[Ta, Koh Tao, and ta-ta for now}

The last week of the trip has been more revealing than we, or at least I, could have expected at this stage.

It began at the end of our Bangkok experience. Emerging early to finally check out of the god-awful MarcoPolo hostel, we dropped our bags with the lovely Giftzy and decided to take a similar, slow trek to the previous day, this time heading for the famous Grand Palace. As we arrived at the huge complex, it became apparent that we were in a strict area; I had to replace my long-shorts with some novel trousers which, according to Arun, I just pulled off. Admittedly, after a few hours wandering around the assorted buildings of the palace we were a little non-plussed. The decadence of every single building, all clad in tiny shards of gold, seemed completely at odds with everything else in Bangkok, including the beautifully intricate Wat Arun which we'd visited the day before. It makes Buckingham Palace seem like some kind of office-block. Whilst everything was impressive enough, any semblence of atmopshere was almost ruined by the ridiculousness of it all. For us, the real redeeming part was the 'Temple of the Emerald Buddha' which houses, believe it or not, a small emerald statue of the Buddha and is a place of great reverence for the monks. We sat in here for 30 minutes or more, our toes pointed away from the statue, and it was an uplifting experience.

After a long, slow trek home we decided to treat ourselves to a very Western pizza lunch in a very Western pizza house. We were killing time before our night-bus to Chumphon, which would drop us off at the boat to Koh Tao. We kicked our heels along Khao San Road one more time, played some pool, and before we knew it we were waiting with a girl named Carrie for the bus. She was 'super-excited' about getting to Koh Tao, as the tiny island in the south of Thailand is the diving capital of the world. Carrie was about to complete her diving-instructor course and begin living on the island for an indefinite time, a hobbie we discovered is extremely common on Tao.

Once we'd helped carry Carrie's bags on to the bus, we sat and were grateful to Giftzy for setting us up with awesome seats at the front of the bus. We chatted to Jessie, a lady who owned a bar on the island, and this got us both excited about the place. As Star Trek played in front of us, we both got limited amounts of sleep (Arun more than I, shockingly) and only really woke up for a quick stop in a town called Hua Hin. Here we met a guy who we'd eventually befriend on Koh Tao - Joeirie the Dutch dude who'd, as he put it, "gotten the Rasta" and had dreds put into his hair. We took his number but were amused to discover that he'd accidentally booked accomodation in Phuket.

We eventually reached the island after a fairly rough catamaran ride aboard the legendary Lomprayah; conditions were sketchy on the islands but over the coming days we'd largely get away with it. As we departed the boat we broke into hilarity as Joerie texted us saying, "Hey guys, i decided to go to Koh Pha-Ngang instead, wanna have a drink?" We gently let him down, saying that he'd again gotten the wrong island.

We immediately sensed the beauty of this place; all rolling, lush hills and secluded beach bungalows. The accomodation that Giftzy had recommended didn't disappoint either. Most of the activity on the island, and the location for our next few days, happens right along one side on the awesome Sairee beach. Bars and restaurants abound, and each would become steadily busier during our stay. We decided that we'd have a quiet drink at Jessie's bar on our first night, which she kindly gave us for free. Exhausted after the trip, we lounged here with our free beer, soaking up the sunset. At this point, Arun asked a flippant question that was, for me at least, to become more and more relevant over the next few days. "Why are we on Koh Tao?" he said, not sounding pessimistic but more genuinely inquisitive. Ostensibly, we wanted to relax after Bangkok. But the question still stood. By the end, each of us would have our reason.

I got some dinner alone as Arun napped, and bought myself a bottle to drink on our balcony. The next day, we lugged our stuff up the Sairee beach in order to be in the middle of the action. We settled on some basic clay bungalows which were very reasonble, so we got one room each. Later on we met up with Carrie and her friend and enjoyed some beers, but here the limits of Koh Tao began to appear. As a completely dive-centric island, we both pondered how we'd spend our time here, other than nursing a beer. Again, we did not want to seem pessimistic or ungrateful; we were more curious than anything.

We took in a film over dinner at a cool little Mexican bar, then headed up to the beach party we'd been invited to by Jessie. It was an 'F' party, so i decided i was 'The Fool' and Arun was 'The Foreigner.' This sufficed. I lived up to my moniker by dancing my feet raw until 6 a.m. The party was nice but it felt a little underwhelming with only a couple of dozen joining us there and few friends made.

The next day, the two week mark of our trip, was spent in recovery mode. Whilst the party had been merely okay, the consumption had been spectacular. We wandered Sairee in much the same manner as we'd wandered Khao San Road, except in this place we had a beautiful beach waiting for us any time we needed our eyes to escape into the horizon. We finished the day in the little Mexican place watching Adam Sandler in 'Grown Ups,' a film so "nice" that we calmly drifted back to our bungalows and to sleep.

Joerie texted us early the next morning, letting us know that he'd finally be able to join us on Koh Tao. So we waited for him at the pier at around 2, like he'd said, except he was late and we were at the wrong pier. Finally, we found him, and caught ourselves a taxi up to the huts. Another beach party beckoned tonight, so the three of us got to kow one another over dinner and generally had a laugh, a credit to Joerie's English. As we slowly headed to the party and got some drinks there (in "bucket" form, as desribed earlier) it became apparent that tonight's vibe was much more to our tastes, so we truly got funky. The nght was going fine when i decided to take a seat on a log on the beach, and was promptly happy-slapped by some geezer who got off quickly. This, in my state, quite upset me and the question of "Why are we on Koh Tao?" arose for me as i contemplated the difference between this, and a night out in Bournemouth. Arun talked me round, and we danced til dawn.

I was pissed off the next morning, and i attributed only half of this to my hangover. "Why are we on Koh Tao?" i asked myself, thinking that even without the sour note of the party last night, I'd aimed for more than parties on this trip. Whilst Joerie and Arun chilled in the sea, braving it through another recovery day, i delved into my book and sat on the beach.

Joerie wanted to check out a bar he'd managed to get a DJ slot at, and after dinner he did just that. Whilst my mood was not at its best and Arun was still feeling the night before, we joined him for support and were genuinely not disappointed. He played some awesome hip-hop tunes as we filmed him getting on down. Unfortunately, the bar was a little dead and the atmosphere didn't quite match his set. Little did Arun and I know, but what followed was going to be a genuine treat. A few young Brits had rocked up ; apparently one of them was the only dubstep DJ on the island and he was up next. So, as we high-fived Joerie on his performance, this kid from London got up on the decks and proceeded to smash it for the next 4 hours. We didn't leave for a second, and hung out with the young Brits, Sarah, Jack and Naomi, forming a 5-person rave. Joerie decided to give a little culture clash to the night and threw down some fairly awesome dutch lyrics over the top. At the end of this night I felt better in general, presuming that hair-of-the-dog and some decent tunes had lifted me.

At half-8 the next morning, I got up and ran to the bathroom. This was the end of my next couple of days, as evidently the chicken-stick i'd bought last night had given me food poisoning. I spent the morning waiting for Arun and Joerie to wake and save me, lying face down on my bed in between bouts of bathroom-emergency. Whilst the boys were angels and fixed me up with medicine, the rest of my day, i knew, was a write-off. For hours i stared at my fan going back and forth. "Why am I on Koh Tao?" i thought. I'd experienced little Thai culture, as the island complexes are half-owned by Brits and Aussies. I'd had enough of beers, of bars, of beaches. And after about three hours reading i'd finished my book. At times, "The Man in the High Tower" by Philip K. Dick was inspirational - my feverish delirium only adding to this experience. But, "Why am I on Koh Tao?" I could read at home. Arun and Joerie had apparently had a wonderful day, snorkelling and playing chess on the beach. I'd have loved those things, but in my humid, bright, pink bedroom-come-asylum any thought of travelling-type experiences seemed miles away. I didn't eat all day, save a packet of Maltesers i'd managed to muster the energy to buy.

Whilst some would say that not eating is a bad idea, I say it was a great idea this once, as, thanks to the medicine, I woke up the next day with a genuine appetite. Gingerly i made it down to breakfast, admirably joined by Arun who'd raved through another party (this one a slight disappointment again, but again full of drinks). He'd slept about 3 hours, and I'd barely slept more than 20 minutes at a time, but still we both checked out on time. As we sat and ate on the beach, i opened up to him my fears about the trip. "Why are we here?" I asked, wondering if i could hack any more partying, knowing that we were headed for party-centric Koh Pha-Ngang that day. He calmly reassured me, but my mood got the better of me and i was blinded to any future hope for the trip. This, you'll be glad to know, was rock-bottom.

Once Joerie rose, and my mood was everso slightly raised, the three of us headed to another bar to grab a light second-breakfast, which my gut was grateful for, and here we met Ben, a genuinely interesting Aussie fella who i chatted to about work and Wikileaks. We both love Assange.

Arun had booked our ticket on the Lomprayah the day before, and we due to leave at 2. So, luggage heavily in tow, we bid a fond farewell to Joerie, who'd been exactly the kind of friend you want to make out here, although at the time my mood again clouded my perspective, and i was simply glad to be heading to a new place. As we boarded the boat, a viscious little monsoon spat down on us. Arun and I, either too lazy to move or too tired to really feel it, sat through the storm outside, both blasting tunes into our ears above the loud drone of the catamaran. We were dried by the blazing afternoon sun on the way, and I truly loved the ride across the Koh Pha-Ngang. It blew all the cobwebs away, and i realised that if i was going to enjoy anything about travelling, it might be the travelling itself. Whilst i've gotten better at flying (the flight to Bangkok caused no panic whatsoever for me), travelling by boat has always been my favourite. It's like one, long tracking-shot in a movie; everything rolls by steadily. Flying has always felt like cheating to me, cheating gravity, cheating death, but on a boat you can really feel yourself moving round the world.

As we docked on our next island, Arun was evidently exhausted but valiantly striding on. I'd spotted a decent resort in our Lonely Planet, so we headed around the ridiculous bumps and curves of the Pha-Ngang roads towards the place. When we arrived, it was an expensive resort with all the budget rooms booked out. They directed us around the corner to 'Leela Beach Bungalows,' and, both now knackered, we settled on the first 500baht (10 pounds) shared room we found. If we hadn't experienced MarcoPolo in Bangkok, i'd have thought this the worst place imaginable. The toilet door didn't close even slightly, which was not great in my current condition. We were also joined by dozens of small flies who'd made their way in through the gaping great holes in the walls.

Arun napped, and i decided to go walking in order to curb my increasing mardiness. I walked round the hill to Had Rin, the main resort on Koh Pha-Ngang and home to the infamous Full-Moon Party. As i looked for a book and some internet, i saw a road-resort which, though empty, resembled Khao San Road in every other respect. My heart sank. I was not prepared for more partying of this sort - the very British, very stupid, very loud kind. I wondered what everyone saw in this place that they couldn't get back home. Faced with the choice of this or our rough room, I wandered, getting more and more lonely. At this point i settled in an internet cafe to type out my worries, and I owe it all to Cherry back home for turning me round. Whilst still a little dismayed, after some email exchanges with her I was dtermined to let time pass, to wait for a good time.

She was right, as I truly didn't have to wait long. Today, Day 19, the 3rd of February, it all became slowly apparent. We took a look at the Lonely Planet, and tactically headed off the beaten path. We got a taxi towards our next room, stationed a couple of miles along the beach from the "Black Moon Party," the main reason we were on the island. Until today, this party had barely crossed my mind, but now it feels like it could be great. We had clearly taken a risk when we arrived at the tiny resort of "Boom Cafe," as it was down an incredibly steep slope which takes about 20 minutes to walk back up, and they only had one room left. After initially saying 'no thanks,' we turned, and faced with the prospect of going back up the hill, we decided to take the room. Good decision . It is beautiful, and the resort we're staying on is totally secluded by huge black rocks, enjoying its own tiny little bit of beach which stares out at the sunset. We took turns on our balcony hammock; we took comfotable showers; we had some lunch at the restaurant and met Nok the owner, the sweetest Thai lady we're yet to meet. When my Noodles arrived covered in nuts, she took the trouble to write out "Please don't feed me nuts, i am allergic, thankyou" in Thai on a slip of paper for my wallet.

We've decided to stay in this resort for four nights now. Tonight is the party and then we're going to kick back in paradise for a few days, maybe taking in a little kayaking at the Ang Thong National Marine Park.

So the last week was more revealing than we ever could have expected. I experienced a true low, but thanks to a few special people and a spot of secluded beauty, i do know why i'm here.