Sorry for the lack of photos! the internet cafes in Bangkok wont let us look at upload photos. Ill add some later!
Hello Thailand! Considering how close Malaysia and Thailand are, the people and way of life is very different to us! I never would have guessed that I was comfortable in Malaysia until we got to Thailand and I had to adjust to a totally new culture again. Which is why we're doing the trip, so no complaints here.
We started out our trip in Koh Lipe, a tiny island about 6 km off the west coast of Thailand. There aren't any cars on the island of lipe but they have their fair share of beaches, bars, and stray dogs. We stayed in a small straw hut, with a mattress on the floor and just enough roomfor our bags. We also had our own bathroom which was just a dingy cement room attached to the side of the hut. All in all it was pretty good aside from the frog we found in our toilet (named Captain Joe Phi Phi) and the giant spider he brought with him.
The beach was exactly what comes to mind when you think about Thai islands. Perfect sand, live music, restaurants right on the beach, longboats and fire dancers. We spent most of our time on one of the three beaches and were expecting to meet up with our friends but they ended up heading to railey instead. It was too bad we couldn't see them sooner, but I'm not going to complain about changing plans to go to paradise for a couple days. I should thank them for the idea!
After a couple days in the beach and being surrounded by other tourists, we were desperate to find out what "real" Thailand was like. So we took a really choppy speed boat and a minibus, and another bus, to nahkon si thammarat. It is a city where people first existed in the south of Thailand, and is known for its temples, craft work and slow pace. It was beautiful but difficult at first as no one at all spoke English and we had a hard time finding places to eat food. But I'm so glad we went and spent two days just looking at all the temples and market places. We also only saw about three or four other white people there, and you can tell the locals don't see many tourists as everyone would smile at us and use every English word they knew when they saw us, even when they were driving by on their motorbikes of in shared taxis. Also, all the children in the museum stood near us and giggled, and then eventually got the courage to stand in a line and shake our hands and say hello! It was pretty cute!
Then, to mix it up completely, we went to Ko Pha Ngan, the epitome of Thailand beach tourist culture and home of the famous Full Moon Party. We had a nice bungalow on the beach (no frogs in the bathroom this time) and finally met up with James, Kim and Steph. We spent a couple days on the beach, rented some motorbikes and scooted around a bit, and just caught up on our adventures so far. We then headed to the full moon party dressed in florescent clothes and glow in the dark body paint. For those who don't know anything about the full moon parties, they originated when hippy travellers first noticed that the full moon was best viewed from haad rin beach, and started partying every time there was a full moon. So now it's become the thing to do and about 25,000 people go during the peak season when there is a full moon. They also have "half moon parties" and "sliver moon parties" and "we went to the jungle today" parties and "we saw a waterfall today" parties, and then after-parties for each one. The full moon party is really the big deal though and it was definitely a lot of fun. The beach was crowded from one end to the other with people drinking buckets filled with mickeys of alcohol and mix for 120 baht ($4 Canadian). There were djs, food stalls and people selling florescent gear as well as laughing gas. We spent most of the time walking around running into people we'd met previously and saying hello to other Canadians. We then danced on a raised cement platform. Around
5 am ( they mix red bull with all the drinks) we sat down on the beach and counted the amount of people who were passed out along the beach and helped one guy who was about to get swept in with the tide. The goal of the party was to make it to sunrise, but we were tired and hungry so we went home. Jake and I had to walk home along the beach while the sun came up, so we did make it to sunrise, just not amidst all the people still dancing and drinking.
Overall, it was fun, except for the fact that forty five minutes after arriving to the beach, my iPod was stolen from my purse. I knew i shouldn't have brought it with me, but i wanted to take some pictures. So I am a little lost without my ultimate survival tool. It was also a gift from jake, so I am very sad about loosing it. I filed a police report and am filing an insurance claim, so hopefully i'll get some money to replace it.
Anyway, it was still fun, and it was really great to hang out with our friends for a couple days. We said goodbye and are now heading to Bangkok where the relaxation ends and the real adventure begins.
