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I was very nervous leaving Penang as I was not sure about visa requirements, i.e. having an exit route and proof of money, but we had been told by numerous people that the immigration workers don’t ask. We had also been told by numerous travel companies that we would only get as far as Hat Yai due to the Songkhran Water Festival being on to celebrate the Thai New Year. We had booked a bus all the way to Phuket (island on the west coast).
As it turned out the whole journey was very simple. We got through immigration easily and in the town just over the border we got to see our first sights of the festival in progress. There were lots of people on the streets with water pistols and buckets of water wetting each other. We got to Hat Yai and only had to wait 10 minutes for the next bus. The bus to Phuket was lovely and we had lots of leg room. However, we thought we were going to die as the driver was going so fast! We arrived in Phuket Town late and were greeted by a woman who recommended a room so the driver took us there. We checked in to Thanaporn 2 apartments and had an early night.
The following morning we enquired about boats to Ko Phi Phi (Island near Phuket) and booked it for 1pm that afternoon. In the meantime we went for a walk around Phuket Town. We didn’t make it very far without getting squirted by water pistols. The main road was full of people going past in cars and mopeds with water guns and water buckets. There were also people on the side of the roads. I got soaked by 2 girls, who threw a bucket of water on me! Matt wanted a water gun so once we had checked out of the hotel, he went to find one. There was nowhere selling them nearby, but he was given a small one for free by people on the road and also got a large shot of whisky! On his return with his gun he had a water fight with 2 young girls who lived next door to the hotel. He lost!!!!
The boat journey to Ko Phi Phi was lovely with amazing views. On our arrival the tourist office booked us accommodation. It was up the hill a little out of the main area which was nice. On our walk to the hotel lots of westerners were having water fights so we got soaked again! In the evening we went for food at a stall. Matt had food from a selection of laid out skewers with rice, and I had Pad Thai (local noodle dish) which was very tasty. It began to rain heavily and it was very windy so once it had eased we bought ourselves a local Chang beer and returned to our room.
We did not want to go to the main busy beaches the next day so we asked a local where to go. He directed us to a quieter beach on the other side of the island. We had to walk up lots of steps to a viewing point which had beautiful views. We then had to walk down to the beach through some woods, it felt more like trekking! We spent around 4 hours sun bathing and swimming in the clear water. There were a couple of people around but it was very peaceful. We both had a smoothie at a restaurant which was nice. On our journey back through the woods we were attacked by swarms of mosquitos. I had a panic attack caused by trying to get them off and walking very fast up a hill. I got bitten a lot!! When we got back to the viewing point I got some balm to put on the bites, I was covered and very itchy! We had a lovely day but the silly mosquitos spoilt it a little!
The next morning we got the boat to Krabi, a town back on the main land. We got a free bus to the town and checked into Ban To Guesthouse, which our trusty guide book recommended. We had a lovely room with a veranda. Krabi town in basically 2 big streets parallel to each other, although one has all of the shops and the other runs along the river. We went to explore the area and on the evening went to a lovely market. It had lots of stalls and a great atmosphere. It was the best market we have been to since travelling. We shared a very tasty chicken wrap!
We mainly relaxed in Krabi walking around the town and taking in some lovely views on the river. It had a big crab statue, which is ironic seeing as it’s called Krabi. We spent more time at the night market soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying not being in a really touristy area.
Matt and I got a bus to Phang Nga the next day so we packed and said goodbye to Krabi. When we arrived, the tourist information lady gave us a map of the town, which is literally one long street. There was not much choice in accommodation so we looked at them all. We checked into Phang Nga Guesthouse which was the most expensive at £7 a night but the nicest. There was not much in Phang Nga, but there was not a tourist in sight so we liked it. In the evening we went to some stalls and had an egg pancake and some pastry puffs with a vegetable sauce. Both very nice.
The following day was James Bond Island day, which as you can imagine Matt was very excited about. We were picked up at 8.30am and left the jetty on a long tail boat about 9ish. We initially thought it was just the two of us but we picked up an English girl on route so it was still only 3. We had briefly met Wendy the day before on the bus to Phang Nga. Our first destination was travelling through lots of mangroves. The long boat then came to a huge cave that we went through. We went past Hon Panyee, which is a fishing village. It is primarily Muslim people living there and is built on stilts in the water. Very impressive! It was affected dramatically by the 2004 tsunami but they have rebuilt it well. There were lots of small islands that we went by but unfortunately some of these had hordes of tourists in canoes surrounding them. We have never seen so many canoes!
The boat stopped at James Bond Island (Scaramanga’s hide out in ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’) for 40 minutes. Matt was in his element but it was very touristy. Matt took hundreds of photos, literally! Next stop was a pitch black cave that was very eerie but cool! We had torches to see and the ground was sticky. It felt like wet clay. At one point in the cave the wall glittered, not sure what that was caused by but it was nice to see! For lunch we stopped on a small beach and had some very nice chicken and rice. Matt also had a little swim. After this we returned to main land taking in some more lovely islands on route.
In the evening we relaxed, going to 7- Eleven for snacks and to my excitement ‘Enchanted’ was on the TV in English when we got back to the room. 7- Eleven’s are iconic in Thailand as they are on every street corner in main towns!
We were unsure about what we wanted to do next and had less than one week left in Thailand before our visa ran out, so we booked a bus to Surat Thani on the East coast of Southern Thailand. This is the gateway to the Gulf Coast Islands, home to notorious Ko Phangan, famous for full moon parties. We had missed this month’s full moon party and after being on Ko Phi Phi and seeing how touristy it was, we were put off visiting another island at this time. We got to Surat Thani and saw the hundreds of youngsters going off to the islands (god we sound old!) which helped us with our decision.
Surat Thani had a more bustling feel to it than other Thai towns we had been to. We went to explore the many streets and in the evening went to a market. That of course wasn’t as good as Krabi market. It’s hard to beat! The next day we decided to book a train to Bangkok. As we were booking on the day there were only third class tickets left. Usually the tourists go in second class where it is more comfortable. The train was a night train so we had all day to waste so we spent time in a coffee shop then got a local bus to train station which was out of town. When we arrived it had been delayed by 90 minutes so we just sat at the station.
Third class was an experience. The seats were 90 degrees, had little padding and we were the only white people. We got a lot of stares and we could tell people were talking about us. We sat opposite a couple and next to us was a family with a cute little girl. Most of the people on the train were able to make it comfortable by putting blankets on the floor. We weren’t that clever! The journey was 13 hours and very uncomfortable with Matt and I getting very little sleep. When the train stopped at stations people came on selling food, drinks and other things. It’s amazing how much the locals eat!
In the morning we were directed by a local lady who spoke good English to get off the train earlier than we had planned and catch a bus from there to Khao San Road. We got on the bus and eventually explained to the ticket lady where we wanted to go. As soon as we got off the bus, a man approached us asking where we were going and trying to tell us what to do. When we didn’t do it he got a little mean so we walked away. Anyway, two English guys (who we think were still drunk from the night before) directed us to a nicer area than Khao San for accommodation. We looked at a few places and decided to stay at a place off the main street. We went to explore and ended up on Khao San Road. It is a built up street with stalls, hotels, bars, clubs, McDonalds, KFC’s, Burger King’s etc. I’m sure you get the picture! We shared a Pad Thai and had a cheap beer followed by sticky rice and Mango, which is gorgeous! Mmm!
The next day we had a lie in and spent time in the local area having breakfast before going to explore the other areas. We walked to the Grand Palace, getting stopped numerous times by locals telling us it was closed and that we weren’t wearing the right clothes. We only wanted to walk past it! As it happens you couldn’t really see much of it from the outside so we walked back via the canal and other streets. We looked at some stalls and shared some fried rice before returning to the hotel. One of these stalls, strangely enough, sold original Thai film posters, which Matt was very excited about, and to my amusement he tried to talk to an old local lady who spoke no English about which posters she liked! Classic! In the evening we went for an Indian meal in a restaurant sharing a chicken tikka masala which was very nice. We went to look at Khao San at night and as expected it was very busy.
Matt and I went to explore the shopping area the next day which consisted of 4 large shopping centres. They were all very modern. We went to the cinema in one but didn’t actually go as it was £14 each, way out of our budget and even more expensive than home. Wow! We went to another cinema and decided to see ‘Scream 4’, which was only £3.20 each! In the cinema before the movie began we had to stand to pay respect to the King whilst a short film was played.
As funds were getting lower, we had to decide what we wanted to see. We had been recommended to go to Laos by numerous people. As our visa was about to expire we booked a bus to Vientiane (Capital of Laos). Our plan at this time was to explore Laos then return to Thailand to do the North (possibly go to Cambodia/ Vietnam, funds permitting). We checked out of hotel in Bangkok and relaxed in a café before getting picked up at 6pm. When I say picked up, we had to walk through town first, going down some little back streets whilst a man directed us. We were very sceptical but it all turned out okay. It was a double decker night bus which was like a boudoir with frilly pink curtains and fancy up lighters! It was comfortable which was what mattered and we were able to get some sleep.
Emma xx
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