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APRIL 2015: OVERVIEW: I flew directly to Siem Reap, Cambodia from Bangkok. I spent the whole 14 nights in the central area of Siem Reap and visited the temples of Angkor. CROSS REFERENCES: For more information, read my post on Siem Reap. Click here to read about Retirement Locations in this country. Click here for detailed Travel Information and more Travel Budgets in this country. Read About – GRANDPAcking Costs if you don’t know how to interpret my figures. SPREADSHEET SUMMARY: ACTUAL COSTS: Accommodation: My accommodation included in-room WiFi and a free breakfast in a guesthouse / hostel with a pool and a restaurant / bar. Food: Typical food […]

Siem Reap – Cambodia – GRANDPAcking Costs

APRIL 2015: Click here to read our Retirement Review. ARRIVAL: I used CHEAPFLIGHTS.COM to book a flight from Bangkok directly to Siem Reap International airport. The flight took 1 hour and we landed at 2:30pm. Arrival cards were not given out in flight. Instead we were given 3 forms as we disembarked the aircraft. This meant that everyone was competing for the limited writing table space outside the customs hall. The 3 forms were (a) an arrival / departure card (b) a customs declaration and (c) a declaration about your general health. A lot of information needed to be triplicated across […]

Siem Reap – Cambodia – Information

APRIL 2015: THE ANGKOR PLAN: The first day that I got my bicycle, I cycled from Jasmine Family Hostel on Highway 6 up Sivatha Road (parallel to Charles De Gaul) to the corner of Angkor Wat. I had no ticket, so I was stopped and denied entry. They told me to go back and get my ticket on Charles De Gaul. I cycled back down Sivatha home to my Hostel. I have an S1 prolapse and a trapped nerve in my back (that affects the right hand side of my right leg and foot – and can send my leg muscles into cramp […]

Angkor – Cambodia – Mad Dogs and ...

APRIL 2015: OVERVIEW: Bangpli (or Bangplee) is a south eastern suburb of Bangkok. My trip to Bangpli was all about finding out what it would be like to be a GRANDPAcking couple in Bangkok’s suburbs. I have done a few postings on Thailand: go to SEARCH POSTS and enter Thailand. Bangpli is much the same so, in this POST, I will concentrate on the differences. TRAVEL MONEY: As you would expect, there are Banks and ATMs everywhere in Bangkok and its suburbs. Getting money is not a problem. I sought out an ATM that had the THB30,000 maximum and withdrew […]

Bangpli – Thailand – Information

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MARCH 2015: OVERVIEW: My costs start at Kuala Lumpur airport and include: Travel from KL to Melaka 8 nights in Melaka Flight from Melaka to Penang 12 nights in Penang My costs end at Penang airport (where I catch my flight to Bangkok). CROSS REFERENCES: For more information, read my post on Penang. Click here to read about Retirement Locations in this country. Click here for detailed Travel Information and more Travel Budgets in this country. Read About – GRANDPAcking Costs if you don’t know how to interpret my figures. SPREADSHEET SUMMARY: MY ACTUAL 1 PERSON BACKPACKING COSTS: Accommodation: I was unable to find suitable […]

Penang – Malaysia – GRANDPAcking Costs

MARCH 2015: Click here to read our Retirement Review. OVERVIEW: Penang is an island off the north west coast of mainland Malaysia. As it is a former British colony, most people can speak English. The locals are friendly and it is the country’s number one tourist destination. Its capital ‘George Town’ is walk-able and is also a UNESCO-listed historic site. Today, Penang is one of the most colourful and multi-ethnic communities in Asia nestled within one of the most modern and liberal Muslim countries in the world. PRICES: Prices are negotiable but, since prices generally start at a fairly reasonable level […]

Penang – Malaysia – Information

FEBRUARY 2015: OVERVIEW: I flew directly to Krabi via Kuala Lumpur (KL). Starting with a couple of days in Krabi, I headed up the coast to Ranong on the public aircon bus (7 hours), took the speed boat out to Koh Phayam (30 mins), stayed 2 weeks in Koh Phayam, returned to Ranong by speedboat, caught the public aircon bus down to Khao Lak (4 hours), stayed in Khao Lak a few days, then caught the public aircon bus back to Krabi for  a couple more nights before flying back to KL. CROSS REFERENCES: For more information, read my post on Khao […]

Andaman Coast – Thailand – GRANDPAcking Costs

MARCH 2015: Please note that I have included the videos in the main posting Andaman Sea – Thailand – Scuba Dive Liveaboard. PICTURE GALLERY – COURTESY OF JESSICA & JEFF: Why not REGISTER to stay up to date with our Postings and Retirement Reviews.

Andaman Sea – Thailand – Scuba Dive ...

MARCH 2015: OVERVIEW: This charming city is a UNESCO world heritage site, with a rich trading history and multicultural heritage. The good part about Melaka is that almost 70% of the major attractions are within a 1km radius… you can walk to them and, more or less, do them all in 1 day. TRAVEL MONEY: At KL airport, I went to a CIMB ATM and inserted my card. It was immediately rejected as an ‘invalid card’. I went to an RHB ATM and inserted my card. An attempt to withdraw MYR1350 (just under NZ$500) failed. MYR1300 also failed. So did MYR1200 […]

Melaka – Malaysia – Information

FEBRUARY 2015: YOU SAVE YOUR LIVING ALLOWANCE: So, you are GRANDPAckers and have been retired (say) in Langkawi for a few months now and saved up most of your NZ$38 / day LIVING allowance… Or, this could just as easily have been Gili Air where you have saved up most of your NZ$43 / day LIVING allowance… You have saved up for 3 months and saved a total of at least NZ$2,500 / US$1,875 / €1,500 / £1,250. That means that you managed to save NZ$28 / day. Let’s face it, you haven’t had to suffer much… even your ‘costs of existence’ […]

Andaman Sea – Thailand – Scuba Dive ...

FEBRUARY 2015: INTRODUCTION: Khao Lak is one of the more expensive places in Thailand — expect, for most things, to pay double what you would pay 30-50 km away to the south in Phang Nga Town or to the north in Takua Pa. The largest number of resorts, restaurants, convenience stores and travel companies are found both on Phet Kasem at the centre of town and along Nang Thong beach itself. Nang Thong is the true centre of the Khao Lak area. The region hosts many resorts, scattered chiefly among three main urban areas, all containing businesses identifying themselves as “Khao Lak”. […]

Khao Lak – Thailand – Information

FEBRUARY 2015: OVERVIEW: To read about Arriving in Koh Phayam click here. In contrast to Malaysia, when you land in Thailand you land back into a more dis-organised, less- structured world where things just some-how happen. People drive using ’the force’ and don’t necessarily obey the rules of the road. On the islands, English is spoken widely and you can generally get understood – by both the locals as well as the tourists.   KNOW THIS FIRST: The minimum wage in Thailand isn’t much different from that in Indonesia (see my write up on Gili Air for more details). Having said that, islands like […]

Koh Phayam – Thailand – Information