Emily and Kirk Adventures

Photos: Columbia March/April 2022

kirmily — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 08:16:00 GMT

Cartagena, Columbia

Photos: Las Vegas

kirmily — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 23:01:00 GMT

Las Vegas

The 2022 adventure begins

kirmily — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 22:47:00 GMT

Emily and I are back on the road. Coronaviris cut our travel down the past couple years. We did visit Belize, Bonaire and went to Denver and Michigan a few times, but we were itching to get back at it. So....March 2022 we put our belongings in storage and began a year of adventure. Our plan is to spend 2 months travelling to South America, Central America and the Carribean and then go back to Austin to see our kids for a couple weeks and then head out again.

Back in March of 2020 we met our friends Mike and Amanda in Las Vegas for Mikes birthday. With travel restrictions winding down we decided to start our new adventure by heading to Vegas to celebrate Mike's birthday again. We stayed a few days on the Strip at the Cromwell. The Cromwell is a boutique hotel run by Caesars and is in the center of the strip. Emily and I had a great dinner at Nobu, relaxed and got ready for Mike and Amanda to show up on Thursday. When they arrived we switched hotels and moved to the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street. I can't say I remember everything we did, but I can tell you I remember more than the Birthday Boy! Great times with great friends. We said our good byes at Top Golf on Sunday and Emily and I headed to the airport for our 15 hour journey to Columbia. LAS-LAX-MIA-CTG.

The next two months we will be in Cartagena for a month and then Belize for a month. It is GREAT to be exploring again!

Photos: Vietnam

kirmily — Sat, 3 Dec 2016 01:26:00 GMT

Saigon

Photos: Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

kirmily — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 01:09:00 GMT

Kuta for Thanksgiving

Gili Air, Lombak, Indonesia

kirmily — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 17:36:00 GMT

After flying from Siem Reap to Kuta, Bali, we spent the night at the Best Western Kuta Villa. We were not able to get the ferry that night, so we had to wait until morning. The Best Western was so cool! We had an “al fresco” bathroom, which means that it is outside (this is common in all of the cities we’ve been to, but this is the best one we’ve seen so far.) It was raining buckets that night, so I actually took a shower in the rain!

The next morning, we took the Wahana ferry to Gili Air. This was the most disorganized ferry I have ever experienced. This is not a judgement on the Wahana Ferry. ALL of them were horribly disorganized. We stood under the boiling hot sun on the dock for about 45 minutes waiting to board the ferry and the luggage situation was a mess. When we arrived in Gili, unbelievably, the unloading process was even worse. We had to drag our luggage across another boat, onto a floating dock which was dangerously unstable. Then we fought our way through the crowd of people trying to load onto the ferry at the same time as we disembarked. It was not a great experience. When we finally got off the dock, we found a horse taxi to drive us to our hotel, the Balengku Home Stay. Gili Air does not have any motorized vehicles at all. I have to say that I was very conflicted about the way the horses were treated on Gili Air. While they all seemed well-fed, they were frequently left harnessed to their carts in the hot sun, and I never saw a single horse being given water in the entire two weeks we stayed on the island. I’m not a horse expert, and so I can’t say whether this is normal, but it seemed cruel to me. We opted not to use horse taxis at all, except to take our luggage to and from the ferry dock. Everywhere was within walking distance anyway.

Our room at the Balengku Home Stay was a cute villa with a patio, where we were served breakfast each morning. It was in a very quiet area, about 10-minute walk to the town. We booked this place because it was very inexpensive and we wanted to spend a couple of days getting to know Gili Air before we decided where to stay for two weeks. We scoped out many places, but decided on Gili Air Resort, because of the quiet location on the corner of the island, and the lovely stretch of beach in front of the resort. In general, once you get away from the dock area, Gili Air is a beautiful place, but the Gili Air Resort is especially picturesque.

Our room at the Balengku Home Stay was a cute villa with a patio, where we were served breakfast each morning. It had a great pool, too, with a pool bar. Try not to get distracted by the sexy leg in the picture.

The room was clean, although old and a little worn. We had a fridge and freezing air conditioning, which was amazing after a day in the scorching sun. The restaurant was good, but their nightly seafood BBQ on the beach was the best thing on the menu. The staff was helpful and friendly, always calling us by name. The pool was clean and refreshing. The only complaint we had about this place was the WIFI. In our room, we mostly could not get connection at all, but when we did, it was brutally slow. Despite what the front desk told us, the “common areas” did not have faster WIFI. I’m sure it sounds like I am being dramatic (first world problems!) but since both of us need to stay connected for our work, WIFI connection is not a small issue for us. We were able to find a café nearby called Star Bar, which had much faster internet fro which we worked and drank cheap Lombak coffee every morning. If WIFI isn’t an issue for you, I would highly recommend this hotel. (Disclaimer…WIFI on Gili Air is not fast, no matter where you go. Don’t expect to download movies or stream long videos unless you have hours to spare.)

We didn’t do too much on Gili Air. Our main goal was to relax. On our first day, we took a long walk all the way around the island, which took about 90 minutes. You can also ride a bike, but there are stretches of powdery sand through which you will probably have to walk the bicycle. It was a good introduction to the island, and gave us some good ideas about places we wanted to visit during our stay. In the coming days, we had a happy shake at Reggae Bar, which was way more expensive than in Thailand, and not as good. The sign below isn’t from Raggae Bar, but it was something we saw multiple times around the island. Sorry about the shadow. We are not photographers.

The restaurants all pretty much serve the same Indonesian and Western dishes, but we did find one standout. The Mexican Kitchen. The chef was great! The food was as close to real Mexican as we’ve had in months and they were happy to accommodate my dairy intolerance. I highly recommend this place. They don’t have a website, but here is their Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/gilimexicankitchen

The beaches on Gili Air are made of coarse coral and are therefore it is a bit difficult to walk on them without shoes. The snorkeling is good here, especially because Gili Air is known for their abundance of sea turtles. If you are planning to snorkel in low tide, you should consider renting a standup paddle board or kayak to take you out past the very shallow water, to the shelf where the snorkeling is best and you are more likely to see the turtles. Alternatively, you can wait until high tide, when you can swim almost straight away off the beach. I do not recommend trying to walk out to the shelf in low tide. Kirk did, and he ended up with several cuts and scrapes on his legs and feet. We saw lots of people with similar injuries.

After two weeks on Gili Air, we were ready to move onto the next place. We boarded the Wahana ferry on the morning of November (again, it was disorganized, it was over an hour late, and the ticketing process was confusing,) but we finally got on the boat. Kirk and I both have suffered from sea sickness in the past, and we usually take Dramamine before boarding a ferry, but the seas looked so calm (file that under “foreshadowing”) that we didn’t think it necessary on that day. When I take Dramamine, I always fall asleep immediately, and I wanted to see the journey this time. That. Was. A. Mistake. It was hot that day, and, if you know me, you know that I don’t like being hot. This boat ride was waaaayyy too hot! We were sitting in the front of the boat, which we thought would be better, because there was a fan. I felt fine for the first 30 minutes, but then, I started to feel over-heated. It didn’t help that we were packed into this boat like sardines. I was a little seasick, but mostly I was so hot, I couldn’t breathe. I guess it was just me, because everyone else seemed to be having a party on the boat. They were sleeping and eating and singing and drinking beer. After a while, I started shaking uncontrollably and my skin got cold and then I started noticing that I was seasick. Horribly seasick. The seas were not calm at all (see the file entitled “foreshadowing”.) Kirk tried to help me splash water on my face, but it just spilled all over my shorts (wet denim shorts feel awesome!) When we finally docked, I was fighting back tears and nervous that I wouldn’t even be able to stand up and walk off the boat. Of course, I lived to tell the story, but it was a miserable couple of hours. I will never board a boat again without taking Dramamine. Lesson learned.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

kirmily — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 12:47:00 GMT

Hi friends! This will be a very long entry, because we loved Siem Reap so much. Strap in for a fun ride!

We flew into Siem Reap on Halloween, around 2:30 pm. We had pre-arranged a ride from the hotel from Bruce Lee’s tuk-tuk service (http://www.bruceleetuktuk.com/), based on a recommendation from friends who visited Siem Reap last year. He met us at the arrival terminal with our name on a sign and drove us to our hotel. The drive was great, because we were in an open-air tuk-tuk and we could really see the area. I don’t know why, but I was expecting Siem Reap to be dirty and junky. It wasn’t. In fact, it was very clean and tidy and full of beautiful hotels and buildings. Our hotel, The Sok San Boutique Hotel (http://www.soksanstreetboutique.com/) was located just a couple of blocks from Pub Street, which is quite touristy, but also a lot of fun. When he dropped us off, we arranged for Vichet to pick us up the following day for a tour of Kompong Phluk floating village. Not only does he offer airport transport services, but he also can organize tours of the city, temples, or anything else you want to see in Siem Reap and the surrounding countryside.

Pub Street is usually full of tourists and locals on a normal day, but on Halloween, it was absolutely packed. There was loud, thumping music coming from huge speakers on the street, and lots of people were in costume. One thing I loved about it is that people were actually dressed in scary and funny Halloween costumes, instead of the “sexy-whatever” costumes that are prevalent in the U.S. Cambodians (and indeed most people in Southeast Asia) are very conservative in their dress. You’ll never see a Cambodian woman wearing a short skirt or a low cut blouse (unless you are looking at a prostitute.) ANYWHO…back to Halloween. We spent the evening watching the melee from a rooftop bar, and it was a lot of fun. Beers and food in this area are insanely cheap (beers for 50 cents and full meals for less than $3.) In Cambodia, their currency is very weak, and they use USD almost exclusively. If you visit a cash machine, it always dispenses USD.

The next day, at 3:00 pm, Vichet picked us up at our hotel and took us to the boat dock. Along the way, he stopped at the lotus flower fields and explained to us the significance of the lotus flower and even purchased some lotus fruit for us. He showed us to how to eat it and it tastes great! Kind of like edamame, but a little sweeter. It’s a unique flavor and very good.

When we arrived at the boat dock, he introduced us to our tour guide. We paid $20 each to board the boat. We took a ride out to the “big lake” and our guide provided lots of information about the people who lived nearby, their fishing methods, and the cycle of tides. We arrived at the floating village and we were amazed. Our guide had grown up in the village at an orphanage, so he was very knowledgeable and explained each building in detail. The people who live in this village are mostly Vietnamese, and mostly make their meager living through fishing. Their families eat the smaller fish, and they sell the larger fish at the market for money.

We stopped at another boat dock inside the floating village and paid another $20 per person for a guide to paddle us through the mangrove forest. It was the most peaceful experience and so beautiful. You shouldn’t miss this if you visit the floating village.

After the mangrove tour, we boarded our larger boat again and went to a trinket shop in the floating village, to enjoy a drink while watching the sunset on their rooftop. This was one of the highlights of our entire trip for me, so far.

The next morning Vichet picked us up for our tour of the Angkor Wat and Bayon Temples. We had done our research in advance and knew that there was a dress code for men and women in these temples. It is not strictly enforced, and no one will ask you to leave if you are not wearing the right clothes. However, I will say that if you are aware of this dress code, and choose to ignore it, you are being very disrespectful to their ancient religion and culture. Please, please, please don’t be those people. For both men and women, your knees and shoulders should be covered. Since it was such a hot day, I opted to wear a tank top on the drive, but I covered my shoulders with a scarf before I entered the grounds of the temples.

Our first stop was the ticket counter, where we paid $20 per person and our pictures were taken for security purposes. Next, we drove the last kilometer or so to reach the temple grounds. These temples were truly awe-inspiring. We walked through deserted halls, and went from room to room in amazement. It was incredible to think that they were built thousands of years before and have stood the test of time. Around every corner, there was another intricate stone carving or statue, and it seemed like the passageways and narrow hallways were endless.

During our exploration, we came across a few monkeys in the surrounding forest and we spent time watching the monkeys eat and play. It was a nice reminder that the temples and the religion that they represent were always meant to be intertwined with nature.

After our temple tours, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant that was clearly for tourists. This is the only part of the tour that I wish I could change. The restaurant was extremely overpriced and the food wasn’t very good. But fear not…we didn’t end on a sour note! Our next stop was the War Museum. Kirk is a huge fan of history, and he especially loves war history, so this was a treat for him. I have to admit that I wasn’t well-versed in the Cambodian Civil War history, and I learned so much during our time at the museum. It cost $5 per person to get in and that includes a free personal tour-guide if you want one. We opted to tour the grounds on our own. The museum is outside, although some of the exhibits are housed in small huts. We saw actual vehicles, weapons, and supplies used during the war. I was able to read detailed descriptions of the reasons for the war, including the U.S. involvement, and the final outcomes. It was especially eye-opening to read about the land mines used during the war, some of which are still active in Cambodia. Even today, people occasionally accidentally set these off, with catastrophic results. Although I wasn’t too interested in this museum when we arrived, I was so glad I went and I was intrigued to learn more. A couple of days later, Kirk and I purchased three books about the war, from a land-mine survivor, so that we could try to understand the complicated history of Cambodia.

After the War Museum, we decided to go back to the hotel. We ended our fantastic day with a Happy Pizza, which we purchased from our hotel restaurant. If you aren’t familiar with Happy Pizza in Siem Reap, I suggest you do a little research. It is very inexpensive ($5 extra to make the pizza “happier”) and easy to find at many local restaurants and it tastes great! I recommend it.

A few more random highlights about Siem Reap...For anyone that knows me, they know that I HATE to wash and dry my hair. At home, I love to get blow-outs as often as I can, but it costs about $45-50, so I don’t do it often. But in Siem Reap, I got a shampoo-blow-dry for about $8 USD AND IT WAS AWESOME! It was especially great because I hadn’t had straight hair for months, because I didn’t lug all the necessary tools with me from home. It was a really nice treat, and I would have done it again if we had stayed in Siem Reap longer. Another fun thing we did in Siem Reap was eating Cambodian BBQ, where you cook your own veggies and meat at a small grill at your table. There are several places near Pub Street that offer this. We opted for a very expensive version of this meal, including 6 different meats (chicken, beef, alligator, lobster, fish, and pork) and unlimited vegetables and rice. It cost about $18 for both of us, not including drinks. But you can find much cheaper options if you only want chicken or beef.

Our favorite driver picked us up at 6:00 am on our last day and drove us back to the airport. We paid him all at one time for his several days of services. He charged us $45 USD for everything (rides from the airport to the hotel and back to the airport, and the temple tours, and the floating village tours.) So this was an amazing deal. We ended up tipping him another $30, but we still felt like we got a steal at $75.

All in all, we were thoroughly impressed with Siem Reap, and had a great time during our 5 days here.

Pro tip for Cambodia: When paying with $20 or $100 bills, you must make sure they are in PRISTINE condition. We tried to use a $100 bill and they wouldn’t accept it, due to an almost imperceptible tear at the top. Although a bank will accept slightly worn bills, private vendors are extremely wary of counterfeit bills and will only accept perfectly crisp money. And they will examine it extensively before they accept it. We saw this over and over again. We actually had to go to a machine and get more money, because none of our bills were acceptable.

Photos: Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

kirmily — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 00:51:00 GMT

Ubud

Phuket, Thailand

kirmily — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 14:18:00 GMT

We cut our stay on Koh Lanta a couple of days short, because I made a last minute decision to have a fractional laser facial in Phuket. This meant that we needed a couple of extra days in Phuket, so that my face could heal before we traveled to our next destination. I did some research and found that Phuket is a perfect place to take advantage of incredible prices on procedures like this. At home, this treatment would cost about $2,000, but I paid only $214 and my experience and my results were exactly as promised. I’ll admit to being a little apprehensive at first, but the clinic I visited was spotlessly clean and modern. The staff were very professional and explained everything clearly and carefully. I never felt uncomfortable, from the minute I walked through the door. I won’t bore you with before and after photos, but take my word for it…the results are great. I highly recommend Radiant Medical Center, if you are considering any skin treatments. They have a variety of dermatological services available.

www.radiantmedicalphuket.com

While we were in Phuket, there was a deluge of rain and the parking structure for the hotel across the street flooded. Our room had a front-row view of the damage and we watched for two days as they pumped out the water and tried to salvage the items, cars, and motorbikes that were stored there. Thankfully no one was injured, but it was quite a mess.

Since I had to stay out of the sun for a couple of days, we didn’t venture out too much during the day, but we did visit the newly-built Jungceylon Mall and we saw a movie at the theater in the mall. Kirk had been contemplating diving since the beginning of the trip. He took advantage of this time to find a dive shop that provides practice dives in a pool first. He has had trouble with clearing his ears in the past, and didn’t want to spend a lot of money if he wouldn’t be able to get past that step. He was able to clear his ears after a couple of tries, but we had to leave Phuket before he could go on any actual dives. He’s saving that for another island!

Photos: Gili Air, Lombok, Indonesia

kirmily — Sun, 6 Nov 2016 14:05:00 GMT

Gili Air

Photos: Siem Reap, Cambodia

kirmily — Sat, 5 Nov 2016 00:24:00 GMT

Siem Reap

Koh Lanta, Thailand

kirmily — Wed, 2 Nov 2016 14:11:00 GMT

We traveled from Koh Phi Phi on the ferry in very rough seas – so rough in fact that every person on the ferry was given a plastic bag in case we needed to barf up our breakfast. Luckily, Kirk and I had taken Dramamine in anticipation, but not everyone on the boat was as lucky.

Koh Lanta is quite laid-back in comparison to Koh Phi Phi. There are plenty of snorkeling trips, jungle treks and other adventure tours available, but we preferred to take it easy instead. We stayed at the Lanta Nice Beach Resort for a few days, and it was good, but we wanted to move to a cheaper hotel. We found Lanta Nature Beach Resort, which was only $21. Please keep in mind that the word “resort” may be a bit misleading. If you are expecting a massive, new resort complex with water slides and a swim-up bar, you will be disappointed. Instead, a “resort” usually consists of a few bungalows, sometimes surrounding a pool or a restaurant. Both hotels were on Klong Nin Beach, and both were good, but we preferred the room, the pool, and the price at Lanta Nature Beach Resort.

www.lantanaturebeachresort.com

We spent our days exploring the island on foot and we found Horizon Bar on Klong Nin Beach. We sat down at the bar, with two other people. The gentleman was a bald white guy, about 60 years of age. He introduced himself as “Kirk” and told us he was from Michigan. At this point, Kirk and I looked at each other like “is this for real?” There’s really another bald guy named Kirk from Michigan on this island, sitting right next to us?! We all had a good laugh about the coincidence and we spent the next few days getting to know “Other Kirk” and his daughter Kelly. In addition, we met two lovely ladies named Crystal and Anna, and were glad to spend time with them too. Meeting new friends is one of our favorite parts of traveling. It’s fun to hear about their travels and share tips about places we’ve been.

Horizon Bar became our meeting point and we also got to know the owner, Pat, who shared his harrowing story of the devastating tsunami on Boxing Day in 2004. We were humbled to hear how he ran for his life and was able to save a little girl who had gotten separated from her parents in the confusion. The family was from Germany and they stay in touch to this day. Pat and a group of about 200 other people survived in the jungle for days, waiting for the water to subside. Once it did, they came down from the hills and started rebuilding their lives. It was a tragic story with a happy ending that I will always remember. And of course, I can’t forget to mention Jod, the amazing bar tender, who can make a mean Mojito, but can also twirl a fiery baton like a pro. If you find yourself on Koh Lanta, please go to the Horizon bar. You won’t be sorry. www.Lantahorizon.com

One very rainy day, we ventured over to Old Town, which is a quaint place to have lunch, shop for souvenirs, and visit one of the many local markets that Koh Lanta has to offer. These markets are full of yummy treats, clothing, shoes, household necessities, and fresh meat and produce. The market rotates all over the island throughout the week (sometimes during the day, and sometimes at night) and it is definitely worth your time.

No trip to Koh Lanta would be complete without a Happy Shake, from the Mushroom Bar. Many bars throughout the island advertise these shakes, but depending on the mushroom supply, you may not be able to find them at every bar. Mushroom Bar will always have them. Pro tip: Get your shake to-go and enjoy it on your favorite beach spot, during sunset.

While we were on Koh Lanta, we met one more new friend, who showed up at the pool and quickly found her way into our room for the duration of our stay. What can I say? I’m a sucker for cats. We named her Pit Bull, because we had been listening to Pit Bull at the pool all day. When we left, we said goodbye and hoped she would find another sucker family soon.

Photos: Phuket, Thailand

kirmily — Tue, 1 Nov 2016 17:37:00 GMT

Phuket

Koh Phi Phi - Part 2

kirmily — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 20:56:00 GMT

During our last few days on Koh Phi Phi, we enjoyed two excursions, both of which I highly recommend. On October 14, we went on the Original Sunset Cruise boat trip, which included a tour of four different islands. We met at the shop at 1:00 pm and walked to the pier as a group. There were about 10 people on the boat. Our first stop was Koh Phi Phi Ley, to see Monkey Beach. Because it was low tide, the boat could not anchor close enough to the island to walk, and so we kayaked to the beach. We saw a few monkeys and stayed there about 20 minutes. Which was long enough for one of the members of our boat to ignore the guide’s instructions not to approach the monkeys or try to touch them. Of course, there’s always that one guy who can’t follow the rules! Needless to say, when he tried to pet the monkeys, they got scared and started hissing and chasing all of us off the beach. Pro-tip: do not ruin the experience for the rest of your group by trying to pet the monkeys. They don’t want to be touched.

Next we went to the Viking Cave but we had to view it from afar. Visitors are not allowed in the cave. It is currently inhabited only by national park rangers, and the approved individuals whose job it is to harvest birds’ nests from inside the cave. These Swallow nests are very expensive and used to make Bird’s Nest Soup, which is a delicacy.

Our next short jaunt was to the other side of Koh Phi Le, where we snorkeled for about half hour. The reef is beautiful and there were lots of fish, although not a huge variety. We then made our way to Maya Bay, which was the highlight of the trip in my opinion. Because the tide was so low, we approached from the other side of the bay and had to climb through a cave in order to reach the beach. Pro-tip (if you go during low tide): WEAR SHOES. Even flip flops are better than nothing. The cave is slippery and full of sharp rocks. Once you reach the beach, you can ditch your shoes. I was prepared to be underwhelmed, because this is the location on which the movie “The Beach” was filmed. I assumed that it was overrun with tourists and probably not as great as the movie made it look. I was wrong. It was a stunning stretch of beach with fine powdery white sand and soaring cliffs on all sides. The water was very shallow when we were there, due to low tide, but it was clear and a striking blue. There were a lot of tourists on the beach, but it wasn’t too crowded. I think we were lucky to see it in low season, because our guide said that it’s too packed to enjoy during high season. The pictures absolutely do not do it justice.

Finally we made our way back to the pier, enjoying a simple meal of fried rice and vegetables and a lovely sunset along the way. The cost for this trip was 500 baht per person, plus a 400 baht “cleaning fee” to enter Maya Beach. We brought our own beer and a snack with us on the boat, but you could also purchase beer, soda and snacks. Water, tea, coffee, and a small dinner were provided as part of the trip cost. We researched several different boat trips, and they all made more or less the same stops, but this one was the best value for money that we found.

Kirk and I love to cook at home, and we love Thai food, so it only made sense for us to take a Thai cooking class. We chose Pum’s Cooking School on October 18 and it was fabulous. There are several class options to choose from, and we chose the 3-hour option. We got to pre-select 3 dishes each, from a menu of about 25 dishes. Our instructor’s name was Aretoo Detoo (R2D2. No, really, that’s his name. His dad was apparently a huge Star Wars fan!) He was amazing. At the start of the class, he gave us a lesson on traditional Thai greetings and a few Thai words. He then helped us understand the flavors, herbs and spices used in Thai cooking, before we started cooking. It was really helpful to understand the flavor profiles before we set foot in the kitchen. Now we know how to cook the six dishes that we selected, but we also know how to construct any other Thai dish we choose. We were able to eat all the dishes that we cooked, but of course it was too much food. Aretoo Detoo packed up all the remaining leftovers so that we could take them back to the hotel for later. He also gave us a cookbook with all the recipes that Pum’s offers in their classes. We paid 1500 baht per person for this experience and it was worth every penny.

We spent out our last couple of days on Phi Phi just walking around and lounging by the pool. It’s a beautiful place with so many options for excursions, parties, or just relaxing on the beach. The final verdict? Thumbs up!

Photos: Koh Lanta, Thailand

kirmily — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 18:43:00 GMT

Koh Lanta

Koh Phi Phi - Part 1

kirmily — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 18:20:00 GMT

We’ve been on Koh Phi Phi since October 5. We took the ferry from Phuket (about an hour and a half.) We were so excited to get to the quiet solitude of the beach after almost a week in the city. Instead, we were met at the ferry with absolute CRAZINESS on the pier. Someone from our hotel was waiting for us, with a sign. He had a wagon, into which he loaded our backpacks. He walked with us to our hotel, which was about .25 miles away. We soon learned that that there are no cars and almost no motorbikes on the island, with the exception of police. There is also one guy who has a white motorbike, and we think he must be the mayor of Koh Phi Phi or something like that.

We checked into the Nice Beach Resort, which was located away from the noisy, crowded streets, on a lovely stretch of beach. It was clean and cheap and we stayed for a few days. We then moved to the Choukoa Phi Phi Lodge, which was right in the heart of the action, with shops, restaurants, bars, and tourist information booths all within a few blocks. Despite being on the main drag, our room was quiet. I would recommend this hotel. It had a nice pool, WI-FI in all the rooms (although sometimes a bit slow,) clean and spacious rooms, and it was not expensive (about $25 USD per night.) The only complaint from Kirk was that the bathroom door was a little short. Haha.

We spent our days exploring the island on foot and sampling all the various delicious Thai food. We loved the fruit shakes especially, which are so refreshing on a hot day – just fruit and ice blended. All of the tiny family-owned places were our favorites, including Tom Yam, Basil Bistro, PP Bucket Shop were among our favorites.

Koh Phi Phi is known as a party island, and one of their claims to fame is the “bucket” drink, which contains a pint of liquor of your choice and a mixer of your choice. For the truly insane, you can also add a small bottle of Thai energy drink. These are mixed together in a plastic bucket with a straw. Have fun with that. As you can imagine, the night-time party scene here is pretty nuts. Full of young backpackers from all over the world. Being the older people that we are, we preferred to watch the partiers rather than participate too much. But it did look fun!

We found an awesome place called Banana Bar, which is a Mexican food restaurant, and it has an amazing rooftop bar. They claim to have the best Mexican food in Thailand, and while that may be true, don’t expect it to be the best Mexican food you’ve ever had. Haha. Our favorite thing about this place was the nightly movie they showed on their huge outdoor projection screen TV’s. There were comfortable bean-bag lounge chairs right in front of the screen, and they served food during the movie. For the adventurous…they have 2 for 1 buckets all day and all night. And for the even more adventurous, you can feel free to partake in herbal refreshment, especially at night. The movies were mostly brand new releases, although they do show “The Beach” at least once per week. We enjoyed “Jason Bourne” and “Star Trek and Beyond.” Pro-tip: the movies start at 7:00, but if you want to enjoy the best seats in the house (the bean bag lounge chairs,) get there no later than 6:00. Those seats go fast.

One thing about Koh Phi Phi that I didn’t particularly care for was the constant onslaught of vendors hassling you to purchase their wares or services, as you walk down the street. The dive shops, massage shops, and taxi boat drivers were the worst offenders. For a few days, we acknowledged every person, saying “no thank you,” but after a while, we just ignored them. “Hello massaaaage!” and “Taxi boat!” every five seconds gets obnoxious very quickly.

One thing I usually love about islands, and Phi Phi is no exception, is that there are cats everywhere. Hardly anyone has dogs, but everyone has cats, and they all roam around freely. They are all well-cared-for and friendly and will approach strangers for pets and attention. This was a source of comfort for me, because while we were on Koh Phi Phi, we received a terrible phone call that our sweet 9 year-old kitty, Cheeto, had passed away that day. We were so devastated that he died while we were gone, but thankful that he was in the care of loved ones at the time.

Up until now, we have posted only one blog entry per location, but since we will be on Koh Phi Phi for a total of 14 days, I think it merits two posts. More exciting excursions and travel tips for Koh Phi Phi coming very soon!

Photos: Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

kirmily — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 23:30:00 GMT

Island Life

Photos: Malaysian F1 Grand Prix weekend

kirmily — Tue, 4 Oct 2016 17:07:00 GMT

Race day

Malaysian Grand Prix Weekend

kirmily — Sat, 1 Oct 2016 14:00:00 GMT

Kirk has been waiting for this weekend for practically his entire life and it's finally here! We arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, September 29. The taxi ride to our hotel was a bit harrowing, because the driver seemed to have no idea where he was going. During our drive, he stopped at a rest area for prayer time, while we waited awkwardly in the car. We made it to Chinatown, where our hotel was located and we were thrilled to learn that we could walk out the front door to the hotel, into the heart of Chinatown. It consists of a few blocks of restaurants and vendor stalls full of souvenirs, street food, clothing, shoes, purses, and anything else you can imagine. Absolute heaven. We sat at a restaurant, which we soon found out is a local hang-out for British and Australian ex-pats. We immediately made friends with a British guy who was also attending the race.

We spent Friday looking around the markets and the surrounding areas, including Central Market, which is just a few bloks from our hotel. We also hopped on the subway to plot our route to the race. The subway and light rail system in Kuala Lumpur is fast, cheap and very easy to navigate. I highly recommend it as the best way to get around the city. While we were in the KL Sentral, we looked around the attached shopping mall and ran into a guy wearing a Texas A&M shirt. Always great to see a fellow Aggie!

Saturday was Qualifying Day for F-1 and we went to the track around 10:30 am. We scoped out our seats, and decided to buy seats in a better section. Since our oringal tickets were only $25 each, we didn't feel to badly about throwing them away. Our new seats were absolutely amazing. We had a clear view of the main straightaway and turns 1 and 2, which is a passing zone. Incredibly, there was no one sitting around us for two rows, so we had lots of room. We watched the only American competing in any of the races that weekend, win the TCR International Serie race and we watched our favorite driver, Lewis Hamilton, qualify in first place for Formula One.

Sunday was RACE DAY!! We got to the track about noon and walked around the track to see the vendors, food and tents and then took our seats for the big event. The race was exciting, of course, and we saw a couple of small crashes in the turns in front of us. It really looked as though Hamilton was going to win the race, but his car blew up right in front of our seats, and he was out of the race. Teammate Nico Rossberg took first place instead. What a great day!

On Monday, we took the subway to the Petronas Towers and they were quite interesting. We considered giong to the top, but it cost $50 and it didn't seem worth that much. It was still pretty cool to see. We also went to Jalen Bukit Bintang, which is a street with tons of street food from all over the world. I was really looking forward to some good grub, but I think we got there too early. Most of the vendors weren't set up yet. Still, it was interesting to see. We spent the rest of our last day in KL, relaxing at the hotel and walking around Chinatown.

Overall, I would say KL was a fabulous place to visit, and the race was definitely a highlight of the trip thus far. Time to get back to the beach, though. :-)

Photos: One Night in Bangkok (actually TWO nights!)

kirmily — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 01:07:00 GMT

Bangkok, Thailand