Day 28; My 'never trust a cat' theory proven!

I got up around 8am and tried to organise my stuff, Juliane and I were meant to be taking some of the dogs to Lanta Noi with Junie, the founder of Lanta Animal Welfare. Lanta Noi is an island separated from Koh Lanta by a small stretch of water, you can take a short ferry ride to get between to two islands. I have only driven through Lanta Noi on the way here so thought it would be nice to go and spend the day there, I also wanted to spend sometime with Junie... I can't quite work her out... I flew half way around the world to volunteer at her welfare centre, but I know very little about her, I know she cares deeply for all animals, I know she is a chef... That's about all I know. When I introduced myself to her on my arrival I got the feeling she was totally disinterested in anything I had to say, I have met her a few times since then, mostly on visits to Time for Lime, the restaurant she runs in order to fund the welfare centre, although I still know no more about her than the day I arrived. She seem to be in her own little dog and cat filled bubble... I'm also pretty sure she is constantly drunk, stoned, or both! But this is Thailand and these things are to be expected.

As things turned out I didn't get to go on the dog walk with Junie, there was just to much to do before leaving tomorrow, Juliane and I had to dry our clothes, pack, clean the room and work at 1pm. We did some of those things before we gave up went to eat lunch on the beach before work. The beach was so beautiful today... As beaches go, Koh Lanta has been quite a let down, the water isn't quite crystal clear, the beach is home to thousands of sand crabs... Of course it's a hundred times better than any beach in the UK, but I've been in Thailand a while now, I have high standards when it comes to picking out the perfect beach! But, today the water was clear and bright blue, a mirror image of the sky, there wasn't a cloud to be seen, it was hot but not unbearable... Perfect!

We got 'stuck' on the beach and were late for work, no one seemed to care, the last few days have been like the last few days of school before the summer holidays, everybody is winding down as most of us prepare to leave. Our afternoon shift was quite an interesting one... A man brought his cat in to be sterilised, it looked very sweet and innocent it's box, that was until Juliane tried to move it into one of our cages.... It turns out that this cat is the devils cat, totally stir crazy! It bit Juliane on the hand and proceeded to run the wall of death around reception... After 5 minutes or so, Matt managed to catch it in a towel, when he tried to put it into the cage it got free and took off down the corridor again, then ran straight into the glass door at the end of the corridor, smashing the glass with its head!! Luckily it didn't go through the hole it had created in our door but instead ran into the bathroom, where Matt was able to recapture it, this time with the cat slightly dazed, he made it to the cage and closed the door behind it! Juliane now has to go to the doctors for a rabies jab and antibiotics.

This proves my 'never trust a cat' theory!

Just before the end of the working day I had a slight disaster involving my favourite shirt and some bleach... We use bleach in the isolation shed to sanitise the feed bowl and other equipment, we also use alcohol to spray our hands and clothing in between touching each cat, also to sanitise. I picked up the wrong bottle, (which was unlabelled I might add!), and sprayed myself and my shirt with it. 20 minutes later my favourite navy blue shirt had pink bits appearing across the front!... I solved this problem by spraying the rest of the shirt with bleach.. I'll call it bleach dyed. It looks quite cool and hippy like, Perfect for Thailand!

After work we went to the local Indian restaurant for dinner, we waited a long time for our food, 2 of the meals were so spicy that they were inedible and had to be sent back... Mine was good though.. It made a nice change to Thai food.

As it was our last night, the plan was to go out to a bar for a few drinks, I wasn't to bothered about going since I'm on antibiotics and can't drink anyway. After our meal It was only 930 so we went back to the centre for a while, then the rain came, it came big time! Our roof started to leak, we had cats hiding under the bed, the dogs were howling because of the thunder. The isolation room began to flood so we had to go in and put buckets under the holes in the roof. Next, a couple arrived with a cat who had been in a fight with another cat, Alicja wasn't at the centre, we called her but there was no way she could come back on a motorbike in that kind of rain. I cleaned up the cats wounds, which weren't to bad, and put it in a cage for her to look at in the morning.

After all that excitement we decided not to bother with the bar, we sat in our hammocks outside our rooms for a while and then went to bed... I begrudgingly agreed to share mine with one of the cats.

Day 27; Bye-bye crazy cat lady!

Today was a morning shift, I really struggled to get out of bed. Work was ok, I've been really lazy the last few days, I feel like I'm not pulling my weight, although I don't care enough to do anything about it, which is not like me at all...it's definitely time to move on.  I helped Alicja with another kitten pts.  cat flu again was the cause. Lindsey's minivan picked her up just before 1pm, we all signed her backpack and said our goodbyes, I will see her again next week in Bangkok.

After work I did all of my laundry, again..and started to pack my bag, I'm excited to get out of here and get moving again, even if it is just for one week. I spoke to my mum and Tilly the dog on Skype for a while, mum told me about how my horses are doing, I didn't get to speak to Dad again because he was at work. I can't wait to see them all when I get home, it's about the only thing I'm looking forwards to about going home to England. Later we went to a new place for dinner, I only had 80baht to my name and spent it all on a chicken salad, which was the cheapest thing on the menu, it turned out to be shit, I ate it anyway as I couldn't afford anything else! We had a few drinks back at the centre and called it a night.

Day 26; 3 days left!

Today was Lindsey's last full day on the island, so we went to Kunda for her last breakfast. After breakfast Juliane, Cerys and I had to work, it was a normal, straight forward afternoon. I helped Alicja to bath a cat which has a skin condition and held a couple of others while she gave them injections... I don't like cats, they have sharp claws and are unpredictable, you can never truely trust a cat... Give me a dog over a cat any day of the week, you know where you stand with a dog!

After work we were all back at the tattoo shop, this time for Cerys's tattoo... Now we all have Koh Lanta ink!

I only have 3 shifts left, I have the morning shift on Monday and am leaving straight after on the 1.30 boat to Railey. I'm ready to leave. Backpackers talk about been 'stuck' in certain places, like I was stuck on Koh Phangan. When you are 'stuck' it's because you have found somewhere that you love and you just can't leave... I haven't been stuck on Koh Lanta, more like 'trapped', I like this island but I don't love it. If money wasn't an issue I think I would of left a week or more ago. That been said, I have made some wonderful friends here, I hope we all stay in touch.

I have just over a week left in Thailand, this makes me sad. I have found my favourite place, and I want to stay. I hope I'll be back again really soon, I just hope that nothing gets in my way.

Day 25; Surgery alfresco!

Today was my day off. I couldn't sleep much after 7am so I got up and went for a run. When I got back to the centre I decided I should spend an hour or so looking for jobs online for when I get home.... It's almost time for me to go back to reality, (for a short while anyway), and I don't have a job when I get back there. I soon got bored for job hunting and decided to look for places to go to after I leave Koh Lanta... I have one week between leaving here and flying home. Before long I was distracted again, this time by what was happening in he car park.. I clearly have the attention span of a gnat! The electric to the whole island had been off since 9am, I'm not sure why, maybe for maintenance? We were told it would be off until 5. This meant there was no lighting in surgery making it impossible to operate in there. Luckily, Dr. Tey, a local Thai vet who works here a couple of days a week, was here with his mobile surgery. (See pics). I watched Alicja and Dr. Tey do a puppy sterilisation in the car park... The electric came back on earlier than we expected, I then helped Alicja with a cat sterilisation, this time indoors.

Later, Juliane and I went to the beach, we laid out our towels and opened our books...after less than 5 minutes it started to rain... Great! We packed up and went for a massage... Every cloud and all that!

At 8pm we all went back to the tattoo shop so Anna and Juliane could get their tattoos. They look really good... A want another one! If I had any money left I would defiantly be getting one... Next time.

Day 24; Massages and Tattoos!

Today was a morning shift, I was working with all of my favourite people which was nice, we had a laugh and there were no dirty looks or snide comments to be seen or heard! ...what a novelty! Lindsey found the cats outside playing with a black scorpion, no one was sure if it was the poisonous type, I kept my distance, just incase! I walked some dogs to the river with Juliane. Later I helped Alicja with a cat PTS and cleaned the eyes of all of the cats that have cat flu. The 'deads', as my friend Hannah calls them, don't bother me at all, I have no problem with putting a dead kitten into a plastic bag and depositing it in to the freezer... I guess I don't have a heart!

After work I went to the south of the island with Lindsey and Juliane to 'The Little Hand Made Shop', we drove past it a few weeks ago but it was closed, luckily today it was open. Lindsey, aka 'The Crazy Cat Lady', bought a bag full of stuffed toy cats. We ate dinner on the beach then went for a massage, my first one since coming to Koh Lanta and the best massage I have had so far on this trip. We also stopped in at Kunda, the vegiterian restaurant we have been to quite a few times, they also sell handmade clothes, jewelry and artwork... When we told the owner that we are all leaving in the next few days she gave us all a free gift, I got a pair of earrings and an anklet, how nice of her!

At 8pm it was time for my tattoo, we were half an hour late but it didn't matter as we are on thai time. I love my new tattoo, it reads 'I Still Believe' in Thai... (Lyrics from my favourite song), I got the tattooist to write it down for me yesterday and have asked every English speaking Thai person I've met today to read it and tell me what it's says... Just to check it doesn't say 'I screwed your mom' or something like that! Lindsey also got a tattoo, hers looks really good and I was tempted to also get one done the same as hers.

 I have wanted this tattoo for a while, the plan was to have the words in English but since I'm in Thailand I wanted something Thai, I didn't want to get a Thai symbol or anything just for the sake of it so I think this was a good way to go, it's words that have a special meaning to me, but it's also related to this wonderful country that I fall more in love with each minute that I am here.

Day 23; Bye-Bye Barley!

Today was a morning shift, I'm tired, I'm fed up of working! Next week I am heading to Railey which is a small beach town just out of Krabi, I'm looking forwards to a few days on the beach with nothing to do.

Work today was pretty much the same as the last few days, all the jobs got done, all the animals were happy, bitchy whispering and dirty looks were a plenty! I spent some time with Barley, took him for a walk, picked off all of his ticks and let him have my breakfast... I don't give up food easily... Barley must be special! 

My shift finished at 1pm but I chose to stay and help Alicja with a dog castration. Just before we went into surgery it was time to say goodbye to Barley, he looked nervous, probably because of the amount of people hanging around waiting to wave him on his way. He went into his container without any trouble and we said our goodbyes. He will fly from Krabi to Bangkok tonight, spend the night in Bangkok with a friend of Lanta Animal Welfare, he will board a flight to Amsterdam tomorrow afternoon and arrive on Wednesday evening. His new moms will meet him in Amsterdam and take him back to London via the Eurostar... It cheaper this way, flying dogs into the UK is ridiculously expensive, but if they enter the country by train it is fairly cheap in comparason.

After waving Barley on his way I helped Alicja with the dog castration. After this I went to Saladan with Anna so that she could buy a new camera.  Later we went to a tattoo store as Lindsey wants to get one before she leaves on Friday, she booked an appointment for Thursday... I got carried away and also booked an appointment,... I am getting inked tomorrow!

Day 22; Cider, HP Sauce and the wanderer returns!

My sleep in was ok, the dogs didn't bark to often and Barley slept in bed with me, we got up a few times to go outside and check for any sign of Pumpkin. Barley had to go to Krabi, a town on the main land, this morning to get his quarantine papers, I took him for a walk and loaded him into the truck for his day trip... I hoped he wasn't to scared, he looked scared... Barley came to Lanta Animal Welfare last year after he was brought in with a wound to his foot, the vets here fixed him up and when he was better he was returned to the beach that he was found on, less than an hour later he had found his own way back to the centre, he asked if he could please stay, and has been here ever since... When I put him in the back of the truck I hoped he didn't think that we were sending him back to that beach.

After my sleep in I was exhausted, I think the lack of sleep over the last few nights has caught up with me. I went to my room and slept until it was time to go to work again at 1pm.

The atmosphere during the shift was shit, I'm so mad at people for ruining the happy, friendly vibe we have had going on over the last few weeks. I just stayed away from and ignored the people I have grown to dislike.. I can't entertain idiots! I realised that this is not the way I would of delt with a situation like this in the past- I must be growing up!

Later in the afternoon we had to introduce two new dogs into one of the packs, we took them all for a walk together first. And then turned them out together one at a time, there were a few snarls and growls but they eventually settled.

After work we went to a quiz night at the Irish Embassy, this place literally made my life as they have Cider on draft.. I had a pint, I could of drank 10. I also had a beef burger with chunky chips and HP Sauce!! Amazing! Our team came 3rd in the quiz... Quite an achievement!

Whist we were waiting for the quiz to start we got a call from the centre, Pumpkin had made is own way home! ...a very good end to another great day in paradise!

Day 21; 2 hours sleep & a run away dog!

I woke up at 7.02, 2 hours after falling in to bed, and 2 minutes late for my shift, I was in the kitchen ready to start work by 7.03... Impressive!

We fed and watered all of the animals, put the dogs outside and started to scrub the kennels.  One of the volunteers was walking one of the dogs, Pumpkin... He got away from her and ran away.  A  couple of people went after him, one on foot and one on a bike. We continued to scrub the kennels. After 30 minutes or so, Pumpkin was still no where to be seen so Anna and I joined the search on her bike, we made it half way around the island, still no sign of the run away pup!   We must of walked up and down the lane that leads to the welfare centre 10 times, we split up and went through the bushes and rubber plantations that are either side of the road, we walked around a quarry, looked under houses and cars, asked locals if they had see Pumpkin...still no sign. After 4 hours of searching we had to come back to the centre for water. The afternoon shift took over the search for pumpkin...

Anna, Lindsey and I went to Saladan to do some food shopping... I am almost totally out of money so will be living off of musli, bananas, rice and eggs (not all at the same time!), until I leave this island!

Tonight is my sleep in, Anna, Lindsey and Juliane are staying at the centre with me, we are having cheap food and Thai wine (also cheap!).

My favourite dog, Barley, is leaving for his new home in London on Wednesday... I have just finished sewing a Union Jack onto the bandanna that he wears around his neck!

There is still no sign of Pumpkin, I will keep checking outside throughout the night, hopefully he will find his own way home.

The atmosphere at the centre has changed allot in the last few days, in my opinion it's all down to one individual, it's surprising how one person can change an environment. It's takes a certain type of person to be volunteer, there is no room, or time for selfishness, there is no reason for rudeness, and no need for drama...  We all have our reasons for been here but at the end of the day, we are all here to work for charity and help the animals... It's all about priorities, you have to get them in the right order. When priorities get muddled and manners and common courtesy are forgotten, or don't exist in a person in the first place, people can be very hard to be around... That is the situation this week.

Barley isn't the only one leaving Koh Lanta this week...For Juliane, Lindsey and I, this is our last week at the welfare centre... I refuse to let the attitude and immature behaviour of one person ruin it... The rest of the week will be about enjoying our work, watching the stars from the beach, (I'll keep checking in on the moon), laughing at each others accents and making the most of this extraordinary situation we find ourselves in... We are on a paradise island, the sun is shining, the beer is cheap, what's not to enjoy?!

Day 20; Surgery and a night out!

Today I had the afternoon shift but Alicja, one of the vets, had asked if I would help with one of her morning surgeries, of course I was more than happy to!  It was a young cat that needed sterilising. It went well and we were finished by 11. Juliane and I went to the plastic shop and bought things we need for the centre, buckets, a watering can... That kind of thing.

I started work at 1pm, it was hot! We did all of the usual jobs, cleaned the kitchen, walked the dogs etc.  We have a beautiful Boxer dog who has been brought in to be sterilized, he is the first Boxer I have seen in Thailand, you rarely see recognizable breeds of dog here.  He was due to have his surgery this afternoon but his owner gave him breakfast before he brought him in to us, dogs need an empty stomach when they go under general anesthetic, so he gets to keep his balls for one more night and will have his surgery tomorrow.

Later we went to a bar on the beach.. I wasn't going to go out as I'm running out of money and I was tired, but after a power snooze and some encouragement from the others, I decided to go, I was glad I did as it was a really good night, it was nice to get out of the centre and some meet different people.

Day 19; Trip to Lanta Old Town

Today was my day off, I tried to have a lay in but there is allot of building work going on at the centre and it was impossible to sleep as the builders are working right outside our room. I got up about 8am, had breakfast, then went to the beach for a couple of hours. Juliane finished work at 1pm and her, Lindsey and I decided to take a trip to the old Town which is on the other side of the island.

The old town is less touristy than the area that we are staying in, although it is now low season and there aren't many tourists anywhere on the island. We walked down the small shopping street and found somewhere to eat, the restaurant was right on the water, beautiful! After lunch we visited the Jumbo Hammock store where they sell handmade hammocks; They really are works of art, made by the the Mlabri Hills Tribe of Chang Mai, they are sent to the south to be sold to tourists in order for the hill tribes to make enough money to survive. Each hammock takes up to 3 days to complete. Prices range from 1300 baht to 4000 baht.

After a couple of hours looking around the shops in the Old Town we went to the very south end of the island, it's so beautiful down there. On the way back I realised that its going to be hard to leave this place.

We arrived back at the centre around 630, Lindsey had the sleep in shift so we sat in the kitchen with her. We ate pasta, uploaded pictures and listen to music... A great day with lovely people.

Day 18; Beach walks & Cooking School!

Today I was on the morning shift. We introduced 3 puppies to one another, they have all been dumped at the centre over the last few weeks, they are of a similar age and at the same stage with their vaccinations. They all got along well so will now live together until they have had all of their vaccinations. I walked some dogs on the beach with Lindsey and Juliane, Lindsey is adopting one of the dogs, Fuji. They will be going home to the States in a couple of weeks and Lindsey wanted to get some pictures of Fuji and her on the beach. Later we walked another group to the river, which now has water in it for the first time since I got here! Just before the shift ended I helped Vicky the vet give vaccinations to 6 of the dogs.

After work Lindsey and I went to Time for Lime to take a cooking class. Each volunteer who is staying for 1 month or longer gets to take a class for free. We cooked Pad Tai, papaya salad (which actually IS supposed to have shrimp in it! Opps!), and a chicken dish. The class was so much fun, and the dishes I cooked were actually edible! I'm not sure it means that I can now be trusted in the kitchen but, there was a very big knife involved and I came away with all of my fingers, so that's a start!

After the class we came back to the centre and I took a power snooze, then later went to the beach with the other volunteers. I like the beach at night, the moon light bounces off of the water and everything is quiet, apart from the waves, sometimes a beach dog or cat will come and sit with us... it's all very chilled, very Thailand.. Everytime we do this, I cant help but notice the shape of the moon and wonder what is happening on Koh Phangan, a part of me is clearly still there.

Just before bed I spoke to my best friend Kim on Skype, it was the first time I'd spoken to her since she dropped me off at the airport, so it was really good to hear her voice and catch up on the gossip from back home.

I don't miss home, I miss my friends and family (that statement obviously includes the horses and dogs!), but I don't miss being at home. England in the rain, where everyone is miserable and we work our asses off just to earn enough money to be skint... Or Thailand, where you can have a 3 course meal, with beers, on the beach for less than £4.. A place which they call 'the land of smiles' .....no contest really!!

Day 17; Sunburn and Rain

I didn't get much sleep last night, I have some sunburn on my chest which is really sore and itchy.  In the morning I went to the pharmacy and managed to get some Ibuprofen and antihistamines. I started work at 1pm, once again, not feeling well...It's just one thing after another since I came to Koh Lanta!

It rained something crazy this morning, the rainy season is defiantly on the horizon.  When it rains here, it rains heavy, but, it last for about an hour at the most, then the sun comes back out and everywhere dries up pretty quickly.  The temperature has also dropped slightly, it is now hot but bearable, allot easier to work in than it has been in the last couple of weeks.

We were quite busy with tours this afternoon, I actually like doing them now.  Tours are a great way to bring donations into the centre, once people have walked around the centre, seen the animals and heard their stories, they very seldom leave without donating money or buying one of our t-shirts or tote bags.

Later in the afternoon a local family brought in their three pet dogs, they all had tics, the smallest dog was covered in them, I think we pulled off around 30 of the blood sucking pests!  After each receiving a frontline injection they were ok to go home.

After work I went to the vegetarian restaurant with the other volunteers, we have been there a few times, the food is really good and the owners are so friendly and welcoming.

I only have a week and a half left here before I move on, considering that I almost left after three days I'm really going to miss this place.  Ive made some friends that I'm sure I will keep in touch with for a long time to come.  I'm hoping I'll be able to visit some of them in their home countries on future trips that I can't help but plan.

When I came to traveling, the plan was to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life, then go home and do it ...But I have realized that what I want to do IS travel, I want to do more, see more, meet more wonderful, interesting people, see how others live their lives.  Traveling makes me happy, more creative,  more open minded and I think a better person.  I am defiantly interested in vet nursing, but I need to travel more before I settle down and finally become a grown up!

Day 16; What the fuck is wrong with people?!???!!

Today I had a morning shift. We did all the usual jobs. I was thinking about yesterday and how good it was to get involved in the vet nursing side of things... It's defiantly a job that I could enjoy doing back home.

Me and Brave out for a walk

A Thai lady arrived at the door with a cat, it had a wound to its belly. The lady didn't speak much English, which is the case with most of the locals who bring animals into the centre. It is possible to communicate with basic English and some imaginative sign language! She thought that I had either been attacked by a dog or hit by a motorbike. On inspection, Hal thought it had most likely fallen from a tree and impaled itself on a small branch. I went into surgery with Hal. He sedated the cat, cleaned and stitched up the wound. I love helping in surgery, I had to help clean the wound, cut stitches, pass Hal the instruments he asked for and keep checking that the cat was still breathing.

After that I cleaned out the cat house, it smelt really bad so I went into combat mode and broke out the bleach and Mr. Muscle... It smells much better now!



Later, I was giving a tour to an Australian vet when another tourist rushed in with a cat that had been shot. It was already dead. Who would shoot a cat, and why?! What the fuck is wrong with people??

Next a foreign local man brought in his beautiful St Bernard. The dog was suffering with Hip Dysplasia, an abnormal formation of the hip socket, it was only 14 months old and was crippled with pain. He had made the decision to have the dog put to sleep.

Playful puppy!

The St Bernard weighed 60kg, that's 5 more than me! Normally, dead animals go into the freezer until it is full, then they get buried in the outer grounds of the centre. Even if the freezer had been empty, his guy was not going to fit! Hal asked if anyone would like to help move the dog, I didn't think there would be many volunteers but didn't want to be beaten to it, so I jumped up and got in there before anyone else could! I want to see as many different things that are relevant to vet nursing as I can, dealing with dead stuff is just part of it. It took four of us to carry the dead dog to the hole which was already for its next arrivals. We then carried out everyone else who was in the freezer to be buried at the same time. When everyone was in, they got covered with leaves, lime power and then earth. It may sound strange but I enjoyed helping with all of this!

Later, Anna and I went into Saladan to do some food shopping, the supermarket was closed... Wasted journey. We stopped on the way back to get some dinner, I ate way to much and felt sick afterwards.

Day 15; Missing out again & 2 RTA dogs

I finished my sleep in at 7am, the dogs behaved themselves over night, Barley; my favorite dog, slept in bed with me and we got a decent amount of sleep. I woke up feeling much better than yesterday. I walked to the French bakery down the road and had an omelette for breakfast, then got a couple more hours sleep.

My afternoon shift started at 1pm. Today was the 'Happy Dog Beach Walk'...We were taking 8 dogs to the beach at Time for Lime, (the cooking school and restaurant which funds the welfare centre), there was to be a raffle, food, drinks and a dog walk, all to raise money for the centre. Once again I drew the short straw and was one of the two volunteers that had to stay at the centre whilst the fun stuff was happening else where. It was a busy shift with only Victoria and I working. We had phone call from a restaurant owner to stay that a dog had been hit by a car and was laying at the side of the road. I managed to get hold of the centre manager, Matt, who was close to where the accident had happened in the LAW truck, he picked up the dog and brought it back to the centre.

The vets treated the dog the best they could and after receiving pain relief he was hooked up to a drip and put into a cage for us to keep an eye on over night.

Tonight was Anna's first sleep in. Hal the vet had told me that the dog from the road accident probably would die over night, I didn't want Anna to have to deal with that so I said that I would stay at the centre with her, rather than go to Time for Lime for drinks with the others. Hal left me a syringe full of drugs that I could give to the dog if it became agitated during the night. Later on when I checked on the dog it had stopped breathing, I listened for a heartbeat, it was dead, Anna was upset and I was glad that I had stayed.

Not long after that, the phone ran again, a man was on the way with another dog, it had also been involved in a road accident. I called Vicky who was the on call vet, she arrived just before the man and his dog. The owner had been driving along with the dog in the back of his pick-up truck, common practice here in Thailand. Somewhere during the journey the she had jumped or fallen from the truck and been dragged alone behind it. She was a lovely English Bull Terrier, named Gourgi. Luckily, her wounds were only superficial. I held her still while Vicky cleaned her up. After some painkillers and antibiotics she was on her way home. It was nice to see a dog with an owner, most dogs here are wild, or at least semi-wild. Some have people who feed them each day but don't actually own them. Gourgi had an owner who loved and cared for her and it was refreshing and heart warming to see. Her owner was Australian and had brought the her to Thailand with him when he emigrated.

Today has been hectic... I'm off to bed!

Day 14; Sick Sick Sick!

So I didn't get any sleep last night...you don't need the details, I'll just tell you that I really wasn't well!

I couldn't work and spent all day in bed. Julienne, my roommate, was a star and bought me ginger tea and bananas!

Later on I felt better, I am on the sleep in shift and felt that I should get out of bed and do my shift. As I walked into the kitchen to start my shift some of the others were in full flow bitching about me having the day off. There was a comment about how much we'd had to drink the day before, I realised that everyone thought I'd had the day off as I was hung-over. I wish that was the case but, as I reminded everyone, I had been working whilst everyone else was out taking part in the daytime drinking and water fighting fun! ... I wished I'd stayed in bed.

Day 13; SONGKRAN!

Songkran is Thai New Year. They celebrate this with a nationwide water flight! Much better than a night out on the lash followed by a hangover and an empty wallet!

As it was Songkran we all got to work reduced hours. I was down to work from 1 until 4. Before my shift I walked to the store to get lunch and see what was going on on the main street. There were a lots of people at the side if the road with water guns, buckets and hose pipes. As you walk, ride or drive past they get you as wet as possible, you scream, they laugh, you both shout 'Happy Songkran', and you move on your way..Needless to say I got wet on my walk to the store!

I started work at 1pm, there was just Lindsey and I working, we were told that only the jobs that were totally necessary had to be done today, like feeding the animals and cleaning the cages etc, but things like sweeping the front yard and cleaning windows could be left for another day... Today was Songkran and there was fun to be had! As there were only two of us on each shift we were told not to walk any dogs as it would mean one of been left at the centre alone, and that would make things difficult if any tourist came for a tour or any sick animals were brought in. Although, we later took a bollocking because none of the dogs had been for walks?! ...Thailand. The dogs are outside in their play areas from 8am until 6pm so they aren't stuck in cages or kennels all day.


As our shift was beginning, the rest of the Lanta Animal Welfare team loaded their water-pistols and headed to Saladan in the LAW truck, which was also loaded with water. They were going to have allot of fun, I wished I didn't have to work. Lindsey and I had the worse shift of the day, it was the time that everything was happening in town.

A surprising amount of tourist came to visit during our 3 hour shift, so with taking tours, doing all the essential jobs and soaking each other with water in between, there wasn't a moment free. We also had a kitten brought in, it had been hit by a car and was dead. I was about to bag it and put it in the freezer but some of the others thought it might be still alive, (trust me it was dead!), so we decided to leave it covered with a towel in one of the consult rooms, not ideal in 30 degree heat in a building with no aircon!

At 4pm our shift ended and the team arrived back at the centre, the girls who were taking over from Lindsey and I were with them, we hoped that the plan was for us to swap places, reload the truck with water and head back to town. Although it didn't work out like that as the girls who were taking over decided to bugger off to get lunch, we waited almost 2 hours before they came back... By the time we got into town things had quietened down, it was still fun but we defiantly missed out by not going earlier.

Later we went for lunch at a local restaurant, I didn't feel great and was in bed by 10.30... Yet again, I'm so rock and roll!!

Day 12; Four Islands Tour

My sleep in finished at 7am, the dogs had been quiet for me but there was a power cut half way through the night which meant the fan stopped spinning and it was to hot to sleep...I had managed to get about 4 hours in all, not nearly enough for me! I walked to the store to get breakfast, and after a cheese toasty, 2 red bulls and an ice coffee I was ready to go...

We were picked up at around 8.30 and driven to Lanta Old Town at the south east end of the island, we boarded our long tail boat and set out towards the first island. It took about an hour to to reach, I'm not sure in which order we visited the first two islands so I can't tell you their names. The first one was more like rock formation, we didn't actually go onto the island, I don't think it would of been possible, unless you are Spiderman! We jumped off of the boat and went snorkelling for half an hour or so. There wasn't an awful lot to see, a few small fish, no big or funky ones, or colourful coral... This was ok with me though, I'm scared of fish and I'm not sure why I keep going on these snorkelling tours, this was my third one!

The second 'island' was very similar to the first, a big rock. The difference with this one was that there were hundreds of bats hanging down from the cliff side. I've only ever seen bats in the zoo, never before in the wild. They were huge, and actually really beautiful! It was pretty cool to see them just hanging there in here natural environment. The other people in the group jumped off the boat and snorkelled for a while, Anna and I decided to stay aboard.

The third island was actually an island! Like the ones you imagine when you think of Thailand... A white sandy beach, clear blue water and wooden huts lined up along the shore where you could buy a beer or fruit shake. This is what had been missing from my life in the last couple of weeks, beaches like this are plentiful on Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, where I had spent the first month of my trip. Koh Lanta doesn't have this.

We stayed on the third island for about one hour, we had lunch which I think was meant to be green curry, it had raw chicken in it so I just ate the rice- I do not want Thai Belly!

Next we were off the the 'Emerald Cave', the island that looked the most stunning in the brochure. We were told to put our cameras into the guides waterproof bag and put on our life vests. We jumped in and swam towards a small opening in the rocks, as we got closer I could see how small and dark the hole we had to swim through was... I knew I wouldn't be able to do it. I'm very claustrophobic and I just knew I would not be able to swim through that cave. The guide had a waterproof torch, but he was at the front, and I was at the back, I couldn't see a thing. I shouted to Anna that I was going back to the boat and turned around. I lay in the boat and had a muddled Thinglish conversation with our driver. The group returned after about 20 minutes, Anna said it was very beautiful but very crowded, she took some pictures for me with my camera.  It was about 3pm by this point.. time to head back to Koh Lanta.

Before we set out for Lanta was stopped at one more big rock, we snorkelled some more, then it was actually time to head back. The first few minutes of the boat journey home were fine, Anna and I sat on the front of the boat, sunbathing and laughing.. We have spent the last 2 days together, but we can't understand a word one another says... Apparently my English needs work!

Before long the ocean started to get choppy. About 10 minutes into the journey we were getting thrown around all over the place, the guide came out, grabbed our hands and pulled us inside. I say inside, but the boat didn't have a cabin, just a roof with an opening at each end. The ride got rougher and rougher, I don't mind admitting that I was scared! I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that that little long tail boat was not designed for those kind of seas. We were been rocked and rolled like a cork in a bucket! Waves were coming over the bow, each time we hit a big one we would glide up into the air and land heavily back onto the water. I hated this, absolutely hated it. I was convinced it was only a matter of time before we rolled over. About 10 minutes from Koh Lanta the seas calmed and I was thankful to still be in the land of the living! They took us around to the west coast of the island to drop is off, I think it must of been to rough at the pier we started off from at the begining of the trip.

A car picked us up and drove us back to the centre. I felt sick but was just happy to of made it back. Later we treated ourselves to a decent meal on the beach, I had a burger with chips and a beer... It was the best western meal I'd had since I got to Thailand, it hit the spot and calmed my nerves!

Day 11; I'm going into Business!

Morning shift.. For the first time since I got here I was late for work, I over slept by 45 minutes... At home that would of totally messed up my day, but in Thailand things like that don't seem to matter so much, we're on 'Thai time'.  Despite my extra hour in bed I was still tired and couldn't really get going.  I cleaned out the dog and cat cages in the recovery area, then the 'Happy Cat House'...I'm not a fan of cats, or their litter trays, give me 20 stables to muck out over 3 litter trays to empty any day of the week.  The smell of cat piss make me want to vom!

Later I held a kitten while the vet removed her stitches, she had been savaged by a dog a few weeks ago and basically had to be sewn back together.  Her wounds have healed well but she now has cat flu.  Cat flu is a big problem here, most of the cats in 'isolation' are there due to the nasty virus.

Anna and I walked a couple of dogs on the beach. Anna is from Italy, we get along really well.  We both have tomorrow off and decided to make the most of it and book a day trip... We're going on the Four Island Tour, which, you guessed it, it a tour of four local islands!  I can't remember the names of the islands but the pictures look good!  I'm hoping the weather behaves itself though as its been cloudy the last few days..The tour includes snorkeling, so we need good weather to get good visibility.

Just before the end of my shift I did my first tour of the centre... When tourists come to visit we give tours, we explain the history of the charity, show them around the centre and let them walk the dogs and cuddle the cats.  There is no charge for the tour but they can donate money at the end if they wish, obviously we encourage this.  The centre runs entirely on the profits for the TIme for Lime cooking school and donations from the tourists. Today was the first time I had given a tour, I hate things like this, speaking in front of strangers not my thing.  The people I had to show round were a couple from Russia.  The guy was totally disinterested and the woman cried most of the way around, she felt sorry for the dogs with three legs.  At the end of the tour we are supposed to show the Lanta Animal Welfare video, its a short video explaining how the centre started and how the money that is donated is used to help the animals.  My Russian couple didn't want to watch the video, the woman was to upset, they put some money in the donation box and left very quickly.

After work, Anna and I ate at the local market, which sets up at the end of the street each Thursday afternoon, then went to book our day trip for tomorrow.  It cost 750 baht, about 17 British pounds, a small amount of money when I'm at home, but a large amount now that I'm in Thailand... It had better be worth it! After booking the tour we went in the Saladan, the local town... We looked around the shops, Anna bought a few things, I didn't as I need to save the money I have left to get me through the last few weeks of my trip.

When we got back to the centre we went into the kitchen, Alison was on the sleep in shift.  I was talking about my shrinking bank balance and joked that I was going to start taking over people's sleep in's for 500 baht a night, Alison said she would give me 1000 baht to do her shift tonight, I said yes, so now I'm in the kitchen ready for my 2nd sleep in of the week.  I'm hoping some of the others will want me to to theirs to... I'm going into business!

Day 10; A frog in my breakfast bucket and fish in my salad!!!

Today was an afternoon shift, I had been looking forwards to a lay in but I was wake awake by 7.30, typical! I had to take my bike back to the hire place, my week with the bike was up and I couldn't afford another weeks rent. Goodbye bike, it has been a pleasure!

After returning the bike I went to the beach, read my book, listened to some new music and watched the fisherman bringing home their mornings work. On my way back from the beach I stopped at the 'Pad Tai House', a little restaurant at the end of our street, to get lunch, I decided on a Papaya salad and asked for it to take away. When I got back to the centre I sat down to eat my lunch... To my absolute horror and disgust there were shrimp in there!!! Who the hell puts shrimp in a papaya salad!! ...it went straight in the bin.

I started work at 1, hungry and still annoyed about the fish in my salad. We had a cat brought in by its owner, it had crusty ears. It had scabies, I've seen it before in horses. It is caused by a mite and clears up after a series of injections. There was a another dog brought in, also by its owners, it was lay lifelessly on the back of their truck, I'm not sure what happen to that one.

Around 3pm, the sky went dark and we could hear thunder in the distance. It had been getting hotter and hotter over the last few days and hours, a big storm was on the way. We brought the dogs inside and just after the last ones were in, the heavens opened! I see allot of rain, I'm English, this was what I would class as 'big rain'! Within minutes the outside areas where the dogs spend their days were flooded, the roof in the isolation room was leaking and the dogs were howling due to the thunder. A frog hopped down the middle of the kennels which wound all the dogs up, they all wanted a piece of that frog! Marcus decided to remove the frog by putting it into a bucket and taking it outside... a smooth move, except that the bucket he chose just happened to be the one I use to eat my breakfast out of each morning, wonderful!

The afternoon was a total write off, we sat in the kitchen watching YouTube clips and talking about how hungry we all were. There wasn't anything else to do.

Later there was a BBQ in aid of manager Matt's birthday.  It was a vegetarian BBQ- an oxymoron if ever I heard one! The food was actually really good, (although I could of murdered a couple of sausages and a chuck of steak!), and it was nice to have everyone together.  I was tired and went to bed early, about 11.30 I think.

Day 9- Tarzan is going to Canada, and I'm going to a party! Happy days!

Morning shift.. Freakin' hot!

Today was a big day for one of the LAW dogs, Tarzan. He has been adopted by a family in Canada and has been waiting for a flight home for weeks. (I'll do a separate post about flying the animals out of Thailand and 'flight volunteers' at a later date). So, today was the day that Tarzan gets to start his journey to his new life in Canada. Matt, the centre manager had to drive him to Phuket, from there Tarzan will be flown to Bangkok, and from there to Canada. Tarzan is going backpacking!

After saying goodbye to Tarzan, the three legged, backpacking dog, we did all the usual jobs then walked a full group of dogs together. It was nice to take so many dogs out at once as they usually only walk in pairs, I think they enjoyed it, and it was nice to get to know some of the other volunteers better too.

Lanta Animal Welfare is one of the top tourist attractions on Koh Lanta. Tourists can come to the centre, take a tour of the premises, play with the cats, and walk the dogs.  Most of the dogs are fine to be walked by tourist, there are 2 or 3 who, for one reason or another, can only be walked by us.

The dogs are split in to groups, or packs. This is to avoid fights. The packs never mix. Only dogs from the same pack can be walked together. There are two routes to chose from when walking, either to the river, (which is dry at the minute), or to the beach, (much more fun!). When a dog goes out on a walk, either with one of us or a tourist, we make a note on the white board of which route they have taken. If a dog from one pack has gone to the beach , only dogs from the same pack can go that way. This is to avoid different packs meeting each other whilst out on walks and fighting in the street- not classy!

I enjoyed the rest of my shift, afterwards I went for lunch with some of the other volunteers and then came back to the centre to do my laundry, again! I seem to spend half of my time here washing my clothes! As I'm backpacking, I don't have many clothes with me, and once I've worn something once to work in it needs washing. Sweat, dirt and dog shit is not a good look, or smell!

After work we got take away and ate at the centre, then headed out to a pool party that we had been invited to... My first party on Koh Lanta... Finally!!!  I've been in Thailand a while now, I know how this works... There's not a chance you can attend a pool party an not end up in the pool, so more or less as soon as we got there I striped to my bikini and jumped in. Some of the others managed to stay dry for a couple of hours, but inevitably everybody ended up in he water, some full clothed. This was my first decent night out on Koh Lanta, it was fun and I laughed until I thought I was going to throw up! I'm really starting to like it here, i'm glad I decided to stay.

Day 8; I like it here, I think I'll stay!

Pumpkin the dog!

After my sleep in I slept in my own bed until about 10.30, I got up, showered and went for a ride on the bike, I went to the shop in Saladan to buy shampoo, (I'd been putting this off because the stuff is more than double the price that it is all home!), I got some lunch and headed back to he centre for my afternoon shift.

I was tired, and hot, the temperature here has gone through the roof these last few days. I love the sun and the heat but day after day of working in 35c+ is energy draining. My shift was pretty uneventful, but I'm starting to enjoy it, I like the people and the animals. It's allot, lot easier than my work at home, what I would do to work only 6 hours a day on a permanent basis!

I had been seriously thinking of leaving Koh Lanta before my planned month here was up, I had thought about leaving and heading to Koh Phi Phi at the end of this week... But now I think I'll stay, I will be back in Thailand in the not to distant future, Phi Phi will still be there then.

Day 7; Same Same

Today was another morning shift, which I prefer to the afternoons, they seem to go faster as there is more work to do.

Nothing out of the ordinary happened so today was pretty much the same as the last few.  I think we had a wild bird brought in, and I'm pretty sure some kittens were dumped on the drive way over night, although once again this was hinden from us volunteers so I'm not really sure what happened to any if them.

Tonight is my first 'sleep in'... Each night one volunteer has to sleep in the kitchen, this is incase there are any problems over night, also incase anyone brings in a sick animal, but the main reason is to keep the dogs quiet.  Koh Lanta is a Muslim island, every morning at 5am the call to prayer sounds across the island, it's very loud, and the dogs like to join in!  The lucky volunteer who is spending the night on a make shift bed in kitchen has to keep them quiet so that the neighbours don't complain.  Tonight I am the chosen one, and I don't expect to get much sleep!

Day 6; A day off!

Today was my first day off since I got here, I had a lay in until 10.30, which was nice to say the least!

After a 7/11 breakfast I set off to explore the south of the island with 3 of the other volunteers, Anna, julienne and Bianca. We made it all the way to the southern tip of Koh Lanta, stopping at a few beaches a long the way. According to the Lonely Planet books, the beaches in the south of Koh Lanta are 'splendid', maybe we were looking in the wrong places, maybe it's the wrong time of year, but 'splendid' is not a word I would of used!  After the white powery sand and crystal blue waters of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, the beaches here are nothing to write home, or blog about.

We stopped at a small village and found a place on the beach to eat, they had a pool so after a quick bite to eat we swam for a while.

Later that night a group of us went to a vegerterinan restaurant, Kunda.  Even though I'm not a vegi, I enjoyed the food and the company was good. I'm starting to warm to this place.

My first sleep in...

Sleep in shifts at Lanta Animal Welfare begin at 7pm and end at 7am. Each volunteer has is give one sleep in shift per week, this was my first.  A few of the other volunteers sat chatting with me in the kitchen until about 10.30, they helped me set up the bed and explained what to do if there were any problems over night. One of the puppies had managed to chew his way out of his kennel, I decided that it was a good effort and he could spend the night with me in the kitchen. After the others left I talked to a couple of friends on Skype and uploaded some pictures to Facebook. I read a couple of chapters of my book and fell asleep. I was woken at about 1.30 by the dogs barking. Two of the dogs who are in kennels next to each other were trying to fight through the cage bars. I shouted and shone the torch at them and that shut them up. As I got back I to bed they started up again... This routine went on for the next couple of hours.

My alarm was set for 4.45, but I was already awake. Just before 5am we have to play loud music and be ready to shut the dogs up when they start to bark as the Call to Prayer sounds. Either the Muslims decided not to bother this morning, or my music was just about loud enough as neither me nor the dogs heard the Call to Prayer. It was to late/ early to go back to sleep so I ate breakfast, put the bed away and read my book again. At 7am the morning shift arrived and after a quick shower, I went straight to bed.

All in all, a pretty uneventful night, which was fine by me!

Day 5; Greek food, in Thailand...

Today was another morning shift. To be honest, not much happened.  I think a couple of animals were brought in by local people but I didnt get to see any of them.  When sick animals are brought in or dumped at the center, the mangers seem to want to hide the bad cases, like the ones that die or have to be PTS from the volunteers.  I kind of understand why, I guess they don't want people getting upset, but sometimes animals die and I think anyone coming to volunteer at  place like this should be prepared for that.  I want to see as many cases as possible, not have it hidden from me, it's what I'm here for and all part of them experience.

After work I walked to the local shops with Juliane, my room mate and Victorica, who is from America.  I bought some trousers to work in to stop the mozzi's eating me alive.  Later a group of us went to a Greek restaurant, the food was nice but expensive, and I was mythered half to death my an over familiar Austrialian guy who wanted to take me out on his bike and show me the island.... Not going to happen!

Day 4; taking things into my own hands!

Today was a morning shift, so I was up and out by 6.45.  Getting up early is so much easier here than at home, I guess because of the heat

Ive spent the last few days feeling pissed off and frustrated about been told what to do by so many different people, and feeling like I'm not getting anything out of this, so today I decided to take things into my own hands.  I got straight to work, I fed, cleaned out and walked the animals in the 'recovery' area, I walked a couple of the other dogs and did a few other tasks.  Then I went to find Hal the vet, he knows that I want to train as a vet nurse and is really good at explaining things.  I asked if there was anything I could help him with.  I got to watch/ assist with a cat sterilization, a cat enema, a cat PTS and an operation on a dog with a mouth wound.  By the end of the day I felt like I had learned quite allot.  Hal lets me get stuck in, he lets me clean wounds and areas which are to be operated on, as well as cut stitches, organise the equipment we need and tattoo the animals which have been sterilised.  (When a dog or cat is sterilized, it get a tattoo inside both of it's ears to show that it has been done).

I don't think this went down well with a couple of the other volunteers, maybe they felt like I didn't pull my weight when it came to the other jobs of the day, but, as Ive said before, Ive recently realized that sometimes you have to look out for yourself, regardless of what others think!

After my shift I took my bike for a ride around the north end of the island, it took about 3 hours including a stop for lunch and some very big hills!  I also stopped at the elephant trekking centre.  I'm not sure the elephants are that well looked after there but who am I to judge?!

Day 3; am I wasting my time?

I'm bored!  Today I was on the afternoon shift, although I was wide awake by 7.30 so decided to get up and go to the beach, which is just at the end of the road.  The beaches here aren't as nice as the other islands Ive been on, there are lots of sand crabs, lots of rocky areas and since the tide comes in right up the beach there is quite allot of drift wood and debris.  I decided to take a walk and look for somewhere to hire a mountain bike, I'd heard there was a place about 2 miles to the north that hires them out, so that were I headed.  Eventually, just as I was about to give up, I found somewhere to hire a bike from, it cost me 500 Baht for a week, incidentally the same price as a ticket back to Koh Phanagan.  I haven't ridden a bike since I was about 10 years old, but its true what they say and I hadn't forgotten how.

So, now I had my wheels it was time to get back to the centre and get ready for work.  My shift past slowly, it was hot and hard work.  There seems to be so many people in charge. Everyone has different ways of doing things, which makes working out which is the right or wrong way difficult.  I started to get a little dishearten about half way thought the shift, when I was shown how to move the dogs from one area to another for the 4th time in two days... It's hardly rocket science!

After work a group of us went to a local restaurant for dinner, the food was good and everyone was really nice.  We got some beers from the 7/11 on the way back and drank them back at the centre.  Just before I went to bed, it started to rain hard and all the power went out, which is common on these islands. I just about summed up my day,

It's okay here, everyone is keen to work and help, and everyone is lovely, but I cant help but feel that I'm wasting the time I have in Thailand if I stay here for a whole month.  I just feel that I could be using that time to travel and see more of this beauitful country.  It was always the plan to come here and volunteer for 1 month of my 2 month trip, but my thoughts and ideas have changed allot in the last few weeks, I never want to waste my time, I want the most out of everyday.  I had hoped to at least learn something while I was here, and I'm not sure that that is going to happen.

Day 2- Not much to report!

Today I was on the early shift, at LAW we either work 7am- 1pm or 1pm- 7pm.  My alarm went off at 630, although I was already awake, probably due to a combination of the fear of oversleeping, the 30 degrees of heat and lack of air-conditioning!  The morning was pretty uneventful, feeding the dogs and cats, cleaning out cages and dog areas and walking dogs.  A puppy who had been hit by a car was brought in, his left eye was badly damaged and a decision was made to remove it, poor puppy!

It got extremely hot around 12pm and it was decided that it was to hot to walk anymore dogs, so we spend the last hour tidying up outside the front of the center and playing with the dogs. 

After work, I went with 3 of the other volunteers to a local restaurant, we ate and then I came back to the centre to do Landry and catch up on my blogs... How very rock and roll!

I have Friday afternoon and all of Saturday off so I'm thinking of heading to Koh Phi Phi on Friday afternoon and staying there for a night... this island is so quiet and it would be good to party, at least one night!  

Tonight I think we are going out for food and then maybe to a bar..  Its nice here, but it's still no Koh Phangan!

My first day at Lanta Animal Welfare.

Barley on the beach

I arrived at LAW at about 11am, two hours early, (yes, I was early for once in my life!), I met some of the other volunteers and got the key to my room.  After a walk to the local 7/11 and a quick shower I met Matt, the centre manager for my induction.  I was shown around and introduced to everybody, human and animal.  I wondered how the hell I was going to remember everybody's names.  The rest of the working day went by pretty quickly, I walked a couple of dogs on the beach, was show how to move dogs safely around the centre, how to make feeds up and clean out cat cages.  We had 2 cats brought in for sterilizing, Hal the vet said he needed a 'vet nurse' to help, I stuck my hand up and was in surgery before anyone else had the chance!  My plan is to train as a vet nurse when I get home, it's a career that I have been interested in for a long time, but I've just never gotten round to doing anything about it.  There was one female and one male cat, I have seen a male castration before but this was the first chance I got to observe a female spaying.  The thing that stands out from that experience is how little equipment they have here, they don't have a pair of clippers so Hal had to pluck the hairs out from around the cats balls before he could begin! And he had to shave the hair off of the females stomach with a razor blade, tense times!

After work I went to Time for Lime with some of the other volunteers, the food was good and the beer was cold... All in all a good night, although I think I'm still suffering from the Koh Phangan blues!

My journey to Koh Lanta...

So, Ive been in Thailand, the Land of Smiles for just over three weeks, and I'm certainly smiling!  I love it here, Thailand is my favorite place.  After a three week trip around this beautiful country in 2012, I just had to come back! 

I landed in Bangkok on Friday March 8th, After a night and a day in the capital I caught the over-night train to Surat Thani, a bus to Don Sak, and then a boat to the beautiful island of Koh Samui.  On Koh Samui I met Sara from Sweden, and Iiro from Finland... We had a chilled few days together on the amazing beaches of Koh Samui.  Soon it was time to move on, Sara was heading to Krabi in the west. Iiro and I took the short ferry ride over to the neighboring island of Koh Phangan, an island I fell head over heels in love with when I visited in 2012.  Once we arrived in Haad Rin, Koh Phangan, Iiro and I went our separate ways. 

I checked into a hostel, The Hard Road Cafe, in Baan Tai which is in the south east of the island, I planned to stay for two nights, then head to Koh Tao, an island I haven't visited before, and somewhere I wanted to see.  On my first night at Hard Road I went to 'Amsterdam Bar' with some new friends, Liz and Jo, who were also staying at the hostel, we drank beers and watched the sunset, it was all very chilled and relaxing, just as I remembered it and just what I needed at this point in time.  On my second night on Koh Phangan, Anna arrived.  Anna was from London and reminded me of my friends back home.  We got on immediately, and I guess this is where it all began.  Anna decided to stay for five nights, I decided to do the same.  After a few beers and a beach party, it was quite clear that five more night were not going to be enough, I decided to stay on Koh Phangan until after the full Moon Party, another two weeks!  Over the next few days more backpacking crazies arrived at the hotsel and our Koh Phangan family was born! An Amazing couple of weeks with my 'new bestfriends' followed, Beach parties, pool parties, raves in the jungle, island adventures and general dorm room debauchery and dramas all ensued! I had the best time of my life in those two and a bit weeks, I met the most amazing, wierd, wonderful and crazy people, I hope we can all keep in touch and maybe met up later in life.  The stresses and upsets of my life back home in rainy, grey England were all but forgotten and a new chapter of my life began. I was here for a reason, a reason that I soon discovered was not all that uncommon... I was here to heal a broken heart.

After the Full Moon Party it was time to move on, we had all been 'stuck' on Koh Phangan for to long... After all, it's not traveling if you stay in one place!  So, we said our goodbyes, some of us made plans to met up when our paths cross later in our trips.  After Koh Phangan I spent two nights in Krabi town, not the most interesting of places, two nights were enough.  Next it was time for the journey to Koh Lanta, where I was due to start a one month volunteer placement at Lanta Animal Welfare on April 1st.


The journey from Krabi to Koh Lanta took about 3 hours, it dragged and if I'm honest, I wasn't that excited about arriving on the island, I missed Koh Phangan and wish I could of stayed longer... Koh Lanta has allot to live up to!

So finally I have arrived on Koh Lanta, I am staying at Time for Lime, a restaurant/ beach bar/ bungalow complex which is used to raise funds to support Lanta Animal Welfare (LAW).  I will spend the next two nights here before I move into the dorms at LAW.  I know this will be a very different experience that of the antics and escapades of Koh Phangan, but I'm hoping it will be just as good, all be it in a different way.