pictchas!

doing research

aunts always laughing, dog always pesky

phuket crew

james bond island... we're renovating

james bond island

discussing business - haggling is an art form 

our took took boat in Rachaprapa Dam in Surat Thani

chillin out on Taratou Island - former Thai prison!

hang hang - the dog that went on every island, boat and tour with us

touring Taratou islands - the most scenic and serene landscapes

glazing my skin 

kho khai - island with lover's gate

lovin on lover's island

kho ravi

cruzin at high speeds

weary travelers in Surat Thani

Buddah's actual ashes are here

brothers in love

boarder hopping

bangkok - dinner river cruise

two month old baby elephant

mama and baby

landed

although this blog is missing many chapters of the journey, we have returned and are jumping back in the swing of things (work tomorrow already, despite major jetlagg UGH). 


i know i wasnt able to update as much as i would have liked to which is unfortunate since i feel like the whole point of this is to record events and feelings as they are occurring as opposed to after the fact, but there just really isnt enough internet floating around that country to make it happen! (one time i had to get a foot massage at a place with free wifi just so i could email my parents and make sure they were picking me up from the airport!) 


our whirlwind of a trip, in brief:

• the northern most point in thailand - myanmar boarder
• the southern most point in thailand - maylasia boarder
• crossing the boarder twice, both in questionable fashions with potential detainment/abandonment
• the largest cave in thailand, fourth largest in the world! not in my tour books though... Phu Pha Phet Cave
• the highest point in thailand - Doi Inthanon in Chiang Mai, with the king and queen's towers
• world fair exposition - Royal Flora Ratchaphrue (Chiang Mai)
• Royal Agricultural Station Angkhang (Chiang Mai) - flower garden 
• three 5-star resorts
• two islands with minimal electricity (only 3 hours each day)
• total of four thai massages (usually running about 5 dollars for an hour - unheard of!)
• just about a million mosquito bites
• southern island hopping - the most beautiful beaches i have ever seen
• snorkeling among live coral and tons of colorful fish
• elephant trekking! road on the neck of an elephant
• 6 inflight movies - going the distance wins by far... drew is so cute

a very unforgettable trip with tons packed in yet still so much more to see and do! i will be going over all of these memories in my mind for a long time. glad to be back but dreading returning to the real world after being so isolated and secluded from my normal routine. surprisingly easy to detach and get away, so hopefully just as easy to jump back in.

roadtrippin

ratcha dam as seen from land

we roadtripped all day today to a southern province called satun (pronounced STOON) and arrived at our resort. we bought the only english cd we could find at a 7 11 on the way down and it was like club remixes to every radio hit, but done kareoke style. it was horrible. for 5 hours. and it was pouring rain the whole drive down. as we drove more south, there were more cows on the side of the road and more muslims. even though the country is 85% Buddhist, there is a substantial muslim population in the south. we stopped at a bird sanctuary but obviously the birds were smart enough to steer clear of that kind of weather, but we weren't. we then went to eat at yet another water front whole in the wall resturant and had really good food. friend papaya salad with roasted almonds, fried egg with shrimp and squid and basil, fish cakes, and whole fish with ginger and lemon. we then went to a coffee shop next door and had the coolest tea - it was thai iced tea but frothy because they poured it from cup to cup to add bubbles and foam. if that were in LA people would be all over it. it'd be the next boba! quite a show to watch them make it though.

ratcha dam as seen from took took boat

thrilled to have another wifi spot at our resort. (dont be confused - this resort is low budget and nothing like our last few, but very tolerable and has everything we need right now. even though there was a lizard "jing jok" in the bathroom looking at me). tomorrow we boat to an island and stay there over night.



enjoy some pics that i was just able to upload!

floating huts where we spent the day

we jumped off this dock in the rain and swam in this fresh water!

panoramic of ratcha dam

frothy thai tea

in front of delicious dinner spot in Satun - our attempt at making a corona commercial

adding froth to thai iced tea by pouring it from cup to cup

missing

missing these two!!

bailey the chuggle

blush the puggle

no word from vanessa yet that blush has had her babies. we are hoping for some sort of bizarre miracle that would allow her to hold off on having them until we get back in two weeks... according to our calculations that is gonna be impossible but we can hope!

southbound

southbound travel today. from surat thani provence to satun which is coastal and boardering malaysia! we still have no cds for our road trips except for traditional thai music so we may need to make an urgent pitstop today at a bootlegged shop.

swimming in the rain

i have been pretty much saturated and wet all day today and it was the first time since being here that ive been cold. 


we woke up early at the condo in sarut thani to do our laundry before the day since there's a washer here but no dryer so things needed to air dry during the day. not surprisingly, it is so humid that after being out all day everything is pretty much still soaking. the other strange thing is that it's very normal to take all your laundry to be washed somewhere. to me that is like an ultimate luxury service to have but its pretty standard here. anyway, of course by the time we collected the whole group of about 15, picked up hang hang (the dog) from the vet, bought our daily dose of yakuit, and took a few street shots, it was about 11am that we were finally leaving (despite the 9am call). surprisingly, paul and i have been some of the most prompt ones on this trip and always ready to go when necessary which is pretty unheard of for us. 



fast foward an hour's drive and here we are at Ratchaprapa Dam and Khao Sok National Park, where we where given a private tour on a took took boat (as pictured). it was getting pretty gloomy and sprinkling on the car ride over (yet still warm enough out) so we figured we were good to go. hop on the boat for about 30 minutes and tour around island after island of picturesque lands. the water is actually a dam that was blocked up about 30 years ago and has since been collecting rain water. it's now 30-40 meters deep which is a very substantial amount of water! we saw a specific type of monkey in the trees that has been isolated in this area since it's been damed off. we then pulled up to a collection of floating huts which were literally just sticks and wood beams and thatched roofs (like many of the buildings around here) and that was our resting place for lunch. when getting there paul and palmer and i were joking about how we should go swimming since we were already soaking wet by the rain that had started by that time. then what started as a joke became our next few hours of fun - they somehow convinced me (with little resistance) to jump in with them and swim around. for some reason ive always been scared of large open bodies of water and i dont know why, but this had little to fear and a lot of inviting factors. so off we go into the water, in the pouring rain and warm water. we even got hang hang in the water too! it was so much fun and i was really excited to have done it. there was a random kayak tied up to the side so of course we took it for a spin (albeit with one paddle), still in the pouring rain. its weird that it was so comfortable despite the rain - usually rain means miserable and cold but this was warm and relaxing. anyway we wrapped up after about 3 hours and the boat ride back was actually pretty miserable since it continued to pour on us and we had already changed into our set of dry clothes (no longer dry). when we got back to the parking lot i bought a souvenir shirt out of desperation for something dry, which is how i now know the name and spelling of the park. 


we came back to the condo and dried off for a little then went to get my first thai massage. oh... my gosh. that is not for the weak of heart. they bend and fold and stretch you in every direction. it's like the lazy-man's yoga. 2 hours of this was only 260 bhat. that is less than 10 dollars. unfreaking believable. my goal is to get at least 3 more before leaving. the parents were just supposed to drop us off while they went and eat, but then all of a sudden they were in the room with us for their massages! i was happy about that because i finally had an opportunity to treat them to something considering theyve covered every little thing for me so far. it's minor in comparison but i was glad to be able to give something. driving home they all decided "hue hue" (hungry), which i really could have gone without since we had eaten essentially two lunches but next thing i know we are at street food market and i have a plate of pad thai with shrimp and squid. surprisingly it was actually one of the first noodle dishes ive had since being here and it wasnt a very familiar flavor but still really good. it was wrapped in a fried egg like an omelet. now it's midnight after yet another long and fun day. tomorrow we travel 5 hours by car to more islands a bed and breakfast. no rain in the forecast i hope. farewell!

sunburned, bitten, and FULL!

WOAH. I feel lame for having told everyone about my blog only to realize that i have zero access to internet (until now) and haven't been able to communicate at all!

even though we have only been here for a week, we have already gone through a whirlwind of thaigantuous events. we've snorkeled, fed monkeys, been island hopping, eaten PLENTY, been to the city, been to the beach, been to the rural areas, and shopped.

we're traveling with the family and between my limited thai and their limited english, we basically just end up smiling at each other a lot.  they are super sweet and realllly taking care of everything. so far we have stayed at two different five star resorts on the beaches of phuket, houses in bangkok and chumphon (and now a condo in surat thani) and eaten meal after meal after meal on the beach. always the freshest fish and fruit.

here are a few pictures of our adventures so far!
a slight mishap on phi phi islands... i lost my camera!! so sad. the boat almost went back to help us look for it but we quickly realized it was long gone. luckily paul got me a super cool new touch-screen camera right before we left for the trip, so we have that one to use as well, but the first few days i was only using my old one so all those pictures are gone. mama's birthday dinner and rooftop bar in bangkok are now only in our memories :(

BUT we discovered a very cool panoramic feature on the new camera that is perfect for the scenic beaches around here.

our balcony at adamas resort in phuket

the fam on phi phi don - aunt, friend, papa, aunt, mama

a monkey feeding a monkey

knows what's good for him

coconuts falling on your head is a serious danger

boat hair

phuket shores - shallow for over 500 m!

phueket beach in front of marriot

if there's a happy hour, we will find it

moat gao - "bottoms up!"

brothas

james bond island off phang nga

boat tour around phang nga islands

raised air market - expect gifts from here 

taipei airport

waterside in bangkok - mama's bday dinner

second tallest building in bangkok - rooftop bar

phi phi islands - where "the beach" with leo dicap was filmed

just a monkey in the park

scenic route on the marriot grounds

 jw marriot

james bond island

fish farming 

adamas resort at sundown

OH and i found out we are also going to malaysia and myanmar! passport's being put to work. tomorrow we are scheduled to go to a dam and raft down it? not sure what that will entail but then again i really dont know many details about these plans. more elaboration on the past few days and exciting adventures to come next time i happen to stumble into a wifi hotspot!