No Journey Too Far: Thailand again - Now this is a holiday!

Back to Thailand again. Another easy border crossing and we were in. Apart from a disgustingly smelly toilet on the bus to Bangkok (it was making me physically heave - we had to get the driver to pull over and clean it!) we got there for dinner time. Bangkok for me this time around was about getting some practical stuff done. I had left some stuff in the hotel to collect again this time around, mainly warmer clothes that I would need for New Zealand, and there was no way it would all fit in my bag. So I either had to ditch stuff or send it home - I opted for a bit of both. It was also in Bangkok that we said goodbye to Kelly and Hayden. They have chosen to leave here and spend 3 weeks in Sumatra before they head home to New Zealand. I wish them all the best!

It is starting to hit home at this point, with Kelly and Hayden leaving, that the Odyssey part of the trip is almost over - yikes :-(

So, on towards beach week. This has probably been one of the most talked about week amongst the group from the start. For those who don't know, it is when we get a week off from the group to go and stay wherever we want. It's at our own cost so we could go as fancy or cheaply as we wanted. I decided months ago (away back in that extra day in Janakpur, Nepal when I was bored stiff) that I was going to Koh Samui so I was all sorted. Jo had decided to stay with me and Dav was also in the same hotel. Fi, Al, Lou, Pernille and Becs also opted for the same resort as us, just different hotels. The rest either opted for different parts of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan or Koh Tao, with Anna and Simon instead heading back to Vietnam to visit Hanoi and Halong Bay.

With everyone excited about what we all thought of as the holiday part of our trip, we headed off for our overnight bus down to the ferry port. Unfortunately just as we stepped out of the hotel the heavens opened big time. By the time we got to the bus we were all completely drowned - not the best for sitting in a bus for the next however many hours!

The bus was not ideal, the seats didn't recline very well and there were more than a few grumbles but it was fine. We got to the connection point with the ferry way too early and had to spend a few hours waiting around in the middle of the night, again not ideal but hey it's all part of travelling.

Jo on the overnight bus

Finally we got to the ferry and a few hours later we were in our hotel. I had stayed there before so knew what to expect but Jo and Dav were also pretty happy which was a relief as they were staying there on my recommendation! Our favourite part was our sea view and really lovely swimming pool....

Now we were on holiday! For months people have been asking about my 'holiday' - trust me travelling like we have been has not been a holiday. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining or saying that I'd rather be at work or anything but travelling is hard work and completely exhausting so I used this week to chill as much as I could. I read, went to the beach, spent most of my time in the pool and ate some lovely food. Here are some pics....