Sa wat dee ka, everyone. That means "hello" in Thai. I have yet to use it on a native because I'm really self-conscious. Chris said: Now you know how I feel when I try to speak Korean. Yes, well...
Anyway, we took a 6 hour bus ride back from Koh Chang. We left our bungalow around 9am, and waited on the side of the road for a passing taxi to pick us up. Luckily, we only had to wait about 3 minutes. However, we got stuck in Sunday traffic - everyone's trying to get on the ferry to go back to the mainland. It was so bad that we all ended up getting off and WALKING to the ferry with our luggage. Thankfully, it was only a 1.5 km walk, but still with the ever-present humidity it felt longer.... we were dripping in sweat and our shoulders ached from the weight of our baggage rubbing against our sunburns. :(
The ferry ride was about half an hour, and then we ate a late breakfast at the bus stop. We also had ice cream to cool down. Then, around 11:45am we boarded the bus and...we arrived back at Khao San Road a little after 6pm. -_- We should've gotten back sooner but our two rest stops ended up being half an hour each - I don't know what it is with Asians always shopping. At the first rest stop, practically every Thai person went grocery shopping.. it took forever for the bus to hit the road again.
And when we did, it started pouring which wasn't a big deal until the water started leaking from the overhead lights onto me. Some of the other passengers were also getting wet and we started using the curtains to catch the droplets. *sigh* However, the curtains would begin to sag with all of the water weight and begin to drip again. I couldn't even take a proper nap because water would randomly drip on my leg, arm, or head. I took out a plastic bag and used it to catch the water.
In addition, during the bus ride a foreigner started vomiting. Thankfully, he had a bag to catch it but then it started leaking...errr.. and then the smell started wafting over.. GAH. I really felt for the guy because of what I had to go through on the plane.. but at least I was able to make it to the bathroom. (Although, on the bus ride to the airport I puked in a bag as well -_-) Also, I think I was a little more sympathetic because I thought he was cute..hehe.
I mentioned earlier that we're sunburned. We went on a 4 island tour a few days ago and went snorkeling all day, so basically it's our backs that are burned. Mine isn't too bad; I'm more tan, but Chris is pretty red and he has sun blisters. :(
Well, soon we will walk around and enjoy the last night here in Thailand. Can't believe we've been away from home for over three months! I miss everyone, and everything. Chris and I always talk about which foods we want to eat when we get home. We've been really good at being up-to-date with the show Lost but we haven't been able to catch the past two weeks' episodes. So, on Wednesday night we'll have to watch those AND the two hour season finale. We already planned what to eat for dinner: buffalo chicken calzone with french fries from Spinner's. Haha..
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Koh Chang, Thailand
Chris and I have been on Koh Chang since last evening. As usual, I have quite the story to tell... this one would pertain to the trip itself. I don't have time to relay all the details in this particular post because we're not going to be in the internet cafe for long. Chris really wanted to see if the Celtics, Sox, and Bruins had won their last games, and I needed to check my email and Facebook.
Okay, so the weather is the same ol': unbearably muggy and hot. Today, we actually had a thunderstorm and everyone vacated the beach. Chris and I returned to the water, along with a few others, to swim in the rain. But when it started downpouring, we left as well. I took a short nap in our bungalow, and when Chris said it was sunny again we went back to the beach to lay out. We're desperately trying to get color onto our pasty skin, but perhaps the SPF30 is too strong(?) When I went to Mexico on spring break last year, I burned because I used SPF4, so I thought I'd play it safe. I really want to get tan! My face is already, and my back is a little bit not enough. Many of the girls sunbathe topless, and after a while I took to it as well. Tan lines stink!
Tomorrow, we may take a day trip to 5 islands. I'm hoping that we get to have time to sunbathe - yes, I really want to get tan! We'll see if we do this.. we also rented a motor bike today. It's really fun and relaxing to cruise around an island. I feel like I'm in a movie or something. ^^
Well, we're here in Koh Chang until Sunday morning. Then, it's a 10 minute ferry ride to the mainland, and a 5-6 hour bus ride back to Bangkok. GAH... having fun (despite the infinite mosquito bites - oh my goodness, I have about 40 or so and Chris has 2), but can't wait to go home...
Okay, so the weather is the same ol': unbearably muggy and hot. Today, we actually had a thunderstorm and everyone vacated the beach. Chris and I returned to the water, along with a few others, to swim in the rain. But when it started downpouring, we left as well. I took a short nap in our bungalow, and when Chris said it was sunny again we went back to the beach to lay out. We're desperately trying to get color onto our pasty skin, but perhaps the SPF30 is too strong(?) When I went to Mexico on spring break last year, I burned because I used SPF4, so I thought I'd play it safe. I really want to get tan! My face is already, and my back is a little bit not enough. Many of the girls sunbathe topless, and after a while I took to it as well. Tan lines stink!
Tomorrow, we may take a day trip to 5 islands. I'm hoping that we get to have time to sunbathe - yes, I really want to get tan! We'll see if we do this.. we also rented a motor bike today. It's really fun and relaxing to cruise around an island. I feel like I'm in a movie or something. ^^
Well, we're here in Koh Chang until Sunday morning. Then, it's a 10 minute ferry ride to the mainland, and a 5-6 hour bus ride back to Bangkok. GAH... having fun (despite the infinite mosquito bites - oh my goodness, I have about 40 or so and Chris has 2), but can't wait to go home...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Bangkok, Thailand!
Another day, another scorcher. Chris and I arrived in Bangkok on Sunday evening around 6:50pm. The night before leaving, we had been out with a bunch of friends to hang out for the last time. Usually, Chris is the one that wants to stay out late and get drunk while I opt to go home early. However, it was the other way around this time. :(
We spent the day shopping in Myeongdong with Lisa, her friend from the states, and Ben. I bought a t-shirt for James, a shirt for Jen, and a few hair clips for myself. We also ate dak galbi for the last time - Chris's favorite food in Korea. It also began to rain while we shopped and the five of us crowded under Ben's huge umbrella for a bit before I discovered a discarded umbrella (I swear) from under a clothes rack and "borrowed" it. (Later, I returned it to the same spot when Chris said that someone may have been looking for it.) After shopping, Chris and Ben went to COEX Mall so Ben could get a birthday present for a friend and Chris wanted to look at guide books for Thailand. The rest of us, along with Ruth, went to Gangnam to meet my friend Hyung-woo. We went there and also met up with John - then, all of us went to go eat dinner at a galbi place. I had 3 or 4 shots of this red rice wine or something which wasn't strong. Then, we separated from Hyung-woo and I said I'd meet up with him later. We ended up going to Ben's apartment to get Gail's suitcase and transfer it over to Ruth's. Little did we know that this would take nearly two hours. We took the cab to Apgu to meet up with Ben and others, but we ended up leaving to go back to Gangnam. Outside a convenience store, we took several shots of soju (which I hate and should've been a sign for what was to come) and said farewell to Chris (he wanted to stay).
Gangnam - we ended up separating. I went with Hyung-woo and his friends, and the rest of the group said that we'd meet up later to drink. Olivia was also there and there were other people waiting for them. Hyung-woo knows, like everyone else, how much I despite soju so he got me a beer. Silly me, thinking "oh, this is my last day - I'll live it up" kept taking shots of soju and using the beer as a chaser. We ended up going to another bar where I knocked back more shots. The rest of the night is really fuzzy - I remember it being daytime (!) and saying good-bye, and all of a sudden Chris and I are walking with our luggage to the bus stop. Turns out, I got home after 6am where Chris let me sleep for a half hour while he packed up all our belongings (he forgot his Macbook charger, though). During this time, I also puked my brains out (sorry). I remember still being drunk on the bus ride to the airport and was holding a shopping bag Chris had given me in case I threw up again - which I did. Oh, and I threw up four times on the flight to Malaysia, and once more to Bangkok. I don't know how I survived those plane rides... the worst day of my life. I never want soju again.
Bangkok- we're staying at a decent guesthouse. The first night, we had stayed at a really low budget one where we had to throw water into the toilet to make it flush and there was an ant infestation - the floor was literally crawling and we kept having to flick them off our beds and shake them off our belongings! I have bug bites all over my legs and one on my back - why do bugs always like me?- from the ants or the mosquitoes, I don't know. We saw a lot of temples yesterday, and though we tried to drink often we were so dehydrated from sweating that we didn't have to use the bathroom once. :X
Today, we're going to the Floating Market which is about an hour away. Tomorrow, we leave for Koh Chang, an island that takes about 5 hours to get to. We're really excited - it's supposed to be really quiet and relaxing. Our bungalow is a one-minute walk from the beach.
All right, well, I should go now. We have yet to eat breakfast. It's just too hot to be in the mood to eat. Yesterday, we ate breakfast around 10 and didn't eat again until 6:30 or so. By the way, the food is delicious and really cheap.
Bye for now!
We spent the day shopping in Myeongdong with Lisa, her friend from the states, and Ben. I bought a t-shirt for James, a shirt for Jen, and a few hair clips for myself. We also ate dak galbi for the last time - Chris's favorite food in Korea. It also began to rain while we shopped and the five of us crowded under Ben's huge umbrella for a bit before I discovered a discarded umbrella (I swear) from under a clothes rack and "borrowed" it. (Later, I returned it to the same spot when Chris said that someone may have been looking for it.) After shopping, Chris and Ben went to COEX Mall so Ben could get a birthday present for a friend and Chris wanted to look at guide books for Thailand. The rest of us, along with Ruth, went to Gangnam to meet my friend Hyung-woo. We went there and also met up with John - then, all of us went to go eat dinner at a galbi place. I had 3 or 4 shots of this red rice wine or something which wasn't strong. Then, we separated from Hyung-woo and I said I'd meet up with him later. We ended up going to Ben's apartment to get Gail's suitcase and transfer it over to Ruth's. Little did we know that this would take nearly two hours. We took the cab to Apgu to meet up with Ben and others, but we ended up leaving to go back to Gangnam. Outside a convenience store, we took several shots of soju (which I hate and should've been a sign for what was to come) and said farewell to Chris (he wanted to stay).
Gangnam - we ended up separating. I went with Hyung-woo and his friends, and the rest of the group said that we'd meet up later to drink. Olivia was also there and there were other people waiting for them. Hyung-woo knows, like everyone else, how much I despite soju so he got me a beer. Silly me, thinking "oh, this is my last day - I'll live it up" kept taking shots of soju and using the beer as a chaser. We ended up going to another bar where I knocked back more shots. The rest of the night is really fuzzy - I remember it being daytime (!) and saying good-bye, and all of a sudden Chris and I are walking with our luggage to the bus stop. Turns out, I got home after 6am where Chris let me sleep for a half hour while he packed up all our belongings (he forgot his Macbook charger, though). During this time, I also puked my brains out (sorry). I remember still being drunk on the bus ride to the airport and was holding a shopping bag Chris had given me in case I threw up again - which I did. Oh, and I threw up four times on the flight to Malaysia, and once more to Bangkok. I don't know how I survived those plane rides... the worst day of my life. I never want soju again.
Bangkok- we're staying at a decent guesthouse. The first night, we had stayed at a really low budget one where we had to throw water into the toilet to make it flush and there was an ant infestation - the floor was literally crawling and we kept having to flick them off our beds and shake them off our belongings! I have bug bites all over my legs and one on my back - why do bugs always like me?- from the ants or the mosquitoes, I don't know. We saw a lot of temples yesterday, and though we tried to drink often we were so dehydrated from sweating that we didn't have to use the bathroom once. :X
Today, we're going to the Floating Market which is about an hour away. Tomorrow, we leave for Koh Chang, an island that takes about 5 hours to get to. We're really excited - it's supposed to be really quiet and relaxing. Our bungalow is a one-minute walk from the beach.
All right, well, I should go now. We have yet to eat breakfast. It's just too hot to be in the mood to eat. Yesterday, we ate breakfast around 10 and didn't eat again until 6:30 or so. By the way, the food is delicious and really cheap.
Bye for now!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
