The motorcycle diaries

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seems like ages since I last wrote, but in fact think it's only a few days.... my bites are alright - though I think ants have been nibbling on my feet... burn rating - after a beach day, back burnt!...
...think I last left you all with the image of sting and I sorting out our visas and trip to Ko chang then heading to get a beer to celebrate our hard work... well....

after our hard days work we decided to get some food and head back to our hotel/guesthouse/pit/ etc. we sat at a market stall and ordered and sting went to the shop to get some water. I sat alone at the table (listening to the weirdest thai band doing a cover version of Baby Baby Baby by Justin Bieber!) when a thai girl approached me. She asked if she could sit next to me. Shit. I said my friend was sitting there. she asked how many friends. I said one. she said there was enough room for both of us. OMG OMG. was this how it happened? was this how I would acquire my thai bride? at a market stall? deserted by my friend, alone, vunerable.... my noodles arrived. she sat opposite. I ate...or tried too, I'm still learning chopsticks (I have discovered that the trick is to come at the noodles from the side).... I started wondering what stingray would think... she walks towards the table and see's me sitting with some thai girl...the image in my head, meant I was desperately trying not to laugh! desperately wishing stingray would hurry the fuck up and rescue me from the incredible awkward / hilarious situation! .... Thankfully she came back, smiling and slightly confused!.. don't ask.... she started eating her spicy thai salad....and then nearly choked on the hotness.... I laughed.... thai bride laughed..."very hot" I said to thai bride....OMG did she think I was saying SHE was very hot.... best not speak anymore....ate noodles as fast as possible (not very fast)....

this was not to be the only ordeal we suffered that night...... whilst walking home sting was grabbed from behind (I was a split second away from using my self defence move and breaking the girls arm) but who should it be but Bu Bu (some swiss girl who's best friends with yoli and who I met in charles st over the summer) ...anyway she was quite insistant that we had a beer with her, so we went to this outside bar which basically centered around a VW van with a plasma TV screen in the boot!... we sat down and ordered our beer before realising we were surrounded by Koreans and the TV screen was showing South Korea v Japan in some Asian football match!! we got pretty into it, especially when Korea scored a late equaliser and we were in the middle of the celebrations! dancing drunk in the street one night, celebrating with a group of Koreans the next - Bangkok was sorry to see us go!

Despite the several beers we did manage to get ourselves out in time for our coach to Ko Chang. Whilst on the coach we sat behind what we thought was a female monk (it was probably a girl with a shaved head) and some quite hot Italian / French girl. We decided against booking any accomadation so jumped in a "taxi" and headed for the nearest beach. Now taxi's here aren't really like taxi's back home (oh how I long for Pete) this was more of a pick up truck with a roof rack! the passengers sit in the back and the luggage is balanced on the roof... there were 10 or so people in the truck, 2 hanging onto the back and sting and I in the front with the driver - us 2 sitting in 1 seat, fine ish...until the driver needed to go into 2nd....

anyway.... we found ourselves somewhere to stay and headed out for some food - we met a guy from liverpool who sounds just like Lilly Savage! we had a couple of beers on the beach - where I got the ant bites.... we had a lazy day on thursday, on the beach - where I got burnt. It's such a pretty place the beach is amazing, the sea is nice and warm and the island itself is covered in forest. Photo's coming shortly!!

After our lazy day on thursday we decided to hire a motorbike on Friday (sorry mum... but I did wear a helmet the whole time!) It was hilarious and at times ridiculously scary! especially stopping and starting. Ko Chang is quite a hilly island so that made it all the more fun!! managed to get loads of photos - whilst I was on the back. We went to a small fishing village and had some dinner then went further around the island and sting attempted to do some snorkling but got a bit scared when she was surrounded by crabs! I sat in my hammock ....it was at this point that I realised that I wished a certain someone was with me....

We'd seen a sign whilst driving advertising some Thai boxing on the island which we'd both wanted to see in Bangkok but never rele got round to it. So we thought we'd go to this one.... we sat in the front row and waited, then we noticed the boxers getting their hands strapped and who was there? only the monk from the coach! ....or so sting thought.... so convinced was she that she actually bet me 1000 Baht which is like 20 quid!! ....I said it wasn't but would only gamble 10 baht - roughly 2p......It wasn't the monk.....
the fighting itself was slightly surreal the first fight was between two boys probably about 10! there were 2 girls fighting next and I think at this point sting and I realised we didnt rele understand Thai boxing as we were convinced one of them had won when in fact she hadnt! there were a few more fights but the last one was the best. Sting and I both decided we quite fancied the male thai boxer LOL! anyway he won, by knock out. literally kicked the guy in the head, the guy fell to the floor massive thud, part of me did think he was dead. the doctor came, was actually a bit scary! but he wasn't dead! thank god! .... and guess who we saw on our walk home... the monk and foreign girl!....so we ran after them and stalked them a bit and now know where they're staying....

The only thing more scary than riding on the back of a motorbike with someone who has never ridden a bike before, is riding on the back of a motorbike with someone who has never ridden a bike before.....in the dark!!

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