Our time in Bangkok and Chiang Mai flew by (thank you again Tum, Vichien, and Toy) and we soon found ourselves back on a plane to Krabi, southern Thailand. Krabi is located near Phuket, but is known for not being quite as touristy. Good weather, beautiful not-quite so crowded beaches – sign us up! Arriving in Krabi – there are private cars you can hire to take you to your hotel or you can take a bus. The cars are 600 baht while the bus was about 150 baht per person (depending on where you’re going). We decided to save some cash and take the bus. We actually stayed about 20 minutes from Krabi in Ao Nang – a little smaller and less of a main hub. Two hours later, after a few stops in Krabi and Ao Nang – we arrived at our hotel. Compared to other places we’ve traveled, Ao Nang was inexpensive for the one bedroom hotel we got. However, the one downfall is that Ao Nang doesn’t have any grocery stores. There were lots of markets and grocers where we found a few things, but no large selections of foods for you to make yourself. The cost of food in Ao Nang was pricer than it was in Chiang Mai, but it was still really cheap. The night before our island hopping adventure, there was a big storm and our hotel lost electricity. Luckily we had learned from our jungle trek guide, Johnny, that beer cans make excellent candle holders. The lights came on after about an hour or so, but it was a realization of how much we love air conditioning. A little tired from all our traveling, we knew we needed to have at least one more big adventure before leaving Thailand. Island hopping sounded like the perfect choice. After doing some research, we decided to book a semi-private tour with Thalassa. There are plenty of tours out there available to take you to a few of the surrounding islands. All of them are fairly cheap compared to prices in the US and other places we’ve been traveling. That being said – some of the cheaper tours were overcrowded and we were...
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After spending a few days in Bangkok, we boarded a plane and flew to Chiang Mai. The flight was pretty inexpensive and really fast considering we talked to quite a few people who took the overnight train – they said it was…an experience. We were extremely lucky to have hosts for this portion of our trip – Tum and Vichien. Not only did we stay with them during our time in Chiang Mai, but they also took us out to beautiful temples, had us try amazing food, and helped us experience Thai culture. We had heard about the generous Thai spirit, but being immersed in it was a different story. A huge THANK YOU to Tum, Vichien, and Toy for our Chiang Mai adventures. The Walking Market Doi Suthep We loved the food so much, we wanted to make sure we could take some home with us. So we took a cooking class in Chiang Mai. Siam Rice Thai Cookery has pretty inexpensive classes and gave us the opportunity to learn how to make our own curry. Yes! Friends – dinner plans when we get back! The school picked us up and took us to a local market where they showed us some of the ingredients. We bonded with our taxi group – cousins from Poland, an Argentinian couple, and some girls from Germany before we split off into different groups for the actual cooking. Another treat we had in Chiang Mai was a 2 hour Thai massage. 2 hours? Thai massage? YES! Will never had a massage before let alone for 2 hours so we were a bit skeptical – would that be too long? Would it hurt? After traveling for 4 months, it was just what we needed. The two hours passed quickly. Did it hurt? yes – but the good kind of hurt. The kind where you feel the knots and kinks being worked out. Afterwards, we walked along the streets in Chiang Mai, exploring. Another thing I didn’t capture – getting my hair cut in Chiang Mai. Tum got me an appointment with the woman who cuts her hair and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity – plus I needed a hair cut. Thanks...
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When we started our journey, we didn’t plan on traveling to Thailand. In fact, we bought a ticket to Australia as an exit plan since we needed to leave New Zealand after 3 months. One of the benefits to not having a solid plan for this trip is being able to adapt and add new locations to the itinerary. After we found out a friend would be in Thailand – it seemed like the stars aligned and pointed us towards the lovely country. It also helped that flights from Australia were only 10 hours as opposed to the 30 hour flights from the US. Our flight out of Australia was much easier than our flight into Australia. No problems with visas – no extra luggage fees. The only problem – we had to sit on the plane for an extra hour or so due to some extra weight in the cargo. A long flight later – we arrived in Bangkok. We rented an apartment off AirBNB. The owners are a very nice couple who gave us directions to give to the cab drivers (complete with Thai directions and an estimated amount of the ride). Seeing the address, the taxi driver asked how we found his neighborhood. It’s not known for being a big tourist location. The hot air hit us as soon as we stepped off the plane. We thought Australia was warm with its 85 degree weather. It was 9:30pm and still 90 degrees. The owners greeted us with some treats and showed us around the apartment – including the community pool (we took advantage of it every day we were there). The first night, we slept well. The next day, we did some work before meeting Toy and her friend Too for dinner. This is where they taught us our first lesson: The food in Thailand is amazing. The next day, we met Toy and Too for a trip to Ayutthaya – the remains of the old city about an hour outside of Bangkok (traffic permitting). Ayutthaya was a beautiful city with over one million residents before it was invaded by the Burmese and burned to the ground in 1767. After driving past tall buildings and the old...
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After 3 months in New Zealand, saying goodbye was difficult. Our last night in Aukland, we stayed by the airport – right by an Icebreaker outlet. One thing we’ve learned during our time in New Zealand – merino wool is great while traveling. Seriously. At the airport – we ran into some more problems (insert “the more you know” music) The tickets we bought through Orbitz did not include our luggage. We’ve gotten really good at checking with each individual airline about luggage costs, but this was the first airfare we bought about 4 months ago and I forgot to check. Whoops. The visa for Australia I obtained at LAX does not exist. Bummer. We got lucky and Will’s visa was in the system, but our airline sent us to Air New Zealand to help me get the visa. After obtaining it, we went back to our airline and we were good to go. Next to us, there was an American from Atlanta who was with a tour group. They lost his flight completely and he had to re-buy a ticket. Things can always get worse. Once we were on the plane, things went smoothly. We stopped at the information desk and spoke with a smiley guy who told us about Sydney’s Opal cards – you load the card and tap on and off the busses, trains, and ferries. He also warned us that the train from the airport has an added fee of $13 on top of the normal cost. He gave us a loophole of taking the bus a few stops away from the airport before switching to the train. Energized, we accepted the challenge. *Note – Sundays all the fares are $2.50 – everywhere. We flew on a Sunday. This means cheap transport and long lines especially at the ferries. We took the bus in the wrong direction *a good reminder to talk to the bus driver. We felt like novices. However – it all worked out. We hopped on the train and took it to the Circular Quay and avoided the $13 extra fee. The apartment we rented was in Manly, Sydney – a half hour ferry ride across the bay. Sweating and hot, we...
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Ohope marks the last of our time in New Zealand. We had heard this small beach town was a great place to enjoy some sunshine. It didn’t disappoint. After dropping off our campervan in Auckland, we picked up our new rental car and made our way down to Ohope. Located in the Bay of Plenty, Ohope is known for its beautiful beaches. We found a great place to rent on Book a Bach near the beach. Wayne, the owner, met us when we arrived and showed us the entry to the beach across the street. He also said we could take out his kayaks to the bay if we wanted. He had built trolley holders that allowed us to pull them the 10 min walk to the bay. The first trip, we almost got hit by a car crossing the road while navigating the kayaks on trolleys. By the second time – we were pros, feeling like locals as we ducked under the fence next door, pulling the kayaks across the street and through neighborhoods. Besides kayaking, we enjoyed the beach. There were a few rainy days, but mainly there was sunshine and empty beaches. We soaked up the sunshine as much as we could and even body surfed on the waves. The last night we were in Ohope, we walked down to the beach to enjoy the moonlight. We looked at the moon and stars while walking along the beach – soaking in the warm night air and smell of the ocean. It also gave us time to reflect back on our time in New Zealand. Things to remember about New Zealand: Friendly people with phrases like “cheers,” “good on ya” and “no worries.” Roadtripping Ferry Rides Southern Walkway – our feet hurt Black water rafting Lake Taupo The Catlins Watching the last Hobbit movie in the Embassy movie complete with “thank you” video from Peter Jackson to New Zealand. And so much more… The list goes on and on. For the past 3 months New Zealand has been good to us. We are sad to leave this magical place that has been home for the past few months....
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Our trip to New Zealand is almost done. While we have a few things left on our New Zealand bucket list (there’s always more to do here) – there is one thing we decided we had to get done – the Tongariro Crossing. This 19.4 km hike (close to 13 miles) is a popular hike in New Zealand especially since Mt Ngauruhoe (one of the active volcanoes in the national park) had an integral part in the Lord of the Rings movies – dress it up with some CGI lava and you have Mt. Doom. Haven’t seen Lord of the Rings yet?! *Sigh* Will hasn’t either. That’s right. We were able to watch two of the movies in Wellington and found the last movie that we watched in the campervan -it was kismet when we found out Jucy had free dvds and a dvd player in the van and the last Lord of the Rings movie was available. Sadly-the movie froze before Mt. Doom came on the screen. Somehow Will has not seen the volcano’s role in the movie. *This is me – still shaking my head.* The Tongariro Crossing is known to be one of the best day hikes in the world. *Warning* With the Lord of the Rings popularity – it has become even busier. Unless you’re going in winter, be prepared to meet people traffic jams on the Tongariro Highway – the term people use for the start of the hike when the path narrows and you’re basically walking in a line of people. Almost everyone we have talked to in New Zealand (at least on the North Island) have either done the hike or talked about wanting to do the hike. The terrain is varied with steep inclines, extreme temperature changes, volcanoes, brightly colored lakes – need we say more? We were in! We did a little research – figured out how to pronounce it (I can only say it like the video), found a place to stay in Taupo (hello again, beautiful lake town), and crossed our fingers for good weather. If the weather is bad – there is no walk. With only one day to get ‘er done, we were praying to the weather gods. Good news:...
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