Last blog, Thailand

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So, it is the 13th May and we are spending our last few hours in Bangkok before heading to the airport to fly home! We thought it was a good idea to write our last blog now or it would never happen!

We got a night bus from Chiang Mai back to Bangkok and spent one night in a hotel that had a lovely rooftop swimming pool. We took full advantage of this and spent the first day by the pool, going out for dinner in the evening. The second day we went to Wat Saket and the Golden Mount which gives good 360 views of the city. It was a very humid day and so we spent it at the only place we could think of with air con, the shopping mall in Siam Square! We enjoyed ice cream and looked around the shops before returning to the Khao San road to collect our bags and get on a night bus to Koh Samui via Surraythani.

This night bus put three films on which made the time go quicker and then at 12 after a half hour stop, the lights went out. We arrived in Surat Thani at 5.30am and then at 7am were transferred by mini bus to another location, to a coach and then to the ferry that took us to the island of Koh Samui. We stayed by the Hat Chaweng beach which is the most popular of the islands and had a little bungalow right by the beach. We spent the afternoon on the pretty beach and in the evening had a lovely dinner and 50bht cocktails (less than a pound!)

The following day we moved to Koh Phagnan island which was only an hour away by boat. We stayed right by the beach that has the legendary full moon parties. It was another beautiful beach and we spent the afternoon sunbathing. We went out for dinner, did some shopping while waiting for a downpour of rain to stop and then sat on the beach. There was a fire show outside one of the bars so we watched it, sitting on blankets and drinking a bucket! (a sandcastle sized bucket full of cocktail, a Thailand speciality!).

The next day was mostly spent travelling to Phuket, we took a taxi to the ferry, had a 3 hour journey on the ferry, we were picked up by a coach, transferred to a tuk tuk van, taken to a shop for half an hour, then it was back in the tuk tuk van to a minibus. We then had a 4 hour journey crammed into a mini van with everyone's bags strapped to the top! It was supposed to be a non stop trip yet the driver stopped so he could eat and smoke. We stopped again just outside Phuket Town where we were taken into a tourist shop and they tried to sell us accommodation or trips. Finally he dropped us in Phuket Town at 10.30pm. We found a hotel and went to bed!

We were awake and being transferred to the ferry terminal at 8.30am so we could go to Phi Phi island. The ferry only took a couple of hours and it took us past Maya Bay which is famous because this is where The Beach was filmed. The island is smaller than the other two and has no roads, it is a maze of small streets full of hotels, restaurants, openfront shops and market stalls. There is also an incredible amount of people crammed into such a small space. There are Tsunami evacuation signs everywhere and you can see the building work that is still going ahead. We booked a night in the Garden Inn and a man came along with a big wheelbarrow to transport our bags. We had a wooden hut for the night and it was so cute, it had a porch area with seating and a hammock. We went out for lunch with the intention of going to the beach afterwards. Only it started to rain. Instead we rented a dvd player and watched One Tree Hill! When it eventually stopped raining we went out for dinner.

In the morning it wasn't raining so we went to see the beach. We left Phi Phi on a 2.30pm ferry which was the worst boat experience we have ever been on. The sea was very rough and Steph especially felt sea sick the whole trip along with half the people on the boat!! When the nightmare was finally over we had intended on getting a night bus back to Bangkok but it was the last thing either of us wanted to do. Instead we took a taxi to the airport and flew back up to Bangkok! The flight was only an hour and we went back to the Rambuttri Inn (the one with the swimming pool) for a goodnights sleep.

It was raining in Bangkok so after a leisurely morning we went to Siam Square to do our last shop and then went to Pat Pong which is a famous night market. Our last day In Bangkok has been sunny so we spent a few hours by the pool before checking out of our hotel. We are now going for dinner and then to the airport.

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