Paradise part 1

Hello everyone!  So we just got back from an amazing vacation to Thailand!  I have a feeling this will be a LONG entry because there is so much to tell and so many pictures to post so I decided to split it up into 2!  I really like that people enjoy reading this blog but one of the most important reasons for doing this is so I will be able to keep these detailed memories forever (my own brain is NOT good enough!!!) I wanted to add that just in case anyone is wondering why I am writing about every little thing :)  Anyways--- here ya go!

We left for Thailand Wednesday night at 130 am (actually this is Thursday morning I guess...)  The flight was really nice because we got super lucky and no one was sitting in the third seat in our row!  yay!  So we got lots of sleep on 8 hour the flight to Kuala Lumpur (KL) in Malaysia.  The airport in KL is one where go down stairs straight from the plane onto the landing strip-- why this is cool to me, I dont know, but I wanted to take a pic of it!!  We then had a 5 hour layover, which felt like forever because we were SOOO ready to be there!

When we finally got to Phuket, Thailand (it was only an 1 1/2 hour flight from KL) we needed to get to our first hotel.  We were not 100% sure how to do this but there were so many people trying to get us around (taxi, bus drivers etc) so after we exchanged our money into Baht (thai money) we had to decide whether we wanted to take a taxi on the 50 minute drive to Patong beach for 600 baht or take the mini bus for 150 each so obviously we chose the cheaper option.....  so there we were on this mini bus with probably 20 other people, still in my jeans and sweater from the plane in 90 degree weather and on this tiny winding road where we dodged mopeds the whole time-- I was actually scared, not for my life, but for the many lives of moped drivers and each of their 3 passengers, mostly small children- no lie!  Probably 5 minutes before we got there (after we stopped for 10 minutes while they tried to get us to go on the other "tours" they offered and figured out where they were taking each of us) we realized the currency- 300 baht for the mini bus was $10 and 600 baht for the private taxi

which would have taken us straight to the hotel was $20... so basically we vowed to NOT take the mini bus on the way back to the airport to save a mere $10!!!!  Once we got dropped off at our hotel it was probably 3:30pm so we decided to change into our swimming suits, go get something to eat then walk around the beach!

Later on we decided to go have a few Chang beers along the beach down some small streets with heaps of bars.  They have a huge nightlife scene in Thailand because there are so many people who go there backpacking (because its beautiful and cheap!)  most of the backpackers seem to be between 18 and 30 -- prime age for nightlife, the bars are busier than the beaches!  While walking along Brian spotted some woman selling BUGS to eat... sooo gross,

 but we still gave it a go!  I was not aware Brian was videoing me eating a grasshopper... you can tell by my reaction I was NOT a fan.  Brian ate his down so fast I missed it-- I think chewing was not a good idea, ew.

Here is Brian....

After a few more Changs we decided that the 3 hour time difference and the fact that even though we slept more than normal on a plane, it was still not enough and we were so tired.  

The next morning we woke up had some brekky and walked around for a little bit longer before we decided to head to our final destination: Phi Phi island!!  Here are a few more pics of Patong Beach.

Our view from the hotel

Really?  A moped can pull THREE jet skis????

The parasailer had a little Thai man
 on top to help move him around--
 no harness, just hanging
 out at 100 yards over the
ocean-- real safe!

 

Around 11am we decided it was time to say bye bye to Phuket and head to Phi Phi :)  We left from the hotel to the pier on the other side of the city.  Next thing we know someones telling us to get on their boat and they would take us "Cheap, Cheap" so we said ok!  So Brian and I, along with 4 bags of luggage boarded up along with around 100 other people!  It was a beautiful sunny day and we got to sit out on the deck drink a few Changs and take lots and lots of pics!  

Rasada Pier

We passed by hundreds of little islands (a few I had picked out for us to buy and build a house on-- but then I realized I might need to then build a Target and things got a little too complicated for my plan...)  Brian LOVES ferry rides even silly ones that just take you a short way like in Port Aransas or even Bolivar in Galveston so he was super excited-- he took millions of pictures (which is why he is barely in any of them!)  Finally, after an hour and a half ferry ride we arrived to PARADISE!!  Dont get me wrong we loved being in Phuket but Phi Phi (pronounced pee pee) is just unreal!  I kept saying over and over "is this real life!?!"

hmmm I think I'm going to have to stop writing tonight at catch back up tomorrow..... This is such a cliff hanger, I know!  This may end up being more like 3 entries since Im still only on day 2 of our 6 day trip-- oh well :)  LOVE YOU!