T & S Honeymoon
It's our honeymoon and we're headed back to Thailand. Tamra and Simon
We last went to SE Asia 4 years ago and although our inner journey's were rocky, the outer journey was very fun and we both fell in love with Thailand. This time, we anticipate no tsunami (though perhaps a coup d’état) and plan to start in the south in Koh Tao. Four days at Charm Churee Villa to enjoy the warm water and hot sun. After that...we're not sure. We're interested in Cambodia. We'd love to go to the north of Thailand again and maybe find our friend Sawai. But there's a lot of country in between. Stay tuned to see where the wind blows us.
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In Love, Tamra & Simon
Travel Blog Posts
Reflections in The Rear-View Mirror
Published: January 15th 2009Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Samui
January 15th 2009
Wow, hard to believe we are on our way home. I feel both a little melancholy to be ending such a wonderful adventure AND at the same time - ready to go home. Here I will try to recap some of the lessons learned on this adventure. No particular format - just going to let it flow out me spontaneously. Neurotic News Being away from my "normal" environment - and the habits and tendencies that come with it - I had a chance to see some of my own shortcomings up close and personal (Tamra is great a helping me see them...:-) One of the most prominent: A need to feel in control was expressed mostly through a habit I have of controlling all of our stuff (mostly my stuff) Whenever I felt a little uneasy, ... read more
Honeymoon/Holiday Statistics
Published: January 15th 2009Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Samui
January 15th 2009
We're nearly on our way home. Today is our last day on Ko Samui - we leave for Singapore this afternoon. Samui has been quite an assault on the senses. Crazy, loud, crowded, over-expozed, commercialized. We spent 2 nights in the thick of the beach madness (at a very nice hotel) and realized we needed to find some quiet. We went to the north shore and found just what we were looking for. World Resort has beautiful gardens, quiet families and couples, great food and sensuous breezes. We would love to have spent several days luxuriating in this quiet. All along through our journey's we've been playing around with some statistics...keeping count of the special and the mundane. So, here our our nearly final stats. Number of.... Flights - 11 Trains - 1 Buses/Taxis/Tuk Tuks - ... read more
Tales of Wats, Monks & Buddhas
Published: January 10th 2009Asia » Thailand » North-West Thailand » Chiang Mai
January 10th 2009
Magical Monks We've been waiting and wanting to make this particular blog post. Thailand and Laos are the land of ancient and beautiful Wats (Buddhist Temples). Sometimes, you come across a Wat every few blocks. We'll be posting a ton of pictures from both countries. One of the things that I (Tamra) am fascinated by most, is seeing monks everywhere you go. There's a monk shopping, one talking on a cell phone, 5 crossing the street, monks on scooters, in restaurants, at the market (that sounds like a joke: did you hear the one about the monk who...). They are a striking and somewhat magical site in their tamarind colored robes walking barefoot and purposeful. All ages....young boys, teens, young men and some old. We found out at that any Thai man/boy can enter the temple ... read more
January 10th 2009
Thai Cooking Class As this trip winds to a close, we realize that there are a number of things that we really wanted to do or see, but they will have to wait for another trip (yes, a 3rd trip to Thailand is likely in our future). Simon wanted to do a meditation retreat at a Thai Wat. Tamra wanted to explore a National park to observe unique wildlife. But today we did get to check something off our list...Thai Cooking! And what fun it was. Neither of us have ever taken a cooking class before so had no idea how enjoyable it could be. Perhaps it's because all the students are on holiday, or perhaps it's because our teacher fancies himself as the Jay Leno of Thailand, or maybe learning to cook and eating your ... read more
January 6th 2009
It's been awhile since we last blogged... or emailed, and the truth is, it just hasn't been a priority.... We entered Laos PDR from Thailand near Vientiane (capital city of Laos PDR) over a week ago - shared a ride over the border and into the captial with a delightful young Laos man - Sor (college student in Vientiane). The first thing we noticed about Laos is that it operates at a completely different pace than Thailand -----MUCH SLOWER. It took awhile to register that our driver was just cruising - going the speed of trafic, not trying to pass anyone, stopping when indicated. There was no hurry, there was no need to pass others using the opposite lane around a blind corner.... just a nice easy pace. When we commented on this to our new ... read more
January 6th 2009
BATHROOMS Why would I be inspired to write about bathrooms you ask? Well, I just used a VERY high-end bathroom in a coffee/internet shop in Luang Prabang, Laos. High end means a) there is a toilet b) there is toilet paper c) there is a sink to wash your hands d) there is a method for drying clean hands I was thrilled! In Thailand, toilet paper is a rare commodity. When you ask where is the toilet and you are sent out back through the kitchen, into an alley, behind the building where you find a shack with a modified toilet, a bucket of water and a hose. There seems to be no concern for how to wipe (do I take a hose to my butt?) and if there is a sink...drying your hands is ... read more
December 30th 2008
A new adventure begins.... We've bid farewell to Koh Chang (it was REALLY hard) and have hit the road. No time for photos as we're boarding a plane for Udon Thani (northern thailand) en route to Vientiane, Laos. We've spoken to many travelers who have raved about Laos and though it's hard to give up Cambodia and Angkor Wat, we'll have to leave that to another trip. We haven't planned our travel so we'll check back in, perhaps in a few days (or not). We're excited about this next chapter in our journey. The ADVENTURE chapter! Happy New Year to all our Family and Friends. In Love, Tamra & Simon... read more
December 27th 2008
While most of the time we're simple idiots resting in or near the water, we've taken two very fun adventures around Koh Chang. One, a full day snorke trip, took us to 5 islands on a speed boat (no long boats on this island) where each dip into the water was more delightful than the last. Without a doubt, this was the best snorkeling of our lives. One island (Koh Rang ) had such clear water there seemed no limit to the visability. See the picture showing the light aqua shallows bumping up against the deep blue deeper waters. Fish everywhere...nothing large but all very colorful. On another island it was the coral garden, where we loved the giant clams - of all different collors and shapes. They look like beautiful yonis open and lucsious - ... read more
Ko Chang - Ko Chang - More Ko Chang
Published: December 26th 2008Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Ko Chang
December 26th 2008
TURN RIGHT OR LEFT? That's about the toughest decision we have to make each day - when we want to head down the beach - which way to go? It appears that we really have become 'stuck' on Koh Chang (meaning why the hell would we leave?). We've actually slowed down so much that yesterday (Christmas Day) all we did was: Wake up Devotional Meditate Eat Massage Read Float in the water Eat Read Walk It was exhausting. Actually, we're quite proud of ourselves. We don't know where yesterday went and we did next to nothing. The question is, how do we bring this experience of spaciousness back into our lives? We keep wondering what it is that will have us move on down the road? It's so easy and nourishing to be here. It's as ... read more
We've Landed - And May Never Return
Published: December 21st 2008Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Ko Chang
December 21st 2008
BANGKOK ... YOU CAN HAVE IT! We never intended to go to Bangkok but it's almost impossible to miss if you're traveling across the country. We decided to go to the backpackers haven of Koh San Rd. It is a madhouse. Think 1 part Flea Market, 1 part Bar/Club scene and 1 part Burning Man. Add 200,000 drunk 18 - 25 year olds. Mix it all together with grime and the smell of rotting fish and you've got Koh San Rd. The energy completely overwhelmed me (Tamra). Too much of everything. I felt sad, closed off, much inner discord. But, food is good and the beer cheap. Massages were available (as always) and we had a place to stay. We were at an extremely basic guesthouse and fell asleep to the sound of thumping music. Circumstances ... read more
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