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| Thailand is a Tropical Paradise |
Happy New Year! I was very fortunate to have had the chance
to spend Christmas and New Years with a wonderful group of friends in an
awesome country such as Thailand. This is my second Christmas and New Year
where I’m away from home as a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV), but I am excited to
announce that this will be my last. 2014 here I come!
Anyways, I wanted to share my adventures in Thailand with
you and encourage everyone who reads this to make plans to go to Thailand in the
near future.
I can’t even begin to describe Thailand because I had so
many great experiences therefore, it’s hard to put them on paper.
After serving in Nepal for over 16 months, a group of my
favorite PCVs and I decided that we wanted to take a vacation and explore a
different part of Asia and luckily I convinced them to go to Thailand. The
group was comprised of my friends Alejandro, Nate, Alejandro’s sister Ana,
Ethan and Ethan’s girlfriend Tara. We decided to take 20 days of vacation and I
do have to say that I was a bit overwhelmed by amount of time we were taking
off. I never had such a long vacation and I was pretty worried about the money.
Thankfully, my mom and dad were very generous this year and gave me a good
Christmas present! We got our plane ticket back in July so we were scheduled to
be in Thailand from December 16th through January 3rd.
Time flies and next thing we know were on Royal Nepal
Airlines and off to Bangkok. The flight was very quick as it only took about
two hours and a half. If you’re in Nepal and you’re on a budget then take Royal
Nepal Airlines! CHEAP!
I’ll divide my trip based on the locations that we visited
and I’ll do my best to summarize everything.
Bangkok
So the plane is delayed and I arrive in Bangkok in the afternoon.
Coming to Nepal I actually had a layover in Bangkok so I remember the being
there, but this time around I felt as this airport was new to me. I was amazed
to see how developed this airport was! This is embarrassing, but I was so
excited to see a water fountain where I took my sweet time drinking its cold
water.
Once in Bangkok we had to find our way off to our friend’s
house. Now a couple of months before leaving a guy named Justin contacted me
and offered to let us crash in his and his boyfriend’s (Marlo) house. I posted
a comment on the Peace Corps couchserf Facebook page and I am so thankful that
Justin hit me up. It’s crazy because Justin was a PCV in the Philippines and he
actually worked with my current boss, small world!
Now after I checked out of the airport and grabbed my bag I
had to beg someone to let me use their computer because I needed to get the
directions for Justin’s house. It was such a breeze to get to his house thanks
to Justin’s specific directions and Thailand’s great public transportation
system!
I stayed in Bangkok for about four days because we had to
wait for Alejandro’s sister who was on her way from Miami.
Let me say that Bangkok is such a cool city! I never knew
that it was that ginormous and developed. The streets are so clean, there is
street food everywhere and malls on each corner. My favorite part of Bangkok
was the fashion and style that the youth have. Boys and girls are so well kept
with their clean-cut looks, tiny bodies, flawless skin and appealing fashion
statement. At many points throughout Bangkok I felt that I was underdressed for
walking around the streets. Oh and everyone is always on their smartphone. I
love how creative Thai people can get when it comes to choosing a case for
their IPhones.
On had a day to roam around the city so the boys and I went
to Wat Po and Wat Arun where we saw so many cool temples. We also saw this huge
Buddha statue that they call the “Sleeping Buddha”. The temples are so pretty
and decorated with so much colorful and shiny detail. We crossed the river to
see more temples and we got a delicious ice coffee. One thing about Thailand is
that Thais do love their coffee because you can find a coffee stand basically
everywhere. God knows how many iced
coffee I drank throughout the trip.
One night Justin and Marlo took us to this place called Wine
Connection, a restaurant where they specialize in wine, and fine dining (I
think). The cool thing about this specific trip was that it was on Wednesday,
which means unlimited wine and appetizers for four hours! They had rose, white
and red wine. You pay your fee and you get one glass of wine and once you’re
done you can go get another one. I’ve never drank so much wine in my life. Wine
Connection is like a hidden jewel because only foreigners who actually live in
Bangkok go to Wednesday’s Wine Connection. Tourists do not about this place so
it was cool to meet a lot of people who are doing real work in Bangkok.
We met a really cool group who were getting ready to go
dancing so the boys and I decide to tag along. Before the club they decided to
go to one of Thailand’s infamous “Ping Pong” shows and let me say that it
definitely was an experience. After trying to come to terms with what I just
saw, we finally arrived at this place called Levels somewhere in Bangkok.
Unfortunately, they didn’t let Nate in because he was wearing shorts and
flip-flops so he storms out and goes back home. Alejandro and I stay because we
were wearing jeans and closed toe shoes. Levels is a really cool place because
they have cover artist playing throughout the night. They have a special if
you’re in a group of five they’ll give you a free bottle. I would say that my
first club experience in Bangkok was great!
After spending a great time in Bangkok with Justin and Marlo
it was time for us to move on with our travel plans. We go back to the airport
and pick up Ana and we headed off towards our next adventure. It’s crazy
because I was talking to Ana prior to this trip and we became really good
friends over Facebook. I was so excited to meet her, but tell me why the first
thing that I tell her is that she looks like Kristen Stewart. I’m surprised she
didn’t slap me, but after seeing how she didn’t kill me I knew that we were
going to get along. I have a weird sense of humor towards my friends.
Ana didn’t know what we had in store for her. Poor thing
just got off a 33 hour flight and next thing she knows is that she’s about to
embark on a 13 hour train ride. We arrived at the train station and I was
freaking out because we hadn’t gotten the tickets just yet. This lady almost
tricked us by making us go through an agency, which means that it would have
been way more expensive! Luckily we were able to get the sleeper cars for the
train even though it was leaving at 3pm therefore we were going to arrive in Surathani
at 3am. The train finally came and I had one of the employees transform my seat
into a bed and next thing you know I slept for the entire 13-hour ride.
Phuket
It’s about 4am and I arrive at Surathani with the gang.
Thankfully Thailand doesn’t get that cold in the early hours of the morning. We
find a little restaurant and get breakfast around 5am where we find out that we
have a 5-hour bus ride to take at 7am. I looked at Ana and I could tell that
she was ready to punch us all in the throat. The bus comes and again I sleep
the entire way.
Let’s see, Phuket is a very interesting place. We stayed at
Balcony Hostel on Patong Beach. The hostel was really nice. It had hot water
and the accommodations were great and we were lucky to have our own room because
we were a party of four. The wifi was super fast and the staff was so chill.
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| Walking around Phuket |
Once we put our stuff down, the first thing we do is head
out towards the beach. We stop by at a local 7/11 and get some beers on the
way. I come from Los Angeles where the beach is a thirty-minute ride away, but
I never really realized how much I missed seeing the ocean and how calming it
is. I mean there were tourist crawling all over the beach, but it was great to
put my feet in the water and watch the sunset!
Ethan and Tara met up with us in Phuket and it was really
great to see them! Throughout our time in Phuket we did plenty of things. We
spent most of the time lying on the beach where I was making sure that I got
that caramel gloss that I love. We went around around to other beaches, ate
tons of street food and met great people. I even gathered up the courage to ride a yet
ski with Alejandro! Talk about adrenalin. This is where I found my new best
friend, Mr. Mai Tai. A Mai Tai is this cocktail made in heaven where you can’t
taste the alcohol but you can definitely feel afterwards.
One of the main reasons that we wanted to go to Phuket was
to see the famous Koh Phi Phi islands. We took a day trip to this island and I
fell in love with it. I’ve never seen beaches so clear and sand so white.
Unfortunately, we decided to do a day trip where we really should have stayed
for about two or three days. I would definitely call Koh Phi Phi an island
paradise!
In Patong we were very lucky to meet up with Nick, another
PCV who was traveling with his family. Nick’s mom Martha was very kind and
invited us for a Christmas Eve dinner in this very nice and classy hotel. I
mean it was really classy! I didn’t know anything about the dress attire and I
end up wearing my bright turquoise shirt with my jean shorts and ripped up
Toms. I mean most of us looked like real Peace Corps Volunteer except Tara and
Ana who got all dolled up. I felt very much underdressed because everyone around
us was wearing suites and gowns and what not. Even the staff didn’t look like
staff because they looked like they were part of the party. It took a Mai Tai
or two to get over my self-consciousness about how I looked.
The dinner was to
die for because it was all you can eat buffet status! I had so many pieces of
steak! It was also very precious because even though I was away from home, I
could feel the Christmas spirit in the air. It was a combination of being
around a great group of friends, having a mom present, the Christmas carols
playing in the background, having an Asian Santa Clause and receiving a
Christmas gift from Martha. After dinner we all go to the beach, light up
lanterns and set them off into the starry night. Thank you Martha for making 2013’s
Christmas a special one!
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| Looking like real PCVs at a fancy dinner |
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| Merry Christmas |
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| Christmas with some lovely drags |
The next day was hell because we were all exhausted and we
had planed to move on towards our next destination on Christmas day.
Koh Phang Nang
Now traveling to Koh Phang Nang was such a pain because at
this point we were having internal drama with our group dynamics lol. I mean it
was bound to happen, but thankfully the long ride to Koh Phang Nang cleared the
air and good thing it did because the main reason we wanted to travel on
Christmas Day was to make it in time for the famous Full Moon Party!
We arrive at our reserved bungalows at around 7pm because
the cargo ship that we took was moving at a glacial pace. Anyways, I was super
excited for these cute little bungalows next to the beach, but next thing you
know the owner is beyond wasted and extremely rude so we decide to lose the
deposit and find somewhere else to stay.
It was pitch black and I was worried because I didn’t want
to miss the Full Moon Party and I just wanted a place to put my stuff. We tried
a couple of places but they were either full or extremely expensive. Thankfully
my deer friend Nate found this amazing place called Surana Bungalows!.I mean I
felt it in my guy that this was the place to stay because the staff was so kind
and they were playing Christmas music in the background. The owner Tong was
such a sweet heart and gave us a great deal for two three-bed rooms. I put my stuff down and take shower and head
down to the common area for dinner. I have say that Surana has the best Pad
Thai in all of Thailand! Now that I was clean and my tummy was full I was ready
for the Full Moon Party. Sadly, Ana was not feeling well so she had to stay in
so we gave her some meds, jumped on a taxi and headed out.
The Full Moon Party is something beyond this world! Everyone
was painted, wasted and I’m sure many of them were on drugs too. The Full Moon
party screams HOT ASS MESS in all directions. People are making out, they’re
dancing, drinking buckets of alcohol, peeing in the ocean and playing with
fire. I found this table and I basically posted there and danced until about
three in the morning. There were so many people around that we were all bound
to get lost so we decided that everyone is on their own. After dancing for five
hours straight I was beat up. I got some iced coffee and headed home hoping
that Alejandro and Nate were going to be okay and it turned out that they were.
Full Moon Party…check!
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| Fierce-ness at the Full Moon Party |
Again, we explored the island and again I found another
island paradise. The island had such a relaxing feel to it because everyone
there was there to hang out and chill. One cool thing that I did in Koh Phang
Nnag was to walk to another island. The water was very shallow where it rose up
to my waist thus allowing me to cross. I mean besides the Full Moon Party we
took it very chill and just explored the island as much as we could. Surana is
the place to stay if you want to chill out because their playlist was composed
of the chillest music that I’ve ever heard before (I think it was European)!
After making the mistake of not staying in Koh Phi Phi for
at least a day we decided to cut short our stay in Koh Phang Nang and go island
hoping and post up for at least a day to explore.
Koh Tao
Tell me why the trip to Koh Tao was such a mess. The ferry
ride that we took was basically an oversized yet ski that was flying through
the ocean and hitting these massive ways making everyone jump off their seats.
Thankfully it was only one hour and a half, but for others it was not a fun
ride. Poor Ethan threw up the entire way filling up about two huge black
plastic bags. Towards the end of the ride I got a bit sea sick, but good thing
I didn’t puke my brains out.
At the pear all the taxi drivers were trying to real us into
their car by they telling us that everything is booked and they were right
because everything was packed. Ana and I decide to post up at this pretty
little beach and order some food while we let Alejandro and Nate find a place.
Just by chilling in that beach I knew that I was going to like Koh Tao. It definitely
had fewer tourists, which was nice for a change. As I watch the sun sink into
the ocean a good feeling came across me and I realized how lucky I was to be
where I was. What could possibly go wrong?
So Nate and Alejandro return and they’re so excited about
the place that they found it. They said it was a bit far, but that it was
great. Nate was trying to sell it to me but something was telling me that this
was going to be a mess. We get to the bungalows and next thing you know the
lady is all screaming at us saying things that I did not understand. I mean the
rooms were very affordable and I mean we got what we paid for. I don’t even
remember the name of the bungalows, but good thing that we didn’t stay much in
them. I didn’t like them at all because they were hella janky and I do admit
that I was angry with Nate who happened to be my roommate. I sucked it up and
just didn’t pay attention to it even though everyone knew that I was bitching
inside. Sorry Nate for being such a Diva!
Well Koa Tao was really nice too! We went around the island,
found this cool restaurant where we saw the sunset. We stayed in Koa Tao for
about two days and most of the time we posted up in the same beach where we
initially arrived. It was a great beach, with good food and wifi so why not. I
think it was a private beach that belonged to that resort but we didn’t care
and acted like we were staying there. We did go to another private beach and we
posted there too, so we could go snorkeling and kayaking. Snorkeling was so
much fun but I’m sure it would have been even better if I didn’t have my
floating jacket. I can’t swim very well and it was pretty deep so I didn’t want
to risk it. Sadly, all of the coral was dead and the water was a tad bit murky,
but I did get a chance to see cool little blue fish.
So Alejandro had a little incident at this beach, which he
still is blaming me. I was building this sand castle and next thing you know
Alejandro grabs some of the sand and throws it at me and of course I do the
same. Next thing I see is Alejandro leaning forward with a face filled with
pain! This guy went along and hit one of his toe on a piece of coral and his
poor toe was bleeding like crazy. Nate goes and gets him a bandage and it was
so funny because Alejandro was freaking out for his toe. He was wondering if he
had to get surgery. He blames me for the accident, but I didn’t physically go
and cut his toe lol.
At night we all went to this fire show where I had one too
many Mai Tais in a bucket. The fire show was so awesome! These talented young
boys are doing so many tricks with the fire. For example, they have a baton,
they spin chains that are on fire, they limbo under a fire bar and even jump
fire rope. Thanks to the liquid courage I decided to jump a rope that was lite
on fire and surprisingly I did very well. I also walked under the fire limbo.
I’m sure I would have done it even if I didn’t have liquid courage flowing
through my body. Oh and we also tried laughing gas. I only did it once because
I heard that it kills brain cells.
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| Fire Show |
The two days that I spent in Koh Tao were super fun except
for the jancky bungalows we stayed in but oh well its part of the experience.
Koh Samui
We had an extra day left around the islands so were off to
Koh Samui, the second largest island of Thaialnd! We arrived late into the
afternoon and quickly found a taxi to take us to Chewang Beach Raod. I actually
reserved a hostel on that road which I was pretty excited for, however earlier
on that day I get an email saying that there was a mix up and that they had no
rooms available. Consequently, we had to go to the beach and search for the
hotel ourselves. This time around it was Alejandro and I that found a hotel
because Nate didn’t want to go through the Koh Tao ordeal once again. Basically
he didn’t want to see me bitch again, which is totally reasonable.
Chewang Beach Road is pretty crazy because it comprises of
this huge street with restaurants left and right. We found out that this road
is overly expensive in comparison to any other island that we’ve been too.
Okay so Alejandro and I find a hotel which had three two
bedrooms for a reasonable price. I’m all for it, but Alejandro was a bit on the
fence. I simply thought that he was being dramatic but he was right. Somehow we
ended up staying in a brothel house or a house designed to house prostitutes.
Our neighboring rooms where basically the home for all of the girls that worked
on the go-go dance clubs surrounding our hotel. Alejandro you were definitely
right!
I was going to be there for one night so I wanted to make
the most of it. Plus, I found out that one of my Thai friends was going to be
on the same island. We all decide to meet up at this place called ArkBar, which
was having its usual beach parties. Now I don’t know how to describe this beach
party, but according to Alejandro and Nate we basically went to a “Jersey
Shore” type of party. I didn’t know what that meant because I’ve never seen the
show but I’m assuming it meant “trashy”, which it definitely was. However, the
one good thing about the party was that it had really good music. I was dancing
the night away per usual and tell me why you could pet an iguana for 100 bhat?
What a mess!
I lost the boys and Ana once again so I decide to get some
3am McDonald’s. I have to say that I’ve never been happier to have a plate of
artificial food. Those French fries, McChicken and coke was beyond delicious!
Good thing Nepal doesn’t have McDonald’s otherwise I would be there all the
time.
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| Classy people in a trashy scene |
Chewand Beach Road was one trashy place so we all decided to
get out of there as soon as possible! We wake up, pay our fees and simply take
the ferry back to Surathani because by this time New Years Eve was the next day
and we had to make it back to Bangkok.
Bangkok
I’m so happy that we ended up going back to Bangkok for New
Years Eve. I didn’t get enough of it when I was there at the beginning of the
trip. Plus by this time I had enough sun because I had that caramel gloss that
I was dying for.
We take the 13-hour train ride back up to Bangkok and arrive
at 7am. Unfortunately, our hostel doesn’t allow check-ins until 2pm so we had
to figure out something to do. Even though check in isn’t until 2pm we still go
to our hostel just to bum around and put our stuff down.
Nap Par Hostel on Ko San Raod is a must stay! It’s cheap,
the iced coffee is really good, the staff is so sweet, and it’s pretty and
around a great location. I hit up Justin and Marlo and thankfully they come to
the rescue us by grabbing lunch and showing us around the area.
It’s finally 2pm, we check in, we shower and we get dolled
up for our New Years Eve celebration at Justin and Marlo’s! It was great
because they cooked us a great New Years Eve dinner. We played this games,
dance on their rooftop garden and drank some Mai Tais.
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| Happy New Year |
After we had dinner we all freshen up and get ready to head
out to Silom to welcome in the New Year. Silom is the gay capital street in
Bangkok and seeing how Justin and Marlo were hosting we decided to tag along. I
was so excited to welcome in the New Year with tons of dancing, many Mai Tais
in my hands and with a great group of friends. The entrance fee was 300 bhat
and you get two free drinks with it. Now you’re suppose to give your ticket for
each drink that you get, but every time I went to get a drink I got showed my
ticket and left. I mean the bartender knew what I was doing but he smiled at me
and let me go. I think I had about four to five drinks for free. Happy New
Year!
January 1st was a sad day for all of us because
this was the day that Ana had to get back to good old America. Alejandro, Nate
and I were suppose to drop her off at the airport and we were suppose to take
off to Pattaya but plans changed a bit.
Luckily January 1st fell on Wednesday and you
know what that means….Wine Connection! This was the best because my goal was to
make sure that Ana got on her plane beyond wasted and thanks to all you can
drink wine I made it happen. It’s 8pm and we all head out to the airport and by
this time Nick meets up with us because he’s also in Bangkok. We take a taxi
and oh my I feel awful for the taxi driver because we were acting a fool.
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| Wine Connection |
We get to the airport and we head out towards the check in
center and good thing there wasn’t any line to make. So we check Ana in and
Nate decides to ask for a wheelchair because apparently Ana’s foot was broken.
Keep in mind that Ana was gone at this point so she didn’t grasp what was going
on. Alejandro and I jump in and support Nate with his idea and we confirm that
Ana’s ankle was twisted/broken and the lady was like are you sure and we all
said YES with the straightest face that we could make. I turn around and I
start laughing uncontrollably because I see a man coming with a wheelchair. He
was coming to get Ana! We all get together and take one last group picture and
send Ana off on a wheelchair. I mean we had to make sure that she boarded the
plane.
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| Sending Ana off on a wheelchair |
We were all suppose to leave on the January 3rd,
but our plans were changed once again. The morning of the third we were all
getting ready to leave, we packed our bags but we all had this feeling that
something was off. Justin is the best because he calls Royal Nepal Airways and
he finds out that our plane is not going to come and that we’ll have to leave
on Sunday. At first, I was shocked, but after realizing what just happened I
got so excited! TWO more days in Thailand! We unpacked and went back to sleep.
Thanks to those two days I got a chance to do a many other
pending things around Bangkok.
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| Yay for Thailand |
I went shopping like no other because the clothes in
Thailand is dirt cheap and very cute. We saw “Captain Phillips” on IMAX in this
very fancy mall. I mean the theater had chandeliers hanging around! I drank my
share of expensive Starbucks, which was fabulous! But most importantly, I got a
chance to dance more and hang out with my wonderful crew!
Also, I got the chance to see one of my friends from back
home, Cristian. He’s currently in the JET program and living in Japan, but it
turned out that he was going to be in Thailand during the same time as I was.
It was so nice to see a friend from back home. I met his friend Isabel and we
immediately got along. The night that we all met, Alejandro and Nate were dead
from too much partying so they decided to stay in, but thankfully Cristian and
Isabel haven’t partied that much in Bangkok. So we go clubbing and oh my we
have a wild night! The next day when we met up they approached me with caution
because they knew of the damage that I could inflict. I mean Alejandro told
them to not let their guard down when they’re around me. I mean what can I say?
If you’re going clubbing with Marvin then you’re absolutely going to have a
great time!
Well two days flew by and it was actually time to leave. We
packed our things and had one last meal with Justin and Marlo. Saying goodbye
to these two wonderful individuals was awful because they truly made our
experience in Thailand that much richer.
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| Woot Woot L.A |
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| My big sister, Justin |
We went off the airport and thankfully our flight was
labeled on the departure roster. We were going home. There was no line in the
check in section and we swiftly went through all customs, I guess not that many
people were on their way towards Nepal. Were there on time, but the lady says
that the plane has been delayed an hour and we were not surprised. We all had
some extra Thai cash left so we decided to have our last meal at Burger King.
This has to be the most expensive meal that I had throughout my time in
Thailand. Between Nate, Alejandro and myself our simple orders came out to be
about $30 bucks. Oh well, we had no use for Thai money in Nepal. It was funny
because we had to pay with coins and what not because we weren’t sure if we had
enough. Best chicken sandwich ever!
It’s late afternoon and I’m staring through the gigantic
glass into a beautiful and perfect Thai sunset. So many emotions are running
through my mind as I see our plane getting ready to let us in. It’s really
funny because the plane only had 20 passengers so everyone took their own row.
Well, Thailand was nothing but fun. I’ve partied like no
other with the best crew of friends ever, had too many adventures and created
life long memories. I couldn’t have asked for a better vacation!
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| The Crew in Ko Phi Phi |
I’m back in Nepal and it feels great even though it’s
freezing. I’ve made a “2014 Game Plan” listing my personal and professional
goals that I wish to accomplish while I’m in Nepal and I’m looking forwards
towards making them come to life. I’m refreshed and energized to make this last
stretch count. I only have about 10 months left in Nepal as a Peace Corps
Volunteer, thus I have to kick it in to high gear and really Make it Happen!!!
