The journey starts again, with us heading south to the Thai Islands. However this was proceeded by another big night out in Bangkok. It was very fun coming back to party one last time along the Khao San Road. It felt like re-visiting an old friend, and following several buckets, we had another big night finishing up at the simply named The Club once more.
After an overnight coach and an early morning boat the next day, we arrived in the beautiful Koh Tao. I had been playing with the idea of trying scuba diving before I arrived on the Island, and when Kelly, Vicky and myself were presented with a 3 day course, which included free accommodation, we decided to give it a whirl. Although the theory classes were pretty dull at points, especially when nursing a hangover from the previous night’s frivolities, we stuck with it and we were soon heading out to sea for our first ocean dive. It is a magical feeling when you properly go under for the first time. It does take a while to equalise your ears as you initially get deeper, but being on the coral reef floor surrounded by a wide variety of fish and other ocean critters is really amazing and completely worth the hours in the classroom. I’m going to put together a video of our dives soon, so this will probably give the best illustration of what it is like, but here are a couple of pics.
Our next stop was the nearby party island Koh Pha Ngan for the days up to and including the infamous Full Moon Party. I’m happy to report that this island has a lot more to it, than purely being home to the wild beach party every month, and we had an awesome time here. We stayed at a hostel with a friendly and helpful host, Gof, who took us for a great tour to explore the island, showing us two of the nicest beaches and a great Thai market for dinner. There was also an excellent restaurant riggt next door to the hostel which served delicious local food for around £1-2 a dish. We had an idyllic beach a few minutes walk from our place, where we spent a lot time relaxing on this sandy spit which extended out into the ocean.
When it comes to the nights out, my favourite was actually the (pre-Full Moon) Jungle Party, set on a huge stage in a cool jungle (as the name suggests!) location. However, the Full Moon itself was a cracking night too; 25,000 people partying on huge dance stages at bars all along one beach combined with copious buckets of cheap alcohol is a recipe for a quality night! We all got suitably dressed for the occasion in UV/tie dye and UV paint, and remarkably managed to stick together as a 5 for the whole night.
The third island visit was to peaceful Koh Lanta, on the west side of Thailand. We spent a lovely few days recuperating here, exactly what we all needed following Koh Phan Ngan! We did, however, manage to venture out on a boat trip to some of the nearby smaller islands which was well worth it. Whilst snorkelling – seeing a wonderful array of fish around you, swimming into a hidden cove inside one of the islands, we were lucky enough to come across a turtle, which swam right up to our boat, def a trip highlight 🙂
The final Thai Island on our adventure, took us to lively Koh Phi Phi. Phi Phi is a small island, where everything is accessible by foot and a nice aspect is that no vehicles are allowed on it. We spent our last few days here soaking up the sun by day and frequenting the bars by night. We went to an Ibiza themed pool party which was great fun, however, we did witness a young couple having a bit too much fun together in the swimming pool, which was somewhat disturbing (yet amusing at the same time!) On another day boat trip, we were taken to Maya Bay, famed as the island where The Beach was filmed. As with so many of the beaches here, it has wonderful golden sand looking onto a stunning blue sea, maybe it’s slightly spoilt by the number of tourists there, but it was still well worth the visit.
All too soon, it was time to leave Thailand. It has been a wonderful part of our trip. The pace of life is chilled out, with a great mix of relaxing beaches and fun nightlife, amazing food and constant 30 degree sunny weather, making it a pretty incredible holiday location. It’s going to be a big contrast to the next two modern city destinations of Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, which is where I will pick up the story again.
Over and out.
Chris
thereandbackagainaslumdogtale 