Leaving South East Asia
It's 7.22am Thailand time and I'm all packed up and ready to go. I have to be honest and admit that I'm amazed that I have managed to get everything into one bag, but then again I am a bit of a packing pro...it may put the brakes on more shopping in India though...hold on a minute! That's what excess baggage is for, phew, saved.
So for the last week of my trip out here I have been kicking back and enjoying the laid back lifestyle of the islands, Koh Lanta to be specific. I randomlyy picked it out and it turned out to be a pretty good choice. First of all I had to get the sleeper train down to Trang which is in the South and then over to the islands via mini bus, which was of course packed to the max with people sitting all over the place - why waste space after all. I had booked a place to stay in advance which was lucky and I was transfered direct to Sayang Beach Resort on Long Beach. It was a good choice. Cute little bungalows right on the beach, sunloungers, restaurant, bar and great friendly staff. The bungalow that I was in was the cheapest and therefore the most basic, which meant cold showers, a fan and lots of friendly house guests, mostly geckos and other (thankfully) unidentifiable insects. Thank goodness for mozzie nets!
My plan for this part of the trip was to hang out on my own, wander along the beach, take in some of the sun, see a bit of the turquoise sea and the islands, read and basically relax in preparation for the next busy part of the trip with Mum and Cara. An I think I accomplished my goal. The resort was mostly populated by Swedes and other Scandinavians who just love to get their kit off, so I saw quite a few breasts, buttocks and other old body parts! Made me feel like Pamela Anderson, so no complaints there ;) While I was on the island I decided to do a Thai cooking course which was fantastic. An afternoon spent learning some the techniques and secrets of Thai food. We learnt how to make 5 dishes which isn't bad and I got to learn how to make fried rice which I've always wanted to know how to do properly! Also got a receipe book to keep for the future. My other main adventure on the island was pink, fast and oh so pretty: a moped.
I had decided before I got to the island that I quite fancied having a go on a moped as it is THE way to get around and there was quite a few things that I wanted to check out and also just for the sheer hell and fun of it. First up, I tried to hire one from the resort, but they wouldn't let me as I had never ridden one before. Fair enough, the guy was just trying to protect me and I headed off to the beach and thought it was just not going to be. But then the next day I woke up and I thought to hell with that! If I want to ride a moped, I will. After all, it's only practically a push bike with a motor - right? So off I went along the beach to another place that rented out bikes. I checked out a few along the way and I didn't like the look of any of them, but then I spotted it: pink, Italian and had my name written all over it. The guy behind the counter was very nice and obviously had no scruples which suited me just fine. The bike was mine...well almost. First I had to learn how to drive the bloody thing and that caused a bit of hilarity amongst the locals (plus me, but mostly I was just humiliated and embarassed). So the guy gives me a run down of all the bits and pieces and then I go to get on the bike, imagining the whole time that the bike is just a push bike but faster, don't stress, you can do it and all that kind of chat. But what really happens is that I rev the bike while I'm not on the back and it takes off into the road, into traffic (thankfully there wasn't anything coming on my side of the road!). Oh dear. Bad start. But sure enough the dude is as cool as a cucumber, comes over to me and says 'You know you're meant to be on the back of the bike before you take off, right?'. And that was it. He still rented it to me and away I went, terrified but exhilarated at the same time. Had a lovely day buzzing round the island and exploring deserted beaches, but was glad to drop the bike off at 5pm and get back to the resort when I knew I only had to rely on myself walking there. I think if I had stayed longer I would have braved the bikes again, but it is so much more fun to be on the back while someone else is driving!
So there in lies the end of my South East Asia leg and I'm all prepped and ready to head to India. I am SOOOO excited to see my Mum and sister. I haven't seen them for over 15 months or so, so it's going to be great to have a family reunion and do some more exploring of the world.
I'm sad to say goodbye to Sarah and Amandio who have been so generous and kind to have let me stay and leave stuff here and then come back and stay again! Thank you both so much. It was great to see them again and hopefully we can repay the favour sometime in the future...plus no doubt Zain and I will be back again for another visit :)
posted by Yogini @ 12:21 am
1 comments
1 Comments:
Hmmm. I don't think I like the sound of being on the back of a moped - if you're the one driving!!!
;)
Post a Comment
<< Home