Trekkin on my own up North... jus postcard perfect.

Laura and I parted ways today.

After spending six nights in Chaing Mai (for three of them I was sick(parasite and food poisoning ick)) and enjoying the festival I headed up to a town called Pai in the north of Thailand and Laura accompainied our friend Doug (not the one from Kelowna.... the other one haha) into Laos.

So far this is the most beautiful town I have been in.... I left Chaing Mai at 12:30 pm to climb aboard a rickety 20 passenger bus filled mostly with dusty Thai people and large sacks of rice between the isles. Funny. I asked the driver where to put my bag (it was so cramped) and he jus laughed at me haha.

A curvy bumpy 672 curves in the road later (seriously they have t-shirts that say 672 curves) I landed in Pai. Being hung over on an empty adrenaline-ridden stomach certainly didn't ehlp me situation. Car sickness soon accompainied me on my journey. It was all I could do to not run and trip over standees to get to the open bus door and be sick while the bus was still in motion.... and it wasnt goin slow...

But it was worth the bumpy, cramped, nauseous ride as soon as I was walking to a bungalow to find a place to stay. This place is absolutely beautiful.

Being on my own is a little odd... Im getting used to it. Time certainly passes slower when u don't have anyone to share the moments with....

So I rented a bike today...rode out of town to a coffee joint where they just so happened to offer horseback riding. So I did. A teeny little pont came out to be my horse.... it was great! That thing had a lot of spunk..... Beautiful to see part of the countryside from atop a horse...

Afterwards... rode another 6 km uphill out of town to a waterfall. The ride was more beautiful thn the actual destination. NOthing spectacular but still amazing to see the rolling fields covered in rice... and the jungle and high mountains. Tomorrow I don't really have a plan.... maybe a do-nothing day is in order before I have a crazy 4 days in Bangkok.

I leave the day after tomorrow to go back to Chaing Mai by the same curvy bus to catch a night train that will take me to Bangkok. 4 full days there before I come home.

Catchin up.....

Well it has been a few days... Ill give u a quick run-through of what I've been up to.
Three days ago Laura and I went to a place called tiger cave and there is a beautiful monument built atop this huge hill... the ascent is over 1200 steps and is quite grueling. We actually had a bet going on with a man in our hostel that we couldn't do it.... well u can say we won that bet... ha ha...
It was tough.... the height was scary and the fact that these stairs and carved right intot he rock in the side of this mountain. But it was worth every bead of sweat to see what was at the top. Go check out my pics on facebook.
And at the bottom so many monkeys! Laura got jumped by three when she tried to feed them a banana... they sure as hell didn't want to share....

The day before yesterday we rented the same longboat that took us to the beach the other day and snorkel gear and went around to few different islands.... It was really cool. There isn't much left of the corral in many areas but there are tonnes of fish of all different shapes, colors and sizes. One island we stopped at thousands of small yellow and black fish came right up to the boat and ate food right from our fingers. I was in the water and they were swarming all around me... but are very gentle and sweet. One bit my finger when I wwas feeding them and it freaked me out but it was such a cool experience.

Yesterday we had a lazy day... made some phone calls... walked around town.... had a few beers and went out for dinner. We ended up at this retro Bob Marley-type bar surround by artwork and shells and bamboo and all sorts of odds and sods.... crazy.... Met a few teachers who live here and have been teaching english for some time. We had a great time.

Hope all is well...... Talk to everyone soon.:D

Pics.. more on facebook!

Laura and I on the mast of the longboat we caught to another beach yesterday.... So much fun....

First day of sun...... ahhhhh

So Laura and I landed in this beautiful place called Krabi...... today we saw our first glimpse of the gorgeous sun since we have been here.... and it lasted all day..... I'm a little burnt... hee hee

We are on the fourth floor of this five-storey chalk white building... it has a "moon bar" on top! So cool. Cost again about 4 dollars a night..... walked down to the pier today... met some Canadians who r actually from BC and we all caught a long boat out to a beach called Railay Beach.

These boats are so cool.... they essentially have a car engine on the back that powers them( and most don't work the greatest as well as need a muffler(desperately)). The engine is connected to a long pipe which ends with a teeny little propellor... but trust me they go like stink. Laura and I laid on the top of the boat and gazed down at the water buzzing by and flying up like little perfect drops of crystals.....

The water is amazing... and there are rock climber scaling the cliffs in and around the water only to splash down againn below when they get stuck .... Saw my first realy monkey... tourists feed them bananas and then they scurry back up into the trees again...... slowly and shyly sauntering down once more to find their next piece....

Banana pancakes, little 7 yr. old Thai boys selling u been on the beach, women and men doing Thai massage and foot massages on the beach while u r lounging, night markets, the weather... its all so different so amazing,.....

Pics to come......

Another travellin day... pack up and away we go....

So I've added some pics to facebook. Go check them out.... for all u non-users... u might have to create an account in order to view them... or maybe u can jus search me and see them... Im not quite sure....

Laura and I are going to catch a bus to the more beachy area of Phuket.... spend a night there and then catch a ferry to Ko Phi Phi(one of the islands....). It is super early in the morning right now... but we went to bed early.... but it's ok we will get an early start cuz it looks like its gonna be a nice day.

Cant wait for the beach!

Thailand....

I have added pics on facebook.... go check them out

The hostel we arrived at in Phuket is absolutely gorgeous..... very clean and very helpful staff. It is called Phuket Backpackers hostel.

So we get bunk beds... I feel like i am in grade three again sleeping over at my friend's house! "I call top bunk!"

U get hassled about every three feet to see if you want a taxi... then when u say no thank u... they pester u and ask where u are going... sometimes lying to u saying it is too far... or not open yet and offer to take u somewhere else. It is important to be open minded and firm..... others are helpful and point of places and directions on a map... but then still offer to take u.

The ladies that work in the many many clothing and market shops follow u around to be as helpful as they can... as soon as you touch somethin of interest they are on u like flies on shit. It's a lot to take in but I can handle it... U jus have to be firm. We talked a taxi driver down from 100 baht (about $3.50) to 20 baht(about 75 cents) for a taxi ride halfway across town. Yea ... felt pretty proud.

Havent really bought anything..... doint really well on my budget(knock wood) and things are so cheap here. We get a full meal for about 1.50. And Singa beer is less than a dollar a can! Im loving this country so far. You can negotiate pretty much any price to the bare minimum, the ppl r friendly, and the backpackers hostel is amazing!

So we stay here tonight as well... then off to a more beachy area tomorrow. Then off to the islands and crystal clear sparkling waters and crisp snow white colored beaches.

First taste of Thai food today. Spicy, pungent aromas fill the air next to the food stalls... Rice was scopped out onto a plastic plate from a huge rice cooker and ur choice of gingery, spicy curry type stew was spooned on top. My first mouthfulls made my nose run and my face break out in sweat but soon I grew accustomed to the new flavours rolling across my tongue. We will see how my stomach fares tomorrow...

Laura and I landed in Hong Kong two nights ago. It is pretty spectacular... very busy. Cars do not stop for anything.... pedestrians definately do not have the right of way. Crazy Hong Kong drivers... ha ha

Our hostel is located in a place called Chungking Mansions... which should hardly be called a mansion. Guess which floor we are staying on? You guessed it... good thing we aren't superstitious. We have been doing losts of walking... buying fresh food from the markets and fresh baked good from the bakeries. Laura and I just had this amazing fresh mango roll with whipping cream... so so good and only cost about 50 cents.

We also just had our breakfast for about $1.50. Rice and chicken and a little egg omelette....

The funnest part has been stumbling across interesting shops and markets. Today we found a beeautiful park called Kowloon park. Would you believe that I have never seen a flamingo before? Well I sure did today! This place was breathtaking.... Fountains and artwork and sculptures and a wild bird sanctuary! Then we walked down to the harbour. The contrast of the city with its skyscrapers and huge buildings against the trees and bamboo of the park was amazing.

Tomorrow we fly out to Thailand.

I am so excited to see what is next. I am taking lots of pics.... although I forgot to bring my USB cable today to transfer them.... Ill have to wait. But I am doing very well and am enjoying the adventure so far. Hope you all are doing well... thinking about you....

Leah

Wow... been forever on here. So here I am. Going to Thailand.... tomorrow I fly down to Vancouver and Laura will meet me at the airport if all goes to plan... we spend the night at her aunty's house in Abbotsford and she drives us to the Airport in the am. We fly to Hong Kong on Monday..... spend three days there... and then off to Thailand...

We have already booked a hostel for Hong Kong but I will have to say that the rest of it is just going to happen as it goes...

Have to say I'm pretty excited... a little nervous...

Stay tuned for more stories about my travels... and keep in touch.... either on here or hotmail or facebook.

Oh here's a cute pic of me, Rory and my Dad... thought it would make some smile.... Clowning around.....

its goin on....

"What hurts the most is bein so close and havin so much to say and watchin u walk away..."

So been some ups and downs.... two jobs and still scraping by gives new meaning to "the starving student" def'n. Been seeing someone recently and had high hopes but once again.... something didn't work out.... despite the best of efforts sometimes.... SHIT HAPPENS.

Got a busy schedule anyhoo.... too busy for much else besides work, sleep and studyin... oh and the gym! Working 2 jobs.... still at the spa and now Dennys...Im finally serving.... although it is late night.... and barely making ends meat....

But get 4 days off school this month, therefore only have to pay half a months tuition! And get to see some of the fam this week and weekend! Cant wait!

DOwn to K-Town in a few weeks and down to Van at the end of the month to model for my boss and Gill in a hairshow! Be nice to shop in Van and check out the city and get away for a few days! Loving it!

Anyhoo.... bed is callin..... chow