mohawk_chick

mohawk_chick @ 2009-10-03T15:40:00

2009-10-03T14:48:43Z

I got £100 out the cash machine this morning. I went to the caff and had a breakfast. I clearly remember paying with a £20 as I had no tenners. Walked up to the paper shop, didn't buy anything, then went to the pound shop and bought a broom for £2.99. I gave him a fiver. Then I walked down to the pub car park to get my car. Opened the passenger side door and put the broom and my bag on the seat. Walked round the car, got in and drove home.

Got out the car and picked up bag and broom and came indoors. Dropped bag behind the door and left it there.

Adam came up later, I had a shower and got changed then we went to the pub, it's his birthday. I bought the first drink and I'm sure I used the tenner. Adam got the next one and when it was my turn again the £80 had gone. I got Nancy to double check my purse for me and it's definately not there. I emptied my bag out. Not there. I came home and checked the car. Not there. I re-emptied my bag and purse in the house. Nothing.

I just don't get it, if someone pickpocketed me then why didn't they just take the purse? I don't remember anyone being close to me so I can't even think when it could have happened. The only time my bag was alone was when Adam was in the house or when I went to the bar, but even then, I had my purse on me in the bar. I am 100,000% sure Adam didn't take it. And the other people we were with I can't imagine they would either.

I'm fucking baffled to be honest. It's hard being positive when you keep getting knocks.

Holy moly

2009-07-21T22:38:37Z

"fucking men

For fucks sake why are you here! You are all arses. You seem to enjoy ruthlessly pursuing us until we start to see you as a potential fuck, or worse a boyfriend, then you start acting like total cunts when any signs of reciprocation are shown. For your information I would never have looked twice at you had you not made it your life's ambition to get me to notice you to the point now where your face is emblazoned on my retinas. Initially I had you firmly marked as arrogant, horny as fuck, and way out of my league - however, you managed through brutal perseverence to get me to start to actually believe there was something in this mild flirtation to the point where I now have a permanent ache in my loins. I am so frustrated I am once again left with no choice but to frap off before bed time."

Ok, I did not post the above on the Corner at Holy Moly, but I might as well have. Made me laugh anyway.

Just a test

2009-07-11T13:16:48Z

Downloaded on my iPhone so just testing it out

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

mohawk_chick @ 2008-09-26T01:07:00

2008-09-26T00:10:59Z

I am a wreck. I am happy because I have Sandie back. But absolutely devastated about Jennifer. I am swinging from euphoria to the depth of depresseion.

She was my best friend. I just can't imagine that I will never see her again. I thought she would turn up, like a bad penny. i am so sad.

mohawk_chick @ 2008-09-25T19:30:00

2008-09-25T18:35:58Z

I feel like such a fraud. Because I wasn't there with my best friend when she died. How dare I be this upset about it when she has been dead for 2 years. But every time I think about her being on her own. Every time I think about her not being here. I miss her so much, because she is theone that |I would have spoken to about this.

I feel like a lost soul at sea. Like nothing can ever make me feel better. I can never watch Casualy or Eastenders again, or listen to The Best or Oasis because of you. I just want to turn back the clock and do something to help you and make this never happen.

Goodbye Flutterbye

2008-09-25T01:43:47Z

I met Jennifer when I was 18 and she was 17. We worked together. After a while we became best friends, we even got a flat together.

When she had Sandie it was the happiest day of my life. Seeing my little princess, bawling her eyes out, was the most amazing thing ever.

We fell in and out for 15 years. I was sometimes a bad friend and she was sometimes a bad friend, but we always had Sandie.

My last entry about her was about how angry I was at her for blocking me from her friends on MSN. But that anger was genuinlly down to me thinking that I cared so much about them and aggravated at being pushed out.

Jen, I'm so sorry for all the times I was ever angry at you. I wasn't an angel either and not the perfect friend.

I've known for a while that you were dead. I just felt it, but I needed to have confirmation. Remember we always said I was a little bit pyschic? I didn't think that the one time I would be right would be now.

I wish I had been there for you, I wish I could have done something for you to help you. I really tried. But I could have tried harder for Sandie. That child shouldn't have gone through that on her own and that is something I will regret until the day I die.

Please forgive me for not being there for you, and not being there for Sandie. I promise you that I will always be there for her from this day on until the day I die.

Jennifer, I will never have another friend like you. I will never forget you and I will always love you.

I am so angry that I wasn't there at your funeral. Babe, I would have put on the show that you would have wanted. I'd have played all your songs and I'd have done the drama that I'd know you'd really love. I'd even have played The Best and you know how much I hate that song.

I have missed you for years, and I'm not surprised that you are not with us anymore, but I kept on hoping you were getting better and that a miracle had happened. Remember when we sent Sabre off to the "farm" to be looked after. I suppose years later I know he wasn't ever sent to a farm. I kept thinking you were living out in the country, away from all this and doing good. I knew you had died but I kept on hoping that I would hear something different.. I thought you were living out in the country and having a good time. I really wanted that for you.

It's been 2 years since you died and I only found out today. I feel like I have done 2 years worth of grieving in a few small hours and that this pain will never go away.

Show me heaven

Jx

Hospital cock ups

2008-09-15T21:04:50Z

I got to the hospital 20 minutes early today. Great I thought. But then everyone started going in after me. Even people who I had seen coming in later. It was the end of the fracture clinic and I was still waiting, Clare kept going up and asking what was happening. Turned out they had lost my notes, even though I've only ever been to the fracture clinic. Also there wasn't an x-ray booked either which was the whole point in me being there.

Eventually, after about 2 1/2 hours I got to see the doctor, who totally didn't remember me and didn't know what was wrong with me. He claimed that the "internet was down" and he couldn't book me into xray on the computer so gave me a slip to take round there and get done. The guy from the plaster room happened to come out as I was making my way to xray and he stopped me and told the receptionists that I shouldn't be walking and I needed a wheelchair. So we had to wait again for a chair, which was good I suppose because I would have struggled walking round to xray.

At xray the doctor had written my date of birth down wrong so they couldn't find me either. Then they claimed that there was nothing wrong with the system and he could have booked me in himself. Eventually I went in for my xray and the girl doing it asked which leg it was. Erm, the one that's in the bright pink plaster??????

So the upshot is that the bones haven't moved and I don't need an operation. But, I'm not allowed to put any weight on it for 4 more weeks. They wouldn't give me a shoe because i shouldn't be walking on it anyway. All well and good but I can't hop all the time. I don't know how I'm going to manage for the next four weeks, not allowed to walk on my left foot.

Also, I think I might have to cancel my creative writing course as I don't see how I can get up there for the first couple of weeks.

mohawk_chick @ 2008-09-07T23:37:00

2008-09-07T22:45:34Z

Wow what a boring weekend. The people in charge of the TV should all be shot. I have EVERY single channel, but can't find anything to watch except reruns of Friends and Sex and the City. Even Raymond hasn't been on this weekend. I have found a new programme though which is Monkey Business or Monkey Life which is about a monkey sanctuary in Devon.

Anyway, had a few friends round this weekend so it's been nice, just that when they haven't been here I've been bored. I suppose the end of Big Brother didn't help.

Tomorrow I go and get my permanent cast on, so hopefully it'll be better. Today I managed to put on a washing, feed the cats myself and *drum roll* have a bath. That was the best bath I ever had, even if one leg was sticking up in the air, but boy it felt good to feel really clean again.

I tried to ring Martin today but it went straight to voicemail. I was planning on ringing him back but Mandy came round so I didn't get the chance. Will try again tomorrow. Alex rang me and is adamant that I should go down and visit him in Newquay. I quite fancy it for a couple of days although the weather looks appalling. I don't want to get washed away along with the rest of my troubles. We'll see.

mohawk_chick @ 2008-08-23T09:47:00

2008-08-23T08:49:59Z

Hey baby come round
keep holding me down
and I'll be keeping you up tonight.
The four letter word got stuck in my head
the dirtiest word that I've ever said
it's making me feel alright.
For what it's worth I love you
and what is worse I really do
oh what is worse I'm gonna run run run
'till the sweetness gets to you
and what is worse I love you!

Hey please baby come back
there'll be no more loving attack
and I'll be keeping it cool tonight.
The four letter word is out of my head
come on around get back in my bed
keep making me feel alright.
For what it's worth I like you
and what is worse I really do
things have been worse
and we had fun fun fun
'til I said I love you
and what is worse I really do!

For what it's worth I love you
and what is worse I really do

August

2008-08-19T22:39:19Z

I hate August.

In Scotland, the schools break up in June and go back early to mid August. I have always felt that August is the very end of the summer, but yet for the English, it's the height of the summer.

What I don't get though, is that 21 June IS midsummer. Back home in Scotland it's still broad daylight at 10pm at that time of year. Now I know we don't have great weather in Scotland most of the time anyway, but come on, August is shit. We've not had a bad June or July this year, yet nearly everyone in my work is having their 2 weeks in August and a lot of them are staying here at home. It's raining, it's cold and it's getting dark around 8.45. What is the point.

On the other hand, if you are going abroad to say, Greece or Turkey then it's waay to hot for us. June is a lovely time to visit the Med. It's still hot enough to lie out all day but not unbearably so.

As a kid August is when we went back to school and the start of a new term. It was also annoying that during June, when the English kids were still at school there was no daytime TV. We would get a week or two of cartoons and stuff near the end of the holidays but we'd be back at school and the BBC would still be playing childrens programmes for the whole of August that we'd miss.

As an adult I've always loved the months between May and July. It's when I'm most full of life and sociable. It's also a time that I've been in love and had lovely summer flings that had usually fizzled out by August.

I love this lyric from Loves Great Fears - Deacon Blue. This song has always been my August song. It's very melancholy and sums up exactly how I feel about August .

(R.Ross, J.Prime)

you know the agony of seeing it all slip away
well maybe noe you'd be happy just
to talk it out straight
slipping away
about the danger of
believing in plans in hand
about the role that you have
in this delecate plan
slipping away

let's talk it out now
let's name them one by one

love's great fears
can't you see them burn
twist and turn as you walk and learn
love's great fears
can't you see them burn
twist and turn as you walk and learn

you know danger of believing
that the summer's gone
and with the fading light the
feeling that love is falling
slipping away
if you believe in the
dangers that you suppose
you think it can tumble down none of us knows
it's all slipping away

let's talk it out now
let's name them one by one

love's great fears
can't you see them burn
twist and turn as you walk and learn
love's great fears
can't you see them burn
twist and turn as you walk and learn

Creative Writing

2008-08-06T12:54:28Z

I've just enrolled on an 11 week creative writing course starting in September. I got such a taste for it last year at the Grange, but anything I've written since, with the exception of on here or in my diary, I've thought was a bit shit. I got good feedback from everyone who read my Thailand blog, but I wouldn't dream of doing a public day to day blog. Some of the stuff I write is way too personal.

I'm probably over critical but think a class with a teacher who can either criticise or praise me is just what I need. I'm more than happy for someone to say that's a bit shit, as long as I know it's someone who knows what they are talking about and who is able to point out where I'm going wrong.

I have to say, I really must thank Andrew for giving me the push to do this. Not only is it a writing course that sounds exactly like what I've wanted to do, it's a Friday night course which will force me to not follow my old habits and head straight down the pub every Friday after work. Not saying I won't be able to go there after, but hopefully I'll get to meet new people with similar interests to me. Plus it's in Covent Garden so how nice will it be to take a wander through there on a Friday evening instead of being in shitty old Clapton.

Very excited.

Book MeMe

2008-06-25T18:55:33Z

Nicked this Big Read MeMe from lalaith1

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them ;-)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell - on my shelf to read, have started it many many times though
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan - Another one on my to read shelf, started it but couldn't get on with it. Will try again.
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy - managed about half of it
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams (
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Weightwatchers

2008-05-28T10:36:16Z

Started doing WeightWatchers a fortnight ago and was really chuffed that I'd lost 2lb last week. This week however, 4lb on. Pisser. It's completely down to the 2 kebabs, chinese takeaway and chicken and chips I consumed over the bank holiday weekend and the numerous beers, jack daniels and sambucas. Thing is with me though is that was all I ate over the weekend. I didn't have them as well as breakfast and lunch, that was it. So I'm off the drink and trying to be good for the next however many months/years.

I'm so depressed.

Obsession

2008-04-20T11:14:39Z

The Terry obsession thing is still going on but I've since also had a dream about This guy then last night one about Dom and also another bloke Gary who is just a friend who I flirt with sometimes.

I need to get some kind of love interest before I start having dreams about Big Griff.

Alex

2008-04-17T12:13:03Z

Just had a phone call from Alex, who I met in Koh Pha ngan. He's just recovering from an operation and will be here in Blighty until about August. It was so great to speak to him even though my mind is already made up about going it's just making more determined. Must. Be. Patient.

He has a caravan down in Cornwall so he suggested we get off down there for a few days in the summer which will be a blast. I'm looking forward to bringing him down here and introducing him to my friends.

Wanderlust

2008-04-12T12:19:23Z

I have the above. And I have it badly. I've felt like this once before and then I ended up in Israel for a year and half. This time though I am planning on doing things bigger and better. Instead of travelling to one place, loving it and spending all my money there I am hoping to do the whole round the world thing. I want to give up everything here, sell it all off and spend the rest of my days like a nomad.

Obviously, knowing me, this could change at any time in the next few months, but for now, it is my goal.

Next week I've got an appointment with Andrew, the life coach from the Isle of Wight. I want to do a bit more hypnotherapy as I want to get my PADI diving certificate. It's a little difficult when your terrified of fish though. I'm still shuddering at the thought of all those blue fishes swarming round my head in the middle of the Andoman sea. Once this is done though I might book up a weeks diving in the Red Sea.

The life coaching stuff is to help me motivate myself. For my writing, for my gym going, for my work, for everything in my life. I'm so bone idle at the moment that apart from lazing about the house watching repeats of Everybody Loves Raymond I'm doing absolutely nothing. Things have to change and if it takes a life coach to push me into it then so be it.

I feel like I am on the verge of being happy. I'm not miserable by any stretch of the imagination, but I certainly wouldn't class my life as being full and vibrant and happy but I'm working on changing that.

mohawk_chick @ 2008-03-23T13:11:00

2008-03-23T13:16:17Z

Gaah I can't keep reading blogs and looking at pictures reminding myself that I'm not in Thailand anymore.

Something is going to have to give. I need to get back out there. I have some savings that could pay off a couple of credit cards, I could sell the car and I could quite easily give up the house. What I can't do though is be without my cats. I'm tempted to ask my mum to have them but she lives in a flat and they wouldn't be able to get out and about. It's worse than having a kid. At least if I had one of them I'd take it with me.

Does anyone want to foster a couple of lovely loving cats?

mohawk_chick @ 2008-03-21T09:43:00

2008-03-21T09:54:37Z

As first weeks back from holiday go, this one probably has to be the worst ever. As well as the bug that I seemed to pick up, I've also come on today. Which isn't headline news I appreciate but for me it's an ominous sign as it shouldn't be happening and as it didn't happen at all while I was away I was lulled into a false sense of security that the coil was actually working. I'm beginning to think that it might be pyschological though, I mean, it's not that I'm imagining it but more that I've been a bit down since being back and possibly that's whats making it happen. Along with the normal stuff I've got the cramps and the craving for chocolate. sigh.

But, the real important thing that happened this week is that my Aunt passed away. She was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago but the doctors were never really able to establish where it was. This week she took a very dramatic and sudden turn for the worse and sadly died on Wednesday afternoon. She certainly did not get the care and treatment she deserved, in fact she hadn't had any cancer treatment whatsoever and from what I've been told her passing was incredibly traumatic. Not just for her, but for all the family who were around her at the time.

I'm not going up for the funeral, 3 weeks holiday and almost a week off sick and I would feel really bad about asking for time off to attend the funeral.

I'm more and more drawn to the idea that I need to get out of my job. I do love 2 of the people I work for but I need somewhere more social and I need a more interesting job. My 3 weeks away has certainly opened my eyes to a lot of things, mainly the people that I'm friends with. Even last night, I prefererred to stay at home alone than walk up to the pub and hear the same petty arguments and closed mindedness that I've become so used to. I'm not saying I'll never go there again, just that I'm desperate for more fun and more interesting people.

I'm hoping to book up to the Winchester Writers conference in the summer, although it may well clash with the Annual user test. If that is the case then I know that work won't let me have the time off and yet at the moment my writing is more important to me so that may well be the catalyst for me to go.

Anyway, we'll see what happens. Good Friday today, I may go shopping up in Brent Cross.

Holiday Blues

2008-03-19T11:28:25Z

Depression has set in. As well as diarrhea, stomach pains and a droopy eye. Got back to work on Monday feeling worse for wear. I'd had a few beers on Sunday but I'd come home early and had an early night. Was feeling more and more tired as the day wore on and at 5pm I had my coat on, my bag and keys in my hand and was just ready to fall out the door when Chirpy McHyper came back and started droning on and on about this boring fucking meeting he'd been in.

You know 3 weeks away from that man I was just beginning to feel human again, but from the second he walked through the door on Monday morning I could feel all the life being sucked out of me again.

I stopped him talking mid sentence and left. On the drive home my eyes felt tired and heavy, but by the time I got home my left eye was a bit tender. I checked it in the mirror and it was a bit red and swollen looking so I figured I might be getting a sty. It was Paddy's Day and I was supposed to be going out but I knew I wasn't well when my bed was a better option at 6pm.

After an hour or two in bed I got up and was horrified to see my left eye was nearly completely closed. I was too tired to care though and I pretty much slept from about 7pm Monday night to 6am Tuesday morning. I rang in work about 8 and said I wasn't coming in and slept again right through to 12.

I am genuinely not well, but my heart feels sick every time I think about spending another day in that office with those same people. It's not that I don't like them (well except Chirpy McHyper) it's just that it's the same thing every day for the last 3 years. Nothings changed. I could start looking for another job, but for what, to be stuck in the same situation 3 years down the line with 3 other people who bore me to tears.

Anyway, I'm feeling slightly demotivated at the moment but I'm not going to allow myself to wallow in it. I enjoyed doing my writing while I was away and I'm definately going to pursue this now. Once I'm feeling a bit better I'm going to look for some creative writing courses and that is going to be my escape plan. Until then I'll just need to suck it up.

One positive note is that we interviewed someone on Monday for a new role we're creating. I liked her and if we employ her then she will have to sit next to me. Which means Chirpy McHyper will have to sit somewhere else (on the roof in a hurricane hopefully).

Scarramanga

2008-03-10T08:29:55Z

The evening after I'd been to Phi Phi I went into town and met up with Dan, Jordan and Richard. Jordan has dubbed us the Lonely club as we're all travelling solo. They'd all had a large night the night before and Dan was nursing a 2 sore arms, 1 because he came off his motorbike while pissed, the other because he'd had a tattoo done. Jordan had only gotten out of bed at 6pm! We had a few drinks in O'Malleys and Richard wanted to go on somewhere. I've been calling him (to myself) the sex tourist because he's a bit seedy like that. I'm not particularly keen on him, he's a bit off with me, I think he thinks I'll cramp his style. Anyway he enticed Jordan to go to a girly bar and Jordan bless him invited me along. I declined. I said I'd meet up with them later in the Luna Bar. Dan was watching football so I went off to the Luna Bar where they were doing buy one get one free Vodka and Red Bulls so I had 4. Then I tuk tuk'd it back to the bungalow.

Felt a bit rough in the morning and really regretted going OTT the night before as it was James Bond Island day. Got picked up at 8.30 and off we went. First stop was Monkey Cave which was very cool. Loads and loads of Monkeys about and they would come right up to you and take food from your hands. Got loads of pictures. Inside the cave was a temple with a reclining Buddha. I really love the Reclining Buddha, it's an image of when Buddha lay down next to a river and then passed to Nirvana. They are just so peaceful looking.

Back in the bus and off to the pier to get the Longtail Boat. We all had our pictures taken walking down the pier and later they were superimposed onto these plate things, they looked like ashtrays to be honest. I'm kicking myself that I didn't get one because I thought it would have been a great present for Paul Cowan lol.

The boat then took us to Panyee, the floating village. It looked cool coming up to it, but to be honest once you were there it was just same same as any other tourist stop. Big restaurants and shops selling shells and sarongs. Food was good though. They had a shark in a cage outside, it wasn't huge but still, I'd hate to bump into him in the sea. Which reminds me, theres a restaurant in town that has a tank outside with crocodile fish. They are these big long fish with long flat noses. Horrible, but even worse I had a dream that they were chasing me the other night.

After Panyee we went to a stop where the canoes took off from. I didn't want to canoe so us left in the boat went round an island a bit and through a cave then back to the floating canoe place to wait for the canoeists. I got some nice pictures and was so glad I got that wide angle lens.

James Bond Island was five minutes away and was really nice. The boats come in the other side so it's not quite as busy as Maya Beach was. Still very busy. Our tour guide took some pics of me in front of Nail Island. I should have done the gun thing like James Bond and Scarramanga but I forgot. I've never seen a James Bond film in my life so the significance was kind of lost on me but it was still a beautiful place to see.

We then got back in the boat and headed off to the pier but not before we sailed through some Mangrove forests and took in what I would probably say is the most spectacular scenery I've ever seen in my life.

By this time I was really knackered and once we got back to the bus I promptly fell asleep only to be awoken when we reached the waterfall. This was amazing, you climbed up about 3 levels and then came to a deep pool where you go and swim. I was feeling like a right Jungle Jane by then. On the way back down something by my feet caught my eye and then I heard someone squeeling behind me. Was a snake. Well at this point Jungle Jane lost all her bravado and turned into Hurry Up and Get Out Of Here Jane. So a shark and a snake in one day. God's two most evil creatures.

Got back to hotel at 6.45 and was really bushed. Decided not to go out and just eat in the hotel restaurant. When I got over there Sam, Joe and Ash from the Phi Phi trip were all there. Joe had been unwell after cutting himself on some coral. So we had some food and a few drinks. Then Sam decided to go out and all my good intentions went out the window. He knocked for me at 10pm but he had really sore sunburned feet and had changed his mind which was really a good thing for me so we went back to the restaurant and had a few beers there. Then we all went back to my bungalow and sat outside chatting for ages. They are all leaving today so we exchanged facebook id's and stuff and hopefully I'll meet up with them when I go back home.

This morning I went to a Thai Cooking School which was brilliant. Learned how to make loads of different Thai Dishes including my favourite Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango. So look out everyone, you'll all be getting invited to a Thai night round my gaff when I get back. There was only 2 of us there, a really nice Canadian girl called Heather so we were able to get try all the dishes and ask loads of questions.

Got dropped off in town and if I'm honest I've been pub crawling it back. It was so hot that I stopped at Luna Bar, then the Happy Beach Bar and I'm now in the Limestone restaurant having a cold Singha and uploading my pics.

Today is my last day in Ao Nang and tomorrow I get the overnight train to Bangkok which I'm really looking forward too. Back to Khao San Road, hit the shops and home on Saturday. 3 weeks is definately not enough time, I'm only just getting into the swing of things.

Will write again from Bangok.

Sawaat Dii Kaa
J

mohawk_chick @ 2008-03-08T12:12:00

2008-03-08T05:50:01Z

There are 2 things I dislike about travelling alone. 1 is that you have no-one to rub suntan lotion into your back. 2 is no-one to look after your bag when you go swimming. Apart from that, still loving it. hehe.

Let me just start by telling you about my awful humiliation this morning. Was walking into town as I had to change up some money, I'm wearing a new brown skirt because pretty much everything else is needing washed and a white t-shirt. I came to this building site and there was a bus parked in front of it. I could have walked round the front of the bus but took the quicker option of going round the back, through the mud. Well pretty much as soon as I stepped on it it was like an ice rink and i was slipping and sliding all over. Just when I thought I got my balance I went crashing down. I landed right on my arse and I hate to say it but it looked like I'd shat myself. Oh the shame. I also hurt my hand a wee bit but nothing like the pain of my wounded pride. So I've spent the morning wandering around town, eating breakfast, shopping in a shit stained skirt. And while I'm on the subject of skankiness it's now exactly 2 weeks since I last washed my hair. I may as well go for the record now and leave it tell I get home. No point spending hard earned bahts on shampoo eh?

Yesterday I went on a speedboat trip. There were 3 other people from my hotel on it, 2 guys and a girl from London. All pretty young and friendly enough. Actually 1 of them is a complete cock. He's one of those people who make me embarassed to be a Brit abroad. The annoying thing is he is the one who has been here for 6 weeks travelling around and the other 2, his girlfriend and his best mate are just out for 2 weeks. Anyway I got chatting with them and we all sat up the front of the speedboat together with an German couple.

First stop was Monkey Bay, unfortunately the tide was in and we weren't able to go onto the beach to see the Monkeys but we were able to snorkel out in the bay. I got up to jump off the boat but my bottle went so I just climbed off the back.  Can you imagine me snorkelling, a few years ago you'd have had to pay me a million pound just to get into the water. I really enjoyed it though, the water wasn't too deep and very clear with loads of little yellow and black fishes.

Then, next stop was Maya Bay. This of course is probably the whole reason I came to Thailand in the first place I'm ashamed to say. I first heard about how great Thailand was when I was in Israel and considered it then but couldn't afford it. Then I was given a rough guide to Thailand when I worked at the network and that really got me interested. Then I read the Beach. And loved it and read it again. Then they made the film and that was it. Unfortunately I'm clearly not the only one.

Maya Bay is quite small and the cliffs are actually much closer to the beach than you would think. It was really beautiful and breathtaking and would have been all the better had there not been about 30 speedboats moored up and about 350 people all crammed onto the tiny beach. I got the obligatory shot of me in front of the cliffs (I'm wearing my bathing costume though so it's not for public viewing) and a couple more shots and the battery on my camera packed up.

Once we came out of the bay we went to a lagoon round the other side of the island but it had become quite overcast and the see had gotten quite choppy so we weren't allowed to snorkel. Up on the cliffs there were trees with these huge bats hanging from them, I was really gutted I didn't have my camera. Funny though there was a movie on the other day about vampire bats, it was crap but seeing those bats hanging up there did give me the creeps.

Next we went to the Viking cave but by then it had started to rain and the sea was really rough so we weren't able to stop there for long either. The trip from Phi Phi Leh to Phi Phi Don was mental, it was chucking it down with rain and and we were being tossed about inside that speed boat like we were in a washing machine.

By the time we got to Phi Phi Don the weather had become beautiful again, we stopped for lunch which was ok, a chinese buffet thing and then we had 2 hours before getting back to the boat. Phi Phi Don was hit really badly by the tsunami, it's basically 2 islands connected by a thin stretch of land, this is the main resort and the ferry port etc. When the tsunami hit, it hit both sides of this stretch meeting in the middle, I think I read there was 2000 people killed there. Once there it's easy to see how destructive it could have been, the market has very narrow lanes and theres loads of little stalls here and there.  You really can't imagine how anyone could have survived that.

Anyway I walked across to the beach on the northern side which was really lovely. It was also a type of lagoon with cliffs that go quite far round it although are much further out than Maya Bay.  I sat there for a while and then made my way back to the boat where I met up with the 3 Londoners again and 3 Norwegian girls.

Next we stopped at this coral reef but it was right out in the middle of the sea. Even though it wasn't that deep I was a bit wary getting in. Eventually I went in and all my snorkelling confidence was gone. There were much more fish here and the crew were throwing bread in to feed them, at one point I was totally surrounded by millions of fish and I can say truthfully, I crapped myself. Then to make matters worse because it was deeper than before it was a nightmare trying to climb back into the boat. By then I was practically paralysed with fear. Anyway I got back on (else I wouldn't be typing this now).

Lastly we stopped at Bamboo Beach. This is really a tropical island and although busy the beach was big enough that it didn't seem so packed. I snorkelled a bit by the beach, I'm much happier when my feet can touch the bottom, although there wasn't a lot too see but I enjoyed it anyway.

The speedboat trip back was really rough again, remind me to sit in the back next time.

I got a taxi into town last night and went on the hunt for a charger for the camera. Found one at 1,850 bht (about 30gbp ouch) but when I went to pay for it I realised I'd taken out the wrong money, I had about 5 100bht notes instead of 5 500bht. The guy was really nice and let me put a deposit on it until today. Then I went to O'Malleys bar and had a couple of drinks, realised that I really didn't have enough money to stay out all night so jumped in a tuk tuk back to hotel, got my money and went back to town. Paid for the charger and went to Planet Ao Nang and had a Mai Tai, yum. Then back to O'Malleys where I got chatting to a guy from Leeds called Dan. Then two young girls (17) from Bristol came in that he introduced me too. They were very funny, one of them got her bag knicked at the full moon party, I asked her how it happened and she ruefully shook her head and explained it was the buckets. Hee I haven't had the pleasure of a bucket yet, and I doubt I will. It's basically a bucket (like a bucket and spade) full of ice with a half bottle of spirits and some mixer. Not for the faint hearted and certainly not for 36 year old ladies travelling alone! I'll leave that up to the 17 year olds.

Anyway, was feeling a little tipsy, which btw has not happened much at all this holiday you will all be pleased to know I am being careful and good, hopped in another tuk tuk and home to bed. I have a vague memory of me listening to my i-pod and singing along in bed.

So now I am off to the Lazy Bar because I owe him some money from the other day, then probably down to the beach. Will need to procure myself a snorkel.

Aint it the life

2008-03-06T03:42:26Z

Hi all, sorry I've not updated for a few days but been busy busy busy.

Went to Haad Rin on Sunday, I was a bit worried that I'd get there and be really gutted that I hadn't spent my holiday there. I was wrong! It was very quiet as it's a real party place so doesn't come alive until evening, which unfortunately is the opposite to me this holiday. I've been up at about 5.30am every day and most nights in bed for about 10pm. All thats missing is an horlicks and my slippers. Anyway wandered round some nice shops, bought a purse with elephants on, a sarong with elephants on and a straw hat. I'm looking more and more hippified by the day. Which reminds me, I brought this HUGE case with me and was really pleased as I thought I'd packed light but have ended up wearing the same 2 pairs of shorts and 3 t-shirts day in day out (I have been getting them washed so not a real skank).

Found an Israeli restaurant there and was excited to see Shwarma on the menu, so ordered it but to be honest it wasn't anything like the real Israeli stuff and wasn't even in bread and no hummus. Then I went down to Sunset Beach which was quite quiet, apparantly around the time of full moon you can't even get a place to sit during the day. I found a nice spot though and lay down and read my book for a while then went for a swim in the very choppy sea.

Caught a taxi back to Thong Sala and went to Lins but no-one was there so went back to my own place and had a shower and changed. Went back into town at night and Alex was in the restaurant over the road. We had Korean barbecue again with Lin and Cha and some others then Lin brought me back on her bike.

Last day in Thong Sala I went for a Thai massage. Gerards sister in law has just opened a place in town. Whilst there I also had a manicure an pedicure. Aint it the life! The Thai massage was bloody painful sometimes. I liked it, but I think i prefer the more relaxing swedish type that you just lie there and feel comfortable rather than have your body contorted into weird positions and be walked on!

I then went with Lin to the Chinese market where we bought these mahoosive king prawns for dinner that night. They were bigger than crayfish I swear. We had a farewell meal that night for me and I agreed with Lin that I would pay for it but that Alex mustn't know. We all got to restaurant about 8pm, Alex, Lin, Cha, David, Linda, Gerard, Som and me. Gerard, Alex and Linda all ordered chicken and chips but Lin started bringing out all these gorgeous fish dishes so as usual there was way too much food. Alex went home first and I must admit I had a bit of a tear in my eye saying goodbye to him. He's a nutter and can be a right pain in the arse when he's pissed (quite a lot) but he's been so lovely to me and if I hadn't met him I can't imagine I"d have had such a good time in Koh Pan Ngang.

I bought a Thai sim card for my phone so we've all exchanged numbers and promised to stay in touch, then Cha took me back to hotel.

Yesterday morning I was up and at em at 5am. Finished packing but had to wait for reception to open to get my stuff out the safe. Plan was to take me to ferry at 6.30 for 7am boat then make my way to Krabi for 2 nights then on to Phi Phi for 4 before back to Surat Thani for overnight train to Bangkok.

I popped into Lins to say goodbye before the ferry and Cha took me the rest of the way on his bike, then he went back, picked up my massive case and took that on the back of the bike too. It's crazy here, you can see whole families on scooters. The other day I saw a little girl about 12 on her scooter chatting on her mobile.

Ferry journey was ok as I slept most of the 2 hours. Got to Donsak and told to wait for bus, it was only 9.30am but it was so hot so everyone was huddled under the tiny bit of shade. Bus came after about 20mins and took us to Surat Thani. This was a nice comfy air-conditioned bus and I of course, slept all the way.

At Surat Thani everyone going to Krabi got piled into the back of a tuk tuk with luggage on the roof, only to find we were only going round the corner to the travel agents who, conveniently, were selling food and drink. We waited there about 40 mins and then were told to follow the guy to the busy, off we trot pretty much back to where we came from (do you see what they did there) and put on this ramshakle old bus. All us Farang (foreigners) were told to sit at the back, but not told why. It soon became pretty obvious as the bus was a normal Thai bus that needed to be filled up before making the journey to Krabi. After about another hour sitting on this stifling hot bus we made a move, only to stop about 100 yards down the road to pick someone else up.  The bus stopped and started all the way and the air con wasn't great so a really awful journey. There were 3 swedes sitting in front of me who I took an instant dislike to, plus this really bookish English guy who sat on the outside of his seat and put his bag on the inside. The Thai's are far to polite to ask someone to move so I ended up squeezed in with about 3 different people.

Just as we reached Krabi province the heavens opened, this time, real torrential rain. I just can't believe my luck with the weather. I'm not sure what's going on as BBC World doesn't seem to pay much attention to South East Asia but I believe we've caught the tail end of a typhoon or something. We got to Krabi bus station, then had to pay another 80bht to get a taxi to the hotels.

Typically my bungalows are miles away from anywhere (but this is not a bad thing). The people in the bungalows are very friendly, I think the last place had a lot of young Burmese kids working there so although they were very sweet their English wasn't very good and they were a bit shy. Once checked in I had a look round the bungalow which is gorgeous. It's massive for a start and the bathroom is very clean with HOT water. Woo Hoo. It also has a mini bar (evil laugh) so I cracked open a well deserved can of Singha. Once settled I went for a little walk and found this cool bar called The Lazy Bar. Theres no seats just cushions and hammocks with loud music. Had a few in there and decided that I don't want to waste any more time travelling on hot smelly buses when I don't need to so went back to hotel and asked could they re-arrange my plans so that I spend the next few days here and go to Phi Phi on a day trip.

This makes a lot more sense as Krabi is much more central and with hundreds of trips you can take, whereas Phi Phi is a very small island, worth seeing, but I'm not sure if it's worth staying there.

I walked into Krabi Town last night and slightly regretted my haste in changing plans. It's awful. Like Blackpool or Benidorm. And it's full of fat, pasty, middle aged Northeners. Its also mostly posh restaurants so I went to Burger King and had some food. On my way back I saw a sign for a bar so thought I'd stop for a drink but it was a girly bar. Where old Farang men go and meet young Thai women and pay them for sex, there was a whole strip of these so I had a wander round but didn't stop. I've been lucky and missed out on this whole side of Thai culture. I was quite disappointed to find out that Pattaya, the place where all the guys I met on the plane were going, is an incredibly seedy part of the country and known as peados paradise. Yeauch.

I flagged a tuk tuk, which is different from the ones in Bangkok as it's a proper motorbike with a side car attached with an L shaped bench in it. They don't go very fast though but it was nice to drive home with the wind in my hair (and my eyes streaming!). Was meant to go back to the Lazy Bar to see a band but once back in my room I fell into bed and went to sleep instead.

I've booked a speed boat trip for tomorrow for Phi Phi, I also found a cool James Bond Tour that I want to go on and possibly a day trip to Khao Sok. So Pha Ngang was a relaxing chilled out experience but it seems Krabi is going to be the opposite.

Love Jane
xxx

Briefly

2008-02-24T09:16:51Z

The flight was delayed overnight and we were put up in a hotel. Trouble is, I'll now be arriving Bangkok 0425am on Monday, so not only have I lost a day, I've also got to try and find some lodgings first thing in the morning and spend my first day jetlagged.

I posted a blog from my blackberry to my email but I can't cut and paste on this stupid Heathrow internet terminal. Will have to try do it from Thailand.

It's not all bad though, met some really fun people in the hotel bar last night so have made some friends already.

More updates coming soon, well tomorrow.

Almost time

2008-02-23T16:31:08Z

I'm all packed. I'm just waiting for my phone to charge and for an album to download and I'm ready to go.

I'm fucking shitting a brick. I physically feel like I could vomit and I'm shaking like a leaf. My Mother didn't help as she's been phoning constantly and I'm not even going to start on how my Daddy has made me feel.

Actually I am, it's something about the older generation that I hate, the need to constantly think the worst. He rang me on Monday night and I was a bit pissed. Now he didn't know I've been drinking again fair enough but I certainly don't drink or behave the way I did before. He's now convinced I'm going to get hammered in Thailand and robbed or killed. Sheesh, theres as much chance of that happening in London. Then this morning I told him I would be taking my Blackberry with me as my phone is playing up he then starts telling me horror stories about people getting sacked from their jobs because of taking advantage of perks.

Why oh why can't he for once just say you'll be fine, I have faith in you, and that's obviously what my problem is. I feel that he thinks I'm incapable of managing on my own. *sighs*

Anyway, time to go. Next update from Bangkok.

T-Day

2008-02-23T11:08:16Z

Today is the big day, off to Thailand tonight. Am inbetween hyperexcitement, terror and freakishly calm.