Crystal clear waters, powder white beaches, a shark and "The Beach"

Thank You all for your hugs and support, glad you are enjoying my ramblings!!!


Ok so from Ko Samui I had another massive travel day and I did it all myself!!! It's odd cos down here you can get everything arranged for you for a price!!! Tour tickets including all buses/taxis/boats everything to get you from A to B. I am not used to that and am still doing it all my own way. Ok so it's harder work and takes longer but I like it and it is certainly a lot cheaper. So I went from the lower Southern gulf to the Andaman coast via, Songtal,ferry,bus,bus and motorbike taxi!!!! It took over 9 hours and cost 8 pound, I could have it all laid on and it would have taken 6 hours max but it was going to cost 16!!! Hmmmm. So to put that in perspective that is more than I pay per day for everything, GH,food, travel well everything!!! So it makes quite a difference. I have meet loads of folks who travel this way though, ie it's all planned and booked and their schedules are so tight. I am just so chilled and really never know where I am going from 1 day to the next. Keeps all of you who are mapping my progress and trying to guess where I am headed next on your toes!!!!


Any way I may just do a tour thing cos it does sound breezy easy and I am knackered I reckon this is a young person's game!!!! I am too old!!!! Oh yes don't forget my Birthday!!! 4th of June!!! I will open the huge pile of pressies when I get back!!!! :-)


Any how where was I......Ko Samui....yeah so all that travel and it went smooth enough and I ended up about 8pm in Krabi town, I don't like getting somewhere in the dark but it happened so I just got the 1st GH I went to it was actually a really good GH. I felt a bit icky when I went bed and in the AM was really ill. Poor me, new in town so no friends and ill and alone, not good. However I got over it after about 4 days and at least the GH had free net so I caught up with you lot. That has been the only time I have been ill so far so no complaints really. So Krabi, what I saw was Ok but really I choose it because it was handy for the places I fancied going to down here.


Jay, who I met back in January at the tiger temple in Kanchanaburi and who has Emailed me every week since from Norway (thank you, you gorgeous, lovely, huggy one) Jay recommended I go to Railey which is a rock climbling mecca with it's massive limestone cliffs and has a beautiful beach on the West. I took a long tail boat over to Railey from Krabi pier on a blistering hot afternoon and boy was Jay right, Railey West is stunning. The best tips are from other travellers!!! The weather on the Andaman is just heading towards the Monsoon season, so it is cloudy and raining one second and then brillant sunshine the next. It's still hot and humid, I think it is all Year round. I stayed in a resort there is no really cheap accomadation on Railey but it wasn't too dear and the resort had a pool!!!! Sweet!!!


Back to the weather, I was chatting to 2 Thai sisters the other day and they said "Thailand has two kinds of weather, hot and hotter!!!" They were so funny.


I had a few days on Railey and then decided to head for Phi Phi!!! Oh my, what can I say but STUNNING, I loved it so much. I arrived and saw this lovely beach and thought I can't afford to stay there??? Phi Phi is one of the most expensive Islands in Thailand, anyway as it is low season on the Andaman Coast now I actually could afford it and so I got a great beach bungalow with lovely owners and great neighbours too. So it started well on Phi Phi. The town itself was actually quite wild and chock ablock with farang. However it was great to go in to the bedlam, shop and stuff and then go back to my peaceful beach hut.


I arranged a trip on a long tail boat to do more of my new favourite thing??? Snorkelling. There were 7 other people too, 2 Swedish girls, 2 French lads and 3 Welshies!!! Yeah it was actually so good to hear a South Wales accent. We set out at 8am and headed out to some small Islands near Phi Phi. The first stop was right out to sea. The water was turquiose and the fish stunning. I wish I knew what they were all called or that my eyes were a camera and I could just download what I saw so you can see how amazing it is. I was sooo happy, there was soft coral, brain coral and Nemo's I know that much and then I saw it......a black tipped shark!!!!! Not that big but it was definately there and I was definately just a little bit scared!!!! Well it's a shark for goodness sake!!!! AMAZING stuff I can tell you. Just imagine a swimming with a shark. Oh yes and these long thin silver boys with long spikey beaks...oh wow I have goose bumps now just remembering that day.


We also went to Bamboo Island, Monkey Island, where we had lunch of fried rice with veggies and fresh fruit, sliced to perfection by our long tail driver!!! We then set off to Ko Phi Phi Ley which was the setting for "The Beach" you know the film with Leonardo Di Caprio??? It was beautiful. As you can see from the pictures. Martha and Georgia from South Wales were singing the song from the movie and I was floating in the water looking up at the perfect blue sky. Heavenly.


The day was one of my beach bum highlights, it couldn't have been more perfect, we stopped at 7 places to snorkel and I went in every time, jumping in off the side of the long tail and hoisting myself back out (the hard bit) We were all exhaused when we returned to Phi Phi. I mean exhausted but soooo happy. The Welsh girls and Scott invited me for drinks that evening and to watch the fire show on Sunset beach. It was a lovely way to end a perfect day. Fun people, interesting conversation, a couple of ice cold beers and a great fireshow on a lovely beach.


Oh you know what life is pretty darn good!!!!! :-) Most of the time.


When I decided to leave Phi Phi I had planned to go to Ko Lanta however I ended up in Phuket!!! I went to the ferry port in Phi Phi and said a ticket to Phuket please, not sure why!!! Cool though hey. So yes I was just in Phuket. I never expected to go there at all and it was lovely. Now this is Phuket Town not the beaches. Some people had said to me that it was a dump and I only planned to stay 1 night but I found it absolutely charming.



I was wandering around on the first evening and I found this gorgeous Street. It looked Mediterrean,there was a GH on the Street so the next day I moved there. I was on the 3rd floor and had a big balcony looking down over the street. It was so charming. I met a great American guy, Marc and an Irish couple and we would chat into the wee hours on the balcony.


They were all so impressed with my Thai as they were all new to Thailand. We went out one night and I was chatting away to this group of Thai's and the farang and Thai's alike were gobsmacked at my language skills. That's the good thing when I answer people in Thai I am immediately their best friend as not many farang down here speak any Thai at all. I realised how much I have learnt and how far I have come on this trip so far.


I have been homesick lately and have considered coming back. But after getting such incredibly supportive messages from my fabulous friends and family (Thank You x you know who you are) I shall continue on my (most of the time) merry way.


I have just realised I should be incredibly proud of how I am coping with the travel. Also about what I have learnt about Thailand, Thai life and especially the wonderful Thai people. To all those Thai friends I have made I thank you all. I am really gonna miss this place. I just start to get it and feel at home and then I have to start all over again in another Country and that is scary!!! But that's the point of travelling and although scared I look forward to the challenge. Goodbye Thailand.......Malaysia here I come.


I have joined Face Book, thanks Dad, and you can find me under the name well........Kerry Clare.... with a scrumptious picture (yeah right) so come say Hi on there if you like. I am not sure how to use it yet but I am working on it!!!!


Yesterday, I stopped in Trang for one night!! (Obviously I stayed longer, I always do!!) and met Dea from California and She is great. We chatted, alot, exchanged books and Money, as she was heading up through Thailand and Me down. So thank you Dea, you had great words of wisdom, tips and advice. I really enjoyed your company, shame about the cheesecake, hey!!!! Enjoy the rest your journey.


I miss you all, Thank You again for your support and glad you are enjoying the Blogs....


BTW this Blog is playing up for some reason and I don't know how to fix it so keep scrolling way down to see all the pictures!!!!!


OMG I just mended it, see I told you I had come a long way!!!!! Hurrah for me!!!!! I am in fact so clever!!!!

I'm waving

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