Thailand
Bangkok
Our last night on tour ended at Ko San Road in Bangkok, famous for it's beauty and peaceful atmosphere.
We were effectively smuggled into Thailand from Cambodia after paying a shifty Thai man $10 each to take us across the border avoiding a 3 and a half hour queue. Apparently his uncle was an immigration official who would stamp us in- for a price- so we could avoid queuing. Nothing like a bit of corruption to get us on our way. A small price to pay, especially when the border crossing between Cambodia and Thailand is like being in a giant bin left out in the sun- it looked like the inside of a bin and smelt like being in a bin.
After leaving our group, the congestion of Bangkok's roads and the eagerness of any taxi driver to try and rip us off was a rather disappointing reality to being a tourist in Bangkok. So
we spent most of our time in the big shopping centres with all of the home comforts including a cinema playing limited films in English, a Dunkin Donuts, a baskin robins and a KFC. I also had my iPhone fixed (it was broken by our former Vietnamese bicycle salesman Mr Tee) by a man that took 1 minute to do so and only charged £10.
We did indulge in some of the local traditions, Amy had a manicure and pedicure in the local salon. while I had a massage for £2.40, the main difference being, I was accompanied by the Lady's pet Rabbit and I was told to stay and sit down when I tried to leave (after 20 minutes we both realised it was a misunderstanding)
All in all we didn't do much.
Phuket
Karon provided one of the highlights of our journey so far. Whilst lying on the beach I witnessed a young, rather large, rotund English couple who were new to the beach unwittingly sprint into the sea of which everyone else was weary -due to the huge waves and strong current. As soon as they reached the first wave, they were both flattened and the girl emerged bottomless. Neither could stand up and in the commotion she also ended up with a nose bleed. Obviously this would be devastating if it happened to us and it shouldn't really be funny. But we couldn't help but laugh.
For some reason there are many Russians in Karon, possibly more so than in Russia. and they all wear cowboy hats.
We took a trip to Phuket Old Town. We decided to catch the '1 an hour' local bus which stopped just outside the town and were shipped into a "free taxi" and then transferred into somebody's car at which point we were certain that we had been abducted. however, the journey was free, the only price we had to pay was the time we spent looking round two souvenir shops.
Krabi - Ao Nang
The journey from Phuket to Ao Nang via ferry was amazing! These are some of the views for as far as you could see across the Ocean.
Unfortunately the 14hour visa-run from Ao Nang to the Malaysian border did not offer quite so much beauty. Uncomfortable would be an understatement, a non-English-speaking driver misinformed us as to the duration of the journey- drastically! It is safe to say the not knowing of when it was going to end, with a dwindling supply of food and water, broke us both.
Luckily for the next few days we made the most of the luxuries on offer; unlimited supply of delicious Thai food, unlimited supply of banana chocolate pancakes from the banana pancake lady and an unlimited supply of massages on the beach-with free pineapple!
The attention to detail with the folding of the towels won us over straight away. They must have known Elephant shapes are the quickest way to our hearts.
This beach was lovely but what you don't see is the Monkeys waiting in the trees for somebody to walk past with dinner. We witnessed a family of monkeys ambush a couple's picnic and sit out of reach while they gorged. (we did have pictures of this incident but they were lost somehow.)
We also spent some time collecting shells along the beach. This guy (pictured right) took it too far deciding to trap a hermit crab in the hopes that it would escape leaving its home (an immaculate shell). Instead the crab made the ultimate sacrifice deciding to die inside the shell. Rather problematic for Tim but as he had already taken the life of this poor creature he persisted to eventually remove the remains from the shell, which now resides with his niece Ruby back in England.
Koh Phi Phi Don
If you haven't noticed by now the majority of pictures feature beaches and/or island.
That's what we enjoyed most about Thailand.
With only cold water, plenty of mosquitos, electricity between the hours of 6am-6pm and only a fan for a coolant. This meant we definitely made the most of the beach as once that fan went off we ran the 10 steps to the sea to catch the sunrise. It also allowed us to observe hundreds of skittish crabs move fearfully across the sand, we never did see where they were trying to go.
We took a day trip to Koh Phi Phi Ley- the set of the film "The Beach", Maya Bay and some Lagoons in the area! The camera could not nearly capture how truly amazing the sea was!
The sand was so white I couldn't help but roll around in it!
Tim feeling close to Leo.
We went snorkeling with the tropical fish in the lagoon.
The beauty of the sea, the crystal clear waters and the fact that from the boat I could see exactly what was in there meant I overcame my fear of the sea!
I even went snorkeling for the first time!
At first we felt abit too secluded from Tonsai Port which was where it all seemed to be going on and our beach could only be accessed via longboat. So, we decided to undertake the 1hour long trek from Relax beach to Tonsai. The words an uphill struggle could never be used more aptly! It was horrendous! In flip-flops and our swimsuits we were attempting to tackle the unpaved jungle. The natural beauty of the jungle setting and monkeys watching us from the surrounding trees perhaps wasn't fully appreciated in the 30+degree heat. But when we eventually reached the viewpoint the view was worth it.
Unfortunately, coming back Tim and I got separated- mostly because I wanted a banana pancake. When we were finally reunited we faced the difficult trek back to the resort at dusk. As it got darker walking back through the jungle became more dangerous and the inability to see the creatures lurking in the surrounding bushes made the noises even more frightening. We had heard of snakes surrounding the resort and the monkeys were the least of our worries. Neither of us spoke the whole way back.
At first I feared this was to be my first encounter with a tarantula...
...But it was just a sneaky little crab.
There were a lot of staff working at our resort but during the day they just seemed to lie down, play boules and watch Thai boxing. I think they were enjoying it as much as we were.
Koh Lanta
After much pleading I finally allowed Tim to risk both of our lives so he could ride a moped and with strict speed instructions it turned out ok.
The gasoline costing 40baht (80p) could be found along any roadside in wine bottles.
We managed to drive more than half the island in 30minutes and this is just one of the deserted beaches we came across along the way...
We also discovered a cave somewhat of a tourist attraction, it was dark inside, with water inside and if you paid you could go for an hours walk to the cave, swim inside the dark cave in the dark water. We turned around.
Moments before I attempted my first ride on a moped- resulting in the bike and myself being buried in the sandbank had Tim not come to the rescue it would have been in the sea.
We learnt in Koh Lanta that when Amy is in a mood because we can't escape the midday heat, nothing cheers her up more than an open top truck of elephants driving past whilst having our dinner. Kind of like the coca cola Christmas advert.
Washed up coconuts along the beach gave Tim the opportunity to impersonate Tom Hanks in Castaway...Tim wouldn't have survived.
'Long beach' was also the widest beach we had visited and also the least populated.
Amy thought it was "Lucky that the sun was shining exactly where we were sitting"
Koh Lipe
Lipe was our favourite of all the islands. It is a tiny dot between Thailand and Malaysia, it had no roads, no cars and only one 'walking street'. Also, all the shops seem to be owned by the same man.
You know how in films where the nerdy guy likes a girl and then he thinks she waves at him but she's actually waving at the person behind him... well Amy decided to this awkward interaction a new habit. throughout Asia this happened three times, the most embarrassing of which happened in Koh Lipe where she thought this person that she'd never seen before was giving her the peace sign. He wasn't.
In contrast to the island, the hotel we stayed in was the worst so far. What made it worse was that the owners knew it... but they didn't really care. It did mean we spent as much time as possible out of the room, so we really got to explore the island.
After chatting with the locals on the beach one night, we were told that the natives are born, they work and they die on the island. He also admitted that he was proud of living in paradise. A statement which was not echoed in our response.
This is one of the the biggest human beings in the world, it might not look like it because he's sat down, but trust me.
We bought a waterproof phone case so that we could take pictures when we were snorkeling. Sometimes, it was hard to see which way the camera was facing and so provided some interesting photos.
Since Amy has found a new love of the sea, we booked an all inclusive full day of snorkeling around different islands for £8 each.
"Trust me, it's paradise. This is where the hungry come to feed, for
mine is the generation that searches the globe for something we haven't
tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the
unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay your welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? it's probably worth it" - Leonardo DiCaprio
