Thailand Travels: Day 14, Finding Paradise in Khao Sok National ParkLake

After a rocky ride on the sleeper train, on which I was convinced that we were going to derail, we arrived at Surat Thani at 7am. We were due to arrive at 4:30am so there was a big delay during the night, but that was good for us as it meant we caught extra Zzzz.

We had a quick stop at a cafe for breki, and there we discovered free wifi so there was a flurry of Facebook updates, and then our driver arrived to take us to Khao Sok National Park. We'd agreed to pay 1000 baht (£20) for the activities today which would include hire of a private boat, visit to the national park, lunch and kayaking.

Our new mode of transport was a rather retro school bus which looked amazing and was rigged up with a TV and MP3 player for our entertainment.

After an hour of driving we arrived at the departure spot for Khao Sok lake, it was totally picturesque and the lake looked very calm. At 10am the sun was burning our shoulders already, so we all changed into less clothing, slathered on the sun cream and stocked up on cold drinks.

We left our backpacks on the bus (but bought all our valuables in our daypacks) and hopped on board a long boat to sail to the lake. Sek explained that the area we were going to was a secret beauty spot and weren't disappointed because it was stunning! I sat up front with our driver which enabled me to get unrivalled views of the scenery and brilliant photographs of what I can only describe as paradise.

At one point the boat stopped at a cove which we could walk through and see the stalagmites. We were told to be careful not to touch the tips of the stalagmites because once touched they would become damaged and stop growing. We also stopped briefly to look at the monkeys hanging from the trees and rocks. After the two stops we then continued to sail to the place where we were to stop for lunch and kayaking.

Here a huge spread of chicken, fish (freshly caught that day), omelet, rice and noodles was provide for us. The food was delicious and the group feasted happily. Sek had a different Thai dish to us and let us try it, it was stonkingly spicy and none of us could handle more than one mouthful without having a coughing fit!

Then it was time for us to have a splash about. Kirsty and I grabbed a kayak and went sailing to the another small island across the lake. The others joined us and we ended up making a giant line of joined kayaks. Aldo, one of the Aussies that joined our group, had a Go-Pro and he took a fish eye style photograph of us all joined together in the kayaks. Can't wait to see this photo when we all go back home!

When we were paddling we noticed lots of brown sewage in the lake and we realised that the toilets at the park obviously dump our toilet waste straight into the lake. We made a mental not to gulp any water down right then. :-/

There was a long wooden plank and jumping station at the park which the group had a laugh jumping off and taking photographs. It was quite slippery though so occasionally one of two people slipped off prematurely.

We spent a couple of hours overall at the lake and then it was time to get back on our boat. It was the heat of the day by now and within a few minutes I'd fallen asleep at the front of the boat! I woke myself up just before we were due to dock by rolling and almost falling off the front of the boat, amusing everyone.

The rest of the day was spent driving to out next hotel with a quick pitt stop to see and feed the monkeys at a local temple, The monkeys were so friendly!!! They came right up to our hand to take the peanuts from us.

After that it was straight on to our next accomdation. When we arrived we were impressed to discover we were staying in a treehouse! The treehouse was bar far the best accommodation so far; our room actually had a wetroom and an artificial waterfall in the bathroom!

Thailand Travels: Day 12 & 13, Back in Bangkok, MBK and Evening Cocktails

The last few days have been chill days which were really appreciated after the full on time in the North. After our night on the sleeper train we went back to the Bangkok Centre Hotel and freshened up before taking a ride over to MBK (a massive shopping complex in the centre of Bangkok).

The centre had 8 floors and as you went up each floor the pricey the shopping became. I found a couple of must haves, including a very good fake Armani wrist watch for 520 TBH and a really bling phone case for 1,200 TBH.

On Saturday evening we met the new tour members for the southern part of the trip and we all went for a group dinner with them on the Saturday night. After dinner most of the group went to a ping ping show, but Kirsty and I really weren't interested in seeing this seedier side of Thailand so we went for a manicure and cocktails on the Ramburtti Road with Helena and a new addition to our group, Lydia.

After the Ping pong show everyone joined us at The Greenhouse for cocktails, but by this time it was about 1am and we were both exhausted. We decided to have a cheeky foot massage and then took Flora back to the hotel with us for a reasonably early night.

The night before we'd decided to enjoy a long lay in and a massage and that's exactly what we did the next day. Round the corner from our hotel there was a massage parlor that Sek had recommended. It was 500 TBH for an hour oil massage and 300 TBH for an hour long facial. This was pricier than other massages I'd had in Thailand but the facial was incredible and left my face feeling as soft as a baby's bum.

It was a funny experience as Kirsty and I were next to each other behind curtains, which made us able to shout through and check how each other was finding it. From doing this I realised that every massuse uses a very different technique, even in the same parlor. My masseuse, for example, liked to climb onto the bed and put his knees into my back occasionally. At least I hope that's a Thai massage technique and not so weird kinky thing... :-/

Kirsty had never has a pedicure, facial or massage until this trip so it was an exciting first experience for her. She discovered she had really tickly feet and couldn't keep her feet from twitching when they did certain movements which had us both laughing.

After that there was just time for a spot of lunch and then we were off to the station (again) for another night on the sleeper train! I'm writing actually writing up all the back posts for the last few days as it's been so full on there's not been time to blog. I want to make sure I capture all the amazing experiences I'm having so I can read them back and smile when I'm back home.

There's an amazing sunset tonight as we are out of the crazy city and it's filled the sky. Feeling knackered now and our stop is at 4:30am, so I'm going to catch 40 winks before it's time to get up and be on the move again!

Nun night all x

Thailand Travels: Day 11, Adventures with Lady Boys & Thai Cookery School

So the gossip from last night is that apparently two of the boys got with lady boys!! Kirsty and I sat up gossiping until about 2am and then we fell asleep. After about an hour or so I was woken by shouting and screaming coming from outside my door (Kirsty was somehow dead to the world!!)



I went out to see what all the commotion was and found Helena and Emily pissed as anything stumbling around the hotel. Helena had massive cuts on her knees, and her hands were grazed and bleeding. When I asked what had happend she said she'd fallen out of the taxi. She was wailing for someone from Gadventures tour group to provide a plaster. Realising that I couldn't help and it was nothing serious I stumbled back into my room and tried to go back to sleep. However, after a ridiculous amount of noise continued until about 5am so sleep wasn't something I managed much of.

Kirsty and I had opted to do the morning cookery school so we had to be up and ready to leave at 9am today. This meant we were up before the revellers and unable to find out what went down last night until we returned from the class. When we did come back we discoverd that Emily, Helena, Sarah and Carlos had gone to a club with the boys and 2 lady boys had made a beeline for them as soon as they walked in. The boys spent the night pulling the lady boys and then one of them went back home with a lady boy and the other brought one back to our hotel. Apparently there was full on action... until the girls came back and knocked on the boys room and found the ladyboy.

Emily and Helena ended up in a brawl with one of the lady boys at our hotel because he/she tried to snatch Emily's mobile phone. Emily and Helena were literally dragged down the stairs by this lady boy, as they held onto the phone, which now explains all the noise! I won't go into the details of the ladyboy action but it was enough to cause some embarrassment for the boys the next day.

The cookery school on the other hand was fantastic (even on just a few hours sleep!) The morning involved a shopping trip to a local market which had everything you could need to cook any Thai dish in the world. The fish stalls were a bit nauseating and brought a new meaning to fresh fish... many of which were still alive and swimming around in buckets, or flipping around on a table taking their last gasps!

I also tried a few local delicacies, all of which were pretty awful. Especially this green drink here which I swear was blended grass!



Once we had all the ingredients we went back to the home of the husband and wife who run 'Home Cooking School' and learnt to make our dishes from scratch.



I'd chose to make Thai Red Curry paste, Sweet and Sour and Pad Thai Noodles and I was really pleased








It was also really interesting to see how differently the Thai's cook dishes. For example, some flavours like the spring onion shouldn't go into until the very end of a stir fry and not everything is cooked on a high heat.



At the end of the lesson we were given a "home cooking school" recipe book to take home for free. I'm really excited to try it out back home and make authentic Thai for my friends and family.



The cookery school over ran a bit so once we've been dropped back at the hotel we only had enough time to pickup a few snacks from the 7-11 and then grab our washing. For 140 TBH (just over £2!) we had 4 kilos of washing dryed - result! If only I could send my weekly washing load to this lady when I get back home!





We then hopped on the overnight sleeper train back to Bangkok to complete part one of the tour.

Thailand Travels: Day 10, Day 3 of the Hill Tribe Trek and Chiang Mai Night Bazaar

It was our final day of trekking today and boy was I pleased. My body was well and truly pushed to its max and every step and bend caused me to make a little squeak of pain! It was another 3 hour trip down the river on the bamboo rafts, but with the sun out and my walking shoes on my feet instead of in my rucksack I was able to cope better with the longer journey.

Nanoo warned us that today would be a bit rougher on the river as we'd be going down a lot more rapids, which meant we were likely to get splashed. In preparation he provided plastic bags to put valuables like phones and cameras into for protection. Unfortunately this meant I didn't get a single snap of the rafting, luckily Venisha and Kirsty did so I've popped their piccies in.

The route through the Chiang Mai countryside was literally incredible and not anything like I'd imagined of Thailand. Before I came to Thailand I'd been dreaming of white sandy beaches and crystal waters, but the north of Thailand was certainly as spectacular as any beach photos I'd seen. There were huge trees and palms everywhere along the river and the only noises were from running water and the surrounding birds and wildlife. It was a true beauty spot.

After a little less than 3 hours we arrived at our rafting end point where we ate lunch and our pick-up truck collected our weary bodies and took us back to our hotel in Chiang Mai. We said an emotional goodbye to Nanoo who we'd grown very found of and he kissed my hand. What a cutie!



Back at our hotel it was a whistle stop. Showers, dumping washing and a change into fresh clothes and then we were off again!

The evening was spent at the Chiang Mai night bazaar which is a shop-o-holics paradise. Hundreds and hundreds of market stalls selling everything and anything you could ever need with pretty fairy lights and lanterns guiding you along the stalls and entrancing you.



Kirsty and I went a bit crazy this evening, enjoying a marathon shopping and bartering session until gone midnight, when we found a tuk tuk to take us back to our hotel at Chiang Mai Gate.

Thailand Travels: Day 9, Day 2 of the Hill Tribe Trek

Last night was pretty hard going. It was absolutely freezing in the hut! Mainly because there were huge gaps in the bamboos that made up the walls! I woke up with lots of bites all over my arms and legs which could have be from mozzies or bed bugs, since I foolishly didn't have a sleeping liner. I was also busting for the toilet as it had been too cold and I had been too scared to go outside in the dark.

There are no hot water taps at the village so it was a baby-wipe wash for me. I felt pretty gross, especially after the trekking the day before, but this is all part of the experience and what I signed up for, so I decided to embrace it and not moan. Breakfast was hard boiled eggs, toast and jam and more pineapple! Pineapple seems to be a staple for all meals out here...

We left the village at 9:30am and started on the second leg of our trek. Today was going to involve another 3 hours walking, so I mentally prepared myself for another knackering day, and I wasn't disappointed. I'd worn walking sandals as I knew we were going to be doing bamboo rafting and it wouldn't matter if these got wet but this was a bit of a mistake where the treking was concerned. We were walking up and down slippery hills with loose rock and and pickerly foliage so there were a few times when my open toes were jabbed or stabbed. I also ended up on my bum a few times which Nanoo said meant I had to buy him a beer for every fall... Nice try Nanoo.



At one point Nanoo let us stop and rest for a moment, half of the group sat down on a bamboo bench which instantly buckled under everyone's weight and sent everyone tumbling to the floor. It was a classic you've been framed clip and had our tour guides laughing their heads off at us.



After 3 hours we turned a corner and saw the elephant park. Hurrah! At last my feet can rest!!! We stopped for about an hour and ate lunch provided by the park. It was a rice free day for a change which we all appreciated. We had a tomato pasta with vegetables and it was so good I had seconds. And the staple pineapple made an appearance again for afters. Although, I was so hungry from the trek I literally would of eaten anything. (Bar perhaps one of those bugs from Khosan road!)

Then it was time for one of the activities I have been looking forward to most on the trip... elephant riding! Kirsty and I shared an elephant with Emily, we took the seat and Emily went on the head of the elephant! You wouldn't believe how hairy and prickly the elephants' skin was!!! Emily was cursing that she was wearing shorts as his skin was rather uncomfortable between her legs.



I'd been really excited about riding the elephant but once we started moving I realised that it was actually terrifying! There was nothing strapping you into the seat and as we started to walk down the really narrow paths that sloped downhill I started to panic that either me or the elephant might slip and I would go tumbling down the hill.



"There's no seatbelt" I squealed as the elephant took slow but wobbly steps downhill.

I also had Carlos's camera so I was supposed to be shooting pictures of him and Sarah on their elephant. However I was freaking out so much I couldn't let go of the side bars on the seat. Kirsty, bless her, was laughing at me, which was actually encouraging me you see the funny side of the situation and preventing instead of having a full-on panic attack.



After 20 minutes we reached a halfway point where we were able to get off. We swapped with group that hadn't yet rode an elephant and I got to relax on solid ground again. Ahhhhh.



The final part of the trek was a 2.5 hour stint of bamboo rafting which was amazing for the first hour, when the sun was out and we were having a laugh splashing each other. After a while though the sun started to go in and our bodies were really caning from the trekking and standing in the bamboos. I was wet from an earlier water fight with our bamboos and decided to reach for my jumper and trousers, which were wrapped around my daypack and hanging from a bamboo pyramid at the front of the raft. As I reached for warmth, my clothes tumbled into the river. Bad move.

The journey from this point was pretty hard going. Every so often I'd ask our rafting guide how much further and he'd say half an hour. After a while a realised there's a big difference between an English half and hour and a Thai one. The next time I asked Sek how much longer, he asked me, English time or Thai time? I smiled and realised I wouldn't know until we arrived.

We did arrive in the end and it was all I could do not to flake out on a bed there and then. I managed to stay awake for dinner and play a very funny game called "Hi Harry" which Nanoo taught us. It involved repeating a sentence correctly to the person sitting next to you and if incorrectly repeated you had charcoal drawn all over you face as the consequence. For every incorrect sentence repeated a new marking was made to the players face. The sentences also changed depending on who you were sat next to and how many markings they had on their face. Naturally we used this opportunity to make our group look as funny as possible. So, mono brows, mostoshes, tashes etc.



As you can see it got a bit messy before we went to bed...

Thailand Travels: Day 8, Day 1 of the Hill Tribe Trek

On Tuesday the group began its hill-tribe trek of the north. We and our rucksacks bundled into the back of a pickup truck and we began our 3 hour drive to the hills. The plan was to stop each hour of the journey at different points. The first time we stopped at a local market to buy water, snacks and very important... loo roll!! (Since there would be no loo roll with the tribes!)



The second stop was at a beautiful cascading waterfall for swimming and photographs.

Normally I just paddle in the water because it's always too cold for me to go for a proper swim. However, today was really hot and there was no way I wasn't getting a selfie under the waterfall!!

Kirsty and I did some posing together and then she took a few snaps of me doing some calendar-style posing. It just had to be done!!! ;-)





Our whole group came in for a paddle and we got a great group shot with our G Adventures tour guide, Sek, laying across us.



After this it was time for the final leg of the trip. We clambered back into the truck and set off again. There was one quick stop for lunch at a local hut on the roadside and then we were off again.

After a total of 3 hours driving we made it to a trek starting point. We trekked up and down hills for about 2.5 hours in the afternoon with two local guides.






Thankly most of the trek was in the shade as it was very hot and sunny by this point. However it was still challenging and highlighted how unfit I was!









Luckily the views were really beautiful which kept me going when my legs had turned to jelly and had given up on me!



One interesting thing I noticed was there were holes in the soil which were covered in cobwebs - they were everywhere! Our tour guide Anan (we called him Nannoo for some reason...) put his hand into one and pulled out a Tarantula spider which naturally made all the girls scream and run as far away as possible from!



After what seemed an eternity we arrived at the local village which we were to stay at and met the lovely local people. There were 3 really cute kids running around the village playing football and one particular girl which I wanted to take home!





That night the whole group stayed in a hut made from wood and corrugated metal sheets. It was very basic but I was excited to stay the night in the village and experience the tribe's way of life. The beds were made from several blankets instead of mattresses and we each had a mosquito net around our bed to protect us from nasties.



The tribe cooked us a red curry with rice and vegetable sides and then we had fresh pineapple for pudding. Whilst the meal was being prepared I went in pto the kitchen and found our tour guide playing the guitar and singing songs. It was one of the WOW moments when you think "I can't believe I'm here, doing this!!!" I felt so far away from my life back home but yet I also felt extremely privileged to be in this position and seeing a whole different way of life.

After dinner we bought beers from the tribe and sat round a fire to keep warm as the temperature dropped. The stars were out and we all commented on how many you could see without the light pollution of the city. Sek continued to play the guitar and we sang along to the songs we knew and I taught everyone how to play zip-zap-bop as a bit of a drinking game.

We were all pretty knackered after the day of trekking so we went to sleep around midnight.