I feel it necessary to also record my memories of my trip to Thailand: Phuket & Phi Phi Islands (aka one gorgeous place). It was DDTRR that went, and the theme of the trip was Boss. Everything was done like a boss, right boys? Massages...Food...Private boats...beaches....Maybe the only thing not boss was our Golden Hill Bungalow accommodations, but I would say it made the trip even more memorable. Being the only girl on the trip was interesting...I learned a lot about the male species though. For example, they take JUST as long as girls to get ready, if not longer. I was CONSTANTLY waiting and waiting for them to get ready. Two, they are ALWAYS hungry. Skipping a meal just doesn't cross their mind. Three, if they are a good group of guys, they are amazing travel buddies! Even though they drove me crazy at times. But honestly, I love how easy going and laid back guys are traveling compared to girls. No fuss.
There was SOME added estrogen to this testosterone madness thank god with the addition of Amanda and Diana for some parts of the trip. Thus, we became DDTRRAD for some parts of it. I hope you caught the RAD part.
Anyways, we all took our flight over to Phuket on Thursday night. We got there and took a big van thing to the hostel. But on the way, the driver conveniently "needed directions" and stopped at the travel agency where we conveniently (for them) booked our ferry tickets to Phi Phi Islands for the next morning. Phuket was so old and not developed very much, at least what we saw of it. Of course, in the van it was DDTRRAD and we listened to our music on Diana's speakers, which was really funny.
We arrived at the Phuket Backpacker hostel. It was my first time in a hostel, and I was pretty terrified. It wasn't that bad though! I was pleasantly surprised. Lots of bunks..and nice people..and a big TV room..and cheap ice cream (David haha). All the shoes were piled on the floor right when you walk in. Which really made it feel like home. We claimed our bunks upstairs. Tommy was on the bottom by himself. I was on the top bunk above Roel. Daniel was on another top bunk above David. We shared a room with some other strangers. Including the random Mongolian guy, who we somehow managed to see again at Phi Phi.. small world.
Me and the boys went to get dinner at this cafe down the road. The location of the hostel wasn't too great. It was just so old and dead around there. We all got PAD THAI (when in Thailand right?) except for Roel, who had to be different and get a steak. David got his iced tea, and was surprised when there was ice in it, and didn't drink it, for fear of catching some ice-borne disease. The pad thai was pretty good, until Tommy drenched it in the red sauce, making it so salty. Thanks T.
We walked around for a bit after, and I walked by an old man telling me that he was a taxi driver and could taxi me anywhere. Too bad his car had NO sign of being a taxi. I definitely stayed close to the boys.
We went back to go to bed. David and I standing in the co-ed bathroom brushing and flossing our teeth. Then taking showers, and throwing the body soap over the dividing walls to each other. It was a task for him to even turn on the shower. lol
After showering, the 5 of us all played cards before going to bed. I went on a 2 game winning streak, which may have been the most I've won of that game we play. I have no idea what it is called. But it's pretty fun.
I was pretty much RIGHT next to the air con that night on the top bunk. I woke up FREEZING and asked Daniel to have his blanket and he gave it to me. Next to saving my life after cliff jumping, this is one of the nicest things that Aussie has done for me.
FRIDAY (LONGEST DAY OF MY LIFE)
The next morning we got up about 6 or 7. Showered and got ready to go to PHI PHI!! I tried to get some local Chinese Thai breakfast off some little stand thing, but I failed in making a good decision and ate one bite of this egg meat thing and spit it out. I went back and ate a few bites of plain noodles in broth. Communicating with them was so difficult, as they knew about 0 English. But whatever. That's why I love traveling. I saw a monk walking on the street, and an adorable little Thai boy playing in the back of a truck.
Our bus to the ferry dock came and we went over there. We met A and D there, and discovered that they gave croissants and coffee for breakfast. The 2 hr ferry ride was awesome! It was so fun exploring the boat and getting soaked on the sides and the WINDYNESS and going to the front of the boat and just relaxing and looking out and seeing nothing but endless water and beautiful horizons and island formations that you only dream of seeing. I would go off on my own and sit on the side of the boat and just take in my surroundings, truly enjoying the moment and being so far off somewhere, so far from my world and reality back home. There is something so refreshing about it all. Thinking of how everything around me at home is the same...but when I return, it will be me that has changed..
David and I talked for a while on the boat, talking about how lucky we are to be in our position. Most people our age don't have this opportunity, that's for sure. When we arrived at Phi Phi, I was overwhelmed by its beauty, and its touristyness! It was a bombardment of tourist stuff, yet definitely asian. Tons and tons of endless stalls and little shops selling the cutest and most dresses and clothes and shoes and everything you could imagine. Me and David's favorite was the sunglass converted pancake stand.
We made our loooong trek to our bungalow. It would have been nice if the dam right in front of it had water in it. But apparently there is a water shortage on that island. For example, the water wasn't running in the bungalow, but I kept the faucet turned on accidentally. So the next morning when there was water supply, it ran and ran and ran while we slept. We awoke to some guy banging on our door telling us that the water was running, but we were so tired we didn't know what he was talking about. We came to find our entire bathroom flooded with water, and barely any water left to shower. So yes, I drained the rationed water supply at the Bungalows. It would be me, of all people too.
Anyways, the huge steep trek up the stairs to our bungalows was fun too. A definite workout for the legs. There were 3 beds (big, medium, small) in the room I shared with Daniel and Roel. David and Tommy shared a double. As long as we didn't haev to stay in those "dorms" we were happy. Amanda and Diana stayed in a different hotel place down on the main road strip. The culture at Phi Phi where we stayed was all young people who were foreigners from all over. I managed to send a postcard to the family, and they just received it yesterday...
We got there in early afternoon and we had no time to waste. So we ended up booking this $400 baht/person for a private boat to take us around the islands. We tried to make it cheaper and not include lunch OR the life vests, but we ended up paying the extra hundred baht to have the life jackets. Apparently that's all our lives are worth.
David and I got some noodle and rice for lunch. The others got their sandwiches that they loved so much throughout the whole trip. We followed our Thai driver who wasn't a happy camper and got on our boat. It was so cool. It was the 7 of us, and so relaxing to say the least.
First stop was Monkey Island. Where I swam in the ocean and tried to make it over to take the picture in the water, but all you saw was my little black head. Tommy got owned by a mean monkey. Daniel broke his camera. Because of a mean monkey.
Second stop was this beautiful cove. Surrounded by tall rock formations. We swam around in the sea...the boys used the life jackets as diapers to hold them up so they wouldn't have to paddle. We saw the viking caves on the way too!
Third stop was to snorkel! Snorkeling has now become my new favorite hobby. It was beautiful seeing the fish, so colorful! I felt like I was in Finding Nemo. And feeling the little stings by the jelly fish..All that David and I wanted to do was touch some fish....
Fourth stop (and most memorable stop): MAYA BEACH. (Most beautiful award)
This part needs its own section.
2 words. CLIFF JUMPING.
So Gael and John tell us about cliff jumping. Immediately I am down to do it. The boys were scared, but I wanted to go no matter what. David's first reaction "I'm scared of heights" but he ended up doing it.
So all 7 of us make our way over to cliff jump. Although we hear that another exchange girl had just done it and chipped her tooth and got huge bruise marks, we still decided to do it. We walked through some jungly area, across some of the sharpest rocks ever, through this little cave waterfall thing, then swam out to the cliff we thought we were supposed to go to. There on the cliff was some Thai guy's little hut. I asked him if we could jump. They spoke in Thai about it, then agreed we could go. We climbed up the rope ladder and up the steep steps of rocks to his hut. I couldn't believe he lives there. When I looked out over the ledge, I thought I was going to pass out. It was soooo high up. Approximately 15 meters. I was shaking. I said I would jump first. Daniel and I were debating, but eventually it was him who jumped first. Thank god, because if I had gone first and no one was there to help me swim I probably would have drowned! I was so scared to jump. The only reason I finally did it was because the people on the boat passing by were shouting and giving me a thumbs up to do it. So I went. And I couldn't scream or anything. I fell into the water really loose, not rigid enough, and I felt like I smashed into concrete. I was cussing up a storm, couldn't move, felt paralyzed. My tailbone and back were in pain. Daniel came and saved me and brought me over to the rocks. I thought I was going to die.
Then came David out of nowhere. He didn't even look down before he jumped. Then came Amanda, who quite possibly had the worst fall. She fell in the water, HARD and came up and immediately started crying. I could see the pain all over her face. The 3 of us were trying to calm her down. But Daniel had to go back and save the others.
Next came Roel, who had the best fall. The first thing he said when he came up was "F*** YEAH!!!" Next came Diana, who the first thing she said when she came up was "Ouch". But her and I had really bad back pain from it all. Amanda had external bruises, and we had internal bruises, is what we concluded. Finally, lastly, came Tommy. He would be last. I think it's probably worse coming last because you have seen everyone fall and the anticipation just builds. But that's just my theory. But he experienced some pain too. Thank god for tiger balm though. Thank god.
On the way back, it was difficult to move in the water. It was a beautiful sight though, with the rocks and water and all...
Next we stayed out in the middle of the Andaman Sea to watch the sunset. Oh my god. Words can't describe how amazing it was to be sitting there in a boat watching it set over the horizon of the ocean with some amazing friends. The boys smoked their cigars, thinking they were so boss. Despite the intense pain that we felt (Diana and I were glued back down to the wooden benches on the boat) it was a great sight.
We got back and the boys had massages, the girls got showered and met back with the boys to eat some AMAZING PAD THAI which was sooo good. Then we went to this little bar thing and I tried beer + sprite. It was disgusting. Supposed to taste like champagne. Which is also gross. I ended up drinking sprite.
Then we went to see some Thai boxing. Then went to the huge beach party. It was like, from a movie or something. A million people, young and tourists, and fire jump ropes and fire rings to walk through. We met up with some NTU people like Diego and them there..Diego didn't jump.. lol
We hung out at the beach party for a bit then David and I walked Tommy home.
The next day Roel and Daniel and I went to get breakfast. I actually had yogurt with fruit. And now I eat fruit every morning for breakfast because we got a fridge. Anyways, we booked another day tour for the private boat. This time, we went to Monkey Beach again (armed with a huge thing of little bananas to feed them) but David ended up eating most of them. Then we went to Bamboo Island which was soooo cool. I talked with some of the native Thai people there. They were soo poor. So many of them just sitting on the porch of their little tiny one room shack. The island is a high danger zone for tsunamis. The water on the beach was SO clear. It was incredibly GORGEOUS. But so poor, and backwards. David and I found a secluded private beach on the side of the island. So far removed from society, people, technology, everything. When I was there, I thought "this is what life is all about..."
We left that island the boys had their coke and vodka on the ride back. Im sure they were thinking "this is what life is all about.." We went to Shark Point after to snorkel some more. We saw some sharks!! It was so cool. I was scared so I swam away the second I saw them. But they were little ones. But still.
Then we got back and got ready then ate dinner at this chinese restaurant which was pretty nice but the waiter was so incompetent. I of course had my pineapple fried rice. I did mention pineapple is a staple in my diet right? No joke. We walked around for awhile around the island there and then I ended up going back to get ready for bed and watch Scary Movie while the boys went to get massages. I couldn't even fathom someone touching my back. So. Much. Pain.
The next morning we got up and had to catch the ferry back. It was another relaxing ride back. David and I journaled a bit. When we got back to Phuket we stayed at the Loveli Guesthouse. Which made us feel like royalty. We booked an elephant riding tour and then I got a foot massage. I ate some pineapple and a chocolate crepe off this street stand. Then we took this oooold jeep thing to this faraway place to ride elephants. It was called Island Safari. David and I rode our elephant, Betsy, while Tommy got his own elephant and Roel and Daniel got one. David lost one of his flip flops while on the elephant. And their bath was interesting too. Then we had to go to the elephant show where we got "Thai back massages" and elephant kisses from the elephants!! I was so scared of going near the elephant. The boys were saying that I could jump off a cliff but can't go near an elephant. That's just...me.
Side note: Daniel's grand idea to buy 6 HUGE bottles of water...lol
After that we went to Patong Beach which was honestly a disappointment. So touristy! And they wanted to charge to use the beach chairs and stuff. So we just swam and relaxed in the ocean. Best moment: When David got splashed by a jet skiier in the water.
We went back to shower then headed out to get dinner at CHAMPS!!!! We ate like bosses there for sure. It was local delicious thai food, words can't express. Of course my glass noodle dish came like last. But we all ordered to much food and it was so cheap. Except for the fish David ordered til he found out it was really expensive. Moral of story: The gay overly friendly English white man at the Loveli Guesthouse knows where to eat all the good food at Patong Beach.
We then walked around (the mall there was nice and big) and got some ice cream and then the boys got massages. David and I shared a room to get Thai back massages which were not good at all. My back was still hurting from the cliff jumping, and it wouldn't crack, which made me crack up because the poor girl was trying so hard to make it crack. David's lady was the same lady who did my foot massage earlier that day. And I'm pretty sure she wasn't always a lady...but that's Thailand for ya.
Then David and I ended up having the longest talk of our lives. On the stairs of the Loveli Guesthouse. Well we walked around outside for awhile but then ended up there! Summary of that talk: Live and Learn...No regrets...etc.
Got a few hours sleep that night, then got up early to go to the airport. We flew home and I went straight to my class from 1:30 to 3:30. Human Motivation lecture. Oh so exciting.
All in all, an amazingly fun trip.
Boss is more like it.
