After a great time in Ubud we travelled back to the coast, this time further north to a little harbour town called Padang Bai. We primarily chose this place for an easy ride over to the island of Lombok.
travelling
Bali part 1, not sure about Sanur but Ubud, I would!
We caught a flight to Bali from Bandung airport, a very small but busy airport with very easy going security. We have been using lion air, a bit like easy jet for cheap flights, although I’m not sure why you would call your airline lion air as lions aren’t synonymous with flying.
Umpa umpa stick it up your Kuala Lumpur!
We decided to spend a week in Malaysia’s Capitol to chill out a bit, not pack our bags every few days, recoup some costs by being able to cook our own food. You get the point.
Some of the natural delights of Malaysia
Sorry blog its been over a week since our last post. A few technical hitches… WiFi more like Where-FI!?
Outside of George Town, about a 1hr twisty-turney bus ride will take you to the Tropical Spice Gardens. This really was twisty-turney, as the bus driver drove fast around the curvy coast of Penang, even a local girl got off to show us her breakfast.
Street Art, Cats, Cafes and The Vintage Camera Museum, George Town, Penang
George Town is the capital of the state of Penang in Malaysia. We are ironically staying in Little India, which is full of curry houses, street vendors and Indian music pumping out in the background. Little India is like India’s touristy cuter younger brother – unlike its older brother, it is less hectic and the streets are much cleaner.
Krabi, Phuket and farewell Thailand
After the relaxing island, Thai beach experience, Team MussMart headed overland to Krabi. Krabi is a town situated on the West Coast of Southern Thailand, so from Koh Samui we had a few miles to cover. For £10 per person, we were able to get from the East Coast to the West Coast. The tour operator told us it would take 3-4hrs…
Me-o-Moo-ee – We went to Koh Samui (ko sam-oo-ee)
It can be hard choosing which island in Thailand to spend a few days relaxing on. I know, you’re feeling really bad for Team MussMart right now…we hear ya.
After Koh Tao we decided to venture to Koh Samui. It’s wasn’t too far away and the weather was looking better here than the islands of the Andaman Coast (the west side of Thailand). We took the cheapest, longest way to travel between the islands, which still only took about 4 hours. You always have to add on extra travel time in Thailand because no public transportation sticks to their posted times of departure. Ever!
Ka pow… Koh Tao!
After a very long and uncomfortable train journey from Hua Hin, we stayed one night in Chumphon before catching a ferry at 6am to the small island of Koh Tao. Trains are a great, cheap way of travelling in Thailand (we paid £1 each for a 4 hour journey) but they are notoriously late, so be careful if you have a tight transfer. Trains also but are a great way to see some of the countryside.
We stayed at Farang’s Bar in Chumphon. The rooms there are really basic with shared bathrooms…but they are cheap. The owner is an English expat named Ivor, who you will more than likely see sat at the bar. He’s lived in Thailand for sometime and was good to chat to for recommendation’s. He lived in Koh Tao for a few years so it was a lucky find.
the mussmarter 