The Holiday Ends

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Well, this is the story of the last week of my amazing holiday! Really for me this travel blog is the record for when I am old and want to remember all the fabulous travel stories and adventures that I have had.

The ferry ride across to Surathani was uneventful and I was full of excitement about getting in the car and heading off. We jumped on a bus, not at all sure where it was taking us, the driver took all the tickets and we just hoped we would get to the airport to pick up the car. After about 45 minutes we pulled up in the middle of a street, everyone got off the bus so we thought we probably should too! Lucky as our luggage was on the sidewalk, and then the driver jumped in the bus and drove off!!! Hello, now what do we do??? A lady came up to us and pointed to a shop and said (or indicated) wait there bus come. So we did what we were told, sometimes you just have to trust that everything is organised and it usually is. As we hadn't eaten since the morning I left Peter with the bag and went and found a market to grab some food. I was apparently a bit of a novelty, this was a Thai bus stop market and I don't think they have too many tall blonde ladies wandering around checking out the pots of food. I stopped at one stall and the lady came out and stood beside me and called out to her friends to look at the height difference, we all had a good laugh. Even though I had no real idea what the curries were I took two containers of curry and rice and headed back to wait for the bus. The food was great and I confirmed that if the Thai people are eating at the stall, and the food looks good, you should give it a try.

Finally we got the bus to the airport, found the Avis counter and picked up our little car, off we went on our adventure. We had decided to head to Khao Lak. Really the map on the Iphone makes it too easy to navigate, we had no problems getting there, stopping on the way for ice cream, food at a roadside stop and of course an elephant walking up the middle of the road as we drove across the mountain range towards Khao Lak. We arrived at the opposite coast not far from Khao Lak in time for a beer watching the sunset, pretty pleased with ourselves that we had made it.

We got to Khao Lak and I was amazed that the beach was gone. We had planned to walk up the beach and try and find a resort to stay at, but the beach has been totally washed away and the sea is right up to the walls of the resorts. Last year when we were in Khao Lak there was still beach so not sure what has happened, but they certainly have a problem now. We managed to find a resort and got accommodation right on the beach, but it rained and rained and so it was a bit hard to appreciate the beauty of the beach. The next day we decided that after we had looked at the town that we would drive to Phuket for the Sandra Tour of Phuket sights!! What a day of driving, we found a coffee shop - Cup of Joy and had a great coffee and then we went to all my special spots and I got to see Bee who I met over 10 years ago at the restaurant that she owns, and I see every year. She is building a monument to Buddha at her restaurant which is going to be amazing, and I would love to be there to see the unveiling ceremony in December as she is very proud of it. Of course we had to go to the Bob Marley bar for a cocktail, with me easily slipping into Maitai's again. It was a long drive but good to go back and see Bee and visit, but I think after some of the amazing places I have been to in Vietnam and other areas of Thailand, that Phuket will really become somewhere I go just to visit Bee but not somewhere I would stay for any length of time, it is way too busy and full of tourists!

As we had decided we were going to drive to Bangkok, which is about 8 hours from Khao Lak we thought we would break up the trip into two sections. We took off on Wednesday morning, following the coast up into the hills along the Burmese border for part of it. As we drove over the mountains we came across a great coffee shop, with an amazing view, we were also stopped by the army and asked where we were going and where we had come from. Apparently there is problems with people travelling from Burma with drugs, people smuggling etc, so they are a bit full on.

We finally made it after about 6 hours of driving to a small fishing village about three hours from Bangkok. It is called Ai Noi and I don't think I will tell anyone how to get there as it was the most "Perfect" yes big word I know, but it was just wonderful. It had a lovely beach with white sand and not one beach lounge or westerner on it, apart from us, and no restaurants or people trying to sell you stuff. It was a shame we had not come there for longer but at least we know it exists now and next year (yes, next year) we have found an amazing house that is for rent and so the plan is to come back with the gang!! We had some amazing seafood meals and I had great fun exploring early in the morning along the pier looking in all the fishing boats. Even though I was the only westerner on the pier in the morning all the fishermen were friendly and happy for me to poke around and take photo's. I even found a little beach shack that I think would make a great new home for me, cheap to run and with the most amazing views. There are limestone mountains jutting out along the coastline that look amazing. Met some German girls who were without transport and so we took them out for dinner to the place we had found in the morning and then took them into the town nearby to see Monkey mountain and wander the streets a bit. That evening I sat down the beach for a couple of hours watching the green lights of the fishing boats twinkling and contemplating life and where too now. I was tempted to go in for a swim but thought maybe not such a good idea on my own as who knows what is in that water ??!!! But I sat on a chair with my feet in the water, listening to the quiet chugging of the fishing boats, and the lapping of the ocean and thought how perfect is this and where would you rather be!!! Oh that was between listening to Keith Urban and myself sing (so glad it was just me sitting there!!)

So next morning we headed off to Bangkok, stopping again at a small restaurant, where the whole menu was in Thai. Interesting experience but we finally got some Thai soup for breakfast and the biggest bottle of coke I have ever seen in Thailand!! Before we went driving we called into the local Wat and it was beautiful with an amazing timber carved temple and then went on a big walk up a hill that was pretty hard going in the heat, but well worth the effort when we got up to the top and found the reclining Buddha in the caves and it was incredible, no charge to get in and no other tourists in sight. Only the bats and us and the Buddha's. Beats the other Wats in the tourist sites any day.

We were certainly on an adventure, driving into Bangkok, I thought you have to be crazy!!! The motorways are split and you drive along and see a sign for the place you want to go in the motorway next door with concrete bollards between you and where you want to go, but the map doesnt tell you to go that way..... who do you believe the signs, the map or the navigator???? It was an amazing experience and I am glad to say the map was right and well read by the navigator. In most cases the motorways merged back again and we didn't have any problems, apart from it taking an hour and a half to do 27 kilometres. But we finally arrived at Don Muaeng Airport hotel, still laughing and car in one piece.

We went into Bangkok via taxi, yes had enough driving for the day. Had a final dinner, walked down Patpong Road, certainly an experience, and so ended my holiday, with a beer on the pavement watching life go by and thinking - is there anyway I can get out of going home??? No, well I did fly to Hanoi on Saturday morning and had a five hour stopover, so I guess I was pretty lucky, I went into Hanoi - Thailand in the morning, Vietnam in the afternoon. I had a last meal in Hanoi and a beer and did last minute shopping. It is great that it rained and rained, getting me ready for my return to Australia and winter weather.

So there ends my holiday to Thailand and Vietnam, and the experience and adventure of a lifetime. I will always remember this trip as a totally positive experience - new places, new people and now I need to plan the next trip!!

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