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Published: December 17th 2006
We flew from Koh Chang to Koh Samui, off the East coast of Thailand. Koh Samui reminded me of a small English town...except for the Sun, beach and beautiful women...ok so not that much like an English town but it did have a McD's, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Boots so you get my point. Samui is, well, very nice! It’s not as good as some of the other islands and there isn't much there that stands out but there definitely isn't anything wrong with the place. It’s just a nice place! We just lazed around on the beach in the day and had a few (too many) drinks at night. NICE!
Our next stop was Koh Tao, a much smaller island just around the corner from Samui. Now Koh Tao is not just nice...its stunning! It is a lot less developed than Samui (so no McD's - that’s a good thing) and all there really is there are dive centres - Heaven. We stayed in our own beach bungalow and just dived during the day and relaxed at night. I did 6 dives while I was there and it some of the best diving I have ever done.
The dives were at around 20-30 meters and we saw so much like...clown fish (Nemo), bat fish, moray eels, lion fish, barracuda, blue spotted rays, trumpet fish, grouper, trigger fish (nutters that attack divers), fish, fish and more fish...the list goes on and also amazing bright coloured coral everywhere - it was so beautiful. But the best was still to come, let me tell you story...
Me and Rick were just plodding along minding our own business when the guide gave us the sign for shark! Shit! We looked around for a second but couldn't see anything. Then a figure appeared out of the dark in the distance and began moving towards us, we could see from the fin and the graceful way it travelled through the water, this was a shark and a big one at that. And it was heading straight towards us! We just watched as it got closer and closer until it was facing us head on about a meter away. This wasn't my first experience of diving with sharks so I remembered that you should never show any fear and the shark will (hopefully) back down. I looked straight into the shark’s eyes and
he knew he had met his match!!! and with a swish of his tail the 2 meter long Grey reef Shark was gone (another theory is it didn't like the smell suddenly coming out of mine and Ricks wetsuits so did one!?) either way we survived.
We ended up seeing two or three of these beautiful killers every time we dived and it was amazing just to watch them in the water. But I’m not going to lie, there was always a little fear in the back of my mind! After surviving 3 days in the water with one of the only creatures that are above humans in the food chain we thought we deserved a treat...
...so we headed to Koh Phangan (again just around the corner) for the legendary full moon party. Koh Phangan lived up to its status in every possible way, it was just a week long party. The full moon takes place on a mile long stretch of beach and the best way for me to describe what the party was like is to take you on a walk up the beach.
So we start at the South end where there are
SHARK!!!
If you look hard enough near the bottom of the picture you will see it! Its funny what fear does to my photo skills.loads of bungalows (where we stayed) then as you head up the beach you come to Drop Inn Bar where every night 4 Thai nutters do crazy things with fire…they breathe it, spin burning sticks above their heads, through their legs and throw it over the heads of everyone sat in the bar! You could watch them for hours (and we did), they were truly talented blokes. The next bar, don’t know its name, is just one big pile of speakers that just plays music so loud you can feel your lungs vibrating - probably why it was always empty. Then there is a 100 meter stretch of bucket stalls and as the name suggests they all sell buckets but these aren’t the type you make sand castles out of! For about 3 quid you get a bucket (obviously), half a litre of local whiskey, a can of coke and a can of Redbull (not like the Redbull we get in the UK) - too many buckets and you are on another planet and wake up with no memory of where you are or where you have been (as we all found out on a few occasions). The next bar
is Cactus, a favourite of ours, which plays good music and sells cheap drink. Also at a certain point in the night the limbo comes out, but this Koh Phangan so it’s a limbo set on fire (they love fire)! And a lot of very drunk people try their luck at going under this flaming bar as it gets lower and lower. I think you get the picture and this goes on for another half mile down the beach. Every night out in Koh Phangan is a fine blend of alcohol and fire and a few thousand people up for a party. Amazing!
Our full moon party was almost a disaster when the island was hit by a storm and the beach (where the party takes place) was covered by huge waves, gale force winds and non-stop rain. They had began packing up and were about to cancel the party when it suddenly stopped, the clouds parted and the, huge, full moon shone down and lit up the beach. Then the music started and crowds of people moved to the beach. It was a special moment and probably made the event even better!
The hangover was bad but
was made even worse by the 15 hour journey we had to Koh Phi Phi the next day. On what can only be described as a slave boat - just a floor covered in matrices and everyone just slept side-by-side - not the best hangover cure but worth it when we got to Phi Phi.
We finished our time in Thailand on Phi Phi (where the Beach was filmed) which is by far the most beautiful of all the islands and my favourite. It was so so nice, beautiful beaches, clear sea and just enough going on to keep you occupied. At this point I need to tell you about the first hero I have ever met! Donald, an American bar owner, that lives on the island and was there 2 years ago when the Tsunami hit (and it hit hard). He told me and Rick the full story of what happened from when he first heard the wave, helping people, setting up a rescue center in his house, dealing with the bodies of his friends that had died and needed sending to their countries, and finally rebuilding the island. He did so much for everyone on the island,
and families in various countries, but spoke as if it was nothing! What a great guy…tragedy brings out the best in people.
On a nicer note me and Rob did a few dives and well they were by far the best I have ever done! We had to travel 50 miles out to sea on a speed boat and were literally in the middle of nowhere. But when we got in the water we were definitely not alone…I have never seen so many fish! At every point there where at least 50 fish in front of us and at time you had to give them a poke in the side to get out of the way. Brilliant! The best was a shoal of about 30 barracuda all about a meter long just circling above us with there razor sharp teeth (bet you have heard enough about fish by now). We also met up with Sarah (a Trent girl) and her friend Sabina which was cool, its always good bumping into people on the other side of the world.
So that was Thailand, a country that I am in love with! The place and people are better than anywhere
I have been before and probably ever visit. I have loved every minute in Thailand and will probably be back there in the future. But it was time to head to Bali for Christmas and New Year.
On the way to Bali we stopped in Kuala Lumpur for a few days and it was a lovely city, the sort of place where you could live if you have the right money. We did not have the right money as the budget is getting very tight so we had to stay in the worst hotel in the world. It was filthy! The pillows looked like they were growing legs and would run off and in the toilets (communal) they put urinal blocks (ladies-these are small blocks that they put in urinals to keep them reasonably clean) but in the sink!? So they didn’t have to clean them but it meant that every time you brushed your teeth you ended up all light headed. So we quickly saw the sights like the KL tower and Petronas towers and then left.
Next stop was Singapore, where we were getting our flight to Bali. It couldn’t have been more different! There are
two things that you instantly notice about Singapore; it clean and it’s green. There is no litter anywhere (I think they cut off your hand for dropping it, I’m not joking!) and everywhere you look there are trees, which doesn’t sound like much but this is a capital city and in London you could go a week without seeing a tree but here you can’t go 10 meters. It is the nicest city I have visited and we all had a great time here but it is very expensive, the same if not more than London, which was a shock after Thailand. We decided we should sample night life and had a cracking night in a Singapore night club then went to four floors (which is a place that words can’t describe). Singapore was a great way to end this leg of the trip but the bank manager may not agree!
Next stop Bali for Christmas and New Year which is going to be very different to cold England and Turkey dinner.
I hope you all have a great Christmas and New Year and please spare a thought for me on the beach in the heat having a
BBQ while you are all with family and friends.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Andy
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Karen
non-member comment
Merry Christmas
Hiya Andy, hope you have a great Christmas, and that the rest of your trip is as interesting as you have shown in these blogs. Thinking of you over the festive season (not any other time though) ha! Lots of Love and huggies, Karen, Andy, Charlee and Jack. P.S wish my tits were as good as dave and his mates!!!!!!