Helloooooooooo England!

Thought I'd update you all on life in Thailand since I am leaving later on 2day n heading south (on a bus) to Singapore. Had a fantastic time this week n seen so many lush places bt most importantly i met some brilliant people! I was really lucky wiv the group i got because you spend so much time wiv these people travelling round that it cud of bin rubbish if it wasnt a very gd group!

Anyways, on to the week n it started (and ended) in Bangkok. First day didn't really do alot tbh as was mostly gettin used 2 stayin in a nice hotel n gettin 2 know every1. We all went out 4 a nice meal in the evenin n ended up gettin very drunk n stayin out til 6 in the mornin! Was weird bein drunk in another country bt was lucky that Gemma was there 2 make sure we got back safely. Had abit of a rough mornin the nxt day n abit of a rush as we had 2 check out at 12. Bt then ended up just chillin by the pool all afternoon so wasnt 2 bad! Luckily i had spent the previous few days explorin bangkok as i didnt really need anymore time lookin at temples/ shops! That evenin we gt a taxi 2 the train station n gt our sleeper train 4 the nite. These were so random bt i actually found i cud sleep on them despite a few people finding cockroaches crawlin up their curtains- lol.

Monday we arrived at Khao Sok national park where we slept in these little huts rite beside the jungle. Our leader (Tee) said that wild elephants, snakes and even tigers had bin known to come down but we were lucky n werent hunted in the nite. This Jungle was home to the biggest spiders ive ever seen tho- actually bigger than my head n we had 1 hangning over the path up 2 our hut which was nt fun 2 run under everytime we went out. The worse was on the first nite wen my roomate was takin a shower n he comes out laughin his head off sayin a spider chased him round the bathroom- shud of seen it- was huge! Was so scared bt managed 2 get rid (or he did) n then i was very careful wenever i took a shower 2 make sure none were around. Also had alot of geckos around the huts which were really kl- i want 1! The people here were all really nice in Khao Sok 2 n we had a few guides/ drivers who helped us out n served us dinner n stuff. Was really peaceful being away from everythin n so nice 2 c sumwhere different. We went Tubing on the river on the monday which is where u just float down the river on rubber rings n we gt 2 c alot of the river along the way (n a few snakes hanging from the trees!). Was really hot 2 which was gd as we cud jus relax n float along. I actually slept really well in the jungle as well seen as we didnt hav air con n was noisy frm the bugs n stuff which was gd. Although on the las nite at around 3 in the mornin there was a frog or summat rite above my bed in our room and it made 1 hell of a noise n scared me 2 death! Tuesday i think was my favourite day of the week- we went 2 the main part of the national park n took a boat out on the lake! This lake was huge n we gt a boat out n got 2 see all around it. There was a damn on 1 side n there were lots of islands n the mountains all around. I never expected 2 see such a nic e place on the mainland of Thailand n was jus such a nice place 2 go. We gt off a couple of times n we went in a cave in the side of one of the cliffs. Was so slippy in there n muddy- every1 was told flip flops wud b fine bt people were fallin over everywhere n a few flip flops came off in the muddy puddles n gt lost n it was pitch black! quite funny lookin back nw bt we werent impressed at the time! In the afternoon we pulled up besides this little row of floating huts n had lunch n went swimming n canoing around the lake- was so hot n i didnt put any lotion on the top of my head which gt a bit burnt! :s

Wednesday we travelled 2 Ko Samui! Was really nice beach n resort that we stayed in but it was abit bad weather in the afternoon so we didt get 2 enjoy it 2 its full effect! A tree actually fell down in front of our hotel at one point- apparently they don't usually get much wind n rain- typical! Was a nice chilled out day tho which is wat i needed since its knackerin travellin around! The beach was rite nxt 2 the hotel so jus stayed round there mos of the afternoon- relaxin by the pool n the beach!

On Thursday we made our way to Ko Tao (or turtle island) which is the nicest island n had sum of the best beaches iv seen. The water was crystal clear n the hotel was agen rite nxt 2 the beach. We spent most of the nxt few days jus chillin out- on the beach or in the pool! at one point it rained (for nt very long tho thank god) n we jus stayed in the pool- was really weird bein warm n havin rain fall on u in the water. Also on thurs was Gemma's bday so we had a BBQ in the evenin- which was lush n had these amazin kebabs- n then we went off along the beaches in the evenin n watched sum fire displays n hung around the bars on the beach. A few had bean bags n stuff on the beach that seemed 2 send most of the group asleep at one point. We were gonna watch the sunset on the las nite bt it decided 2 cloud over jus in time for it 2 go down bt was nice 2 sit out on the beach anyway.

Saturday was the day of travel as we got on the back of a truck, went on a ferry, took the bus and got on a sleeper train in the evenin. Or rather we wud of got on the sleeper train if it hadnt broke down o we were stuck in the train station 4 a few hours n then gt a regular train back 2 bangkok- which i cudnt sleep on at all! Also the ferry back was the choppiest ferry ever! Half the group was ill (which thankfully didnt include me) bt we were all feelin alittle rough by the end. Was nt a fun ride at all bt gt 2 watch aliens in the attic so every cloud n all that! lol.

Yesterday (sunday) we sed goodbye 2 most people in the mornin bt met up wiv a few peeps in the evening and went 2 where the americans on our trip were stayin (cus theyd booked into the flashiest hotel in town 4 their las nite). Was actually lush- they were stayin on the 59th floor n the views were pretty amazin! We then had drinks n went 4 food on the roof where we were actually treated like royalty. Had full on courses n bits inbetween bt the best thing was b4 the main we had champagne sorbet which is possibly the nicest thing on earth! tasted gr8! My meal was pretty gd 2- i had pork belly n lobster (a first 4 me bt hopefully nt the las) for my starter n my main was veal in rthis pasta n like gravy n spinach stuff- actually tasted amazin! Was very expensive evenin bt u nly live once n was a really nice way 2 say goodbye 2 peoples!

Nw im off 2 singapore 4 a week or so n then over to NZ! Actually cant wait for nz either as hav bin readin my book on it n cant wait 2 c everythin. Also really lookin 4ward 2 singapore n seein the sights there 4 wat i hope is a more relaxin week! Hopefully will stick my photos on at sum point in the nxt week- if nt will b sure 2 do it in nz!

Hope all is well in England guys- miss u all loads!

Luke