Paired Phi Phi's, and Asia-virgin eyes...

An interesting thing happens when I'm trying to tell myself to write about things that happened nearly two months ago instead of the ever-fascinating array of moments that are happening in the now... I feel a bit uninspired. For the past two weeks, since starting this blog, I find myself pulling out my ol' trusty journal and filling page after page trying to record the vast layers of colorful experiences that I have partaken in throughout Vietnam, and now into Cambodia. Yet, I struggle to churn out a few paragraphs that would contribute to the continuation of the Thailand story that I began here. Not because there is any inherent degree of 'less amazing' to attribute to those travels, but simply because they are of the past, and what's bouncing around in my head NOW is the incredibly contrasting sights of Phnom Penh, my first introduction to Khmer food, aimless wanders through this city that have uncovered a wealth of treats, and my visit today to the haunting rooms of the most notorious Khmer Rouge prison, S-21.

So, as it seems my eagerness to catch up to the present outweighs my desire to fully detail the past ... here's an attempt to summarize travels that no doubt deserve more attention than I currently feel like doling out:

•  Scuba diving is as powerfully amazing as I've always heard it described. Also, slightly nerve wracking at times... like when, say, you have been harboring a substantial conviction that a shark is going to eat you someday, and on your very first dive ever you are blessed with spotting not one, but two, swimming around and about you.
• The vibe of Koh Phi Phi Don, with all of it's temporary Thailand holiday partiers, is not really my bag.
• Yet, the Phi Phi islander's stories of Tsunami survival, (including one local whose life was saved when he was pulled from underneath collapsed wreckage--thanks to Buddha--and who then went on to open a supremely welcoming restaurant heavy with local patronage and serving up the best damn Thai Chili Paste Stir-Fry on this planet), are distinctly humbling.
• An overnight camping trip to 'The Beach' (yes, that one), on Koh Phi Phi Ley is beyond magical, offering up memories I will always cherish.

...This island is uninhabited save for the national park workers that look after it, but every morning and afternoon 100's of beach (Beach?) enthusiasts make day trips out there to stake out a small patch of sand amidst the teeming crowds. No doubt the draw of this island's raw beauty is enticing, but the circus of followers would put me off of it in a heartbeat, were it not for the surprisingly unsought out option of an overnight trip there. Less than 40 souls skipped about the expanse of this island's sparkling surfaces for the 15+ hours that I spent there, lending it exactly the kind of deserted feel that I wanted it to have.

•  Railay beach is divinely chill, displaying more dreadlocks, rasta beach bars, hippie inspired designs, and artistically infused decor-creations, than anywhere else I saw in Thailand. An unfortunate time crunch allowing for only one night there, left me wanting so much more. 

A pause in the bullet-pointing is necessary, as I must explain that from Railay beach Dave and I journeyed up to Bangkok in order to pick up his admirably adventurous, and absolutely lovely, parents from Suvarnabhumi Airport. Now, maybe in some circles it would be considered rather odd that after only a handful of months dating Dave and I were enthusiastically jumping into a two week, non-stop, meet-the-parents extravaganza. But, when you consider that after only a day of knowing each other we embarked on a week and a half long trek through Mongolian countryside together, and with less than two weeks of existence in each others worlds we set off on a course through China that ended with him on my doorstep in Seoul, effectively moving in for the better part of a month... well, it's not so odd then.

Tony and Shona Simon are, self-admittedly, not of the seasoned traveler variety. Yet as their son began eking out an unknown route through unknown lands month after month, inspiration struck and travel plans began emerging. From the moment my path found itself suddenly intertwined with theirs, as we exchanged flurried hellos amidst airport tile traffic, I could sense their eager bravado, absolutely endearing them to me immediately. As we began navigating the streets of Bangkok together, I quickly discovered much more to love about their presence. See, there's a certain amount of travel awe-luster I manage to lose sight of at times, after traipsing through more and more cultural landscapes that are so different to my own. My first day in Asia? Unabashedly awestruck. After almost 3 years in Asia? Decidedly less so. Yet the surroundings are no less deserving of awe. The Asia-virgin eyes that paralleled my gaze for the next two weeks reminded me in the most welcoming of ways, just how rich in sensations this part of the world can be.

 Right! Focus, Laura. This blog is meant to engulf the rest of my time in Thailand, and I'm still only 2 out of 6 weeks in. So, back to my increasingly failing attempts at brevity...

I made it!

Within 24 hours, the fearless foursome quickly jumped aboard an overnight train to a place called Chiang Mai in the Northern reaches of Thailand's jungles. Chiang Mai is: 1. Bigger than I expected. 2. Even more of a tourist hot-pot than I expected, (I knew it was of course a popular destination... but wowzers.) 3. Home to some seriously delicious restaurants. 4. The perfect place to wander in any random direction and unknowingly happen upon serenely picturesque temples, complete with the sun colored robes of monks scampering about. 5. A fantastic place to partake in a cooking class, which left Dave's mom and I with a veritable wealth of knowledge to call upon when trying to recreate the mouth-watering flavors of the Thai Kingdom...and, 6. The location of a somewhat poor decision regarding our travel activities.

Hmmm. Kinda tired now. Alas, for more on week 3-6's adventures and misadventures in Thailand, I guess I'm just going to have to write another blog. Damn. Except, not really, cause once I got going I realized I rather enjoyed pulling out those too-quickly-fading memories and making them live and dance before me again.

Relaxation soup

There are countries enough in the world to quench the thirst of every fathomable human desire. Just hearing the names of certain outlined patches of earth can bring to mind such varied and vivid pictures, it's no wonder travel is addicting in that never-ending-my-list-only-gets-longer-the-more-places-I-go kind of way. Throughout the years, my ever-changing yearnings have brought me into the extremely diverse arms of Ireland, India, Greece, New Zealand, and more. Every country satiates something inside of me. Each unexpected surprise down every new road discovered, is another part of my being unearthed. This past January, as I struggled through a very cold Korean winter, and labored through teaching a six week intensive English program (think 80+ hour work weeks), the travel desires that bubbled up in me coalesced into the perfect encapsulation of those desires, all in one incredibly tantalizing word..........................

...............Thailand. 

Like sweet nothings whispered into my ear, that one word sent ripples of pleasure down my spine, allowing me to plow forward through the monotonously wintry work days. As I woke to another dark, snow-covered morning.....(Thailand); as I walked into the office for the fifth Saturday in a row... (Thailand); as I lay under several blankets grading endless papers in a freezing house... (Thailand), as I battled through thigh-numbing wind... (Thailand); as the bittersweet goodbyes to students, friends, colleagues and korean life piled up, Thailand called me forward. With her promised servings of perfect paradise, wrapped in idyllic beaches, covered in unending sun, drenched with pristine waters, sprinkled with simple bamboo huts, garnished with hammocks, served with a side of jungle wilds, and complimented by unbelievably fresh, flavorful foods... I wanted to gorge myself on everything Thailand could offer me, figuratively and literally.

Fortunately for my insatiable hunger, my wonderful partner that I would be reuniting with at the Bangkok airport after 3 months apart, had randomly found himself killing time in a rinky-dink border town the week before, doing the only there was to do there: playing the slots at the fancy and seemingly misplaced casino. Of course, he won the jackpot. This was highly fortunate for me, because his generous spirit meant that he became dead set on spending said jackpot during our first week together in Thailand. Woohooooo!!

Cut to: a week spent within the glorious clutches of a beautiful, peaceful, secluded island resort, off the Andaman coast of Thailand, on a large yet extremely undeveloped island called Koh Yao Yai. Now, don't be fooled by the term 'resort', for this was not your typical manicured-beyond-belief sprawl. Everything about the place was designed to perfectly blend in with it's surroundings, giving off a beautiful barely-there feel.  All the rooms were individual huts, dotting the forested paths, and inside ours was sublime luxury complete with the most amazing outdoor shower EVER. Definitely not typical backpacker digs! Ridiculous perfection, for my indulgent holiday style cravings. For the next week, I tried my damnedest to help blow through the wad of cash burning a hole in Dave's pocket-- we rented motorbikes for a day, tooling around the islands few stretches of pavement with the wind in my hair and an unbelievably huge grin plastered to my face; we took a boat trip around the surrounding islands, beaches, and bays; we ate very well, as well as ordering a bottle of wine every night; and I signed myself up for what turned out to be the best massage I've ever received. We really really tried to live like high-rollers. Yet, still we left with cash to burn. Amateurs I guess.

After seven nights luxuriating in a pool of relaxation soup, I peeled myself away from those lazy days, and quite eagerly jumped into the adventure of actually traveling in Thailand. First stop: Koh Phi Phi, home to a hugely thriving Thailand beach 'scene' thick with travelers and all the comforts and excesses they love. Not quite one who craves such party scenes anymore, I mostly looked forward to what lay around Koh Phi Phi-- namely the turquoise waters that stretched over the incredible dive sites below. I was to start my open water diving course on the very first day we arrived, and for that I was school-girl excited.