Bucket list tick and sam grows a pair of balls

11.07.2016

Day 5: 7th November
I honestly do not know where to begin!

My day started with an 8.30am collection whereupon we headed for a Kayaking centre just outside of Aaonang. Now, I haven’t Kayaked since I was about 16 and was still in the scouts and lets face it, i’m not known for my fitness; so needless to say 5 minutes in my arms we killing me! This was a good kick up the arse to get myself fit and strong in prep for next years adventure. I say this but actually after the initial burn, as my muscles warmed up the arm burn subsided and I really enjoyed being on the water. So much so I may looking to a local kayaking club when I get home..

We kayaked from a beach hut and into the jungle where I saw a multitude of natural beauties. We also passed a water cemetery where sea gypsies bury their dead. You could actually see a decayed and mummified dead body!! Luckily I didn’t have my glasses on so couldn’t see the full detail of the corpse! I saw a monkey, some weird jumping fish that looked like slugs with fins, blue and yellow crabs, a teeny tiny monkey and her baby, and scenery like i’ve never seen before.

Our guide James shared my Kayak as I was the only solo traveler on

the trip, however this was actually a strike of luck as he gave me my own personal tour and told me about where rivers led, how the water rises with the moon and forms new river ways etc. Being on the water I don’t have too many photos to share with you at this stage, however I did have my go pro camera on a head mount, so when I get home I i’ll edit and post the video footage so that you can see just how truly beautiful and peaceful this place was. O and I didn’t capsize like I was expecting to do, so I was pretty chuffed with myself for actually keeping dry and for being physically fit enough to do this without any struggle.

Come 12/1pm we headed back to the beach hut where we had some lunch. This was by far the best food I have eaten so far since being here. Fried fish with chilli, chicken and vegetables Thai style, rice, more vegetables - it was divine! Plus after the physical activity I was hank marvin so it was lucky I actually liked the food!

We then proceeded to head for....

The Elephant Sanctuary!!!!!!!!!!!

The other half of our group had only booked the half day kayak, so

after lunch there were only three of us remaining: Tony the engineer from Liverpool and his wife the lovely doctor Josephine.

Now I cannot explain to you how excited I was about this. Elephants are my favourite animal in the whole world, so I was naturally nervous about the conditions they were being kept in. You hear stories about mistreated animals quite often in Thailand, however thank the lord, this really was a sanctuary for elephants. They all looked incredibly healthy, had no scars on their ankles nor showed any sign of abuse. I was relieved as hell to see this as I’d hate the thought that I was funding some dodgy abuse hostel for animals. So I can safely say I was happy where my money was going on this occasion.

NB - I will soon post links to the website where I booked all of my day trips, in case any of you fancy booking one of my tours yourself at

some point. Tried and tested and Sam certified!

So being a solo traveller I got to ride on my own in the seat and felt a little like a 19th century silk trader or royalty! How goes it down there peasants! Haha

My guide allowed me to climb down from my seat and actually sit on the elephant's head. I’m amazed by how hairy they are!The elphants I mean, not the Thai men. They also aren’t as ‘dry’ as I was expecting and was surprised by the thickness of their hair. I would probably compare the thickness to a scrubbing brush bristle if not thicker...
We walked through rubber plantations (I got a souvenir of a piece of rubber taken straight from the tree) and also saw Joe and Tony’s elephant scratch its butt against a tree which had me in stitches. There were butterflies the size of my hand, and my god, have you

seen how much an elephant wees!!! The poos were the size of my head and the wee caused puddles the size of a coffee table. Note to self, if ever you return to see an elephant don’t step in puddles - It is not rain!

There was also a snake but I refused to look as I hate them and knew i’d freak out, which I didn’t want to do that high up on an elephant. So I told the guide to move the F on or i’ll kill him. So we did. We then walked through a little brook and river back to where we had mounted these magnificent beasts. We then fed the elephants, had our photos taken and walked around snapping the others. We could have swum with them if we wanted to, but to be honest I couldn’t be bothered to get wet so opted to photograph them some more instead.

NB- Hailey, be prepared for lots of prints of elephants to be put up in our flat soon! Lol

By the time we were done and back at the hotel it was 3-4pm, so I grabbed some food and took a little nap. I then pulled myself together and headed out for the evening on my tod. Now this was the second time that day I had done something I had never done before.

I went to a bar on my own!
You may laugh, but I have never sat in a sociable setting (that wasn’t a restaurant) on my own, so I was a bit nervous. This trip is proving to me that nerves should be ignored. I was incredibly nervous about traveling alone - but look at me now! I’m a solo traveller convert and loving every minute of it! The same theory applies to this scenario - I HAD A BLAST!

I found a bar with a live rock band and settled myself in at the back. The waitress then enquired if I was on my own and would I like to join a gentleman on the other side of the room who was also alone.

Band-aid theory
- pull it off quick!
This seems to be my motto at the moment.
Don’t hesitate and just say yes.
So I did.

It was here I met Civil servant Fabio from Rio, Brazil. Fabio wasn’t actually alone, his boyfriend was in bed asleep back at the hotel, so Fabio had headed out on his own and like me, had heard the awesome band and followed his ears. We shared a love for rock music and proceeded to sing our hearts out for the rest of the evening. Somehow I then ended up chatting to a man on my right

called Jochen from Munich, Germany, who was also on his own as he had been on business in Bangkok (he’s a consultant) and had extended his trip by 4 days in order to explore the south of Thailand.

So there we were sat, the three rock enthusiasts, alcohol in hand, no longer loners, getting rather merry together and having a bloody good time! It was perfect really - I had found Krabi Aaonang to be full of loved up couples which Jochen had also commented on; so it was nice to find people in the same boat as me. We left the bar at 1am-ish as I still had to pack in the morning for the next leg of my trip. Didn’t fancy doing that with a killer hangover, as the kayak hangover had been enough as it was and I was still tired from the night before. So off to bed I stumbled!

Safe to say, I now have an Oktoberfest buddy I can go stay with in Munich. Beerfest here I come! Lol

Fabio was unsure what he was doing the next day, so I told him where I was going to be moving onto and staying, and so we made a very vague plan to meet up on the island of Koh Phi Phi.
As I type this I am on a boat on route to Phi Phi (8th Nov) which is approximately a 1.5hours journey. I plan to only spend one night here as it is a bit touristy apparently after being featured in the movie The Beach, starring Leonardo di Caprio. Will still be nice to see it all the same, and i’m keen to get my butt into the sea which I haven’t actually managed to do as of yet. Don’t have a clue where my hotel is nor how I will get there, but i’ll deal with that as of when.
TTFN xxx

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