Six weeks into our six month trip and we are still going strong. Impressive? We think so!

It’s 2pm in Phuket, it’s 35 degrees outside and we are sat in our hostel counting how many pennies we each have to spend before our flight to Hong Kong tomorrow. We have 18 baht each to last the rest of the day which is the equivalent of 36p. This doesn’t sound like much, but it will afford us a Thai Pot Noodle, so it’s all good. This is what happens when you exceed your weekly budget on a Monday. Its also what happens when you walk past a 5 star hotel and pay £6 each for a bowl of cereal because you have missed fresh milk so much. Yes, we did. And we still don’t regret it because those Rice Krispies and Coco Pops were so God damn good!

Food – its what we talk about, fantasise about, crave and dream of on a daily basis. As good as the Thai cuisine is and the Indian cuisine was; weeks of curry, rice and noodles has taken its toll. We realised this when we were sat in Burger King in Bangkok, hours after we had been sat in McDonald’s, and the following conversation took place:

“OMG this is so good. What do you think is the nicest, the Burger King or the McDonalds?”
“McDonalds.”
“Ah no, I’d say the Burger King.”

A deadly serious conversation. This was then followed by an overwhelming feeling of excitement when suddenly we spotted a laundry service next to Khao San Road. It was midnight on a Saturday in Bangkok. The streets were alive and the music was booming. Jen and I were sat next to a washing machine and a tumble dryer having one of the best nights of our lives. If this doesn’t make us true backpackers, we don’t know what will.

Anyway, after eating our way through Bangkok and a quick stop off in Hua Hin, we finally made it to Phuket Airport where we waited in excitement for the lovely Li to arrive and join us on our trip for the next two weeks! ❤️ We then set off on our island hopping adventure from one white sand beach to the next. We have surprisingly managed to make our way around without any major hitches. As much as we would like to think that this is because we are becoming more experienced travellers, realistically its probably because we were forced to become organised so that we didn’t ruin Li’s time out here! Yes Li, we did you proud! 😂

So, our first journey at sea was from Phuket to Phi Phi island – definitely one of the worst journeys we have experienced in Thailand. After queueing for over an hour in the 36 degree heat with over 200 other backpackers, we finally boarded the ferry. Our bags were thrown somewhere near the front and we were forced up somewhere towards the top deck. To our surprise we eventually managed to find a nice little spot inside an air conditioned room on comfortable sofas next to a little tuck shop. Perfect. Five minutes later a member of staff came round to offer us a £10 ticket for the VIP section upstairs. Thanking him but declining the offer we sloped back on our sofa with our feet up. He clearly wasn’t getting the message and continued to wave the tickets in our sweaty faces until we firmly told him that we didn’t want to go into the VIP area and that we were fine where we were. Still fanning us with his tickets, we realised that we were actually sat in the VIP section of the boat and the man was trying to tell us that we had to pay to stay there. We were soon forced back out into the unbearable heat and strong stench of vomit where we spent the next 3 hours frying in the sun on the floor of the top deck.

Phi Phi island was a lot of fun. We did the whole Monkey Beach, Maya Bay and made it to the top of the island’s viewing point which was worth the 20-30 minute hike it took to get there. A few days is enough to see the main sights though and by this point we were ready to leave the crowds behind and head to our next destination – Koh Lanta.

All the islands we have visited have been amazing in their own way but our favourite by far was Koh Lanta. It offers a much more laid back and chilled vibe and is definitely somewhere we would recommend if you’re not too fussed about the party scene of Phi Phi. Our days here were filled with snorkelling, kayaking, monkey spotting and plenty of sunsets! We also braved renting mopeds for the day. After much debate about whether this was worth risking our lives for, we decided YOLO and were quickly handed the keys in exchange for a fiver. Two minutes later and we were all sat trying to figure out how to start them. We were given a 30 second test run, during which I pressed the accelerator too hard and shot off towards the lamp post directly in front of us before finding the break at the last minute and narrowly escaping a broken leg. The next test was the road. After a wobbly start we were soon cruising across the island like pros. That was until the heavens opened and we turned into drowned rats dodging the puddles and potholes. Still, lots of fun to be had!

Next we headed to Krabi to soak up the last of the hippy lifestyle before making our way to Khao Sok National Park where we stayed overnight on a floating bungalow in the middle of Cheow Lan Lake.

This was also where we explored the jungle caves, which was serious business! Equipped with head torches, we were warned that the water inside could rise above shoulder level while our guide persisted in telling us, “Like Batman and Spider-Man” during his basic safety preparations. We headed inside and began wading through the waters, pulling ourselves over rocks until some of the over-enthusiastic members of our group pointed out the unexpected… Spiders. Everywhere. As in the massive kind, not just your average house spiders, but the size-of-your-hand spiders. “Spider-Man” – ah, that’s what he meant and “Batman?” Yes, that was reference to the 500 bats hanging upside down above our heads. The bats we could deal with, but unfortunately while the rest of our group thought they were David Attenborough, taking pictures of the eight legged freaks running around our feet, Jen and I spent the next half an hour jumping up and down, screaming every thirty seconds and trying not to cry. Screaming like this inside a cave where even the tiniest sounds are amplified, I think it’s safe to say that the rest of our group were close to punching us in the face. Li somehow managed to hold it together to save herself the embarrassment and pretended not to know us until we started to behave like normal people again.

It seems to have become a common theme on tours where the rest of the group leave us behind, because it happened again and the three of us were left with our head torches in the darkness trying to swim through the crevices while the water rose above our heads. With Li taking the lead and Jen resisting the urge to scream, “Just go on without me!” we powered on through. One minute we were swimming, the next we were back on the rocks with the spiders. Jen’s £30 geek sandals eventually gave way causing her to slip every 5 minutes and fall on her arse and as we reached the end, Li turned around to find me dragging Jen through the waters to safety. Spiders and health and safety issues aside, this trip was probably one of the best so far and was worth all the bruises on our legs and bums!

After we reached normal land again, we continued our hike through the jungle before reaching our floating bungalows for a spot of swimming in the lake. Later that night we sailed through a midnight wildlife safari before lights went out and we were left in the pitch darkness, sleeping on a mattress, on a raft, at one with nature!

After all the excitement it was soon time to set off on the long journey back to Phuket to say a teary goodbye to Li before she boarded her flight home. Three has once again become two and we have begrudgingly downgraded from our nice hotel room back to our basic hostels… We miss you, Li!

So, here we are, sat with our 36 pence in hand waiting to buy our pot noodles and dreaming about our next Burger King in Hong Kong. Thailand it has been a pleasure! Even though I think our hearts are still with India, we have had an amazing time here and have made so many more memories ❤️

Next stop, Hong Kong and the Philippines!

Jen and Rach xxx