The Return to Thailand

When we left Thailand we were more than ready to check out somewhere new, but before our return we were so unbelievably excited to go back. We hadn't realised how much we'd missed those gorgeous beaches and that crystal clear sea. We flew from Singapore to Phuket, which only took about an hour. We'd been advised to not even bother with Phuket and Koh Phi Phi, but we didn't want to look back on our trip and wish we'd been to places that we didn't visit. We thought we may as well go there, make up own mind and then if we didn't like it, at least we wouldn't have to think, 'what if!' As much as we like taking advice from fellow travellers, we still like to form our own opinions on places instead of just not visiting a place just because someone told us not to. Everyone has different opinions and just as much as someone could hate a place, it might be another person's favourite place on earth. That said, we only stayed one night in Phuket as we wanted to spend a good few days in Phi Phi, as we'd heard from others it was amazing. Phuket was.. What can I say? Interesting.. We went out to a ping pong show, which if you're unfamiliar with this, was basically women shooting objects from places that shouldn't be shooting objects. If you're curious as we were, a trip to Phuket may be in order for you. I shall say no more on this subject. All I can say is that it was interesting. Figure out the rest for yourself if you dare.. We had breakfast on a yet another rainy beach. We thought the rainy season was over in Thailand but surprise surprise we'd arrived to yet more downpour. At the time there was the typhoon going on in the Philippines and Vietnam, and we'd heard people saying that Thailand was getting the backlash of the storms and rain was sweeping round. Nothing compared to what was going on elsewhere of course, but those storm clouds looked angry! We got a boat over to Koh Phi Phi and were very excited to head over to the island where they filmed the movie, The Beach, hoping we may catch a little glimpse of Leo ;) Phi Phi consequently happened to be our favourite place, after being told not to go there. I left my heart in Phi Phi, for various reasons but mainly because it was just stunningly beautiful. When you think of the beaches of Thailand, this is what you imagine. Crystal clear water, stunning views and gorgeous scenery with a chilled out atmosphere to boot. Nothing I write can do this island justice. I can't say enough times how beautiful and stunning it is there. It was our favourite place because it's gorgeous but also because we just had the most amazing three days there ever. Amazing memories were made and we laughed so much and just generally had a good time. The best time. After a day of lazing on the beach, we went on a boat trip around the island to take in some more of the sights. We first went cliff diving.. Except Stef and I chickened out, purely because of the climb to the top. We'd had a scary experience in Koh Tao and so as much as we wanted to jump into the water, the climb to the top was slightly off putting. We did enjoy watching everybody else back flipping and enjoying it though. We did some snorkelling, saw amazing colourful fish, visited monkey island and finally Maya Bay.. 'The Beach.' Such a tiny little place but just so stunning. The water was like a bath; so clear and warm. Whilst exploring we found a sign that read, 'Tsunami Evacuation Point,' and were eager to find out more about the 2004 Tsunami that destroyed so many innocent lives. It was interesting to read up later on about the devastating effects this natural disaster had on not only Thailand, but so many other places in Asia too. It was heartbreaking to read about, but so interesting to know that they are now so much more prepared in case it happens again. Thanks to the latest technology they now have a means of detecting abnormal waves and are able to evacuate in fifteen minutes, should another tsunami hit. It was amazing to see that although it destroyed everything they had, these people still come out as strong as ever, refusing to be beaten again. Needless to say we did NOT bump into Leo! We went to the beach to party both nights, danced in torrential downpour and met a lovely group of guys from up north and had a such a laugh with them. Our nights in Phi Phi were absolute carnage, Stef managing to lose her phone, camera, bank cards, driving licence and my money. Although this happened and it was of course really bad, it's still our favourite place and we had the most amazing time. Even Stef wasn't that annoyed about her stuff (just her photos, which obviously can't ever be replaced). At one point it was raining so hard the streets had flooded and we literally had to wade through them while a storm raged and cut out the power. Again it was part of the backlash from the typhoon, which was quite scary at one point at just how much it was raining. By the next day it had all cleared up and the sun was shining again. We climbed to the viewpoint so we could see all of Phi Phi from up above, the climb to the top was quite an effort but so worth it when we eventually got there. The view was incredible and we sat there in a state of blissful calm, eating an ice cream and taking in the amazing scenery. Both of us felt like we never wanted to leave the beautiful island of Koh Phi Phi. Stef and I always seem to be on the same wavelength when it comes to places or people, always thinking the same thing without realising it. We had a long journey ahead of us over to Krabi and then the bus up to Bangkok and then ANOTHER bus to the north of Thailand, Chiang Mai. We didn't want to ever leave Phi Phi and were dreading our long journey, safe to say we weren't in the best of moods. My heart was left behind that day when we left that amazing place.. After a twelve hour bus journey to Bangkok and a few hours wait until the shopping centre opened (Stef wanted to buy a new iPhone) we were exhausted! I remember saying to Stef before we left the UK that whilst away we would feel so healthy and would be glowing! Sitting outside on the curb against my backpack after a long bus journey, having not washed or brushed my teeth, coughing and spluttering everywhere, feeling exhausted, I said to Stef I've never felt so unhealthy in all my life!!! The funny thing was, we had another twelve hour bus journey to come.. We were NOT looking forward to that! What we didn't know was that weekend in Chiang Mai was going to be one of the busiest weekends there due to the festival of lanterns, Loy Krathong. We hadn't booked anywhere to stay.. Big mistake! Everywhere was full and the Tuk Tuk driver had to drive us around at 3am trying to find us somewhere to go. Bearing in mind we'd left Phi Phi about thirty five hours before.. We NEEDED sleep! Eventually we found a lovely guesthouse with a private room and a swimming pool. After our crazy nights out recently we were looking forward to some much needed relaxation, detox and no alcohol! We slept in and then lazed by the pool all day, felt amazing to just lay in and chill. That evening we were having dinner in the guesthouse restaurant and a lovely girl called Rita, from Canada asked if she could join us. We spent the next few days with her, where she joined us on our elephant trek, where we also met two more lovely girls, Jasmine and Cheyenne, two sisters from America. After some relaxing bamboo rafting, we were ready to have some fun with the elephants. We'd paid for an experience with them where they wouldn't be performing tricks or shows for tourism as we didn't agree with that. We wanted to feed them, play with them and bathe them. Our tour didn't include them doing tricks or shows but they were still doing it for other tourists in a separate area, which upset us as we didn't feel right about it. Anyway we had an amazing experience feeding the beautiful elephants, riding them bare back and my favourite part, washing them in the river. We were splashing and bathing them and just generally playing. It was cute when the baby elephant started to squirt water at us from its trunk! It was at least nice to know that the babies weren't separated from their mothers for two years and the elephants had been rescued from doing any serious logging work, but they were still used to do a bit of work each day. We just wished we had gone to more of a sanctuary where they were able to roam free and weren't an obstacle for entertaining tourists. After a lovely visit to some beautiful waterfalls, we headed home and got ready to take part in the festival. We headed to the bridge and bought our own lanterns. The sky looked so beautiful all lit up with pretty lanterns floating upwards amongst the stars. The festival signifies an end to your sins and asking for your wishes and hopes to be fulfilled in the future. Looking up into the sky and thinking about all the good thoughts, hopes and wishes that were being cast up with the lanterns was quite emotional and beautiful. We set off our own lanterns, hoping our own wishes would some day come true. Fireworks and firecrackers were being set off, the atmosphere in the streets was happy and hopeful, street vendors were selling all sorts of food, sins were being forgiven and dreams were floating up into the sky, waiting to come true. The whole thing was just very beautiful! It's also tradition to set off lanterns down the river and Thai women wish for a boyfriend. We did some wishing of our own ;) Whilst in Chiang Mai, Stef and I both got a massage, Stef opting for a traditional Thai massage, while I stayed safe and went for a nice relaxing oil massage. It seemed Stef was being torn apart in the next room, hearing cries of, 'ouch,' or 'ooh!' Every now and then whilst I was falling asleep with relaxation (even if the lady did take liberties and took great pleasure in massaging my boobs haha). We had an amazing relaxing time in Chiang Mai and felt refreshed, looking forward to our next destination.. Laos!