Author: Marcy Cathcart

I should preface this all by saying our time in Phuket was perfect; even that that was not so perfect wa practically perfect in its not being perfect.

Arissan and I arrived in Phuket at 1pm February 2. Then we hung out at the airport for awhile waiing for Arissan’s good firend from PSU, Hanna, to get in from Chiang Mai. Hanna just spent a month in northern Thailand earning her yoga instructor certification.. Pretty cool! So of course Hanna’s flight was delayed, but luckily you can bring beer into the airport. So Arissan and I were able to start our vacation in the Phuket International Airport waiting area. Once Hanna got there we sped away to pur hostel where we me up with another one of their friends from PSU, Jacob. Then we immediately went to the beach and watched the sunset.
The next day was Superbowl day!!! We went to one bar (at 5:30am) that turned the game on for us, but the announcers wer Thai. Jacob who is from Nevada and therefore a 49ers fan (gross!) was not as invested in the game as us so during the first quarter he went exploring and found a bar with English speaking announcers as well as other Americans watching the game. So at the end of the first quarter we all ran over to the other bar and joined our fellow Americans. Then right before halftime the cable went out at that bar soooo the bar transfered all of us to a different bar where we were able to watch the remainder of the game. Although I am having the tome of my life in Thailand, I would’ve given anything to be in Seattle that day. After the game we went in full #beachmode and actually ended up running into probably the only other person in Phuket from Seattle. It all started when Jacob sat in a chair that I guess you have to pay to sit in and the guy basically threatened to kill him. Then this Britich guy and the Seattle guy come up an sit down on the little part of sand next to us after seeing what happens if you try to sit in a chair. The Seattle guy was obviously pretty drunk and was like “don’t worry my team just won the Superbowl so it’s okay.” We were basically best friends at that moment. We soon learned that they took a shot for every Seahawk touchdown, which would definitely explain their state of inebriation. We hung out at the beach with them for a few hours, then got dinner and went our separate ways.
Lucky for Hannah and me, we have been in Thailand for 30 days at this point and therefore had the pleasure of doing a visa run to Burma (Myanmar). We got pucked up at 5:30am and drove 4 or so hours to this water border crossing. Then we along with all the other foreigner yahoos went along a beautiful cruise to Burma got a couple stamps on our passports and rode the boat back to Thailand. Then we drove another four hours back to Phuket and are able to stay in Thailand 30 more days!
Feb 5 we rented motorbikes abd went out to the Big Buddha. We then had lunch at this awesome restaurant on the hill that had an incredible view and delicious food. After that they thought it would be a good idea for me to try to drive the motorbike. Needless to say it WAS NOT! But, even the bad things were perfect. After the incident we went to Laguna Beach, the Thai version. We ate delicioud food and lounged on the beach until we needed to head back to meet up with another one of their friends, Joe. We got back to the hostel, picked up Joe and went to this awesome night market full of food and music. Arissan and I shared some very spicy yet very yummy noodles.
My last full day in phuket was Feb 6 and we spent it on a less crowded beach than Patong, which is close to where we were staying. We rode in a tuk tuk to and from the beach and on the way back our driver was blasting dance music and we were in the back having a great time. We caught sunset at Patong beach and then calle it a night.
Then next morning I left paradise and flew back to Bangkok (which is still closer to paradise than back home). Phuket was awesome, but so so touristy. Like possibly the tourist capital of the world. You could not walk three feet without people trying to get you in teir tuk tuk or taxi or placing an iguana on your shoulder or asking you to go to a ping pong show. It got a little exhausing. Then again even the not so great stuff was absolutely perfect!

Sunset in Phuket

So I went on my first little adventure on my own this week. I left for Khao Yai National Park on Tuesday and came back Thursday to my host family’s house. On Tuesday I caught a bus from Bangkok to Pak Chong. I do not really like buses, but in Thailand they are supposed to be the best way to travel. I needed to arrive in Pak Chong by 2:30 in order to make it to the Green Leaf Guest House for the half day tour that started at 3pm. We left the Bangkok station at 10:30am plenty of time to get there in the 3 hours it was supposed to take. However, the bus broke down. So we were stuck on the side of the road for two extra hours. So I did not make it to the guest house until 3:30/4. But, they were so nice that they took me and this Spanish guy Fernando (who was also on the bus and planning to do the half day tour) to meet up with the tour. So we missed the first hour or so of the tour, but were able to see the underground cave and the bat cave.

In the underground cave, there were all these Buddhist shrines and figurines. Apparently some Monks come down there to meditate in the complete dark for 6 hours. Pretty insane! During this tour I got to see some creepy bugs, like a blue centipedes thing as well as hold a scorpion spider. I was pretty much forced into holding the spider, but in the end I am glad I did, if only for the awesome picture and story. As I was holding it the guide said “is it poisonous? Yes. Will it bite you? Probably not.” So that was comforting. . . Next, we went to the bat cave. We got to see the opening of the cave where like 2 million bats live. Right around sunset ALL of the bats come flying out of the cave in order to get food. So for almost an hour we got to watch the bats constantly stream out of this cave and spiral in formation. If you put your hands behind your ears it sounded like an airplane. It was my favorite part of the trip, minus the elephants of course.

The full day tour the next day started at 8am and went until 7pm. We drove the 40 minutes to the park and put on the ever-so-fashionable leech socks (which also were unnecessary). Then we drove up huge hills to get to where we would start our 3 hour hiking journey. Along the way we saw these huge deer-like animals as well as tons of monkeys on the side of the road. Trekking throughout the wilderness was awesome. The vines and spiraled tree trunks were fantastical. But, we saw very little wildlife other than trees. We were able to see a Great Horn Bill (which is kind of like a Toucan) through the guide’s super powered scope. Then we walked further past a salt lick where wild elephants sometimes visit and up to a look out over a water reservoir. This scenic backdrop is where we got to eat lunch. Then we went to visit a beautiful waterfall. Along the way to the waterfall the trucks stopped suddenly because there were gibbons spotted in the trees along the side of the road. (Gibbons are monkeys with long arms and legs that do not come to the ground, but stay in the trees and swing among the branches). After the waterfall we went searching for wild elephant. But, along the way we saw more monkeys on the side of the road. While driving in search of elephants we saw a truck parked on the side of the road. The people there said there was elephant in the forest. So all 20 of us noisy tourists walked down to where the elephants were scared them off walked all the way back to the trucks, only to be beckoned back in to the forest because the elephants has returned. Well no duh! All the noisy people left. So we all went back in and saw movement that we knew to be elephants and could hear them, but couldn’t really make them out clearly. So we all returned to the trucks in order to make our way to the salt licks in hopes of seeing elephants there. We were driving for 30 minutes or so and we were started to get worried because sunset was approaching. When all hope was lost the truck jolted to a stop and we saw a pack of 8-10 wild elephant in the foliage just off the road. The said there for about 5 minutes and then started to make their way across the road. Of course in the excitement we all tried to jump out of the truck only to be scolded by our guides. But, it was for our own safety. While the elephants were crossing the road one started towards us. So the truck immediately started to back up, the elephant stopped and just peed in the middle of the road. It was as if he was daring us to cross that line. He marked his territory and was warning us not to come closer. After watching them for about 10 minutes and when it was safe to pass we left the elephants and returned back to the guest house.

All in all it was FREAKING AWESOME!

So I arrived very late (and technically the early morning) of January 8 to Bangkok. The next morning at 10 am I met two staff members from OEG (which is the Thailand partner to Greenheart). They were really awesome people. Their names were Phillip and Sara. They both taught for a year in Thailand at the schools through OEG and then ended up staying there. Phillip for 10 years and Sara for 2. . . I do not think I will be doing that! But, they were really nice to talk to and we walked about 20 minutes to their office building, stopping for the most delicious smoothie ever on the way. It was mango and kiwi and it cost about a dollar. So then I went through an orientation from about 11 to 4:30. The last session was a crash course in Thai language and I remember absolutely none of it. By the end I was so exhausted I could hardly function. So I went back to my hotel and slept/remained in bed for the next 13 hours.

Which brings me to today: Today, I met with someone else from the OEG office who I had met yesterday, named Fernn. She is Thai and also awesome! She took me to the Grand Palace and the Reclining Buddha. She feed me tons and tons of delicious food (all of which I can’t remember except a basil and pork dish, Thai style omelet, and a fresh cracked open coconut to wash it all down). Along with having me try lots of different types of food, I also got to experience all the different modes of transportation Bangkok has to offer. This includes: a taxi, a tuk tuk, a long boat, the sky train, and a motorcycle taxi. The motorcycle taxi was by far the scariest, but also the shortest. It was so much fun! And then. . .

I got to meet my host family! Tun (the mother) came to pick me up from the OEG office and thank goodness her English is quite good! The 20 minute drive back to her house took over an hour because of traffic, but it was nice to talk to her and get to know her. Then I was given a grand welcome once we arrived at her house by her great grand mother, mother in law, father in law, neighbors, and adorable daughter, Boki. OEG had been telling me that they would treat me like family and care for me very well and I can already tell that is the case. I am so excited for what is yet to come, but am going to enjoy every minute as it comes.

I learned a Thai phrase that I think I will live by for the next two months. Mai pen rai. Which is most often used as a response to “thank you” as in “you’re welcome”, but it also means sort of the equivalent of hakuna matata, or don’t worry about what you can’t change. I am just going to make the most of this trip and do my best with whatever comes my way! I love and miss you all!

Also, pictures to come soon.