Kho Tao, Thailand and MORE BEACH

Kho Tao in Thailand is known for it's scuba diving as it is one of the cheapest places in the world to get your certification. I, for whatever reason, wasn't dead set on getting my certification but I did go out one day and I have to say it was a pretty cool experience. Although I didn't love the feeling of being under water like so many other people do, it was amazingly beautiful. You truly feel like a visitor down there and the amount of activity is unreal. Everywhere you look there is a different school of fish and something different to see.

Adam was working on getting his open water certification and I took that time to sit around on the beach and read. I managed to finish a few books during my stay at Kho Tao and was so happy to get get some sun. For all of you who are wondering, yes, I did burn a little but I still maintain I'm doing a great job for someone with my skin tone. And I now have a little "tan" which is just the merging of all my freckles but I'll take it!

On our third day in Kho Tao while looking out the window of an internet cafe I saw my friends Sam and Fraser drive by in the back of a pick up truck (common means of transport on the islands for us backpackers). I knew they were going to be in the area but thought they'd be arriving a week later. Sam and Fraser are a super funny couple at the end of their trip who I met in Lima, Peru. Although we planned on meeting up at some point in Thailand, I'm still going to call this a small world story.

One day the four of us rented motorbikes to explore the island a bit and head to shark bay, known for it's great snorkeling. After getting lost 7 times over we found the nearly deserted bay and spent the day swimming and laying in the sun. Every night we found ourselves by the water watching the insane fire throwers. At first, I wasn't a fan, as it's a nutso tourist trap and I didn't see why everyone likes it so much. But after a while the fire seems to be almost hypnotic and is very relaxing . . . or perhaps it was all the sun and the beer. Here are some shots of shark bay, fire, and us partying on the beach:

The next post will feature my first near death experience on this trip and the full moon party!

Blame Thailand for the Lack of Posts

Or, I'm going to blame Thai computers. Every time I tried to post in Thailand, or download pictures, I managed to get electrocuted from the computer. NOT KIDDING. The first couple times actually hurt, a lot, and I felt like I was going to puke after. But, no worries, I survived and now have all of my pictures posted on my picasa site (link on the top right).

Thailand was amazing. I arrived in Bangkok and meet up with a high school friend, Adam who has been on the road now for almost 6 months. We just happened to be in the same place at the same time and because of the powers of facebook we were able to find one another. Bangkok is one crazy busy city and we managed to take in the night life in just a couple days and see a couple highlights before deciding to travel some place a bit more laid back.

We decided on the islands! I'm always game to hit the beach and Adam was down to get out of Bangkok. One 15 hour train ride, 1 hour bus ride and a 2.5 hour ferry ride later we found ourselves in Koh Phangan. Koh Phangan is home of the infamous full moon party but since we arrived in between a party the island was tame, to say the least.

One day trip included a boat ride to Haad Yuan, a paradise just 10 minutes away from our hotel. Check out the ridiculously beautiful views:

After a few days in Kho Phangan we were ready for a different island and a slightly different pace. I was okay just hanging out on the beach everyday but Adam was curious about Kho Tao, an island a few hours away which has some of the best diving around. I assumed there would be a beach there and some place I could read and so I was up for another ferry ride.

Next post will feature the very chill Kho Tao and scuba diving!

Eating my way through Malaysia

The one serious area of improvement in my travel life is trying new foods. Many of you know I'm a horribly picky eater. Trust me, I've tried to become more open and experience foods but the fact of the matter is I'm not crazy about food. I receive constant critizism from other travelers so try to resist the urge comment and tell me the food I NEED to eat this kind of food, or try this out - chances are I won't.

Malaysia, somehow, became a place where I couldn't stop eating. Everyday I would go to the "street food" street and wander from stand to stand. I embrassed this part of my trip as the food stop and ate as much chicken rice, nasi lamak and roti as humanly possible.

In between my binges I did mangage to see a couple cool things in KL. The first being Batu Caves which is essentially a temple inside these caves right outside the city. Of course, there were greedly little monkies there which everyone fed but I was more interested in the scenery:

My second day trip was to an elephant "sanctuary" a few hours away from Kuala Lumpur. I asked a million questions before commiting to the trip. Is it truly a sanctuary, do they treat the animals okay? I was assured over and over again that it would be a fun, cool way to see elephants. Which, by the way, I'm not a huge elephant fan but had read the book "Water for Elephants" about circus life in the 1920's or 30's and I grew to like them much more because the elephant understood Polish. Anyway, needless to say parts of the day trip were a total scam and the documentary that they showed us before seeing the elephants explained that they needed the sanctuary because people were getting angry that the elephants were walking through their fields and ruining their crop. My question would be, then why don't you make space for them and spare them of the insane process of tranquilizing the animals and then transporting them to the sanctuary? At some point I needed to just let go and try to have fun. And trust me, riding an elephant was fun but I soon found out by the crazy rash on my hands that I'm probably allergic to those big guys.

Check out the photos:

Next stop Thailand and the islands, ahhhhh.

Hello Singapore

Singapore was my first stop in Asia and it was a good way to ease into the continent. It's a very big city and it is extremely well organized. It seems as though the place was completely planned before even creating it. If you know anything about how I feel about cities, particularly how I feel about planning, you'd know I wasn't a huge fan of the city. I'm more of a Jane Jacobs, organic development of the city kind of gal. But, it was nice to be in such a clean place that was easy to navigate. Nearly every question that I had was answered, in English, on some sign with a picture to help with comprehension. I just couldn't believe how easy it was to get around, go to the airport, and ride the subway (MRT).

My stop in Singapore was fairly uneventful but I did manage to squeeze in a good day or two of museums (a way to stay out of the insane heat and humidity) and learn a ton about the country and how it was developed. I also met some great people at the hostel I was staying at - all just moving through Singapore and en route to some other Asian country.

Next stop: Kuala Lumpur!

It's a Birthday Bali

Okay, so it wasn't the biggest birthday party I've ever had but it was certainly the most relaxed and stress free. I arrived in Bali after a quick one day stop in Singapore (more to come on that bizarre city). I only had 6 nights and didn't have much of a plan.

I imagined landing and instantly hearing Florence and the Machine the Dog Days are Over and feeling like this kid:

 

By the way, this is the ONLY Eat, Pray, Love reference you'll see in this blog and if you don't get it then you missed the best part of the film which is Florence and the Machine. Instead, I was met with a nutty amount of traffic and congestion. Huh? I thought I was going to ride bikes in the country side and meditate and shit. No frolicking in the rice fields, just motorbikes, motorbikes and motorbikes. I arranged to stay at a guest house which worked out fine except for the fact that I was trapped because the free motorbikes they provided scared the living hell out of me. (Again, I imagined leisurely drives through rural Bali not two, six or eight lane traffic). So after one night I pulled the "but it's my birthday" card and booked a swanky hotel with some points I racked up on my credit card. This was the first time I spent more than my budget on just a hotel but it was well worth it. 

I did manage to squeeze in a tour of Southern Bali my first full day that gave me a taste of the Balinese culture. We started going to turtle island (most turtle islands are tourist traps, this was no exception) and then hit the beach. Here are some pictures of the Indian Ocean and the monkeys that greeted us while walking back up from the beach to meet our driver. 

The highlight for me was Uluwatu Temple and seeing a traditional Balinese dance. Unlike some other dances, this one featured a chorus of 50 dudes chanting instead of having instruments. The story I had just learned from a museum 3 days before in Singapore in an exhibit. Here are the pictures of the temple and performance at sunset: 

After moving to my super nice resort I just spent time chillin in an air conditioned room and swimming in the two enormous pools. I finished some books and took naps and honestly wouldn't have remembered that it was my birthday until the staff brought me a cake. While I would prefer celebrating with my twin sis, it wasn't half bad being alone reading by the pool. 

My last day included a bike tour of rural Bali and it was a perfect way to end my visit. This is what I had heard of Bali being - peaceful and quiet. Our tour guide told us tons of information on the land of a thousand temples. 

So Bali wasn't exactly what I expected but what I will remember is how much I loved the Balinese people. They are absolutely hilarious and have a great sense of humor and are overwhelmingly welcoming. 

Tomorrow I head back to Singapore and then on to Kuala Lampur. More posts to come!

Ballin' in Sydney

After coming back from my trip to Melbourne I was offered a place to crash for the next week with my friends Brian and Dervilia, an Irish couple I met in Cartagena. They were so sweet to offer me a place to stay and I was excited about being able to spend some time with them. What they failed to mention is that their apartment was amazing. I opened the door and blurted out "Man, you guys are ballers!". Of course, they thought it was the most American term they had ever heard in context and I've been hearing about it since. Once again I feel overwhelmed with gratitude and am so thankful to have met them. Derv and Brian were incredibly kind to take care of me for the last week and I can't wait to return the favor once I settle back in NYC.

The past week I played the role of the typical tourist. I quickly moved into the Irish inner circle and hung out with some super nice people from all over Ireland who were interested in seeing the sights as well. I went to museums, the aquarium, wildlife center and did a couple great cliffwalks. Here are some shots from my tourist week.

Here are my top 5 observations about Sydney:

1. The weather is great and sunny a lot of the time

2. The shopping here is unreal and the women are babes and all nicely dressed.

3. There are beaches IN the city. It's one of the most "liveable" city in that sense.

4. Syndey is expensive (I know, I know, you've heard it from me before but I thought it was worth saying again).

5. Aussies are some of the most chill relaxed people I've ever met. Even in the city, the have the most laid back attitude.

I will definitely miss Syndey but I'm ready to move on once again. Thanks to everyone who hosted me in my 3 weeks in Australia!

Next stop: Singapore.

Spending Money Like I have it in Sydney

Again, I'm sorry for not posting for a while. I've been in Sydney and internet time here is almost 3 dollars an hour! Bah! So it's difficult to upload pictures and write a post but I'm doing my best. Thanks to all of you for the reminders, now I know some of you actually read my blog!

I was so excited to come to Sydney because one of my good friends from school lives here and is studying to get her phd. Carolyn and I were urban studies dorks in school and get along great so couldn't wait to see her life here and what she thinks of the city. Her cutie finance is from Australia and they've shown me around a ton.

The first week was spent hanging out with Carolyn and Brad and getting to know the city a bit more. It's a great place but I think it's incredibly expensive. I paid 4 dollars for a coke (I know I know, I shouldn't be drinking that crap anyway). The quality of life here is amazing and people are always out and enjoying the ridiculously nice weather. Unlike NYC and a few other American cities, at night (most nights) it cools down here and there's an awesome ocean breeze. I took advantage of the great weather and swam as much as possible in Carolyn's pool and the beaches here that are inside the city - nuts!

After the first week I took a trip to Melbourne. In total, the trip took 3 days and I met some great people. My tour guide was a Kiwi who lived in Australia but worked for a bunch of summers in New Hampshire. Small world. He doesn't know it yet but we'll get married one day for sure. We took a few good walks along the way, one of which lead to one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. Check it out!

I also saw real kangaroos in the wild! I thought they were kind of scary at first but they seemed to just be chillin in the middle of nowhere.

The next post I'll write about my time back in Syndey with some great friends I met traveling in South America.

Much love,

Me