Where did July go???

It has been a super busy month. For one, I lived at home. This meant chasing rainbows with my dad, hanging with Mr. Cat, and visiting each and every store that Park Meadows has to offer in an attempt to furnish my new apartment. Beyond that, I went on three grand trips!

First, Sarah and I took to the highways on a Salt Lake City mission- find Ikea and discover all that the salty city has to offer. On the way, we found the best Thai food in Wyoming, sang some Glee, and had a Lady Gaga dance party. We shopped our hearts out, found the ultimate Mormon church, ate at a great brewery, saw fireworks for Pioneer Day, emigrated up Emigration Canyon for some brunch, and had some fabulous Palisade peaches in Palisade, CO. It was pretty grand!






A couple days later, I headed to North Carolina to visit my mom and grandma. We did the usual things- made blankets, went to the beach, ate fudge, relaxed, and chatted it up. It was great to see them and the beautiful garden that they have created!

Finally, I went to Los Angeles for Brad and Lauren’s wedding. It was a complete blast! When we weren’t riding cruisers on the strand, watching dolphins and surfers, or at the pool, we were hanging with Reed and Anthony, eating superfabulous food (crepes, brunches, salads, you name it), kayaking with seals, or celebrating at the most beautiful wedding ever. It was held on a cliff overlooking the sea, and Brad and Lauren are one of the best couples ever. What a night!



I came back the day before orientation just in time to move, although I am still not settled. I spent the last week trying to meet 160 of my new best friends, hanging with them in Estes Park, getting my white coat, and hot-tubbing at our new place. Tomorrow is going to be a big day- six hours of anatomy and a brand new chapter of my life! I am so excited!!!


The new digs (well, the patio):

Well, the full slideshow will not fit on youtube, so my friends are cordially invited to my home in Aurora for viewing. Until then, here are the highlights of my trip to Thailand, in roughly chronological order:

Me and my watermelon that I carved.

Kata Noi Beach, Phuket

Koh Phi Phi, setting of “The Beach”

Please don’t have so many drinks that you make out with a fish!

Sunset at West Railay beach with Katrina and Dan

The best beach on mainland Thailand, Railay

Exploring an off-shore island, Railay

Jellyfish, Phuket

Flowers, Phuket

Surfing, Kata Beach, Phuket

Thinking I was back in China, somewhere mainland Thailand

Famous street food, Krabi

Traditional boat ties, Koh Lanta

Koh Lanta Sunset

Before the storm, Koh Lanta

Bucket of freshly caught squid, Koh Lanta
Haad Yao, Koh Phangan

Papaya Salad, Koh Phangan

Cuddles, Koh Phagnan

Mani/pedi on the beach

Grace and Ellie, Koh Tao

Funny snorkel, Koh Tao

Sunset, Koh Tao

Island off of Koh Tao

Pad se ew, Chaweng, Koh Samui

Beach at Ang Thong Marine National Park

Emerald Lake, Ang Thong

Viewpoint, Ang Thong

I’m (not) on a boat, Ang Thong

“Nature trail”

Oysters!

Typical day at the beach, Chaweng, Koh Samui

Chaweng Palms

Coconut soup, that I made!
Thank you Katrina for sharing the photos in Railay! I love them!
Now I am back home, getting ready for the next things to come. I have been enjoying some of my favorite things though:

Mr. Cat

My neighbor Joe’s raspberries

And a visit to my old home.
Up next: Salt Lake City with Sarah, North Carolina with Mom and Grandma, LA with Ryan, Reed, and Anthony, moving, and school! Should be a fun 3 weeks!

My last week here in Thailand has been fantastic, as usual.  I went on an excellent kayaking/hiking/boat trip around Ang Thong Marine National Park which was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.  You just may have to wait for pictures, but kayaking around the rocky green islands was nothing short of gorgeous, and I also saw two male grey dolphins fighting for the attention of a pink female.  I talked to a radiologist for the whole trip back, and she got me more excited (if possible) for my upcoming education! I spent a day learning how to artfully carve fruit and cook delicious thai food, and the rest of my days at the beach.  I have learned that I am a creature of habit, as evidenced by the fact that I am on a first name basis with everyone from the spa girls to the shake lady and the fruit stand man at the beach (and they all know just what I want).  Mango and pineapple? Strawberry shake? Corn on the cob? They’ve got me covered.  I am not the only one though- I see the same Germans, Italians, and South Africans every day on the same patch.  I have been devouring beach novels like a star (7 this month), and have come to love being on my own. 

I have one more day here, which will be spent in much the same manner- world cup at 1:30 am, sleep in, big breakfast, reading and swimming at the beach, talking to shake lady, fruit man, corn lady, going to the spa, world cup at 1:30 am.  Except after that I will be catching a ride to the airport at 4;30 am! Sad.  I will miss Thailand…….

I left of on Koh Pha Ngan.  My plans for aquatic grandeur were stifled by the fact that it was low season, so after another fabulous day on Haad Yao I decided to head to Koh Tao- the diving capital of Thailand.  Despite the fact that I didn’t plan to do any, I had heard good things about the jungly island.  The ferry ride over was incredible, as usual.  Koh Tao is a mountainous green island with huge gray boulders at the headlands.  Also, before jumping on I made one of the best culinary decisions of the trip- buying fresh fruit from a peddle cart.  How I will survive without the fruit vendors is going to be a mystery.  So delicious! Fresh mango, pineapple, papaya, watermelon, yes please.

I arrived on Koh Tao to the usual mayhem of people trying to sell you a taxi and a hotel room.  I ended up in a “taxi”, aka truck bed, with two 19 year old girls from England.  A few minutes of small talk later, and we were realizing the financial benefit of sharing a room, which we did.  Ellie and Grace are their names, and they supplied enough dry wit through the last couple of days to fit in in the Sahara.  Love it! Our first night there I watched a lovely sunset before heading out with them to meet some friends that they had met in New Zealand.  We ended up at a great dinner place that happened to have a huge screen set up on the beach, and a large population of people from the Netherlands.  We watched the best world cup game yet in the most exciting atmosphere.  It was a great night!

The next day I headed out nice and early for a snorkel trip after a fabulous porridge breakfast on the beach (I must learn how to make porridge).  We cruised around Koh Tao to the surrounding islands, which were also gorgeous, and I got to see some of the coral that Koh Tao is so famous for.  The highlight was definitely when I got to swim with a blacktip shark for a few minutes (awesome!).  Our guide said we could bite them back if they bit us :).  I also saw a couple barracudas, which were entirely more creepy and scary than the shark because they would just leer with their sharp teeth showing, pretending I was lunch.  Unfortunately, Thailand is experiencing some of the negative effects of unbridled tourism that I saw in China.  A lot of the coral is dead or dying, and most of the beaches have a fair amount of trash washing up on shore (or leaving).  It also has sad treatment of animals and women as in China, which is equally depressing.  On a happy note though, Grace and Ellie and I grabbed fabulous happy hour on bean bags on the beach as the sun was setting before another fabulous night of world cup.

The next day I ended up lazing by the pool overlooking the beach (best of both worlds) for the day.  More spectacular sunsets, more spectacular sports. I just love Nadal.  His forehand is so fancy.  Today I headed to Koh Samui and its most popular beach, Chaweng.  Despite being super crowded, it is very beautiful.  The water is like a swimming pool- so clear and extra warm and blue.  The inhabitants are now old Italian men, families, and honeymooners instead of the grimy and fit twenty year olds that I have become used to.  Tomorrow I am going to Ang Thong Marine National Park for some kayaking and spectacular scenery, then on Wednesday I will work towards my goal of being an expert chef in a fruit carving and Thai cooking class.  Should be fabulous!

I have decided to go on an island extravaganza.  Mainland Thailand with its mountains and temples are just going to have to be saved for another trip.  Also, photos are going to have to wait til I return: I bought a new camera after a thouroughly long tour of Phuket Town by motor scooter, however it shocks me when I plug it into a computer. 

Last time I wrote, I had just arrived back in Phuket.  Besides sorting out the administrative details of my life (cameras and flights) I met a nice American and Irish girl to hang out with, some Brazilian doctors, and watched a lot of world cup as per usual.  The highlight was definitely surfing at sunset on my last day back.  The waves were pretty strong and I definitely got tossed around, but there is nothing better than some salty fun when the sun is going down.  I love it! 

I decided (against a local’s advice) to head to Ko Lanta.  It would have been much more logical for me to head there from Railay, but I am really enjoying travel by bus and boat here.  I love watching the rainforest, houses, women playing volleyball, and rubber trees go by, as well as the islands if I am on a ferry.  Our minibus happened to be crossing a body of water on a barge as the sun was going down, and it was one of the best sunsets I have seen yet! When I got to Ko Lanta, my hotel that I had selected was closed (as were many others, being very low season and extremely rainy).  I ended up jumping off at the last one with a French couple that I had met.  It was a pretty good choice: I had my pad thai and coconut shake overlooking the beach, complete with a fire twirling show!

I decided I would go snorkeling around the nearby islands, and I was in luck because the waters were going to be clear enough! By the time our van had picked everyone up, the downpour had began.  Despite this fact, we hopped in the long tail and made it to the first spot- a limestone island protruding from the sea with caves at the base.  The water was warm and the fish pretty, so the rain turned out to be a non-issue.  My favorite things were beachball sized jellyfish surrounded by tropical ones, and what looked to be neon blue mini swordfish.  Our guide, a sea battered captain who had been on the ocean for 22 years, was fishing for squid.  His rod was a waterbottle, but he caught quite a few.  One, in an attempt to escape the boat and its death, squirted a surprising amount of black ink all over the boat and us.  The weather got worse and worse, and by the time it was time to head back, we found ourself in a monsoon with huge waves.  The fear in our captain’s eyes did not inspire confidence.  Finally, we made it back in what was the most harrowing boat ride that I have been on so far.  A really nice English couple took pity on the fact that I had no hot water in my mosquito and ant infested bungalow, and invited me to theirs to use their shower.  We ended up at the cutest cafe ever, and I warmed up with a chocolate latte and fiery hot green curry fried rice.  My taste buds are still not strong enough for most Thai food. 

Once I found out that the rain was not predicted to stop, I decided to leave Ko Lanta for the islands on the other side.  I had another marathon day of travel (more nice people were met though) and arrived last night in Ko Pha Ngan.  I decided to splurge a bit to get away from ants for a couple days, and as such was even able to watch the 1:30am Spain vs Portugal from the comfort of my bed! After being so on the go for a few days, I decided that a slow day was in order.  Today I slept in, went to the gorgeous beach at Had Yao where the light blue water seemed warmer than the air, explored the hilly jungle roads that surround the island, swam laps in the pool during the brief afternoon rain storm, and had delicious meals overlooking and on the beach.  It is really nice here! I plan to stay for a few days to do more snorkeling, kitesurfing, cooking classes, sailing, and whatever else I find.  Hope everyone at home is well! I will be back in a mere 12 days!

I really like it here.  A LOT.  Since last time, I took a ferry to Railay, the Boulder of Thailand.  It is known for its spectacular cliffs that come out of the sea.  Six-pack-adorned climbers dangle to and fro, and the locals are rastafarian Thais with dreadlocks.  I haven’t ever heard so much Bob Marley, which I really enjoyed.  My first night there I explored a little and found myself sitting on pillows eating Thai noodle soup, which progressed into drinking tropical cocktails with my new hippie friends.  They were rooting for Uruguay though, and sadly Mexico lost.  I consoled myself by petting a cute kitten for a while (there are cute cats everywhere!). 

The next day started with a nice morning at the beach- I picked up a great beach read: According to Arnold.  I reccommend it highly.  I also found Australian Tim Tams, so I snacked on those instead of scaling the cliffs.  A quick noodle lunch later, my new friends Dan and Katrina and I decided we would take a trip to the viewpoint and the lagoon that are on the southern part of the peninsula.  Well, my friend Chao from the night before had drawn me a detailed map, and advised that I wear sturdy shoes.  No problem, right? We found ourselves scaling a muddy slope that bordered on vertical rock climbing most of the way.  The view from the view point was worth getting covered in red mud, but we couldn’t make it to the lagoon because that entailed an actual cliff with only a “slippery” rope.  I was very proud that I challenged my fear of heights, and conquered it somewhat- in a skirt no less!

After our climbing extravaganza, we headed to what was to be the most beautiful beach there- which it was.  Several limestone islands were just offshore covered in greenery, and the water was the customary shade of turquoise blue.  We could even walk through the shallow waters to the nearest one and explore its crags! That night we caught the famous sunset on the west beach, which was gorgeous, and had a fancy dinner beachside.  We wrapped up the night at a hip bar with more world cup, live music, and pool.  Railay was definitely a highlight of my trip so far! Silly me, I booked a ticket out too early.  I get itchy feet fast!

I took a long bus ride back to Phuket where I got to see snatches of life in mainland Thailand- chicken shops and fruit markets and temples were crammed along some of the streets backed by tropical rainforest.  After an exhausting day of travel, I have been beaching it out again.  I don’t seem to be getting sick of beautiful sandy beaches, cheap plates of tropical fruit served to your chair, gorgeous sunsets, tropical manicures, watching waves crash on the rocks, and eating all of the Thai noodles I can handle (I can handle them every meal, thank you).  I have one more day here to hopefully get my camera sorted (sorry, no pictures for now), enjoy a desserted beach, go surfing and get a massage.  I am excited! Then it is off to Ko Lanta!

The last days of Hong Kong were great- we saw the botanical garden and zoo (twice), watched dragon boat races, and had more superb food.  Here is a gem of Ryan and Anthony at the private Thai kitchen that we went to:

On Thursday I took off for Phuket, one of Thailand’s many island paradises.  I found a great little place on Kata Beach (I am on a mission to avoid all things large and touristy) to settle down at that serves mean Thai food.  After all of the running around we did in China, I was ready for a little beach time.  The first day I went surfing on Kata Beach, which was spectacular! I was certainly out of practice, but by the end I found myself coasting down some sparkling green, warm, salty waves.  I also found myself sunburnt and bruised as well, by the time I lobstered back to my hotel for some World Cup.  I watch it every day now. 

The next day I chilled out on the even nicer Kata Noi beach down a ways and finished reading my book- Wicked.  I reccommend it.  I watched some happy surfers, and caught a beautiful sunset.  I also read about how fabulous Koh Phi Phi is, so I headed there next. 

The best part of traveling is often the traveling itsself- the ferry ride from Phuket to Phi Phi was gorgeous- turquoise waters splashed our boat and I met a really nice English couple to gaze at the passing islands with.  By the time we got in, there was just enough time for me to take a long tail boat to my bungalow in the forest (aye) and for me to wander to town for dinner and drinks and World Cup, at the worst Irish pub ever.

Today was the day I was looking forward to the most- snorkeling and beaching around Phi Phi and Phi Phi Leh.  We visited Maya Bay (my camera was malfunctioning, so I have no photo for you), which is “the perfect beach” from the movie, The Beach.  It was so pretty! Think large cliffs framing crystal blue water and white sand.  Snorkelling around I got to see purple and yellow coral, anenomies, tropical fishies, and psychadelic crabs.  It is the low season because of the waves (and the rain), so we had the perfect mix of getting soaked and frozen by the sea spray from our long tail boat crashing up and down, to being dropped of at long sandy beaches with water as warm as baths for a warm up.   Tomorrow: off to Railay, the rock climbing sunset mecca.  Woo!

We took a cruise down the Li river:

Hiking in Ping An above the rice terraces:

Hiking in Yangshou:

Mexican in Hong Kong:

Graham Street Market in Hong Kong:

China meets Portugal in Macau:

Jay in Macau:

We have been having a great time here in China as of late.  We went south, which means nice people and gorgeous scenery.  The day after we rode bikes around Guilin, we hopped on a bamboo boat for a cruise down the Li river.  The river curves between huge limestone humps covered in tropical vegetation.  It dropped us off in Yangshou where we spent the afternoon negotiating for fake Prada and playing arcade basketball- my new favorite.  This was actually the best day of all because of a piece of news from home- I get to go to school in Aurora instead of in St. Louis! Woo!  Back to the day though: we caught a bus Chinese style- jumping on in the middle of the road while haggling the price- back to Guilin.  We celebrated that evening with more arcade basketball, delightful strawberry milkshakes made by the smartest, most hard working barista ever (nursing school by day, milkshake maker by night, every day), and getting scammed by China (now a regular occurence, this time involving dumplings).

After our time in Guilin, we headed up to a small village called Ping An, nestled in the mountains covered in rice terraces.  If you haven’t watched Wild China yet, I reccommend it, available on Netflix. There is excellent footage which is only more spectacular in real life.   The village itself is made of only rock pathways.  The only traffic is the brightly dressed ethnic minority women carrying backpacks of vegetables to and fro.  We spent two nights there sampling delightful tofu and relaxing.  We also went on the “second best” hike in China through the mountains between villages.  Also, one of my favorite things thus far has been meeting Tom and Tine, a Belgian couple who are soon moving to New Zealand to open up a Belgian waffle shop.  We met them on the bus to Ping An as they were about to be scammed by the person who helped them do the illegal bus jump-on.  We ran into them again on the trail and hiked back to town with them, which turned into dinner, which turned into leaving the next day to return to Yangshou together.

We separated from Taylor and Jay and headed for the lesser known countryside outside of Yangshou- a great decision.  We got here late yesterday afternoon in time for a hike through the gorgeous mountains and had an interesting episode in the rain.  It started pouring and a super nice family let us into their one room, concrete living room and perched us on their stools.  They tried to make us tea and give us umbrellas and talk enthusiastically in Chinese with us- it was so nice! We ended up running home because it was getting dark, and the rain promptly stopped once we were in range of the hostel.  Hello smelly clothes.  We had a great dinner at our fabulous hostel, the Yangshou Outside Inn, and had a great time with Tom and Tine.

The rest of our time in Yangshou was spent enjoying our company, bicycling around the GORGEOUS countryside, climbing moon hill, lazing around (I was a little ill), eating Western food, and taking a cooking class.  I can make authentic Yangshou cuisine! All I need now is a wok, and dinner party at my house! It was a wonderful time.

We hopped the bus back to Guilin, and then an overnight train to Hong Kong.  Jay was on it, so we joined each other. Hong Kong is our last stop here in China, but has been one of the best to this point.  When we arrived, people immediately helped us.  It was the first indication that Hong Kong is not like China.  Other differentiating factors: English everywhere, no spitting, no smoking, taxis who use their meters, people going out of their way to be nice, toilet paper, hand soap, hand dryers, delicious western food, and the fact that it is expensive here.  Our first afternoon we took the tram up Victoria peak, the mountain that frames the city.  It gave impressive views of the skyline, masterfully packed between the hills and the harbor.  Hong Kong is very much like a steamy, jungly, San Fran with a better skyline and different cultural influences.  That night, we met up with our friend Anthony who is here on work for a few weeks.  He showed us the ropes- drinks in the crazy bar district at the beginning of the world cup.  We made it back to his favorite pub to catch South Africa vs Mexico and get a sampling of the expat nightlife.  It was a great night!

Saturday we headed around the coast to the Hong Kong trail which was a highlight of the trip.  We walked up along the “dragons spine” chatting and snapping shots of the birds, flowers, waterfalls, and coastline below.  It was beautiful! We ended up at a small beach where we had bizarre lunch, followed by the purchase and rental of flip flops, swimsuits, towels, and a giant floatie.  We enjoyed exploring the sand and sea for a while before heading back to the city.  By the time we returned, we couldn’t make our dinner reservation, but we did manage to take the ferry across the harbor to Kowloon for the nightly light show that illuminates the buildings.  We also could have done all the fancy shopping we wanted (people are wealthier here, in money and in waistlines), but ended up back in Central, the hip neighborhood where Anthony lives for some delightful Mexican food.  There is so much good western food here- I have somewhat given up on Chinese for a while (and I got a bit tired of it too!).  We spent another night watching World Cup (I have serious soccer watching addictions these days) before turning in.

Sunday was a slow day- late breakfast, followed by taking trams all the way across the city and back, just to see how it was.  We found more of regular China outside the urban centers- my favorite sight was seeing people doing tai chi by the docks and industrial section of the harbor.  Weird, yes. China, yes. We caught up with Anthony for vegetarian dinner, froyo, and more World Cup before turning in.

Today we took a trip to Macau, the Las Vegas of the East.  More interestingly, it was a Portuguese settlement and was even under Portuguese rule for a while.  The influence showed in the cuisine and architecture the most.  For me, it was just like taking a trip back to Portugal, except this time with life in China thrown in (laundry hanging everywhere, cyclists and scooters galore).  Ryan, Jay and I had lunch at a great spot recommended to us by some fellow Americans who we met one night at a British pub (one morning actually- we went to watch USA vs. England at 2:30 am!).  We left feeling quite satisfied and delighted after potato kale soup, curry rice, milk and biscuit pudding, and wine.  Yum! We explored some of the world heritage sights- church ruins and the like- before hitting up a casino, only to be not that in the mood to gamble.  We came home in time for a great Greek dinner and more world cup (I wanted Cameroon to win), and now we are turning in before a great day tomorrow.  I really have been having so much fun that I haven’t had much time to write or post photos, but I think we will have some down time tomorrow.  Until then, check out Ryan’s photo page, as he takes most of them anyways these days.  On tap for the future: botanical gardens, thai food cooked in a private kitchen, watching Dragon Boat Festival celebrations, and flying to Thailand! I can’t wait!

Ni hao! Today we had a most excellent day in Guilin.  We are becoming quite proficient at finding cheap and delightful breakfast, today Ryan and I overpaid for our two bowls of steaming hot noodle soup filled with tomatoes, eggs, and noodles ($1).  The most exciting part of today, however, was biking around the city.  I am becoming more and more proficient at not being scared as I ride through congested Asian cities.  We saw basically everything, from the busy intersections crammed within the toweing limestone cliffs, the “Home Depot” neighborhood- open front shops selling granite countertops, squatty potties, tiles, and the like, had lunch on an island, and explored a poor farming island right in the middle of the city.  There was a chicken head in the hot pot (yum).  We found caves biking by the river, as well as in the downtown, which is where they store hundreds of green bananas that get sold in the markets and fruit stalls.  I spent my evening down by the river, people watching (and being people watched for that matter!).  Tonight, dinner and shower and fantastic milk strawberry drinks.  Deal.

Here are the pics from Huangshan and Tanxi:
Bus ride:

Mountain climbing:

Everyone loves a photo with some meguarens(sp?)

Noodle soup:

Mobile fruit wagon: