Oh the Kohs

Since my last post we have travelled to three different locations: Koh Samui, KohPhangan and KohChang!

KohSamui was a nice island with a lot of fun things to do and gorgeous beaches. However the weather was cloudy and windy so the beach wasn't the best option; therefore we decided to rent scooters. YES, I know that they are death traps!!! The roads here are not great with lots of potholes, the traffic is crazy, you drive on the left side and many tourists are killed on them every year. That said they are worth it! Haha, at least they are cheap death traps and so much fun. We rented the automatic ones so they were easier to drive and we (unlike anyone else on the island) actually wore our helmets. Only a few near death encounters while accidentally going on the right side, we always sang the Beyonce song with the lyrics "to the left to the left" when we were driving to remember to stay left!! Stayed on a bungalow on the beach and had fun at the busy area Cheung Beach with great clubs and dancing. Here we also had our first buckets of alcohol...yes little buckets of alcohol. They are a great bang for your buck and pack a nice hangover as well (especially when there is a construction zone beside your hotel)!

KohPhangan was the best so far. The island is about 20 minutes from KohSamui and much smaller. If you live on planet earth you have heard of the full moon parties! And for good reason, they are the craziest possible party. Hat Rin is the beach that it takes place on and the festivities start a week in advance. We attended the pre full moon parties and they were great and the full moon party itself was a trip. We met up with our friend Patrick from ChangMai and had such a blast with him and new friends made. Imagine 20 000 young people 20-30 on average from all over the world on one beach. The international and Thai DJ's spin tunes on speakers three times as high as I am and everyone paints themselves in UV colors while drinking the infamous buckets (which are filled with any variety of alcohol and mix). Its a combinations for an amazing party with great atmosphere. We were getting tired at 6am and then the sun came up and everyone got their second wind and the party got better! We stayed until 10am and there were many people left. KohPhangan itself is the most beautiful island I have been to in Thailand with huge lush flowing hills and bright clear blue water.















Koh Chang is a little island far away from the others. Believe me when I say far; it took us 14 hours to get here from KohPhangan with 5 taxi rides in total, one ferry to KohSamui, one flight to Bangkok, one 5.5 hour bus ride to Trat and another 1 hour ferry to KohChang! All of this to arrive at at 11pm and our prepaid hotel reception was closed and we had to get another hotel next door! It was worth the travel. The island is as lush as Kohphagan with higher hills. There are fewer tourists and a much more laid back vibe. We hit a day trip yesterday to four little islands that surround this one and went snorkeling. The fish are spectacular and so bright. The White Sand beach here is idyllic for romance...unfortunately Aaron and I were not compatible for that! At night there are beautiful lights everywhere, recliners on the beach with little table on them for food etc, nice music and great ambiance. We met up with some Swedish friends and discovered Swedish chew. Its nasty! They have little bags of tobacco that look like tea bags that they stick under their upper lips. Apparently everyone in Sweden does this and the guy with us had been doing it for 15 years and had a hole or cavity in his gum from it! ewww!

We arrived home to see a new enemy emerge from hiding...the LARGEST cockroach I have EVER seen in my life! It was the size of my hand and just hanging out in our bathroom. Anyone that has travelled with me know my fear of them and funny stories to follow and now Aaron is one of those people as well. The screaming and jumping around went on for some time and since Aaron refused to kill it for me we shut the bathroom door and put a towel in the crack and attempted to sleep with thoughts of huge cockroaches attacking! Tomorrow we have a bus booked to take us to Siem Riep, Cambodia; home of Ankor Wat! GOODBYE Thailand, its been a slice! A truly memorable, magnificent and humor filled trip.