Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Koh Tao to Bangkok
After relaxing in Kho Tao the last few days, which mainly involved snorkelling, massages and just chilling on the beach (and be being harassed by a cat that liked me) we headed for Bangkok - A 10 hour boat & bus journey which someone got seasick on, but SHE will remain nameless! Arrived in Bangkok and went to our usual spot. We managed to get one of the limited number of seats left on the bus going to Chiang Mai (or so we were told), the bus doesn't run on the 31st and the 1st. We headed out to this cool bar that just had these young wild thais in it and a thai band. We were the only 'falang' in there for a while. The band were playing really good music, but it was in Thai so didn't understand much of the song..until they started playing The Cranberries song Zombie..RANDOM! They had us up dancing and everything, the place also had the best Thai Green Curry I've had so far here...It's been along day!
Monday, December 27, 2010
A year of beer!
A year of Beer.
I always write about the places I see, the sights we see and the people we meet, but I decided to put this appreciation thread for all the lovely drink I've consumed over the past year :) . Apologies to my liver!
- comments on drinks (e.g Guinness) are based on the how it tastes in the country it's consumed.
Australia:
I was never much a beer fan until I arrived in Australia, some tasty stuff here.
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Tooheys New - A favourite of mine, nice taste, easy to drink.
Tooheys Extra Dry (TED) - My favourite for a long time but misses out to New in my opinion.
Carlton Draught - My drink of choice when there's no Tooheys available.
Carlton Dry - Not for me!
Carlton Cold - Otherwise known as Cold, the cheapest carton of beer in the "Bottle Shop" Tastes just OK.
XXXX - Cheap and Cheerful, but not my favourite by a long shot.
Pure Blonde - Low Carb beer - Not a fan of it, SHIT.
VB - Victoria Bitter or Very Bad as I like to call it, which should tell you exactly what I think of it.
Boags - Tasmanian beer thats not a bad sup.
Crown Lager - Premium beer thats tasty but not worth the extra dosh
Heinken - even worse then the piss we sell in Ireland.
Carlsberg - Same as above, wouldn't give it to a sick dog.
Guinness - Generally pretty bad stuff, but the odd Irish pub serves a middle of the road pint
Bulmers - The English one, not to be confused with the Irish one, tastes the same as home.
Magners - Tastes the same as home, draught and Pint bottle.
Strongbow - Comes in 3 flavours can't remember them but not a fan of sweet cider.
Wine & Spirits.
Wine - I can't remember every brand I had, but in general any wine I've had in Australia has been tasty and well defined...both white and red.
Bundaberg Rum - The best rum in the world in My opinion!
New Zealand:
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Tui - Very nice beer and easy to drink.
Extra Cold - Best beer in NZ, but not available in alot of places.
Extra Gold - Nice beer that would be just a cut above Tui.
Monteith Dark Lager - More of a stout, comes off draught and tastes similar to Guinness from a bottle
Monteith Apple Cider - Tastes like Bulmers(IRL), infact probably better if your were to push we
Guinness - A couple of decent pints over here, much better then anything I was served in Australia
Wine & Spirits
Spirits - Nothing comes to mind spirit wise, but the teapots in Queenstown were good!
Wine - Again don't remember every brand, but strangely enough I think they are marginally better wines produced here then Australia...Apples & Oranges to be honest.
Malaysia
Most expensive place for Beer in SE Asia
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Tiger - Available in Big ass bottles, tastes the same as home.
Jaz - Best Beer in Malaysia but hard to find.
Skol - Awful stuff, but cheap.
Panda Lager - Served in a baby blue can with a Panda on the front, this beer is 12% and I can safely say the worst I've ever tasted.
Cambodia
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Angkor Beer - The Best beer by a long shot and cheap as chips at 50cents (US) a bottle.
Anchor Beer - Very cheekily uses a similar name to the countries most popular beer, but a decent sup all the same.
That's it your not spoilt for choice here unless you want the familiar: Tiger, Heineken and Carlsberg, which I don't bother with.
Wine & Spirits:
Mekong Whisky - Tastes more like rum but at US$1 a bottle you can't really argue!
Vietnam
I don't think I got a bad beer in this country! Fair play to the Commi's!
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Beer Saigon - I'd forgotten about this one, but it hits the spot for the bargain price of under US$1.
Nha Trang Beer - One of the cheapest beers around if you can find it, similar to Beer Ha Noi.
Larue Beer - Hoi Ans finest...using a Tiger as the logo as well...I suppose imitation is the greatest form of flattery
Festival Beer - One of Hues own brand, very tasty
Huda Beer - 60 US cents gets you one of these bad boys, serious good bang for the buck
Beer Ha Noi - 75 US cents gets you this top notch beer, some establishments charge more for a coke!
Halong Beer - We only found this in one spot at Halong Bay, can't even remember what it tasted like, so it obviously tasted OK!
Wine & Spirits:
Dalat Wine: The red is maybe drinkable, but the white is awful - very Oakey taste to it.
Vodka (Saigon) - Not sure what brand I had but I'd imagine paint stripper tasting better!
Vodka Hanoi - The closest thing you'll get to Smirnoff here and a steal at $3 a bottle.
Laos
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Only one beer to mention here: The King of SE Asia...Beer Laos
Beer Laos - Price is between 8,000kip to 12,000kip, but the general price is 10,000kip (US$1.20)...Really good beer.
Wine & Spirits:
You ALWAYS have to accept a drink in a Laos Household otherwise you'll risk offending the house spirits...like they need t
o twist our arm!
Lao Lao Rice Whisky - 50% to godknows what depending on who's brewing the stuff..as close to Poitin as you'll get, definitely one that'll put hairs on the chest & start the car at the same time.
Black Horse Whisky - 50 US cents for a massive glass of this stuff, but I'm afraid it's down the sink is all its fit for.
Tiger Whiskey - Just over $1 will get you a bottle of this stuff..not a huge fan of it, but at worst you can use it as a dettol substitute.
Lao Vodka - Another cheap and cheerful US$1.50, haven't tasted the stuff yet it's sitting in my bag for a special occasion.
Thailand
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Chang Beer - You either love it or you hate it...Personally I love it and it's price tag!
Singha Beer - The Premium beer, a wee bit more expensive then Chang but definately won't break the bank.
Leo Beer - Awful weak stuff, avoid!
Wine & Spirits:
Samsong Whisky - Another Rum thats called a whisky but tasty when inserted into a sandcastle bucket with some coke & redbull...YUM!
..
I always write about the places I see, the sights we see and the people we meet, but I decided to put this appreciation thread for all the lovely drink I've consumed over the past year :) . Apologies to my liver!
- comments on drinks (e.g Guinness) are based on the how it tastes in the country it's consumed.
Australia:
I was never much a beer fan until I arrived in Australia, some tasty stuff here.
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Tooheys New - A favourite of mine, nice taste, easy to drink.
Tooheys Extra Dry (TED) - My favourite for a long time but misses out to New in my opinion.
Carlton Draught - My drink of choice when there's no Tooheys available.
Carlton Dry - Not for me!
Carlton Cold - Otherwise known as Cold, the cheapest carton of beer in the "Bottle Shop" Tastes just OK.
XXXX - Cheap and Cheerful, but not my favourite by a long shot.
Pure Blonde - Low Carb beer - Not a fan of it, SHIT.
VB - Victoria Bitter or Very Bad as I like to call it, which should tell you exactly what I think of it.
Boags - Tasmanian beer thats not a bad sup.
Crown Lager - Premium beer thats tasty but not worth the extra dosh
Heinken - even worse then the piss we sell in Ireland.
Carlsberg - Same as above, wouldn't give it to a sick dog.
Guinness - Generally pretty bad stuff, but the odd Irish pub serves a middle of the road pint
Bulmers - The English one, not to be confused with the Irish one, tastes the same as home.
Magners - Tastes the same as home, draught and Pint bottle.
Strongbow - Comes in 3 flavours can't remember them but not a fan of sweet cider.
Wine & Spirits.
Wine - I can't remember every brand I had, but in general any wine I've had in Australia has been tasty and well defined...both white and red.
Bundaberg Rum - The best rum in the world in My opinion!
New Zealand:
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Tui - Very nice beer and easy to drink.
Extra Cold - Best beer in NZ, but not available in alot of places.
Extra Gold - Nice beer that would be just a cut above Tui.
Monteith Dark Lager - More of a stout, comes off draught and tastes similar to Guinness from a bottle
Monteith Apple Cider - Tastes like Bulmers(IRL), infact probably better if your were to push we
Guinness - A couple of decent pints over here, much better then anything I was served in Australia
Wine & Spirits
Spirits - Nothing comes to mind spirit wise, but the teapots in Queenstown were good!
Wine - Again don't remember every brand, but strangely enough I think they are marginally better wines produced here then Australia...Apples & Oranges to be honest.
Malaysia
Most expensive place for Beer in SE Asia
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Tiger - Available in Big ass bottles, tastes the same as home.
Jaz - Best Beer in Malaysia but hard to find.
Skol - Awful stuff, but cheap.
Panda Lager - Served in a baby blue can with a Panda on the front, this beer is 12% and I can safely say the worst I've ever tasted.
Cambodia
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Angkor Beer - The Best beer by a long shot and cheap as chips at 50cents (US) a bottle.
Anchor Beer - Very cheekily uses a similar name to the countries most popular beer, but a decent sup all the same.
That's it your not spoilt for choice here unless you want the familiar: Tiger, Heineken and Carlsberg, which I don't bother with.
Wine & Spirits:
Mekong Whisky - Tastes more like rum but at US$1 a bottle you can't really argue!
Vietnam
I don't think I got a bad beer in this country! Fair play to the Commi's!
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Beer Saigon - I'd forgotten about this one, but it hits the spot for the bargain price of under US$1.
Nha Trang Beer - One of the cheapest beers around if you can find it, similar to Beer Ha Noi.
Larue Beer - Hoi Ans finest...using a Tiger as the logo as well...I suppose imitation is the greatest form of flattery
Festival Beer - One of Hues own brand, very tasty
Huda Beer - 60 US cents gets you one of these bad boys, serious good bang for the buck
Beer Ha Noi - 75 US cents gets you this top notch beer, some establishments charge more for a coke!
Halong Beer - We only found this in one spot at Halong Bay, can't even remember what it tasted like, so it obviously tasted OK!
Wine & Spirits:
Dalat Wine: The red is maybe drinkable, but the white is awful - very Oakey taste to it.
Vodka (Saigon) - Not sure what brand I had but I'd imagine paint stripper tasting better!
Vodka Hanoi - The closest thing you'll get to Smirnoff here and a steal at $3 a bottle.
Laos
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Only one beer to mention here: The King of SE Asia...Beer Laos
Beer Laos - Price is between 8,000kip to 12,000kip, but the general price is 10,000kip (US$1.20)...Really good beer.
Wine & Spirits:
You ALWAYS have to accept a drink in a Laos Household otherwise you'll risk offending the house spirits...like they need t
o twist our arm!
Lao Lao Rice Whisky - 50% to godknows what depending on who's brewing the stuff..as close to Poitin as you'll get, definitely one that'll put hairs on the chest & start the car at the same time.
Black Horse Whisky - 50 US cents for a massive glass of this stuff, but I'm afraid it's down the sink is all its fit for.
Tiger Whiskey - Just over $1 will get you a bottle of this stuff..not a huge fan of it, but at worst you can use it as a dettol substitute.
Lao Vodka - Another cheap and cheerful US$1.50, haven't tasted the stuff yet it's sitting in my bag for a special occasion.
Thailand
Beer, Cider & Stout:
Chang Beer - You either love it or you hate it...Personally I love it and it's price tag!
Singha Beer - The Premium beer, a wee bit more expensive then Chang but definately won't break the bank.
Leo Beer - Awful weak stuff, avoid!
Wine & Spirits:
Samsong Whisky - Another Rum thats called a whisky but tasty when inserted into a sandcastle bucket with some coke & redbull...YUM!
..
Sunday, December 26, 2010
St Stephens Day
Happy St Stephens Day...We left Kho Phangan after a relaxing 8 days here, more importantly our resort (Haad Tian Beach Resort) I can't fault it one bit, well maybe the staffs taste in music! But credit where credit is due everyone always had a smile on their face and the staff couldn't do enough for you. So a big thanks to Dang, Sow Elzanne, Joe the Driver, The Guy who says KAP alot and the Guy with Dreadlocks (sorry I'm not good with remembering names), and the rest of the staff...you're all a credit to your industry. So off on another ferry to Kho Tao this time, only 45 minutes or so it says...45 minutes equates to over 2 hours in Thai time! Arrived at the island an headed to the Sairee Beach area, with no booking we were winging it I minded the backpacks and Tina went off for half an hour only to come back empty handed, I found out before she came back the fancy resort (which we assumed would be expensive) had a bungalow for 400baht ($12) it was great but only available for 1 night, so feck it we took it anyway...so let that be a lesson don't assume anything! I met an Irish guy who lived here for 9 years I was easily identified by my Dublin jersey, he said he hasn't seen an Irish person in weeks and now there's drives of us here!
So now all the chaos is sorted, what better thing to do then have a swim in the ocean, have a chang and watch the sunset...we had the nicest curries (nice and spicey) so far across the road from the resort.
(Pictures of the Room and Bunglaow are Haad Tian Beach Resort, Koh Phangan)
So now all the chaos is sorted, what better thing to do then have a swim in the ocean, have a chang and watch the sunset...we had the nicest curries (nice and spicey) so far across the road from the resort.
(Pictures of the Room and Bunglaow are Haad Tian Beach Resort, Koh Phangan)
Saturday, December 25, 2010
A Koh Phangan Christmas
Nollaig Shona.....A mild disaster at the start of today..we went out for lunch and I realised I didn't have enough money so had to leave tina in the pub and drive back 20 minutes each way...I did meet an interesting English woman on the way back hitching a lift, she hopped on the back of the bike and we had a chat on our way into town. A roast dinner was on the cards and we knew of an Irish and English pub both serving roasts, we went to the Irish pub (The Harp) and in the true spirit of Authenticity the roast was nearly double the price of the English pub (The roast was over $20), that and there wasn't one Irishman to be found in the place, and the pub itself wasn't anything special. We went to the Mason Arms and had a turkey roast, it was so good 4 hours later we got another 1 to share. I had my first Guinness here in 3 months and it was a decent sup, I got a nudge off someone with a Dub accent asking me what the Guinness was like, the pub had a load of Irish in it, not surprising given the greed of the Irish pub. I headed long before the Queens speech and when I saw the David Beckham poster in the jacks I knew it was time to leave! We headed back to the resort and made our calls to friends and family and at this stage Christmas day was nearly over....Enjoy the snow folks and I'll enjoy the Sun for now!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Kho Phangan
We got a kayak today and it made an interesting journey...and lots of bickering, We took the kayak to Haad Salad for lunch and I had a delicious green curry for breakfast! We ventured to the next beach where we noticed the canoe itself had little holes in it and began to fill with water in the middle of the ocean, we'd travelled a good 20minutes before things started to go titanic on us! We turned around and got here to land OK..so the rest of the afternoon was spent by the pool and we hiked to Haad Yao beach later to have a beer while watching the sunset, there was 2 businesses setting off fireworks, very interesting technique of light and run!..A few of the rockets failed to launch so big explosions on the beach!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
"The Hangover"
Laziest day ever, not feeling too rough today but certainly could be better, a dip in the pool was a god send...not much else happening today!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Koh Phangan - Full Moon Party
Full moon party day is upon us and boy is it going to be messy! We had a pretty lazy day and headed to the full moon party around 11 o'clock but not before getting painted up and polishing off a Whiskey bucket at our resort. We headed to the other side of the island to Haad Rin and a short while later we were among whiskey bucket vendors as far as the eye could see, burning skipping ropes and awful dance "choons".. I wasn't braving the burning skipping rope or fire hoop after the tubing incident, so I sat it out and supped my bucket instead :) , everyone seemed to watch in anticipation for someone to injure them selves, we saw countless people get the burning rope in the head and other places, including the rope wrapped around one guys leg...ouch!.
Watch the beautiful full moon shine over a crowd of people pissing in the sea, I'm surprised the ocean isn't yellow today! Got myself a bite to eat, some fried chicken as could as the stuff you get coming home from a match in Croker.
We got home in the wee hours of the morning with a few taxi changeovers and other messing, the police shined a torch in the back of the tuk tuk, obviously looking for someone with drugs to get some extortion money, their time might be better spent on the beach where I was offered drugs about a hundred times! The full moon party is good craic, the music however was the spoiler of the night for me (Father Ted comes to mind: "It sounds like somebody drilling the wall"), I expected at least one place to pump out some Reggae music or something different, but sadly I couldn't find one :( .
Watch the beautiful full moon shine over a crowd of people pissing in the sea, I'm surprised the ocean isn't yellow today! Got myself a bite to eat, some fried chicken as could as the stuff you get coming home from a match in Croker.
We got home in the wee hours of the morning with a few taxi changeovers and other messing, the police shined a torch in the back of the tuk tuk, obviously looking for someone with drugs to get some extortion money, their time might be better spent on the beach where I was offered drugs about a hundred times! The full moon party is good craic, the music however was the spoiler of the night for me (Father Ted comes to mind: "It sounds like somebody drilling the wall"), I expected at least one place to pump out some Reggae music or something different, but sadly I couldn't find one :( .
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