I know it has been a while since my last update, but don't worry-I am alive! I have just been soaking up the sun and surf on the southern islands where internet is not always the most reliable. It is currently 6am-ish and I just got off an 18 hour plus bus ride to BKK (complete with a black and white version of Avatar with no sound and a German man with smelly feet-natch) so I'm a bit alien-like, but excited for my last day in Thailand and pumped to pick up my passport with my brand new Indian visa and head to Delhi 24 hours from now!
So, what have I been up to? Well, last I wrote, I had just gotten to Koh Lanta and was liking it a whole lot more than Railay beach where I'd been before. Lanta is just so relaxed and chilled out. There are people there, of course, but because the island is pretty big, everyone has their own space. That is a very nice thing when it comes to beaches!
On Tuesday, Jeni, Ben, and I, headed to Koh Phi Phi which is the epi-centre of Thai tourism. Phi Phi is where they filmed the movie "The Beach." Because of that, and other mitigating factors (ie, it is beautiful) Phi Phi is known for being busy and expensive. I found that both of those things were true, but I didn't mind as much as I thought I might. Perhaps this is because I didn't spend the night on the island proper with all the other tourist yahoos, I slept on "the beach" from "The Beach" which is another small island just south of Koh Phi Phi Don, called Koh Phi Phi Lay. WOW. This was probably one of the coolest things I've ever done and mos def the best 70 bucks I've ever spent!
Before that though, we met up with my friend Ewan, and met another traveler from Slovenia named Joze (we called him "J") and did an amazing day trip on a boat ("I'm on a boat...") with just the 5 of us which was so cool because most of the time they pack tourists on those little boats like sardines! We we able to get some snorkeling in which was awesome because the area around Phi Phi has loads of sharks (small ones) and I got to see two while in the water! They are just incredible, the way they move, so graceful and quick. We also got to do some cliff jumping which for me was a tad of a disaster! As I was climbing up to the rocks, this huge wave came out of nowhere and knocked me down on the shell encrusted rocks, scraping me up pretty bad and taking one of the hilarious "diving" shoes right off my foot. Jeni and I then had to "share" her left shoe for the rock climb which was rather ridiculous. The thing I find interesting about cliff jumping is that no matter how many times you do it, and how low it is (and despite the fact that I have now jumped out of an airplane and off of a bridge) it is still scary, no matter what. Also, I was feeling a bit rough after my wave tumble, so I did a modest jump of 8 meters (maybe it was 4m?) while others did 18m. Eek! It was fun though.
Our guide then took us to a little lagoon/bay to eat our lunch which is probably one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The colour of the water! Just unreal!
Next stop was "the beach" which is also called Maya Bay. Arriving wasn't as spectacular as I thought it would be because there were loads of people there and it is a small place. Once 5pm rolled around though, and the boats started taking people back to Phi Phi, I saw how incredible it is. At one point, my friend and I were the only 2 people on the beach! (Only 30 people camped over, and they had all gone to check on food etc).
I indulged in my first (and last) bucket drink which is a staple of the partying tourist in Thailand. Pretty much, they take the kind of sand pale you play with when you're younger and fill it with cheap Thai liquor, redbull, and pop. Disgusting.
Sleeping on the beach, under the stars, just meters away from the waves, and waking up there to see the sun rise, with only a hand full of other people, on pretty much one of the nicest beaches in the world (in my opinion) was a dream come true. Honestly, I fulfilled a fantasy of mine: who gets to sleep on a deserted desert beach?
We even did a group picture shot before leaving just like from the movie (lame, I know, but fun nonetheless).
The rest of the day was spent on the beach on the main island where, despite sitting in the shade, I got a killer sunburn that put me down and out for about a day. I also discovered the reason Thais hate Western tourists. His name is Bernie.
This picture is not posed which is ridiculous, absurd, and sad, all at the same time. He came stumbling down the beach at 1 pm, beer in hand, his entire body the colour red, and passed out unconscious next to us. Later when he came to, he told us a slew of ridiculous things, like that he is a "legend" and "local celebrity" on the island, and that he was supposed to start a job that day, and that there is nothing wrong with being an alcoholic. Oh God. I get so embarrassed by white people sometimes. Like, how can the locals not hate us with people like Bernie roaming around?
Anyway, we all headed back to Koh Lanta on the ferry that afternoon, and that night, we took Ewan to our favourite restaurant which we called "The Greek." I probably went there about 8 times during my stay and it was hilarious! We became obsessed with it, the food, the music (a Whitney Houston remix CD) and the owner's daughter who is maybe the most hilarious 8 year old I've ever encountered. Just take my word for it.
The last two days on the island I spent riding around on a scooter exploring. Only because the bike was manual (with gears) did I let Ewan drive it with me on the back. I did however make sure that we had a long talk about his unconscious misogynist need to not allow a woman to drive him around on the bike. Clearly, I had to!
One of the days, we got caught in a huge rainstorm and had to pull off the road and take shelter at someone's home with the chickens! It's funny how predictably unpredictable the weather here is. It'll be soooo hot and blue skies, and then around 4pm, a huge black cloud will move in and just pour rain. Downpour. But it will clear up in time for you to watch the sunset and have dinner. Convenient eh?
The sunset on my last night is probably the nicest one I've ever seen. I think it would give anyone's a run for their money.
I'm off to collect my passport and eat my last few meals of cheap noodles before 2 months of Indian food.
Much love!
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