Ko Tao

Dear All,

Its raining here in Ecuador so we´re hoping to get you updated on some of our activities of last year. Shameful I know that we haven´t updated this sooner but we will try.

Okay so we last left you in Ko Samui. Since we wanted to end up in Ko Phangan, the middle island for the Full Moon party on Christmas Eve,we made our way to Ko Tao next.Ko Tao is the smallest of the Thai islands. It started off completely as a diving resort cause the waters around the island are so clear.As for the island itself,there isn´t much there except the main tourist village where the ferries land. On our boat there we met loads of people already on their way to Ko Phangan in search of accommodation before the Full Moon party but luckily we had already booked ours.

We read about this accommodation called Mr. J in the book.When we got off the island we already saw signs saying things like ´Buy Mr.Js condoms and get free can of Pepsi´.Finally after asking people we reached Mr.Js emporium.He had a bookshop,accommodation,souvenir and foodstore and a travel agent.We guessed that Mr. J was Chinese.He showed us accommodation and promised us a free can of Pepsi if we stayed three nights. Since we only stayed two, we got a bar of chocolate each.It felt like a teacher rewarding us!He had a chart up showing the different nationalities of backpackers and how much each spent.The Irish were right up there.He had sayings about the different nationalities as well such as how tight the Dutch were. We were only a stone´s throw away from the beach so went there to relax for a while.The sunset was fabulous.

For the following day we arranged a snorkelling trip around Ko Tao and 3 islands ajoined by a sand bar not far from Ko Tao. The weather was just perfect. The water was crystal clear and visibility was excellent. To encourage the fish over to the boat, the crew threw in breadcrumbs and they swarmed around the person next to the bread.If the bread was really close to your skin they nibbled on that too!But with all my trying I still didn´t get to touch any of them,they are just too quick!

The photos are of the coastline of Ko Tao,both myself and Bourkie in the water and an excellent one of the bottom of Bourkie jumping off the boat. The colour of the water was amazing!

After circling the island and snorkelling at different parts the boat dropped us off at the Nang Yuan island. This is basically three islands connected by a sand bar.We climbed the hill on the first island to get a good view across and the view was amazing. Went across to the main island and had a bit to eat.

The next day we got a boat across to Ko Phangan.By this stage we knew the prices of taxis and refused to pay their price. We started walking in the heat with our backpacks when a local with a small jeep stopped and offered us a lift for half the price of a taxi. We were delighted at our new found persistence.

Thai Islands-Continuing onto Eastern islands

We last left you with us leaving Ko lanta, by this stage we were getting a better impression of the islands and it was only to get better.

We had to make our way back onto the mainland of Thailand up to Krabi(on the west coast),then a bus over to Surithani and a boat to Ko Samui. Being a little more prepared we actually booked accommodation this time and were nearly smug that we could tell the shuttle bus where to go.

Shuttle bus being a cover over the back of a pick up truck. So we told him(the driver)where we had booked on Lamai beach and he seemed to know the way. Then he stopped to ask for directions and asked us which street it was on. Again it seemed that he knew where he was going and drove up a side road and stopped. Now we were confused. He got out and told us we were there even though it had a completely different name. Of course we refused to leave and Bourkie went to check whether the name had changed, of course it had not. He wouldn't believe us and asked a man passing who tried to convince us that we were wrong. In the end, Bourkie had to make him come down to reception to prove it was the wrong place. Thankfully the owner knew the resort and gave us directions. We only got lost one more time after this, and after at least an hour and a half we finally reached our destination, 1km up a mountain road,3 km from the beach. We knew that this was only going to be a one night stay.The room was lovely and the owner was Australia but he knew that we would be leaving the next day but he gave us DVDs to watch that night.There was a whole family from Liverpool there,even the grandfather who was asking us how big our bags were!

The next morning we hunted for other accommodation and found really cheap accommodation on the beach. It was called the Green Villa Resort and cost 6Euro a night which got you a bamboo hut with cold shower.

Unfortunately,Bourkie's ear was giving him more trouble by this stage and the drops given to him by a doctor in lanta were not working. So off we went to a doctor in Samui. I sat outside in the waiting room but the surgery was only a closed off section of the room so I could hear everything that was going on.At first all I could see was the nurse coming out with two tray fulls of 'water' from Bourkie's ears and looking shocked and then I heard the screams of a man in pain.Bourkie came out pale.From then on she was referred to as the ear butcher.She went too far in pulling at his ear and it bled for 2 days afterwards,they were really worried. Plus he was still deaf! That night we hit the 'classy part' of town for the Arsenal match where we indulged in some Irish food and beer to drown Bourkie's sorrows.

The following morning we decided to go crazy and hire a scooter. It was only 4EUR for the day!

We went to Chaweng beach which was much nicer than Lamai, wasn't as sleazy, more expensive looking and just more tasteful. We decided to move there the next 2 days.

The following day we moved accommodation to another place right on the beach and even had a hot shower and flushing toilet!LUXURY. Unfortunately it rained for a couple of hours on our last day there but we really loved this island, it was one of our favourites.It was a little more lively than the previous ones,nicer beachs and cheaper. It seemed that with every island, they were getting cheaper and we were getting happier.

The Thai Islands

Hello,

Again sorry about the lack of the blog for such a long time. We are going to try and catch up with all the Thai islands if possible.

We last let you in Bangkok where we got a VIP bus(our first) to Krabi. We stayed in Krabi town for a night and then headed onto our first island, Ko Phi Phi. Krabi is really just a stop off town for the islands.

Phi Phi is the first main touristy island off the west coast of Thailand and is one of the smallest along with Ko Tao on the east coast.

The island is probably most famous for its proximity to phi phi leh where the film the beach was set.

To be honest we were really tired and emotional when we reached phi phi and hadn't booked accommodation so when we were offered 'cheap' accommodation on the other side of the island from the main town we took it. Saying cheap, it was the most we had paid for accommodation in Thailand. When we reached our little bungalow we slept and had a look around in the night. There was a couple of restaurants and bars next to the bungalows and a really upmarket resort bext to us. We decided to walk to the main town the following morning to check it out. Boy, was that a mistake! It took us an hour and half of walking through jungle to get to the town. On the map it looked like a path but it was barely worn track. After staying in the town in the rain for a couple of hours, we realised we had to head back before it got dark. To be honest, taking a boat to our side of the island would have cost more than the room for the night and we decided to make the trek ourselves.

After asking several times for directions, we went back a different way hoping there would be a path cause we could not imagine that the path we used was the official path. We were proved wrong. The path lasted about 400 metres and after that forest tracks. God only knows how we chose the right ones and finally after an hour and a half we made it back to our side of the island. We were not making that journey again. Unfortunately the damage had already been done. Because I was wearing shorts and bikini top for the trek and Bourkie was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, we got completely eaten alive. I had about 50 bites between my back and legs,cold water didnt even help, not that we had hot water!

The following day we promised ourselves a relaxing day on the beach. We first headed to a local restaurant where the owner noticed my bites and offered to make a home remedy lotion that I could collect that evening. Already feeling better we headed to the local beach where we had landed the first day and it was deserted except for the longtail boats and their owners who were asleep!

We relaxed there for a while before it started raining and headed back to the bungalow. Now when I say bungalow, there is a room with a bed, mosquito net and a little desk and chair. The walls are made with bamboo as well as the roof.The window is just a cut of piece of the wall with a pole to keep it closed. The bathroom is made of cement, we were lucky, we had a flushing toilet though the shower head wasn't attached to the wall and it was cold. We were soon to realise that the Thai Islands dont offer hot water unless you really want to fork out non-backpacker amounts.

To be honest phi phi is still recovering from the tsunami in 2004. There is alot of construction and rubbish lying around the main town. Everything is hugely overpriced to try and compensate for their losses following the tsunami.The beach in the main village is narrow and rough and when the tide goes out it goes out 50 metres revealing ugly rocks.

We wanted to go to phi phi leh but to go from our side of the island we would have had to charter a private boat and with there being just the two of us, was just too expensive.

The following day we made our way back to the main town, Ton Sai to get a boat to Ko Lanta.

We always had the fear that the islands were going to be disappointing but it got better from there on thank god.

We reached Lanta in the afternoon and got offered accommodation on the boat which was half the price and much nicer because it was part of a resort. There was about 15 bungalows around a pool and it was right next to the beach which was lined with nice bars and hotels. It was a more laid back resort with resorts spread out around the island.

We spent 3 lovely relaxing days on Lanta, sampling the local cuisine of freshly barbecued fish on the beach with a baked potato,salad and a beer for less than 3 euro each!We got to sample some nice cocktails as well!

Cause its taking ages to get photos up from here in Lombok we're going to update this tomorrow.