Koh Tao: Round 2

I was so excited to get back to Koh Tao, but also a bit nervous that my second trip wouldn't be as good as my first, leaving the memory tarnished... but the worry was unnecessary because round two was EVEN BETTER!

Once I had settled into my accommodation I headed straight to 'Siam' in it's new beach-front location and was immediately greeted by lots of familiar faces welcoming me back. I signed up for my advanced diving course, but as I wanted to learn with Lee I had to wait a few days until he finished another course- this was fine by me as it gave me the perfect excuse to extend my stay in Koh Tao and catch up with everyone before the diving started.

I easily fell back into the old routine of sunbathing with the girls (Kelly, Terri and Jen) in the day, dinner with 'the gang' in the evening, then partying the night away in Diza, Lotus and Fishbowl. And did the routine feel old? Never!!

The best thing about going back to Koh Tao was that it gave me the chance to build on the friendships that I'd made during my first visit and turn them into 'friends for life'. I loved getting to know everyone better and spent everyday feeling so incredibly happy.







After 4 days of island fun I began my advanced course. There is a lot less theory involved in the advanced course and a lot more diving with the idea of seeing the range of dives available. During my course I did 5 dives; a night dive, a wreck dive, a deep dive (29.5 m), a navigation dive and a dive to practice buoyancy skills. I had an absolute blast on all the dives but particularly enjoyed the deep dive as I saw an incredible amount of tropical fish and the buoyancy dive as we did a lot of silly skills and underwater gymnastics. After my course finished Lee wangled me two free dives, so the next day I did a second deep dive and wreck dive, and it's so lucky that I did, as on the deep dive we saw a whale shark which was amazing.

I had planned on leaving Koh Tao after my course finished.. but I was caught in the island's spell! I was persuaded to stay another day as it was Jen's birthday and we had planned a big meal out (30 of us) followed by a bar crawl to celebrate (any excuse!) We had an awesome night, full of silly challenges for the birthday girl and everyone had a great time. The next day was spent in the usual sunbathing, playing volleyball, eating Zest baguettes way, and during the course of the day I was persuaded to stay another night to help support 'Team Siam' in the beach Olympics the next night (any excuse!) Us girls decided to be cheerleaders to support 'our boys' in the vaguely diving related (mainly drinking related) games. We went all out for the occasion and dressed up, painted our faces and practiced cheers which ultimately lead to a victory for 'Team Siam', meaning another brilliant night out with 'the gang'.

It was very hard to buy my ferry ticket off the island, but it was time to go. I decided to stay the next day and to get the 11pm night ferry to Chumphon (another excuse to stay a bit longer). I had one last day with everyone, and a final dinner in 'El Gringo's Mexican' before Guy whisked me off to the ferry on the back of his motorbike. It was a very sad goodbye and I had to try really hard not to cry, particularly saying goodbye to Lee and Kelly, but I know I will see them again because as I say, they are now friends for life.

As the night boat pulled away, I stood on the back deck watching the island get further away until the lights of Koh Tao disappeared all together, then I returned to my bunk bed to get as much sleep as is possible on a ferry. Next Stop: BANGKOK.

'Hammer time' at Fullmoon

Sandra and I felt that there was no better way to see in the New Year than to go to one of the infamous full moon parties on Haad Rin beach in Koh Phagnan! Full moon parties are legendary among the backpacking crowd in Thailand, and have almost become a 'right of passage'. The parties happen every month usually coinciding with the full moon, and see tens of thousands of neon-clad revellers pour onto the beach to drink buckets and dance. We arrived in Koh Phagnan a few days before the party to give us an opportunity to see a bit of the island and also to enjoy the 'warm up' parties that were reportedly as good as full moon itself. We mainly spent our days sunbathing close to our hotel, but also took a couple of trips to see the surrounding sights. One particularly nice day was spent on the gorgeous beach of Mae Haad in the north of the island, where we lounged on the beach and got Thai massages on the beach-front platforms. There's nothing quite like a coconut oil massage looking out to sea and listening to the waves lapping the shore. Another nice day trip found up trekking to see a pretty (yet modest) waterfall and a lovely viewpoint hidden in the jungle, followed by a chance meeting with some lively elephants!

Our evenings running up to full moon were spent 'warming up' at various parties and often left us worse for wear the next day (luckily our room had a TV with movie channels!) We had a lot of fun between Christmas and New Year, and almost forgot that 'the big one' was yet to come..!

New Years Eve itself was a very exciting night on Koh Phagnan, with hundreds of people flooding onto the island by ferry. The streets were full of high spirited party-goers and the atmosphere was electric with anticipation for the evenings full moon party!! It is traditional at full moon to dress in neon clothing and paint yourself in glow in the dark paints, so Sandra and I began the evening shopping for the appropriate outfit and set about painting ourselves from head to toe!

Once fully made-up we met up with friends and joined the throngs of people headed towards the beach. When we reached the beach (it took a while) we were overwhelmed by the number of people there (estimated at around 40,000) it was truly a sight to behold!! We grabbed the obligatory buckets and some more neon accessories and joined the party. At midnight fireworks were set off and they were absolutely amazing! I haven't seen fireworks like it before, they were so huge that they completely FILLED the sky and had me mesmerised. I'm not sure when we partied until, but it was late, and the party was still very much in full swing. We had set aside New Years Day as a 'recovery'/ packing day and as the weather was crap we spent most of it watching movies. Early the next day I said my goodbyes to Sandra as I was headed back to Koh Tao, and she was returning to China. The goodbye was sad, but not too bad, as we will be meeting up again in January for more 'hammer time' in Laos.

'Hammer time' with Sandra!

I was very lucky to get to spend Christmas and New Year with a best friend from home, Sandra. Sandra has been working in China for the past two years, so being in my neck of the woods, she got a flight over to Thailand to spend her Christmas holidays with me!!

We met up on the island of Ko Samui in our hotel 'Nora Chewang'. Sandra was in charge of booking our Christmas accommodation and it was obvious! When I arrived at Nora Chewang it was like I had finally gone on 'holiday'! Our room was big with comfy beds, air-conditioning, a TV, a bath(!) and a HOT shower!!! We even got our room cleaned everyday- such a treat! After a nice long shower we went to explore 'Chewang beach' where we were staying. I have to admit that I had no interest in visiting Ko Samui as I was aware of it's 'touristy' reputation and after a walk down the strip it was clear that the reputation is well deserved; Chewang beach is definitely touristy, (and for me) hideous. We spent a day sunbathing on the beach, which was really quite pretty but I couldn't help being irritated by all the hawkers trying to sell me souvenirs and tourist tat while I sunbathed. This beach didn't quite have the quiet charm as some of the beaches on the Andaman coast. In the afternoon we decided tp treat ourselves to some bargain facials and spent an hour being massaged and pampered, (by a lady boy!) which I thoroughly enjoyed! Sandra and I also attempted a night out in Chewang, but were immediately turned off by the huge clubs and blaring music, not quite the fire shows, buckets and dancing on the beach I had become accustomed to. We still gave the night a good go and ended up meeting a few interesting characters that became the butt of our jokes for the rest of the holiday! On Christmas Eve we moved hotels to an even fancier place, Nora Buri, which Sandra had booked as a Christmas treat. If Nora Chewang was fancy, then Nora Buri was just plain posh! We had our bags taken as we got to the entrance and delivered to our room after check in! (Such a treat, my bag is heavy!) We then had complimentary drinks and cold flannels to refresh ourselves while we checked in! Definitely luxury for a backpacker. Our room was so big, with two double beds, a TV with multiple English movie channels, a HOT shower, and a very fancy bathtub!
I realise that this may sound standard in a nice room, but having stayed in some interesting accommodation previously, where toilet paper and towels are a treat, this was another world!

The weather wasn't superb when we checked in so we spent the day lounged on our beds watching movies (Nanny McPhee 2 and Sex and the City 2) and eating cake delivered by room service! It was the best possible way to spend Christmas Eve, and similar to what I would have done if I'd had been at home. In the evening we decided to head to another part of Samui to see if the rest was as awful as Chewang. We caught a bus to Bo Phut fisherman's village and had dinner and drinks there. Both Sandra and I loved Bo Phut and were so relieved to find a nice part of Samui. Bo Phut had a lovely village ambiance with cute shop houses and funky restaurants and bars, it was a world away from Chewang. Quite a few restaurants were advertising Christmas menus, and as we liked Bo Phut so much we decided to book a table there for Christmas dinner. Christmas day got off to a lovely start, with an excitable Sandra waking me up wearing a Christmas hat, and holding a stocking full of little presents for me!! We then headed down to breakfast at the hotel restaurant which again was AMAZNG! It was an all you can eat mass spread of both Asian and Western breakfast foods. I opted for a number of yummy things including a made to order omelet, croissants and nutella on toast! A very apt start to Christmas day! We then spent the rest of the afternoon making the most of the hotels facilities, swimming in the eternity pool, and relaxing in the sauna and steam room. In the evening we went over to Bo Phut for Christmas dinner which was literally AMAZING!! I was sure the Chef must be British because the food was exactly as it would be in the UK, with none of the strangeness you often get with Asian interpretations of Western food. We had breaded brie with caramelised onions to start, roast turkey with all the trimmings for our main, and a chocolate fondant for dessert, all washed down with a gorgeous bottle of white wine! It was by far the best meal I have had all trip!! We then moved onto a Sangsom bucket in Bo Phut before heading back to Chewang to have a rather random but thoroughly enjoyable night dancing in a Thai gay bar with the crazy staff!!

The next day after a lot of negotiation with various travel agents we booked our ferry tickets to Ko Phagnan to begin the next part of our adventure together!!

Koh Tao: Round 1

Koh Tao is a small island on the gulf coast perched on a ledge of coral reefs, making it famous worldwide for both diving and snorkeling. I headed to Koh Tao because I wanted to dive; I had tried diving as a teenager and really enjoyed it so I was keen to do it again in the tropics and see what was going on under the surface of the turquoise waters.

As diving is so big in Koh Tao there are tonnes of dive schools to choose from (96 if you believe the talk), so my first day was spent wandering around Sairee beach talking to different dive centres to work out who offered the best deal.

I bumped into my Swiss friends again while walking around and had lunch with them to catch up. They had already done their diving and advised me to go with a school that taught in small groups as they felt this offered the best experience.Taking their advice on board I decided I would learn with 'Siam' dive school, as they teach in very small groups and also do all their skills in the sea rather than the pool. This decision led to the best few weeks of my trip so far!

I ended up learning on my own and having an instructor to myself, which was perfect. My instructor, Lee, is from Wales and is absolutely full of beans! He made learning to dive so much fun and we really bonded during my 4-day course, so I ended up making a great friend as well as gaining my open water certification.

The course itself was awesome, we started with some theory work and a day practicing dive skills, then spent two days out on the dive boat doing 4 dives in the ocean. It was inexplicably cool swimming around the colourful coral and among the various tropical fish, and I was immediately hooked.






The other great thing about learning to dive with Siam is that they are such a social dive school, and so every night students and instructors get together for dinner followed by drinks in their favourite haunts, Diza bar then Lotus then Fishbowl -always-

I got to know so many other people through the dive school that by the end of my week I had made a whole group of  friends, most of whom actually live and work on Koh Tao. It was really nice to make friends with 'locals' rather than tourists as they know the best places to eat/drink, the best things to do, and I knew that if I came back they would still be here ... and at the end of my week in Koh Tao I knew I would be coming back! It wasn't in my initial plans, but I had enjoyed diving so much that I was keen to do a further advanced certification. So I left the island for Christmas and New Year promising everyone that I would be back at the beginning of January.








Koh Tao soundtrack:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRsxpoAc5w&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OnnDqH6Wj8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GchEVSx9XEA

Krabi: Railay and Ao Nang

As the speedboat approached Railay I was absolutely blown away by how beautiful the scenery was! Railay beach is framed by large, looming limestone cliffs that make it by far the most beautiful beach around.

Due to the abundance of rugged cliffs, Railay is a world-famous spot for rock climbing and so I thought I should probably get stuck in!
I decided to take the steep climb up to the islands viewpoint, and also visit the lagoon which is hidden amongst the craggy peaks. The climb was hard work, and quite scary at points, as it was a matter of scrambling up the rocks without any ropes, but it was fun and well worth the effort as the viewpoint provided a gorgeous view of the twin bays!





After finding the viewpoint I wandered around a bit trying to find the trail that led to the lagoon. I bumped into a group of young Aussie boys (Dan, Tom, Sam and Hayden) who were also headed to the lagoon and so I joined them to find the elusive sight. We eventually found the correct path, and started the very scary descent down the cliffs into the cavernous lagoon. It was so much scarier climbing down that up as it was much harder to find hand/foot holds, but after a few scary moments, and some dramatic suggestions by the boys that we might die, we made it to the hidden lagoon, elated by our successful climb! The lagoon was so pretty sitting still amongst the cliffs, and we had it all to ourselves! We stripped off and jumped in for a swim, before we attempted the steep climb out again. That evening I met back up with the Aussie guys to celebrate our success with a few Changs and a few buckets! The rest of my time in Railay was quite lazy in comparison, I did check out 'diamond caves' which were bat-filled and pretty, but otherwise my time was spent lounging on the beach, watching pretty sunsets and eating yummy Thai food!






After a couple of days I left Railay and took a short boat ride across to the beach of Ao Nang. Ao Nang is not blessed with the same beauty as Railay, but it is connected to the mainland and so had facilities (and prices!) that I had missed! The main reason for stopping in Ao Nang was to do a tour of 'The Emerald Pool' and hot springs that are located in a near by national park. The trip I chose to do also included a trip to Tiger Temple, and so I had a nice day exploring the local area.

The first stop was 'Tiger Temple' which is a temple complex located in caves which used to be home to a tiger. It is a pretty complex, with the main temple a top a hill, accessible by 1,237 steps! It was a very hot and sweaty climb, but I made it to the top and saw the giant Buddha statue and the surrounding countryside views! I also bumped into a few groups of school children in the complex who were on a school trip to practice their English by interviewing westerners, and so I ended up being interviewed by two groups of kids (very cute!) which was just as enjoyable as the temples!





The trip then took us to see the 'Emerald Pool' and the hot springs. The pool is a pretty, clear water pool, which is emerald in colour. We spent a bit of time there swimming and enjoying the water before heading to the hot springs which were the highlight of the trip for me! The springs are 38-42 degrees celsius, and run in a waterfall. There were lots of little ledges to perch on and enjoy the waters warmth, like a natural jacuzzi!





I spent one other day in Ao Nang and took a bus to check out Krabi town. The town hasn't got a whole lot going on, a few markets and a BOOTS!! I then made the journey across peninsular Thailand, to the gulf coast, and jumped on a ferry to the island of Koh Tao!!!