Paradise Lost

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Hi again... another quick update.

Spent an amazing week in Koh Phi Phi.... part of it at P.P. Island Village Resort, and part in Tonsai Bay. Even though it rained quite a bit, I still managed to catch some sun, lounge around the ppol with my aunt, learn how to play cribbage, drink some good cocktails and party it up with some friends from Koh Phangan.

I also did 2 dives and some snorkeling yesterday - it was amazing! Even though I was a little nervous b/c I haven't done any diving for more than a year, diving with my friend Neil took some of the pressure off b/c he's pretty much a divemaster. The visibility wasn't that great, but we saw scorpion fish, a manta ray and basically all of the fish from "Finding Nemo". It was like being in a movie! The coral over here is surreal! And get this, i did my deepest dive: 25 meters! That's 75 feet!

We also went swimming in Maya Bay (where they filmed the beach)... since our dive boat anchored on the other side of Koh Phi Phi Ley, Neil and I swam through a smaller, less famous bay, climbed through a little hole in the rocks and treked across the island to Maya Bay. I have to say, it was pretty amazing until we actually got to the beach... it looked EXACTLY how it did in the movie - the huge limestone cliffs were smazing, and the water was a brillant green... the crappy part was that the beach seemed smaller and it was FILLED with tourists. There was also litter on the sand and in the water, so the beach itself didn't have the same "ambiance" as I expected it would.

Hahah here's the funny part... I thought to myself, "Well you are finally at the place you've been dreaming about for two years... you gotta AT LEAST go swimming in the water!" So I waded out and started treading water, and I only noticed until it was too late that the water was FILLED with big, pink jellyfish. Thank god my friend was there to save my life and tow me back to shore b/c I panicked! I can't say it was very much fun getting stung on the back and on my legs and arms by jellyfish, but I think my tan has covered up the welts, so it's all good. I'm sooo glad they weren't poisonous!

My aunt and I are leaving for Railey today around noon, and we plan to stay there for three days and then fly to BKK to do some shopping. I then think that I will go back to Rasisalai to visit my host family, but I have to be out of the country by July 2nd b/c my visa is running out. I think I'll go to Laos for a little bit, and then who knows?? The original plan was to go to Vietnam and Cambodia, but I haven't heard too many good things about it, so who knows.

It seems like all of my friends that I'm meeting here are going to Australia, though, so if anyone wants to help a girl out with a ticket, let me know!! Or if the bank of mom and dad want to give me a loan, that would be good too!

The hardest part about traveling is saying goodbye to the people you meet along the way... I've had to do it so many times already, and it doesn't seem to be getting any easier! That compounded with the fact that I'll probably never get to see them again is a hard pill to swallow... *sniff* *sniff*

Well it's off to Railey... hopefully it's as good as I remember it! I miss you all! Send me an email sometime!

Lots of love,
Raylene

P.S. How is my puppy doing? She hasn't forgot about me, has she??

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Photos

The room
At P.P. Island Village

The toilet
Hahaha

Auntie's cooking class
Too bad she's not wearing the chef hat they gave her! Sexy!

Frangi Pangi
Funny name eh?

Comments

[Mark]

Looks awesome!
Looks like you guys had a wicked time in Phi Phi - I'm still choked that I missed it (again!). Hope the weather is better in Railay for you than it was for me! Missing you a lot! Cheers, -Mark

[Mom]

Flowers!
Is there so many flowers ... that they have to put them in the toilet! Unbelievable ... Miss you both lots. Love, Mom