The next morning we hurried out our caterpillar friendly hostel and got our cab to the tiny Krabi airport, where I prepped the girls for what to expect when in China…
The flight was only an hour back up north to Bangkok where we had to fight for a fair taxi price to Kevin’s apartment. The driver couldn’t’ have been nicer but he still was trying to rip us off. Tracy was already getting good at putting her foot down and not letting locals take advantage of us for being foreigners ☺. I was quite proud of her.
We hung around Kevin’s place until he got off work. I began to teach Lizz Chinese (which she picked up very quickly! Before the end of the day she was fluently saying, ‘Bring me another beer.’ ‘I love you.’ ‘Long time no see.’ Etc. –although they weren’t always the most practical sayings she only learned them because she learned the most useful ones just after a few minutes. She practically learned what I have in my 8 months of being here!).
When Kev returned, he took us to face the chaotic city of Bangkok. We rode the Sky Train, ate street food, rode in a tuk-tuk, went to a market, went to a park where we saw people play volleyball but instead can only use their head and feet. At the park they also played the National anthem where everything must stop, people must freeze and Thailand ceases for several minutes. From there we…(Mom, I wouldn’t read this next part...) each rode home on a motorcycle taxi. Quite thrilling- I had never ridden one before. The driver somehow managed to talk on the phone, hold his ‘to-go’ dinner in one hand and drive with the other.
We quickly went back to Kev’s before we met Air, Kevin’s girlfriend, at Face Bar and then went out for the evening.
This trip was the first time being out of China in eight months and as a result I noticed more than I had anticipated. For one, Thailand is a great country-similar to China in some aspects and yet quite different in others. But more than anything, I noticed how I have changed from being in China and it wasn’t all something to be proud of. In China, manners don’t matter. I know it’s hard to really believe that but sincerely, after a while you adapt to their ways/customs. You have to- it sounds a little over the top, but it’s a means of survival. Several times throughout the trip I noticed how hardened I’ve become in comparison to the girls. I’m skeptical of every person I encounter and of every opportunity that presents itself. I don’t trust anyone. No one. I know there’s a hard drive to bargain in Asia and if you don’t keep up, you’re going to sink. I also take more notice of things- how to get around and back, how people respond to seeing foreigners, how to ignore people, how to not let people take you for an ordinary fool, etc. Although, Thai’s are so welcoming, always smiling and greeting you with a ‘Y’, they too tend to take advantage of foreigners and their innocence to the country. I will never understand how people can do this to others. It’s infuriating which only motivates me to be as much in the ‘know’ as possible.
Of course Kev was a great host who really led the way for us when we were in Bangkok. It was great to see what his life is like there and we all were so impressed with how fluent he is in Thai!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Koh Phi Phi to Ao Nang Thailand - Day 4
I was right. Early morning indeed but it wasn’t as difficult as the previous days. I was definitely getting used to this non-existent time change. And so for the first time ever, we had to wait for the breakfast dining hall to open at 7 AM. There was no complaining however- it wasn’t possible with our view from our balcony. Nevertheless, there was much to complain about in regards to us being sun-burned. It was a brutal night’s sleep for me- I felt more burned than I did earlier. I didn’t even realize I was burned on my back until I woke up in the middle of the night with the sensation that my skin was no longer flesh but rather leather, screaming out to not wrinkle or be touched. I was mostly burned on the front of my legs- which pretty much made it impossible to be comfortable the night.
We had until 3PM before we caught our ferry, to explore the what we already had of the tiny island, do some souvenir shopping, drink another fantastic fresh fruit smoothie as well as a Thai Iced Tea (so so good) and idly stare out into the turquoise waters.
Something we all began to get drilled into our heads over time was, “Hello, boat, boat?” Another was, “same same”. I don’t know what it is about Asian countries repeating the same words. It’s obviously used in their language but still… little things like that kept us laughing.
Tracy sat inside again while Lizz and I found a seat towards the aft of the boat since it was the driest place to sit outside. The scenery was gorgeous. Everywhere you looked beautiful limestone rocks jutted out of the water.
We docked at Ao Nang, where we’d stay for the night before catching our early morning flight back to Bangkok. We decided to stay cheap and found a hostel close to the main street. We quickly remembered why we liked our last hotel so much. This new place lacked a light in the bathroom, the side of the mattress was halfway off the bed frame, there were no windows, and fuzzy caterpillars in our bathroom. ☺ All in all it wasn’t bad thou.
Of course we had Thai food- we had to get as much authentic food as possible before we left. We ended the night at an Irish Pub we found where we reminisced about our college days together. Can’t believe it’s been so long since we all lived together and now Lizz is getting married in a few months! ☺
We had until 3PM before we caught our ferry, to explore the what we already had of the tiny island, do some souvenir shopping, drink another fantastic fresh fruit smoothie as well as a Thai Iced Tea (so so good) and idly stare out into the turquoise waters.
Something we all began to get drilled into our heads over time was, “Hello, boat, boat?” Another was, “same same”. I don’t know what it is about Asian countries repeating the same words. It’s obviously used in their language but still… little things like that kept us laughing.
Tracy sat inside again while Lizz and I found a seat towards the aft of the boat since it was the driest place to sit outside. The scenery was gorgeous. Everywhere you looked beautiful limestone rocks jutted out of the water.
We docked at Ao Nang, where we’d stay for the night before catching our early morning flight back to Bangkok. We decided to stay cheap and found a hostel close to the main street. We quickly remembered why we liked our last hotel so much. This new place lacked a light in the bathroom, the side of the mattress was halfway off the bed frame, there were no windows, and fuzzy caterpillars in our bathroom. ☺ All in all it wasn’t bad thou.
Of course we had Thai food- we had to get as much authentic food as possible before we left. We ended the night at an Irish Pub we found where we reminisced about our college days together. Can’t believe it’s been so long since we all lived together and now Lizz is getting married in a few months! ☺
Friday, October 2, 2009
Korea - Day 2
Day 2
We started day 2 with a bit of confusion, caused by alcohol, lack of sleep, and that our hostel room was in a basement with a window the size of a shoebox. Our sleep was also interupted at 4:45 am by someone's alarm going off. Mark woke up and announced to everyone that "someone's alarm is going off" (thanks for that Mark). After a minute and a couple more announcements by Mark he came to realize, that yes, it was his phone that was going off (thanks again Mark). We caught about several more hours of sleep in our cave and then we got ready and made our way a block from our hostel to grab a breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and woah they had bagels. I have not seen a bagel since leaving the US back in February. After we made our way to an old Korea palace and took part in the English tour. The tour was not very impressive as our tour guide was about an enthusiastic as a tree but the scenery was quite beautiful.
From the Palace we read in the tour book that there is an old prison that was constructed by the Japanese to house and torture the Koreans during one of the wars. We took the subway to the prison and walked around there for an hour or so. The area is well kept up and is quite a sombering experience, very similiar to the concentration camp that I went to while I was in Germany. We left the prison on got back on the subway to make our way to the Seoul Tower. The subway system in Seoul is crazy, I have never seen a more intimidating subway map in all of my travels. I think they have close to 12 lines that criss-cross around the city. Though, after a couple rides it starts to make sense and actually becomes quite intuitive. The US could really take some notes from how these international cities plan their subways and how useful and convenient they are.
Seoul Tower is a huge tower (similiar to the Seattle space needle) that is built on the tallest hill in the center of the city. It is quite the hike to the top but the views are amazing. Seoul has some of the most beautiful scenery of any city that I have seen. The city is built along a huge river which is sorrounded by mountains and hills in every direction. The city kinda weaves in and out of the hills. When we reached the top of the hill we got tickets and took the eleveator to the top of the tower. The view from the top was amazing and on each piece of glass they had the name of different cities around the world and how far those cities were from us in Seoul. The walk down from the hill was uneventful as we just watched the sunset and then hopped on teh subway back to our hostel. It was when we got back to the hostel that we realized that we had not really eaten all day aside from the bagel in the morning.
We explained to crazy, let me repeat crazy, Mr. See that we were starving and he led us up a couple of alleyways to a Korean BBQ restuarant. He asked us how much money we wanted to spend. One he received the amount he told the old women owner/waitress lady and the food became flying out if the kitchen. Before we knew it we had a complete table full of food. Mr See was nice engouh to teach us how in the world you actually eat/cook all the food that was put before us. You end up taking the cooked meat and making a sorta lettuce wrap with all the ingredients. It was an amazing meal and of course a good amount of Korean Beer was had by all.
We then went to a bar up the street that was having a kinda party for the people that were staying at some of the various hostels around the area. We ended up playing drinking games there for a few hours and drinking a bit of Korean beer and the Soju. We ended the night at the club district but skipped going into one of the clubs becuase it cost 20,000 Won just to enter. We wandered the streets and actually ran into a mobile Kebab store which of course we had to try as there are no real Kebabs in China. We ended the night around 3 am and made it back into the hostel. James, Mark and Kibuuka decided to stay out a bit later and I think that they stumbled back in around 5am after another around of fried chicken.
We started day 2 with a bit of confusion, caused by alcohol, lack of sleep, and that our hostel room was in a basement with a window the size of a shoebox. Our sleep was also interupted at 4:45 am by someone's alarm going off. Mark woke up and announced to everyone that "someone's alarm is going off" (thanks for that Mark). After a minute and a couple more announcements by Mark he came to realize, that yes, it was his phone that was going off (thanks again Mark). We caught about several more hours of sleep in our cave and then we got ready and made our way a block from our hostel to grab a breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and woah they had bagels. I have not seen a bagel since leaving the US back in February. After we made our way to an old Korea palace and took part in the English tour. The tour was not very impressive as our tour guide was about an enthusiastic as a tree but the scenery was quite beautiful.
From the Palace we read in the tour book that there is an old prison that was constructed by the Japanese to house and torture the Koreans during one of the wars. We took the subway to the prison and walked around there for an hour or so. The area is well kept up and is quite a sombering experience, very similiar to the concentration camp that I went to while I was in Germany. We left the prison on got back on the subway to make our way to the Seoul Tower. The subway system in Seoul is crazy, I have never seen a more intimidating subway map in all of my travels. I think they have close to 12 lines that criss-cross around the city. Though, after a couple rides it starts to make sense and actually becomes quite intuitive. The US could really take some notes from how these international cities plan their subways and how useful and convenient they are.
Seoul Tower is a huge tower (similiar to the Seattle space needle) that is built on the tallest hill in the center of the city. It is quite the hike to the top but the views are amazing. Seoul has some of the most beautiful scenery of any city that I have seen. The city is built along a huge river which is sorrounded by mountains and hills in every direction. The city kinda weaves in and out of the hills. When we reached the top of the hill we got tickets and took the eleveator to the top of the tower. The view from the top was amazing and on each piece of glass they had the name of different cities around the world and how far those cities were from us in Seoul. The walk down from the hill was uneventful as we just watched the sunset and then hopped on teh subway back to our hostel. It was when we got back to the hostel that we realized that we had not really eaten all day aside from the bagel in the morning.
We explained to crazy, let me repeat crazy, Mr. See that we were starving and he led us up a couple of alleyways to a Korean BBQ restuarant. He asked us how much money we wanted to spend. One he received the amount he told the old women owner/waitress lady and the food became flying out if the kitchen. Before we knew it we had a complete table full of food. Mr See was nice engouh to teach us how in the world you actually eat/cook all the food that was put before us. You end up taking the cooked meat and making a sorta lettuce wrap with all the ingredients. It was an amazing meal and of course a good amount of Korean Beer was had by all.
We then went to a bar up the street that was having a kinda party for the people that were staying at some of the various hostels around the area. We ended up playing drinking games there for a few hours and drinking a bit of Korean beer and the Soju. We ended the night at the club district but skipped going into one of the clubs becuase it cost 20,000 Won just to enter. We wandered the streets and actually ran into a mobile Kebab store which of course we had to try as there are no real Kebabs in China. We ended the night around 3 am and made it back into the hostel. James, Mark and Kibuuka decided to stay out a bit later and I think that they stumbled back in around 5am after another around of fried chicken.
Koh Lanta to Koh Phi Phi Thailand - Day 3
I think I actually was awake before the rooster today, but it didn’t stop him from crowing…
Breakfast was the same, in front of an empty beach, listening to the sound of waves gently rolling onto shore, being served breakfast by the same courteous, friendly Thai woman and so happy to be surrounded by great company.
We hurried to get our bags and wait for the taxi to take us to the pier so we could catch our 8 AM ferry to Koh Phi Phi. The taxi arrived almost a half hour late, making us worry we’d miss our chance to see the place where ‘The Beach’ was filmed. The ‘taxi’ was also not a typical designated taxi or driver but rather a truck where we sat in the bed of the truck with our luggage and the guy looked like a local friend of theirs who was doing them a favor by taking us. Nevertheless, it was thrilling as we drove across the island, slightly fearing we might fall out (the bed of the truck was almost as high as the rails/ bedside). It was the first time we’d seen the island really since when we arrived it was dark out and the following day we never went the opposite direction. We were surprised to see how desolate the island was. Not long after we were in the truck, we stopped to pick up more tourists and then more and then more until we were full- back packs were resting on everyone’s laps and people were holding onto the bags since there was nothing else to hold onto. Two of the people we picked up were from Spain which immediately caught my attention. Of course I tried to hold a conversation with them in Spanish but Chinese words kept slipping out and trying to think of easy Spanish words that I would normally not have to think twice about, took me too long to think of or rather lost their attention.
Tracy was fearing this boat ride since we first heard we’d need to take one- She and Lizz both get sea sick and Tracy especially didn’t fare too well when we went on a snorkeling trip in Costa Rica. She stayed put inside while Lizz and I sat up on the bow of the boat, trying to catch our stomachs as the boat dropped after each wave. I loved it ☺ Towards the end of the trip, Lizz got quiet and I knew the roughness of the sea was starting to affect her. However, not too long after the waters became calm as we were approaching the island and the wind was blocked by the islands steep cliffs. Suddenly we were surrounded by turquoise waters, and then aquamarine and then cyan. It was nothing short of striking to see the multitude of blue waters.
When we docked, we walked the short distance to our ‘nice’ hotel for the trip which was actually a narrow isthmus. It was here on this exclusive strait that the 2005 tsunami wrecked the most havoc. Although Thais claim the island looks the same, they also state it certainly doesn’t cost the same due to the demand of building sturdier hotels instead of ‘wash-away’ bungalows. Nevertheless, for the girls, who are on the US dollar, this island is still one of the cheapest paradises in the world.
Long tail boats lined the aqua shore as we walked the few yards of sand to our hotel. Upon seeing our view after we walked into our room, the only instinct we had was to drop our bags and immediately run to our balcony and take it what was before us. Throughout the whole time we were on Koh Phi Phi we never did get over our vivid seascape.
Eventually we left our balcony in order to explore the tiny island, try one the infamous fruit smoothies, and hire a ‘long tail’ boat to take us to Koh Phi Phi Leh- our island’s uninhabited sister, also where the movie, ‘The Beach’ was filmed with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Our island was very small- we meandered through the maze of paths that was surrounded with restaurants, souvenir shops, bars, hotels and more scuba diving shops than I’ve ever seen. We grabbed our smoothies, ate some street food and were in search of a good price for our day trip to the other island. In doing this, we had to bargain. Hard. We found a driver who offered us a good price for three hours and included snorkeling.
It was one of the best days yet in Asia. We rode to the other island, saw the Viking Cave (an area where bamboo scaffolding reaches the rood to collect nests that are built up on the cliffs-apparently these nests are really, really expensive). We also visited ‘Monkey Island’ where we were surrounded by wild monkeys on the narrow strip of the shore. Unfortunately, we were so disappointed to see baby monkey’s picking up people’s trash, such as coke cans and drinking from them. Then we went to a lagoon where there were only several other boats and just spent time trying to get the perfect ‘jump’ picture and swam around. Following the lagoon, the driver took us to an area that had great coral reefs where we snorkeled for a while. After, we made our way to Ao Maya, which was where the setting of Leo’s movie was held. It was overwhelming just how impressive such a place could be. We felt so lucky to have gone in the low season. In most of our pictures there wasn’t ever another person in our way or on the beach. It was like we had found this isolated beach ourselves. Boats aren’t allowed to enter the small bay so we had to do some extreme walking on rocks while the waves pushed us forward and climb over a little cliff to get there. It was a fantastic day- one in which I got very, very burned but c’est la vie. At least the Chinese appreciate my fair skin. Lizz, on the other hand was so afraid they would think she was ‘country folk’ since she’s naturally so dark ☺
We luckily had great timing when we decided to walk to dinner. Immediately after we entered, a mini monsoon began, which as a result, the employees pulled down their hurricane shutters and suddenly it felt like we were trapped in. The food in Thailand was exceptional. Lizz and I drank a Thai Tea almost every chance we could- It was a nice change from Green Tea all the time.
Another early night and I’m sure an early morning awaits…
Breakfast was the same, in front of an empty beach, listening to the sound of waves gently rolling onto shore, being served breakfast by the same courteous, friendly Thai woman and so happy to be surrounded by great company.
We hurried to get our bags and wait for the taxi to take us to the pier so we could catch our 8 AM ferry to Koh Phi Phi. The taxi arrived almost a half hour late, making us worry we’d miss our chance to see the place where ‘The Beach’ was filmed. The ‘taxi’ was also not a typical designated taxi or driver but rather a truck where we sat in the bed of the truck with our luggage and the guy looked like a local friend of theirs who was doing them a favor by taking us. Nevertheless, it was thrilling as we drove across the island, slightly fearing we might fall out (the bed of the truck was almost as high as the rails/ bedside). It was the first time we’d seen the island really since when we arrived it was dark out and the following day we never went the opposite direction. We were surprised to see how desolate the island was. Not long after we were in the truck, we stopped to pick up more tourists and then more and then more until we were full- back packs were resting on everyone’s laps and people were holding onto the bags since there was nothing else to hold onto. Two of the people we picked up were from Spain which immediately caught my attention. Of course I tried to hold a conversation with them in Spanish but Chinese words kept slipping out and trying to think of easy Spanish words that I would normally not have to think twice about, took me too long to think of or rather lost their attention.
Tracy was fearing this boat ride since we first heard we’d need to take one- She and Lizz both get sea sick and Tracy especially didn’t fare too well when we went on a snorkeling trip in Costa Rica. She stayed put inside while Lizz and I sat up on the bow of the boat, trying to catch our stomachs as the boat dropped after each wave. I loved it ☺ Towards the end of the trip, Lizz got quiet and I knew the roughness of the sea was starting to affect her. However, not too long after the waters became calm as we were approaching the island and the wind was blocked by the islands steep cliffs. Suddenly we were surrounded by turquoise waters, and then aquamarine and then cyan. It was nothing short of striking to see the multitude of blue waters.
When we docked, we walked the short distance to our ‘nice’ hotel for the trip which was actually a narrow isthmus. It was here on this exclusive strait that the 2005 tsunami wrecked the most havoc. Although Thais claim the island looks the same, they also state it certainly doesn’t cost the same due to the demand of building sturdier hotels instead of ‘wash-away’ bungalows. Nevertheless, for the girls, who are on the US dollar, this island is still one of the cheapest paradises in the world.
Long tail boats lined the aqua shore as we walked the few yards of sand to our hotel. Upon seeing our view after we walked into our room, the only instinct we had was to drop our bags and immediately run to our balcony and take it what was before us. Throughout the whole time we were on Koh Phi Phi we never did get over our vivid seascape.
Eventually we left our balcony in order to explore the tiny island, try one the infamous fruit smoothies, and hire a ‘long tail’ boat to take us to Koh Phi Phi Leh- our island’s uninhabited sister, also where the movie, ‘The Beach’ was filmed with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Our island was very small- we meandered through the maze of paths that was surrounded with restaurants, souvenir shops, bars, hotels and more scuba diving shops than I’ve ever seen. We grabbed our smoothies, ate some street food and were in search of a good price for our day trip to the other island. In doing this, we had to bargain. Hard. We found a driver who offered us a good price for three hours and included snorkeling.
It was one of the best days yet in Asia. We rode to the other island, saw the Viking Cave (an area where bamboo scaffolding reaches the rood to collect nests that are built up on the cliffs-apparently these nests are really, really expensive). We also visited ‘Monkey Island’ where we were surrounded by wild monkeys on the narrow strip of the shore. Unfortunately, we were so disappointed to see baby monkey’s picking up people’s trash, such as coke cans and drinking from them. Then we went to a lagoon where there were only several other boats and just spent time trying to get the perfect ‘jump’ picture and swam around. Following the lagoon, the driver took us to an area that had great coral reefs where we snorkeled for a while. After, we made our way to Ao Maya, which was where the setting of Leo’s movie was held. It was overwhelming just how impressive such a place could be. We felt so lucky to have gone in the low season. In most of our pictures there wasn’t ever another person in our way or on the beach. It was like we had found this isolated beach ourselves. Boats aren’t allowed to enter the small bay so we had to do some extreme walking on rocks while the waves pushed us forward and climb over a little cliff to get there. It was a fantastic day- one in which I got very, very burned but c’est la vie. At least the Chinese appreciate my fair skin. Lizz, on the other hand was so afraid they would think she was ‘country folk’ since she’s naturally so dark ☺
We luckily had great timing when we decided to walk to dinner. Immediately after we entered, a mini monsoon began, which as a result, the employees pulled down their hurricane shutters and suddenly it felt like we were trapped in. The food in Thailand was exceptional. Lizz and I drank a Thai Tea almost every chance we could- It was a nice change from Green Tea all the time.
Another early night and I’m sure an early morning awaits…
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Koh Lanta Thailand - Day 2
Of course the girls woke up at 4:30 AM. It was expected, I suppose ;) I however, was still very much on Asia’s time zone and couldn’t get out of bed at such a time. Even the rooster who crowed at 5 AM almost had me out of bed but I honestly couldn’t be bothered. Isn’t that why iPODs were invented? For such occasions, on a tiny island in Thailand?
I begrudgingly got out of bed at around 6 AM. The girls had already explored the entire hotel premises, walked the beach (which was only a 100 yards away from our bungalow), inquired about going to either Koh Rok or Koh Phi Phi and had a morning snack consisting of granola bars. Since we didn’t get dinner the night before, they were starving.
Breakfast, which was included with our hotel, was held under a large thatched roof directly in front of the beach. Since we were also the only ones there, we had service that doesn’t exist in China, with manners and all the etiquette that Westerns are used to. I already noticed that China had changed me, just from observing the girls. I felt a little out of my element.
During breakfast, the girls caught me up to speed about what to do on the island since it was still the off season. Boat trips to the island, Koh Rok wasn’t possible just yet due to the monsoon and windy season and Koh Phi Phi would have to be for the next day since we’d need to catch an early ferry. We were told we’d only have 2 hours on Koh Phi Phi after a 2 hour boat ride- so we opted to stay the next night on Koh Phi Phi and one more night at the Moonlight Bay Resort. Since we weren’t left with many other options, we went to the southern tip of the island to Ao Kantiang where our hotel unfortunately ripped us off with the taxi ride but at least we learned our lesson and I quickly realized Thailand is more similar to China than I previously thought.
The day was happily spent catching up, body surfing and the girls got Thai massages. We all got rocked and thrown many times by they waves-almost choking from laughing so hard together. I hadn't had that much fun body surfing since we all went together in Costa Rica. The water was very inviting and warm- it was nothing like cold California waters. We also noticed the hotel that the man from the shack was trying to push onto us was directly on the beach and looked quite nice- but we were still glad we didn’t listen to him. We had a great Thai lunch on the beach and drank our first Thai beer, which is actually the only beer I have come to enjoy.
After the sun began to go down we walked past the wild monkeys, down the beach to a nice resort, Pimalai, where we ate one of the most delicious dinners I’ve had yet in Asia. It was another early night back to the hotel where we all packed up, ready to leave early the next morning for Koh Phi Phi. Of course the girls were asleep before 10 PM. I really was wondering whether they’d ever catch on to Asia’s time!
I begrudgingly got out of bed at around 6 AM. The girls had already explored the entire hotel premises, walked the beach (which was only a 100 yards away from our bungalow), inquired about going to either Koh Rok or Koh Phi Phi and had a morning snack consisting of granola bars. Since we didn’t get dinner the night before, they were starving.
Breakfast, which was included with our hotel, was held under a large thatched roof directly in front of the beach. Since we were also the only ones there, we had service that doesn’t exist in China, with manners and all the etiquette that Westerns are used to. I already noticed that China had changed me, just from observing the girls. I felt a little out of my element.
During breakfast, the girls caught me up to speed about what to do on the island since it was still the off season. Boat trips to the island, Koh Rok wasn’t possible just yet due to the monsoon and windy season and Koh Phi Phi would have to be for the next day since we’d need to catch an early ferry. We were told we’d only have 2 hours on Koh Phi Phi after a 2 hour boat ride- so we opted to stay the next night on Koh Phi Phi and one more night at the Moonlight Bay Resort. Since we weren’t left with many other options, we went to the southern tip of the island to Ao Kantiang where our hotel unfortunately ripped us off with the taxi ride but at least we learned our lesson and I quickly realized Thailand is more similar to China than I previously thought.
The day was happily spent catching up, body surfing and the girls got Thai massages. We all got rocked and thrown many times by they waves-almost choking from laughing so hard together. I hadn't had that much fun body surfing since we all went together in Costa Rica. The water was very inviting and warm- it was nothing like cold California waters. We also noticed the hotel that the man from the shack was trying to push onto us was directly on the beach and looked quite nice- but we were still glad we didn’t listen to him. We had a great Thai lunch on the beach and drank our first Thai beer, which is actually the only beer I have come to enjoy.
After the sun began to go down we walked past the wild monkeys, down the beach to a nice resort, Pimalai, where we ate one of the most delicious dinners I’ve had yet in Asia. It was another early night back to the hotel where we all packed up, ready to leave early the next morning for Koh Phi Phi. Of course the girls were asleep before 10 PM. I really was wondering whether they’d ever catch on to Asia’s time!
South Korea - Day 1
Background Info:
I thought I would start this post with a little background information as it will make more of this story make sense. Seoul, South Korea is about a 2 hour flight from the city that I am living in in China (Hangzhou). So why might you ask did it take us about 13 hours to reach Seoul from Hangzhou. Due to the fact that we were travelling during the National Day holiday in China the price of any form of travel either gets very expensive or there are no tickets available as the entire countries population of 1.3 Billion people attempt to go home to see their families. The cheapest airfare that we could find took us from Shanghai to Beijing and from Beijing to Seoul. Alright onto Day 1
Day 1
Day 1 started with waking up at about 4:45am to ride my bike over to another guys apartment. From his apartment all 6 of us got on a city bus at around 5:20am. I was really expecting that the city bus would be empty and it would be an easy ride to the long distance bus station. But of course, this is China, and the the bus was absolutely packed (not a United States packed in which there are no open seats) but a China packed in which there isn't an inch of space and even the driver is uncomfortable due to the amount of people. It was about a 20 minute "cozy" ride to the other bus station in which we all transferred to the long distance bus that would take us to the Shanghai domestic airport. I don't recall much of that bus ride as I slept for close to the entire 2 hours. Once we arrived at the Shanghai airport at about 9am (our flight didn't take off until 1:15) we realized we probably could have got a "bit" of a later bus. We killed some time with a nice breakfast at McDonalds and then we spent about 3 hours hanging out in the terminal waiting for a flight.
Since it was October 1st China was having their 60th anniversary of the Communist Party which included a massive parade in Beijing. Every TV in the airport was broadcasting the parade. If the first picture that comes to your mind is of a nice parade like the Rose Parade in the US then you are mistaken. It was four hours of China showings its miliatary strengh with every kind of weapon, vehicle, plane, and soldier imaginable. We watched the parade for a few minutes but quickly grew bored of seeing the same tank over and over again on the screen.
Becuase of the parade all the airspace over Beijing was shutdown for several hours which of course delayed our flight for about 2 hours and we got to spend those 2 hours sitting on the plane instead of in the terminal for some reason....The flight to Beijing was uneventful but upon arrival into Beijing you immediately realize how huge the airport is, it is absolutely massive and it is designed to look like a dragon. By the time that we were ready to depart from Beijing it was already about 7:30 pm, so we had be travelling for about 14 hours and only made it about two and a half hours from Hangzhou....
We landed in Seoul and were immediately shocked by what we saw when we got off the plane. The airport was immaculate, it was so clean, I would have rather eaten dinner off the floor in the Seoul airport then in a good portion of the restaurants in China. People actually took their children into the bathroom to pee, not the usual Chinese way of having them pee on the floor in the airport. Who would have thought! From the airport we grabbed another bus to downtown Seoul, which is about an hour away. To recap the days travel: 3 buses, 2 airplanes, a bike, and on foot. Kinda a lot for only going a few hours across the ocean....
We made our way off the bus and eventually found our hostel which conviently had no sign. We were greeted by our eccentric, no... make that crazy hostel owner, Mr. See. He was all wound up and quickly took all of us to a bar at where he introducded to the Korean alcohol Soju. The Soju reminds me a bit of Saki, the strangest part of the bar experience in Korea has to be instead of serving you the typical peanuts they serve dried squid. At first no one was having any of it but as the Soju kept flowing and with that Korean beer too, the squid started to mysteriously dissapear. Leaving the bar we went wandering around the streets near our hostel in search of something to eat. For some reason that I do not know the Korea people love friend chicken, there are fried chicken shops on about every street corner. We found a good looking one that had outdoor tables and we sat down. Our waitress brought us a menu which conviently did not contain a signal word of English and if you have seen the Korean written language there is no way to even guess what the heck anything is.
We attempted asking her if she spoke any English, that was a big negative. So for some odd reason we asked her in Chinese if she speaks Chinese...and low and behold she responds and starts speaking in really good Chinese and we were able to get the menu translated to a level that we could sorta understand. Along with the chicken we got some huge glasses of Korea beer, these glasses would make the double gulp cups at 7-11 seem small.
At about 2 am we decided to call it a night as we had now been up close to 24hours. But we knew one thing, and that one thing was that we already loved Korea. From the few hours that we were there it was easy to tell that it was going to be a really really fun trip.
I thought I would start this post with a little background information as it will make more of this story make sense. Seoul, South Korea is about a 2 hour flight from the city that I am living in in China (Hangzhou). So why might you ask did it take us about 13 hours to reach Seoul from Hangzhou. Due to the fact that we were travelling during the National Day holiday in China the price of any form of travel either gets very expensive or there are no tickets available as the entire countries population of 1.3 Billion people attempt to go home to see their families. The cheapest airfare that we could find took us from Shanghai to Beijing and from Beijing to Seoul. Alright onto Day 1
Day 1
Day 1 started with waking up at about 4:45am to ride my bike over to another guys apartment. From his apartment all 6 of us got on a city bus at around 5:20am. I was really expecting that the city bus would be empty and it would be an easy ride to the long distance bus station. But of course, this is China, and the the bus was absolutely packed (not a United States packed in which there are no open seats) but a China packed in which there isn't an inch of space and even the driver is uncomfortable due to the amount of people. It was about a 20 minute "cozy" ride to the other bus station in which we all transferred to the long distance bus that would take us to the Shanghai domestic airport. I don't recall much of that bus ride as I slept for close to the entire 2 hours. Once we arrived at the Shanghai airport at about 9am (our flight didn't take off until 1:15) we realized we probably could have got a "bit" of a later bus. We killed some time with a nice breakfast at McDonalds and then we spent about 3 hours hanging out in the terminal waiting for a flight.
Since it was October 1st China was having their 60th anniversary of the Communist Party which included a massive parade in Beijing. Every TV in the airport was broadcasting the parade. If the first picture that comes to your mind is of a nice parade like the Rose Parade in the US then you are mistaken. It was four hours of China showings its miliatary strengh with every kind of weapon, vehicle, plane, and soldier imaginable. We watched the parade for a few minutes but quickly grew bored of seeing the same tank over and over again on the screen.
Becuase of the parade all the airspace over Beijing was shutdown for several hours which of course delayed our flight for about 2 hours and we got to spend those 2 hours sitting on the plane instead of in the terminal for some reason....The flight to Beijing was uneventful but upon arrival into Beijing you immediately realize how huge the airport is, it is absolutely massive and it is designed to look like a dragon. By the time that we were ready to depart from Beijing it was already about 7:30 pm, so we had be travelling for about 14 hours and only made it about two and a half hours from Hangzhou....
We landed in Seoul and were immediately shocked by what we saw when we got off the plane. The airport was immaculate, it was so clean, I would have rather eaten dinner off the floor in the Seoul airport then in a good portion of the restaurants in China. People actually took their children into the bathroom to pee, not the usual Chinese way of having them pee on the floor in the airport. Who would have thought! From the airport we grabbed another bus to downtown Seoul, which is about an hour away. To recap the days travel: 3 buses, 2 airplanes, a bike, and on foot. Kinda a lot for only going a few hours across the ocean....
We made our way off the bus and eventually found our hostel which conviently had no sign. We were greeted by our eccentric, no... make that crazy hostel owner, Mr. See. He was all wound up and quickly took all of us to a bar at where he introducded to the Korean alcohol Soju. The Soju reminds me a bit of Saki, the strangest part of the bar experience in Korea has to be instead of serving you the typical peanuts they serve dried squid. At first no one was having any of it but as the Soju kept flowing and with that Korean beer too, the squid started to mysteriously dissapear. Leaving the bar we went wandering around the streets near our hostel in search of something to eat. For some reason that I do not know the Korea people love friend chicken, there are fried chicken shops on about every street corner. We found a good looking one that had outdoor tables and we sat down. Our waitress brought us a menu which conviently did not contain a signal word of English and if you have seen the Korean written language there is no way to even guess what the heck anything is.
We attempted asking her if she spoke any English, that was a big negative. So for some odd reason we asked her in Chinese if she speaks Chinese...and low and behold she responds and starts speaking in really good Chinese and we were able to get the menu translated to a level that we could sorta understand. Along with the chicken we got some huge glasses of Korea beer, these glasses would make the double gulp cups at 7-11 seem small.
At about 2 am we decided to call it a night as we had now been up close to 24hours. But we knew one thing, and that one thing was that we already loved Korea. From the few hours that we were there it was easy to tell that it was going to be a really really fun trip.
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