My self-pity party comment of the week - One downfall to travelling on my own is that I never have anyone to rub sun cream on my back.The main thing that resonated in my head when coming to Thailand wasn't the weather nor the beaches. It wasn't the people, the food or the bargains. It was the news I heard from someone on Facebook that their daughter had been bitten by a dog in Thailand and the wound got infected. The girl was hospitalised. Shit. I don't believe I told you about the mishaps that surrounded the jabs I received back home. Partly out of anger but also slight embarrassment. I decided to focus on the funny instead with the Around the World... blog post. As well as being presumptuous and patronising, my nurse was also pitifully misinformed. I trusted her judgement and it bit me in the ass...well the purse to be more precise. My nurse urged me to get the Japanese encephalitis jab privately. Despite my rocky relationship with the NHS, I decided that nurse-knows-best and paid for the jab. The clinic I went to didn't properly explain the prices to me. I thought I was paying for an 80 quid jab when in fact I was going to be charged 160. Ouch. Upon further research I realised that I don't actually need this jab. Am I staying in a rural area? No. Am I travelling with or be staying at any pig or rice farms? No. Am I going to be working in a laboratory with said virus? No. So why was I told to get this jab? Hell knows! The other jab she suggested was the rabies jab but explained that the chances of getting bitten by an animal infected with the disease is rare. I was already out of pocket by 160 squids so decided not to get it. Bangkok was fine but the islands are overrun with dogs. Eek! I flinch every time one moves/barks/remains stationary, heck, I flinch at every god damn dog! I was even afraid of a poodle. It was scrappy, growled and bared its teeth at me. I'm taking no chances...
*****
I got the bus back to Bangkok and then needed to get one to Chumphon. I was dropped off in a random spot in Bangkok and the guy turned to leave. Woooah, hold up, what's going on? After a bit of gentle nagging and a few phone calls from the driver later, I was sorted and on my way to Koh Tao (via Chumphon). I managed to get a good seat - not too close to the toilet and within viewing range of the TV. The film Blow played which was cool. I nabbed a quote from this film for one of my blog entries. Johnny Depp with blonde hair was a bit freaky though but it passed the time nicely. Next...ahem...NEXT...next? One lousy film! Dammit. I tried to sleep but it wasn't happening. Luckily time moved by quite swiftly.
During our only pit stop, I struck up a conversation with a guy called Sebastian. Despite us both being so far beyond sleep that it was an effort to recall our names never mind forming coherent sentences, we managed to have an insightful conversation. Sebastian is from Chicago, one of my last stops on my trip. We discussed Lollapalooza and Japan too, which is Sebastian's next stop. I rambled on about how great Japan is. With anyone who is visiting Japan, I nab their details. I want to know what they think of the place and they might go somewhere I never visited. I hope I can impart some of my knowledge of Japan on to others.
Back to the bus and I was wide awake. I was on a conversation-roll so decided to speak to the girl next to me, also a fellow Brit. I think her name was Heidi - I was half dead remember? Heidi and her husband just quit their high-earning jobs to travel for 3 months. I thought that was fantastic. I'd love to be able to do something like that on a whim. I had to cross off a lot of days on my calendar until I could go. It makes it more exciting too. I was envious but not in a bitter way.
We arrived at the port with plenty of time to catch the ferry to Koh Tao. Plenty of time being nearly four hours. It started to rain. Is this really worth it? The answer was yes. I arrived in Koh Tao and found a guy with my name on a board he was holding up. I always dreamt that would happen but he would be my chauffeur and I'd be climbing into a limo whilst my Louis Vuitton luggage was being loaded into the boot. I'd sip champagne and flick off my Christian Louboutins and relax...I was lead to a jeep where I had to hurl the beast on to the back and take a pew. With no rails to hold on to, I dug my mosquito-bitten toes into my beaten up Animal flip flops and tried not to inhale the sand and grit turfed up from the jeep's back wheels. Not quite the dream perhaps but the sun had come out to greet us all and I felt better about things now I had finally arrived.
What I desperately needed at that moment was a shower. I'd not stopped since the morning before where I bamboo rafted in the dirty river. I went for a swim not knowing that it'd be more than 24 hours later until my next shower. I didn't care what state the bathroom was in or what temperature the water was. I just needed to strip and wash...
"Check-in is 2pm. You can leave your luggage here and explore the island then come back and enter your room at 2pm." I looked at my watch - 10:30am. My inner monologue pictured me falling to my knees exclaiming whhhyyyyyyyyyy-eeeee...sharp intake of breathe...aaawhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyy!
I went for a long walk and had lunch, then came back. My room or should I say bungalow, was right next to the beach and main strip of shops. I stayed on Mae Haad which is dominated by restaurants and cafes. On the other side was Sairee beach which is full of bars. It was only a 10 minute walk to Sairee beach but I mainly stayed on my side as I'm lazy and it was hot. Although rain was predicted, it never came during the day. It did rain during my last two nights but that suited me as I was indoors. I even had a TV with English channels!
The next day, I was still tired fom my journey so didn't do much. I was waiting to hear back from Goodtime Adventures about a trip I wanted to book. Although I'm not fond of heights, I wanted to have a stab at rock climbing. There was one trip, which included a variety of activities, but more than two people had to be book on it. Koh Tao was extremely quiet and nobody had booked on it. I never heard back from them so it wasn't meant to be. Although doing nothing for the next few days seemed like a good idea, I knew I had to do something, even for one day. I knew before I came to Thailand that I wanted to do some Muay Thai training on Koh Tao. I tried to find Monsoon Gym to train but failed. I was hot and bothered so adopted the stroppy teenager stance - "Fine then. I won't do your stupid training then if I can't even find the place, hmph." That, and the fact that it seemed to be a bit of a trek to get to from where I was staying, meant that I gave up on that idea. I spent the next day sunbathing and watching films. The Dilemma is not worth your time folks.
The next day, I miraculously found a studio just round the corner from where I was staying that did Muay Thai training. Ha! The next session started at 4pm so I went and had lunch then got a foot massage. I knew my tootsies were gonna get pounded. I wanted to be punished. I'd not trained since I left and felt like such a slob. The foot massage was pleasant and painful. At one point this lady was jabbing a stick into my foot, on the tops of my toes and then rubbed her knuckles over the tendons. To finish off she slapped my feet and punched my calves. Apparently that's how the Thais relax!
I went back to the gym for my training. I wanted to punch something and kick something even harder. I'd not done any kickboxing for nearly a year now. I wanted to test my technique. I also just wanted to pummel something to relieve a bit of tension! An hour in and I'd not punched anything. I started off with a Mr Miyagi-style course. Instead of wax-on wax-off, I was getting to grips with the footwork. The stance and movements are different to the kickboxing I learnt back home so it took a short while to adjust. I learnt the self defense moves, standard punches, elbows and kicks. For the last 15 minutes I let rip. My arms, shins and knees were burning but they were throbbing with joy. Gimme more!
I went back the next day and we went over the footwork and my instructor Tata tested my defence moves. This session focussed more on the punches, elbows and kicks. I went for it. It didn't really help that I was training at 2pm, the hottest part of the day. I was dripping with sweat before we even began. It was a very good session. We went out for pad Thai that evening and I got to know Tata a bit more. I needed an early night though. My alarm was set to wake me at 7:30am the next day. I was going snorkelling.
For a bargain of 650 baht (around 13 British pounds) including equipment, lunch, fresh fruit, tea and biscuits, we got to stop off at five different locations to snorkel. Each stop superseded the last. It was truly magnificant and I'd recommend it a million times over. I'm a weak swimmer but we had life jackets so there was no chance of me sinking! The first stop was Shark Island. Three guesses as to what we hoped or perhaps didn't hope to see here? Thanks to the guide Sinko (phonetically spelled), I saw and followed a Bull Shark. It was crazy but not that scary. I also saw Butterfly Fish and others which I don't know the name of. I also saw Christmas Tree Worms which duck inside the coral if you hover over it, then they slowly creep back out again. I was already tired but I wanted to see more.
The next stop was Leam Thain Bay and then Hin Wong Bay. The guide could see that I was flailing around and not seeing much so he helped me. We help hands and swam together. His flippers were a big help. At one point we saw scuba divers and Sinko swam down and said hello. It was hilarious. His English was very good and he told us a lot about the fish we were about to see. I saw a lot because of it. I'd only ever been snorkelling once in Egypt and it was a disaster. The guide swam off and left me and my then boyfriend. We didn't see much in the end and we didn't know where we were going! This experience was incredible. Not only did I see a lot of beautiful fish, but I swam with some too! It really is like Finding Nemo (the film) down there. I thought the scenes where the swimming fish resembled the motor vehicle traffic on land was a mirror to the human world, but that is how some of them swim! At one point we saw a massive school of fish which I mistook to be a huge rock. Sinko swam down and through the fish. They moved to create a pathway for him. Once he swam off they simply regrouped.
We stopped for lunch at Mango Bay and snorkelled straight after. It wasn't a nice feeling! Our last stop was Koh Nang Yuan. We could choose between paying 100 baht to visit the private island and snorkel or stay on the boat. I'd just started chatting to a few Brits and they decided to stay on the boat. I didn't fancy wandering around on my own so stayed. It was the best decision I could ever have made. After jumping into the sea from the top of the boat (gah!), Sinko took me and three others out snorkelling round the island and it was mind-blowing. We saw so many different kinds of fish, all beautiful in their own right. Sinko explained that if you hold out your hands in a cupped position, sometimes the fish will kiss your hands. I couldn't get far down enough to try this out on the pink Nemos (Pink Skunk Anemone fish), but I tried it with some others. Out of nowhere a Titan Trigger Fish bit me! It was only a little sharp nip but it made me jump in shock. One fish crawled up Sinko's shorts. His reaction made us all laugh so hard. He said it must have been a female fish, haha! Later on, Sinko swam down and brought up a sea cucumber. I held it but nobody else wanted a go. It was squidgy and a bit slimy. I wanted to take my new friend with me but we had to put him back of course.
On the way back, I spotted a lot more sea cucumbers. I saw a lot of sea urchins too. They're pretty eerie looking with their black evil spikes. It didn't look anything like that in my sushi in Japan...
I was so happy after that trip. Someone asked me back in Bangkok what has been my favourite part of my trip so far and I couldn't pin-point one specific time or event. This snorkelling trip did it for me. I'll never forget that day. If the Great Barrier Reef in Oz is better than Koh Tao then there is a grand treat in store for me when I get there!
So, just like that, my time in Koh Tao was over and it was time for my next stop, Koh Phangan - the party island. Let's hope they don't play Beyonce or Koh Phangan won't know what's hit 'em!
Back to the bus and I was wide awake. I was on a conversation-roll so decided to speak to the girl next to me, also a fellow Brit. I think her name was Heidi - I was half dead remember? Heidi and her husband just quit their high-earning jobs to travel for 3 months. I thought that was fantastic. I'd love to be able to do something like that on a whim. I had to cross off a lot of days on my calendar until I could go. It makes it more exciting too. I was envious but not in a bitter way.
We arrived at the port with plenty of time to catch the ferry to Koh Tao. Plenty of time being nearly four hours. It started to rain. Is this really worth it? The answer was yes. I arrived in Koh Tao and found a guy with my name on a board he was holding up. I always dreamt that would happen but he would be my chauffeur and I'd be climbing into a limo whilst my Louis Vuitton luggage was being loaded into the boot. I'd sip champagne and flick off my Christian Louboutins and relax...I was lead to a jeep where I had to hurl the beast on to the back and take a pew. With no rails to hold on to, I dug my mosquito-bitten toes into my beaten up Animal flip flops and tried not to inhale the sand and grit turfed up from the jeep's back wheels. Not quite the dream perhaps but the sun had come out to greet us all and I felt better about things now I had finally arrived.
What I desperately needed at that moment was a shower. I'd not stopped since the morning before where I bamboo rafted in the dirty river. I went for a swim not knowing that it'd be more than 24 hours later until my next shower. I didn't care what state the bathroom was in or what temperature the water was. I just needed to strip and wash...
"Check-in is 2pm. You can leave your luggage here and explore the island then come back and enter your room at 2pm." I looked at my watch - 10:30am. My inner monologue pictured me falling to my knees exclaiming whhhyyyyyyyyyy-eeeee...sharp intake of breathe...aaawhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyy!
I went for a long walk and had lunch, then came back. My room or should I say bungalow, was right next to the beach and main strip of shops. I stayed on Mae Haad which is dominated by restaurants and cafes. On the other side was Sairee beach which is full of bars. It was only a 10 minute walk to Sairee beach but I mainly stayed on my side as I'm lazy and it was hot. Although rain was predicted, it never came during the day. It did rain during my last two nights but that suited me as I was indoors. I even had a TV with English channels!
The next day, I was still tired fom my journey so didn't do much. I was waiting to hear back from Goodtime Adventures about a trip I wanted to book. Although I'm not fond of heights, I wanted to have a stab at rock climbing. There was one trip, which included a variety of activities, but more than two people had to be book on it. Koh Tao was extremely quiet and nobody had booked on it. I never heard back from them so it wasn't meant to be. Although doing nothing for the next few days seemed like a good idea, I knew I had to do something, even for one day. I knew before I came to Thailand that I wanted to do some Muay Thai training on Koh Tao. I tried to find Monsoon Gym to train but failed. I was hot and bothered so adopted the stroppy teenager stance - "Fine then. I won't do your stupid training then if I can't even find the place, hmph." That, and the fact that it seemed to be a bit of a trek to get to from where I was staying, meant that I gave up on that idea. I spent the next day sunbathing and watching films. The Dilemma is not worth your time folks.
The next day, I miraculously found a studio just round the corner from where I was staying that did Muay Thai training. Ha! The next session started at 4pm so I went and had lunch then got a foot massage. I knew my tootsies were gonna get pounded. I wanted to be punished. I'd not trained since I left and felt like such a slob. The foot massage was pleasant and painful. At one point this lady was jabbing a stick into my foot, on the tops of my toes and then rubbed her knuckles over the tendons. To finish off she slapped my feet and punched my calves. Apparently that's how the Thais relax!
I went back to the gym for my training. I wanted to punch something and kick something even harder. I'd not done any kickboxing for nearly a year now. I wanted to test my technique. I also just wanted to pummel something to relieve a bit of tension! An hour in and I'd not punched anything. I started off with a Mr Miyagi-style course. Instead of wax-on wax-off, I was getting to grips with the footwork. The stance and movements are different to the kickboxing I learnt back home so it took a short while to adjust. I learnt the self defense moves, standard punches, elbows and kicks. For the last 15 minutes I let rip. My arms, shins and knees were burning but they were throbbing with joy. Gimme more!
I went back the next day and we went over the footwork and my instructor Tata tested my defence moves. This session focussed more on the punches, elbows and kicks. I went for it. It didn't really help that I was training at 2pm, the hottest part of the day. I was dripping with sweat before we even began. It was a very good session. We went out for pad Thai that evening and I got to know Tata a bit more. I needed an early night though. My alarm was set to wake me at 7:30am the next day. I was going snorkelling.
For a bargain of 650 baht (around 13 British pounds) including equipment, lunch, fresh fruit, tea and biscuits, we got to stop off at five different locations to snorkel. Each stop superseded the last. It was truly magnificant and I'd recommend it a million times over. I'm a weak swimmer but we had life jackets so there was no chance of me sinking! The first stop was Shark Island. Three guesses as to what we hoped or perhaps didn't hope to see here? Thanks to the guide Sinko (phonetically spelled), I saw and followed a Bull Shark. It was crazy but not that scary. I also saw Butterfly Fish and others which I don't know the name of. I also saw Christmas Tree Worms which duck inside the coral if you hover over it, then they slowly creep back out again. I was already tired but I wanted to see more.
The next stop was Leam Thain Bay and then Hin Wong Bay. The guide could see that I was flailing around and not seeing much so he helped me. We help hands and swam together. His flippers were a big help. At one point we saw scuba divers and Sinko swam down and said hello. It was hilarious. His English was very good and he told us a lot about the fish we were about to see. I saw a lot because of it. I'd only ever been snorkelling once in Egypt and it was a disaster. The guide swam off and left me and my then boyfriend. We didn't see much in the end and we didn't know where we were going! This experience was incredible. Not only did I see a lot of beautiful fish, but I swam with some too! It really is like Finding Nemo (the film) down there. I thought the scenes where the swimming fish resembled the motor vehicle traffic on land was a mirror to the human world, but that is how some of them swim! At one point we saw a massive school of fish which I mistook to be a huge rock. Sinko swam down and through the fish. They moved to create a pathway for him. Once he swam off they simply regrouped.
We stopped for lunch at Mango Bay and snorkelled straight after. It wasn't a nice feeling! Our last stop was Koh Nang Yuan. We could choose between paying 100 baht to visit the private island and snorkel or stay on the boat. I'd just started chatting to a few Brits and they decided to stay on the boat. I didn't fancy wandering around on my own so stayed. It was the best decision I could ever have made. After jumping into the sea from the top of the boat (gah!), Sinko took me and three others out snorkelling round the island and it was mind-blowing. We saw so many different kinds of fish, all beautiful in their own right. Sinko explained that if you hold out your hands in a cupped position, sometimes the fish will kiss your hands. I couldn't get far down enough to try this out on the pink Nemos (Pink Skunk Anemone fish), but I tried it with some others. Out of nowhere a Titan Trigger Fish bit me! It was only a little sharp nip but it made me jump in shock. One fish crawled up Sinko's shorts. His reaction made us all laugh so hard. He said it must have been a female fish, haha! Later on, Sinko swam down and brought up a sea cucumber. I held it but nobody else wanted a go. It was squidgy and a bit slimy. I wanted to take my new friend with me but we had to put him back of course.
On the way back, I spotted a lot more sea cucumbers. I saw a lot of sea urchins too. They're pretty eerie looking with their black evil spikes. It didn't look anything like that in my sushi in Japan...
I was so happy after that trip. Someone asked me back in Bangkok what has been my favourite part of my trip so far and I couldn't pin-point one specific time or event. This snorkelling trip did it for me. I'll never forget that day. If the Great Barrier Reef in Oz is better than Koh Tao then there is a grand treat in store for me when I get there!
So, just like that, my time in Koh Tao was over and it was time for my next stop, Koh Phangan - the party island. Let's hope they don't play Beyonce or Koh Phangan won't know what's hit 'em!
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