And unfortunately, our willingness to write blog entries while on the move ended about 10 days before our trip did. I wish it had not been so, but it was a good run while it lasted.
Suffice to say, we had an amazing journey, and it was everything we had dreamed of. The worst part of the entire trip was coming home with the knowledge that a similar trip was not likely to occur in the near future. Regardless, this trip more than rekindled Carrie's love of international travel while planting the same seed in Dave. It might take us a few years to swing another trip of this magnitude, but we have no doubt that it will happen.
Until then, much love from Carrie and Dave and safe travels!
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Phuket ; Might as well post Something
So, we must first apologize for the major delay in posting; for those of you still hanging in there, thanks a lot and get ready for every-other-day postings as we wrap this adventure up ;) There are still some great yarns to spin, though, and we promise they will all be spun more regularly from now on. So, check back in two days for the story of our time in Bangkok!
Phuket; they supposed jewel of Thailand, and the Rio or Miami Beach of Southeast Asia. Thanks to our experiences in Haad Rin, though, Carrie was done with the crazy party beach scene so we came to Phuket for it's other draw; its world-class snorkeling. Additionally, the fancy-pants beaches were described by our guide book as the most expensive places in Thailand, so instead we opted to stay in Phuket City, the cheaper metropolitan center of the Island. By doing so we were able to stay at the nicest place in town (the Royal Phuket City Hotel) for less money than the average places on the various beaches. We arrived in the middle of the afternoon after taking a ferry boat from Railay, and we explored the neighborhoods around the hotel that evening and took in some good Indian Food. We also tried to take in a movie at the local theater, but regardless of what our guide book suggested, the only movies playing were in Thai.
Our second day was fairly uneventful, as we got in some much needed blogging and email action after the internet wasteland that was Railay. Luckily, we happened upon the nicest internet cafe we've seen our our travels, as you could drink beer in cushy leather recliners while typing away on a brand new, super fast PC (and all for $1.50 per hour). It turns out that Phuket City doesn't cool down, ever, so at 8:30 at night it was still over 80 degrees out., so w did waay too much walking around in the sweltering heat trying to find the live music cantina that our guide book raved about. Turns out eventually that it closed down in the past year, but since none of the buildings had addresses it was hard to figure that one out. We found a cute little Italian restaurant as a potential substitute, but they were booked that night for a special party. The manager mentioned another Italian place in town, but he carefully avoided giving us any review by stating simply they were his competitor. We eventually found the other place after looking for the roundabout, then following the one-way, then looking for a fountain, and then turning left, etc. And wouldn't you know it; it turns out to be perhaps the best Italian we've had on the trip. We've found that if you are patient enough, everything always seems to work out.
After dinner we booked our snorkel trip for the following day to the neighboring Ko Phi Phi islands, an extremely beautiful set of Islands best known for providing the location for the Leonardo DiCaprio movie, "The Beach." Unfortunately, the rest of the Phuket seemed to book the same trip as us, as we were soon to find out.
We awake to another blazingly hot day and make our way to the pier. There, we were 'introduced' to the 50 other people that would be sharing our boat (after being told it would be around 20 max). We make our way across the rough chop with our speedboat repeatedly jerking us poor saps in the front of the boat up and down in our seats violently. We eventually make it to the uninhabited Ko Phi Phi Leey and go in a beautiful cove for some snorkeling, only to find it already full of snorkelers (It reminded me of the Seinfeld where Kramer goes swimming in the Hudson River).
After getting kicked in the heads a few times, we headed over to the Beach were they filmed "The Beach." It was breathtaking, and probably the prettiest beach either of us have seen. Picture a beach of perfect white sand with a looming jungle behind it and a beautiful shallow cove of turquoise water in front of it, with everything framed by gigantic limestones cliffs and you've basically got it. Unfortunately, there also were about a thousand people waiting fur us when we got there (I guess the word had gotten out). We departed the boat for about 30 minutes, but neither of us had the heart to go mingle with the throngs.
Luckily, after we got back on board the tour director picked up our spirits by informing us the next stop would be on Monkey Island. Surprisingly, the name derives from the crowd of Monkeys that inhabit the island. The monkeys are quite familiar with strangers, and we saw the naughtier ones snag water bottles, food, and a pouch of rolling tobacco off of inattentive tourists. Unfortunately, there was a mob scene here as well as people outnumbered the monkeys 20-1. The monkeys were quite cute, however, and we enjoyed their antics for about a half an hour before making the trip over to Ko Phi Phi Don for our lunch.
(To the left, monkeys awaiting the crowds, and to the right, they find them)
Not surprisingly, the Thai buffet for 300 people was less than inspiring (but nice and lukewarm at least). By this time the sun had done quite a number on both of us, and we were both more than ready to return home. Luckily for us the last stop of the day was Kho Khai, which means "Egg Island." Kho Khai gets its name from the shallow reef that completely encircles the island, supposedly making it look like a giant egg from an airplane. This reef provides one of the best dive/snorkel spots in SE Asia, and we had a blast checking out the reef and the large variety of marine life that depend on it to live. We saw tons of multi-colored fish, some barracuda, a couple large jellyfish (uhg), and sea anemones and urchins. It turned out to be the best snorkeling that either of us have ever done, and thereby salvaged the day despite the crowds and overbearing sun.
We returned to the hotel that evening very beat. We discussed the matter, and if was determined that our tough deserved some more delicious Italian food, but that neither of us could manage the 80 degree walk (at 9:00 p.m., mind you) with our newly acquired sunburns, so we gratefully hailed a tuk-tuk and were soon enjoying wine and delicious Italian-style pizza.
The next day we had to fly to Bangkok in the early afternoon, so we walked down to our new favorite internet site and booked a couple hours of blog and email time while enjoying some cold beers. We then grabbed a Taxi and sped off for several days in Bangkok, our first big city since L.A. and presumably a real wake-up call from our life on the beach.
(As an extra bonus, here is a shot of how Phuket City waters their shrubbery).
Phuket; they supposed jewel of Thailand, and the Rio or Miami Beach of Southeast Asia. Thanks to our experiences in Haad Rin, though, Carrie was done with the crazy party beach scene so we came to Phuket for it's other draw; its world-class snorkeling. Additionally, the fancy-pants beaches were described by our guide book as the most expensive places in Thailand, so instead we opted to stay in Phuket City, the cheaper metropolitan center of the Island. By doing so we were able to stay at the nicest place in town (the Royal Phuket City Hotel) for less money than the average places on the various beaches. We arrived in the middle of the afternoon after taking a ferry boat from Railay, and we explored the neighborhoods around the hotel that evening and took in some good Indian Food. We also tried to take in a movie at the local theater, but regardless of what our guide book suggested, the only movies playing were in Thai.
Our second day was fairly uneventful, as we got in some much needed blogging and email action after the internet wasteland that was Railay. Luckily, we happened upon the nicest internet cafe we've seen our our travels, as you could drink beer in cushy leather recliners while typing away on a brand new, super fast PC (and all for $1.50 per hour). It turns out that Phuket City doesn't cool down, ever, so at 8:30 at night it was still over 80 degrees out., so w did waay too much walking around in the sweltering heat trying to find the live music cantina that our guide book raved about. Turns out eventually that it closed down in the past year, but since none of the buildings had addresses it was hard to figure that one out. We found a cute little Italian restaurant as a potential substitute, but they were booked that night for a special party. The manager mentioned another Italian place in town, but he carefully avoided giving us any review by stating simply they were his competitor. We eventually found the other place after looking for the roundabout, then following the one-way, then looking for a fountain, and then turning left, etc. And wouldn't you know it; it turns out to be perhaps the best Italian we've had on the trip. We've found that if you are patient enough, everything always seems to work out.After dinner we booked our snorkel trip for the following day to the neighboring Ko Phi Phi islands, an extremely beautiful set of Islands best known for providing the location for the Leonardo DiCaprio movie, "The Beach." Unfortunately, the rest of the Phuket seemed to book the same trip as us, as we were soon to find out.
We awake to another blazingly hot day and make our way to the pier. There, we were 'introduced' to the 50 other people that would be sharing our boat (after being told it would be around 20 max). We make our way across the rough chop with our speedboat repeatedly jerking us poor saps in the front of the boat up and down in our seats violently. We eventually make it to the uninhabited Ko Phi Phi Leey and go in a beautiful cove for some snorkeling, only to find it already full of snorkelers (It reminded me of the Seinfeld where Kramer goes swimming in the Hudson River).
After getting kicked in the heads a few times, we headed over to the Beach were they filmed "The Beach." It was breathtaking, and probably the prettiest beach either of us have seen. Picture a beach of perfect white sand with a looming jungle behind it and a beautiful shallow cove of turquoise water in front of it, with everything framed by gigantic limestones cliffs and you've basically got it. Unfortunately, there also were about a thousand people waiting fur us when we got there (I guess the word had gotten out). We departed the boat for about 30 minutes, but neither of us had the heart to go mingle with the throngs.
Luckily, after we got back on board the tour director picked up our spirits by informing us the next stop would be on Monkey Island. Surprisingly, the name derives from the crowd of Monkeys that inhabit the island. The monkeys are quite familiar with strangers, and we saw the naughtier ones snag water bottles, food, and a pouch of rolling tobacco off of inattentive tourists. Unfortunately, there was a mob scene here as well as people outnumbered the monkeys 20-1. The monkeys were quite cute, however, and we enjoyed their antics for about a half an hour before making the trip over to Ko Phi Phi Don for our lunch.(To the left, monkeys awaiting the crowds, and to the right, they find them)
Not surprisingly, the Thai buffet for 300 people was less than inspiring (but nice and lukewarm at least). By this time the sun had done quite a number on both of us, and we were both more than ready to return home. Luckily for us the last stop of the day was Kho Khai, which means "Egg Island." Kho Khai gets its name from the shallow reef that completely encircles the island, supposedly making it look like a giant egg from an airplane. This reef provides one of the best dive/snorkel spots in SE Asia, and we had a blast checking out the reef and the large variety of marine life that depend on it to live. We saw tons of multi-colored fish, some barracuda, a couple large jellyfish (uhg), and sea anemones and urchins. It turned out to be the best snorkeling that either of us have ever done, and thereby salvaged the day despite the crowds and overbearing sun.
We returned to the hotel that evening very beat. We discussed the matter, and if was determined that our tough deserved some more delicious Italian food, but that neither of us could manage the 80 degree walk (at 9:00 p.m., mind you) with our newly acquired sunburns, so we gratefully hailed a tuk-tuk and were soon enjoying wine and delicious Italian-style pizza.
The next day we had to fly to Bangkok in the early afternoon, so we walked down to our new favorite internet site and booked a couple hours of blog and email time while enjoying some cold beers. We then grabbed a Taxi and sped off for several days in Bangkok, our first big city since L.A. and presumably a real wake-up call from our life on the beach.
(As an extra bonus, here is a shot of how Phuket City waters their shrubbery).
Gear Review
Okay, I am sure that the vast majority of you will not care too much about what we think of the gear we brought along our vacation, but for the few of you that do we will discuss a few of the things that have really impressed us during our travels. I mean, after all, we did spend countless hours over 6 months scrutinizing every choice, as Dave was a ounce Nazi and therefore very reluctant to bring anything we didn't have to. So, here we are with CD Honeymoon's "Editor's Choice Awards."
(as with any picture in this blog, click on the individual photos to get a close-up of what we are discussing).
We went back and forth on bringing our video I-Pod before we left, as I wasn't sure about bringing along the weight while being always pressed to keep it charged. That all changed when Carrie discovered the Belkin Battery Pack online, which gives 10-14 hours of video per 4 AA batteries (normally you get maybe 2 hours of video with the rechargeable battery). After uploading several seasons of TV shows to the Ipod via Itunes, we finally had our answer to the many long plane flights and bus rides on our trip. The video on the Ipod is surprisingly great, considering the small screen. Also, the Belkin pack saved our hash when the internal battery got fried during an attempted logon on a Thailand computer, as we've continued to use the Ipod regularly via the Belkin despite the the fried internal battery. If we didn't have the Belkin, we'd have been SOL until we got home to replace the battery.
So, I had a hell of a time deciding on my shoes choice for this trip. My big feet mean that my shoes are generally the heaviest thing in my pack, so I needed to try and minimize what I was bringing along, despite the fact we were jumping from beach to city to jungle to river and back again. Plus, I knew that the Inca Trail (and its 2000 consecutive Inca steps) be rough on my ankles. I finally decided against my boots though, as I knew they would be weighing me down the other 90% of our trip. Then, one day at the local outdoor store I saw the pair of shoes I'd been waiting for; a pair of all-leather, low-top hikers with Gore-tex XCR and a Vibram sole.
Carrie and I already owned 8 or 9 pairs of Merrill's, and we've been happy with each. These are basically the leather version of Carrie's shoe, which she has loved over the past 2 year. The secret was the pair of Dr. Scholls ankle supports (the nice $12.99 version with stays), which combined with the shoe to give me the perfect amount of support on the trail while being pounds lighter overall than my boots. Also, with the help of gaiters, my feet were never wet. The final piece of the puzzle were my Superfeet (TM) insoles, which were definitely the best insoles I have ever used. They are a bit pricey, but I promise they will change your walking life.
At this point, I would be hard pressed to wear my boots again while backpacking, and I love my boots. Additionally, these were hip enough to be my city shoes when worn with pants, so they combined with my Chaco sandals to provide all the footwear I needed for the trip.
Another heavily debated item. Carrie really wanted video of our trip, but Dave didn't want to carry the extra weight of the camera, charger, case, and batteries. Luckily, we found last year's model of the HandyCam on sale at the local Camera World. As you can see, it is quite small, which answered the weight issue in addition to alleviating Dave's theft concerns by not having to carry around a big camera bag around town. It uses mini-tapes, which provide 60 minutes of video per tape. It is not cinema quality, but it is more that adequate for subjecting our friends and family to home movies of our adventures for years to come.
Osprey Waypoint 60 (Dave) and Departure 60 (Carrie)
These packs finished a close 2nd to the synchro pants, but are probably the true MVP's of the trip. They swallowed all of our gear for the entire trip while showing little wear despite the many, many flights, transfers, ferries, and treks that we have put them through. Both packs feature detachable daypacks (on the back for the Waypoint, and in the front for the Departure), with the Departure's being a whopping 1600 Cubic Inches (compared to the 600 for the Waypoint). The size difference in the
daypacks meant that we had multiple packing options for whatever activities the day threw at us. As one final bonus, both packs have the ability to hide their straps and belts away for when we checked them at the airport. Used in conjunction with our Eagle Creek packing cubes, our clothes stayed mostly wrinkle free for the entire trip. (BTW, Carrie's pack looks bigger only because she was packing the light, bulky stuff (down jackets, etc.) while Dave had all the electronics, etc.
For those of you that don't know, a softshell is basically a new hybrid that trys to combine the protection of a rain shell with the comfort of a fleece. Look back at our pics from South America, and you'll see Dave wearing this jacket in almost every shot. It became part of his official uniform based on it total comfort and ability to meet the needs of any of the weather situations we faced due its breathibility and water and wind resistance. It also looked good in the process, which meant that Dave couldn't take it off regardless of whether we were on the trail or in the city. FYI, we recommend any Patagonia product to those of you out there that don't own any. It is generally pricey, but you can find sales on the internet if you look.
Another great jacket, and the final piece of our insulation puzzle. These jackets provide instant warmth despite weighing only an amazing 5 oz.! They packed down to absolutely nothing, yet expanded almost exponentially to also serve as our travel pillows (when combined with the pictured fleece pillow cover). This was quite handy, as many of the "pillows" given to us at the various places we stayed sucked, not to mention it was very convenient to have nice down pillows for all of our plane flights and bus rides. These jackets were also thin enough to fit under any of our outer layers. Essentially, their warmth to weight ration is such that they will hereafter be our insulation layer of choice for any camping or rafting trip in our future.
(as with any picture in this blog, click on the individual photos to get a close-up of what we are discussing).
Westcombe Synchro Pants
Carrie wore these for 30 days straight in South America without washing them. Instead of being a punchline, it's instead a testament to the Nanotechnology-derived Synchro's. These pants actively 
shed dirt and stains, and Carrie even spilled a glass of red wine of these pants during this stretch, and it simple beaded up and rolled off. Also, these pants are very water and wind resistant, and drape very well and look much, much cooler than any other technical pant we've seen (Go back and check out of S.A. photos for countless shots in use). These pants are hard to get your hands on, as we had to order ours directly from Westcombe themselves (in British Columbia). I think these pants might end up being the MVP of the trip despite the fact we haven't worn them once in Thailand (it's always 90 degrees here). They are quite pricey at $190 a pop, but if you can only take one pair of pants somewhere, these are your babies. They are still in fine shape, so they will also serve as our camping/rafting pants for hopefully the foreseeable future.
shed dirt and stains, and Carrie even spilled a glass of red wine of these pants during this stretch, and it simple beaded up and rolled off. Also, these pants are very water and wind resistant, and drape very well and look much, much cooler than any other technical pant we've seen (Go back and check out of S.A. photos for countless shots in use). These pants are hard to get your hands on, as we had to order ours directly from Westcombe themselves (in British Columbia). I think these pants might end up being the MVP of the trip despite the fact we haven't worn them once in Thailand (it's always 90 degrees here). They are quite pricey at $190 a pop, but if you can only take one pair of pants somewhere, these are your babies. They are still in fine shape, so they will also serve as our camping/rafting pants for hopefully the foreseeable future. Video I-Pod with Belkin Battery pack and speakers
We went back and forth on bringing our video I-Pod before we left, as I wasn't sure about bringing along the weight while being always pressed to keep it charged. That all changed when Carrie discovered the Belkin Battery Pack online, which gives 10-14 hours of video per 4 AA batteries (normally you get maybe 2 hours of video with the rechargeable battery). After uploading several seasons of TV shows to the Ipod via Itunes, we finally had our answer to the many long plane flights and bus rides on our trip. The video on the Ipod is surprisingly great, considering the small screen. Also, the Belkin pack saved our hash when the internal battery got fried during an attempted logon on a Thailand computer, as we've continued to use the Ipod regularly via the Belkin despite the the fried internal battery. If we didn't have the Belkin, we'd have been SOL until we got home to replace the battery. Merrill Shoes With Superfeet and Dr. Scholls Ankle Braces
So, I had a hell of a time deciding on my shoes choice for this trip. My big feet mean that my shoes are generally the heaviest thing in my pack, so I needed to try and minimize what I was bringing along, despite the fact we were jumping from beach to city to jungle to river and back again. Plus, I knew that the Inca Trail (and its 2000 consecutive Inca steps) be rough on my ankles. I finally decided against my boots though, as I knew they would be weighing me down the other 90% of our trip. Then, one day at the local outdoor store I saw the pair of shoes I'd been waiting for; a pair of all-leather, low-top hikers with Gore-tex XCR and a Vibram sole.Carrie and I already owned 8 or 9 pairs of Merrill's, and we've been happy with each. These are basically the leather version of Carrie's shoe, which she has loved over the past 2 year. The secret was the pair of Dr. Scholls ankle supports (the nice $12.99 version with stays), which combined with the shoe to give me the perfect amount of support on the trail while being pounds lighter overall than my boots. Also, with the help of gaiters, my feet were never wet. The final piece of the puzzle were my Superfeet (TM) insoles, which were definitely the best insoles I have ever used. They are a bit pricey, but I promise they will change your walking life.
At this point, I would be hard pressed to wear my boots again while backpacking, and I love my boots. Additionally, these were hip enough to be my city shoes when worn with pants, so they combined with my Chaco sandals to provide all the footwear I needed for the trip.
Eagle Creek Vagabond Purse
This Vagabond "shoulder bag" from Eagle Creek served as the perfect travel purse for Carrie. It's tall enough to zip in tickets without folding them, so she was the constant ticket and documents holder throughout our adventures. It's big enough to hold a large travel guide, glasses, and a camera, but it's not so big that you can't wear it all day or carry it as a more formal purse. It has several different pockets for organizing, including a very secure zippered pocket under the main flap (which buckles), an outside zipper pocket close the body and easier to access but hidden, the big main pouch with big zipper pulls to access your guide book at every corner, then a couple small pockets under the flap to organize little things like chap stick, keys, and business cards for your hotel. The strap is very strong, not easily slashed by thieves, and also has an adjustable mesh pad so it doesn't dig into your shoulder and vents well. Overall it was the perfect size when we didn't need to carry a backpack, but we needed something to carry the guide book, camera, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug spray, tickets, and wallet. It traveled well and looks as new as the day Carrie bought it.
SteriPen
This little gadget came in very handy for providing us safe drinking water on our adventures. You basically stick it in a Nalgene bottle for 45 seconds, and viola, it kills bacteria AND viruses. Pretty damn handy when you are travelling in places where drinking the water normally makes you sick for several days. The whole rig can process about 120 quarts of water on 4 AA batteries.
This Vagabond "shoulder bag" from Eagle Creek served as the perfect travel purse for Carrie. It's tall enough to zip in tickets without folding them, so she was the constant ticket and documents holder throughout our adventures. It's big enough to hold a large travel guide, glasses, and a camera, but it's not so big that you can't wear it all day or carry it as a more formal purse. It has several different pockets for organizing, including a very secure zippered pocket under the main flap (which buckles), an outside zipper pocket close the body and easier to access but hidden, the big main pouch with big zipper pulls to access your guide book at every corner, then a couple small pockets under the flap to organize little things like chap stick, keys, and business cards for your hotel. The strap is very strong, not easily slashed by thieves, and also has an adjustable mesh pad so it doesn't dig into your shoulder and vents well. Overall it was the perfect size when we didn't need to carry a backpack, but we needed something to carry the guide book, camera, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug spray, tickets, and wallet. It traveled well and looks as new as the day Carrie bought it.SteriPen
This little gadget came in very handy for providing us safe drinking water on our adventures. You basically stick it in a Nalgene bottle for 45 seconds, and viola, it kills bacteria AND viruses. Pretty damn handy when you are travelling in places where drinking the water normally makes you sick for several days. The whole rig can process about 120 quarts of water on 4 AA batteries.
Sony HandyCam Video Camera
Another heavily debated item. Carrie really wanted video of our trip, but Dave didn't want to carry the extra weight of the camera, charger, case, and batteries. Luckily, we found last year's model of the HandyCam on sale at the local Camera World. As you can see, it is quite small, which answered the weight issue in addition to alleviating Dave's theft concerns by not having to carry around a big camera bag around town. It uses mini-tapes, which provide 60 minutes of video per tape. It is not cinema quality, but it is more that adequate for subjecting our friends and family to home movies of our adventures for years to come.Osprey Waypoint 60 (Dave) and Departure 60 (Carrie)
These packs finished a close 2nd to the synchro pants, but are probably the true MVP's of the trip. They swallowed all of our gear for the entire trip while showing little wear despite the many, many flights, transfers, ferries, and treks that we have put them through. Both packs feature detachable daypacks (on the back for the Waypoint, and in the front for the Departure), with the Departure's being a whopping 1600 Cubic Inches (compared to the 600 for the Waypoint). The size difference in the
daypacks meant that we had multiple packing options for whatever activities the day threw at us. As one final bonus, both packs have the ability to hide their straps and belts away for when we checked them at the airport. Used in conjunction with our Eagle Creek packing cubes, our clothes stayed mostly wrinkle free for the entire trip. (BTW, Carrie's pack looks bigger only because she was packing the light, bulky stuff (down jackets, etc.) while Dave had all the electronics, etc.Patagonia Super Guide Softshell
For those of you that don't know, a softshell is basically a new hybrid that trys to combine the protection of a rain shell with the comfort of a fleece. Look back at our pics from South America, and you'll see Dave wearing this jacket in almost every shot. It became part of his official uniform based on it total comfort and ability to meet the needs of any of the weather situations we faced due its breathibility and water and wind resistance. It also looked good in the process, which meant that Dave couldn't take it off regardless of whether we were on the trail or in the city. FYI, we recommend any Patagonia product to those of you out there that don't own any. It is generally pricey, but you can find sales on the internet if you look.Montbell UltraLite Down Jacket
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Our time in Ton Sai and Railay
We left Ko Phagnan sad to leave, but happy to set out on more adventures. To get to our next destination, Railay beach, we booked a multi-stage journey: taxi, ferry, taxi, mini-bus, taxi. And by "taxi" they mean the crowded back of a pick-up truck in most instances. 
Luckily, they give everyone a little sticker to put on our shirts which brands us for a particular destination and we are simply herded like branded cattle from place to place. Amazingly the system works. You get off a ferry with 200 people where 6 different buses await you. 
As the bus drivers see your sticker, they wave you onto the right bus. Don't insult them by asking where your bus is going, it's going to your sticker destination, of course!We made it without incident to Krabi where we spent the night before setting out for the beaches the next morning. Our careful attempt to find a hotel with satellite TV in order to watch the Superbowl didn't work out as planned. Despite the TV having 6 sports channels, none of them were playing the Superbowl when we woke up at 7am to watch the game. Plenty of soccer, rugby, cricket, etc., but no football as we know it. Luckily there was an Irish pub in town that was carrying the game and also served breakfast. We made it there in time to see the Bears lose. Sigh.
On the good side of things, we met a couple of American guys, one from Chicago, who were also on their way to Railay, so we teamed up with them to catch a taxi to Ao Nang beach, then a long tail boat to Ton Sai, one of the beaches on Railay.
Ton Sai was our home for the next4 nights. It's a gorgeous beach that is a mecca for rock climbers. As you can see here in the photos, there's a good reason for climbers to come here. The limestone cliffs that rise from the sand are simply incredible. The beach has been built up considerably in the past 10 years.We met a climber sho said that she had been coming to Railay for 10 years and that the first time she was here Ton Sai was nothing but a huge monkey colony, and they were not friendly to human visitors. Indeed, our hotel put up a warning sign "Beware Naughty Monkey!" but unfortunately we didn't spot any of the bad guys.
These days the beach is packed from end to end with open-air restaurants, bars, climbing guide shops, and guesthouses.After suffering in the heat for a day, using the now common "It's our honeymoon!" excuse, we moved to the only place on the beach with air con and electricity during the day. There were no indoor restaurants, internet cafes, etc., so if you didn't have an air con room there was nowhere to escape the 95+ humid temps.
We were quite content in our little bungalow with the cliffs looming over us, keeping it cool in the shade.We had come with climbing in mind.
Unfortunately, after a day or two of putting it off, we finally agreed that it was just too hot for us to do anything other than watersports. If we were avid climbers to begin with I'm sure we would have made the effort to find some shady walls and a guide to show us the ropes. However the heat had us down and so we decided, after a day of just milling around and checking out the beach, to do an afternoon to sunset snorkel trip.
The snorkel trip turned out to be great. We went out on a big teak boat with about 20 other folks. 
They took us to 3 different island clusters to snorkel, 
then we had dinner on a beautiful sand bar as we watched the sunset, then to cap off the evening, we went for a night swim in the dark to marvel at the incredible phospheresence in the water. It was really an amazing afternoon and evening.
Unfortunately, that evening Carrie went down for the third time this trip with a stomach bug. She continued to be sick all through the next day and night, but was finally better again the next morning.
The following day we took a short hike to a nearby beach: Railay West. Railay West was the first beach to be developed on this pennisula and is a lot more developed with large resorts and a much wider beach.
On our way there we stopped in a cave to see an amazing glittery "waterfall" rock formation. It looks like something from Disneyland, but it's real.
Finally, we made arrangements to head our to Phuket the next day. Our time on Ton Sai was great, but we wanted to get in one more snorkel destination before we left. One more great sunset, and we would be on our way.
Flashback Entry - Experiencing Hadd Rin and the Full Moon Party
We finally left Thong Nai Pan on the 1st of February and traveled to Hadd Rin, the biggest city on Ko Phangan and the site of the Monthly Full Moon Party, a celebration that usually entails 10,000+ party goers dancing the night away on a beautiful beach underneath (you guessed it) the full moon. We figured that since we were missing out on Carnival in Rio, we might as well see what all of the hubbub was before we left the island. Tale-tell signs began several days before we left Thong Nai Pan when we began to notice lots of new people snooping around our up-till-then quiet and private beach.
With that in mind, we arrived in Hadd Rin to witness the spectacle. When we arrived at Coral Bungalows, the place we would be spending the next 4 nights, we thought we had mistakenly stumbled onto Padre Island or Daytona Beach during Spring Break. Countless 19-22 year olds were swarming the complex, with every single guy looking like the lead singer of the Strokes (for those of you who don't follow mediorce pop-punk bands, picture really big sunglasses and a spiky, unkempt haircut that probably cost over $100). Unfortunately, this trend was larger than just our hotel, as the average age of the entire city's population while we were there was probably no more than 23.
The town itself quickly got to us, despite the fact that neither of us ever got to go to a "classic" spring break back home. It seems like we may have simply missed our chance, because now the entire scene seemed a bit lame. Every dude generally talked way too loud while swaggering about and punching his buddies, and the girls seemed to be eating it all up. Surprisingly, the twenty year olds seemed to not want to have anything to do with us. Regardless, we had come to see the Full Moon Party, and we were going to party with the kids even if it killed us (as we told ourselves, anyways). (BTW, the pic to the right is not representive of the entire scene, as it was taken before most of the kids had woken up).
With that in mind, we arrived in Hadd Rin to witness the spectacle. When we arrived at Coral Bungalows, the place we would be spending the next 4 nights, we thought we had mistakenly stumbled onto Padre Island or Daytona Beach during Spring Break. Countless 19-22 year olds were swarming the complex, with every single guy looking like the lead singer of the Strokes (for those of you who don't follow mediorce pop-punk bands, picture really big sunglasses and a spiky, unkempt haircut that probably cost over $100). Unfortunately, this trend was larger than just our hotel, as the average age of the entire city's population while we were there was probably no more than 23.Upon checking in, we set off to see some of the town. Try imagining a place where no business exists EXCEPT for various service providers catering to the twenty-something traveler, and 
you got Hadd Rin down. Bars, restaurants, hotels, clothes stores, minimart, scooter rentals, and Internet cafes only filled the 8 or 9 roads that comprised the city. One cool aspect of the town that we did enjoy was the existence of 8 or so restaurant/bars that had 2-3 large screen T.V.s and good sound systems that would play 4-5 2nd run movies a day for free. This was illegal, or course, and every so often you would see a message at the bottom of the screen stating the copy we were enjoying was for the express screening of Oscar voters, or some such nonsense. I guess the market in Hadd Rin is beneath Hollywood's concern, though, so we enjoyed the first real movies we'd seen since we left home (Blood Diamond and Borat, in case anyone cares).
you got Hadd Rin down. Bars, restaurants, hotels, clothes stores, minimart, scooter rentals, and Internet cafes only filled the 8 or 9 roads that comprised the city. One cool aspect of the town that we did enjoy was the existence of 8 or so restaurant/bars that had 2-3 large screen T.V.s and good sound systems that would play 4-5 2nd run movies a day for free. This was illegal, or course, and every so often you would see a message at the bottom of the screen stating the copy we were enjoying was for the express screening of Oscar voters, or some such nonsense. I guess the market in Hadd Rin is beneath Hollywood's concern, though, so we enjoyed the first real movies we'd seen since we left home (Blood Diamond and Borat, in case anyone cares). 
The town itself quickly got to us, despite the fact that neither of us ever got to go to a "classic" spring break back home. It seems like we may have simply missed our chance, because now the entire scene seemed a bit lame. Every dude generally talked way too loud while swaggering about and punching his buddies, and the girls seemed to be eating it all up. Surprisingly, the twenty year olds seemed to not want to have anything to do with us. Regardless, we had come to see the Full Moon Party, and we were going to party with the kids even if it killed us (as we told ourselves, anyways). (BTW, the pic to the right is not representive of the entire scene, as it was taken before most of the kids had woken up). The night of the party started great, as we had dinner at a very delicious Indian restaurant (to be fair, the food in Hadd Rin was better than in Thong Nai Pan, as we had some of the best Mediterranean food we've ever had and good Mexican there as well). The Indian restaurant was perched right at the intersection where all the party goers poured through to get to the beach, which allowed us to play a very fun game of "best costume", as the many freaks were evidently trying quite hard to take home the booby prize. Our own version of the red carpet show, I guess (but don't you dare call us Joan and Melissa).
At dinner, we ordered a Bucket of Fun, which is the official drink of the Full Moon Party. They take an entire pint of whiskey and then add a can of red bull, a can of coke and ice. Viola! Instant party! Now just imagine drinking these all night long and you can get a taste for what the wee hours of the Full Moon Party look like. Luckily, we opted out of the red bull for the 2nd and 3rd buckets we shared after the night carried us on down to the beach.
We apologize for not having any pictures of the Full Moon Proper, but our guide book had warned against taking cameras or other valuables along. Alas, as many, many, great photo ops would present themselves that evening, in no particular order; (1) the giant, 30' metal structure with burning letters that read "Thailand is great", that at any given point had 15 people perched somewhere on it (at least one party goer took a header of it; much different notions of liability apply over here), (2)the 10 or so fire dancers, who were all trying to out-fire each other, (3) the mobs and mobs of people flailing about to rave music (although we were very glad to see people older than us present and partying), (4) the sleeping area, which was mostly full around 9:00 p.m.. 5) and much, much, more.
Notwithstanding the three shared buckets, we still could never shake the feeling that we were observing the party instead of participating in it. I'm sure the fact we're old and no fun has something to do with it, but I imagine if we had a crew of friends there with some live music it would have been different. Regardless, we couldn't help feel like we were passing the torch off to the Strokes look-alikes when we vacated the beach around 3:00 a.m.
The following day, we (not-surprisingly) took it easy by sleeping in late and catching an afternoon flick. After that, we decided to skip out on our final day of Spring Break, so we made our travel preparations to depart the following morning for the city of Krabi, which is the launching pad for the various Railay beaches. Before we left, though, we were treated to a fantastic sunset at our cabana. A nice little silver lining in an otherwise lackluster part of our trip. (of course, any of our younger readers should start saving their money now, because both of us agreed that we would have LOVED this place when we were the right age to enjoy it properly ;)
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
February 7th - Ton Sai Beach
Okay, so I promise the delay in posts is not only the fact that lounging around on beaches is making us lazy. It's also that the place we've been staying for the past few days is hard to get to, so the internet speed is only 28.8 (very slow) but also works intermittently while being almost prohibitively expensive. Regardless, we apologize for the delay and will have a full post up with pics in a couple of days when we move on to Phuket.
For now, we are onTon Sai Beach, while is a very cool beach off the coast of Krabi that featuring amazing limestone cliffs that go straight up 1000' from the beach below. The cliffs also provide for one of the best rock climbing scenes in Southeast Asia. The only problem is that it is 91 degrees out, so climbing all day hasn't sounded all that fun, so we've been snorkeling instead. Things are mostly good, but Carrie has caught another bug and is presently down for the count (but its not as bad as the time in Chile). Otherwise, we are happy but are beginning to miss home for sure. We're glad we still have time to see a few more things (as well as learning to scuba dive and going on an elephant trek), but we are missing our loved ones, friends, and pets at home very much (as well as our home itself). Our life at home is looking better and better with each passing day, which we have come to realize is just one of the great things about traveling for a long period.
For now, we are onTon Sai Beach, while is a very cool beach off the coast of Krabi that featuring amazing limestone cliffs that go straight up 1000' from the beach below. The cliffs also provide for one of the best rock climbing scenes in Southeast Asia. The only problem is that it is 91 degrees out, so climbing all day hasn't sounded all that fun, so we've been snorkeling instead. Things are mostly good, but Carrie has caught another bug and is presently down for the count (but its not as bad as the time in Chile). Otherwise, we are happy but are beginning to miss home for sure. We're glad we still have time to see a few more things (as well as learning to scuba dive and going on an elephant trek), but we are missing our loved ones, friends, and pets at home very much (as well as our home itself). Our life at home is looking better and better with each passing day, which we have come to realize is just one of the great things about traveling for a long period.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Jan., umm, let's see, I guess the 29th?
Yes, we've lost track of time. Dave's watch says it's Jan. 29th, so we'll believe that. As for the day of the week, that's a mystery.
The summary of our days from the last entry still pretty much represents what we've been up to other than the fact that we've moved down to a beach hut and we are even happier to be down here than we were up on the hill. It's easy to let the days slip by at Thong Nai Pan Noi.
Since there aren't many adventures to relate, we will suffice with some photos. Check the last entry, too, for pictures of life on the hill at Panviman Resort.
Our new home on the beach at Star Huts.
We spend a lot of time reading on our front porch.
When it gets hot, the water is not far from our feet.
Star Hut - This is the same place that Carrie stayed 8 years ago. There are many more huts, and many more restaurants and huts surrounding the area, but the vibe is the same at Thong Nai Pan Noi beach.
Our neighbors.
The beach dogs.
Breakfast at Star Hut.
Main Street.
And, of course, the beach.
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