A Liebster Award for Lilirishtravels!

Another lovely travel blogger (check out www.padthaiandprozac.com) nominated me for a Liebster award; an award typically meant for new bloggers to encourage and further their success, but since she's new to my blog, and I am still eligible by level of followers. It's always wonderful to be recognised by your peers and I'm very grateful Jenn!

This award brings with it some conditions - primarily posting the award to your blog (here!!), thanking the person who nominated you and linking to their blog - see above, the witty, wonderful and sometimes weird ramblings of Jenn on www.padthaiandprozac.com (one of the best blog names in my opinion) and then the following:

Write 11 random facts about yourself
Despite being a water-baby and avid explorer, I have yet to earn my PADI. For shame. It's just something else to add to the bucket list.
My front teeth are no longer my own, having been knocked out in a scooter accident earlier this year.
I have overcome a phobia of rats by travelling and living in SE Asia.
I don't like walking for no reason - I'll hike up mountains, walk 9km home or run 26 miles to a party (some Irish will get this!) but I don't understand just walking in normal surroundings for no good reason.
I have a stork mark birthmark, on my forehead, which only shows up when I'm really upset and makes me resemble a creature from Alien.
I can't meditate. The closest I get to free-ing my mind is when wake-boarding.
I overcame my fear of heights on 10th February 2014 by jumping out of a plane at 15, 000ft. I enjoyed it far more than I thought and I will definitely do it again.
When I was a teenager, I toyed with the idea of becoming an aeronautical engineer.
I am pretty strong mentally but not as strong as people think.
I honestly see the best in people and it's hard to change my mind.
I prefer to spend my money on travel rather than anything else.

Nominate 11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers and you feel are deserving of this award:
11! Not sure I can! Here are the candidates who immediately come to mind:
www.goodbyevirginiahelloworld.com - I met Ansley whilst travelling in New Zealand and then again in Chiang Mai - her photos are wonderful and she's made me put some things on the must-do list.
www.marketofeden.blogspot.com I discovered this blog before I moved to Chiang Mai. Rather Asia-centric but very helpful and I like her style.
www.aprilinwanderlust.blogspot.ie I actually met April by chance after moving to Chiang Mai, but had read her blog previously. April takes great photos of her travels and she has some wonderful stories of her travels to share.
limesandstars.blogspot.ie Nickki blogs about food, products and lifestyle. She has some excellent healthy recipies and a great outlook on life.
I can't think of any right now. I will update this, also feel free to post your blog in the comments.

Answer 11 questions set by the person who nominated you:
Most hated song and why? Cotton-Eyed Joe. Isn't it obvious why?
Monsters Inc or Toy Story? This probably isn't fair as I've never seen Toy Story but I do love Monsters Inc.
5 Things I can't live without - Fruit - pretty much any fruit, I love it. Lip balm - again not picky on the brand. Something shiny - I wear costume jewellery all the time. Whatsapp - I communicate with my friend Lisa on an almost daily basis and she changes country often, I also use it for almost everyone else in my life. Music - To soothe, excite or just accompany, music does it all for me.
If I could only choose one, would it be living in extreme heat or extreme cold - probably extreme heat, I've already done that in Dubai.
Curry sauce or gravy on chips/fries - Curry sauce, never gravy.
Best hangover cure - A big dirty fry-up, OJ and tea.
Favourite place I've travelled so far - New Zealand. Astonishing and truly awesome place.
1 bottle of expensive bubbles or 2 cheap: 1 bottle of expensive, in this case quality not quantity.
Favourite movie as a child: The Little Mermaid.
Strapless bra or Halterneck - Strapless.
Down to your last ten dollars - what do you spend it on? A BLT or a glass of wine.

11 questions for those I've nominated:
How do you spend your average Sunday?
Favourite dish/food?
Best gig you've ever been to?
The longest you have ever stayed awake and why?
What does the last text/line/whatsapp on your phone say?
Do you know anyone who has been in prison - why?
Best restaurant you have ever been to?
What is number 1 on your bucket list?
Tell me something I can cook with less than 5 ingredients?
Where was the last place you visited?
Funny travel story?

On sleeping and a rough ride to Siem Reap

Sleep, or lack of, is very important to me, particularly when travelling. I always want to have the energy to do everything on the itinerary but I'm not 20 anymore so I can't go days without sleep. So some notes.....

Never, ever take a sleeping pill to grab 40 winks. You may find out you wake 4 and a half hours later and have missed something great. This happened to me in Phnom Penh, but more on that later. There are lots of corollary's to this however....
Don't ever take a sleeping pill or herbal sleeping aid before a night out, as you will likely be a little dazed and confused throughout the night and alcohol will not help.
Sleeping pills ARE actually super for napping on buses, trains, boats etc...just ensure your baggage is safe.
I also found them good for when you really do need to get some sleep (i.e physically demanding trek next day)
Valerian root is a good herbal alternative. Two of these and you'll be gonzo after about twenty mins... for at least 4 hours, even if you're a dreadful sleeper like me.

A well-travelled friend once told me how herself and friends used to lie perpendicular with their legs against a wall, the blood rushes to the head making it great for a quick nap. Whenever I think about her I can never get this image out of my head (4 girls in a hostel in India, asleep with their legs in the air).

When we left Koh-Rong we wanted to get to Siem Reap in the easiest manner possible. After our usual hour or two sleep, we got up and out of our hut (7am!), had breakfast a little further along the beach and then boarded our boat back to Sihanoukville, a little sorry to be leaving the paradise of the island. From there it was a minibus to town and we thought we might catch a bus to Siem Reap directly. We were wrong, even though it was only noon, it had already left. So hot, bothered and tired we decided to get a taxi. I may have mentioned this before but SERIOUSLY - Agree taxi fares in advance, say you will pay half first and half WHEN YOU REACH YOUR DESTINATION. April and I got nicely ripped off whilst on our way from Sihanoukville to Siem Reap. We said we would pay for a taxi the whole way {thinking it would save time and be more comfortable...ah the naivety of the little travelled}. We paid USD 130. This IS a rip-off. When your tired and realise you have probably about 7 hours of travel ahead, it seems a small price to pay. Our first taxi driver was on the phone constantly, he also didn't speak a single word of English. The A/C didn't work, as such I had guzzled 2 litres of water an hour into the trip and we were both soaked with sweat. Opening the window was infinitely worse as most Cambodian roads are dusty, and it was pretty humid outside too. We were unceremoniously dumped on the side of the road in Phnom Penh where another gent picked us up. He was very friendly but he was an absolutely chaotic driver and when it got dark we genuinely weren't sure if we would make it out of that car alive. There are no street lights on these roads, no railings and many places were flooded due to recent rains. We had two seriously near misses where he actually screamed, we landed (Yes, we had been slightly air-bound momentarily!) on the road and he laughed maniacally, telling us that had been close. April and I were actually holding hands at this stage. He also claimed many times that he hadn't been paid but I point blank refused to pay another cent. We had already paid 130USD for one taxi which had turned into two!! Also, rather than just get to Siem Reap we had to stop at a roadside restaurant for he and his friend to eat (oh yes, he also picked up a random friend on the way! Two girls with two men in a taxi in a foreign country at night, we were imagining the headlines). I just wanted to get there. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep due to the wild driving and also I badly needed the toilet. In Siem Reap he wanted to bring us to another hostel, a usual ploy of taxi and tuk-tuk drivers, but again I stood fast on the place we had booked. I am sure the man thought I was an awful bitch but I hadn't slept properly for 3 nights, hadn't had a proper shower in the same amount of time and we had been travelling from 8am that morning (We reached Siem Reap around 11.15pm). I cannot express our manic delight when we checked into Siem Reap Rooms.
http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Siem-Reap-Rooms/Siem-Reap/31747
 It was gorgeous. Set down a quiet street, it was pristinely clean, there were sandwiches available even though we had checked in late and the gruff owner Phil was so helpful to us.
I will never forget how April and I were nearly delirious with glee to discover that hot water came out of the fully functioning shower in our lovely, clean, spacious room. We were actually giggling as we washed our feet together and then clambered into huge comfy single beds for hours of interrupted sleep.

Wasps and Worcester

We took full advantage of the Cockliffe House breakfast on Tuesday morning before our road trip to Wales. There was a fire-engine outside but the fire officers assured us it was just a regular fire drill.
I got into the TransAm doing last minute checks of my handbag for the usual keys, phone etc. It was then I noticed a wasp on my lap. Gareth was just getting into the car when I let a blood-curdling scream out of me. He nearly leapt out of the car in alarm but I was straight out of the passenger seat, hysterical in the carpark. This garnered a few suspicious looks from the firemen mostly directed at Gareth, wondering what he had done to induce such a reaction! He coaxed me back into the car after awhile, I peered around anxious that another member of the wasp family would be back to greet me but I settled in. Gareth was a little in shock, given the fact I'd gotten used to the bushes beside the hotel populated with bees and we'd left the windows open on the two balmy nights we'd spent there which had encouraged a few long-legged spider friends to lurk around our room. Whilst he was settling me I saw a look of alarm pass over his features - I was about to berate him for winding me up, that this wasn't the place when he said ever so calmly "Get out, get out of the car,". Once again I leapt out shrieking, this time in tears. The wasp had been hiding in the T-bar of the car, awaiting my return!! Gareth managed to get the wasp out and stamp on him to death on the ground. It took a little longer to stem my emotions but eventually we took off on our journey. I was still shaking and hunched over; I have a full-blown phobia of wasps. He did his best to reassure me and after a bit even managed to have a little laugh about it with him telling me in loved me in spite of my crazy phobia.

We were speeding down the motorway, Gareth showing off about how the speedometer was off the mark in the TransAm and I drifted off to sleep for a bit in the heat of the summer sun (I wasn't allowing the windows open very much in case any other unwelcome visitors decided to appear). I woke up to a small explosion and the windscreen being completed flooded with an unrecognizable liquid....We quickly pulled in roadside and investigated. I, of course called Mum & Dad (although how they were likely to help, being in Ireland, I've no idea!) who said to call the AA, something Gareth was already doing. We had some fun with me steering the TransAm whilst he pushed (Fun for both given it's a HUGE old car) and sat on the side of the Motorway waiting for assistance. We were blessed with a beautiful day so I just people watched on the M5 in the hour and twenty minutes it took for the guys to arrive. I even had a read of Cosmo! There had been a mix-up with the AA, so the roadside assistance literally just towed us to the next exit, 1 mile away. After more communications with the AA we took a seat in the Three Pears Beefeater and decided no time like the present for a lunch break whilst they attempted to fix the ripped pipe (hence the over-heating and explosion). Unfortunately it couldn't be fixed, given that TransAm parts aren't exactly in the average AA truck these days but it meant Gareth could have a pint to ease the stress (and a vino for me!) and we climbed aboard the tow truck for the next leg of the journey.

After another little snooze we were informed that the driver could only take us over the border into Wales where we would make a change to another tow truck. I hadn't been told about the crossing of the Severn and it's beauty took me by surprise. On a gorgeous summer's day like we were experiencing I was surprised I didn't spot any wake-boarders! The stop was lucky in away as I got to freshen up a little before the final leg of the journey - it was over 8 hours since we'd left the hotel and I had a little bit to go before my first meeting with Gareth's family. I didn't want to arrive a stinky mess!! The last tow truck driver was a friendly man, full of chat about Wales and pointing out the sights. There were some tricky roads to manoeuvre coming to St Donat's but we passed through some quaint little towns and I could see the sea glittering in the distance. We eventually pulled up to St Donat's about 6.45pm, a little frazzled and at least 4 hours after expected and Gareth's Dad waved from outside the cottage as we disembarked, ready to meet the Cain family.