New Years in Phuket

New Year’s Eve and day were a real treat! After 4 nights in a shared Dorm in Phi Phi with six other people (one of which was a lovely Brazilian woman who had THE WORST SNORING PROBLEM IN THE WORLD) Checking into our fancy hotel for two nights was beyond a fantastic feeling.

We had arranged a posh NYE dinner at the hotel but unfortunately we arrived to the news that the posh dinner had been cancelled due to not having enough people so we were offered a Thai bbq instead. The staff at the hotel could not have been more apologetic and told us that they were planning a special surprise for us by way of saying sorry.....

At 7.30pm we went up to the roof top restaurant and were ushered toward a private table which had been set up in the gardens - we walked by the candle lit stairs which had been done especially for us - both feeling a bit sheepish and silly we sat at our exclusive table for two. Next thing the hotel staff approach with a bottle of bubbly on ice and two champagne glasses..... compliments of the hotel! Well thank you very much!! 

We sat and drank our sparkling and then were told that a full bbq had been set up just for us!

Giant prawns, beef, chicken, swordfish, veggies, fresh bread, different style potatoes, salad and kebabs all laid out on the table.....

“What would you like” the waiter asked

We were both quick to reply “a bit of everything please!”

The meal was delicious and after almost two months being fully vegetarian I had zero guilt about converting back to being a carnivore! Wout was in his element....

After the meal we headed to Bangala Road the famous walking street with bars and clubs lining both sides and tens of thousands of people slowly making their way toward Patong beach for the midnight fireworks - this really was a New Year’s Eve to remember though one never to be repeated! The crowds were insane and all a bit much for us both but so much fun (for one night only) and what an experience.

I think the video will do a better job of summing this up so watch here below:

https://magis.to/av/ej0pAUZcF1InP3EGDmEwCXh6?l=vsm&o=i&c=w

Koh Phi Phi Island

We had an amazing time on Koh Phi Phi - this place is honestly paradise - white sand beaches, towering lime stone mountains, emerald green and bright blue waters and even more incredible fire shows- just out of this world!

Mum and Dad bought us a boat trip as our Christmas present and we went touring around the Islands and Snorkelling - here's the video:

A very 'krabi' christmas - Ao Nang

After leaving Tonsai (AKA the jungle oven) we couldn't have been happier to arrive at our swanky hotel room.

We'd treated ourselves to a fancy deluxe room complete with a bath on the balcony - yeah you're reading that right we had a bath on the balcony!

You'd think our first thought would be to jump in for a soak but after four days in the jungle our first priority was to wash our clothes. Who knew what multiple uses a bathtub could have?

Christmas eve and day we spent most of our time in the comfort of the air con in our hotel room video calling friends and family and enjoying a party for two on our on our balcony.

                 

 

    

 

Christmas eve we headed out for a drink at the Irish bar where Wout was very happy to discover that they had Guinness.

  

There was a lot of randomness during our Krabi Christmas including a cat in a Christmas jumper and a giant dancing Santa duck topped off with a Mexican meal as substitute for our Christmas dinner. 

A short stay in a 'Jungle Oven' - Railey beach and Tonsai bay

We left Koh Samui on the 21st December and went for a short trip to a remote beach called Ton Sai - the beach is only accessible by boat or via a short jungle trek.

The boat trip over offered wonderful views of the mountains towering over the turquoise blue waters:

We finally arrived to our Jungle hut (a ferry a mini van and 2 long tail boats later) and the first thing that we noticed about this place was the terrible smell!! It took a while to figure out what it was but soon it became apparent that it was a combination of Monkey pee and over worked drains.
It was really unbearable and teamed with the burning heat (approx 38) we really started to question how we were going to manage 4 days here!!

it looks a lot nicer in this picture!

We decided the best thing to do would be to take a shower and go down to the bar for an ice cold beer! It had been a looong day.....

We both showered (which Wout had to fix before we could use it) and when we came out of our jungle hut we were greeted by these gorgeous monkeys

Seeing these closeup made the smell and heat a little more tolerable!

Upon arriving at the bar we were welcomed by Joe the Bar Man - he laughed like Mr Chow from The Hangover and wore a pirate hat!

Joe the Barman

Our first evening was spent drinking cold beers and working out how we were going to get to the ATM which was on the next beach and we had the option of a 30 minute Jungle hike, taking a boat or waiting for the tide to go out at which time we'd be able to walk by the rocks......

The next morning after not much sleep we decided to head out on the mission to the ATM and we'd opted for the rock trail as the tide was out. VERY BIG MISTAKE!! I hated every minute of the walk / climb / clamber! I reckon i cried at least 3 times and drove Wout nuts - it was so difficult to manoeuvre over the rocks and at points the water actually got quite deep. I had a full freak out when i saw this massive fish swimming around my legs only to realise it was in fact only a leaf! Embarrassing. 

We got our money though and headed back by long tail boat! No way i was getting back on them rocks.

The following days were much of the same. Not much sleep (due to the incredible heat and humidity and the fact that all we had for cooling down was a broken ceiling fan) and making the journey via the jungle trail to the next beach where we were able to get food and drinks etc.

We also only had electricity access 6 pm till 6 am so the only option was to go out and about as opposed to cooking alive in our jungle hut. 

We learned that the main reason people visit this place is because it is a Mecca from Climbers and we passed most of the final day sat at the beach watching people climb. This particular day neither of us had put on sun cream as we hadn't intended to stay out long. However we got so into watching the climbers we complete lost track of time and both ended up with a massive sunburn (Not the best considering our accommodation arrangements) no amount of after sun was cooling us down!

The rock climbers

When the time came to leave we could not have been happier - knowing that we had a lovely 4 star hotel with air con booked for over Christmas we were more than ready to move on.

Railey beach and Ton Sai are truly stunning but in hindsight a day trip to here would have sufficed!

Secret Buddha Garden, Hot Wheels, Mummified monk and a massive boulder.....

After moving into our lovely apartment in Koh Samui we decided to head out for the day to do some exploring. We hired a 125cc moped and off we went  in our fashionable bucket style helmets!

First stop was a place called called The Secret Buddha Garden. This place is in the Mountains and was built by a sculptor called Nim Thong suk who was also a Durian (a type of fruit) farmer. In 1976 at the age of 77 he began constructing the garden as a spiritual place for Buddhists to meditate and enjoy, he continued working on the garden up until he died age 91. 

We left the gardens and headed back down the mountain towards our next stop to see a Mummified Monk.

On route we had to go down super steep hills and at one point there was a huge warning sign at the side of the road saying -  VERY STEEP HILL - STOP AND WATER YOUR BRAKES. I asked Wout should we stop? He replied Nah - no worries - we’ll be fine!!! 


Safe to say after about 5 mins of downhill braking we were not fine and the front brake on the bike overheated and stopped working!!!! Luckily we were able to stop though and as I got off the bike a Thai lady (who was coming up the hill) stopped and said “you must water your brake and wait at least 10 minutes before you set off again” she then pointed to the side of the road where there was a water pipe which had purposefully been cut to allow the water to spray out - so there we were at the side of the road watering the brakes. Moral of the story -FOLLOW THE BLOODY SIGNS! 

When we reached the Mummified Monk temple there was a big crowd of people and it took a few minutes to catch sight of him. Much to both of our surprise there he was in his glass casket wearing what i can only describe as a pair of 'blues brothers style sunglasses'! Very interesting sight.....

Some explanation about how he came to be Mummified:

The life of Loung Pordaeng

Loung Pordaeng was born in 1894 in Koh Samui. When he was around 20 years old, he ordained as a monk, like it is customary for young boys in Thailand. After spending a period of time as a monk he disrobed, got married and started a family.

Upon reaching the age of 50 when his children had grown up, Loung Pordaeng decided to return to the temple and dedicate the rest of his life to Buddhism. He was given the name Phra Kru Samathakittikhun upon returning to the temple.

After spending some time in Bangkok where he studied meditation techniques and Buddhist scriptures, he returned to Koh Samui and spend some time in a cave meditating. After that, he returned to Wat Khunaram temple, where he became the abbot.

Loung Pordaeng excelled in meditation skills, was an excellent teacher and had many followers. When he reached the age of 79, Loung Pordaeng is said to have predicted his own death.

He instructed his followers that if his body would decay, he wanted to be cremated.

If the body would not decompose however, he wanted his body to be kept in a glass casket in the temple to serve as an inspiration for future generations to follow the teachings of the Buddha.

It is believed that the last week of Loung Pordaeng’s life, he did not eat, drink or speak to anyone while meditating. Finally, he died in 1973 at the age of 79 while meditating.

Third on the list was a place called overlap rock - the road up to here was even more steep and this time we followed the sign and parked the bike and walked up!

very very steep hill!

It was quite the fitness test walking up the almost vertical road in 32 degree heat but we persevered and we weren’t disappointed.

Path to the Overlap rock

Stunning views from the top

Last on the list was to visit the beach so we could eat our packed lunch! )Yes you heard me right we're that kind of travellers who take their home made sandwiches on day trips to save money! - How else do you think we can afford to travel?)

Anyways we get to this lovely beach and eat our cheese slice and cucumber butties then head up onto to rocks to get better views and there in the background was the infamous Grandfather Rock (http://www.kosamui.com/lamai-beach/hinta-hinyai.htm) we had heard so much about but had had no intention AT ALL to go and see - 

......that said when in ‘Rome’ so I got Wout to pose with it......! (Just for you Nicky Fasa  - hahaha!)

When it reached to time that the bike needed to be returned we realised that we had driven over 45 mins away from the bike shop and neither of us were looking forward to getting back on the bike as both of us had aching bum cheeks but we had no choice so off we went..... 

It was nice to get out and about and explore but we both agreed no more mopeds till our bruised buttocks have recovered!