Feeling HOT HOT HOT

Never has this song been more appropriate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbc_LxfhSoY

14^th-15^th February (Ko Phi Phi)

After a night near Phuket airport we caught the bus to town and then a ferry to Ko Phi Phi (after a bit of a nightmare arranging the tickets). The ferry journey was scenic, although we mostly hid inside as it was HOT HOT HOT outside. After arriving on the island we found a hostel to spend the night and then set out to explore the island, walking through the streets before spending some time on the beaches surrounding the main pier. The island is miles apart from other places we have visited in Thailand, especially in terms of the tourist-to-local ratio but the beaches were beautiful nonetheless.

After a classic travel breakfast of yoghurt and bananas, we set out for Long Beach. Golden sands and a brilliantly blue sea awaited us. We rented some snorkelling gear and took turns swimming, spotting a vast array of beautiful fish and also a reef shark!! The sun was belting down again so the water was really refreshing. I then set out for a nearby viewpoint…. but alas, it was not as nearby as I had hoped. It took ages in the sweltering heat, which was unfortunate as I had left my shoes, t-shirt and water at the beach. Rookie Rob (view was bay-utiful though). After lunch we ferried to Ko Lanta, another (less touristy) island. We immediately got great vibes from Ko Lanta, with its local markets, cooler temperatures and more real-life feel. After being picked up from the pier, we had an evening walking along the beach (on our doorstep) before dinner and a relaxing evening in our island bungalow. Both feeling a tad burnt though (the walk I mentioned earlier… I also forgot sun cream).

• 

• 

16^th February-19^th February (Ko Lanta)

After a night in a bamboo bungalow (500 metres from the beach) we had breakfast in bed before walking to Phra Ae beach. The beach was also divine, with golden sands stretching into the distance (although slightly less charismatic as the beach on night one). On the way to the beach we visited the Lanta animal welfare centre, which rescues and provides medical care for cats and dogs, mainly on Ko Lanta but increasingly on nearby islands. The centre has been in operation for 15 years and has vets, dog catchers and mobile clinics to give treatment. We liked it so much we decided to go with them to the beach in the afternoon. We picked up two dogs, Sanchez (10.5 years) and Yak (14), and went with the founder of the charity and some volunteers for a few hours, learning about the charity and giving the dogs a leg stretch. It was a great way to spend the afternoon. A take-away dinner of Pad Thai (one of the best so far) in our bungalow capped a wonderful day. Talking of liking things so much… today we extended our stay on Ko Lanta by an extra two nights!!

The nice thing about staying longer in places is it increases the capacity to get things done (e.g. laundry and life admin). Monday morning was great because we just did a few odd jobs, including moving from our bungalow (which was sadly fully booked) to a hostel down the road. We felt no pressure to see or do anything in particular, which was nice after a travel heavy period. I suffer from ‘travel guilt’ meaning that if I’m not doing or seeing something all the time I feel like I’m missing out on the action. Having longer in places like Ko Lanta certainly eases that pressure and is a much needed break. It helped that a glorious beach was right on our doorstep. I also shaved after realising that having a good few inches of fluff on my face didn’t help internal temperature control. In the afternoon we did a tour of the animal welfare centre as we didn’t do that on the dog walk day. The tour was excellent and we learned about the main sponsors including Dog Trust Worldwide and Lush (bath bombs) who have helped fund x-ray machines, an operating theatre and the on site animal hospital. We then walked along the beach watching the sun set before a top dinner of sweet and sour tofu on the beach listening to live music. Life content-ness? 10/10.

Day three was more of the same. We woke and walked to a different beach, although towards midday the clouds rolled in and it felt really stormy. Then came the rain… so we took some time to do some planning, which was useful. After a mess up with flight bookings (Rob being a plonker) we enjoyed more beach walks and book reading before dinner at Yawee restaurant (tofu curries). Ko Lanta is wonderful. Our final morning? Same same, but different. Beaches, walks, books, picnics… I’m sure you’ve got the gist of island life now.

• 

• 

• 

19^th February-21^st February (Krabi)

On the afternoon of the 19th we travelled by bus to Krabi before planning some bits for New Zealand (VERY excited), taking a stroll by the river and having dinner in a local food market. We didn’t have very high expectations for Krabi town, but it proved to be pleasant. On our last day in Thailand we went to Wat Thum Sua (Tiger Temple), which is located in a valley and surrounded by forests and caves that used to be a natural habitat for tigers. It took us about an hour and a half from Krabi (walking) and we then ascended to the golden Buddha statue on a hill (>1,200 steep steps). As you can imagine it was blooming hot. Absolutely worth it though, as the views from the top were stunning. We then took a stroll through some old forests, with caves, wall paintings and statues (appropriately they named it wonderland). The complex was beautiful, lots of temples, monkeys, and people worshiping. We also visited the caves where tigers used to live (although thankfully not now).

• 

• 

I also managed to go for a few runs on Ko Lanta, which has been a treat over the last three months. So as a special edition blog post these are my main thoughts for running in South East Asia:

1. Don’t run in South East Asia. It’s so hot and humid and quite often the traffic is a nightmare (pesky motorbikes). Did I mention the heat? Yep it’s like 35 degrees the whole time!!

2. Joking aside, the best time to do anything active is early (6 am or as close as possible) or late in the evening. Unsurprisingly the locals know this and parks and beaches are busy with people exercising in the early hours. This is often badminton, group games and/or open air exercise and dance classes.

3. Drink lots of water (although ice coffee is a top alternative) as you sweat bucket loads!!

4. Stay longer in places as you get to know the area better. My favourite runs have all been when we’ve stayed somewhere for more than two nights.

5. Go slow and enjoy the scenery. I’ve run on beaches, through national parks and past wild elephants (yep that happened whilst we were in Sri Lanka).

6. Ignore point 1. Running is awesome, you’ve just got to pick your moments carefully.

•