So yesterday I gave myself square eyes and a numb bum by being sat on the laptop all day, researching places to stay, how to get there, what there is to do once we arrive etc. And that's just for Thailand - we've not even started our Australian and European plans yet.
We booked our flights out of Thailand on Monday, to leave on the 11th May and arrive in Sydney on the 12th May, giving us a total of 8 days in Thailand; I really wish we'd done more now. There's so much to do over there!
Our destination is a little island, about 10 hours away from Bangkok, called Koh Phayam. For a sense of perspective, and so you know what the actual fuck I'm talking about:
So Ranong is the town highlighted in red, and Koh Phayam is the tiny little square bit to the left of it - Bangkok is right at the top. It's an 8/9 hour night bus from Bangkok's Southern Terminal Bus Station (it sounds like I know what I'm talking about, but I really don't), arriving in Ranong about 6am, when nothing's open. So we have 3 hours to wander around, find the pier, sit on the beach, and watch the sun come up - it's lucky May is the hottest month (highs of 32C and lows of 25C) or I would not be impressed. At 9am, you catch a slow boat - 2 hours - that takes you direct to the island. For God's sake do not miss that boat! After that one, you've got one at 2pm and that's your lot. Once you're on the island, there's no actual roads to speak of, only ones that are suitable for motorbikes. You can either hire one, or get a taxi bike, but with our humongous backpacks, there is absolutely no way we'd both fit on one bike. I think our best bet is if Nick hires one and I get a taxi (oh, help!), OR, I'm just gonna have to walk. I'd be a wobbly mess on a push bike with that thing on my back. Sounds like a lot of effort, doesn't it? It's worth it though:
We're getting these little beach bungalows with no hot water, electricity for all of 3 hours a night, and no air con - I seriously can't wait! The resort has all these boogie boards and snorkelling equipment to use, and just look at that water! I'll be getting in there with my little blue swim shoes on!! What? I'm not letting any crab, fish or jellyfish touch my tootsies!
Because there's so much to do on the mainland, we'll probably only stay here for a few days, although we're not sure of the order yet; whether we'll go there first, or stay in Ranong first, do all the bits we want to and then relax on the island before we head back up to Bangkok. There's about 5 different waterfalls in Ranong alone, and I'm not sure how many national parks there are because they've all mushed in my mind, but I think there's about three. They've got hot springs and spas near a place called Raksawarin Arboretum that are supposed to be absolutely beautiful; it'll definitely be a big difference from the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa in Iceland - it won't be snowing whilst we're in the water. Oh, and it's all free! Thailand is ridiculously cheap. Also not far from this Arboretum is the thing I'm most excited about - elephant rides!!! How incredible will that be? I'll be sat on an elephant. A freaking elephant!! With a trunk and big ears and everything! I'm a little dubious about these though, as they don't seem to be very heavily advertised and I can't find any blogs or reviews or anything from someone who's actually done it. I'll be quite upset if there's no Nellyphants!
The day before we fly out, we'll be working our way back up to Bangkok, so we're not miles away from the airport, otherwise I'll be hyperventilating about missing our flight. We said that because we would've spent a lot of time in cities around Europe, that we didn't want a long stay in a Thai city, so we'll literally spend just the one night. I've spotted a hotel only about an hour away from the airport called the Sky Hotel (I think), where the rooms are a ridiculous amount of stories up, and you can see the whole of Bangkok - and they're only £60 a room! That's like normal Premier Inn prices over here! It'll be nice to have fresh towels and air con after slumming it, and before we get on our 12 hour flight.
I realised yesterday that the start of our trip is only 9 months away - do you know how scary that is? It's not even double digits any more. I have absolutely no idea what I'll be doing this time next year - will I have a job? Will we still be moving around in a little van through Australia? Will we be living somewhere? Not the foggiest! Fingers crossed.
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