I’m sorting through some of the photographs I’m carrying around on my laptop from seven months on the road, and I realized there are a bunch of shots from the Thai islands that I haven’t put up here yet. So here are a few. Enjoy!
While visiting Chiang Mai, Thailand Chris and I strolled around the city visiting a few of the wats. You might be asking yourself, “What’s a wat?” According to  Wikipedia: “A wat (derived from the Sanskrit word वात Vattaka) is a monastery temple in Cambodia, Thailand, or Laos. Strictly speaking a wat is a Buddhist sacred precinct with monks’ quarters, the temple proper, an edifice housing a large image of Buddha, and a structure for lessons. A Buddhist site without a minimum of three resident monks cannot correctly be described as a wat, although the term is frequently used more loosely, even for ruins of ancient temples. (As a transitive or intransitive verb, wat means to measure, to take measurements; compare templum, from which temple derives, having the same root as template.) In Cambodia, a wat is used to refer to all kinds of places of worship. In everyday language in Thailand, a wat is any…Continue Reading
I was filled with anticipation for our two dives at Ko Phi Phi Ley because they were our first dives that were not part of our scuba training and also our first dives not in the waters around the Thai island of Ko Tao. The atmosphere was completely different from Ban’s Diving School. It was relaxed and calm. None of the boat crew or our two dive masters did anything very fast. They were truly living life at island pace. As I spat in my mask one last time before preparing to go down for our second dive, our dive master asked me, “So, what do you want to see?” “Um……I’d love to see a giant moray.” “And have you seen a string ray?” she asked. “No, never. It’d be fantastic to see a Lion Fish also.” I replied, thinking to myself that I must be asking for the world…Continue Reading
The dramatic clouds shifted and folded over one another as we sat on the deck of the ferry from Railay to Ko Phi Phi island. Even with the threat of rain on the horizon Chris and I held our ground because if Thailand has taught us one thing it’s that it doensn’t kill you to be wet. In fact it’s  a strange day if I haven’t jumped in the ocean for diving, snorkeling or a game of frisbee with Chris. Our ferry started to make it’s way to the docks.  As it did so I saw ahead of us Ko Phi Phi Ley, the island from “The Beach”. Dark silky water cradled it as clouds tried to suffocate it from above. That night we slept on the beach with a woven mat, foam pillow and thin sleeping bag.  The bucket probably helped with how comfortable it all felt when Chris…Continue Reading
It’s my Dad’s birthday today, or at least it’s still his birthday right now in B.C. Canada (August 4th). We’re so far away we’ve already moved into tomorrow. Anyway, miss you Dad. Hope you have a good day. Don’t do too much work on your renovations. We’re thinking about you. Love, Chris (and Laura)
Chris and I have now been in Thailand for two weeks and it is truly the vacation from the vacation that we both needed. I cannot think of one thing to complain about. The food is amazing, the weather is perfect flip-flop and bikini weather and we had fun learning to scuba dive! We are currently on a very small island off the east coast of Thailand called Koh Tao. The island is only 21 square kilometers. We decided to learn how to scuba dive here because it’s pretty much the cheapest place to do it in the world and there are many dive sites surrounding the island. We choose Ban’s Diving Resort because it was highly recommended by our faithful Lonely Planet.  It certifies more scuba divers every year than any other scuba school in the world! Last year they certified 40,000 people! We did the first two dives of…Continue Reading
We’re still hanging out in Koh Tao. We plan on leaving the island today or tomorrow with Surat Thani as our next destination where we’ll catch a bus to Krabi on the west side of the country. The beaches are supposed to be absolutely stunning over there. We’ll soon find out. Here are a few shots I took around Bangkok. I really enjoyed Bangkok with its huge roads, skyscrapers, prostitutes, millions of massage shops (careful which one you go in), lady-boys, cheap clothes ( bikini $6-$9), sidewalk shops and restaurants that can establish themselves anywhere.
Hey Sis, we’re thinking of you. This dive’s for you! Love, Chris and Laura
Hey all, Well, it’s our last few hours in Iran. We’re catching a flight after dinner tonight to Bangkok via Bahrain. Iran has really grown on us, with the friendliest people we’ve met yet. We can now totally relate to celebrities, who have to greet their fans everywhere they go. No, our blog is not super famous in Iran, they just treat all foreign visitors like this. We literally can’t walk ten feet sometimes without being stopped and welcomed to Iran. That said, Iran was a little tough at first. I don’t know if we were just getting burned out on travelling in Muslim countries (Turkey, Morocco, Iran), or if it was the one to two week culture shock that we’ve noticed we get in every country we visit, but when we first entered the country we were feeling ready to move on. We were also still feeling pretty sick…Continue Reading