Chiang Mai (again!) Sunday 26th October 2008

Firstly I'd like to congratulate Debbie and Garry on the birth of their second little boy, Jacob (I hope I've spelt that right). This is wonderful news and the proud parents are happy and well with their growing family and Joel, the eldest, who is a little gem. Well done guys, I'm thrilled to bits for you all!

Before I move on to the latest update, here are the promised photos from the islands and the introduction of Cecil...

Koh Tao snorkelling trip where I met Marcus and Naaz.

And here is Cecil (the Legend) preparing for his maiden voyage. Cecil is A Legend because he saved my life when I fell out of the hammock that you can see in the background of this picture. I fell, not onto the balcony but onto a rock in the unseen foot of this picture so, yea, quite a fall. Luckily I was wearing Cecil at the time so he cushioned me somewhat. No ducks were harmed during the incident. I bruised my bum.

Cecil bonding with Naaz and Marcus.

Cecil's first Beer Chang of the day. Naaz's third.

Naaz taking a break. It's hard work all that lolling about in the sea y'know.

Cecil demonstrating a lifesaving technique.

Leaving Koh Tao en-route to the mainland. Thai sunsets are AWESOME.

Cecil stretching his wings in Bangkok.

Okay, so here's what's been happening in Lyndaland of late...

Naaz and Claire joined me, as planned, in Bangkok with the addition of Ruth. It was fantastic to see them all and the good times that we had in Koh Tao simply extended to the city. We all continued to get along and the laughter has rarely stopped. Bangkok is a good place for admin and 'sorting' as everything is on your doorstep and the Internet is cheap. Actually, Bangkok is cheaper than the islands for everything really so we spent a few days getting ourselves organised and ready for the round trip to N. Thailand and Laos.

We took an overnight bus to Chiang Mai which was a bit of an inconvenience but nevertheless, we made it without incident and arrived at an ungodly hour, tired and hungover, in Chiang Mai a few days ago. We booked ourselves into a random guesthouse (S.K House) picked from the 'Bible' (The Lonely Planet) and were pleasantly surprised by the quality and value for money that we found. We're all in a 'family' room together with loads of space, a huge TV, fan, aircon, enormous shower and comfy beds. For the grand price of 3 pounds 40 pence per night each. And there's a pool. Reeeeee-sult!

Night bus en-route to Chiang Mai.

Naaz and Claire easing the pain of the journey with a coupla Changs.

Then we went into the jungle.

Yesterday we returned from a 2-day trek which included hiking to a waterfall through fabulous scenery and a brief but exhilarating monsoonal downpour. After the truck got stuck in the mud and before a tasty dinner and fun-filled evening of drinking games with our French companions. And that was just day 1! Day 2 involved more getting-stuck-in-the-mud followed by elephant trekking and white water rafting. Sadly the elephant trekking was disastrous as the so-called 'guide' had no control over Naaz and Ruth's elephant so he resorted to punching it in the head and whacking it with his shoe. They got off and walked back on foot. I continued on, briefly, with Claire but she really wasn't enjoying it at all so we turned back fairly quickly and moved on to the rafting which everyone loved. It was a pretty short rafting run but the rapids were good and the adrenalin flowed so it was good to see some smiles after the elephant ordeal.

Claire and I on the elephant.

Stuck in the mud take 1.

Stuck in the mud take 2. Oh, am I supposed to get off my a** and push?

Our lovely little hut in the jungle where we overnighted.

We were SO pleased to see the last of this truck. These are my lovely travelling companions, Naaz, Claire and Ruth (25th October 2008).

Tomorrow we are going to the Laos border and basically doing the same trip that I did before, taking the slow-boat for two days to Luang Prabang. Claire is on a bit of a tight schedule as she wants to get down to Koh Phi Phi (southern island) and do some diving before her flight to Australia on 2nd December so we'll only spend one night in Luang Prabang (remember the bowling alley and the gorgeous waterfall?) before heading on to Vang Vieng (remember the tubing and mud?) which is our main reason for going to Laos. After Laos I'll join Claire on Koh Phi Phi for a bit and then.....maybe....maybe.....go with her to Australia, Melbourne. We'll see!

That's it. News as it happens....and this PC keeps crashing annoyingly so I'll bid you toodlepip and sign off for now.

Bangkok (again!) Thursday 16th October 2008

Photo from my previous trip to the islands. This is Yoni, myself and Eduardo coming home at dawn from an all-night party at Guys Bar on Koh Phangnan, a short boat-ferry trip from Haad Rin beach.

Well, it's all getting a bit random now and plans are made but that means little these days. After my last post, despite best efforts to contact my sister-in-law and travel North, I found myself on a bus going South back down to the islands. There's something magical and irresistible about them that continues to draw people back again and again. This time I went to Koh Tao and I'm incredibly glad that I did. I was in Koh Tao 5 years ago on my last Big Adventure and didn't enjoy it at all for various reasons back then. This time though it was fantastic and here's why...(photos to follow shortly)...

Upon arrival at the Koh Tao pier after a tiring night bus / ferry journey (13 hours) I was enormously pleased and surprised to be met by Lughaidh on a moped at 9:30am, the angel. Lughaidh continues to surprise me by being one of the nicest, kindest and most considerate people I've known and he is an absolute star. He is one of the reasons why I went down to Koh Tao as it was his birthday on the 14th October which was the night of the full moon party on Koh Phangan. After a pleasant reunion with Lughaidh and the guys at their guesthouse, I opted to stay in a different part of the island. They were in a very quiet dive-centric area and I wanted to be near a yoga studio that I knew of and also closer to the town for the nightlife.

So I headed over to Sairee Beach area and stayed at the Blue Wind resort (posh word for a very mosquito-riddled hut complete with giant bathroom reptile!) which is where the Shambala yoga studio is situated. This turned out to be the perfect location for some excellent yoga and lots of heavenly beach chilling. On the second day I went on a dive/snorkelling trip where I met Naaz from London and Marcusz from Munich. We had a great day and became inseperable for the rest of the stay. Cue 3 (or was it 4?!) hazy, crazy fun-filled days and nights of much laughter, many beer-Changs, great food and lots of lolling about in the water on the spectacular beach with Cecil the inflatable duck (more about that in the photos to come).

So I ended up going with Naaz and her friend, Ruth, to my second-on-this-trip full moon party. By this time, the Blue Wind 'crew' had grown to include Claire and Matt. Everyone met everyone else including Lughaidh's lot which had also grown, so nights out were just great big jolly events. The FMP itself was off to a slow start as I was exhausted by this stage but it picked up once we got to Koh Phangan and had some food and a beer. Naaz and Ruth were the perfect party pals and excellent company. Naturally we met up with Lughaidh's lot who, in honour of Lughaidh's birthday, were all dressed up as Smurfs complete with white satin trousers, big floppy hats and blue body paint. They looked fantastic and were the stars of the night.

I had a relatively civilised night, not drinking much but just enjoying the company and the atmosphere. Naaz and Ruth got some fantastic photos which I hope to get from them and post up here soon. In the morning I was meant to get the 6am taxi to the pier for the return ferry to Koh Tao but was having so much fun talking to a South African 'Smurf' called Jake that I ended up getting the 8am taxi and got back to Blue Wind at about 10:30am. Naaz (who had got the 6am taxi) and Claire (who hadn't gone to the FMP) woke up and joined me for brunch and a dip in the sea before I had to get my things together to catch the 2pm taxi to the pier for my 13-hour journey up to Bangkok.

So last night was spent on the now-familiar bus sitting next to a very pleasant chap who's on his way home, Australia, after 3 and a half years of travelling and working abroad. I arrived back in Koh San Road area around 4:30am where I trudged about with my rucksack for about half na hour looking for cheap accommodation while the cocks started their crowing.

Claire, Naaz and I got on so well and enjoyed each others company so much that we've decided to do some travelling together. I'm not in any hurry to get to India and am not ready to leave this carefree lifestyle for an austere yoga-only existence. Claire and Naaz want to go to Chiang Mai (N. Thailand) and then continue North to Laos. Well, I loved both Chiang Mai and Laos and, because of the tight EOE schedule, was unable to spend as much time there as I'd have liked. So they're going to join me in Bangkok in a few days and we're all going to get the overnight train to Chiang Mai together. There are some fantastic adventure sports in Chiang Mai including mountain biking and rock climbing which we're all keen to do. Not to mention the yoga classes which I've been to before and will pick up again. The 'plan' is to do some exploring, sports and detoxing in Chiang Mai before heading over to Laos for more tubing and partying.

My Thai visa expires tomorrow so I need to do a 'visa-run' to Cambodia tomorrow. This involves a 3 hour bus trip to the border for a half-hour crossing into Cambodia before returning to the Thai side for another 30-day tourist visa and another 3-hour bus ride. It'll be an uninteresting, long and tiring day with an early start so I plan on getting an early night tonight. Luckily I've got a great book and a fairly comfy bed, albeit in a prison-like cell with no windows, but it's cheap, clean and fairly quiet.

Not sure what's going to happen on visiting Pon (sister-in-law) and Hilton (nephew) but I let her know that I'd probably be going to Laos before coming to see them and she's fine with that. It looks like they'll be here for a while yet so there's no rush.

That's pretty much all the news for now. Thank you for your emails which of course I'll be replying to in due course. It's always lovely to hear from you and get an update on what's happening in the 'real world'. Despite the depression you all seem to be doing well so I'm glad. Bye for now.

Photos from Koh Phan Ngan Sept/Oct 08

Well, I'm hanging around in Bangkok trying to make contact with my sister-in-law which has so far proved unsuccessful. So in the meantime I'll upload some photos for you. I got very lazy with picture-taking after Laos, mainly because everything memorable happened at parties in Koh Phan Ngan. As I didn't want to lose my camera on a drunken night out, it never came out with me so the only pictures that I took there were on my last night. Shameful, I know.

While in Koh Samui I managed to delete everything on my memory card, over 500 photos covering half a dozen countries. Amazingly, however, a very clever chap in Bangkok has recovered all of them which I'm extremely happy about as I'd pretty much given up on them altogether. It's wonderful how inventive people here are - they can do undreamed of things. And yes, I've been to the ping-pong show. So I know.

Yoni (from Toulouse) and I at 'The Chill House' overlooking Haad Rin sunrise beach. Haad Rin is where the Full Moon Party is held. The Chill House is a lovely, friendly, scenic spot with a cozy deck, comfy hammocks and a fantastic view.

Warren (left) and Guy sipping a potent conconction at Pong's Paradise. These are the guys that I shared the house with in Koh Phangnan.

Warren 'Wozza' with his takeaway bucket on a moped. Buckets are lethal. I learned this last time I was in Thailand 5 years ago when I swore I'd never touch one again.

Famous last words.

Nina and I at Nina's shop 'Fusion' in Haad Rin. Nina was my star yoga pupil and has been living in Thailand for about 6 years.

Bucket mania on Haad Rin Nai (Sunrise).

Fire games have gone a bit crazy since the Thais have discovered just how far the drunken farangs will go in the name of entertainment.

Then they blatantly show us how it should be done. Yup, they win EVERY time!

And I FINALLY make it off the islands and back to the mainland.

Where I await my bus up to Bangkok.

Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday 4th October 2008

Well, it was so hard leaving Koh Phangan that I ended up missing my bus for Bangkok on Thursday morning. I took the next bus and arrived back in Bangkok last night. It is equally hard to leave Thailand but I have just discovered that I have unfinished business here and the Universe has conspired to make it impossible for me to leave for at least another 2 weeks. Here's what's happened...

After booking my flight to India for Monday 6th, I realised that my Indian visa has expired and it takes 7 working days for a new one. Add to this the forthcoming Thai and Indian public holidays and I can't leave until at least the 15th October. However, my Thai visa expires on the 10th. So I've cancelled my India flight and on Monday I'll go to Thai immigration for a 15-day extension. Then I'll hand over my passport for the India visa application which should be through on the 15th.

In the meantime, I'm hanging out in Bangkok for a few nights which I'm quite happy about. Bangkok has the very surprising effect of making me feel completely relaxed. Despite being right in the centre of the bar/backpacking district, I am able to unwind here and manage to sleep really well. I think it is, conversely, the noise and anonymity that somehow chills me out. Maybe it's also because I don't feel like I'm missing out on much if I stay in and read/sleep as the bars here don't really appeal to me. Whereas on Koh Phang Nan I wanted to be out all the time and was addictively drawn to the beach/pool/moon/after parties which went on constantly. Which was not particularly healthy and I started getting the strong feeling that I needed to leave the islands. So, here I am chilling out in Bangkok. Which is wonderful because...

Two of my friends are arriving tomorrow! Mike is flying out from London. I met Mike in Morzine where I went skiing last Christmas and he saw that I was in Thailand on Facebook and got in touch. And Lughaidh, from Ireland, whom I met in Vietnam just after I received the news about my gran. I couldn't have asked for a nicer person at a difficult and potentially lonely time. Lughaidh was literally the shoulder to cry on, a role he performed admirably while I bawled into my Witbier at The Lousiane Brewery where we ended up spending most of our time in Nhatrang. He even continued to be wonderful after I nearly killed him by running him over with a Hobie on the day that I decided we'd go sailing in memory of Babitchka. Admittedly I probably should have hit the Witbier after the sea but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

So I'm really excited about seeing them both and in the meantime I'm reading and sleeping a lot. If anyone's interested, I can recommend Private Dancer, by Stephen Leather. It's about an English guy who falls in love with a Thai bargirl / dancer and shows an interesting multiway take on the different cultures told from the perspectives of the different characters.

The other reason why I now understand that the Universe wanted me to stay in Thailand a little longer is that my sister-in-law (whom I've only met once) and nephew (who I've never met) are both here, in Northern Thailand. Just when I've got a) two more weeks here with no plans and b) am finished with the South. So I'm going to enjoy Bangkok for the weekend, enjoy catching up with reading, sleeping and my two lovely friends before doing my visa stuff on Monday and heading out to the countryside for a family visit, maybe next week. This in itself will be a fantastic new experience as Pon, my sister-in-law, is from a remote rural village and I haven't as yet had any 'real' Thai exposure.

Well, that's all the news for now. I'm going to head off for a stroll in the glorious afternoon sunshine and get my laundry done before having a bite to eat. I hope you're all well and happy and look forward to your emails (hint...hint!) Love Lx