Day 1: Christmas Eve/Christmas Day-
What a whirlwing of a Christmas we've had this year! I knew we'd be travelling on Christmas (since we had to work all the way up to 5pm on Christmas Eve..boo), but I DIDN'T know that everything that COULD go wrong WOULD during our travels! First of all, our bus to the airport was over 40 minutes late on Christmas Eve. Me, thinking I was so smart, decided that I would just not bring my winter jacket, since I OBVIOUSLY wasn't going to need it in Thailand. It also happened to be the coldest night of the week...by FAR. So, I stood freezing in the cold bus terminal for over an hour. Then, our bus got stuck in traffic, so it took us 3.5 hrs to get to the airport (on a good day it takes a little over 2...). We stayed overnight at a hotel close to the airport, and we all exchanged stockings! Jodi had my name and I got a bunch of sweet nail stuff, lotion, earrings and hair stuff (you know how I love my accessories!) Then EARLY in the morning we headed to the airport. In our poor judgement we only gave ourselves 1.5 hrs for an international flight (smart eh), but luckily that worked out and we had a short wait to get on the plane. Even shorter than I had anticipated because I had to chug my hot coffee before getting on the plane. Yum.
We had just a short flight and then landed in Shanghai PuDong (Mary really couldn't get over that name and kept repeating it and laughing..). We had a 2 hr layover before our next flight to Bangkok. There were a TON of foreigners on our flights, most also going to Thailand, most also English teachers. We boarded our next flight at the scheduled time, but then our take off time came and went. A flight atendant came on the speaker and said "due to some mechanical difficulties, our flight will be delayed a few minutes". These "few" minutes turned into more of a two hour wait. ON THE PLANE. At this point we started to freak out a little bit about making our connecting flight from Bangkok to Koh Samui, having given ourselves only a 2 hr and 45 min lay-over. Sure enough, when we landed and got through customs we had less than half an hour to make it to the other side of the airport, check in, get on our flight before it was supposed to take off. When we got to the ticket counter the lady looked at our tickets and yelled to another worker "4! Don't sell!". They were JUST about to sell our tickets to standby! The crowd of standby-ers gave us dirty glances. After we VERY quickly signed in we had to run like our lives depended on it through the Bangkok airport, dodging people on moving sidewalks and sweating in our long sleeve Korea-wear. It was a first for me, and I honestly kind of felt like I was on "The Amazing Race" or something. We had people cheering us on yelling "Run! Make that plane!" And as I showed my ticket to the lady at the gate she didn't even stop me running, she just yelled after me "GO! GO! Your Plane! Run!". Luckily all 4 of us made it onto the plane and in only 1 hr 5 mins we landed in the absolutely PERFECT Koh Samui. As we waited for our luggage, and the three other girls grabbed theirs, and less and less went by on the conveyor, I soon realized mine was not there. At first I started to freak out, but I showed my tags to baggage claim, and he knew exactly what was going on and told me it would arrive at my hotel in a few hours. After a 40 minute airport bus ride we FINALLY arrived at "Amity Bungalow" and settled into our rooms. Not 5 star, but still great, especially for what we paid!
Finally, we got to set our for some delicious Thai food (naturally I decided on Pad Thai for my first meal because hello...it's amazing). And then, we all collapsed into bed. Ready to start an AMAZING adventure in Thailand.
Day 2: December 26th-
Today was pretty awesome! Our first full day in Thailand...and I think I kinda like it here. We said we'd let each other sleep in, but the excitement must have gotten to us, and we were all up and at it by 9, ready for the day. Kristin and I enjoyed a delicious breakfast at our restuarant on the beach (a latte in the morning on a beach...what could be better). Then we made our way to read, tan, and swim. Glorious. We spent a good part of our morning and afternoon just lying on the beach, and swimming, just soaking up that much needed Vitamin D. Then, Kristin and I decided to get our first real Thai massage. It was actually pretty awesome! It was super cheap, and right on the beach too! After our lounging on the beach, we decided to go check out a night market in town. It was really cool! SOO many people, so much to take in, but a lot of fun. We thought it was a good sign that there were more Thai people there than foreigners. I ended up getting a SWEET pair of sunglasses, and a cute pair of shorts (which I misjudged and had to give to Kristin) for only approximately $2 each! So sweet! After our shopping we found another beach restaurant (green curry, yum) and walked home along the beach. We went to "Rock Bar" for a drink, which is, literally...on giant rocks. Pretty cool, but Jodi, Kristin and I decided to call it an earlyish night. The trip has officially begun! Woo!
Day 3: December 27-
(Happy Birthday Mom!)
Today was an interesting Day, pretty fun at times though. We decided to take it a little easy again. We found a spot between some rocks just a little up the beach and settled in for some tanning! It was a really windy, and the waves were massive. Jodi and Kristin decided to brave the water, but got knocked right down, pretty freaking hilarious to watch. We met a couple of guys, both travelling around Thailand for a month.. one guy from England and another from Quebec (yay Canada!) We decided to meet up later because our "resort" was having a BBQ and free music. It turned into an interesting night, but worked out in the end. Adventures, that's what this year is all about right...
Tomorrow we head off for an exciting day trip around the island! Woo!
Stay tuned for more Thailand Fun within the next few days...:) (I know some of you are DYING to know about "Argentina" ;))
Peace and Love friends. I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Years. Keep hugging your loved ones if you're still around them. Wish I could do the same!
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