Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Happy Chinese New Year!)

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I am finally home (in Wuhan) after spending over 4 weeks on holiday (yes, I was on holiday like a Brit) in Thailand and Malaysia. The seven of us all had different travel plans: Laura and Sarah decided to take the train down through Vietnam, Alexes went home for a few weeks, Nick and Dan started in southern China before Nick went to Cambodia and Dan went to the UK to visit his lovely girlfriend. Katie and I decided that we wanted to see Thailand. I went to Beijing to see Jessi off and then Katie and I met up on our way into Thailand. We started up north in Chiang Mai, then we hit up Koh Chang (and island on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand). We were back to Bangkok to meet up with Alexes and Nick for the Chinese New Year before heading south to Koh Lanta (another island) and into Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

It was truly a trip of a lifetime complete with adventure and R&R. I’ll be writing up the highlights of each part of the trip and posting a ton of pictures in the next few days. For now, here are a few “statistics” for the trip a few teaser pics to whet your appetite. ENJOY!

Spring Festival 2008

36 Days Away From Wuhan: Including the few days spent in Beijing seeing Jessi off…

2 Countries Visited: Thailand and Malaysia

7 Main Cities Visited: Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Mae Tang, Koh Chang, Koh Lanta, Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Selangor

4 Main Cities Passed Thru in Transit: Trat, Krabi, Trang, Georgetown

2 Bags: Big Traveler Backpack and my purse

16 Types of Transportation Experienced: Plane, Train, VIP Bus, Mini-Bus, Taxi, Tuk Tuk, Elephant, Bamboo Raft, Bed of a Truck, Row Boat, Ferry, Tram, Sky Train, Subway, Metro System, Feet

8 Different Accommodations: 4 guest houses, 2 bungalows, 2 hotels

5.5 Books Read: The Bellmaker by Brian Jacques (thanks, Jessi!), The Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Rosenthal (found at our hostel in Chiang Mai), The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (purchased at a used book store in Chiang Mai), The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe by Jane Wagner (the script from the one woman show starring Lily Tomlin), The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (the same copy that my dad took on his trip through the Middle East), The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss (this was the .5- I started it, but didn’t have a chance to finish)

4 Kg Added to My Backpack Over the Month

88 Degrees: Average Temp for Thailand in February

1 Pen Entirely Used Up Journaling

4 Beachside Fire Shows

4 Sites with “World’s Blankiest Blank”: World’s Largest Covered Bird Park, World’s Best Airport, World’s Tallest Twin Towers, World’s 4th Tallest Telecommunications Tower

76 Mosquito Bites (I didn’t really count, but I got a lot…good thing I took my Malarone.)

50+ Hours on a Bus

14 Sunsets on the Beach

1 Magical Firefly Show

36 Days I was Glad I was on Vacation

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Photos

Happy.
Me. On the beach. :)

Hot Springs
This was a part of the Junlge Trek outside of Chiang Mai

Room with a View
This was the view from the porch of our bungalow on Koh Chang.

Sunset
The sun setting over the Andaman Sea.

The Gang
Striking a pose in front of the World's Tallest Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Comments

[Sarah]

God you are HOTT
First of all it is blizarding here in Missou (yes blizarding is a word in the nuttdictionary) so you are hottt in your 80 degree weather! Second no seriously you are sexy that picture of you against the water where your figure is all black. I want a copy of that poster size and I wanna frame it and put it on a wall. What a great picture. Can't wait till the next post! Great teasers! Keep it up my beautiful friend!

[Ash]

Awesome.
Yeah, you pretty much rock, like Sarah said. (And Blizzarding is totally a word). Super good use of your time - I bet you've got a pretty wicked passport by now eh? Greetings from Oz!! love