Around the world in 1985

14th December 1984

set off from Norwich railway station with small backpack and large hopes. Can you see the small back pack? weighs about 10kg.

Wednesday 19th December 1984

Emerald buddha palace

Arrive Bangkok about 4 in the afternoon. Temperature 32 °C. 22 hour journey includes one hour on tarmac at Heathrow, 5 hours transit at Moscow and one hour transit in Delhi. Moscow customs, dressed up 18 yr olds in locked security cabins, spent nearly two hours inspecting the transit passengers passports one by one. We all had to queue up a staircase. Fortunately I was near the front. He asked me if the photograph in my passport was me. I told him very sternly that it was.
I have £1,200 worth of air tickets, £1000 sterling travellers cheques, 3000 Baht in cash plus a few Indonesian rupiahs and Hong Kong dollars. Exchange rate better in Bangkok (28.5 in London, 31.9 in Bangkok).
Bus 59 to Banglaupoo district @ 4½B and check in to Top Guest House, Khao San Road for 60B a night with communal ablutions, very clean large guest house. Early night.

Thursday 20th December, 1984.

Golden buddha Bangkok

Friday 21st December, 1984.

Visit Burmese Embassy. Visa takes 24 hours (i.e., Monday) and 100B. Pleasantly tatty colonial building in own grounds. Will leave passport at embassy until January. No Tom at breakfast - disappointed. Check out notice board and mailbox at the Nitheharoen Sohe hotel Khao San Road, surprised to find letter from Tom! Amongst letters dated 1980 and year old telegrams. Tom’s too relaxed on Koh Samui and can’t face the 1400 km haul to Chang Mei, also has visa problems.
Lunch time, is it too late to check out Mrs Top Guest House? Yes solly. One hour later I’m packed and on the streets. Someone turned up wanting the room.
Spend hellish 2 hours padding hot pavements, Bus 94, I can reliably report is extinct. Have lost bus map. Eventually get to Huallapong Rail station. Helpful info desk, purchase 3rd class ticket to Sunit Thani, bus to Ban Dom wharf and ferry to Koh Samui all in 177B.
Train leaves 6.25pm arrives Sunit Thani 7.50am. My seat is reserved, plastic padded with room for two, but just too narrow and too short to sleep comfortably on. Have fried rice with vegetables in kitchen car, followed by 20mg Temazepam. Sleep for 3 hours whilst the aisle is paraded by vendors selling dried squid, soft drinks, hard drinks, sticky sweetmeats in plastic bags, and armed guards. These guys warn you against accepting drinks from strangers - they may be drugged, and move on a Swiss guy hassling us for his bungalows on Koh Samui. Read book in the night.
Woken up by cockerel crowing in seat behind me.
Arrive Sunit Thani in rain, brolly causes mirth. Bus laid on for the journey (jarang).
Three hour ferry ride. Sea rough. English rock music over the tannoy. Start journey with Boy George, three hours later we’ve journeyed through a couple of decades and turned the clock back to the psychedelic sixties and Lucy in the Sky, Yellow Submarine, etc.
Meet Kevin (Scottish) and John (Aus) and am regaled by their drinking stories and exploits down Pat Pong Road. I think Koh Samui will be a little bit quiet for them. Proceed to Lamai Beach and check in to first shack that’s free as every where is very full. Paradise bungalows. Double room 40B. I occupy it. Wander up and down a bit. Huge beach with extraordinary phallic rock formation at one end.

Daddy Rock

Sunset among the coconut palms

Saturday 22nd December, 1984.

beach hut Ko Samui

Tom

Sunday 23rd December 1984

Meet Tom at Weekender for lunch and have ‘special’ omelette, 40B, and receive a hefty dose of psylocybins. Felt very flushed after 40 minutes, and spent the rest of the day in a wow-eee blur of perceptual distortions. The minutiae of my surroundings became fascinating; a girls skin covered in visible capillaries, green sky, blue palms. Very difficult to talk sense. Spend hours watching the waves come in! Wow - look at that one. Half the camp are spacey, a crazy game of volleyball is played, and a palm tree is painted with a fluorescent Santa.

My beach hut Weekender Chalets

Monday 24th Christmas Eve.

The Great Danes

The Orchestra, Mikhael on Bottles

Christmas day

View from our hut

Bombed out on the beach

Boxing Day

Weekender Chalets in 1984

Lamai beach scene

Our compound looked like a Japanese prisoner of war camp this afternoon. A tall east European with a crew cut has come off his motorbike - like so many others. The local clinic have liberally painted his scrapes with bright red Mercurochrome and added a good collection of dry dressings. With him limping around I half expect to see Alec Guinness staring madly at me in the khazi. (visited Kwai bridge on the last trip and it’s nothing like the film). Play backgammon. Lose. Sleep in windy bed. Luckily no rain tonight.

Party on the beach

Thursday 27th December 1984

Early morning swim

Friday 28th December 1984
Sea is a lot calmer today, waves knee to waist high instead of bigger than me. Plan to hire a jeep tomorrow for 500B. Photograph Moma in her kitchen holding the latest batch of baking. This they do in a conventional (but old) gas oven. Her coconut flan is delicious. It is difficult to get good baking in the far east as ovens are unusual.

Moma baking cake - Yum Yum

Saturday 29th December 1984
Go to town with Mikail and hire a jeep from German restauranteur for 500B the day. Most cars are uninsured, to hit some one is a criminal offence. Mikhail drives, he’s a bus driver back home. Jeep makes alarming grinding noise with 10 in, so 2 get out. Swim at waterfall with a snake.

Koh Samui waterfall and Mikhael

Sunday 30 December 1984
Take a long walk up to the north end of Lamai beach in the afternoon with T & M. All seems so tranquil. Coral reef up this end. Have to wade up to our navels across a creeks estuary. The creeks final meander shelters a dozen red and blue fishing smacks. V beautiful spot. ‘Comfort’ bungalows at the far end seem the ultimate spot for peace and quiet.

Fishing Village

Brian (Canada) has blue and white porcelain pipe with silver plate filigree mouth piece. Get very stoned trying to keep it alight in the evening.

Betle

New Years Eve

Shop in the town in the morning feeling very dopey. Buy spuds, sweet potatoes, sweet corn bread, tin of chicken, fruit, mushroom stew, beer and Mekong for tonight’s barbeque. Afternoon collecting firewood for the beach bonfire. Make use of Panu’s garbage trolley. Seefuu helps me demolish Mama’s pile of old construction wood. Light fire with diesel and throw in silver foil wrapped spuds. Mama boils 20 cobs in a large cauldron. Drink Mekong and coke, and Mekong in a coconut. Sing songs around the fire, Stephano plays his mouth organ. Big crowd all very jolly. Spuds cooked to death. Corn v good. Enjoy half the loaf with the tinned chicken heated in the fire. The chicken seems to be mostly neck.

That's why they were called The Great Danes

January 1st 1985

Traditional dancing

Beach party 1985

Combing beach for lost items New Years day 1985