Take 9: Goodbye Andaman Sea; Hellllo Gulf of Thailand!

So, it was after Christmas but before New Years when we were scheduled to embark on our next commute. This time we were moving from the beautiful, relatively quiet and refreshingly less touristy location of Hua Hin in Krabi province on the western Andaman Sea coast, to the island of Koh Samui off the eastern coast in the Gulf of Thailand.

Unfortunately, this meant we'd have to leave the most sincere, helpful, and kind person in the world! Joey may have lost a finger due to a "snake bite", and he may be a member of the Thai mafia, but he hooked us up with sweet accommodation, special deals, and rides anywhere we pleased (at his friends expense). You were and still are missed, my man!

A scene all too familiar... waiting for a bus. This one was like 4 hours long.

From the busssssssssss - to the ferry! It was packed to the max, but we managed to squeeze in on the deck which felt great after hauling our bags around in the heat.

Once we sat down though, there was no movin'... for the entire 2 hour ride. Except for the guy that decided scaling the railing was worth the risk for a few beers.

We're getting closer...

And because I love them so much - please enjoy this montage of pictures of the one and only sunset we saw near Koh Samui.

Koh Samui was the only place we actually had reservations for a hotel. I justified "splurging" on the place, since it was peak season and all suggestions exclaimed "book ahead of time for New Years or you WILL be homeless". We weren't really sure which pier we arriving at. It was the one located on the absolute opposite side of where our hotel was. The taxis/open air vans were asking for a ridiculously high fee to take us there, and since everyone was getting off the ferry at the same time, we figured we could wait it out and talk someone down. Fewer and fewer cabs were pulling up and we were within minutes left with daylight (after which taxi fares double or triple), so we just all squished into the last van there which already had a few too many passengers. Gopika and I had the privilege of riding on the back, letting the wind blow through our sweaty unshowered hair.

Some were ready for a burger and fries but I was jonesin' for some fresh seafood, so we split up for dinner. We got our first taste of the Koh Samui "nightlife" as we strolled for food. Shop upon store, upon shop, upon store upon convenience store, upon massage parlor, upon travel agent... upon store. It was soooooooooo commercial and all looked the same after a few blocks. I was just super sick of that scene after Bangkok and was really hoping to NOT eat an Italian pizzeria or Irish pub or American burger joint with 500 other tourists. We walked, and walked, and walked some more. Finally I asked a guy that was trying to sell us suits to recommend us a place with good, fresh seafood off the main drag. He recommended a Mexican place. I insisted that I really wanted Thai seafood, please. He said, "come with me". After a shady walk through a few dark alleys, passing some dogs, groups of loiterers, and garbage bags, we emerged into the spotlight of a row of restaurants like this! It was perfect! Now we just had to choose what to eat.

As tempting as it was to go with the 2 dollar seafood pad thai... we opted for a more elegant meal for our girls night out dinner. Not being much of a seafood connoisseur, I had no idea which kind to get. I know I like seafood, but I never remember which fish I like or which flavors. Not knowing the price or the size, we just went with the waitresses recommendations of red and white snapper. Each had a different marinade as well, so we figured we could do a taste test switcheroo to be be completely satisfied.

It was taking quite a while to come out, but we had our fruit smoothies and comfy weather to chill in. Turns out they were preparing the whole freakin' fish for us!

The burner underneath kept the marinade heated and the fish moist... easily the most moist, delicious fish I ever eaten. It was massive! But it was farrrrrrr too good to waste.

...Any of it! Especially on a dare!

Not only did I finish mine, and half of Katie's... they followed up the dinner with a plate of fresh fruit, which is impossible to refuse even on an exhausted, bloated belly! The meal was spot on and cost about $15 (with rice and smoothie), which was the most I paid for a meal while in Thailand. So worth it!

Take 8: Rockin' it at Railay

One of the things on my very detailed agenda of "things to do" in Thailand was rock climbing. The limestone cliffs overlooking the blue Andaman Sea were just begging me to lock in and climb up. Railay is the jagged peninsula renown for world class rock climbing. I recruited Gopika and Frank, and we were off.

An early morning pick up for us and others (sound familiar?) and a relatively short long-tail boat ride go us to our destination.

We opted for the half day climb, being penny pinchers and all and thinking a full day of climbing would be a bit much anyway. Great decision in the long run, but as the time ticked getting all 20-some participants their right sized shoes and harnesses and sorting out groups, I was getting a bit nervous. We had paid for a 4 hour climb, and so far 2 hours of it were spent walking to the equipment place and getting gear. The walk to the cliffs wasn't too far, but when we got there, it was clear that THIS was the place to be. There were at least 100 other people there climbing or waiting to climb by the time we got there. I was feeling bummed, thinking I'd get maybe a climb or two in and check out people's butts the rest of the time (which in itself isn't bad, but I wouldn't pay 70 bucks to do it). We headed down to this point at the very end.

At first it was a lot of waiting around, and watching others with a few mediocre climbs. Gopika's climbed before and was rockin' it, but got a little overwhelmed by the innate height fear she couldn't get outta her head. Frank was a first timer that scaled the cliffs like a pro! I officially converted her to a climbing junkie and a promise has been made to hit up the Devil's Head Lake cliffs when I get back! We of course took a gajillion and one picture of the climbs, but I'll spare ya on the excessive butt shots. Maybe just a few...

From running back and forth between our guides exclaiming "I'm ready! I can be next, if you'd like. Ready when you are!" I'm pretty sure they could tell how anxious I was to get on the ropes again and try out some more challenging climbs. So this guy stuck me on this overhang which was next to impossible to get up... but not entirely impossible!

I harnessed my camera up on the last run and snapped some pics from the top. Yes, those are sweat beads glistening all over my forehead.

Looking out over the bay.

You guys are littttttle!

The ladies with our awesome instructor who made sure we all got as many climbs as we desired!

Our other instructor, who made sure we were all offered the chance to buy his smelly worn shirt, his socks, and a rock from the beach.

After the climb, we headed out to lunch. We took a recommendation from the woman working at the climbing place. There was only one large stretch of path along the beach and every place looked exactly like the next. They were all bars/clubs/restaurants with loud music, a worn pool table, neon paintings, and a dirty bathroom. Still, the chill seating was perfect and the food was spot on!

After a delicious and filling lunch, we decided to venture over to the other side of the peninsula. The walk there was a bit confusing, but gorgeous and so worth it. We found ourselves walking alongside and through bits of limestone caves.

At the end there was this little beach and cavern.

Naturally, we got in for a swim and found this cool little lagoon.

Then the highlight for me, was finding this here cliff - which, naturally I had to jump off. But not without convincing Frank to do it first!

Here's a video of Frank taking the plunge. Sorry I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to rotate a video on here - soooo, you'll have to tilt your head sideways to get the full effect.

Then I thought it'd be fun to try to video tape myself jumping, what with my sweet waterproof camera and all. It didn't really turn out that great, but it's still kinda cool.

Take 7: Crusin' in Krabi: A day of island hoppin

After 12 hours on a night bus, getting the least comfortable "sleep" of my life, we had finally arrived in Krabi from Bangkok. It's about 1000km south of Bangkok, as you can see from the sweet map I've included below.
I was pretty happy when the sun rose on the bus, since I wasn't really sleeping anyway (but at least there were some pretty lame movies playing to keep me distracted). The sun allowed me to see all the gorgeous scenery we were passing. There were trees (unlike in Bangkok) and red earth carved out of the hilly terrain. We didn't have this front seat the whole time, so when a few Brits hopped off at a stop, Frank and I were allll over it!

We arrived relatively early into a port, but then still had to take a mini-van into the city. We weren't actually staying in Krabi town proper, but on the outskirts on Hua Hin Beach. We found that out two days later when we told these guys we'd meet them at the "O'Malley's Bar" in Krabi. They went to the O'Malley's 5 minutes from our hotel - we went to the O'Malley's 30 min from our hotel in Krabi-town. Whoops! Anyway, I really dug our location, because the beach wasn't too crowded and there weren't markets down every road or convenience stores every two feet (you had to walk a good 100 meters to get from one convenience store to the next).

After we finally sorted through our agenda's for the next few days and booked what we could for the only 2 full days we had here, we made our way to the beach to RELAX! Finally!

It felt GREAT to take a dip in the warm salt water and just lay out. The one and only time that would happen this trip.

Oh, and I may not have mentioned this before, but Jenny actually made a few appearances throughout the trip. She wanted to be there the whole time, but you know, flight complications, yadda yadda yadda, inhibited that. Here she is though, in her party gear, rockin out on the beach with us! Good to see ya, sis!
Now, I apologize first and foremost to Frank for this 'less than flattering' picture (because as the unofficial paparazzi of most occasions, I tend to take pictures when people are least expecting it) - BUT, I had to include it, because I'm pretty sure it was the best meal of the trip. It was cheap, delicious, and cooked by the sweetest woman we met. It was right off the beach and we ate at the only table she had to offer. She was running her own salon and restaurant, just trying to make a living. She gave us a rough overview of her life as she made the chicken fried rice for Katie, and my delicious clear noodles lemongrass tofu soup. Afterwards, she gave us the most delicious fresh fruit.

To end the day, we went to the "Hippie Bar" on the corner. Buckets were drank, card games were played, Christmas songs were butchered in front of the faux Christmas tree, and fire dancers entertained us in between the chaos.

The next day we got up bright and early to get our transportation to our speed boat for a day full of island hopping.

It was a gorgeous day out - hot enough to sweat out some of the previous night's damage when we stopped to rest and make the water refreshing, but not excruciatingly cold. We made 7 stops throughout the day, but I really enjoyed just gazing at these karst rock formations spotting the ocean. It looked at as if some giant just thought the Andaman Sea looked a little too serene; so he crumbled up a big boulder he was kickin' around and sidearmed it along the shore. Over the years, some green managed to latch on to the crumblings and make for something truly interesting scenery just waiting to be gazed at. Lucky me to be able to see this giants mistake!

This is a snap of "Chicken Island"... can you see why it's named that? You definitely have to use your imagination.

Two of the seven stops were for snorkeling. Snorkeling is one of my favorite things to do, ever... but I'd be lying if I didn't say that this time it was a little disheartening. The majority of the reef was damaged (to be expected in the most popular tourist areas in Thailand) and there was visible garbage at the bottom. Surprisingly, some marine life still flourished - the highlights being one shark and several long swordfish at the surface which were easy to miss if you never looked up.

The highlight for our tour guide I think, was when I, as the last passenger coming on board, dropped my facemask in the ocean. I tried to grab it as soon as I dropped it, but no luck. I asked frantically to borrow her mask to dive down and get it, and she was all, "are you sure you can do it? You know how to dive?" I was like, sure, it can't be that tough - it's a bright blue mask and there's hardly any reef down there! I knew they were in a rush, but I reallllllly didn't want to get stuck with a face mask replacement fee - so I took the biggest breath I could, dove down, and stayed down until I got it. I surfaced to find almost the entire boat looking and cheering for me. My head and ears hurt a little bit, but I'm pretty sure it was worth it!

Another one of the stops was "Monkey Island". You can see why.

They were soooooo cute, but I was absolutely disgusted by how people were treating them. In particular, there was one Aussie family that was shoving bananas in some of the monkeys faces, and the little daughter was throwing chunks at them. What I assume was the Daddy monkey looked pretty POed, and part of me really wanted the monkey to thrown down. He didn't though, and he just sat on the rock, with what looked like anger in his eyes.

Here's our crew taking silly pictahs.
Off in the distance is a longboat, which are the most common, cheapest way of transportation, but much slower.

This is the infamous island, Koh Phi-Phi Don, where much of the movie "The Beach" was filmed. All we had time to do was stop there for a buffet lunch, which was pretty tasty I might add.

Cruising along some other touristy sites, here is a cave that is known for it's popularity with Asian pirates back in the day. Today, it is an area where people raise some specific type of bird for their eggs which they can sell for a large profit to be used in a particular type of soup. Namely in China, I think.

Op, and here Jenny is again, on the actual beach where The Beach was filmed. She wanted to show ya'll those big guns while she wandered amongst the green of the island. She only had 30 minutes to "wander" this island though, so she didn't get very far.

On the boat: it was windy!

Okay, not that any of you really know Sioban too well - but I think this picture pretty much sums up the bliss that was riding on this boat throughout the limestone rock formations.

All the longboats, stored up for the night.

And the gorgeoussssss sunset - hands down the most beautiful of the trip. I seriously can NEVER tire of sunsets. I can't get enough, and they are always impressive. I can remember a time freshman year of high school when we had to do some writing assignment. I ended up writing about how beautiful Wisconsin was, and how I never knew there could be pretty sunsets in Wisconsin. I remember truly believing that. My teacher was shocked asked why I thought that. I couldn't figure it out. I realize now, that so much of my childhood was spent looking at sunsets on our vacations, in Florida, in South Carolina, in California - essentially on the coasts. Maybe I never thought that sunsets could be pretty when you're not on the coast. Maybe I thought you had to go far away for things to be pretty. I had a realization then, though, that Wisconsin is not only pretty, it's gorgeous! And so is every part of this world. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But, the mirage of colors, the limestone cliffs, the nuance of a new location never hurt:)

The best way to end a day is with a run on the beach - fannnnnnnnnntastic!