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Published: January 27th 2008
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Tuk Tuk Madness
Hooning around Bangkok at ridiculous speeds! Hello guys!
Finally, I have nearly reached the end of my two weeks in Thailand. There have been "highs", "lows", and finally, "so ready to go's". It is safe to say that this has been the hardest thing I have done on my own.
I was completely overwhelmed in Bangkok and had no idea what I was doing there. Then I left and got royally ripped off by the travel agent I booked a flight to Phuket with. I landed in Patong after being told that where I was booked in to stay would be great due to the amount of people she had sent there.... WRONG! It was more like a seedy motel in the middle of Patong which is just like Bangkok's red light district in earnest! So I told the guy at the guest house that I wanted at least half of what I paid the travel agent back as I was going to stay somewhere else. He phoned her then agreed to give me the 500baht a night for the 6 nights I was booked in for, so
not the 1200baht quoted by the travel agent. So realistically she had made off with about 70quid
Oh... My.... Buddha
Oh yes, I am a corporate whore but believe in the way of Buddha; signed Ronald McDonald of my money!
I moved on to Phuket Town to stay in the On On Hostel, apparently where The Beach was filmed but as I have never seen it I didn't see the link! I met up with Ruth and Darran whom I had previously met in Bangkok. After 24 hours in their company I was starting to lose it again! They are both very young and have only been together for a year so spend most of their time bickering about whether Elijah Wood was in Spiderman and, more interestingly, why Darran had brought pants instead of Ruth's swimming costume to the beach. An honest mistake you would think, but this resulted in Ruth storming off for a good couple of hours. I was trying to hold the outburst of "Christ, you two need to grow up" but thought better of it. They continued to moan about how expensive everything is but at the same time managed to ponce my food, sun cream, and mozzie spray, mostly without asking! They couldn't stay in the one place long so we ended up having to move to Kata Beach and stay in a Mozzie infested bungalow where I developed a
Kata Beach 1
On the sun lounger staring out to sea. Best part of my two weeks! nice line of massive mozzie bites all on the one leg! No matter what you do those bloody things will feast on your blood leaving you with itching lumps all over the show. So after a night of that I was relieved to find out that Ruth and Darran were going to Ko Phi Phi, a place I had no desire to visit even if it is beautiful. So I jumped on the bus out of Kata and straight into the Phuket Backpackers hostel. Best thing I did really.
There is a massive DVD library here with a big plasma screen tv which you can use for free. I can also use the internet for free and if you get on the right machine there is no 20 minute limit! I have met up with some people my age at last and have enjoyed the beach on a few occassions, although, swimming is still an issue so it's more like sitting on the beach and sometimes having a paddle! Still, I am looking forward to New Zealand; this two weeks in Thailand has felt more like two months. Sure the weather is great and I don't look so pasty
but, there really is more to life than looking live David Dickinson. I watched a sunset on Kata Beach which was one of the highlights of my trip. Nothing more beautiful than gradually seeing the Sun disappear into the Ocean.
Other than that I am happy to stay at this hostel watching films, reading and generally having the holiday I wanted. You may scoff at me being in a beautiful place and opting to watch DVDs but really, it is what I need right now. I just don't need to be running around all over the place every five minutes because I have worked my ass off to get here so I will do as little as possible until I have to start working again! I fly back to Bangkok in that rickety domestic plane on the 30th and plan to spend two nights in the Hotel Ibis so I can have a bath and wash that backpack right outta my hair!
I have learnt a lot from this trip so far. I have discovered that it is ok to do whatever the hell you want without feeling the need to justify it to other people and that
Shadow
My shadow on the beach, didn't you guess that! when people tell you what they think you should do with your time or your life, they are almost always wrong! You need to fit into whatever type of shoes suit you as nobody else is going to walk in them! I kind of already knew that back home but being here has made me realise that I still don't want to do what everyone else thinks is the right thing. I still need to learn to trust my instincts more but hey, it's early days! Even though Thailand has not been great, it has made me learn a lot so it hasn't been a waste of time by any stretch of the imagination. From the bizarre blessing in a temple to the endless bars full of Thai girls offering "sexy time" to "Farang" and the seedy westerners who just want a Thai woman on their arm to the wreckless, mindless, crazy driving on the streets of Thailand; it has certainly been an experience that I will never forget.... how could I??!
I just realised that I haven't talked about Phuket at all in this entry! Sorry! In a nutshell, it's hotter than Bangkok, has lovely beaches but is
Sunset 1
Loads of these at various stages, I think this is the nicest. also very, very tourist driven. This appears to be the case more and more in Thailand and the cheap haven is soon to be a thing of the past too. It has been nice seeing the Palm Trees in the distance and the bus ride to Kata goes up through winding roads where you can see a massive Buddha being built in the mountains. I do have more photos of my time here but they take so long to upload to the travel blog and it crashed the last time I tried to get them all up. I have met some nice people in the Phuket Backpackers as there is more of a community feel here. Definitely recommended as a place to stay if you come to Phuket. But New Zealand is calling me I think. I have been chatting to some Kiwis here and they have told me so much about NZ it has made me so much more excited about getting there. The music scene sounds great, the scenery sounds amazing so I can't wait to get my car and drive all over the place and probably do some camping too!
Find attached pictures from the sunset on the beach, the blurry white knuckle Tuk-Tuk ride in Bangkok and me taking pictures of myself (well, who else does it when you travel solo?!?)
Next blog....... NEW ZEALAND!!😊
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hawking's delight
"They are both very young and have only been together for a year so spend most of their time bickering about whether Elijah Wood was in Spiderman and, more interestingly, why Darran had brought pants instead of Ruth's swimming costume to the beach." just made me drip a cornflake onto my chest. I am now an avid reader of your blog. ;o) In case you were wondering, it's misty and cold here. Although there was a fantastic sunset last night, come to think of it, (which I do). However, as it turns out, the sunset lied. I don't know if there are any shepherds round these parts, but if there are I can guarantee they'll be feeling a little miffed at the moment. Take care, you. And remember at all times, there isn't one of your mates who wouldn't rather be where you are right now. Well, except for me - right now I'm receiving rather startling fellatio, administered by a 19 year old Russian gymnast who calls herself Ralph - but you know what I mean. In about 6 minutes I'd rather be there. Have fun, Amy. Yours, Stephen the Spanner. xxx