After five days in Hong Kong it was time to move onto Bangkok, Thailand.

When you arrive in Bangkok you get bombarded straight away. It is a very intense and hot place.

As soon as we got off the bus in the city, people started following us, trying to take us on tours or in their tuk tuks (a three wheeled open air taxi).

To top it all, the minute we arrived at the hotel there was a thunder and lightening storm. That’s monsoon season for you!

One of the most popular streets among tourists in Bangkok is called Khao San. It has lots of shops and restaurants, and is a nice place to spend the night.

The Grand Palace in Bangkok is magnificent, to say the least. As it is Thailand's most sacred landmark you have to dress in smarts clothes ie long pants and long sleeved tops. You could spend hours walking around the fantastic buildings.

Adjoining the Grand Palace is a temple called Wat Phra Kaeo where the Emerald Buddha resides (one of the most famous and sacred statues in Buddhism).

Neighbouring the temple is Wat Pho where you can see a magnificent 45m long reclining Buddha with inlaid mother of pearl soles.

We passed a school near the temple. The kids were still at school, in uniform, in late July. It was funny to see them in the classroom oblivious to all the tourists walking by.

After two days in Bangkok we decide to brave one of the infamous tuk tuks.

Not for the faint hearted! These guys drive like crazy swerving in and out of lanes.

It’s a great way to travel BUT you have to do a lot of bargaining with the drivers before you get them down to a reasonable price!

At the edge of Chinatown in Bangkok, there is another gold Buddha standing about 3m tall and worth a whooping $10 million!!!

Before you go to Thailand you get lots of warnings about cats, dogs and monkeys, and the risk of rabies. Guide books tell you that it is even dangerous to get licked by one these animals. So I practically lost my life when a stray cat rubbed off my legs when standing outside the temple!!

There is a 1km lane in Chinatown called Sampeng Lane. I have never seen so many pairs of shoes for sale in my life, amazing!! A dangerous place if you’re a shoe lover!

When we travelled to down to the east coast, it was raining buckets again and our bus leaked water!!!!

We travelled to Ko Si Chang in a ferry from a small port town called Si Racha.

I recommend renting a scooter. It’s a great way to see the island, even if like myself, you’re a danger on a scooter.

There are signs all over Ko Si Chang saying it is a rabies free zone! Worrying that they have to have signs like that up! But a consolation after a dog jumps up on me and starts licking me!!

Everyone on the island seems to have a dog or a cat. And almost everyone sells something outside their house. All the houses are very open and very simple.

Ko Si Chang was very quiet, including the beach. However one day about 20 young monks in their orange robes joined us on the beach. They swam in their robes!!

We took a trip up to see a Buddha statue on the cliff and saw where the monks live. They have a magnificent view of the island. One monk told us he lived in a cave!

On our trip from Ko Si Chang, we had a unplanned overnight stay in Pattaya, a major tourist resort and one of Thailand’s most popular destinations. I wasn't that impressed with it as it is just like every other big holiday resort, but they did have a waterpark so I enjoyed an afternoon of waterslides!!

The rainy season caught up with us again in Ko Chang! We stayed in a bungalow by the water which it was fab. I hired a scooter to explore the island and check out the great beaches.

We visited the highest waterfall on the island called Khlong Phlu Falls. The falls are amazing and you can swim down below the waterfall. I had a great time getting pushed downstream by the force of the water!

The businesses on the islands are very family orientated. We went for dinner on the beach on Ko Chang. The whole family were involved in cooking, serving and entertaining the guests.

Towards the end of the night they all set down for dinner together. What amazed me even more is that they all slept in the restaurant which was like a large porta-cabin. The bathroom for the restaurant, a toilet and a barrel for a sink, was the family's bathroom too.

I left Ko Chang and flew from U-Tapao airport (near Pattaya) to the island of Ko Samui in Southern Thailand.

I'm going to be here for the next few days and hope to visit Ang Thong Marine Park, which is a National Park comprising of 42 islands with coral reefs, whitesand beaches, rainforest and limestone cliffs and caves, to do some snorkelling , kayaking and jetskiing. Can't wait!!

I'll tell you all about that soon.

Slán go fóill,

Roisin

 

 

Here's the story so far... I left Ireland on the 17th of July. First stop Hong Kong.

It is skyscraper heaven here. In Hony Kong and the outer islands buildings of two or three storeys are a rare sight. Most families live in these massive apartment towers.

They love their buildings so much in Hong Kong there is a nightly show called ‘The Symphony Of Lights’ where lasers and lights on the skyscrapers dance to music. It’s really cool.

I stayed in Kowloon which is across the harbour from the Hong Kong island. A ferry, called the ‘Star Ferry’, brings people to and from Hong Kong. It’s a pleasant journey for those commuting to work.

Check out the ‘Peak Tram’ – the tram runs on an old railway line which takes you up a hill at a 45 degree angle to Peak Tower. From the summit, you get a great view of the harbour and of all the skyscrapers.

In Hong Kong it is very hard to find anything old. On my first day, I went in search of a temple and found it surrounded by modern skyscrapers. The temple was probably the only thing I saw in Hong Kong that was over a 100 years old.

If you want to get away from the city, there are beaches on the outer islands of Hong Kong. We went to a beach called Repulse Bay!

Another must see in Hong Kong is the world's tallest outdoor seated bronze Buddha. Be warned, the road up to Ngong Ping is long and bumpy. But it’s worth the discomfort. The Buddha is amazing, however it too is of recent construction, completed in 1993. It is an extension of the Po Lin Monastery, a sacred spot for devout Buddhists in Hong Kong.

For the kid in all of us, Hong Kong’s Disneyland is worth a visit. Disney has built its own subway line – a pink line and the windows of the carriages are shaped like Mickey Mouse’s head.

For something totally different go to Cheung Chau, a densely populated island. It has a real “island” feel to it as the streets are full of traders selling their wares and you can see into the kitchens of the restaurants. Many restaurants had crates and tanks with fish swimming around so you could actually choose what fish you want for dinner!

Hong Kong doesn't do things small. It has the world's longest span suspension bridge - Tsing Ma bridge. It looks like to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge but it is 97m longer! The views from it are amazing.

One of the quirkiest things I experienced in Hong Kong was the floating restaurant called ‘Jumbo Kingdom’. You get a boat over to the brightly lit three storey building floating in the harbour. You have a choice of three restaurants, each looking out on to the docked boats.

Shopping is another big feature in Hong Kong. An international shopping festival runs in Hong Kong during the summer.

There are shopping centres everywhere. Even in the basement of the hotel I stayed in, they had three floors of clothes and cosmetics. So if you like to shop, Hong Kong is definitely worth a visit!

Slán go fóill,

Róisín

I’ve packed my rucksack and headed off on a 10 month trip around the world. During my travels, I hope to visit Hong Kong, Thailand, Bali, Australia, New Zealand and South America.

I’ll spend the most time in Australia, where I plan to live and work in both Perth and Sydney, to experience the Aussie way of life!!

Check out what I get up to on my blog.