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Published: April 14th 2008
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Longtail boats in the clear blue sea :)We said an emotional goodbye to our awesome Langkawi friends. We have had an incredible time on this island and we both have a real gut feeling that we are gonna go back at some point. There is a curse over the island that any foreigner who goes there will never be able to leave. Maybe they're right... Doesn't sound like a bad curse to us!!! 😊
on our last night we went to Submarine bar and met a curious little Malaysian fella called Pete who had lived in Manchester for a few years. We asked him how old he was and he replyed '47' we said he looked younger and he said 'but I have no teeth!' smiling showing us his one prize yellow tooth... So I, not really knowing what to say said 'well who needs teeth anyway!' then we all raised a glass 'to teeth' haha. He then proceeded to point at nicks hair and go 'Chicken boy is alright!' before collapsing head down on the table lol. You can tell he has spent some time around beer swigging football hooligans...
there was a water festival on this night on the beach and a famous reggae cover band
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Nicks so bright and milky white... played. It was amazing! With thousands of people all dancing and doing fire poi etc. Really good atmosphere! We were right on the front row and the Malaysian press took loads of pictures of me and Nick. I wonder where they end up!
So we arrived in Thailand last week on the seventh and got a boat straight to Ko Tarutao National Marine Park. We got a little ferry over that we were told would stop at Tarutao and when they stopped about a mile outside of it in the middle of the sea and a longtail boat pulled up alongside of us we knew it would be interesting... We basically had to haul our bags and our bodies over the side of a ferry onto this little fishing boat full of thai people and their vegetables. Something we wont be forgetting!
Tarutao is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Holly had visited on her trip to Thailand in 2004 a couple of weeks before the Tsunami and wanted to know how it was getting on. You can definately tell there has been a disaster here with the big concrete pilllars etc sticking out from the ground where
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Tree Swing on Tarutao beach a building has been flattened by the big wave. There are also big signs warning you that you are entering a Tsunami risk area that tell you where to leg it to should another one accur. Curiously they seem to point in every direction possible so I gather they are just trying to say *run for your bloody life* so sad. But on a happy note they seem to have got everything together really well again. Much better than expected!
The only places to stay on the island are little bungalows, there is only one canteen (more veggie fried rice for me) and electric from 6pm till 10 pm only. On our first night we made the mistake of staying on the other side of the island. This was COMPLETELY deserted! and there was hug holes in the sides of our bungalow letting an array of strange creatures in. Very spooky... and we didn't then know how early the electric went off so early so hadn't brought any candles or anything. So we spent the night scared shitless, cursing at eachother. Haha! We ofcourse decided to move to the bigger beach after this for a night which was much
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Nick looking Bohemian lol... nicer!! And We saw 3 Hornbill birds all together after looking for one for the last month haha. If you're looking for your deserted 'Beach' like the film then this is your place 😊
We then proceeded to get another ferry and yet another 'middle of the sea change to a longtail boat' over to the beautiful island of KO LIPE where we are now. This really is absolute paradise. I could have cried when I first saw this place. The beach is like talcum powder and you can stand right out in the sea and still see your feet. And on the next beach there is a rare sand bar that stretches out to sea. It is heaven on earth. Apart from the fact that it is TOO BLOODY HOT!
We picked a place out from the Lonely Planet called 'Porn Resort' that was again, on the quiet side of the island. It has little bohemian beach huts and a quiet stretch of sand. That night our bag got chewed through by rats, Someone kept looking in our window (we later found out that Koh Lipe is home to 700 'sea gypsies' lol) and I saw a
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Us on Tarutao beach cockroach the size fo a bloody kitten. So we moved hahaah. And we have decided that the lonely planet is 'full of shit' and will only use it as a very rough guide now!
We are now on Hat Pattaya beach which is great. Loads of little shack style bars and restaurants. We have been spending our days snorkelling looking at the coral just out to sea. You only have to swin a couple of metres out to see it and there are no jellyfish or anything here because of the shape of the island. The sea is so still and calm. The fish and coral that you see is SO incredible. We are thinking about hiring a trained guide to take us snorkelling a bit further out. We will see.
At night we have been chilling out at either 'Pooh bar', the Reggae bar or Banana Tree. Banana tree does the most AMAZING green banana and vegetable green curry I have ever had. And it has cushion seats set out in a little open air 'cinema' where they show english and american films each night on a projector screen. We watched the wedding crashers, gangs of new york
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Deserted Tarutao beach and tonight the island! A great little place to chill out. The otehr night we went to Poohs Bar and met a young Thai lad called Bahn who is into the same music as Nick. Even listening to lesser known bands such as Uk Subs etc. Which is pretty unusual but cool none the less! He showed us some Thai Ska Punk Music and we had a great night there with him and the other bar men. We also met a load of Thai people at the Reggae bar while we watched some incredibly skilled fire poi.
We hate to say it but we have actually been avoiding westerners lol! Thai people are mostly tolerant of the western way of life and dont seem to mind if you have your shoulders uncovered etc. We expected to see a few dickheads walking around but we cannot believe the amount of people who haven't even learnt the basics of Thai law and culture walking around the beach with their tits hanging out (this is completely illegal in Thailand and a disgusting disrespect to Thai people) and people walking around the village in little bikinis (this is ONLY acceptable o the beach)
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The signs everyhwere warning you of Tsunamis. :( also people shouting and raising their voices to Thai people when they dont understand our language when they cant even say a basic hello or thankyou in Thai (it is also extremely rude to raise your voice in this country as it shows a loss of 'face') we also see people putting their feet up everywhere and if there is one thing you should learn if you dont do anything else is to NOT PUT YOUR FEET ON ANYTHING Or point them towards objects!!! Feet are seen as the lowest and dirtiest part of the body. The head being the most important and you should also never touch someone on the head here. And I will continue to let all of these people know what idiots they are. RANT! Haha.
From the 13th to the 15th of this month is the Thai New Year called Songkran. It was origionally traditional to bathe the hands and head of Buddha statues at this time but this seems to have escalated a bit... At first we just got squirted by children with water pistols and had white cream rubbed on our faces. And that was cute. What is NOT cute is the
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Coral at low tide on Ko Lipe fact that we are now having people jumping out at us and throwing enormous buckets of water over our heads lol. So our electrical belongings are now wrapped in plastic bags in fear of the next 'attack' lol.
By far the most amazing thing we have seen here is one, the stars! As there is no light pollution they are so clear. And two, the stars in the sea!!! There is a type of plankton in the seas in Thailands that glows really really brightly when it is dusturbed and you can stand by the sea and watch the waves wash them in and them glowing like little stars. It is incredible! You can apparently run your hand through the water when standing out to sea and they glow when you touch them for about 30 seconds then die out. Best thing ever 😊 This place really is a Shangri-La.
Well I hope everyone at home is great! Miss everyone lots! Keep sending us comments pleeease 😊 and we want a big drunken party on our return 😊 (also a cheese board because we are both missing brie alot... Haha!)
Also Holly is gutted that Metroland is
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Longtail boats in Lipe shutting down up north 😞 that place was my childhood dream! Emma and Tamlyn go and have one last ride on the pirate ship for me!!
Lots of love,
Holly and Nick xxx
Going to an island called Ko Bulon Leh next and will try to update from there maybe...
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Tamlyn
non-member comment
missing you :(
it's so amazing reading all about your travels....i love it so much and ALWAYS look forward to your next blog. The photos are amazing too...and i'm just so pleased that you're both living your dream, and i'm so proud of you. Not sure I could cope with the rats/cockroaches etc! I'm going to Metroland on Wednesday for one last time :( I'll be thinking of you! Wish you could be there with me! Love you so much Holly....you're an amazing young lady, and I feel so proud to have you as my best friend :) xxxxxxxxxxxxxx