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Wednesday, 6 July 2011
The hotel was still being built when we were there and therefore if you view their website you may find it hard to believe I'm talking about the same place. When we arrived we discovered we were the first people to stay in the hotel. It had a lovely swimming pool and beautiful rooms
came fully equipped with TV, hairdryer and a very modern bathroom. Not forgetting air conditioning as well of course. The view from the balcony, however, was not amazing past the views of the swimming pool as it was surrounded by building works and general litter. The location was perfect by taxi but did not appear to be within walking distance of very much including the beach which was not in sight.
Suitable for: Mainly couples
Price: Now it is £40-60 per night, however we paid to stay when it was unfinished and paid around 5 a night.
Go Again: No, because of the location. And it is not a traveller-friendly price.
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Every night the pub is lively with music and entertainment to suit everybody. It has an in house band, who were brilliant, playing fantastic beatles and 50's rock covers. The band are english and a wonderful addition the lively atmosphere. The Pub also has it's own DJ, the night I went he was not playing but the Reggae Pub website has plenty of information about him.
The night we went was a birthday celebration for the pub and therefore we were offered a free buffet and there was a traditional cabaret show which was followed by a very amusing ladyboy alternative.
Entry: Free
Opening Hours: 7 Days a week.
Address: 3/3 Moo 2, Chaweng Beach
It lasted two days. We slept in most of the next day which is fairly understandable. The buckets of thai poison well within our bloodstream and even after the long sleep it felt like it hadn't evacuated. We did very little that day. Merely the washing, one of those chores every traveller must endure.
The following day we went to Tesco. Yes that's correct Tesco, in Thailand. This was all the more ironic because all three of us had saved our money for travelling by working in the one at home. After our exciting day making sure every little helped in Thailand we headed for Reggae Pub. We arrived there by moped taxi. Cheap and literally what it says, you jump on the back of a thai mans' moped and they take you to your destination. We went to Reggae Pub on the advice of an Australian man who lived on the island.
Thursday, 15 April 2010
I would be lying if I said the eleven hours went quickly because they did not.I put it down to my lack of ability of falling asleep anywhere except a bed (now, however I can virtually sleep anywhere).
It was a bareable ride and I did manage to get a good few hours sleep, even if it was disjointed. We arrived in Surat Thani in the morning and got on a fairly large ferry over to Ko samui. We headed straight for the open air section of the ferry on the top and enjoyed the wind refreshing us after such a long coach ride.
The journey lasted around 2 hours and when we arrived we jumped in a taxi and headed towards our hotel. Only problem was, it was a new hotel and nobody knew where it was!
We went in circles in the general area for a while until the taxi driver gave up and dropped us off. I luckily stepped into an estate agent, a young lady was sat by herself and she spoke english so I asked if she could help direct us. She was so friendly and helpful, she took the info we had and rang the hotel. Ten minutes later a thai man from the hotel picked us up. It was hidden away from main roads and around a ten minute drive from where we were so we were thankful for the thai lady's help.
As we went to check-in at the hotel we were informed that we had booked a king double for the three of us. Well, this was down to the tourist information we explained. They did try to charge us for an extra bed but we agreed to share the bed and not pay, luckily the staff understood that we hadn't booked it. As we stepped up we saw it was a huge bed easily big enough for three of us...
We went up had a good few hours rest and then began to get ready for the full moon Party.
Around seven we got a speedboat to the island of Ko Phagnan, the location of the full moon party on Haad rin beach. On the speedboat we met four outgoing aussies; Jess, Angela, Aaron and Ben. They told us what they had been doing and have offered us some company when we get to Sydney.
The full moon Party was beyond expection, huge speakers and lights on the beautiful beach. I forgot I was even on a beach. Was a bad case of drinking too many vodka and red bull buckets with Viking and we ended up out of it for a good few hours. Great night just didn't like the queueing to get back to Ko Samui ...or yet another taxi driver failing to find our hotel for a good hour!
Friday, 9 April 2010
Ready to see what Thailand had to offer and try and organise our way to the full moon party, we checked out and headed to the Tourist Information. As we approached, it appeared to be shut. A small Thai man greeted us outside and we explained we were trying to get to the Full moon Party. He smiled and called over a tuk-tuk, being a local he got us a 20 baht (40p) fare for a fairly reasonable distance.
We arrived outside the Tourist Information, went in and booked a ticket for an overnight coach to the port, ferry from the port and back again. As Ko Phagnan was the location of the full moon party and it was in two days we realised we would not be able to get accomodation there, so we also booked three nights accomodation on nearby island- Ko Samui. Having done this, we had four hours to freely roam around Bangkok.
We left our big bags at the tourist Information and headed out.
Goatee suggested we head to Lumphini Park', so we did and found a small park area of bangkok that was quiet and hassle-free. We took a relaxed stroll around the park and sat by the pond. When looking into the pond we noticed a large Komodo dragon type thing poke its head above water and swim past, that helped the realisation of actually being in Thailand! The afternoon was soon gone and before we knew it we were boarding the coach to Surat Thani (The port). It was pure luck that we got the comfy and more spacious seats downstairs. Thankfully it was air conditioned and the seats reclined to a laid back position. The coach journey lasted around eleven hours!
I remember waking up at 9 o'clock and I was buzzing, finally it was here, the day of the big trip. I had spent the entire morning packing and re-packing, I definitely didn't want to forget anything! 4.30pm came around quickly and it was then time to leave for the airport. After re-packing my bag so many times I could almost name its entire contents, I was certain that I was ready. They say time flies when your having fun, and although we were only checking-in and doing all the airport formalities it soon went and we were sat on the plane on our way. Finally all my hard work was paying off and I was about to embark on the holiday of a lifetime.
Following all the excitement, hustle and bustle of the airport, time soon seemed to slow down as we sat on the plane for ten hours. Those who know me won't be surprised to hear I worked my way through four whole films throughout the journey, and neglected sleep...the excitement kept me up. Happy and ready to get our bags we stepped off the plane with a smile on our faces...
Our smiles, however, were soon turned to yawns as waited over an hour to get through passport control. We all looked at each other with disbelief as we saw around five passport control desks with over one hundred people in each queue.
Over the time we waited we seemed to age, but eventually we collected our bags and before we knew it we were in the taxi looking down Si-lom Road for our Hostel. Things looked good, rows and rows of 5 Star hotels. We stopped and the taxi driver pointed, it turned out the other hotels were nothing to go by...
In front of us was a small white building no bigger than a standard town house. We entered and were shown up four flights of stairs and there was our room. On the way up we were privy to some building work and I particularly enjoyed the thrill of the stairs without a hand rail. My first hostel experince: the room was the size of the average english bathroom, 2 bunk beds, white walls and no windows. Prison came to mind... The shared shower and toilet wasn't to bad as they were being refurbished and we were the only ones using them. I would say the easyjet of hotels but a glorified cell seems more accurate.
That evening, despite being tired we ventured down Si-lom Road for some suitable munch. Five minutes down the road it came in the form of a well-presented thai restaraunt. More expensive than we might have wished but it certainly replaced the taste of flight food.
That evening, despite being tired we ventured down Si-lom Road for some suitable munch. Five minutes down the road it came in the form of a well-presented thai restaraunt. More expensive than we might have wished but it certainly replaced the taste of flight food.
After browsing the menu, I decided on a thai green curry... not the best decision I have ever made. It was hot, very hot and taking the taste of flight food out of my mouth is perhaps an understatement but still a good move. We wondered past various strip clubs, bars and clubs, being offered ping pong shows near enough every minute.
We decided to save that for another time...
Delays, problems and new accomodation experiences aside, we were finally in Bangkok and therefore didn't mind that every move either me or Goatee made in the bunk bed woke each other up. It didn't matter because our adventure had just begun.
Delays, problems and new accomodation experiences aside, we were finally in Bangkok and therefore didn't mind that every move either me or Goatee made in the bunk bed woke each other up. It didn't matter because our adventure had just begun.
