Thailand - Kho Yai Noi 7th – 10th Jan

Hi all, Kathryn here, sorry we have been so lazy at updating our blog! I’ve done my best to waffle on about the last few weeks below and i hope you all find it interesting, and most of all i hope you are all as jealous as hell J!!!
Well we finally escaped from the Costa Del Phuket and decided too go and visit an island we had been told about by a bar manager in Phuket – a bit like the beach, very quiet and thought of as the ‘real’ Thailand! We got a taxi down to the pier and were put on the next boat that was leaving. We were very excited to find that also on the boat that day was Jack Sparrow straight from Pirates of the Caribbean! A Thai guy wearing a head scarf and eyeliner and looking like the double of Johnny Depp in the film was jumping around on the top of the boat!!!
After about an hour at sea we arrived in paradise! An extremely quiet island between Phuket and Krabi that although inhabited by many Thai people (most of which were Muslim which was strange after seeing so much Buddhism, also an unwelcome call to prayer at 4am! In case you are wondering the more South you get and the closer to Malaysia the more Muslim influenced it becomes) there were hardly any tourists and it was just what we needed after all the action in Phuket!
We checked into our bungalow (which Lucy would describe as a shack – no hot water and the cold shower was so rubbish we all had to use the bum spray to wash our hair!!) which was a large stones throw from the beach and we began to wind down!
The next few days was spent lazing around, finding coconuts and getting people to break them open for us, going on a boat trip to the even more beautiful surrounding Islands and getting early nights to make sure Lucy was well rested for when she got back to England and had to go back to work!
On our last night on Koh Yai we decided to go for a ‘quick’ drink at the local bar because the guy that ran our bungalows was playing the guitar with his band and wanted us to see him! We soon realised how great it was to be a tourist in this bar – they were hosting a local hotels xmas party and there were around 50 Thai employees letting their hair down and having fun! Quite a lot of free drinks later we couldn’t leave because we were all having such a good night! We danced the night away with the locals and although we felt at times like we were gate crashing their party they made us feel so welcome the whole night, Zoe even joined the band for her drunken rendition of Hotel California!! We eventually had to leave when i could no longer stand up!!
Hungover and not wanting to leave paradise our flight to Bangkok was calling so we started to pack up our belongings again! We were cheered up a little to walk out of our shack, and 2 monkeys were sitting outside! Just a normal morning of climbing trees and throwing down coconuts to their owners!! We then started the journey North – it might have also included a hungover visit to Burger King for some local cuisine!

Thailand - Bangkok 10-11th January 2009

Kathryn : Sad to leave the Island we were also excited about showing Lucy around Bangkok, so we began by checking into a guest house that had been recommended to us – whilst me and Zoe were finding it hard to contain our excitement because this place was cheap and also clean, friendly, safe and just so cute that i was defiantly in love with it! Lucy was on the other hand not too happy about the room we were having to share – not even an en suite bathroom or a plug socket!
We took Lucy out for a taste of the Khoa San Road, something she had to experience before going home! But we walked up and down the road really confused at the lack of atmostphere and buzz that it usually has. It turns out that due to an election the next day there was no alcohol being served all across the country that day which certainly explained the lack of fun being had on the Khoa San Road!
There was only one thing to do when there was no drinking to be had and Lucy had to cram in all of the culture she could in her last night – so Zoe and Lucy took themselves off to a ping pong show!! I’ll let Zoe fill you all in on that one because I didn’t accompany them – I have seen it all before and also more importantly Emma and Michelle (Emma from Marie Curie) were in town so we just HAD to catch up!!!! The 3 of us had some lovely falafel and then walked up and down the Khoa San Road shopping and chatting and then ended up being stalked by this famous old guy who hangs around the Khoa San Road called Mr Thailand! He took a particular shining to Michelle and even gave her his scarf which reeked of his very attractive aftershave!
It was lovely spending time with Emma again and hearing all about her and Michelle’s week at the orphanage that they were doing a 2 week volunteering project at! I don’t think i could have done something like that, merely for the fact that every day they walked outside their accommodation they had to walk through a load of frogs who lived there – gross!!!
(Hey... Zoe here. Not much to add on the info provided above! Good job K! Re the Ping Pong show, firstly I couldn’t let Lucy go alone ;) and it was purely for research purposes! V strange, and very funny! Apart from that saying goodbye to Lucy was pretty sad, we had been the 3 amigos for quite a while by then, but... as it goes, the show must go on! And so she set off on her bus to the airport having had, we hope, a brilliant adventure with us... we certainly enjoyed the entertainment she brought.)

Thailand – Kanchanaburi – 11-13th January 2009

Kathryn : For our last few days in Thailand we took the tip from Claire to visit Kanchanaburi where The bridge over the River Kwai is, it isn’t too far from Bangkok and not only is it a really nice little town but there are loads of cool things surrounding it too! We only had time to see one of them which was the trail of 7 waterfalls at Erawan National Park.
We found this beautiful place to stay on the river and it was a good job Lucy had gone home because she would have hated the basic room with no hot water! We were going to stay in a room floating on the river with just a mattress on the floor but the bathroom was miles away so unfortunately we couldn’t!
The national park was amazing! We got there really early which meant it was really quiet – just us and the monkeys! I kid you not, the park was full of wild monkeys who were running around the trees right in front of us and were so close to us we could have touched them (we wanted to keep our finger s so we resisted!). We walked the trail and saw all 7 waterfalls which were all different and breathtaking, then we swam in a few of them too. Zoe had never seen a proper waterfall before (only a lame one on an island in Thailand) so it was a really good day and she definitely saw her fair share of waterfalls!! One of the 7 made a big slide that you could climb onto and slide down into the pool which was so much fun!! And i could have spent hours watching the monkeys playing around in the trees!
On our last day on Kanchanaburi Zoe was poorly so we didn’t do too much except took a sroll up to the bridge and found out some more it’s history – it was part of a really long railway which was built during the 2nd World War by the prisoners of war including soldiers from UK,USA and Japan. Today it is used only by tourists and lots of them!
After a few relaxing days we headed back to Bangkok to my new favourite guest house to get ready for Oz! There was only one thing for it – a final trip down the Khoa San road for some last minute bargains before we got back to the real world where things actually cost more than a fiver!
Goodbye Asia – hello Australia!
Thanks for listening!
Zoe here.... again, good job Kathryn... not much to add, except that SE Asia, whilst brief, was amazing! I cannot believe everything we’ve seen and done in such a short space of time! Soooo excited about getting to Australia now, and catching up with some old friends and family. Just a million hour flight to Cairns to go! Xx
Kathryn’s top 5 things of SE Asia... in no particular order
Hammocks, Angkor Wat, monkeys, pad thai & Luang Prabang (Laos)
Zoe’s top 5 things in SE Asia... in no particular order
Cambodia (in general), Lucy visiting, Angkor Wat, completing our open water diving course (thus finding NEMO) & 12p beer.

Australia – Cairns 14th-18th January 2009

Zoe: G’DAY MATE!! And so we make it to Oz, but only just. Knowing full well that the flight from Bangkok to Cairns via Singapore was to be no easy task we felt we had prepared ourselves for the million hour trip.... WRONG! The flight from Bangkok, whilst a little delayed, went fairly smoothly, we were fed well, but had made the decision not to sleep for the 4 hour flight trying to keep ourselves awake so we could sleep from Singapore to Cairns. Excited about a new country we arrived at a very impressive Singapore airport for the 7 hour wait for our connecting flight. We were also looking forward to the luxury of a Quantas plane after taking a number of budget flights lately, but no such luck. We checked in to find that not only we were flying via Darwin but we were flying the budget Jetstar airline! Oh well, the time passed in the airport, albeit slowly, and as we prepare to board another flight disaster struck again.... K lost her valium, her essential companion when flying. Having searched her bags, she opted to run to the chemist for any kind of equivalent and after running for gate, the gate number changing, people telling us different things about the length of the flight, and what we do in Darwin, we got seated on the plane and we took off, K doing surprisingly well on her herbal equivalent at this point. As soon as we were airbourne, we felt the need to sleep... but due to the (completely inefficient) staff were served last for food and drinks, despite telling them that K needed to sleep asap or else she would cry (she cried). Now wound up by the events of the day sleeping proved hard, but after the stop in Darwin, getting off the plane for an hour at ridic o’clock am and reboarding, we finally arrived in a very sunny and gorgeous looking Cairns. Woohoo! Well done K!
So Cairns.... situated on the north of the East Coast of Australia it is hot, humid and tropical! We checked into our hostel (the reality of which is rooms costing more than 5 quid...booo!) and headed out to check out the town... which basically consisted of a cross roads. Despite maybe expecting a bit more to be going on, we soon grew to really like Cairns. The first day, having recovered from our flight, was filled with exploring, country music, many a mullet, and WINE! We headed out for dinner, offered free by the hostel in a local pub, which was to Kathryn’s delight, Spaghetti Bolognaise! Not sure if it was to be a big night for us, we washed it down with a glass of delicious wine, and then a bottle, and then... we found out it was ladies night, meaning free ‘champagne’ til 11pm for the ladies, hmmmm. Tell 2 London girls at half ten they can have free champagne until 11 does not only sound like a must do.. but a challenge. Having met a nice group of people that night, I decided to prove my drinking skills, and with Kathryn fraternising with the enemy telling me that I only had ten minutes left, which was not true, I must have downed 5 champagnes in 20 minutes... all in the name of saving money of course. The rest of the first night in Cairns was a bit of a blur... there was lots of dancing, some of which was on tables, and late night food... or was that early morning, as we didn’t crawl back to the hostel til 4ish. A sign of things to come for us in Australia?! Perhaps!!
After recovering from our first night in Cairns, we spent the next 2 days organising our first few weeks in Australia and the activities we wanted to do along the East Coast. The wonderful travel agents (Peter Pans) became our 2nd home and we’re soon recognised as the girls they couldn’t get rid of! They loved us really, and we made a great friend.... so much so that we have began a business venture in collaboration with our new pal Bucko! At the moment, all we can say is Slap the Goon!!
Despite our hangovers, we still managed to go out on our 2nd night, this time sampling the legendary goon (wine from a bag) and enjoying a free meal from another local pub (we thought we should not show our faces in the pub from last night!!). That said, it wasn’t long before we were again making fools of ourselves in another bar... or maybe that was just me. Having won the “raffle” I was asked, amongst others, to head up to the stage... but not to receive a prize, but instead to participate in some crazy bar games.... I felt like I had returned to uni! After passing a few of the initial tasks I failed on the getting an empty glass from the crowd, proved as such by having to empty the contents of it on my head. Nice! Some more shenanigans..... and then home for an earlyish night.
Nothing really interesting to report in the next few days, we were excited about the diving we had booked on the great barrier reef, and the trip to Cape Tribulation but first had to waste some lazy days in Cairns. Unlike the time days of glorious sunshine which we had spent in the travel agents, these days were overcast and mostly pouring with rain, it is the wet season here after all! Most of them were wasted by reading books, a little shopping, and me being ill in bed... but finally the day came! Diving on the Great Barrier Reef!!

Thailand - Phuket night out on 6th

Now qualified to dive and also the last night with Lewis, Toby and Steve a night out on the town was a must! Unfortunately Steve had sunstroke and Joel our diving instructor who was going to join us had put his back out during the day so couldn’t make it, instead Joels partner Rachel met us for a quick beverage and gave us some tips for our night ahead. We headed down to Patong – the most touristy/chavy place in Phuket and were not surprised to bump into some boys from our home town of Bexleyheath (small world!). They joined us for some of the evening but when we took them to a bar where all the staff are ladyboys who don’t leave the men alone they didn’t seem too thrilled!! Toby also got ‘lucky’ when one of the ladyboys thrusted her/his bare breasts in his face – lucky Toby! The boys from home went and got on with their night out whilst the 5 of us headed to another bar and then a club to dance the night away, arriving home at the early hours of the morning to find the boys were locked out of their room we were all forced to have a sleepover!

Thailand - Phuket 2-6 January 2009

The 2nd, as expected, was again overcast. We packed our belongings, bid farewell to Emma and Michelle, and the 3 of us headed for the pier to our boat to the mainland. The rest of the day is best not blogged, as we have already blocked it from our minds. A horrible day of swapping from boat to bus to mini bus and lots of waiting on the roadside in between (Lucy coped very well!) Arriving in the middle of the night, it was at least some comfort to be greeted by our friends Toby, Lewis and Steve with a nice apartment already sorted for the 6 of us and cold beers in the fridge.
From the 3rd to the 6th we completed our openwater diving course on Karon Beach, Phuket. A friend of Toby’s, the wonderful Joel, had accepted the fateful task of teaching us to dive... a decision I bet he regretted at times. It was a great few days, with just the 3 of us in the class and not a swimming pool in sight we had definitely made the right decision not going to Koh Tao. On our first day, we managed to get into the sea for some skills and a 40 minute dive, most people would still be in the swimming pool at this point. After a hard day of diving came the even harder afternoons of lazing around on the beach, the odd game of bat and ball, or Frisbee and burying Toby in the sand kept us entertained. Day two was similar to day one, we all found it quite hard to equalise the pressure in our ears today though which made things slightly more stressful but we managed and it was so worth it for all of the amazing fish we saw at the local reef, coming and back and discussing which fish we had seen in the sunshine was loads of fun!! The evening wasn’t as enjoyable as although we went out for a lovely meal we also had homework due in the next day so we all sat in our living room in our pj’s and crammed it all in as quickly as possible!
Day three of our course we had to mark our homework and do our test to see how much we had listened to the theory stuff – we all passed with flying colours and could go out for our third dive joined by Toby and Lewis who hadn’t dived in years! After a few rounds of thumb war at the bottom (Zoe used dirty tactics of trying to remove my air to win!) we were off to the reef for our longest dive so far – well for us anyway, Lewis hadn’t put his mask on properly which meant he was constantly having to clear it of the water and then his air ran out!! So he bailed out and let the rest of us enjoy the world under the sea. It is so amazing seeing what lives down there and although i thought i would be terrified it is so incredible and takes your breath away that there is no time to be scared!
Day four we went to Kata beach to go out on a boat for our final 2 dives, we were all much more confident today and this made for a much longer, deeper and amazing diving! Joel was a legend and brought out his underwater camera to record our antics under the sea (see Facebook or email us for the links) which meant we could capture the moment Zoe was looking forward to since the diving course began; finding Nemo! At the end of the last dive Joel took us to a massive anemone which was full of about 10-15 clown fish – WOW! What a way to finish our course!

Koh Phangnan - Thailand 1st Jan 2009

2009.... what an end to the year we had... and lots more adventures to come in the months ahead.
So, the first day of the year on our island paradise... and it was again overcast. Due to head off to Koh Tao tomorrow for our openwater diving course and with a bleak weather forecast it was time to take action. Lucy’s natural requirement of a winter holiday in Thailand was to return to London with a tan and so, after a few white lies (one of us cutting our foot on nye and not possibly being able to dive which meant we got our deposit back) we changed our plans, cancelled our diving trip and instead headed over to Phuket where, thanks to some informants who were already there, we could still complete our diving course, they had sorted accommodation for us, and it was SUNNY! Happy and content, we all tucked up for our last night as a fivesome as Lucy, Kathryn and I were to embark on our adventure to the west of Thailand in the morning.