People are awesome

Our day of travelling is complete! We were taken to the pier at 8:30am to catch the ferry. We weren't too sure of the journey ahead and only really knew that our last destination was Krabi. We waved goodbye to Koh Tao as we set sail for Koh Phangan. We had to disembark at this island and had an hour wait to transfer to another boat. While waiting we had a man busking for money playing his guitar behind us which wasn't welcomed at first but actually was quite nice in the end. I was having sunburn struggles as my trousers were sticking to it and every time I stood up I had to pull it off my already raw skin. The new boat arrived and we were ushered on board. Trying to go to the loo on a speedboat ferry is the hardest thing in the world I tell you! We had a brief stop at Koh Samui before we ended our water part of our journey on the mainland. This was the part we were unsure of but it couldn't of been more easy. As we exited the boat there were 4 buses lined up in front of us each other labelled with their destination, couldn't go wrong really! We had a comfy bus with loads of leg room which was great. After ten minutes or so the woman next to us but slightly in front was trying to recline her chair and in the end Nick helped her do this which sparked up a conversation with the couple. I think they were nearing 70 with both children and grandchildren but they are so inspirational as people. They're from Norway and have travelled to over 130 different countries around the world. 130! I was in awe of them and their attitude to life and travel. They just pick a country and go there and then build up a connection with the local people to find out where to visit next. They travelled in the 70s when they were the only tourists in certain cities or even countries. They spoke of going to Fiji during a tense time when civil war was on the cards and they were the only people on a flight from Aukland becuase they were the only nationality that would be allowed in the country at that time. They've been to Syria to see the war first hand and talked about cafes and hotels being bombed just hours after they had visited there. They were arrested and had been accused of taking pictures of the president's safe house after the prime minister was murdered which resulted in a 4 hour battle to prove they hadn't taken pictures on this house to then be excused by the president as they had the wrong couple. The husband had worked with the red cross and lived in Zambia for a while where they did a walking safari and had near death experiences with elephants and leopards. He talked so beautifully of building relationships with every local person from the homeless up to the highest class of people around. They visited places and beaches which only they knew about and would be the only tourists for miles around where as now these places are over run with tourists and resorts. They just had such a thirst for life and experiencing everything they possible could in this world with the time they have been given on this planet. I have so much admiration for their attitude and it's made me realise that we have a limited time on this world and we need to make the most of it. I completely know now that I'd rather have a cheaper smaller house than we can afford and use that extra money each year to go somewhere amazing and new and to not be afraid by the reviews and stories you hear of places but to see the world and live it. We spoke with them for the whole 3 hour journey and I couldn't of been more grateful for those precious eye opening 3 hours.Read more