How fast can you pack a suitcase??

'We will miss the bus'

'We will sleep out the alarm'

'The alarm wont work'

'Bloody hell Amy stop being so paranoid!'

Not the greatest thoughts to be having at 2am when you have to be up at half 5 to make the move to the next destination. I always suffer from a bit of stress before we head off. But last night was particularly bad. I was even having dreams of waking up at 11am after missing the bus and being stuck and for some reason having no money or passport. Paranoia isnt in it.

So, after dozing for about 3 hours, I was lying in the dark waiting for the alarm at 5:30, and thought 'what time is it'. I hit my friend's iPad. 5:58 ....

5:58!!!! F**K!!!! Bus is arriving in 2 minutes.

I jumped up, hit the girls. 'Girls, its 6am. Get up, get up, the f*****g iPad didnt go off '.

So, how quick do you think you can pack a suitcase? We did it in about 3 minutes. I have never moved so fast.

After all that and 9 hours of travelling later, we have arrived in Koh Tao, the final planned island destination on my Asia trip. To be continued ....

Sawatdiikha.

Discovering Hidden Treasure

Today was another day of island hopping. I have to say, even though its technically another sea here compared to the Gulf of Thailand where I went island hopping from Koh Samet a few weeks ago, I was hoping it wasnt a case of 'seen one island, seen them all'. Being in Ao Nang town where the most stunning view is the McDonalds sign and the nicest smell is from Starbucks, its difficult to remember that out there lies an array of stunning natural beauties, and I am not talking about the Lady Boys of Bangkok. So I set off today in search of Thailand amidst all the western french fries and pizza, and despite my island-related concern, I found it :-)

We started the day off popping to a nearby beach to pick up a few people in our typical Thai mode of transport; a longtail boat. These things are not made for style or comfort, but can do a good speed when there is an impatient driver behind the ..... stick that turns the propeller thing ....Anyway, first stop was a little strand of beach which had the most amazing clear waters and views of the rock formations which are common along the coast here. Basically they are left overs of erosion to the mainland, and they dot the coast line, some with stunning beaches and most with amazing caves only revealed at low tide. This little strip of beach was a postcard no matter what way you turned. I am very happy I took lots of pics as it is impossible to visually take in all the colours of the sea and the amazing views. (here is a pic for The Mother. She was giving out about my lack of presence in pictures)

After wowing at the views we headed off to do some snorkelling along a coral rock island, and then we made our way to our second island. This place was tiny! Literally the beach was no bigger then two sitting rooms. I wish I had the sense to get a pic of it from the boat, but there was talk of lunch and I got very distracted. We ate lunch sitting on the sand, and we watched what seemed like MILLIONS of Malaysian and Chinese tourists get on and off the boats docking at the beach, and take what seemed to be MILLIONS of pictures. My travelling buddy Sophie, in her typical cheesy love mode, wrote a declaration of love to her boyfriend at home in England, and within two seconds of leaving it, a group of Chinese tourists hijacked it and spent at least 15 minutes taking pictures with it in various positions and with various cameras. As stereotypical as this sounds, every Asian person I have encountered has a love for all things cheese. Unfortunately not real cheese. More the 'love heart shaped sparkly cutsie lets pose with a massive smile and a peace sign and use photoshop later to make it pink and amazing and full of butterflies'cheese. Most amusing.

From here, we headed off to our final destination of the day. This was a beach back on the mainland, but one with a little difference. It has the most amazing water caves I have ever seen. They are so accessible at low tide that we all strolled in under the eroded rock and marvelled at the massive entrances and stalagtites hanging from the cliff face. The masses of tropical fish around our ankles also gave it a nice tropical 'oh ye I am in Thailand, not Wooky Hole' feel. I couldnt get many pictures of the amazing caves as many of them involved wading in water to our knees and my heart just wont let me bring my beloved camera into those dangerous and potentially life threatening conditions

Another great day in South Thailand. Tomorrow morning (at the ungodly hour of 6am) we make our way to our final island stop; Ko Tao on the Gulf of Thailand. The plan here; sit for three days, enjoy my last chance to get a tan and take as many dips in the sea as possible before my skin does that horrible shrively thing.

Sawatdiikha.

Soaking, Swimming and Sides of Mountains

When it comes to holidays, I have to say I am not a person for sitting around a beach for any decent length of time. I like the beach, dont get me wrong, but I get bored. After 3 or 4 days of not doing much I am ready for a trip somewhere. Today, after three days of not doing much, myself and the two travel buddies headed off on a day trip.

We were picked up at 8:30 by a very enthusiastic and charismatic tour guide named Tom and we headed off to the first of our three destinations of the day; the Hot Springs just outside Krabi town. We were told by Tom on the way to the springs that they average out at about 35 - 50 degrees, and when you think that body temperature is 37 degrees, it doesnt see, very hot. Boy were we wrong! They were amazing. Hidden in the dense forest, there is a number of little pools of water constantly flowing thanks to the spring coming from higher up on the mountain. We stripped off to the bikinis and dipped in. It was incredible. It was the heat of a nice hot bath and the waters were crystal clear. Luckily it wasnt too busy with the fact that its low season here, and we got to have a good soak and came out all relaxed and calm. I loved every second.

From here we moved onto the Emerald Pool. Also situated deep within the Thai tropical jungle, this pool is a lot more substantial than the springs. Basically when you look at it you would mistake it for an outdoor pool. It even has the blue tinge of a pool. But the water is in fact from a waterfall up on higher ground which trickles its way down and into the natural pool, and the blue colour is from the emerald green rocks which line the bottom and sides of the pool. It was not as hot as the springs, but there was definitely more room to swim about. 

So all relaxed and chilled, we were shipped to a gorgeous lunch of tom yum shrimp soup, chicken in sauce, vegetables and rice, followed by watermelon. Thinking this day was perfect, we headed off to our last destination; the Tiger Cave and Temple. The name is a bit deceiving as there isnt the cave you expect there. There is a sort of cave into the mountain, but not a go-down-into-the-ground sort of cave. Just more a cut into the mountain side at the foot. The story goes that decades ago a tiger lived in the cave and the locals would hear his roar echo through the cave. Then, in 1975, monks came along and kicked him out of his cave, so he went further into the mountains in search of a new home, and the monks built a temple there and named it after the tiger they forced out ..... not exactly great for the moral standing of the monks there but however .... Anyway, after wandering around and taking pictures of the tiger sculptures and shrines (while avoiding the robbing monkeys that also live there) we three decided that since we are young and fit and used to the Thai heat, we would have no problem climbing the 1237 steps up the mountain side to get to the view point at the top. We are idiots. 

Step 1; We can do this NO bother at all.

Step 200: Ok, its a little steep but nothing we cant handle.

Step 350: Phew, I am HOT. This is kinda hard. My legs hurt. Wow.

Step 550: I think I might not be able to do this.

Step 864: I can taste death. I am turning around and going back. Later dudes!

Turns out sitting behind a desk for 6 months shouting at kids and eating doesnt make you fit. It took half an hour for our legs to stop shaking, but we made it down and back to the hotel to stand in a cool shower for 15 minutes. Overall though, a really good and active day.

Sawatdiikha.

Back to Westernised Reality; Ao Nang

This blog is just going to be a little update as I have been kind of silent for the last few days but really want to keep track of my travels here.

So what have I been doing for the past three days? Well the day after my birthday was spent sitting on the beach for the whole day, and I can safely say that I am no longer sporting the bottle white 'oh look there is an Irish person' look. Instead I have acquired a lovely healthy tan .... on one half of my body .... Yes, I got tanned on the front but not the back. Fun!

Yesterday we travelled from the paradise island Koh Mook to Ao Nang, approx 3 hours travel on the mainland. I must admit, leaving Koh Mook I was a little sad. It really felt like I had discovered a paradise untouched by civilisation. It has no roads, no main shops, and you are woken every morning to the sound of the sea and monkeys on your roof. It is a haven of tranquillity. Ao Nang on the other hand, is quite the opposite. i feel like what I think someone who has come of a coma would feel like. Living in Rattanaburi for so long, and travelling to the places I have been to over the last two weeks, I am used to the Thai language and culture and easy slow way of doing things. Ao Nang is a loud bustling holiday town full of westerners. It is the typical tourist seaside town, complete with souvenir shops every 5 metres and overprices restaurants in between with over enthusiastic men standing outside who think if they get in you face and call you darling you will eat their food. Just to show the difference in prices here and where I was living in the very non touristy Rattanaburi, it costs 30 baht (80 cent) for Pad Thai (thai noodles and meat, so nice!) whereas it costs about 120 baht (3 euro) for the same here. No wonder the Thai people dont go on holidays! Travelling Thailand on a Thai wage, I am stressing a little over how expensive things are. Hopefully Cambodia will prove a little more economical.

As for activities, we are heading into Krabi town tomorrow to do a bit of the touristy culture thing, and then we plan to spend two days doing trips to waterfalls and hot springs, and then see a few islands. We are hoping to get to see the island that 'The Beach' was filmed on, as it isnt far from here. I have to say, I am loving travelling. The beach days are nice, but my heart lies in the activities and seeing things and taking pictures and having stuff to write about.

It is shocking how time flies though. Already I am nearly two weeks into my travels, with another 10 to go. 10 weeks doesnt really feel like a lot when I could do this eating/travelling/seeing the world thing forever. But I suppose I have to go back to reality at some point, right? ....

Sawatdiikha.

A Beach Birthday

If someone had told me at my 21st party last year that I would be spending my next birthday on a secluded tropical island off Thailand, I would have said ...... hell ye bring it on!! I have no intention of freezing my ninnies off unnecessarily.

Turns out, not a bad aul choice to spend my 22nd birthday. I started the day off with a nice western breakfast, and then my travelling buddy Helena gave me a lovely birthday present, and I headed down to sit on a beach for a few hours and attempt to get a bit of a tan. If I go home to Ireland looking like a milk bottle after 9 months in Asia I will never live it down.

At about lunch time, we decided to visit the emerald cave which the island is famous for. We could have done the tourist thing and took part in a boat trip costing 600 baht each (15 euro), but no. We decided it would be smart to hire a two person kayak for a sixth of the price each and head off in search of the cave ourselves. We were barely out of the cove when we were puffing and complaining about the pain in our shoulders. Turns out sitting at a table teaching kids for 6 months doesnt do much for your fitness levels. But regardless, we powered on, and about half an hour and a good mid ocean rendition of 'Happy Birthday' later, we arrived at the emerald cave. We negotiated with a boat captain to tie our kayak to his mooring line, and we grabbed the snorkels and hopped out. Below the surface we were met with stunning coral and thousands of fish. Inwardly thanking my mother for her years of forcing me to go to swimming lessons, we made our way into the cave, only to find a slight concern .... its dark in caves. Why we didnt think of this before hand I dont know, but we found ourselves latching onto a family and their guide, who were swimming through the pitch black cave with nothing but a little torch that was flickering scarily, while the guide said 'this way, swim swim, swim swim'. Five minutes of pitch black swimming later, we found ourselves in the most stunning location. The cave led out to a pool of water surrounded by sheer rock. Basically it looked like you were at the bottom of a massive well in the cliff. Its sooo hard to explain!  Here are a few pics of google images (I was NOT bringing my Canon in the kayak)

So, after marvelling at this amazing natural beauty, we followed the guide and his flickery light back through the cave and into the emerald exit back to the ocean. Again, we were wowed. The light from the water bounced off the roof, making the emerald green colour of the rocks glow, and in turn it made the water look a bright emerald green. Again, when we looked below, the green coral and all the tropical fish blew our minds.After having our fill of amazement, we made our way back to our kayak, only to encounter a little problem. We had a bit of trouble getting back onto the double kayak. But not to fear, friendly Thai boatmen were there to help. They pulled our kayak to the edge of their boat, and we climbed on board and from the edge of the boat threw our bums onto the kayak, all to the great amusement of the Thai holiday goers aboard. A few fits and giggles and a lot of puffing later, we landed back on our beach and handed back our kayaks, vowing to always remember to be a typical tourist and go with the boat trip. 

We finished off the night with a pizza, chips, and a fair amount of wine and girly conversation on the beach.

Best birthday I have ever had. 

Sawatdiikha.

Trang Travel ... Say that five times fast

I know I havent done a blog on Trang, so I just want to start this blog talking for a bit about it.

Trang Thailand. The city of ..... of ..... parks, a clock tower and kfc?? ...

In fairness, I arrived in Trang, a city waaaaaay down south of Thailand, on Saturday not expecting much anyway. I was simply here to meet a friend and head off to a little island for my birthday. I haven't done much to write about, but I felt it wouldnt be right not to include it in my travel diary here.

Well, lets start with the guesthouse, Tang House. I feel I have to give it a plug here, as its only new open (3 months) and they owner has been soooooo nice to me. Gorgeous rooms, lovely quiet location, great English speaking staff. Also, the local restaurant Bansuan Sudaporn Restaurant has to get a mention. Beautiful food and great garden jungle like setting.

So what did I do for the two days?? I ate, I drank coffee, I sat in stunning green parks and read and watched the world go by, and I walked a marathon around the town on search of touristy things to do and finding .... nothing ....ok maybe I should have gone to Pattaya for a few days instead. Ah well.

Ok, now onto the new location ....Koh Mook, approx 45 drive and 30 minute ferry from Trang. This place is .... is .... too beautiful for words. The best way to think of it is if you think of the location that they filmed 'The Beach' movie, and put a few bungalows built into the jungle near the coastal beach at the edge of the island. Its barely discovered by tourism, and hardly has roads let alone shops or ATMs. Food and drink is shipped in from the mainland daily, and the white sand beaches and unspoiled, clear, warm waters are the best I have ever encountered.

In short and not so brochure like language, its friggin paradise.

I know I should have pics to show you here, but my camera lead is in the room and I am in the common area on the wifi with a beer, and my mai pen rai attitude I have acquired in Thailand means I refuse to get up off my bum to get it. We will have to do with google images for now. So, tomorrow after I spend the day kayaking to the caves (its also my 22nd birthday tomorrow, woo happy birthday to meeeee) I will put up pics and a new blog. For now I will enjoy my Thai beer and listen to the crickets.

Sawatdiikha

Island hopping, but finding my feet.

I am not a good person when I am bored. I become pathetic and moany and thoughtful and I hate the world. Yesterday was one of those days. On the blog at least I was trying to keep a bright outlook. I was saying it was only a small thing that I wasnt enjoying myself as much as I thought I would, but inside I was having a freak attack thinking I couldnt do this travelling alone thing. I honestly didnt know what I was going to do, and last night I did not get a lot of sleep with the thought of 'oh holy hell what have I gotten myself into.

This morning I tried to be bright as I head down to the beach to my day tour of island hopping, hoping things would brighten up for me. Did it??? .... Oh ye!

It was exactly what I needed. After picking everyone up, the 13 people, including myself, set out on the speedboat. We stopped pretty quickly for some snorkelling, which I have to admit didnt show much, but then we headed onto our first island. It was breathtaking. The beach was pure white sand with overhanging trees for shelter and the odd swing. The beach curved around the island to reveal amazing sheer rock formations and cliffs. The water was so crystal you could see all the tropical fish swimming around your feet. I befriended an English man and his thai girlfriend, and we fed the fish out in the shallow waters, and we were literally surrounded by thousands and thousands of tint colourful fish, and some the size of small white sharks. I did have a scary 'Beach' movie panic attack when the word 'shark' was mentioned, but it was not as dramatic in reality as Leo experienced.

We moved onto another beach for some food and a bit of sunbathing, and then we headed out on the boat again for another bit of snorkelling. This bit blew the last attempt at snorkelling out of the water. We were located just off a rocky island which seemed impossible to dock at, and the variety of fish was incredible. I was in my element. It was made even better when I realised that my factor 70 suncream which  put on before getting in to tackle the lobster look I am sporting at the minute really is amazingly water resistant. Amy -1, Irish skin - 0.

We finished our 6 hour trip with a visit to a small island which gave views of both the mainland, the little uninhabitable rock islands, and Koh Samet where I am staying. The two tour guides with us snorkelled and fished for some sort of shell fish near the rocks while I took a dip and sat on the beach enjoying the views.

I topped the day off by spoiling myself with a bacon cheese burger, chips, and a beer, all served to me by an English man. The idea of ordering food in fluent English and not Thaiglish made me giddy. I have been away from the real world for way too long.

So, my faith in my ability to travel alone has been restored. Only the hurdle of my first flight to catch tomorrow as I head down south to meet a friend for a bit of travelling in Thailand before she heads home.

Sawatdiikha.

Koh Samet; Sun, Sand and Staying Positive

The first blog of the travels! Turns out its harder to find time and wifi to write while on holidays. In typical Thai fashion the advertised wifi in my hotel doesnt actually work. Nothing new there. Thai wifi is very unreliable.

So, how has the first two days of my travels been? I can sum it up in one word; strange. I am trying to be open minded, and give myself time to adjust to it all, but its proving slightly difficult. There are good and bad things about travelling alone.

Bad; I dont have anyone to put suncream on my back. There is nobody to watch my bag when I go swimming in the sea. I feel guilty having a drink as not only do I feel like I have to be more careful as I am alone, but I also hear my mother saying 'alcoholics drink alone' everytime I spy a bottle of Thai beer. Finally, I think I may miss conversation. Its nice to have someone to worry with, and to give out about dragging suitcases with, and to talk with over dinner. Now I am well aware that as I am on an island which isnt so popular with backpackers there is a lower chance of meeting people, and I have a higher chance when staying in hostels and bigger cities .... I am giving myself time to adjust and trying to think about it all rationally.

Good; you can go where you want, do what you want, eat what you want, do the tours you want, spend the money you want, and sometimes its nice to take time to sit and think of nothing rather than accommodating other people.. I am finding that I am a good bit more relaxed in the sense that I sit and read my book and dont think about things as much. Also, my mother passed on her people watching talent, and I am having tons of fun watching the world's inhabitants. Stalkerish I know, but we all do it, dont deny it!

So I have spent the last two days eating some really nice food, mostly Thai funny enough, drinking coffee, ploughing through the Game of Thrones books, and lounging on the white sand beach getting sun burnt despite the fact that I have been in the shade for the whole two days and applying factor 50. Bloody Irish skin! In the evenings I sit on the beach with a drink while the sun goes down and I indulge in some western food, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the English bands coming from the bars on the beachfront.

Overall I feel I must stay positive and calm. Ok, maybe being on a beach holiday isnt the perfect thing for me, but now I know. I leave for Trang on Saturday and I meet with a friend there before travelling the rest of Thailand together. I feel I would be better suited to an active city holiday on my own rather than a beach. I am heading off on an island hop tomorrow for the day, which is more my thing. I only have a certain amount of patience for a deck chair.

Its all a learning curve, right ....

Sawadiikha

I Wish My Dad Was Liam Neeson ....

There are times in your life when you feel like you are in a sort of limbo. I felt it when I finished primary school. I felt it for the 6 weeks between finishing the school year and moving house at the age of 15. I felt it between finishing my leaving certificate and going to University. I am feeling it today. Its the awareness of ending a significant era in your life and beginning a new era that is going to be equally as significant. The unease that comes with a limbo is connected to the unknown.You know that what you have done so far has led you to this, and you know whether it has been good or bad. What lies ahead is unplanned and unknown. Its friggin scary.

So the last week has comprised of going to farewell parties, being given beautiful gifts of Thai silk, finalising salary payments, and packing. Of course it also involved saying goodbye to teachers I live and work with who I will genuinely miss, and students who have made my experience here in Rattanaburi Thailand so amazing. Its safe to say, it has been an emotional roller-coaster of  a week.One minute I am nearly on the verge of jumping around with excitement at the thought of what I will see and experience over the next three months of travelling, and then literally the next second I am struck dumb with fear of all that could go wrong; I could lose my passport. I could be robbed and have no money. I could miss my flight. I could make mistakes with my reservations and have nowhere to go. I could be attacked. I could get lost. I could be kidnapped. I could be arrested Bridget Jones style for drugs which are planted in my suitcase, and I honestly dont think the Irish government have a handsome and smart Mr Darcy to come and save me, and my Dad is no Liam Neeson (sorry Dad). I could be caught up in an all Asian war where all the phone and internet lines are disconnected and the rising power wants to eradicate all foreign influences and I have to go on the run to avoid being thrown in Nazi style work camps ..... ok so maybe I am slightly going overboard with the worrying ....

In all seriousness though, heading off alone at 21 years old with minimal Thai/Cambodian/Vietnamese/Malaysian could be considered bordering on utter madness. Sitting here looking at my packed suitcase I am the verge of concurring. But sure, what else am I going to do? No point going home to the cold right? May as well look at some temples, eat some food, lie on the beach and travel on buses and trains and planes alone and avoid alleyways and suspicious men on street corners and dodgy dormmates and anyone who looks like they are about to start a revolution ......

ooooooh someone make me a cuppa before I have a heart attack ....

Sawatdiikha.