Putting Pins in the Map

So I'm just going to write a very brief summary of each place as it was never my intention to write an individual blog for each place I've visited. Hua Hin, Thailand Getting a train down from Bangkok to Hua Hin was long, tiring and beautiful. The scenery was stunning and I'm glad we got a train so we could see some of the Thai countryside. We saw little Thai villages that were in the back of beyond, people living in the middle of nowhere in a shack. It was very interesting actually to see this other side of Thailand, a different side to Bangkok. Hua Hin again was very different to Bangkok. After spending five nights in a bustling, polluted city it was lovely to finally get to the beach where there was a sea breeze and some blue skies! Hua Hin was just a lovely little seaside town, not too spoiled by tourism. The beach was beautiful and peaceful. The water wasn't as crystal clear as we were expecting but still beautiful compared to the beaches of the UK. We spent one full day here and literally just soaked up the sun all day, finally getting some much needed vitamin D! We got a little bit burnt, we were used to the heat in Bangkok, but not the powerful Thai sunshine! Hua Hin was a lovely, sleepy little seaside town, that wasn't spoiled by too many tourists. It was nice to make a pitstop there on our way down south but it's not somewhere I'd return to as I wasn't overly amazed by it. Nothing wrong with it at all but I was just ready to move on and explore somewhere new. Ban Krut, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand This was the next stop down from Hua Hin. Again we got a train down and took in the beautiful Thai countryside on the way. Ban Krut was literally in the middle of nowhere. We planned to stop there just as another pitstop. We were slowly making our way south in time for the full moon party in Koh Phangan and so decided to spend the time beforehand chilling out. Chilling out was certainly what we got in Ban Krut. It literally was in the back of beyond and not somewhere I'd really go again. I don't like overly touristy places but this was just ridiculous. We were the only people around for miles! We had a private beach, which was amazing and idyllic but one of the reasons we came away was to meet people and there was just nobody! A bit too quiet for us really! Was lovely to see again a different side of Thailand, a village where locals live and to get a point of view of how they live in the countryside, but really wasn't for us. Beautiful and idyllic but not really what we were looking for. Chumphon, Thailand Again another stopover point before we got the boat to Koh Phangan. We literally stayed here one night before getting the boat really early in the morning. Nothing much to report to be perfectly honest as we literally just used it as a pitstop. Koh Phangan, Thailand Well what can I say about the memories made in Koh Phangan? I feel our two weeks chilling out were much needed for the events that were to follow on the infamous full moon party island. We stayed for four nights in a ridiculously tacky hostel a couple of minutes from the beach. The beach was beautiful but no culture here as it's just a party island.. Reminded me a lot of Magaluf! To be honest what happens in Koh Phangan stays in Koh Phangan ;) The full moon party was just unbelievably amazing, everyone having the best time, drinking out of buckets and dancing till the early hours. It rained a fair bit in the day time but we didn't let that stop us.

We had a good swim in the sea while it poured it down. Party party party here and had the best time! Koh Tao, Thailand Everyone seemed to head to Koh Tao after the full moon party. As soon as we pulled into the marina in Koh Tao I was immediately impressed. The island looked stunning and I'd only just caught a glimpse of it. Not sure why but this island is definitely my favourite place I've visited so far. White sandy beaches and gorgeous blue sea are some of the perks, but what Koh Tao really is famous for is its scuba diving (see previous blog entry for more detail). We completed our PADI Open Water diving course, which was just too amazing. We went on a boat trip around the island whilst we were there too, stopping off at some lovely places. Took part in some ridiculously scary cliff diving... It wasn't so much the diving part that scared me, but the climbing up huge rock formations and falling over. The adrenaline sure was pumping that day! The island was gorgeous, we were still part of the big group, we had a couple of really good nights out and we did some diving. All in all a fantastic place with some amazing memories made. Koh Samui, Thailand Koh Samui would have been very pretty apart from it poured it down with rain the whole time we were there and there isn't a lot else to do apart from sit on the beach. We did see a bit of the beach when the rain finally eased off and it did look pretty but we couldn't really fully appreciate it as it wasn't exactly sunbathing weather. Our hostel was in the middle of nowhere but the people who owned it were amazingly cute and the hostel itself was great for meeting people! Only stayed here for 2 nights as we were getting a flight to Penang, Malaysia. As much as we loved Thailand we were more than ready to check out a new country. Penang, Malaysia Penang was only an hour's flight away from Koh Samui, so we arrived feeling refreshed and ready to explore a new country and a different culture. After spending a few weeks on the beaches of Thailand it was nice to be back in a city for a few days. The first thing we wanted to do was try a new Malay dish as we'd heard the food was delicious. We went to a strange restaurant in George Town and ordered what we thought was curry, as they didn't even have a menu so we promptly ordered the first thing the guy told us wasn't too spicy. It turned out to be a very strange meal and not a curry that's for sure! Glad we tried something new however, we were looking forward to trying some more new dishes in Malaysia. We met a lovely guy in Penang and we all hired bicycles and cycled around George Town, almost fearing for our lives on the one way system. We visited an old war fort and soaked up some of the history of the town. We also tried to cycle to the waterfront as it looked really pretty but those one way systems were not our friends and we couldn't seem to get there by bicycle. Cycling around George Town was such a nice way to see the sights and to get some much needed exercise! We went up to the top of Penang Hill via a funicular railway and took in the city from up above. Penang was a lovely little island, with lots to offer. We took in some sights, ate some weird and wonderful foods and enjoyed the colourful and vibrant Little India. It seemed a very chilled out place, not too quiet but not too hectic with a lot of friendly Malay people always waving and saying hello as we passed. Langkawi, Malaysia

Our new friend, Tom joined us on the boat ride to the island north of Penang, Langkawi. It was such a beautiful island and my second favourite place we've visited. The first still being Koh Tao. Langkawi was just idyllic and stunning and different to the beaches we'd visited in Thailand. The sand was soft and white and the sea like a bathtub of pure loveliness. I found the beaches in Thailand to be quite touristy and the beach in Langkawi differed a lot in this respect. It was like paradise and I remember sitting in the ocean thinking how at peace I felt with the world and that I genuinely was in paradise. It didn't feel touristy or spoiled, it was just beautiful and natural. Whilst in Langkawi we also visited the cable car where we enjoyed the most amazing view of not only Langkawi, but all the other little surrounding islands. The view was stunning and took our breath away. The thing I liked most about Langkawi was its natural beauty and the fact it wasn't too spoiled by tourism. It wasn't too quiet either, it had the right sort of balance for a nice few chilled out days lazing on the beach. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

After a couple of lovely days relaxing on the beach it was nice to be back in a city again to experience something different. The capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, or KL as it's commonly known was very different to Bangkok in many ways. It was still a very busy city but it didn't feel as hectic and rushed in the way Bangkok did. It felt a lot more chilled out and easygoing. It was the first place I'd visited that I felt I didn't want to leave. Not particularly for the city itself but for the memories made there. We met some lovely people, enjoyed a brilliant night out for Stef's birthday and met up back up with old friends too. We had a brilliant few days in KL so I was definitely sad to leave. Also leaving KL signified leaving Malaysia as we were heading on to Singapore next. The city itself was very diverse and had a lot of different cultures. It was interesting to see a Muslim Mosque and to hear the eerily beautiful call for prayer one minute and to turn the corner and see Hindus celebrating Diwali in Little India the next. The city catered for everybody and that's what i liked about it, it had a little bit of everything, which also meant lots of weird and wonderful food too! We visited the Batu Caves on our last day, which were millions of years old rock formations with a Hindu temple inside. We even encountered lots of wild monkeys running around begging for nuts and bananas from the unsuspecting tourists. They were funny little things who could move so unbelievably quickly up the rock formations. We also paid for a guided tour of the Dark Caves where we were shown into the caverns and briefed upon the thousands of bats and other creatures living in the dark, dark space. It literally was SO dark inside it was creepy but beautiful. Amazing little excursion to learn more about how rocks form over millions of years. Very interesting! So we are currently in Singapore but I will write about that once we've left! That's all for now :)