Sorry for being slack on the blog posts. Nothing exciting really happened in January other than work, until we went on our much anticipated trip to Thailand.
After an overnight flight, we arrived in Phuket around 7:30am. Just like in Mexico, you are immidiately bombarded by locals yelling at you "taxi? taxi?" So, we got in a taxi and heading to the Pier where we would take a ferry to Koh Phi Phi island. We JUST made it on time to get on the morning ferry. After about 90 minutes, we were on the island to start our tropical vacation. The sun was shining, the heat was fierce, and the ocean was turquoise blue. We got to our accommodation which was a bungalow about 30 meters from the beach. It was small, but it was a place to sleep which was all we needed. We stayed here for 5 nights. Every night, there was a beach party that took place on the beach right infront of where we were staying. So, every night there was party music BLARING until 2am. For the nights we had a few drinks it was ok, but the nights we didn't, going to bed was rough. It sounded like you were in the middle of a dance club. Ear plugs didn't help very much. When I woke up on our 6th day, I noticed bites on my hand. Having been bitten by bed bugs a few years back in Amsterdam, I knew what was biting me. I then SAW a bug scurry across the bed and that was it.. we were out of there. We had already planned to move places as the noise at night was too much to bare, but having bed bugs sealed the deal. We found a place a little more expensive on the other side of the island to stay in on our last night.
 | ||||
| Our bungalow |
The Thai food was so good and we easily became addicted.
Koh Phi Phi is an island that was completely flattened by the Tsunami in 2004. It is sad to think that such a beautiful paradise was consumed and destroyed. 8 years later, the island is completely restored and full of tourists. When we got there, Mark and I thought "wow, we haven't seen this many white people since leaving home", but then it turned out 90% of them didn't speak English, so we were just as foreign as we are in Taiwan. Southern Thailand seems like a hot vacation spot for Russians, Swedes and Northern Europeans, and let's just say they bring their beach customs with them... aka lotsa boobies haha.
 |
| Overlooking the island |
The most famous beach to visit when you are in this area is "Maya Bay". It is the beach made famous from the movie "The Beach" starring Leonardo DiCaprio (one of my favourite movies and actors!) We of course had to visit this place as it looks like paradise on film. Unfortunately we were there at sunset and low tide, so the crystal blue water looks shallow and murky. But I assure you, this place is gorgeous, and obviously none of these pictures can capture the true beauty.
 |
| Me at "The Beach" |
 | |
| Mark and I at "The Beach" |
Since we had an early flight home on Sunday morning out of Phuket, we decided to leave Phi Phi island on Friday and head to Phuket for two nights. Our room there was amazing and not much more expensive then our bed bug infested room. We stayed on Kata beach in Phuket, and enjoyed the sun and water for our last two days. We were very happy that we had stayed on Phi Phi for most of our trip as we were surrounded by Russian seniors, saggy bodies and traffic in Phuket. (Phi Phi only had bicycles and boats for transportation)
During our trip we came across the idea of how awesome it would be to teach in Thailand. Not only is there opportunity for me as a Manitoba teacher to teach at an International school in Bangkok, and teach Manitoba curriculum, but there is WAY more holidays than we have in Taiwan and WAY easier access to travel. Since Taiwan is an island, we have to fly everywhere we want to go. Thailand neighbours Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia; all of which can be easily accessed by plane or bus. Buses are very cheap between cities, so travel is very inexpensive. Oh, and I would have around 3 months of (paid) vacation living in Thailand as opposed to 2 (unpaid) weeks here in Taiwan. Not only this, but the FOOD in Thailand is enough to make you move there itself. We were so bummed to come back home and eat the same ol' things. I think we are going to go eat at a Thai restaurant tonight to get our fix! It doesn't help that it is winter in Taiwan, which means rain, rain and more rain, damp cold and cloudy everyday.
After this week away, our "plan" (not that we really ever had one) is to finish our contract here which is up August 15th, and move back home for 6 months or so. (I'm sorry Mary, please forgive me!) The Thai school year starts in May, so we would probably pack up and leave again for the year around February (maybe get some traveling in before starting work). All of these new plans have just come to be this week, so I am pretty excited at the thought that I will be home for the end of summer! Yes, I will have to endure the Winnipeg winter, but perhaps it will be as nice as this years??? Fingers crossed??? With my luck it'll be the coldest and snowiest on record haha. Oh well, at least I'll be surrounded by my friends and family who I miss dearly! Hope everyone is well back home! Miss you! xo
PS: For those that want to see more pictures, here is a link to the facebook album I made:
No comments:
Post a Comment