A Whirlwind Week!

>Wow – what a week we have had. We have gone from on side of the country to another, both literally and figuratively. We are sorry we didn’t keep you up-to-date daily, but our busy schedule left us exhausted at the end of the day… Besides, we thought it would have more impact if you read the extremes of our week all at once.

Wednesday/Thursday – Feb 12/13

Goodbye Mirror

We knew leaving Mirror Art Group would be a sad, yet important milestone in our two month journey. Since half of the group was leaving the same day as us, all of the volunteers decided to build a campfire to commemorate our time together. It was really great time drinking cheap beer and whiskey while listening to a few people play both self-written and popular songs. Most of the group had started on the same day we did, so everyone got to know each other pretty well. We made some amazing friends from all over the world: California, Connecticut, Canada, England, Wales, Australia, and not to forget Japan and Thailand.

Oh! We should mention that the campfire wasn’t the only way we said goodbye to Mirror… On the 13^th, we were given the opportunity to build a firebreak in a small village. We thought this would be a great way to end our volunteering journey. Little did we know that the excursion would be the perfect way to sum our stay in Chiang Rai. As you probably guessed, there was a miscommunication and we never actually made the firebreak. Luckily it was not an English/Thai miscommunication, but a Thai/Thai one. Regardless, we had a nice time trekking through the hills and a lovely picnic lunch.

Friday/Saturday – Feb 14/15

Chiang Mai, Thailand

After leaving Mirror, we started our long journey to the beaches of Thailand. To break up the numerous trains, buses, and ferries, we decided to stop in Chiang Mai for a cooking class and general sightseeing.

We started off our time by going to the local Monk Chat at Wat Suan Dok. We were able to meet and chat with resident monks and novices, hence the name Monk Chat. Wat Suan Dok is home to the Buddhist University for monks, where many study English and want to practice. During our chat, we learned about the general concepts of Buddhism, mediation, and asked questions. Chatting with the young monks was a great experience that will not be forgotten. Growing up Catholic, it was interesting to learn the differences, but mainly similarities of Buddhism and Catholicism. Buddhists integrate most religions into their own, so many of the monks had a great deal of knowledge of our religion. We would recommend this inexpensive (free) and rewarding experience to anyone.

The next morning we began our cooking class at the Siam Rice Thai Cookery School. Wow – was this an awesome class! While at Mirror we had so many delicious and traditional dishes. The only issue was that we did not know what the dishes were called or how to make them. Alas, we signed up for a cooking class and learned more information about Thai dishes and their ingredients than we ever imagined. We started the day with a lesson at a local market where we had an introduction to Thailand’s herbs, spices, and produce – many of which are special to Thailand. Hopefully we can find them in the States because they make all the difference.

Once we arrived at the cooking school we started preparing an array of dishes. The company we chose was very flexible, so we pretty much made up our own menu and then had the opportunity to taste everyone else’s. Needless to say, we were stuffed by 4pm! Nancy, the owner, also taught us how to carve fruit and vegetables.

James’s Menu
Pad Thai
Cashew Chicken
Spicy Minced Chicken Salad
Hot and Sour Soup
Green curry paste
A green curry dish
Bananas in Coconut Milk

Sam’s Menu
Vegetable Spring Rolls
Coconut Tom Yam Soup
Fried Basil Beef
Som Tom (Papaya Salad)
Red Curry Paste
A Red Curry Dish
Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango

After a marvelous day in the kitchen, we are so excited to go home and test our new recipes. Come over if you are hungry and want to try some new dishes, but don’t expect carved fruit to decorate your plates…

Unfortunately, we thought we forgot our camera, so we do not have any photos to post. Luckily, we went with fellow Mirror volunteers and they took some. Sadly, we found the camera in the backpack later that day….

Saturday/Sunday/Monday – February 14/15/16

Finishing our cooking class, we rushed off to begin our two-day transportation expedition to Koh Tao. The first leg of it was on the night train to Bangkok. This time the night train was roomy and served nice food. The ride was a bit bumpy because we were in the last car and it arrived three hours late, but we made it cheaply! Because we decided to go the cheapest way, we had to spend the day in Bangkok. We had already spent a few days there before and saw most of it, so we weren’t that excited. Fortunately we did not go to Chinatown during the first round, so we went there on the second. The combination of exhaustion and re-culture shock did not allow us to enjoy Chinatown as much as we should have. We spent a few hours wandering around markets and trying Chinese duck soup. The highlight of the day had to be our 10 baht ($0.30), cold shower in the train station.

Arriving in Koh Tao we were greeted with a beautiful view of the island and its beaches. Stepping on the beach, we were whisked away via songhtaew to Big Blue Diving Resort. There was some slight confusion with the room situation, but we had it all sorted out and we were able to start our relaxing and rewarding four-day stint in Koh Tao.

Monday to Thursday – February 16/17/18/19

PADI Open Water Certification and Koh Tao

As we stated, the class included four dives: The first, at Mango Bay, was solely for skill assessment and we only saw sand. Sam was bitten by a fish though – how exciting! The second dive was held at Twins where we dove 12 meters and saw an array of fish. This time the skills were a bit harder, but we managed. We were both successful in fully suiting up in the water and mask removal and replacement underwater.

On Thursday we completed dives three and four, which were at much deeper dive sites. At Chumphon we dove 18-20 meters and saw 1000’s of fish. Our favorites included the barracuda and a grouper the size of James’s cousin, Ian. The site also had limestone rocks/coral beds that housed beautiful corals, fishes, and other sea creatures. Although there was not much color, we enjoyed the big fish and clear water. Lastly, we went to White Rock where we completed our Open Water course. This site was very similar to Chumphon, it just didn’t have as big of fish. While under water we played games that tested our buoyancy. We are happy to announce that we were the winners of the underwater horse race, perfected our Matrix fighting skills, and can break dance (i.e. spin on our heads) underwater.

Unlike the ex-pats in the North, we doubt the ex-pats in the South know much of the Thai language. While volunteering we learned a few key phrases that helped us get around. We were sad we were not able to continue practicing them. James would try to ask a question in Thai and the natives would only answer in English.

In addition to diving, Koh Tao is also considered a party island. While we didn’t go full crazy every night (we were exhausted) we did find some ways to have fun. Whether it was watching the sunset while sipping the best fresh coconut smoothies ever or eating tasty BBQ, watching flame throwers (both old and 9-years old), or having a nice cocktail by a beach campfire, Koh Tao definitely knows how to show its guest a good time.

(Right photo: the boy could not have been more than 10 years old)

Even though Koh Tao didn’t seem as if it was a part of Thailand, it was truly a beautiful island and we were sad to leave. We had such a great experience diving; hopefully the rest of our diving adventures can be just as fun, if not more.

Thursday/Friday – February 19/20

Nightly Travel

Before leaving Chiang Rai we had a general idea of where we would be going after Koh Tao, but it was never set in stone. After learning more about the area we decided to travel towards Krabi for some more island activity. We learned that the cheapest and easiest way to get from Koh Tao to Krabi was via night boat, bus, then water taxi. Our parents will be happy to read that we spent the night on an old fishing boat with 120 other travelers. We will state that we had no clue it would be like this…we were imagining bunk beds similar to that on the night train, instead it was two floors lined with tiny mats and a sheet with people lying shoulder to shoulder. Basically we were packed like sardines in a can and felt as if we were being smuggled illegally into the country. We did have a fan by us, so that was nice. We could not stop giggling during the trip because it was the most random situation. The night boat was truly an experience we will never forget and plan to tell the story for years. We did pack sleeping pills and swiped the eye masks from our Australia flight to help us get through the night. Besides the constant swaying, it wasn’t too bad!

Disembarking the boat in Surat Thani we hopped on a van for two more hours to Krabi town and then on a longtail boat (think fishing boat) to Ralaey Beach. After 15 ½ hours of traveling we finally made it to our room at Rapala Bungalows, where we are finishing this long blog post on the mattress that is lying on the floor. Thailand is definitely about budget, not luxury, which allows us to spend more on activities instead of accommodations we only use for sleeping. The breeze whipping through the room is definitely the highlight.

After a quick lunch at an overpriced resort, we decided to check out the Railay West beach (we are staying at Railay East for budget reasons). Lonely Planet claimed Railay West is their favorite beach in Thailand and boy were they right! This beach is absolutely stunning. We are having troubles finding the words to explain it, so we will let the pictures serve it justice. In addition to laying on the beach we rented kayaks for an hour. Railay also houses some awesome rock islands with tunnels which we could weave in and out. We would like to consider it kayak spelunking because it sounds much more exciting!

Our time ran out with the kayaks just as the sun was setting..as you can see it was breathtaking!

Have a great weekend! We will be thinking of you all while we are lying on the pristine beaches of Thailand.

Best,

Sam and James