Reflection of Sorts

My adventures in Southeast Asia have come to a close for now. I realized that I haven't blogged about my experience in Thailand, so I will try to sum up the incredible memories I will carry with me from that two week trip.
We left Jaipur, heading to Delhi. Our van consisted of a mixture of students that were going back to the States, and some that were headed to Kerala (in the southern part of India). It was bittersweet- I was leaving a place I was just getting acquainted with, but knew I would soon be home.

Me and Magy decided early on in the program that we wanted to go to Thailand. She did most of the travel planning, and it was nice to relax and tag along. The consensus was that we were going to spend the majority of our time on the beach, decompressing from the chaos that had surrounded us since January. We stayed true to that agreement, and thoroughly enjoyed some rest and relaxation. The islands we visited were: Phuket, Kho Phi Phi, Kho Samui, and Kho Phangen. My favorite island was Kho Phi Phi. It was incredibly small, and no motorized vehicles were allowed. So people either walked or bikes around the island. Foreigners were prevalent, but I was surprisingly at ease being a tourist. I had tried for so long to integrate into a culture, that I found myself exhausted by the time my India travels were over. It was time to relax, wear swimsuits and skirts, go out at night, and forget about any restrictions that I faced in India.

In Kho Phi Phi, we beached it by day with drinks in our hand, and danced seaside by night. There were bars along some parts of the beaches, with music pounding and fire dancers providing entertainment. We met so many people at night- many from Australia, the UK, and some Americans (a few of which were using their unemployment to travel- good idea). Here are a few pictures from Kho Phi Phi:




Some highlights from the islands were:
1. Ladyboys! Some were more beautiful than natural-born women.


2. Getting a tattoo from a shady looking shop with cats running freely, and the artist drinking beer while working. Those boys were quite entertaining with their broken English, humor, and early 90's rap music.


3. Spending my 27th birthday on the beach, drinking pina coladas, going to a Muai Thai event, and dancing like crazy. This photo is me having my first drink on my birthday.


4. Motorbiking through the jungle, only to find a waterless waterfall (it was right before monsoon season), and almost getting major injuries from wiping out. Here is Magy's injury and a photo of our trek in the jungle.




Only one night was spent in Bangkok before heading on the long flight home. The city has alot to offer, and I would like to come back and explore. Here's a photo from property owned by parliament.


I was teary-eyed when our flight took off to Delhi. Thailand was so relieving for me, and the combination of people and scenery made me promise myself to return.