Koh Samui!

Like our grandad said, "just another day in paradise!" We all agreed he would be happy that we're all traveling together :) After a couple days of pure relaxation...we had to leave our fancy resort! Mary and I did decide to treat ourselves one day and go to the spa. We got a body wrap, massage, facial and got to sit in a steam room as apart of the package! Can you tell we like massages?

 

 It was nice to have a few days of just doing nothing. Tuesday night we took a shuttle into town and just walked and walked. I really like this island, we had a lot of fun just sharing food and playing cards on the beach. We stumbled upon a big night market and a night bazzare which had a lot of yummy street food!

Wednesday we woke up and enjoyed the free breakfast at our hotel (which was awesome) and hung out until about 2. We then headed to our hostel which wasn't too bad, pretty centrally located which was nice. It was a very social hostel and we met 10 friendly guys traveling together from South Africa who were super fun! After dinner Mike and Mary decided to go out but I was tired so I went home. We had 3 other roommates, 2 girls from Australia and a guy from Berlin. 

We are now headed to Koh Phi Phi, another island for New Years Eve and New Years Day! I am loving the islands but am getting really excited for Vietnam because a lot of people we meet says it has been their favorite place so far!

Night bizarre! 

Chicken tiki masala and naan!

Nutella and banana crepe!

Seafood in the markets!

Night market.

OUR ROOM!!!

We are staying at the prettiest resort and we got a free upgrade! Our room has its own pool in front and it overlooks the ocean. Not sure how we go back to staying in hostels after this ;) thanks Dad! We ate lunch at the resort and have just been relaxing and tanning since. I love this place! 

Seafood Pasta at lunch!

Our "backyard"

View from the bed!

Koh Tao!

We finally arrived on Koh Tao (An island off Thailand) Christmas afternoon. It was beautiful and all the restaurants were the most beachfront I have ever seen. The next day Mike and I went scuba diving! Mary took a refresher course so she could dive with us later in the trip. We went on 2 dives and they were so pretty because the fish were so tropical. The second dive we didn't have great visibility but we did see a jellyfish!! 

Our family Christmas card!

View from lunch!

Sunset!

Mary and Mike at dinner on the water

Mary and I lighting a lantern on the beach!

Scuba!

Yesterday we just wanted a relaxing day to do nothing. We were planning on going to Shark Cove to snorkel but when we got there, the conditions weren't great and we didn't really know where to go. Instead we hung out at this nice resort all day and just relaxed and played a lot of card games. It was awesome. When we got back to town Mary and I got massages and pedicures and then we all went out to a nice dinner. It was my favorite Thai food we have had so far. We went out after for a few drinks and then went to bed.

Our hostel. We got a roomie from England last night!

Fried fish Mary made us try that was surprisingly really good!

Today we are headed to Koh Samui  which is another island. We have about a 2 hour ferry from where we are now to there. My dad got us a cool hotel to stay in for Christmas so we are excited to be at a resort! I am happy to say that my bug bites are not gone but are finally getting better! After 3 trips to the pharmacy we finally found something that is working.

I made it!

"Cabin crew prepare for landing" were some of the best words I heard after a long day of traveling. It was finally time to see Mary after I almost missed my connecting flight and lost my luggage. It was such an anxious feeling walking into baggage claim and then I saw her.....and the tears started! It was the best feeling in the world. 

The first day in Chiang Mai was a little chaotic because I was so tired and kept getting sick but I did manage to get in an hour massage which only cost about $5. Mary had to go to a special school dinner so we had a plan for me to meet my cousin Mike in a coffee shop because his flight landed a few hours later. Unfortunately, it was delayed so we messaged him a new plan. What we did not know was that his tablet wasn't working so he wasn't receiving any of our messages. Almost 4 hours after he landed, he found us and showed up at Mary's. (Poor Mike)

We woke up the next morning and got ready for the Christmas Parade at Mary's school. In the beginning there was an hour assembly which made me laugh because it was all in Thai. We just hungout with all her teacher friends and literally had no idea what was going on. Another funny observation was at 8:00 every morning, the whole town stops what they are doing (walking, talking, etc) because the King's song plays. Did you know there is 7/11 on about every corner here? So random. 

Rose as Santa in the parade!

Outside of Mary's classroom!

I was very impressed with her school. It was beautiful and has about 7000 students who attend. We marched around the school in the parade and threw candy to all the students. After, her class threw a party and it was so cute to meet her students and see her with them because they just adore her. They call her "Teacher Mary". For lunch we had waffles with hot dogs inside and quail eggs because that is what her teacher aids brought. (Surprisingly good) The students have their Thai names but their parents also choose English names for them. They are hilarious because they don't really know what they translate to....some of my favorite names were Santa, Ferby, Printer and Data. 

In the afternoon we just relaxed. For dinner we finally had our first Thai meal and it was delicious! We ordered Mango Curry, Cow Soi, Pad Thai and a yummy sausage dish. For dessert they brought us out dragon fruit, mango, bananas and pineapple in warm coconut milk. SO GOOD! We also ordered some beers and they brought them out with a cup of ice haha Mary said it is very popular to drink beers on ice here. They drive around these Moto bikes and there aren't really any traffic rules. Mary is such a good driver and I realized I would rather be passenger than try to get around town, it is scary!

Cousin Mike!

Tuesday night we met some of her friends at one of their favorite bars on the river after dinner. We then went to a "lady boy" show which was quite comical and fun! When we got home, I looked at my ankle and had over 30 bites on my feet. My left foot was also very very swollen! I am happy to say it has gone down but the bugs are loving me here because I have bites all over my body. 

Christmas Eve we woke up and met my mom's college roommate, Mary and her family, for breakfast at a restaurant her son works at. We chatted and caught up and then decided to all Moto up the mountain to the most famous temple in Chiang Mai. It was so pretty and overlooked the whole city! After we got some lunch with their family, packed up and got on our plane to Bangkok. Tomorrow we are headed to the islands and have an early flight to catch! I cannot believe it is almost Christmas!!

I'm a college graduate....and I'm going to Thailand today!!

        Well...it is finally here! I am headed to go see Mary for the first time in 18 months! I cried last night skyping her and I cry thinking about it because I am just SO excited! I am taking a red eye tonight and have a 14.5 hour flight into Taiwan. From there I fly into Bangkok and then into Chiang Mai. I leave tonight but will not get to her until Tuesday afternoon so it is going to be a long travel day. Keith surprised my cousin Mike and I with a limo to the airport so we are getting ready and will be taking off soon!