Full Moon Party

Fire Dancer In Front of Cactus Bar

View from our Suite

Koh Samui/Koh Phangan...The Final Chapter

If anyone is still reading this, I have been home in the States for about a week now and Im sorry I havent posted anything from the last week of the trip. After Chiang Mai, we took a flight back to Bangkok for a quick 2 hour layover. We then flew on an hour flight south to an island called Koh Samui in the southeast of Thailand. If Koh Samui sounds familiar, you have probably seen the movie Meet the Parents. Jack Burns plans a honeymoon for his daughter to Koh Samui and Gay Focker thinks its some covert operation Jack's planning. "Jack talk Thai... Jack talk Thai real good." Anyways, Koh Samui is a very pretty resort island and is the biggest of the islands in the area. While it was very pretty, we planned on staying for only a night since we had read that it does not really cater to backpackers. Our true destination was the island of Koh Phangan where all the fun happens. We did make the most of our night in Koh Samui however, and we had dinner with a group of English girls we met at our resort. We then went out on the town and hopped from club to club. Many of the bars and clubs had an outdoor feeling, either having no roof or walls. I liked it since it was so warm at night. The next morning we took an hour long ferry ride to Koh Phangan. We didnt have a room reserved, but our whole plan was to arrive early for the epic Full Moon Party that happens at the end of each month. An estimated 8,000-30,000 people flood the beach of Haad Rin to party the night away. This month, the party was going to happen on a Tuesday night. We felt getting there on Saturday afternoon would allow us to find a place to stay and it all worked out. We stayed at a place about a 10 minute walk from the Haad Rin for relatively cheap. But after a day on the beach and a night out, we felt we really wanted to be on the beach. The problem was that so did everyone else. Nothing was available except the master suite of the Tommy Resort, a place right on the beach where it all happens. We decided to splurge and spend $60 a night per person for the best room I have every stayed in. The suite had a common room with table, big bedroom, bathroom with a tub and shower overlooking the ocean and a huge wrap-around balcony overlooking the pool in the middle of the resort and the beach in front of us. We stayed for a full week and loved every minute. Aside from beach bumming it everyday, we rented moto bikes and explored the island. We went snorkeling on the north side and saw some pretty coral reefs and then jetted to the center of the island to see some waterfalls. We took a few hikes and enjoyed ourselves. I did however have a little accident. I fell and ripped open my ankle, requiring a ride to the hospital. But 5 stitches and $18 US later, I was all fixed up. It still isn't completely healed 2 weeks later, but I'm okay. The Full Moon Party definitely lived up to the hype and is hands down the biggest party I've every been to. I would estimate that there were about 10,000+ people on the beach, mostly painted in florescent colors dancing beneath black lights. We shook to house music and techno til about 7am when we decided to call it a night. Some people easily went until 10am! The rest of the week we just hung out doing not much of anything. This is why I haven't posted until now. But we made it home safe on Aug 4th and now the real world starts when I start work on Monday. So until I travel again, I hope you've enjoyed the blog.

"Moto Bi"

Yesterday Mark, Phil, and I rented motor bikes here in Chiang Mai. For $3 a day and less than $3 of gas, we had the bikes for a full 24 hours. Chiang Mai is a little more laid back and easy to get around than any other city we've been in, so we figured it was a good place to try them out. Yes Mom, we wore helmets like all the other "farang". While traffic was the lightest compared to any other city, it was still challenging to figure out. But we got the hang of it no problem and avoided any dangerous situations. It took us about 2 hours to find our hostel on our bikes, since every time we rode around the city we were in the back of a truck taxi and couldn't see anything. But getting lost was actually kinda fun because we learned our way around. Last night, a group of about 15 of us went out for a little fun. Surprisingly, the ratio of girls to guys is quite good here in our hostel. Our group included 4 guys and about 10 or 11 girls, mostly from England and one from N. Ireland who is a crack up. It was another late night, which made today a little rough. But after we nourished our bodies with a little American burgers, we decided to head up the mountain on our "moto bis" to see a famous Wat (temple). The ride also allowed us to see the whole city of Chiang Mai. The ride was really fun, winding back and forth up the hill, until it started to rain. When it rains here, its like a monsoon! It comes down harder than any rain I have been in and riding our bikes made it feel like pins and needles on our bodies. We didnt make it all the way to the Wat and we didn't want to ride in the rain (too late) so we headed back down the hill to return the bikes in town. By the time we got there (20 min ride), we looked like we had jumped into a swimming pool. We taxied back to the hostel and tonight we are just going to hang out since we are flying to Ko Samui island in southeast Thailand tomorrow.

Chiang Mai Day Trek

Today we took a day trek outside of Chiang Mai. The tour bus (small Toyota truck with us sitting in the bed on a bench) picked us up around 9 am and we headed out of the city for about an hour. We made a stop at a butterfly farm, where they also grew orchid flowers. They showed us that it is a 3 year process to grow the orchid. They first plant it in a glass flask. After about 3 months they break open the glass and plant the small plant. From there its a very slow process and probably why orchids cost so much. After the butterfly farm, we headed to an elephant camp. We were greeted by some villagers and 5 giant Asian elephants. Phil, another friend from Cal Poly who met up with us in Vietnam, and I climbed aboard the elephants back and made our way into the jungle. Our small group trekked aboard elephants for about an hour, hesitating only to satisfy their hunger for more bananas. After our ride, we climbed into a metal cage and ran along a zip line over the river to the other side where lunch awaited. After dining on Pad Thai (fried Thai noodles) we began our long hike to see a beautiful waterfall. This hike was much more challenging than we expected. While the rain created a nice ambiance to the jungle scenery, it made the terrain much more difficult to hike through. Mud and slippery rocks were only the beginning. This hike included balancing on logs, pipes, and makeshift steps in order to accomplish our goal. Again, the rain only added to the challenge. Mark, who has hiked many different places in the U.S. said this was his most challenging yet, so that made me feel good when we finished. Everyone made it there and back safely (2 hours total) expect for a few bumps from the occasional slip. The waterfall was really pretty and the hike was well worth it. If that wasn't enough for one day though, the day ended with whitewater rafting. A quick briefing on commands and we were off. This rafting excursion was not the most challenging I've been on, but it still included a few good rapids. At this point in the day it was actually just what we needed; not too challenging but still exciting. For the final stretch of the river we embarked on a bamboo rafter. This raft was literally 15 pieces of bamboo tied together with what looked like rope made from shredded tires. Our guide designated me captain, and like a Venetian gondolier I guided our group down the final stretch. A cold, muddy, 1.5 hour ride back to Chiang Mai in the back of that same Toyota concluded our trip. We finished off the night ordering pizza delivery and stuffing our faces as a way of recovering.

View from my Elephant Ride (Asking for a Banana)