Bye Bye Thailand :(

Don't worry everyone, I didn't get lost in transit or stranded in Thailand. I've just been too tired/lazy/busy/jet lagged to write a final blog entry.

I've been back in the United States for a little over a week now and I am STILL recovering from jet lag. For the first few days, I would go to sleep at 6 or 7pm and wake up at 4am. Now I fall asleep around 11pm and wake up around 4 or 5am, but then go back to sleep until 8 or 9am. Before Thailand, I would go to bed around 2 or 3am and wake up around noon!

Last time I wrote, I had just finished my story page and was preparing for a trip to Koh Panyee. I went to bed right after writing that and then somehow slept through my 6am alarm and almost missed the van to the island! Someone called my cell phone at 7:20am because Selket and I were supposed to meet up with the group at 7:15. We sprung out of bed, threw on some clothes, and bolted out the door. Good thing we decided to pack our backpacks and camera equipment the night before.

Poor Kendrick hadn't slept at all the night before and Grace had slept about an hour. But they finished the website before we left for the island, so they were excited!

The van dropped us off and we boarded two longtail boats. How to describe this place? There is a huge body of water with massive limestone cliffs jutting out all over the place. If you've ever seen "James Bond: The Man with the Golden Gun," it was filmed there. In fact, there is a whole island named James Bond Island.

Starting our adventure to Koh Panyee!

We zoomed between the cliffs and mangrove trees and finally stopped at the boat pictured above. From there we boarded sea canoes (like blow-up kayaks) and boated amidst the cliffs. Selket and I were in a boat together with a guide paddling. We went into caves that were so low that you had to lay completely back to float under them! It was awesome. Once you got through the tiny entrance, it would open up to a big cave in the limestone cliff.

See that teeny tiny hole behind us? We had just come through that.

I paddled for a little while. Selket got out and swam back to the boat...I didn't have my bathing suit on. We had beer and pringles for breakfast since we had slept through our alarm and didn't get to eat.

After canoing, we got back in the longtail boat and headed over to Koh Panyee, a Muslim village built entirely on stilts at the bottom of a cliff. On the way there, I laid down right at the front of the longtail boat...I think that was the best part of the whole trip. Someone got photos of me laying on the front, but for now this is the best I have:

We got to Koh Panyee and ate a delicious lunch. I even ate and enjoyed the whole fish (head, eyes, fins, and everything on a platter) that we got! Then we walked around the village, which was mostly houses and then a long row of shops. I bought some nice Thai silk shawls and other gifts for people at home.

Mike (one of the coaches) and his wife, Desi, with a monkey!

Aaaaaah, 'tis life with a roving band of photographers.

(I have no idea why this is indented, but it won't let me change it.)

Then we took the longtail boat back to the pier, rode back to the resort in the van, and got back just in time for our showing. A ton of people showed up and filled the treehouse! My story was one of the ones that got shown...they couldn't show a few because they didn't want to offend the man from the Tourism Authority. He thanked us and gave a speech at the end. The blind masseurs from my story were supposed to come, but canceled at the last minute.

Erin taking a picture of herself and the orphans from her story, Forging Family.

After the showing, we went down to the pool for the "surprise" party. It was really really nice...they had a small buffet dinner out, our own bartender, lights on the trees, snacks, and music. It was really nice to just relax and talk with everyone without the project hanging over our heads. Everyone headed to the beach at one point and we tried to set off fireworks. We had a coil of about 1000 fireworks and it had a very short wick, so the plan was for Mike to light it and run away. Well, they all exploded as soon as he lit it and we all watched Mike get engulfed in a giant spark. He was fine, just a few burned chest hairs. Then we all went into the sea for some night swimming. It was the perfect end for the trip.

The next day, Selket and I woke up early and headed into town for a Thai massage and shopping. Unfortunately, I left Thailand on sort of a bad note. I went to a store and haggled a saleswoman down to 500 baht for a North Face backpack because I needed something extra to pack in. The saleswoman's boss even came over and confirmed the 500 baht. I told them I would come back because I wanted to ask Selket if she thought it was a good price. So I went to find her without luck. As I was walking back toward the store, the boss got up and went into the store. As I got closer to the store, I noticed that she grabbed the backpack and shoved it behind a clothes rack. I walked in and told the saleswoman I would take it for 500 baht and she said "oh, we sold it." When I said "no, that woman just hid it over there," the boss came over and said "we sold it and they pick it up later." Turns out they didn't want to sell it for 500 even though they told me that was the price before. Long story short: I argued with them for over an hour, the shop owner even drove down, and I ended up not buying the backpack. I did get a free ride back to the resort, though, because I told them they owed it to me. By the time I got back to my room, I had about an hour to pack, shower, and eat before the van was leaving for the airport. When I got back, I was so angry that I just threw all my stuff into my suitcase, yelled and complained to Selket a lot, showered, and went to the lobby.

On the way to the airport, I got really carsick. Then Pat got a call from Steven because Selket had forgotten her camera bag. So we pulled over and waited for someone to bring it in a cab. Selket had to pay a lot for that cab and felt really bad for making everyone wait.

We got to the airport and it took forever to check in because we had so many bags. My bag was overweight by six kilos, so I bought a little bag from a shop in the airport. I went into the shop and said "I need a big bag." The woman then said "how many kilos you need to take out?" When I said six, she immediately pointed to a bag up on a shelf. I guess she gets that a lot!

I slept through the entire flight from Phuket to Seoul. Seoul to New York was not nearly as bad as the way there. It was 12 hours instead of 14 and I was sitting next to Selket. I watched a bunch of movies, tracked the plane on a map, ate some good Korean food, slept a little, and joked with Selket. Once in New York, my dad met me in the terminal, met the other people I was traveling with, and then I said goodbye to everyone. We picked my sister and her boyfriend, Mike, up in Manhattan on the way home. When I got home, I watched a little TV and fell asleep around 4pm!!

Since then, I haven't really done anything exciting because I've been so tired. It's been nice to have a break from all the work, though! Too bad I have to get a lot done this week before I drive to North Carolina on Friday. I can't wait to get back to Chapel Hill, move into my apartment, see all my friends, see Alex (it's been TEN weeks!!), and get back into the swing of things.

A few nights ago, my dad and I were trying to think of places to go out to eat. I was missing Thailand, so we went to Thai Thai Cuisine down the road. It was good, but not nearly as delicious and fresh as it was in Thailand. I really hope I get to return someday.

I miss the fresh fruit. I miss the smiles. I even miss the weather. I miss the beach, the sunsets, the resort, Khao Lak, haggling, fresh seafood, fruit shakes. I miss not caring what I look like and wearing wrap-around skirts everywhere. I miss being surrounded by a big group of friends and learning from the coaches. I miss my translator and the blind masseurs. I miss the language and trying to pick up the words I know. I miss saying "Kawb khun kaaaa." I miss the sun and the rain. I miss being as "tan" as a redhead can be. I miss the stray dogs and cats and the elephants by the side of the road. I miss the colors and patterns. I miss the greenery. I miss sticky rice and fried rice. I miss longtail boats. I miss my room. I miss Chang beer and pina coladas in coconuts. I miss motorbikes and soong taos. I miss ordering food and not knowing what it will be. I miss the smell of the sea following me everywhere.

The website will be public around mid-August and I will post when that happens. Other than that, I'll consider this blog finished!

Sà wàt dii kâ!