Quick update...

I'm never really sure where this blog's heading but am increasingly aware that I haven't written anything about what I've been up to since leaving the Philippines. So here we go on a breakneck tour through the last month.

Arriving back in Bangkok wasn't as bad as I'd thought it would be - yes it was strange to see so many other tourists, but it felt familiar enough to be quite comforting in a way. Anyway, I knew I was heading straight out so could cope with anything. An overnight bus and early ferry got me to Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand where I'd arranged to meet an Israeli friend, Yogi, who Emma and I had bumped into loads of times in the Philippines. Israelis generally have quite a bad reputation on the 'travelling circuit', for being loud, unfriendly, rude, arrogant etc. While this maybe true of some Israelis, it's certainly also true of Brits, Germans, Irish, Australians and pretty much any other nation, particularly when they get together in large groups. And as with any other nation there are Israelis who don't want to hang out with other Israelis, and sometimes go out of their way to avoid them. Yogi's one of these, and that's one of the reasons I like him so much. We bonded in our desire to not hangout with our fellow countrymen all the time.

Koh Phanang was a bit of a shock. I'd last been there in 1993 and had a vague memory of what it was like, but wasn't prepared for the full scale development that had happened. This place was "Reps Uncovered" territory, without the reps. Hoards of shirtless blokes with varying degrees of tan/burn drinking themselves into oblivion and then thinking they were looking attractive enough to go on the pull. Yogi actually described it best when he noticed the similarity between the zombies in Sean of the Dead (or Dawn of the Dead if you're a purist) lunging, arms outstretched towards their victim and the sight on the beach as the sun came up after the Full Moon Party. I know I'm sounding like a bit of an old git, and to be honest I did feel a bit of one. I actually had a great time on Phangan though, mostly because it was good to be with Yogi again and also we were lucky enough to meet a lovely bunch of Danish, and trust me, the Danish know how to party more than we do.

Next Yogi and I headed up to Koh Tao for a last couple of dives before he had to go back to Israel. The diving was terrible and made me realise how spoilt I'd been in the Philippines but Koh Tao was good fun. Not as wild as Phangan, but enough to make me need a few days chilling (liver recovery) on my own once Yogi had left, so I headed to Aow Leuk on the quiet side of the island and had a fantastic time ignoring the rest of the world, reading, sunbathing, swimming and hammocking. I've realised over the last 7 months that occasionally I need to do this - withdraw completely, not communicate with anyone, and I love it.

Then it was back to Bangkok to meet Emma again. For those of you who haven't been paying attention, Emma and I first met in Indonesia last year then we met in the Philippines for 2 weeks in May. We had such a good time that she decided to come back in June for a month before heading to India. The plan had been to probably meet in Australia some time later in the year, but plans never stay the same so we decided we'd travel a bit more of South East Asia together. Not a light undertaking as we are both pretty independent and love travelling on our own but you've got to take some risks sometimes.

It was fantastic to see each other again (although I was pretty disappointed Emma wasn't taken by India at all, it being one of my all time favourite places) and amazing to sit down and be able to say "ok, where shall we go?". Diving was obviously our main priority so after a few days in Bangkok with Kiwi Geoff (of the ridiculous betting fame) we got the train down to Malaysia and headed over to the Perhentian Islands. They are truly stunning; gorgeous beaches backed by thick jungle, beautiful clear water and some not bad diving (I'm still spoilt by Phil.s). Not a bad place to have my birthday either, although we were a little bit sneaky and pretended my birthday was on the 11th and celebrated it then as we had to leave and travel all day on the 12th. No one seemed to mind when I drunkenly told them the truth, but I did feel a little bit guilty when Emma had to travel with me the next day me not only with a screaming hangover (avoid Malaysian whiskey at all costs) but also put up with me reminding her it was my really my birthday today and she should be extra nice to me.

So finally up to date. Currently in Kuala Lumpur, waiting for an Indonesian visa (which it annoyingly turns out we could have got cheaper and quicker at the border) before heading to Sumatra for some more diving. The plan after that is still pretty vague. Emma wants to do her divemaster and I need to get a job and some experience somewhere before doing my instructors course, so we're on the look out for a suitable spot. In the meantime as long as there's water in the ocean, heat in the sun and beer in the fridge I'm sure well manage.