I Ain't Goin' to Goa...

I'm not even goin' to Ko Tao...well I am briefly but the plan is to stay on the ferry and not get off until I reach the mainland. What's the point? There may be nice beaches but I'm on one now! I will only have a limited time anyway and I feel that iv spent enough time being a beach bum and it's time to hit the road and get the old sparrow legs working again. It's the full moon party here on the 15th in the south of the island at Haad Rin so it's time for this old bugger to make way for the young 'uns. In the wise words of this post title song ....
'Cos the righteous truth is, there ain't nothing worse than
some fool lying on some Third World beach wearing
spandex, psychedelic trousers, smoking damn dope
pretending he gettin' consciousness expansion'.
So this means it's finally, nearly, almost time for me to leave...well soon, maybe...ok I will tomorrow.
I was initially critical of the mass arrival to the island of the party goers for the full moon celebrations but actually, having spent a few evenings on the beach I now can understand that making a party to music on a beautiful beach, on a warm evening under the light of a full moon now holds an attraction....now I can understand the concept. Now I can understand why people travel across the world to get here.
Tonight, sat here on a beautiful beach, on a warm evening  under the light of a nearly full moon having a beer and listening to Dylan's harmonica as 'blowin' in the wind' eases out of the bar's sound system it somehow all makes a bit more sense....without a doubt, this is a cool place.....I get it!

Previous blog post title inspired by...Mystery Jets  :  HARD : 3 pointer again
Picked really for the title but I like the 'worn out 12" of a Marquee Moon' reference also.

Two Doors Down...

Trying to leave Thong Nai Pan Yai is proving to be difficult but I will soon..I promise...just a bit longer please!! The mornings are especially wonderful as the bay is deserted and at about 7am it is possible to take a morning coffee on the beach and watch the place slowly and peacefully wake up as the sun gets higher and warms the whole bay.
My leopard skin Lycra thong will have to come out of the airing cupboard again today as before 9am it's already registering 'scorcheo' and the sea invites me in for a morning dip.
Ok, decision made...iv decided to move and now the view looks like this....

....similar you might say.....

...then I will confess...

I checked out of the Starlight at 11am and checked into a room in the Dolphin, about 100yrds down the beach, at about ten past. The rooms here are also very nice and a bargain at only 600baht compared to the previous that was an extravagant 1500 baht a night...ok, so I no longer have an infinity pool but il make do...

               

My local...

My new home

At the Dolphin

Previous blog post title inspired by...Belle and Sebastian  :  HARD : 3 pointer
Fiction by belle and Sebastian off the album storytelling with an almost infectious tune in an
instrumental piece that ticks all my boxes and runs thru this strange but enjoyable album

Fiction...

Just Blogging in general...

I have really got into this blogging, it's really very therapeutic and as long as what you use to blog on is kept handy it's very easy too. In the past I have never been one for photos but I always loved scribbling notes and thoughts in a notebook. Now it's the same but I've modernised and can throw in the odd photy too. I always thought that by taking photos you miss the 'feel' of the moment, and still do to some degree but it is nice to adorn a blog with a picture to give clarity to the musings.
Blogging and scribbling tends to make you pay attention a lot more of your surroundings, people and happenings - it doesn't have the opposite effect. I'm like a coiled springy sponge soaking up everything that goes on and mentally recording the data for future interrogation.
Reading on't'internet some folk have given up work and make a comfortable living from blogging around the world...one day.....dream sequence over,,,,,!
It's good to read other blogs though, and this gives me an idea of what I'm doing wrong and the good ones that look professional and have good content make me jealous.
I've decided to start as I mean to go on and keep it simple, regular, colloquial and factually biased to my way of thinking with a continually running soundtrack of crackin' tunes.
Every blog post I do will have a blog title or lyric from a song that I own and that will loosely relate to the post content, basically an excuse for me to crowbar my flavour of music into the mix by way of musical inspiration. These days you can just type any song title into YouTube and give it a listen for free - if you like it then you can buy or steal....up to you!
Nearly every blog post I write I do it listening to music.
I enjoy screwing with the spellchecker.
I will NEVER photograph the food I eat.
I don't edit it much so that it stays real to what I feel at the time and this allows me to record thoughts as they flow from my living perpetual self transcendence.....Ha, Ha....****!
At the end of the day I write my blog for me...
If anyone wants to read it I hope they enjoy it and it makes them smile a little...that's all!


Previous blog post title inspired by...The Vaccines  :  HARD : 3 pointer
One of many cracking little tunes from the debut album....and very apt, eh?

Put a wetsuit on, come on come on...

If at some point we all succumb
For goodness sake let us be young
Because time gets harder to outrun
And I'm nobody, I'm not done

With a little bit of apprehension I woke early and made my way outside to see where I was. The place I had was about 50yrds from the sea, was comfy and clean and was part of a Thai hotel with a pool. The beach was a lovely bay with powder white sand and clean clear sea...probably one of the nicest beaches I have ever been on ....result!

A walk up the beach found a dive boat leaving in one hour.....so I'm off diving! The twin engined speedboat shot us out to a remote dive site up at the north of the island in about 20 minutes and the visibility was about 20 metres and crammed with a huge variety of marine life. I had a 40 minute dive and spent most of it getting down but then saw barracuda and large groupa's. Later, after lunch with the snorkel in another dive site the quantity and variety of fish was amazing. ....or should I say " Yeah man, it's was awesome, dude!"...in the way all these dive instructors like to converse....it was actually rather 'cool' I have to admit. The stress of Ko Samui had dissipated and the beauty and karma of Ko Pha ngan has won me over.....it's gorgeous here! As the sun starts to go down its time to relax with a Chang...

 



Previous blog post title inspired by...The Rolling Stones  :  EASY : 1 point
An easy choice and a song that's older than me....just.

Play with fire...

Taking the later ferry from Chavsville meant that I arrived on Ko Phan ngan just as it was going dark, and this process doesn't take very long in these parts so I had to act quickly. I had decided also that I wanted to stay on the opposite side of the island with the theory that if it's harder to get to then there would be less people about. I negotiated a songtaew ride and I'm glad I did as the road over to the other side of the island was about 10km and very very steep. I was dropped off on the roadside and from here found the beach. Again, it didn't take much to find a place to stay, this time at the starlight hotel, with a small en-suite by the beach. As it was pitch black I have no idea what the place is like here so the only thing is to have a few beers sat on the beach in a bar watching a couple of lads playing with fire and wait for the morning light.

Previous blog post title inspired by...The Clash  :  EASY : 1 point
A song with one of the most recognisable riffs in the world....

Should I stay or should I go?

It was a late night watching the England pack easily deal with a lack lustre Scotland but it gave me time to keep an eye on the holidaymakers and cast some aspersions. Most in the outback Aussie sports bar seemed happy enough to be out of prison and were relaxed suppin ale and casual in their long baggy shorts covering tattooed legs and fake nike flip flops. Most had no tops on so allowing the beer to expand in their blubbery bellies without the hindrance of a shirt. Baseball caps, fags, gold rings and the company of 14 year old Thai girls (not even nice ones - one even had a wonky eye!) seem to be commonplace in this boozer.
The food along the street was thoughtfully being advertised with faded pictures showing what Thai food fusion looks like...the twist being you can have your pad Thai with chips or maybe have what looks to be a battered sausage of dubious meat content on the side....
...I thought long and hard as to what to do....this was supposed to be a paradise island but I was not getting that experience, so I decided to leave in the morning.
On the way to the ferry it struck me that I have biked the 50km around the whole of the island and no-one has shouted hello or acknowledged me when previously on the mainland I was getting friendly shouts and smiles everywhere. I get the feeling that the farang are only tolerated here and it's just about getting the money...why am I not surprised?
Arriving at the port I had just missed the lunchtime boat so it's a look around the town until the next one at 5 going to Ko Pha-ngan...


Previous blog post title inspired by...Radiohead :  EASY : 1 point
A great song off one of the best albums ever...a song written for a world of mass marketing and mass consumption.....no surprises, eh!

Fake Plastic Trees....

 

350km completed so far. Now, having had a ride around half of Samui, and to be honest, in like my best travel agent stylee.....(also having had a few beers)I'll try to sum it up....deep breath.....ok, from what I have seen I am sure that if you get a glossy travel mag and you book yourself into a bespoke, boutique, ridiculously westernised priced, all inclusive, top end gaff with your own bit of beach sat on a fancy mahogany deck chair with topless butler silver service then maybe this island is for you. All I ask is that you take a step back from the falseness and before you get to the security guards on the front door you will notice that it's a shit hole and smells somewhat similar.....yes, some of the beaches ARE nice, but if like me your not that keen to allow sand in the area of the bum cakes twenty four seven then maybe you too could be disappointed. Behind these double glazed closed doors you will not find Asia....sorry.!
Maybe if you venture out of your oasis and into the crammed chaos of dirty, knackered streets packed with makeshift bars competing for customers selling 'pies and peas with chips and gravy' with an orgasmic cocktail offer in the 'Irish' bar to boost your karma does it for you then maybe you have found your Nirvana.....
......for me, well the rugby might be on later so it's off to get served by a fat bloke with a tattooed face and no doubt some piercings in places I don't want to think about before iv had at least a pint of stout and a couple of cherry B's....Come on England....!!

Previous blog post title inspired by...Royksopp:  MED : 2 points
A nice chilled out song by a chilled out band to end a chilled out day......