Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Hi everyone,
Now in south Thailand on Ko Phi Phi! Here's the latest update:
We left the 4,00 islands on the 21st March, getting a boat from Don Khon to Ban Nakasang to catch a VIP bus from there to Pakse. Getting on to the boat itself proved a nightmare for me! I was trying to be helpful and carry Maggie's bags on to the boat over some tiny, slippery stepping-stones, so I was laden down with four bags. As soon as I stepped on the stones I slipped and was up to my knees in muddy water...what made it worse was the fact I was sinking! I threw the bags to Jo and managed to wade out, but I wasn't entirely pleased I'd be smelling of river for at least the next 8 hours or so! Jo just reckons I have no balance, as she managed to get across with four bags herself! On the boat we passed a floating dead fish...the next thing we know, the boat is being turned and manoeuvred back towards it! Our driver then jumped in and retrieved it...it was huge, and he was obviously really proud and pleased, because he showed it to everyone when we arrived at Ban Nakasang. I just hope they hadn't been serving such like up in the restaurants on Don Khon! Arriving at Ban Nakasang, we were whisked off to our separate coaches, and we bade a tearful goodbye (at least on Jo's part) to Maggie and Dave. They're heading to Don Daeng, near Champasak, for a few nights before they fly back home from Bangkok. Meanwhile, we headed for Pakse. We waited an hour there, before getting a bus across the border from Laos back into Thailand, to Ubon Ratchathani.
In Ubon that night, we really struggled to get to the riverside restaurant we wanted to eat at...we stumbled across a load of dogs, all barking and beginning to come towards us! We left Ubon the next morning, catching a flight down to Bangkok. Back in Bangkok for a day, we went to the MBK centre to do a little shopping. We managed to spend 28 pounds on two bottles of suntan lotion and two bottles of aftersun! After trying to return them (the shop assistant was having none of it), we ended up checking prices in other places...Luckily everywhere we've looked they've been as expensive, if not more. We met Joe, my brother, fresh from Uganda, off the plane on Tuesday in Bangkok. It was really good to see him again, catch up, and listen to all his interesting stories about what he got up to! Later that afternoon, we flew down to Phuket. This passed without hitch, and by the evening we were ensconced in our hotel. We stayed on the cliff next to Karon beach, in a really nice hotel, our first really plush place for a while! We had a brilliant view from our bungalow balcony down the hill on to the beach.
We had a pretty blissful few days in Phuket, although it wasn't our favourite place in terms of the vibe. It was full of old Scandinavian package tourists, and we would have preferred to be around people our own age and away from the more seedy side of the island. We spent Wednesday sunbathing, and swimming lots in the warm sea. We met up with Darryl, Ben and Jack, my old housemates at Leeds Uni, who are going to travel around with us for the rest of south Thailand. It was great to catch up with them that evening with a few drinks after dinner, and hear their tales of South America, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. However, Jo, Joe and I did manage to sunburn that day, and Thursday therefore turned out to be fairly low-key, with us sitting on the beach, reading our books, under the shade of umbrellas.
On Friday we all set off for Ko Phi Phi. We've had a brilliant time here over the last three days, and it's a lot more scenic and atmospheric than Phuket, with emerald seas, bobbing longtail boats and green karst mountains rising up out of the water everywhere you look. The island is much smaller and easier to navigate, and the beaches are even more impressive. Our hotel here has a pool, which we spent the afternoon by on Friday. That evening we had a big night out, going to a club on the beach. Unfortunately I managed to lose my mobile phone (I think it was when Jack rugby-tackled me to the sand!), and couldn't find it again! It was annoying, but definitely not the end of the world! Saturday was spent lying in during the morning, and then (for me and Jo) sitting on a beach that afternoon. Poor old Joe was suffering from his sunburn after spending two days out in the sun on Wednesday and Thursday! The water here was shallow for miles, and nice and toasty. It really wasn't like swimming, more like sitting in a warm bath!
Finally, today we went on a boat cruise around Ko Phi Phi, stopping at various points for snorkelling. I couldn't get the hang of it at first, and swallowed a lot of sea water, but when I did, it was pretty incredible...There are so many colourful fish, and the coral's really interesting to look at as well. I did manage to get stung by a sea urchin at one point though! I thought nothing of it at the time, but when I showed it to the guides, one poured a solution over my ankle, and then another went 'Sorry', then started hitting it with a flip-flop! Joe said I was yelping with pain! Whatever they did, it seemed to solve the problem though. Our final stop on the cruise was at the beach where 'The Beach' was filmed. As soon as we got there, though, a huge downpour broke out! You could see it was an amazing place though, and we were still really glad to have gone.
We move on to Ko Lanta, another island with a lot of beaches, tomorrow, for a few days, and then it's on to Railay in the south, before we fly back to Bangkok a week today. Then, a week tomorrow, we fly to Australia!
- comments