Thursday – Visa Run
Up at 5:15 and outside the gym waiting for the bus to pick me up by 6. The bus arrived about 10 past 6 –it was raining and still dark at this point (see pics above!). There was one guy on the bus so I introduced myself and started we started chatting a little. The guy’s name was Rick and he’s been in Thailand for 6 months already now.
We then picked up a couple more people on the way into Chalong (east side of the island) and stopped in front of a large coach. We were all moved across in the large coach which gave the first impression of over decorating and chintz gone a little crazy. The coach has a tv (as you can seen in the picture) and generally was pretty comfortable.
We headed up through Phuket picking up more people on the way – it took us nearly 2 hours to get to the top of the island. At about 7 we had stopped to pick up some more people and I noticed a few guys with open beer cans and lite cigarettes…I thought oh, god..here we go. It was a bit like having a brewery go past that early in the morning, not pleasant but they were actually pretty quiet for the rest of the day.
I think I’d got so used to being in the warmth that the bit of air con that did make it an impact on the temperature in the bus meant I actually had to wear the material Una left me from her travels through India as a shawl. I spent the time snoozing, watching the world go by and reading my book. We stopped off a couple of times for loo breaks and the chance to get food from places like 7-11. They did hand out croissant sandwiches for breakfast – I’d brought a pile of bananas and some apples just in case and am very glad I did otherwise I’d have been pretty hungry!
We eventually got to Ranong, which is still in Thailand – it was time for everyone to get off the bus and go to immigration to get our passports stamped. It took ages…actually literally hours. The sun was beating down and we were all sweating just standing there. The guys who’d walked onto the bus drinking were moaning about how long it was taking and how many people were there…the basic consensus being that because of Songkran and no visa runs going the following day there were a lot more people doing visa runs (that’s why I had to go on Thursday!). After everyone was done getting their passports stamped we were back on the bus and headed a little down the road to get a pre paid lunch – spicy chicken, veg and rice. There was also watermelon however there were quite a lot of flies around so I avoided the watermelon.
From lunch we were herded pretty quickly onto the bus again, drove a bit further and all got off to get on the boat to Burma (Myanmar). No one really told us what to expect throughout the day and I was talking to Rick about this – seems to be a bit of a cultural difference to a certain degree here - you sometimes seem to have to just go along with the flow and you won’t know what you’re getting for your money!
The boat took us across a little harbour to a wooden pier with a couple of immigration officials (all our passports had been collected together into a plastic bag and these were taken inside and then brought back onto the boat). We then carried on out into more open water and headed across a large bay and eventually landed at Myanmar.
All the passports were taken onshore and we were again herded through to immigration. The officials then went through our passports one by one (there were nearly 40 of us in total) and called out names where they could pronounce them and where not – the country. Our photos were taken by little webcams attached to each of the 4 pcs and all our passports were scanned, we then headed straight back to the boat and went back across the bay. As we headed back towards Thailand we could see rain coming down. I should mention the onboard duty free! The guys running the boat were selling whiskey and cigarettes for 100B - that’s not even £1.50 for a bottle of whiskey, from what some of the guys were saying I got the impression it’s the sort of stuff you’d remember a couple of days later.
So back to Thailand, back on the bus and back to wait to get our passports stamped again. Then it was time for the long journey home – by the time we’d finished up in Ranong it was quarter to 5, so it was already 11 and a half hours into the day for me.
They played Eragon on the tv on the way up which I have to say came across as plenty of money on special effects but I was disappointed with Jeremy Irons and the script in general..shame cos it looked pretty good on the posters! There was another movie on the way back but I can’t remember it at the moment (clearly a brilliant film!)
I got talking to Rick again when we were waiting to get our passports stamped and he mentioned he needed some help getting a website together for the business he was setting up. I think I might be able to help him but need a bit of time to get up to scratch…it really got me thinking about what I want to learn next and the more I think about it the more I’m going to invest some time into learning the relevant software.
So I got home around 10:30 and was hungry and tired and ended up passing out pretty early. There was a note in my door from Suz about the boat on Sunday and also about Songkran first thing in the morning. Everyone was going to meeting at 9am at the front of the gym. The notice up in the gym said to either leave mobiles phones at home or put them in a plastic bag as they would get wet!
Friday – SongKran (Thai New Year 2550).
I got myself out of bed on Friday morning though I was still tired from the night before. I headed down to the front of the gym and met up with Suz. Sam and a few new guys were hanging around. Suz (pic below) and I missed the first couple of trips out on the pick up but that was fine because we were sitting chatting away. We met Sanchez and David and later on a guy called Nico.
After a few runs had gone out we decided to head down to Don’s for breakfast – there was quite a large group of us, mostly guys as usual (there’s probably only between 5 and 10% women at the camp). I had spicy chicken for breakfast (it was nearly lunchtime by this point) and really enjoyed it! Towards the end of the meal a couple of the waitresses came out with ice cold water saying sorry and happy songkran and pouring it down our backs. Great fun :o)
David came by Don’s and picked up Suz and they headed off to the beach – we were going to head down to a place Sam (pic above) knew of that might have cars for rent (Sanchez like me didn’t have a moped so we needed to sort out transport). We met the guy at this place and he offered us drinks and we had a bit of a chat about the UK (he’s from Derbyshire and rides motorbikes so knew Lancaster and the surrounding areas-pic below). He didn’t have any cars for rent but told me he should have one for rent in a week or two.
We then headed back to camp and to follow Suz and David on to the beach. Best laid plans! – on the way back to camp we past Don’s and all the waitresses had changed and were outside with paste and water. We got covered yet again. Danny came past in the pick up and stopped to let us up. I hadn’t done any of the runs so was looking forward to it. We headed all around Rawai and Kata and it was great fun. At all restaurants and bars (and any business in general) there were groups of people waiting at the side of the road ready with buckets of water and pasty mixes of talcum powder and the like.
We had 2 huge buckets filled with water in the back of the truck and lots of small plastic bowls to throw water with. At certain points there were water trucks around selling refills of water for 20B and there were a couple of places selling huge chunks of ice, again for 20B.
It was so much fun – I can’t remember who but there were a couple of people who said it was amazing how something so simple as a bit of water could make everyone so happy. It was literally hours of laughing and smiling. There were a couple of us who had sore cheeks from smiling so much. Because there was water everywhere I couldn’t take any pictures. Such a shame because there was so much joy all over Phuket throughout the day – it would have been nice to record some of it. I did notice a few people out with underwater cameras. No one stays dry on Songkran…even the police got a little soaked. I was told that Songkran is the only day where men are allowed to touch women (i.e. on their faces, no groping!). As we slowed down through the crowds I did noticed that wherever possible I was getting the paste treatment and doused in water far more than all the guys. At one point later on in the day though there was one group of Thai men we passed where I did feel it was a bit too full on, though I was surrounded by guys on the truck who are all here for Muay Thai training..so not too worried but was still happy to get through that particular group!
We finished the run around Rawai, Kata and Karon beaches and headed back to camp – where I went to get changed. I met up with the guys again (Sanchez, Sam and another ozzie guy). We went to the main road and picked up a tuk tuk to Patong. It took quite a while as there were so many people out on the roads and we did get soaked through the windows – but on the last stretch down the road into Patong the tuk tuk driver suggested we walk as it would be quicker. I wasn’t too sure about the distance but we weren’t going anywhere very quickly so we hopped off. The ozzie dude managed to step on a large piece of glass almost as soon as he got off the tuk tuk. It took a minute or two to realize how deep the cut was, but there was quite a bit of blood and he was limping pretty badly.
There was a truck which looked like a larger version of a tuk tuk (just a lot more space inside). The people on the truck saw that this guy was injured and insisted we come across the road and get on their truck. Once on board they iced the cut and tried to help clean it out. I remembered there’s an emergency centre towards the other end of Patong so we were trying to head that way. They said they were heading to Kamala so they could drop us off on the way. They were so friendly and kept offering us beer and chicken so after about the 4th time I accepted for all of us (it felt like we were being rude by the 4th time!). There was then an ambulance working it’s way along the traffic into Patong so the girls at the back of the truck starting calling to the ambulance staff and pointing at the ozzie. One of the ambulance guys jumped out came and had a look and took him with them! It’s kinda bad but the rest of us realized later on none of us knew his name!!!
We stayed on the truck for a while, getting into the water fights and laughing with these people. At one point we passed one of the main cabaret places where all the Katoi (lady boys) do their act. There was great hilarity about getting the katoi wet. A couple of the guys jumped off and went dancing with the katoi and it was a bit of a scream for the rest of the family. The lady (definitely a mum/head of the family type of figure) next to me who had been so accommodating said we were welcome to say with them but we might get further walking…she was lovely – he daughter explained to me where her mum’s place is in Kamala and said we were welcome there any time! We said our thanks and started walking the rest of the way into Patong.
More water fights all the way in and much laughter and eventually we reached Patong Beach. All the way along there were people with water guns and people in bars with huge buckets of water getting any passer by soaked. We stopped and picked up some water guns..I only spent 200B on mine but it was big enough. Sanchez got a bigger gun than mine and Sam picked up two tiny little pistols. We bumped into Nico and Paul who were wandering around with a couple of Thai girls. We joined in the big water fight in Patong with them.
We stopped in a bar and then went and had some food. I had a delicious yellow curry (I’ve generally found here that there is a lot of western food but it’s always very pricey and hit and miss – so I’ve stuck to Thai food for the most part). Pic - the bar we stopped in (Sam, Me & Sanchez - all completely drenched, guns a bit out of sight on the table - water fight still very much going inside and outside the bar!)
Sanchez was freezing and we were all still wet (and some were getting sick of it). So the 3 of us left the others in Patong and headed back along the beach, the boys were looking for DVDs..I was handed a big gun by a girl leaving in the morning. Sanchez got a similar gun too and was walking along spraying a tiny bit of water at people quite surreptitiously – it was great fun watching people’s reactions to a tiny bit of harmless water.
So we eventually got a tuk tuk back to rawai and all went to get changed. Paul who’d been in Patong had made it back to camp as well and was doing the same thing (getting changed and dry and heading out again). We went down to Rawai beach to the Freedom bar. Half the gym was there and a couple of trainers.
It was ok, I had a long chat with Brett another ozzie -the guy in the orange shirt in the pic - (seem to be surrounded by them at the moment!). A few people then headed onto another bar Sirocco while everyone else went onto a club called Icon. Sirocco’s was pretty sleek – all white walls, dj playing nice space to sit in.
Icon was very much a night club, with a slightly seedier side to it!
I think it’s safe to say that if it’s not obvious already, my detox was well and truly out of the way by this point. I think it was good to have a good blow out, though I probably could have done with a bit more water and less mixing of my drinks! (Pic above is me and one of the trainers I've been working with, Him. He's a lovely guy and will be coming to the UK for a year from next month. His girlfriend, Nicky is Welsh - pic below of the two of them together :o) - Brett had my camera for a while in Icon and there are lots of cleavage shots and lots of pictures of Thai ladies! This picture is one of the least letchy ones).
Up at 5:15 and outside the gym waiting for the bus to pick me up by 6. The bus arrived about 10 past 6 –it was raining and still dark at this point (see pics above!). There was one guy on the bus so I introduced myself and started we started chatting a little. The guy’s name was Rick and he’s been in Thailand for 6 months already now.
We then picked up a couple more people on the way into Chalong (east side of the island) and stopped in front of a large coach. We were all moved across in the large coach which gave the first impression of over decorating and chintz gone a little crazy. The coach has a tv (as you can seen in the picture) and generally was pretty comfortable.
We headed up through Phuket picking up more people on the way – it took us nearly 2 hours to get to the top of the island. At about 7 we had stopped to pick up some more people and I noticed a few guys with open beer cans and lite cigarettes…I thought oh, god..here we go. It was a bit like having a brewery go past that early in the morning, not pleasant but they were actually pretty quiet for the rest of the day.
I think I’d got so used to being in the warmth that the bit of air con that did make it an impact on the temperature in the bus meant I actually had to wear the material Una left me from her travels through India as a shawl. I spent the time snoozing, watching the world go by and reading my book. We stopped off a couple of times for loo breaks and the chance to get food from places like 7-11. They did hand out croissant sandwiches for breakfast – I’d brought a pile of bananas and some apples just in case and am very glad I did otherwise I’d have been pretty hungry!
We eventually got to Ranong, which is still in Thailand – it was time for everyone to get off the bus and go to immigration to get our passports stamped. It took ages…actually literally hours. The sun was beating down and we were all sweating just standing there. The guys who’d walked onto the bus drinking were moaning about how long it was taking and how many people were there…the basic consensus being that because of Songkran and no visa runs going the following day there were a lot more people doing visa runs (that’s why I had to go on Thursday!). After everyone was done getting their passports stamped we were back on the bus and headed a little down the road to get a pre paid lunch – spicy chicken, veg and rice. There was also watermelon however there were quite a lot of flies around so I avoided the watermelon.
From lunch we were herded pretty quickly onto the bus again, drove a bit further and all got off to get on the boat to Burma (Myanmar). No one really told us what to expect throughout the day and I was talking to Rick about this – seems to be a bit of a cultural difference to a certain degree here - you sometimes seem to have to just go along with the flow and you won’t know what you’re getting for your money!
The boat took us across a little harbour to a wooden pier with a couple of immigration officials (all our passports had been collected together into a plastic bag and these were taken inside and then brought back onto the boat). We then carried on out into more open water and headed across a large bay and eventually landed at Myanmar.
All the passports were taken onshore and we were again herded through to immigration. The officials then went through our passports one by one (there were nearly 40 of us in total) and called out names where they could pronounce them and where not – the country. Our photos were taken by little webcams attached to each of the 4 pcs and all our passports were scanned, we then headed straight back to the boat and went back across the bay. As we headed back towards Thailand we could see rain coming down. I should mention the onboard duty free! The guys running the boat were selling whiskey and cigarettes for 100B - that’s not even £1.50 for a bottle of whiskey, from what some of the guys were saying I got the impression it’s the sort of stuff you’d remember a couple of days later.
So back to Thailand, back on the bus and back to wait to get our passports stamped again. Then it was time for the long journey home – by the time we’d finished up in Ranong it was quarter to 5, so it was already 11 and a half hours into the day for me.
They played Eragon on the tv on the way up which I have to say came across as plenty of money on special effects but I was disappointed with Jeremy Irons and the script in general..shame cos it looked pretty good on the posters! There was another movie on the way back but I can’t remember it at the moment (clearly a brilliant film!)
I got talking to Rick again when we were waiting to get our passports stamped and he mentioned he needed some help getting a website together for the business he was setting up. I think I might be able to help him but need a bit of time to get up to scratch…it really got me thinking about what I want to learn next and the more I think about it the more I’m going to invest some time into learning the relevant software.
So I got home around 10:30 and was hungry and tired and ended up passing out pretty early. There was a note in my door from Suz about the boat on Sunday and also about Songkran first thing in the morning. Everyone was going to meeting at 9am at the front of the gym. The notice up in the gym said to either leave mobiles phones at home or put them in a plastic bag as they would get wet!
Friday – SongKran (Thai New Year 2550).
I got myself out of bed on Friday morning though I was still tired from the night before. I headed down to the front of the gym and met up with Suz. Sam and a few new guys were hanging around. Suz (pic below) and I missed the first couple of trips out on the pick up but that was fine because we were sitting chatting away. We met Sanchez and David and later on a guy called Nico.
After a few runs had gone out we decided to head down to Don’s for breakfast – there was quite a large group of us, mostly guys as usual (there’s probably only between 5 and 10% women at the camp). I had spicy chicken for breakfast (it was nearly lunchtime by this point) and really enjoyed it! Towards the end of the meal a couple of the waitresses came out with ice cold water saying sorry and happy songkran and pouring it down our backs. Great fun :o)
David came by Don’s and picked up Suz and they headed off to the beach – we were going to head down to a place Sam (pic above) knew of that might have cars for rent (Sanchez like me didn’t have a moped so we needed to sort out transport). We met the guy at this place and he offered us drinks and we had a bit of a chat about the UK (he’s from Derbyshire and rides motorbikes so knew Lancaster and the surrounding areas-pic below). He didn’t have any cars for rent but told me he should have one for rent in a week or two.
We then headed back to camp and to follow Suz and David on to the beach. Best laid plans! – on the way back to camp we past Don’s and all the waitresses had changed and were outside with paste and water. We got covered yet again. Danny came past in the pick up and stopped to let us up. I hadn’t done any of the runs so was looking forward to it. We headed all around Rawai and Kata and it was great fun. At all restaurants and bars (and any business in general) there were groups of people waiting at the side of the road ready with buckets of water and pasty mixes of talcum powder and the like.
We had 2 huge buckets filled with water in the back of the truck and lots of small plastic bowls to throw water with. At certain points there were water trucks around selling refills of water for 20B and there were a couple of places selling huge chunks of ice, again for 20B.
It was so much fun – I can’t remember who but there were a couple of people who said it was amazing how something so simple as a bit of water could make everyone so happy. It was literally hours of laughing and smiling. There were a couple of us who had sore cheeks from smiling so much. Because there was water everywhere I couldn’t take any pictures. Such a shame because there was so much joy all over Phuket throughout the day – it would have been nice to record some of it. I did notice a few people out with underwater cameras. No one stays dry on Songkran…even the police got a little soaked. I was told that Songkran is the only day where men are allowed to touch women (i.e. on their faces, no groping!). As we slowed down through the crowds I did noticed that wherever possible I was getting the paste treatment and doused in water far more than all the guys. At one point later on in the day though there was one group of Thai men we passed where I did feel it was a bit too full on, though I was surrounded by guys on the truck who are all here for Muay Thai training..so not too worried but was still happy to get through that particular group!
We finished the run around Rawai, Kata and Karon beaches and headed back to camp – where I went to get changed. I met up with the guys again (Sanchez, Sam and another ozzie guy). We went to the main road and picked up a tuk tuk to Patong. It took quite a while as there were so many people out on the roads and we did get soaked through the windows – but on the last stretch down the road into Patong the tuk tuk driver suggested we walk as it would be quicker. I wasn’t too sure about the distance but we weren’t going anywhere very quickly so we hopped off. The ozzie dude managed to step on a large piece of glass almost as soon as he got off the tuk tuk. It took a minute or two to realize how deep the cut was, but there was quite a bit of blood and he was limping pretty badly.
There was a truck which looked like a larger version of a tuk tuk (just a lot more space inside). The people on the truck saw that this guy was injured and insisted we come across the road and get on their truck. Once on board they iced the cut and tried to help clean it out. I remembered there’s an emergency centre towards the other end of Patong so we were trying to head that way. They said they were heading to Kamala so they could drop us off on the way. They were so friendly and kept offering us beer and chicken so after about the 4th time I accepted for all of us (it felt like we were being rude by the 4th time!). There was then an ambulance working it’s way along the traffic into Patong so the girls at the back of the truck starting calling to the ambulance staff and pointing at the ozzie. One of the ambulance guys jumped out came and had a look and took him with them! It’s kinda bad but the rest of us realized later on none of us knew his name!!!
We stayed on the truck for a while, getting into the water fights and laughing with these people. At one point we passed one of the main cabaret places where all the Katoi (lady boys) do their act. There was great hilarity about getting the katoi wet. A couple of the guys jumped off and went dancing with the katoi and it was a bit of a scream for the rest of the family. The lady (definitely a mum/head of the family type of figure) next to me who had been so accommodating said we were welcome to say with them but we might get further walking…she was lovely – he daughter explained to me where her mum’s place is in Kamala and said we were welcome there any time! We said our thanks and started walking the rest of the way into Patong.
More water fights all the way in and much laughter and eventually we reached Patong Beach. All the way along there were people with water guns and people in bars with huge buckets of water getting any passer by soaked. We stopped and picked up some water guns..I only spent 200B on mine but it was big enough. Sanchez got a bigger gun than mine and Sam picked up two tiny little pistols. We bumped into Nico and Paul who were wandering around with a couple of Thai girls. We joined in the big water fight in Patong with them.
We stopped in a bar and then went and had some food. I had a delicious yellow curry (I’ve generally found here that there is a lot of western food but it’s always very pricey and hit and miss – so I’ve stuck to Thai food for the most part). Pic - the bar we stopped in (Sam, Me & Sanchez - all completely drenched, guns a bit out of sight on the table - water fight still very much going inside and outside the bar!)
Sanchez was freezing and we were all still wet (and some were getting sick of it). So the 3 of us left the others in Patong and headed back along the beach, the boys were looking for DVDs..I was handed a big gun by a girl leaving in the morning. Sanchez got a similar gun too and was walking along spraying a tiny bit of water at people quite surreptitiously – it was great fun watching people’s reactions to a tiny bit of harmless water.
So we eventually got a tuk tuk back to rawai and all went to get changed. Paul who’d been in Patong had made it back to camp as well and was doing the same thing (getting changed and dry and heading out again). We went down to Rawai beach to the Freedom bar. Half the gym was there and a couple of trainers.
It was ok, I had a long chat with Brett another ozzie -the guy in the orange shirt in the pic - (seem to be surrounded by them at the moment!). A few people then headed onto another bar Sirocco while everyone else went onto a club called Icon. Sirocco’s was pretty sleek – all white walls, dj playing nice space to sit in.Icon was very much a night club, with a slightly seedier side to it!
I think it’s safe to say that if it’s not obvious already, my detox was well and truly out of the way by this point. I think it was good to have a good blow out, though I probably could have done with a bit more water and less mixing of my drinks! (Pic above is me and one of the trainers I've been working with, Him. He's a lovely guy and will be coming to the UK for a year from next month. His girlfriend, Nicky is Welsh - pic below of the two of them together :o) - Brett had my camera for a while in Icon and there are lots of cleavage shots and lots of pictures of Thai ladies! This picture is one of the least letchy ones).
Between Paul and his Thai girlfriend, Sanchez and Sam we had some logistical issues in terms of getting around with just two bikes, but we managed. At the end of the night I’d got talking Sam and we headed to Nai Harn..where we realized how late it was and ended up on the beach at sunrise! I was befriended by a pack of dogs..who got very friendly and cuddly.
The bike got a flat but we limped home and I was glad to get to bed.
I did have a bit of a headache and felt pretty awful but a bottle of water and sleep saw me right.
Saturday - I went to Don’s in the afternoon and had spicy chicken again and chatted on msn with my other half for a couple of hrs. We had a really useful conversation about jobs and where I might want to go next. It’s so great having someone who really knows you being a bit more objective about things then you could ever be about yourself being honest and offering suggestions. Thank you babes! You’ve given me a lot to think about and again I find myself with more options and confidence about making those changes than I would have had without your input.
I toddled back to the camp and instead of walking past all the guys hanging outside their rooms I stopped and had a chat.
One of the guys John is getting a traditional bamboo tattoo which takes longer but it supposed to look better for longer (and is generally accepted to be a bit more of an art form). The guy who does the tattoo has spent 13 years doing these kinds of tattoos and is quick to point out he’s more into it for the art than the money. The tattoo John is getting is an intricate full length of his back, picture of a monkey king. They’ve spent over 20 hrs on it already and I’d say they’ve quite a few more hours to go.
I headed off to bed and was getting ready for meeting up with Suz on Sunday morning. We hadn’t managed to pick up the food and drink we were supposed to but planned to sort it out on the way to Chalong pier in the morning.
Sunday – through the night I slept through until around 5 or 6…when I woke up feeling nauseous and uncomfortable. I’d set my alarm for 7:30 and then again at 8 though knocked it off the first time it came on. Sam knocked on my door at quarter to 8 and I was saying how I was feeling a bit sick and had to turn and run for the bathroom…I didn’t quite make the toilet in time but chucked my guts up! I’ve never thrown up quite like that before…I had diarrhea and was vomiting for the rest of the morning after that.
It was really annoying..Suz had booked the boat to head out to James Bond Island and a couple of others and I’d been looking forward to it. I basically saw the whole of my spicy chicken meal from the night before coming back out again!
I had wondered about leaving the cucumber accompaniment as it looked a little dry and as though it might have been out all day. I wish I had done now!
Sam was a bit of a star all day. He popped in to check up on me a couple of times and did a run to the shop and got me some green tea (was looking for mint but couldn’t find any) and some dry rye crispbread. He and Brett then went to sort his flat tire out and popped into the pharmacy and bought me all manner of Thai pharmaceuticals to help! I pretty much slept or ran to the loo for one reason or the other all day Sunday.
I had put some weight back on and was feeling a little bad about the effects of the partying on Friday in terms of weight and health. I think puking and having the runs all day Sunday has redressed the balance somewhat! I didn’t end up going anywhere at all and slept through to Monday as well.
Monday – I’ve had a quiet morning. I decided it would be foolish to go training, especially not being sure if I’d finished throwing up and the like..so I slept in until around 8 this morning when I heard pads being kicked.
I wandered over to the office/shop and weighed myself..I have indeed lost a couple of the kgs I had put back on and I’m feeling a lot slimmer again, so that’s something positive.
I was talking to Daniella and she was saying a few people got sick over the weekend and asked if I’d had a burger at Don’s…the other theory is the water from Songkran – the Thai’s don’t drink the water and Daniella’s little girl Eleanor got sick a while back and the doctor said it was the water then too.
While we were talking a couple of people were asking for refunds as they feel it’s too busy at Rawai and that you don’t get enough time with the trainers. I’ve heard this a few times now and I think there is a bit of an issue with the number of people that have been taken on recently. I have found a couple of times that the trainers are all busy and there’s no where to work out..there’s also no routine as you might expect. But I may have mentioned this before – I’m getting myself motivated to train and am managing my own program (when I’m not out of action!) – but I don’t think that’s what really supposed to happen here. A lot of people have spoken highly of the Tiger training camp and I may spend my last week there instead as I haven’t paid for that week at Rawai yet.
Noi stopped in this morning asking if I wanted to move to the other bungalows – they have internet and a kitchen but no air con. So I said no – now I’m wondering if I made the wrong decision – but with risk of more sun burn and with the temperature due to rise again here…it might be the right decision. And when I work out whether I have the money to hire a car, I should be able to get out enough for it not to matter anyway.
Sam has been very generous giving me lifts all over the place so hopefully hiring a car I can repay the favours and take a few of us up to central festival for a trip to the cinema or summat!
This has to be the biggest single post I’ve written so far..it was nice to have a few days to get out and experience things a bit more (minus the two days in bed recovering!).
Although there’s been a bit of an issue an Don’s recently I’m thinking about heading back down there this afternoon/evening to post this…but I’m thinking I should try to find somewhere else for food!
Writing this blog is providing me with a diary of sorts for my time here (and hopefully a record of my lasting transformation!)..at the same time it does leave me with a one-side conversation. I want to know what’s going on with everyone else – bored of hearing the sound of my own voice in my head for so long!
I have 5 weeks left to go as of today, so I’m getting myself sorted with fruit, water and training.
Songkran has unfortunately screwed up my visa extension plans, I was going to get one 30 day extension and one 10 day extension (which doesn’t require the full day trip to get)..but now I’ve got to leave the country again as my visa runs out on the 11th May and that won’t cover me for the remaining 11days. So I’m now wondering about trying to fly somewhere cheaply..maybe even a day and night to HK!! Watch this space, narf narf.
Lotsalovenhugs xxx
Sorry no piccies today..didn't get the camera organised...xxx
PPS Had some time to myself this morning on purpose so have uploaded photos for your viewing pleasure!
PPPS Mum - thanks for your call the other day, lovely to hear your voice..I had a feeling someone might get in touch with me not posting for so long! Tee hee...I'm usually in touch with G most days so if I do disapper for aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaages and you get worried he should know what's going on with me!
Nix - thanks for your email, not long to go now and the revision will start to become a memory :o)
Update for Tuesday
I finally went back to training this morning though only managed half an hour on the cross training machine..my stomach is still a little sore (never had this particular feeling before, it's a bit like having a black hole where once there was a healthy round feeling)..I've been catching up on my water intake and am sticking to the crispbread and western food for a bit. (First fry up in months this morning - it was delicious!). I'm sure that's not what I should be eating but it was rather lovely and I enjoyed it so I'm not going to beat myself up about it.
I think I'm back to taking it easy in the gym for a couple of days and build myself up again. With everything I think I wrote down above about how people feel about Rawai and the fact I've got 5 weeks left it's definitely time to start taking a little more initiative in organising my own training. Time to start pushing it!
I was back to washing my clothes by hand again this morning and really enjoyed it. It's great socialising with people but I feel I need a bit more introspection today. I haven't touched the oil pastels I bought yet..and have a few books to read and some lessons on photoshop to get through! I feel the list of things to do growing and in relation the amount of time I have shrinking..I'm sure that's more in my head than anywhere else! Thinking about it it's only 12:30 now and I've been sitting here uploading photos and surfing for a few hours so time can't be running that fast on me.
I've been looking for flights to HK from here but they are all a bit outside the budget I put aside for this trip - so might have to leave it for next time!
I should be back here later tonight..but if not I'll write again tomorrow :o) xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment