KO TAO ISLAND

I got the ferry to Ko Tao. It was a very old looking thing, it is amazing how we are all just herded onto the ferrys and we take it for granted they are safe. But when I saw this one pull into dock to collect us , I did have my doubts that it was seaworthy. It seems to have been in a few scrapes with other ships or rocks a few times.
Anyway I arrived in ko Tao in the searing heat. It was hard work getting through all the taxi drivers and room touts with my rucksac. Finally found the place where the girls had reserved a room.But the previous guest in the room was staying an extra night, so there was no room in the inn. I thought my blood would boil in the heat. They showed me a room and said I could stay in it for two pounds, but it was horrendous and I declined and found another place to stay next door.This had a fan and cold shower for eight pounds, a bargain!. And I could move the next day to the same placeas the Irish girls are stying'Save Bungalows". The room would be five pounds for fan and cold shower, another bargain!

The island is famous as a diving and snorkelling mecca around the coral reefs. so there are lots of very fit looking fellas wandering around, which is always nice!
I am afraid I will stick to the snorkelling, I know I would panick if I went diving. so there is no point shelling out money for the course.
I met up with Lisa, Maive and Joanne and we went to a bar for a few drinks and something to eat.
The next day wandered around the island and searched the second hand book shops for a book recommended by Carmel,Letters from Cambodia, but could not find it.Will have a look when I get to Cambodia.
There is a lot of building work going on on the island.They are creating little boutique type shops and posh hotles.but I feel they are ruining the things that make people want to explore these Islands. It is just getting very touristy. The postcards have pictures of lovely long deserted beaches ,but they no longer exist. They are being built upon at a horrendous rate. I am glad I visited, but I would not come back.

Later in the day I met up with the Girls from Ireland again and had something to eat then we went to see the Thai boxing.


I have to say , I was in two minds about going. I do not like violence. But it is such a big sporting occasion over here. I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. And I thought it would be fun going with a few of us.



Well it was good fun in a strange way. There were seven fights throughout the night. And it seemed to me that they just kicked the crap out of each other wearing boxing gloves. The crowds were baying for blood. I have never seen anything like it. There were even little children there watching the violence. I can now say I have seen Thai boxing and had a good night,but I will not be going to any more fights.
I am getting the ferry to Chumphon this afternoon, on mainland Thailand. Then I get an air conditioned bus so Bangkok. It arrives at one in the morning so I will get a taxi to the airport and wait around until my flight to Phnom Phenh at seven in the morning.I am very excited about exploring Cambodia.

KO PHANGAN ISLAND

I took the ferry from Ko Samui to a beautiful island of Ko phangan . I shared the bus to the resort with a young couple from Aukland and they gave me their details and told me to look them up when I am in New Zealand and they gave me lots of ideas of places to go. That is one of the reasons I am enjoying this travelling, the generosity of people around you. But the flip side of the coin, there are those who want to rip you off ,so I have to be on my guard as well. The roads on this island are so scary , they are just steep hills up and down and there are big pot holes, so it was a scary bus ride. Eventually we arrived at our rooms..they overlooked the estuary of a river and the sea. They put me in a de-lux bungalow set up on the hill side. I loved it. I had to walk through some woodland along little dirt tracks to get to the main road.




I got lost.But then a man on a motorbike came and gestured for me to hop on, he did not speak any English. And I just got on and he took me to the main road, which was so kind of him. I would never have found my way!
Then I got a longboat to bottleneck beach which is beautiful. You can only get there by boat so it is not too full. I spent a few hours there. I then got a motorbike and headed for coconut beach which I had heard so much about. Well the steep roads where difficult to negotiate, and then they became dirt tracks. I have to say my heart was in my mouth and I just held onto the brakes and slid down on the bike. I thought I would figure out how to get back up later. The beach was worth it. There were hardly any people and the bungalows were set back. I chilled under a coconut tree for a few hours reading my book. Then I looked up and saw the big coconuts looming down. And I remembered that Sammie had told me that a large number of people die each year from being hit on the head from coconuts falling from the trees. I thought it will not happen to me and tried to get back into my book. But I just kept looking up and thinking"what are the chances?" and I decided with the way my luck goes at times it would be better if I moved along.
When I got back on the motorbike I decided to just go for it! and I managed to scrabble up the steep hill , slipping and sliding all over the place. But I was thrilled when I got to the top alive and in one piece!
I then went exploring on the bike.



I saw where the poor elephants are kept for the trekking and it made me realise that I did not want to ride the elephants there because there were so cooped up. I have got details of a place in Chang Mai in norther Thailand where they look after the elephants and you can help to wash them and care for them, so I am going to check that out when I go up there.
I then went and visited a waterfall. which was very atmospheric with the sound of the sicardas and crickets, it was so deafening. But I could have sat there for hours soaking up the atmosphere it was quite hypnotic. Getting back into my resort on the motorbike was frightening.It is the steepest hill I have seen and I had my heart in my mouth again until I got to the bottom. I thought it was just not worth it all the stress with the bike and I gave it back in. The next day I have to say I enjoyed walking around and exploring . I went to a great bar at the top of the hill overlooking the bay. The view was breathtaking.
Today I am getting the ferry to Ko Tao and staying there a couple of nights. I am meeting up with the girls from Ireland who I spent Christmas day with. They have got me a room where they are staying. So I am looking forward to a good night out tonight.
My visa runs out soon. so I will be getting the ferry to mainland Thailand ,then bus to Bangkok and then I have a flight on the 1st to Cambodia.I am going to visit Phnom Phenh and Ankor Wat. so really looking forward to a change of country. But then I will head back to Chang Mai in northern Thailand.

CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS EVE
I got up early to watch the sunrise.

SUNRISE

it feels so strange being in the heat when it is Christmas eve. To be honest I have not given any thought to christmas other than hoping that Sammie is having a good time and likes the presents I have left at her fathers.
I was so excited because my fast ended later today so I could eat. The menue here is full of really healthy food which is good.
At the end of the day went upto the steam rooms in the village in the hills and had a lovely steam with some friends to get rid of any remaining toxins.

TEA AFTER STEAM SESSION

So being thoroughly cleansed I felt I was ready to party. It was the full moon and all over Thailand they have full moon parties. I had made friends with a group of Irish girls. One of them Lisa was not fasting so we decided we would check out the local full moon party.
And we got home at four thirty in the morning and we consumed quite a lot of red wine! I know! I know! what about all the detoxing I hear you cry. But It is christmas!!!


CHRISTMAS DAY
Woke up with a thick head and vowed not to do that again in a hurry. I had been feeling so good with the detoxing.

FISHERMEN'S BOATS AT LAMIE BEACH



Sunbathed and read for most of the morning. Then I had Christmas dinner on the beach with the Irish girls, Lisa, Maive and Joanne.

CHRISTMAS MEAL ON THE BEACH

I had fresh orange juice and a Thai green curry with veg and brown rice. So back to the healthy options for me!!
The Irish girls are moving to the top of the island today. I am getting the ferry tomorrow to go to a small island off Ko Samui called Ko Phangan for a couple of days.It is supposed to be beautiful.

Thank you for all the Christmas messages from everyone. And from those of you who were concerned because I had not put anything on the blog for a while!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE AND LOTS OF LOVE XXX

DETOX FAST AT SPA SAMUI ON LAMIE BEACH

VIEW FROM THE SAMUI SPA ONTO THE BEACH




I have not been onto the blog for a while.That is because I have been undergoing a DETOX FAST!!! yes me the woman who cannot stop eating. I decided for some crazy reason to deprieve herself of food. And to top it off I paid two hundred dollars for the privalage. And this is what I looked like just at the end of day one.


FEELING LIKE DEATH AT THE END OF DAY ONE ON MY DETOX FAST

I had to take to my bed with my carrot juice! They get you to eat raw foods and fruit for a couple of days to get ready for the detox. You also have to drinkd some liver flush drinks. These are made up of olive oil, some kind of pepper and loads of garlic and orange juice. I actually quite liked it in a strange kind of way.
The night before the fast starts I took two capsules to kick start things. Every morning I went to the detox counter and had a detox drink.This looks, and I am sure tastes like, wall paper paste. I glugged it down and got my days supply of capsules which I had to take every couple of hours. I never did find out what was in the capsules !Every few hours I had to have things like broth,which was the WATER left over from cooking the veg. Liver detox drinks, carrot juice, and coconut water.

COCONUT WATER



and lots of capsules. Then the highlight of the whole thing is the daily enema!! for those of you of a nervous disposition I will not go into detail, but suffice it to say, the whole set up is hilarious and I still cannot believe I did it, but hey ho, this trip is all about taking myself out of my comfort zone (and i certainly did that ) and learning more things in life.

I went to meditation every morning ,which I loved and I intend to look into it further and read up on it. Then I did Yoga. Well, that was hilarious at first, I could not even cross my legs for long, but after five days I could feel myself getting more flexible. It is fantastic. I am going to do lots of Yoga on this trip and when I get home. I loved it. And luckily for me the teacher made everyone feel as if they could do it, no matter what level they were at.
And I have been swimming like a madwoman in the spa pool. I feel very healthy and cleansed now. But the first day I had the mother of all hangovers. Everyone kept telling me very knowledgeably that it was because I was so full of toxins. I wanted to tell them they were full of Sh.t, but of course they were not!!! but by the end of the fast ,which incidently was only three and a half days, I could tell that it has been good for me and I feel that I will seriously look at what I put into my body from now on.(we will see how long I keep that up!)
There are a lot of strange people here. Some with obvious eating disorders and there are lots of things to laugh at.The topics of conversation you overhear are so funny. People are discussing their bowel movements and what day of the fast they are on. The hard core, who have been many times, do it for about seven,ten or even fourteen days .It is maddness to do it that long.That is just showing off!
But I have to say I have met some very nice people here as well. And there have been some good chats.


TEA CEREMONY


Especially at the TEA CEREMONY. That is at the spa village up in the hills. A fella makes up lots of different types of tea over a three hour period and everyone sits around trying the teas and talking about all kinds of things. Some local expats pop in as well to chat to the foreign tourists. I stayed the full three hours and loved every minute of it.Some of the teas had a special kick to them so I was buzzing by the end of it. I even took a book about Chinese medicine back to my room so that I could read up on things we had discussed.

HORRAY! DESERTED BEACHES

Yesterday I got the local bus (it is a great system you just flag a bus down say where you want to go, barter the price then hop on with the locals, who are paying far less, but I felt like I got a good deal)to the next big stretch of beach along called Lamai beach. A friend of mine has been to a spa there and says it is beautiful. I was heartened when I saw signs on the beach asking people not to buy from beach vendours, so that deters them from coming along to harrass everyone.
And there were hardly any people on the beach. The places to stay were mostly nice little bungalows. I walked along and found Spa Samui. It was fully booked over Christmas. Amazingly I bumped into Tilly who used to work on Inside out in Tunbridge Wells, before she move to Inside Out in London, she has just arrived. She is staying nearby but having treatments at the spa. I managed to find a lovely bungalow next door for over Christmas at just 600 baht a night ,that is about nine pounds! And it is so quiet I cannot wait. I get the local bus from here in Chaweng tomorrow. And I am going to do one of the fasting treatments which should be an experience.

Today I decided to be more pro active and I hired a motorbike and set off very early in search of places where the tourists do not venture. Again I saw Tilly, she was just cycling along from her accommodation about fifteen minutes along the road from where I am staying. I pulled up alongside her on my motorbike and had a chat. But then ventured off in search off my solitude. And after six hours on the bike I found so many secluded places that I plan to come back to.

I also ventured into the hills, just taking the little tracks as I saw them, getting into the villages. And I came across lots of oxen tethered up in the fields next to their shacks.(i know someone is going to tell me its not an ox!!! but it looks like one to me)



I was fancinated to see the bannanas growing ( sorry do not know how to turn the photographs round..Sammie if you can work it out your end feel free to do it!! love you!!)


and there are coconut trees everywhere the villagers were collecting them and cutting them open.

Then I went to see the big Buddha..

Big Buddha is the one at the back!!! I had to make sure I had my shoulders covered witha sarong to show respect. It is the most amazing object. You had to climb up lots of steps to get to it and there were worshippers ringing bells in a circuit at the top. It was very moving, but I am not sure why. Buddhism is something I really want to explore more during my trip. There had been a rainstorm early in the day and I nearly came a cropper on the steps back down again, It really made me scared , so I decended like an old lady for the rest of the way down. I thought I do not care what I look like ,as long as I get down this thing in one piece!
I had lunch at the BBC




No not that one, The Big Buddha Cafe, but they play on the initials being BBC and have a naff studio in the corner.But the food was good. I had curried crab. And to my surprise ( I know, I just expected the crab meat to be on the plate for me) It was in its shell, I have never tackled a crab before. I tried to recall the cookery programmes I have seen, telling you what to do, but that was no good. Eventually I had to summon the waiter and he gave me a few tips. It was such a performance getting to the meat in the shell, but well worth it!

KO SAMUI

After my disasterous day on Patong beach I decided to hire a motorbike taxi to explore the island. It was great fun. He took me to a beach about forty minutes from Patong and the guidebook said that it was really cut off from things and quieter.It looked very promising when I got off the bike and he pointed to a dirt track for me to follow. It was very steep so I was optimistic about what I would find at the bottom because I though not that many people would want to tackle this track.
How wrong I was!!




I was confronted by row upon row of sun loungers and umberellas and i had to stay until the afternoon because the bike was picking me up at four. Every thirty seconds someone came past trying to sell sarongs, jewellery,silk bedspreads(i have to say there were very nice, but no room in the rucksack for them!!)and ice lollies etc.I just got my book out and lounged in the sun and swam in the sea sulking for a day. thinking how I just cannot wait to get off the island.
Everywhere around me on the trip back there were large concrete hotels and apartments springing up. All the character of the place was lost in commercialism.
Once again I retreated to my massage...And i love them!!!!! i have finally decided.


The lady who does them works so hard.They work seven days a week from ten in the morning until midnight and they still keep smiling. Most come from the north of thailand and leave their children and families so they can work here in the busy season.
The final day on Phuket I explored on foot and decided to be more positive about the island, but the more I saw the more I could not wait to get off the island. I overhead a German couple getting a taxi saying they were going to a quiet away from it all beach so I asked if I could share their taxi and cost.But then discovered they were going to the same place I had fallen for the previous day. And I declined to go and told them they would hate it. I then walkd as far to the end of the beach as i could and chilled out for the day watching the world go by. A couple sat near me on their sun loungers and the woman from Liverpool struck up a conversation. She extolled the virtues of the place and said that she had been eleven times and there was no better place on earth! It was this package holiday mentality that spoilt it for me and confirmed to me that I would not be returning.
on Sunday I got the plane to Ko Smaui
Now those of you who know me well know that I have a tendancy to call out things like "I dont want to die" when there is a little bit of turbulence on a large plane. Well the one that brought me here was a twin engined propeller plane that seats 70.And it had to be the cloudyiest day I have ever seen. you could not get more turbulence!! I was almost swallowing my tongue trying not to call out. The woman next to me was like an ice maiden she never even looked in my direction as I let out little yelps.



They paint the planes all nice colours, but I can tell you that does not make them any the less scary!

But the good news is the beaches are fantastic here with massive waves.



I am staying in a little beach bungalow and stones throw from the beach. There are still a lot of tourists but there is a nice mixture. There is enough room for me to find my space on the beach and reflect on life.



There are women who are all wrapped up in lots of clothes to protect them from the sun, who set up food stalls on the beach and sell things like corn on the cob and fresh fruit. It takes me hours to tackle a mango , and watching them peel and prepare them to eat is a show in itself. And then they sell them for about fifty pence!

PHUKET

Thanks to everyone who sent me messages hoping that I would soon feel better. The antibiotics did the trick and I feel a lot better. It is nice to get the messages on the blog and the emails from everyone. I do love my own company and travelling. But it is nice to keep in contact and Know what is going on in your lives.




Rob and Heather from Melbourne whom I made friends with on Ko Pi Pi have kindly taken some of the weight from my rucksac. I will collect it from them when I arrive in Melbourne in the early part of next year. They were really nice and saw me off on the boat to my next destination..Phuket

It was scortching hot on the boat trip so I was glad to take some shade at the back of the boat. When we got to Phuket it was unbearably hot. I got a minibus to the hotel. Along the route you could see where there had been a lot of rebuilding post Tsunami. This Island was hit particularly hard. Many roads and properties were destroyed. It is just mind blowing as I go from Island to Island trying to imagine how they have rebuilt their lives. There is something just not right about the way we come and holiday in places where there was so much loss of life. But I do know that they rely on tourism and the revenue it generates, so I reconcile my concerns with that knowledge.

I am really pleased with my hotel..it is set back about fifteen minutes from the beach. It has the most amazing little swimming pool.There is only enough room to do about ten strokes. But it is so beautifully made and the water feature at the end creates a very relaxing atmosphere. I love to go and relax there and read my book. And chill out in the heat.




I have to say that I was really looking forward to coming to Phuket because I had heard so much about the island. But it is making me feel very unsettled. There are so many dodgy looking foreign men with beautiful Thai women. On the route from my hotel to the beach there is just bar after bar with loads of beautiful Thai women just waiting for the letcherous foreigners and there money.It is making me so angry. I am at Patong beach, which is just a big pick up joint with lots of shops selling loads of cheap goods. It is everything I hate. The beach was packed with sunbeds and umberellas for miles.


I walked the full length and found a quiet place to sunbathe.



The only problem was when I came to go home I had to walk the full length in the full glare of the sun. Consequently I am very red tonight! I need to think that one through in future. Tomorrow I am going to get a taxi or bus and find a quiet little cove somewhere away from the shops and touting.

I have just had the most amazing massage!!! yeh!! There is nothing wrong with the traditional Thai massages and I know some of you were concerned that I thought foot massages were not good(Particularly you Paul..great to get your messages by the way x) but they are good, its just my body is in such bad shape that they have to push and prod so much to try and get my ching and chang in line, that it is very painful for me.I am sure the better shape I get into the less they will hurt!
The massage today was a mixture of Thai and western oil massage and I felt a lot better afterwards. It only cost three pounds which is incredible. Back home the same kind of thing would cost about fifty pounds!.
I am going to try and fit another one in before I leave the island. I do hope I discover some redeeming places in Phuket before I fly off to Ko Samui on Sunday.

Ko Pi Pi

I decided to take a relaxing stroll along the sea front and have an early meal..I chose a lovely place overlooking the sea..and sat back to relax. But as I scrambled around in my handbag for my glasses I pulled the little pin out of my panick alarm I carry with me. Well you have never heard such a din. For a second I did not realise that it was my alarm, I thought some alarm had gone off nearby and wondered what it was. When I saw all eyes on me I panicked and started throwing all the things out of my bag onto the table to find the thing..it was SO LOUD. eventually I got it out and then panicked and sat on it to try and muffle the sound. At various intervals I took it out and fumbled around to try and shut it up,only to admit defeat and sit on it again. With the people having ,or rather trying to have quiet romantic meals getting very annoyed with me. Eventually I shut the thing up. Needless to say I have left it in my room tonight. My nerves will not take that again in a hurry.

After counting the bruises on my body from the Thai massages I thought I would try a Thai foot massage, that had to be relaxing. How wrong could I have been! I was in agony when he pushed certain areas of my feet.

FOOT MASSAGE


The chap inflicting the pain said "oh not good .painful, you have bad colon" that may be as well, but I now have bad foot!!! once again I told myself no pain, no gain and let him continue for an hour massaging and inflicting pain. But when he had finished he said that my colon would now start to get better...and do you know today my colon was very active. so it did something!
Just as I was coming to the end of the massage the Canadian lot appeared at the window of the place and so I joined them later in a bar.



to see a LADYBOY caberet show.Basically that is when some Thai men dress as beautiful ladies and perform a caberet.It has to be one of the strangest things I have seen. The lady in the middle of this picture is one of the ladyboys. we then had a few more drinks





and somehow they all ended up persuading me to have a henna tattoo on my foot.It is of three little feet. I know Sammie I have always said that I would never do that ,but this trip is going to be full of things I thought I would never do..and at least this one wears off after a while.They tried very very hard to get me to have a real one!



Tomorrow I get the boat to Phuket where I will be staying for 4 days.

Ko Pi Pi

The last night in Krabi had a few drinks with some Canadians and a girl from Brighton.They were all very sweet and made me feel really welcome. Even though I am old enough to be there mother.They put me down as early thirties so that made me feel good. I have to say they had had a few beers by then so they may have had beer goggles on!!!They were very funny and I had a good time. We exchanged email addresses.



I then got the ferry to the beautiful island of Ko Pi Pi and I am staying in the most amazing resort..my room is up on stilts overlooking a breathtaking sight.It made me feel tearful with the wonder of it.


VIEW FROM BOAT APPROACHING HOTEL


VIEW FROM MY BEDROOM WINDOW


HAVING A DRINK IN LOCAL BAR


I have been suffering a bit with a sore throat and really bad cough so went to a local pharmacy and was able to buy cough medecine and antibiotics. He said he thought I had a chest infection. So better safe than sorry. It just amazed me how easy it was to purchase the antibiotics. I am sure all the soakings on the various boat trips over the last few days has not helped my cold. glad I had also put a couple of lemsips in my first aid kit.

Last night I had dinner with a couple from Melbourne. I got chatting to them because I was sneezing a lot with my cold and she said "bless you". They had knocked on my door to see if I wanted to join them. But I was wandering back from a beach on the other side of the island and lost time. So it was dark when I got back and they were at a table on the beachfront. They called over and said they would wait until I got ready. So I rushed off and showered then we had dinner. Which was very nice of them.

Today I headed for the pool and did plenty of lengths to try and loose some weight!! Being a glutten for punishment I decided to try another Thai massage. I am literally black and blue from all the pressure points they have pushed and prodded, but I keep hoping my body will stop hurting eventually. These tiny little ladies literally clamber all over your body, pulling it in directions that it does not want to go!! And they do it with such a nice smile. They keep saying "ok" and my head is screaming "no it is not ok" but then I tell myself to be brave as this must be good for me and the pain in my shoulder is getting a bit less. I think they devised their massages to just inflict terrible pain on the smug tourists who spend all day bartering them down to the last Baht for an item they want to purchase in the markets. They are probably killing themselves laughing when they see the contorted faces of people having a massage!
Never say die!, I will have another one again soon.They are about three hundred Baht that is about four pounds fifty!

I logged on to find a message from the Canadian lot to say they were heading out to Ko Pi Pi today and hoped we could meet up again. I read it too late to catch them. But then bumped into them on the seafront. So hope to meet up again later.

JUST ALONG BEACH FROM MY ROOM

ISLANDS

Walked down to the river and got a long boat to the Hat Rai beach. It is described in the guide book as a hypnotic and a honeymoon destination. The boat trip was really nice. We all just gathered at the pier until enough people were there, then we paid less than one pound fifty for a forty minute boat trip to the lovely Hat Rai Leh beach.





I spent the day exploring and sunbathing. Got chatting to a woman form New Zealand at lunchtime but was glad to wander off on my own again in the afternoon. I also had a Thai massage. I have to say I am still not sure If i like them. There is a lot of pulling and pushing of bones and joints.And they push on points that you never knew hurt so much. But then strangely after all that pain and suffering you walk away feeling good. I will try them again a few more times before making up my mind totally.
We gathered for the last long boat back from the beach at five. The sea in the meantime had got very very choppy. I am not the best person on boats but I have to say Iwas terrified, it was bouncing about so much. I was hanging on tightly.We all got thoroughly soaked.



I have never been so glad to reach dry land. I went back to my room and had a hot shower. I had a lovely spicy curry and chatted to some people who have been travelling for a year .They gave me lots of tips about places to stay in fiji and New Zealand.

'KRABI'

Ok I ended my last blog by saying that I was not being scammed. The Grand Palace was definately closed! Well yes you have guessed it. I fell for the scam! Until someone reliably informed me that the Grand Palace and temples were OPEN. They only shut on the day of the king's birthday. SoI hailed a Tuk Tuk and it made its way at breakneck speed to the tourist attractions for me. I really had to hold on tight as he laughed the more he saw my fearful face in his rear view mirror. He weaved his way through traffic, through gaps that I was convinced were impossible for us to fit through. And it was touch and go at times. It was very exciting now that I am still in once piece. I would not have missed it for the world.
When I got inside they made me hire garments to cover myself up properly.I thought my trousers would be long enough. But seems they are an inch too short. Will have to take a sarong with me at all times in future to make an instant skirt.




The palace was getting its finishing touches for the king's birthday the next day.So I was lucky to see it at it's very best.




Amid all this there were ordinary people worshipping at the buddhist temples. I found it facinating to watch.
I spent the kings birthday lounghing by the pool after seeing the millions of people in a sea of yellow on the streets. There really was not an inch to spare. They love their king and it was a very special day for the whole country. He is the grand old age of 80 and he has not been too well recently.
Today got a cheap flight(27 pounds) to the island of Krabi. Have booked into a little room in a guest house for 8 pounds.





It is amazing how cheap the life is here. This is a step down form the Holiday Inn in Bangkok, but more the sort of experience I am looking for. I went for a walk down by the river earlier and I am going for a massage soon. I am ready for it after lugging the rucksac on and off buses. I had to pay excess luggage at the airport so that tells me it really does need trimming down. But I just cannot decide what to leave. I thought I had been pretty good with my packing. We will see.
Tomorrow I plan to get a local bus to one of the islands beautiful beaches and then the day after that I have booked a long boat trip to the smaller islands. I will keep you posted. Thanks for all the messages and emails. It is great to log into them.
I am not putting photo's on this entry again as the connection here keeps cutting out and it will take ages to upload the pictures. That is my excuse and I am sticking to it!! (EDIT..THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE VERY ASTUTE WILL SEE I HAVE FINALLY WORKED OUT HOW TO PUT PHOTOS ON SITE.)

BANGKOK

Arrived in Bangkok after a long but enjoyable flight. It was well worth upgrading to premium economy for the extra leg room. I managed to sleep ok on the flight and watch a couple of films. The chap sat next to me was originally from Sheffield but now living in Australia he was friendly and chatty so we passed the time of day which made the flight go quickly.
The hotel in Bangkok is nice,they have upgraded me to a De-Lux room, which was a nice surprise.




There is an open air swimming pool on the 6th floor.



I took a dip last night and it was an amazing feeling swimming along looking up at the night sky, surrounded by a lot of sky scrapers, with the noise of the Bangkok traffic in the background. I thought what a great way to start my adventure!



Slept well last night because I was so tired after the long journey and the time difference.
Today I have wandered along the busy streets just taking in my surroundings. It is chaotic but very captivating at the same time.
I have spent the last hour in a travel agent booking flights to go to the south islands. Krabi, Phi Phi, Phuket and Ko samui. I am now going to book rooms via the internet.
Trust me to land in Bangkok when it is the kings birhtday tomorrow. Lots of the tourist attractions are closed for a couple of days. I know it is ususally a scam when they tell you they are closed, because they want to take you to their relatives shop! but this time it is genuine.
So I will have to see the temples and grand palace when I come back from the islands around 20th dec.