Ko Samui Christmas/New Year

---

We're spending Christmas and New Year on Ko Samui in a little beach hut in Lamai. Before this we will be spending three days in Phuket which probably wont be long enough so it will be just a taster before coming back later in the trip.

Wednesday 17th december
Off to Thailland today on the 4:30am mini bus which picked us up outside our hostel in Kuala Lumpa as we really couldn't be bothered to shop around if we we're having to leave at this time. We originally thought the journey would take approximately 7hrs but we were completely off the mark with the estimated time of 16hrs arrrrrrrrrrr!! The journey went fine and we actually arrived in Phuket 2hrs early which was very much appreciated as completely unexpected due to the hanging around in Hat Yai for 1hr then being taken by Tuk tuk for 30min and filled to bursting point my bum is actually bruised but it was all good fun. The main problem we face is that the rules have recently changed for land crossings, you NO LONGER receive a 30day visa it was only a 15day which completely messed up our plans of staying over the Christmas and New year period on the Island of Ko Samui. Next problem was the fact that we have already booked and paid for our 2wks accommodation over this period. So we have to go to the thai Embassy and see about an extention hopefully it doesn't take long as we are only in Phuket for 3 nights. So we headed to find our hostel which we had pre booked due to the time of year we thought it wise to do so. For a change we went in the completely wrong direction and a 10min walk turned into 1hr so we got to see a lot of the area we are in. We finally found it and its nice enough with a tv and dvd player to fill in the evenings. we headed out to buy food which was not that easy to be honest as everyone must eat early here as we tried to buy off the vendors at about 8pm and they hardly had anything left, so we ended up with some sauce and rice we didn't bother to ask what it was but it tasted nice so who cares.

Thursday 18th december
DISASTER-spent the morning at the embassy trying to organize an extension and they only do a 7 day one for 1900 bhts (40 pounds) each (bummer on our budget) and they where actually laughing at us which really annoyed me and keep telling us we should have bought one in Malaysia WE KNOW!! Obviously the language barrier was a prob especially trying to explain that we have just come from these places and we did check the visa situation a few days ago but the site had NOT been updated at that point. They also could not tell us if you could get one in Laos or Cambodia nor did they have contact details for any of those Thai embassies. So in the end we left me in tears and Steve very annoyed but we came to the conclusion that we have to either grit our teeth and pay the 1900bht each for a 7 day extension and then do a detour to Ranong on the way to Bangkok or we could do a visa run on the 30th to Ranong from Ko Samui which costs approx 2000bhts each and takes approx 16hrs. So we are going to have to decide which option works best for us! So overall not a good day.

Friday 19th december
Beach day to chill out after yesterdays disaster day. We headed for the local bus and were told by our hostel reception to stay on until we see the beach as that means get off easy then? Not quite, we sat on there for what seemed like forever and apparently we completely missed Ao kata Ya and ended up in Hat Karon. No probs though as it was a very nice beach and not to busy. Only disappointment was the sea I must admit I was expecting bath water and it was really murky not like I'd imagined at all but we were happy enough and we are going to Ko Samui which is well known for its crystal clear waters so bring it on! We made our way back to the hostel and then hit the food stalls at around 7pm which is apparently too late to eat in Phuket as almost nothing left. So we grabbed a bag of what looked like curry and a bag of rice and headed back to the hostels microwave. It was officially the spiciest curry I have ever had in my life I couldn't feel my lips for hours afterwards which was funny in the end we went to the shop and bought Ice cream which did the trick. Travel day tomorrow very excited as we are off to Ko Samui and spending 2wks over Christmas and New year in our wooden beach hut so off to beddy-bys sweet dreams........................

Saturday 20th december
Late setting off as hostel took ages with Brekkie (not leaving without it as we paid for that bad boy) so we had to jump on a tuk tuk to the bus station. The bus was fairly empty and the journey took 1hr longer than the expected 4hrs. Then we had to hang around for the next bus for 1hr which would take us to the port, Which came on time and took 2hrs. The ferry was nice enough just freezing cold they do take advantage of that air co when they have it. The sea was also very rough that is why it took us longer than expected we think. We jumped on a tuk tuk at the port there was one going to Chaweng which is the lively place on Ko Samui and it was crammed with people and then ours heading to Lamai sat one local woman all on her lonesome. It only cost us 150 bhts for the 40min journey and the guy dropped us at the entrance to the Magic resort. When we finally found reception which was located on the beach and were taken to our hut. It was back up the path and had its own little balcony with table and chairs. It was also fairly private with palm trees and shrubs in front of it also opposite the security guy which is a bonus unless he's dodgy hum never thought of that ill have to keep my eye on him which I must say wont be difficult as I did see him emerge from the shower and the song "A hunka hunka burning love love love ah ha" came into my head. So back to the hut , the inside was very basic whith double bed (its huge) and cold water but we like it. We went into town to check out the area and to buy booze of course. It looks very tourist ville but to be honest thats fine by us over the festive season as we just want sun, sea sand and booze cheeky! There is a fab food vendor area with freshly prepared dishes such as Phad-Thai, Curries noodles etc its next to the bars which are all in a centre around a boxing ring where we think we will be spending Christmas eve as we also discovered that the full moon parties are not the same as we worked out. So we happily spent the evening on our balcony with a yummy Thai green curry and a special coke of course.

Sunday 21st december
Our first day so the beach is the plan but a quick pop into town to pick up some snorkel gear and a new bikini for moi! We got both for a good price but this bartering game is not as easy as I expected but i'm not bad at it i'm definately getting better. The clear blue sea was not there to greet us it was murky like in Phuket but we later discovered its coral spawning season so that's why TYPICAL! We also notic that everyone sits under umbrellas so We went on some away from everyone until a family of 8 parked themselves either side of us and put there umbrellas up, i did not hide my disappointment thats for sure so we moved them back into the sunshine. Did the curries again for tea and chilled on the balcony.

Monday 22nd december
Its getting close to Christmas but it doesn't feel like Christmas at all its strange. We spent the day on the beach again and did the same as last night (have to try the phad thai tomorrow me thinks)

Tuesday 23rd december
Rented a motorbike for 12 days today at 100bhts per day (1.90 pound) We had a look around to find some beaches we could snorkel at or even with clearer waters but no luck. We saw the biggest jelly fish washed up on the beach and still got into the water which was funny as we didn't even think about there being more at the time it was just a "look at that beast" we escaped jelly fish sting free which steve I think was disappointed about because he wanted to wee on it SICKO! We had a look at Chaweng and we are glad we are stopping in Lamai as its just nicer. I did buy a gorgeous Kaftan though for 200bhts (4 pound) I barterd like a pro she started at 600bhts ye right dream on lady! After a long hard day we did the usual but we did try phad thai yummy yummy in my tummy we will be trying all the different ones me thinks tuna is next on my list. Christmas eve tomorrow whoop whoop so alcohol free night tonight!

Wednesday 24th december
"Sun is shining, all around us children splashing in the sea, oh I wish that everyday was Christmas what a nice way to spend the year..........Its Christmas eve i'm looking forward to going out this evening and getting a little tipsy or sozzled which ever way it goes i'm happy. We had the morning on the beach and then took it in turns being santa as we left the pressies until the last min which some of the shop assistance found highly amusing. So I ended up being the bartering master for the afternoon I got him 3 t-shirts and a pair of swim shorts due to his others starting to look a bit like rags I was beginning to get worried people would start giving him money in the streets if he stood still long enough thinking he was homeless. We later made ourselves beautiful and ready to hit the town.
After settling for the least seedy looking bar, as they all have a pole in the centre and the girls provocatively rub themselves up and down them with no time keeping to the music at all (I felt embarassed for them) We got to witness a 16yr old Thai girl "pull" a 70yr old looking guy (basically he agreed to pay her the going rate as that's how it works) and everyone was cheering for her and he sat there with his hands all over her for the evening. Everywhere you look there is a guy sat with a "Thai bride" it really opens your eyes to the reality of why a lot of saddo's come to Thailand. So we had a good night people watching and getting very drunk.

Thursday 25th december
MERRY CHRISTMAS. Up around 1030am. A little bit of a late night last night. So opened pressies which were wrapped in Ko Samui maps forgot wrapping paper (I wrapped his in good paper 'cos I'm Amazing Aimee). He liked his clothes that I got him, and they all fit thank God. My presents were quite random. I got a belt which I'd shown him the day before so he used his initiative and took note, but I must admit, the best present was the "Off" mosquito repellant. I'm such a lucky girl! If that's what I get for being good all year I think I'll have a naughty 2009. To be honest we were boh pretty limited but we made the most of it. We headed to the beach for brekkie as the beer munchies were creeping in and typically it's been raining all morning. We did manage to sit on the beach front and the rain stayed away whilst we ate. Even though the weather wasn't brilliant we couldn't resist going in the sea (it's got to be done - it's Christmas Day!) The Santa Claus hat came in handy which we got given last night by a local girl trying to flog it to us for 100Bht. The weather just wasn't playing so we decided to head back to the room where we sat on the balcony deciding what to do. It's 4pm by this point when we realised it's Christmas Day - we should be eating naughty food so we headed to the shop and got some spicey sunflower seeds and jelly sweets - oh aren't we devils? I must say I'm really missing my pork pie, trifle, and Christmas dinner. Even my Thai curry with garlic naan didn't do the trick, nor did it for Steve as he later got a four burger special double big mac from McDonalds which I pointed out to him cost more than both our curries and naan put together. He doesn't even escape Budget Monster on Christmas Day!! We ate and drank with a few candles and a pack of cards and had a really nice evening (I think anyway - I had quite a lot of alcohol in my system from last night so it didn't take me long)! Only thing missing was our wonderful families. Wish you were here as they say.............

Friday 26th december
Horrible day! Boxing day - by the end of it I looked like I'd been in a boxing match! So, we headed out on the bike to see the waterfalls. We completely missed some as there were no signs on the way so we decided to do the lookout point. It was a pretty steep hill so Steve was zig zagging his way up as he said the bike was struggling and couldn't go up it straight. All of a sudden this guy came up behind us pipping his horn which kind of made Steve jump and swerve into a ditch. So a few kind words were exchanged between us and the guy whilst his Thai Bride looked on. We attempted to head up the hill again until the bike started to skid backwards down the hill. I don't exactly know what happened but next minute we'd come off the bike which had decided not to release my foot and I'd landed on an upright twig - ouch! All I can remember was the bike rolling and Steve doing some sort of roly-poly. He must have gone back to his childhood for a second cos he always wanted to be a stuntman! After calming me down trying to get the bike out of the ditch was the hard part and with my bruised back and bleeding foot I wasn't really much help. Eventually a local guy pulled up and came to help us but by this point we'd actually managed to get the bike out. Really didn't want to get back on the bike but had to obviously so we headed back towards the hostel to get cleaned up. It could have been so much worse, Steve has a few scratches in his back, but for a change I came out worst with a lovely big bruise which is going to get worse before it gets better and I have a backless dress for New Year so we're going to have to find somewhere dark to celebrate cos I'm bloody wearing it! So later I was in a little bit of pain and quite achy so we went to get something to numb the pain. Mine was a clear liquid that I mixed with coke (Vodka). Steve assisted me with my pain relief by purchasing some Chang which did the trick perfectly.

Saturday 27th december
Ow. My back is quite badly bruised and every time I rolled over during the night it woke me up but I'm tough so we headed out for breakfast as we both really fancied a fry up. Ended up in a bar called Harry's which we realised was a rip-off of Harry Potter. After I took ages choosing, that's when they decided to tell us thay had no sausage - gutted. So we just ordered two basic breakfasts and Steve got my bacon which he was happy about. We had a hunt around trying to find the cheapest visa run via Ranong. We came across one for 1700Bht each so we've decided we're gonna go on Monday. Later skyped the families which was nice as I got to see my Gran and we got to see our two little gorgeous nieces. Went out to the square, the same place we went to on Christmas Eve and they had Lady Thai Boxing - it was absolutely packed and annoyingly a more expensive drinks menu so we only stayed for a couple as we're cheapskates. Got to see a few rounds before buying some cheap booze from the shop.

Sunday 28th december
Finally it's stopped raining so we took advantage of the beach. Still overcast which made it hot and sticky so I forgot to appply the suncream and I'm a little bit burnt. Went out later to pay for the visa run which would have meant leaving at 4am tomorrow and getting back at 8pm but suprise, suprise it was full. We had a wander to see if we could go on any of the others but they were charging 2000Bht so we decided to pop to the embassy in Na Thon and pay the 1900Bht each for a seven day extension and we will have to go via Ranong on our way up to Bangkok. It's a pain but it saves us wasting a day doing it from here. To be honest the whole visa thing has been a bit of a nightmare for time and budget. We just hope we can get a to month visa easily and cheap enough from Laos/Cambodia when we return!

Monday 29th december
My baby brother's birthday. Turning 19 today so we're gonna have a little bit of a drink for him tonight. Chilled out on the beach with our books, went for a little bit of a walk up the beach to try and find some accommodation for the 3rd and 4th Jan. Cheapest on the beach was 700Bht and they're not into reservations so we would have to go back after New Year. There were some at 2000Bht and all I have to say is ha ha ha ha haaaaa! We actually got a price for one just across the street for 400Bht and it even has a TV and fridge and hot water (so we're told) - actually better facilities than our Xmas digs that cost us 700Bht per night.

Tuesday 30th december
Went to the embassy and got an extension for seven days. Felt sorry for Steve having to have me on the back of the bike because I was panicking when something was leaving Bangkok. The visas were really quick, only took about half an hour. Spent the rest of the day in bed as I had a really poorly tummy so extra water and an early night for me.

Wednesday 31st december
Feeling a lot better today. Tummy is nowhere near as bloated as it was and it's New Year's Eve. For a change it's raining so we spent most of he day on the internet then had a siesta as we didn't sleep very well last night before getting ready for our night at the beach as we've found a really nice beach bar next door that I can sneak my own alcohol in mybag without being noticed. Had a few drinks on the balcony before heading out. I managed to wear my new red dress without showing too much of my lovely bruised back. We ended up sitting on the deck chairs on the beach where we watched people setting off fireworks and just before midnight we set off the wish-lantern that Steve had sneakily bought for me. At the stroke of midnight everyone set fireworks off, it was really cool. I'd go as far as to say it was one of the best new years I've ever had. I've saved the best bit of the evening till last as well. Steve got up to go to the shop for more booze. As he left he tripped over a deck chair which led to him doing a full body slam and face plant into the sand. I couldn't stop laughing that I looked away and pretending I wasn't with him whilst the couple behind couldn't hide their howling laughter. I must say, I think it made a lot of people's night.

Thursday 01st January 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR. Still laughing about last night whilsty Steve is nursing his bruised leg. So because I felt bad for laughing and not giving an ounce of sympathy I took him out for breakfast. We went to one where you could choose 5 items for 99Bht. It was perfect - if you like cold beans that is. For a change it's raining again which is starting to get on our nerves as there is only so much you can do here. At this rate we'll be leaving Ko Samui as alcoholics.

Friday 02nd January
I'll give you a fiver if you can guess what the weather is like today. You got it - it's raining. It cleared up a little bit later and we remembered that we passed a Thai village earlier in the week so we thought it would be cool to jump on the bike and take a closer look. When we arrived just outside the market the smell of fish was pretty intense - guess I need a shower! Had a wander around the market and watched them gutting a few fish then took a wander through the little streets to try and get to the front where all the boats were. We managed in the end but I imagine if you went in the sea your legs would dissolve. It was a very traditional village and I was waiting to be prayed at. Luckily I wasn't, just a few points and giggles as I was wearing my short shorts. We spent our last night on the balcony as we move tomorrow - only across the road so not too much packing.

Saturday 03rd January
Typical. The sun is shining but we have to faff around changing rooms. This ended up taking most of the morning but we managed to hit the beach early afternoon. We had a walk down the beach for lunch. We shared a mini pizza and potato salad which was a nice change to our cheap, homemade ham butties. Whilst there we spotted a SE Asia Lonely Planet in the book swap which we decided to "borrow." We had a few drinks on the balcony later as it is Steve's brother's birthday and you have to celebrate those things of course. We took a few books to the bookshop as we can't carry them anymore and for 3 books we got 300Bht. She would probably sell them for 2100Bht but hey, that's our good deed for the day. Hoping it's going to be hot tomorrow as it's our last day here before we move on to Bangkok via Ranong. Getting excited as I'm meeting up with my friend Karen on the 8th.

Sunday 04th January
We spent the day on the beach. It was lovely and sunny whoop whoop. Took advantage of the good internet cafes and skyped a few family and friends. We had an extremely spicy tea which probably isn't a good idea the day before travelling. Up early tomorrow to make our way to the border town Ranong and we decided not to bother booking it through the hostels so we're DIY-ing it so fingers crossed.

Hope you all had a fab time over the festive season. Although we've had an excellent time it's just not the same without family and friends. Look forward to spending next year with loved ones. Hope you've enjoyed our 2008 blogs and look forward to reading about our adventures in 2009. All the best xx.

---

Photos

Thai Border
Still smiling cos we've not yet been told about the change from 1 month to 2 weeks on our visa.

Christmas Eve
hence the splash-out on a cocktail.

Christmas Day
Excited about opening our pressies

My lovely new Kaftan
and my Santa Hat of course!

Aaaaaaaagh
it\'s warm, yeah right! Who am I kidding?

Phad Thai lady
yummy yummy in my tummy

Our special little bar
the only one without pole dancing!

Lady Thai Boxing
although I'm sure I spotted an Adam's apple!

I hate that bike!
This is what they call a Ko Samui tattoo!!

Wish Lantern
Not gonna tell you what I wished for but I really hope it comes true!

Such a lady!
Yes, this is the giant deck chair that Steve fell over! Ha ha ha ha haaaaaa