Ko Tao, Ko Phangan and Arrival In Khao Sok

I had been surprised to get a place on the night train south, but only once I got on the train was I presented with a possible reason why. I didn't have a bed; I had just a seat. I didn't care too much because I was so pleased to be on the train. However, the night's sleep was made even harder by the crazy air conditioning. The carriage was unbelievably cold. I have no idea why they turn the carriage into a fridge. Surely the locals don't want it that cold - they were wrapping their entire bodies from head to toe in their blankets!

We arrived in Chumphon slightly late, and unfortunately I missed the first ferry to Ko Tao. After a short venture around Chumphon, all there was to do was wait. However, here I met Sasha from Germany, and Sasha would end up being my main buddy on Ko Tao. My time on the island was once again spent quite lazily. There was lots of relaxing and reading; this time it was a randomly chosen book - A Stain On The Silence by Andrew Taylor. It was okay. There was also a short adventure to the south of the island, but the island itself is only very small.

I had hoped to do diving on Ko Tao but my lack of swimming ability got in the way. I tried a bit of snorkelling which was fun, but I wasn't comfortable away from the shallow water, and I found it very tough trying to empty my mask when water seeped in. Ko Tao was therefore a disappointment, and in the end I felt like I stayed there far too long. Like Ko Chang, I also found it too touristy - the whole place was solely for tourists, and I began to forget what real travelling was about.

A friend from home, however, recommended to me a beach on nearby Ko Phangan island. I felt quite 'beached-out' by this time, but as I was passing by anyway, I eventually settled on going. As soon as I explored the area around the peer, I was reminded what I went travelling for in the first place. This was a real place with real and friendly locals - not just annoying touts and scam artists trying to con you out of your money. On the ride to the beach I could tell I was going away from the main tourist infrastructure, and I felt properly 'on the road' again.

The beach itself, 'Thong Nai Pan Yai', was much quieter that my previous two beaches and much more relaxing. I spent much of my time there reading another Dan Brown book; this time Angels and Demons. It is once again incredible - Dan Brown is a real genius. I also spent one afternoon trekking up through the hillside to reach the neighbouring beach. The view from the halfway point was great.

With time pressing on, I only stayed on Ko Phangan for two days, but if I hadn't wasted so much time at my previous beaches, I would have happily stayed there longer. My recent time in Thailand has taught me what I enjoy from beach life, and certainly what I don't, and hopefully this will serve me to choose better locations in the future. Travelling is a learning process, and you learn from your mistakes.

I now find myself in Khao Sok National Park. Even though it is no longer the high season for tourism in Thailand, Ko Tao had been very busy. Khao Sok, on the other hand, is not. It is therefore difficult to get a group together for guided tours. As a result of this I did a great little trek through the park by myself today. It was a great walk, although things got really confusing near the end. As the jungle got thicker, the beaten track became less clear. To add to the confusion, there often seemed multiple ways to go. I therefore tried various random routes, but every time I did, I ended up back somewhere I had been before! Memories of The Blair Witch Project began to echo in my head. Time was getting on, however, and eventually I headed back - easily finding a familiar part of the trail.

Tomorrow I may go to the lake, although that may depend on whether there is a group going.

Ko Chang and The Final Visit to Bangkok

My night in Trat involved a night in a bar talking to Chris from the Isle Of Man. The following morning I made the journey to the island of Ko Chang. The aim was to take things easy. After my recent treks in North Vietnam and the long hikes through the streets of Bangkok, I'd been very active lately. It felt like a good time to visit the islands of Thailand and do absolutely nothing - and maybe try to relive the days of Sihanoukville. It was time to relax.

Once I arrived on Ko Chang I hopped into a songthaew; an open share taxi with two opposing benches to sit on. The beach I had chosen was one hour away. Not long into the journey I was reminded of a fact that had previously barely even registered; it was the Thai New Year. In Thailand, this means water fights - water fights with anyone. Just minutes into the journey, a spray of water came into the crowded taxi - it was an enthusiastic young Thai with a water gun. Shortly afterwards more sprays followed. Not long after that, buckets of water arrived - lobbed indiscriminately at the taxi passengers. We were sitting ducks at the fairground. Locals and the occasional tourist were lining the streets ready to soak whatever was driving past.

At first I was very grateful for the overweight Brit opposite me - he was taking the full brunt of the attacks from the left. All I had to do was look to the right and prepare for some timely dodges. However, after around thirty minutes of transit I was the only passenger yet to depart the vehicle. By the time I arrived at my beach, I was drenched. So much for coming to Ko Chang to relax!

My time in Ko Chang was spent on Lonely Beach. Ironically, Lonely Beach has become increasingly popular over the years and is now far from lonely, although it happens to be the low season at the moment so it was hardly crowded. Whether this affected my Ko Chang experience I don't know, but my time on the island was quite uninspiring. Maybe I'm just not suited to doing nothing all day, but I often felt like I was wasting my time there. However, my time in Sihanoukville had proved that I could have a good time while doing nothing, but Ko Chang just left me feeling empty. Maybe I was lacking the large group of friends which I had at Sihanoukville. Furthermore, the lack of variety in the book shop was no help; I ended up spending my time reading a biography of Paul O'Grady!

After just 24 hours of lazing about and catching up on how successful Lily Savage was becoming, I started to doubt whether there was any point being in Ko Chang. I decided I may as well start the journey south. This is where the majority of Thailand's islands lay. In these islands there would be activities to do in between the laziness. That night would therefore be my last on Ko Chang. I spent it in a bar talking to a friendly Israeli guy and listening to a live Bob Marley tribute act. He was very good actually. His voice and guitar were great, although his grasp of the English language unfortunately let him down slightly. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed his rendition of "I Shot The Cherry".

Despite protesters in Bangkok making the headlines, I made the journey back to the capital today in the hope of instantly catching a train south. On the journey to Bangkok, however, I realised that I may not be in luck - my guide book recommended booking the train journey a day in advance. When I arrived in the centre of Bangkok, however, a separate problem became apparent. As I exited a sky train and walked down the platform, hundreds of voices could be heard from the streets below. People from the platform were peering down at them. 'Surely the protests haven't spread this far' I thought.

As the sky train I had just exited began to leave, and the rumbling faded into the distant, the noise from the crowd became clearer. However, there was another noise seeping through as well; the beat of dance music. As I peered over the platform I saw an ocean of Thais on the street below. However, they were not protesting - they were still celebrating the New Year! Not only were they all half drenched and armed to the teeth with water pistols, but many of them were covered in a white powder as well. I began to wonder how I would get to the train station without another drenching.

The sights of the crowd, however, brought about a separate fear. I had a flashback of something I had read in my guidebook; 'Book your train one day in advance, or one week in advance on national holidays'. My chances of catching a train had just dissolved. Nevertheless I stumbled on, snidely eyeing the hoards of dripping young Thais and their arsenals.

To my surprise, I arrived at the train station having been subjected to just one small water pistol attack. To my absolute shock, a place on the train was available! I now await for a sleeper train to Chumphon. From there I go to Ko Tao island, famous for it's diving. This is something that for most people is the highlight of travelling. For me, it scares the life out of me.

The Return to Bangkok

So overall, Vietnam certainly left the best until last. Sapa, Cat Ba and Ninh Binh were all fantastic locations, making up for some of the duller places I had earlier visited. On Thursday, however, it was time to leave. I caught my flight and arrived back in Bangkok.

Bangkok seemed different. Maybe it was because it was now the low season rather than the high season, but Bangkok seemed much quieter than when I had landed there back in January. Even when I arrived in Khao San Road the following morning it seemed eerily quiet. The traffic jam of human bodies and constant supply of nagging salesmen had been quartered. It now felt like a relatively regular market street. It almost felt like I wasn't in Bangkok at all, but somewhere completely different.

After scaling the street I entered Boots to re-supply on anti-malaria tablets. I approached the sales assistant and asked her how much the Doxycycline was. "How long you travel for?" came the deep and gruff response. It took me a couple of moments to continue the conversation. Quite clearly I was in Bangkok after all.

In the afternoon I moved over to the east side of the city, an area I never ventured into on my first visit. That evening I got my first taste of Thai Boxing. Under the recommendation of my guide book, I took the cheap standing tickets at the back of the stadium, but I could still see the ring very clearly. As the first fight began, accompanying musicians maintained a beating tempo - very gradually increasing the speed as the round went on. When the round finished though I was unsure how long I would be staying; it all seemed quite dull.

After the second round, however, things started to get confusing. I noticed some of the locals around me sticking their hands in the air, frantically trying to grab someone's attention, but it was unclear who. I looked around but could see nobody selling any food or drink. After the third round the number of people waving increased. Some held up one finger, some waved their entire hand, some flicked their finger and thumb, and others did other peculiar gestures. As the fight went on the excitement of the crowd, their gestures, and their eagerness gradually increased.

It then clicked. The crowd were making bets with each other as the fight went on. The gestures and calls were to each other as they desperately tried to find someone else to accept their bet. By the final round the atmosphere was electric. Each blow by the red participant was responded with cheers from those who were backing him. Each return blow by the blue participant was subsequently roared by his followers too. While the volume increased, even more locals would be screaming and shouting to find someone else to make some money out of.

When the bout was over and the winner was declared, a huge roar would erupt from the victorious punters, and the winners would start to pace around to collect their winnings - sometimes from multiple people. All the losers were instantly in their wallets to pass on their losses. Overall it was a really enjoyable experience - and watching the actual fight itself was pretty fun too!

That evening I went to a bar and met Gina and Alex from Austria. Having spent considerable time with them that night, I subsequently agreed to join them in a journey to Ayutthaya the following day, despite my original plans to head towards Ko Chang. The next morning, however, I felt different. I simply didn't want to go to Ayutthaya; it sounded dull. I also woke up a little late. Before long I made my decision - I was to stand them up. I packed my bags and made my own journey. I felt quite bad for this, we'd got on really well the night before - but the idea of turning up late and then telling them I wasn't going seemed pointlessly unsettling. I've learnt that sometimes while travelling you've just got to do what you want. I had no decent way of contacting them, and I'm sure they'll recover.

After a long bus ride I now find myself in Trat. Tomorrow I sail to Ko Chang.

Cat Ba, Ninh Binh and the Return to Hanoi

My time on Cat Ba island was spent with Tom and Carly, an Australian who Tom had met in Ninh Binh. On Monday we caught a bus to Cat Ba's National Park. Climbing to the highest peak in the park was quite a tough trek. Part of the way required us to clamber up some rocks. It was a great walk though, and the views from the top were spectacular. The top of the hill homed a rickety old watch tower. After catching a breather I began the climb up to join the others at the top. To my bewilderment I only just noticed in time that the very final step was missing! It would be extremely easy for someone in a weary to state to fall right through the gap! However, it was worth the large pace over the gap to reach the summit of the tower and experience the incredible 360 views.

After trekking down again we came across a cave. To our surprise the gate was shut, but after a recommendation from a traveller climbing round the gate, it was apparently not too difficult to get in. We entered the cave, but I didn't have a torch on me. However, by staying close behind Tom and his light, I managed to find our way through. Towards the end of the tunnel there was a dead end with a foul stench. Only when Tom shone the torch upwards did we see the hoards of bats clinging to the ceiling, and subsequently notice the dropping-drenched floors below.

Later that evening we all joined up for some food and drinks. Carly was insistent that we tried some Vietnamese Snake Wine, if only to 'tick it off the list' of things to do. Without knowing the precise details of what the wine contains, it gets it's name from the whole dead snake which sits in the container with the wine, presumably flavouring the liquid with it's pungent taste. Needless to say it did not taste good, but after a gulp I realised I could tick it off my list. Moments later I realised that in actual fact it had never been on my list in the first place!

Tuesday involved a scenic boat ride through Halong Bay. Halong Bay is thought of as a real gem of Vietnam; Thousands of limestone rocks stick out of the sea in quite a surreal fashion. The weather was good and the boat ride passed very peacefully.

Following the boat ride, Tom and Carly headed back to Hanoi to catch a flight each, but I had two more days until I was due to fly. Tom and Carly informed me that Ninh Binh was worth a visit, and I headed there. The main focus of this visit was to experience Trang An, although the very friendly nature of the locals was an unexpected bonus. Practically every kid on the street would greet me with a 'hello', despite seemingly knowing very few other English words to continue the conversation.

Trang An has only opened very recently to tourists, and is therefore not yet well known. It involves a boat ride through some fantastic scenery, and also through a number of caves. On Wednesday morning I found a travel partner for the day in the shape of Julia from Buffalo. With a very dodgy hand-drawn map and a couple of bicycles, we set out for the journey. Ninh Binh is a gorgeous place that isn't visited by most of Vietnam's tourists. This is a shame, but it ensured our journey was quite peaceful.

The boat ride through Trang An was very good. We were both grateful that Tom and Carly had informed me about it! The presence of so few tourists ensured a quiet ride, and furthermore, if our boatman's arms got tired of rowing, it was no problem - he simply rowed with his feet!

Overall, Ninh Binh was a very worthy stop off. I now find myself back in Hanoi, waiting for a plane to Bangkok. This may be quite surreal. It seems like a lifetime ago when I was walking through the streets of Khao San Road feeling alone. In actual fact it was less than three months ago that I found myself struggling to book a tour, tiring under the sun and wondering how I was going to get through an entire year. It was less than three months since I stayed out late with Brian and Paul from Wigan, still learning the ropes of independent travel. Tomorrow I return to the city having travelled alone to remote islands, traversed beautiful landscapes on motorbike, trekked in the hills just inches from sheer drops, and crossed busy Vietnam roads as an ocean of motorbikes parts around me.

I don't expect Bangkok to be very scary any more.

Hanoi and Sapa

On Monday I boarded another sleeper bus. It wasn't as comfortable as the last and I had to curl up slightly to fit in, but nevertheless I got an OK night's sleep. This was despite the extremely violent films on the bus TV!

When the bus arrived in Hanoi on Tuesday morning we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere. I had been warned by various people about how all tourists get ripped off in Hanoi, and taxi drivers and moto drivers are the biggest culprits. Me and four other guys eventually managed to get a taxi with a meter, but I was instantly surprised and concerned by the enthusiasm of the men hoarding around us to guide us into the metered taxi. It soon became clear why; the meter jumped up at astronomical rates. We had barely moved from the spot, but the price had already doubled up to 35,000 Dong. Ten weeks ago I would have just sat and dealt with it, but no-one in the car was prepared for that, including myself. We eventually arranged a fixed taxi price of 100,000 Dong. The driver still got a very good deal but at least we were not ripped off as badly as most people do.

After the taxi journey I settled into a lively dormitory and began to plan my day. I had hoped to go to the Ho Chi Minh complex, but visits to Ho's Mausoleum ended at 11am. This visit would have to wait. I therefore spent the day wandering around the old quarter of Hanoi, including a stroll around the lake and the Tortoise Pagoda. I also bought an afternoon ticket for the Water Puppets show. I had no idea what this show involved, but for the price it was an entertaining, if slightly surreal, hour. The accompanying live music was impressive, while the puppet show itself is quite clever. It took me a fair bit of thought to work out how the animated puppets were being controlled as they moved around above the water's surface.

That evening I spent with an interesting guy called Adam. Adam has lived in various interesting places including Paris, Burma and Leeds. He also is a personal friend of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a woman unjustly imprisoned in Burma who Damien Rice, amongst others, has campaigned to be freed.

On Wednesday I awoke early to visit the preserved body of Ho Chi Minh in his Mausoleum. Both Adam and the internet had warned me about the gnawing craving to giggle at the sight of the body, but this was always something I didn't quite understand. This soon changed. A visit to see Ho is very formal. Talking is prohibited, and just walking in I was ordered by a guard to put my arms back down by my side. The orderly line moved slowly into Ho's room and around the deceased body. To my surprise, the giggles started to come as the room came into sight. It's difficult to explain - possibly it's just the bizarre way we were orderly and solemnly walking in line to see a very bizarre sight - the smartly dressed dead body of an impeccably preserved man. When Ho was in view, however, the giggles were suppressed. To his credit he looked in good shape for a dead man! He could have passed on just yesterday!

After viewing the man himself it was time to go to the Ho Chi Minh museum. This was nothing short of mental. While the first floor seemed fairly normal, the larger upper floor is full of completely surreal and bizarre pieces of art. Without a guide, it's just nonsense. I wouldn't be surprised if even with a guide it would be complete nonsense. The rest of the day included the surprisingly dull Temple of Literature, and also The Museum of Ethnology. The latter museum was quite good, but viewing a museum about local tribes is always going to seem dull once you've already spent time actually being in a remote tribe.

Hanoi unfortunately had done little to change my opinion of Vietnam. As of yet the country had been particularly underwhelming. Maybe it's just now taking more to excite me, but nevertheless there had been very little in Vietnam that had seemed worth a visit. This was possibly due to the size of the country; with so much to view and relatively little time, I never ventured off the beaten track where the better experiences are often found.

However, things would soon change. That night I boarded a sleeper train to Lao Cai. Here I met Tom from Israel. Once we arrived on Thursday morning, it wasn't long until we found ourselves on a mini bus and riding up the winding hill side roads towards Sapa, the trekking capital of Vietnam. The views should have been incredible, but not only were my eyes still sleepy, but we were now high up in the clouds. Sapa itself was also very foggy, as well as chilly. It's an extremely attractive town though, despite the rain which blemished the first morning. Colourfully clad local villagers seem to outnumber the tourists, which for them is unfortunate as they are mainly there to sell their locally made accessories and clothing.

On Thursday afternoon we donned our trekking shoes and explored nearby Cat Cat village. Although the nature of the village is sometimes blemished by the way it is geared to cater for visiting tourists, the village was incredible. The scenery was unbelievably beautiful, from the crop fields to the waterfall to the low lying clouds. Tom and myself then ventured to the following village which was also nice. In the evening we booked a trek for Friday, and relaxed in the evening.

On Friday our trek began. Once more the scenery excelled. The local villages were good, although more than ever they catered too much for tourists, spoiling the feeling that you were experiencing something genuinely rural. Nevertheless Friday was a great day. Vietnam was finally beginning to deliver. It was particularly good when we were able to veer off the usual tourist route and venture deeper into the hills. It was here, however, that we started to realise that the colourful clothing of the numerous villagers was probably for the sake of the tourists. The further into the hills we went, the more frequent jeans and t-shirts became.

In the evening we joined some locals in our homestay, and were quite forcefully encouraged to down shot after shot of local rice whisky. It actually wasn't quite as intolerable as some other local drinks I have sampled. The rest of the evening involved a fun variation of the card game Snap, and finally a good sleep despite the occasional huge and close rupture of thunder.

Saturday involved a little more trekking. It was once again spectacular if a little short-lived. Overall though, Sapa and its surroundings was an incredible place to visit, and by far my favourite place in Vietnam so far. Upon our return to the town, Tom and myself quickly began travelling once more, and now we find ourselves in Cat Ba Island in Halong Bay, ready for the final stage of Vietnam.