Hello All, Eric (I realize this is probably getting a little redundant but I still find it funny),
All checked in and ready to fly across the pond to North America. I am somewhat relieved that in 24 hours I will be home...in my own house...in my own bed...however I am NOT looking forward to the 20 + hour plane ride to San Fran!! I am sad to leave Singapore, it is a really beautiful city but I am tired...exhausted actually (was awakened at 3:30 am with a phone call from work?) and ready to deal with what lies ahead of me. Two glasses of wine down and I will be ready for anything!
Off topic...I was watching CNN last night in the hotel and there was a blurb about the pope's visit to Angola. 8 people were injured and 2 girls were killed during the Pope's visit to Luanda as a result of a stampede during an outside Mass service. It's quite sad really that a religious clergyman travelled to a very very third world nation to support their faith and help fight poverty and the people responded with a deadly stampede because they don't know any better. All they know is the need to fight to get ahead....goes to show how lucky we are to live where we do and have what we have. It breaks my heart that the western world goes in and steals their oil, their diamonds and their resources and leaves them with nothing....not even education. Sad, really sad. I could rant about this all day but I will keep my remaining comments to myself. Thanks for reading.
xxx000xxx,
Julie
March 22, 2009
March 20, 2009
The End
Hello Eric (And other random bloggers...),
Sadly my Thailand excursion has come to an end. My wonderful grandmother passed away unexpectedly this morning and I am cutting my adventure short and heading for home. As sad and shocked as I am, I know that she is happy hanging out with my brother and grandfather someplace lovely.
Nuff about that...I will recap my final week here in Koh Phangan for those of you more interested in my asian adventure than in my personal life (ie. everyone...). Week three + started with a crazy night of caprhinas and snake bites in Koh Samui with Ian and the midget cover band singer followed by a huge hang over and a lengthy boat ride (30 minutes felt like 100) to Koh Phangan. Got settled back in at Eds place and hoped for wind but were sadly disappointed because even the wind wanker couldn't kite surf. Went for a lovely scooter tour of Koh Ma and got soaked riding back in a storm. We spent the early days of the week waiting on the beach for the wind to magically appear and fulfil all the kite surfing dreams....we are still waiting. Peter and I both purchased North kites from a Belgian fellow who claims he is French (why on earth anyone would WANT to be French is beyond me.....just kidding....) I got myself a nice second hand 2007 North Vegas 12m and Peter got a brand spanking new 2008 North Rebel 16m. Neither of us has been able to fly them successfully but I am pretty sure the Wind Gods live in Canada. Ian took us on a lovely night tour of Haad Rin (home of the famous Full Moon Party) and I rode a scooter with two other drunk girls...none of whom speak much English...what a blast. Peter and Ian rode together and weighed down the bike too much. Three girls were much faster (better) than two boys...isn't that always the case? After a late night and a very tasty 7/11 chicken burger everyone was feeling under the weather and was rather glad there was no wind the next day. Ian decided that snorkeling is much better than kite boarding or diving and led the way yet again to Koh Ma for the day. Talk about visibility! The vis was 20x better on snorkeling day than it was on diving day (go figure) I even saw a manta ray! Since the everyone missed the full moon party the half moon party was a must attend event. I can honestly say I was astonished by the atmosphere of the jungle shindig and would gladly go again. Just as I was on my way to purchase my very first Sangsom bucket the police shut the party down at 2 am claiming it is the law or something. Isn't this country famous for all night/all day/all night again parties? Anyways that kind of put the pooper on the evening and I went to bed relatively sober! So...I decided that since my blood was still thick due to lack of alcohol....I should get a tattoo. And I did. A lovely bamboo tattoo on my side, which by the way is the most painful thing I have done to date....I am not looking forward to child birth. I will post pictures of my new tat and of my Phangan/Thailand adventures when I cross the pond and make it home. Thanks for reading!
Huggy, Kissy, Sucky, Licky,
Julie
Sadly my Thailand excursion has come to an end. My wonderful grandmother passed away unexpectedly this morning and I am cutting my adventure short and heading for home. As sad and shocked as I am, I know that she is happy hanging out with my brother and grandfather someplace lovely.
Nuff about that...I will recap my final week here in Koh Phangan for those of you more interested in my asian adventure than in my personal life (ie. everyone...). Week three + started with a crazy night of caprhinas and snake bites in Koh Samui with Ian and the midget cover band singer followed by a huge hang over and a lengthy boat ride (30 minutes felt like 100) to Koh Phangan. Got settled back in at Eds place and hoped for wind but were sadly disappointed because even the wind wanker couldn't kite surf. Went for a lovely scooter tour of Koh Ma and got soaked riding back in a storm. We spent the early days of the week waiting on the beach for the wind to magically appear and fulfil all the kite surfing dreams....we are still waiting. Peter and I both purchased North kites from a Belgian fellow who claims he is French (why on earth anyone would WANT to be French is beyond me.....just kidding....) I got myself a nice second hand 2007 North Vegas 12m and Peter got a brand spanking new 2008 North Rebel 16m. Neither of us has been able to fly them successfully but I am pretty sure the Wind Gods live in Canada. Ian took us on a lovely night tour of Haad Rin (home of the famous Full Moon Party) and I rode a scooter with two other drunk girls...none of whom speak much English...what a blast. Peter and Ian rode together and weighed down the bike too much. Three girls were much faster (better) than two boys...isn't that always the case? After a late night and a very tasty 7/11 chicken burger everyone was feeling under the weather and was rather glad there was no wind the next day. Ian decided that snorkeling is much better than kite boarding or diving and led the way yet again to Koh Ma for the day. Talk about visibility! The vis was 20x better on snorkeling day than it was on diving day (go figure) I even saw a manta ray! Since the everyone missed the full moon party the half moon party was a must attend event. I can honestly say I was astonished by the atmosphere of the jungle shindig and would gladly go again. Just as I was on my way to purchase my very first Sangsom bucket the police shut the party down at 2 am claiming it is the law or something. Isn't this country famous for all night/all day/all night again parties? Anyways that kind of put the pooper on the evening and I went to bed relatively sober! So...I decided that since my blood was still thick due to lack of alcohol....I should get a tattoo. And I did. A lovely bamboo tattoo on my side, which by the way is the most painful thing I have done to date....I am not looking forward to child birth. I will post pictures of my new tat and of my Phangan/Thailand adventures when I cross the pond and make it home. Thanks for reading!
Huggy, Kissy, Sucky, Licky,
Julie
March 15, 2009
Thailand...(Week 2+)
Hello Again Fellow Bloggers (I really should just say Hi Eric as I am pretty sure you are the only one who reads this...),
Back in Koh Phangan after a lovely second week touring the western coast of Thailand. I am happy to be back here as life is a lot more relaxed and slow paced...kind of reminds me of Angola :) Here we go...
Week 2...Flew to Phuket from Koh Samui on March 8 (happy birthday to me...). Rented a car in Phuket for 1000 TB/day (about 30$CAD) and decided to drive to Krabi province. Drove once again on the left hand side of the road...a lot more overwhelming in a car as the speeds are double that of a scooter!! Followed a shitty little gas station map and got totally lost looking for Ao Nang beach as all road signs in Thailand are written in Thai...go figure. At about 7:30 pm (its dark and I am hungry and cranky and have now been driving for 4 hours...) Bang...out of nowhere there is a hotel and as luck would have it, they have rooms, the rooms are clean and very inexpensive and Ao Nang beach is 2 minutes drive away! Booked for one night and ended up staying for a week as the hotel was less than 1/2 the cost of a hotel in Ao Nang or Railey and quite convenient. Spent the first day in Krabi checking out the shops etc. in Ao Nang and spent my entire weeks budget in less than 1/2 day (well..not quite that bad, but close!) After shopping my little heart out, decided to do something a little more adventureous the following days. Day 2 was spent kayaking through the mangrove bushes in and out of sea caves...very very interesting and also very very tiring! I have awesome pictures which I will post when I can. Day 3 was spent rock climbing in Railey beach which was spectacular followed that up with a Thai massage and a few beers :) If my muscles weren't already sore I sure killed them on Day 4 with a walk to the Tiger Cave temple...1237 stairs to the top of the mountain. I actually thought Peter was going to die on the way to the top!! The climb was well worth it as the view was so spectacular if I wasn't already out of breath from the fucking stairs it would have taken it away :) To sooth the sore muscles from the ultimate stairmaster session, we drove 25 Km east of Krabi to the 'Unseen Thailand' area in Khlong Thom where there was a hot spring waterfall and pool. Most beautiful thing I have ever seen...I am talking Banff x10 and still 100% natural! Drove back to Phuket in the early am and returned to Koh Samui. Spent the afternoon shopping in Samui (much more costly that Krabi for sure!) and then met Ian for a night of debauchery afterward. Watched a really awesome Thai cover band at the Irish pub in Samui...have a few pics/videos of that as well...pretty awesome. Then back on the boat to Koh Phangan in the am to nurse a hangover and chill out. Caught a little wind and a few storms which puts my blog up to date as of now :) Just checked the weather for Koh Phangan and it looks like wind for the rest of the week...hopefully I will get that kite out on the water and actually do some surfing!
Huggy, Kissy, Sucky, Licky,
Julie
Back in Koh Phangan after a lovely second week touring the western coast of Thailand. I am happy to be back here as life is a lot more relaxed and slow paced...kind of reminds me of Angola :) Here we go...
Week 2...Flew to Phuket from Koh Samui on March 8 (happy birthday to me...). Rented a car in Phuket for 1000 TB/day (about 30$CAD) and decided to drive to Krabi province. Drove once again on the left hand side of the road...a lot more overwhelming in a car as the speeds are double that of a scooter!! Followed a shitty little gas station map and got totally lost looking for Ao Nang beach as all road signs in Thailand are written in Thai...go figure. At about 7:30 pm (its dark and I am hungry and cranky and have now been driving for 4 hours...) Bang...out of nowhere there is a hotel and as luck would have it, they have rooms, the rooms are clean and very inexpensive and Ao Nang beach is 2 minutes drive away! Booked for one night and ended up staying for a week as the hotel was less than 1/2 the cost of a hotel in Ao Nang or Railey and quite convenient. Spent the first day in Krabi checking out the shops etc. in Ao Nang and spent my entire weeks budget in less than 1/2 day (well..not quite that bad, but close!) After shopping my little heart out, decided to do something a little more adventureous the following days. Day 2 was spent kayaking through the mangrove bushes in and out of sea caves...very very interesting and also very very tiring! I have awesome pictures which I will post when I can. Day 3 was spent rock climbing in Railey beach which was spectacular followed that up with a Thai massage and a few beers :) If my muscles weren't already sore I sure killed them on Day 4 with a walk to the Tiger Cave temple...1237 stairs to the top of the mountain. I actually thought Peter was going to die on the way to the top!! The climb was well worth it as the view was so spectacular if I wasn't already out of breath from the fucking stairs it would have taken it away :) To sooth the sore muscles from the ultimate stairmaster session, we drove 25 Km east of Krabi to the 'Unseen Thailand' area in Khlong Thom where there was a hot spring waterfall and pool. Most beautiful thing I have ever seen...I am talking Banff x10 and still 100% natural! Drove back to Phuket in the early am and returned to Koh Samui. Spent the afternoon shopping in Samui (much more costly that Krabi for sure!) and then met Ian for a night of debauchery afterward. Watched a really awesome Thai cover band at the Irish pub in Samui...have a few pics/videos of that as well...pretty awesome. Then back on the boat to Koh Phangan in the am to nurse a hangover and chill out. Caught a little wind and a few storms which puts my blog up to date as of now :) Just checked the weather for Koh Phangan and it looks like wind for the rest of the week...hopefully I will get that kite out on the water and actually do some surfing!
Huggy, Kissy, Sucky, Licky,
Julie
March 12, 2009
Thailand...(Week One)
Hello Fellow Bloggers,
I have neglected this blog since I started it back in December and can't believe I am making my first 'real' post on the 13 of March...sorry 'bout that! I still have plans to enter some of the funny thangs from my paper journal but for that you will have to wait yet again. Enough about that and on to the fun stuff...
I am beginning week #3 here in Asia's tropical paradise and I don't think I want to go home!! It hasn't been easy but it has sure been fun. I will give the summary and try to keep it short and simple as I know that nobody likes to read my rambles....
Week #1: After 28 days of stress and worry I finally got to leave Angola and I don't think I have ever been happier to see something get smaller from an airplane window! I was finally on my way to Thailand. Despite a few minor set backs (the lack of funds in Johannesburg...will explain that one later on) and the fact that I was too tired to enjoy some drinks etc. with Bryan as originally planned, the trip went well. I enjoyed some fabulous sushi in the Singapore airport as well as some tasty drinks on the plane and arrived in Bangkok healthy, happy and ready for adventure. I spent one uneventful night in Bangkok and then headed to Koh Samui in the early am to begin the vacation of a lifetime. I followed Ricketts' directions/instructions to the letter and made it to Koh Phangan in one piece with little incident (thanks so much for that Ian btw!). Ian's lovely little lady Lek (almost sounds like a tongue twister) was at the pier in Haad Rin to meet and greet and lead the way to Ed's humble island abode. Rented a scooter and drove on the wrong side of the road (talk about confusing...right hand turns will be the ultimate death of me I swear) and got nice and settled at Ed's place (thank you very much for that as well Ed/Ian). All that and I am only on day 2...I should really hurry this along. Started Kite surfing lessons on Day three and found out that something that is only 9m long and made of nylon can lift me 3 feet out of the water and carry me 15 feet along...I almost shit my pants when that happened. The rest of week one was relatively tame...watched some Muay Thai fights, went for a couple of SCUBA dives in Sail Rock and Haad Yao...vis was shitty so that kind of killed the excitement. There was only one dramatic incident involving a lizzard the size of my fucking arm....(he was living behind the towel in Ed's shower)...the neighbours thought someone was trying to kill me (I actually thought the lizzard WAS trying to kill me). I haven't seen that thing since and I am always very nervous when opening the bathroom door etc. I have to board my plane in about 3 minutes to return to the island of lovely so it looks as though this will be all for now. Thanks for reading...I will be back soon!
Huggy, Kissy, Sucky, Licky,...
Jules
I have neglected this blog since I started it back in December and can't believe I am making my first 'real' post on the 13 of March...sorry 'bout that! I still have plans to enter some of the funny thangs from my paper journal but for that you will have to wait yet again. Enough about that and on to the fun stuff...
I am beginning week #3 here in Asia's tropical paradise and I don't think I want to go home!! It hasn't been easy but it has sure been fun. I will give the summary and try to keep it short and simple as I know that nobody likes to read my rambles....
Week #1: After 28 days of stress and worry I finally got to leave Angola and I don't think I have ever been happier to see something get smaller from an airplane window! I was finally on my way to Thailand. Despite a few minor set backs (the lack of funds in Johannesburg...will explain that one later on) and the fact that I was too tired to enjoy some drinks etc. with Bryan as originally planned, the trip went well. I enjoyed some fabulous sushi in the Singapore airport as well as some tasty drinks on the plane and arrived in Bangkok healthy, happy and ready for adventure. I spent one uneventful night in Bangkok and then headed to Koh Samui in the early am to begin the vacation of a lifetime. I followed Ricketts' directions/instructions to the letter and made it to Koh Phangan in one piece with little incident (thanks so much for that Ian btw!). Ian's lovely little lady Lek (almost sounds like a tongue twister) was at the pier in Haad Rin to meet and greet and lead the way to Ed's humble island abode. Rented a scooter and drove on the wrong side of the road (talk about confusing...right hand turns will be the ultimate death of me I swear) and got nice and settled at Ed's place (thank you very much for that as well Ed/Ian). All that and I am only on day 2...I should really hurry this along. Started Kite surfing lessons on Day three and found out that something that is only 9m long and made of nylon can lift me 3 feet out of the water and carry me 15 feet along...I almost shit my pants when that happened. The rest of week one was relatively tame...watched some Muay Thai fights, went for a couple of SCUBA dives in Sail Rock and Haad Yao...vis was shitty so that kind of killed the excitement. There was only one dramatic incident involving a lizzard the size of my fucking arm....(he was living behind the towel in Ed's shower)...the neighbours thought someone was trying to kill me (I actually thought the lizzard WAS trying to kill me). I haven't seen that thing since and I am always very nervous when opening the bathroom door etc. I have to board my plane in about 3 minutes to return to the island of lovely so it looks as though this will be all for now. Thanks for reading...I will be back soon!
Huggy, Kissy, Sucky, Licky,...
Jules
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