Two Buckets Of Ugly

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Now, we are back in Virginia and happy to be here. We can finally enjoy eating pizza with the left hand, brushing our teeth with sink water, and putting dirty tissues in the toilet instead of the trash. Travelling itself, as in getting from one place to another, can be exhausting and sometimes not a whole lot of fun, but taking a running leap off of the cliffs in Lima for our first paraglide, munching deep fried cricket for a late night snack in Bangkok (Mmmm, barbecuey!), and browsing for fugu at Tsukiji fish market are so impossibly fun that its totally worth it. Moving on, we hang with family and work until we have enough to do it again. I got my eye on you, Latvia!

A 7-Eleven Guide To The Islands

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We spent the past 10 nights enjoying the reliable A/C at Tommy Resort (A, Location, pool, breakfast, and people make this one a real winner) and the days gawking at the beautiful people getting burnt on the soft sands of Haad Rin Nok beach. Never have I seen such a collection of swimsuit calendar candidates in greater concentration. And yes, I'm talking about you too, Mr. Italian guy playing volleyball in his bikini underwear. I'll admit, you ARE fit, I just wish you could afford pants. Also, I think I may have to move to Israel after this week. With all of the signs and menus in Hebrew and everyone being all golden brown and hot, it feels like we're vacationing in Tel Aviv. I never knew I loved falafel and hummus so much.
In addition to the reliably awesome Thai staples (red, green and panang curries, laab moo, papaya salad and glass noodle salad), we've been loading up on chicken schnitzel sandwiches. These things are a-ma-zing. My life was empty before I found salvation and, apparently, it comes crispy and delicious on a bun. We've been flirting with getting a fryer for home ever since the first one.
In between feedings, we also managed to get out a bit. One day, we took a catamaran over to Ko Tao and Ko Nangyuan for a day of impressive snorkeling and another we explored the beaches around Ko Phangnan. Turns out, most of these beaches that are supposed to be deserted, aren't.
Now, home is not so far away. Tomorrow we ferry/bus it to Bangkok for a day of fruit shakes and drug shopping. Then its two short flights back to Dulles (via Tokyo). I think I'm finally ready to appreciate the reliability of Applebee's.

Ninja Crepes

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It's funny how hard we work at selecting the ideal vacation. After a month bouncing around Vietnam, we were eager to find the perfect place to do absolutely nothing.
Our search began on Phuket, an island off of the west coast of Thailand (Southern Fried Rice, B+, nice large rooms, suffocatingly friendly owner). We only stayed three days because we failed to note prior to booking our flight that the west coast is in monsoon season. Granted, we didn't get totally wiped out during our stay, but we had enough to confirm that it was best to move over to the sunnier east coast.
That's how we ended up on Koh Samui. At first, we selected the undeveloped beach at Mae Nam and stayed at Tropical Garden Lounge, (B-, nice but tired bungalows not on the beach). Guess what? We don't like complete nothingness. So, after a long day of scootering around this hilly island, we settled on Lamai Wanta Resort (A+, amazingly nice place with infinity pool overlooking the beach) on Lamai Beach. We booked 5 nights, then 5 more, and then 2 more after that. We liked it. A lot. This is THE place I would send people in Thailand. There's enough to hang out, but not too much, with a great beach and lots of activities if you want them. Also, as globe-circling internet cafe connoisseurs, we can safely say that Koh Samui has the best internet cafes anywhere. We're talking fully A/C'd places with comfy executive white leather chairs, flat screens, working headphones, available WC, and the cheapest beer on the island. This is my vision of Valhalla.
And now, we have to outdo Melanie and Jason, who've already been to Koh Samui. So, we're headed one island north to the slightly more exotic Koh Phangan to check out the famous Had Rin beach.