Back in Bangkok!

Well I would just like to congratulate myself on a happy 9 month unemployment anniversary :) Yay! The poorer I get the happier I feel! Anyhoo - just arrived back in Bangkok after an overnight bus from Ko Lanta. Had a very chilled and relaxing 2 days at a Ko Lanta - island in Krabi Province. Stayed at a very reasonable resort, with Ana & her 2 mates. We stayed in cute Bamboo bungalows.. Basically all I did was walk on the beach, drink some beers, read my book, stuff my face with thai food and swim in the pool. The resort was conveniently located right on the beach, so it was just glorius sitting on my deck chair and chilling out. It was just what I needed before the final leg home.
Ana unfortunately is not doing too well and when I left was making her way to Phuket to a larger hospital after visiting the small local one on Ko Lanta. It looks as though the pain in her stomach might actually be a bleeding kidney or something else. I feel pretty guilty, as I was the last person to see her before she met her ill fate! I left her merrily chatting to some Thai dudes at the bar we were at, and then the next morning she looked like she been hit by a bus! It's still a mystery what happened... and she thinks she must have just fallen really hard, or been play fighting with the guys...She kept on harping on about Muay Thai that eve (!?).
Why do bad things happen when people come out with me? Am I a catalyst for trouble?
Saying that though - I was still pretty sober when I left, and the reason I left was because I didnt want to have a crazy night! Oh Ana... poor little gypsey :( here's wishing her a speedy recovery. We had a lovely time together just chatting and chilling out though, so I was very glad to see her none the less.
I am staying in Bangkok for one day, I arrived at 6am this morning and made my way to my hostel by bus - really I am starting to impress myself with my ability to navigate my way around foreign cities. I was the ONLY foreign person on the whole 30 min bus journey...living like a local :) So far my thai vocabulary includes: Hello/Good Bye, check please!, Thank you and NO problem!
My overnight bus journey to Bangkok was pretty cool - I slept pretty much the whole way, as I secured the last row of seats at the back of the bus. I just stretched out and had a nice nap. My nap was encouraged by some codeine laced painkillers which I found with delight in my bag. Yay for narcotics. Today one of my missions is to go and hunt for some valium - you can get it here cheap cheap, yippee! Flights from here onwards are going to be a breeze.
So this is the last of my journeys for a little while! I am going back to SA - hitting Jozi for a 30th birthday and catch up with mates... ZIDE you better be planning a big one. Then I am back in lovely exciting Port Elizabeth, St Francis and Hogsback for a few weeks for Christmas with the family.
I am planning my next destination now...South America! I have plenty to arrange because much has changed about this leg of my trip! I was orginally flying to Sau Paulo at the end of month to re-unite with my now EX Brazilian boyfriend, but that relationship sadly dissolved in the duration of my travels (get out the violins people, get them out). So now I need to go back to the drawing board - check my funds, make some new itinerary plans and set off on my own. A little heavier on the pocket it will be, a little more challenging not having a Portuguese/Spanish speaking partner but I am sure I will be much richer for the experience! I am just travelling until the last of my funds is up... I might not have very long in South America, and I am just going to see how far I can get with what I have left! Thats the PLAN for now - but this might change, God' knows every other plan I have had has changed this trip so far..
They say money cant buy you love, but looking around here in Bangkok - it seems to buy you pretty much close enough... Loving you long time from Bangkok.. Gypsy Regdelp signing out.

Still in Thailand - cant leave!

Well I am supposed to be in Mumbai... but after much thought I decided to give my brief stint in India a miss... I just couldnt face having to deal with big cities, after spending a super relaxing week on the beach! I headed back to Railay and decided to stay...Okay so I lost a flight and rebooked one for nothing, but as my mother always says: "Its just paper - money- its just paper!"...thanks mom :) And it all worked out for the good - because there I was bobbing in the ocean, and I heard my name being called...none other than a friend from London who I used to work with - Ana, who worked at the Hollywood with me! how random!
Anyway, that cemented the deal, and I am now still sitting in Thailand! Ana is travelling with 2 friends of hers, and that night we went out for a "few harmless beers"...
Anyhoo famous last words. Shots were had. Thai Whiskey buckets got drunk. It didnt end well... I left Ana at a bar, as I had booked a rock climbing/ cliff jumping tour the following day... SO the next morning when I saw Ana, she looked like she had been in a bar brawl... its all a bit of a mystery, but she has bruises all over her legs and arms, and we suspect that she has pulled all the muscles along her side! That fateful evening I last saw her chatting to some dudes about Muay Thai Boxing - so it looks like Ana might have tried a bit of boxing with the locals!!! So Ana is a little worse for wear at the moment....
About my rock climbing tour..Well its a day out on a boat and a small group of about 10 of us made out towards some of the smaller islands, where you climb up the rocks and then jump off various ledges 5m, 10m, and even a mind boggling 25m high!! Its all free climbing so no harness or anything because if you fall you just land up in the water.. It was a lovely day, and it was 2 of us girls and 8 very buff looking guys. The jumping bit I wasnt worried about - but rock climbing requires some serious strength!! Us girls gave it a good crack but after about 45mins of clutching onto a rock like a terrified starfish, I had to throw in the towel of attempting the super high climbs! I managed to at least get a little bit high and lept of the cliff gracefully of course. Rock climbing is bloody hard, and you are supposedly meant to use more of your legs than your arms, but I just couldnt trust JUST my legs to propel me up a sheer cliff face! It was still an awesome day though - as we did some snorkelling, had a lovely lunch on the beach AND I got to perve at the super sexy dudes clambering up the rocks... such muscle definition... it brought a tear of joy to my eye. I got busted by the tour guide taking pervy pictures... GUILLLLLTY! Also watching the boat driver climb up and take the 25m jump was hectic... he literally scuttled up the rocks like some kind of freakish rock monkey and lept off with ease. It was even scary to watch!! One of the guys landed badly and had a pretty slapped up back but other than that no one was hurt.
A good day was had by all, and even with an added bit of adventure in the end when we got stuck in some hectic rainy stormy weather on the way home. We had to sit on the boat and drink coffee until the heavy rains subsided.
So today we headed off by boat/ferry/minivan to the island of Ko Lanta - its Ana her 2 friends (a couple) and I and we are here for 2 nights. Then I make my way to bangkok to come back to SA, via a flight to India!
We are staying at a lovely resort with a gorgeous position overlooking the sea, a lovely pool and very cute rustic bungalows...
I just hope that Ana starts feeling better tomorrow and we can have some fun in the sun... NO RAIN please! It rained just about all of today :(
Thats all from Thailand - Gypsy Regdelp signing out x

Railay & Phi Phi Beach Bliss..

So the last time I wrote I was in Lao - I am now reporting from the stunning Krabi Province..and alot has happened! So in a nutshell: MIssed the border crossing as the slow boat I was on was too bloody slow, had to change all my flights, spend an extra night in the middle of nowhere...Had a massive bout of depression owing to being bed bug bitten, out of pocket, losing a day and just general travel woes... But managed to sort everything out in the end and was on my way to Beautiful Krabi Province, home to some of the most stunning beaches in the world. Sheer luck re-united me with a girl I had met in Chiang Mai previously - Rachel, and she was with a friend Erin - both Americans. Spent an awesome 2 days in Railay with them - sea kayaked, lay on the beach, had some delicious food, had mellow drinks, swam and just chilled out. Had some good quality alone time too and just completely let go of all my stresses! What a nice change from the previous few days. The scenery here is just mind blowing, and on the way here when I first arrived, I got a long tail boat ride for the final leg of the journey - the sun was setting gloriously - bright golden orange, and it was as if every worry I had was setting with the same very sun. Had a bit of a mission trying to find accomodation - literally walked about an hour around in stinking hot heat up and down some serious stairs looking for places that werent going to cost an arm and a leg! Met some nice South Africans on the walk though. Had to settle for a costly but nice place in the end, but managed to move to a cheaper room the second night. Its a resort so its got a pool too which is great. Had some fun nights out - drank a little too much but met some cool people, watched some awesome fire dancing .. Annoyingly loads of couples on romantic getaways- you see them everywhere like vermin...canoodling and all loved up. Makes me hiss... but I suppose it is very romantic after all - heck maybe oneday I'll even come back with some of my cats or something.
The girls had planned a trip to Phi Phi which orginally I wasnt going to do this time, but decided to go with them in the end. It was one of the best decisions I made on my holiday thus far, and I absolutely loved Phi Phi. We booked a ferry to the island and our last morning here was quite eventful. Hungover, running late, we "sprinted" the 20 min walk to the departure point... My Sprinted = shuffled briskly like a odd backpack clad sherpa making alarming wheezing noises and sweating like a pig.. We werent late, and had to still wait another 30 mins before leaving.. The run alomst killed me..
Had a delightful ferry trip and arrived on Phi Phi - my happiness was shortly killed when I realised I had left my entire card wallet tucked under my bed in the last hotel... I kept it there for "safe keeping".. It contained my drivers licence, several important cards and 3 loaded emergency credit/debit cards... GREAT. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME - I literally CANNOT keep things!I was left wondering if I should
A) go back to the hotel which would have taken a day and try luck it was still there or
B) try phone the hotel and explain to the not very fluent receptionist where I had it stashed so they could keep it for me - a little risky, or
C) track down a guy I met who was the only person I knew still staying at railay- he works at a rock climbing place and see if he could try and get it for me and keep it safe?! or finally
D) Just cancel the cards and leave it all.
I then remembered the sheer horror of having to get another drivers licence again in SA, its the 3rd one I would have had to get in less than 2 years so I decided I had to try and make a mission to get it back! Anyway, decided to go with the combination of plans C & D... cancelled all the cards as a first precautionary measure - fortunately I did still have my main bank card... I then had to track down the dude - I knew the name of the rock climbing school, so googled it and made a phone call. Spoke to the boss, and awkwardly asked if there was a guy called Mike working there. He totally thought I was a stalker and when a confused Mike who I barely know eventually called me back, he too thought I was a stalker. Explained the stitch to Mike - lovely Ozzie guy, who went back to the hotel a few times and finally managed to get in the room - and got my wallet!! It was still there! Random... dinner for Mike on me! Funny that I have a strange man runing errands for me - but its travellers comradery for you!
Annoying that I cancelled the cards - but murphy's law!! Anyway - another lesson learn on Sarah's trip - the list is growing...
Back on Phi Phi things were pumping - being one of Thailands top destinations the little island is certainly pumping. Again beautiful scenery but also very touristy. Had to trek a bit for our room - the name UP HILL COTTAGE should have sounded the alarm bells... Again arrived drenched in sweat.. I have sweated so much here, its revolting.. I must honk most of the time too - but I am at least not alone!
We had a wonder around a bit, had a lovely swim and then plonked at a beach bar where we met some lovely English ladies. 3 of them - 2 sisters and a friend of theirs. We all teamed up for the remainder of our time in Phi Phi and we just had such a fun amazing time. Loads of laughs, and just a lovely bunch of girls to hang around with! Phi Phi has a banging night life - there are literally DOZENS of bars in the town and stunning ones on the beach - all with Chill out areas, fire shows, pumping music and lots of sweaty dancing bodies! Its customary to drink Buckets here - these huge drinks which are put into buckets which look like the kids sand buckets. They have like a half jack of booze in them, are often made with super strong Thai Whiskey and all the corner shops sell them CHEAP CHEAP - you can probably have 1 or at a push 2 and be completely blotto. Another thing is that all the places have flourescent UV body paint, so naturally we all painted ourselves up when we went out.. it was great :)
On one of the days we did a day trip around the islands - such an amazing amazing trip. We had a packed lunch on a fantastic little beach, went snorkelling in some lovely dive spots, and saw literally the most jaw dropping beaches/bays/lagoons and karst mountain/rock formations. Just stunning!! Loved it! Our last day - we just lazed on the beach and chilled out. Had a huge party there - we went out every night and got our bucket faces on... We danced like crazies on the beach, met loads of awesome people, laughed, caused trouble, skinny dipped, did the limbo, sang songs, drank horrendous shots and I was within inches of getting a bamboo tattoo on my toes - luckily I didnt have enough money - otherwise apparently I would have got the words "SARAH ROCKS" written on my feet. A letter on each toe. SHEEEW.
There was so much crazy stuff which happened I cant even begin to try and write it. The photos will tell a story when I eventually post them... Summary is: CRAZY MAD FUN. I unfortunately got a little carried away on my second night...and landed up ruining my camera by dropping it in my BUCKET, and if that didnt kill it - I went for a swim (so I could wee in the sea!!) fully clothed and forgot it was in my pocket! ARRRGHHH - 2nd camera, and this one wasnt even a month old. All the photos are fine though - so it could be worse!
I am now chilling out in Railay for a couple of days before making my way to India - Mumbai here I come... More news to follow!