After few months of silence, I thought that today was a good day to write back on my blog đ
Rainy season started in Bali and Iâm off today.
I couldnât or I didnât take the time, is much appropriated to say, to finish telling the story of my South East Asia trip but I will, soon or later. Iâve written everything down and I still have tons of photos to post!
But today, Iâll be writing about the rainy season in Bali.
It will be my first rainy season but not the last one đ
ItâsâŠhow to say that? Again one of this thing that life makes me discoverâŠ
There are tons of things to write and say about rainy season in Bali and this post will be the first one of a long series I think!
First of all, itâs raining⊠a lot! Itâs a big change comparing to the desert in Egypt where we were waiting the rain sometimes for agesâŠall the yearâŠsometimes it was coming,  sometimes not at allâŠ
But here, itâs coming all of a sudden, from one day to the other, without notice and then it goes again and come back again, everyday! Sometimes from the morning, sometimes at night, sometimes in the eveningâŠwith storm, thunder, clouds and the sun who appears and disappears behind them đ
Few things to remember and keep in mind during the rainy season:
Always have a rain coat with you either in your hand bag or under your scooter seat (NB: donât forget it where you put it to dry the day before, like me today
Love green and mud (gadoue?)
Always have spare clothes
Love having hair that curl
Never plan a long scooter trip
Love rain
Drive carefully with the scooter
Prepare lots of good music playlists because when itâs raining you can be stuck at home or somewhere else
Always have food at home because when itâs raining you donât want to go out to eat but I guess and hope you get used to it, to go out even with the rain đ
Enjoy the sound of rain and storm
Do not be afraid of frogs because during rainy season itâs frogs party in Bali đ
Iâll give more tips later because rainy season just started !
Just in case, for those who might not know yet, Iâm living in Bali now đ
Feel free to come and visit me whenever you want, except maybe during rainy season đ
Le petit tour (parcours en violet) fait environ 17 kilomĂštres et le grand tour (parcours en rouge) qui est une extension du petit tour, fait environ 26 kilomĂštres.
Mais bon celle lĂ elle a lâair sympa ! đ Alors je lui dis que je veux de lâananas et de lâeau et elle sâempresse se mâavancer une chaise en plastique pour que je me repose, ce que jâaccepte volontiers !
Je continue ma route aprĂšs ce petit stop authentique et je vois sur la carte que le circuit est prĂȘs de se terminerâŠTant mieux parce que je commence Ă en avoir plein les jambes đ
Du coup, sur son temps libre, câest Ă dire le matin, il fait faire des tours de tuk-tuk aux clients de la guesthouse pour visiter les temples et il arrive parfois Ă doubler son salaireâŠ
I had booked into a guesthouse which was fine but when I arrived I had the feeling of being alone in the guest house … plus there was no common areas to meet people eventually …
So when I arrived in the room, I decided to locate the European Guesthouse and see if they had a room available.
This was the case, so I change and I have absolutely no regrets!
The European Guesthouse is very well positioned, my room is very clean and there’s especially common parts, a restaurant and bar where meeting people is pretty easy!
After I put my bags in my room, I went to the bar where I met Pheak (pronounced a bit like Pierre), a young Cambodian who works at the guest house. He explained me the different options for visiting the temples …
I decided to do the « small tour » the next day by bicycle alone and to do the day after the « big tour » by Tuk-tuk with Pheak.
So there are two tours, a small tour and a big tour … Here is a map to give you an idea.
The small tour (purple line) is about 17 kilometers, and the big tour (red line) which is an extension of the small one is about 26 kilometers.
I have not done much more that day, I went walking around the city center of Siem Reap and then I stayed at the guesthouse where I talked to some people.
Day 2 Â in Siem Reap:
I took off around 8:20 in the guesthouse with my super bike đ It is not very difficult to find the way because in fact everyone seem to go to the same place and in all cases for sure all the tourists! ! Whether by bike, scooter, Tuk -Tuk , bus or car.
It is also very funny because people pass each other then stop, then pass each other again… There was a young Cambodian student who was part of a group of people all on cycles, who came to discuss with me on the road pedalling next to me đ
After about 20/25 minutes of cycling I arrived at « Ticket Booth  » which is on the right side of the road. Here there is a crowd! And there is a whole row of point of sale Admission tickets. You have to check which queue you take, because every counter is selling different tickets (1 day, 2/3 days, 7 days entrance… ) and they take a photo from you at the counter đ at least for the 2/3 days ticket, so SMILE đ and this photo will be on your ticket.
Then, you will be controlled just after the ticket booth and several times at the entrance of some temples.
So here I am on my bicycle for the little tour! And there, the drama ! When I wanted to stop to take a picture of the  » Welcome to Ankor  » panel I realize that I forgot the memory card for my camera ! đ It sucks!
Going back to the guesthouse does not seem like a good idea because I’ll lose too much time so I ‘m reasonably thinking that today it will be just for eyes pleasure and I would take pictures the next day, but still keeping a little hope that I can buy a memory card arriving on the site of the temples … and YES it is! Well, $10 for a 2 GB memory card is not cheap but it’s for a good cause ! And I had to negotiate … she wanted $25! I cannot believe it!
So off I went to explore the temples of Ankor …
So I started by Ankor Wat . THE famous Ankor Wat which all guides book refer to and which is the largest and supposedly the most beautiful. Well⊠excuse me but for me it was not my favorite … ! In contrast, the next on, Baksei Chamkrong, I loved it!
It was raining … first downpour about 10 minutes then big storm about 40 minutes … That’s how I made the storm breaks đ For the storm, I sheltered under a temple of prayer and I stole a little nap, and I can tell you that I was not the only one đ
Itâs already 2:00pm when I start again after the little nap! I go toward the East-gate and I decide to finally eat something. I stop near one of the temple and one of the woman who is selling fresh fruits and cold drinks, and who is sitting a little bit away from the others, comes to me, and tells me like the others:
âHey my lady! You want pineapple, mango, cold water?â. I have to tell you that all these women have the same voice tone when they speak to tourists. So, at the beginning itâs funny but then, after a while it becomes quite annoying!
But these one seems nice! đ so I tell her that I would like some pineapple and some water and she immediately prepared a plastic chair for me to rest đ
So I decide to sit for a while beside her. She is chating with one Tuk-tuk driver who is waiting there for his client who went to visit the temple.
After eating my pineapple and drinking some water I start to speak with themâŠ
After saying good-bye to my friends, I continue my circuit.
It should not be far from 3:30pm and on my way I pass a little greasy spoon that is on the road but still a bit in the middle of nowhere – It seems that they have other things than fruits to eat. After a few minutes of hesitation, I stop here and ask the young nice lady if there is something to eat and she tells me « only spring roll and eggs « .
Well, it’s perfect! Here I am sitting at a table with two other Cambodian women in green uniforms who probably work in Ankor Park. It is probably their lunch break ? or 4:00 ock break? That I do not know! đ
The young lady from the greasy spoon prepared me in a jiffy two beautiful spring rolls ! Sure, there are almost never here of tourists who stop … only locals in my opinion , it’s great ! I love it!
The spring rolls are simply DELICIOUS!
I have a thought for my dad at that time who advice me one or two days before on the phone âdo not eat raw vegetablesâ đ but I think I must try !
I have to say that it was a successful test because I have absolutely not been sick after eating these spring rolls filled with raw vegetables, fresh and crispy ! đ
I continue my journey after this short authentic stop and I see on the map that the circuit is about to end … That’s good because I’m getting full legs đ
Return to Siem Reap by a circuitous route because I lost the way a little bit đ thatâs where I say, âLong life to GPS and 3G!â
This evening, I devoured in my guesthouse, one of their pizza which was absolutely GORGEOUS!
For the next day, appointment is set at 7.30 with Pheak for the big circuit.
Day 3: Siem Reap
Letâs go for the grand tour!
The photos speak for themselves … The light is beautiful …
Between visits to the temples of the Grand Circuit I talk to Pheak to learn more about the lives of Cambodians.
He is 24 or 25 years, he is married and has two children, two boys, one 3 years old, the other one is 10 months old.
He is living with his in-laws đ Because he explained me that about two years before (if I understood well) he left to Thailand for about 3 months to find for a work thereâŠThen he had to return to Cambodia because his visa was over and his family was angry against him at this time so they didnât want him to come back homeâŠWhen he returned, he started to work at the guest house but he was dealing only with the tuk-tuk drivers I think and then he is now working as receptionist in the guesthouse every afternoon shift. He is also doing Tuk-Tuk tour to the temples on the mornings on his free time, a way of earning extra money on the side. He is earning at the guesthouse 90 USD per month, so he bought a tuk-tuk that costed him around 600 USD (he made a loan at the Bank) and a scooter and he can almost double his salary in high season I thinkâŠ
This is the life of a young Cambodian boy of 25 years old, already father of two children.
As I had already seen much anyway the day before, I did not elaborate the temples of the grand tour… I took some photos but still we got back to the guesthouse at 11:30 am.
For lunch, I went to eat in a small Cambodian restaurant indicated by Pheak and evening I tried the Cambodian BBQ, very good!
Here in Siem Reap, I was amazed for two days đ
The day after it was released, I am on vacation after all! And anyway then it rained a lot that day …
It is already May 5, and I’m leaving Cambodia for south Thailand …
So two full days in Bangkok, this is not bad! You can do a lot of things but you can easily stay longer too!
The first day I went to visit the classics, the Grand Palace and Wat Poh (Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and then I wandered here and there taking photos …
At the Grand Palais, I visited the textile museum and I must say it is really good! Very informative and interesting.
They explain you the various manners to weave, but also the dresses of the queen are exposed with magnificent embroidery! It also explains the different ways of folding the traditional Thai clothes with lots of little demonstrative and educational movies and also the actions of the King and Queen to help poor people in developing the weaving in the villages of Thailand.
On the ground floor of the museum you have a workshop that they call âstudioâ or âatelierâ where you can try yourself traditional clothes, what I did! I found it great!
Otherwise, I did everything by foot, nothing is far from Khao San Road. On the way from the Grand Palace to Wat Poh, there was a small market where I had lunch… A little further, on sidewalks, amulets sellers … at first I wondered what they were selling đ and then looking at the guide book I realized … They are all with their little pocket magnifier (like my sweet daddy) to consider and look very closely at these small objects in terracotta or metal …
After that, I visited Wat Poh Temple and I must admit that I was exhausted by the heat at that time … so I only went to see the famous reclining Buddha which is very impressive! đ
After this very busy day, I had no courage to go to visit Wat Arun, so I just went to check how to get there the next day.
So I went back to the hotel and this is where you really appreciate the rooftop pool … this is just GREAT! đ
The sunset was a bonus! It only needed a small beer đ but we were not allowed to take drinks to the pool, shame!
After the first day, a little green curry chicken and sleep!
The next day, I met Anne-Sophie on the way to Wat Arun … pretty funny because it was in the street, at a big crossroads. We were going to cross the road, there were a couple of tourists, she and I. We all stopped at a pedestrian crossing, waiting for the little man goes green … Then the couple decided to cross another pedestrian crossing and suddenly changed direction.
Anne-Sophie looks left, right and decides to follow them andâŠso do I ! đ
We, then found ourselves crossing at the same time and I asked her if she speaks English, she replied with her good little French accent (like mine!) « A little bit, I am French » …
From there, it was much easier! đ She had arrived the day before and she had planned to visit all the classics tourist places that I had done the previous day but ultimately discussing it , she decided to keep it for the next day and we then spent the day together.
We started our program with the visit of Wat Arun, magnificent temple! My favorite in Bangkok I think! A splendid 360 ° view of Bangkok.
Then we were looking for Chinatown. We walked a lot but we finally arrived right in the heart of Chinatown market, a maze of paths and alleys in an indoor market.
A parade of colours, scents, and animations … I loved it! We even crossed a flower marketâŠ
After all this, we ere very tired of walking, so we decided to take a taxi, which we were not able to bargain like usual đ but we did not care because we just wanted to go to our hotels.
Back to Khao San Road, we went for a splash in the pool. Pretty good! Huh Anne- Sophie ? đ And from there we decided to meet again later for a drink in one of the famous skyscraper in Bangkok to enjoy the view across Bangkok by night ! What needs to be just gorgeous …
And there … it was an experience , I must say at once very funny but frustrating nonetheless đ
So, it should be noted that I check the skyscrapers address in question and at the same time I had read reviews on trip advisor … the majority of comments insisted that there was a  » dress code  » to go to the bars … and they specified for the most part, the guys were not allowed to enter the bar when they were wearing shorts or open shoes , flip flops or other … so I told myself it is ok for girls, that should not be the same, as long as we are not wearing just a swimsuit đ
So I just put the only dressed up top I had đ
We take a taxi next to Khao San Road and indicate the address to the taxi driver who agrees to put the counter! Amazing! đ
Half an hour to reach the skyscraper which is a luxurious hotel with bar and restaurant at the top …
It appears at the entrance of the hotel that it had to be written on our heads, as the hostess down told us immediately « For the Sky Bar? 64th floor, the lift is this way. » The lobby is beautiful, with chandeliers, a pianist who plays on a piano and touti quanti …
We cross this beautiful hall and go up in the elevator to the 64th floor. We are really excited about the idea of a drink under the stars with Bangkok at our feet …
But now, when the elevator door opens … this is the drama! The hostesses looks kindly at us and then tells us that in fact there is a dress code here and therefore, because of our shoes we can not enter đ
Pfff … so here we are completely disappointed! Not really possible to go back to our hotels because it was half an hour drive to come…
We read the panel to be sure … but inevitably it does say, « We do not allow (…) flip flops and Birkenstock » and BINGO! Anne-Sophie is wearing flip-flops and I am wearing BirkenstockâŠso this is a damn shame!
There’s nothing to do … they do not make any exception …
We tried to look for shoes to buy in the neighbourhood … but everything was closed.
So we finally gave up and take a taxi back to Khao San Road … and this time of course, the driver refused to put the meter đ
Here we are… we drowned our misfortune in a beer and ate on Khao San Road. We then got a foot massage for consolation đ
That was my second day in busy Bangkok! The next day I go to Cambodia … Stay tuned đ
Retour donc Ă l’hĂŽtel et c’est lĂ que le petit plongeon dans la piscine sur le toit…c’est TOPISSIME!!! đ
 Un petit coucher de soleil en prime! Il ne manquait plus qu’une petite biĂšre đ mais on avait pas le droit de prendre des boissons Ă la piscine, dommage!
Mais voilĂ , lorsque la porte de l’ascenseur s’ouvre…c’est le drame! Le hĂŽtesses d’accueil nous regarde gentiment et l’une d’elle nous explique qu’en fait il y a un dress code ici et que de ce fait, Ă cause de nos chaussures nous ne pouvons pas entrer đ
Here I am, arrived in Bangkok and checked in in one of the hotel of Khao San Road !
The Hotel, Rikka InnâŠquite expensive one for Thailand, but there is a roof pool! And for this, youâre happy to pay little bit more! đ Rooms are clean and nice for the time youâre inâŠIt is very noisy until late at night but come on! Youâre on Khao San Road! So, you cannot expect silence here!
So, I will try to be quick because I have to catch up!
Khoa San Road is like I said in my previous post, this is THE road of Bangkok! And you must go there because itâs really a thing! It starts around 7:00 pm I thinkâŠand from this time, itâs going crazy until all bars close and even later onâŠbut I was already in bed!
Itâs little bit hard to explainâŠItâs just very busy and there are lots of bars with very loud music and people, more specifically tourists of course who are here to party but specially to drink!
In front of most of the bars, waitresses and waitress (often Lady Boys) solicit people to make them come, sit and drink in their bar, offering âvery cheap amazing and strong cocktailsâ and showing up with T-shirts saying âHere, we donât check ID!â.
There is also a lots of different to eat, lots of kitchen Tuk-Tuk selling Pad Thai and other Thai meals (Pad Thai is typical Thai meal: fried noodles with chicken, porc or shrimps and vegetables and lots of spices) and there is also the Special Grilled Insects Tuk-Tuk đ and this is funny! You can find from grilled grasshopper, big beautiful and fat cockroaches, worms larva , grilled scorpions and even grilled spiders⊠đŻ WellâŠI just took a photo and tasted the worm larva! Not just to die stupid  đ
When I was in front of this Tuk-tuk, there was that American guy who ate a big grilled scorpion đ YUCK! But there were also Thai people who came to buy a small bag of grilled grasshoppersâŠWell, for sure it is really the touristic thing but itâs pat of Khao San Road.
You can also find a lots of shops selling Thai clothes and more specifically Thai pants or others⊠There is everything for everybody and all prices!
Then, if you are a man and youâre walking in Khao San Road, you will have offers to have your own suited suit đ very special one! So apparently some guys solicit you and show you a catalog, but Oh! How surprising! In fact inside the catalogue itâs completely different thing! Youâve just been ask to attend a Peep showâŠSo I didnât try it of course but Iâve been said that it is a show where young beautiful Thai girls are making very special exploitsâŠmore specifically with their vagina for instanceâŠIâve been able to have a look on one of the list of these specials show and it was for example vagina bottle opening, or Ping-Pong pussyâŠamong othersâŠwellâŠeverything is possible in Bangkok! And I imagine that I didnât see half of what is possible of course!
You can also have a massage in Khao San Road, at Charlie massage, the one Iâve tested with Anne-Sophie, a French girl I met in Bangkok on my second day there.
Foot massage tested! GREAT! 30 or 45 minutes massage I think, from top of the calf til end of toesâŠGorgeous! And we even had a little extra neck and shoulders massage at the end! And I had a man who made massage đ
This street is very livened up until late at night with really bang bang very loud music, and all the young tourists who are walking around, less and less sober as time goes by đ
On trouve bien sĂ»r plein de boutiques de souvenirs et de fringues notamment pantalons thaĂŻ et autresâŠYâen a pour tous les goĂ»ts et pour tous les prix !
Donc, premier taxiâŠun bide total ! Le chauffeur me dit « no meter, no meter, 200 Baths »,je refuse et je passe au suivantâŠMĂȘme combat, mais celui lĂ il est malpoli en plus parce quâil me ferme la fenĂȘtre au nez ! Jâen essaye un troisiĂšme et puis lĂ je me dis je vais quand mĂȘme regarder dans le guide pour voir combien ça coĂ»te normalement le trajetâŠet lĂ âŠsorti de nulle part, un petit jeune thaĂŻlandais avec des binocles, me demande sâil peut mâaiderâŠalors je dis oui et je lui explique que les chauffeurs de taxi ne veulent pas mettre le compteurâŠet me demandent 200 Baths pour aller Ă Khao San RoadâŠIl me confirme que câest trop cher et me propose de demander pour moi ! Ma foi, pourquoi pas !
After a first flight of few hours, and a stop over in Kuala Lumpur and a second flight for about 1 hour ÂŒ , here I am in Bangkok Airport named Suvarnabhumi AirportâŠ
I booked the day before a hotel room in Khao San Road, with InĂšs advices (Thanks a lot by the way! itâs very good place!) for three nights. In the plane, I have read the South-East-Asia Lonely Planet to check how I can get to Khao San Road from the airport and I decided to make it with the cheap option, which was Airport Rail Link until Phaya Thai and from there to catch a taxi until Khao San RoadâŠ
So, no problem to find the train, which is in fact the equivalent of a rather modern and quite new RER (REGIONAL EXPRESS NETWORK)âŠ45 baths for the train (that is approximately 1 âŹ). So this it is the simple part after that it’s getting a little bit more complex but not that much finally!
I arrive at Phaya Thai and a young and kind Thai girl wonders where I want to go and indicate where I can find a taxi. Nickel!
I went in the street and there that swarms with cars, with people, with lots of smells âŠ
I have my big backpack on the back, my small backpack in the front and in front of me a street where cars move forward in slow motion, because traffic jam! I approach a first taxi and the driver opens the passenger window and I say  » Khao San Road please with meter? « , this is what was written on the Lonely Planet ⊠You need to ask the taxi driver to put the meter otherwise they make their own prices, which is often double đ
Thus, first taxi was a total flop! The driver told me  » no meter, no meter, 200 Baths « , I refused and I passed to the following one ⊠the same flop, but this one was even rude because he closed the window to my face! I tried a third one and then I told myself to have a look into the guide book to see how much does the route normally costs. Then, coming from nowhere, a small young Thai with glasses, wonders if he can help me⊠I said yes of course and I explained him that the taxi drivers do not want to put the meter and ask me 200 Baths to go to Khao San Road ⊠He confirms me that was too damn expensive and then suggests me asking for me! Well, why not!
He, then stops a taxi and speaks to the driver in ThaĂŻ and he asks me if he can come with me in the taxi! No problem! Since I go where I want to go and where the driver starts up the meter! No problem ! And hup! Here I am in the taxi, with my backpacks with me (because apparently we do not put luggage in the trunk of the car in Thailand :-/) and the young Thai who wears glasses next to me and especially the meter turned on! đ
In brief, finally, it was not bad arrival in Thailand! We discussed in the car, I asked him his first name but it was impossible to remember! Anyway very nice guy! We arrived at Khao San Road, verdict of the meter 69 Baths! I wanted to pay it all but the small young Thai guy in question insisted on paying 20 Baths and as I was not enough familiar with the currency, time for me to find a 20 bath note to complete the 50 one I already gave, it was too late, my friend already paid the driverâŠ
He accompanied me in front of my hotel! Tip Top the small Thai guy with glasses! We exchanged our emails and he told me that if I had the slightest problem I could contact him anytime! I took a photo of us in the end to have a memory! I contacted him by email two days later to thank him but I had no answer but I am not sure that he typed the good email address đ
In brief, it was anyway a good introduction for Thailand!
Then I settled down in my room and I took a good shower before going out again in Khao San Road, THE street of Bangkok where everything is allowed, at any rate in the evening!
I have to dedicate another post to Khao San Road! Click here to find out more! đ
After almost 4 months and a half, I was back underwater! JUST GREAT! Besides, it was with great people because I met Cathy and Serge, same place, same period, funny isn’t it?
I met them last year end of April also, we dived together with Atlantis few times and we stayed in touch and became friends! We had dinner together many times at the night market where we  ate Mahi-Mahi and especially laughed a lot! đ
So, one year later, we saw each other again, in Bali and we dived again together! 2 amazing dives of course, first Tulamben, Liberty wreck with its nice nook and hidden corners and its passages with lighting effects (click here to see some pics), with its many sweet lips fishes and moorish Idol…but also its millions of nudis of course, its little wild garden eels and its famous black sand!
Then, second dive at Seraya slope…I just love this dive site which is full of really small and weird critters, a macro paradise!
Cleaning stations everywhere, « owned » by tons of different shrimps, meeting point for morays eels and other fishes, like the emperor angel fish who are coming all for a complete cleaning session! I looove it!
Unfortunately, my camera doesn’t allow me to make great macro pics because I still dont have a diffusor for the flash, so I can’t really use the flash which is indispensable to make good macro pictures đ
I managed though to take a more or less suitable picture of my first hairy crab :-)! The guy is only 5 mm!
Anyway, it was really good to be back underwater!
"Si vous pensez que l'aventure est dangereuse, je vous propose d'essayer la routine…Elle est mortelle" Paulo Coelho