Return from Paradise

Dychwelon ddoe i BKK wedi rhai dyddiau bendigedig yn Ko Samet - nefoedd ar y ddaear. Gwneud dim byd ond bola heulio, nofio mewn dwr mor cynnes, bwyta bwyd blasus Thai, yfed cwrw ardderchog Chang a chymdeithasu gyda ymwelwyr eraill. Ar ein noswaith olaf yna roedd yna wir flas rhyngwladol ar ein bwrdd wrth i ni fwyta gyda dwy chwaer o Israel, Gwyddel ac Almaenes ac ni gyd yn mwynhau a rhannu gwahanol brydiau. Wedyn fe ymunodd pump person arall a'r parti - Gwyddel arall, dyn o'r Iseldiroedd, Almaenwr a dwy Americanes yn llanw'r bwrdd gyda photeli gwag o gwrw tra yn rhannu storiau a phrofiadau mor belled.

Mae Nia yn bles iawn o'i hun gan iddi benderfynnu mae i Ko Samet yr aethom ni - mae'n debyg fod yna lifogydd mawr wedi bod yn ein opsiynau eraill fel Phuket, Ko Phi Phi ac hyd yn oed Ko Samui tra na allai fod yn frafach yn Ko Samet. Anodd iawn felly oedd gadael bore ddoe gyda'r tywydd cystal ac erioed a rhaid oedd codi'n gynnar iawn am 8 y.b. er mwyn mynd am un nofiad olaf (wel, mae 8 y.b. yn gynnar iawn i ni dyddie yma). Dechreuodd ein trip nol am 11 y.b. ar sawngthaew, gan adael yr ynys ar fferi a chyrraedd nol yn BKK ar fws am tua 5 y.p.

Heddiw, rydym wedi mynd ar Tuk Tuk am y tro cyntaf ar draws y ddinas. Roedd yn dipyn o hwyl a'r peth agosaf gallaf ei gymharu iddo yw y 'rollercoaster rides' mawr yn America - 'a bit of a white knuckle ride' wrth wibio drwy'r holl draffig. Aethom i swyddfa TAT er mwyn gwneud trefniadau i fynd lan i'r gogledd ac yna ar draws i Laos cyn gweithio am lawr i Cambodia a nol i BBK ar y 4ydd o Ragfyr er mwyn gweld dathliadau mawr penblwydd y Brenin yn 80. Felly, falle ni fydd llawer o hanes am ychydig, bydd yn ddibynol os oes internet i gael yn y mannau anghysbell yma.


We bounced our way off Ko Samet very reluctantly yesterday morning. I am sure that all the people we passed having breakfast at the beach bar were wearing the same secret smug look that we've been sporting all week, watching others drag their feet up the path and through the trees, glancing back wistfully. We had a great last evening, dinner and a few Singha beers on the beach front with a truly international flavour - two sisters, Elinor and Mika from Israel, Gordy from Germany, Don and John from Eire, Elisha and Sarah from Minnesota, Pascal from the Netherlands and another guy from Germany - sorry I can't remember his name but I do remember that he is 28. We have invited them all to come and stay and it would be great if they all turned up at the same time.

We are now back in BKK making arrangements for the next three weeks. We leave in the morning, heading north then across the border to Laos and down into Cambodia so updates may be few and far between but keep watching incase. We had our first ride in a Tuk Tuk this morning - weaving through the Saturday morning rush and being choked by all the traffic fumes whilst hanging on and laughing all the way, with the driver joining in the fun. However, this was bought to an abrupt stop when our driver was pulled over by a policeman wearing Chips style sunglasses and a mouth mask. He wanted to inspect our drivers documents before he grabbed the Tuk Tuk keys from the ignition and just walked off. Our driver made chase and 10 minutes later he returned with his keys having had to pay 300 Bahts for their return. Given that his fares with us for most of the moring totalled about 70 Bahts, it was quite upsetting to see a victim of what is a common racket. The driver was a real joy - a typical friendly Thai who had been proud to point out places of interest to us as we sped past as we had told him it was our first ride in a Tuk Tuk.

In Thailand the King is very much revered by the people and he'll be 80 on 5th December. We will be back in BKK to join in the celebrations, which promise to be spectacular and we'll be joining no other than Nathan Wallbridge who'll be our guide for the day.

Marc has decided that in the interest of indigenous people and businesses, he will be consuming only the local brew for the duration of the trip and a record will be kept in the form of a bottle label collection. He intends to put them all together in the form of a montage for display. From December 2008, this masterpiece will be open for viewing in the downstairs toilet at Ysgubor Lon. (No doubt there'll be one or two contributions there from Nia as well.)