So this is Bali?

Hello from Bali, Indonesia!

We finally arrived on one of the islands we were most looking forward to visiting.  The first thing I will say is that first impressions AREN'T everything.  

Like most tourists, especially our Aussie friends, our first stop was Kuta Beach.  Kuta is best known for the unbelievable surfing and Poppies district for guesthouses and bars.  We made our way to the beach the first evening, weaving our way through numerous market-style stalls filled with "I love Bali" souvenirs and "Ray Ban" Sunglasses, only to be welcomed by a pile of garbage running the length of the beach.  We embraced this first impression with hopeful optimism as we continued our walk further up the beach.  I mean, it couldn't ALL be like this....could it??  

Our first Bali sunset

Day 2, second trip to the beach.  Ok, so they attempted to rake up some of the garbage, at some point in the night.  Now there were piles dotting the beach, but only part way down.  We found a couple of chairs and an umbrella (further down), with a good view of the late morning surfers.  I settled in with a book and a beach front pedicure while Andre went in search for a rental board.  

Surfing...Day 1

Paddle! Paddle! Paddle!

Maybe the next one

Up on the first wave!

My "Wade, Splash, Exit"

We repeated this itinerary a few times throughout the week.  Andre had fun working on his self-taught surfing, with some friendly and valuable tips from the locals.  And I continued to bask in the sun.  To clarify, one does not swim at Kuta unless you are so hot you can't stand it any longer, in which case you wade in to your knees, quickly splashing yourself before making a quick exit back to your sunning spot.  Clearly we were able to see past Kuta's downside and have a very enjoyable time there.

Surfing...Day 2

Bigger waves, smaller board, more excitement

Another hard day at the office

Doing what I do best these days

Bangkok: Shopping, Eating and another New Year

We flew from Phuket to Bangkok with an uncertain time line and no definite itinerary in place.  It was a treat to have, what we consider, 5 star hospitality, for 2 star prices.  We had huge a huge room with luxurious, crisp linen and a large soaker tub and shower.  This may sound silly, but after some less than comfortable beds and cold showers (at times shared with bugs), we welcomed the city indulgences.  

We did some basic touring around Bangkok.  The BTS skytrain system was easily navigated and we had a station less than 5 minutes from our hotel.  As the third large city we have visited in Asia, we found Bangkok to be the most clean and least polluted.  With numerous shopping centers and restaurants, we did our share of shopping and eating.  There was shopping for everything from market goods to luxury automobiles.  That's right, you can stop at Siam Paragon for a CD, pair of shoes, oh, and a Maserati (located on the 5th floor).  It is surprising to get off the escalator and find a sporting goods shop sandwiched between the Lotus and Lamborghini shops.

Our Korean BBQ Dinner--Quite Tasty

Although I still had to do the cooking...

Possibly THE best dessert we've ever had. Sticky Toffee Toast. That's right, it's French Toast, more like French Loaf. I think it was half a loaf of bread...but tasted like a sticky bun, sticky and gooey...we may need to franchise this in Canada!

Halfway up the 7 floors of the shopping center

What else would you expect to find on the 5th Floor?

The Market Floor

Would you like a fitting room? Or a shower curtain in the corner of the shop...

The 2011 Thai New Year, Songkran, is celebrated on April 13.  We were in Bangkok for the New Year's celebrations (our third New Year this trip), which involves sprinkling of water on Buddha's and the hands and shoulder of one another, bringing good luck and prosperity.  Also, it was tradition to cover one's self in talc or clay in a purification ritual.  The Songkran celebration has been adapted to a very large water fight in the city streets, and mixing talcum with water and smearing it on others' faces.  It is unexplainable how many people mob the main streets that close for the water fight that lasted all day and well into the night.  The sidewalk was somewhat of a safe zone with endless street vendors set up selling water guns, talcum powder, food and cold beer.  We enjoyed the celebration early in the day, but had an early night before our 4am departure to the airport.

I made Andre buy a beer so I could take the photo

Andre eating a street dog, post purification

Silom Road

The sweetest water fighter we encountered

The street view from the skytrain above

Koh Phi Phi and Phuket

Walkway to our little bungalow on Phi Phi

Phi Phi is only about 90 minutes by ferry and was made famous by the filming of the movie, The Beach.  The island is very small, only accessible by boat, and has no motorized transportation on the island.  There are only bicycles and push carts used to transport goods, but the island is so small that anything larger is unnecessary.  Phi Phi is also known as the party island.  I would describe it as a never ending Spring Break spot.  We were finally among the majority population in age, and I think I only saw 3 children that were not Thai the entire time.  Bars line the small bay with each one trying to outdo their neighbour with the volume of their music.

We were lucky to have one sunny day on Phi Phi before the rains and flooding began.  We spent that one day crisping up on the beach followed by another 3 wading through calf deep water in the lanes.  It really didn't seem too bad to us at the time, but we were lucky that we left when we did.  There were a number of ferry cancellations due to the rough sea and many people we spoke to were unable to get to Koh Lanta.  We were happy to be sailing to Phuket as they have one of the larger ferries that continued to operate through the rains. 

Once we landed on Phuket we learned of the floods and slides happening on many of the other islands.  Koh Samui and Phangan were hit very hard in the Gulf and happened to be next on our itinerary.  Travel was not advisable to these islands, so we cancelled flights and planned to spend a few more days on Phuket. 

Lo Dalam beach - the water is at max waist high

Lucky to have one sunny day in this beautiful bay

Streets through town, push carts and bicycles only

 

The village is nestled between the two bays

Lo Dalam on the West side

Ton Sai on the East side

The viewpoint atop one of the mountains

 

 

 

Ongoing re-building after the 2004 Tsunami

 

 

 

 

Phuket's west coast is lined with beach, split into a few main areas.  We spent our first 3 days in Patong City.  Patong has some westernized attractions that got us through the first few rainy days.  We went to McDonald's the first evening, and no matter where you are in the world, McDonald's fries are the same!  Oh, and fountain Coke…AMAZING!  So we had our fix in the way of fast food, after nearly 4 months without.  There was also a shopping centre at the end of our street with a movie theatre.  I don't remember what the last movie we saw in the theatre was, but we went daily for around $4 each (including popcorn and pop)!  We spent one evening checking out the red light district of Patong.  We drank really expensive drinks listened to amusing Thai renditions of hits by Guns and Roses, Pink, and even Tina Turner, and took in some of the seedy entertainment the Thais are so well known for (I don't think I need to go into any further detail on that).

As the rains eased up and the forecast was for sun, we moved to Karon Beach where we planted ourselves on the beach for a few days.  The beach was beautiful and much less crowded than Patong Beach.  We spent 2 nights in a cliff-side bungalow with an amazing balcony view overlooking the sea.  Our spirits were lifted in the few short days in the sun, but it went by quickly and before we knew it, we were off to Bangkok to regroup.

 

 

Karon Beach, Phuket

Our bungalow was nestled back in the trees just above the blue awning

A long stretch of beach lined with umbrellas and lounge chairs

Tide going out

Days slipping by...

With many days passing, and not so many blog entries, I am back.  To apologize would mean that I was sorry for the lack of quality wifi and the influx of beach-bumming!  So, I'll do my best to fill in our time over the past few weeks, beginning with the end of our stay on Koh Lanta.

While a one month stay in Koh Lanta seemed to be a great idea at the time, it really just provided an outlet for LAZY!  Not that there's anything wrong with that.  We did one snorkel tour and didn't stray much outside a 3km radius of our apartment (in fairness, there wasn't really anywhere else to go). 

We chose to do the recommended 4 island snorkel tour of Lanta, which was actually only 3 with a drive by of the fourth (?).  Since we left it until the end of our stay, we were gambling against high tide and rainy weather.  We lucked out with the rain variable, and only had a light sprinkle while on the boat.  High tide, however, was not so kind.  

We had a rushed swim through the "emerald" cave at Koh Muk as the water rises 1 inch every 5 minutes and if you don't get in and out in time, the opening will be covered, thus no way out.  The "island" is actually a limestone mountain that is best described as a volcano-like structure, hollow on the inside.  But once you swim through the cave to the center (there is only one way to enter/exit), it is a beautiful sandy oasis.  So, the safety precautions are to be sure to get to the cave as early as possible and to swim fast on your way out when your guide says so.  It is pitch black once you are inside the cave and all you can do is swim in the direction of the guide's flashlight.  It was very unnerving and smelly inside the cave, but once we got to the opening on the other side, it was quite beautiful.  I just wanted to get back through to the other side while I could.  

Now, on to the second island.  At first, I thought it was strange that our guide was wearing a long sleeved shirt and long fleece pants (especially since he wasn't the one driving the boat, he was the one in the water with the rest of us).  But once we jumped in the clear, inviting water, I quickly realized why he chose his ensemble.  Beautiful fish were everywhere around us, as were the jellyfish.  It was really cool to see a jellyfish up close and personal, and we now know that the purple ones sting and the clear ones do not.  I didn't see any clear ones, but had numerous purple ones inches from my mask.  Andre toughed it out and saw all kinds of cool sea life, enduring the stings of the purple jellies while holding clear jellies in his hand.  I evacuated the water and visited with some nomadic Canadians (hillbillies), camping on the beach.  Who'd a thought?!

Anyway, on with the tour.  We stopped off beside a limestone mountain island (apparently Island 3 on the itinerary) and jumped in for more sea life.  There were so many fish you could feel them bumping into you as you swam.  It was actually quite amazing.  They especially enjoy the rice leftovers from lunch…  Island 4 (the drive-by) was another limestone mountain that is home to bats.  The boat stopped for 3 minutes so we could all take photos and we were back on shore 90 minutes ahead of "schedule".

I can't really say what else we did on Lanta, other than relax, soak up the sun, and take a snorkel tour.  It may seem like a waste of 28 days, but we had the time to waste and were happy to be still for a whole month.  Now that the rain was coming consistently every day, it was the perfect time to be heading to Koh Phi Phi. 

Our first stop at Morakot (Emerald) Cave

Worth the claustrophobic swim through the cave...

Surrounded by fish

Feeding Frenzy!

Bats nesting in the limestone

Safe in Thailand

Many apologies for such a delay in posting, especially with all that is going on in SE Asia these days.

We continue to be in the right place at the right time.  We were safely enjoying the southern beaches when the earthquake hit Myanmar and Northern Thailand and we are now safely in Phuket.  We left Phi Phi island, Krabi 2 days ago by ferry during the endless tropical storming.  We had intended to fly to Samui and Phagnan islands this weekend, but travel to these islands is not advised.  We are going to be busy amending our plans and will be sure to keep you all informed as they are made.

Jill and Andre

xo