(before I begin, please note that the pictures are in reverse order. Angkor Wat "Temple Angkor" was most recent... it's too confusing to switch them) My writing, however, is chronological.
So you have no idea how hard it was to get this second round of pictures up... either lack of compatibility with the camera, or then we got them uploaded, then we couldn't post them because the blogger site was too slow.... I'm talking 5 attempts at each, equally inconvenient locations.
Anyhoo, here we are, and this is my most exciting post yet! So many locations, and such amazing locations too.
We left off at Khao Sok, the National Park/Jungle mid Thailand (inland).
We took the local bus to the island of Phuket by waiting streetside, yet on a highway-type road. Phuket was not overly special because it is such a large island and so close to shore that they've built a large bridge connecting the two. Hence Phuket has lost its island vibe and shares the traffic and pollution of any Thai city. A highlight here, however, was stayinng at On On Hotel, which is where parts of The Beach were filmed (with Leo Dicaprio), when he is staying in that hotel before heading to said Beach. Oh, and keep this in mind, as I will reference it again.
On to Koh Phi Phi (remember Koh - Island, Khao - Park). The ferry ride was absolutely beautiful, and where we saw our first glimpes of the famous limescale mountains. On the East Coast (Phangan, and Tao), it was mostly mountainous, vs cliff -like, like it is here on the West Coast. We stayed in this 12 person dorm room where we actually met some really rad, and totally normal people. A couple card-drinking-games and crazy nights, and a few mornings of being woken by the sound of these idiots playing with a tazer, I'm beginning to really get a hold on other accents and geography.
This island was definitely touristy, but one rock bar I did particularly enjoy was called "The Rolling Stoned". Yes, no spelling errors there. There was a band made of a 4 Thais, who literally rocked out SO hard. I'm talking guitar behind the back finger picking. All your classic American songs, from Metallica to Red Hot Peppers, to Green Day, were covered. We got some funny pictures.
We met these great Canadians one night and ate a classic meal, fried chicken. I'm talking literally JUST fried chicken (okay and friend beef too). It's quite common to walk down a market and see just large woks filled with oil as by frying things it kills 100% of bacteria by heating every part of the poultry. Bbq-ing, for instance, leaves the sides (the width) open to infection. Also it's pretty diverse... the same dude will drop an egg in the oil for breakfast, meat in for lunch, and dough for dinner or dessert! (done savory, like meat and cheese, or sweet, like chocolate). We sat and talked about the lack of toilet paper or clean washrooms. It was a great, and frank, dinnertime conversation.
We took off alone for one of the days, taking a tour to a Viking Cave, a Dive spot, and also to the famous, and I mean famous, Maya Bay. This is where The Beach was filmed and made a mark for Thai Tourism. To be honest, the filters and high-tech cameras definitely over-glorified the area, yet it was pretty cool though. Hopefully Tay is able to get the videos uploaded, as we did a mock skit of Leo running through the thick forest, then it opens up to this beautiful beach - probably my favorite video so far... haha.
It was the view we got from "Pee Pee Viewpoint" that I am officially making my bed headboard (the large framed peice above most beds).. we got this amaazing stich assisted set of three pictures... oh my gooosh. Here is an example below, but.. maaann, Koh Phi Phi has some blue water. (A Thai Language Lesson: since, like Chinese, but totally different "Same Same but Different!", Thais work in symbols, there is absolutely no enforced standard of how things are spelled in English. They are all spelled phonetically. Since the "ph" and similarity "kh" make the hard sound (as in Pat or Katie), Koh Phi Phi, sounds like Koh Pee Pee, and hence the spelling above. In fact writing only "K" or "P" at the start of the word implies a very soft sound, as in grass or Bob. Bad examples, Im sorry.
Moving on!
So while we started "on land" (since Phuket, though an island, is joined by a bridge), then headed over to Koh Phi Phi, we went back to land, more South this time, to Krabi, where the Rock climbing is fabulous. We rock climbed on the particular beach of Railey Beach (an island, access from the town of Krabi by a long-tail boat, about 15 mins). Railey beach has an east and west side since it's a peninsular, where you walk inland about 10 mins to get to the other side. Both were absolutely glorious with amazing, and high, cliff sides to climb on. Tay and I each had a super rad time... ! Check the pics.
After some beautiful sites, excellent activities, great people, and wicked bar nights, we were ready to head back to Bangkok to enter, a few days later, into Cambodia!
We stayed a little longer in Bangkok this time, while the first encounter was so overwhelming (ahem, disgusting) we left after only one night. We found a greaaatt place to stay this time, offering AC, a Tv (lux!).. and get this..... no bugs! Alright just kidding, the bungalows weren't THAT buggy but... my legs definitely showed I had been bitten over-night. So it's around Friday let's say. And come Sunday, we're just cruising around, going for an early morning walk to check out the Royal Grand Palace. We run into a useful (it's a shock) University student, studying to become a monk. His english is good and he explains that Sundays are government days, so particular tuk tuks and madd cheap. Long story short, we got a tuk tuk tour, for about 4 hours, to all these top destinations for under a $1 total. We were swayed into a sweet tailoring deal (and yes we were very careful, this place had tv ads, and when we showed the map to various Thais where the helpful student had written "Voglee" on it handwriting, every one was like "how do you know Voglee? voglee very good... quality voglee. They fit well."
Yada yada yada, Tay's got a brand new suit with 2 dress shirts and I've got a new fitted blazer - all custom,. all Armani style. We saw the finished product man... double stitching.. pockets inside, our choice lapels and buttons... dude.... Im telling you... it's sick!
In the evening we checked out the huge shopping center, MBK, which is similar to the Eaton Center but waay more jam packed, thin aisles, and reigns in quantity, yet not quality, then saw Sweeney Todd (with Jonny Depp, the new Tim Burton flick) VIP styles at the Cinema.
So after some corn in a cup and eating some deep friend scorpions, we were off to Cambodia!
...And Cambodia was beautiful!!!
The two of us on the massive walkway to the temple of Angkor (Wat).
Me, (though you can barely see) sitting on the steps of this temple building beside Angkor)
Sun rising behind the temple... yeah we got up at 5.
2 monkeys!
Some Asian tourists riding their elephant. (the skin feels kinda like ours... but more coarse)
Temples and ornate buildings inside the royal palace complex in Bangkok.
The dizzying heights within MBK mall in Bangkok. (which I compared to the Eaton's Centre earlier)
Low-efficiency soil re-nutrification. Basically, they seriously need some crop rotation. Mad fields were a-burnin'.
Sitting atop one of the temple complexes in Angkor.
Uber early shot of the sunrise at Angkor.
Check out this view we had as we climbed the cliffs in Railay, Thailand.
A little cave exploration by Tay... tight squeeze!
Lovers in a dangerous time... and one might argue place as well.... Khao San Road, Bangkok.
....scorpions are tasty!! NOT
The mezmerizing view from atop the lookout on Koh Phi Phi (or "Ko Pee Pee").
Tay climbing in Railay.
My turn! What a climber's pose!
Sorry for the crooked-ness, here's Tay doing his impression of Leo in the On ON hotel, where part of "The Beach" was filmed.--Recall, these pics are going backwards--
On the boat ride to Koh Phi Phi. (Koh Phi Phi Lay is in the background)
The water is so crisp!
Maya Bay...
The two of us in our dinner attire, posing in our Dorm room. (Yeah, it was really damn hot there).Phew... 3 hours later (it's ok, we have to wait a day for our Vietnam Visas to be processed), and we're done. Think I'm gonna go grab some Amok fish.
Thanks for keeping interested!
Im out!
Jen
So we took a 3-hour bus to Phuket from Khao Sok National park, and here's a winner I snapped while my subject slumbered unknowingly.
Ain't she precious??? Hands crossed, mouth agape, my pod serenading... one can only imagine the vistas she's peeping in the land of nod.Sadly, the computers in the Cambodian guesthouse we're staying in right now are worth every penny we spent to use them (none). They seem content to move at '95 speeds, so everyone's just going to have to make like Jenny and chill 'till I can find a faster compy.
Shots of Koh Phi Phi, Railay, Krabi, some more from Bangkok and a few from Ankor Wat are close at hand.
So pop a slice of gum and ease that bated breath, they're on the way!
Tay
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