Day 23
Arrived in Phangan - not what I expected at all. Samui, Tao and Phi Phi had all been pretty luxurious and as Phangan is the notorious party island, I imagined it to be a bit of dive, but I couldn't be more wrong! Was just as, if not more, beautiful than the others! Absolutely baking hot as well. Got a tuk tuk to the hotel which was not so good. The driver was SO rude! You could tell he was money orientated as it was 100 baht a head and he was literally cramming in as many people as humanely possible into the back which made it so hot, sweaty and uncomfortable! After a horrible 45 minute journey - we arrived at the hostel. It's called Echo Beach Backpackers It's sweet but not worth £15 a night. That sounds so snobby! But we are used to paying maximum £10 a night and that is for fairly luxurious private hotel rooms. This was a bog-standard hostel - sharing a room with 10 other people. However, I imagine they whizz the prices right up for the Full Moon Party. Suzy went to see Liv, so me and the girls just mooched around the hostel. It does have a lovely lounging area overlooking the beach with good music and a nice bar. So we all just chilled, read, updated diaries etc. We started to get ready to go out, but my stomach still wasn't feeling right. Ever since that dreaded day, I've been able to eat about five mouthfuls of food. I walked down to 7/11 to get a toastie for dinner. OH MY GOD!! I am SO angry that I have only just discovered them! They are honestly delicious! And only 25 Baht each which is 50p! This is literally all I'm going to eat for the rest of my time here!
Much to my reluctance, we started drinking at the bar. I ordered a long island iced tea - but just the smell of it made me want to throw up! Decided I would still go out because A) I didn't want to miss out and B) didn't want to be in the hostel room by myself all night. We went to a Sramanora Waterfall party which was actually really cool. There was loads of tuk tuks pulled up outside the entrance of the jungle, then you have to walk about 15 minutes before you actually reach the waterfall. On the walk I could just hear the loud, banging music and see flashing lights. Everyone was spread out and there was so many bright, UV colours everywhere, alongside about 15 fire dancers! The girls got shroomshakes but I don't believe it for a minute. 500baht is around a tenner, and I reckon the girls just got completely ripped off. We danced for a bit and I was enjoying it, but the girls wanted to go to a pool party at a hotel on the other side of the island - so we left after only an hour or so. The pool party was cool - more clubby music, so lots of dancin etc. I'd had fun at the waterfall party, but I was so tired now and this was the sort of thing you had to be drunk for. Asked Suze if she wanted to leave and she did, so we both got a tuk tuk back. In the tuk tuk there was an absolutely smashed girl! She just had her head hanging out and would be sick every now and again - next to her was a sleezy Irish guy telling her how sexy she was. I was slightly concerned, but her friend said they were altogether. What is with these gross Irish men everywhere! Got home and fell straight asleep with all my clothes and make up on, that's how tired I was!
Day 24
We had a lovely wake up call this morning, of somebody violently being sick in the toilet next to our dorm - rank. The other people in hostel room are actually really sweet! There is ten of us all together - so us five girls then a big bald egg, who is lovely, very intimidated my girls as he won't make eye contact with any of us - but very sweet nonetheless. There is one Frenchman who looks like Lee Mead, who is very polite, but is constantly asleep or Skyping his girlfriend so haven't really spoken to him. There is a boy from Bristol who is okay - spitting image of Macklemore but a bit cocky. Then there is another french guy who is hilarious. Very chatty and parties A LOT. Finally there is a very odd one, from Brighton who refuses to look, let alone talk to anyone.
Spent most of the day chilling by Liv's pool - so nice to see Emma! They're both SO brown, so unfair! Had lunch at their hotel (can't believe how nice it is!). After that, we took a little walk into town. Everyone is so tired and hot and bothered - so we didn't stay for long at all. I bought a cute necklace with my name on which I love! Didn't do much for the rest of the day - chilled on my bed and read etc. Got ready (again, fairly reluctantly) and didn't make much of an effort! Started drinking at the bar which was fun - met some Argentinan guys who were so annoying! After, we'd had a fair few drinks, we got a got tuk tuk to the jungle party - which was visually similar to the waterfall party - just a lot bigger and brighter! Bumped into the Phi Phi Boys which was nice! Phil was hilarious as always! Kirsty lost her flip flop in a swamp - so we spent a good forty-five minutes looking for it, we eventually ditched it and went to party on! We danced in front of the speaker for a good three hours! Found Suzy who had met a lovely Italian man called Massimo who she was smooching. We bumped into Flossy who said Jodie had been spiked and gone back to the hotel cos she was so ill. I was SO worried about Jodie, so we all got a taxi back to make sure she was okay. She was fast asleep, so we stayed up chatting for a bit then fell asleep.
Need to write about Full Moon Party..
Day 25
Day 26
We all woke up feeling pretty horrendous this morning - the showers still aren't working so can't even get clean! Had to wash off all my UV paint in the sea! Suze and I went for a nice long walk a long the beach and reflected on the night and holiday as whole. We got back after a couple of hours and the showers were working again - rejoice! I literally soaked in the longest, hottest shower ever and scrubbed myself clean! felt amzing! Then I lay in on the beach all day doing nothing! It started to pour at about 5, so I moved inside and read my book on my bed.
Day 27
We got to Chaing Mai after a very long night, at around 5am. Had to moments of sheer panic... Firstly, I was waiting for my bag to be chucked out of the bottom of the bus, however it just didn't come. The bus driver didn't speak English and just shrugged, pointed in the empty hold all and closed the boot. I was absolutely devastated, but then, SO LUCKILY, Kirsty saw it on another mans back, just as he was getting into his taxi! It turned out to be a genuine mistake, our bags did look fairly similar and he was obviously exhausted and delerious from the eleven hour bus journey! Secondly, our minibus never came to pick us up. We were sat at the bus station waiting for an hour, and entually they just asked where we were going and squeezed us on a bus and asked the driver to do a detour. Arrived at a hotel named BMP where all the tours leave from and this is where we would meet our fellow treckers. I can't believe how friendly everyone here is compared to Bangkok. The staff were so lovely and welcoming and also SO interesting! We had a delicious breakfast of omlettes, french toast, eggs, bacon and tea. At this point, I was slightly concerned for my life, knowing I was about to embark on a 40 mile treck with about 40 minutes sleep - I was exhausted. Went for a quick swim and shower to freshen up before the treck.