On the Beach with Kate

Okay!  Here goes!  I had a wonderful time with my sister, besides the sunburn she managed to get the first day and the 2 days I spent with a flu-bug.  Actually even those days weren’t so back because we were holed up on a rocky beach on Koh Lanta with absolutely nothing to do except play cards, read and get massages… But, here’s the recap for all you interested parties.  (And for those of you uninterested, why are you reading this blog?!)

Kate flew into Phuket after a million hours traveling- 31 I think, I met her with a Tuk-Tuk and we traveled back to Kata beach to meet up with the Ken’s for a Singha.  Had our first inkling that Kate might not actually like Thai food when the Sweet Green Curry was too spicy for her!  Luckily the travel didn’t seem to cause too much jet lag and she was ready to hit the beach the next morning.  We rented chairs, got caught up, paddled around in the water, and sunbathed. Kate applied 30 SPF sunscreen 4 times, I swear,  and was only out of the cover of the umbrella for maybe an hour.  But apparently her ivory skin couldn’t even handle the hour, as later that evening she turned a lovely shade of magenta.  Ouch. 

The Little Umbrella that Couldn’t

The next day we headed to Koh Phi Phi on the ferry.  As we were waiting for the ferry, we all decided we needed some lunch to bring, so headed down the street for something tasty.  Kate and I got pineapple and water and Ken came back with some plastic bags of rice and orange curry type soup with unidentified vegetables and bones floating about.  Hmmm.  Kate took one sniff of her orange bag and swore off Thai curry for good!  The rest of the ferry ride was uneventful and beautiful and we arrived safely to the island.

On the Ferry

Not the Ferry!

Our hotel, The Viking Place, wasn’t at the ferry to pick us up so we all ended up piling into a longtail boat to avoid a long walk with our packs.  Not showing up was strike one, but the Viking Place only went downhill from there…  Regardless, we pulled some tricky room switching moves, piled on the bug spray, checked out the next morning, and ended up getting dinner and multiple cans of lukewarm Chang for free because they were so disorganized.  

 

Finding Our Own Way to Viking Resort

In the morning Kate and I headed back to the main strip to find new rooms and the Kens went on a hike to the viewpoint.  Later we gathered back together for happy hour and a night exploring “town”. 

 

Dig the Glassware

The real highlight of Koh Phi Phi was the all day snorkel trip we went on the next day.  Ken Sr was feeling ill so he didn’t come along, but the rest of us had a fabulous day in the sun and surf.  (Well, Kate tried mightily to avoid all sun, but ended up toasting the back of her legs a little…)  We oooohed and ahhhed over the gorgeous scenary, the green water and the plethora of fish.  I saw lots of my favorite banner fish again (plus barracuda, parrot fish, trigger fish, puffer fish, cleaner wrasse, and lots of little sparkly guys), so I was happy!  And we saw the fattest, laziest monkys ever.  They just waited for people to hand them food and if it had a little sand on it, they would throw it down in refusal! I thought they were a little scary. I think Kate loved it all though- it was quintessential tropical beach vacation mode.  We even visited the beach where Leo’s The Beach movie was filmed.  It was filled with tourists, it was still pretty cool. 

One of our Snorkel Locations- Heaven.

Kate Taking Me Out in Crystal Clear Water

Fattie Monkey Ignoring Us Because We Have No Food

We spent our last night with the Kens eating mounds of pasta beachside at a cute little place called Ciao Bella and trying to get the night mode on our camera to work. 

 

Doesn’t Exactly Capture the Fantastic Atmosphere!

And then, the next morning, Kate and I took off on our own for Koh Lanta.  Smooth travels and by 2 pm we were settled into bean  bags, playing cards and enjoying the hippy vibe at our “Where Else Resort”.  We had a cute thatch bungalow with an outside shower and toilet (of the no flush, just scoop water into the bowl variety), with basically no security and lots of mosquitos, but it was perfect.  Cheap, and giving Kate a taste of real traveler life!  Enter my flu bug, which sapped me of all energy and desire to eat.  I think I had yogurt or toast for a majority of meals while we were in Koh Lanta…  But no worries, we had a nice time just hanging out and getting all caught up on each others lives.  I was happy to just watch the amazing sunsets and go to bed early.  I would have been happier if I had been the one to win our Gin Rummy tournament, but Kate pulled off a sneak victory in the last game.  Grrrrr.

Where Else?

Another Gorgeous Sunset

Next came a very sweaty minibus ride over 2 slow car ferries to Krabi that lasted much longer than we were led to believe!  All was well though (except that the Thai girls in our van found us hilarious and kept laughing at us- Kate did you notice that?).  We found a $7 room on a little travelers street, located some food and umm, played some more cards.  Because we weren’t on a beach for the first time, were sharing a bathroom, and had arrived in a strange town in the dark–it felt like I had gone back into backpacker mode.  I think Kate understood what I was saying and I’m glad she got the chance to experience what my life has been like these last 9 months! 

The next morning we took a longtail boat to Railay Beach for a daytrip.  The beach itself was as gorgeous as we had been told.  We rented a kayak and paddled around the caves and big rocks and then settled into the beach (in the shade of course!) for Kate’s last Thailand beachtime.  Roasted corn and some diet cokes made the scene complete.  We headed back as the sun set to do some souviner shopping and stuff all my extra junk in Kate’s bag so she could take it home to Seattle with her (Thanks again Bink!).  She left the next morning on a minibus for Phuket to catch her flight to Bangkok, so I waved goodbye as she pulled away and then burst into tears! 

We had a great time together and I miss her again already. Everyone who didn’t meet up with us in Thailand missed out!  We’ve got lots of great photos to share, but it’s the same old song and dance- this computer can’t edit and shrink them, so I can’t post them yet.  Soon, I promise! 

(Real time update-  Ken and I have been in Cambodia for the last two weeks and are headed into Vietnam tomorrow.  We’ll blog about our adventures soon.  Suffice it to say, we’re both still healthy and happy, though I am covered in bugbites for truly the first time on the trip.  Ick.)