Thailand has offered little in the way of blogging and it is only now, as we begin our travels through Laos, do I think to post something. Whether this is due to an unsatisfactory lack of culture- the last temple we visited was in Ayutthaya- or a silly amount of partying and lack of sleep thereof.
I feel sad to leave the south of Thailand however. My family has always visited Europe and America so Thailand was my first taste of luxurious white beaches and beautiful little islands surrounded by clear, turquoise sea. Amy said I wouldn't tan, but I'm excitedly happy to say that I no longer appear Irish. Not quite French or Swedish, but I'm getting there.
After we left Phuket (here I should mention that we went back and stayed a week with the Power Storm Crew, every night spent dancing away at their favorite club, 'Seduction'), we headed for the relaxing island of Koh Phi Phi. This 'recovery island' turned out to be party central. Day one and I'm winning the fire limbo and cartwheeling through fire rings; day two and I'm being carried by a local fire dancer under a 60cm fire limbo... At one point, we were told the quietest and best beach was a lovely forty minute walk away and so we began the journey, hoping that a walk and some good views would bring us back to a cultural balance. The forty minute walk was actually a sixty minute trek through the jungle where any hesitation resulted in a number of mosquito bites. Amy reached the beach with maybe eighty or more bites and in exasperation and despair having lost me at the very beginning. But let's console ourselves on how lovely the beach was.
The real recovery island was Koh Lanta where we splashed out on a resort bungalow, downed Fanta in an effort to increase our glucose and therefore energy levels, and indulged in amazing food and puddings.
The final stop in the South was the infamous Full Moon Party in Koh Phangnan. We arrived with doubt, thinking we would hate the party but come just for the experience. By eight o'clock the first evening however, we were feeling the buzz and the atmosphere and regretted our decision to scuba dive the next day because it meant an early night. The scuba diving was incredible though, and I've decided to get certified at my next opportunity.
A nice touch to Koh Phangnan were the people we met there, both old friends and new. We bumped into Todd from our tavels in India, Eli from Nepal, Michael who was Amy's friend from London, Joe and Sarah whom we met in Ayuthaya, Max and his friends who we met and saw a lot of in Phuket and two London guys who we did a boat tour in Koh Phi Phi with. We then met three Indians and three Malaysians while diving who we got on really well with and partied with later, Leighton from New Zealand who became our roommate, and of course in true Mamie-faghag-style, I made a new gay best friend called Adam. This was just to name a few of the people we met and spent time with, but it was amazing to have such a mix of backgrounds and friends all in this one big party vibe.
I'm going to mention now that the Full Moon Party was not as bad as the rumours say. Yes most people were very, very drunk and in typical Thailand- tourist style it was pretty crazy, but it wasn't too bad and we escaped unscathed and unscarred. Initially we were worried about our hotel room after we were told it was often broken into because it was positioned right on the main beach, but everything was okay in the end. Anyway, the burglar alarm which I constructed from Amy's rape alarm was foolproof, right?
Now, after two days of travelling (an unbelievably hungover Amy, a very packed boat which almost sank, an overnight bus trip back to the old Khao San road and our first Thai train towards the Laos border) we are almost at San Pha Don: the four thousand islands. We have twenty one days left, and a lot to pack in. Maybe no more partying?
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