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Published: March 25th 2008
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Believe it or not, we are still alive and lovin Asia!
We arrived in Bangkok from the Philippines 10 minutes after Kelsey’s parents (Ray & Stacey), who flew in from Hawaii where they were visiting some friends. It was great to see them and to spend two-and-a-half weeks in Thailand with them.
We did 2 full days in Bangkok, visiting some of our favourite spots from 3 years ago, including the Grand Palace, Khao San Road, the massive Weekend Market, and the Night Bazaar, all the while making sure we were getting our fix of Chang Beer and Pad Thai (I managed to have 16 Pad Thai’s in 17 days…love that stuff!) We even found our Tuk-Tuk driver from 3 years ago “Mr. Santi”, what a
champion! Kels and I were blown away by how clean and relatively organized (for SE Asia) Bangkok was. With their new airport and all the infrastructure they are building, I can see a lot of international events coming to Bangkok…Olympics anyone?
From Bangkok we flew to Chiang Mai in the north, a place that none of us had been before, and what a treat it was! It’s a cool little city built
Dan and Kels feeding "Pupia"
Elephant Nature Park, Conservation Park, Chiang Mai inside a moat and old ruin walls where restaurants, bars, guesthouses, markets, and trekking tours are plentiful. In Chiang Mai we took part in a full day cooking class, learning to cook (and eat) 6 different dishes, which was a lot of fun and so filling that we all skipped dinner that night. On another day we “volunteered” at an elephant conservation park an hour out of town. As volunteers we helped load all the food for the elephants at the market, then we assisted feeding them and helped bathing them twice in the afternoon. All the elephants at the park, 31 in total, are either victims of abuse from logging and trekking camps or from handlers who make them “beg for food” on city streets or orphans. It was a really rewarding and educational experience and after seeing how elephants are mistreated in trekking camps, you will never see this cowboy riding an elephant. To see where we went, check out: www.elephantnaturepark.org. One day Kels and I went and explored the temples (Wats) of Chiang Mai and Ray and Stacey did a trek through the jungle which pushed their hiking boundaries to their limit. Seeing them exhausted and dirty
when they got back was enough to make me tired, but they can tell you the details of their adventure! All in all Chiang Mai was a blast, with lots of laughs and good times, but we weren’t done yet, Ray was getting itchy for the beach, so we took off from Chiang Mai for the island of Koh Samui (Coconut Island).
We were hoping to land in Koh Samui and get straight on the ferry for Koh Tao (Turtle Island) to meet up with my friend Sarah (Armstrong), but unfortunately missed the boat by 10 minutes, so we stayed one night on the gong show island, Samui. With resorts and hotels crammed so tight together along the beach, you would never know you were near the water while driving down the road, and you are never alone on the beach either. But with that said, we did have a nice swim in the ocean and got ready to head to Koh Tao the next morning.
We arrived in Koh Tao at 10am the next day, and the ferry we just got off was the ferry that Sarah and her mom were getting on, so after a hug
Jade Buddha
One of the many Wats (temples) we visited. and a 1 minute visit Sarah was gone and our rendezvous will have to wait for Greece in the summer. On Koh Tao Kels booked us into this beautiful secluded resort consisting of 9 bungalows called “New Heaven.” It was such a beautiful spot built on the cliffs of Shark Bay. (Which by the way has Black Tipped Reef Sharks, which I encountered a dozen of, one day snorkeling!) Koh Tao was a blast. We rented motorbikes one day and cruised to a couple of spots on the island (me and Kels turffed ours once, sorry Kels!) and also rented kayaks one day and did some coastal exploring; all the while laying on the beach, reading our books, hanging out and swimming and snorkeling, and let’s not forget eating and drinking very well every night! The last two nights we spent in the main area in Koh Tao, Sairee Beach. One night we went to an “Aussie Bar” and watched rugby until 2am and the second night we had a couple drinks with Meredith (Sarah’s sister) and a friend of ours from Whistler Sam. Koh Tao, while a super busy “Backpacker Mecca”, is still a very beautiful place, and if
the ex-pats can teach the locals a little more about garbage management, it could stay beautiful for a lot longer!
Then on the 17th, after 16 super fun days with Ray and Stacey, we had to say our tear-filled goodbyes at the pier on Koh Tao, as Kels and I left back to Bangkok and onwards to Cambodia. Thank you Ray and Stacey for such a great time!
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