Bali & Gili T

Flew down to Bali from Phuket...by way of Bangkok. Overnight at the Bangkok airport was rough - the AC was pumping and it was so cold I had to walk around and have hot tea instead of getting any sleep. Stayed for 2 nights in Kuta - pretty hectic with lots of tourists. Also stayed in the worst room yet our first night...I think there was poo smeared on the wall. Nasty! Also the fan was busted so only blew on Jesse's bed. Rough night!

Took the fast boat to Gili Trawangan - a beautiful little island off of Lombak. There are no cars, motos or dogs on the island - only carriages driven by mini Balinese ponies! So funny. And bicycles. I took a bike around the perimeter of the island one day, took about 45 minutes. We went out for a snorkeling trip on a glass bottom boat, pretty cool. We saw massive sea turtles, they were amazing & slow moving in the water. Also saw the coolest huge purple star fish, some massive clams, tons of fish and a few lobsters too. The colors of the fish are borderline cheesy with all the day glow!

Just arrived in Ubud today in Bali. Took 2 slow boats & 2 van rides to get here but we made it. Staying at a guesthouse that looks out over rice paddies. Michael Franti is here so we are going to see a concert tomorrow night & celebrate our last night in SE Asia. The last 7 weeks have flown by and we have met so many great new friends along the way! Sad to leave but very excited for Spain too.

Phi Phi

What a beautiful island!

Dramatic scenery = limestone cliffs into blue green sea.
Did a snorkeling trip yesterday. Went to a bunch of spots, including the beach from "The Beach" - I haven't seen the movie but the location is sick!

The tsunami hit Phi Phi hard. We hung out at the beach near the Tsunami Memorial - so sad to see the photos and notes left by loved ones. Unreal to imagine such tragedy hitting such a beautiful and peaceful spot.

This morning I hiked up the the Viewpoint by our resort. I figured I would do it in the morning before it got too hot...still a sweaty situation though! Worth the effort - the view is incredible.
Today is our last day in Thailand before heading to Bali. Sad to leave and can not believe how quickly time is passing.

night boat to Ko Phi Phi

Arrived in Ko Phi Phi today via night boat, bus and ferry. Adventurous journey if there ever was one...
On the 15th we booked the night boat. At about 5pm the most serious rain I have seen in SE Asia started up and did not let down for a good hour. Jesse and I had our last supper with new friends and headed out in a cab to the pier (while our bags sat in the back of the pick-up and endured light rain). When we arrived to get on the boat we were informed that it was SOLD OUT! Our "tickets" were no good. Had to return to the resort and get another room (at a discount at least). Went down the beach to find our friends and have a energetic reunion! Taught them our game "Dance Horse" - which is like the basketball game Horse but with dance moves. It is catching on around the world!

Big night, anther day chilling at the beach. Another last supper and anther pick-up taxi ride to the pier. AGAIN they say sold out....unless we want to sleep on the deck. Without many other options we agreed. Slept under the stars with 14 other people for 8 hours. Then on mainland we waited for a hour of pain from 5-6am for our bus. Was ready to pass out when they started the movie, Twilight. I got completely sucked in and did not sleep for a minute! Whoops.
Then waited for another hour in Krabi before jumping on another ferry to Ko Phi Phi.

Finally arrived at 11am this morning! This place really is amazingly beautiful, will post some pics when I remember to bring my camera. Tomorrow we are going to do a scuba trip around the island including lunch and sunset...nice!

Also did not realize that today is St Patrick's Day - as if anyone around here needs extra reason to celebrate. It is so hot, just went to the beach and could not even handle it. Seeking shade for a few hours now... checking out the night life later.

ko tao

We had a rough time finding accommodations in Ko Tao - seems everyone who hit the full moon party headed over here afterwords. We walked around sweating in the hot sun for about an hour before heading off to a less popular part of the island. Eventually found a place called JP Resort. Met some new friends and having a great time chilling by the sea.

Yesterday we went on a snorkeling trip around Ko Tao.
Saw lots of cool fish and coral... my underwater camera stopped working after the first dive unfortunately, but still got a few shots.

Beautiful day - our boat set off at 9am and we returned at 5pm. Long day on the boat - was good about sun protection but forgot the backs of my legs and butt. Pretty serious burn!
Had intentions to get my scuba certification but now running short on time, will have to wait for another time.

Tonight Jesse and I are taking the night boat/bus to get to Krabi. Should be interesting and potentially painful to sit on my burnt butt for so long! We are trying to get to Ko Phi Phi in the next few days. Have heard from more than a few people that it is the most beautiful place on earth - we'll see!

made it to the beaches

Jesse and I flew down to Ko Samui from Chiang Mai. 

So nice to be at the beach! We went to the full moon party 2 nights ago- insanity! 

ฉฟืงะ เำะ นีะ นด ธ้ฟรน นื ะ้ำ แนทยีะำพ

3 day trek

The 3 day trek was everything I hoped it would be. We met at 7:15 in the morning for breakfast before heading out. Tee was our guide and there were 6 of us on the trip: Bhern and Bianca from Germany, Pekka from Finland, Thomas from Austria, Jesse and me. Started the first day with a ride in the back of a pickup for 3 hours to the starting point for the trek. Made one stop at a market to get fresh fruits/veggies. The actual trekking was challenging and beautiful. The first night we reached a village of Karen tribes people after a 4 hour walk - the last hour was uphill in the sun, pretty rough! When we reached the village we met the shaman and his wife and learned a bit more about Karen culture. The village boys were playing soccer on a cement court and the guys joined in, good times!

The first night we slept in the hut of one of Tee's best friends. We sat in the kitchen room of the hut while dinner was cooked - there were over 15 of us in a small room with the fire going and people smoking tobacco. They also cooked a mouse over the fire...I did not try it but some others did. Our dinner was delicious green curry and rice. We also shared some of their local rice whisky. After dinner we played with the local children who loved to take pictures with our digital cameras, sing songs (jingle bells was their favorite) and the little girls french braided our hair. I got a radical side braid that wrapped around my whole head.

Slept on the bamboo floor in a sleeping bag = not the most comfortable spot ever.... the 4am rooster wake up was unbelievable! There were at least 2 roosters who sat under the house (about 5 feet max from our heads) and cock-a-doodle-doo-ed every 10 minutes for the remainder of the morning. Rough!

I woke the second day to find the village children watching us sleep and waiting for us to wake up and play with them. I was the first up so we hung out and they took some pictures with my camera. Our walk was shorter and flat the second day - ending at a bamboo hut on the river. 6 trekkers and 10 guides slept in the hut. They cooked amazing stir fry and killed 2 chicken by wrapping their necks around each other...intense! We played a massive game of Uno with all of the Karen guys. Then another night sleeping on the bamboo floor.

Day three was the coolest trekking - crossing a river back and forth. We saw Gibbon in the trees! They are like monkeys...but not called monkeys according to Tee. They live in groups of 3 and moved so fast through the trees. Awesome. Made it to a limestone bat cave & walked through in the water, bamboo torches lighting the way. At the end of the cave there was a spot in the river where a few men went fishing, literally diving under rocks and catching fish by hand. Amazing.

Made it to the village and had another yummy lunch of noodles wrapped in banana leaves with bamboo chop sticks carved by hand at the camp.

An amazing experience - made great new friends and learned so much.

Weird things I did not eat: mouse, little bird

Weird things I did eat: chicken balls, chicken feet, ants + ant eggs

Chiang Mai

I am feeling SO much better!! Relieved and glad the sickness is behind me. Jesse and I flew from Saigon to Chiang Mai a few days ago. It is really nice to be in a smaller city after hectic HCMC and Phnom Penh.

Today we took a cooking class which was hilarious. The instructor spoke in a mono-tone voice the whole time & was pretty funny. First we went to the market to pick up fresh ingredients. Then we cooked! I made Green Curry, Stir-fried Chicken with Basil, Pad Thai Noodles, Hot & Sour Prawn soup and Spicy Glass Noodle Salad. We also ate everything we made so now I am stuffed! Took some of the glass noodle salad to eat for dinner b/c I could not finish it.

Tomorrow we are heading out on a 3 day/2 night trek. We will be staying with a hill tribe family for the first night & camping the second night. I am very excited - the guide we are using seems really legit, a true eco-trek instead of a touristy experience. The guide's name is Tee but I keep calling him Pee by accident. And the company he works for is Pooh! haha

progress is good

Saw a doctor this morning and the progress is good!
She said I am OK to travel, which is awesome.

Had my 3rd x-rays which looked a lot better than the others. Still not 100% clear but the doctor said that is to be expected. A radiologist will look at the x-rays tonight and write up the official report - I am heading back tomorrow morning to pick up the report and then should be free to travel.

The next question is - where to?
Jesse just got back from the beach about 10 minutes ago so we are going to discuss over dinner.
Not much time left now - might have to cut out Laos or some of Thailand.