Hello!

We were in the mini bus at about 5am, leaving Penang to get to Koh Phangan, Thailand! The journey was long and a little bit claustraphobic. 2 mini buses, 2 tuk tuks, 1 coach and a ferry journey later we were in Koh Phangnan!!! Yay!!

We arrived in the dark, but we could already tell we were gonna like where we were staying. We had a bungalow right on the beach! The bungalow was lovely, and the beach was basically all ours! Once we had dumped our bags, we sat down to enjoy our first Thai curry whilst listening to the waves lapping against the shore!! ha ha!!

We woke to a beautiful sunny day, hired a moped and explored the island! We headed north and avoided the tacky area down south, known for the crazy full moon parties. We stopped at another beach to enjoy a drink and lounge in the sunshine!

The island is known for yoga retreats and Jon and i decided to give it a go! So we travelled north of where we were living, to attend a class. The class takes place on a large balcony area that overlooks the jungle! It was a beautiful setting, for us to butcher some bad boy yoga moves!! Our teacher was a saddist, and stood on my legs, whilst in a seated position, pushin my knees down towards the floor. I cried and begged him, literlly begged him to get off of me, as i couldn't breath, he ignored my pleas until i burst into tears! Jon watched this bullying in action and did absolutely b***** all in coming to my rescue!! I continued to cry for the rest of the class! ha! Despite this we plan to give it another go when we return Koh phangan, however at a different retreat, where that bloke will not be!

The next day, our bodies were hurting, we both were having trouble walking and doing other basic activities (yoga really is a work out) so decided we should try a Thai massage. This involved us putting on some clothes, we were given trousers and a top, and made ourselves comfy on a bed basically on the floor. The ladies then pulled and pushed our muscles with their hands and feet, stretching out our aches and pains!

For the rest of our time on the island, we chilled on the beach, eating lots of delicious fruit and curry!! We plan to return for a longer stay hopefully in September, we are becoming lazy and want more time on the beach!!

From the island, we caught a ferry, a badly dilapidated, leaky bus, then a night train. We decided to go for the second class, fan (no air con) sleeper on the train. Where we had our own beds that were magically turned back into chairs when we awoke in the morning! The journey was suprisingly comfortable, despite the layers of dust and a bug in my blanket (it was only a small one to be fair)!!

Bangkok, arrived just in time for the weekend market, which was massive, the fashion part was made up of funky little boutiques selling fashionable clothes, shoes and accessories! We also tucked into some mango sticky rice, which is sooo good!

We visited the magnificent Grand Palace where we had to rent clothes so we were appropriately covered up before entering. The temples were amazing. So grand and detailed. Lots of gold and colour.

During the days we wandered the streets for what felt like miles! Visiting shopping malls, Koh San road and sampling a few of the street stall snacks, springs rolls and fresh juicy fruit. At night we saw the rats scurry along the gutters finding the leftovers in the rubbish, got soaked in the torrential evening downpours and follwed by tuk tuk drivers hoping to get a fare!

Whilst wandering we have also been invited by touts to some dodgey shows, ping pong and other sorts, which we have avoided at all costs!

Now off to bed, early start, we are gonna head to the border, to get over to Cambodia, Seim Reap here we come!

Hope your are all good, sending you all hugs.

Kate and Jon x