Bangkok to Singapore 21st March

Last Day! Finally, we're outta here! Squeezed in some final haggles on Kho San Road and went for luch with Dad (Martin). No sign of the swedes at check out which made me a bit sad because we had just spent 3weeks with them and not said goodbye..waaa.
The plane to Singapore was short but sweet. Me and Holly put Brandon & Kelly's dance moves into practice and mimed alot to JT 'My Love.'
It seemed like as soon as we had stepped onto the plane we were getting off again and into the cleanest city I've ever seen. The airport was immaculate with gleaming chrome surfaces and space age doors. We fell into the taxi exhausted and drove to our hostel called 'The Hang Out'. It was like being in the big brother house. It was lovely....free internet, pool table and look out point over the city on the roof...wow..not bad at all!

20th March Bang-bloody-kok Again

Well, at a very happy 4am, the night train pulled into Bangkok station to be greeted by, of all things, rain. Not just a a bit of rain, the works....torrential, fast hard sheets of rain complete with its very own thunder and lightening. Didn't really get a chance to say goodbye to everyone as, before we knew it, Dream had chucked us in a taxi and we were speeding off towards the city centre. That was that. Our Intrepid 24 day tour had ended with the biggest anitclimax imaginable. We checked into our hotel ' The Sawasdee Inn' and promtly got into bed. We switched on the TV and flicked over to the trusty english speaking channel HBO to find aa film called 'The War of the Buttons' was on. It was very rubbish but it was good enough to fall asleep to. The other two were still zonked out when 7am came round and so I went downstairs to meet Martin for breakfast where we discussed the finer points of the buttony film over toast and coffee. The rest of the day was spent shopping in an attempt to use up all of our excess Bahtage. Got a few presents and some clothes and returned to the hotel.
I was curled up in bed in bereavment for the loss of my 6000mp3s, when, Holly burst into the room with a huge grin on her face.
"Got you a present!!" she beamed, whipping out a plastic bag. I looked at her with a raised eyebrow wondering what on earth could be sitting in that bag that made her so pleased with herself. It was a bright yellow 'I Love The King' T Shirt. Pretty much every thai person wears it. Its a polo shirt with thai writing on it saying how great the King is.....it was absoloutley awful and possible the best present she could have bought me in my state of depression. I also received a dairy milk and i savoured every bite. All 3 of us got into bed (we were really active today) and watched a weird cheesy chickflick that was actually quite painful to view. On our way out for a meal we bumped into Jo and Kate and so all of us went for some food and a shop.Good old Bangkok and its bargains.

Night Train 19th March

Left Koh Tao today :( Checked out 2 and a half hours early so we could hang out with Brandon, Kelly and Martin for the last time. Claire was really ill again and kept throwing up but she soon perked up and got stuck into a game of cards called 'speed'. This morning was funny...at around 9am I heard someone shuffling outside my room. Thinking it was Claire or Hol, I rolled over to face the door. A thai maid waddled in and stared at me. "erm..Hello?'..The old lady grinned, apologised and waddled out. I felt positively violated. Then, Claire burst into my room screaming she had been bitten by a snake. I immediately panicked, shot out of bed and whipped out my fist aid kit, asking her where the bite was and what the snake looked like. Antiseptic Wipe and Bite cream at the ready I failed to find any bite marks. After a few questions it turned out that the 'snake' was an inch and a half long, had legs and antennae. I gave her the cream and went next door to have a look for the beast....it was a centipede. Claire hadn't been bitten at all just slightly stung.
I was really sad to leave Brandon and Kelly . They've been our closest mates here and they were here from the beginning. They taught us some 'killer' dance moves including 'the water sprinkler', 'climbing the ladder' and 'the bow and arrow.'
We left them just before we got on the ferry. Really hope we see them again. I would genuinley go to North Carolina in August if they got the trekking company up and running. Feels a bit weird now with the group sort of filtering away and knowing soon it'll just be us three again. Went for some food at the staion and ate to such hits as 'Rhine Stone Cowboy' and 'Country Roads'. Just trying to get through this journey on the night train and then we never have to get on one again. We have to get up at 4am...6 hours time...awsome.

Koh Tao March 18th, The Day the Music Died

Woke up around 9am and fancied exploring the town a bit more. Me and Claire thought we'd let sleeping beauty have a long lie (Holly) and set off to potter about on the beach. We walkedamile or so down the main shoreline, passing taxi boats, stalls selling corn on the cobs, necklaces,bracelets and ridiculously illegal conterfeit DVDs. On opur return we found that our group had claimed a small section of the beach and so we set up camp. I couldn't wait to go for a swim. The sand so soft between my toes I waded out and began to swim. It was there and then I realised that this was probably the closest I would ever get to paradise. I was also reminded that while people back home were at Uni, College or at work, I was in actual heaven...unlucky everyone. With the midday heatwave about to pass I decided to catch some rays and listen to my ipod (a nice bit of Zero7). As I began to drift off to the chilled tones of 'Destiny', the song cut short and I shot up scrambling around for my ipod. It confirmed my worst fears....my ipod was covered in sea water (source unknown to this day) and had passed quietly away. It had left this world and gone to frolick in the fields in ipod heaven where its battery would ever remain charged and it would never run out of Gigabites no matter how many songs were uploaded on to it. Bye Bye ipod, you were such a good friend.
As i was walking back to the room (to mourn my loss), I bumped into B & K who invited me back down onto the beach to play cards. As it was our last full day together I felt compelled to go back with them and pospone my depression till the next day.
We sat on beach towels around a tiny wooden table (which I think was a stump of an old palm tree) and played cards whilst watching the sun setting over the sea. In true 'us' style we had managed to get the times wrong for the final group meal and so had only 10 minutes to get ready....nice one. Managed to get showered with hair and make up done and was very proud of myself. Claire was less impressed and after must persuasion that she was not ugly and did't need the straighteners, we set off. One very cheap meal and a film about football hooliganism in the UK (random i know) we went to a few bars for cocktails and suprise suprise..played cards on the beach. Had such a laugh. Kate gave us some hints and tips on places to stay in Oz and ideas of meeting up with the scottish couple, Jill (who looks the spitting image of Hannah Lynn) & Dave, were passed around. I was pretty awake walking back and watched a bit of the electrical storm going on above our heads. Kind of hoped somehow that we would get a freak storm so we wouldn't have to leave tomorrow....bet we won't.

17th March Koh Tao

Today was my favourite day of the whole time we have been away. Today we went snorkelling. The pick up was around 8.45am an we all piled onto the truck to be given a snorkel, mask and flippers each. Was extremely impressed by the flippers and so me and Claire celebrated by doing a 'Happy feet' dance. By the first diving site i was already hooked. It was like being in another world. As soon as your head slips beneath the surface you become part of such a silent, peaceful place. Each stop on the boat seemed to get better and better. I actually gave up on snorkelling and preferred to dive down and swim with the shoals of luminous fish that were littered all over the coral (Holly accused me of actually being the little mermaid). There was so much to see; huge fish that looked like they had been painted with oil pastels, see cucumbers abundant on the sea bed, huge bright purple clams that appeared velvet in texture and so many other stunning creatures. I feel sure now that i want to do marine biology just so i can call the sea ' my office. '
After the group meal at night we bought a few bottles and took them back to the resort which ahd a small courtyard in the centre. we sat around drinking and listening to music whilst chatting about the first cd's we'd bought & gigs we had first seen. Nikki told us of a Kanye West thmed 18th she threw for Becky which entailed her wearing a bird cage on her head.....(she went as 'through the wire') brilliant. I went to bed at midnight thoroughly satisfied and content with all aspects of life with Holly and a few of the others staying out to go to the raving party on the beach. They didn't reurn till an impressive 6am in the morning. \m/ hardcore.

Koh Tao 16th March

Arrived at Koh Tao today and it is officially the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Everywhere you look the scene just looks like a postcard. White golden sands boarding a palm tree scattered skyline and met by crystal clear blue water. I felt like i had tumbled on to the set of 'Lost' or a 'Lilt' advert. Shops are just shacks with palm tree roofs. We were each given a key to our own accomodationwhich was a basic room with an ensuite. Huge double bed, no air con but a power ranger of a fan. There were many cockroaches and ants but nothing was going to phase me today. I just felt so lucky. At night we went to the 'Flower' restaurant where it was a no shoe sit down affair and all sixteen of us crammed around the table. Almost cried with laughter as Kelly had great trouble ordering her food...(it went along the lines of this)...
K: What Comes with the sandwich?
Waitress: Without?
K:No, Sorry, what do you get with food? Tomatos, onions....?
Waitress: Everything
K: Whats Everything?
Waitress: Without?
K:No (starting to crack up now) what's in it?
Waitress: Everything... (pauses)...without?
K: OK Sorry It doesn't matter, I'm retarded, stupid american.

I actually almost wet myself. Also ate the best pancake (that was what it was called) from a stall..they were amazing. I mean..there was a party in my mouth and everyone was invited for sure.

15th march Koh Samui

Woke up pretty early and welcomed the free breakfast with open arms. Decided to spend the day at the resort to save money so we could go to the main beach at night. Lazed by the pool and sunbathed pretty much all day. Feel it is a just reward for all the trekking and sight seeing. Played cards with everyone and actually came a respectable second after much mockery. 'Just think Mary!' Holly sighed (who actually placed first so fair enough). Everyone dressed up to go to the thai clubs. It was like we had all been starved of music. Shakira came on and we literally ran from the bar across the street to the dancefloor and everyone danced away. There was about 6 of us dancing barefoot like there was no tomorrow, stone cold sober and just very happy. Missed Vj's today as 'I don't feel like dancing' came on and no one knew where to put the god damn clap.

14th March Kho Samui

Took us quite while to get there with a very early start. Got on the ferry and stupidly fell asleep with not much sun cream on and so my neck is in full on lobster mode. Also burned my arms and got really sexy tanlines where my bracelets, watch and rings were. I wasn't the only one however...most of the group had made the same mistake. Sandy resort was our next location. Two taxis picked us up and we were all so excited. Our taxi had a kareoke machine in the back. Me, Hol and Martin were going for it and doing our best to sing in thai and not insult the driver...so i am now the band 'carabo's biggest fan. The resort was amazing, we had our own section of the beach. white sands and clear water. Couldn't wait to swim in the sea. Holly ran in, smiled and said, 'There Then'. Had a little sunbathe and got ready for a meal (am no longer red but going brown..hurrah!). Went for a drink at a bar that overlooked the street where all the clubs were. Its so funny watching all the thai people in bars try to imitate the westies dancing. All along the street were men offering take a photo with their pet monkeys (no hidden sexual meaning here) for 100 baht. The monkeys were so small and were the cutest little gorgeous awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww i want one...tiny..face..eyes...sucking its thumb..AWWW....want it. Nice one please.

13th March Kho Sok

To be honest I was pretty scared last night. I don't exactly adore sleeping in the woods so this was a little bit frightening. I can't stress to you how loud the insetcs were. it was the same sound you would hear if you were travelling in a landing plane. Itwas awsome to be in the actual rainforest and see all the wildlife though. There was so much banging on our hut all night, probs insects landing and stuff but it sounded like monkeys were hurling thenselves into the wall. Today we went on what we thought would be a half day trek. We set off at 9.30am and didn't return to the guest house until 4pm...6 and a hlaf hours later. I loved it though..trekking is ace! We trekked uphill in the National Park leaving Holly and the Swedes once more at a lower level. Martin and Brandon decided they wanted to be adventurous and go off the path. So me, Claire and Kelly set off on our own. We were so god damn harcore. We trekked pretty fast and got up to the 6th level of the waterfall (there are 7in all and quite a few km between each), chatted about past relationships and decided that we looked EXACTLY like Destiny's Child in the 'Survivor' video. On reaching the top we had some snacks and cooled off. Kelly took the executive decision of eating Brandon's share of the crackers and pringles as wellas her own because she didn't 'think we would see him till we got back'.....well we did and so Brandon had to do without...No pringles for Brandine. That night we went to a rasta bar (Shaba). it was gorgeous. There was a mong table that was very low down so you had to kneel on the cushions to eat your food. We had a BBQ and it was 'lush'. The staff showed us some games such as picking up a water bottle using only your mouth (Kelly would not give up at all, Claire did pretty well too). Then a randon fire thrower began just as we were leaving...we would have stayed but just HAD to get ice cream!

12th March Kho Sok

This resort is amazing. We are located in rainforest 'jungle apartments' - like jungle huts but with walls and a bathroom just on the edge of Kho Sok National Park. Whilst eating dinner we watched monkeys playing by the riverside. Went for our first group meal with the new group members. Martin, Holly, Brandon, Kelly and Claire (Hoff for a short while but he fell asleep at the table) fancied a cheeky game of 'Hell No!' cards which we were taught on the night train last night. The restaurant of the guest house was locked but we went underneath the platform and found a back staircase leading to the outside table and chair section of the bar overlooking the river. It was pitch black but a few of us had torches and so the game was on. 'So who invited Mr Diamond?' cried Brandon as he claimed the trick. ' Does anyone care to beat me?!' he shrilled as he lay down the ace of trumps. We all cracked up laughing.

And then there were three

Today was a sad day. Said goodbye to Shim, Ruth and Claire..was awful. We were so lucky to have met 3 people on the same wavelength as us. I felt they kind of took us ubder their wing as we had no idea what to do we first got here and straight away they were the first ones to chat to us and invite us out to eat with them. All 3 of them...(my god i'm writing this like they're dead) brought a different sense of humour and quality to the group that will be missed (seriously, they're not dead). I hope they're safe and we stay in touch with them. wicked people. After that we went to the grand palace. It was incredibly beautiful and very impressive with so much precious stones and metals crafted with great skill and care but I was suprised at how angry it made me. I guess this is a bit of quaker influence now coming through. It cost 200 baht to get in (with a 5o% student discount) and there were donation boxes everywhere constantly asking for money. I understand the traditions and the need for constant maintenance to keep the palace how it is but i was still angered. As we were walking through, extra parts of the temple were being adjusted and altered for no apparent reason which must have cost a fortune. I can also understand donations...fair enough..but you should not be charged to enter a place of worship. I felt they were exploiting religion. yes, it is a tourist attraction but the majority of people in there were buddhists coming to meditate and worship. I was just so annoyed that this place ahd so much money when just outside there were people begging and starving to death. Bangkok is full of poverty and surely money would be so much better spent by the temple on things like water purification, sanitry and general health and medication. Surely these issues should be addressed befoer building yet another temple in the Grand Palace to signify that the King can put his own clothes on or some other trivial reason. Phew! Needed to get that out! I just think quakers have got it so right by keeping things simple. A place of worship should be anywhere you wish it to be not necessarilya building or specific location.
On the night train now. Its not as gross as the last but i think we were all better prepared this time. Spent most of the night playing cards with Claire, Holly and Kelly in the disco cart. They lights went out so we played in the dark which was pretty funny.

later That Night

After a couple of drinks we headed out to the nearest club called Gullivers. It was heaving! I felt 17 again as it was an over twenties bar and we were all a bit nervous..we got in easily...i guess foreigners must all look the same to them or something. They plaed such hits as ' Pretty Fly for a White Guy' and 'I like to Move it Move it'. Felt pretty drunk at this point so had a wee boogie. Went to a bar called 'The last bar' where they sold 'Cooktails'. The cd that was playing at this one was a medly of Shaggy's greatest hits. When in hit 2.30am most of us called it a night with some others staying to get a nutritious breakfast of Burger King. Holly was hilarious..she cam in and got into bed after turning the light off. i turned it back on to tidy up to which Holly sighed, 'God just turn it off!'. She then turned over and proceeded to talk to herself. She obviously thought she was hilarious as she had a fit of giggles...sighed ' You know what i'm talking about' and passed out.

Bangkoky Again

Feeling gross and in great need for a shower we arrived int eh capital at around 5.30am and witnessed such a breathtaking sunrise. Dragged our bags to the hotel to discover that we couldn't check in till midday...rubbish. the six of us girls went for breakfast together at a small resaurant on Khao San Road. After two power naps (One in the hotel lobby and one in the room) we were ready to go for a meal and a drink. I had a green curry and for afters the most amzing pancake ever to hit a frying pan in all of Asia. A quick stop at 7/11 to buy some cheap drinks and we were back to the hotel room. What time is it? 719 time...so we all piled into room 719 (our room) , played a couple of drinking games , looked at everyones photos and took part in general merrymaking activities. We'd forgot to meet two of the new girls (both very friendly, one called Nikki who talks like actula Nikki from BB...who IS she?!) so me and Brandon went down in the lift to invite them up. ' What time is it?' he asked a thai porter who responded witha blank experssion. ' Yeah he knows..it's room 719 time!!'

Return to Chiang Mai

Not the most exciting day but really chilled. Ate some food and showered after the long bus jouney back 'home' as we've started to call it. On the night train now and have discovered that the walls are actually greasy. Played hearts with B and K and ate some pineapple that tasted of onions and ham. I think I've actually eaten my body weight in oreos...must stop eating so much crap and remember that food is not love.

Chiang Rai 8th

Went to the hot spring today. The whole group was so excited. Bikini on and towel rolled up, I was craving warm, soothing water and excercise. Oh No...we arrived and were greatly disappointed. The hot spring consisted of three parts: A very hot pool for no apparent reason, the actual hot spring which smelt of eggs and the swimming pool that you were allowed in, smelt of egg and had suspicious black things floating in the water. I would have love to have said i was tempted to get in but i really really wasn.t and neither was claire or kelly who sat with me at the side to watch. I figure we'd made the right decision when Holly and Brandon came out in rashes later that day. At night we retuirned to the night market for some cheap food and the bug challenge...yes that is right i ate insects. On the menu were silkworms, house crickets, water crickets and grubs. They didn't taste of much but the texture was enough to make any stomach turn. I mean Ruth gor a cricket wing stuck in her teeth for crying out loud..mmmm sexy!

7 March Chiang Rai

Spent most of the day in a taxi. Me, Holly, Brandon and Kelly shared one. Read a lot of my book and listened to Dave Matthews for most of the journey. Highlight was when the song 'dragostea din tei' came on and we all had a little boogie in our seats speeding up a hilltop path with the windows down (mainly because there weren't any windows). I know..we are actually such party animals...we really should calm down.
Stopped off at the market and finally found holly a bra. We were wondering why the thai people in the shop were laughing at us until we read the name of the shop on the bag Hol was given. 'Bras for Kids'.....ain't that a kick in the head. No one bothered to cross the border so we were off to the Golden Triangle...the border of 3 countries.
When we got off the tuk, there was a group of 3 children singing in thai. Aw, how lovely, I thought...lets take a photo of them. So i snapped away. I turned to photograph the amazing view in front of me when i felt a little tug on my shorts. It was a tiny thai boy holding his hand out to me. 'One Photo ten baht' he frowned. They weren't singing a thai song at all but 'One Photo For ten baht okaaaay'...brilliant..everyone laughed as i scrabbled round in me bag for ten baht (which is about 6p)...i just got conned by an actual child.
Went down to the riverside to chill with a drink. A shipment of 40-70 year old tourists arrived for a boat tour...there was about 50 of them...all arrogant, classic tourists. Bum Bags, loud floral shirts, scrunchies, video cameras, ridiculous tans, chest hair (even the women) and socks pulled right up to the knee. They treated the 3 singing children like animals, posing with them for photos with thumbs up signs, falshinf cameras right in their faces and ignoring the childrens plea for money. It was like a zoo. I felt guilty for taking a photo in the first place. They were loud and clumsy and the kids had been ripped off...so me and the girls went up and offered our spare change much to the kids delight.
Arrived at chaing Mai and was met by the greatest smell of fish imaginable.
Hotel was amazing...the rooms were luxurious. Went out in the evening. I went with Bran, Kelly, Claire and Martin for a cheeky italian and ice cream. Kelly tried to order a cone with two scoops but the thai man simply could not comprehend this idea and insisted on giving her two cones. 'God Damn Fat American' Kelly laughed. 'hey saddlebags!' greeted Brandon. Finished the evening with a viewing of the infamous Lady Boys of Thailand. I can't actually describe it but it was very strange and very funny. One of them was so pretty...the only thing that gave him/her/it away was the fact she had massive hands. It's quite gutting to watch someone who is a thousand times prettier and more elegant than you..and its an actual man.

7th March Chaing Rai

So...Chiang Rai smells of fish.

Thaton 6th March

So...4 hour bus journey's are officially boring. Claire was dead sick bless her....I think she gets a bit motion sick.
So we're in Thaton now...there is absolutely nothing here whatsoever. I'm not sure why the tour actually came here. As Shim put it...'There's monks, this resort and a Buddha'.
We sat down for lunch which was pretty gross...salted fish and rice...which was so salty my mouth practically shriveled up and died after tasting it.
in the afternoon Claire washed my feet for me because they were gross....even showers had failed to rid my heels of the dirt that had accumulated for the past two weeks..got so many sores from the trek too. Savlon and socks ahoy...quakers be proud, i actually wore socks and sandals (i made sure it was hidden by baggy trousers though).
Discovered that there was nowhere to eat so we stayed at the guest house..again no luck with the food. had an ice cream complete with a frozen ant..i was very disappointed but got told a handy fact that ants, if left to defrost, can come back to life...well he's in the bin now so good luck with that.
We discovered that Ruth cannot say 'Cornwall' which is unfortunate as thats where she lives...very very funny. Played with a deck of cards called 'Actual Playing Cards'....laughed for about 4 hours!

Day Off Chiang Mai

Spent most of the day writing up this god damn blog on the net. A weird man who looked like Borat pretending to be a doctor kept offering Ulrika medicine for her sore bite on her foot...glad we had the boys around! Brandon and Kelly showed the group some card tricks in the evening.....
KELLY "Is this your card?"
CLAIRE "Yes..Oh Shit..I mean No!"
Went for some ice cream and Claire decided to tell us about a time she was a bit depressed at uni and put on weight...all the way through, Ruth was laughing like a guinea pig and thought it was hilarious...apparently her mum told her to 'get on a bike and lose some weight!'

Day 3 Trek

Got up and was practically forced to buy a hand made scarf..its lovely but i felt so pressured as they shove things in your face practically begging you to buy something. You feel so bad as you are blatantly much much richer than them and so you buy the scarf out of guilt more than anything.
I actually thought that that was the end of walking yesterday...Oh no...how very wrong i was. Managed to ankle spasm a remarkable 3 times..its probably karma from taking the piss out of steven too much. The 10 minutes was a really harsh downward hill...this was the location of my final spasm which resulted me in hobbling the rest of the way in absolute agony. The group split after that with half going to bamboo raft and the other half heading back to Chiang Mai. I went back and had a very long shower and oooo shaved my legs..what a luxury....nice one please. At night we went to the weekend market and bought some vest tops. Holly continued her search for a bra and only found one that would fit. She refused to but for the soul reason it had bikes on it and wasn't 'sexy.'
had great food at a posh Italian to celebrate..sorry for not eating thai...too spicy and ricey.

Day 2 of Trek

Had the worst nights sleep in the history of man. Bamboo floor is rubbish. We were all wide awake, freezing and busting for the loo but too stubborn to get up or do anything about it. trekking started nice and early at 9.30am. The first part was again largely uphill and everyone was greatful for the bamboo walking sticks our guide "superman" had whipped up for us yesterday. he's such a man of the actual earth.
on arriving at the village we all sat down for some lunch which was the usual...RICE. But its ok because we had bananas for after and we've never had those before in thailand ever in the world ever...not.
All the girls were swooning over Martin who was an instant hit with the hill tribe kids and so his potential for a future husband soared. Dream took us on a tour of the village and showed us the process of how they make rice...they love it here.
At night a bonfire was made outside of our hut with the children all gathered round one end and us at the other. They sang us some thai songs including the national anthem and 'heads shoulders knees and toes'......they were lovely...we however were absolutely awful. They had already heard of 'if you're happy etc' and 'in the jungle' was possible the biggest insult to music possible...when we finished a tumble weed could have rolled by, they were silent....so..to save the day..me and holly whipped out a little of the old 'peel banana' chant which went down a storm...they liked it so much we got an actual encore.
The best part however was the discovery of Steven...let me tell you about little Stevie. We first discovered him when James noticed the little dog who had been trying to poo for the last hour..this.. we decided to call Steven. I honestly have never seen a more suicidal animal in my entire life. He had a tiny head and couldn't walk very well so he dragged his scabby legs behind him. All the while the children were singing, Steven was most definitely contemplating chucking himself in the fire...and in my opinion he probably should have done. He was flea bitten and malnourished and all the other dogs obviously hated him. As we were talking outside, Holly stood back. A pathetic yelp was heard and we all knew...it was Steve. Out of all the dogs in the village, he had to be there and at that moment too. I had jokingly told people to kick him a few times but i didn't think it would actually happen. In all honesty he's probably dead by now but he most certainly made the trip worthwhile.
Most of the girls were offered a thai massage in the hut but i decided to pass and me, Kelly, Brandon and Claire stayed to talk outside with a brew over candlelight. We were ripping each others accents apart. Kelly, who has been pretty quiet up till now, was actually hilarious..favourite quote..'What ARE trousers?!!'
There's and eclipse at 4.30am...wish i could be bothered to get up but lets be realistic guys.

Trek Day 1

During the morning we went on an elephant ride. Me and Holly got an elephant which i think we most aptly named Ariel (off of the little mermaid). I can safely say that we got the laziest god damn elephant ever to grace the planet. By the time the other elephants had reached the banana hut, Ariel had taken all of 3 steps, probably had a cigarette and spat a lot mostly over me....thanks Ariel..no wondernone of the male mermaids fancied you. She saw the end and practically got up on her hind legs and sprinted to the end as if it were a finish line. Holly, when off the elephant, thought she'd be nice and offer the remainder of the bananas to Ariel....she didn't even have a chance....Ariel ripped the bananas out of her hands, including the actual plastic bag and shoved it in her big fat elephant gob...Good Times.
Anyway..the trek...Packed bag and ready to go, I think everyone was prepeared for the worst. the first 20 minutes of walking was awful! It was midday and so so hot. Most of it was throught tropical forest which cooled us down a bit as we had a bit of shade. After a lot of seating and puffing and panting we arrived at the waterfall camp. It was so COLD. We bathed in the water and Holly, Shim and Claire formed their own salon, washing each others hair...funny.
At night we sat round a bonfire and drank mugs of tea and hot chocolate. Apparently we have to sing a song to the hill tribe kids tomorrow..we were originally going to sing "happy birthday' into 'we wish you a merry christmas'... that well known medly ..but they can speak a little english ...rubbish. We finally decided on 'In the Jungle' and 'If you're happy and you know it'...good enough for me!

March1st

woke up at 4.30 this morning..rubbish. had a random thai peek his head around my top bunk curtain and offer me orange juice. When I refused he glanced at the trickle of rum left in Martin's bottle that Holly and crew drank last night & decided to offer me a beer instead...fair enough.
The sunrise was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Looking from the back of the tuk tuk we watched a blood red sun rise into a bright pink sky over the already hectic Chiang Mai.
On reaching the new guest house we all began salivating at the sight of the 'all you can eat' breakfast sign for 99 Baht. Paid up and plates ahoy we waited in anticipation to see what the buffet was...well it was weird. bacon...normal...eggs....normal...pancakes...normal....rice...bit weird...cucumber...weird...curry...k bye.....ok thailand..whatever floats your boat.
Today's main activity was a four hour bike ride with my new favourite tour guide chip, who i will marry and steal away from thailand. Me, Claire, Ruth and Shim were the only ones on the tour and we had an ace time. The actual riding of the bikes was pretty awsome...great views of the river pong and farmers tending to their rice fields.
Chip was quite shy at first and explained that he was used to taking out groups of 30 fourty year old dutch men not 'four beautiful girls'...aww.
I noticed that every where we rode we gor stared at.Children get excited and wave as if you are some sort of celebrity..i guess its coz we are so rich in comparison to them...we may not think that when we are back home but we are so lucky. Household objects like playstations are old hat in britain, everyone has one..in thailand there are sign posts showing you to the one place where you pay to play on such a luxury item...crazy.
Chip was exlpaining how he used to be Buddhist but he feels it let him down so he doesn't practice anymore. Apparently his grandad was a rebellious monk who took drugs and decided to kill four people...we were all pretty shocked and didn't know what to say.
Also went to the leprosy colony and a craft shop selling products made by those who lived there. It asw amazing, we went into the workshop behind and saw a man carve a plaque of the last supper so casually..yet it was so intricate and detailed.....what a day.

Claire's Birthday

Had a pretty early start this morning...me and holly bought claire a small lame swiss roll and fit 19 candles on iy\t. Spent most of the day on buses so not much to tell. Went on a temple tour and saw some amazing Buddha statues. Our tour guide Mr. Pok was the most adorable little man in the entire world apart from the fact that he had an incredibly hairy mole....saying that i've seen a number of hairy moles so it is either a fashion statemnet, symbol of status or just plain lack of care about hairy moles.
Got an actual bracelet which is red as i was born on a Sunday..as told by Mr Pok.
Brandon decided to ask a question... ' What did this part used to be?' pointing to a small ruin behind us.....about 3 days and four hours later we were still not the wiser as to what it was but were very well informed of the war 'in the year 14th Century'...aw poor Mr.Pok....we were all so drained after Brandon could only reply with 'cool'.
Spent most of the tour making bird noises...'oh wow!'
Got back and went for a quick swim with hol and claire...was 'lush' as the the 3 other girls on the tour would say.
Currently sat on a night train. Holly is a bit drunk..well funny. Tried to go to the disco car ....turned out to be a man at a table watching a western with a disco ball above his head...k bye.
Was a bit of a mission getting there as one of the doors wouldnt stay open unless you kept your finger on the button. Indiana Jones eat your actual heart out...shim almost got sliced in half! learned that 'Sund San Wankert' means happy birthday....i know its immature but when your tired you'd be suprised at the things that can make you cry with laughter. A thai woman sang happy birthday to claire and kissed her ear which was nice. right i'm off to sleep on my sexy bed which smells of wee and apple pie...a most delectable combination.

So tired!

Today was awsome. Woke up and had breakfast..which took about 40 mins to cut up some fruit but bothered!today was so good!we got a large tuk tuk to the national park. went on a pretty intense trek through tropical rainforest to the various levels of the waterfall. Views were amazing! Holly broke at level 3, whipped off her clothes and ran into the water..we carried on regardless. Sat and ate lunch and got changed to swim in the main waterfall lagoon. Fish swam by your legs and nibbled at you. Everyone got a bit jumpy about that but i loved it!managed to persuade H and C to swim to the other side with me...was so proud of them. Went for some good old pizza afterwards...yum!
Claire's birthday 2moro...dashed out to the local shop to buy her some randon tack...which included a plastic rose, a chocolate heart that said 'recover well' on iy, some thai malteasers, 2 colouring books, some chocolate money and a sexy card. We bought some candles too but the bag ripped and we were walking pretty fast coz two guys were following us. We decided to go back and discovered a small thai boy writing out numbers with them...ok...
Tired now...just put gifts outside claire and shim's bedroom but i think they heard us.....ah well!

Not Sure Where We Are

Got up and went on a right mission to find sandals...two minutes later..mission complete...99 Baht which is about one 1.40..bonus. decided to continue the nutritious meal them and have amassive bag of crisps..nice. After a two hour coach journey we finally reached our destination (whatever the hell that is) and checked into our guest house. Me and Holly got into our room, which I'd like to add is actually ON the river kwae. Its much better than i thought it would be though...air condtiong and western toilets..yeeeeeeeeeeeees.
Went for a cheery trip at a war camp museum and a cemetary..which was fun. we were taken around all this on a small rickshaw....a guy on a bike with a basket on the back where we sit. I did see an actual monkey however whichwas awsome. The best bit of today was the group meal. Great food and we all got to chat a bit more and so feel pretty comfortable with everyone now. off to bed now!

Bangkok

Just woke up so cold! I think we got a bit cocky with the old air con last night. Just had a highly nutritious breakfast of 3 oreos from the mini bar, hand selected by claire.

Bangkok

Wow!!!!What a night! Just got back from our first group meal. Everyone is really friendly and suprisingly young! Bangkok is so crazy. We've just walked down Khao San Road...All i could see were people selling everything under the sun. The street is totally lit up by countless neon signs inviting you to see such wonders as "the ping pong show," which is a woman who has clearly had to much time to herself, demonstrating her intimate relationships with ping pong balls and strings of plastic flowers.
Dogs of all shapes and sizes were scratting on shop floors and nibbling on every scrap of stray food available. We sat in this empty open restaurant with a clear view of the street and in earshot of Bob Marley. One of the highlights of the night was the continuous return of wooden frog woman who looked like an oriental pearly queen and kept coming back to our table in attempt to flog croaking wooden amphibians..er no thanks.
Now in bed...still feels so surreal..despite how amazed I am with Bangkok, it is quite clearly a very very poor city. Shopkeepers eyes light up if you even so glance at their wares. In the taxi on the way to the hostel, fisrt appearances seemed so glamourous with palm trees lining the road and huge billboards towering above us but on closer inspection I was quite shocked. Buildings flaking and big families living in small accomodations...i was shocked at the amount of poverty i'd seen within minutes of arriving.
getting sleepy now but we've lost Holly..so probs should find her before we go to bed.

The Plane 3

Everyone has woken up now. Just 2 actual hours to go. I had a oeek out of the window at India with Holly but it was really bright and I struggled to walk down the plane after because i was actually blind. Claire is complaining she is tired but to be honest..she's slept for england so i have no sympathy whatsoever...she didnt have someone's kneecaps molesting her throughout the night. But seriously...so far having THE most amazing time..Thrilled to be here!

The Plane Again...

I WANT TO DIE.

So tired and can't sleep..everytime i drop off the plane hits god damn turbulance. Claire's been sleeping for a while and Holly's just going off now...glad i'm writing interesting stuff..hold on...Holly is playing with her plastic cup...Oh look, now I have a hat...wonderful.

The Plane

Sat on the plane and currently absoloutly knackered beyond belief. We're flying over Hannover just now. Can.t quite get over how exciting getting free things is....loving the "borrower" toothpaste to the max and most importantly free actual blanky...just 9 hours or so to go...rubbish. Good job we've got these tiny tellies though eh?!