Southern Thailand

So after the trek i spent a few days in bangkok before heading down to Koh Phangan. We took an overnight bus which took 8 hours followed by a 4 hour boat trip. on the bus they played the film outlaw which was actually pretty good! i tried and failed to get a decent bit of kip on the bus as the seats didnt recline very far and the air con made it really cold. when we got of the bus we had to wait in this random place for about 2 hours for the boat, it was like a service station but it only sold dried goods- dried fruit, dried vegetables, dried meat, dried bread, and a lot of nuts of all different varieties. funnily enough i wasnt feeling so peckish so i slept on a bench for 2 hours with my sarong as a cover. we then got on the boat and i decided i needed to eat something so i didnt get seasick s i ate a massive packet of crisps and then fell asleep again. so for me the journey there was bearable as i was unconcious for about 80% of it, but i know alot of people suffered with travel sickness and it was hardly luury conditions but considering the whole trip cost us the equivalent of 19pounds i couldnt complain. anyway we arrived there at about 11 the next morning and checked straight into our hotel. had a quick swim and some lucnh and then went straight back to sleep- i figured i needed my energy for th efull moon party that night. i was nic and sensible and lined my stomach with a wholesome jacket potato with beans and cheese before getting started on the vodka! we all painted eachother in neon paints (which do not come out of clothes in the wash!) and headed down to haadrin beach for what promised to be a wild night. and it didnt dissapoint! there was estimated to be about 30,000 people on the beach and by the time we got there at 11pm there were already people (mainly girls) passed out on the sand left right and centre, clearly went too far with the drinking. there were bars all the way along the beach, mainly playing techno and drum&bass music and there wer elight shows and fire displays everywhere. it was insane! i managed to stick it out till sunrise which was pretty special, and then headed back to the hotel for some sleep! the rest of the time on the islands was ok but not great, after the novelty of the beautiful beaches had worn off it just became really expensive, the taxis in particular were extortionate but we did find this gem of a night food market in our local town where you could get thai curry ad rice for 30baht (about 60p). i also did an overnight trip to koh tao were i saw a certain ms ivey and ms ruiz! it was so weird but so cool to see them both, obviously we did plan to meet but still i am pretty lucky to get to see 2 of my best friends on a tiny island off the coast of southern thailand! we had loads of catch ups and chilled out on the beach, it was lovely :) i was planning on travelling with them a little while longer but unfortunately my finances wouldnt allow for another 2 weeks on the islands so i have come back up to bangkok, it took all day to get back and after a few bad eating experiences in a stop off simialr to the dried goods shop on the inward journey, i decided to treat myself to a macdonalds when we got back to bangkok. after we had finished eating, i was taking my tray back to the bin and a napkin fell on the floor so being the good citizen that i am i decided to pick it up, and did not think through the weight ratio of my huge rucksack that was on my back so the minute i bent down i toppled right over and lay there flailing about with my legs in the air similar to an overturned tortoise. it was highly embarassing and my good friend JOCELYN though it was extremely funny to push me back down every time i tried to get up so i spent about 5 minutes in the middle of macdonalds lying on my back laughing my head off, while thai people watched with concern wondernig whether i had fainted and why my friend was hindering my efforts to get up again! after that saga we finally made it to the house i am currently staying in.g its a 5 story couchsurfing house in saphenkwai which is a non touristy area which is good because its a lot cheaper! i am here for the next few weeks and not really sure what il be doing yet, just settling in at the moment but hoping to get involved in either renovating the house or maybe a bit of volunteer work at a school. not much else to report really. next week is thai new year and they celebrate by having a massive waterfight which i will definitley be participating in! i will update afterwards and let you know how it was. lots and lots of love xxx