Christchurch - New Zealand

When we arrived in Christchurch we were greeted by Charlotte our next house sit who was very kind and friendly on first meet. The airport was smaller than I thought but modern. When we arrived at their house we had a lovely meal prepared for us and a very excited dog Denver.

After the 2011 earthquake which shook Christchurch it was left with widespread damage and weakened infrastructure on  a lot of the buildings. Most of the are not repaired buildings throughout Christchurch are held up with shipping crates, which was a shock to me at how much repair still needed to be done. After speaking to Charlotte and Pete who were part of the rebuild projects, we found out that there was controversy over whether to pull the buildings down and rebuild or to try and preserve the buildings architecture. Looking at how much still needed to be done and the safety of the buildings I would say pull them down and start again.

When we took Denver for walks we went up to Victoria Park via Dyers Pass which over looked Christchurch. The views were amazing from up here very hilly green grass, a wooded area and a large open dog park. There are also bike paths to take but you have to very adventurous as these are steep and hilly.







The City Center was about 30 mins walk from the house and the area was very industrialised, lots of old shipping containers, warehouses and of course fast food restaurants. They city centre itself was nice, the smallest city I've been to I think but lots of things to look at. A tram line through the centre of a small mall and colourful buildings. The earthquake damaged the shopping area and mall so they have used shipping containers as temporary shops, these are more boutique shops but there are malls about 15 minute drive from the centre.

Attractions in and around Christchurch.

• Waimak Horse Trek: I have ridden horses for most of my life but Lee has not so I wanted to organsie a trek and this company sounded great with lake treks but unfortunately most horse treks have weight limits of 110kg and when your 6 foot 2 its hard to find a horse big enough for you. Most of the horses at this company are 15 hands or smaller. The price I felt was reasonable at $60 New Zealand Dollars (today's exchange rate £28) for 1 hour.

• Cave stream: This reserve is a 362 meter long pitch black cave which ends in a deep pool and waterfall and  which has 2 different entrances to walk along. You do need to check the weather before going as the water levels rise within the cave but it is free and lovely for picnic and walking at any level.

• Christchurch Tram: The tram takes you around the city and shows you the history of Christchurch. There are different price options to choose from, just the tour of the city, botanic gardens tour or even an evening meal tour.

• Hanmer Springs:  These are natural thermal pools with water jets, rock pools and waterfalls. It is about 90 minutes from Christchurch and cost $22 (today's exchange rate £10.40) but you can upgrade to a  private thermal pool for $40  (today's exchange rate £19) each. I would recommend looking this place up before you go as when I read reviews it didn't sound very good, was more like a water park and the a lot of the reviews now say the pools smell of chlorine and not natural. After reading the reviews we decided not to go as wasn't worth the drive there to be disappointed. 

 

• Akaroa french town: This is a 2 hour drive from Christchurch and most definitely worth the trip. When your driving up and up the hills nothing prepares you for the views from the top over looking the town with crystal blue waters. The town itself is small but easy to walk around and plenty of lovely places to stop and eat. We went on a hot day and sat in the park and people watched, very relaxing. 

• Adrenalin Forest: Among natural surroundings you will find 6 different levels of tree top challenges and 3 hours to complete the course, although I don't think you will manage it unless you do adrenalin courses everyday. We managed 4 levels but the higher you get the harder it is. You definitely have to have some fitness before attempting this. the 3 hours you there costs $42  (today's exchange rate £20) each. A very fun, tiring day.  

• Mini golf: Within the city there are 2 mini golf courses,Monsters & Zombies and Pirates Island although I think the Pirates Island is closing down. The monsters and zombies mini golf cost $13  (today's exchange rate £6.15) each one round indoor and outdoor.

 

 

• Waimairi Beach: A dog friendly beach to the east of Christchurch. Lovely white sand and the best bit is... it isn't over crowded even on school holidays.

 

• Botanic Gardens - In the centre of Christchurch there are lovely gardens to take a picnic and relax under the trees. Plenty to see whether your interested in gardens or not.

Our stay in Christchurch was great and the house sitting made it so much better. Sad to say goodbye but there are more exciting things ahead. Join me next time in North land New Zealand - Opononi.

Brisbane - Australia

From Kuala Lumpur we looking into ways of flying to Brisbane Australia and it was more expensive to fly direct (around £300 with a stop in Singapore, total trip 13 hours) so instead we booked seperate flights, the first one was to Sydney and we booked our tickets online via Air Asia which was very quick and easy to do. The flight cost about £100 direct 8hours and then we booked another flight through Tigerair from Sydney to Brisbane and this cost about £37 direct 1 hour. These prices do not include baggage but even with the cost of this for 2 seperate flights it was still a lot cheaper than one long flight.
I do search for flights using the Sky Scanner app to see which airlines are the cheapest and to work out times and once I have done this i find it cheaper to book direct with the airline.

Visa: As we are a British Citizen we can get a free 12 month visa for Australia (non-working) but the conditions are you have to leave the country every 3 months. There is no specific time limit in which you have to leave but i would suggest leaving for longer than a day.

On arriving in Brisbane we were picked up by my Auntie and Uncle whom we stayed with in Redcliffe, a half hour drive north from Brisbane. It is a quiet place not a lot to do but does have good bus services and you can easily catch the train from Sandgate into Brisbane city.

Attractions in Brisbane:

 

• Brisbane South Bank - This is a man made lagoon which anyone can use and has slides for the children. In May when we were there it was getting into their winter so the water was a bit cold. They have a lovely botanic garden which surrounds the lagoon which you can follow and walk all the way along the river bank.

• Wheel of Brisbane - As you can guess the wheel is the same in most cities, revolving pods which your in to experience different views of the city. Adults cost $17.10 each (today's exchange rate £9)

 

• Mount Coot-tha -Here you will have panoramic views of Brisbane city skyline from the observation deck. On clear days you can see right out to Moreton Bay and at night the city will light up the sky. There is a cafe and restaurant at the top so you can enjoy coffee, cake and the views.

• Queen Street Mall - You will find all the shops you want along this open aired mall. There are many side streets full of shops which sprout off the main street. 

 

• River Cruises - There are many different cruises to view Brisbane from different angles and there can all be found on the river banks around Brisbane. The prices vary depending on what the cruise offers so check out the local tourist information center for more info. 

 

• Eat Street Markets - These are open every Friday and Saturday night and Sunday through winter and offer a wide range of food from Indian, Chinese, Pizza, Burgers, Kebabs, Donuts, Cupcakes, Fudge etc. There is live music and entertainment offered with a small entry fee of $2. It can be found next to the ferry port (Hamilton Wharf) and definitely worth a trip.

Attractions in Redcliffe:

• Whale watching - Brisbane whale watching is the main company in  Redcliffe to offer whale watching. (This company can also be found at The Gold Coast). You board the boat at 9:30am and returns 2:30pm. The boat doesn't travel far out to see, just past Moreton Bay and although the sea looks calm at the jetty it is not out at sea. We paid $135 (today's exchange rate £72 each), we chose the deal with the buffet lunch, DO NOT get this. It really wasn't worth the extra money, mostly salad with a bit of chicken, but most of all you probably wont want to eat anything as it is very choppy. We have never been see sick but this company turn their engines off while around the whales so you go which ever way the sea goes and with huge whales splashing around it can go up/down, side to side. I think at least 70% of the people on board were sick. Saying that we did see about 7 humpback whales, 3 dolphins and a hammer head shark which was very lucky. There was live commentary all the time so if something was happening at one side of the boat you would know.

 

• Jump the beach - Sky diving can be done all over Australia (and the world) so I'm not going to say Queensland is the best place to do it, you have to pick the place you want to see from up above while you fall out the sky......with a parachute of course.

The main attractions in Queensland:

•  Australia Zoo - Of course everyone knows about Australia Zoo and if you don't where have you been?? The famous Steve Irwin and his family own the zoo which is filled with any animal you can think of. It spans over a huge area so allow yourself a full day to explore and see the animals. They have many different shows on from Crocodile shows, bird show, snake shows to Koala shows. They offer zoo tours kind of like a jeep safari, you can have your pictures taken holding or touching some of the animals, but I think the best part of this zoo is the open Kangaroo enclosure which you walk through and can feed and stroke the kangaroos. The Koala's are also in the open so when you walk through there area you can stroke them and have your picture taken with them. It allows you to get close to animal you would not usually see.

• Movie World - Found on the Gold Coast and basically a movie themed theme park. They have 4D experiences as well as a variety of thrill rides. It isn't the biggest theme park I've been too but offers the same things.

• Sea World - I think everyone knows what to expect from a sea world, they offer different animals shows, swimming with dolphins, trainer for the day and touching of sting rays/turtles etc. They also offer a helicopter ride over the Gold Coast but I personally think this is very over priced.

• Wet'n'Wild - Everyone's favourite holiday activity the water park. Again isn't not the biggest I've been too but offers different level of slides, a large swimming pool with the wave machine and heated pools. They have a selection of places to eat, all fast food of course so you might want to take a picnic and sit on the grassed areas.

With movie world, sea world and wet'n'wild we purchased a combination pass which gives you access to all three parks and valid for 3 months. it cost $99 (today's exchange rate £53) which is so much cheaper than buying the passes individually. Each park cost $79 each (today's exchange rate £42)

• Dream World - A combination of theme park rides, dream works, and a zoo. We did not go to this as it was not included in the pass we bought but is in the same area as movie world. Tickets cost $85 each (today's exchange rate £46) but they do offer 21 day and annual passes. 

 

• Fraser Island - The worlds largest sand island which is just off the coast of Hervey Bay. There is lots to do on the island whether your there for a day or stay at the hotel, depending on what you like there is something for everyone.

 

• Great Barrier Reef - The great barrier reef stretches from the top of Queensland (Cairns) right down past Brisbane. The main attraction here is snorkeling. We never did this as I am scared of the sea and don't fancy being eaten by sharks which do swim in the shallow waters no matter what they tell you.

There are so many attractions to do in Queensland these are just a few of them. The best thing to do is visit the tourist information center in the area your in to find out what they offer.

While in Redcliffe we accepted our first house sit, YAY!! I spoke about this in my first blog but for those of you who have forgotten or just didn't read it I shall explain again:

Trustedhousesitters.com is a website where people advertise their house and or pets to be looked after while they take their own adventure. As a person looking for a house sit we search the location we are in (currently New Zealand) and any house-sit we find interesting or in the place we want to go to, and we apply to the home owner with a simple email telling them who we are and what we have previously done. With each house-sit you do you are given references and the more your profile builds the better and bigger chance of securing a house sit. What to do? You subscribe to the site for as little at £6.60 per month or £79.20 for a year and create a profile about yourself and who ever your travelling with. Make it an honest profile and let people know who you are, likes/dislikes, job etc. Add pictures, a friendly face can go along way and you can add videos of yourself if you wish, we haven't because I'm rubbish in front of a camera. We have so far done 4 house-sits currently on our 5th and it has been amazing. We have met some great people and made friends for life and looked after some great cuddly animals along the way. We will never stay in hotels again with this website available i can not stress enough how great it is. If you do decided to join this site before your travels please let them know who recommended you as we both might get some discounts. Our name is Travelers2015.
For us this has been the best decision we made on our trip, not only has it saved us money but given us more opportunities to see things and experience living in a new place. Also as animal lovers we were missing our pets back home so its nice to have that company back again. Not all house sits have animals so don't think you will be tied down to a place, its up to you which sits you apply for and accept.

So at our first house sit we looked after 3 lovely King Charles dogs in the first week then only 1 in weeks 2 and 3. She was very easy to care for and the home we stayed in was also lovely and offered us the space a hotel could not. (after spending 8 months together 24/7 its nice to have another room to escape too) lol. Although we didn't have a car at this sit the public transport was close by. Not only did we save money on hotels but it allowed us to cook our own food and save money on eating out, because to be honest in Redcliffe there isn't many nice places to eat unless you like your meat and veg or pub grub. I can however recommend a great little cafe called 'Over There Cafe' next to the Dolphins Oval sports club and it has fresh homemade products that are packed with flavour so support local businesses and head over there!!!!

After our 3 weeks in Redcliffe we secured another house sit for 5 weeks in Sandgate which was about 20 minutes from Redcliffe where you can catch the training to Brisbane. Here we looked after 2 golden Labradors which had been rescued by the home owners. They were very quiet dogs who loved attention but also like to be outside on their own. The house had pool and in the hotter days the dogs liked to join us for a swim. There were great places to walk in the area and although the beach wasn't great to sunbath on it was great for walking the dogs. (Australia doesn't like dogs on the beaches so it great when you find somewhere you can take them on). The dogs and us lovely splashing in the sea and running along the beach. The home was a traditional Queensland cottage, small but very cute and cosy inside and we really appreciated having the opportunity to stay. The home owners themselves were very welcoming and offered us to stay longer or if we were back in the area to visit them.

While we were at our second house sit we took a trip about 2 hours inland to a place called Montville and it was such a pretty little town with quirky buildings, old clock shops, sweet shops and cafes with amazing views. Worth a visit.

Wow this is a long blog so I shall sign off for now. Tune in next week for our experiences in Sydney, Australia.

Thanks for reading.

Patong - Phuket

One thing I have to say about Patong is that the staff in hotels are not very polite. You pay on arrival which we have not had to do else where in Asia and once they have your money they don't care, literally.

My advise: Pay day by day then if something is not right they will want to sort it so they get your money.

We got a boat from Koh Lanta to Patong which went past Phi Phi islands. You could get off here but we stayed on until we reached Phuket.
We had already arranged a transfer from the ferry port to our hotel but you could easily pick up a taxi.

Our first hotel we stayed in was about a 10minute walk from the Mall and Bangla Road. It was in a nice local with night markets along the road and plenty of restaurants, very easy to navigate around.

We had 2 nights in this hotel which we thought we would spend by the pool but unfortunately this did not happen. We spent 2 days arguing with the hotel over our room and money. We had arrived about 8pm and there was only one guy on the desk, he checked us in and gave us a room key. The room was massive and we were very impressed with it, until the morning came when we had a rude awakening by a member of staff telling us to leave the room. We asked what was wrong and they she said we had been given the wrong room, she showed us to another room which was falling apart. We refused to move rooms and wanted to speak to the manager. On speaking to the manager we found that our card had been charged 2 days prior to our arrival. When we book hotels through booking.com we always check that we choose payment on arrival as our card company will charge us for using our card otherwise. So this was a shock and not a good one. After hours of talking to the staff we eventually spoke to booking.com direct and within minutes we were issued a refund for the hotel which included our bank charges. This was great so off we went shopping with a spring in our step.... or so we thought!!

NOTE: Any problems your having with hotels which have been booked through booking.com, call them straight away as they will have it dealt with in minutes.

After our 2 nights in this hotel we moved to another one which was further from the hustle and bustle of Bangla Road. It was about 30 minute walk to the mall, but we thought this was fine as the hotel provided a shuttle.. NO NO NO that was the old owners of the hotel, the new owners could not care less if you stayed or went. There was no staff in the hotel after 3pm until the next day so if anything goes wrong your on your own. Some people were left a note and their room keys on the desk, not a very warm welcome from the hotel. We had problems with the WiFi and our friend was coming from the UK for a holiday, we had arranged an airport transfer through the hotel but her flight was delayed by 2 hours so who do you inform?? the non speaking taxi driver of course. After about 30minutes of trying to tell him we finally had it sorted and my friend arrived safely. We did not pay the hotel until the end and we called booking.com which they arranged for us to get a discount because the shuttle bus was no longer running.

Anyway Patong itself is great, we really enjoyed the area. There is so much to do in and around Patong, things that cost and things that are free so plenty to please all age groups.

Attractions we did:

• Roof Top Mini Golf:

This is 18 holes on top of Banana Walk, which looks down onto the busy party streets below and the Andaman Sea. I love playing mini golf and do it on most of my holidays so i really enjoyed this evening. It cost 500 baht per person with a cocktail of your choice at the end.

• Ping Pong show:

You walk down Bangla Road at night and you will approached by at least 50 people offering ping pong shows. The entrance is free but they do request you by a drink. The drinks are expensive, a bottle of beer in the supermarket is around 50 baht and in the ping pong bars you will pay around 900 baht, but they are an eye opener and a great laugh. Something you have to experience while in Patong definitely.

• SF Cinema:

The cinema is on the top floor of the Jungceylon shopping mall. It is super cheap 180 baht and Wednesdays are even cheaper 120 baht,with all the new release movie so a must while in Patong.

• Fantasea:

This is a evening show is for all the family, with many different things to look at. The magic starts at the door with a beautiful waterfall, and into a village of shops selling souvenirs to jewellery, etc. Have your picture taken with parrots or looks at massive cat fish in the small rivers that run through the palace. Before the show you enjoy a sit down all you can eat buffet, which has everything from Chinese, Indian, Steak, Pasta, Salads and a great selection of deserts. After dinner you head over to the main stage where you can ride of touch the elephants that are walking around outside. Inside while you make your way to the seating area you can have you picture taken with baby tigers. We booked the day before so our seats were high but good views but i would advice booking in advance so you can be sat near the front and really experience the show. They has everything in the show from elephants, tigers, goats, rabbits etc a real fun thing to watch. We paid 800baht each but this can be bartered down and if you book as a group it will probably be cheaper.

• Quad Biking, Elephant Trek and Monkey Show:

We booked this as a package to do both but you can book separately. There were 11 of us so we got a good price of 800 baht each, it is usually about 1,500 baht. We first watched the monkey show, this was more for kids, I didn't really enjoy it, felt too sorry for the monkeys as didn't seem very happy. The preform tricks for food and then come sit on your knee for photos. It only lasts about 15 minutes.




The quad biking was the best part, zooming down the dirt tracks pulling in on occasion to admire the views across Rawai Bay. Standing on top of the hill the guide was telling us when the tsunami hit you could watch it coming across the sea before it hit the land, The views are amazing from up there and you can see how close the hotels are which got hit, but have now been rebuilt.
Advice when on the quad bikes, don't be at the back. I was and my lovely partner thought it would be funny to wheel spin the sand which blow up into my face...Twice! Pay back was given don't worry.

After that we went on the elephant trek, not the best one Ive been on, was a small walk, those stood on the platforms could see you so good for pictures. I wasn't sure how safe it was as our guide told me to get off the seat and sit on the head mid walk, was very scary as nothing to hold on to so i quickly got back into my seat. The best bit of the ride was at the end playing with the baby elephant and feeding it milk for kisses. Very cute.

•  Night market:

As a large group we organsied a bus to take us to the night market and pick us up again but you can get the local bus for 34 baht each. The local bus is called a Songtaew and is blue, you can hail it down if your not at a bus stop. The market was huge but a lot of the stalls sold the same stuff. The food market was the best bit as it had a variety of food on offer and for those of your who are brave... fried bugs, worms etc. I did try the bugs and they tasted like peanuts as long as you didn't think about what you were eating. Did get a leg stuck in my teeth though. lol. The market was really cheap, cheaper than Patong area itself so was happy to look around.

• Big Buddha:

The big Buddha sits on top of a mountain between Chalong Bay and Kata Beach which can be seen from almost anywhere from the southern part of the island. The Buddha is still under construction and weighs 22 tons of brass and stands 12 meters high. Its is amazing at how big the Buddha is and the detail which has gone into it. You can have your name carved into the bricks they are using to build the Buddha so it will be there for ever.

• Gem Gallery:

To enter the gallery you take a small train ride inside the gallery which talks you through how they mine for the gems and how they are made into Jewellery. Once the train stops you can walk around and watch the locals work on  making earrings, rings etc and the detail/time that goes into making them. After that you are shown into 2 huge rooms containing the finished products which you can buy, and given a free non-alcoholic drink of your choice.

• Beaches:

The beaches in Patong are very clean and not over crowded. You can hire umbrella's and beach mats or for the more adventurous jet ski's and paragliding.

• Bangla road:

This is an attraction in itself, there is always something to look at with plenty of bars all along the road, with kebab shops at each end for when you fall out the bars at 2am, oh sorry we are in Patong i mean 6am. lol.

We were lucky enough to be there for their New year, (Songkran) In Thailand they celebrate New Year a lot differently to what we thought, They celebrate with a 3 days water fight on the street. Be warned you can not walk anywhere with out having a bucket of water thrown over you. Everywhere has and sells super soakers and even our hotel got involved and set up water stations outside to throw over passer by. Groups of people drive through the streets and throw water over you its crazy but in the best possible way. Was the best new year Ive celebrated.

Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Alfresco Phuket Hotel, 1,890 Baht (today's exchange rate £131 ) for 2 nights. This was the first hotel mentioned at the start so we did get it at a reduced price but this is that booking.com advertises it as. Worst hotel we have stayed in.

See Sea Hotel, 28,800 Baht (today's exchange rate £ ) for 12 nights. This was for 2 rooms and it has so much potential to be a great hotel, the rooms are big and decorated nicely it is just a shame the owners don't care about it.

Buasri Phuket Hotel, 4,893 Baht (today's exchange rate £ ) for 7 nights. I never mentioned this hotel above but after See Sea Hotel we moved here. It was closed to town with plenty of places to eat near, there was a cut through from the hotel to the mall which took 5 minute walk but i think this has been closed off so the walk round to the mall will now take 10-15 mins but plenty to see along the way. The hotel had only been open for 2 months so was very clean, the staff were great and provided anything we asked for, there was a large pool but the owner was in there a lot of the time which put us off going in and there were only 2 double sun beds but the hotel was not very busy. We loved this hotel it gave us everything we wanted and would stay here again.

Krabi and Koh Lanta

So as I mentioned in my last blog to get a 30 day visa in Thailand you need to arrive via air so the cheapest and shortest flight from Siem Reap was to Krabi.

We stayed at a driving range, although we are not golfers and have never played we thought it would be fun. The owner picked us from the airport and it took us about 30minutes to the hotel. It is outside of Karbi town about 40 minute bus ride but there are shops in a Mall including a Tesco which is in walking distance.

The owners at the hotel were very nice and helpful, our first room unfortunately had a big problem with ants, it was like something out of a horror movie coming out the wall but we were soon changed to a new room which was a lot better. Although the hotel was out of the town it was so peaceful and this is what we liked.

We did play some golf, but i wasn't very good and couldn't hit it very far. There is potential for a mini golf course which i think they had at one time and its a shame they let this slip.

We grabbed a lift into town with the owner, which is a small main square with a market on but lots of hotels and restaurants around it. We had to go to the immigration office while we were in town to extend our visa, (as i can not count and missed 3 days off our visa so we would have over stayed) this is NOT in walking distance. We however did walk it on what seemed to be the hottest day. There is nothing around and is a very long walk so if you need to go get a taxi.


We got the bus back to the mall near our hotel, this was easy to find and very cheap. (you can hail the bus to stop if your not at a bus stop). We didn't stay long in Krabi so we never got over to the beaches which are very popular.

We organised a bus to Koh Lanta through the hotel and a minibus picked us up in the morning and took us across the ferry crossing into Koh Lanta. This cost about 350 baht (today's exchange rate £7) and took a couple of hours.

Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Palm Driving Range & Resort, 2,000 Baht (today's exchange rate £84) for 2 nights, breakfast was not included. The staff were very polite here and it had an on site restaurant where the food was very good. It is a very basic hotel and has locals coming and going to play golf but don't let this put you off, it really was a peaceful place to be.

Koh Lanta

At the ferry port we jumped into a tuk tuk which took us to our hotel. It was about a 15 minute drive, not far from the ferry as we did walk it. The whole of Koh Lanta is small and easy to walk, although we did find it more expensive.

At arriving at our hotel we were shown to our cabin, to find the air con not working and at 30 degrees it was definitely needed so we asked to move rooms.

The main attractions in Koh Lanta are the beaches, there are very clean and white sand with a variety of restaurants/bars. Very peaceful place and only 5 minute walk from our hotel. The shops are up towards the ferry port which will take you about 30 minutes to walk, there are some great restaurants along the ferry port as well so worth a walk. We were there March and many of the restaurants/shops were getting ready to close as the tourist season was coming to an end.


We were not very happy with our hotel so we looked at others in the area and found a great one up near the ferry port, it was very large and hardly anyone there with a huge roof top pool which most days we had to our self.

We organised a boat ride to Phuket through a travel agent near to the ferry port, they were very good and beat the price we found elsewhere, although i do think any travel agent would do this as they want the business.

Hotels we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Escape Cabin, 4,590 Baht (today's exchange rate £192) for 3 nights, including breakfast which was at a restaurant across the road. We felt this hotel was very over priced for what you got. The cabins are very small, ants everywhere in the bathroom and towels are only changed every 2-3 days, (we've stayed in cheaper places that change towels everyday), The pool was small and not very deep, there was also dead frogs in it. I thought frogs could swim?? we had to ask the staff to clean it or even clean it ourselves on a daily basis. The sunbed were poor quality and uncomfortable. Overall i would not stay or advise anyone to stay here.

Hotels we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Lanta Residence Boutique, 1,916 Baht (today's exchange rate £38) for 1 night, breakfast not included. (This price is what booking.com offers but we spoke to the hotel direct and there offered to beat the booking.com price and include breakfast, which i thought was very good). The hotel was very quiet which was a good thing as we had the pool all to ourselves. It had a huge roof top pool with views across the mountains. The staff were brilliant here and the hotel was close to shops and restaurants. I would definitely stay here again.

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

After leaving Phnom Penh at 12:30pm and with a few stops along the way we arrived in Sihanoukville around 7pm. The bus ride was nail biting and I did have to close my eyes at times as other vehicles get very close and the road surface is all uneven, but we made it in one piece and that is all that matters. 

The bus drops you off at their office and if you walk down the hill you will come to the main round about with a huge golden lion on top. If you take the first exit to your right this will lead you down the main street of bars/restaurants/hostels and all the way to the beach. There are different road leading off this one which also have restaurants and beach access.



The hotel we stayed in was about a 10 minute walk from the golden lion taking the second exit on your right. its a nice walk, quiet, new hotels being built, restaurants, laundry and our hotel was right at the end of the strip so nice and quiet.... or so we thought. we arrived when the hotel next door was being built so lots of banging all day and at 8am in the morning the whole hotel shook as they had a massive power drilling putting in foundations. We did feel let down by the hotel as they never informed us about this when we booked or when we checked in, but as you know from my other posts a complaint knocked some money off our stay so we weren't as upset. Although the staff do need to be more quiet in the morning when setting up breakfast, i am not a happy bunny when I'm woke up at 7:30am! lol.

Anyway back to Sihanoukville, we are not party people, yes we like a drink now and then but its rare, (We would not be here if we were drinkers is something we are happy to give up for an adventure of a life time) and unfortunately we felt that is all this place has to offer. The beach was dirty from people partying on it in the evening so we didn't feel we wanted to sit on it. We stayed around the hotel a lot as it has a great pool, deep and very clean with two smaller pools for paddling in.

There are other beaches which seem to be very popular, these are:

• Otres Beach

• Occheuteal Beach   

These beaches can be found 5km from the Serendipity area. (15 minutes from us), we heard this was very nice, more tranquil than Sihanoukville beach and not as loud. The hotels in this area are more expensive so you might be best doing a day trip to the beach or looking into beach huts/bungalows.

We had some nice food in Sihanoukville and would recommend:
Ernie's Burger - here you choose what goes on your burger and there are lots of fillings to choose from. This can be found on Mithona Street.

Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com
Grand Sihanoukville, $183 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £131 ) for 5 nights including breakfast. This would have been a very nice hotel to stay in if it wasn't for the building work next door. The breakfast was a buffet and the pool was a good size and quiet. If booking just check on the progress of the hotel being built next door.