World Backpack

Well we’ve now been here for about two months, and have just over two months left…. what to do now?

On Bottle Beach

Since we last wrote, we have gone night fishing, and spent 5 days at a place called Bottle Beach, at the northern tip of this island. I will begin with our fishing trip…. we really wanted to go fishing, instead of just a regular trip somewhere – I heard we could go night fishing, but this one tour operator insisted that we couldn’t go because the weather is no good for it at this time of year. But, we persisted, and found one for 800 Baht per person, which is about $26.00 CAD per person. That’s a crazy price, because it’s more than 800 Baht for both of us just to take a taxi to the end of the island – the spot from which our boat departed. So they picked us up at our place at six, then we took a sangthew (a truck with benches in the back) to Thongsala (the main pier town) and they stopped and were like, “We’re stopping at 7-11, want some beer?” hahaha, so we stopped and got some Chang beer (when in Rome…), and then picked up a couple more Thai people, and went to a beach that was docked with fishing boats. We walked into the water and got on a boat; then a bunch of Thai taxi drivers came on board too, and broke out the food and drinks, and then we went for about 45 minutes, and by then it was pitch black. We have never seen so many incredible stars before – it was like we were sitting in an observatory… the only other lights we could see were from the squid boats (they’re extremely bright, and apparently there’s a ton of squid there!). Then they just gave us our rods, chopped up some squid, and we started fishing!

Me on the fishing boat

Me and my catch, SHARK!

The terrifying face of my shark

It was really more like going fishing with a bunch of people instead of taking a tour, because there was no instruction or anything – we were basically tagging along. Everyone started catching these little fish (about 6-8 inches long, look sort of like piranhas) but me (Steph), so I was a little sad, but then my rod started bending and I started reeling in my line, and I could hardly do it – my rod was digging into my stomach just so I could keep holding it, and then after quite a while, a bunch of people on the boat were yelling “Shark! Shark!” I CAUGHT A SHARK! A baby bull shark! Which, in reality, means there are a couple adult bull shark parents out there with a grudge against a certain Canadian girl who took their baby, but still… it was pretty cool. I felt bad, as it’s a shark, but I didn’t intend to catch it, and it would have died if I put it back. And we ate it the next day. And it was delicious. Anyways, we then went to a couple more spots, and they were not as successful as the first one, but everyone kept catching fish. Chris caught six! About half way through the night, we stopped at a place called Bottle Beach so we could get more squid for bait and use the washrooms, and Chris met these guys who were staying there and they told him how much it was to stay there, etc., and we decided to go there in a couple days. We then got back on the boat, and attempted some more fishing, but most of the people had drank a few too many, so there wasn’t much enthusiasm. At about 12:30, we got back to the beach, bagged the fish (and shark!), and they drove us back to our place at Leela Beach. We luckily had a fridge in our room, so Chris put the fish in an extra big Ziploc bag and they stayed nice and fresh in our fridge for the night. The next day we gave them to the people at the bungalow and they said they’d cook it up for us at dinner. It was amazing – we expected them just to fry it or something, but they filleted the shark, and made some sort of salsa for on top (with tomatoes, onions and capers), and then cooked the little fish whole. It was sooo good.

Delicious! The fish we caught, and a spicy dipping sauce.

The shark’s untimely (but tasty) demise as a fillet o’ shark

The next day we went back to Bottle Beach and stayed there for 5 days. It was only 300 Baht a night (less than $10 CAD), and it was really nice. The beach was by far the nicest beach yet, unbelievably clean, and the water was absolutely perfect. It was just really nice. The people who worked there were hilarious, and one of them would only accept being referred to as Johnny Depp. The weather, however, didn’t really cooperate, and it was too windy so just sit on the beach, you always had to be sheltered somehow.

On the 19th, we left Bottle Beach and spent the day at Koh Maa, a little beach/island combo that we fell in love with last time we were here, and we were actually really disappointed. It has changed so much it’s barely recognisable; several bungalow operations have since been developed there, and the beach is really dirty, and nearly all of the coral has died. Last time we went there, I remember snorkeling and being in complete awe – the colours were so striking, and there were mass amounts of fish – but now it’s dead coral and a lot of sea weed, but some fish are still around. It’s just because the place has been so over run with tourists, snorkelers, and divers, and people don’t understand that if you touch coral for a second, the whole thing dies – but it takes years to come back. It would be like if we touched a tree every time we went hiking and it died – there would be no trees left. It’s pretty sad – but this other couple that we met at Bottle Beach also came to Koh Maa and had never been there and they thought it was lovely – so if you don’t have anything to compare it to, then it’s great. Regardless, we had a wonderful time at both Bottle Beach and Koh Maa, and on the way back to Leela beach that night we stopped in Thongsala for dinner at the market – and boy was it delicious! We had Thai pancakes with pineapple and sweet milk (they’re more like pastries, and they are square and folded up – will definitely be making those when we get home), pineapple shakes, shared some pad thai and sweet sticky rice with mango, and then had a couple of mangosteens (sometimes you can get them at the store at home – if you ever come across one, try it – they are soooo good!).

Chris with our yummy market dinner – pineapple shakes, sticky rice (right), mangosteens (centre), and pancake (bottom)

A market stall in Thongsala

Yesterday was Chris’s birthday! Hoorah! We had a lovely breakfast, then booked our tickets to Cambodia (we leave on the 29th), and then spent the day just hanging out, playing paddle ball, and relaxing. We were going to go jet skiing, but the water was rough, so we settled for a Heineken on our hammock on our porch. Later, Chris got a head, neck, and shoulder massage and a foot massage at the spa where we’re staying (my birthday gift haha), and then the people at Sarikantang set up a lovely arrangement of stringed flowers hanging off our umbrella, honeysuckle sticks, and lanterns decorated with paper butterflies. I pre-ordered the Thai Royal set dinner a couple weeks ago, so they brought that out and it was amazing! We got drinks, rice crackers with some sort of chicken gravy, red curry with beef, sweet and sour veggies with fish, and king prawns with chillies. Then they brought us sweet sticky rice with mangoes! And just when we were about to leave, they brought out the birthday cake (which I completely forgot I ordered…) and we all sang Happy Birthday! It was so nice, they’re the sweetest people.

Chris and a piece of birthday cake.

Chris and some of the birthday decorations!

As I write this, we’re sitting in an internet cafe drinking jasmine tea and Chris is looking into flights to Vietnam, Indonesia, China, and Burma. We’re trying to figure out where else we want to go, our plans are kind of screwed up because of the weather, so we are thinking of flying somewhere else for a week or so because flights are so cheap and we have our triple entry visas. We’re leaving Cambodia (back to Bangkok) on the 6th of July, then we might explore around there (go to some markets, then up to Ayuthaya, Sukothai, and there’s a Tiger Temple north of Bangkok that looks pretty amazing), then we might just fly right out of there again for a week. Our plans for volunteering may not work out, as the whole country, except for where we are, is getting hit pretty hard with monsoon season, and there’s apparently a lot of flooding and such, so it restricts what we’ll be able to do.

That’s all we’ve got at the moment, hopefully we’ll have more plans by the time we write next! We hope everyone is wonderful, miss you, see you in about 9 weeks!

xo – Chris and Steph

PS – HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!!

RHINO BEETLE!

Well we’re still on Koh Phangan and it’s still beautiful. This place is probably my favourite place in the country; not because of its legendary Full Moon Party or its night life – quite the opposite actually. About 3 days after the Full Moon Party, this island is almost silent. It has this unbelievably peaceful feeling that just envelops you. The closer the days get to the full moon, however, the crazier this island gets… you half expect werewolves to come popping out of hammocks and from under the sand.

Steph at our the restaurant for the Full Moon Dinner.

Last time we wrote, it was four days until the Full Moon Party. It was still relatively quiet, but each day there were hordes of people coming in. That night we went out while Chris’s cousin Brendan was still here, we were approached by a girl, about 20 years old, who was clearly on a lot of drugs. I (Steph) was worried about her, so I went and bought her a bottle of water and sat with her for a while to make sure she drank it…. then she started chomping at the air and coming toward me like she wanted to eat me. In her defense, I did smell like a coconut, but I don’t think that’s a good enough reason. This island has a really bad reputation for drugs – the Full Moon Party along is known around the world, and every month between 10,000 and 30,000 people come to celebrate. The government, however, is really trying to crack down on drug abuse here, and have adapted a zero tolerance policy. This Full Moon Party was like none of the others we have been to before, and it’s because of this new attitude on the island. The military and police presence was huge. Regardless of where you looked, there were soldiers looking for people who were clearly on drugs. There were several hospitals/help centres set up for people who needed assistance, and groups of tourist police (Western women typically over the age of 40). I loved it. As a person who nearly got eaten a few days beforehand, I took comfort in all of the new-found precautions. I can also see how a lot of people (a good 10,000 party-goers or so) would not be all that pleased. Apparently the police are doing random checks in bungalows too … I believe I wouldn’t be too fond of that. Drug addicts and military aside, we had a great time at the Full Moon Party, had an amazing dinner at our bungalow beforehand, and simply “enjoyed with ourselves.”

The people on Koh Phangan are so friendly too, they just have thier own vibe that is compeltely different from the rest of the country – which says a lot seeing as this is the “Land of Smiles”, a country that is known for its kindness… every morning we go to Nira’s Bakery for breakfast and get muesli and homemade yogurt and fresh fruit, and the girl who works there is soooo nice. Everyone is so nice – we should just move here.

The place we are staying at, Sarikantang, is the same place we stayed on this island five years ago. It has changed a bit, now has a spa, a pool, and many of the bungalows and the restaurant have been upgraded. Many of the same people still work there, and it truly is as much of a home away from home as we could imagine. The picture above is a sandcastle we made on our first day back at Sarikantang, situated on Leela beach.

A tire swing we found hanging off a very lopsided coconut tree!

Steph taking a stroll on the newly redone boardwalk to Lighthouse Bungalows.

Further along the boardwalk, a seriously amazing view!!

One of the beautiful views from the boardwalk, right before a storm approached. Also, Linda,  the tiny beach below is almost entirely made of sea glass!!!

Some people fishing in Krabi (old picture, but we forgot to add it before )

Us in Krabi (again, old one hehe)

For the last few days we have been, again, doing a ton of reading (Pillars of the Earth – Longest. Book. Ever.), and sorting out what our plans for the rest of the trip are. We are going to Cambodia at the end of the month most likely, a little sooner than we had originally planned. We are going to start in Phnom Penh (to see the Tuol Sleng Museum), then go to Choeung Ek (the Killing Fields), then over to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. Afterward, we might volunteer at an orphanage in Southern Thailand for a couple of weeks. Other than that we’re still not too sure – there are a few places in the Bangkok area that we’ll go to, such as Sukothai, and a Tiger Temple (it’s a temple where the monks take in tigers that need rehabilitation… there are just tons of tigers that live there with the monks!).

Some beautiful rocks and dried coral off the beach in Koh Nangyuan (Koh Tao)

Well, that’s all for now! We’re going on a night fishing trip tomorrow night and we’re sooo excited for that – we’ll definitely update after that. Take care, everyone – see you in August!

xoxo!

Chris and Stef

Hello all!

We are on Koh Phangan, and tons has happened since the last time we wrote. We met up with Chris’s cousin and his two friends on the 25th of May in Krabi, and hung out there for about a week, then we went to Koh Phangan for one night, to Koh Tao for two nights, then back to Koh Phangan. While in Krabi, we explored the area on motorbikes, went to Koh Phi Phi, and pretty much just relaxed. The weather didn’t really cooperate with us, and it rained a lot, so after Amanda left (she was only around for 3 full days), the guys took motorbikes and explored Krabi Province, and the stunning caves that are scattered within the many limestone mountains. On that day, I did some exlploring of my own and went to a local market to take some photos and try out some of the local food. I know what about 20% of the things I tried were, and the remainder is still a mystery to me haha… the people are so nice though, one girl even took it upon herself to feed me by hand hahhaa

After that, the guys decided they wanted to do some diving, so we planned to go to Koh Tao, in the Gulf of Thailand. We had to go to Koh Phangan first because of the ferry schedule, so we spent one night here, which was a blast, and then we went to Koh Tao the following morning. Koh Tao is a beautiful place, absolutely gorgeous, but as we were told by many people before, it offers nothing for non-divers. We got to our hotel, switched hotels (the first place was really misleading and not very friendly), and ended up staying at Poseidon on Ao Tanote. The next day we took a taxi to the other side of the island, and then we took a boat to this little trio of islands nearby called Koh Nangyuan – three small islands connected by sandbars. This is easily the most beautiful place I have ever seen. We hiked up to this viewpoint at the top of one of the islands and took pictures, then went and hung out on the beach and in the water. Later on, we went Sharkeling (snorkeling with sharks), and didn’t see any sharks, but I saw a moray eel.

We came back to Koh Phangan two nights ago, made the most of the boys’ last night here by hanging out at the bar on the beach on Haad Rin, and then they left yesterday morning. Now Chris and I are most likely going to stay on this island until we go to Cambodia, at the beginning of July. The best part of this island is that Mr.K’s Chicken corner is still here, and we are able to live on crepes and shakes for $2 meals and we can switch it up and get some chicken if we’re feeling adventurous. Seriously.

That’s all for now, I can’t add any pictures because the internet here is verrrrry slow, but we will ASAP. We hope everyone is doing wonderfully, we miss you and love you!

Take Care!

- Chris and Stephi