We’re having Christmas in Chiang Mai with warm weather, huge smiles and way less stress. We came away feeling under the weather so this is the perfect spot for not doing very much. None of that rushing around like a headless chicken the day before looking for last minute sprouts, roses chocolates and sellotape! It’s chilled and calm with the odd Christmas tree and decorations. The bars and restaurant owners are all wearing red velvet reindeer antlers and being very jolly. Thais love a celebration.

I really do miss the large family and friends Christmas dinner gatherings of yesteryear but for me, now, this is the place. Thais don’t do Christmas but they love to join in and make it fun.

The city and surrounds is boisterously busy with traffic, out of town cars, a squillion bikes it’s like whacky races, lots of people milling around.

We have visited a Thai style car boot which was fun and different just out of town. Some very interesting items and a ton of stuff which should have gone straight in a skip. It was fun to look around

Jing Jai, which is a makers’ market we really like, was heaving with people. Never seen it so busy, shoulder to shoulder people, vloggers , meanderers, space cadets not knowing where they are going so we plan to return in the New Year. Way too many people.

We needed to get out of the city so went for a long bike ride out. We have a friend with us, Andy, we headed off into the mountains.

Cool mountain air on deserted winding roads, the air like champagne for your lungs. I need it at the moment I’ve had an everlasting cough, I still sound like a honking goose.

We always like to go off the main mountain roads through the Hmong villages passing all the orange groves, well off the beaten track. It’s deserted on the roads apart from trucks carrying oranges, cabbages and other produce. The orange harvest is just in, lovely. 60p a kilo for juicy lush orangeness. It’s now their winter so they are now growing tomatoes and strawberries.

There is a tiny coffee shop which serves an excellent iced coffee and has a bathroom, bonus or it’s a pee in the woods!

Just after leaving the cafe pottering along, a really cute puppy comes loping along eyes wide, tail like a helicopter joyously approaching us then another 2 arrived, equally giddy. Hard not to say hello really. It was a good day out.

We now have an apartment. We loved the hotel we’d stayed in for years but needed more space and a COMFY SOFA woo hoo, which we now have and a small kitchen. This is the view from the roof terrace, a view of Doi Suthep.

The mountain has 2 temples a big highly regarded blingy one at the top and the ‘secret temple’, my favourite, half way down. It had a football sized crowd there a few days ago so it isn’t so secret anymore!

The mountain is 1,676 metres high and has an enormous zoo, a large university campus with a large reservoir and an arboretum. The King has one of his many palaces tucked away up there with a helicopter landing pad, you can go in the gardens it’s called Bhuping Palace. The mountain majestically overlooks the city.

It’s the Thai winter, high season for tourists in Chiang Mai. The Thais wear coats and hats and even the dogs join in.

The temperature is 28 degrees daytime and 16 at night, I’m English and that’s pretty damn good. Accommodation in January and February is very affordable, great food, lots to do. What are you waiting for, got to be worth a try 😎

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year.

Hua Hin became firmly established as a beach resort when King Rama VI built a summer palace to escape the muggy heat of Bangkok in the 1920’s. It’s 200k southwest from Bangkok. It sits amongst the impressive Jurassic hills and the coast on the narrowest part of the Thailand/ Myanmar border. It’s a very trendy popular weekend getaway for Thai’s.

When we were leaving the airport in Bangkok and getting on a bus an older passenger said Hua Hin was like ‘Pattaya for old folks’. There are still lots of single men but more couples and families here. There are masses of massage parlours and girly bars it’s just not as seedy or corrupt as Pattaya (you couldn’t drag me there!) I overheard 2 older men talking in a bar in Hua Hin saying if you paid 12,000 baht you could have one of the girls stay with you for a month, £300. These 2 elderly guys wouldn’t have a hope in hell anywhere else without paying someone, trust me! Most of the girls who work in the massage parlours and bars are from Isaan which is one of the poorest rural communities in northeastern Thailand. Needs must..

It is a quieter resort. The great thing about it is you have all the benefits of a city with decent shopping, mountains, viewpoints and a spectacular beach, not to mention great Thai food..

The beach is white sand and you can rent a sunlounger for the day for £2. The guys that run it are very attentive, they even pour water over your feet after you have swum to remove the sand as well as drinks and food served all day.

There are all sorts of restaurants from real high end places to food courts and street food. Every Friday/Saturday night the pier has music, tables to eat at and a vast array of food on offer. It’s mostly Thai people and good fun, great for people watching.

We have rented a bike. Monkey mountain is a 20 minute drive south and gives spectacular views over the full length of the beach. There is a small temple at the top and hundreds of monkeys.

Looking the other way, south is a very pretty little beach, quiet and secluded. We went with friends it was perfect.

There are daytime markets and a couple of night markets. The one closest to us in the old city has mega fresh seafood on offer. Cooked to order.

There is plenty to do here. Fishing trips, kite surfing anything water based. Music concerts, cinemas it’s all here. Busy or quiet.

I would definitely return to Hua Hin, it’s got a quiet relaxed vibe and lots to see and do. I think we are just about ready for our return to the UK, it’s been fun.

Just before we left Kampot we called at ‘La Plantation’ pepper and spice farm, which is world famous. It’s run by a Belgian/French couple who grow the best quality organic pepper. It’s 40 minutes on a bike out of town on a dirt track just past a huge reservoir. It was impressive. Kampot pepper has a protected area of origin status, it’s known as the ‘champagne of all pepper’.

There is a free tour around the estate about all the different coloured peppers, they all start as green when picked and are only picked by women as they have softer hands. The process starts by being immersed in boiling water for different set times to make red, black and white pepper, then put in dehydration units. After the tour we had a tasting session.

Our guide Lip was a very chatty young Cambodian, she was very professional, knowledgeable and funny. She had real style and charisma. She said her mum had come to work at the farm and asked if her daughter could come and stay with her. The company put her through school, she was taught English and then went to Uni which the company paid for in full, accommodation, everything. They have built a small primary school in the local village and the kids are taught English every weekend, it’s admirable. You can get a much better job if you can speak another language. Lip is leaving next year to be a nurse.

The bus trip to the Vietnamese border was 2 hours and then a 2 hour ferry crossing to Phu Quoc island. Our Cambodian visa was just about to expire. Our new homestay bungalow accommodation, newly built is very modern and swish but in the middle of nowhere so have rented a bike.

The accommodation is £12 a night with breakfast. The island reminds me of Cambodia many years ago, poor with basic amenities. Roadside verges and the public beaches are rubbish strewn, filthy and not very inviting. There are enormous upmarket resorts and their beaches are pristine so we used theirs, much easier. Just buy a drink…..food is also a problem but have now found a couple of great places to eat. Lots of really fresh seafood.

The biggest theme park, aquarium and water park on the island and possibly in Vietnam is not far away. It cost £54 for us both.

It’s full on Disney style surrounded by Sheraton, Hilton and a host of ginormous hotels along with thousands of empty, smart holiday bungalows and acres of empty retail. I think it was Chinese built before Covid and sadly the numbers haven’t returned.

I’m not a big theme park fan but Chris is. He encouraged me onto a rollercoaster ride. What happened to waltzers and dodgems!

I knew it was the wrong thing to do as they strapped me in like I was about to go on an Apollo space mission. It moved away from the dock, paused briefly before setting off at warp factor 9, whoosh. Even Chris said oh f… as we climbed, spun upside down, sideways all at supersonic speed. I could see my whole life flashing before me. It was 5 minutes of sheer terror, I really wanted to throttle him when I got off but my legs were shaking that much I couldn’t catch him and could barely speak. He said it was the most intense ride he’d ever been on…and he’s been on plenty! Aargh

The aquarium was spectacular. Lots of different fish, underwater walkways aplenty it was enormous. Lots to look at, some of the displays were magical.

I don’t think we’ll be returning to Phu Quoc, the people were kind and lovely, the beaches and water are amazing. The island could be a paradise, idyllic just needs a bit of work to get more tourists back.

We’re travelling now to Hua Hin, 200k from Bangkok the original Thai beach resort, can’t wait.

Kampot is a city on the Preaek Tuek Chhu River in Southern Cambodia. It’s known for its pepper plantations and salt fields. When we first came many years ago it was very quiet, almost deserted, so much so we turned around and left. In the last few years it has become a very hip and trendy spot. It now has hundreds of restaurants and hotels and a mix of nationalities. It’s buzzing.

We booked into a guest house called ‘Magic Sponge’ a lovely house just 5 minutes from the centre. It’s owner William, from Alaska, welcomed us with a beer and a very friendly disposition.

We hired a motorbike and our first trip out was to Kep on the coast an hours drive away.

Again as all over Cambodia, major building work is happening and we couldn’t believe how the once sleepy hamlet has blossomed. There were only 4 tiny guesthouses in the square 15 years ago and now there are hundreds and some very upmarket places to stay and eat.

Even the beach has grown…it has fabulous seafood and a small fleet of fishing boats.

Bokor National Park borders Kampot and has a mountain in the middle of it. We left early.

Monkeys sitting on the steel barriers on the road up like sentry’s equally spaced, eyebrows lifting hopeful for a snack. It got cooler the higher we got, it’s 1000 m (like Snowdon) and the Cambodians had jackets , woolly hats, gloves. We relished the coolness and the goosebumps, it’s been very hot in the mid 30’s.

There is an abandoned palace which was built in the 1930’s for King Sihanouk overlooking his lands below. We met a guide who told us he often had 100 women, and just the King at his party’s which were legendary. It was now full of graffiti and rubbish.

Right at the top there is an enormous new Chinese built Hotel and casino and a car park for thousands of cars, one car was there.

A Catholic Church built in the 1920’s, a hill station and a reservoir were used by the French community perhaps to escape the searing heat of a Cambodian summer. Most of the buildings are derelict, it’s a strange place. There is always a big statue.

There is no infrastructure but again we passed maybe a thousand new houses being built. It’s miles from anywhere.

There are 2 markets in Kampot, a day and a night market.

Kampot has a long boulevard alongside the river just like Phnom Penh. If you head towards the sea along the river there is a small clean river beach with a few beach bars.

It has been fun coming back. We’ve met some interesting folk, you always do when there’s cheap beer, cheap accomodation and long hot nights. It’s a mix of older single men, lots of French tourists, backpackers and young couples opening businesses. There are lots of ‘full on’ travellers. One guy on his bike had just cycled from Saigon and last year rode from Paris to Oman, he was 75 from Colorado. Not everyone here is crazy but it does seem to help!

It’s different to Thailand because, as a foreigner, you can actually buy land and property here. Can’t imagine what it will be like in another 15 years.

We’re off next to Phu Quoc a Vietnamese island just off the coast of Cambodia.

Arriving in PP on the bus from Siem Reap, even a few miles out of the city, the building work is immense. Thousands of newly built condo’s, acres of them all the way into the city, cranes towering over the skyline, skyscrapers everywhere, it’s now huge. It’s 8 years since we were last here.

We are staying near Sisowath Quay which is the part of the city on the riverside at the confluence of the Tonle Sap and the mighty Mekong River. It’s where most tourists stay. It has a 3k long boulevard, great for people watching and lined with bars and restaurants.

Interestingly the Tonle Sap river is the only river that once a year flows backwards turning the Tonle Sap lake into the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia. It’s no surprise they built Angkor Wat next to it as it’s one of the most productive fishing lakes in the world and it supplies 3 million Cambodians with 75% of their annual fish catch.

There is a lot of things to do in PP. There are river cruises, the National Museum, a Royal Palace and of course all the history of Pol Pot.

The ‘killing fields’ and the school, S21 where Pol Pot leader of the Khymer Rouge and his henchmen tortured and killed thousands of people needs to be seen. We have been twice and if I close my eyes I can still see the faces of the people in the school, it’s too painful to go again.

Everyone had their picture taken. A look of palpable terror in their eyes. Haunted and despondent, fear etched into pale faces totally crushed with no hope. 20,000 people were imprisoned, tortured and killed only 12 lived. It was only 1976…….there are very few older adults in Cambodia, it has a very young population due mainly to Pol Pot killing approximately 2 million Cambodians. We asked our guide how he felt about the now ex Prime Minister as he was one of Pol Pots right hand men. His answer was; ‘’The person that sets fire to your house eventually brings water to put it out’’ That’s one way of looking at it. The economy is booming and the young people just want to look forwards leaving Pol Pots dark legacy behind them.

The road parallel to the quay has a bustling daily market.

There is also a night market selling the normal t shirts and souvenirs but our favourite market is an Art Deco covered market.

It’s an amazing building, built to be cool with all the air vents.

Wat Phnom is set on top of a 27m high hill and built in 1372. It’s a very pretty Wat used daily by the people of PP.

It must have been a special day. Everyone brought fruit or lotus flowers to make merit, hundreds of them and in return got beaten around the head and shoulders by monks with rolled up paper. It was funny to watch.

Now on to Kampot in the very south of Cambodia.

Ta Prohm was rediscovered in the 1860’s by a French archaeologist who wrote a book about his findings. It was built in the late 12th century as a Buddhist monastery and is only 1k from Angkor Wat. When the whole city was abandoned in the 16th century it fully returned to nature and became totally overgrown.

When it was used as a film set for Tomb Raider it suddenly found fame.

All the temples have ongoing restoration works in progress with many countries participating. Looking at all the stone laid out, numbered, it’s an enormous jigsaw puzzle.

Abandonment, time, nature and Pol Pot didn’t help. He systematically tried to obliterate Buddhism and the temples, looting, destroying and laying land mines.

Banteay Srei is 40k out of town. It was built in 967 and has the most exquisite, deep carvings of all the temples. Its known as the ‘Citadel of the ladies’ and is one of the most beautiful ancient temples to be found in Asia, set amongst the charming village and farmlands just below the Kulen Mountain range. It features stunning and well-preserved narrated bas-reliefs with ornate decoration from when craftmanship in the ancient empire was reaching its peak.

This is how it looked in the 1930’s when the restoration works started.

We are definitely ‘templed out’. We were only going to do one day but did 3 days in all 😊. We’re now travelling to Phnom Penh ‘The pearl of Asia’ the vibrant, bustling capital.

It was 2 short flights from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and then to Siem Reap to its new swishy airport. It’s an hour out of town.

We found a hotel 10 minutes from the centre with a pool and the friendliest staff ever.

Siem Reap is home to Angkor Wat the largest and most impressive religious complex in the world, covering 400 acres. It was built in the 12th century and took 37 years. It used 300,000 labourers, 6,000 elephants and 5 million tons of sandstone. It was originally a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, but later converted to a Buddhist temple at the end of the 13th century and is still a place of pilgrimage for both Hindus and Buddhists. It bears the transformation of 2 major religions in Cambodian history.

Our first trip out was to the National museum of Angkor housed in a splendid building near the Royal park and residence.

Just outside the park in the trees were thousands of flying foxes which roost noisily all day and fly off at 6.45 every evening returning in the early morning. We are going to go and watch one evening.

Entrance to the museum is $12. The museum houses thousands of statues retrieved from the many temples surrounding Angkor some from the 6th century along with many other artefacts.

It’s stunning in its layout and clever how it takes you through the history of the Khmer people, how Hinduism influenced the building of Angkor Wat and its religious progression to Buddhism.

It’s a 10 minute walk into the centre of town passing many restaurants and bars. The centre has an area called Pub Street which is very busy.

We prefer the little side streets

There is a day and a night market next to the river

There are only a couple of Cambodian dishes Amok and Lok Lak but endless choices of food from Thailand, China, India and lots of western food. It’s hard to choose…..

Next stop is Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom and the Bayon with a guide, can’t wait.

Wat Palad half way up Doi Suthep was the first temple I really fell in love with. It’s 500 years old, was abandoned once but has had a quiet resurgence of late. It was buried in the forest, overgrown, mossy and wonderfully atmospheric. It’s crumbling buildings surrounded by water, faded orange robes all adding to the Indiana Jones feel especially as you approach first the waterfall and then cross the rickety wooden bridge from the monks trail. We have been many times, it used to be called the ‘secret temple’ but no more.

We came first 8 years ago. Every year they have done major building works, more landscaping and really tidied it up. I really liked it how it was and was disappointed when everything became newly refurbished, bright and shiny.

We got to the base of the trail early before it got too hot. Lots of cars and bikes already parked up and soldiers on duty in a hut. It starts at the back of the zoo, never seen it so busy. It was the original path for the monks before the road was built.

It takes an hour walking up rock strewn paths for the first part and then smoother steeper paths inundated with tree roots and hanging vines. It’s straight up through dense green undergrowth. The scuttling lizards and insects rustling in the leaves. Birds heard but never seen, too dense. You eventually emerge, almost into the light, onto a new bridge, the wooden one long gone. Here are a few now and then photos.

I’m pleased to say the newness of the buildings is starting to fade losing its brashness and is returning to the forest. Moss covered statues, streaks of water from rainy season turning it back into an Indiana Jones backdrop once again. I must say the toilet block is way better than it was and the savage temple dogs are less aggressive, older maybe.

Huay Tueng Thao Lake is a big reservoir at the base of the mountains about 20 minutes out of town. Entrance is £1. It’s an enormous site with people fishing, walking, cycling and always eating (all the time 😊 ) There are dozens of restaurants to choose from.

You can hire 4×4’s go up the mountain on a muddy, ridged trail. I did it once on a motorbike, never again……

There are straw animals, enormous, built and rebuilt after every rainy season. We like to come and see what’s new. we weren’t disappointed.

It’s been fun being back in Chiang Mai, now we’re moving on to Siem Reap in Cambodia for the next adventure 🙏

The Samoeng loop is considered to be one of the best motorcycle rides in Thailand. It starts and ends in Chiang Mai, is 80km and takes 2-3 hours. You travel along beautiful, quiet mountain roads all the way around Doi Suthep mountain. We decided to go clockwise on the route which we have done many times. It was early morning and the air felt cool and crisp. At last the hot weather has finally given way to more normal temperatures but you still need a jacket.

Our first stop was Wat Banpong.

The road up to the temple is steep and winding and it sits high on a hill overlooking the fertile valley below. We have visited this temple over the last 8 years following its construction and ongoing works and delighted to say it is now magnificently finished. Here are a few before and after photos.

The workmanship is outstanding, all created onsite.

Rather than stay on the main road we take a road that takes you through some of the smaller villages and past orange groves, fields of tomatoes, potatoes and all sorts of different crops. We can take off our helmets and just take in the atmosphere of the villages.

Children playing, dogs just snoozing in the middle of the road and villagers going about their daily life in the fields. Curls of woodsmoke rising above the houses, pungent aromas of garlic cooking making us hungry. Suicidal chickens hurtling across the road and squeals of children chasing each other and best of all lots of smiling faces, it is the land of smiles. I love these journeys off the beaten track. Much more agreeable than diesel fumes and big trucks.

The next stop is the Samoeng viewpoint which overlooks the cascading forest canopy below and miles and miles of mountain tops disappearing into the distance, all the way to Myanmar. Making our way up higher and higher we were so cold, teeth almost chattering (wished I’d worn my jumper) so much so that one of the ladies who sells fruit at the viewpoint gave us some roasted sweet potatoes to warm our hands. We bought oranges, ate the potatoes, chatted in our best Thai to the vendors and carried on.

We stopped for a coffee as Chris could no longer feel his fingers, he just wanted to hold a hot coffee cup!!

You then pass through the Mae Sae Valley where you can eat on the river on small platforms surrounded by small restaurants. There are a few very touristy elephant camps which I don’t think are very ethical but lots of tour groups visit…

We had decided to go to the Botanical Gardens as the last time we had visited was just after covid and the gardens and especially the greenhouses seemed a little abandoned. We weren’t disappointed it’s back to its former glory, especially the enormous rain forest glass house.