Blog time!

I last left you in a 9 toe-nailed state on Koh Tao, since then I have crossed 2 Borders, been to 3 different islands other than the mainland and a whole other country.....wow, I thought I had just been drunk on beaches for 3 weeks but I have actually done quite alot!

The reason for my border crossing was my Thai Visa was coming to an end and I didn't want to be an illegal! I therefore ventured to Burma on a cargo ship (I was definitely told this was a legitimate way to regain a visa but it all felt a little bit suspicious!) not knowing anything about Burma other than what I have seen on Rambo I was relatively nervous to say the least and the mode of transport, at night I might add, didn't do anything to calm me down! Was there a high rate of ginger-westerner-smuggling in Burma, I didn't know!? The whole affair ran relatively smoothly however, I can now officially say I have been to Burma! It may have been for 20 minutes and my only experience may have been to swerve an 11-fingered local trying to sell me Viagra and whiskey but it's still another country visited!

My arrival back on Koh Tao saw the drinking continue but a change of travelling personnel, Drewe and Thijs had both departed for home but Pavan's return eased the heart ache of losing some sweet travel buddies.

The days that followed saw more beach and pool time, me actually picking up a book! and Dale get a drunken tattoo, not on his face, I am sorry to say, it looks good as well..... Also slightly disappointing from my point of view as it makes for a less amusing story, good for him though I suppose as he has to live with it forever. I have still avoided such a fate but I am not sure how much longer that will last! A little bit of skinny dipping (good ratios, I might add) and some more fire poi saw the Koh Tao adventure come to an end. Onwards to Koh Phangan and the full moon......

For those who haven't heard of, or experienced, the Full Moon Party it's hard to explain, we arrived a good few days before, as recommended, as the actual party on the night of the full moon entails 30-40 thousand people descending on a relatively small beach to drink/dance the night/morning away with fire, glow paint, passed out people and injuries at every turn!

I am pleased we decided to arrive when we did as it allowed us to fully appreciate the delights Haddrin Beach had to offer. Some of the highlights included a 30 foot flaming skipping rope (I believe, with my extensive practice and only minor burns, that I'm just a little bit of a pro....I do however miss my leg hair) I also had a dabble at fire poi which I am surprised to tell you I wasn't completely useless at, I blagged it like a knew what I was doing quite impressively....the only hiccup (other than singed nipple hair) was when I launched one at a friend, that admittedly was a minor blip but after assuring her it was an accident, all was forgiven (there is video evidence....bad times, she assured me there was only a slim chance of legal action though!)

Another couple of days of foam and pool parties, arriving home late morning, pleading with the 7/11 lady to let us buy discounted toasties due to a lack of funds (I will love that woman forever), multiple trips to mellow mountain (with hilarious consequences, including some 4-way spoonage in a jungle on my part and Pavan rolling around like a dog on fire), me falling in love with fire poi girls, friend making, unbelievably beautiful sunrises, a deliberately unnamed (thank me later) travellers happy happy fun time with a dwarf, me wearing some truly ridiculous attire (at one point I looked a bit like a butcher...with a uv handlebar tash and Harry Potter glasses!?! It looked wicked under the black lights though and yes there are pictures that I am sure will surface at some point), some very ill advised rock climbing and a minor falling out with the group of Irish chavs staying in our apartments and we made it to the night of the full moon!

By this point me and Dale had acquired a collection of truly entertaining drinking companions with which to enjoy the full moon with, unfortunately however Pavan was not one of them, he had headed to Egypt a day or so before. This called for another leaving do to rival Cai's in Bangkok....the buckets started at 11 and Pavans makeover commenced shortly after. By the time we had finished he had a smiley face shaved into his chest hair and a fairly impressive BA Barracus, from A Team style Mohawk (I will upload a picture). I am chuffed to say he could pull it off well! The night was epic again, more fire rope burns, original dance moves and general drunken shenanigans and another member of the original was wolfpack lost. We'll miss you dude, I will see you in Boston!

The pre-drinking team involved our new room-mate Anton, a Londoner Dale knew from home, his team of ladies, met on the boat, Lesley and Helena. A wicked pair of Canadians we met on our first day and chilled with most of the week, Stef and Ashleigh. A couple from Wakefield, Teri and G and 3 girls from Leeds uni, Suzy, Harriet and Vicky (small world, Suzy goes out with Rob Clements, a lad I play rugby with & intend to meet in Thailand soon!). I thank each and every one of you for the night that followed.....

We started as a team and tried to stay together for as long as we could, this as anyone who has done a fool moon party will tell you is practically impossible, we did however manage to get glow painted up together, I went for the complete yellow approach to start with, this then evolved into a big smiley face on my chest later on in the night but this was lost when I ventured into the sea (I made several such excursions into the water throughout the night, I'm not really sure why but at the time it was definitely the right thing to do) the majority of my night was spent with Suzy, Harriet, Teri and G. Together we cut some truly outstanding shapes, and Leo got us in a spectacular state (the bucket salesman we befriended earlier in the week, I am fairly sure he can retire from our custom) at one point me and G were attempting one-armed press-ups to the music (I managed 2.....not to the music) it turns out that this isn't the most practical dance move, especially to trance music, if that doesn't tell you how drunk we were I don't know what will. It was an awesome night which culminated in me finding Dale again and heading up to Mellow Mountain to chill out, it was here I met what felt like every traveller I had befriended over the last month, it was awesome!

The walk home at about 8 in the morning, saw the party winding down, there were still a few ravers going strong but far more unconscious bodies lying face down in the sand, literally piles of corpses! The trip home, a 10 minute walk most days (although it did take me and Dale multiple hours after a particularly large evening) was awesome, other than the comical sights you could still see the full moon as well as a pretty flair sunrise and if that wasn't enough I also ran into Anton, Helena and Lesley who I had lost a good 10 hours earlier.

All in all a brilliant week that lived up to my very high expectations, so after 28 minutes sleep, an average of 2 Penang curries a day (so so good) and a pretty sizeable limp (its origin a mystery to me) me and Dale left for Phuket. Our Phangan adventure was over. I no what you are thinking, it's not advisable to travel so soon after the full moon with limited recovery time, but the promise of my Uncles luxury apartment seemed a far more preferable place to begin the process of regaining some form of health and a 3 and a half hour journey seemed do-able....

I would like to thank the wonderful Thai transport system for turning this journey into a 13 hour marathon involving a boat, 3 buses, a pick-up truck and tuk-tuk ride meaning we got to the apartment after reception closed. At this point we were getting ready to set up our hammocks and sleep rough for the night (I don't think you will be able to imagine the state we were in so I won't try and explain) the complex though sent someone out to let us in the room avoiding any hobo-like behaviour on our part.....

At this point you can imagine our desperation for something to go our way and the moment we stepped into the apartment it did. Uncle Mike and family, I don't think I will ever be able to express my gratitude for allowing us to stay where I am writing this blog from. It has truly brought us back to life! I will upload a photo of the view from our balcony (yes that's right, we've got a balcony). Truly awesome!

The plan is to hit Malaysia next after Phuket, Kuala Lumpur is the desired destination but with my confidence in Asian transport waining don't be surprised if my next blog comes to you from Papua New Guinea or somewhere as equally random.

If you have read to this point in my blog I thank you, sorry to witter on, it has been a bit of a marathon one but I didn't want to leave too much out!

I am still going strong and enjoying myself (I won't say enjoying every minute because there was at least 7 I didn't enjoy on my 13 hour mission) the health levels are definitely going in the right direction for the time being and a detox is well and truly underway, probably long overdue but I'm still alive so it's all gravy.

Hope this blog finds you well and you enjoyed it!

Luke. X