Village Life

The following pictures are from the four days I spent in Ban Talae Nok and Tung Nang Dam.

One of the many traditional Thai-style meals we ate on a woven mat, laid flat on the "dining room" floor. On Xmas day we filled our bellies with a unique spread of spicy manta ray, egg and cabbage salad, dried-fried fish and cucumber.

Children in the homestay. Their strong desire to learn English and bubbling curiosity, made for a quick bond.

I arrived on the day of celebration to remember those killed by the 2004 tsunami. In this tiny village, 47 people lost their lives (17 of them were children).

Dinner with the whole village of less than 200 people. Everyone gathered - in remembrance of those passed on Dec. 26, 2004.Home in Ban Talae Nok. I learned that the man on the left (our guide) lost many family members in the tsunami disaster, two of his children and both his parents. The other man in red was our handy interpreter who also stayed in the village.

Sawadee ka. Still in Thailand, two months later!

I've been majorly slacking on updates.... too busy experiencing and not as much reflecting (although I have been keeping a detailed journal of my travels - I've found that to be necessary time spent). Currently I reside at Spa Samui Village (tucked away in the jungle) - a detox, yoga, meditation retreat - consisting of a seven day fast, where we are only allowed to drink juices and detoxifying concoctions. It's day three and already I'm feeling a fantastic energy surge. That is after a roller coaster of emotions and waves of nausea for the first two days.

Flashback on Christmas... stayed with a Thai family in a Muslim village for five days- this made for quite an unusual and memorable Christmas!

New Years was an amazing sight to say the least - on the beach in Khao Lak at a small beach bar pumping out reggae tunes. From there we could see fireworks launched from six different locations at the same time. To intensify this beauty, people lined the beach setting lanterns into the sky with burning flames.

Visited the best scuba diving site in the whole of Thailand - The Similan Islands - spent the night on a live aboard boat. We had an underwater videographer with us for the first few dives, so some of what we saw is captured on film (I'll try to provide the link when I get a hold of the DVD).

Met up with Sylvia, Rachel and Kairon from California - lucky enough to stay at the JW Marriot in Mai Khao beach (Phuket Province). Made for an interesting contrast of accommodations - ranging from the most basic in the villages and the boat to extreme comfort in the resort:)

The world famous Full Moon Party on Kho Pha-Ngan...... is a bit of a blur!! Danced with thousands of others until the sun came up over Haad Rin Beach.

After Ko Samui I plan on flying to Laos, but haven't exactly arranged that far ahead yet - haha. Laos and Cambodia are high on my priority list! When I first planned my trip to SE Asia I never anticipated spending an entire two months in Thailand... I have no complaints:)

I will post pictures soon... I tried to upload a bundle last night, but the computer froze and stress isn't conducive to cleansing!

Holiday cheer

Tomorrow I will begin a five day volunteer program in the Northern Andaman coast. I will be staying in a small village called Ban Talae Nok (far off the tourist trail) and most likely not have Internet access. I want to send my love and wish you all a Merry Christmas! Drink some eggnog for me please! <3

Turtle Island

I spent the past seven days on Koh Tao... This is a dreamy place with a young funkiness and rugged greenery lining the white sand beaches. There are many places to lounge and meet other travelers- many hammocks strung between palm trees and open air restaurants showing films nightly. Most travelers go to Koh Tao for the exceptional diving. After taking two days of "classes", I'm officially an advanced diver. This course included five specialty dives, the night dive being the most special experience. Halfway through, our teacher instructed us to turn off our torches. We sat in a circle on the sandy ocean floor in total darkness. When we waved our hands, tiny phosphorescent particles glistened in the night. To intensify the strange feeling we began swimming with our flashlights off, glowing with each movement.

Monthly reef clean with Scuba Junction.
A pile of rubbish retreived from Sairee Reef. This is a small portion of what we found. Nightly fire dancing on the beach at Lotus Bar.

Another gorgeous sunset.

Sairee Beach. Koh Tao.

My mom and I spent the remaining five nights of this memorable vacation together sight seeing, zooming around on a vespa, indulging, and relaxing on the island of Ko Samui. Absolute paradise.
Infinity pool at the classy Anantara Hotel."Big Buddha"

Traditional thai dancers on Bo Phut beach.
Dinner at one of the many restaurants on the beach (my camera made an interesting effect with the flame)

The luxurious part of our vacation began in Hua Hin, five hours southeast of Bangkok. We literally stumbled upon the glamorous Anantara Resort. It sits on the beach shore, quite isolated from the noisy town center. We planned on only staying one night, but loved it so much, we had to extend to three nights. We spent our time lounging by the pool and beach, strolling through the Hua Hin night market, eating excellent ethnically-varied cuisine and elephant riding.

Happy arrivals in Hua Hin, the ultimate lap of luxury. Morning yoga session on grassy lawn.

Beautiful teak interior in the lobby of Anantara Resort.
Mom and I going for a ride on a 25 year old pregnant female elephant.

It's been a while since I've had any kind of connection into cyberspace... For the next few entries I will post pictures from the past two weeks spent with my mom in Thailand.... yes, she made it for a visit to "the land of smiles" afterall! Lucky for her, she was able to secure a spot on the very first plane into Suvarnabhumi airport following the closure. After much complication around planning where to meet, we decided on the Sukhumvit district of Bangkok. This area didn't appear very scenic, so we moved to the Arun Residence (in Ko Ratanakosin) with an amazing view of Wat Arun from it's rooftop bar. While in this temple district we noticed the drastic contrast between wealthy (mainly Thai tourists) and impoverished people in the surrounding area. Although culturally interesting, it was time to move onto the next city.

Photos in and around Bangkok:
Wat Arun at sunset.
Part of a mosaic wall, made up of cut plates, glass and stone - Wat Arun.

Looking down at my mom from the steep flight of stairs, leading up to top ledge.

Private long boat tour of the waterways near Bangkok - "Venice of the East"Old man playing an instrument at Taling Chan market.

Floating market just outside of Bangkok.
Orange and dragonfruit juices sold from a riverside vender.