Advertisement
The title summarizes everything we have experienced thus far. School is finished, everything seems to be falling into place (whatever that place is) and we are far more relaxed than ever before.
For those that dont know, we are taking 1 month to travel Southeast Asia, namely Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Amy thinks I should talk more about the last few days of school, but we pay by the minute to use the Internet.
We started our SE Asia trip in Phuket (South Thailand). The trip began with some pampering, relaxing, spending, burning, burning and moisturizing. We spent those days relaxing pool side on Karon Beach on the southern tip of Phuket. We didnt do too much exploring of Karon, although we quickly realized that you dont eat at hotels when we could both eat for under $4CAN for a full meal at some little Thai 'house/tarp covered table, shack thing'. Not to mention, the fruit smoothies sold road side kept the bowels in check. Pad Thai (fried egg and noodles) are our new favorite Thai food and you can buy it off some rusty Tuk-Tuk for about 40Baht ($1) and Thai spring rolls for 10Baht (about 30 cents). Karon beach was nice, but nothing compared to what we would see next!
Needless to say, we are no longer being pampered. On Day 3 we took a boat over to Ko Phi Phi island, the one from the movie "The Beach". The beaches were just as seen in postcards and the atmosphere was even more low-key.We stayed in a little beach bungalow (like right on the beach, meters from the water). The bungalow was good, pretty laid back. We just walked off the ferry and started walking down the path till we found a bungalow that was half decent. We stood there for a minute and a shaddy fellow ran up to us and showed us our room. Basic, real basic, but clean. Phi Phi Island was a hippy town with a tonne of shopping and even cheaper food. Amy is addicted to fruit smoothies and I have a unhealthy craving for Thai rolls. I was walking down the street and next thing I know I was shaking hands with some type of monkey, as innocent as it sounds, that same monkey later tried to steal my wallet. Our 'bungalow concierge' also gave us a 3 hour tour of the local islands via long-boat. By far the coolest experience so far. Amy, and her fear of water, were overcome by the snorkeling life. We were dropped off on some island, on some reef and swam with some incredible tropical fish. Cant wait to show you guys the underwater videos. We were able to see, Phi Phi Nae Island, Viking Cave, Maya Beach, Sun Sae Beach and Monkey Beach. One would think that Monkey Beach was merely a misnomer. However, among the 100s of other tourist we were dropped off to see a feeding frenzy of overly curious monkeys. It was cool that we were able to see them, but sad to see how these monkeys have been commercialized and been acustomized to foreign foods and tourists. But neat nonetheless. Phi Phi was a short stay, we find we dont do the touristy thing well, we love to look, photograph and get out!
Next, Krabi (the mainland). We took a ferry again and were dropped off 3km away from the town. As quick as we got the boat, we were in a taxi into town. We found a small, clean, but run down homestay for the night. At first, we were discouraged by the atmosphere in Krabi. But now after a day, we love it. Again, super laid back and low-key. Krabi is more of an in-and-out town for people heading north or south. We did some shopping here, despite what we promised ourselves, but things are so ridiculously cheap. But Krabi was a short-stay as we have a long way to go. Next stop...Bangkok, then Chiang Mai.
We tried to cover all our travel-transport basis and explore each type of transportation available in these countries. We booked a bus from Krabi to Surat Thani, then from Surat Thani to Bangkok we booked a train. From Bangkok to Chiang Mai who knows?
The experience thus far is undescribable and most parts cannot be written but will have to be described later, through pictures.
We miss you all and keep posted as we will update probably in Laos or Chiang Rai.
Sawatdee Kaa (Thai: Until next time)
M & A
Advertisement
Tot: 0.076s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 13; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0452s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
GPa & GMa
non-member comment
Vaya Con Dios
We have had a not-too-good past week. My brother Ernie had a couple of heart attacks and passed away on Monday. Spent a lot of time in Wetaskiwin with him and the rest of the family before he died and now we are off to Edmonton for the funeral on Sat. Cliff and Karen are taking us in and Robert and Colleen will come back from Calgary and meet us there. What a blessing to know that he is now with the LORD - makes it so much easier. We pray for you two daily that the LORD will keep you safe. Look forward to your homecoming. Love you both lots.