From one tropical paradise to the next: Southern Thailand

It has been less than a day since I left southern Thailand and I am already looking back on my time there and how quickly it went by! After the intensity of Vietnam, it was so wonderful to

have a place to simply sit back, relax, and enjoy the gorgeous weather! Our journey through southern Thailand began in Phuket, which is where we flew into from Vietnam. We decided to stay in Phuket Town, both for its central location to all of the beaches and the cheaper accommodation! I found it to be a nice town, especially because it didn't feel too touristy. We went to Patong Beach the following day, which I heard was the main beach to go to in Phuket, and to be honest, I hated everything about it! The beach itself was ruined by the infinite amount of beach chairs that you had to pay for, along with the vendors who kept hassling me as I tried to relax.  The town itself is just lined with Western food and souvenir shops, and it looked as though any bit of Thai authenticity had diminished a long time ago. We were ready to escape the tourist trap within hours and felt immediately relieved upon returning to Phuket Town!

The next day we went to a beach in southern Phuket, meant to be less manic, and loved it! It completely redeemed Phuket's image in my mind...although it was still touristy, the beach felt more authentic and still preserved some Thai culture within it. We enjoyed sipping on coconuts all day and lounging around at the beautiful beach and lagoon-like area!

As we were trekking up a curved road in search of the next beach, I fell, and there was blood falling down my leg.  Luckily, some really nice guys came to the rescue and offered to give us a lift on their motorcycles, so we were fortunate enough to get a free tour of the beaches! By the end of the day, Phuket redeemed itself, but with that said, it is necessary to really search to find that tiny bit of authenticity left in the town!

                     

After two days in Phuket, we caught a ferry to Ko Phi Phi, known to be the most beautiful island in southern Thailand. Despite the mass tourism on the island, it is indeed so stunning, and there is definitely a reason why everyone flocks here. Once we maneuvered through the chaotic main street near the pier, we ended up finding a lovely room in a more remote area. Although Ko Phi Phi may have been just as touristy as Patong Beach, I was amazed at how much I loved it. First off, the views and scenery are so incredible that it makes up for the fact that you are sharing it with tens of thousands of others. The othermain difference was that the aesthetics of the resorts and bungalows blended well with the island. There were no tacky high rises or Holiday Inns to ruin the beauty of it all. Within two hours of arriving, we immediately knew that we would be extending our intended one night in Ko Phi Phi to two nights, as we fell so in love with its beauty!

    

During our stay in Ko Phi Phi we did a lot of sun bathing, hiking up to viewpoints, afternoon naps, cold showers, and some scuba diving! We hiked up to the viewpoint on our second night there to watch an amazing sunset:

Our day dive trip was a lot of fun and we managed to see tons of marine life, including a leopard shark, sting ray, as well as massive schools of fish.

By our third day in Ko Phi Phi, we were sad to say goodbye and headed to Krabi, which was the closest mainland point to the island.  Despite our efforts to go straight to Koh Phangan, it ended up being a blessing in disguise that we missed the last night bus there. Instead, we stayed in Krabi Town and did an awesome daytrip the following day to three islands and a cave at nearby Railey Beach. We took a longtail boat out and went to some beautiful spots and were able to do some snorkeling as well. It was simply the perfect way to spend our day! The 3 islands we went to were so pristine, clean, and laid back.

Additionally, we got an incredible deal for the trip because the hotel owner loved us and was trying to get us to come back to work for him so he made us a nice little package that included transportation to Koh Phangan, in the hopes that we would return in a couple weeks to come work for him! While it was a tempting offer, we politely told him that we probably couldn't!

So after the day trip, we quickly got ready and were Koh Phangan bound, via Surathani. Sincewe were taking a night ferry to Koh Phangan, we hung out in Surathani for dinner with some people we met, where I enjoyed a delicious papaya salad and coconut shake! Afterwards, we got on our night ferry, which was quite a sight! It was essentially a boat full of backpackers, lined up right next to each other on these tiny floor beds. The funniest sight were these tough looking Aussie boys who looked like they were all spooning each other! Definitely an experience! We arrived in Koh Phangan around 6am to a zoo of vendors attacking us with their taxi and hotel services! We decided to sit down and have a nice breakfast before facing the day! After breakfast, we wanted to head to the east coast of the island called Thong Nai Pan Yai, which I had heard was a beautiful isolated beach. Especially since the Full Moon Party was in four days, we both agreed that we didn't want to be anywhere near the madness, but rather have the option toget to the Full Moon Party town, Haad Rin, whenever we wanted to. Upon arriving, we were sad to see that the cheap accommodation was full, but were fine settling for a fancy resort with an infinity pool where we each were still only paying roughly $8/night!

It was a similar case as with Ko Phi Phi where we instantly knew that we would be staying here for longer than we intended to! We decided to enjoy our nice resort accomodation for two nights, then switch over to the cheaper place ($3 each/per night) for the following three nights so that we could stay for the famous Full Moon Party.

It is hard to sum up the island in words, as there are so many incredible qualities about wherewe stayed. I think that especially on the east coast, where it is much more inaccessible, it isn't as developed as the other parts ofthe island and it has more of a rustic feel to it. It seems as though the east coast of Koh Phangan is what most of southern Thailand was like 10-15 years ago: beautiful, preserved, uncrowded beaches with plenty of locals who haven't been scared away by tourism.

We did lots of exploring on the island, trekking through the jungle from one beach to another, and wandering through the local villages. But, to be honest, most of my time was spent lounging by the pool or the beach, enjoying the scenery.

 

Once we left our fancy resort, it was a nice change of pace going to this funky, backpacker hub, called White Winds, full of cliffside bungalows overlooking the ocean. Although the bungalow consisted of the bare minimum, a bed with a mosquito net in a tiny room, it was probably my favorite accommodation thus far. Nothing beats going to sleep and waking up to the sound of the ocean, and having a beautiful view of the beach (view from our bungalow to the right). Additionally, the people that we met there made the place that much more amazing. The owners and employees were awesome, as well as the people who were staying there. I had a great time hanging out with everyone and hearing their stories and travel experiences

We even managed to go diving with people that we became friends with from a new divecompany on the beach. It was another fun dive site that was a bit more challenging, but definitely helped to improve my diving skills!
       

On our last night, after going back and forth about it, we decided to go to the Full Moon Party, which is basically a massive beach party that tens of thousands of people flock to for every full moon. It was quite a sight to see and in the end I am glad that I went! We got all decked out in some neon paint and danced the night away.  There was endless music along the beach and tons of ridiculously out of control people to provide endless entertainment!

So, to sum up my five days in Koh Phangan is difficult to do but i loved it so much! If I didn't have somewhere to be, it definitely could have sucked me in for at least a couple more weeks! It is weird to think how different the island will be in five years, as I noticed a lot of development in the works. But for now, I will hold on to the memories of the awesome, rustic island that I saw it as! Next up: Cambodia so stay tuned....and I am taking advantage of my day in Bangkok by posting some photos of Laos and Vietnam on Facebook so check them out!

Good Morning Vietnam!

As I sit here, relaxing at a lovely internet cafe in Phuket, Thailand, it is bizarre to think about how quickly my time in Vietnam went by! Before arriving in the country, we were warned that Northern Vietnamese were especially rude and abrasive, so we prepared ourselves for the worst. After a ridiculously long journey into Vietnam, the bus abruptly stopped at the Vietnamese border town, Dien Bien, where the crazy bus employee (who stole my ipod), attempted to force us to take one of his buddies buses to Hanoi. After five minutes of our complete refusal, we were reluctantly taken to the actual bus station, which was even more chaotic! Everyone was in our face, attempting to get us on their bus. We took a deep breath, ate some delicious Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup), and finally faced the mob and caught our bus to Hanoi. There was instant relief upon stepping onto the bus, and we had no trouble getting a good nights sleep, partly thanks to an incredible dinner buffet that was included at a stop along the way!

So, we arrived early in Hanoi on our second day in Vietnam and had a full day to explore the city before heading to Halong Bay. Before arriving in Hanoi, I thought that Bangkok traffic was so chaotic. It turns out that it was nothing compared to the madness of Hanoi. You literally have to plunge yourself into a busy street, and hope for the best. More or less, it is like playing a game of frogger, and luckily I won, given that I didn't end up being hit by a motorbike! On top of the traffic, you always have to be ready in Hanoi, as most people are out to get money from you. The people weren't particularly friendly and it was impossible to go a block without being hassled by someone trying to sell books, dvds, and so on. Despite the utter chaos of the city, I embraced it, and kind of enjoyed the madness of it all. We strolled around the city and enjoyed the serenity of a beautiful lake and fewer interruptions from vendors!

To top it all off, we saw Avatar 3D!!! Now, seeing Avatar 3D in a Vietnamese shopping center was one of the funnier experiences I have had in my life. Apparently, it was the first 3D movie ever to hit Vietnam and tickets had been selling out for weeks. During the entire movie I kept hearing all of the Vietnamese people with their "ooooo's" and "ahhhhsss", while continually repeating movie lines during the entire film. So, apart from Avatar being an epic film, the audience in itself was its own entertainment! Here are some more shots from the city:

The following morning we had to get up early to prepare ourselves for our biggest splurge of the trip thus far, a 3 day/2 night tour of Halong Bay. Despite the dreadful weather, it ended up being a blast. We instantly bonded with a core group of people (3 Americans, 2 Aussies, and 2 Brits) and coincidentally, we all had big appetites so we coined ourselves "the scrappers". The boat workers would continuously bring out dishes and we would demolish them so quickly that they would just keep bringing out leftovers from other tables. The rest of the boat probably thought we were savages, but we embraced our scrappy ways and feasted the entire trip! Day 1 in Halong Bay consisted of heavy fog, a slight drizzle, and freezing weather. Despite being freezing, we thought to hell with it and still jumped from the top of our boat into the water, which ended up being much warmer than the air temperature! After a nice swim, we kayaked throughout Halong Bay. It was quite impressive to explore all of the rock formations up close. 

Once we finished kayaking, we enjoyed a little resting time in our awesome boat rooms and then had a delicious seafood feast for dinner. Afterwards, the boat workers organized a nice little happy hour and some fun drinking games late into the night. Here is a picture of the scrapper gang:

The following morning we had to pack up early to head to the company's personal island. It was this tiny, empty, rugged island with a handful of ground bungalows that each had six beds in them. Then, the island itself consisted of a bar area, ping pong table, a volleyball net, and a speedboat for wakeboarding! What more could you need!?! We hung out during the day, and enjoyed the awful, cloudy weather. Later on, we went wakeboarding, which was included in the price of the tour. Now, I have always wanted to wakeboard, given that I surf and snowboard. It was so much harder than I thought! It took about three times for me to finally get up, but once I did, I loved it! After finally feeling more comfortable with it, I began relaxing, and looked around in awe of my surroundings. Wakeboarding in Halong Bay was so unreal, and thanks to Julie, she got some great shots of me!

    

After another night of socializing in the bar area, we woke up the next morning and unfortunately had to head back to Hanoi! Although I wished for better weather, it was still an amazing trip. We had a wonderful time with our fellow "scrappers" and will hopefully cross paths with the friends we made in the future! Upon returning to Hanoi, we had a perfect night full of pho, ice cream sundaes, and movies, as we were all exhausted from the trip! The next day, which was our final day in Hanoi before heading south, we went to the famous prison where John McCain was held. There were some really cool replications of prisoners and interesting photos throughout the complex. It was so bizarre to watch the documentaries, which were full of Vietnamese propaganda, dubbing the Americans as "savages and evil". But, other parts of the prison showed the opposition to the war, so there was quite a contrast.

 

Since I, not surprisingly, got sick from the bitter cold weather in Halong Bay, we took it easy the remainder of the day and hopped onto our nice sleeper bus in the evening to head down south in the hopes of warmer weather!

Our next stop, Hoi An, was known as the tailoring capital of Vietnam. The entire city was lined with shop after shop, offering to make you anything from trousers to a suit! I was relieved to escape the ongoing shouts of "Hello madam, please buy from me" by riding a bicycle to a nearby beach. Along the way, we passed some beautiful rice fields and lakes. Apparently, we took the bad weather with us, as it was cold and gloomy when we finally arrived at the beach. For the rest of our time in Hoi An, we took it easy, walked around the small city, enjoying the beautiful cobblestone alleys and brightly colored buildings.

    

Our next stop was Nha Trang, meant to be a sunny beach town, and guess what...still mostly gloomy with a hint of sunshine! We had a great time anyways, and luckily it was warm enough to still hang out at the beach! The people here were much friendlier, and I especially loved the cute little boy selling candy! Later on, we enjoyed the good nightlife in the city with some friends!

  

By the morning of the 18th, we arrived at our final destination, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and were ready to explore some war sites. That morning, we did a half day trip to the CuChi Tunnels, which were an elaborate unit of tunnels used by the Vietnamese as a hideout during Vietnam War.

What is bizarre about these tunnels is how tiny the entrances are so that "fat" American soldiers would get stuck when trying to get into them! It was very interesting exploring the tunnels and we were daring enough to crawl through the tunnel, luckily not getting stuck along the way! Then, to top it all off, we were able to go to a firing range and choose from a selection of guns...Julie and I both felt that an AK47 would be pretty badass to shoot off so we each got five bullets. Now, I have never touched a gun, let alone shot one, and to say that I was terrified is a massive understatement. Unfortunately, the video of my humiliating attempt to shoot a gun did notupload so let me try to explain it...every time I shot a bullet, I would scream while simultaneously jumping back as if I was being shot. By the time I went through my last bullet, I sprinted out of that shooting range instantly!

After the tunnels, we were still in our war mode, so we decided to go to the War Remnants Museum, which is meant to document what the Vietnamese considered war crimes committed by the U.S. It was truly shocking to read some of the statements within the museum, but even more horrifying were the pictures of the women and children affected by it. It is an incredibly sad museum, but a must see, and luckily at the end there are some beautiful pictures painted by children, meant to symbolize peace among the world.

To get ourselves in a better mood, we took a lovely stroll through downtown Saigon, enjoying the well-kept parks and delicious food!  With not one day of sunshine during our entire time in Vietnam, it decided to pour from morning till night on our last day there as a final farewell! It definitely made me ready for our $40 flight to Phuket, Thailand!!!!! Despite the dreadful weather, Vietnam was an intense, but worthwhile experience. By the end of it, I was ready to leave but had some great memories there!