Day 67-74 Ko Tao

We'd heard amazing things about this island so we were pretty excited to get there.

We got a sleeper bus.. then waited at a train station until 6am.. then another bus.. then a ferry for 2 hours.

The island was a lot bigger than we expected. We were picturing something a bit bigger than Ko Rong but it was actually pretty massive!

You had to get a taxi so we just asked him to take us to the cheapest hostel that we spotted in a brochure.

With it being an island, everything is a bit more expensive but we managed to get beds in Spicy Tao (ran by the same people as Spicy Pai) for 200baht per person, per night (about £4).

Spicy Tao has the same chilled out atmosphere as Spicy Pai did, so it's really sociable and you can easily meet loads of new people.

On the first night, we signed up for the all you can eat curry and rum & coke night.

A few hours and a number of drinking games later, we had definitely got our money's worth!

The next morning I woke up with cut knees (destroying Marie's pants I'd lent in the process- oops) and a very ropey hangover!

We stayed at the hostel with a big bunch of people and watched films all day, lying in the hammocks or on pillows, just leaving for food when needs be.

We spent a couple of days at Maya beach bar, where they have floating beds in the sea..

We bought snorkels, which were good fun! (We did have some pictures on Jacks phone but he got it robbed / lost it).

We managed to find a couple of places that did fairly cheap local food. One of the things they eat (which we definitely didn't) is an egg, where the chick is actually developing so there's a small chick cooked in there.

The rest of the week was a mixture of having very lazy film days and very lazy beach days. It was great!

Plus, we had another all you can drink night - this time with chicken and cashew nuts & Mojitos. It got a bit messy for some people...

And we did manage to make it to the pub to see Manchester United beat Norwich 4-0 too :-)

Ko Tao, you've been a pleasure.

Next stop...Ko Pha Ngan

Day 64-65 Bangkok

We got a flight to Bangkok.

Arriving by land only gets you a 14 day visa and we needed three weeks.

We weren't sure what to expect of our hostel 'Overstay' and when we arrived, it's like no where we've stayed before.

It is a former brothel, turned 'art house' and in the most polite way possible, it kinda just looks like you're an extra in the next season of Breaking Bad, in a crack den.

The bar downstairs is really cool and would be even more so if it wasn't attached to the hostel and pretty much going strong for 24 hours.

We booked into a dorm online but they didn't have a room, so this was ours...

There was only one fan in the room and it was roasting so we all just top to tailed across the bed and tried to share the fan!

We arrived at around 12.15am. At 4am we were up again to get a taxi to Wat Bang Phra, where a monk was going to bless us with a tattoo, called Sak Yant.

We were told to taxi it this early because the wait is particularly long on Sundays, as ladyboys etc come straight after finishing work.

When we got there, no one was there.

Just us, various buildings and lots of angry sounding stray dogs.

It wasn't really that clear where to go, especially as we were the first ones.

But a man sweeping the pathment pointed us in a direction,  so we walked that way, pulled up some chairs and hoped for the best.

Quite some time later, others arrived and waited.

We were the only western people there and basically didn't have a clue what was going on.

When other people paid 75 baht (less than £2) for a donation of flowers, cigarettes and insense, we did too.

When someone opened the gates and people started walking through to the building, we did too.

About 25 of us filled into a room and placed our donations into a big gold dish.

Then when the monk came in, we all moved forward on our knees and bent down, placing our hands on the backs of those infront of us (a guy next to me kindly whispered to do so).

Then one at a time, we each went over to the monk and bent over a cushion, as two men held our skin tight.

The monk reads your aura and begins to tattoo you with long bamboo needles and ink.

You don't speak to them or have a clue which tattoo they're doing but each one has a different meaning.

In some places the pain was worse and some better than a normal tattoo.

The silence made it often awkward (when, for example I sat the wrong way and they were trying to guide me into the right position)...but it also made the experience special too.

The monk whispers a blessing over you as he finishes up.

Jack got the Gao Yord, which is the most sacred Sak Yant tattoo.

The full meaning of all of the blessings within the tattoo are here http://www.thaiguidetochiangmai.com/lifestyle/sak-yant-chiang-mai-gao-yord-nine-peaks/

Marie and me were given the Hah Taew (or the 5 Sacres Lines). Each of the lines can carry different meanings depending on the variation of the lines and symbols.

Typically, the lines will help bestow the reciever with success in all aspects of life, charm, loving kindness, good luck and protection from all evil spirits.

                       
Afterwards, we were taken to a different temple next door,  where a monk blessed our foreheads and tongue with gold leaf, which is supposed to mean lovely things will come out of your mouth.

The total costs for each of us were:

Taxi there 200 baht    
Donation 75 baht
Gold leaf blessing 40 baht
Taxi back 160 baht

Which is less than £9.
         
If anyone is thinking about doing this in future, this blog has some great information about it and how to get there: http://wheresidewalksend.com/sak-yant-thailand/

Afterwards, we went to a nice place called Cozy House Restaurant, which was nice!

We Skyped Dad again and Grandma and Granny too :-)

We went to Ko Shan Road, which is where a lot of the nightlife is.

And then....we went to a Ping Pong show!

Don't be fooled (as we were) - this contains much more than the ping pong shows we'd heard about and it was definitely an eye opener!

The ping pong section was probably the least x-rated of them all.
                                   
We were scarred for life! It was definitely an 'experience'.

No pictures were allowed, which is probably better for everyones sake.

When we got in, we played some pool and watched some of a zombie film, to try to blur out the memory of the previous hour or so.

The next day, we went to MBK,  which is a ginormous seven floor shopping centre.

   

 We got lost. Skyped mum. And ate this really nice stuff.. I can't remember what it's called but it's basically a super yummy sorbet.

We went to the cinema, which I know may not seem too cultural but we did have to stand up to pay respect to the Kings National anthem before the film started?

When we came out, it obviously wasn't the same way we came in and we were completely lost, with two hours to get back to our hostel, pick our bags up, then get to the South Bus Station, where our night bus to Ko Tao would be setting off.

After one hour (and trying to ask a lot of Thai people) we finally figured out where to go.

We made it back to the hotel and had less than half an hour to go.

Taxi drivers couldn't understand where we were saying we wanted to go, or tried to suggest ridiculous amounts until finally someone helped and told us how to say the 'South Bus Station', in Thai.

Then one taxi driver agreed with Marie that he would use the meter (instead of suggesting a stupidly high price).

With about 10 minutes to spare and after lots of running... we made it!!

And our bus was well posh! It had snazzy curtains, free cake and soya milk and the best bit....masaging chairs!!!!

Next stop.... Ko Tao!!