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Published: January 24th 2010
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Yet again, another long (9am- 6.30pm) and complicated journey from Ao Nang to Ko Samui - but covered a lot of distance this time and enjoyable seeing the local life in the big towns. Had bad experience on the coach as we realised once we'd started unpacking our bags that someone had been all through Lara's bag - luckily nothing had been stolen but she did gain someone girls size 7 trainers and an epilator (we discovered from online forums and from other people that that have kids sitting in the luggage holds on the coaches stealing from the bags - a lesson learnt there!). A bit of a shock arriving in Samui as very commercialised and seedy compared to the smaller islands we'd come from. I didn't particularly like Samui as it had a very different atmosphere to other places we'd been to - a lot of families and holiday makers, large groups of "lads" and a lot of seedy bars brimming with Thai "women" looking for (and getting) a good time with the Western men! We went to a couple of bars on the beach that night, but got frustrated with the amount of people trying to sell you
things, putting monkeys/iguanas/hawks/any other animal that could carry on to you and trying to charge you for a picture, and very young kids wanting to challenge you to a game of connect 4 for 100 baht (2 quid); though it was funny watching the security guard trying to chase the kids out every 5 seconds! We also saw trouble one night outside the go-go girl bars: a huge english guy arguing with a Thai girl, and throwing her out of the bar with his hand round her throat; however, the other Thai guys were quick to retaliate and came running from behind the bar with baseball bats!
It rained a lot while we were in Ko Samui, so we ended up spending a lot more money than we wanted to on shopping and food and drink so we could sit inside! The best bit about Samui was the full-day tour jungle tour that we went on, which worked out really well as we were the only people on full day tour so had the local tour guide, Rong, to ourselves. the tour involved going to a jungle park in the middle of the island and watching an elephant show
(shooting basketballs, balancing on the trucks, whirling hula hoops etc), monkey show (we thought this was cruel as rather than "training" them, they were just pulling them up and down by the chains round their necks), watched a Thai boxing demonstration and then went elephant trekking on our elephant Jean-Paul. The elephant trainer also made us each a ring, bracelet and necklace out of bamboo leaves while he was riding on the elephant's head. We then went to the Big Budda (huge Buddist temple) and to Grandmother and Grandfather rock - which were famous rocks shaped like male and female rude bits - quite funny! We saw the mummified Buddist monk, who died in his 50s in 1973 and whose body is still preserved without any chemicals and his hair is still growing - it was amazing to see, and funny because the only thing he'd lost was his eyes so they'd stuck a cheap market pair of Ray Bans on him! We then had a huge Thai buffet in a restuarant on the beach which was amazing and back in the jeep to Nuangthan Waterfall, where i decided to climb up to the very top of the waterfall with
the instructor: virtually on my hands and knees, bare feet through insect-ridden jungle, but well worth it once at the top.
We decided against our decision to stay in Samui for Christmas, and opted instead for going back over to the Andaman coast again and to Ko Phi Phi to meet Millhouse and our friend Clare who'd come out for 3 and a half weeks. After 45 minute flight from Samui to Krabi, very-near crash on the bus to the pier, and 2-hour speedboat we arrived in beautiful Phi Phi. After traipsing for couple hours with our backpacks (which have now doubled in weight after our shopping sprees), we settled on the rickety, wooden US Guest house at the very end of the road, which we renamed "the bat cave" due to the amount of bats flying around right outside our door. Luckily, we were able to change accommodation for the rest of our time there.
Phi Phi had brilliant nightlife (especially being Christmas) and we spent a lot of time at the big beach parties making the most of the free buckets of Sang Som and redbull and the shots after doing fire limbo and fire skipping.
We also met up with the Bournemout group again (which had now increased to 15). Christmas in Phi Phi really didn't feel like Christmas, so, to be honest, i didn't feel too homesick and it was great to sit on the beach drinking cocktails on Christmas day! We did make ourselves christmas outfits though - spent christmas eve down the beach sewing cooton wool balls to our red skirts, and wore sparkly red tops and santa hats. We went for a fantastic Christmas day buffet (about 25 of us at the table in the end) and then (keeping it traditional!) went to Reggae Bar to watch Thai boxing - this consisted of the professionals and a lot of drunk farang (tourists) beating the crap out of each other. All very funny and lighthearted until a 4-year-old Thai boy and girl got up to fight, actually hitting each other properly with boxing gloves; then walked round the crowds with tip boxes and finally crying and being checked over for bruises by their mums - pretty horrific, though obviously put on for the tourists who were watching it and taking photos.
Shockingly, we discovered on Christmas day evening that there had
been a shooting outside one of the beach bars (Slinkys) at 2am on Christmas morning (we were at the next bar when it happened) and 3 Thai guys and been shot and one (the owner of the bar's grandson) had died. Apparently, the island is run by 2 opposing "mafia" families - really not you'd expect on such a small island.
We left Phi Phi on 27th December for Ko Phangnan and the infamous New Years Eve/Full Moon Party.
It was also on Phi Phi that i met Diego, an amazing 25-year-old guy from Chile, who i somehow managed to fall for very quickly; but more about him on my next blogs...
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