THREE EVENTFUL MONTHS IN THAILAND

i have just arrived in sihanounville in cambodia, after a 3 month sojourn in thailand. arriving in bangkok at the end of october was a relief after my epic overland journey from england. the first week i spent enjoying the nightlife of bangkok, though it didnt go exactly to plan. i ended up spliting with my partner of 4 years, Ekk. my decision, though still not sure it was the right one! the next two weeks was spent on the TESOL course, which i passed. met some interesting people on the course.

soon after the course finished i went up to chiang mai by train, for the LOY KRATHONG festival, via two nights in the ancient capital of ayuttaya on the way up north. the festival lasts 3 days, though like most thai festivals, people started the festivities early and were still going a week later! the festival involves nightime processions of luminous floats along the streets, with each night the floats got bigger and more elaborate. so much so that on the 3rd night they could hardly squeeze thought the crowds, also there is the floating of small wreaths on the rivers, made of banana tree leaves, flowers, candles and insense sticks. if your wreath is still glowing when it floats out of sight then the next year will bring good luck. if the flame dies within sight, then you are doomed for next 12 months. same goes for the lighting of sky lanterns, glad to say mine stayed alight! there are also lots of fireworks, and firework throwing!

after that week i went down to the other thai ancient city of sukhothai, which was very similar to ayuttaya. i arrived the day after a lone japanese female backpacker had been murdered at one of the ruins...
from sukhothai, i took the bus to khon kean, which turned out to be a very scenic route over mountains. spent a night in khon kaen, before taking a bus to Sri saket. the purpose of this trip into north east thailand was to visit the home of a thai guy called Dam, who i had met in bangkok while i was doing the TESOL course. it was interesting to see rural life, i even spent a day in the rice fields! (though i admit i spent most of it reclining under a shady tree!)

it was then back to bangkok. it was now early december and the thai king was celebrating his 80th birthday, along with all of the rest of the thai people, who all adore him madly. he is the longest reigning world monarch at the moment, even longer than the UK Queen, though is was looking very frail on tv on his big day. everything was closed on that day. after a week it was time to head south to some beaches. first stop was hua hin, mainly to see EKK, and wish him happy 33rd birthday.

after hua hin, travelled by train to surat thani, then bus to ao nang beach in krabi. spent 3 days there amongst the amazing karst scenery, before heading by boat to phuket. spent a week there, during which it was my 39th birthday. also went on a gay day tour to one of the small islands, which was very different to the usual day tour tosay the least...

then it was by boat to phi phi island, which still bears the scars of the 2004 tsunami. spent 3 days over christmas here, before heading by another boat to railey beach in krabi, one of my favourite places. after that it was back to bangkok by overnight train in time for new years eve. as usual it was a rather drunken affair. it was my 3rd NEW YEARS EVE in bangkok in 5 years. so 2008 dawned with a hangover, and a vow never to drink again, and after a couple more days in bangkok it was time to leave.

this time i was heading east. ist stop was putrid pattaya, an expensive awful place, full of sex tourists and whores. so after a couple of days i headed for koh samet, which since my last visit in 2002 had become rather over developed im sad to say, still nice beaches though. then next stop was koh chang, my first visit there. stayed at lonely beach, which was a kind of backpacker party zone amongst the trees. where if your werent at a party you would be kept awake by one until past 4am by the strains of remixes of the pussycat dolls. spent a week there before heading to the nearby island of koh mak, much more sedate, and totally deserted beaches! just what i needed as i was on some pills to cure a horrid lung infection id been carrying since bangkok. the pills made me incredibly drowsy, so spent nearly all the time dosing in a hammock. they worked though, and im better now. from koh mak, took a boat direct back to the mainland and to the town of Trat. here a said goodbye again to my friend dam, who had been accompanying me, off and on (its a long story!), since bangkok.

so i am alone in cambodia, plan to head up to phnom penh, siem reap/angkor wat, and battambang, before heading back to thailand on feb 4th, in time for my mothers 1st trip to thailand!

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