beautiful bali

after a lovely night at the Changi airport where I was only awoken once by a guy with an automatic rifle, we made the flight to Bali. Hotel here is gorgeous, much nicer than the guest houses on the backpack trail. Lights, furniture, the whole works!

Lot more people here than I would have imagined, quite a populated island. we have done a couple of tours (arts, crafts, shopping and some traditional dances). Kind of nice but the roads are a little scary. I could never drive in Asia, there seems to be a no fear mentality.

The beach is a short walk from our hotel, miles of sand. Kind of an older crowd in Sanur (where we are) so we feel young. We spent one day in Kuta (party beach) and it made us feel old.

Today our big plan is to go for a massage, then maybe some time on the beach or by the pool. Maybe the pool bar??? It is a tough life.

Pics are from a dance and a sideways of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

hope everyone is doing well - miss you all!!!

Randy & Monique

a quick tour of Malaysia

it is 2:00 a.m. on Friday Feb 23 and I stand in Changi airport in Singapore awaiting our 9:30 flight to Bali. Our plans to catch a sleep at the airport hotel were quashed as they are full so looks like we are napping in chairs. And how did we get here???


the bus from Hat Yai, Thailand to Penang, Malaysia was interesting. I had no idea what to expect in Malaysia, thought it would be like Thailand, only maybe poorer. Very wrong. As soon as you cross the border you notice the improvement in the highways and the care in the landscaping around them. They also have much nicer cars. When we reached the 1st city there were new developments that looked just like suburbia at home. Very nice, very modern.


Arrived in the city of Georgetown on the island (there is a bridge) of Penang. Hadn't done much reading on this either, expected a small city and got a large, densely populated one. Quite late when we arrived so we went direct to the recommended guest house. They had no rooms with a private toilet and it was too late to go searching, so we took what they had. It was a lovely (?!?) attic room, accessed by climbing what was more like a ladder than stairs. Room had 2 beds and nothing else and faced the main street. Not much sleep was had.


Penang being not what we expected, we booked a bus out for the next afternoon, did a little wandering b4 that. I think it is a nice island once awy from Georgetown, but did not find out. The plus and minus of not planning - we ended up somewhere different than expected but were able to leave right away.


the afternoon bus we took went to a city called Tapah. I thought it was going to Tanah Rata. Close though, both are generally in or near an area known as the Cameron Highlands. There were a couple of ladies on the bus who also wanted to go where we wanted and offered to share a cab from Tapah but it was quite expensive and our bus driver insisted it was better to sleep in Tapah and catch the 8:00 a.m. bus to Tanah. There were 2 hotels we could see so we went to number 1. For lack of a better term, it was a shithole. Dirty, water leaking and some lumps on the floor that looked remarkably like mouse dirt. It seems $12 doesn't buy what it used to. But we stayed. Being late (after 9:00), we went looking for a place to eat. Choices were a small roadside cafe or KFC. The cafe won - no English on the menus but the waitress spoke a little and we managed to get some pretty decent chicken and rice.

Next morning we caught the local bus to go to Tanah. The bus was obviously painted with a brush and looked like it was homemade 40 years ago. After a quick stop to get a gallon of oil, we were off. The bus actually did quite well, covered the 52 km. in just over 2 hours. All uphill on a narrow ashphalt road carved in the side of hills/mountains. Lots of switchbacks, one of the most scenic drives I have ever been on.

Tanah Rata is a very nice little city, surrounded by tea plantations and gardens. Went on a little tour that afternoon and saw a plantation, rose gardens, strawberries and a butterfly farm.

The big draw to the area is the cooler weather and jungle hikes. Next morning I headed out with a map (Monique was not feeling up to hiking). Ended up in the jungle for about 5 hours and saw 5 other human beings that whole time. Hike was great, but very difficult with steep climbs and descents. I loved it!!! By the way, we found a really nice little guest house here to stay in for 2 nights.

Thursday morning it was time for another bus (a much nicer one!) and we headed out for Kuala Lumpur. Stayed right in Chinatown at a decent place. Arrived around noon so had lots of time to wander. Next day we did the Petronas towers (they were the tallest buildings in the world until 2003). Great views. And did more wandering, train and monorail rides and a little beer and food. Quality time b4 we caught an evening bus that 5 hours later got us to Singapore. Where the airport hotel is full and I stand at an internet terminal, now at 2:30 in the morning.

Hope everyone is doing well - miss you all!!

PS. Malaysia was great, would love to come back sometime and see some of the stuff we missed.

a nice weekend in Phattalung

after getting up at 5:00 a.m. and catching the 6:00 a.m. train we arrived slightly late at 11:30 in Phattalung. The ride was realy good, scenery from a train somehow seems better than from a bus.

Time for food, so we set off in search of a restaurant. Now , we generally like Thai food but we do like a place with English on the menu so that we know what critter we are eating (the snake, rat and ant eggs are supposed to be delicious though). Phattalung is not a tourist centre, so we had no success. After wandering for awhile, we actually met a white person who asked if we were lost. Explained our predicament and he gave us directions to a nice little place. I tried to order Thai food but waitress would not give me (too spicy I think) and told me I should have the American Fried Rice.

tried phoning Chris (aka Flaming Stiffy) after that assuming he would still be working for a couple of hours. Ended up he was between classes so came right down to pick us up. We did a quick wander thru the school (lots of kids, all in identical uniforms and all smiling and laughing) and then waited in the staff room while he taught a class.

went to a great restaurant out of town that night, best service we have had and across road was another place with live music. Very nice. A couple (?!?) of beers and then home to bed.

Saturday did a little tour to a lake resort, had a great ice cream and a little touring before another great meal and then stopped at a very nice new place by Chris's with live music. Early night.

Sunday Chris was kind enough to drive us the 100 km to Hat Yai where we now await the bus to Penang, Malaysia. Afraid in a couple of hours we need to say good-bye to Thailand - it has been great.

Flamin says hi to everybody, he is doing very well but seems to be a little lonely for female companionship, which is apparently very hard to find in Thailand.

The pics are us out for dinner in Phattalung, view from our guest house on Tao (that is Shark Island), some serious cooking in Chiang Mai and the view from the top of the road to our guest house in Tao (that path of concrete going straight down is indeed a road).

Hope everyone is doing well - miss you all!!

Randy & Monique

visiting a former hasher

we are now in Phattalung and looking to hook up with Flaming Stiffy, a former Red Deer hasher!

some more info on what we have been doing:

on Samui the night b4 we went to Ang Thong, I went to join a couple of guys having a beer near our cottage. They ended up being Canucks (Vancouver) and ended up having many beers. the wake up at 6:30 the next morning came very early but the scenery and snorkelling were so great it was quickly forgotten.

Our place on Tao was amazing, great views, nice beach and great snorkelling. Our last day there it was very windy so rather than snorkel we went hiking. It is hard to believe they can make roads that steep, there is no way I would ever drive on them. It was hard enough to walk up/down them. On returning we came across a young French couple who had crashed their dirtbike on the road. Helped them get the bike up a hill and them on their way, she had hit her head but hopefully all was OK.

On Thursday we ferried 2 hours to Chumpon. There we met Richai, our very good friend. He sits at a table in front of a shop and helps tourists. Ended up sitting and having a beer with him (and buying a drink for him). He even helped us cross the street (for a small donation). Neat old man and I learned something new from him. In Thailand, you see lots of guys hanging around drinking out of small brown bottles. I had earlier discovered these bottles were from Red Bull and a similar energy drink. I learned from him that stores will refill these bottles with vodka for easy portability. What a great idea!!

And a short top 3 list:

Aneeda's loudest screams:

3. on the bamboo raft as it looked like it was going to tip.
2. on the motorbike when the relatively large snake darted across the road in front of us
1. in the shower on Samui when she discovered she had a gecko in the shower with her.

the scream on the dumping of the kayak was probably louder, but being underwater nobody heard.

And sorry Nat, Sparky's record is secure as I managed to avoid any mud wrestling on Samui.

Also, Monique had a suggestion that the rest of the "interhashers" start a blog so we can keep up with your travels.

Anyway, we are now in Phattalung where a former Red Deer hasher now resides. Got in just b4 lunch and discovered there is little English spoken/on menus when you leave the tourist zones. we managed to get fed though. Will catch up with Stiffy when he is done work later.

Hope everyone is well!!

Mobey's

new island new cottage

important things 1st - the baby mentioned in the comment on the last post is my new grandnephew - congrats Sabrina, glad everyone is doing well!
on our last full day on Samui we took a day trip to Ang Thong National Park. About an hour by speedboat to a series of islands. Beautiful. Did some snorkellng, kayaking and hiking. Dumped Monique into the ocean at end of kayak trip. The ride back was pretty rough, probably 8 to 10 foot swells in a speedboat. Surprised no one was sick.
next day took ferry to Koh Tao, a smaller island that is a big diving destination. roads are a challenge (cabs are all 4 wheel drive trucks) but the scenery is amazing. And good snorkelling from the beach in front of our hotel. we look out on Shark Island but so far have seen no sharks.
could say a bunch more but connection is slow and keyboardis terrible so until later..

same island, different cottage

island life is easy to get used to! Thx for the comment Phyllis, somehow it makes it better being here when we know how cold it is there! we have been taking life pretty easy, went to Chaweng Beach one day (the most popular) which is 6km of sand - pretty nice. next day we moved to our new cottage, smaller center on north coast called Mae Nam. we were able to upgrade and are now right on the beach. It is great to gp to bed hearing nothing but waves and birds. Nothing real exciting to report. Have been spending our days swimming, strolling on beaches or touring the island on a scooter. Pics above are the swimming pool at our guest house in Cambodia and breakfast at our 1st hotel in Samui. miss you all!!!

samui sun

after a relax day in Chiang Mai we flew out to the island of Samui in southern Thailand. had looked at taking trains/buses but would have killed almost 2 days so the 2 1/2 hour flight seemed better.
Like any other Thai destination, the worst part is arriving. We have a guide book that says how and how much it should cost to get to where you want to go but the taxi drivers, etc. are always there pushing for higher amounts and the way you want to go seems to be difficult to find. Anyway, we ended up doing a lot of walking and a short taxi and truck ride to arrive at Lamai Beach. First couple of places we tried to find a room were full but then came across the place we originally wanted to find and they had rooms. A little more than we wanted to spend ($40/night) but is a nice cottage with air, hot shower, TV, fridge and breakfast included. Also a very short walk to the beach!
went for a swim (not Monique) and played in the surf, very nice. Also relaxed in the sun and I had my first Thai massage. For such a little girl she pushed me around pretty good.
Dinner was amazing. A number of places set up tables with candles on the beach. We stopped at one close to our cottage - the food was great, the beer was cold and it cost less than $15. I love Thailand.
after that, went to the bar area. Each bar is a small shack with bar stools around and a couple of tables and there are about 10 in the same area. And they all have a stripper pole in the middle. Ended up at the "Ladies Bar", very entertaining. the bartenders play games with you (connect 4 and Jenga) and they never seem to lose. they also dance on the pole (fully dressed of course, but fun to watch!). After that we went to the "Lady Boy" show. Very over the top, with boys dressed as girls, some with "cosmetic enhancement". When I tipped the waiter/waitress, he/she insisted I must tuck the tip in his/her bra. Not sure if I should have been thrilled or not. Maybe it was the beer, but Thai men can look scarily attractive, I would be greatly afraid to be single and picking up a "girl" here, you never know what you get.
today we got a scooter and cruised the island. Very nice and found a great little cottage to stay at later.
to be continued...

in and around chiang mai

cooking school was a lot of fun. Good group, a young Aussie couple, a girl from Bulgaria and a lady from Wales. Our instructor took us down to the market and explained the various fruits, veggies and hebs and we bought what we needed. Then back and cooked 5 or 6 dishes and ate. and ate. And ate. the pics will be posted on their website if interested (http://www.cookinthai.com/) sometime b4 feb 14 - we took the class on Jan 31.

next morning we left for a 3 day trek. Day 1 was drive, market stop, drive, then elephant ride (lots of fun) and about 4 hours of hiking to a small village. There were 12 of us (4 Dutch, 3 Koreans, 1 Brit, 2 French and us Canadians), stayed at our guide's house and had a great time. All the village children (about 30) came and sang songs, the stars were amazing and the food and beer was great. Sleeping was a little rough - 12 people in a room on a concrete floor with very thin mat. Lots of snoring, teeth grinding and the rooster started to crow at 2:30! And it was very cold.

next day we divided in 2 groups. The French couple, a Dutch couple and us hiked to a "waterfall camp" out in the mountains. It was beautiful, with a bath area where they had partially dammed the creek and a shower where they ran creek water through a bamboo shaft. Very cold but nice to get clean. Beds were a little more comfy here and we had more blankets and less people to make noise so was a little better for sleeping. Day 3 was another 3 hours of hiking, a stop at a waterfall for a swim (I was the only one to brave the water - very cold) and then a bamboo raft ride. Monique screamed a little bit and we got very wet!! We have some great photos though.

back to our hotel b4 5:00. Went out for a quick dinner and found a massive market area with all the roads closed. Not sure if this was the normal Sunday thing or some festival but there were a lot of people and kind of neat to wander. Aneeda stopped roadside for a much needed massage.

today will be a quiet day and tomorrow we are beach bound. Having a great time, hope everyone is doing well!

Randy & Monique