Do you like ping pong?

Hi folks!

So I am made it to Bangkok - just got off the bus - its 5.30am (the only people out are old ladies setting up their foods stalls - noodles, noodles, pissed tourists and many ladies/boys on Khao San Road).

I finally kicked the cold and feeling a lot better. I have a tan and it's a damn good one as well (although, I know my dad would say I look more like a street urchin).

When I was in Malaysia, everyone thought I was Malay and now in Thailand, they say "you look like Thai people" all the time, everywhere. This does not however mean I get to buy things cheaper or receive special treatment, no, Thailand is determined to make as much money from each and every tourist crossing into its border. I can appreciate the tourism trade here is huge, however you never really feel the locals want to know anything more about you than the amount of baht you are going to pay.

The trip from Malaysia to Thailand (side-note: I am doing all these travels around Asia overland) a great night bus, 9 hours no problem. The seats went back and we arrived at the Thailand border, orderly queue, presented my EU passport and received stamp allowing me to stay in Thailand for 1 month. My first border crossing: smooth like vanilla.

What hit me as soon as I arrived was I could not seem to trust what people were telling me. I wanted to get to the local bus station in Hat Yai to make the journey as cheap as possible (I am trying to make my travel time last) as apposed to taking one of the private minivan tour runs offered to Krabi. I was told the bus station was miles or rather kilometers (we are in Asia and the metric system is used here) away, "you can't walk there, you need to get a tuk-tuk, etc, etc. Nevertheless, I was determined and thought, no sweat I can get there; I was armed with a map after all (albeit a hand-drawn one). But after receiving so many conflicting directions, my backpack was weighing heavily on me and the hot sun was coming out to play, I gave in and signed up for one of the private minivan pick-up drop-off (yep, the easier option, however I did bargain).

Now getting from Hat Yai to Krabi, a town on the West coast was not so smooth. I was on the road for 20 hours (inclusive of travel time from Malaysia). This involved a lot of sitting around waiting for a minivan to take me to the port, which did not materialize. When I finally made it to the port, there were long-tail boats that get you across the water to the low and beyond, my island of choice, Railay. However, these boats would only go without a substantial number of people (minimum 6) to make the crossing of 20 minutes or so worthwhile. So there was a lot of further sitting around. It was getting late in the afternoon and I was anxious to get somewhere to put down my bags, to brush the grit from my teeth and basically feel human again.

All the while, the islands were in the distance, the rocks were waiting for someone to climb them (no exaggeration, Railay is famous for its rock-climbing), the sun was going down and I did not appreciate it for what it was. I did not take a deep enough breath to realize, wow, I am in Thailand. I still was guilty of the London mentality of "by God, I will not wait", "where is X which I ordered 2 minutes ago".

After accumulating enough passengers, we were bound for Railay. We arrived on the west beach, complete with sand and the idyllic scene of youngsters kicking a ball around. However, it is too expensive to stay on this beach and I walked across the way to the east beach. It was swampy and the tide was very low, debris was washed up on shore and regardless of all the signs to keep the island clean and litter-free, litter had taken over. Ahh, I guess sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.

Next day I was bound for Phi Phi - apparently the best place on Earth - it was gorgeous. The beach was amazing. But Phi Phi had been hit in the tsunami and although they are busy building, there is still a lot to be done. Phi Phi is like a resort, the whole island is for tourists, so imagine a Spanish package holiday and its like that, almost. There are strips and streets of souvenir shops, bars and restaurants, with backpackers taking over.

It was a great place (what is so wrong with tourist-ridden places, I ask you) and since I started traveling, I was truly relaxed. Catching the sun, the water is so blue and the sand is proper white, you can see your hands in the water and its mountainous all around. Everyone says Phi Phi was better, years ago...
The people were lovely and so the walk from where I was staying, a bungalow in the hills to the beach was met by greetings from everyone (I was the Thai girl that was not Thai).

The Leonardo di Caprio film, 'The Beach' was filmed here. However to get to the 'Beach', Maya beach, you can take out a tour, pay to actually step upon its sand, and I think you are only allowed 2-3 hours to enjoy it. I did not sign up for the tour.

England game [World Cup, second round] - Irish pub and it was great to be among so many supporters. Very strange to watch England play whilst in Thailand because you forget you are far from home with so many English-speaking people, passionate as ever about the beautiful game. We partied, well done England and I have to introduce the drink, the 'bucket' that is literally a small bucket full of Thai god knows what....

Went to Phuket - I should not have gone there. Patong is the red light district and even though I did not visit it, there was no need. It is low season here, but you still see very old, ugly, fat, bald men (I'm not saying there's fault in being all that, but ..when coupled with young, tiny Thai girls, it does not look quite right somehow). Judgmental I know, however I am being honest. Do not come to Phuket, there is nothing worth seeing.

Ko Phan Nhang - island on the east coast, I loved it here. This is the place known for the Full Moon parties, which pretty much are parties held on the beach, music, madness (alcohol and substance induced) and mayhem. I missed this as was in Phi Phi at the time, however there are now Half Moon, Black Moon, No Moon parties, you get the idea, any chance to party. And no doubt I was boring and did not go to any of them. One of the guys staying next to my bungalow did go to the Moon party, he was still on the floor of his place at 5pm the next day, without his watch, phone, wallet and credit cards because he thinks, although he can't be sure that he lost it when trying to go swimming sometime during the party.

I stayed on a beach in the north of the island, away from it all. My bungalow was steps from a quiet, clean beach (only pestered by the many excited stray dogs). It was just my hammock and me. Hammock and me every afternoon until the mosquitoes come along. I could have stayed there for 3 months, but the place was out of my budget (trying to argue the hammock was worth the extra baht) and so headed for Bangkok.

Can you believe I still have not had good food yet. I have been in tourist places and so it is more expensive and I'm sure they water it down for foreigners. I mean full English Breakfasts and pizza were on offer in Phi Phi, so authentic Thai food was perhaps not an option.

I think the Thai people I've met so far are not as nice as Malay people - where they genuinely seem to want to know you as a person - here it's all about the money. You constantly feel like you're being ripped off. I'm hoping Bangkok will be different. Looking forward to it because it may feel like real Thailand, where people work and live, and life is not just centered around tourists. My travels in Thailand so far feel like I've been in a bubble. I've met more fellow travelers than locals, I do not speak any Thai aside from the odd word of 'hello' (and there is no need as English is spoken by all). It feels shallow. I feel shallow that I have not grasped a better understanding of the country, the way people live. I very much feel I'm on the outside looking in. I'm part of that backpacking trend who waltz into town, wear fisherman's pants, get dreads, rents a scooter because no one asks for a licence, and even though I have not committed any of the above, I have yet to do anything that separates me from consuming Thailand. I'm guilty of taking the Lonely Planet route of the southern islands and then Bangkok, nothing original at all my friends.

I've only been away for two weeks and yet London seems so far away. I can't remember my life before being here.

Ok, going off on a tangent, worst place to pee so far (although most places are a challenge) on the ferry coming to Phi Phi. At the back of the ferry they kept saying, and I was thinking, is it a hanging-my-arse-over- the-back-of-the-boat scenario, no, it was down where all your boat whirring mechanisms were, a hole in ground, water churning, door with no lock, no space, boat going crazy, and the smell, yep there will be more of that I'm sure.

I'm traveling on my own, although you are never really on your own. There are always interesting people to chat to and hang out with for a night/day. And then that's it, you each go your own way because your itinerary vary, therefore you have the same conversations of, "where have you been", "where you're going to" and "horror stories" of misadventures etc. Perhaps it would be better to include all this information on an index card and present it upon first meeting to feel conversations can flow beyond the superficial.

There is now morning light here, I'm planning to eat and shop in Bangkok then head north.