First things first...CONGRATULATIONS Babe I and Babe II (Vania & Nate). I hope it was a most excellent day! I can't wait for "our" honeymoon in Chiang Mai!
I guess it's about time I told you where I've been. When I lasted posted I had landed in PAR-A-DISE! It was excellent! Beyond excellent. The water was extraordinary, the food was Thai (enough said), the weather was perfect, my bungalow was amazing and I made some great friends. I was in heaven, I'm not sure I can make this point strongly enough. When I was on Langkawi I had taken Malaysian Ringet out of the ATM thinking I was going to stay there for awhile, we all know that didn't happen. Just before I boarded the speed boat to Koh Lipe I exchanged all my Ringet for Baht (Thai money). So, I'm on Koh Lipe, wallowing in the glory of this spectacular island when it dawns on me that I only have a certain amount of Thai Baht, I don't want to use the few emergency dollars I brought and there are no ATMs on the island...my days are numbered. I did some high finance (don't worry Synda, not as complex as the Peso) and figured I had about five nights of money including a ticket out of paradise before I was kicked off the island, Survivor style. My new BFFs, originally posted as "the Germans", Daniel, Eva and Riccardo were on the island three nights. They were great fun! We would hang at sunrise beach all day and in the evenings meet at this delicious restaurant for dinner before heading over to sunset beach to lay in the sand on mats with pillows, candlelight, cocktails and great music. One day on the beach they pulled out a score card, dice and a cup and were ready to teach me how to play this German game called Kniffel. Well folks Kniffel is Yahtzee! I don't know why, but let me tell you it's just more fun screaming KNIFFEL! It's probably a good thing that I couldn't get more money because I would have probably stayed forever! I bought a ticket for the five and a half hour ferry to Koh Lanta in hopes that it would have even half the paradise factor of Koh Lipe, sorry no. It was an ok place, the locals were really nice and I met another traveler Sofia who I had dinner with one night but the beach didn't even remotely compare. I'll give credit where it's due, it had beautiful sunsets. I checked into a little bungalow just a couple minutes walk off the beach. The first night I totally crashed, slept through the whole night like a baby, but in the morning noticed a long piece of toilet paper on the ground in my indoor/outdoor bathroom (key part of the story, indoor/outdoor). I thought I must have accidentally dropped it so I put it in the trash and didn't give it a second thought. I went to reception and booked for two more nights thinking I would just chill a couple days before heading to what I feared was a very commercial Krabi. Well, I went to bed the second night and around 3:00 am I heard scratching and digging...animal sounds! They were coming from my bathroom! I suddenly realized that I didn't "accidentally" drop the toilet paper, this animal must have pulled it out of my bathroom trash can. I couldn't sleep! I pushed my suitcase and the bedroom trash can up against the bathroom door to cover the two inch gap between me and the creature and told myself I was going to have to hold it till morning. I banged on the wall and door to try and scare it away but it kept coming back. I had the added pleasure while I was awake of hearing some crazy French guy moaning and screaming. Finally at 6:00 am when the sun started to come up it seemed to finally go away (nocturnal I suppose) and I went to sleep. When I woke up I found that it had taken my empty water bottle out of the trash and moved my small bar of soap off the four foot high sink to a hole in the ground it had dug over in the "garden portion" of my indoor/outdoor bathroom. I talked to "A" (yes that's his name, he works at the hotel) during breakfast and told him there was an animal in my bathroom room at night and asked him if he knew what it was. He said a name but I had no idea what he was talking about. I asked if it was more like a rat or more like a lizard...he said more like a lizard but it isn't dangerous. I had conjured up all kinds of crazy images in my head of what this lizard thing might look like, yikes. I also asked him about the screaming. He told me it's some French guy who's been there awhile who gets drunk and does that sometimes. That night before I went to dinner with Sofia I used the plunger to fill the hole that the monster had dug, put some small rocks all around it and topped it off with the plunger. I returned from dinner and there was a new hole! I called Vania to wish her a happy wedding day (midnight for me) and then hit the sack, praying that Godzilla had visited me early that night and had moved onto someone else's bathroom...no such luck. That night was even worse. This time in addition to the usual sounds there was another something on the roof of my bungalow clawing and scratching! I pounded on the walls hoping to send it away, which worked for awhile, but then it was back. I went crazy, slamming the front door, banging on the walls and bathroom door and screaming. I guess I was just crazy enough because that time it left for good and I didn't hear anymore activity in the bathroom either. Maybe that's why the Frenchman screams, no? So with little sleep for two nights I got up in the morning and headed to the ferry for the two hour ride up the coast to Ao Nang (Krabi). The view from the ferry was gorgeous; beautiful limestone karsts jutting up out of the sea, stunning. When I arrived I checked into a little basic bungalow that I had "A" book for me before I left Koh Lanta and called my new BFFs "the Germans" to let them know I was in town. They were going elephant trekking that morning so we made a date to meet at the Starbucks (yes, that's how commercial it is) that afternoon. It was great to see them. We headed up to their hotel, a little outside of town in the jungle and spent the day at the pool. The next morning I moved to another hotel closer to town with air-conditioning, wow, luxury! After that we were off to Poda Island for the day. It actually had really pretty water but was loaded with boats filled with people from snorkeling tours. The good news is that by 1:00 the crowds and small jellyfish had dissipated and it was really nice. When we got back to Ao Nang we all wanted a coffee and snack before heading back to the pool. There's a hotel when you come up off the beach that Eva and Riccardo like to sneak into and take a quick dip to wash off the salt. The three of us were going to sneak in while Daniel went to exchange money. We were walking along the edge of the pool when all of a sudden Eva slips and falls and is clutching her hand. We scoop up Eva, pile into the hotel van and head to the clinic where with a mix of German (Daniel and Eva) and English (Me, the Dr. and Daniel) we were able to assess the situation and get her diagnosis...it's broken. I've never seen such a good sport (maybe Lime in Mexico with his toe). The Dr. put a brace on it and said she could either go to Phuket or Bangkok to the private hospital or just keep it in the brace till she gets home in five days, that's what she did. When we left the clinic she still wanted to get coffee, came to dinner that night and did everything else as if nothing had happened and all with a big smile on her face, amazing. The next day we took a boat over to Railay Beach for the day but the water was warm/murky and there were too many people so we stayed for a few hours and then went back to the pool for the afternoon. After four nights I had to GTS (get to steppin) because my Thai visa expired on March 6th (you only get two weeks when you enter overland without a pre-approved visa). I booked an overnight bus ticket for March 4th from Krabi to Bangkok. I arrived March 5th on the Khao San Road at 6:00 am (people were still drinking) and I checked into a hotel for the day so I could dump my luggage, shower and swim in the pool before I got on another overnight bus that evening heading to Nong Khai and across the border to Vientiane Laos. That's where I am now... I love it here! It's really small and quiet, it's Asian/colonial, it has tons of temples and I love my hotel (shout out to Hotel Khamvongsa)! Yesterday I just relaxed and walked around the city getting the lay of the land. I was a little tired after two overnight buses (shockingly not that comfortable). Today I've been to Vat Sisaket, Vat Ho Phra Keo, That Dam and had a delicious baguette stuffed with fired egg and veggies from one of the street vendors (thanks to the French for the delicious pastries and baguettes). I must say the coffee here is delicious and the Beerlao is cold and really cheap. It works perfectly, one to get me up in the morning and a few to put me to sleep at night, excellent! I'm headed to Stupa That Luang in a little while for sunset. I'm here for a few days before heading to Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang. So picture me in Laos zenned out at temples and zoned out on Beerlao. Till next time. Peace out...Jan
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