It's already been a WEEK!

This past week has felt surreal- I can't beleive everything I've done! I traveled half way across the world, I've eaten foods I'd never have dreamed of, taken overnight trains and buses, visited some of the most beautiful beaches, ridden on elephants, and trekked through the Thai jungle...that is, all within one WEEK!

To the ISLAND(via train, bus, and ferry)

Unfortunately the United States doesn't have a great train system, therefor, I'd never been on one. Michelle and I wanted to lose as little time during the day as possible so we booked an overnight sleeper train to get down south. It worked out wonderfully because we were in a little four person cabin and we both had the top bunk. It was like camp all over again. We had stocked up on snacks (chips, mentos, and bags of fresh fruit) and played a couple rounds of Phase 10 (now addicted, thanks to rachel) in one of our bunks. We finally decided to get some sleep before our 4am arrival to the stop. Originally we had booked a joint bus ticket to Phuket, but after hearing rumors of it being too touristy, we changed last minute and got a ticket to Ko Phi Phi instead. It took a little haggling, but we only managed to lose about 60 baht in the process ($2). The bus took us to a pier where we caught a 2 hour ferry to the island. It was the absolute most relaxing way to travel. We just laid on the top deck soaking up the sun, enjoying the hum of the engine.

The Island of Ko Phi Phi

It was only noon once we arrived so after we found a guesthouse to stay in and drop our stuff off at we quickly changed into our swimsuits and grabbed some food. For my first time in Thailand I got to have Pad Thai- it was SPECTACULAR! My next four meals in a row consisted of this delicious Thai dish...yumm-o! We hit the beach immediately and boy were we amazed. The water was luke warm and crystal clear- picturesque. After a bit of sunbathing we met some fellow backpackers and decided to rent a kayak with them. We hit up Monkey Island-obviously as stated, where there are monkeys littered along the beach ready to be fed. Once the excitement of the monkeys settled we got in some snorkeling and then kayaked around some more of the island.

The evening was filled with more good food, thai boxing, and beach parties. The thai boxing is not only done by Thai professionals, but they try to entice drunken tourists to get in the ring to fight other tourists by offering up free buckets (of alcohol of course). All fun and games until someone gets hurt, right? After enough the boxing we headed to the beach parties where they had loud music, lots of christmas lights and even a fire lit limbo stick (yes, I did represent!).

On day two, we rented a long boat with some other fellow tourists to visit the other islands (Ko Phi Phi Leh specifically, as it was where The Beach was filmed). Once again, gorgeous beaches and crystal blue water. Oh, and the snorkeling was even more amazing than before because you could see down so far. Although I can never get enough time on the beach, we decided that we should move along our journey and try something new. We booked bus and taxi tickets to Khao Sok national park where we were told there'd be trekking to do and animals to see...(they lie).

Khao Sok National Park

Most people have never heard of this spot off the beaten path and not talked about in most tour books. We heard from someone on the beach about the spot and decided to try it out, right? (I like to think we're pretty adventurous!) Once we got there our taxi guy took us to what was called the Treetop Resort (they use the term 'resort' VERY loosely). We got a little jungle bungalow hut for only 250 baht per night which we were very pleased with. That was, until we saw all of the ants. Oh well, right? We just learned to shake them out. Anyways, so our first day was pretty chill because it was too late in the afternoon to take one of the trails, as they take 4 hours or so and it was going to be getting dark soon. Instead we got some food, played some phase 10 and then went to bed by 8 (pathetic, I know). Oh, and we did schedule a morning elephant trekking adventure for the morning!

In the morning, after putting on some ant filled underoos, and jumping quickly out of them...we finally made it to the stop to pick up our bus to the elephants. This little adventure would not have been so exciting if we didn't take complete advantage of the 'unmarked' trail. Apparently you get on the elephants and ride for about 30 minutes then come to a stop where you get off, get some water, and they turn around the elephants for us to get back on. For some reason, us and some other swedish folk thought that we were supposed to continue trekking and we'd come out to hte elephants in the end. After about 40 minutes of climing waterfalls, stepping in leech filled spots of water (yes, Michelle got a few on her legs), and getting beaten up by thorns...we made it to the end and couldn't go any farther. After sitting for 10 minutes contemplating what to do, our tour guides came up with machettes- apparently they'd been looking for us for a while. We made our way back to the elephants through the jungle which was so much easier with the guides cutting away the annoying branches. This little trekking adventure was AWESOME! Besides that, we made it back to the elephants and got back to the camp and played with a baby monkey who acted as if it was on drugs- it was CRAZY and wouldn't sit still.

Overall, we really enjoyed Khao Sok but we didn't see any animals or beautiful waterfalls like we we were promised. Oh well, right??

On Christmas night we took an overnight bus back home to Bangkok where I'm at right now packing up to head out. On our itinerary is Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, then northern Thailand. I'll keep everyon up to date and add some pictures as soon as possible. Take care and I love you all!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!