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Greetings from Thailand! At the moment I am in Koh Samui which is a lovely island south of Bangkok. I have found the nicest internet cafe yet, with leather seats, air conditioning and drinks served at your computer! Luxury!
I arrived into Bangkok on Friday 6th. The airport is amazing and we were very excited by the sight of a Starbucks, among other western restaurants! We got a taxi to the backpacker area of Bangkok, Khao San road and found a hostel to stay in for the equivalent of 3 pounds a night. After resting we headed onto the main road and were overwhelmed by how vibrant it was. The street was surrounded with a multitude of stalls, selling clothes, sunglasses, bags, food. There were bars, cafes, restaurants, clubs, even beauticians; thai girls wearing very little, ladyboys, Thai boys, foriegn old men with either of the former, groups of girls, guys, English, Dutch, American. Anyone and everyone and anything and everything goes. We headed for a restaurant and I had a delicious seafood pasta. It hit me in the restaurant just how many ladyboys there are here, even the receptionist at my hostel! The only unsettling thing, especially coming from such a spiritual place as India, is the loose morals and number of men with Thai girls, boys and ladyboys. Eye-opening, to say the least. We spent the evening exploring all the bargains and the girls went for waxing in preparation for the beach, which was another interesting experience!
On Saturday we headed for the air-conditioned shopping centres. The heat was almost unbearable outide. The highlight had to be a brunch of boiled eggs, toast, jam and earl grey tea! I am thoroughly enjoying the variety of food here and all the fruit shakes and fresh fish! Having found out I lost 10 pounds in India, I am making up for it here! The Central Department Store was huge! A posher, larger and more spacious version of Meadowhall. In fact, it is so large (over seven floors) it is easy to get lost. After excitedly browsing, we headed for the cheaper version, called MBK. This is very poular and is like all the outdoor markets in one, air-conditioned mall. It had so much there I didn't know where to start and by the end of three hours looking around, I was exhausted! There are some great bargains there but you really have to search for them and I only came away with two vest tops. However, I did spot some cheap contact lenses which I plan to buy when I go back. It is very easy to get around Bangkok, using either tuk-tuks, taxis or skytrains. Skytrains are the best option as the traffic and pollution are as bad as Dehli, if not worse.
On Saturday evening we all headed to some bars on Khao San road. Amy and I managed to plonk ourselves right in front of an English football match without realising so had to make a swift exit!
On Sunday, the weather was extremely hot so I split up from the others and decided to head back to the luxurious air-conditioned department store to buy some shorts from 'Zara' and wonder around. I was taken to the wrong store by the tuk-tuk driver but it didn't phase me as it often happened in India, and I managed to find my way to the right one in the end. Could my sense of direction be improving?! The shocking discovery of the day was finding out that two packs of five M&S pants cost 34 pounds! Outrage. In the afternoon, I headed back to Khao San road and went on the internet, where I was approached by a Japanese guy to see if I would have a drink with him. His English was so broken, it would have been terrible conversation. I refused and managed to escape from the internet without him noticing. In the evening I met up with the others and we went to the cinema to see 'Ghostrider'. Before every film, the national anthem is played and everyone has to stand up to pay their respect to the King. That was the best part of the experience because the film was utter rubbish. It was unrealisitc and quite scary and I thought a Starbucks Frappacino seemed a much better option so left half way and returned for the end. I enjoyed my Starbucks.
On Monday we all got up early to say farwell to Steve as he left for Cairns. The rest of the day was a bit non-existent as we were waiting for our bus to take us to Koh Tao island. It was raining so Amy, Luke and I decided to kill time by going to the cinema...again! We watched 'Norbit', an Eddie Murphy film, which wasn't great but we were all so tired we didn't care. In the evening we travelled down to the island by bus and boat and arrived at 7am on Tuesday.
Koh Tao is a beautiful island and it is meant to be the best for diving and snorkelling. We found accomodation, after waiting until 10am for people to check-out. We had to split up as there weren't enough rooms in one place but we were all relatively close to each other. All accomodation is in little huts and everyone has a hut each. Mine was very sweet, called Blue Wind, right next to the beach for only 4 pounds a night. All the restaurants along the beach have cushions so you can literally eat on the beach with a candlelit table. After we checked-in, we headed straight for the sea, as we had been waiting for this moment since India! One and a half hours later, we were all burnt. Typical English! I did put suncream on but it must have come off in the water, so I have been very careful since then. In the evening I had a delicious red snapper for only three pounds and more fruit shakes! The beach we stayed on was quiet at one end but lively at the other so it was a great mix. On Wednesday I was on my own as Kelly, Craig, Amy and Luke did their own thing. I met some Danish guys who were diving here and had spoken to on the bus down to the island. I ended up eating with them in the evening and going for drinks and they persuaded me to try diving. The next morning at breakfast, by complete coincidence I got talking to someone who turned out to be a diving instructor. So he signed me up for a beginners dive to do on Saturday. Later on I met up with the others and told them of my plans. Kelly and Craig were moving to Koh Samui on Friday but Amy and Luke decided to join me for diving.
On Friday, everything was closed for a huge water festival, called Songkran. Everyone has water pistols, buckets of beer and I don't know what, and it is just one big party all day and all night. It reminded me a bit of Hatfield Day but on a much larger scale. The whole of Thailand stops and celebrates this day every year and it was great fun to be part of, and I was glad that Amy and Luke stayed to join in with me. It ended up raining for most of the day so it was a little ironic that everyone was having water fights, in the rain, in the sea!
On Saturday we were greeted by the bleary-eyed diving instructors. I had psyched myself up for the dive, as water is my greatest fear and I never even put my head under it! I was told that because of my history of asthma they weren't prepared to take the risk of letting me dive. I was really disappointed, as I did want to try it, especially as it is the best place to do it, and so cheap. Unfortunately Luke had the same trouble but it was good they were so proffessional about it. In the end, Amy went diving and they took Luke and I snorkelling for free. It was great fun and was the first time I haved tried it. I did realise just how bad I am with water, so it might have been a good thing that I couldn't dive, as even snorkelling made me panic! However, after an hour I got the hang of it and I am now all set to go snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef when I get to Australia!
On Sunday morning we caught the boat to Koh Samui, where we met Kelly and Craig for a day before they moved back to Bangkok. I am staying in the same hostel as Amy and Luke and we both move to Bangkok on Wednesday and I fly to Cairns on Friday. Koh Samui is where more tourists come and is bigger than Koh Tao. The beach we are staying on is surprisingly quiet considering it is the second busiest place to stay according to the Lonely Planet. I think it is a lot busier on the main strip, where there are lots of bars and clubs, but we are just taking it easy for a few days. Our hostel is right on the beach and it is lovely and peaceful. Yesterday we went on a tour which included being shown how to make Thai curry, how to crack a coconut and make coconut milk, feeding monkeys, elephant trekking and swimming in a waterfall. It was great fun! I then had a back and head massage on the beach which nearly sent me to sleep! This afternoon all three of us are doing a three-hour Thai cooking course which Kelly recommended to us so I can't wait for that. It has been perfect just to relax for a while. I have had a good balance of branching out on my own, meeting new people but having the others there to do other things and travel with. I realised on Koh Tao, especially at night time that it probably wasn't the safest thing to be walking along the beach as a girl on my own, and everyone I met knowing I was staying on my own in a hut, so I thought it would be safer to be around the others for a while. I also never met anyone else travelling on their own, it was more group holidays or couples, or divers who were there for a few months. For that reason I am moving to Australia on Friday, a bit earlier than intended just because I think it will be safer there, especially staying in dorms rather than on a beach on my own. But it has been wonderful here and I am looking forward to my last few days.
Right, I am now heading for the beach! I hope you enjoy the photos!
Love Emma
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