Koh, Koh, Koh!

Hi Family & Friends,

First of all, thank you for all the emails/comments/messages that you have sent to us over the last few weeks & secondly sorry for the lack of communication of late, we have been continuously on the move. Our last post finished on a fairly somber note last time, so I will start this one on a more entertaining one. We flew from Cambodia to Bangkok using a new(ish) airline called Air Asia, landing in the early evening. The plane journey was very pleasant, although every now and then thick mist would come out of the sides of the baggage holders and fill the plane with cool air. Sara and I wanted to waste little time getting to the supposedly beautiful south Islands in the Thai Gulf (Gulf of Siam) Koh Tao, Koh Pha Ngan and the largest of all Koh Samui.

We made it to Bangkok central bus station with little time to spare before the last overnight bus left for the south. So we bought our tickets and hopped onto the departing bus. This is were the problems began, moving through the bus it became apparent that the travel agency had pulled the old trick of selling us seats that were already sold. After a full day of traveling and facing a 10 hour bus journey we decided to take action. After much sole searching from the agency they resolved to place us in the driver’s bed. “Driver’s bed?? Sorry, I’m not sure I understand?!”. Evaluating the ‘drivers bed’ it became apparent it was more the drivers home…… we sat and slept on his kitchen utensils, pants (not in the American sense either) and his work shirts. Eventually we got to a small port at about 3 am, waited 5 hours and finally boarded a large boat to take us to the northern most islands, Koh Tao.

Koh Tao is a tiny island but has so much to offer, it is literally bursting with activities, nightlife, restaurants and beautiful beaches. But the first thing you realize is how much more expensive it is compared to relatively inexpensive Bangkok and the cheap Chang Mai. Our bungalow was based in a resort named Blue Wind, which had a very luxurious eating area overlooking the entire bay. They made some of the best pancakes Sara has ever had (I could tell this as she was very consistent with her choice of order). Having spent two full days on the beach tanning (Sara) and burning (no prizes) we decided to try our hand at a little adventure. Along with a small group of friends we hired a Kayak and headed for a small island off the coast which seemed only 1km away. It turned out to be 2.5km and our journey was made even longer by the gathering storm. Eventually we made it to the beach and were instantly hit with a 100b ($3) admission fee. We had to pay a fee for just landing on this remote island. They never miss a trick.

Well, we stayed the entire afternoon snorkeling through their many bays seeing some beautiful coral and very interesting fish. Namely, a Crocodile Needle fish which, despite the name, is harmless. Late afternoon and the storm let loose, releasing some of the most frantic lighting I have ever witnessed. Well despite the storm we had to return the kayaks by 6 or risk another fine, so braving the storm we made the 2.5km journey back to relative safety. Thunder and lightning is a powerful motivator, as we made the trip in record time, probably qualifying us for the Olympics.

We spent 4 nights in Koh Tao, and along with two of our friends we headed for the dyslexics’ nightmare Koh Pha Ngan. This island is famous for its full moon party at Haad Rin Beach, but having missed that due to Visa dates we decided to visit the half moon party. This was a bad idea as the police shut it down at just 2 o’clock in the morning – we were promised till dawn – leaving 4,000 party goers very unsatisfied. Sara and I decided to spend the remaining hours till dawn swimming, and what a delightful one it was. The water was bath temperature and there wasn’t anyone else around – the beach was all ours. The only other mentionable incident on the island was being attacked by a gang of dogs (no joke, I was trembling afterwards). We were walking along a dark and deserted road in search of some dinner when about 5-6 giant dogs came sprinting at us with ears back and teeth on display. Sara, being the hero, jumped on me, screaming, which only antagonized the dogs further. After a minute or so of standing still enough to show there wasn’t a threat they backed down, however followed us for a further 50mt or so. Scary stuff I assure you. The following day we jumped aboard the first boat to take us the third and final island… Koh Samui

Koh Sumai to give it its proper name is the largest of the islands which caters for all the package holiday people and very little for the backpackers. We stayed in some expensive bungalow housed together with a family of ants and a few other insects, though we moved on after our second night as the mosquito bites over the two nights must have reached triple figures. The best place to visit in Lamai (one of the main beach areas) is the night market. There you can eat like a king for relatively little. A red curry with rice, water and 3 kebabs would set you back about $1.5. Needless to say we ate there every night, with the throngs of activity around us it made for some interesting evenings. Situated next to the market and surrounded by some sheds made into bars was the Thai boxing ring. Children, women, and some very quick fisted men all fought and it’s something to see a proper round house kick to someone, the sounds alone made everyone wince. We met a very nice couple from the UK- Weymouth and spent a few nights with them, ending up on a strip pole with all the Thai ladies clapping while we would perform our usual pole dancing tricks to the passer bys. We spent four days there working on Sara’s tan and my burns after which we decided to head to the other side of the Thailand, starting with their National Rainforest, Koh Sok. But that’s in the next blog…..

Contrary to all the life threatening stories we are both in good health and Sara today is at a cooking course to learn how to make traditional Thai food, which, I’m sure, she will subject most of you to eat at some point in the future.

Thanks again for reading, its great to hear from everyone who posted a comment.

Tom & Sara