The nice thing about this vacation was that it seemed to last much longer than it actually was, but still, we were now headed to our last stop. It was a three hour drive to the Cambodian/Thai border and we were somewhat unceremoniously dropped off and left to figure it out on our own. We didn't do such a great job of that. It looked more like a cargo port than a tourist crossing and it was hard to figure out where to go.
We missed the Cambodian exit point and got all the way to the Thai entry point before we found out and had to walk all the way back again. Then, when we finally got across the border, our driver was nowhere to be found.
We eventually enlisted the help of a policeman who called the driver's cell phone and helped us find her. It's funny that we were so reluctant to ask a policeman for help. But given that our experience with police for the last 18 months has been that they only want to take bribes, I think it was understandable.
Once we found our driver, it was another three hours to get to the ferry that took us from the mainland to the island of Koh Change. This driver wasn't a big fan of air conditioning, so between that and her failure to be where she was supposed to be, we were glad to be rid of her. The only good thing about the whole border snafu, was that I was able to buy a bag of jack-fruit to enjoy the car. As much as I enjoyed the mangosteen, nothing beats fresh jack-fruit in my book.
Our hotel in Koh Chang was beautiful and right by the beach.
We explored our surroundings and were particularly intrigued by the little sand crabs running around everywhere, living their little lives oblivious to the people trodding up and down the beach.
We had arrived in time to find a nice little restaurant where we could watch the sunset and enjoy a nice beer.
Better yet, the restaurant had some amazing seafood. We enjoyed fresh grilled mussels, scallops, and enormous shrimp, in addition to other delicacies.
Better yet, we could just walk right down the beach to get back to our hotel. Add in another night swim and it was the perfect ending to a somewhat trying day.
Our last day of touring consisted of an all-day snorkeling trip. We were picked up in a truck with a covered bed and the driver crammed an unbelievable number of people in. We were comfortable when there were six of us in the back and we ended up with 10. Luckily, the truck part didn't last long and we were soon aboard our boat.
The masks they gave out weren't the best quality and mine kept filling up with water, which made it hard to see. Fortunately, my waterproof camera bag worked perfectly and I got some good pictures so I can see what I missed.
Stephanie had a bad experience with a sea cucumber, when one of the guides handed it to her, (she didn't expect it would be so squishy), but she was very pleased that she didn't get eaten, (that was her criteria for a successful snorkeling trip). On the way back, we stopped at a little island to see a sea turtle breeding facility and then got back on the boat for the trip back to Koh Chang.
Our guides were all young guys who seemed to enjoy their job. One of them wore his towel like princess lea and did magic tricks.
All in all, it was a great day. We got back later than we expected and almost missed our last sunset over the beach.
We thought about going in for another swim, but as it got darker, we both lost our nerve.
Once we got cleaned up at the hotel, we made our way back to the same restaurant for dinner. This time we actually got to have our dinner on the beach as they had set up some extra tables below the sea wall. It was very romantic and a perfect way to end our time in Thailand.
We had our last breakfast at our hotel by the beach and then got picked up for the drive back to Bangkok.
We left early because we were told the drive would be 4-5 hours, but of course when you have plenty of time, things go faster than you expect. We stopped for a last lunch and picked up some more odd Pringle flavors for a snack - shrimp and blueberry & hazelnut, which was surprisingly good.
Even with a stop for lunch, we got to the airport about three and a half hours early. Add to that the fact that, unlike on the way in, the airport personnel told us to use the VIP line with our diplomatic passports, and we had plenty of time to relax at the gate. Just goes to show, Murphy's Law is alive and well.
We had an uneventful flight back to Almaty, and I was fortunate enough to sit behind one of those people who leans their seat all the way back the minute the plane takes off. I managed to get comfortable, but gave the guy a good number of jabs in the back with my knees throughout the flight - mostly when I thought he had finally fallen asleep. Stephanie also ended up with a passenger in her lap, but hers was a little boy whose mother was sitting across the aisle. He was very rambunctious in the beginning but finally tired out and went to sleep in Stephanie's lap.
We arrived in Almaty around 1am and got to the hotel for some sleep. However, they informed us that because we were only staying for half a day, that breakfast wasn't included even though it said it was on our confirmation. Not letting that get us down, we went out and found a nice breakfast at a little coffee house.
This time, our hotel was in a better location and we got to see the nicer side of Almaty. There is a general store (Tsum) in every city in the former soviet union, but the one in Almaty was heads and shoulders above the one in Dushanbe. It was like a real department store and came complete with a King Burger...
From there, we went to Panfilov park to see the century-old Russian Orthodox church there. On the way we saw a Kazakh snow bunny.
Ha! Year of the rabbit indeed. The church was beautiful and apparently was built without a single nail.
I was especially pleased when the little old ladies who were cleaning the church told me I could take pictures inside.
From there, we passed the memorial to soldiers of both world wars. The sculpture is made up of soldiers from the different parts of the Soviet Union, but in aggregate, the sculpture forms the shape of the USSR on the map.
We were disappointed that the green bazaar was closed that day, but our attempt to see it took us past the beautiful mosque.
We were looking for a place to eat lunch before returning to the hotel, but didn't think we had enough money. When we tried to leave the restaurant we checked out, the made us a special offer within our price range, which included the best shwarma either of us has ever had.
When we went to check out of the hotel, they had another surprise for us and told us that the taxi price was per person and not for both of us. I was able to play my card about them not holding up their agreement to give us breakfast and they cut the taxi price in half. It still was a bit of a cheat, but the savings on the taxi was far more than we paid for breakfast.
On the ride to the airport, we were both puzzled by a techno song on the radio that seemed to keep saying "Barbara Streisand" over and over again. I know we're a bit out of touch from American culture, but I hope this isn't what things are coming to back home.
Our flight back to Dushanbe was smooth as could be and we enjoyed some more good views out of the plane.
It was interesting to fly into Dushanbe during the day because usually the flights we're on come in in the middle of the night. It's really a sprawling city and you don't really get that feeling on the ground. So there you have it. It was a wonderful trip and it gave us a much needed change of scenery. Feel free to enjoy the rest of the pictures:
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| SoutheastAsia 2011 JPGS |
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