The Corn Man

On the month where two Burmese guys get the death penalty for murdering two tourists on Koh Tao & the week where a 26 year old man is found dead floating in a pool on Koh Tao, my home for the next 9 days would be Koh Tao. After hearing all these stories and numerous others it didn't put me off the island at all.

After arriving into the pier and being bombarded by a swarm of taxi drivers I headed straight for the beach and didn't have a clue where I was going. I was just drawn in by the clear blue seas and the coconut palm trees. After walking for 30 minutes I noticed a high number of people (mainly tourists) covered in bandages & bruises.

After hearing stories from before I got there, had I walked into a mafia war zone?? After a couple of nights out and speaking to people, 99.9% of the bandages were from stupid tourists on motorbikes trying to show off, so I had no sympathy for them.

In Thailand there is literally a tattoo shop on every street, it's only a matter of time before I can't resist the temptation. After 1 drunken night involving beer pong and too many Mojito buckets I was nearly talked into getting one, but I stopped myself.

Many of the early days were the SAME SAME. I would wake up and get a mango smoothie and head the long 50m to the beach. Then I would have a lunch time special menu for £1.50 and then go back to the beach, all at a very slow pace. Sairee beach would be host to the best sunsets personally that I have seen in my life. In the 9 nights I was there I watched every sunset & every one was different and beautiful.

One of the sunsets I took a walk down to the pier and saw some of the locals fishing and I decided to sit with them while they fish. They let me have a try and I was lucky enough to catch a big fish!! Okay it

wasn't all me but I helped in the catching which is a first for me, so I was pretty chuffed with myself.

After a few days I was joined by a friend I had met in Chiang Mai a couple of weeks before. We then started to see some amazing scenes and explore the island. We hired motorbikes for a day to go to a beach next to a place called shark island. The roads were very steep and we were tested to the max, but it was worth the sweat and the adrenaline as the clear water was perfect for snorkelling. On the way back I needed help from a few of the locals to turn my bike round in the middle of a hill, but apart from that we done a good job with the steep hills.

After this accomplishment of the day before we decided to go on a 6km mountain trek. This was a real tester but it felt good to be walking and have a goal at the end. I was literally pouring with sweat up and down the steep hills to try and reach this everlasting Mango Bay, I had never sweated that much in my whole life. During the way we saw many people struggle on motorbikes which made me feel like I was doing the safer option. One guy ran out of petrol on the way up and had to turn back and roll down the hill. On the journey to middle earth we saw our first snake since being in Thailand but it was only about 15cm long, but it was definitely a snake!!!

As we spent most of the time on the beach we got to know all the local beach sellers, one being a corn and pineapple seller. This man was about 65 years old and he would walk up and down the beach constantly. He would carry

40kg on one of his shoulders all day and had shoulders the size of Stone Cold Steve Austin. He would always Come up to us with a smile and offer us some corn. The first few days I said no but after them first few days I brought a corn everyday. It was a good snack but I felt sorry for the man so I just brought it to give him some money. After being in Thailand for nearly 2 months he was definitely my favourite person and the hardest worker I had met.

It was time to leave the relaxed, slow paced lifestyle of Koh Tao and head for Bangkok before heading to Cambodia. I could of easily of spent another 3-4 months of my time on this island!! If anyone is heading to the islands this was definitely the best island by far and the less touristy.

Bangkok consisted of a couple of scorpions and a night out in the amazing Koh San Road, but nothing to hectic! This time I tested out the local transport and it was very impressive. The underground was very impressive and easy to use. Before you go into any underground station they have metal detectors, definitely an idea that London should utilise. The boat taxi was an easy method of transport and also very cheap to the usual TukTuk that everyone hops on. My time in Thailand was over but I would be back in a couple of weeks.

As we walked straight through the Cambodian border we was approached by child beggars and it was clear to see the big cultural change between where I had been and to here. I gave them a bottle of water and they seemed very happy and I was off on my way.

After being on the bus for 10 minutes the bus got a puncture and I thought to myself, this is going to be a very long trip. After them changing the tyre in a record 4 minutes with a team of mechanics it was like watching the formula 1 live, I was very impressed.

On making the long and gruesome trip to Cambodia our crew consists of an English, a German, an American and a Uruguayan.... The Uruguayan and the German are both being cocky about the World Cup and I have no defence!!! What a random mix though!!

After spending half a day in Cambodia the people are really nice and every child treats you like a celebrity. I have already had a game of football with a group of kids in the street and I have fallen in love with Cambodia already....