Round the world trip!!

Bangkok, Thailand

After spending Christmas at the zoo and having a Chinese for dinner, our trip through India had come to an end. So we think we should close this trip with a reflection on our experiences in India.

After only a week in India, we were questionning why we came here. It seemed like a smelly, dirty, and beggar infested country. Although the city palaces and grand forts were beatutiful, it seemed that that was all India had to offer. A lack of knowledge became our downfall and resticted us from appreciating India. Without knowing the history of each monument, palace, and fort, we found it hard to appreciate their importance as integral parts of Indian culture, and how they have shaped modern India. We both agree that India, or at least the northern provinces are nowhere near ready for tourists yet. The people of India try to take as much as possible for as little as possible, although this made us extremely angry and sometimes hostile, we also appreciated that they don't understand any other cultures apart from their own, and why should they? Afterall, we were visiting their country. The point were trying to make is that, in comparison to western cultures, we felt that India can be far less welcoming.
With so many negative experiences crammed into our first week, the good times were totally eclipsed by bad times. After waking up every morning with a renewed sense of hope for good times, we began to give up. We learnt that to expect the expected in India is about as likely as finding a meal without chilli. So when we expected the south of India to be the same, India had another surprise. It was as if all the bad things that had happened were to balance out the good times that laid ahead over the next 24 days in the south. From Goa onwards, stunning landscapes, smiling people, and an abundance of wildlife both on land and in the sea turned India from a nightmare into a tropical paradise. We woke up each day smiling and couldn't wait to see what was in store for us. We couldn't believe how we were still in the same country, as the north and south are so significantly different.
As we reflect on India as a whole, and what we would say if we were asked "what is India like?", we'd say its the most beautiful country we have ever been to, and perhaps if Indians were a little more welcoming in some places, India would be be the trip of a lifetime. Would we go back? Definately! After 5 weeks, we started to learn how to communicate effectively with Indians, and both admiring and appreciating the difficulties Indians face in what appears to be a very poorly run country.

Although we thought India was the wrong choice after a week, we don't think we could have picked a better place to start our trip. We've learnt so much and experienced so much in terms of culture, that we've become so wise we have grown white beards and smell like mouldy cheese. The more we think of India the more we miss it, and the culture shock we experienced at first made it very hard for us to open ourselves to India. However being away from it makes things much clearer, and as the song says, ' you don't know what you've got til its gone'!

Bon Voyage India!

written by

Kav & Sara on December 28, 2008 from Bangkok, Thailand

from the travel blog: Round the world trip!!

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Ko Samui, Thailand

After saying bon voyage to India, we said sawadee-ka to Thailand! We arrived in Bangkok at midday on the 27th to the sight of tuk-tuks and multicoloured taxis. Bangkok was another very busy city, which can only be expected for a capital city. Although the busyness was reminiscent of Delhi, there was a much more relaxed pace about things. Our first experience was a one hour city tour for free, the only drawback was that we had to go to a few tailors for them to sell us overpriced suits. After conquering the art of being sold little for alot in India, the Thai's didn't stand a chance! We stayed on the busiest street in Bangkok in terms of shops, markets, bars, and tourists. It seemed to have a more western atmosphere than India. Even though we had been warned about the street food, it looked too delicious to keep ignoring it. So we indulged in a slap up meal for two, for the equivalant of about 60p! From kebabs and corn on the cob to noodles and thai curries, street stalls sold the lot from morning till night. This meant the 24/7 Mcdonalds and Burger King weren't put to good use!
On our second day we visited the city zoo, which was awesome! An acrobatic show, with elephants was very entertaining!
The temperature was about 30 degrees, which made staying out in the sun all day a difficult task. But spending a few hours at the Grand Palace was well worth the four litres
of sweat we shed! The attention to detail was unbelievable on every part of every building, which we found far more aesthetically pleasing than we had found the city palaces in India.
After finding out that there wasn't much going on in Bangkok on New Years Eve, we decided to head to Ko Pha Ngan, the South-East Asian rave capital! After an 8 hour VIP coach journey and a short ferry trip, we arrived in Ko Pha Ngan, where tourists had arrived in droves. This meant that hotel prices were doubled, and we had no choice but to pay! We soon found that it was well worth it! The New Years Eve party on the beach of Hat Rin was by far the best New Years Party ever. With every type of music played, from reggae to drum n bass, and over 20,000 ravers sporting glow sticks and glow paint, we busted a million shapes and the lunges were second to none! 5 hours of jamming later, and we were pooped, so after a taxi back to our room we crashed out smiling and ears ringing!
The next few days were spent with our pink scooter! We could ride round the Island in an hour, and it gave us the freedom to visit waterfalls, beaches, and even the Masons Arms, a very English pub serving John Smith's and Guiness. Good times!
We then headed to the larger Island called Ko Samui. We arrived here yesterday where we found a room for the same price as a pint, so as we find our bearings and explore this island, take easy and keep checking for our next update!!

Thinking of you all!

Kav and Shoey x

P.S Pics will be on soon after we conquer some technical difficulties.

written by

Kav & Sara on January 3, 2009 from Ko Samui, Thailand

from the travel blog: Round the world trip!!

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Khao Sok, Thailand

After settling down in Ko Samui, we got another motorbike as its by far the easiest and cheapest way to get around. We did most of the usual tourist spots, which were pretty impressive! Our first stop was Samui Aquarium, where the marine life was spectacular. We fed some turtles some lettuce which was fun, but the sharks seemed more interested in us than the lettuce so we moved on! After seeing all the aquatic life, we headed to the small zoo, where a few animals were housed, such as parrots and a few mammals. We then sat to watch a bird/ tiger/ leopard/ otter show (they performed at different times) which was a demonstration of how clever and skillful each of them are. The birds bike race was highly amusing, and they were looked after so well in comparison to most of the wildlife places we'd visited. By far the greatest part of the day, and one of the highlights of the trip so far, was holding a 10 month old monkey called 'Pretty'. She was rejected by her mother and was attacked shortly after birth, and being hand-reared has made her so friendly to humans. She won't ever be able to return to the wild, but its far better than being orphaned alone and left to die. She was fascinated with everything, as all babies are, and holding her made it very tempting to take her home. We left empty handed, and headed to the beach for a dip then went to book a boat trip, as we had heard so much about the small islands off the coast of Ko Samui. The cluster of 41 small islands make up Ang Thong National Marine Park, and before we had even arrived, we saw a dolphin jumping out the water. We knew we were going to have a good day! White sands, turqoise waters, and great snorkelling! We even saw a monitor lizard as we kayaked past an island!
After the boat trip, we headed back to Ko Pha Ngan for the full moon party. Although it wasn't as busy as the New Year Party, we both had a few drinks and a good boogie, so we were happy! The rest of our time in Ko Pha Ngan was spent on the beach or in a hammock, until our itchy feet decided it was time to move on to Ko Tao, the smallest of the three inhabited islands on the east coast of Thailand. Before we had even stepped onto the boat, we were asked if we wanted to do a PADI Open Water scuba diving course. It was very pricey, and way out of our budget, but rumour was that Ko Tao was the best place for scuba diving in south-east Asia. so we decided to do it, and it was the greatest experience ever! After a crash course into the physical and bilogical limitations of the body, were found ourselves loaded with scuba gear and in a swimming pool for our first practical lesson. Hours later, after some academic work and an exam, we were preparing for our first of 6 dives. Each one was unbelievable. Words don't do justice to how awesome the marine life is here. Coral reefs full of psychodelic coloured fish made it very hard to concenrate on what we were supposed to be doing. After the first four dives we were qualified divers, and we decided to do another two just for the hell of it. Our last dive, at a place called Three Rocks (named after the three rocks where the coral reefs grow), was by far the best. Getting up at 5:30am to go became more than worth it, and the sight of a puffer fish nearly a meter long was more than exhilerating. To name a few favourites, we saw parrotfish, butterfly fish, banded angelfish, moray eels, stingrays, and triggerfish (have a look on google for pics, they're all amazing!).
After completing the PADI course, we decided to head to pastures new. We took a night boat to Surat Thani on the mainland, then heading straight to Kao Sok National Park.
We spent the last two days trekking in a rainforest, our base being in a jungle hut at the foot of the National Park. We expected to see a host of wildlife, although we've only managed to see some monitor lizards, some little lizzies, a preying mantis, some fish, a few toads, the odd bat, and a grasshopper. Hardly a jungle safari, but signs that TOLD us wild elephants and monkeys roamed the park made the 10km treks well worth it!
So now, we've got ourselves another sexy scooter and were going on a 3 hour road trip to see a lake, which lies on the edge of the national park. If were lucky, we hope to see a few monkeys! The only one we have seen was thanks to a Dutchman living opposite us who left his bananas in view, leading to a family of monkeys harrassing him to the point where he couldn't get into his room! He was amazed this could happen in the jungle, and called for the owner to get rid of them using firecrackers to scare them! Hopefully the next monkeys we see will be allowed to roam freely, and eat as many bananas as they want!

Peace out from PADI 1 and PADI 2 x x

P.S. Sorry about the lack of blogs and briefness of this one, revising for tests (a task we thought we'd said goodbye to) and underwater activity has taken up most of our time lately! We'll try and be more punctual and frequent in the upcoming weeks!

written by

Kav & Sara on January 19, 2009 from Khao Sok, Thailand

from the travel blog: Round the world trip!!

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Krabi, Thailand

We woke to the sound of hooting Gibbons at around 7am on the last day at the Khao Sok National Park . With our sexy scooter raring to go, we set off on a day long adventure to find the Dam. We arrived at the main viewpoint to find a huge lake with long tailed boats cruising from one side to another ferrying people around. The panoramic views were endless, and the tranquility of the viewpoint was made even more significant by the lack of tourists. In fact we were the only people there apart from the gardeners sweeping leaves! After taking in the views, we had done all that there was to do at the lake. Instead of sticking around looking at the same views, we decided to follow a signpost for some cool springs and a waterfall. We prayed that the hour long ride on the hottest day so far in Thailand (ever) would be well worth it, and after the road suddenly ended, we had to take a dirt track for the last 20 minutes. It was obvious that no one had been there in a long time, and the mosquitos were more than welcoming. The cool springs consisted of a large muddy bubbling puddle. And thats being kind. The waterfall was more of a stream falling from one piece of mud to another. So 10 minutes later, and about 72 mozzy bites, we were navigating our way back to the road. Once we were back on the tarmac, we cruised through small villages that used the surrounding forrests for the production of rubber and for harvesting fruit. Although the cool springs were disappointing, the views that lined the road were awesome-o! The limestone cliffs stood over 50 metres high and the caves were covered with stalagtites. This meant that we kept stopping on the way back for pictures! We finally arrived back at our jungle hut, just as it was getting dark and the toads were coming out. The rest of the night was just spent chilling before heading to Krabi first thing in the morning.
We arrived in Krabi and settled into an average hotel. As we didn't really know anything about Krabi, we just mooched about for the afternoon, checking out the cheap shops and food stalls. Krabi town lies beside a river which is used by longtail boats for tours around the mangroves. However, Krabi really comes to life at night, and one place in particular made us really like the town straight away! The night market by the river is a collection of small local food stalls, selling every Thai dish that exists and to a very high standard. The hardest part of the night is deciding which stall to eat at, as you walk past each one, the aromas are overwhelming! With the food being so inexpensive, the second hardest thing is limiting how many dishes we order. Both locals and tourists flock here in their hundreds for the good food. It creates a really upbeat atmosphere with everyone being there to try the delicious, although sometimes crazy, Thai food.
Aside from the food, the beaches of Krabi are even better than those on the Gulf Coast, with tiny islands rising up from the sea. Yeserday we vistited a beach with a small island about 50 metres from the shore, which could be waded to as the water never goes past the belly button! We spent at least an hour here looking for cowry shels, of which we only found 3 very average ones! We finished the day at a gastropod site, one of only three in the world. It consisted of slabs of snail fossils over 40cm thick that date back over 75 million years. It sounded great on paper, but it looked more like an earthquake site than a tourist hotspot!
Today we went on a trip to West Raillay and Phra Nang Cave Beach. Between the beaches of west and east Raillay lies a lagoon than can only be accessed by an extremely dangerous trek. Being the thrill seekers that we are, we headed up the vertical cliff faces with the use of ropes, and down 20metre drops, again using only whats left of our lean upperbody strength. Two and a half hours were spent getting to the lagoon and back, and being so exhausted, we hit the beach! With the sun being a bit tempremental, Kav went for a bit of snorkelling. He became really excited when he saw some coral about 20metres from shore, seeing tiger fish, clown fish (nemo's!) and squid amongst other things. His smile was a picture and summed up a good day on the west coast!

Tomorrow we're off to Ko Phi Phi, where The Beach was filmed. We've heard mixed reviews about this place, so we'll check it out and make our own minds up about this hood.

Keep it real x x x

P.S Pics will be on in the next few days, we have to go to the night market now! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM :-P we so hungry, we love you longtime!

written by

Kav & Sara on January 24, 2009 from Krabi, Thailand

from the travel blog: Round the world trip!!

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Ko Lanta, Thailand

We arrived in Ko Phi Phi on the 25th Jan to the clearest waters we've seen so far. As soon as we got to the pier, we were the first off the ferry in order to get first dibs on a room as the place was swarming with tourists! We managed to find a room for twice what we normally pay on mainland, but it was still the cheapest on the island. We found that this was the case with everything including food and drink. The landscapes were second to none but the ever present building sites that lined the beaches scarred what would be a perfect island. Although we've realised that tourism is most peoples only income in Thailand, it goes beyond a joke in Phi Phi. Because there is such a demand for people to come here, the locals know they can charge what they want and people will pay it. Furthermore, foreigners have also tried to cash in on tourists by opening their own Irish Bars and German diving centres. We spent most of our time at the beach about 1.5 km east of the pier, where there was far less construction work and fewer tourists. The weather was scorching which made staying out of the sea very difficult, nothing to do with the fact that it was so tropical and enticing! The snorkelling was immense, and there was some spectacular coral only a 30m swim from the shore. Although dodging the speed boats and longtails to get to it was a challenge to say the least. We didn't do anything but frolic in the sea, which made the day fly by. This has been the norm for Thailand in general since we arrived. With things being so relaxed the days just disappear, and although we know we've been here a while, in comparison to India it feels like we've only just got here.
We spent the evenings sitting on the beach watching fire dancers entertain crowds of people which was pretty cool.

We expected Ko Phi Phi to be a very chilled out place, but we soon realised that it was a party central, and was even more party orientated than Ko Pha Ngan. This meant that we were going to bed as everyone else was going out, meaning that we were woken by ravers at 5am. Its obvious that they don't have a neighbourhood watch here. After collecting our pensions we decided to leave the island before our bank accounts dried up, but we thought that the two days we spent here were enough to sea all that Phi Phi had to offer.
From Phi Phi we headed to Ko Lanta, a larger island with far fewer tourists. Ko Lanta has a much more jolly feel about the place, and the high rise resorts have been replaced by small bungalows and bamboo huts that are no higher than the palm trees. We thought the beaches were a little dull when we arrived yesterday, but when we got there today the presence of the sun transformed the beach, making it look just as tropical as the ones in Phi Phi.

Our walks along the beach consist mainly of Cowrie hunting, and this place is Cowrie heaven. In just under 2 hours, we had scooped over 250 of the beauties, some big, some small, some bright, and some sexy little numbers! We'll be shipping them home sometime soon to stop us from being busted by customs, so look out!

Thats all for now, pics are coming soon once we find a computer that works properly!

Hope your all doing fantastically well,

Speak soon,

Lots of love, Kav & Sara x x

written by

Kav & Sara on January 28, 2009 from Ko Lanta, Thailand

from the travel blog: Round the world trip!!

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Round the world trip!!

a travel blog by Kav & Sara

Bangkok, Thailand

Bon Voyage India!

Bangkok, Thailand

Ko Phangan, Thailand

Thailand

Ko Samui, Thailand

Ko Samui, Thailand

Ko Phangan, Thailand

Ko Tao, Thailand

Gulf Coast

Khao Sok, Thailand

Andaman Coast

Krabi, Thailand

Ko Phi Phi & Ko Lanta

Ko Lanta, Thailand