Monday 18 February 2008

More scooter adventures!

Hello all,

The scooter story continues..............

So after the last update the getting around Phuket and learning that the scooter is the only way to travel (although pimp my tut tut is a rapidly growing fashion, neon lights, subs, big alloys, a million spotlights and even a windscreen skicker all regular fashion). We have finally plucked up some courage and went for a little adventure on our scooter. We had promised the hire lady (insert own comical Thai accent here...............) "you look after my motorbike" "you will be carefull with my
motorbike" "use unleaded 91 octane in my motorbike" (we actually believed it was her own personal "motorbike" she had given us) we headed south of Phuket in search of something nicer than Patong beach.............................

We found it! Yay we had actually found some nice beaches with out the neon strip of blackpool. It did take most of the afternoon though. Let me set the scene for you............beautiful rich green rolling coastline hills for as far as the eye can see no mix that with the scene from dumb and dumber when they are both sat on the little scooter.........You got it, at least we weren't cold. Another benfit is that it only managed about 20 miles an hour so when you got hit in the face with a bug (consenquence of all those
beautiful rich green rolling coastline hills) it wasn't going fast enough to hurt! So back to our lush paradise like beach...... Well it was acutally getting pretty close to sunset by the time we got to the very south of the island. So we pulled into a posh looking restaurant for a nice (valentines - brownie points) evening dinner adjacent to the bay to watch the sun go down for the day. However the posh looking restaurant didn't open till 7:30, way after the sunset (think they are missing a bit of a marketing dream there but there loss) so we went over to the other side of the bay and found a not so nice looking plastic table and chair set. The food was absolutly amazing and we both watched the sunset on the our first enjoyable day in Thailand.

5:30 the alarm goes off continually, sorry i mean the worlds most annoying rooster, loud as you like next door! Shocking. So we hope today is the day for the nice enjoyable Thailand to prevail and after yesterdays good fortune things were looking up. Up wakes a voiceless leanne. NOT GOOD! So with a bottle of water in hand and packet of strepcils we head down for the minibus transfer to the harbour. Lots of coughing, fleming, and croaking later we have arrived at what seems to be a harbour made up of boats tied together. We buy a ticket and get on the boat, easy! We have actually done some cross land travelling now, by boat and everything! All the boats untied and race off in thier different directions the "harbour" dissapears!

Koh Phi Phi here we come.

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

Arrive at phi phi, much the same really, lots of offers for random stuff, The main difference is that all the men standing at the side of the pavement are now offering "taxiboat" not "tut tut" sadly there is no pimp my taxi boat going on here, if anything its like the opposite. A taxi boat consists of wood older than most of the trees on the island nailed to an engine older the most of the houses i have ever lived in, hit that with a tsunami and you can imagin the state of these taxi boats but hey they get you there........ (lea just read that bit for the first time and gasped - noted!! - bad matt)

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

There being a treehouse about 15-20 meters up, (not exactly the desired beach front bungalow we were sold on)

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

Still feeling the illness, leanne hit the bed hard, pulled the fly net (godsend) around her and was out. Only stirring for a cough, swig of water and a moan! (I am gonna get in trouble for that one) I picked up a random book called "invasion that was floating around in the reception book share thing, one of the only english ones! So i began to read. Leanne slept/ i read. Continually for about 6 or 7 hours. The bungalows are great everything you need to sleep and read. The only thing i would say is the generator that powers the bungalows only comes on when it gets dark/ a man turns it on, subsequently when it gets dark you don't have any power untill they turn it on, nice. So i had a little nap i was warn out from all the reading) untill they turned the power on. Much more illness...........

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs and the biggest spider we have ever seen (lea here for a couple of words - matt screamed a high pitch top C note when he saw the trantula!! x) Yeah thats right the thing had more chest hair than me!! (lea here again - and thats furry!!)

We now call it, leanne needed some anti-biotics - So we travelled by taxiboat again ( there is nothing where we are staying but the bungalows and the restaurant, the rest of the civilisation is on the other side (much like Lost). Long and short of it anti-biotics IN - throat infection OUT (and parents relax), i tell you we almost have smiles again. Apart from the fact we are now staying in a TENT. Nothing more to say about that, we are not at that point where you can look back and laugh on it. So that will come soon. - we hope.

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

Oh yeah the after nearly 400 pages i realised the book i picked up is actually abouth the TV show the 4400 , god bless my memory!

Plans are to head over to Krabi then Koh Samui. Gem/Trip advisor the last advice was actually spot on, any more info for Samui?

Hope everyone is well, any news?

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

Love you all lots

From an almost better matt and lea xxx

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

To an almost better matt and lea. Sorry to hear that you have both been poorly, Matt have you been well since you left home?
Its good to hear that you are having lots of fun exploring,one day maybe your dad and I will borrow your backpacks, do you think we would cope?
Back here in very cold UK nothing exciting happening, your car has moved from the house to the garage, it is possible that your car is not worth more than 3000 so we will not sell it if this is the case, but will try anyway.
Wedding plans are underway and we have a meeting with the marquee man this week, his company did posh and becks wedding marquee!!! This bit of information we have not shared with dad, yet.
Thinking of you, be safe, be well. Lots lovexxxxxxxx

Anonymous said...

Loved that entry!! Very amusing, maybe not for you at the time but it makes a good story! Have you done any snorkling or too ill?? Do you like phi phi??
Not much gossip/news here i am afraid. Just getting prepared to start work full time again(season starts in less than 1 month)
Tour guide bit - Get boat from harbour you came in on. Instead of going back to phuket this time get the one to krabi. In my diary we left at 9am but i guess there will be later ones too. We didnt stop at krabi but its supposed to be beautiful. Once we got off ferry we went into this little office in harbour ( when i say that as you may have guessed its not actually a harbour!! more like wooden plank and pole to tie boat to!!) They sold tickets for coaches everywhere. Its about 4 1/2 hours on coach from Krabi to surathani then you get fast ferry to Samui (cant remember how long that was no longer than 1 1/2 ish. You come in to samui in nathon ( harbour)
Hat Chewang is bit like patong except no water sports in sea so you might be better looking at lamai which is bit smaller. You can get a boat from Mae nam or bo phut ( Big budda pier) to get to island Koh Toa or koh phangna

Have fun!

Hope you are better very soon.

Hows the food been?? Have you spotted any he/shes??

Love Gemma and Martin