We spent 3 days on the island of Ko Samui. Our shanty little guesthouse, with the most friendly staff, was right off the most beautiful part of the beach. It was nice to do some relaxing in the sun and walk along a gorgeous white sand beach. We then went to the infamous Full Moon Party on Ko Pangnan and it poured rain so that shortened our party a bit, but it was still amazing to be part of such a huge party...about 25,000 on one beach :S So you can imagine how gross that beach would be, which makes it a bit of a shame, but still an epic party. We walked through the town in the pouring rain and the streets were flooded to what seemed like biblical proportions. Water was up to our calves and it was the perfect setting to brake out into song and dance like a Bollywood movie. This pouring rain made our speed boat ride, in the middle of the night, back to Ko Samui terrifying. I may have peed a little on the way back but everything was soaking anyways, so that can be our little secret.
From there we took a very, very sketchy bus ride to Krabi. For the most part we were the only non-Thai people around which made it a bit interesting. We took a bus, ferry, bus, tuk-tuk to a 'bus station' (where we thought we were left to fend for ourselves), and then tuk-tuk and bus again. It took almost all day but we got the cutest guesthouse in Krabi town. We spent the next day just relaxing, reading, and writing to pass the rain. I got my first Thai massage! It was interesting and awesome at the same time. At some points I felt pressure on my body from 6 different areas so I had to open my eyes to see what the heck was happening, and sure enough she was using her hands, feet, knees, elbows, shins, and forearms. It was super cool and definitely needs to happen again. The next day we went rock climbing on the cliffs of Krabi and it was difficult and terrifying, but amazing once you could see the view from the top.
We headed to the breathtaking island of Ko Phi Phi after that, and yes...it truly is breathtaking. We stayed on a secluded beach the first night (we didn't know how secluded it was) ran out of money, and of course there was no ATM because it's that secluded, and had to ration our food and water and it felt like we were roughing it on a beach resort. We gathered all of our money and change and had about 240 baht, which translates to about $8, and the longboat ride to town is 200 baht. So we got into town, thankfully, and first things first...booked our scuba diving!It was such an amazing experience and I highly recommend it on the next vacation you go on. There's another world down there and it was so cool to see!
We decided to walk back to our secluded beach after getting directions, the lady said it was fine to do in flip flops so I imagined a windy dirt path on an incline....WRONG! It reminded me of parts of the West Coast Trail minus the pack and hiking shoes. It wasn't long but we made it and it was an experience with great views...so we decided to do it again, in dresses, so we could eat and party in town and on the beach. We partied on the beach for a while and a few buckets later decided to head back, longboats at this point were 300 baht. They wouldn't bargain (they are fixed rates on the island) and we, the Korean and Indian, were not about to pay extra when we could just risk our lives and hike, in the dark, with a poor excuse for a flashlight. So now I can say I have seen Ko Phi Phi inside and out, in flip-flops.
We came into town this morning to do a one day boat cruise around the satellite islands of Ko Phi Phi, but of course it rained, so we ended up getting fish pedicures. You put your feet in a pool of fish that come and eat the dead skin, it was the weirdest feeling, and kinda scary at first, but my feet felt great! It seems like the rain is never ending and I am surprised this little island hasn't flooded. The rain is so loud and intense it sounds like there are waves in the middle of this town...I won't say the T word. But for every rainy day there are a handful of great days!Next stop - Phuket. Where we will catch our flight into Indonesia to learn to surf the waves of Bali!
