THAILAND: Ko Tao (July 7th - 9th) The Final Island Hopping Destination -

We took another boat north to the final stop among the islands, the island of Ko Tao, the smallest of the three.  This was also the nicest of all our accomodations since joining the tour.  Everyone had their own little bungalow going up the side of  a hill with huge views of the ocean.  There was a pool down on the beach, but it was full of kids screaming in a variety of languages, so we found a much quiter pool at the top of the resort on top of the hill.  They call it paradise zone and the views from the pictures show why.  We stayed up there swimming until sunset, had dinner, and spent a cozy night in the room.

The next day, we went on a snorkeling tour around the island.  We had specifically been waiting to snorkel until this island because it has a reputation as one of the best snorkeling and diving spots in the world......and it was SPECTACULAR.  This is when we first really regretted not having an underwate camera with us.  Some other friends from the group got some ridiculous pictures.  We had never seen so many fish before, and so many different kinds.  In a few areas the schools were so thick it was impossible to swim through them with out them bumbing into your mask and you could feel them swimming across your back and legs.  Also, some of the areas had coral formations the size of castles.  The boat made its way around the island, stopping at four different spots and allowing us to explore.  After lunch on the boat it dropped us off at an area of three little islands connected by narrow sand strips.  We hung out there the rest of the afternoon before the boat took us back.  We went into town for dinner that night and had some incredible Thai/Brazilian style bbq, probably the best meal so far on the entire trip.  We found a popular little club right on the water, did some dancing on the beach, and called it a night.  Again, Em and I turned it in a little earlier than the young'ns.....but were proud of oursleves for making it until about 1:30.....a big accomplishment for us.....especially for Em ( :

We were so bummed to be leaving the islands for good the next day....plus we knew we had about 48 hrs of some serious traveling ahead of us.

The pool at paradise zone

View from our hillside bungalow

Chillaxing

The small boat ride that taxied us out to the snorkeling boat

We look awesome......like scuba-weds

Em...showing off her coconuts ( :



I think she's seriously contemplating staying and never coming home

THAILAND: Koh Phangan (July 5th - 7th) Island Hopping continued

Since Koh Samui was the only island with an airport, we took a boat north to the next island of Koh Phangan.  This island is known to be more of a party island for tourists, with its world famous "Full Moon Parties" every month at Hat Rin beach.  However, we weren't exposed to any of the craziness we had heard about four two reasons.  One....we were ahead of the next full moon by about a week.  Two....we stayed on a secluded beach on the opposite side of the island called Bottle Beach......and of all the amazing experiences we have had on the trip so far.....Emily and I both agree that this was one of our favorite spots and a highlight among highlights.

To get to bottle beach we all loaded up in the back of pick up trucks.  We literally drove up and over the top of the island, going off road most of the way, driving on small dirt paths through the middle of the jungle, down slopes so steep they made us wonder if we could even come back the same way when it was time to leave.  It was a white knuckle adventure in itself and felt like a theme park ride.

Bottle Beach is a very quiet little bay protected by palm tree covered hills on both sides.  There are four small hotels, but only two seemed to really be operating.  It has an awesome "cast away...deserted island" feeling to it and we would absolutely recommend it to anyone visiting the island.  The staff was also extremely chill and friendly and helped make the stay so much fun. 

It was really hot and humid so everyone checked into their rooms and headed straight to the water.  It was so warm and refreshing we stayed in the ocean swimming, floating, talking, hanging out for 3 hours before anyone even considered getting out.  It was so relaxing and refreshing.  Emily and I went back to the room for a nap which again turned into about a five hour snooze.....sleeping through the group dinner on the beach.  We were awaken be fireworks being set off from the beach right below our balcony.  We went down to join the group and grab a late meal.  After the fireworks the hotel staff put on a fire show (juggling fire sticks and chains and basically anything that burns).  Around midnight a handful of the group members went to bed but Em and I were wide awake from our nap.  All the lights in the hotel were turned off along with the music in the bars.  Everyone who was left grabbed a spot around the fire on the beach.  With all the lights out we could see stars like we havn't seen in such a long time living in so. cal.  A bunch of the Thai guys who work at the hotel came to hang out and tell stories.  One even brought his guitar and started playing a bunch of songs. The whole thing was AWESOME to say the least and I don't think life could have gotten much better at that point.  We finally called it a night around 3 am.

The next day was much of the same.  Emily and I spent a lot of time reading on our Kindles, swimming, eating, napping.....really grueling activities.  It was our tour leader's birthday as well as another girl in our group so we celebrated with an awesome beach bbq.  The coolest part about the night, and one of the coolest things we've done on the whole trip was after dinner as everyone got to release floating lanterns into the sky over the water.  The pictures don't do justice to how beautiful and amazing it looked to see all the flaming lanterns float up into the black night sky and drift higher and farther out to sea.

The next morning we didn't need to leave until around noon, so Emily and I got up early and did a hike up to the top of one of the small mountains that lock in the beach.  Incredible hike with outstanding views.  Some of these pictures turned out great as you can see below.  We were both bummed to leave...like I said...this has been one of our favorite places we've been and we would both rush to come back here with friends and family some day.

The boat from Koh Samui to Koh Phangan

Bottle Beach

Emily went out early one morning...pretty sure she was the only person awake on the whole island....but got some really cool photos

The floating lanterns

Looking up from a hammock

Hiking through the jungle...only bad part is Emily ended up with 28 mosquito bites on her legs to show for it......but me.....0. 

Bottle Beach from up above

THAILAND: Koh Samui (July 3rd - 5th) Island Hopping

We began our first group tour as we left Bangkok on a short flight, heading to the first of three islands we were to be visiting.  The islands are on the eastern side of the Thailand peninsula in the Gulf of Thailand.  Koh Samui is the larger of the three and most southern.....also the only one with an airport.

We were with a group of  about fourteen other travelers, plus our tour leader, a fun-loving Thai girl named "Boom".  Everyone was super friendly and we made new friends really quick.  Our group consisted of people from New York, UK, Germany, Australia, Norway, Finland, and Bolivia.  One of the couples from England, Tim and Emma, were also on their honeymoon......very nice people. and a lot of fun....everyone.

The first day in Koh Samui we checked in to a hotel on the north  part of the island in a little area called Bo Phut.... a little quieter and less touristy than the main beach of Chaweng on the east side.....more of a fishing village community type feeling.  Emily and I went for a long walk on the beach, checking out the sites.  On the way back it started to rain.....no problem......we stopped at one of the many bungalows along the beach and each got an hour long  classic Thai oil massage as the tropical storm quickly passed.  Emily even got a foot scrub and pedicure.  Amazing!!!!!!!.....and only cost $10 each!  We went out for a romantic dinner that night at a beautiful restaurant in a nearby hotel, and caught up with the group back at our hotel for some drinks and kareoke to end the night.

The next day we headed over to Chaweng Beach for the day.  Spent alot of time on the beach and in the ocean.....the water was ridiculously warm!  We stopped at different hotel beach fronts to grab lunch and umbrella drinks, take pictures, soak up the sun.....the usual beachy stuff.  Late in the afternoon we headed off the beach to the main street in Chaweng to check out the shopping, restaurants, nightlife options, etc...  We even stopped for me to get a $6 haircut.  Later that night we had another romantic dinner at a hotel restaurant that was designed like a series of treehouses....kind of swiss family robinson style.  We went back to Chaweng to meet up with our group for some cocktails and dancing....but Emily and I being the oldies we are....and newlyweds....called it a night before most of the others.

The next morning we took our time with breakfast and checking out before we headed to the ferry landing to catch the boat for out next island stop....Koh Phangan.

The island of Koh Samui from our plane

Bo Phut Beach

Ahhhhhhhh......I could do this everyday!

Our cozy hotel room...they were designed like little tree huts.

....with HUGE bathtubs

Paradise.....huge beach, warm water, all to ourselves.

Chaweng Beach

Interesting....we had lunch a a hotel called The Library....red swimming pool was a nice touch.

The tree house style restaurant where we had dinner

THAILAND: Bangkok Baby!!!! (June 30th - July 3)

After an 11 hour flight from Auckland....we arrived in Bangkok!  We were immediately in awe of the city's hustle and flow as our taxi made its way to our hotel.  We knew once we started traveling around Asia our accommodations could be a bit uncertain, plus with everything you see in the movies (Hangover 2), we weren't quite sure what to expect.  Emily had found a hotel on jetsetter.com earlier in the week that we had booked for a very reasonable price.  It turned out to be absolutely amazing!  And when I say amazing, I mean probably the nicest hotel either of us have ever stayed in.  Emily was so excited to say the least.  We went to bed fairly quick, as we were exhausted from a long day of traveling.

On our first full day in Bangkok we wanted to explore the city.  We did a tour of the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddah.  Next we headed over to Koh San Rd, also known as "Back Packer Street".  This is a fun little road full of shops, cafes, bars, and hostels.  A little on the dodgey side, not somewhere we'd want to stay for night, full of college aged travelers, but awesome for a day time visit.  Really had the "Bangkok" feeling.  Still feeling jetlagged, since we lost a day and are now 14 hours ahead of California time we headed back to the hotel to enjoy the rooftop pool.  Around 3:30 pm we laid down for a "short" nap.  We woke up at about 3:30 am.......wide awake.....guess we still need a few days to adjust.

After breakfast we took a shuttle from our hotel outside the city to the Floating Markets.  On the way we stopped at a coconut farm for a quick little tour and then on to the markets.  Awesome time as we got our first ride in a Thai long boat that takes us through a maze of canals where we transfer to another boat that guides us through the markets.  This has become a really "touristy" activity, but still a great experience.  By the time we made it back to the hotel, it was time to check out, transfer hotels, and meet up with our first group to begin our first official tour!

Koh San Rd

The Grand Palace....Shoulders and knees are required to be covered at all times when visiting temples, so Emily and I had to rent some clothes to go in.  Check our her awesome trucker shirt!

Rooftop pool at our hotel.....A little different view than Bora Bora

Making sugar from coconuts

So cute....even with the creepy snake

On the way to the foating markets

Interesting way to brush your teeth

Hangover 2....rooftop scene with helicopter