TracyB

Just got back last night from a great trip..

We started out on Cathay Pacific from Vancouver, on to Hong Kong and then to Mumbai..Long flight..Second time flying with Cathay..Great airline, but I find their seats to be small with limited leg room..But all in all, not too bad..As the flight left Vancouver at 1:30 a.m. we slept the whole way!!

Checked into hotel in Mumbai..Great budget and I mean budget hotel..But it was spotlessly clean..Hotel Highway Residency near the airport..Got up in the morning had a great Indian Breakfast and walked around the area!! Great morning!! Typical India..

Then took Jet Airways to Goa..What a great airline.. The moment the aircraft took off we were given some lemon water..followed by candy and then a delicious Indian lunch..And the flight was less than 1 hour!!

So we arrived in Goa..Took a prepaid taxi to our hotel for 690 Rs. Checked into Marquis Beach Resort on Sinquirim Beach (sp)..Really nice hotel with a nice pool and beautifully landscaped…Right on the beach..Our room was facing the pool and ocean..65 U.S. per night including breakfast…We stayed here for 2 weeks..

Our purpose of vacationing in Goa was to visit a friend and his family that we had met in Kerala in November..This was out 3rd trip to India..

We had a wonderful time..Celebrated Holi with our friends in their village..It was soo much fun..Drums playing, people dancing, local drinks, colors everywhere!! I have never seen anything like it..Later in the afternoon we were invited to lunch at the home of the family we had gone to visit for some traditional Goan food in a traditional Indian house..It was just a great day..They treated us so well and we had so much fun..

Throughout the 2 weeks we ate at some awesome restaurants, all very inexpensive and delicious..We went to 3 different markets..Anjuna, Mapasa (sp) and Ingo’s night market!! Bought ton’s of things!! Best thing I bought though was an emerald bracelet and necklace (but not from a market.) Also bought almost every cushion cover that exists and one of everything else…

One day we took a boat cruise, another day attended a local Christening we were invited to..But our main source of entertainment was having dinner with our friends and drinking Kingfisher!! They were very hospitable and a lot of fun..People eat dinner very late in Goa, so most nights we did not eat until at least 9:00 p.m.

We also visited a lot of beach shacks and one night went to a Bollywood film. It was hilarious..Also went to a gay Karaoke bar one night…

We found the people in Goa to be so friendly.

Worst thing and most expensive thing was the taxi’s fare’s..But everything else very cheap..Weather very hot, up to 36 C one day, but cool in the evening..

So we really had a great time in Goa and will miss our friends, whom I hope we will visit again.

Now back to Mumbai for 1 night..Took the local train to visit a guy I met on another travel forum!! Now that was a total experience!! The train was jam packed and we were the only western people on the whole train..Every eye was on us the whole time..I couldn’t help but smirk!! It was just like being on the Amazing Race! Then had a nice tour of Old Mumbai and a great Indian supper…

Next morning flew to BKK and then onto Siem Reap with BKK Airways..Also a great airline..with a nice lunch..

Stayed at Peace of Angkor Villa..What a great little guesthouse for only 35.00 U.S. per night..Our room was huge, with marble floors, wicker furniture, full bathroom, and ac..The staff was friendly, and we just loved it..The food was so good, and cheap that we ate there almost every meal..

We had a guide that we arranged from the hotel..His name was Sopea and he was superb..The driver and guide was 50.00 per day, and the car was nice with AC that worked!!

We toured around the temples in the scorching heat for 2 days.Was never so hot in my life, I thought that I was going to die!! But they were amazing..Will not get into detail which ones we visited but our favorite was not Angkor Wat!!

On our last day we went to Kompong Khleang..It was just awesome..The village had literally no tourists whatsoever.The people live in stilt houses…We took a long boat ride on Tonle Sap Lake..It was a great day, but extremely hot out..We took some great pic’s of the kids..

althom1122

Great start - we want to hear more! Looking forward to hearing which temple was your favorite.

rhkkmk

great report....want to hear more...don't leave out the details

TracyB

Well i might as well just add part 2 here!!

Our favorite Temple was Ta Prohm, followed by the Bayon Temple and then Angkor Wat….Not sure why, but I was expecting more from Angkor Wat..(but don’t get me wrong, it was still fascinating to see!!)


Well, i guess it just leaves Bangkok..We arrived in BKK and took AAC Limosine to the Marriott Resort and Spa and felt like we were in the lap of luxury, after staying in simple guesthouses for 3 weeks! Yet the atmosphere of the hotel was very relaxed and friendly.. We were on the 6th floor (room 644) with a view of the pool and the river..The buffet breakfast was very good and the rooms were cleaned in the morning and then again in the late afternoon..There was not a speck of dust or dirt to be seen!!

Spent alot of time swimming as it was soooo hot, some days up to 38C..

Places we ate at were....Suan Lam Market, MBK Mall Food Court on the 6th floor, The Food Loft (at Chitlom Centre), which was excellent..Also ate at Cabbages and Condoms one night and loved it!! Ate a few times at Numero Uno at the Marriott and they had the best Caesar Salad!! We were supposed to eat at Tongue Thai on our last night as well as visit the Chatuchak Market..But i had a bad case of the Bangkok Belly and unfortunately could not do either..We ate at several other places but not worth mentioning...

Used the river taxi and skytrain to get everywhere we visited..Very convenient and easy to get around..

Went to Suan Lam Market one night, and really enjoyed that, but it was so hot that we were sweating to death...Enjoyed eating the cheap food that was available...

Also went to Patpong..

For malls we shopped at MBK, Siam Centre, Emphorium (sp)..Robinsons...Bought tons of shoes!

Also shopped at the strip mall outside of the Marriott..Found that very convenient..

One day took a tour with Ratt to the Floating Market..We had a lot of fun with Ratt, but because we had been to BKK before, were not interested in anywhere she had wanted to take us, so we ended up at a local mall just outside of BKK!! Had a lot of fun...

Visited the Royal Palace..It was scorching hot out that day…It was more beautiful than I had remembered..

We could not get over how Bangkok has changed since 1994..Everything is so modern, it is like a complete different city..

We enjoyed our stay in BKK, and will probably stop in again on route to somewhere else in Asia and would most likely check into the BKK Marriott Resort and Spa again!!

Forgot to mention that there were demonstrations going on while we were there so a couple of the days the Siam Centre was not open..As we were getting off the train, we could see the thousands of people and hear the loud chants, but it did not interfer with our time in BKK whatsoever..

The last night in BKK, in which I was ill, we just went down to Numero Uno for supper in the hotel..As we were sitting there a couple walked in from the U.S. and started talking to us..We chatted for awhile and I thought to myself that they sounded like someone off of the Fodors Forum..I didn’t say anything at first, but as we talked more, I discovered that it was JerryS..I couldn’t believe it..So we had a laugh about that.. What a small world..

So that is my a trip report..Sorry it is not more detailed, but any questions, let me know!! I will post some pic's later..

Today, have tons of laundry, jet lag and am wondering where we will go next!!!

asiatraveller

Hi Tracy,
Will you share your favorite temple in Siem Reap? A friend and I head over there on Thursday for the first time. Sounds like it was HOT! What sort of shoes did you wear? THANKS!

TracyB

Hi, our favorite Temple was Ta Prohm, followed by the Bayon Temple and then Angkor Wat..But they were all unique and amazing in their own way.....I wore birkenstocks for footwear and found that adequate..I don't think that anything closed toe would be suitable in that kind of heat...Be prepared for hot, humid, weather and have fun!!

LA_FadeAway

Thanks for the report TracyB!! I've been obsessing over footwear for Angkor lately and you've confirmed that hiking shoes are too much! My Keens have closed toes, but lots of air flow

TracyB

Some days i wore the cheapest of flip flops and i was still fine!!