Thailand

Hello!...

I've been having an absolute ripper of a time here in Thailand, I'm in love with the place.

Since our last correspondence, I have been to Ko Samui, Ko Phangan, Bangkok, Lampang and am now in Chiang Mai.. I've been a busy girl and have lots to tell :) Too hard to summarise it all...!

Ko Samui & Ko Phangan:
Ko Samui was nice, but very over-run with tourists, shops, topless sun-bathers and loud music... nice, but nothing compared to Ko Phangan. For those who have been there, you will know what I mean.

I stayed longer than I intended, pretty much because it was too good to leave.. here's a few reasons why... I met some really great people at the Sea Sunset Resort, some people who love it so much themselves, they have been there for months... doing the odd visa run when needed to extend their time there ;)

Got to experience a Full Moon party at Ko Phangan too, what a night!
We went along to the busy beach of Haad Rin (so glad I was staying the opposite side to it) and danced the night away whilst drinking lethal buckets of sangsom (Thai whisky), redbull & coke. It's the kind of drink that just sneaks up on you - then bam! - you've turned in to mental person ;) I thought it was funny (and grose) how all the men decided to urinate in to the ocean.. what was even funnier was when I saw girls were doing it too! I made an agreement to myself straight away.. "no drunken swimming tonight Karina" :)

One the workers at the Sea Sunset Resort 'Pubet' (The funniest Thai man I've ever met), invited us and a few other (English) travellers to attend his wedding so we agreed and met him in Lampang after Bangkok...

Bangkok
Bangkok was kind of how I pictured it to be - hot and chaotic, but still very fun.
Ping Pong Show - I participated in the show by lighting not one, but two cigarettes for one of the girls... then watched her smoke both cigarettes with her 'area'! If that's not a quick way to get cervical cancer, what is?
Kris had a gay old time hitting another lady's ping pong back to her with a paddle haha
Tiger Temple, Kanchanaburi - I'm a big tiger fan so I absolutely loved it there :)
It was the time of day when the big fluffies are most relaxed/hot so they are pretty much harmless.. we got to pat them and take photo's so I was over the moon.

Other Highlights - Floating markets, crazy tuk tuk drivers taking you to random/unwanted destinations, bargaining galore, the many beautiful temples and free WiFi in the hotel we stayed at ;)

Lampang Province - Pubets Wedding!
Me, Kris, Tim, Carl and Adam (all met at Ko Phangan) were lucky enough to get invited to a Thai wedding, and I must say that this has definitely completed my Thailand experience. We arrived at a small village in Lampang where the wife to be (Nam) lived and where the wedding would take place. We were greeted by many curious stares, curious because the people in this village had never seen a 'farang' (foreigner) in person before. The day before the wedding i sat with some of the kids (who i called my class) from the village and went over some English with them. They found it hilarious hearing me speak English to them, but they were very bright kids and picked up new words very quickly.

That night we ate with everyone from the village, they filled us up on their home made whisky (that tasted like turps haha), they played musical instruments and the kids amused themselves with my camera.

Wedding Day!
We all got up around 6.30 and showered using a bucket, as there were no showers there. We got to the main area of the village and walked in a procession to where the ceremony would be held. It was 8am and ladies began to pass around the home made rice whisky, even during the ceremony!! So yeah, on empty stomachs, everyone was wobbly by 10am ;)
During the ceremony, all attendees, including us, got to tie a commitment band around the couples wrists and then place a donation in a tray for them. It was such an honour for us all being the first farangs to be part of a wedding in their village.

After the ceremony, the music started playing, more and more whisky was consumed and food was constantly being served. The Thai people were so happy to have us there, they didn't leave us alone... I'm not joking - every 2-3minutes another shot would be passed around, I felt rude whenever I declined. We were constantly being asked to dance, all the girls my age would grab my hand, drag me to the dance floor and gather around me. Such a wonderful experience! They were so overjoyed to be around us, and we felt exactly the same way. These people have no luxuries and barely enough money to send their children to school, but they are some of the happiest people I've ever met.

Now in Chiang Mai, saw Muay Thai (Thai Boxing) last night and will go on a trek in the next few days... next stop Loas.

Hope you are all well, and I hope you all get to Thailand at some stage in your life.. they don't call it amazing for nothing ;)

Lots of Love, Karina x

Couchsurfing

My travel tip would be to consider using Couchsurfing on your next trip. What is Couchsurfing? Couchsurfing is a free website (www.couchsurfing.org) which was created by travellers, for travellers. The theory behind it is that when people travel abroad, they generally only stay within the touristy areas, and as such never really experience the local culture and customs of the place they are visiting. Couchsurfing seeks to break down these barriers by offering travellers accommodation – on local’s couches (or spare rooms). These locals have generally done quite a bit of travelling themselves and are open to meeting new people, and sharing some of their customs & traditions with their guests, as well as sometimes being a bit of a tour guide.


So how does it work? Couchsurfing is a social networking website, and like similar social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, people join up, write some information about themselves and away they go. There are two types of people in the Couchsurfing community – hosts (people who provide accommodation) and surfers (people looking for accommodation). When joining people list their your current location, and whether they have room for someone to stay at their place, or if they are free to meet up for coffee or to show someone around. When you are travelling all you need to do is look up a location of where you wish to travel, and a list of the hosts in that area is shown. From there you can scroll through all the options, and email people to see if they are free to host you. Hosts will respond back to let you know if they are available, and if yes they will organise with you where to meet, their address etc. Generally hosts work full-time, so be mindful that you may need to wait before they finish work for the day, and that you may need to leave their place early in the morning when they leave for work (while they are very generous about letting strangers stay at their place, it is a bit much to ask of them to let you stay at their place when they are not around). Depending on the host, surfers can usually stay for 2- 3 days.

Couchsurfing is a great way to meet new people, and to experience how people live in their city. However like any social networking site, there are people on the site whose intentions are not as wholesome as the majority so be careful. Surfers can recommend hosts after they have stayed, so make sure you read through all the hosts profile, and try to find people who have a good track record of hosting (this is especially important for female travellers).

Overall Couchsurfing it is a very rewarding experience – I have surfed people’s couch’s twice, and have made good friends from the experience.

Posted on Behalf of Elliott

Dunns River Falls - Jamaica

If you ever get the chance to visit Jamaica, I definately recommend checking out Dunns River Falls in Ocho Rios.

It starts with a walk to the beach, where the climb begins. Basically, everyone joins hands and leads each other up the waterfall. No ropes, no harness... just your hands. Water shoes are a MUST though.

**Note: you will be asked by MANY people if you'd like a guide to lead you up the waterfall but you really don't need one. Just attach yourself to a random group instead - it saves you a lot of money and gives you the option of breaking off onto your own route if you want to.

There is a halfway point as well for anyone too drained to continue (tempting as it is, you will be greatly rewarded if you stick it out). Some parts are pretty difficult though, it requires a lot of feeling around with your feet underwater to find where the next rock is. Sometimes, you'll also find you're much better off letting go of the group and making your own way up, as I found when the person behind lagged and nearly brought me back DOWN the waterfall. Pretty much anyone can do it though. Put it this way, if an elderly lady in a knee brace can do it, and I can do it with the worst hangover mankind has seen - you'll be fine.

When all is done and you're heading back out - a little tip for the travellers: Don't get lead off the main path. The locals will start by getting you to check out the photos they took of you on the climb, then they offer you little handmade gifts as a "thank you for visiting" and they'll tell you it's free... then they lead you "back to the buses" - via their stall of souveniers. Little do they tell you though, that they will charge you a pretty hefty tip for accepting these gifts they give you. They will even hand write your name on them so you can't even give them back. If you stick to the main path back though you will be fine.

All in all, defintely worth the experience!

Worst Day Of My Holiday

On the day I was meant to be going to Dublin, I was staying in Notting Hill and went to the Underground station and asked the man how to get to the airport. He sent me back to Kings Cross and then I had to change trains/tubes (what ever they are called there lol) and go to the airport... After a while I realise I was running really late for my flight, then... it stopped at Notting Hill!!!! I couldn’t believe it... the guy had sent me completely the wrong way.

I got to the airport about 10 minutes before my plane was due to depart and they wouldn’t let me board, so, being and 18 year old girl, overseas, by my self and having just missed my flight, i burst into tears... then the airport staff were really helpful and booked me on the next flight (which was only an hour away) for no additional cost and even gave me a voucher for a free meal. So I went and had some breaky and got on my flight and flew to Dublin.... but my dramas didn’t stop there...

When I arrived I got in a Taxi and got him to drive me to my accommodation which I had booked before I left Sydney, I then found out that Dublin works in Euros not GB Pound and he definitely ripped me off because he charged me 20 pound for a 5 minute trip, but I didn’t care after the morning i had just had...

But still... it didn’t stop there...

the Tax driver left, I walked up to the door of my accommodation to find that they were closed and hadn't told me... not to mention, this place was in the middle of no where... I had no taxi, no phone number for the local taxi company, not even the local directory assistance number and when i tried calling my friend in England to find out any of these details, he was at work and therefore couldn't answer...

I walked for about an hour before I saw a sign that said 95 Euro per night... I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life... i ran in the door and said to the lady at the desk 'please tell me you have a room available' and thank goodness... they did... so i paid probably double what I was going to pay at the other place but after that day i simply didn't care! I went to my room, ordered room service, got some 'Alco pops' and watched old episodes of Home and Away that were on local TV there and didn’t move for the rest of the night.... But at least that was the worst that happened on my whole trip :-)

Jack The Ripper Tour - England

For any crime and horror fans this tour is a must!!!!

This tour takes you on a walk around London's East End. You go to all the significant places from the Jack The Ripper Murders and the tour guide is amazing with his facts and knowledge about this mysterious killing spree.

You will get to see places such as the place where the only piece of evidence was found from the entire investigation, the 10 Bells Pub (built in 1752) where many of the victims would go for a drink, the Old Bailey where they had many public hangings and you will also drive along Fleet Street - the home of Sweeny Todd.

After the tour you go to a local pub for some dinner (Good old fish and chips) which is included in the tour price and then back on the coach around 10pm which takes you back to tour office where you original met up. I cannot rave enough about how much I enjoyed this tour!!!

Link to Even Evans Tours: http://www.evanevanstours.co.uk/jack-the-ripper.htm

Urquhart Castle - Scotland

I found this castle the most fascinating of all my travels... it's situated in Loch Ness (near Inverness)

Urquhart castle was blown up in 1692 to prevent it becoming a Jacobite stronghold. It was gifted to The National Trust for Scotland.

It's simply amazing being able to see so much history in this castle. You will see a real catapult, a 'watch towere' which is 5 storeys high and is accessable through the original spiral staircase, draw bridges, rooms where the people who once lived here actually stayed keep your camera handy for some of the most magnificant views you have ever seen!!!!

The website for more information, admission prices and opening times is:

http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/index/places/propertyresults/propertyoverview.htm?PropID=PL_297