Returning from our Vacation

"But you're on vacation...for a whole year!" is perhaps your protest. But after hiking for seven weeks, we felt our bodies needed a break. So we hightailed it down to southern Thailand to the island of Ko Phangan. We arrived safely after much adventure involving a tourist bus and boat that was nothing like what was advertised, while having a bit of a stomach bug that we probably unfairly attributed to some yummy treat we had from a street vendor. How we ended up on said tourist bus is also another lesson in why we shouldn't talk to strangers. But no harm came of it all and now we are savvier travelers (until the next incident!).

After some antibiotics and rest, we both recovered, it stopped raining (it turns out that while November is considered part of the dry season in Thailand, it is the rainiest month of the year for Koh Samui and Koh Phangan!) and we enjoyed beautiful weather, quiet, empty beaches, and some amazingly great food. Quite by chance we found Haad Khom and the wonderful people of Ocean View Resort. Most of the places we stayed on the island had ten-page menus of pretty non-descript western and western-style Thai food. Ocean View is run by a foodie, with specials every night like steamed white snapper with lime. Absolutely amazing. We could have spent a month there happily biding times between three (or four!) meals a day on the beach.

But alas, we felt there is so much we want to see and lest we kick our selves later on, we decided to end our vacation and head north. We head to Sukothai (ancient capital city ruins) tomorrow, and hopefully we'll meet up with some friends from my NOLS course in Alaska. I'm sure we'll have stories! In the mean time here are some pictures for your enjoyment.




Bangkok:


Ko Phangan: