There are many a folk story connected to Thailand, wild fantasies about times gone past, stories only told to the select few explaining the whereabouts to secret islands, hedonistic party's and deserted white sandy beaches.
We heard many quotes on our travels stating that Thailand was "done" and "you should of been there in the 90s dude.” These bizarre quests to find isolation from civilisation seems only connected to this small stretch of land in the middle of South East Asia.
In the other 8 countries we have visited every mans quest was to find free wifi and cheap beer but as soon as they board a flight to Thailand everyone including ourselves seem to pick up this nomadic belief and an urge to find a hidden paradise.
Thailand is not a growing country it is already grown. Bangkok's International Airport is voted the 10th busiest airport in the world dealing with over 31 million passengers a year. And instead of being harassed by tuk tuk drivers and unlicensed taxis, the airport boasts a competent bus service and very good inner city rail links.
Bangkok's infamous backpacker area "Khao San Road" is basked in neon light, with signs hanging from every available wall-space - advertising everything from hippy apparel to fake IDs. This is the place where all the massages have "happy endings" and all the alcohol is strong and cheap. Khao San Road is quintessentially the gateway into Thailand where all the newly arrived young travellers cut their teeth by haggling for souvenirs and trying to work out how to get down to the islands.
For the first time in a long time we where greeted by two friendly but very jet lagged faces, Steffies brother Sam and his girlfriend Claire. Unfortunately after just 1 night in Bangkok all four of us had to jump into a taxi and head straight for the airport. Luckily we arrived just in time before the whole city was shut down due to the rioting. This was the start of our own little adventure around the South West islands of Thailand.
The Thai islands have become far from what the folk stories describe them as. It is simply supply and demand and as we walk down the strip in Patong Beach, Phuket you can see it in all its glory.
Every bar blasts out techno music and even in early evenings, families are sat at a table drinking and eating with a go go girl (clothed poledancer) leisurely dancing in between there burger and fries. This debauchery is the norm here and that's why people come to Phuket. So we all decided to just roll with it and after dinner on the second night we all went and visited a ping pong show.
This is a must see if you're visiting Thailand. It is so shockingly disturbing that you can't take your eyes away, we found ourselves applauding these girls up on stage pulling budgies and razor blades out of there lady bits and even gave a standing ovation when she got the ping pong into the cup. A surreal but entertaining experience.
Our next destination was Ko Phi Phi, a short ferry ride from Phuket. This island is the main party island on the west side of Thailand but it has managed to keep its hippy vibe by banning motorised transport on the island.
The island offered boat tours to "Maya Bay", the lagoon where Danny Boyles "The Beach" was filmed. This beach was crammed full of tourists and you certainly didn't need a map to find it because the amount of boats tooing and frowing made it look like a water motor way. We luckily hired a small private long boat and we were taken to some beautiful secluded areas so we could snorkel - all in all a good trip.
Unfortunately the weather made a change for the worse and as it was Sams birthday we hit the bars early!
M-150 (Thai redbull) vodka buckets!
The method of drinking your cocktails in Thailand is out of a bucket. To my surprise vodka Redbull was the cheapest drink on the menu so Sam and I, after fair few beers decided to order a vodka Redbull bucket each! This stuff is unregulated and banned in most countries and combined with dodgy vodka ended our night prematurely by me losing my vision and Sam losing his money a falling in the ocean with his phone. This is my written apology to Sam for going home early and to the girls because you paid to get tribal glow paint tattoos to then have to go home and wash them off 20 minutes later.
After a couple of days spent hungover we all needed a bit of relaxation so we left Koh Phi Phi and set sail for Koh Lanta.
Now this wasn't hidden paradise but it was as close as you can get to it. We had our own bungalow on a quiet stretch of beach and spent our last remaining days sunbathing, building giant sandcastles and eating the lovely local Thai food. A perfect way to finishes our trip to Asia.
In my opinion Thailand isn't "done" its just changed. Yes it is a little crowded and the stories have now become myths but in reality people don't really want to be sat on a beach on their own, it doesn't matter how beautiful it is. We all live in a different age now and Thailand has just evolved with it and if anything mass tourism has made it easier and quicker for you to enjoy your holiday. Yes it has got more expensive but its a damn sight cheaper than back home. This is the end of our Asian adventure and it has been a fantastic 10 weeks, but now back to western civilisation next stop Sydney, Australia.
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