Author: gingertravellerblog

N.I Day 2 – The Causeway Coastal Journey 🌊

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Last night was rough… with crashing waves, thunder, lightening and a power cut (and lots of house alarms). Luckily by 1am it had all calmed down, and we were finally able to get some sleep. Today was all about the Causeway Coastal Drive, and we woke up to drizzly to start the morning. We had a lovely refreshing walk along Portstewart Strand – a two-mile stretch of golden sand, with views of Inishowen headland and Mussenden Temple perched on the cliffs above. Bearing in mind we were in thick coats, we were very surprised to see the amount of people in swimming costumes, frolicking about in the ocean! I just had to look at it as was borderline hypothermic!

The next stop was Whiterocks beach, with its stunning limestone cliffs stretching from Curran Strand to Dunluce Castle. The cliffs here are unusual as they are made of chalk; whereas most of the causeway coast is made of basalt. There are so many interesting geological landforms here, from cliffs, shore platforms, caves, arches, and sea stacks.

The great thing about the coastal drive is its many viewpoints, and Magheracross did not disappoint. Here, there is a purpose built viewing platform offering panoramic views of the coastal headlands. Another plus point is the coffee and ice cream van! We were incredibly thirsty by this point, so it would be silly not to pay them a visit. Santa enjoyed an ice cream snack, and Momma and I shared a very delicious brownie.

Back onto the official coastal route and a few minutes drive later, we arrived at Dunluce Castle. We were expecting something small, but the site is actually huge, and very reasonably priced. The castle played its part in Northern Ireland’s dramatic history before falling into its current state of ruin. Today, the remains stand out on the dramatic cliffs, but remain in danger of crumbling into the sea below. It’s also the filming location for House Greyjoy in Game of Thrones.

Whilst walking round, I (thought I had) spotted Santa and wondered why he had changed his shirt. Turns out there are actually 2 Santa’s 🎅🏻

We then headed for the one we had all been looking forward to – Giants Causeway. Clearly being very thick, I assumed the ‘giant’ part of the name meant ‘big’ and not a legend that a giant was the one who had built the causeway. I was therefore expecting the actual hexagonal stepping stones to be much larger than they actually were 🤣 Don’t get me wrong, it’s still an incredible sight to see, but it was incredibly busy, and it didn’t help that we chose to visit on a weekend when the weather was actually decent. It’s Northern Ireland’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site and is thought to be almost 60 million years in the making. If you plan on visiting here, don’t come on a weekend and try to come out of season. Also, leave enough time to explore some of the walks in the surrounding area.

We continued the trail to Dunseverick, starting at the ‘castle’ and following the coastal path to the waterfall. Standing on the edge of the promontory are the crumbling ruins of the castle. Therefore, using your imagination is key. King’s gazing out to sea, watching potential invaders circling the rugged cliff below. By this point, it was really hot, and so we were able to enjoy the walk in just t-shirts – a stark contrast to this morning. Unfortunately I haven’t packed any suncream as the forecast suggested otherwise. An error I don’t usually make! We continued along the path to the waterfall, and I think this can be classed as a hidden gem, as it’s where a narrow river finalises its journey free falling down to the sea. The waterfall’s volume is obviously dependent upon rainfall.. but no need to worry about that because we’re in Ireland! The water cascading down is so calming and peaceful, so we took a perch on a nearby rock to sit and relax.

What do you think of when you hear the word beach. Is it the sea? The sand? I’m sure it isn’t cows… but that’s what you’ll find at White Park Bay, and they are said to be the most photographed cows in N.I. The bay itself is a huge stretch of golden sand, and is backed by ancient sand dunes that provide a range of rich habitats for bird and animal life. Swimming here is not permitted due to rip currents.

As the day was closing in, we decided that we would only have time for a few more activities. Stopping at Ballintoy Harbour meant we could get a few things ticked off in one go – the harbour itself and Elephant Rock. The walk to the rock is another beautiful one as you are surrounded by all sorts of rock formations, but MY GOD the initial part of it absolutely stunk of rotten fish and poo… however all was well when Elephant Rock came into view. Local folklore says this rock was the result of a woolly mammoth which had the misfortune of being caught as it tried to flee from an erupting volcano! The harbour here is very small, but also plays a part in GoT – where Theon Greyjoy arrives back to the Iron Islands and where he first meets his sister, Yara.

Feeling very tired and ready for our final stop, we headed for Dark Hedges (such a GoT filled day.. and Momma and Santa have never seen it!!) When I was last here, people we abandoning cars all over the place. Now, it is access only (although some bellend decided to ignore this and park their car right in the middle…) and you have to park in a car park just a short walk away. Although it’s hard to properly appreciate with the amount of people that choose to visit, it’s still worth it for a quick swing by.

The ocean was incredibly rough when we eventually got back to our apartment, and whilst taking the last few photos, we spotted dolphins 🐬 There was so many of them, jumping in the waves and having the absolute best time. Unfortunately they were incredible hard to photograph.. but here is some of my poor attempts…We had a lovely picky tea and drinks whilst looking out our window. We have been so so lucky with the weather today, but my crispy ginger face certainly knows about it 😭

N.I Day 1 🚢

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It was an early start this morning for an early flight to Belfast! It’s been ages since I’ve flown from BHX, and there is so much work being done within the airport to try to improve the security process. We were the first in the queue (obvs) for baggage drop, but right at the back of the chaos that is the (current) security process. When we eventually got through, we went for the obligatory Spoons breakfast, with all the stag and hens. It was at this point that I got a message from Easyjet to say our flight had been delayed by 2hrs… thank god for the free coffee refill! This luckily soon changed to only an hour delay, and as soon as the gate was available, we were straight there, and one of the first in the queue (again.. obvs).

We got off the plane in an incredibly soggy Belfast, and walked what felt like a mile to the Sixt office to pick up our ride for the next few days. I went in with Momma to collect the keys, and we were given a Kia Picanto. When he saw us then meet Santa with our massive suitcase, he decided to give us a free upgrade to a Kia Rio 👍🏻 We had a straightforward drive into Belfast City Centre, however it turns out I’d picked the car park that you need to sell a kidney to park in – £3.50 an hour 😱 the original plan was to walk to the Titanic museum later in the day, but at this eye watering price, we decided to give ourself 2hrs only. We headed to the Cathedral Quarter, as research showed this is a cool and hip place. If you love street art then this is the place is for you. Unfortunately all of the cool people were taking shelter from the rain. We went into the Cathedral for cover. It’s got a very modern interior, and was nice to see for a small £2.50 fee.

We then popped to Primark to stock up on things I’d forgotten (my entire makeup bag 😭) and then headed to City Hall in the heart of the City Centre. We didn’t have enough time to go in, but it’s a lovely building from the outside, and it’s definitely worth going to. We had now worked up an appetite, so we decided to check out St George’s Market – voted the UKs best large indoor market. It’s only open from Fri – Sun and is full of everything you can think of for an indoor market. We had a burger from Sizzle & Roll, and although they took a while to make it, it was worth it because they were delicious! We power walked back to super expensive car park (as quick as possible on the slippery pavement) and got there bang on 2hrs. However, they charged us for 3!! With nobody to have a moan to, I’m tasked with sending an email to claim my £4 back 🤣

As with a lot of people, I am fascinated with everything Titanic, so this was a must do thing whilst here (and a shelter for the torrential rain) We moved the car here for a bargain £1.50 per hour. The museum is enormous, but unfortunately incredibly busy, therefore it’s difficult to properly read everything. What did surprise us, was the ‘cable car’ ride around the construction of Titanic. A fascinating insight into the sights, sounds and smells of the shipyard demonstrating what tasks had to be carried out in order to build the Titanic. The museum doesn’t hold any artifacts from the wreck site or debris field, but what you are able to see is items such as letters written on board ship (this particular letter only survived because it was in the pocket of her husband’s coat which he had given her to keep warm) and the china that would have been used. Although you will struggle to read and see everything due to the volume of visitors, I’d still 100% recommend this museum – one of the most visited attractions in NI.

A questionable Titanic themed gift..

Included in your ticket is a visit on board S.S. Nomadic – Titanic’s sister ship and the only surviving White Star Line ship in the world. For 172 passengers, she was the last stage of their journey to the doomed liner. Here you will find a lot more interactive and hands on story telling, and it’s a lot quieter.

We’ve booked an Airbnb in Portstewart overlooking the ocean, and the journey here was pretty smooth (apart from some questionable instructions from Google Maps resulting in wrong lanes). Unfortunately, the weather on arrival was absolutely awful, so we haven’t been able to get a coastal walk in yet. Fingers crossed the weather improves over the next few days.

Apartment views 🥰

Luxembourg Day 4 🇱🇺

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Our last day in Luxembourg! As it was National Day, we knew that shops and cafés would have reduced opening hours, however it was basically a ghost town as nothing was open at all.. apart from Pret! We had hoped to visit one of the local bakeries this morning, but the chain will have to do. We had a granola bowl, toasties and drinks, and because we were bordering on re-mortgaging the house to pay for it all (don’t let all this talk of cost put you off.. we’re just pigs) the lovely man behind the counter gave us a free cookie. The food was really tasty – I definitely think Pret is up there with the best tasting coffee chain foods.

We could see large groups of people and families heading over to the Adolphe Bridge, so we guessed this is where the events of today would take place. We joined the crowds of people who were all waving their flags, and watched the military planes fly past. Although really cool to see, they really don’t do it as well as the Brits 😉 the Luxembourg Amry then all drove past, followed by the police, fire and ambulance. We were a bit too far away to hear the band that was playing, so decided to move a bit further down to see what was going on. Unfortunately we got there just as they had finished, however we managed to grab a spot at the front just in time to see the Grand Duke and his wife get in their car and drive past. We even got a wave! So surreal, but funny to think we have gotten closer to the big bollocks of Luxembourg than we have to our own.

The craft bar we had stopped at a few days prior wasn’t far away, so we decided to pop in for a cold one. We watched the dignitaries in their smart get-up wandering the streets and shaking hands with people, and members of the military band chatting to the crowds. It was really lovely to watch. We spotted a large crowd over by the army tents so decided to check it out. They were only giving out free beer!! As many as you wanted! They had stands where you can try on their gear and sit in vehicles. There was a band playing and food being served. It was such a great atmosphere, and the weather was perfect.

We decided to spend our last few hours in Luxembourg just wandering the streets. However, now the parade was over, the shops and restaurants were starting to open. We have walked past a bar called Urban every day, so we grabbed their last table and settled down to a fruit beer and some lunch. The food was really tasty, and the portion sizes were huge! For the final drink, we went to a vintage bar over the road, where locals sat on knackered old arm chairs playing chess.

On the walk back to the hotel to get our bags, we took the scenic route for one last look at the ruins and then up the panoramic elevator. It takes you from historic at the bottom, to modern at the top and is 71M tall. It’s free to use and gives great views across the city. We could hear music playing in the park so decided to check out what was going on. It was absolutely swarming with families. There was games everywhere, including inflatables, racket games, giant board games, as well as food and drink carts. As we’re not one for early arrival to the airport 🤣 we decided to grab one last drink and take a slow walk through the park. It’s such a massive shame to be going home. We’ve had such a great time soaking up all the atmosphere of the last few days, and The Script and 1975 were headlining City Sounds that evening!

I hope we have put Luxembourg on your radar to visit as it’s such a lovely country. Maybe even get a trip booked for 22nd/23rd June 2024 to party with the locals! Whilst public transport is free, hiring a car will allow you to see all the little towns around the country in just a few days. There are plenty of hiking trails, and even a little waterfall. The old town is stunning and perfect for a peaceful walk, and the bars are great for just watching the world go by.

Luxembourg Day 3 🇱🇺

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We woke up this morning to the weather we are usually blessed with on our adventures… rain. We had planned to explore the Mullerthal Region today, which is referred to as Luxembourg’s little Switzerland, however we hadn’t really packed for wet weather, and decided it would just end being a soggy and miserable day. Instead, we went for breakfast at one of the highest rated spots. Obviously, when we got there, every table was full; the majority with cool young hipsters and their laptops who clearly had no plans to move all day. Luckily, a table of mature ladies vacated, so we dived straight in. Whilst the latte was a massive letdown, the food made up for it and set us on our way for a day of cafe hopping.

Walking tour Ken had recommended the Chocolate House for its delicious hot chocolate and perfect view of the guards outside the Grand Ducal Palace. We got there as the rain had stopped, so we were able to get a seat outside. There are so many different flavours of hot chocolate to choose from. Mark chose orange, but unfortunately, he had to say pardon 3 times when the waitress asked if he wanted dark or milk. When he eventually realised what she was asking, he went with milk, but she had other ideas and gave him dark instead.

Another recommendation we had been given was Bock Casemates – a subterranean defence system made up of kilometres of tunnels and one of the most important visitor sites in Luxembourg. It’s an inside activity, so perfect for a soggy day! During the two World Wars, the Bock Casemates (and those of the Pétrusse valley) served as a shelter with the capacity to protect 35,000 people in the event of a bombardment. It’s an interesting site to walk around and also gives you alternative views across the city. Luckily, these tunnels are a lot bigger and wider than the ones we visited in Vietnam! As there was a break in the rain and feeling a little snackish, we popped to Ladurée for some overpriced drinks and super tasty macaron. The rain break didn’t last long, and accompanied by lots of thunder, it began again.

When we booked this trip, we had no idea of the significance of the 22nd/23rd June to Luxembourg. The 23rd is National Day – a day to celebrate the Grand Duke’s birthday, but celebrations get underway on the 22nd. It all begins with the traditional changing of the guard in front of the Grand Ducal Palace, with the participation of an honorary detachment from the Luxembourg Army. The Luxembourg Military Band also provided musical entertainment, including ACDC Highway to Hell! We managed to get a really good spot to watch everything, but felt very out of place without a Luxembourg flag to wave.

The evening celebrations was a DJ set by Flavour Trip, Wade (nope.. no clue either!) and Lost Frequencies. As this didn’t kick off until later, we decided to pass some time by visiting a cat cafe. The first one we visited in Prague was a bit of a disaster as a cat piddled all over my scarf! Luckily no such event happened this time. We were surrounded by lots of fabulous kitties who were very interested in trying to lick the cream out of Mark’s milkshake. Just before we left, the owner gave us some treats to give them, and they all came running. Actual cat heaven.

The forecast for the evening was poor, so we decided packed our umbrellas. As we got bag searched to go into ‘City Sounds’ we were told we were not allowed to take umbrellas in, and to leave them by the entrance in a giant umbrella pile. I’ll give you one guess as to whether they were still there when we left 🙄 we got some food, beer and wine and got our spot ready for Lost Frequencies. The heavens decided to open just as the set began, and everyone around us got their umbrellas out!! Absolutely fuming! Luckily I had the wanker hat. The main event of the 22nd is the firework display – one of the biggest in Europe. We piled onto the tram with 1000s of others and got to the viewing area. There was so much pushing and shoving, and we ended up being stuck behind a tree. Although we had a slightly reduced view, the fireworks were INCREDIBLE. There are so many great places to watch the fireworks, so getting there early is a must.

We had seen all the bars getting ready earlier in the day for the huge street parties which kick off after the fireworks, so were keen to check them out. Unfortunately being 5ft2 in a crowd isn’t the best, and I hated every minute of being squashed, shoved and trodden on. It really was hell. Although the atmosphere was great; the drinks were massively overpriced and it was impossible to move, so we decided to head back to the hotel. On the way back through the square where we had met Ken, we discovered lots of space, a great DJ and cheap drinks. So we were able to enjoy some of the party vibes with the locals.

Luxembourg Day 2 🇱🇺

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We woke up to a glorious first morning in Luxembourg. On our tour with Ken yesterday, he told us about a local market on Wednesdays and Saturdays which is perfect for getting meat, cheese, fruit and veg and other tasty treats. We decided to check it out and get our breakfast like the locals do. Mark decided to try out some of his GCSE French, but got as far as Bonjour, before ordering a punnet of strawberries in English. Luckily the stall holder spoke excellent English, so there was no confusion with what we wanted. It was then my turn to order the pastries, however this time all of their labels were in German. As I didn’t even reach GCSE German, I decided to just point at what I wanted – we’re such British tourists 🤣 we spotted Pret had some seating outside, so grabbed a coffee and sat with our goodies watching the world go by.

There are so many places to visit in Luxembourg, and it’s so small that you could drive North to South in around 2hrs. We however have not hired a car, so decided to spend today visiting Vianden as it’s easy to get to on public transport. As I mentioned in day one, one of the great things about Luxembourg is public transport is free! I did however have to pay 70c to use the toilet in the train station. The first leg of the journey was via train to a town called Ettelbruck. The trains are double decker and very clean, with plenty of leg room. The second leg was via bus to Vianden. Unfortunately we had the craziest bus driver known to man, who decided to overtake a tractor, and car, whilst going round a bend and going uphill. This is obviously a manoeuvre he has done before, as he did it with such confidence, and we are still here! This whole journey took around 1hr.

It is said that Vianden is one of Luxembourg’s prettiest towns, and its clear why. It has charming winding streets, pastel coloured houses, and of course, the castle up on the hill. The castle had been renovated over a number of years so its worth going inside for a visit. There are a few ways to the top, but we obviously had to take the chair lift. The ride is slow, meaning you are able to fully take in the surroundings, and the views are stunning. Once at the top, there are a few viewpoints, and of course a restaurant. You then need to walk to the castle – we chose the ‘challenging route’ as it was much quicker. Its very do-able, just a bit uneven underfoot.

Entry to the castle is €10, and is definitely worth it to see this authentic masterpiece of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. You can go around at your own pace, and luckily no volunteers that want to grab you in every room 🤣 there are plenty of rooms to visit, as well as items found on digs around the castle, outfits they would have worn and towers with great views.

We decided to take the easy route back to the chair lift, however this wasn’t signposted well at all, and after about 10 mins we decided we would definitely get lost in the middle of the forest, and retraced our steps back to the challenging route. We had read about a bakery selling the best croque monsieur in Vianden, so we headed there to try it our before we headed back to the city. Unfortunately.. they had sold out 😭 so we settled for a meat and egg baguette before heading back to the bus stop, to begin the journey back. As it had been a hot and sweaty day, a few of the passengers were rather fragrant…

We got back to the hotel, showered and headed out for a Maccies. We went to one a bit further out as it was bigger and had screens to order off – always makes it easier in another county! It was the cleanest one we have ever been in, and we enjoyed adding another one to the world tour list. On the tram there we spotted a busy area with a funfair, so decided to head back there for a look. Mark fancied a pudding and went to the churros stand. After being told multiple times to just get a small, he ordered a medium, and there was enough churros to feed the entire country. Although they were tasty and not greasy like some of them can be, we were quickly defeated.

We had also spotted a cool looking bar, and soon realised they sold 100s of cans of beer from all over the world. Mark enjoyed getting beer advice from the owner, and we sat outside with our drinks (I even had a beer! Fruity obvs) There was a very interesting group of people next to us however, and the bloke was really getting into telling them how he didn’t like being fingered 🤷🏼‍♀️ As it was getting late, we decided to head back via one more bar we had seen in the town. A gin and tonic was €12, however I definitely had at least half a pint of gin, so I guess it was worth it! The heavens decided to open, so it was a quick dash back to the hotel and to bed, ready for another day of exploring.

Luxembourg Day 1 🇱🇺

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The alarms were set for a super early start this morning as our flight was from Heathrow, and to save us nearly £100, we chose to use Purple Parking rather than park at the airport. Luckily Mark’s parents are around an hour away from Heathrow (one of the reasons I swiped for him haha) which makes the journey there a slightly easier one. Purple Parking is super easy to use and would 100% recommend them (pending car collection!). We hopped onto the shuttle bus and arrived at T3 in around 10 minutes. We got into the queue for bag check, but it soon became apparent that we were in the queue for American Airlines instead! This seems to be a common mistake as others soon followed us to the correct check in area next door. We whizzed through security, and this meant we had over 2hrs in departures! We went to Spuntino for breakfast, which for airport standards was actually very good. And of course, a breakfast pudding from Nero 😋 we made our way to our gate, and then came the dreaded announcement.. a flight delay! The tannoy stated “there has been a big accident on the tarmac meaning the crew can’t get to the plane. Fire are in attendance”. This made it sound very dramatic, however after around 20 mins, we were allowed on the plane. Then came the next bit of news.. we’ve missed our slot and Luxembourg is too foggy to land in, so we’re being put into a ‘holding bay’ until we could take off. After nearly 45 minutes here we were able to take off, for the super lengthy one hour flight. The best thing about flying BA, is even though it has taken me longer to drive to Birmingham, you still get a free drink and snack from them.

One of the great things about Luxembourg, is all public transport is free! Even for tourists. Getting from the airport to the city centre is super easy on the bus, and we were really fortunate that our room was ready early when we arrived at the hotel. After a quick swill and a change of clothes, we headed out to see what Luxembourg had to offer. One of the first things we noticed was how clean the place is, but that could be to do with the amount of bins there is.

The many bins in the park

To get another UNESCO ticked off the app, we headed to the old quarter and fortifications. We walked along The Chemin de la Corniche, which is said to be “Europe’s most beautiful balcony”. I’ts clear to see why.. the views are absolutely stunning. We strolled along some the passage ways down to the waters edge of the Alzette to get a closer look at the bridges and architecture. It can only be described as like something out of a fairytale, and is the perfect place for a bit of peace in the middle of bustling city.

As we know absolutely nothing about Luxembourg, we decided to book a walking tour, with the added bonus of wine tasting. As we had around 20 mins before we met the group, we decided to have a drink. From the very minimal research we did before coming, most of the reviews and blogs say service is slow and waiting staff are VERY rude. We sat outside a cafe and got completely ignored by the waitress, and after a good 5 minutes of no interaction, we got up and left. As we were now running low on time and getting dryer by the minute, we decided on swinging by maccies to get a drink from there (don’t worry, we will be visiting properly tomorrow as part of our Maccies World Tour.) We headed to the meeting point where we met some fabulous gays from the group, an American and an Aussie who are living together in The Hague! The tour guide however was nowhere to be seen, and we eventually got comms that the previous walk was taking a while, meaning ours was going to be delayed. The boys recommended a bar just around the corner, so we popped there to kill some time, and luckily the service there was good, with a great selection of beer.

We headed back to meet the group and our tour guide, Ken. A very enthusiastic chap who is born here and lived here his whole life. We learnt that by the age of 16, most people in Luxembourg can speak French, German and Luxembourgish, and large proportion can speak English. In fact a lot of locals here can speak 7 different languages! We walked around cute squares, saw the Cathedral and Grand Ducal Palace, the Pont Adolphe Bridge, and once again, the Corniche. Luxembourg is the 2nd richest country in the world and has the highest minimum wage in the EU. This is why so many people from the bordering countries come to work here, hense why so many languages are learnt and spoken by locals. It’s also the only Grand Duchy in the world, and we’ve accidentally planned our trip around the Grand Dukes official birthday – but more about that later! We tried 2 wines, one of which was Crémant de Luxembourg, a quality sparkling wine. Both were delicious. We don’t really ever do walking tours, but this one was really enjoyable, so will probably do more of these in the future. We booked through Get Your Guide.

This evening we decided to go slightly out of town to a highly rated tapas restaurant. And I have to say, the ham croquettes and patatas bravas were probably the best we’ve ever had. Even beating Barcelona! Although a relatively pricey meal, it was worth it. We walked back into town to have a drink overlooking the valley, and this was the perfect end to the day.

Krabi 🇹🇭

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We knew we wanted to finish our trip off at the beach, and for weeks we couldn’t decide between Krabi or Koh Samui. As we know more people who’ve done Krabi who could therefore give recommendations, we chose there. Specifically Ao Nang beach. We enjoyed a McDonald’s breakfast at the airport (no change in the menu) and it was only when we boarded the plane, I realised I’d forgotten to request seats together. So poor Mark ended up next to a gentleman who had his shoes and socks off, and rested his actual bare foot on Mark’s leg. We got off the plane and onto the bus for the shortest journey from the plane to the terminal I’ve ever had in my life. After we got our bags, we hopped in a taxi and drove to our hotel for the next 4 nights. As it was still really early, our room wasn’t quite ready yet, so we set up camp next to the pool. A man came over to have a chat (who turned out to be a Newcastle fan) and offer some advice of the area. It was all going so well, until he started boasting about a trip he went on where he was told to wear a life jacket, to which he told the guide, I don’t need to wear a life jacket because I can swim better than you all put together. I totally lost interest at this point..

Luckily, the hotel was able to get a room ready for us quite quickly, so we chucked our bags in, suncreamed up, and headed out to the beach. White sand, blue sea, and rows of long-tail boats; it was perfect. We decided to grab some lunch, and whilst we were waiting for the food to come, we noticed the waiting staff running around and ushering people inside.. the heavens opened, and an incredibly heavy downpour came. Not again 😭 it eventually stopped raining, and we both decided that for food that evening, we really fancied an Indian. Luckily, there are Indian’s everywhere in Aonang, and we chose Tandori Nights, which was absolutely delicious. We finished off our first day with a few drinks in Boogie Bar and watched a live band. There were all nearly 100.. but they were great!

The following day, we decided to hire a private driver to take us to some of the main attractions. Often with the organised trips, you don’t have enough time at each place and you end up having lunch in a crappy buffet restaurant for way longer than needed, whilst making awkward small talk with people you’ve just met. So for an extra 15 quid, a private driver seemed the perfect option, and we’re so glad we did. Our first stop was Emerald Pools; a natural crystal lagoon. One slight annoying thing about this place is that Thai residents pay less than £1 to get in, and foreigners pay nearly £10!! We thought it was still worth the money, and due to no time contraints we were able to have a float around for as long as we wanted and just watch the world go by. The next stop was the hot springs, which wasn’t somewhere you could spend long in seeing as it was over 30 degrees outside, but it was still really cool to see and chill out in the pools surrounding the waterfall. Finally was Tiger cave temple, and the 1260 steps to the top.. It. Was. HELL. It was so hot, and the steps were uneaven. Everyone doing it looked the same – a big red sweaty mess. Luckily, the views at the top were worth it, and we were able to have enough time to sit down and wander about to take it all in. After a lovely day, we decided that tonight we would tackle the food in the night market. I was desperate to have a nice Pad Thai, and luckily, this one was really nice. We sat at plastic tables on plastic chairs and enjoyed our street food, and it was a great way to finish the day.

This trip has been so full on, so we decided to actually have a day doing not a fat lot, and took a long-tail to nearby Railay beach, famous for it’s long stretches of white sand surrounded by limestone cliffs. We found a spot to set up camp, and for the first time since our trip began, we lay down and did absolutely nothing. Obviously, I’m terrible for sitting still, and I’d heard about a cave full of penis’s, so after I’d allowed Mark a few hours rest 🤣 we were off to find the cave. It’s about 15 mins walk to the other side of Railay, and sure enough is not one, but two caves full of wooden phalluses! Locals come here with offerings in the hope to boost their fertility. After another chill on the beach, we got the long-tail back to Aonang in time to watch the sunset. We grabbed cocktails and joined the 100s of people to watch, and it was stunning.

We had always said that we would go to Phi Phi, however after much thought over the last few days and listening to feedback from others, we decided that it had probably become too busy and too touristy for a one day visit. So we decided to do Hong Islands instead! We hired a private long-tail (much more expensive option but again it gives you freedom to do what you want) and set out on our journey. We were picked up at the hotel (20 mins early!! They phoned our room to see where we were 🤣) and headed to the pier to get our boat. We arrived at the National Park and got a much needed iced drink (elbows out again to avoid the queue jumpers) and tackled the climb to the viewpoint. It was a challenge in the heat but the views were so worth it to see all the limestone cliffs emerging from the sea. We got back down and cooled off with a bit of snorkeling. Unfortunately the snorkel they had provided for me was full of holes, but the water was so clear I was able to see enough without going under anyway. Next we visited Koh Lao Lading, a small pretty cove with a little shop and pitch black toilets! There isn’t much here so this was a quick stop, before heading to our final place for sunset. Our guide prepared us some Pad Thai and a huge tray of fruit and we settled in for the next hour. It was such a beautifully peaceful place and was the perfect end to the day.

That evening we got back quite late and both us were feeling a bit unwell. We hadn’t actually eaten that much all day so thought maybe it was that, but unfortunately for Mark, a fever and vomiting set in.. We hoped after a good night’s sleep we would be feeling better, but the nausea was still there and we couldn’t face any breakfast either. This morning we had planned a Thai massage, but that was very quickly sacked off in case we vommed on the poor masseuse. The one thing that couldn’t be sacked off was the Elephants. We were keen to pick a sanctuary that cared for elephants well and luckily there was one very close to where we were staying. We arrived and met the Mahouts who care for them, we had a talk about the Elephants and the work they do, and then it was time to meet them 🥰 we fed them bananas and made them protein balls. We took them to the mud spa which is great for their skin it was incredible to get up so close to them. Despite us both feeling so sick throughout the whole thing, it was a fantastic experience and one we will both remember.

That evening, we were picked up for a late flight back to Bangkok for the last leg of the adventure. The whole trip has certainly been an experience! From the food, to the people, the scenery to the toilets. From chaos to calm and everything else in-between. We are beyond shattered.. but would we do it again?? Absolutely!!

Bangkok 🇹🇭

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The Thailand blogs are going to be a bit disjointed as we started in Bangkok, spent 5 days in Krabi, and back to Bangkok again. After finally crossing into Thailand with the group, we boarded the minibuses for the long drive to Bangkok. The first thing we noticed was that they drive on the same side as us! Due to the lengthy immigration queue, we got stuck in traffic and arrived at our hotel a lot later than anticipated. We stayed in Chinatown, and we thought Hanoi was busy… we chucked our bags in the room and met the group for our farewell dinner at a traditional Thai restaurant. I ordered Pad Thai and was so excited about trying it, but when it arrived, it was absolutely awful. I thought.. is this like when you go to Mexico and it doesn’t taste anything like Old el Paso 🤣 another person in our group had it and agreed. It had no flavour and a really slimy texture. We asked the waiting staff for some chili to give it a bit of oomph, but even that couldn’t save it. Mark had a prawn based dish, with only 3 prawns.. it was a massive shame that this was the chosen place for our last dinner together, but the night was still young, so we headed to the sky bar at our hotel. We all chatted and drank until they switched the lights off and kicked us out. It will be strange continuing the adventure without everyone!

The following morning, we decided to have a much needed lie in. We headed to breakfast, and it was one of the worst ones we’ve had on the trip so far. All I fancied was a bowl of Coco Pops, which I had to eat with a teaspoon. So, after a quick Google search for the best brunch, we headed to Wallflower cafe. It was very quirky inside, the cakes looked delicious and it all looked very promising! I ordered a hot latte and ended up with an iced matcha tea 🙄 We ordered a red velvet cake which was covered in flowers, and this gave it a strange taste. We had also ordered some chicken wings, which also came with flowers on! This cafe was obviously all about Instagram and not about the flavour.. or the service. We left feeling deflated as our Thai food experience so far had been beyond rubbish.

After food we took a very long and very sweaty walk to Wat Pho – the home of the reclining Buddha. We went via a local market street, where they were selling all sorts of weird and wonderful, from ducks to organs to penis.. The grounds at Wat Pho are beautiful and there are so many mosaic covered chedis, as well as the 100s of gold Buddha statues. The main attraction here though is the reclining Buddha. We had no idea how big she would be, but it’s definitely a big woahhh when you see her. There are no info boards anywhere, but thanks to Google I can tell you she’s 46 meters long and 15 meters high. We joined the queue to get a better photo, and yet again there are so many people that just try to push in. I wasn’t having any of it, and luckily nor was anyone else.. so multiple people got shouted it 😁 we could definitely have spent more time at Wat Pho, but there is a big lack of shade, and we were both starting to feel tired and dehydrated. I’d definitely recommend coming here early so you can get everything done before it gets super hot.

At the hotel, we’d been given a map with ‘IconSiam’ on – an enormous luxury shopping complex with a daily fountain show. We arrived and asked at the info desk where the fountain show was, and a very nice man pointed us in the right direction. We joined the large crowd of people who were already starting to gather; 45 minutes before it was due to start. 6:30pm came, and everyone was excited to see the show, but no fountains started. The sun hadn’t quite set yet, so we thought maybe they waited until its dark, and we all continued to wait. By the time it got to 7:20pm. and there was still no show, I was getting annoyed and went back to ask the man if the 8pm show was at least going to be on. His reply… there are no shows today…… as his English wasn’t the best, I decided against having a moan and politely suggesting that maybe he could have told us that well over an hour ago, or at least have a sign up somewhere. We were now absolutely starving, and as we were too poor to eat in the super posh shopping centre, we went to the next best thing – McDonald’s. Our first day in Bangkok hadn’t been the best, and we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the early start to get to Krabi.

Krabi blog to follow… but for now; back to Bangkok!

We arrived back into Bangkok airport late due to delay. The taxi I had booked was with a company that only wait 45 minutes after landing, and if you get to them after midnight you go down as a no show and they leave (always read the T&Cs folks!) It was now 22:45, giving us not a lot of time at all to get to the driver. Obviously the baggage carrousel was 800m away and obviously our bags were the 3rd lot to be released onto the belt. I tried to get in contact with the driver but it kept saying network error. We were both now getting twitchy arse, and once we saw our bags, we grabbed them and made a run to the meeting point. This was absolute chaos, and there must have been well over 100 names on the board of people waiting to be picked up. We eventually found ours, then had to wait for one of the co-ordinators to call our driver to tell him we were ready. At 23:40, we eventually got in the taxi. Our lovely driver Ponlawat Pusaart (🤣) had waited for us. We’d decided to book a 5* hotel for the last leg of our trip as a special treat. We arrived, our bags were taken and we went to check in. The lady at the desk began frowning, called another 2 staff members over, then asked if I’d actually had a booking confirmation, as she couldn’t find us on the system. At now 00:30 this is absolutely the last thing we wanted to hear 😫 after much head scratching, it turned out the booking was under Scott Wood (I have no idea who Scott is!) and the very nice lady at check in gave us an upgraded room for the inconvenience. We finally got to the room, and was treated to the poshest of pisses on our heated toilet seat with a jet wash and dryer.

After a sleep, we were both still feeling nauseas (more of that in the Krabi blog) and we really couldn’t be bothered to do much of what we had planned. We Googled the best brunch place, and again ended up at a super posh shopping mall. As we hadn’t eaten much for the past few days, we decided to try having a breakfast starter – a lemon meringue doughnut. It was delicious! And just what we absolutely didn’t need before sitting down for a big meal. Obviously neither of us could finish our food, and we didn’t even have room for a breakfast pudding 😭

Bangkok is home to the world’s largest weekend market, with over 15,000 stalls. We decided to tackle the underground and made the 45 minute journey to spend the last of our cash. It was fantastic to see all the hustle and bustle and the many interesting stalls, but we were both still feeling rubbish, and decided it was best to head back to the hotel. It has a roof top bar and we were keen to use this facility! After a little rest, we got ready and headed up for the fantastic views and a super expensive cocktail. This was our warm up because that night, Newcastle were taking on Man Utd. We got our shirts on and headed to a highly recommended sports bar. It was a great atmosphere with a healthy mix of both supporters. The lads we were sat with were verrrrry passionate, and we were convinced we would be covered in their beer as they repeatedly thumped the table in frustration. Unfortunately it wasn’t the result we wanted. And with that, our last night in Bangkok, and the gap month was over.

Bangkok is an absolutely enormous place and we both felt very overwhelmed by it. I’d definitely recommend having a bit of an itinerary when you’re there as there is so much to see and do, we but had no idea where to start. We stayed in Sukhumvit for the 2nd leg of Bangkok and this was definitely a much calmer place than staying around Chinatown. It’s definitely worth visiting, but unless you like constant people traffic and noise, Chinatown is NOT the place to stay!

Siem Reap 🇰🇭

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We’ve been doing the majority of Cambodia travel on a very small minibus. Luckily, one of Mark’s fellow BFG’s had a little word with our guide, and we got a huge coach with a seat each for our long drive to Siem Reap. After a spot of lunch at the place where all travellers seem to stop (they have 400 seats!), we headed to one of the floating/stilted villages. This is where rural communities live in floating/stilted houses, travel to floating/stilted schools, and eat in floating/stilted restaurants. We visited Kampong Khleang, which has a community of around 6000 people. Being the furthest away from Siem Reap, it’s the least touristy, which gave us a much more authentic experience. As we arrived, we were greeted by 100s of waving children who looked genuinely happy to see us, a welcome change from the usual begging to buy some mouldy bananas. As we were here during the dry season, we got to see the houses all their glory standing at 10M tall! During the wet season, the water will rise significantly up the buildings. The economy here is based largely on fishing in the flooded forest on Tonle Sap Lake – the largest inland freshwater body in Southeast Asia. When we got on the boat, we were able to see the proper construction of these houses as we floated slowly down the river. We got to see the locals at work, the school they go to, and the children playing in the river. It was an incredible experience. As the boat service is still owned by the locals (unlike some of the other floating villages), all the money spent goes into the community. When we got off the boat, we were greeted by more children shouting hello, giving us high fives and fist pumps. Despite the poverty, they all looked so incredibly happy.

As we drove into Siem Reap, we immediately thought, “Yep, we’re going to like this place.” We got ready to go out, and as we opened the door, we heard a loud thud and saw something running off.. turns out it was a massive Tokay gecko! An Australian lady came to see what we were looking at, who was obviously not in the slightest bit arsed about the size of it. We had a free evening, so we decided to consult the Lonely Planet guide and chose an Italian. It was absolutely delicious, but as per usual, we ordered far too much. It needed to be a quick one as alarms were set for Angkor Wat sunrise.

At 0330 the alarms went off 😴 it was a quick scrabble around to get everything ready and onto the minibus to get our temple passes; something that you need to buy to visit any of the sites. We arrived at Angkor Wat around 5am and joined all the other tourists around the lake waiting for the magic to happen. Our managed to get stood right at the front, but then a woman and her son had the audacity to just come and stand right in front of us all! Luckily it’s a group of gobby people and they very quickly got told. It still took them ages to move though. We were told the sun would be up by 06:30 and to be honest we were all very underwhelmed. The phone cameras were able to pick up a bit of colour but visually it just went from darkness to daylight, with no evidence of the dramatic sky you hope to see. As we were all walking to the breakfast area, the sun started peaking up above the temple, and we finally started getting some orange sky. We all abandoned the breakfast (for now) and continued to watch the silhouette of Angkor Wat instead. Once the sun was fully up we got to enjoy our hotel breakfast box, of 2 boiled eggs and some bread a butter.

I’ve been so looking forward to seeing Angkor Wat and was so excited to get in and explore. We met our guide and he walked us to the steps of the temple and sat us down whilst he gave us some history. Unfortunately, because he wasn’t the most engaging of people, half the group, including myself, were nodding off. We got inside and he went on and on and on about the stone used. We had been inside 20 minutes and not gone anywhere! As a keen National Truster and English Heritager, I really appreciate an info board with a visual on of what something once looked like and what it was for. There was none of that inside the temple, just long endless corridors of nothing. The guide continued to chat absolute shite, and unfortunately we were all so bored with what he was saying that the majority of us had walked off to explore ourselves. We climbed some steps and got a really good view of the site itself, which is absolutely huge! It was the general consensus that it was a massive shame with the guide we got, but that it’s still worth the visit.

The next temple we visited was Ta Prohm from the late 12th century, and the backdrop for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. This temple is in a lot worse state than Angkor Wat, but I have to say I enjoyed this one more. The way the trees have claimed the ruins as their own was incredible. The Fig, banyan, and kapok trees have spread their gigantic roots over the stones, and their branches and leaves intertwine to form a roof over the structures. The last temple of the day was Bayon Temple, and by this point, it was nearly midday and therefore far too hot to be slowly walking around ruins with absolutely no shade whatsoever. This meant it was a quick whip round and back on the minibus to go back to the hotel. We were given an option to return the following day to repeat the last temple and do a few more, and as fascinating as they are, we very much felt templed out, and the thought of having that guide again the next day was a big no no. It turns out, however, he’s got over 20 years experience and is the one who delivers training to other guides!! Mind blown..

We got back to the hotel, and it was time for one thing, and one thing only.. a nap. Mark really needed his hair and beard cutting, so he needed to be a quick one as we were having dinner as a group again tonight. G Adventures support local businesses and projects, so tonight’s dinner was held at New Hope Cambodia (who’s mission is free education for all) and we were taken there by a group of women TukTuk drivers, who have set up a business to make females feel safer at night on this very popular mode of transport. We watched a video on their project and was then served one of the most delicious meals we have had since being here. The flavours were incredible. We also got the chance to try some insects.. one was by far enough. It was crispy on the outside, but the absolute opposite on the inside 🤮 I have no idea how they do it on. I’m a celebrity, or even in Cambodian life in general. A few of us had opted to see Phare Circus, which has won a Guinness World Record for the longest circus show. It tells the story of rejection, revenge, spirit possession and eventual forgiveness, and community acceptance. The story is set to original music and told through a dramatic mix of theatre, traditional dance, and modern circus arts. We really enjoyed it!

Our next day was a free day to ourselves, and we desperately needed a lie in. We sacked off the hotel breakfast and went for a smashed avo and eggs beni brunch instead, which was lovely. We stopped at a cafe run by a husband and wife team to get some smoothies, which were delicious, and had a stroll around the river. Siem Reap is a much more settled place and even has some greenery! We’ve been recommended by a few people to visit the APOPO HeroRat centre, so we bartered with the TukTuk man and headed there for a tour. We absolutely loved it! These African giant pouched rats are special because of their incredible sense of smell. They come from Tanzania and go through a year of training before they’re allowed out ‘in the field’. Their aim is to sniff out unexploded mines in Cambodia and other countries and people with TB in African countries! We had a demonstration from Sophea who quickly found what she was looking for. She was rewarded with some banana. Because the rats are so light (1.5kg), they don’t set off any landmines as this requires at least 3kg of weight. What they can do in half an hour would take someone with a metal detector around 4 days. They have helped to save thousands of lives and get communities back into the areas where they belong. We were then able to hold one – we are holding Dora. It was a great little tour, and I would 100% recommend this to anyone.

We were getting peckish so decided to pay ‘Wild’ a visit – a cute cafe that specialises in spring rolls. We tried a traditional deep fried duck Cambodian spring roll, and a fresh Mediterranean style one. They were both so so tasty, and with cheap cocktails and even cheaper beer, we decided to stay here a while and just watch the world go by.

For our last night in Siem Reap we decided to hit Pub Street, and obviously had to pick a place that was showing the football. We had buffalo burger and crocodile burger, washed down with more beer and a very cheap tasting wine 🤣 I’d recommend doing a couple of laps of pub street just to really soak up the atmosphere. Bright lights and thumping music, it’s an absolutely buzzing place to be at night. We weren’t sure what to expect from Cambodia, but we’ve both absolutely loved it and are gutted we don’t have more time here. From what people have said that have been here before, it’s changed a lot over the past few years and has had a lot of money put in to improve the roads and the country as a whole. They are all so so welcoming and friendly and anyone coming to SEA should absolutely add it to the list.

This morning, we had another early start as we headed to the Cambodia/Thailand border for the final leg of our trip. The queue at the border was enormous and took around 2 hours to get through. Luckily, there was no pushing in like in Vietnam. However, there was a ninja Granny who managed to get past about 50 people! She then got escorted out by border control 🤷🏼‍♀️

Phnom Penh 🇰🇭

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So far, we’ve been travelling everywhere by plane, but today, as we head into Cambodia, we’re going by bus. The journey to the border was uneventful, but the border itself was an absolute nightmare. As a group, we had to decide whether to support the corruption and slip some money into our passport, or not give anything and risk being stuck at the border for hours. As we were keen to get going, we decided to put $2 in and hope for the best. We got into 2 queues, and people were trying to push past, and everyone was shouting at each other. We all had to put our elbows out and block people with bags at one point. Someone managed to sneak past in our queue and gave the guard about 20 passports and a large wad of cash, therefore meaning we had no chance of getting through any time soon. We left that queue and joined the others from the group, and our leader passed all our passports to the guard. Around the same time as we joined, a group of Canadian mature ladies tried to get passed. As I got to the front, the guard kept saying I hadn’t put my Vietnam visa in, which I 100% had! I, therefore, had to find it on my phone whilst I had a Canadian woman in my ear making comments about me delaying her. In the end, I told her to shut up and that she was a silly old woman 😬 not my finest moment.. but she deserved it! I managed to find my visa, and they let us through. You then have a 10 minute walk across ‘no man’s land’ to get to the next set of checks. The guards here were very pleasant, and this next leg went quickly and smoothly. We were now in Cambodia! We stopped for some lunch where I had my first taste of the local dish Loklak – beef fried rice with an egg on top. It was actually very nice! Mark had noodle soup, which had some suspicious looking balls on the top…

We had a minibus waiting for us to take us to our first city – Phnom Penh. I don’t really know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t high rise buildings, casinos and Rolls Royce cars! Turns out the Chinese have put a lot of money into PP over the last few years which is why the main areas now look like that. Locals however are not allowed to use the casinos. We dropped our bags off and met our guide for the evening cyclo tour of the city. This was such a fun experience and a great way to see all the main landmarks, and as the sun set, the amount of money that’s been put into PP became more apparent. The city dazzles with lights, flashy signs and even more expensive cars. The Royal Palace was also complete lit up with gold light, which apparently doesn’t happen very often, so we were very lucky to see this. We walked back to the hotel after a lovely dinner with the group and it became very apparent about the rich and poor divide. Expensive cars on one street, and begging people on another.

As a little warning, the next part of the blog is about the killing field and the S21 prison. I’m going to be graphic, and also include a few photos. It’s very upsetting so you may want to scroll past. Travel isn’t always about having fun and exploring beautiful places, its also about exposing ourselves to the uncomfortable past to enhance our learning and understanding.

According to estimates, during the rule of the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979, two million people (around a quarter of the whole population) lost their lives. Why? To create a classless society. If you had a degree, if you spoke another language, even if you wore glasses! All traces of capitalism were abolished. Hospitals, schools and shops were shut down. These 2 places are the most historic places in PP and stand as a cruel reminder of the atrocities inflicted upon the masses of Cambodia.

We went to the killing fields of Choeung Ek first. Just like Auschwitz, it’s quiet (apart from the chickens!), and you can feel the strange energy straight away. As you walk in, you’re met with a huge memorial stupa filled with around 5000 skulls. Each skull has a coloured dot on it, which represents the trauma they suffered, including spades, wooden clubs, bayonets, and farming hoes. Bullets were not used as this was too loud and too easy. There is a magic tree that was used to hang speakers on to drown out the screaming. The next pit we came to was by far the worst – the mother and baby pit. Mothers were made to watch their newborns and children be killed, either by someone holding them by the legs and smashing their head around a tree or throwing them in the air and catching them on spikes. This was done so they couldn’t take revenge for their parents’ death. The mother was then brutally killed, sometimes having their throat cut using the rough part of a palm tree, and they were thrown into the pit together, often with no clothes on. There was not a dry eye during the explanation of this pit. You can hang a bright bracelet on the tree as a sign of remembrance, but there are also children’s toys and bottles, etc, around the bottom. In 1980, remains were exhumed, but 43 of the 129 communal graves remain untouched. During the rainy season, bones, teeth, and clothes come to the surface. These are collected by people who work there and put them into memorial boxes. As you leave, there is a memorial statue of a mother holding her baby. Where I work, there is a similar statue, but one symbolising the happiness and joy of a new life. This really affected me, to think that I am privileged to be there at the start, and these awful people took new, and all lives, in such a disgusting and inhumane way.

We then went to Security Prison 21 (S21), the site of a former secondary school. This became the largest centre of detention and torture in the country. Over 17,000 people held here were taken to Choeung Ek to be executed; detainees who died during torture were buried in mass graves in the prison grounds. Like the Nazis at the concentration camps, they kept records of what they did, often taking photos of the victims after their death. Each prisoner who passed through S21 had their photo taken which are on display. The cells at the prison are open to visitors and they still have the same beds (if you were ‘lucky’ enough to get one) and shackles in place, and even blood stains on the floor. If you had a smaller cell, you were shackled to the wall or concrete floor, and those in large mass cells were shackled to a long piece of iron bar. The all slept on the floor next to each other without mats, mosquito nets or blankets. They were forbidden to talk to each other. Prisoners received 4 small spoonfuls of rice porridge daily. They had strict regulations and received beatings if they disobeyed. If they spilt any contents of their very small toilet box (which they could only empty every 4 days) they had to clean it up using their tongue. When they were taken for interrogation, they were beaten, electrocuted and cut with knives in order to get them to name family members and close associates, who were then also tortured and killed. The vast majority of prisoners were Cambodian, but some were foreigners including one British and two Australian. They were blindfolded and burned alive.
On the day the prison was liberated by the Vietnamese army, of the estimated 20,000 people imprisoned, there was only 12 survivors; 5 of those were children. They found 14 others who had been tortured to death, still shackled in bed, and their individual graves are in the grounds of the prison.

2 of the prisoners are still alive today, and they were both at the prison that day for us to meet. One of them is Bou Meng, who is now 87 years old. He was kept alive because he is an artist and was able to produce portraits of the Khmer Rouge leader, Pol Pot. He was also tortured on a regular basis but given more food and water to keep him alive as he was useful to them. When he arrived at the prison, they took his wife and two children away, and he later learned that they had all been killed; his wife had her throat cut and his children of starvation. He was regularly beaten and had salt water rubbed into his wounds. Guards would sit on his back and make him crawl up the stairs. He has no teeth left after he was regularly kicked in the face. As he’s an artist, he has drawn everything that happened to him and the other prisoners. We bought a copy of his book, which he signed for us. I don’t know how mentally he could step back into the prison grounds again, but he’s made it his duty to make sure that people never forget the horror that went on during those years and use his memory as a tool in the search of truth and justice.

After an incredibly draining morning, we were brought back to Phnom Penh centre for some free time. It’s hard to know what to do with yourself after such an emotional morning. We decided to grab some food at a highly rated bagel shop and go for a drink at a local brewery, and have time to gather our thoughts and reflect on what we had seen. As we hadn’t had much time in PP itself, we decided to have a quick look at the Silver Pagoda as a Google search said it was free. It wasn’t… as it’s part of the Royal Palace grounds, you have to pay $10 to get in. It’s a huge complex and one we would have liked to have spent much longer in, but we that evening we had a boat ride with the group for sunset so we had to rush back to get ready. It was beautiful. We had drinks and fresh fruit and was a great way to watch the hustle and bustle on the river and on land, too. The next challenge was finding somewhere to eat.. the first place we tried was extortionate, the 2nd place had cow’s penis and all sorts of weird and wonderful on the menu, so we settled for ‘The Pub’. It’s always suspicious when there are minimal people in there, but we had a great time! The food was great, the drinks were cheap, and the owners were so friendly and welcoming. It was then back to the hotel to pack, and get ready for the long drive to Siem Reap in the morning.