Koh Tao really is something. Nestled in the Gulf of Thailand, this gem of an island hosts a vibrant community of mostly western backpackers, a lot of whom are there for the diving.

We arrived aboard the Songserm boat and alighted at the island’s main pier. Getting off the boat involved a mighty leap onto the old wooden decking, some helpful Thai hands steadying us as we landed, backpacks weighing us down.

Around the pier, azure waters contained shoals of small fish which gathered around the hull of the boat once it came to rest. Ashore, a mad flurry of locals vied for our business, offering rooms and taxi rides across the island. Settling for a resort called the Asia Divers Hostel, Nicole and I managed to book into a shared dorm for six pounds each per night. There we met a group of English lads enjoying some well-earned holiday time. James, Jack, George and Niall became sound room-mates for the next few days and going out to explore the nightlife was great fun with some new company.

In the evenings, this tropical paradise transforms from a tranquil beach into a hedonistic night scene; out come the buckets and the lasers, and the Thai men arrive with their fire staffs, poi and flaming skipping ropes, and start routines that outmatched anything I was ever able to learn when I used to play around with the kerosene back in university.

A few days in, Eiji came down from Bangkok to join us on the beaches for a while before heading on to Koh Phi-Phi where the film ‘The Beach’ was shot. Although looking forward to visiting this for ourselves, Nicole and I will probably wait until July when we revisit the country and meet up with my brother.

After a few days of research, Nicole and I decided to book our ‘open water’ dive qualification. This will let us dive all around the fantastic islands in Asia and further afield, up to a depth of 18 metres. Koh Tao has around fifty dive schools, so competition is fierce and it took us some time to shop around before we finally settled on a good deal. A four day course with two extra fun dives, and four nights of accommodation would run at £150 each, which is significantly cheaper than anywhere else in the world. We start on Monday and both Nicole and I are very excited. In the mean-time we have been out in the bay with some snorkels that we bought, looking at the shallow coral and varied marine life. On the main beach the coral is just brown but we saw some awesome little fish. Some of the larger ones would swim up, kiss me on the arm and swim off. I was a little freaked out to begin with, thinking they would bite but soon got used to the inquisitive behaviour. One fish I have to keep an eye open for though is the Titan Trigger fish, which tends to get angry at the site of tourists. When threatened, it will raise a small fin on its head as a way of telling you ‘clear out of the way’.

Today we found a much quieter cove which was full of white coral. Feeding amongst this alien field were hundreds of the most beautiful marine fish. Some were pearlescent, whilst others glowed with neon brightness. I saw some which were decidedly two-tone, and others which had zebra-like patterns. In amongst the coral lay long cucumber like creatures and also what looked like black mines, floating above the sea-bed.

As we returned to our room tonight, a large ‘THWAK’ sounded near our feet. Shining out torches into the gloom, we found that a giant lizard had fallen from the roof of our hostel, two floors, to the concrete floor. Whilst it was stunned I was able to get in close and snap a photo before it regained its senses and ran for the cover of a nearby bush.

We took a sleeper train out of Bangkok after deciding to head down to the islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Everyone we have talked to so far had spoken very highly of them and we were both excited to explore as much as we could before leaving for Laos.

Adam took off north for a while, intending to meet up again in a week or so, and Eiji -whom we bumped into again in Bangkok, expressed interest in meeting us further south at some point. This left Nicole and I travelling alone again for the first time since India, and we arrived at the station expecting a quiet ride. Instead we joined a carriage of fellow travellers all headed to the same island of Ko Tao.

The journey was smooth and in some places raucous, as the beer sold aboard began to take hold amongst the younger contingent. Still, the atmosphere was good, people’s excitement to be headed to the islands palpable in the air.

We made friends with a couple next to us; Erik and Surika, who had been to Ko Tao before, and gained a few good tips from them. Apparently good value BSAC and PADI dive qualifications can be gained on the island, so I may dig deep if it looks promising.

We arrived at Chumphon at 5am and took a connecting bus to the pier where a passenger ferry waited for us all to board. On the back deck was a massive pile of backpacks all stacked in a huge bundle. There must have been about 150 of them and the owners were all crammed below deck where high windows overlooked a placid sea.

We arrive at the island in a couple of hours so will update when I have more to show. We are expecting to stay for four days before moving on. The full moon is due around the 15th, so we will probably go to Ko Pha-ngan for the famous beach parties held there.

Our taxi slipped out of the airport and into the flow of traffic headed down the main motorway toward the centre of Bangkok. The road was smooth and quiet, and for the first time since leaving the UK, I had a very real sense that we were back in the modern age. Large, glass-walled skyscrapers dominated the landscape – including one building which looked suspiciously like the PS3, and a multi-coloured spectrum of lights and adverts lit up the pervasive darkness. Street corners had been taken over by 24 hour supermarkets and I was pleased to see both men and women present in the streets even at a late hour – something which was never seen in India or Nepal.

Our hostel, called Saphai Pae, was located in the financial district, conveniently close to a monorail station which extended travel to nearly all the good spots in Bangkok. If the monorail didn’t go somewhere then there were taxis available at a cost of only a few pounds, or alternatively we could take a ride up the river on a water taxi. The hostel was spacious, clean, and quiet. We had a shared dorm all to ourselves for the first few nights, eventually getting some German room-mates at the end of our stay.

Another novelty of Thailand which we immediately appreciated, was the fact that the power stayed on at all times, and that internet access was once again incredibly fast. This all reinforced that feeling that we had in some ways re-joined the world that we were used to (but with Asian style) and having this infrastructure available came as a relief after months in fairly backward locations.

We left our bags at the hostel as soon as we arrived that first night, and took a taxi cab up to Kho San Road. This area of the city is known well for its varied nightlife. In the small space of a few blocks, thousands of tourists and Thais alike, teem through the narrow streets. Spirits are served up from pop-up bars in children’s sandcastle buckets, and the sight of a band of westerners weaving toward us with straws sticking out of their toy buckets made for a hilarious sight as we climbed out of the taxi. From brick and mortar bars came the sounds of live music, and several performances spilled out onto the streets. Further down the road nimble, acrobatic street dancers jumped long columns of tourists that had laid down for the spectacle. Pushing through the crowds, came straw-hatted old women, hawking fried spiders, crickets, cockroaches, scorpions and frogs from long steel trays.

Of course, none of the afore mentioned curiosities quite match up to the shock of wandering into the wrong neighbourhood and coming face to face with a line of cajoling young women named Lola! Thankfully Nicole had me by the arm, but our friends were not so lucky and were set upon with some rather firm handshakes.

Toward the end of the night we sat at a small pop-up bar by the side of the road. Beers were served from a tray loaded with ice, which was set inside a repurposed green recycling bin. It was only when we were sat on stools at the side of the road enjoying our refreshments and the lights of a police car turned into the street, did we realise that these types of stall were illegal. All of a sudden the bar staff jumped into action. The bin lid came over and down over the stock and was wheeled to the side. The stools were gathered in a heartbeat and the subsequent tower stashed in a shop doorway of a shop. As the police crawled by the staff ignored them, chatting loudly to each other, and as soon as the lights disappeared everything came back out again as fast as it went away!

The street food in Bangkok is fantastic. Hot plates are washed in large plastic boxes and then applied to large gas burners, where the cooks throw noodles, vegetables, meat and fish together to make amazing dishes called Pad Thai. Varying amounts of chilli make this either very enjoyable or burn your head off, so a bit of directorial input is recommended to get the most out of your hard-earned baht.

The following days were spent exploring the Buddhist temples which dot the city. Dripping with silver and gold, and all so impeccably clean, we enjoyed strolling the manicured gardens and surveying the giant Buddhas which either sat, or reclined across the expansive temple rooms. One temple was so steep that you had to pull yourself up its stairs using a rope for aid.

A stroll into China town was a bit of a culture shock, especially seeing so many restaurants specialising in shark fin soup and displaying the massive fins in their windows, and others presenting bird nests as yet another delicacy that I don’t think I would have the heart to try.

We finished off our visit to Bangkok in the Chatuchak Weekend Market. This indoor market spanned a small network of roads and was packed with thousands of people. We managed to get lost inside several times, and were amazed to find an animal market deep in the depths that sold toy dogs of all varieties. Here we stocked up on some fresh clothes ready for the beach, and snacked on yet more excellent street food including a coconut ice crème served in an actual coconut.

Today was Adam’s 30^th birthday, and to mark the occasion, we thought it would be fun to take a guide and a jeep into the national park in the hopes of seeing some of the local fauna.

We arranged the guide through our hotel and negotiated favourable rates from the hotelier. Waking at five this morning, we took our breakfast and collected our pack lunches before walking down to the river to meet our guide, a young chap called Ram. We were kept waiting for ten minutes before Ram arrived flustered and late. We were a little annoyed that he was late, but it turned out to be providence, for once we crossed the river on a long canoe and climbed aboard our jeep, all the other parties had set off before us, leaving the trail clear and quiet. Indeed, we were only a few minutes into the forest when a Great One-Horned Rhino appeared, laying down in amongst the trees to our left.

The driver slowed the jeep and we climbed out to investigate further. Rhinos have been known to attack, so we kept our distance, with Ram out in front wielding a stout staff. The beast was massive, huge armour plates protected its flank and as we approached it looked up and flapped its ears back and forth.

We climbed back into the jeep and within another minute, another, larger rhino passed out of the foliage- this time to our right, and stood in the middle of the road blocking our way. The rhino eyed up the jeep, snorted and stamped its hoof, then it lowered its head as if to charge.

WHROOOM – The driver turned the key in the ignition and the roar of the engine in the eerie quiet of the forest, sent the rhino bolting into the trees in a mad scramble.

We were all filled with adrenaline at this point, rushing from our encounter with the rhino, and were further amazed when Ram shouted at the driver to stop, and stood pointing at a tree off to one side. This tree had low boughs, and there, sat leisurely in the fork, was a leopard, swinging a paw idly back and forth. Ram told us that in the eight years he had been a guide, he had only seen a leopard seven times. He accounted this good fortune to Adam who must be blessed on his birthday! We all happily agreed and spent a few minutes looking at this marvel.

Another jeep pulled up alongside us and the guide had a pair of Leica binoculars which he let us try. The optical quality was outstanding, and all of a sudden you could see every graceful movement that the leopard made as it roused itself and dismounted the tree in a smooth and fluid motion.

Moving on we encountered wild boar, which sped across the road as we approached. In the canopy Rhesus Macaque monkeys and Langur monkeys screeched and jumped from tree to tree. As we progressed further, peacocks appeared, some strutting about with their tails spread, others attempting to fly in a cumbersome manner.

I was totally amazed by the amount of wild animals we were coming across, and seeing these creatures in their natural environment was like nothing I have ever seen before. Animals in zoos seem used to the presence of humans, but here, out in the wild, they all eye you up as either predator or as prey, and a distinct feeling of danger is never too far away.

The jeep itself was an ancient machine. 180,000km clocked on the odometer and we dreaded to think how many times it had bowled into this forest, riding up hard slopes, bouncing over vicious ruts and passing through deep fords. The suspension was pretty battered and the seats rock-hard. We found it helped to stand every so often, and this led to better views out over the woodland and occasional fields.

We stopped for lunch just as it started to rain. We were in an open-top jeep and started to get quite wet, luckily for us one of the army guards at a checkpoint offered us shelter under a gazebo. The army are the only people allowed to live in the national park, and soldiers frequently stopped us to check our permits were in order. Nepal has a long history battling poachers here and with so many endangered animals present it was great to see such oversight.

After lunch we carried on our journey, in a large loop back to the river and our hotel. We glimpsed more boar and herds of deer that only seemed to notice us when we were on top of them. At one point an eagle flew from a branch overhead and Nicole spotted some storks nesting high up in a tree. Ram pointed out a brilliant blue bird called an Indian Roller and we were all once again amazed when another Rhino appeared blocking our road. This one had been in a fight and had a wound on its rump. Less aggressive, or maybe just disheartened from its recent battle, it gave us one look then rushed into the tall grass, smashing a path before it.

We thought that our luck had been outstanding today, and imagine our surprise when the driver shouted out and stopped the jeep once more. In a tree, much closer than before was another leopard. Ram could barely contain himself and led a foray closer to the tree to get some better pictures. Despite our best efforts to remain stealthy, we had only ventured a few metres from the jeep when the leopard spotted us moving and lost itself in the grass.

A large peal of thunder marked a sudden downpour and we all raced back to the river, in order to cross back over and return to our hotel and some dry clothes.

Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha and a world heritage site, is marked most significantly by a small temple built around the spot where he was born, and the pool in which his mother bathed before the birth. To the north of this spot, several square kilometres of land have been dedicated to the building of Buddhist monasteries by nations which have a significant Buddhist demographic. This unfortunately comes off as a bit of a willy-waving contest between the Asian countries; for example the Thai temple is placed next to the Cambodian temple, which is next to the Burmese temple. Each one issuing boasts on plaques, of how much money was invested by each country. Of course this is all very ironic as the Buddha was dead-set against ‘worldly goods’ and eschewed his own importance, which this site makes a huge deal of.

Overall, the temples were nice to visit, and very peaceful, but the lack of actual monks made the experience a little lacklustre. I must have only seen three or four monks during the entire visit and they seemed to be happily chatting to security guards rather than doing any meditation or chanting! Perhaps they were as disillusioned by this place as we were!

Unfortunately the small village on the side of the monastic zone where we had to stay was grubby and untidy, and had swarms of mosquitos that rose up from the adjoining swamp land after dusk. After looking around the main sites, we decided we had enough and booked out tickets out of there for the next day.

I have just had chance to sort through the GPS logs that I took during our trek and have uploaded them to a map below.

If you are interested you can download the KML file and open it in Google Earth to see how long various parts of the route took.

Download KML File Here

This was taken atop Poon Hill and I have only just been able to stitch it together.

(large file, may take a minute to load)

Well, that journey explains why so few of the Pokhorites that we met had actually left their city!

The road south snaked violently back and forth along high ridges that overlooked plunging drops into rocky canyons below. At times, the tarmac disappeared leaving a rutted path of sand and loose stone.

Our bus driver did his best to push the vehicle to its limits in both speed and  structural integrity. G-force would pull us to the sides of the bus as he did his best to bully every other vehicle out of the way with nothing more than thirty tonnes of steel and an insane grin plastered across his face.

Adding to the atmosphere was the way in which the Nepalese aboard would cross themselves when we approached a particularly tricky bend, and throw loose change from the windows as we crossed the canyon bridges, all the while praying loudly.

Well, we arrived safely in Lumbini. The good news is that we don’t need to take that road, or that driver again!

We have just climbed aboard a tourist bus direct to Lumbini, which is the birthplace of the Buddha and a haven for Buddhist monks.

The trip will take us about eight hours south to the edge of Nepal, where we plan to stay for a few days.

The day is quite clear so hopefully we should get some spectacular views.