I flew back to Bangkok from Vietnam. Now I plan to explore the Southern islands of Thailand. My first stop was Kho Pha Ngan. I can't make the Full Moon Party so I decided the next best thing would be the Half Moon Party. So after a very long bus journey and two ferries I made it to Bann Tai, Ko Pha Ngan. This is a quieter area next door to the party beach of Hat Rin. The beach was was nice - but not as spectacular as Ko Samet, but the weather was quite clou...

After my final week of volunteering had finished it was time to explore Thailand! I choose to head to the island Ko Chang which is on the east coast of Thailand. This meant a very long bus ride! From Chiang Mai I took the over night bus down to Bangkok. The bus arrived at 5.00 am and after waiting in a 24 hour McDonalds for 2 hours I had to take another bus and a ferry and eventually arrived on the island in the mid afternoon. I headed to the backpackers area ...

Last Tuesday it was time to travel into the hills of Northern Thailand for my Lahu Hilltribe Homestay. After a hot and sweaty uphill trek we arrived at the little village. All the houses were made out of bamboo elevated above the red soil and had the most amazing views of the hills. The animals - pigs, piglets, dogs, puppies and chickens - all roamed about freely, but not always harmoniously! We split up into three groups of five and were shown to the house ...

On Monday 6th June I headed to the volunteering base, known as the Mirror Foundation. I left my hostel in Chiang Rai and was driven further north into the sub-district of Mae Yao. Here the Mirror Foundation is found surrounded by fields and mountains of gorgeous lush greenery and red soil. The Thai people who set up the foundation all live on site with their familys and it is a very calm and peaceful place to be. The volunteer's dorms are also on site along w...

I left Bangkok at 18.10 aboard the sleeper train awaiting my first insight into sleeper train etiquette. (If anybody is wondering like I was - no pyjamas, just normal everyday attire!) A couple of hours after the train set off our seats were made into bunk beds and in we climbed. What followed was a restless night sleep - I found that being separated from the rest of a long long train by a thin. grubby curtain in order to sleep slightly disconcerting! Arrivin...