Aug 2006

Well it was time to think about moving to another part of Thailand by then. We decided that Kho Samui would be our next port of call. To get there we had the option of taking a flight, or a train and boat. We were feeling adventurous so we took the train and boat option, it was cheaper too. The train journey was a nightmare. There were only second class seats left, which meant we were in semi-reclining seats, windows wide open, all our bags exposed, and mozzies coming in the windows and eating us alive.

When we got off the train, after 11 hours, and we had to get a bus to transfer us to the boat. We thought this boat trip was only an hour long but it took about 2 and a half hours before we got to Samui. Again, we were back on a bus to try find some accommodation on Chaweng Beach.

The bus driver tried to get us to stay in places where he would get better commission so we were driving around for hours looking at lots of different places. One of the rooms we were offered had a big tree growing up the centre of the room, and the ceiling was all open around the tree so mozzies and god knows what else would have had a field day. We were getting pretty pissed off on this bus then and it was almost 2 hours before we finally got a room, which was actually very decent, and cheap enough at 800 Baht a night (16 euro) for the room.

The resort was Samui Mandalay and was very clean with good facilities like Air con, TV, En Suite and a fridge (mini bar). We were even given towels here, a luxury that we hadn't got in Bangkok. The Tv wasnt bad as there was a movie channel running all day so when we were crashing in the room, we managed to take in some decent enough films.

Well, the next day, we decided we should go and see some sights, especially the Grand Palace. We decided to take a Tuk Tuk to do this. For anyone that doesnt know, thats a 3 wheeler with a carriage on the back used as a taxi. He offered us a trip around all of the temples and the palace for only 10 Baht (20 cent) each. We couldnt believe it. We soon realised though that we were gonna get more than we bargained for on this trip. In between stopping at various temples, we were brought to places where the driver could earn some commission. We were brought to suit shops, travel agents etc.

The temples were pretty impressive, all covered in gold, and seriously shiny. Shoes had to be removed before entering any of them and a lot of the time, most places inside them was out of bounds. The palace was absolutely huge and we spent a fair bit of time getting around that. A lot of it is just the same so you can get the picture by looking at some of the photos of it.

On the way home, we got a taxi instead, hoping to make a direct trip to our hotel. The taxi man tried to get us to make some extra stops but we convinced him we weren't interested, just about.

Again, that night, we headed for the Shamrock Bar, played lots of pool, darts, and drank plenty of Chang. We bumped into a few tourists that night, drank some very strange blue shots, and finally took on a Thai Whiskey bucket. That is Whiskey, Coke, and Red Bull in a large bucket that gets you seriously hammered. Needless to say, I dont remember much of the night after that.

There was nobody there when we got there except the 10 or so staff who were all Thai people. We got ourselves some local Chang beer (6.4%) which came in 650ml bottles so would prob be the equivalent of drinking 2 pints at home. Then it was time to try the food. The menu was in English as well as Thai thank god so I ordered my old favourite Chicken & Cashew, and Bamboo shoots. It only cost 2 euro for this and it was a pretty big portion.

After that we continued on the Chang beer, and played some darts and some pool. The staff kept hanging around us like flies, they poured our beer for us, picked up the darts when they fell to the floor, and racked the balls for us when we played pool. At one point, I was being massaged in between shots on the pool table. And all this for only a few Baht in tips which they were so grateful for, it was unbelievable. At first though, it was just them being over-helpful, but then it became a bit annoying and I began to feel a bit sorry for them. They were only ever polite and very grateful for anything we gave them but at one point I remember paying them to just leave us alone for a bit.
There was a Thai band on in the bar that night, playiong European music, and they were actually pretty good.

After a really long night in the Irish Bar, it was off to bed. After all that travelling and boozing, it was no surprise that we slept right through the whole next day. We only got up to get some food that night, and then literally went back to bed.

We arrived at Khao San Road after about 40 minutes. The taxi man was not allowed to drive down that street so we were dropped at the end of the street and made our way up on foot. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of people walking on the street, stalls were everywhere selling everything from lighters to raw fish.
Every so often though, we would find ourselves down wind from the smell that is Thailand. It seems to be a sewage smell but sometimes it can really make you feel ill.
We headed towards the D&D Inn as we had attempted to book a room there through the internet before we left but got no reply. The place was full and so we went back out on the street to look elsewhere. We tried the Khao San Palace Inn, who had some rooms available, so we went up to view one. It was decent enough and was only 700 baht (15 euro) so we took that room on a per night basis.
We had a tv, air con, and our own shower, as well as two decent enough beds so we were happy enough there. It was time to unload the bags and see what was in store for us on the street.

Surprisingly, we only got as far as the Irish bar a few doors down from there...

So we arrived in Bangkok after a long oul flight. Didnt seem that strange in the airport, slightly nervy coming up towards immigration, signs all around said "We love our King"...Got through immigration without any hassle, didnt even check our ongoing flights. We done a quick check on the bags before heading through customs, to make sure we hadn't picked up any presents along the way.
Once we got through there, we were mobbed by people trying to sell us limo rides, taxi rides, mini bus services and all sorts of things. It was really frustrating, we tried to make our way out to a taxi rank but got mobbed so much that we finally gave into one of them and took a private taxi into the heart of Bangkok to find some accommodation.
Along the way, we saw some interesting sights including a lot of Police which was reassuring, but as expected, they drove like maniacs, in between lanes, on the hard shoulder, and even down the wrong side of the road.

Well after the big wave to the family, it was off through security and onto the boarding gates at Dublin Airport. We had no problems with security at all and boarded our flight to Heathrow on time. However, when we got to Heathrow, we realised that we hasd to run across 3 terminals to catch our connecting flight, which included getting on a bloody bus.
Luckily enough, we got to the gate on time. We boarded the big 747 and prepared ourselves for a nice long 12 hour flight. I had an awkward trip in the middle seat of the row and got no sleep whatsoever, Jay managed to get some and the lad on my right slept most of the way. The selection of movies and games wasn't that great so after watching 2 average ones, I decided I would just listen to music for the duration.