Sights of Phi Phi

These freaky mannequins are in every store! Don't come here if you're afraid of clowns, you won't be able to sleep/shop lol.

No Earthquake here!

So I think it's day 6 here for me on Phi Phi. Even though I have my phone it doesn't really matter what day it is so I keep forgetting. I had planned to head over to Krabi but delayed it a few days as I've befriended a couple of Albertan girls (which is also why I haven't written as much, we've been running around keeping busy) who are heading over to Krabi and Raleigh beach themselves and then one is leaving and I'm going to travel with the one staying for a few more days before I fly back to Bangkok on the 20th.

So tonight will be my last night on Phi Phi, but I'm happy to move on. My guest house hasn't had water since last night, the toilets are full and we have to brush our teeth with bottled water. Thankfully the Albertan girls are going to let me use their shower, two days of salt and sweat is not pleasant. My guesthouse experience has been interesting: I did meet two nice girls from Vancouver Island, but have determined that you pretty much need to be drunk to get a good nights sleep or change your sleeping hours from 4pm to 3am. Last night I tried sleeping with my headphones in and music on, slightly better. Although some drunk guy woke me up by falling of his top bunk around 3am and stumbling to the corner to relieve himself. Yup. Surely the window must be open I thought to myself as I tried to go back to sleep. To the extreme malfortune of the people sleeping near there, I discovered this morning that nope, there is definitely no open window.

Walking around Phi Phi you can tell people come here to party. In two days I'd seen enough broken feet, arms, bandaged limbs, broken noses and bruises to laugh about it. (Don't worry, I only have a couple of bruises :P) The rest of these people are nuts! The music is really good here, you can't help but want to go dance. But after a couple of nights of buckets I think I'm done drinking for awhile lol. I wonder also many of the injuries come from the boxing at Reggae Bar. Last night some girl actually knocked another one out! She got up after and seemed to be ok.

I'm just finishing up my lunch then me and the Albertan girls and two Chicago guys we met are going to hike the viewpoint then watch Hangover 2 at the Banana Bar (the rooftop bar/resto) tonight. We plan to be on the 9am boat to Krabi tomorrow and head straight to Raleigh beach. Pictures to follow (see above)

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A Phi Phi Sunset

At the end of the tour we hung out for the sunset and shared some whiskey redbull buckets. The longer I stay here, the more I see parallels between Thailand and Jamaica. The one thing I liked better about Jamaica though is that everyone there spoke English so you had the ability to get to know the people, learn about their lives and have some really interesting conversations. Here very few people speak enough English to have a basic conversation, and half the time they don't understand the small things you're trying to ask (contrary to what many guide books say). I miss that connection. I hope some of the other places I visit will have it.

The not-so-secluded "Beach" aka Maya Beach

I went on a long tail boat tour yesterday (the wooden boats in the pic) to monkey beach then snorkeling and then hung out at Maya Beach for four hours. It's really beautiful but quite hilarious how many boats and people they cram into this tiny bay.

Best Pre-Beach Spot

This is the reggae bar where you can box your friends or someone else for a free bucket of booze. Really entertaining and don't even have to win to get the free booze lol

A day of new experiences

So I finally made it to Ko Pi Pi, and is it ever gorgeous! Tall rocky cliffs with crystal blue water. Touristy though, and a bit dirty (there's garbage floating in the ocean in places). I had a hell of a time finding a place to stay as there are floods in some of the other islands. Ended up paying 900 bhat for a three bedroom room to myself. Ugh. Oh well, sort of nice the first night. Got a dorm for 250 tomorrow. Made some friends at another guest house that let me on their free wifi :) off to have dinner with them.

Ps saw my first ladyboy today (they are NOT prettier than the girls, whoever told me that) and experienced my first bucket flush toilet today- a very difficult procedure to master. I guess you get more accomplished at it? Lol A day of new experiences :)

Off to a beach party later if I can stay up. Still haven't slept since I left home lol.

Love to you all xo

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Hello from Japan! (well, the airport anyhow)

3:30pm- Narita, Japan
Dead tired but cheerful as there is blue sky and sunshine here in Japan :) I've only been away from Canada for 11 or so hours, but so far I've discovered:

1. Lara bars make it through customs (woot!)
2. I am an amazing packer. Sleeping bag, Lara bar and toothbrush have made this extended day much more enjoyable!
3. There is no such thing as gluten free, dairy free meals on Japan airlines
4. The JAL staff are really nice :)

Three hours into my flight I discovered there was no meal I could eat (even though flight centre requested this, it actually doesn't exist) the nice JAL staff scrounged up everything they could find for me to eat. I had a bowl of rice, fruit, and two jars of baby food- one apple sauce and one unknown vegetable - two bowls of "salad" aka lettuce and carrot from a bag with no dressing and and unknown fish type patty from a vacuum sealed bag lol. So far I'm still alive lol. They were so apologetic about it and when I got off the flight there was a man from JAL waiting for me with a sign with my name on it. He worked with me to figure out how to ensure I had food to eat on my next flight and my return one in April :)

Anyhow, I'm off in search of rice noodles and will leave you with this lovely picture of the multi-functional toilets here in the airport: