We left Panang Beach on Phuket island in heavy rain that did nothing to wash away our disbelief at what we had seen the night before…I didn’t know places like that existed. It was a relatively short drive but the tricky conditions meant we didn’t roll into Krabi until mid afternoon but it wasn’t long before we had checked into our accommodation and were ready to explore. The ladies hit the markets, but not before they were asked if Martha had a toilet (a luxury camper van she is not!) and came away with some rather fetching t-shirts but Michelle’s magnificent fluoro pink watch stole the show – check the photos.
High point: Being welcomed into Phuket by the local media just in time before the monsoon rains hit hard! And being invited to the comedy night featuring Milo!
Low point: Monsoon rain stopping us from visiting the beach on our only planned day off in Thailand.
No point: Bangla road
As we approached Phuket, the local press were waiting for us to arrive and followed us into town. We had been delayed by the start of the daily Monsoon rain and made it just in time before the peak of the tropical storm. By amazing coincidence, the day we were due to arrive in the area was the exact same night that a Comedian friend of FTFE, Milo, was due to perform. Pete who runs the comedy night heard about FTFE through Milo and very kindly spread the word in Phuket, contacting the local press who eagerly awaited our arrival for an interview.
High Point – Stumbling across the beach bungalow that was to become our home for the night
Low Point – Sore bottoms from sitting in the back of the cab for hours at a time. Thanks to http://www.motorcyclegelseatpads.co.uk/ for donating gel seat pads to help save our bums. Much appreciated!
Today started on a high with a visit to the ‘Swedish Bakery’ opposite our accommodation in Hua Hin for a quick bit of breakfast. Paul had already had a few sneaky croissants while the rest of us were asleep and so they came highly recommended! To give you some context to our obsession with food in our blogs, Steve has quite rightly imposed a limit on the amount of western dishes we can eat in a week so that we can really experience the local cuisine. So, to get a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and croissants was sheer heaven. Once breakfast was consumed we hit the road.
The day started early at 6am with our first view of the river Kwai from our Hotel. The late night karaoke boats (incl. squealing Thai’s onboard) gave us an idea of the size of the river however not it’s beauty.
Pointless seating arrangement of the day : Michelle sat behind the driver even though her legs are too short to fully appreciate the only seat with extra leg room
No Point : Lyndsey/Michelle owning bags too big for them to carry
Big Tune of the Day : Heavy Weight Champion of the World : Reverend and The Makers Read more →
Low Point – Construction of camp beds! I am officially the weediest member of the stage 4 crew after coming last in the race to construct our beds for the evening.
No point – The boys generally 😉
Today saw the first full day in Thailand and the long drive from Khon Kaen to the national park in Khoa Yai. The drive flew by with the usual chat and rather wonderful mega mix of pumping tunes blasting on the radio ( yep, I was the DJ for today’s drive) :-). Soon the long motorway disappeared and we entered the beautiful Khoa Yai national park which is Thailand’s most popular national park. As we followed the windy road through the park we were all on high- alert searching for the first ‘jungle animal’ sighting. We were rewarded 15mins into our drive through the park when the road opened up and we were suddenly at a viewpoint overlooking the park that stretched out below. Everywhere we looked there were gibbons jumping on cars and the most beautiful butterflies flying around us.
It was a pleasure to meet Somsuk, a very friendly and helpful guy, at the appropriately named friendship bridge. The crossing into Thailand seemed to go very smoothly. The only disappointment was the underwhelming switch from right to left hand drive. Steve had been eagerly awaiting the “scalextric” style crossover point but in the end was just like crossing the road! The bridge itself was impressive with views over the Mekong.
Have you ever been really close to making an error only to see the light at the eleventh hour? I mean a really massive error of which the ramifications will stay with you for a lifetime. An example would be agonising over a food menu, full of panic about what to choose before “settling” for pasta. As the waiter is about to leave you see the dish you have ordered turn up on the table next to you. Good god, you ordered pasta what the hell were you thinking? You can whip that up in the comfort of your own home any day of the week. You change your order to a steak, medium rare with pepper source! Lovely! A close one I think you’ll agree. Read more →
High Point: First day on the road for Stage 4 crew and what an amazing drive
Low point: ‘rest breaks’
No point: ‘rest breaks’…….for girls !!
Day 81 and our early start began with an emotional farewell to Ross – it has been great to have a couple of days overlap with him and ask lots of questions and to get the low-down on our partners in crime to Singapore – Steve and Paul!
Day of preparation and handover in Luang Prabang including Mekong river boat trip.
Today was a planned transition day for the stage 3- stage 4 cross over. Ross, Paul and Steve completed a long drive though the magnificent mountainous jungle and reached Luang Prabang a day early, enabling a morning adventure before preparing the new crew for the road.
We hired a private river tuk tuk for an early morning boat trip on the river Mekong. We would be taken to some local villages including the whisky village and the Pak Ou caves. A 2 hour cruise up the river gave some stunning views and chance to experience some of the local villages, fisheries and river life. The first stop was the whisky village where we were greeted with some locally distilled whisky, followed by a visit to the local village temples and market. We moved on to the next stop the Pak Ou caves caves where we explored an ancient Buddha sculpture temple hidden in the depths of caves which are only accessible by boat.
