WIANG SA and NAN

We met Megan in the McDonalds on the Kao San Road around 7am after our 14hour bus ride to Bangkok. I was lucky enough to be the only person on the bus with two seats to themselves! I got a decent sleep but bus sleeps don't exactly leave you refreshed and ready for the day. We decided to get a $5 ghetto room close by so that we could shower, nap, and have a place to leave our bags. We had a million things to do in Bangkok before our bus left for Wiang Sa at 4pm. We decided to take a public bus to the largest outdoor market in the world, about 20mins from Bangkok. It was sooo overwhelming and so hot and none of us really had room in our backpacks for any of it so we left practically empty handed. We picked up some school supplies for the kids at Lauras school as well as lots of candy to bribe them with at a Thai supermarket. I mangaged to get about 20mins of nap time after all of our errands were done. We attempted to take a public bus to the main bus station since our experience to the market worked out but this time around was a different story! We watied for about 30mins for a bus and when we got on nobody spoke english so we had no idea if we were on the right bus but it bared the number of the bus we'd been told to get on. After we'd been standing with our backpacks laughing and falling all over the place in the middle of the bus for about 15mins (basically putting on a show for all the conservative Thai people on the bus) our bus stopped and the ticket lady on the bus (all buses have ticket ladies) threw our bags out of the door and practically pushed Christine down the stairs. We knew we weren't anywhere near the bus station so we took a taxi the rest of the way. Bangkok is nuts. Thailand is nuts.

Our bus ended up pulling into Wiang Sa about 2hrs late--around 4am. We had no way to contact Laura so she and Uncle Jai (her homestay owner guy) had been waiting there for that long. We took a bus to Nan and rented bikes. Checked out a few Wats and museums and a very sad zoo. We had dinner at Uncle Jai's--chickens from their backyard and rice. We biked down to Wiang Sa night market for something to do then we watched "Walk The Line" at Lauras place and planned our lessons for the next day. We were to teach grades 5, 1, and 2. After a short sleep on Laura's rock hard bed, she lent me a long skirt that was way too big and a huge purple polo shirt--teacher attire in Wiang Sa. I should mention that Laura and her housemate are the only two white people in Wiang Sa and the province of Nan, where Wiang Sa is located, only has 15 white people living there. We were celebrities. The kids were so intrigued by us, when they saw us walking the halls they would laugh or stare or want to touch us, it was like being a celebrity. The kids at Sriwiang Sa didn't speak much english so it was difficult trying to teach them the language when none of us speak Thai. They loved the clay, crayons, etc, and the candy that we brought them. I would like to think that they learned something from us--we taught them about Canada for the most part. It was an amazing day but I don't envy Laura--its an exhausting job.

Next stop, Chiang Mai! (More of Northern Thailand)

KOH LANTA and KRABI

Christine and I left Phi Phi and headed to for the mainland where we were picked up by a minibus that took us all the way from the ferry terminal to Koh Lanta (good deal as it drove us onto the 2 ferries we had to take to get there). I was still not feeling great so I popped a gravol and slept the whole way--I hope the scenery wasn't too nice! We arrived on Lanta and discovered that in the off season almost the entire island shuts down! Our beachfront resort only had one other guest staying there. It was nice though--we got a cute bungalow overlooking the water (prime real estate) and it was quiet.

We decided to walk down the main road for dinner that night and ended up having to walk 40mins to find a restaurant that was actually open. This restaurant was inside a gorgeous resort and were so hungry that we decided to ignore the higher prices and just eat dinner there. We had the entire classy beachfront restaurant to ourselves, it was fabulous and totally worth the extra cash.

After dinner we tuk tuked back to our resort and watched a movie on my ipod (thanks James)! There weren't any restaurants open past about 9 or 10 and there definitely weren't any bars open. We did find a 7-11 down the road from our resort though for some movie snacks. No matter where you are in Thailand, you can always find a 7-11.

We spent our daytime hours on the beach (which was also deserted--very cool) or in the enormous, dangerous waves, or reading on our front porch. It was a really great island for relaxing and finding things to do to entertain yourself. I won't go into details but lets just say Christine and I may have performed a duet of a song from the little mermaid one day.

We left Lanta to head to Krabi for a couple of days before we had to meet back up with Megan in Bangkok. We stayed in an amazing guesthouse in Krabitown (cute little backpacker village) that had clean sheets and an outdoor shower. It was a much needed change from the dingy sheets and grimy showers we're used to.

We took a longtail boat to Rai Lai beach because we'd heard amazing things about it. It was stunning, much like Phi Phi. The main beach is in a bay between two huge limestone cliffs. Rai Lai is a rock climbing mecca so the climbers served as a nice distraction from the unbearable heat when we were lying on the sand. We only had a few hours there before we had to head back to Krabitown to catch our 14hr bus to Bangkok, so we soaked up every second of it. I would love to come back to Rai Lai and spend more time here.

Next stop Bangkok (a VERY quick one--I've seen enough of Bangkok and we have to get up north to see Laura)!

KOH PHI PHI

Koh Phi Phi, where to begin. This is definitely my favourite island, scenery wise...It is so beautiful. Looking out from the white sandy beaches there are a few smaller islands not too far from shore that have jagged peaks and limestone cliffs...And they're surrounded by turquoise water of course! So stunning. We decided to fork out a couple of extra dollars to share a place on the beach that had two double beds so we could all live under one roof for a change.

My flu reached epic proportions our first night there--My temperature was dangerously high and I was really out of it. The next day I couldn't get out of bed so Megan decided to nurse me back to health while Xtine and Laura checked out downtown Phi Phi. Our resort was about a 20-30min walk/hike (depending on daytime/night time and alcohol consumption) through a scary, muddy, dark forest. We had fun with it though. There are lots of resorts in the main area but the beach there isn't as nice and its a lot more crowded...We were done with crowds after the full moon party. There is a beach inbetween our resort and the main area (There are 3 main beaches on Phi Phi) but it hasn't re-opened since the Tsunami. We could definitely see the effect of the Tsunami on Phi Phi. There was construction everywhere, you could still see how much damage it caused on this tiny island. They sold tsunami merchandise (postcards, t-shirts)in a lot of stores, it was pretty disgusting and I didn't see one person purchase any of it.

We went on a boat cruise that took us to the islands across from Phi Phi on our second day. Our first stop was a beach inhabited by monkeys. We snorkeled from the boat over some nice coral to get to monkey beach. We were given bananas and attacked when we got to shore. The monkeys were not afraid of us at all, as I'm sure they're used to all of the boat groups giving them food every day. They all really liked Laura and kept touching her...I'm pretty sure she's carrying some kind of monkey disease now. Our second stop on the tour was a lagoon surrounded by towering limestone cliffs in crystal clear water. The girls and I hopped in our kayas and explored the little caves and beaches within the lagoon. It was soooo stunning. The last stop was an island with Maya Bay (THE beach in the movie "The Beach") located on one side of it. The water was too rough to get into the bay so we had to anchor the yacht (hah) on one side of the island and swim to shore, go through a cave that had a natural waterslide that you had to climb up, and follow a trail for a few minutes. Swimming to shore was difficult because there was coral everywhere (I've already been scratched by coral enough on this trip and have the scars to prove it) and once you got close to "shore" it turned out to be less of a shore and more of a cave wall with sharp rocks on the sea floor. The waves were crashing pretty hard against the cave wall so we all got swept away, everybody either got dragged along the rocky sea floor or splashed up onto the cave wall. It was not fun at all but I just kept telling myself it would all be worth it. Only in Thailand would a tour operator do something sooo dangerous. I was right though, the beach definitely was worth it. I can't put it into words, it was so breathtaking so you'll just have to see for yourself when I get my webshots album sorted. Or watch "The Beach." The swim back to the boat was better and we were rewarded with dinner and drinks and first aid for those who took a beating from the waves/rocks.

We checked out a sweet bar that night. They had a drinking competition that only Laura, Megan and a bunch of guys were daring enough to participate in. You had to chug a beer, run down the beach, chug a whiskey/coke bucket, run down the beach again and down 3 shots of vodka. The funniest part was the prize for winning...A free bucket of alcohol! The last thing any of those people would want. Megan and Laura held their own against the boys but didn't win. There was an unbelievable fireshow for about half an hour later that night, and we had front row seats.

The rest of Phi Phi was spent lying on the beach or in a hammock, just taking it all in and relaxing. Laura had to return to her teaching job back in Northern Thailand and Megan wanted to go on a solo adventure to some more islands so Christine and I spent an extra day on idyllic Phi Phi before heading to Koh Lanta. Which is, surprise surprise, another island.

KOH PHA-NGAN

Hello all, sorry my blog is so far behind...We're getting down to our last couple of weeks and its difficult trying to fit internet time into our schedules. Sorry there are once again no photos but Laura set up a webshots album for me (thanks elle!) so I'll have a ton of photos soon enough.

Koh Pha-Ngan holds world famous "Full Moon Parties" on the night of every full moon. Full Moon party got rated #3 best party after Mardi Gras and Carnivale so its kind of a big deal. If you aren't staying on Koh Pha-Ngan, there are boats, buses, trains, all kinds of full moon transportation packages to get you there. You can't go to southeast asia and not attend.

We arrived by boat 3 days before the FMP (full moon party for you slow people out there) thinking we'd have no problem finding accomodation...Wrong! We had to walk all over the place with our heavy backpacks--unfortunately Koh Pha-Ngan is a very hilly island as well. We managed to find a place on Leela beach, which is close enough to the party beach. The only rooms they had left that first night were two bungalows on really high stilts that were a 5minute walk up a dirt cliff. Laura and I shared a bungalow that had a broken step to get into the bungalow and I'm pretty sure if it had broken just a little bit more we would've tumbled to our demise. Our room had electricity but it was just a very dull lightbulb in the corner of the room. It did however have enough power to illuminate the mildew coating the walls! Our bathroom was a squat toilet and pitch black (bad combo). A mosquito net was surprisingly provided but those things don't do much with gaping holes in them. We did have a bamboo porch but I'm pretty sure if two people stood on it at once, it would've crumbled and once again, it would've been fatal. I'm not complaining, we all laughed about it and had a great time, I'm just trying to convey how hilarious our accomodations are in this part of the world sometimes.

Our first night there we met up with a bunch of Laura's teacher friends in town. Most of the restaurants here play either a movie or episodes of Friends during dinner. It was a nice change--I haven't watched tv since I left! Lining all of the streets are vendors selling buckets (dollar store style) filled with a combo of your choice from red bull, sprite, coke, whiskey, vodka, rum, juice, etc and a straw. I always went for the cheapest--redbull, coke, and cheap thai whiskey. It tasted a little bit like dirt but it was only about $3.15 and they didn't hold back with the whiskey.

The next morning we got moved to the most picturesque accomodations we've had yet. Our bungalow doorsteps were about 10metres from the water. The bungalows were much nicer inside as well. We did have to live with a billionopede (a centipede with a billion legs) for a while but it was worth it.

Full moon night I had the beginning stages of the flu but I did NOT want to miss out on one of the biggest parties in existence. We got to the beach around 11pm (thats when it starts to get busy) and Megan and I fulfilled our mission to get glow painted out of the way first. The beach is lined with different bars and clubs and each cluster of clubs has a theme--drum&bass, reggae, hip hop, techno, etc so you can drift between genres when the mood strikes you. There were tens of thousands of people packed onto the beach, the energy was incredible. We had buckets, we danced, it was crazy. I got a solid hour of sleep before we had to meet in downtown Pha-Ngan to catch our 6am minibus to the ferry. We didn't do full moon the way you're supposed to because we had to move on but it goes from 4pm-8am then they turn off the music for 2hrs and the full moon afterparty begins at 10am. Hardcore full mooners are nuts. As we waited for our bus we saw people walking around missing various items of clothing/shoes, lying on the sidewalks or on the street, girls passed out in the dirt in their party dresses, it was quite the night.

Koh Phi Phi (pronounced "pee pee"...ha) was our next stop...Some of you might recognize the name because it was hit really hard by the Tsunami. A lot of it isn't rebuilt and one of the main beaches is still closed but it still looks beautiful.

PS thanks to everyone who has been posting--I love logging on and reading your messages, it makes my day!

PHOTOS

Since Thai computers never seem to like my camera, I'm going to send you to my competitors blog. In my links section click on "Lo's Blog." She has a link to her webshots albums there. I'm in the TB2BTeaching and TB2B Island hopping albums.

Note-If you check out the teaching album, the clothes I'm wearing were donated by Laura from her ugly clothes pile. You have to wear a long skirt and a collared shirt (2 things I did NOT bring to Thailand). Frumpy Mcfrumperson.

KOH SAMUI

We dediced to fly to Samui because we found a cheap-ish flight from Pattaya (mainland Thailand). We got to board the plane via a flight of stairs on the tarmack--just like they did in the old days. After a an hour in the air we touched down on the second most touristy island in Thailand--Koh Samui! After chilling on Samet and Chang, we were ready for the Maui inspired Samui.

After checking into a couple of bungalows close to the beach, we met up with the birthday girl (Laura). After teaching in a tiny town in Northern Thailand for the past 3 months, Samui was the perfect spot to celebrate...She finally got to see other white people in Thailand!

Met up with a John and Jen, UBC Ski/board club people for birthday-ing. Samui had a Haagen dazs shop where we all ordered the most amazing desserts ever. Went to a beachside bar where the drink menu was very poorly/hilariously translated. I had a pena corada and some chooters.

We spent our days at the beach during prime tanning hours and went shopping for fake Versace bikinis and Chanel sunglasses, etc in the evenings before dinner. Dessert at Yogen fruz, baskin robbins, or haagen dazs would follow. Very tough life I'm living here in Thailand. On our last night we discovered the most fun club scene we've seen in our travels so far. There was a lane off the main street that had open air club after club and hundreds of people inside and spilling out onto the street. It was crazy good!

Some Samui highlights:
-how retarded hot it was (when we were tanning I was worried that my body was literally going to explode)
-When a bat flew into Laura and Megans bungalow and hid somewhere inside
-When we came home to a large cockroach swimming in our bungalow shower (it was seriously doing laps). I had to make a trap out of a glass and ashtray and chuck it outside. Quite proud of myself for going near it.
-All of the western food restaurants (We had Italaian twice!)
-Laura
-Watching two (gay?) guys practice THE move about 20 times from dirty dancing in the sea in front of us then discovering that they were staying in the bungalow next to us. (Hi Zach and Jake!)
-The mango lady who would come up to our beach mats to sell us delicious mangoes for about 0.50 (We didn't even have to move to get lunch)!

Samui was fun but you can only handle so much of having to share the beach with all of the euro men in speedos and you just get tired of how touristy it is in general. Going to head off to Koh Pha-Ngan for the epic full moon party (Anyone who's anyone in Southeast Asia will be there).
Photos to come soon I promise...Thai computers hate my camera!

Of course it starts to monsoon when I want to leave the internet place. boohiss.

KOH SAMET

Photos to come later--ghetto computer here, once again.
We took a short ferry to Samet and arrived to the pier at night (makes climbing across another boat and having to practically jump onto the pier from the boat much more challenging). We met a fun Korean couple who shared their patented nail buffering kit with us and a Danish couple. Very entertaining boat ride, and hey, shiny nails too! We checked out a place that had a bungalow up in the boonies with a broken window, a broken fan, broken steps, and a mosquito net with gaping holes in it. We decided to keep looking. Jeps bungalows had a mediocre room but a sweet beachfront restaurant so we dropped our enormous backpacks there. We arrived on Canada day (yes I know this blog is extremely behind), expecting to have to make our own party but we sat down for a beach BBQ next to a huge table full of...Canadians! They gave us stickers and we all sang the anthem...It was all very patriotic. There were about 20 of them, all in Thailand teaching. We met up with them later for some more festivities at the only club on the island. We had to endure a monsoon to get to the club. Those things are crazy, they turn roads into rivers, hills into waterfalls, and flip flops into boats (I almost lost mine countless times).

Our room on Koh Samet unfortunately reeked like mildew b/c the clothes we all washed on Koh Chang never dried thanks to the rain there. It also had quite an ant problem. Needless to say we spent as much time as possible on the beach, in the restaurant, or in town.

The beach BBQ's on Samet are famous. The beach is lined with restaurants that fill up wooden boats with ice and place fish, chicken, shark, anything from the water, on plates on top of the ice. They have live mussels, lobster, and crab hanging out in tanks beside the food filled boats as well. You basically point at what you want and they cook it up and throw in some corn, potato, or garlic bread. Those were some fun dinners. (Dad and Robert, you would've been in heaven).

We left Koh Samet for Samui after 5 glorious days. I am more tanned than I have ever been before. The Thais still laugh at my pale skin though. Koh Samui update to come soon!

KOH CHANG PHOTOS

Photos:
Megan and I posing with some of the weird food we found in a 7-11
The most popular seat in our beachfront restaurant at our resort
Some kayaks on the beach at our resort that we didn't rent because it rained the entire time we were there
Another table with hammock seats
A snake that slithered across the bar and around my beer one night. Megan touched it.