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I don't know quite where to start...at all!! Am leaving Thailand tomorrow...hopefully anyway, if I catch my 6am bus ok! it's a non-air-con local bus that takes 7hrs, bt its th only option unless i want to pay extra for an expired Thai visa! I have been trying to write a blog per country so under that rule, i think it's time 😊 !
i think i left you just before my diving in Kho Tao...was sooo good!! ended up staying ages cos completed my Open Water PADDY certificate, and then went on to do the Advanced one too...not entirely sure wot that means, bt i wanted to do it anyway,lol. I got to dive on a night dive and went to 30m where the nitrogen levels in your lungs go a bit funny and you start acting a bit drunk on the ocean floor, was entertaining. And, highlight, definately up there on my fave parts of my trip...I SAW A SHARK!!! i was just swiming along and then this grey reef shark started circling a metre or so below us, i was just completely overwhelmed to see it so close- it was amazing. I think you get the
overnight ferry
getting up-close-and-personal with the locals!! it was basically a long mattress that everyone had to cuddle up on- why did i get stuck between two massive guys?!point anyway that I liked the diving...
Anyway, so i eventually dragged myself off Kho Tao island- where the weather was gorgeous 😊. off to Khao Sok national park, where the weather was not!! (somebody remind me why i seem to be chasing the storms??). was a gorgeous national park though- limestone mountains surrounding us and completely isolated which was gorgeous and made me like Thailand more. I'd so far only seen the tourists so it was good to get to the countryside for a bit. I did my first elephant ride- with The Fittest Irish Guy In The World btw- the elephant did not have my full concentration. Then i wandered off for a trek in the rainforest- yes, you've got it right, this was not an organised trek, i actually did just wander off into the jungle by myself!! hmmm, is it any wonder that i get myself in situations??!lol Was geat though, and wasnt exactly hard cos i had a map. was completely in the middle of the rainforest by myself and the feeling was incredible- could hear monkeys everywhere, there were these wierd lizards who lept off th trail into the trees and seemed to
fly (they had like flaps that opened up like wings- any idea bout that Rach?), and scorpians and stuff. then came The Leeches...
just as an aside, why do these things feel the need to eat me?? monkeys, mosquitos(lots of) and leeches??!!! grrr
i had been warned bt thought id avoided them. obviuosly not (iv actually got a couple of entertaining videos of me with leeches in a thunder storm that im gona see if i can attatch). and on th way back saw a massive blood stain all down th front of my trousers- this little bugger was massive, cos it was stuffed full of LOADS of my blood! how annoying- hav got little love-bite-type marks on my leg now, great!
god im proper ranting- il try to stop going on so much about my bonding with nature etc!
I ended up meeting a few people though on the bus from Khao Sok to Bangkok- a pair of sisters and a guy from Puru they were with. have actually been with them since which has been cool- though think from now on I'll be a few days ahead of them.
Bangkok was cool- though VERY sleazy and
elephant!!
..and irish...! everyone seems to want to rip you off which i didn't like so much. There was lots to do, but I found that as a city, it just didn't appeal- there's lots about Thailand that I don't liek so much and i think that Bangkok has got all of it in abundance!! It's soooo touristy that I'm not too sure what is Thai culture and what's just set up to make money, and the sex industry makes me cringe. There are loads of old western men with young teenage Thai girls which is horrid- and we went to a ping-pong show in Pat Pong red light district. It just made me think- how do these girl learn to do this?? Who teaches them?? and who's idea was it in the first place??! razor blades were just not meant to comeo ut of there, and cigarettes should most definately not be smoked from there! full stop!
Also my Bangkok experience was tainted by food poisoning- the necessary East Asian experience that I'd managed to avoid til now. Il leave it at this- i was sightseeing, at Wat Po, a massive temple, and had to leve the temple with a plastic bag
to be sick...nice....not sure that's quite what the monks were expecting to see...!
After heading off to Kanchanaburi, I fully recovered in order to have the loveliest, most relaxing couple of days. was very chilled out. Kanchanaburi is the town where the Bridge over the River Kwai is, which is amazing, and I went on a trip to the most amazing waterfalls- had a lovely day of swimming and walking around the waterfalls. AND THEN, get me!! I hire a motorbike for the day- woohooo!!! I know it's not a major big deal cos ppl do it all the time here, but I'd always been too scared...but cos I was with my mates, we had a wel good day driving round...with my well cool crash helmet- I'm just so hard core. And to round it off, guess where we drove- to the Tiger Temple! Id a temple where these monks look after rescued tigers, and you can sit with them and stroke them- seriously never thought I'g get so close to these amazing creatures, let alone be allowed to touch one- I'll never forget it. they were massive- actually quite scary what they could do to you if they
tuktuks in Bangkok!
we tried to hire one for the day instead of motorbikes...now that would have been a good day! aparently they don't work like that though..?! I'm so bringing tuktuks to England- I think they're great! wanted!
So anyway, now im In Chaing Mai, with 1 day left on my visa! It's nice here, and my trek over the past 2 days has certainly left me with good thoughts about Thailand, whereas before, I'd not been quite so positive. It's certainly not my favourite Asian country- I think I just find that the tourist culture has made alot of the people very ready to rip you off, and I've found some of the people quite rude and unwilling to talk to you- I guess that's what we;ve created though, but I hope not everywhere else goes the same way- same with the sex industry- we've created it, but now I find that it's so open that it kinda ruins it for me...especially after reading a book written by a former prostitute. some of these girls are like 14yrs old- and you see all these old fat western business men- it's just wierd.
Chiang Mai though- with the trek, and other things has made me realise that Thailand is not all tourists, but theres a lot else going on too. The Tribal village I stayed at- obviously very much used to tourists- but still completely
'biggin up' the Thai king!
The Thais just LOVE their king! just imagine massive billboads of the queen round every corner. it just wouldnt happen! goin about there own lives. Self sufficient, no electricity,etc.
AND, BEST STORY OF ALL!! - i.e. if you've ignored the rest of it cos im boring and just ranting on, then READ THIS!!
right- have just checked my email now while writing this and this is brilliant. A couple of days ago, we went to a monastry for this thing called 'Monk Chat'...!! lol. it's so funny, you seriously just wander along into a room and there are loads of small tables with monks sat there. You just sit down and have a chat wth them! it's a good idea actually cos since I've been travelling I've been really interested in Buddhism cos it just has surrounded us everywhere- and I had loads of questions. we ended up chatting to a particular monk though, who, it turned out, was going to be 'disrobing' in a day or so. He hd been a monk for 12 yrs- since 14yrs old, and after a 2 month temporary disrobing holiday where he travelled round Loas, he decided he wanted to leave the monastry. He showed us all his travelling photos, where he was drinking buckets and wearing his sunglasses etc- was highly
bizarre! It's crzy to be chatting to monk, in his orange robes about vodka and buckets and travelling 😊. ANYWAY, long and short of it is, he asked for our emails and i just got a message from him....A MONK JUST ASKED ME OUT FOR A DRINK!!!! lol, is wel funny, bless him- think he's wanting to celebrate his disrobing, and knew we were stil in Chiang Mai tonight. hes' a pretty cool guy though, so if he replys again in the next hr then im off out!....lol
So anyway, as my title suggests, Iv found Thailand a place where you can do or be whatever you want! It's quite confusing as I've not got the same idea of what the country is 'about' if you know what I mean, as I have in other countries, but im starting to think that maybe thats the point. Its now such a cross between western and eastern that you can do what you want and yet there are stil some people who are carrying on as they always have- though with a few money-making schemes, tescos and starbucks thrown in!!
am ready to move on though- bring on Laos tomorrow!!
The Grand Palace
if you can't take the piss when it's raining, you can irritate some Thai's and you've all got food poisoning...then when can you?! I've only got a couple of weeks til my flight to Perth, so its gonna be a bit of a whistle-stop tour...or I'll stick in the north to see that properly, I'll see how i feel. I've got my birthday in a week though so that one will be interesting- god knows where I'll be...eek!!
hope everyones well, and enjoying themselves- good luck to any of my uni mates with end of year deadlines or exams! I'll try not to enjoy myself too much while you're in th library! lol, sorry. good luck kids- hope it all goes well
much love xxx
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Can't believe you've done and seen so much in such a short time, Bex - you're certainly packing alot in and this blog is just jam packed with so many amazing escapades - maybe too many !! Think I might need to edit it before I show it to Nana and Gran ! Look after yourself and enjoy. Miss and love you loads xxxxxxxxxx