Jeanette takes on the world

We spent a few nights in Chiang Mai after leaving Pai, to get ready for our long journey east to Laos. Sunday night was spent at the night market, where I bought Christmas presents, a few things for myself, and ate way too much food. We had some of the most amazing sushi (didn't get sick!), fruit shakes, and mashed potatoes and gravy while strolling through the maze of stalls, hordes of people, and unrelenting swarms of bugs. The highlight of the night was seeing a Pomeranian circus. One was wearing sunglasses and "driving" a kids electric pink car, another was dancing in a skirt to bad pop music, while the rest were sleeping off their hard night of performances. Pictures to follow. I spent Monday afternoon walking around the different markets, where locals were loading ... read more

The train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai is being repaired and was not open until late October. We still wanted to take a train rather than a bus to Chiang Mai however, so we took the train to the northern town of Phitsanulouk. It was a about a 7 hour train ride I believe and we arrived in Phitsanulouk just in time for dinner! The town itself is a transfer point for buses to the famous Sukhothai, as well as spots in Eastern Thailand. It had a nice night market, a muddy river running through it, and a laid back atmosphere (once away from the train station). It's not a hot bed for tourism, so there is not a lot in the way of guesthouses or attractions, but it was a nice stopover. We will be ... read more

After missing a flight to the south due to a case of 'thai whiskey', Danielle and I caught a flight later in the night to Bangkok, where we slept in an airport hostel on the hardest beds I have experienced in my life. At least it was a bunkbed, so all is forgiven. The next morning we woke up very early and got on a plane to Krabi, where we then caught a longtail boat to Ton Sai. We got to Ton Sai pretty early, which was good because the island was pretty booked up and it was hard to find a place to sleep. We ended up in a bungalow at the top of the hill with nothing past our place but jungle. Ton Sai is a small beach area with only a few dirt ... read more

My vacation is nearing an end, I will be flying home in a few hours. I am in South Korea at the moment awaiting the second leg of my journey. I have a 12 hour layover and the airline hooked me up with a really nice hotel. I was going to explore the city, but after getting to this hotel, seeing how awesome it is, and realizing how exhausted I am, I decided my tour of South Korea was best spent here in my hotel room. Free computer, a gigantic television, a fantastic shower... So, my last few days were spent in Bangkok at my new friends' Paul and Robine who are teachers in Bangkok. They had a really nice house to stay at and were very gracious hosts. Something stupid I did while in Ko ... read more

Hey everybody. It has been over a week since I last posted and my family thinks I am kidnapped or in prison at this point. I am alive and well and in Krabi. Last Sunday I took a bus from Phuket to Krabi where I caught a longtail boat to Railay to a beach called Ton Sai. Ton Sai is a rock climbing mecca with bars and restaurants lining the beach and bunglows set up on the hill behind. There are no roads on Ton Sai and access is on foot. I met some British girls while looking for accomodation since they seemed to know where they were going and I was a bit lost. Together we all found a place to stay about halfway up the big hill where all the bunglows were. It consisted ... read more