We debated long and hard about the best way to get from Siem Reap to our final destination of the Asian leg of the Big Trip. Having had a not so great experience from Laos to Cambodia on the Guest House organized bus we were wary of the same thing from Cambodia to Thailand. We had several options 1) Get a bus from Seam Riep that is supposed to take you all the way down to Phuket (which has risk of being dropped in Bangkok and not taken further thus losing cash), 2) Bus only to Bangkok and they fly to Phuket (costly, but quick, but have to get to airport again which involved 2km walk between stations if you don't have money for taxi) or 3) Bus to Bangkok and then hop to local bus station and get another bus to Phuket.
We chose option 3 and it was by far the right decision.
The bus from our guest house to the Cambodian border was full.... so they put us in a taxi - luxury!
We had a guide all the way through the border (a really seedy border btw full of casinos and dodgy looking people drinking lots of Guinness strangely...)
We were in a VIP minibus to Bangkok and arrived AHEAD of schedule.
We then managed to share a taxi with a Russian couple from our minibus to the Southern Bus Station (which saved us some cash)
Then since we'd decided to save money by not flying we 'splashed out' and treated ourselves to the VIP bus to Phuket since it's a 12 hour journey. This bus was amazing. There were only 3 seats across, and they were huge. I felt like that woman in the Cadbury's Hot Chocolate advert where her armchair expands into this luxurious sofa.
We had obviously chosen wisely!
We arrived on the island of Phuket at 5am. We are very fortunate to have a friend, Chris, living in Phuket who was kind enough (or crazy enough) to allow us to stay with him for a few days. We figured out where he lived and decided to slowly walk to his house so that we would at least arrive after the sun had risen. So off we trotted past hundreds of rubber trees being 'bled' by the locals for their rubber.
Upon arrival we had been told very strictly NOT to enter the gate without Chris or Da (the gardener) otherwise the dogs WOULD eat us. So luckily Da was already up and he went and got Chris.
Chris' home is incredible. It's 12m x 12m x 12m (apparently the magic number in the building industry), has its own library, fish pond and swimming pool and even a forest of banana trees with yet other fruit trees in growth - including avocado, coconut and papaya. He also has a fridge that NEVER runs out of Singha (is it magical?), loves football (he's a Newcastle supporter) and 4 dogs (Ella, Tricksy, Tony and Kimmy). Heaven? I think we just arrived.....Not to mention that Sean and I were just impressed to be able to a) flush loo paper again, b) have a shower in its own cubical rather than the wet room type that we have gotten used to and c) sleep on a proper mattress and not foam on wood.
We have basically spent the last 2 weeks sat on the deck in the sun, swimming in the pool, watching sunsets on the beach, have read all 4 books of the Nightwatch Series, drank hideous amounts of Singha beer, watched some excellent films of an evening including District 9 and Planet Terror, ate out at some excellent Thai restaurants (Black Cat, Chili, Lemongrass...), cuddled dogs and basically been the laziest pair of people that you have ever known. It's been bloody brilliant.
We also managed to get in a trip to see Phuket smash Bangkok 2-0 in their local football league - was a very noisy experience, but was hysterical to see the flares and fireworks let off from the stands by the crowds at the end. I will miss the lack of Health and Safety - makes life much more fun!
But tonight our heaven ends and we fly back to Bangkok to get a flight home to the UK in the morning for my granma's 90th birthday (via Moscow 'cause it was cheap as chips) which will see the end of Phase One of the Big Trip. We have been told that it's zero degrees in the UK at the moment... with snow... and I forgot to pack winter coats cause was planning on a July UK return completely forgetting this intermission... doh! So I will sit here in the sun until the very last second...and maybe have another beer... or two. Thanks for having us Chris - we've loved every minute.
Here are the photos:
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