Into the Jungle

Cheow Lan Lake

 Highlights of my trip was definitely the trip to Khao Sok National Park. The park is situated in Southern Thailand north of Phuket. It's a great place to discover Thailand's flora and fauna. It's covered with world's oldest evergreen rainforest and huge limestone mountains. Rainforest is full of wild animals so all you need to do is open your eyes to see some exciting species. There is a lot to do for people who enjoy outdoors. It's a relaxing place to take a brake and enjoy life. Oh and no need to bring your phone, no working connections anyways!

 We spent our first night in Khao Sok in bungalows by the river. Did some kayaking through the jungle with a guide. The shallow river is surrounded by massive limestone mountains. There is some deeper parts what gives you a chance for swimming. Our guide stopped at a place where we could climb into a tree and swing ourselves to the river with a rope. Such fun!
 We saw some gibbon monkeys crossing the river, few Asian water monitors biggest one being close to three meters long from nose to tail. On a night safari by the river we saw smaller animals from birds to frogs. It is pitch black after sunset so flashlights are needed.

 Khao Sok is great place for trekking. We chose to do a couple hour trip up the river. Nice relaxing day spent chilling, swimming and building little bamboo boats by the river.

Cheow Lan Lake

 Floating rafthouses, longtail boats, breathtaking scenery and friendly people to start with, naming reasons why to go Cheow Lan Lake in Khao Sok is easy. And if that's not enough, there is plenty more reasons. I fell in love with the place.

 After two hour boatride we arrived to our floating rafhouse camp. You need to keep your eyes open when you move here so you don't fall into water. It gets more comfortable after a while I promise. Each rafthouse is just a small room with mattresses on the floor. All you need because there is hangout area with tables and chairs were to spend time and were the dinners are served. There is no electricity but a generator is switched on from 6pm to 11pm for light etc. You can charge your phone or camera batteries as well if you need. After the lights are off you need a flashlight unless you are an adventurous type and like walking narrow duckboards to the toilet in the dark.
 Couldn't imagine a better way to start your morning, than getting out of your door, walk two steps and jump to the water from your front porch. Every morning you could wake up to the sound of monkeys and watch a herd of wild boars coming to the shore while you had your morning coffee.

Cave number 1

 One of the most fun thing for me was going into the caves. It's dark, it's slippery but so exciting. The first cave we went into, was in three floors but because of the water level we could only enter to the second and third floor. Some big cat's scratches on the walls, snake eggs, crawling through holes and other fun, I felt like kid in a candy shop with my heart beating so fast. We came out from another side, so we had to swim back to our boat. It was good for cleaning the mud out of your clothes as well.

Cave number 2

 Cave number 2 was deeper in the jungle. With a local guide we trekked through the jungle barefoot, slipping in mud, swimming over rivers, climbing over rocks to reach this cave closed from public. The reason it's closed from public is cause it can fill with water fast if it rains. It wouldn't be the first time for a tourist to die in this kind of a accident. Would only recommend to go into this sort of places with local guides. The cave itself was beautiful water reaching up to your hips.

 Overall Khao Sok was really good for us and will definitely go there again. Evenings at the camp were fun. Few beers and lot of laughter, learning Thai and meeting new people. Thank you Khao Sok, will be back!

Little visitor at our rafthouse 

Scooter mania in Phuket

 First thing what comes to mind when someone mentions Phuket is scooters. I had many enjoyable scooter rides there, but also some frightening. None of them as bad as that one I had in Vietnam though. No scars this time.

Remember the helmets kids!

 Arriving to Phuket was one uncomfortable day. Everything started smoothly with pre-bought train tickets but the hassle started in Surat Thani. Original plan was to head to Khao Lak but when we couldnt find a connection there, we decided to go to Phuket first. By the time we found a ride to Phuket it was already late so no time to run to toilet or buing food. No eating all day. But anyways, we made it to Phuket safe and sound.

 Phuket town is on the east side of the Phuket island. All the party places like Patong are on the west. In the town there was plenty of nice bars and restaurants and it was really handy to drive around with motobike taxis. You can also crab one for two passengers. There is no Tuk Tuk's in here so motorbike taxis are the best option. Just make sure the driver is wearing orange vest what proofs he is licensed. We had a really scary ride from one we thought was a proper driver but obviously wasnt. Well lesson learnt and after that we checked the drivers were wearing a right kind of vest!

Gibbon Rescue Center

 It was time to jump back on the saddle myself. I havent driven a bike since the accident so felt a little nervous. But after few minutes I felt excited again. Driving motorbikes is such fun!
We went to visit a national park and Gibbon Rescue Center on the northside of the island. Rescue center was interesting and they make important work with the monkeys. It is worth to visit there yourself rather than hear my stories. Remember to take your bikinis with you because there is a waterfall in the national park you can swim in!
 Traffic on the main road was quite busy but keeping on the left keeps you safe. Drive smart though! It happened to be rush hour in Phuket Town when we got back from our trip but I managed to keep us safe. Felt good to get over my fear of driving. It is the easiest and cheapest way to get around. Freedom as some may call it.


The Gibbon Rehabilitation Project

From busy Bangkok to sleepy Hua Hin

 After chilly Scandinavian autumn weather, Bangkok's heat is more than welcome. I dont even let the sleepless night, thanks to the drunken man next to me in the plane, slow me down. Finally, Im in Bangkok. The place I never got to on my last visit in Asia because of that tiny injury in Vietnam 2013.

 Bangkok is busy, noisy and smelly. But I kind of like it anyways. Once you get use to the rhythm it's all ok. There is plenty to see, plenty to do. I only had few things on my "to do-list". Never liked planning too much.

From Wat Pho Temple

1. Wat Pho / Temple of the Reclining Buddha
One of Bangkok's oldest and largest temple complex. Gets crowded but definitely worth to see.

2. Patpong Nightmarket
Plenty of things to buy, clothes, souvenirs you name it. Remember to haggle cause the starting prizes are high.

3. Drink on a rooftop terrace
A must do thing. No explanations.


 For me Bangkok was quickly done. There is a lot to see depending on your interests, but I've never been a city girl. I did enjoy my stay. I enjoyed fun and wild tuktuk rides and exploring the city. Enjoyed the atmosphere of the city and seeing the nightlife and clubs. The famous Khao San Road was as terrible as I imagined, full of drunken backpackers.


 Time to move forwards.

         

To the south

Dreaming

After the dusty journey

Small coastal town of Hua Hin

 Hua Hin felt nice, cosy and compact after Bangkok. Train ride with the cheapest train took 4-5 hours and was comfortable enough to be recommended to anyone. Thais seem to be lazy walkers because no matter what is the distance, short or not, they always say we should take a taxi. After sitting on our asses for several hours we felt like walking and it took us 10 minutes from the train station to the center of Hua Hin.


 Hua Hin is pretty quiet, being destination for families and older people. It was a nice place to catch your breath by the sea side. Unfortunately for us, there was oil accident just on the day we traveled so no swimming for us. Our days were filled with laziness and relaxing. Best part for me was when I rented a horse and went for a ride by myself. Quality time alone is what we all need every now and then.

 After the lazy days, lazy evenings followed. Few beers and some pool playing. All nice and laid back. So if you are looking for mad partying, Hua Hin is not a place for you. But after couple of days we were ready to move more south. Hua Hin was good for us, but there is some limits how much can person like me just lay on a beach and do nothing.

Good vibrations

 I don't have enough words to say how good it makes me feel, summer I mean. The brightness and the heat of it. It makes me feel happy and alive. It's like someone gave me a massive energy boost.

View from Killiney Hill (June 2014)

 Only downside is that my motivation is somewhere else than at work. I guess that is only natural though. We all know the feeling of looking out the window at your office, daydreaming of all the nice things your could be doing in that beautiful sunshine instead of sweating at work. But life is life, it's not all fun and games.

Whiterock beach

With the heatwave came my urge for a dip in the ocean. I'm not much of a sunbather but I do like splashing in water so it was time to get those bikinis out of the closet. Suddenly I also got some extra energy to get back to exercising. Nibbling chocolate at home all winter without regular training had left me feel a bit chubby. So my new positive and energetic, super summer me found the pleasure of training once again. The feeling after gym is totally worth the effort of getting your bum up from the couch and out of the door.


 Besides work and gym I have mostly spent my time just outdoors enjoying the beautiful weather while it lasts. This is Ireland after all so you can never know when it will be lashing rain again. It might be tomorrow or next week, but it might as well be after an hour.

My lovely loyal steeds; cute lil Cassie and the gentle giant Chino

Sun, cold drinks and long walks. Lazy mornings, chilling outdoors, dipping into the refreshing Atlantic and relaxing at the stables. That is what my Irish summer is made of. Taste of sea salt and ice-cream. Gotta love it!

Summery Ireland (June 2014)

PS. Finland in three weeks!

Beautiful spring

Cassie at Paddocks stables

 When winter finally turned into spring it didn't happen a day too early. During the so called winter, what I would just like to call the dark days of misery, there was also some pretty amazing and warm sunny days what was new to me. Anyways, officially I decided it was spring when I was able to go out without a jacket, saw an crazy Irishman wearing shorts and when the trees started blossoming filling the air with smell of life.


 While work keeps me busy most of the week on weekends I love to spend as much time outdoors as I can. After I started riding here it gave both of us some time off from each other. Riding and spending time with horses is a important way of relaxing to me.

In Wicklow Mountains

  Spring also brought some long-waited visitors. My mom came to pay a visit in March, just in time to celebrate St. Paddies. Though she still insists that the timing wasn't planned. While the city turned more green with the loud and jolly people,  we escaped out of Dublin. We brought her to the places we enjoy the most, and last but not least took her for a pizza in our favorite pizzeria in Bray. Authentic, cosy and tiny restaurant what serves the best pizzas in here.




Holiday in Belgium and lovely Bruges

 In May was our long-waited trip to Belgium what we booked on winter. I definitely thought I deserved a nice relaxing holiday after all the hassle and excitement what moving to a foreign country brings along.
 So we flew to Brussels where we stayed for three days to enjoy the city, it's lovely architecture in the old town, getting known to some history, sipping cold beer in the hot afternoon sun and having overdoses of chocolate. Only thing what started to bug us was the thing what we called "french customer service". It was time to change the location.

Bruges

Nightlife in Brussels

Yammie Kriek-beer

 We head to Bruges, lovely old town in west-Belgium. Town is full of beautiful old houses, cute cafes and chocolate shops. It has a real medieval feeling on it with it's cobblestone roads and canals. The best way to get to known to Bruges is definitely to rent bicycles as we did. We cruised around Bruges for two days along it's canals. Cycling is also popular so the traffic is safe and there is plenty of cycling lanes.
 Another must-do in Bruges was a cruise in the canals. Only downside was that they packed the little boats so full of people it is impossible to get nice pictures but well, more time to enjoy to the actual boat ride.

 We also made a day trip to sleepy old town called Damme. There was really not much to do or see but the boat trip along the canal was relaxing with its beautiful views.
 Our hotel, Duc the Bourgogne was great (you can see the white hotel by the canal in the picture above). Room was tidy and big. The restaurant downstairs was above the canal so it was really enjoyable to have breakfast on mornings. And not to mention all the staff was really helpfull and friendly.
 It felt like the time stopped when we were in Bruges. We had such great time together exploring the little town. Climbing the 366 steps up to the old bell tower, cycling to the pond of love and having a tour in a brewery was all great fun. I recommed Bruges to everyone. You're going to fall in love with the place!

Evening out in Bruges in my new fancy summer hat

Sunshine and rain in Ha Long Bay

 My destination in Ha Long Bay was Cat Ba Island. I took overnight boat to get there. Obviously on the way I wanted to see the actual thing what Ha Long Bay is famous for, the limestone islands.

 Too many tourist boats for my taste, but overall everything was well organised. Food was good and staff friendly. We went to see floating fisherman villages and a massive cave on the way to Cat Ba. Got a chance to do some kayaking as well. Weather was warm, but misty cause of a raging storm in the area past few days. Cruises on previous days were all cancelled cause of the weather conditions. I got lucky with my time planing.

Cat Ba Island National Park

 Cat Ba Island itself was small and beautiful. It was a quick busride from the small harbour to the otherside of the island to the town. My trip to Cat Ba unfortunately was short cause of an accident with a scooter.
 But before all the hassle, I had time to enjoy some nice jungle trekking in the National Park, learning some war history in the old Hospital cave what is a three floor real cave what was used as a hospital during the war time. And of course lets not forget Cat Ba is an  island so obviously I had a chance for some swimming in the beautiful beaches.

    

Hospital Cave

At Cat Ba

 Renting a scooter is the easiest and most convenient way to get around the island. I strongly recommend, but be careful with your speed on the small roads. I made a rookie mistake and long trousers and proper shoes would have saved me, but wearing shorts and flip flops caused me a small wound. Without proper hospital care and antibiotics it got infected faster than I got to Hanoi. It took one day to get back there. After few days running in and out of hospital, alone with my backpack and not being able to walk, the doctor strongly recommended me to fly back home before the wound would get worse. Shit happens sometimes, but at least my flight home was pretty comfortable being heavily drugged and having four seats all to myself!


 After all the whole trip was awesome and I have no bad memories even though I had to unfortunately come back home earlier than I was supposed to. It took over a month for the wound to heal and now I got a scar to remind me of what happened. But no fear, Im ready for the next adventure!

Good Morning Vietnam!

Hoan Kim Lake

 Bring on the heat! Hanoi was busy, noisy and exotic. It was quite what I imagined it to be and I loved it. The traffic was as insane as in any Asian city, but I fell in love with the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Best capital I've ever been!

 The old center is quite small and Hoan Kim lake in the middle felt like the center of all Hanoi. Jade island and Ngog Son Temple on the north side of the lake are beautiful and very calming place to escape the busy streets. And if you are lucky enough, you might spot a turtle in the lake. The name of the lake means "Lake of the returned sword". The legend tells that the emperor won a battle against Mongolian invaders with a magical sword and the sword is now taken to the deeps of the lake and returned to the gods by a giant golden turtle. That is why seeing a turtle in Hoan Kim is a good omen.

   

   From Jade island

Ho Chi Minh mausoleum

One Pillar Pagoda

 In Hanoi it was easy to walk everywhere. On my way to West lake I visited the cute and little One Pillar Pagoda for some "Long lasting happiness and good luck", saw the old Hanoi Flag Tower which was lucky enough to survive the French administration and checked that Uncle Ho was still asleep in his mausoleum.
 By the West lake, in a small island there is Tran Quoc Pagoda. It is the oldest pagoda in Hanoi and a cultural symbol of Vietnamese Buddhism.

   

Old Flag Tower

By the West lake

Tran Quoc Pagoda

 Enough with walking. After some haggling I got the price I wanted so I jumped on the backseat of a scooter. Scooter ride is fun, nice and cool, but I got to admit, a tiny bit scary. I could't help myself thinking what could happen riding a scooter wearing just a top, mini shorts and flip-flops. Accidents do happen, often, and the thing they call a helmet around here wouldn't save anyone. But I just hold on tighter and enjoyed the ride, what else could I do?


 My hostel owner was a nice small guy who gave me a scooter ride around the city on the evening I arrived. Showed the best places to go. It was pretty easy to make friends in Hanoi cause it was full with backpackers and tourists.
 There was plenty of small places selling food and drinks. In the old quarters there is crossroads which seemed to be the center of nightlife in Hanoi. Tiny plastic chairs were spread outside the small "bars" selling drinks. The beer was cheap and people happy and friendly. By the law the chairs were only allowed on the sidewalk. Every once in a while someone came shouting Vietnamese and huge hassle started. First timers were always confused. Police were coming so all the chairs had to be piled from the street to the sidewalks and the owners were pretty fast doing that. So there we all stood with our beers in our hands by the bars like the police wouldn't know what was going on. After the police were gone the chairs were spread to the street once again.

At the crossroads

 Some of the bars stayed open later than they had permission to. They had scouts in street corners to warn about the police. In case the police was coming, they closed the window blinds, switched off the lights and turned the music off. So there we all sat in the darkness silently waiting the police to drive away. Once they were gone the party was back on! Crazy Vietnamese.

 After the sightseeing, cold beer and wild scooter rides it was time to escape the heat to the coast, to Ha Long Bay!