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Not we ourselves, but rather when we were boarding, our train got hit by an oncoming train stopping at the same station. Not hard enough to knock us off the tracks or anything. But hard enough that all of the luggage in the overhead racks fell down, some of which hit me in the head, which in turn, knocked me off my seat, which unhinged and broke, leaving me flung over the seat in front of me with, no doubt, sheer panic on my face. It happened so fast I didn’t even know it was coming. I just remember Kev saying, “what is that noise? Is that a truck?” and me saying, “I doubt they have trucks on a train track, Kev…” and BAM. It was just that quick. Everyone returned to normal so quick it blew my mind. No one even seemed fazed.

A common occurrence? Guess we’ll have to ride 3rd class more often to find out! Besides almost dying (just kidding:)) The train ride was awesome. We met some amazing people who spoke a bit of English, and invited us to come to their house in Chumpon for a while. Kev made origami for the little girl while we ate delicious cow lahm (sticky rice and coconut, grilled in bamboo), and saw some of the beautiful countryside we missed on the dark bus ride down.

7 hours later, we made it to Bangkok and headed straight for Khaosan Road looking for cheap lodging, which thankfully, we found. The next day, we decided to head to “The Best Market in Bangkok” which apparently (according to our guidebook) sold everything from “Dalmatians to Thai Silk,” which I found funny. By the way, I have yet to see a Dalmatian in Thailand. We jumped a cab (Kev is getting to be quite the taxi hailer these days:)) and drove as far as we could reasonably justify before we planned on walking. **I should note that the day before we walked over 18 km in flop flops exploring the city, so we felt a taxi was somewhat deserved** No sooner had we jumped out of the cab, I felt a little gurgle in my stomach. You guessed it! I was sick again. So, we jumped back in the cab, this time not worrying about the cost–I just had to get home fast!! In the cab, while trying to keep my mind off “things,” I couldn’t help being reminded of my freshman year at Alma, where I swear to God I got every virus that went through the dorms. Luckily though, I cannot remember being sick in the 4 years after that year. My body had built up such stellar antibodies that I was unable to get sick. That is, until this trip. All I know is the individual who invented Cipro should be given saint-status as far as I’m concerned. Unfortunately, yesterday amounted to me huddled in a ball on my bed all day, with no purses or tacky souvenirs to show for myself. Sunday was supposed to be the best day to go too. I really wanted to see those flying squirrels.

Today though, I feel remarkably better. Just in time for my special day! For starters, we somehow got into one of the best guest houses in Bangkok, which normally has a 3 month waiting list. It has the most amazing ambiance, and is living up to my every expectation. Also high on the list (and ignoring my sickness yesterday), we indulged in some AMAZING food (I hope this doesn’t come back to haunt me!!!:)). This morning for breakfast, Kev took me to get crepes at this really cute French joint (Cor, I wonder how similar they were to the ones you had in France? They were delicious, but unlike any I had ever had before.). After that we jumped on our old friend the Skytrain, and headed down to the bookstore where I lost myself for a few hours. I finally resurfaced from my state of rapture (with my books) with 3 new ones I couldn’t live without (who does that sound like?!:)) which Kev bought me for a special gift. I was on cloud 9. Still in my euphoric state, we headed down to get, quite possibly the best sushi I have ever had. We ordered so much food, nigiri was practically coming out of my ears. I was so full I felt like I was back in the States, with my glutinous side (that I know and love) risen from its 2 month dormant slumber. I was so full I couldn’t breathe properly. I was so full, I didn’t think I could walk…that is until Kev INSISTED we take a gander around the gorgeous bakeries and pick out a birthday cake. Naturally, I rolled myself right on out of Fuji Sushi, and right into this unbelievable pastry shop. After much deliberation, I chose a Triple Chocolate Mousse Delight. Just a slice. I couldn’t stand being THAT glutinous all in one day. While I recognize it’s not a Funfetti, it’s the closest thing a girl could get to a birthday cake, without being home and having her mom make one for her, am I right?! Trust me, I’m right. Jennifer Rose Hoornstra would have probably keeled over dead in that gem of a cake shop. That’s all I gotta say.

After my long day of pure indulgence, we headed back to the guest house and snuck up to my room to eat the cake because I was too embarrassed to blow out my candles in front of everyone downstairs. As it turns out, we seriously did have to sneak it, because the guest house has some pretty strict No Eating in Rooms policies. So after the quickest rendition of “Happy Birthday” ever, and the ceremonious blowing out of the candles, we quickly swatted away all of the smoke in the hopes of disguising our cake-eating, rule-breaking selves from the fire alarms (there’s a No Smoking in Rooms policy too).

And thank God we did. I’m just sitting here thinking about the evacuation of the building, and the “rescue” of the trusty Thai Fire Depot, which happens to be right down the street… HA! Now THAT would have been embarrassing!!

And now, after all of that, I am left sitting here. Trying to savor my books (I’ve already finished one:() and recount a wonderful birthday memories. It was a good one. Kev did a really good job of making it special. Even still, I wish I were home, scrap that, I wish my family was here :)because no matter how great the birthday, it’s always better with your family.

I love you guys. It’s getting late, and I might be getting a bit sappy (swwwen!!!)

Indulge today for me,
Lgt

Def.def,def,def,def,def,def,def.
Wave-a-licious definition, make those farangs vomit……

So a few days late to post, but kev and I are on the trusty Songserm ferry from Ko Tao, to Chumpon! From there we’ll hop a train to Prachaup Khiri Khan, a small fishing village known for drying squid and cheap seafood (which is naturally why we’re going:)).

Our time on Ko Tao (Little Turtle) has been great. We had a couple of amazing, once-in-a-lifetime dives, where we saw the most beautiful coral, anemones (I’m going to have to spell check that word, there’s no way that’s right!) and of course marine life ever….but the anemones were for sure my favorite. The entire time I kept thinking about my dad, and how much he would have loved it. The weather hasn’t been great–but still a welcomed change from the seemingly constant heat.

That being said, I just have to tell you about the Ferry Boat Ride From Hell we took getting to Ko Tao. Around 11am, our taxi took us to the loading dock where about 200 college aged farangs, still hungover from the Half Moon Party, were all huddled under this holey, makeshift tarp about 30 feet long waiting for the boat. While walking over, I felt a couple raindrops, but by the time we made it to the tarp it started to DOWNPOUR. Remember when I said “when it rains, it pours?” well, this was no exception. Out of nowhere rain comes hailing down and everyone is trying that much harder to secure a dry spot under the tarp for themselves and their packs. No one succeeded. While we’re all standing there, huddling in the arm pits of strangers, the ridiculous wind whips a giant part of the gutter on this tarp around, and turns the spout directly on our heads. We are, SOPPING wet. There is 0 chance one single thing I have with me is even remotely dry. At this point, our ferry has made it to the dock, but the waves are so enormous, they cant tie the boat off to let the passengers coming from Surat Thani off. So we wait…and wait….and wait, for another hour until the boat crew has muscled their way into tying off the boat. Thrilled that our 2+ hour wait for the ferry is finally over, everyone is wet, but smiling and ready to board. The cheering and excitement stops, however, when we see the passengers get off the boat: white- faced, sickly people wearily lugging their packs, and, carrying multiple bags of their vomit. I tried to conceal my laughter, and sort of rolled my eyes at kev, who also found the scene to be somewhat humorous. We were just so wet, and so tired of carrying our now extra- heavy packs that we were ready to get on that boat no matter what. Well, let me just say, karma came to bite me in the ass for laughing at my fellow farang’s misfortune. We sat down at our seats, and a crewman came around to give us each clear plastic bags, “just in case.” ha. While I thankfully did not puke, I was holding on for dear life as our tiny boat was ENGULFED in the giant waves, and rocking us around like a pinball. The waves had earned a “highscore” after that ride, to say the least! All around EVERYONE (I seriously bet more than 1/2 the boat) was puking into their CLEAR PLASTIC bags, which after looking at (which you couldn’t avoid) would be enough to make anyone sick. It was unreal. Between the disgusting noises, smells, tears and rocking, it was, without question the longest 1.5 hours of my life.

Things I’ve learned:
1) Don’t laugh at other’s misfortune. We are in the land if Buddha, and that guy knows how to instill some serious karma on the deserving.
2) Always keep raincoat and waterproofed bags close by during the rainy season.
3) Stay away from Sangsum rum buckets before ferry rides… Especially if the weather is less than ideal.
——————————–
Also: I had my first 1 hour long Thai Massage. Best $4 I’ve ever spent. Also, also: I just found out my family (Sean) bought 3 pigs which are now residing in our back yard. If you see my parents, be sure to call them “Maw” and “Paw” for me.
Also, also, also: Kevin got really drunk last night after drinking less than a full 40oz Chang beer. Apparently those Chinese know how to make a strong beer!
Also, also, also, also: I had French Fries with mayo last night, and they were a delicious reminder of home. ’tis all.

Keep the ketchup off your shirts, Lgt

For the dive logs,

Japanses gardens, green rock -dive 2
15 meters of vis

Chumpun pinnacle -dive 1
20-25 meters vis-very good, perhaps next best next to Cozumel
Jellyfish on long swim, Lindsay almost ran into them. Dive was great,
some great beautiful anenamies (sp?) and coral, large schools of
smaller fish. Also saw a decent sized black tipped reef shark.

Lindsay was a pro diver, perfect decents, etc. Plus perfect safety
stops. A real pro.

Hopefully my battery doesnt die before I finish this.

As I type this the tide is high, I'm sitting on a sodden step that
faces the ocean, which is maybe 10 feet in front of me. Behind me is
the main office of the Big Blue dive operation that Lindsay and I dove
with. It's 7:30 pm here and dark already. In front but to the left a
bit is a Thai cooking fresh fish and other seafood to order, his BBQ
"grill" has two legs in the water. It is a very nice atmosphere, to
the right if me and again only a few feet away is a palm tree with
lanterns hanging from it and surrounding it is a bunch of tables and
mats where people sit on the ground eating their freshly cooked
seafood. There seems to be a lot of large prawns, red snapper, and
baracuda. It's a very "tropical island" atmosphere. Lindsay is running
on the beach, which is lit up all along the coast with similar
establishments. Music of course is playing.

This will be night three on Koh Tao, and there us much to share. A
terrible boat ride here, very good diving, and a so so experience with
the "resort" we're staying at. I don't think I'll have time to post
about all of this right now, so the details will have to wait until
later. I just wanted to give a ganeral update on our progress and plans.

Tomorrow we are taking a four hour boat ride to chumpan (spelling?)
which is north of Surat thani which is where we first departed from.
Then we take a 4 hour train to a small fishing village along the coast
to the north, where we plan to stay for 1 or 2 nights, before we head
back to bangkok to regroup before Chiang Mai, in the very north.

Hope all is well for everybody, good luck Andrew!!!
-kev

this just in: i LOVE PINEAPPLE SHAKES.

love. love. LOVE them.

in other, less exciting news (just kidding:)) kev and i have been livin’ it up on little ko phang. two days ago, after tooling around the island all day on our scooter, we headed down to haad rin, the main party beach, to grab a little sushi. it was this awesome restaurant, right next to the beach and while it may have been a BIT expensive, i had promised myself a good sushi dinner once we were here, and i was bound and determined to get it. so we waited for close to an hour for the place to open (most restaurant here don’t open until 7 at least) and got. the worst. sushi. ever. it was pretty depressing, but it was still a really fun, worthwhile experience…UNTIL! we walked out the doors and saw that it was raining. annnnd about to rain harder. ugh. for those of you that have heard the expression “when it rains, it pours…” i have no doubt that whomever came up with that lived on THIS ISLAND when they thought it up.

now, normally i consider myself up for most things and if not a daredevil, at least willing to try things once. but i seriously did not even want to get on the bike. not at all. after a bit of convincing, we drove home, in the rain, on our scooter, with the crazy winds, rain, traffic and then…NO ELECTRICITY, for seriously probably close to 40 minutes. oh, and did i mention the hills?! the 20% decline hills?! i thought driving out west with nick when we saw the signs for 6% were bad, but no. i was scared shitless. during the day is bad enough, but seriousssssly. thankfully, we made it back, soaked to the bone, and were without electricity for about 1.5 days. yesterday, since there were no cold drinks to be had, or internet joints to chill out in, we headed up north to mae haad, where we partook in some of the best snorkling (or so we’ve heard) that the island offers. it was AMAZING. we saw some of the most beautiful coral i have ever seen, sea slugs were EVERWHERE, as well as crabs, parrot fish, and huge schools of fish i dont know the name of (ky, you guys want tropical fish!? get a parrot fish, very cool). we stopped a few times to get pineapple shakes (they really are the best here) and went back to our place so i could run. beach running here is awesome, but not at night (the tide) and i ended up stepping on a huge piece of coral in my attempt for an all-out sprint (yes sean, i know i can’t sprint :)) and ended up bruising my foot kinda bad. all in all though, it was an awesome day. and i got to finish WHITE TEETH, which was a really entertaining, fun read.

i think we’re going to be here for another day or so, maybe finally get to go to the halfmoon party (as my previous sickness coupled with the terrible weather were not condusive to us going the first time), which is on the 25th. after which, i think the plan is to head up to ko tao for some diving, and then back to the mainland to see chiang mai. we shall see. we might just decide that beach life is something we want to extend our visas for.

pineapples and love,
lgt

Today is (I’m not sure the day of the week actually), the 17th of July. Lindsay may very well already be typing a similar post as I type this (she’s across the room) but I wanted to post anyway, just in case.

Today we are catching a bus at 7 PM which will take us down to southern thailand, in particular (i forget the name of the town, Samui I believe) where we’ll catch a ferry to bring us to Kho Phangan, which is a smallish Island best known for the “full moon party”, which happens to be taking place the evening of the 19th. Lindsay really wanted to go to this “full moon party” and I’m sure it will be a good/fun experience, so here we go! (fake edit: here is a link to one of many tourist centered webpages about the full moon party. frankly I’m not a huge drinker/partier these days (some would claim I never was) so we’ll see what the full moon party is actually like – I’m just hoping to find a beach with some water. I can’t wait to go swimming in the ocean.

The bus ride is 11 hours, but I believe it’s air conditioned so it shouldn’t be too bad. Well, in theory it shouldn’t be too bad, but it’s a night bus and frankly I’m not great at sleeping in anything but a hard flat surface. I’m not picky, I can sleep on the hard ground with rocks sticking into my back without too much problem, but sleeping while sitting I’m not great at. I am looking forward to the trip on a whole though, being able to see more of Thailand than just the limited view of the city. It’s our first real mini-adventure of many.

miss you all,
kev