Friday 14th June
I am now coping with the heat of Bangkok, after two days and three nights of being on the verge of meltdown. I got into town late on Tuesday and found a place on Khao San Road, and since then have been wandering around trying to aviod scams and see the place at the same time.
On Wednesday morning I walked to Wat Pho, an impressive series of temples which also houses the Reclining Budda, an horreddously large golden chap lying on his side. The figure has been in the same housing for the last 3000 years so they decided that it was a good time to clean the place up - meaning that the whole place was covered in scaffolding when I turned up. That took up most of the morning, and in the afternoon I had to sneak off to the pub to watch England v Nigeria and Sweeden v Argentina (they were played at the same time) which meant that night I had to get to bed early, but not before Id met some nice people from Liverpool who were drinking Red Bull and Vodka.
Yesterday, I got up a little bleary eyed and once again put my tourist hat on, this time looking at the Grand Palace (which is, I might add very Grand) and another beautiful temple across the river, Wat Arun. Once again adjurning to Khao San road yet another super-cheap Pad Thai and a wander through the markets before the day ended. The markets contain an amazing mix of everything from cheap rolexes to tacky tourist trinkets. I have a funny feeling that my CD collection will be expanding over the next couple of days!
Saturday 16th June
I am now in Koh Samui, after a trip from Bangkok that saw me meet the first Kiwis of my trip and saw me change from the proposed sleeper train with a bus and ferry connection to a rushed taxi ride followed by a bus, then a three hour wait before another bus, ferry and minibus before I found a place to stay here in Chaweng (pronnounced Schwing - like Garth in Wayne's World) Beach. After I had completed my Tuk Tuk ride from the hostel to the train station, I found out that the incoming train had been derailed, so along with a couple of Kiwis and two Brits, I jumped into a taxi to the bus station. Along the way we went through the usual "where are you from? how long have you been travelling? who do you know?" sort of conversation when it became apparent that we knew the same people. The Brits were amazed, but I assured them that not everyone in New Zealand knows each other. They couldnt tell if I was serious or not. (Quick note to Nat: it was Clog and Cath)
So after all sorts of waits, attempted scams and bus rides later I got to swim in the sea for the first time since Peru. I also managed to con the manager of a pub into showing me the All Blacks v Ireland game, and now await the result of half the Island stopping for the England v Denmark world cup game. It seems that 90% of the tourists here are English, and the bar staff in virtually all the pubs wear English football shirts and clap and cheer entheusiatically during the games. Although Im not sure they know exactly whats going on, they certainly know where their money is coming from!
Monday 17th June
Today is my last day in Koh Samui before I head off to Koh Pha-Ngan, and from all accounts things there are even more relaxed than here. It certainly is quite upmarket in Samui and most of the prices are higher than Bangkok. Luckily its off season, so there are a couple of good accommodation deals to be had. Certainly a far cry from how I imagine that it was just over 30 years ago when the first two tourists arrived. The water is still crystal clear and the zillions of bungalows and bars along the beach front dont really impact on the setting. My guidebook said that Koh Samui has a huge rubbish problem, but as yet Ive not seen more than a few empty bottes lying around.
While I was lying on the beach yesterday (unbelievably reading Chinese history in preparation for the next part of my trip), it struck me why Thailand is better than places like Bonnie Doon. Its the culture. There is just so much culture, its chockas. Luckily that thought passed and I went back to my holiday..
Thursday 20th June
As expected Koh Pha-Ngan is very much slower in pace than its larger neighbour, and I have done very little since arriving here. I am staying in the South Eastern side of the island in a place called Hat Rin which is the larger of the beach towns on the Island, it is famous for the party that they have for every full moon. There are plenty of restaurants and bars all showing ripped off DVDs and VCDs of popular movies all day, so when I am hiding from the sun I can recline on a comfortable mattress and take in all the films Ive missed out on since Ive been travelling. We have been subjected to a couple of torrential downpours too since I have been here - but nothing to long, although the amount of rain that comes out of the sky is phenominal. Apparently the Islands on the western side of the country are well into the rainy season now, and so it looks as though its getting here too.
I have met some interesting people since I have been here. Last night I met an English guy who took me, Kerry and Fran, who Ive been hanging out with since we met on the ferry on the way over, to the beach and introduced us to Sang Thip 'wonder' buckets. These are a small plastic bucket containing a 375ml bottle of whiskey, redbull and coke. Suffice to say that I cant really remember getting home - but I do remember putting people in headlocks and telling them that they were drunk. "..Yes you are, Oh yes you are.." Some of you will be able to sympathise with this behaviour. Fran and Kerry left today, so not only is there a very unhappy Israeli guy here but Im going to have to find some more people to help me slag off the dancing styles of all the other inhabitants of Hat Rin.
Today I went on a boat trip around the island, looking at some more secluded spots, doing some snorkelling, swimming and climbing up to see a waterfall. The waterfall is very famous because the King has come and visited it a number of times, but after seeing it for myself I wonder why he would bother. It was really only just a rapid! I did however take about three or four photos of it, for no good reason at all, but then hey - Im on holiday.
Wednesday 26th June
Today is my last full day in Thailand, and I have to say that the planned relaxing time on the beach has now ended with me far more tired and drained than I was when I arrived.
Hanging out on the beach at Koh Pha-Ngan was great fun, but my stay there culminated in the full moon party that the island is so famous for. A nice coincidence, but it did convert the usually sleepy tranquil place into a heaving, crazy mess with loud music pumping from huge speakers dotted around the beach. Ovbviously, this didnt bother me too much at all and I continued performing experiments upon myself involving beer and the so-called Buckets of Joy. The quieter days leading up to the party too were not without risk or danger. I was always in danger of accidentally catching the frisbee wrong and injuring a finger, or falling awkwardly into the water whilst trying to catch it. There were other annoyances too, such as having to get up occasionally to get water or apply sunblock. The only lasting effect of anything however, were the bloody bed bugs from my bungalow who left little red dotted lines all over my body.
The night of the party saw about 8000 revellers gather on the beach in front of the silvery glow of the moon reflecting in the water. Being a full moon, some of the local bar owners miscalculated the extent of the tide, and a few tables got waterlogged. It took some very cunning trench building for ours to remain dry. This was lucky, because I needed a dry area to conduct my Danish lessons (I now know two words that will help me in no way at all) and listen to some "really funny" jokes. It was a fantastic scene and the moon had been well and truely replaced by the sun when I wandered back to feed my bugs for the last time.
After the post-party sleep of a couple of hours, I jumped into a taxi with a few others, some backpacks and a huge hangover to go halfway around the island to the port, where I caught a ferry back to the mainland. From there I had a short bus ride to the train station and boarded a sleeper carriage to Bangkok where I woke up this morning. I have now got the rest of the day to do any remaining touristy things here before my flight to Hong Kong tomorrow morning, where my next entry will be written. See you there.
Click here for the continuation of my trip in Hong Kong and China
Feel free to send any messages to me at ryananglem@hotmail.com