Hey there Ollie - here’s the interview!

Hi Ollie, how’s it going? Where are you?

What are you looking forward to most on your travels?

Okay, thanks Ollie, I think we’ve taken up enough of your time – you can head back to your hammock now. Don’t work too hard will you?!

Gabi.

It’d be great to see some photos of your trip here on the site. If you want to, can and have some free time then send them through to me or download them into your profile!

Hey Gabi. No problem, i havn’t really got much to do apart from soak up some sun, so it’s a nice break to do something constructive!

How’s it going? Where are you?

It’s going cool, i’m in Thailand (still) at the moment, i got my visa extended yesterday, so i’m here for about another month or so.

You’ll be pleased to know it’s cold and damp here. What are the temperatures like in Thailand?

Hot :D It got to 40 degrees when i was in Ko Tao!

Did it take you long to acclimatise?

Not really. I got a little bit of jetlag, but after sleeping for 24 hours straight i was cured! It’s not really that bad, the weather is the main thing you have to acclimatise to, especially coming from England in the cold and Bangkok in 30 + heat, but i’m getting used to it now.

So, what have you enjoyed most so far – the cities, the jungle or the islands?

The islands :) The only city i really enjoyed was Chaing Mai, although Krabi wasn’t too bad, but it’s not really a city, just a coastal town! Chaing Mai was great, but the islands have been something else! So relaxing and great fun.

Have you preferred the more or less developed of the islands you’ve visited? Why?

I guess it would be the less developed islands, because i enjoyed Ko Tao and Ko Lanta so much, but didn’t think much of Ko Samui, Ko Phi Phi and Ko Phang Ngan. I dont really know why, i guess i just feel that it is so much easier to relax in a place that is quiet and peaceful! In Ko Lanta, so far, i havn’t seen one tourist, they have all been backpackers, and even then there isn’t many of them! 

What’s the food like in general?

It’s good, i’ve just been living off of rice for 5 weeks so far, but it’s really good.

What’s the best thing you’ve eaten?

Rice! Not eaten, but drank it would have to be Banana fruit shakes…soooo good!

What’s the worst?

I had squid fried rice once, that wasn’t too pleasant.

Have you been surprised by Thailand in any way, or did it meet all your preconceptions?

Thailand, as a country, met all my preconceptions. The beaches are how i dreamed they would be, the people are like i imagined (well, most of them anyway) It’s a lovly country. One thing that has surprised me is how easy it is to get around. You can book a coach journey in the morning, for the afternoon and everything will still work out perfectly, it’s all organised pretty well and so easy!

any helpful hints for people about to head out to Bangkok? What’s the first thing they should do?

Get out :D I can’t really recommend Bangkok, i didn’t think much of it at all, but other people i have met said it was good fun. All i would say is try and avoid Ko Shan Road. It’s great to go there and go to a few bars and meet up with other backpackers, because that’s what it’s geared for, but find accomodation elsewhere. I just think that if you want a city, go to Chaing Mai, but if you dont really mind, then get out of Bangkok and get to the coastal regions of the south as soon as possible, the area down here is so much nicer and the people are so much nicer!

You met up with someone via gapyear.com – how did that happen?

I’ve met up with two people from Gapyear.com. One fella was online at the same time as me, and it turned out that he was in a internet cafe about 2 seconds from where i was, ironic. So we just decided to meet up and grab some drinks and then i met up with him again in Ko Tao for a short while. I also met up with Allie, completely crazy loon. We happened to be in the same city at the same time, so decided that it would be cool to grab a drink (or 10) so that’s what we did, really fun evening :D Both guys i’ve met have been the nicest people and i am hoping to meet up with them again soon!

Where are you off to next? How are you getting there?

I want to stay in Ko Lanta for a while, maybe a week, then i will be off to another island i’m sure, i’m just not sure where yet! Maybe the Surin Islands, i dont really know. Then i’m off to Malaysia and Singapore for two weeks and then Australia.

What are you looking forward to most on your travels?

Getting to meet up with numerous other people that will hopefully be as cool as the ones i’ve already met!

Hey dude,

a friend and I are doing a thai beach tour for a month in May and I was just had a couple of questions:

- How much have you been spending a day, all in all, like accomodation, food etc. ?

-How easy have you found getting accomodation, did you book in advance or just turn up and hope? Can you haggle?

Cheers man.

Lewis