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Paradise

After Laos and Bangkok, we were paradise bound. Where we went was like stepping into one of those desktop screen savers I always saw on my father's personal computer.  Heaven on earth would be a bit of an understatement.... it was a vacation spot the gods chose to spend time at.
Not only was the view refreshing, but as was what I learned in that quaint little beach town: Ao Nang. Who knew my life wants would become clear on the beach in Thailand? That was of course with the help of my dear backpacking acquaintances who soon turned to be friends.
Advice to those youngsters out there- Hostels are fun! There are literally no social boundaries when it comes to making friends and what you do with them. Our first day there, a few of the girls, including myself, went off to the beach with a couple of chaps we had just encountered at the hostel. We were taken beyond where the tourists gathered, climbed many steps, steps which were infested by local monkeys

 to then approach a secluded beach which included underwater caves and a dock which we ran across
 to jump into the ever-warm emerald sea. We also found a hidden tire swing...

Due to lack of sleep, I retired to bed at about 8 o' clock that night, to then wake at 8 in the morning. Talk about being completely refreshed. The next day would include kayaking from beach to beach on top of that magnificent sea while taking a few breaks to jump into the sea. 

 I am not sure how the other days exactly went... as, my mind can't connect everything at the moment. Another day, included Kate and I escaping the other girls we had spent 24/7 with and were causing much anxiety whilst renting a scooter to explore what else this region had to offer. That was one of the greatest feelings I had felt in my life. Wind rushing through my air in a very tropical region in Thailand, while holding onto one of my best friends (Kate). Tropical mountains loomed over us as we finally agreed upon following a signs to a nearby (I guess if 40 km is nearby) waterfall... Eventually we hit a national park and took the trail to the waterfall and ran into our Dutch/Thai friend we met at the hostel.

Seeing as we didn't actually know we'd be hiking,  we were a bit underprepared. But nevertheless, I made it across the waterfall with the help of Iemka and I was finally able to mark hiking through the jungle off of my list. 

That was that. I awoke the next morning, not sure of exactly what I should do. That was until Lee (an adventurer by heart,) asked me to join him and his friend Conan to seek the emerald pool on the back of a scooter. I gladly accepted and the whole group joined along. It took much too long as the signs were much too misleading. But we nevertheless made it and enjoyed it with utmost satisfaction. 

Here are a few girls in the Emerald pool.











And just above the emerald pool there was a path filled with much mud that led to this sort of pool which had a sort of neon blue glowing effect.

Now, my mind is so confused with what days were which, so these days are a intertwined. Ehhh naja egal. So, as that is the case, ONE OF THESE DAYS all seven girls went on a snorkeling trip. It literally costed $10 for a 5 hour ordeal, bus ride, lunch, pineapple slices, water and 4 stops including 3 different islands/beaches and a stop just in the middle of the sea. Surprised as you may be, this was my first time going snorkeling. It was great fun, though the girls who had been snorkeling in Hawaii said that was better. Nevertheless, it was a great sunny day and the view was spectacular. I'll let the pcitures do the talking ;)

Emi jumping from the boat. 

As sunny days are nice, they also bring sunburns and tans. Here I am showing the world my native american roots. 

We ended the trip well on our last night in Ao Nang. We all went out as sisters to dance the night away at a local bar/club (no.. no alcoholic beverages were consumed). We enjoyed the night with many of the people we had gotten to know the past week.Our bodies swayed to the rhythm of the familiar sounds of american pop music, and nothing else mattered at that moment in time.

As all things must come to an end, this vacation followed that belief.  The sun slipped slowly beneath the tranquil waters, taking us back to the beloved town of Phichit, Thailand and leaving memories which will, hopefully, continue living on for years. 

Oh, yeah I also found a ronald McDonald waiing......

Holiday Part 1

      Yes, I have neglected this blog for much too long and, honestly,  I give my sincerest and deepest apologies, for I promised my typed words on this blog would be updated frequently. Not only do I leave my readers curious, but I leave myself in a self-loathing state, as these posts are very beneficial for myself, and it's not every day one get's to travel to Thailand for an entire four months. Enough said, for I feel like I am constantly apologizing and making promises.

I did make one promise though, and that included new blogposts written by me. So let the adventure begin!

HOLIDAY:
It all started on the night of Tuesday October 22nd, where my group and I set off in a van ordered specifically for us. We were to reach the border of Laos in the morning and we did just that. 6am we stepped into the neighboring country of Laos and got our passports stamped, giving ourselves the satisfaction of marking another country off of our world list. The goal and only point of going to Laos' capitol was for a visa run..... and as my group and probably any foreigner would tell you, a visa run is all that city should be used for.
Our weary bodies made it to the thai embassy, bright and early in hopes of beating the many other foreigners wishing to stay in Thailand a little bit longer. Much to our inconvenience, the Thai embassy turned out to be closed due to a national public Thai holiday. That being said, we were to stay in that hell-hole of a city one more night.
I guess I can't complain too much about Vientiane, as we did get to tour a prosthetic leg museum....

Not to mention get my nails painted..

In the end we received our visas. Thank the lord. 

and our tattered, homesick-for-thailand selves ventured on to the next destination: Bangkok. 

BANGKOK 

Our time in Bangkok, influenced much by the forces of tourism, was an experience nonetheless.  Despite the freezing hostel in which only towels were given as blankets, Bangkok offered us all some sort of thrill. Though if you ask any traveller backpacking through south-east asia, they would probably tell you 1-2 days spent in Bangkok is enough, for Bangkok carries a much different feel than the rest of Thailand. Scam artists flood the streets and should be avoided, not to mention the local prostitutes and ping pong shows... If wanting nature and the hospitality of dear thai people, Bangkok probably wouldn't fit to your wants. 

Anyhow, our trip to Bangkok began with the prominent floating markets. The markets literally reflect their name. We all boarded onto a boat to then set off down the canal filled with similar boats which were filled with merchandise, fruits (not to mention mango sticky rice :o), spices galore, picturesque paintings, etc. etc. We made our way to their boats and they made our ways to ours. 

The floating markets felt much like an attraction at Disneyland. The jungle cruise in real life, anyone? 

                                    

Afterwards we headed towards the grand palace of Bangkok. Unfortunately, we were running late on  time, and short on a few hundred baht  so we missed out on actually going inside the grand palace.

 so we quickly made our way to the reclining buddha

It's always hard to compare pictures with what you actually experience with your own individual eye. That being said: this buddha is HUGE. It looms over the many tourists admiring it. 

That temple was nice, though I must say being in Thailand after a while, the temples tend to blend together and each temple no longer has it's own uniqueness. I've quite enjoyed the spiritual peace each temple brings, though the floods of tourists seem to snatch that feeling away. 

As that was over and done with we were to journey onto the next temple: Wat Arun (also known as the temple of Dawn)........Now as I write about this temple, I take my previous words back. This temple was very unique. Unique in that it allowed me to face my fear of heights, receive a awe-inspiring view of the city of Bangkok, and believe in just one hour that I was a female version of Indiana Jones. And here are just a few photos to please the eye. 

As the evening approached, as did our goodbyes to Bangkok. We wished to end our adventures on a good note. Kate, Emi and I took the transportation of Bangkok.. The SKY TRAIN. A metro above the city, and being girls we thought shopping would end the night well as well as mcdonalds................. 

The shopping at MBK was overwhelming. With over 2,000 shops all in a 6 story building. Of course McDonalds attracted us first. Many ray-bans were bought and Kate and Emi prepared themselves for our next destination with corn rows. The mall was very impressive. A mall in which you can haggle almost any shop owner for a fair price. 

Here we are lookin bad @$$ in our newly bought ray-bans,  and sayin farewell to that Bangkok city life. 

Tame your weeping eyes, for this is just the start of our vacation, as we spent 1 week in paradise in Krabi, Thailand. That blogpost will follow. And and as the TV show announcers say...: to be continued....