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Thailand 🇹🇭 Part 1 '23
  • JG TRAVELS
  • JG TRAVELS

Thailand 🇹🇭 Part 1 '23

A 31-day adventure by JG TRAVELS Read more
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  • Trip start
    June 13, 2023
    JG TRAVELSThailand 🇹🇭 Part 1 '23JG TRAVELS

    1. Landed

    June 13, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    At approx 10.40pm we landed in Thailands Don Mueang Airport. Once we had checked in and got our bags we got a taxi to our hotel. We have a booked a nice posh hotel for a few days to find our feet in Bangkok. Once checked in we went for a walk at about midnight to get some food. Once we had dinner and a quick look around Khoa San Road, one of Bangkok party street and it was defiantly a party. We headed back to bed as lots to do following day.Read more

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    2. Tuk Tuk Tour and Centre

    June 14, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Day 2 bangkok

    We had a really late night , so we woke up at about 1030 this morning . Unfortunately , we had just missed breakfast , but we grabbed a coffee before heading off for the day .
    As we were heading into the city, we were greeted by a a tuc tuc driver , who offered to take us around the famous Buddha statues ( lucky buddha and the big buddha) and temples for a very cheap price . It was like a public holiday today in Thailand, all shops had special deals on and the tuc tuc drivers had their fuel paid for if they went to certain places . We were able to visit the famous Buddha statues for free too .
    The tuc drive was so much fun , they go quite quickly !
    At the lucky Buddha temple , we were encouraged to light incense and pray to bring us good luck and fortune. We spent a while there just admiring how beautiful and colourful the architecture is .
    On the way to the big Buddha temple , we stopped off at loads of random.places so that the tuc tuc driver could get his fuel points, two of the places were travel agencies, and the other was a clothes tailoring shop 🤣
    The big Buddha was 36 metres high - one of the tallest in Thailand. It was amazing how it glistened in the sun .
    After saying goodbye to our very happy tuc tuc driver , we caught a river bus into town so we could grab some food .
    There was a big food market outside a big shopping centre , selling lots of sea food and noodles . After our track record, we stayed clear of the seafood and went safe with some pad Thai noodles, which were very tasty .
    We had a quick look in the shopping centre and generally just had a big walk around the city for most of the evening. Everything really is alive at night over here and it's easy to lose track of time .
    We eventually caught a bus back to the hotel and had a coffee in the cafe before bed.    Read more

  • JG TRAVELSThailand 🇹🇭 Part 1 '23JG TRAVELS

    3. Grand Palace & Central

    June 15, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    3. Grand Palace
    Today we got up and headed to The Grand Palace, although we are looking to do attractions which our free, this was a must do for Bangkok so we invested in the tickets and headed down. We walked approx 2 km past the royal side of Bangkok, very nice buildings, courts and palaces. They have a royal family in Thailand like we do in the UK but unlike the UK, if you are ever seen to bad mouth the king, it is seen as treason and an immediate way to get locked up by police. So basically just don't talk about royal family and you will be fine 🤣. Once arriving we visited the temples used as worship and ceremonies by the previous Kings, they had been built up since approx 18th century. The structures of the buildings were magnificent, with sparking and glistening gems catching the glare of the sun. The palace is massive and very grande, it hasn't been in residence since the 1950s but still used regurally for big events and ceremonies.

    Afterwards we were going around the night markets and to Bangkok's lively streets of ping pong shows, casinos and nightlife. Since being in Bangkok we have noticed that the city really comes alive at night, it almost seems not much happens until about 8 due to heat, you rarely go to bed before 2/3 in the morning. We have wondered if this is due to the humidity, it's approx 40' real feel and about 80% humidity even at 10 at night, it gets even warmer in the day. Thank god r air conditioning! Bangkok lively streets was as expected, I was greeted by people shouting ping pong show and girls offering their services.    Read more

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    4. Central Park & Chatuchak Market

    June 16, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    We had breakfast before we headed back into Town to have a look around central to see the enormous shopping centres and then go to a famous park called Lumphini, where there are 400 huge Monitor Lizards roaming within the park. We had a free paddle around the lake with the lizards in a big swan peddalow which was great fun, James got soaked when we thought it would be a good idea to head under the water fountain shooting up into the air. We enjoyed a few hours here and then got on the overhead train to Chatuchak supposedly one of Asia's biggest night market, with over 15000 stalls and food galour. Unfortunately it wasn't that busy with probably about 200 stores which was abit of an anti climxax. Grace got some clothes and a few bits and we then headed back to the hotel.Read more

  • JG TRAVELSThailand 🇹🇭 Part 1 '23JG TRAVELS

    5. Museum & Chinatown

    June 17, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 33 °C

    This morning we headed to the Museum which contains centuries old siamese treasures , weapons and antiques within 18th century palace walls . The museum also displays extensive collections of buddhist arts .
    There was a lot to absorb at the museum, and had only just managed to see everything before it shut for the evening, but was very interesting learning abit more about the History of Thailand.

    After the museum we walked alongside the large river Bangkok sits on, we had heard about getting a Catarmaran down into town as it was a cheap and scenic way to view Bangkok. Passing some famous sites on the way. It didn't disappoint and was great fun, we got down to Chinatown and jumped off here. Unfortunately after speaking to a Tuk Tuk driver he said that actually all businesses would be shut today, however the street markets are open. Once we hit the central strip of China Town, Bangkok was alive, people shouting, offering foods. We stopped for a some noodles at a very busy (with locals) street vendor and had Thai Noodles with Chicken, we are able to eat meat here and haven't been poorly so far eating mainly street food. We haven't tried insects yet but many places in Thailand to get them. After an hour or so at Chinatown the locals were frantically putting up shelters and within about 10 mins, we experienced probably the heaviest rain I've ever been in. It was almost as if the flood gates opened, we stood in China Town for about 25 mins hoping it would end but ended up getting a taxi back to our old hotel to have a coffee there before walking back to our new cheaper hotel.

    On the way back we walked around Khoa San Road and the night markets, we would of liked to have a night here but have been very tired after being out in the city all day. We hope to have a day or so longer in Bangkok so maybe we could attempt to get us oldies out on the town then.    Read more

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    6. Day 1. Koh Chang

    June 18, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Day 1. Koh Chang
    We woke up at 0345 to catch the bus to the ferry in Trat. The bus journey only lasted 6 hours and was so comfy compared to the bus journeys we experienced in Nepal! It was so strange going on smooth roads and being able to go over 30 miles an hour!
    Once we arrived at the ferry port , we had a 20 minute wait before catching the ferry to Koh Chang. Everyone went to sit at the top outside, but then we were hit by a heavy rain storm, which ended up lasting most of the day .
    When we reached Koh Chang, we ran over to the taxis taking us to our hotel, we were sat with about 5 other people in the back of a pick up truck and we had to drive through floods in the road on the way . Fortunately the drive to our little bungalow wasn't very far, once we arrived we sorted out our bags and waited for the weather to improve a little before heading to Kai Bae beach- a beach about a 20 min walk away from our bungalow .
    The beach was beautiful with white sands and coconut trees dotted all the way down. We walked the length of beach and chilled for a bit before walking to town to find somewhere to eat.
    We found a nice little restaurant and both ordered a beer and a Thai Panang curry - which was seriously good. Our favourite flavoured curry yet.
    We then walked back to our little bungalow and it had started to rain quite heavily again !
    We relaxed for a while before having a relatively early night . Hopefully the weather improves tomorrow.    Read more

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    7. Day 2. Koh Chang

    June 19, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Day 2 Koh Chang

    We have learnt that we have arrived in the middle off their off season. There are disadvantages to this due to many restaurants, bars and resorts shut, and the potential for sudden downfalls of torrential rain. But the massive upside is we have these beautiful beaches practically to ourselves. The island is also so green due to the rain, so many tropical smells and humidity as 80% of this island is covered in tropical jungle.

    Today we had a much needed lie in.
    We headed out to rent a Scooter so we can explore. We have a cool Honda 150cc to use. We headed back to the lovely beach we visited yesterday first, Kai Bae Beach and got straight in the sea as the sun was shining. The water is about 30' currently so we spent quite alot of time paddling about. When we got out of the sea an 3 elephants with their owners came onto the beach and started to have a bath in the sea, not many places you will see elephants on the beach! We watched them bathing for a while and then head off to Lonely Beach for some lunch, we had local calamari and it was delicious. We went down onto lonely Beach and we certainly felt lonely! No one about on the beach when we first arrived. We love being here in off season.
    We had another swim and chilled on the beach for a while and then headed back to the scooter. Which wouldn't start! We rang the hire company and struggled to understand us but eventually came down to assist. Flat battery, I had left the lights on... After about 30 mins the moped was running again.
    We rode south as we were exploring this part of the island towards Bang Bae and saw some monkeys swinging by the road, we drive onto a few more beaches which were super nice ready for sunset. Opps we were on the wrong side of the island! We walked along the deserted beach and came across a restaurant where we had a Thai curry about 3 mtrs from the waves rolling in, which was lovely. We went to book our ferry after food and they infromed us that we will have to go back to mainland to go to Koh Kood, so annoying as we can literally see it from Bang Boa, in high season they run 3 times a day, it will take us about 8 hours to do and alot of organisation. So we are thinking our next move as if weather holds out a visit to Koh Kood would be lovely. We have an idea for a snorkleing trip around the island which is exciting but would need a solid sunny day for that. We drove home in the dark slowly on the moped and went to bed.    Read more

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    8. Day 3. Koh Chang

    June 20, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Day 3
    Today we woke up and heading up north of the island, we had a quite a few places to see so headed off early. We stopped at our closest beach which we hadn't found yet called Krong Proa beach and had some breakfast at a sea front restaurant, apart from the Moldy toast (which they replaced), it was delicious.

    We headed all the way then to the north of the island and found a peninsula where the sea was to our left and right with a big jetty going out. We walked along the jetty and saw coral and many different fish swimming about, so grabbed our googles and went to jump in, sadly once in the water was rather cloudy, but we did still manage to see many crabs and fish. We walked along the coast and found a lovely beach which again was deserted and chilled here for a while.

    We headed back south towards another famous beach called White Sands Beach, after a really steep descent it sadly really wasn't worth it. Too much litter and no jungle, felt very commercial.
    After a short stay we left to go back Krong Proa Beach, we stopped and grabbed a couple of wood fired pizzas, a couple of Chang beers-which are the best beers btw! And headed to the beach to see the sunset and eat our food, it was very dramatic and beautiful as a storm was rolling in across the bay. We headed back and booked an extra night at jungle resort. Now watching a film, covered in some after sun enjoying another Chang!    Read more

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    9. Day 4. Koh Chang

    June 21, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Day 4

    We headed out after the roads had dried from a quick rainfall, today we were heading on a 3hr scooter trip to the south of the island. We headed off slowly zipping along the coastal roads, the south of the island isn't touristy at all and very little there. We first stopped at Than Mayom Falls, these were very pretty waterfalls but sadly we weren't allowed to swim, you had to cross bare foot over the water holding a rope which was pretty exciting. These are protected falls and they even had a guard there stopping you do anything.

    We carried on scootering through jungles and the smells were overwhelming whilst being splatted in the face with bugs-blugh! We eventually got to the furthest south on the island, greeted with lovely beach with coral glistening from the shore. The water was so calm and inviting, we did some snorkling looking at all the fish, crabs and saw many sea cucumbers. We attempted to record on go pro underwater for the first time and got some pretty cool videos!

    We left the beach after an hour or so of swimming and chilling. Next stop was the next jungle waterfalls. We eventually arrived at the next waterful and had to trek through the jungle for 10 mins, we headed off after being warned to watch for snakes. You could tell why, the path was basically non existent with thick jungle infront, we managed to find a little path which lead to the bottom of the falls. It was really pretty with a little pool to go into. The only downside is we were destroyed by mosquitoes, I have counted almost 30 bites on one leg, we used loads bug spray before entering aswell.

    We left the waterfalls running from the bugs to go to our final stop which was the jungle mangroves.
    I had seen these online and was very intrigued to check them out as the lead all the way to the sea. We arrived and had to walk along this broken bridge path, it felt a little risky in sections as you were unsure if the wood would hold. Walking through the mangroves was super cool with trees and roots winding and twisting and then suddenly was the sea a deep blue colour leaving the thick mangroves. Was a perfect spot to see the salt water crocodiles but we didn't see any unfortunately.

    We headed back to the moped as had a long trip home and stopped for the sunset which was lovely.
    We have also decided the we are staying in Koh Chang a couple more days. To get to Koh Kood would be atleast a 10hr traveling day and will cost us about £60, as it's a smaller island we are worried how many restaurants etc will be open as many are shut here. So we are going to enjoy Koh Chang a little longer, let's hope the weather holds.    Read more

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    10. Day 5. Koh Chang

    June 22, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Day 5.

    Had a super relaxing day on lonely beach . We initially wanted to take a kayak out to one of the islands so we drove 15 mins down to lonely beach to try and rent one . Unfortunately the rental place was closed, and wasn't going to be open for a few days.
    Lonely beach is one of our favourite beaches, so we decided to stay here for the day. The temperature was super hot and sunny today, so beach day commences. We practically had the whole beach to ourselves and it was really relaxing. We spent ages in the sea and sunbathing.

    Once it had started to cloud over much later in the afternoon, we went back to our little bungalow to shower . We then headed out to try and catch the sunset at our closest beach , but we just missed it, however it was still very pretty! We sat and admired the pink sky for a while before heading to a greek restaurant for some food.
    We stopped off at the garage and grabbed a coffee on the way home.
    It was a very relaxing day, apart from the odd patches of sunburn!    Read more

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    11. 12. Day 6&7. Koh Chang

    June 24, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Day 11 and 12

    Day 11:
    Today we headed out for breakfast at a place called 15 palms - which is supposed to be well known for its good food . Luckily, it didn't disappoint. James had a full English and I enjoyed a mango smoothie bowl . We sipped coffee slowly watching the waves infront of us . We had a quick swim at the hotel swimming pool , it was so cool and refreshing !
    Once we had dried off a little , we headed off to Khlong Phlu waterfall to do some more swimming ! The waterfall was about a 500 m walk into the jungle once you had parked, with ropes embedded into the bank to hold onto . The waterfall at the end of the walk was really tranquil , located in the jungle with a large swimming hole - it was just perfect !
    There were others that were swimming too, so we waited for a good time for a quick swim. The water was so cool and clear , but there were quite big fish in there that kept nibbling our feet !
    After all the feet nibbling , we sat on the bank for a while admiring the waterfall in the sun .
    After the excitement of the Waterfalls we headed off to a snorkling hotspot to be told that it's closed and we would have to go to the beach instead. We headed down and enjoyed a beer by the sea. We drove home and headed out to a local Thai restaurant and decided that a snorkling trip is the best idea. There is places and reefs that you can snorkel around from the shore, but the best places are by boat! We have also booked our flights & Surf school in Bali on 13th July!

    Day 11.

    Today we booked our travel to Bangkok and our bus onto Koh Samui and headed down north to a nice resort called 15 Palms, we had a lovely breakfast and then ended up staying all day chilling on the beach. There were surprisingly big waves to mess about in. We left after sunset and got some pizzas and had them back at our bungalow, as we are up early for a full day snorkling trip. We are stopping at 4 islands and going into the national marine park. We are super excited for tomorrow!    Read more

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    13. Travel 14. 1. Koh Samui

    June 26, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Today we were woken with some of the loudest thunder we have experienced yet.. Not surprising we had a text to say that our snorkeling trip had been called off, we immediately got in touch with our transport as it was time to move on if weather was rubbish. Transport was a go ahead, so we got a refund from our hotel and moped. We packed very quickly and were picked up around lunchtime and headed back to Bangkok, this took us 8 hours, when we returned we ran to the next bus service, Bangkok to Koh Samui..
    We managed to get 2 tickets on the VIP bus which were quite expensive but we had a better chance of sleeping. We were on top deck so had a good view, they gave us blankets and we all had huge reclining chairs with loads of legroom, certainly beats Nepals version of VIP. We both managed to get about 7 hrs sleep in between pit stops, which was good. When we got to the ferry port, we didn't realise the ferry was going to take another 4.1/2 hours, we got on top deck and had a scenic trip through the islands. I must say that the ferry ride seemed to take forever as we had been sat down for nearly 24hrs straight! We can't wait to go to Koh Toa, snorkeling they have some of the best in the world and you can see why as we sailed pass with all the coral glistening patches.
    We finally arrived at lunchtime the following day and organised a lift in a mini bus to our hotel. We were messed around a little by our hotel but put into the posh one next door for the night, so we didn't moan. We had some dinner and headed down to the beach, right outside our hotel which is nice, first beachfront stay. The beach is beautiful but much busier than Koh Chang, we were expecting this but still paradise. The island is still as beautiful. We had a walk around town which is pretty lively, and I managed to kick my foot into an exposed pipe whilst wearing flip flops and convinced my little toe is broken so decided to crash for the night. As we wanted to be up and about for tomorrow as we only have 3 days here, as moving onto Koh Phangan on the 29th June. Our 30 days in Thailand visa is getting swallowed quickly!
    Ps the hotel has a family of 5 week old kittens running about so Grace is in heaven.    Read more

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    14. 2. Koh Samui

    June 27, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    We woke up and sorted our bags out , ready for moving into our actual hotel Whilst having a coffee, we sorted out moped hire and we had one delivered to us within 20 mins ! We then headed to the beaches for some snorkeling!
    The first beach we headed to was crystal beach , about 15 mins south of our hotel . There was a little cafe there , so we had a late breakfast first . Having found a good spot on the beach, we swam out to the coral and the rocks and we saw so many fish ! The two big rocks that we swam past were covered in crabs and shoals of fish were swimming past them too.
    We slowly swam the length of the beach and back before drying off in the sun for a short while .
    The next beach we headed to was coral cove , this beach is also recommended for its snorkeling. Everyone was swimming at the right end of the beach , so we swam over there and saw more fish than we did at the first beach. Huge big shoules of fish all colours of the rainbow. We also saw a huge monitor lizard getting out of the sea, he was much bigger than the ones we encountered in Bangkok. We spent ages swimming there until the sun had started to go down, we were both amazed at the amount of different fish we saw just off from the shore, much more to see than in Koh Chang.
    We left the beach and went to a street market to have some food, we enjoyed some different foods until full and a delicious oreo milkshake all the locals were rushing for, and a huge delicious corn on the cob, (the best one we have ever had). We then headed into town to grab a few bits before heading back to the hotel for the evening.    Read more

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    15. 3. Koh Samui

    June 28, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Today we went on a hunt for Koh Samui Snorkeling spots! We first headed north to Thong son beach, where we stopped for some breakfast first. As we walked in we noticed two giant pigs on the floor! They were enormously fat. We gave the pig a stroke and had some food on the beachfront, we met a nice chap from New Zealand who had been 'kicked'*out of his home by his son who is renting it and he uses the money to permantly travel. Cool life huh!? We had abit of a snorkel and was no good so headed to the east which is abit more sheltered. Unfortunately the next beach called Choengmon Beach was beautiful but the tide was too low to snorkle. We did stop at a really hip bar and stayed there and had a coffee, we didn't realise how posh it was till we walked inside! So we ended staying here for a while.
    Eventually we headed back to the crystal cove beach we went to yesterday. The snorkeling was great and we explored different sections we didn't look at yesterday and weren't disappointed. We spent about 2 hours floating around. My family have brought me a snorkle to use for my birthday - which is great!
    We headed back after sunset and stopped at a reggae bar for a quick drink, the whole bar was awesome with cool features such as a waterfall, it was really nicely set up! We had the whole bar to ourselves and enjoyed a pint and suddenly had a lady and man, who both really couldn't sing, on a soundsytem not dialled, were screaming reggae tunes to us and terribly. We quickly finished our beers and left.
    We headed for another Thai curry, we absolutely love the food here, the street food, restaurants are amazing. Truly a reason in itself to come back and neither me or Grace have had food poisoning (touch wood) yet. We headed back to our hotel and had a beer by the pool. We headed to our room to pack so we can have abit of a lie in tomorrow before heading to Koh Phangan.    Read more

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    16. 1. Koh Phangan

    June 29, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Today we headed to an island north of Koh Samui called Koh Phangan . We packed our bags and dropped off our little moped before catching a taxi to the ferry port.
    Luckily we were running early this morning as we managed to get dropped off at the wrong ferry port ! Once this was resolved , we had a coffee and waited for the passeneger speed boat to collect us for 1230.
    The boat ride was about half an hour and was really choppy the whole way , so choppy that some people had started to feel sick near us.
    When we arrived in Koh Phagnan, we rented a moped from a company based at the ferry port . James went to get some fuel and drop some bags off at our little bungalow whilst I waited with the other bags . James came back to collect me and go back to the bungalow - which we are both super chuffed with as it has a wonderful view of the swimming pool at the front , and the sea from the side.
    Both of us had some toast and a coffee at the restaurant in the resort before heading off on the moped to a beach called Haad Thong Reng. This beach was 20 minutes north of our hotel and was really isolated and untouched . It was a national marine park so we had to pay to enter.
    At the end of the main beach was a bridge which initially looking at it structurally we were both warey to cross, but after watching someone do it we headed over ourselves one by one. The beach was secret and its not visited often as you have to go through an abandoned resort to get there. However when you reach the beach you are greeted with huge boulders and Coral reefs -snorkeling heaven, its getting better the further north and closer we are getting to Koh Tao. With only 1 other couple on the beach, felt really private, we snorkled for a while. When we returned to the beach we suddenly realised this was also a nudist beach. We were leaving anyway so left them to it! We headed back to our new cabin, and ate at the restaurant home cooked by a Thai older lady and food is delicious , just like we had read online.

    Early night ready for James' birthday tomorrow, we have a special trip to the Ang Thong National Park, a full day boat trip with hiking, snorkeling and many views, we are super excited!    Read more

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    17. 2. Birthday trip to Ang Thong part 1

    June 30, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Today was my birthday so we had a boat trip booked. We got collected at 8ish and headed to the dock, the boat left about about 9. We managed to get a top deck view and had big pads to lie down on, we cruised across to Ang Thong Marine Park which took about 1hr and half. We first stopped off at a renowed snorkle spot at Ko Mae Ko and had an hour to explore both me and Grace jumped off the boat from about 20ft which was great fun! We spent the next hour exploring caves and the wildlife, it was stunning here best snorkeling yet. I have spent a while downloading videos and screen shotting so I can show you what it was like. I accidentally kicked the coral sorting my googles and cut the top of my foot which we sorted out on the boat.

    We sailed on, around the coastline and were greeted with a stunning beach with steps up to the Emerald Lagoon. This was seen on the film the beach, with Leonardo Dicaprio. The steps were ridiculously steep and we were exhausted! The lagoon is a seawater lagoon but has an algea which makes it an emerald colour, it's has many fish, but not safe for human to swim in.

    We then headed off on the boat again to another island as this island has a viewpoint where you can count nearly 30 of the 42 islands, the view point however is 600mtrs high and it's humid and very hot. However we were determined and got to the top, and the view did not disappoint. It was stunning with all the little coves and mountainous jungle with the backdrop of the turquoise sea! We headed back to the boat and had a cruise back for 2 hours which was awesome too. Once back both of us felt a little dizzy from the sway of the boat, suppose it didn't help sitting right at the top! We had a nice Mexican meal for a change from Thai and I spoke to all my family as it has been a while which was great, travelling is a busy lifestyle! Great and memerable birthday. We went for a drink on the beach and then headed to bed!    Read more

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    18. 3. Koh Phangan

    July 1, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    The weather really didn't look promising this morning , it was grey and very windy but it wasn't raining so we decided to head out to the beaches anyway, first stop being Koh Ma beach . One end of the beach had beautiful palm trees and white sands , the other end was very rocky . We walked the length of the beach with our legs stinging due to the sand and the wind! There was nowhere protected from the wind, so we didn't stay very long.
    Haad Salad was the name of the next beach we visited , luckily the weather had improved a little and there was lots more space on this beach . We explored the beach but decided not to go snorkeling because of the grey sky and the wind. Instead, we stopped off at the cafe and had frappucinos (not salaad😂) whilst admiring the waves for a while .
    There were some weekly markets selling food and clothes not too far from us , so we slowly headed in that direction , stopping off at haad yao beach first .
    The first market was quite small and only sold food . The food was amazing though! We bought some fish tempura and a wrap for dinner.
    The second market was really busy and lively , absolutely packed with food and clothes stalls . We had a look around here for a couple of hours, and enjoyed a cold drink on the beach front afterwards .
    We drove back to our little bungalow and did some washing , we also booked our accommodation for Koh Tao , where we will be visiting next !    Read more

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    19. 4. Koh Phangan Full Moon Party

    July 2, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Today we had a super relaxing day at the resort although a card machine swallowed James' card and we now cannot retrieve it in time until we leave the island. We wanted to conserve our energy for the famous 'Full moon party'. We had a few beers and got a taxi day down to the party, upon arrival it was mayhem, 20000 people, rammed onto one of Koh Phangan beaches. Music and lights everywhere, lightening lighting up the sky in the distance. Neon body paint, buckets full of booze and weed stores everywhere! We walked around having a dance here and there and watched fire actors and crazy drunk people attempting to jump over a rope on fire. It was a great experience to do but certainly a mad one, we found a place playing music we enjoyed so stopped here for a while before getting some food and heading home. As we are up as leaving for Koh Tao 'the wild wild west island' tomorrow morning.Read more

  • JG TRAVELSThailand 🇹🇭 Part 1 '23JG TRAVELS

    20. 1. Koh Tao (wild wild west)

    July 3, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    We have landed this afternoon in Koh Tao, branded the wild wild west island as supposedly the island is controlled by mafia. There have been several strange deaths on the island, many involving brits aswell. So we must keep our wits about us here but so far seems lovely! It's the snorkling mecca of Thailand and in top 10 of the best places in the world to snorkle and dive. So of course, the first thing we do is rent a scooter, grab our snorkles and head to a renowned beach. By the time we had some food and headed in it was about 5 o'clock so sadly abit late in the day however... Under the water we were greeted with magical corals and fish all colours, we saw barracudas and huge shoals of fish. In the hour we were in, we saw more than all the trips combined.. It is amazing! We think we may want to stay here rather than move on a few days, time will tell, we have so much of the island to see, turtles, sharks and we may even do a diving session, they are rather expensive but we are loving exploring the ocean so far so may be a worthy investment. We headed back to our hotel, which we got an upgrade to superior with sea view - which is nice! And about to head for dinner. Koh Tao you are magical! We cannot wait to explore more of your coastline!!Read more

  • JG TRAVELSThailand 🇹🇭 Part 1 '23JG TRAVELS
    2

    21. 2. Koh Tao

    July 4, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Freedom Beach.

    We went to bed really late last night looking at scuba dive sites online ! We are seriously considering booking the open water course to get certificated but it's very expensive !
    We woke up later the following morning and headed out to freedom Beach on the moped. Freedom beach is a very popular beach due to its white sands and shading by the thian trees, its also a great spot for snorkeling due to its shallow coral reef.
    We stopped off for some food at the little cafe before finding a place on the beach to leave our gear whilst we snorkelled.
    The sea was the warmest we have experienced yet- must have been high 30s in some patches ! We spent ages in the sea admiring shoals of colourful fish , baby barracuda and much more . Some of the fish we saw today were huge , it was amazing to be so close to them !
    We had to be quite careful when we swam back to the beach as the coral was so spikey and shallow . We only sat on the beach for about 45 minutes before going back in the sea due to the heat! We stayed in for as long as we could and waited till sunset before we left the beach .
    We stopped off at loads of shops on the way home , trying to find one that was open due to power cuts around the area. We eventually found one and headed back to our hotel room . We are going to look at ongoing bookings tonight and order some food to our hotel room-Koh Tao you are amazing so far!!    Read more

  • JG TRAVELSThailand 🇹🇭 Part 1 '23JG TRAVELS

    22. 3. Koh Tao

    July 5, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Today we headed to a well known beach called Mango Bay . We read that the coral reef is on either side and the sandy seafloor gives the water that turquoise glow. We also read that accessibility is difficult due to the road quality and gradient !
    We stocked up on water and made our way there . The first part of the dirt road wasn't too bad , James did very well to pick good paths through the track ! We arrived at a junction and saw that the track got much steeper and bumpier , so we decided to ditch the moped and go on foot . The gradient was so steep , even we were slipping down on our feet . We matched other people on mopeds go down and they were skidding everywhere !
    At the end of the track was a little path leading down through the jungle toward the beach . We took a gamble and just took it . After a long, steep walk down the hill we made it - passing through yet another abandoned resort on the way.
    We left our belongings in the shade and headed for the sea , we were in the water for hours again , stopping in between for a quick break . The snorkeling was just brilliant here , we saw so many fish of different colours and sizes: barracudas , parot fish , angel fish were just a few of them . At one stage we stopped to clean our goggles and James felt something hit into him quite hard , we looked down and saw it was an huge angry trigger fish 2 foot from us ! James called him a little bastard and we swam off slowly , luckily with no more attacks! (as later we learnt they can actually cause a huge amount of harm, taking chunks or fingers off, to top it off they are poisonous so that complicates bites).
    After all the excitement we chilled on the beach until it had started to cool down a bit before braving the steep and long walk back.
    We got sorted back at the hotel and headed out for a Thai curry just down the road.    Read more

  • JG TRAVELSThailand 🇹🇭 Part 1 '23JG TRAVELS
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    23. 4. Koh Tao

    July 6, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Today we headed to Aow Luek Beach, as we had heard about the sharks and amazing coral reef they have running both sides of the beach. We took the moped and stopped for some lunch at the funky coconut tree restaurant. We headed off and immediately were greeted by 2 reef sharks swimming around the bay, this was super exciting and we watched them for abit. We carried on and snorkled the best part of a kilometer down the coast. The whole bed was covered in new growth coral and glistening with wildlife which is great to see as coral reefs have been damaged by the seas rising temperatures. The hottest day ever globally was on 4th July and this will probably be broken again before the end of the year. Sadly the delicate wildlife are first to suffer from our actions with global warming and we are all guilty of contributing, we are well aware our footprint is huge flying all this way to travel, it's always a catch 22 unless we all decide to live in caves 😂.

    After another great day snorkeling we decided...
    As Koh Tao has such amazing marine life our trip of Thailand has actually changed and we are no longer heading to the Phi Phi islands, but staying in Koh Tao and completing a training program in Scuba Diving, we are doing a 3 day course with home study. If we pass we are certified then to scuba dive anywhere in the world for life which is pretty exciting and daunting all in one.
    We were keen to start our scuba diving e learning as alot of the course is study at home. Once at the hotel , we sorted out all our washing and made a start . The module we are learning is almost 100 pages long ! We thought we should tackle as much as possible , so we ordered some pizzas to our hotel whilst we were reading through everything .
    We managed to get to bed for a reasonable time , ready for our first day of scuba diving tomorrow !    Read more

  • JG TRAVELSThailand 🇹🇭 Part 1 '23JG TRAVELS

    24. 5. Koh Tao Diving

    July 7, 2023 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    So Today was the day- we were collected and taken to the dive centre where we met fellow students and got our gear sized up. We headed to their training pool and had about 2-3hrs of theory based on what we had learnt the night before at home. Me and Grace were the only two to start yesterday so we are in our tutors good books already 😂.

    We learnt about all the emergencies which can happen and how to deal with them. We had a break and headed to the pool. We got geared up and got used to breathing underwater which is a wierd but great sensation. We practised loosing our mouthpiece and if our googles came off or steam up. We had alot of time practicing this as googles off is hard to empty when you are 3 mtrs deep but the techniques shown did work. We practiced bouyoncy control as this is very important so you float along rather than get pulled up or down. This is hard to master so hopefully will be easier tomorrow in the sea as its easier to control in salt water. We stopped after a couple of hours in the pool and had some lunch.

    Me and Grace were given extra 60 pages of theory to do tonight so we ended after lunch and all headed back to our hotels to complete the workbook, luckily we started yesterday as the others have 100 pages and 6 tests to pass. Tomorrow will be our first ocean dive and we are heading back to Mango Bay shallow part to first practice all our safety procedures and then we are heading deeper into the outside coral reefs which will be awesome! So excited!

    We have a new friend called Milky, an adorable dog of the scuba centre, he runs around the neighbourhood like he owns it. He has his own Instagram and we made it onto his page with our funny photos. We love you Milky (sorry Maggie, we miss you lots! And no Milky isn't as cool as you)

    We are about to head for some food to have an early night ready for tomorrow. So stoked to be expanding ourselves not in an academic or work setting learning new skills whilst travelling and exploring more of the beautiful marine life here at Koh Tao!

    Ps. Unfortunately we didn't take any personal pictures.. We are so involved in what we were doing it didn't even cross our minds. We will take some tomorrow I can assure you!    Read more

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