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Published: September 8th 2009
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So I know I am a bad bad blog updater and I am so sorry for not writing more often. The past few weeks have been quite an adventure, so I guess I will start where I left off..Thailand!
I left Shenzhen that Friday night, after working all day. It was the last day of the semester, so to say I was exhausted is an understatement. Nonetheless, I was so excited for Thailand and to see Chris (after a long month of separation) that it didn't matter. Well, after a three hour flight delay and a three hour freezing cold uncomfortable plane ride, as well as an hour in the customs line, I made it! I arrived in Bangkok at 4AM. Poor Chris, who had been waiting a long time, was there with open arms and with his new taxi driver friend Mr. Ton. Apparently, Mr. Ton and Chris had become BFF's over the past few days, exploring all the cool local spots of Bangkok. Around 5AM we finally arrived at our really cute boutique hotel in the Chinatown of Bangkok...I just can't escape... Even though the hotel was gorgeous, Chinatown was a bit overwhelming (much like China) and not too
central to all the fun, so we ended up taking my brother's advice and moving to Kao San Road. Now Kao San Road is infamous in Thailand for it's wild backpacker/ hippy party vibe, as well as its cheap accommodations and yummy street food (which we ate everyday) all of which is true, but by day 3 it gets pretty old and we were ready to leave in search of remote tropical beaches.
We headed to the East first, to Koh Phangan island. We took the government run overnight bus from Bangkok with all the locals because we heard it was safer and more efficient than the tourist overnight buses, and god forbid Chris does something too touristy.. He had to be one with the Thai's.. Well, unfortunately it ended up being a little too efficient because it got us to our destination four hours early and we were stuck at a dark scary bus station at 4AM. Being the first foreigners to arrive, we were immediately harassed by all the local taxi drivers. We were doing so well ignoring them, but after about an hour of contemplating what to do next, we gave in and jumped in the back
of one of the harassing taxi driver's truck. We were dooped. He ended up driving us to his employer's tour company, who in turn ended up charging us too much money to get us to our destination. So, one more bus and two boat rides later, we had arrived! We stayed on the east side of the island for about five days (Ao Thong Nai Pan Yai and Than Sadet). We were literally in Paradise. The sand was the softest white sand I had ever felt and the water was crystal clear and warm. Just like a postcard. Chris and I agreed that Than Sadet was the more beautiful of the two. It was extremely remote, with only a few bungalow accomodations and three restaurants. We stayed in an adorable bungalow on a cliff overlooking the turquoise ocean. We had a restaurant a few steps away up the cliff that served the most amazing Thai food, the best we had on the entire trip, as well as the cheapest! One romantic dinner with the works (appetizers, entrees, bottle wine, dessert) cost us less than $20!
From there, we caught a longtail boat with some funny European guys to Haad Rin.
If that name sounds familiar to you it's because Haad Rin is where they hold the full moon party every month. Supposedly the biggest party in the world. It's also famous for their "special" fungus-filled drinks they serve at a few bars at the corner of the beach. Let's just say the walls were moving on their own. I swear!
We spent our last day in the East at the Ang Thong Marine National Park. We spent a lot of the day on the boat, did some decent snorkeling (decent, because I cut my foot on the coral) and saw the Emerald Lake, which was beautiful. To be honest, there is a lot of hype about the Ang Thong Marine Park, but I think there are much more beautiful and less expensive sights to see while in Thailand. I might have to skip it next time.
Early the next morning we were on our way to the West. I had heard wonderful things about the West side and even though it was wet season over there, I really wanted to go. One 5 hour bus ride later we were in Krabi. We decided to stay put the rest of the
trip, after traveling around so much while in the East, and decided on Koh Phi Phi. We gave in to the Thai tourist harassers this time, who were alert and ready to attack as soon as we got off the boat from Krabi. Chris chose a younger hip looking tourist harasser, named Breeze, who turned out to be extremely helpful and nice, and who spoke English with a Thai-British accent. He helped us get a really nice bungalow overlooking all of Koh Phi Phi and a bit away from the crazy loud party scene, although I could still hear a faint rhythmic pounding at night...grr. Three years ago I probably would be looking for the bungalow closest to the thumping party scene. Man I'm old. Moving on...
Koh Phi Phi was pretty incredible. We didn't spend much time on the beach in the center of town, because our hotel had a really cool infinity pool, but we did venture out to other remote beaches in the area. Koh Phi Phi is a really small island so you are able to walk/climb through insane jungle terrain to reach the other side in search of private beaches. The first and only time
we did this I ate it pretty bad and landed in poo-colored gunk. Chris did it with ease, in his innate Tarzan-like way. We also had to change paths at one point because of a big snake sighting (snakes and I are not friends), but it was all worth it in the end. We found our remote beach and spent the day swimming and drinking coconut milk straight from the coconut, well that would just be me because I love it so much. Chris stuck with his Chang (a brand of Thai beer). The following day we went on a sunset cruise to Maya Bay, where they filmed The Beach. It was stunning, a little bit cloudy but still so incredible. The only downfall to Koh Phi Phi is that things are a bit more expensive on average than the rest of Thailand, but by American standards, still very cheap, and also it was a bit more rainy than I would of liked, but that was expected for wet season.
I left Thailand on a sad note, without Chris. He stayed an extra five days to see another part of Thailand (Koh Chang) we couldn't see because of time constraints.
I had to get back to work and he didn't. So why not stay a few days longer? I would of done the same. Thailand is too incredible for just two weeks. I miss it and I'm already planning my trip back! Also, I’m posting some of my photos, which are not as great as Chris’, but since he dropped his camera in the ocean on a kayaking trip you will only be viewing mine. So sad.
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Yedi
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Chiquita!
Hey I'm so happy your having a great time!!, I hope I can go visit you next year, if you still there haha!! Love you and miss you chiquita!