Last Day Koh Tao

Bridge:  After much “umming” and “arrring” we dicided to spend one last night on Koh Tao.

After a well deserved egg and bacon breakfast, we jumped on our scooter and headed to Mae Haad where we bought our Lamphraya tickets for tomorrow’s catamaran ride across to Ko Phan Ngan.  We then decided to try out the ‘public pool’ on the road side near Buddah View – it was lovely.  The large, raised deck was equipped with tanning mats and mini drinks tables.  We made nest in the shade, ordered a cocktail each and had a swim.

By this time Quint’s ‘worm’ was starting to turn so we rode off to find Sai Deng Beach and have some grub.  (this being Quint’s idea...)  The road leading gthere was all but washed away completely and to add to the frustration and heat we had, what looked like a rabid dog chase us down the road!  We made it safely to the top of the hill leading down to Sai Deng Beach where we saw scooters parked so we presumed they weren’t allowed beyond that point in the road – well we were wrong...  As we were getting off the bike, an English couple came crawling around the corner sweating and huffing and puffing.  The first thing they asked us was, “Did you guys see that dog?!?!” – thankfully, as Quint was so focused on driving at the time (good chap) that he didn’t believe me when i started shouting, “...there’s a dog chasing us, drive, drive, DRIIIVE!”  they warned us that the road leading to the beach was very steep and they strongly advised us to walk rather than take the scooter.  Steep??  My jungle hat!  The hill was at such a gradient that i almost had the urge to slide down on my bottom as i felt i was going to fall flat on my face!

So after a very expensive (by budget standards) tuna baguette, we made the perilous walk back up the hill to our scooter.  All i have to say is this... no shade, 35ºC, 600m climb on a tar road at 60º angle wearing flip flops – you can only imagine the sweet words of love I was throwing at Quint – and all he had to say was, “come on Bentley, put those ‘kankles’ of yours to work!”

Back at  Ao Leuk, we spent the rest of the hot, still and humid day indoors reading – and writing of course.  At around 5pm when things were just starting to cool off, we hired a 2-man kayak and paddled around the bay.  It was so calm and the water so crystal clear, there was hardly a point to jump in with a mask and snorkel.

A really beautiful day it was....

Koh Tao Day 2 & 3

Bridge:  We ‘scooted’ into Ban Mae Had and enjoyed pancakes and coffee/mango shakes for breakfast before we packed up our room at Freedom Beach and headed to Ao Leuk.  We traded our slightly weak scooter in for a new one with a bit more power and thicker treads on its wheels as the road leading down and up form Ao Leuk is at a 60 degree angle and rather treacherous!

We exposed our very shiny white bods to the sun after we checked into our cute little room and then spent the afternoon exploring the island on ‘Oliver’  we found an internet cafe and skyped Smurf and Lisa.  Lisa told us she had quit her job at the Oasis Academy – I was so proud of her!  I now lie in our room with Quint fast asleep next to me and a rather large rain storm brewing outside....it should blow over in a few minutes – I hope!

Quint:     Much to my dismay it was an early awakening this morning as Bridge had planned a boat rode around the island for the day after I had been chirping it wasn’t in our budget – aren’t I a cheap-skate!

The 4x4 picked us up at 8am sharp as we wolfed down the remainder of our chocolate waffle breakfast.  Off to Baan Mae Had (‘town’ – as we now call it).  We were the first to arrive at Diamond Tows reception and we were told  that the small ‘long-tailed boat’ that we had arranged just for the two of us was not going to happen – reason was never explained.  We would instead, be going on a large boat with about 20 other people!  We thought  this probably wasn’t such a bad idea as the water seemed a little choppy.  Much to our horror, suddenly 4 large 4x4’s pulled into the pier loaded to the hilt with our companions for the day.  Every one of them carried a Samsung waterproof camera, dressed in uncomfortably tight neo bright speedos and posed with peace sign symbols for every photo – yes, you guessed it – Beijing had arrived!

Frowns and eyebrow raises intact, we set off into the early blue.  We headed around the south side to our first snorkelling spot “shark bay!”  beneath the sea, the coral and sealife was amazing in some places and a bit broken and tattered in others.  At one stage in the day i decided to take a break for a while on deck and let Bridge head off by herself.  She had not been gone 5 minutes when i heard that high pitched shriek and cackle i know so well coming from the back of the boat.  Without her knowing it, as she slid into the water, the tour guide on board had sprinkled crumbled biscuit down the back of her life jacket and before she knew it she was under attack by a giant swirling ball of reef fish!  The photos are fantastic!

Our last stop of the day were the magical small islands just off the north east coast of Koh Tao known as Koh Nang Yuan.  It consists of 3 small islands all joined together by long stretches of beach – arguably on of the best sights in Thailand!

After much sun and enjoyment we had a relaxed evening at our resort with yet another amazing dinner.  We were still laughing over my near-death experience in the bungalow earlier when I had been searching the depths of my rucksack.  Something suddenly wriggled in between my fingers and clothes which threw me back in fright!  My first thought was it was a bladdy snake!  I ran with my rucksack at arms length out onto the balcony and hurled it onto the deck – next thing a huge water lizzard lurched itself out of my back, across the floor and off the side of the balcony into the bush.  Ah – just another day in the tropics!

Koh Tao - Day 1

Bridge:   After a quick cup of coffee from 7/11 we decided we couldn’t wait around any longer – we were hot, sticky, smelly and barely conscious with fatigue – so we said goodbye to our 2 companions – the Italian girl and the very laid-back French guy and we took a taxi (Toyota Double Cab 4x4) to a place we picked from the book – Freedom Beach Bungalows.

The taxi dumped us outside the ‘reception’.  We waited around for over an hour before a very tiny Thai lady appeared in her pyjamas, startled to see us , but happy to show us a room.  We took it.  400BHT for a very simple hut on stilts looking out over Ao Choloke bay – a bed with a sheet, a fan and a very rudimentary bathroom.  After a good scrub, we took a taxi back into Mae Haad and hired a 125cc scooter, which we buzzed around the island on for the rest of the day, negotiating steep hills (which often resulted in me jumping off the back and pushing!)

We had dinner at the ‘Fizz Bar & Lounge’ on Sairee beach somewhere.  It was beautiful!  Big wooden, raised decks with low dining tables and lime green bean bags as seats.  Little paraffin candles were lit under each newly planted cocnut tree lining the sand infront of the deck.  We enjoyed a drink and some Thai grub then jumped on our scooter and carefully navigated our way back to Freedom Beach – in the dark.

View Map of the Trip in a larger map

Chumphon to Koh Tao Island

Quint:     We finally screeched to a halt into Chumphon station after a very long 9 our ride.  The journey had been extremely tiresome with no meals served through the journey and the use of the toilet which required a heavy duty trucking license to operate!

It was now 10pm and we had to try and figure out how to make it through this funny little town to our car ferry which was due to leave at 11pm!

Luckily, even at that late hour of the night, we noticed a few ladies looking out for such people like ourselves and like fresh sticky-buns from a bakery, we piled into the back of an open bakkie along with another 2 lost soles scraped off the pavement at the station and made a quick chips and beer stop at 7/11 before we were finally delivered right to the ramp of our ferry – right on time!

300BHT each a ticket and we were ready to go.  We made it within 15 minutes to spare onto a small car ferry that to me much resembled the dodgy fishing boat off the movie ‘JAWS’!  piled into the airless cabin with every colour of the rainbow we set off at 11pm sharp for our 6 hour voyage to paradise!

It didn’t take long for the sticky-buns to turn into fermenting dumplings and after a few more hours could not bare the sight or stench of eachother! 

6 hours later at 5am, we pulled into Mae Haad Harbour.  It had almost been a grilling 24hrs since we left Bangkok to arriving at our new destination.  After a further few hours waiting cuddled up on the concrete steps outside 7/11, it started becoming light enough to see where we were.....PARADISE!

Bangkok to Chumphon

Bridge:  Apart from our rather restless night, we managed to sleep between 5am and 9am.  2 fried eggs on toast killed any signs of a starting hangover. 

We said goodbye to Bella Bella Guesthouse and jumped on our first tuk-tuk (after much negotiating) to Hualamphong train station (via the so-called licensed T.A.T office) – where we refused to buy our train tickets from. 

Our tuk-tuk driver wasn’t impressed with us as he would have received a hefty commission if we had done so and showed his aggression by upping our tuk-tuk ride from the originally agreed price of 30BHT to 100BHT! – we agreed of course, we were skeptical he would drive us to some dodgy part of town and dump us on the street.

So after the incredibly hair-raising experience, we now sit at Anna Kitchen inside Hualamphong station, sipping coke and waiting for our 13.00pm departure to Chumphon.

The train-ride from Bangkok was long.  We left on time, but no sooner had we pulled out of the station and we came to a grinding halt – an accident on the level crossing.  2 hot and gruelling hours later – we were on the move again....

After realising that the scenery consisted of endless paddy fields and coconut trees, we decided to try and get some sleep – as once you’ve seen one paddy field, you’ve seen them all!

Sleeping proved to be impossible on a leather seat, despite my efforts at trying all possible angles with the blow-up travel pillow from Boots in London.  I couldn’t wait for someone to tell me I could pull down the top bunk and stretch out.  This only happened at 6.30pm sharp when the coach guard came whizzing through the train handing each person a surprisingly clean and starched white sheet, followed by him pulling down each of the bunks and very efficiently making each and every bed!  White sheets , fluffed up pillows and drawn curtains – what more could I ask for!

Khao San Road - Chaos.

Bridget:  There were so few of us on the bus AE2 from the airport – all heading to Khao San Road, that the driver skipped out the previous 4 or 5 stops and took us all straight there.  We finally figured out where the bus had dumped us and slowly navigated our way to the first guest house on my list of 3 to try out.  Bella Bella Guest House – 270BHT for a double room/fan/shared bathroom.  Not too bad, so we took it – even if it was a bit grotty – we didn’t have the energy left in us to trawl to the next place.

We dumped our stuff in the room and headed to the nearest place offering cheap eggs and bacon.  We then attempted walking the streets of Banghlamphu and Khao San Road, but we soon realised that the jet lag was dragging us back to our room by our baby toes!....we slept for the rest of the afternoon.

At 5.30pm we took a stroll to Sawasdee House where we had an amazing dinner accompanied by a few cocktails and the in-famous Tiger Beer.  The service was brilliant and the atmosphere, music and general 'buzz' was unreal.

We then meandered down to the Silk Bar on Khao San Road and continued with the cocktails.  I can’t get over how this street becomes alive at night!  Food stalls, fruit stalls and the endless rows of market stalls selling everything from clothes and shoes to fake Univeristy Degrees and Drivers Licenses! 

I enjoyed a good haggling session with a very sweet, almost shy stall keeper whom I managed to buy a lovely white a red beach dress from for 200BHT – original price 450BHT!

We headed off to bed around 10.30pm.  Absolutely BEAT!

Arrival in Bangkok

Quint:  Touch down in Bangkok 7am local time, (2am London time!) so you can imagine the sight of my blood-shot eyes at this stage!

After sneaking past the Swine Flu inspectors, we swept through an efficient immigration process and picked up our rucksacks which somehow had managed to follow us all the way!

Reunited with our worldly possessions we changed a bit of cash then delve straight into it......taxi? or bus?  Bridge was for the whole bus, ‘see-the-city’ thing.  I had a different idea – grab a cab, pay the extra bucks – and get straight to our accommodation, fill my belly then hit the sack!

Well...as i sit and write this I am currently on a bus on a highway with backed up traffic that makes Joburg look like the Karoo!  Must say however, they definitely beat Zupco with leather seats and A/C.  As for the surrounding area to Khao San – I would say a mix of the crumblings of Mozambique with the sky scrapers of Dubai.

Transit in Mumbai

Quinton:  9 hours, 2 chicken curries and 1 blaady long holding pattern over the Arabian Sea later, we find ourselves in Mumbai.

The first recognition from the plane window that we were, once again in a 3rd world country, was the Massey Ferguson tractor speeding toward our plane to offload the luggage.  The second was the fact I found myself literally stuck to my seat in sweat as the overhead display screen ready:  "outside temp:  32 degrees Celcius" - it's 12:30am for heavens sake!

Much to our surprise, due to our late arrival, we had an escort through the airport (fat cat style) and straight onto our next plane headed for Bangkok.

Getting There

Bridget:  After a quick 30minute taxi ride from ‘Chav-Alley’ in Woking to Heathrow Airport, we boarded Jet Airways flight, ‘I-have-no-idea’ to Mumbai, India.

We had a pretty grotty soggy mushroom slash bacon slash watery egg bun at starbucks which definitely wasn’t worth the right arm that it cost me – just another sign that Brown is trying to squeeze every last copper penny from me before I leave this god-forsaken island.