Reality & Beyond

One weeks till Christmas? Yeah right! It's 25 degrees outside and Santa still wears fur! Come on! That's just plain wrong.
I'm not really getting into the spirit of Christmas here - not at all actually. It just doesn't feel right. It's just so far removed from what I grew up with. Sunny weather, glitter and flashing lights, doesn't really do it for me. And a smelly, sweaty Santa doesn't either. Maybe I should just skip Christmas this time around?
No! The whole reason why we are here, is to celebrate Christmas the Australian way. Oh dear, this is going to be tough...

Arrived in Sydney last week and went straight on the booze as it should be. Our plane was delayed so the rest of our plan was ruined, but we managed to get out to sunny suburb Merrylands the next day to visit old room mate and very good friend Carl and his girlfriend Chantel. It was great seeing Carl again after 3 years of almost no contact, and it didn't take long to get back into the old groove of picking on each other and generally having a good laugh. Chantel even seemed to enjoy the "time off" from this duty. I have to give a hand to this girl for being able to put up with him day in and day out. It's a hard job (I know this for a fact!) and she's doing a fantastic job! Good luck to the both of you!

We just arrived back in the city center today and are planing on meeting up with a few friends later on. Other than that, the sky is the limit and we'll just go with the flow. Game on!

You just have to love that names everything has here! It's a bit like learning a whole new language at times. Especially with everything being abbreviated to the max.
Examples:
Alex Heads = Alexandra Headlands
The Goldie = The Gold Coast

It would normally make me laugh (like I imagine you guys giggling right now), but when it's said with a totally ridiculous accent, it actually sounds quite natural and right.
It really messes with you head!

OK, so we are now on the Sunny Coast (look up Sunshine Coast in your Atlas!) about 1.5 hours north of Brisbane and about 30mins south of Noosa. In a little place called Cottontree.
It's beautiful here. Everything is brand new and blooming. The exact opposite of where we just came from to be honest. People here have way too much money and it affects their whole way of life. Not just that everything is quite expensive, but also that nothing is really that important.
Life is slow and regulated. Hot and lazy. Posh and tanned. I can see the attraction of a place like this. It really is like paradise on earth, but I would never be able to live here. I would just feel bad wearing dirty shoes on their clean pavement...

It is great to see my friend Karla again. We were very good friends for 3 years in London until her Visa ran out and she had to go. Nothing much has changed in the 14 months we have been apart - and so it should stay forever. Good friendships are worth a visit to paradise on the other side of the planet...

I hate flying now. 9 hours on a delayed plane to Sydney. Then hanging around Sydney's tiny little Domestic Airport for well over an hour and then another flight of 1.5 hours to Brisbane. What a hassle! It dries our your nose and make you cough. It messes up your body clock and give you a back ache. Apparently it is one of man's greatest inventions. Well, if it's so fucking great, why can't they make it a bit more comfortable?

As you can tell I didn't have to the best flight here. I had very little sleep (if you call 1 hour's snooze sleep!) and the films they were showing were crap!

I haven't really gotten back to being myself yet, so maybe I shouldn't really write anything today...
So, anyway! I'm still alive!

We have been tourist! Wow! We finally managed to get organised enough to rent motorbike with someone and get out of Krabi! Well, actually... Someone else got us organised...

A couple of days ago, 4 of us went to the Tiger Cave Temple about 20mins outside Krabi. A rain forest surrounds the temple and the stupa on the very top of a hill. Well, hill is more like a mountain actually. With 1237 (steep) steps to the top; it's no walk in the park; as both Tanja and I realised at step No.415. I honestly thought I was pretty fit, but my body had an altogether different point of view. So here I must confess that I didn't make it. Not even half way. Kirk however kept going and was back down in 1 hour. He ran up... Bastard..!
The Tiger cave itself is not impressive at all, but the tiny buddha statues in the abbey are. I don't think I properly noticed them last time I was there, although I think I probably just forgot.

Tuesday we to the waterfall in the National Park. It was so incredibly beautiful. Kirk and I managed to climb to the highest waterfall and found a quite secluded lagoon beneath it. Hidden treasures of Thailand. Althought the water was pretty cold!

Yesterday we went to the Gastrod Fossil Beach. Popularly known as The Shell Fossil Cemetery Beach. Millions of fossiled shells trapped in slaps of rock. And a very nice beach where the water was quite a bit warmer.

Today it's raining. Even though the rainy season should be over it is still raining a fair bit. Last week it rained almost every day and we have been stuck in town for that reason. I for one am very glad it cleared up, as the local politics are getting to me. We have made a lot of friends here. But since they have all been confined to indoors activities (which is non-excistent) even their long term friendships with each other have been fragile in the edges. If there is one thing I don't want on my holiday it is being the middle man in politics. But I guess people are people no matter where you go.

Today is Wednesday the 16th of November 2548... erhm... 2005 for you guys.

The reason why I happen to know that, is because today is Loi Krathong. It is the full moon of November - a very special day in Thailand. Today is the day the rainy season ends. And to celebrate that, they make little boats out of banana tree stubs, banana leafes, and flowers.
All over town they have been making these boats all day long. Even in the tattoo shop and at the hair dresser! Everywhere you go they are for sale. So how can you not join into the festival when the festival is all around?

So what's the deal? Well, to put it simple: You make a wish and float the boat on the river. But that is putting it rather simple. Here's what you actually have to do, before you even get to the fairytale part:

You stick a candle and 3 incense sticks into it (which you first have to acquire from a non-English speaking Thai ). Then cut a piece of your hair and a nail (you have to cut it - so you have to find scissors you can borrow of a non-English speaking Thai ) and place the clippings in the boat together with 9 Baht (so you have to have coins ready - which luckily we were told beforehand). Then you have to find a spot on the pier steps and watch out for the waves, squat down without burning yourself on others' candles and make your wish - and that's when you get to float you boat...

6 days since my last confession...

What have we been up to? Not a lot actually. We are still winding down and getting used to the tempo of Thailand. It feels great to walk down the street and notice a snail overtaking you with amazing speed.

Sun, sand, wind, heat, rain (it's still the rainy season here - but mostly at night), food, drinks, pool, even Jenga and Connect 4. Days and nights - two sides of the same coin here. Friendly and relaxed.

Days at Railay Beach and nights at Charlie's Bar. Even though we do something different every day; the days all seem to melt together into one big happy day. I can't tell you when we went to Railay or Ao Nang or when we went to the Seafood Festival. I don't even know what date it is let alone what day of the week. And I really don't seem to care either. It's like living in Limbo. It's like having all of your senses go pop all the time and making you numb. Like burning your mouth out on Green Curry until you can't fell a thing.

So what's the moral of the story? Well children: Don't do drugs - go to Thailand!

Ooops... brain on the floor again - time to get out that mop and find my way to Charlie's bar...

Krabi at last!
I don't know where to start to explain what this place is to me. Maybe with 'Back then'...

4 years ago I went travelling with a friend of mine (who is now reading this blog burning up with jealousy), and Krabi was one of our multitude of destinations. Recommeded to us by fellow travellers as the gateway to Thai Island Paradise we bee-lined from Malaysia straight here. We arrived by bus at something like 3am, and were "taxied" by an oversized tuk tuk to a horrid hotel near the pier, called Grand Tower Hotel. Peckish and in need of cigarettes we unloaded and headed outside to look for a late night shop - which we found - across the road. A friendly family run place called Boy Minimart. Outside were a few travellers drinking beer and in desperate need of a cigarette, we joined them.

Krabi Town used to be the main hub for all boats - big and small - going to all the islands scattered around the Andaman Sea. When I say used to - I kind of mean that is still is. Except they have now moved the pier out of town, so that you don't even have to go through the town anymore. A huge shame...
There were once people everywhere going anywhere and everything that came with that. It was a charming little place - and we got stuck here for the majority of 4 weeks.
The thing about Krabi back then was that they were so used to see people come and go within 24 hours, that they hardly bothered remembering your name. On the 3rd day here I walked into Boy Minimart, and was promptly presented with my brand of cigarettes and a quizzical: "Ina! Why you not go to Island yet? Ko Phi Phi very nice!"
Familiar faces turned into good friends and here I am today, happy to see them again.

We arrived at K.R. Mansions at 5.50pm to be manically greeted by my friend Tick. A great room overlooking the limestone outcrops that are the trademark of Krabi was arranged and dinner followed. By nature Tick is a very helpfull person and she had already planned a nice place for us to go to "hang out" that evening - namely Old West Bar. "Ladies Night tonight! You can go! Free first drink for ladies!" It's not that she shouts - everything Tick says, just comes with an exclamation mark after it. You can't help but to be happy, smile and except gratefully.

Ladies night it was. 2 tequilas served for the new arrival of erhm... us! But we knew better than to keep going on those (don't we Jen?)... A spot in the outside bamboo alcoves cleared and we made ourselves comfortable with our drinks and 2 fellow travellers from Perth. Comfort lasted until about 1am. Slightly drunk and in dire need of a pee in a non-squat, toilet-papered, dry toilet, we staggered up the hill and the 5 flights of stairs to ...erhm...well, first the toilet and then to the Moon bar... But alas! It was closed. So we stared at the sky in awe of the stars. Until we felt dizzy anyway, then it was off to bed...

Today we managed to sleep till noon. Which is not really an achievement for either of us under normal circumstances, but in 40 degrees with a fan - I'd say it is... Into town we went to look around and to say hello to another friend Nung at the diving shop. We will meet her later for dinner and a few drinks at the Rasta Bar.
Life is great in Krabi!
yes, that was advertising....

Saturday & Sunday = Weekend Market in Bangkok.

This is the biggest market ever! Those of you who know Camden Market in London (well, when it was still good anyway) can easily imagine The Weekend Market here - just multiply by about 6 or 7...
For shopaholics that are not inclined to High Street wares - this is the ultimate place to go. Although, if you do want fake Gucci or Armani - this is readily available there too.

It's 9pm and I'm seriously thinking about taking an all-night nap now. Tomorrow will be a day of rest. Maybe browse through MKB Center later in the afternoon and catch a movie at the super deluxe cinema. Massage or no massage, madam? Hmm, do I need to think about that?

So those who care...
ITINERARY

So since pretty much successfully negotiating this Thai keyboard for the first time 2 days ago, we have been up to and awfull lot of things!

Let me just collect my brain - it seems to have melted into a puddle in the floor...

So after my last post we decided to go back to our guesthouse, but on the way we walked past the notorious Gulliver's Pub on the corner of Samsen Rd. and Khao San Rd. It could go either way I thought, but we were both so exhausted that I doubted we would last very long anyhow.
The last time I was there, it was a fairly messy place with a lot of farangs being the typical pissheads that we are. This time it wasn't much different, but the atmosphere had changed. No-one seemed interested in anyone except their own little groups. Highly irregular! But I have now spend a few days here and have come to realise that the travelling mentallity has actually changed a fair bit. Many are reluctant to speak to other travellers spontaniously - unlike 4 years ago. So we went to bed...
But that's a side note to everything else I suppose...

So 2 days in Bangkok and what did we do?

Well, Thursday we woke up at 9.30am to a humming capital and decided to go out of Banglumpoo (Khao San Rd area). China Town was the choice of the day.
Getting someone - anyone - to take you anywhere or even somewhere in this place is a piece of cake! But getting there the way you want and for a price that is fair - without any unplanned stops along the way is a different story altogether.
Leaving our guesthouse we ran straight into a hive of tuk tuk drivers who all had great prices to offer. "10 Baht - I take you everywhere. Where you wanna go?" I smell something rotten already... and it wasn't the rubbish in the street! "You wanna go Temple? Gem Shop? Golden Buddha? Where you wanna go?"
Coupon hunters. They take you to places that give them some sort of coupon, which seems worth a lot more than the Baht we pay. But it'll take you hours to get to where you want to go. A firm NO is your best bet here. What a way to start your day though!

So we fight our way out of Khao San and finally manage to find a young guy who'll take us straight there for 100 Baht - or as they say "50 - 50". Very confusing - you pay per person - not per tuktuk...

This guy was very sweet - and fast, and we got there quickly. Too late we realised that we weren't really were we were supposed to be... He dropped us of at the wrong street! Not just a little bit wrong, but about 2 blocks from China Town. After about an hour we finally managed to find it, with a little help from a helpful Thai/Australian.
Talk about throwing poor Sis straight into the mix! But I must say she handled it well, bless her!
Back to Barter Town - as I now like to call Khao San (2 men enters - 1 man leaves), we go looking for some food. The rest of the night was spend on shopping and food. Yummy!

Today was busy day for us. As we realised that there is so many things we would like to do, but very few days left to do them. So we prepared ourselves for a hectic day of pure tourist sightseeing! I'm not going to bore myself writing details about them all, as I have already been to these places before. But here's the low-down of our day:

Noon - 2pm: Wat Phra Khew (Emerald Buddha) & Grand Palace (Royal Residence).
2pm - 3.30pm: Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha - Mother of Pearl Feet et al).
3.30pm - 4pm: Lunch at the Wat Arun View point (Best Thai soup so far)
4pm - 5pm: Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) in Thonburi (Other side of river).
5pm - 8pm: Brain tissue meltdown

And here I am with my mop and my bucket trying to soak it all up in a tea cup...

I'm looking out the window. I see people walking past, a guy cooking up some noodles and a tuktuk driver sleeping in the back seat.

This is a holiday, I think to myself. A real one. I don't have to think about anything! No, wait - not true. I have to think about everything actually - how exciting!

Even the same old smell I have to think about. The kids on the street begging for a cigarette and the hawkers trying to sell you... erhm... "anythin' you want - you buy!". Thinking is superb!

Almost didn't get a chance to think though. But you can read all about that frightful story on Tanja's blog:
The Great Chicken Soup of the World The first thing gone almost wrong seen with new eyes...

So tired now... Sleep now...

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
I love ya Tomorrow!
You're always
A day
A way!

Ahhh, the pleasure of true love!

I just return from my trip to Wolverhampton. Doing the train journey with the girl I went travelling around the world with a little over 4 years ago. We talked about all the random things we remember which was actually quite exciting - considering I am about to embark on something similar again (albeit on a smaller scale).
I realised that you only really remember what is important to you later on - not necessarily what is important at the time. Take for an instance this snipet of conversation:

Me: Yeah, that was the night you got really drunk and we got thrown out of the Crown Casino in Melbourne!
Her: What? No! I wasn't drunk!
Me: So why did you throw up in the cab in the way back to Frankston?
Her: I did not! And that wasn't the same night...
Me: OK, so you tried to throw up out of the window, but missed! But it was the same night.
Her: Was it?
Me: Yes...
*Slight pause*
Her: What I remember best is those yellow fruits we had.
Me: What? Mangos?
Her: No, they were pear shaped.
Me: Where did we have those? Malaysia?
Her: I don't know, but they were yellow...
*Slight pause*
Her: Oh yeah, now I remember! I had that room all to myself!
Me: What, the pool room?
Her: No, the little room behind that.
Me: Were we meant to sleep in there?
Her: Yes.
Me: Oh, I thought it was the pool room...

Christopher All-Mighty!
I hope this Blog will one day remind me of these things...

Seeing Demi again after so long was great! True friends never drift apart. It will feel strange to go to Krabi and not see her there. It seems - in my mind - that she belongs there. Or maybe that's just how I remember things?

So we have 5 days left.
Plenty of time to pack, right?

Tomorrow I'm going into Central London to get the final bits together for our travel insurance. Then straight off to Wolverhampton to see a very dear Thai friend mine Demi. Until Sunday... It'll be so nice to see her again. I think the last time I went was about 2 or even 3 years ago. Time flies too quickly!

Sunday will be a regular kind of relaxed day with friends to say goodbye - maybe at the pub, who knows?

Monday I'm getting my jabs. Then I'm going to the bank to collect my traveller's cheques. Then to find a cool costume somewhere - somehow... Then we are going to The Opal Nera Hallowe'en Party. Then I'm getting Jen in a cab (a mission in it's own right). Then the final and most difficult task of all: getting into bed before the sun comes up!

Tuesday is D-Day...
A late lunch is planned at my favourite restaurant (and former work place) for a "Last Supper" type thing. Then home to pack and having the last hot shower, before making our way to Heathrow for our 22.45 flight.

Yeah! What was I so worried about??? Plenty of time to pack!!!!

All in local times (military style)...
Please note flight change on the 15th January.
Flight added on 7th Nov and 27th Nov.

Tues 01 Nov
London - Bangkok
Dep 21.45
Arr 15.50 (1 day later)

Mon 07 Nov
Bangkok - Krabi
Dep 15.00
Arr 16.20

Sun 27 Nov
Krabi - Bangkok
Dep 14.30
Arr 15.50

Wed 30 Nov
Bangkok - Brisbane (via Sydney)
Dep 17.35
Arr 08.35 (1 day later)

Wed 14 Dec
Brisbane - Sydney
Dep 13.15
Arr 15.45

Wed 04 Jan
Sydney - Melbourne
Dep 16.00
Arr 17.30

Sat 15 Jan
Melbourne - Sydney
Dep 08.00
Arr 09.20

Sat 15 Jan
Sydney - Denpasar (Bali)
Dep 11.15
Arr 14.10

Sun 29 Jan
Denpasar - London (via Singapore)
Dep 15.10
Arr 04.45 (1 day later and too f**king early!)

__________________________________________________________

Once we arrive in Bangkok we will buy flights to Krabi with Thai Airways. I will put that flight into the itinerary once it's bought.