A few of you might have heard about the bombings in Thailand on New Years.  It’s never a dull moment traveling, we suppose.  But we’re 12 hours north of Bangkok and we’re totally okay.  Just want to let you know. 

Happy New Years!

(Lauren: Finally! Someone to share in the blogging responsibilities… Take it, Beth!)

Christmas in Hawaii means perfect weather, beautiful beaches and learning that “Mele Kalikimaka is the t’ing to say!” 

Lauren met me at the airport and we took off for our extravagant expenditure: a four star hotel near Waikiki beach.  The first night, we were both so jetlagged that we ended up ordering in Hawaiian pizza — which Lauren thought was the most amazing food she had ever put in her mouth.  The next day, we hit the beach and I learned that Hawaiian-sized meals make American-sized meals look puny. (more…)

Soon after arriving in Hawai’i, I spotted my dream car, er, motorcycle — the shortest Harley Davidson I’d ever seen. So I promptly jumped on and took it out for a spin. (See above.)

Just kidding. (And luckily, the owner didn’t spot me.)

We’ll be putting up a full Hawai’i Christmas adventure blog very soon. But for now, we just wanted to wish everyone a Mele Kalikimaka!

Our bus from Bangkok to Krabi was pleasant 14 hour journey with a sketchy tourist company that played “screw-the-falong” all the way down. We were told that we would be going direct to Krabi (even got a map drawn for us to illustrate what “direct” meant), but were dropped off on the side of the road at 5am to wait for a small van to pick us up 2 hours later. All our luggage was piled on our laps as we drove for 3 hours, got lost, got dropped at another tourist office that tried to demand more money, and finally arrived at our destination. Although I have grown somewhat accustomed to these dirty tricks of the trade, Luke was none to pleased upon arrival, and immediately began talk of tourist police.

We settled on Au Nang beach, which Lonely Planet and Frommer’s called “only a jumping off point for the Islands”. However, Lonely Planet fails again (gasp!), and Luke and I ended up dumping our plans for Koh Pee-Pee and Phuket to hang out in Au Nang for our 5 day stay in the south.

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After my 80th trip to the Indian Consulate in Chiang Mai, and after spending “1 MILLion Baht” to secure my visa, I grabbed some Tom Ka Gai and Luke and I jumped on a mini bus bound for Pai. A nauseating three hour drive through windy mountain roads led us to a very charming mountain town that was worth the trip.

Our first night was spent in bungalows right on the river over a rickety bamboo bridge. We slept on a spongy mattress on the floor under a large mosquito net after wandering around checking out the town, grabbing dinner, and watching Pirates of the Caribbean II. It felt a lot like camping trips as a kid, hearing whispers and low music coming from surrounding flashlight lit bungalows. We had a great time, but Luke was ready to seriously step it up for the next night.

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Going Good

I didn’t know it going in, but November 29th was my last doctor’s appointment.  My orthopaedic surgeon suprised me by saying not only that my xrays were excellent but that he’d give his blessing for me to start walking and to take back off on the grand trip! 

It’s not going to be easy… The last ten days I’ve been learning how to walk again, and I’ve never been so sore in my life.  My achilles heel is unbelievable sore all the time, and I’ve never done more squats and lunges in my life. 

I’ll have to wear a knee brace for at least two more months, only wheel my bag around (not carry it) and do PT exercises on the road, but I’m definitely heading out to India in January. 

Maybe Going…

The second most awesome news: I got into NYU Law School!  (more…)

My friend Luke arrived surprisingly awake after his long journey from Albuquerque, and we immediately set out to explore Chiang Mai, get Luke his first Tom Ka Gai soup, and buy him one of the famed Thai yellow shirts for the King’s birthday celebration the next day. After another meal of Kao Soi (which got rave reviews from Luke), we met up with Abby and her new squeeze, Bronwyn, for drinks and a delicious Italian dinner. So much for sticking to Thai food. Later, we enjoyed the Port Luke so valiantly brought us (getting it through customs was a bit of a gamble), and devouring handfuls of his other offering, Reece’s Pieces, and then all headed off to bed in anticipation of our very exciting and action packed next day.

We woke up and met Abby and Bronwyn downstairs, grabbed a banana pancake breakfast, and boarded a minibus to the Elephant Nature Park (www.elephantnaturefoundation.org). We had an absolutely incredible day feeding, bathing, and hanging out with the elephants. It was an amazing experience, and I strongly encourage anyone coming to this neck of the woods to check this out, especially before (if not in lieu of) trekking and elephant rides.

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Returning to Thailand for the 3rd time in 3 months felt oddly like returning home… the sea of yellow shirts, people “wai-ing” me (Thai bow), and tuk-tuks galore. Refusing to take a motorbike in Vietnam was an expensive commitment, since there was hardly any other means of transport. After spending the night in the Bangkok airport, I arrived the next morning after a short flight up to Chiang Mai, and happily climbed into a waiting tuk-tuk at the airport. I checked into my hotel (Daret’s, right in the middle of town), and went straight for the Tom Ka Gai soup, my favorite.

After enjoying the perfect weather and walking around the city, I met Abby and all her friends for a Thanksgiving feast at a fancy falong (foreigner) restaurant called “The Dukes”. We caught up, feasted on all the fixings of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and devoured delicious pumpkin pie. I was a bit concerned about the price, but after realizing that really, for a (very) full meal and desert I was paying less than $10, I stopped complaining.

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