Today was the ‘best day ever!’ It started off with sleeping in til 10 AM and turning on MTV Asia just in time to hear Airplanes (and me singing “I could really use a wish right now…” could probably be heard down the hall!) I brought some clothes down to be laundered and then went to grab brunch (not remembering that I get seasick-more on that later!) It was delish and enjoyed every bite for only 60 Baht (not even $2.00!) After brunch I decided to roam around and find a good deal for a sunset island hopping adventure…I then walked around to find a towel or underwater disposable camera, but decided neither were necessary. I found a fruit stand selling lanzones (aka duku/longkon) for 25 Baht for a big bag…so I bought it! 🙂 I stopped at the hotel and asked for a beach towel to borrow and headed to the beach before my excursion to the other islands. The beach was hot and the water was so warm. I walked out about 100 yards and still could stand up in the clear blue water and it was at the most thigh high.

When it was time, I headed back to the place where I bought my excursion ticket so they could take me to the boat. I followed this guy and waited…then finally realized after he was telling me to go on a longtail boat that I was in the wrong spot! So they made a quick call to the people on the big boat and another man came to get me and take me to the big boat. The big boat had already left the dock and they had to send a small boat to come and get me. Once I was on the boat we were off to see Monkey Beach…you are probably wondering why they call it Monkey Beach, right? LOL…it’s a small beach and it’s completely inhabited by monkeys! So cool…except a girl got bit by one! I forgot to bring my longkon…they love it when you give them fruit! But I got a few good pictures! (See my album when I post it!) I decided to swim back to the boat which wasn’t too far away…and met a girl from California who was now teaching in Taiwan. She had just gotten up the boat but as I was reaching for the ladder…the captain started the engine and just that small wave pushed me back. I had to grab the small boat again and they had to pull me back in! Whoa! What a moment when I thought I would be left behind for the second time! I made it back on and off we were to Ko Phi Phi Ley (you might be thinking that’s the same island, but actually the island I am on is called Ko Phi Phi Don) PP Ley is an island with nothing but a beach and uninhabited land.

The boat ride was lengthy and rocky…so it swayed a lot (too much for my stomach to handle) so the crew gave me a pill and something to smell to calm my tummy…it helped for a bit. When we stopped…it was time to kayak and snorkel! This was my first time to snorkel…and it was pretty awesome! I was still feeling sick, so I decided not to kayak. They feed the fish around the boat so all the fish swim around you to get the food. I was a bit anxious to snorkel (my greatest fear is that I’ll die by suffocation/drowning) so I took it easy at first. I met a new friend before jumping in, she was a diver and also traveling alone, so I felt a bit more at ease when she said I’d be fine. When we went in there were fish everywhere! She told me a sea snake was swimming underneath me…I looked down just in time to see it’s tail go under a rock! So many different types of colorful fish all around me…just swimming in front of my mask! A man nearby picked up a sea urchin with a net…it was really cool, but he got yelled at to put it back in the water. Amy got a picture of me underwater with the fishes…and then above water with my camera…so I’ll post those later. I got back on the boat and we waited for a few folks to come back from kayaking…as we were waiting I met a guy from France (French classes came in handy this time around…a rare moment, but I was able to speak a few phrases with him!) Once everyone was back, we were off to Maya Bay (the place where in the movie ‘the Beach’ Leonardo DiCaprio’s character gets eaten by a shark and the carry him back to the shore where he dies…I never saw the movie but that’s what another guy told me).

That’s when the seasickness really kicked in…and I decided that I was just going to have to lose my brunch in order to survive the rest of this boat ride! After a quick trip to the bathroom I felt better and we arrived in a small bay where we took a small boat to get to this little opening with rocks all over and big waves coming in! That was an adventure getting on the island that way! Then we had a short hike to the other side of the island that took us to Maya Bay (and by short-I really mean short-2 minutes tops to walk to the other side and the walk was worth it! You walk through lush tropical vegetation and then you hit a clearing and it opens up to a beautiful bay. I met a couple of guys from the Netherlands that were on my same boat. There were so many boats in the bay…all people visiting for a short stay. That’s all I’m going to say about that island…pictures and video to make you jealous will come soon! 🙂 After an hour there…it was time to catch the small boat to head back to the big boat for dinner (fried rice and tea with watermelon for dessert) and then catch the sunset on the water in between PP Ley and PP Don.

The sunset wasn’t spectacular, because the clouds in the distance didn’t allow is to see the sun go below the horizon…but it started to rain a little before the sun went down and I was able to see a rainbow and a sunset at the same time! (on 2 different sides of the boat) It was still pretty rocky on the boat and as I type this hours later I can still feel like I’m rocking on the ship! I absolutely loved this excursion…totally worth the 500 Baht (less than $15!) I almost didn’t want it to end but the night sky had settled in. Before I got off the boat I wanted to be sure to give Amy my card (I teach the Professional Communication students never to go anywhere where there might be other people without business cards…so even on this excursion I had my cards! You never know where and when you’ll meet someone…and Amy is from Tazmania! I never thought I would meet someone from there). I asked if she could send me the pictures she took on her camera. We ended up talking as we walked back into town and decided to hang out. She showed me a great massage/mani/pedi place near her hotel then we went to eat mango and sweet sticky rice (yum!) at this place where we ended up making friends with the owner and taking pictures with him. 🙂 His story was so touching…as he rebuilt his business after the tsunami washed away his restaurant in 2004…we were able to read about it through newspaper clippings he had made into a book to tell the story. We stayed there for over an hour just talking and meeting 2 people seating near us. Everyone here is so friendly! I love it…I’m so glad I decided to vacation here in Phi Phi.

Tomorrow is my last day on the island and then I head back to Bangkok via Phuket…more to come on my adventures in Southeast Asia!

From the delicious food to the easy public transit system, Singapore has been a spectacular place to vacation. Upon my arrival I immediately notice how clean and organized this city truly is…the parking stalls are marked red and green to indicate open parking spaces, and there are tons of eating and shopping places (and I hadn’t even left the airport!) I knew I was in for a treat.

My first Singaporean food experience was the Hainanese Chicken and Rice…mmmm! I immediately fell in love with food here. Petrina took me to a food hawker place where you find a table then go around to the different stalls and order food and the deliver it to your table. We ate chicken wings, crayfish, and oyster omelet (my personal favorite!) The next day for dinner was my food experience of my entire vacation…Chili crab at Jumbo Seafood. (See a picture in a different post). But we didn’t just have chili crab, it was served with soup, steamed shrimp, fried shrimp, cabbage, fried sea bass, and for dessert I tried Mooncake for the first time. We went to food hawker places and I tried chicken laksa, satay, durian, and a lot of other new foods. Singapore is a foodie’s heaven…I for sure could live and eat here! I tried so many new fruits.

I have been able to see so many things here in Singapore. Orchard Road has a ridiculous number of shopping malls…even if I could have shopped here everyday I don’t think I could have seen every mall on this road! I visited Chinatown, Arab Street, Clark Quay (pronounced like key), the Botanical Gardens (specifically the orchids), the Singapore Flyer, the Zoo, and I even saw the Youth Olympic Games flame and a tennis event! I can’t believe I have seen so much in such a short period of time.

Petrina and her family have been so hospitable! I have truly enjoyed every minute of my stay here! 🙂 I know my time in Singapore would not have been close to what this experience has been if it weren’t for the Loh Family. Thank you so much for opening your home and helping me experience the best of your country.

Now I am headed back to Thailand…this time to Ko Phi Phi Island via Phuket. More to come!

have been memorable…if I had to put it into words. This trip has started off very well. The flights were great…especially the first leg from Los Angeles to Taipei…it was “all you can do” entertainment, from self select movies on your personal TV to “on demand” games! I watched a Bollywood film with 2 of the students I am traveling with and I watched the Back Up Plan. I also played at least 100 rounds of Mahjong which was fun because the electronic/computer players moved a lot faster than real life players so the games flew by…and I only won a few individual games. The food on the plane was excellent! My fave was the beef with noodles…the beef was so tender! The entire trip we were served a total of 3 meals and 2 snacks…I wish US airline companies would do what Asia airlines do…it makes the flight so much more enjoyable!

Once I was back on solid ground (at least for a few days) I arrived at my Hotel which was tucked away so the taxi driver got lost. He asked for directions and safely found our destination. The room is cozy with a King size bed and has everything I would need. All that really matters is that the A/C works because this 100% humidity is killin’ me! It’s somewhat of a walk from things, but I don’t mind the exercise. I walked to the Sheraton which sits right along the Chao Phraya River. I ate Pad Thai for lunch and it was yummy! Went shopping at River City Market. Saw a temple and the hotel concierge (that’s the title I gave him) drove me through Chinatown…then dropped me off at the Patpong night market to see the sights and potential goods to take home! :). At Patpong they had a celebration for the Queens birthday and I held a candle and sang with the locals to celebrate the Queen.

On my walk home I decided to stop in Silom Village for some dinner and had an excellent sea bass meal with a spicy fish sauce. SO GOOD! I ate the whole thing, except the head. Then when I got back to the hotel…not 15 minutes later it started to pour down rain. I truly believe the buddhas were keeping me safe until I returned. I was exhausted and as soon as I finished with my hot shower…there was no way I could stay up and I fell asleep writing this blog. So here I am at 3:00 AM local time finishing this. I’m planning to see a few more temples today, so I need to catch a few more hours of sleep…maybe a Muay Thai boxing match tonight if I’m lucky! 🙂 Stay tuned…

So I decided to do a trial run of trying to put almost 2 weeks of clothes into what most people would consider to be a hand carry-on sized luggage…and I completely failed to get it all in there! I didn’t even have the chance to put shoes, toiletries, and camera accessories in the luggage…oh boy! I’m in trouble. This is going to be a challenge! But the green side of my personality gets excited about these challenges and the orange side wants me to pack a swimsuit and just wing it in Thailand! (For all you True Colors fans out there…you know what I’m talking about!) So here I am…instead of re-packing I’m blogging about it!

So what are the essentials for Southeast Asia in August when it’s 85F and rainy season?

Maybe the alphabet essentials:

• Attitude: It’s going to be Amazing no matter what!
• Be ready But also Be flexible
• Clear the media cards so I can Capture all the memories
• Don’t fill the luggage…save room for gifts to bring home
• Everything will be fine Even if some things get left behind
• Forget being prepared for everything…it will be Fabulous
• Go
• Have fun!
• It’s going to work out no matter what
• Just breath
• Keep the essentials
• Live each day to the fullest
• Make time to just enjoy the Moments
• Now is all that matters, Never worry about the future until it becomes Now
• Opportunities like this don’t come every day
• Practice gratitude
• Quality Quiet time is a must
• Remember to leave a place better than the way you found it
• Service is the number 1 purpose of this trip
• This is going to be a Time to remember
• Underestimate what you will need for 3.5 weeks
• View this as a learning experience-expect the unexpected (embrace the ambiguity)
• Wake up everyday ready to make things happen
• Xpect to try new things
• You can do it!
• Zen