Thailand#2

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May 13th - 16th

Still in Koh Tao and enjoying going to the beach and sitting on the balcony of our bungalow- at least I was until some very big geckos joined us!We went kayaking and snorkelling on the 14th - the coral and fish were absolutely amazing! Also went to a cabaret one evening which was quite entertaining. You haven't lived until you've seen Tina Turner Thai ladyboy style!

We left on the 16th and caught the fast boat back to the mainland. We had decided to stay at Sairee beach which sounded nice in the guidebook but in reality was a real non- place- the beach was quite nice. We just stayed one night but it made getting up to Hua Hin the next day a real pain. Nobody spoke very much English where we were staying but we managed to understand there was a local bus to the nearest town Chumporn. We caught it at 9and then spent a while in Chumporn trying to find the bus station which was actually 10 k out of town and not where everyone kept telling us it was!The train was full as well, so we ahd to pay for a taxi to the bus station and then eventually got a bus- it doesn't sound that bad now I've written it down but at the time it was frustrating and seemed like we were getting nowhere fast!

We stayed in Hua Hin for 3 nights which we really enjoyed - quite a small place but very geared up for westerners. We went to a hotel in the guidebook and only stayed one night after realising we had gone to one which had nearly exactly the same name and but was exactly next door. We moved in the morning and it was a much better hotel for the same price! Mike enjoyed running on the beach.
On the 20th we got the bus to Kanchanaburi( Bridge over River Kwai) via Bangkok. Very much on the backpackers trail and very cheap but a very nice place to spend a couple of days. We both had a massage for 40mins for the total of 4 pounds- Mike's masseuse was a bit heavyhanded but am sure it did him good?
On the 21st we went on a tour to see waterfalls, ride an elephant, see the bridge and visit the museum about the POWs who died building the railway. a full day - very interesting and really exciting to ride an elephant!
On friday 22nd we went back to Bangkok.

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