Our Recent Adventures

After we left Koh Tao for the second time... we went to Railay Beach! We spent our day at Railay relaxing and people watching on the beach. It's amazing how much more crowded everything is in the high season. Sis and I decided to spend our last week together in Rawaii, Phuket. We were well done with all the waiting around and sitting on buses and boats. We have been fairly mellow lately just enjoying all the beauty of this little town. A few days ago we discovered this amazing beach that is nice and secluded. We went down this dirt path that is tucked away in banana trees palm trees and lots of other tropical plants. When our little motorbike couldn't go any further we parked it and hiked the rest of the way down to the beach. At the end of the hot hike we were rewarded with crystal clear water and very few people to share it with. I floated on my back in the water for a very long time. It was as peaceful as peace can be. The birds were singing the palm trees swaying and the ocean inviting. After sis leaves on the 2nd I plan to couch surf for the next month in Thailand and then get on a bus and begin my journey in Malaysia! Wahooooo! New Years party tonight.... Sis and I are going to dance like crazy!

Back in Koh Tao..

After a full day of boat and bus rides yesturday, sis and I were about to continue our journey to Bangkok when she realized she left her passport, drivers license and credit card in our hotel in Koh Tao... So we turned around. Spent the whole day today, starved on a boat and sea sick. But now we have food and our insides are no longer being sloshed around by the ocean lul'. Plans for Bangkok have thankfully been cancelled and Island hopping has continued. I went for a few dives a couple days ago, got sea sick, and the visibility wasn't great. That's ok, still having fun. I'm going to go search for a burrito. I posted some more pictures.

Two sisters on the loose in Thailand

Thailand is HOT! Not only are the massages cheap and amazing, they also come with a happy ending... our last massage therapist massaged our voluptuous breasts thoroughly, told us we were sexy and flashed us her saggy titties, as a possible invitation? Later on a HOT night out on the town a monkey jumped right into Arielle's arms... Sam screamed and backed away with true fright and worry. We spent the night swing dancing and fending off the cute boys... sometimes, some were too cute to resist. ha ha. Arielle was extra HOT dancing on stage with Thai girls and a few "Lady Boys" (They're everywhere!) In order to keep lookin' HOT we have to do some shopping which involves a lot of haggling over 50 cents. Arielle wouldn't be caught dead paying even 25 cents too much, she's a champion bargainer. I guess that's what 3 mos. in SE Asia will do to you. Every penny counts. Literally. Even when we don't want to shop we are constantly bombarded with the sound of "Saa-wa-dee-Kaaaaaaa, and massaaaaaaaage, you buy something, very good price for you." The pleading twang of solicitation rings in our ears. The HOTest place Sam and Arielle have been together is Koh Tao! There are HOT people everywhere, beach bungalows, bars on the beach, real western food, crystal clear water, familiar music such as Jack Johnson and Bob Marley, tons of snorkel and dive shops, Kayaks, and people from all over the world! This scene is happenin'! "Arielle and Sam have found a little slice of heaven. However, even in heaven these two are not immune to a heated bicker session, but as we all know one HOT fight can lead to to one great laughing session. We find that although traveling is not all fun and games, making it through each new challenge makes our relationship stronger and our laughter louder. OUr most recent taste of heaven on Koh Tao was our all day snorkel trip. As soon as we splashed into open water and looked below us... We spotted a five foot shark. We both screamed and pointed with wide eyes! "Arielle thought sis would be freaked, but Sam was as calm as a cucumber and brimming with excitement!" The snorkel trip was so HOT! that we are inspired to go one step closer to the beautiful reef and it's creatures. DIVING! Yippideedooo!!!

Ko Samui with Sis

Sis and I spent our last few days in Phuket doing some more runs, hiking out to the cape, snorkelling a bit, and racing around on the little motor bike that she claims as one of her favorite parts of the trip so far. ha ha. and of course lying on the beaches soaking up the sun. Then we got on a bus to Ko Samui and got here 2 nights ago. We've been hanging out with some english bloaks, they are pretty funny. Last night we went out and had a hillarious fun night out on the town. Lots of dancing and laughing. Oh and on the bus sis kept making me laugh til' I cried and all the Thai people would just look back at me concerned that I may not be able to breath. We have some good laughs together. After Ko Samui I think we're going to go a little farther north to Ko Tao and hopefully do some diving together... maybe sis will just be up for snorkelling, but we will see. I'm loving the life on the road... Sis is realizing she appriciates the U.S. she can't get over how disgusting the bathrooms are. Oh sis. I posted some pics of our fun, enjoy!

More Pictures!!

Sis and I have been having a wonderful time together... not much time to write now, but we will tell more about our adventures later. Sis and I screaming about big spiders, lots of sunshine, sis changing out fits 5 times a day a haha, laughing, swimming, more screaming on a motorbike, running, and more fun than you could ever imagine pretty much sums it up.. I love having her here. It is so nice to share my excitement of Thailand with someone from home. Enjoy the pictures, there will be lots more. Thanks mom for sending me that camera it's awesome!

Pictures

Hey everyone, I have to apologize for such terrible photos, the camera that I'm using doesn't really work anymore, I'm lucky if I'm just able to take a photo let alone zoom in or focus. I only have pictures of Angkor Wat because by the time I made it to Angkor Thom the camera had completely died. Luckily my sister comes in 2 days and she has a new camera for me... so I will start taking a lot more pictures of better quality.

Back in BANGKOK

I am back in Beautiful Thailand and it feels good... The last time I wrote was all the way in Northern Vietnam! Wow! So from Ha Noi, I made my way down south, I haven't been writting much about it because most of Vietnam was raining cats and dogs and flooding. I was cooped up inside quite a bit. I saw some of the beaches in Vietnam, they were really dirty and the water was cold and brown it really made me appriciate southern Thailand. Even though Vietnam had bad weather, there was something about it that I really liked... I know I'll be back some day. So for the past few weeks I've been doing a lot of sight seeing. In Ho Chi Minh, I went to a war museum that pretty much makes anyone who sees it hate americans. It was interesting for me to see. I feel like I've learned so much about all this stuff, but until you put me in a museum in Vietnam where it actually happened I have a hard time engaging myself. I also went to the Couchi Tunnels where the Viet Cong army would hide to attack the americans. It was very eye opening, I made an attempt to crawl in the tunnels that they actually used but I got really scared. I felt like I couldn't breath and I was about to pass out. So I turned right around and escaped. The tunnels smelled like death. After that I crossed the border into Cambodia, and of course went and saw the famous ruins of Angkor wat and Angkor Thom. My friend Pat and I rented bikes and went around to see the temples that way.. it was nice, I felt like a local because that's how they all get around. After seeing Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom I was completely templed out. They were very beautiful, but I was almost more entertained by all the tourist watching, they just crack me up. I spent the next day wondering around Siem Reap, buying some christmas presents for my little sister. I love her, I want to see her and give her big hugs and kisses. I'm having so much fun here, and I can't wait until my sis gets here we are going to have a blast! Yayaaaa.... I love my life.

Sa Pa and my last night in Ha Noi

My time spent in Sa Pa was awesome! We were lucky enough to have blue sky for the entire trek. The trek was only two days and one night, we stayed in a village for the one night. It was quite an experience... The family that we stayed with was welcoming. After a long day of hiking through the rice patties we made it to the village. We got to make dinner with the family and then join them to eat. The family had 4 generations all living in the same house! As soon as we sat down to eat our elaborate meal, our guide started giving everyone at the table including the great grandma shots of rice wine. He kept pouring shot after shot and ofcourse you can't say no. By the end of the dinner all of us had about 10 shots of rice wine. I made it through the night ok. I ate so much food that it absorbed all the alcohol. It felt really good to connect with the vietnamese people with out having any scams or money involved. The next day we woke up to roosters crowing and delicous banana pancakes! After we got back from the trek we took a night train back to Ha Noi. Our last night in Ha Noi before going to Ninh Binh the group that I was with decided to really blend in with the locals and go to a restaraunt that only serves snake. When we sat down to order, they brought the live snake to the table and killed it right in front of us. The slit open the heart as the snake was still moving. The drained the blood into shot glasses with rice wine for us (not me) to drink. Then they put the heart in a cup as it was beating still. My friends drank the blood and one of them ate the heart. eeewww. They quikley grilled the snake and served us. I felt so sick. It's the same feeling I get when I'm walking through a meet market and I see bloody dog heads on a table and the body of the dog gutted ready to be sold for dinner.

Sa Pa

Halong Bay (Vietnam)

Halong Bay was amazing, the first night we stayed on a boat. It was epic, we all went on the top of the boat, some people played guitar and we all sang together. Laying out underneath the stars, surrounded by mountains and cliffs on a beautiful bay, what more could you ask for. The next day we woke up bright and early to go exploring in kayaks, and hiking in caves. Besides the fact that there were so many tourists, it was really nice. I posted some pictures of Halong Bay and the people that I went with, they are very fun. I'm back in Ha Noi, and I am going to spend a few nights here at the backpackers hostel and then go trekking in Sapa which is farther north in Vietnam then Ha Noi. It's supposed to be nice.

Ha Noi!!

I just arrived in Ha Noi on a night train at 3 am, and I love this place... It's beautiful and there are so many nice people flocking everywhere. I am staying at a backpackers hostel, and it is quite the scene. I am going to have no problem meeting other people that are doing the same route as me. I already met this group of english guys who are starting in Northern Vietnam and heading south and then crossing the border into Cambodia and then into Thailand which is exactly what I am doing. There are oppurtunities everywhere, people to meet and amazing places to see. I am overwhelmed with things to do here. I think I am going to spend some time in Ha Noi and enjoy the city scene for a few days and then I will go to Halong bay to do some kayaking and rock climbing. I am so excited right now. It seems like everytime I get a little down a new leaf turns over. Life is great! Oh and I posted some pictures of 4000 islands and some other old ones because this computer is really fast.

4000 Islands, and crossing the border to Vietnam

I have had a lot of interesting experiences on my way to different destinations. I some how keep ending up the only tourist and the only person speaking english every where I go. When I was going to 4000 Islands, I found myself on a Tuk Tuk crammed full with locals that couldn't stop starrig at me and my stuff. During the duration of the ride, (about 3 hours) people were getting on and off. One guy that got on was openly holding an ak47, which was quite shocking. I also saw lots of weird food like live crickets in a bag and roasted on a stick. Everytime we stopped locals would rush up to the tuk tuk and try to sell us whole chickens roasted and smashed on a stick. So far on my trip I haven't really mingled with the locals all that much... I've always known how different our lifestyles are, but never to this extent. It really opened my eyes to how much stuff I have, when I got out my zune to listen to some music, all of their eyes widened as if they had seen a pile of gold sitting right in front of them. I feel ridiculous saying that I just realized this now, but I am so fortunate! It's always been clear to me that I have it good, but lets just say that traveling has changed my out look on things a lot. While I was at 4000 Islands, I went a little nutso from too much of nothing. My travel buddy at the time was extremely mellow/boring I couldn't take it. The Island consisted of dirt paths and a few restaurants, there was no body to talk to, and everytime I came back to my geust house to see what my friend was up to the book would be over her face and she would be passed out in the hammock once again. I talked to some of the locals who could speak english, and I was blown away at their reality. Some of them have never even left this tiny little island. I don't think that boredom is a concept for them, because they all just sit around all day, occasionally going out on a little boat to check their fishing net or taking their bamboo fishing poles out for an afternoon. These people I'm telling you, they are so content with such simple lives. I need so much stimulation compared to them. In the evenings we would sit around candle light and play cards. We shared a few happy shakes which helped with the boredom factor. ha ha. After 2 nights, I had to get out of there. I left in the morning to go back to Pakse where I would catch a bus to Vietnam. I didn't realize that not a single tourist goes to Vietnam from Pakse. Crossing the border was absolute hell. I geuss it could have been a lot worse, but it was pretty miserable. The journey to vietnam started 2 nights ago and I am just now in Vietnam. And once again, I am the only white person in the whole town besides this 55 year old guy from Holland. He's nice but I felt so weird hanging out with an old man. I hadn't talked to anybody in like 30 hours and I was so happy to find somebody that I could communicate with. So I get on the bus, thinking this isn't going to be that bad.... until they start cramming refrigerators, fans, fruit, and lot of other stuff in between seats. Then the people started getting on, by the time everyone was on my knees were in my chin and we were off. 12 hours crammed in between a bunch of people speaking all kinds of weird languages. Everytime I tried to ask a question they would all mock me and laugh. Not a single person could even come close to having a conversation with me. We finally made it to the border and I managed to get a little sleep in, it was about 1 am at this point. So they pull the bus over and I think oh good we're going to get this border crossing over with... oh no they tell us that we have to sleep on the bus until the border opens at 7! I curled up in my seat with all these peoples legs and arms laying over me. Luckily the time passed farely quickly. When I woke up everybody was in my face about visas, passports and money that I had to pay them. They couldn't understand me and I couldn't understand them. It just turned into one big frustration, I realized later that they were trying to scam me. Take my passport and get it stamped for me so that I would have to pay them a lot of money for doing it for me. Ok it's a really long story basically it was really stressful and I had to make my way with out anyone to answer any questions. But hey, I am such a stronger person after that. I'm really bummed out about how disrespectful the vietnamese men are towards me, right in front of my face they will make gestures at my breasts and take pictures of me. Anyways, I should probably end my story here so that I don't begin to bore anyone. I also kind of want to get off the computer because there is this kid next to me looking up some pretty ranchy porn and it's quite awkward. Sorry grandmas I'm not trying to offend anyone here. ahaha.

leaving for 4,000 Islands tommorow

I left Vang Vieng yesturday to visit Vientiane and there is absolutely nothing to do here. Vang Vieng was awesome, the tubing especially, it was one of my top 10 of the most fun things I've done since I left home. It was the greatest party of a life time. So now, after being in Vang Vieng I am very much so dissapointed withVientaine. I don't think that I'd be able to do much anyways right now because I was up with a high fever last night and a really sore throat. I kept blacking out every time I got up. I was miserable last night, and my bed has bed bugs, but that's ok, it's all part of traveling. So I went to the hospital this morning and the doctor said I have strepp throat. He gave me some antibiotics, so I should be up and running in a few days. I'm not sure if you've already noticed, but I posted some pictures of tubing. that zip line that I have a picture of me doing is the least scary ride on the whole river. I'm getting the chills now, this fever just won't go away. I need to get out of this air conditioned internet cafe. Peace.

In Laos..

I'm in Laos right now, and so far it's beautiful, but I miss the beaches of Thailand already. Oh yeah, the trekking in Chiang Mai was pretty sweet, it was up hill for like 2 hrs. and all my trekking buddies were huffing and puffing up the hill. I'm so used to hikes with Charlie and going slow is not an option, so I made it to the village about an hour before the rest of the group. The white water rafting was fun too, but once again it could have been a little more exciting. Over all, I enjoyed the company of the people, and it was quite the experience, the jungles are really lush right now. I got to Laos on a slow boat, and it was great for meeting people, it ended up being about 20 hrs of sitting on wood seats on the Mekong river. I'm not sure where I'm going to go next, but I know that tubing is on my agenda, because that is what Laos is known for.

I Posted some pictures!!!

I haven't been very good about taking pictures, but I posted the few that I had. Chris is a much better photographer and he was taking most of the pictures, but he lost his camera. So now we don't have any pictures of our scuba diving adventures and everything else. Sorry gmas and gpas moms and dads. Don't worry, I'm going to take lots of pictures of Trekking. I am done with Bangkok for now, and ready to move on to Chaing Mai. This city is just too much for me.

Island Hopping...

For the past 2 weeks, I've been going from island to island and having an absolute blast. I started at Koh Samui, it was a nice little island not much to see. Then, I went to Koh Phan-nagn, there were lots of people ready to have a wild time at the beach. After one night of partying, I was ready to leave for the peaceful island of Koh Tao. This Island was beautiful, and I learned how to Scuba dive. I am so into diving now, It was very magical. I'm in Bangkok now, and tommorow I leave for Chaing Mai where I plan to trek, ride an elephant, go on a bamboo raft, and do some white water rafting. I am really excited, and still as happy as ever to be here.

Railay Beach and More..

Railay beach was fun... Lots of fun people to hang out with, as always beautiful beaches, and adventures to be had. While I was there I met a really great travel buddy. His name is Chris and he's from Canada. We met playing volley ball and it turned out he was traveling alone too. We had a lot of fun together at Railay. Lots of beach volley ball, kayaking around rock formations in the ocean, hiking, and of course we went deep water soloing! It was so fun, I didn't realize how much of an adrenaline rush I was going to get from climbing with out a rope and then jumping from high heights. I am finally getting settled into this life style, it's the greatest feeling in the world. I love traveling, I never want my trip to end. I hope all is well back home.

The days spent in Ko Phi Phi

I was going to Railay Beach, but I had a lay over in Ko Phi Phi, and I decided to stay a few extra nights. I met this really cool girl, named Maria, she is from Argentina and she wanted a friend to hang with in Ko Phi Phi. The first day, we just stayed on Phi Phi Island and enjoyed our time there. The next day, we went on a Tour to all the islands around Ko Phi Phi, we were on this little longtail boat that made me completely sick. The tour was seven hours, and snorkeling was included. By the time we got to the spot to snorkel I was about to puke on the boat, and then they let me off first and when I was snorkeling I couldn't hold it any longer and I puked all over, all the fish surrounded me and started eating my lunch from a few hours ago. They even tried to nibble on me a little. So the plus was that I got to see a lot of fish. Everybody snorkeling around me was wondering why they were seeing so many fish. I have not yet gone on a rock climbing adventure, but I hope to tommorow, when I go to Railay Beach, I am starting to get used to the life of a traveler and I have to say, it is quite nice. I'm really glad to have left Phuket, because that was not enough of an adventure for me. Ko Phi Phi was amazing I couldn't even believe that I was there. The whole time Maria and I kept saying I can't believe we're here this is too good to be true.

I leave for rock climbing mecca on Friday!!!

Hey everybody, I just got my ticket to go to Krabi, I can't wait... I am going to rock climb like crazy and hopefully meet some cool travel buddies. Everyone that I have met here in Phuket says that there are a lot of you travelers to be met in Krabi.
On monday, I went to the school that I was talking about, I volunteered for about 2 hours, and I was thoroughly tired by the end. There were 30 kids and none of them spoke english! I sang songs with them and taught them how to write their names in english. I felt good about helping them. They were so appriciative and fascinated by me, it was really cute.
Unfortunatly I woke up this morning with a raging head ache and a bad stomach ache. It must have been from all the ocean water that I accidentally swallowed or something.

Another great day

I'm sitting inside right now feeling content and tired from my day. It was sunny and beatiful again. I saw one of those lizards that can run on water, it was crazy. I also saw a flying fish that flew like 10 feet out of the water right in front of me. I met a group of people from Finland who are here to study for 3 months. We went to Kata beach, (this beach is infested with tourists) and played beach volley ball. I also hiked out to the tip of this cape it was really cool, but I was wishing that Charlie was with me. I know it would have been 10 times better and more fun with him. I miss him a lot. Oh and tell me what you think about the pictures, I love finding little messages from friends and family back home.

Pictures! YAY!

So I finally put some pictures up. I have a lot more, but I didn't want to bore anyone with too many pictures of the same ocean. Just scroll down the page and you will see!

Meeting so many cool people

Now that the sun has chosen to shine here in Phuket, the people and travelers are coming out like ants. Yesturday, I met all the australian and english guys who are here for a boxing camp, they're a lot of fun, and hilarious. We body surfed all day, the waves have been very good and powerful. I'm stoked because one of the guys said he wanted to go to Krabi to rock climb with me. Today, I went to see all these elephants, they're so much bigger than I thought and they're really adorable. I'm now going to the Sat. night market and then going to the full moon dance party! Which should be fun.

Settling in to this life style..

The past few days have been quite nice, I've just been spending time outside going for long runs, getting lost in Thailand. I have a new inspiration to run! Having such beautiful scenery has made working out a lot more enjoyable. I got that massage I was talking about in my last blog... it was amazing this Thai women put her whole heart and soul into my massage and it was only 8 dollars. It was a little shocking at first, but she even massaged my boobies. ha ha. I've been learning how to ride the motor bike that Cindy and Brian own, it is so fun! I just went into town on it for the first time. I was really proud of myself because those streets are wild and driving in the left lane is hard to get used to. On my run, the other day I was chased by a pack of dogs it was frightening, but I survived.
I also went to this really poor Thai school and I think that I am going to volunteer there once a week and do something fun with the kids!
Last night when I went to Thai boxing with Tristan, I met a pro boxer, he is the best boxer in Singapore which is pretty dang good. There are 4 million people in Singapore. Anyways, I thought that was cool he was really nice. Well, Tristan and I are going to go boogie boarding now. You're all probably wondering why I haven't said a word about the ocean yet, but that is simply because for the past few days it has been raining like crazy but today it is sunny. So I'm going swimming.

I'm finally in Thailand!!!!

After about 35 hours of sitting in airports and on planes, I arrived in Phuket! It was awesome flying in over all the little islands surrounded by crystal clear blue water. The short 3 hour trip to Phuket from Hong Kong was pretty sweet, because of all the unrest in Bangkok lots of people cancelled their flights so there were about 50 people on a huge plane meant for 300 or more people so I just layed out across a row of 5 seats, it was great. The flight attendants were serving me wine and offering me shots of vodka the whole time... I knew that I was way out of the hands of the U.S.A. Right after I got off the plane and got settle at the place that I am going to be stay, I rode a bike down to the beach, which is about 2 minutes from the house and jumped in the ocean, it was like bath water and so clear. I just laughed and splashed around, now that was true happiness. The house that I am staying at is tucked away, and surrounded by big jungle plant and trees the sounds of the critters get to be pretty loud at night. The surf is really nice at the beach right down from the house, it is sandy bottom. There is also snorkeling a little down from that beach and an island that you can kayak to that has some good snorkeling as well. I am going to go and enjoy all that I have just shared with you to feist your minds on. Thanks for all the little messages that was really nice to see that so many people are thinking about me. Oh yeah, I think I'm going to go get a massage now.

The days before my journey begins...

I am starting to feel really excited, I can't believe I leave so soon. It seems like I've been talking about leaving for such a long time. I'm a little nervous however, I think I'm ready to go off on this amazing adventure. I look forward to all the interesting people I will meet,(the Thai culture) hikes in the jungle, the food, the epic rock climbing, the surf (of course), snorkeling and just being free! Wahoooo!!