When you Cairns.. you have to dive!

Let me just say that Air New Zealand rocks!! 78 movies to choose from and not a full flight making an 11 hour flight not seem so long! After a heavy duty customs process (they don't make it easy to get into Oz from Ithe States!), including the question, "where were you three years ago?" I made my way to my hostel in Cairns. My purpose for Cairns was 1. go to Cape Tribe and 2. Dive the Great Barrer Reef! I did both.. Cape Tribe was alright but diving was awesome! I will never be able to "just" snorkel again!

I spent my 1st day here just walking around and getting a feel for the place! I was walking down streets and all of a sudden.. I spotted a guy and was just fixated on him! He was holding a bubble tea!! Where did he get that?! I want one!! I eventually found bubble tea place but I didn't want it anymore.. guess I was just excited to spot it here in Oz. Speaking of which, Cairns is expensive!! We're talking about $4.80 for a "slim" bottle of vitamin water expensive! Yes, the same vitamin water I love at home except I am not paying $4.80!

When in Cairns... you dive!

Cairns is a place where most folks use as a launchpad for their adventures whether it's diving or for the rainforest up north. I loved both of my Cape Tribe and diving experiences but for different reasons. While the Cape Tribe trip didn't really impress me, I met two locals from home.. George from Detroit and Ally from San Francisco! Ally was laid off twice and decided to pack her stuff up for a year and move to Sydney.. bartended her way through life in Oz and is now traveling around before returning back to the real world in the city. George works for the banks and he sent an email back to the office that IF they're even thinking about laying him off.. let him know so he can extend his stay here. Both were super fun to talk to and hang out with for the first part of the Cape Tribe experience! Diving in the GBR is unreal! I saw reef sharks, sea turtles feeings off the reef, fishes, BIG fishes, it was awesome!

This is my sixth trip now, not to Oz but in general and it's during these trips that I continue to learn things about myself, things that I otherwise would not have realized during the hustle and bustle of real life. This trip turns to be no different. While diving, I had a self discovery! Not an important life changing one but one nonetheless. I've never been a snorkeling person... I like it and I think it's fun but it wouldn't be my first choice of activity. While diving... I realized why! I don't like the sound breathing through the tube makes!! It reminds me of hospitals and breathing through the tubes. I don't hear it often, thank goodness but when I was younger, my grandfather was going through lung cancer and that sound is all you hear at night in the hospitals! So that's what it is.. I used to think that I didn't like snorkeling because I would feel claustrophonbic but as it turns out.. I don't like the breathing noise. The slow breathe in... slow breathe out. Besides that point, I did quite well for my first session of dives out here! Drenamine saves me every time!

The most common question I am getting asked here by Austrlians.. "What is Thanksgiving?"

Phuket part II

So I am back in Phuket since I've decided to fly out of here vs Bangkok amidst the anti-government protestors. Phuket second time around...still not good. I went to Patong and wow, that place is a like a bonafide Cancun meets Vegas x rated style!! One scary scary place!

Even in Phuket, I can't escape the scenes of bikes and helmets as the Laguna Phuket Triathlon was happening in a few days! With the airport drama, only 400 out of 900 registrants are racing. Whit told me that they're definitely losing money this year due to that. Bummer!! Looks like a cool race though. The coolest thing ever?? Getting kissed by a baby elephant named Lucky!!

Phuket- still avoid if you can!!

Flew out of Phuket early this morning ...in Seoul right now awaiting my flight back to SFO!

Krabi- Railey Beach my favorite!

Krabi province and specifically Railay Beach and Phran Nga Bay was by far my favorite! The beaches here are the picture perfect scene of what you think the Thai beaches should be like! Big looming cliffs surround the clear blue water beaches, bright sunshine, long tail boats serve as transportation and snack stalls, awesome!

I had a great 4 days here. I prolonged my stay due to the Bangkok airport closures as I ended up getting a flight out of Phuket instead of Bangkok (which was no easy task... 7 phone calls... not taking no for an answer) as I wanted to avoid Bangkok altogether!

I LOVE Railay Bay and Phran Nga!

Krabi is a place not to be missed!! Pictures would not do this place justice as it's just that beautiful! The restaurants here are a bit lacking as there aren't that many choices but it's okay..the beaches and atmosphere more than make up for it! I did most of my shopping while sitting on the beach as locals are carrying around sarongs and dresses to sell! If that wasn't enough, I took a boat to nearby Ao Nang one morning and did more shopping there!! By now, I've gotten quite good on my negotiating of prices!!

Ko Lanta-if you want a sleepy beach!

Ko Lanta- I was told that the beaches here are peaceful and nice! Peaceful is the right word for it! Ko Lanta is covered with long long stretches of beaches for what seems to be miles and miles long! I can't imagine this place ever being crowded!! Having said that, if you really need some R&R then come visit but if not, then move on to Krabi or something..I actually got a little bored and lonely in Lanta as it was that peaceful here!

Th downtown street of Lanta is made up of two dusty streets- like a T almost! Food stalls selling mango sticky rice for 30 baht ($1 us dollar) and tourist shops make up one of the streets while restaurants and shops seem to make up the other. When you get off the ferry, you are greeted my throngs of people trying to get you to stay at their place. Be prepared as it's a bit overwhelming!!

Lanta- if you want to be lonely...

Ko Phi Phi- Watching the tide come in Ton Sai Bay!

Ko Phi Phi- my favorite thing here was watching the tide come in early in the morning in Ton Sai Bay! Phi Phi Island is a popular hang out with the younger folks esp from Australia from what I gathered. Sleeping on the beach is a norm as it seems although I didn't do it. I preferred my bungalow even though, I found a trail of ants in it one night. As long as it stayed on it's side and I stayed on mine, I was too tired to care!

I took a long tail boat snorkel trip because I wanted to see the islands around Phi Phi. Weather wasn't all that great but it was still beautiful! The best was still watching the tide come in. The second morning that I watched it, this dog Mr. Tangles got closer and closer and eventually just sat down next to me. Aw..

Ko Phi Phi- watching the tide come in was better than the viewpoint!

Funniest thing that happened- one morning, I was walking the beach and this guy was running along and introduced himself to me. He repeated himself three times as I had a hard time getting through his Irish accent! His name was Jaime and he felt the need to tell me that he just woke up "over there" and his back feels broken. You had to be there!

Phuket..Prelude to the Beach Bumming

Oh Phuket..before coming here..my friend Adam had warned me against any high expectations I may have had about Phuket and boy was he right!! Complete touristy town, not nearly as much culture compared to Chiang Mai if any and well I definitely won't have to visit again.

The reason why I came to Phuket other than acting as a launch pad for the other islands that I want to visit was to see Phang Nga Bay which i did today. I booked tour with a Canoe company to see the famous James Bond Island and even that was disappointing!! Thank goodness to the guides and our personal guide, Jack as in Jack Sparrow (that was how he introduced himself) haha. Eti (from Paris) and I had a great time ooing and ahing through caves and limestone cliffs as we were on the boat and canoe. The company was great and once our last tour destination was over, the staff went crazy and the cruise boat turned into a riot! haha. "Caberet dancer" and everything!! I wonder how he lost that bet! haha.

Phuket- it can be skipped if you can help it!

On the ride back, the Czech couple was quite interested in me and tapped me on the shoulder to ask if I was traveling alone, where I was from, where else have I gone. They were delighted when I told them that I've visited their country before! Oh the people I meet ... :-). Tomorrow, I am off to Koh Phi Phi for what i hope to be serious beach bumming!

Chiang Mai..a place to do not see!

I left SFO and landed in Seoul, Korea after a 15 hour flight, after a 3 hour lay over, I boarded a 5.5 hour flight to Bangkok where I stayed at an airport hotel, the Convenient Resort. Left Bangkok at 9:55am for Chiang Mai where I officially started my trip!

Chiang Mai is a wonderul city that shouldn't be missed when in Thailand! There isn't much to see here but lots to experience. You don't see spectacular architecture or jaw dropping temples but you will have great food, walk many streets of lively night markets and go on memorable trekking journeys in the jungles! My favorite thing to do here was the Flight of the Gibbons, zip lining through the jungles of village an hour away from Chiang Mai. Shopping here is in abundance if you're into that but with me being on a bacpack, it makes it very easy to pass things up! I don't want to have to carry it!!

Chiang Mai- lots to do..lots to experience..jungle anyone?!

Aside from the jungle flying, I also took an all day adventure tour of elephant riding, white water rafting, bamboo rafting, and trekking to a waterfall where I slipped and bruised my achilles bone...opps! Our guide was walking way too fast for my taste and we were all trying to keep up with him slipping and sliding everywhere! For as hard as I worked, I thought the waterfall could have been a little more dramatic! haha but it was peaceful, serene and nice. i can't complain! The trekking to the waterfall must have done a number on my quads because for the next two days, I could barely walk right which made the Sunday Night Walking Street very hard!

The Sunday Night Walking street is not to be missed when in Chiang Mai!! More vendors and more goods to buy than you can ever want or need for that matter! Authentic Pad Thai for 20 baht..it can't get any better!

What I've learned from being in Thailand so far? That apparently, I look Thai! People are speaking Thai to me, asking if I am Thai, telling me that I look Thai yet they're not giving me Thai prices when I am asking them how much certain things are! Go figure!!

I was very close to missing Chiang Mai or skipping it rather but I am glad that I didn't because a trip to Thailand without Chiang Mai would be tragic !