From the minute I met Laura we hit it off and talked and laughed endlessly. Again, one of my favorite reasons to travel. Laura adds to the list of people I will keep in touch with. Anyways, after 3 days of volunteering I realized I didn't want to work, I wanted to be traveling. Well perfect timing for the argument over something as petty as a miscommunication created through the language barrier. At the end of the day it turned quite comical and Aruna (the mother) told Laura not to come back. She had been there for a month and only had 12 days to go. Aruna told me to come back, but I didn't have time for shenanigans like that so I said no thanks. Laura and I joked that she/we were fired from a volunteering job. I've never been fired before and I don't envision it ever happening over something silly and trivial like that either.
Koh Lanta is a really cool little spot. It has several little beaches along the west coast, all a bit diferent from one another. Laura and I took our next day to explore the island. The night before we went to a night market and looked at souvenir/trinkety items and ate banana nutella crepes. Delicious! They call them Thai pancakes and they are everywhere. Laura rented a motorbike for the month, which was extremely handy and it allowed me to see so much. Had I been alone I would have rented one as well. We spent the day stopping along the beaches, swimming, sun bathing and then made our last stop in Old Town. This is the southeastern part of the island, which is only about 30 minutes away at most. Laura knows a young French guy that has his own little restaurant there. He cooks 1 meal for the day so if you don't like it then his motto is 'tough shit, go somewhere else'. He gets fresh fish everyday and produce from the markets so he literally cuts the fish up as it is ordered to cook. OHHH and one weird thing they do here, and I notice in Bali. They don't fillet the fish. They chop the head off and then continue to cut it in the same direction, so you have the spine in your meal. I had tuna like it in Bali and it really freaked me out. Is this normal and I just don't know it? Someone please advise!
So the best part, his specialty is ICE CREAM! So clearly I was in heaven. Homemade ice cream made daily?!?! YES PLEASE! I had Chai, which was to die for. Then he told me about his flavor for the next day and asked if we wanted to try it. I can't even describe it to you because it was something French and had these little french biscotti things in it and I tell you what, as Pinky would say "it would make ya slap ya grandma". {Side note: my Grammie knows Pinky and will laugh , noo I would never slap you Grammie}. It was the best ice cream I have had in my life and that means something because I eat a LOT of ice cream. Actually, there's not much I don't eat a lot of!
So I got carried away. But this little place is right on the water. It's like sitting on the end of someones little pier, with blue water at your feet and a nice breeze. Just when I was "over" the beach, this place totally redeemed Koh Lanta. If you ever visit, add Shanti Shanti as a must!
Also, Patty's Secret Garden is a must. After eating so much rice and noodles, finding western food that is legit is an amazing thing. This place is owned by an English/Thai couple and they make excellent salads, which are normally impossible to find, and....you guessed it, a delicious bacon cheeseburger. I really needed it after a month with little meat other than the occasional chicken. They have an outdoor area filled with toys, which is like a playroom, so it was THE spot for families. Parents drinking beer while the children entertain themselves, brilliant!
I was sad to leave Koh Lanta, but Jordan Atchison told me about this fabulous little place called Tonsai. And was it ever. It was the first place I felt really comfortable in. I didn't feel that people were trying to swindle me, there are no cars and it was soo peaceful. For it being a small island, this place had so much to offer. It is a rock climbers paradise. The beach is surrrounded by these amazing rock formations and I wish my pictures did the place any justice. Kayaks were all about, I went hiking through to another beach and a climb up to a viewpoint. I went to the "Chill Out Bar" Jordan told me about. A Thai rasta grinds coffee beans with a mortar and pestle. Best coffee I have had in a while. Everything there was open air as well, so I laid on the deck all day in the shade reading a book and drinking coffee and taking the odd break for a swim. It was so wonderful. So far that is my favorite spot. If my friends I had made along the way had been there it would have been even better!
Last night I took the overnight bus to Bangkok. I got in at 5am. Bangkok is another one of those cities that doesn't sleep. The street vendors selling trinkets were still open, all the bars and restaurants were open and prostitutes were coming out of the wood works. It was strange. I spent the morning walking around and once it got hot I resorted to a cafe with free wifi to research some of my upcoming travel ideas. I went and got a manicure and pedicure, which for $10 left a lot to be desired. I'm pretty sure a 2 year old could have done better, but oh well, when in Bangkok. I found dumplngs at a street vendor and went all out order Chicken Curry, Pork, Veggie Spring Rolls and Shrimp Spring Rolls. The look the woman gave me said "I hope you're not putting on a bathingsuit anytime soon". I gave her a big ole grin and then proceeded to polish off every bite in record time.
I'm sitting in a coffee shop sipping a coffee as I write. I am due to catch my bus in an hour to Chiang Mai. Hopefully I have several days of trekking ahead of me as I head towards the mountains. Assuming my knee gives me no trouble, I will be off galivating through the hills of northern Thailand and Laos over the next couple of weeks. I am moving a bit faster than planned. I orignially wanted to be settled in places longer, but I began getting too restless. A day in a foreign country is about 2 days in normal like, because you get up early and want to see everything. So being out and about for 12 hours wipes you out.
More to come soon. Oh and sorry for the excessive posts at once. I try to upload pictures and such when I don't have internet and then publish them when I do, so it makes for several posts in a day. Pictures will follow soon!
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