To recuperate after the scuba course we headed for Krabi’s idyllic Railey beach. Thankfully only a quick long-boat ride from the mainland. It is true that Thailand’s beaches are fantastic with white sand, clear water and nestled between impressive Karst rock formations. The only downside was that it was packed with hundreds of other foreigners and cost a small fortune for those with meagre backpacker budgets. Nevertheless we had a lot of fun whiling away the hours on the beach and in the evenings partaking in the local tipples. Lynz became rather partial to the local dark rum and knocked back a considerably impressive quantity of it. Mark, ever the gentleman, wouldn’t let her drink alone so it fell to me to escort the drunkards home at night. Mark thought his luck was in when two attractive English girls seemed to know his name and where he grew up, quite odd when on the other side of the world. It transpired they were Tim’s old uni flatmates and had all been out drinking together years before. Awaking the next morning to powerful hangovers I also had the bonus of a bad case of travellers belly. I spent the next couple of days recovering whilst Mark and Lynz enjoyed the famed beaches. Bangkok’s airport opened just in time for Lynz’s flight to be re-instated but due to frantic re-routing Mark and I began our planes, trains and automobiles journey down to Kuala Lumpur to meet Steven, our second temporary travelling companion.
We had always planned to do a PADI Open Water Scuba diving course during this trip and Thailand’s Koh Tao island was the cheapest places learn. Thankfully Lynz was also up for the challenge so late one evening we left Bangkok on a cramped sleeper bus for what became the most horrendous journey of our trip to date. The first leg was on a bus and despite being squashed and arriving at 4am it was fine. The second leg however was a 2 1/2 hr boat crossing over to the island. I had my eyes closed from the first second but Mark assures me it was the scariest ride of his life with enormous waves engulfing and swaying the boat making about half the passengers chunder. I assumed the fetal position until the torture was over thinking the whole time how I was definitely my mother’s daughter. To our credit, both Mark and I both held our stomachs though we swayed back and forth for hours later ack bon dry land.
Our first night on the island was spent in a scummy pit with damp linen and bed bugs so we hastily checked out and into a new place that offered the course. Caz & Asa arrived later in the day and along with our instructor Alex, we began our classroom sessions that afternoon. We weren’t expecting to have to use our brains on this trip so the lessons were somewhat of a shock to the system. The following day’s pool activities were more fun and we were excited about our dives out at sea. Unfortunately the water didn’t calm any for journey to the reef and consequently in our four following dives I managed to vomit on the boat, on the surface of the water and under water into my regulator at 16m deep - not pleasant. Sea legs I ain’t got.
Despite my illness and poor visibiity due to bad weather conditions it was great fun and we all became fully certified. Now I’ve had time to recover I look forward to diving elsewhere in the world, where the seas calmer of course!
We begrudgingly got up at the crack of dawn and set off to the Khao San Road to start a tour of such epic proportions we still feel exhausted by it now. The trip was sold as a ‘River Kwai Tour’ though a more honest description would have been a ‘Petrol Stations of Thailand Experience’. Thanks to a minivan with a knackered radiator we stopped every 30 minutes or so to douse the engine with water, turning a 3 hour journey into a 5 hour monster. The driver however was determined that we shouldn’t miss out on the full itinerary so we made up time by travelling at break-neck speeds.
We saw and crossed the famous bridge over the river Kwai, rode elephants, visited a series of waterfalls, floated down river on a bamboo raft and re-crossed the bridge by train. A visit to the P.O.W memorial site was particularly poignant for Helen as her Great Uncle died building the same railway line in Burma and we spotted many other graves belonging to soldiers in his regiment.
By the time we got back to minivan we’d been going around 12 hours and were looking forward to a speedy return to Bangkok. Unfortunately after a short way the van finally seized up and we were stranded by the side of the road until the ever smiling driver called his mate to take us home. Back on Khao San and completely worn out we recharged on Red Bull and set off to experience the shadier side of Bangkok’s culture with a visit to a Ping Pong show (if you don’t know what that is please don’t ask). Though quite educational we’ll never look at a birthday cake or a banana in the same light again.
Leaving Laos was very sad for us as it has probably been our favourite country so far. Making up for this however was the addition of our lovely mate Lynzie Mac to our globetrotting party. Taking a train journey over the border we found our sleeper plagued with tiny insects that flew in through the open windows, attracted by the bright fluorescent lights that they refused to turn off. As you can imagine we arrived in Bangkok not feeling at our best so when Lynz surprised us with a Birthday/Christmas treat to join her in her gorgeous hotel it felt like a gift from the gods. Clean sheets, a lovely pool and complimentary massages!
When we finaly prized ourselves away from the luxury we explored the city visiting the Royal Palace, the World’s Largest reclining Buddha and many of the local bars. The most impressive was definitely ‘Vertigo’ an open air bar with great cocktails and an amazing view of the city from the 64th floor.
The protests in Bangkok got very heated during our stay with reports of shootings and bombings, culminating in the airport closures. Despite all this, the only effects we felt were enormous traffic jams due to road blockades and a slight feeling of paranoia after a taxi driver warned that my red t-shirt was the colour the opposition wore.
