Day 2 in Phi Phi Island

This morning, Carlos and I got up really early to go to the tattoo shop so Carlos could get another tattoo. I guess it's true what they say, they are addicting!! This picture was taken right outside the shop.

After finishing his tattoo, we walked over to the beach to look for kristen...

Carlos, in position, ready for the needle!

While Carlos was in pain, I was sleeping on the coach with Ginger... just about the best kitten I've ever met.

After unsuccessfully looking for Kristen, Carlos and I grabbed some lunch by the pier and then walked back to our hotel to pick up our bags to jump on the boat. I was going back to Railay, and the 2 of them were headed back to Korea.) When we finally found Kristen (Korea), she was with Kristen (Australia), the girl we met last night.

Introducing Kristen Glenn! (Australia)

As soon as she saw me she said, "Don't go!" and asked me to stay with her in Phi Phi for a couple days. She said, "I have a proposition for you..." and went on to describe all the things she was going to be doing here for the next couple days. I couldn't resist, snorkeling, hiking, swimming, kayaking, etc!! She is traveling alone too, and we really hit it off right away. I was planning on leaving to go back to Railay, but I cancelled my boat to hang with her for the rest of my trip. She's awesome, sweet, adventurous, up for anything, and it's just an added bonus that she happens to have a laptop! I've been able to blog for FREE today at a wireless internet cafe down the road from our place.

She took me to her place to drop my bags and then we headed over to Sunflower for some pinneapple milkshakes and sunbathing

We saw Em (the local Thai guy who works at the tattoo shop) and asked him if he wanted to come swimming with us. So, me, kristen (Australia), Em, Em's friend Dahm, and another girl who is here from Italy, all walked out into the water (literrally about 500 feet) until we were knee high. It reminded me a little bit of lake tahoe, how you can walk and walk and walk, and you're still in shallow water. We gave up walking and just sat in the water instead. I was playing with the sand beneath me and found this guy! A real LIFE sand dollar in perfect condition. I know I should have left it there, but I couldn't resist. It's coming home to Korea with me!

This is Em and Ned. Ned owns a small jewelry shop next to the tattoo shop and Sunflower. I actually bought the necklace that Ned is holding. It's a coconut shell with a shell inside. It's beautiful, and it's handmade by someone I know! :)

This little one was playing in the sand while the sun was setting. She was darling. She is 1/2 Thai and 1/2 Australian.

Since it's pretty "spring breakish" in the area we're staying, Kristen (Australia) and I headed over to the other side of the island for dinner at this candlelit restaurant on the water. Can't beat the view, or the chicken curry in this country! mmmm

Anyone want a coconut??

Around 10pm, Kristen (Australia) and I headed over to IBIZA, a bar on the beach to check out the fireshow.



This is a fire jumprope!


Me and Kristen

Em came and met us at the show and ended up taking Kristen (Australia) and I to a rooftop bar where you can lay on huge pillows and look at the stars... While we were there, Em gave me this necklace that he had made. It's made out of a shell and he said it's to remind me to love people... It was really really sweet!


It started pouring rain while we were there, so we hid under a hut for a little while and then made our way back to our place. Kristen (Australia) wanted to stop in at a convvenient store near our palce to buy some cookies, so Em and I waited outside. As we were talking, I felt something run across my foot. I immediately thought it was a monkey, and got excited, but, when I looked down and saw a gigantic sewer rat scurrying to the other side of the store, I almost died! It ran over my freaking bare foot! Em said it means I'll have good luck, to which I replied, "Well, I better get something out of that!"

Back to Ko Phi Phi

After elephant trekking, I jumped on a boat to go to Phi Phi island to meet Kristen and Carlos. They were waiting for me at the pier. :)

We walked directlty to the hotel to drop my bag. Even though it's tiny, it's still really heavy on my sunburned shoulders!! This is the street leading to our hotel.

This was our room. It was only $6.00 a person!!

After we dropped our bags, the 3 of us walked over to find the Tsunami Memorial.

It was very sad and emotional being there, thinking of all the people who's lives were cut short. This picture and hand written plaque hit me the hardest, I think.


Many of the places here are in the midst of being rebuilt...

As a side note, Ko Phi Phi can be somewhat compared to Spring Break in Cancun. It's a ton of young 20 somethings, basically getting drunk and looking for a hook up. None of us were really up for a spring break experience, especially after being in Railay, which we all loved, so we were a little bummed out we had spent the money to come all the way here.

Until we came across this gem of a place, at one of the far ends of the beach, where no one was, that reminded us all of Railay. :)

There are hammocks everywhere at this restaurant, so we all layed in one, ate lunch, sipped our fruity drinks, talked with the locals, and relaxed for a couple hours... (Me and Carlos)


kristen...


... and watched the sunset from our hammocks!


Kristen was not happy with the way her tattoo turned out (She got one in Railay), so we stopped into this tattoo shop on the beach (across from the restaurant) to have them fix it. We instantly became great friends with the locals working there! Pang and Em.


After finishing the tattoo, we met an awesome girl named Kristen who hung with us the rest of the night. We went to the beach to see fire dancers, and checked out a bar that had amazing frozen mojhitos! mmmm. We called it a night around 2am. It was a full day of great experiences, relaxation, and beautiful views.

I Drove and Elephant!!

Yep, that’s right… I drove an elephant! Well, technically, I went "elephant trekking", but my guide let me sit on her head and ride her around! It was sooo awesome!

We all started together as a group (5 elephants total) but as soon as we crossed the river into the jungle, we were allowed to let them roam free!! It was such an awesome experience to not be butt to butt with the other elephants, like I had thought it would be.

My elephant was 48 yrs old… The guide said that the most pink spots they have, the older they are. She was a total sweetheart, and I gave her lots of pats on the head… Im not sure if they like that, but Macy always liked it, so I decided to give it a try!!

After I jumped off, she got into the river for her afternoon bath!

During the ride, I met this awesome family who is are originally from Madagascar, but have lived in France for the past 20+ year. We actually switched cameras with each other so they could take pics of me and I could get some of them too!

After the ride, the guide asked the 5 oof us if we wanted to take a hike through the jungle... We said, "Of course" and off we went. We walked across river holding onto ropes, and walking along bamboo bridges like this one... I was really cool!

He took us to this area of the river where we could swim. I've never swam in a jungle river before. I guess I can check that off my bucket list too! There was an area of the river, where you could sit between the rocks and it felt like you were in a jacuzzi!! :)

Ko Yao and Aon-nang!

This morning, I heard a knock on my door and it was Dana and Chloe coming to say goodbye. They're off to Australia. Once I was awake, I decided I'd go and get myself some breakfast, but first, I stopped into the internet cafe to write my daily blog! :) I'm always thinking of my fans! haha

I then, headed over to Jess and Carlos's place, and layed down at the restaurant on the grounds of their bungalow, ordered some green curry, a nice glass of cold water, and with a Thai pillow behind my head and a book in my hands, I was feeling great!

I did happen to fall asleep for about 15 minutes too! Where else can you lay on the ground and fall asleep in a restaurant?! Only Thailand!

Jess and Carlos woke up around 11am, and we all rented scooters again to ride around the island. Kristen jumped on the back of mine again, and off we rode into the jungle! :) But first, we stopped for some gas at this little convenient store. Notice, the gas is poured through 2 liter soda bottles!

We stopped in the market for some quick shopping and a yummy Thai lunch at a local place! There were no walls, dirt under our feet and a hut roof above us, literally! I've fallen in love with this type of dining!

The road we drove along...

We then took another tuk tuk to the pier and said goodbye to Jess. :( She headed back to Korea last night... We were all really sad to see her go.

Carlos, Kristen, Jenny, Gail, and I all jumped on a speed boat that took us to Aon-nang. As soon as we jumped off, we were approached by this man, who offerred us a place for 150 baht a room! He said it was his friends place and didn't have a key. Kinda shady, but we all did it anyway! I took this picture, just incase we had to track him down! haha


We stayed the night in this shanti of a place! But here's the best part, it was only 50 baht a person! That's about $1.50! None of us are oppossed to spending more... There's just something about staying somewhere a bit ghetto that makes for a fun memory! Carlos, Kristen and I are all sharing this room together!

We dropped off all of our bags and did some walking in the town...


... had some huge pizzas at an italian restaurant...

They have really funny tuk tuk's here!

We are right next to the beach, so I took this picture when the sun was setting! I'm convinced Thailand has the best in the world!

Kristen is in love with chocolate, so we stopped into this convenient store for her, and found this kitty laying on the shelf! haha

I ended up buying a necklace from this little one. She was so darn cute!


Shopping...

There are tons of these shrines that say, "Long Life the Queen" all over Thailand.

We hung out at this bar for most of the night, playing games and talking under the stars.

This guy tried soooo hard to get me to buy this crazy hat. No thank you!

Carlos and his mojhito!...

Gail, Carlos and I played some dominoes. (I bought this wooden, hand made set, on the street for the equivalent of $6.00, so I busted it out for a trial run!)

Neither of them had ever played. This was one of Carlos's moves. He's what we like to call a slow learner! If you know how to play Dominos, you know how funny this is!

Even though I was the most experienced, I obviously was not on my game. :(

I'm leaving Aon-nang this morning to go elephant trekking through the jungle for 2 hours! I am sooo excited, since this is the one thing I didn't want to leave Thailand without doing!

I'll be dropped off at the Krabi pier in the afternoon, and then I'll be jumping on another speed boat which will take me to Phi Phi Island, where I'll meet Carlos and Kristen around 3pm! We are all planning to share a room for the night and then they're off to go home, back to Korea. I have no idea where I'll go after Phi Phi, but I like the feeling of being free to go wherever!