Goodbye Thailand - Blogabond

A long and arduous journey to Krabi involved a wide array of different modes of transport and an unwelcome rainstorm. This caused us to arrive, along with everything we owned, soaked to the bone. After a night in the main town we headed to the backpacker's haven of Railay Beach. The journey was initially delayed as we were stranded in our hotel reception watching the relentless downpour. Once we finally braved the weather our departure was further hindered by a stand-off with the longboat drivers and their blatant attempts to rip us off. After surrendering we endured an Ellen McArthur-style Atlantic crossing which left our faces stung by the spray and nausea all round. We disembarked to a beautiful lagoon enshrouded by stunning cliffs. The still visible effects of the tsunami were a constant reminder of how different this Paradise place can be. The hunt for accommodation came up trumps when we found a pretty much deserted resort of chalets amidst lush greenery with spectacular views. The only drawback were the 65,000 near-vertical steps that had to be clambered up, rucksacks and all.

A smug day was spent lounging by the beautiful pool followed by an equally enjoyable day cruising round nearby islands- the highlight was the island that resembled a giant chicken, for obvious reasons.

Chicken Island

Snorkelling was enjoyed and luckily the large number of jellyfish were avoided. One of our favourite aspects of Krabi and in fact all of the islands, has been the seafood. Krabi particularly impressed us with it's evening barbeques where sumptuous shark and barracuda steaks were thoroughly enjoyed.

FHM Shoot

We left Railay Beach for Phi Phi which involved a slippery stomp through the shallows, with rucksacks on to board our boat. This was worth it when we were rewarded with free tea and biscuits once aboard. Murph and Robbi decided to become advanced divers on Phi Phi and so embarked on a course with crazy German instructor Hollie.

Robbi and Murph diving

Things got off to a hairy start when within the first five minutes, Robbi plummeted to the depths of 20m, disappearing within seconds into the darkness causing Hollie to go and fetch him and leaving Murph bobbing alone in the middle of the sea. Necessary elements of the course included a dive to 30m and navigating under water. The pair elected to do a wreck dive, peak performance buoyancy and underwater photography. All proved interesting due to high winds and rough seas, making clambering round the boat in scuba gear somewhat perilous. However, the wreck dive caused the most drama when the disappearance of a marker buoy, caused an entire passenger ferry to go missing under the sea. Luckily a fancy boat with a radar turned up to save the day and Murph proved she had learnt little in the navigation course when she managed to crash into the wreck twice.

Nemo

While the divers were getting their early nights, Matt, Tay, Colly and Erin were getting acquainted with the local nightspot- Apaches. Dotted around the club were numerous speakers which we found unable to avoid hogging all night.

The crew with death bucket

We knew we'd made a show of ourselves when accosted during the day by apparent strangers with heckles of, "Oi speaker girl! We saw you dancing last night!"

We were soon joined by others from the Koh Phangan crew- James, Erik and Ffion, accompanied by the 'Death Bucket'.

Lost in the moment

The infamous death bucket

After spending the last 3 months continuously talking about getting a Thai massage, we finally indulged. After being oiled up, clambered over by small Thai women and having every bone in our bodies cracked, we felt suitably relaxed. As well as leaving Thailand, we also said goodbye to our bum-chums Matt and Robbi.

Boys, we'll miss you!

The boys in a lovers embrace

See you in 9 months for an authentic Italian Rausa buffet courtesy of Vito.

written by

Murph, Tay, Colly and Erin on June 27, 2006 from Krabi, Thailand

from the travel blog: The Smug Adventures of Murph, Tay, Colly & Erin

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Dear Power Rangers,

Thailand let out a sigh of relief when you left and no doubt Malaysia has drawn a deep breath as you paint the town red, or whatever colour UV paint you have left.

The Power Rangers Movie was on the other day and i considered Sky+ recording it, then it hit me that it really wouldn't give me the fix I needed, so alas, it went unwatched (probably by the whole country).

We've had a couple of nights out in Bedford, each as disapointing as the next, but we set such a high bar with you girls in Laos, Vietnam and Thailand that nights out were never going to be the same.

Reminders or our time together are still everywhere; the sand in my rucksack, the smell of damp on my sarong, blood on my flip flops and of course, the documentaries Mickie recorded for me on SE Asia.

Hope you're having a great time, I spent last night partying with 6000 Italians as our boys lifted the World Cup in Berlin, Samuel Michael Manners even made a guest appearance in a Beckham shirt and novelty Italy football hat.

We miss you so much, wll I do, I can't speak for the emotionless Matt and the generally indiferent SMM, but Rausa's heart is definately still with you lassies (not the dog).

Keep mighty morphing,

Your Italian Israeli Kiwi friend,

Roberto x

written by Roberto Riccardo Fabio Rausa on July 10, 2006

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