Jo Day's 2013 Career Break Blog: Just like the brochure

On Friday 20^th Sept we did an 11 hour coach trip back to Bangkok from Siem Reap. Bangkok to Bangkok in a month via northern Thailand, Laos, Vietnam & Cambodia. Some of the drive days in Calypso were long. The 14h Varanasi fiasco we’ll never forget. Hours looking at the same scenery across western China deserts. But our longest drive days were in SE Asia. It was too fast for me. I was in need of a beach week in this lovely hot climate. 2 full days at Jungle Beach in Vietnam was not long enough.

Anyway, second time around in Bangkok. I ate red snapper again from the same cheap restaurant. Bought a snorkel & mask from the 2^nd hand stall. Had a look along the seedy Pat pong night market. Decided not to see a ping pong show as the young girls were probably forced into this seedy trade due to family poverty. Instead managed to catch a glimpse of what Bangkok is infamous for by watching a tourist lady boy show. Funnily enough called the Calypso Lady Boy Show. It was crap, but the blokes definitely looked female! They should have done a catwalk show where they get to strut their stuff as they looked really good. The singing & dancing show just didn’t cut it at all.

Blokes

On the way back we learnt why taxi drivers don’t like using the meter in SE Asia. Flat rate of 200 to 350 Bhat was the going rate taxi drivers were offering to get back to the hotel. I was adamant we should find a driver willing to use the meter. We did. The grand total for 4 of us came to 91 Bhat. They really do rip-off westerners.

Sun 22^nd went to Damnoen Saduak tourist floating market early in the morning.

At about 5.30pm on Sunday 22^nd the Odyssey Overlanders began to dwindle. We said goodbye to Kelly & Hayden who wanted to fly to Sumatra, Indonesia before getting home to New Zealand after 4 years away. It was sad to say goodbye in the Erawan House hotel lobby. It was sad Warren left us in Kolkata on Mon 19^th Aug. It was a sad occasion again.

The rest of us squelched through the heavy rain with all our rucksacks to an overnight coach taking us to beach week.

The coach trip was not very comfortable. I don’t really want to do that again. There was no chance of any sleep on the half reclining seats. Mary was dropped off at 1am to get a ferry to the island of Ko Tao. The rest of us ended up at a truck stop near Surat Thani at 4.30am. It did not look like the kind of place Virgin Holidays or Thomas Cook would send British holiday makers on their way to a long haul Thai Island holiday! I guess we got the overlanding experience. At 7.45am we were put on another coach & ended up at a place called Don Sak pier. We all got on a ferry in the lovely bright sunshine at 9.45am.

Yvonne had booked a room (thanks Yvonne ‘cos I did nothing), at a hotel she had stayed at before in Lamai Beach, Ko Samui. The ferry docked on Ko Samui at 11.15am. Those of us staying on this island disembarked & got on a pick-up truck with benches. The rest stayed on the ferry & headed for Ko Pha-Ngan. At 12noon we arrived at our hotel. It had been a long adventurous (good) journey. The hotel was lovely. Well done Yvonne. Best accommodation of the journey so far. The pool was fab. The buffet b’fast great. Power shower. Dark curtains. Free Wi-Fi in room. All costing me £15 per night. I’d definitely revisit this place.

I, Yvonne, Dave, Al, Fi, Becks, Lou & Pernille all stayed in the Lamai Beach resort at different hotels. It was a good place with a cheap night food market. Ideal. I spent the next 5 days sunbathing by the pool & on the beach. Great.

On Wed 25^th Sept Dave, Fi, Al & I did the Samui Island tour. This involved a boat trip, sea kayaking, hiking, snorkelling, swimming, lunch & jumping off the boat around Angthong national Marine Park. It looked just like the brochure pictures of Thailand’s beaches.