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THAILAND THE LAND OF LADYBOYS, BEAUTIFUL BEACHES AND SUN
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Welcome to Thailand...
The Friendship Bridge - the bridge between Laos and Thailand bridging the Mekong River.
Valou and Richard - the French lady and British chap cycling around the world for 7 months. We met them at the border waving their Carnet de Passage in order to get through. |
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The Thai numberplate
Thai money, the bhat, which comes in the form of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1000 denominations. At 2005 exchange rates 70 bhat = £1. |
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PHIMAI
Pransat Hin Phimai is located on the Khorat Plateau in the northeast, the driest region of Thailand with temperatures soaring to 40oC
This temple is one of the ancient outposts of the Khmer Empire positioned on the Khorat plains
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BEAST IN BANGKOK
Riding through the streets of Bangkok on the roof of the Beast - the only way to keep cool in the searing heat
The kite competition on Sanam Luang - a competition that runs for 1 month and kite flyers from around the world come to compete
A time to meditate away from the busy life of Bangkok
The amulet market in Bangkok is held every Sunday. Over 90% of the population are said to carry an amulet to protect them. They are so popular that there are monthly magazines dedicated to them.
The King of Thailand is loved and very highly revered by his people. There are posters and statues of him and his Queen everywhere. |
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The Grand Palace, Bangkok
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The drive to Ko Samui
The race for the ferry
5.59pm - the ferry leaves in 1 minute
The last on the last boat of the day and we are off to Ko Samui!
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KO SAMUI
Ko Samui, the coconut island situated off Thailand's east coast in the Gulf of Thailand. Golden beaches, aquamarine seas, granite boulders rising bulbously from the sea and the island culture of Margaritas and sun tans.
The Buddhist holy protection for all sea faring vessels. You cannot point your feet towards the front of the boat as you offend Buddha!
There had been a big storm a few days before we arrived and there was lots of sea dwelling animals that had been washed up on the beach including this sea slug and lots of jellyfish. |
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Samui Petrol Stations
The Beast was given a well earned rest on Ko Samui and swapped for a smaller more petrol guzzling version! Due to the large number of mopeds and motorbikes on the island the petrol stations are quite small!! If we stopped to fill up the Beast we would probably clear out half the island's petrol supply! |
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Our beach hut with bathroom, bed, ceiling fan and a 1 minute walk to the sea - a steal at 300 Baht a night (£4) |
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The Beach barbie
On the star strewn beach we set up camp to enjoy an amazing barbeque with to limed fresh red snapper, spicy potato salad and lots of Sang Som (Thai Whiskey) and coke!
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Beastly Diving
Alexis and Greg decided to take advantage of the stopping time and do a diving course to become qualified divers. Thailand is the cheapest place in the world to do the PADI course and pretty hospitable water temperatures with an average of 28oC!
We were instructed and stopped from drowning by the capable Brian from Liverpool.
Pictures courtesy of Brian Clague, master underwater photographer!
The waters around Ko Tao, 70km to the north of Ko Samui, have an amazing array of fish, algae and corals. This Moray Eel was ready to have a go at as us as we swished our way past.
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Tony and Fleur showing us the Ko Samui way to eat... in this particular case at an all you can eat buffet for only 89 Baht (£1.25) |
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Our Thai tailors who made the most beautiful suits for us. Only the best Armani suits for us! |
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FULL MOON PARTY ON KO PANGNAN
The Full Moon Party was started on Haad Rin Beach in 1992 when a group of ravers decided to have a party on the beach next to the Paradise Bungalows and then meet up to do it all again a month later.
In low season there can be 8,000 people on the beach with numbers swelling to over 35,000 in the high season.
The beach is heaving with people all standing next to the bars which have enormous speakers pumping tunes out until the early hours of the morning.
The Bucket. A social way to enjoy a drink of Sang Som (thai whiskey), coke and red bull with several straws to share (if you want to) and wnsure that you get into the full swing of the Full Moon Party. Red Bull in Thailand is not the normal European variety as it is laced with amphetamines.
Greg being painted up in some party paint that glows in the black lights of the nightclubs along the beach
Well....???!?!
The Straw Man
A bit of early morning bathing as the sun comes up over Ko Pangnan
The boat trip home for a new hungover Rasta! |
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After a few more days to recover from the epic full moon party we caught the ferry back to mainland Thailand and the start of our journey south to Malaysia
Adriano enjoying a little foot massage on the ferry either that or enjoying wearing a skirt... |
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THAI ANIMALS
There are some rather large cockroaches in Thailand - this one was about 3cm long.
Toads wander around at night
Wall lizards munch their way through the mosquito population
Geckos bark out their distinctive gek-oooh call across the darkness and hunt insects to larger animals including snakes
There are some very big beetles wandering around |
