Magical Malaysia (Part 1) - Kouzelna Malajsie (1. Cast)

"The boss" is shouting Thai ... at some immigration people over the phone, it turns out that as we were crossing the border from Laos, the Thai officials had stamped Veronika's passport wrong. Anyway, it took the next hour to sort out but it wasn't too long before we were back on the train and on the way to Butterworth. We didn't hang around long in Butterworth, it is really just the mainland port town feeding Penang, and within the hour we'd jumped on the ferry, got a public bus to china town and were checking into our home for the next few weeks, Banana Guesthouse.

"Hlavni sef na imigracnim" pouziva thajskou rec, z ktere se absolutne neda nic vycist, mluvi s lidma na druhe strane telefonu, aby zjistili, ze jak jsme prochazeli hranicemi Laos/Thajsko, vlepili mi do pasu razitko se spatnym datem vystupu ze zeme. Trvalo jim to asi hodinu, obvolat vsechny ruzne mista. Takze ze snidane seslo a uz jsme byli zase zpet ve vlaku. Dorazili jsme do Butterworthu, kde jsme primo naskocili na trajekt, ktery nas prevezl na ostrov Penang. Odtama jsme se poprve zkusili svezt mistnim transportem a neutracet zbytecne za taxi, coz bylo vyborne rozhodni. Autobus nas odvazel do Cinske ctrvrti, kde jsme se ubytovali na par dni do Bananoveho Guesthousu.

We spent a few days exploring the capital, George Town, and working out our route around Malaysia. We took a trip to the beautiful Royal Botanical Gardens, and came across a few monkeys, lizards and the largest centipede we'd ever seen! But the heat was draining, made walking around was pretty hard, Penang really needed some rain to clear the air. The next day we jumped on the brilliant public buses and had a really scenic journey along the coast to the Tropical Spice Garden, a really interesting place 45mins outside Georgetown. They grow all sorts of really interesting plants and spices in a really stunning garden, after a little walk deep into the garden we stopped off for an ice tea break, and walked around the spice museum. After a few minutes in the museum, our previous day’s wishes were granted . . . in style! The heavens opened and poured all over us. We took shelter for a little while and then decided to make a break to reception and onto the bus stop. It was getting a little late but still with plenty of time we were shocked to turn up at an empty reception with lights off and all the exit gates (pretty large ones) locked. We were locked in, but not only that the storm had started getting worse. We eventually realised no-one was going to let us out and were beginning to worry we'd miss the last bus back so we climbed a fence and took shelter under a shop by the bus stop like a pair of drowned rats.


Par dnu jsme stravili procchazenim se po "hlavnim meste" George Town a taky premysleli, co chceme vlastne v Malaysii videt a odkud kam povede nase cesta. Jeden den jsme navstivili botanickou zahradu, bylo to tam moc pekne, videli jsme par opic, jesterek a zatim nejvetsi stonozku na nasi ceste. Prochazky byli docela narocne kvuli horkemu pocasi. Bylo by dobre kdyby trosku zaprselo, aby se procistil vzduch. Dalsi den jsme naskocili na autobus a nechali se vysadit v Zahrade tropickeho koreni, byla to velice zajimava prochazka pres maly lesik s ruznymi korenim posazenych podel stezky. Jak nas sipky dovedli k male restauraci na kopci zahrady, rozhodli jsme se udelat si prestavku. Po lehkem obede jsme zavitali do muzea koreni, ktery bylo hned vedle. Uz pri vstupu do muzea se vitr zacal zvedat rychleji a rychleji, nez jsme se nadali mracna se protrhli a zaclo prset a jak. Takze jsme neotaleli a sebehli jsme dolu k recepci. K nasemu uzasu recepce byla prazdna, svetla vsude pozhasinane a velka zelezna brana zamknuta velkou kladou. co ted? Rikali jsme si. Protoze jsme si nebyli jisti, kdy jedou posledni autobusy a uz bylo pozdejsi odpoledne, rozhodli jsme se prelest branu opodal zatimco na nas valily kyble vody. Pak jsme mokri jak mysi dorazili na zastavku az jsme se zanedlouho dockali autobusu s klimatizaci uvnitr, ktera opravdu nebyla zapotrebi na nasi jedno hodinove ceste zpet. Zmrli jak rampousi jsme dorazili zpet do hostelu.

Another day and another public bus journey around the island to the Tropical Fruit Farm. We both had a great day shown around and told stories about each of the fruits by our charismatic guide. Then at the end filling our bellies with all the fruits we'd just seen. One thing we will take away with us was all the stories of mental and physical achievements, according to our guide; all with one thing in common . . . they all eat bananas everyday.

Den pote jsme opet naskocili na autobus a tentokrat se nechali odvest to Zahrady tropickeho ovoce. Nas pruvodce byl velice cili postarsi muz, ktery nam vypravel prihody, jak ovoce psychicky a fyzicky ovlivni cloveka. Co pomaha nejvice je. Snez alespon 1 banan denne, cimz se ridil i on a vypadalo, ze to fakt fungovalo. Pote, co jsme prosli zahradou, mohli jsme vyzkouset vsechno ovoce, ktere jsme vydeli na stromech a kericich. Nektere chutnali hodne zvlastne.

Then it was time to move on and begin the journey to Taiping. We spent a couple of nights in the strange town of Taiping; one day explored the very lovely Lake Gardens and our favourite zoo. Walking around the place you hardly see any animal keepers, in fact the animals are so free they are in each others compounds, and monkeys and lizards walking around with you. At one point whilst trying to get a close up, Veronika was given a bit of a scare by a particularly aggressive monkey. But apart from that Taiping had a weird atmosphere, not for one minute did it feel welcoming and comfortable, so we decided to move on pretty quick to the Cameron Highlands.

Nase dalsi zastavka bylo mesto Taiping, kde jsme stravili 2 noci. Mesto melo velice zvlastni atmosferu. Jako by se tam zastavil cas nebo co. Navstivili jsme Jezirkovou zahradu, coz byla pekna podivana a pak se vydali do ZOO. Byla to moje prvni zkusenost byt v Zoo jako byla tahle. Zvirata byla spolecne ve vybezich a opice a obrovske jesterky se tam prochazeli jako ve volne prirode. Jednou na me dokonce zautocila opice, ktera si myslela, ze se mi snad zachtelo snist jeji cerstve nasekanou travu. Po tehte 2 dnech bylo nacese se opet posunout. Mame namireno do Cameronovych vysocin.

When we stepped off the bus I marched in the direction the Lonely Planet suggested*, ignoring all the guys offering good deals on accommodation straight to Papillion Guest House. The price seemed good, double room with bathroom and the couple running it were very pleasant. However after a walk around and then a couple of hours before bed it became apparent this place was cheap for a reason. Mould and rot became more and more noticeable and each breath the stale rotten air felt like it was infecting you. One night was enough in that place, and whilst I was negotiating the terms of our refund, Veronika found a place round the corner much more to our liking. The Indian guy running it was really nice and I think he had a soft spot for Czech's as he was learning the language and showed us the guestbook with all his Czech guests from the past (I knew there was a good reason to bring Veronika with me!).

* after Malaysia I would come to hate the Lonely Planet after it seemed to write pretty much the opposite of everything we needed!

Kdyz jsme vystoupili z autobusu v Cameronovych Vysocinach Pete ignoruje vsechny nabidky na ubytovani a zaslepene nasleduje jeho cestovatelskou prirucku, ktera uz nas nekolikrat zklamala. Ale co, nasli jsme misto, ktere bylo v prirucce a ubytovali se tam. Zdalo se, ze nabidka je lacina a bude to stat za to. I majitele byli velice prijemni. Coz ale to, kdyz jsme pozdeji zjistili, ze jsme ubytovani v plesnivem pokoji bez ventilace a okna. Jedna noc plna vdechovani plisne ale byla az az a tak zatimco Pete rano vycouvaval z naseho 3 denniho pobytu, ja jsem nasla pekny cisty a utulny pokoj s velice milym provoznim, ktery jak se zda mel slabost pro Cechy. Ukazoval mi, jeho poznamky v cestine, knihu hostu, kde bylo spousta Ceskych prispevku a taky pohledy z ceske republiky, ktere mu hoste poslali nazpet. Taky jsem mu jeden slibila, ale musi si jeste par mesicu pockat.

The Cameron highlands are famous for their beautiful walks and the fact that being so much higher above sea level the temperature is much cooler. We really loved our time there, during the day it was much more bearable conditions for hiking, so we done a couple of the many trails in the area. We also did a really good half day guided trip around the area, taking us to the spectacular tea plantations, strawberry farm, butterfly farm, markets, Chinese temple and rose garden. One of the most enjoyable days of our travels so far! Then Veronika and I celebrated our 3 years since meeting, by taking a trip back to the tea plantations and then rather than the driven tour before, walking through them and making our way to have cake and local tea at the cafe at the top with some of the most gorgeous views around. Then it was off to pick some strawberries and head back for dinner at a really good Chinese place we'd found. Words don't do this place justice; take a look at some of the pictures to see yourself how great it is.

Cameronske Vysociny jsou zname prevazne krasnymi prochazkami v prirode. Diky nizsi teplote vzduchu bylo mnohem jednodussi zdolat par mini vyslapu. Jeden den jsme si zakoupili pul denni vylet. Navstivili jsme Cajove plantaze, Jahodovou farmu, Motyli farmu, trznici, Cinsky chram a Ruzovou zahradu. Byl to opravdu super den! Behem casu straveneho ve Vysocinach jsme s Petem oslavili 3 lete vyroci od seznameni. Ten den jsme vyrazili na dlouhou prochazku do cajovych plantazi, kde jsme na konci okusili Cameronsky caj a k tomu prikusovali zakusek. Pak nas cekalo sbirani jahod a pozdeji super Cinska vecere. Je tezke popsat jaka je kolem nadherna krajina. Nicmene, podivejte se na fotky a posudte sami.

Next stop, the worlds oldest Rainforest, a place that has been around since the dinosaurs, and the freakiest insects we'd come up against so far...

Dalsi zastavka, Svetove nejstarsi destny prales, misto, ktere je tady od dob dinosauru, a nejvic nejohavnejsi hmyz, ktery jsme na nasich cestach mohli potkat...

...To be continued

...Pokracovani priste

The Islands (Part 2) - Ostrovy (2. cast)

Koh Phuket

We got a small boat to Koh Phi Phi and then changed straight into probably the best boat of our travels so far which cruised us in style to Phuket. We shared a minivan with a bunch of English guys who seemed pretty excited about getting to one of the worlds seediest holiday destinations, and eventually arrived in Kamala to check into Kamala Cocohut Resort. A week earlier we'd managed to sweet talk, via email, Cocohut's prices down to almost half price and although still at the limit of our budget we finally had somewhere with swimming pool. We took full advantage of this over the next few days, as well as hiring bikes to explore around. One of the days we dove to Patong to check out where my parents would be staying, looked very posh from what we could see the other side of the security barrier.

Phuket

Z Koh Lanty jsme odplouvali na mensi lodi, ktera nas dovezla k ostrovu Phi Phi,kde jsme jenom preskocili na dalsi lod, aby jsme mohli pokracovat v ceste na Phuket. Tohle nebyla jen nejaka lodka byl to hotovy parnik. Nejstylovejsi lod, na ktere jsme zatim pluli. Jak jsme pripluli do pristavu, cekali jsme chvili nez ridic poshani dostatek lidi do autobusu, aby nas mohl zavest na misto, kde uz jsme meli rezervovany nocleh na miste s nazvem Kamala Coco Hut. Meli jsme stesti, protoze sezona se blizi ke konci a tak jsme byli schopni usmlouvat cenu pres internet na polovinu. Areal mel k dispozici i bazen, kde jsme se cabrali celou dobu pobytu. Super! Jeden den jsme si pronajali motorku, abychom se podivali jak to vypada na jinych plazich a jeden z hlavnich ukolu byl najit hotel, kde budou Peteovy rodice ubytovani. Jak jsme uz z dalky mohli videt jejich ubytovani bylo hodne vzdalene nasemu rozpoctovemu. Moc pekny hotel, jak jsme pozdeji zjistili mel 3 bazeny, posilovnu, spoustu mist s masazemi, bar atd.

On the day they arrived we had couple of drinks round the corner and made our way to reception. The receptionist questioned me a few times after i wrote my mum and dads name wrong on the paper but finally passed me over to them and they came to meet us. That evening we had good old catch up with few beers at a dodgy Patong bar, whilst a local band played the classics to the western men looking for their Thai "ladies". We arranged to meet the next day at a beach we'd found and spent the day playing Frisbee, snorkeling and chilling out, before we had to get back to return the bike and begin packing for our check out. We thought we'd move into Patong as we were gonna spend as much time as possible with them, and tuk tuk's are twice the price of anywhere else in Thailand. So the next morning we dropped rucksacks at Same Same Guesthouse and went to meet Mum and Dad at their hotel for buffet breakfast. Even though it was coming to near the end Veronika and i managed to fill high to plates each before dad had even sat down. We then spent the next couple hours at their swimming pool, before going to check in at SameSame and then get some money out of the ATM. It was so hot and we were looking forward to getting back to the pool but between the machine giving Veronika's card back and when it should give you cash the power went and the machine didn't give out the 10,000THB (nearly £200, or as we'd come to work out over the next few weeks, 20 nights accommodation, 80 meals, 20 boat trips etc), our luck finally deserted us, we were furious. We spent a while dealing with it but got nowhere and eventually got back to mum and dad and the swimming pool to cool off.

Dalsi den jsme stravili skoro cely den u bazenu, na cestu jsme se vydali az k veceru. Dali jsme si veceri u plaze zatimco se Slunce ukladalo k spanku a pak jsme se sli sejit s Peteovyma rodicema, kteri v tu dobu zrovna dorazili. Slecna recepcni byla mila a i kdyz vypadalo, ze Pete ani jejich syn neni, protoze na papirek napsal jejich jmena ve zkraceninach (misto Andrew - Andy) a tak to recepcni na pocitaci nemohla najit, prohodila neco ve smyslu, jestli si je jisty, ze je jejich syn a zavolala je dolu na recepci. Vsichni jsme byli nadseni, ze se vidime. Zasli jsme hned na par pivecek do baru na hlavni ulici za doprovodu zive hudby. Pak jsme se rozloucili a sesli se dalsi den na plazi, kde jsme si hazeli diskem, trosku snorchlovali a pak se museli rozloucit, protoze jsme museli vratit motorku v urcitou hodinu. Ten vecer jsme se zbalili, aby jsme se rano mohli jet ubytovat blize k Peteovym rodicum a neutracet za dopravu, kdyz jsme vedeli, ze s nima budeme travit vetsinu casu. Ubytovali jsme se v hostelu Same Same a sli se potkat s rodicemi na snidani. Byla to bufet snidane, takze jsme si s Petem dali zalezet at jsou nase talirky poradne preplnene, protoze to pro nas byla oslava pri nasem rozpoctu, ze muzeme snit hodne za celkem malo. Po snidani jsme se sli osvezit v jejich bazenu a chodili se tak osvezovat jako "paraziti" zadarmo az do naseho odjezdu. V tento den bylo taky na case vybrat vice penez z automatu. Potom, co jsem si znova aktivovala kartu, ktera byla zablokovana, jsem si sla vybrat penize. A co se nestane, pri ukonu - odeberte hotovost - bankomat se jako mavnutim proutkem vypnut a penize mi nevydal. Ztratili jsme tak asi 6000kc, coz by mohlo byt bud 20 noci ubytovani, 80 menicek nebo 20 vyletu lodi!!! Nastvani jsme se vratili zpet k bazenu, aby jsme se z toho zchladili.

Anyway, we spent a couple more days by the pool and visted another local beach and then we went on a boat trip to Koh Phi Phi. At the first stop in the trip they gave us some bread and we did some snorkling in amongst thousands of fish. At one point after we left the water Veronika rather excitedly began telling us about this shiny thing she picked up and then when she realised they were teeth threw them away in her words feeling a little scared! Gold teeth! In mid conversation with some turkish guys on our boat my dad grabbed us and we went back to search for them, no luck! It also meant that we missed the longtail boat back to our boat so kept everyone waiting. Talking about it all later we decided that the 3 gold teeth veronika had found would easily have made up for the money lost in the ATM, even more furious! the rest of the trip went really well, some more snorkling, veronika and i swam to a beach at the Maya Bay stop, lovely lunch and then free time on the beautiful Koh Phi Phi. Still, despite some of our bad luck over the last couple days, we were still able to have good laugh over it all in the minivvan back when the turkish guy recalled "the crazy family running off into the water with their snorkles while i was talking to them . . ".

Dalsich par dni jsme se chodili koupat do bazenu a spolecne navstivili par dalsich plazi. Jeden den jsme se vydali na vylet lodi na ostrov Phi Phi. Pri prvni zastavce jsme byli vysazeni na pekne plazi. Byl nam dan chleba pro krmeni ryb. Tolik ryb! V zivote jsem nevidela plavat tolik krasnych ryb v tak pruzracne vode. Nadhera! O kousek dale jsme si nasadili snorchly, a jak uz jsem plavala zpet ke brehu, zahledla jsem neco blysticiseho. Chvili jsem do toho dloubala palcem u nohy a pak se rozhodla vzit to do ruky. Jak jsem zjistila, ze je to zubni proteza odhodila jsem ji zpet s pocitem, fuj neci zuby. Pak jsem se zminila pred ostatnima. Jak to Andy (Peteuv tatka) slysel, necekal ani minutku a oba nas vytrhl s omluvou z konverzace s jednim Turkem, ktery se ucastnil stejneho vyletu. Bylo mi receno, ze tenhle kousek zlata by mohl hrave nahradit financni ztratu, kterou jsme utrpeli den zpatky v automatu. Bohuzel zuby uz se nanasli. Kvuli honu za zlatymi zuby jsme taky zmeskali lod, ktera nas privezla ke brehu. (k brehu musi plout mensi lode, protoze u brehu je to melke) Takze na nas museli vsichni cekat. Bylo to smesne! Dalsi zastavka byla na plazi s nazvem Maya Bay, kde se natacel film Plaz. S Petem jsme doplavali na jednu z nich, pro pocit, ze jsme tam jednou stali. Pote jsme meli trochu volneho casu na jine casti ostrova. Dali jsme si pivko, schladili se v mori a vydali se zpet. Autobusem cestou na zpet jsme se dali do reci s tim Turkem a vysvetlovali jsme mu, co se stalo. Mohli jsme se potrhat smichy, kdyz nam rikal, ze mu to nedavalo moc smysl, ze cela rodina zacala najednout sprintovat se snorchly zpet do more, bez jakehokoliv vysvetleni. To musela byt podivana.

The following day we nursed sunburn by Mum and Dads pool (Veronika and I getting quite cheeky with security now, winking and greeting the guards with "sawadee" each morning) and took it easy before the spending the evening at the famous Phuket FantaSea, a kind of disneyland of thailand. The place was full of colour and culture and the grandest buffet meal you could imagine. Then it was into the show where they performed a kind of history of thailand through song, dance, special effects, illusions and acrobatics. It was pretty confusng but impressive and very watchable in particular the trapeeze acts above the audience. The following day Dad hired a car (pretty shocking and called "the tuk tik") and we drove to a cool waterfall and then down to a lovely beach for sunset beers. We then got showered and then headed out of our last meal together, a really delicious swiss fondue/bbq.

Den pote, cela Peteova rodina trpela ze spaleni Slunkem z vyletu, ja jak se zda mam odolnejsi kuzi a uz jenom hnednu. Kdyz prechazime pres vratnici tvarime se a delame, ze je vse v pohode, ze bydlime v hotelu a nezneuzivame areal. Zabira to. Takze cely den sedime u bazenu. Vecer nas ceka FantaSea Cirkus, je to neco jako Disneyland v Thajsku. Mame taky preplacenou veceri v pohode bufetu. Oh, jak jsme se prejedli, mela jsem pocit, ze mi praskne bricho. Predstaveni bylo zajimave. V nekterych chvilich jsme presne nevedeli o co bezi. Kostymy byli pekne, lidi tancili, videli jsme nejake kouzla a letajici akrobaty. Dalsi den Andy pronajal auto, takze jsme vyrazili na vylet podivat se na mistni vodopad. Voda byla hodne osvezujici. Pak jsme se zastavili na plazi, kde jsme vypili par piv a vsichni sledovali zapad Slunce. Jak jsme prijeli zpet, sprchli jsme se a sesli se na posledni spolecnou veceri ve svycarske restauraci, kde jsme si dali fondue, coz znamena, ze uprostred stolu je maly sporak na nem specialni nadoba s horkym olejem, prinesou sirove maso a ruzne druhy omacek a podle toho jak kdo ma maso rad si ho opece podle chuti.

It was so great to see Mum and Dad, its difficult to explain but theres something really comforting to have them out for the week and to hear about people from back home. It kind of revitalises us for the next half of our travels. They also brought me out goodies - a travel pillow and few pairs of shorts and took some of our junk (I mean souvenirs) out of our backpacks. . . . and they spoilt us with some proper food for once.

Bylo super, videt Peteovy rodice, kteri tak svou navstevou rozpulili nas vylet. Jsme pryc na dlouhou dobu a je dobre videt povedome tvare. Vsichni jsme si to uzili. Privezli nam par veci, o ktere jsme je zadali nez dorazili a aby zpet nejeli na prazdno, tak jsme jim nabalili par nasich veci a ulevili tak nasim ruksakum, ktere uz byli plne k prasknuti.

In the morning they drove us and our rucksacks to a bus stop near the airport and we said our goodbyes, we saw a bus approaching so ran for it only for it to be a different bus. We were heading to Malaysia but whilst we were waiting we changed our route from SuratThani to Malaysia into Hat Yai to Malaysia. We had wanted to steer clear of the south as they have problems down there but we went for it and 7hr later we were checking at our hotel. 5am the following day we were back on the move, tuk tuk to the station and then train to Malaysia. At the border, i went through and was witness as the guy came out holding veronika's passport, he called another couple guys over and next thing we are put into a side room whilst the "boss" shouts thai and makes phones calls . . .

Rano jsme vyzvednuti Peteovyma rodicema, kteri nas vezou na zastavku odkud nam jede autobus smer Malajsie. Kdyz nas vysadi, jeden autobus zrovna prijizdi, tak se s tou nasi plnou polni rozbehneme a bezime a bezime, aby jsme zjistili, ze to vlastne neni nas autobus. Cekame asi dalsi hodinu nez prijede ten spravny autobus, ve kterem stravime horkych a upocenych 7 hodin. Jak dorazime na nadrazi je celkem pozde a tak se rozhodnem prenocovat a jet vlakem brzo rano. V 6 rano uz jsme na vlakovem nadrazi, nasedame a vlak nas odvazi smer Malajsie. Protoze je to prechod pres hranice, musime vysednout na jedne stanici, aby nam zkontrolovali pasy. Jsme jedni z prvnich na rade, takze bysme meli mit cas se i nasnidat. Pete projde a ja jim podam muj pas. Po chvili, kdy ten pohranicnik prelistoval muj pas dopredu a nazpet asi 5krat, vola kolegy a spolecne me odvadeji do imigracni kancelare, kde drzi muj pas, neco si rikaji v thajstine a ja nemam tuseni o co tady bezi. . .

. . . To be continued

. . . Pokracovani priste

The Islands (Part 1) - Ostrovy (1. cast)

It was lucky that they didn't really see our mishap with the lantern, i'm not sure they would let two people showing pyromaniac tendencies onto the boat. But luck has been on our side for much of the journey so far and it wasn't long until we were on our way to Koh Tao.

Nastesti si nikdo nevsiml, jak se snazime zapalit ten nestastny balon stesti, protoze si myslim, ze by asi nameli zajem pustit na palubu lodi 2 pyromany ze zahranici. Ale jak to tak zatim vypada, zda se, ze stesti je na nasi strane od te doby, co jsme zacli cestovat a nez jsme se nadali uz jsme byli na ceste na ostrov Koh Tao.

Koh Tao

Being a couple of days after one of the worlds biggest parties the whole area was very busy, expensive and we hadn't planned very well and just turned up thinking we could get somewhere. After a little looking we stumbled across a place where a very camp, but nice guy told they were full but they ad "VIP" beds available if we couldn't find anywhere else. These were roll out mattresses in the reception of the hotel and after a quick look around saw that most places were full and for £3 each and VIP status we thought why not?

Koh Tao

Po asi nejvetsi Sivestrovske oslave v Thajsku, kdy je kolem vsude plno, vse je predrazene a vetsina lidi se snazi navstivit i ostrovy kolem, je obtizne najit ubytovani, coz jsme si uvedomili az na ceste tam. Uz v pristavu jsme zjistili, ze musime cekat na dalsi lod, protoze ta drivejsi uz je plna. Takze, jak jsme dorazili na ostrov dorazili jsme na misto, kde sice nemeli pokoj na onu noc, ale meli neco, cemu rikali VIP postele. VIP postel byla madrace na recepci, ale za 90Kc a po dalsi hodine hledani kolem, jsme se rozhodli, ze to vemem.

Koh Tao has a large ladyboy scene, there were plenty of Queens discos and western men wining and dining their girl-boy-friends but it was all harmless enough, but to be honest the island was quite disappointing. We hired a bike a couple of times to explore but where ever we went we seemed to just be finding resort after resort of private beaches and over priced bar/restaurants, add the scorching heat to this and it all got quite frustrating at times. We also did a fairly forgettable boat trip with some average snorkeling, but which ended nicely at Nangyuan Island, a paradise overtaken by a dive resort but you cant help but be charmed by its idealic setting.


Koh Tao je plny muzatek, kam jen lidske oko dohledne. Neni tam nouze o nocni zabavu v podobe Queen Kabaretu a muzu stredniho veku ze zapadu, kteri tyto muzatky lovi v barech a maji s nimi romanticke vecere v restauracich. Ostrov sam o sobe byl ponekud zklamanim. Pronajali jsme si motorku, aby jsme to tam prozkoumali, ale krome resortu na resortu a spoustu soukromych plazi jsme nenasli nic. Taky jsme byli na jednom vylete na lodi, na ktery by jsme dokonce i zapomneli, kdyby jsme ho nemeli zaznamenany v deniku. Vec, ktera stala za zapomatovani byla posledni zastavka na onom vylete. Byl to ostrov, ktery vypadal jako raj, ale kdyz jsme si priblizili a vstoupili na ostrov, krasa byla zastinema velkou komerci.

We also had drinks with a couple we'd met in Vietnam, but after another couple nights we decided it was time to head off. We thought we'd give a night boat a try as they did packages to our next destination, Krabi, but how I wish we'd done something else. We arrived to a boat overflowing with backpackers, no beds left, not even space inside, so we were given a mat and had to sleep out on the top deck. Now, it wouldn't be so bad sleeping under the stars if we weren't holding on for deer life as the large junk of floating metal smashed through the waves, at its calmest its was still rocking more than any boat we'd been on. Dinner with fresh chillies before wasn't a great idea, i was so sick that i burst a couple vessels in my left eye! We arrived the next morning and then a few hours coach journey later we were in Krabi.

Na ostrove jsme narazili na par, ktery jsme potkali ve Vietnamu, po par vecerech stravenymi s nimi jsme se rozhodli, ze je cas vyrazit dale. Protoze turisticke kancelare na celem ostrove nabizeli nocni cestu lodi, (ktere nam usetri penizky za ubytovani) a pak dopravu autobusem na nasi dalsi destinaci, rozhodli jsme se, ze do toho pujdem. Jak jsme si prali hned po nastupu na palubu, aby jsme se takhle neupsali dablovi. I kdyz jsme meli zaplacenou postel na lodi, vse co jsme dostali byla rakosova podlozka na zadni palube lodi pod sirakem. Bylo tam tolik lidi, ze jsme vubec mohli byt radi, ze si muzeme natahnout nohy, ne vsichni meli to stesti. Jak ta preplnena lod vyplula asi po hodine jsme zacali narazet na velke vlny. Lidi, co se snazili prechazet z mista na misto padali jeden pres druheho. Tahle vodni houpacka neudelala Peteovi dobre. Chudak zvracel tak moc, az mu praskla zilka v levem oku, a to, ze mel na veceri jido s cerstvymi chilli taky nepomohlo. Pred nama tak byla jeste asi 8 hodinova vetrna cesta. Rano jsme dorazili do pristavu, odkud jsme byli odvazeni par hodin autobusem smer Krabi.

Krabi

Veronika had found a place through google a few days before and booked us in so we had none of the problems we'd had previously. They tried to put us in a dungeon of a room but after a bit of moaning we got a room with at least a little natural light. We headed out to explore a little and found a travel shop with possibly the nicest most cheerful man in the world and booked a boat trip. Then I think the previous nights experiences may have got the better of us as we ended up getting a box of doughnuts (bonus, buy one get one free, you should have seen Veronika's face!) and taking them back to the room.

Krabi

Par dni pred tim nez jsme opustili Koh Tao jsem nam rezervovala ubytovani v Krabi, aby jsme nemeli ty same trable s tim, kde slozime hlavu. Jak jsme dorazili do hotelu, soupli nas do pokoje, ktery vypadal jako sklep. Po rychlem rozhodnuti jsme si trosku postezovali a dostali tak pokoj, ktery mel alespon okno. Pak jsme se vydali prozkoumat mesto a nasli jsme turistickou kancelar s asi nejvic veselejsim chlapikem uvnitr. Zaplatili jsme si vylet na dalsi den a na ceste zpatky jsme se zastavili u stanku s koblizkama, protoze jsme byli presvedceni, ze po takove noci si zaslouzime malou odmenu. Jak krasny pocit mnou prosel, kdyz slecna u pokladny rekla - kup jeden druhy zdarma. S velkym usmevem na tvari jsme si tu lahodnou krabicku odnaseli zpet na pokoj.

We finished doughnuts for breakfast and got picked up at the hotel for the trip. What a great day, we started at a beautiful 3 islands connected by sand bars and walked across one onto the chickenless Chicken Island (named because of its shape). We then did the most unbelievable snorkeling at reef where it dropped off to about 15-20m, beautiful coral and various kinds of fish, neither of us wanted to leave but it was off for a lovely lunch at the next island stop. Whilst we where there splashing around an amazing storm began to develop and despite it cutting the trip a little short it was possibly as interesting to be caught in that. Back on the mainland we finished the day walking round an excellent night market with brilliant cheep Thai food and booked our boat to Koh Lanta.


Rano na snidani jsme dojedli zbytek koblizku a pote byli vyzvednuti autobusem na nas denni vylet. Jaky super den! Vylet zacal na 3 ostrovech, ktere byli spojeny pisecnymi "mostky", jeden z nich vedl na ostrov, ktery se jmenoval Kureci ostrov (to kvuli jeho tvaru), pak nas cekalo snorchlovani, ale jake. Pripadali jsme si jako ryby v dokumentarnim filmu. Byl to nejkrasnejsi koral, ktery jsme na nasi ceste zatim videli. Spousta barev, druhu ryb (Nemo, i rodinou), no proste nadhera. Pak jsme zastavili na dalsim ostrove, prekrasna plaz. Tam jsme dostali obed a protoze se blizila bourka, ktera nas pak jeste zastihla na ostrove, museli jsme se vratit zpet a ukoncit nas vylet drive kvuli bezpecnosti. I kdyz nas jeste cekal jeden ostrov, ktery jsme nevideli, i tak ten den stal za to. Pozdeji jsme vyrazili na nocni trh, kde jsme ochutnali spoustu thajskych dobrot a pritom se zastavili do stejne agentury zakoupit si dalsi lodni listek na ostrov Koh Lanta.

Koh Lanta

With the islands still in high/busy season we had a little stress getting a place but finally found a decent guest house a short taxi ride away. Koh Lanta is the furthest south we'd been and straight away you can see that in the food. Very much an Indian influence, with brilliant curries and breads and our guesthouse was no different. Run buy a nice muslim family, we were able to do most of our eating and booking through them. One day we hired a bike and drove down to the south to find a waterfall and some beaches, we got a puncture but managed to get the bike to a cool little mechanic shop who repaired it for me for £3.50. The waterfall could have been brilliant if there had been more water but it was a lovely walk through some forest, through a bat cave and back again. We also found a lovely little isolated beach where Veronika topped up her tan whilst i was doing man stuff and getting bike repairs. The next bike trip took us to the Chinese old town on the other side of the island and then through a rubber plantation to a cave. The cave was much bigger than i was expecting and it was pretty adventurous in places, at one point near the end we had to slide through a gap less than a meter squared. In between the bike trips we found a cool bar down on the beach and spent a few happy hours (they seem to last most of the night) there eating thai tapas and drinking long island iced teas, and on our last night there we bought a lantern for a thai family who were badly hit by the tsunami, and with their expert help managed to successfully launch putting to bed the ghosts of our previous attempt. It was then back on a boat and over to Phuket where in a few days time my parents were coming out on holiday.



Koh Lanta

Jak jsme dorazili na Koh Lantu vedeli jsme, ze je tato oblast je jeste v sezone, ale i tak se nam podarilo najit pekne a levne ubytovani. Bungalovy byly spravovany muslimskou rodinou, ktera nam pomohla zaridit spoustu veci, jako listky na dalsi ostrov, pujceni motorky atd. V den kdy jsme si pronajali motorku jsme meli v planu najit zdejsi vodopad. Na ceste tam se nam udelal defekt a tak zatimco Pete se toho ujal jako spravny chlap a jel najit opravnu, ja jsem zaujala misto na plazi a chytala bronz. Pote, co se Pete vratil, nasli jsme vodopad. Vodopad by byl peknejsi pro oko, kdyby mel vice vody, ale prochazka pres les stala za to. Behem ni jsme nasli i Netopyri jeskyni. Dalsi z nasich vyletu na motorce nas zavedl do dalsich jeskyni, mnohem vetsich. Tyhle jeskyne nemeli vzhledove daleko od pekla S certy nejsou zerty. Bylo to super dobrodruzstvi, protoze jsme museli lozit po zebricich, bambusovych mustcich a dokonce jit i na kolena a plazit se pres maly otvor. Behem naseho pobytu na ostrove jsme nasli maly bar na plazi, ktery mel "vesele hodiny", coz znamena, ze jsou napoje levnejsi v urcity cas. Par noci jsme stravili tam, pozorovanim zapadu Slunce, hranim karet, pocuckavanim koktejlu a kostovanim thajskych dobrot. Nas posledni vecer jsme si zakoupili balon stesti. Byla to charitativni pomoc rodine, ktera utrpela velke ztraty pri Thusami par let zpet. Tentokrat to dopadlo dobre, balon se vznesl a dokonce byl videt nejdele ze vsech ostatnich. Pak uz bylo zase nacase posunout se o kousek dal na ostrov Phuket, kde se za par dni sejdeme s Peteovyma rodicema.

. . . continued in Part 2

. . . pokracovani v 2. casti