ON EST PAS ENCORE PARTIS, MAIS ON A UN BLOG!
Three months together in Bali and Thailand, at last! Thank you to everyone for your advice and tips on where to go and what to do. We'll definitely try to keep our blog updated at least once a week. Some in english some in french, depending on who's typing. xxx
04.11-S
We arrived in Bangkok Friday night after our twelve hour flight & found our hotel on Sukhimvit which turns out to be the red light district of Bangkok....good to know. We had all day Saturday to visit the city so we started off at 7am on foot for a stroll towards the river. (We don't usually get up early but with the time difference we were up at 5am)....our leisurely stroll turned into a seven hour trek. Three hours to find the pier then we took a boat up to the lying buddha then visited the Wat Arun temple (in the photo). Thanks to the Amazing Race show i watched last week i knew it had 100 statues on it! We walked on to kao san road to see why it is so popular then another couple of hours to the nearest Skytrain station to see another part of Bangkok. The city is polluted and chaotic but we were excited to be there on our first day of holidays. Mike ordered a thai green curry for lunch, i told him it wouldn't be very hot, i was wrong, he had sweat and tears long after he's finished.
Getting to the airport 3am Sunday morning was a near death experience. We had ordered a taxi from the hotel, when we came down to the lobby the driver was asleep in the back and took a few minutes to wake. Then on the drive to the airport he was driving really fast to keep himself awake so we asked to slow down, at which point he almost fell asleep, so we had to talk loud and even had to start whistling to keep him awake. He also decided 3 in the morning a good time to stop and put some oil in the car, but we got there safely in the end...On to BALI.
We arrived in Bangkok Friday night after our twelve hour flight & found our hotel on Sukhimvit which turns out to be the red light district of Bangkok....good to know. We had all day Saturday to visit the city so we started off at 7am on foot for a stroll towards the river. (We don't usually get up early but with the time difference we were up at 5am)....our leisurely stroll turned into a seven hour trek. Three hours to find the pier then we took a boat up to the lying buddha then visited the Wat Arun temple (in the photo). Thanks to the Amazing Race show i watched last week i knew it had 100 statues on it! We walked on to kao san road to see why it is so popular then another couple of hours to the nearest Skytrain station to see another part of Bangkok. The city is polluted and chaotic but we were excited to be there on our first day of holidays. Mike ordered a thai green curry for lunch, i told him it wouldn't be very hot, i was wrong, he had sweat and tears long after he's finished.
Getting to the airport 3am Sunday morning was a near death experience. We had ordered a taxi from the hotel, when we came down to the lobby the driver was asleep in the back and took a few minutes to wake. Then on the drive to the airport he was driving really fast to keep himself awake so we asked to slow down, at which point he almost fell asleep, so we had to talk loud and even had to start whistling to keep him awake. He also decided 3 in the morning a good time to stop and put some oil in the car, but we got there safely in the end...On to BALI.
I love Bali already. We got a bus from Kuta (next to Airport) to Padangbai on the east coast as soon as we arrived. A two hour bumpy bus drive but a good chance to take in the scenery and get a first look at the island. I wasn't expecting so many marks and spencers, top shop etc in the towns close to airport. There are not many rules to driving in Bali, they all just go for it and hope for the best. We met a couple from Toulouse on the bus who are also on a three month trip so we talked and the ride went by quickly.
M
Après un voyage de 12 petites heures entrecoupées d'une escale chez les qataris , nous arrivons à Bangkok , surpris par une capitale où il y a autant de climatisations que d'habitants . Nous logeons dans le quartier de Sukhumvit , l'équivalent de notre Pigalle parisien , où les touristes se pressent pour la fête et la dégustation de mets locaux à prix dérisoires.
Dès le lendemain à l'aube, nous décidons de parcourir la ville munis d'un plan assez somaire et de notre envie de déambuler dans cette cité assez impressionnante . Après 7h de marche et une quinzaine de km parcourus par nos pieds légèrement boudinés , nous avions vu les principales richesses culturelles de la ville .
Assomés par cette chaleur dont nous avions perdu l'habitude ( 32°C) , nous faisons halte dans un resto et , sur les conseils avisés de Stacey , je décide de m'essayer au Green curry de poulet : à la première bouchée je perds l'usage de ma langue et comprends que les épices seront mon ennemi , tout comme les crevettes !
M
Après un voyage de 12 petites heures entrecoupées d'une escale chez les qataris , nous arrivons à Bangkok , surpris par une capitale où il y a autant de climatisations que d'habitants . Nous logeons dans le quartier de Sukhumvit , l'équivalent de notre Pigalle parisien , où les touristes se pressent pour la fête et la dégustation de mets locaux à prix dérisoires.
Dès le lendemain à l'aube, nous décidons de parcourir la ville munis d'un plan assez somaire et de notre envie de déambuler dans cette cité assez impressionnante . Après 7h de marche et une quinzaine de km parcourus par nos pieds légèrement boudinés , nous avions vu les principales richesses culturelles de la ville .
Assomés par cette chaleur dont nous avions perdu l'habitude ( 32°C) , nous faisons halte dans un resto et , sur les conseils avisés de Stacey , je décide de m'essayer au Green curry de poulet : à la première bouchée je perds l'usage de ma langue et comprends que les épices seront mon ennemi , tout comme les crevettes !
This is a picture of Mike infront of our Perama bus on a twenty minute break on the way.
Once in Padangbai the locals all want you to take a look at their available rooms and are competing for the few tourists that walk by. We practiced our negotiating skills and found (eventually) a clean room with pool and most importantly a fan. Tomorrow morning (monday) we plan on getting a speed boat to the beautiful Gili Islands. That is also to be negotiated but it is low season so there shouldn't be a problem.
M
Ce passage par la capitale thailandaise n'était pour nous qu'une étape vers l'ile de Bali où nous séjournerons tout le mois de novembre . Pour y accéder nous fûmes obligés de garder notre taximan en éveil : il était 4h du matin et notre périple pour rejoindre l'aéroport ne fut pas de tout repos . Le chauffeur s'endormait preque au volant et avait la bonne idée d'appuyer sur le champignon pour garder les yeux ouverts !
Arrivés en territoire indonésien , nous devions encore parcourir quelques 60 km en bus typique (!) dont le klaxon sert à priori de clignotant pour rejoindre la jolie cité balnéaire de Padangbai , port d'attache des bateaux qui nous mèneront aux Iles Gili . C'est dans cette bourgade de bord de mer que nous découvrons les joies de la négociation pour trouver un logis et un bateau pour le lendemain : les prix baissent assez vite et deviennent attractifs si on prend la peine de jouer le jeu .
Once in Padangbai the locals all want you to take a look at their available rooms and are competing for the few tourists that walk by. We practiced our negotiating skills and found (eventually) a clean room with pool and most importantly a fan. Tomorrow morning (monday) we plan on getting a speed boat to the beautiful Gili Islands. That is also to be negotiated but it is low season so there shouldn't be a problem.
M
Ce passage par la capitale thailandaise n'était pour nous qu'une étape vers l'ile de Bali où nous séjournerons tout le mois de novembre . Pour y accéder nous fûmes obligés de garder notre taximan en éveil : il était 4h du matin et notre périple pour rejoindre l'aéroport ne fut pas de tout repos . Le chauffeur s'endormait preque au volant et avait la bonne idée d'appuyer sur le champignon pour garder les yeux ouverts !
Arrivés en territoire indonésien , nous devions encore parcourir quelques 60 km en bus typique (!) dont le klaxon sert à priori de clignotant pour rejoindre la jolie cité balnéaire de Padangbai , port d'attache des bateaux qui nous mèneront aux Iles Gili . C'est dans cette bourgade de bord de mer que nous découvrons les joies de la négociation pour trouver un logis et un bateau pour le lendemain : les prix baissent assez vite et deviennent attractifs si on prend la peine de jouer le jeu .
Our room is in this courtyard on the left. Lots of statues and waterfalls. Lovely pool at the end...
Really tasty meal this evening, vegetables with peanut sauce, marinated chicken, rice, and cocktails, of course. I'm not sure it's always so peaceful in Padangbai but right now the streets are empty and quiet. We'll see tomorrow... Can't wait for Gili paradise!
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