Chillin' on the beach(es)

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22.08.05

Our time in Thailand is nearly over and we have made our way down to the island of Ko Samui to spend some time relaxing on the beach before venturing into Cambodia. Here is a quick update on what we've been up to...

We really enjoyed our time in Chang Mai, we learnt how to cook authentic Thai food (you can check out the pictures to prove it on http://www.cookinthai.com/. Ours are at the end of the 13.08.05) We also had a traditional Thai massage (one word - ouch!) and went on a 3 day trek into the jungle where we stayed at hill-tribe village settlements and bamboo rafted down the river.

After all that exertion we took the easy route, by plane, to the island of Koh Pha Ngan and very luckily managed to bag ourselves a cute little bungalow on the beach at a very reasonable price which was incredibly fortunate as we discovered that almost every room on the island was booked up due to the immenant night of the full moon party - the worlds biggest beach party. Not being people who like to miss out on the action we joined the crowds on Haad Rin drinking our buckets of Sangsom (cheap Thai whiskey) and dancing to a variety of jungle, trance and pop. I can't say it was the best party I've ever been to but it was entertaining and we stayed long enough to watch the sun rise the next morning which was worth it in itself (that and seeing Will jump through a ring of fire!! Just wish I'd had my camera on me!!)

And this brings us to Ko Samui where we arrived this morning. It's beautiful here and I know I am going to want longer than 4 days but our visas are nearly out and Cambodia beckons.

Our time seems to be passing very quickly and I can't believe I've been away almost a month. My thoughts about Thailand as I prepare to leave are that it is incredibly cheap and has areas of outstanding beauty but I believe we've missed it at it's best. Everyone speaks English which makes it an easy place to navigate and a good place for people to start their travels but with so many businesses relying on tourists for their income I've felt overwhelmed at times by the constant demand for my Baht.
It's not quite the place we read about in the guidebooks and I think that the hoards of tourists (there seem to be more of us than Thai folk) have meant that getting to the real heart of Thailand is now incredibly difficult. Nevertheless, it's been a lot of fun and the food truly is fantastic!

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Photos

Trekking
Intrepid explorer Will scales the dizzy heights of Doi Inthanon waterfall whilst trekking