Thailand
Trip Start
Nov 29, 2004
1
2
Trip End
Jul 15, 2005
Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand
Thursday, January 13, 2005
We decided last minute to take this trip and it was the best decision we ever made. Other then the Tsunami disaster (which we fortunately weren't affected by), it was incredible. The biggest worry we had was what to eat, whether or not to swim or lay on the beach, and whether to drink water or beer. Rough life, eh? We had no desire to leave the beach-we seriously didn't move off our beach for 7 whole days (you have to take a boat to get off).
We arrived in Bangkok late at night and luckily found a place to stay on Khaosan road. People were partying everywhere (ie, this is the tourist street for anybody who hasn't been before). The next day we got an overnight bus ticket to Koh Pha Ngan but had the whole day in Bangkok to see some tourist sites. Luckily we ran into these two nice guys who wrote down four places to go. We hooked up with a tuk-tuk that drove us all around the city for like 60 baht (less then $2 Canadian). There's a picture of Chad and our driver. We really enjoyed Bangkok and ladies, the shopping was crazy.
It was a long trip to Koh Pha Ngan. The overnight bus ride was a bit uncomfortable considering we chose rotten seats (no leg room). Then we had to get on a boat for about 4 hours. Then we hopped in a taxi that drove us to Haad Rin (which was extremely bumpy). Oh, and then we had to take ANOTHER boat to Haad Yuan where we stayed for the whole time. Needless to say, we were happy to arrive, find a bungaloo and lie on the beach.
Like I said, we didn't leave our beach for 7 days. I hope that the pictures will speak for themselves. The scenery was absolutely amazing. I found myself starring off every now and then. On top of that, the water was luke warm and a beautiful blue/green color. We never once ordered something that tasted bad from the kitchen at Barcelona, and there were so many people around that it made meeting people very easy. So basically what I'm saying is-we were in heaven! It was a very secluded beach, yet we were just a boat ride away from the party.
We did end up leaving the beach a few times-for the full moon party, a day trip where we took a tour of the island by boat, went snorkelling, and saw a waterfall and for New Years. Let me tell ya, I've never seen so many people partying on one beach before. The full moon party was insane-people were there until late the next morning (still drinking and dancing). They were selling DVD's of the party and it looked like people were partying until the next afternoon.
All in all, it was a wonderful vacation and I highly recommend going to Thailand. I will definitely be back at some point. We were extremely sad to leave the beautiful weather and enter the Winter world again in Beijing (but I guess from the sounds of it NS is having a pretty cold winter so far). There is no snow on the ground so I guess I shouldn't complain!
I am working full time now as a Kindergarten teacher and am looking forward to my two week vacation in February for the Chinese New Year. We will be sticking close to Beijing over the next few months but are planning another trip for early May. There are still so many things to see here in Beijing so I'll be sure to keep everyone updated and send lots of pictures.
