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Hello all!
I have just arrived from Phuket after spending two days in Phuket Town and two days in Patong
I went to the philatelic (old post office) museum (because i am cool) and visting lots of little cafe/bistro/art galleries/book shops etc... -i felt incredbily cultured indeed- followed by a quick vist around old town as it has very beautiful buildings.
Then i went all the way up to the northern national park and did a little jungle treking in the rain and climbed up to see the Bang Pae Waterfall- at the top i met my new friend from the US Erica.
We then travelled back down to visit the Gibbon Rehabilitation centre- it is proper serious about the rehabilitation so you don't get to see much of the gibbons as they are trying to distance them from humans so they can be released back into the jungle/rainforest terrain.
The centre itself has lots of horrible stories about how these poor animals ended up there and some of the horendous things they have been to. A lot are to scared or impared to ever be released so will have to stay at the scentre for the rest of thier lives. After being emotionally black mailed i bought a tiny little gibbon key ring for 60 baht!!! i was fleeced! but it is all for a good cause- but is now considered my most prized travel possesion!
After jungle exploring i headed all the way down south to the Aquarium which was AMAZING! i do generally have a soft spot for fish (shut up glen) and you could walk through one of those tube tanks you can see all around. But what really topped itoff was the turtle hatchery. I have never seen so many baby turtles in my life! they were so cute! Well worth the trip down there.
My next visit was to the zoo- unfortunately this was not such a happy experience. Firstly it cost me a fortune to get there and to get in then all the time you get pestered to have your photo taken with all the animals for even more money!! The conditions the animals were in was not too fantastic but what made me really cross was the photographers and the shows. The photographers would rile up the animal by poking it with sticks or shouting at it -the tiger, for example, would rore making a 'good' photo and people were paying money for this!!
Then the shows, the elephant show wasn't too bad as they were displaying their inteligence more than making then upset or hurting them but i am sure no elephant really wants to stand up on its nose or pretend toplay a musical instrament.
The monkey show was aweful- dressing these poor animals up in stupid outfits and then making them pose for a million flash photographers to blind their poor little eyes.
Then the worst by far - the crocodile show! Literally two men poking the crocodiles with sticks so they snapped their jaws and got all angry at them- i left pretty early in this show as i thought it was cruel!
So yes folks - i wouldnt really reccomend Phuket Zoo - go to bangkok zoo the animals arewell looked after there!
After Phuket Town i headed over to Patong Beach on the west coastand yes it is as crazy as people make it out to be! Our first night (Erica had followed me over from phuket town and i met with Lauryn and Tom who i had been island hopping with the prevous week) we accidentally stumbled into a pole dancing/strip bar and didnt really realise untill we were attacked by semi naked women.
Then our second night - after spending the whole day on the beach recovering from the night before everyone decided we should have a big night as i was flying back up to bangkok the next day so it would be our last night all together. We started at a bar called factory and indulged on their happy hour beer and two for one cocktails then met these two brothers who had vip tickets and free drinks for two hours so they happily supplied us with the rest of the alcohol for the evening.
We then (after running in the rain) went to catch the lady boy burlesque cabaret - which was actually amazing even though it sounds terribly tacky! I could not believe these women were actually oys! fried my brain. At the end of the show we got talking to some of them and the one ladyboy explained (in probably too much detail for the faint hearted) how she had had her opperation to have her bits changed.
We then carried on drinking untill about 5am - which at the time seemed like a good idea untill i had to get up at 7am to catch the bus to the airport! after many hung over and emotional goodbyes i caught my flight (from the correct airport!) from phuket to bangkok - which is where i am now!
I arrived and tried to sort out my visa problem - because my maths is so poor i have arrived in Thailand a day to earlier - on leaving Cambodia they issue you a 15 day tourist visa mine expires on the 28th yet my flight is on the 29th at 8.30am and without extending it they won't let me fly home! At first i was told i would have to pay to get it extended for a week but after a long trip to the embassy i was told i can extend it for one day for 500 baht at the airport - fingers crossed this is true or i might not be home on friday after all!
After the mad dash to sort the visa i came back to koh san road as i wanted ease over comfort. My room is litterally a shoe box with no windows but i am only sleeping there so nothing to worry about. I mooched around town and had some dlunch before setting back to the guesthouse for a nap - this nap turned into a proper sleep and i woke up at midnight thinking it was the morning (very convincing due to the lack of windows!) But alas i still have plenty of time to snooze!
My Plans for tomorrow is to visit the thai creative and design centre, then visit a coffee shop a thai designer i met in vietnam has done all the branding for (i promised i would go check it out in person for him) and then a trip to Leo Burnett Design Studio and break in as they refuse to reply to my emails. And then if i can squeeze it in i wanted to visit the national museum/gallery as it is close to where i am staying. I will polish the evening off my spending the remains of my little cash on koh san road then catching the bus to the airport at 4am where i will spend the whole day flying and offically land back in the UK at 6.30pm (UK time)
I have really really enjoyed my 6 weeks out here but travelling solo has been sometimes difficult and sometimes the best. I have met so many people - like too many to count on both hands and toes three times over! I hope that i have made some life long friends and that these experiences will stay with me for the rest of my life.
I reccomend anyone traveling on their own or traveling in Asia to make the most of it! easily the best 6 weeks of my life!
ALSO if you're on a budget eat street food. it's dirt cheap!
Hope you have enjoyed the blog all - i will message you one last time to let you know i am home safe and sound but other than that.... toodle pip!
Abbie
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