Sasha:
I'm writing from Mai Haad- the northwestern tip of Koh Phangan. I'm sitting in a restaurant with free!! wifi!!, while looking at the island Koh Ma. It is snorkeling and diving mecca here. There are coral reefs all around Koh Ma, and countless dive operations in the neighboring beaches. The water is crystal clear and very calm. There are 3 restaurants on the beach- one with terrible customer service, one with friendly customer service though they are likely to mess up your order or overcharge you, and one with terrible food. I guess it is hard to have everything.
We spent the previous five days at Haad Sadet with Limbo. We were planning to stay at Haad Tien, but due to the full moon party, there was no availabilty. ( The weird thing is that we still can't figure out how we are supposed to get advanced booking there!) We had a relaxing few days laying on the beach in Haad Sadet, laying in the hammocks, and sitting in the cafes. We wanted to move on to Haad Tien/ Haad Yuan, but the sea was too choppy to get a water taxi, so we improvised! We ended up taking a taxi to where we are now for the good snorkeling.
I have gone out twice now, once was fantastic, and once was not. The difference? the quality of the equiptment. It is extremely hard to enjoy snorkeling when you end up with a mouthful of water every five minutes.
I've been thinking about what becomes normal to me because of this kind of long term travel. How my expectations have changed and adjusted. Here is a brief list:
-When you are staying near the beach, sand gets into the bed and you end up sleeping on it.
-Friendships are made and experienced in anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks, then you part ways.
-You are likely to have the same conversation with every traveler you meet: where're you from? How long is your trip? What is your route? What do you do for a living? What places do you reccomend? Finding a way to vary it up gives you bonus points.
-You make sure to take some bottled water back to your room at the end of the day so you can brush your teeth with it.
-Sarongs and scarves are the gems of your wardrobe- look, it's a skirt! It's a halter top! It's a beach towel!!
-When you eat in a new restaurant in a foriegn country, the food you are served is not going to be exactly what you though you ordered.
-In Thailand, expect to pick out some 15-20 bits of lemon grass, galanga, peppers, or kaffir lime leaves out of your bowl of curry or soup. If you don't have bits to pick out, it was probably flavorless crap.
-I find it essential to wash and hang my bikini every night, because I end up wearing it every day. On the beach, all other clothes are optional.
-Sunscreen is my new form of perfume.
-I find it much easier to sleep 9-10 hours a night now, and spending a whole week doing little more than reading a book.
I'll try to continue updating that list.
In the meantime, we head to Haad Yuan/ Haad Tien tomorrow and hope we'll be able to find a bungalow in our price range. From there, we go to Raley in Krabi to hopefully try our arms and legs at rock climbing in Thailand, then hope to be in Chiang Mai around March 11th where we will rent an apartment for one month!!!
I'm writing from Mai Haad- the northwestern tip of Koh Phangan. I'm sitting in a restaurant with free!! wifi!!, while looking at the island Koh Ma. It is snorkeling and diving mecca here. There are coral reefs all around Koh Ma, and countless dive operations in the neighboring beaches. The water is crystal clear and very calm. There are 3 restaurants on the beach- one with terrible customer service, one with friendly customer service though they are likely to mess up your order or overcharge you, and one with terrible food. I guess it is hard to have everything.
We spent the previous five days at Haad Sadet with Limbo. We were planning to stay at Haad Tien, but due to the full moon party, there was no availabilty. ( The weird thing is that we still can't figure out how we are supposed to get advanced booking there!) We had a relaxing few days laying on the beach in Haad Sadet, laying in the hammocks, and sitting in the cafes. We wanted to move on to Haad Tien/ Haad Yuan, but the sea was too choppy to get a water taxi, so we improvised! We ended up taking a taxi to where we are now for the good snorkeling.
I have gone out twice now, once was fantastic, and once was not. The difference? the quality of the equiptment. It is extremely hard to enjoy snorkeling when you end up with a mouthful of water every five minutes.
I've been thinking about what becomes normal to me because of this kind of long term travel. How my expectations have changed and adjusted. Here is a brief list:
-When you are staying near the beach, sand gets into the bed and you end up sleeping on it.
-Friendships are made and experienced in anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks, then you part ways.
-You are likely to have the same conversation with every traveler you meet: where're you from? How long is your trip? What is your route? What do you do for a living? What places do you reccomend? Finding a way to vary it up gives you bonus points.
-You make sure to take some bottled water back to your room at the end of the day so you can brush your teeth with it.
-Sarongs and scarves are the gems of your wardrobe- look, it's a skirt! It's a halter top! It's a beach towel!!
-When you eat in a new restaurant in a foriegn country, the food you are served is not going to be exactly what you though you ordered.
-In Thailand, expect to pick out some 15-20 bits of lemon grass, galanga, peppers, or kaffir lime leaves out of your bowl of curry or soup. If you don't have bits to pick out, it was probably flavorless crap.
-I find it essential to wash and hang my bikini every night, because I end up wearing it every day. On the beach, all other clothes are optional.
-Sunscreen is my new form of perfume.
-I find it much easier to sleep 9-10 hours a night now, and spending a whole week doing little more than reading a book.
I'll try to continue updating that list.
In the meantime, we head to Haad Yuan/ Haad Tien tomorrow and hope we'll be able to find a bungalow in our price range. From there, we go to Raley in Krabi to hopefully try our arms and legs at rock climbing in Thailand, then hope to be in Chiang Mai around March 11th where we will rent an apartment for one month!!!
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