SUNSETS OF THAILAND

As our time in Thailand dwindles, we cannot help but feel the sun setting into darkness as well.  Ironically, it is only just rising for you.  

Thank you to everyone who reads the blog, and checks to see if we have updated lately...  We know, it has not been updated for a while...THAT IS ABOUT TO CHANGE

Oh, and for those that follow the news, and have heard of some unrest in Thailand, know that we are completely safe and have remained peacefully oblivious to the conflicts in Bangkok...The violence is directed at the people involved in Thai politics, which is not us.

This blog will be from most present to least present.  Well, let the blogging begin!

We are now in Chiang Mai, after a day and a night travelling from the south of Thailand.  Chiang Mai has been great so far....we took a really great cooking course where we each learned to cook six different Thai dishes, maybe that calls for a dinner party when we arrive home?

This blog will be mostly about the southern part of Thailand, and the beaches, and all of those lovely things.
We finished off our beach time in the very small island of Koh Chang off the Andaman Coast.  It was a refreshing change from the very touristy islands we were on before.  The island only had a few sets of bungalows and a very small local village.  The beaches were perfect, pristine and empty and the jungles offered great hikes.  We really felt that the island we found had been discovered before the inevitable "Lonely Planeting" of the place... So that was really nice!
We spent a really great week here reading, hiking, swimming, star gazing and long walks on the beach, playing guitar, laying in the sun, and hammocking.  It was a challenging few days!
Thomas reading A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian in the hammock of our very rustic bungalow.  A very cool part of this island was that there was no Internet or phone access along with no electricity.  Candles were our lights at night, and we found that without the need for central heating, electricity was a luxury that was completely unnecessary.
We made friends with the dogs at our beach.  Here you can see Michelle and one of the puppies watching the sun set together....Michelle has decided that when she gets home she NEEDS a dog!  Or maybe a goat?

We made friends with a Naturopath from Germany.  His name is Leo and he is very cool.  We ate most meals with him on the island and we also joined him for quite a few hikes.  We have met so many people, many of whom have been very interesting... but in Leo we found an intelligent, thought provoking guy who provoked many discussions involving everything from acupuncture to the Aryan race.
Michelle on the 2 hour long tail boat ride from the coastal town of Ranong to Koh Chang.  Unlike other boats to other islands, this one only had five people on it including us!  The other four were locals.
Now, backing up further.....  Before Koh Chang we were one Koh Pan Ngan on the Gulf Coast of Thailand.  We spent almost a week on this Island.  For three of these days we rented a motor bike to explore.  And every time we went out, it always decided to rain very hard for about fifteen minutes.  One day we were invited into this house to wait for the rain to end, but not before we were already soaking wet.  We have found time and time again that the best experiences have involved some conflict.  Without some trials and tribulation, we would not have had half of the fun that we have had, or met nearly as many cool and interesting people.
While motorbike-adventuring our way around the island on many winding and hilly roads, Michelle liked to take random scenery pictures while Thomas drove.  We made regular stops to see waterfalls and some Wats.  This road was exceptionally excellent.
Koh Pan Ngan is famous for its Full Moon Parties which take place....Yup, you guessed it, every full moon.  Once a month thousands of backpackers from all over Asia and the world come for a huge party on the beach with music from many different DJ's.  We decided that it  was something we just had to go and see....30,000 people on one beach is quite a sight.  We also met a bunch of great friends that will be awesome to go and visit as the years go by.
While we were on Koh Pan Ngan we stayed on a more remote beach out of the main action.  We stayed at a great little boutique resort that had just opened a few months ago, and got quite a deal on a great room and location.  When we weren't on our motorcycle tours we liked to lay on the beach.
While we were passing through one of the island's town on our motorbike it started to rain....what a surprise!  We stopped and hung out with this lovely dog under an awning to wait for the rain to ease up so we could continue on the very hilly roads with a bit of visibility.
Some Belgium friends we made to go to the full moon party with.  Michelle enjoyed spending time with some girls again, but they definitely don't beat her girlfriends from home!
More European friends!  We spent some time under an umbrella waiting for the rain to end (you may notice that it often rained while we were on Koh Pan Ngan.)  These guys also stayed at hour boutique resort so we got to know then quite well....Thomas is thinking of going and visiting them to see a huge music festival in Belgium one summer.  Oh, and if you are wondering what the bucket in the picture is, it is for making sand castles.  The straws are flags for the castle.
Thomas freshening up it one of the streams of water at a water fall in a national park.  It felt like we were faeries playing around in the water and jumping from giant rock to large boulder.
The restaurant of our lovely, deal-of-a-hotel.  We enjoyed sitting with very comfortable triangle pillows and looking out onto the water, while enjoying a nice fresh fruit shake.  It was great to stumble onto such a great resort for so cheap!Waiting for some sushi at a great sushi restaurant in the main village on Koh Pan Ngan....we decided to do a photo shoot.

THIS IS A VERY LARGE PICTURE!!!!!!  It's because it's not actually us, but we actually did SCUBA dive.  We spent some time one Koh Tao (Turtle Island) first in a remote beach doing some snorkeling and relaxing and then in a busy little town full of Scuba people.  We both took our Open Water course and now are certified open water divers.  It was a lot of fun to see another world that without SCUBA we would never have the chance to see....oh, and we saw some sharks (but just small ones).

Blue skies, blue water, and white sand......ahhhhhhhh.....  In the distance is Shark Island.  We dove and snorkeled there and this is were we saw the sharks.  Amazingly, Michelle did not freak out like she thought she would seeing a shark.  She only screamed for a little while.
This picture is really irrelevant except for the fact that Thomas is drinking Mirinda which is Rachel Stock's favorite beverage, and you can't buy it in Canada.  He's drinking it for her, and this picture is for her too.  Very refreshing!  Rachel, drink your heart out.
We usually had to wake up very early for our SCUBA classes and dives....so we saved time and money by buying fresh fruit to have breakfast in our guesthouse room.  Okay, maybe not to save money, but it tasted really good! 
Michelle just bouncing around like Michelle does.  I guess this picture just illustrates to you that we are having fun.
Thomas reading under the shade of a bamboo umbrella on Koh Tao.
And even farther back to Hua Hin..... Our first beach after teaching in land-locked Isaan.  We think that Thomas was just enjoying the open skies and wide horizons of the ocean.  Sunburn was experienced by all.
While at Hua Hin we decided we needed to go and see a Thai Boxing Match.  Alright, so now it must be said that Michelle enjoyed it much more than Thomas.  At first, it was Thomas who was adament that it would be awesome to see some Thai pugilism, but as the first gong sounded, his face turned white, and the violence become to much for his tender-hearted soul.  As the fighting wore on, Michelle was the one that enjoyed it more and more, and eventually started cheering and shouting along with the most avid boxing fans.  Thomas thinks that table tennis is a much better sport, and would gladly witness that instead of boxing.
This is photo of Michelle.  She is not crazy, and she is not about to jump into the ocean.  She is merely soaring with the spirit of the ocean, as only a prairie girl can.  This is before we were laid waste by the sunburn.
HAAAAAGGGGGGEENNDDAAAZZZZzZ!  In Canada, eating some dericion ice cream involves taking it out of the Esso freezer and unwrapping it.  In Thailand, Hagen Daaz is as five star dining experience, complete with dressed up waiters, cloth napkins and complementary ice water.  The ice cream was good as well.
Thomas' weak impression of a foxy ice cream model.  He needs to work on that.  But the feeling of inner bliss from the ice cream was definitely there.

So, that is all for thsi post.  Hopefully this brightened your day...as we sit in darkness, typing like mad scientists.

Enjoy sprunging spring, and we will be home before you know it!

Oh, and we will do atleast one more post!

MUCH LOVE!

T and M