IF I were a woman of few words I would sum up my time in Thailand as a veritable smorgasboard of cheap, flavoursome feasts, smily welcoming locals and blissful relaxation on the beach.
But, as previously established I AM NOT woman of few words, so here is a few MORE on the subject... : )
Despite the absolute amazing-ness of my European travels, I was determind to fit in as much as possible, so the pace was fairly manic. Thus , I decided before coming home to the ' real world' I would treat myself ( again) to some pure un-interrupted beach chill out time.
I'd planned to hit the Pehentian islands- off the coast of Malaysia because of my beloved sister's recommendations, but being the typhoon season ( duhhhh) it was completely flooded and closed to the public.
So, because I am flying home from K.L and it's relatively close, I decided on Thailand.
I'm slightly ashamed to say that in contrast to the other countries I visited, I made the cop-out decision to simply treat this time as a ' holiday.' Not a culture fest , not a sight-seeing extravaganza, not a language learning challenge, just an un-ashamed relaaaaxxxxx.
And it has been just that. : )
After leaving my lovely ma, I spent a painful 24 hours travelling/waiting/in transit and eventually found my way to Phuket. Refusing all of the more expensive 'taxi' options, I hitched a ride on the local bus, where the ticket collector was excessively helpful, the warm wind whipped through the open windows and giant palm trees lined the hilly roads. I had officially landed in the ' Land of Smiles!"
After getting so lost that the lovely hostel owner had to personally come and collect me, I stayed overnight in this funny little place, which doubled as this woman's home, and had incredible jungle-esque views . I bunked in with an English girl who , when I passed out after all the travelling, at 8:30 that night, kindly turned off my bedside light for me . awww.
The next day I was picked up by a mini bus at the hostel which proceeded to get bogged due to the tropical rain the night before. This resulted in a comedy skit- worthy exercise which involved every male in the vicinity and alot of pushing and grunting! Eventually we were freed and on our way.
I boarded the ferry and after a very rainy and slightly rocky ferry ride, landed on the tropical island of Ko Phi Phi.
Despite still being very wet and muddy, i knew I was onto a good thing, when the hostel I'd hurriedly booked just hours before, was nestled up in the hills overlooking a lake. My luck got even better when I barted my way into a private little cabin complete with bathroom for 2 weeks for just over 100 bucks! yes! It was perfect.
The next day the sun was shining and it was revealed to be truly a piece of paradise.
It takes me under five minutes to walk to the centre of town or to the beach and since then I've developed a delicious little routine.
Every morning I've been sleeping as late as I desire, then going for a walk along the beach. Then I return to my little cabin for a much needed cold shower( just a half hour power walk results in me looking as if I've already had a shower- fully dressed! the sweat literally drips off me ...mmm delicious! )
Then I visit a little cafe run by a friendly smiling family who laugh everytime when I say " Just the usual thanks!" The usual, is a mix of amazing fresh tropical fruit, homemade muesli and yoghurt. This may not sound that amazing to you, but anyone that knows me well, also knows that this is my idea of brekkie heaven!
Then providing the weather is good, which more often than not it has been , I'll hit the beach. And it's not just any beach, its literally a little strip of bliss. White sand, clear ocean, wooden boats and all bordered by palm covered mountains. I'll easily while away the day reading ( thus far my whole quota for the whole trip is approx 35 novels! ), sunbaking and soaking in the luke warm water. Then back home for another cold shower and then market browsing, writing of my script, and delcious Thai feasts at a selction of wonderful restaurants right on my doorstep.
As you probably know, due to the ridiculous amount of facebook messages and emails, ( thankyou so much ) I also celebrated my b'day here. I think it's probably the first time I've ever celebrated it solo. Yeah , I could easily have gone and gotten rip roaring drunk and made heapsa fickle friends, but I'd done enough of that in Europe. This was 'my' time.
So, I feasted all day. I lazed on the beach, I ate decadent icecreams and treated myself to a few highly toxic cocktails and then ended up at a lovely seaside restaurant. There I gorged myself on an amazing creation , aptly named the ' pineapple boat.' It's literally a whole hollowed out pineapple filled with roasted rice, raisins, fresh vegies and seafood. Delicious!
Bursting at the seams, but determind to have some sort of ' bday cake' , I squeezed in a Thai pancake - basically a butter laden crepe, folded over itself and then coated in lemon and sugar.
Not a bad b'day by all accounts!
I did eat some dodgy seafood at one stage and spent a painful 2 days holed up in my room. But it rained those days and then as soon as I was able to manage plain rice again- the sun started shining, so it wasn't that bad.
I feel so grateful to have has these two weeks, Thailand has been the perfect conclusion to a truly mindblowing trip.
Many of you would know that I have wanted to travel to Europe for.. well.. FOREVER and I can honestly say I'm quite proud of myself for finally fulfilling the dream.
A small part of me is sad that it's all coming to an end. But the main part of me is a giggly, excited ball of anticipation. I've got a whole new adventure with my man to look forward to. And Chrissie and Merideth etc too! Bring. it. on.
I'm so looking forward to coming home and hearing all of your adventures too my friends. Thankyou for caring enough to read about mine.
I'm very lucky to have you and so excited to see you.
Until then,bon voyage xoxo
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