Week 3 - Thailand and New Zealand South Island

17th October - Today our tour group headed back to Bangkok. We checked out with them and jumped in the same bus to the pier but instead of going back to the mainland we got on the Catamaran to Ko Phangan. We arrived at the Island around 4pm. Its the inbetween sized island - smaller than Ko Samui but larger than Ko Tao. The Taxi to the hotel was absolutely nuts due in part to the usual crazy Thai driving and in part to the road - up and down the side of a mountain with 20% drops and hairpin bends. Not something you would want to do every day!

The taxi driver dropped us at the end of the road our hotel was on as the other guys off our tour who had come to Ko Phangan were at different hotels. It looked like a dirt track and we were a bit scared about what we were going to find given the previous standards of Thai accomodation. From the outside it was all rather shabby, but there was no need to worry though, our room was beautiful with a huge outside bath tub! The hotel was also right on the beach which was beautiful!







We headed out to wander round the town of Haad Rin (the area where we were) and ended up having a Mexican for dinner which was lovely and for once luckily minus the chillis that seemed to be in every other food we had!

18th October - We had a bit of a lay in before heading into town for some shopping. On the way in I noticed a hair salon and decided spur of the moment to ask about getting my hair highlighted. Turns out a full head of highlights was 20 pounds so I couldn't resist and luckily it turned out fine!

After that we shopped for a couple of hours but we weren't having too much luck with bartering down to Bangkok prices so we went back to the hotel for a dip in the pool and then relaxed for the afternoon in our lovely room!

In the evening we met up with the other guys from our tour who had come to the Island and we were all going to go to the Black Moon Party. The Full Moon Party on Ko Phangan is apparently legendary and attracts up to 20,000 people, and the Black Moon Party is supposed to be the baby version, after the Half Moon Party. We had stayed on the Full Moon Party Beach in the mistaken belief that the Black Moon Party was on the same beach but in fact it turned out it was on a completely different beach and we would have to get a Taxi there. Not only that but it was the other side of the mountain, which meant braving crazy road with crazy driver twice in one night! We decided to go but once we got there realised it was a mistake. It was expensive to get in (for Thailand), not very busy and playing Techo music. We decided to give it a miss and went back to our beach where James got involved in a bars party games and ended up chasing a chair halfway round the beach to win 2 beers. He won them - but as he doesn;t drink beer ended up giving them away - all that effort at musical chairs for nothing!!



19th October - We set our alarm for 5.30am to watch the sunrise (we were on sunrise beach and so it should have been spectacular). Unfortunately it was really cloudy so I crawled back to bed almost immediately and James stayed up in the hope it would improve and he could get some good photos. It didn't - see pics for proof we should have both stayed in bed!

After breakfast and packing up it was time to leave and head back to the pier to catch the ferry to the mainland. It turns our our ticket had the wrong destination written on it so we had good fun trying to communicate this mistake to the ferry operators and get it corrected, although we succeeded in the end.  The Catamaran was horrible - we hit a storm and waves were crashing up the windows and I felt well and truly sea sick. After 4 hours we arrived in Chumphon and walked along possibly the worlds most rickety walkway - with my rucksack on my back with every step I was sure my foot was going to go through the old cracked wood which you could see had been repaired again and again! We had to get almost straight on the bus to Bangkok and that took 8 Hours - we arrived back in Bangkok at 1.30am and got a Taxi back to the good old Trang hotel which improved on its previous performance by giving us a room with a window AND a shower not over the toilet. Unfortunately we were too tired to appreciate this after the journey and just wanted to sleep!



20th October - This morning we headed back to the backpackers area (Ko San Road) for yet more last minute shopping as we had ended up with too many bahts and couldn't resist the opportunity for more cheap stuff! We had lunch in Mc Donalds as we thought we should really experience it Thai - style. IT was actually pretty similar to England, except for James' Samurai Pork Burger and Brocolli Pie (which has the same sweet pastry as their apple pie on the outside), and the fact that the BBQ sauce comes with Chillis in it!



On the way back to the hotel we got caught in a Thai thunderstorm and came out looking like we'd just been in the shower. Just what you need when you have to get on a plane! We made it to the airport, checked in (discovering that James rucksack had gained 6 kgs and mine 2kgs!) and boarded the plane at 6pm saying Goodbye to Thailand!



21st October - We arrived in Sydney at 7.00am and it was straight through transit to board the next plane to New Zealand. The flight to New Zealand was fairly short (only 3 hours) but the arrival into Queenstown was very very bumpy as you come in over the mountains. We landed early afternoon (about 1pm) and spent the next hour in Customs! You have to declare just about everything in NZ - Wood, hiking boots, if you've been in contact with animals other than cats and dogs (you should have seen their face when we told them tigers and elephants) . James got his hiking boots washed!





We took a bus to shotover street, the main street in Queenstown, and booked into a Base Hostel for $20 a night. It was such a nice change from Thailand - yes its a dorm with a shared toilet and showers etc. but it is clean and not full of insects!





We then decided to go for a wander around Queenstown, where we realised for the first time how cold it is! Queenstown is on the edge of Lake Wakatipu and as well as being a huge adventure sports city is a ski resort all winter - the ski slopes only closed a couple of weeks ago and the mountains all around still have snow on - it is freezing! We booked our next three days activities ( and managed to get vouchers for a free breakfast every day and 1 free dinner as well!) and then got an early night - I was nearly falling asleep over dinner as the jet lag and being up for 36 hours had really kicked in!

22nd October - Woken up this morning by staff trying to evict the only other person currently in our dorm (possibly something to do with the fact that his clothes are strewn all over the floor and completely blocking the fridge) - perhaps we spoke too soon about the luxury of hostels!

We had a late breakfast with our vouchers and then walked to a nearby bus stop for 1.15 where we were picked up to go horseriding for two hours through 'Lord of the Rings country'.  Lord of the Rings was filmed just north of Queenstown and the scenery was beautiful, even if the Lord of the Rings references meant nothing to me. James had some vague memories of the parts of the film they were refering to though. James rode Drum, an 18 hand, 9 year old Clydesdale, and I rode Kane, a fifteen year old arab cross whoose claim to fame was to have been in the film Prince Caspian as none of the expensive horses they had flown in for the job would go through the rivers! The ride involved several river crossings and was loads of fun - James got to trot and I got to canter ahead of the group as the rest were beginners.





In the evening we went to Fergburger - which everyone kept telling us was the best burger we would ever eat. They probably weren't wrong. The burgers seemed to be made out of minced steak, were juicy, huge  and tasty and came in the biggest buns you;ve ever seen with lashings of salad, cheese, bacon and anything else you could possibly ever want!



Written by James from here:
23rd October - Today we had a very early start - meeting the bus at 7.45 to head to Milford Sound which is a fjord on the coast of the South Island, northwest of Queenstown (a Fjord is a glacier carved valley whereas a Sound is a valley carved by a river so technically it should be Milford Fjord though!) We made a few stops on the way to look at the beautiful scenery in Fiordland which is a protected area. The roads were treacherous, carved on the side of mountains and there are frequent avalanches in the area so the road is often closed. We were able to see areas where the snow was cracking high on the mountains and would clearly fall soon.  And also drive though areas of recent avalanches where the snow was piled higher than the bus on the sides of the road.  The alpine scenery was amazing but we have probably seen enough waterfalls in the last month to last us a lifetime.  We stopped at a place called Mirror Lakes and as the name suggests when the wind is still the water is so clear that you can see amazing reflections of the surrounding mountains.







Arriving at the milford sound we borded our cruise liner and set sail into the fjord.  We sailed the whole length of the fjord right to the sea with more waterfalls and towering mountains either side of us whilst munching our buffet luch, trying to eat as much as possible to save money on dinner!   This was the point where Steph started to go slightly green and had to head quickly up on deck,  she didnt see her lunch again but it made her trip a bit less enjoyable.   The fjore also has an underwater observatory which we went to as part of out ticket.  It was ok, but nothing like snorkelling in the Islands off Thailand.  because of the fresh water sitting for 5m or so ontop of the salt water of the sea makes the fjord very dark and plants grow in the fjord that you would normally only find 2-300m below the sea. 



We arrived back at the hostel at about 8pm, a very long day.

24th October - ANOTHER early start this morning 8.15 on the bus ready for an action packed day ahead!

1st Stop: Canyon Swing!
Well. this was a triumph for steph, originally only I had planned on doing the swing and steph was just going to specate.  Lets give you an idea of why she didnt fancy it.  Think of a childrens playground swing but 109m high over a river valley with a freefall of 60m and a speed at the bottom of 150km/h!  I was first up out of our group of 4 and chose the pin-drop position which is said to be the scariest.  WOW! A serious rush! Sweet As! Even my shit was scared!  Steph Watched all of us jump and plucked up the courage to do it herself!  The blokes at the top really mess with your head by telling you it isnt all connected and stuff and despite a polite request from me and steph to be nice to her as she was scared enough already they still wound her up about her straps being loose and that they couldnt reach to tighten them!  She did it and loved it!  she is now an adrenaline junkie that is scared of heights!  double the fun! 





We now had a couple of hours to kill before we were picked up for the next part of the day so we headed back to the hostel and had half a Fergberger for lunch!  (we realised last night that a whole one to ourselves was a little excessive!) Not that two in 3 days isn't of course!

2nd Stop: Shotover Jetboat!
These are 550hp boats that can run in under 10cm of water and are capable of doing 360degree spins!  We donned our lifejackets and climbed aboard.  Oh my Buddha! These things were quick, we sped along inches from rock faces in deep canyons along the Shotover river.  We both loved the ride and it was a good 25minutes long so was worth it.





3rd Stop: Helicopter Ride:
My first time in a chopper and what a first time it was!  we flew through canyons and over mountains, it only lasted 8 minutes but it was amazing.  Steph kept her nerves under control and said she really enjoyed it too.  The pilot was pretty daring and really did throw it around a bit, it all added to the fun!  The chopper then landed in the river canyon and dropped us off for our next adrenaline rush!





4th Stop: White Water Rafting:
The chopper dropped us off at the start point and as we had already sqeezed into our wetsuits, helmets and life jackets at the base station we were able to jump into the rafts after a 5 minute safety briefing.  To tell the truth this was the activity i was most scared about today after some of the videos i have seen on the net.  It turned out that it wasnt as bad i had imagined, and i reakon we both would have liked it to be a bit faster and bigger.  dont get me wrong there were a few parts that we really had to hold on and paddle for our lives but they were a little few and far between for a 2 hour ride.  The highlight was floating though a 180m long tunnel just wide enough for the boat.  (the only raftable tunnel like it in the world.)  I jumped out of the boat when allowed to do so at one point and swam down one of the rapids which was a good laugh.  There were one or two injuries in the other groups but none in our boat.  in total there were 8 boats all rafting together and we all had to look out for eachother.  Oh actually we did have an injury, I sat on Stephs hand at one point!  oops!  



It was now time to get back to the hotel for our free dinner of pie and mash and our buy one get one free cider!  We managed to accumulate these freebies by spending an extortionate amount of money on the days activites!  Without them we wouldn't be able to eat today as we had spent way over our budget for the day!

Thailand Week 2 - Southern Thailand

10th October - We arrived back in Bangkok at 7am and straight off to the same hotel as before to another luxury room - this one had no window but at least the shower wasn't directly over the toilet!

After a shower and a clean up we decided to head off with some of our group to see the Grand Palace. This is the former residence of the Royal Family. The Thais all absolutely worship the royal family - it is a crime to say anything bad about them and you can actually be imprisoned for doing so. Mind you - with the admission money from the Grand Palace they have built a new tollfree freeway in Bangkok instead of paying for their helicopter rides and university fees so they do sound a great deal better than the English! There are also pictures of them ALL over Thailand randomly on bridges etc.

To go into the Grand Palace you have to cover your legs and shoulders. After a 30 minute walk there (including a delightful meeting with scammers trying to tell us it was closed and take us to jewellery shops which we had been warned about) this was a truly wondrous experience of being the hottest I have ever been in my entire life. We were all literally dripping as we walked round in hot 30+ degree sun and incredible humidity! The highlight of the grand palace was the emerald buddha (which is actually made out of Jade!) - a tiny statue in a huge building. You are not allowed to take photos inside and must follow all the rules of the Temples - dont point your feet at the buddha (feet are the lowest point of the soul).



After the Grand Palace and a quick stop off in the first air conditioned place we could find we went to Wat Po - the temple of the reclining Buddha. This is a giant reclining Buddha and is very impressive as far as giant statues go but I can't say it was the most exciting thing we've ever seen!



In the evening we all headed off the Ko San road which is the backpackers area for some food and shopping. Everything is SO cheap so I shopped to my little hearts content! Its a great area, and nice and cool at night - although slightly marred by the people trying to sell u a Tuk Tuk ride or a Ping Pong show (if you don't know, or have a delicate stomach it is probably better not to ask about the latter!)



11th October - Up early this morning - we left the hotel at 6.45 am - but thankfully this was into an air-conditioned minibus!

1st Stop - Train market. This is a local market with all sorts of fresh foods, meat, fish etc. It absolutely stank and quite frankly, was a bit gross. A lot of people don't refrigerate poultry in Thailand and the smell of this plus fish plus hundred of smelly people who don't have access to regular showers was rather unpleasant! The reason we stopped there was to see the place the market is held - it is on the railway line (literally) There are 8 trains a day and every time a train comes the awnings and stalls on the line have to be moved out of the way! Unfortunately we didn't get to see the train as it was delayed but apparently there are great videos on You Tube!





2nd Stop - Orchid and Coconut Sugar Making Farm. We saw how they make coconut sugar using fresh coconuts, which look nothing like what we are used to them looking like - the ones we get in England are old and can only be used for coconut milk. There are SO many Orchids here - they turn up in your drinks regularly and literally for the Thais they are just a common plant  amazing that we pay so much for them in England!



3rd Stop - Floating Market. After a longboat ride form the pier we arrived at the floating market. It is very cool, but fairly self-explanatory. It started because the locals use the narrow river as a road and used to trade off their boats - it grew from there.




4th Stop - Woodcraft Workshop. Here we saw traditional carving - incredibly intricate and amazing. A lot of it is made to order to be shipped to the USA and is generaly over 2,000 dollars - but when you see this stuff and hear how many weeks it takes to carve it still seems so cheap!




5th Stop - Lunch on the River Kwai. Set Thai menu while the restaurant rocked - not conducive to a good meal. All Thai food appears to be spicy -  James loves it but as I can find Korma a bit  hot its really not my cup of tea!

6th Stop - Erawan Waterfall. By this time we arrived here it had started to rain - a shame but it is still so hot when it is raining that you hardly notice it. However we had to walk up a muddy rocky and quite treacherous path to get to the waterfall so the rain really helped with that - we were all covered in mud! The waterfall has seven levels - most of which you can swim in. As we were short of time we only made it up to the fourth level. This had a huge rock which can be used as a waterslide. The water was lovely - just a shame about the fish that wanted to nibble our feet! The Second and Third levels of the waterfall both have waterfalls that you can sit behind - as well as the fish!








7th Stop - We got on the sleeper train at 9.30pm - exhausted (but full after our Tour GUide ordered us all Pizza!)

12th October - We got off the sleeper train at about 8am in Surat Thani. Breakfast in a local cafe and then off on another Pickup truck wth a roof and no side to the Khoa Sok national park - or just outside as you can't stay in the park. Our resort was right by the river and when I say resort I use that word very loosely. We stayed in huts on stilts. No aircon - mosquito nets, and no need to go into the rainforest to see insects as there was a whole forests worth in our room - it was basic at best!!!




Luckily we didn't have to spend too long in our room as we had lunch to go to. In what became a theme for the rest of our stay there the food took forever and turned up in whatever order they felt like. It seems to be the norm in Thailand that food comes out when it is ready and it is normal not to get it all at the same time. This of course is exacerbated by us being a group of 15. However this 'resort' was particularly bad. Starters turned up after mains, my order of chicken and chips turned up quickly, well the chicken did - the chips turned up 30 minutes later! One of our group waited 1 1/2 hours for their food on one occassion. They were lucky we were all relaxed and enjoying the holiday or they could have had a mass revolt on their hands!

So after a long lunch we went Tubing on the river. We thought it a bit of a joke when we were asked to sign a dangerous activities disclaimer. Of course, we'd never been Tubing on a river - especially one with trees, rocks and all manner of obstacles in. Much screaming and hilarity ensued. By this point our group had bonded quite well and we all tried to 'save' each other when we saw on person and their rubber ring heading for a tree - usually resulting in 2 people hitting it instead of one!  We all had a great time thought and emerged 2 hours later from the river bruised and scratched!







On the way back we stopped off at Monkey Temple. The locals feed the monkeys in the mountains every morning and afternoon and it has become a bit of a visitors spot to see this. I have never seen so many Monkeys in my life - it was fantastic!



We also stopped to see another waterfall - although to be honest by this point we were all getting fed up of more waterfalls and were getting rather cold as it was raining and cloudy. As the national park is a mountainous region they get a lot of rain - dumped before it reaches the southern islands.

13th October - I had an extremely lazy day today. Me and some of the girls in the group literally lazed around and did nothing except play Jenga with our tour guide Simon.

James went for a walk into the National Pak with some of the others - I was put off by the promise of leaches and sure enough out of 5 people 2 got leaches - YUCK! He then went back to a spot on the river we had been to with a rope swing and messed about in the water with some of the guys!



In the evening we went to a 'cocktail bar' as it was 2 peoples birthdays in the group. Of course we were in a small village with practically nothing there so a cocktail bar was more of a wooden hut with mats on the floor and 10 times more mosquitos than humans. James and I had 95% deet mosquito repellent on and still both got covered in bite!

14th October - Another very early morning - 6.30am breakfast after a sweltering nights sleep - desperately missing air-con! We took another Truck to the Pier and nearly missed the Ferry, arriving at 9.59 when it was due to leave at 10am, all by this point fearing for our lives after some truly crazy Thai driving - I think the driver was worried he wouldn't get paid if we missed the Ferry! It was 2 hours on the Ferry to Ko Samui, the biggest of the Islands on the East side of Southern Thailand. (Phuket is on the western side) Luck shined on the group and we were all upgraded - YAY! AIR CON - DOUBLE YAY!





We dozed in the afternoon and then in the evening got dressed up (Straighteners came out for the first time since we arrived although they were pretty pointless as my hair kinked again almost instantly in the the heat!) took a taxi into the centre and had dinner on the beach - all kinds of grilled fish which were excellent. We then separated and James headed to another bar with the heavy drinking group and I headed off for some shopping with the girls before meeting up with the whole group later. We ended up back at the beach for a beach party - playing Funky House music. It was a really great night - Ko Samui is definitely a party Island!







15th October - James jumped out of bed nice and early whilst I crawled out still spinning slightly - possibly as a result of the generous Thai measures of alcohol! We had to get the Ferry to Ko Tao ( 3 hours from Ko Samui and a lot smaller) at 12.30 and the waves and the hangover were a very unpleasant combination! However I cheered up when we got to our resort and I saw that our rooms were by far the best we have had - air con, Cable TV, cold water only shower (ok so maybe that but wasn't so great!). Either way they were clean and bug free which is enough for us as I think our standards havel lowered somewhat in the last couple of weeks! We had a lazy afternoon and met up as a group for dinner by the beach again before turning in for an early night as we were all shattered after the travelling, early mornings and late nights.




16th October - Today we headed off on a snorkelling trip. All day on a boat with 5 different snorkell sights. The pictures speak for themselves - it was really great. It was however incredibly hot and every single one of us who went is pink all over despite the high factor suncream! We have now decided that instead of joining the majority of our tour group on the train back to Bangkok tomorrow we will stay with some of our new friends in the group and go to Ko Phangan for a couple of days before returning to Bangkok for our flight as the Islands are so beautiful and at least there is a sea breeze and a pool! It has been a fantastic week - crammed full of stuff but really enjoyable!