Phuket and some of my travelling highlights

I really want to say Phucket is an amazing island and that everyone should visit at least once but I’m really struggling to find reasons why people should. Maybe it’s because I’ve been to too many islands now or maybe it’s not really my scene but I must say I did enjoy my time on Ko Samui and Ko Tao so I can’t see why I can’t say a lot of positive things about this island.

Lloyd and I have based ourselves in Patong, we’re about 5 minutes from the beach and about 3 minutes from a street filled with neon lit bars which you can’t walk past without hearing the bar girls trying to call you in for a drink or someone shoving a flyer in your face advertising a ping pong show. I’m even getting fed up of hearing the shouts from massage parlours ‘’waaaannnnaaa maaaassssaaaagggeeee’’. This is really not my scene and Lloyd and I haven’t been drunk once since in arriving in Phucket, I mean I don’t want to sit in a bar and get chatted up by some Thai bar girl, it’s not real, they only want to get you pissed up and to make you spend your money, it’s all very superficial plus the music is terrible. I really want to find a bar that plays some good Indie/electro alternative music but they don’t seem to be any over here.

Phucket is full of western tourists; it seems people come here for their 2 week vacations and then head home, I’ve barely seen any back packers here, if they are on this island they are keeping themselves well hidden. I think the western influence could have spoilt Phucket, McDonalds and Starbucks are everywhere, don’t get me wrong when I was in Leeds I loved nothing more than having a Costa coffee on my way to work or chilling out and having a coffee on a Saturday but here it feels wrong, come on this is Thailand and I want it to feel like Thailand not just another part of Europe! The beaches are full of sunbeds with old westerners burning themselves to a crisp, people don’t seem to want to explore the place they just seem to get out of their hotel walk to the beach and stay there for the day. If you ask me they might as well just say in Europe, there’s no point in coming here if you’re not going to experience the place! 

As in most of Thailand and Cambodia there are also loads of old men trying to hook up with young Thai girls. I think Lloyd and I saw the worst of it last night, a fat old man who was all over a young girl, she didn’t seem that bothered she was sat there cradling her drink while she had an ear phone in. Now don’t tell me this guy was there thinking ‘’she really, really, really must love me’’ now I know it takes two to tango and she must be getting something out of it but I really can’t get over how wrong it is and it’s really beginning to get on my nerves now, I mean I’ve ranted about it in a few blogs but out here it’s so in your face you can’t escape it.

Right that’s my rant over and done with, now I’ll tell you what I’ve been up to…

Lloyd and I have been out on a scooter again for the last few days, the roads around here are quite dangerous, there are steep hills, wild curves and a lot of other tourists on scooters, all of this can add to trouble so I’m glad Lloyd was driving and I was clinging on for dear life we did witness someone drive into the front of an oncoming car, and yes I did jump off to see if the chap got up and was okay, luckily he was. It’s fun driving around an island it gives you so much freedom and you can explore at your own pace. We did find a few beaches that were not too crowded so we spent some time hanging out there and throwing our newly purchased American football about. We’ve both caught a lot of sun on our faces, arms and legs. I was already quite brown from catching sun from the first few months of travelling but I seem to have caught even more now.

Tomorrow we head to the airport to fly to Kuala Lumpor to spend a few days there before we head to Singapore. I don’t think I’ll blog too much from Kuala Lumpor or Singapore unless something amazing happens as we are only passing through but if I take any decent photos I’ll post them instead.

Now that my time in SE Asia is coming to an end I thought I’d list my travelling highlights in no particular order

·         Chang Mai- Chang Mai was my first really taste of Thailand. Lots of temples, friendly people and the first time I drank Chang beer.

·         Jungle Trek- The Jungle trek from the Back Packers Meeting Place was amazing 2 nights 3 days out in the hills around Chang Mai. Met a great bunch of people some of who travelled for a while longer with us, this was a great way to meet like minded people and a great place to really start travelling.

·         Vang Vien- Can’t really remember much about this place but judging by the photos I had a great time. Loved hanging out with Nick, Steve, Jorge, Mary and Caro Lin.

·         Luang Prabang- A lovely city in Laos, saw an amazing sunset from a temple on a hill. The whole town had a laid back vibe and we had some great nights out, rode bikes and saw a beautiful waterfall. The locals in Laos are very very friendly and we weren’t hassled once by anyone.

·         Siem Reip – A great place to visit in Cambodia, the town centre is small but there are loads of amazing cheap places to eat and lots of happy hour offers ( 50 cents for a draught beer).

·         Angkor- Amazing temples built centuries ago all now ruins but so worth visiting, if you do go miss out Angkor Watt and see the other temples around the area. Angkor Watt is the biggest but far from the most spectacular.

·         Hanoi- I loved this city, we had a great time celebrating Steves birthday and New Year. The city is brilliant with lots of museums, great places to eat and crazy traffic. If you go to Vietnam go to Hanoi you won’t be disappointed, try everything including the street food you cook yourself, if you’re lucky the owner will supply you with shots of tequila or free, at least I think it was tequila. If you visit eat in the 69 restaurant (69 been a lucky number not a sexual position you perverts) and try the clay pots.

·         People-  Meeting a great bunch of people, all crazy, lovely and most likely alcoholics ;) It’s all about the people you meet and travel with and the experiences you all share that make travelling what it is.

·         Hoi Han- Had my first made to fit jacket which I can’t wait until its cool enough to wear. Hoi Han is a lovely town with lots of places to eat and a few good bars. The people again are really friendly but do be prepared to get hassled by kids trying to sell you stuff. There is also a really nice beach, not over crowded and a nice place to take a walk and stop for a drink. Also the first time I have rode a scooter, great fun!

·         Bars- Two places that I have really enjoyed drinking DMZ in Hue, the first place that played some half decent music and had and Indie vibe and Before and After in Hoi Han pretty much the same as DMZ but served great food.

·         Hue- Despite the weather not been too good this was still a great city to visit. Steve and I went on a city tour and saw a few ancient tombs, pagodas and the old royal city which the Americans decided to bomb during the Vietnam War.

·         Drinking games with Ste and Lloyd in Mui Ne- Steve losing loads of games in a row and then watching him stagger off to bed.

·         Ninh Bhin- This place feels like it’s off the beaten track, not many back packers here so you feel like you are seeing the real Vietnam. Here we did the one day trek which I loved, Lloyd was not feeling well but he battled on like a trooper and made it through the day. Our tour guide was great and full of information about the place and we were made to feel welcome. Tau, the receptionist at our hotel took us to her friends restaurant for food here we had barbecued goat which was great and burnt rice which I wish you could get in England.

·     Transport- In certain parts of SE Asia the transport really varies, despite been hard work the 24 hour bus from Vientiane to Hanoi was an experience that I will never forget, 13 hour train and bus rides feel like a short ride after that.

There is so much more I could write about SE Asia but it’s hard to remember when it comes to typing it. Memories keep popping into my head and I’ve had such a great time so far and I’m beginning to feel a bit sentimental about the time I have had here, sure at times it’s hard with long hours of travelling but I wouldn’t change one thing that I’ve experienced out here. I can’t believe that 3 months has nearly passed since leaving Leeds, sometimes you feel like you’ve done so much and when you look back it feels like time has gone so slow and other times like now looking back it feels like its flown by.

I’d will definitely come back to SE Asia maybe for a few weeks and stay in one country and really explore, experience it and try to get off of the beaten track. It’s a great part of the world that I feel is still finding its feet, one thing I do fear is that parts of it may lose its identity and become too western.