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Published: April 22nd 2009
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Night fishing
Art from a shaky hand Well it's April and the end of the journey is in sight. Met up with George and Sadie, then Steve but Jonno suffered a delayed flight and couldn't join us for the bus/boat to Koh Phangan. However with a bit of help from Robert he was on the island not long after us!
When you step off the ferry at Thon Sala you are surrounded by leaflet wielding promoters trying to sell you a room, it seemed that the area around Haad Rin was booked up so we chose to stay at Haad Yao. After rejecting 2 rooms we ambled off along the beach up some stairs and found ourselves living the High Life. We ended up with a hut with view of the sea and the High Life resort also boasted a swimming pool from which you had an uninterrupted view of the beach.
George and Sadie manged to find a room in Haad Rin and Jonno decided that was the best place for him too so we didn't see a lot of each other.
We did meet up for the full moon party, almost immediately losing each other, not because of the crowds but because of the
Fishing boat
On a lonely beach relentless rain oh and a power cut.
The rain started around 9.00 pm and didn't really stop until about 2.00 am with some torrential downpours throughout. The beach crowds dissipated leaving a string of revelers cowering under food stall umbrellas and beach bar roofs with a few die-hards braving the elements and splashing, laughing and cheering their way along the beach to their next venue. Sue and I met a couple from Gloucester and hung out with them as we dodged from beach to Mellow Mountain bar and then back again stopping off at the beach front sound systems in the early hours until we wound our way back to grab some sleep at George's.
We weren't really looking forward to the Full Moon Party due to stories of massive crowds and loutish behaviour. The weather ensured neither were a problem and we ended up feeling sorry for the traders and organisers who must have lost a lot of business.
Rain has become a regular feature over the past week or so but we did manage some poolside time before booking our return journey to Bangkok. We took the early boat and drove through the day arriving in
Lonely beach
Fishing boats wait Bangkok at 8.30 and miraculously getting the same room in My Place hostel that we had the week before. We dropped our bags and went straight out to eat and that's why we didn't notice the water was out, we went without a shower until the next day. A shower which proved pointless as we were attacked with water as soon as we went out in the afternoon and spent the next 8 hours in varying stages of saturation.
We didn't want to spend money on water pistols until the need to defend ourselves took over, which once were were suitably armed, was swiftly followed by tit for tat skirmishes as we roamed the streets. Glasses are a disadvantage as your vision deteriorates quickly and you have to keep stopping to figure out where you are and who exactly is shooting at you. We survived the battle returning to our room battle scarred, weary, drenched to the skin and giggling like school kids.
Over the last couple of weeks we have been having problems with Jet Air about our return ticket from Mumbai to London. It seems that when we arranged to change the date from 15th
Beach view
From our hotel to 17th they cancelled one flight but didn't book another so at that stage we were arriving in Mumbai on 16th with no idea of our forward movements!!
Our mini bus to the airport was due to leave at 5.00 am on 16th, the same time as Jon and George were due to arrive on the bus from Koh Samui. Amazingly we managed to spend 5 minutes together in passing it was good to see them.
On arrival at Bangkok airport there was still no official confirmation of our forward flight.
Four hours later we were pushing a trolley through the labyrinth that is the construction site enveloping Mumbai airport looking for a non existent luggage storage facility as the next available flight was not until 1.45 am the next morning. Our planned whirlwind tour of Mumbai was relegated to a few hours in an airport hotel watching Slumdog Millionaire, ironic as the slums pictured in the movie litter the landscape on your descent.
We were consoled after checking emails that we have seats...it's official and then talking to Rob confirming we have a lift home too! We celebrated by buying a Caram Board!
We left our
Beach bar
Sundowners hotel at 9.00 for the 1.45 am flight, the frequent security checks absorbed most of the alloted time meaning there was just enough time for a coffee before we were boarding the flight.
I gave up waiting for the trolley to serve me a night cap and was soon drifting in and out of that half sleep encountered on long flights the result of a combination of fatigue, lack of sleep and boredom.
We awoke over Europe with just enough time to see the end of the films we were watching on the flight to Mumbai and have breakfast (my last masala dhosa for a while!). The flight path took us along the Thames with a clear view of Tower Bridge before easing south to land in the cold, wet and familiar landscape of Heathrow.
We looked at each other and smiled because the captain had just announced a predicted high temperature today of 18 degrees, which is the temperature we had set on the air conditioning in our last hotel!!
We will be working in France for the summer, we are already planning our next trip but to where? We'll let you know.
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Mike Brown
non-member comment
here in thailand
Glad ot see you're still having a great time on your travels. I'm in Khon Kaen for the next week or so. If you're up this way I can show you around!