To Franz Josef...and beyond!

After WWOOFing we stopped in Queenstown for a night to watch the Rugby final, what a good game! It was France and New Zealand and France had been slacking but somehow made it through and then ROCKED in the final. New Zealand won, 8-7. That day there was also a jazz festival in town with a little market as well. It was a beautiful day! We then took a 7.5 hour bus to Franz Josef where I think it rained for at least 30 hours straight. We were going to do a Glacier hike but it was crazy expensive even for a half day trip and I don't think we would have paid much attention to anything but the rain. Luckily we were only there for 1 full day.





We then went to Nelson which is my favorite place in New Zealand so far. It is up north on the coast and it is an artsy little town. It was the first place we've been that could survive without tourism in NEw Zealand. Also at a KIA dealership they had a 1970 MG on sale for $6,990. Totally doable! If only I knew how to drive stickshift AND could get it where I am going to live. ANYWAY we did some cool stuff in Nelson. I went for a run the first morning and ran right past a girl wearing a UW MAdison Buckey shirt! I was wearing my UW Rugby shirt so we stopped and chatted a bit, it was cool! We also hiked up to the center of New Zealand. It's not actually the center but it was decided that a while ago so they have a hill with a plaque and all. It was cool and you could see the whole city. We had a picnic dinner up there. The next day we went to Able Tasman NAtional Park. We did a 2 hour kayak there and we got to go out to this island that had seals on it. Then we stopped for lunch and walked back. It was a perfect day and really relaxing. On our last day in Nelson we went to the Farmer's Market and it was really great. They had a bunch of food but also arts and crafts as well. There was so much I wanted to buy! We ended up but food for dinner there and got this hot smoked white fish, it was SO GOOD!

The next day we went to Picton which is just a small harbor town and took a ferry to Wellington. The ferry was really nice it was like a cruise! They even had a movie theater. I was sad to leave the South Island because it has been so cool. There are hardly any people around and it is huge and there are sheep everywhere. It went by really quickly!

WWOOFing

So we finally had our first WWOOFing experince at Kinloch which is about an hour north of Queenstown. IT is near the Routeburn track and Paradise, where they shot a bunch of The Lord of the Rings. It is a really beautiful place. We worked with the Glover family. They have three kids and own a B&B in Glenorchy, an inn/hostel, and a souvenir /coffeeshop. We did a bunch of jobs around. We worked on a house that is on the property next to thjeirs that they are renting so that they can house WWOOFers in the summer. We cleared brush, cut down some trees, cleaned, got rid of mold, painted, and moved stuff around to make it look more homely. We also did some mulch, some housekeeping, and I got to go into Glenorchy and work at the coffeeshop! We did some moving around and I redid a menu board and got to work by myself one day as well! It was cool. It was interesting because it was a business so it felt a lot more like we worked for them instead of with. The next place we're WWOOFing we are staying in the family's home so I think it will be a totally different experience!

We also got to meet a woman from Germany and it was wonderful to get to work and hang out with her! Her name is Maria and she actually studied in Minnesota in high school! We hiked together, watched movies/rugby, ate lots of chocolate and popcorn. It was really nice spending time with another traveller and actually getting to know her. She comes to the US relatively often so hopefully we can convince her to come to Colorado.

We got to do some cool thigns. We hiked the Routeburn, hiked Mt. Alfred, which is a mountain surrounded by a mountain range and a lake. The hike was the hardest I've ever done but it was worth it. The end was 100 meters just scaling up shale. Ugh. But it was really pretty. We biked about 7 miles to and from the hike. Big day. We also got to kayak the lake. It was great! We enjoyed our first WWOOFing esperience but we're looking forward to a different one soon!

Queenstown

So, after Milford Sound we went to Queenstown for 4 nights. Queenstown is cool but it is so tiny! It's funny what they consider a city here. Everywhere is so tiny so all of the sudden you go somewhere where more than 10,000 people live and it seems MASSIVE. While we were in Queenstown it was Steve's birthday! So, we decided to go bungee jumping to celebrate. Yikes! We did the highest jump-143 meters. There was an almost 8 second freefall. It was so nuts. I wasn't scared until about halfway into the jump when I realized I couldn't catch myself and I was headed head first into a valley. Ha. But it was really cool!

Another highlight of Queenstown was the food. There is one burger place that was recommended by Amanda(thanks!) and it was so good! The burgers are HUGE and yummy. It is called Fergburger and apparently people ask to franchise it about 3 times a week, but they enjoy just staying one place. Kinda cool. First I had the Southern swine. Then a Bun Laden. Veryy different but good! We also found a chocolate shop that I think we went to every day. It's called Padagonia and they have coffee cheesecake, chocolate, ice cream, croissants, oh man. Otherwise we just went on a couple walks and hung out, did some shopping. It was relaxing. I liked Queenstown, the capital of adventure I just wish it wasn't so expensive. If you want to do all the fun stuff it costs quite a bit!

Milford Sound

So, after Dunedin we stopped in Queenstown for a night and then went to Milford Sound. On the drive, we actually had to stop so that Sheep could move outta the road...so awesome. Our trip down was really nice becasue the driver did commentary on the area and stopped so we could take pictures...by the way we have TONS of pictures but my computer crashed so We haven't been able to put them online, I wish I could show you all the crazy places we are! Milford Sound was great, thanks to all who suggested it! We stayed there for 2 nights. There isn't much built there which is cool. There is a lodge down there that has backpacker accommodation and it is pretty nice. The full day that we were there we went for a hike. Hiking in NZ is so differnt than the US. In the US there are always people and everything is marked so well. The hike we went on was to a valley And it was about a 3 hour hike in. It got to a point where it was pretty much just following a creek and walking through mud, climbing over trees, and trying to balance on rocks and logs. IT was really interesting and we didn't run into ANYONE. It was the closest longer hike to the lodge that you could get to without having a car but noone was there. The hike opened up into a valley where there was a gorgeous clean river coming down from the mountains! It was so nice except for the sandflies... I don't know if anyone knows what those are are but they are TERRIBLE. They hurt more than misquitoes and there are about 20 times the amount and then their bites itch jsut as much! Yuck! We ate a quick lunch and then hiked back. It was a nice day and then we were about to head to the restaurant and watch the rugby game. It's so nice being somewhere where rugby is on no matter what! Everyone is so excited about the cup so it creates a great atmosphere. On our final day in Milford we went on a cruise. Oh and we learned that Milford is actually not a sound it is a fiord. For anyone that cares, a sound is an inlet created by a river and a fiord is created by a glacier. Pretty cool! The cruise was great. We got to drink fresh water from a waterfall and see the whole area, we even saw a dolphin and seals! Very cool. Oh yeah! On our way to the Sound we saw a couple Kia's. They are a parrot looking bird and they attack EVERYTHING! The bird was so cool and big just hanging out on someone's car! It didn't even get off when they started driving. From Milford we headed to Queenstown!

Dunedin

After Christchurch we headed to Dunedin. It was really nice because all of the sudden there were people around and it wasn't so depressing. The night we got in was the night of the Ireland and Italy game! We didn't have a place to stay that night so we just showed up and went to the hostel we were staying at the next night and asked to leave our bags there. We figured we could just sleep in a park...ha. So when we got there the guy said he had two cancellations and we could stay there...for $50 each. We decided to do it because we had nowhere else. It turned out that the guy had rented out the bar that had just closed below him and so he had mattresses set up everywhere. Steve slept in the dungeon, the basement of the bar, and I actaully slept in the hostel in an all girls room. We met a girl there from Florida an d she works for the TV show Survivior! She tests all the challenges, how cool is that?!?! Anyway, she's really cool and we spent most of the night out with her. She didn't have a ticket to the game so we met these Irish guys and they found her a ticket, not crazy expensive either. Steve and I bought tickets and so we went to pick them up and then just hung out until the game. The town was FILLED with IRish people. I would say we maybe saw 30 Italians? It was really cool and the whole city just had such a fun vibe. Even the police were cool. No one, that I saw, got arrested. And they were just hanging out as well. At the game the security guards were taking people's pictures and it was jsut really cool.

Now the game...so much fun! The stadium was built just for this so it is new and has a roof, which kept it a little warmer. Our seats, AMAZING! We were 4th row behind one of the tryzones. It was so cool because it was the tryzone where Ireland scored all their points the second half. Ireland ended up winning and the whole city was just a huge party afterwards. We went to a bar with a a live band and there was an old guy there who knew ALL THE WORDS to almost every song. Very impressive. The whole crowd was great and fun to be around.

The rest of our time in Dunedin was great as well. They have a huge railway station which is pretty, there is a lake that is pretty, and we went on the Speight's brewery tour. IT was so fun. It was full of history and the beer is great. There is a natural spring that runs underneath the brewery which is where they get all the water. There is a spiget outside as well where you can fill up your own water. We also went to the steepest street in the world, Baldwin Street. It was really cool. Then we TRIED to bike to a beach called sandfly bay. It was about 8 miles away but we didn't realize you pretty much had to go up a mountain to get there. We got halfway and didn't think we'd get back before midnight if we went the whole way. But we got to the top and the views were gorgeous.

Dunedin was great and it was nice to spend a decent amount of time there. Now we're in Queenstown...the adventure town. I'll post more soon!

Christchurch

We made it to New Zealand! Steve and I are very glad to be here. We really enjoyed Thailand but I think I was done seeing old white guys with a bunch of Thai women and being asked if I want a Tuk Tuk or want to go to Big Buddha.

New Zealand is beautiful! However...Christchurch is really, sad. I don't think I expected the earthquake damage to be SO widespread. It is crazy. It also looks as though it just happened because nothing is really cleaned up and it was 7 months ago. We stayed at The Old Country House and it was really nice. It was on the East side of the city so we were separated from everything by the city being blocked off. It is very eerie to walk by everything, there are stores that still have everything inside of them, like time just stopped, because no one can enter them.

So we didn't spend much time in Christchurch, we rented a car and went up to Kaikoura where they have a lot of whale watching. We walked around the town and had lunch on the beach, it is so pretty there! We also had heard about a waterfall that has a pool with seal pups who go up there to swim. It was so cool! There were only 2 seal pups up there and the rest were down with the mama seals "exploring". There are the most pups during the winter months. It was really neat and not crowded at all. The seal pups were just laying back and lounging in the pool. We had a really nice day in Kaikoura. We came back and there was a group of Irish who had moved into our dorm room. They were pretty awesome. They all work in Auckland and have been going to all the Ireland games for the world cup. We saw a couple of them after the game in Dunedin too!

The second say we walked a lot. We dropped off our rental car and tried to go to a supposed farmers market. It was nowhere to be found. So we walked back and saw the side of the city that is still pretty active and has stores and people around. It was cool. We went through a park and they had a whole tribute to rugby thing going on. It's so cool being here during the world cup! Everyone is excited and you get to meet so many people!

I wish I could have seen Christchurch before the earthquake...it seems like it was a really cool city.

Phuket

Yay! Finally catching up.

We are now in Phuket. It is very interesting. We are in an area that is very family oriented but also lots of old guys with Thai women all around them, creepy! This city is pretty strange but it's nice that it has a beach. The beach is really empty and beautiful too. The waves are huge and the tides and currents are apparently really dangerous.

So one awesome thing happened today. We were at lunch and we got free fruit at the end of our meal. As Steve was taking a bite of banana I spit a watermelon seed into his closing mouth. It was the best shot in the world! Oh man I can never do that again but I was really proud. See how interesting Steve and I get after hanging out for almost 2 months straight? Jealous I know.

We went to Patong today which is a beach about 7 km from us. It was raining but I had to get to a post office and Tuk Tuk's are very expensive here so we rented a motorbike. It was a little scary driving down hills in the crazy rain but we made it (and wore helmets!).

We are leaving for New Zealand tomorrow! So exciting! Hope home is going well.

Koh Phi Phi

I already described the best part by far of Phi Phi so this post won't be too long. One thing that was really cool was that we saw 6 people that we met at all different places! That was great. So random to see people we know in Thailand!

Phi Phi is SO touristy! We were there in low season so I guess it was slow but there are crazy amounts of bars, stalls, alcohol, and tattoo shops. Not surprising, the tattoo shops fill up real quick late at night. One night Steve and I went to this bar and they had a big jump rope to try. I thought I would fall on my face but I actually went until I got tired, it was cool! Other than Scuba we went for a gorgeous hike to the viewpoint. The hike is straight uphill and is pretty far but totally worth the hike. You can see the whole island which is really neat. We also laid on the beach for a day, shopped and watched rugby games! We watched the US get destroyed by Australia, kinda embarrassing.

One thing that was nice in Phi Phi is that because it is so touristy, they have bagels! Something Steve and I have missed a lot. I think I got one with cream cheese every morning.

Phi Phi was beautiful, just seems like it would have been terrible in the high season.

Ton Sai

Ok time to backtrack:

We are heading to New Zealand TOMORROW so I wanna try to catch up with posts before I have to spend a bunch o money on internet!

So after Khao Sok we headed to a beach. I loved the National Park but it was really nice to get to weather where I didn't feel damp all the time. We went to Ton Sai which is a beach near Krabi, it's still the mainland but you have to take a boat there. It's interesting because a longtail is 800 baht ($20) for about a 10 min. ride so you have to wait for 8 people to fill the boat up. I thought we wold have to wait long but it was only 30 minutes or so. Oh and our minibus there was the most TERRIFYING drive EVER. Ha worse than Corps members driving! I sat in the front seat and usually the driver was going about 90 mph and to pass people he pulled up within an inch of their bumper and would pass on blind turns going up a hill. It was nuts buuuuut we're alive:)

We were really lucky with the beach we stayed at. There are 4 beaches on the strip of land. Ours is the climbing beach which is apparently crazy full during the high season but it was so chill. There are monkeys everywhere on the cliffs which is so cool. We went to this one bar, Chill Out bar, that was recommended by a PeaceCorps volunteer in Khao Sok and it was great! We also met two guys traveling from the US and they went to school in Tuscaloosa! The guy was wearing a U of A shirt and I should said Roll Tide! to him but we started talking and he was so nice and thanked us for working in Tuscaloosa. It was cool. We also met a guy from New Jersey with his Thai girlfriend who sets people up for teaching english in Thailand! Hey if I really need a job...
Also at the bar we saw a baby Finn and a mama Finn (my cat). SO CUTE! Mama Finn sat on my lap for a long time:)

There were three other beaches, Raileh East, West, and Phrah Nang. East has all the mongrove trees, but no real beach. West is a great beach but with all the resorts, a lot more family focused. And then Phrah Nang...beautiful! It only has one CRAZY expensive resort but you can go to the beach anyway. Along the walk there were tons of monkeys walking along the fence holding on to their babies! So cute! In order to leave Ton Sai there was an area of rocks we had to climb to get across. During low tide you can walk through the water and it's faster but a little crazy...we had some interesting times. One time we went for a snorkel trip which was ok...the best park was that they had a phosphorescent swim which was like the bio bay in Puerto Rico! It is plankton that lights up like a lightening bug when you disturb the water around it. These weren't as bright as Puerto Rico but still really cool. But we were supposed to be dropped off at our beach after which didn't happen so we had to walk across at night, in sandals, with no light! Pretty rough. Then the next morning we had to cross again because the only ferry left from Raileh East to get to Phi Phi at 9 am and no longboats are going anywhere that early. Ugh I was not happy to do all that climbing with all our bags but we luckily made it with no real injuries, surprising I know.

Ton Sai was great and really relaxing for us!

Diving

So I am going to skip a big chunk just for a little because we had a really cool day today. We went diving in Koh Phi Phi and it was so cool! We went on two dives and I feel like we saw everything you would want to see on a dive. First of all, there were tons of fish. It was really neat we got to swim through a lot of huge schools of fish. We also saw A LEOPARD SHARK, two sea turtles, cuttle fish, barracuda, and a morey eel. So cool! The shark was just chilling in the sand and we were less than a meter from it and he didn't care at all. The turtles were really cool, the first one was just chomping on some stuff growing on the coral and the second was riding along a current. The eel was HUGE!

All in all it definitely made our lessons worth it.

Khao Sok

I forgot to mention our awesome overnight trip to Khao Sok...it was interesting. We took an overnight ferry and it was just a bunch of thin mattresses on the floor of a boat. It seemed creepy and the photo makes it look pretty bad but I think it has been mine and Steve's favorite overnight trip, we actually slept well, better than the train with the cockroaches!

Anyway, the jungle is really cool. Our first day we went for a walk and almost immediately after we left our resort we saw a bunch of wild monkeys! So cool. A lot of the trails we closed off to us because it is still their rainy season, but we got to walk along the river. The next day we went for another walk, in a downpour. It was actually kinda cool since rain is the basis of a rainforest anyway. The only problem was the leeches. There are land leeches there and they are pretty brutal. They climb up your shoes VERY quickly, especially if you stand still to try to get them off. Once you pick them off they attach to your thumb and you can't get them off. Yuck! I wasn't a fan. I got one and it drew blood after it attached where an ant bit me and didn't stop bleeding for awhile! It was weird.

We also did a lake day tour and it was so much fun! I asked steve today what his favorite thing is that we've done and he said the lake tour. It was really pretty, it's a lake that is man-made, the river was dammed and the area was flooded. We took a longtail boat out with a guide and 3 other couples. We were able to swim in the lake and eat lunch and then we went for the hike. I guess I should have brought some regular shoes but I didn't really know what we were going to do. We had about a 2 mile hike (through a leechy jungle) to get to a cave. Once at the cave we went in but it was a cave with water going through it and the water was so high we had to swim against the current for a long time! It was nuts. You could also hold onto a rope and pull yourself against the current to see a waterfall in the back. It was a really cool adventure that we didn't expect to have!

I really liked the jungle, the area was beautiful and the people who owned the resort were great. Ha I tried to wash some of my own clothes but NOTHING dries there and there are a million ants so they covered my clothes and actually ate dime-sized holes through my clothes! Yikes. But other than that it was so neat to be in a completely different environment!

The Jungle!

I am starting to get behind on posts, I will try to be better! After Koh Tao we went to Khao Sok which is a National Park in Southern Thailand. We stayed in a tree house for 4 nights there and just explored. Our treehouse was really nice. We were supposed to stay in the cheapest one but that deck fell apart so we got to stay at a way nicer one for the same price. The guy who owns the resort just started a month ago but he's from california and has been in thailand for 8 years. He was really nice, pretty crazy.

I've got a lot to say about the jungle...I will next time. We are nowin Ton Sai, it's very chill and very beautiful!

The rest of Koh Tao

Koh Tao was really cool. Our dives were pretty nuts because the weather was kinda rough, but once you got under the water it was so calm! We saw so many fish. We did 4 dives in two days. 3 to 12 meters deep and then 1 to 18 meters deep! Pretty neat. We were supposed to go to an area where a whale shark had been sighted the day before but the weather was way to rough so we didn't, too bad!

We went to some pretty cool places and met some really nice people. For part of diving we were with a group of people from england, holland, and canada. Once Steve got sick we moved to another group that consisted of 3 guys from austria, 2 from spain, and a guy from California. Our group was really fun and shill. No one freaked out under the water so our class went really well. We ate at this really good italian pizza place, La Matta. It is owned by an Italian and it was really good! The bbq at the place we stayed was awesome too! One night Steve and I split a red snapper for 7 bucks(Dad I know you're jealous) it was SO GOOD!

Oh yeah and I had my bday in Koh Tao. Terrence from Canada bought me the signature shot at our hotel, a darth Jaeger. It is a jaeger bomb but instead of beer it's cider and they play the star wars theme song while you drink it! Pretty funny.

Oh and Dan, if you are reading this, I have a picture to post that should be your next hair cut idea, get excited!

Island Life

So we are finally in Koh Tao. We were really excited to be here because Bangkok was a little much and we were ready to relax. Unfortunately we (especially Steve) got sick. For the first 3 days his temperature went up and down and his stomach didn't do so well. I think it was food poisoning because my stomach and temperature were bad for about a day but then I felt ok. Maybe it was something he ate and then I had a little. But now it is Sept. 10th and we both feel good! We are at Buddha View Resort and they messed up on rooms so we were upgraded to a delux room, so fancy! But no toilet paper...weird. We haven't done much since Steve has been sick but we did start diving! It is so cool! In the mornings we have class and then we do skills in the afternoon. First the pool, then the sea up to about 5 meters and today we have our first dives! We have 2 12 meter dives! Yesterday we held a BIG hermit crab (a new friend for Forrest!) and saw a sting ray and a bunch o fish! There is so much underwater life here, it's awesome! We are in a group with 3 guys from Austria and they are really nice. Our instructor is James, he has been here for 8 years and he is great. He really knows his stuff and is very patient. He speaks great Thai too even though he is from Australia. Pretty neat. Koh Tao has been great so far, and we can't wait for our real dives! Get excited for pictures!

So, we didn't have internet for awhile, we have to pay for it here, so here is a summary of the rest of our time in Bangkok. I am on a different

Day 2: We went to Chatchuck (I dunno if that is the right spelling) Market. It is the largest market in the WORLD. Seriously. It is split up by sections, kinda, and then they have everything! There are lots o' animals, it was kinda sad and I wanted them ALL, tons of clothes, bags, art, EVERYTHING! It was cool but a little overwhelming so we didn't buy much. We took the bus there and it was free, they never came to take our money which was kinda weird but great! Getting out of the market was another story. We couldn't figure out how to take the bus back south, we walked around and almost died crossing the street for about an hour until we gave in and took a tuk tuk. Tuk tuk's should only be about 30 baht(1 dollar) but of course we always end up paying more even if we haggle. Luckily, we shared the tuk tuk with a woman who was going the same way we were so we could spilt the cost.

That night we went to a Muy Thai (sp) fight! It was pretty neat. The fighters were so little! They got bigger as the fights went on(there were 9 fights) but the heaviest was 135 maybe? That's my size! The smallest were around 100lbs. Crazy! We took the subway part way home and it was so nice! It was less than a dollar and it was clean and air conditioned. Then we took a tuk tuk the rest of the way. It was night and pouring so we thought we would have to pay a lot but it was only 100 baht for both and we had to go all the way across the city.

Day three was a pretty chill day. We stayed at a different hostel because it was right across from the train station and we were taking an overnight train to Chumpon the next night. There wasn't much to do around the station so we walked awhile to Siam square which is right by the university. It was a younger crowd and there is a huge mall there (MBK) which was like the market but inside. We had probably the worst food in the world there. We stopped at this noddle place and I have no idea what we were eating. We couldn't do it, it was so gross! Don't eat in malls in Bangkok apparently!

Day four was definitely more exciting. We went for a walk and met a guy in the air force in Thailand and also a city official in charge of the parks. We went to Lumphini park and it was so cool! First off, it was a really nice park but it also had these lizards, the guy compared them to Komodo Dragons, they were huge and just walking around free in this city park. The park is 90 years old and has a pond that the lizards swam in and they looked like huge snakes! Pretty scary. We have pictures, don't worry they will be up soon!

We also got Thai massages which were really cool. Steve's woman walked on his back and did lots of crazy stuff. Mine wasn't as intense, good thing because I probably would have been crushed!

We also ate at the train station for lunch and dinner...it was some of the best food! Hopefully that isn't what made us sick later though. It was a little food court in the train station. Steve's food was the best, it was mixed with chili sauce, yum!

That night we had an overnight train, it was pretty rough. There were cockroaches all over and it was freezing! There was this group of french girls who were TERRIFIED of the cockroaches so they wouldn't sit in the seats, they sat on the floors instead...not so smart I don't think.

We got to Chumpon at 6am and then took a bus and a ferry to Koh Tao(9/6/2011)!

A little trouble with posts..

I am labeling this by days as if I will post on every day, probably not possible, but we'll see. We'll be adding pics soon I promise! the internet is kinda sketch at this place so I can't add any pictures now. We are headed to Kho Tao tonight so I will try to charge my computer so that I can catch up on Bangkok!

Day 1:

So our first day we walked A LOT! Steve and I were calculating it and we are thinking around 11 or 12 miles, maybe more. But, we got to see A LOT. We saw the Grand Palace and it was pretty insane. We ended up getting a tour, we kinda got ripped off (not surprising) but we learned some really interesting stuff. For one, there are influences from not only Buddhism but also Hinduism as well. We thought that was pretty cool. Then we walked to the reclining Buddha, HUGE. Next we walked to China Town. What a cluster cuss. There are all these little allies that have stalls on both sides and then people driving through on mopeds with boxes and bundles strapped to the back 10 feet high, NUTS! We then walked to Golden mountain which was such a peaceful place. It is a monastery in the middle of Bangkok that has 300 something stairs to the top and you can look over all of Bangkok. You can even ring the gong! It was real loud! Finally we walked home (got a tad lost on the way) and rested for a bit.

Bangkok is so large and there are so many people! The street food looks (and is) amazing! Tuk Tuk's (the little motorcycle taxis) are everywhere and the roads are nuts. There are lines and lights but no one follows them, not even buses. Tuk Tuk's drive in and out of traffic and get almost destroyed quite often. We've rode on a couple and they're really fun!

During the evening we walked down to Khao San Road which is the backpacker paradise apparently and it was crazy. It reminded both of us of New York and there are people everywhere trying to sell you stuff including Ping Pong shows...weird. But there is GREAT Pad Thai and freshly cut pineapple. Yum! We stopped at a place on the side of the street and had a couple beers. We ended up talking to a guy from France, one from Italy, and one from Germany. The guy form Germany is headed to Burma, good luck to him! The night ended up being fun but exhausting so we got back to our hostel pretty early and went to bed. Good first day!

MG

Bangkok: Arrival!

So we are finally in Thailand! This trip is long awaited and I still don't think either of us believe it yet. Bangkok is pretty crazy. Our trip started off really well, the 20+ hours on a plane or in an airport actually weren't too bad. The Taiwan airport was pretty cool. There was a whole orchid area and Hello Kitty was everywhere. I kinda love plane food(weird I know) and we both slept a decent amount. We met a guy on the plane named Pom who is from Bangkok but had actually just been in Denver going to school for his Masters for the past year, small world!

We got to the airport, got in a car and got to our awesome guesthouse. We stayed at Sivarin Guesthouse for the 1st 3 days and it was wonderful! The woman at the desk was so helpful and nice, and the place was on an ally that had a monastery on it and it was removed from the main street. We walked around for about an hour but decided to take a short nap...big mistake. We meant to wake up by 4pm and we woke up at 10pm and 2am. Ha, but we actually slept til 630 and then we were up for the day.

-MG