Tsunami Survivor

The next stop on our tour was Railay.  A rock climbers paradise with deep water soloing and breathtaking views.  Thoroughly excited, I load our crew of four up on a boat on a nice sunny day… wind blowing in our hair… wait, why is the boat stopped? … why are people putting on life jackets? … TSUNAMI??? WHAT!!??  Yes, yours truly was stuck on a boat when the warnings went out.  Although no waves came from the 8.6 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia, we were still rerouted to Krabi and I missed my climbing trip.  Fortunately, Krabi was a good time, we found an amazing hostel called Pak-Up (maybe the nicest one I have ever stayed at.. check out the link!), and I brought out my traveling alter-ego “Le Stache” (picture below).  Our trip there included Ryan getting a sweet tattoo and the beginning of Songkran, the Thai New Year.

We decided to spend Songkran on Patong Beach.  Although it is not the greatest place, it is a hub for travelers and has a lot of locals as well.  However, the main reason I wanted to go was to harass lady boys.  You see Songkran is basically an all-out water fight.  It doesn’t matter if it is Thai vs. Thai, Thai vs. American, Man vs. Woman, Adult vs. Child, or Bryan vs. a Lady Boy… you can shoot each other and splash as much as you want.  Patong Beach is pretty terrible in my opinion.  It is crowded, full of old men and lady boys, and expensive.  I was pretty adamant about getting out of there so we headed to PhuketTown which was actually great, full of culture, art, and much quieter.  We stayed at a very nice hotel called Ananas which was the cleanest, and most quaint hostel I’ve ever seen.  They had a movie room which we took full advantage of and enjoyed relaxing in at night.

After Phuket we are headed north to Chiang Mai!  I’ll post again in a week I guess!

 

"Le Stache"

Ryan getting his first tattoo.  Bamboo on the ribs is probably not the best way to start!

Water Fight!

On the bus to Phuket Town.  Loved the rotating fans and mirrors on the ceiling.

Sweet dragon fountain in Phuket Town

My favorite graffiti so far (in Phuket Town)