http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Chocolatemonkee/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Chocolatemonkee en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:00:23 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:00:23 +0000 Once the standard questions have been answered and you've already rehashed the more obscure points of travel there are a brave some say foolish few that like to raise one of the taboo topics of travel discussions. I think I may be one of those people.Our dive boat was designed for 25 divers and being 1 of the 9 going out I was again surprised that we ended up with less than half the ships com http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-434716.html Up early. Have a cold. Damn air conditioning. I truly believe we should have a fan room even though it feels oooohhhh so good to walk into a nice cool room after being out in the heat all day. With the temperature hitting 33 degrees each day a few minutes of bliss can change a great day to an even better day. The trade off though is the running nose and wicked cold I usually catch. If it weren't http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-388890.html Phuket Early MorningHaving a touch of jet lag is never fun. Thankfully after a few hours of tossing and turning it was 4 A.M. thankyou trusty travel clock for your one an only time to be accurate and what better time to get up and check out Karon Plaza before heading out on a dive trip. One hot shower later I let myself out of the still locked guesthouse and made my way passed a pack of soido http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-373159.html BangkokThis morning we woke to the prearranged wake up call we had requested with the front desk at Thong Ta Resort. Being less than 10 minutes from the airport we were able to enjoy the breakfast that was included down in the garden restaurant. Aside from the very firm board like beds we seemed to luck out in finding this place. If I hadn't fallen asleep so quickly I would have liked to chec http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-373158.html Our flight out of Winnipeg was quite ordinary. Thanks to my Dad we arrived at YWG only to have to wait in one of the longest lines I have ever seen at the Winnipeg Airport. Over 300 people waiting to go through security in Winnipeg. It appears that everyone had flights leaving at 800. The start of the Friday 13th curse.With the line seeming to move backwards at times what better way to pass ou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Chiba/Narita/blog-373156.html With only hours to go before we leave Friendly Manitoba the weather has turned from the normal minus 20 to 30 degrees to plus 1 degrees and the usual snow fall has turned into a constant drizzle of rain. Well today it changed back to snow and our departure seems once again to be aptly timed.Of course we had the minus 40 degree weather to contend with in January but this foray into South East As http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-372434.html Our first trip to South East Asia has been amazing. We wanted to share some of the best and worst things we experienced.Candace's ListMigraines on Planes There is no getting away from anyone. I got one and it lasted the entire flight. Airline Food Tasteless mushy or rubbery substances. Is that even real foodLate Night Hotel Hunting Only a fool would not prebook a place for the first nigh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-364405.html We are one month away from leaving and we have lots of decisions to make however we have agreed on 3 focal points. Our first stop after Bangkok will be the infamous Phuket .I always said I did not want to go to Phuket because of the package tourist market that is predominantly catered to there. Not that we are backpacking snobs and feel our trips more real as we support locals by spending l http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-362560.html Taxi Ride to MBKToday we wanted to take the time to head to MBK to do some souvenir shopping as we heard the prices could not be beat. We scooped a taxi and quickly got tangled in the early morning traffic in BKK. It was very understandable why they don't suggest driving in this city. Although the flow of traffic seemed very inefficient I couldn't help but be in awe of the number of scooters zip http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-354273.html Final Morning On SamuiThis morning we woke up and rushed to make sure we didn't miss our ride to the airport. Surprisingly we were early and ended up sitting out beside the road with a stray dog. It was pitch black out and with every set of head lights approaching we were sure it was our taxi. None stopped and we were starting to think we may need to start walking. Finally at ten after 500 a t http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-353096.html After our gut busting howl late last night and one heck of a great sleep we were up early as we had signed up for a snorkeling tour. Funny enough no movement next door. Guess they were tired from all that work last night.The minibus dropped us off at a restaurant on the beach where we had breakfast included in the tour price and then boarded a speed boat which would take us to Koh Tao. The rid http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Samui/blog-352253.html It seems that a whole lot of time has slipped away and before we knew it December had rolled around. A lot of things had happened since we last traveled but we vowed to take another trip this coming year as we both had so much fun traveling together last year. Of course the unimaginable seemed to come up with every week that dragged past. I injured myself while trying to maintain a healthy lifest http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Manitoba/Winnipeg/blog-352256.html In case some of you didn't notice 2 days ago was Valentines day. We didn't mention it but we did celebrate it. I think somewhere in between the ferry ride and the bus we were able to slip in a few I love yous and kisses. Hey when you're in paradise its hard to pick only one day to be all lovey dovey.This morning we decided that we wanted to move to the other side of the island to be nearer the a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Samui/blog-350431.html Its a wonder what 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep will do for a person. We figured out why they had such a large and warm comforter. The aircon was actually retrofitted from a blast freezer. The low setting must have meant that the temperature would be low. At least my feet slide across the iced up tiled floor to the bathroom. Brrrrrrrrr.I could still hear the load roar of the wind outside and wa http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ko-Samui/blog-347596.html Mmmmmm...... a cool breeze blew in our open balcony door all night long.What a nice change from the aircon we have used to cool off. I have to admit that the heat has been pretty demanding and we have caved on not getting aircon rooms.Its easy to forget the roosters are going to start crowing as soon as the sun hints at rising in the sky. It must have been sunny somewhere cause they serenaded us http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Surat-Thani/blog-345738.html This morning we decided that we wanted to stay in Ao Nang for something different. Although we love Krabi and how quiet it is we need to stretch our legs again. Ao Nang is really touristy so I'm sure things will be interesting. I was treated to another morning of workers getting ready for the day. I watched the crew of street sweepers come out and clean up last nights leaves and garbage that had http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Railay/blog-345186.html Its fun to watch a town wake up. When I leave for work I am out the door at 515 and I see all sorts of things that most people miss. Over here its the same thing. This morning I watched men delivering fish bags of rice and lots of vegetables. I watched a man wash his face on his balcony. Street Ladies came out and swept the street with brooms and dustpans made of old square cooking oil cans. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ao-Nang/blog-343102.html This morning had I know the adventure we were in for I would have probably made some different choices. Like taking the public bus or perhaps I would have watched for the chickens. Either way I would have probably saved the pain and agony of riding in a vehicle made for 12 not 15 with luggage and livestock and I would have not been involved in the Nascar race on the tollroad to the airport.Wh http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Krabi/blog-343045.html This morning we had breakfast in the open air restaurant at our guest house. The young lady that seems to run the place is pregnant and has another kid running around. I don't think she smiles. I wonder if its because she has to wait on us I wonder what we must seem like to her Would it be any different than someone working at a hotel back home I'm going to see if she'll smile before we leave http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Western-Thailand/Kanchanaburi/blog-342726.html Our arrival into Kanchanaburi has been pretty uneventful. We heard time and time again how we were going to be scammed when we go to Thailand. I wouldn't call the tuk tuk driver a scammer so much as an extortionist. I knew better than to accept a ride right from the bus station. We probably should have walked a few blocks away and we could have scored a cheap ride to the guest houses. Instead a v http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Western-Thailand/Kanchanaburi/blog-342717.html