Tomorrow I head for Pattaya, so I should put down some notes on my time on Ko Samui before I forget.

Firstly, the Hotel - weird and wonderful. The rooms are self contained, detached and semi-detached (duplex) structures scattered through the hotel gardens. Mine was en-suite with a (cool) power shower and otherwise cold running water. The main door is shut on the inside by top and bottom sliding catches, and from the outside by a padlock; there is no conventional door lock. Walking through the dense gardens I can get to the restaurant, spa, pool and other facilities. The bar is open to the elements, situated above the restaurant looking out over the bay, and is full of hammocks, couches and assorted other seating areas. All around are wind chimes that catch the cool breezes making it a very pleasant place to chill-out. For both Christmas and New Years, the hotel put on a buffet and show of traditional dancing. The staff are all very polite, pleasant and helpful.

On the other hand, I'm not very impressed by Lamai beach. I have perhaps been spoilt by places like Boracay and Bondi, but the sand here is quite coarse and the beach not very wide. The beach front is dominated by hotels, and you have to get a little way behind the beach to find the other restaurants and bars on the main street. The place reminds me of a club 18-30 holiday - nothing is really open until after midday, and the place becomes a party town in the evening. Otherwise, there is very little here. The weather has been either dull or spectacularly wet (it has rained continuously for the last 3 days), and constantly hot and humid. The daytime temperatures are about 29°C and the night-time about the same at 27°C. I realise that this is a bit negative, but I just haven't really been able to get into Ko Samui, though other folk have. One couple from Sydney were here in March last year and are planning to have their wedding here in 2013, so they obviously see something I don't. I guess I just don't fit here.

If it hadn't been the holiday season, I would not have booked for so long, and would have moved on before now, but I thought it best to book somewhere early to make sure I didn't end up in a backpackers dorm or worse. Still, with only 5 weeks before my holiday is done, it has given me a chance to pause and reflect a little on my holiday and year off work. For example, on New Year's Eve, besides sitting in the bar and watching the fireworks and sky lanterns over the bay, I spent a bit of time reviewing my entries on this blog and reaching the conclusion that I am not a travel writer or photographer. When I decided to take this time out, I wanted to make some personal changes and get some new experiences, before deciding what I wanted to do next. My first 6 months I lost weight and got fit again, threw out tonnes of junk from my flat, and planned the second 6 months - my holiday. On the holiday I've (mostly) had a great time, met lots of people - some new and some old friends - had some great new experiences and seen a lot more of the world than I have previously. One thing I decided at the very start was to avoid superlatives, so I'm not going to say that "I've made the most of the opportunity" or that "it has been the holiday of a life time". However, it has been a wonderful experience and I would do the same thing again if I had my time again. Of course, knowing a little bit more now, I might have done a slightly different trip, but given what I knew then, I don't think I got a lot wrong. I would whole heartedly recommend taking time out from the rat race to anyone if they are lucky enough like me to get the chance.

But I've still got 5 weeks to go, and I've also used my time on Ko Samui to firm up the bookings for the rest of my holiday. Tomorrow I fly to Pattaya on the east coast, hoping that the weather will be a bit better up there. Someone told me that good boys go to heaven, and bad boys go to Pattaya!? I am booked into a more conventional holiday resort for a week before I head back to Bangkok. I'm hoping to do some day tours around Bangkok to get a bit more of the cultural side to Thailand before I fly out to New Delhi on 15th January; I had to bring this flight 2 days forwards to comply with Thai Visa rules. My time in India was already fairly well defined, though I will now have 2 more days in Delhi before the train journey to Mumbai. As I mentioned last time, I am flying straight out of Mumbai to Dubai on the 1st February and leaving Dubai for England on 7th February. The only difference here is that I discovered that I couldn't return via Mumbai as originally booked because of Indian Visa rules, so I've had to book another flight to get back to Heathrow on 7th. Many thanks again are due to the folk at Round-the-World Experts for helping me sort out these last flights.

Now I need to re-energise and get going again in Pattaya.