Going Solo

First of all, I’d like to apologise for taking so long with this update. For, you see, Moo and I went on an adventure, and neglected to bring the laptop with us. Entirely selfish, I know. But what can I say. It was Moo’s decision, not mine.

So, after a lovely week in BKK seeing the sights and enjoying the local food, we took the long drive down to the South to stay at Chitty’s family home.

Sister - is that you?

The place is amazing, totally cocooned by countryside and a real escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. There’s also another Moo cow here so I feel right at home.

As Chitty had a lot of work to do on the house, Moo and I decided it would be a good idea to go off and do our own thing. Last thing she needs is two farm animals getting in the way of her work.
So after a little research into the surrounding area, we decided Koh Sa-Mooey would have the privilege of our company for the next few days. Its all in the name really - where else would be better to start?

We hopped on a bus to a town called Surat Thani where we were the only ‘falang’ (foreigners) around - Moo was initially quite apprehensive but I reassured her along the way that she was not alone - she had me! She’s so lucky.

The ferry crossing was very calm and uplifting, and nobody seemed to mind two cows being on board which was a bonus.

So, all had gone to plan until we stepped off the ferry in Koh Samui. Now it was the challenge of finding our hostel. We jumped on a SongThaew (a kind of 4x4-turned-bus-taxi) and headed for Chaweng. Once we were in Chaweng we figured it wouldn’t be too difficult to find the place. We were wrong. Chaweng is a big strip of shops and bars and restaurants and Moo and I must have spent about an hour in search of the words we so desperately longed to see - “Paprika Hostel”. It was to no avail. We were lost, and noone seemed to have heard of the mysterious Paprika, which was a great reassurance to us. Thankfully, Moo had made friends with a Dutch man on the SongThaew, and we bumped into him on our search. He was our knight in shining armour, and somehow managed to locate our hostel. Hallelujah!

We were exhausted and so grateful to finally have a room to relax in, and hadn’t even considered what our room mates would be like. As it goes, they were 3 lovely girls from the UK who we instantly bonded with.

They had plans to go ‘out out’ and Moo jumped on the idea, in spite of the long day of travelling she’d had and the total lack of FOOD!

So that night, Moo took herself off to a beach party with her 3 new friends, and learned her first big lesson about travelling as a solo female.

DON’T. DRINK. BUCKETS.

In fact, don’t drink anything on a stomach that is only filled with water and Tom Yam.

Shamefully, she spent the following day rolling around in bed eating hot dog rolls that she’d bought on a whim at 5am in the local 7/11, trying to remember what it was like when she still had a shred of dignity.

Soup is not enough to line your stomach with!

The lovely girls moved on to Koh Phangan to enjoy the full moon party and I was left to pick up the pieces of a broken Moo.

When the evening finally came, I decided that Moo needed to get up and out, after all she was in Koh Samui - she really ought to make the most of it!

So I covered her face with some make up - didn’t want to scare the locals - and sent her downstairs to find herself some dinner in the hostel. This is where she met her friend Tolga, who would become her travel buddy for the next few days.

He told her about the Fisherman’s Village in Bophut which only came alive on Friday nights, so she hopped on the back of his moped with me, (nearly rendering the thing immovable), and drove off on an adventure.

The next few days were filled with sight seeing and exploring - the best part being the waterfall that they stumbled upon in the middle of the island, up a series of winding roads and steep hills! It truly was paradise, for the special price of 100 baht. Yup. 2 pounds. You heard it here first.

Our best meal in Thailand so far.

Then came the storm.

Of course it would happen to Moo, visiting a tropical country during the Dry Season. Rain! So much rain. It completely threw everyone, especially the ferry companies that had expectant passengers kitted out in their translucent plastic ponchos, waiting expectantly to be whisked off to the next island for more holidaying.

After a 3 or 4 hour delay, we boarded a ferry that would take us to Koh Tao. Or perhaps not. All passengers were instructed to disembark at Koh Phangan because the storm was simply too dangerous to travel in.

Thankfully, Moo’s travel buddy knew of some cheap beach bungalows that we could stay in so we ventured off in the hopes that they would still be available for the night. To our relief, they were! To our greater relief, the rain actually lifted a little when we arrived too, which meant we could see a little bit of the nightlife. We found refuge in a bar-turned-cinema and spent the rest of the evening there.

After a relaxing time in Koh Phangan for 2 nights, we journeyed on to Koh Tao and spent the following days taking it easy - seeing as we’d had such a strenuous time in the lead up (swimming in waterfalls is hard, okay?). Moo went snorkelling for the first time in her life and couldn’t believe the clarity of the water, especially as it was such a windy day. I stayed on the beach to work on my tan - I’m in the process of turning into a Brown Cow.

Eating rice inside a bamboo shoot

Koh Tao Sunset

A week down the line, Moo and I had enjoyed an amazing adventure, and decided that it was time to travel back to Thung Song and share our stories with Chitty. We stopped over for one night in Surat Thani, which was actually one of the friendliest places we have been to so far. The hostel owners invited us to dine with them that evening, and then pointed us in the direction of the night market which was a short walk away. Moo was tired but we still had most of the evening to kill, so we ventured out to see what it was all about, expecting to be the only falang as we had been previously. 1 minute into our walk, we bumped into a German guy, and ended up spending the evening exploring the city with him!

A week previous to this, Moo and I were sitting at the bus station, anxiously trying to imagine what was in store. If we had to use 3 words to describe how we felt, they probably would have been;

1. Nervous
2. Alone
3. Intrigued

One week later, those words had changed to;

1. Happy
2. Welcome
2. Fulfilled

Now we are back in the South, and as I write, Moo is recovering from a short game of badminton. You may have felt the earth shake as she ran back and forth, and I can only apologise for any damage she caused.

We will be sure to update you again soon, keep your eyes peeled.

From one nutty Moo to another,

x

`

"Although we may be different nationalities, our hearts are the same."

Sawadeekha!

We have landed!!

You'll all be pleased to hear that despite the fact that I am a live animal, possibly carrying mad cow disease (okay, definitely carrying mad cow disease), customs and immigration were a complete doddle and we've been allowed into Thailand for 30 days.

Me checking in

Deciding whether or not to brave it

Moo really didn't expect to be greeted by her old employers when she came out of arrivals

After satisfying my chocolate cravings, I decided to delve into my new book; Wild - Cheryl Strayed while waiting at the gate. BAM, the first page was on the money.

"My solo three month hike on the Pacific Crest Trail had many beginnings. There was the first, flip decision to do it, followed by the second, more serious decision to actually do it, and then the long third beginning, composed of weeks of shopping and packing and preparing to do it. There was the quitting of my job... and saying goodbye to my friends.

At long last, there was the actual doing it, quickly followed by the grim realization of what it meant to do it, followed by the decision to quit doing it because doing it was absurd and pointless and ridiculously difficult and far more than I expected doing it would be and I was profoundly unprepared to do it.

And then there was the real live truly doing it."

And here we are!

Let's hope its true what they say about greener pastures laying ahead! Haven't seen a great deal of grass yet...

Can't fight a love like ours

Mooving on into the evening now, where I found myself at a party in a local village to celebrate "Children's Day". Of course, being a British cow, they were a little intrigued by me. I expect you've seen the video of Moo dancing with them? How. Embarrassing. I knew I shouldn't have brought her with me. A couple of beers is all it takes and she's up on the dancefloor in her MC Hammer pants, moving around awkwardly as if she's got chewing gum stuck to her shoes. I might have to accidentally lose her along my way if this carries on.

Thai party food makes me happy

The following day we were met with a lovely breakfast before we skipped (yup - cows can skip - who knew?) off to the local shopping mall. 

Ahhhhh - Air Conditioning. <3

As many of you know, shopping can be quite a tiring sport, so we decided to take refuge in the nearest cafe. And when I say refuge, what I mean is 4 donuts and 2 iced coffees.

A light bite

Then it was back home for more food, then off to see Chitty's extended family, where there was food again, and then back home, which was a long journey so we stopped off on the way for some food.

What? I have 4 stomachs, remember?

Anyway, I must go and eat.

All in all, its been great so far. I understand why they call Thailand the Land of Smile, because everyone has been lovely.

Busy day of exploring Bangkok ahead of me tomorrow. Will keep you updated. If you don't already have me on snapchat, my username is mellymoocow2 - I have exceptional internet here so I am posting things fairly regularly!

From one nutty Moo to another X

P.S. What do you think, new owner potential?

Nice to meet you.

Allow me to introduce myself. 

It all began a few weeks ago when I found myself bundled together with lemongrass, noodles and curry paste. I know, I know, so cliché. Just hear me out. So there I was, struggling to breathe beneath the 3 pillars of Thai cuisine, when suddenly I saw a light. No, not A light. THE light. That's how they normally tell it, isn't it? I saw the light and I walked into it, or rather I was yanked out of it by some pale, ginger hands. That'll be Moo. The one that you probably thought was writing this blog. She sometimes tries to help by correcting my spelling moo-stakes, but really she's no more than a pretty face. And I’m not sure it’s even fair to call her that. 

Back to my birth. So I was brought into this world as something I have come to understand was a 'Secret Santa' present. And from the moment she laid eyes upon me, Moo decided that I was coming with her on her travels. Now, I had to question her motives - who takes someone round the world with them that they've only just met? Was she simply filling a void, was she crazy, was she desperately alone? Perhaps it was all three? The way she tells it, is that I’m there to represent everyone that she wishes she could take with her. So I am to understand that my left foot is her mum, my right foot her dad, left ear Olivia, right ear Georgina, and so on. I wonder who gets my bum? 

So now you know who I am, we can begin our journey. Expect to see a lot more of me in the next few months. First stop: Heathrow. Second stop: Bangkok. 

 From one nutty Moo to another X