Grand Children's Park

Yesterday, I ventured over to Pusan Grand Children's Park to check out the zoo!  Unfortunately, the zoo part of the park was closed for remodeling... would have been nice to know, but I couldn't read the website!  Another reason why I want to learn more Korean.

The ferris wheel and roller coaster at the amusement park were closed too... :(

So, since there was a lake with huge coi fish, I decided to buy some fish food/ people snacks at a little convenient store in the park.  When I paid the woman, she laid my money in this basket in front of her store, on the sidewalk basically.  This goes to show how trusting Koreans are, and how often people DONT steal stuff here!  Why put money in a drawer, just lay it in a basket for anyone to take!

Even though the zoo was being remodeled and the amusement park was closed, it ended up being a great day at the park!  There were beautiful walking trails, badminton courts with old people playing, no tourists, and a big lake with gigantic coi fish and ducks to feed snacks to!  They loved these!

Once in a while, I fed myself too! :)

Book Machines

In the subway stations, you can buy books from these machines for the equivalent of about $1.50.  Pretty convenient, huh?!

Sunset at Da Daepo Beach

Last night, I decided it would be nice to watch the sunset from one of the best sunset beaches in Pusan (Da Daepo)!  I accidently spelled it wrong in the sand -oops!  There really wasn't much of a sunset, since it was abnormally cloudy, and a tad bit rainy, but it was nice to lay on the sand and listen to the waves crashing... Reminded me of Thailand!  
Sparklers are my favorite firework, and since fireworks are legal on the beaches in Korea, I got a couple of them and stuck them in the sand, watching, mesmerized, by their beauty!  


One of my favorite things about being at Da Daepo beach after dark is the hill, which runs parallel to the water, that is covered in high rise buildings that light up the sky!

Then, on my way back to the taxi, I stopped by the carnival which was set up along the beach and gave one of the games a shot!  I had to throw 4 baseballs and knock over 4 pieces of wood.  The guy let me stand where the kids stand, and I did it! (Thank goodness! There were way too many people standing around watching me, to not make it... I would have been really embarrassed!) I ended up winning a yo yo... but not just any yo yo, a green light up one!

My Newest Guilty Pleasure!

Yesterday, I noticed this new store that was erected in my subway station while I was gone!  It's basically a "Claire's" but 1/3 the price!  I have no idea how I'm going to pull myself away from stopping here every afternoon on my way home from work!  

One Last Day in Paradise!

This morning, I headed over to Pranang Beach, but got stuck in a huge rain and wind storm while I was laying out!  The locals didn't seem to be too worried about it, so I ducked into a cave with them and some other beach-goers until the storm passed. 

 

I wish I had taken a picture of the "Penis Cave" at Pranang Beach.   It would make this story so much better!  As the story goes... a princess was captured by pirates a really long time ago.  During a storm, the pirate's boat crashed into a cave, killing the princess.  The Thai people in Railay ask for things from the dead Princess, and when their wishes come to fruition, they erect a penis out of wood for her as a thank you. (No pun intended!)  There are literally hundreds of carved penises, all different sizes!

After the beach, I hung out with Lek and No-n for a little while.  Non-n's cat, "People," is pregnant and due any day.  Can you see the lumps??

No-n also raises birds, which is a really common thing in Thailand.  The birds can mimic a whistled tune.  The owners bring them to "singing contests" and can win money if their bird wins!

Just a random picture of Railay and it's beauty!

The rest of the night was spent at Skunk Bar #2, Lek's other bar in Railay.  I sat around talking with other foreigners and met a really great couple from Spain, Alethia and Jose.  Jose was a tattoo artist and Alethia just basically hung out around the house and went shopping a lot!  Must be nice, huh?!   I also met a 32 year old Pharmacist from Barcelona named Miquel, and an English college student named Dave.   

At around 11:30pm, I ventured over to West Railay Beach after the sun had gone down.  I had heard it was a spectacle, and was pleasantly surprised at the way the moon shone off the cliffs and sparkled on the ocean water.  It was the perfect way to spend my last night in Thailand!

Back Where I Belong!

I couldn't bring myself to leave Thailand without being in Railay once more, so, with 2 nights left, I headed back to my home away from home!  When I arrived, I decided to stay at a new hotel that I had heard about from some friends who had stayed there before.  It's called Ya Ya.  It was only 9 dollars a night, and this was my Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse room!

I had a ladder that I climbed up to to get to my room...  The whole room was pure dark wood and creaked when you walked... and my favorite part was that there were huge doors that opened to the deck and the balcony, overlooking gorgeous jungle trees hanging outside.   It was quite the little paradise!

After I got all settled in, I headed over to Skunk Bar to see Lek and have some dinner... On my way, I saw this little kitten, laying in it's food dish, picked it up, and took it with me!  :)


I stopped here at Joy Bar first to play with the kitten and have a drink while the sun set over the water.  I'll be honest, I was more lured in by the relaxing music than anything else.

When I saw Lek, he was so excited that I came back that he immediately walked across the street and got me a coconut and a twix bar, which he knows I love!  Thai people are VERY VERY generous and thoughtful!  He also gave me this amulet.  Almost all Thai people wear amulets on a daily basis.  It's a carving of a Buddhist monk.  What a great souvenier, huh?!

While I was having dinner, these 2 darling girls came over to my table and asked me if I wanted to sit with them.   This is one of the best things about traveling alone... You're much less intimidating, and everyone wants to talk to you.  Anyhow, I said, "Sure thanks" and the rest is history!  Poppy and Chivonne were both 22 yrs old and from England.  They basically came to Thailand to get drunk and hook up with guys, which was why they were leaving Railay in the morning and going to Phi Phi Island, which I like to call "Spring Break - Thailand Style."

After Poppy and Chivonne left the bar to go bar hopping, I jumped on a bar stool and played "Connect Four" with Lek.  It's really common for bars and restaurants to have board games in Thailand.  It's great!  As we were sitting there, I met this amazing couple - Leah and Rich.  They are originally from Hawaii and had recently sold everything to travel the world.  The day before, they had bought a long tail boat (with no motor) and a couple paddles and were planning on living on the boat and paddling out to different islands everyday!  They were quite possibly one of the happiest couples I've ever met!  

It's so great to be back in Railay!

My last day on Phi Phi Island

Thank goodness for Kristin and her laptop, which saved me tons of money on internet cafe fees while I was staying on Phi Phi Island! Since I was usually one of the first people to wake up on the island, it was nice to drink my orange juice and write my blog in peace at the bookstore.

After Kristin and Mike woke up, we walked to breakfast and spotted this guy, blowing glass figures in one of the shops along the market street.  It was incredible to watch!

The clouds began to part, and the sun came shining through, which convinced us that we needed to try kayaking on the ocean!  So, Mike, Kristin and I rented kayaks and paddled ourselves out to Monkey Bay...

... where the water is crystal clear....

... the sand is pure white, and wooden swings are hung from beach trees...

... the wild monkeys take over your kayak and try to sift through your stuff...


... and they steal lays potato chips right out of your boat! haha

All in all, it's a great little place to check out!

You may think it's weird that I took a picture of this plate of nachos (which was my lunch after kayaking), but if you lived in Asia for 6 months like me, and never got to eat mexican food, you would understand what an incredible sight this was!

As much as I loved Phi Phi, I needed to make my way back toward Bangkok, so I decided to head back to Railay for 2 days. Before I left the island though, I went to go see Lampai (my masseuse) to say goodbye...  She was so thrilled that I had thought of her, and reached into her purse to grab this bracelet, which she had handmade.  She asked me to sit down, while she tied it to my hand and said some of the sweetest things I'd ever been told.  It was a really special moment.

After saying goodbye to Lampai, the guys at the tattoo shop, Mike, and Kristen, I jumped on the boat and headed back to Railay... my home away from home!

Dorm Life...

There’s something about rainy days, when you’re traveling and staying at hole in the walls with lots of young 20 somethings, that you get the chance to re-live living in the college dorms. This morning it rained, and rained, and rained… so Kristen and I had “game time” in our room and met some of the people in our hallway at the hotel. Kristen played solitaire…

... and i played some soduku.

Since everyone was camping out in their rooms at the hotel, we all opened our doors, turned on some music, and hung out with each other. We ended up meeting Julia, our next door neighbor who’s from England, but has been living in Phi Phi for the last 10 weeks working at a scuba diving place. She’s a total sweetheart. We also met “Dave squared,” 2 (22 year old) English guys, Dave and Dave who have been traveling for the past year together all over the world.

We were all starving, so we ran through the rain to a restaurant down the street. We invited Dave and Dave to come along to lunch with Kristen, Mike and I.

We spent a couple hours at lunch, since the rain was pouring and the conversation was so stimulating! While the others were discussing rock climbing, I talked to one of the Dave’s for a long time about his upbringing. He grew up in Dubai from the time he was 7 - 14, and he explained how that kind of messed up his life a bit. It’s so interesting to me, the stories people have, that you would never expect or know unless you asked. Everyone has a past… and when you travel and meet new people everyday, you get stories galore! I love it!

After the rain settled down, we all decided to hike up to the viewpoint, which we had heard was really beautiful!

The viewpoint is 186 meters above sea level.

It was definitely, without a doubt, the best viewpoint I’d ever seen to date! I wish you could see just how turquoise the water behind us was… It was unbelievable! Me and Kristen.

We spent 4 hours at the viewpoint together… This is just about the sweetest cat I’ve ever met. I even shared my ice cream with her!

Dave (England), Dave (England), Kristin (Australia), Me, and Mike (New Orleans) at the viewpoint.

Mmmm, oreos and ice cream! Cheers!

The pathway leading back down the mountain...

Where many of the locals in Phi Phi live…

I couldn‘t resist, I was dying for another massage, so I came here, a place that Em had recommended to us a couple days ago…

This is Lampai, my masseuse. She is a total sweetheart, with a really sad story. After the massage, we sat and talked for a long time about her life. She opened up about how she left her husband 3 years ago to move to Phi Phi. She is a masseuse and a prostitute here. Infact, most of the women who work as masseuses on the island are also prostitutes. She said many men ask for “happy endings” which is an HJ, and costs 1,000 baht ($30) and that‘s how they are able to make enough money to live. She said 2-3 times a week the tourist men will ask her to come to their room for sex and to stay the night, which costs 2,000 baht ($60). Her story completely broke my heart, and I could see it in her eyes that she was not proud of the life she had created for herself… but rationalized it by the idea that it was her only means of survival.


After talking with Lampai, I headed back to the hotel to meet Kristin. We went out for dinner and a mojhito at a bar owned by a 31 year old Irish guy who has been traveling the world for the past 14 years!

It started pouring again, so we headed back to the hotel… Kristin thought it was hilarious that I was doing pushups on the stairway bar and snapped my picture. Hey, if I’m in a bathing suit all day, I can’t just sit around eating pancakes and rice all day and not do a little working out! J

A Day of Indulgence!

Yesterday morning, I rised and shined (bad English, I know) and headed to a café with wireless to write my blog and talk to Lynzi on skype! I ended up having breakfast there, and before I knew it, it was 11am and I was ready for lunch too! And hey, before you judge me for being in one of the most beautiful places in the world and choosing to spend ½ my day on the internet, I should probably add that it was pouring down rain outside!

Kristen (Australia) came and found me around 11:15am and told me she was heading to the pier because her friend Mike, from university, was coming to the island on the 11:30am boat.

Mike hung out with us the whole day yesterday. He's a great guy. They both went to Tulane University in New Orleans and were there when Hurricane Katrina struck. It was really interesting to hear their personal stories. Kristen had unpacked all her stuff into her dorm the day before the storm hit, and ended up losing everything...

On a less depressing note, the 3 of us went back over to Sunflower, layed in the hammocks and had some lunch. It was pouring down rain and really windy, but great none the less. Check out the name of this water bottle.

After lunch, we all decided that getting massages had to be next on the agenda! So, Em took us over to his favorite masseuse on the island. It was hands down, one of the best oil massages I've ever had, and it was only $9.00 for an hour! Mike's masseuse kept saying, "Oh, sexy boy, sexy boy!" Kristen and I were dying laughing. At one point Mike said, "Please don't ever stop doing this!" There was a curtain separating him from us girls, and we were both dying to know what was happening on the other side, so when we finished our massages, we pulled the curtain open and saw this! It was hilarious!!

Kristen

Me

After massages, we did some shopping and walking around the island and landed here at D's books... had some hot chocolate, ate banana pancakes with Nutella, read, played sudoku, and talked while the rain poured down around us! It was definitely wonderful!

Later in the night, we ventured over to the other side of the island to get some dinner and landed in a great local joint, covered only by a thin layer of tent. It was some of the best curry I've ever tasted, and our server was one of the most flamboyantly gay Thai men we had ever seen. He was really funny!

We went back to the fireshow on the beach last night, so Mike could experience it. Pang (The tattoo artist who did kristen and Carlos's tattoo's) came over to hang with us for the night. Turns out, he's related to all the fire spinners at IBIZA Bar. I love how families stick together around here. :)

All in all, it was a wonderfully indulgent day! Nothing extraordinary happened, but the relaxation, great food, and even better new friends was all it took to keep a smile on my face! :)

I will leave you with this funny story: We stopped in for Kristen (Australia) to get something at a convenient store, and Mike and I waited outside. While we were standing there, we witnessed one of the worst "pick ups"!! This guy from the Netherlands was trying to pick up on a girl from Australia. He was saying all the wrong things, and she was not interested at all. Here's the best part thought. She said to him, "You know, I've been getting picked up on all the time here... It's starting to get really tiring." haha... who says that?! Personally, I think they were maybe perfect for each other. Cheers to Spring Break part 2 in Phi Phi Island... ah to be 21 again!