After a long and uneventful flight, we arrived home safely at 8:30pm last night. Thanks to the wonders of jet lag, I have been wide awake since 4am. I guess at least I slept through most of the night.
Our last night in Phuket was amazing. Leanna and I had the best massages/body scrubs overlooking the ocean. The only downside ... I sprained my ankle walking (or rather falling) down the spa steps to our room. Didn't stop me from enjoying my last night, but I had a total cankle the next day.
The seafood buffet was so delicious. I had lobster, crab, prawns, and salmon. I even celebrated with a glass of Thai chenin blanc wine that was pretty decent. We woke up the next morning and caught our flight to Singapore and then had about 2 hours for a city tour. The city is absolutely amazing. It's so clean, beautifully landscaped, etc. I definitely want to go back ... and think it's a great trip for someone not quite ready for full-blown Asia as it has a more-Western feel to it. The highlight of the trip was our visit to the famed Raffles hotel. It's even more beautiful in person that in pictures and my only regret is I was not able to sit in the hotel bar and order a Singapore Sling!
My goal today is to unpack and sort through my stuff. Pictures will probably be tomorrow. Oh ... and guess I should get back on the Pacific time table!
Friday, September 7, 2007
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
i left my heart in phuket
Well ... this is my last post from Thailand :( I just got back from a full-day of snorkeling on a boat in the Andaman Sea. The weather was gorgeous and we laid out, ate good food, and snorkled (Leanna went scuba-diving). Our last night in Chiang Mai was great - went to a local street market, got foot/leg massages and ate more good food!
The next morning we flew to Phuket. Our hotel is absolutely gorgeous ... but Patong (the nearby town) is so gross. It's a total replica of TJ. Bars, vendors, skanky girls, etc. And the shopping is a joke. Yesterday it poured rain all day so we hung at our hotel, walked around town ... and had yet another massage (our fifth of the trip).
We decided to do some packing last night and then actually had a great Italian dinner at our hotel and then went to bed early in anticipation of today's trip. We were all nervous about the rain, but Buddha smiled down on us and there was not a cloud in the sky the entire day. The surrounding islands are breathtaking and the water is crystal blue and warm.
In 30 minute Leanna and I are having a 60-min massage followed by a 30-min body scrub at our hotel's spa on the beach. It's a splurge in Thai baht, but still only $90 each. Then we'll meet up with Crissy for a seafood BBQ on the beach. This has truly been the perfect end to a perfect trip.
We fly out tomorrow morning and while I am sad to leave am ready for home and my own bed. Our layover is Singapore is 4.5 hours so we are fortunate to go on a 2-hour tour of the city ... and the famed Raffles Hotel. That will at least be something to look forward to tomorrow.
I will see some of you soon ... and will post pictures for the rest when I can. I hope you all enjoyed this. Ciao!
The next morning we flew to Phuket. Our hotel is absolutely gorgeous ... but Patong (the nearby town) is so gross. It's a total replica of TJ. Bars, vendors, skanky girls, etc. And the shopping is a joke. Yesterday it poured rain all day so we hung at our hotel, walked around town ... and had yet another massage (our fifth of the trip).
We decided to do some packing last night and then actually had a great Italian dinner at our hotel and then went to bed early in anticipation of today's trip. We were all nervous about the rain, but Buddha smiled down on us and there was not a cloud in the sky the entire day. The surrounding islands are breathtaking and the water is crystal blue and warm.
In 30 minute Leanna and I are having a 60-min massage followed by a 30-min body scrub at our hotel's spa on the beach. It's a splurge in Thai baht, but still only $90 each. Then we'll meet up with Crissy for a seafood BBQ on the beach. This has truly been the perfect end to a perfect trip.
We fly out tomorrow morning and while I am sad to leave am ready for home and my own bed. Our layover is Singapore is 4.5 hours so we are fortunate to go on a 2-hour tour of the city ... and the famed Raffles Hotel. That will at least be something to look forward to tomorrow.
I will see some of you soon ... and will post pictures for the rest when I can. I hope you all enjoyed this. Ciao!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
fight on sc!!!
Come on ... you didn't really think a small trip to Thailand would get in the way of my beloved Trojans! Go SC ... good way to start the season!!!
Anyway, I am writing from Chiang Mai. We have had a great time here so far, although I do have to say that after Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai isn't quite living up to my expectations. Perhaps if we had more time to explore outside the city.
When we arrived yesterday, we were all in awe of our hotel, the Tamarind Village. It is straight out of Architectural Digest. We laid around the pool for awhile and then went on a two-hour boat trip on the Ping River to a fruit farm. The river is pretty polluted, but we saw some beautiful houses. At the farm we tried dragon fruit, which I thought was way too sour, like a lime.
On the trip we met two guys, Thijs from Amsterdam and Nik from Stockholm. After Leanna flirted :) we met up with them at the Night Bazaar. I can't even describe to you how big this thing is. It's huge. We didn't even cover 25% of it so we're going back after we finish checking email. Although we only covered 25%, we did manage to shop a lot!
After another delicious Thai dinner, we met up with the guys and had drinks at the Sham Rock Bar (that's how it's spelled here) and drank Changa beer and played Jenga. Neither boy had ever seen it and by the end, Nik was a monster.
Today we traveled into the mountains to a Hmong Village. The village was interesting ... more cute dogs who will be next week's dinner ... but what was amazing was the scenery. It was like the Amazon ... SO beautiful. We had a to take a 4x4 truck to get there. The sad part was a little dog who kept following us everywhere ... with his front let hanging together by skin :(
On our way back down the mountain we visited temple Wat Doisuthep which is high on the mountain top. It was gorgeous. Buddhas everywhere and a view to die for. Today was the head monk's birthday so we got to see a lot of special ceremonies. Speaking of which, monks are all over this town as it has as many temples at Bangkok. One is sitting next to me now checking out his MySpace friends. I kid you not.
So that is Chiang Mai in a nutshell. It's the market tonight, then to bed early after last night ... followed by a morning massage and then a plane flight to Phuket, the last stop on our journey. I am so excited to head to the beach!!!
Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Miss you all!!!
Anyway, I am writing from Chiang Mai. We have had a great time here so far, although I do have to say that after Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai isn't quite living up to my expectations. Perhaps if we had more time to explore outside the city.
When we arrived yesterday, we were all in awe of our hotel, the Tamarind Village. It is straight out of Architectural Digest. We laid around the pool for awhile and then went on a two-hour boat trip on the Ping River to a fruit farm. The river is pretty polluted, but we saw some beautiful houses. At the farm we tried dragon fruit, which I thought was way too sour, like a lime.
On the trip we met two guys, Thijs from Amsterdam and Nik from Stockholm. After Leanna flirted :) we met up with them at the Night Bazaar. I can't even describe to you how big this thing is. It's huge. We didn't even cover 25% of it so we're going back after we finish checking email. Although we only covered 25%, we did manage to shop a lot!
After another delicious Thai dinner, we met up with the guys and had drinks at the Sham Rock Bar (that's how it's spelled here) and drank Changa beer and played Jenga. Neither boy had ever seen it and by the end, Nik was a monster.
Today we traveled into the mountains to a Hmong Village. The village was interesting ... more cute dogs who will be next week's dinner ... but what was amazing was the scenery. It was like the Amazon ... SO beautiful. We had a to take a 4x4 truck to get there. The sad part was a little dog who kept following us everywhere ... with his front let hanging together by skin :(
On our way back down the mountain we visited temple Wat Doisuthep which is high on the mountain top. It was gorgeous. Buddhas everywhere and a view to die for. Today was the head monk's birthday so we got to see a lot of special ceremonies. Speaking of which, monks are all over this town as it has as many temples at Bangkok. One is sitting next to me now checking out his MySpace friends. I kid you not.
So that is Chiang Mai in a nutshell. It's the market tonight, then to bed early after last night ... followed by a morning massage and then a plane flight to Phuket, the last stop on our journey. I am so excited to head to the beach!!!
Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. Miss you all!!!
Saturday, September 1, 2007
keanu reeves = pure evil
Only two quick things to post. We arrived in Chiang Mai this afternoon, I will post a full report tomorrow or the following morning. For now though:
1) On our drive here, I noticed that no matter how small or poor a village, it has the most ornate and beautiful temple. It's beautiful to see how passionate the Thai people feel about their religion.
2) In a new temple outside of Chiang Rai, we saw the artist's representation of heaven and hell on murals covering the four walls. Heaven contained the usual images of Buddha, clouds, light ... while hell contained demons, terrorism ... and Keanu Reeves.
I kid you not.
1) On our drive here, I noticed that no matter how small or poor a village, it has the most ornate and beautiful temple. It's beautiful to see how passionate the Thai people feel about their religion.
2) In a new temple outside of Chiang Rai, we saw the artist's representation of heaven and hell on murals covering the four walls. Heaven contained the usual images of Buddha, clouds, light ... while hell contained demons, terrorism ... and Keanu Reeves.
I kid you not.
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