River Kwai and South Thailand

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AND NOW THE END IS NEAR...

So I'm sitting in Singapore airport about to fly back to London exactly 9 months after I left and I cant get 'My Way' by Frank Sinatra out my head - I think those lyrics are the closest to summing up the last 9 months. But I'm happy to be going home, I wish this trip would last forever but thats not realistic.

The last week of my trip was a bit up and down. It would be a lie to say that Thailand has been my favourite place I've travelled to, but I have still enjoyed most parts of it. But I found that it's actually quite hard to experience the 'real' Thailand and I found travelling around the country very frustrating.

For example, upon returning to Bangkok it took almost 2 hours to get into town from the domestic airport. It then took me almost another 2 hours to get out to the bus station to catch a bus to Kanchanaburi where I would go and visit the River Kwai. Yes, Bangkok traffic is crazy but this isn't the whole reason for long delays. For some reason (all over Thailand) bus stations have been built a fair distance away from towns (as much as 7km). I've no idea why this is the case, like it said it makes travelling frustrating.

But eventually I got out to the Bridge Over the River Kwai and had a nice stroll across it. It's a very interesting yet sombre place - kind of like the atmosphere around Ground Zero in New York. Except that a lot more people died building the railway line - around 100,000. The line, between Burma and Bangkok, was being built by the Japanese in order to transfer supplies and ease their assault on Asia. They used prisoners of war making them work around the clock in awful conditions. I went to a nearby museum to learn more about the bridge but I cant say that is was the best museum I've ever visited - it was a World War II museum and had some strange exhibits (like coins used by the many countries during WW2!)... Also I'm pretty sure some of the facts about the leaders of the countries during the war were actually not true!

After that bit of history, there wasn't much else to do around the Bridge other than head back to Bangkok (the torrential rain that suddenly hit didn't help matters!). I think that I was the only person not on a package your to the bridge as everyone else jumped in their buses leaving me alone, sheltering inside a shop...

Back in Bangkok I decided I'd had enough of the city - traffic and all - so left the next day... Not before a good session with some English lads - we were sitting in a 'street bar' drinking some beers. Asia has some cracking beers! Lao, Singha, Chang, Tiger - all really good (and extra strong!) beers...

I flew down to Phuket (Poo-get) a large touristy island in the south west of Thailand. It doesn't feel like an island at all there though. In fact, Bangkok was merely a warm up for the craziness and commercialness of Phuket! The town, Phuket, is pretty much a standard small place, the place where all the action is is a stretch of beach and surrounding strip called Patong.

It's hard to sum up how tacky, touristy and downright seedy Patong is. It's the ladyboys, Thai massage, young Thai brides, tourist, tacky capital of Thailand. It is worth experiencing though, as you really have to see this place with your own eyes. But it is a good place to jump on a ferry to Koh Phi Phi (Ko-Pee-Pee) which is a small island the exact opposite of Patong.

I took a little tour boat across. Koh Phi Phi is actually called Koh Phi Phi-Don the larger of two islands, the other being Koh Phi Phi-Leh. Leh is famous for a small stretch where the movie The Beach starring Leo De Caprio was filmed. There is also a stretch of beach called Monkey Bay - no prizes for guessing why!

The island is supposed to be one of the beautiful in the world and it's hard to argue with that. It has clear blue waters and beautiful lime-stone cliff faces. Sadly it was hit pretty hard by the Tsunami but has been pretty much totally rebuilt. It is quiet and tranquil - like I said the exact opposite of Patong.

We stopped off for some snorkelling in some crystal clear waters, passed the beach used in the movie (which was FULL of tourists!) and had a relaxing lunch and few hours on the main island (no-one was playing beach volleyball so I was a little bored!).

Back in Patong I met an English lad called Rob. Within 5 minutes of meeting him he told me that he'd been totally hammered and had taken a Lady Boy back to his room, before discovering their 'secret'. I wasn't sure what was worse - the fact that he had done this or the fact that he told me! Rob informed me there was a black moon party on an island across the other side of the south and I made a mental note to head that way in a few days.

Anyways he was a good laugh and had just started travelling so was full of energy and out to enjoy himself. We bar hopped around Patong and had a fun night - although it was hard to get away from Asian girls who flock to any non-Asian guys assuming that they have lots of money (in my case they very much assumed wrong!).

I didn't really think there was much to Patong, other than all the tack. The beach wasn't that nice and didn't have beach volleyball so there was nothing I enjoyed doing the day, when I wasn't touring... In this sense, it is useful for organising trips though as there are tonnes of tour agencies. The next trip I arranged was to somewhere I was very excited to be visiting... Leaving at 7.30am the next day.

So only a few quiet beers for me were in order. I sat at a bar where I got talking to 2 guys from Kuwait. I've been travelling for 9 months and yet I am still amazed how easy it is to learn something new everywhere I go. In this case that something new would be that the Kuwait word for cheers is So-Pottasum (no idea how to spell it, so spelt it phonetically). They were a lively couple of guys and we joked around with the bar stuff. One of them, Joseph, could speak really good English and upon my asking informed me that he was actually learning from a Scottish guy. So I took the opportunity to give him a few phrases that might impress his tutor. It was quite funny when he started using them later on to the bar man - calling him a 'wee nyaff' and telling him 'gonnae no dae that'!

I also met an interesting Aussie guy who, at the age of 57, has decided to sell all his personal belonging and travel the world - seeing where the wind takes him... Pretty cool I thought. A random night ended up with me playing Connect 4 and some dice game with one of the bar staff in another bar! We were playing for shots of tequila and I was doing quite well given the circumstances - that not only was I more drunk but, at connect 4, the shade of the red counters meant that I couldn't really make out the colours in account of my colour-blindness!

But I still made it up early the next morning (I had a lot of early morning around Phuket - the Koh Phi Phi tour was 7am!) but this day it especially didn't bother me as, as mentioned before, I was very excited about where we were going: Phang Nga national park and bay. To most people that wouldn't sound too exciting, but in fact one of the group of the islands is also known as 'James Bond island' and of course I am a huge Bond fan.

It was used in the film 'The Man With The Golden Gun' - which I not only think was one of Moore's best performances but is also one of the best Bond films.. While it wasn't as nice a day as when Moore flies into the island in the movie, with spots of rain in the air, but it made no difference because the scenery there was absolutely stunning - one of the best boat rides I've been on (and there are a few contenders for that title!). I did ask if the 'lair' where Bond takes on Scaramanga was actually on the island but I don't think our tour guide had a clue what I was talking about - I'd assume this part was filled in the studios... (And if you read this and have no idea what I'm talking about, rent the movie and watch one of the best Bond films there is - puts the new Bond film to shame!)

We took in some other sights on top of the islands. We stopped off at a Buddhist temple-cave, which was surrounded outside by Monkeys, as well as a small fisherman's village in the water (for lunch). After a great day I wanted to celebrate properly. But at this point I was getting a bit tired of the Phuket strip so I decided to go to an Irish bar instead. I even ate non-Thai food for the first time since I arrived as they were roasting a pig out on the street - too tempting! Later, in the Irish bar, there was a great Irish band playing and I got talking to some Irish lads (surprise surprise!) and had a fun night.

But I was in no doubt it was time to leave Phuket. And it was another early morning - 7.30am! I was heading to an island on the east called Ko Pha Ngan (pronounced Ko-Pan-Yan but I'm gonna use KPN) - famous for it's full moon beach parties. It also has half-moon parties and black-moon parties, I was going for the latter.

I got into KPN at 9pm. It took 13.5 hours to travel 300km. Like I said travelling in Thailand is frustrating. But I didn't let it bother my night, as I caught up with Rob and partied away on the beach under the moon-dark (Hahaha!).

There were a whole bunch of people beside the party painting fluorescent shapes on to the party-goers. Upon first arriving I didn't think it was a great idea. However, several drinks later I thought it would be the best idea ever! And they would even paint a Scotland flag on to me - even better! Except that they also painted some weird bone shapes on my other arm... Very random.

But a good night was had and the next day walking around KPN I knew I had found my Thai paradise. It was almost exactly the same as Surfers Paradise in Oz (without the surfing!) - full of resorts showing movies all day long and... beach volleyball! The only problem is that beach volleyball is a little bit harder in Thailand than it was when I was in Oz on account of the ridiculous heat!

So in KPN I spent my days watching movies, enjoying Thai food and playing beach volleyball with some people I met: another Mitch (with a t, from America) and some Canadians (another common theme KPN has with Surfers!). And there are no lady-boys, massage girls, street vendors, tourist tack or other seedy activities in sight.

On top of all this, the nightlife was awesome! Every night when the last of the films had finished (around mid-night), everyone went from the bars in the town down to the beach, where bars had been set up and the party would continue all night long!

They had all sorts of games, most of which usually involved fire. I took part in a balloon smashing competition, limboing under a flaming pole and fire skipping! Yeh that's right they had a skipping rope on fire and you could skip over it, at which point they started to increase the speed! And if taking part wasn't your cup of tea you could watch some fire juggling and flame blowing. It's laid back, fun and I loved it.

The second day I was on the island I was walking down the street and bumped into a familiar face. I think I could write a book on how small a place the world is based on my travels. So I met a dutch guy called Menion, who I first met in Airlie Beach, Australia and then also bumped into on Magnetic Island north of Australia! By this point his girlfriend Tatiana had joined him, so we met up for dinner and then drinks down the beach and had a fun evening!

Down on the beach there are a whole row of stalls selling 'buckets'. Basically you buy a bucket and mix up your own drinks - they come with a quarter bottle and mixers. But since there are like a dozen of them in a row they are all shouting at you as you walk past in a bid to win your business. Menion and I thought this was hilarious so played around with them by walking back and forward... We eventually selected a stall where a guy with 'Tom Cruise' painted on his chest and a girl called Emma served us up drinks. I remember their names because they remembered mine and I chatted with them every night I was in KPN, even going behind the stalls to help them gather business!

So at this point my trip was getting close to it's end but I was having so much fun I had noticed how time had flown. I met a nice couple of English girls, Amy and Emma and we had some drinks and fun down the beach. At 5.30am I got back to my room and popped my laptop on to listen to some music. The date on my laptop said 16th August. I couldn't believe it! I ran room to the girls room to check if this was correct - it was! I was flying out the day after, from Singapore! I had no idea time had moved on so fast, I was just enjoying myself on KPN so much!

Luckily I managed to get a reasonably cheap flight booked to Singapore from the neighbouring island Ko Samui. So basically this is how I have ended up not seeing any of Singapore or Malaysia - I was enjoying KPN too much!

My last day was fun. I wanted to do something crazy, random and...silly! But KPN is so laid back and chilled it is actually hard to find such activities! So I settled for another beach day, playing some volleyball. I also finally got to see a game of Tawkrat! This is a Thai sport played on a court about badminton size and with similar rules to volleyball, except that you can only use your head and legs. The ball they use is about half the size of a normal football but the Thais are so good at it! It's so funny watching them hitting overhead kicks and spectular bicycle kicks over the net!

In the evening I decided to enjoy the beach once again... But not before I had my first ever Lobster Thermadore! Since they are a bit cheaper across here I thought it would be a fun end - it was very tasty! Emma didn't make it out due to over indulgence but Amy and I enjoyed some cocktails in a bar which I randomly let the bar man decide (not such a good idea!). I caught up with Antoine and Rafael - a Quebec couple I'd met down the beach earlier. There was brief discussion of the 'Quebec situation' in Canada once again but nothing too serious! And I had another bucket or two from Tom Cruise and Emma!

The next day I got the boat across to Ko Samui - Emma and Amy came along too since they were going back to stay there. I also managed to pick up a couple of very cheap tailored suits that should do me in good stead when I go home.

And after a couple of flights, 24 hours later I touched down back on British soil. I'm typing the end of this blog in James's flat in London. It hasn't really sunk in that I'm back, other than the weird feeling I now have using Pounds to pay for stuff!

So, I have met the most awesome people in the most beautiful parts of the world (outside of Scotland!). But rather than feeling sad that I've had such an amazing 9 months and that it's now 'over' I'm actually quite excited. I get to see friends and family that I haven't seen in a while. I'll get to meet up with people I met in various countries in the world, both visiting me in Scotland and, hopefully at some point, in other countries.

My most prized possession I bring back for me, something that is well and truly priceless is a book. And in the book are messages (usually quite insulting and fun - the way I asked them to be written!) from almost everyone I met along the road. It's brilliant, I love it. I would rather lose everything I had in my backpack than this.

So I guess that, for me personally, a country is great but I live off people and that isn't going to end now I'm back, but rather continue so I''m feeling excited instead of feeling sad.

And, perhaps most surprisingly of everything, Homer has made it back, but not quite in one piece!

Mich

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Photos

Bridge Over River Kwai
The bridge as the rain pounds down!

Patong, Phuket
The main drag in Patong, how many street sellers can you spot?

'The Beach'
The main beach from the movie, packed with tourists!

Monkey Bay
Snorkelling at monkey bay, Koh-Phi-Phi-Leh

Phi Phi Don Harbour
The great view as you sail into Phi Phi Don...

Koh-Phi-Phi-Don
Homer on the beautiful beach at Koh-Phi-Phi. This beach was hit hard by the Tsunami...

Monkey Cave
I think the free bananas could be the reason why so many monkeys hang out there!

Au Phang Nga
Some of the beautiful lime rock formations sailing through Phang Nga national park...

James Bond Island!
Homer on the island, overlooking the famous lime stone rock...

Black Moon Party
Check out the wondeful dark sky at the party!

KPN Beach
Another great beach at KPN, except this time it had beach volleyball - score!

Fire games
One of several fire displays, this time a fire blower late at night on Ko Pha Ngan beach...

Fire skipping!
More fire games on KPN, this time skipping over a burning rope!

Final night
Celebrating in style with a lovely lobster thermidore!

Comments

[Jo]

welcome home!!!!
Glad you had such an amazing trip. Thanks for keeping us updated on everything - it's been fun reading about your travel antics! However, can't wait to have you home again!!!! xxx