Leaving Thailand

We left Phi Phi and headed to Kata Beach, I figured like the other beaches on Phuket it would be nice. It was a dump, our hostel didn't have a/c like they said they did, the city was boring, and the food was brutal. We spent hot days reading in our dorm and hot nights sweating in our beds. After only two nights my pillow stunk of sweat, it smelled like hockey equipment. The hostel was basically a scuba schools side business. Everyone staying there was taking a scuba course of some kind. Our last day we hailed a cab and went to the shooting range. We figured we should at least do something in this town. We all shot handguns, Bryce and I also used a shotgun. I've never fired one before I thought it was wicked.

We decided to cut out losses and just get a hotel close to the airport. We booked a resort for about 20 bucks a night each. It was on Nai Yang beach, a small beach with a handful of nice resorts. Our room was awesome and a/c equipped, with room service, pools and right on the beach. It was one of the nicest places I've ever stayed in. We spent a few days eating junk food (which I'm now regretting in this Bangkok bathroom) and enjoying the sun and air conditioning. There's a abandoned resort next to ours that was wiped out by the tsunami, it's really creepy. I wanted to explore it, but its blocked off.

We flew an hour back to Bangkok and are now killing two days before flying ten hours to Melbourne. Bryce is running low on funds and might only get to do a month in Australia. Cam says he might be ready to go home by August too. I'd like to stay longer, but I must admit I miss home a bit. I've still got lots of dough left and maybe I'll come home for a few months and go travel again.

Last night on Phi Phi

Our last night on Phi Phi consisted of more drinking. We went to Reggae Bar again to watch the fights and drink a few buckets. There was a group a girls sitting not too far from us, but they had quite a few dudes with them as well so we stayed back. They got up to leave and Bryce asked where they were going next, they said the beach. We asked if we could join them but not before making the mistake of calling them "British" when they were actually Irish. Luckily we defused the situation by asking then where we were from they answered with America, then apologized for the mix up. Turned out that none of the Irish girls or guys were dating and we ducked into a bar before the beach. The Dj stopped playing at about 2, but after asking our Irish friends to sing The Fields of Athenry we filled the bar with Irish folk music. A group of Brits came over to challenge us and a crazy back and forth folk song sing off ensued. We outnumbered the Limeys and they soon took off. We returned to our room around 4 and Bryce began puking as one does after three buckets of liquor. We took the boat back to Phuket it was filled with good looking British girls sun bathing. Bryce says this is the worst hangover he's ever had, we arrived in port and grabbed a taxi to Kata Beach our last destination before going back to Bangkok then Melbourne. The hostel is nice, but they advertised a/c and our room just has fans in it. It's brutally hot here and we have 5 days booked. I guess this is normally rainy season, but we've had nothing but sun and 30 above since we left Bangkok.

Phi Phi/James Bond Island

This is the Thailand we've been hearing about. We spent about 5 days in didn't do much besides drink and sit on the beach. We did do a day trip to the James Bond Island where they filmed The Man With The Golden Gun. The island itself was little disappointing , but the other three islands were amazing though, we got into kayaks and went into some caves and lagoons, it was amazing. The last island everybody went swimming, Bryce jumped off the top of the boat and the water wasn't deep enough. He came up to the surface along with a cloud of mud. A couple people got stung by jelly fish, so I was happy I didn't go in. We met an English couple, the guy was a total douche, he seemed cool at first but once we told him we were 23 (older than him) and didn't go to college his attitude totally changed. He talked to us like we were idiots, we mentioned going to Australia and he reminded us that it was an island. Total university pussy.

We took the ferry to Phi Phi Island and finally we're at the Thailand we imagined. The island is tiny, two mountains on each end and a tiny town in the middle. There's no cars here and you can walk from one end to the other in about 15 minutes. There's nothing here but bars, guest houses, and restaurants. We hit up the Reggae Bar, which has nothing to do with reggae. There's a boxing ring in the center and you can fight other bar patrons. Win or lose you get a bucket filled with liquor, Bryce wanted to fight me but I refused. A chubby English dude wanted to fight but no one volunteered. Cam and I convinced Bryce to fight, after an offer of 100 baht each and a little coaxing from the Thai promoters. I was his corner man and had him convinced he could beat the English guy. He was fatter than Bryce but he was fast, Bryce landed more punches but his opponent had more style. He could duck and weave pretty good for a big guy. In the end the English dude was given the decision. Him and Bryce talked afterwards they both had some impressive bruises and patted eachother on the back. A couple girls were yelling at eachother in the the bar and decided to head into the ring, one girl was in trouble. She fought like a girl while the other stood in a proper stance and beat the shit outta the other girl. They had to stop the fight.

The next day Cam got a traditional tattoo done with a bamboo needle. It was amazing to see the work being done with just a single needle.

At night we went to the beach which is lined with bars, they had jump rope on fire, and some fire dancers. Other than that it was a typical nightclub.

Patong Beach

Finally we've reached the Thailand we've heard of. Patong Beach is like a poor mans Waikiki. The beach is amazing, the waters great, you can rent motorcycles, scooters, jeeps, jet skis, go tubing, parasailing all sorts of shit. It's cheap too, beer is 2 to 3 bucks, food is great and cheap. There's cute Aussie girls everywhere. The only downfall is there are still guys hounding you to buy a suit, and you'll see some old man walking hand in hand with his mail order bride.

Our hostel is right around the corner from Bangla Road. At night they block it off and it's filled with bars, food stands, and if you venture down the right alley you can find ping pong shows, lady boys, and prostitutes. The strange thing is the girls aren't nearly as grabby as they were in Amsterdam.

We squeezed into a pub with an English dude from our room. I immediately knew he was English by the state of his teeth. The whole bar and all of the other bars were packed with Aussies watching Rugby League, which is the gay version of rugby with lighter rucks and pussy scrums. It was still a great game, really entertaining.

We bar hopped the rest of the night. My favorite spot was basically a mall of bars, it was a labyrinth of square bars all the same size, serving the same drinks, with girls dances at the tables. We sat with a couple from South Africa and New Zealand on their honey moon. We bought each other shots and talked about Africa. The bathroom was also crazy, the attendants put the soap in your hands and gave you some paper towel like they do at shitty night clubs back home but then they crack your neck, back, and a quick head massage.

We went for massages today, Cam and I first put our feet in fish tanks with these tiny fish that ate the dead skin off your feet. It was a strange feeling at first and freaked me out at first. It felt like pins and needles and vibrations all over your feet. Every once in awhile one would get between your toes and it would make me squirm. My feet felt pretty good though, they're still cracked and disgusting though) Afterwards we paid 200 Baht (about 6 bucks) for a full hour Thai Massage, they give you pajama pants to wear during the massage. Mine didn't fit, so I went in my boxers. Unfortunately my balls hung out a few times and my masseuse and her coworkers giggled a few times. It was my first massage and it was awesome. Bryce and I are definitely going again, Cam being the weirdo he is didn't like his.

We'll probably go to a Muay Thai Boxing match tonight or tomorrow, then a tour of the James Bond islands.

I'm sick of Bangkok

It's hot, humid, dirty, and it stinks. We didn't do much in Bangkok, we're staying in the shopping district but nothing interests me here. Plus I don't have much room in my backpack. The mall is 6 stories and filled with knock off everything. From jeans to iPads. We went to khao San road, which is considered the backpackers ghetto. It's filled with bars, cheap shops and hostels. It was cool but being constantly harassed for cab rides and cheap suits drove us mad. We spent the rest of our time in Bangkok drinking, eating, and going to the English movie theatre. The food courts here are different than back home. You get a card and go up to each establishment and they scan your card depending on what you want then you pay at the end. They had everything from Thai to Greek, to American and Indian. The Chinese food was excellent, and pretty cheap.

We took at 14 hour train and a 4 hour bus to Phuket. The scenery is cool and reminds me of Vietnam movies. Phuket isn't as busy as Bangkok, it reminds me of Hawaii and Tijuana. We're spending three days at a resort (its the rainy season so nobodies here). The three of us are in the hostel section, do we get access to the resort facilities (a shit restaurant, expensive bar, and a nice pool).

Tonight we went to a Mexican place a British girl suggested. I had crocodile cakes (like crab cakes) and jamaican jerk chicken. It was delicious and the outdoor seating was awesome. Having two pitchers of sangria and two of margaritas was great as well.

A few more days here then we head to Patong, one of the nicest beaches here. It's also a major party spot. Hopefully we can meet some people.

Frankfurt to Abu Dhabi to Bangkok

We spent our last two days in Europe in the city of Frankfurt it definitely doesn't feel very German. It's incredibly modern with several astounding glass sky scrapers towering over the city. Apparently it's a huge hub for business and banking in Europe, they have the head quarters of the European bank, and more trade shows than weekends here. Lots of super cars prowl the streets. Cranes and construction dot the city everywhere. Also there's a red light district, but compared to Amsterdam it just feels sleezy.

Our last day it was pouring rain and it being a Sunday in Europe, nothing was open. We lucked out and found a traditional German restaurant. It was a bit pricy, but it was our last day with Dalton and Colin so we didn't care. I ordered the potato soup and Frankfurt plate thinking the soup would just be a small bowl. Nope, it was a large bowl almost as good as my moms. My main course was three kinds of sausage with potato salad. These dishes along with some German beer left me more than full. But my shit head companions convinced me to order desert along with them. I orders the waffle with cherries and vanilla ice cream. I figured it would be one waffle. Wrong again it was four. So here I sat bursting at the seams looking like some tub of shit American. Everything was delicious but my stomach hated me. We tried going to the only English language theatre in Germany, but they didn't have a film in English that day.

We left in the morning to fly to Bangkok, once again we had some trouble at the airport. We had a flight into Bangkok but no flight out. This as it turns out is a fairly recent rule, so we had to vacate our spot in line and book a flight with a discount airline. It ended being twice as expensive than if we had just booked one ourselves but we couldn't get wifi in the airport. Everything worked out ok and we took off to Abu Dhabi. The customs officers in Germany were the friendliest I've ever encountered. We told the man about our travels and he seemed excited for us and wished us well. Our flight to Abu Dhabi was great, the plane was only 1/2 full, the selection of movies was awesome. They even had video games. The food was excellent (even for airline food), and free liquor! I watched two movies but fell asleep during both endings and never found out how they concluded. We landed in Abu Dhabi with just enough sunlight to catch a few glimpses of Dubai in the distance. The terminal was incredible and our airline (Etihad Airline) offered lounges to even economy class customers, with cigar rooms, spas, buffets, and more. We didn't have time to see any of this though. Our second flight to Bangkok wasn't as comfortable. Every seat was full, I didn't sleep at all. Once again the food and movies were good though.

It was different flying on a Arabic airline, everything was bilingual (English and then in Arabic). The plane had many passengers in traditional Middle Eastern garb including women in burqas (something I always hate to see, because there usually accompanied by some douchey looking husband in a polo shirt and designer sunglasses.) I wondered how some redneck American would feel flying on one of these flights.

After 12 hours total in the air we arrived and took a cab to our hostel. Bangkok reminds me of a wilder, more diverse Tokyo or Yokohama. The traffic is crazy, everyone including our driver saw the lanes as mere suggestions and drive on the shoulders, in the middle of the lanes ect. Our hostel is near Sian Square, the best shopping in Bangkok there's a massive mall, tons of booths hocking knock offs, but there's almost no bars here. The street food is unreal though, for about 3 Canadian dollars I got two stick with barbecued meat, fried dumplings, and sausage. Beer is also cheap.

We've got a month here in Thailand total, then we fly to Melbourne, Australia. Might have jobs lined up for us, we'll see.