Sorry no updates for a while (!) We've been island hopping and the internet prices have been astronomical... well... astronomical as in a whole 2baht/minute (lol, we've become very cheap on this trip). Anywho, been spending the last 4 days laying on various beaches soaking up the Sun, Surroundings and Andaman Ssssea. I'm even getting a real live tan (!!), Jesse's darkening up nicely as well but hasn't been mistaken for a local quite just yet ;)
While we were still in the North of Thailand we had the awesome experience of riding ELEPHANTS! Ours was named Porntip (Pon-tee) and was 42 years old; she's suuuuper smart and I'm having a deja vu that I've already posted about this, so I'll let this section be-
We completely vegged out for our 2.. 3(?) days in Bangkok after the tour; I think all of the traveling we did and early mornings caught up with us as soon as we had time to relax and think about it. Met up with fellow Canadian-Thai Sarah and her bf Colin in BKK for some stellar dinner at a local hot spot and good conversation :) Sarah gave us some key tips for what to do in Bangkok and we actually spent one night out at the movies, which may sound boring but was anything but! They have crazy VIP levels for the movies, you can even get your own lounge chair or couch with a personal waitress if you're a baller like that; we opted for the "regular" seats which were still like lazy boys and reclined quite nicely *sigh*, they need to open one of those theatres back home stat.
For the last 5 days we've been island hopping in the South of Thailand. First stop was Ko Lanta with it's beautiful white sandy beach perimeter, crystal clear waters and mountainous jungle interior. One of the beaches we stopped off at had a sand shoal that ran way out to the middle of the Sea in the bay we were in. We almost walked right across the bay to an island quite a distance off; was a super cool experience to stand in the middle of the Ocean and see people the size of ants walking on the beach back at shore!! We rented a motorbike for one of the days we were there and toured alllll over the island which was pretty cool. (Don't stress family, Jesse did most of the driving, although I did give it a shot near the end of the day and did quite a good job so I was told) :) We also had helmets and there's literally no traffic at all on the island apart from the few monkeys we saw racing across the street so t'was a good experience all in all.
Here we are now in Ko Phi Phi, which is a party island to the MAX! It's hard to believe that the tsunami annihilated this island not too long ago because it's built itself right back up and is one heck of a bumpin' place. Just been lazing on the beach and at our resort which has a pool that drops right off to the water; did a brutal, but worth it, hike to the Viewpoint of the island this afternoon and watched the Sun set, it's a pretty phenomenal place. Oh! And to add to the awesomeness, they sell sand pails with mickeys of Thai whiskey, coke and redbull for 140baht (that's only $4.50!!). We had a few of those last night and chilled on the beach for a huge Half Moon party that was going on (think neon skip-rope and fire dancing shows with music pumping from everywhere). The moon brought the tide WAY out and the bay was almost completely dry until this afternoon, CRAZY!
Tomorrow we're off to do a boat/snorkeling tour of all the remote bays around here (Maya Beach where the movie "The Beach" was filmed, as well as Monkey Beach where flocks of monkeys run out to you in search of bananas, eiii!!!).
4 days till we head home and we're both looking forward to seeing everyone again!
Much Love, xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Misty & Jesse <3
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Lao Stars, Boats & Thai Elephants, Oh My!
Hola Familia, Amiga & Amigos!
We've departed Laos (*sigh*) and are back in beautiful Thailand again; it was quite the journey!! I can't remember when I posted last, but I believe it was about Vang Vieng so I suppose I'll start up again from there :)
Headed to Luang Prabang, situated on the Mekong River, for a few days. Did a day trip to "Kuang Sii" Waterfalls, touted as the best in Loas and they certainly didn't disappoint. The waterfalls went foreverrrr through lush jungles, with little pools for swimming in along the way. We hiked up to the top-most waterfall and had a picnic style lunch with some good friends we've made in the group. Took a frigid dip in the crystal blue waters and spent some time watching the "Moon Bears" play and forage for hidden food in the Bear Refuge that was on site. They're pretty small bears, black in colour with a white crest along their chests (hence the name). They used to inhabit all of Laos but over the years, Chinese immigrants (so we were told) have been capturing them and keeping them horribly confined to collect their bile for medicinal purposes... Now the people of Lao have to, sadly, put the bears they find in sanctuaries just to make sure they stay safe from bear hunting, but on the bright side, their numbers are going up because of it.
I woke up at 5am our last day in Luang Prabang to pay alms to the monks of the city. They walk the streets every morning at sunrise and the people buy sticky rice, fruits and sweets to give to them as Lao monks are not allowed to have any of their own possessions. It was a very peaceful experience (minus the flashes of the Chinese tourists cameras) and the people believe that you will be blessed when you give the monks offerings; definitely worth the early morning.
The next two days were spent floating peacefully down the Mekong river on a slow boat... although it actually went pretty fast. We had two full days on the boat so we passed the time playing cards, chatting, reading and tanning on the huge communal bed. Was a really cool way to see a bit more of the countryside and life along the Mekong (which acts as the border between Lao and Thailand). We had a great local guide name Duoh who taught us alot about the Lao Culture and runs his own tours if anyone's interested in going one day :) Stopped at a cave along the river that contains over 6,000 Buddha's dating back to the 16th century.
The towns we stayed in the nights we were on the boat were very small, remote jungle villages where the stars were so bright at night, it looked like you could reach up and grab one.
We've departed Laos (*sigh*) and are back in beautiful Thailand again; it was quite the journey!! I can't remember when I posted last, but I believe it was about Vang Vieng so I suppose I'll start up again from there :)
Headed to Luang Prabang, situated on the Mekong River, for a few days. Did a day trip to "Kuang Sii" Waterfalls, touted as the best in Loas and they certainly didn't disappoint. The waterfalls went foreverrrr through lush jungles, with little pools for swimming in along the way. We hiked up to the top-most waterfall and had a picnic style lunch with some good friends we've made in the group. Took a frigid dip in the crystal blue waters and spent some time watching the "Moon Bears" play and forage for hidden food in the Bear Refuge that was on site. They're pretty small bears, black in colour with a white crest along their chests (hence the name). They used to inhabit all of Laos but over the years, Chinese immigrants (so we were told) have been capturing them and keeping them horribly confined to collect their bile for medicinal purposes... Now the people of Lao have to, sadly, put the bears they find in sanctuaries just to make sure they stay safe from bear hunting, but on the bright side, their numbers are going up because of it.
I woke up at 5am our last day in Luang Prabang to pay alms to the monks of the city. They walk the streets every morning at sunrise and the people buy sticky rice, fruits and sweets to give to them as Lao monks are not allowed to have any of their own possessions. It was a very peaceful experience (minus the flashes of the Chinese tourists cameras) and the people believe that you will be blessed when you give the monks offerings; definitely worth the early morning.
The next two days were spent floating peacefully down the Mekong river on a slow boat... although it actually went pretty fast. We had two full days on the boat so we passed the time playing cards, chatting, reading and tanning on the huge communal bed. Was a really cool way to see a bit more of the countryside and life along the Mekong (which acts as the border between Lao and Thailand). We had a great local guide name Duoh who taught us alot about the Lao Culture and runs his own tours if anyone's interested in going one day :) Stopped at a cave along the river that contains over 6,000 Buddha's dating back to the 16th century.
The towns we stayed in the nights we were on the boat were very small, remote jungle villages where the stars were so bright at night, it looked like you could reach up and grab one.
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