Under a Thai Moon

Our tour of Ko Samui turned into more of an adventure than we'd expected. After visiting several temples, being individually blessed by a giggling old monk, & getting climbed on by monkeys, our tour bus took us to the 130 ft. high Lamuang waterfall. Do we want to rent an elephant to trek us up the steep side of the mountain? no, we're all set hiking: no guide needed. Halfway up we must have lost the trail because we ended up legit pulling ourselves up through the levels of the jungle branch. by. branch. Reaching the top, we cooled off in one of the pools with a group of Canadiens before heading back down- losing the path again and grasping onto latex trees as we slipped down the sandy mountain. We made it out filthy, sweaty, itchy... but alive.

Now we have reached Ko Phangan. Our teak bungalow is on secluded Thangsala Beach, located several minutes from town on a palm filled dirt road. There are no cars, no tourists, & little light besides that coming from the insides of the local huts. The beach here is perfect- fragrant exotic flowers... tree swings... calm water.

Last night, however, was the opposite of calm. As night fell, we head to the east end of the island for the monthly celebration of the full moon. We'd heard stories, seen pictures, but this place was pure insanity. The beach was packed with thousands, all covered in glowing body paint, sipping mixed drinks out of buckets, & dancing to the music that pumped out of every bar lining the stretch. We joined right in, grabbed some face paint, and watched the fire dancers. At first we compared the scene to the familiar Spring Break fiascos in the states. Yet, this party could never have occured back at home. Random partygoers took their turn at fire dancing, others lined up to have the fire swung at their faces to light their cigarettes. The metal structures set up for the amazing thailand sign doubled as jungle gyms for those feeling the urge to climb and swing. Hazardous? TIT. Overall, we had a great night.

We're planning on taking it easy before moving on. Days spent on the beach & nights spent sampling local delicacies at the local street markets. We're in authentic Thailand now, have gotten used to implementing certain Thai phrases, and finally have accepted that "ph" should be pronounced "p"- good thing, because we're headed to PHuket.

Island Hopping

The remainder of our time in Hua Hin was quite memorable. We started our final day off with full body massages from a smiling old woman on the beach. Under a triangular patch of shade made by several leaning palm trees she lay out a blanket and lavender stuffed pillow and rubbed us down from head to toe... literally- the woman massaged our faces. Later in the afternoon we decided to walk to the far end of the beach to check out monkey (aka chopstick) mountain and swim beneath the giant golden buddah that stands facing the ocean. We realized hours later, as we finally got back to our starting point, that we'd walked over 8 miles. After another trip of snacking and shopping through Hua Hin's addictive night market, we hopped on our overnight train. 7 hours later we transferred onto a 2 hour busride and then finally an hour long ferry trip that dropped us on the island of Ko Samui. Paradise found. We've spent the last couple days leisurely sunbathing on palm tree lined beaches, swimming in turquoise water, and sleeping in beachside bungalows. We moved from Lamai beach today onto Chaweng where we settled into a new bungalow, atop stilts and located on warm shallow lagoon. Tomorrow we've signed up for a full island tour where we'll take our first dip at a waterfall, hang with some elephants, and meet the monkeys who do all the coconut harvesting on the island. Then onto Ko Phangan via another ferry for the full moon party where we already have bungalow awaiting our arrival. Life is good on the East coast of Southern Thailand :)

Moving South

We spent our last day exploring Old City Bangkok- the embellished temples, called wats, were spectacular. Everything was covered in gold, glass mosaics, and jewels. Jenny & Lauren had to wear hospital scrub-looking yellow button ups, provided by the Grand Palace, because we had to have our shoulders covered. Dress code also required we take our shoes off in order to enter the temples. The mourning period for the king's sister was extended to 100 days, and thousands of Thais dressed in black stood in long hot lines to pay their respects.

Monks on Tuk-Tuks

That night Chatree took us out in the city for dinner and then to a bar called Vertigo, on the roof of the second tallest building in Bangkok. Our last taste of luxury for who knows how long. The next morning we strapped on our backpacks and hopped a train to Hua Hin. Definitely not an Amtrak. For 4.5 hours we sat, the 3 of us and an elderly Thai woman, dirt flying through the windows, and vendors walking up and down the aisles selling homemade goods. Through the windows we took in the Thai countryside. After arriving in this small fishing town we found a guestroom perched atop a rickety pier. For the price of a medium coffee at Dunkin Donuts back at home... granted we are sharing one bed and have a litter of howling puppies out the window. But you can't beat waking up to the waves crashing underneath you. We explored the town last night and after eating an authentic seafood dinner, we stumbled upon their red light district. We naively sat drinking outside as the entire street seemed to pair off: one prostitute for every middle-age western white man. We head home after being solicited ourselves. Now we're off for our first

beach day, and very excited to take a dip in the Gulf of Thailand!

Having an amazing experience so far- keep you posted.

T.I.T.: This Is Thailand

The infamous Khoa San Road- check it out http://www.khaosanroad.com.th/



Friends who gave us bread to summon the fish on our river boat tour.



Clutching hands in fear as our little 3-wheeled tuk-tuk took on the Thai highway.

FRIED BUGS

We've adopted saying "TIT" now that we have a taste for this place- the saying acknowledging that whatever has occured could only be happening in Thailand. We're headed back to the Grand Palace now then into the center of the city to check out the skyrises. We're also planning to book an overnight train & ferry to the islands today. Initially we were considering the bus trips which are being promoted on every corner. But, after reading that now & again bus travelers are gased & robbed, I think we'll opt for safety :)

Bangkok: City of Angels?

It is Monday in Thailand- a day all you Americans have yet to experience. We already have had quite the adventure since we arrived here less than 24 hours ago. Chatree, the owner of Diva back in Newport, picked us up at the airport last night and helped us to get aquainted with Bangkok. Our hotel, The Happy House (http://www.thehappyhouseguesthouse.com/), is located near Khao San Road- a hippie haven of open-bar lined streets bustling with dreadlocked people, bright lights, food carts, shops... and even a baby elephant. Our room has a balcony over looking an alley complete with wide open restaurant bars playing Bob Marley covers until the wee hours, tempting Thai massage parlors, & fresh fruit stands. After a few hours of sleep we head out this morning for our first day of touristing. We attempted to make our first stop the Grand Palace only to find out that it was closed due to ceremonies in honor of the King's recently deceased sister. "Friendly" Thais welcomed us left & right- asking questions, offering advice, and even handing us corn kernels in order to feed the pigeons that swarmed in front of the palace.. "for good luck." Turns out the smiles in this land are often hiding hidden agendas. Bottom line- today. we. got. hustled. The pigeon people, once we'd emptied our treat for the anxious birds, promptly demanded our bahts. We walked away from the scam laughing at what we'd just let happen. Little did we know theirs were not the last seemingly genuine smiles to trick us and we were about to hop on the tourist trap express for the remainder of the day. Our first tuk-tuk driver delivered us to his friends on the river where a small river boat driver took the 3 of us on an amazing trip down the long & narrow canals. Palm trees, temples dotted with buddhist monks in their bright orange robes, Thai teens jumping off their delapidated back steps into the murky fish filled water, women hanging laundry, hammocks, & absurdly massive lizards... every person we passed waved, smiled, and put up peace signs posing for pictures as though our boat was not one of a billion to pass by them that day. Perhaps they knew we were aboard the express and their genuine smiles were a thanks for the baht we'd be donating. Suspiciously, the same Thai who sold us our boat tickets offered to take us to a great place to eat on his tuk-tuk. He took us entirely across massive Bangkok- & pretty much forced us to go to a gem store and silk tailor- both establishments swarming in ignorant tourists on the same ride as us. Sorry, we don't wear silk suits & we're all out of proms to attend- you can stop bowing to us. Our driver then abandoned us at the final destination restaurant (which luckily served a flaming pot of green curry that helped to revive our spirits). By the time we hailed our final tuk-tuk & strategically wove in & out of highway traffic, clutching the railings & inhaling smog, back to the Happy House we swore never to get on a damned tuk-tuk again & decided to get our heads back on our shoulders now that we know every Thai in Bangkok is in cahoots. Only minutes pass before one of us breaks into laughter over today's adventure. We're now plotting out the rest of our trip day by day- thoroughly culture shocked, & excited to head to paradise on the 16th.

Delayed Gratification

We arrived in NYC around 9am yesterday morning only to be told that our flight had been delayed 7 hours due to a snow storm in Korea. After a surprisingly comfortable 13 hour flight across the world we were put up at the luxurious Hyatt Regency Hotel in Incheon, right outside of Seoul, Korea. The snow was nowhere to be seen, but the pit stop made our long journey a bit easier to handle. We ate, slept, and were endlessly catered to by the impressively hospitable Koreans. 3 hours until we depart for Bangkok @ last! Jenny just checked the weather to find tomorrow's temperature to be listed as 98 degrees... and to feel like 111. uh oh.