Thailand

Bangkok Sep 8 - Sep 23 Islands Sep 24 - Oct 10 Chiang Mai Oct 12 - Oct 25 Krabi Dec 19 - Jan 8 Sukhothai/Ayutthaya Jan 9 - Jan 12

We decided to "rough it" and spend the holidays on the islands in southern Thailand (hey ...we had enough cold in Nepal). We also wanted to meet up with our friend Jim (who we met 6 months ago in New Zealand). We caught up with Jim in Krabi. We stayed on Railay Beach first ...then, when the accommodation rates started rising, we switched to Tonsai Beach. Since it was "high season", the rates everywhere were doubling and tripling! Railay has nice sandy beaches, but the most dramatic thing about the area are the limestone rocks. These rocks are enormous ...and they jut out all along the water. It's a great place to chill out and enjoy the views ...but watch out for the monkeys (they're cute but ya can't trust 'em). Railay also happens to be the "mecca" of rock climbing. We saw some amazing (and completely insane) people climb all the way to the top of this one rock (called Humanality) ...then, JUMP off the rock and parachute down to the beach. This was the first time either of us had ever seen base jumping ...and it's scary to watch because their parachutes don't open until they're about half way down!

Our buddy, Jim, has become an avid rock climber over the past few months and since everybody was doing it, we decided to try it too. Jim and Jonathon were nice enough to take us out and instruct us on our first real rock climb and repel. We hiked up through a cave, then repelled down. The cave was pretty high, so we had some beautiful views of the coastline. Lon was a natural when it came time to scale the rock wall. I wish I could say that it was as easy for me, but it wasn't! "No *@!$% way would I do that again!"

We spent Christmas with Jim, Jonathon, and Scott (whom we met in Bangkok). We had a gift exchange and Xmas party at Jim's bungalow. Jim introduced us to the "Thai Bucket" ... which we've now adopted as a new holiday tradition. Thanks, guys ...for a memorable holiday away from home!

We traveled over to Koh Phi Phi for New Year's. This island is beautiful! I never knew that Thailand had so many beautiful beaches. Of the islands we have visited so far (in Thailand), Koh Phi Phi was our favorite. It's become quite tourist-y, but it still has a small island "feel" to it. All the shopping, entertainment, and restuarants are within walking distance. There was plenty to do ...rock climbing, snorkeling, kayaking, sailing, etc.. Also, there are some exceptional restaurants (and cheap too!). We did a full day of snorkeling around the island ...there were so many colorful fish. One of the many bays we snorkeled in was the now famous "Maya Bay" ...where the movie The Beach was filmed. We met Steve and Steph (from England and Italy) on this trip ... thanks for the good conversation and laughs!

Jim also came over to Phi Phi and we celebrated New Year's on the beach ...complete with a fireworks show and dancing all night long. Just when I thought I would never again attempt rock climbing, Jim had Lon, Steve, and I scaling the Tonsai Wall. We spent a full day climbing with Phi Phi Climbers. We had a fun group of people ...and we all did very well (not too much blood was left on the rocks).

We kept delaying our departure ... turns out that's not too uncommon in Phi Phi. Most of the people we met were also having a hard time leaving. Jim summed it up best when he said ... "Koh Phi Phi is like the song Hotel California ... you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave!".

Phuket, Jan 8

Phuket was not what we thought it would be. We only stayed 1 day (in Patong). This area is way too tourist-y! The beach was quite big, and very long - but it lacked character. At least, it lacked "good" character ...otherwise, there were plenty of geriatric Europeans laying around topless in their thong bathing suits. There was plenty of nightlife here, but it was a bit too wild for our tastes. We hung out at the Irish pub instead.

region	lodging	$US / night	rating	notes
Railay	Viewpoint	$16.0		Comfortable
	Mountain View	$15.0		New, comfortable, but limited electricity
Phi Phi	Andaman I GH	$27.0		Fine but bathroom smells of sewage
	Gipsy I	$11.0		Basic, most affordable during high season