Warning: this blog was written while I did not have internet...it's a few days old :)
So my trip around Southeast Asia before my study abroad program has turned into a trip around Southeast Asia with the study abroad part being canceled. Yes, it was canceled. This is now one hell of a vacation. I am so upset over it and when I found this out last Thursday, I got pretty bummed out. But after talking with my girlfriend and my folks, I realized that it was supposed to be this way for a reason (still not sure what reason). I've just spent a semester studying Southeast Asian Politics and now I am smack dab in the middle of it. Hell, it's because of the politics that it got canceled! I've relinquished myself to enjoying this trip to the fullest. I'll never forget this trip and I still have about 18 more days. I'll make the best of them for sure.
So, since I last blogged a few fun things have happened. After our day of riding around on scooters and getting tickets, we took it pretty easy and hung out at the beach the next day. Actually, the next few days that was all we did. Rough life, I know. We switched hotels on Thursday since we decided to stay two extra days. We stayed in Phuket because back in Bangkok, the curfew was still in effect. We figured that it would be more fun to hang out in Phuket where there was no curfew.
Our new hotel cost half as much and had a gigantic flat screen television! Thursday evening we booked a speed boat trip out to the Phi Phi Islands (pronounced pee-pee). Let me just tell you, these islands were SO BEAUTIFUL! If you ever go to Thailand, do not miss these islands.
A shuttle picked us up the next morning at 8. We arrived at a marina on the other side of Phuket half an hour later. There were two groups on to boats. Our tour guide was this hilarious Thai guy named Son-ya who was extremely gay. He would tell us about things in English and randomly speak in a super high tone at the end of sentences. Before long we were hauling ass out to the first stop at Phi Phi Ley where parts of The Beach were filmed. This beach was amazingly beautiful and PACKED with tourists from various speed boat tours. We were there for about half an hour, got a bunch of pics, swam around a bit, and were back on our way to the next spot- monkey island.
Monkey island was really not an island but more of a spot along the edge of one of the islands where these monkeys hang out. The captain pulled the boat right up to the edge of the shore along this steep cliff with trees and shrubs growing up the side. A deckhand came to the front of the boat with a tray of sliced watermelon and began tossing them to the monkeys in the trees. These monkeys were agile and caught the pieces with great skill. It was amazing to watch the monkeys fighting over the slices. There was even a mother with a baby nursing while she was trying to catch the watermelon!
After heading out of there we cruised into a little cove and took some pictures while slowly cruising around it. From there we made our way to a snorkeling spot alongside the main island of Phi Phi Don. The water was so clear and the fish were so beautiful. We swam around a bit and my buddy took a bunch of pics with his waterproof camera. From here we headed to the marina on Phi Phi Don for a buffet lunch. One thing that I noticed was that the women on the island were all wearing the traditional Muslim head covers. In Thailand, the southern parts are predominantly Muslim while the areas around Bangkok and the north are predominantly Bhuddist. It was very cool to see this firsthand after learning about it in class.
We lounged around a bit and walked around some of the shops before getting back on the boat to head to our next destination- Kaya Beach.
This island was so small you could throw a rock (really hard) from one side to the other. There was nothing on this island but beach chairs with umbrellas and a bar with rinks and some food. We went snorkeling for a bit and grabbed a few chairs to lounge around on. The view here was absolutely wonderful and was a great way to end the day. After about 2 hours we headed back to the marina where we got back on the shuttle to our hotel. Needless to say, this day was totally awesome! It was the highlight of my trip to Phuket.
My buddy and I headed out the next day on a flight back to Bangkok. We arrived around 4pm and hopped on a bus to Khao San where our hostel was located. Getting off the bus we were bombarded with guys trying to get us to stay at there hotel or rip us off with a taxi. We ran into a volunteer policeman who gave us a map and directed us to our hostel. He was really helpful and told us about 3 different stories about the potential scams in the area. It was nice to see someone who was looking out for us. He told us that a taxi from where we were to our hostel would cost about 50 Baht. So we spoke with the nearest taxi driver who told us the ride would cost 100 Baht! Wow. Not 30 seconds after hearing about scams with taxis, one tried to rip us off. We realized it was close enough to just walk.
Our hostel is nicely situated on a side street away from the hustle and bustle of Khao San road which is loaded with bars, restaurants, and best of all street food. After settling in a bit we headed out to Khao San to grab some dinner. We stopped at a little spot with tables on the sidewalk. The host was a younger guy who was really funny and loved to show us his magic tricks. I picked up on just about all of them but didn't say anything because it was so entertaining. Magic while you eat! We headed out to a few spots with live music and soaked in the nightlife.
Yesterday, we were so tired and ended up hanging out in the hostel room. We watched a few movies and gathered up the motivation to head out into the heat. I guess that is partly why we didn't go out all day, it was so hot! We have one more day in Bangkok before we meet up with another friend to head to Vietnam then Singapore. This has gone from being the greatest study abroad program to the greatest vacation I've had to date (except for Cozumel since I got to share that with my girlfriend- love you A). I'll keep you all updated with posts and pics in the coming days.
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