I once again find myself in an internet cafe in Bangkok and can’t believe it’s been three weeks since I was last here. Time truly does fly…which is just as well as I’ve discovered my flight out of Bangkok has been cancelled and that I’m going to be here for another week or so.

Thanks to our lovely protesting friends down at the airports, the city is a mix of either very angry people, eager to return home or very happy people, glad to be getting their accomodation and meals paid for and making the most of the extra days here. Seeing as I have no job or anything of particular importance to head to, I am definitely one of the latter. I understand that those with young children and those with companies and clients need to get out of here asap, but the frustrating fact of it is nobody can leave. We’re all in the same boat and a laid back attitude is all you can have when things are utterly out of your control. One of the things you quickly learn when travelling is the fact that you have to be flexible and stress free to survive. A high maintenance approach and organised outlook is more hassle than it’s worth and it’s actually quite remarkable how quickly you settle into a carefree way of living.

Since my last entry things have been full steam ahead. Koh Samui was an interesting island…I think it really is a ‘love it or hate it’ place. Initially it was definitely a hate thing for me. We stayed on Chewang Beach and the main strip there is very Western. This is all good and well but when you have a McDonalds, Burger King and Subway all next to each other outside your hostel, it doesn’t feel that you are really experiencing any Thai culture (because I’m so cultured and sophisticated don’t you know…).

The disappointing streets were not helped by the weather – nothing but rain for 4 days straight. My best purchase in this country has by far been a waterproof mac (a giant bin bag) , coming in a variety of colours (again, a colourful bin bag), elegantly styled to cover your body (you look like a giant walking condom). Who said being a traveller wasn’t attractive?

On the last day on Samui, 4 of us hired a jeep – a metal box affair, no seatbelts (don’t be silly) with a strange clanging sound when it accelerated/braked/moved in general… It was nice to see more of the island  and a few of the sights. This included a ‘Mummified Monk’ (very mixed feelings about the corpse wearing sunglasses…) and meeting a group of Monks who were kind enough to bless us and give us bracelets, before waving a donation box in our faces….and there we were thinking we were special.

It was great to have such a productive day and for such a cheap price. You’re always trying to do things on the cheap and it reminded me of those Sainsburys ‘feed your family for a fiver’ adverts. Mr Oliver may be able to feed a family for five quid but can he hire a jeep and get petrol for the day for less than that? I think not. Jamie Oliver eat your heart out.

The drive back to our hostel was also an interesting experience – thanks to the storms and constant heavy downpour, most roads were flooded, some were closed and some weren’t closed when they really should have been (much to our terror). Coming from an area where flooding has never really been an issue, it was a real eye opener into the damage that it caused. Restaurants and shops were a few inches deep underwater and chairs and tables were all over the place, yet it was incredible how these peope just carried on. They were there, wading in the depths, smiles on their faces and unfazed by the destruction. I think it goes back to having the attitude of not trying to control the uncontrollable…if these people can see their work and homes being swept away, why can’t a bunch of tourists and travellers wait a few days to get back to their perfectly kept homes and businesses? It’s a fine line though when some of those waiting for flights have ill children or medical conditions or family matters to attend to. Should they wait their turn and take it as it comes or do they deserve special treatment or sympathy?

Back to the island hopping though, and once off Samui we had a full day of travelling to get to Koh Phi Phi. This too is one of the things that cannot be avoided and shouldn’t be dreaded as it’s all part of the experience. We were transferred from boat to coach to taxi to box on wheels and back to coach and ferry several times throughout the day – they could have taken us anywhere and perhaps we should have been more concerned but Thai time seems to run a little differently to English – when you are running late on your coach and thinking there is no way you will make your ferry, you find that the ferry has decided to take a break and sit in the harbour long after you’ve rushed to board it. Stress will get you nowhere in this country.

Phi Phi was a fantastic island – stunning, busy, small enough to get around without geting lost and with an incredibly upbeat vibe. After hunting out somewhere to stay – a perilous task in the dark, carrying a rucksack (a bag that is both your best friend and mortal enemy) – we headed to a beach party which was great fun and a great place to meet people, but a lethal event when we had a full day boat trip the following day. After waking up the morning after, picking what was left of my liver off the floor and heading out completely unprpared into the blaring sunlight, we got on a long boat which was to be our base for the day. Despite the hangover it was an amazing day. We snorkelled, hunted for sharks, saw beaches, went through the jungle and visited Maya Bay (where the film ‘The Beach’ was filmed). It was beautiful. Phi Phi is by far up there with the best places I’ve visited.

It’s odd how you can go from such a low on one island to such a high on another, something which I’ve found to be true of the whole trip so far. Homesickness was never something I thought about in great detail so now and again it has knocked me for six. It’s not that I want to go home or that I’d for a second consider leaving, it’s just now and again that you, often out of nowhere, get a stab of missing something about home. Whether it’s your bed, a hug from your Mum or a joke that a friend would find hilarious if they were with you. Bottom line is, you cannot avoid occasionally feeling a little down. Everyone I’ve met has been exactly the same…I think that it’s mainly at the two week mark of being away when it stops feeling like a holiday and the length of the trip kicks in a little more. Like I say though, it’s just as strange how immediately after feeling a little low, you can be on such a high. Something will snap you out of this unhappy bubble with a click of the fingers and you’ll wonder what you were missing in the first place. For example, a few days ago such a click for me was the accidental, but very brutal, killing of a millipede by a friend of mine and more recently, a sudden nosebled out of the blue that made me laugh so hard I cried. It’s exactly for this reason that I think I’m having the most amazing time (the highs in general, not the nosebled/murder). Once you learn that there’s nothing wrong with the occasional low, things become a lot easier.

Following our days on Phi Phi we made the long (and good Lord was it long) journey back up to Bangkok. Not only did we have the bus/boat/taxi scenario…we also had a supposedly 12 hour train journey (which was actually over 15 hours) which took us on the final leg of the trip. Despite having already visited Bangkok, the whole atmosphere and feel to the city gives such a buzz the minute you hit the station platform. It’s a place that’s constantly on the go, constantly crazy and terrifying and thrilling all at the same time. Being stuck here for a few days longer is not something I plan to complain about.

Yesterday was my 19th birthday and I already feel a bit older (perhaps the stress of the taxis and tuk tuks has finally broken me).  We went on a safari day to a park and zoo to celebrate and it was nothing like I’ve ever experienced. You could sit with the tigers and crocodiles, cuddle tiger cubs, ride the elephants, feed the deer, llamas, zebras an giraffes – which suck their necks through the windows so you could give them a hug (and then bathe in anti-bactarial stuff for a few hours) – and watch the lions and bears from a couple of metres away. Pure thrills, nothing but fun.

Drinks on Koh San Road provided the entertainment in the evening and thanks to a birthday badge made for me out of a razor packet, I got many hugs, drinks, kisses and cuddles as well as two birthday cakes.

Who’s a lucky girl then?