Goodbye Koh Tao

These last few days Koh Tao has been extremely quiet. This is because the majority of backpackers are on the neighbouring island of Koh Pha Ngan. Once a month at the full moon, the island becomes a massive party ground with a beach party held on the night of the full moon and lots of different parties held on the nights running up to the full moon. The day after however, everyone packs up and heads to Koh Tao. Every restaurant has gone from having one or two customers to being full. There is not a spare bed on the island. Groups of people are wandering around, backpacks on desperately trying to find somewhere to stay. There is an organised pub crawl here, and for the first time in 6 months all 200 tickets were sold out and extra people were tagging on. You can imagine how this has affected the serenity of the place. So despite finding the best poach eggs I have eaten in a long time (not to mention the view) I have decided to move on. I am going to Kho Pha Ngan. If all the revellers are over here, over there must be quiet...

Koh Tao

The island of Koh Tao is a tiny island (only about 21km in perimeter) in the Gulf of Thailand slightly higher than the much larger and more famous island of Kho Samuri. Koh means island whilst Tao means turtle and originally the island was a breeding ground for many turtles. These have moved on since the tourists have arrived. Koh Tao tourism has been built around scuba diving, most people on the island are here to learn to dive or become dive masters. I was slightly surprised therefore to discover the major drinking strip that covers the main beach area. This place is alot less hippyish and alot more commercial than I was expecting. After Bangkok food and drink prices came as quite a shock too. Drinks are the same as UK prices with food prices double to triple those I had become used to. Saying all that, there is no getting away from the fact that Koh Tao is beautiful. I spent a couple of days relaxing, walking up and down the beach, watching the divers go out. I then took the plunge and went out myself. It has been a few years since I last dived so I took a refresher course first. I had a test to complete, then the basic skills such as clearing water from your mask, and trying to control your buoyancy were covered. The mask skill is very important for me as my masks always let in water. This, I have just discovered, is because I have an exceptionally small head size. My dive instructor even gave me the brand and make of mask I should buy, because she has a similar problem. The mask however was approx £50, so I decided against it. I had a couple of dives that afternoon and it felt really good to be under the ocean again.

Sleeper Train

How to get from Bangkok to the Islands which are alot further down south. Most backpackers take the overnight bus. I had heard horror stories about these. Uncomfortable chairs, freezing air con and dvd's blaring out when you are wanting to sleep. I wasn't looking forward to it but chatting with another traveler, I was told about the Bangkok sleeper trains. Now my last experience of a sleeper train was in China, Xi'an to Beijing. Nineteen hours cramped onto the tiny top bunk of the three tier high sleeper cells, having to watch and listen to the man opposite spend the entire time spitting onto the floor. 2nd class on a Bangkok train was,I was informed, very different to 2nd class on a Chinese train. My goodness, the advice I was given was not wrong. For a start the bunks were only 2 high. They were also more spacious. When I first got on, the bottom bunk did not exist. There were 2 chairs, so yourself and your bunk buddy could chat or perhaps eat a meal from the 5 different set menus. When diner was served, those not eating were visited by a very smart porter who made the bunks up. Mattresses were laid, linen with hospital corners placed on top and fresh pillows and topsheets dispensed. When he was finished, the porter hooked a smart curtain over each bunk so you could have privacy. I was so impressed and even managed to catch a little sleep. Trains are definitely the way forward

Bangkok

After a gruelling 24 hours awake and travelling I finally made it into my dorm room in the hostel in Bangkok. I flew with China Airlines via a stopover in Amsterdam. The second leg of the flight was 12 hours but I was hoping to be entertained with the latest movie releases, I was thinking the new Star Trek or Superman perhaps. What I got was Goldfinger! I made in into Bangkok at 6.15am and by the time I had cleared passport control with my latest visa and picked up my backpack it was after 7am. I was heading straight into rush hour traffic. I had already decided in true backpacker style that I would get to the hostel via public transport as opposed to the pricier and far easier method of a taxi. There was a station in the airport which made the first leg quite easy. I took the airport link train into the middle of Bangkok. When I got on the train it had been empty, when I left, it was so crowded that breathing out had become almost impossible. I had to change onto a further two trains before I reached my destination. Then came the fun part. Walking with the backpacks in humidity I had never experienced before. The hostel was only 10 minutes away but I was exhausted. I did feel rather smug when I did check-in, but the feeling only lasted seconds before I collapsed in a heap. My hostel was not in the backpacker mecca of Koa San Road but a quieter area in the district of Silom. This gave me a chance to acclimatise and recover from the jet lag. The hostel was within walking distance of the river and for only 15Baht the Chao Phraya Express would take you along the length of the river to any of its 30 piers / dropping off points. It was a really fun way of getting around and by far the cheapest. 15 Baht is less than 50p

I visited Wat Pho the temple with the 45metre long reclining buddha. This photo was taken in the temple complex. I realize I am stood in front of an old Chinese statue and that the flag flying in the background is not the Thai one, but you will have to take my word that I am in Bangkok. I have started off my culinary experience trying to be as adventurous as possible, not that easy if you are a non-meat eater with a mild allergy to peanuts. Nether-the-less I am hunting out street food. I have been very impressed with the 7 mini fried quails eggs I got, not to mention the egg-vegetable noodles and the tumeric rice. The tofu soup was less successful. Together with a girl from my dorm, we tracked down the local indoor market with lots of food stalls. There was alot of business men in suits looking extremely cool whilst we tried not to collapse with the 90% humidity that day nor choke with all the chilli in the air. Trying to eat like a local is not as easy as it sounds! Realising it is going to take me a while to adjust to the weather, I've decided what I need is a refreshing sea breeze. I'm going to go south to the islands!

Where to this time?

As my scratch off where I've been map looks decisively unloved (the countries I have visited are NOT gold) I have decided to spend the summer stretching my legs again. I will be visiting South East Asia following the backpacker route through Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. This time it will be just me, I am not joining a tour group and I shall be carrying my backpack from hostel to hostel. In light of this I have thrown out my old giant rucksac and bought a much more manageable smaller one. Trouble is - its already fit to bursting, so I won't be able to buy anything - even if I wanted to! First stop - Bangkok.