Before Matt and I embarked on this trip, I made it clear to him that as I hadn't had a holiday in a while, I wanted to head to the islands in the south of Thailand early on for some beach action. Originally we had planned to do this starting with the Full Moon Party in Koh Pha-Ngan, but we had to change our trip at the last minute and consequently missed the party date. Instead, we decided to head to Phuket, the biggest of the Andaman islands.
To get to Phuket, Matt and I decided to take the sleeper train to Surat Thani, where we would get a coach to Phuket. Lonely Planet failed me with advice on the sleeper train, and Matt and I were stuck with two top bunks, rather than my preferred one bottom, one top. Still, I heard that the sleeper train was a pleasant enough way of getting around Thailand, and that it incorporated the best of both worlds – it is nowhere near as expensive as flying, but nowhere near as uncomfortable as an overnight bus.
I had no preconception of what the train was going to be like, but my first opinion wasn't exactly a good one! Upon boarding I first noticed that a load of children were in our seats. A few hand gestures later, we managed to free up our seats. We then noticed we had no space to put our bags, as some woman down the other end of the carriage felt the need to store several large boxes on our shelves. Never mind I thought, it will be ok, it is all part of the experience!
At around 8.30, they changed the seats into beds. Matt and I climbed into our bunks (which isn't easy being taller than 5 foot!), with no option other than to put all our stuff in the bunks with us... Comfortable! I had really had enough of the sleeper train by this point, when Matt saved the day by pulling out the two mini bottles of Jameson that we had taken from our flight to Singapore, thank you Emirates! Needless to say, after drinking both of them I was feeling far more agreeable, and was quickly asleep, the worries of earlier in the evening out of my mind.
The coach journey to Phuket was very pleasant, and after an expensive (no meters in Phuket!) taxi ride later, we were at our hostel. For the price the hostel was amazing, but there was no time to sit around, I wanted to see the paradise beach!
After listening to advice and doing some quick research, Matt and I had chosen to stay near Kata beach. The most touristy beach is Patong, which is described simply as sleazy everywhere I looked. Kata and Karon beaches are further south on the island from Patong.
After a short walk from the hostel, we stumbled across Kata beach, and it was oh so picture perfect. In the late afternoon sunshine, the sea was glistening and the sand a perfect yellow. We strolled along the beach, very much looking forward to spending the next day there. It was truly beautiful.
Spending the day at the beach is what we did the next day, and everyday we were in Phuket. We stayed there for four days, and left truly relaxed. Out of all the islands, it was by far the least exciting. However, for the first island this was perfect – at the end of the wet season it was quite quiet, but we were blessed with lovely weather. Still, by the end of our four days we were ready to move on to somewhere more exciting.
Koh Phi Phi was our next stop, and after reading that it gave Koh Pha-Ngan competition in the party department, I was very much looking forward to it. First though, we had to take the boat from Phuket.
This particular boat journey will always stick in my mind. On our last night in Phuket, the heavens opened and it rained all evening and all night. By morning it had shown no signs of slowing down, and I was dreading the boat journey. Matt and I managed to find a seat on the bottom level of the boat, and having got up early that morning, I was quickly asleep.
Halfway through the journey, I woke up and decided to get up for a wander. Well, tried to get up, and promptly tripped over due to the violent swaying of the boat. I persevered, got up the stairs and was faced with the sight of the angry sea, viciously throwing the boat about, and making most people on board violently sick. I wish I had never got up, because I was then absolutely petrified until we got to Koh Phi Phi!
Upon arrival in Koh Phi Phi, we tracked down the hotel that Catherine had suggested. We were once again quickly out the door after dumping our bags, off to explore the island, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. Koh Phi Phi is so incredibly laid back. The beaches have a different vibe to Phuket and any of the other islands. Bob Marley plays from every beach bar, and this sums up perfectly the vibe along the sand. Wherever I went, I was more than happy just sitting and enjoying being on the island, feeling completely and utterly relaxed.
Matt and I had a couple of very enjoyable evenings in Phi Phi, where we met some really nice people. A particular highlight was the first night, which involved a bar that offered 'The Burger Challenge'. For 500 Baht (£10ish, or free if you can actually eat it all!) you got an 800g burger (three meat patties, three pieces of bread), a big bowl of coleslaw, lots of thick potato wedges and plenty of onion rings. The plate was massive, and I am told someone has completed the challenge in 16 minutes. After seeing the size of the plate in all its greasy glory, I have no idea how anyone could do that. It was HUGE. The guy we were with tried it; he managed two thirds of the burger, and about a quarter of everything else. Still, Matt and I didn't turn down the late night snacks of the remaining wedges. I also got to see my fireshow I had wanted to see since we first arrived in Phuket.
We had only planned to stay in Koh Phi Phi for two nights, however, upon waking up on the third day, I was immediately sick. I couldn't keep anything down, even water, and there was no chance we were going anywhere. I have no idea what was wrong with me, could have been something I ate or perhaps a bug, but I wasn't impressed that I spent a day in Koh Phi Phi in bed, trying to actually keep some water down.
The next day I was feeling mildly better. I had stomach ache, but all my food was staying where it should so we made our way to Koh Lanta. I knew absolutely nothing about Koh Lanta, so I had no idea what to expect. After checking into our hostel, we went for a walk, and I noticed that this island was, for the most part, the least touristy place we had been. In most places it seems to have avoided the eye of the developers, and there is still a lot of originality about the beaches and the restaurants that I really enjoyed.
For our full day in Lanta, we decided to rent a moped. I read that this is the best way to explore the island, and as it is relatively flat, it is reasonably safe too. Matt obviously had to drive (ok, he let me try to drive once, but within about two second I nearly killed us), and we made our way to Old Town. Riding on the moped was initially terrifying, but once I got used to it, I really enjoyed everything I could see. We drove past sea gypsies, original wooden stilt houses, monkeys doing all sorts, a snake (horrific) and my particular favourite, a herd of elephants. For originality, Koh Lanta certainly wins. It is beautiful, and certainly a contrast to Phuket and Koh Phi Phi.
The final island we visited was Koh Samui, situated on the other side of Thailand. It was one lonnnnnng trek, and as my stomach ache was still in existence, not a particularly pleasant one. Throughout the journey my stomach ache was getting progressively worse, and then I began to feel sick.
On the boat I began feeling so ill, I had no choice but to go up the top and get some fresh air. I hoped to sit there quietly concentrating on not being sick, however, a group of Chinese tourists had other ideas.
After a couple of minutes, a few of them came over to me and started chatting. Despite the urge to vomit, I politely answered their questions. Upon finding out I was from England, they were overcome with excitement. Next thing I know, they are dragging me across the top of the boat to meet their friends... Their, roughly, forty friends. I had to be introduced to each one with a hand shake, and then they insisted on having their picture taken with me. One by one. They kept shouting ENGLAND! in my face, and pulling me to a variety of different settings for the picture. About twenty minutes later, completely dazed and confused, I managed to escape.
I almost made it to the hostel in Koh Samui without being sick. Almost. In the taxi to the hostel, Emirates saved me again. First the Jameson, then the sick bags. Thank you Emirates!
Unfortunately, it rained nearly non stop for the time we were in Koh Samui. It was the rainy season, and we only really went because we needed to get the sleeper train back from Surat Thani, so figured that we might as well. The rain did stop for one afternoon though, and we had a very pleasant time lying on the beach, reading. It was incredibly relaxing, and I was beginning to feel myself again.
By the time the day came to take the sleeper train back to Bangkok, I was feeling very well and full of life, ready to head back to Bangkok and then Hong Kong to visit Michael. Only a minibus, a bus, a boat, a bus, a minibus and a train stood in the way of arriving back to Bangkok, and I was ready for it.
I was not ready, however, for the scum that stole from me, and to a lesser extent, Matt. Since the beginning of this trip, whenever Matt and I are moving anywhere, by any mode of transport, we keep all our valuables separate from our main bags. This effort paid off when I got on the sleeper train, went to get something out of my bag, and upon peeling off the rain cover noticed that one of the straps were undone. Anyway who knows me will know that I would not have left this undone. I instantly knew what had happened, and dreaded looking in my bag to see what was missing.
In total, they stole: a quarter of a bottle of perfume (which I only bought to make myself feel better if I was feeling a bit smelly!), my belt, an (empty) handbag, a pair of socks, and a pair of pants. I was so angry – I worked really hard to be here, to buy the stuff to go on this trip, and some idiot feels the need to steal from me. On the one hand, it made me so thankful that I do keep my valuables separate. On the other hand, I really liked that belt, and I was going to be angry about someone stealing it! After half an hour of Matt patiently nodding at me and rubbing my back as I explained exactly how I was going to kill the person who did this, I tired myself out and fell asleep. Interestingly, the thief made my second sleeper train experience very bearable.
We arrived safely in Bangkok , and it is a relief to be here. I am still bitter that I have had to spend the day looking for cheap replacements for my belt and bag, and Matt has since discovered that they stole his tiny sample bottles of aftershave too – pathetic. Nevertheless, it is time to move on and look forward to going to Hong Kong to visit Michael.
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