"Ko Phra Nang and back to Bangkok"

14th January (Day Forty)

Although I did not sleep too well during the night, the journey was certainly a lot better than if I had I gone by bus. The train attendant woke us up very early so they could get the beds all packed away before the train arrived at Surat Thani, I suspected that it was the end of their shift, but I did not think they had to get me out of my bed quite so soon!

The train arrived at Surat Thani at 7.00am and we all headed to the port where we would catch the boat. There was a fleet of buses waiting to ferry us the short distance to the port, which I thought was a great bit of organization, I certainly never expected it. Once at the port we all mingled around and killed time while we waited for the buses to arrive that had also travelled down from Bangkok during the night. One of them had Erick on board, which made Rick feel a little awkward as he wanted to travel separately from him.

We were on the boat by about 7.30am and Rick and I sat at the front of the boat on the outside deck. It was really nice and warm with a fresh sea breeze blowing which was great until it started to rain! Everyone headed down below where there was not enough seats. I ended up sitting on my back-pack, just so I had somewhere to rest. The rain continued hard and the sea became very rough which was a little disconcerting but we arrived at the port at Ko Samui without any problems. The boat calls at this island before sailing to Ko Phra-Nang which is about three quarters of a hour hour away.

By the time the boat arrived at Ko Phra-Nang it had stopped raining, although it was still very dull. We then took a long tail boat around the bay to a place called Had Rin where I had read in the Lonely Planet guide, that there would be good accommodation and great beaches, although my first impressions of the island was I would not care were I stayed as everywhere looked idyllic. All along the coastline on the way to Had Rin we saw small bungalow-type guest houses on the edge of what looked like thick forest and all of them were right on the beach. The place that we picked to stay for the night was just like that and was called Sun-Set view guest house and cost 150B (£3.50p) per night, the only problem was we only had electricity from 6.00pm-11.00pm, although the bars where we would be spending the most amount of time had their own generators, so at least the beer would be cool!

Each guest house had a collection of bungalows with a restaurant attached and they all appeared to be family run operations which meant that they had a friendly atmosphere. They were all about the same price although some were better than others. We found it was always best to ask first for a key and look at the bungalow before checking in, that way there were no nasty shocks. Our bungalow had a shower room and toilet attached which was a nice luxury. In the rooms were a couple of beds and a table, nothing too fancy, and outside there was a porch with two chairs and a table. The bar/restaurant were all self-contained with drink and music and, of course, the most delicious Thai food one could wish for. Most of the restaurants feature fresh fish which was barbecued to perfection with a little hot/garlic sauce, but they also had vegetarian meals and salads, it was a really lovely place to be, so relaxing.

The sun was hidden under the clouds all day and although it was nice and warm, I wasn’t going to get the sun tan that I was looking for. Still, I figured it would get better as the week went on and, in any case, I was so excited about going around the island to explore all the areas that I was not that worried about a tan. Most of the bars had one or two videos each night, and outside during the day they advertised what was showing that evening. Our bar was showing ’Dancers with Wolves’ and, as we had not seen it, that was what we decided to do that evening. We had met another Canadian, called Chris, who appeared to be really nice and friendly and he joined Rick and I for dinner which turned out to be delicious. The fresh fish selection was like something I had never seen before, with all types of fish and sea food ranging from lobster crabs crabs to Snapper and Long-fin. The selection was so vast it was very hard to make a decision. Once we had eaten and watched the film we went off to check out the night life in the village. Now I wasn’t expecting anything other than a few bars all showing various videos however, I was surprised to find some really lively and funky discos, one of them was at the ’Bahaus Bar’ and, although the music sounded good, there were not many people about then so we carried on exploring and stopped at ’The Out-back Bar’ where we brought a bottle of rice whiskey called Mekhong. It was only 90B (£2.00) for a large bottle, and once served with ice and a bottle of Coke, it went down very well!

Rick decided to go to bed about 10.30-11.00pm, however Chris and I were full of life and decided to stay and drink the bottle of Mekhong, which, although very nice, also got us very drunk! We wandered back to the Bahaus Bar and by then the disco was in full swing. We could not figure where all the people had come from as during the day and into the evening most of the bars were deserted. Anyway the disco was great and we ended up staying until 2.30-3.00am before we even thought about going to bed, and then it was only due to exhaustion It was so good to hear good quality loud music once more, something that I had missed quite a bit.

Once Chris and I had decided to go to bed, the hard bit was trying to find our way back in the complete darkness, as I have already said, there was electricity only until 11.30pm and by this time all the smaller bars had shut, so the only light was from the moon and stars. Eventually, after a long long walk in circles, we found our way back to our bungalows.

15th January (Day Forty One)

I woke up at 9.30am and went to get some breakfast which consisted of fresh fruit, black coffee and more fresh fruit. I had lost around one stone since I left the U.K. and was determined not to put it back on just yet!

The sun was out and it was very hot!. Sitting eating breakfast under the palm trees, with the sea almost lapping at my feet, really was just like paradise. With the exception of the occasional passing long-tail boat there was no noise which made the place even more relaxing, it was certainly the type of place that I could stay for a long, long time. The beach where we were staying was absolutely spotless with no signs of any litter, and the sand was beautiful to walk on. Because of the heat I was frequently in and out of the water, it was excellent as there was a coral reef out a little way which made the temperature of the water just like a bath in the shallows, so I had to swim out past the reef to deeper waters to cool off. The sunny weather did not last however, and at 2.30pm it started to rain again which was OK as it meant that I would have a break from the heat, by then lying on the beach was almost overpowering. The fact that it was raining did not stop the heat too much, so I went into one of the beach bars and ordered a large bowl of fresh fruit a muesli and sat around chatting and planning where I should go on the island. I felt that I wanted to write to Michelle and try to explain just how fantastic Ko Pha Ngan was, but there was not really much point, as I would be back in the U.K. before the letter, so I just wrote in my diary and relaxed.

Hat Rin (which was the name of this place), is a long cape which juts out south-eastwards and has beaches on both sides. The eastward side has the best beach called Hat Rin Nok and the snorkelling there was probably the best around as the coral reef, which I have already mentioned is close to the shore. Along the west side, which was called Hat Rin Nai, there were plenty of beach hut operations, most of them had names like Sun-Set and Paradise, and were probably the most popular bungalows as they had excellent bars attached to them. In the late afternoon this was the place to watch the sun set into the horizon, while in front of the bars there was a volley ball match which anyone could join in, and which continued until the sun had set. The sun-sets were spectacular and were second only to those that I had experienced in Bali, Indonesia. The sun-set on this particular evening was superb and I could not help but take pictures.

The evening was very warm and pleasant and as we walked around the bars and restaurants we could not help but wonder where everyone had come from compared to lastnight. The bars were all full to capacity and next to where we were staying, there was a large outside disco being set up. Soon we found out that tonight was the ’Full Moon party’, which happens as the name suggests at every full moon on Ko Pha Ngan, it was something of a tradition with the travelling fraternity. I don’t know how, but everyone appeared to arrive from Ko Samui and the main land just for a ’rave’ and it appeared that some people had actually scheduled their travels to be on Ko Pha Ngan that precise day. Everywhere there was Full Moon ’this and that’ on sale, and I noticed there were a lot of drugs freely available as well as ’magic mushrooms’ that were on the menu and were being cooked openly on the beach.

The Outback bar was my personal favourite as I preferred the music but the rave was in full swing and could be heard from quite a distance away. I could tell that this was going to mean very little sleep tonight as it was right next to our bungalows. Much of the evening was spentjust wandering from bar to bar and drinking yet more Mekhong whiskey, when I did eventually try to get some sleep at around 3.30am, my suspicions were correct and I found it impossible to sleep with the intensity of the music, and the number of people outside enjoying themselves. This is the problem when you do not take drugs, you cannot stay awake to join in but you are unable to sleep due to the noise!

16th January (Day Forty Two)

I literally did not get any sleep until after 6.30am, which was the time that the ’rave’ finished. I did think I was beginning to like rave music, however at that moment in time the last record I wanted to hear was another rave one! The funny part about it all was, whenever I metanyone later on in Bangkok etc. and they asked was I on Ko Pha Ngan for the ’Full Moon’ party? I told them yes, and they were that envious so I felt I had to play along with it and tell them what a fantastic time we all had. (ha, ha).

Rick, Chris and I spent virtually the entire day on the beach, which was so hot that at times it was unbearable, however occasional swims in the crystal clear water, and regular fresh fruit drinks helped to make it just a little bit more comfortable! At 3.30pm Chris and I went for a walk around the headland and onto another virtually deserted beach, except for the people totally in the nude! It turned out to be the local nudist beach, and we found it quite amusing walking along and trying to keep our eyes straight ahead of us and not look at the people in the nude. I could not see the point of it really as it only offends the Thais as they feel nudity is an act of disrespect. I think that if the local population feel that way you should respect their beliefs.

That night we watched two films, Robin Hood and Edward Scissorhands, while eating dinner, then afterwards I went to the Bahaus bar on my own until 3.00am. It was a really relaxing day with no worries in the world.

17th January (Day Forty Three)

The bungalow where I was staying was just a few feet away from the sea,  and with the sound of waves lapping onto the beach during the night, it is very relaxing. The  hammock was great to just chill out and watch the day go by. The cost per night is only a couple of pounds and I was told that the owners expected me to eat and drink some beers at their place rather than go off to other restaurants. People that never had anything to eat or drink were sometimes asked to leave!

Today was yet another scorcher and it was hard work laying on the beach all day. I had been staying out late every night and tended to sleep on the beach during the day, although that was nice, I had to watch out for the sun as it was very easy to get burned.

I decided to have a nice relaxing massage from a Thai girl called Kak, who was on the beach every day asking people if they wanted one.

It was the first proper massage I had ever had and, although the Thai massage is very physical, I found it very relaxing apart from the bit where she massaged the inside of my thigh and then ask if I had a room where we could go to. I then realised that Kak was a prostitute as well! I said, "No thanks", and tried to convince Chris and Rick they should have one, however I don’t think that they trusted her after her proposition to me!

That night was pretty much the same as the others except I did quite a lot of reading about the rest of the island. Rick and I were going off the next day to see what it was like. I watched another two films this evening, one was ’Silence of the lambs,’ and the other ’Ghosts’. The food that evening was, of course, excellent and I met a couple of Swedish girls who I went to the Bahausbar with until 3.30am. We just danced and danced all the evening, once again the music was fantastic. I figured I would be feeling sad the next day when we were to leave, as this place is so relaxing during the day and then, in the evening, there are lively bars and great music at the disco. All that with cheap beer and Mekhong whisky, what more could one ask for? Half of me wanted to stay here for the remainder of my holiday but inside I had an unstopable urge to try to see and do everything there was to do, I knew I would probably never be here again and would kick myself if I missed something spectacular, just for a few days lying on a beach.

18th January (Day Forty Four)

Every morning, and at regular intervals throughout the day, there are boats that pass the beach either on their way to Thong Sala (the place the ferry arrives/departs), or going further round the island to the north. The guys on the boat are always shouting, "Thong Sala!" "Thong Sala!" "Thong Sala!" and it’s up to you to wave at them so they come and get you, it’s as simple as that.

Today Rick and I left Had Rin on the 10.30am boat going to Thong Sala, from there we were going to take a taxi up to the north of the island. What we had hoped to find when we arrived was somewhere similar to Had Rin, with good food and nice comfortable beach huts. The taxi was no more than a pick-up truck with a row of bench seats in the back. The island is so small and the roads are so bad that there were not many vehicles at all, and the problem was the driver would not leave until he was sure he had the maximum number of passengers he could persuade to go with him, (That takes forever when you are sitting in the heat!) Once we were on the way along the mainly dirt track, it was a good opportunity to see much of the island and wave to the Thai kids playing along the way. The taxi took us to Ban Chalok Lam which was a pretty bay but very undeveloped, possibly due to the distance involved in transporting goods and building materials.  The beach huts were nestling between the coconut trees and the first thing we saw was a man with a monkey who was trained to climb the trees and throw down the coconuts so they could be collected up to be sold. It looked to me to be very hazardous as one never really knew which way the monkey would throw the coconut. Often the guy had to jump for his life as one hurtled down to earth! There is actually a figure published every year that states the number of people killed throughout the world by falling coconuts and there we were going to live in a bungalow beneath them!

For me the first impressions where good, although I thought it was a little bit too quiet, on the other hand, Rick thought that Had Rin was a bit too noisy, so if we were to travel together then I guess you have to have a little bit of give-and-take.

We checked into the Fanta guest house (there were only two to choose from!) which was 120B (£3.00) for the two of us. The Thai girl who was running the place was called Dan, and Rick really took to her, I think he wanted to take her home! I think I knew what he meant as she was a lovely girl and was always smiling and chatting to us, I do not think I ever saw her without a smile. The thing that concerned Rick and I was that she was always working, I felt guilty when I ordered food or drinks, but I guess that is what she was there for and everything that we bought made her some profit so I am sure she did not care too much. Dan did some laundry for Rick and I and when it was returned everything was clean and pressed and perfect, she was an Angel. We spent the day on the beach which, as usual, was ferociously hot and I rather stupidly got a bit sunburned on my legs and shins. With all the sand on my legs I did not put on any protection cream so it was self inflicted.

We met an American couple who were very nice (I think they were glad to have someone to talk to), and that evening, after yet another fabulous sun set, we all sat around chatting and eating till quite late.  

19th January (Day Forty Five)

We decide to rent some motor bikes today and really go and see the island and locate some of the water falls that I had read about in the Lonely Planet guide. First we had to make the tortuous journey back to Thong Sala as that was the only place where we would be able to hire one. The cost was only 200B (£4.50) per day but scratch it, break it or loose it, then you have to pay for it. (I assumed they had not heard of  comprehensive insurance!).

There was supposed to be some cock fighting today in Thong Sala, although we did not really want to watch we thought it would be interesting to have a quick look and it would have been a good opportunity to see Thai life on the island. It was not to be however, as for some reason they cancelled it, so I guess the cocks had a peaceful day for a change.

Once we had rented the bikes we headed off across the island over some very poor roads, most of the time we could manage only first or second gear as going any faster was impossible. Rick had not had much experience riding motor bikes and the going was very tough for an initiation but although he did fall off a couple of times, he was lucky and did not get hurt except for the odd scrape here and there. The only damage in the end was to the front brake lever on Ricks bike, which we had to fix before it was returned, or risk having to pay heavily for the damage. I did not get away totally unscathed as somehow, I managed to loose the key to my bike, considering that at the time we were literally miles and miles down a dirt track with no way of obtaining a copy, it was not the best position to be in. After hunting around for the key it was obvious we were not going to find it and it was then I had an idea and tried Rick’s key in my bike-what do you know, it worked! The lock was so worn it was possible to turn the key and start the bike, then take it out the lock and give it back to Rick so he could start his bike. Phew! I was lucky! We went to some fantastic beaches which were accessible only by boat. There was certainly no way a truck could get to them as it was only just possible on a motor bike. In fact some of the roads were so steep and bad that on one occasion we were forced to turn back due to the road being too dangerous to negotiate. I had one bad fall trying to go up a very steep hill just the other side of a stream that we had crossed, where the road was muddy and slippery, the bike’s rear wheel started spinning half way up the hill causing the bike to stop. I was half way up the hill with no forward power from the bike due to wheel spin, gravity started to take over and soon the bike and I where heading backwards at speed! Time to abandon ship, but as I tried to jump off the bike it fell on me and I think that was the nearest to a broken leg I have ever been, needless to say I took it very cautiously after that.

We found a lovely water-fall miles from anywhere, and it was at a time like that, stumbling across a water-fall, miles from civilisation, that I really appreciated the beauty of Thailand. We ended up swimming and sunbathing there for a couple of hours as it was just so lovely. It certainly made the motor bike hire worthwhile. Rick and I made our way back to the Fanta guest house pretty much exhausted after the day on the bikes, we sat around drinking bottled water just relaxing as we watched yet another beautiful sun set.  After the hectic travelling regime that I had experienced on this journey, relaxing on an island as lovely Ko Pha Ngan, really made me realise just how lucky I was and also just how diverse the journey had been.

20th January (Day Forty Six)

At breakfast I told Dan (the Thai girl) that I had lost the key to my motor bike, and was worried that they would charge me for a new lock and steering lock. At the time Dan never said anything but, as we had almost finished eating, Dan came over to the table with a key for a motor bike which was for an old bike she had once owned. The key fitted the worn lock perfectly and I was able to take the bike back without fear of being charged extra. Rick, on the other hand, was not so lucky as yesterday when he had fallen off, he had broken both of the handle bar levers for the brake and clutch. We thought the best idea was to go into Thong Sala and get the bike repaired, though not at the place where we hired it as they might add some on for damage caused. This worked out to be the best solution and once in Thong Sala we had two new levers fitted and the cost was fairly minimal. After the bike had been repaired we went to the post office and I posted the last load of postcards to my home and to my friends around the world. I say "last load" as I was now running out of holiday and any postcards posted to the U.K. after today, would probably arrive there after I have arrived.

The plan for the rest of the day was to go by motor bike to the Ao Thong Nai Pan beach, situated on the north east of the island. The beach is made up of two bays, Ao Ta Pan Yai and Ao Ta Pan Noi. On the way was the national park of Thaan Sadet where, (I had read in the Lonely Planet guide) there was a lovely water-fall that we could swim at. The weather was very, very hot and although it was not a very good idea from a safety aspect, we wore only a pair of shorts and a pair of trainers. For this reason we decided that we would ride slowly and cautiously.

On the way to the National Park we passed the Triangle guest house were we thought Erick was staying, or at least that was where he said he was going to stay. Sure enough, as we pulled up on the bikes, we saw him and so stopped for a drink and a chat. He was running short of money and had to put himself on a 120B per day limit, (£3.00), this way he had worked out he could stay there for at least a week. We both thought that he had become fond of to the Thai girl who was running the guest house as he always appeared to be smiling at her and trying to help in any way he could!

The roads in the National Park were just as bad as yesterday although on the whole the scenery today was better, probably due to the fact the National Park is quite high up so round every corner was a sensational view. One thing that we had to watch out for was that we did not run too low on petrol as the petrol stations were very few and far between. It took a while to realise what a petrol station actually looked like as there were no signs only a type of metering device on top of a drum of petrol. I would ask for a litre and the ’attendant’ would first fill the sight glass to the litre mark, and then open a tap and gravity feed the fuel into the bike tank. The petrol was 12B per litre. (Twenty five pence per litre).

The National Park in general, was beautiful and well worth going to see and the swim in the water-fall very refreshing after a long hard ride to get there. We both agreed that hiring the bikes was one of the best things we could have done, to see as much of the island as possible. To try and go by any other means except boat would have been hopeless. Once Rick and I had seen as much of the park as we wanted we headed back to the Triangle guest house where we arrived at 3.00pm and had some lunch. The hard ride had made us both very hungry and thirsty so we ’pigged’ ourselves on Yam Yai (Thai salad) and drank lots of water before heading back to the Fanta guest house where we arrived just before dark. In fact we had timed it just right as the sun was setting just as we arrived, then it was over to the bar, nice cool beer, and sit back in a deck chair and watch the sun-set. The rest of the evening was very relaxing with more great food and lots of chatting to the various people also staying there.

21st January (Day Forty Seven)

I had a really good day today. Rick and I left the Fanta guest house for the last time after paying our bill which was 814B (£18.00) each. Wearing our back-packs, we rode the motor bikes South and back to Thong Sala. First we went along the south road to check into the Triangle guest house where Erick was staying. We checked in, had a quick drink, and then headed off to take the bikes back to Thong Sala. When we arrived at the Bike Hire shop the guy there went over the bike very carefully and at first I thought that he would spot the scratches on Rick’s bike and the irregular key on my bike but I guess we were lucky and we got away without having to pay any extra. They had kept our passports as a security on the bikes which, although I could see the reason for doing so, made me feel most concerned although they insisted they would be in the safe at all times.

Next I went to the port where the ferry docks, as when we had arrived I had spotted a sign that said "Airport Reservation/flight Conformations". It is usual to have to re-confirm the seat that you have previously booked on an aircraft due to the fact that most of the tickets sold are valid for up to one year and travel plans often change. I had booked this seat back in Hong Kong so I had to re-confirm my intention to travel on that particular flight. The Island had no telephone system to the main land except for a cellular telephone network which must I suspected have had a booster station on Ko Samui The fee for the telephone call was a set one and was fairly high but as the call was important I had to pay whatever they requested.

We then had a long and leisurely walk back to the Triangle guest house although it was tiring in the intense heat. On the way we met Erick who was walking into Thong Sala to buy some food as it would be cheaper than eating at the guest house! Once back we had some lunch and then we hit the beach for the very last time! It was very hot but, due to a very pleasant sea breeze, it stayed bearable and I was able to stay there for the remainder of the day until the sun went down.

I had a bit of a sleep from 5.00-6.00pm and then we had a great dinner cooked by the Thai girl who ran the guest house. It was strange but they all appeared to be excellent cooks and took pride in the way that the food was presented, maybe it is a natural attribute that the Thai’s have.

After dinner we watched the film Mad Max with Mel Gibson, while consuming large amounts of Mekhong whisky and Coke for a mixer. We then sat and chatted to Tom and Cindy from the USA who were very nice, and a couple from Surinam, a place that I had never heard of before. I felt quite stupid when they asked me did I know where it was? It turned out to be a small country on the North coast of South America situated between Guyana and French Guyana.  Tod was into Jack Danniels whisky and so he brought a bottle for us to drink which was nice of him. I think I could have sat there all night just chatting and drinking, although people slowly started to drift off to bed in the early hours of the morning, so I did the same.

22nd January (Day Forty Eight)

I was woken up at 4.30am by a couple of noisy Germans who were obviously drunk, but it’s just typical of their arrogant attitude towards other people, or so I believed.

I checked out of the Triangle guest house so that they could let the room to someone else, and I then killed some time until 10.30am when the taxi came to take me to the dock. The day was going to be a bit of a waste in terms of time, as we had to wait until 3.00pm for the boat to the mainland, and then the 6.30pm train back to Bangkok.

At 10.30am I said goodbye to Erick and I was on the way home, so to speak.  The Taxi/van stopped at various guest houses along the way to try and get as many people as possible. The boat left at 1.00pm and we sat up on deck with quite a few others to make the most of the sunshine, however it was not going to last, by the time we had reached Ko Samui it was pouring with rain.

At the port of Ko Samui a girl that I had met the first night in Bangkok got on, her name was Marion. To this day she is the only person that I have met who comes from Alaska. Marion was a BIG girl and back home she worked on fishing boats off the coast of Alaska, where, she told me, the working conditions are very difficult and tough. We arrived at the train station at 5.30pm and the train left at 6.20pm. Rick and I ordered dinner on the train as we had not eaten much that day, and when it came it was very nice and well presented.  

There is a train that you can take from Bangkok right the way down through Malaysia and on to Singapore, and I feel if it is as good as this service, then it’s a trip that I would like to do someday soon.

At 8.00pm, as I was sitting there reading, I started to smell something was burning, it was then I noticed that my bed was on fire! What a panic it was! With the help of Rick and others I put out the fire by smothering it with the blanket from the bed. The conductor was soon there and he took over and made sure the reading light that had started the fire was isolated. To my horror he then started to remake the bed with the fire damaged pillows and bed sheets! I told him firmly that I wanted fresh blankets but, as usual in these situations, there was the inevitable language problem. In the end my message got through as I pulled off the smelly fire damaged blankets and threw them on the floor, he then produced clean sheets as well as a clean pillow.

With dinner we drank two large bottles of beer and, with that, a sleeping tablet, ear-plugs and eye mask in place, I had an excellent nights sleep.

23rd January (Day Forty Nine)

As usual on the trains, the conductor woke us up far too early at about 4.30am and the train arrived into Bangkok railway station at 6.00am. Rick and I got a Tuk-Tuk straight away and went to the 7 Holders Guest House where a single room was 120B (£2.60p) per night. Rick went back to his original guest house as they had looked after the bulk of his belongings the same as they had done for me at the 7 Holders. We had done this so that we did not have to haul around heavy back-packs unnecessarily. Rick had a few things to do regarding his return flight to Canada and so we decided to split up and each do our own thing. I went to do some last minute shopping and bought some Reebok trainers for £34 and Nike Air trainers for £21, a pair of jeans £7.50p. a pair of trousers which were altered for me in the shop by the assistant, for no extra charge £14.00 and socks and other ’bits and bobs’ that are so much cheaper in Thailand than back in the U.K. I went to have some more films developed and collected the enlargements that I had ordered from the last lot of films that had been processed. They turned out to be great and I was very pleased with the quality of my pictures although the lack of sunshine in a some of them was noticeable but that of course was beyond my control. The colours in some of the pictures would have been richer had the light been better, but this was due to the time of year I had come on this journey, so I suppose in some ways I was lucky that they were not all grey and overcast, at least three quarters were more than satisfactory.

Later that day I met a girl (Kim) from Towsnville Australia. I got chatting to her and found out that she was on her way to England for a working holiday. I gave her my address and told her to get in touch if she had any trouble, I thought it would be nice for her to have at least one number in the event of an emergency.

At 4.15pm I rang Michelle and had a great chat with her and then rang my Mum and Dad to let them know I was well and would be home in a couple of days. That night Rick and I went to the night Market at Pat-Pong to try to buy Michelle a hand bag, as that was the place where they have all the fake Gucci and Chanel ones. We went into a couple of bars to see the ’cabaret’ and then had a beer or two before returning home to our guest houses.

24th January (Day Fifty)

Sadly this was "IT", my last day in Thailand before returning to the U.K. and back to the drudgery of work although I was looking forward to seeing Michelle again. I had really missed her and wished that she could have come and shared all that I had experienced over the past fifty days.

Rick arrived at 9.00am and we went to get some breakfast and then we went to some temples that we had not yet visited. I made the most of my last day as it would be too late tomorrow if I had missed something in particular.

We went back to Grand Palace and visited Wat Pho which features the largest reclining Buddha. It is also the oldest and the largest Wat in Bangkok and has the largest collection of Buddha images. It was the earliest centre for public education in Thailand. The temple site, Wat Pho, dates back to the 16th century, but its current history began in 1781 with the renovation of the original monastery. In the North of the complex there is a Thai massage school which Rick and I could not resist so we volunteered for a massage. First of all we had to remove our shoes before entering any of the buildings, then, in the massage school we then had to wash our feet. Next we waited for a masseur to become free and then, through an interpreter, I told him of any aches or pains that I had and he set about giving me a very thorough massage which lasted quite a long time. The Thai massage involves the ’cracking’ of just about every bone in the body which, for me, was not the most pleasant of experiences. Anyway we left the massage school feeling a little more supple than when we had arrived.

I returned to the 7 Holders Guest House to do the last of my packing at 4.00pm and to get everything ready for the flight home.  I had booked the airport bus to take me to the airport which was to be at about 8.00pm, that way it would allow for any problems like the bus breaking down, and making me miss my flight which was at midnight. At 5.00pm Rick came around and we went and had some dinner and really just sat around killing time chatting about our travels and experiences to date. We had both enjoyed each others company and it had made the journey a lot more pleasurable travelling together the short time that we had. I certainly hope that if I get to British Columbia in Canada, where Rick lives, or if he comes to England, we shall meet up once more as it would be fun. At 8.00pm we said goodbye and I was on the bus heading for the airport feeling both excited and depressed. Most people on the bus with me were going on to other destinations, many of them on their way to Australia and other distant countries.

Once at the airport I checked in and reserved myself a window seat so that I could get a good nights sleep without disturbing anyone and vice-versa. Then I just sat around the airport and watched every one rush about trying to find their way around and not miss their flight. I bought Michelle a huge box of Orchids which were in a presentation box and looked absolutely beautiful. With the eight hour time difference between Thailand and England, (England is eight hours behind) I would soon be home as, although the plane will take off at midnight and the flight time is around twelve hours, it would touch down around 6.00am the next morning London time.

Read Neils complete adventure here.