My last blog was very rushed and apparently did not make much sense according to my Dad so I am going to take my time over this blog! To be fair it was rushed because we had to catch a bus and a ferry from Bangkok to the Thai Islands in the South.
Our journey to Koh Phangan left Bangkok at 6pm and was due to arrive the next day at 10:30am. If we were in England and we arrived half hour late, we wouldn't be too happy. But this is Thailand, if the travel agent says a guaranteed arrival time, you need to add at least 2 hours more onto the journey. We arrived at the island at 1:30pm tired and sweaty after having to endure 2 twilight films on the bus.
When we checked into our bungalow in our "resort" we had very low expectations but when we entered the room there were cobwebs, dust and spiders everywhere and seemed unused in the past year we wasn't best pleased so we were upgraded to a decent room for a few hours whilst the owner cleaned it. I also made the mistake of trying to convince Georgia that we wouldn't need air conditioning because there would be more of a breeze on the islands compared to Bangkok. Our room had a tin roof so during the day it would heat up and the majority of the time the room was hotter than outside despite the best efforts of a 20 year old fan stuck on the wall! The location of the bungalow was
a 1 minute walk from a quiet beach so it wasn't all bad. The beach was one of the best I have been to mainly due to the fact that there was nobody about, no bars, no sun loungers and the sea was the temperature of a warm bath back home. We even claimed a sandbank at low tide and called it Georgia island, it's the nearest she is going to ever get to owning an island! The island as a whole was developed, but the majority of accommodation was bungalows rather than big hotels and big resorts which makes the island a lot more prettier.
a 1 minute walk from a quiet beach so it wasn't all bad. The beach was one of the best I have been to mainly due to the fact that there was nobody about, no bars, no sun loungers and the sea was the temperature of a warm bath back home. We even claimed a sandbank at low tide and called it Georgia island, it's the nearest she is going to ever get to owning an island! The island as a whole was developed, but the majority of accommodation was bungalows rather than big hotels and big resorts which makes the island a lot more prettier.
We had a few quiet nights in the bungalow drinking beer and playing cards on our balcony, and eating out at a couple of restaurants. Georgia noticed a sign advertising an unlimited BBQ for only 3 pound which sounded too good to be true, especially as the Thai islands so far is the most expensive place we have visited, although still much cheaper than Spain or Greece. The staff placed a metal bowl on our table, full of boiling water in which you placed the raw meat onto a small plate that was surrounded by the boiling water. Its quite hard to explain, basically it wasn't your typical English BBQ, and I turned into an unconvincing chef that evening trying to cook. Georgia spent a lot of the time in the toilet the next day lol.
After a few days budgeting, relaxing, sweating and exploring the island on a moped, full moon arrived on the island! Full moon on Koh Phangan is an excuse for tens of thousands of people to have a beach party all night and is one of the must things to do! We had arranged to meet up with a few people including Matt and Louise who we first met tubing in Vang Vieng, and Kelly and Laura who we met in Luang Prabang, with Rob flying all the way in from London via Bangkok!
For the "full moon" party we each bought a neon coloured vest-top along with some paints for face paint and random patterns over our arms, although Matt invented his own technique in splattering paint over everyone including the balcony and on the windows! The night started out drinking a combination of Vodka and beer on the balcony playing a few card and drinking games to get the night going and we ended up jumping in a shared taxi down to Haad Rin Beach where the party was. The full moon party was a surreal place, there was a dozen or so beachfront bars blaring out mainly techno music with little independent stalls/carts selling alcohol buckets. It was also weird that we were outside and not inside a packed nightclub. Men and even some women in the sea using it as a toilet whilst there would be people scattered across the beach who were passed out or decided to have a nap! There was also a water slide for people who were drunk enough to brave it, as a good friend we encouraged Rob to have a go and be the Guinea pig. It was a slide about 15 feet high with water running down it with a landing mat at the bottom and it seemed pretty fun looking at the other people having a go, but Rob made a complete meal of it. Instead of sliding down the water slide, he bumped his way down uncomfortably overshooting the landing pad, crashing onto the beach whilst breaking him bum and banging his head on the floor whilst his glasses were falling off, he was in a confused state when he finally got up lol.......it put the rest of us off from having a try! After a few more drinks we slowly was drinking less alcohol and more water (and vegetables) , trying our best to make sunrise at about 6ish but made it to around 5:30am.
That night me and Georgia was letting Rob, Laura and Kelly use our room for the night, but we lost the girls fairly early in the night but we knew there boat back to the mainland was in the morning so they wouldn't be far behind us getting back to the room! The girls turned up at lunchtime looking a bit rough, missed their boat and somehow Kelly's eyebrows were peeling from sunburn, was one of the funniest things I have seen in the past few months.....sorry Kelly lol. Judging by the picture Rob enjoyed his sleep though....
We wasn't in no mood to drink the day after the party and was looking for something to do that didn't involve alcohol. A few days earlier when me and Georgia was exploring the island on our little moped we discovered a Wipeout course. There is a game show on BBC1 called Total Wipeout when random people or z-list celebrities undertake a water assault course and try to complete it in the shortest time possible. In the past I have always been the first to say that it is one of the worst game shows that has been created but I still couldn't resist giving it a go! Georgia sat around in the shade whilst me and Rob gave the course a go to realise how unfit we are!
That evening we ate at the Mason's Arms which was an English styled Tudor pub in the middle of the island serving English dishes that we have been craving including Pie n Mash, Fish and Chips, roast dinners! I don't think Rob appreciated as much as me and Georgia did because he had only left home a couple of days before. We had an early night in an upgraded air-conditioned version of my shed back home, ready for the boat to Koh Tao the next day....
Koh Tao is a tiny island a couple of hours North of Koh Phangan and only really consisted of one resort on the island and several bays located around the island. We docked into the pier, which looked like it was built in a day and was in danger of collapsing but we made it to the shore and found a taxi to the hotel. The taxis on the islands are not your typical black cab or minicab you would find back in England. They are pick-up trucks with benches at the back with the drivers try their best to cram as many people into one vehicle to earn as much as they can. We arrived at our hot stuffy room in the afternoon and chilled in the shade until the evening when we went out for a meal and for a few drinks. We were staying in the main and only resort but it was tiny, maybe 2/3 streets of shops, bars and restaurants but had a cozy feel to it I suppose. We found a beach bar with good music that was open to the early morning.
The other days consisted of driving around the island on a rented moped which was good but was the most stressful experiences since the beginning of travelling (including India!) when the owner was trying to charge us for small scratches that was there before we rented it out. Admittedly, Rob did scratch a small plastic cover but nothing too major and she wanted 70 pound for it whilst they also tried to charge me the same amount for a scratch on the mud flap! After negotiating for hours I ended up paying 25 quid for a scratch on a mudflap and Rob had to pay the full 70! I had revenge in mind and I thought if we paid more or less 100 pound between us in supposed damages on the mopeds, we were going to get our moneys worth and smash a couple of mirrors on the bikes the next day haha. When me and Rob was walking to the beach the next day, we passed the rental place and it had disappeared . The shop was shut, no mopeds in sight, the roof protecting the mopeds was gone and nothing remained. We had read reviews about dodgy rental companies on the island charging people for non-existent damages to bikes with tourists having no power to negotiate because they kept our passports has a deposit for the bikes, which was a stupid thing to do in hindsight!
Apart from that incident, Koh Tao is a beautiful and picturesque island that was only a few miles long, lots of palm trees and not too developed unlike the other islands. It is a shame that I am not a keen swimmer as it was the 2nd most popular diving site in the world as the water is so clear and warm.
We played mini-golf and bowling a couple of nights in which you may think is not worth a mention but the bowling was an experience. It was "Flintstone bowling" and consisted of a bowling lane made out of wood, there was no machinery involved and we had to re-set the pins manually every time we knocked them over. We also had to push the ball back down the aisle and considering we were playing in 40 degree heat, it was hard work! It was an experience but I think next time we will pay the staff to manually reset the pins for only 50p more! I spent my birthday on Koh Tao and went out for a nice Indian but feels as if I missed out on my birthday but I can't hardly complain being in sunshine on a Thai island!
It was time for us and Rob to part ways after a week together which was EMOTIONAL, Rob headed back to the heat of Bangkok and we headed to Koh Samui for a week to meet with my Mum and Dad. I am currently staying in a nice hotel with air-conditioning, a mini-bar, a swimming pool, soft beds which is complete luxury compared to what we are used to! Until next time.......
For the "full moon" party we each bought a neon coloured vest-top along with some paints for face paint and random patterns over our arms, although Matt invented his own technique in splattering paint over everyone including the balcony and on the windows! The night started out drinking a combination of Vodka and beer on the balcony playing a few card and drinking games to get the night going and we ended up jumping in a shared taxi down to Haad Rin Beach where the party was. The full moon party was a surreal place, there was a dozen or so beachfront bars blaring out mainly techno music with little independent stalls/carts selling alcohol buckets. It was also weird that we were outside and not inside a packed nightclub. Men and even some women in the sea using it as a toilet whilst there would be people scattered across the beach who were passed out or decided to have a nap! There was also a water slide for people who were drunk enough to brave it, as a good friend we encouraged Rob to have a go and be the Guinea pig. It was a slide about 15 feet high with water running down it with a landing mat at the bottom and it seemed pretty fun looking at the other people having a go, but Rob made a complete meal of it. Instead of sliding down the water slide, he bumped his way down uncomfortably overshooting the landing pad, crashing onto the beach whilst breaking him bum and banging his head on the floor whilst his glasses were falling off, he was in a confused state when he finally got up lol.......it put the rest of us off from having a try! After a few more drinks we slowly was drinking less alcohol and more water (and vegetables) , trying our best to make sunrise at about 6ish but made it to around 5:30am.That night me and Georgia was letting Rob, Laura and Kelly use our room for the night, but we lost the girls fairly early in the night but we knew there boat back to the mainland was in the morning so they wouldn't be far behind us getting back to the room! The girls turned up at lunchtime looking a bit rough, missed their boat and somehow Kelly's eyebrows were peeling from sunburn, was one of the funniest things I have seen in the past few months.....sorry Kelly lol. Judging by the picture Rob enjoyed his sleep though....
We wasn't in no mood to drink the day after the party and was looking for something to do that didn't involve alcohol. A few days earlier when me and Georgia was exploring the island on our little moped we discovered a Wipeout course. There is a game show on BBC1 called Total Wipeout when random people or z-list celebrities undertake a water assault course and try to complete it in the shortest time possible. In the past I have always been the first to say that it is one of the worst game shows that has been created but I still couldn't resist giving it a go! Georgia sat around in the shade whilst me and Rob gave the course a go to realise how unfit we are!That evening we ate at the Mason's Arms which was an English styled Tudor pub in the middle of the island serving English dishes that we have been craving including Pie n Mash, Fish and Chips, roast dinners! I don't think Rob appreciated as much as me and Georgia did because he had only left home a couple of days before. We had an early night in an upgraded air-conditioned version of my shed back home, ready for the boat to Koh Tao the next day....
Koh Tao is a tiny island a couple of hours North of Koh Phangan and only really consisted of one resort on the island and several bays located around the island. We docked into the pier, which looked like it was built in a day and was in danger of collapsing but we made it to the shore and found a taxi to the hotel. The taxis on the islands are not your typical black cab or minicab you would find back in England. They are pick-up trucks with benches at the back with the drivers try their best to cram as many people into one vehicle to earn as much as they can. We arrived at our hot stuffy room in the afternoon and chilled in the shade until the evening when we went out for a meal and for a few drinks. We were staying in the main and only resort but it was tiny, maybe 2/3 streets of shops, bars and restaurants but had a cozy feel to it I suppose. We found a beach bar with good music that was open to the early morning.
The other days consisted of driving around the island on a rented moped which was good but was the most stressful experiences since the beginning of travelling (including India!) when the owner was trying to charge us for small scratches that was there before we rented it out. Admittedly, Rob did scratch a small plastic cover but nothing too major and she wanted 70 pound for it whilst they also tried to charge me the same amount for a scratch on the mud flap! After negotiating for hours I ended up paying 25 quid for a scratch on a mudflap and Rob had to pay the full 70! I had revenge in mind and I thought if we paid more or less 100 pound between us in supposed damages on the mopeds, we were going to get our moneys worth and smash a couple of mirrors on the bikes the next day haha. When me and Rob was walking to the beach the next day, we passed the rental place and it had disappeared . The shop was shut, no mopeds in sight, the roof protecting the mopeds was gone and nothing remained. We had read reviews about dodgy rental companies on the island charging people for non-existent damages to bikes with tourists having no power to negotiate because they kept our passports has a deposit for the bikes, which was a stupid thing to do in hindsight!
Apart from that incident, Koh Tao is a beautiful and picturesque island that was only a few miles long, lots of palm trees and not too developed unlike the other islands. It is a shame that I am not a keen swimmer as it was the 2nd most popular diving site in the world as the water is so clear and warm.
We played mini-golf and bowling a couple of nights in which you may think is not worth a mention but the bowling was an experience. It was "Flintstone bowling" and consisted of a bowling lane made out of wood, there was no machinery involved and we had to re-set the pins manually every time we knocked them over. We also had to push the ball back down the aisle and considering we were playing in 40 degree heat, it was hard work! It was an experience but I think next time we will pay the staff to manually reset the pins for only 50p more! I spent my birthday on Koh Tao and went out for a nice Indian but feels as if I missed out on my birthday but I can't hardly complain being in sunshine on a Thai island!
It was time for us and Rob to part ways after a week together which was EMOTIONAL, Rob headed back to the heat of Bangkok and we headed to Koh Samui for a week to meet with my Mum and Dad. I am currently staying in a nice hotel with air-conditioning, a mini-bar, a swimming pool, soft beds which is complete luxury compared to what we are used to! Until next time.......
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