Elly Haycox

Where to start. I am living in Christchurch and have been here for 1 year and 5 days. I have not updated my blog for probably 1 year and 6 days. God I sound like I am at an AA meeting. And, actually, the wine here is good enough that alcoholic could be a serious career move! I have been watching facebook like an addict -seeing all the changes that you guys are going through. There seem to be enough children for a least a football team (I would not be at all surprised if a little league was already in the pipeline!), weddings galore, 1st birthdays, 1st anniversaries, health scares (at all ages), a funeral that changed us all (even from the other side of the world), separations, the end of an era with new ... read more

The airport has been under siege from anti government supporters and despite the fact that there have been riot police outside the airport for days, nothing is happening for fear of bloodshed. Things have swung between peaceful protest to the brink of civil war and there have been grenades, bombs, shootings and attacks alongside gentle marches.The country is in absolute chaos and the tension is rising. Today there is a court case which could in effect dissolve parliament and put the country into military rule. Generally it's all a bit shit. Fortunately, I have not witnessed the clashes first hand and have stayed mainly in the hotel. Over the last week, I have met loads of tourists from all over the world who are stuck here including one couple who were due to get married here ... read more

My hospital appointment went relatively smoothly. The nurse was amazing, I was (relatively) calm and I didn't even feel the needle go in!! My blood test came back well - everything is back as it should be although my liver is still recovering. Perhaps it is withdrawal from the lack of wine?! Anyway, I have the all clear to fly (again)!! While all this had been going on, my Thai visa had expired a couple of days ago. Normally this would not be a problem - you just pay a penalty equivalent to £10 per day of overstay at the airport on the way out, but with the current chaos at the airport, the travel insurance people decided to get it done properly. The doctor had to write a report to say that the extension was ... read more

It seems I have certain privileges with my room. One is a breakfast buffet at the top of the hotel. It is on the 24th floor and the view over Bangkok is amazing! After breakfast, I went down to the gym as I had been feeling so sluggish after not doing anything for the last couple of weeks. I managed a short run and session on the bike before hitting the outdoor pool! If only it wasn't so cloudy - I am white again. My tan had been sooooo good! Can wait for the NZ summer! I went to see Joey who has also managed to land herself in hospital and then headed back to the hotel for a fantastic yoga class. I felt great although had a sneaking suspicion that I my muscles might feel ... read more

The hospital doctor had given me the all clear to fly but the travel insurance doctors disagreed. They prescribed more rest. The hotel was lovely. I managed a couple of swims in the pool, although it is rainy season here and there have been constant storms. The peels of thunder were the longest and loudest that I remember hearing and while this was exciting for a while, it became dull very quickly. Because everywhere was constantly wet, the mosquitos were out in full force and I was being eaten alive again. Eventually, the travel insurance people agreed that this was counter productive and signed off a shorthall flight to Bangkok. This had multiple benefits as it got me out of the rain, away from the mosquitos and so reducing the risk of falling to Dengue again ... read more

After a few days in the hospital on Koh Tao my temperature had come down a bit and I was getting restless. As it is only a small island, the facilities were not that great and I was left of my own for several hours after my painkillers had run out (longest was 8 ours when I couldn't get up). I quickly discovered that the only way to ensure I remained as pain free as possible was to monitor the timings myself. There was no call button and my room so every 4-5 hours I had to get up and walk my drip halfway down the corridor to the rather annoying steps that blocked my path (I couldn't lift the drip thing up the steps) ans shout for someone to come and give me more drugs. ... read more

So, the train arrived at Chumphon at 08.30 (instead of 03.47!) - just a little late!!! We had obviously missed the boat and there was no way of getting a refund so we had to buy new tickets for the 13.00 boat instead. Great. We wandered around the town (there is nothing at all to see here) and found a little cafe to wait in. Eventually it was time to go to the port and we were greeted by a rather large catamaran. Joey had already warned that this crossing was particularly bad and we had dosed up on travel sickness pills, but nothing prepared me for the actual journey. We raced upstairs to get one of the few outside seats and off we went. About 15 minutes in we were getting soaked and I made ... read more

Another day spent packing and getting ready for the overnight train to Southern Thailand ready for sun, sea and sand! The train left Bangkok at 19.35 with an estimated arrival time of 03.47!!!! A van was booked to pick us up at 05.30 to get the boat to Koh Tao at 07.00. Sounds like a lot of waiting around at ridiculous o'clock to me! Thai time is nothing like real tim so we shall see what happens! It is the King's Sister's funeral tomorrow and Bangkok has gone mad. There are people and cars everywhere. The traffic is worse that you seen in American films when New Yorkers are cursing the traffic! While I am sorry to be misssing such a momentous event, I am glad to be out of the capital for the next couple ... read more

The minivan back to Bangkok was thankfully fairly calm considering my past experiences!! I met Joey in Khao San for a wander round and for dinner and the most painful wax I have ever encountered!! I didn't even care that the magazine I was reading for distraction was from 2003!! The rest of the evening was spent uploading a lot of photos and trying to sort out the blog. Tomorrow I am off to Southern Thailand for the last part of my trip - 10 days on the beach and diving so I apologise if the next few entries aren't as interesting!!! Hope everyone is well. Send me some news - I miss hearing what everyone is up to!! :-)... read more