Thai islands....

I must begin this entry by making clear to all that travelling isn't always exotic & exciting. I spent the best part of two days getting out of Malaysia & making it to Koh Samui, in order to meet up with the boys again. Asian transport is slow & overcrowded - I spent my night on my overnight train sat in one of the doorways! Not a comfortable way to travel. Worth it though, because after the overnight boat the next day I arrived on the beautiful Thai island of Koh Samui.

As the boys had already been there for three days, they had had enough of the local bars & beaches, the plan was to move onto Koh Phangan the next morning. Therefore, I made the most of my one day there by hiring a scooter (with Smalls) & zipping around the place sightseeing.

Our first stop was some famous rock formations on the south of the island...Grandfather & Grandmother rocks. We weren't that impressed by Grandmother (a crack inbetween two boulders), although our imagination was inspired by Grandfather (a new Facebook profile for Mr Small perhaps???)

As we were making our way to one of the temples, I spotted a sign for the Tiger Sanctuary. So off we went. We didn't have a look around the place (tight for time), so we paid our six pounds to have our photos taken with this beautiful beast. It was a little daunting being so close to such a huge animal (that, given the motivation, could kill us), but we were in the cage long enough to get a few excellent snaps.

Next on the whirlwind tour was the "Mummified Monk".

This fellow has been mummified (aka - embalmed/treated) & preserved in a glass box at one of the bigger temples on the island. The Monk himself decided, in his golden years, that he would like to contribute to the monks' cause after his death - & so the concept of a tourist attraction was born. He is wearing glasses for a very good reason - I don't think that eye balls keep that well! ;-) The accompanying temple, to the crusty monk, is pictured below. All of the temples are very ornate, decorative & sacred affairs. Pretty impressive.

I have now seen more waterfalls in the past ten months than most average people would probably expect to see in a lifetime. However, I like them so they will continue to be on my radar when they are available to see. Unfortunately there wasn't time for a dip, which did look inviting - especially due to the heat & humidity!

Our four hour circuit tour of the whole island finished with a sunset visit to the "Big Buddha." Naming it must have taken many a great mind many a costly hour?!?! It was, as described, BIG.

The next day we caught the boat over to Koh Phangan...

We checked into a resort, situated about four miles from the main port town & beaches. We were meeting up with Tom & Jordan, a couple of lads from Reading that Smalls & DIxy met in Koh Samui. The resort cost us eight pounds a night (each) for a A/C room with TV/DVD, & one excellent view of the ocean & Koh Samui in the distance. Not bad, eh?

We had arrived on the island just in time for Koh Phangan's "Full Moon Party."

This, quite simply, is a HUGE party on the beach - attended by thousands of travellers & party goers. It is quite a sight to behold...

Luminous body paints seem to be high on the agenda for most. Even if you aren't wearing any when you arrive, chances are that won't be the case for long. There are lots of bars & stands that are selling beers etc along the beach, although the unique aspect to the drinks here are the buckets. You literally purchase a small sand castle-esque bucket from the bar & they fill it with liquor & a mixer. I went for red bull, predominantly, which is actually loaded with amphetamins - meaning I was elated drunk for most of the night.

We all enjoyed the atmosphere, as well as one or two of the previously mentioned buckets!

Having gone to bed after sunrise, the next day was a total write off. We chilled by the pool & recharges the batteries. The next evening we went down to the beach & were shocked by how few people were out to party. It appears that the nights leading up to the full moon are busy, then everyone moves on to other destinations.

We did find a busier bar - which was surrounded by people watching drunks attempt to jump over a rope on fire (skipping), or through a ring of fire. Needless to say we weren't going to do anything as stupid as that...that is...until we had had sufficient courage (aka - buckets). I can't pin point exactly when it happened, but I finally fell victim to my own stupidity, as I woke up the next morning in excrutiating pain. My shoulder was agony. I got a taxi to the hospital, got the okay after an x-ray, then got loaded on painkillers. I took my prescription of pills, my sling, & what was left of my pride, & went back to bed. The admittance report from the hospital makes amusing reading though..."John woke up with big pain in right shoulder. He does not know what happened to him last night." Not my proudest moment - but I did make it over 9 months without incident :-)

Bangkok, Thailand