In Thailand most schools close for the entire month of October for "midterm" or holiday. From what I understand this started because the rain and floods during the month of October made it difficult for students to get to school and then eventually it was decided this would be the midterm of the school year.Since the schools are closed this means no school for me and an entire month of traveling and exploring Thailand!
I left Chaiyaphum on the 5th of October and headed for Bangkok to meet my friend Allison (from Lewis & Clark). We spent a couple of days in the city and then began our adventure south.
Our first stop was Hua Hin - a favorite beach town for Thai people. This area is about a 2.5 hour drive from Bangkok and therefore a spot where many Thais travel to on the weekends for some beach time. Thai people hate to be tan and see being white as more beautiful, which means that they wear clothing that covers them from head to toe while on the beach or in the water. We saw some people go as far as brining an umbrella in the ocean just to make sure they wouldn't get any sun whiteout during the day.About five days later we got on a bus that would take us to the tourist destination of Phuket. This was probably the most luxurious bus I have ever been on. The size of the seats were about 1st class size that reclined so much that you could almost lay down completely. The seats also had message and heated options and each one had its own tv (with movies in English). To say the least it was a pretty comfortable 9 hours bus ride and for only $20 (600 baht).
Immediately after arriving on the island (even though quite touristy) we felt much better. The island is small and cozy with no cars and maybe a handful of motorbikes. You can walk the whole area in less than an hour. We stayed right in town about a 2 min walk to one beach and a 10 min walk to another. We met up with the other girls I live with who told us to do a 3 in 1 tour while on the island so we did. This 3-in-1 tour (more like a 6-in-1) consisted of cliff jumping, snorkeling and exploring Koh Phi Phi Leh, a dinner in a secluded beach with a fire dancing show, and a night swim to see bioluminescent plankton. -- Koh Phi-Phi Leh is a smaller island that is protected by cliffs, but has two lagoons for people to swim / snorkel in. We went to the one called Ao Maya (where the movie "The Beach" was filmed) and saw two sea turtles while snorkeling. -- we ended up loving all of Koh Phi-Phi. It was filled with tourists but it still had a fun young going out vibe.
After 5 days on Phi-Phi we left the Andaman coast for the east side (Gulf of Thailand ) . Our journey there consisted of a ferry ride to Krabi a bus to Suratani and then an overnight ferry to Koh Tao. This one was not quite as comfortable,but still an interesting experience. The sleeping boat was about 60 people crammed into a caning with mats to sleep on. I slept super well, but Allison had told me the next morning she didn't really sleep at all with the rocking and stormy weather.
We arrived on Koh Tao (our current location) Sunday at 7am in the morning. I think we love this island even a little more than Phi Phi even though both have sparkling clear water and the small town vide. This island is a little bigger (it has cars and you cant walk from one end to the other in an hour), but it feels less touristy and not everyone you walk by is trying to sell you something. Allusion is getting PADI certified here so we stay until the 26th. Since our arrival I have been on two dives and will continue to get my advanced open water certification starting tomorrow morning!