When we originally planned to leave work, we had a trip around Asia in mind but Covid had other ideas. After a lot of paperwork, sorting house-sitters and pets we’ve finally set off to Thailand and beyond. First week, we’ll be in Khao Lak for some daughter time and then who knows…

We flew with Qatar Airways who were just as good as we remembered. Great staff, food and a very empty plane for the first 6 hours.

After a brief panic in Doha with 2 staff counting on their fingers the hours since our pcr test, our next flight to Phuket was full but, on landing, we were through the airport with the numerous tests and more invasive jabbing really quickly. We waved to Kate across the corridor and then holed up in our room for 5 hours awaiting test results in a thunderstorm. This was followed by a huge hug and cocktails.

We had a couple of lazy days recovering from the flight and enjoying the beautiful beach as well as some relaxing massages. The tests on day 1 and day 5 were luckily fine and so we are now free to move around Thailand. Kate and Ali scoped out a trip to the Similian Islands which we then took too. We had quite a bumpy speed boat ride (which Callum managed to sleep through) followed by some good snorkelling and beaches with talcum powder sand. There were some huge monitor lizards which tried to join us for lunch too.

Next, we are heading off to Khao Sok to hopefully walk off some of the many cocktails.

A snake a day is the Thailand way in Khao Sok

Our next stop was travelling north to Khao Sok: an area inland with a huge national park. We had decided to try public transport and so got a songthaew (basically an open air truck) to the bus station only to find the bus station wasn’t open and the bus might come at “some point” during the day, not at the time on the timetable. After some negotiation with the driver, we agreed that he would drive us the hour trip there. It was pretty bumpy but it did mean that we got full view of the scenery on the way up which was pretty impressive. Anyway, we arrived much earlier than anticipated but the lovely people at the Khao Sok Paradise Resort were great about it and our treehouse was ready. We were given a short talk on the animals we might see including which ones were dangerous and then taken to our room where after a few minutes we were joined by a guest.

First he sat watching us and then got pretty persistent about coming very close. With the nurses advice when we had our rabies shots ringing in our ears, we beat a hasty retreat inside as soon as he hissed at us( who knew a long tailed macaque could hiss?) He was pretty insistent that he wanted into the treehouse, pushing the door and pacing up and down as if he owned the place! Callum, of course, had to wind him up through the window but after a few more hisses he gave up which was lucky as we had to go out on our canoe trip.

We were picked up in another songthaew and headed off . We had thought we were canoeing ourselves but it turned out we were just along for the ride. After initially been disappointed, it was actually rather lovely to be paddled along through the rainforest spotting the wildlife and greeting the locals playing in the river. We fed some protected fish and had coffee on the river bank in bamboo cups made on a fire Laet made there and then. (This was the closest Callum could get me to doing the survival experience overnight excursion). We saw kingfishers, heron like birds, heard the monkeys and saw a mangrove snake asleep in the tree above us All in all, a lovely few hours.

The following day we went on a day trip to Cheow Lan Lake which had been formed when the Thai government created a dam to generate power for the south of Thailand. We did actually get to canoe this time, as well as go on the speedboat, a raft, a trek through the rainforest with the guide and in a cave with lots of stalagmites and stalactites. We saw some horn bills, a wild boar, monkeys and a tarantula spider trap door. We were on the lookout for leeches but only saw the very bloody outcome of one on the only man in long trousers! He was not impressed. A great day despite being the oldest by 20 years- we were proud to be at the front of the pack on the trek though quite a few young ones didn’t even do it! The Scottish contingent couldn’t believe the waste of money!

We did one more trek in the National Park on our own the next day which was rather lovely if somewhat sweaty. The waterfalls we saw were nice but having been to Plitvice in Croatia we were hard to impress.

Callum has been happy to have seen a snake every day for the past 5 days – albeit mostly from a safe distance however we had a sudden change of plans and so are now at Karon Beach on Phuket at the Centara Villas enjoying a bit of luxury in our own separate villa and an upgrade to an ocean view!

Kate and Krabi

After our “poorly spell” we donned our back packs and set off to meet Kate in Krabi where she had been roughing it in a nice hotel waiting for us. The transportation here always amazes us by its ease, efficiency and low cost. We were picked up from the hotel, taken to the port on the opposite side of the island, shepherded and stickered (presumably to make the herding of foreigners easier) by staff onto a boat and then herded onto another van to be driven to our hotel. The journey cost £8 each and took 4 hours! The speedboat trip was something we would have paid for just the views.

The following day, Kate had a lot of work to do (she is actually doing a masters..) so Callum and I headed to immigration to extend our visas for the extra month we need. Callum liked the sign on the entrance-we did wonder who the other parking was for. We were amazed how easy it all was and we were out in half an hour all sorted. It seemed a good idea to make use of the moped and go to the Tiger Temple as Kate wasn’t keen on going. We found it easily (thanks to Google maps) and, after a quick addition of a dress over my clothes, set off. The tiger is no longer at the temple as, unsurprisingly, it ran off when the monks arrived in 1975 but it was still pretty cool to see. For some unknown reason, we decided that it would be a good idea to climb the 1260 steps up to the viewpoint and the Buddha. The steps were of very different heights and widths( some thigh height) and definitely not easy in 32 degrees whilst wearing a dress. Not only did we have to stop A LOT (and we were not alone in that) but I had to sit down to just breathe several times. We really did think it had beaten me. After a bit of bad temperedness, we did actually make it to the top and it was worth it- as was the ice cream when got back to the bottom again.

The next day, we joined Kate on a hike to a famous trek and viewpoint before her lectures. We really enjoyed the National Park spotting huge centipedes and ants but no monkeys or snakes this time. The noises were most amazing however, there were birds that sounded exactly like lorries reversing and the chorus of cicadas was at some points deafening. It took us about 2 hours up and only a little quicker downhill. It was much easier than the Tiger Temple climb, however, so maybe the lungs are recovering after all.

On our final day in Krabi, we decided a beach day was necessary so we got on a longtail boat and in a few minutes we were at Railay beach. It was quite idyllic. Kate sat in the shade to work though was dogged by sand and tech issues as well as mischievous monkeys trying to steal things. There is also a temple there with some rather interesting offerings. They were put there as fertility offerings so Kate (and you – if you’d been here Em) was ushered away rather quickly – we’re far too young to be grandparents!

Moping around Koh Lanta

Having eaten a rather large breakfast (the Scot likes to get his money’s worth) , we got a van to Koh Lanta. It took about 2 hours with the shortest ferry crossing ever and we arrived at the Papillon Bungalows to find that it was opposite a building site with a jack hammer so first impressions weren’t great. It did, however, have a lovely little pool and was a 2 minute walk to a long, empty beach. We had a wander and then watched the first of several beautiful sunsets with a beer. We ate several times at the little beach restaurant nearby. Sadly, the bar only seemed to have sold about 10 beers for the whole night and the restaurant only had about 3 sets of customers which was what continued to happen the whole time we were there. It is really hard to see how on earth these people are making a living.

We hired a bike for the time we were here and headed to see just a few places each day. We did some beach hopping until the sand got too much and went to Koh Lanta old town which was just lovely: all old wooden buildings built on stilts over the water. We also visited another national park which had a walk through the rainforest and the most gorgeous beach. We did both have a little snooze on that one only to be woken by a huge gust getting completely sand blasted- the weather changes so quickly from blue sky to storm especially when you’re asleep. We had to dash for our bike and hope we got to a restaurant before the storm hit us. There was a nice owner stood in front of the first one waving people in- he must have prayed for the afternoon storms as his place was quite full of people dodging the rain.

As Callum was missing the 6 Nations rugby trip with the lads, we tried to find a bar showing it but the only bar we could find had closed during covid. In order for him to get some sport, we decided to go to the local muay thai boxing. It was very close by and staff at the bungalows were very enthusiastic about taking us (he also got us in for a local price). There were 4 fights and a fire show. We had been impressed by an 8 year old doing a fire show over dinner a few nights earlier – quite a different style of parenting here. It started with youngsters and then culminated in a Swiss man who seemed very “confident” against a Thai. The ref was very on it and stopped 2 fights which we were impressed with and I think that was the reason we actually really enjoyed it as it felt safe. It was also really interesting to spot the those men who were quite obviously sex tourists. They were quite easy to spot and it did make us laugh when one of these men was left by the Thai woman. His face when she didn’t return was a picture. Just desserts and all that!

The hotel and lots of the places around were doing quite a lot of work getting the buildings and grounds back to a good condition as nature had taken over in some places. The animals were certainly a feature here as the monkeys were very visible wherever we drove. We passed lots of troops of monkeys crossing roads or sitting on tourists bikes and the cicadas took it to a whole different level so it was hard to hear each other at times (Callum might have thought that a blessing after 4 weeks!) Even at dinner, lizards ran over our feet on the beach and, on the way to eat, we saw a huge python lying happily on the track. We were convinced it was dead after seeing it in the same place and position for several days until Callum decided to annoy it with the torch and it moved. We moved quickly too!

A tale of 2 cities-Ayutthaya and Bangkok

We got an early flight to Don Mueang airport in Bangkok in order to go to Ayutthaya which was one of the oldest cities in Thailand. We got the train after having great trouble finding both the airport exit and train station. Lots of helpful Thais shouted and waved at us as we went the wrong way and we ended up running with our packs as the nice conductor held the train for us while we paid our 30p fare to Ayutthaya – not sure you would get that on British Rail.

We also went to Bang Pa In Palace which is a few stops down the train line (7p journey!) . It is the place the story of the King and I is based at. Again, we were helped by some friendly locals who prevented us getting off at the wrong stop with much waving and pointing and we enjoyed a few hours wandering round the gardens. We were the only tourists in the whole place and the guards stood to attention as we wandered past which was both off putting and amusing at the same time. The dress code was very strict here so I had to wander round not in the shawl I had taken to cover my shoulders but in Callum’s Heineken T-shirt which did bring a smile to the security guards otherwise stern face! It was quite strange to see such western building designs in amongst the very few Thai buildings but this King was trying to show the west that he was modern and progressive. The gardens and museum that was full of gifts given to the King were pretty amazing and the topiary an added bonus.

Ayutthaya was a bit of a shock after sleepy Koh Lanta but we enjoyed the temples – well I did. Our first evening, we had a private tour on the river which was very special and then ordered some street food. We were, very obviously, the only non-locals there which was quite strange after the south. The following morning, we did a deal with a tuktuk and saw most of the central temples. Callum did very well managing 5 wats( temples) in 2 and a half hours with next to no moaning- definite gold star moment.

The following day, we went into Bangkok where we had rented an Airbnb as Kate was staying with us. We had the first night there with Kate’s friends, Dorine and Mayke, in a German bar. It was a fun evening and lovely to get to know them after hearing such a lot about the friends she is studying with. We all did some sightseeing the next day going to a wat we hadn’t been to before, the National Museum and the massive Chatuchak market with 15,000 stalls. Unfortunately, we spent too much time at the first 2 so didn’t get to them all but Callum did manage to get the most disgusting football shirt ever invented- I think there will be a lot of stick at Wednesday night football when he wears it.

The next day, like our sightseeing day, was roasting so we had a lazy walk around Lumpini Park. Callum enjoyed the monitor lizard spotting and then we lazed by the pool. We did also manage to fit in a sky bar before we left and had a lovely cocktail with a view of the park we had walked in. We left Kate the following day and spent our last afternoon in China town where amazingly it is really hard to find somewhere nice to eat. After visiting the Marble Temple (which was sadly closed so we could only look from outside -I’m sure you can hear Callum’s sigh of relief) and massage, we set off for the night train north.