Just Another Smith...

After a rough night with a rather dodgy stomach I really wasn't looking forward to  our 10hr journey into Malaysia today. Plus Thailand had been beyond incredible and it was sad to say goodbye. Boom was fantastic and took me to the pharmacy and so I was well drugged up and adviced to sleep, this I could do. About 5hrs in and we had made it to the border. It was quite odd, we had to officially leave Thailand and then walk across No Man's Land to enter Malaysia. Another stamp in my passport. It's annoying that they always want to stamp the same page though. On our new mini buses we noticed a change immediately, there were roads and so much traffic. It took us another 7hrs from the border to finally reach Penang. We did stop at a fancy Tesco department store hybrid on the outskirts on the way, which was pretty funky. Our hotel was the Grand Inn, and by the time we had arrived it was dark and rainy. By this point I was ready to sleep on a proper bed to hopefully wake up refre...

Last night we treated ourselves to a Ladyboy show at the Blue Dragon. I absolutely loved it! It was a cabaret, with each lady having their own song and dance. The first few songs welcomed us and set the scene and then an older lady came on.. and sang "I Will Survive". My favourite act by far!! Alex even got a kiss from her, lucky fella. After we'd taken photos with the cast it was on to Chang bar. Time to boogie and down a sprite or two. I know how to party! Shapes were thrown and fists were pumped. I went home with Alex and Laura  just after midnight. ~ After our late night last night, where everyone else got just a little "drink, drank,  drunk" and stayed out way way past my bedtime.. It was time for a lie in. We made it downstairs just in time for breakfast, just bacon and fruit for me this morning. Once I'd packed up most of my stuff, I decided I was going to have a wander and a little shop. The main stretch was quite busy by the time I headed...

We arrived at our hotel later on the Monday and unloaded into the lobby for a group meeting. I was sharing with Amy and we had Room 302, no lift in this hotel so we had to carry our bags up three flights of stairs. It was only once I'd got into the shower that I realised I was maybe a little bit sunburnt from the morning. Ouch. I pretty much used up half an after sun to help with the pain. Need to reapply that suncream far more often than I'd even imagined! We all then had an Orientation Walk with Boom. We had aimed to get to the beach for sunset, but it was earlier than expected. Still caught the last bit and took lots of photos. Next, she showed us a few different places to eat along the seafront and where best to shop. Then it was up to "Green Curry" for a dinner together. I wasn't too hungry, mainly tired, so ordered a fruit salad. It was very nice! Off to bed ready for our tour of Phi Phi island tomorrow. ~ Slept really well once I'd found a co...

The 11hr train journey was nowhere near as bad as expected. I slept the majority of the time, and managed the squat toilet with no issues. Such a pro. We were meant to be arriving at 4.24am.. one of the officials kept popping up and saying "2 minutes". By about 4.30 we finally stopped and were off the train and onto two mini buses. We had all signed up to the extra activity Boom recommended, a visit to Khoa Sak National Park. This was about a 3hr journey, so we all napped on the way. We arrived about 7ish and gasped at the view, it was so amazing, it was quite cloudy and so atmospheric. Bikinis on and bags sorted, we all climbed into the boat ready to see "Hidden Thailand". Dan kept joking that it was like Jurassic Park, as we pretty much had the lake to ourselves and it was so misty. Then Boom told us about the Gibbons hiding in the trees, they mate for life and then die of broken hearts. How adorable. We had the chance to jump off the boat and paddle in the lake...

I have decided to group my blogs per place, so we'll start with my first port of call.. Bangkok . My flight from Heathrow to Suvarnabhumi wasn't too bad. I was sat in 27C next to a lovely young couple going on holiday. Apparently they were incredibly lovely as not long into the journey they were bumped up to First Class!! This meant a whole row to myself.. until one of the Cabin Crew moved another couple (with a broken seat) to join me. Ah well. It was good while it lasted. The plane touched down slightly later than expected, but we had been delayed departing, so the Captain made good time. Once I was through security and had fetched my bag it was about 10am local time. Now came the fun part of meeting my transfer "in front of Entrance 3". This was a longer walk than expected, I had arrived in front of Entrance 9. I found my name in the end and handed the lady my voucher. I was to wait for another two people. Derek appeared about 10mins later and we chatted in our ...