hiimashley

Cambodia••Week Three

We caught our bus bright and early out of Bangkok at 8 am, with hopes of arriving in Siem Reap by 5 pm. Already we’re pretty sure that everyone is trying to get an extra dollar out of you at all times. We were unable to get our Cambodian visa ahead of time, but the man that picked us up insisted if we gave him the money (which ended up being double of what we were told to spend) he would take care of everything for us. If I give myself more that a month to plan my trips in the future I will always be sure to check visa requirements. So much easier to send them off to the embassy ahead of time. We decide we’re going to trust the guy because we really have no other choice. We hand him the dough and be disappears from sight. Great. Screwed again. But within five minutes the tiny Thai tour guide was back hearding us to get into the vans to go across the boarder. By far the bumpiest car ride of my life. Why can I not have any tolerance for motion sickness? Thankfully I know myself well enough to bring the proper dosage for every possible ailment. I drugged myself and tried to sleep, only waking when we made pit stops for petrol. Every stop had a different set of snacks for purchase. Meat on a stick (apparently you can get anything on a stick), fruit, and of course cooked bugs. We had to be traded off to another set of tour guides since only Cambodian guides can take you into their country. It’s hard to not feel uneasy when you begin to get passed around too much. Thankfully they were super friendly and the did indeed take care of our visas. Yes! We hopped back on the bus and made the transition over to Poipet, Cambodia.
Not the best first impression. Poipet has casinos, and street children. It was such a difficult place for our arrival. Nothing about that place seemed beautiful to me. No color, no plant life, no beauty. We had to wait almost two hours to be admitted to the country. After the long wait, they separated our group and had us wait for a second bus to catch our ride to Siem Reap. Thirty minutes later we finally arrive at the bus station and we’re told that the bus is full, and our options are: wait anywhere from one to three hours for a bus and then make the five hour drive, or pay extra for a taxi. I was livid. I couldn’t believe it only took Cambodia thirty minutes to screw me. You win this time. On one agreement, we get in the cab if you drop us off at our hotel. Fine, we have an agreement. Not even two minutes down the road, we pick up ANOTHER passenger. This time however it’s a tiny Cambodian man that rides in the front seat WITH our driver. This looks safe. A long two hours later we finally arrived in Siem Reap. A city that is obviously geared towards tourism. Big hotels everywhere you look. Our taxi driver turns down some dark road and tells us to get out. This is how they get you to take a tuk tuk. While yes, they were finding a way to get money out of us, it’s hard to have hard feelings when they were being harmless while trying to make a few bucks.
On a brighter note, Siem Reap Hostel ended up being a wonderful place to stay. Because Alix had some pretty gnarly cuts on her feet from kayaking in Krabi, we decided to take things easy. We met up with a kid named Garret from Utah and hung around the city. Tiffanay and I made it over to the children’s hospital to inquire about giving blood. It’s hard to believe the level of health care that people receive outside of the states. A nurse led us in to speak with an English speaking doctor and right there we saw a very young boy about to go into surgery. After much consideration, we decided for our own health it could be better to donate blood back home.
The next couple of days we spent riding bikes out to Angkor where all the temples are located. In two days we managed to bike over fifty miles. In the heat. And humidity. It was the absolute best way to see them. We hit the all the major temples: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, And Bayon. Along the way we saw a lot of the smaller temples as well. It was absolutely amazing how many of these intricate places of worship were in one concentrated area. It would be amazing to see the cities that once flourished there.
Out side of the temples, Siem Reap has a handful of bars and restaurants that are willing to cater to your western wallet. Most of everyone in the area can speak English and they are generally very friendly. Especially the children. Almost everywhere you go you are bombarded by children trying to sell you something. Bracelets, postcards, knickknacks you’ll never need. And they’re generally out very late after a full day of school with another busy day following it. So heart breaking to see. The kids were generally very friendly and wanted to get to know you. We were able to buy dinner for a couple of them even. I do not give money to beggars. Even the kids that ask for something as simple as milk- it’s a scam. Another traveler informed us that the kids work with the convenience store and have you buy them milk that is marked way up, just to return it to make a few bucks. So scandalous.
Another thing that you couldn’t help but notice- the whole population is so young. After the Khmer Rouge and the reign of Pol Pot, it’s hard to imagine what the Cambodian people have been through. I tried to get a better grasp on on the situation by reading First They Killed My Father. I would highly recommend it to anyone with an interest of the genocide of over two million Cambodians.
After a few days we made moves. Phnom Pen We made it our priority to see the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. To say the least, Cambodia was a very humbling experience for me. For dinner we did my favorite activity in the world: food tour. We walked from our hostel towards the river ready for what ever street vendor we could find. Of course there was meat on a stick, but also tons of corn, sugar cane, and coconut sweets. We found a park in the middle of the city and hung around to people watch. It was so neat to see how many people hang out there. They had some dance lessons or something going on in so many spots. It was almost like line dancing to lame pop music. We finally made our way to the river and watched the most amazing lighting storm next to the river.
Our time together was coming to an end since Tiffanay decided to head to the southern part of Cambodia with Garret, while Alix and I got our visas in order to go to Vietnam. We spent the day wandering Phnom Pen at the central market where they sell everything you can think of: bracelets, suits, fake designer everything, plants, meats, fruit, maybe live animals.. They had it all. We made our way back down to Mekong river. We got to enjoy the sights and sounds of the city, but I wouldn’t say that Phnom Pen is a great place to spend a lot of your time. So we found every happy hour we could. Somehow we found our way back to the hostel, took down a pitcher of margaritas, almost missed our bus, almost forgot our passports, but somehow we figured it all out. What a crazy night. Off to Ho Chi Minh city we go!

# cambodia travel

Posted 3 days ago 1 note
Thailand••week 2 Koh Phangan//Bann Tai Beach The jungle party ended up being so much fun. We rented bikes and peddled our way out there after we doused ourselves in bug spray and drank the local whiskey, Hong Thong. They had one stage with pretty rad house music. It reminded me of a tiny burning man, expect that everyone wears the same tank tops they bought in Bangkok and you get buckets to drink. The rest of our time in Baan Tai we spent wandering around on our peddle bikes trying to take in as much as we could. However, I ended up getting a bit of a head cold and was limited to what I could do. We decided to trade in the bikes and got some motorbikes next. We took the bikes the first day into the jungle trying to find some waterfalls. We were unsuccessful finding them, but we did find an elephant that we got to feed bananas to. And right down the road was a baby monkey that LOVED Alix but might not have cared for Tiff (he might have pooped on her). My favorite place to visit on Koh Phangan ended up being the little beach area called Haad Salad. There we shared a villa with our new friend Yvette. Getting there by motor bike ended up being an adventure all on its own. The morning started off hot with the sun beating down on us, but slowly transformed to clouds with thunder and lighting. Thunder was booming all around us and then in an instant we had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid all of the rain. It was one of the best scooter rides of my life. We got a room at the Haad Salad Villas. The bungalows were clean and pretty inexpensive. The staff was very helpful and so extremely nice. Especially this man by the name of Mark that gave us so many helpful tips. We snorkeled right in front of the villas before the sun went down and got to see some pretty amazing coral. That night we rode our motorbikes back into town to get food from the grocery store. Unbelievably, the food is actually cheaper to buy from a restaurant rather than from the store. Go figure. The next day we got back on our motor bikes to snorkel at Haad Mae Haad. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of fish, I must admit that snorkeling there was phenomenal. We saw such colorful fish and coral. The water is so unbelievably warm, however not as crystal clear as I was hoping. Still we were able to see so much. After working up a huge appetite, we worked our way into town to enjoy some Mexican food. I know, I’m in Thailand. Why am I eating Mexican food. I can only eat noodles for so many meals before I just need something that’s a little bit normal! After playing the worse game of pool ever, we were able to enjoy mojitos and burritos. Woooo! The next day it was time for us to pack up and say farewell to our new travel buddy Yvette who we had so much fun with. We got back to the harbor with a trusty bottle of Hong Thong and made the journey back to the main land. The travel company that we booked our tickets to Krabi might have screwed us a bit. Instead of taking a boat straight to a bus to Krabi, we got stuck over night in Suratthani. We were beyond pissed. A tuk tuk driver took us to stay at a hostel and we dropped our bags and decided to venture off to find some good eats. After some asking around, we were able to stumble upon an awesome night market. Alix and I decided to take a food tour and we ate so many different, but tasty things. The next morning we took the most terrifying bus can ride to Krabi with man who was falling asleep and swerving on the road. After finally making it to our stop, we celebrated life with sandwiches, beer, and Oreos. Next stop, Ao Nang beach. Say that three times fast. Krabi//Ao Nang Total tourist trap of a town. So much of the same souvenirs over and over again. And every 5 feet you’re badgered with the never ending call for “massaaaaage?!”. We stayed at a hostel call the PK Mansion. Terrible. Our room was small, stuffy, and totally infested. First place on the trip to make me miss home. We immediately left our bags and went to find a three person kayak to rent for 4 hours. Holy workout batman. We paddled our way to Railey beach, the lime stone rocks and caves, and out as far as 2 hours can take you. After the best indian dinner in my entire life, we again rented motor bikes for our early morning expedition. At 4:30 am we headed out to the Tiger Cave Temple. While we didn’t meet our goal of watching the sunrise, we did make the climb up all 1,237 stairs to the top of the mountain where you could see so clearly in all directions. Absolutely breathtaking. On the decent down we were even lucky enough to get to play with a family of monkeys. They were way nicer that the monkeys I met in Indonesia. At the very bottom we realized how hungry we were from doing the ultimate set of stair master when a nun walk by carrying a bag of grilled rice on a stick (that’s the best way I can describe it). She must of seen us eyeing her treats because she stopped and insisted we each took one. A few more steps later and we a being fed by a bunch of nuns and volunteers that were preparing a free lunch. Due to broken English we couldn’t figure out why they wanted to feed us, but they insisted we stick around. So warm and welcoming. We spent the remainder of the day scootering around the entire area of Krabi. The massive limestone rocks covered in jungle were so impressive. We ended the day with solar dehydrated bananas and a jungle hike to a waterfall. Needless to say it was action packed. The next morning we decided to pamper ourselves and we finally caved and got a massage right on the beach. Thai people have got food and massages down. We continued our journey back north to Bangkok where we made our arrangements to head to Cambodia. We spent our day wandering about, finding a small market, eating the best falafel pita, drinking and laughing with Canadians, and ended with jazz at a local bar. I’ll miss you Thailand ❤Thailand••week 2 Koh Phangan//Bann Tai Beach The jungle party ended up being so much fun. We rented bikes and peddled our way out there after we doused ourselves in bug spray and drank the local whiskey, Hong Thong. They had one stage with pretty rad house music. It reminded me of a tiny burning man, expect that everyone wears the same tank tops they bought in Bangkok and you get buckets to drink. The rest of our time in Baan Tai we spent wandering around on our peddle bikes trying to take in as much as we could. However, I ended up getting a bit of a head cold and was limited to what I could do. We decided to trade in the bikes and got some motorbikes next. We took the bikes the first day into the jungle trying to find some waterfalls. We were unsuccessful finding them, but we did find an elephant that we got to feed bananas to. And right down the road was a baby monkey that LOVED Alix but might not have cared for Tiff (he might have pooped on her). My favorite place to visit on Koh Phangan ended up being the little beach area called Haad Salad. There we shared a villa with our new friend Yvette. Getting there by motor bike ended up being an adventure all on its own. The morning started off hot with the sun beating down on us, but slowly transformed to clouds with thunder and lighting. Thunder was booming all around us and then in an instant we had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid all of the rain. It was one of the best scooter rides of my life. We got a room at the Haad Salad Villas. The bungalows were clean and pretty inexpensive. The staff was very helpful and so extremely nice. Especially this man by the name of Mark that gave us so many helpful tips. We snorkeled right in front of the villas before the sun went down and got to see some pretty amazing coral. That night we rode our motorbikes back into town to get food from the grocery store. Unbelievably, the food is actually cheaper to buy from a restaurant rather than from the store. Go figure. The next day we got back on our motor bikes to snorkel at Haad Mae Haad. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of fish, I must admit that snorkeling there was phenomenal. We saw such colorful fish and coral. The water is so unbelievably warm, however not as crystal clear as I was hoping. Still we were able to see so much. After working up a huge appetite, we worked our way into town to enjoy some Mexican food. I know, I’m in Thailand. Why am I eating Mexican food. I can only eat noodles for so many meals before I just need something that’s a little bit normal! After playing the worse game of pool ever, we were able to enjoy mojitos and burritos. Woooo! The next day it was time for us to pack up and say farewell to our new travel buddy Yvette who we had so much fun with. We got back to the harbor with a trusty bottle of Hong Thong and made the journey back to the main land. The travel company that we booked our tickets to Krabi might have screwed us a bit. Instead of taking a boat straight to a bus to Krabi, we got stuck over night in Suratthani. We were beyond pissed. A tuk tuk driver took us to stay at a hostel and we dropped our bags and decided to venture off to find some good eats. After some asking around, we were able to stumble upon an awesome night market. Alix and I decided to take a food tour and we ate so many different, but tasty things. The next morning we took the most terrifying bus can ride to Krabi with man who was falling asleep and swerving on the road. After finally making it to our stop, we celebrated life with sandwiches, beer, and Oreos. Next stop, Ao Nang beach. Say that three times fast. Krabi//Ao Nang Total tourist trap of a town. So much of the same souvenirs over and over again. And every 5 feet you’re badgered with the never ending call for “massaaaaage?!”. We stayed at a hostel call the PK Mansion. Terrible. Our room was small, stuffy, and totally infested. First place on the trip to make me miss home. We immediately left our bags and went to find a three person kayak to rent for 4 hours. Holy workout batman. We paddled our way to Railey beach, the lime stone rocks and caves, and out as far as 2 hours can take you. After the best indian dinner in my entire life, we again rented motor bikes for our early morning expedition. At 4:30 am we headed out to the Tiger Cave Temple. While we didn’t meet our goal of watching the sunrise, we did make the climb up all 1,237 stairs to the top of the mountain where you could see so clearly in all directions. Absolutely breathtaking. On the decent down we were even lucky enough to get to play with a family of monkeys. They were way nicer that the monkeys I met in Indonesia. At the very bottom we realized how hungry we were from doing the ultimate set of stair master when a nun walk by carrying a bag of grilled rice on a stick (that’s the best way I can describe it). She must of seen us eyeing her treats because she stopped and insisted we each took one. A few more steps later and we a being fed by a bunch of nuns and volunteers that were preparing a free lunch. Due to broken English we couldn’t figure out why they wanted to feed us, but they insisted we stick around. So warm and welcoming. We spent the remainder of the day scootering around the entire area of Krabi. The massive limestone rocks covered in jungle were so impressive. We ended the day with solar dehydrated bananas and a jungle hike to a waterfall. Needless to say it was action packed. The next morning we decided to pamper ourselves and we finally caved and got a massage right on the beach. Thai people have got food and massages down. We continued our journey back north to Bangkok where we made our arrangements to head to Cambodia. We spent our day wandering about, finding a small market, eating the best falafel pita, drinking and laughing with Canadians, and ended with jazz at a local bar. I’ll miss you Thailand ❤Thailand••week 2 Koh Phangan//Bann Tai Beach The jungle party ended up being so much fun. We rented bikes and peddled our way out there after we doused ourselves in bug spray and drank the local whiskey, Hong Thong. They had one stage with pretty rad house music. It reminded me of a tiny burning man, expect that everyone wears the same tank tops they bought in Bangkok and you get buckets to drink. The rest of our time in Baan Tai we spent wandering around on our peddle bikes trying to take in as much as we could. However, I ended up getting a bit of a head cold and was limited to what I could do. We decided to trade in the bikes and got some motorbikes next. We took the bikes the first day into the jungle trying to find some waterfalls. We were unsuccessful finding them, but we did find an elephant that we got to feed bananas to. And right down the road was a baby monkey that LOVED Alix but might not have cared for Tiff (he might have pooped on her). My favorite place to visit on Koh Phangan ended up being the little beach area called Haad Salad. There we shared a villa with our new friend Yvette. Getting there by motor bike ended up being an adventure all on its own. The morning started off hot with the sun beating down on us, but slowly transformed to clouds with thunder and lighting. Thunder was booming all around us and then in an instant we had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid all of the rain. It was one of the best scooter rides of my life. We got a room at the Haad Salad Villas. The bungalows were clean and pretty inexpensive. The staff was very helpful and so extremely nice. Especially this man by the name of Mark that gave us so many helpful tips. We snorkeled right in front of the villas before the sun went down and got to see some pretty amazing coral. That night we rode our motorbikes back into town to get food from the grocery store. Unbelievably, the food is actually cheaper to buy from a restaurant rather than from the store. Go figure. The next day we got back on our motor bikes to snorkel at Haad Mae Haad. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of fish, I must admit that snorkeling there was phenomenal. We saw such colorful fish and coral. The water is so unbelievably warm, however not as crystal clear as I was hoping. Still we were able to see so much. After working up a huge appetite, we worked our way into town to enjoy some Mexican food. I know, I’m in Thailand. Why am I eating Mexican food. I can only eat noodles for so many meals before I just need something that’s a little bit normal! After playing the worse game of pool ever, we were able to enjoy mojitos and burritos. Woooo! The next day it was time for us to pack up and say farewell to our new travel buddy Yvette who we had so much fun with. We got back to the harbor with a trusty bottle of Hong Thong and made the journey back to the main land. The travel company that we booked our tickets to Krabi might have screwed us a bit. Instead of taking a boat straight to a bus to Krabi, we got stuck over night in Suratthani. We were beyond pissed. A tuk tuk driver took us to stay at a hostel and we dropped our bags and decided to venture off to find some good eats. After some asking around, we were able to stumble upon an awesome night market. Alix and I decided to take a food tour and we ate so many different, but tasty things. The next morning we took the most terrifying bus can ride to Krabi with man who was falling asleep and swerving on the road. After finally making it to our stop, we celebrated life with sandwiches, beer, and Oreos. Next stop, Ao Nang beach. Say that three times fast. Krabi//Ao Nang Total tourist trap of a town. So much of the same souvenirs over and over again. And every 5 feet you’re badgered with the never ending call for “massaaaaage?!”. We stayed at a hostel call the PK Mansion. Terrible. Our room was small, stuffy, and totally infested. First place on the trip to make me miss home. We immediately left our bags and went to find a three person kayak to rent for 4 hours. Holy workout batman. We paddled our way to Railey beach, the lime stone rocks and caves, and out as far as 2 hours can take you. After the best indian dinner in my entire life, we again rented motor bikes for our early morning expedition. At 4:30 am we headed out to the Tiger Cave Temple. While we didn’t meet our goal of watching the sunrise, we did make the climb up all 1,237 stairs to the top of the mountain where you could see so clearly in all directions. Absolutely breathtaking. On the decent down we were even lucky enough to get to play with a family of monkeys. They were way nicer that the monkeys I met in Indonesia. At the very bottom we realized how hungry we were from doing the ultimate set of stair master when a nun walk by carrying a bag of grilled rice on a stick (that’s the best way I can describe it). She must of seen us eyeing her treats because she stopped and insisted we each took one. A few more steps later and we a being fed by a bunch of nuns and volunteers that were preparing a free lunch. Due to broken English we couldn’t figure out why they wanted to feed us, but they insisted we stick around. So warm and welcoming. We spent the remainder of the day scootering around the entire area of Krabi. The massive limestone rocks covered in jungle were so impressive. We ended the day with solar dehydrated bananas and a jungle hike to a waterfall. Needless to say it was action packed. The next morning we decided to pamper ourselves and we finally caved and got a massage right on the beach. Thai people have got food and massages down. We continued our journey back north to Bangkok where we made our arrangements to head to Cambodia. We spent our day wandering about, finding a small market, eating the best falafel pita, drinking and laughing with Canadians, and ended with jazz at a local bar. I’ll miss you Thailand ❤Thailand••week 2 Koh Phangan//Bann Tai Beach The jungle party ended up being so much fun. We rented bikes and peddled our way out there after we doused ourselves in bug spray and drank the local whiskey, Hong Thong. They had one stage with pretty rad house music. It reminded me of a tiny burning man, expect that everyone wears the same tank tops they bought in Bangkok and you get buckets to drink. The rest of our time in Baan Tai we spent wandering around on our peddle bikes trying to take in as much as we could. However, I ended up getting a bit of a head cold and was limited to what I could do. We decided to trade in the bikes and got some motorbikes next. We took the bikes the first day into the jungle trying to find some waterfalls. We were unsuccessful finding them, but we did find an elephant that we got to feed bananas to. And right down the road was a baby monkey that LOVED Alix but might not have cared for Tiff (he might have pooped on her). My favorite place to visit on Koh Phangan ended up being the little beach area called Haad Salad. There we shared a villa with our new friend Yvette. Getting there by motor bike ended up being an adventure all on its own. The morning started off hot with the sun beating down on us, but slowly transformed to clouds with thunder and lighting. Thunder was booming all around us and then in an instant we had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid all of the rain. It was one of the best scooter rides of my life. We got a room at the Haad Salad Villas. The bungalows were clean and pretty inexpensive. The staff was very helpful and so extremely nice. Especially this man by the name of Mark that gave us so many helpful tips. We snorkeled right in front of the villas before the sun went down and got to see some pretty amazing coral. That night we rode our motorbikes back into town to get food from the grocery store. Unbelievably, the food is actually cheaper to buy from a restaurant rather than from the store. Go figure. The next day we got back on our motor bikes to snorkel at Haad Mae Haad. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of fish, I must admit that snorkeling there was phenomenal. We saw such colorful fish and coral. The water is so unbelievably warm, however not as crystal clear as I was hoping. Still we were able to see so much. After working up a huge appetite, we worked our way into town to enjoy some Mexican food. I know, I’m in Thailand. Why am I eating Mexican food. I can only eat noodles for so many meals before I just need something that’s a little bit normal! After playing the worse game of pool ever, we were able to enjoy mojitos and burritos. Woooo! The next day it was time for us to pack up and say farewell to our new travel buddy Yvette who we had so much fun with. We got back to the harbor with a trusty bottle of Hong Thong and made the journey back to the main land. The travel company that we booked our tickets to Krabi might have screwed us a bit. Instead of taking a boat straight to a bus to Krabi, we got stuck over night in Suratthani. We were beyond pissed. A tuk tuk driver took us to stay at a hostel and we dropped our bags and decided to venture off to find some good eats. After some asking around, we were able to stumble upon an awesome night market. Alix and I decided to take a food tour and we ate so many different, but tasty things. The next morning we took the most terrifying bus can ride to Krabi with man who was falling asleep and swerving on the road. After finally making it to our stop, we celebrated life with sandwiches, beer, and Oreos. Next stop, Ao Nang beach. Say that three times fast. Krabi//Ao Nang Total tourist trap of a town. So much of the same souvenirs over and over again. And every 5 feet you’re badgered with the never ending call for “massaaaaage?!”. We stayed at a hostel call the PK Mansion. Terrible. Our room was small, stuffy, and totally infested. First place on the trip to make me miss home. We immediately left our bags and went to find a three person kayak to rent for 4 hours. Holy workout batman. We paddled our way to Railey beach, the lime stone rocks and caves, and out as far as 2 hours can take you. After the best indian dinner in my entire life, we again rented motor bikes for our early morning expedition. At 4:30 am we headed out to the Tiger Cave Temple. While we didn’t meet our goal of watching the sunrise, we did make the climb up all 1,237 stairs to the top of the mountain where you could see so clearly in all directions. Absolutely breathtaking. On the decent down we were even lucky enough to get to play with a family of monkeys. They were way nicer that the monkeys I met in Indonesia. At the very bottom we realized how hungry we were from doing the ultimate set of stair master when a nun walk by carrying a bag of grilled rice on a stick (that’s the best way I can describe it). She must of seen us eyeing her treats because she stopped and insisted we each took one. A few more steps later and we a being fed by a bunch of nuns and volunteers that were preparing a free lunch. Due to broken English we couldn’t figure out why they wanted to feed us, but they insisted we stick around. So warm and welcoming. We spent the remainder of the day scootering around the entire area of Krabi. The massive limestone rocks covered in jungle were so impressive. We ended the day with solar dehydrated bananas and a jungle hike to a waterfall. Needless to say it was action packed. The next morning we decided to pamper ourselves and we finally caved and got a massage right on the beach. Thai people have got food and massages down. We continued our journey back north to Bangkok where we made our arrangements to head to Cambodia. We spent our day wandering about, finding a small market, eating the best falafel pita, drinking and laughing with Canadians, and ended with jazz at a local bar. I’ll miss you Thailand ❤Thailand••week 2 Koh Phangan//Bann Tai Beach The jungle party ended up being so much fun. We rented bikes and peddled our way out there after we doused ourselves in bug spray and drank the local whiskey, Hong Thong. They had one stage with pretty rad house music. It reminded me of a tiny burning man, expect that everyone wears the same tank tops they bought in Bangkok and you get buckets to drink. The rest of our time in Baan Tai we spent wandering around on our peddle bikes trying to take in as much as we could. However, I ended up getting a bit of a head cold and was limited to what I could do. We decided to trade in the bikes and got some motorbikes next. We took the bikes the first day into the jungle trying to find some waterfalls. We were unsuccessful finding them, but we did find an elephant that we got to feed bananas to. And right down the road was a baby monkey that LOVED Alix but might not have cared for Tiff (he might have pooped on her). My favorite place to visit on Koh Phangan ended up being the little beach area called Haad Salad. There we shared a villa with our new friend Yvette. Getting there by motor bike ended up being an adventure all on its own. The morning started off hot with the sun beating down on us, but slowly transformed to clouds with thunder and lighting. Thunder was booming all around us and then in an instant we had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid all of the rain. It was one of the best scooter rides of my life. We got a room at the Haad Salad Villas. The bungalows were clean and pretty inexpensive. The staff was very helpful and so extremely nice. Especially this man by the name of Mark that gave us so many helpful tips. We snorkeled right in front of the villas before the sun went down and got to see some pretty amazing coral. That night we rode our motorbikes back into town to get food from the grocery store. Unbelievably, the food is actually cheaper to buy from a restaurant rather than from the store. Go figure. The next day we got back on our motor bikes to snorkel at Haad Mae Haad. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of fish, I must admit that snorkeling there was phenomenal. We saw such colorful fish and coral. The water is so unbelievably warm, however not as crystal clear as I was hoping. Still we were able to see so much. After working up a huge appetite, we worked our way into town to enjoy some Mexican food. I know, I’m in Thailand. Why am I eating Mexican food. I can only eat noodles for so many meals before I just need something that’s a little bit normal! After playing the worse game of pool ever, we were able to enjoy mojitos and burritos. Woooo! The next day it was time for us to pack up and say farewell to our new travel buddy Yvette who we had so much fun with. We got back to the harbor with a trusty bottle of Hong Thong and made the journey back to the main land. The travel company that we booked our tickets to Krabi might have screwed us a bit. Instead of taking a boat straight to a bus to Krabi, we got stuck over night in Suratthani. We were beyond pissed. A tuk tuk driver took us to stay at a hostel and we dropped our bags and decided to venture off to find some good eats. After some asking around, we were able to stumble upon an awesome night market. Alix and I decided to take a food tour and we ate so many different, but tasty things. The next morning we took the most terrifying bus can ride to Krabi with man who was falling asleep and swerving on the road. After finally making it to our stop, we celebrated life with sandwiches, beer, and Oreos. Next stop, Ao Nang beach. Say that three times fast. Krabi//Ao Nang Total tourist trap of a town. So much of the same souvenirs over and over again. And every 5 feet you’re badgered with the never ending call for “massaaaaage?!”. We stayed at a hostel call the PK Mansion. Terrible. Our room was small, stuffy, and totally infested. First place on the trip to make me miss home. We immediately left our bags and went to find a three person kayak to rent for 4 hours. Holy workout batman. We paddled our way to Railey beach, the lime stone rocks and caves, and out as far as 2 hours can take you. After the best indian dinner in my entire life, we again rented motor bikes for our early morning expedition. At 4:30 am we headed out to the Tiger Cave Temple. While we didn’t meet our goal of watching the sunrise, we did make the climb up all 1,237 stairs to the top of the mountain where you could see so clearly in all directions. Absolutely breathtaking. On the decent down we were even lucky enough to get to play with a family of monkeys. They were way nicer that the monkeys I met in Indonesia. At the very bottom we realized how hungry we were from doing the ultimate set of stair master when a nun walk by carrying a bag of grilled rice on a stick (that’s the best way I can describe it). She must of seen us eyeing her treats because she stopped and insisted we each took one. A few more steps later and we a being fed by a bunch of nuns and volunteers that were preparing a free lunch. Due to broken English we couldn’t figure out why they wanted to feed us, but they insisted we stick around. So warm and welcoming. We spent the remainder of the day scootering around the entire area of Krabi. The massive limestone rocks covered in jungle were so impressive. We ended the day with solar dehydrated bananas and a jungle hike to a waterfall. Needless to say it was action packed. The next morning we decided to pamper ourselves and we finally caved and got a massage right on the beach. Thai people have got food and massages down. We continued our journey back north to Bangkok where we made our arrangements to head to Cambodia. We spent our day wandering about, finding a small market, eating the best falafel pita, drinking and laughing with Canadians, and ended with jazz at a local bar. I’ll miss you Thailand ❤Thailand••week 2 Koh Phangan//Bann Tai Beach The jungle party ended up being so much fun. We rented bikes and peddled our way out there after we doused ourselves in bug spray and drank the local whiskey, Hong Thong. They had one stage with pretty rad house music. It reminded me of a tiny burning man, expect that everyone wears the same tank tops they bought in Bangkok and you get buckets to drink. The rest of our time in Baan Tai we spent wandering around on our peddle bikes trying to take in as much as we could. However, I ended up getting a bit of a head cold and was limited to what I could do. We decided to trade in the bikes and got some motorbikes next. We took the bikes the first day into the jungle trying to find some waterfalls. We were unsuccessful finding them, but we did find an elephant that we got to feed bananas to. And right down the road was a baby monkey that LOVED Alix but might not have cared for Tiff (he might have pooped on her). My favorite place to visit on Koh Phangan ended up being the little beach area called Haad Salad. There we shared a villa with our new friend Yvette. Getting there by motor bike ended up being an adventure all on its own. The morning started off hot with the sun beating down on us, but slowly transformed to clouds with thunder and lighting. Thunder was booming all around us and then in an instant we had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid all of the rain. It was one of the best scooter rides of my life. We got a room at the Haad Salad Villas. The bungalows were clean and pretty inexpensive. The staff was very helpful and so extremely nice. Especially this man by the name of Mark that gave us so many helpful tips. We snorkeled right in front of the villas before the sun went down and got to see some pretty amazing coral. That night we rode our motorbikes back into town to get food from the grocery store. Unbelievably, the food is actually cheaper to buy from a restaurant rather than from the store. Go figure. The next day we got back on our motor bikes to snorkel at Haad Mae Haad. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of fish, I must admit that snorkeling there was phenomenal. We saw such colorful fish and coral. The water is so unbelievably warm, however not as crystal clear as I was hoping. Still we were able to see so much. After working up a huge appetite, we worked our way into town to enjoy some Mexican food. I know, I’m in Thailand. Why am I eating Mexican food. I can only eat noodles for so many meals before I just need something that’s a little bit normal! After playing the worse game of pool ever, we were able to enjoy mojitos and burritos. Woooo! The next day it was time for us to pack up and say farewell to our new travel buddy Yvette who we had so much fun with. We got back to the harbor with a trusty bottle of Hong Thong and made the journey back to the main land. The travel company that we booked our tickets to Krabi might have screwed us a bit. Instead of taking a boat straight to a bus to Krabi, we got stuck over night in Suratthani. We were beyond pissed. A tuk tuk driver took us to stay at a hostel and we dropped our bags and decided to venture off to find some good eats. After some asking around, we were able to stumble upon an awesome night market. Alix and I decided to take a food tour and we ate so many different, but tasty things. The next morning we took the most terrifying bus can ride to Krabi with man who was falling asleep and swerving on the road. After finally making it to our stop, we celebrated life with sandwiches, beer, and Oreos. Next stop, Ao Nang beach. Say that three times fast. Krabi//Ao Nang Total tourist trap of a town. So much of the same souvenirs over and over again. And every 5 feet you’re badgered with the never ending call for “massaaaaage?!”. We stayed at a hostel call the PK Mansion. Terrible. Our room was small, stuffy, and totally infested. First place on the trip to make me miss home. We immediately left our bags and went to find a three person kayak to rent for 4 hours. Holy workout batman. We paddled our way to Railey beach, the lime stone rocks and caves, and out as far as 2 hours can take you. After the best indian dinner in my entire life, we again rented motor bikes for our early morning expedition. At 4:30 am we headed out to the Tiger Cave Temple. While we didn’t meet our goal of watching the sunrise, we did make the climb up all 1,237 stairs to the top of the mountain where you could see so clearly in all directions. Absolutely breathtaking. On the decent down we were even lucky enough to get to play with a family of monkeys. They were way nicer that the monkeys I met in Indonesia. At the very bottom we realized how hungry we were from doing the ultimate set of stair master when a nun walk by carrying a bag of grilled rice on a stick (that’s the best way I can describe it). She must of seen us eyeing her treats because she stopped and insisted we each took one. A few more steps later and we a being fed by a bunch of nuns and volunteers that were preparing a free lunch. Due to broken English we couldn’t figure out why they wanted to feed us, but they insisted we stick around. So warm and welcoming. We spent the remainder of the day scootering around the entire area of Krabi. The massive limestone rocks covered in jungle were so impressive. We ended the day with solar dehydrated bananas and a jungle hike to a waterfall. Needless to say it was action packed. The next morning we decided to pamper ourselves and we finally caved and got a massage right on the beach. Thai people have got food and massages down. We continued our journey back north to Bangkok where we made our arrangements to head to Cambodia. We spent our day wandering about, finding a small market, eating the best falafel pita, drinking and laughing with Canadians, and ended with jazz at a local bar. I’ll miss you Thailand ❤Thailand••week 2 Koh Phangan//Bann Tai Beach The jungle party ended up being so much fun. We rented bikes and peddled our way out there after we doused ourselves in bug spray and drank the local whiskey, Hong Thong. They had one stage with pretty rad house music. It reminded me of a tiny burning man, expect that everyone wears the same tank tops they bought in Bangkok and you get buckets to drink. The rest of our time in Baan Tai we spent wandering around on our peddle bikes trying to take in as much as we could. However, I ended up getting a bit of a head cold and was limited to what I could do. We decided to trade in the bikes and got some motorbikes next. We took the bikes the first day into the jungle trying to find some waterfalls. We were unsuccessful finding them, but we did find an elephant that we got to feed bananas to. And right down the road was a baby monkey that LOVED Alix but might not have cared for Tiff (he might have pooped on her). My favorite place to visit on Koh Phangan ended up being the little beach area called Haad Salad. There we shared a villa with our new friend Yvette. Getting there by motor bike ended up being an adventure all on its own. The morning started off hot with the sun beating down on us, but slowly transformed to clouds with thunder and lighting. Thunder was booming all around us and then in an instant we had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid all of the rain. It was one of the best scooter rides of my life. We got a room at the Haad Salad Villas. The bungalows were clean and pretty inexpensive. The staff was very helpful and so extremely nice. Especially this man by the name of Mark that gave us so many helpful tips. We snorkeled right in front of the villas before the sun went down and got to see some pretty amazing coral. That night we rode our motorbikes back into town to get food from the grocery store. Unbelievably, the food is actually cheaper to buy from a restaurant rather than from the store. Go figure. The next day we got back on our motor bikes to snorkel at Haad Mae Haad. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of fish, I must admit that snorkeling there was phenomenal. We saw such colorful fish and coral. The water is so unbelievably warm, however not as crystal clear as I was hoping. Still we were able to see so much. After working up a huge appetite, we worked our way into town to enjoy some Mexican food. I know, I’m in Thailand. Why am I eating Mexican food. I can only eat noodles for so many meals before I just need something that’s a little bit normal! After playing the worse game of pool ever, we were able to enjoy mojitos and burritos. Woooo! The next day it was time for us to pack up and say farewell to our new travel buddy Yvette who we had so much fun with. We got back to the harbor with a trusty bottle of Hong Thong and made the journey back to the main land. The travel company that we booked our tickets to Krabi might have screwed us a bit. Instead of taking a boat straight to a bus to Krabi, we got stuck over night in Suratthani. We were beyond pissed. A tuk tuk driver took us to stay at a hostel and we dropped our bags and decided to venture off to find some good eats. After some asking around, we were able to stumble upon an awesome night market. Alix and I decided to take a food tour and we ate so many different, but tasty things. The next morning we took the most terrifying bus can ride to Krabi with man who was falling asleep and swerving on the road. After finally making it to our stop, we celebrated life with sandwiches, beer, and Oreos. Next stop, Ao Nang beach. Say that three times fast. Krabi//Ao Nang Total tourist trap of a town. So much of the same souvenirs over and over again. And every 5 feet you’re badgered with the never ending call for “massaaaaage?!”. We stayed at a hostel call the PK Mansion. Terrible. Our room was small, stuffy, and totally infested. First place on the trip to make me miss home. We immediately left our bags and went to find a three person kayak to rent for 4 hours. Holy workout batman. We paddled our way to Railey beach, the lime stone rocks and caves, and out as far as 2 hours can take you. After the best indian dinner in my entire life, we again rented motor bikes for our early morning expedition. At 4:30 am we headed out to the Tiger Cave Temple. While we didn’t meet our goal of watching the sunrise, we did make the climb up all 1,237 stairs to the top of the mountain where you could see so clearly in all directions. Absolutely breathtaking. On the decent down we were even lucky enough to get to play with a family of monkeys. They were way nicer that the monkeys I met in Indonesia. At the very bottom we realized how hungry we were from doing the ultimate set of stair master when a nun walk by carrying a bag of grilled rice on a stick (that’s the best way I can describe it). She must of seen us eyeing her treats because she stopped and insisted we each took one. A few more steps later and we a being fed by a bunch of nuns and volunteers that were preparing a free lunch. Due to broken English we couldn’t figure out why they wanted to feed us, but they insisted we stick around. So warm and welcoming. We spent the remainder of the day scootering around the entire area of Krabi. The massive limestone rocks covered in jungle were so impressive. We ended the day with solar dehydrated bananas and a jungle hike to a waterfall. Needless to say it was action packed. The next morning we decided to pamper ourselves and we finally caved and got a massage right on the beach. Thai people have got food and massages down. We continued our journey back north to Bangkok where we made our arrangements to head to Cambodia. We spent our day wandering about, finding a small market, eating the best falafel pita, drinking and laughing with Canadians, and ended with jazz at a local bar. I’ll miss you Thailand ❤Thailand••week 2 Koh Phangan//Bann Tai Beach The jungle party ended up being so much fun. We rented bikes and peddled our way out there after we doused ourselves in bug spray and drank the local whiskey, Hong Thong. They had one stage with pretty rad house music. It reminded me of a tiny burning man, expect that everyone wears the same tank tops they bought in Bangkok and you get buckets to drink. The rest of our time in Baan Tai we spent wandering around on our peddle bikes trying to take in as much as we could. However, I ended up getting a bit of a head cold and was limited to what I could do. We decided to trade in the bikes and got some motorbikes next. We took the bikes the first day into the jungle trying to find some waterfalls. We were unsuccessful finding them, but we did find an elephant that we got to feed bananas to. And right down the road was a baby monkey that LOVED Alix but might not have cared for Tiff (he might have pooped on her). My favorite place to visit on Koh Phangan ended up being the little beach area called Haad Salad. There we shared a villa with our new friend Yvette. Getting there by motor bike ended up being an adventure all on its own. The morning started off hot with the sun beating down on us, but slowly transformed to clouds with thunder and lighting. Thunder was booming all around us and then in an instant we had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid all of the rain. It was one of the best scooter rides of my life. We got a room at the Haad Salad Villas. The bungalows were clean and pretty inexpensive. The staff was very helpful and so extremely nice. Especially this man by the name of Mark that gave us so many helpful tips. We snorkeled right in front of the villas before the sun went down and got to see some pretty amazing coral. That night we rode our motorbikes back into town to get food from the grocery store. Unbelievably, the food is actually cheaper to buy from a restaurant rather than from the store. Go figure. The next day we got back on our motor bikes to snorkel at Haad Mae Haad. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of fish, I must admit that snorkeling there was phenomenal. We saw such colorful fish and coral. The water is so unbelievably warm, however not as crystal clear as I was hoping. Still we were able to see so much. After working up a huge appetite, we worked our way into town to enjoy some Mexican food. I know, I’m in Thailand. Why am I eating Mexican food. I can only eat noodles for so many meals before I just need something that’s a little bit normal! After playing the worse game of pool ever, we were able to enjoy mojitos and burritos. Woooo! The next day it was time for us to pack up and say farewell to our new travel buddy Yvette who we had so much fun with. We got back to the harbor with a trusty bottle of Hong Thong and made the journey back to the main land. The travel company that we booked our tickets to Krabi might have screwed us a bit. Instead of taking a boat straight to a bus to Krabi, we got stuck over night in Suratthani. We were beyond pissed. A tuk tuk driver took us to stay at a hostel and we dropped our bags and decided to venture off to find some good eats. After some asking around, we were able to stumble upon an awesome night market. Alix and I decided to take a food tour and we ate so many different, but tasty things. The next morning we took the most terrifying bus can ride to Krabi with man who was falling asleep and swerving on the road. After finally making it to our stop, we celebrated life with sandwiches, beer, and Oreos. Next stop, Ao Nang beach. Say that three times fast. Krabi//Ao Nang Total tourist trap of a town. So much of the same souvenirs over and over again. And every 5 feet you’re badgered with the never ending call for “massaaaaage?!”. We stayed at a hostel call the PK Mansion. Terrible. Our room was small, stuffy, and totally infested. First place on the trip to make me miss home. We immediately left our bags and went to find a three person kayak to rent for 4 hours. Holy workout batman. We paddled our way to Railey beach, the lime stone rocks and caves, and out as far as 2 hours can take you. After the best indian dinner in my entire life, we again rented motor bikes for our early morning expedition. At 4:30 am we headed out to the Tiger Cave Temple. While we didn’t meet our goal of watching the sunrise, we did make the climb up all 1,237 stairs to the top of the mountain where you could see so clearly in all directions. Absolutely breathtaking. On the decent down we were even lucky enough to get to play with a family of monkeys. They were way nicer that the monkeys I met in Indonesia. At the very bottom we realized how hungry we were from doing the ultimate set of stair master when a nun walk by carrying a bag of grilled rice on a stick (that’s the best way I can describe it). She must of seen us eyeing her treats because she stopped and insisted we each took one. A few more steps later and we a being fed by a bunch of nuns and volunteers that were preparing a free lunch. Due to broken English we couldn’t figure out why they wanted to feed us, but they insisted we stick around. So warm and welcoming. We spent the remainder of the day scootering around the entire area of Krabi. The massive limestone rocks covered in jungle were so impressive. We ended the day with solar dehydrated bananas and a jungle hike to a waterfall. Needless to say it was action packed. The next morning we decided to pamper ourselves and we finally caved and got a massage right on the beach. Thai people have got food and massages down. We continued our journey back north to Bangkok where we made our arrangements to head to Cambodia. We spent our day wandering about, finding a small market, eating the best falafel pita, drinking and laughing with Canadians, and ended with jazz at a local bar. I’ll miss you Thailand ❤Thailand••week 2 Koh Phangan//Bann Tai Beach The jungle party ended up being so much fun. We rented bikes and peddled our way out there after we doused ourselves in bug spray and drank the local whiskey, Hong Thong. They had one stage with pretty rad house music. It reminded me of a tiny burning man, expect that everyone wears the same tank tops they bought in Bangkok and you get buckets to drink. The rest of our time in Baan Tai we spent wandering around on our peddle bikes trying to take in as much as we could. However, I ended up getting a bit of a head cold and was limited to what I could do. We decided to trade in the bikes and got some motorbikes next. We took the bikes the first day into the jungle trying to find some waterfalls. We were unsuccessful finding them, but we did find an elephant that we got to feed bananas to. And right down the road was a baby monkey that LOVED Alix but might not have cared for Tiff (he might have pooped on her). My favorite place to visit on Koh Phangan ended up being the little beach area called Haad Salad. There we shared a villa with our new friend Yvette. Getting there by motor bike ended up being an adventure all on its own. The morning started off hot with the sun beating down on us, but slowly transformed to clouds with thunder and lighting. Thunder was booming all around us and then in an instant we had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid all of the rain. It was one of the best scooter rides of my life. We got a room at the Haad Salad Villas. The bungalows were clean and pretty inexpensive. The staff was very helpful and so extremely nice. Especially this man by the name of Mark that gave us so many helpful tips. We snorkeled right in front of the villas before the sun went down and got to see some pretty amazing coral. That night we rode our motorbikes back into town to get food from the grocery store. Unbelievably, the food is actually cheaper to buy from a restaurant rather than from the store. Go figure. The next day we got back on our motor bikes to snorkel at Haad Mae Haad. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of fish, I must admit that snorkeling there was phenomenal. We saw such colorful fish and coral. The water is so unbelievably warm, however not as crystal clear as I was hoping. Still we were able to see so much. After working up a huge appetite, we worked our way into town to enjoy some Mexican food. I know, I’m in Thailand. Why am I eating Mexican food. I can only eat noodles for so many meals before I just need something that’s a little bit normal! After playing the worse game of pool ever, we were able to enjoy mojitos and burritos. Woooo! The next day it was time for us to pack up and say farewell to our new travel buddy Yvette who we had so much fun with. We got back to the harbor with a trusty bottle of Hong Thong and made the journey back to the main land. The travel company that we booked our tickets to Krabi might have screwed us a bit. Instead of taking a boat straight to a bus to Krabi, we got stuck over night in Suratthani. We were beyond pissed. A tuk tuk driver took us to stay at a hostel and we dropped our bags and decided to venture off to find some good eats. After some asking around, we were able to stumble upon an awesome night market. Alix and I decided to take a food tour and we ate so many different, but tasty things. The next morning we took the most terrifying bus can ride to Krabi with man who was falling asleep and swerving on the road. After finally making it to our stop, we celebrated life with sandwiches, beer, and Oreos. Next stop, Ao Nang beach. Say that three times fast. Krabi//Ao Nang Total tourist trap of a town. So much of the same souvenirs over and over again. And every 5 feet you’re badgered with the never ending call for “massaaaaage?!”. We stayed at a hostel call the PK Mansion. Terrible. Our room was small, stuffy, and totally infested. First place on the trip to make me miss home. We immediately left our bags and went to find a three person kayak to rent for 4 hours. Holy workout batman. We paddled our way to Railey beach, the lime stone rocks and caves, and out as far as 2 hours can take you. After the best indian dinner in my entire life, we again rented motor bikes for our early morning expedition. At 4:30 am we headed out to the Tiger Cave Temple. While we didn’t meet our goal of watching the sunrise, we did make the climb up all 1,237 stairs to the top of the mountain where you could see so clearly in all directions. Absolutely breathtaking. On the decent down we were even lucky enough to get to play with a family of monkeys. They were way nicer that the monkeys I met in Indonesia. At the very bottom we realized how hungry we were from doing the ultimate set of stair master when a nun walk by carrying a bag of grilled rice on a stick (that’s the best way I can describe it). She must of seen us eyeing her treats because she stopped and insisted we each took one. A few more steps later and we a being fed by a bunch of nuns and volunteers that were preparing a free lunch. Due to broken English we couldn’t figure out why they wanted to feed us, but they insisted we stick around. So warm and welcoming. We spent the remainder of the day scootering around the entire area of Krabi. The massive limestone rocks covered in jungle were so impressive. We ended the day with solar dehydrated bananas and a jungle hike to a waterfall. Needless to say it was action packed. The next morning we decided to pamper ourselves and we finally caved and got a massage right on the beach. Thai people have got food and massages down. We continued our journey back north to Bangkok where we made our arrangements to head to Cambodia. We spent our day wandering about, finding a small market, eating the best falafel pita, drinking and laughing with Canadians, and ended with jazz at a local bar. I’ll miss you Thailand ❤Thailand••week 2 Koh Phangan//Bann Tai Beach The jungle party ended up being so much fun. We rented bikes and peddled our way out there after we doused ourselves in bug spray and drank the local whiskey, Hong Thong. They had one stage with pretty rad house music. It reminded me of a tiny burning man, expect that everyone wears the same tank tops they bought in Bangkok and you get buckets to drink. The rest of our time in Baan Tai we spent wandering around on our peddle bikes trying to take in as much as we could. However, I ended up getting a bit of a head cold and was limited to what I could do. We decided to trade in the bikes and got some motorbikes next. We took the bikes the first day into the jungle trying to find some waterfalls. We were unsuccessful finding them, but we did find an elephant that we got to feed bananas to. And right down the road was a baby monkey that LOVED Alix but might not have cared for Tiff (he might have pooped on her). My favorite place to visit on Koh Phangan ended up being the little beach area called Haad Salad. There we shared a villa with our new friend Yvette. Getting there by motor bike ended up being an adventure all on its own. The morning started off hot with the sun beating down on us, but slowly transformed to clouds with thunder and lighting. Thunder was booming all around us and then in an instant we had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid all of the rain. It was one of the best scooter rides of my life. We got a room at the Haad Salad Villas. The bungalows were clean and pretty inexpensive. The staff was very helpful and so extremely nice. Especially this man by the name of Mark that gave us so many helpful tips. We snorkeled right in front of the villas before the sun went down and got to see some pretty amazing coral. That night we rode our motorbikes back into town to get food from the grocery store. Unbelievably, the food is actually cheaper to buy from a restaurant rather than from the store. Go figure. The next day we got back on our motor bikes to snorkel at Haad Mae Haad. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of fish, I must admit that snorkeling there was phenomenal. We saw such colorful fish and coral. The water is so unbelievably warm, however not as crystal clear as I was hoping. Still we were able to see so much. After working up a huge appetite, we worked our way into town to enjoy some Mexican food. I know, I’m in Thailand. Why am I eating Mexican food. I can only eat noodles for so many meals before I just need something that’s a little bit normal! After playing the worse game of pool ever, we were able to enjoy mojitos and burritos. Woooo! The next day it was time for us to pack up and say farewell to our new travel buddy Yvette who we had so much fun with. We got back to the harbor with a trusty bottle of Hong Thong and made the journey back to the main land. The travel company that we booked our tickets to Krabi might have screwed us a bit. Instead of taking a boat straight to a bus to Krabi, we got stuck over night in Suratthani. We were beyond pissed. A tuk tuk driver took us to stay at a hostel and we dropped our bags and decided to venture off to find some good eats. After some asking around, we were able to stumble upon an awesome night market. Alix and I decided to take a food tour and we ate so many different, but tasty things. The next morning we took the most terrifying bus can ride to Krabi with man who was falling asleep and swerving on the road. After finally making it to our stop, we celebrated life with sandwiches, beer, and Oreos. Next stop, Ao Nang beach. Say that three times fast. Krabi//Ao Nang Total tourist trap of a town. So much of the same souvenirs over and over again. And every 5 feet you’re badgered with the never ending call for “massaaaaage?!”. We stayed at a hostel call the PK Mansion. Terrible. Our room was small, stuffy, and totally infested. First place on the trip to make me miss home. We immediately left our bags and went to find a three person kayak to rent for 4 hours. Holy workout batman. We paddled our way to Railey beach, the lime stone rocks and caves, and out as far as 2 hours can take you. After the best indian dinner in my entire life, we again rented motor bikes for our early morning expedition. At 4:30 am we headed out to the Tiger Cave Temple. While we didn’t meet our goal of watching the sunrise, we did make the climb up all 1,237 stairs to the top of the mountain where you could see so clearly in all directions. Absolutely breathtaking. On the decent down we were even lucky enough to get to play with a family of monkeys. They were way nicer that the monkeys I met in Indonesia. At the very bottom we realized how hungry we were from doing the ultimate set of stair master when a nun walk by carrying a bag of grilled rice on a stick (that’s the best way I can describe it). She must of seen us eyeing her treats because she stopped and insisted we each took one. A few more steps later and we a being fed by a bunch of nuns and volunteers that were preparing a free lunch. Due to broken English we couldn’t figure out why they wanted to feed us, but they insisted we stick around. So warm and welcoming. We spent the remainder of the day scootering around the entire area of Krabi. The massive limestone rocks covered in jungle were so impressive. We ended the day with solar dehydrated bananas and a jungle hike to a waterfall. Needless to say it was action packed. The next morning we decided to pamper ourselves and we finally caved and got a massage right on the beach. Thai people have got food and massages down. We continued our journey back north to Bangkok where we made our arrangements to head to Cambodia. We spent our day wandering about, finding a small market, eating the best falafel pita, drinking and laughing with Canadians, and ended with jazz at a local bar. I’ll miss you Thailand ❤

Thailand••week 2
Koh Phangan//Bann Tai Beach
The jungle party ended up being so much fun. We rented bikes and peddled our way out there after we doused ourselves in bug spray and drank the local whiskey, Hong Thong. They had one stage with pretty rad house music. It reminded me of a tiny burning man, expect that everyone wears the same tank tops they bought in Bangkok and you get buckets to drink.
The rest of our time in Baan Tai we spent wandering around on our peddle bikes trying to take in as much as we could. However, I ended up getting a bit of a head cold and was limited to what I could do. We decided to trade in the bikes and got some motorbikes next. We took the bikes the first day into the jungle trying to find some waterfalls. We were unsuccessful finding them, but we did find an elephant that we got to feed bananas to. And right down the road was a baby monkey that LOVED Alix but might not have cared for Tiff (he might have pooped on her).
My favorite place to visit on Koh Phangan ended up being the little beach area called Haad Salad. There we shared a villa with our new friend Yvette. Getting there by motor bike ended up being an adventure all on its own. The morning started off hot with the sun beating down on us, but slowly transformed to clouds with thunder and lighting. Thunder was booming all around us and then in an instant we had to pull over to the side of the road to avoid all of the rain. It was one of the best scooter rides of my life.
We got a room at the Haad Salad Villas. The bungalows were clean and pretty inexpensive. The staff was very helpful and so extremely nice. Especially this man by the name of Mark that gave us so many helpful tips. We snorkeled right in front of the villas before the sun went down and got to see some pretty amazing coral. That night we rode our motorbikes back into town to get food from the grocery store. Unbelievably, the food is actually cheaper to buy from a restaurant rather than from the store. Go figure.
The next day we got back on our motor bikes to snorkel at Haad Mae Haad. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of fish, I must admit that snorkeling there was phenomenal. We saw such colorful fish and coral. The water is so unbelievably warm, however not as crystal clear as I was hoping. Still we were able to see so much. After working up a huge appetite, we worked our way into town to enjoy some Mexican food. I know, I’m in Thailand. Why am I eating Mexican food. I can only eat noodles for so many meals before I just need something that’s a little bit normal! After playing the worse game of pool ever, we were able to enjoy mojitos and burritos. Woooo!
The next day it was time for us to pack up and say farewell to our new travel buddy Yvette who we had so much fun with. We got back to the harbor with a trusty bottle of Hong Thong and made the journey back to the main land. The travel company that we booked our tickets to Krabi might have screwed us a bit. Instead of taking a boat straight to a bus to Krabi, we got stuck over night in Suratthani. We were beyond pissed. A tuk tuk driver took us to stay at a hostel and we dropped our bags and decided to venture off to find some good eats. After some asking around, we were able to stumble upon an awesome night market. Alix and I decided to take a food tour and we ate so many different, but tasty things. The next morning we took the most terrifying bus can ride to Krabi with man who was falling asleep and swerving on the road. After finally making it to our stop, we celebrated life with sandwiches, beer, and Oreos. Next stop, Ao Nang beach. Say that three times fast.
Krabi//Ao Nang
Total tourist trap of a town. So much of the same souvenirs over and over again. And every 5 feet you’re badgered with the never ending call for “massaaaaage?!”. We stayed at a hostel call the PK Mansion. Terrible. Our room was small, stuffy, and totally infested. First place on the trip to make me miss home. We immediately left our bags and went to find a three person kayak to rent for 4 hours. Holy workout batman. We paddled our way to Railey beach, the lime stone rocks and caves, and out as far as 2 hours can take you.

After the best indian dinner in my entire life, we again rented motor bikes for our early morning expedition. At 4:30 am we headed out to the Tiger Cave Temple. While we didn’t meet our goal of watching the sunrise, we did make the climb up all 1,237 stairs to the top of the mountain where you could see so clearly in all directions. Absolutely breathtaking. On the decent down we were even lucky enough to get to play with a family of monkeys. They were way nicer that the monkeys I met in Indonesia. At the very bottom we realized how hungry we were from doing the ultimate set of stair master when a nun walk by carrying a bag of grilled rice on a stick (that’s the best way I can describe it). She must of seen us eyeing her treats because she stopped and insisted we each took one. A few more steps later and we a being fed by a bunch of nuns and volunteers that were preparing a free lunch. Due to broken English we couldn’t figure out why they wanted to feed us, but they insisted we stick around. So warm and welcoming. We spent the remainder of the day scootering around the entire area of Krabi. The massive limestone rocks covered in jungle were so impressive. We ended the day with solar dehydrated bananas and a jungle hike to a waterfall. Needless to say it was action packed.
The next morning we decided to pamper ourselves and we finally caved and got a massage right on the beach. Thai people have got food and massages down. We continued our journey back north to Bangkok where we made our arrangements to head to Cambodia. We spent our day wandering about, finding a small market, eating the best falafel pita, drinking and laughing with Canadians, and ended with jazz at a local bar. I’ll miss you Thailand ❤

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