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October 26, 2008
Ko Chang & Ko Maak 16 - 24th Oct
We've spent the last 9 days on Ko Chang and Ko Maak, two islands off the eastern gulf coast of Thailand, near the border with Cambodia.
We just made the last ferry to Ko Chang (5 pm), at the same time getting our first taste of monsoon rain. Thankfully this eased off by the time we left the shelter of the ferry.
We went straight for Lonely beach, most of the way down the west coast. This is a sweet little backpacker hangout with plenty of relatively cheap bungalows on or near the waterfront. We stayed at Magic Garden which was 400 TBt per night. This was a Lonely Planet recommendation, but the promised free WiFi and breakfast are no longer on offer. Still, it was nice, and far enough away from the main action that we could get some sleep when needed. Probably the best feature of the Magic garden is their resident monkey, which we had plenty of fun with.
There's also a great cafe on the way to the beach run by Lord, a friendly thai guy who pan roasts his own coffee beans.
After 4 days, we decided we needed a different beach to hang out at, so we caught a ferry to Ko Maak, a much smaller island about 2 hours away by slow ferry. We stayed at Ko Maak Resort. Bungalows were 800 tbt per night, but we were right on the beach, and the bungalows are a big step up from those we saw at Lonely beach. We even got a TV with HBO and BBC world news.
On Ko Maak our activities were limited to reading, swimming,eating, husking a few unsuspecting coconuts, a couple of runs around the island, and buzzing around on a scooter.
Very nice, but after 5 days of this we were getting a bit stir-crazy, so we've left paradise and are on our way back to Bangkok for a couple of nights. The plan is to head up to Chiang Mai and seek out a jungle trek.
October 16, 2008
Arrived in Thailand
We've said goodbye to Europe finally. It was nice to have one last wander through London and Doreen got to catch up with a few workmates one last time.
The flight to Bangkok was pretty uneventful, thanks to BA's seating process. We didn't get seated together, pretty poor. If you take a BA flight definitely make sure you reserve your seats online ah early as possible.
We stayed at HI Sukhumvit hostel, friendly and clean, got some much needed haircuts, and watched a baby elephant being walked part our restaurant :)
We're now sitting on the bus (then boat) to Ko Chang...
October 12, 2008
Northern Spain and Andorra 6 - 13 Oct
After leaving Castilla y Leon, we crossed in to Basque country. It's literally like crossing into a different country, it felt a bit like alpine France with the stone buildings and geography. Next up was the Basque language, which has no link with any of the Indo-European languages. It has no known origin and the original Basque people are believed to be some of the first inhabitants of Europe. This was going to provide more of a challenge than Portuguese for us.
We headed straight for the coast, just around the corned from Mundaka, a renowned surf spot. For the night we checked out the pintxos scene (a Basque version of Tapas) in Gernika, most famous for being flattened by the Nazis at the request of Franco as a show of strength agaisnt the separatist minded Basques. We bumped into an old local guy at one bar and learned a few key Basque words, which certainly put a smile on the locals faces we tried them on.
On the 7th Oct we made our way in to Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim museum. In typical fashion for us, the 2nd floor (out of 3) was closed for refurbishment, but at least the entry price was reduced. Also, we hit the first rain of the trip for a while, a persistent drizzle for the whole day. Part of the charm of the Guggenheim is admiring the architectural aspects from the outside, something better done on a fine day.
By the time we left Bilbao it has started hosing down, and "Green Spain" was living up to it's reputation. The plan was to get to San Sebastian (Donostia), but with the rain and the traffic, we bottled out at Zarautz and found a campground to shelter in for the night.
The next day the weather was no better, so we reluctantly decided to ditch the Basque coast and head for the unlikely destination of Andorra. This took us two days of crossing some beautiful scenery under the shadow of the Pyrenees. This part of Spain doesn't see too many tourists, but it's really stunning, and a world away from the rest of the country in terms of scenery.
We stayed in Ordino in Andorra, at the Coma hotel. This was our first hotel room since leaving Barcelona nearly 6 weeks ago and it was relative luxury compared to the back of the Kiss van. We spent the next day hiking through the Andorran hills and hanging out in the local spa / gym complex.
After 2 great nights in Andorra, we made our way to the Costa Brava in Catalonia, another drive that took longer than usual, with a few bad calls from our usually trusty Nokia sat nav (Spain without a Sat nav would have been way more stressful, and more expensive since it's trickier to avoid to tolls - Thanks again Savvy, the phone's been an absolute trooper, much better than we'd ever expected).
We found ourselves at Les Medes campground, another good Lonely Planet recommendation, where we tidied up the van, repacked and got ourselves set for hitting Thailand (via a short "stopover" in good ol' London).
We headed straight for the coast, just around the corned from Mundaka, a renowned surf spot. For the night we checked out the pintxos scene (a Basque version of Tapas) in Gernika, most famous for being flattened by the Nazis at the request of Franco as a show of strength agaisnt the separatist minded Basques. We bumped into an old local guy at one bar and learned a few key Basque words, which certainly put a smile on the locals faces we tried them on.
On the 7th Oct we made our way in to Bilbao to visit the Guggenheim museum. In typical fashion for us, the 2nd floor (out of 3) was closed for refurbishment, but at least the entry price was reduced. Also, we hit the first rain of the trip for a while, a persistent drizzle for the whole day. Part of the charm of the Guggenheim is admiring the architectural aspects from the outside, something better done on a fine day.
By the time we left Bilbao it has started hosing down, and "Green Spain" was living up to it's reputation. The plan was to get to San Sebastian (Donostia), but with the rain and the traffic, we bottled out at Zarautz and found a campground to shelter in for the night.
The next day the weather was no better, so we reluctantly decided to ditch the Basque coast and head for the unlikely destination of Andorra. This took us two days of crossing some beautiful scenery under the shadow of the Pyrenees. This part of Spain doesn't see too many tourists, but it's really stunning, and a world away from the rest of the country in terms of scenery.
We stayed in Ordino in Andorra, at the Coma hotel. This was our first hotel room since leaving Barcelona nearly 6 weeks ago and it was relative luxury compared to the back of the Kiss van. We spent the next day hiking through the Andorran hills and hanging out in the local spa / gym complex.
After 2 great nights in Andorra, we made our way to the Costa Brava in Catalonia, another drive that took longer than usual, with a few bad calls from our usually trusty Nokia sat nav (Spain without a Sat nav would have been way more stressful, and more expensive since it's trickier to avoid to tolls - Thanks again Savvy, the phone's been an absolute trooper, much better than we'd ever expected).
We found ourselves at Les Medes campground, another good Lonely Planet recommendation, where we tidied up the van, repacked and got ourselves set for hitting Thailand (via a short "stopover" in good ol' London).
Castilla y Madrid - 1 - 5 Oct
The 1st oct was spent wandering through Salamanca. It's a bit like the Oxford of Spain, with all the buildings being made of a light sandstone, giving it a bit of a Harry Potter feel. It's also historically a student town, although it hasn't retained the reputation over the centuries like Oxford.
After Salamanca, we drove past Avila, yet another walled medieval city straight out of a fairytale. The plan was to camp in a National park near Barraco, but after driving out there we found it closed. Seems some campgrounds close down around late Sept. Good to know. So we got back on the road and arrived in Toledo. We stayed in the very nice campground there. A bit pricey and the lady on reception is a bit on the unfriendly side, but it was probably the nicest campground we've stayed at so far.
From inside the city, Toledo was a bit underwhelming, but you get a great view of the city if you walk around the south side, from the other side of the Rio Tajo.
After Toledo, it was time for Madrid. We stayed at Osuna campground at the end of one of the tube lines. It's a good budget choice, and a single tube ticket is just €1, slightly better value than London. The highlight of Madrid was the Museu del Prado, the Spanish equivalent of the Louvre.
On the 5th Oct we left Madrid and stopped in on Segovia. Segovia's claims to fame are the aquaduct and it's alcazar palace. They both lived up to the billing, and Segovia seemed a nicer stop than Toledo in hindsight.
Next we drove up towards Bilbao, although we didn't get much further than Sepulveda. Seems every drive always takes longer than expected...
After Salamanca, we drove past Avila, yet another walled medieval city straight out of a fairytale. The plan was to camp in a National park near Barraco, but after driving out there we found it closed. Seems some campgrounds close down around late Sept. Good to know. So we got back on the road and arrived in Toledo. We stayed in the very nice campground there. A bit pricey and the lady on reception is a bit on the unfriendly side, but it was probably the nicest campground we've stayed at so far.
From inside the city, Toledo was a bit underwhelming, but you get a great view of the city if you walk around the south side, from the other side of the Rio Tajo.
After Toledo, it was time for Madrid. We stayed at Osuna campground at the end of one of the tube lines. It's a good budget choice, and a single tube ticket is just €1, slightly better value than London. The highlight of Madrid was the Museu del Prado, the Spanish equivalent of the Louvre.
On the 5th Oct we left Madrid and stopped in on Segovia. Segovia's claims to fame are the aquaduct and it's alcazar palace. They both lived up to the billing, and Segovia seemed a nicer stop than Toledo in hindsight.
Next we drove up towards Bilbao, although we didn't get much further than Sepulveda. Seems every drive always takes longer than expected...
October 11, 2008
October 10, 2008
Northern Portugal 27 - 30 Sept
Next stop on the coast was Praia de Ribeira de Ilhas. Doreen went for a nice run around the coast while I rented a 9'5" longboard and went for my first surf since leaving NZ. It was great fun, one of the personal highlights for me, and it's got me itching to get back into some surfing when I get home.
After that we headed up towards Peniche and found a great wooded BBQ area, complete with it's own cute stray dog. We hung out at a beach near Peniche for the next morning, then drove up to Obidos, a beautiful walled town. After Obidos, we made a big drive up towards Porto.
We stayed at Costa Nova, and checked out a rather sad town festival. The next day we found a campground just out of Porto at Madalena. We drove in to Porto for dinner. The view around the harbour and port area is really beautiful, although the drivers are all crazy.
The next day we hit the road back into Spain. We made it as far as Salamanca and checked out the Plaza Mayor. If you get to Salamanca, your first experience of the Plaza Mayor should be at night, it's a truly stunning plaza to walk in to. The night was spent parked up in some suburban street.
October 09, 2008
Lisbon 24 - 26th Sept
The Lisbon parque campismo is on two main bus routes, the 714 goes into the centre via Belem, and the 750 goes right across town to the oceanario and the park nacional. On the 25th we took the 714 into the city and checked out the Baixa and Alfama districts. We walked up to the Castelo do Sao Jorge, which provides great views over Lisbon. You can also walk around the castle and its walls.
On the 26th we went out to the oceanario, the biggest in Europe. This was very cool with one massive tank in the middle and four connected tank areas symbolising the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, and Southern oceans. This was €12 ea to get in, but worth it.
We finished off our time in Lisbon with a stroll through the Bairro Alto district and a Pastel de Nata from the original pastelleria in Belem.
For the night we drove out along the beautiful Cascais coast until we got to Praia das Maças. Back to the freecamping life.
On the 26th we went out to the oceanario, the biggest in Europe. This was very cool with one massive tank in the middle and four connected tank areas symbolising the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic, and Southern oceans. This was €12 ea to get in, but worth it.
We finished off our time in Lisbon with a stroll through the Bairro Alto district and a Pastel de Nata from the original pastelleria in Belem.
For the night we drove out along the beautiful Cascais coast until we got to Praia das Maças. Back to the freecamping life.
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