The Solstice of Sarah

Sun, sun, and more sun. That is all I was looking for. After Chiang Mai, we headed south to the beaches. It was hard to choose where we wanted to go and originally were going to try both coasts, but after traveling nonstop for 3 weeks, never sleeping in the same bed more than 2 nights in a row, we were ready to stay put and enjoy some sunshine and R&R. Afton & Mark (friends we met on our trek in Chiang Mai) were headed to Kho Phi Phi, so we figured we might as well go there first since we would have friends to hang with. Kho Phi Phi is where the 2004 Tsunami hit. While there, I read a book that one of the locals wrote, including details of the day of and following. It also told his friends and families accounts of the events that took place. Such a beautiful place destroyed, so many lives lost. It’s amazing how far the town has come since. It’s a relatively small island, and no motor vehicles are allowed, so we could walk everywhere. There were a lot of little winding roads with shops, restaurants, food stalls, and massage parlors. It was high 80s every day, the sun shining; the water was beautiful (although a bit too warm for my liking). Amber and I just enjoyed sitting on the beach in our lounge chairs and soaked it up. The tide is out during the day, so we could walk out pretty far and just hang out on the sand bars in the middle of the water. By night time Kho Phi Phi was insane. Definitely a big party island with a much younger crowd. We hung out on the beach and watched the flame throwers, the fire jump rope and limbo contests, and everybody dancing and having a good time. The first night Afton and Mark brought over some buckets of alcohol to start, so when we got to the beach, it didn’t take long for us to join in on the crazy festivities. The 4 of us had a blast. Kho Phi Phi was great, but I do have one regret in that I didn’t take the trip over to the other beach where you can see where Leonardo DiCaprio’s film “The Beach” was shot. I was being so lazy, I just didn’t care. I picked up the book the film was based on instead, which I’m currently reading, and hope to someday be back and make the effort. It’s supposed to be really beautiful…Any takers on going back with me???
After a few days in Kho Phi Phi, we moved to Railay beach, which is much more laid back. Getting to Railay was a bit of an adventure. We took a fairy to a longtail boat to the island. Because the tide was out when we arrived to Railay, we all had to jump out of the boat in knee deep water and walk to shore. Now imagine having a 50lb suitcase, plus 2 other bags. Yea! I wasn’t having that. Lol! Thankfully the boat driver carried my suitcase for me. It was quite comical. Our hotel was so nice and somehow we ended up in a private suite. It did have twin beds, but if felt like a honeymoon suite, so Amber and I kept joking the whole time about how we were honeymooners. Heehee. Amber and I thought our side of the beach was the only side with any action. Again, we chose to lie on the beach and get massages, lay by the pool and read, and not do much of anything else; therefore, we never made it to the other side of the beach where there is supposed to be a beautiful lagoon. Oops again. All I can say is that I was in major beach/sunshine/relax mode and was not in the mood to read my travel book and/or make sure we were hitting all the hot spots. Plus, I desperately needed a few days to work on my tan. Our last night in Railay was Amber’s last night because she ended up having to get an earlier flight home than originally planned. We met a guy from England and he showed us another part of the island where all the action was. We hung out a bar on the beach relaxing and listening to Bob Marley music with the locals. Good times.

The following morning Amber and I laid by the pool one last time to soak in the rays and see how bronzed we could possibly get (Amber was not about to go back to Chicago without a nice brown glow). We took a longtail boat to Krabi where she was heading to the airport and I was going to stay in the beach town of Ao Nang for 2 days before I had to head back to Bangkok for a night before my flight to Cambodia. It was so sad to see Amber go. It stinks that her trip got cut short. But we have soooooooo many stories and memories that will last a lifetime and I’m so grateful she was able to join me.

Ao Nang was completely chill for me. It was nice again not to have any plans. I went for a nice long jog on the beach, got another message, found some souvenirs, laid by the pool at my hotel, and caught up on some personal things (yes, I do still have outstanding things at home that need to be dealt with once in awhile, it’s not 100% fun and games). :-p

My last day in Bangkok was good. My hotel, the Villa Cha Cha, was adorable. I ended up seeing one more Wat that I was interested in seeing and then heading to the main shopping area. All I have to say is that I have never seen more shopping in my whole entire life. There were 5 huge buildings of malls. One bigger than the next. Everything is glowing with lights, over exaggerated, and completely over the top. As you can imagine, my head was spinning. Unfortunately, I do not have the room in my suitcase or the budget to buy anything besides $10 sundresses from the markets, so I chose to window shop (secretly crying inside) and just picked up a few odds and ends that I needed before heading to Cambodia.

I got really sad leaving Thailand. It’s such a great place with so much to do and so many options for everyone. I still feel like I have so much left to see, so I will definitely be going back someday soon!