Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Kiwi pictures
Arrival to Kiwi Land
We made it to New Zealand!!!
We got to Auckland at 8am went through customs that were very serious
about seeds and other hitchhikers affecting the flora and fauna of the
country. They examined our boots and our
tent and the guy told Eugene we passed and he liked the tent!! We had just
enough money to catch the Airbus shuttle to our hostel. We were feeling energized and we couldn't
check in until later so we got down to business. We found a cheap phone, found some vans to
check out and made a call to look at one.
The next two days we got a bank account, an IRD number for our visa, and
finalized the van purchase. We bought a
Toyota Town Ace from a nice French couple who were clean and honest and had
been traveling around and living out of the van for the past 8 months. So we call our van Frenchy!!! Auckland is a nice city, bustling with young
people , filled with energy and nothing compared to Bangkok. It was a nice change; however we were ready
to hit the open road after we got the van set up.
Eugene wanted to hit the surf town of Raglan since Thailand
had no surf, and he was ready to paddle out.
Raglan is about 2 hours south west of Auckland, a good first road trip
in the van driving on the opposite side of the vehicle and the road with a
manual transmission. We arrived in the
very tiny town of Raglan and went straight to the surf shop to get Eugene a
board. He was successful. The next day he hit the waves and they were
good. The following day we noticed
busloads of high school surfer groms buzzing around. Turned out there was a surf competition for
the next two days and the surf spot would be off limits!!! He was disappointed. On the bright side the sun came out and we
went for a grueling hike up the Te Toto Gorge to a wonderful lookout over the
valley and Raglan town. It was awesome!
We know two people from the states who live in this town,
and it’s so small that we ran into both of them on the street!! We have a dinner date and then after we are
heading to the next destination. We plan
on heading to the Cormandel Pennisula where we are told it is like Hawaii, but
colder!!!!
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Gulf Pictures
Railay Pictures
Railay Viewpoint
Andaman Sea to the Gulf of Thailand
From the jungle we headed to the ocean on the East Coast of Thailand where the green topped limestone carsts meet the warm turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea. Vertical walled islands dot the horizon just like from the movie the Beach. Here we took a longtail boat taxi in the pouring rain over to the peninsula Railay surrounded by limestone cliffs. It's a popular climbing spot. At the climbing spot there was an entire cave dedicated to a princess where fisherman leave offerings of the penis to please her in hopes of good luck fishing! We didn't leave any offerings but I got a great picture. We hiked around the peninsula on muddy trails with ropes and monkeys around to a viewpoint and a wonderful secluded lagoon. Covered in mud we made it down to the lagoon in the center of the peninsula which was well worth it because we were the only crazy people who attempted it. We decided that the monsoon season was forcing us away from the Andaman Sea and the dry Gulf of Thailand was calling us.
We were successful in finding the sun!!! The first of the islands, Ko Samui, is the largest and busiest. We searched for a place and many were full until we found this cute old Thai lady who took Eugene by the arm and showed him the bungalow. It wasn't the greatest room but the beach was peaceful and she was the cutest. There we hit up a great night market and rented a motorbike to check out the island. It had many beautiful beaches, but was a little overwhelming so we decided to head to the next island of Ko Phangan!!
Ko Phangan is known as the wild step sister of Ko Samui. It's famous for its Full Moon parties. Right off the boat we rented ourselves a brand new motorbike with a full tank of gas for three days! This island was my favorite place in all of Thailand. Very mellow and not overrun by development right on the beach. The island was filled with coconut palms, snakes, sea eagles, and wild roads. We rallied the motorbike all over the island checking out snorkeling spots and hiking spots and stopping at all the beaches for a swim. After three days of fun and an empty tank of gas we headed to the next island of Ko Tao.
Ko Tao the smallest of the three was a little more hustle and bustle than Ko Phangan but not as much as Ko Samui. It's a popular dive and snorkel island, where they pump out divers daily. There we took an old-school wooden barge to a tiny island called Ko Nangyuan where the clear waters were filled with numerous vibrant fish. We spent the whole day there checking out the islands' nooks and crannies and then climbed to the viewpoint before it was time to head back. The next two days we checked out four unique bays for snorkeling scattered around the island. The steep roads and our ghetto motorbike left me walking up the hills to meet Eugene at the top. I guess I've had too many spring rolls!! One bay had a giant rock in the middle that everyone was jumping off, and another was an underwater boulder field filled with awesome corals. I saw a massive Puffer fish that shot me the stink eye, while Eugene spotted a black tip reef shark. The next day we caught our boat-bus combo to Bangkok where we'll eat our last Pad Thai, have our last cheap Thai message, and do some shopping before heading to New Zealand.
We were successful in finding the sun!!! The first of the islands, Ko Samui, is the largest and busiest. We searched for a place and many were full until we found this cute old Thai lady who took Eugene by the arm and showed him the bungalow. It wasn't the greatest room but the beach was peaceful and she was the cutest. There we hit up a great night market and rented a motorbike to check out the island. It had many beautiful beaches, but was a little overwhelming so we decided to head to the next island of Ko Phangan!!
Ko Phangan is known as the wild step sister of Ko Samui. It's famous for its Full Moon parties. Right off the boat we rented ourselves a brand new motorbike with a full tank of gas for three days! This island was my favorite place in all of Thailand. Very mellow and not overrun by development right on the beach. The island was filled with coconut palms, snakes, sea eagles, and wild roads. We rallied the motorbike all over the island checking out snorkeling spots and hiking spots and stopping at all the beaches for a swim. After three days of fun and an empty tank of gas we headed to the next island of Ko Tao.
Ko Tao the smallest of the three was a little more hustle and bustle than Ko Phangan but not as much as Ko Samui. It's a popular dive and snorkel island, where they pump out divers daily. There we took an old-school wooden barge to a tiny island called Ko Nangyuan where the clear waters were filled with numerous vibrant fish. We spent the whole day there checking out the islands' nooks and crannies and then climbed to the viewpoint before it was time to head back. The next two days we checked out four unique bays for snorkeling scattered around the island. The steep roads and our ghetto motorbike left me walking up the hills to meet Eugene at the top. I guess I've had too many spring rolls!! One bay had a giant rock in the middle that everyone was jumping off, and another was an underwater boulder field filled with awesome corals. I saw a massive Puffer fish that shot me the stink eye, while Eugene spotted a black tip reef shark. The next day we caught our boat-bus combo to Bangkok where we'll eat our last Pad Thai, have our last cheap Thai message, and do some shopping before heading to New Zealand.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Khao Sok National Park
After leaving Nong Khai we choked through the dirty streets of Bangkok catching a glimpse of the king who left the hospital for the first time in four years. His picture is everywhere around the country and Eugene claims he made eye contact through the Bentley!
We were happy once again to leave the concrete jungle and head to the real jungle of Khao Sok National Park. It is the largest continuous nature reserve in Thailand. We arrived in the rain once again and stayed in a river jungle lodge overlooking the Khao Sok river. We were disappointed to hear that the park trails were mostly closed due to rain. So we waited it out and woke up the next day to unexpected sunshine!!!! We rented a motorbike to cruise around the limestone carst landscape making our way to the lake in the center of the park. Where we enjoyed the views and a swim. The scenic drive, the overlooks, and the dirt road detours were the highlights.
The next day we were pleasantly surprised with another gorgeous day. We headed to the hiking trails to find out that they were all open!!! We scored. We hiked through the jungle listening to the birds, spotting monkeys, dodging a snake, swimming in the river pools, and picking off leeches!! It was exactly what we were looking to do, until.......we stopped for our snack and turned around after 5 miles into the jungle. After the snack within 15 minutes I was feeling a little gremlin moving inside of me. We booked it about half way back before I started vomiting. Luckily we made it to the muddy road where a bad-ass Thai ranger chick was on a motorbike heading out. Eugene put me on the bike and she rallied the rest of the 2.5 miles out of there. The funny part was that she insisted on taking a picture before we could leave. Maybe it was her first rescue and she wanted to document it. The food poising lasted about six hours total thankfully cause it was bad. We were able to catch our transport the next morning out of there to head to the beach!! And we arrived in the rain again!!!
We were happy once again to leave the concrete jungle and head to the real jungle of Khao Sok National Park. It is the largest continuous nature reserve in Thailand. We arrived in the rain once again and stayed in a river jungle lodge overlooking the Khao Sok river. We were disappointed to hear that the park trails were mostly closed due to rain. So we waited it out and woke up the next day to unexpected sunshine!!!! We rented a motorbike to cruise around the limestone carst landscape making our way to the lake in the center of the park. Where we enjoyed the views and a swim. The scenic drive, the overlooks, and the dirt road detours were the highlights.
The next day we were pleasantly surprised with another gorgeous day. We headed to the hiking trails to find out that they were all open!!! We scored. We hiked through the jungle listening to the birds, spotting monkeys, dodging a snake, swimming in the river pools, and picking off leeches!! It was exactly what we were looking to do, until.......we stopped for our snack and turned around after 5 miles into the jungle. After the snack within 15 minutes I was feeling a little gremlin moving inside of me. We booked it about half way back before I started vomiting. Luckily we made it to the muddy road where a bad-ass Thai ranger chick was on a motorbike heading out. Eugene put me on the bike and she rallied the rest of the 2.5 miles out of there. The funny part was that she insisted on taking a picture before we could leave. Maybe it was her first rescue and she wanted to document it. The food poising lasted about six hours total thankfully cause it was bad. We were able to catch our transport the next morning out of there to head to the beach!! And we arrived in the rain again!!!
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