And that's the end of that chapter!

13th December 2012

After our busy day of sightseeing and country running around we were pretty shattered but our flight to Dublin was packed out and so I found myself doing that weird half asleep, half awake thing where you realise that you're sleeping and your mouth is hanging open so you snap awake again When we finally arrived in Dublin airport we were hit with the cold, literally. As soon as we walked out of the terminal we found ourselves facing subzero consitions in our sandals and t-shirts! After a short wait we hopped on the bus to Belfast (yes, that's right, I took a public bus in a regular country without even complaining) and JR met us and drove us back to lovely Bangor, my lovely house and my even lovelier dog!

So there you have it. We are officially home and the adventure is at an end! If you've stuck with this Blog then I'm sure you'll be pleased to see the back of me and my poorly written ramblings! I feel like an annoying Gap Yah-er but it was a great trip with lots of amazing experiences and I would recommend it to anyone! Who knows, you might be a travel superstar like Rory and not even get sick!

Cheeky day in Dubai!

12th December 2012

As I've already mentioned, I was up nice and early being sick. I didn't have long to feel sorry for myself because at 5am we were on a bus to the airport! We checked in online so all we had to do was drop our bags and clear passport control which was a complete dream – I will definitely give it to Thailand/the United Arab Emirates, they know how to get you through the airport in record time! After a short nap on some airport chairs we boarded our flight, only to find that it was completely empty! I've never seen anything like it and as soon as we were seated the air hostess told us that once we took off we could move around as we pleased! After watching a few episodes of the Big Bang Theory we moved around a bit and spent the rest of the flight lounging across three seats! It was like being in first class, but cheap!

When we arrived in Abu Dhabi we had some time to kill... thirteen hours to be precise! I normally don't mind being in the airport for a few hours but I spent the morning dreading those thirteen hours; I couldn't think of anything worse than being sick and stuck in an airport! However, the clouds parted and a miracle occurred, I started feeling a bit better and as soon as we got off the plane we hopped on a bus to Dubai! We had originally talked about going to Abu Dhabi as it was close to the airport but Ethiad operate a free coach to Dubai and we had more than enough time so without really thinking about it, we grabbed two seats and in just over an hour we found ourselves in Dubai!

I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. Dubai is pretty much America but without the Americans! There are more American restaurants than you an count and I recognised almost every clothing and home furnishing shop. We're talking Pottery Barn, Bloomingdales, American Eagle and of course, Topshop. While the shops are similar to that of an American city or mall, there was one slight difference; the Dubai Mall has an aquarium in the middle of it. As you do.

Rory and I were also really surprised at the price of things, food especially. We got a Nandos for lunch and it only came to £10 for what usually costs £25 at home! The ridiculously good value even extended to electrical goods. We saw laptops at £90 and a Mac Book for £500... Or so we thought. Turns out our exchange rate calculations were wrong, very wrong. Basically, if we thought something cost £1 it really cost £3 which might not seem that bad but it all adds up. Thankfully we had one very lucky escape; one of the first things we saw when entering the city was the Burj Khalifa building. It is the biggest building in the world and you can pay to go up. For 100 Dirham you can go up at an allocated time or you can pay 400 Dirham to go up right away. The only available time at the cheaper price was 9.30pm which was too late as we needed to get back to the airport so our only option was to pay the 400 Dirham. We thought this was around £23 each which was more than we hoped to spend but we decided to just go crazy and splash out! By the time we actually got to the building it was getting dark and after queuing we asked the ticket lady if it was worth paying to go up at night. Instead of trying to make some money she told us the truth; that it was much better during the day and not worth 400 at night. We took her advice and skipped the tour. I would still like to go up, on a clear day when you can make the most of the view but today wasn't that day and while I was a little disappointed, I felt much better when we realised that with the proper exchange rate the tickets actually cost £68 per person!

Rather than rushing off to another part of Dubai we decided to hang around the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall, we even managed to fit in a sneaky Cold Stone ice cream before we got the bus back to the airport and started the next leg of our epic journey home! As I said, I was impressed with Dubai and I'm really glad we got to have a look around, even if it was only for a few hours! If anyone ever has a long lay over in the United Arab Emirates I strongly suggest they make the trip. The bus is free, you get a cool stamp when you leave the airport and you get to add another country to your travelling repertoire!

Our last night in Thailand!

11th December 2012

It's officially our last day in Thailand and while we probably should have done something special to mark the occasion, we didn't. We ate lots of food, bought some trendy traveller clothes and watched the movie channel. I think we've seen Angels and Demons about ten times in the past month!

While I will miss Thailand, I'm glad to be getting out of Bangkok. We've been here three times in the past six weeks and while there is a lot to do, walking along the Khaosan Road and being harrassed by tuk tuk drivers and street venders gets a bit old. Today I was looking at a t-shirt trying to find it in a colour I liked and the woman literally went mental. She ran at me and started screaming that nothing was for sale and I couldn't touch any of her stuff! When I told her I wanted to buy something from her she went ballistic and showed us just how fluent she is in English swear words! I get that the people in Bangkok deal with stupid travellers everyday but it was all a bit much so while I would say go to Bangkok, don't spend too long there, the rest of Thailand is more deserving of your time!

We have a thirty hour journey ahead of us so I decided to opt for a western dinner. My theory that having some chips from McDonalds would prevent me from feeling sick was soon disproved when I woke up at 2am and spent the night lying on the bathroom floor, throwing up! I really won't miss being sick all the time. I don't even know what has been causing it, I haven't eaten any dodgy food and Rory and I always have the same thing and he's been totally fine. It has been a real pain and today I really had no idea how I was going to make the massive trek home without dying but I would still come back. When I think of all the cool stuff we've been able to do and see out here, a few days of feeling horrific are definitely worth it (she says, now that she's feeling fine).

Back to Bangkok... Again!!

10th December 2012

Our last day in Koh Tao has finally snuck up on us! Our boat back to the mainland was leaving at 2.45pm so we had a few hours to kill and chose to pass the time doing what we do best – eating! After a big breakfast followed by a big lunch we made our way to the dock and after some waiting around, we were on our way back to Bangkok!

The ferry took a few hours and while we were due to arrive in Bangkok at 12.30am, we didn't get in until about 2am! We then had to try and find our hostel which we booked through Booking.com. It took a while but we eventually found the isolated side street it was on but I kind of wish we hadn't! Contrary to what the website said, our room did not include a fridge, mini-bar and free wifi. Instead we were given the smallest room in the history of the world! To make matters worse it was absolutely full of mosquitos and the toilet smells like an open sewer, probably because there's an uncovered drain in the corner! And all this for £34 – what a complete rip off! Thankfully we're not staying too long!

Our last night on Koh Tao :(

9th December 2012

Once again we had our complimentary breakfast and spent the day on the beach! Surprise, surprise it was hot and surprise, surprise we did lots of swimming and lots of lazing about! We finished off the day with a really nice meal on the beach. At night all the restaurants along the beach set out chairs and tables and you can eat right on the sand. This probably isn't news to most people but I thought it was pretty cool, having a BBQ which is cooked right in front of you while you're sitting on the beach, looking out across the water!

Everton were playing so after our dinner Rory went hunting for a bar where he could watch the game and I stayed in the room and ate the chocolate from our mini-bar! You've gotta love hotels!

 

More sun!

8th December 2012

The exciting thing about moving hotels is that you get to try a new breakfast! Unfortunately our new breakfast wasn't as exciting as our breakfast at Montalay. I did liven up the experience by having an entire bottle of ketchup explode all over me (we're talking arm, t-shirt, hair, table, floor – everythaaang) but in essence it was the same. There also seemed to be some sort of breakfast buffet going on and while I don't think this was included in our free breakfast, we buffet-ed.It was also nice waking up and finding this little fella outside our door!

In an attempt to catch some rays before we return to the Arctic conditions of Ballyholme, we spent a good six hours worshipping the sun. Rory hasn't quite grasped the concept of sunbathing, he wore a t-shirt for most of the day, but he was excellent company.

We went to a Trip Advisor recommended bar and grill, the Hippo, but unfortunately dinner wasn't as good as we had hoped but our disappointment was soon forgotten when we took a moonlight stroll along the beach. I still can't get over how nice the weather is over here. When we get back and go for a night walk we'll be wearing about fifty layers and will still be cold! It's finally sinking in that we have to go home and while it will be nice to be home for Christmas, I wish I could spend a little longer here in Koh Tao.

Same island, new hotel.

7th December 2012

We booked our Koh Tao accommodation when we were in Bangkok, so while we absoloutely loved Montalay, we had only booked three nights here. We had thought about cancelling our other reservation and spending the next three nights in our fancy room but the terms and conditions didn't allow cancellation. We reluctantly took a taxi to our new hotel which is in a more central location and while it was really nice, I won't lie, I threw a massive tantrum.

I'm not usually one for hissy fits and the room was nice but I just wanted to be back at Montalay with our own private beach and fancy shower. Eventually I stopped being a five year old and we made the most of the day by heading to the beach! I love the water, I think it's because I'm a Ballyholmie, so I went in for a quick dip and ended up staying in the water until the sun set! The beach is busier than the one at Montalay which I wasn't happy about but now that we're actually here I'm glad we moved. The beach was still fairly empty and it's nice lying on the beach and hearing Jack Johnson songs drifting from the nearest beach bar!

The day didn't start out very well but once I stopped acting like a child it got considerably better. We had a really nice meal in the hotel restaurant, stocked up on niceys and watch 2012 which is a film about the end of the world. Hopefully the Mayans got it wrong because it would be a real shame if the world ended before you got to see Koh Tao!

Swimming with the Fishes

6th December 2012

Once again we rose and rushed down to breakfast where we stuffed ourselves full of amazing food! I could really get used to this whole two course breakfast thing! When we were full to bursting we finally finished our Narnia marathon by watching The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Don't judge, we're on holiday!

After saying an emotional goodbye to Narnia we hit up the hotel pool, just so we could say we swam in a pool, while looking at the sea. We then got a closer look at the sea by having a cheeky snorkelling session! Thankfully some old man at the hotel dive centre managed to fix my steamy snorkel with a lighter and some baby shampoo, so I could actually see the fish! Of course I managed to get a few pictures but I ran out of space on my memory card just as all the massive fish made an appearance!

Yesterday's flirtation with the sun had left us a little burnt so we didn't spend too long at the beach. Instead we watched The Pursuit of Happyness. Again, refrain from judgement, there's not a lot to do in a secluded island paradise! Of course you can eat, which we did, and there's always sleep, which we did. Being on a lazy person holiday is the best!

Sun and Sunburn!

5th December 2012

Five months ago Rory and I graduated from Queen's University Belfast. We were on course for a masters and getting ready to head off on a three week holiday to Croatia. It's hard to believe how quickly time flies. We never quite got around to the masters but those five months have absolutely flown by, as have the past five weeks! In one week our Southeast Asian adventure will be at an end and we'll be back in rainy Bangor! While it will be nice to be home, we're making the most of our last few days so I dragged myself out of my comfy bed and we headed to breakfast!

 Obviously we chose the meatiest breakfast available but it was followed by an amazing fruit and yoghurt platter so I didn't feel too guilty! We then headed to the beach where we spent the day swimming and sunbathing! I won't lie, despite our numerous applications of sun cream, Rory and I are pretty burnt! As such we spent the evening lying around, watching t.v and not doing anything strenuous  In fact, we only ventured out to get some dinner and once again the hotel restaurant was a great success!

We ended the night by watching Cars 2 which was actually quite good. Unfortunately I didn't get to see the end as I was lying on the bathroom floor, throwing up. Maybe the food wasn't that good, maybe I've got sunstroke or maybe karma is just catching me up... Note to self, don't post pictures of beautiful beach pictures on Facebook when everyone is stuck at home in the freezing cold!

Koh Tao

4th December

After a somewhat restless night the coach stopped at Chumphon. Here we checked in to the ferry and waited for a few hours. It wasn't actually that bad, we found a few deck chairs and sat watching the sun come up! When we eventually boarded the boat we rushed to the top deck and got a seat at the very front of the boat! After almost six weeks away from beautiful Ballyholme it was really nice to smell the sea again!

The ferry took just over an hour and when we arrived we were met by a hotel worker who had our name on a sign – I felt like I was in a movie! After quickly buying a £20 snorkel we hopped on the back of the hotel pick up truck and make the 4.5km journey to Mantalay Hotel. A pick up truck might seem like an odd choice for collecting guest but they needed it – at point the road was non existent, an ordinary car or van could never have made it!

We had arrived early but they checked us into our room anyway and I was so pleasantly surprised! It's so nice to have a decent room, plus the doors are slide and the shower looks like a microphone! For 3 nights the room is £70, we added in breakfast which took it up to £100 but even so, there is no way you could get a hotel like this, a room like this and a location like this in Europe for that price! It takes us thirty seconds to walk from our room to the hotel pool and the private beach!

With all the travelling we were pretty hungry so we had an early lunch which was pretty excellent and then we headed to the beach! There are a few other hotels sharing the beach but when we arrived there were only two other people sunbathing! As the day progressed there were still no more than ten people! The beach could have been cleaner, there was the odd plastic bottle and I did spot a few flip flops but there was nothing major and unlike Ballyholme beach, the water is safe to swim in! Rory and I had a good snorkel around the cove and I have never seen so many cool fish! We'd snorkelled in Croatia but here the fish are amazing colours! They're fluorescent blues, yellows, greens and oranges. Some were longer than my entire arm and some are smaller than a finger. I even saw a fish with long white teeth that it was using to eat off the coral!

When we had satisfied our need to swim and get sunburnt we came back to the room and relaxed. Our T.V actually works so we half watched Kingdom of Heaven but it was pretty boring so we headed back to the hotel restaurant and got dinner. Rory went for some chicken concoction and I opted for the chicken with cashew nut, apparently it's a big deal over here! Both were really nice and as we're guests in the hotel we didn't have to pay. Well, we will at some point but for now they're just adding it to our bill. I feel like the Queen, I don't have to carry money but I have a feeling that come check out, all those cheeky snacks might come back and bit me in my sunburn bum!