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.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
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!
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!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
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.
All in all it definitely made our lessons worth it.
Friday, September 23, 2011
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!
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!
Monday, September 19, 2011
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!
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!
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!
Friday, September 9, 2011
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!
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