THAILAND ko phangan to ko tao
i hate boats and i tell you why. we had to get on a boat to get to ko tao, so we chose the catamaran because normally those are the smoothest. well, not these ones. the shipcrew basically handed out bags as soon as we boarded and it just got worse from there. about 10 min into the ride the sea got rockier and rockier and people started puking. i was doing alright concentrating on my music till karl next to me started to puke. and when he pukes he does it with his whole body, as if he’s dry heaving. so then i started to puke into the smallest ziplock ever and then off the side. all the while there is this girl READING A BOOK a few rows ahead. i wanted to throw her overboard. karl all of a sudden says he has to go to the toilet, and i was like, “just puke off the side.” well turns out he got the shits as well. apparently the next 30 min was spent in the small ship bathroom with sea and sewage water splashing on him because of the rockiness of the wakes. he said he went to wipe his mouth after throwing up but realized it smelled like sewer water, and then would throw up again in a never ending cycle.
needless to say, we made it to beautiful ko tao. we were shaking and i was crying because i had never felt that bad. i don’t really remember how we did it, but we managed to find the dive school our friend works at and got a ride there. we showed up a mess and then slept for the next 15 hours. no more boat rides!
THAILAND ko phangan (black moon party)
we made it to a moon party! we weren’t in town for the full moon, but were able to catch the black moon party. the rave scene is not my thing but ‘when in thailand’, right? to get ready we painted each other with shitty body paint that stung as it settled on your skin…aaah what it takes to participate in ‘cultural’ things! it was random designs and words but we looked ready anyway.
the beach scene was really cool because the organizers had set up blacklights and what looked like 20 ft-high 3-D spirograph designs on the shore; surrounding us were eager body painters, drink booths and stray dogs. and since there were no toilets you could see the shadows of people using the shallow water in the moonlight. dancing on the shore was cool and looking around made me think i was in some sort of movie. so in the end the music was actually alright and we had a great time!
THAILAND ko phangan
next we set off to ko phangan to meet up with karl’s buddies. the irish are everywhere! it was his best mate gav, their other friend mark, mark’s cousin and her bf, and then like 15 other friends who were also passing through at the same time. anyway we stayed at a wonderful resort on the beach called milky bay. this place is amazing-with a bomb restaurant, ping-pong and pool tables, we had enough to do without leaving :) the rooms were amazing as well because the cleaners set it up with fresh orchids everytime they cleaned your room!
at night we went to the lady-boy bars and basically frequented ones with pool tables where we could chill and drink buckets. the most horrendeous lady boy works at “mermaid bar” and looks like a drag samoan rugby player. the first night she was moaning as loud as she could while grinding the bar stool trying to get some guy’s attention, and the next she was pulling something out that looked like a sock cock. the last time she put on a stripping hot wax show. gross.
THAILAND ko samui
so it rained hard for two days but it was alright since we had a spacious room and the rain was more like a raging tropical rainstorm than drizzle. i even gave in and bought an aqua rain jacket with some transformer named ^protector.^ it was really cool.
the thai hotels broadcast channels you actually want to watch. like ESPN!!! we were flipping through the channels when i saw colors that looked all so familiar…i couldn’t:t believe it when i realized it was the 2008 APPLE CUP! imagine. lazily flipping through the tv in thailand and the apple cup is on! well it was really exciting and we watched it till about 5 min left in the 4th when it was clear the huskies were going to win. we left for dinner and as soon as we arrived karl thought he forgot our money so he went back and even caught the LAST MINUTE. i went to bed pretty satisfied and when the replay was on the next day wanted to watch the clock run out for a win. well….shit. the term coug it which was a joke in university has sudden turned itself on the huskies. double overtime loss with a missed kick is a hard loss for anyone, i guess.
THAILAND ko samui
after a couple days of khaosan road, we got a last-min flight with thai air from bangkok to ko samui for about 5000 baht each. i suppose i can’t really compare it to the low-cost ones in europe cuz this one is cheap for us but not if you are only making the baht….but i have to say it is an amazing airline for the price. like all thai people we’ve come across, the service was great and they even gave us food and free drinks! the flight was only an hour or so but it still made our flight that much more comfortable.
the ko samui airport is the best airport i have ever seen. i mean, with an outdoor terminal, it is like a resort! with palm trees, lush grass and overhead fans, as well as a huge fish tank in ALL the bathrooms, it was amazing.
at night we hit up the main drag of lady-bars and ended up with the ubiquitous sang-som buckets while people watching. most guys picking up girls were in their 20’s or 30’s, but there were definitely groups of old men in their 60’s doing so as well. sick. i feel bad for the girls who have do hook up with them. i hope they get the lady boys.
THAILAND bangkok
a little holiday time from ‘work’ in barcelona! i’ve been taking little trips but this is the i’ve been looking forward to since we bought our tickets a few months back…especially since it started getting cold for the winter! the flight wasn’t bad-about 12 hours or so from amsterdam. we landed in bangkok and it seemed like most people spoke english so that was a change from barca. anyway, karl and i took a bus straight into the khaosan area which cost us around 4 euro (same as the airport bus from bcn to the city centre).
khaosan road is the tourist/backpacker central of bangkok, so we thought it would be a perfect place to start our trip. it is actually a pretty amazing street. it’s overstocked with bars, tuk-tuks, bright neon lights, music, and vendors selling everything from food to clothing from carts and make shift tents, but step away a few blocks away and you see none of it. i’ve never been anywhere like this in a while that overloads you with so much!
we spent the first couple of days here eating great thai food and sleeping in…just the beginning of a relaxing holiday!
hiroshima (fukuoka, nagasaki, nara, kyoto)
the southern part of japan was beautiful, since the cherry blossoms start blooming from the south to the north. they were in full bloom when i visited hiroshimaand the peace memorial park. i spent a few days there, visiting all of the museums and a bomb sites, which were incredible. other than the museum exhibits, the most powerful sight was the a-bomb dome. since the bomb was dropped almost directly above it, the building is still standing (the frame of it anyway) and serves as a reminder to tourists and residents on a daily basis. it was personally important to me as a japanese-american to visit the site, and i am so glad i did.
afterwards i made my way to fukuoka, nagasaki, nara, and then kyoto, where i visited the temples and shrines i studied a few years ago in the ‘buddhist art and architecture’ class (art h 350 i think). it was really amazing to finally see all of the grand buildings in person, and i was really able to appreciate the sights because of the info i learned in class. can not explain the feeling of tranquility that is evoked as i walk around the grounds. the most extravagant piece is the ‘kinkakuji’, in kyoto, which is right on the water. the gold reflection against the green japanese garden is priceless.
JAPAN (sushi at 6 am)
i have been doing great, just traveling all over japan…and eating…and eating …and eating. haha. but i love the food here! this past weekend, miriam, (who i went snowboarding with) came down to tokyo with her friend and we went out to a club called shibuya nuts. it is a hip hop club that was recommended by carver, (in shibuya) and we got to catch a japanese hip hop show which had a bumping beat and energetic vibe.
we danced till about 6 am, but the highlight was definitely eating sushi afterwards at a restaurant around the corner…and then catching a train to the famous fish market (tsukiji) to eat more sushi. i never thought i would eat sushi that early in the morning! then we slept for a few hours at a comic/internet cafe and woke up at noon to people watch in harajuku. i really wonder where the people get their inspiration for!
hillltop motel (oh so shady)
korea was awesome. i love the food, and could eat kim chee and korean style bbq all day…another great thing about the country is that the transportation system is really efficient, and much cheaper than japan´s. the subway and buses are mostly 1000won, and the taxis are really cheap as well. korea is the first country i have been to where i am not familiar with the language, so it was really exciting to be able to get around!
one night we went to a bar called ‘queen’, which was in the middle of a strip of bars in itaewon. the night was fun, and the last thing enda and i did was drink more soju and cider on our stoop outside the convenience store. and then when we woke up, we had a new bottle of soju AND cider on the table…wow.
we went out and stayed at a place called the hilltop motel, which was the shadiest place i have ever seen…straight out of the horror movie where there are crackheads and prostitutes everywhere. we stayed since it was about 100 meters from the bars, and very convenient. but the morning got kinda scary since someone kept knocking on the door as enda was in the shower, so after a while i finally answered, and it was this huge 50-cent wannabe gangster in his full get up. ( complete with chains, sideways hat, baggy jeans…ok so i know it is really stereotypical) he was like, “i wanna talk to your friend”, and i told him no, that enda was in the shower, and that he prob. had the wrong room…but this guy was really persistent about it, and i thought for a second that this guy was gonna bust into the room, and i was gonna get my ass kicked. well, the guy realized after a couple of minutes that he did have the wrong room, so he kinda huffed away, and i heard him asking the reception guy where the corredct room was…
JAPAN tokyo
a few days ago, i was able to meet up with carver ( a friend from university) which was really cool. i didn’t know he was in japan, but he sent me a message a minute after i updated my status on facebook…and we happened to be at the same train stop! it was cool to hear his stories since he studied here last year, and he also showed me around a shopping mall called 109, which has NINE floors of women’s stores. the fashion here is crazy. the girls dress up like they are straight off the runway, and all look like dolls…kinda like gwen stefani’s “harajuku girls” but even more outrageous.
i have been laying pretty low compared to south america, but the times i have gone out have been off the hook! the party scene here is incredible, and i have found a new favorite drink. it is currently plum wine with fresh grapefruit….yum! i don’t know how i worked 6 years at the restaurant without tasting it…