Bangkok- Day 30

1I haven't been able to get onto the Internet during my time in Ban Krut as the Internet is based on how the telephone lines are doing. Apart from going to the beach, we did visit a massive gold Buddha on the 23rd day and after climbing 100 steps and then climbed a hundred more steps to a palace where I had to cover my shoulders and legs then I was given a flower and gold foil to offer and stick on the statues.

As Ban Krut isn't very popular with tourists, the prices have yet to be jacked up and I got my fingers and toes done for $9CAD. On the 24th day we finally got to go snorkeling! I've been itching yo use to camera to take some underwater snaps. When we pulled up to the first snorkeling spot, the fish are used to being fed so hundreds of blue fish swarmed the boat and even when I jumped into the water, they stayed close.

On the 27th day, the day before leaving for Bangkok, we went on a tour that had us at the Burmese border where there was a market happening, it was mostly plants so we weren't there long. In Prachuabkhirikhan we stopped at a park to feed monkeys, which was fun! They weren't even looking at our bananas and luckily, a nice guy with a bag full of something they seemed to love gave us a few handfuls. In Waghor we visited a museum and we got there just in time to see a feeding show with sharks and some reallly giant fish.

Next day was the day before leaving for Bangkok and my mom wanted to take advantage of the price and availiability so she took me to get a reflexology massage on my feet! According to my feet, I have a few things wrong with me, all around the tummy area which wasn't a suprise since i've had all sorts of stomach problems since I was little.

After a 6 hour train ride to Bangkok we went straight to the Prince Palace hotel and were in awe of the pool on the 11th and 12th floor as well as our awesome suite. We stayed in room 52206, 5th tower, 22nd floor and room 06. That night we had dinner in the hotel which had kareoke so my mom and I grabbed the mics and put on a show.

For the last 2 days, it's been shoppingshoppingshopping. The first day of shopping we went to the weekend market for 3 and a half hours and I spent nearly $100 on looooads of stuff. I didn't even mind that my shirt was damp with sweat, all I cared about was that I was getting shoes for $3! When I tried bartering, they wouldn't go any lower then maybe 20 baht.. their prices are already extremely low so after a few unsuccessful bargaining attempts, I just paid the price. Apart from all the shopping opportunities, we diid go to The Grand Palace, where the monks go. Of course we had to cover up there as well so I had to wear a tshirt and jeans. When we got there, what was supposed to be an hour-long tour of the Palace turned into  2-hour long torture session, any time we paused I was sitting in the shade with my shirt folded up, chugging water. We went in 2 temples, no photography, and I even did a little prayer just because. By the time we were done I was suffering from heat stroke and dehydration, but that didn't stop me from perking up as soon as my dad said he'd taxi us to the MBK mall if we wanted to get some shopping done, which of course I did! I went with my two brothers and afterwards we took the canal boat back to our hotel.

Ban Krut- Day 22

Woke up at the ungodly hour of 4am so I could finish packing and have a shower before our taxi came at 6.30am. The ride to the station was semi-terrifying and 3 hours long. Semi-terrifying because Thai people have zero disregard for the lines on the road, if someone is slow they won't hesitate to zip into the oncoming lane to get around them. Our driver did that a few times when we were going up a hill or around the corner and you couldn't see farther than the turning point, more then once a car popped up and we had to cut infront of the car behind us just to avoid being hit! At the train station, I went to the bathroom ( after paying 3baht ) and watched as a lady in front of me took her shoes off, splashed into the bathroom and locked herself into the stall. Since it was the only one, I waited. When she came out I went to go into the stall and quickly decided not to after I saw that it was a bowl in the ground with a bucket of water beside it for flushing. No. Thank. You. The train ride was 4 hours and when we got to Ban Krut there was the tiniest tuk tuk waiting for us. 6 people and over 7 pieces of luggage were not going to fit so he had to call for backup! Within an hour of being here it started it rain for the first time since i've left Squamish. It was only a 3 minute shower, but enough to turn the air humid. Afterwards, the resort offers bikes, so we took some down to the local market and had dinner/ shopped.

Today we biked 'downtown' with consists of 10 shops max. and nosed around, bought a duck floatie then lounged on the beach for a good 3 hours. Since going to the spa is so cheap, of course I went and got a body treatment. Ban Krut is definately a place to relax.

Rawai Beach- Day 20

Oh my god!
On Wednesday we took a taxi to Chalong temple where they were hosting a 7-day night market that was a dream come true! They had food, realistic guns that were, in fact, lighters, wallets for 100bht and clothing everywhere! One shop that sold accessories, sold everything for 10bht, which is about 25¢ or so. We spent 2 hours there and it was fantastically spent. When we left, we drove home with the whole family in the back of a truck! Hah!

Next day was a slack day. Started out with an hour long body massage for $7CAD then lounging in the pool and reading until dinner, where we spent it on the seawall at little tables with cushion seats and candles. I still can't get over how many dogs are here. There on the streets, in the resturants, shops, everywhere! Also, all the female dogs have either just given birth or are pregnant.

Today we travelled 2 hours by ferry and an hour by car to visit my moms friend, Carole, at Krabi beach. We explored a few caves, then walked down the beach. Around the bend, there was a mass of little caves where I spent a good 2 hours exploring by myself carefully over rocks and in and out of caves. There were masses of tiny little fish darting around me the entire time and crabs delicately scuttling over the walls of the caves. It really was idyllic. Back on the beach, I was showed a shrine deticated to a Princess and it was surrounded by offerings of sugary drinks, but mostly penises. There were hundreds of various shapes, sizes and colors of penises all around the shrine to 'keep the princess safe.' Hahahahaha! On our way back to the beach to catch the boat back to Rawai, we stopped and had a chance to feed some monkeys the bananas we'd bought earlier. I wanted to feed the monkeys bit by bit so the experiance would last longer but before I could peel the banana, it was nearly snatched out of my hand and when I didn't let go, the monkey bit me! It wasn't enough to break the skin, but it still suprised me, little bugger.

Rawai Beach- Day 18

We ended up going into the tailors that day and I picked out a lovely silk satine fabric. He measured me all over, then I showed him how long to make something, or where I wanted something else. I have a general idea that I hope will blossom as I go along.

Yesterday, we finally left Rawai and went on a tour where we did some canoeing into a cave in Phang-nga Bay where the ceiling went so low you had to press yourself against the bottom of the boat so avoid being scraped. There were also some bats swooping about, but most of them where sleeping so I was relieved I didn't have to deal with any bat poo landing on my head! We did two more canoe trips, once around Panak Island and then around Hong island. After a buffet lunch, we visited James Bond island which was featured in the movie "The man with the golden gun." That was nothing but a money grab, 23 stalls of the same things; necklaces, rings and braclets with the occasional tshirt and the thai woman grabbing your arm, "Ma'am, real pearl, come look! Just for a minute." So that was disappointing. I did buy some things, I talked one lady from 1750bht to 400bht, hah. Heading home, the crew members had a dance party, which a participated in, that lasted almost the whole hour-long ride. At the very end, a man came out with white makeup all over his face, lipstick and a mask. He was dressed in nothing but a bra and skirt ( and wig ) and he gave various men lapdances and lipsynched to them with a microphone.


If you ever go to Thailand, when your greeted with the sight of thousands of mangy dogs wherever you go, it's the norm. Don't get appalled if their hanging around in a resturant or in stores either, because nobody else cares. I haven't seen a well-groomed dog yet, unless they have short hair, but their all the exact same medium sized with matted hair and some sort of injury or another.

Rawai Beach- Day 16

Before leaving Patong, my brothers and I went down to the Sunset returant where we've become regulars. Ate some nommy ice cream then lumbered back up a torturous hill to our apartment where the police were handcuffing some criminals in the lounging area above the pool. What was weird is that the police took a picture of the two naughty men in cuffs pointing to the top of the building, then they went up there and I lost interest.


45 minutes later, in Rawai Beach, we arrived at our villa in Coconut Paradise and it is adooorable! We've got two lounge chairs by our own pool, surrounded by palm trees, a little tile path that goes around our house and a bamboo shelter with cushions where i've taken to reading lately. The first day was spent moving in, relaxing and buying groceries and we walked around town on the second day here.
It seems that 25% of the people that live here have cars and the other 50% have scooters!  I've seen up to a family of four delicately balanced on a scooter shooting down the road. As for the other 25%, their getting rides in the back of everyone elses scooter/car!
Yesterday, for Valentines Day, we went to a lovely outside resturant facing the sunset and it was gooorgeous.
I've decided to look into getting my prom dress made here, which I think is a good idea, a custom-made dress and all. Probably be going in today, acutally.

Patong- Day 12

I got my first bug bites today, only a few but there quite itchy. I'm thankful for Ozonall!

2 days ago we went on a 6 hour tour in Patong and Rawai Beach, which is where we'll be staying next. We went to the biggest jewellery store in the world, I think, then to a zoo where I got my picture taken with a tiger and saw an elephant, monkey and crocodile show. Lastly, we visited the Big Buddha, where I was to cover up my bare shoulders and legs because it's disrespectful. After climbing up to where the Buddha was, we went underneath the statue and lit some incense at the center for good luck, I think.

Yesterday we spent the entire day at the beach, except for me and Geordie, who pulled a half day then had to go home after lunch because we were so sunburnt. Instead of grabbing a tuk tuk home and wasting our money, we decided to walk and every single shop we passed, I had men asking me, "where you from?" "what's your name" "I like your hair, you speak English?" It feels rude to ignore then and keep on walking, but if you don't, they try to reel you in and sell you something. To Geordie, we had 5 men in a row address him as 'Superman' and ask, "can you fly, Superman?" My back and shins are the most red and today I can't walk without hobbling around in pain. Because all 6 of us are terribly sunburnt in one way or another, we'll probably be staying home today. Hah.

Patong- Day 10

So far what I've liked about where we've been staying in that everything is under a 10 minute walk away. In Hong Kong, we frequented The Peak which had a mall and was about a 7 minute walk from Uncle Stevens apartment, anywhere else we just jumped on the tram. Hong Kong was ultimately foggy, which was fun when we were walking because you could just run ahead and disappear. We visited a few markets, had dinner on a floating resturant and of course my parents had to hit the horse races so we tagged along. One of the events i'll never forget is the Wonderfish! treatment where hundreds of Graffa fish suck the dead skin off your feet and leave then feeling sooo smooth and lovely.


We've been in Phuket for 6 days now. Were staying in an apartment that has a pool, thank god, but is also a 10 minute walk from the beach. For the 3 days we've gone to the beach, we leave our apartment and walk down a steep hill then make a few turns and walk down a few more hills until we reach town. Choosing either the left or right side of the road, we continue picking our way past restuants and stands usually selling the standard tshirts, dresses and sarongs until we reach the beach.
Even the beach costs money, 100bht per chair and we get 4 every time because someones always walking alongside the beach or diving in the waves. A view from where we sit is always the same, chairs in front and beyond that, ocean. Every minute there`s a new merchant selling dresses hanging from their arms or offering you a look into a book of henna tattoos, if you show the slightest amount of interest the next second their pushing a calculator in your face showing you how much. So far i`ve gotten a thai massage, my hair braided in those tight braids and a hello kitty henna all for $40.
A trick i`ve noticed a few times is that they allow you to set the price and if it`s too low, they show you the original but if it`s higher they keep quiet and take your money. On the days we didn`t go to the beach, we went on a tour that involved riding elephants, rubber tapping, riding in a buffalo cart and a hike to a waterfall. Another day we had a 2 hour thai massage and on the third day we just lazed around at the apartment and did some grocery shopping.

Hong Kong- Day 1

After leaving at 2am and enduring a 14 hour flight where I slept maybe 5 hours, we arrived in Hong Kong. The first thing I noticed was how thick the air was with humidity.. it wasn't too entertaining listening to myself wheeze, but I got used to it eventually.
After all the usual airport stuff, we were driven to my cousin Stevens' place and rested for a few hours before we set out on foot ( I haven't slept yet ) and spent until 5pm trekking around Central. My dad and Gma bought new digital cameras to replace their old ones and not only were they ridiculously cheap, but they came with mini-tripods, extra batteries, protective screen and Hello Kitty mugs! I was so in awe of this.. I went ahead and bought an extra battery for $8CAD. Today was aaall touristing.

12 days

Update! Our entire month-long trip and been completely reserved and so you can accurately follow me and know where I am, any day.


Our trip starts off on Jan. 30, my family and I will be leaving around 3pm to go to my auntie Sandys' on the way we'll pick up my Grandma Helen at Horsebay Terminal and continue on our way to Delta. Once we arrive, we'll be having dinner and doing whatever until 9pm, when my auntie and uncle Len will drive us to the YVR airport in Richmond. I'm going to assume you know what happens at airports so after that we'll be waiting around until our flight leaves at 2am.


We'll arrive at the HKG airport at 8am on Feb. 1 and will be transported ( tbd ) to my Uncle Stevens' apartment in The Peak. After 3 nights in Hong Kong, we'll be departing by plane.


Arriving at the HKT airport around lunch we'll be driven to our Belleville Apartment that is conveniently 1km, 12 minute walk, from Patong Beach. 9 days later we will be traveling a half an hour to our next destination.


In Rowai Beach, were staying in Coconut Paradise in a villa for a week then driving a good 3 hours to the next town.


Surat Thani is our next stop. We're not staying long, just enough to catch the next train out.




After a 4 hour train ride, we'll get to Ban Krut and stay at the Ban Krut Resort, right on the beach! for a week. Then a 5 hour train ride to our 3rd last stop.


Our Bangkok stay will be for 4 days and we'll be residing at the Prince Palace.


Leaving on March. 3rd we'll be taking the 3 hour plane ride back to Hong Kong where we'll be staying only a hour until our next flight comes. Fun fact, were leaving at 4.45pm from Hong Kong and arriving 12.30pm in Vancouver. Time travel? I think so!

25 days

As of yesterday our flights have been booked and are as follows;

Departing from Vanouver at 2:00am, Jan. 31

Arriving in Hong Kong at 7:50am, Feb. 1

13.50 hours

Departing from Hong Kong at 8:55am, Feb. 4

Arriving in Phuket at 11:35am, same day

3.40 hours

Departing from Bangkok at 11:55am, Mar. 3

Arriving in Hong Kong at 3:35pm, same day

2.40 hours

Departing from Hong Kong at 4:45pm, same day

Arriving in Vancouver at 12:30pm, same day.

11.45 hours

We haven't booked anywhere to stay yet in Thailand, but I have an uncle who lives in Hong Kong, hence the 3 day stop.

28 days

My dad had started planning the trip earlier, but the possibility of renting a place fell through so we had to start all over again. Today, my dad called a travel company that took care of his Airmiles and was on the phone for at least an hour trying to book a flight for six people. My family + my grandma. Apart from my mom and dad, Laura and Nigel. I have two little brothers, Jackson (11) and Geordie (15) who will all be going on the trip! 

31 days

In February of 2010, to get away from the ridiculous amount of attention Squamish is getting due to the Olympics in Whistler, my family and I are escaping for a month to Thailand!


I know so far that we'll be stopping in Phuket and Hong Kong for sure and the beaches look beautiful! Where we are going to go in Thailand isn't set yet, my dad has been emailing a ton of differant resorts and villas asking about accomadation and rates, I hope we can stay somewhere with a proper toilet and shower. From what I've read, the toilets are nothing but holes in the ground.