We arrived South this week, and we’ve picked up on some differences with the North. Firstly, the greenery features so many more palm trees than other places. There are also more constructed houses made from brick, compared to the wooden huts we’ve got used to in the North. It feels that the South is more built up for tourists who come to enjoy the beaches.

Last week, we were asked to comment more on the differences we’ve noticed between Thailand and home, so we’ve collected a few more:

Food served in restaurants: At home, if you order dinner in a restaurant, the kitchen will time it so all the meals come out together. But not in Thailand. They bring the food at random times, so one person could have finished their meal before someone else at the table has even got theirs.

Cars: Whilst Thai people drive on the same side that we do in the UK, all of the car windows are blacked out. That includes the front window! It’s very strange as you cannot see inside their cars at all.

Dish of the week: This week, our favourite dish has been a Pad Thai with chicken, chosen by Luke. The best thing was the crumpled cashew nuts and chilli flakes served with it.

Here’s a breakdown of what we have done this week!

Day 15: Massage and our third overnight train journey. Included with the activities for today is a massage, so we enjoyed full body oil massages and a complimentary cup of herbal tea, before catching the overnight train. We are very pleased to be leaving Bangkok. Whilst we’ve had some good times here, we’ve had enough of the heat and the chaotic streets.

Day 16: Khao Sok National Park. The only way to describe Khao Sok is incredible beauty, and scenery unlike anything we’ve seen before. It was an hour journey on a long tail boat across the park, and to our accommodation for the night. We stopped for pictures, and then moved onto the floating bungalows. The accommodation is called Ploenprai Raft House. There are two piers of bungalows overlooking the lake, and a central area to eat and hang out in. We couldn’t check in at first, so we grabbed rubber doughnuts, and enjoyed the water for a few hours. We have a mattress on the floor to sleep on, and as it’s floating, there’s a gentle rocking at night. But after the train, the rocking is much better and very peaceful. We went canoeing as a group and stopped off to have a swim before dinner and an early night.

Day 17: Bottle Beach. We were up at 6am to get the long tail boat back to shore. We were able to watch the sun rise on the journey, which was a stunning experience. The group then had a complete chill day at Bottle Beach to take advantage of the beach and later, a volleyball game.

Day 18: Koh Phangan. Ali took us, Aby and a girl called Laura on an incredibly difficult hike, but it was certainly worth it. We were very fortunate enough to see a family of monkey’s playing in the trees during our walk, and it made the next 45 minutes of uphill walking worth it. Two of them even leapt between the trees for us!

After the hike and check out, we hopped on a boat and went 20 minutes around the bay to be taken to our Muay Thai lesson. The gym had a roof, but was open on the sides. We learnt a few of the moves used in Muay Thai, and despite the smelly boxing gloves, it was a fun hour. We then went to check into Lime and Soda, where we’ll be for 2 nights. The hotel is on the beach and the pool overlooks the sea, so we watched the sun set after a quick swim.

Day 19: Boat Trip and the last day for us on the tour. We spent most of today on a boat that we had to ourselves, touring around the coast. They had a small bar on board, and we were served a lunch consisting of chicken, fried rice, and vegetable spring rolls. The boat stopped twice, and the first time was just to jump in and swim. It was beautiful, until we started to notice we were being stung all over – it felt like little electrical sparks on your skin. We asked about it on board, and were told it’s plankton. After lunch, we moved to our next stop where we were allowed to go snorkeling in the coral. There was a range of pretty fish, and thankfully no plankton.

Day 20/21: After we checked out and said goodbye to the tour group, we walked to our next hotel. Walking down the street with our big rucksacks was the first time we really felt like we were travelling alone. We enjoyed a day relaxing at the hotel, playing pool and chilling in hammocks.

Wednesday has been a day of travelling – 10 hours in total. We’re in Phuket for two nights, before we try to travel to Laos.

For anyone that’s thinking of going travelling, and has considered booking a Tru Travels tour, we highly recommend it. They are packed with fantastic activities that allow you to experience things you’ll never do again, whilst learning about the country you’re in at the same time. Everything is booked for you and paid for in the original fee, so these great activities are all included.

However, we would advise that you take more spending money with you, as more often than not, you’ll be buying all three meals yourself. We had thought a few more would be included, so that has been slightly disappointing. If you want culture and adventure, the Northern Thailand tour would be perfect for you. The Southern Thailand tour is packed with sensational scenery, but is far more relaxed with less activities. These tours are a great way of seeing what the country has to offer, and as you’re with a group, you’re always safe. We’re definitely going to book another tour with them in the future.

We are keeping an eye on the developing coronavirus updates, and travel advice from various sources. Whilst we are worried about it, we have decided to try and continue our trip as normal, and have accepted that at any time, our plans may be forced to change. It will be heartbreaking if our trip is cut short, but we’ve seen magnificent things and had once in a life time experiences up until now, so we have been lucky. For now we’ll move on as normal, and keep our families updated on any alterations. We are due to fly to Laos on the 20th March, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Caitlin and Luke