In the package, I received the certificate itself, along with a letter as well as my teaching ID card which serves as my certification unless the certificate is specifically requested. With the certificate you also get a certificate number which is required when applying for jobs, so I added it to my Langley application before sending that. It is also requested by TQS (Teacher Qualification Services) and I am sending that application today. TQS determines how much money teachers earn based on their level of training and teaching experience.

In order to get a call back from Langley, I’ll need a TQS card, but first, TQS need my application, along with my official transcripts from University. I requested those be sent, online, yesterday so I’m hoping I get a response from TQS within a week or two.

My resume is also up to scratch and I now have an account on Education Canada’s website for potential employers. I have also subscribed to job search results on makeafuture.ca where I get emails about certain job postings.

For the first time in a long time, I feel as if I am close to actually teaching in a high school once again. With the TQS application sent, the next time I could be waiting for a phone call, may be from a school district, fingers crossed.

So within 2 weeks I would assume I would have received my teaching certificate, finally. With that in mind, I’ve been looking online and trying to understand how I would go about getting TOC work. It’s much more complicated here compared t back in Aus. Here, school districts hire teaching staff, not the individual schools. They do this by posting job openings online through a few different sites. Once the job is applied for, you then may get an interview for the job. Then you may get the position.

On one hand it is more complicated, but on the other, it seems like once you are in the system, the steps to getting a permanent job seem much less complicated than in Aus. Without my teaching certificate however, I am unable to apply to any job openings because I have not applied for my TQS Card. This is necessary for payment as a teacher as the TQS determine pay scales depending on education and teaching experience. So now I sit and wait some more as my teaching certificate is required for my next steps.

In the mean time I have found some useful websites where I can set up my online portfolio and districts can access me, instead of the other way around. One website is Education Canada.Here you set up your personal profile with details, resume, experience, education, and everything else a school teacher needs to apply for teaching positions. Most school districts use this online system to post teaching positions as well as offer positions to those who fill out their online portfolio and match their job criteria.

With the snow keeping me inside for what looks like the entire week, I must complete my online portfolio and get another inch closer to getting a teaching job here in BC.

“Can we please pay?” – Is question had to proceed the eating process at any restaurant in Southeast Asia. Here in Canada the bill is automatic once dessert is declined but it wasn’t a given in that part of the world, for us anyway.

Crosswalks don’t work.

Thailand was the only country of the 4 Asian countries we visited where they drove on the left hand side of the road.

Motorcycles have replaced the once traditional bicycle and wow have they multiplied.

Restaurants lacked four walls often. With the brilliant climate they experience, an open dining occurrent is abundant.

Just like home, dogs are friendly but in Asia they roam and don’t seem to be any one persons pet, rather a communally loved animal. Cats are disliked more than dogs… Maybe because they are cats.

Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia: honking to let you know where a person is on their bike or in their tuk tuk or in their bus or car or truck, happens CONSTANTLY! It’s friendly enough but annoying none the less.

Oh and at night the honking is combined with light flashing.

In Vietnam you are dodged by traffic, unlike at home where it’s the logical opposite of this. And when I say traffic, I mean hundreds of bikes on the one street you’re on at any one time.

The more tourists, the more touts and the price of food and souvenirs is doubled.

Vietnamese are the most aggressive of touts and market folk. Also the most creative when they try to lure you in.

Sidewalks become an extension of the house/shop that sits behind it, especially during the day.

Asia is not made for tall people. I hit my head no less than a dozen times.

City folk have less time for you. Common everywhere I guess.

The brochure is a wonderful tool in tourist filled places, unless you say yes to everyone who hands them out.

Hocking up a loogie and spitting it on a train is commonality. Even if you are a middle aged woman.

Humour was widely used and greatly appreciated in Vietnam and Cambodia especially.

Countdown clocks at traffic lights… Why doesn’t everyone have them?

Oh and the gradually getting faster walking man at traffic lights changing from green walking to red running!

Cambodia is a brilliant place and people but the professional begging in some places is a bit much.

Canada vs Australia

Christmas in the summer vs in the winter, seafood vs turkey, warm vs cold, beer vs eggnog. One strong common ground, family.

We had breakfast by 830am and then walked to the beach to take some more photos before leaving Kata Beach. We also found the bus stop which we planned on using once we went and retrieved our bags. On our way out, however, the owner was sitting out the front and asked us where we were off to next. We told her Phi Phi and she told us she could organise it all for us, saving us a long transit day and money as well. So now we had 2 more hours to use before leaving on a mini bus to Rassada Pier to catch our ferry to Koh Phi Phi.

We left our bags at the hotel and then went and sat by the beach in the shade for a bit. We then remembered that Lindsay hadn’t posted two of her post cards, so we found the Post Office on the map and walked to it. We had one hour to get there and back to the hotel before our bus arrived. It was hot and the walk was at least 20 minutes. We arrived at 1130 but the line was long, just like post offices at home. We waited and waited and luckily we got to send the cards around 1145 so we had 15 minutes to make it back, a regular 20 minute walk, so we had to get a move on.

I walked as fast as I could, which meant poor Lindsay had to match me, but ended up jogging every so often to make up the distance she lost due to her smaller stride. To make up for this, I ran the last 300 metres to make sure the bus hadn’t arrived and luckily, it had not. We were both dripping with sweat by now but the small rest in the a/c was good.

The bus arrived and we were the first of 8 to be picked up. We drove around getting the others before heading towards Phuket Town and the pier. When we arrived, the line was fairly long and taking a while to move and it was getting close to 130pm, the scheduled leaving time. The cashiers seemed to be taking their time with each person as the line grew even longer behind us. Not everyone was going to get on this ferry as it already looked close to capacity

At one point, a lady with a baby began trying to speed up the cashier, only to be told to get back in the queue. It didn’t help anyone, except those cunning enough to cut straight to the front with whatever excuse they had, slowing the process even more. Luckily for us, the cashier started speeding up and we were one of the last few to get onto the 130pm ferry. The next one was to leave at 230pm.

Our bags were stored on top of the pile, just inside the main doors of the upper cabin, which was already full of people. We found a seat on the lower deck for the 2 hour ride to Phi Phi Don. The ocean looked sprinkled with small islands every so often, along with regular passing boats as this route seemed very well travelled. When we arrived, it was a mad rush getting off the ferry as this was just the first stop of about 3. We got our bags and jumped off the boat pretty quickly before walked towards the township.

Just off the pier, we were asked if we needed a free map, and of course, being free, I said sure! So she lady told us where everything was and showed us some places to stay. Then showed us her scuba diving prices as we politely listened. We walked and we walked and we walked and long beach, the home of the Phi Phi Hill Resort was out of reach for us today. We backtracked and eventually found a place to stay for the night at K House guest house. It was overpriced but centrally located giving us one night to check out the town.

After finding mould in the bathroom, Lindsay told me she didn’t want to be here more than one night and I agreed. With no plan on drinking to get drunk or partying, we didn’t see the point in staying close to the bar scene. Knowing that Phi Phi Hill Resort was just as expensive as K House but with a nicer and more private beach, we agreed to check it out first thing in the morning with a plan on staying there for the duration of our stay on Phi Phi Don.

Day 41, Wednesday December 7^th

We woke up early determined to find a better place to stay for the remaining time on Koh Phi Phi. We knew Phi Phi Hill Resort was on Long Beach and the walk to just the beach itself was long and tiring without our backpacks and only in the morning heat. There’s no way we could have made it there with all of our stuff on foot.

Once we climbed the 83 steps (I counted them a few days later) and found the reception, we asked for a room. We saw one with two single beds but it wasn’t for us although the price was right. We asked if there were any bungalows with a double bed and she said yes but they were a little out of our initial price range. She did however, tell us that there was one bungalow with a broken a/c unit, meaning just a fan for cooling. The price was 1200b/night (instead of 2000) so we took it. There were still people in the room from the previous night who must have needed the a/c and were moving to another one. So with the room kept in my name, we caught a taxi boat (100b/person) back to town and had breakfast.

We ate at the Phi Phi Bakery where the food was well priced and tasted great. After eating and resting from our big hike this morning, we got some cash out (there are no ATM’s out of town) and then checked out of K House. We knew where we were going and already felt good to be out of that guest house.

Once the taxi boat brought us back to Phi Phi Hill Resort at the eastern end of Long Beach, our bags were pulled up the hill by a pulley system, while we walked to the top once more. The old tenants had moved out (it was about 1130am now) and we moved straight in. The receptionist was really nice making sure everything was good and we agreed to stay for 7 nights to get a 10% discount.

Lindsay was already smiling and glad to be in the kind of place she pictured us staying while on Koh Phi Phi. With our room set up, we sun screened ourselves and headed down to the beach which is, as far as we are concerned, the best beach on Phi Phi Don. Just metres from the shore are hundreds of fish swimming around you, so much so, at one point Lindsay had fish swimming between her legs as she kneeled in the crystal clear water.

After laying in the sun for a bit, we came upstairs and ate at the resort restaurant which was cheaper than we had anticipated, and the food was good too. It was a hot day, so we returned to our room and had a cold shower before laying under the fan. This was our own makeshift air conditioning.

The sun was soon to set, so we decided to make first use of our balcony and sat on our deck chairs to watch the sunset. Once the sun went down, we chilled out for a bit before eating at the resort restaurant again for dinner.

Day 42, Thursday December 8^th

Our first day to take advantage of our free breakfast which paid for under our room rate. We weren’t sure how the breakfast was going to work but we were given coupons and a special menu of 5 great choices to choose from. I ate the American Breakfast and so did Lindsay.

The weather was hot yet again so after sun screening up we hit the beach for the day. We decided to hire beach chairs which came with their own umbrella and side table so we could stay downstairs all day and only need to climb back up once. Lunch time came around fast so we ate at the restaurant at the foot of our stairs where we both got a burger and a strawberry shake which went down a treat.

We took advantage of the sun once more by swimming around and snorkelling with the abundant amount of fish before coming back upstairs to clean off. After showering the sun was about to set and this one was one of the best I’ve ever seen so we made sure to take plenty of photos. We then went to dinner before watching a movie in our room and then we went to bed.

Day 43, Friday December 9^th

Lindsay called home after we woke up to say hi to her parents and sister. We then walked around up the top of our hill and took some photos around the other bungalows. The same plan as usual then followed as we headed down to the beach. Unlike the previous days though, we both fell asleep on the sand, but luckily for us the sun was hidden behind a few clouds for most of the day. This did however, hamper our snorkelling for the day, but no matter, it was still hot enough to enjoy the water for a swim or two.

The very same clouds soon turned nasty looking so we quickly evacuated the shoreline and headed back up to our resort. The clouds didn’t produce anything but it did cool the place down which was nice. Once we watched some tv in our room for the afternoon, we ate some dinner and then enjoyed a movie again before bed. Tomorrow we head into town to see as much as we can and enjoy a day away from our resort.

Day 44, Saturday December 10^th

An earlier start to today with breakfast just after 9 before taking a taxi boat back into town. Firstly we headed to the famous viewpoint which overlooks both bays on either side of the Phi Phi Town. The heat was intense and so were the amount of stairs so it took us a while to reach the first viewpoint. We took photos and rested in the shade for a bit before heading even further up the hill to the second viewpoint. On the path, almost at the top we walked past a monkey on a rock. Lindsay made sure we got it on camera. The second viewpoint was higher and more impressive so we took some time to enjoy the view.

Then it was off to the Tsunami Memorial Park but it was a bit hard to find and wasn’t in the same place as it was on my map. In fact, when we got there, all we could find was a new looking, but clearly not finished, building with Tsunami written in large letters on it. We walked all around and that’s all there was. It was a shame because I was very interested in learning more about what happened that day.

We then grabbed a pizza to share as we were both not that hungry. When we first arrived and we were given the free map, the girl told us where a nice beach for swimming is, so we went to find it. We walked to the very end of Ton Sai Bay and found a bathroom to change into our swimmers. Once on the beach we found it to be more windy, over populated with speed boats and sadly it had a lot more rubbish floating in the water. We didn’t stay long because we missed our beautiful beach and instead we walked around the market stalls.

Lindsay wanted to buy some bright pink shorts but they didn’t have her size in the pink, or they didn’t have change rooms for her to try them on. I also was seeking something, a new pairs of thongs as the ones I have have almost fully blown out. I got a new pair of Havaianas for 200b. We then walked around a little more before eventually finding a place to eat on the water and we both got pizza again, this time one each. We also got a garlic bread and some bruchetta due to the lack of Italian options at our resort restaurant.

Before leaving the town we withdrew some more money, hopefully the last time before we get to Australia, and headed back to the resort via a taxi boat. When we returned we found that there were men working on the a/c unit. We ended up sitting in our room for 40minutes because we knew they would have to come in to turn the a/c on at some point. It took them at least an hour to get it fixed and once it was fixed, I confirmed with the receptionist that we would only be charged 1200 for tonight. Meaning, we would have three nights where we would pay 2000/night which we were ok with because the room is too good to give up. We then watched The Office before sleeping.

Day 45, Sunday December 11^th

We were up at 9 and eating breakfast by 10 and today was another relaxing beach day. This time, instead of swimming at our end of the beach, we walked to the western end of the beach and found a spot on the sand. The skies were a little cloudy again today so we didn’t do any snorkelling. The water down that end of the beach was nice but the shore was covered in a lot more coral and it seemed more windy there as well.

We stayed for about 2 hours for a swim and a lay on the beach before moving back to our resort due to the dark looking clouds moving towards the island. Just like yesterday, no rain eventuated but with our room now air-conditioned we were able to watch an afternoon movie once we had had lunch.

While eating lunch at the resort restaurant we decided to sign up for the one day snorkelling tour of Phi Phi and surrounding islands. We were the 3^rd and 4^th people to sign up but the tour does not run unless there are 6 people doing it.

Once we had finished watching our afternoon movie, we headed back to the restaurant for dinner and after dinner we checked the sign up board. Unfortunately there were still only 4 names on the list but we are planning on getting up early to see if the tour is running or not. Once we had left the restaurant we came back to our bungalow and watched The Office before heading to bed.

Day 46, Monday December 12th

We set the alarm for 730 but I woke up just before it and went down to reception to ask if the one day tour we signed up for was running. Unfortunately due to the windy conditions we weren’t able to go out today. I took advantage by coming back to bed and sleeping until 10am.

After both getting up and having breakfast, we put our sunscreen on again and headed down to the beach for the day. We swam a few times and layed around for a bit before having some lunch at the bar downstairs where we both got a sandwich and a shake. Post lunch we swam once more and dried off before heading back upstairs a little burnt in random places. It was 430pm so we showered and got ready for the sunset.

Once we watched the sun go down we watched The Office until it got totally dark before going to dinner. We decided at dinner to leave our names on the board in case the tour were to run tomorrow. We also grabbed some movie snacks before heading back to the room for the evening.

Day 47, Tuesday December 13^th

I got up at the same time as yesterday to go and check on the status of the one day tour. When I arrived at reception I noticed our names were missing from the sign-up board but it did have another 7 names written on it, with just a gap next to F1 (our room number). I added our names and our lunch choices before confirming that the tour was in fact happening today. Once I did that, I returned to the room and told Lindsay to get up because we are going on a tour today!

Shortly after getting up we went and ate breakfast and also confirmed that we would be going to all the scheduled island stops as the wind was a little breezy. They said that the tour would run as normal so we paid at reception and also got our snorkels, masks and flippers. We headed back to the room to put sunscreen on and then we met the rest of the tour group back at reception.

We walked to the bottom of the long stairs and waited for our boat driver to tell us which boat to get into. Once on the right boat, we discovered that 5 out of the 10 people on the tour were actually Canadian. Four from BC, including Lindsay and one guy from Calgary. We got to know the group of 3 Canadians, a father and two daughters, as we travelled to Bamboo Island and also while we were on the island. When we did arrive, we walked around the small island, after paying our 200baht National Park fee of course, and took some photos. We all met back after about one and a half hours. Our boat driver then almost capsized us trying to manoeuvre his way out between two other boats. We were stuck on a rope but with the help of all four guys on the boat, we finally got out of that mess.

Our next stop was Monkey Beach where we ate our lunch on the rocks and then took some great photos of a wonderful place. We weren’t there for long, just to eat, and then we were off again to Ko Phi Phi Ley. We arrived at Maya Bay (where The Beach was filmed) after a short journey from Phi Phi Don and we had an hour there. While we were there we walked around and had a swim as well as take more photos of course. Not long after leaving Maya Bay, we found a great snorkelling spot.

Some people had already snorkelled but Lindsay and I had not, along with another girl, so we jumped in. We were glad we did because a massive school of fish decided to swim around and underneath our boat so we got to swim amongst them. They didn’t even care that we were there and just kept swimming around us. We also saw a lot of sea urchins, some great looking fish and also some of the best coral we had seen.

On our way back to Long Beach we went past the Viking Caves where there are markings inside the caves that date back to the age of the Vikings. We didn’t go in but we took some photos from the outside. Then it was back to Long Beach where we disembarked before heading up the stairs and booking our ferry tickets for tomorrow, as well as an airport transfer directly from the pier in Phuket.

Day 48, Wednesday December 14

Up at 8 and off to breakfast by 830 where we ate before heading back to our bungalow and started packing. We had gotten good at packing so it didnt take us long and once we were done we checked out and paid the balance at reception. We stored our bags and then sat down to have a strawberry shake each. Once we drank those we ordered some lunch before getting on the internet for 15 minutes.

It was then time to leave so our bags were transfered down to us while we walked down the big staircase for the last time. We left about 1pm so Lindsay could get one last present for her sister before we left the island. It didnt take us long to find the market, or make the deal, so we boarded our boat pretty early. Luckily early boarding meant being close to our bags as they had to be stored on the top level at the very front of the ferry, where we sat.

The journey was on time and only took us a little under two hours to get to Rassada pier in Phuket. Once there we were given a mini van driver and we were the first of 11 who fit into his van. The ride was smooth and didnt take too long and we realised the van was full of Canadians again like our boat tour.

Once at the airport we got ourselves a buggy for our bags and found where we were to check in. We then had some Subway for dinner before heading back and checking our bags. Our bags were manually (very vaguely) checked by security which seemed very outdated for such a major airport. We also exchanged our Thai Baht into Aussie Dollars.

We went through customs and found a place to chill out and watch The Office for a while. The wait time was about 2.5 hours until we boarded but that time flew by. We boarded on time and left at 2220 in the evening.

The flight time was 8.5 hours so we bought some in flight entertainment which made the time go faster. We were able to sleep minimally but the flight was smooth nonetheless.

When we arrived on the ground in Sydney it was only 19 degrees with a scheduled top of 23 which was strange as I was expecting something closer to 30. We landed just after 11am and cleared customs pretty easily and then met Ash and Mum at the exit point. We then found the car and it felt good to be home.

We stopped for lunch on the way home before heading straight to my Grandmas house to see the Grandparents and the cousins as well. We didnt stay long and came home to unpack and set ourselves up for the next month. We also wrapped the souveniers we bought for my family. We are now settled in and ready to relax!

One full day in Patong was enough for us, so we walked to the main beach and caught a Songthaew to Phuket Town. There, we found another Songthaew which took us to Kata Beach. Getting to Kata Beach this way, saved us almost 300 baht as a tuk tuk from Patong to Kata was a ridiculous 400baht. We ended up paying a little over 100 baht to get us to Kata via Phuket Town. The Songthaew’s are easily caught at the main beaches and run every 20 or so minutes.

We walked around a little looking for places I noted from the internet. One place was ok, but rather average for the price. We looked around the corner where the room rate was 1000 per night, but I said we would only spend 800, so the lady agreed to keep us. We booked 3 nights and then walked into town where Lindsay bought herself a bathing suit. We were also luckily enough to see Kata Beach at sunset.

Back at the hotel, we checked our bank balances after getting more money out at an ATM. It was then dinner time and we found a great restaurant attached to a guest house just up the street from us. The food was great and also extremely cheap for Phuket. We paid 200 baht for two meals and two drinks. Post dinner, we ventured toward the main street again and I bought a singlet shirt for 150 baht because I refused to pay any more than that. On the way back to the hotel, we got some dessert from the 7/11.

Day 37, Saturday Dec 3

Laundry day today and we dropped it off before heading out for brunch at the same place we had dinner the night before. From there, we went straight to the beach. Kata Beach is great and pretty big and also quieter than Patong. The weather was great and so were the waves, except Lindsay’s new bathing suit couldn’t handle the waves, or maybe it was just her, or both. We were able to both enjoy the sun on the sand for a while though. After the beach we walked back to the hotel via the 7/11 where we got snacks. It then started raining so we stayed in for the afternoon and had a nap as well. It was dinner time after our nap, and yet again, we went to the same place for dinner because the food was so good and the price was great. Afterwards we walked to the markets where Lindsay used my 150baht shirt, which I happened to be wearing at the time, so bargain her own 150baht singlet. We also looked at snorkels before heading back and sleeping.

Day 38,  Sunday Dec 4

We decided to eat at our own hotel’s restaurant this time, but you should always stick with a good thing because the food their was very average and no cheaper than old faithful. It was also an average day outside and it rained as we ate breakfast so we looked through photos on the computer while we waited for the sun. When the sun did make its way out, we walked along the main beach road, looking for the cheapest snorkels we could find. Just like Patong and Phuket as a whole, everything is more expensive. We found the best price, 2 for 500baht at a small store near the north end of the beach.

It was then lunch time, so we found a pizza place where they claimed they had the best pizza in town. We only had pizza in town once, so for us, it was the best in town. We then went back to the hotel and researched Phi Phi before watching Zodiac on my hard drive. It was then dinner time and back we went to old faithful. Lind’s got a spicy curry so we got some ice cream at the 7/11 on our way back to the hotel before hitting the hay.

Day 39, Monday December 5^th 

We took our new snorkels to breakfast so we could head straight to the beach once we had finished eating. Breakfast was good because we ate at our regular joint again. When we got to the north end of Kata’s main beach, where the snorkelling is supposedly the best, it was low tide. Others were out snorkelling which gave us some confidence as we jumped in. The conditions weren’t the best with low visibility due to the cloudy sky so after trying our best, we then laid on the sand until the water starting coming closer to us on the sand. Once we had relaxed a bit at the hotel, it was dinner time.

At old faithful yet again, we talked about spending a little more money when on Koh Phi Phi as we were eating at the same inexpensive place each night in Kata. We then went to the markets again and Lindsay was keen on getting a purse for cheap and also to perfect (practise) her bargaining techniques. She failed, but not for the lack of trying. The guy selling the purse changed his price from affordable one day ago, to ridiculous this time around.

We then noticed, being H.M Kings Birthday, that there was more than normal celebration going on by the beach. When we got there, people were letting off both fireworks, being sold by local touts, and lanterns, also being sold by the same folk. We sat on a beach chair and enjoyed the show for half an our or so before it dissipated. Snacks were a must on the way home from the beach, for tomorrows transit to Phi Phi Don.

Patong Beach

We slept in after our busy travel day the previous day. It was lunchtime by the time we got to a restaurant so we both got Thai food. This place had the best strawberry smoothie we both had ever had, ever. It was then time to go check out the beach, so we walked through the mall and down the main street filled with bars, touts and souv shops. The beach was littered in deck chairs under umbrellas. After taking some photos, we headed back to the hotel and got our swimmers on and then trekked back and chilled at the beach for an hour or so.

The water was warm, as warm as I’ve ever felt it. It got cloudy in the afternoon so we walked back to the hotel to escape the pending rain clouds. There, we read about Kata Beach as well as Phi Phi Don. Before dinner, we walked through the local food market, wetting our appetites so once we reached the Italian restaurant we chose to eat at, we were both very hungry. Lind’s then bought some small gifts for people back home and before we made it back to the hotel for bed, we stumbled on a drag queen parade. They were about to parade through the streets of Patong because it was World Aids Day 2011. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t have the camera with us. Normally we would have, but I think we have become a little more relaxed now the end of our Asia leg of our trip is nearing completion.

We had some lunch as we waited for our flight to arrive and had to wait some more as it came in a little late and we didnt board until our scheduled leaving time. Once we were boarded, the flight itself was good and we got into Singapore Airport (Changi) around 3:15pm.

We found the transfer counter and they took care of our bags, making sure they met us in Phuket. Subway was visible from the ground floor up on the second floor so we walked up the stairs, sat down and ate some well earned western food. Once we were full of food, we explored the airport, discovering there were 3 terminals, all as big as the one we were in and all accessable via a skytrain!

Firstly we visited the Butterfly Garden in Terminal 3 (coming from T1). We took some photos before finding the movie theatre in this terminal (they also had one in T2). The movie hadnt quite begun yet so we checked out the Sunflower Garden and we also went on the free internet provided by the airport at stations all around the three large terminals.

The movie was Peter Pan and I may have fallen asleep. The timing was perfect as we made it back just in time to our gate, after getting some money exchanged, and soon thereafter we boarded our plane to Phuket. Our flight was a good one, but flying in at night didnt allow us to see the beautiful island from the plane.

We found a company, among others, selling tickets to Patong via Mini Bus for 150 Baht, so we bought two tickets and filled up the van meaning we left right away (things dont leave here until they are full, or even over capacity). We stopped at the company’s main office to get hotel details for the driver to drop us off.

We were about 3rd to be dropped off and walked up half a block to find our guest house, called Little Buddha. We got in about 1030-11pm so we just hit up McDonalds for dinner

We planned on seeing as much as the temples as we could in our first day and if we needed more time, we would use our second day. Luckily, seeing the sunrise and powering through all the main temples, we saw all we needed to see in one temple packed day. Did I mention it was around 35 degrees and full of humidity? I did now.

This meant, a full day to enjoy Siem Reap and relax after such a busy day yesterday. After sleeping in until 11am we ate lunch and hit up the old market for a few hours buying more gifts for our loved ones. We then grabbed a snack and ate it by the river. We were soon spotted by some local kids who, from one, turned into 5 in no time. They all motioned toward our food and drink, so when we were almost done, we offloaded the remainder to the kids. They were smiling and dancing and after not being sure if we did the right thing, their smiles made it clear.

Upon returning to the hotel we settled the bill because we had an early check out the following morning, back to Phnom Penh. Back in our room, we looked at the gifts we had bought before dinner. This time, we went back to the place where we had lunch but this time the food failed us again like it did last night. And again, we got dessert, making up for the average dinner. On our way back to the hotel, we bought some breakfast snacks for our bus ride in the morning.

Day 33

The service at the Angkor Wonder Hotel was up there with the best we had anywhere, making up for the reservation and bicycle blunders. This time, they gave us a free tuk tuk ride to the Sinh Tourist Hotel where our bus was departing from.

We slept for most of the bus ride back to Phnom Penh and got back into town just before 1pm. After checking into our lovely looking room, lacking wifi however, we tried finding food. We failed, and decided to eat at the hotel instead. The staff were rather rude here and it seemed like they were arogant due to the association they had with the Sinh Label. I would not recommend staying here more than 1 night. We only stayed here because it was closer to the airport than going back into town, just for the one night.

We planned Phuket as much as we could in the afternoon, enjoying our spacious room while we had it. Hat Patong was going to be our first port of call and we booked a place to stay because we were arriving there in the evening.

We didnt want to eat the expensive and average tasting food downstairs again, so we ordered pizza and got it delivered to the hotel. We watched a movie with our pizza and enjoyed a quiet night in.

Wednesday November 30th, Da

While we waited for the bus to arrive at the hotel, I booked our bus tickets back from Siem Reap on the 29th of Nov as well as a night in the Sinh Tourist Hotel as our flight to Phuket left on the 30th.

The trip to Siem Reap was 6hours total with two stops along the way for toilet breaks. The road is paved, but by no means is it flat. Whether this is due to the flooding (still visible from the vast fields of water on either side of the bus), or poor maintainance, the point is, its like a boat ride.

By 8pm, we had arrived at the Sinh Tourist Hotel, Siem Reap and we took a tuk tuk to our hotel called Angkor Wonder Hotel. They, unfortunately for us, had overbooked their hotel. They didnt tell us that until it became obvious when we were standing in the lobby of the hotel across the street. The room they gave us here was more expensive, however, after spending just the one night in this room, we asked to be moved back to Wonder. The room was filled with tiny crickets, flying bugs that looked like flees and of course mosquitos. Preceeding our night in the jungle, I bought a scarf and a t-shirt at the night market and Lindsay bought some pants.

430am was our wake up time this morning, as we planned on riding our bikes (organised the night before) to Angkor Wat to see the sunrise. The second misunderstanding of our Angkor Wonder Hotel experience, was them forgetting our bikes. Luckily and consistently, they were friendly and very helpful, if somehwhat incompetent. The owner and his nephew drove us on the back of their motorbikes to Angkor where we made the sunrise. Ironically if they did remmeber our bikes, we would have missed it as we underestimated the ride time to Angkor.

Once the beautiful sunrise was seen and photographed over and over again, we had some breakfast inside the grounds of Angkor Wat. As our hotel owner promised, his brought the bikes to us after sunrise and we met his nephew who was waiting back outside the temple for us. Now that we had our bikes, breakfast and our first taste of Angkor, we were on our way and it was before 7am!

Our second stop after Angkor Wat was the Bayon Temple famous for its stone faces, inside of the massive Angkor Thom. We got some excellent shots inside the Bayon as the run broke through the surrounding trees which protect the entire site of Angkor. We then rode to the Baphuon which had a long risen walking entrance and from the top of the temple, the photographs were picturesque. It was now almost 9am and the sweat was dripping off us both so we had a rest in the shade at the height of the Baphuon.

We then walked through a gate and found the Phimeanakas which was previously the highest scalable temple due to construction on the Baphuon. Now the work has allowed tourists to climb the much taller Baphuon. The Terrace of the Leper King and the longer, more impressive Terrace of Elephants lined the dirt road back towards our parked bicycles. Our long riding day was really just underway with our first long ride about to lead us to Preah Khan.

Preah Khan was a massive and somehwhat confusing but simetrical maze. The large temple was impressive and different to the ones we had previously seen. On the topic of differnce, the next temple was unlike any we had or would see again. Neak Pean was a small temple, however, its ability to seemingly float on the water that sourrounded it was timeless beauty.

Our ride was long but peaceful with convienient toilet stops along the way, free for those with tickets. Your tickets also had to be shown at each temple to avoid big fines. We rode past Ta Som, East Mebon, Pre Rup and the gorgeous lake called Sras Srang. Here we stopped for some water, a butt rest and some photos. We were also hungry at this point and it was approaching 2pm, so after seeing Ta Phrom (one of the largest temples) we sat down for lunch.

Sitting on something other than a bicyle seat was sensational, so was eating and drinking. Our rest didnt last too long though, as we were still just over halfway done. On our way back towards Angkor Wat we took more photos as we passed Ta Keo, went through the Victory Gate of Angkor Thom, past the Prasats Suor Prat, back past the Terrace of Elephants, Baphuon, Bayon and before we exited the Southern Gate, we saw monkeys!

The monkeys were on the side of the rode so we took some quick photos from a distance to avoid contracting rabies. After riding out of Angkor Thom, we had one more stop at Phnom Bakheng which was on the top of a hill overlooking Angkor Wat and famous for drawing the sunset crowds. Linds stayed at the bottom of the hill as a powered up, climbed the temple and powered back down (20minutes).

We then rode back into town and back to our hotel. Luckily, our bags had been moved from the jungle room and we were given a much nicer room which was now available at Angkor Wonder Hotel. We showered and relaxed after our 12 hours of Angkor and bike riding (approx 30km worth) before heading to dinner but unlike Angkor, the food was average which was disappointing after being so hungry.