Greetings from Paradise

A very belated hello to all! I have been so far behind on blogging, but having so much fun traveling! Just arrived in Bangkok this morning after a boat-->bus-->bus overnight extravaganza. I will say that while traveling here is sometimes frustrating, i.e. stop the bus periodically with no explanation...one is never sure if it's a toilet break or if the bus is broken or if the driver is merely buying cigarettes (have I told you lately that EVERYONE smokes in Asia? It is so reminiscent of South America for me when I started feeling bad not having lighters for people...oh social norms! nerd alert?!), it is a scenic and amazing way to see the country. Last night we got caught in the tropical storms of all tropical storms. It was AMAZING. We unfortunately we're in the process of our "half hour"=1.5 hour stop to switch buses and got SOAKED. Really brought the bus together however, lots of new friends. Something about having all of your belongings on your back, then having your back get soaked, really unites people. Regardless, the first bus was SO hot that the shower probably improved the overall bus odor for the long haul of a journey back up to BKK. They showed Blood Diamond on the bus, fairly heavy, but I watched lightening. Seriously, continuous lightening for 3+ hours. One of the coolest things I have ever seen.. Anyway, my life for the last couple of weeks:
Kho Tao---beautiful rocky island in the Gulf of Thailand. One of the most popular dive sites in the world. Alex and my British friend Jannicke got open water certified=Lauren got free accommodation! Our weather was not the best, but I got much needed zen time staring at the ocean, snorkeling, sunset drinks...the snorkeling here was UNREAL, i couldn't swim without bumping into fish. Jannicke's cousin is a dive instructor and has lived on Koh Tao for 4 years, so we had a local guide. It was great.
Railey-HEAVEN ON EARTH. Please go here if you ever have the opportunity. It is beautiful. Huge limestone cliffs, a climbing destination--it reminded me a lot of Jurassic Park. From Koh Tao it took us about 13 hours to arrive in Railey, part of the mainland near Krabi, but only accessible by longtail boat. The highlight of our journey was arriving in Krabi after dark and having them lure 6 other people to buy tickets to go to Railey (they'll only take a boat at night if it has 8 people). They shoved me and alex into a rather dilapidated tuk-tuk and gave us random luggage, which upset the owners of those bags...ultimately we took this tuk-tuk down a dark pier then had to walk onto the boat in complete darkness, no worries, only stairs with ropes and wow, glad we made it on. The ride was about 20 minutes and was really tranquil. It was SO dark and I was singing "Gotta have faith" to Alex, because we literally were at the hands of the longtail driver. When we approached the beach we ran aground about 200m from the actual coast because the tide was out. So had to wade/walk with all of our belongings to get out. It was great though. We stayed in rather posh accommodations since that is all Railey really has to offer and enjoyed 3 BEAUTIFUL beaches. Little kids bring you drinks on the beach, I got a foot scrub, Alex a massage. I almost didn't leave. Alex and I did part ways though. He went off to Hong Kong and I continued south to meet up with some friends in Koh Phi Phi!
Koh Phi Phi-I was warned that it was super touristy, which it was, however it is for a reason. The clearest waters I have ever seen. I snorkeled, but it was relatively unnecessary because you could see everything as well from the water. I LOVE parrot fish. Did a sweet hike up to the viewpoint and got to see where the tsunami hit in 2004. You can't even tell it ever happened now, but they've rebuilt since the tsunami. then we continued to Rantee beach which was almost empty and gorgeous. Phi Phi has fun nightlife, they did fire throwing, fire limbo, fire jumprope...you get the idea. I danced all night and would just walk into the sea when it was too hot. Met lots of people. I would have loved more time there. Now I have one more night in Thailand. Cannot believe my journey is winding down. I intend to do one more blog of actual thoughts and ramblings, but need to go frolic now! See you all soon!
Love,
Lauren