Koh Phangan (March 30-April 2)

off to the next island by catamaran ferry again. we booked a few nights on the more remote northwest side of koh phangan. there weren't many places to choose from at this point as accomodations are booked months in advance for the full moon party. we were on the wrong side of the island but it's not necessarily a bad thing.

we had another beautiful resort (Panviman) and one of the nicer beaches we stayed at too. the water stayed just below waist height for a considerable distance and was really warm so we'd just plunk ourselves down and get out when too pruney. :)

the pool at the resort was amazing (i know i shouldn't be talking about the pool when in thailand but i have to mention it...i'm a sucker for a nicely designed outdoor pool). it started at the top of the resort near the main lobby as a stream and would make its way down to the very large main pool step by step in a terrace like fashion. Each step meeting a mini private pool. the views were spectacular. here's a shot looking at the terraced pools and of the opposite island view.

after our ocean swims (a 10 minute walk downhill from the pool area) i would park myself under the water pouring into 'our' pool. ahh, what i wouldn't give to be there right now.

it was about a 15 minute walk to the small village that had a few restaurants. we found our favourite food in thailand at this little hole in the wall house/restaurant. after we found it we didn't eat anywhere else for the time we were there. the spicy fried garlic basil pork was AMAZING. roel makes a pretty mean copy-cat version.

on the night of the full moon party our resort had a nice big new speed boat that transported about 15 of us. they had a whole schedule of drop-offs and pick-ups from 9pm - 10am the next morning. we had booked late so we had to take an early boat out. things were just starting to pick-up and were in full swing when we left around 2am. no pictures of the party as we didn't want to take the camera. we did get the moon that night in its full glory...

the party appeared to be crazy fun for those who indulged. we weren't quite feeling the vibe...had we been in our early 20's it may have been a different story. for the most part it was a pretty amazing party atmosphere and people were having a great time (other than the odd over-indulger which is bound to happen in groups that large). i'm glad we made the effort to check out the legendary monthly event. the sheer size of it was definitely worth a look. for the few who aren't familiar it's a giant party on a wide and long section of beach that just keeps going on and on (in time and distance).

as much as we enjoyed the fun and relaxtion on the islands in thailand we were ready for the next stop: kuala lumpur. this would require an early morning ferry out back to koh samui in order to catch our flight (no airport on koh phangan).

Koh Tao (March 21-26)

we were up bright and early to catch the ferry (two level speed catamaran) from koh samoi to koh tao (koh meaning island for those who weren't aware). it's about a 100 minute trip.

we were excited to get to a more remote location not exactly knowing what we were getting into. since it's quite a rocky island with little infrastructure the resort we were staying at had sent their truck to get the two of us. our resort ended up being at the end of the road, literally. a couple of bumpy miles away from the island's town centre.

resort driveway...duck!!

our room was actually a bungalow on stilts among the tree tops on the side of a small mountain. we definitely got our exercise as the whole resort was connect by stairs and steep pathways. check out Dusit Buncha website if you like. our bungalow was way up the mountain underneath the canopy of trees but high enough to have an ocean view.

the resort had a beautiful infinity pool on the edge of a large drop and also a nice restaurant perched over the ocean. the best part you ask? that we could find a spot at the rocky shoreline, swim out and snorkel right out from the resort! we rented some gear from the resort and were good to go. i tended to go out a bit further and longer than roel who gets the creepies when it gets too 'open'.

it was a great 5 days/nights of soaking up the sun by the pool, napping during the heat of the day, snorkleing whenever we felt like it and lots and lots of thai food. one day we took our scooter and cruised around checking out the rest of the island where roads permitted. we also did an around the island boat tour where we stopped at about five neat snorkeling spots. no sun screen could keep us from frying! i actually sat out the last snorkelling stop to stay in the shade of the boat.

ode to dad (yes, it's a coke):

Koh Samui (March 17-21 & 26-30)

we were excited to move on to thailand after a fantastic bottom to top tour of vietnam. time for some island r&r. the actual flight date was march 17, 2010.

**please go back to the march posts and read Halong Bay by Ghost Ship (Vietnam) since it's a recent post that somehow backdated itself...it's my favourite one!! i posted it a week ago.

we opted to concentrate on the three main islands on the east side of the country since we had been doing a lot of stop and go since feb 1. we were giddy when exiting the plane since we had left from hanoi (northern vietnam, cool climate) and landed in a heavy tropical humidity. roel immediately said that the open concept airport and surroundings reminded him of hawaii.

we had not booked a room in advance and only had a couple of hours before dark. we decided to stay in the heart of the action (chaweng). all affordable rooms were sold out (so much for beach hut paradise) and there were very few viable alternatives. four star $150 rooms are not what we had budgeted for. after our marriage nearly ending (not really) we decided to just book a decent place that was one street over from the all-night outdoor clubs. it was a looong day so we just crashed despite the thumpin' bass.

to summarize our time on this island i would say that we had fun dancing a few nights and had some great relaxing beaching days. we were disappointed with the complete lack of culture (including good thai food). the island was expensive, dirty and lacked any authenticity or tradition...a la cancun, mexico.

we had clearly scheduled way too much time (and budgeted not nearly enough money) for this leg of our trip. since i'm writing this post almost six months after the fact i'll just go through a few different moments that still stand out to me (lazy way out, i know).

we rented a motorbike/scooter for a few days and did a few laps of the island so we could explore different towns and beaches. one beach we stopped off at on the southeast side of the island (lamai beach):

their 'lady-boy' shows are amazing. full on professional stage productions with lights, costumes, dancers and decent choreography. it puts any north american shows roel and i have seen to shame.

most relaxing beach of the trip, maenam beach. can you see me floating?

this was the beachfront of our second locale on koh samui, bo phut. after this cheap place we decided we were going to enjoy the rest of our time regardless of budget. this place had great sunsets but the beach was disgusting which kinda defeated the whole purpose.

our next stop was back to chaweng but beach front resort this time for a couple of nights. interesting note that at this area is pretty quiet until 5pm when everyone is waking up from the previous night. we had a few fun nights out but were relatively lame since we didn't want to be too groggy knowing we would have to deal the the heat the next day. it's nice because you have the beach to yourself but is frustrating when restaurants and shops don't open until late.

the night club area the streets are lined with pole dancers for hire. it reminded me somewhat of downtown sosua dominican republic after dark but not quite as dirty or desperate.

the water was nice and warm. on any given day the waves were either non-existent, body surfing size or just plain scary. lots of fun in the water at this beach. after one night of sweaty dancing we snuck in a skinny dip. ha!

we were good and ready to head to our next island: koh tao. known for rocky shores and world class diving & snorkelling.

i have no idea what blogspot has done to the editing functions but i'm about to throw my laptop out the window. i'm well aware of how poor the layout is on my posts on a good day... i don't need any help from you blogspot. thanks.

ping pong in patpong

hello!  it has been too long, i know.  apologies in advance because i don't have any pics for this post.  we were tired of lugging the camera around so took a night off.

the main red light district in bangkok (there are two or three) looks like a number of short parallel wide streets with clubs, bars and massage parlours two or three stories high.  they have many market stalls set-up in the wide street.  absolutely packed full and people approaching you with every offer imaginable.  the most popular is 'you wanna see ping pong show?'.  use your imagination...  you can actually choose from a number of other options from a menu as well.  i'll leave it at that.  ask me in person.  i would like to leave this as close to G-rated as possible.  haha  we ended up passing on the offers and found some excellent street vendor food.  we had bbq pork noodle soup with little bits of browned crunchy garlic bits.  to die for!  only $1.

we then bumped into a gay friendly alley (it was actually by far the least seedy street in the area...finally!).  a good choice of restaurants, bars, lounges, live music, karaoke and one dance club.

we were early (8pm) so we had an entire karaoke bar to ourselves.  drinks were cheap and the karaoke guy loved having us there singing english songs.  he kept wanting to sing duets with us.  i sang 'home' (michael buble) and 'i want it that way' (backstreet boys) with him.  in total roel and i probably sang 10+ songs.  great fun.  we also had a good time chatting with the employees there.

our next stop was going to be some dancing.  before the dancing started there was a drag show.  it put anything i've ever seen in a canadian bar to a whole lotta shame.  they knew all the words even though they don't speak much english and the back-up dancers and choreo were all very professional.  great energy.
after the show the music they played was very electronic and without much rhythm so we called it an early-ish night.  cabbed it back to our guesthouse and in bed by 2:00

the next day was a rest day and prep for our travel and border crossing to cambodia.  i can't find my usb camera adapter to upload pics.  i have to check my pack again at our new place.  we're staying at babel guesthouse in siem reap.  all for now.

more pics soooon!

last note: my email account was hacked and i can't send any more emails for the next 24 hours.  :(  sorry that i couldn't get back to those who emailed me!

Settling in Backpackerville

so we've had a few nights to settle in to the low-end digs.  roel has been dealing with it ok but there is definitely a visible ongoing (mostly inner) struggle.

well we hit the khao san road crazyness night before last.  a truly international vibe with all languages under the sun being spoken.  however it is a lot calmer and more under control than i had expected based on what i had heard, seen in movies and pictures.  but don't get me wrong still a lot going on.  fried bug vendors, buckets of alcohol, beautiful fresh fish restaurants, touristy junk, clothing, etc, etc.

yesterday was a big day with us visiting the two major temples (wat pho with the largest reclining buddha in thailand and wat phra kaew with the emerald buddha) both these temples have many other features namely the exterior construction.  you don't fully realize or appreciate the detail until seeing it in person.  we also walked by  the grand place, took a boat along the main river (chao phraya) to chinatown where there were endless laneways and markets.  so much fun to wander through that area and get lost.  we ended up at a lonely planet recommendation for dinner at the royal india restaurant.  one of the best meals i have ever had.

 

  

 

i was feeling pretty wrecked by the heat at the end of the day so we just stayed in and went to bed early.  we've had a slow morning thus far (almost noon) and we're probably going to do some people watching in the famous red light district area.  apparently there are more gawkers than anything else these days.  we will see!

Together Again in Bangkok

hello, hello!  so yes, night before last roel and i successfully reunited in bangkok.  both our flights were on time and we found each other with no problem at the airport.  our taxi from the airport to our hotel was a good intro to thai taxis and driving.  (passing cars at 120 kms/hr in the wrong lane with oncoming traffic nearing, a 'broken' fare meter...luckily i knew what it should cost so no harm there).  however i am convinced that he had a towel covering the meter which he claims was his tv???

first two nights stayed in siam square.  very westernized and upscale.  perfect place for roel to unjetlag.  fortunately for me there is only a four hour time diff from melbourne.  our first full day was spent in markets and shopping malls.  bought a few things we needed and ate some great thai coconut curries and seafood fried noodles.

neat-o escalator in one of many mega-malls in area.  all of them were about 5-7 levels.

halfway through the day exhausted, we took a nap at 6pm before we were going to head out to some nightlife but ended up waking at 1am.  :s  we went back to bed and roel got up at 4am.  ugh!  this usually means that i have to get up at the same time...he can't wait for me to wake up.  haha  so cute and annoying at the same time.  i wouldn't have it any other way.

today we transferred near backpacker central and found a not so upscale guesthouse. we settled on one after looking at about five different ones (all the ones we knew about ahead of time were booked-up!) but for about $15 a day we have aircon and our own washroom.  happy with that.

i'm on a crappy internet cafe pc in our 'hotel' and will attempt to load some pics too.  a pic of us as i type.  street in front of our place in background: Baan Sabai Guesthouse.

bangkok is pretty much as it is described everywhere else.  noisy, hectic, hot, sticky, humid, polluted, fun, exciting with many little lanes to explore.  as language is tonal it is next to impossible to pick up even basic phrases but time will tell if it's just us being newbies.

random pic:

ronald with some apparent facial reconstruction

tomorrow we'll do the main touristy things: royal palace and surrounding temples.  we are within walking distance.  we have both faired pretty well in the heat.  i felt way worse off in the dry aussie heat, actually.

ta-ta!