So after just over 3 months here, it is time to leave this island. It feels kinda strange, it has become my home but at the same time, I think I am ready to leave. This has been the longest I have stayed in one place for over a year! So I’m starting to get itchy feet. It doesn’t help that it’s low season here now so a lot of the restaurants and shops close. There are still a few local places open but it gets a bit boring having to eat at the same place every night. I have finished beginner levels 1, 2, and 3 of my course here so am now at the intermediate level which is pretty cool.

I have really enjoyed the school here. It has been hard work but I have learnt so much! I feel so much more confident talking to Thai people now and actually really enjoy it. It’s funny seeing how surprised they are initially when they hear you speaking their language but they really open up to you after that. I can also read and write the Thai script which I never expected I would learn! Especially in just 3 months. I had to write an essay in Thai as part of my final exam. It is such a hard language but the school manage to make it fun and I have really enjoyed learning here. At my last day at the school here I had a certificate ceremony and had to give a speech to the school in Thai! I was pretty nervous about it. I had been very sick in the days leading up to it so hadn’t had the preparation time I wanted but it ended up going pretty well! Here are a few pictures from my last day.

It is now just over a year since I quit my job and left the UK…and what a year it has been! The best year of my life! It has gone way beyond my expectations! It’s so funny to me now thinking back to when I was making this decision and all of the doubts and fears I had. I literally haven’t looked back for a second! It’s funny before I left, I had heard so many people talk about how travelling changes you, but I didn’t understand it. But it really does! It is hard to explain fully but it is like you leave your little bubble and your mind completely opens up. You realise that some of the things you thought were important back in your old life actually aren’t! And that makes you start changing what you want in life. I do feel so free out here, literally like the world is my oyster and it’s a great feeling!

If I had to give a motto that I thought represented Thailand best, it would without a shadow of doubt be the frequently spoken phrase ‘Mai pen rai’ which means ‘no problem’, ‘it’s ok’, ‘don’t worry’! You pretty much have to leave any forms of stress on the plane before your feet touch Thai soil. That is the way to enjoy Thailand because that’s the way Thai people live! So if the bus you’re waiting for is 2 hours late? Mai pen rai! Just relax and wait! No need to worry! Accept it! It is what it is! Well how far do you take it? Pretty far I think! For example, it’s illegal to drive a motorbike here without wearing a helmet, or without a license, or if you are under 16. But yet it is extremely rare to see anyone wearing a helmet here, almost no one has a license, and I regularly see children as young as 10 years old whizzing past me on motorbikes, sometimes they’re even carrying 1 or 2 passengers! If you were to ask why they were doing it, you will very likely be told ‘Mai pen rai’! The only time it will get questioned is if you crash! And if that happens, it will only take 100-200 baht (£2-£4) to make the problem go away!

I went for lunch with my teacher and classmate recently and when we finished and asked for the bill, the waitress said ok 1 second and then went outside, to prepare the bill we assumed. After waiting for 15 mins, we got fed up so went outside to find her, only to find her sitting at a table with a friend chatting and eating! We were stunned! To make it funnier, she acted like nothing was wrong and if anything, looked surprised that we had come out to find her. What’s the rush after all right? Mai pen rai!!!

In another incident, my teacher sent her motorbike for servicing a month ago. She was told it would be ready the next day only to go back and find it dismantled into pieces. She was told that he was a bit too busy today so come back tomorrow and it will be fixed. A month later, and it still isn’t fixed! Mai pen rai right??

What makes it worse is that it is unacceptable in Thailand to show emotion in public! That means no raising your voice or getting angry, upset or impatient, no confrontation, nothing! Showing emotion is seen as a sign of weakness and you will be looked down on and considered foolish and rude. So all you can do is to smile and walk away!

As a Westerner, it is quite interesting to see this culture! Granted it is taken to extremes sometimes, but overall, I do kinda like their relaxed way of life! I am learning to live life without stress and learning that even during the times when I feel like I have so much to do, it’s ok to take some time out to just relax and enjoy life! Whether it’s relaxing eating a delicious meal, walking to the beach to read a book and watch the sunset, or heading to the spa to indulge in some treatments, it’s important to enjoy life!

One of the things Koh Lanta is famous for is it’s sunsets. They really are amazing, and somehow manage to be different every day! It’s common practice here to head to the beach at 6.30pm to watch the sunset. Here are a few pictures:

One of my favourite things about Thailand has to be the food! Everywhere I go, I’m surrounded by delicious food and fresh fruit shakes and all so cheap! You can get a substantial dinner with a drink here for the equivalent of £2-£3!! Here are a few of my favourites:

Som Tam Moo Yang – Papaya Salad with grilled pork

Beef Pad Thai:

Chicken Yellow Curry: 

Every day, I walk from my hotel to the school which takes around 45 minutes each way. And I am considered crazy for doing that! People just don’t walk here, let alone that distance! Especially in the 34 degree celsius heat and crazy humidity. But I kinda enjoy it in my own strange way! On the way to school at least. I leave for school at 8am and the heat isn’t unbearable yet at that stage so it is quite nice and I actually find it quite relaxing to listen to something, think, and wake up my brain a little before getting there. The locals are also very friendly and always greet you with a sa-wat-dii-ka (hello) and gin kao rue-yang (have you eaten)? We were told in class that that is how Thai people greet. They don’t say how are you. Well sometimes to foreigners, but only because they know that is what we say. The real Thai greeting is to ask if you have eaten yet! And that is just out of care for each other, especially in a small community like the one here at the island. Asking if you have eaten is their way of making sure you are ok. Also Thai people love to share food. So if you answer no, you may just be invited to join them for a meal!

I mentioned that the walk to school was quite nice, but the walk back from class, at 2.30pm in the scorching heat, is very hard!! But I’ve trained myself to get used to it now. Thai people drive motorbikes here, as do most of the foreigners who visit. Even for a journey of just a few meters, they will take a motorbike! The bikes are cheap to rent, and every now and again, I think about getting one. But I haven’t driven a motorbike before and the stories I keep hearing about accidents keep putting me off. It seems that it isn’t a case of if you will have an accident, but when. They even have a name for it – Lanta Tattoo – describing the bruises everyone gets from motorbike accidents on the island!

Here are some pictures of my walk to school which will give you a bit of a feel for the island:

On the Friday evening of my 1st week here, I attended the Laanta Lanta festival – an annual festival which celebrates the ethnic and religious diversity on the island and how everyone lives together in harmony. There is a large Thai Muslim community here as well as Thai-Chinese Buddhists, and even Sea Gypsies! And then us foreigners, or farang as the Thai people refer to us. There was lots of food, people dressed up in their traditional outfits, and then dance and singing performances. It was quite fun but we were all so exhausted after the 1st week of study so headed home early. Here are a few pictures:

After a couple of days, I started at the language school here. I will be doing an intensive Thai language course here. I have signed up for a month initially, and will just see how it goes. The 1st day was fun, but very intense! They weren’t kidding that it was an intensive course! We have 5 classes every day, and homework to do every evening. Our homework for the 1st week is to learn the Thai alphabet by the end of the week. That’s 44 consonants and 32 vowels! I didn’t believe it would be possible but I’m getting there. It sounds like such a lot, but thinking about it, it isn’t so bad. There is just one set of characters, not uppercase and lowercase like we have in English. And for the 32 vowels, although that is so much more than the 5 we have in English, they cover every possible vowel sound which makes reading a lot easier once you learn then. For example, in English where we have cat which has a short ‘a’ sound, car which has a long ‘a’ sound, and ball which actually has more of an ‘o’ sound, in Thai those would all be different vowels. The school has very good teaching methods and they try to help us by giving us words for each letter which describe something that the letter resembles and also has the same sound that the letter makes. That makes it a lot easier.

The actual class is pretty fun. So much more fun than the course I did in Phuket. They focus on listening comprehension as the foundation for learning. So learn how the words sound and learn to associate the word with it’s meaning and then when you eventually speak, it will come more naturally and you will know the correct pronunciation and tone. So the 1st week consisted of the teacher giving us orders in Thai for phrases such as stand up, sit down, pick up your pen, walk to the table, run to the chair, swim to the table, eat your pen, etc, which we had to act out promptly, and sure enough, by the end of the week, we had learnt all the new vocabulary and could pronounce and use it correctly. I would actually wake up hearing her voice giving me orders!

They incorporate a lot of activities and games which makes the time go relatively quickly. Here is a picture of me playing Twister while being told the colour names in Thai!

I got a boat from Phuket to Koh Lanta – one of the Thai Islands. The journey took around 3 hours in total. We all had to pay a 10 baht entry fee on arrival (around 20p!) which goes towards maintaining the island. I checked into my hotel and then went for a walk to explore a bit. It is so different to Phuket!!! Not crowded at all and not very touristy. It is still so unspoilt and I love that. Feels like an authentic Thai island unlike Phuket which was just catered to tourists.

Pictures to follow!