There once was a woman loved travel
But her suitcase had begun to unravel
She said, "Not too late!"
And whipped out duct tape
In ten minutes was hitting the gravel
by Natalie Fredrickson aka my sister
Monday, September 24, 2007
Technical Difficulties
I arrived back in Arizona with the intention to upload the last portion of my trip in Thailand only to discover that either my camera or my digital media card somehow deleted the last couple weeks of my trip. A good friend ran several recovery programs in attempt to rescue my lost media, but was only able to retrieve a few of the lost photos.
It is good to be home and see friends and family again. There really is nothing quite like being around familiar faces and people who know you well. The culture shock is minimizing each day. I no longer have to use water bottles to brush my teeth, dig through a backpack of dirty clothes to find the least smelliest clothes to wear, or use a spray hose instead of toilet paper when using the toilet. Little luxuries we take for granted are so nice to return to. I am no longer waking up dripping wet in 90% humidity to the sound of mosquitos buzzing in my ear and slathering myself mosquito repellent. American commercialism is still an adjustment as I am still baffled by the number of choices of items we have in grocery stores and American prices turn me back into a cheapskate. I started driving again after three months of not being behind the wheel, it comes back all too quickly. I mostly miss the beaches and the ocean.
The question on some people's minds.... What was your favorite place you visited? This is such a difficult question to answer. So many places hold so many great memories it is impossible to pick just one. Highlights of the trip were definitely:
1) Visiting the tiny and BEAUTIFUL island if Nanuku off of Taveuni, Fiji
2) Diving the Great Barrier Reef outside of Cairns, Australia and getting my Advanced Padi certification
3) Climbing the volcano, Mount Rinjani, in Lombok, Indonesia
4) Rock climbing and lying on the beach in Krabi, Thailand
5) Eating Thai food in Thailand...YUMMY!!!
There are so many beautiful places in the world to see, I could return to every single place I went and see new things. There is so much to do and 3 months was not long enough. I am anxious to hit the road again.
For now I am homeless, jobless, and trying to stretch my dollar. I am hoping to relocate to Colorado in the next couple of months, find a job, and work long enough to save money to travel again. I'll keep my blog updated with exciting news from this side of the globe until then.
It is good to be home and see friends and family again. There really is nothing quite like being around familiar faces and people who know you well. The culture shock is minimizing each day. I no longer have to use water bottles to brush my teeth, dig through a backpack of dirty clothes to find the least smelliest clothes to wear, or use a spray hose instead of toilet paper when using the toilet. Little luxuries we take for granted are so nice to return to. I am no longer waking up dripping wet in 90% humidity to the sound of mosquitos buzzing in my ear and slathering myself mosquito repellent. American commercialism is still an adjustment as I am still baffled by the number of choices of items we have in grocery stores and American prices turn me back into a cheapskate. I started driving again after three months of not being behind the wheel, it comes back all too quickly. I mostly miss the beaches and the ocean.
The question on some people's minds.... What was your favorite place you visited? This is such a difficult question to answer. So many places hold so many great memories it is impossible to pick just one. Highlights of the trip were definitely:
1) Visiting the tiny and BEAUTIFUL island if Nanuku off of Taveuni, Fiji
2) Diving the Great Barrier Reef outside of Cairns, Australia and getting my Advanced Padi certification
3) Climbing the volcano, Mount Rinjani, in Lombok, Indonesia
4) Rock climbing and lying on the beach in Krabi, Thailand
5) Eating Thai food in Thailand...YUMMY!!!
There are so many beautiful places in the world to see, I could return to every single place I went and see new things. There is so much to do and 3 months was not long enough. I am anxious to hit the road again.
For now I am homeless, jobless, and trying to stretch my dollar. I am hoping to relocate to Colorado in the next couple of months, find a job, and work long enough to save money to travel again. I'll keep my blog updated with exciting news from this side of the globe until then.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Southern Thailand
I headed south from Bangkok on a $40 flight to Krabi and then took a long tail boat out to a place called Railay Beach. This is quite possibly the most beautiful beach on all of Thailand. I know it is still early in my travels, but Tyson said it was the most beautiful, and once I arrived I couldn't agree more.
Surrounded by large lime stones cliffs that jet up from the land like large thumbs, Railay beach is famous for rock climbers, which is what I came here intending to do. It is like a climbers paradise here, or what I thought of as a Disneyland for climbers, but I was to short to ride all of the rides. But they luckily do have climbing for all levels, so I was able to get up on the rocks and put my arms to some long overdue exercise. I was so caught up in the climbing that all I want to do is come home and train so that I can come back (maybe with a friend next time) and climb all over the place!
The most beautiful part of the beach is that after climbing, you have a gorgeous place to lay down in the sand, swim in the gorgeous turquoise waters, and relax hard worked muscles while enjoying the beautiful scenery, and maybe a few monkeys.
From Krabi I took a ferry boat over to the island of Ko Phi Phi, home of the famous beach from the movie "The Beach". I had one day of fabulous weather and took advantage of going diving. Being the rainy season, the next two days on this island completely poured ALL day. I was never able to make it over to the actual "Beach". But alas, it is the rainy season here.
They say when it is raining on one side of the coast in Thailand, head to the other and you'll find sunshine. So next I am headed to the west coast to seek out yet more sunshine and more beaches. This is the life : )
Surrounded by large lime stones cliffs that jet up from the land like large thumbs, Railay beach is famous for rock climbers, which is what I came here intending to do. It is like a climbers paradise here, or what I thought of as a Disneyland for climbers, but I was to short to ride all of the rides. But they luckily do have climbing for all levels, so I was able to get up on the rocks and put my arms to some long overdue exercise. I was so caught up in the climbing that all I want to do is come home and train so that I can come back (maybe with a friend next time) and climb all over the place!
The most beautiful part of the beach is that after climbing, you have a gorgeous place to lay down in the sand, swim in the gorgeous turquoise waters, and relax hard worked muscles while enjoying the beautiful scenery, and maybe a few monkeys.
From Krabi I took a ferry boat over to the island of Ko Phi Phi, home of the famous beach from the movie "The Beach". I had one day of fabulous weather and took advantage of going diving. Being the rainy season, the next two days on this island completely poured ALL day. I was never able to make it over to the actual "Beach". But alas, it is the rainy season here.
They say when it is raining on one side of the coast in Thailand, head to the other and you'll find sunshine. So next I am headed to the west coast to seek out yet more sunshine and more beaches. This is the life : )
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