Saturday, 11 October 2008

Where did the blog go? - Leaving Thailand

It's been a long time since I updated my blog but I'm about to start getting it back up to date. There are a couple of reasons why I haven't updated it for so long. First, the last week or so in Thailand was bit of a challenge (understatement of the century) so I didn't have any urge to update my blog. Second, in the last 4 weeks I have been so busy that I just haven't had the time.

I left Thailand on 26th October and since then I've been to Bangkok again, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia arriving in Buenos Aires on 24th November. I think the best way to get this blog back on track will be to take things in chronological order. Fortunately I've been logging in a journal so not a lot will be forgotten although, as always, some things will be left out seeing as my mother reads this blog ;0)

After Phi Phi island we headed to Phuket arriving on Tuesday 7th October with a view to staying a day or so before heading to a surfing beach nearby. Pretty much everyone we had spoken to about Phuket had described it as hell on earth but on first impression I thought it was one of the nicest placest I've been to in Thailand.

I now think of it as a combination of heaven and hell. I spent about 3 weeks on Phuket in total, most of which was absolutely awesome. I stayed in some great hotels for next to nothing, had a quality little moped, was right next to the beach and enrolled in a local gym. I met some new friends who I hope I'll stay in touch with for a long time and I had a few brilliant dives to add to my tally. So for the most part it was bliss and I had the chance to take it completely easy.

The last week was probably one of the hardest weeks I've been through and I was very close to throwing the towel in and coming home. Since Thailand, just over 4 weeks ago, I've been to so many different places and had so many different experiences that it seems like a bit of a blur. It will be really hard to catch up on this blog but I'll make sure that I get as much as possible done over the next couple of weeks so I can update on South America as we go.

To summarise Thailand, I would say that it has been my favourite country so far. It's got so much to offer such as beautiful, untouched national parks, gigantic limestone cliffs both in the ocean and inland, stunning islands and breath taking beaches. The culture is great and although there are many annoyances the people are generally very friendly and welcoming. There are places to party, places to chill out, awesome cuisine and chances to explore all over the country. The diving is also the best I've experienced so far, even better than the Great Barrier Reef.

In my mind, it wouldn't be a bad thing to go back to Thailand towards the end of my trip but I won't be taking that decision lightly and want to see a lot of South America first.

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