Thailand

So I have just finished the most amazing vacation of my life: Thailand. This is partially because I was able to spend 11 full days in the beautiful country, more time than I have ever spent on vacation before. I can't wait to go back.

Me and my good friend Melissa first went to Chiang Mai. We were able to stay at a beautiful and brand new hotel. The very first thing we did was go shopping at the Sunday night market. I got a dress, souvenirs for family, food, and best of all a message for 30 minutes right on the street and it only cost about $2. AMAZING. The first full day we set out on one of the things Thailand is famous for: trekking through the jungle. It involved a few activities and about 3 hours of walking up a MOUNTAIN (I was not warned about the whole mountain part and it was one of the most strenuous things I have ever done but also one of the most rewarding). The first activity was visiting a tribe of people. All of the women had rings around their necks making their necks very long (which is why they are called the long neck people). Next was elephant rides. This actually wasn't all that fun, and you could tell the elephants were not treated very well. Then, on to the 3 hour hike. We were literally in the middle of the jungle. We had a tour guide named "P" who was very nice and very funny. The scenery was amazing and I couldn't describe it to you if I tried but just try to picture either a scene out of "Jurassic Park" (we were waiting for the dinosaurs to come jumping out), "Lost" or something like that. I will never forget the green and those moments of awe (which were about every 10 seconds). We got to sleep at the top of this mountain with a tribe of people there. My favorite part of the entire 2 day adventure was getting to meet some amazing people from all over the World. We met 2 guys from France, a couple from the UK and a couple from Ireland. I hope to stay in touch with all of them. I didn't want to go to sleep that night but stayed up as long as I could and look at the starts. I hardly slept anyway because we slept on the floor with thin mats that were horribly uncomfortable. I was able to see the sun rise the next day, and took about 30 pictures of it. On the trip down we stopped at a waterfall and could swim in it, we got to water raft (something I have always wanted to do and it was so much fun) and we bamboo rafted. The night we got back we went to dinner with all of the amazing people we met that trip.

The next day we visited a temple but were so tired from the trekking trip that it was not very enjoyable. The day after we went to an elephant sanctuary. The owner gave a speech about how he used to be a tour guide but hated seeing the elephants mistreated (which is a problem in Thailand) so he opened the sanctuary so he could take care of them. Here we got to feed them (one of them being a 4 month old baby) and we were taught how to climb on their backs and give them commands. We took a small ride through the jungle. The most memorable part was giving the elephants a bath. We thought we would just use a bucket and hose but the bath actually involved going into huge pool of muddy water while still riding on their backs and scrubbing the elephants with brushes. I was so grossed out but having the time of my life at the same time. The worst was when the elephants would spray water and get it all over us. I would do it all over again though.

Christmas day we flew to Phuket. We had an amazing Christmas dinner with some more friends. Out of the 4 days there, we spent 3 days laying on the beach and relaxing in the bright blue water. The sun was so powerful that although I was hiding most of the time I still got an outrageous sun burn. I finished a whole book within the fist week, it was so relaxing. The funnest part was that the locals would sell things and come up to you on the beach so I didn't even have to get up. (I felt like a moviestar) I bought a dress, purse, food and ice cream all from my beach chair. The best part of Phuket was the day trip to Kho Phi Phi. We got to see where the movie "The Beach" was filmed and parts of "Pirates of the Carribean." We got to feel wild monkeys and snorkle in the amazing warm and blue water. It was straight out of a movie. I got stung by a jelly fish while snorkling but it was very mild (no body had to pee on me LOL). I didn't even see the jelly fish that got me!

We then flew to Ko Samui. If I felt like a movie star before I felt like a queen here. The beach was even more beautiful and the hotel we stayed at was amazing with unbelievable nice and helpful staff. We spent more time on the beach and in the water. We ate more amazing food. We got to go dancing and go to the famous "Full Moon" Party on Kho Phangan Island, which included live music, glow in the dark body paint, and jump ropes on fire!

I didn't want to leave and Seoul was covered in Seoul when we returned. I can't wait to go back some day. I hope everyone enjoys the pictures.