Thailand was the first time I have ever traveled alone and the second time I would be leaving the country and flying on a plane. Talk about exciting and nerve wracking all wrapped up into one.
I headed over there with a thirst for new experiences. But first, I had to sit on 2 long ass flights to get there. The struggle was so real being 5'10" sitting in their tiny seats for hours at a time.
We spent the first night in Phuket. I did not really get to see much of the city but I did get to buy some really cute boho pants for cheap. Like really cheap. The US dollar to Baht conversion is just about 35 baht to $1 Us dollar (roughly).
Being someone who has lived their entire lives in the Pacific North West I am not used to hot weather and high humidity. I swear for the first week in Thailand I could not stop sweating. Just constantly dripping. It was not a pretty sight. Makeup? Oh hell no lol.
Heres my happy face reuniting with my love and all my sweaty glory.
After Phuket we took a ferry to Koh Lanta. We stayed in Bungalows, hung out on the beach, swam, got massages, drank, ate and explored their strip of a town. We also went to their animal sanctuary and got to play with lots of kitties. The beaches were beautiful and the bungalows were really fun to stay in. I personally really enjoyed just laying out on the hammock on the deck of the bungalow and listening to all the animals sounds around me.
One of our bungalows:
After 3 nights in Koh Lanta, we headed off to Phi Phi Island. This is where my friend K had been staying for a bit working and training as a dive instructor. She had a guest house already (yay! didn't have to worry about room and board...) and it had air conditioning. Omfg talk about a life saver. I finally began to adjust and have a place to cool down so I didn't constantly look like I just ran a marathon...
Phi Phi Island is much different than Koh Lanta. It is a very small island with out any roads. The town area is like a small little maze with walk ways that feature the occasional trolley running through. There was one hill that lead to the top of the mountain where many locals lived where you would see scooters and bikes, but other than that everything was pretty much walking distance. There is the party side and then there is the calmer area where most of the locals reside. The guest house K had was on the local side of the island. It was nice to be able to party and then also be able to retreat to a quieter location.
First night of getting drunk (pictured above) on Phi Phi we drank their local whiskey called Hong Thong. I dont know if it is due to the elevation changes or what, but I swear every time I drank there I would wake up still drunk.
I definitely can not forget about their buckets! Everyone would say "fuck it, get a bucket" and they meant it. You literally had a small little bucket of whatever booze mix you wanted. Pina colada? sure! Daiquiri? yup! rum and sprite, but all you really taste is rum? of course! A plus with K being considered a "local" since she was there for so long, we got deals on deals. Buckets of booze for 100 baht where normally other "tourists" would have to pay 250 baht and higher.
I will say though one of our favorite places to go was the Hippie Bar. This was on the quieter side of the island and we would just roll and joint, grab a Chang or Leo (beer) and just listen to the live musician. We went so often that we knew the singers name and he constantly wanted us to sing with him. (I saved everyone's ears by NOT singing)
Awesome side note: I learned how to roll a joint in Thailand. Yup. Im late, but its pretty sweet memory.
Me becoming one with the fishies.
Did I mention I got a bamboo tattoo here for deals? (plus the sarong I practically live in)
All in all..Thailand was amazing. I did not even begin to surface all of the experiences I had there, but I will tie it off with a picture of me scuba diving with one of the best friends in the world. <3
until next time! xoxo.
Nice experience! We are break out of Russia to live in Thailand about 7 months ago. Nowadays we are live in Phuket and there is one thing that i missed - magic tattoo))
Thanks for sharing. I spent some time in Bangkok and around Thailand one summer. Amazing people, culture and OH THAT FOOD.