My last few days in Hua Hin were great fun. Lots more strolling along the beach, swimming in the pool and generally having a chilled time. 😎
I’ve also been having a few fabulous Thai foot massages. I’ve been back to the same place and the women there are so beautiful, friendly and kind. It feels like a personal experience, the massage I have on one foot/leg differs to the other. They can feel where they need to work on and the end result is amazing. 🥰❤️
As I mentioned in my previous blog there are a few Russian families here, Scandinavians, German there are also a few English people but I hadn’t really chatted to to many people whilst I’ve been here.
My last week however have been much more pleasant and fun after meeting and getting to know a lovely Australian guy called Daniel. He’s here for a month on his own for a holiday. We’ve had some meals, some cocktails, some chats, exchanged book recommendations and generally had a great time.
It’s surprising what a difference it makes when you have connections with people.
It got me thinking about my journey over the last 3 months and the fact that it’s been the most sociable period of travel that I’ve had to date.
In Sri Lanka I met up with the fabulous Tracey, I also met up with lovely Lisa and Matt and Alex & Leah! A veritable smorgasbord of social interactions!!
I then spent over 2 weeks with a group of really great people in India. Living in close proximity, seeing them every day. Which I loved.
I think this has been a real change for me. I usually spend my travel time alone, perhaps meeting people along the way, but not really spending any quality time with anyone or making deep connections.
I guess that the difference is that in the past I have travelled for shorter periods and also whilst I had the Coffee Shop.
Coffee on the Corner was my baby and I loved it, it was also a hugely social job. I spent all day, every day, interacting with people, both on a superficial, friendly, hospitality basis but also more often on a deeper more personal basis, as the majority of my customers became regulars who I cared about, many also became friends. This level of social interaction daily is fantastic but it’s also exhausting. So my 3 month travels in the summer offered me the space I needed to recharge, regroup and be comfortable alone and reconnect with myself.
I now no longer have the Coffee Shop, I’ve been traveling for nearly 11 months, I’ve recharged, regrouped, connected with myself and am beginning to need a greater level of social interaction! 😍
I am at heart a people person, I get a buzz from being around people, chatting, laughing, getting to know people or alternatively spending time with people I already know, who know me, who know everything about me, sharing jokes, stories, gossip or just being together. I miss this. I miss my family, I miss my friends. (Writing this has made me quite emotional, which is not great as I’m sitting in a very busy coffee shop!)
I think the reason I’m feeling so emotional at the moment is what’s happened over the last few days.
I was due to leave Hua Hin on Saturday 29th. I had a bus booked to go to Bangkok for 3 days before flying out of Thailand on Wednesday morning.
Unfortunately those plans have had to change.
I was sitting chilling by the pool on Friday afternoon, after a busy morning. When I got a message from my friend Jane, asking if I was OK? I then got a phone call from Tracey asking the same thing. As I’m sure you are all aware by now, there was a massive earthquake in Myanmar around lunchtime, the tremors reached all the way to Bangkok, which saw quite a bit of damage, swaying high rises and a collapsed building, and sadly many fatalities.
I have been really touched by the number of people that have messaged or contacted me to check if I’m OK. It really has been heartwarming. Thank you all for your thoughts and your care. This has also had the effect of making me miss home and all of you even more.
It’s just as well that when I leave Thailand I will be heading towards family and friends. Reuniting with my Grantley, then spending more time with Tracey & Jaques, before heading back to good ole Blighty!
Thailand & Hua Hin have given me just what I needed! Time now for the next adventure.
Books Read.
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. Lisa See. This was a fantastic book.
My journey to Bangkok was pretty uneventful, thank god!
Check in and my flight with Air India were great. I was too tired to do anything much at the airport, I simply sat with my book and a last cup of Masala Chai!
The flight was busy but it left on time and arrived a little early!
It was so lovely to arrive into Bangkok, clean, calm and lots of smiling faces.
Immigration was a doddle, my case was one of the first to arrive, I found my hotel shuttle easily and after a short wait I was whisked off to a large, modern, clean hotel manned by lots of smiling people including women! Absolute bliss. The first thing I did was have a much needed long hot shower!
One of the lovely ladies from my Indian tour, Negiz, had been in touch and said that she would also be staying at an airport hotel in Bangkok today, handily it was just down the road, so she came to the hotel. Negiz is flying back to Belgium tomorrow, It was so nice to see a familiar face and have a good catch up and offload a little about our experiences in India.
After Negiz left I grabbed some Vegetable rice then went to bed in my massive, soft, clean, comfy, quiet room. 😍
I have booked a bus/coach to take me to Hua Hin. The coaches are very nice and the journey only takes around 3 hours. I got the shuttle back to the airport and after grabbing some snacks and water I boarded my coach.
I arrived in Hua Hin at a different bus station, this one a little further out of town. I figured I’d just get a Grab (Thai Uber) but the station provided a very cheap shuttle service, handy!
I am staying back at the same complex in the same apartment as I had back in August 2024. The lady I dealt with then has given me a good deal. It’s also nice to be somewhere familiar.
I grab the keys from the lock box then Kate messages me and comes to say Hi at the apartment, with a little gift! 🎁🥰❤️ So kind.
The first thing I do is unpack my case! I haven’t unpacked it since leaving Australia on January 13th! I also desperately need to do some laundry. Before I can do any washing I need to visit a 7 Eleven. Luckily for me there is one just up the road!
I get some washing powder and some vanish, bread, water, beer, Crinkle Cut Lays! All the holiday essentials! 😂
Washing on, case unpacked, wifi sorted. I am ready to relax and chill!
I have arrived on a Sunday, which is handy as there is a food market next door that runs Thursday- Sunday every week. This means I can grab a tasty cheap dinner and a beer! Which I do, a big plate of veggie rice and a Singha beer for around £2.50. I also purchase a tub of the most delicious caramel cashew nuts! So yummy. 😋
I have a good nights sleep, I don’t wake up until 10ish, which is unheard of! I feel like I needed it.
I have no real agenda or plan for my time here, I just want to rest and have some downtime.
The complex is busier than when I was here last but still not mad busy, there is always a place to sit by the pool, especially for me as I like to be in the shade! The pool is big and great for me to get back into my swimming. I haven’t swam consistently since I broke my ribs back in November 24.
I’ve spent the last few days just settling in, finding my way around again, checking out my previous hangouts. I’ve been into town for some shopping, food, I also bought myself a dress. When I unpacked my case I realised that I’d given Tracey most of my summer dresses to take back to England 🤦♀️ I bought a fab, blue cotton dress with pockets for £15! Bargain.
I’ve had one or two small battles since I arrived. The first is ongoing and is with TourRadar and Fragrance of Taj about my Tiger Safari, I’ll keep you posted.
The second is with Lloyds TSB. I tried to pay for my accommodation here by bank transfer. Unfortunately the last hurdle to the convoluted process is a phone call to me from the bank to give me a security code. I had made sure I switched my phone sim to my UK one, but it kept saying they couldn’t get through.
I asked Rebecca to call and she was able to get through, so that was odd.
I tried again the next day, switching sims well in advance. Again not able to get through. This then meant I had to call Lloyds, an international call to a bloody bank in the UK is not going to be cheap. 😳
I get through and tell the automated voice that I need international banking help. They put me through to someone who can’t help! Ffs. They transfer me to another person, who trys to help but then tells me I need more information regarding the recipients details (this wasn’t requested online! ) I have to hang up, get the required information and call again! This time I speak to someone a little more helpful, she informs me that I have a note on my file saying do not call! WTAF, where has that come from, I did not set it up. She changes things, sets up the payment, which goes through! Hallelujah This has now taken me 45 minutes, I complain that the cost of this call to me is ridiculous, she then says would I like to complain, I say yes, this takes another 15 minutes, but the upshot is they refund me £60 to cover the cost of the call, and inform me that if I need to call again I can reverse the charges!! A satisfactory outcome I feel.
Apart from that all I’ve been doing is enjoying the pool, walking along the beach and catching up on some reading. Heaven.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
💚🩵🩷💜💛💙
Books Read
The Lost Victim. Robert Bryndzi. A good read.
The House of Lost Secrets. Anstey Harris. A free Prime read, which was better than I’d anticipated.
My last full day in Phnom Penh was Friday, I only realised later it was Friday 13th!!
I was planning on having a quiet day but also wanted to see a bit more of the City. I messaged Mr Lucky and he said he was free and we could do a small city tour.
This sounded fine to me as my back was definitely a bit sore.
Mr Lucky is a funny thing who unfortunately he doesn’t live up to his name!
He arrived and informed me that overnight someone had unscrewed and stolen his wing mirrors! ☹️😬 Awful for him and less than ideal to be driving around a mad busy city with no mirrors! But, Hey Ho!
We set off to have a drive by the river and to see the Grand Palace, again.
Two rivers join in Phnom Penh, The Tonle Sap river, which flows down from the huge Tonle Sap Lake this then becomes the mighty Mekong River which flows into the into and through the Mekong Delta.
I would have really liked to do a small Mekong Delta Cruise on one of the old wood and steal boats but I didn’t book in advance and the timings wouldn’t work with my bookings in Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City they were also incredibly expensive for what you get. I’ll save my money for Halong Bay in Vietnam.
The roads around the river seem particularly busy, with all manner of vehicles carrying a bewildering array of goods! As we are sat in traffic Mr Lucky starts pointing at his dash board where there is a flashing red light, he mentions petrol! At this point the traffic is barely moving, I have no idea where he’s going to get petrol so have visions of us grinding to a halt further slowing down the traffic and making a spectacle of ourselves!! 😃 As the traffic clears I spot a petrol station ahead….Phew.
But, No, we go sailing past the petrol station then head off the main road into the winding back streets before pulling up into a random building/garage/lockup!? Where someone starts to fill up the Tuk Tuk. Mr Lucky then asks to borrow $5 to pay for the petrol! 😂😂😂
From here we go through the city to a Large Temple called Wat Phnom Daun Penh. It’s in a nice park and it looks relatively large but I’m just not in the mood to look around so instead I have a quiet stroll around it through the shady park!
Our next stop is The Central Market. My main reason for visiting is the building itself rather than the shopping. The building is a beautiful Art Deco Structure opened in 1937 and built by the French during their colonial rule.
The building is gorgeous, with a big domed area at the centre then 4 branches off from there.
It’s a huge market but sadly there are very few people in there.
I’m pretty much done after this, so ask Mr Lucky to take me back to the hotel.
I have a lovely long, cold swim and read my book.
I’m going to attempt an early night, as I’m leaving for Kampot in the morning. My bus departure time is 8am from the hotel, but reception has told me I need to be ready and waiting an hour before! Annoying.
I don’t get a great nights sleep, no idea why, I just can’t get to off to sleep. Before I know it it’s 5.45 time to be up and at it!
I head downstairs at 7am and have a pot of tea while I wait for the bus to turn up.
Bang on 8am (not 7, or 7.30 or 7.45 but right when my ticket said it would!) a driver appears in the lobby, myself and another guest who is waiting go forwards, he chats a bit to the receptionist. She then informs me that this is the bus for Siem Reap. She then informs me that my bus is late and will now be arriving at 3pm!! WTAF! 😱😳 That’s not late that’s bloody ridiculous!! 7 hours! I am very pissed off. Especially as I’ve checked out of the hotel, I’m packed, I’m very tired!
The receptionist speaks to the company but it is what it is.
Interestingly I received a random WhatsApp from Giant Ibis the day before, just saying “Hi it’s Samsung from Giant Ibis” nothing else. I replied back saying Hi.
It turns out they emailed me the change of plan, but it went to my gmail which I don’t often look at. (That will now change)
I have a WhatsApp conversation with the company who are happy to refund my money. I manage to get a seat booked on a VET minibus going to Kampot at 12. So I cancel my ticket and get set to leave at the much more respectful time of 12pm!
Luckily I had booked seat 2, which was the front passenger seat as the mini bus was pretty full of large, slightly drunk Russian men! 😂
The journey was good, although it took a long time to get out of Phnom Penh. The driver stopped every hour, mainly for the Russian guys to have a smoke!! 😂
We arrived in Kampot at 3.40 and my hotel was just a short Tuk Tuk ride away.
The hotel is central to the old town and directly opposite the river.
As it’s the weekend lots of local people are out and about walking along the riverside promenade enjoying the cool air and their weekend.
It’s great to sit on the hotel terrace and people watch with a beer.
I am still feeling really tired so I go out earlyish for dinner. I saw a little vegetarian place with good reviews so I walk there. It’s nice but empty, but I’m hungry so I stay and order the Falafel bowel! 😍😘 OMG, so good. The huge salad element is amazing.
Feeling stuffed and sleepy it’s home to bed!
There are a few things I’d like to do in Kampot but I wake up to heavy rain and the hills surrounding the town shrouded in cloud!
I chat to the lovely manager, Pat, he says that a trip up to Bokor Mountain can’t be done in a Tuk Tuk you have to go in a car and the cost for a return trip, plus seeing all the sites is $50 this seems a little high to me in comparison to other trips I’ve taken. But I think I might book one for the next day when hopefully the weather improves!
I borrow a nice big umbrella and go for a walk around the town.
It’s certainly in much better shape than Battenbang, the roads are surfaced and it doesn’t feel like a dusty ghost town. The buildings are pretty, French Colonial mixed with Art Deco. Starbucks has nabbed a beautiful Art Deco building right by the river!
I treat myself to a a back massage in the hope of ironing out the kinks from my fall. I’m pretty sure I explained that I wanted just a back massage, but I got a full body one instead, which was fine. My back certainly feels better.
One of the things Kampot is well known for is its Pepper! Apparently it’s amongst the best in the world, who knew? Well, actually I did know this! A Pepper Farm visit was one of the things I wanted to do, but not in the pouring rain! Luckily for me when I came out from my massage the rain had eased a lot. I was looking around the Pepper Shop and chatting to the manager and she recommended BoTree Pepper Farm, the main one here is Le Plantation, but it’s not owned by Cambodians. Bo tree is owned by a Cambodian & a Scott!
She pointed out a Tuk Tuk driver who was parked outside she said he was great, spoke good English and would do a return trip for $15. So I said let’s do it! I jumped into Sa’s Tuk Tuk and we set off!
It’s quite a way out of town and Sa was great and keeping me informed about things as we drove.
One of the things he pointed out was a large grey half finished building with no windows.
I’d seen a lot of these dotted about on my bus journeys, but just assumed they were unfinished buildings. They are in fact buildings designed with speakers on the roof and small openings. The speakers play bird sounds, specifically, swallow bird calls. This is to attract more swallows to come and nest inside the building. Once they are nesting their nests are harvested for the Chinese birds nest market! Once Sa had explained this, you start to notice the increased bird noise, then look and there will be one of these buildings.
As we leave Kampot you can see the changing landscape, lush fields and surrounding hills.
We came upon a beautiful lake. Whilst the lake looks beautiful its history isn’t.
It is called The Secret Lake and it grows and shrinks with the seasons, it is man made lake.
It was constructed by prisoners of the Khmer Rouge. The lake was built to provide water for the increased rice production under the Khmer Rouges agricultural policy. Thousands of prisoners died in its construction and are buried in a mass grave beneath the lake. Beautiful and tragic.
The last part of our drive to the Farm was on an unfinished road, which due to the rain was very muddy and rutted, on one particular section I was convinced we were going to overturn! Luckily we made it! I really didn’t need another mud bath!
Bo Tree is fabulous. The whole farm is completely organic, and everything is sourced locally, even the crab shells used in their homemade pesticides and the textiles used to tie the vines to the posts! It is also a ‘Workaway’ host. The volunteers who do the ‘Workaway” get board & lodging in exchange for their services. What I really liked about this was that the Volunteers do not do any of the paid work on the farm, that is all done by local people, who need the work. Their job as volunteers is to show the tourists around the farm using their multiple languages.
It’s a smallish farm and felt really homly, lots of friendly dogs and cats!
I was shown around by a lovely young woman called Kate, from Bristol!
She has been staying on the farm for 2 weeks having travelled up through Vietnam. She was very knowledgeable about the growing and production of the pepper.
I had no idea that pepper is a vine! 😳
So the pepper grows on vines and is actually a berry. Once ready it’s harvested and then the different peppers are created. First the pepper is boiled, red pepper is boiled for the shortest time so it retains more of the berry flavour. The rest is boiled for a longer. The white pepper then has the outer husk removed and the black pepper doesn’t. I can’t remember what happens with the green pepper corns! All the pepper is then dried.
I did a tasting, even though I’m not a big pepper fan. It was incredible how different they taste and smell. I also tried whole green peppercorns in brine, I tried them with some rice, surprisingly delicious! 😋
I ended up sitting with Kate for ages chatting about travelling and drinking lovely Pippali pepper tea!
It was such a lovely experience. It made my day.
I organised with Sa for his friend to take me to Bokor Mountain the following day.
I popped across the road for dinner, to a much cheaper, busier place. I went for my usual, Veggie Rice but then went a bit off piste and ordered some Garlic bread! 😛 The rice was good the garlic bread was a huge portion which I would never be able to eat.
Whilst I was eating a very young boy came in to the restaurant begging, the first time I’ve seen this here. I gave him a couple of dollars, once he’d left I realised I could have given him my garlic bread! Luckily he walked past again with his friend and they left with a few slices each, not sure if they’ll like it it’s not exactly a Cambodian stable! But at least it wasn’t wasted.
I have woken up to a pretty bright sunny, dry morning which is great for my Mountain trip!
My driver, Sa’s friend Thebm (pronounced Towan) was there waiting at 10am.
I thought he would be driving a car, as Sa had said Tuk Tuks can’t get up the mountain, what he was actually driving was the little enclosed Tuk Tuk 🚙, which was great as it’s much more open, perhaps not as comfortable as a car but hey Ho.
It takes well over an hour to get to the top of the mountain, especially in this vehicle! It’s a really lovely drive up through lush greenery, which smelt really nice and fresh. There are lots of Macaque Monkeys along the way, some of the males looked very big and a little scary! The views across to the Ocean at Kep are fabulous, with lots of small waterfalls along the way.
Our first stop is a huge Buddha statue almost at the top. This was a good stop. Then it starts getting a bit weird.
As you reach the top it kind of levels out for a bit and there are all these huge, grey, half built, depressing buildings everywhere one is supposed to be a hotel, it honestly looks like a gulag! This appearance is enhanced by the mist and cloud cover coming in. There appears to be nobody living in any of the buildings, even the finished ones.
We drive past all this grimness and visit a beautiful natural big waterfall. It is in full flow due to the rain overnight. Towan says we could walk across a bit to see over the edge! 😂😂😳 I politely decline, I’m 💯% sure I would slip and go right over the Edge!
The cost of visiting the waterfall is 2,000 riel £2 and includes a bottle of water! Bargin.
We drive back past the Gulags and then on towards a Temple and monastery. This takes us past a very large dam being constructed and paid for by the Chinese. (Chinese takeover by stealth) then past a huge, ugly building that’s a Casino and Hotel. This was built by a Cambodian Entrepreneur, and Chinese backers apparently but caters to the growing and lucrative Chinese gambling market.
During Colonial rule from 1863 – 1953 the French would escape to Bokor Highlands to get out of the heat. They built a small enclave with church’s, shops, post offices and a big hotel. This all fell to ruin during the ensuing civil war, it is this remodeled hotel that now houses the casino.
There are more abandoned houses nearby, it is all just a little sad!
By now we are in thick cloud and it’s started to rain. We stop at the Temple and monastery, but seriously, I can’t see a bloody thing! 😂
I think we did remarkably well to reach the top before the cloud and rain came drown! 👍🩵
We decide to head back down the mountain and Towan sets the Tuk Tuk/car to economy mode, which is basically turning of the engine and freewheeling all the way down the mountain!! 😂😂 it’s definitely more peaceful.
Towan is a lovely guy, a Kampot local who lives here with his family, he speaks excellent English, which also teaches to local children.
He was great company and a very knowledgable guide. He also picked me some flowers, which are called Minkey Cups, but would be better called Penis Plants!! 😂😂
We managed to share a lot of personal history on our freewheel down the Mountain! 😍
All in all another fantastic day. It is a real shame I can’t spend a bit more time here or in nearby Kep, which is by the sea. But I guess I’ll just have to return!
Things I’ve noticed in Kampot.
One: It’s pretty well maintained, which I’ve mentioned.
Two: I’ve seen a few rats! 🐀 possibly due to being so close to the river.
Three: It has the largest number of western white men I’ve seen since I arrived in Cambodia. It is definitely a spot that people, or more specifically men, come to retire to. There is an Irish Bar, and yesterday I walked past a restaurant with lots of westerners eating Roast Dinners!
Four: it also has the largest number of ‘Dance’ and ‘hook up’ bars I’ve seen. I’m sure there were plenty in Phnom Penh, I just didn’t see them.
I feel there may be a correlation between some of the above!
I’m sure there is a very different vibe during the dry season when it’s busy, bustling and less damp, overall I like it. 😍
I going back to Phnom Penh tomorrow morning, hopefully 🤞 my bus won’t be “Rescheduled”!
I need to now start looking at planning my journey around Vietnam!
Anyone who has visited and has any tips, ideas or advice please let me know!
Sorry it’s another long blog! 😍
Have a great week guys.
❤️🩵🩷💚
Books Read
Guilty Mothers. Angela Marsons. Book 20 of the DI Kim Stone Series.
I like this book series, obviously, as I’ve read all 20 so far!! ❤️
Hereandthereclaire.com 