Tropical Storm hits Gulf of Thailand

I had left Luke and Dave at Hualumpong Train Station in Bangkok after our journey from Chiang mai, before returning to Kho San. That night I found myself on another sleeper train, this time bound for Surat Thani, where I would then take the infamous "fast" boat to Phangan...

On the train to Surat Thani that night I met two girls and a guy from England. We enjoyed a few beers and the odd game of cards. We woke in the morning somewhere in Surat Thani. From there we had to catch a connecting bus to Surat Thani pier, then the boat to Koh Phangan. We arrived at the boat and found ourselves great seats. The fast boats always seem over crowded, leaving the outside deck at the very front of the boat a perfectly viable option. Wasn't I the lucky one to get the front spot...

The weather seemed calm, if a little overcast, as we left the port at Surat Thani. Nothing to worry about, in fact i never took much notice of the weather at that point. After an hour or so out to sea, however, the weather took a turn for the worst and a strong thunder storm hit us hard. The wind and rain was so bad that those already on the outside of the boat i.e. myself and some others, found it impossible to get back inside. Our safest, and, in fact, our only option, was to sit out and hold on to the railings around the nose of the boat for the rest of the trip. Knowing that we were so far out to sea by this time, with zero lifejackets, I seriously began to s!*t myself. I remember sitting there thinking 'If I survive this, I'll never get on another boat again!'. It took us almost 6hrs to make what should've been a 3 1/2hr journey, but we eventually made it to Koh Phangan. To this day i'm amazed it did. People were throwing up all around the front of the boat, and i assume inside too. Some of the waves we hit were frightening. All the time, the driving rain, fierce winds, and grey skies meant that nobody could see past the next big wave in front of us. The next time I remember seeing the horizon was as we approached Koh Phangan. By the time we reached the pier at Phangan I could barely stand up, my t-shirt soaked, and stained with vomit and spit. Everyone else seemed in much the same state. We clambered our way to the back of the boat where our bags still lay, thankfully strapped in securely, then down the ramp, and Koh Phangan... thank f'n Jesus, Koh Phangan!

I got to Scottish Stevie's restaurant at Thong Sala for a much needed beer, by which time I had some pink back in my cheeks. I told him about the journey, and he told me that they had been experiencing some of the worst weather in that area for the last ten yrs or so. In fact, that previous day, two Swedish girls drowned off the beach of Had Rin. The Full Moon Party, scheduled for the night i arrived, had been consequently cancelled.

So it was a strange atmosphere to arrive at. Not the bright sunny day i remember arriving on 1,1/2yrs previous. The miserable weather would keep up for the next 3wks or so; on a good day we'd get some broken sunshine. So the whole stay didn't impress as much as i'd remembered from my previous visit. Still I had a few good laughs though, and some stories to tell.

Two of my mates arrived from back home around Dec 27th, 'Mr X' [note - for my friend's discretion I have chosen to refer only as 'Mr X' - read on] & John Barr, which was great. John's brother owns a luxury pad in Koh Samui, a neighbouring island only 45mins away by boat, and had the full use of it for a couple of weeks. They had come over to Phangan for the full moon party. We all stayed in huts on the west of the island in a place called Had Yao, and had a good time considering the weather was so bad. Most of the laughs were at 'Mr X's' expense, but we all had a great New Year on the beach, and Magic Bar will never be forgotten for some of the messed up nights it played host to. But perhaps the single-one night I would never have wanted to miss, I did...

The lads, pissed up on Sangsom (Thai rum), and looking for some action, headed down from Magic Bar in Had Yao to the Amsterdam Sunset Bar, where 'Mr X', in a state of mad panic and drink infused confusion....snogged a ladyboy! Bwah-hahahaha...

Although, in 'Mr X's' defence, I didn't bare witness to this story myself..., I did witness the other two rolling about the floor as they told it to me. In addition to the manner in which 'Mr X' emphasised 'what happens on holiday, stays on holiday lads...', my verdict was clear....guilty as charged.

(left): Hogmany in Magic Bar, Had Yao.
Well on our way...
(right): New Years Day on Had Yao beach.
They may have survived the night
but not without visible scarring
See Below....




Mr Steven Dallas ladies and gentlemen...
And he had given such a good account of
himself until then. Poor lad.

(left): Sitting on my hammock at my hut.
(right): The view from my hammock....
I'd forgotten just how nice this
view was.



We also enjoyed Koh Samui for a week, after Phangan. We hired a 4x4 Suzuki for the stay, as we were a little out of town. It turned out to be little more than Andy's pickup for getting women back to the villa and home again, but was fun all the same. Espescially if I ran them home and got to hear all about Andy's shady antics the night before!
Finally, just as the weather began to pick up on the island, it was time to leave again. This time for Bangkok to meet Claire at the airport after her long haul from Heathrow...

Chiang Mai & Mae Taeng

I arrived at Chiang Mai train station around 10am on Sun 4th and was greeted by many thais holding up boards advertising accomodation. I agreed to one of them and was taken to Lanna Guest House where I was very quickly shown their rooms and persuaded to take a 3day trek the following morning. I'd read their customer reviews of the treks which was enough to assure me that it would be ok at worst. And Julie, the girl/ladyboy on reception, seemed a bit mad and had a good sense of humour, as well as the place seeming to have a pretty relaxed atmosphere. It was Sunday market day in Ratchendoemnan Rd, so I took a walk around and tried to get my bearings of Chiang Mai. It was a good time to arrive as it was the Kings Birthday on the Monday, so the place was in carnival mode that weekend. After I'd had enough of walking around I stopped off at a small pub/guest house and took a rest from the busy street. I enjoyed a couple of pints in the small garden front whilst looking out to the street and watching the people pass by. The garden was small but comfortable, and warmly lit. An acoustic guitarist sat by the door of the bar playing blues which seemed to fit the mood perfectly. It felt good to be in town, and feel settled somewhere after all the travelling, and i probably had a couple more beers than i should've that night.

I woke up on the morning of Dec 5th around 8am after our wakeup call for the trekking. I'd left everything until the last minute. Hung over and tired, I managed to pack my smaller rucksack full of what i might need for the 3days ahead. Needless to say, it turned out i'd forgotten my towel, tootpaste, toothbrush, and all things waterproof. Got on with the trekking all the same. I was lucky to have a great group on the trek and met a few guys who i continued to travel with for the coming week or so. The three days trekking took place in and around Mae Taeng, 2hrs north of Chiang mai, which was an amazing setting. The trekking was exhausting, particularly the first day, but definitely worth it. Some of the views we saw from the hill village we'd trekked to that first day were amazing (so good that i forgot to take photos - sorry!). We were greeted by some of the villagers, and a big bucket of ice filled with cans of cold juice and beer. What a treat that was, and completely unexpected. We all enjoyed that first beer, and the many to follow that night. The next two days were much the same, with some good laughs along the way. Including the odd slip or fall by various people, notably me falling into the stream, flapping around in the water trying to get out whilst keeping my bag above the water. I earned myself a red face and a badly scraped shin that day.











(left): We stopped for some lunch,
and a photo opportunity of
course.
(right): That's Dave on the front of the elehant. I'm in the
distance with 'the trooper'. He was given that name because he
liked to troop off on his own, away from the group. Hence
his ommission from the photo (left).

We arrived back in Chiang mai On Wed 7th for a much needed hot shower, and a good feed that night. The following afternoon, three of the guys I met on the trek, and an Alaskan guy named Brett from the guest house, all signed up for quad biking just outside of Chiang mai. It cost 3000B each which is pretty expensive, but was worth it just this once. Again, we had amazing views, plus a great track to take quads on. We had a great laugh, in particular at Brett's jokes on the minibus trip. What a guy!





The meal in Chiang Mai after
we returned from our trek.






Left to right: Mark, Me, Brett, Luke, Dave









Lovely view eh lads?






The following day Mark, Luke, Dave, and I got the public bus from Chiang Mai station to Pai, where we would stay for a few days. We checked into a guest house called Baan Tawan on the river, and headed out for my first glimpse at the wonderful place called Pai. The 2nd day in to our stay there, we signed up for an 8hr white water rafting day, north of Pai. We were one person short of the minimum required to sign up but they went ahead with it anyway. This meant a lot of hard work for those in the boat. There was only Luke, Dave, myself, and our guide to do all the work. It took a great effort, but we all enjoyed it. Dave and I had been to a pool party the previous night, so the beginning of the rafting sucked badly, but we were forced to sober up quickly.




Luke and Dave tucked up in bed at Baan Tawan, Pai.





By around the 15th the Auzzie guys, Luke and Dave, were moving on to Koh Chang, and I was headed for the island of Koh Phangan...

Thu 1st Dec 2005 - The Beginning...

Well where do i start? It's going to be tricky remembering all that's happened since i left, as well as keeping it all in a relevant order. It's currently Tue 25th Apr 2006 and I've created this site only 5mins ago from a small internet shop in Luang Prabang, Laos, just across from my guest house by the river. But we'll get to that part of the story soon...

Thursday morning i woke up, and immediately, at the forefront of my mind was - this is my last day in Scotland! At least, before my travels.

I spent the morning clearing the rest of my things from my room at my Brother's, then took to my mum's what needed to be kept, chucked it all in the attic, and began uploading the essentials to my Ipod!

That took a while but I managed time to head up to my mate Andy's to see them that night before leaving. Got a quick few games in at Pro Evolution, kicked some ass then left my legacy behind for them all to remember.

Friday morning I carried on cramming as much music on to my Ipod as possible. Finished packing the last of my things then said goodbye to my Mum before leaving with George to the airport. And so it begins...

I got to the airport and checked in, before enjoying a cold beer in the bar upstairs. Strangely I bumped in to one of Claire's best friends, Gaelle, and her fiancee Ian, and we enjoyed a couple of pints together. They were headed to London for the weekend.

Before I knew it I was off to meet the last call for boarding.

Made it to Heathrow, did the check in etc and had a few more beers before the long haul to Thailand. The flight was delayed for 2-3hrs so I was pretty merry byt the time we took off. In fact I still can't remember taking off? I woke up in the early hours of the morning with maybe 4hrs left on the flight, and before I knew it, I was back in Kho San Rd looking for accomodation.

I shared on that first night with a couple of Cockney's who were headed for Koh Samui the next day. We went out around Kho San that night for a few drinks, then the following day they went their way and I was bound for Chiang Mai on the sleeper train.