Black Rock & Beach

18th February 

At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I feel like I've hit a wall....or maybe just a light fence, when it comes to travel enthusiasm. I could do with an injection of energy or something. 

Perhaps I am too old to travel for this amount of time.....and I feel like Thailand so far is really just touristville. You have to work hard & dig deep to see anything meaningful or real.

At least the Hostel is nice, despite the top bunk - Nice quiet room-mates - Russian lady & Asian boy.

I've been enjoying my book and the roof garden. Chatted to some students of the Bartender course. They say it's really tough - 66 cocktails to memorise & the exam is strict. They were all studying from their books and memory cards - it's so sweet. 

The books in reception 

The four week course is 3000 bhat including accommodation & food.  Not bad for £70.

Went by Grab to visit Black Rock view point. As always I seem to be walking around in the hottest part of the day......'Mad dogs & English Women'

It was a nice walk though, ducking into the shade every now and then. Up high on the mountain - safe from a tsunami up here!

I found this temple & another view of the big Buddah.

There were a couple of Russian guys on bikes - sounded Russian anyway - one of them was living in Thailand the last 6 years. 

At Black rock, they showed me another nice viewpoint.

I walked down to Nui beach. It looked nice but they wanted 100 baht just to sit on the beach, so I decided not to bother.

Coconuts 🥥 

And bananas 🍌 

It was hot walking back and I got a lift back to the road by some Israeli guys - the driver also has lived here for five years. 

The taxis there were hassleing & I couldn't get a signal straight away for Grab. - then the app said there were no drivers. I had downloaded Bolt - another taxi app the lady at the hostel reception had told me about. Thankfully this one got me a ride back to Kata. 

Sat on the beach until it grew dark then left as it started pouring.

Got skewers from the night market, then more reading & chilling on the roof until bed time - they came up to shut it a 10pm so I had to leave then. It was very windy. 

19th February 

Info:

Key Aspects of Thailand Cannabis Laws (2026):
• Legal Status: Cannabis is legalized for medicinal and health-related uses.
• THC Limit: Extracts and products must contain less than 0.2% THC.
• Recreational Use: While decriminalized, it is not officially permitted for recreational use, though enforcement has fluctuated.
• Public Consumption: Smoking in public places is banned and subject to fines under the Public Health Act.
• Restrictions: Sales are prohibited to individuals under 20, pregnant women, and nursing mothers.
• Import/Export: Highly regulated and restricted. 

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Breakfast at the 7 - eleven

Did nothing today except decide how to get to Khao sok. The choice was 4 buses or book a transfer, which was an extra £6 but I just thought it would be easier although the local transport does seem to work well.

Kata Street & Market 

Extremely steep road!

The beach was windy & I just got covered in sand.

Went back to the roof . The lady at reception was encouraging me to go to the roof bbq later but I wasn't feeling so sociable. It was to celebrate the finish of one of the students' exams.

A young 19 year old English lad moved into my room & some girls (also English & 19) came to get him to go to the bbq. We got chatting & I joined them. They were waiting for their friends to arrive, two of which would also be in my room.

We bought food with a free cocktail - there was a small choice. I chose 'sex on the beach' after vowing not to drink spirits in Thailand I reasoned that, of all places, the European Bartender's drinks should be safe!

We tried to play UNO but the wind kept blowing the cards away.

Ross, the English lad, was saying he & his mates had just travelled round Australia in a camper. They had all got small tatoos of the Camper Van's registration number .....as you do...🤷‍♀️

"We got another fine!" He said and showed me a picture taken from the CCTV camera on Sydney Bridge, of his mate, bare - chested & clearly not wearing a seat belt.

"It's ok" he said, "we just shared the fines....."

As if they were expecting them. 

The girls were scoffing, "worth not wearing your seat belt then 🙄"

He was saying they spent too much money in Australia, partying all the time

In Thailand they were doing the same and getting 4 massages in a day......

The girls sang a Karaoke song - 'Dancing Queen'

There was Thai karaoke 

And German karaoke 

The young people's friends arrived & they all went out to the town.

The receptionist, who is actually the Assistant Manager of the hostel, came to chat to me. She offered to sing a karaoke song with me but I said I was shy. Ha ha.

She then got me a free cocktail - which I felt was rude to decline. It was their 'signature cocktail ' - Dark rum, red bull & lime it was nice. 

I got to bed way past my bedtime. 

Ughh - dodgy stomach & an early start in the morning.