Slow Night Boat

Allright so if I was trying to get tourists to use my boat service the term I would use would probably not be "Slow Night Boat" but I guess it's better than what it actually was, "Slow Night Garbage Boat." To be fair not many people had made the same misstake as I did, I could easily count them on one hand. The trip was a bit smelly, but I was too tired to care and fell asleep in the surprisingly comfortable beds. I'm now sitting in the town of Chumphon which is waking up at a far more rapid rate than what I am. My bus for Bangkok leaves in about an hour, and my plane in about 19... First though I'll squeeze in some speed shopping and see what I can fit into my bag.

Fool Moon Party...

After a 24 hour train and boatride inlcuding severeal scam attempts Ida, Moa and I finally arrived on the island of Koh Pha Ngan last friday, the day of the famous full moon party. However due to some kind of election on the following saturday you are not allowed to serve alcohol the day before or onb the day, so they moved it forward to sunday the 24th. Here I met up with Marcus and Isabelle again and a few other people. During our entire stay the weather was bad, loads and loads of rain, so mostly what we saw of the island was the hotel restaurant. When the party finally commenced it was still raining quite a bit, but the beach was still packed with people, rumoured to be around 30 000. Basically people just dance on the beach apparently alot of drugs are involved but I didn't really notice any of it. However I did notice the apparent criminal side of the party as I lost both my wallet and mobile-telephone... but I'm in a buddhist country and I've learnt that possesions aren't that important... F*ck that, I really want my phone back! Anyway the morning after the party we took a boat to the neighbouring Koh Tao island. Koh Tao is more relaxed and calm than its two bigger brothers Samui and Pha Ngan, and very famous for diving. However I haven't got time to get my divers permit so at most I might get some snorkeling done. Weather still isnt that good and really I haven't seen the sun since leaving Phuket soon two weeks ago. Tomorrow I head back for Bangkok, my plane taking me to Africa leaves Thailand early on friday morning. And allthough it feels like I could use another few months to fully explore this part of the world I'm really excited about seeing a new continent.

Pnomh Penh

Once again I'm writing from Bangkok. I got back from Cambodia last night after a 14 hour long bus-ride. In Bangkok I met my friend Ida from Stockholm and her friend Moa. Cambodia was very interesting, probably the dirtiest country I've been in. I stayed in the Kingdom 3 nights, 2 nights in Siem Reap and one in Pnomh Penh. I think Pnomh Penh was the nicest of the two but unfortunately I had to make the stay a short one. I visited one of the Killing Fields from the awful Pol Pot era, which was quite a tragic sight, but something you should see to properly understand the country's history. I stayed in a guesthouse with Jocelyn, Will and Tamsyn on the big lake, which was cool, but falling asleep on the veranda is not something I would recommend, as I woke up eaten alive by the mosquitoes. The cost for three nights accommodation in Cambodia came to a grand total of 6 US dollars, so all of a sudden Thai prices seem a bit pricey. Tonight I take the train down south, to the island of Koh Pha Ngan where there will be a full-moon party on the 22nd. Probably a chaotic event but definetly something I want to experience before leaving Thailand.

Angkor What?

After writing the previous post I went to the movies in Bangkok. We saw "Charlie Wilson's War", but the film wasn't the main experience. Before the film had started everyone was required to stand up and pay their respects to the King, before sitting down in our Joey and Chandler-like reclining armchairs. After this I went to watch United's amazing FA-cup match against Arsenal, after 90 minutes United had only managed to beat the Gunners by 4-0, but it could have been loads more. This result could not be let by without celebration, I was up all night until my bus left for Cambodia at 7 o clock in the morning. This is when I split up with my friends again to go off on my own. The bustrip was extremly long and allthough I tried to sleep through it, the bumpy roads between the Thai-border and Siem Reap kept me awake most of the 14 hours it took. Some people believe the reason for Cambodia's poor roads is due to the government of Thailand. Legend has it that every year they pay the Cambodian leaders, to keep the roads in a terrible state, therefor making more passengers choose the more comfortable plane-ride which is owned by the Thai-state.
On the bus I met a few people, one of them an american girl called Jocelyn, she knew about a cheap guest-house where her friends (siblings Will and Tamsyn from Cornwall) were staying so I stayed with them for the night. In the morning we all went to see the impressive Angkor Wat temples. It really was worth visting despite the high price. As usual I haven't got pictures, but it's basically loads of old temples in ruins. Imagine the place where King Louie lives in the Jungle-book but without singing monkeys. Tonight we're going out for a bit and then going to the Cambodian capital Pnomh Pen.

Bangkok again

I'm now back in Bangkok after a long stay in Phuket. Phuket was alot of fun, allthough I imagine it was thanks to my company and not so much the actual place. Some places were extremely crowded, but as we had good tour guides in Marcus and Isabelle we managed to find some hidden paradises. We also took a trip to the Phi Phi Islands which is where large parts of the film "The Beach" was recorded. It was beautiful in some parts but I've been told that it was even better before the Tsunami in 2004. In Phi Phi I also managed to fall into a hole, and bash my knee quite badly. It swelled (or is it swole) up to about twice it's normal size and for a few days I could hardly walk. Now it's getting better and hopefully it will be completely fixed before too long. Bangkok has been nice, I'm only staying for two nights then I have to leave the country. I was really looking forward to a trip to Laos, but due to time restrictions I will have to make that trip another time. I think now that I will take a bus tomorrow morning instead, heading for Cambodia. Where I'll stay for a few days seeing the touristy parts before coming back to Thailand again. I don't know if I will upload any pictures for a while, but I'm doing my best... Ok really I haven't made a single effort to put any up, but usually internet is so slow that it would be a nightmare. I'll write more after I've been to get my new visa.

Still in Phuket

Just a quick update of what's going on. Still in Phuket (as the title might have hinted.) Nothing special has really happened. The boys have arrived now, Josh and Stevie flew down from Stockholm, and Patrik who has been studying in Brisbane flew up. Also Stevies friend Zahra has been staying with me, I had never met her before, but we had no problems getting along when she arrived a few days before the guys, after she had a nightmare stay in Bangkok. It's been mostly relaxing during the days and some beers at night. We've had a few poolside BBQ-parties at Isabelle's parent's amazing house, it is like stepping into an episode of Mtv's Cribs. We fly up to Bangkok on Thursday, then I have to flee the country at some point as my visa expires soon. I'll try to keep writing frequently and maybe upload some pictures eventually.

Phuket

Im now in Phuket, on the west-coast beach called Kata. Geting here from Koh Samui was quite a horrible trip for five and a half hours on a bus with no functioning air-condition, allthough I was actually not delayed. When I got off the bus i met 3 british people who I decided to share a taxi with. We decided on a price with driver and agreed on two different stops. However when we arrived at the british stop, the taxi driver refused to go on to my stop. When I said I wouldn't pay him in that case, he took my bag and locked it in his trunk. We stood arguing with the man for a while and when he was tired of us, he decided to take out a big sword from the trunk and then ask if I would pay him, I stopped my arguing. and gave him my money and got my bag. Then I took a different taxi to meet my friends Marcus and Issabelle in Kata Beach. So for the past few days I've been hanging out with them taking it easy on different nice beaches, eating great food and will probably do so for quite a while longer. I'll write more when I get time, but now I need to go quench my thirst for beer.