Category: Thailand

07 April 2008 – 22:33 After watching an entertaining few boxing matches Felipe & I returned back to our bungalows just before midnight, it turned out several hours before some of the other revellers returned in dribs and drabs throughout the night.  As a consequence I had a pretty good night’s sleep. So fast forward to 7am and the last breakfast together. There were some fairly bleary eyes being nursed as people wandered up to the main building to dump their packed bags ready for the trip to the airport, and have their breakfast, consisting of the now familiar fried eggs, toast, mini frankfurters, and a strong coffee! Before we left the complex, Katie asked us to fill in a short questionnaire about our holiday experience and gathered our contact details. All too soon that task was done and we loaded the two mini vans for our trip to the local airport, where we were to fly back to Bangkok. From there the party would split up – most returning back to Blighty via Bahrain (which included a...

07 April 2008 – 19:57 BreakfastFor once I woke up at a fairly reasonable time, refreshed and relaxed and ready for whatever the day was to throw at me. The sun was, as ever, roasting hot even at 8:30 in the morning, but by now after spending more than a week in such conditions I was finally acclimatising - ironically on my last proper full holi-day.  My breakfast was spent quietly on one of the many wooden seats looking out from the covered but essentially open air eating area looking out onto the lush gardens that were in full bloom. Although my breakfast was largely unremarkable, I had two domesticated, though very cautious, cats for company.  Although essentially healthy, the cats didn't look particularly well fed and I'd assumed that they lived largely off scraps. My offered segments of frankfurter were eagerly accepted, and right there and then I'd made friends for life - or at least as long as the food kept coming Literally...

10 April 2008 – 05:45 Ao NangAfter a disturbed night, I packed my bag and bode farewell to a relaxing stay in Khao Lang. Our ferry back to Krabi was a relaxed few hours, soaking up the early morning sun on the top deck of the boat. From the port we took a short mini-bus ride to our last hotel together. The Mild Bungalows resort, a mile or so back from the sea front, was a series of chalets set in a picturesque layout of lawns and fruit trees, almost like a Thai style orchard. The bungalows themselves were cool and comfortable on the inside with plenty of room and facilities. On the outside the bungalows had a small veranda with a chair or two outside, as with most of our accommodation; the chairs acted as a good spot to dry our towels. We arrived at lunchtime, so took the opportunity to unpack and grab a spot to eat before we took our next excursion, this time to do a spot of kayaking. After...

09 April 2008 – 22:41 The IslandsAn early start the next morning offered us the opportunity to go snorkelling round some of the nearby islands. Along with around forty other people we took a similar ferry that had arrived the previous day out for a couple of hours further down the coast to our first destination of the day. Along with a few other ferry boats, we stopped at a remote island location. These islands stood as limestone towers covered in lush vegetation which precariously clung to the sides. The water around the islands was shallow with some coral. We were all issued with life jackets (which most of us took) and snorkelling equipment. As the sun was beating down on us I chose to keep a T-shirt on and at first the life jacket too, and swam with the many shoals of fish that swam almost oblivious to the flailing and flapping swimmers around them. I soon discarded the life jacket, as I chose to dive deeper into the water to try...

08 April 2008 – 15:26 Khao Lang Ironically, even though I’d gone to bed fairly early, I didn’t have a great night’s sleep. Another warm, sticky night that I thought would have been a little fresher after the previous evening’s thunderstorm. Admittedly the storm didn’t last for more than 40 minutes during our evening meal, but it did rain quite a lot in those 40 minutes, and it should have freshened up the air. It didn’t. I rose without the need of an alarm, even though we needed to get up early for our latest move this time further south to Ko Lantra Island. I had a light breakfast, and cleared our rooms by 7am. We took two mini buses for the three hours’ drive south to Krabi Port. We’d left Tree Tops at 7am because the drivers suggested it would take three hours. Clearly the drivers wanted to beat that time, and like men possessed they made the trip in two – much to the shock and...

07 April 2008 – 22:24 Rainforest by Elephant It was the best night’s sleep so far.  Nearly eight hours sleep, despite it being a warm night.  I guess the lack of sleep had finally caught up with me, and in a comfortable bed I had rested well.  The mosquito nets seemed to have done their work as I hadn’t a single bite despite the animal life in our room - I’d covered myself pretty well in Deet too which must have helped.  Daniel seemed to be more phased by the bugs generally, and he said he’d been bitten during the night.Because of our early start (as per usual) to do the day’s activity I’d woken at 06:45 for a refreshing hose down and breakfast. Daniel had stayed out a little later the previous night, so he’d opted for a few extra minutes in bed, but we all managed to make an appearance at the communal area for breakfast.  The owners had put...

06 April 2008 – 21:54 Jungle TreeTops Jungle Retreat As we were taken into the Tree Tops complex, it was clear that the rainforest had been slightly sanitised.  For a little town has sprung around the tourist set up, with some shops, bars, restaurants, and even an internet café.  This didn’t seem to really matter much as it wasn’t particularly built up, just a number of buildings dotted around either side of the river on the road leading up the hill to a series of rainforest lodges to house numerous parties of tourists.  Our lodge was set in the trees, with a couple of small office buildings and a shop, and the main building that acted as our main communal area.  We would stay in our own huts, usually two to a hut.  These huts were raised off the ground on stilts.  Some further off the ground than others, but all looked nicely appointed and presented with a little veranda next to the entrance. Daniel & I shared one such hut (key 103).  Ours, closest...

06 April /2008 – 08:11 The Night Train  We arrived at the station around 4pm after a short trip in two comfortable mini buses through Bangkok. Armed with all our bags and an optimistic view for the next stage of going south to the rainforest, we were hoping that the holiday was really going to start from here.  Bangkok we felt was a prelude to the real adventure. Our train was waiting for us at the station, and although the platform was fairly busy, it didn’t seem particularly crowded. The station itself was a bit of a blur as we quickly made our way to our carriage, although most stations look reasonably similar – plenty of concrete, airy space filled with the sounds of hundreds of people rushing to and fro. The shiny metallic carriages with a blue stripe on their side spanned out of sight down the platform, and our carriage was about halfway down. Although thankfully we all shared the same carriage, we weren’t alone. We soon...

05 April 2008 – 22:00 Bangkok – Sites and Smells It was 6:15 when I awoke, or more precisely realised I’d fallen asleep.  I found it really difficult to get to sleep, despite being really tired.  But with a noisy and inefficient air conditioning unit, a karaoke playing outside my window and not having a pillow all contributed to a difficult night’s sleep.  However I must have slept at least 4 hours in total, which was possibly the most I’d slept in the last three days, so I welcomed all the sleep I could get. In the end I manufactured a pillow from my towel, which although hard was better than nothing.  I rose tired but optimistic for the day ahead, and plunged into the shower for a refreshing wake up. Mercifully the shower was warm and powerful, and it somehow managed to shake much of the sleep from me. So after a shave and a brush of the teeth, I dressed and made my way down to floor 1 (Ground floor to...

04 April 2008 – 22:00 Arrival We’d arrived at the Viengtai hotel Bangkok ready to collapse in our rooms and recover from our trip, either by taking a shower or just sleep for a bit. Unfortunately we were in for a bit of a shock. Catherine, Daniel, Christophe and I complete with all our bags approached the reception desk anticipating a warm welcome and a seamless booking in.  I approached the young lady behind the desk and announced our arrival expecting anything but “sorry sir we don’t have any of your names listed here”.  The news of our names not being recognised came as a shock to say the least. Catherine immediately pulled out her mobile phone and began dialling the Adventure Company’s contact numbers.   Of course we were 6 hours ahead of the UK, so we wouldn’t expect much response from the UK numbers as it was only 2 in the morning there, but we had been given a local emergency number, which unfortunately drew a blank.  We needed to recover, and we knew we had the right place.  It turned out that...