Going solo once more

I was more than ready to leave koh samui, but it was really sad saying goodbye to the Irish girls, Canadian guys and Adam as we had spent so much time together and had a lot of laughs and memories that I wouldn’t forget. However I needed to get myself back to Bangkok to apply for my Indian visa. It takes 10working days to process and once it was sorted then I could look to plan the next stage of my trip.

This unfortunately meant an epic journey back to Bangkok to accomplish this. I left samui at 2pm and got a taxi to the pier, then a ferry, then a mini bus that had to keep stopping on the roadside as it was making some dodgy noises, then a coach that picked us up at 7.30pm and took us to Bangkok at 5am.

Trying to sleep was very difficult but I was kept amused by the foreign man sat next to me. I’m not sure where he was from but he only had a small plastic bag with him for the whole journey. A few hours in he opened up the bag and inside was…… A block of cheddar cheese!he took a huge bite out of it then wrapped it back in cling film and put it away. Very strange. I had never considered cheese a necessity for a long coach journey before.

It ain’t easy being cheesy

Arriving to the city at stupid o’clock sleep was pointless as i wanted to be first in the queue
at the Indian embassy which opened at 8.30am. I made my way to the embassy on the other side of bangkok and put my visa in all fine, just now need to wait until 15th January to see if I have been accepted. I was now a walking zombie desperate for a shower and sleep but no taxi drivers would take me back as it was too far away. So I had to get an overground train for 1 stop then change and get an underground train the rest of the way. I then bartered with a grumpy tuk tuk driver to take me to my hotel and by 11am I was finally tucked up exhausted but pleased I had persevered. Fingers crossed I get my visa accepted after all that!

The next day I spent walking around Bangkok and taking it easy. I went for breakfast at a street restaurant in rambutri which is my favourite part of this crazy city. Much more chilled and out of the way of the busy market street stalls. I walked to this lovely park overlooking the chaoprayor river which was probably the coolest place to be on this hot clammy day. Reading my book and listening to the river boats go past it was really nice to be able to breathe in this bustling full on city. Over lunch I met this old English lady who was telling me of all the changes Bangkok has been through since she first came here in1976. It’s hard to imagine this place any quieter as it seems it has always been running on full speed.

Rambutri brekkie

Taxi anyone?

Doing the tourist thang

Finding a space to breathe

I sorted out my next part of my trip which is to go to northern Thailand until my visa (hopefully) is ready for collection. So I made my way to the bus station to get on coach for another 10 hour journey to Chiang Mai. There was no random guy eating cheese on this trip but the Thai man I was sat next to gave me his blanket as I was so cold from the air conditioning. He then proceeded to chat away in Thai oblivious that I didn’t have any idea what he was saying.We arrived at 5.30am to a very quiet bus station. Getting a taxi to the guest house (like a B and B) I was desperate for a shower and sleep in a proper bed, but had to wait until 8.30am for my room to be ready, I am now beginning to realise just how much waiting is involved in this travelling lark.

Crazy busy bus station

Goodbye 2012

For new years eve, the day was spent buying neon bright vests and shorts in preparation for the big full moon party at koh phangan that evening. We had booked a taxi to the pier and ferry across to the nearby island. Then it started to rain and by rain I mean full on tropical storm that meant the hotel lost all of its power, so after getting a cold shower in the dark we braved a taxi into town for drinks and dinner. The power on the other side of the street blew out and the rain was just not letting up. The guys ran to get us all multi coloured ponchos and we sat waiting for the taxi, we looked pathetic like four bright coloured soggy condoms, the taxi never came and we were told that because of the storm no boats were crossing the ocean.

Shopping for our neon gear

Being in koh samui was leading to go to the full moon party and it felt like everything was against us getting there. But this whole year has been a huge challenge so it made perfect sense for the last day of 2012 to not be an easy ride either. It did make me laugh thinking that waiting in the rain for a taxi to get somewhere for nye didn’t just happen back at home.

Getting ready in a power cut, little did we know the challenge ahead of us

So much love for my poncho

Waiting in the rain for a taxi…. I could be back in Manchester doing this!

So we got another taxi to the pier where we were told that certain speedboats were running. Wading up to my knees in the sea to climb onboard whilst still getting soaked from the heavens and putting on my life jacket we were told to expect a bumpy ride. 15 minutes later and feeling like I had just been on a theme park ride we got to koh phangan. Where amazingly it had stopped raining!

Keeping our spirits up in the downpour

Making our way to the beach walking past already drunk revellers in neon gear, Thai men selling buckets all along the street and music blasting out the only option was to join in and get in the party mood! We bought glow in the dark body paints and started painting each other in hearts and dots and 2013 all on our faces and arms. On the beach it was a scene I have never seen before. People were everywhere, all different nationalities dancing and drinking and having fun. We didn’t take cameras as had heard stories of pick pocketing or drunkenly loosing them which is annoying as I can’t share with you just how crazy it was. Apparently there was between 80,000-100,000 people all seeing in the new year on this tiny island.

The night was a blur of dancing and drinking and when I realised the buckets were maybe a little too strong (this was when I started being sick from my vodka and coke all down a palm tree but the queue from the bar was too long for me to get any water so I had to rinse out my mouth with the rest of the vodka and coke. Really classy) I made my way back to the pier to get another speedboat back to koh samui.

It was only the next day when I heard the awful news that an english party goer had been fatally shot, a few bars down the beach from where we were. I know this could happen anywhere in the world but it was so scary that it happened at such a friendly and happy place as I didn’t get the sense of any trouble. My heart goes out to the friends he was with and his family, and I just hope the police catch the killer. One of the Irish girls we were with had her handbag stolen including her iPhone, camera with 3 months worth of photos and money. She handled it really well especially when her friend gave us all a sobering thought that she may have left koh phangan without her handbag but that poor group of friends were leaving without one of their friends.

On the hunt for rude rocks

I wanted a nice day after fight night so I tagged along with the Canadian guys, Brent and Ryan, and hitched a ride on the back of their bikes to drive to the other side of the island. We had heard about these rocks that looked like male and female genitals that we wanted to see. Nothing like a bit of culture hey?!

In the need for speed

Trying to rock the motorbike chic look (had just woken up 10mins earlier!)

But getting lost en route meant we pulled up at a place that had ‘valentines rocks’, I figured this was the same place as they were hardly going to have huge road signs directing tourists to see a giant phallic rock. Turns out it was a completely different place and the ‘valentines’ rock was a heart shaped huge stone, much too lovey dovey for my fancy. They did have steps up to see the view of the part of koh samui we found ourselves in, lamai beach, so a very sweaty hike up this steep track we made it to the top overlooking this amazing view.

Yet another sweaty hike but worth the view at the end of it

Valentines rock…..not genitals

I hated pe at school, sporting ability has never been high on my agenda and I only joined the gym back home to grudgingly try and tone up before the wedding. No one wants to be a fat bride. After my relationship ended I lost quite a bit of weight through a huge loss of appetite but soon found solace in chocolate and crisps once more. Even before coming out here knowing I would be spending the majority of time in a bikini I just didn’t have the motivation to diet or hit the gym again. It felt nice just eating what I wanted and knowing that after a few bouts of Delhi belly I would be back to my original weight.

Since being out here I have never been so active. I didn’t realise how much walking, hiking, dancing and sweating I would be doing! My diet hasn’t been the healthiest but it has been a fraction of what I ate back home. The heat means there is no want or need for snacks as a cold bottle of water is all you are craving. If I was back in the uk right now I would be snuggled up with layers upon layers watching some christmas tv, stuffing my face with selection boxes, turkey sandwiches and copious amounts of mulled wine. My shorts have definitely got looser and my fitness levels have improved without me realising. Bonus!

Workout jungle hike style

For all my hating of koh samui there are parts of the island that are lovely. A place called bophut fishermans village has a laid back atmosphere with tiny bars and cafes dotted along small windy streets. I had this amazing tuna salad at a russian restaurant which has been one of the best meals since I have been here.

Nom nom

So unfortunately the hunt for the genital rocks never amounted to much, everyone we asked pointed down this long road but when we drove there the next people we asked pointed in the other direction. Oh well I suppose some things are just not meant to be!

From waterfalls to fight night

On Boxing Day it was time to say goodbye to this amazing island and head off to the next destination – Koh Samui. I was so sad to leave Koh Tao as it has been better than I could have imagined but we needed to be closer to where the full moon party was taking place on new years eve. We had to get a ferry to the island and then a taxi to the small hotel we were staying in. After an exhausting few days we just slept and tried to find our feet in this much larger and busier place.

The next day was Adams birthday so we went for a nice breakfast and decided to rent another motorbike, which cost £2 per day to hire! Back on went the dorky helmet and we drove round to see what was going on. My first thoughts were that this place is a dump. It felt like Blackpool on acid with bright trashy neon lights, so many shops, cars and people. There were Irish pubs, English bars and massage parlours on every street. A world away from the beautiful chilled out koh Tao. We both looked at each other and wanted to go straight back there, but we persevered and that evening met up with a group of Irish girls that Adam had met earlier on his trip in Vietnam for dinner and drinks. This was the first time in my trip that I felt under the weather, I was really tired, had a sore throat and was feeling very sorry for myself but it gave me a wake up call that I can’t be behaving like I am 21 again with all the partying and that I need to look after myself a bit more. A few days off drinking were definitely needed.

I also needed to give all my clothes a good wash. The good thing about wearing a bikini everyday means less washing but by this stage my clothes could have limped off to the nearest washing machine on their own. There are laundry stalls on every street that charge between 80 pence and £1 per kilo of clothes to wash, dry and iron them for you. It felt strange giving nearly all my clothes over to this pregnant Thai lady and not getting a receipt as if she lost them or ruined them then I would be trying out naturism for a while. But the next day true to her word all my clothes were ready and smelt like a summer meadow!

So fresh and so clean!

The Canadian guys followed us over to Samui and also hired bikes. Getting petrol out here means pulling up to one of many street stalls selling bottles of gasoline that cost 80 pence per litre for the seller to funnel it into your tank. We drove to a beautiful waterfall on the other side of the island and hiked up to get a better view which was such a good work out, we then swam in the warm water and spent time with elephants who were housed over there. I love elephants ever since seeing dumbo when I was younger and these were huge beasts especially up close. Stroking their trunk felt a bit like stroking a hairy Brillo pad and wasn’t the nicest feeling!

Thai petrol station

Fill her up

Definitely worth the heart attack hike

Don’t go chasing waterfalls

Swing over a waterfall sure why not?

That evening our new posse of Irish, English and Canadians headed out for an amazing Mexican meal complete with frozen margaritas. Then someone suggested tequila shots and a night club down a nearby alley, so maybe staying off drinking wasn’t going too well!

This club was a huge, open air bar with a tacky waterfall in the corner. Gangnam Style was blasting out of the speakers and everyone was very drunk but I just wasn’t feeling it like back on Koh Tao. So I left earlier and was debating a kebab from the stall on the over side of this alley when a fight broke out between a group of Thai men. They were smashing bottles on each other and throwing pool balls from a nearby bar. People were screaming and the kebab shop owner literally grabbed me behind his counter to avoid me getting hit. It was over as soon as it had started but I was really shaken up and realised that a shard of glass had fell on my foot as my flip flop was now covered in blood. I was now very sober and hated this place even more! Luckily the cut looked worse that it was and after giving the kebab owner a huge hug for saving me I grabbed a taxi and was happy to be back safe and sound in the hotel.

Welcome to the new posse!

The bright lights of Koh Samui

Mexican cocktails

Merry Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we all meet up at the dive club that the canadian guys are part of, as it was throwing a huge free BBQ on the beach then a bar crawl into the town later. With festive Santa hats, that I tried to co-ordinate with a red vest and denim shorts,the atmosphere was fun and very friendly.

We ate well then went to get buckets at the fish bowl bar, watch the fire show and dance the night away with a group of Thai teenagers who had some very interesting dance moves! At midnight everyone hugged each other and said merry Christmas to whoever was around them then back to the bar for more hugs and drinks.

The next morning me and Adam exchanged christmas stockings. The day before we had got each other little presents so we had something to open and popped them inside his socks hanging underneath the tv. He got me a lovely bracelet, lilo and a beautiful dream catcher as I had been having some very vivid dreams ( I blame the buckets). I got him a snorkel set, multi box of plasters for our mangled feet and a baseball cap with an A on it.

We dragged our hungover bodies to the beach and met the other guys to sunbathe and swim. I hadn’t given much thought to Christmas Day and how I would feel without being around loved ones back home. I figured that after following the same pattern for Christmas day for the past 27 years it would do me good to have a change. When I heard of friends driving round the country like maniacs trying to fit in seeing everyone and buying last minute gifts I knew I had made the right decision. Out here the only decision was what to eat and when. We decided not to go for the traditional turkey dinner as they wouldn’t make it as good as our families could so instead of all the trimmings I had a calzone pizza and a cold beer, which tasted so good. Shame I missed out on crackers and rubbish jokes though.

I knew when I quit my job, sold everything and left the uk that I wanted to be somewhere far away on a beautiful beach for Xmas day. I felt really proud that I had stuck to my guns and made that happen and I was having such a great time. Merry Christmas everyone!! Xx

Woo hoo Santa found us

Definitely not a white Christmas

The saddest looking stockings ever

Christmas Chang-over

Bar crawl on Christmas Eve

Back on the buckets but with more of a festive feel