Thailand Adventure

The Arrival @ Bangkok, Thailand

2008-02-06T19:46:00.000Z

Long goodbye's at the Airport lead to long waits in unfamiliar gates until the sudden realisation was made by one of my female counterparts, "we are at the wrong gate". A quartet of whailing girls lead the path, directing fellow passengers out there way as they clutched their passports high above their heads, a much calmer Guy followed behind with a delightful smirk on his face as he noticed the immense queue ahead at the infamous gate number 2.

As we took our seats on the plane, dispersed throughout the back end of the plane I couldn't help remember my fascination for Lost, and which end of the plane survived? I reassured myself it was the back end and I reclined to my hearts content with earphones in. In flight entertainment was top notch as I playfully waded my way through episodes of Simpsons and Family Guy before settling down with 'Stardust' a fantastically magical film which unfrotunately did not match my Chiken supper, thankfully crisps and chocolate were close to hand.

After the meal I felt a change of scenary was necessary and I aluded the dull scotsman next to me to wander towards my fellow comrades. To my disgust Charlotte and Lucy had extra leg room seats, so I avoided any converse and sat with fellow plebians Emma and Gloria who thankfully had an empty seat next to them. Discussions of the food and entertainment ensued before the subtle dimming of the lights took my partners into a hypnotic trance, I on the other hand watched more tele.

Another meal came by, another disappointment. Another film, Atonement before we finally started our descent into Bangkok. Fuck, I just remembered I was bricking it.

Passport control and luggage were fantastically easy and as we stepped out into Thai soil we were suddenly slapped in the face by Heat and his good friend Humidity, I coped in my shorts, the girls in the jeans however did not. We quickly realised the immense size of our packbacks and that no taxi could take all five of us, so me and Charlotte took off in the first taxi on our way to backpack mecca...Khao San Road.

The taxi journey was pleasant enough, I quickly avoided the topic of politics as Thaksin's name was thrust upon me and diverted his attentions to food. "Pad Thai" and "Aloi" were repeated frantically and met each time with superficial laughter, by both our driver and Charlotte. My Thi\ai quickly developed and I found myself deep in conversation with the driver as Charlotte looked on gormlessly. He first accused her of being my girlfriend which made us both coil in disgust, to his confusion which lead him to asking if Charlotte was a lady-boy. Charlotte is adament she's not, I'm still undecided.

We paid our way and dived into one of the most wierdly wacky wonderful roads I could ever imagine. Street sellers lined the side of the road selling anything you could imagine. People bustled through with oversized rucksacks and funny looking americans with even funnier looking girls. We bided our time until we reunited with the other girls, they looked as bemused as we did, CultureShock would be a slight understatement.

We bundled into the 7 Holder Guest House, looked pleasant enough and the girls took to their rooms straightaway. I however was united with a Thai man infront of a television by a force which unites men worldwide, Football. Thailand were loosing away to Japan, the man was dejected, I was exhausted and that is where our friendship begun. The silence was broken by Ooh's and Aah's as Thailand were frankly awful and Japan fantastic. Japans third went in shortly followed by a fourth and the man's attentions turned from the television as he struck up a conversation with me in Thai, I deciphered 'Thaksin' and 'Manchester City', I nodded politely. I said Arsenal, he booed. The conversation flittered between food and fighting, he showed me his best Muy Thai moves, I laughed nervously, he offered me a massage, my laughing ceased, This was not the vision I had of my first Thai Massage.

We ended our conversation with a smile and a pursued a room for the night, a cosy two bedroom job with room for Sonny, I'd only just remembered Sonny and thought to myself the crazy adventure he is about to embark on in solitude. I cannot wait to see him.

I write this from the internet cafe in our hostel. Its nice, there are fans and I have sweat marks. I fucking love it.

First Reactions @ Bangkok, Thailand

2008-02-07T16:42:00.000Z

Last evening was spent curiously discovering our surroundings and becoming aquainted with the whordes(word play!) of young girls asking us to come drink Chang with them. I decided against the offers and with the girls made our way to a small quiet resturant on Khao San Road, I orderded my first Kow Phad Gai (Chicken Fried Rice) and my first Chang(Beer, translated as Elephant), a pretty average meal as we sat tiredly rethinking the days events.

On Sonny's arrival many nerves were calmed and after dropping his bag off in our room we went off to once again explore the sights of Khao San, with the late night came more and more offers from girls with broader shoulders and bigger beards, Sonny seemed exited, I wasn't amused. We sat in a bar for a few drinks before admitting defeat and hitting the sack. Couldn't sleep, was sweating too much.

This morning started early and we were up and away by 09:30 on a mission to find our route to Ko Chang and explore beyond the realms of our hostel. Transportation was the word of the day as we looked to explore what Bangkok had to offer.

TukTuk's : the small three wheeled vehicles seem fun enough and are a must purely for the experience. 10Baht to the National Stadium seemed reasonable enough and in we hopped. While on the TukTuk my imminent death was a choice of two, Falling off under the array of cars and buses as our driver slalomed in and out of lanes or suffocating on the choking fumes coming from not only our own but the thousands of other TukTuk's descending on Bangkok around us. We stayed strong and we survived and off we hopped. An experience to say the least, not great for Asthmatics.

Skytrain: A train in the sky, sounds wonderful enough, and wonderful it was, Ken could learn a thing or two from this flawless system. Sonny-proof ticket machines, with lovely colourful tickets took you up high above the Bangkok traffic. Perfectly clean stations with security guards reminding Sonny of the no food and drink policy. The train arrived, completely covered in vibrant advertisements and the doors opened, seamlessly. The wave of cool air hugged your skin, another world from the swealtering heat of the TukTuk backseat. TV screens described the route and played more adverts. A journey I wished would never end...

The bus station was easily found and our tickets booked with minimal hassle, unfortunately our bus leaves at 07:45, tomorrow morning will not be a pretty site. Back on the skytrain we hopped towards the Sukhumvit market. a very A-Typical Tourist market, Rolex Watches, Knives, FishermanPants, Designer Clothes and Sunglasses. Our batering skills were pathetic and we hardly brought a thing, but vowed to return before we flew out to stock up on treasures.

After an eventful day shopping and sightseeing we TukTuk'd our way back to KhaoSan, booked a room for the night and sat in our room under the fan reading and rehydrating. We had lost three times our bodyweight in sweat and Naam(Water) was essential. Be careful what you wish for...Within minutes of our return the heavans opened and our hostel was engulfed in floods of rain, sweeping through the streets turning Khao San into a river rapid. As the water rose the cockcroaches marched in, causing panic among the girls before they were despatched comprehensively by a small angry Thai women armed with a spraycan.

The rain has now subsided and I sat, again sweaty, replaying todays events before I feed. Speak to you when I'm in Ko Chang.

Eventful Evening @ Bangkok, Thailand

2008-02-09T19:13:00.000Z

Back by popular demand I have decided to write you my next entry from the Island of Ko Chang(Elephant), after an eventful few days me and my companion Sonny are sad to leave the Island but excited by our newly obtained tans!

Our final night in Bangkok was an interesting one; a pleasant meal, me sticking to traditional Thai food, Geng Kiowan Ghai and Sonny not so much we decided to try our hands at pool. A few beers later and I left the pool with a big smile on my face after beating Sonny 3-0. The evening had started well. We made our way to a hidden rooftop bar with a fantastic live band who recreated some Pop classics with an oriental touch. The perfect accompaniment was the view we had over the bustling Khoa San Road, our hideaway allowed us to enjoy the colourful festivities below without the monotonous "tuktuk" and "samesame" interuptions. The setting was fantastic, the music was a joy but the beer was Chang, and we got fucked. We stayed in our front row seats peering over the street for the majority of the evening, joined by pleasant company after pleasant company. Firstly a sweet Mancunian couple who had been travelling around Asia for a few months and gave us some fantastic advice and recommendations. A few bottles later and they left to be replaced by an enigmatic german history student who lived up to all stereotypes, bar the absence of a Lederhosan. A few bottles later me and Sonny with the realisation we had to be up in a few hours for our bus decided to make her way back to our room, it took a while but we got there. What happens next I am not proud of, but it is my duty as Guy to tell you...

While Sonny was still gingerly making his way back from the internet cafe I had managed to lock myself out, so my educated response was to sleep on a chair by the shared toilets. With the absence of a fan this become very uncomfortable so my next einstein idea was to take my clothes of and have a shower, taking my clothes off was easy, turning on the shower in the dark was not. Left abandoned and vulnerable in the shower cubicle I soon hear the shouts of friends, and before I know it peering over the shower wall is my partner in crime Mr. Jostins. Thank god I have a great body. I explained my predicament regarding the room key and the arrival of the girls soon meant a swift recovery and into bed we went. The end of the nightmare....we thought.

With a bus to catch at 07:45 and a trip across Bangkok to the bus station, 06:00 was decided as a reasonable wake up time. So that morning we woke up at 07:15. Not a smart choice, we panicked. Packing our bags as swiftly as we could we rushed out of our room and thought it best to get a taxi to the bus-station, to make up for lost time. Again, not a smart choice. The Bangkok morning traffic is best described as 'absolutely fucking ridiculous', we actually managed to move backwards in a traffic jam. Me and Sonny avoided conversation as we soon sucummed to monumental hangovers and the arrival of vomit seemed imminent. We made it to the BusStation at approximately 08:45, not bad considering and as Sonny made his way to the toilet I pleaded with the ticket girl to exchange our ticket for the 09:45, in my best Thai I pleaded "Ka-Ru-Naa, Khaw Thoht!" (Please, I'm Sorry) A disgruntled shake of the head and a sharp "YOU HOUR LATE, NO BUS FOR YOU SIT" (For comic effect imagine high pitched angry Thai women). We had no other choice but to by new bus tickets and wait patiently, Sonny had vomited. I was gutted.

Elephant Island @ Ko Chang, Thailand

2008-02-09T20:09:00.000Z

The bus journey was pleasant enough, 5 hours in comfortable seats with air conditioning and plently of crisps and lemonade we soon felt right as rain and with Ipods in the hours flew by. We arrived at the Pier to see a ferry waiting for us and were on Ko Chang by 17:00. We jumped in the back of a truck with 9 others and rattled our way to 'White Sands Beach' to look for accomodation. What we found was slightly surpising, old couples milled around in luxury accomodation as me and Sonny were moved from place to place by exstortionate prices. We made our way to the more backpacker friendly end of the beach and reenacted our very own Nativity as the resident Mary and Joseph. Rejected by Ladyboy after Ladyboy one of the balled and boobed gentlewomen offered us a room for the night in a small beachside guesthouse. Hesitantly we took up the offer unsure of what we were infact paying for.

The evenings entertainment consited of NON-Alcoholic drinks and a BBQ on the beach. The beach was lined with tables and chairs as people enjoyed their meals while watching paper lanterns soar into the nights sky before a local fire show captured our attentions. Fire staffs, and Poi blazed through the night sky twirling and twizzling in every direction. As memories of our recent fiascos disintegrated we mellowed out on sunbeds in a beachside shisha bar. Escaping from the commotion of Bangkok city to the serene haven had left us mellow and troublefree. This, we decided, was the life.

Our early morning was much more succesful than the ones previous and we were met by a 4X4 which whisked us off to the local elephant sanctuary. Like small boys we scurried towards the towering creatures and marveled at the size of them. We soon mounted our ride and made our way into the jungle. Elephants however are not the most elegant of animals and after being tossed to-and-throw we soon caught our breath as it stopped, I thought we had arrived at a waterfall, it was just peeing. I then thought there was an earthquake, but just poo. Our grumpy smelly elephant then moaned and groaned his way further into the jungle before bathing itself in a clear blue lagoon. The whole experience was breathtaking and hard to describe, a life changing moment in which my words cannot do justice.

The rest of the day was spent harmlessly on the beach as we soaked up the sun, perhaps too much as I sit redfaced writting my blog. We swam and we ate and we read and we relaxed, a peaceful day spent in blissful surroundings.

My heart wants me to write on but my stomach is saying no, and unfortunately it is time for you to leave my adventures and get back to your dull London lives. I on the otherhand am going to eat freshly caught fish by the beach, drink beer and remain troublefree and thoughtless. Jealous?

Tomorrow we leave with fond memories of a beautiful, yet unfortunately slightly overdeveloped, Island and make our ways to Kanchanaburi, north-west of Bangkok. Sorry for the few photo's uploaded but slow computers and little money make things hard. Speak from Kanchanaburi, good night.

Is This The Way to Kanchanaburi? @ Kanchanaburi, Thailand

2008-02-13T16:54:00.000Z

So after our final evening in Ko Chang spent in the blissful surroundings of our favourite beach bar. We watched premiership football on a big screen with shisha pipe in hand as the hours passed. When then land of nod came beckoning we learnt from our past mistakes to put down our beers to avoid another 'Changover' (Chang beer enduced hangover) and head to our beds. A very wise decision with the adventure up ahead...

That morning we woke at the reasonable hour of 08:00 to meet our Minivan outside our local 7/11. With our transport ten minutes late I made a phonecall to our Thai counterpart who reassured us our wheels would be with us shortly, and as I had just rubbed a lamp my wishes had come true, sort of. There stood a not-so-shiny silver minavan, filled with Japanese tourists with no space for me and Sonny or our bags. We clambered in, bags wedged behind seats and the two of us packed onto the pasenger seat, sweaty hairy thigh on sweaty hairy thigh.

The unpleasantness continued to the port where we waited longily for our ferry to arrive, me and Sonny amused ourselves by throwing small rocks at bigger rocks and other various debris orinetated targets. A must have game for any bored traveller. Once the ferry arrived we sat in swealtering heat, avoiding thoughts of the sardine-esque 5 hour journey ahead of us to Bangkok. Just as the ferry came into port I was woken, quite abrubtly, my a power-crazed tour operator who informed me and sonny that we would be moved to a bigger bus. Slowly we regained our smiles and the rest of the morning didn't seem so bad. How naive we were..

We piled back into our minivan and were taken, with our Japenese friends, down a slightly daunting path through a rather weary looking farm, suddenly flashbacks of recent horror movies become everpresent. The bus stopped next to a small mercedes at an rundown bus station and we are told this is where we were to wait for our 'bigger bus', our bags were chucked unceremoniously into the back of the small mercedes.My survival instincts started to tingle. Neither me or Sonny wanted any part of us cut off and sold as souvenirs or to become sex slaves to a Thai druglord...but soon the reality of what to come became very apparent, and if asked to make the choice...i'd probably have left Sonny and run...

Luckily though the men in the car were very nice and they took us to another minivan headed for Bangkok with two spare seats, again full of Japanese tourists. Despite the vehicle being unbareably uncomfortable and my iPod having run out of battery we arrived in Bangkok, the origin of our adventures. We left the backpacking ghetto of Khao San on our way to the 'Southern Bus Terminal' which unfortunately our Taxi driver did not know exisited, en route he stopped to ask friends who swiflty gave him directions and we drove on confidentally to our destination. On arrival at the bus station we thanked our driver, paid the man and moved on. However, this particular 'Southern Bus Terminal' had been shut for months, and full of broken down rusty busses of no use to us what so ever. Frustratingly we walked around until we caught site of a taxi driver and his friends who informed us of the story of the new bus-terminal and offered, for an exstortionate price, to take us to the new bus terminal. We were exhausted and had a bus to catch, we reluctantly climbed in.

On arrival to the elusive 'Southern Bus Terminal' we quickly made her way to the ticket desk and brought two tickets to Kanchanburi, this was done with ease and we then made our way to the necessary platform. Unfortunately we were once again let down by the local knowledge of our Thai hosts, where was platofrm 10? I felt like Harry Potter in Kings Cross. We eventually discovered our platform and with it our bus, we boarded, we sat down and we sighed. Had we lost all faith in the Thai transport system? Of course not...I'm still infatuated with the Sky Train.

The bus journey was hard, again iPodless, we rattled our way west of Bangkok to the home of 'The Bridge Over The River Kwai', Erawan Waterfalls and 'The Tiger Temple'. We again were woken from our dreams of white sanded beaches(Sonny) and young sweedish girls(Guy) to find our bags on a street corner and an impatient bus driver waiting to leave, bleary eyed we stepped into the lamp lit streets desperate for food and accomodation.

After finding a taxi, we gave him directions to the Jolly Frog and reconciled on what had been an extremely long, but equally worthwhile and productive day. As we looked a prespective rooms for the night, the site of hammocks and deckchairs on a pristine lawn overlooking the river sealed the deal. Our home for the next two nights was found.

The day could not have ended better, on looking for a place to eat we stumbled upon a bar, as one does, to find the Manchester on TV, free pool and lots of fans. Sorted.

Tigers and Travels. @ Ko Phiphi (Ko Mai Thon), Thailand

2008-02-13T17:36:00.000Z

After a well earned sleep, we woke to see the sun high in the sky and our morning wasted, worth it however for the much needed rest after the previous days hardwork. We decided to make our way back to the busstation to visit one of the many sights around the area. We unfortunately told however that our proposed excursion to the Erawan waterfalls was not possible as the lat bus back from the falls was at 16:00, and due to our excessive sleeping and slow walking the time was now well gone 14:00 and the trip to the Waterfalls did not seem worth it. We decided that the Tiger Temple would be a better use of our time our boarded the relevant bus and found the last two avaliable seats at the back row, next to a monk. We nervously sat down, and paid our passenge. The monk however was a delightfully friendly human being by the name of Pramul and soon the conversation was flowing at rapid pace, as rapic as conversations can go with the unfortunate obstruction of a language barrier. Luckily for us he pulled out his English textbook and Sonny helped tutor him on his tenses. However Sonny, as hard as he tried, looked more confused by the prospect of adverbs and future tenses than the monk himself.

We alighted from our bus wishing the monk good luck and with a German couple investigated the best route from the empty highway to the Tiger Temple gates. After several minutes of pondering a truck pulled up also carrying fellow Tiger Enthusiasts and offered us a free ride to the gates. On arrival we paid our fee and eagerly awaited meeting our very own Tony the Tiger. The trip was slightly ruined however by the mass crowds, and we felt somewhat sorry for the Tigers who were Photographed incently in the heat and looked exhausted. The lamb to the slaughter style treatment of the visitors also marred the day somewhat but we still left with smiles on a face after sampling the other wildlife on offer.

[Photo's will help describe the day much better, and I promise I will sort Photo's out when I find better internet connection]

The rest of the afternoon was spent swaying in hammocks as the sun set over the river. We then departed our accomodation to once again find a bar and some pool. So far I am up 12-3 on this trip, I'm getting pretty good. A few pool games and beers later we made our way back to our beds ready to wake up early to re-attempted our Erawan Adventure.

As my iPod alarm(now fully charged) woke us at the ungodly hour of 07:00, it was met by a disgruntled Sonny Jostins begging for an extra hours sleep. I obliged resetting the alarm and returning to my draems, now Danish. Regrettably we did not reawake until midday. After much deliberation we decided, despite the lovely surroundings, we'd had enough of the bug ridden and rather quite Kanchanaburi and felt it was time to explore what the South of Thailand had to offer. Ko PhiPhi here we come.

The Following 21 hours were spent mostly on busses as we travelled back to Bangkok and then down to Krabi, from Krabi we caught a bus to Au Pang pier where we caught a long tail boat, to a charted ferry which an hour later took us to Ko PhiPhi. A lot of travel, but the Island is fantastic and our faces are very red. Will update on our Island adventures as soon as possible.
Hope you're all enjoying the blog.

Paradise Found @ Ko Phiphi (Ko Mai Thon), Thailand

2008-02-16T19:08:00.000Z

What can I say? Ko Phi Phi is a stunning place, with friendly people and enough to keep you occupied for months on end. The fact that me and Sonny were supposed to leave the Island two days ago but can't even begin to contemplate getting out of here is evidence enough of the magnetic allure of the island...The last few days have been fantastic and I hope you enjoy the stories I have to tell.

On arrival we struggled to find accommodation as the island buzzed with new arrivals. We walked the streets searching for a place to stay. The gods were with us as we stumbled upon our favourite guesthouse to date, Run by a fantastically friendly Thai women we have been supplied with Internet, Beach balls, boat trips and friendly welcomes galore.

After spending our first afternoon on the beach soaking up the increasingly penetrating sun we realised this was a place that we would enjoy for along time. That evening was spent on the beach with cocktails before being inundated with flyers to numerous bars offering free buckets and drinking games. As the evening went on we wandered intoxicated across to the array of bars guided by the smell of buckets and the sound of bells. The bells were not a sound we had come acorss before, we followed it curiously to find a boxing ring surrounded by hordes of bloodthirsty spectators as two young girls swapped handbags for boxing gloves and swung drunken blows towards each other. Our inherent male instincts drove us to cheer and gawp as the violence escalated. As the night went on we danced and we drunk and we cheered and as night became day we traversed back to our dwelling and slept like babies anticipating our mornings adventure.

That morning we arised to the smell of beer on our breath and sand in our trousers as we recollected the nights events. We then hoped on an island tour, awaiting the pinacle of our trip. Our visit to Maya Bay, the home to Leonardo Di Caprio's 'The Beach', with every Island we passed we waited anxiously to see what each cove would reveal, and we were not dissappointed as each produced the holy trinity of greeny blue sea's brushing against pristine white sand enclosed by steep glsitening rock. As we absorbed the magnificent scenery the sun bore down on our boat as Sonny the snake began to shed his skin. As he peeled away, I started to feel the affects of the previous evening as the boat crashed through wave after wave.

As we found calmer seas, the snorkels came on and we leapt from our longtail to view the magic below us. An array of colourful fish and greens and blues gleamed up at us revealing a previously ignored world below us. As I eagerly awaited my up and coming diving trip to Ko Tao. As our boat splashed on I soon became increasingly hungry, and the site of Sonny got my taste buds screaming for Lobster. We arrived at Maya Bay, its blatent beauty obvious, but somewhat tarnished by the other Guy's and Sonny's and Di Caprio's of the world who, just like us, had seeked to experience the islands unmistakable allure. Our packlunch consisted of water and Khao Pad Ghai and after recharging our baterries we kick a ball around, splashed, swam, sunbathed and splashed some more before curisoity got the better of us and we went in search of a secret cult to join, and escape the company of our fellow travelers. What we were to find was more than we could ever have expected...

I wish I could tell you of what we found, but our secrets were sealed by a fire ceremony and a ritual tattoo...I wish.

What we found was much more scary, as we passed tree after tree we were met but a small pool of water and a mych larger pile of rocks so we decided to turn back to the much more satisfying bay we had enjoyed previously. On our walk back through the thick flora we were met, but nothing other by a Kimodo Dragon blocking our path ahead. Sonny squeaked and bolted still mouth open, I immediatly reached for my camera and to Sonny's horror I glared into the blood thirsty eye's of the creature. I sensed his fear as he did mine. I took photo's as he remained unfazed by my advancing, Sonny photographed from a distance reminding me that these Dragons eat babies but I was in no state to withdraw from this endeavour. My blood is English and I have St.George in my heart. A lesser man would have slayed the creature unmagnanimously, but I have much more class. I sized up my opposition, his feeble attempts to unease me with his flickering tongue went unnoticed, there was no cowardess in my veins, pure heroism. My motivation was not to kill, neither was St.George's himself who sought to remove his Dragon from the water supplying spring it was obstructing, and I seeked to remove the creature from our path ahead. Tensions rose as my resilience unsettled the dragon. As our glares fenced he slowly gathered his sense and escaped to the safety of his jungle, paths are human territory and he did well to remember that. Exhausted by the onslaught we made it back to our boat before disembarking to a nearby island, enclosed completely by beach and without the masses of Maya Bay enthusiats its solitude heightened its beauty and with a sigh we realised we had found our paradise.

The day's activites had tired us and we felt a meal to match the ordeals we'd experienced was highly necessary. All you can eat BBQ buffet anyone? We ate to our hearts content as our eye's outsized our bellies and plates of half eaten steaks and chicken remained on my plate as I had finally met my match, Dragon's my not stop me but piles of meat will always be my achilles heel. The meal was followed by some pool and beer as we befriended two young men staying a few rooms down in our guesthouse. This reminds me of the event the previous night, a tale which supasses all of my experiences so far.

During a game of pool I was touched, not by a ladyboy or by Sonny, but by some higher being, I was bigger than this world and as my eyes glazed over I produced the finest piece of pool ever known on this earth and others. Some may call it 'The Perfect Game' I prefer to call it skill, talent, guyness. What I did will live well beyond my time and in those few minutes I began my legacy. By potting all my balls in fluent succession, shots of perfect accuracy, an education in discipline and judegemt, my right hand was Beckhams right foot, his addidas boot was my snooker cue and as one of Sonny's many remaining balls stood perfectly in the way of my final colour, much like my handsome hero I chipped the ball perfectly over the wall with such finesse that I heard an Angel gasp. The ball dropped with perfect timing to caress my green into the far right pocket, Sonny stood gobsmacked, I was unfazed...The black was still on the table and this game was by no means over. Nerves were nowhere as entranced by my epiphany and had a responsibility, not only to pool or my country, but to man-kind. That black was a symbol of hope to people across the globe, and as it sunk effortlessly into its pocket, a star was born and Sonny had become a true follower of Gnosticism, and in that moment by divinity became apparent and by escaping this material world I experienced feelings beyond any prior feeling and I am a better man because of it. I am also extremely big headed because of it..

Fight Night @ Ko Phiphi (Ko Mai Thon), Thailand

2008-02-16T21:04:00.000Z

The evening that followed our immense meal was to be one of the best nights of my life, and as time ticks on my wallet is forcing me to rush, but let me ensure you this night was immense.

We returned with our two new comrades to the sunset bar, and drunk to our hearts content, our polite chatter and football banter was interupted by the nights MC who stood on a small stage on the beach informing us of a drinking competition, what I heard was free alcohol and my eyes light up all I needed now was a partner, Elan was my man and we made our way bravely to what was to be the sight of my downfall. Bottle after bottle of Gin, Sangsom, Tequilla, Vodka, Rum overshadowed shot glasses in abundance. The smell of Tequilla unsettled me, my body had not forgetten that unforgettable night in Costa Rica and I had already regretted my decision. Our mission was a simple one, as a Pair, down a bucket (with straws) then between us dispatch six shots. The first brave pair, a pair of ozzy wankers, set the bar at 30seconds, definately beatable. More ozzy wankers then raised the bar, 14seconds, beatable? Fuck yeah. Next up was me and new brother, our bucket was finished quicker than any of our previous oppnents, all that stood between us and glory were six shots, I necked my first, tequilla, I retched, I necked by second, tequilla, I puked, and by some cruel twist of fate as I wiped the remains of my vomit from my mouth I looked up to see my partner hands on knee's producing similar substances to my own. Our pride and dignity had long gone but we felt obliged to complete the task, Sangsom(Thai Rice Whskey) was the next poison, and poison it was, luckily for mine and my mothers dignity I managed to escape the crowds before I projected my BBQ ensemble across the white sand. I burried it subtly and went at sat back on my mat, to say I was feeling worse for where would not be a lie. To my horror I looked up to see Sonny about to commit the same sins that had brought me to my knees. His time was poor, but what he lacked in speed he made up for with resilience. He managed to keep hold of his chicken and steak. My efforts however had not gone unnoticed and I found two young ladies eager to congratulate me, maybe this night wouldn't be so bad after all. The four of us boys and our two female fans made our way to Reggae by, and as Pavlovs dog's salivated, the sound of that mercurial bell brought about a reflex roar of cheering and drinking. The alcohol I had managed to keep hold of was soon making its way to my bloodstream and the bright lights of the boxing ring stage seemed the perfect way to restore me to my former glories. Sonny wouldn't fight me, but my new Irish friend rose to the challenge. As we slowly swapped our kahki shorts and shirts for gloves and headgear the stupdity of our decision became apparent. The crowd wanted blood and the sight of two such scrawny men brought the crowds quickly. I reminded myself of the victory against the Dragon, that Dragon was sober though, an an alochol fueled Irish man with aposable thumbs posed a much more threatining option. As the camera's flashed and the crowd looked on expectantly my Lombardian insticts took over, to win at all costs. The bell rung, the crowds cheered and the fight began...

We pranced around, as we seemed unable to strike each other..he then swung for me, with real intent. And much like that night of pool, soemthing came over me, something undescribable and the man became the monster. I unleashed an almighty right hook and connected devistatingly to his right cheek, his feet raised off the ground and he landed with a distnct thud on the floor of the ring, the crowd roared with excitement, this was one competition I could not lose. This was more than Man on Man, this was England vs Ireland. This was bigger than the six Nations, This was Muy Thai boxing I kicked and punched for three rounds to the point of exhaustion. With each contact came him tumbling to the floor, he bravely fought on as blood dripped down his face. He had still not hit me. As my confidence became my biggest enemy I pranced around basking in my glory, I had become a puppet and the crowd were my master. As my atttentions deviated from the fight I let my guard down and exposed my self as he defied gravity flying through the hot humid air to strike me with his right foot across my ear, I was dazed, I temporarily lost my hearing as my ear hole filled with blood, I struggled to remain my balance and the ropes broke my fall. By staying on my I had avoided opening myself to a barage of punches, instead, driven by the pain and blood from my ear I unleashed an array of kicks and punches to his body and faced which left him grounded, the bell rung and the result awaited. The crowd jeered and cheered as my body was abosrbed by enervation. My hand was raised high above my head, I had regained my pride, I had become a Hero. As a circulated post fight, covered in sweat, I was mobbed by girls who wanted to sleep with me and men who wanted to drink with me. It was truly a night to remember and I enjoyed the pain that had conquered my muscles, it was my real trophy, a remainder of my physical endevaour. A barman then presented me with my actual medal, another Bucket. I was more than grateful for the drink as I rehydrated and rejuvinated. The night was not over, and there was still dancing to be done. The night became a celebration of my victory and buckets of cheap whiskey were met with with buckets of laughter. As reggae bar emptied I made my way to the beach for swimming and other nocturnal activities.

That morning I woke, body aching but my heart punding. My severe hangover was overcome by pure glee and the rest of the day was spent on the beach, with more ball play and splashing. As the day went on we decided to make our way up one of the islands, hills to a spot only known as the viewpoint. The step ascent was worth the view as we surveyed the beaches and bars below us. The photo's were amazing and we had truly fallen inlove with the blissful island. That evening was again spent drinking buckets, sitting on beaches as we played more pool, watched more boxing and danced away. Returning to our beds at Silly oclock we slept well in to the afternoon.

Today was spent with immense hangovers and the accumulated tiredness of the three heavy previous nights. We lay in the sea to escape the soaring heat as we gradually transform our redness to a sweet mahogony. Sonny's blistered face sits beside me as we look forward to the big game tonight. The absence of my Arsenal shirt does not unsettle me, but the absence of Gael Clichy does.

We still are undecided when we are going to leave the Island. It will be a sad occassion when we do, but we have the most amazing memories. My camera broke today and I am heartbroken by I am, assited by swedish girls, trying my best to hairdry it after its incident in the sea.

Lunatics @ Ko Phangan, Thailand

2008-03-01T13:08:00.000Z

" The word lunatic is borrowed from Latin "lunaticus", which gains its stem from "luna" for moon, which denotes the traditional link made in folklore between madness and the phases of the moon."

Leaving Ko PhiPhi was a difficult task, the island had become home and as we, and many others from our guesthouse, rose at the early hours to make the trip across the southern gulf we could not help but feel slightly subdued. Our trip was a popular one and our boat was loaded to bursting point, leaving no shelter in the main cabin we were exposed to the elements as what started as a gentle spray soon turned to crashing waves and we were left soaked and salty on arrival to our destination.

A bus journey from coast to coast with numerous stopovers and a final boat left us arriving on the island of Ko Pha ngan. It was dark and it was late and we piled into a taxi with 9 fun loving french men, Hedonists to the bone excited by the prospects of women and drugs they could barely contain their excitement. As the taxi stopped, like light-drunk months, they flocked the first group of girls with their rugged english accents. Unfortunately me and Sonny had more pressing tasks, the most important of all was finding a roof over our head. We felt we had arrived a suitable time before full moon, 5 nights before, to avoid the over crowding of Haat Rin, we were wrong. We once again walked along the beach looking for a place to stay and again being turned down. A young travelling couple advised as to get as far away from the beach to find some vacancies and following that advise we stumbled upon a small resort, aptly named 'Laid Back Resort'. Perhaps it was the pure satisfaction of finding a room, or the drugs in the air but we instantly seemed far more laid back and we we're charitably given a room for the night, knowing full well we would have to continue our search in the morning, but that was the morning and we were exhausted.

We sat at a table and greeted pleasantly by the other guests, all drugged up to their eyeballs but extremely pleasant. We spent the evening chatting and playing cards before their inevitable munchies kicked in and calls for pizza were made. Me and Sonny starving from our day of travelling put in our orders and were soon eating pizza and being suitably 'Laid Back' before deciding sleep was the best option.

Luckily that morning we woke up, crossed the road and found a bungalow for the night. It was so basic it hurt but we were just happy to find somewhere. We dumped our bags with the bugs and went to search the surroundings. We ade our way to the infamous Haat Rin Nok beach, the home of Full Moon, there we found hordes of beach lovers absorbing what the sun had to offer and in the distance we spotted a beach football tournament, Sonny was eager to enter, I unfortunately could not.

The reason for my inability to compete is due to an injury which occured on our final night in Ko PhiPhi, many a story has been told to many a girl, but the real sorry reason I had limp for the next week, a swollen foot which impeded my flip flop wearing abilities was because of merely drunken stupidity. It may have been during another Muy Thai fight, or tripping over a rock on the beach...noone can really ever be sure. One thing that is certain though is it hurt...alot, and still does today.

Sonny soon found a couple of Irish lads and together they hunted the beach for able bodied team mates. They registered themselves as Team Europe, and the tournament began. Between matches we wondered the area, bars and bucket stands lined the beach as the place began to buzz in anticapation for full moon.

The next few days and nights were spent partying on the beach till sunrise and recovering on the beach the next day, despite my best efforts none of my poetic musings will make it sound any more than it was, but it was fantastically repetitive and we enjoyed every minute of it.

The party was soon stopped in its tracks. Hear'say spread across the island as posters popped up informing us of the postponement of Full Moon, and a subsequent two day alcohol ban. The reasoning behind this was due to a Thai govermental election and the fear of alcohol induced voting. I myself sensed they just wanted us on the island a few more days to spend a few more Baht. My synicism however meant nothing as people started to panic buy and the site of tearful men and women carrying crates of Chang back to their bungalows was pathetic, but equally understandable. That night was very wierd. 7/11's refused any sale of alcohol but a few bars defied the new 'Law' and beers were avaliable, what had not changed however was the ban on music and the beach, usually home to thumping bass lines was lined with small groups paretaking in polite chat, that night and the following were pretty uneventful. Like us, many other travelers were contemplating whether to stay for Full Moon, as our trip was reaching its end we were unsure whether we would be able to finish our trop by staying on the island an extra two nights. We made a decision to stay but others had made the opposite and the island had noticably emptied. This did not change a thing and Full Moon started to get into full swing.

I do not need to desribe the whole night, a dsgraceful amount of alcohol was drunk, I was covered in UV Paint, I danced for hours and then it rained. I have never seen rain greeted so enthusiastically, it may have washed away our paint but it did not wash away our sins as the masses continued to drink and dance as the music never looked like stopping. Standing in the sea, dancing to the dance anthems of the previous decade, surrounded by tens of thousands of people watching the sunrise was the pinacle of the evening but I sensibly remembered we were catching a boat to Pha Ngan's smaller sister Island Ko Tao in the morning so I made my way back to my bungalow, to join Sonny who had made the same decision a few hours prior, to catch an hour or two's sleep before leaving the island.

The heavens opened again that morning as we stood exhausted by the previous night waiting for a taxi. The pier was lined with people covered in UV Paint wearing their Full Moon T-shirts looking equally jaded.

Despite the music and alcohol ban, the rain I had thoroughly enjoyed our stay on the island and it had left its mark on me...
...a bright yellow unwashable UV Paint stain on my white T-shirt.

The FInal Dive @ Ko Tao, Thailand

2008-03-01T14:02:00.000Z

The boat out of Ko Pha Ngan was much more pleasant than the journey in, and with Sonny sleeping beside me I slowly awakened from my dance enduced trance and became inundated with flyers for different dive resorts across the island. I deciphered through the leaflets and chose a Crystal Dive Resort, which had been awarded the prestigous 5 Star Gold Palm Career Development Centre from PADI, one of only two resorts in Asia with this award. Joined by a few other englishmen and women we started our theory as soon as we arrived with me, due to my Asthma, having to partake in a medical the next morning to be given the all clear for the diving.

I was given the all clear and our first day of diving took place in the swimming pool, it was difficult at first but I soon got to grips with everything, despite my oddly shaped face not agreeing with any masks, and I eagerly awaited the next days open water dive.

I awoke with a funny stomach which I put down to nerves and boarded our dive boat. Unfortunately however my first dive was cut short as I presented the fish below with a feast as a vomited 10metres underwater, a unique experience that I challenge any of you to match. I rested back on the boated and my next dive was flawless.

The next days dives were equally excellent and the whole day was filmed with the DVD being sent back home (Family ask Sonny if you wish to see it). That afternoon we were awarded our PADI Open Water certification and are now eligible to dive anywhere to 18metres. If time had allowed us I would have keenly continued and done my advanced but unforunately that very afternoon we were to catch a boat back to the mainland before an overnight bus back to the capital, the origin of our trip, Bangkok.

Thailand Take-Off @ Bangkok, Thailand

2008-03-01T14:18:00.000Z

We had decided to make our last night in Bangkok memorable and to push the boat out slightly regarding accommodation. However I think we may have got ahead of ourselves and pushed the boat well out to sea because we ended up staying in the JW MArriot Hotel, Bangkok.

The hotel is magnificent, and we made sure we got our moneys worth visiting the pool, the sauna, the steamroom, the whirpool, the plunge pool then using every free toiletry we could find. A sequence I repeated again this morning after Sonny's departure.

On our final evening we decided to walk the streets of Bangkok one last time, forgetting how much it smelt. We painfully missed our camera's as we saw an Elephant had joined us in slowly strolling through Bangkok's buisness district. We got food and snacks for the room and called it an early night watching films and eating crisps in bed before falling asleep.

I tried my best to avoid Sonny's 5am wake up call and vaguely remember him saying goodbye. As we speak he is on his way back to the UK and his company will be missed, but I am looking forward to continuing my journey solo. This is my last journal entry for Thailand and I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have. Thailand is a wonderfuly bizarre and versatile place which is tailored to fit every need. I recommend it highly.

Be sure to follow my travels on to Fiji; http://triptracker.net/trip/3237/