Back in Bangkok

So post turning 28 what a wild ride Crystal has had haha. She says that each day brings an adventure, even if we don't do anything, something strange or noteworthy seems to happen!

On the 29th we spent a fair amount of money! The one thing that I wanted to do while we were here was to buy a hammock. And we saw an ad for this Mr. Moon and his Hammock place. It was on the way to Haad Rin and we wanted to check Haad Rin out pre-Full Moon Party anyway. So we got up & ready & started to walk. It is 11km to Haad Rin from our hotel. We walked about 5 or 6 to Mr. Moon's and then we hung out with him trying all the different hammocks. I wanted to buy from him because they are made by a Thai tribe to make money for the tribe. Plus they were really great & came in loads of colours, which I haven't found other places. Crystal got a sitting hammock & I got an Family Size one, so that once it's set up I dont' have to lie in it alone . :) hahaha But the silly thing was that we then had to carry them around all day! We stopped for lunch nearby Mr. Moon's and then we walked another 3 or so kms. But by then it was about 1:30pm and hella hot, and the road went up a mountain, so we were dripping with sweat and decided to hop into the next taxi that drove by. Haad Rin was a lot more upscale touristy, everything was more expensive & people weren't willing to barter. It is just a tiny little place that is party central all the time. But loads of dive shops, so Crystal found one that she liked the vibe of & booked her dive for the next day out to Sail Rock, which is supposed to have some of the best diving in Thailand. After a little shopping, we hightailed it back to Thongsala (via taxi) to get some cheap grub and have a quiet night thinking about all the money that was gone. After that it was bed time because Crystal had an early morning!

Got up at 6:30 & Crystal got ready. I roused myself enough to braid her hair & to eat some brekky with her, and then she left for the day & I sacked out for another couple hours. When I finally got up at 9ish I got ready & hit the beach for a serious tanning day. I was there for about 4 hours. Then I went to eat so I didn't pass out, and dropped off my laundry to be washed. After I ate, I headed back to the beach & that is where Crystal found me when she returned from her day! Her say was great, I was a bit sad I had to miss out, but I wasn't willing to pay to get my certification at this time & you had to be certified. But she met some cool people, got some confidence in her diving & saw some really cool things. Almost everything that the brochure said she might see, she did!! I was tired from laying baking in the sun & she was tired from her 2 dives. So we went to have some dinner, looked in a couple of shops for items we were debating & decided yes, no, or it was already gone. While we were eating dinner, well right after I finished, a gecko wandered by on the ceiling above us & pooped on me. Kinda like a little hamster pellet - a bit smaller than that, but it was like a little gecko bullet! So now I am wondering if it is good luck, like when a bird craps on your head - or if he just didn't like me! :) Then we had dessert, and then we found about about getting out to Haad Rin for New Years the following evening & crashed out in bed

New Years Eve we went into town to search for some cheap clothes to wear to the Full Moon Party b/c if you get the glow in the dark paint on you then you can't get it off the clothing. I bought some shorts & Crystal bought a tank. We found a couple more things & then hit the beach for a couple hours. I went & picked up my laundry. Then we lay in the room for a bit, we were a little reddish. And then dinner time. Then we went to 7/11 to get Red Bull & Beer to start off our evening. Hung out on the beach drinking our beer & watching a fireshow & then went to jump in the taxi. The Full Moon Party was EFFING AWESOME! It was funny, I was telling Crystal how we would probably get attention from drinking the beer because in most other countries chicks don't drink beer & one of the first people to talk to us once we hit the beach was a guy who said, "Are you Canadian? Girls who drink beer are awesome". It was funny. When we got to Haad Rin we bought some body paint & some wrist bands, paid our way onto the beach, grabbed another beer & walked the length of the beach to check it out. Went up to this bar/hostel built into a mountainside, went pee. Crystal nearly got taken out by a drunk 40+ man who was stumbling about (10pm and already couldn't walk!), a guy walking behind me moved his hands up & down my waist & told me that I had a beautiful shape. There was a guy who had "Kiss Me Full Moon 2010" or something on his back so I kissed his cheek for a photo op & then he told me to that I was the first & last who would do it. I just laughed & walked away. We went down to the beach to paint each other up. We were worried it was going to be insanely busy, but we were loving it. Not too crowded at all. Crystal got "Canadian Girls Love Aussies" on her arms & I got "I heart Thailand". And then an aussie bloke came up to us & wanted some paint, then intro'd us to his friends (we are pretty sure their names were Travis, Scott, Chris, Jay & Cat). And we spent the rest of the night hanging out with them. Drinking buckets, eating food at the buffet, sending off wish lanterns, getting hit by a stray firework, Crystal & Travis built a sand castle. Scott & Chris were both fun & chatty. They had hats on & we got a few photos of Crystal & I wearing them. All 3 of the guys did pretty well handling what a mouthpiece I can be. I don't think I offended anyone ;) We danced a bit, talked a bit...it was pretty good times. All in all - for two girls who were worried they wouldn't make it thru the night or even enjoy it - it was amazing. The beach wasn't as crowded as we were worried it might be, everyone was in really great spirits, I didn't get tired at all. Crystal had fun, even tho she didn't even want to go at the beginning of the night. We lost two of the guys at the end of the night, but walked Travis back to his ferry. Then we caught the taxi home. Crystal lost a flip flop again, but had found one that was the same size as hers on the beach. On the way back I realized that I had lost our room key. So we waited in the restaurant/lounge area with some other people at the hotel. One guy & I tried to break into our room, but had no luck. Then I went to go & check something & my thongs were gone! Someone had jacked them..and they were fully on their last legs, so I was choked. So he went with me looking on everyone's decks/porches to see if I could find them - but no luck there either. Waited until 8:30am or so when the ladies showed up for work & got let into our room. Crystal passed out, I had a shower and at 8:44am I closed my eyes. Slept for about 4.5 hrs & then tackled the day. LOL We feel fully that we are machines hahaha

New Years Day we got up & ready. Went to get some food into our bellies. Feeling a little boozy & a lot tired we went to get pedicures. $5 pedicures. A little dodgy, a lot different, but our toes are pretty & it was a couple of hours laying around in air-con being pampered! Then I walked into town barefoot. All I had were my new Keen's & they have toe protection & I didn't want to wreck my toes. So I bought some havaianas & was having a pretty good night! Stopped at the food market & loaded up for dinner, and we walked back to our room. Spent a bit of time online & then had an early night because we were leaving the next morning to go to Bangkok. As we were falling asleep I was hearing noises!! It was some kind of rodent. I think a rat, but Crystal thinks mouse for her piece of mind. But it was nibbling on the top of her pringles can...so I think rat. But when I turned the light on it scared it. I started jumping on the beds & moving them around, but couldn't find a rat, a hole or anything. So we but all the food up high & tried to sleep. We heard it a couple more times, but slept a bit. The next morning, up & ready & packed & I opened the door...someone had stolen Crystal's mismatched thongs & my new ones! We found one of Crystal's and another one that she fit. So she wore those & I wore me Keen's. So we've decided the thongs are coming indoors with us, too bad about customs! I don't want to buy anymore!

Then we got the taxi to the pier where it was a complete gong show. Loaded onto the ferry. Got to sit outside on the deck. Sore butt & pretty major sunburn. Yuck! And then 4 hours later we pulled into Surat Thani. Waited there for a couple of hours, ate some of the buffet & chilled out until the bus came. Loaded onto the bus & from 6pm - 3:30am we were on the bus. We had one stop along the way to pee & stretch & eat, that was around 10pm. It was good. Met a couple of really cool Irish guys, Collum & Paddy. They are headed the same direction as us, so we might see them again here in Bangkok, or later in Siem Reap. Either way they gave us a hook up with a guy they did the trekking with up in Chang Mai, so that was awesome. Crystal got about 4 hrs of sleep on the bus, I didn't get any. I was feeling pretty rugged when we rolled up into town & piled into a taxi. Took the taxi to our hotel, who of course said "um, check in isn't until 10am". We said "that's ok, we'll sleep on your couch". So after about half an hour he located a room & we went up. I washed my face & applied aloe because I was a bit sore & then we crawled into bed. It was about 4:30am & we got up today at 9am because we had things to do before heading out tomorrow to Cambodia!

So now we're back in Bangkok, running errands & getting things we need. Bought new thongs & are catching everyone up online :) Photos to come soon on Facebook for sure, and hopefully some on here for those of you who don't check Facebook --- B!!!

Love you all!