Sometimes you just need to go with the flow, and here in Thailand there has been a lot of that because it rains constantly (it is monsoon season after all). After getting stuck on three different islands for days on end because it would not stop raining we decided that a) although its nice and easy to cycle through a drizzle, riding soaking wet through a torrential, bone-soaking-downpour is not so much fun and dangerous and b) we didn’t really want to end up getting stuck in a middle-of-nowhere kind of place for days while riding from one city to another; we want to actually enjoy our time. Note the picture above. That’s Tonsai beach after 3 days of heavy rain (still a blast though).

So, yes, after a night bus from Krabi, we are now in Bangkok (we skipped Koh Phagn-nan and Koh Tao for now but plan to come back). No worries though, the adventure is not even close to finished and theres lots more to come. And hopefully now at a faster pace than of late.

-Alex

Perhentian Islands - Part 2 - The Epic Conclusion (Mon, Aug 22 - Tue, Aug 23)

So where were we. Ah yes, the Perhentian’s. What a great place. Our second day started off slow. Dragging. As it should on the slow moving Perhentian’s. Time slows down to a perfect snail’s pace here. Great backpacker and resort area.

Our second day was lazy. Alex chilled on the beach and I decided to take a scuba refresher course. It had been TWENTY years since I had dived. I was 14 when I was PADI certified and the dive shop was able to find me in the database. They laughed because I have a Junior Open Water certification because of my age at the time - meaning I can only dive to 12m. But no worries, I had my refresher course anyway.

Kat - my instructor - took me out into the clear and blue waters. We went over my past learnings and much came right back to me. Then all of a sudden, something seared and I felt a sharp snip on my right knee! These little fish about 2 inches long were biting the scabs on my right knee!

See, a few days before, I was brilliantly smart. We were in Cherating, another small beach town, about 120 miles south of the Perhentians, looking for a place to stay. I came to a stop, unclipped my left foot, but forgot about my right. I accidentally leaned right, wasn’t thinking and literally fell completely over on my right still connected to my bike. I yelled CRAP at the top of my lungs and these German guys helped me up. I felt like an idiot and right so. I skinned up my knee and got a nice big bruise on my right thigh. The next day we were in Dungun and the same thing happened. The EXACT SAME THING! Man I’m seriously an idiot.

Anyway I digress. These little fish love to eat scabs and are actually good for the ocean and you because they help clean, but their little teeth are quite sharp so it’s a bit unnerving. Stupid little bastards! So that was a surprise whenever Kat would give me instructions and I’m yelping like a little school girl in the water. Nevertheless we finished my instruction and cruised around in the water a bit.

I forgot the advantages of diving. For one, it just allows you to get down low under rocks and see fish you just can’t see when you snorkel. A giant blowfish was staring us in the eye when we cruised down about 15 feet hanging out inside some rocks. He was the size of a basketball with giant dough eyes about the size of golf balls. However, my buoyancy is still very off. A few more dives should clear that up.

That night we grabbed some food at Ooh La La again and hung out and made some great, new friends. Initially we chatted with some girls from Canada staying at our place (Amanda, Jessica and Courtney), the English girls and Nabs again. All of a sudden a vicious storm blew in but we kept truckin and ducked under a nice shelter next to the bar and hung out. After the rain died down and the conversation started to falter, I went next door to Monkey Bar which had a live band playing. There I ran into David and Susana who we had met earlier at our hostel. With them was Suj and Julie. Alex joined us shortly later.

The six of us sat under the thin roof of the bar, singing, dancing, drinking and having a blast during the rain. The band continued to play and Suj offered us some extremely good Vietnamese Vodka which we mixed with pineapple juice. Good good stuff. One great thing about the Monkey Bar is they let people karaoke with them. After a few poor singers, Nab’s came over and recited poetry. At first I didn’t know what to think but Nab’s is full of surprises. He recited an extremely long poem about love, loss, heartbreak and understanding. Definitely impressive and he had the women swooning. Sadly, I do not have a picture of Nab’s or his info. Boo.

Next up, the band started playing some awesome hits and we all started dancing into the wee hours of the night. I think 3:30 it was. It started pouring again so I thought it was a good idea to stand under an outpouring of water from the roof to look sexy. And it worked. Rain flowing over my head, my shirt wet, looking like a super star model in slow motion. Yeah, picture it ladies! So hot. It was a good time and everyone got a good laugh and some pics (unfortunately which I have yet to see). After more dancing to reggae, Michael Jackson and surprisingly headbanging to Rammstein, we called it a night and decided to meet up tomorrow for lunch.

Next day - wake up late and we are to meet David, Julie, Susana and Suj at Ewan’s, a very good Malaysian restaurant in the woods up from Coral Bay. After asking locals where the trail is to Coral Bay, we have a short 10 min jaunt and meet up at Ewan’s. We all hang, eat some Malaysian breakfast and swap good travel advice.

Susana, from northern Spain is petite, smiling and has an outstanding outlook on life. She shows us her excellent talents of weaving bracelets, rings, necklaces using traditional Thai, Indonesian thread where you can only get in certain cities. She actually does this to subsidize much of her trip. Not only that, she also had a nice size box of dried berries, stones and shells she has collected over the past 9 months of her travel. Very impressive… and then I asked to see them causing her to spill the contents onto the floor. Awesome. By the way, be sure to ask her about her chicken necklace. She loves that.

Suj is Malaysian from KL. Very outgoing, fun and gave me an awesome list of foods to try in Panang. She is also on couchsurfing.com and welcomes travelers into her homes. The most important thing, she and I have THE SAME BIRTHDAY! Yep. That’s right. Two superstar Scorpios in Malaysia.

Julie is always smiling and laughing. From Italy and Germany and traveling SE Asia on her own.

David is… super super gay.

After lunch David, Alex and I go on a snorkeling trip. We say goodbye to Suj and Julie who are leaving. Susana decides to stay back and work on her craft.

Snorkeling was definitely awesome in the Perhentians. The water and corral were more impressive than Tioman. The first stop is Shark Point. And yep, only after a few moments of looking at the fish, I see my first shark prowling around. He was about 6 feet I believe. Definitely impressive animal. I spotted him another 3 times around me. Next stop was Fish Point. Yes, lots of colorful fish but impressive avenues of corral to swim through. Our last stop was to spot a turtle. Pretty easy to spot since there are about 30 other people trying to do the same. At first, everyone jumped in and we just started swimming after some “ghost” turtle. I kept swimming after so many people, swimming and swimming, wow this is tiring. Get back in the boat and we move again. This time jump in and I see a giant sea turtle swimming below me. So impressive. Giant shell, head and flippers (is that what sea turtles have?). I dive down and try to get close to attempt to touch him but he’s too far below and moving fast. I’m convinced I could have ridden him if I wanted. After a good workout following Mr Sea Turtle, we hop back in and head back.

We find Susana on the beach and we all decide to have a nice BBQ on the beach. Fish, seafood, some beer. Good times as we watch the sun set over the water. In the distance a large thunderstorm is popping over the mainland - Kota Bahru - to be exact.

Ending a great night with new friends, we walk home but must say goodbye. Alex and I leave tomorrow for the mainland to head to Panang on the West coast.

From Thailand: We Still Remember

Ko Phi Phi

is utterly and naturally breathtaking and magical. Nothing beats it. Except for this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6UWR0kSFcE -Brock

There is absolutely nothing terrifying…

about cycling in Thailand alongside power cables that hiss, crackle, pop and fizz. Not horrifying at all. -Brock

Thailand - you do not disappoint

It’s not even past my first day and Thailand has met my expectations. As I walked after dark to the local 7/11, a ladyboy, standing in a dark corner on the street, called me over to come give her a kiss. “Helllloooo! How arrrr yuuuu?! Come give meh kisss, come give meh kiss!” Awesome. Thank you Thailand, thank you. -Brock

Obviously…

Audience, we are waaaaaaaay behind in our posts. There is good reason for that. …actually, there isn’t except we’ve been super busy making new friends, hitting sights when it isn’t raining, and solving World peace. We are getting back on the horse so don’t worry. (During the typing of this last sentence, my lightning reflexes finally destroyed the mosquito flying in front of me with the  grab of one hand. I’m amazing, but you already knew that.) In the meantime, I’m gonna jump a bit to some quick remarks on Thailand while we get caught up. -Brock

no, no, theyre asian. you just have to squint a little…

Yes, and they were delicious!

People here don’t wear shirts. I’m just trying to fit in. —alex