Milkshakes and making friends

Another gorgeous, slightly more organised boat trip with plenty of sunscreen applied this time, and we arrive suitably baked and exhausted on Koh Tao. We expect the hoards of taxi drivers approaching now, so we walk a few minutes up from the rickety wooden pier into a maze of alleyways, just as packed with shops and stalls, only this time every other shop is a dive centre. From my understanding, Koh Tao has some of Thailand’s most beautiful dive sites and if i were a braver girl and didn’t look so horrendous in a wet suit I’d give it a go.
We approach a few taxi drivers asking for a lift to our hostel and to our disappointment and increasing panic, no one knows where it is.. and the address is local to the pier too. We’re once again sweltering and we collapse on the side of a busy road, outside a massage parlour, opposite a tattooist and try to find a map.
I wander off up the hill, and luckily notice the building numbers, ours is a small alleyway between The Jolly Roger and another tattoo parlour, and after some loud talking and hand signals through a window, a woman gives me a key and a guy leads us up some stairs round the back of a scuba shop and into THE HOTTEST ROOM ON THE PLANET. we have a tv and I do love my background noise, so we grab our showers, watch a bit of Dexter (end of season one, just before Deb nearly gets sliced and diced) and head off for a wander back the way we came.
Each building off the alleyway has a terrace on the beach, we pick the cheap one and order the seafood again (i could blog about everything I’ve eaten here but you’d just get jealous..) I opt for a banana and chocolate shake too, I’ve had a long day so I can treat myself, then we head into the bar playing Fleetwood Mac to watch the sunset.
This will be our first Thai sunset, as we’ve been facing the wrong side of the planet so far.. we pull up some cushions and hit the cocktails. And beers. And spirits. By just 10pm, we are suitably shitfaced, have made friends with the aussie and the american behind the bar and they’re letting us take pics behind the counter. We dream out loud of owning a bar on the beach, and harass the customers the way only drunken barmaids do 🙂
On the way home, we remember we can get hot sandwiches from the 7/11.. and I buy crabsticks and wasabi. We make a plan to head to Sairee beach the following day, as recommended by an old australian couple, and try to sleep again, watching Josie and The Pussycats in Thai. It’s damn hot. And there’s a duvet. Ridiculous!
Love and long island iced teas
xx

Ban Tai & lunacy

After our first night in Ban Tai in our little bungalow, we wake up and fancy a wander on the beach again. Well, why not? It’s right there.. I’m sunburnt on pretty much just my knees after the boat trip, so I chuck on a tonne of suncream and we have a little swim, and grab a taxi back to the pier to do some shopping.. yes, shopping. I can do it and I can enjoy it apparently!
We browse the stalls, each one an Aladdin’s Cave of junk and tat, and oh god the neon.. I despise neon, it makes me.. angry. I’m a firm believer that if it ain’t for safety, you ain’t landing a plane then you have no right to wear it. Still, its pretty much the in thing here.. if its a cultural thing.. I can sorta kinda tolerate it I guess.. huff.
After a few cheap purchases of swimwear, sarongs, bags and more suncream we head back to our bungalow for yet another shower and hitch a lift to Haad Rin, home of the Full Moon party.. and the half moon party, black moon party,Shiva moon party etc etc.. These people just party all the time.
This time the alleyways are lined with women selling buckets BUCKETS of alcohol. ‘Me best fuck bucket!’ ‘you want my bucket, bucket fucks you’ usw usw..200baht (about 4 quid) gets you a bucket of ice, a bottle of vodka/whiskey and a mixture of your choice.. this ranges from sprite, coke to lychee juice, mango ice tea and whatever else they drop into it.
The night of the full moon, after a quick beer we brave a bucket.. 400baht each and they whack one of those red bull type concentrate shots things in.. and yep, the bucket fucks you.
We’re followed around by some Indian guys, we dance, we get neon body paint.. (I’m fucking shameless after a fuck bucket..clearly. “hates neon” she says…) and we dance some more. Oh and buy pizza. And more buckets. Platforms are erected along the beach for dancing, different djs every few metres.. ooh one was in a massive clam shell next to an illuminated boat. There is a large area cordoned off on the beach for sleeping, like an adult play pen.
The moon rises and some men clamber up a 30ft wooden structure and set fire to it, the words ‘Welcome To Thailand’ burning into the night sky. I swear, when I looked up at the moon I saw it shift in the sky, not slowly, but like the earth took a jolt and suddenly everything was a few thousand miles aside of where it was seconds before, but no-one else noticed because of the partying.
Some stuff happened after that, but its fuzzy.. and I didn’t take a camera as I am grown up and afraid of losing things. I know a boy kissed me, in a sort of holiday frenzy. Time passed erratically.
We sat with a few gay Israelis in the taxi on the way home, one threw up out the window on to a passing neon girl. Ha.
For some reason, we decided going swimming at 4am in our clothes back at the hut was a good idea? After about an hour in the sea I remind myself that this is how shark movies start and head back to photograph the remnants of the evening and pass out.
Not too hung over the following day, we found a nice little bar called the Fishermans, chilled out and soaked up some more sun, booked a hostel in Koh Tao for Monday night and waved goodbye to our hosts, hoping the boats trying to get off the island weren’t TOO full..
WE’RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOAT..
love and luna madness
Xxx

Koh Phangan, Sailing On A Boat

Where was I? I’ve just got off the boat yeah? I’m on Koh Phangnan (i’m not going to lie, its spelt 6 different ways by the locals so I have no idea of the correct spelling).. we eventually get off the boat, amongst much scrambling and confusion, and walking a gangway that moves a metre forward and back with every wave. We’re immediately greeted with a hundred Thai men and women in their jog pants, with their hardknock-life feet all out to play, and crudely hand written signs.. “taxi lady? boat? taxi boat? where you going?”
We dig out our accommodation details and hop in an open back truck. Our driver, a short thai female john candy lookalike in crocs, hoists our rucksacks up on top of the cab without breaking a sweat, as we sit pondering where exactly the seatbelts are, soaked from the 35degree heat (I am near death at 20, you know me..)
We speed off from the dock at Thongsala Pier (where there’s a navy boat, just chilling out..) through typical tourist trap villages, spattered neon in souvenir t-shirts, sarongs, hats, wacky pants and glow sticks, every 20ft a roadside barbeque.
I think I’ve mentioned the roads previously, but I’m not sure I mentioned the lack of a pavement.. everyone, EVERYONE is on the road, walking, most on scooters and motorbikes, some crawling. Families travel on a scooter. I’m talking one adult driving, a baby between her legs and 2 kids sat side saddle behind her. It’s insane, the Brit in me can think of a million road safety regulations these people have NO regard for! but hey ho, everyone’s happy 🙂
After some small confusion, a bit of back tracking and some hanging on for dear life to a bar on the roof of the taxi, home to a hammock for those long shifts I guess, we ascend and descend and wind and meander almost vertical roads and arrive at our resort, Liberty Bungalows. Oooooohhh.
Now, in my head ‘on the beach’ means ‘you can see the beach from your window.. if you’re lucky enough to have a window’.. but jeesy creesy, we are literally ON THE BEACH. we have a bathroom hosting a family of small geckos, two hideous pink flowery single beds, a terrace with a table, a bench and a washing line and ALL THE SEA AND SAND WE COULD WISH FOR. amazing. This place is like a fiver a night, surrounded by coconut trees, a kite surfing centre, a 7/11 and school just round the corner (kids on motorbikes) There IS the small matter of a cow just hanging out on the walk up to the street.. I could have nearly cried…Kat has to walk ahead and nearest to it 🙂
We have some dinner on the beach, a few gins and watch some guys play beach volley ball. Too tired to do anything else, we turn in, sleeping to the whistles of a bird that’s perfectly mastered the ‘car alarm’ squawk, and the wheezing of me, a 27 year old smoker in 35 degree heat.
Love and lime in the coconut
Xxx

 

 

To the moon (party) & back.

So our journey south began at 7pm on a nice air conditioned double deckered coach, with Mission Impossible 4 as our onboard movie.
It gets dark pretty early here so there wasn’t much to see along the way, but the roads were peppered with the usual stalls selling food, drinks, batteries, jewellery and other boat/bus trips. I watched the moon rise and admired some rain of biblical proportions as everyone slept.
We pulled up to stop about midnight, a nice opportunity to stretch our legs, grab a smoke and use a more preferable toilet.. even if it was just a hole in the ground. We set off again into the night after half an hour and again most people slept from the off. Valium, what a treat.
We arrived at our dock about 7am and grabbed some rice for breakfast which I ended up sharing with a local dog, and after much kerfuffle and being herded around like sheep, we boarded a packed out ship to Koh Phangan.

We made the most of the air con sitting below deck watching the Hangover 2 and Immortals. I’ve got some good film watching in already..travel is great for watching movies.
After a few hours we sat up top, our legs dangling over the side of the boat and we watched the island approach.
I’m still not running on Thai time.. so no sleep for me yet. Next up, party island.

Love and lay bys
Xxx

KSR – Bangkok touch down 0108

Gin & Wonder.

Imagine the commercialism of Oxford Street mashed with the hoards of tat and varying scents of hot food & week old piss of Camden and the staggering drunks from your local dive. Now add 5am road sweepers with hand made twig brushes singing their favourite Thai tune, ever-crowing roosters, wild fowl, scabby cats, the occasional bat, skinny pigeons, weird squirrels and dogs with tits to rival Ann Widdecombe..plus tuk tuks, motorbikes and bright pink taxis whizzing past at a hundred miles an hour.. and we have my first taste of Bangkok. I fear for my life but I can buy pretty things!

There’s a McDonald’s, a KFC, even a Boots (where you can buy home enemas, charcoal, and just about every kind of medicine you’ll ever need) all along side cozy open bars with elaborate decking, hookah pipes and palm trees. A constant stream of locals meander past, selling hammocks…

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KSR – Bangkok touch down 0108

Imagine the commercialism of Oxford Street mashed with the hoards of tat and varying scents of hot food & week old piss of Camden and the staggering drunks from your local dive. Now add 5am road sweepers with hand made twig brushes singing their favourite Thai tune, ever-crowing roosters, wild fowl, scabby cats, the occasional bat, skinny pigeons, weird squirrels and dogs with tits to rival Ann Widdecombe..plus tuk tuks, motorbikes and bright pink taxis whizzing past at a hundred miles an hour.. and we have my first taste of Bangkok. I fear for my life but I can buy pretty things!

There’s a McDonald’s, a KFC, even a Boots (where you can buy home enemas, charcoal, and just about every kind of medicine you’ll ever need) all along side cozy open bars with elaborate decking, hookah pipes and palm trees. A constant stream of locals meander past, selling hammocks, jewellery, fruit that looks like hairy monkey testicles.. hell, you can probably buy actual hairy monkey testicles too.. some are friendly, some will grab you and tell you you need a new suit.. people are sleeping on the roads just about everywhere, the police are an ever present force and today, tv crews were interviewing a woman regarding an upcoming Buddha festival..it seems we will be unable to buy alcohol for the weekend.. but I could do with a break already to be fair 🙂
Arrived at about 6am local time.. not tired..so we dumped my luggage and headed to a bar for a cold Leo and a pack of smokes. After a few hours kip and a catch up, we check into our hotel.. it doesn’t have the best view in the world but the tv is showing hancock and ufc. We picked up some bacardi breezers from the 7/11, tucked up with the WiFi and booked our overnight trip to Koh Phangnan..9hours on a coach, a boat trip and then finally we’d arrive at our beach hut tomorrow at midday. We spent today wandering the road and surrounding areas, I bought a necklace..
At present we’re waiting for our guide to pick us up to walk us to said coach..so I figured I’d check in before I head off for some magic pizza and 4 days of seaside sunrises!
Love and loose change xxx

 

Borispol, Kiev

I’m half way along with my trip half way around the world, and seeing as I have FREE WIFI (in the hotel I eventually got coerced into getting) I figure I’ll do a little blog post.

I was all for sitting on the floor in the airport for 18hours before my connecting flight tomorrow and NOT getting a hotel.. but after a week of not sleeping through nerves and excitement I figured it best to arrive in Bangkok refreshed and having had a nice sleep, not just after a quick personal wash in a sink in a very very sparse departure lounge.
I say 18hours..it would have been only a 14 hour stint on the airport floor.

I’ll tell you for why!

We ended up sitting on the plane, not moving and with noone communicating in English why we weren’t moving or when we would be moving, for 4 hours. FOUR HOURS. argh. I feel like I got in a big sweaty tin can, and a really big man just threw it, with true olympic force, to the Ukraine. People clapped when we landed. “Our planes are not always so good” they said.. “oh and stay off the buses” yaaah.

A thing I did enjoy on the flight, along with the tiny food, was time to think. I like my time alone, and its nice to have it when you’re starting a whole new era in life, nice to reflect. I did realise, a year in the most touristy part of London prepared me well for being surrounded by eastern europeans! it felt completely normal to not understand what people were saying. I fed my fascination with body language. I secretly fired my imagination, inventing life stories for my fellow passengers, and I made an airplane playlist on my ipod, just perfect for watching the clouds go by.

Now I’m checked in at Kiev, at the Korona hotel (pretty sure there was a 90’s dance group called Korona/Corona?) I have a king size bed, two leather armchairs and a bath we all could live in. oh, and a spare room incase anyone wants to stay over? 🙂 HUGE suite.

I have no idea where my luggage is. Hopefully it will meet me in Bangkok.. I have a feeling I could survive on the two tops and two pairs of leggings I’ve got with me if necessary though. I’m in the zone and shit.

That brings us to the end of my quick blog post. It’s more for my benefit than anyone else’s. It’s midnight and I’ve seen Hostel, so I’m not going out there on my own now.. I have a beer and I just managed to re-tune an LG tv in Ukrainian all by myself, because I am pretty awesome. It’s a foreign tv show and an early night kinda night for me. Nearly there 🙂

Love and long haul xxx

Sometimes it pays to look up

 

I spent the weekend in Bucharest. What a beautiful city, oozing with fin de siecle charm. On ground level, magnificent buildings are dressed up as boutique patisseries, or yet another sprawling megastore, but if you look up..man, there’s a whole other world of stories to be told.

Love and lazy days

xxx

The world is flat.

I sometimes forget that I have lain on a boat, adrift in the Andaman Sea, staring at the endless horizon as the sun set on another beautiful day on earth. It feels like a lifetime ago.
Now, I’m not entirely sure, but I think the angle of this picture means that the horizon is ever so slightly skewiff, just ever so ever so slightly awkwardly tilting. Rather than straighten it up with the magic of photoshop, I thought to leave it wonky. Life is wonky. I am wonky. I have always chosen the wonkiest of pathways to get me to a seemingly straightforward goal, but it works for me. Similarly though, it may not be wonky at all and it’s just my perception, which sort of backs up the theory of me being wonky.

Either way, I like to remember every now and then, that I have been to these places and I’ve seen these turquoise seas and white sands and enviable sunsets. I met a man in Vietnam who said he would never have the money to travel to the north of the country, let alone to another continent. I have to remember, I made good choices on my meandering path, and I’m lucky to have these incredible choices to make.

Love and luck
xxx

Through the mill.

I’ve sat on the grass by Brill Windmill a few times. One night with friends waiting for a thunderstorm that never came, I nearly electrocuted myself when wandering down the hill looking for a spot to pee after too many ciders. Another occasion, I sat here with an old boyfriend, towards the end of our relationship. As I stared at the setting sun and daydreamed out loud, he complained he was cold and bored, feelings I grew to replicate in our relationship in the months that followed.
I spent my first year in Oxfordshire feeling sorrowful that the landscape around me was a little..bland? I’ve always lived near water, near the coast or in a city. I’m coming up to my three year mark in a commuter town with no towering skyscrapers, no grand architecture, no rugged coastline, no seaside. Whilst I’m in no way convinced this is where I belong, and I still find the landscape in my immediate vicinity to be largely uninspiring, if you go out and seek to find a little haven, you will always find one.

Love and lingering
xxx