Today I looked in the mirror and realized what I have become...a dirty backpacker. Some may remember me as the type of person to walk down cobblestone roads (and even up London tube stations!) in high heels and dragging a suitcase behind me. Well, that girl has been replaced by one who lives in flip flops, the same 3 tank tops and is constantly sweating. Lovely. I do of course try to class it up in the evenings when we go out, but for the most part, it is too hard to look decent when your carrying your own body weight on your back!
Right now I'm writing from a cafe in Phuket town, but I'll be leaving tomorrow to catch my flight to Kuala Lumper. I am staying in the sketchiest place...my sink doesn't even have a drain, it just has a hole where the water runs onto the bathroom floor! And the toilet is the kind you see in public washrooms where you have to pour water in it to "flush" it. But it is way cheaper than any other place here, and as long as I don't see a cockroach, I am happy. Oh, another thing about traveling alone...accommodation split one way costs a lot more than accommodation split three ways!
The last few days were spent in Railey, which is a beach town close to Phi Phi. Railey has to be by far the most beautiful place I've been in Thailand thus far. It has huge cliffs everywhere and is so green and lush. It's also the most laid back place I've been so far! As we discovered the first night, there isn't so much of a nightlife as just a couple bars playing chill out music, or just really random pop music. I guess it was good to relax, but after Phi Phi, it definitely makes you miss dancing!
Railey is known for its rock climbing, and since Samui, I definitely felt like I could use some exercise! Bethan decided to sit this one out, so me and Freja did a half day of rock climbing. Our instructor was with a company called "Thai'd Up" (so clever, I had to mention it!) and was awesome! It was only the two of us that he took out, so we got lots of attention and more climbs in. He taught us how to belay, and tie the knots and everything. The first climb was pretty small and clearly a confidence booster, but by the end of the lesson, we were both scaling 30 meter climbs. It felt SO good when you got to the top and when your climbing, that is the only thing on your mind. Definitely worth the money!
Later we hit up Ao Nang for the day, but honestly, I'm not sure what the fuss is about. It is a nice place, but I guess I am just glad we spent our time and nights in Railey instead. It's strange how the past few days just flew by! The girls are still in Railey then heading north to Chang Mai, and I am officially solo once more! Not sure if it will be as easy to meet people in Malaysia, but either way I think it will still be amazing to see. I've decided to spend about a week and a half in Malaysia, mainly since there are a lot of islands I want to visit. On the 16th of June, I'll be heading to Indonesia for about a week; just enough time for Jakarta and Bali! Check out the new pictures, again, they are really out of order, with the newest ones on the first page. Your best bet is to just read the captions at the top of the page!
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