Koh Lanta, my idea of heaven!

Deciding where to visit in Thailand has taken us forever. There are so many little islands with soft, sandy beaches and clear waters (which we wish we could visit them all), but we chose to stay 3 nights in Koh Lanta. 

Now this haven is definitely more rural to Phuket; with no hot water, limited electricity and wooden huts scattered across the beachside. We stayed in a hut on stilts above a little lake; it wasn't quite the rustic wooden huts we had planned to stay in but we still enjoyed a change from the noisy hostels and white hotel rooms.

I would like to say we done a lot over our visit here, but actually the beach became our best friend and our towels, sunscreen, sunglasses and bikinis (and swim shorts) were our everyday essentials. We were able to catch up with some friends who we had previously met along our travels, and indulge in delicious (and cheap) food and drink which included a spectacular sea view. We also spent time exploring the local markets, where we were able to grab some amazing bargains (and fake football shirts for the boys).

Though the one thing I will remember about Koh Lanta is the vast amounts of different crabs you can find scuttling along the beach. One of the men in the beach bar even helped me find a gigantic hermit crab. 

We could have easily stayed on this island for much longer, however our friend (stupidly) got bit by a dog on one of her previous adventures, so we needed to head back to civilisation so she could get her rabies shot. So the next time you will hear from me, I will be back in Phuket, planning the next stage of our travels.

xx

Quickest (and not quite worth it) visit to Koh Phi Phi

We took a boat trip to Koh Phi Phi for the day. We begun by taking a tour round Phi Phi rock, which unfortunately we didn't get to stop at the beautiful beaches which was a bit of a disappointment. We then pulled up at a snorkelling point and guess what... We went snorkelling. There were lots of small fish and rainbow fish swimming around the bleached coral at the bottom. We snorkelled for about 45mins then headed for lunch at Phi Phi Don. After lunch we went to the beach where we only got 10 minutes due to the boat leaving. The sand was perfectly soft between my toes and the waters were so clear. Overall this trip to Phi Phi wasn't the best. We didn't have near enough time to visit the beautiful places we wanted to go and it was more of a flying visit. I don't recommend visiting Phi Phi in this way, best to get a speed boat to and from the island and do your own thing (which we hope we can squeeze in before our time ends in Thailand). We did get some good snaps though :)

xx

Lazying around in Phuket doing nothing!

Phuket is definitely the place to come on a package holiday. Lots of big hotels with swimming pools and tons of bars and restaurants (also a lot more pricier than other parts of Thailand we have been to). So we decided this was the place to just relax at Patong beach for a few days and try to get some sort of tan.

We also met up with some friends who we had travelled round India with. It was brilliant to exchange stories from our other trips and just generally have a good catch up.

As we have arrived in Phuket during the monsoon season, the weather hasn't been the greatest and we have been stuck in a few horrendous down pours. Hopefully we will see some more sunshine soon.

xx

Turning into the little mermaid

Day 1: First day of our open water scuba diving course and we were stuck in a classroom for 4 hours watching videos. Now in the English weather that would be fine, however in 30 degrees heat it was an absolute killer. I did make friends with the company's cat during the process  which made time fly by a little quicker. Homework set for tonight, feels like I am back at school. So plans for tonight; start reading the 200 page book and answer the quiz (obviously with a beer in hand).

Day 2: More videos and studying in the morning, but finally hitting the water in the afternoon. We had to practise lots of different skills, like; removing your mask and putting it back on again under water, switching and sharing air supplies with your buddy, removing your BCD and replacing it again and generally getting used to breathing through the regulator. Now I have never worn or used scuba gear before, so at first it did feel weird but you quickly got used to it. By the end I was shattered; who knew scuba diving was so tiring (and how heavy the gear is when out of the water), but I still had homework to complete in the evening. We did find time to go out with the guys from the hostel for dinner. The place we went to was a cook your own BBQ style restaurant. The food was delicious and so was the company, defiantly helped us relax in the evening.

Day 3: More theory and quizzes in the morning, but during the afternoon we actually got to participate in 2 open water sea dives. We began by practising more skills and I did struggle in floodig my mask and replacing it 10m under water as I stupidly breathed in through my nose (obviously there was no chance in reaching the surface so had to control my breathing deep down), but eventually I got there. The first dive we did was to The Twins in Koh Tao. We swam down to 10m and saw lots of small fish. This dive was mainly to get used to the depth and keeping ourselves neutrally buoyant. For the second dive we headed towards the Japanese gardens (12m deep) and saw a wide selection of fish. We would have seen a blue spotted stingray but Leigh decided to kick his fins on the sand and reduced any visibility we had. So that opportunity was missed (yes I did give him the evil look under water).

Day 4: It was time for our final exam, we needed to get 75% to pass (which luckily I did). Then it was time for the best 2 dives of the course. We headed towards the Japanese Gardens in Koh Tao where we saw a blue spotted stingray (thank goodness), trigger fish, groupers, a school of barracudas and many many more. 

Yet again I have ticked another thing off my bucket list, but have also added a variety of creatures I wish to see now that I am able to dive down and see them in their natural habitat. Next stop Phuket, definitely going to miss Koh Tao (my favourite place in Thailand). Will have to find some new places to dive.

xx 

Koh Tao

Yay finally a beach!!! Shower, bikini on, breakfast, walk to the beach, find my spot and collapse on my towel. Perfect! Koh Tao has perfectly clear waters and I didn't want to get out of them. After nearly 7 weeks of travelling, it has been so nice to just stop and do nothing for the day.

We have finally booked our open water diving course. This course is over 4 days and will require lots of studying and hopefully lots of diving too. Can't actually wait!

Xx

3 day stop in Chiang Mai

We arrived in Chiang Mai on the sleeper train and I have to admit, as our travels have progressed so have the sleeper trains in regards to their standards. The Bangkok to Chiang Mai train has bigger beds which are turned into seats. Amazing (it is all about the small things)! However they do keep the the lights on ALL night (you do have a curtain which blocks it a bit) but that's fine I have my trusty eye mask. No wait... I left it on the last sleeper train in China, I actually wanted to cry when I realised.

We spent 3 days in Chiang Mai which we worked out clearly wasn't enough. There is so much to do and it is such an incredible place to stay.

I'm sorry but I am going to show you a picture of my incredible breakfast, as it was just purely amazing. Fresh fruit (melons, dragon fruit, pineapple and more) covered in homemade natural yoghurt and homemade muesli; it was literally the best!

We spent the 1st day exploring the old town and the night market in the evening.

On the following day, we decided to book ourselves on to an elephant training camp for the day. The camp we had originally wanted to go for was fully booked; so we took the risk and booked ourselves on to a new starting up program. It was the best decision we have made so far on this trip.

We began our day by dressing in local dress and meeting the elephants. I have learnt that elephants LOVE bananas and eat vast quantities of them everyday. We were taught the local commands (in Thai) which were needed whilst bare back riding the elephants. We then rode the elephants up the hill to the first point. At one point I was left carrying 4 large bunches of bananas and, as you can imagine, I was bombarded by hungry elephants.

We then stopped for lunch and were taught how to make medicine for the elephants to help aid their digestive system (as they not only will eat the bananas but will happily eat the plastic bag they are put in too). It was made of 4 simply ingredients; salt, bananas (obviously), dry rice and tamarin. It was a messy business making the medicine and didn't smell the greatest either. We formed large fist shape balls and left them in the sun to dry out.

Then we helped cut down sugarcane for the elephants; due to it being the dry season, food becomes scarce for the animals so all the help was needed to collect the 550kg of food each elephant eats per day. I have to admit I wasn't the greatest at this part of the training (blaming the weak arms) but we were able to feed the elephants the food we had collected.

(Will finish the blog on a separate post otherwise it will never upload!)

xx

Chiang Mai continued

We then went for another bare back ride up the hillside and back again. We took different elephants this time and ours chose to follow her own directions which was very funny but we got there in the end. 

We then walked down part of the hill where we meet another group of elephants by the river. Bath time! But first we had to travel across the river in a home made cable car which was an experience on its own. Once we got to the other side, we walked the elephants into the water and threw buckets of water all over them and rubbed their rough skin. Our elephant loved filling his trunk full of water and spraying it over his head. Afterward we fed the elephants more bananas and sugarcane.

It was then time to say goodbye to the elephants and make our way to our means of transport to get down the hill. We took a car to the water rafting point. Now when I say took a car, I don't mean sat nicely in a seat in the back. We were put in a pick up truck which had 3 rubber dinghies stacked on the back. Our seats: the top of the rubber dinghies! I have to admit though, it gave a beautiful view of the surroundings.

We then had to water raft down the river. Unfortunately my competitive streak came out and we were grouped with a couple who couldn't grasp the concept of how to use the paddle. I have lots of patience for child, but as I have discovered I have little patience for adults. Oops! So it took us a while to get started but eventually we got into a rhythm and enjoyed the ride down. Once we got near the bottom we had to change to a wooden raft because the water was too shallow for the inflateable dinghy. Now there was seriously no point to these rafts as when you sat on them you completely sunk to the bottom (luckily it was so shallow). The only reason we stayed on them was because our instructor and told us about the water snakes (which had scared the life out of us), so decided it would be best to just sit on a sinking raft. 

Overall, it has been an amazing day and this organisation is working hard to look after the elephants in the best possible way and have dreams of eventually being able to re-home elephants back to the natural habitat in the future. They are desperate for volunteers to help them complete there goals. So if you are ever in Chiang Mai, let me know and I will give you their details.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Chiang Mai and wish we could have spent more time here as there is so much to do. But for now it is time to make our way to Kho Tao (2 sleeper trains and a ferry) where we can finally find a beach.

xx