An unbelievable amount of stuff has been done and achieved since my last journal entry. All I can hope to do here is give a brief blurb of everything and save the real story telling for when we get home!
The first thing we did after motorbiking was a different sort of biking; downhill mountain biking! We hiked all the way up a massive mountain, our guide Nooh easily equal to the challenge despite 4 weeks off for spraining his ankel; the other three of us, not so much, especially Alex who had been suffering with a mysterious cramp for several days (cue hilarious photos of Alex's pained expression half way up a mountain that I've already uploaded). We made it to the top after the best part of 3 gruelling hours, then leaped on to bikes and went back down again! Any thoughts of a gentle coast down some smooth surfaces were quickly dashed however as we jolted and jarred down the mountain over 2 foot drops, roots, rocks, single tracks barely a foot wide and one soul destoying 40 second uphill. The feeling of achievement at the end was incredible as we all lay down exhausted by the lakeside restaurant and tucked in to some Khao Pad (fried rice).
Next on the agenda was a 3 day hill tribe trek. We wanted to do the tourist checklist; Karen long-neck tribe, elephant riding, white water rafting, bamboo rafting. These bits however, despite being good, weren't the highlights. The Hill Tribes all seemed to exist in permanent shops deliberately set up for tourists. The feeling of discomfort was shared by everyone because it just felt very voyeuristic! They are making money though, so I suppose they're happy. Elephant riding was very enjoyable. Our crazy German friend Dominic road on the neck while Alex and I took to the seats. You feel very high up on the back of an elephant, especially when they are ambling next to a 20 foot drop!
Straight after the elephant rides we started the trekking. 5 hours later after an exhausting hike through very steep climbs and drops, torrential rain, a complete lack of any path at some points and one incredibly refreshing shower in a waterfall we made it to the first camp, a real hilltribe village, We had dinner, freezing cold showers and then played guitar by campfire light at the top of a mountain in the jungle!
The second day was easier, and included more waterfalls. we stayed at a beautiful jungle village purely for us, right next to the river and had an incredibly enjoyable second night in the jungle. Third day was the rafting. The white water wasn't particularly extreme, and the bamboo rafting was fun but the best bits of the trek were definitely the nights spent in the jungle with a group of people, some music and some drinks.
The next day (non-stop I know!) we went on a rather more relaxing outing; a Thai cookery course. We made six dishes each, ate everything we made and it was definitely worth doing.
Before we knew it, it was time to head south again, and so we booked the fateful bus journey that resulted in my minus one camera, one penknife and one mobile phone. Thankfully I actually got lucky. One poor Argentinian girl had all her money stolen and was forced to go home the next day, despite having 45 more days planned!
Khao San road was as crazy as usual. We met a guy we'd befriended in Pai and decided to go to a Ping Pong show! It's not the kind of thing you go to for titillation, unless you have particularly obscure fetishes. Razor blades, fired darts and cigarettes picked up with chop sticks are the order of the day (and if I have to explain how all these things are done then I'm not going to), all rounded off with a live sex show of two incredibly bored looking people going through a montage of obscure and quite painful looking positions.
Next stop; Ko Tao! The first of our Islands in the South. Ko Tao is the second most popular place to learn to dive in the world after Cairns in Australia, and it is easy to see why. Crystal clear and warm waters make it very easy and accessible. Alex and I did the four day PADI Open Water course, which qualifies us to dive to 18 metres, and enjoyed it so much we then did the advanced course. This qualifies you to dive to 30 metres, or shark spotting depth! Luckily enough as we reached said depths a bull shark appeared. It really was an incredible sight, and quite rare apparently. The other benefit of diving to 30 metres is getting narced, or nitrogen narcosis! It's completely harmless, but makes you very giddy and silly while at depth. We also did a night dive; just you, your buddies, torches and the sea. It's an incredibly relaxing experience.
And that about brings you up to date! Today we leave for Kophangan to dance the nights away and experience our first full moon party.
Love to everyone!
xxxxxx
