Waking up to the ocean right outside my balcony, the waves lapping up and sun shining through the window I felt so happy and that epic journey to get here was so worth it.
Over breakfast I met two Canadian guys called Brent and Ryan who I spent the day with at the beach. It needs to be said that the Thailand beaches totally lived up to expectation. Think soft white sand, turquoise clear waters as warm as a bath and a warm breeze flowing over you, mix that with hammocks strung from palm trees and I actually heard the song ‘Pure Shores’ from All Saints which was used in the film The Beach, it felt very surreal!
The two guys were great fun to be around and the day quickly passed over beers (which I am building a tolerance for just because they are so cheap and strong, it’s about £1.40 for a large bottle that is 6.5%) Thai food, and interesting conversation. I wanted to do this trip to meet people from places I have never been to experience a slice of their culture and views. Being able to cover topics such as politics, religion, world history, and cultural differences with people who are practically strangers really opens your mind. I think at home we are surrounded with the same group of people whether it is work colleagues or friends and you more or less know their views on things so rarely have deep and meaningful’s with them. Although I am missing a good old gossip!
That evening we went to one of the busiest bars on the island called ‘fish bowl’ where drinks are cheap, the music is good and every night there is a fire show. This is basically where Thai men set fire to sticks and iron balls and dance around doing tricks with them. After a while they get the crowd involved and set fire to a large skipping rope that drunk travellers jump over and run into the ocean if they get burnt. No health and safety checks out here! Then out comes a limbo stick that is on fire and after a few strong vodkas I feel brave/stupid enough to give it a go. The flames were so hot but it was over in a few seconds and it felt great to have done it as being carefree to try random and crazy things like this seems a world away from the cautious carol I am back home.
