I really don't know where to begin...!

Hello everyone!

There have been several times that I have wanted to sit down and update you all on everything that I have been up to but I honestly don't know where to start!  I had a great finish to my Euro-Adventures.  The highlight was taking a ferry across the North Sea from Holland to England to catch my flight out of London to make my way south to Bangkok.  I missed my train thus missed my ferry and was in a sleepy port town with about 5 hrs to kill.  I tucked myself in a pub that had wifi and met some locals.  The time went fast.  The ferry was really cool, it wasn't much cheaper than a flight and took WAY longer but it was such a cool experience.  It came equipped with my very own sleeping cabin, had a bar, restaurant, lounge and some shops.  I sorta felt like  I was on the Titanic, thank god we were able to dodge any iceburgs!!  But anyhow it was an adventure and a half!  Missing my train and ferry was my fist big travel mis-hap and I survived.  After the initial heart attack I just made the best out of it.

Ok, so to bring you all up to current time.  I arrived in Bangkok and was very organized getting to my hostel.  I lucked out with the hostel I chose (it was very highly rated on hostelbookers.com) and well the ride has pretty much been a roller coaster since I arrived!  At some point between Bangkok and the island in the south I realised that I was having the time of my life.  I keep having the time of my life and it keeps continuing on like a snow ball rolling down a hill getting bigger and bigger.

The vibe of some of the backpackers I met in the hostel was so awesome, it was like an immediate click!!  I went to see some absolutely amazing temples in Bangkok and took a zillion pictures, to be posted on facebook soon!  I went to a ginormous shopping center, with entire floors dedicated to electronics only (for example).  I have bartered with tuk tuk drivers and one night a huge group of us hired 3 tuk tuks between the group and raced to our final destination; wheelies and all.  At one point I thought that I might actually die but it was so hilariously funny that I couldn't be bothered with minding!  Bangkok is supposed to be the biggest party in all of Asia for Halloween and a few people staying at the hostel threw a great party!!  Once of the best parties of my life!!  Everyone was dressed up in what they could throw together and there were a few artists doing face painting.  It was truly and epic night!!

I am now in the south on the Ko Phi Phi island.  The same island where the tsunami hit 4 years ago.  It is chilling to look in the direction of where the tsunami hit, like what you see on the infamous video footage taken from that tragic day.  You can still see the beach town slowly rebuilding itself but really you couldn't tell if you didn't know otherwise.  The Thai people are absolutely amazing people!  They are so sweet, friendly and happy people.  I feel completely safe and have gotten sharper with my bargaining skills and attempts at not being ripped off.  It a weird way it is part of the charm of being in Thailand.  In Bangkok there were always these most adorable little girls trying to sell you roses and you couldn't resist because they were so cute and knowing the fact that they couldn't go to bed until they sold all of their roses you just had to buy one.  We found a great little restaurant in Bangkok as well where you could get scrumptous traditional Thai food for 1 dollar and the owner loved showing us his card tricks.  His slight of hand really was magic and he had the best smile I have ever seen!!  Kind of reminded me of the laughing buddha.  He loved blowing our minds and the applause that we would always shower over him because he was so good at it!!

Tomorrow we have (when I say we, I have attached myself to a group of travelers, 2 brits, 1 other american and a swiss guy) booked a boat tour where they take you snorkeling, to a bunch of different islands, caves, monkey island and we will watch the sunset from the island where the film The Beach was filmed.  I am excited.  It truly is a lush country!  You are definitely out in the jungle admist all of the wonder and rawness of the wild nature!! 

Right  now I am sitting on the porch of my guest house, the staff (all Thai) are having a mini party listening to the Cranberries, there's a cat crashed out on the wooden floor and I can hear the crickets and frogs making noises (and other random jungle animals) all around me.  One of the things that is so cool about this island is that it is so small that there aren't any cars, just bikes.  You can literally walk everywhere!  When we arrived there are hoards of people trying to sell you accomdations.  They have a wall full of flyers for each place and once you decide where you want to stay you go to a table and pay for it right there on the dock.  Then there's a guy who comes with a make shift wheel barrel who carts your bags to your guest house.  It's crazy!  I love how raw it is here, it's an adventure, it's beautiful, breathtaking and mind blowing and the type of people that this place attracts is something special.  This truly has been magic for me!!  I am extending my ticket to Australia because 3 weeks here just isnt' going to be enough!!  I am sorry for the run on, un-organized, flowing straight from my head to the keyboard type of telling my story but it's the best I can do at the moment.  I love you all and don't want to think about how much I miss you because it will hurt to much!!!  It's difficult to be so far away from home but in a spectacular way!! 

that's all for now...