I have snuck in to use a computer in a room that is getting renovated at the place we are staying, so I may have to make this quick! Nanc and I got to Ao Nang on the 7th and were there for two nights. It is a great little town with a ton of bars, restaurants, shops, and fellow travellers. The first night we stayed at this interesting little hostel set out of the town a bit. We walked down to the beach, got a couple of beers and got our first view of the Indian Ocean. The view from Ao Nang beach was amazing with all of the rock formations and far off Islands. There were so many longboats along the shore taking people to and from Islands close by. We watched the sun set and then made our way up to a nice little Indian restaurant for dinner. So many of the restaurants here cook food from multiple nationalities, catering to travelers from all over the world. This restauarant had all sorts of food from all over the world, but we decided to stick to Indian and it was delicious.
The owner of the hostel that we stayed at the first night was really nice, but it was kind of a boring, blah type place and far away from the beach/downtown, so we decided to move closer to the center of town the next night. We went to the beach and were in the sun for not even two hours the next day and we got FRIED! We both knew it was going to happen but we were so sure that we had loaded on the sunscreen that we thought maybe, just MAYBE we would be safe. Nope. We loaded on the aloe and hoped for the best. I really wanted to go to Ton Sai Beach, a beach reccomended by locals and friends, but we didn't end up getting the chance. We were fried and only had a limited time in this part of Thailand, so we chose to put it off...until next time anyways!
That night, we ran in to a few people that Nanc had gone to school with at suffolk. Of course we ran in to people that she knows accross the world. We grabbed a drink with them and then they all went home to go to bed. Party poopers. I was ready to go out for the night because I was finally over the jet lag and wanted to get a taste of what a night out in Thailand was like. I met two girls from Sweden who were traveling SE Asia for six months and then met a few guys from Germany. We played pool, drank Thai beer, danced to live music, and had a grand ol' time. We even took a late night dip in the Indian Ocean. Nanc reluctantly got out of bed when I came home latenight to let me in and then I was down for the count.
We had a great couple of days in Ao Nang, but I was ready to go to Kao Yao Noi, an Island about a 30 min via speedboat from Ao Nang. We loaded on to the speedboat with a bunch of people going to various Islands along the way, and enjoyed the breezy ride to Yao Noi. Traveling from one place to another over here is so easy because your hostels/hotels and local travel agencies set everything up for you, including pick up/drop off at hotels/hostels. We got off the boat at the pier on the Island and there was a bus waiting to take us to Sabai Corner Bungalows, our cozy, relaxing home for two nights.
The Island and the Bungalows were my favorite part of the trip so far. The people on the Island were SO nice and inviting and the pace of life was so slow and relaxed. The hospitality at Sabai Corner Bulgalows was fantastic and they all made sure that we were comfortable and enjoying our time there. The food was amazing and the views were spectacular. There were hammocks everywhere and the hardest part of my day was deciding which hammock I was going to hang out in next. The second day we were there we rented motorbikes and explored the Island, getting lost multiple times and eating delicious food from small local markets. We stumbled upon a seculded beach down a long and bumpy dirt path. It was a nice surprise and I was glad and a little surprised that my motorbike made it down there! Nanc was on a four wheeler so it was no problem for her! I was a little nervous about getting back up to the main road, but the bike did fine and we continued our adventure. Nanc almost hit a water buffalo and I lost is laughing so hard. She also thought she ran out of gas at one point because the quad wouldn't start. I went to get her gat in a waterbottle and turned around at one point to see/hear her beeping her horn, waving her arms, and yelling for me to stop. She forgot to push in the break when she was going to start it. Whooooops!
Yesterday, the 11th, we took a longboat from Yao Noi to Phuket, a much larger and more populated Island in Sothern Thailand. The crew of the boat invited us to sit on the top of the boat with them and it was so much fun. They were so nice and gave us a mini tour of the route that we were taking and the Islands surrounding us. They were even trying to get me to come on to the side of the boat while we were way out in the ocean speeding along, but I was a little reluctant....I told them I would later but I think they forgot and may have even been joking the first time...
We are now staying at a fancy resort that we were treated to in Cape Panwa in Phuket. Now, the hardest decision that we have to make is which pool to swim in and which restaurant to eat at. The food is a bit pricy though and I have been sneaking over to the authentic thai restaurant and the little convenient store across the street to get by for a couple of days. I'm sure the people both here and there have caught on to what I am to.... :) We went paddleboarding in the bay this morning and lounged by the infinity pool (that is the one we have chosen) all day until a storm rolled in around 2. Then I snuck up here to update you all before happy hour at four. It is one minute past four and nanc is getting antsy to go down to the bar, so gotta go!
Cheers!
xoxox
