Thailand uncovered :)

Evening guys,

I thought I would post about one of my trips abroad tonight and have decided on Thailand as I love the country, have been over there twice and has been mental on both occasions. It has everything really from beautiful scenery and friendly people to ridiculously cheap food and drink, fantastic beaches and about a gazillion things to do, plus who can forget the tuk-tuks!

This will be a mixture from my trip in 2012 and my 2nd visit last year. If you haven't been you really need to go! If you are planning a trip feel free to comment if you want any tips etc. I know the country pretty well now as have been all over it twice for a considerable length of time on both occasions but I can't help with any of the seedy side of things I'm afraid, not my thing.

Phi Phi Island

Phi Phi is a lot of fun but it's become WAYYYYY too commercial now. It's no longer a tranquil little island without roads. One half is still beautiful and untouched whereas the other side is mayhem. Bar after bar and not a local in sight. Worth a visit all the same.

My view

This cheeky chap was on my breakfast table on the balcony every morning. He even had all 5 of his brothers there one morning waiting for me to hand over my fruit lol.
Very friendly chaps I must say.

If you pop over to Phi Phi you absolutely must find this chap's stall! Amazing food and all fresh. Top man!

Leaving Phi Phi

Phi Phi Ley (setting from The Beach movie)

The only way to get over to Phi Phi Ley is by a boat. It's not far and I recommend you get a half day trip which stops at Money Island and 3 snorkelling spots along the way. So good! When you do get to Phi Phi Ley you will need to swim across to the cargo nets to climb up as boats are not allowed in. I quite enjoyed this as it feels like you're proper exploring but others may not..... like my mate Thomas who stayed on the boat! fool!

One of the rock formations by a snorkelling spot

Monkey Island

Cheeky chap stealing a lady's hairband I think it was. She had no clue before it was too late. Lucky to capture it on a speed frame shot :)

Lewis posing with a monkey...... he really couldn't care less lol

Could be twins lol

Our ride for the day

bit of snorkelling

Welcome to Bangkok....some people can't handle it

The famous Khosan Road

Only way to travel in Bangkok. The Tuk Tuk... LOVE THEM! so cheap too. I also don't think there are any road traffic laws in Thailand as the two drivers agreed to race on the way to the clubs!

The most high tech toilet I've ever seen! I need one of these! Has a drier, heated seat & soap shooter etc.

Lumpinee Stadium..... You'd have loved this place @colossus39! It's there national stadium but ultimately a large factory type building with a ring in the middle. We saw 8 fights. Some of the kids were amazing and full contact Muay Thai. This little chap took the national title on the evening with a crazy flying knee. Well done son!

I decided to leave my ringside seat for a bit and went up to sit with the locals for a couple of fights. Was actually a lot more fun and despite gambling being illegal in Thailand it was openly taking place around me. Funny thing was that even a police officer was on it lol

Random shark bench! You'll find a lot of off-key stuff all over Thailand. This is one of those things :)

View from the top of one of the sky bars. amazing! Not cheap up there but definitely worth it.

Arty photo. Shame we didn't a proper camera with us on this trip as the focus is a little off from the camera phones but still decent.

We stayed at a couple of hotels which had stunning views and beaches but unfortunately one a couple of our cameras were pinched so have lost a fair few pics but the following shots are a few of them.

The amazing Ark Bar! Absolutely love this place, great little hotel and bar in Koh Samui

What a welcome that was! #arkbar

This is my mate Thomas...... he is special...,, very special lol

Tom trying to copy me in trying to get a good profile pic....

This is how it's done mate :)

Some of the amazing food and drink on offer throughout the country. This next lot was from all over our little stops. So cheap!

You can't come to Thailand and not have one of these. I dunno why they stopped them in Europe. I remember they had them for a while when I was growing up. Over here I had one everyday! SO good!

My second addiction! red bull without the gas. Oh my word! so nice! They actually see them in Chinese wholesalers all around London so I stock up whenever I get a chance.

Nightlife

Probably the best shot I have ever head. Called a blowjob out there. It's lovely. Wouldn't tell us what was in it though.

Mate clearly loved it....

What a random drink... a cocktail with a bottle of beer chucked into it. Looks horrendous but actually was really nice!

Me with another one in a nightclub in RCA (Royal College Avenue) in Bangkok. It's close to where all the rooftop bars are but only the locals tend to go there. We had a great time. We were the only tourists in there. Mini celebrities haha

Full Moon Party (Koh Phangan)

The wildest party I have ever been to. Twice! Everyone's really friendly and although it is quite busy there's always somewhere for you to go to in order to sit down or a quiet bar to sit in and chat in before getting back into the madness off the fire-rope and flaming hool-a-hoop jumping!

Made loads of good friends out there.

My drunk mate Mike and a random man

The Austin brothers. Look at those vests!

Now if you've ever been to Thailand or plan to go there, one of the first things you will come across is the bucket. Normally used by kids to build sand castles on beaches the Thais have decided it would be more fun to fill these innocent buckets with alcohol and sell them to the public....,, bloody good idea if you ask me! lol

All of those apart from one belonged to Mike!

I love this pic. SO funny at the time and still makes me laugh. This was on our first night in Koh Phangan and we met four or five people on the beach who had been there a while already. Most of my friends decided to go back to the hotel to get some rest but me and my friend Chris decided to stay out all night with the group we had just met. So we got more and more drunk, those buckets pack a punch!. We were on the beach and I decided to give Chris a LITTLE nudge as I could see he was struggling to stand in the sand. I swear it was no more than a little push you would give someone in a bar who was about to bump into your or something. Chris somehow treated this nudge as a giant shove and zig-zagged four of five times before finally losing his balance and falling head first into the sand. He found it as funny as everyone else to the point he started laughing whilst he face was still in the sand. This is the result.

Final stop Pattaya..... far too seedy for me. Would not go back.

Little buddha at bottom of the shrine

nice little walk up to the top

Me..

Finally getting English hands on the World Cup again! ok so it was football golf but still counts!

Little trip to Ripley's Believe it or Not on the last day. Why not...

And there you have it. Hope you enjoy the photos. Some great memories there. Will be back in a couple of days with another adventure!