Our journey so far continued...Thailand - The Islands

February 2011

11th – Day spent in Ubon Rachathani. Grubby city used for stopover before flying to Bangkok. Nick found awesome outdoor gym in the park with Flintstone-style barbells with concrete plates for workout. Helen walked around sightseeing what there was, which was not alot. The highlight was an incredibly hospitable hotelier at our hotel who ceremoniously raised the St. George flag in honour of our stay above the entrance as we sang God Save the Queen. The patriotic amongst you will be pleased to hear that it replaced the French flag – a process of natural selection of course. ;-)

 

13th – Flew to Bangkok to catch up with some friends. Our second trip to BKK in order to catch our flight to Surat Thani saw us there for 2 days. We hoped to catch up with Om and Omar. However, as usual, work always gets in the way of life, and they were too busy. Nevermind, off to the beaches!

15th – Flew to Surat Thani and straight on bus to catch ferry to Koh Phangan to meet up with Mick and Julia for the best part of 2 weeks on Thong Nai Pan beach. ‘Everyday’s a holiday with Mickeeeeeey!’ Between Crusoe-esque adventures (see previous ‘Flashpackers’ blog) and conventional beach time, it was always beer o’clock. Our malnutritioned and bloated bellies alleviated, we were ready to conquer the world again.

28th – Tuk tuk to port to catch ferry to Koh Samui. On our own again, which proved a shock to the system, but rain, rain and more rain somewhat foiled any chance of hitting the beach to sunbathe.

February 2011

1st – Ferry to mainland for bus to Phuket at Karon beach. This visit did not lessen the experience of Helen’s previous 2 visits to this beach even on a significantly different budget. Spent 7 nights watching beautiful sunsets every night (see previous blog) with our new best friend Chiang.

8th – Ferry to Phi Phi. Went in search of Leonardo DiCaprio at ‘The Beach’, properly known as Maya Beach, but despite not seeing him, managed to have a good time. Incredibly busy, as expected, but the turquoise water as clear as your bath, together with silky white sand and a scattering of picturesque longtails made up for it.

10th – Ferry to Krabi and Bus to Satun via Trang to stay overnight before catching ferry to Langkawi, Malaysia.