Last stop....

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7/20/07
We took the morning ferry to Ko Pha Ngan (a 1.5 hour ride). Ko Pha Ngan is a very casual island, dominated by backpackers. Haad Rin, which is one area on the island, is home to the legendary full moon parties which is a huge party that takes place right on the beach; activities at the full moon party include dancing, drinking, drugs, fire throwing, etc., and is a big rave scene. After we finally found a place to stay (on the quieter, "sunset" side of Haad Rin), we spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. For dinner, we ate at a pretty good falafel place in the center of town. After dinner, we found a restaurant that was playing Shrek 3. Here, more than on the other islands we've visited, almost every restaurant is open-air and has TVs playing TV shows or movies all day. It's a good alternative to sitting on the beach or just drinking at bars.

7/21/07
We spent the day at Haad Rin "sunrise" beach. Although it was more crowded than what we have been used to, it was one of the nicest beaches we've seen with fine, white sand and clear, blue water. We had a late lunch at a place that shows "Friends" all day, so we hung around and watched a few episodes. In the evening, we made for the beach and did some bar hopping. The bars all set up outdoor seating - mats on the sand with some cushy pillows or plastic chairs, and you can order beers, watch fire throwers, and just chill. Alternatively, you can purchase the ingredients and a pail to make a Thai whiskey bucket from one of the many stalls along the beach.

7/22/07
This morning, we switched hotels and went to a quieter area - Haad Leela. It was a great location as it felt more remote, yet it was still only a short walk into town. The hotel was called Sarikantang, and we splurged a little and got a huge bungalow overlooking the beach. We had an outdoor balcony, indoor seating area with glass windows all around and a huge bedroom and bathroom. The hotel also had its own beach; our goal for the next 2 days was to read as much as possible and to not leave the resort - we came close to achieving it….if the hotel restaurant was better, we would have.

We spent the day on the beach with our only interruption being our 5pm Thai massage appointments at the hotel spa. The setting was beautiful - overlooking the ocean and the massages were the best we've gotten yet.

7/23/07
It rained a bit in the morning, so after reading for a bit in the bungalow, Steph went for a foot massage while Jay finished up his book. The weather quickly cleared and once again, had a relaxing afternoon on the beach. Also, played paddleball and kicked around a soccer ball for a bit.

We went into town for dinner and our last Thai crepe (this one happened to be just like the ones at home, only slightly greasier and the cooking conditions were a little less sanitary), filled with bananas, chocolate, peanut butter, etc.

7/24/07
We took our last ferry ride back to Ko Samui (only a half hour) to connect to our flight to Bangkok. The airport in Ko Samui is owned by Bangkok Airways, and as such that's the only airline that flies thru there. So, the flights are a little more expensive (talk about a monopoly), but we were pleasantly surprised when we got to the airport - the waiting area was open air with comfy wicker furniture and there was a buffet of delicious sweets, fruits and drinks (iced chocolate being Steph's favorite). They even served a light meal on the short 45 minute flight (including ice cream - yes!) - that would never happen in the U.S. Upon our arrival, the tailor was waiting for us to take us to the shop for what would hopefully be Steph's last fitting (Jay's stuff was already finished). Unfortunately, that wasn't the case as we ended up having to go twice more the following day (they did a great job with the suits, but are having a tough time with Steph's dress). They then took us to the Dream Hotel (thanks for the recommendation, Jaime and Andrew), which is in a central location and is very modern and new; we also got a great rate since it recently opened. It was the first "real" hotel we've stayed at in a long time - flat screen TV, bathrobes, slippers and all. At this point, we're trying to have as much Thai food as we can, so we found a place that at first glance looked like a hole in the wall complete with plastic chairs overflowing into the street, but the plethora of both Thai and farangs (foreigners) convinced us to have a seat. It was called Suda and the very cheap, super spicy Thai food was delicious. Recognizing that we're going to miss the bargaining game that we can't play at home and the bargains themselves, we hit up the Suan Lim night market. Like most of the other markets we've been to, but much bigger than average with a huge variety of goods - quite a scene.

7/25/07
We started off the day right with a great breakfast at the Dream and then went off to the tailor yet again. Since it was raining buckets, in the afternoon we went to the MBK Center which is a huge mall with a mix of market-type stalls and real stores. We spent a few hours buying some last minute souveniers and having DVDs made (you chose the movies out of a book and they copy the DVD for you while you wait about 30 minutes). We had our last foot massages (in the mall), went back to the tailor and then had dinner with Al (previously mentioned in the first Bangkok blog).

We said our goodbyes to Thailand, Asia, and the good life, and made for the airport for our long trip home. We're certainly feeling a mix of emotions - excited to see our friends and families, to have a clean place to sleep every night (and not have to search for it), and to not have to live out of a bag, yet very sad to be leaving our carefree and unemployed days filled with new and exciting experiences and that this opportunity and chapter in our lives to see different parts of the world has come to an end. Oh well - there is always next year….(ha, ha).

RANDOM THOUGHTS BY JAY AND STEPH:

- The travelblog website had some data failure and most of our electronic blogs have been buried in cyber space. Very annoying.

- Jay had his identity stolen while he was gone - some jerks opened 4 credit cards under his name.

- So much for "monsoon season," rainy season, or whatever you want to call it - we were initially very worried about traveling to Southeast Asia during this time of year, but overall, the weather was fine and did not turn out to be a factor in our trip at all. Sure, it rained, but the rain in Asia is such that it pours for an hour or less, and then the weather is fine for the rest of the day.

- Books recently completed: Life of Pi (Jay), Harry Potter - Order of the Phoenix (Jay), Pillars of the Earth (Steph)

- Thai island we enjoyed the most: Ko Tau

- Foods most excited to eat when we get home (in no particular order)
o Bagels
o Peanut butter (with anything)
o Salad
o Pasta
o Tuna melt (only Jay is excited for this one)
o Big, juicy cheeseburger

- "Comfort foods" we found ourselves turning to the most on our travels:
o Pizza
o French fries
o Muesli, fruit and yogurt
o Ice cream
o Potato chips

- Things we will not miss about traveling:
o The ants, mosquitoes, and other critters resident in every hotel room/guesthouse
o Searching for places to sleep
o Writing the blogs…

- Smallest, most useful travel product packed for the trip: earplugs

- Least utilized travel product we brought: toss up between our headlamps and the calculator

- Top 5 "must do's" from the trip (in no particular order)
o Climbing Franz Josef Glacier on the South Island of New Zealand
o Visiting the Great Wall of China
o Exploring the temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia
o Hiking in Sapa, Vietnam
o Sailing the Whitsundays, Australia

- "Honorable Mention"
o Rent a car or winabago and drive around the South Island of New Zealand
o Check out the Great Ocean Road in Australia
o Sydney, Australia
o Relax or dive in Ko Tau, Thailand

- Things we didn't do in the countries we were in that we would have liked to:
o New Zealand: Queenstown, Milford Sound
o Australia: Frazer Island
o China: Tiger Leaping Gorge, Terra Cotta Warriors, Tibet
o Vietnam: Hoi An

- Trip Summary
o # of countries visited (including Taiwan and Hong Kong, which are technically "SARS" of China): 8
o Amount of time on the road: 18 weeks
o Amount of time spent in each country:
New Zealand: 3 weeks
Australia: 3.5 weeks
Hong Kong: 5 days
Taiwan: 1 week
Beijing (China): 4 days
Vietnam: 3 weeks
Cambodia: 1 week
Thailand: 5 weeks
o # of flights taken (not including layovers): 18

- Final thoughts (stream of consciousness)
We are so, so grateful that we had this opportunity. We have become better and smarter travelers (street smarts, how to get around, realizing don't have to have everything planned in advance). Met so many nice and interesting people. Other travellers were generally so friendly, and it was so easy to strike up conversations with people. In fact, we already met one couple for dinner in New York whom we had previously met in Australia (they were visiting NY). Saw so many beautiful and interesting places. Will miss wearing flip flops, shorts, and t-shirts every day. Actually having time to think and relax. No work. No "man". No rat race. Learned a great deal of history and geography. Challenging ourselves. Facing our fears. Pushing ourselves to the limit. Learned how to deal with each other better. Loving that we did this trip together. Could not have travelled for so long with anyone else.

- Next stop…………Hoboken, NJ, and the real world....




Visited Countries Map

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Photos

Relaxin' in the hammock
Ko Pha Ngan

Nightly entertainment on the beach
fire throwers

Finally got our underwater cameras developed
snorkeling in Ko Tau

Jay, once again, looking geeky
this time in his "stinger suit" in the Whitsundays

Comments

[glori]

fantastic!
such a wonderful trip! i really enjoyed getting your updates. thanks so much for sharing and welcome back!