Day 13: Depart Bangkok

Yep, only a few more hours here. I arrived early yesterday morning in Bangkok. I took and over night train that took about ten hours from Surat Thani. I decided to stay not on Tho Khao San Road this time, but in Siam Square.

I like Siam Square better than Khao San. I'm right in the center of Bangkok where it's so easy to hop on a skytrain, boat, subway, bus, tuk-tuk, or taxi from here to go anywhere in the city. Not to mention that the MBK or the Mahboonkrong is within walking distance.

A little something about the MBK center: 7 floors of shopping, cinemas, food, massage parlors, hair parlors, tattoo parlors, video gaming, karokee music booths, photo booths, and did I mention SHOPPING? This place is enormous loaded with the Thai younger crowd. Lets start from the bottom floor. The bottom floor, is shoes, bags, clothes, jewelry, misc. The second floor is more the same of the first. The third floor is like one gigantic cell phone store. There are so many cell phone booths selling any kind of cell phone, and accessory that you could ever imagine. The 4th floor is bed and bath. The fifth floor is the food floor. The 6th floor is dedicated to video arcade games as well as rooms set up for several players to play against each other. There is also a movie theater on this floor that works it's way up to the 7th floor. On the 7th floor there is bowling, and karokee booths. You can book a sound proof room with your friends to sing. See what I mean, I practically spent all day there yesterday walking around.

So now just a couple of hours till I head to the airport. I have decided whole heartedly that I would very much love to come back here to Thailand. This place is extrodinary, and being that its my first trip to Asia, I can definately say that it won't be my last. This place has only sparked even more of an itch to visit all the other countries in Asia. Maybe someday I will. >>> JEN

Leia Mais…

Day 11 & 12: Spa, Seafood, and Sunburn

That pretty much sums up the last two days. Yesterday, I spent out in the sun for the first part of the day, then went to Eranda Herbal Spa. I can honestly say that it was the best spa that I have ever been to and yes, I have been to my fair share of luxury spas in Vegas. I spent about 4 hours there getting a massage, body scrub, steam bath, jacuzzi, and facial all in a private little hut surrounded by lush floral on a hillside that looks above the sea. The price of all this was so low, I had to look twice at the bill. Then I went to eat some seafood, lobster. Yum.

As for the sunburn part, that is due to the fact that I have been on a boat for the last 3 hours outside on deck which was much sunnier than expected. I neglected the sunscreen because for one, I never burn, and two because it was in my backpack which was amist all the luggage of all the other passengers. I now sit at a little internet cafe in Surat Thani on the mainland where I await to board a train to Bangkok.

Sigh, yep, trip is almost over.

Leia Mais…

Day 10: Stomping Grounds

It may seem so cruel for the Thai's to keep these elephants around for the purpose of elephant treking, but in actuality, they were originally trained as working elephants. When the king outlawed using elephants for working, such as hauling and lifting, the trainers did not know how to afford their up keep. Hence, the last of the Thai working elephants earn their own upkeep by hauling tourists through the thick mighty jungles.

Monkey's are used all over Thailand as a way to harvest coconuts. Ko Samui has 5 million coconut trees, which is how many of these islanders earn their living. Although it seems cruel to keep a monkey for picking coconuts, the farmers consider him to be a member of the family, dutifully treating the monkey with respect.

Here, I went for a refreshing swin at Namoug Waterfall.

Here is Kai, he is an artist (painter) that works across the street from my bungalow. We went out for drinks at the Reggae Pub last night.

Leia Mais…

Day 9: Shopping!

Lotus Flower

Seriously, I was going to go around the island today and look at stuff, but I woke up late, and ended up going to Hat Chaweng Beach instead where I went shopping. Of course everything here are brand name knock off's but the differance here is that there is no differance. I bought a Dior purse for 1200Baht which is about $35 dollars. Their immitation brand names are made with real leather and say Coach, Dior, Dolce & Cabanna, etc. without any fear of copyright laws. Hence, giving you a product that is so close to the real thing. The sunglasses, however, do show a very big differance in quality. So for all you shopaholics, come to Thailand if you want to do some shopping for cheap. With the beach withing hearsay, you can't ask for a better place to buy all your favorite things for nothing.

Merry Christmas!

Leia Mais…

Day 8: Christmas in Thailand

I left Ko Tao this morning by boat and now I find myself in Ko Sumai. One way to really figure out if you are considered to be in a remote location is if the place that you are at has a McDonald's. Well, lets just say that there couldn't have been a McDonald's further away from Ko Tao. I didn't realize how secluded I was on the island untill I left and came here to Ko Samui. This is a bustling little island with all kinds of shops and modernazation. What do you know, this time I have a beach bungalow with a toilet that flushes and TV!

So I really don't think that the Thailand people know what Christmas is all about. It makes me giggle when I see a Thai person riding down the street on their motor bike wearing a santa hat. They cater so much to the tourists that they have conformed just a little to the Christmas spirit, although in vain because they have no idea about the holiday except that there is Santa Clause, the colors, lights, and best of all good food. I was invited to go to a free BBQ tonight at the JAH Peace Beach Bar by the bar tender who seemed to be wildly amused by the fact that I look Thai but am American.

Here's a picture of the Thai's cooking up the Christmas Spirit!

Leia Mais…

Day 7: Remote Locations

Last night as I mentioned, I went to a BBQ with my new German friends from my dive team. Well, I ended up stumbling home early in the morning. We had such a good time! This is a picture of Andi, Nadine, Katrine, and me during dinner.

A little later we girls found ourselves dancing the night away to techno music at Up To You Bar.

Since I wasn't feeling too great today, I had to just relax. I hung out with my new friends. We rented scooters and went to Sairee Village where we ate dinner by candlelight on the beach while sipping on mango shakes. I totally have the windblown look in the pictures. Also, I'm fat from our dinner of Red Snapper, Pad Thai, and beef Kabobs.

Leia Mais…

Day 6: I saw a mermaid!

Shark island, not Snake Island as I called it yesterday, was pretty much a bunch of big rocks sticking out of the ocean. Diving today, I came into contact with my first real danger. It was some sort of big fish thing, that my instructor pointed out as we were floating along. I didn't get a good look, but I remember it being big. All I know is that I haven't been eaten alive.

We also dived at a site called Rocky Point. It was by far my favorite dive since I've been here. We actually ran into some wreckage on the bottom of the ocean, and there was a mermaid statue. The water was so much better than it was yesterday. Much more clear, and at least the sun was out.

Okay, well now I'm off to meet with some of the instructors for a BBQ on Sairee Beach that they invited me to. Tomorrow is my last day on this island. Although, there could be the chance that I am stuck here for a few days because all boats have been grounded. There is a hurricane off the coast of China that has caused some big waves.

Leia Mais…