Boats, planes and automobiles....

So our time on the islands is coming to an end.... Until we sneak back in for our sailing trip in March.
Is it our humanness that when we have to let go of something we like it and want it even more?
I have been excited to get more "cultural" but now that it's ending, I want to walk the beach over and over again and am sad to leave that unique blue of the water that cries out to be painted.

The winds picked up again on our last day and Brad thought it would be fun to go on a hike to a waterfall close by.  Of course we waited till late morning so we could catch the full heat that Thailand has to offer.
Well the sun and heat has dried up the waterfall and Brad was able to climb right  to where it would be strongest only to dip his toe into a shallow pool. His only company being a floating dead lizard.
We did work up an appetite and enjoyed chilling in a pub that serves up some great reggae music and marijuana smoke along with yummy food.

Early morning start back along the roller coast road, to the ferry and to the prettiest airport you ever did see on the island of Koh Samui.  I felt like I was in disneyland with its streets, flowers, cleanliness, water features, tram for passengers to get to their gates where each area has comfy seating, free food and drinks...   The transition from beaches to the big city of Chiang Mai (population 1,000,000) has just been made easier.
Good bye Koh Phangan.  Chiang Mai here we come.  And thank you Brad for paying extra so our trip takes six hours not 36 via train....

Brad the conqueror and best dad ever!

Did you ever wonder where those coconut shells went after you had your drink.

Well we found a couple of final resting places on our hike to the falls.

Couldn't resist one more picture of Anna doing her thing!

View of our amazing beach.

Quick bite at 7 am before getting on the morning ferry.

Great lounge spots all throughout the airport.

Food in Thailand...

I can't believe I haven't written about food yet as it is one of the things we love.

Which on a side note, I realize again that who you are at home will probably be who you are while you travel. You never really loose yourself. We maybe stretch and push ourselves, we might try something new but I don't think we go opposite of our basic self.  Yes? No?

So we love food at home and are enjoying it immensely here.  Each place makes pad thai a little differently and I love them all. Pad Thai is bigger for the tourists than the locals as they prefer rice to noodles.  Papaya salad is simply yummy! And the curries (red, green, panang, massaman, khaw soi....) Comfort food with a kick!

All the food in the markets are local and the fruit sweet and delicious.  We found one fruit that is new to us.  Mangkoot (I keep getting corrected on the pronunciation) and it is slippery with a tart yet sweet flavour close to a lychee nut/orange.....

So glad we don't have allergies or are picky eaters.  We may not have tried the crocodile on the menu but we don't complain that there is not whole wheat to be found or gluten free or low fat.....

Like I said, the food is fresh.
I didn't post the gutting/cleaning phase of this process.....











We also love the bang for your buck here when it comes to food.  $1 - $2 will  get you an amazing bowel of curry or papaya salad from the street vendor, or pay a bit more in a casual restaurant.

Sadly, the wine is expensive and not very good.

So from food found out of the town at a roadside restaurant where the menu is only in Thai and what you get is a surprise, to yummy treats served by street vendors outside of temples.  The food is fresh, cheap, delicious and we haven't gotten sick yet!

We are off to a cooking school soon, because like I said, you stay mostly yourself, even when you travel!

Reading while traveling.

You can download all the books you want on your iPad or reader, but when you are at the beach in the sand with the salt water on your hands and the sun in your eyes their is nothing like a good paper back book.

Second hand book stores charge up to $10 for a used book so thank you to all those travellers that bring a book or buy a book and leave a book.

Though at times they are mostly in Dutch or Swedish, we have found some great reads on our travels we might not otherwise have read.  Okay and just some silly ones too.

I read a book Angels of Pataya by GT Gray about the sex trade in Thailand.

The Empower Foundation

It gave the history of slavery, rights of women over the years (or lack thereof) and interviewed about 25 prostitutes in Thailand.

When a people or country are poor, they will sacrifice to those who are willing to take advantage for their own pleasure, greed, self indulgence.

A poor family makes about $1,000-$2,000/ year, their daughter can make almost that much in a month in high season of tourism and send money home, though they won't acknowledge what she does.

What role do we play as travellers in how a culture changes?  Not only in the entertainment industry but in their culture, their environment, the reefs, etc....?....

Spent one indulgent day caught up in a fantastic book.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

As the writer describes in an interview:

I like to write about ordinary people who find themselves in an extraordinary point in their lives.

Then use language to convey character, philosophy, and action in a poetic way that has a rhythm all it's own.

She writes giving clues throughout the book that work on a superficial and deeper level if you choose to reflect.  Kind of like how life has clues.  Just sometimes we are so busy living we don't see them.

Loved it!  Loved the joy of being caught up in a good book.

But enough rambling.

Thankful for how each resort has some kind of a book exchange.

Our lazy days in Koh Phangan

A few highlights from our time here in Kho Phangan where sun worshipers come to spend warm lazy days on palm fringed beaches and swim in jewel-toned seas.

Brad and Anna dove at a Padi five star site: Sail Rock (Hin Bai) - low visibility sad to say, but any day under water is a good day.... Says Brad.

Dive Boat they took out.

The wind and waves were a bit strong at our beach: Thong Nai Pan Noi

The undertow pulled me a ways out and Brad made me come in as I hadn't realized how far I was getting.

I did chuckle when Brad was trying to body surf and then all we saw were legs and then nothing.... 

No matter where you go or how rich or poor you are, you will find a spirit house.  They are typically ornate watlike structures set on a pedestal in a prominent section of the yard.  Food, drink and furniture are all offered to the spirits to smooth daily life.

When we see cats climb up to take the food, I wonder if the families think the spirit god has taken it?

A great place to buy our morning fruit.  Just need to get it the night before as nothing opens until 10 am.

There is a very classy resort right beside ours. Anantara Resort and Spa.
The spa is set outside in a jungle like setting.  Simply stunning.
We had a fun night watching Skyfall outside under the stars at this resort on large coushions.
Anna would like her honeymoon here I think?

I guess even monks need a get-away on the beach?

Off to Thong Nai Pan Yai beach for the day.  

Only a 25 minute walk straight up a hill and then straight down.  

Got a few funny looks as everyone taxis or drives scooters.  The heat maybe having something to do with that.

Calm waters. Great swimming. Ate and hung out at Nu Bat for lunch.

Shade, great food, hammocks, lounge coushions, great music and they don't kick you out.

This beach gives a better sense of how things were just even 5 years ago.

You see the jungle covering the hillside, the trees come down to the water and there is less construction here.

Our little town of  Thong Nai Pan Noi is charming. You can walk all the streets in 15 minutes and it stays fairly sleepy until the people come in from the beaches and out to dinner.

All in all, a very relaxing time in a beautiful setting and interesting to note, when you are about to leave you like it even more.

Not sure how Brad will do without the ocean as we head up to the north country tomorrow.

Random Ramblings & Reflections

Travel books, trip advisor and the travel fish sight are bang on!
I don't know why this surprises me, but I just need to say, they are worth following!
So thanks to all who have gone before, you  are worth the money.

It's fun to watch people in a different culture.  As I sit here, there is an older English couple ordering coffee. The lady wanted an iced coffee, not an iced Americano.  Due to the fact that here they seem to only make one thing at a time she is still waiting and he has drank his. They are ranting and raving about the service and trying to leave.
If you expect things to be the same as home I think you shouldn't travel.

Okay, I also have to say I AM SO GLAD we are doing carry on.  As we go up and down steep ramps to boats, navigate dirt pathways, watch young travellers off for a month with backpacks the size of them or others dragging along suitcases the size of small sofas I smile, okay maybe laugh at times and say thank you to Brad for pushing me to pack light.

Don't bring white.  They said not to, but I did and something in the water mixed with sunscreen is turning my whites rust coloured.  Should have believed those travel books.

A friend asked me if I have been surprised by anything yet.  Having travelled to Cameroon and Uganda I have seen poverty.  Having travelled and dived in Hawaii, Florida and Mexico I have seen amazing beaches. Having travelled to Japan I have been surrounded by language that is completely foreign.  So there are some things that could have been surprising but weren't.
I am always surprised how time can fly and stand still.
I am surprised that even with carry on, I packed more than I needed. Today is day 18 of our travels.
I hope I don't ever loose the awe that comes from looking at the beauty of what God has created. In people and in creation and in the many ways He accomplishes His purposes and shows His love.
I hope I am surprised.... In what way I don't know....

We don't get the sunset where we are but we do have amazing sunrises.  There is something special about watching a new morning come in.  You get a special feeling of the grace and new mercies that are ours each day promised to us by God!

Here are a few of my mornings......

Kho Phangan

Well, it was an adventurous trip to the next island beside Kho Tao, called Kho Phangan.

A much larger island with population of 10,300.

We are headed to the north east area to the beaches of Thong Nai Pan Noi and Thong Nai Pan Yai.
Our destination:  Phuwadee Resort and Spa.

The weather was windy, the waves white capping, the boat rolling and splashing water through the front opening making passengers wet and some turn green.

Okay, I know Brad would say it was all fine, but for me, I just stared straight out the window and wouldn't take my eyes off the horizon willing myself to not get sea sick and trying to not wonder when the last time they checked the boat's hull and engine.

Anna slept! 

Then I couldn't help but think of my dad while watching the chaos of people getting their oversized luggage from the big pile at the back of the boat. Just chuckled  as I imagined how he would have had thoughts on how to make this experience more efficient, orderly and tidier.  If you knew my dad, you would know exactly what I mean.

Our resort couldn't be further from the harbour and new roads are just being built. I can't even imagine how they were before as we climbed up and up and then like a roller coaster ride, plummeted down and around a corner over partially paved roads with signs that say "do not enter, under construction."

We are up in price... $40/night but have air conditioning, a blow dryer and flush toilets instead of needing to add water with a scoop from a bucket till things have moved down the pipe..... But they still prefer you to not put the TP in the toilet....

Yay, the beds are more comfortable too!

It is harder to live on $100/day for three on the islands where it is filled with tourists.

Our breakfast for 3 in Phuket now gets us three morning drinks no food.
The massages, beer and pad thai are double.
And if I want wine, expect to pay the same as at the Eldorado at home.

But yes, we are "suffering through it" while we bask in the sun.

Our resort is like a place your parents might have taken you every summer. It's not fancy, the decor a bit tacky and things a little run down.  But then you look at the turquoise water, see the coconut trees sway in the breeze and feel the soft white sand under your feet and you feel like you are in paradise.

Anna waiting for the ferry.

Our little bungalow at Phuwadee Resort

Our first night walking home in the moonlight!

Good bye Koh Tao

 There is always something melancholic about leaving a place.
You have walked the same path to your room and the dust and film of dirt from the humidity you first felt when walking into your room, now feels like yours. The place you got your Americano every morning now greet you when you come in with familiarity. The bar tender puts an extra shot of gin in your drink with that extra lime he now knows you like.
Unlike other places we will go, I think this place will have a unique feel of community.  We have all been centered around a shared activity. The activity has adventure and bonds you with memories.  Like in community you are there to look out for each other and it's never just about you. No one gets left out and of course not left behind.



Like Anna said, it's just like family camp except for the smoking, swearing, toplessness and drinking.....

Evening fun.... The infamous snorkel test to initiate dive master's in training to full fledge dive masters.
A lot of drinking, skill tests and being dunked with water over and over again....

We chose to do the Islands first, with sand and sun and surf to decompress.  It's working. I did bid on a shift at work and got them.... Brad does still wake up and think of work and how things are going with his Troika team..... But we are soaking in the sun and Brad breathes deeply every day!

I have a goal, that with each encounter that offers moments of conversation I not only learn to listen and learn but that I also speak a truth or encouragement or life to that person's spirit.

 We don't live in isolation and every encounter reminds me that even though we are unique, we are the same and in some way we are changed because of the paths we crossed and the words that were spoken.

So bye to Alex, Natalie, Jo, Tom, Ben, Leonard, Chris, Kim, Evan.... Thanks for the memories.

To the many other travellers, continued safety and joy in the journey!

Good bye Koh Tao