Bangkok, the city of…what? I’d probably say the city of dirt, that or the city of weird and unpleasant smells. It’s grimy, sweltering air is closer to my body that my own skin, but I’m slowly starting to get used to it. Getting used to running past a seven eleven to get a blast of air conditioning, or finding my way to a smoothie shack to get a cold watermelon smoothie. It’s not so bad when you learn to live somewhere.

When we got here, we met with Ruby, and spent the first few days exploring the temples in the city. We walked around in the heat, had massages and laughed with some locals. Granted, we didn’t know what they were laughing about, it could have been us for all we knew but everyone laughs in the same language and it was funny.

We explored the grand palace. It was so hot and I barely peed all day. We had lunch at a local Thai place, I had a fried rice. Not so sure about the chicken but I ate it anyway and haven’t had any issues yet but watch this space. If anything the constipation is bad. Spicy food might help, and beer. Lots of beer.

We have met some nice travellers so far. On the second night we met Holly and Maddy from the Isle of Wight. I think they were really trying to be friendly and make some friends. We ended up drinking and then going out for dinner together which was cute. I had a yellow flat noodle and a papaya salad which was one of my favourite meals so far.

We wandered back into the hostel and and drank into the night with our feet hanging in the pool. It was a hot night, but the pool took the edge off a bit.

After what felt like the best shower (and hair wash), I got to bed. The beds are hard but at least it’s private, like pulling the curtains over your sins for the night and only facing them again the morning once they are drawn once more.

Yesterday we headed off to the floating market. Holly and Maddy were there too. Probably one of my favourite days so far in Bangkok, just because it was filled with a bit more colour and interesting things to me. Eyes that are able to feast on the colour of a Thai market are truly well fed.

In the afternoon I sat on my own and had a drink. I met Marina and Isabella, an Argentinian and American, both solo travellers. Amazing to just know that everyone is out here trying to life their best lives, whatever that means they are leaving at “home”. I say home that way because a lot of them don’t have a permanent one- the beauty of the lone traveller.

We drank and chatted and the day turned into night. Dyna and I went for dinner. A very spicy Thai green curry (THIS helped the toilet situation, a little too much).

Returning to the hostel, the party was starting. We met with some people, drank, played cards and just relaxed into it. A beer pong tournament has commenced and we watched the balls intensely, listening for shouts and laughter to erupt. I was pulled into a game of beer pong, actually winning my game on my own! I was given the respect from that haha. I ended up in the semi finals (who woulda thought it?!), so Dyna and I played against Laura and Luis. Nightmare haha, they were two of the best players.

We stayed, played and drank and then all went out on the Khao san road. It was manic but just as it is supposed to be. The energy was just insane and time felt like a different concept. The night was sweaty and everyone was dripping. I had beer and balloons, laughed and danced until 2am. The best part… the spring rolls. Crispy and delicious and I could eat them everyday.

Wandering back through dirty alleyways and a quick stop at another seven eleven, the night was quiet but alive in a way that made sense. A bottle of water before bed, a quick shower and then a dreamless sleep. Dreamless was ok, because the days existed to be just the opposite.

The days following Bangkok feel like a world away now. We took a sleeper bus to Surat Thani one night, I was actually quite excited to see what this journey would be like. In the UK, trains are pretty much one size fits all. The chairs say they recline but your sat at an awkward tilt that is actually more uncomfortable than sitting bolt upright. Usually you’re stuck in a carriage with (no offence) very loud northerners (I always seem to get scousers), a toilet that doesn’t flush and a ticket officer gagging for someone to have not paid.

This bus was “VIP”, and boy did I feel like one. Granted, the toilet was still pretty horrible but at least when they said “recliner”, they meant it. You could almost play tops and tails with your fellow passengers on here.

Seeing Bangkok’s busy streets for three days and nights informed me pretty early that their driving had to be a particular style. And that style, was fast and furious. The night bus turned off its lights early and thank goodness for that because we were driving like lunatics for hours and hours. I had my ear plugs and eye mask on purely to avoid the anxiety of looking out the front window, watching our driver zig zag through fast traffic, threatening our lives at every turn. I tried to zone out as much as possible.

The last food stop was at midnight, at a little drive in food place. I had a fried rice and Dyna had a soup. Even this kind of food was amazing.

We got to surat Thani in the morning, took a van and then a ferry over to Koh Samui. 1.5 hours, it was actually pretty relaxing after the bus journey. Everything here is generally more comfortable than London…apart from walking on the streets.

Our hostel is on the quieter side of the island. I was dissatisfied at this at first, but now I’m just grateful that the bed is nice and that we have a quiet space to come back to. It’s not all that bad. I went swimming twice on the first day, and although the water is not the clearest here, it was warm from the sun bearing down on it all day. The day was relaxing, sitting out in the warm breeze, sunbathing a little and then wandering down to a local place called “moms kitchen” for dinner. I enjoyed mine immensely. We slept a sound sleep with our two other dorm mates and woke in the early morning (decent air conditioning was actually too cold!)

Today (19th May) we decided to go and explore a bit. As everything is quite expensive taxi wise to get to a lot of places, we did end up booking a tour. I know no one backpacking really wants to have a tour take you round but ultimately it was cheaper factoring in all the taxi costs.

We went to some beautiful temples and to a stunning waterfall. I paddled (cautiously) in the waterfall and tried my best not to slip on rocks (or throw my back out). This was way into the jungle of Koh Samui and we were in a 4x4 jeep. The roads were so broken and bumpy. They let me sit on the roof (with a belt on! Sorry mum!) and glide through the jungle at a very safe (fast) 20mph (50mph) Midday heat led us to seek shade at the viewpoints, which were as close to the sun as we will be on this island. It was so hot. I even got burnt on the back of my shoulder!

My favourite part though was vistimg the secret budda garden. It felt like a little moment in time long ago, that someone stumbled upon in the middle of the jungle. Said to have been built and maintained by a single man for his own love and care. It was so beautiful. The sound of nature around it, which included a beautiful little waterfall and the sounds of hundreds of birds, sounds like something out of my sleep stories. All the London yoga classes, meditation videos and tranquility music felt like it was pulled from that very moment in the garden.

Overall today was a really great day! We got back to the hostel and crashed in bed for an hour. As I woke, there was a storm making its way overhead. My intention was to swim in the sea but the wind picked up so heavily, it was not my intention to die trying today. So I sat and read for a while (with a plate of spring rolls next to me). I let the storm pass and tried my best to pick out the hues of orange and yelllow in the sky as the sun was setting behind the clouds. It wasn’t very visible but I stayed anyway. With a walk in the warm rain, we grabbed dinner at another local place. To no surprise, the food was amazing- the best way to end a day like today!

So Koh Samui was great! Yes! We did the Buddha garden and 4x4’s, it was a fantastic day!

Today we went to the Fisherman’s Village in Bophut. We ate sooo much of the local street food as there was a huge market filling the streets. The streets were running up from the beachfront where we had had lunch (expensive and not great but nice location). The evening was hot, but the breeze from the sea was just enough that we could sit outside. We saw a bougie looking beach club with bean bags outside, the music was loud but nice acoustic stuff for a change. We treated ourselves to a cocktail, I had a Mai Thai and it was superb. Since we have been here I’ve been sticking to beer for a few reasons. 1.. It’s cheap, and 2. No funny things going into it like some of the moonshine they sell here! It was such a nice drink and we only had the one, but it was great. We sat and watched the fire show on the beach until the sun was truly worlds away.

A quick update.

We arrived in Koh Phangan yesterday and it has been so cute! We are staying at a place called Sand Terraces and we have the cutest little bungalow on the beachside! The water isn’t great as filled with lots of coral and shallow water but it’s still beautiful!

As we arrived fairly promptly in the morning, we spent the afternoon in the north of Koh Phagnan. I’d seen an amazing place on instagram (I know, I know) that really was cool. Taxi’s were expensive, but I also want to be able to experience the places we are going, so it has to be a part of expenditure unfortunately! I did try riding a scooter but I was awful at it! I just couldn’t control it properly and it was so heavy! I definitely would have been a huge hazard on the roads, and I definitely would have had a terrible worry with Dyna on the back of my bike too!

Anyway, we went to a place called Koh Raham, right by this insanely pretty beach. The place was within a resort that was way out of our budget, so again, we had a single drink and enjoyed the views. The place was almost a jungle shipwreck, and there were lots of cool platforms and rope swings to have fun on!

Towards the end of the day there, a huge storm came in. We should have known it would rain, as it seemed pretty consistent that around 4pm the wind would blow and the island would clear away a lot of its humidity. We got stuck there for another hour and ran through the rain to the taxi. Taxi’s in Koh Phagnan (and most of the islands) are open, so Dyna and I got soaked on the ride home!

Once we got back to our little bungalow, I lay in my warm, wet clothes in the hammock. Dyna takes ages in the shower so I sat there reading my book (Killing Eve, 2nd installment) and then we watched some tv and slept a lovely sleep.

Today we went to Haad Rin beach, famous for its Full Moon Parties! We actually asked the taxi to take us to Leela beach first as I read online that it was one of the most beautiful in Thailand. We got there and it was a bit underwhelming. The storm the night before had made the water a bit murky and the beach itself wasn’t that impressive. We took a stroll along a boardwalk and then walked from there to Haad Rin.

On our walk to Haad Rin, we saw a familiar face perched on the steps of a local hostel. It was Holly. And then Maddy! I had been speaking to them since Bangkok, and of course I knew they were also going to be there, it was just a cute meet. They had been asking a lot to meet up with us again and of course, we are here to make friends so we went for a swim and then grabbed lunch at a beach place with their friend Tilda and with Dom (also a guy we met in Bangkok!)

Lunch was nice but the swim in the sea was heavenly as it was one of the first proper swims I had in Thailand again.

We headed back to our bungalow once more. With the local dog enjoying our company, she sat under my hammock for an hour. She absolutely stank of fish. A short while before she came to sit with us, I watched her and her mate out in the low tide, playing in the water and on the sand. They were such happy dogs. I wanted to badly to pet her, but I really had to hold myself back, after all, I didn’t fancy a trip to the emergency room.

I’ll do a little one for Koh Tao. Especially as today is my 27th Birthday.

Starting with yesterday, we took the ferry from Koh Phagnan here, to this little island paradise. It had been a long day and so we didn’t venture far from the hostel and local streets, but our beachfront hostel had a lovely pool and nice vibe!

Firstly, we got there and found out that our beachfront hostel didn’t actually mean our accommodation would be there too. We had no idea that our room was half way up the damned hill. Like really far up. We had the furthest room and had to trek up hundreds of stairs to get there. And when we got there (first time with 15kg on our back might I add), we got a fan. A fan as in, no air conditioning, but a pathetic wall fan that we had to endure for two nights. The first night, when it was 31 degrees Celsius, it BROKE. TWICE. Dyna and I literally groaned as we heard it wind down each time the power went out. I could have cried. It was so so hot.

Anyway, today is my birthday and so I wanted to do something special. I wanted to learn to dive in Koh Tao, but there were a few things that stopped me. One was my fear of deep water (deep deep dark water) that I have been trying so hard to overcome. And the second was my bitchin period that is due any day now. I would have hated to have my period during three days worth of diving, it would have been awful!

In the morning, I read the birthday card my mum had given me before I left, to read on my birthday. With it, the little stuffed hedgehog she gave me too. I held it and read the card. I had a little cry and wiped the tears as Dyna came out the bathroom.

So instead of diving we opted to go on a boat tour. The tours are a bit expensive but unfortunately it’s the easiest way to explore a lot of what’s outside the island. The day was great though and I really enjoyed it, especially all the snorkelling. We saw baby reef sharks in Shark bay, loads of fish and a HUGE turtle they call Lucy!! She was magnificent and I spent so much time next to her in the sea, it was a perfect present!

We met some nice people on the tour too, which was great as it’s such a good way to meet likeminded people. One in particular was a very odd encounter. She looked British to be fair, so I thought a chat would be easy. Oh she’s from London, but a bit of an Essex twang, that’s interesting. “Where are you from?” I said. “Hornchurch!” \240She replied. Small world I thought (but it was about to get smaller). “I live in Loughton” I said. “Oh I grew up in Woodford, how funny!” Anyway before I go on… she and I did not only grow up in the same town, but actually went to the same school just 5 years apart. What on earthhhh! Of course we know mutual people. It was soo strange meeting someone from home in the most tiny of places in the world! It was actually quite comforting on my birthday to have a bit of home there. Her name was Louise, and we are now friends on instagram, I hope to see her in Essex some time.

That evening we got back, I had another message from Holly and Maddy who had just arrived in Koh Tao. We went for dinner on our side of the island, chatted about life and things (some that interested Holly, some to interest Maddy). After some drinks, me, Dyan and Holly danced in the water on the beach, swung on the swings, lay in water hammocks and took silly videos. It was really cute actually and they remembered it was my birthday when they greeted us. It was appreciated a lot.

We spoke to them about shark bay and the reef there. Holly really wanted to see a shark. We said we would go back the following morning to this beautiful bay we had found a few days before. They would come with us.

Today we spent the morning with Holly and Maddy on that beautiful little beach at shark bay. We arrived early in the morning after a little hike there and we were one of the first on the beach. We lay our towels on the rocks, put sun cream on (Maddy forgot), grabbed our snorkels and went looking for sharks for hours. Personally I didn’t see any sharks, but I did see some amazing corals and fish. They really were lovely!

We spent the day with them as they kindly let us use their hostel to shower and get ready for our departure off the island. They are kind girls. We stayed there until the evening, when we took off with our backpacks, had a last dinner on the island and set for the pier.

On our way to the pier we randomly bumped into Laura (from Bangkok) and warmly reminisced over our time together and then apart. I liked Laura a lot, she was young and adventurous and brave. She had an air about her that was interesting to me, maybe it was because she was a literature buff and I adored that.

After our sad goodbye to her, we headed off to the boat for an overnight ferry to Koh phi Phi. What can I say, we felt like total adventurers at this point. The boat felt like a cargo ship and we just walked on, left our bags on deck and was allocated a bed.

Dyna and I were so tired after our sleepless nights in a crap room with a fan, that our one hope was that the ship had air conditioning, and thank heavens it did. The dorms were laid out like shelters in a natural disaster but honestly they were flat and cold and that’s all I needed for a good sleep. I slept pretty much the whole journey and it was amazing!

It’s been a few days since I wrote. The last time I did, I’d just had my first experience on a sleeper ferry in Thailand and it was so good! I thought I would be anxious being on the open sea like that and going to sleep, so either I was exhausted (likely) or it was actually just fine!

The last few days have been so epic. We arrived in Koh Phi Phi on the 26th and fell in love with the island. As soon as I could see it from the boat, I knew it was what I wanted it to be. We arrived and walked through a cute lively town to our hostel. Dee Dee’s hostel, which was extremely pretty and located right on the beach overlooking such stunning rocks. It was quiet and sweet. We saw other young people walking about and shared a dorm with a really cute English couple. Dyna and I spent the first day eating (Garlic 1992 which is apparently notoriously known on the island but we just thought it was cute and busy). And then we went to a beach bar for a few beers and to watch the water.

I could feel us getting a bit short with each other this day. Maybe from the lack of sleep and moving around a lot, we are still trying to figure each other out. The best thing to do was to have a little break from each others company and it was the right thing to do for sure! Especially somewhere like Phi Phi, it’s so small you could probably find them again somewhere.

So I stayed and had some more beer on my own. Dyna went for a massage. The tide went out around 4pm and by 6pm I watched as people walked far out into the water, through the longtail boats that were now resting on sand. I wandered out too, barefoot on the sand walking towards the sunset. It felt almost metaphorical, chasing the sunset like that, but it promised such beauty that I couldn’t resist. As I walked, I saw hundreds of crabs scuttling into their holes and hundreds of shells on the ocean floor. It was beautiful. I stood and watched the sun go down on my own, in a peaceful solitude that I am learning to love (or trying to learn)

After sunset, I walked to the town again, had dinner and walked back to the hostel via the beach. I saw some of a fire show again but felt tired and inclined to retreat back to Dee Dee’s.. It was a great day, but the following morning I had to be up at 5am.

Earlier in the day, Dyna and I booked another boat trip. For me, Maya Bay was a non negotiable must see. I’m not sure she was set on it, but I would have done it without her if not. I’ve dreamed of this paradise ever since Chrissy returned from her travels 15 years ago and glowed about it. Reconfirming this was the film The Beach. I’m aware that so many people go here for this reason, but to visit a place that has been considered paradise in the movies was cool to me. I had to go.

I didn’t want to be in a huge crowd when seeing this special place, I didn’t want other tourists to taint the seclusion of what this beach was supposed to be. I’m not special in the grand scheme of things, I know, but I wanted it to be special for me. We opted for a sunrise longtail boat. We would go with 6 others and we would watch the sunrise from the boat and enter the bay at its open.

I didn’t expect it to be so beautiful. I knew it would be, but it was just so much better than what i expected it to be. The boat arrived and we were (annoyingly) in a bit of a queue to get in. But we were still one of the first on the beach for the day and by the time we had all spread out, we had so much of the beach to ourselves. Dyna and I took so many pictures, sat on the sand, searched for sharks (we saw about 7 at one point!) and just absorbed all the beauty this place had to offer.

Maya Bay used to have amazing coral reefs and incredible marine life. Due to its popularity over the decades, only 8% of the reef is left. How awful is that. It makes me so sad to see that has happened. I also saw unreal amounts of plastic in the ocean right next to this paradise. Despite its awful decline, Thailand have been working to restore some of the life back to this place. Maya Bay is closed to swimming and boats and has been since 2020. I believe it should not be reopened again for this. This should not be our place to ruin.

The rest of the trip was in Pileh Lagoon (stunning!) and snorkelling near the Viking caves around Maya Bay. We saw amazing fish and had so much fun on the boat!

When we arrived back on the main land, 6 of us (Ali, Arwan, Dyna, Eva, Justina and me) went to Garlic 1992 again for a big lunch together. I thought Arwan was cute, Ali was as well. Both of them were Kiwi, but Iraqi born (and come on, they can be hot). We had a lovely time on the beach and at lunch together. We went our separate ways, only to reunite hours later.

Dyna and I had a nap in the afternoon and then, whilst resting in the hostel, got chatting to a really sweet guy called Tom and a northerner (English) called El. They were super chatty northerners. Tom had the prettiest eyes.

El came with Dyna and I to watch the sunset again from the water. We invited her to dinner with us and she also brought along her friend Ella. We ended up with an interesting crew but the Aussie girl was nice. We had dinner together and sat at the fire show for an hour or so egging on the participants! We met Ali, Arwan, Eva and Justina there too! So in the end it was a big group of us which was nice.

Once the fire show started to wrap up, a few of us went to a place called Reggae in the town. It was Muay Thai boxing! I wasn’t sure at first as I didn’t want to see anyone get hurt, or especially bleed from being hit. But Muay Thai seems a bit less aggressive than boxing and in the end I loved it! They even let tourists fight against each other for free buckets. My favourite was the two brave girls who stood in the ring and fought eacother whilst everyone watched the two fair haired girls in a notoriously male environment. I was proud!

We ended the night around 11:30 and was showered and in bed by 12. It was such an amazing few days in Koh Phi Phi. I wouldn’t have changed it.

Yesterday we left the gorgeous beaches of the south and boarded a flight up north to Chiang Mai. It was one of the first times I felt like the backpacker life has started. Leaving the place we first started to feel was connected to us, to coming to a completely new land (well sort of!)

We spent the morning in the cutest antique shop/coffee shop/library. It really was my sort of place, filled with organised chaos and then a super jazzy atmosphere selling great food, drinks and atmosphere.

We stayed there for hours and hours researching and booking some next parts of our trip. My eyes were exhausted.

Arriving back at the hostel to collect our bags, we played a quick game of pool and jumped in a taxi bus to the airport in Krabi. Halfway through our journey, 8 school kids swung on and caught a lift with our driver. They laughed and chatted the whole way- teenage girls are literally all the same level of annoying wherever you go. As Dyan and I got off, they all giggled “byeee” in their best English accent. Thank goodness we got off.

Our flight was sooo easy. The airport was tiny and we even took off slightly early. There was some nasty turbulence on the flight though, I really am starting to hate small planes, they’re like tin cans in the sky.

Landing was easy and we got a tuk tuk to our hostel. It was late when we arrived and so we only took a little walk around the streets. We chose to stay in the old town as this is where everyone says to stay, but it was completely dead! We weren’t sure if we were in the right place as it was just 6 people and about 6 rats (huge and horrible!). A mango sticky rice later and we got into our beds. The beds here are lovely and I had the best nights sleep in ages.

Today we are going to do some washing (everything beachy of mine absolutely stinks from the sea) and everything else just sweaty! We saw a little laundry place where the monks were doing their washing, so we will head there!