Goes by in a blink.: Beach Bums

It's been just over two weeks since we last wrote and what a great two weeks it has been. So great that we were to busy to write. We left Ao Nang and ventured over to Phuket. Phuket is Thailand's largest island and is a major world holiday destination. Our last night in Ao Nang, Kelly got a mild case of food poisoning from a restaurant just out front of our hotel. It lasted about twenty hours and saw her up all night in the washroom laying on the floor with stomach cramps and vomiting. Unfortunately for Kelly, the next day required us to travel by bus for a couple hours. Then we had to navigate our way through Phuket to where we wanted to get to, and then find a hotel. We found a cute little place within short walking distance to Kata and Karon beach. A perfect location for the beach bums we were about to become.

The next day we were off to pick up my cousin Brenna from the airport. We left for the airport and it took us a lot longer then anticipated. We arrived over an hour late. We frantically ran around the airport searching for her. Through the restaurants and outside, we could not find her anywhere. Kelly managed to find a place that let her use the internet, while I went and checked with her airline. The airlines had no records of her even being on the flight. Then it dawned on me, perhaps we were a day early. So I went back down to find Kelly and we checked the email, and yup, 45 dollars out of our pockets, 6 hours total of running around to get there and back, we were a day early. We emailed Brenna when we got back to our hotel and told her the easiest way to get to us when she arrived the next day. We weren't going to try it again. The next day she arrived in a tropical down pour, but she arrived. We hung out in Phuket for three days enjoying the different beaches and letting her get over minor jet lag with the aid of pina coladas and beer.

On the ferry to Koh Phi Phi

We left Phuket and headed for Koh Phi Phi. We were all really excited. Kelly and I had been there four years ago, but it was only on a day trip and we hadn't seen much at all. At that time I had twenty odd stitches in my arm, and was unable to swim or snorkel in the waters. The two hour boat ride from Phuket to Koh Phi Phi was nice as it gave us a great view of Koh Phi Phi Don (the main island.) Koh Phi Phi Don is two small limestone islands with giant cliffs reaching hundreds of feet into the sky straight out of the ocean. They are joined by an hour glass shaped sandbar running through the middle. Our first night there was very eventful. We stumbled across a fire show on the beach and Brenna feeling up for a challenge, went up and jump roped a twelve foot long flaming rope, twice! After that we walked around the maze of sidewalks, as there are no vehicles. Well except for the one, the police officer's scooter, but he was normally drinking beer at a bar near the docks. We found our way to a bar that had a large boxing ring in the middle and found out that if you get up there and Thai box another customer, you each receive a bucket! A bucket being a typical child's beach toy bucket filled with alcohol, red bull, and coke. Delicious and dangerous! Brenna stepped up again. She got in the ring and "boxed" another girl. They each wore proper protection and went at it for three short rounds with Brenna winning due to the other girl tearing apart a blister on her foot. The night was rounded out dancing at a bar on the beach and then going for a late night swim. We spent the last two days with Brenna getting sick and Kelly and I just relaxing. Koh Phi Phi overall wasn't what we hoped for. It was loud, dirty and in your face. The Thai's who call it home seem fairly jaded by the amount of tourism that visits the tiny island. The only happy residents where the cats, they were all so friendly.

The famous bucket, one of many.

Beach foot scrub

Onward to Koh Lanta. Koh Lanta is missed in large by the flocks of tourists. The day we left Koh Phi Phi it was a down pour and the ocean was a rockin. We had an hour long boat ride. So we each popped a gravol and sat in the chairs trying to stay calm and relaxed. In Thailand you never have to look far to find someone trying to sell you something. On the boat, as usual was a "salesman" trying to get people to go to the resort he was offering. The pictures looked great and the offer of a free ride to the place was to good to pass up on. When we got there we all took one look at the shower and new we had found our new home. Lanta Miami Resort, had a large clean pool overlooking the ocean and beach, friendly staff and beautiful sunsets. It was above our budget so we teamed up with Brenna and split the price on a bungalow. We were a long way down the coast, so there was zero night life We enjoyed just resting, reading, working on our tans and getting to know some of the other guests and hotel staff. We also spent a couple of days riding around on scooters checking out the island. Scooters are a great way to find local attractions in the area cheaply and of course hidden gems that you would normally miss without the freedom of your own transportation. We did seek out a waterfall that was on the map. Unfortunately after a long sweaty hike, when we finally found it there was only a small trickle of water. At the end of the trail on the way back we stumbled across 5 elephants having their dinner. We got to watch up close and that alone made the short, hot trek worth it. We had also planned to go to an animal sanctuary for cats and dogs but just didn't make it. There was a cat at our resort who must have been in a fight. His right leg was swollen and getting larger everyday. We fed him at almost every meal and felt so bad for him. After we left I e-mailed the sanctuary telling them about the cat and that if they could go look at him I would gladly send a donation to help with the medical treatment he needed. To our surprise they wrote us back and are sending someone from their team to go and look at him in the next few days. Those 5 days felt like a vacation within our trip and as weird as it sounds, were much needed.

Sunset in Phuket

With Brenna flying out of Bangkok, she had two options of getting back there. Bus to Bangkok, which would be about 20 odd hours or Flying out of Krabi to Bangkok, which would take about an hour. Brenna still being gainfully employed opted for the flight, which in the end only cost 75 dollars. We left Koh Lanta in a mini bus for Ao Nang. The drive was only a couple hours. Kelly and I having been there only two weeks prior knew where we wanted to stay. The next day we took a long tail boat to Railay Beach. It was beautiful and we spent the day there... working on our tans! Of course! It was Brenna's favorite beach on the trip. The next day we woke up to rain. So we went for breakfast and then found a spa to relax at while having massages. Kelly and I each had an hour long massage and it cost 350 baht, or 12 dollars. When we awoke from the relaxation the rain had stopped, so we spent Brenna's last evening laying on the beach.

We said a sad goodbye to Brenna today. It was so nice having the company and we enjoyed sharing some of our experiences first hand with someone we know. She hopes to be able to meet us in India in the new year and we cross our fingers that it will all work out for her to come. Tomorrow, Kelly and I will research where we will go next. Although we feel almost ready to leave Thailand as it is starting to become comfortable, we still have nearly 3 weeks left on our Thai visas. It almost seems like a waste to leave early knowing that it could be a long time until we ever get back here. We are both interested in learning to dive and possibly become certified. We know of an island that produces hundreds of certified divers each week, Koh Tao. Kelly and I were there on the last trip, but its 15 painful hours north of here and frankly we feel like heading south. I've done a little research and found more little islands that are off travel radars and we could spend the next couple weeks laying in hammocks getting lost in some books....which sounds very appealing as well. Who knows what lies ahead? These are the tough choices we face everyday.