Ko Phangnan

We started as 10. From all over the world. Irish, Dutch, Canadian, American...we came together for one reason: Full Moon Party. Here's our story, choose to believe what you will...

We arrived at Ko Phangnan around 7.30 PM and decided it was a good time to get dinner. After a decent meal on beach watching fire dancers we decided it was time to start getting our groove on. We walked along the beach, which was starting to crowd up, and found a good place to chill out and talk. Then of course, the dancing started and as we were all breaking it down to Beyonce's 'Sweet Dreams' there was a flash of lightening. Really? Is this happening? Of course. It starts to POUR. Right down on all of us. But would that dampen our spirits? Absolutely not! We kept right on going.
After about an hour, the rain subsided and the rain dried. Back to square 1! From there 3 of our party members left to go see other bars. Another 2 boys left to chase after girls. But were still 5! Keeping strong. Until I met a group of Irish girls who LOVED the fact that I was from New York.

Aside: I've decided to say I'm from New York as opposed to DC, Detroit, or Chicago because well...lets face it. It's soooooo cool to drop the New York bomb. And to say you live in Manhattan. I may as well be walking on my head its so big. But the moment asks me an specifics I shout 'I live on 31st and Lexington with my sister!', push them out of the way, and run away. In case they figure out that I moved into the apartment only 1 week before traveling.

So, I left the pack, telling them I'd meet them back in a hour. Did that happen? No of course not. We got so distracted by all the sights that by the time I looked down at my watch it was: 4.00 AM. How did this happen? But I was so tired, so the girls invited me back to their dormotory and I crashed there, promising myself to wake up at 6.00 AM to catch the ferry back. Well, 6.00 AM came and went. I woke up at 12.00 PM realizing that I needed to catch the ferry back to Ko Tao. But where did I put my money?

As a safety percaution, I decided to hide my money in the dorm. I hid it so well, that even I couldn't find it the next morning. One of the girls loaned me some cash and I made my way back to Ko Tao. Disheveled and tired I walked to Buddha View dive resort to find myself the last to arrive from Full Moon Party. I was the lone soldier...the last one..the lone wolf with no pack. I was just an idiot.

But in total, 3 people got mugged (excluding myself, I pretty much mugged myself), 1 person almost got arrested by the cops and had to pay them off, 1 person fell asleep on the pier by himself waiting for the boat, 3 people stayed up all night, 2 people were found on the beach fast asleep face down in the sand, and well 1 beautiful girl missed the ferry. Pretty good though. We all came back safe and sound. That island is comparable to Lost.

Unfortunately no pictures. I only took money and nothing else to the party. For good reason too. But hopefully my story was animated enough.

Oh Thailand, how I've missed you.

I Survived...

Full Moon Party.

Sawadeeka!

Let me paint you a picture...Wake up, brush your teeth, walk out of your bungalow and look out to this view:

From there, its time to start your day! After a delicious fried egg on a roll sandwich, its 12.30. Time to start diving and kill that hangover from the night before. Hop on the boat, gear up and then play with the fish all afternoon. Play with Nemo, Dory, turtles, trigger fish, angel fish and sea urchins. Do a couple somersaults in the water, blow a couple air rings and watch them float to the surface. Then before you know it, its time to go back to the bungalow! Get off the boat, shower and off to the bar for dinner, drinks and football. Eat some pad thai, fried rice and wash it all down with a Chang. From there, hang out with the other divers and share funny stories from the dives and around 3.00 AM go to bed. Then start it all over again!
Oh man, the days just melt together. It feels like I've been here for a month, I honestly can't even think about Nepal, Brazil or Hong Kong right now. It seems like I'll never leave. It feels so good to be back in Thailand...like coming home.
Flying into BKK felt so comfortable. Then to Khao San Road! Wow, nothing has changed. Just the people. Everyone is still trying to sell me a suit, fish massage, ping pong show...everything! Of course this time I'm aware of the scams! All the old stalls are there. I ate every meal at Shoshana, where they know exactly how I like my bagel toast with cheese, onion, tomato and olives. Mmmm and the banana pancakes with condensed milk...
But I was only there for 1 night, then made my way to Kao Tao (Island of turtles), where I've painted you my picture. And for the big news....

I am officially scuba certified!

Passed my swim test (thanks Team Priya!), equalized my ears properly and got to play in the worlds biggest toilet! Diving is quite the experience...we had class time and then our first 'dive' was in the pool. Its so bizarre that you can breathe underwater! You sound like darth vader, really cool! But the one important thing to note is: always breath! There were definitely a couple times when I got really nervous and forgot to breath. Then I remembered I could....
But my instructors were great, and super patient with me. It's definitely a gross sport. Spit in your mask, you're swimming in the world's biggest toilet and the wet suits aren't exactly flattering. But I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. I think I'll get my advanced open water sometime next year. Maybe in Hawaii...

This is my diving team. From the left Johnny (diving instructor), Me, James (class instructor), Ryan( the other student). It was only the two of us, pretty exclusive! They were so much fun!

Ah yes, this is me. On my last dive we were supposed to do the 'James Bond' entry into the water. This means, somersaulting in the water. I fell flat on my torso. I think I bruised my tummy!

That's Johnny preparing for the dive.

Our boat drive out to the dive site. Beautiful!

This one is for all my Thailand lovers. Just beautiful and green!

So all in all, I'm super happy to be back. Tonight...Full Moon Party on Koh Phangnan. Read about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Moon_Party. Can't wait!

Funny Stories
-After my long flight from Israel, I just wanted to get my hostel in BKK, shower and have a beer. So after I checked in, I went down to the bar across the street. As I'm sitting at the bar, alone, I notice a couple packs of boys. There were the cute English boys a couple tables away and then a couple not-so-hot boys from Nepal. But no worries, they were not my focus. After I finish my first drink, the waitress brings me another despite my protest. She says it was a gift...from who?! Was it the cute boys from England?! No, of course not. It was the not-so-good-looking boys from Nepal. I had a few laughs with them and then made my way home! Just my luck!
-There are these fish called trigger fish, which are apparently not very nice to divers. You shouldn't get close to them, they'll chase you away and try to bite you. We were lucky enough to see a massive one on our last dive and as James pointed it out to me, Johnny kept having to pull me back from getting too close. Its probably a good thing that they only had two students.
-I'm known as the girl with the white, beautiful teeth at Buddha view dive resort. I <3 Crest!

Full Moon Party here I come!

Are we there yet?

Oh my god. From Luxor, I made the 20 hour bus ride to Dahab. Worst night of sleep ever. Every 20 minutes a police officer came in asking for my passport or bus ticket...We are in the same country! Why do you need to see my passport?! Oh well.
But Dahab was beautiful, I went snorkeling at the Blue Cave and saw...Dory! From Finding Nemo! Can you believe it? I didn't stay to chat, I was too nervous with the school of baby baracuda swimming by. Unfortunately no pics. Why didn't I buy that $20 underwater camera at target?! But from Dahab, I made my way back to Israel, back to Eilat for one night. I ran into so many travelers from Cairo! I guess the world is a small place...or Eilat is the only border crossing between Israel and Egypt.
From there I decided it was prudent to make my way to Tel Aviv (5 hours away) since it was Friday and everything shuts down mid day Friday for Shabbat (sp?). Even though my flight wasn't until 11.30 PM, I definitely didn't want to miss it...I would've missed BKK! So, I get to the airport and it was the tightest security ever. Security opened my ENTIRE luggage, including the check-in bag. Absolutely livid. Do they know how long it takes to pack those things? Also, you need to pack it in a certain order! But the jokes on them, they had to sit there sifting through my dirty underwear of 3 weeks which has been worn one too many times...Hah!
I flew on Royal Jordinian and they were so nice! Nice little personal TV and mango juice...yum! But Israel is done...here are some final thoughts on it:

Israel
-I forgot to mention but everyone is forced to do 3 years in the military. Girls and boys. Which means everyone walks around in their uniforms and huge guns. It's pretty intimidating.
-The police always have their lights flashing. There were quite a few times I thought they were in pursuit of someone...but they were just driving around.
-I'll miss the hummus.
-Israeli girls are gorgeous, I was kinda surprised.

Ah Middle East. It's over! Now to my home away from home. Sawadeka!

PS I'm writing this blog post from Ko Tao. I'm getting scuba certified today! Wish me luck!

Hab-bibbi!

Ah yes, my dear fans, a new blog post to spice up your life! Sorry I've been so MIA, I've spent a lot of time in transit over the past few days.
So, our journey continues from Cairo. I hopped on a bus down to Luxor to see Karnak, Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens. After a long 10 hour bus ride, I arrived in what felt like a sauna...expect hotter. At night, the temperature dropped down to 90 degrees...so you can only imagine how hot it was during the day. I can't believe I didn't get an AC room. What was I thinking?
But Karnak was amazing, totally worth it. I guess its a temple of some kind, dedicated to some pharoah, and had something to do with eternal life...I'm not very good at history, I just don't like it. From there I went with a tour group to see Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, some statues and another temple dedicated to someone else who lived in Egypt. Quite impressive, check it out!

Me in front a statue...not sure which one.

Two statues. Very tall!

Maybe one day I'll be mummified too! Gross.

So, this is the Valley of the Queens. It's in the middle of the desert so that robbers wouldn't steal from the tombs. But they chose this spot because of the cave right here...symbolizing a woman.

This is the spot chosen for the Valley of the Kings because of the natural pyramid shape on the mountain. For the males...ahem.

View of the desert from another temple.

View of Egypt from Karnak, beautiful! Hab-bibbi! That means 'my love'.

The hieroglyphics all over Karnak. They are supposed to say immortal life and bless the pharaoh in the afterlife.

We went into a couple tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the paint on the hieroglyphics was preserved. Even after 4000 years! Apparently they used three colors: red-from blood of animals, yellow-from yolk of a chicken, blue-from the powder of a stone. Also, I found out from my tour guide that the Jews did NOT build the pyramids! 'The Prince of Egypt' lied to me! Can you believe it?
But as you can see, I'm all pyramid-ed out. Ready for the beach!

General Thoughts/Reactions
-I wore my Five Finger shoes all through trekking the sand. No sand in them at all. Best buy ever!
-People keep asking if I am Egyptian, it's so annoying! Of course I'm not! I guess they could tell I was Cleopatra in my former life.
-I realized that I'm turning too dark...so I bought new soap for skin 'whitening'. Can you imagine if they sold that in America! What a lawsuit.
-I went to my first museum in over 5 years in Cairo. The Egyptian museum where the mummies are placed. Wow, really gross, they keep the mummies at 50 degrees...chilly willy!
-I ate this food called Kushary, which is basically a massive plate of carbs...pasta, rice, lentils, a little tomato sauce and some spicy sauce. Delicious! It's one of the few things I can eat here. I'm kind of sick of it.
-So far, I've lost: a pair a shorts, my sarong and a ring. Oh well, I needed to lighten the load anyway!
-I love the new Beyonce song: 'Why don't you love me?'. Watch the video, it's pretty funny.

Things I'm looking forward to
-In Nepal, I get to eat dal bhat everyday for 3 weeks! Yay!
-Momos in Nepal
-Pad Thai lady
-Getting scuba certified!

Miss you guys like an Indian misses curry!

With the power of Ra

Oh my god. I made it to Cairo! Let's start at the very beginning. I arrived at Taba, which is the only border crossing between Egypt and Israel, only to be interrogated by the Egyptian border control.
Egyptian Police (EP): Hello, where are you going?
Me: Egypt.
EP: Are you Israeli?
Me: No, I'm American.
EP: Do you speak Hebrew?
Me: No. Not at all.
EP: Why is there Hebrew written on your bag?
Aside: I borrowed the small backpack from Anna (my roommate) and of course, I had a Jewish roommate last semester. And of course, somehow, something in Hebrew was written on it. Damnit.
Me: It's my roommates bag. That's why
EP: Wait here please.
10 minutes later...
EP: Hello. Where are you going?
Me: Cairo.
EP: Why?
Me: To travel.
EP: Do you know anyone in Cairo?
Me: No...I mean, no. (This is the point at which I realized I know absolutely no one in Cairo. Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into.)
EP: where did you buy your big bag?
Me: REI.
EP: How long ago?
Me: uh...2 years ago.
EP: For how much?
Me: $60.
EP: Where did you get your small bag?
Me: It's my roommates.
EP: What's her name?
Me: Sarah Halpern.
EP: Where do you go to school?
Me: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
EP: What do you study?
Me: Computer Science Engineering.
EP: Thank you, have a good day.

Wow, that was so intense. A really long border crossing. But the drive from Taba to Cairo was unbelievable. I was surrounded by massive mountains and a huge desert, honestly I just couldn't believe I was in Egypt. Finally after a very long 8 hour bus ride, I was in Cairo! I found a taxi, got my hotel and met some girls from Seattle. They were super nice and we decided to go to the Pyramids the next day. I can't even begin to explain, so I'll just show you:

Cassie, Gia and I. Look at the pyramids! Look how dark I am...

If you can believe it, they are even better in person.

We took camels around the pyramid. The camel was sitting down while I was trying to keep my cool. It's scary, to say the least. Also, that little boy in the front is the love of my life.

I know it looks like Cleopatra, but its me! In front of the pyramids!

Walk like an Egyptian. We are such losers.

Our camels. Mine is the one in front. Chuckie! Name after Baby Anna.

Us climbing the pyramid Khufu. It's the biggest!

Pyramid Khufu. From my eyes.

The sphinx. Apparently, its the face of a man, hair of a woman and body of a lion.

Me kissing the sphinx. I think I'm being a little forceful in this kiss..

Just hanging out.

Kiss me toosh! Somehow I nailed this picture...

Check out this video! It's super shaky since I was on a camel at the time, but still very cool!

Anyway, as you can see I had a great time. I was grinning ear to ear the entire time I was in Cairo. Our driver was crazy to say the least, he would play 'Get your freak on' by Missy Elliot and dance it up in the car. Very entertaining. But overall, Cairo is not half as scary as I expected. My hotel was super fun, travelers bustling in and out and just lazing around. Honestly, I'm so glad I came here...I just can't get this stupid smile off my face! Off to Luxor to see the Valley of the Kings and then Dehab for more snorkelling...

But enough about me, how are you doing? ;)

Snorkel, Snorkel...

I left Jerusalem and made my way down to Eilat, the Israeli beach resort town. It's strategically located right next to the Taba border crossing with Egypt, so it made sense to go lay out in the sun for a day. After I arrived at the bus station, I was bombarded by touts trying to sell me on a hotel. Finally, even though I went against my better judgement, I chose a hotel at my price level only to find that it was shady, run down apartment in the backyard of a woman's house. Not even near the beach. Why don't I listen to myself?

The next day I went to my planned hostel and wow, did that make a difference. Lots of travelers, clean bathrooms and they rented out snorkeling gear! I made my way to Snuba beach to play with the fish.

A little fish I saw.

View from the beach. Mountains everywhere!

The water was so clear because of the rocky beaches. I loved it.

As they say in Israel when you leave somewhere, 'Go in Peace'.

After my eventful day, I went home and hung out with a couple other travelers. One south African guy and a set of twins from Utah. We stayed up until 4.00 AM playing kings cup (circle of death) and talking about our travels. Travelers are so nice...

Next, the Taba border crossing and then Cairo. I can't believe this is happening...

Over and out.

David Lee Roth lights the Manorah...

Ah yes...Jerusalem. I finally made it to one of the holiest cities in the world. Essentially the city is divided into 3 parts: the old city, the new city and east Jerusalem. I decided to stay in the old city. It consists of several parts: the Jewish quarter, the Muslim quarter, the Christian quarter and the Armenian quarter. Religion's just in your face everywhere you turn. I got hassled to buy everything from kippas to monorahs to hookahs at 'Best price! 1 Shekel!'. It was quite annoying. It's a city thats not only guarded physically but also figuratively. Since it's so touristy out here, the essence of Jerusalem is definitely well beneath the commercialized surface. So many tour groups...

But overall, my time was great. I met a South African girl, Andrea, in my dorm who took me to the nicest couples house for dinner...for free too! It was great to have a home cooked meal and meet some down to earth locals. I saw a couple of the sights: Jaffa Gate, Yehuda Market, New Gate and a few more historical sights. And of course...devoured the hummus!

The entire city is built out of this stone. Its the same as was used 1200 years ago.

The city lights up like gold at sunset...so pretty!

The old city walls. Built like a tank!

City view. It's so old!

I'm not going to lie, I felt a little out of place here. After a little pondering, I realized it's because Hinduism is the only major religion left out of this city! (Buddhism really doesn't count...it came from Hinduism.) This is one city Indians have not taken over. Ah well, you can't win them all.

Anyway, I nixed Bethlehem from my itinerary and am now going to Eilat! A beautiful beach town in the south of Israel, perfect for my trip to Cairo. Fun in the sun here I come...

General Thoughts/Reactions:

-Israelis are super nice. When I arrived in Jerusalem, a random girl helped me navigate through the bus station and found the right bus for me to take to the inner city. So nice.

-I feel inept without my laptop, internet and constant telephone access. My lonely planet is my life.

-I tried sabi for the first time, loved it! It's an Iraeli sandwich in a pita with eggplant, amba sauce, cucumbers, tofu, salad and chili. Delicious.

-I'm a little nervous for Cairo, apparently Egyptians have a very premiscuous perception of western girls. But I've wanted to see the pyramids since I was 5 years old. This will not stop me.

-I finished The Fountainhead. Wow. I think I love Ayn Rand a little bit more. I prefer Atlas Shrugged but I know The Fountainhead is written better.

Things I miss:

-Mexican food

-knowing where everything is

-my dogs

Things I'm looking forward to:

-BKK! Pad Thai lady here I come...

-The Pyramids. It'll be nice to see where I was in a previous life...after all, I was Cleopatra.

Tel Tel Tell me about Tel Aviv!

Shalom from Tel Aviv! Wow, was it quite the journey getting here. So, after my family leaves at 4.00 AM, I spend the day milling around Vienna. I arrive to the airport to find out that my flight to Tel Aviv with British Airways has been suspended. Awesome. So, the BA rep puts me on an Austrian Airways flight directly to Tel Aviv. The idea is great...until I find out the flight is 6 hours delayed. Great, I'll be at the airport for 9 more hours.
So, I decide to talk to BA counter to see if they'll let me into the lounge for any part of this time. As I'm talking to the rep in English, she's giving me the worst attitude ever. She gets up to check something at another counter and starts complaining about me to her colleague in German. Hah! Little does she know that I am a Jedi master in German. So after she very rudely tells me there is nothing she can do, I give her a verbal smack down in how I speak German and that she should change her attitude to customers especially when they are right in front of you. Definitely took her off guard. Score 1 for Priya.
Anyway, my flight lands in Tel Aviv at 5.30 AM. Sleep. The only thought on my mind. I eventually arrive at my hotel at 8.00 AM and pass out. I've spent the last three days at the beach and met some Israeli/American travelers out here too.

Tel Aviv from the beach. Me and the other American girl living in my dorm. You can't see it but I'm rocking Illini gear!Us and the Israeli/American guys that showed us around town. The photographer was not good.

Tel Aviv is amazing. The food, the people, the beach. It's so hot during the day but gets so cold during the night...I guess you forget it's a city in the desert. The people are really friendly and almost everyone speaks english. Definitely a plus. Also, the hummus...oh the hummus..I could write pages on it. Delicious!
It's a city that seems to have everything. Great shopping, nightlife, beautiful beach, good food...but it comes at a price. This place is not cheap, to say the least. I thought it would be comparable to Thailand...definitely not. I'm paying $9 a meal! Outrageous...but what can you do?
So, next stop is Jerusalem tomorrow and then Bethlehem. From there...Cairo. To walk like an Egyptian.

Quick Post for Chuckie...

Chuckie,

I love all the gear I bought!  My Marmot coat was a steal of a deal!  Its so warm.  Also, the most useful thing I bought was the balaclava.  It keeps my hair dry from the rain.  Its tough to stay beautiful abroad...but I manage.

The only thing I'm concerned about are my gloves.  They are tad too big for my dainty hands.  

Hope you are having fun at Navistar!

love you!

Priya

Doe a deer, a Female Deer...

After a few train rides and a little bit of walking, we found ourselves in Salzburg. Home of 'The Sound of Music'! This is one of my all time favorite movies. Reese and I danced and sang around Salzburg re-enacting the Indian version of this movie.

The city has some majestic views of the alps. Really great pretzels too. They are also crazy for Mozart...

Then we hauled over to Vienna...this is what I'd been looking forward to! For only one reason: Saccher Torte! Yum! For those of my readers who are not as well versed in food, this is the original Black Forest Cake. Delicious chocolate, raspberry sauce, whip cream...yum! We spent most of our time in the inner city near the shopping. Reese and I managed to spend almost 1.5 hours in the Swarowski jewelry store...the lighting in there makes everything sparkle.

Guten Tag geliebte Lesers von Wien! (That German is probably terrible...)Staatsoper. And me!

I'm the one in the middle...in case you couldn't tell.

There were little birds who lived outside our window in Vienna. How European! I felt like Cinderella!

Me in front of my new castle. My father bought it for me.

Vienna's cute, but honestly, most European cities look pretty similar to each other. They all tend to run together after a while. In my experience I've found only 3 very distinguishable cities in this world: New York, Bombay, and London. They all love Indian food too!

But tomorrow is the big day...my family leaves at 4.00 AM and then...it's Priya vs. the World! I fly out to Tel Aviv tomorrow...I can't wait for the hummus. I love food.

General Thoughts/Reactions:
-I turned quite a few heads with my fivefingers. Some people think they are socks, others assume they are scuba fins...very few know they are shoes.
-I found a place where Apple hasn't taken over the MP3 market...Europe! No one has iPods. Take that! Although no one has Zunes either...
-I've found that I'm a much bigger fan of Asian food as opposed to European. I'm craving chinese food, hummus, dal and pad thai
-I've had the question 'Are you Indian?' asked more to me than when I was in Austria. They like the brownies.
-I'm over Europe. I can't wait for Africa...God, I'm going to kill my parents.

I leave you with a quote. For all my Ayn Rand fans:

'I'm not afraid of you, Ellesworth Toohey.'