It is with great disappointment that I am going to have to cancel the cycling trip. As I have broken my wrist, training for this great ride across Europe, I am no longer able to do the ride (training is now impossible). Typing is also quite impossible so I’ll end here!!
NEWSFLASH number 2… we are still going on the trip… but DRIVING. Stay tuned!
There are 15 orphaned kids in the area near the orphanage where Christie volunteers, who needed a home and the best outcome for these kids was to put them with families. 15 poor families came forward offering to take the children in as a foster situation. The foster parents, who are responsible to raise them as their children, are poor themselves.
With now extra mouths to feed on top of their own there is a weekly welfare program for these families, providing them with enough rice each week to feed all in their households plus giving the children new uniforms and money for schooling.
Some of the things that they require are immunisation, money for schooling and uniforms, rice money etc.
This will be our project for our cycling trip.
My third day of training for the sponsored ride for a Cambodian orphanage today was kind of humiliating. 6 months ago I hardly ever had a cyclist pass me… but having not ridden for so long I am tasting humility and it isn’t pleasant!
I was overtaken on 3 hills by the same group of people, who I then overtook on the flat and down hill part on my trusty orange rocket. Of course everytime I got to another hill they overtook me again because I rode upwards them like a slug. Oh well, 37k isn’t bad for an old chook who is out of shape and I averaged 22kph so I feel happy that I am improving.
By the way, if anyone knows how to stop my ‘Runkeeper’ app from flattening my iphone battery before I finish the ride let me know. I guess If was was FASTER the battery wouldn’t run down would it? I’m working on it.
Thanks Rebel sport, Ringwood for kindly donating 2 hydration back packs and chafing cream for our fundraising ride from Spain to France in June, July.
That’s a fantastic help towards getting us to Montpellier unchafed!
Today we began our first training day after a long break in riding. The mandatory lunch (Vietnamese) with a glass of wine helped the jelly legs and sore butt! I am ashamed of how bad I am at riding right now, compared to 12 months ago. The weather has certainly put me off as well as our tight schedule of 21st birthdays, engagement parties and overseas trips.
Our cycling trip in June will be 580 kilometres, taken nice and easy so we can see the sights and enjoy the scenery in Spain and France.
I will be posting more details about the sponsorship here, just as soon as Christie sends me some photos and more details about the orphanage project we will raise funds for!
Meanwhile, you can take a sticky beak at our proposed route here:
Floating market shoppers!
Today we got up at 5.30am after a late night the night before and caught a mini van to the Damneon floating market about 2 hours drive away (if you drive at 130kph like the driver was doing). After boarding a long
boat, which was pretty precarious, we were taken along the canal full of boats with wares for sale and stalls along the waters edge. This was a sensory sensation, with noise, competing boats and colourful items for sale. Our only problem was that we couldn’t get away from stall holders who were insisting we purchase things (so I just had to obligue!). The stall holders ‘hook’ you in with a long metal hook and won’t let your boat go.
The journey home was LONG and not so comfortable so we just HAD to have a massage after tea to recover. We are either returning back to Melbourne the next day or visiting a Thai prison… with a VISA which expired 2 days previous. Let’s hope for Melbourne because I don’t think there is aircon in the prisons and it will probably be more uncomfortable than some of our sleepovers.
Here is how we remember our motel rooms. Not by destination, but by description:
-The motel with the bedbugs (Lee still has bites all over her from a week ago)
-The motel with the mattress springs that stuck into you
-The motel with the toilet cistern which leaked all over the floor
-The motel with no top sheet
-The motel with the pillow made of crushed rock (just a slight exaggeration)
-The motel with the door which wouldn’t lock
-The treehouse bungalow
-The one where the King stayed
-The one with the exposed electrical wiring behind the bed head
Of course this makes it look like we had the most miserable trip ever… but these things are what we all have a laugh about and made the adventure worthwhile. As well as the chooks, dogs, monkeys and cows on the road. The fried crickets, frogs and cockroaches at the markets. The squat toilets and the eternal hunt for the 5 Baht ‘loo payment’.
We have had an incredible trip and enjoyed getting around with our Aunts and Uncles who have been lots of fun and very tolerant of our quirks. Lee and Lorraine are the best shopping companions!!
More photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=247000&id=561229505&l=d2897ddf81
NOTE: This blog post got lost so it is out of sync and should be before the next post!
Our 2nd day in the Kanchanaburi region saw us visiting the war memorial, railway museum and the war cemetary, then the tiger temple in the afternoon. The war memorials were very sobering and it was good to see the Australian govt interest and support in these areas.
The tiger temple was amazing! After having our photo taken with a tiger, we went into a ‘cage’ to watch them exercise. The cage was waist height… so quite 
useless really. The tigers were fighting and wrestling close enough for us to touch them. It is certainly an incredible place and highly recommended to people wanting an experience you will never get at home.
The next day our guide took us to the Weary Dunlop memorial park and then on a 3.5k walk to Hellfire Pass. The walk involved a bit of climbing because we passed 4 or 5 sections of the rail track where the tresle bridge was missing. The Aus govt has an information building at Hellfire pass which was lovely to see.
After this we went to Erewyn national park to see the waterfalls. There are 7 tears, climbing 1500 or so metres upward. The falls were spectacular and distracted me from climbing as I wanted to take photos. Mel did a stirling job of climbing right to the top. Considering we were only there an hour, the guide was very surprised that he made it.
After this we left for the LONG journey back to Bangkok. We didn’t arrive until 9pm and I had a fitting with the tailor at 9.30 so we were pretty exhausted. Our next morning began at 5.30am to go to the floating markets. I ate a kit kat and a hot dog for tea, which was the most Aussie food I have had for 3 weeks!
Breakfast at 6.15am got us ready for our 2 night tour of Kanchanaburi, The River Kwai and so on with a driver and guide, hired by the 6 of us. Now we are tourists… as opposed to seasoned Thai travellers! Our luggage was reduced by paying the hotel to care for the majority and just taking a small bag each.
Our hired driver, guide and mini bus were the start of luxury far above our rank. Each time we left the bus to look at something we were offered a cold drink and a cold cloth, sealed in plastic. A trip to a temple, started us off, followed by a stop at the start of the famous railway. I took lots of photos for Dads benefit, of things I cannot identify. Hopefully they were meaningful. The water tank the Japs built to keep the steam trains going was still there and we were allowed into the control room to see all the big thingos (!).
We arrived at the Bridge over the River Kwai, to crowds of people, this being the week of the Kwai bridge festival. The guide asked if we would like to pay extra and go to the sound and light show at night, with dinner included. This only happens once per year so how could we say no?
After feeding a goat on the train platform, we boarded the train to ‘somewhere’, where there is a large tresle bridge. I had been on the train for 5 minutes and got up off my wooden seat and the whole bottom seat crashed to the floor. I managed to land on my feet and didn’t get hurt but evidentially it looked pretty funny.
The mini bus met us at the other end and we had a look at the tresle bridge, a cave where the Japanese sheltered and market stalls.
Our accommodation was far above our rank, with the most gorgeous grounds, enormous pool all set on the River Kwai.
The sound and light show was breathtaking and ear exploding but a magnificant evening and a once a year opportunity.
Colin at the Grand Palace in his new pants.
Today’s funny was brought to you by a crazy taxi ride and a pair of ‘genuine fake Levis’.
In an effort to HURRY to meet the others at the Oriental hotel for ‘High Tea’ Colin and I ran down to the market to buy him some long pants, since his were left with our other luggage at Tha Phon and he had to wear them in the hotel. We found some ‘genuine fake’ Levis and ran back to our motel room where he put them on, only to find they had a button up fly and the button holes were WAY too small. The rest of our group had already gone so we both tried desperately to do the buttons up in a hurry. In the end, I had to ‘saw’ them with a small nail file on our nail clippers (while he was wearing them). We both got the giggles and luckily I didn’t slip with the nail file!!
After jumping into a taxi, the driver threw us out 10 minutes later. The 2nd taxi driver tried to con us into more money all the way and then Mel rang and said they weren’t having High tea after all… so we diverted the taxi driver to the Grand Palace and spent 3 hours there instead.
So much for the new long pants!!
Me, Lee and Lorraine
Leaving Ko Sumet was difficult after such a lovely relaxing time on the beach but we have exciting things ahead of us!
We caught the boat across to where our mini bus was waiting for us. This boat wasn’t so packed with people or fish so wasn’t as interesting as the trip across. The mini bus trip to Bangkok should have taken 3-4 hours but took 2 and a half. This included us being kicked out half way and asked to get into another bus with a different driver. No explanation was given but we suspect it’s because we asked him to turn the music down (!). The 2nd driver drove at 130k and more and tailgated vehicles the whole way. I chose to read my book and not look but Col was watching him. At one stage he had a mobile phone in each hand while driving. Even so, we arrived in Bangkok safely and managed to organise ourselves to get a 2nd fitting of COLINS SUIT TO WEAR TO THE WEDDING (!!!) and to shop at the markets via taxi.
Mel, Col and Bruce
We have arranged our guided trip to Kanchanaburi, River Kwai, Worlds tallest Pagoda, Long boat down Kwai Noi River, Death railway, Hellfire pass, Erawan national park/waterfall hike and the tiger temple. This will be over 2 nights (3 days) and we will leave from Bangkok on Sunday, returning again on Tuesday.
We had about 2 hours of shopping frenzy tonight. OK, well truthfully… Lee, Lorraine and I did. The frenzy ended in even more tablecloths and bags purchased.
Tomorrow Col and I are going to the Grand Palace and the Oriental hotel for high tea.
I’m not sure what day or date it is anymore. My tummy is still cramping and playing up after almost a week but I feel pretty good to eat and walk around so I am putting up with it.
Col walked into our room the other night, bowing and using the Thai gesture with his hands together in front of his face and saying ‘Buttercup’. After laughing (nervously) I asked what that was supposed to mean. Then I realised that What he was attempting to copy the Thai greeting ‘Sawatdee khrap (cup)’. Buttercup???? He now greets the ‘panel of aunts and uncles’ that way too, which gives us a good laugh.
So the new nicname is ‘Buttercup’.
Through the eyes of a dishmop 