Day 10 - Siem Reap

We vegetated most of the day.  We went out when the sun went down.  We got a Tuk Tuk and went to Miss Wong for drinks.  It's a cute place down an alley off of Pub Street.  I really liked the drink I had.  I don't think kumi could say the same about her mocktail.

After drinks, we decided to find a place to eat.  It was a choice between a restaurant called MonSoon and another place.  As it turned out,  MonSoon was about 40 ft from Miss Wong.  So it won out.  It's a very nice place.  Great service.  Excellent staff.  Shout out to Osa!  Very good food and drink.  I really liked the the Signature Fish Curry I had.  I can't spell or pronounce what kumi had, but she said it was good too.

We went to Pub Street from MonSoon.  This seems the place to be for night life.  Bars, restaurants, shops, etc. all here.  There is a wide variety of things to eat, drink, and do.  Night Market is next to Pub Street.  We spent some  time here before getting a Tuk Tuk back to Anantara and calling it a night.

Day 6 - Koh Samui

Tour day.  We scheduled a private van tour around the island.  We slept in late.  (Late for us anyway.)  Went to breakfast at Anantara Lawana Ocean Kiss  restaurant.  (Have I mentioned how awesome Anantara breakfast buffets are?)  After breakfast, we went on the tour.  Since it was just us, we went where we wanted and were on our own schedule.  I can't name the places we went,  but I did take photos.

We returned to the resort after the tour.  kumi returned to our suite, I walked around the resort to take more photos. The resort staff were having some kind of sports day.  I wasn't there for all of it so I wasn't too clear on what was going on.  But what little I saw was entertaining.

Later, pool bar, more plunge pool,  sleeping by plunge pool, sleeping in bed, then dinner at Ocean Kiss.

Day 4 - Koh Samui

I slept in.  kumi went diving.  Lazy day for me.  I got up and had a late breakfast at one of the Anantara Lawana restaurants, Ocean Kiss.

As far as breakfast buffets are concerned, Anantara has my favorite.  There is a good variety of cuisine and large selection of food.  Ocean Kiss also has a very nice beachfront view.

After breakfast, I stopped by the spa to schedule a massage for the afternoon.  I went for the traditional Thai massage, 90 minutes.  It'sa dry massage, no oils, a lot of stretching.  I, surprisingly, was not as stiff as I thought I was.  The massage was great.

After the massage, I returned to our suite.  kumi had just returned from her dives.  We, of course, vegetated until dinner, at which time we did in-villa dining again.

Day 3 - Koh Samui

More diving.  Silent Divers again.  2 tank dive, both were very good.

We returned to Anantara after diving.  The plan was for me to stop by the spa to schedule a massage for the next day, and kumi would go back to the suite.  Both of us ended up going which resulted in us getting a couples massage within the following hour.  Neither of us particularly care for a couples massage, but it worked out well.  The massage was very good.  We were done for the rest of the day.  We ended up doing in-villa dining again.  Have I mentioned in-villa dining is awesome.

Day 2 - Koh Samui

We went diving.  We dove with Silent Divers.  They were great.  They picked us up from the resort.  All our gear was setup and waiting for us on the boat.  The boat itself held a surprisingly large number of people, both divers and snorkelers.  When it came time for our dive (we did 2), they helped us with our gear.  Between dives, they prepared an awesome lunch.

The dives themselves were ok.  The first one would have been good except there was a strong current.  The second one was good.

After the dives, we returned to the resort.  We had to decide whether to make the 100 meter walk to the restaurant for lunch, or return to our suite and do in-villa dining.  In-villa dining won out.  It was a great choice.  So much so that we did it again for dinner...  Laziness may have also influenced our decision.

Traveling Again

@kumimonster and I are traveling again in southeast Asia. Specifically, Thailand and Cambodia. We had an eventful time getting here. Lyft and Amtrak were good. BART had some issues with maintenance, bus transfer, train transfer, and a “security incident” at SFO BART. (Mental note: Probably not a good idea to be standing behind a cop with his gun drawn if the person he’s pointing his gun at also has a gun drawn.) The BART ride which should have been about an hour, took about 2 hours. Still plenty of time to catch the flight though. kumi was already there. Quick check-in, quick boarding.

The 13 hour flight to Taipei seemed short. Probably because I had a window row all to myself. I slept most of the flight. Long layover in Taipei, then off to Bangkok.

We arrived in Bangkok to find Bangkok Airways agents waiting for me. Seems I had a very short layover in Bangkok and they wanted to make sure I made the flight. We also found out that we had been put on different flights for the 3rd flight. kumi’s flight was an hour after mine. Minor inconvenience, but still ok.

I caught the flight and arrived in Koh Samui without issue. Anantara Lawana was there waiting for me. Since the resort close to the airport, the driver convinced me to drop off my bag, check-in, then we could come back to the airport to pickup kumi. That worked for me. Checked-in, welcoming drink. Got a free upgrade on our room to one with a plunge pool. Went back to the airport to pickup kumi. Returned. She got her welcoming drink. Then off to our suite. After more than 25 hours of travel, we made immediate use of the plunge pool.

Day 17 - Sri Lanka

We left the resort at 0830 to get to Sigiriya Rock at a relatively good time.  In other words, before it gets hot.  About 800 meters from the resort, our driver informed us that we will need our passports to get in.  So we turned around and went back to get our passports.  Then we went to Sigiriya Rock.

There's a tourists entrance and a locals entrance to get into Sigiriya Rock.   Tourists pay $30.  Locals pay much less than that.  You can get a guide if you want.  Rates vary.  We opted not to get a guide.  Your ticket gets you into 3 places:  The museum, lower area, and the top of Sigiriya Rock.  We went through the museum first.  kumi is a fan of museums more than I am.  So while she continued to peruse the museum, I chose to head up to the rock.  There's a lot of stuff to see in the lower area.  I bypassed most of it and continued on.  (I figured kumi would get pictures of it.)  From the little I have read about the place, there are over 1200 steps from the bottom to the top.  If you're in good shape, you could probably do it in about 30 minutes.  If you're not in good shape,  it could take about an hour and a half.  (There are places to stop and rest along the way.)  I had no intention of going to the top.  I was going to stop at Lion's Gate.  But once I got there I thought "Meh, I'm here.  Might as well go up."  It took me about 40-45 minutes to get from the bottom to the top.  There's a different way down from the top.  From Lion's Gate it took me 15 minutes to get to tourists exit area.  Quickly bypassing the monkeys and souvenir vendors.

BTW, if you have a fear of heights, I do not recommend going up Sigiriya Rock.  Another  thing, there's a spiral staircase along the way to the top. You can bypass It if you want.  It goes up to some frescoes.  Photography IS NOT permitted.  They are very serious about that.

After Sigiriya Rock we went to a couple more Buddhist stupas.  We had to take off our shoes to enter the area.  By this time it was midday and the sun had baked the cobblestones.  They were too hot to stand on.  We were running to and from shaded spots to cool our feet.  The first stupa was painful.  The second was extremely painful.  (First stupa, brick.  Second stupa, polished granite and steel.)  It wasn't just us.  The locals couldn't take either.  Except for the guards who got to wear shoes and the one guy who was like "Meh, what heat?"  After the stupa, we walked around the area for a bit more, then decided to do lunch.

Lunch was uneventful except for the fact that we ate spaghetti.  Yeah, I know.  We're in Sri Lanka and we're eating spaghetti.  (This place had a lot of spaghetti dishes.)  Truth was, we were in between the lunch-dinner window and many places were closed.  This place was open so we went in.

After lunch, back to the resort.  We showered and rested for a bit.  Later, we met up with our driver for an evening drink.

Day 15 - Sri Lanka

Do nothing day.  Eat, drink, lounge, massage, etc.

Day 13 - Sri Lanka

We got up early to do a River Safari.  Other times were available but our guide recommended leaving at 0700.  Unfortunately, the resort didn't start serving breakfast until 0730, but kumi did manage to score some pastries.  Our driver was there at 0700 and immediately took us to meet our guide.  Turns out his boat is within walking distance of the resort.  It was about a 5 minute walk.  We jumped in the boat and off we went.

I have been on other river tours and it always amazes me how guides spot some of the wildlife from far away.  In some cases, wildlife can be easily seen from far away.  In others, some are creatures of habit and hang out in the same spot everyday.  But in several instances, I couldn't see the animal until we were right up on it, and even then it still had to be pointed out to me.

The river safari was good.  I think we were on the Bentota river.  The resort offers another river safari on the Madu river.  It's about a 30 minute drive from the resort.  A few nice things about doing the safari early are the temperature is nice.  Not too cold, not too hot.  Also, you miss the crowds of other river safaris as more people are coming out to take them.  Added bonus for us, due to the proximity, we got back in time to have breakfast.

The resort has a very nice buffet breakfast BTW.  A good variety of food, some of it made to order.  Plus a choice of indoor or outdoor seating.

The rest of the day was mellow.  We reclined for a bit on our terrace.  Relaxed a bit in the room.  We had a massage later.  Much later, we went to Frangipani again for dinner.  Again, we were the only ones there.  We ordered something different from the previous evening.  The portions were huge and also reasonably priced.  We couldn't finish what we ordered.  Dessert was out of the question.  We did have room though for an after dinner drink at Chatters.  But we didn't stay there too long because food coma was setting in...

Day 10 - Malaysia

Kind of a do nothing day.  For me, it started early this morning, like 0300, with a huge thunderstorm.  I actually got out of bed to view it.  kumi slept right through it.  Conveniently, it ended just before sunrise.  There were showers on and off throughout the morning, but they stopped when we walked to breakfast, started again during breakfast, then ended when we finished breakfast.
The rest of the day was mellow.  kumi stayed in bed most of the day.  I got up and walked around the resort.  I took a few more pictures and scheduled another massage.  Yep, it was great.
Later, we went to Hai Sang Lou for dim sum.  We ordered three dishes.  They were really good.  Luckily we ordered the small size because, between the two of us, we barely finished all three.
After dinner, back to the room for the night.

Day - 8 Malaysia

Today we did an excursion to Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately, it didn’t start out well. It was us and another couple on the excursion. And that couple was an hour late. Why our guide did not leave without them, I don’t know. Once they showed up, we began the trip.

First stop, and really the only thing I cared about seeing, the Petronas Towers. There are quite a few people there trying to get pictures of the place. A few locals know you can’t get a full shot of the towers without a wide angle lens… Which they just happen to have a few available to sell.

We went to a few other places, then stopped at the Central Market for lunch. I was so fascinated by the Central Market, I forgot to take pictures. Not even of the lunch we had, which was awesome and also cheap.

After market, we stopped by a few more places. Got caught in a thunder shower. Then, headed back to the resort.

Up until this time, the other couple had only been mildly annoying. They, particularly the husband, went beyond annoying on the ride back. He would randomly sing and whistle. He would play loud videos on his phone. Almost every time our guide would try explain something, the husband would interrupt him. We were worried when he mentioned an interest in joining our excursion to Malacca the next day. We’re hoping they don’t join us. But we will find that out tomorrow…

Day 7 - Malaysia

You would think after arriving so late the previous evening, I would want to sleep in late. But nooo, at around 0630, kumi was like “I’m hungry!” So we got up and went to breakfast. The buffet was good. They had a good selection of food. Anantara still is my favorite though.

We didn’t do much else the rest of the day. Toured the resort. Took lots of pictures. Ate lunch. Then stopped by the spa and scheduled an appointment for later. Massage for me. Scrub and massage for kumi. After that we were pretty much done.

We would’ve been done for the night, but we had to do a room change. There was a problem with our room, so the resort immediately moved us. We resettled in. Posted a few updates. Then called it a night.

Day 5 - China

Do nothing day. Eat, drink, sleep, repeat…

Day 4 - China

Today started out nicely.  Woke up to the sun shining and the temperature already at 80°F.

I went to breakfast around 0830.  Usually when I arrive around this time, I can easily get a table next to the window.  No such luck this morning.  There were a lot of people there.  I'm guessing some arrived for the weekend.  Others appeared to be checking out.  Even though I wasn't next to a window, breakfast was still great.

Later in the morning, I took a bike tour.  This was really fun.  It was just me and my guide.  A woman named Milan, who spoke very little English.  (Which is much more than the amount of Chinese that I know.)  We went out to the bikes and she adjusted one for me.  I tested it out and another older female Chinese tourist noticed the tires were low on air.  A situation they immediately remedied. Tires inflated properly, off we went.  Milan was great.  She pointed out things along the way.  I'm guessing she was giving her usual “bike tour” speech.  We rode to the Sanya marina.  (Another place it seems, that is popular for wedding photos.)  I took a few pictures there.  We hung around the marina for a bit before heading back to the resort.  Along the way back, Milan tried to teach me some Chinese.  I learned how say “hello” and the correct pronunciation of a few other things.  It was a fun ride.

Of course, I stopped by Ahei when we got back.  I didn't even have to tell them my drink this time.  They just made what I wanted.  Does that make me a “regular?”

I did pretty much nothing the rest of the afternoon.  I took a few more pictures.  (More weddings happening.)  Then I crashed until dinner.  Which again was at Baan Rim Nam.  This time I had fried rice with pineapple.

Day 3 - China

The day started with thunderstorms.  That was fine since I didn't have any morning plans anyway.  I got up whenever, strolled downstairs and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. 

Afterwards, I went to see the concierge and cancel a planned sea kayaking excursion.  It was scheduled for another day, the forecast for which was more thunderstorms.  Though it probably would have made for great pictures and a good story, I just wasn't feeling it.

Later in the morning, another thunderstorm hit.  I took some pictures but I don't think they quite did the thunderstorm justice. Intense as it was, it was quite enjoyable to watch from my balcony, which is well protected from the storm and has an awesome bed.

After stopping by Ahei (lobby lounge and wine room) for my lunchtime drink, I decided to venture out of the resort and check out the “neighborhood.”  Anantara Sanya is a resort next to other resorts and tall buildings. There aren't many stores around.  No traffic to speak of.  It's also relatively quiet.  There's a park next to the resort which seems to be the place for couples to take their wedding photos.  If you do want stores, Anantara provides a free shuttle to some place I can neither spell nor pronounce, that has that stuff.

I returned from my walk with time to spare before my next massage.  It was a 90 minute, traditional Chinese massage.  I've never had one and had no idea what it was.  I found out no oil is involved and you wear clothes.  At times it was intense, but I was definitely relaxed after.  Almost didn't make it to dinner.

I ate at the Thai restaurant again, Baan Rim Nam.  I usually don't eat too much at resorts.  I usually try to find restaurants away from the resort.  But I have not found any close to the resort that weren't other resort restaurants.  However, Baan Rim Nam has an extensive menu, and you can inexpensively priced food all the way up to the really pricey.  Tonight I had fried rice with crab leg meat.

Thunderstorm

It is seriously raining.