yo
this trip
is no joke.
ko samet island: totally awesome, totally half local, totally gay, totally laid back.
we're chillin in an awesome bungalow. we're eating every meal literally on the beach. we're about to commit ourselves to imbibing drinks from a bucket.
this morning wading in the water i was the only person i could see on the ocean side. vendors hawk coconuts, chicken, sarongs, and massages at towelside. we're so digging the natives who have made this great stay possible. ... too bad they kinda laugh when i say thank you.
we feel at home with the bartenders (it's like they can smell the kerry house party on us). every woman here is wearing a bikini without regard to love handles and stomach pouches (clearly my people). and siesta exists.
amen and a good note to leave on.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
C to the ambodia
ah, so much has happened since last post. but, for brevity - and the sake that five Chinese tourists are mean mugging me, i shall be quick.
we finished our time in thailand going to the old capital, ayutthaya, then going to a resort (budgetish) off the rive kwai. the pool was slightly off (a la the former hot tub in our backyard) but the scenery was beautiful.
highlights of thailand:
riding an elephant
being told we were too fat to ride an elephant
seeing lizards all over (!)
learning how to squat pee accurately with minimizing pee ankle syndrome
jumping off a bamboo raft to float down the kwai river
a riverboat dinner cruise at sunset - the diesel and rice whiskey were a one of a kind combo
hooking up with three cool ass chicks from florida, all our older, wiser, fantastic travel buddies
eating a mango sticky rice sundae from dairy queen
then we flew to cambodia with just two of the gems on our tour, barbara and susan - or, as we commonly refer to them: frick and frack.
they're jersey. they're wearing makeup. they hate black kids who dont' wantt to learn and who look at their cell in the symphony. they're asking our guide if he wears shoes when not at work. what's not to love.
well, maybe them 69% of the time. but cambodia is THE BOMB.
do my capitals let you know i'm serious. we heart cambodia. our guide Bros was the best one could possibly ask for. he showed us angkor temples. he showed us the countryside. he showed us the city. he shared about his life.
cambodia highlights:
dumplings so nice - we went there twice
all around the best food of the trip
the five star resort we got to stay at. posh colonial estate beyond your wildest dreams. see here.
walking around the river to pub street to fraternize with collegiate toocoolforschool conquistadors.
50 cent beers
temples over 1000 years old with detail that looks like they were made last year.
palm sugar candy!
fresh cashews
all the coconut D could drink
mango shakes
(eat much?)
spring rolls
the local market fruit stalls (rambutan baby)
replacing cloth of my mommas that i destroyed accidentally as a dumb kid
finding pants that fit!
making plans to come back.
katie just got molested by a japones tourist. it's time to go.
we finished our time in thailand going to the old capital, ayutthaya, then going to a resort (budgetish) off the rive kwai. the pool was slightly off (a la the former hot tub in our backyard) but the scenery was beautiful.
highlights of thailand:
riding an elephant
being told we were too fat to ride an elephant
seeing lizards all over (!)
learning how to squat pee accurately with minimizing pee ankle syndrome
jumping off a bamboo raft to float down the kwai river
a riverboat dinner cruise at sunset - the diesel and rice whiskey were a one of a kind combo
hooking up with three cool ass chicks from florida, all our older, wiser, fantastic travel buddies
eating a mango sticky rice sundae from dairy queen
then we flew to cambodia with just two of the gems on our tour, barbara and susan - or, as we commonly refer to them: frick and frack.
they're jersey. they're wearing makeup. they hate black kids who dont' wantt to learn and who look at their cell in the symphony. they're asking our guide if he wears shoes when not at work. what's not to love.
well, maybe them 69% of the time. but cambodia is THE BOMB.
do my capitals let you know i'm serious. we heart cambodia. our guide Bros was the best one could possibly ask for. he showed us angkor temples. he showed us the countryside. he showed us the city. he shared about his life.
cambodia highlights:
dumplings so nice - we went there twice
all around the best food of the trip
the five star resort we got to stay at. posh colonial estate beyond your wildest dreams. see here.
walking around the river to pub street to fraternize with collegiate toocoolforschool conquistadors.
50 cent beers
temples over 1000 years old with detail that looks like they were made last year.
palm sugar candy!
fresh cashews
all the coconut D could drink
mango shakes
(eat much?)
spring rolls
the local market fruit stalls (rambutan baby)
replacing cloth of my mommas that i destroyed accidentally as a dumb kid
finding pants that fit!
making plans to come back.
katie just got molested by a japones tourist. it's time to go.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Elephants and rivers, oh my!
Our adventure has taken us to Kanchanaburi which is located very near the site of the Bridge over River Kwai, which we visited yesterday!
This morning consisted of early rising (again, can't seem to sleep past 6am here) and off to ride an elephant and river rafting. The elephant ride was geared totally for the tourists but still really fun. The river rafting was amazing. It was a flat bamboo raft with benches on it but D and K were in the water after only about two minutes on the raft. We floated the whole river it felt amazing!!
K is off to see Hellfire Pass this afternoon with the tour while D fends for herself...
Tomorrow: back to Bangkok airport and off to Cambodia!
9 days still to go, incredible!
This morning consisted of early rising (again, can't seem to sleep past 6am here) and off to ride an elephant and river rafting. The elephant ride was geared totally for the tourists but still really fun. The river rafting was amazing. It was a flat bamboo raft with benches on it but D and K were in the water after only about two minutes on the raft. We floated the whole river it felt amazing!!
K is off to see Hellfire Pass this afternoon with the tour while D fends for herself...
Tomorrow: back to Bangkok airport and off to Cambodia!
9 days still to go, incredible!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Chubbies in Bangkok... I couldn't resist...
it's 110 degrees here today. we're supposed to be going to see famous temples today, but may not be able to because of the protesters. everything, despite one million protesters (poor, rice growers, country folk - those not profiting in bangkok) seems super safe and happy. the protesters are all middle aged and older. it's very interesting times here.
aside from the fact that we tend toward the vaguely narcoleptic and are sleeping through our evenings, it's been a good ride.
we attempted to go to a Mon village north of bangkok. we didn't get there, but we did check out a market where we were the only non-thais. we took the ferry boat to the burbs of bangkok. there we were greeted with bamboo shoots, fresh ginger, frogs that - although gutted- were still moving, hella chicken feet, hella fish, and hella mangoes. It's mango season here don't you know.
Due to our freekishly early bed hours, D woke up at 4:30 and wandered pre-dawn bangkok. i don't know what leonardo decaprio's beef was, because depending on when and where you are, even in bangkok you can still feel like an exclusive outsider. But everyone was pleasant, if not slightly puzzled as to why the chubby non-thai brown girl was wandering the streets when there was nothing but local breakfast to buy.
today post-tour may involve shopping. or maybe another stab at the mon village. or maybe a massage. but definitely staying up past 10:30pm.
unknown foods eaten: 3.5*
unknown foods i'd eat again: 2.5
*.5: i thought i was buying a waffle on a stick... but NO! IT'S A WAFFLE WITH A HOT DOG INSIDE... on a stick
aside from the fact that we tend toward the vaguely narcoleptic and are sleeping through our evenings, it's been a good ride.
we attempted to go to a Mon village north of bangkok. we didn't get there, but we did check out a market where we were the only non-thais. we took the ferry boat to the burbs of bangkok. there we were greeted with bamboo shoots, fresh ginger, frogs that - although gutted- were still moving, hella chicken feet, hella fish, and hella mangoes. It's mango season here don't you know.
Due to our freekishly early bed hours, D woke up at 4:30 and wandered pre-dawn bangkok. i don't know what leonardo decaprio's beef was, because depending on when and where you are, even in bangkok you can still feel like an exclusive outsider. But everyone was pleasant, if not slightly puzzled as to why the chubby non-thai brown girl was wandering the streets when there was nothing but local breakfast to buy.
today post-tour may involve shopping. or maybe another stab at the mon village. or maybe a massage. but definitely staying up past 10:30pm.
unknown foods eaten: 3.5*
unknown foods i'd eat again: 2.5
*.5: i thought i was buying a waffle on a stick... but NO! IT'S A WAFFLE WITH A HOT DOG INSIDE... on a stick
Friday, March 12, 2010
Hedgehogs, Tuk Tuks, and Owl's - Oh My...
so, we have arrived safely in Bangkok. Our hotel is pretty posh and crawling with Europeans and other colonizers like myself. but there's hot water and ac and decent breakfast - so that rocks.
we've managed to ride a tuk tuk, haggle over not getting sucked into jewelery gem scams, gone to the largest flea market in the world (true? i'm not sure. but it was pretty damn big), seen thai b boys (they moved verrrrrrrrry slowly), touched a flying squirrel and hedgehog, saw a tiny owl in a tiny purple cowboy hat, was told i was not allowed to take a photo of a tiny owl with a tiny cowboy hat (most likely attributable to the fact we were in the contraband animals section of the market), and driven on the highway with truck after truck of red shirt protesters which excited us and our cabbie.
all very awesome. and all on four hours of sleep. so i think i'll nap or swim before our hand holding yellow bus-esque tour dinner and boat ride happens later today. thanks for all the energy expended to keep our plane in the air.
number of unknown foods eaten: 3
number of unknown foods we'd eat again: 2
number of coconuts today thus far: 1
we've managed to ride a tuk tuk, haggle over not getting sucked into jewelery gem scams, gone to the largest flea market in the world (true? i'm not sure. but it was pretty damn big), seen thai b boys (they moved verrrrrrrrry slowly), touched a flying squirrel and hedgehog, saw a tiny owl in a tiny purple cowboy hat, was told i was not allowed to take a photo of a tiny owl with a tiny cowboy hat (most likely attributable to the fact we were in the contraband animals section of the market), and driven on the highway with truck after truck of red shirt protesters which excited us and our cabbie.
all very awesome. and all on four hours of sleep. so i think i'll nap or swim before our hand holding yellow bus-esque tour dinner and boat ride happens later today. thanks for all the energy expended to keep our plane in the air.
number of unknown foods eaten: 3
number of unknown foods we'd eat again: 2
number of coconuts today thus far: 1
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Virgin
no no, not us - we're off on leg one of stage three of our world tour. we fly virgin down to LA (perhaps seat flirting with cute jet setters?). our lovely host has agreed to lug our bags whilst we scope frat boys until she's done with "law school." Then off to the land of smiles and racially charged condescension: Thailand on a Tour.
Fingers crossed that there's several old couples. I'm searching for varicose veins and a hearing impairment. And perhaps a mildly autistic family that is traveling now because their kids go to year round school because "it's better for them." And dear god I hope we get matching visors and the guide has a flag on a pole.
All kidding aside: this is gonna be a bomb ass trip.
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