So after my embarasing flight, i arrived in Perth absolutely knackered to then get interviewed 3 times by immigration and my bags searched by sniffer dogs, i think maybe now i must look like a dodgy traveller??!!
My friend Tom and Katie that i went to uni with are now living in perth so i plan on seeing them whilst in perth. Tom is teaching English at an international school and told me to stay in the hostel next to his work, so when i arrived i went to meet Tom. It was so good to see him and catch up about uni, he walked me into perth city and showed me the sights. Perth was a lot smaller than what i expected but a lovely city with a chilled out vibe. There is one little street that looks like it has been dropped straight from England, its like a traditional old english street where you can buy branston pickle, marmite etc.Athough it is a very pretty city, with qute a lot of atomsphere. Tom introduced me to all his students (they all are adults) and we went out for the evening. Tom has his friend Shelley from uni staying so the next day we all went t meet katie down on scarbourough beach, it was nice but the beach is nothing like asia, it was quite windy and the waves were really big with loads of people surfing or kite surfing, not the typical placid sea id been used to but at least it was a sunny day and could top up the tan.
The following day we went to a place called Joondoloop to go to a 'beach'party, but when we got there it was a bar with sand in it! But we had such a good time and probably drank far too much!!! alcohol is really expensive too! They call an off liciense a bottle shop here and you could drive through a town and there will be a drive through bottle shop!!....not promoting drink driving at all, right?!
The nest day was my adventure day to rocknest island. I got the train to a place called freemantle - its such a lovey little town, it looks like its set in a time frame years ago, with really gorgeous old buildings. I caught the bus to Rocknest island, which is absolutely beautiful, not cars are allowed on the island so i hired a bike and went riding for the day! now they say you never forget how to ride a bike, and i suppose thats technically true, i didnt fall off but i couldnt remember how to use the gears! And i definatelt forgot how uncomfortable those seats are!!! I went for a snorkel at one of the beach spots but came quickly out of the water as it was so cold!! after i dried off i went to get back on my bike and someone had bloody knicked it....so what did i do.....knick someone elses of course!
My perth trip was coming to an end and on my last day i met up with katie and tom and went out for dinner. We went to this vegetarian indian restaurant whihc is ran by volunteers, you can eat as much as you want and pay whatever you like??!! the best invention ever!we then took a walk to kings park, which is a lovely park set quite high up and it overlooks perth city, the view at night was gorgeous!
I really enjoyed perth, it has taken me a little while to get into the swing of oz, i am really missing not being in asia, i just loved it so much!everything is just so expensive here and not as much culture as i have been used too! Im looking foward to going to sydney and seeing sam and meeting back up with amy and chris, they have been in cambodia and vietnam so will be good to catch up! oh and yeah we are travelling the east coast in a camper....definately could be an interesting trip!
About Me
Friday, 2 April 2010
Singapore the city of lights!
So after the islands i caught a flight back to KL and then KL to singapore, i flew with air asia, and if anyone has ever flown with them before, they will understand what im talking about here.....the air is smokey! like if your at a disco and they pump that smoke out, v strange on a plane!You also notice the lack in security with internal asia flights, they dont even look in your bag.
I arrived in Singapore which i had reserved a room at a hostel but forgot to write the address done but had a vague memory it was in little india, so thats where i headed!...i totally got lost walking around with my backpack on in the heat is definately not my idea of fun!I finally found the hostel and checked in, by this time my insects bited were seroiusly multiplying, i think i was nearing on 40 bites on my legs....got attatcked in the rainforest! so not feeling my best!
I got up early and went for a wander, i ended up walking all day to, Orchard road, little india, china town, boat quay, clarke quay, raffles and the singapore flyer. The city amazed me, there is so much to see and do and mostly all free, raffles is a definate must do, they have a tiffanys in the courtyard. They also have a forever 21 (bloody love it!) oh and topshop :) so did invest in a few new things!
I went back out to walk the city at night, and this is where Singapore really comes alive! I went to the esplanade, boat and clarke quay and went on a boat ride to see the sights! I had great fun taking pictures of all the buildings as everything is lit so well and looks so magical. The night mode and self timer came in handy as im sure youve seen my pictures!
I also went to visit Santosa island whilst i was there, its not quite what i expected as South East Asia most southernly point...its like a man made beach and has the atomsphere of disney land, in that everything is quite fake and american! I went here with 2 people id met from the hostel and we just lazed around, definately did not compare to the beaches i had just come from!
That evening i had arranged to meet Roger, Nisha and Omar for dinner (Emma's brother and family) Although we had only briefly met at Steve and Emma's wedding it was nice to see a familar face and they are a lovely family. We went our for dinner and they ordered the food, i tried chilli and pepper crab, which you have to peel whilst its in all the sauce, no so easy but Omar seems to be a pro at this!tasted delicious though! I arranged to meet Nisha for lunch the next day and they dropped me back to the hostel where i had planned to have an early night but ended up going out to a bar with everyone from the hostel (it was quite small) and the owner bought us all a drink. It was really nice to sit around and talk to everyone about their experiences travelling....lots of different characters!
Nisha took me to a traditional malay restaurant for lunch which she ordered everything, not too sure what i ate but i know that it all tasted soooo good! I went back to their flat and chilled out before my flight! Watched Omar have a mandarin lesson, a very clever child! They are such a lovey family and it was so nice to be with someone from the area, i dont think i would have tried half the food if it hadnt been for Nisha ordering.
Singapore by far had been my favourite city, it somewhere i would love to visit again, especially if i had more money! All in all Malaysia had beat all my expectations and it was so nice to travell around, its not as touristy as thailand can be, its like a hidden treasure, a definate must do for anyone going to asia! Im looking forward to Australia but in a way im not looking forward to leaving Asia at all, ive had such a good time here.
The flight to Perth was good, i had 2 seats to myself and i think the air hostess felt sorry for me as she just kept giving me more wine and cheese and biscuits...not that i was complaining! But i learnt a valuable lesson, DO NOT watch a sad movie on a plane, lol its just not a good way to be crying in close proximity of strangers lol never mind eh! at least i learned a valuable lesson!
I arrived in Singapore which i had reserved a room at a hostel but forgot to write the address done but had a vague memory it was in little india, so thats where i headed!...i totally got lost walking around with my backpack on in the heat is definately not my idea of fun!I finally found the hostel and checked in, by this time my insects bited were seroiusly multiplying, i think i was nearing on 40 bites on my legs....got attatcked in the rainforest! so not feeling my best!
I got up early and went for a wander, i ended up walking all day to, Orchard road, little india, china town, boat quay, clarke quay, raffles and the singapore flyer. The city amazed me, there is so much to see and do and mostly all free, raffles is a definate must do, they have a tiffanys in the courtyard. They also have a forever 21 (bloody love it!) oh and topshop :) so did invest in a few new things!
I went back out to walk the city at night, and this is where Singapore really comes alive! I went to the esplanade, boat and clarke quay and went on a boat ride to see the sights! I had great fun taking pictures of all the buildings as everything is lit so well and looks so magical. The night mode and self timer came in handy as im sure youve seen my pictures!
I also went to visit Santosa island whilst i was there, its not quite what i expected as South East Asia most southernly point...its like a man made beach and has the atomsphere of disney land, in that everything is quite fake and american! I went here with 2 people id met from the hostel and we just lazed around, definately did not compare to the beaches i had just come from!
That evening i had arranged to meet Roger, Nisha and Omar for dinner (Emma's brother and family) Although we had only briefly met at Steve and Emma's wedding it was nice to see a familar face and they are a lovely family. We went our for dinner and they ordered the food, i tried chilli and pepper crab, which you have to peel whilst its in all the sauce, no so easy but Omar seems to be a pro at this!tasted delicious though! I arranged to meet Nisha for lunch the next day and they dropped me back to the hostel where i had planned to have an early night but ended up going out to a bar with everyone from the hostel (it was quite small) and the owner bought us all a drink. It was really nice to sit around and talk to everyone about their experiences travelling....lots of different characters!
Nisha took me to a traditional malay restaurant for lunch which she ordered everything, not too sure what i ate but i know that it all tasted soooo good! I went back to their flat and chilled out before my flight! Watched Omar have a mandarin lesson, a very clever child! They are such a lovey family and it was so nice to be with someone from the area, i dont think i would have tried half the food if it hadnt been for Nisha ordering.
Singapore by far had been my favourite city, it somewhere i would love to visit again, especially if i had more money! All in all Malaysia had beat all my expectations and it was so nice to travell around, its not as touristy as thailand can be, its like a hidden treasure, a definate must do for anyone going to asia! Im looking forward to Australia but in a way im not looking forward to leaving Asia at all, ive had such a good time here.
The flight to Perth was good, i had 2 seats to myself and i think the air hostess felt sorry for me as she just kept giving me more wine and cheese and biscuits...not that i was complaining! But i learnt a valuable lesson, DO NOT watch a sad movie on a plane, lol its just not a good way to be crying in close proximity of strangers lol never mind eh! at least i learned a valuable lesson!
Perihtian islands.....honestly a place like heaven!
So after our rainforest adventure I was looking forward to chilling out on a beach again, it felt like it had been too long! We had another long journey to the other side of the main land and then a speed boat over to the smaller island. The speed boat was so fast, couldnt even look up and had to hold onto everything so it didnt fly off the boat....but got their in one piece, so a successful journey! We booked into a resort called Sharila and ended up getting a twin air con room with its own bathroom for 4 quid each a night! now thats what i call a bargain! We went for a quick dip in the sea, just felt so good to be back by a beach again, we ate in a small little taverna called Amelias, half the tables were actually sat in the sea. I tried shark off the BBQ for the first time, tasted bit like tuna steak, but was just so nice to have a change of food after our noodles and rice overload the last couple of days! The next 2 days were just filled with relaxation, long lies is what was needed. We went to the main beach called long beach which is by far the most idylic beach i have ever seen, your typical white sand, blue sea picture! The islands have only just re opened after monsoon season so no one is on the islands. which means no one on the beach...perfect for us! and glorious weather! Amelia's became our restaurant we ate in daily and we got to know the locals quite well. The told us to go to this secluded beach as the snorkelling was good, so the next day we took a little wander and found this little bay with again no one in sight! Went for a quick snorkel and there were just so many fish and so clear, after a couple of minutes i was swimming with black tip reef sharks, absolutely amazing! .....and had eaten one for my dinner the night before! One of the best snorkelling sights i have ever seen, beat thailand anyway!
The evenings on this island we really chilled there are only a couple of restaurants and no bars, people just gather on the beach and someone will play guitar and sing, totally the perfect chill out vibe. So me and Selina sat with some of the locals drinking vodka listening to live music.....heaven!
The time came to leave this beautiful place, a definate place i will want to go back to in the future.....next stop.......Singapore!
The evenings on this island we really chilled there are only a couple of restaurants and no bars, people just gather on the beach and someone will play guitar and sing, totally the perfect chill out vibe. So me and Selina sat with some of the locals drinking vodka listening to live music.....heaven!
The time came to leave this beautiful place, a definate place i will want to go back to in the future.....next stop.......Singapore!
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Taman Negara, the jungle trek!
So after another long journey we finally arrived to Taman Negara, which on the bus was one of the guys that me and Amy went diving with....random, so we were all chatting away and then got told off by this French girl who said we were making too much noise and it was appropriate to be talking on a bus??!!! so already me and Selina had made our first enemy! lol. We made a lunch stop half way which was a traditional Indian lunch where you eat with your fingers!!! on a banana leaf, messy business but was fun! after a lovely 4hr bus ride we then had a 3hr boat ride to get the the entrance of the park and where we were staying! It was a bit like a long tail boat but i always get a bit worried when they insist that you wear a life jacket! But the scenery was absolutely stunning! nothing i had ever seen before! When we arrived at our accomodation we had a traditional malay welcome, they sang us a song and played instruments whilst we walked to reception and then given a free drink, I felt like a celebrity, not a travelling gypsie, how i actually looked at this time! We had an 8 bed dorm to ourselves which was perfect!Throughout the trip all our meals were at a floating restaurant called 'mama chop', and can honestly say it was rubbish food.....plain noodles for breakfast, rice for lunch and dinner.....mmm after 3 days, this is definately not so appetising!
We went on a night safari on uor first night, which there was a thunder storm so the whole rainforest is lit by thunder! luckily no rain!altho i did have my rain mac on and trainers which was the first so far on this trip!me and Selina's torches were pretty rubbish but we did see some scorpions, huge ants, poisoinous caterpillars and some deer, nothing too exciting but was a good laugh.
The 2nd day we climbed 5k up a mountain, which doesnt sound too hard...right??? you try doing it in 35 degree heat and it was so steep we had to hold on to ropes to keep us up! so by the time i finally reached the top i think i had lost a stone in sweat, BUT the views were totally worth it, 360 degree view of the rainforest and you could see Gibbons flying through the trees, none of my photots truely capture this image!Unfortunatly i look a mess in the photos, but at least you can tell i climbed it hey! We then did a canopy walk through the jungle which was so good but not sure how safe, only one person allowed on at one time and one part was literately a ladder suspended on a net over the jungle but the views were good! In the afternoon we had a boat ride through the 7 rapids, we were totally head to toe drenched but was a good laugh, we were on our way to visit a tribe that live in the rainforest. Now this was a totally different way of life, they live and eat off the rainforest, there are 6 families tat live her in huts and shelters they have built themselves, the cheif taught us how they make fires and how they make and shoot the darts to kill their prey...the kids dont go to school and have to live on their own once they are 10 as they are classed as an adult, they all inter breed as well! you would see like 5 yr olds smoking because they think it is good for them as it keeps the bugs away....i suppose its one way to look at it??!! Anyway it was a really good insight into their lives, not sure if its me though lol! The one thing you notice when you are in the jungle is the noise, its like nothing you have heard before its soooo loud!all the bugs and insects singing in chorus! me and Selina were pretty tired after this day so we walked to a swimming hole and just chilled out which was absolutely beautiful!
And this was the last of Taman Negara as tomorrow we were off to the Perhtian islands :) cant wait! Taman Negara has been a definate highlight of my trip, its like nothing i had ever seen before and no picture can show this, a definate must do if you go to Malaysia...
We went on a night safari on uor first night, which there was a thunder storm so the whole rainforest is lit by thunder! luckily no rain!altho i did have my rain mac on and trainers which was the first so far on this trip!me and Selina's torches were pretty rubbish but we did see some scorpions, huge ants, poisoinous caterpillars and some deer, nothing too exciting but was a good laugh.
The 2nd day we climbed 5k up a mountain, which doesnt sound too hard...right??? you try doing it in 35 degree heat and it was so steep we had to hold on to ropes to keep us up! so by the time i finally reached the top i think i had lost a stone in sweat, BUT the views were totally worth it, 360 degree view of the rainforest and you could see Gibbons flying through the trees, none of my photots truely capture this image!Unfortunatly i look a mess in the photos, but at least you can tell i climbed it hey! We then did a canopy walk through the jungle which was so good but not sure how safe, only one person allowed on at one time and one part was literately a ladder suspended on a net over the jungle but the views were good! In the afternoon we had a boat ride through the 7 rapids, we were totally head to toe drenched but was a good laugh, we were on our way to visit a tribe that live in the rainforest. Now this was a totally different way of life, they live and eat off the rainforest, there are 6 families tat live her in huts and shelters they have built themselves, the cheif taught us how they make fires and how they make and shoot the darts to kill their prey...the kids dont go to school and have to live on their own once they are 10 as they are classed as an adult, they all inter breed as well! you would see like 5 yr olds smoking because they think it is good for them as it keeps the bugs away....i suppose its one way to look at it??!! Anyway it was a really good insight into their lives, not sure if its me though lol! The one thing you notice when you are in the jungle is the noise, its like nothing you have heard before its soooo loud!all the bugs and insects singing in chorus! me and Selina were pretty tired after this day so we walked to a swimming hole and just chilled out which was absolutely beautiful!
And this was the last of Taman Negara as tomorrow we were off to the Perhtian islands :) cant wait! Taman Negara has been a definate highlight of my trip, its like nothing i had ever seen before and no picture can show this, a definate must do if you go to Malaysia...
Kuala Lumpar...the start of the Malaysian adventure!
Hello! Havent updated this blog as much as I would have liked as over the last couple of weeks have been on the move quite a lot and not been able to easily access a computer! so I have a few entries to update, i keep a diary of notes so I dont forget to write anything down!...found it so helpful as you soon forget things!
Anyway, So I had a lovely 21hr journey to KL ahead of me, and being me only had 1 hr's sleep and was still slightly drunk! I should really learn not to drink on the night before I leave a place! But at least I slept well, i was travelling on a people carrier with 7 people and 7 backpacks all squashed on and we had to travel on this until we reached closer to the thai border! I met a girl called Gemma and Debbie who were cousins travelling together and they were both going to KL too so already I wasnt on my own. We eventually arrived at Hat Yai where we transferred to a bigger a/c coach...thank god! Was'nt able to get much sleep as we soon arrived at the thai border for immigration checks. Which, no-one tells you where to go or what to do so me and the other girls just wondered around and followed everyone else, got through that ok! phew! then back on the bus for like 5 min and then off again for malaysian immigration, this time had to take all of our cases off and walk through the border. Here they scan your luggage check passports etc. All a bit scary as you just done want to get pulled over, the Chinese girl in front of me got taken into a side room for questioning! but again i got through this all ok and now time for some sleep!
Arrived in KL at 5am, had luckily booked somewhere to stay in Chinatown, the other girls hadnt booked anywhere so were following me. The streets were full on homeless people laying on the floor which i didnt expect at all. We wondered around China town but as it was so early everything was closed, a group of men playing cards ended up giving us directions whilst trying to take photos of us. Im sure they thought we were hilarious - 3 white girls walking the streets of China town with back packs on and no idea where we were going! Got to Reggae bar where we were staying and luckily someone answered the door. They were so lovely, and made our beds up straight away so we had somewhere to sleep and a cuppa! The hostel was really clean and modern, free tea and coffee all day and free breakfast. I was put in the female dorm but when i woke up they moved me to the male dorm! As they said there was no room!! So after some sleep me and Gemma went for a walk and ventured on the train to the KLCC (where the twin towers are) - there is a shopping mall and a park which entertained us for a while and then we went to find the other KL tower, which we paid to go up (360 degree views of KL - definately worth it). KL is a lovely city with quite a lot of character, despite it having a large modern business destrict. The following day me and Gemma got free tickets to go up the skywalk of the twin towers, not quite as good as the other tower as its not as high and only allowed up there for 10 mins but there was a storm starting so we could see the lighting in the distance which was cool. My flip flops broke so ended up having to buy some new ones before we headed over to the bird and butterfly park. Really enjoyed this and totally had a snap happy afternoon with the butterflies :) but today was an unbearable heat!
In the evening I met up with Amy's Dad, Andy as he was in KL for business. It was so nice to see a friendly face and we had a good chat about the thailand adventure me and Amy had. My 3rd day in KL i had a realxing day of sleeping, watching films and shopping, some days you need to do not a lot! I still had no idea what i was doing after KL. On my last day I went to the Batu Caves which are on the outskirts of KL and most importantly finally sorted out my next plans!....
I met a German girl called Selina in the hostel and we decided to travel the next week together before she went to thailand and I went to Singapore. Bearing in mind we hadnt really ever spoke! But we booked a trip to Taman Negara which is a national rainforest/jungle and from there we were going to go to the Perhitian islands before going our separate ways.
KL as a city i really enjoyed, I think you only need a few days there and that is enough but China town is a must see while your there and has good shopping (esp of you are rich - lots of gucci, prada, louis vitton...unfortunately a little out of my price bracket).
Was really looking forward to Taman Negara, not sure what to expect but at least I would see a different aspect of malaysia! .........
Anyway, So I had a lovely 21hr journey to KL ahead of me, and being me only had 1 hr's sleep and was still slightly drunk! I should really learn not to drink on the night before I leave a place! But at least I slept well, i was travelling on a people carrier with 7 people and 7 backpacks all squashed on and we had to travel on this until we reached closer to the thai border! I met a girl called Gemma and Debbie who were cousins travelling together and they were both going to KL too so already I wasnt on my own. We eventually arrived at Hat Yai where we transferred to a bigger a/c coach...thank god! Was'nt able to get much sleep as we soon arrived at the thai border for immigration checks. Which, no-one tells you where to go or what to do so me and the other girls just wondered around and followed everyone else, got through that ok! phew! then back on the bus for like 5 min and then off again for malaysian immigration, this time had to take all of our cases off and walk through the border. Here they scan your luggage check passports etc. All a bit scary as you just done want to get pulled over, the Chinese girl in front of me got taken into a side room for questioning! but again i got through this all ok and now time for some sleep!
Arrived in KL at 5am, had luckily booked somewhere to stay in Chinatown, the other girls hadnt booked anywhere so were following me. The streets were full on homeless people laying on the floor which i didnt expect at all. We wondered around China town but as it was so early everything was closed, a group of men playing cards ended up giving us directions whilst trying to take photos of us. Im sure they thought we were hilarious - 3 white girls walking the streets of China town with back packs on and no idea where we were going! Got to Reggae bar where we were staying and luckily someone answered the door. They were so lovely, and made our beds up straight away so we had somewhere to sleep and a cuppa! The hostel was really clean and modern, free tea and coffee all day and free breakfast. I was put in the female dorm but when i woke up they moved me to the male dorm! As they said there was no room!! So after some sleep me and Gemma went for a walk and ventured on the train to the KLCC (where the twin towers are) - there is a shopping mall and a park which entertained us for a while and then we went to find the other KL tower, which we paid to go up (360 degree views of KL - definately worth it). KL is a lovely city with quite a lot of character, despite it having a large modern business destrict. The following day me and Gemma got free tickets to go up the skywalk of the twin towers, not quite as good as the other tower as its not as high and only allowed up there for 10 mins but there was a storm starting so we could see the lighting in the distance which was cool. My flip flops broke so ended up having to buy some new ones before we headed over to the bird and butterfly park. Really enjoyed this and totally had a snap happy afternoon with the butterflies :) but today was an unbearable heat!
In the evening I met up with Amy's Dad, Andy as he was in KL for business. It was so nice to see a friendly face and we had a good chat about the thailand adventure me and Amy had. My 3rd day in KL i had a realxing day of sleeping, watching films and shopping, some days you need to do not a lot! I still had no idea what i was doing after KL. On my last day I went to the Batu Caves which are on the outskirts of KL and most importantly finally sorted out my next plans!....
I met a German girl called Selina in the hostel and we decided to travel the next week together before she went to thailand and I went to Singapore. Bearing in mind we hadnt really ever spoke! But we booked a trip to Taman Negara which is a national rainforest/jungle and from there we were going to go to the Perhitian islands before going our separate ways.
KL as a city i really enjoyed, I think you only need a few days there and that is enough but China town is a must see while your there and has good shopping (esp of you are rich - lots of gucci, prada, louis vitton...unfortunately a little out of my price bracket).
Was really looking forward to Taman Negara, not sure what to expect but at least I would see a different aspect of malaysia! .........
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Koh Phi Phi and the end of the thailand era.
Sawadika! (hello in thai - yeah get me eh!)
So me, Chris, Amy, Nancy and Hannah roll up in Koh Phi Phi so glad to get out of Koh Lanta and hoping this will be a much better place, heard good things about it! Again we hadnt booked anywhere as it is the start of Chinese New Year so everywhere was full! we thought we would just try and find somewhere to stay. We got off the ferry and all the accomodation huts were too expensive, we decided to get a long tail boat to a nearer beach called long beach!....bad idea! me and chris trekked around in the boiling heat and couldnt find anywhere in our price range and if it was it was horrible, so...back to the beginning! me and chris wondered around and found somewhere eventually so all worked out ok but bit more expensive than had hoped.
We decided we all needed a bit of pampering so headed to the fish foot massage place! This is my 2nd time id had this but everyone else was new to this game. But honestly these fish were on a mission, it hurt much more than before but you just cant help but laugh it tickles so much, Mum, as you and Nic would know im not very good at people touching my feet ha ha! Tell nic her pedicure was much better! We wondered around the main part of Koh Phi Phi, so many little stalls, much more shoppping than any of the other islands i had been too, so many cute little vintage shops but also they are not so cheap. The food market though is so amazing! so many fresh veg which most i have no idea what they are, and so busy, full of thai doing their shopping. It;s much hotter on this side of thailand, the heat is just a lot more humid than anywhere else we had been too.
As its Chinese new year there are so many chinese everywhere, and they love wearing the matching hawian shorts and t-shirts, they all link arms, block the streets and take pictures of everything - quite amusing to watch!
So the next day - Valentines day!....Me and Hannah got up earlyish and went for a well deserved body scrub, alhtough this was only supposed to remove the dead skin, the thai lady just couldnt resist to click my back and neck and all my toes, im sure they love inflicting pain whenever they can! We took a gentle stroll back and stopped off at the Bakery for breakfast...omg the best banana cake i have ever eaten!
We had booked ourselves on a half day trip so it was the 5 of us and 2 other blokes travelling on their own. Now, if youve seen my pictures, esp chris's pics you must of noticed the unbelieveably hot guy (Diago from Brazil may i add) that was on our trip, we basically spent the day staring at him, even Chris took more pictures of him than any of us! We stopped off at Monkey beach to do some snorkelling where i didnt stay in the water very long, there were so many jelly fish and we all got stung so many times!the next snorkelling stops however were unreal! the best snorkelling i have ever seen! Me and nancy were literally surrounded by fish so much so you couldnt see where you where trying to swim, saw 2 baby clown fish (nemo), some angel fish and then a sea snake so i quickly got out of the water! We then went to maya bay which is the beach where 'The Beach' was filmed. This is where we took loads of pics of jumping in the air by the way! But to get to the beach was so rocky, we definately didnt look as good as leo running into the sea! Our long tail boat driver stopped the boat in the middle of the sea so we could watch the sunset! ideal! Definately my favourite valentines day!
That night we headed to a bar called Reggae bar (you seem to find at least one bar on every island called this) but this one is a little bit different! there is a boxing ring in the middle and people get up to fight for drink! Im not kidding you, the funniest place ever! We then went to the beach party and stayed out, had a good time and met lots of people. This night the musics was allowed to go on til 4, every other night since xmas the police come at 1am and shut all the music off, as a thai bouy got shot on xmas day by a rival family so the police have decided to shut music off at 1am for 100 days!
Had a bit of a lazy day and Amy and Chris left :( so now down to the 3 of us! Me and the girls went out again this evening, and when we were in reggae bar there was a big fat american man sat on his own trying to attempt the burger challenge! Its like nothing youve seen before the biggest burger ever with so many chips, onion rings and coldslaw, if you eat it all in 30 mins you get the meal for free if not you pay 500 bht (about 10 quid). Needless to say he didnt do it! and half way through went to the toilet and when he came back he had sick on his shorts! i know! bloody digusting!
Need to just add, someone stole my shoes off our balcony! my fav black jelly ones as well!
And now there was one! Hannah and Nancy left so this is my first official travelling on my own! I have got so unorganised whilst out here, I have totally lost any concept for days/times so i hadnt arranged any where to stay. Luckily walked around for a bit and found somewhere not too expensive, a bit grimey but it was only for 2 nights. The matress had cardboard in it and if you lent on the walls they moved! A couple of cockroahes and mossies everywhere, got attacked by 3 in the shower! So this was the real travelling malarky eh! Also had to face going for my first meals on my own! a very strange feeling! Dont think i would choose to do it in England as i think people would look at you like you had no friends but at least out in thailand people figure your travelling alone (or at least i hope so!) Had an early night so nothing exciting. Next day spent a full day on the beach as needed to top up my tan, Malaysia wouldnt be full of much sunbathing! Tried to get a flight to Kuala Lumpar but as its still Chinese New Year everywhere was full! so i had to settle for a 21 hr coach trip instead! You would think knowing that i had that the next day i would have an early night but...no thats no fun! so ended up going out with people id met when the girls were hear and got 1 hrs sleep before packing up and heading to KL!
So there it is, my first month of travelling Thailand over!
Cant belive it, its gone so quick! i had loved being in thailand and Im really going to miss so many things!The food, the people, the beaches all have been fab! But need to move onto Malaysia, not sure where im heading after KL as I have a week with no plans but im hoping to meet some people and maybe just follow them :)
Love to everyone back at home! miss you all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
So me, Chris, Amy, Nancy and Hannah roll up in Koh Phi Phi so glad to get out of Koh Lanta and hoping this will be a much better place, heard good things about it! Again we hadnt booked anywhere as it is the start of Chinese New Year so everywhere was full! we thought we would just try and find somewhere to stay. We got off the ferry and all the accomodation huts were too expensive, we decided to get a long tail boat to a nearer beach called long beach!....bad idea! me and chris trekked around in the boiling heat and couldnt find anywhere in our price range and if it was it was horrible, so...back to the beginning! me and chris wondered around and found somewhere eventually so all worked out ok but bit more expensive than had hoped.
We decided we all needed a bit of pampering so headed to the fish foot massage place! This is my 2nd time id had this but everyone else was new to this game. But honestly these fish were on a mission, it hurt much more than before but you just cant help but laugh it tickles so much, Mum, as you and Nic would know im not very good at people touching my feet ha ha! Tell nic her pedicure was much better! We wondered around the main part of Koh Phi Phi, so many little stalls, much more shoppping than any of the other islands i had been too, so many cute little vintage shops but also they are not so cheap. The food market though is so amazing! so many fresh veg which most i have no idea what they are, and so busy, full of thai doing their shopping. It;s much hotter on this side of thailand, the heat is just a lot more humid than anywhere else we had been too.
As its Chinese new year there are so many chinese everywhere, and they love wearing the matching hawian shorts and t-shirts, they all link arms, block the streets and take pictures of everything - quite amusing to watch!
So the next day - Valentines day!....Me and Hannah got up earlyish and went for a well deserved body scrub, alhtough this was only supposed to remove the dead skin, the thai lady just couldnt resist to click my back and neck and all my toes, im sure they love inflicting pain whenever they can! We took a gentle stroll back and stopped off at the Bakery for breakfast...omg the best banana cake i have ever eaten!
We had booked ourselves on a half day trip so it was the 5 of us and 2 other blokes travelling on their own. Now, if youve seen my pictures, esp chris's pics you must of noticed the unbelieveably hot guy (Diago from Brazil may i add) that was on our trip, we basically spent the day staring at him, even Chris took more pictures of him than any of us! We stopped off at Monkey beach to do some snorkelling where i didnt stay in the water very long, there were so many jelly fish and we all got stung so many times!the next snorkelling stops however were unreal! the best snorkelling i have ever seen! Me and nancy were literally surrounded by fish so much so you couldnt see where you where trying to swim, saw 2 baby clown fish (nemo), some angel fish and then a sea snake so i quickly got out of the water! We then went to maya bay which is the beach where 'The Beach' was filmed. This is where we took loads of pics of jumping in the air by the way! But to get to the beach was so rocky, we definately didnt look as good as leo running into the sea! Our long tail boat driver stopped the boat in the middle of the sea so we could watch the sunset! ideal! Definately my favourite valentines day!
That night we headed to a bar called Reggae bar (you seem to find at least one bar on every island called this) but this one is a little bit different! there is a boxing ring in the middle and people get up to fight for drink! Im not kidding you, the funniest place ever! We then went to the beach party and stayed out, had a good time and met lots of people. This night the musics was allowed to go on til 4, every other night since xmas the police come at 1am and shut all the music off, as a thai bouy got shot on xmas day by a rival family so the police have decided to shut music off at 1am for 100 days!
Had a bit of a lazy day and Amy and Chris left :( so now down to the 3 of us! Me and the girls went out again this evening, and when we were in reggae bar there was a big fat american man sat on his own trying to attempt the burger challenge! Its like nothing youve seen before the biggest burger ever with so many chips, onion rings and coldslaw, if you eat it all in 30 mins you get the meal for free if not you pay 500 bht (about 10 quid). Needless to say he didnt do it! and half way through went to the toilet and when he came back he had sick on his shorts! i know! bloody digusting!
Need to just add, someone stole my shoes off our balcony! my fav black jelly ones as well!
And now there was one! Hannah and Nancy left so this is my first official travelling on my own! I have got so unorganised whilst out here, I have totally lost any concept for days/times so i hadnt arranged any where to stay. Luckily walked around for a bit and found somewhere not too expensive, a bit grimey but it was only for 2 nights. The matress had cardboard in it and if you lent on the walls they moved! A couple of cockroahes and mossies everywhere, got attacked by 3 in the shower! So this was the real travelling malarky eh! Also had to face going for my first meals on my own! a very strange feeling! Dont think i would choose to do it in England as i think people would look at you like you had no friends but at least out in thailand people figure your travelling alone (or at least i hope so!) Had an early night so nothing exciting. Next day spent a full day on the beach as needed to top up my tan, Malaysia wouldnt be full of much sunbathing! Tried to get a flight to Kuala Lumpar but as its still Chinese New Year everywhere was full! so i had to settle for a 21 hr coach trip instead! You would think knowing that i had that the next day i would have an early night but...no thats no fun! so ended up going out with people id met when the girls were hear and got 1 hrs sleep before packing up and heading to KL!
So there it is, my first month of travelling Thailand over!
Cant belive it, its gone so quick! i had loved being in thailand and Im really going to miss so many things!The food, the people, the beaches all have been fab! But need to move onto Malaysia, not sure where im heading after KL as I have a week with no plans but im hoping to meet some people and maybe just follow them :)
Love to everyone back at home! miss you all xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Krabi (Ao Nang and Railay) and the weirdest island Koh Lanta
So from Koh Tao to get to Krabi we had to venture on an overnight ferry to Surt Thani and then a coach to Krabi. Hmmmm Overnight ferry.....now that was an experience and a half!! 120 people, a baby, a cat, a bird and a motorbike all piled in to a very small boat! there was single beds on the floor which had number above them so you followed your number to find your bed! 2 people to a single bed! and who knows who you would be next too! have a look at my pics ive uploaded to facebook and you will see what i mean! Weirdly me amy and Chris had the only 3 beds which were like in the middle on the boat so we didnt have to share. However, we did have to hang on for dear life whilst trying to get some needed sleep! oh and if someone went to the toilet in the night they would try and pass my bed, the boat would rock and then they would fall on me! lol all part of the adventure ey!
Got to Krabi and Chris had already booked a hotel room for the 3 of us but when we got there is was massive so Hannah and Nancy shared it too! We were staying on Ao Nang beach which first impressions was very commercial, there was a macdonalds and starbucks opposite us! Also very family orientated not many backapckers too be seen!Me amy and chris keep opting for little thia kitchens, the food is always so good and so cheap we went and ate, the bill came to like 8 quid for the 3 of us which we had starter and main meal! got to love it! Only stayed 1 night here and then moved on to Railay! But before that we hit the beach, there was some monkeys so went to have a nosy and they ended up jumping on nancy and stealing amy's drink! so funny :)
Railay....well my lonely planet book said the east coast beach was muddy but i have never seen a beach like it in thailand! luckily the west coast beach was much better! me and chris went on the hunt for accomodation, after walking in the boiling heat and sweating our arses off we ended up staying in the place where we had left the girls and our bags! wasted trip lol. Again we found Railay full off holiday makers and sooooo expensive so only stayed one night before heading to Koh Lanta.
Koh Lanta....has to be the weirdest island and night ive had since being in thailand. We hadnt organised anywhere to stay but Amy and Chris had, but as soon as we got off the boat we were bombarded with people offering rooms so didnt take us long to find a cheap and nice room, even had a swimming pool! We chilled out and arranged to meet Amy and Chris later. We ended up that we couldnt find them! and so 3 hours late we eventually bumped into them! Koh Lanta is just really spread out and takes ages to get anywhere. Even had to get a tuk tuk to get to an ATM. We sat in a bar and watched the funniest dancers ever! kept us entertained for a long time, we decided to walk to another bar which ended up taking us over an hr! we had so much fun playing with the plankton on the beach! at night if there are no lights you can see the plankton light up in bright green little speckles everywhere! we must of looked like the weirdest bunch of people lol but kept us entertained. We finally got to the bar which was shit, about 3 people in it who were off their heads trying to fire dance but could so we quickly left! to realise that we couldnt find a tuk tuk so had to walk home, 1 hr later and we were still no where near and random thai men kept staring at us and slowly down in their cars, its the first time in thailand ive actually felt unsafe! luckily a tuk tuk drove past and he took us home! All safe and sound. unfortunately we booked 2 nights here so were stuck here for another night. Didnt do much but think we witnessed the room next to us get robbed, so me and the girls were having a nosy but the thai people saw us we ran back in our room and locked the door and then they were standing on our balcony! obviously we didnt leave our room that night and was so glad to be leaving the next morning, got up at like 7 so we could get on the first ferry, the quicker out of this place the better!
And then we were off to Koh Phi Phi i couldnt wait :) xxxx
Got to Krabi and Chris had already booked a hotel room for the 3 of us but when we got there is was massive so Hannah and Nancy shared it too! We were staying on Ao Nang beach which first impressions was very commercial, there was a macdonalds and starbucks opposite us! Also very family orientated not many backapckers too be seen!Me amy and chris keep opting for little thia kitchens, the food is always so good and so cheap we went and ate, the bill came to like 8 quid for the 3 of us which we had starter and main meal! got to love it! Only stayed 1 night here and then moved on to Railay! But before that we hit the beach, there was some monkeys so went to have a nosy and they ended up jumping on nancy and stealing amy's drink! so funny :)
Railay....well my lonely planet book said the east coast beach was muddy but i have never seen a beach like it in thailand! luckily the west coast beach was much better! me and chris went on the hunt for accomodation, after walking in the boiling heat and sweating our arses off we ended up staying in the place where we had left the girls and our bags! wasted trip lol. Again we found Railay full off holiday makers and sooooo expensive so only stayed one night before heading to Koh Lanta.
Koh Lanta....has to be the weirdest island and night ive had since being in thailand. We hadnt organised anywhere to stay but Amy and Chris had, but as soon as we got off the boat we were bombarded with people offering rooms so didnt take us long to find a cheap and nice room, even had a swimming pool! We chilled out and arranged to meet Amy and Chris later. We ended up that we couldnt find them! and so 3 hours late we eventually bumped into them! Koh Lanta is just really spread out and takes ages to get anywhere. Even had to get a tuk tuk to get to an ATM. We sat in a bar and watched the funniest dancers ever! kept us entertained for a long time, we decided to walk to another bar which ended up taking us over an hr! we had so much fun playing with the plankton on the beach! at night if there are no lights you can see the plankton light up in bright green little speckles everywhere! we must of looked like the weirdest bunch of people lol but kept us entertained. We finally got to the bar which was shit, about 3 people in it who were off their heads trying to fire dance but could so we quickly left! to realise that we couldnt find a tuk tuk so had to walk home, 1 hr later and we were still no where near and random thai men kept staring at us and slowly down in their cars, its the first time in thailand ive actually felt unsafe! luckily a tuk tuk drove past and he took us home! All safe and sound. unfortunately we booked 2 nights here so were stuck here for another night. Didnt do much but think we witnessed the room next to us get robbed, so me and the girls were having a nosy but the thai people saw us we ran back in our room and locked the door and then they were standing on our balcony! obviously we didnt leave our room that night and was so glad to be leaving the next morning, got up at like 7 so we could get on the first ferry, the quicker out of this place the better!
And then we were off to Koh Phi Phi i couldnt wait :) xxxx
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