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Published: December 22nd 2007
Diary update. We've now moved hoose again, its a lot cheaper, only 3K a month each instead of 8, so we're saving a few grand of baat each month. Bargain. Now back to living opposite Coco Gardens. We're across the road, so not far from the beach and can stagger back from the bar now without having to drive home on the bikes. We do live next to the Sports Bar so I get to see some footie which is a bonus. Someone always turns up that you know when you sit watching the footie so that's all good.
We have 2 floors this time, the bedrooms are upstairs and we have a small balcony, its a bit more of a scruffy and noisy location but its fine for us cus since we left England on 1st October, we have not had one night in! So we only need to sleep and shower there. We have bought some nice twinkly lights and a lamp and made it quite homely. Its quite big and nice to be back where we started altho I also miss Baan Tai a bit, but that's no problem cus it's only 10 mins along the road
after the clinic and when we were there we missed Coco!
We had a great girl called Alicia who has came out for a week to help us out at the clinic. She is a friend of the founder Vet of the clinic and comes from Hong Kong. She is really lovely and has been a pleasure to work with. We spent all evenings with her bar one, and she came to Coco Bar with us, and we ate out at the night market and went to Big Mango last night for her last night (that's Thursday 20th Dec), that was me, Sheena, Alicia and James. She had met James at the clinic and on the dive boat as he is a dive master. She also did 3 Muay Thai boxing classes - the girl can kick ass too. She left today and it was really sad to say goodbye, we wish she could have stayed longer.
Anyway, backtracking a bit:
Sunday 16th:
My day off, I meant to go and pay my bar bill at Coco Gardens from the night before and then head off somewhere for a walk or whatnot, but ended up staying
all day at Coco bar on the beach til about 5pm. Chatted all day to various people and staff, mostly Curtis (there for a month, canadian) and then fell asleep on the cushions on the floor by the bar in the sun. Was a brilliant day actually!
Then in the evening we drove out to Chaluklum (north of the island, about 20 mins or half hour drive on the bikes), the road is very bad in places, potholes and sand on the road as you get nearer to the north so you have to watch out for that. Alicia went on the back of Sheena's bike, also Ash came on her bike and we met Belinda (english teacher with POD) and her bloke Peter. We had a great night and indulged in some white wine with our meal. Then drove back of course, its quite nice driving through the dodgy jungle road in the dark. Its not so bad as you get used to the bits that are ok and the bits that are dodgy so you know where to slow down and weave through the big holes in the road. Keeps you on yer toes eh.
Monday
17th Dec:
During the day, went out with James, he drove us over the dirt roads up north and we had a good hour and a half walk over MANY big hills in the jungle! then we found a waterfall off the beaten track, and decided to climb down it as it was bound to lead to a beach and ocean! it was quite long and we did some pretty good rock climbing, had to climb through the water in some bits so a bit slippery but it wasnt really difficult, just intrepid. I really enjoyed all that. It was very scenic and i was hugely annoyed at having no camera, we have to go back so i can get pics cus it was the prettiest place yet! The waterfall eventually led us to a beach which was great cus there were no bungalows or people, just a totally remote beach. Bloody brill. Sat on big rock in the sea with waves sometimes crashing over it which was very cooling as it was a very hot and sunny day! absolutely brilliant. we sat on the rock and on the beach for a few hours then hiked back. And no
- everyone who keeps emailing me - me and James are MATES!!! James has a perfectly gorgeous girlfriend who is studying in England just now, but coming out soon so stop getting the wrong idea ha ha. I dont have a boyfriend thank you very much.
Then it was Half Moon Party in the evening. We started out at Coco Bar and met up with Curtis, Leanne and Jane and some others. Leanne and Jane are English gals out on hols and staying at Coco, they are brill. Very funny too. There were a few new people there, we played some good music at the bar and totally abused Lee the barman, had a brilliant laugh and got a bit trolleyed.
Some caught a taxi and me and Sheena gave some lifts on our bikes. A swede called Sam (or something like that) drove my bike with me and Curtis on the back (yes, that would be 3 of us) and we managed to get there in one piece, its about 20 mins up the road in Baan Tai where we used to live. Well, we queued and joined the party (this one in the jungle). I refrained
from drinking a bucket and as a result managed to stay in fairly good condition and drove home earlier than usual. Normally I would stay till some silly hour of 5 or 6am or something, but I think I got home around 3, so very civilised. I just had enough of hearing the same song over and over all night. I think its what they call Trance, but frankly, its a load of old pants to my ears. Had some good fun tho. Curtis got very very very drunk as it was his last night after a month at Coco, and he really didnt want to leave (who would?) and apparently, when they left later on he jumped out of the moving taxi and had a pretty nasty bash. He was quite bloody by all accounts and Leanne and Jane cleaned up the wounds and checked on him later. I wont say what they caught him doing tho ha ha. I am rather concerned and am about to email him and find out how he is!!!
Next day (Tues 18th) I decided to catch the ferry across to the bigger island, Kho Samui to buy a camera from Tesco
as Phangan doesnt have a camera shop. I got the 11am ferry and bumped into Aidy and Ash from Coco at the pier! they were going too, altho had missed the 7am ferry due to Ash blow drying her hair haha. They were on the Lomprayah ferry and I was on Seatran so I lost them after that! Got taxi to the shopping mall when i got there, bought a camera, looked about and walked for about 3 hours, ate some lunch, had a latte and ended up at the wrong port by foot, so then got a taxi to Nathon - which is the correct pier for the 5pm ferry home. Was glad to get back home to Phangan, didnt like Samui so much, far too busy and commercial to me. Phangan feels very much like my home at the moment.
That night me and Sheena went to Coco bar and got very sangsommed with Lee, had a brilliant laugh and abused Lee to new heights which he always reminds me of the next day, as if that makes any difference! BARMAN BARMAN what do you want? GINGER SOUP!! this will make sense to nobody except me.
Was very funny night. They have started selling homemade Phangan ice cream, and I had coconut, chocolate and rum n raisin. Bloody gorgeous. ive been having far too much of it since.
Weds 19th.
Back to my 3 days on at the clinic (Weds Thurs and Fri's for those who have forgot). We ate out at night market - me Sheena Alicia and bumped into James, then Oggie turned up too (remember Poi fire performer man from Haad Khom? Nate and Ty's friend). Oggie came to coco beach bar with us after and crashed at our house. Was great to see him altho he dropped his keys through the slats on the platform the beach bar is built on, and i wriggled under to get them, and then after found out why nobody else would do it. There are snakes under there! probably scorpions too. EEK.
Thursday 20th - already said, went to Big Mango (a lovely restaurant) for Alicias last night, she ate too much, and then we went to Coco and had ice cream and she felt really ill so had to go home!
Friday 21st - today.
As Avril (our manager) is
in Singapore doing her visa run, Sheena is covering the extra day and so we were both in today for the first time, with Por. We got there early and fed our lovely dogs and cats and patients, but one was missing - Boogly. He is the lovely older dog with half a front leg, he is an angel of a doggie and really sweet temperament, we are very very fond of him. Por - the vet nurse - was worried as he has been there 5 years and never goes missing. Then the headmaster from the school that we are situated behind, came over and said to come quickly, there was a black dog bleeding and crying in pain, injured at the school. The 3 of us dropped everything and ran over there, Por on the bike. It was our precious Boogly, looks like he had been run over and tried to drag himself home. It was bloody awful to see him there bleeding and in pain. Poor old boy had collapsed and lost a lot of blood and had various wounds on his legs and head too, he had obviously damaged his back leg/s and just lay on
his side. Por drove him back to the clinic on her bike and Sheena held him on the back - I ran back. Por examined him and stitched wounds and cleaned him up, he had very pale gums and in shock. He was put on a drip and we are very worried that his back leg is either broken or dislocated, he cant stand and was in a lot of pain. We have no x ray so cannot tell for sure, but we love him so much we may have to take him to Kho Samui, the island has an excellent private vet practice with all the equipment and a very experienced vet, Dr Somsak who could help. He helps us out a lot with donated medicine and advice for our vets. Por called him and he said to wait 3 days for the swelling to go down and assess. He cant stand so he is in a kennel on a drip now and we can just monitor him and keep his wounds clean. If no good, we are going to take him to Samui where they can x ray and treat him. We have to fix his back leg
as he only has one good front one and it would mean putting him to sleep. Me and Sheena will pay whatever it takes if we can save him. It will be all we ask for Christmas for Boogly to get better.
Chang the cat gave him lots of cuddles - we are sure he knows as he wouldnt leave Boogly and cuddled up to him all day - see pics.
We are looking forward to Xmas, we are planning to have as many PAC staff over as poss, altho Por will be with Dex, her boyfriend, and James will be with his diving mates, so numbers may be small. Anyway, we are going to have an xmas dinner of sorts together at our pla and we have christmas music and twinkly lights and lots of festive spirit and sang som and beers. We will end up at Coco I'm sure, as want to be with friends Christmas night.
Christmas Eve is a big full moon party on beach at Haad Rin, looking forward to that very much. Full moon is my favourite party.
Saturday - today is the next day, I started this last night!
Today I went to the clinic in the morning - Boog was quiet and still cant stand. I changed his bedding and gave him fresh water, Por was a bit late as was out in Haad Rin last night so I did my work before she got there, we spoke on the phone and she was on her way over so will have looked at Boog then.
We drove to Kho Raa - the highest point on the island, Lee was gonna come with us but had a lot of check ins at coco so will come another time. We found it, and started the trek through the jungle but we lost the trail, its even worse than Bottle Beach! we turned back and will go when we have someone who knows the way, it was just pure rainforest and we would have got lost. So we drove up to Haad Yao instead, north of the island and found a new beach to splay on. We went in the sea and sunbathed, had a shake and lassi and it was quite a busy beach. There was an English pratt dressed in a santa suit, out of his face, he
told us that he had just sunk a jet ski and had to pay thousands of baats, had crashed a bike, had been robbed on Kho San Road, and bla bla. He was a right dingo.
We had a good drive and it was quite hilly there so good practice on the bike.
So this is probably the last update til Xmas, have a
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