February 7 - scooter drama and bootle beach

After staying up late last night, we had a bit of a sleep in today. When i finally woke up, I had a delicious pad thai for breakfast. (Pad thai is such a good hangover cure 😉)

Next, we had to return the scooters. Karyn's got a bit scratched up in the fall, and so we were all nervous having heard crazy stories about scooter renter's charging exorbitant amounts for nominal damage. Sure enough, the guy tried to charge us 24,000 baht, which is about $800 dollars. To rent the scooter is 150 baht... So I guess we know where they make their money! The damage was only surface scratches, but the guy was really scary. He was covered in tattoos, including a large nazi tattoo with a swastika and an eagle on his bicep... He started yelling at us when we refused to pay, and things got pretty heated! He had our passports though, so we were kind of stuck. Karyn eventually went to the police, and even they wouldn't go near the guy because apparently he is involved in the thai mafia and had pull a gun on a police officer? Anyway.... Eventually he cut the price to 16,000 baht, and we got our passports. Still, a bit of an ordeal.

While Karyn, Tomas and Josh were dealing with the police, etc, Artus and I decided to go to Bottle Beach and get settled in (five of us in taxis to and from the station, with Karyn having to keep her leg straight, was pretty impossible). We tried to get a water taxi, but the price was higher since we were only two. So Artus ran around the bay convincing people to go to Bottle Beach until we had 6 passengers, and the water taxi driver was so impressed with the industrious German that he let the two of us ride for free! Yay Germany!

Bottle Beach was a perfect respite from the ordeals of the passed few days. So calm, so relaxing.






We each had our own beach side bungalow. They were very "rustic" (read: cheap)! At least there was mosquito netting. Though mine had holes, patched up with band-aids... but you can't beat the view!






Hours later, Artus and I started feeling bad about having left the others in town, and we worried that they weren't going to come after all. With Karyn's injury, getting in and out of the water taxi would not be easy - she can't bend her knee nor get her leg wet. Finally, they arrived, though the boys were a bit angry with us for leaving them, with all their luggage, to carry Karyn onto the boat. They had had a really awkward time of it getting her in, with one holding her legs, one her arms, etc. So Artus and I ran into the water to meet them, and I carried a bunch of backpacks to shore (bikini-clad, no less) while Artus picked up Karyn like a damsel in distress and carried her to shore. The other two boys were aghast at the ease with which he lifted her. Another point for Germany!

Finally we could all sit together and relax on bottle beach.



Karyn could put her leg up.


We lingered into the evening.



After dinner, we played pool with the hotel staff and had a few beers. Before bed, I went for a midnight swim in the ocean. It felt great.

The next few days we will be hanging around here, letting Karyn recoup, and soaking in one of Thailand's relaxing beaches. Not a bad place to rest up for a few days!

Cheers!

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February 6th

Everyone on these islands rides scooters everywhere. Thai, foreign, young, old, entire families - everyone on these islands just rides scooters everywhere! Today, we decided to rent scooters and go explore the island a bit.
Our first stop was a waterfall about 2 km outside our little town. Riding scooters there was pretty scary, but sooo fun. After a short ride, we parked our scooters and trekked up through the jungle.




The climb was a bit rough in spots, but the lookout was pretty cool.




It was scarier going down, but we all made it in one piece. Though not for long...
As we got back on our scooters to continue our exploring, Karyn accelerated too quickly and immediately fell into the gravel. She cut up her leg and elbow pretty badly, and had to go to the hospital and get stitches right in her kneecap! It was pretty terrible. Now she can't bend her knee for a week, and can't get it wet... Not the best restrictions for thai island hopping.
The rest of us got back on our scooters once Karyn's stitches were under control, and went (sooo carefully!!!) to the nothernmost tip of Ko Phan Nhan, a town called Chalaklum. We had a nice seafood lunch by the ocean, and felt sad for Kayrn.




We took a long boat water taxi to an isolated cove called Bottle Beach. It was nice to be off the beaten track a bit, and the beach was beautiful.








Tomas still has a wicked farmer's burn.... hahahaha.
We found little bungalows that were cheap to rent for the night, so we decided to go back and get Karyn, and come back to Bottle Beach tomorrow to spend a few days relaxing / healing / laying around the quiet, calm cove. The long boat ride back was beautiful, right at sunset.








We scootered back to our side of the island, stopping at the night market for delicious treats. When we got back to the hostel, Karyn was a bit worse for wear, but in good spirits all things considered! We had another beach fire, some more beers, another night swim in the pool. We hung out at the beach bar until late into the night, surrounded by germans. We've decided they have taken over the island, but are just being really sneaky germans about it. Seriously - germans EVERYWHERE! By the end of the night the only english speakers were me and the super cool bartender, Jack, from London. Good thing he was so super cool! We had a great night.
Long day, late night. Excited for a few days of relaxing on Bottle Beach.
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Location:Ko Phan Ngan

February 4 - Bangkok and bus rides.

This morning I woke up before Tomas, and had breakfast in the adorable little nook on my floor of our hostel. I still can't believe I'm in Bangkok.

I had a vietnamese iced coffee and some scrambled eggs from the food stand outside and it really hit the spot. After a bit of interneting, Tomas and his friends woke up, ready to explore Bangkok a bit.

We walked the busy streets in the heat for awhile, and made our way to Wat Po (I believe), the temple with a giant golden reclining Buddha. The temple grounds were soooo beautiful and intricate.


There were hundreds if not thousands of gold Buddha statues around the grounds.

My favourite were the statues in top hats.

Tomas put his thumb in most photos, but at least I have some proof I was there.


Afterwards we had lunch at a random cheap restaurant overhanging the river that was packed with thai teenagers in school uniforms. Eventually we got s tuk tuk (after having walked around for hours) back to Khao San to grab some quick dinner and got on the overnight bus ride to Ko Phan Ngan.

The journey deserves its own post, so I will fill you in on our voyage later. For now it's late, and just thinking about it after the fact is making me soooo tired.... What a trek!

More later. Miss home, but getting used to not being there! When the heat combines with the hussle and bustle to make Bangkok seem borderline unbearable, I remember how much I prefer it here, compared to the cold darkness of Canadian winter. I makes me feel better. i miss home, But i'm glad i'm not there...

More adventures soon!

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February 4th- 5th, where am I?

We left Bangkok by bus at 6pm. We went to the travel agency where we were supposed to be picked up, and a young thai guy showed up on foot, and marched us through the busy streets of Bangkok with our backpacks, picking up other groups along the way. Eventually we arrived at some buses, and everyone got different colour stickers depending on the island they were going to. I kind of hate being herded around and split into groups and barked orders at all in the heat and humidity with my scratchy backpack. But I also laughed the whole time, because it was really fun and ridiculous to feel like foreign cattle. So it goes.

The bus ride was about 10 hrs, and at 3:30 am we were dropped off on a pier in the middle of nowhere and given our bags, and the bus left. We didn't know where we were, there was no town or anything, just a pier and some old wooden picnic tables outside. Eventually, a small store / information booth opened up around 4am, and we deduced that we would be getting on a boat at 7:00am. with nothing to do and no where to sleep, we bought a bunch of beers and chatted and tried to pass the time. I got to know Tomas's friends Karyn and Josh a bit better, and we picked up a stray german guy who was travelling alone. Karyn is about to go back to Canada to do med school interviews, Josh lives and studies economics in Beijing, and ze German, Artus, just graduated med school in Germany and is starting his internship in Malaysia in a week or so. We all got a bit drunk and a bit delirious and laughed and tried to decide what day is was.
Soon enough, the sun rose, and we were on the ocean.




The boat came, and we started on the next leg of our journey - a 4 hr boat ride. It was cool watching the sun rise over the ocean.




Once the sun actually fully rose, the boat was impossibly hot. I fell asleep for awhile, but once I woke up I started feeling really sick and ran away from my pals to discretely puke off the side of the boat like a green cartoon character. I, apparently, am a land lover. Yeesh. How embarrassing! Luckily nothing really matters when you're as tired as I was.
Eventually we landed on Ko Phan Ngan, found a taxi, found a hostel, and collapsed on the beach around 1pm after our 19hr voyage. Artus joined the other strays for a nap in the shade.




These little pups are my favourites.




After a few hours of laying around, we got hungry and strolled over to the local night market for some cheap and delicious thai food.




We came back to the hostel and had a beach fire and a few celebratory beers. We made it! Time for some island living. Then we all fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. Finally, finally, finally.



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Location:Bangkok to Ko Phan Ngan

Technical difficulties.

I'm in Thailand, having a great time and actually writing blog posts, but the Internet is always too sketchy to post photos. I will keep trying, but until I get it figured out or go back to a major city, I guess you'll just have to trust that its really beautiful here, that I'm having a blast, and that I will update my travel diaries as soon as I can.

Off to the beach!


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Location:Ban Tai,Thailand

February 3 - Melbourne to Bangkok

This morning Ruby's friend Mel ( the one and only magnificent Mel) drove me to the airport in Melnourne, with Rubdy and Casper in tow. I was so sad saying goodbye to them!!! Aghhh! I love Ruby and Steve and Casper and Mel and all their wonderful amazing friends. Alas, my time in Melbourne has come to a close. It's so crazy how much time has passed, and so sad I might not see these gorgeous people for years now. God damnit. But I'm glad that I got to come, even if I have to leave now.

The flight to Bangkok was fine. I watched some terrible movies for lack of other options. I splurged on some (pretty gross) airplane wine. My 12 hr flight landed in Bangkok at 8pm local time. Unloading, baggage claim, and customs all took forever. But by around 9:45 pm I was in a taxi on the way to Khao San Road to meet Tomas.

I arrived around 10:30 pm (2:30 Australian time) and Tomas was sitting right outside the hostel and watched me get out of the cab, with open arms and cold beers. We sat around and chilled out for a bit, I changed into something more appropriate for the humidity and we went out exploring Khao San Road with Tomas's friends Josh and Karyn, who he knows from school.

Khao San is ridiculous. It's the backpacking Mecca of south east asia, both in a good way and in a bad way. I had a pad thai from a food cart that was about 90 cents in Canadian dollars and also delicious. We had a bunch of beers at a bar that had a thai guy playing along to western music from years ago. Nirvana was prominent, as was Rolling Stones. It was pretty random, and pretty cool.

Khao San is overstimulation central. After an hour or two, with the time change, I had to get to bed. Tomas informed me shortly after I got off the plane that he bought us overnight bus tickets to go down to Ko Phan Ngan, an island on the southern peninsula of Thailand, so I guess that what I am doing tomorrow. Need some sleep!

Tomorrow will be a big day. Wish me luck.

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January 31 - Feb 2

My last few days in Melbourne were laid back and relaxing, my last vestige of peace and comfort before the hussle and bustle of Bangkok. I ran some errands, bought my travel meds, loaded up of western-style toiletries, drank beers in the backyard in the evening. Took Casper to the park. He's too cute for words.









Visited Steve at the super cool record shop he works at.



We out for dinner. Drank more beer in the backyard. etc, etc. Melbourne has gone by far too quickly. I have had the best time with Ruby and Steve and Casper and all their super cool friends. I'm going to miss the hell outta this place.

On Sunday, my flight left Melbourne in the early afternoon. I arrived in Bangkok after a 12 hr flight, at 8pm (four hour time difference). More about Bangkok in my next post.

I'm going to miss you, Australia!

Location:Melbourne

January 29-30

On Tuesday morning we left on a camping trip. We drove along the Great Ocean Road, which is a beautiful road that follows the coast (reminded me of the Sea to Sky highway). The drive was incredible. Sharp turns along the hillside, great views of the surf with plenty of lookout points to take pictures.



It was about a 3.5 hr drive. Eventually we got to a national park, and the roads turned to gravel and the forest got denser. we went through a grove, and the trees were fuuuull of koalas! Usually koalas don't congregate, but apparently this grove of eucalyptus was too good to eat alone. Steve deemed a group a koalas a "session", which I think is a perfect term for them.






We got to the campsite, which was just up a small path from the beach.




We set up camp and went down to the beach for awhile in the late afternoon. It was pretty isolated and there were maybe one or two other families around. In the evening we made veggie skewers on the camping stove. There was a campfire pit next to our campsite, so we went over and chatted with some other campers. Ruby and I roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. After a few beers, I got really sleepy and went to bed early. I had my own small tent, and the sound of the ocean lulled me to sleep. Best sleep in weeks!

On Wednesday we woke up and went into a small town nearby for breakfast. We wandered around a bit, went to a secondhand store. Stopped by the beach for a quick swim. Casper found a hat on the ground in a skatepark, and looks suuuper cute in it.



After awhile we drove back through the woods to the campsite. We had a picnic on the beach, and the Steve and Casper and I decided to go explore the rock cliffs and walk along the coast. It was so amazing, though sometimes a bit rough on our bare feet.










Found some cool caves.



We walked for over an hour looking for a beach around the next corner, but "around the corner" kept being more rocks, so eventually we turned back. In the evening we packed up the campsite and made dinner with some fellow campers we had met the night before. After dinner, we went back down to the beach to watch the sun set and ran into this guy.







Wallabies are really cute. It's official.

The sunset was gorgeous. Casper and I played around in the sand.



Ruby and Steve played around in the sand too.


Mommy and baby had a sunset moment.



All in all, it was a gorgeous evening.

We eventually piled back in the car for the 3 hr drive home. We got home after midnight and I passed out with sand between my toes and saltwater in my hair. I wish we could have stayed camping longer! Alas, all good things must come to an end. Only a few days left in Melbourne! I'm going to miss this family!

Location:Camping in the Otways

January 28 - Australia Day BBQ concert

Though Australia Day was technically on Saturday, today was a civic holiday and everyone had the day off. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for an outdoor concert!
The venue for the concert was an old school courtyard. The bands were a few Australia bands, like Steve's favourite Dick Diver, along with other bands from the US like Hunx and his Punx, and Thee Oh Sees. Hunx and his Punx were amazing and hilarious.







Steve and I drank a bunch of beers and danced a bit and got a bit of sun. Steve seemed to know everyone there! Such a social butterfly, that guy.

After the show I walked home while Steve stayed and chatted with some friends. This was my first time alone in Melbourne, it was about a 20-30 minute walk. Melbourne's a really pretty city, just the right amount of gritty and colonial.
I eventually got home, and spent the evening hanging out in the backyard with Ruby and Steve and friends, which seems to be the norm now. I love it. Tomorrow we are going camping in the Otways, so we called it an early night.
Happy Australia Day again! So excited for camping.
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Location:Melbourne

January 27 - Random street festival, and BATS!

Today we relaxed a bit in the morning, and then decided to go out to Steve and Ruby's favourite vietnamese restaurant for dinner. As we drove down to Chinatown, we realized that the major streets were closed off for some random street festival. It was a good taste of what my upcoming trip to SE Asia may be like. Very crowded, delicious smells, loud music, crazy junk for sale everywhere.




We had dinner and decided to go for a drive afterwards. Steve took us on a beautiful drive around Melbourne as the sun started setting. Then we pulled into a park in a river valley, and Steve told me to get out of the car because he wanted to show me something... We walked down to the riverbank, and it took me awhile, but I soon noticed all the trees were FULL OF BATS.




They were actually everywhere, all along the river valley. The noise was insane. They were juuuust starting to wake up for the night, and you could see them stretching out their wings and starting to glide from tree to tree. They were really big, but after awhile of looking at them I thought they were pretty cute. They had little reddish brown faces... Ok the verdict is still out on how cute they are... It was totally creepy. And cool.
Casper took the park opportunity to run around being 2. He and Steve rough housed for a bit, and then it home time.




We drove a very scenic route home, and watched the sun set over Melbourne.




Then we stopped for a delicious Australian ice cream treat with a very unfortunate name...




All in all, a good day. Tomorrow Steve and I are going to an Australia Day weekend BBQ concert in the afternoon. A bunch of bands are playing. I'm excited!
Until next time.
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Location:Melbourne

January 26 - Australia Day!

Today was Australia Day. Apparently Australia Day activities can get pretty crazy, what with Australia's boozing culture, so we decided to avoid the city and head out to Healesville animal sanctuary to pet some kangaroos!! It was SO COOL.

First we went to a bird show, where an Australian ranger guy brings out bird after bird to fly around the audience and teach us about habitat conservation and stuff. I love the lady in the background clutching her baby...



Casper was only kind of in to the show, and generally was fidgety and distracted, but then snapped back to attention whenever the crowd clapped. The baby loves clapping! It was adorable.

Then we moved on and check out some other animals. We visited the platypus tank, which is real dark because these tiny guys are nocturnal. They are hilarious little buggers. This photo makes him look a lot more...bloblike then they actually were. They are fast little things and hard to photograph!



Then we visited the kangaroos. I got to feed and pet one! Her name was Heidi and she was my best friend.


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The first time i saw koalas i almost fainted. they and hilarious and sooo cute.






Emus are basically dinosaurs.


Tasmanian devil feeling lazy.



Wombats are among the funniest. They are giant torsos with a face and some feet. This one loooooves carrot.



We also saw a lyrebird, which are really beautiful and can copy any noise they hear.






Altogether it was a super cool day, and felt very Australian to see a bunch of bizarro marsupials and such. On the way home we drove through a beautiful eucalyptus forest, which was incredibly beautiful. I will never forget the smell of it. Amazing.






Happy Australia day everyone!

Location:Healesville Animal Sanctuary