock’s ticking.

Till next time,

Maz & Lee.

xoxoxox  

P.S.  Just noticed at the beginning, I said I would keep it short, but you all know me, once I start I can’t stop.  Suffer!!