From Ulster to Oz by bus: Blog Ten
ULSTERMAN Darren McCaffrey continues his journey to Australia and his latest blog covers his travel escapades from southern Thailand to Indonesia.
The civil servant is edging ever closer to his destination of Down Under and having abandoned the Oz bus, Darren and his fellow travellers are now using alternative modes of transport given the circumstances.
In Darren's own words - week 10 was a story of sun, sea and...lost luggage.
Darren's Blog
The week began as it had ended with another brilliant display of nature. As we made our way to the port, the heavens opened, the wind picked up and the sky lit up with a fantastic lightening show - not ideal conditions to board a rickety old boat. As we made our way from Ko Samui to Ko Phangan to what was described as the 'original and best full moon party in the world.' Conditions proved so treacherous it forced half of the group to turn back!
The Thai's need little excuse to party and they never disappoint. Thousands from around the world thronged the beach, all out to have a good time. Alcohol was served in buckets from the bars that lined the shore and there were all sorts of music and performances. The atmosphere was electric, the setting amazing and it was one of the best nights I have ever had.
Beach parties are infamous for their trouble. Several people did have their money stolen, another had her drink spiked and someone even managed to break his foot. And as the night wore on the scenes on the beach grew even more bizarre.
Ko Samui was an ideal place to recover, not just from the full moon party, but from the traveling and sights of the past few weeks. It was pleasant to lounge on the beach, go for a swim and enjoy some good food in the paradise setting. It was also a nice surprise to meet up with a friend from Uni who has been traveling independently. A familiar face from home.
Thailand is a backpacker's dream, its liberal, laid back attitude, ability to throw a good party and stunning scenery and history make it an incredible place to visit. It is no surprise that it features in every gay year student's itinerary and its somewhere I would like to return to.
After a stop-over in Hat Yai it was south to our seventeenth country, Malaysia. Although on the surface it didn't change much, with developed infrastructure and similar scenery, it is more culturally conservative and lacks the vibrant feel of Thailand. After a visit to the island of Penang we drove to Kula Lumpur, the nation's capital. KL is a city of business, with lots of international companies and skyscrapers. The most famous being the Petronas Towers (the world's tallest building until 2004). They truly are stunning and a fitting tribute to Malaysia's success. Our final stop was the historic city of Melaka with its Dutch and British colonial buildings it was a little tradition amongst much modernity.
It was only when we reached Melaka did I notice that my luggage had gone missing, I hadn't seen it since we had crossed the border into Malaysia. It had almost all my clothes and something I couldn't carry on without. After many frantic phone calls it became clear that in a comedy of errors between the bus drivers and hotel staff that my bag had been left in Penang. On Friday I would travel to Indonesia literally with only the clothes on my back as arrangements were made to post it on – though the possibility of not getting it back remains great.
To get to Indonesia we traveled on a high speed power boat across the choppy Melaka strait. The four hour crossing was very rough and left many holding on to sick bags as they turned a funny shade of green. Arriving on Sumatra was like stepping back 25 years. The roads deteriorated, bureaucracy increased and the quality of food and our hotels nose dived.
Sumatra has many natural reserves and there are many oil and gas pipelines but it is the destruction of another resource which is most stark. The Indonesians are clearing the rainforest on a massive scale and it is worrying to see so much destruction, particularly knowing the effect it has on local wildlife and of course climate change.
So with no backpack I must troop on as tomorrow we finally cross the equator into the southern hemisphere.
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Weather for Belfast
Monday 13 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 4 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
