Is this real life?...

My time in Thailand is winding down. For over 2 weeks we've been island hopping here. You can imagine how painful this is... The hostels are cheap, the food is cheaper, the massages are cheapest and the beaches are beautiful.  The whole experience is just spectacular. We started out in Phuket, which is particularly raining this time of year (something about a monsoon season...) From Phuket we hopped on a ferry to Koh Samui. Koh Samui has a little bit of everything; resorts, backpacking havens, etc. I spent most of the time relaxing on the sand, getting $1.00 coconut water IN the coconut if the heat got to be too much. The highlight was their "Walking Street Festival" with street food worth the stomach ache.

Next, we headed to Koh Phangan...the sleepy side. (The island is know for the epic Full Moon Parties celebrated each..you guessed it...full moon) After a very hilly tuk-tuk ride we arrived at our "resort". You feel like a castaway there on the quiet beach and sometimes I found comfort in seeing that someone else was staying there!  Greg and I took a hike to the top of hillside that steeply offered spectacular views of the island and the connecting deserted island. I felt very survivor-esque. As luck would have it, it was a bit cloudy on our climb up but once we reached the top, God conveniently opened up one large intrusive cloud so that rays of sunshine could get through. The way the light hit the island begged the question..."is this real life?"

Last stop was the island Koh Tao. On the ferry ride over we were bombarded with compelling offers to get our PADI scuba certification. Absolutely not I thought. Too expensive, too much time , too many man eating aquatic animals and I often forget to breathe normal on dry land as it is. But then the offers got more compelling and I got more curious. First I learned that Koh Tao gives out the most scuba certifications in the world. Next I confirmed that sharks prefer cooler water. Finally a guy from BAN'S Diving Resort gave us an offer and we "baht" it. Scuba diving takes a little getting used to but when there's only one way to get oxygen, you take it! It becomes almost therapeutic listening to your inhales and exhales. Scuba diving itself is amazing. The coral, the fish, the colors!  I would highly recommend it and now that we are certified we can dive anywhere in the world!

We spent the last day on Koh Tao venturing over to an island connected by a thin sandbar. Again we decided to take the road or rather rocks less travelled and climbed up to a view I was just barely comfortable with. Again, unreal. It was the perfect ending to our island adventures.

More to come on Thailand...