Advertisement
Published: June 28th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Well, I officially failed at updating my blog at all during my stint in southeast Asia, and for that my deepest apologies.
I just got off a 17 hour journey from Ko Phi Phi by boat and bus and am feeling a little knackered (great word, I am bringing it to North America). In my delusional half-awake state I am watching endless Caruso one liner's - http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=6497706401&h=98Nx3&u=lzZ8E. Ridiculous in any state of mind.
So working backwards, we spent the past 10 days on Ko Phi Phi enjoying the beach, sunshine and hanging outside of 7-11. But really. B and I met 4 guys on Ko Phangan (2 Canadians, a Swede and an American) who we traveled with to PP. The day plan was essentially wake up, discuss of horrible each of us looked, debrief the night, eat and then lie on the beach for 6 hours nursing hangovers. At 6 promptly we would meet for dinner and go to this restaurant called Papaya which had the largest servings ever seen outside of the United States of America. After dinner we would loiter outside of 7-11 people watching and drinking. Ever girl on PP was insanely dressed up for a
traveler. I even saw some heels. Especially considering I was verging on 6 months in the same 2 t-shirts and one dress. The best part of PP is probably this ridiculous bar called Reggae Bar where they give backpackers FREE buckets (the only way alcohol is drank in SEA is mixed with soda and M-150 in sand pails - my childhood sand castle days have forever been tainted) to get into a boxing ringand fight each other. Yes, fighting allowed, nay encouraged, in a bar and promise of free booze. Only in Thailand. Needless to say though, watching tourist fighting Muay Thai is immensely entertaining. After Reggae Bar we would head down the beach where ever night they set up open air clubs which played the exact same 6 songs every night until sunrise. We attempted to watch the sunrise my last night but failed miserably by choosing the wrong side of the island. You know you have stayed up too late when the dive shops are opening as you walk home. Or when you walk by a tattoo parlor and find your brother sitting with 5 Thai guys singing while they play guitar. Good times all in all.
We also did our open water scuba certification on PP which was incredible. On our last dive we saw black tip reef sharks which pretty much made my life. It was amazing, there for 4 of them and they were swimming around us so close I could almost touch them.
PP is right next to the island where they filmed "The Beach" with Leo so we clearly had to go there. The boat trip there was great, in particular the reactions of the other passengers to Mike and Ben who boarded the boat wearing children's inflatable floaties and shotgunned a beer immediately. The beach itself looks nicer in the movie, but it was still very beautiful. Pretty much as Leo puts it in the movie, spending time on the islands is all about "the pursuit of pleasure."
The island we were on before PP was also a very good time. Similar activities, expect they have the most insane (and dangerous) fire shows on the beach at night. Not only was there a 15 foot skipping rope doused in gasoline and ON FIRE but it broke 3 times and swung straight into the crowd. Three times! The best part
is perhaps that none of the Thai guys cared at all. They also had flaming loops suspended off the ground which drunk people try to jump through. The amount of people I saw walking around with white bandages wrapped around their legs and arms due to burns is a testament to how many people ate it every night. I even saw someone go face first into the flaming loop. Ouch.
The first night on the island was the half-moon party - pretty much a large dance party in the middle of the jungle. Great night which ended with eating ice cream at 6am watching the sunrise. Earlier that night we had walked up to 3 random people on the beach to ask them if they knew how they were getting to the party. This innocent encounter resulted in us spending 3 weeks with the same 6 people (nicknamed the "6-pack" by Dan). Thus one of the reasons I love traveling.
Cambodia, Laos and northern Thailand will have to be document in another entry as I need to go find a hostel.
All in all, the past 6 months have passed far too quickly and it is hard
to believe that I am flying home tomorrow. 7 countries, countless hours in transit, numerous amazing travel companions and I end my trip as I began it, boarding a plane alone which seems very fitting. It has been amazing, I only wish it could continue forever. Alas, this is the end so until I have the energy to finish up the parts of this trip I missed or I hit the road again, I bid you adieu.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.116s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 16; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0698s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb