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.
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.
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