Got up early and we were ready and waiting for the bus at 7.30am! At quarter to eight we were starting to wonder where it was, and Ben was starting to panic! I was sure it would turn up, and sure enough it did, rather late at 8am! Oh well! It was another mini-van, and I really think these mini-van drivers expect us to have no luggage! It was a bit of a squash getting it all on, but eventually he slammed the boot shut and it was in, thankfully not on the roof again! Next we had to squash into the van, no joke! It seemed that there was one other couple on the bus and the rest were local’s hitching a lift, so were far too many on the bus! At final count there were 16 people for 11 seats! However, they did make sure the paying customers had their own seats, but needless to say it was hot and overcrowded! The other couple were Dutch, the second Dutch couple we have met so far, the first being on our jungle trek. They were really nice, and were not at all impressed with the mini-van situation, especially when we realised it was going to be for the whole 3 hour journey to Trang! They were talking to us about many things, one of them being the political situation in Holland, which is very interesting and worrying. Funnily enough we saw some news about it on BBC World today! After 3 hours we got to Trang, where we were shown to our taxi that was taking us to the ferry port. We were on the 4pm ferry, but there was one at 1.30, so we asked if we could get on that. They said if we got there on time, so we were really hoping we would! It was a very hot journey, no air con, so windows down, which offered little relief and felt a bit like turning a hair dryer on in your face, for 2 hours! We pulled up at 1.25pm and ran in to see if we had made it, and luckily it seemed we were on the 1.30 ferry! Had to get our passports stamped as we were leaving Thailand and entering Malaysia! The ferry crossing was fine, just an hour and we were there! We knew we had to get to a cash point before we headed to the town we were staying in, as no cash points there, so needed to get plenty of cash for whole visit. The cash point said not enough funds, which was worrying! We then tried a different cash point, and then a different card, and still the same! We were worried we had had our bank account emptied by fraudsters! Saw a Starbucks with free wifi, so sat there to have a look at online banking! Panic over, money all still there, and plenty of it! But worrying that we had no way of getting cash, and we needed some! Had a little, from changing our left over Bahts, but not enough! I tried my other cards, and Ben tried all his, and nothing! Ben was getting super stressed and worried! I was more calm, saying we can’t be the only people who’ve turned up and had a problem getting cash out, so asked the Starbucks guys where the bank was. Unfortunately it was a 20 minute taxi ride away! I had one last attempt at the cash point and tried a lower amount, and hey presto, it worked!!!! Hooray! Suddenly realised we had been trying to take out more than the withdrawal limit! Silly Billies! Panic over, got more cash out and we were on our way!
Got a taxi to the Palms Guest House where we’d tried to call, and she was fully booked! Gutted! As we walked towards her next recommendation we saw a sign hanging on a wall, a room with TV, fridge, air con & hot shower, only £12 a night, so asked to have a look. It was strange, as it was a bit like a flat, a lounge area, a bedroom and bathroom, but it was pretty grotty. The bathroom was awful, and the toilet had obviously not been cleaned in months. It was a basic place and if it had been clean it would have been fine, but it was filthy. Decided to look at the other recommendation, but they were fully booked also. Had to go back to the gross place!
We went out to explore and walked along the beach at sunset, it was beautiful. Quite busy with lots and lots of people around, and many bars and cafes, yay! Not a ghost town like Koh Lanta. We had a drink and watched the sunset, and then headed to a sea food restaurant we had seen on the way. They had regular set menu food, and then also sea food you could buy per 100g, Lobster, huge tiger prawns etc, so we decided to have chicken satay and spring rolls for starters, and then four of the massive tiger prawns with some rice and chicken with cashews. Ben went up to pick the tiger prawns, and came back looking a little sheepish! The tiger prawns had cost nearly £20! We both laughed and hoped they were good!!!! They were absolutely huge, about the size of my forearm, no joke! They were also REALLY delicious! We needn’t have ordered the other food, as there was so much meat on them! It was a really good meal and we enjoyed it! The whole meal including drinks was only £30, all that other food and drink was only £10!
Went back to the grotty place, and got online and skyped for a bit with Carol which was nice, although internet connection was a bit dodgy! We then had a look at other budget accommodation, and decided to move down to the next beach, where there was an excellent guest house in the book, with a great website where we could book online! It was still just a basic looking place, but you know that the ones listed in the book will be well kept and clean. Made our reservation, and slept better knowing we’d be leaving the grot!
Sarah
When we woke up on Wednesday the sun was shining and we made the most of it by heading to the pool for some sunbathing! I was happily reading my book enjoying the sun, while Ben was in the pool trying to break his personal records for holding his breath under water! The day before he had managed 1minute45 seconds, and was hoping to get to two minutes! He spent a long time under the water getting longer and longer, until he finally hit 2mins5seconds! The things you do on holiday!
After a nice morning by the pool we headed into town for some lunch. We headed back to the hotel for an afternoon of planning! We spent about two hours online, and me being Ben's secretary taking notes and writing all the plans down! We booked our bus and ferry for the next day to Pulau Langkawi, a Malaysian island, leaving at 7.30am and arriving at 5pm. We tried to ring ahead to book at a guest house we read about in our guide book, but couldn't get through, so thought we'd chance it anyway. We booked our travel right up until the 17th October,various flights and destinations!
Later on we headed out for dinner at a place recommended by the dive school. They served good pizza and were really friendly. It seems that the beach is starting to come alive at the high season begins, this was infact one of those lovely beach bars we had read about in the book. The lady who served us was really chatty and spent a long time talking to us, her name was 'banana', or glueye in Thai, which translates as banana! The owner was also really friendly, and it turned out he was from Perth, and was able to give us lots of info for when we visit there!
We enjoyed our last evening on Koh Lanta, ready to move on the next morning!
Ben was awake early this morning, and it was blowing a hooley! There was quite a storm raging and we thought the diving was probably going to be cancelled! Got ready anyway, and the weather calmed down a bit and we did go! The boat was great, had free drinks, hot and cold, breakfast on board, and snacks. They had pot noodles after our first dive, and then proper lunch after the second, it was all very nice! Unfortunately the sea was very choppy! The first part of the journey I felt fine, and Ben was feeling a bit rough, but as soon as we had to go downstairs and get our gear on I started to feel rough! Luckily we were getting in the sea and it passed! Getting in was a totally different story than when we dived at Koh Tao, which was always calm and still! The waves were rolling up and down aro
und us, we had to jump off the back of the boat and swim out of the way, and then it was very choppy waiting to descend! It was a very different experience than diving in Koh Tao. The diving was good and I really enjoyed it. We didn’t see anything massive, but it was nice to be just me, Ben and the Dive master, and we were able to stay down for 49minutes as we are both quite good on our air, Ben is a little better than me, but I am not half bad! Getting back on the boat was also very different than in Koh Tao!!!! The waves were huge and the boat was going up and down, and climbing up the ladder was fun! Had lots of help, the captain nearly went overboard next to me, but we were all fine in th
e end!
The second dive was 61 minutes, so I hit my first hour long dive! We saw a real 
nemo, the right colour and everything! We ended up seeing quite a few in the end! We also saw a big crown of thorns starfish,two BIG cuttlefish and a lion fish - see pic (which is really poisonous – so we stayed away, don’t worry Dad!!!!).
We came up and had lunch laid out. At this point I began to feel Really sick! Had to go downstairs as thought I was going to throw up over the side. Did not, thank goodness, but couldn’t stomach lunch! We got back to the dive shop and hung out with the owner who shouted us all a beer. Got delivered back to our hotel and then I finally had time to write the blog, so here we are!
We’re off for dinner in a bit, and then see where the evening takes us! We have decided not to go to Phi Phi, as it seems that the weather will be much of the same, and Rich, our dive master, gave us some good tips! We are hoping to head to an island called Pulau Weh, where the weather should be good and the diving is fantastic! We’re not even sure which country it’s part of, so will have to do some research! We will spend tomorrow investigating our options! Excited to be moving on to somewhere sunnier!
Sarah x
Posted by
Sarah O'Neill
,
06:00
Have now been on Koh Lanta since Sunday, and am just getting round to blogging! In case you are wondering, Koh means island! We have a nice little bungalow, with a terrace balcony with a view of the beach and sea, air con, a hot shower, flushing toilet and a nice infinity swimming pool! Getting here was, shall we say, interesting!
We left our hotel at 8pm on Saturday, and were taken to the pier on the back of a truck. 
The night boat was quite empty as we were early. It was evident that if it filled up it was going to be a tight squeeze! There were just rows and rows of mattresses with small pillows, and numbers painted on the wall above, very close together! If you can make out the mattresses in the photo, it was three to a mattress!!!! It began to fill up more and more, and by nine o’clock, it seemed pretty much at capacity! We both had blokes either side of us, and if you lay on your back, you didn’t even have enough room to put your arms by your side! The man who laid down next to me was like a human radiator, he was emitting heat and I was soooo hot! We both took four of the magic sleeping pills and slept, all be it broken sleep, all the way. At one point I got up for the toilet, and it was such a funny scene, rows and rows of people laying side by side!
The boat docked at 5am, and we had to wait for a truck type vehicle, and they squeezed 11 people plus baggage on it! Short trip to a café, where we then waited for another truck type thing to take us to the bus. We were on the bus a couple of hours, which arrived in the middle of nowhere at a shack, which turned out to be a little rendezvous point for everyone going in their different directions. We then waited for a minibus which took us to Koh Lanta via two ferries!
We got to the hotel, which is very nice, if a little run down and old, but has everything we need and a few luxuries we haven’t had for a while! Soon after we arrived we got to Skype with Ben’s Mum and Dad which was great! Then we asked about what was nearby, and how far it was to walk to the town etc. Unfortunately we seem to be a bit far out, and so the only option was to hire a scooter! Ben and I were both apprehensive about this, and were never intending to hire one at all, but it is the only option here, so had to! We got given a red helmet and a silver helmet, a quick guide on how to use it, and that was it! No need to show driving licence or anything! Ben got to grips with it for a minute in the gravel car park, and then I got on, and off we went! Ben did really well, and was cautious and sensible, and thankfully we survived! We had a little explore and found that a lot of places were shut! It is certainly the end of the low season here, some things are beginning to open, but a lot of it is still closed. We think we came at the wrong time! We walked along our beach later, which the book described as having loads of little beach bars and a really nice atmosphere, but as we walked along, we saw they were all boarded up and hardly anything was open! Decided to go back to the town for tea, and tried to find ‘the Brit café’ who were showing the football, we drove for ages and thought we must have missed it, so turned back, but got all the way back to nearly the beginning, where we had to turn onto the long dark dirt track towards out hotel, when we came to a standstill and realised we had run out of petrol! Thankfully a nice man came to help us, and he was actually selling bottles of petrol on the side of the road, amazing! After he put a couple in our tank, we set off again and went to a real petrol station and filled up completely! We were so fortunate we didn’t break down on the dirt road to the hotel in the dark! Red top and Silver Bullet set off again! We found the café in time for half time of the footy and had some great grub! Headed back to the hotel and had such a good night’s sleep!!!
Had a nice lie in, and then I went and broke the tap in the bathroom! It had obviously been botched fixed over the years and the top just came clean off! They sent some guys to fix it, and as it was raining we sat and read. After they’d left had a shower, and water started spurting out of the pipe, so I had to run to reception and get them to fix it all! In the end we had to move rooms to next door!
We went to the town for lunch, and then checked out a dive place and booked on a dive for Tuesday. We rented a DVD player for the room as there are no English speaking channels, and got the next series of Dexter to watch when it’s raining! Had our dinner in the hotel and later I got to Skype with Mum and Emma, and later Dad! It’s so nice to speak face to face, it makes us feel much closer to home than we really are!
Well, I haven’t blogged since Tuesday, and I am missing it! Although not an awful lot to tell, as we have settled into lazy beach and pool days, when the weather is behaving itself!
Since Ben doesn’t seem inclined to blog again just yet, I can tell you that when he was on his Deep dive, he saw . . . a green turtle!!! I am sooooo jealous! Then, to cap it all, he went to a different dive spot the next day and saw another one! Well, I am not impressed! The photos and videos of it are Amazing! I will try to put up a video, but a photo will have to do if I can’t!
I am writing this blog offline in a word document, and hoping to paste it into the blog when I can get online again. We have finished diving at Scuba Junction, so can’t use their internet anymore, and the new place we’re staying at charges, so we have bought some internet time, but trying to be canny by writing it now, and loading it up later. I hope it works, or this will have been a wasted time!
So, we finally moved out of our wooden shack, and I am gutted as I meant to take a photo, and forgot. We moved just down the road, to another bungalow, still wooden, but with a concrete bathroom. It has a flushing toilet, the sink is plumbed in properly and the pillows are lush! It also has a pool. It is only 3 pounds more a night, and I think all of that is totally worth it! The shower is still cold, and I think we have both become more acclimatised, so the shower is no longer refreshing, it’s just cold! But you can’t have everything! I must tell you that since we moved into our slightly more upmarket place I have seen more wildlife in it, than in the previous bungalow. Nic Boyns, I thought of you last night, when a GIGANTIC spider ran across the floor! I ran out and yelled at Ben to get it, it was right by his flipflops on the floor, and it was HUGE, and VERY fast! He was looking around for something to catch it in, he is always so humane, but I was adamant that it wouldn’t be caught, it was too risky, and needed to be killed! He whacked it once, but it ran, fast and went in his bag. He whacked it again, and it was still alive, and was on his hat in the bag, one final whack and it was dead, splatted all against Ben’s hat! Then I was closing the window and a lizard crawled up the side (inside!), never found it, so had to sleep with knowledge it was in here somewhere!
The last few days have been spent on the beach, or by the pool now, there are even sun loungers, which is fab! Unfortunately the weather seems to have taken a turn, and this last week it has rained every day. Mostly in the afternoons, and very heavy for a spell! The sun usually comes out again, but it’s not nearly as hot as it was here our first week. I am a bit disappointed, as this was the week I was going to sort out my tan! It’s getting there, but all the diving has got in the way a bit, and I still have these lovely tan lines where my wetsuit was on my legs! While I am writing this, it has just stopped raining, and we are sat on the porch of our little bungalow, waiting to go out again!
We are now planning our next move, which is to an island called Koh Lanta, in the province of Krabi, where Ben has found us a rather nice looking hotel, for a very reasonable fee! But before we can enjoy a bit of luxury, we have to get there! So, tomorrow at 9pm we get on a night boat (Ben has seen people’s pictures of the ‘night boat’ and was hoping we wouldn’t need to use one, so if he was worried, goodness knows what I’m going to think!), then at 6am we get on a bus, and then at 9am we get on another boat over to the island and get there about 11am. We are going to ring and make reservations at the hotel today, as they will pick us up from the pier and take us to the hotel.
We aren’t sure what the internet situation is there, but will hopefully be online a bit more! Would love to skype with family and friends again soon, it’s been too long! We are off now to book our journey to Koh Lanta, and then hopefully top up the tan a bit before dinner!
Sarah x
So I have now successfully completed my Advanced Diver certification, which means I can now dive to 30m! I had to do two dives on Sunday morning, which was another early start, but they were great! The visibility on the first dive was 30 metres or more, it was beautiful! Had to do a couple of skills, but only bouyancy ones, which were all fine! Had a laid back afternoon, and then got ready for the night dive!
We got into the water as the sun was setting, so that it would get dark gradually, (although still quite fast, not like Britain!) which was nicer, as my eyes got accustomed to the light. We had our computers on our wrist to tell us the dive time, depth and our no decompression limits, and a torch in our hands. It was just me, Gaz and another guy called Jonas, and I must admit, the darker it got, the more I didn't like it! Jonas reminded me of Ben, totally loving it, getting his face down looking under rocks and all sorts, I on the other hand was happy to simply observe from where I was! It was getting darker and darker, until the point where if I looked behind me I couldn't see anything, horrible! I remember looking at my computer and thinking, "oh no, we've only been down here 12 minutes!" Most of our dives have been between 32 and 36 minutes, so I knew I had a while to go. Tried to relax and enjoy it, and not freak out!
We did see some cool stuff, three different sting rays, all moving about as it was night time! Saw a clown fish (Like nemo, but a different coloured one) in his anemone, which was bright blue, and I really enjoyed that! When we'd been down for 22 mins I remember thinking, "just last for ten more minutes then it'll all be over!" However, that was not to be, and this ended up being my longest dive yet at 48 minutes!!!! I was proud I had done it, and had not run out of air with the panic, or caused a fuss, but I didn't not really enjoy it! I think Gaz was a bit disappointed and amazed that I didn't enjoy it, as he and Jonas obviously did, but I couldn't tell a lie! Was glad to be back on land that night! Ben enjoyed a night of football which worked out pretty well!
The next day (Mon) Ben watched his videos for his deep and Nitrox course while I did my academics. We went for lunch, and then I headed out for my final two dives. It rained torrentially for the afternoon, so Ben did not get to sunbathe again, seems the afternoon rain has thwarted his plans on more than one occassion! We had no rain for our first week here, hope that it's not here to stay!
The first dive was great, I was diving with Alan who we did our Open Water course with, and we were given slates with all the fish and coral pictures on and had to try and identify the things we saw. I really enjoyed this and we saw some pretty cool stuff.
The final dive was our Perfect Bouyancy dive, where we learnt how to do sommersaults and go through hoops etc under the water. I seemed to be ok at this, and was able to do a sommersault whilst circling through a hoop! Enjoyed the final dive and felt like I was really gaining confidence (for daytime dives at least!) and hope to do a few fun dives in the next few days.
Ben and I went for dinner in a place that was showing 'The day after tomorrow', which I didn't remember very well, so was happy to watch. After over a week with no TV in our room it was amazing to me how gripped I was by the movie! Had a relatively early night, as Ben was starting his next course at 7.15am the next day (Tues / Today!).
He went out this morning, while I lazed around, the weather today has not been great, no rain yet, but overcast (still boiling though!), so no sunbathing! Finished the Posionwood Bible a few days ago, and traded that in for another book, Faceless by Martina Cole, very different, and harrowing, but a good read! I've almost finished that one, so will have to get another new one, although the bookshop here is not nearly as good as the one back in Chiang Mai!
Will let Ben tell you about his deep dive and what he saw (I am VERY jealous!) he has his last day tomorrow and we might finally be done, and be able to do some fun dives together! We are probably going to move onto a place called Krabbi next, and have looked at some accomodation, that has a big comfy bed, Air Con, a fridge, TV and a swimming pool, and it's still only 12 pounds a night, so REALLY looking forward to that!!!!!!! I must admit, the currunt accomdation is beginning to grate on me now, so cannot wait for Krabbi!
Off to finish my book on the beach now!
Sarah x
I've been bullied into posting something myself! Sarah has been doing such a good job!
So we are currently on Koh Tao in Thailand. It's my kind of place! Clear blue sky, crystal clear seas and soft white sandy beaches. Oh and the beer is cheap!
We've been here for a week and I can't see us leaving anytime soon. I quite like living in our wooden hut by the beach! Some air con might be good next time though!
I have quickly become addicted to scuba diving! Spent the first four days doing our PADI open water course, loved it! You're only allowed to go to 18 meters with this qualification. Is that deep enough for me? I think not! So the next day I started my Advanced diver course, this allows you to go to 30 meters. It took two days 5 deep dives, including a night dive and a wreck dive, which were amazing!
Having completed the advanced diver, it enabled me to go on a special dive arranged by the dive school to a place called Chumphon. A deep dive site well known for it's Bull sharks and Whale sharks. Oh and a place called Barracuda rock, I DON'T LIKE BARRACUDAS!!!! One day dive and one night dive later had I seen any of the above fish? Yep! Only bloody Barracudas though! Thousands of the chuffers! They grow up to two meters long, and their teeth are massive! Bit gutted no sharks, plenty of time left to see one.
Advanced diver done! Enough for me? Nope! Deep enough? Nope! So i start my deep diver and nitrox course tomorrow. This will allow me to go to 40M. This is the limit for recreational diving. It also gives me more chance of seeing something big!
Enough about me! Sarah started her advanced course this morning. Amazing! I never thought she would complete the open water course! She's done amazingly well, You all probably know that all of this is light years away from her comfort zone. I haven't heard the moose call once! I don't think there's been a time yet on this holiday where I've let her relax! Maybe next week?
I'm loving being away! we've done so much in three weeks! I wonder what we'll do next? Just got to get to Singapore by the 18th of October.
I think that's enough from me!
Hope all is well!
Ben
