Excitable

This is going to be a tough post, because I don't think I can put down how excited I am into words.


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.

Carried Away

'Don't let yourself get carried away and book flights as soon as they're available.'

'Don't let yourself get carried away and buy everything you want for our trip at once.'

'Don't let yourself get carried away and apply for your visas with barely any extra time.'

'When we get back from Spain, let's start looking at flights so we know what's a good price at a later date.'


We fly out to Thailand on the 2nd May, and move on to Sydney on the 11th. Our visas are granted, and I have very few items left to get for our trip. 

'I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.'

And, We're In!

Just a super quick post to say that our visas have been granted!!!!!! Well, mine has at least, I'm waiting on Nick to check his, but there's no reason his shouldn't. Yippee!!

Travelling Companion

I think it's important, when you're travelling, to either be with someone you know you can stand for long, isolated amounts of time, or just go by yourself. This may sound mushy and sentimental, but words can't describe how happy I am to have Nick by my side.

Sure, he has his faults, like we all do; sometimes he smells, he has a lot of gas, he needs business cards that say 'Sorry for the harsh words I spoke out of hunger.' and he has this disgusting bone on the back of his foot that sticks out, like a velociraptor with it's hind claw chopped off. I'm not delusional either, I know we're going to argue; we're going to be tired, hungry and cranky, fed up of being cramped up on trains and spending hours in transit. We're going to get lost (especially if I'm navigating), and miss a train or two, and more than likely have something delayed. So, no, it won't be blissfully perfect, but at the end of the day I know he's always got my back, and I've got his.

In amongst all of the flights, trains, buses, motorcycle taxis (yep, that's our modes of transport so far) we're going to experience some amazing things. I'm only aware of a few of them - a Norwegian water park, the Austrian mountains, snorkelling in Thailand, landing in Sydney - but I have literally no expectations for each country, and it makes the whole thing so much more exciting knowing I have Nick next to me. It makes me feel safer, knowing he'd be there to hold my hand, or roll our eyes at each other over something silly, or avoiding making friends. I know he'd follow me somewhere adventurous, and lead me to a few places I'd be scared to go; he'll get me moving when I'm feeling lazy, and we'll keep each other going when all we want to do is give up and go home. 

So, no, I don't think travelling is going to be one, big, romantic walk in the park (you don't take 80kg backpacks to the park, for one), but I do know that I couldn't find anyone better, including myself, to be travelling with.

'So You're Actually Going, Then?'

We took a big step yesterday, and set our date for leaving. And applied for our visas. And (eep!)... booked our flights! So guess what? We're actually going!

Well, worst comes to the worst, we're going to Thailand at least, on the 2nd May 2015 - here's hoping their little civil war has simmered down a bit by then. We could either have a flight from London to Sydney, or to Bangkok and a weeks stop on a beautiful Thai island for the same amount. The only thing we haven't booked yet is our flight from Bangkok to Sydney as the dates aren't available yet, and our accommodation as we don't know when the cheapest flight out will be. 

Our accommodation is stunning though - a bamboo bungalow right on the beach of the secluded Koh Phayam island. It's got snorkels and surfboards to use whenever you like in the crystal waters, proper showers, lovely beds all kitted out with mosquito nets - and electricity! But only between 6pm-10pm. And we had to upgrade for that, as the basic hut didn't come with power sockets. How can we afford such luxury when we're supposed to be backpacking? Well, we're just pushing the boat out a bit at a whole £13 a night! Seriously?! The basic hut was like, £8! The bus from Bangkok is £10, and taxi transfers are going to cost us all of £5. The whole lot will probably cost less than one of our air fares. Crazy.

We're just waiting to hear back from Australian Immigration, which should be in the next day or two (hopefully) about our visas. The whole process was a bit daunting though - I was first to apply for my visa and get the flights all together, and there's just this little wiggling in your stomach of excitement and nerves all at once.

I've got a bit carried away this month in general really - I bought my walking boots, some Converse instead of Toms, a mini first aid kit, a travel towel (it's genius!) and a sleeping bag. I'll put a picture up soon, when I've collected more.