Freedom Beach, grilled fish, and a good book!

Where did I last leave off??  Oh yes, I had just finished my pink Pad Thai with Aaron at our resort's restaurant!

After dinner, we moved next door to the charming, Thai style, New Heaven Restaurant, to have some drinks and enjoy the full moon, shining over the water! (Picture to come!  Sorry, it's on Aaron's camera.)  We met and played with the funniest little girl, who at first, we thought was "special!"  Her name was Ria, and she was about 3 years old.  After meeting her parents, we learned that she lives in Koh Tao, but only speaks French (from her dad) and Mandarin (from her mom), which explained why she seemed "special" at first!  She was probably totally confused by our speaking English! Our ESL training definitely came in handy when playing with her!  She was such a ham and her mom said she's never warmed up to people that quickly!!

After drinks, we called it a night, both exhausted by the day's snorkeling and climbing up the 100 steep and tall stairs from the bungalows to the street numerous times throughout the day!!

I woke up to the sun blaring through the window of my bungalow, and got up, in search of Aaron, who happened to have been up for hours, reading his book in bed!  He had woken up to watch the sunrise over the water!

We both got ready and made the trek up the 100 stairs to the front of the resort...

jumped on our $4.00 a day rented scooter...

 and headed for some breakfast in town!   Aaron had accidently forgotten his electric razor at the last place we stayed, so he dropped me off at KoPPee cafe and rode the scooter over to see if they had found it!  Luckily, they had, and even gave him some free coffee while he waited for them to search for it!  That place had the greatest service, I tell ya!

While I waited for Aaron, I sat, eating delicious homemade banana bread and petting this sweetheart of a dog!  All dogs and cats are welcome in restaurants and cafes in Koh Tao!  They live on the streets and basically come and go at their own free will!  I, personally, love it!

 After breakfast, we went back to the bungalows and put our bathing suits on!  The sun was shinning, the water was clear, and we were ready for some swimming!  We had heard that Freedom Beach was beautiful, and close by, so we slipped our rainbow sandals on and walked (hiked) over to the beach!  The only way to get there is to follow this path along the waterside! 

The sand was powdery, the water was clear and turquoise, and the view was to die for!  When I thought I had seen the best beaches in Asia, I was once again, pleasantly surprised!  This may have been the prettiest beach I've been to yet! 

One of my fav pictures of the trip!  At this point in the day, we had already snorkeled way off shore into about 10 meter deep waters to see beautiful corals and colorful fish!  The longer we keep those tight masks on though, the more they indent our faces!   So, in other words, those are not new wrinkles! haha!

We had lunch, there on the beach, and took some fun pictures of Aaron!   This was my personal favorite!  

After lounging, eating, snorkeling, swimming, and sunbathing at Freedom Beach, we decided to head back to the bungalows!  We went a different route this time, hoping that we could find a secret pathway over the mountain!  We did... kind of... It was a bouldering pathway, but it got us back to the bungalows none the less!  I felt like I was the guy from 127 hours, jumping from boulder to boulder!  I did take a decent fall, but luckily never had to cut my arm off!

We didn't want to leave the sharks out today, so we went back out, infront of my bungalow, to say hello to all our shark friends!  Aaron saw 3 huge baracudas!  I was happy I didn't!

We ended the afternoon with hours of reading!  Aaron lounged on the boulder infront of my bungalow, while I chose to stay on the veranda, in the shade! 

No relaxing vacation is complete without a good book, right?!  Thank you Annie Kerkian for lending me Bitter is the New Black!  I can't stop laughing!

As the sun was going down, we rode the scooter in search of the perfect restaurant for dinner!  After parking and walking the entire length of Chalok Bay, we found the hidden gem!  A wonderful fresh fish grill!  You pick your fish...

...and then they grill it, right there on the beach!  We kicked off our shoes and grabbed a table to enjoy our yummy fish and grilled sweet corn!  We could quite possibly stay here forever!  I think we've found our paradise!

The last 3 days on Koh Tao, Island (AKA Paradise!!)

Forgive me for not blogging for a couple days, but between the internet shutting off half way through every post I tried to write (finiky internet, on small islands, is the norm in Thailand), and the fact that I've been enjoying my vacation and not fretting about journaling my every move...  I'll just say, we made it safely to Koh Tao island after a 3 hour ferry ride with about 100 people!

... which was completely worth it when we found this gem of a place to stay (Coral View Resort)!

... which happened to have one of the most amazing tree swings on the planet!

... and some delicious, and cheap beer, for Aaron to enjoy at the beach bar!

This is the view from the restaurant on the hill where we ate every meal for two days!  We're not oppossed to eating at other places, but our resort was so secluded that there was no way to get anywhere else without a four wheel drive truck!  We didn't mind! :)

We snorkeled here on the resort's private beach cove and saw some of the most gorgeous and exotic fish I've ever seen!  I'll post some videos when I get back home of our snorkeling ventures!!

We ate scrumptious cocount thai curry!

... and ventured on the rocks, and over the hill, to see what was on the other side of our cove!

For all you curious little ones, this was what we saw on the other side of the hill!  GORGEOUS, huh?!

 This was the view, in the morning, from my bungalow on the hill! 

(2 minute walk to the beach, 5 minute walk back up the hill! haha)

I promise Aaron isn't an alchoholic!!  It just happens to be that I've taken pictures of him when he's been drinking!  :)  Besides, I couldn't resist posting this pic!

Our resort had delicious banana pancakes with chocolate syrup, a must have while you're in Thailand!

On the 2nd morning, I woke up to "Butter" on my doorstep!  Aaron named her Butter, because when he saw her the day before, he picked her up, and she literally melted into him!   Such an awesome kitty!  I'd be lying if I said I didn't let her sleep on my bed the last night I was at Coral View!  :)

 View, from my bungalow, looking towards the sea! 

 

And here it is... my home sweet home for 2 nights in Koh Tao at Coral View Resort!  And before you assume that I'm filthy rich because I'm staying in an oceanview bungalow in Thailand, it was only $11.50! 

I'm extremely relaxed here in Thailand... can you tell?!

We talked it over this morning, and while we absolutely adored Coral View, we decided to check out another area of the island, so we took the truck taxi, over the mountain to Sairee beach, where we ordered breakfast, rented a scooter, and headed on a mission to find the perfect place to stay!  When I saw that this bungalow, over the water, was available, I jumped on it!!

Aaron was more than happy to comply with my decision!!

This is, hands down, the best view I've ever had from my front porch at a hotel before!!   Yes, this is literally taken from my front door!

After settling in, we hoped on the scooter and headed for lunch in Chalok Bay!

... and gave ourselves a little tour of the island on the scooter!

Around 2pm, we made it safely back to OK 2 Bungalow, which we had only found, on a whim, by riding the scooter to the end of a road earlier in the day!  This was one of those times where our adventurous spirits paid off!!  :)

We put our bathing suits on and headed for the shark infested water infront of my bungalow!  NO JOKE!  This is, afterall, called Shark Bay... and YES, we did see TONS of sharks while snorkeling! 

If I had to guess, I probably had over 20 shark encounters!  Here's a VIDEO to prove it!

After doing hours and hours and hours of snorkeling in Shark Bay, we sat down to dinner at the hotel's restaurant on the hilltop, overlooking the bay!  The next 3 pictures are my attempt at a panoramic picture!

If you look closely, in the picture above, you can see a snorkeler, way out in the water!  That's about where we were most of the day!  And yes, my arms and abs are VERY sore!

This is the restaurant dog, who, no matter how loudly you yell at it, it continues to sleep!  CLASSIC island dog, I guess!  ...Totally relaxed and content with doing absoutely nothing but sleeping!

Aaron's had some sort of Thai noodle dish, which looked delicious... and then just as he said, "I wonder why we're the only one's here right now..."

... my Pad Thai came out and it was PINK!  We both laughed and said, "That's probably why!" Surprisingly enough, it was actually really delicious!  Who knew?!

We're both having the most incredible time and are so happy with the place w've found to stay, which are far, far, far away from the touristy areas! We're in paradise as far as we're concerned, and we're taking every moment in, and enjoying the unconceivable beauty around us!

Tomorrow I'm planning to read on my bungalow balcony, swim with more sharks, eat delicious food, take beautiful pictures, and relax, relax, relax with my love!! 

P.S. I got an e-mail telling me that I got the job at the school I requested for next year!  So, I'll be working at Dae Gyo Elementary School, on Yeongdo Island, beginning March 1st, 2011!  I'm telling you, this could be one of the greatest weeks of all time!!

Signing off from Koh Tao, Thailand!

Getting somewhere!

Today was all about traveling – literally “traveling!” Our taxi driver picked us up at 6:00am and drove us 2 hours to the border of Cambodia and Thailand. After dropping us off, we walked through the crossing with everyone else! Many Cambodians push carts of bedding, clothes, and other handmade items across the border to sell in Thailand. Some of the kids ride on top!

After making it successfully across the border, I waved good morning to the Thai president and began our 2 kilometer long trek to the bus station, which we didn’t exactly remember the location of!

We walked through this market, nearby the border, along the way, and found it quite funny to see a baby elephant walking through!  Only in Thailand!

We unfortunately gave up on our search for the bus station and asked the local “tourist police” for directions! The guy ended up giving us a lift there, which was very nice!

We got to the bus stop around 10:30am, purchased our tickets to Morchit Station in Bangkok, and boarded the bus at 11:00am!

I find it really interesting the way grown men in Thailand and Cambodia decorate their taxi’s and buses with chincy (sp?) toys and stickers! To each his own, I guess!

The bus ride was llllooooonnnngggg, and we arrived around 3:40pm in Bangkok! First order of business was to book a train to Chomphorn, but unfortunately, they were all booked, so we were forced to reserve seats on yet another bus! Luckily, we have about 4 hours to spare, so we caught a taxi to Koh San Road for some shopping!

For some reason, I didn’t take any pictures on Koh San Road… maybe it’s because I was too focused on all the great things you can buy there!

We headed back to the train station with about an hour to spare before boarding the bus!

The only place with wifi was KFC, so Aaron and I had a nice little Valentine’s dinner in the upstairs section of a Thailand KFC and checked our e-mails! So romantic!

While we were out shopping earlier in the day, Aaron asked a couple Thai men what Thai women like for Valentine’s day. They all looked at him and asked excitedly, “You like Thai woman?!” haha! Anyhow, their recommendation was flowers… so Aaron secretly bought me a rose!

At 9:30pm, on the dot, we boarded our night bus to Chomphorn! It was a long ride, but luckily we were able to sleep quite a bit, and I’m sure all the traveling today will be worth it when we’re finally relaxing on our island!

And as far as  not really celebratingValentine's goes, we celebrate our love everyday, so we were okay with a boring day of traveling! :)

Angkor Wat...

I decided to try something a little different with today's blog!  Instead of writing a play by play, I made a little video.. Unfortunately, the pictures quality is not very good, so I'll probably post pictures when I get back to Korea and have some extra time!  :(

Since I know many of you read my blog from work or during class, I decided not to ad any music!  I'd hate for traditional Cambodian music to come blaring from your computer during class or a business meeting! haha 

ENJOY Angkor Wat through my eyes!!

click here if the video doesn't play on this page...