Wednesday 27th February 2008

Me and Nikki woke up at just after 9am this morning and after getting our act together and leaving the hotel, we went for some breakfast. We were gonna go out to one of the large markets but it started to rain, so we just sat around and drank coffee. Even though it was just after 10am, the bloke sat next to us ordered... a large beer, a bowl of soup, a triple-decker toasted sandwich and a lasagna. His partner had a bowl of fruit!

The market we wanted to go to is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, so we decided to see some of the sights of Bangkok instead. We don't want to see too much, because we'd like to see it with Filer and Lisa when they get here in April - but we walked through Chinatown and down to some of the temples in the city. The first, called Wat Po, was pretty cool! When our guide was busy explaining something to us we noticed someone walking towards us and discovered it was Sebastian (from the Phang-Nga trip).

Sebastian tagged along with us, and after leaving the Wat Po temple, we went for some lunch down by the river before visiting the Royal Palace - which is much like Buckingham Palace in London... only covered in more gold! As a sign of respect for the King, you have to wear clothes of a certain length (although, i'm sure he would've approved of my Chicago Bulls vest had he seen it) and so we had to borrow some. I'll be honest, I was disappointed to have to give them back - I thought they were pretty dapper. Plus they definitely complimented my hair!

This evening me and Nikki collected our flight tickets and visas for Vietnam and then went for my second suit fitting. They work like lightning here - my shirt is already made and the trousers just need to be taken in slightly! Afterwards, we went out for a couple of beers and a meal before doing some shopping on the stalls close to our place.

Yippee! We're off to Vietnam tomorrow!

Tuesday 26th February 2008

We'd already arranged to travel back to Bangkok today, so after breakfast we just hung about the guest house - chatting with the other guests and playing frisbee. At just after 1pm our mini-bus arrived and we were soon on our way. We got back to Bangkok at just after 4pm and checked straight back into the Rambuttri Village. After storing our bags in our room and locking away the valuables, we hit the streets for a busy afternoon.

First, we bought ourselves some Pad Thai from one of the street vendors on the Khao San road - the food is AMAZING and just as good as any restaurant we've eaten in! Next, I decided something had to be done about my hair. I've not had it cut since October 16th - and that was the only time in almost a year. So, I did what any white wannabbe-rapper / K Fed loving bloke would do... and got it braided... ROCK ON! I've only done it to freak my Mum out when she arrives in Vietnam, but I kind of like it - it keeps my head loads cooler. Nikki won't tell me what she really thinks - she just laughs and calls me Cool-K (after Coolio and K Fed). Afterwards, on the way back to our hotel we stopped in a tailors and placed an order for a suit to be made. They took all my measurements and booked me in for my first fitting tomorrow.

This evening, we went for a walk in the opposite direction to the Khao San road and found a great little bar that sold cheap beer (the best kind) and was showing the film 'The Beach' so we went in. When it had finished, we stopped for some more food on the streets and then came home to bed... full, drunk and very, very happy!

Braids are only the start... I want DREADLOCKS next!

Monday 25th February 2008

We had a lazy morning this morning because we'd arranged to go on a trip this afternoon, but we weren't being picked up until about 1.30pm. After breakfast we took a walk down into the town and Nikki used the internet whilst I went off in search of an English news paper (i'd had a text from Wilksi saying that City had won again - and wanted to read about it). We got back to the guest house just in time to have quick showers before our mini-bus left.

The excursion we'd booked was to the Tiger Temple, which is about an hour away from Kanchanaburi. The place started off as a monastery for Monks, but wildlife started wandering into the grounds. Pretty soon they were taking in TIGERS that had been rescued from poachers. Now, every day, the tigers are released and the visitors can walk amongst them and pet them... we couldn't wait!

As expected, the tigers were HUGE! Luckily, they're fine with human contact because of their interaction with the monks and because it's really hot, they just veg out in the sun. Some people say they must be drugged, but when I was about to stroke one and he happened to roll over, I was pulled away pretty sharpish - so I don't know!

This evening we had some food in a restaurant closer to the guest house and then played frisbee on the huge lawn outside our hut, before relaxing in front of the TV. We got speaking to one guy, called Paul, who, when recognising that we were from Bristol, told us that his Dad was also from Bristol. He was born and raised in Horfield... but is a MAD Bristol City fan - Rock On Paul's Dad!

And for my next trick, I shall put my head inside this huge tiger's mouth... NOT!

Sunday 24th February 2008

We got up this morning and before catching our bus to Kanch- anaburi, we went for breakfast in one of the cafés close to our hotel. It was a British café and I had boiled eggs with soldiers and Nikki had Marmite on toast... Mmmmmm. When it was time to go, we collected our bags, checked out and walked round to the travels agents.

It took a few hours to get to Kanchanaburi, but when we arrived we were well impressed. I don't know whether the driver was on commission, but he only took us to one guest house, called Bamboo House. It didn't matter though - we loved it straight away! We were shown one of the available rooms, which was actually FLOATING ON the River Kwai, and we could see the famous bridge from our door. There were only a few rooms and the whole place had a lovely tranquil feel to it. We dumped our bags in our room (which was just a fan and a mattress on the floor) and then went for some lunch.

This afternoon we wandered up to the bridge on the River Kwai, which is probably the most famous part of the Death Railway. Before we got to the actual bridge, we had a look around the Jeath War Museum, which was pretty sad - reading about how all the POWs were treated and forced to build the bridge. When we'd finished, we took a walk across the bridge and, when we made it safely back to the start, we were surprised to see that a train was also trying to cross - even though there were people stood on the track!

Tonight, me and Niks took a walk away from our guest house and down towards the main centre of Kanchanaburi in search of food. We were glad we did - we found a cracking Indian restaurant and had a smashing meal. Indian food is quite expensive here (in comparison to the other food anyway) - but we thought we deserved it!

Yippee! Another Indian... aww, we miss Paprika!

Saturday 23rd February 2008

Our alarm went off nice and early this morning and we were soon walking along the long road back to the highway. We didn't stop anywhere for any breakfast. Instead, we bought some cereal and some yoghurt from a 7Eleven and ate them out of the box as we waited for a bus. The bus turned up at 9.30ish and we were soon heading for Bangkok.

As we got closer to the city, the first thing I noticed was that the sky had gone a greyish colour (I guess from all the traffic). We were dropped off at a bus station just out of town before catching a local bus into the centre. We got off the bus and didn't have a clue where we were heading - but we knew when we'd got there... one minute we were surrounded by Thai people and then after turning the corner, we were surrounded by people carrying backpacks. We were on the Th Khao San road... backpacker-ville!

When we were in Hua Hin, we'd met an older couple from Ipswich, called Jim and Trish, and they recommended a nice place that we thought we'd check out. It was definitely worth it - it was more like a hotel, with a pool and everything. After settling in we went to get our bearings and almost immediately we fell in love with Bangkok - it is one crazy place! There are people EVERYWHERE, selling EVERYTHING! We found a nice little travel agents and managed to sort both our visas and flight tickets to Vietnam - so that's good, one less thing to worry about (not that we were ever worried (he he)). We also booked a mini-bus to take us West to a place called Kanchanaburi (where the Bridge on the River Kwai is) for tomorrow.

No matter which direction we headed in to go exploring, we always seemed to end up back on Th Khao San road, which suited us fine - it's brilliant. We ate off loads of the food stalls down there - filling up on the pita bread sandwiches, Pad Thai noodles and spring rolls. We spent a couple of hours wandering up and down, looking at all the stalls and even went in some tailors to try and find ourselves a suit each.

Yay, Bangkok is gonna be fuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnn!

Friday 22nd February 2008

We decided last night that we would leave Hua Hin this morning and move onto our next place, which is called Cha-am. It's not far from Bangkok and means we can go a day early to sort out our visas. After breakfast we gathered all our things, said goodbye to our host, and then walked round to the bus stop. We'd been told that you can get a taxi to Cha-am for about 400 Baht, but the people at the guest house told us this morning that the bus only costs 20 Baht. In the end, it was no contest! The bus was pretty cool. It was just like an old bus from home, except it had a REALLY loud stereo - which was blasting out some funky music for the whole journey.

When we got off on the highway that runs past Cha-am, we didn't have a clue where we were going - so we just followed our noses and soon found the beach. We wandered along the front asking after a couple of rooms and then found one for only 200 Baht (about £3), which we snapped up straight away. We spent the rest of the morning walking North along the beach, and it went on for miles and miles - we even joked at one point that we were gonna be in Bangkok soon - it was that far! By the time we'd got back we were knackered so we gathered our beach things and went down to relax. After i'd done some reading and Nikki had had a snooze we played with our new frisbee... we're still useless - I even managed to hit some people today!

This evening, we went for a meal in a restaurant we'd seen that sold really cheap beer. When we walked past and seen that it was empty we felt sorry for them, but when we tried their food we understood why! Mine wasn't too bad, but Nikki's wasn't very good, so we finished our beers - ate as much of Nikki's as we could and then went and got some more food from one of the street hawkers. That, thankfully, was much better and Nikki loved it! Cha-am was actually pretty nice, it had the vibe of a good old fashioned seaside town - plus we enjoyed it because it could be the last time we see a beach before we visit Zoe in Weston-Super-Mare!

Bangkok... here we come!

Thursday 21st February 2008

We got up at about 8am this morning and, after checking out and then flagging down a taxi, we made our way over to the pier area of Mae Hat for some breakfast, while we waited for our boat. At just after 10am we got on the boat and were soon on our way to the mainland. The crossing seemed like it could be a choppy one, so I decided to try and get some shut-eye... it was a good job I did, because Nikki said it was crazy - and most of the people on board threw-up at some point. We had to laugh at one of the staff. Whilst the others were running around after the sick people, one decided to go out to the front of the boat for a cigarette. Once he'd rolled it and then lit it, he didn't bother coming back in - he just lay across everyone's bags and had a kip. The funny thing was - the bags were right in front of the main window - so EVERYONE could see what he was up to!

After making it safely to dry land, we waited in a place called Chumphon for a bus, which would take us the rest of the way to Hua Hin. The journey took a couple of hours - but the bus was quite comfortable, so it went quite quickly. When we got to our destination, we were met by a Dutch guy and his Wife from one of the local guest houses. Seeing as he was the only one, we decided to go with him to his place - called the Kings House. Believe me, it was anything but!

We were told we could have a 'lovely room - with two beds' and they made it out to sound amazing. Bless 'em, when we got there the room was smaller than a cabin on a boat - with a set of the oldest bunk-beds we'd ever seen! Also, the house was full of clutter, but It didn't matter, it's all part of the experience we told ourselves. We dumped our bags and then went out to explore. We tried looking for the beach but couldn't find it - and ended up walking the streets instead. When it started getting quite late, we decided to go for some food. Rather than eat in the 'touristy' places, we decided to go somewhere that was packed with locals. As we were waiting for our turn to be seated, we got chatting to another English couple and the staff asked if we minded sharing our table with them. We said we didn't and we all sat down to eat together. We're glad we did - they were great! They were called Kate and Rob and were from Blackpool. Kate said that her son had been traveling and that he loved it, so they loved listening to our stories. I think they thought we were quite brave when we told them we'd sold our house to come away... either that or crazy! We all got on really well, with them giving us some advice for Bangkok, which is always welcome, and then to round of a great meal, they paid for ours... jammy or what!?

Yippee! Free Meal... thanks Kate and Rob!

Wednesday 20th February 2008

When we were out and about yesterday, we discovered that Ko Tao is more of an island for people interested in diving. We weren't bothering with that this time, so decided we'd spend a day exploring the island before moving on tomorrow. We set the alarm for just after 7am and were up and out shortly afterwards for some breakfast. We were just about to go exploring when it started to rain... hard! So we sat in the same place we'd ate breakfast and had a couple of coffees. Once the rain had cleared we set off again.

Ko Tao isn't a very big island and we were soon halfway up the West-coast, back in the town of Sai Ri. We had a look around the shops, spent some time on the beaches and then stopped for some lunch. This afternoon, on our way back to our guest house, we tried walking along the coast - but got lost and ended up retracing our steps for quite a distance - in the end we'd walked for miles!

Before we got back we bought ourselves a little frisbee and spent the rest of the day on our beach playing. We were pretty useless and spent most of our time wading out into the sea to collect the stupid thing. When it started getting too dark to play anymore we decided to go to a little restaurant called 'New Heaven', which someone had recommended to us. The name was right - the place was amazing! It was set high on a cliff and had beautiful views over a small, private bay. It was made even more pretty by the huge full moon over head.

Stupid frisbee... how hard can it be?

Tuesday 19th February 2008

Before we start, I just want to say... TODAY WAS A NIGHT - MARE! But even when you have one of those in Thailand it's nothing like the ones at home, so i'm not going to moan. Our day started when the alarm went off at about 8am. I couldn't wake up, which was ironic because I just couldn't get to sleep last night. I think we finally dropped off at almost 5am. When I dragged myself out of bed and found Nikki sat on our balcony, I remembered where we were and everything was ok again. We went for breakfast and then hung around until 12pm, when a taxi took us to the pier at Thong Sala. Rather annoyingly (remember, i'm not moaning), we got to the pier at about 12.35pm and the boat had left a couple of minutes before. There would be others this afternoon, but they were more expensive... d'oh!

We got to the island of Ko Tao this afternoon and, once we'd collected our bags from the boat, we were bundled into a taxi. The taxi took us to an area called Sai Ri, where we didn't really want to stay - i'm not sure how we ended up there!? We had a look around anyway, to see if we could find anywhere to stay, but our hearts weren't in it and so we jumped into another taxi and headed to the South of the island to a place called Chalok Baan Koa Bay. Before we'd left Sai Ri, i'd rang a guest house and they said they had a 'lovely' room for only 600 Baht. When we arrived, they first told us it was 700 Baht, and then when we reminded them it was 600 they showed us two rooms. The first was crap and we said we'd have the second one (which was only slightly better)... to be told it was 2,200 Baht! Plus, neither were near the beach, so we said NO WAY HOSAY! I sat in their reception area while Nikki went off on foot in search of somewhere else to stay. We'd got off the boat at just before 3pm and it was now after 5pm... we were not happy (but still not moaning).

Super Wife came back after about 20 minutes and had found us somewhere to stay. It was a small place in one corner of the beach and only cost 300 Baht, which is the cheapest we've paid in ages... so things were looking up. Our bungalow is on a small hill and the views of the bay and ocean are brilliant! This evening we went out for some food in a small place before walking back in the dark and sitting in our little beach-hut having a chat.

We're meeting Mum and Pops in... 10 days!

Monday 18th February 2008

We woke up this morning nice and early, had some breakfast and then spent the rest of the day relaxing - splitting our time between the private beach and the lovely pool. The weather was really good - there was a nice breeze coming over the ocean that kept us at the right temperature.

We didn't leave our complex all day... we only got off our sun loungers to eat or swim and thoroughly enjoyed our last day on the island of Ko Phan Nang. This evening, we had a cracking meal in the restaurant. We both ordered Thai curries and they tasted amazing - especially washed down with a couple of beers.

Oh, Nikki said enough was enough today and made me shave. Problem is, i've now gone from looking like a fisherman that has been at sea for months (I was going for Tom Hanks in Castaway) to my hair looking like a young Jimmy Saville... 'Now Then, Now Then...'

We'll miss the Haad Tian Beach Resort - we're DEFINITELY coming back here at some point!

Sunday 17th February 2008

We woke up in our crazy little bungalow this morning with the sound of the ocean just outside our door. When we finally left our room, we went and had some breakfast and then decided to jump in a taxi and explore some of the island.

First we got a lift to the next beach along, which is called Haad-Yao. It was very nice along there, with more restaurants on the beach and people milling about. We took a walk back across the cliffs to see how long it took to walk to our resort, before jumping in the taxi again (they're free from our place to the next) and going back to exactly where we started. From there we jumped in a pay-taxi and travelled down to the port area of Thong-sala. We had a quick look around before being bundled into ANOTHER taxi and taken to the beach area of Haad-Rin.

Haad-Rin is the area where they have the 'world famous' Full Moon parties. We were expecting it to not be very nice, but it actually wasn't that bad. We started by getting some lunch, which was pretty good - and cheap, and then took a walk around the beach. It was definitely different here, with loads of young people on the beach - playing football or frisbee, but there was a good atmosphere! We're not gonna be here for a full moon party this month, but i'm sure we'll catch one somewhere else. Plus, if we don't, there's always the half moon or even black moon parties

We spent a couple of hours floating about and then caught a taxi back to the Thong-sala area. When we got there there was a huge market, full of hawkers selling the most amazing smelling food. One stall was selling these crispy bug things, but they only had one kind and I wanna try them all - crickets, grasshoppers, etc - so I left it till next time. When we got back to our place this evening we did a Skype call with June, Andy and Katie. We spoke for over an hour which made a change - plus it was nice to see Andy, because we've only spoke to him about twice since we came away... 10 months ago!

Full, Half or Black Moon... every day is a party in Thailand!

Saturday 16th February 2008

We'd already decided yesterday that we were going to be moving on today. Even though we're quite impressed with Ko Samui - and the Free House is great, we need to get to Bangkok by about the 24th, so that we can sort our Vietnam Visas in time for the 'Olds' visit on the 29th. We had some breakfast and then sat in the beach bar until about 11am, waiting for our taxi to take us to the port.

The boat trip over to Ko Pha Nang didn't take long - I think there's only a distance of about 15kms between the two islands, so we were soon getting off and wandering around the dock. The sun was shining and we couldn't really be bothered to spend our day looking for somewhere to stay, so when the first friendly guy with a decent looking place came along, we were happy to jump in his taxi.

We were told that the place we were being taken to, Haad-Tian Beach Resort, had it's own private beach - so we were quite looking forward to it, but when we were arrived we couldn't believe our luck. The place was AWESOME! It's got a great little beach, a massive pool and our bungalow is easily the best we've stayed in so far - plus we're only paying 500 Baht... bargain! We found that we had an open wifi signal here so we tried a Skype call with Mum and Keith. It was actually one of the best signals and we chatted for well over an hour.

Afterwards, as the sun was setting, me and Nikki went for a swim in the pool and the had some of the delicious food in the restaurant. On our way back to our room we stopped in the little reggae bar and had a couple of beers with the owners - Speedy and Chad - and that proved to be the perfect way to round off a great afternoon.

Thailand is fast becoming our FAVOURITE place... wonder how much a house is here?

Friday 15th February 2008

We couldn't get out of the Calm Beach Resort quick enough this morning after last nights rat episode. We ate some breakfast and then carried our bags back to the Free House who, thankfully, had room for us tonight. We decided that today would be our last on the island of Ko Samui - and figured we'd spend it doing nothing. We got our towels and our books from our room and then walked the 20 paces to the beach.

We spent all day on the beach - only leaving to eat. Although, when we got peckish this afternoon, we didn't even do that. Our host, Odd (who is brilliant) started bringing our food down to us on the sand. This evening we ate some more food down on the beach, but sadly Nikki didn't enjoy hers. She ordered a Jungle curry, which although VERY spicy was a little bit strange - so I finished it for her!

Thank God for Odd and the Free House - rescuing us from the rats along the beach!

Thursday 14th February 2008

We got up this morning and had some breakfast before hanging out in the bar for a couple of hours, using the free internet. We couldn't go too far because the Free House didn't have any rooms tonight and we had to carry our bags a couple of places along the beach to another guest house. We checked in to the Calm Beach Resort and then went out for the day. We thought we'd go to the most popular beach area on the island, called Chaweng.

On the way we stopped in a shop we'd not visited on our trip so far... we went into Tesco. It was just like at home and they even had a Boots in there too! We bought a couple of things (sun-cream etc.) and then moved on. We didn't know how far it was so we decided to walk the rest of the way.

It took us quite a while but we eventually made it and we're not sure it was really worth it. The Lonely Planet says that Chaweng has the best beach here, but it isn't a patch on the one we're staying at. The sand wasn't particularly nice, the sea was really rough - and it was packed! We walked along it anyway and then went out onto the streets. The streets were just like the streets of San Antonio in Ibiza and were not the traditional Thailand we were looking for. We spent a couple of hours wandering the streets and them caught a bus back to our guest house.

This evening we got ready and then went out for a nice Valentine's meal. We went back to the FreeHouse because the food was really good there last night. Tonight, I had shark and it was lovely - cooked on a barbecue on the beach. When we'd finished eating, drinking and chatting we came back to our room and the three of us sat down to look through the pictures on the laptop. I say three of us, because me and Nikki were joined by Roland... a small rat that came down through a hole in the ceiling into our room. We went to ask for help but when someone came to our room, we explained the situation and then he left, never to return...

D'oh! Three's a crowd on Valentines Day!

Wednesday 13th February 2008

Our mini bus was picking us up at just after 9am this morning, so we made sure we were up in plenty of time to pack our bags and have some breakfast before it arrived. When it did, we were driven to a place called Surat Thani - where we had to try and make our way to the Don Sok pier. From here we'd be catching a boat to the island of Ko Samui.

Most places offer bus-&-boat combo tickets to the island, but getting hold of one was pretty difficult - well, one for a fair price anyway. We were expecting to pay about 200 Baht, but were being quoted between 290 and 500 Baht. All the Thai people we were asking seemed to be in on some kind of scam - they didn't care who we actually bought the ticket from, just as long as we paid over the odds. In the end we managed to get a combo ticket for a fair price and were soon on our way to the ferry.

The ferry took a couple of hours and we were soon trying to find somewhere to stay on the island. We left the port and were approached by loads of taxi drivers, telling us that there we no public buses going to where we wanted to go (even though we'd not told them where we were going yet), and that we'd have to pay 600 Baht. It was a good job we checked with information - there WAS a bus, and it was only 100 Baht each. On the bus we got speaking to an older couple who had been to Thailand before and they recommended a couple of places in an area called Bo Phut. They made them sound really nice, so we figured we'd check 'em out. The first was full but the second (which was also the better one), the Free House, had room and we checked in. Our room is really nice, in one of the bamboo bungalows and is only a few meters from the restaurant and then the beach.

It was late afternoon by now, so we didn't bother going out we just hung around the bar and sat drinking next to the beach for the rest of the day. When it got late we had a meal on one of the tables on the sand. It was great - we had the music from the restaurant in one ear and the sound of the sea in the other... heaven!

After all the trouble getting here, it looks like Ko Samui might be worth it!

Tuesday 12th February 2008

When we were up and ready this morning we went down for some breakfast before going on a bigger trek through the National Park. We grabbed a map from the visitor centre and set off. Depending on how far you're willing to walk, there's a chance you can see wild birds, monkeys, elephants... and even tigers! Plus, they've got the biggest flower in the world in there somewhere!

The sun was really strong today and even though the trees provided shade it was pretty stuffy - but it didn't matter, the National Park was beautiful, with some lovely waterfalls and swimming holes. This afternoon we stopped at one of the waterfalls and ate some sandwiches that our guest house had prepared. In total we walked for 9kms and it was pretty hard going at times (because of all the hills) - but we felt pretty good afterwards. We came back to the guest house and after having showers, Nikki crashed out and slept for a couple of hours.

This evening, after Nikki had woken up and we'd had showers, we sat around chilling out and then went for some food in the guest house restaurant. Afterwards we went back to the reggae bar for some more beers. When we decided to call it a night, we came back to our room only to be greeted by the biggest winged insect we have EVER seen - it was like a flying cat or something. The thing was going crazy and when we tried to duck into our room it managed to get in. I tried telling Nikki that it had gone, but she was way too clever and made me find it and get rid of it. There was no way I was catching it (it would have easily overpowered me) - so I tried to flicked it away with my towel. After about 10 minutes, the stupid thing decided enough was enough and flew away... probably waiting for the next door neighbours to return home.

Sadly, we didn't see any tigers... or luckily - seeing as their wild!

Monday 11th February 2008

We woke up nice and early this morning, so that we could catch a bus on to Khao Sok, where there is a hugh National Park. We had some breakfast, packed our bags and then made our way down to the bus station. Luckily, there was a bus there that was just about to leave so we climbed aboard. The bus took us to a place called Takua Pa, where we had to change buses and catch another on to our final destination.

When we got to Khao Sok, we climbed off the bus and were approached by loads of people from the different guest houses - all trying to convince us to stay with them. One of the men had the strangest sales pitch EVER. Whenever he saw someone talking to one of the other people he would get angry and start screaming 'Why doesn't anyone want to follow the crazy f#@%ing local guy?'. Surprisingly, nobody went with him - but I can't think why?

We chose the Khao Sok Bungalows and they're great! They're run by a little family and our room is up on stilts, in amongst the trees. We have got fantastic views of the National Park and surrounding mountains. After dropping off our bags we headed up to the entrance of the park. It was getting quite late, so we couldn't go too far, but we did walk for a just over an hour deep into the trees.

This evening, we got ready and then went out to the reggae bar next door to our guest house. We had great fun, sipping beer whilst sat on the floor, listening to (more) Bob Marley. After a couple of drinks we came back to our place for some food and then went to another bar where they were having a party... Rock on!

Oh look, more of beautiful Thailand!

Sunday 10th February 2008

Last night, we arranged with the others to wake up this morning and watch the sunrise before breakfast. Me and Nikki set the alarm with the best intentions but, when it went off, we couldn't be bothered - so stayed in bed until it was time to eat. Clem and Yusuf had done their tour yesterday so we said goodbye and they left at 8.30am.

Our tour started with us taking the Long-tail boat along the network of rivers around the Phang-Nga Bay area, through the mangroves and to a series of caves in the limestone cliffs. Next we went out on to Andaman Sea - where there are 120 tree-covered, mountainous islands - it was very beautiful.

The day was spent visiting a number of the islands. On one of them we got to walk through a cave, which was pitch-black and incredibly creepy. Afterwards we sailed over to a tiny little beach where we sat and ate our lunch.

This afternoon, we visited the big one - the main part of the trip, we sailed to Khao Ping Kan, which is the island that was used in the James Bond film, The Man With The Golden Gun. It was really nice being able to walk round and spot the locations used in the film, but tourism has definitely cashed in and the whole place was packed! Afterwards, we sailed back to the Muslim fishing village to collect our things and were then taken back to the mainland.

Phang-Nga isn't very big but the next place we want to visit is a few hours away - so we decided to spend the night. We found ourselves a nice guest house and then went out for a look around. The main street is similar in size to Keynsham high-street, so once we'd walked up and down a couple of times we stopped for some food. We chose a small street-side café and the food was excellent.

If only I could've found somewhere to sunbathe nude... I could've been 'The Man With The Golden Bum'!

Saturday 9th February 2008

After packing our bags this morning, we decided to go out and find an internet café so that we could check our emails and also update the blog. We didn't bother eating any breakfast - and just had some tasty banana milkshakes instead. Afterwards, we returned to our guest house and collected our bags before walking down to the beach to try and find a bus. Luckily, one came pretty quickly and we jumped on - heading in the direction of Phuket Town.

The bus journey to Phuket Town was painful! First, as we drove along the beach front, the bus travelled at speeds that never went higher than about 3mph. Next, there seemed to be no limit to the number of people our driver was willing to pick up - i'm sure that towards the end there were some up on the roof with the bags! Finally, we made it to the bus station and we were soon on another bus - the time to a small place called Phang-Nga.

No sooner had we got off the bus at the bus station at the other end we found ourselves booked on an overnight tour. We went into a small Tourist Information and the lady convinced us that we should go on one of the tours they were offering... one that her husband and brother just happened to co-run! As it turns out - it was a tour we wanted to do anyway.

At 3pm we were taken by rickety old van down to the river, where we boarded a Long-tail boat and were taken to a guesthouse on a small Muslim fishing village, called the Koh Panyee Bungalows. Nothing surprises us about Thailand anymore so, when we found ourselves approaching a small village built behind a mountain - in the MIDDLE of the river, we thought nothing of it! The whole village was fantastic! It seemed like it could collapse at any moment - with the dock being made of small sticks that looked like they fallen from an old tree. Our tour of the Phang-Nga Bay is tomorrow, so we were left to do our own thing this evening. For some reason, I wasn't feeling too good - so I went for a quick sleep. I woke up just in time for tea - and me, Nikki and some friends we'd made - Clem (from France), Yusuf (from Turkey) and Sebastian (from Germany) sat on the dock, overlooking the river and ate two lovely curries - one sea food and the other chicken. We then spent the rest of the night talking about our trips so far. It was good, because the others had started in Bangkok and traveled South - so we were able to get some tips.

I hope our room makes it through the night - the floorboards have got bigger gaps than Weston Pier!

Friday 8th February 2008

When we got up this morning we went for breakfast and then took one of the small Tuk Tuks to another area of Phuket, called Karon. This place was much nicer than Patong - with a gorgeous beach - but still it was packed with mile after mile of sun-loungers. We took off our flip-flops and took a stroll along the shore. When we got to the other end, I lay on the beach reading and Nikki went for a swim in the sea.

After having some fresh fruit and a sandwich, we walked along the streets and on to another area called Kata - this was also much prettier than Patong, but still full of wrinkly old people who had been in the sun for WAY TOO LONG!

This evening, after spending a nice relaxing day at the beach(es) we shared a Tuk Tuk back to Patong with some other people before getting ready and going out for a meal. We only went to this small little place but the food was excellent - and the staff were lovely. It was a good thing we were in no rush, because half way through our meal, the heavens opened and we were subjected to the biggest downpour we've seen since getting to Asia! It ended at about the same time as we finished our meal, so we could walk back to our room without getting wet. To celebrate our good fortune, we shared a banana pancake we bought off one of the food stalls on the way.

Phuket is CRAZY! We need a holiday!

Thursday 7th February 2008

Our alarm woke us up at 7.30am this morning, because we were leaving Koh Phi Phi and needed to make sure our bags were packed in plenty of time to catch the boat at 9am... plus we couldn't wait to leave the hovel that was our room - it stank! We got everything ready and then went out for some breakfast, before collecting our bags and walking round to the pier.

As with every other form of transport here in Thailand, the boat ride was interesting to say the least. When we first boarded we went straight downstairs to grab a seat. Once everyone was on, the staff started bringing all the bags downstairs and then piling them on one side of the boat. I was sat on that side and the sea was slowly getting closer as the whole thing leaned to one side. We eventually took off and it was madness - we were traveling on a 30° angle - so we went and sat up on deck. At least then if the boat started to sink, we'd be the first off!

We safely made it to the port over in Phuket and the craziness showed no sign of letting up. There were what seemed like thousands of people all fighting for the attention of just a few Thai staff. Everyone was looking for transport and some were looking for accommodation. We waited until everything died down and then finally got our taxi - it was good to get a nice comfy seat at last. We didn't haven't anywhere to sleep tonight, but had decided to head over to the beach area of Pantong - so we had to ask our driver to stop at various places to find somewhere. In the end he was getting fed up so he dropped us outside a café and I had a drink while Nikki went round on foot. She found us somewhere, which cost 1000b (what a rip off!) and we walked on round. The room is actually pretty clean, so we didn't mind too much... although, it is above a launderette!

The rest of our day was spent exploring Patong - and the best way for us to explain it is... Blackpool on speed! It is definitely the Costa Del Sol of Thailand - with bright neon lights and more English people than Thai. We looked round all the shops and markets and then took a walk along the beach this evening. At one point we sat down on the sand and after about 15 minutes I noticed that we'd not seen any women for ages. It turned out we were sat outside a hotel full of the Beave's 'mates'.

Hmmmm, Phuket's going to be interesting to say the least!

Wednesday 6th February 2008

Our alarm woke us up at 6.30am this morning, so that we could catch another of Thailand's 'buses'. We were going back to the port - and then on to the island of Koh Phi Phi. Koh Phi Phi is the island where they filmed 'The Beach' (although, it was filmed on Phi Phi Lei - but everyone stays on Phi Phi Don). We were too early for breakfast, so we just sat in the reception area waiting. It turned up slightly late - and thankfully only three of us got in. That didn't make it any less ridiculous though... we drove at about 180mph! I don't know what you have to do to get a driving license over here - but you don't have to drive particularly safely... Wilksi would fit right in (ha ha). We made it to the boat no problems and were soon on our way to Koh Phi Phi.

I slept through most of the journey and when we got off we had to try and find somewhere to sleep tonight. We knew it was going to be tough though, because it's High Season here and there are thousands of people on Phi Phi. We did manage to find somewhere that we thought was reasonably cheap (900b, which is LOADS dearer than what we've been paying so far) and someone came to collect us.

Just to show how much our standards have dropped in the last ten months, we walked into the shittiest room we've ever stayed in... and didn't moan once - I just don't know what's happened to us!? We dumped our bags and went out for a walk. We explored all the small streets, looked through all the markets and then booked a tour for this afternoon. It was to take us to Phi Phi Lei, where we could visit Maya Bay - the place 'The Beach' was filmed! With that sorted we lay on one of the other nice beaches. The sea was gorgeous! Lovely and shallow, a beautiful turquoise colour and warm too.

At just before 3pm we went and caught our boat. It didn't take long to get to Phi Phi Lei and as we were sailing around, we made a couple of stops so that people could jump off the boat and snorkel or kayak. When we were all finished the boat moved onto Maya Bay. We've spoken to a few people who have really slagged it off - saying how tourists have ruined it with rubbish and how it's not worth a visit - but we liked it. It wasn't the most spectacular beach we've ever seen, but the setting was lush! The whole area was surrounded by huge, tree-covered mountains and they made you feel quite cut-off from the world! Me and Nikki explored the whole area - walking up and down the beach, and then off into the forest that's behind it - we had a great time!

We made it back to Phi Phi Don at just before 8pm tonight and, because we'd already eaten on the boat, we went out for a couple of beers. We found this really cool place, with lush comfy chairs and sat drinking. We overheard some people talking about the Tsunami and how Koh Phi Phi was totally destroyed. To be honest, it shows. Kho Phi Phi isn't a very pretty place. I think all the guest houses, bars and restaurants were knocked up really quickly to get the tourists back and then everyone just forgot about the rest of the island - it's all full of rubbish! The beaches are cracking, but as you move inland, it starts to slip!

So, that was THE beach... not bad I suppose!

Tuesday 5th February 2008

We woke up this morning and picked up where we left off yesterday... doing nothing! We took our time getting ready and then went and had some breakfast in the restaurant next to the beach. Afterwards we just chilled in our chairs and wrote some postcards, before planning the places we'd like to visit in Thailand before we make it to Bangkok.

This afternoon we took a walk out to the local shops - but couldn't really be bothered to walk much further, so came back and lay on the beach before going for a swim and then returning to the bungalow and lying in the hammock again.

Tonight, we went for a lovely walk along the beach and watched the sunset. Afterwards, we went back to the 'Why Not Bar', but this time after we'd had a meal. They weren't playing Bob Marley tonight, but it was still pretty cool all-the-same and we had another cracking time!

WE LOVE KOH LANTA!

Monday 4th February 2008

We were up in plenty of time this morning, because we'd arranged to move on to one of the islands South of Krabi - we were off to Koh Lanta! We had our breakfast and then sat in the reception of the guest house, waiting for our bus to arrive. When it had gone 10am and the bus still hadn't arrived, we started to get worried - but our host said it was fine, the bus had a couple of pick-ups to make. The 'BUS' did arrive, and we were surprised to find we were going to be taking part in a world record attempt - how many people and their bags can we fit in the back of a Toyota flat-bed truck? It was ridiculous! I made sure that Nikki managed to get a seat in the back - but I had to sit in the trailer part... with NINE other people... and all the bags. In total, there were FIFTEEN of us in the 'bus'! Luckily, we made it to the port both in one piece and on time and then we hung around waiting for our boat.

The ride South took nearly two hours and when we got off there was a guy from our new place waiting for us. We were bundled into another Toyota flat-bed thing (thankfully only five of us this time) and driven back to the Kantiang Bay View resort.

We were really impressed with the new place - it was right on the beach. Our room was one of the bamboo bungalows, which I thought looked great - but on closer inspection, it wasn't. In some places, the walls didn't even meet the floor! Oh well... it was only about 10 feet from the beach. For the rest of the day we didn't do anything! We just relaxed around our new home. We spent some time down on the beach and then when we got too hot, we went back and lay in the hammock hanging outside our door.

Tonight, we went into the 'Why Not Bar' which is part of our resort. It was amazing! They were playing great music - like Bob Marley etc. They were serving cheap, cold beer and me and Niks had a great time - chatting about our trip and the people at home - our Mums and Dads (and Step-Dad), our Sisters and our friends. Afterwards, we sat at one of the tables that was on the beach and shared a pizza.

Honey, I think we've found paradise!

Sunday 3rd February 2008

We got up nice and early this morning because, after our Tiger Cave excursion yesterday, we'd booked a tour which would take us to four of the islands down here in the South of Thailand. The bus picked us up at 8.30am and drove us over to Ao Nang beach where we caught our Long-tail Boat.

The first island we went to was called Tup Island, which was surrounded by beautiful clear water and amazing white sand. We were told we had about an hour-and-a-half on this island and were able to go snorkeling in the lovely warm water. The fish were brilliant and weren't at all scared of us. Some of them even attacked me - trying to eat the moles on my stomach! When our time was up we went back to the boat and made our way round to a nearby island, called Chicken Island (it's called that because one of the giant rocks looks like the head of a chicken). Some of the people on our boat did more snorkeling here, but I didn't bother because i'd cut my foot open on the coral at the last place.

This afternoon we went to the best island of the lot - one called Poda Island. In the spot where our boat landed there were quite a few people so, instead of eating our lunch there, me and Nikki took a walk along the gorgeous beach and found a secluded spot of our own. It was great to relax in the warm water and we didn't want to go back to the boat. On our way back to Ao Nang, we stopped on our final beach and visited the Phra Nang Princess Cave, which is a decorative spirit house (?). Me and Nikki had fun - we just climbed over all the rocks and up into the caves. Before it was time to go, Nikki had a paddle in the sea and then we got back on the boat.

After cleaning ourselves up, we went out for a lovely meal tonight... well, mine was nice - Nikki's was the oddest thing we have ever seen. She ordered a pork with pepper & garlic dish and when it came out it contained about 14 cloves of garlic... skins and all! I'd almost finished eating my Thai green curry before she'd finished picking all the skins out. When we got back to P. Guest House, our host helped us arrange some accommodation on the island of Koh Lanta for tomorrow - we've decided it's time to move on from Krabi Town, although we've had a great time here!

We've had a brilliant time in Krabi - I think we're going to enjoy Thailand!

Saturday 2nd February 2008

After two days of complete relaxation we felt like we needed some exercise today (yeah right... the beaches here rock!), so after breakfast and then taking our time to get ready we caught a bus to a place called Wat Tham Seua or Tiger Cave Temple. We'd heard different things about this place - but we still weren't prepared for what we got.

The Tiger Cave is a beautiful forest temple, that also has a famous hilltop shrine. The only thing was, to get to the shrine we had to climb 1,237 steps. It may not sound like a lot - but it was, plus some of them were about a foot high and only a couple of centimeters thick - it was literally like climbing a mountain. It took what seemed like ages to reach the top but it was totally worth it - the views were spectacular, and the shrine wasn't too bad either. For some reason it was just as tough climbing back down the stairs - but felt great to get back to the ground eventually. We shouldn't really complain though, apparently some people were attacked by the monkeys that live there on their way up!

We got back to Krabi Town this afternoon and tried to have a look around the shops but we were way too exhausted. Instead, we found a lovely little café, where we had some lunch and watched a film on their big TV. Afterwards we came back to the guesthouse for a well earned shower and rest before going out for some more food. Tonight we went to the local Irish bar and watched the footie on the TV.

Boy are we tired - it's back to the beach tomorrow!

Friday 1st February 2008

We woke up this morning and after our day at the beach yesterday, we quite fancied another day of rest and relaxation. So, after breakfast we walked down to the main road and caught a bus back to Ao Nang. Rather than spend the day there we decided to catch one of the Long-tail Boats over to another beach called Rai Leh. It's part of the mainland but, because of huge mountains, it can only be reached by sea. The Long-tail Boat was great fun - it was basically a rickety old boat but with a propellor attached to the back - it actually went pretty quickly. It was a beautiful day and the sea was lovely and calm, which was good.

It was cool over on Rai Leh. The sand on the beach was quite hard and wasn't particularly comfy to lay on, but... we soldiered on. It was getting really hot as the day went on, so we drank loads of water and sat in the shade - although the sand was much softer out in the open, so we tried to split our time between both (it's a hard life). As Nikki was starting to feel better, she was also starting to get her appetite back and so we treated ourselves to some corn-on-the-cobb which a little old lady was selling on the beach.

When we'd had enough sun for one day we made our way back to Ao Nang in one of the Long-tail Boats. The sea was much choppier than before and it was quite a hairy ride back - which took us quite close to the rocks at times. We decided we'd spend a couple of hours where we were instead of going straight back to Krabi Town and stopped in a bar for some cocktails. When we'd had enough and it was pretty dark, we hailed a bus and came back. The bus driver tried to drop us in a place we totally didn't recognise and when we showed him a little map of where we wanted to go he just stormed out of the bus and left us! He only came back when more passengers arrived. He did drop us where he should have and when we went to pay he made some obscene gesture as he snatched the money from us. He wasn't happy - so we jumped out of the road before he could run us down!

Another day, another beautiful beach in Thailand!

Thursday 31st January 2008

Nikki fell asleep pretty quickly last night so I turned all the alarms off to give her a chance to have a good nights sleep and wake up naturally this morning. We woke up just after 9am and she said she was feeling ever so slightly better. After the way she's been feeling lately, anything is good! We took our time in getting ready and then went for some breakfast, which she ate a lot easier than any other meal in the last few days. Nikki said she felt up to going out today so we walked to the main street in Krabi Town and decided to catch the bus to Ao Nang, which is a beach just out of town. I say bus, it was more of a flat-bed truck with two benches in the back - all the same it was great fun riding to the beach in!

Ao Nang beach was nice and we spent our day on the beach relaxing, walking around the shops and chilling in bars. The beach was very popular and people were coming and going all day via the Long-tail boats that pull up onto the shore. We decided not to go out on one today - incase Niks took a turn, but we will. After a very relaxing day, in which I think Nikki was starting to feel like her old self, we caught one of the buses back to Krabi Town, just as the sun was setting. When we got off the bus we used the internet in one of the shops and then came back to our guesthouse for some food.

Yippee! Nikki is almost back to her old self!

Wednesday 30th January 2008

I stayed awake last night and then had to wake Nikki up at 1am, with some dry toast, so that she could take her first course of the anti-biotics. After the first round of tablets she was feeling slightly better so hopefully she was on the mend. Afterwards we went to sleep and then woke up again at just after 7am to get ready and finish packing our bags. Our taxi picked us up at just after 9am and drove us to the Kuala Lumpur LCCT airport. He told us how he'd been a taxi driver for about 10 years, but dreamed of being a racing driver - and then for some reason (maybe he thought I was involved in F1 and he needed to impress me) he started driving like a maniac. Because he didn't speak very good English it was really difficult to ask him to slow down. On one such failed attempt he said 'No problem' and then turned the radio up! Thankfully, we did make it safely to the airport. On the way we passed the track where they stage the Malaysian Grand Prix. We were surprised he didn't pull off the road and put in a few laps before dropping us off.

We checked in with no problems and were soon on our flight to Krabi in Thailand. The Air Asia plane was really nice. I think it's Asia's version of EasyJet. It had big leather seats - plus the flight was only half-full so we were able to spread out without worrying about other people. When we landed, we passed through Customs and then headed straight to the information desk... we needed some accommodation! We found some we liked and were pretty soon catching the shuttle to town. On the way over we were shocked to see our first Tesco store in 9 months. Now I know they have one of them here, perhaps my Auntie Chris could come here for a (working) holiday!? We had a look around the area of our new accommodation, P. Guesthouse in Krabi Town, for a couple of hours and then stopped for some lunch (Nikki found normal porridge (poor little cow)) but it was hard for her to eat, as she still wasn't up to much, so we came back to our room to rest.

Another day, another country!

Tuesday 29th January 2008

Same as yesterday, the alarm went off at about 7.15am again this morning - but today we did get straight up. We had our breakfast and then walked round to the Twin Towers. It was only about 8.35am but there was already a huge queue. We did manage to get some tickets and had to come back at 11am. In the meantime we passed the time by looking around the huge shopping centre that is in the bottom of the towers.

When it got to 11am we returned to the gate and, after looking around the exhibition, made our way up to the 41st floor... and to the Sky Bridge. The Petrona Twin Towers are made of glass and steel and the views from the bridge were amazing - the whole building was incredibly shiny. Because of how many people like to go up to the Sky Bridge, each group of 12 people are only allowed 10 minutes up there... it was worth it though.

This afternoon we had a Burger King in the shopping mall before walking over to the Aquarium (which is also in the tower complex). We spent a couple of hours looking around - not just at fish and other sea life, but other animals and plants. Afterwards Nikki was feeling worse than ever so we came back to the hostel. Later on things were getting pretty bad and so I went out to try and find a clinic or someone who could help. There was one not far away so I went back for Nikki and took her round. The doctor told her she had some sort of stomach virus and gave her a mountain of various tablets and anti-biotics. When we left, we were crossing the road when all of a sudden Nikki started to throw up everywhere. It wasn't very pleasant, and not just for Nikki but for the group of Japanese tourists who were boarding a bus at the exact same time... d'oh!

The Doctor had told Nikki she could eat something plain like porridge or dry bread. She asked at our hostel reception if they could help and they said they could - did she want chicken or fish porridge? Nikki was disgusted and said she wanted normal porridge with sugar, they looked at her like she was crazy! Dry bread it was then.

Hope Nikki's better tomorrow... we're flying to Thailand!

Monday 28th January 2008

We set the alarm for 7.15am this morning, because we'd heard that to climb the famous Petrona Twin Towers (formerly the world's tallest buildings), you have to start queueing for tickets at 8.30am - it wasn't all bad though, they were free. Setting the alarm so early did no good at all. For one, we hit snooze and didn't bother getting up and then, after breakfast, when we did make it to the towers - we found that they were closed on Mondays... d'oh!

While we were in the area we had a look around the shops. Like Singapore it was shopping mall after shopping mall. After a while we caught the monorail to the bus station, before catching a bus out to the Buta Caves. From the street, you have to climb 272 steep steps up into a series of caves. The caves are quite religious and contain different temples and apparently some Muslims carry huge ceremonial items to the top, which must be very difficult - we struggled with small bottles of water and the camera.

When we got back to the city, Nikki started to feel worse than ever so we took a slow walk back to the hostel and Nikki spent the rest of the day in bed... poor Nikki.

It's ok, before setting the alarm early again I checked, the Petrona Twin Towers ARE open tomorrow!

Sunday 27th January 2008

The alarm went off earlier than we needed it to today, but we weren't taking any chances - we had a bus to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to catch! We left our hostel and before long we were up at the Golden City Complex waiting for our coach. After changing what little Singapore money we had left into Malaysian Ringetts we got on board. We'd only booked the standard coach, but it was quite luxurious actually with nice big comfy seats - it was a most pleasant journey indeed! It was quite funny passing through customs and across the border into Malaysia - there was nobody about - there was no fuss at all - not like an airport.

When we rolled into Kuala Lumpur, the first thing that struck us was how crowded it was - it was packed with cars and people. We managed to flag down a taxi and came straight back to our hostel - Pujannga Guesthouse. When we'd dumped our bags in our room we went straight out to explore. The guys on reception gave us a useless map, which we could make no sense of, and so we headed for the only thing we could see over the Kuala Lumpur skyline - the KLM Sky Tower.

We've been up a couple of sky towers on this trip and this was definitely the best value for money. All the others cost about £20 to go up to the Observation Desk, whereas this one only cost RM20... about £3 - plus the view was brilliant. We imagined Kuala Lumpur was just a big city but it was actually surrounded by hills, mountains and green national parks. When we'd finished up the KLM Tower we walked into town and shared a Subway sandwich, but then Nikki started to feel a little bit funny so we walked back to the hostel to relax.

Tonight we did a Skype call with Mum and Keith, which was nice because it was our first for a while - so we got to catch up on the gossip from home, as well as fill them in on our stories. They seem to be getting quite excited now... they fly out to Vietnam in just under 5 weeks - yippee!

Moooorning Malaysia!