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22/03/2010 Bangkok
Spent three nights in a 4* hotel in Bangkok. I could finally have a proper shower, re-pack my bag and take a breather. These last three days have been a real holiday in comparison to the effort it takes to travel as a backpacker. Lots of pool time, the most painful massage i have ever had in my life and a fair bit of eating and cocktails. Apart from the baggage theft I have been able to keep to budget in each country so decided to splash out here. Katy and I took the river taxi down to old Bangkok and walked around the city though unfortunately we were too late to get into the Palace.
Made up for this though by going out to Siam Niramit the next evening. The whole fake Thai village thing set up for tourists was a bit of a turn off but i loved the show. Why can't west end productions have waterfalls and rainstorms and actual elephants and goats and chickens in their shows!
Travelled to the floating market in the morning and got to ride on a long tailed boat. I bartered for some pretty candles to use at the bungalow on Koh Panghan only to find they were a third of the price in the crafthouse we went to later in the day. Made up for it by getting a nice pair of Birkenstock mocks for a fiver J
Long long day after this as Katy and i caught the 22:50 train from Bangkok to Surat Thani and then two buses and then a ferry to get to Koh Panghan. The train arrived in the station at 08:20 and it is now 11:40 and we are still travelling. We expect to arrive on the island at 16:30 and then to travel to the bungalow which will make a total time awake (apart from a little snooze on the train) of 40 hours. We both need a bit of downtime and are looking forward to spending 8 days in the same place.
27/03/2010 Koh Pha Ngan island
I rented a scooter today (no licence needed!) and Katy and I explored the island. It's a combination of hippy communes focused on yoga, reiki healing and colonic irrigation (west of island), rave bars and extreme nightlife including the full moon party (east of island) and adrenaline junkies doing diving and water sports. We have managed to find one of the best non-touristy places on the island and have a beautiful bungalow looking out to the National Park (where the lagoon from The Beach is) and we get spectacular sunsets every night. We climbed to the centre of the island today in the rainforest and looked out over the whole island. No birds of paradise yet but lots of mosquitoes in the jungle.
The food and drink is amazing - a full continental breakfast is £2-4 and dinner is averaging £5-6 each. Beer is 75p and i have never had so many milkshakes and juice drinks as i have in the last three days.
There is a highly reputable dive school on the island and i am thinking of staying on a while to do my padi qualification. The coral reef stretches right up the west coast of the island and is about 75 metres offshore so easily accessible for snorkelling and a perfect place to learn to dive as the water is warm and the depth is around 19 metres. Going out this afternoon to look for a place to rent for a few weeks and see if i can swap out some Sydney time for more Thai time J
I have done some initial looking at property with my current landlord and i think i can get an air conditioned bungalow with kitchen for less than £250/month which makes it about £5 a day for each of us, well within our budget. It seems a shame to have found a little touch of paradise and then to move on before i can really enjoy it.
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