Koh Tao

Last night for my birthday dinner we had a nice dinner by the beach. I got a little cake with a candle. After that we headed down to the beach and watched a fire twirling show. 

This morning we headed off on a snorkeling trip around the island. We snorkeled at four different sites around the island, and then stopped at a small island for a couple hours. The snorkeling was decent, not a ton of fish, but I did see a small black tip reef shark which was cool. At one of the sites there were all these little things stinging you everywhere, you couldn't event see them but it felt like swimming through a field of really small jellyfish. 

On the island, it was really hot, so I just laid in the shallow water and let the water cool me off. I'll probably be washing sand out of my hair for a week now, but it was lovely.

Tomorrow we are spending the day in Koh Tao until 2pm, then ferrying back to the mainland and another overnight train back to Bangkok. We'll arrive in Bangkok in the early morning, and I'll have all day in limbo until my flight leaves Bangkok at just about midnight. 

So I won't have much more excitement to share...but thanks for following along on this little journey. 

I am excited to return home and celebrate my birthday again. 

25 in Koh Tao

Turned 25 today. Left koh samui, travelled to koh Tao. Got a $10, 1 hour Thai massage. The best, most amazing massage. We are headed out to a group dinner shortly. I'll write a longer message tomorrow. Love to you all!

Bunchai the elephant

(Sidenote - I realize the animals kept for these tourist photo sessions are drugged, chained, and not treated the way animals should be. They are stunning, amazing creatures that I much prefer seeing in the wild...and I am torn about getting my photos with them.)

We arrived in Koh Samui yesterday afternoon late in the day. We checked out the beach, had a cocktail on the beach, and had a group dinner. The rest of the group went out clubbing until the wee hours of the morning, but I would much rather be able to get up for my morning excursion to see the elephants, so I had an early night. 

Before riding the elephants, there were photo opportunities with tigers and other wild animals. I know this is available many other places in Thailand and is the subject of hot debate due to the standard of living for the animals. It was quite amazing sitting next to and petting such a huge, amazing animal - but sad at the same time, since you know this is not how it is meant to be. 

After that we headed up onto our elephants. Before boarding, I got a little visit from a darling little ellie who stuck his trunk up to say hello. Most of the ride was in a little seat that sits on top of the elephant, however they do get you to slide down on to the back of the elephant head to ride for a bit. Beautiful big guys, with rough, tough elephant skin. Overall a much smoother, more peaceful ride than a camel or a donkey. 

The rest of the day I spent walking on the beach, swimming in the hotel pool, browsing in some of the shops, and trying to not get too sunburned. The sand on the beach is made up of lots of broken shells, so walking the beach is quite exfoliating. The souvenir shopping is quite dismal. Everything seems to be cheap and tacky, knock off t shirts of American brand names etc. haven't been able to find a nice Thailand t shirt for dads collection yet! 

Dinner was a cocktail on the beach, with a margarita pizza.

Tomorrow will be my birthday here, we are headed over to Koh Tao. So we'll see what adventures that brings. 

Khao Sok National Park

Things have greatly improved since I last posted, that was definitely the low - thanks for your comments. The rest of the day in Bangkok I spent with my roommate Babette. We had lunch, went to the supermarket, and went to the royal palace by tuk tuk. Our group met back at the hotel at 4 to walk to the train station. Around 5 we boarded our overnight train. Each train carriage is lined with bunks on either side. So there are uppers and lowers running down both sides. Originally the lower bunks are your seats, and around 8 they came along to make up the beds. My roommate wanted the lower bunk, so I had the upper, which was fine except for the fear of rolling over the edge. I didn't however, and managed a pretty good sleep. The bunk was just long enough for me, so I don't know how Cody would of fit!

I was awake about 4, as I knew that was when we were supposed to be arriving. The train was a bit late through and we didn't arrive until about 5:30am. We got off the train and went to have breakfast. 
From there we got on a schoolbus style bus - which had very small seats. I could barely fit my legs in the seat, so I don't know how tall people manage. From there we drove about 1 hour 30 minutes to a beautiful lake. There we set off on a longboat across the lake. It was absolutely stunning. The lake was perfectly calm and limestone cliffs rose out from everywhere. It was beautiful. We spent a couple of hours swimming in the lake, kayaking around, eating (I am so sick of rice already), and lounging about. I was a beautiful spot. From there we had a visit with some monkeys, and then headed to our accommodations. It is beautiful. They are beautiful little cabanas up on a hill overlooking the river below with beautiful decks and French doors. I love it. If it had an upstairs loft studio I could live here. Just perfect.

After checking in, we headed out on tubes down the river. It was so much fun. In the picture of my feet from the tube, the middle bungalow on the hill is mine for the evening. 

We are meeting shortly to head out for dinner and then tomorrow we make our way to koh samui. 
Love you all! Wish you were!

Taking a day of rest

Yesterday afternoon I had a nap before our group meeting and woke up feeling hot and exhausted. I managed to get myself up and to the meeting, and out for a group dinner.
The rest of the evening was spent lying on the bathroom floor, sweat soaked through my clothes, feeling very far from home.
I slept for about 12 hours and this morning decided to take it easy and do nothing to get my strength back. I am feeling quite a bit better now.
I met our group last night. We are 16 (the maximum). Most of the group have already been traveling together in northern Thailand for the past week. They are all pretty young...I am one of the oldest. So I'm a little nervous about that!
Today I am just going to take it easy and relax until it is time to head out on our night train. I'm eager to get out of Bangkok and down south!

Bangkok

After 25 hours of traveling (including a 10 hour flight with a toddler that wouldn't stop squealing) I've arrived in Bangkok. I got to my hotel at about midnight last night, tried to sleep for a few hours, then was up early. The breakfast is pretty blah, but I had some toast and headed out on a morning temple tour of Bangkok. 

I'm not much for temples and churches, but this was just enough. I enjoyed all the Buddha statues, and beautiful Asian designs. Most of the temple doors were huge clack panels, with beautiful gold designs (above). They were stunning. 

We went to three temples, including one with the gold Buddha (below, made from solid gold), and the reclining Buddha, which is so big you can't even get a photo. Really great day trip, until it ended at a gem factory. Super fancy jewelry store, with about 900 million sales people trying to show you around, so I bee lined through there, and back to my hotel. I hung out at the pool for a bit, and now I'm waiting for our group meet up. I've met my roommate, Babette from the Netherlands, and she's been traveling in northern Thailand for the past week along with some of the other people that will be continuing on our tour. 

It is stifling hot out, and Bangkok is a big, hectic city with way too much traffic. I'm looking forward to heading south tomorrow afternoon when we board our night train! 

Off to Thailand!

 

It's time for another adventure!

 

I'm off to Thailand to see a little bit of Asia. After Asia, Antarctica is my last continent!

You can click on the map (to the right) to go to gadventures.com and directly to the tour that I'm taking. Here's a brief itinerary.

 

Saturday June 22: Travel via Vancouver and Tokyo

Sunday June 23: Arrive into Bangkok late

Monday June 24:Free day in Bangkok

Tuesday June 25: Most of the day in Bangkok before boarding an overnight train

Wednesday June 26: Arrive in Khao Sok National Park. Get out and explore the natural beauty of the area. Opt to go hiking or swimming in Khao Sok National Park.

Thursday June 27: Travel to Koh Samui

Friday June 28: Free day in Koh Samui -

Saturday June 29: My Birthday! Travel to Koh Tao

Sunday June 30: Free day in Koh Tao

Monday July 1: Leave Koh Tao in the afternoon for an overnight journey to Bangkok

Tuesday July 2: Arrive Bangkok in the morning, and depart Bangkok in the evening.

Wednesday July 3: Travel via Tokyo and Vancouver and arrive back home

 

As always, I love your comments! Thanks for following along on my journey!

 

Now off to pack my bags!