Return of the blog

First of all appologies for not writing on my blog sooner. Its been a hectic week. The new year festivities here lasted almost a week. My friends and I took full advantage of the festival to go to as many beach parties as possible. My arm had started to heal up, I'd made lots of new friends and everything was going really well.

One night Johnny, Guy, Hugh and myself made our way down to a party on the beach about 15 minutes drive from the bar. I was driven down there on the back of a motorbike by Johnny it was bigger than the scooters I had been used to riding around on. I decided to leave early as I was pissed and sleepy. As Hugh was entertaining a young lady I decided to sleep down on the beach. When I awoke in the middle of the night I found I was surrounded by dogs. At first I was a little concerned by this as I thought they might want to eat me. I looked to my left. All the dogs looked left. I looked to my right and the dogs all looked right. I was the leader of the pack. If I heard a noise one of the dogs would wander off to investigate and come back and let me know everything was OK. I felt very safe. Then I thought maybe they have fleas and moved myself up to the seating area of the bar. The dogs followed. I was very sleepy so I just decided to let them sleep at my feet.

When I awoke the next morning Hugh asked me where Johnny was. I explained that I had left early. He said no one had seen him since last night. We scoured the island for a while looking for him and eventually decided to check the hospital as Hugh had said he drove past a crash on the way home the night before.

Sure enough we found Johnny in the hospital. I don't think that anyone was prepared for the severity of his injuries though. He had a large hole in his forehead above his eye, a gaping wound on the back of his head, broken fingers, deep cuts all over his knees and that was only what we could see.

As Johnny didn't have his insurance papers on him at the time of the crash no effort had been made to get him to a better hospital - the Koh Lanta one is for little more than minor ailments. He had lay in the bed untreated for 10 hours before we provided the documentation. As soon as we did the wheels were in motion and Johnny was taken to Bangkok International Hospital - which strangely enough is in Phuket (not Bangkok).

I wasn't able to go with him but decided to catch the next ferry over to see him. When I got there I found he was in the intensive care unit. This doesn't seem good I thought. I made my way up to his room whilst a helpful porter carried all of my luggage behind me. When I got there I found Johnny asleep. He had tubes everywhere, I mean everywhere. He was hooked up to one of those machines that goes ping. I tried to interpret the information on screen but with little success. He briefly awoke and tried to sit up - that was when I realised he had been restrained by ropes around his arms and legs. He let out a blood curdling moan and looked straight through me before passing out again. I found it very distressing.

I asked the doctor what the problem was and she explained that he had a severe blow to the head which in addition to his cuts and bruises had caused a brain contusion. This is essentially a brusing of the brain matter - when you hit your head hard you generally get one on the front and back of the brain where it has rebounded off the scull. It wasn't bleeding - but it was swelling and this can easily fatal if not treated.

The next 24 hours were a waiting game to see if things started to improve. I had a flight booked for the 20th and wasn't sure what to do if Johnny didn't start to improve. We started getting word that more people were on their way to see him and I deciced that in that case I probably would go - as there was little I could do to help and Johnny didn't even seem to know I was there.

The night before I was due to leave we visited Johnny and he actually spoke to us. He explained that his head really really hurt and that he needed some paracetomol. Then he asked the time and asked if he could go home. I was very encouraged by this and slept better that night. Well I would have done if I hadn't sat up with a bunch of Irish girls all night. We had booked ourself in to the On On Hotel in Phuket. It was made famous by the film the Beach - its at the start of the film when Leo gets given the map. Conditions there were marginally better than in the actual film - but it was only 3 pounds per night.

The next morning Johnny was finally moved out of ICU - a sure sign that he was getting better and I made my way to the airport to fly back to Bangkok. I arrived and booked myself into a swanky hotel. I have my own sink, toilet, washing machine, DVD player, stove, dining area and a nice double bed. Its been a while since I enjoyed one of them. I should really have slept as the previous few days I had had virtually no sleep and it was nearly 11pm - but instead decided to go out for a drink as this was the first time I had been alone since the holiday started really and in Phuket there was a total ban on alcohol whilst the local elections were carried out.

I made my way down to the Ko San Road - a famous tourist hangout. I found a bar with two live acoustic guitarists. I sat and listened to them sing for an hour or so before I met a group of Irish guys who seemed very interested in my travelling stories. I sat and talked with them till 2am and then made my way back to the hotel where I watched the discovery channel till stupid o'clock.

That was a bad idea really as I had an early start today. A day trip to the grand palace - it was complimentary when I booked my 3 nights at the hotel. It's something to do that doesn't involve a bar, I thought. They are actually a lot easier to stay out of when you aren't with your mates. I awoke early and pulled myself toghether. I made my way downstairs to meet my tour guide for the day. But thats another blog.....