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Phi Phi!
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011 /

For the ferry ride over we had a movie prepped and ready to enjoy for the approximately four hour journey. “The Beach” – filmed at the incredible Ma Ya Bay, is not just the scene of a dope movie, but an absolutely eye popping natural gem that screams sensory overload and delivers!  It may have been amazing to see on a screen but there was nothing that could pull our eyes away from the jaw dropping beauty that surrounded us as we pulled into port.

THAILAND!!

Phi Phi Don is the main island where all the accommodation is, and Phi Phi Ley is a marine park that houses one of the worlds most beautiful beaches.  Sheer cliffs peppered green by lush vegetation that  greets you at every turn.

Pulling into Phi Phi Don

We found a nice little pension right in the center of town and negotiated a few nights stay. We were happy to finally rest and decided to hit the beach for a nap.  After a photo shoot in the shimmering turquoise waters we laid on the soft sand, content.

Fish out of Water!
Fish out of Water!

Right as we were falling asleep, a Canadian man approached us selling his services for a cruise on his sailing yacht around Phi Phi Ley. We listened as he talked but told him we were nearing the end of our trip and unfortunately…  our funds. He was understanding so he offered us a price we couldn’t refuse. But, we had to meet on his boat in 20 mins. We quickly grabbed what we needed out of our room and boarded. He had the whole day planned out with made lunches and all the cold Chang beer we could drink.

Fun on the Boat!

Before we knew it, we were on the boat with 4 other peeps about our age, and were dropped off to swim up to monkey beach with a dry bag full of bananas and a strict warning to stay away from the grown up ones. It was packed full of tourists slinging fruit and as Chels bent down to feed a baby monkey, the angry parent went for her. She high stepped out of the way behind a shocked teenage European kid in rock’n a Speedo. Laughter ensued.

Monkey Beach!

We all swam back to the boat and headed off to do some cliff jumping. The only other guy and I were the first to go. We climbed up the sharp limestone cliffs to a height of about 30 feet and leapt off into the blue waters. As I swam back to the boat, Chelsea jumped in and we swam over for her turn. As we began climbing we were met by a swarm of hissing monkeys. When we looked up further, the swarm was growing and most certainly were telling us we were not welcome.  Unlucky for Chels but better to turn back than challenge a pack of pissed off primates.

Cliff Jumping!

It was time to sail off to Phi Phi Ley. As we approached, our skipper told us a brief history of the island. How there is a highly coveted swallow that nests in the high cliffs. The birds spit is sold for around $1000 a gram as it is believed to be an aphrodisiac (…..yea).  So for many years the island was a battle ground for this bird spit.  There had been mafia type warfare going on for years until the government stepped in and said no mas. They took possession of the island and made it a marine park. The bird still nests and is still highly valued so “don’t be surprised if we are greeted by a man holding a AK47, but it’s okay.. because he knows me” – says our confident captain. He explained how the birds nest high up in the cliffs and is only accessible by a dangerous climb that claims the life of at least one person a year.

Crystal Clear blue water!

The water was so incredibly beautiful, and the undeveloped island provided a perfect backdrop as we sat on the yacht drinking beer and eating watermelon.  We pulled in to a small bay and ate some lunch. Suited up with snorkel gear and swam to shore. Right before I jumped in, I asked Captain Bob what kind of sea life I should look out for? He named a few native fish, sea snakes, Tiger Shark, etc.  At the time I guess I wasn’t really listening but looking back I realized, man why didn’t I pay stay in longer… And that thing about the Tiger Sharks being one of the more aggressive brands of fish.

Num Num NUm!

We snorkeled across the bay, spotting “Dory” and even a sea snake before coming to a small cave opening we had to climb through! Suddenly the colors around us changed from crystal blue to piercing green as we trekked through the jungle to find MaYa Bay. We knew we were close when the dirt below us turned to soft pure white sand, and when we emerged onto the beach, it was unreal!! The water was just SOOOOO turquoise, the sand SOOOO white and soft, and barely anyone around! The ONLY disappointing thing was seeing a few boats in the bay. We figured since it was a national park, boats wouldn’t be allowed. BUT still plenty of space to admire the beauty.

About to emerge onto the beach!!
MaYa Bay!

Before we knew it, we had to make our way back to the boat to try for a little open-sea fishing! Although we DIDN’T catch anything, we did see a crazy fish swarm/sea gull fight! Along the way, Captain Bob also taught us how to sail the yacht (super cool!) before taking us to a little private beach on the side of Ma Ya bay. This one was teeny tiny but really exotic feeling. The jungle came right up to the sand, with steep cliffs surrounding the sides.

The Crew!

 

Private Beach!

Just when we were hopping back on the boat, a crazy storm suddenly approached, and it just started down-pouring. The 3 girls climbed into the cabin but before we knew it, the hurling wind and rain had passed and we were all jumping off the boat into the warm water! Unfortunately we had to skip the caving part of the trip because of rough waters, but we were all pretty beat by now anyway. The sun was starting to set as we played in a private cove….which gave perfect opportunity for some cool pics!

Brad backflipping at Sunset!

Eventually it was time to head back, and Bob took couple by couple back to the mainland on his dinghy. Brad and I were last to go, but decided to ask if we could stay to have a beer with him. He was super cool the whole time, letting us bring our ipods to rock out to our own tunes….so of course he said yes. In retrospect…probably a bad decision haha. We had already had plenty to drink! Anyway, the boat ride made for one incredible…and memorable experience! We felt so privileged to have seen “The Beach”!

The next day was spent wandering the streets of Phi Phi. It’s really small with so many little shops and restaurants. Lots of tourist stuff…but also if you really wander… you can find the local markets with fresh raw fish and veggies galore! We stumbled onto a place that we decided was a MUST to visit later.

BUT tonight was Halloween and Stones was the bar to go to tonight! Right on the beach and offering free BBQ, drink specials and a fire show…it was an easy decision. As we walked down the beach, we noticed it was a huge competition between the bars, with a contest of skeleton sand castles and fire, free giveaways, and lit-up jump ropes. We weren’t terribly anxious to drink, but went for the buy one get one free buckets anyway, and anxiously awaited the fire show. The crowd grew in perfectly sized numbers as everyone chilled out around the fire.

Stones!

Finally about 4 Thai guys, 1 Thai girl, and 1 white dude painted like a smurf emerged with fire poles and sling-balls to start the show. IT WAS AWESOME!!! The music was perfect with the DJ placed high in a tree house overlooking everyone. The dancers were amazing, especially the smurf-guy!

Smurfy Fire Dancer!

Somehow we got so lucky with the weather because the day we were leaving was a crazy rainy day! We didn’t leave without going to “Just Noodles”, the little hole-in-the-wall spot in the middle of the local markets we found yesterday! The reason we were attracted to it was because everyone that eats there from around the world leaves a note and hangs it on the wall! EVERYONE said it was the best Pad Thai they ever had…and it WAS!! It was creamier than normal…think she added a bit of coconut milk….but SOOOO good!

Just Noodles!
Our note for the owner…”Song”

A belly full of pad thai is possibly one of the best ways to leave a place…even though we didn’t want to.  But I get an easy feeling knowing that Phi Phi, like so many other places we’ve been to, will never have to leave us!

Category: Beaches, Phi Phi, Thailand  Tags: , ,  One Comment
Phuket
Sunday, June 12th, 2011 /

There is nothing quite like Thai-island hoping, at least not that I’ve done yet. Despite being passed from one mode of transport to the next during the course of a trip; with touts threatening a longer wait time without additional payment, it’s actually a cinch – just as long as you stay persistent!

Beautiful Phuket

We were traveling from the east to the western islands for our next destination – to the popular island/peninsula of Phuket. The overnight journey went off with only a few hiccups and before we knew it we were standing in front of our Couch Surfing hosts house in Chalong Bay. Our host Val is originally from France but is posted up in Phuket running her scuba diving school and has been for the past few years. She made us dinner and we spent the hours in conversation about political & social issues surrounding the marine conservation efforts that she is involved with there. She is an absolutely lovely woman whom we so easily bonded.

Chels's first time driving

When daylight came we took off early in search of a motor bike. It had been such a success in Koh Phangan it deserved another go. We had a place in mind as we walked down the main strip of Chalong Bay. Since the first place was closed we ended up renting from a Thai Massage business that tripled as a restaurant and apparently bike rental place, perhaps even travel agent if we needed. Normally this might have seemed dodgy, but in Thailand even the most unsuspecting places are legit and as it turned out, so was this one.

Phuket is more metropolitan than Koh Phangan so instead of avoiding crater-like potholes and steep dirt roads we now had to watch out for other drivers whizzing past us. Despite all that, cruising on a motor bike had become one of our new favorite hobbies. It’s such a great way to explore an island, cruising to the far reaches, feeling free. Not only did we get a chance to explore but we felt like locals (even though we can’t balance 3 kids and two adults on one bike).  And pulling off to fill up our gas tank with a Johnny Walker bottle full of petrol at little stands set up along the roads was a welcomed experience!

chilln

Val clued us in to a sweet snorkel spot on the south east corner of the island and even loaned us some equipment. The road to the secluded beach was spotted with signs reminding us of the past tsunami that had devastated parts of the island; and pointing you along an evacuation route but in some places informing drivers that you have entered a point of no return (if one were to hit). But who has time to worry about stuff like that during an adventure (kidding mom/mum).

Chilln with the fishes

We had to walk the bike down the steep beat up road to our secret snorkel spot and as soon as we touched the sand the gear was on and we hit the water. We spent the next hour or so skimming the surface, spotting many of Nemo’s buddies, who weren’t always so happy to see us, as we were them.

Snack time!

It was such a peaceful area that we decided to have some lunch at the snack shack set up on the beach. We had spent the rest of that day lounging on beautiful white sand beaches, wadding in the warm Thai waters. As daylight drifted we soaked the last rays up on the tourist popular Patong Beach for what turned out to be our unanimous favorite sunset; having lots of fun snapping photos and playing in the water.

Sunset at Patong!

Headstands at Sunset

The sad reality of sex tourism reared its ugly head as we walked up and down the infamous Thanon Bangla road. Old white men rubbing their much younger hired Thai dates in often inappropriate places. An unfortunate circumstance of rampant poverty, cultural differences and a soaring exchange rate. Besides the urge to vomit we enjoyed the area, ducking into the dirt cheap markets with knock off goods and yummy eats.

Infamous

The lady boys were just starting to emerge on the scene when it started pouring down rain…i mean monsoon!! Crazy heavy thick rain! We ran into some tin-roof covered markets and tried to wait it out while browsing. Luckily i had saved a poncho i picked up for free at GurtenFest in Switzerland, and now it was FINALLY coming in handy! The rain just didn’t let up, and we figured it was now or never to make the 30-minute drive home. Really though…if not now, there might be some flooding with all the crazy hills. So on the scooter we hopped and Brad got us home safe and wet! :)

Pumpkins and Ponchos

On our next day we decided to hit the more rural areas of the island and take a trip to see big Buddha. He is currently being built at the highest point of the island and so anticipating we would get hungry on our trip, we picked a coconut from one of Val’s trees and stored it in our motorbike basket.

The road up to see Buddha is a windy and scenic ride and well worth it once you get to the top. The views were spectacular and although neither of us is a Buddhist, Buddha was so enlightening and we think of him as a model human we should strive to imitate. And we certainly appreciate the dedication of the monks who dwell there.

Big Buddha

Inside the area is gong that you can hit or rub the back of with your bare hands to create this deep vibrating sound.  Both Chelsea, me and several other tourists failed to create a sound. But when a young boy, maybe 6 or 7 years old got behind it he slipped into a meditative state and it began to sound (All the tourists, including us…were mesmerized!!).

super powers

On our ride down we were getting a bit thirsty and remember our coconut. Spotting an elderly man on the side of the road selling fruit we pulled over and signaled to our coconut. Immediate he walked across the road to his “workshop”, grabbed his hatchet and cut open our coconut. Of course, you can buy ones that are perfectly shaved, chilled and served with a straw; but we preferred a still green, hand-picked, cut open by a rural farmer and drank from the opening. A strange but sweet taste! The best part being the connection we made with the man, who was amused by our excitement.

Yum

We rode through to a Si Ray, a small little island off the coast to grab some lunch. It was a place off the beaten tourist track. And the locals were quite surprised to see phalong (white people) when we rocked up. By far the cheapest and best food we had on Phuket, full of such flavor.

On our way back we fed some monkeys and hit up Phuket Town. In search of a tourist agency to get pricing on a ferry to Phi Phi, we ran into an agent flying solo who overheard us asking locals. He said he could offer us the cheapest prices because he worked independently. At first we didn’t believe him but he seemed harmless and we ended up booking anyway.  As it turns out, was a super nice guy! He arranged to pick us up the next morning and walked us all the way to the ferry boat to ensure our send off. We waved goodbye to him and Phuket as we sailed off to the magic that awaited us in Phi Phi!

Category: Beaches, Phuket, Thailand  Tags: , ,  Leave a Comment
FULL MOON PARTY!!
Monday, June 06th, 2011 /
Exploring a world wonder is a high that no one wants to come down from.  Lucky for us we didn’t have to, since our next stop was one of the world’s most infamous parties.  The Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan!

We booked the overnight charter bus that ended up being pretty sweet, with reclining chairs as seats and movie service which helped when it came time to pass out. At around 5am the entire bus was woken up by the shouting driver instructing us to get off the bus.  We couldn’t see a ferry or water, so everyone was a little unsure.  Slowly we all got off the bus, and were told not to grab our packs that were piled in a giant heap outside of the bus.  We were in a rural area, hoping we were still in Thailand, at some roadside restaurant, but no one had any idea where exactly that was or how far from the ferry port we were.  Also, the organizers where reluctant to answer any of our questions directly.

Chaos and backpacks - typical Thailand!

After an hour of waiting and watching people get called one by one, we finally boarded a large bus that was packed in with backpackers gearing up for the night ahead!  Chelsea and I were the last to board so we had to settle for seats next to the driver on the gear box.  Eventually, after a 45 minute ride, we made it to the ferry and not to our surprise, this was overcrowded as well.  But, we had the fortunate luck of hanging out with some giggling Thai women and a lady boy for the ride over.

The ferry ride in!

As we were pulling in to the dock you could feel the excitement which transpired into some laud chanting and a sing song by the passengers and party seekers.
We eventually found our way to the spot we were staying.  It was right on the water and a beautiful setting with a swim up pool bar and luxurious villas.  We were led from the reception to our room which unfortunately was not in a villa, but in the staff compound building behind the villas.  Our room.. well, lets just say motel six would have been a serious upgrade.  No windows, one noisy fan and black spatters of who knows what on the off white walls. Luckily we were able to get some clean sheets for the bed that took up the entire room haha!

Expecting a big night ahead of us, Brad and I decided to catch some Z’s. We somehow managed to forget the nasty room we were in… Anyway we woke up refreshed, grabbed some delicious Thai grub from a little stand set up outside the room (who turned out to be super sweet and our go-to guy for the next 4 days!), AND found ourselves a bottle of Vodka to start the night off right! Eventually it was time to head to the party and we started walking along the street anticipating that taxi after taxi would try to pick us up for the party! After a few failed negotiation attempts, we finally found one with the right price, and before we knew it, Brad was on the roof of the truck (that vodka must have been starting to hit us!). We were too excited!

On the rooftop!

When we arrived, it wasn’t hard to find the infamous “buckets” we had heard so much about. They were on every corner competing for the best price, and we each got our own Vodka and Red Bull bucket for 250 baht. Next mission….find body paint! The paint vendors were charging wayyy too much for us (looking back it was probably less than $10 haha!) but somehow fate brought us together with these 2 Canadian girls who had talked their way into using someone’s paint for free! They were obviously feeling the effects of their buckets at this point and were ecstatic to paint us…also for free! Therefore…we were ecstatic!

Freshly and freely painted!

Now painted and armed, we hit the beach and began to see just how crazy the night was. We arrived at the perfect time, just as it was getting dark, and just as the FIRE was coming out to play! This is probably one of the sole reasons i am so in love with Thailand… the way they play with fire! First was the fire jumprope which for any Mario Party players from N64… it was a game brought to life! Drunken fools daring to run in and jump, only to run out yelping with burning bums! It was hilarious!! I kept trying to pressure Brad into doing it, but he didn’t…and it was probably better off being that we were onto our 2nd bucket at this point!

BUCKETS!!

The dancing was in full swing and we happened to be in just the right place as they lit the Hadrin Beach sign on fire. Everyone started piling up on the platform, including us! Everyone was our friend J and everyone was having the time of their lives. With a little height, we could see just how many thousands of people were partying on the beach!

Fire Dancers!

A few hours of dancing and wondering later… we stumbled upon a slide..and for some reason, i was super excited about it!! Just as i was climbing up a rope ladder that reminded me of my childhood, a big flame burst behind me, and the slide was now on fire!!!! SO COOL! I was so excited that i went down the slide twice. Mistake. On the second ride down, my skirt came up, bikini bottom turned into a wedgie, and my bare ass experienced the worse case of slide burn I’ve ever felt. I slid off the slide and ran my ass right into the ocean and squatted to relieve the pain…just like you see in a cartoon! OH it was funny but i was feeling the pain for the next week!

Fire Slide!

We didn’t quite make it to sunrise like we had hoped, but we were close! We again, negotiated a cab ride home and were didn’t wake up until late the next afternoon!
I think we did nothing the next day as we recovered in the lovely villa NEXT to the craphole we were staying in! The pool was awesome, one of those infinity ones that overlooked the ocean! Next to the pool was the villa cafe with hammocks and American movies playing on a projector! We did manage to make our way to reception to book ourselves a motorbike for the next day though… only 150 baht for 24 hours ($5 US)!

Pretty Pool!

So the next day turned into quite an adventure as we scooted across to the nicer beaches on the Northeast side of the island! Nobody told us that the nicely paved roads actually ended and turned into dirt roads with MASSIVE trenches and MASSIVE hills. When we approached the first one, we stopped, contemplated turning around, then decided to go for it, but not without me first getting off the bike and walking down the hill as Brad braved it down! It turned out to be fine, luckily since Brad took it nice and slow… but we had heard about the crazy “Koh Phangan Tattoo” people got here. And now we could see why. Even Lonely Planet warns you about it!
We made a pit-stop at Than Sadet waterfall along the way to the North side of the island. It was pretty dried up but ended up being really cool, because we were able to actually climb up the waterfall, rather than walk the trail. Many know…one of my FAVORITE things to do! Climbing mildly challenging rocks :) At the top was a puny little waterfall and pool that we took a dip in. We tried to check our Paradise Falls…the name sounded so enticing! BUT unfortunately there was no way our bike was making it through the treacherous path, so a quick turn-around for us it was.

Feeling adventurous

The beaches we made it to were Ao Thong Nai Pan Noi (and Yai) and Ao Chaloklum. Debatable if worth it after a 2 hour ride across the island, but no doubt were prettier and more deserted beaches. The landscape in Thailand is just so rare… crystal clear blue water, white sand, and green jungle hills all around! Really a sight to remember. We relaxed for a bit, and played around in the water, but realized if we wanted to make it to the west side of the island for sunset, we were going to have to leave now to allow time for the crazy ride back. Thankfully Going UP the trenched hills was not nearly as scary as going down!

Playing in the beautiful water

Sunset at Wok Tum Bay was super cool. With hammocks and benched stocked with pillows mixed in with palm trees, it truly seemed like paradise as the sky turned bright pink at sunset. All the Thai people were playing in the abnormally shallow water with their kids! It seems most of them prefer to go out when the sun goes down over going out in the middle of the day like most westerners prefer!

Incredible sunset!

Before we left Koh Phangan, we decided to take one more look at Hadrin beach, without the Full Moon Party… and it was like a different world. A little hutted bar playing Bob Marley with a few chilled-out patrons lying around on mats. No fire, no chaos.
We spent the rest of the night back at the villa, lounging in beach chairs staring out at the moonlit water; our  conversation interrupted only by a long stroll up the beach to check out some of the night life.  As we walked, we heard different types of music, each bar setting its own mood.  We may have stopped outside one or two to boogie a bit.  But this night was mostly for chilling out and taking it all in.  We sat on the beach and watched a lightning storm out at sea, listening to the quiet crashing of gentle waves, appreciating Mother Natures beauty.

Loved this lonesome tree

We were off early the next morning, happy to have made the trip and excited for our next one.
Category: Beaches, Festivals, Full Moon Party, Guesthouses, Koh Phangan, Thailand  Tags: , , , ,  One Comment
What’s the capital of Thailand…
Monday, March 07th, 2011 /

We rode the wave of positive energy all the way back to Bangkok, now ready to explore the infamous city and its nightlife.  There are a handful of places to check out at night when visiting Bangkok, but the most important of course, is Kho San Road.  The road lies in the western portion of the city, appropriately enough, where all the westerners gather.  The bright neon signs light up the slew of bars, hostels, backpackers, con-men, prostitutes, street vendors and performers.  It is a travelers’ amusement park and entertainment epicenter; a place that will tempt your wildest fantasies and where anything goes.  It is the eastern equivalent of Bourbon Street with, what seems like, far less rules and regulations… and a whole lot of energy.  No doubt, a place we had to explore.

Kho San Road!

We booked a room at New Joes guesthouse, which is located in the back alleyway behind the Kho San.  Moderately priced at about 350 baht for a double, with a friendly staff and all the amenities you’d need for a decent stay in the city including: on site travel agency, Thai message, restaurant and bar.  Our friend Michael took massage classes here for a few hundred baht and in a week was a certified Thai masseuse.

Amazing Banana Roti!

After chow’n down on 30 baht pad Thai and comforting banana roti we sat down for a few beers in front of some kids break dancing in the street; our new friends Michael and Ron joining us.  Our waitress was, how to put this, a pretty young man… ladyboy to be P.C.  Despite what one might think about the confusing gender of this person, she was a good waitress and very polite (even when we stared a little).

Beer Tower with New Friends

Two beers quickly turned into four beers as we got to know Michael a little bit more.  Our conversation flowed as he told us about his beat-boxing performances on Broadway in New York City.  Frequent interruptions of women selling bits and bobs would otherwise been annoying, but we just chalked it up to the “Bangkok experience” and laughed it off.  The night ended shortly after our second tower of beer and we tucked in to bed dodging thoughts of bed bugs and concentrating on where we were leaving for the next morning… Angkor Wat!

 

Loving it!

Category: Bangkok, Guesthouses, Thailand  Tags: ,  Leave a Comment
Kanchanaburi!!
Thursday, February 10th, 2011 /

Kanchanaburi was an unexpected journey that turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences we had! Just a couple hours west of Bangkok, it was a chance to escape from the hectic chaos of the city. The lead up to the decision to go was quite stressful, as we spent hours in the tourist agency after finding out we would have visa issues after our future trip to Cambodia! After a little bartering, we ended up with a great deal, and soon we would find out, we would end up having the time of our lives!

River Kwai Bridge

The 2 hour shuttle ride passed by quickly, and we were immediately dropped off in the heart of town. Brad and I made our way to the famous bridge over River Kwai that the Japanese built through forced slave labor during World War II. On our way we passed a baby tiger and leopard which stole my attention for what could have been hours if Brad didn’t pull me away…not before i got to feed the tiger some milk though! It’s uncanny how similar their mannerisms are to tiny house cats!

 

And the bottle's empty!

When we did make it to the bridge, it was quite pretty with the extraordinary green surrounding the river (which itself was quite the opposite…brown). Before we knew it, we were being hustled along with the group to hop on the train for a long ride through mountains. It was a super classic-style train, and although it did take ages, it was a nice trip! We eventually arrived at our home for the next 2 days, a floating guesthouse on the river!

 

Train Ride!

Floating House we stayed in :)

 

Waterfall Fun!

We were given a massive amount of food, met our new friends and travel companions, and then headed to Sai Yok Noi waterfall. Some people could only stay 15 minutes, but since Brad and I chose the 2-day trip, we were able to relax and explore the waterfall for about 3 hours. Instead of following everyone up the footpath, we took off our shoes and waded through the water, climbing up the falls ourselves….way more fun! At this point, i was even happier i bought my waterproof camera, because we had tons of fun in the water! I kept my red pants on over my bikini, unsure of who i could offend, but it turns out Thailand is quite liberal! Surrounding the waterfall were caves, markets, temples, and plenty more to explore!

Lovin it!

Eventually it was time to return to our floating hotel, where we were fed another scrumptious meal and had a couple beers with friends. We met 2 English girls who we planned to meet up with in Kho Phangan, Michael from Israel who we still keep in touch with, and an Aussie who owned a farm and belong to WOOF! Along with some great conversation came our dessert, Rambutan’s… the weirdest hairiest looking delicious fruit out there!

Hmmm?

Our next morning was early, as Brad and I took a long boat ride down the river to bath with the elephants! This was the coolest thing EVER!! We were allowed to hop on the elephants completely barebacked, and go into the water with them. They were just the friendliest animals, especially the little baby! It was swimming around in circles the whole time, coming up to everyone with its trunk to say hello….SO cute :) The owners kept telling the elephants to dunk down, trying to knock us off, and it completely worked!

Brad being knocked off!

I was also able to ride on one just up to the bank of the river, where i was promptly sprayed over and over with water! A really really crazy experience. After it sprayed me a couple times, it would put its trunk up to me to kind of see how i was doing! I didn’t want to leave, but we had so many other things planned for the day, not to mention our 2 hour bus ride home. So we left, watching as the elephants very impressively trotted up this steep hill into the jungle.

Getting sprayed!

So happy!

Next in line was our bamboo ride down the river. It wasn’t quite as exciting as i thought it was going to be (the agency tricked us with different pictures), but it was relaxing and we were joined by good company! First a speed boat towed us up the river before we detached and floated back down….to our floating hotel! Water was spewing through the bamboo sticks as we went, and we all took turns with the paddle!

Bamboo rafting!

Then we were off to go for an elephant ride, which was really cool, but just didn’t quite compare after bathing with them. We sat in a seat, and slowly trekked through the jungle. It was fun to see the elephants eating everything green in sight…tearing down bushes with their trunks :) I love their trunks! We also got to chat a bit with our guides, and found out our 8-year-old elephant was his fathers pet before it was handed down to him. Such a different thought, having an elephant as a pet rather than a cat or dog!

Elephant rides!

After a quick break for ANOTHER delicious meal, our last stop was at a museum that exhibited just how brutal the Japanese were during WWII, and in particular to the Aussies. We saw “Hellfire Pass” where the train tracks were layed in the middle of a carved out mountain! It was really interesting to learn about the other side of WWII, as we do not hear about much in the U.S. with Japan other than Pearl Harbor.

HellFire Pass

Before we knew it, we were on our way back to Bangkok, and sad to be leaving such a magical place! I highly recommend anybody who goes to Thailand to make it to Kanchanaburi! Only $60 each for accommodation, all meals, museums, waterfall, bamboo ride, elephant ride, and of course the best…. bathing with the elephants! Experience it!

Category: Guesthouses, Southeast Asia, Thailand  Tags: , ,  3 Comments
Bangkok 1.0
Thursday, February 10th, 2011 /

We were definitely sad to leave our new friends Roy and Arnav; not to mention so many unexplored regions of India, BUT we had been looking forward to Thailand since the start of our trip and with Bangkok first on our itinerary , there was no time to dwell on what had been left behind.

Thai Airways!

We arrived very early in the morning and as in some places we’ve visited before, Bangkok had energy.  Unfortunately for us, we didn’t.  We caught the taxi to our CS host, Mai’s apartment in Sukhumvit.  She answered the door, still in pajamas looking sleepy, with evidence of a party in the background.  As it turned out, her celebratory birthday dinner got a little crazy the night before and had plans to go into work a little late.  SO, she went back to bed and Chelsea and I passed out on the amazingly comfortable futon leaving the intro phase till later that night.

Finally Thai Food!!

That night we got to know Mai a little bit over some delicious Thai street  food in a area set up for vendors with little plastic table and chairs set up besides their portable kitchen.  We were really excited since we’d been looking forward to that since the inception of our trip. The service was quick and personal, and the mixed meat and noodle dish did not disappoint, especially the mango and sticky rice for dessert!

Mai and Sticky Rice!

On our way home, we all decided to get Thai Massages!! Yay we had been waiting 6 months to get a massage (it was especially difficult turning down 5 a day on the beach in Santorini!), and the moment had finally come! Mai knew this CHEAP place, only 100 baht, which is just over $3!!! We may have been sketched out if Mai had not been with us. This place was dark with little cubicles to lay in, BUT it ended up being amazing! A Thai massage is more like being stretched out after a work out. The outfits they give you to put on are the coolest too :)

Thai Massage!

The next day on our way to the train station to buy tickets to the Cambodian border, we were lured in by a travel agency.  A bit skeptical but intrigued enough to listen we sat in there for over 2 hours figuring out plans for what would turn out to be, the next two weeks.

First stop on our tour was Kanchanaburi and this involved an early next morning “bus” to experience the River Kwai and surrounding areas.  These new travel plans had us booked for two return trips to Bangkok.  Since we had to be up-around 5:00am we opted for a visit to China Town knowing at some point in our returns, we would explore the  cities famous attractions.  We got lucky picking China town on this particular night, where the vegetarian festival was underway.  We took advantage of the  street vendors and even caught a glimpse of some ancient Chinese dancing.  The night concluded with the long walk back to the sky train.

Chinese Dance!

Category: Bangkok, Cities, CouchSurfing, Southeast Asia, Thailand  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment