Day 41 - Chiang Mai

Awake at 5am on the train, slept relatively Ok. I've been thinking about not doing the hill tribe trek, my leg is playing up and I will be a slow walker, so I don't want to be a hindrance to the group, but ultimately I think I'm realising I don't want to be with this group (the last group were so amazing, they've spoiled me for any other group😉). So I think I might stay in Chiang Mai for the 3 days they're trekking and then meet back up with them. Feel alot better for deciding to do this.

Straight out from the hotel this morning to see Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a lovely temple at the top of 306 steps (to be fair it had better be nice after climbing up there). And then on to Tiger Kingdom, which I didn't particularly want to go to as I don't really agree with them being caged up for our amusement. Lots of signs about saying they're not drugged, but I don't think that's the point, they still wouldn't choose to be in a cage, died or not. Luckily I didn't have to pay anything just to walk around.

Out to the night bazaar tonight and is without a doubt the biggest market I've seen, lots of lovely things to buy but nothing aimed towards kids, gutted as I want to find something to bring back for my nephews.

A nice but long day!

My 2nd group

Pipeth - Our tour leader, seems a really nice guy, always cracking jokes, only the 50th person to say to me I saw someone who looks just like you, Buddha.
Sophia 19 from Nottingham - seems nice and can sleep anywhere but obsessed with wifi
Tessa 19 from Manchester - James' girlfriend, seems a really nice girl, only stopping with us for North part off the trip
Jordan 21 from Scotland and lots of fun, only stopping with us for North part off the trip
Jo 20ish from London - very quiet but seems nice
Rebekah 20ish from London - also very quiet and seems nice
Sophie 25 from Newcastle with no accent at all, a really nice girl
Lottie 19 from Nottingham - a vegan so was disgusted when we all ate scorpions.
James - 19 from Manchester, seems a nice guy, travelling with his girlfriend. only stopping with us for North part off the trip
Lauren 19 - from Australia and lots of fun
Haydn - only 17 from Leeds and needs a guardian for the tour because he's under 18. only stopping with us for North part off the trip
Tara 21 from somewhere in England, seems very nice
Jeni 19 - from Ireland and lots of fun, only stopping with us for North part off the trip
Jessica 19 - from Australia and lots of fun
Lewis - 18 from Leeds, Haydns guardian for the tour as he's only 17. only stopping with us for North part off the trip
Joost - my roommate, only 18, he seems quite cool although he didn't know he could flush toilet paper so he put it in the bin.
Amber 28 from Canada living in London joined us for the South Islands, a really nice girl, easy to talk to.
Kate 21 from London joined us for the South and seems fun
Emma also 21 from London and joined us for the South
2 Australian girls 23 who's names I forget/can't spell as they're Indian joined us for the South and both seem really nice.
Lucy 21 from Newcastle who joined us is Kho Samui and seems like a lot of fun.

Day 40 - Bangkok & night train to Chiang Mai

Woke up a little bit late, 11am, was supposed to meet the group at 8.30 for a boat trip, not sorry I missed that though, had my fill of boats for the time being.

The group got back about 12.30 and four of them have severe hangovers. Two threw up while they were out, one in a plant pot at the temple!

Most people went for a swim, the lads used a water bottle to throw around, amazing how long it kept them occupied.

Met at 4pm for the train at 6pm, surprisingly at the station way too early! On the train some people played cards and got drunk, some slept, some read, I used the time to plan my Australia trip.

I'm really struggling to connect with any of the group as i'm the oldest by a long way and their interests are so far different to mine, basically they just want to get drunk, go to clubs and watch ping pong shows. I've got nothing against them, I suppose I was like that at 18.

Day 39 - Bangkok - meeting my new group

Krabi Town

Day 39 - Goodbye Krabi, Hello Bangkok..... Again!

All checked out and at Krabi airport, which is tiny, only 7 gates. And therefore not much to do for the 2 hours I have to kill.

Was quite nice flying in over bangkok, being able to recognise things from the sky. There appears to be a golf course in between runways at Don Muang airport, wouldn't like to slice one of the tee. Got completely ripped off by the taxi driver, the journey to the hotel actually took longer than the flight!

Looking forward to meeting my next group of which there are 16! The maximum size for a group.

My roommate is 18! Oh my god, the whole group is late teens, early twenties! Went out for a meal as a group and then to Khao San Road. This sounds really old but all of the music is eighties, nineties with the same beat and none of the group have a clue about the original songs, there is no original music left! Anybody know " boom boom boom, let me hear you say wayo" because none of my group have got a clue! I feel so old with this lot.

Days 33-38 - Ao Nang and Krabi Town

Spent another 3 days (4 in total) in Ao Nang stopping at the icheck Inn which was very nice. Just going out, having a walk around, sitting, reading, listening to music by the beach. It is a really nice place but not much to do apart from day trips elsewhere, for which I didn't have the money. I did find it nice that I could eat what I like (pizza, burgers) without being made to feel guilty that I'm not eating local food, because when I'm at home I eat nothing but fish and chips and Sunday roasts (sarcasm by the way). I've tried all the local dishes but there's only so many times a day I can eat noodles or rice.

Got a little bored of the beach so moved over to Krabi Town for 3 days. A little bit more to see here but still not much, however there is more going on and therefore more to kill the time. Saw a beautiful new Temple with dragons lining the stairs, slightly weird though as there was only me and another woman walking around it. Spent a bit of time walking along the river where I saw the crabs of Krabi. Saw a live concert/karaoke, was quite good although weird because no one clapped.

Spent a lot of time planning for my next trip, making sure I've got everything I need, and also planning for Australia as I can't see myself having much spare time over the next 2 weeks on the next Thailand tour.

Sorry it's not the most exciting of entries but just needed a bit of time to take a breather and get prepared for the 3 day hill trek in the next tour which should be amazing but I know it's going to be hard.