California Love

There's a reason why so many songs are written about California.  It's the greatest place to live in the whole entire world and I return there tonight!  I leave Thailand at 7:30 pm May 25, 2011 and I arrive in LA at 9:35 pm May 25, 2011.  Point: time change

I flew from Bali into Bangkok yesterday and enjoyed a flight that is the quarter of the length of my flight tonight.  Caught a cab and made my way back to Amarin Mansion where I spent the night and got to say goodbye to some of the amazing people I've met on exchange.  I also ate at Tom Yum Lady's for the last time.  I will miss her soup, so much.

I also packed up all my stuff from my Island/Bali trip.  Yikes.  Both my suitcases are a couple kilos over the weight limit for my class but not the maximum weight limit, so I'm hoping I can get away with it without overage fees.  Crossing my fingers for some of that Thai generosity and "mai pen rai" philosophy.

My time in Bangkok has been amazing.  I love Thailand and suggest that EVERYONE make it a priority to see this wonderful country.  The culture here is fascinating and it really affects you.  I haven't lost my temper once this whole semester, simply because it's not the Thai way.

I will always be so, so, so happy and grateful that I decided to go on exchange.  I didn't go away from home for college, so experiencing something so new and different has been thrilling.  Being away has also helped me appreciate my home and where I'm from so much more.

To conclude this travel blog about my adventures in Thailand, I must recap some of my favorite places that I visited.  I enjoyed all of my trips, really, but these few stand out.

Angkor Wat

Ubud, Bali

Patara Elephant Farm

Vang Vieng
(sadly, no pictures)

All of the islands: Koh Chang, Koh Phangnan, Railay Beach, and Koh Phi Phi Don/Lei

I've also learned more than I could ever list, but I have compiled a few points to leave you with.

Europeans party harder and smarter than any other culture.
French is the new universal language, not English.
The world's best pad thai can be got for less than 1 USD.
Tom Yum Kung is a magical soup, curing hangover, illness, and hunger.
My soulmate is, in fact, Italian.
Only Southern Californians know what real Mexican food is.
In Europe, being in college at the age of 23 is not only acceptable, but normal.
You can sunburn your hair.
Thai people are the friendliest form of Asians.
Belgian people think Kone is an acceptable name (pronounced like the derogatory term).
No matter where you go in the world, there are always people less fortunate than the least fortunate.
Laos is communist.
France may have had a greater international impact than Great Britain.
Thailand currency: Baht; Vietnam currency: Dong; Cambodia currency: Riel; Laos currency: Kip; Indonesia currency: Rupiah
There's more to Canada than just increased book prices and a better view of the Falls, but barely.
There are more Buddhist temples in the city of Bangkok than Mormon temples in the whole state of Utah (not a fact, just my assumption).
How to recognize a tropical storm 5 minutes or less before it's start. 1) There will be a giant, black cloud of death above you or really close by.  2) The wind will have increased exponentially from moments before.  3) Your animalistic instinct tells you to bolt.
Skägg is the Swedish word for beard.  It's pronounced nothing like how it's spelled and is impossible to say.
"And me, I still believe in Paradise.  But now at least, I know it's not some place you can look for.  Because it's not where you go, it's how you feel for a moment in your life when you're a part of something, and if you find that moment - it lasts forever."

Bali - the only kind of nature acceptable to walk in.

Here I am in beautiful Bali, Indonesia and I'm sick.  More on that later.  For now, let me entertain, or hope to entertain, you with the loveliness that is this "tiny" island in the South Pacific.

For my last and final trip in Southeast Asia, I leave.  Ironic.  I classify Bali as the South Pacific.  First, because I love that musical and wanted to say the name.  Second, because this island is so totally different from anywhere I've been in Southeast Asia that it can't be classified in the same region.  The climate is cooler, the beaches are completely changed (very similar to socal beaches, in fact), and the greenery is all unrecognizable.

On first arriving, we headed to our guesthouse, picked out by two exchange boys who had checked in the day before.  Never again will I trust 2 twenty-something boys to chose living accommodations.  Rarely, do they have any acceptable standards of living.  The place was gross, I mean the grossest place I've stayed while on exchange, but the town--Kuta--was sweet.   It's totally a beachy, party town, similar to Huntington Beach actually.

I almost immediately dropped my bags, changed, and headed for some more beach time.  The boys had decided to go to Uluwatu beach about 30 minutes south of where we were staying.  I went with them and, let me tell you, traveling on motorbike for half an hour is painful.  No one tells you that.

I was slightly disappointed by Uluwatu beach.  Not because it lacked anything in terms of beauty, but because it was my first experience at a beach where there is strictly surfing and no swimming due to geological obstacles.  We sort of sat in the water for a half an hour before getting food and leaving.  We instead chose a beach closer to Kuta for our sunset, and though it was very cloudy, it was still lovely.

Uluwatu Beach

That night we enjoyed the nightlife available in Kuta, which is impressive.  Southern Bali did not disappoint with its promise of surf, sand, and fun.  But because of the place we were staying and our previous week of beach time, myself and the other USC exchange student opted to head north to Ubud the next day for a much quieter, more relaxing experience.

Ubud is absolutely amazing.  If you've seen or read Eat, Pray, Love, that's the city she refers to.  It is my favorite city I've visited and has there's much culture, the city is bursting from the seams with it.

We arrived at our desired hotel, but they were all booked for the night, so we looked for a different place to stay.  We headed across the street and started stopping at random locations.  We found somewhere that was satisfactory and were shown two rooms there.  One, the deluxe, was 70 USD per night and out of our price range.  The other, was 55 USD and would do more than suit us for the evening.  We had to go get our bags and upon returning to the lobby were greeted by the manager or owner, I'm not sure, and invited to sit down for a talk.  Turns out, he wanted to fill the deluxe room for as long as he could and was willing to negotiate the price.  Just by being honest and saying 55 USD was our absolute limit, we got that price.  I have never experienced such a nice, honest negotiation.

And the room was amazing, let me just tell you.  We had double sliding glass doors, a white, billowing mosquito net, and a bathroom you could run laps in.  I have never been so happy or excited to enter a hotel room.  That night we just relaxed and got Mexican food.

Our Terrace

Breakfast delivered every morning.

The next day I toured the town and fell absolutely in love with it.  There are arts and crafts everywhere: paintings, art galleries, wood shops, you name it.  I also went to the Monkey Forest, which is a holy place for the Balinese.  The monkeys are considered to be descendants of something that I can't remember and were definitely more well behaved than those Lopburi monsters.

Entry to the Monkey Forest

Peaceful monkeys

Ornate carving in the Monkey Forest

Due to weather restrictions, aka it started POURING rain, I headed back and awaited the arrival of some more exchange students.  When they came I rented a bike and rode around town, visiting the market and a local palace.  However, my day was again ended when the brakes on the bicycle broke while I was going downhill.  Not cool.

Ubud Market

The following day consisted of an adventure to temples and religious sites around the area.  We visited Gunung Kwai, which is a burial site for a first millennium king and his wives.  You have to walk down 370 stairs into this beautiful valley with amazing rice fields.  However, you also have to walk up those 370 stairs, so after our first site I was exhausted.  This was also the day I started feeling sick, which added negatively to that miserable climb.

Rice paddies on the way down to Gunung Kwai

Burial site

I was surprised to find a working fountain.

Next was Tirta Empul, Bai's holiest temple.  It has an ancient pool where hot springs can be seen bubbling up.  It's also where the Balinese go to purify and cleanse themselves.  I liked it a lot.  I thought it was an interesting introduction to an Indonesian/Hindu temple.

Giant coy outside Tirta Empul

Pool with the hot springs

Hot springs

Bathing Pool

Our final stop was Goa Gajah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site nominee.  The mainly photographed place here is a cave with an ornately carved entrance depicting a demon's mouth.  What most places don't tell you is if you walk behind this huge building you can go down a few stairs and enter into this serene, nature filled, mini valley that looks exactly like what the Garden of Eden must have looked like.  I was definitely surprised and amazed at this place.  It totally blew all of my expectations out of the water.

Demon Mouth Cave

This day was made even more magical by a proposal!  Yes, an engagement took place right before my eyes and I got to help!

One of the exchange student's boyfriends had joined her for her last two months in SE Asia.  They've been dating for almost five years and she graduated this semester so the timing was definitely prime.  While I took the future fiance out to the cultural sites, my roommate in our amazing deluxe suite helped the boyfriend prepare for a precious scavenger hunt.  At the end, the two of us filmed his proposal.  It was amazing to see and I could not have been more happy for them.

The hut where he proposed!

Unfortunately, the next day proved to be extremely uneventful because the full force of my sickness hit me.  I stayed in our resort all day, drinking water and trying to feel better.  It was my last day in Ubud and I tried to rally, but I simply couldn't.

The next day, we left Ubud and the other USC exchange student was taken to the airport.  I got dropped off at a hotel near where we stayed in Kuta and am just biding my time before heading back to Bangkok tomorrow.  It's a bummer I can't do everything I wanted to do, but hey, I got to go to Bali so I can't really complain.

I'll be in Bangkok for about 24 hours and then I head HOME to the Golden State.  I am very, very excited to go home and am definitely ready, even though I know I'll want to be back in Thailand a week after returning home.  Exchange has been amazing and this trip confirmed for me that EVERYONE needs to make going to SE Asia a priority.  These places are too beautiful and too amazing to miss out on.

Mai Pen Rai

Mai pen rai is the Thai phrase for "don't worry, be happy" and it has never been more true than in the southern islands.  They're beautiful, relaxed, and serene.

We left for Railay Beach which is near the coast of Krabi on the morning of Thursday May 12.  We got there and were greeted by the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.  We found a place to stay, which was very nice, and headed straight for the nearest body of water, our pool.  We enjoyed two nights out together and the fact that drinks come in bucket size was my mortal enemy.

Railay Beach

After a few days of sun and sand and maybe a few sunburns later we headed for Koh Phi Phi.  Koh Phi Phi is the most famous of the southern islands.  It's notoriously beautiful and it did not disappoint.  We spent our first afternoon on Long Beach (not Snoopp's hometown).  Every night on the trip we had what I like to think of as family dinners.  We shared meals and stories and enjoyed each other's company for the last few days we had together.  One of our lunches we ate at Ciao Bella so I had the Italian exchange student order for me and she got me Thaitella (spelling?) Bolognaise.  Delicious.  Seriously, try it if you get the chance.

Koh Phi Phi Don beach opposite the pier.

Distance between Koh Phi Phi Don and Lei

Koh Phi Phi Lei from Long Beach. 

On my third day in Koh Phi Phi our group rented out a private speed boat to tour Koh Phi Phi Lei.  Koh Phi Phi Don is the main island that everyone stays on and is the larger of the sister islands.  Koh Phi Phi Lei has no places to stay and is the island made famous in the film The Beach.  Koh Phi Phi Lei is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  Maya Bay is the beach from The Beach and I was amazed by that, but my favorite place was this lagoon like place our boat driver took us.  He had to navigate through about 50 feet of shallow water to a deeper place that was surrounded by the most beautiful rock.

Maya Bay

On our way into the "lagoon" 

The deeper part of the lagoon.

Today, Tuesday May 17, I arrived in Phuket.  It's an island but doesn't have the Koh in front of it because it's so large it's almost impossible to believe you're on an island.  I"m definitely underwhelmed by Phuket so far.  We're only here for the night and then on to Bali for last adventure before coming home.

Chang: it's more than a beer, it's a magnificent animal.

So my ADPi sistaaa leaves me, and so did my distraction.  As an unbelievable amount of work was upon me I realized something and felt a lot better.  My philosophy: put in two nights worth of work to cover two months.  I can do that.  And I did.

The last week in April was my last week of classes and things went pretty smoothly.  To celebrate that Thursday, we attended the farewell dinner for BBA Exchange students at a rooftop restaurant in Bangkok.  The view was insane and there was a buffet.  Magic happened.

View from the restaurant.

Some of the BBA ladies.

The next day the other girl from USC on exchange and I went back to Chiang Mai (merely two weeks after leaving) to have a day with elephants!!  It was one of the greatest things I've ever done, and was absolutely necessary.  Thailand's symbol is an elephant, and they've even named my favorite beer here, Chang, after them.  We started the day early when they picked us up from our hostel and took us to their elephant farm.  They run this whole place to enhance the life of rescued elephants.

We were elephant owners for the day, so the day started off with us meeting them and feeding them a whole basket of fruit.  Then we cleaned and bathed them.  Afterwards we mounted the elephants to go on our first hike.  Mine was the only one with a full tusks, so he put them to the ground and lifted me onto his head with his trunk.  If I didn't already know we were soulmates, that would have sealed the deal.  We took them to this waterfall where I got to swim with my elephant!  Also, his name was Boonpak.

After our buffet lunch we took another long hike through the woods and then we got a short break.  During this break the three babies and their mamas were out to play and I died 8 times because they were so adorable.

After the break we learned a new way of riding the elephants and took them for a final walk before saying goodbye with a basket full of bananas.  As the owner of the farm explained, every part of our day is used to enhance the lives of the elephants.  The long walks through jungle terrain give them the chance to exercise, eat food in different places, and file their toe nails down.  The bath is for skin care.  It was honestly, one of the best days of my life.  If you get the opportunity to ride an elephant in their natural setting you should absolutely do it, no matter the cost.

Oh, and fun fact, when we walked next to the elephants and led them, we had to hold onto their ears.  So precious.

I was only in Chiang Mai for a day.  We took a night bus back to Bangkok, and two days later my friends from Hong Kong arrived.  I got to spend three days with them and it was great to see someone from home.  On our first night out we went to Khao San and got drinks at the "Golf Bar Cocktail" place.  I posted a picture of it forever ago.  It's the one with the hilarious yellow sign.  Anyway, while we were sitting there, a boy I met in Hanoi walked up and said hello.  It was so awesome/strange/exhilarating to see someone I had met elsewhere in SE Asia in my hometown.

The Hong Kong Boys as they will heretofore be known, myself, and four other exchange students went and saw Deadmau5, a world renowned DJ, on May 4th and it was one of the most epic nights of my life.  Not only did Deadmau5 kill it, but because we were in Thailand, we got to be at the very front and see his lights and mask up close.  On the way home, we got caught in a tropical rain storm and were drenched.

Now I'm buckling down for finals.  Gross.  Everyone here seems to have intense finals schedules.  I only have one on the 10th so I've had plenty of time to not study for it.  I move out on May 11th (in 4 days!) and leave the next day to start my traveling adventures.  This means I have to simultaneously study for my final AND pack.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I'll get it done.