Muy thai & buckets

Im back on Samui, this time at Chaweng beach. After two nights in Hat Rin (Koh Phangan) I realised it was definitly a too much of a party place. It was impossible to sleep between 12 pm and 6 am. The music where just way too loud, so being in the middle of it all didnt prove to be that successfull afterall. Why I went back to Samui though was once again just an impulse. I thought i would go and see a few more places here. On the ferry across I met two Australian guys (Dave & Leonard) from Melbourne and we decided to share a taxi to an area called Lamai. It was supposed tro be laid back, but still no too quiet.

When we got off the boat we asked a taxi guy how much he wanted and he was like yes 40 Bhat each is good , you come with me, yes! We thought that sounded great and went with him. However when we reached Lamai and were going to pay he said suddenly it was 400 Bhat!!? We all have heard 40 each and refused to pay more. Then he got really angry and when I went to grab my back he pushed me away from the car. Argh...that annoyed me soooo much, but I could not be bothered with it all so I just gave him what he wanted. The others also did so. It is just stupid when they lie to get you in the car and then say something different.

Anyway, so we got some pretty nice bungalows and put down our backpacks. We then went to the beach which we imagined to be beautiful. It was far from it though. There was a stinky river next to it, dirty beach, grainy sand and the water was muddy and did not feel fresh. Uuuuh...What a dissappointment! We still stayed there for a bit though.

In the night we went for some drinks and there was Thai boxing (Muy thai) not too far from our bungalows. So we watched that and ordered a bucket with rum, coke and red bull. You share it together and drink it with straw :) Pretty good fun actually. After the match we went to a club and danced for a bit. When it all closed we went back to the bungalows and just played around with some music and digital cameras. Leonard did some hip hop rap and we recorded it with the camera. It was really funny. Then we were playing some hip hop rap thing and at the same time there was a show on TV that almost synced totally with the music/rap. It was hysterical. We filmed that too and it is just sooooo funny. It seems like a joke the whole thing. Maybe i'll be able to put it on here later!

Ok i gotto go, im meeting the guys and some other people to go out again. Will fix this update later !

Cooking brain and food

Today I went to the beach again, but after a couple of hours I started feeling almost sick from the heat so I had to escape the beach, run into an airconditioned internet cafe and drink a coke!! I never drink soda, but I was feeling so drained that I thought it was the best cure ;) It even helped after a while. However I had booked a cooking class at 3 pm, so I had to pull myself together. It was even hotter doing the cooking thing though. Hot pots! I had to stand in front of the fan every now and then to cope. I did manage though and we made springrolls, tofu curry, sweet & sour vegetables and pumpkin with custard. It even tasted great :) I got a copy of all the recepies too so I can repeat it at home!

Yeah, thats about it, sorry the lousy updates, but it is kind of to hot to elaborate on anything.

Undesicive & impulsive

This morning I was going to move bungalow once again. I wanted to be in a more central place, because it was too quiet in the evenings where I stayed last. So I planned to go to the pier area, Mae Had, where more action can be found. However when getting there I could not find any room, it was either too expencive or too depressing. So at the spur of the moment I decided to throw myself on the ferry to Koh Phanghan. It was due to leave in 10 minutes and they had tickets left.

When I got here I didn't have any good idea about where to stay, but wandered around for a bit. Eventually this became exhausting and hot with all my luggage. I was just about to check out one place that was mentioned in LP, when I passed some good looking bungalows. I asked if they ad any free and there was a Swedish guy in there already and he was raving about how good this place was. So I just decided to get one. The location isn't idyllic, but very central, in the middle of the travellers hang outs. I got a bungalow next to the Swedish guy, Oscar. He has been here about 6 times before. He always travel during the Scandinavian winter! Not a bad idea if you ask me. Anyway, I will stop now. This keyboard is horrible and sticky. The "enter" key just got stuck and made the whole site go bananas.

Finding the perfect bungalow

I think im on a mission to find the perfect bungalow. It seems like I have become picky after I passed 30?! On my other trips I stayed in the most shabby places you can imagine, all the way down to a bare hammock, now though I want a clean room in a good location with a secure door, a good bathroom and possibly a hammock in front :) The one I had yesterday was in many ways very good, it had nice enough bathroom, and a hammock to relax in, however it was very dark and the location was terrible. I didnt realise until it was too late that my bungalow was next to the public toilet. It brought a wind of foul smell and in the evening when the bar/restaurant started to fill up it was a constant traffic of people going to the toilet. It was only one toilet, so eventually there formed a queue of drunk, loud talking people next to my bungalow. Juhuu! So obviosly not the ideal bungalow. This morning I decided to move to another bay called Chalok Ban Kao. I got a pretty good room at Tropicana Resort for half the price of the "toilet one". It is just next to the sea and fulfills almost all the ideals, apart from the hammock...hehe.but I like it.

I will stay here for a few days I guess. The weather is great now, Ive been to the beach for a few hours, but Im afraid to burn up, so can't stay there too long each time. I also did some snorkling and saw a few fish, it was not great though, so I might join a snorkling trip one of the coming days. That's it, a pretty lazy day so far. I plan to go up to a place in the hills with great views for lunch. I met some Swedish people who recommended it. New Heaven is the name :)

Koh Tao

Last night I managed to reach Buddha before sunset and I also met Rogena. She used to have a Norwegian boyfriend and lived 3 years in Oslo, Norway, so she speaks Norwegian, which was fun. However we spoke mostly in English. Suddenly though she would say some words in Norwegian and I would stare blankly at her until I realised that it was Norwegian she was speaking. He he.

After having taken some typical shots of Buddha we went and had dinner at a nearby restaurant. By the time we were finished it was completely dark and there were no takis around. Of course we were also going in opposite directions. A policeman was trying to help us get a taxi, but in reality he didnt do anything, apart from telling us to wait every time we wanted to go aks someone for help. Finally a jeep-bus came in Rogena's direction so she got that. Nothing for me though and I didnt want to walk 20-30 min alone in the dark on a dodgy road. Despite the policemans orders for me to wait I went back to the resturant and aksed them to help out with a taxi. Then one of the girls working there told me to follow her. She took me to her scooter and drove me home for free! I was so surprised, that was very kind :)

Just before 10 pm I also decided that I wanted to go to Kho Tao today, so I ran to the ticket shop and got a seat on the catamaran that leaves at 8 in the morning. This morning while waiting for the taxi to the boat I also met Amy an English girl I met on samui. She has been living 8 months on Koh Tao as a dive instructor and was heading back to get her stuff before she is returing home to England soon. So then I had company too. The boat ride was great and fast. Luxury.

It was strange to come here again. I really liked this place last time, but now EVERYTHING is completley different. So busy and noisy, but I will still stay here for a few days to do some snorkling. There is hardly any beach left since they have built cafes and restaurants almost into the water. The few strips left are packed with people. There are a lot of places still being developed and constructed. It is sad to see how much they build it up.

Anyway, I guess everything will always change. Im really happy I got to experience this place before it changed so drastically though:)

Well, im off to fight with the mosquitos. They are HUGE here!!

Crying Buddha

Today it has been raining like mad, like heaven just opened its floodgates. I was in a shop during one heavy shower and the women there told me that today is Buddha day and then it always rains. She said maybe it was Buddha crying. That must be one sad Buddha!

Im actually on my way to see a huge Buddha statue that sits on the tip of this island (samui)
Im meeting Rogena, an american girl from San Fransisco, there. We were hoping to catch the sunset, but I wonder if there will be much sun in this weather!?

Not a lot has happend since last time I wrote. The weather has been pretty boring with clouds and rain a lot of the time, so it hasn't been a lot of beachlife yet. I did do some yoga though.

I also went into Chaweng for a day to do some shopping. The DVD's are so cheap here, so I probably got about 20 now, also fake clothes are abundant. I did not recognise chaweng from last time I was here tho..it is crazy how much it has changed. They have Mc Donalds, Starbucks, Tesco's, there are even some traffic lights. Its very very touristy.

I met a few other people too. Emma from Melbourne, Australia and Clementine from France. All of them more or less same age as me. Clementine seems to be even more addicted to travelling than me. She is about to do a 3 month yoga course in Ko Phan Ghan.

Anyway, I better get going if I want to reach Buddha before the sun sets. He has stopped crying now ;)

PS!
I have booked a flight out of here!

Stressful bus and boat trip

First of all I am definitly not leaving this island unless it is onboard a plane. The 3 hour boat trip out here was scary. I took the expressboat from Suratthani to Samui. It was jampakced with maybe 150 people plus backpacks. It was literarly a mountain of backpacks! After about 1 hour we started experiencing some crazy waves. I didn't get seasick, but many people looked a bit unwell. I was more worried that the boat would tip over in the waves. Phew, but luckily it went fine. However a flight is not that much more expencive and is soooooooo much easier. Because to get to the ferry there is also a bustrip of about 14 hours.

And the bustrip got its own story. Last time I was in Thailand there was a lot of trouble getting on a bus that we got tickets for, so this time i wanted to make sure that i got a good bus that was on time, so I went to a more or less proper travel agency and got a more expencive ticket. The bus was leaving Monday 6.30 pm. Just before 6 pm I came to the place I was told to wait for pick up, then by chance I found out the bus was leaving at 6 pm instead. Ok so I was lucky I thought, a few minutes later a guy comes and picks me up, but the bus is not outside..no no I had to walk/run half of Bangkok with all the bags after a sprinting Thai . On the way we also picked up two Canadian guys . So we all hurried along together to reach this bus that apparently was in a great hurry. Finally we reached the bus and unloaded the backpacks. I got into the bus and tried to find a good spot. Then a Thai woman comes and tell me to go out. I ask why, but she keeps repeating out-out. So I get very confused. The Canadian guys are also told to wait. She tells us there is another bus. We ask what is wrong with the one we are in, but once again she can't answer. She onlys "says, 5 minutes, other bus coming". Ah, ok so we went to the sidewalk and waited, all of us pretty skeptic by now! Why did we have to run for a bus we werent allowed onboard and would there be another bus? Well, yes after 1 HOUR another bus finally came. While waiting I also found out that I had paid double the price of the others even though we all ended up in the same bus. Stupid system. So this is another reason bus is definitly not the way to go. Train is probably better and getting the ticket from the station is definitly much better than going through the bogus travel agents in Bangkok :)

So obviously I was pretty tired when I reached Samui today, but I found a nice place on the north end, Bo Put, very quiet, but nice enough beach and a few people around. I will stay her for the next days and enjoy the beachlife. Hasta la vista!

Skytrain & weekend market

Today I have tested out both the public river boat and the skytrain which gives you kind of a birds eye view of parts of the city. I used them both to get to a weekend market called Chatuchak. It was probably more efficient and interesting than taking a tuk tuk or taxi that would definitly be stuck for ages in the slow moving traffic. The weekend market was massive, selling everything you could imagine, food, art, handicraft, clothes, animals (aquarium fish, baby dogs (eh..suddenly forgot what baby dog is in English ?!) and much much more. It was extremely crowded though, so after about 2 hours I had my dose.

Now Im on my way back to Khao San road, but I have stopped off in the Silom area in town which is a modern shopping area. Just thought Id have a look around before I head back to the backpacker ghetto in Khao San. Its funny though, it is actually a bit difficult meeting people there. Normally I have trouble meeting people because there havent been anyone around, now there are hundreds, but its like it is too many to actually be able to meet anyone. I cant just grab a random person either..hehe. Anyway, Im not so worried since will go south tomorrow.

Another ironic thing: This is the first time ever that I have invested in a good room with aircondition and it turns out that the weather have been so cold that I had to turn it off. It has been raining too, but now it seems to get a little warmer. I hope the sun will appear soon.

Yesterday I also went to the National Art Gallery where they had an art fair too, which was interesting. One photo was especially funny. It was of a typical "hippie" dressed up traveller sitting among a lot of decorative masks. The title was "No mask needed"! Hehe, good point.

Well, Im off again. Tomorrow evening I will take a bus south to Koh Samui, 14 hours !

One night in Bangkok...

Hi, Im finally in Bangkok. I arrived yesterday around 6 pm. I was sooo tired after having travelled for almost 2 days. Left the house wednesday evening, took the train to Oslo airport, then had to spend the night there to catch my morning flight to London. In London I had to wait another 9-10 hours for the next flight to Bangkok. The flight down was 11 hours. So by the time I got here I felt almost dizzy. When standing still it felt like I was on a boat, but today I feel much better. Slept in a bit this morning. Im staying in a great hotel in Kaho San Road. It is a little expencive, but it is great, with AC and swimmingpool :)

Khao San is by the way a street where most travellers end up staying. I was here 8 years ago, but cant say I recognise much, well apart from that it is more crowded and developed. Its ok for a few days though!

Yesterday after dropping off my luggage in the room and having a much needed shower, I went out to grab some food. I was also supposed to meet up wih a Hungarian guy I met on the plane, but it took forever for him to get here, so I wandered around the streets for a bit. Eventually he came though and we had a walk around town. However I was extremely tired so went back to bed around midnight and had a great sleep.

At the moment Im in a huge shopping centre called Pantip Plaza. It is filled with computer and digital stuff. I have bought a lot of software which is partly why im spending time here in Bangkok. Well, Im still in at Pantip, so I will go and see if I can find some more fun stuff :)

The cat wants to join me :)

It seems like my cat would like to come along!? Or maybe the people who produce cat beds have got it all wrong, since this cat never ever went near the cat bed, but lies down in everything else that can possibly be used as a bed. Hmm..maybe a tip for the cat bed producers??

Packing frenzy

Whee! In about 3 days Im leaving for Oslo airport, where I will spend the night in order to catch my flight the next morning. I got my student visa approved a few days ago (phew!!) Everything else is more or less sorted out, except the packing, which at the moment is a bit chaotic. I will probably need to repack a few times to get it all to fit.

Apart from organising the Australia move I have also been shocked and saddened by the tsunami tragedy. I could hardly believe it when I heard the news. I have thought sooo much about all the great people I met in Sri Lanka and India on earlier trips. I have no way of knowing how they are now. If they even are alive?! I do know that a kind old Sri Lankan man who owned one of the guesthouses I stayed in died, which was sad news. I also saw the name of a distant friend on a missing persons list, but luckily she was safe on another island in Thailand. Im actually stopping over in Thailand for 3 weeks and will probably meet up with her and some other friends when Im there. I do feel bad going there so soon after the tsunami, but after a lot of thiking back and forth and information from friends and people in Thailand I decided to go on with my trip.

I will try to update whenever possible......