Advertisement
Headed back to Bangkok to meet up with Patsy - had a few days of partying on Khao San Road before putting a suitably destroyed Harn on a plane back home. I still haven't recovered from having my right arm cut off. I'll never forgive you for leaving me, Jagpal.
After a quick helping hand from Google Patts and I headed off down to Pattya for a week's crew course with an outfit called Gulf Charters. They were perfect. We were taught in the classroom by Nigel, an incredibly nice eccentric English gentleman, taught on the boat by Captain Paul, a Canadian with a million stories, and in the bar by Mr Phil, a weatherworn happy Aussie. It was a hard week (even had to do a an exam!) and the evening sessions with Mr Phil didn't help matters - but good and we all passed.
Headed down to Koh Chang - a very chilled out island with a beautiful white sand beach - seems to have escaped the tourist tat and concrete monstrosities so far - pretty idyllic really. Met up with Mr Lek, a Thai who looks after Gulf Charters's boats on the island, and within
half an hour we found ourselves waving bye bye to Mr Lek as we set off in a 21 foot yacht ON OUR OWN!!! Lordy. I'm not saying the tacking was text book, or even pretty, but we made it out to our destination and got back again with ourselves and the boat in one piece. Did some more sailing with Mr Lek - bit of snorkelling off a deserted beach, visit to a fishing village - not a bad day all in all. Mr Lek had a few Chang beers on the way back and, given we'd been warned he was a lightweight and the fact it was pitch black by then, we were a little relieved to get home.
Next stop Ko Samui. Stayed on Chaweng beach which is party (and tourist tat) central but a good base. Did some kayaking around the marine park (as made famous by The Beach). Did some crazy high wire thing in the rainforest. Got some mopeds (our first time) and (after a shaky start on my part!!) bezzed around the whole island and discovered some lovely deserted fishing beaches off the south coast and calmer, prettier beaches off the north.
Patsy had a birthday and we celebrated with some Taittinger Premier Cru like good budget travellers... ahem. Our motto became "do one thing every day that scares you" (think that's from that "wear sunscreen" song??) so by the time Patsy left our nerves were shot! Great 3 weeks though and interspersed with appropriate amounts of therapeutic beer and cards. I had to let Patsy go home as Phil and Digby needed her (but, no, Jaggers, you are still not forgiven).
Advertisement
Tot: 0.056s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 11; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0263s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
