Thailand in Pictures: Koh Thao

Prior to the two weeks in Thailand, we had gone on nearly every walking tour our guidebooks recommended, immersed ourselves in local culture, and visited more temples than we could count.  It was time for some relaxation.  The southern island of Koh Thao was our answer.  There we took in amazing sunsets and shows, sunbathed on the beach and (Ryan) dived in the sea.  We also ate delicious local food and celebrated Thai New Year, in all its water festival glory.  In short, we loved Koh Thao.  Remember?

{Massaman curry and pad thai on the beach}

{"You always get to do fun things with your hair...." --Ryan}

{let the water festival begin!}

{amazing fire show!}

{cabaret show}

{a duet...}

The live show ;)

Look here for the rest of our Turtle Island photos and visit Koh Thao someday!

Turtle Island, shopping marathon, and the return home

After the hustle and bustle of Bangkok, it was a nice change spending the last ten days relaxing in the southern island of Koh Thao.  After being ravaged by massive rainstorms a mere two weeks ago, floods destroyed many of the numerous dive shops and bungalows.  Luckily by the time we arrived the weather was clear and beautiful.  Although much of the beach had actually washed away with the storm, we still managed to have an amazing time.  

Ryan spent the first few days working on his diving certifications in the secluded Chalok Bay area of the island.  I worked on my tan.  In the evenings we scootered around, ate pad thai from pretty much every restaurant we could find, and watched some amazing sunsets sipping cocktails on the beach.  We also had some delicious breakfasts beachside, sipping mango smoothies and fresh squeezed pineapple juice.  We've gotten so spoiled!  Our last few nights were spent in an adorable bungalow on the much busier Sairee Beach.  The beach and its many bars were packed, but in the wake of the storm our resort was nearly deserted.  Our only company was the outrageously noisy frogs who croaked for most of the night.

We were lucky enough to hit the island during Thai New Year.  As I mentioned, the celebration consists of everyone drenching everyone else with buckets of water, hoses, and squirt guns.  As we scootered and walked around we were doused with water and painted with a kind of baby powder paste.  What a fun (and soaking wet) day!  We had a blast.  Our time in Thailand wouldn't have been complete without a Cabaret performance (wait for the video) and a captivating fire show on the beach. 

It was difficult to leave paradise but we had good reason.  Today we spent a full day perusing the capital's massive weekend market.  It was a shopaholic's dream!  Over a thousand stalls offered pretty much anything you can think of.  Even Ryan was captivated from ten to five, with a break for Thai iced tea, fiery papaya salad, and some kind of banana leaf kebab.

Tomorrow we'll attend a Thai cooking class in the morning (so excited!) and in the evening we'll head to the airport to fly home.  It's been an amazing year in Korea and an incredible adventure in Southeast Asia these last few weeks.  We are also ready to go home after being away for nearly fourteen months.  We can't wait to share all of our stories and pictures and are even more excited to see you all very soon!

From Bangkok to the Bay

We took a night train into Bangkok on Monday evening which turned out to be more complicated than it should have been.  

After being picked up by the company we booked our tickets through we were quickly shuttled to the train station in Laos.  We sat around for an hour before hopping on a small train bound for the Thai border.  After a quick ride we officially arrived in Thailand where we were to board our train to Bangkok.  Unfortunately we didn't get our exit stamp before getting on the train out of Laos.  This caused quite a commotion at the Thai border, where an official continued to shout, "no stamp Lao, no stamp Lao!" over and over without offering us any choice but to return to the border via a combination of tuk-tuk and minivan.  Luckily a bilingual young Thai woman was there to help us communicate, as she and her boyfriend were in our same situation. 

With the train's departure time looming, we sped back to the border with all of our bags, (the tuk-tuk was practically dragging on the road) hoping we could quickly solve the problem.  Luckily we could.  We made it back to the train station in Thailand with just twenty minutes to spare.

Once we arrived in Bangkok we boarded a city bus for Khao San and hoped for the best.  When we noticed foreigners were outnumbering  locals, we figured we were in the right place.  After dropping off our bags we took a tour of our new neighborhood.  Street vendors were selling everything from carmelized crickets to fake ID's.  Tourists sipping beer practically spilled out of the numerous patios lining the busy street.  Dancers performed among the crowds, and we noticed the banners for Songkran everywhere.  It runs from April 13-16 and is Thailand's New Year celebration.  Most people have time off and celebrate the hottest time of the year by soaking each other with water.  We already bought our dry bags and squirt guns in preparation after getting a preview of the festivities (being soaked with buckets of water) in Laos.

As we are rather templed out, we spent our first stint in Bangkok exploring the busy area of Siam Square which housed several malls rivaling the size (and expensive price range) of Busan's Shinsegae.  We also spent an intriuging afternoon winding up and down the tightly knit alleys of Chinatown.  We've been eating fresh Pad Thai as much as possible and have managed to get in a few relaxing Thai massages as well.

This morning we arrived in the southern island of Koh Tao, where Ryan plans to get some SCUBA certifications.  I'll cram in as much beach time as possible before we return to Bangkok for another couple of days.  Then it's home to rainy Oregon.  It won't be long now!