Railey, Thailand

Whilst Nate snoozes quite heavily besides me in our bed here in Krabi town, I reflect on the day that slowly closes in on us. Waking up to our boisterous Dutch neighbor this morning who sleeps in the bungalow (don't you love that word!) next to ours, we both rose with anticipating smiles revealing the day ahead. Ever so quickly were our bags packed, bungalow closed behind us and bellies full, than we were aboard the long tail boat to the mystical beaches of Railay. I don't think that we quite understood the beauty that awaited us. Jade, turquoise and cobalt seas lapped at our toes as we embarked on the shores of this hidden (but not so secret) paradise. Apparently Railay is quite the rock climbing mecca in Thailand and for dang good reason! The limestone cliffs jutting out of the sea are like ancient hungry dragons. Tongues lapping you into their secret caves. Being wholly unprepared for those kind of endeavors, we chose to do what's best done in a tropical paradise...nothing! It's a skill we quite nearly mastered at this point.

Sun, spirits, soul feeding. I am fully aware of the gifts we have been given and I accept them with very humble gratitude.

It's awfully strange being away from home this time of year. On the beach today someone has inscribed "Merry Christmas" into the sand. I had quite nearly forgotten what month it is! My mailbox would normally be receiving holiday cheer at this time and my kitchen would be filled with Christmas cookie creations but on the contrary, we eat at night markets and haggle with tuk tuk drivers from place to place. Christmas just isn't Christmas unless you are home...in New England. Thankfully we have each other. I think perhaps we will fill little stockings for each other (or something resembling stockings) and hang them by our bungalow door. Maybe there are little Thai elves here that I don't know about yet? Or maybe...just maybe...Santa knows his way to Thailand!

So many huts...so MUCH time!

Koh Lanta

Captains Log:

Arrived on the island of Koh Lanta two days ago. After finally escaping the madness of Patong Beach, we headed a little further south to Kata Beach for a few nights. Found a great spot to stay (thanks Ben and Alex!) and shook the "Patong" off. Strategically we decided our next move would be Koh Lanta. It's not the most exotic geography of all the Thai islands but it seems to be getting us closer to our next destination, which is Cambodia. Its also not as crowded as some of the other islands and we booked a wonderful little bungalow ahead of time for $16 a night. It's the high season here now and prices are double what they are in the off season. All we really wanted was a quiet beach with a little reggae bar. Here we have been granted all of that and much more!

We met a wonderful trio of Australian brothers on the ferry ride over and have made very fast friends with them. We haven't really left the beach, or should I say beach BAR in front of our bungalows since we've been here. Our posse seems to be growing by the day and we now occupy three beach huts instead of one...life is pretty damn good!

The loose plan from here will be to head to Cambodia via ferry. It will take a few days for our visas to come thru online so in the meantime, "Chīwit pĕn s̄ìng thī̀ dī" - Life is Good!!

...and now....exhale....

For the first time since beginning this journey, we are finally stopping to breathe and absorb all that is surrounding us. One would think that all we've been doing is relaxing on the beach and doing next to nothing but it feels like quite the contrary. It takes a while to shake the routine and responsibility of your former life off. We have been going, going, going since we left home and I still find myself waking up in the middle of the night, feeling as if I forgot to pay some bill or return a phone call. Once you gain traveling momentum tho, everything just....shifts.

Only fellow travelers can really understand this feeling I speak of. You get into a routine of having, well, no routine. The spool of western stresses unravels and only then can you allow yourself to just be. You find time again to write in your journal (and you vow to yourself to continue this practice upon returning home because it feels so good!). You walk and walk and walk nearly every day and then some days you stay at the same beach bar from sun up to sun down. You smile A LOT at strangers. You realize how truly fortunate you are in life. You try something new almost every day. You feel like you are finally LIVING.

An ode to my belly

I long for garlicky kale, raw kale, kale chips and kale juice. Vegan banana chocolate chip walnut cookies and dark chocolate mousse. Flatbread, Oh flatbread, why must I want you so? The longer I go without you, the more ravenous I grow. Pad thai can only be eaten so many times a week, it's hard to be a veggie head in a language you don't speak.

I drink Chang, Bintang and a shot for 50 baht but it just don't seem to cure the cravings that I've got. Up and down the street I sway. Can't I just find a IPA?

All thru the market I walk around. Turtles, eels and ducks abound. I find a stall for 20 baht. Noodles again? Sure why not! One bite, two bites, three bites in... not the odd piece of meat again!!

I really should be thankful I guess. There are SO many people who have SO less.....

Just posted a video on facebook

Phuket, Thailand

We arrived in Thailand on Monday after a 2 hour flight from Bali. Even after all the craziness of Kuta, I will really miss Bali. There was SO much that we didn't get to experience but I know in my heart that we will be back. I have fantasies of studying under Robin Lim, a midwife in Bali. She and her husband started a non-profit birthing center called in Ubud called Bumi Sehat. She is currently nominated for CNN's "hero of the year award". If she wins, her center will receive a grant that they desperately need to make improvements with and buy medical supplies. If anyone has a spare moment in their day, you should go online and vote for her. (http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/archive11/robin.lim.html)

So regardless, here we are in Phuket, Thailand. It is BANANAS here!! It's basically like New York and Vegas had a love child and it speaks Thai. We have been staying in Patong Beach which is as we are told, the craziest of all Phuket. We met up with our friend Nick from VT who happened to be traveling at the same time. It's been really nice to have a slice of home and another partner in crime but needless to say that after we part ways tomorrow, Nate and I will hang our livers out to dry for a while!

Thursday we left Patong for the night to head to Ko Phi Phi Don. It's about an hour taxi drive and then a 2 hour ferry ride there- upon which you get utterly drenched by the waves! Ko (island) Phi Phi is a star in it's own right as it's the place where Leonardo DiCaprio found his hidden paradise in "The Beach". Judging from the movie it's desolate and mystical. This may have been the case before Leo got off the boat, but now its completely overrun with all-night techno clubs, neon, neon, neon, tourist, hawkers galore and of course - glow sticks! There is a lot of garbage on the beach, maybe left on shore from party revelers or washed up from other islands? Nate took some time out of his morning to create a little art piece - 68 flip flops all lined up, washed up on the rocks by our bungalow!

Amongst all the madness there is still beauty to be found. If you look beyond the clubs, Phi Phi's landscape will take your breath away. Towering limestone cliffs drop down into azure water. Orchids grow rampant and the waves lap onto shore almost silently. Friday morning Nick and I enjoyed the BEST dang piña colada I have ever had (for breakfast of course) and then we all hopped on a long boat to take a mini tour of the island. The plan was to grab some pad thai (also the best I have ever had) for the second day in a row and then gran the ferry back to Phuket. Normal people would probably check the departure time in advance but no, not us. It's far more exciting when you sit down to order and see your ferry at the pier about to take off! Luckily we made it just as the ferry was about to pull back. That was only part of the adventure back home tho. When we got off the ferry, instead of taking a expensive taxi right off the dock like everyone else, we decided to start walking and see what we could haggle. After a few failed offers, as haggling is the name of the game here, we snagged 2 scooter taxis. While barely speaking english, they agreed (or so we thought) to take us the hour drive back to Patong. About 20 minutes in, our one eyed driver abruptly pulled over and told us it would be 3x more money to take us all the way!?! Huh? After a minor roadside freak out, he agreed to take us to the bus station instead. With less than 15 minutes to spare our little one eyed scooter driver hauled ass on his little pink machine and just barely (again) we caught the our ride! All in all it was an exciting day filled with long boats, ferries, scooters and buses - which we found out are the way to go from now on. A taxi for 500 baht vs. a bus for 25 ($1 US = 30.12 baht)

Back safe in sound in Patong, we now contemplate our next move. Most likely we will head to Ko Raya per Ben and Alex's recommendation. We are still in search of that majestical and quiet beach paradise where our only concern is tan lines! It seems like that may be the place.

Hope everyone had a beautiful thanksgiving! We were all fantasizing about our favorite holiday dishes as we gulped down pizza and pad thai. Pumpkin pie was the majority rule :)