Koh Samui and My Birthday

Since my last post, the gang and I have been taking it very easy here on Lamai beach, rumored to be the best beach in Koh Samui. It seems like each of us have come down with some sort of health affliction at some point, and this time it was Jessica's turn. She was not feeling well for the first two days of our stay here, with a persistant cold that may have evolved into a sinus infection. So, while Jess slept it off, Brian, Staci, and I just hung out on the beach and soaked up some rays.

We befriended a German couple along the way, who proved to be a lot of fun. We went to a few meals with them, and Brian and I spent one evening on the beach with them, comparing cultures and stereotypes over a bottle of Bacardi. We had made plans with them two days ago to meet up on the island just north of here (Koh Phangan) for the Black Moon Party (an internationally acclaimed, all-night beach party). We spent the day before the party walking the touristy Chaweng beach area, where there are many cheap clothing/food stands. Our actual intention for going, however, was to find the 'bug food stand' that the Germans went to the day before. Here you can sample a wide variety of fried critters, from grasshoppers and grubs to cockroaches. We figured it would be a good cultural experience and at the very least a good photo opportunity. Unfortunately, a storm was rearing its ugly head on the horizon when we passed through the bug stands, and they were closing down shop, so I guess we will have to wait for Bangkok!

At the end of the day it was pretty obvious that Jess was going to be in no shape for the Black Moon Party, so we reluctantly made alternative plans. Fortunately, by email we found out that the Germans also missed the party for a similar reason (sea sickness taking the ferry to Koh Phangan), so we will try to meet up with them on Koh Phangan at some point in the near future.

My birthday, which was two days ago on Sept. 28th, turned out to be a memorable occasion. The day started with Brian buying me a 2-hour Thai massage (don't freak out, it only cost ~$9), which was the best I've experienced so far. When we walked back to the hotel room afterwords, Brian kicked the door to the room seemingly accidentally. When Staci came to open the door, I walked in to find homemade cards and a bunch of Chinese fireworks on my bed. Before I could figure out the scheme, Jessica came around the corner with a birthday cake, complete with candles and the icing inscription 'Happy Birthday Mike.' It was a great surprise--I seriously wasn't expecting anything like this, due to the obviously limited resources at our disposal. The cake tasted great!


That night, we walked to the beach and set off some serious fireworks while sipping on some quality Singha, an expensive Thai beer (pictured above). The fireworks here are crazy by the way (the pic below gives you an idea)--this kind of stuff would never fly in the U.S. if you didn't have a permit from the city. Don't worry though, we were quite safe, and somehow no one lost any appendages.

As for our travel plans from here, we are sort of taking a day-by-day approach, since we only have about 2 weeks left in Thailand. Today we are leaving for Koh Phangan, the same island where the party was that we missed. Ironically, this island is supposed to be very pristine, dispite the parties that take place on the south side, and we are bound for a cozy beach bungalow overlooking coral reefs and adjacent to a waterfall in the jungle. It should be a great stay, but the one stipulation is that electricity there is very limited and A/C is nearly non-existant, so internet use and comfort may be compromised. But if it does not meet our expecations (or we cannot bear the heat with no A/C), we can always come back to Koh Samui.

Either way, I will keep you all posted as much as possible!

Mike

Swamp leeches! No one else got hit? What's the deal?

Today we made the arduous journey from Khao Sok to Koh Samui, a large resort island off of the Thai east coast. I won the bet for our arrival time, which was 2 pm (we were told it would be 12 pm, but we have grown all too accustomed to being lied to about travel times in this country). But we could not complain, since we had just completed a very enjoyable 3-day stay in the beautiful national park that is Khao Sok. Let me recap...

So we left Ao Nang beach on the west coast on the morning of September 23rd. We took a very memorable minibus ride to Krabi before heading to Khao Sok (I mean memorable in a bad way). As it turned out, the minibus driver was quite possibly the most miserable human being I've ever witnessed, and in Thailand, where everyone has generally been very kind, this came as a surprise. The man, about 300 lbs with a permanent grimace on his face, started by adamantly assigning each of us a seat and then forcefully shoving our bags on top of us. Then, despite the bus being seemingly full, we of course went on to go pick up some more passengers, consisting of three German girls. Here's where it gets funny--as there is no more room in the bus for the girls' luggage the man tosses their bags on the roof of the bus and takes off. Minutes later, when it is obvious that one of the bags is about to tumble into the road while we are driving, the man pulls over. He gets out, walks to the back of the bus, and pees on the side of the road. Then he uses his unwashed hands to violently re-situate the girls' bags so that they don't fall. The best part is, when he gets back into the bus to continue the 25 minute trip, he spends half of the time oggling the German girls that are crammed next to him. Yeah, this guy was quite the spectacle.

Luckily, we did not have to deal with him for the longer leg of the trip (~2.5 hours), and when we started getting close to Khao Sok we knew we'd made the right decision to stop there. The scenery was incredible--lush mountainous jungle as far as the eye could see. When we did arrive, we were dropped off at Smiley Bungalows, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as this was much cheaper than our planned accomodation ($4.50 per person per night for a two bedroom house!). To sweeten the deal, we were allowed to take part in a free, three-stop tour as part of our first night's stay, visiting a base of a mountain to feed monkeys, a beautiful waterfall (pictured above), and a very nice viewpoint. The monkey feeding was much more eventful and entertaining than I had anticipated, as somehow it turned out to be monkey, dog, and rooster feeding. While I know monkey feeding is typically ill-advised, these guys were pretty tame (except for the one that bombarded me in the video below--yeah, Jess saved me), and it was a lot of fun watching the different species interact (my mom will be happy to hear that the dogs seemed to dominate). When we returned to our new home in the early evening we immediately took advantage of our house's huge deck with hammocks overlooking the jungle and had an early night in. We planned a jungle hike into the national park at the crack of dawn.

Despite the fact that the owner of Smiley Bungalows was an incredibly friendly and helpful hostess, she did give us some bad advice about proper jungle attire--bad advice that only Staci and I took. She told us that the jungle trails were wide and well kempt and that shorts and sandals would suffice. Being an avid Keen wearer, I opted for my lightweight, breathable footwear over the cumbersome hiking boots that Brian and Jessica decided to wear. Much to my dismay, I found out very quickly that leeches find my blood irresistable, and after the first hour of the hike my foot was beginning to look mangled (see pic below, if you dare). Also, the trails were anything but well-kempt, being very overgrown, extremely rugged, and poorly marked. Fortunately, none of the others (even Staci, who was also wearing Keen sandals) suffered the leech onslaught, which continued throughout our 6-hour hike, during which I had to yank off over a dozen of the little bloodsuckers (some weren't so little).

In spite of the blood loss and unexpected physical exertion, I have to say that the hike was worth it. We got to trek some very wild terrain and witness some wonderful natural sites in a pristine tropical rainforest, including the waterfall that we are all posing in front of below (this picture was taken just before a torrential downpour that contributed to our trail complications).

Following the hike, we again took advantage of the hammocks on the deck and all napped for several hours. Later that night, we returned home from dinner to find a resident inhabitant of our deck that we'd discovered the night before (pictured below). Look at the eyes on that thing!--definitely the coolest looking frog I've ever seen.

The next day we woke up early again and took part in a 2-hour guided canoe tour through the jungle. While the tour was not as eventful as I'd expected (and also full of sporadic rain), it was enjoyable, and we all got to see some native birds, snakes and frogs. Our last night was very uneventful, and we just played cards and crashed early--sometimes you need some downtime when you're putting in 40+ hours a week of exploration!

Fastforward to today: We have only just settled into Koh Samui, but things are already looking promising. This evening we got to witness some high-dollar fireworks on the beach, which consists of white sand and crystal-clear water. It actually reminds me of Playa del Carmen, Mexico, for those who have been. Needless to say, tomorrow we will have a long beach day!

Mike

Phi Phi Party!

We arrived this afternoon back at the beloved Ao Nang beach after spending four days on Phi Phi Island (pronounced "pee pee island"--yes the jokes were limitless), a resort island located about 45 miles to the west. The island was beautiful and one of the first things we did was hike to the "view point," a spot that overlooks the center of the island. We each sweat about 5 lbs., hence the lack of contact in the photo below, but the view was well worth it!

While the scenery was nice (I think we all still favored Ao Nang), the reason for our visit was scuba diving, which we took part in right away. We went with Phi Phi Scuba as our dive operator, and our divemaster was Ash, a 23-year old Brit from south London who got derailed in Phi Phi sometime in April. Also aboard was Minnesota-born Pat, who definitely lightened the mood and reminded me of home with his Super Troopers/Steve Zissou references. In a nutshell, we all really liked the diving crew--they all seemed to be former backpackers who simply never left the island.

Our first two dives were considered local, just south of Phi Phi Don at Bida Nok and Bida Nai. Despite the fact that Brian and I are relatively experienced divers and have dove/snorkeled in a number of beautiful locations, this first dive at Bida Nok was the best we'd ever done. You name it, we saw it--sea snakes, sea turtles, a plethora of reef fish, moray eels, and finally a pair of octopi performing a violent mating ritual during our safety stop at the end of the dive (see video). What are the odds?!

The second dive was also a hit, though it obviously had a tough act to follow. We were so impressed with the area we decided to do a three-dive tour the next day visiting the King Cruiser wreck, Shark Point Phuket, and Maya Bay (where the movie "The Beach" was filmed). The wreck dive was a lot of fun and a bit more of a challenge, due to the current and lots of spiny poisonous sea creatures. We descended onto the site on a line and did about two circles around the wreck, a 150-foot ferry that ran aground on Shark Point in the late 90s. Though the visibility was not perfect, the dive was again full of life--I distinctly recall coming face to face with a large Lionfish, who proceeded to point his poisonous spines at me as a warning. The next dive was also a memorable one, as we were lucky enough to hang out with a local celebrity, a 5-foot leopard shark.

The last dive of the day was a bit more strenuous for me because of a foot injury that had become more and more aggravated with each dive (a local ran into my heel with his bike the day before), and a small leak in my already underfilled scuba cylinder. But I was glad I pulled through and still made the dive, as we saw several sea turtles and a 4-foot baracuda who showed off his teeth to me (just like the 6 footer that challenged me and my friend Riley in Mexico). My favorite part of the dive though was the swim throughs, which were narrow breaks in the rocks filled with thousands of reef fish. It made you feel like a fish yourself. I was able to snap a photo of us leaving Maya Bay (see above) to prove to my friend Bob that I had actually been to 'The Beach,' though I think I've seen better scenery on this trip already.

After the three dives, we were obviously exhausted, so we took a nap, ate dinner, and then decided to give the island nightlife a chance, since we hadn't really partied on the trip up to this point. Brian and I finally dabbled in the local favorite, Thai whiskey, and the girls drank some Chang beer (the Thai equivalent of Schlitz malt liquor) before heading out to 'Hippies,' a beach party bar that came highly recommended by our newly-acquired diving buddies. It was a lot of fun, especially when the tide came in and the dance floor got flooded with ocean. Good times!

The one drawback to the whole Phi Phi Island experience was that the day after we left the local dive sites, two whale sharks were spotted. I've always wanted to see a whale shark in the wild (the one I saw at the Osaka aquarium in Japan was a sad respresentation of the largest fish on Earth), but I guess I missed my chance on the Thai west coast. Maybe we will have more luck diving Koh Tao in the east.

To share one last random site with you, just before we hopped on the ferry back to Ao Nang, I snapped a photo of a monkey shaking a man's hand next to the pier (pictured above). The funny part was that as I passed by I noticed another foreigner taking out his camera to get a photo when the woman pictured (who apparently owned the monkey) shouted "picture 50 baht!" It seems like everything here in Thailand has a price, even if it's only a couple dollars (50 baht=$1.60), but I feel even better about getting the photo without drawing the woman's attention. All in all, we got what we wanted from our time on Phi Phi Island--phenomenal diving and some island partying. Veni vidi vici!

Still at the beach...

...and still loving it. This place (Ao Nang) seriously has everything that one could want, as far as experiencing the best of Thailand--phenomenal beaches, lush, rugose jungle landscapes, delicious food, hospitable hosts, and of course $6 hour-long massages! Though our lifestyle here has been a far cry from the intense backpacking I am used to (except for Rio), this slow pace is a welcomed transition from the hustle and bustle of touring Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur. Today the weather is a bit shabbier than it's been in a few days, hence my taking the time to finally update this blog.

Since my last post, we took a short longboat trip over to Ao Railay, a very scenic beach at the tip of the peninsula near Ao Nang only reachable by boat, due to the dense surrounding forest. When we first arrived on the east side beach, we were a little bit disappointed. While this was a beautiful area by any standard, it reminded us of the beach near our hotel, defeating the purpose of taking the boat trip altogether. Brian and I decided to rectify this supposed mistake and went on foot to find other beaches in the area. After talking to a few passing European tourists, we were directed to the southwest part of the peninsula, where there was apparently a cavernous beach area. They weren't lying, and after a 15 minute walk we found the most beautiful beach we've seen yet. We immediately went back the the east beach to get Jessica and Staci.


Once we returned with our full party to the pristine cave beach, we decided it was time to sit down and prepare some tuna sandwiches with the food we packed (the cheapest way to eat lunch here), when we were ambushed by a local dog and a troupe of wild monkeys! Luckily, all they were interested in was food (of course), so Jess fed the dog our leftover tuna--he was quite grateful as the picture above indicates, and Brian and I fed the monkeys some corn on the cob (see the video below).


We spent the rest of the day laying out and walking the beach--it was so peaceful (the picture below gives you an idea of the scenery but still doesn't do it justice). We left just before dark via bumpy longboat ride. What a day!


Tomorrow we plan to finally leave the area and head to Phi Phi Island, perhaps the only place in Thailand with a nicer backdrop than what we have here in Ao Nang. But our primary reason for going is scuba diving. I can't wait to swim with some Asian marine life! Today we will likely all catch up on emails and maybe do a little shopping, since we've become so adept at haggling!

Expect some insane beach shots from Phi Phi soon, weather permitting of course.


-Mike

Monsoon is underrated

We woke up this morning to unexpected clear skies! Obviously, we took full advantage by continuing to explore Nopparat Thara beach, where we left off yesterday. This area is incredibly remote (probably moreso due to it being monsoon season), with not a lot of development, so it is especially scenic. After we swam across a narrow longboat channel, we came across a somewhat hidden resort area with sea kayak rentals available. Much to our surprise, the kayaks were offered to us free of charge by the Thai family that we assumed ran the place. That is where the day took a turn for the unforgettable, as we island hopped via kayak for the next 5 hours. We posed for the picture below after eating lunch on the first island beach we came across.

Yes, things are going great, and everyone's expectations for Thailand have been surpassed in some way at this point. Tonight we are heading for a beach party near the edge of the secluded beaches that we explored today. We have decided to stay here in Ao Nang beach for a few more days before heading out to Phi Phi Island for some much-anticipated scuba diving. I will continue to keep you all updated on our misadventures.

Michael

PS-I hope everyone in the Houston area is ready for Ike!

Thailand=My land

Wow, this place is amazing. We spent the day today exploring the beaches that are just blocks away from our hotel--the scenic backdrop is something out of a fantasy novel (pictured below, those are small islands jutting out of the horizon). Brian and I also enjoyed one hour Thai massages this afternoon, for the ridiculous price of less than $6. What a country!

Though we are currently touring the west coast of Thailand during the 'monsoon season,' the weather has been surprisingly tolerable. In many ways the sporadic rainfall adds to the tropical, pristine feel of the area. Our hotel is pictured in the center of the picture below--nice background, eh?

Tomorrow we plan to continue exploring the lengthy beaches, before heading off to see a Thai Boxing fight in the evening. I think it is safe to say that the gorup morale is at an all-time high!

Mike

Paradise lost, then found

We just checked into our hotel in Thailand, and this is the most pleasant surprise so far. We have a spacious family room with TV, fridge, private bath, and close proximity to one of the most amazing beaches I've ever seen (pics coming soon!). All of this for $6 a night--Can't beat it!

This could not come sooner, as we had spent the previous 20+ hours in transit to Thailand from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, including a 7 hour bus ride that ended up being 11 hours...no one explained why. Luckily, before we left we were able to tour the financial district of KL, including a visit to the very impressive, futuristic Petronas Tours. We ended the night with some tasty Chinese cuisine near our hostel, and a nice group shot in front of the tours at night (pictured below, looks fake, huh?).


At this point, we are feeling phenomenal, having cleaned up and taken in some of the breathtaking sites and refreshing hospitality here on Ao Nang beach. We will likely stay here for several days, especially since the girls have already fallen in love with the place. Either way, R&R and some great Thai food are on the menu!

Michael

Heading to Thailand

I just wanted to leave a brief post to let everyone know that after a long process of planning, we are leaving for the Thai beaches on the southwest coast this evening, via overnight bus.

I will leave a much more thorough post when we get there

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia--R & R

Hello everyone!

We just arrived via suprisingly comfortable 5-hour bus ride (pictured below; Brian and Staci were sleepy) to Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. We are settled into our hostel now, our new home for at least the next two nights, though the free internet, breakfast, cable TV, and DVDs may beg us to stay a night or two longer (Bob, it is like K's House in Nagano, but not quite as refined and no Nozami, unfortunately).

To recap on the events since my last entry, we began the day yesterday meeting up with Joe at Starbucks near Little India, Singapore. From there we traveled by foot to Arab Street (obviously an ethnic district), where Joe treated us all to a very fulfilling brunch consisting of a fried egg, flatbread dish and some Chinese tea (pictured below).

After walking and talking with Joe, a very knowledgable trekker of the Southeast Asia region, we parted ways and spent the rest of the afternoon walking the streets of Little India. As Joe accurately described it, parts of this area truely felt like they were cut right out of an Indian sidestreet, complete with droves of tented food and resale markets.

We ended our final evening in Singapore with a trip to the riverwalk (pictured above), where we were again pleasantly suprised by the upscale, festive atmosphere. Fortunately enough, we entered the area on the first night of a city-sponsored mid-Autumn festival, including a waterfront rock concert and indoor Chinese orchestra free of charge. We ate dinner at a delicious Thai restaurant--the most expensive meal but worth it.

Speaking of food, we are going to go get some.

Mike

Singapore and Bangkok Dangerous

We are now staying in a cozy 12-person dorm in the middle of China Town, Singapore. We lucked out as far as timing though, as the entire area is in the midst of a month-long celebration called the Moon Cake Festival. As I was told by a tour guide, this festival originates from the time when China was occupied by Mongolia, and the Chinese mounted a successful, secret assault by placing an intricate plot within moon pies that were distributed to virtually every Chinese house. Fast-forward to today and the streets, lined with food and clothing vendors, are lively all day and all night, becoming most crowded in the late evening. The cool part is that there are bright spherical lanterns (representative of the moon) strung up all over the place, giving China Town as a whole a very familiar Christmas-like charm...except, of course, for the 90 degree weather, which is also familiar!

Today we will meet up with Joe, a close friend of my father's who has lived in SE Asia for quite some time now. He will show us the ins and outs of dining in the wilder part of the city--Little India. Should be interesting, though I am not sure how many more consecutive foreign morsels my pallet can withstand. And I am not the only one--after dinner last night, Jessica said something along the line of "I may have to eat Burger King at some point." But we are all enjoying the experience, delectable or not.

In case any of you reading this have not heard, Thailand is a bit unstable right now, due to government protests. No need to worry though--we are aware of it, and we will continue to monitor the situation before heading north to Phuket. We plan to contact the U.S. embassy in Bangkok for advice on the safest way to travel the country, but even Joe said that this sort of thing is common and should not be an issue outside of Bangkok. Though we do not plan on being in Bangkok for another month (by then this could blow over), we do have the option of skipping the city entirely by flying in from Ko Samui and right back out to Auckland, never leaving the airport terminal. Either way, safety is definitely our number one priority. I will keep you posted on any major developments.

Cheers,
Mike

Hong Kong!

We arrived in Hong Kong at 530 am local time today. The trip started out great, since all of our checked baggage actually made it to our final destination--somehow I have more faith in the airline industry.

We have spent the day touring the city and will continue to do so until we leave on the morning of the 5th. I have to admit, the city is much more scenic than I'd expected--there seem to be endless patches of dense skyscrapers nestled in mountain valleys. So far, we've already had some interesting experiences including some very abnormal cuisine. When in Rome, right?


Above is a picture of me and the gang (left to right: me, Jessica, Staci, and Brian) at a very local kitchen, in which I unintentionally ordered beef fat soup, consisting of large chunks of beef fat among other unidentifiable items. Since then we have grown to appreciate the local bakeries-- maybe the only venue where a Westerner can get a cheap meal that will not make them wonder about the possible detrimental effects to their digestive system.



We spent the late afternoon/early evening swimming in a very impressive aquatic complex (pictured above), which was free, due to the Olympic games. It was a relaxing way to end a very productive day, though it is important to note that the pool rules included the following: "Fouling of the pool may result in a $5000 fine and 14 days imprisonment." Clearly, we aren't in Kansas anymore. Tomorrow morning we leave for Singapore!

Mike