Thailand & Contiki Thai Hopper West Tour 2013
Where to start? I waited so long before I did this post and it is long overdue, but it feels like I was leaving for my trip to Thailand just yesterday! So many memories were made.
I was dropped off at the airport on Saturday 23rd March. Every nerve in my body was just screaming with excitement, maybe I was a little nervous as well. My first time travelling overseas, and I was going alone. I was excited, not nervous. Although the friend that dropped me off at the Airport did make a great attempt at trying to make me nervous.
I just remember my Mom calling and SMSing me every 5 minutes about being safe and not letting anyone near my bags. LOL
Sitting waiting to board the flight, I just looked around at everyone else that was waiting to get onto the flight thinking that I was going to a “freaking couple’s destination”!! There were couples everywhere waiting to board the same flight as me.
Boarding tickets!!
The flight went by really quickly (a whole 10.5 hours quick), I couldn’t sleep so I watched 4 movies on the flight, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” was one of them. Do yourself a favour, if you haven’t seen it yet, DO IT, NOW.
We landed in Bangkok at some crazy hour early in the morning. I think it was like 6am in Bangkok and 2am in SA. All you SA Twitter people were all out partying by the looks of what was on my TL at the time.
Gorgeous sunrise at the Bangkok Airport!
Flying from Bangkok to Phuket was great, the scenery below was breathtaking, and I got to see the stunning Islands as we were flying over them.
*Squeal*
When we got to the Airport in Phuket it was quick to find my luggage, which was a huge relief!
When I walked out of the airport the heat hit me instantly, I can’t remember whether the sweat started running down my crack or cleavage first! Wearing jeans, sneakers and a really thick top probably didn’t help the matter!
My taxi was right there waiting for me *happy days*, we didn’t even move 5 meters out the parking and a bus scraped the side of his car *ouch* the poor dude was so upset.
It was boiling, I don’t even think that aircon in the car was working that day. You know when someone drives “jerkingly” they ride the clutch/breaks, or whatever? Well my taxi driver was doing that, all I was picturing was me sticking my head of the window and vomming right out the window. Major car sickness!
Anyway we made it safely to the Hotel that I was going to be staying in for 2 nights (Andakira Resort), it looked really pretty and all the staff were super friendly. Actually EVERY SINGLE Thai person that I encountered was friendly. *Sawadekaaa* echoing wherever I walked, it was lovely!
I was unable to check in as my room wasn’t ready as yet (it was only 11am), but I was upgraded to a deluxe room with a gorgeous view 🙂
View of the Andakira pool from my room!
While they were getting my room ready I decided to go and explore the nearby area (in my jeans, sneakers & vest) I was cooking! The looks I was getting were either because I was dressed like an Eskimo or because I had the stupidest grin on my face, just plastered there. Haha. Yeah, probably the latter. I WAS IN FREAKING THAILAND, ALONE!!The receptionists gave me directions to a nearby mall, which was just under a km from the Hotel. On the way there I managed to exchange some Dollars to Baht, I bumped into an American guy that was part of a Contiki group that had arrived 2 days before me. We started chatting and walked to the mall together. I eventually managed to get away from him. Haha. Shopping on your ace is ALWAYS better. I bought a gorgeous little skirt from the mall, they had some really pretty (pricey) things there, I was YET to discover the proper market! 🙂
I checked into the Hotel, yes my first question was “do you have Wi-Fi?” That’s probably where the Wi-Fi bug started that I had throughout the tour and probably one of the reasons the below picture was edited by one of the guys on the tour. 😉
Wi-Fi bug!!
Bags unpacked, 1st plan was the beach, so I hopped on a shuttle to Patong beach front, erm… what a disappointment… okay maybe not that bad, but the water wasn’t crystal clear, in fact it was murky brown and the beach was busy (with half naked women walking around, and gross, REALLY old fat men in Speedos) yuck! Haha
I had a quick swim and then went to walk along the market, OMGEE, the handbags! I fell in love, but managed to hold back and didn’t buy anything 🙂 everything I touched, slops, sarongs, tops or handbags the locals just wanted to sell to me! You would ask the price and they’d say “1500 Baht”, if you started walking away they’d just say “okay, okay, good price for you 900 Baht” WTF? That is like a 30% discount. Attempt to walk away again and they just ask you what you will pay, major bartering people. I was learning quickly! 😉
I spent that first night at the Hotel, eating in the restaurant. The Thai food was delicious! I made contact with one of the guys that was going to be on tour with me on FB, and we decided to meet up the next day to go do some exploring together.
Room with a view!
That Monday (25th March) we went down to Patong beach and I had my first beer at like 11am in the morning, another 3 followed that. We bartered with a tuk-tuk to take us to the next beach around the corner (Kata & Karon). On the way up a really steep hill the darn thing started losing power, we thought we were too heavy, turns out we were running out of gas because the driver had to stop on the hill to refill the tuk-tuk, fun times.
Finally my dreams were coming true because we found a beach where the water was clear and they had the boats (Long Tail Boats) I had been seeing in all the pictures of Thailand.
Magnifique!
It was a great day of exploring, yummy lunch (with free Wi-Fi) and MANY MANY scooters and motorbikes. I was in heaven!
Scooters for Thailand!
We decided to book at day tour for the next day as we still had an extra day before the Contiki tour was going to start. I managed to barter a tour to Coral & Raya Island down from 2300 Baht to 1500 Baht. I was a pro, yo.
The next day Tuesday (25th March) I checked out of Andakira and into the Sawaddi Patong Resort, oh my word. Let me just say that, Andakira was really nice but it had nothing on the Sawaddi Patong Resort. It was gorgeous, comfortable, the staff were even friendlier, the pool was stunning and the rooms were great!
Breathtaking Resort!
The tour company picked us up at the Hotel for our Island day trip and it was a 30 minute drive across Phuket to the Chalong Pier. There were stacks of people also going on the same day tour.
We all got onto our speedboats, our tour guide for the day was such a character, his accent was brilliant, we were in the “ollange group” (orange group), he said to us (and say in Thai accent after me “today we go to 2 ‘eye’land, 2 ‘eye’land, we spend 2 and a half hour at Coral Island, when I say, ollange, ollange, ollange, you come to me.” It’s a moment thing I guess, you just have to be there, it was brilliant, I still laugh when I think about that.
“2 eye’land”
Coral Island was stunning, the beaches and the water were just getting better. We hit the parasailing as soon as we got the Island, it was great fun. We were allowed to go up alone because the wind was still calm. It was super pretty. I managed to get a war wound because the rope bore into my wrist. It was so worth it! A bit of swimming and exploring of the Island, I had my first beer at 10:30 am 🙂 but didn’t drink anymore for the rest of the day. My belly is grateful today.
What the hell must I do with the ropes?
I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts! 😉
When the “ollange” group was called together we boarded and started heading to our next Island, “Raya Island”! Just, WOW. The bay that we sailed into was beautiful, a gorgeous looking resort against the side of the hill with bright white sand in front of it, leading into the clearest of water.
Beautiful!
We had a lunch there, after walking up the longest hill in the hottest of heat. I made the mistake of making use of the local lavatories before lunch *VOM* my lunch barely went down.
I made friends with 2 Pakistani guys that were on the tour with us, they had moved to Thailand, one of them owned an Indian Cuisine restaurant in Patong.
Later that afternoon we went snorkelling at one of the bays around the corner also part of Raya Island. It was so exciting, the fish would swim right up to you and they were so colourful. I decided then and there I needed to get my Scuba license right up there on my bucket list.
Our boat was being full of shit and we struggled to get it started, the trip back to Chalong Pier was quite a long one as our speedboat was without its speed.
We got back to the Hotel after 5pm and headed straight to the pool for some happy hour cocktails, yummy yummy. The pool had jets… just saying. This is where we met Deanna, one of the other ladies that was also on our Contiki Tour.
The three of us (Ben, Deanna & I) met up and went for dinner on Bangla road that night, we also decided to go watch a “Ping-Pong” show. The things that I have seen, cannot be unseen. I literally sat there with my can of beer in my hand gaping at the stage! We also learnt that painting on the half naked, g-string clad strippers walking around would land you in forking out tips of 200 Baht!
When I got back the Hotel I found my new Contiki roommate already asleep in the room. Sleeping next to a complete stranger for the night and then waking up next to her the next morning, a tad awkward! We hit it off immediately, chatting as if we had been best buddies for years, it was pretty awesome to have a roomie that was cool and I was already getting along with.
We had breaky together and then walked to Patong beach to explore a bit and so that she could see the beach. We had our first cocktail at 10am already! And then another… haha
Later that day when we got back to the Hotel we booked a spa treatment, it was pretty average. I still regret not getting a massage on the street while I was in Thailand.
At 6pm the whole group met up on the restaurant for the meet-up, it was quite strange just sitting there looking at a group of people that I didn’t know!
I was sitting next to Tony, who 2 nights later became my pole dancing buddy. LOL
Our first night was pretty chilled, well dinner was! After dinner the group hit Bangla road, where we went to a little bar down some side road, right next door to Suzy Wong’s ass smacking bar! A couple of the guys attempted to play “connect four” with an erm… lady of the night. Every time she won, you were supposed to buy her a drink!
Connect 4
I wasn’t drinking the first night because I didn’t want to feel ill on the boat tour the next day but that didn’t stop me from getting on the bar counter (sober) and dancing on a pole 🙂 hehe. The night ended off at a club, which was so much fun! There was a Thai guy that was dancing with and around us wearing a top that said “I’m in Phi Phi Bitch” on it. Loved it! I think I need to go back just to buy one of those tops.
The next morning (Thursday 28th March) we met up early in the reception to leave for the James Bond Island tour. It was a great day, our first day that we all spent together and the scenery was gorgeous. My favourite part of the day was when we got to the floating Koh Phanyi village, such great photo opportunities in the village!
The lady with the Golden Gun 🙂
We all went through to watch some fights at the Patong Muay Thai boxing stadium that night, it was great fun! The first couple of fights were a bit hectic because the fighters were young teenagers, but pretty soon after a couple of Chang beers I was getting into it. The one guy from Australia that was fighting was proper fit! He knocked his opponent right out!
Muay Thai fights.
Drinking Chang beers whilst sitting is extremely dangerous, by the time I stood up I must have already had about 5 beers and was so in the mood to party! I taught a few of the others on tour what a “having a rubber arm” meant! We ended up back at the bar from the previous night, the Tequila was DIRT cheap, and I was right back on the bar counter around the pole again, this time with two other people that were on tour right behind me! That night we ended up at the Banana Discotheque right by the beach, it was debauchery! All I can remember is squashing into a tuk-tuk to get to the party and then NOTHING that occurred after that. That night remains a mystery. I must have danced like one hell of a crazy person!
Thank goodness our next day was a free day, a bunch of us caught a tuk-tuk to the Big Buddha and Wat Chalong Temple. A couple of us felt so sorry for ourselves because of the previous nights drinking and partying! Super funny, try wrapping yourself up in multiple layers in 55 degree heat so that you look respectable when visiting the Buddha! *vom*
Big Buddah in Phuket
We found an authentic Thai place for lunch along the beach, lay in the sun tanning and swimming in the waves and then caught our tuk-tuk back to the Hotel where we lay relaxing at the pool side.
The Simon Lady Boy Cabaret that night was… interesting. They have better pairs of boobies than mine!
Sexy lady boys 😉
I got sick that night, can’t say that lying on the floor of a Swedish bar’s toilet is much fun, but my night was ended short. I probably needed the sleep anyway!
Our ferry to Koh Phi Phi on the 30th March was great, the Island itself when we got there though. Phi Phi stole my heart the minute I stepped onto that pier. I think it may still be there on the Island somewhere.
We had to walk quite far along the shops and beach to get to our resort, but it was so worth it. The resort was not as pretty or as comfortable as Sawaddi but the view was stunning.
Walking the streets of Phi Phi to the Bayview Resort
Phi Phi was amazing, I love the beaches, I loved the foreign people that were everywhere, I loved the food, I loved the love that just oozed out of every pore of the place.
We partied really hard on that Island, there were flame throwers, there was a large ‘statue’ penis, there were over 350 stairs to get to a viewpoint on top of the Island, there were fluro parties, there was delicious pizza (especially at 3am after a good party), there were great clubs, I learnt how to play beer pong, there was *sigh* the cutest guy from Holland on that Island, I played beer pong against said really cute guy on that Island. Have I mentioned how yummy younger boys look? Haha. So not the norm as far as my taste goes, but heck, they are great to look at, and as flirty as hell!
I could go on and on about Koh Phi Phi, but I would rather share a few pictures of the Island instead.
Koh Phi Phi Sunset
Beautiful isn’t it?
Obligatory jump off the speedboat!
View of Phi Phi, such a beautiful Island.
Obligatory Contiki jump!
My heart almost broke when we left the Island, also I was super hung over on the ferry trip to Krabi (AoNang), mad.
Krabi was ok, the Hotel we stayed in was another luxurious one, but AoNang itself did not excite me much.
We just relaxed there, one of the mornings was spent doing an elephant forest ride, which was fun. The ellies were beautiful. I had a bug fly into my ear during the ride and it buzzed away for almost an hour before I managed to get it out, probably pay back for riding the poor elephant!
Ellie rides with TK 🙂
When we got back to the Hotel we decided to catch a Long Tail Boat to Railay beach which was said to be one of the prettiest beaches in the area. It was pretty but nothing in comparison to what we had already seen on the tour.
Beaching it up 🙂
That night was our last dinner together as the Contiki group. It was bitter sweet. We all went out partying afterwards and smashed Thai Whiskey buckets, loved it. One of the barmen took my SA beads that I was wearing around my neck and put it on, they were obsessed with the things! LOL.
I do not know what the facination was with those beads?
The next day the group split ways, 3 stayed on in Krabi and the rest of us headed back to Phuket/Patong, the bus ride back was really interesting. Let’s just say I was regretting the previous nights Whiskey bucket splurge and I was fighting back the urge to projectile vom the whole way back to Sawaddi. There is one last stretch before driving down into the Patong bay that you go around corners down a hill, I had a plastic bag ready! Luckily we made it and I was in an aircon room swiftly after we arrived.
Some of the group were not staying in the same resort that night but managed to book a hotel right next door to ours, it is amazing how cheap accommodation is there.
We all went out and grabbed some lunch and then lay relaxing around the pool for the rest of the afternoon. That night those of us that were still left (9 of the 15) decided to go out for dinner in Patong together, we landed up in a really Western bar/restaurant place which was absolutely horrible, luckily they had NO space for us to sit down for dinner so we were very quickly out of there and back on the streets again. After being really indecisive we managed to find a really authentic Thai restaurant on the street that was packed to the brim, but those friendly Thai people made a plan and soon we had our own very own ‘last supper’ table, which moved about 10 minutes later onto a veranda because it started raining. I can say with confidence that dinner was one of my favourite dinners on the entire trip.
The “last supper”
A friend of mine asked me when I got back if I had a moment on the trip, where I just felt it, the whole contentment of what I was experiencing of where I was and I could not answer him. Thinking back, I can say that I remember sitting on the veranda while the rain was slowly coming down, looking over the table watching everyone chatting away and just feeling so content and happy. It was not a feeling that I had felt during the tour until that moment.
After dinner some of the group decided to go watch a ping-ping show and because Deanna and I had already done it we decided to head back to the Swedish bar to drink. I had so much fun chatting to her and couldn’t for the life of me think of why I had not spent more time hanging out with her on the tour.
A little later we found ourselves at a club, dancing away like drunk hippies. It was a sad goodbye for a couple of us as Deanna I left to go back to the Hotel. It was pissing down with rain on the street and the two of us decided to get those plastic ponchos and to walk back to the Resort instead of catching a tuk-tuk.
The two of us skipped around on the street in our ponchos in the rain thinking we were completely invincible because we were not getting wet. I think I laughed until I got tears in my eyes that night.
We were invincible!
When I awoke the next day, the realisation occurred to me that my trip was finally coming to an end. I spent the day in a somewhat morbid bitter sweet state. I did some shopping and then lay around the pool relaxing, it was overcast, somewhat appropriate weather for the mood I was in.
I settled my account at the reception, packed my bags and dressed for the trip back to the airport.
Saying goodbye has never been easy for me and I can’t say saying goodbye to those people that had so quickly crept into my heart was any better. Tears were shed and my heart was bursting.
My flight to Bangkok and then back to SA went by so quickly, by the time I walked out into the SA I already felt travel blues and that I would never be the same again.
Some of my favourite moments on tour!
Some of the best moments!
I cannot wait to travel again, and it will hopefully be soon. And one day, I will return to Thailand.
Travel, travel some more and when you return book your next trip so that you are travelling soon again.
Istanbul, I am coming for you! 😉
kb's rush 