Koh Pha Ngan: “Should I Even Bring Shoes to Dinner?”

Now that I have been home for a few days and have had time to reflect a bit on the trip, I can say with certainty that Koh Pha Ngan was my favorite place. It was quiet and relaxed yet still held the creature comforts we were looking for (warm shower, air conditioning, bacon and eggs for breakfast). Attire for the week consisted mostly of swimsuits and cover-ups. Shoes weren’t even allowed in most restaurants to keep the sand and dirt out. So one might say that the week took on a very chill vibe; I reached a new level of lethargy. We chose to stay on Salad Beach, which is a short stretch of relatively secluded sand. Our hotel was named Cookie’s Resort. So we stayed at Salad Cookie’s for a week. Best name ever?  I think so.

Each day was filled with more of the same from Koh Samui, but we had a couple more days of tropical rain thrown in there. To be honest it was a nice reprieve from the seemingly incessant heat and humidity. Some days I felt like I was swimming in a hot tub down to breakfast. We also took a couple of day trips to other beaches. Yao Beach would have been nicer if it had been better weather. Khom Beach was the real gem. Lonely Planet commented that this is where Corona commercials should be shot. It really was that wonderful. Koh Pha Ngan was perfect.

View from the hotel during the day.

Hammock on our balcony

Reading and relaxing by the beach

 

Mixed Fruit Shakes. At least one a day.

Khom Beach was not only beautiful, but also very secluded. For a quite a while we were the only people on the beach. One resort sat at the end of the stretch of sand and made a great place to take a couple hour lunch while a rain shower moved in. A precarious walk through the water, dodging coral and sea urchins, lead to a sand bar about one hundred feet out from shore. It was a the perfect place to catch some vitamin D and still keep cool in the blazing sun.

View from the hotel at night

 

Full Moon

Koh Samui: “You Want Massage? Foot Scrub?”

After four days in Bangkok it was definitely time to head to the islands. A quick 12-hour train trip, hour bus ride, and hour and a half ferry cruise took us down the coast and into the gulf to the island of Koh Samui. For 7 days we stayed on Lamai beach soaking up the lazy lifestyle. Days consisted of taking breakfast at the hotel–a cool 2 minutes from the beach and two minutes from the main road in town–laying on the beach, reading various books, a noontime beer, lunch, mixed fruit shake, afternoon nap, more reading, evening stroll on the beach, dinner, and then crashing hard after an exhausting day. Yes, play your tiny violin for me, my life is tough. But, don’t fret, I didn’t take a single day of relaxation for granted. I am about to embark on two years of intense school work so I soaked up enough laziness to last me a while.

Lamai was a great beach that was far from over-crowded, yet still full of great places to eat and enjoy views of the ocean. Women and men cruised down the beach offering hair braiding, ice cream bars, nail painting, clothing, jelly donuts (?!) and foot massages. Women would grab your foot, inform you you had two kilos of dead skin on your feet (not us–thank you fish!) and basically demand you get a foot scrub. While we never partook in these offerings, a sucker is born everyday and many people found themselves belly-down in a lounge chair while a Thai woman shook her head in alarm at their yellow toe nails and thick callouses.

Overall it was really lovely and a nice start to the island life.

We got up super early one morning to catch the sunrise. We were joined by one of the many stray dogs roaming the beach and a hand-full of fisherman getting a start on that day’s fresh catches.

Our major excursion for the week was to Ang Thong National Marine Park. This national treasure is a collection of 40 giant rocks jutting out of the ocean. It contains caves, lagoons, white beaches with sand like powdered sugar, and copious amounts of wildlife. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Emerald Lagoon-- a trapped seawater lake.

While we were sitting in the water I plunged my hand down and came up with this rock. Seriously, I didn't even look for him, he found me. And I shall call him Toby.

Fooooood. I loved the food.

Oooooh Masaman Curry. After a strenuous four weeks of taste testing, I can finally declare that this is my favorite curry variety.

Nom nom. One of my favorite street-stall meals: Pad Thai, Curry, Samosas, and Singha Beer.

Even more island time to come…

Bangkok: “I give you special price. How much you pay?”

And now it has been four weeks and I am home. Usually, after a trip of this length, with such a great amount of anticipation behind it, I would say, Whew! What a whirlwind! But this time, I’m not (even though I just did…wait, what?). It actually didn’t fly by like I was secretly dreading; I figured I was so excited about it that it would go by in a flash. Thankfully, it didn’t feel that way. But now I am home and my mind switches gears from, Would I rather have pad thai or masaman curry for dinner? to, I need to pack up my life to move across the country in a week!!

Before I begin that arduous process I would love to share some pictures and stories with you from the trip. Unfortunately the only thing  I brought with me that didn’t come home on my return flight was my camera. I misplaced it at some point about halfway through the trip. In fact, I am pretty sure a woman at the Tuk massage joint in Koh Pha Ngan is taking pictures of her puppies with it as I type this. Never you mind though, because all the pictures I took were backed up on Adam’s computer and for the remainder of the trip Adam took all the pictures we needed. So I have evidence! I was really in Asia!

Bangkok was great. It was an immediate assault to the senses, but one I enjoyed simply because it was so foreign. I had never been to Asia before (unless you count a couple hours during my trip to Istanbul) so the sights, smells (oh, the smells), people, culture, food (in a way) were so unusual to me. I’m used to European cities for my international travel, so the squalor and poverty juxtaposed with cloud-high skyscrapers and five-star hotels threw me a bit. As the days went by I grew to like it more. It’s just such an enormous and sprawling city that it’s hard to get an accurate idea of all that’s going on. The few parts we saw were so intriguing. It was refreshing, although sad at some times, to see what life on the other side of world looks like.

Backpakers Road: Unfortunately for some people, this is all they saw of Bangkok. It's not a true depiction of what the city looks like with it's hawkers and "All You Can Drink" specials, but it was fun for an evening.

 

The Grand Palace was incredible and truly unlike anything I have seen before. Temples covered in gold tiles, colored stones, inlaid Mother of Pearl, ornate sculptures, and murals depicting the stories of Buddhism. Visiting the Grand Palace was literally the hottest day of my life, but it was well worth it.

Tourists Spotted!

This picture is too funny not to post. The Grand Palace has a very strict dress code. Legs and shoulders must be covered, as well as feet (even though you have to take your shoes off…). After Adam rented a pair of pants and I quickly bought a t-shirt to cover my scandalous shoulders we looked like a right pair of fools. Total tourists.

Adam in front of the big Buddha

The massive Reclining Buddha, situated inside of Wat Po, is 46 meters long and 15 meters high, created to depict Buddha entering into nirvana. This temple complex, across the street from the Grand Palace, was also extraordinary with its countless images of Buddha and many religious buildings.

This is basically what all the power lines in the city look like. Safety First!

 

Colors abound at the Flower Market

We went to many markets during our time in Bangkok, they seem to be everywhere. The Flower Market was one of my favorites with its incredible array of colors, and better yet, the smells. Often times while walking around the odors were less than pleasant so this market was a real gem. Otherwise, I loved looking at all the things for sale, even if they appeared to have just fallen off a truck on their way from China.

And for the most ridiculous part of our city trip–

This “Fish Spa” was certainly the most weird thing I have ever done to my body. Small fish swim around and eat the dead skin off your feet (I will give you a minute to gag if necessary). That’s right, these suckers are hungry for callouses and won’t stop until your skin is (relatively) smooth. After fifteen minutes of the “treatment” we moved on, but it was fun and one of the weirdest feelings of all the times.

The rest of the trip to come…

We Meet Again

TSA, I’m talking to you.

Actually, that’s not true at all. I’m talking to Adam!!

I’m leaving today…and I’m at a loss for which holler of exclamation to use. That’s where I am at this point. I am so excited, so eager, so ready for this that I don’t know how to properly respond. Two and a half months of anticipating this trip to Thailand and reuniting with Adam has left me a little foggy. Rest assured that I am pumped, just speechless.

Chances are slim that I will actually take it upon myself to update the blog whilst on my travels for the next four weeks. I know, I know, way to disappoint the masses! Honestly, if you knew all the pressure involved in this little gig you would wonder why I put myself through it. Don’t fret, though. I know I will have plenty of pictures and stories with which to regale you upon my return.

The plan thus far is to visit Bangkok, Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, and then take a little janut to visit Jill in Singapore. Yes, that’s right. What kind of Adam and Kristina gathering would it be without Jill?! None at all in fact. If only Phil and Nick could be there…

Anyway, I’m off now. If I find a rainy afternoon or two and manage to fill you in, then so be it. Otherwise, see you at the end of July. Huzzah!