03/26/05: Taking a vacation from the trip

Hi everyone -

We're back in Bangkok (yes again) awaiting our flight tomorrow to Delhi, India. I'm definitely sad to be leaving SouthEast Asia...but at the same time very excited to go someplace completely new and different. And I suppose that given the SE Asia swing was supposed to only last 3 months and here we are at 5 1/2 - I can't complain at all.

SO...and don't hate Deanna and I for this, but after leaving Myanmar we decided that it was time for a little vacation (yes...from the trip...I know, I know...save the hate email). So we spent 4 days in Bangkok and then went down to the islands in the Gulf of Thailand - Ko Samui and Ko Pha-Ngan. And what a wonderful break it was.

First in Bangkok, we met up with our friend Ian (a.k.a the guy that capsized on our Halong Bay trip) as well as Tim from Luang Prabang and Inle Lake. We went out for a night on the town (okay several)resulting in some very funny pictures - and Mom I haven't taken up smoking...it's for effect in the pictures. Tim's the one with the real problem. And those are HIS sunglasses...really. We also paid a visit to the BED supper and dance club. For a small fee of 600B (about $15 but a fortune here to get inside a bar) we got to feel like celebrities and walk on a red carpet past a line of folks wanting to see who entered the club. Very atmospheric and fun until four "larger" western girls in tight jeans decide to dance at the railing in front of us and "drop it like it's hot". Not only was it unsightly (and how), but I'm not sure the club was structurally prepared for their dancing...we had to get out before the place fell down.

In Ko Samui, we stayed on Chaweng Beach...in the heart of all the nightlife and had a great time. It reminded me a lot of Patong in Phuket (all bars, CD sellers, travel agents, and seedy nightclubs and bars) with a better beachfront. Exactly what I was looking for. I decided that I hadn't gotten any sun for a long time so I decided to make it a beach day and "catch up" the day after we got there. Bad judgement, bad timing, bad application of suntan lotion. Three hours later I was closer to red than tan...but didn't hurt. That came later. I am still undergoing mass amounts of involuntary exfoliation.

From Ko Samui, we headed to Ko Pha-Ngan for the infamous Full Moon Party. Just me, Deanna, and 15,000 of our closest friends partying on a beach from 10pm until 8am. Actually, we stayed on a part of the island in the North (near Thong Sala) which was absolutely fantastic. A bungalow on stilts that faced the ocean and was about 20 feet from the water at high-tide. Even better, there were hammocks underneath the bungalow where I wiled away many hours thinking about such world issues and the crisis in Iraq and what I was going to eat for dinner. It's a fantastic place and probably my favorite beach on this trip so far - I'm promising myself I'll come back. And for 500 Baht per night...about $13.

The full-moon party itself was quite a trip. There really are thousands of people on a stretch of Had Rin (sunrise) beach and every single establishment has about 30 speakers larger than I am set-up and pumping their techno/trance as loud as they possibly can. People are dancing with their glowsticks or sitting around in small groups sharing buckets of alcoholic drinks or watching some professionals twirling burning batons and such. Everyone is SO friendly (which may just have something to do with the available mushrooms or alcohol). We were waiting in line to buy a drink and happened to meet a few British girls who were so kind as to apply glowing body paint. At first I think the intention was to give me whiskers (or something) but it quickly turned into a solid pink mask...unfortunate. Anyway, after spending some time drinking with my new best friends from Belgium - it turns out that it's already 6:30am. The trick is that they put Shark and Red Bull into the buckets...what more do you need to stay up? Definitely a good time. Nothing I ever have to do again though...

Well...onto India. As we've both started to read-up on the subcontinent, we've found there's just SO much to do and see. We'll do our best. Right now the plan is: Delhi - Varanasi (cremations on the Ganges) - Khurajo (sculpture) - Orccha - Agra (Taj Mahal) and then onto Rajastan. I think we'll make an assessment there as to head for theHimalayan north or go way south to Kerala and work out way back to Bombay.