holiday – Travels with the Booths.blog

A week in sunny Kos.

**Near Kefalos and our apartment at Andreas Studios with its fab. swimming pool.**

We needed a week’s holiday, somewhere that wouldn’t cost the earth and preferably with some good weather. Mentioning this to our neighbour he told us about apartments on the island of Kos run by friends which has reasonably priced rooms, a lovely swimming pool and a good restauarant. It wasn’t long before we had booked a room at Andreas & Rita’s Studios,near the town of Kefalos. https://www.self-catering-apartments-kos.co.uk/

As you can see from the pictures, the coastline is beautiful and was just down the road from the apartment. Andreas & Rita were so welcoming and after leaving the cases in our very spacious apartment we enjoyed an excellent meal in their restaurant washed down with a few pints of lager. This was defintely the right place for us and we couldn’t wait to explore the area the next day.

It was tempting to have a swim in the pool first but we decided to walk down to the shops of which there were just a few including a very good supermarket which had all the things we needed – fresh fruit, warm croissant, jam and yogurt. After a very slow breakfast we did hit the pool and lazed there for much of the rest of the day. That evening we had a meal at one of the many local restaurants along the seafront. ‘Tanipota’ is a relatively new tapas-style restaurant in Kamari Bay a five minute walk from our apartment and is very popular.

The next day a car came to collect us to take us to the car hire place. We’d booked a car for five days so we could look around the island. Kos is only a small island but having said that, there’s lots to see and do. Sandy beaches (although not all), stunning views, hilly outcrops to explore, a varied countryside with picturesque villages of typical Greek whitewashed houses, full of flowers and taverns offering tasty local food, and the quaint capital of Kos Town. Here’s a selection of pictures taken during our trips round:-

This 205 year old windmill is well worth a visit and the only windmill still in use on the island. There’s no charge to go inside where a guide tells you about the workings but you are expected to pay for your refreshments by buying some of the delicious biscuits made from the flour. A good gift shop too.

Driving around we stopped at one of the tourist spots to look at all the peacocks. There were lots of cats too and a chap selling food to give to the tame peacocks. There’s probably a story as to why they’re at this particular spot in the forest but we didn’t find out what it was.

There are Greek churches dotted everywhere around and often like this one, nowhere near a town or village. I like photographing churches and was very pleased this one was open. It was just down the road from the peacock place. The painted murals inside were beautiful and I also liked the simplicity of the interior. Not always the case as you’ll see towards the end of this Blog.

**Views from the ruined castle at Kefalos**

That evening we drove up to Kefalos town to a restauarant which had had a very good write-up. We could see why. We had an excellent meal at Maistrali and would recommend it. This is a hillside town with great views but to get a full panorama you need to walk slightly out of the town to the ruined castle. There’s hardly anything left but it’s worth the climb up for the views. I found it quite tricky getting back down to the road but I wasn’t wearing the right shoes! Can you spot the two cats lounging on the edge of the cliff enjoying the evening sun?

**Entrance into Kos Town. The Harbour front, Hippocrates statue and the new town area**

Like most people visiting the island for the first time we spent a day in Kos Town. What a great place. I expect at the height of the summer it would be packed with tourists but out of season it wasn’t. We were impressed with the harbour and all the well-maintained gardens and flower beds. We had a snack at one of the cafes on the harbour front and weren’t charged a ridiculous amount. We both thought that the architecture had a moorish feel about it. I thoroughly enjoyed browsing the little shops in the narrow streets away from the front and bought a couple of things. That called for lunch and we were spoilt for choice. In the end we ate at ‘Zorbas Eat Greek’ in the Old Town and very much enjoyed it.

Walking back out of town on the way to the large, free car park we spotted a sign for the Odeon Roman ampitheatre. It’s quite something and well preserved with restored marble seating & galleries. The catacombs underneath are interesting too.

**Views from the terrace at Jenny Camel bistro.**

After our trip to Kos Town we decided to spend a lazy morning the next day by the pool and then to check out a couple of beaches. Camel Beach is very popular and has two restaurants, which are only a few meters apart: Jenny Camel, we were told offers more of a personal service and that was borne out by the very warm welcome. The home made bread was delicious but we turned down the kind offer of taking another loaf away with us as a gift. They were cetainly lovely, generous people.

**‘Agios Theologos Beach’** **(ignore the wonky skyline!)**

We then spent a couple of hours on another beach chilling out before driving over to ‘Agios Theologos Beach’ known appropriately as ‘Sunset Beach’. Tourists flock to the west coast of the island to watch the flame-coloured sunsets from this beach and see the chiselled cliffs and coves.

When we were there it was really quiet, just a few people and it wasn’t the best of sunsets but the coastline is impressive. A decent pair of shoes is useful when you’re scrabbling around as the sand is very gritty.

It was our penultimate day so we wanted to do some more exploring. First stop was the ruins of an ancient healing temple & medical school where Hippocrates once practiced. Asklipieio is about 4km from Kos town and is the site of a historic hospital. The ruins date from the first half of the 3rd century BC and are extensive. Great for photography particularly on a beautiful, sunny day. The entrance charge is €8.00 which is well worth it. You also get great views from the site down to Kos and across to the Turkish coast.

After wandering around the Greek ruins we were in need of something to eat …and drink. We had planned to stop at the village of Lagoudi Zia which is a small mountain village. Zia is a popular place to visit and is known for ‘its charming cobbled lanes lined with tavernas, shops for handmade crafts, and traditional blue-and-white houses. Domed Orthodox churches dot the village, and there sweeping views extend to the coast’. Having said all this which I’ve ‘lifted’ from a guide book I have to confess that we drove through it and didn’t stop. Even out of season the streets were teeming with tourists and all we could see was shop after shop of Greek ‘tat’. Not for us so we carried on to the next village and had lunch in a small family-run cafe with just a few locals and a couple of other visitors. Much more enjoyable and peaceful too.

**Ruins of the castle and settlement of Palaio Pyli**

The drive round after lunch was quite something with narrow winding roads and stunning views, we seemed to be climbing up forever. I can’t remember whether we had already decided to walk up to this ruined castle or whether we saw it and thought we’d give it a try. The ruins and settlement of Palaio Castle tower above the village of Pylie and is reached by going up a forest path about three kilometres or so. Along the way you come across ruined churches and other signs of the settlement which dates back to the 11th century. The view of the castle remains was tantalising and although the path up there was very uneven, mostly cobbles, we didn’t think about giving up until we got near the top. It was tough and even though we don’t like to be beaten we looked at the final stage and knew we had to turn back. It was disppointing but I did get some shots of the ruins and the terrain and the resident goats.

**Ruins of one of the three churches in the Pyli settlement**

This had been quite an active day to say the least so that evening we decided to go back to the fish restaurant, Cavos Taverna which was just around the corner from our apartment. Not only is the fish cooked beautifully but Mama’s home made honey cake is delicious. Everyone is given this to round off the meal. I was tempted to go round the plates on other tables where people had left some and hoover it up. I should have asked for the recipe.

The other restaurant we visited twice was Maistrali in Kefalos which we would also recommend. Just before we went for our meal we wandered around the town and looked inside the main church. This church is nothing like the one we’d been to earlier in the week; the inside of this one is decorated …everywhere. There’s not a square inch left uncovered as you can see.

I hope this Blog has given you a flavour of the island of Kos. We thoroughly enjoyed our week and wouldn’t hesitate to say that if you decide to visit do get in touch with Andreas & Rita’s Studios, https://www.self-catering-apartments-kos.co.uk/ Lovely people, spacious apartment, good food and a great location.

Ten days in Thailand

Holiday in Thailand

Yes we were lucky to go on holiday before Lockdown. Having flown in from Paxi in Laos to Bangkok we got a taxi straightaway after getting off the Airport Rail Link. Before now we’ve had to wait quite a while. Thankfully this driver didn’t keep falling asleep every time we stopped at traffic lights! A bit scary as the traffic in the city is quite manic.

We have stayed in Baan Manusarn, which is a small guest house a couple of times before. As Bangkok goes it’s a fairly quiet area. The pier for the ferry is at the end of the road and there’s quite a few good restaurants nearby. Once we’d dumped our bags we had an afternoon to spare so we headed for the iconic temple of Wat Arun. Last time we were there we had horrendous jet lag and just about managed to drag ourselves around. This time we didn’t pay to go into the main temple as there’s plenty of other buildings you could go in for free. I’m saying ‘could’ as now you have to pay to go into the temple complex. Can’t imagine there’s many tourists visiting there currently or anywhere else for that matter – Thailand isn’t letting tourists in at the moment. Seems to be working as since the pandemic hit the country they’ve recorded just one death. That’s the official figure …

It was a fairly early start the next day as the train to Kanchanaburi leaves Thonburi station at around 8.00. There are just two services each day. You have to allow plenty of time to get to the station as Bangkok wakes up at 4.30am every day and the roads are busy. The huge market by the station teems with life and is where the taxi drops you off. You have to have your wits about you wheeling you case through to the station. The train journey takes about three hours and is an interesting trip but the exciting part for us is arriving! A quick call to our resort and a taxi is organised and we’re on our way heading out of town.

Just a quick journey from Kanchanaburi station to Oriental Kwai Resort – heaven!

This for us is the most perfect place to stay. We love it here at Oriental Kwai. No wonder it’s Kanchanaburi’s number one hotel on Trip Adviser. It’s a 15 minute ride from the town and as soon as the taxi turns off the quiet lane into the drive, we feel at home, well our home in Asia. There are just twelve cottages and we like to stay in number 11. We enjoy the walk through the beautiful gardens, across the little bridge, past the immaculate swimming pool to the main reception area and restaurant. Late afternoon we like to sit by the river, have a drink and stay there until the sun goes down over the River Kwai.

Djo and Evelien who own and manage Oriental Kwai are lovely people and make you feel so welcome. They opened the hotel in 2007 after clearing quite literally a jungle! Together with help from their families they achieved their dream and their success story continues today. As I write this in the year of a pandemic my man and I are just hoping it won’t be long before we can go back again.

“Our’ cottage and the grounds at Orienal Kwai with the river running by.

Although we know this area well we still like to do some sightseeing and lots of walking and John did a cycle ride whilst I stayed to take some pictures in the superb gardens. We’d also decided to hire a car this time and drive up to the lake town of Sangkhlaburi in the west of the province.

Picking up the hire car in the town was very straightforward, we’d booked it before we left home. Once you get out of the town the roads are very quiet although this route continues up to Three Pagodas Pass and the Burmese border. It also takes you past the entrance to the Visitor Centre and starting point for visiting The Hell Fire Pass, the name of the infamous railway cutting on the former Burma Railway. Although we have been before we wanted to see the changes they’d made to the exhibition centre.

The Visitors Centre and the Museum had been re-vamped however we both felt that the new layout of the exhibits didn’t have the impact we remembered from our last visit. It’s quite a steep walk down to the railway cutting itself but the impact of this area never changes. It is an emotional experience and the Memorial Walking Trail following the route of the ‘Death Railway’ is a sobering hike albeit with magnificent views over towards Burma. Don’t expect to hear any birds singing as you walk along – there are none. On this visit the walk was closed which was disappointing but we have walked it a couple of times before.

Back in the car and still heading North West we started looking for somewhere to eat. After an hour or so we were beginning to wonder if we’d have lunch at all when I spotted a cafe by the side of the road. No one spoke English – well why would they (?!) and the locals having lunch pretended we weren’t there. We hadn’t a clue what was going to be served up but the main thing was it was all going to be freshly cooked. I believe we had chicken, veg and rice but I honestly can’t remember, we enjoyed it with no ill affects so that was the main thing.

Floating raft houses on the Vajiralongkorn Lake.

The journey after our pit stop became more interesting as we drove up through the forest and then down to Vajiralongkorn Lake. It’s actually a reservoir that was created when a dam was built in 1982. It’s a huge expanse of water and very impressive. The other thing you notice about this area of Thailand is the diversity of the people. Sangkhlanburi is a small town, traditionally the Karen people lived there. Now there are Burmese people, many refugees having left Burma for the safety of Thailand and people from the Mon tribe and other minorities. Apparently they live together in perfect harmony although there are defined districts with some living in the hills or on floating raft houses and the Mon people who live across the other side of the lake which is spanned by a huge wooden bridge.

As usual once we’d arrived in Sangkhlanburi and found our hotel, Kingfisher House, we chilled out for a while over a well-earned beer – ‘Chang’ as it happens. Time then to walk down to the lake and check out this famous wooden bridge which is Thailand’s longest. It is quite a landmark and was built in 1986 although it looks much older. Unfortunately the bridge known as the Mon Bridge partially collapsed after bad weather in 2013. As the bridge links the main town of Sangkhlaburi with the Mon area of the town, the locals quickly got together and within weeks rebuilt it. How’s that for teamwork? Although it wasn’t late the bridge was deserted as you can see from this picture. This is a very sleepy non-touristy place.

The next day we started off by exploring the town and headed up to see the reclining Buddha. Buddhists try to do a good turn every day, especially on Friday, to gain merit and that’s what a group of locals were doing outside a temple. There was a lot of painting and chattering going on and when they saw us we were invited to do some painting too!

Gaining Merit as in performing a good deed, act or thought is a fundamental concept in Buddhism.

There wasn’t much to see in the town itself and the market was pretty unexciting so we headed down to the bridge again. By now the temperature was in the high 30’s, very hot for walking across the bridge to the Mon village. Most of the shops were just closing but fortunately we found a cafe and I discovered the refreshing merits of Lipton’s iced tea! I managed to find one souvenir shop that was still open thinking there would be lovely Mon crafts to buy, sadly that wasn’t the case but I did manage to buy one or two little things.

Walking back over the bridge the heat was unbearable hence the rather natty headgear (bottom left picture). The little girl with the decorated face is Burmese. The yellow paste is called Thanaka made from ground bark . Its a traditional cosmetic often worn by Burmese people to protect the skin from the sun. The picture top right is of two local women laying out the freshly caught fish to dry.

Very few people in Sangkhlanburi speak any English so going into a cafe or anywhere is quite an experience. Once again we had no idea what we were going to get for lunch at this family-run cafe overlooking the bridge but the omelette and chicken was delicious. The cold drink which took quite a while to make was a real sugar rush job but we drank it of course. They were so kind to us, as though we were the first tourists they’d had there for a while.

After our lunch we drove up to see this rather splendid temple with the equally splendid name of Wat Wang Wiwekaram. The picture below is my favourite from our stay in Sangkhlanburi. It was a beautiful temple and although there would have been lots of monks we didn’t see any until we drove away. There was a group down the road sweeping the street …gaining that all important merit with Buddha.

A few more people on the bridge to watch the sun setting including two monks.

When we went back to the bridge in the evening to watch the sunset the family from the cafe where we’d had lunch came out onto the balcony to wave to us. We felt very honoured.

We enjoyed our couple of days in Sangkhlanburi but felt that was long enough although we would visit again. We’d seen most of the sights and enjoyed the peace of the place and marvelled at the Mon bridge and the beautiful lake but it was time to get back to Oriental Kwai!

On our journey to Kanchanaburi we stopped at this interesting temple which was clearly a mix of Buddhist temples and Hindu. Quite unusual I think. Amazing statues and once again, no-one around.

The last part of this Blog on Thailand will include pictures from the market we went to which was fascinating and there will also be some pictures of elephants (irresistible), as we spent a day at an Elephant Sanctuary. I thought I’d do this as a separate account otherwise the Blog becomes a bit too long. I suspect this one might be so if you’ve read this to the end – thank you!

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