Speedboat to Phi Phi

 Overall, Phuket was a relaxing and enjoyable place to set roots in for a few weeks. There are so many islands and beautiful beaches to explore. While we were there we saw Koh Lanta, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and the Phi Phi Islands. When Lily was visiting we took a speedboat tour to Phi Phi Island, and it turned out to be a huge mistake. If you go to Phi Phi, take the ferry and plan to stay a while. The photo above was taken right before many of our boat mates became very, very sea sick. We spent the entire hour sitting next to people with their heads in "happy bags."

The trip was worth it in the sense that we got to see a handful of islands in a day, but they only stopped at the harbor for lunch on Phi Phi, which is where we wanted to explore the most. Once we got seats in the bow of the boat the trip was much more enjoyable. We should have taken our friends advice and done the pirate ship cruise, but every experience is an opportunity to learn. At the end of the day its about the company you have and the memories you made.

Well hello again

Well, to say we have been negligent about our blog would be an understatement. However, we have truly been living in the moment. Which is what it is all about right? Our dear friend came to visit us from the States for three short weeks and we did our best to show her the best time possible. Often starting early in the morning and going till late at night (some nights very late, enjoying the unique cultural experience of nightlife destinations such as Pub Street in Siem Reap and Bangalore road in Phuket). For example, on our friend's last 24 hours. We woke up at 4 AM and watched the sunrise over Angkor Wat, then proceeded to do a tour of the beautiful and majestic temples. We took a brief reprieve from the crazy Cambodian heat in the comfort of our AC room and were off again on a tuk tuk to the other side of Siem Reap to climb up a massive hill to some temple ruins to watch the Sunset. After, we hit Pub Street to try a few tasty delicacies such as scorpions and crickets on a stick. We had fish suck the dead skin off our weary feet and danced the night away to two very talented Cambodian singers that did awesome covers of 80's rock bad music. As you can see, with these jam packed days, little time was left to allocate to blogging and the like. We are now currently regrouping and getting used to being just the two of us yet again on the open road.

Feeling Crabby in Krabi

In actuality Krabi was great. However, after dealing with the crazy and expensive transportation of Thailand, one can feel a bit crabby. A word to the wise, when looking at a map of Thailand, make sure you really estimate how much transportation will cost you. Staying in the more touristy areas, can save you a lot as you can join Minibuses and other mass transit to defray costs. Tuk Tuks, private taxis and even the ferries can be quite expensive. However, as usual we opted to take the road less traveled as we found an Airbnb that looked very unique in the jungle. We figured since it was listed as being in Krabi, then it would all be relatively close. Well, let's just say we were wrong...Again.

We took a Ferry from Phuket to OA Nang beach and spent the day in the beautiful shallow beach right near the pier. From there we decided to venture to our Homestay and after asking several people how to get to this town (which few knew of without us showing them a map) we took a Tuk Tuk for $20 (US) to Krabi town. In Krabi we were put onto an incredibly crowded bus with standing room only. There was no AC and we had to stand wedged in between people for over an hour attempting to avoid causing a domino effect by falling over either due to the erratic swaying of the bus or heat exhaustion. No one spoke English and it was obviously geared towards locals, but it cost us only $5 each (US), but it was incredibly uncomfortable. From there we were told to get off the bus in a town in the middle of no where. Again, no one spoke English, and none of the cafes had WIFI so we could not connect with our homestay we found on Airbnb. We ended up getting help from a local Thai lady running an internet arcade that was packed full of young Thai boys planning World of War Craft and who knows what. It was a comical sight, despite the fact we were sweating, lost and wondering around a town in the middle of nowhere. What did we get ourselves into this time?

OA Nang Beach

                                                                       Where are we?

                                                  Beautiful sights we found along the way


  

You can't always get what you want

Well, it's been almost our first month on the road. What a crazy few weeks it has been. We visited four countries, had four different currencies/exchange rates, three different languages (thankfully they spoke English in Singapore), took six flights, and countless taxis, ferries and tuk tuks. Why you may ask yourself, why would two girls who have a whole year to travel the world, be running through countries like TP when you have a cold (which we both did recently and used an absurd amount). Well to be honest we don't rightly know... When traveling you are continually looking at the current situation while attempting to be pragmatic about the future. As silly as it sounds, whether it be the fast paced lifestyle of the Western world still running though our veins telling us to move on or a serious case of FOMO (fear of missing out). We have just been trying to see it all. While of course still attempting to be mindful of budgets, burn out and legalities such as Visas. We now have to admit above all else, we really just can't do it all. 

However, in the great words of the Rolling Stones, while you can't always get what you want, some times you do get what you need. While this month was absolutely crazy with so many "mistakes" made. We learned some great lessons, that we will take with us moving into the next chapters of our adventures. Through the ups and downs of the travel blitz month, we met so many wonderful people, saw amazing sights and even got a few great cocktail stories to add to the books. Phew, hello 2017 you certainly started with a bang.

 

Walking & Waterfalls

After a long day inside researching, planning, and booking tickets, we decided today was the perfect day to venture to Kathu Waterfall two miles from our apartment in Phuket. Our apartment provides a scooter, but we're hesitant to take it for a spin so we opted to walk to the trail head instead. The hike was short, sweet, humid, and lush. We wore our bathing suits but the pools aren't great for swimming.

We're so glad we walked because stumbled on a gym/spa called Herb Sauna where we got $10 massages with jasmine oil. The setting was beautiful with open air massage rooms where you could get a rub down while listening to calm music and birds chirping.

Navigating SE Asia

Getting around SE Asia is a lot harder than we ever thought. Call it blind optimism or stupidity but we truly thought we could hop around SE Asia like you could Europe. Well, my friends while it is moderately affordable to get around, getting from point A to B is a logistical nightmare. But half the fun I suppose (if you have time to spare). For example, we wanted to see Singapore but due to tight funds, we knew we couldn't afford it. So we intentionally took a 20 hour layover and got to do a free tour of the city! Boom, another stamp in the old passport!

Conversely, traveling SE Asia also means at times you are stuck pondering whether to stay in the outskirts of a town for cheaper or to spend more to stay centrally located. How much is transportation? Is it safe to walk around? Which beach on Phuket is the best to stay by? Every time we decide to move from one location to the next, we open Pandora's box of travel reviews, hotel booking sites and more. It can be daunting, however, if you take some time to do research before you book, it can really save you time and money.

One app we love is Rome2Rio, just about anywhere in the world you want to go, plug in your location and where you want to go and it will tell you how long, how much and the various paths you can take. Yes, it is amazing! It has saved us from numerous folly's and made us realize time and time again, that just popping from one place to the next, is a little more cumbersome than we expected.

Our twenty hour layover was worth it, Singapore was incredible:

S̄wạs̄dī (hello) from Thailand

We made it! After twenty hours in transit we finally have made it to Phuket. For the next twenty-four days we have rented an adorable Airbnb in the town of Kathu. It is a little town tucked out of the hustle and bustle of party towns like Patong. The condo has the most amazing views from our bedroom and we even get a free scooter to get around town on. After being on the move for the last month or so it feels amazing to have unpacked our backpacks for awhile and enjoy a little peace and quite. There is a night market next to our place that opens up every night with a panoply of fresh fruit and vegetables (see photo of our breakfast below...yum) not to mention numerous food carts boasting cheap Thai dishes and shall we say "unique" foods. Next on our agenda is to learn how to ask if dishes are vegetarian and then get to eatin! Yes, this is a little slice of heaven. Home base, how we have missed you!