Ayutthaya,Thailand

The other day we went to visit Ayutthaya which is a city that was once the capital of what was once Siam. It was hot as hell and I thought that at any moment one or all of us might fall over. We did get to see a pretty ginormous reclining Buddha and some other next looking sites. Not a lot to report from good ol' Ayutthaya but it was a quality day trip with lots o photo ops. The highlight of the day for me was the chance to see the buried Buddha. The only part of his body that exists is his head and the remainder of his frame is said to be buried under the Earth beneath him. Maybe it is.. maybe it isn't but in my mind it definitely is!

Elephant Island

I haven't had the best Internet access so I haven't been able to update as much as I would like to but let me just say I am having an amazing time. Here's a back track of what I've been doing. Brittny had to go back to the states before she could join us on our trip so Liz, Laura and I went to Koh Chang which is an Island  south of Bangkok.

First view of Koh Chang from the ferry

Koh Chang or Elephant Island was so amazing and beautiful that I didn't want to leave. The water was a blue that I've never seen before and I loved to sip my morning coffee while I looked out on the endless skyline. Beach life is definitely for me. At first I had a strange feeling and I couldn't figure out what it was. I realized after a couple of days that it was the feeling of no stress. I didn't wear a watch or shoes the entire time and I slept better than I have in years.
The food was amazing too. We mostly ate ate our bungalow's little place but a few spots down from us was a great bbq place. We just picked what we wanted from the spread and they grilled it up for us. We had fresh tuna and red snapper. Great shishkebabs with pineapple, hot peppers and chicken in a spicy rub. It was so good my mouth waters just thinking about it now.

All of our yummy choices for din din

Red Snapper

Mussels

We did do more than eat.... not much more but some. We went snorkeling around four islands and that was interesting. I have always love the water and snorkeling has been a lifelong dream of mine. I was torn between my interest in snorkeling and the fact that all of the coral that I saw was brown and dead because of the pollution from the boats. I honestly didn't think of the terrible ecological impact that those daily tours have until I saw it close up. I will go snorkeling again but I want to make sure it's in a more Earth friendly way. I found myself singing songs from The Little Mermaid and Bedknobs and Broomstick the entire time I was snorkeling. The fish were close enough to touch and the sea urchins looked like beautiful works of art left on the sea floor. It was beautiful and it isn't even the brilliant colors of a live coral bed.

Unda da sea

I love the sea urchins

Here fishy fishy fishy

We got to know the staff pretty well and had some enlightening conversations with them. Most of the people who work on the island are Cambodian and came to Thailand because they can make so much more money than at home. How much money you ask? 1500 baht a month. That is equal to about $45.00 a month. Yeah you read  that right. Don worked an average of 17 hours a day, every day to make what the three of us spent on one meal. He still has family in Cambodia so he makes sure to send about half of his salary home every month for his sister to go to private school so that learn English. He learned English completely by interacting with the customers at his restaurant.  Can you really imagine living on $20.00 a day even let alone a month. It really helped remind me that even when I feel like I have no money and compared to my friends who have a car, house, big TV, stereo system or all of those other must haves. I am still rich compared to most people in the world. It was very humbling to have conversations with the men who worked so hard to move from doing laundry to one of the "best paying jobs" of being a waiter all for pennies really. I know that their stories and words will stay with me as I navigate my way through the rest of this trip and my life.

Goodbye Korea Hello Bangkok

Thanks for the photo Tiffany

Well, a year has finally passed and yesterday I said goodbye to Korea and see you later to a lot of wonderful friends. For our last big blow out weekend in Korea we spend some time on Deokjeokdo Island eating a lot of yummy food and drinking. Perhaps a little too much since I passed out at around 7:00 pm and missed out on most of the evening. Well I blame our little friend absinthe for that. I may have only had one shot but boy howdy did that do me in. I did have a great time celebrating my time here with old friends and meeting new ones so thank to all who made it a stellar going away bash.
Now I am in Bangkok, Thailand with Liz and Laura listening to the rain pour down outside of our hostel. With minimal Internet I checked in with the folks, checked Facebook and got Brittny (our fourth travel buddy) psyched for her arrival. If you have ever seen the opening scene of The Beach, Leo is offered snake blood on Khaosan Road and that is exactly where I am right now (well a few blocks but close enough). It truly is a place where one can buy everything from fried crickets to dreadlocks. A street that entices every sense and vice with the same intensity. The dance music blaring out of the bars and stalls magnifies to the other stimuli ten fold. While we sat at an outside bar drinking some Chang beers I couldn't even hold a conversation because I was so intrigued by all of the people walking, drinking, eating, laughing, hustling and ... living.
Each person that I see makes me want to talk, listen and learn their stories. Everyone is here for a reason and whether it is to escape, find oneself or just have a great time there are characters around every corner. The topless sunbathers are far more attractive that the topless man who carries a water gun and looks like the 60's were far too good to him. There are people of all ages shapes and sizes which is pretty different from what I've seen for the last year in Korea. I love the food and the fact that a plate of Pad Thai is made fresh in front of me for roughly 3 bucks and it comes with a spring roll. In a nutshell Thailand is totally my kind of place and even though I am still here I already can't wait to come back.
Earlier today we went to a hostel that has a roof top pool and bar. Yeah, OK, we weren't guests at the hostel but Laura let her puppies out so who would really kick us out with a nice set flying free? I had an awesome red curry for lunch and am excited to have a few Chang beers tonight. This morning we went to get manicures and pedicures. I have always wanted to get one of those fish pedicures and today I had the chance so why not? It was actually a really cool feeling and although it was very ticklish it wasn't nearly as bad as a regular pedicure. It lasted for about 20 minutes and was well worth the six bucks.

Tomorrow we head off to Koh Chang which is an island off of the coast of Thailand. there we will soak in the sun (don't worry I'll wear plenty of sun screen), relax in the sand and just really get into the beachy kind of life. I'm pretty much in love with Thailand so far. I'll write more when I can. If you want to keep up with what's happening you can check out my travel bud Laura's blog too.

On My Way

My friend Laura loves photo shop and made this photo to celebrate our departure for Hong Kong to celebrate Chinese New Year. Yeah year of the rabbit here we come!
This morning as I was thinking about my HK adventure and other upcoming adventures and this song popped into my head. Korea is the first country I have been to outside of North America so I am totally psyched to visit another place while I am here.



This song also is running through me because my life plans have recently changed again. For a while I have been planning a cross USA trip with Liz for when I leave Korea. We planned to start in Seattle and work our way down the Pac coast then across to New York. Well  with a recent look at our budget, recent employment changes for her and a drive to always explore we have decided to scrap that trip. We have decided to travel through South East Asia instead. We will spend two months backpacking through Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia and anywhere else our little hearts desire. I do plan to spend a good deal of time during our trek volunteering. I've found a program in Thailand where I can help with sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation. There is a different program where I can work with elephants. I'm also interested in taking regional cooking classes throughout the trek as well. I don't know exactly what I will be doing for the travel time but I do know that I will be relaxing, making memories and exploring our beautiful earth. You may be asking yourself about my other future plans. Camp? School? Marriage? Kids? 401K? I can honestly tell you I don't exactly know. All of those things interest me but my "plan" is to live my life in the best way possible and live it for me. I have been trying to learn to be more selfish and make decisions for me. Make decisions about what is best for me. I know that might worry some of my protectors out there and I love your concern but just know that it is because of your support that I am able to do things like this. I cannot tell you how many friends and family members have told me how much the envy me or have expressed how they would NEVER be able to do what i'm doing. I know it's not for everyone. I know a life of hostel jumping and communicating only through smiling and hand gestures is not appealing to many but for me it is amazing. It gives me energy and excitement. When I am an old lady and I am sharing stories and photos with the little people in my life I can't wait to inspire in them what the world travelers in my life have done for me. So thank you everyone who has helped me want to eat strange food, swim with sea turtles and live out of a back pack. You Rock!