Laurie's World

The day starts with such promise! Gorgeous sun, we are up by 7:30 and down getting breakfast in the outdoor breakfast area where enjoyed our meal last night. We sunscreen up, get our requisite bug spray applied and are off on a walk. We go left out of our hotel and follow the spiffy new concrete path that did not exist when we were here last. We stop at a place with bamboo mats looking out over the water. There’s a hammock and those really comfy triangle shaped pillow things we love to rest upon. Kim has already discovered she left her water bottle behind on a counter where she set it down to take a picture or chat with someone, so we send her back to retrieve it and we promise to stay put. We enjoy just hanging out taking pictures and soaking up the view (and the breeze-lets be honest, it’s really hot here). Then the text comes-“I’m getting a massage, don’t wait for me” hahahahahahaha. Love it, Kim’s discovered the MASSAGE! So she has signed herself up for a foot massage and a foot scrub, so we won’t see her for 1.5 hours. 
We carried on the path until we got to the end where the was this really nice resort, we wandered about for a little bit, then made our way back to the Avatar. We did stop and procure a banana pancake. That was yummy (as always)
Kim arrived, looking happy, relaxed and in possession of her water bottle.
I decided an afternoon at the pool was in order, Kim and Troy decided to hang out by the bar. I finished my book and they finished some beers and met a nice young couple from Scotland. We all decided to go have supper together, so we headed off down the way in search of good Thai food! We found this place where they had a second story, no fans, but a nice view (despite the sun having gone down) it was quiet up there. Small world, there were three young travelers sitting up there, 2 Americans and a girl from Scotland who just happened to live a few blocks from the girl we were with (Kirsten of Kirsten and Stuart). We chatted amongst all of us and had a lovely discussion about American politics. (Trump vs Hilary). It’s always interesting to hear what people from other countries think/feel/hear about what is happening in the states. Needless to say, it was interesting…..😳
After supper Kim and I went for massage. I had a footie and she ordered up a two hour oil massage. I was done in an hour, so headed out to find Troy, Stuart and Kirsten, they were at the Diamond Cave resort restaurant. So I joined them for a bit, but packed it in around 10:15 as they were going down to the Last Bar for a fire show at 10:30. We made our way back to hotel and were tucked in by the time Kim got home around 10:40. What a great first day on Railay.

Our day begins bright and early to say the least, the alarm set for 5am 😩. We have to catch an 8am flight to Bangkok where we will meet up with our friend Kim and carry on to a flight to Krabi. Everything goes smoothly, and we arrive on schedule. Kim’s flight from America, not so on time. So we explore our options…can I get our flights to Krabi set to the next flight? I have a discussion with AirAsia customer service desk….hmmmm….can’t rebook flights (for 1000 baht) until we’ve already missed our flights, what is the drop dead time for check in? Apparently it is 1:40pm for our 2:25 flight. So we decide that I will take our checked bag and go ahead on the flight and that Troy will stay and meet Kim from her shuttle and catch the next flight. When I went to check in and am trying to make a case for a later check in for Troy and Kim, the check in agent tells me to check her in at the kiosk myself, and print her bag tag then if her shuttle from Suvarnabhumi airport (we are at Don Muang) gets in by 2pm, her and Troy can quickly drop her bag at checked bag drop and run like mad for the gate. <fingers crossed at security>. Wondering what this says about security measures in Asian airports??? not complaining, just wondering….

Kim was on the 1pm shuttle from Suvarnabhumi, and it is usually a 60 min max shuttle ride. So maybe this will work! We print their boarding passes and Kim’s bag tag, and I’m off to security and troy goes to where we believe Kim’s shuttle will drop her. I time it and it is 3 minutes from completed security to the gate, so I’m feeling optimistic. We are texting Kim and realize how difficult it is for someone who has never been here to have ANY idea how “close to the airport” she is, when she has no idea where she is. Hahahahahahaha 

We get the text that her shuttle has landed and I’m watching the the conversation between the two of them appear on the group message we have set up. They are NOT in the same place…..

When the messages stop…. I know they have found each other, and then I’m watching for them to appear. Troy texts when they clear security and I start the count down.3 minutes right….

The plane is boarding, it’s children and the elderly, I’m holding back, general boarding starts, I’m holding back, it’s final call, I’m holding back…..then I really have to go…so the begging starts…I plead with the gate agent-“please can we wait, my husband and sister are coming, they are running” & “please can we wait”. All the whole thinking, on no planet will they believe Kim is my sister-she is the fairest blonde on the planet-but I just thought it made a better sob story. Then it was a scene like out of one of those movies, where there is that music playing and it’s slow motion, camera panning across a crowded airport. I see Troy’s blue shirt and Kim right behind him. He has his baggage and Kim’s checked bag and she has her carry on and they are BOOKING it! And I just kept saying thank you thank you to the gate agent. We are laughing and troy and Kim are sweating and panting, it was quite a scene, thankfully it was just us and the gate agents left at this point,-nothing to see here folks-no show. Hahahahahahaha I can’t even believe it! They made it……
So we get on the shuttle to the airplane that was waiting for us out on the Tarmac. And we were off, Kim in hand 😃😃
The ride to Krabi was uneventful-thankfully-after all that excitement! We arrive in Krabi and perfect timing, caught the shuttle to the pier where we will catch the long tail boat to Railay. 150b per person accomplishes this, then the long tail to Railay is 100b. Everything is lining up perfectly, no waiting at any of these junctures. This is good for Kim, because she is exhausted, running on fumes as she has been up for about 36 hours at this point. I Met a very nice young travelled from France on the shuttle that I had a very nice conversation with, so that passed the time for me.

The long tail ride was awesome, welcome to Krabi!!!!! Didn’t get tooooo wet 😉in spite of being in the splash zone. That’s what happens when you are the last three passengers to load up, you are at the front…..Troy took the worst of it being at the very front of the boat 😳
Checked into the Avatar Railay. It’s an awesome boutique resort right in the beach of east Railay. There has been so much development since we were here 7 years ago with the kids. We did not stay on Railay, but came over as a day trip. For those details, you’d have to refer to that blog entry from 2009. Regardless, we live the hotel, it’s new, clean and very nicely done, gorgeous pool and very friendly staff. I think we will be very happy here. 

We had supper at the hotel as the skies decided to open up right as we arrived. This is fine as we are all tired and will be happy to leave the exploring until tomorrow!
TTFN

The real question is, what to do on our last full day in PP. Of course we start the day by grabbing breakfast in the morning. We meet up with Ritchie, Vanna and Alice in the breakfast room and after we eat up, we decided to join on them on their walk over to their new apartment they are now renting. Ritchie had not yet seen it either. Vanna’s sister will primarily be staying there with her husband and daughter, and Vanna and Alice will stay there when they are in town one week a month or so. We would call this apartment, bachelor style, but it has a private bath and a balcony, so they are pleased for the $130 a month it costs.

Then we went back to our room and chilled out for a few minutes before heading to lunch with Ritchie and Landon. We walked down to the riverside and decided to eat at a small place facing the river called Cadillac’s. I ordered pizz and Troy had a burger. It was mediocre, but not awful, so made do. Honestly what should I expect for $6?

Saw this sign on the table, warning heeded. I’ll beware of false monks! Landon looks so serious.

Regardless, we enjoyed our meal for the most part due to the exceptional company . There was a little boy without trousers, on running amuck, on the sidewalk next to us, he kept coming over and messing around behind out chairs etc.

His mother was on a mat on the sidewalk next to us, and at one point laid down and nursed the toddler right there in the sidewalk. Not uncommon here, we don’t pay it too much attention. But when the little boy squatted down and pooped right on the sidewalk, we did perk up to see what would happen then. No worries, they cleaned it up, but I guess this is how they deal with toilet training here. Just skip the diapers.

Ritchie had to catch a bus back to Ho Cho Min city at 2:15pm, so we whisked him back to hotel and said a sad good bye. Saying good bye to people here is hard because we know it will be a long time before we see them again. Vietnam is definitely on our list of places to go here is SE Asia and maybe we will just HAVE to make that work next year despite what the weather does…

We spent a little time in the hotel regrouping then at 5 headed over to Vanna’s for the house warming party. They actually got possession of the apartment yesterday, but it was an unlucky day to move in, so they waited until today. The party would have family and friends, food drink and fun just like a housewarming party at home would. These are the things we love to experience when traveling. Real moments. Now all that being said, we were unsure what would be on the menu (there was talk of a pig head-which we aren’t opposed to, after all we roast a whole pig yearly back home). We did have plans to meet Landon and Sam for supper and drinks at 6:15pm.

We stopped at the mini mart and picked up a flat (24cans) of beer for $13 and headed over to the party!

Oh my goodness, what a loving warm welcome we received. We were the only white folks and other then Vanna, her sister and hubby, the only English speaking people there, but we could not have felt more welcome and invited. There are so many ways to communicate other than spoken language. Troy had some clams and rice and I had some rice.

We hung out for an hour or so, played with the baby, (she is SO CUTE!!!) and then made our goodbyes.

Supper with Landon and Sam was lovely, we started out at La Croissante for supper, I had a burger, that ended up being a knife and fork meal and Troy had a calzone. Tasty enough meal, ironically it was happy hour and my mango shake was $1.50 and the bottle of water was $4. Hahahahahahaha

Then we went back to Le Moon to enjoy the view, the breeze, the drinks and especially the company. Saying good bye to Landon is always hard, we were stalling……

Basically that’s all we are doing these days. That and talking and laughing with friends. It really is a blessed life I lead. How could a day that starts with this not be a great day???

Troy and I caught a $2 Tuk Tuk with Ritchie over to Landon’s favourite coffee shop (mere). Fancy dancy place. I actually ordered a raspberry shake bcz I had already had 3 cups with brekkie. But this was Ritchie’s cup.

Also pleased to report a successful trip to bank machine. I went onto the bank website yesterday after fiasco in Kampot and set up a travel alert. Was hopeful this would solve the issue without having to call bank and sit on hold etc. This happened to us before when our c/c was flagged when traveling 😳

We then went over to Landon’s apartment for a tour. Nice place, good location, affordable. I think he’ll be happy there for a while.

The streets of Phnom Phen are not for the feeble….

The decision was made to have Indian food for lunch. Yum! Landon recommended we go to a place he’d been before. And for $7.50 a person we had more good than we could eat. But we sure did try!

We don’t get anything crazy, butter chicken, tikka Marsala and garlic naan. Yum!!!

After a quick jaunt though the local market over by Landon and Sam’s place, Troy and I felt it was time for massage. So we went in search of such a thing. We looked at the place by our hotel, $8 😳seems high. So we kept walking, found another place, $7. Maybe that just is what is costs here. So in we go…..good to see what is NOT happening…..

Hahahaha. Honestly, This is the first time I’ve seen this sign here. Really.

As the day wore on, we figured it had been a couple hours since we ate or drank, so best tend to those needs. The evening was a series of hops around town. With Vanna and Sam as our trusty navigators, we saw some really cool places. Started the evening at Eclipse. A rooftop bar on top of a 22 floor building. This is about as tall as the buildings get here. Simply amazing view of the whole city and the sunset.

I’ve discovered a drink I like.

Then we took a Tuk Tuk to FCC (foreign correspondent club) back over by the riverside, had a drink (was supposed to be a coconut  milkshake, but I don’t think That’s what it was, more like just a shake, no ice cream). Then we went to the Grand River restaurant  where I could have ordered cigarettes right along with my Meal. At an alarmingly low price I might add.

I enjoyed an order of beef lok lak as Landon highly recommended it from this restaurant.. Happy to try it out as this is a favorite Cambodian dish of mine. It was indeed delicious. Troy had burger and it was reportedly “meh” at best. Bummer….

That was it for me for the night, the rest of the group was getting into a Tuk Tuk to go to the Munich beer gardens. But I was hitting the wall and was eager for sleep.

Well all good things must come to an end. But we have some amazing things to look forward to. A really fun weekend in phnom phen with Ritchie, Vanna, baby Alice, Landon and Sam! This will be so much more fun than the last time we were in PP two years ago and we went to the killing fields, a war museum, a concentration camp, and yeah, you get the point…..

The day started off just fine, had another delicious breakfast, we got smart yesterday and asked for our fruit bowl without papaya. Not sure WHO exactly eats papaya, it must be the most revolting fruit on the planet. (And I have now officially tasted durian-so I know disgusting fruit). But every year when we are in SE Asia, it’s papaya season, so they keep trying to fob it off on us. BUT yesterday I had a brain moment and asked for my fruit bowl w/o papaya. Now this is a mixed blessing as I officially got twice as much watermelon. Anyone who knows me, knows how I feel about Watermelon, but I happen to be married to a guy who loves it, and is so-so on bananas (which I can’t get enough of) You see where this is going…..so we are those people who each eat their own pineapple, trade bananas for Watermelon and waste none of their precious papaya😄for the win!

When it comes time to settle up the hotel bill I know I have to go to the bank machine as I happened to see a note on the front desk last night saying they no longer accept c/c😳. Really?? Ok, not a huge deal as I’m pretty sure we will need more cash for the big weekend in the city anyway…..as luck would have it, there’s a cash machine right beside the hotel. Ray says it’s a legit machine, so I troy over to go my thing.  #1 Transaction declined, #2 transaction declined, go ask Ray WTH? He says it should be working, #3 transaction declined–Laurie stops trying as she now believes her card will be stuck in a cash machine in Cambodia if she tries again.

In comes Troy, ditto, ditto, ditto, STOP at three attempts!

Uh oh…..we’ve not encountered this before. Desperate times folks…..So we empty our pockets and we are $10 short of being able to pay hotel and driver that’s taking us to PP (who is now kindly and patiently waiting for us).

Ray says “you can PayPal me” Hahahaha! Thank gawd for technology……that takes 2 minutes, then we are on out way.

That’s our driver. No English, so no chatter other than our own…..oh wait, he was able to chatter in Khmer, on his cell phone, it’s not illegal here, let’s be  honest, not much is!

After driving around the block a few times (I don’t think our driver reads English either 😉) we got yo the Angkor International Hotel. It is $20 a night for a standard room ! What a deal. The desk informs me I’m getting an upgrade to a superior room! Always great news right???! So we go on up and I’m not sure what a standard room is like but a superior room is very basic. There’s barely room to get around the three sides of the bed, but it has a kettle, is very clean and has a nice BR, and good AC, so I’m happy. And it’s $20……

We freshen up and head off to meet Landon at the Russisn market which is over by his school. He has arranged for us to your his school he teaches at. But first things first. Lunch….had chicken fried rice at a Polynesian place, Troy had chicken satay and Landon had morning glory (it’s a veggie dish).  Then we walked over to school, met the boss, he gave me a card for when I am ready to start job hunting. Not sure phnom phen is my speed, but always good to have a starting point in the search.

After the tour, Landon had to find his work day up, so we walked back to Russian market and wandered around. Oh my, the things you see in local markets that you can never unsee. Things you didn’t want to ever know about your food…..sigh

Ritchie, Vanna and baby Alice are due to arrive at 5. Landon and Sam came over to hotel and we are all waiting in lobby…..right on cue!!!!

Everything is better with a baby in your arms…..

Vanna’s sister is going to take baby Alice tonight so we will be hitting the town. We started the evening at a rooftop bar down by the riverside. It was called Le Moon. Amazing view of the river and across the river as the sun set.

The view got more spectacular as the sun set. 

Supper occurred after this, over at the New Corner. Troy and I split a pizza, then I felt justified in ordering a banana split.

In all fairness I did split the split with Sam and Vanna. The strawberry was actually a sherbet!! OMG yum….I don’t usually care for strawberry ice cream, but this was amazingly tasty.
At this point, it was after 9:40 (well past my beftime) and I cashed it in. Walked back to hotel with Vanna’s sister and baby Alice.  Troy stayed out with his boys for a beer or two (not counting) . I’ve had a Great day…..

Until tomorrow 😘

So the sum total of my day was to finish another novel (without taking a nap). In order to accomplish this I went and sat on a bench by the river. Given the challenges I have had with the sun (oversunning my shoulders specifically) I made sure to sunscreen my shoulders. Somehow I thought my legs would be exempt from the Rays today. And therefore, I now have tender shins…..
Oh wait, I did go pick up the laundry today. So that’s something productive. 😉$1/kilo, so a total of $3.50 for just over a weeks laundry. Bargoooooon! I stopped on the way back to pick up a cool refreshing drink. I got a pineapple shake and I got tToy a lemon juice. I think mine was more of a lassie, and Troy’s was more like limeade. But that is just what they call these drinks here. It matters not, they were tasty.

Ok i do love the view from my balcony at this hotel. Despite the look of the chairs, they aren’t that uncomfortable, and I could just sit here and watch the world go by all day! The skies look brooding and maybe a bit menacing, but it’s not going to last for long….the rains come and then they are gone…..we have had a fair amount of wind this time around….

At breakfast, owner Ray gave us vouchers for 2 drinks each from the bar to compensate us for the nuisance that the construction has been to us. I didn’t want to tell him I don’t even really notice it. There was construction just as nousy at the last place, Natural Bungalows, and no one seemed to worry about us there. I guess that is the difference between a Cambodian owner/manager and an expat owner-manager. Ray is an Aussie. So as the afternoon rolled around and I was sufficiently baked. We decided to order up those drinks. First we ordered margarita, how can you go wrong? Well the sign at the bar said this Cocktails all day $2.75 (strong) and they weren’t kidding. This was a shaken marg in a martini glass, very fun presentation, but no ice means straight lime juice/booze. So needless to say, I asked for ice about halfway through to water it down.

That’s poor Troy on day two of fixing my blog. He deserved a drink…..

So after that I had a drink called a chocolate miracle or chocolate magic or something like that. It was baileys, Kahlua, amaretto and chocolate milk. Yummy right?????? Yes it was…

Was able to just relax on the patio the rest of the afternoon, we had our last supper down at Caprain Chim’s. We both had chicken Amok, such a tasty dish. Then for old times sake we went over to the Pie and Ice Cream Palace. As we walked up an older gentleman that was seated there asked us where we are from. Well would you believe he was the owner and is Canadian also! From Saskatoon, although he had lived in Edmonton and Grand Prairie too, so knew of Dawson creek. He has lived in Cambodia 10 years now although he has bee visiting SE Asia regularly since the 80s. His partner, Mary, does all the baking at both the shops (they have another location a couple blocks down that opened 1.5 years ago). You could tell he was pretty darn proud of their products. He kept saying “you tell me if you can find something that you don’t like” haha, we interpreted this as a challenge. Although all we had room for this evening was banana cream pie and brownie and ice cream.

His name was Les and he has plans to take Mary and fly back to Saskatoon in a couple weeks for a 2 month van trip across Canada. Wonderful time to visit the homelands, and they will be back in Cambodia before the snowflakes arrive. Mary will love it I’m sure.

I have NO idea why some of my pictures are sideways. So I apologize for that. I’ll have my tech support look at it (Hahahaha). Now that he (Troy) spent most of yesterday debugging my blog, I’m sure he would LOVE to help me rotate pictures. I’ll work on convincing him 😘
Today I have very little to report. I successfully finished the novel I started yesterday and started another before I napped mid afternoon. Yes, it was that kind of day.

I must say the breakfast at the Kampot Riverside is exceptionally good. Pressed Coffee, juice, fruit bowl, then 2 eggs, bacon (real bacon!), fried tomatoes (yum!), baguette, butter pat AND jam! The baguette is really good (and I’m not a bread person…) so they was a lovely way to start the day. This hotel is owned/run by an Aussie (Rob) who understands the little things make A difference! There is a kettle and coffee/tea in the room, hand towels AND face cloths. There’s toiletries (including a sewing kit). Plus they change the sheets daily. There’s memory foam topper on bed (unheard  of). The AC works well plus there is a ceiling fan. This is a great place actually. It’s $40/night but we were paying $27 for the last place plus $8-$10 for brekkie so this is really the better bet. Troy chatted up the owner and apparently it is for sale. Who knows what will be happening here if and when we return someday. But for the time being, I’ll be giving it rave reviews on booking site and tripadvisor. There is construction next door that he feels badly about. But honestly there is construction everywhere we find, so it doesn’t bother us…..and he gives us cocktail vouchers to make up for the noise.

Post nap, We made our way back up Rusty Keyhole 2 for supper and I tried the chicken cordon bleu and Troy had pepperoni pizza (for the win). Honestly Troy’s “sharing” is really coming along and we split most meals these days. So get to try more stuff.

The pizza is really big (11.5″) and costs $9 and the chicken cordon bleu was $5.50. Two beers and an iced coffee totaled $17.25. It’s awfully cheap to eat like kings and queens here. Still can’t wait to get to Thailand and have non stop Thai food though.

My goodness we have played so hard since we arrived in Kampot, we just screeched to a halt and did not much of anything today.

Well not NOTHING. We did move hotels. Around noon, got ourselves sorted and packed up to move to our new digs down the street (closer to the hub bub).

When I went to settle the bill for breakfast bikes etc, I did have to chuckle when I saw a .50 cent line item for a butter pat. The English at the natural bungalows is non existent at best (other than the manager). At breakfast yesterday, Troy asked for ketchup for his eggs, she repeated “ketchup” a couple times and came back with this.

So as is our way here, we laugh and move on…..who really cares right?? Only to see a charge for the butter/ketchup……

Troy was opposed to shlepping the bags to the new place, so I was put in charge of hiring a Tuk Tuk to run us down to the new hotel. I saw a natural bungalow Tuk Tuk so asked the desk if they would take us. When I asked how much, he said, “up to you” 😳😳I personally like to know a hard number before setting off on these things bcz I don’t like trouble or awkwardness. But he skittled off so quickly to get the Tuk Tuk, I decided that $2 would do. That is enough to fill his entire tank with gas and it’s literally a 1km drive.

Troy comes down with bags and I tell the manager where to go, his face fell. I think he thought we were leaving leaving. Like we needed ride to bus depot. 😳oops. And I thought the money would be awkward. So when I get out $2, Troy gestured for more…..so he gives him $3. That’s guilt money for sure!!
Regardless, welcome home Troy and Laurie, at least for three nights until the winds take us back to phnom phen…..

As we’ve often noticed today and many other days, we don’t always get what we think we are ordering. We tried a new place for supper tonight. The Family Restaurant. It’s on the same street as Captain Chims. They had pita and hummus for $2 on the specials board. So we decide to try. It’s $2 right……the server repeats our order in English but looks really confused, so he goes to look at the specials board and writes something down. I even went over and he repeats “pita and hummus $2”. So I’m feeling pretty good about this now.

This is what came. Yes pita and hummus (we ate some before I took photo) but a mystery dish also. This doesn’t look like pita or hummus. We poke at it, sniff it, wait a bit for server to come back for it bcz it is someone else’s. Nope, he says it is ours “pita and hummus from board right?” He says “$2” oh man, this is funny. So we decide to eat it. Some kind of noodle and veggie dish. It was actually kinda good, and sure enough it said pita and hummus on bill and it was $2. So I have no explanation….other than I know I wouldn’t have A clue how to order it again.