Happy Year of the Ox

Singapore round-up and back to Blighty

Much to mother's amusement, I'm sure, the remainder of my time in Singapore was orientated around food and drink. I did go to the National Museum of Singapore, where I lost Oscar in the "History of Singapore" exhibit (it was a darkened maze of information). I also had a small bank-related incident (banks seem to thrive on making it difficult for me to get money out) which was threatening my ability to eat lunch, which is enough to drive any reasonable human being to distraction. After remedying this infuriating and reoccurring problem, I headed back to the hawker centre in China town to sample some more of Singapore's amazing food offerings.

That evening was spent in the company of Nina and Ant, as well as a whole bunch of other people in the game for some serious cocktail action. This motley crew headed out to an Indian restaurant to once again eat off banana leaves (though for a fraction of the price of the first one) and then we all adjourned to the famous Raffles for a Singapore Sling. Knowing only a little about Raffles itself, I was convinced that there was a dress code so I grabbed the fanciest thing I had in my compression sack and even put on a bit of slap. When we first arrived I was glad of it too: this place was fancy, though most of the fancy things I clapped eyes on were for "guests only"; it was a hotel too you see.

The bar appropriate for the riff-raff on the streets was quite a trek past all the posh bits, up the stairs, round the corner, down the corridor and then we were there. The Long Bar. And it was so vastly different the the rest of the establishment I had to laugh. It was like a proper pub, complete with monkey nut shells thrown all over the floor - which is the way to do it here I'm told. The cocktails were really expensive - £12 each! I wasn't staying here long, that's for sure. The Sling was rather nice, and a little potent (although not potent enough for £12 in my mind). After witnessing some very bizarre dancing from the locals and being treated to the sounds of the resident covers band (Baker's Street thank you very much), we were off to sample some more of Singapore's night life.

We headed down to Clark Quay, where the drinks prices did not dwindle (£7 for a pint of beer no less - seriously, no less anywhere). After drinking a so-called black Russian for an extortionate amount of money, Sonia (a German girl who lives in London who had joined for the evening) and I decided we simply couldn't afford this lavish drinking and that we needed to get swiftly to a 7/11 to buy cheap(er) beer. This we did and passed the rest of the evening sat on the bridge next to the expensive bars. Much more my bag. Before long it was 3am and time to head back to the hostel.

After a very last-minute decision to fly back to the UK the next day, instead of to Manila and then onto the UK, I had a whole 24 hours left in Singapore that I wasn't expecting. I was very chuffed to bump into Alison, the Aussie girl I'd met in Penang. We spent the day in China town, shopping and generally pottering around the city. That evening I shared a beer (courtesy of Alison) with the lady herself, Oscar and Christoph, and then headed off to the airport.

Approximately 17 hours later I found myself at Heathrow airport, slightly bemused and extremely cold. I was thankful to be met by HQ, who brought me a coat, scarf, socks and jeans to replace the t-shirt, linen trousers and flip flops that were not befitting to the bitter UK weather. So I am back in the UK now and I haven't left the house for two days because it's too blooming cold.

It would be a huge untruth to say the last two weeks have been easy; it has been very stressful and I can tell you for nothing that insurance companies, travel agencies and suchlike are not necessarily that sympathetic when you have to come home for a bereavement. I was told by the gent at STA travel that my nan had died too close to the start date of my volunteering so he couldn't help me get any money back, but if I wanted to spend any more money just to get in touch with him. I-to-i volunteering said I couldn't claim any of the £650 back either, and to get in touch with my insurance company, who have in turn proved to make things very difficult. Still, I am home with my family, where I want to be and I wouldn't have it any other way despite the financial consequences. I will be rejoining my trip on the 4th February and will be heading to Tokyo on the 7th to meet up with Simon (who I met at the Red Palm in Kuala Lumpur). I'm really looking forward to finishing my trip, no matter what other challenges it decides throw at me.

Cool stuffs - a small photo montage

The Merlion and Singa Pura

After two wonderful days spent with Sofie and Siti at the Red Palm, chatting about Kuala Lumpur, growing up, jobs, people, life and sharing food and tea I was off to Singapore. I'd opted for a flight as Air Asia had some cheap seats - as it turns out I would have preferred to take the bus as in Malaysia they are easier and cheaper than flying as well as far less hassle. I'll know for next time. It takes about an hour to get to the airport from central KL and the taxi ride costs around RM70 (more than if you're coming from the airport into KL) and is another cost to add to the price of flying. I also got an excess baggage charge from Air Asia for being 1kg over-weight.

It only takes 50 minutes to fly to Singapore from KL, and once in Singapore it's straight-forward to get into the centre. The hostel's instructions for getting there were overly complicated, and a kindly Singaporean lady told me a far easier route. I headed off to the MRT, purchased a tourist pass at S$8 per day, as recommended by the hostel (I later realised I needn't have bothered as you can walk most places in Singapore and don't need to spend that much on the MRT) and went on my way.

After arriving at Bugis station, I orientated myself using a map (yes ladies and gents, that's right I managed to navigate, all by myself, the ten minute walk to the Footprints hostel) and went on my way. It was blisteringly hot, and I was very glad to be at the hostel and near a shower. The dorm room was mostly empty, and there weren't many people about.

I went for a little wander around Little India, which was basically where the hostel was located, and stumbled across a small hawker centre full of locals. After some confusion I ordered some kind of meze of curries, rice, chili soaked chips and other such fanciful things - I also thought I had ordered a beer but was instead presented with a crysanthinum tea. As they say in Thailand: same same but different.

After the meal I was feeling decidedly exhausted and headed back to the hostel and started reading up on what I ought to be doing in Singapore. After meeting and chatting with a few other travellers, it was time to turn in. This was all fine aside from when I got to the dorm it had completely filled up and some kindly person had simply put all their stuff on my bed and I had to move and re-make my bed. Clearly the bags and the sheet hadn't been enough to signify that someone else was sleeping there. Still, not to worry. After an intriguing chat with a Canadian lady about the wonders and pitfalls of Latin America, I fell into a wonderful, undisturbed and simply blissful sleep.

Next morning I was first up and to breakfast. I headed out that day with Christoph, a German guy who was doing a spot of travelling after studying in Australia, and Oscar, a Colombian guy who was studying in Switzerland and was taking a break from the weather. Both spoke impeccable English and various other languages, this always makes me feel somewhat guilty in that so few British people speak any other language than English. I don't think we have the motivation, terrible as it may sound. It makes things very easy when travelling, perhaps too easy sometimes but I shouldn't complain.

The Merlion, by the way, is the national symbol of Singapore and is just as it sounds - a cross between a mermaid and a lion. This symbol hails from Singapore's humble beginnings as a fishing village, "Singa Pura," or "Lion City." According to legend, a visiting Sri Vijayan prince saw an animal he mistook for a lion and Singapore's modern day name was born.

I spent a very pleasant day with these two guys, we walked most of Singapore in a day and I managed to get a typical British tan (bright red nose and glowing arms). It's a remarkably easy place to get around on foot (one of the reasons that I didn't need to buy the tourist pass), we ended up in China town in one of the notorious hawker centres to eat something called Carrot Cake which is comprised of mainly radishes and, rather oddly, no carrot at all. I also tried some sugar cane juice, which was pretty sweet even for me, they offered it with lemon as well which I suspect is the better option.

That morning at breakfast I'd met a jolly fine British couple, Nina and Ant, who I spent the evening with sharing a rather confusing, but tasty, dining experience in Little India. We went for curry served on banana leaves; it was good although a little pricey, so after we adjourned to one of the cheaper food courts to pick up some beers and chat about travels.

All in all the day was fun, and was only slightly sullied by the dorm experience that night: three men snoring; one pair of very sensitive ears; ear plugs not helping; MP3 player cranked right up; a total of about 1 hour's sleep before finally giving up entirely. Move me to the all-female dorm please!

Terima kasih Malaysia

I am writing this on my final day in Malaysia. I've chosen to spend this day relaxing at the Red Palm in Kuala Lumpur, the hostel I first stayed in which is the perfect place to kick back.

After 5 days in Penang I'd pretty much done it all. The hostel (despite reviews saying you do not meet other travellers there) was full of people at various stages of travel. The dorm rooms meant I met a lot of people, and after Tom and Neil left, plenty more people showed up to pass time with.

I did explore George Town on foot by myself; it didn't take long at all and the whole town felt very sleepy for a supposedly big tourist destination. There's a lot of colonial history and buildings here, so there were some interesting things to photograph - but a tour of George Town takes a maximum of 2 hours (and that's if you're walking really slowly). After this I was a little bamboozled about what to do next, so headed back to the hostel to gather my thoughts.

Phil, I guy I had met the previous evening, had been taken out on the compulsory "Thai visa run tour" that comes with the service offered by a Malay-Chinese gent called Steven. He is part of the furniture in this place and seems to be whisking off many a traveller for a motorcycle tour of the Island. Five hours after Phil had left, he was still nowhere to be seen: I had to assume the tour was very comprehensive.

When Phil finally returned, a group of other travellers arrived and we soon decided to all go out to dinner together. Steven offered his services once more by means of a stream-of-consciousness power walk through George town, and we ended up in Little India for the cheapest food I'd had in Malaysia so far - and it didn't make me sick like the food in the real India. Bonus!

After dinner and thinking on the (perhaps limited) options of Penang, it was decided that a trip to Feringgi beach would be in order the following day. At lunchtime we jumped on a bus outside the 7/11 bound for the coast. The buses in Penang are pretty good, it cost RM1.50 each one way. Just over an hour later, we spied the beach. Luckily, we were with Phil who knew where we should get off, otherwise we may just have ended up at the 7/11 again. The beach was nice enough and it was sweltering. The downside was that it wasn't much good for swimming; after walking a couple of meters out it gets so deep that soon you're out of your depth.

A couple of beers, a bit of sunburn and some fried rice later and we were off back to get the bus. The other thing to mention about the buses is that it isn't always completely clear where the bus stops are: this can prove a little confusing. Still, we made the bus and another hour and a half later we were back in George Town.

I managed to convince everyone we should go to the restaurant with the amazing dim sum, but this didn't really work out for Jennifer (who is veggie) as the staff don't speak much English and vegetarian in Malaysia means vegetables with fish. She had to have a rather unsatisfactory "egg with onions" which doesn't even sound delectable in its very description. However, the deserts made up for it: sweet been curd, custard tarts (amazing) and other sweet and sticky things covered in sesame seeds. Bloody excellent. We left feeling utterly stuffed.

My final day in Penang saw a trip to the Kek Lok Si temple. I had initially thought I'd seen my fair share of temples but this one was pretty cool. Firstly, the whole place was decked out in red and yellow lanterns in preparation for Chinese New Year and also for RM2 you could climb to the top of a five tiered pagoda and take in a panoramic view of the whole temple.

I was glad for the first part of the day at the temple, as Alison (a fellow travelling companion) and I had decided to check out the old fishing village with traditional Malay houses called Balik Pulau. The bus to this part of Penang was slightly smaller and didn't run as regularly. I think we must have missed something, because it wasn't near any water and seemed simply to be a road with nothing much remarkable about it. After wandering around desperately trying to figure out what the recommendation could be referring to exactly, we decided to give up and find a bus back to George Town.

The final evening consisted of: the most amazing chocolate cake (check out the Rainforest bakery - so good); rum; beer; great food; elderly Malay couples dancing the salsa and some seriously cheesy music. All in all, a good way to end Penang, so terima kasih.

Life

Well, I'm not totally sure how to start this post. I've found since commencing my travels in November that you cannot expect anything for sure. No matter how I tried to plan, I just couldn't tell what event may occur next to challenge my carefully, fully risked assessed plans.

Yesterday I found out my nan passed away. She has been battling with cancer for the last year, and it just all got too much. This is just over a year after my grandad died of cancer also. Being two of the people I remember distinctly looking after me when I myself had cancer, sometimes it's a bitter pill to swallow that they died of this disease.

I know though, that nanny kept her sense of humour until the end. She quipped to mum about how she was going to sellotape me down when I returned from travelling to stop me buggering off all the time. I am determined to keep in mind only the times we baked cakes together, watched Emerdale and polished off many a packet of biscuits with a few cups of tea.

It's a bit of a shock, and it truly reminds you how far away from home you are when something like this happens. I was lucky to have met some great people, who fed me beer and rum and administered hugs; for these gestures I was really grateful. It's a strange feeling to get news like that with people you barely know, but they made it all ok.

I will be figuring out my new plan over the next couple of days, and making my way back to the UK to say my final goodbye to my nanny.

Lonely Planet Paranoia

I have to stop myself from pouring over the "dangers and annoyances" part of the Lonely Planet. It's always the first thing I navigate to when I open the guide book. "Holey moley, what the heck sort of awful things happen here I wonder?!".

I am also somewhat questioning of some of the Lonely Planets suggestions and recommendations. For example, it suggests that in Thailand it is not expected that you tip however when discussing this with Ty, Holly and Shannon in Pai a friendly Western man (who ran a business with his Thai wife there) said he could not understand why the Lonely Planet had written that. Most people there earn a measly THB100-150 per day and tips are always welcomed.

I have also heard that some of the recommendations for food and accommodation are not that great. I guess it's always best to do some research yourself, or just ask people who've been staying locally as things can change year-on-year and not all the information has been updated recently. Some of the hotels I looked up no long existed or had changed their web addresses.

As well as this, I think sometimes the advice given can make you feel overly self-conscious. It often wholly advises against wearing clothes that show your shoulders, even if you see local people dressed in this manner. I think this can be taken a little too far and can make you feel anxious. It's important to know about local religions, customs and what is acceptable, but you can also take a leaf from those around you and dress and act accordingly. It is important to know about all the cultures and how they are made up differently, with different people who view the world in a number of ways, but I think you can do it respectfully without feeling you might be insulting someone if you don't dress or act in a particular way.

Bus journey number...

The bus to Penang was, by comparison, luxurious. Big reclining seats, air conditioning, plenty of room, not too shabby, and the journey was relatively straight-forward. Scott and I met this older Malay couple on the bus, the husband had been in the army and had trained at Sandhurst. They offered us strange fruit and complained about the bus company's bad customer service.

We arrived in Penang, not exactly where we were expecting to arrive but there nonetheless, and headed to Georgetown where we were both staying. I hadn't been able to get a room at the hostel that Scott was in, so exchanged email with him, and made my way to the Hutton Lodge. This was a clean, comfortable place in a good area for food and exploring. This first night was spent with my dorm room mates, Dom and Neil, and we headed out for an amazing meal of dim sum just around the corner from the hostel.

A few beers and a chat later, and after hearing tales of Penang Hill from other guests, we resolved to head to bed and get up and see the view there the following day.

It's pretty easy to get buses to places just of Georgetown. We headed down to the local bus station and quickly figured out where we needed to go to get the bus - Malay people are incredibly helpful and friendly and most people speak very good English. We were shortly on the bus where Dom soon made friends with a group of school children and a local gentleman, almost all of whom shook our hands when leaving the bus. Penang Hill loomed into sight (slightly less spectacular than expected perhaps, but I was still giving it a chance) and we went to buy tickets for the train journey up the sheer hill. The train is painfully slow, they also pack it out like the Central Line at 6pm (bearing in mind everyone is standing and the train is at a 45 degree angle).

There is not much to see on the half hour journey to the top; it doesn't even seem like you're that high. However, the view from the top (700m above sea level) is great: full panoramic views over the whole of Georgetown, right over the river Prai and to the Prai River Bridge. There were also hundreds of Halloween-inspired spiders strung up in big webs above our heads, which actually fascinated me more than the view. After some wandering about and a couple of attacks by monkeys (Neil darn near lost a hand when a team of monkeys went for his cornetto) we headed down. Unfortunately I found the journey down even more boring than the one up; it felt like that part of a roller coaster when it's about to get really scary and fast, but it just never did.

We headed back to Penang and out for some food at the Red Garden night market, I had this amazing sweet and spicy soup with tuna called Laksa and some flat noodles with egg and seafood. The remainder of the evening was spent in the usual way: whiling away the time chatting with a bumper-sized bottle of Tiger. Marvellous stuff.

One map and four streets

It is possible to get lost when you only went 5 minutes around the corner from the place you are staying, it seems. At least I managed it when I went out to explore the area around the Red Palm hostel where I was staying. The lady that runs this hostel (Sofie) is amazing and the place is basically like your home: cushions scattered on the floor; kitchen where you can help yourself to tea and coffee and fruit; a terrace area where you can sit out with other people in the hostel. It's a small place, only 14 beds, so you pretty much know everyone who's staying there by default. It also helps that Sofie introduces everyone.

I sorted myself out a Malay sim card almost immediately. I highly recommend taking an unlocked phone travelling; it's so cheap to get a sim card and if you need to make any local phone calls it's great to have. I did the thing same in Thailand.

This first night I wondered around the area near Tengkat Tong Shin and was treated to all the Chinese street food stalls I could ever hope for. I was about the only person eating alone on the whole street though, food is a very communal thing in South East Asia. I ordered a flat noodle dish and an intriguing sour plum and lime juice drink. The total cost was around RM12, a little more expensive than Thailand but still not bad. The lady who served me was a jolly roly-poly Malay lady, who spoke perfect English and jibed with me to bring a friend next time so that I could finish all the food!

The rest of the evening (after I found my way back to the hostel) was spent chatting to Sofie and the other guests at the hostel and I couldn't have felt more welcome in Malaysia.

The next morning I was off out to explore. Up to the KL tower to take in the view and then through the nature reserve giving a wide bearth to the monkeys there (I had heard they have huge teeth). This exertion knackered me out, and I returned to hostel for the evening to recover.

It is so easy to meet people when you're travelling, and I managed to find a friend in a Canadian guy called Scott (who told me tales of rural Canada, cattle herding, the strangest tests of male bravado, cities immersed underwater and the trans-Canada highway) to share my next meal with.

The following day was spent traversing KL with two British guys, Simon and Dom, on a holiday from teaching in Korea and Japan. We ate some amazing Malay-Chinese food at a restaurant just across from the Red Palm (crispy fried egg with sweet soy sauce no less) and spent the next 5 or so hours on foot exploring. Realistically, you can do the sights in KL in 1-2 days. We went to the twin towers, Little India, China Town and Merdeka Square. In the evening we grabbed a few beers, got some Indian food and chatted into the early hours at the Red Palm.

The next morning we had planned to go to FRIM (Forest Research Institute Malaysia) to do a "canopy tree walk" and Sofie had booked Simon, Scott and I a taxi. I didn't really know much about it to be honest but was happy to tag along. We arrived paid the RM5 to go on the walk and began the walk to find the top (500m up). This was less of a path and much more of a "scramble" in the rainforest; the humidity was overwhelming. A few times I thought of my questionable fitness, wondered if I'd survive the 20 minute walk, and thought about going back. However, we made it to the top and, after another 20 minutes to recover, began the canopy walk.

Being slightly cautious when it comes to heights, this walk (a number of metal ladders strung together with cracked boards placed on top of them and some netting around the sides) sent my heart into my throat. I was petrified. The views however made it worthwhile and I felt that today I had achieved something. We then made our way to the Batu Caves where the Hindu festival Thaipusam takes place. This was another 200 odd steps up and required a couple of rests, the caves were rumoured to be full of thieving monkeys who throw rocks at tourists, but all I saw were chickens and cats.

We jumped on the number 11 bus back to KL, I was utterly famished and we went for another splendid meal at the great restaurant across the road. The rest of the evening was spent with new friends at the Red Palm, chatting drinking beer and Tarqui Tea before bidding farewell to all, and hitting the sack. Scott and I were heading to Penang by bus early the next day, so a decent night's sleep was in the offing.

2009 in a nutshell and the Lone Ranger

To sum up. The last two days in Koh Lanta it rained; not just little spots of rain but some serious all-dayers. We had planned two days soaking up the sun on the beaches, but instead it was spent dodging rain and swimming in the sea with storms brewing on the horizon. Riding a motorcycle in the rain is much harder too, and made getting around the island a little more difficult.

The highlight of the last two days in Koh Lanta, aside from one last trip to the Corner Bar for iced chocolate and the rainy swim at Klong Hin, was the meal we had cooked for us at Mook Lanta using the fish we had caught the day before. They charged us around 1.50 (pounds) for this privilege and it was absolutely lovely. One curried tuna (incredibly spicy and a slight challenge for me) and one garlic chilli tuna. It was amazing. My only regret on these closing hours in Lanta was that I didn't get one final mango and sticky rice from the street seller in Saladan - I lamented over this for some time before finally letting it go.

Our very last day in Thailand was spent in Krabi. The journey from Koh Lanta was rather hellish. When the minibus arrived it was all but full and I ended up sitting right next to the driver, pratically on the handbreak and with my knees on the gear stick. It was incredibly painful after 2 hours, I was simply glad when some people got out and I could move to another seat and feel my legs again. The Krabi Seaview Hotel was located pretty centrally, right next to one of the night markets, and was a nice enough stay. We only had a few hours in the town and most things were shut (New Years is a 7 day holiday in Thailand). We mostly spent this time eating, although the food here still didn't match up to Bangkok and Northern Thailand despite all we had read.

Leaving Krabi the next morning was a source of nervousness for me. I was headed to Kuala Lumpur where I would begin the first leg of my journey completely solo. As well as this I was leaving Thailand, and I was sad to do so. After a slightly fraught exchange with Air Asia (their baggage policy is slightly confusing and expensive) we were off to KL. Here I went it alone and headed into KL (about an hour's taxi journey which I prepaid at the airport - recommended as there are the usual touts in KL too - and it cost RM61) and arrived at my first destination the Red Palm hostel feeling a little more composed than an hour previous.

Fishing and New Year

What better way to spend new years eve than an early morning fishing trip and a number of hours on the open ocean. Six hours, three unsuccessful "big ones", forty tuna and a spot of sunburn later (also having successfully seen off a number of bouts of seasickness) we returned to dry land, absolutely shattered. Although I say dry, this is not strictly accurate as the rains had begun and the clouds had enveloped much of the Lanta coastline.

A day of fishing is totally exhausting. Not only does it take a serious amount of effort to reel in 3 (ok sized) tuna, but the fish itself puts up quite a fight once you get it in the boat. It's a strong bugger that's for sure, the most ridiculous moments being when three were reeled in at once and Ty and I spent far too long chasing them around the deck of the boat, desperately trying to grab them - much to the amusement of the two Thai fisherman who were with us.

Upon arrival home we were both showered and buffed up for the NYE celebrations which rather cordially consisted of a fancy three course dinner at the Frog restaurant in Saladan complete with fancy wine. This was followed by a swift retreat back to our resort (for we feared a repeat of Pai Christmas eve celebrations as the town was uncharacteristically quiet - we also had no back up motorcycle this time!). Oh, we had gone for a cocktail at one of our favourite bars, Corner Bar, beforehand as well. They also happen to do the best iced chocolate with whipped cream on top drinks that I have ever tasted - no word of a lie.

As we were on the road on the way home we noticed that there were hundreds and hundreds of lanterns lining the skies along Long Beach. It looked absolutely amazing and we headed straight down there. We saw 2009 in at the Korner Bar (different from above) playing techno and breaks which got everyone up dancing. Their mojitos were good too. About an hour into the new year, and a good few mojitos later, we were both too shattered to continue and allowed ourselves the relative luxury of sleep. Happy 2009 all around!

Koh Lanta Yai

In the style that best befits Thailand, the first thing we attempted to do in Koh Lanta was to hire a bike which was more than double the price (THB 250/day) to do here than up North, and no insurance offered. Still, it was an essential in our opinion. Obviously we hadn't learnt from Pai that bikes get hired out at the crack of dawn "by a bunch of psychic motorcycle hirers". A bike was not to be. We spent most of this day wondering around Saladan (the biggest area - let's say - of Koh Lanta complete with shops, restaurants and tourists) lamenting the lack of street food. This took a lot of getting used to, everywhere else we'd eaten ad-hoc off the street; it didn't seem possible to do this here.

We headed back to Pra-Ae (Long Beach - a 5km stretch of beach) to see what we had on our doorstep. As it goes, it was a little disappointing. The 5 minute walk to the beach took us to mostly rocks, and a lot of rubbish. After a 15 minute walk down the beach we came to the sandier part, but equally not heart-stopping stuff. More exploring was going to be necessary.

That night we chose to eat at the Mook Lanta resort restaurant, as there seemed mostly to be resorts in the area we were staying, where we were the only patrons in the place and were attended to by at least 5 very friendly Thai waitresses. It was a slightly bizarre feeling after eating out of plastic bowls with matching furniture for 4 weeks.

The next day we headed back into Saladan (complete with bike arranged for us by Tom) to book a fishing trip (not cheap - THB5000 - but it was a birthday present). Then off for a recky around the island. As long as you are careful (particularly on corners where the concept of sticking to one side of the road often fails) a bike is the best way of getting around. We went South to Old Lanta town and wondered around; this sleepy fishing village was incredibly relaxed and you can drive out onto the pier and take in the view. Then as far South as we could manage and up hill to a view point out to sea and a quick pineapple juice. Then over to the West of the island to check out the beaches further South of Long Beach. Here we found the good ones, in particular Klong Nin I really liked. Powdery sands and secluded enough with some cool bars lining the seafront, as well as an array of massage options and...loads of street food! Unfortunately, this was quite a drive from our resort, but we intended on returning.

(One thing to mention is that there aren't really petrol stations on Koh Lanta, rather small shops sell you bright red fuel out of cola bottles and fill up the bike using a funnel! You can usually figure out where to buy by the tell-tale hand-painted "GASOLINE" signs lining the roadside. You can fill up a bike for around THB90).

All in all, a great day spent touring Koh Lanta and some great seafood in the evening in Saladan (you chose your fish from the fresh counter out the front, and then they BBQ it for you). Really good and cheap too (approx THB 700 for two fish, crabs, veg, rice and drinks).

Leaving Pai and back down South

We began the return journey from Pai to Chiang Mai with a clear head, more able to stomach the cork screw turns of the road. This brought us to Chiang Mai airport to catch a flight to Phuket in the South. All in all the journey took a total of 9 hours and we were glad to be at our hotel. We stayed at the Baan Suay in Phuket which is run by a British guy Daniel and his Thai wife Suporn - both of whom are extremely friendly and incredibly helpful.

We were about a 10 minute walk from Karon beach, and on the first morning we headed in that direction. The beach was decidedly "white", lots and lots of tourists but bizarrely, around 3.30pm, the beach seemed to empty almost entirely. This left it rather peaceful and made the sunset very enjoyable. On our way back to the hotel we bumped into two other people we had met on the Chiang Mai cookery course, who just happened to be staying in the same hotel as us. We gleened a couple of tips about where was good to eat that evening (they had a friend in Phuket and had been there almost a week) and listened to stories about diving which sounded amazing.

Although very tempting, diving is quite an expense when you're on a budget, so we had to make the decision not to do any. It is a shame, but I hope to come back to Thailand for that very reason, get all necessary courses done and do some serious diving. But until then, it will have to wait. Thailand hasn't been expensive, but the money is rapidly disappearing.

We only had 24 hours in Phuket, we had heard that it was very hectic and touristy. As it goes, a couple more days to explore wouldn't have been a bad thing. Nevertheless, the following afternoon we were packed up and ready to go. After a lovely chat with the propioritors of our hotel and a good seeing off, we bundled into our blisteringly hot minivan and headed for the pier to get our boat to Koh Lanta.

The best thing about the journey to the pier was the driver, who informed us he could speak, read and write English and clearly wanted to chat. We were sat right at the front next to him and were treated to our very own whistle-stop tour of Phuket, including sites such as the local Catholic school and "culture" buildings. As a means of proving he could also write English, the driver had a habit of spelling out words after each sentence: "Here this is old town, they are culture buildings: b-u-i-l-d-i-n-g-s. Buidlings yes?" Bloody brilliant. He also had a CD compilation of various British pop, rap and r'n'b as well as some techno remixes of old classics. He would occasionally break into song along to these and was quite pleased that I knew the words to most of the songs and was singing along also, to the point where he kept turning up the volume until it was so loud we couldn't hear the people in the back of the van.

And so to the boat. The journey took around 5.5 hours; I recommend taking lots of books if you ever do this journey and plenty of water too. It was a relief to finally get to Koh Lanta and we soon jumped into an adapted motorcycle taxi (a motorbike with a sort of side carriage on it which had seats and enough room for two of us with big bags) and made the bumpy, windy journey to Mook Lanta resort where we hoped Tom (owner) would have come good with the accomodation he had sorted us. This came pretty good in the end and we had ourselves a little bungalow in which to reside for the 5 days in Koh Lanta. Sorted.