i'm on a boat

and i so wish i could get OFF the boat. forreals.

i think i spent a total of 6hrs on a boat yesterday. and i'm not talkin' nice, stable cruiseships. the boats we were on completely rocked sideways, which gave me motion sickness that lasted over a whole day. when i got in the shower, i was literally swaying side to side while shampooing my hair, just so i didn't have to resist the residual motion sickness.

it was a great day yesterday, though. we are nearing our stay in thailand (thank god). at first, we didn't expect to be in one country for this long- today marks our 16th day here. we just sort of started island hopping, going from one place to another, following dive sites and in search for The Perfect Beach. honestly, most of the beaches in thailand are pretty nice, but it's not all i've imagined it to be.

so imagine our excitement when we finally trekked (and boy, did we trek, i'll get to that in a min) to find The Beach (as leo did in the movie, The Beach) that met and exceeded our expectations...

we were getting our advanced diving certification in koh phi phi (pee pee, not fee fee) island. after going through multiple brochures, we decided on booking a sunset cruise tour around the island, which included a stop at the famed maya bay (The Beach location). our new friends kim and ali have told us something about jumping off a boat to walk over to the beach, since boats weren't allowed there. but i dismissed their story to the fact they were taking a small longtail boat, which is cheaper/crummier. i thought, we're paying a lot more to go on a real double decker boat. it must be different for us.

well, it wasn't. it was exactly that they told us. we had to jump off our boat to swim to the shore. then we had to climb up this ladder, then climb back down on the other side of the mountain wall. after a short trail in the jungle (with SANDSTORMS in our faces- it had been quite stormy both on land and at sea that day), we finally reached maya bay. talk about having to work for your prize!

and the prize, it really was breathtakingly gorgeous. i can see why hundreds of people swim against violent current and go through bootcamp-like trails to get to this bay. i only wish the weather would have been nicer :(

i'm in phuket right now, waiting for our flight to singapore tomorrow. as much as i've thoroughly enjoyed our time in thailand, i'm so ready to peace out.

i should also admit my ultra-antsiness is partially related to the fact i need to go watch harry potter the moment i land in singapore. and finally eating some REAL FOOD to blog about.

laa korn ( ลาก่อน ), thailand!

i drove on the left side of the road

and this time, it was on purpose!

in order to explore the island a bit more, we rented a scooter to get us around the island. none of ya'll need to hear again that i'm not the best driver, and last time we rented scooters in seattle i ran into a van at the stoplight. however, somehow i ended up being the driver with jo sitting behind me (talk about pressure!).

i must say, i was quite successful on all those curvy, unpaved roads. maybe if i drove on the left side of the road all the time, i'd be a better driver??

so happy to be scootering

we tried to check out a waterfall nearby, which had dried up completely due to lack of rain this year =/ so instead, we just hiked up to a viewing point to enjoy the view- in our crocs!! we were completely drenched in sweat by the time we made our way to top, but the stunning view was totally worth it. we could see all the way to koh samui!

starting off our hike

dried up waterfall :(

much of thailand reminds me of LOST islands

this may be off topic but i have to say, i LURVE my crocs. say what you may, but my crocs (it's the sandal kind, so it's way cuter than the regular version) completely kick ass. they're super comfy, they have much more grip than reefs or rainbows, and they're totally hygienic! two enthusiastic thumbs up from the world travelers :)

full moon

koh phagnan island

after finishing up our diving course, we got on yet another boat and made our way down to koh phangan. It's a much larger island than koh tao, and we're booked at a “resort” that has a tv, a mini fridge, flushable toilets, soap, and... drum roll please... AIR CONDITIONING! Hallelujah!!!

I don't want to sound like a total princess, but staying in the tropics with nothing but a dingy fan was pretty miserable. It didn't help that we'd be all dirty and sweaty from our lessons. I think the only time I stayed clean and sweat-free were about ten minutes after my cold, cold shower, which I wanted to stay in forever just to escape the mugginess of our room.

sunset over haad yao bay, koh phagnan

We're in koh phagnan to check out more beaches, relax and rest a little, and attend the full moon party. It's supposed to be pretty nuts, since january and july have the fullest moons, which equals biggest parties. There's been a lot of forewarning about the parties- i.e. don't take any valuables, don't get mugged, don't get drugged- so obviously even before we headed out, I was a bit apprehensive on if we would even enjoy the night.

The full moon party was completely out of control. It's hard for me to describe the scene.. imagine miles of soft, sandy beach, filled with thousands of backpackers, completely trashed... it actually scared me a little to see how wasted some people can get. Some people came on this island purely for this party, so I guess it only makes sense to go all out. And had I been ten years younger, I'm sure I would have been equally wasted? I drank one beer at a bar, and watched people consume buckets of cheap liquor, dance on stage, sleep on the sand, pee in the ocean, jump rope through fire, draw figure 8's with glowsticks... the whole works. It was definitely something we wanted to see for ourselves, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't ever come back. It was a bit too much debauchery for me. Seeing thousands of wasted people packed in one place totally turned me off- do I look that horrific when I'm drunk?! :(

We also spotted numerous ladyboys working the drunk euro crowd- many of them ended up making out... now THAT's scary!

people were waiting to jump over the fire rope!!! needless to say, so many people got burnt and had to get treated at one of many clinics on site.

more than 10 of these huge dance areas blared techno, top40, trance...

Fortunately, we still made most of it as we've done so far on our trip with our new friends, watching the moon glisten the ocean... I never knew moon could shine so brightly.

koh tao

haad mae bay, koh tao

after a looooong overnight bus and boat ride, we arrive in koh tao. it's a small island off eastern coast of thailand, famous for diving and snorkeling.

first off, we were trying to be financially responsible- thus we opted to stay in a room that only had a fan. we thought, how bad could it be? it's a beach. beaches are breezy. it can't be that bad. right?

WRONG. so completely wrong.

this is the worst single room i have ever stayed in, even my dinky hostel room in paris back when i was a po' college student was nicer than this. we have to physically pour water to flush the toilet, the fan is dirty, room itself is pretty gross. but whaddaya gonna do, right? i'm just looking forward to our next island, where we're booked at a much nicer RESORT.

we arrived 7am and our first day was spent in a classroom. we have a textbook and everything! we watched videos and took quizzes- which reminded me that it's been so long since i've "studied" anything... hence my brain was working a bit too slow. i need to go back to my room and study for our final exam tomorrow. obviously, i'm slackin' and bloggin' =)

today we actually put on our scuba gear and practiced in the swimming pool. pretty cool stuff. breathing underwater is a strange feeling... and being weightless is a good thing!

tomorrow, we get on a boat and go on our first real open water dive. not sure if i'll be able to take my camera since it's only waterproof upto 10 meters, but if i can, i'll try to snap lots of fish pics :)

i also forgot to put on sunblock on my arms (sorry cindy!) and have THE WORST farmer's tan. here's a pic to prove it:



wish us luck on our dive tomorrow.. maybe when no one is looking, i'll cut open a sea urchin and eat it underwater!

breathing underwater

koh tao sunset :) KILLERRR.

on a totally unrelated note- clara is ENGAGED!!!! freakin A. but in a good way. so happy for you and ahah. <3<3>