Island Bliss and Sunburns, a Taxi Driver’s Run-In with Karma, Beautiful Scenery via Near-Death Experiences, and … Wait, Was That a Water Buffalo?
06 Apr 2012 1 Comment
in Crossing It Off, New Adventures, Round the World Tags: beach, beach bungalow, beach sunset, beaches in Thailand, beautiful scenery, best hostels, best places in Thailand, iBed, Koh Pangan, koh phi phi, Koh Samui, Phuket, round the world, Round the World Trip, Shantaram, sunset, Thailand, traveling in Thailand, water buffalo
Thailand is an incredible place. If it were a restaurant I would give it a 5-star rating on Yelp and right a review. Yeah, I like it that much. The people are incredibly friendly, everything is dirt cheap, and all the beaches are friggen gorgeous. I like places that are beautiful … especially when you can afford to stay there longer than a weekend. It’s got something for everyone … if you want to go the cheap route and crash in hostels most of them (to my surprise) are new and super nice, but there are also really nice resorts too if you’re looking for a real “island bliss” experience.
Anywayyyy, after I left Koh Phi Phi I headed toward Phuket via ferry, intending to stay there a night or two. I had talked to quite a few people who had already been to Phuket and I hadn’t heard very many positive responses, but I figured I would check it out anyway. I got off the ferry and I didn’t have a hostel yet, so I had no idea where I was going, and like I said in my previous post, that is an invitation for the hoards of Thai people to overwhelm you with trying to take you this way and that. I was a little hung over, and it was super hot and I was sweating my balls off, so I took a little mental timeout on the steps of the ferry station. After looking at a map I realized that I couldn’t walk anywhere because I was about 4 km from anywhere worth being, and I didn’t have that kind of ambition. So after deciding I would just get a taxi to the main square and find a hostel from there, I paid a lady at a kiosk 15 baht ($0.50) for the fare. I sat and waited, and waited, and waited … and my patience was eroding almost as fast as my interest in spending any more time in Phuket. So I did a little browsey browse on my iPhone and found a flight from Phuket to Koh Samui for pretty cheap that left at 9:00 p.m. and it was already 4:30. Seemed kiiiinda perfect.
When the guy finally came to collect me and take me to the city center I informed him of this change in destination. I was already in the car and on my way when he told me that it would cost an additional 500 baht. I refused and bargained with him, but he was being a little bitch and said it was 500 to the airport. I mean, in fairness it’s really pretty decent for a 45 km drive (about $17) but considering the fact that I paid the same price for a 4-hour bus ride 6 days previous, I was feeling a little indignant but I didn’t want to mess with trying to find another cab, so I agreed. That little asshole was wearing his shit eating grin as I sat in the back looking out at the city of Phuket go by—I was really glad I decided not to stay.
About 20 minutes into the cab ride, still mad that I was literally in the middle of being ripped off, I noticed something fall from the crack between the seat back and the seat bottom of the front passenger seat. Lo and behold, 300 baht! I pretended like I had to tie my shoe and snatched the bills and slid them discreetly into my purse. I knew if he saw he would try to tell me that they were his, and I knew they weren’t. I was actually pretty certain they had fallen out of the front seat passenger’s pants pocket on the way into town, but as I was the only one left in the cab, it was either going to be my money or the cabbie’s. And I can think of about 1,000 reasons why it should be mine over his, like the fact that he had been belching disgustingly ever 1-2 minutes the entire drive, or the fact that he was ripping off tourists by essentially holding them hostage to make them pay a higher fare. So mainly I was thinking … haha karma’s a bitch! Then I saw a couple more bills fall out of the crack. Hmm … how much more was up there?! I put my foot on the seat cushion and applied some pressure, and a few more bills fell out. I pushed harder, creating a complete gap between the seat back and the seat cushion, and a few remaining bills slid onto the floor. Doing the same shoe-tying James Bond move, I snatched the other bills and put them in my purse. All in all I had found 1,200 baht … which is about $40, and also roughly the equivalent of 6 nights in a hostel! Whoop! Karma really is a bitch! That guy drove me to the airport thinking he was ripping me off the whole time, when really, he paid me 700 baht to drive me to the airport (you know, cuz 1,200 – 500 = 700 … oh you got it? Okay, just making sure …). Muahahahahaha! (That’s what my evil laugh sounds like, in case you were wondering.)
When I got to Samui I was impressed because the whole airport was outdoors and looked super boutique and cute and shit. Anyway, I had made a reservation at a hostel while I was waiting in the airport so I got a shuttle to iBed and checked in around 11:30 pm. iBed is probably almost a tie for my favorite hostel. It was super nice and had all the amenities you need AND was a 2 minute walk from the beach. I checked in, met two of my roommates: Julia from Munich and Georgia from London—the first girls I met so far on my trip that were traveling alone(!), and then I went to sleep to prepare for the long, hard day of lying on the beach that I had planned for the next day.
Koh Samui Airport
My gate at the airport, not too shabby!
iBed Koh Samui
Loved this hostel!
And that’s preeeeetttty much what I did the entire time I was on Koh Samui. I went and ate at night with people in my hostel, tried the local cuisine, which was excellent as all Thai food had been, and read this really amazing book—Shantaram (I highly recommend you read it, GREAT book)—that I bought in the airport at Phuket that someone had encouraged me to read a while back.
Lamai Beach!
Sooo pretty!
I could get used to this ...
I took a break from all that lying on the beach I had been doing and rented a scooter on one of the days and drove around the entire island. People had warned me not to rent a scooter because it was incredibly dangerous, and I knew they were probably right, but hey … that didn’t stop me. Having driven a Vespa in SF for a while, and being pretty comfortable driving any sort of motorized object (and having been hit by a car on my Vespa … NBD), I felt like I had enough experience to survive one day without any road rash or serious bodily injury. I was fine, but it was dangerous, and I would not recommend people do it unless you are really sure of yourself on a motorcycle. But look at the awesome views:
Me, my tan, and some beauuutiful scenery!
Breathtaking!
Not too shabby!
Elephant!
Private beach, anyone?
... Water Buffalo?
My sweet ride for the day ... $6 for 24 hours!
Naturally I had to stop and get gas ... good thing it was a full-service "station"!
Fisherman's Pier
Thai roadways have their own set of unstated driving rules, and if you don’t know what they are or figure them out very quickly, you are sure to be in a situation that might not end nicely. For instance, they honk not to show agitation but to tell you that they are passing you, and to keep your line. Motorcycles drive off the shoulder of the road, and if you have the opportunity, you drive as far to the right as possible or you might just bee bop around a bend and hit another car in your lane head-on. Also, instead of slowing in their lane and waiting to turn across traffic, they just cross the oncoming traffic when there are no cars, and drive on the wrong-side shoulder until their turn. You have to honk a LOT. Oh, and trucks fly past you driving twice as fast as you about 2 feet from you. Totes fine, really.
After being in Koh Samui for 3 days, I decided that I should move along to the next island. So on the 4th morning I boarded a ferry to Koh Phangan. I didn’t have anything planned for a hostel so obviously, we all know what happened when I got off the ferry 30 minutes later. But this time, there was this really nice lady who was actually trying to help me even though I really didn’t need it, and she showed me a flier for a place that I had seen online but the rate she showed was 500 baht/night, and online the rates showed 1400 baht/night. I asked her if the rate was correct and she assured me it was and so I allowed her to call her companion over on a scooter and take me away to Power Beach Resort and Bungalows. I wasn’t really sure about riding on a scooter driven by a Thai woman about half the size of me while I was hearing my 18kg backpack on my back, but, meh, not too concerned obviously, because I loaded up and away we went. They people at the resort allowed the 500 baht/night rate so I got me a little beach bungalow to myself—with my own bathroom—for $16/night!
Boarding the ferry at sunrise!
Absolute bliss.
Can I please be a full-time island-hopper?!
Ahhh, I love you Power Beach!
Anddd this is where I stayed!
Beach bungalows!
Not exactly 5-star, but it sure was heaven on earth!
Ahhh I really liked it there. There wasn’t much going on on the island, but I didn’t really care. Peace and quiet beach and book was all I really wanted. I wandered into the town via a 10-minute walk along the beach to get my meals, except breakfast, which I ate on the beach at the restaurant attached to the hotel. I stayed there for 3 days and each night I had big ambitions to go do some sort of water sport the next day, but I couldn’t peel myself away from the gorgeous beach right outside my bungalow. Thailand is a beach lover’s friggen paradise. I could have stayed there, or on any of the beaches in Thailand, for a long, LONG time. I wouldn’t have much reason to leave if my lovaaa or my bestie-boo were there.
The best way to have coffee!!
Sighhh ... 
Watching the sunset!
My head! Standing about 50 meters out in the water off the beach, watching the sun go down!
:)
Look at the moon!
BUT, I did leave. The lure of other worldly beauties and new experiences pulled me away from that paradise (that and a raging sunburn), and I was on a plane to Bangkok much to soon for my awesomely-tanned self’s liking.
Stay tuned for my next adventure, and like SanFranciscoSooner.com on Facebook!
Me Love Phi Phi, Canadians and Swedes Are Fricken Awesome, Stealth-Mode Night-Swimming, and Intimate Relationships with Hospitals.
26 Mar 2012 1 Comment
in Friends, New Adventures, Round the World Tags: beach, canada, canadians, hospital, koh phi phi, party, party cruise, phi phi don, round the world, sweden, swedes, Thailand, traveling in Thailand
If you’ve just joined us and want to know why I’m getting on a ferry, read my last post and then come back. Go on, we’ll wait. We won’t like it but we’ll do it. For you. Okay, done? Good. So I climbed aboard the ferry in Krabi to set out for Koh Phi Phi. I got on the ferry, was minding my own business, preparing for a quiet 2-hour boat ride to the tiny island when I noticed a small group of people who seemed to be having quite a bit more fun that the rest of the passengers aboard the ship. I decided to have a seat next to them at the front of the boat to see what was so fun up there. Turns out, they had already found some alcohol. And it appeared that this alcohol might have been a considerably large amount—based on the amount of fun they were having. Suzi, James, and Stuart were sister, brother, and brother from Canada. Fuckin’ Canadians, eh? Best Canadians ever. We started chatting and laughing; Suzi shared the most intimate details about her Thai Brazilian wax that almost went too far, Stuart broke the front cover off the air-conditioner, and James showed us pictures of a “girl” that someone (we won’t name names … but it wasn’t Suzi or James) made out with a few nights prior, getting my and a few other passengers’ opinion on whether we thought the person was actually a girl, or if she was actually a Thai “lady boy.”
The hysterical laughter coming from our group infected a few of the surrounding boat-members as Stuart recounted sleeping on a bum’s mat for a few nights on Koh Tao and Suzi told us about getting robbed and having to panhandle to buy a shirt. We made friends with 3 Australian guys and to be quite honest I don’t remember any of their names, and one creepy Asian dude who just really wanted to be a part of our group. About 15 minutes in, a round of beers was cheersed, and then 10 minutes after that another, and by the time I got off the boat I think I was 4 or 5 beers down with 6 new friends (the creepy Asian doesn’t count, but he did join in the beer drinking and even bought everyone a round). I, of course, hadn’t planned in advance where I was going to stay because I knew Koh Phi Phi was a small island and that I could just crash at one of the many hostels by the pier, so Suzi offered to let me stay with her in her room. So of course I accepted! And we really didn’t want to waste time between getting from the boat to a bar with such silly matters as finding lodging.
After our luggage was carelessly discarded in a hotel room, we headed to Reggae Bar to meet up with the Aussies and 3 Swedish dudes that the Canadians had met on Koh Tao. Pïerre, Marcus, and Erik were the coolest mother effing Swedes I’d ever met. We ordered buckets which were literally plastic buckets with your alcohol and mixer of choice and had a blasty blast. There was a boxing ring in the Reggae Bar and you got a free bucket if you volunteered to box someone, and the bucket was in your corner for you to sip on between rounds. It was one of the Aussies birthdays so he thought he should partake … so we watched him fight awkwardly until the judges finally declared him the winner, then finished our buckets and headed off to Slinky Bar—a club on the beach.
Suzi and I
The Aussies
Stuart and Aussie drinking rain water from a hat while the other Aussie prepares to fight ...
Marcus, his bucket, and bomb Epic Fail t-shirt.
It started raining and we were kinda bummed … but then we were like, eh fuck it and got some plastic bags to put our phones in and then we partied our faces off. It was so much fun. The rain actually made it more fun, and there were just as many people there despite the rain. After about … I dunno, 6 hours of dancing, Suzi and I decided to head back toward the hotel. We had discarded unnecessary items when we started dancing, including our shoes, and after searching the beach in the dark for 5 minutes for the mate to my other sandal, Suzi declared it dead and gone forever, but told me it was fine because she lost hers too. Then she took off her shoes and threw them into the ocean and we wandered off barefoot toward our room.
Slinky Bar!
The club from the beach.
Dancing in the rain!
Well, half way there we passed this really nice looking swimming pool. And we thought, what better time to take a dip in a hotel pool than at 6am? So we hopped into the pool (we had bathing suits on … but we also had the rest of our clothes on over them) and swam around for about 3 minutes until security was shouting Thai at us to get out of the pool. Well at least that’s what I think he was saying, I don’t speak Thai. So, instead of getting out of the pool, I swam underneath this little bridge that goes over a narrow part of the pool and hid there. The security guard walked around and all I could see were his feet. He knew where I was, he just couldn’t see me. I looked around for Suzi but couldn’t see her anywhere and started to panic a little because I thought she had left me. But then out of the corner of my eye I saw her lying under a reclined beach chair about 3 feet from the edge of the pool. When the security guard started to walk away from where she was hiding, she did a James Bond roll from underneath the chair … all the way across the cement and rolled into the pool with a massive splash. Laughing hysterically we hopped out of the pool, speed walked past the security guard pretending not to hear him yelling at us, and went straight out the front door through the lobby … soaking wet.
Ahhh the joys of a massive hangover. Doesn’t really matter when you order a beer with breakfast (it’s still breakfast if it’s the first meal of the day … even if it is at 2pm). That’s how the Canadians and Swedes rolled, so I had no choice but to adopt their ways. And this is essssentially what went on for 5 days. Drink. Party. Sleep. Repeat. The second day was almost identical … drinking on the beach all day, beach party all night. I almost got in a fight with a lady boy who was getting all up in my personal space and we may or may not have tried to “commandeer” a boat … until we realized that because of the low-tide there was about 100 meters of sand between the boat and the water. If that wasn’t the case we might have been spending the next couple days in a Thai jail rather than a Thai hospital …
Suzi and I, hanging out on the beach.
Having a few cocktails.
Absolutely gorgeous beach!
What it looks like at low-tide.
The third day on Koh Phi Phi we met back up with the Swedes (we never saw the Aussies again … I don’t think they were quite on our level … and we didn’t need slackers dragging us down) and went on a party cruise around the smaller islands surrounding Phi Phi and saw the beach where The Beach was filmed … which is a film I have never seen. Apparently Leo DiCaprio is in it. We went to a beach called Monkey Beach, which was just a remote beach with a shit ton of monkeys on it. The whole day was so much fun. But the most important thing that day happened when James and Stuart saw this yellow rubber cow (goat, whatever, we’re not quite sure) in some lady’s store and they just HAD to buy it. And thus, Sofia was born. Sofia was an absolute hit on the party cruise. She is super buoyant so she makes a great raft for when you’re swimming in the ocean, and she makes a great seat when you don’t have anywhere else to sit, and a great pillow if you don’t have one. She is so versatile, there isn’t anything she can’t do. Anyway, so the rest of the time we were on Phi Phi, Sofia went everywhere with us. Pïerre and Sofia had a love affair … they were inseparable.
Party cruise!
The Beach beach.
Party boat!
Fiona and Pierre ... True love.
Stuart, Me, Suzi, James, Fiona, Marcus, Erik, and Pierre ... aka Team Liability!
Pierre and Fiona dancing and drinking in the rain!
Everyone loves Fiona!
Fiona picked up a bad habit ... tisk tisk.
In Thailand, and especially on Koh Phi Phi, the locals walk around with quasi-domesticate wild animals, and they let you pet them and take pictures with them for a small commission. Every time we passed one of these people, Suzi couldn’t resist the opportunity to hold a monkey … or an iguana … or whatever other weird animal they had. I advised her against this, but she went on petting and holding and kissing these animals. And the jury is still out on this one, but I am pretty convinced that said iguana was a source of a bit of trouble for Suz. On the 3rd night, she started to feel sick, a rash began to spread up her neck, and she had an extremely high fever. So, the next morning when we woke up and the rash was slowly progressing onto her face, we made our way to the hospital.
Marcus and Suzi with some monkeys ...
Pierre and Fiona with a monkey.
Suzi ... kissing an iguana ...
Pierre, and Suzi taking a break with her beer in a baby stroller.
Apparently she had a bacterial infection that was causing the rash and fever and her bacteria levels were so high that regular antibiotics were insufficient—she had to have them administered via IV drip. We were pretty impressed with the amount of medicine that she required. On top of the IV drip, she had to have about 4 other prescriptions, AND had to come back to the hospital for the following 2 days to get more antibiotics administered via IV. A for effort on her part! She was like a walking pharmacy.
The view from the hospital. Haha
After we left the hospital we had to go check out of the hotel and say goodbye to James and Stuart; they were heading off to Bangkok to get some suits before they headed back to their lives in Canada. So Suzi and I wandered around for a while until we found a place that wasn’t completely booked and we had to pay 1000 baht (which is about $15/each) for this shithole room. But at least it had a great view. Not really. It had a window facing another building, about 2 feet from it. But the bathroom came equipped with this:
COCKROACH!
After the hospital, lugging around our shit all morning trying to find a place to stay, and all the cockroach killing, we felt like we deserved to pamper ourselves a little. We each got a manicure, pedicure, and 1-hour Thai massage for under $30/each. Yeah, I could get used to that. We had a nice relaxing day and got a good night’s sleep … for the first time since arriving.
On the 5th day I decided that I should probably be on my way, especially since I was only planning on staying on Koh Phi Phi for 1 night. So I went to the hospital with Suzi so she could get her second dosage of antibiotics, then said goodbye to her and the Swedes and hopped on a ferry to Phuket. I was so sad to leave my new and awesome friends but I have a feeling that will not be the last of any of them! (Suzi, you know I’m coming to Canada!!!)
Aside from meeting some really awesome people there and having a great time, Koh Phi Phi as a destination is absolutely incredible. Probably one of my favorite places so far. It is a really small island and the only way to get there is via ferry to the one port on the island. The island is so small that there is no need for cars, and there aren’t any. The streets are all cobblestone and about 20 feet wide, max. The island is swarming with amazing (cheap!) food and great places to party. The beach, ohmuhgodthebeach, is absolutely stunning. White sand, clear turquoise water, bright blue sky, and longtail boats … every stretch of beach looked like it came straight off a post card.
Longtail boats.
What all the streets looked like.
Loveeeee!
There is also an abundance of things to do besides lie on a beach, drink all day, and party all night on the beach … but of course I didn’t do any of those things. And on top of it all … it is SO.FREAKING. CHEAP. Pure paradise. I really did not want to leave, but such is life, and I had to continue on to my next island destination …
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Same, Same! But Really Quite Possibly the Opposite, the Benefits of Beds Not Made By 9-Year-Olds, and Why We Should All Have Lower Standards.
23 Mar 2012 2 Comments
in Crossing It Off, Food! Yum, Love This!, New Adventures, Round the World Tags: beach, curry, Krabi, Kuala Lumpur, Night Train, reading, round the world, Thai food, Thailand, traveling, traveling in Thailand
Okay, I lied … I said I’d tell you more about Kuala Lumpur in the next post, but I haven’t been able to blog as much as I would like to so a WHOLE post on KL seems a bit excessive since I have been to 7 countries since my 2 day stint in Malaysia. But Malaysia was cool and I really liked that it was so different from what I’m used to.
Anyway, when it was time to say goodbye to my shady hostel and head north to the promise land (Thailand), I hopped on a 13-hour night train from KL to Hat Yai. My first overnight train! And I gotta say, if it fits with your schedule, it really is preferable to flying. You only have to be at the train station 30 minutes before your train is supposed to leave (although no one monitors this … it’s mostly just to make sure you get on the train if it’s early), you don’t have to check or pay for checked luggage, you don’t have to pay for a night in a hostel, and you wake up after sleeping for a good 9-10 hours at your destination, refreshed and ready to take on the day!
My little cubby slash bunk bed for the night!
When I got to Hat Yai, I had to decide where I wanted to go … because I hadn’t decided those trivial details yet. But I did know that I was going to go to either Krabi, which was a 4-hour bus ride, or Phuket, which was a 6-hour bus ride. I landed on Krabi because let’s face it … 2 hours more on a bus is 2 hours of your life that you will never get back. (Buses suck.)
So I got off the train and was IMMEDIATELY bombarded by Thai men trying to take me this way and that “Miss, where you go? Come with me, I show you.” “No, I am going to Krabi, not taking a train.” “Same same! Same same! Come I show you.” “No, no, thank you though. I need to find a bus to Krabi.”
Same same. Two words that changed my life forever. Okay, not really at all. But the shirts were everywhere making fun of the saying. And everyone said it. And everyone meant it. But the thing was, it was never the same. Ever. I’m looking for the bus station. That’s the airport. “Same same!” Those aren’t real RayBans and I’m not paying more than 3 American dollars for them. “Same same!” Is this chicken or beef? “Same same!” Do I go now or come back later? “Same same!”
I’m not kidding. It’s the same because all they want is to sell you what they have or take you where they’re going, regardless of what you want or where you’re trying to go. Anywhozzle, I found a “travel agency” with a van going to Krabi like right that second, so I paid the man 500 baht (roughly $16), was rushed to the curb where my bag was taken from me and thrown in the back of a white Mercedes 12-passenger van, I was hurried inside the bus, and away we went at breakneck speed, almost killing no less than 12 motorcyclists before leaving the city limits.
Surprisingly, I was being unloaded from the van on time and in the right place 4 hours later. I gathered my belongings and walked the six or so blocks to my hostel—Pak-Up—which has probably been my favorite hostel thus far. The bunk beds were huge and custom made out of wood that didn’t creak (a nice contrast to the IKEA ones made for 9-year-olds you see elsewhere—which, coincidentally, creak like they were also put together by 9-year-olds … and now that I say it, this makes a great deal of sense …), each bunk had its own power outlet and reading light, a pull-out drawer with a lock on it that was big enough to put your entire bag into and have your stuff strung out in, the free wifi was actually good enough that I could actually FaceTime my peeps (which happens far less than I would like!), the common area is comfortable and a lot of people hang out there, they had 2 bars—one on the rooftop that had really good drink specials, a nice view, and board games, and one out behind the common area that had pool tables and the occasional karaoke night, they had a washer and dryer available, AND the showers had hot water and the pressure was good! That is a LOT to find all at one place. And it was just $6 a night … sigh … why can’t everything be as cheap as it is in Thailand? I guess that’s the price we pay for being able to drink the water from our tap … Seriously though, drink nothing but bottled water in SE Asia. Unless you want some bizarre intestinal parasite.
Pak-Up from the outside.
The rooms were named after school subjects!
The bathrooms.
It’s kind of funny how easily your expectations shift when you are in a setting a lot different that your own. You would that that it would be really hard to adjust to living a certain way (mind you, I didn’t really adjust to living that way, but I did adjust to living that way temporarily), especially when that way is far dirtier and chaotic than the way you’re used to. For instance, if I was in the US, sitting in a restaurant eating dinner and I saw a lizard on the wall, my response would not be a pleasant, “Oh look! A Gecko!” It would be more like me vomiting into my plate of Pad Thai and dashing out of there like I’d just remembered I hadn’t Tivo-ed the new episode of The Bachelor. (Ha! I’ve never owned a TiVo and those of you who know me well know the only season I watched of The Bachelor was actually The Bachelorette when Graham Bunn was on it. Duh! And of course, when he got cut from the show, I took the time I spent watching the show and put it toward stalking him via the internet and trying to plot and scheme ways to meet him. But this is neither here nor there … right Sarah?)
I know a lot of people would also have a hard time with sweating and being dirty like ALL the time, but I adjusted to that quite well (shocking). You start to think that showers are kind of pointless because the water smells like sewer and you’re still sweating when you’re done so I guess you need to take in to consideration the strength of your body odor and the strength of the smell of the water and chose the best avenue. I mean the whole point of a shower is to get you clean and make you feel refreshed, and if it doesn’t achieve either, why bother getting your hair wet? That’s my motto!
Anyway, Krabi was cool. It’s on the west coast of Thailand 2 hours south of Phuket, it’s small and there’s not a whole lot to do there, but I took a longtail boat to Railay Beach which was really pretty and had a lot of limestone cliffs and caves that I explored a bit, and then I laid on the beach the rest of the time. There’s not much that beats a hot sunny day on a beautiful beach with a beautiful view, a good book, fresh mango, and cold water (or alcohol, tomato tomahto). Except maybe all that plus good company. Which reminds me. Ohmuhgod the fresh fruit in Thailand is to DIE for. It’s so good. All of it. And speaking of food, the rest of it is SO good too! Pad Thai, green curry, chicken rice, fried noodles, flat noodles, glass noodles, coconut soup, it is so freakin’ good.
Ahh, this is the life. Sun, sand, sea, and A Clockwork Orange.
The longtail boats that brought me to Railay Beach!
Railay Beach!
There were a bunch of limestone cliffs and caves all around the island, which made for some really cool scenery.
Oh, and a cave with "tokens of prosperity" in it. But really it was just a cave with a bunch of wooden dildos in it.
Yeah dildos!
After I spent 3 nights in Krabi spending the evenings trolling every available food stall at the night market and eating from more than 9 (I know it was at least 9, but the actual number I can’t be sure of) stalls in one sitting and spending the days exploring the area, I decided that it was time to ship out to the island of Koh (Thai for “island”) Phi Phi (pronounced Pee Pee).
Some yummy Thai donuts of some sort at the Krabi night market.
The Thai Flava Flav making some bomb.com soup. He was wearing massive pocket watches around his neck.
The night market.
So with my travel advice from my besty besticle friend’s friend’s friend who lived in Australia but vacationed in Thailand’s advice that I MUST got to Koh Phi Phi, my personal possessions, and a sense of adventure, I loaded onto the ferry to the tiny island … and then I met the Evansons. Dun, dun, dunnnnnn!
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Who Moved My Steering Wheel?! Jumping Off Tall Shit, Shiny Maggots, and Other Kiwi Adventures.
02 Feb 2012 1 Comment
in Crossing It Off, Love This!, New Adventures, Round the World Tags: Auckland, beach, black water rafting, bungy jumping, goat island, New Zealand, Polynesian Spa, rotorua, round the world, sky tower, taupo bungy, travel, waitomo, Waitomo Caves
Alrighty then! A few days into the trip and I need to get a serious grip on this whole “budget” concept I hear people talkin about … But whatevs, I’ll get it down or … Run out of money? I need to find those trees that grow money, I think they’re near the fountain of youth.
There is so much to say, so I’m just gonna dive right in!
Jan 30, left SF at 7:00pm. Bitter sweet because I’ll miss everyone (esp my boo—143) but SOFA king excited! Landed in Auckland at 5:00am on Feb 1. Got my bags, went through customs, got my rental car, got in the car, realized there was no steering wheel, got in the right (literally and figuratively) side of the car, and off I went!
Driving on the left side of the road is trippy. I am so glad the first 2 hours I spent in the car were in the wee hours of the morning so there weren’t as many possible victims on the road. It’s not the actual driving, it’s the little things that successfully make you feel like a complete moron. For instance:
Blinker. Oops that’s the windshield wiper. Other side, oh, it’s opposite: flick up for left blinker, down for right.
Left hand turn. Staring into traffic. Realize you are turning with traffic instead of across it. Pull out like a moron who was holding up traffic for 3 minutes.
Rear view mirror. Oh that’s the door jam, the rest of the car is on the other side. Including the rear view.
Why is everyone going so slow (obviously I think this)?! Ohhh, the left hand lane is the SLOW lane.
Exits are on the left.
A roundabout going to the left …………….. WTFFFFF?!?!? …………………. Okay, just don’t die. Success.
You get it. Crossing the street as a pedestrian is also weird. Make sure you look both ways—8 times—to process what you’re seeing.
So I drove to Rotorua and went to the Polynesian Spa and checked out the town. The Polynesian Spa is one of the top 10 spas in the word and they have pools that they fill with water from the local hot springs that you soak in as you look out across the lake at the volcano. Absolutely amazing. I got a Manuka Honey Body Polish/Aix Combo massage … which means they basically scrub your entire body with this awesome smelling stuff, then give you a massage underneath a five-foot-long shower head. I want to go back already.
Then I drove down to Lake Taupo and went bungy jumping at Taupo Bungy!! (I am super excited that I can cross another thing off my Life List!) I could try to describe it … but here are a few pictures and you can watch the whole thing on video on the SanFranciscoSooner Facebook page:
It was so crazy. I signed up to go at 3:00pm and I was running late getting there and didn’t know how strict they were about schedule so I was stressing about being late all the way there, and since I had already pre-paid all I had to do when I got there was sign my life away and get weighed. Once that was over they told me to walk out to the platform, where I met a dude who put the harness on me and before I knew it I was shuffling up to the edge of the jump platform. I was seriously there for mayyyybe 10 minutes before I was jumping. So I didn’t really have any time to get super nervous before hand … that was probably a good thing. It was so awesome, and it’s seriously over like THAT! So much adrenaline after. I felt like boxing a grizzly bear in a rattlesnake pit after I was done. Challenge accepted!
After that, I wandered around Taupo for a little bit then drove on over to Waitomo and stayed at the Waitomo Caves Guest Lodge Bed & Breakfast. Super cute place, and the people were so nice. And the husband of the couple who ran it made homemade “biscuits” and they were SO good. Omg so good. I laid my tiny, tired baby head on the pillow at about 9:30pm and I was out like a light!
The next morning I woke up, ate breakfast with the other inhabitants of the B&B, and then ventured up the road to the Legendary Black Water Rafting Company to do some black water rafting. That was so much fun. They deck you out in wet suits, boots, and helmets, make you look like a royal douche, give you an inner-tube, show you how to jump off waterfalls, and then take you down into a cave filled with water and you climb/float along in the mostly dark. The roofs of the caves are covered with glow worms, so there is one part where all the members of the group form an “eel” (which means you put your feet under the armpits of someone and someone puts their feet under yours and form a line) and just float along with the helmet lights off, staring up at the glowing dots all over the top of the cave. Sooo pretty. The whole thing was so fun, minus the water being freezing balls, and the tour guides were legitimately funny. Always a plus. Love me some humor.
After the rafting adventure, I drove back up to Auckland and explored the city and found a hostel to stay at. Auckland is pretty cool, it’s compact and small and kinda reminds me of SF in that aspect. It’s kind of a quiet city … everything closes relatively early. It’s weird to be walking around a big city and half the stores are closed at 8pm. I walked up to the Sky Tower and checked out the siiiiiiick views of the city from up there, and had me a little glass of wine. Then I went down to the Viaduct District, which is where the harbor is and there are a lot of cool/nice restaurants and bars. I got myself some prawn and scallop fettuccine and some more wine, and then went around the corner to meet up with a friend of a friend who lives in Auckland for some drinks.
The next morning I awoke to my first international parking ticket! Woohoo! $65 … WTF! I wandered around the city some more and then headed north up the coast to get a little beach action. The weather was overcast and a little chilly but I wanted to see all that I could while I was there. I ended up at Goat Island which was so cool. The ocean’s expansiveness takes my breath away every time I look at it. That pretty much summed up my last day in New Zealand.
Next stop is Sydney, Australia! If you have any suggestions of things I can do while I’m there or things I absolutely have to do, PLEASE let me know in the comments!!
I Hope You Have a Big Trunk, Cuz I’m Puttin’ My Bike In It. Well, I Have a Bag, What Can You Fit In There? Answer: EVERYTHING.
30 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Crossing It Off, New Adventures, Round the World Tags: #rtw2012, adventure, Auckland, backpacking, New Zealand, Polynesian Spa, round the world, san francisco, sooner, taupo bungy, travel, travel advice, Waitomo Caves
So hey how ya doin’? I’ve just been the busiest little bee (I really wish there was some notation that I could put around sentences to key you in to the fact that as I’m typing this I am talking typing in an accent) this week … trying to get all my stuff ready to leave, packing, and planning my first set of adventures. Gotta say, planning is definitely the most fun, until you have to start making decisions—total buzzkill right thurr. Anywho, when I finally decided on a game plan for New Zealand (I will share in a minute, let me tell you this AWESOME story first, jeez), it was a momentous occasion to which I celebrated by sending a little texty-poo to my lil LoLo (Laura). This is how that conversation went:
Me: I have decided that I am going to go bungy jumping the first day I’m in NZ!!!!!!!!!!!
Laura: Did you see that video of the girl who did it and her cord snapped?!? I’m sure you’ll be fine …
Heart stops beating. THE HORROR! I’m sure she meant well ……………… just kidding. She didn’t. Aren’t you so glad I told you that story?! Okay … onto my adventures in planning.
After a short counsel with a good friend and super informative travel guide (thanks JRay!), I decided there is too much to see in New Zealand in the short time I will be there to have to work around bus schedules and all that type of shit. I like to go at my own pace, and my pace of choice is obvs fucking lightening speed—I didn’t get rejected from ZipCar for no reason (mostly because they’re assholes, but partially because I have more speeding tickets than, like, everyone I know … combined)! Thus, I rented a car … and will be driving on the left side of the road all over North Island. When I land at 5:00 a.m. on Feb 1, I’ll be picking up my rental car and beebopping down to Waitomo Glowworm Caves to do some Black Water Rafting at 9:00 a.m. After that, I’m gonna scoot on over to Taupo Lake and do some bungy jumping at Taupo Bungy!!! THEN I’m going to (insert stupid synonym for go) to Rotorua and visit the Polynesian Spa and check out that area and get some sleepy sleep. And that’s the first day . On the second day … ha! Who are we kidding, I haven’t planned that far in advance. Maybe some sailing? Swimming with dolphins? Lying on the beach? Who knows … but I’m sure it will be fucking glorious!!
I totes prom to keep you up to date though, fa sho!
Moving on … before I can hike my happy little ass all over the world, I have to pack. Which, I am happy to report, I fucking did. Look, look, looky at all this crap I put in my bag:
HOLLAAAAAAAAAA!!! Three things I would like to address … because I am sure some of you are maybe thinking possibly about them (works every time, 70% of the time.) Or the alternative and probably more acurate: none of you are thinking about these things, in which case, I really just want to point them out to you:
1. Jewelry? Jeeeeweelryyyy? Jewelry. Yes. I packed jewelry, no I didn’t pack valuable jewelry. How else do you expect me to make a white t-shirt work for 10 weeks? … JEWELRY, that’s how.
2. This is one of the times in my life I am so glad I have gravity resistant breasticles … 5 bras, 1 snack-size ziplock bag. Boom!
3. You can follow my progress on my travels with this SWEET ASS GPS tracking device I got (CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE I AM)… My Spot Connect pairs with my iPhone via bluetooth (hey! There is a use for this technology) and allows me to send messages to people even if I have zero cell reception, sends satellite transmissions every 10 minutes so my parents can worry a little less knowing they can stalk me via satellite whenever they want, and—AND—it has a nifty little SOS button and if you push it, it’s like a Bond movie from what I hear … sirens, helicopters, they FIND you! So in response to “OMG have you seen Taken? Hostel? Sanctum?” Yes. No. No. But it’s fiiiiine because I have a Spot Connect with an SOS button! Wha whaaaa! And mace, I brought mace too.
I know I said I wanted to address three things, but I’m going to quickly justify one other thing that I packed … because I know some of you are still scoffing at the fact that I brought five pairs of shoes. They’re small. And flat. I did refrain from packing boots and heels, go me! Let’s give credit where credit is due.
Check it:
And then in the green bag are my truly essential items: passport, phone, computer, chargers, adapters, etc.
SO! Looks like I am alllll ready to go! My flight leaves at 7:00 p.m. tonight and I can’t friggen wait!! If you have any travel advice, words of wisdom, or anything else you would like to share, leave it in the comments!!
Like my page on Facebook to keep in the loop!
Hokay So, Around the World I Go–If Those Assholes Would Just Let Me Have a Visa … and Other Travel Prep Insights.
24 Jan 2012 1 Comment
in Crossing It Off, New Adventures, Round the World Tags: adventure, Auckland, backpacking, India, New Zealand, planning, round the world, travel, travel tips, visa
Hokay so! Here is the earth. And I am going to travel arouuundddd it.
I have been “planning” a trip since May. And that “planning” really only involved spending hours and hours and hours on Google and travel websites and Wikipedia reading about ALLLLL the places in the world that I wanted to go, and building an internal Life List longer than 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. Which I also bought, and poured over for hours on end. A real time suck that is—planning an imaginary-ish trip where you just say “ohhh I want to do that too” and never mind that it costs thousands of dollars …
Well I worked a shit ton this summer slash July-October, saved up a nice amount of moolah, and decided that I was gonna make this imaginary plan a reality. Like two weeks ago. I settled on a vague path and looked at ticket prices and bought a one-way ticket to Auckland, New Zealand. And since then the actual planning and preparation has taken place. A few things have happened:
1. I did a bunch of research on some travel credit cards—since I’m traveling around the world I figure I should probably rack up some airline miles. I went with a card that gives me 2 points for every dollar I spend regardless of what I spend it on, a card that gave me a decent amount of points just for signing up, and one that had a tolerable annual fee.
2. I bought a sweet ass backpack. I got a North Face Crestone 60 backpack so I can put a bunch of shit in it. I think that I should get a medal for packing a few months worth of clothes in ONE bag. Go ahead, be impressed. Well, not yet, because I haven’t done it yet. PREPARE to be impressed. Kthxbye.
3. Now, the third thing … probbbbably not something I should have done, but hey, when does that ever stop me? So here’s a don’t <- that’s a contraction for do not, incase anyone was unclear. NOT being the operative word. Carrying on: after I booked my flight to Auckland I realized that most of the countries that I wanted to go to between New Zealand and Europe require a visa … and I didn’t have any. What an idiot!
Haaanywayzz … my vague plan is to go from New Zealand to Australia (which you need a visa for, but it’s an almost instant application process that you submit online and then your visa is electronically linked to your passport—no stamp necessary) to Singapore to Malaysia (both of which you don’t need a visa for) to Thailand (no visa needed as long as you don’t stay more than 30 days) to Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam (ALL of which you need a visa for, but thankfully you can get a visa upon arrival at Laos). Cambodia has an expedited service where you can get your visa processed the next day after they receive your passport, but the Vietnam visa will take 3-4 business days. So I filled out both visa applications on VisaHQ.com (a service you have to pay a little more for but they do all the leg work for you) and sent my supporting documents and passport to them and I am hoping that I get my passport back in time … you know … so I can actually go on my trip. I hear passports are strongly encouraged when traveling between countries. ‘Bout that time, ay chaps. Right o.
After SE Asia, I was planning on going to India, then to Jordan, to Egypt, to Turkey, and then from there explore eastern Europe and move west. Well, who would have known? You need a visa for India, Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey too. As luck would have it, I can get visas for all of those countries upon arrival (which I expect will be a joyous experience each and every time), all of those countries except India. I really had my heart set on going to India—it was one of the places I wanted to see most (and I really wanted to eat real Indian food!) so I was heartbroken to find out that it takes 9-15 business days to process an Indian visa. And I don’t have 9-15 business days, or a passport right now for the Indian Embassy to process my application. So I called to see if there was any way I could a visa any sooner … and my only option is to go to the Indian Consulate in Houston to have my visa processed in person. Wellllll, we’ll just see when I get my passport back and how badly I really want to go to India … and if it’s worth the 20-hour roundtrip drive down there. But I am le tired. Well have a nap … then fire ‘ze missiles!
Now … I just have to figure out how exactly to fit everything I need into one bag. It should be pretty interesting. If you have any suggestions as to things I should bring with me that might not seem obvious (or things that seem obvious, whatevs), feel free to impart your wisdom via comment. After I figure out what all I “need” to pack, attempt to pack it all, and then decide I can’t bring 75% of it (for those of you who don’t know, I overpack … a LOT) and pack what I actually need sans air quotes, I will figure out what I am going to do once I arrive in New Zealand!! Stay tuned! Shit, guys! Fire ‘ze missiles! Alaska can come too. THE END!
They said whaaa?!