Why not go to Thailand?

 

This year, for my vacation, I wanted to go somewhere beautiful and warm. What better place to go than Thailand? My friend Shina agreed to join me – and everything was set; I wasn’t worried about anything. But then people kept asking me “Aren’t there floods there?” and “I hear everything is a mess because of the floods” and “Aren’t the airports shut down in Thailand because of the floods?” I really hoped this wasn’t the case, because I already made plans and bought an airplane ticket. If the airport was shut down, where would the airplane go?

Also, I might want to mention, this was the most planned out trip I had ever gone on. Why? Because I have way to much free time on my hands. For 3 days, I sat at work and had 2 choices. I could either waste my time on facebook, youtube, and other mind-numbing websites for 8 hours, or I could plan a trip to Thailand. I chose the latter. Using my 2 travel books, I took notes on the best places to go and then wrote everything up on Microsoft word. But of course, I wasn’t done there. I printed out maps, drew routes, and circled everywhere the floods were as well as all the best places to go. THEN I got on google images and inserted pictures of every place I wanted to go. I had my own private travel guide!

The trip started without a problem. Shina and I met at the airport, boarded our plane, and arrived in Thailand on schedule. Our goal was to hit up the Full Moon party in a few days, but first spend a night in Bangkok. The next day we took a tour around the town via tuktuk. I had heard it’s a bit of a scam, but it seemed so cheap! We were going to go all over Bangkok for less than a dollar! Of course, it wasn’t as easy as that. The driver not only took us to different temples and sights, he also took us to shops to buy tailored suits and jewelry. But a quick look inside and we could leave – no problem. 

Getting our ride around town

Posing with a Lucky Buddha - we weren't sure which one was the real lucky one. 

Picking out our new tailored suits

 

A fire jump rope at the Full Moon Party

That night we took a train to the island Ko Phangan. This is the island where the Full Moon Party is held once a month. We went to the party, which just reminded me of a giant college party – nothing special except the size and it’s all over the beach. Fun, but nothing too exciting. The island, on the other hand, was amazing. We stayed in a bungalow right on the beach. We spent our days swimming on the beach, renting scooters and driving around the island, eating delicious food at the local night market, hiking to waterfalls, and watching sunsets.

Sunset at out Bungalow

Getting ready for a walk to the waterfall

Just another swim for the day

Night Market Dinner Time!

Boat to the Island

 After 3 days of this, we moved on, and headed to Kho PhiPhi, where the move “The Beach” was filmed. I had heard it was touristy – but I did not expect this. Kho PhiPhi was a very small island; chock full of tourists and shops.  From what I saw, there was absolutely nothing culturally-Thailand about it! Everything around was geared toward tourists – the restaurants, the beaches, the bars, the tours, and the shops! I couldn’t see the attraction! We stayed only one night, but were able to do a snorking trip. The guide took us out to snorkel and see sharks, then to an island full of monkeys. After we jumped off a 12meter cliff, saw the beach where “The Beach” was filmed, and saw a beautiful sunset.

Monkey Island - Shina terrifies the monkeys!

Cliff Jump!

Relaxing on the Long Boat

Getting ready to dive in

 

 

That next day we took the boat to Phuket. It was another island, but big, and connected to the mainland by a bridge. The place we stayed was nothing special, but we were able to rent scooters and drive all over the island. We drove to different beaches, waterfalls, and lookout points. Though the cities around the island were nothing special, just driving around and seeing the sights was worth it!

Jumping Shot at the Fountain

Kissing Thailand

Just a regular beach full of regular people.

In the process of enjoying another waterfall

Temple Entrance

All over Thailand - All you see are exhausted dogs!

Fish - it was what's for dinner.

Fisherman after a day of fishing

Rope Swing!

After Phuket, a decision had to be made – where do we go next. Either head north and check out the sites, or go back to Ko Phangan. We knew of a couple people going there, and since it was our favorite place so far, we decided to go back. Just for a day, then head up north. But, when we arrived we had so much fun we stayed for three days! We met up with a couple friends I knew from Pohang, who were traveling before they went home. Shina and I stayed with them in the same hostel we were at before, and every day we went swimming, hiking, etc. Afterwards we all left for Bangkok together.

Back at our favorite waterfall!

...just with some different people!

We saw a few elephants

And a very stylish dog

Another Sunset!

Back at the night market for dinner and... doughnuts?

Jumping at the Secret Beach!

Group picture with our scooter helmets!

 

The next few days in Bangkok were a little rough. Shina and I both weren’t feeling so great, plus it was the end of our vacation! I really didn’t want to go back to Korea, where I knew I would freeze to death. When we arrived, we met up with a bunch more people from Pohang, and we all went to the city of Ayutthaya, where there were many beautiful ruins to explore.  

Top of the tower in Bangkok!

Not only did we look at a lot of old buildings...but we found flowers for our hair!

Couple Photo #1

Couple Photo #2

 

We didn't find silk...just dead fish

That night, everyone else went back to Bangkok, but Shina and I continued on the train. You see, my mother told me to make sure I check out a silkworm farm. Because I always listen to my mama, I googled and googled silkworm farms, and all I discovered was a city name. So, we went. The next morning, we tried to discover where to go – we had been given a map, but that was all we had to go on. On the map, it mentioned a silk town/market, so we thought that was a good place to start, and what better way to get there but by scooter! Unfortunately, it was Chinese New Year, so everything was closed – especially any scooter rental store that town might have had. Instead, we just explored town a bit then headed back to Bangkok without seeing a single piece of silk. Sorry mom.

Train ride back to Bangkok

The next day was my last day. Shina decided to stay longer, since she didn’t have any responsibilities to return to. I, of course, had to be a good adult and come teach all these little snivelers how to speak English. I really wish I could have stayed longer, but I’m not so lucky. Hopefully you find this to be a decent recounting of my trip to Thailand. Hopefully the lack of details will be made up with the photos! I took a lot of course – I always do!