Full Moon Party & The Thai Islands - Round 1!

The Legend...

I mean, how could we not go to this?? After my little tour through Laos, my buddy Huy met me back in Thailand and this was how we intended to kick things off.

Based on the research we did prior to arrival, it seemed like all the hostels on the island of Koh Phangan during the full moon party had a minimum stay of 5 nights. Ehh...we weren't willing to budget that much time there, or in any one spot for that matter, so we opted to stay on the neighboring island of Koh Samui, and take a boat over on the night of the party. Koh Samui was kinda cool in itself, although surprisingly commercialized. I mean, there was a McDonalds and Burger King across the street from each other. Wtf? Not really the scene we were looking for, but then again we were in the heart of the touristy area known as Chewang, so we rented some scooters and explored the other parts of the island.

At $5/day for the rentals, it was a fun way to kill some time, and we were able to see some really nice areas. We hit up some remote beaches, ate cheap local food, and even found a cool waterfall with a couple little jumps. And most importantly, we came away unscathed, unlike so many other tourists we saw wrapped in gauze from a nasty scooter wreck.

The night of the party we hitched a ride to the docks where our speedboat awaited. We opted for the "VIP" tickets which were like $5 more and allowed us the skip the massive line and get on the next available boat. They opened the velvet ropes for us and we piled in, making lighthearted small talk with the other partygoers. However talk ceased and the mood quickly changed to a more serious tone when the boat took off, everyone clinging to whatever they could, holding on for dear life. No joke. This guy was pushing it full throttle as we screamed across the ocean, banking against waves and I swear we went full airborn a couple of times. It was nuts. Thank goodness we were all wearing life jackets, because we had heard that these boats sometimes crash or flip and now I could see exactly why. After about a half hour of skipping across the water, we pulled into the docks of Koh Phangan.

Happy to be back on solid ground, we stepped into the crowded streets. The area of the island known as Han Rin consisted of a maze of streets lined with hostels, bars, and restaurants, finally giving way to Had Rin Beach, better known as "Full Moon Beach". The streets were buzzing, packed with people from all over the world, ready to make this an epic night. Apparently neon was the color to wear, as everyone was decked out head to toe, as well as covered in body paint, glowing under the blacklights. Little paint stations were everywhere, where you could sit down and get various desings painted on your body.

 

Also lining the streets were infamous bucket stands, the drink of choice at these events. Picture a little bucket that you would use to play in the sand as a kid, filled with various types of cheap booze and energy drink. A dangerous concoction.

We noticed a lot of these bucket stands were also selling the body paint, so we grabbed a couple buckets and a few different colors and went to work.

We were even nice enough to help some other people out with theirs ;)

 

We had a great time cruising the streets, popping into the little bars, meeting and talking smack to random people from around the world, which was a party in itself. But the beach was where the real action was, so a little before midnight we made our way there.

With a big bright full moon casting an omonous glow on the beach and the thousands of people inhabiting it that evening, we entered into the swarm. Simply put, it was madness. And there was fire. A lot of fire. Fire limbo, fire hoops, and of course, the most menacing of all, the infamous fire jumprope.

There were about a dozen big bars along the beach, each blaring their own brand of exotic techno. This was not one cohesive event. But rather a bunch of individual parties bleeding and melding into one another to form the fabric of this monstrosity. We looked on for a moment from the fringes, wide eyed and a bit hesitant, but we slowly moved into the mass and were completely absorbed in. Into the raw energy of 20,000+ people letting loose on some remote beach halfway across the world. It was unlike anything else I've ever experienced. Needless to say, the night was a bit of a blur, and I didnt take very many photos. Probably a good thing.

Sun rising over Full Moon Beach

As we slowly made our way back to the docks, squinting into the morning light, we promised ourselves that we would do this again. We would be back!

Not surprisingly, we slept pretty much the entire next day and then decided to roll to the small island of Koh Tao, a chill little scuba / snorkeling mecca. We bid our farewells to Penzi, the nicest little lady who ran the guest house we stayed at in Koh Samui, and were on our way.

Arriving into Koh Tao

 

We linked up with two realy cool Dutch girls that we met at the guesthouse in Koh Samui, and hung with them for the next couple days. I knew they were good company when one of them mentioned she would soon be starting with PwC out of the Amsterdam office :)

Koh Toa was exactly what we needed at that point. It was the smallest of the island chain including Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, and had a super laid back vibe. There was zero commercialization on the island, consisting almost exclusively of cool little bars, guest houses and dive shops. Exactly what I pictured Thai island life to be. That night we rolled out to the little island bars and plopped down on the bean bag chairs neatly lining the beach, just feet away from the water. Mohito in hand, chill house music playing, and water gently lapping against the shore just a few feet in front of us, it was perfection.

Random stray dog footrest

 

The next day we booked a half day snorkeling boat trip which was fantastic. Some of the best I've ever done, only rivaled by Maui. The volume of fish and spectrum of colors was top notch. Why hadn't we discovered this place sooner??

Descending into massive school of fish

 

If we didn't have our flight tickets booked for Vietnam, it's very likely that we would have stayed another week. These islands were amazing. But, it was time to move on, and like I said before, we'd be back.

And as it turns out, Round 2 came sooner than expected :)

 

 

 

 

 

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Vientiane, Laos

My family has been going to the same sushi place in South Florida for like the last 20 years. Aside from making the best sushi, they are some of the nicest people you could ever meet, and welcome us in like family. Why am I telling you this? Because most of them are from Laos, which is one of the main reasons I was intrigued to go there in my trip through Southeast Asia. When they got wind that I was going, they put me in touch with some of the family who could show me around.

It was a long windy trip from Luang Prabang to the mountain town of Vang Vieng in a cramped little van. I scored the shotgun seat which was good, but then I noticed that there was a little Lao guy who was trying to hitch a ride as well. Apparently if the bus is not completely full, the locals are allowed to hitch a ride for free. Well there was one open "seat" in the van which was the sliver of space between me and the driver. Realizing what was about to happen, I got out of the van and faked a phone call, and waited for that guy to get in and slide over next to the driver, so that it wasn't me crammed in the middle. Success. I wrapped up my fake phone call and hopped in. Feeling a little guilty, I offered the guy some Lao candies as we departed, which he happily accepted.

Since it was a long ride, probably 6 hours or so, we made several stops along the way for food and restrooms. There was a really friendly Swiss guy who at every stop would tell anyone that would listen how hungover he was and what a wild night he had had the night before, partying with some locals. I got a big kick outta this, and we shared a few good laughs along the way. At one of the other stops, I sat down with a cute little Croatian girl who spoke 7 different languages, including perfect English, and was travelling around helping to restore archeological sights as well as blogging. What interesting people you meet along these trips! The three of us hit it off and we stuck together when finding a hostel in Vang Vieng. We each planned to stay 2 nights there before making our way to the capital city of Vientiane. The big thing to do in Vang Vieng is tubing along the river, which is supposed to be totally bonkers, with bars and crazy swings all along the river. You can imagine the scene. In fact, like 10 people died there the year before. Sounded awesome. Unfortunately it poured the entire time we were there, so no tubing for us. Instead we hung out in the hostel, watching old Friends reruns that were playing on not only the TVs in our hostel, but several of the other places in town. Random.

The next day we arrived into Vientiane and I was greeted at the bus station by my Lao friends Jip and Chiang, who worked at the restaurant a few years back. We grabbed lunch and caught up, and then they showed me to my hotel. Later that evening, my other Lao friend Donna picked me up and we did dinner at an awesome Korean style BBQ place with Nika and Marc, my two new friends from the bus ride. It was so much fun, and so good!

 

The next day, Donna was our personal tourguide, showing us all around. We kicked things off by driving a bit outside of town to the Buddah Park, which was an area full of huge Buddist / Hindu statues. They were really intricate and bizarre, and appeared to be hundreds if not thousands of years old. Wow! Although I later learned that some guy had built it all in the late 1950's. LOL. That took away some of the mystique, but still really cool and impressive, and a fun way to spend a few hours.

 

Don't eat me!

 

Unhand her!

 

We then visited a few of the temples around town.

 

The golden temple above (Pha That Luang) had a little old lady selling boxes of small birds. What?? Apparently it is good luck to set the birds free in front of the temples? Donna rolled her eyes as I fished some money out of my pocket, but I had to try it.

After that we strolled over to the town square and enjoyed the sunset from a cool little tower which overlooked the city.

 

That night Donna took me to one of the chic restaurant / nightclubs in town. It was an interesting place, with 2 different live bands rocking, one indoor and one outdoor, as well as a wall of karaoke booths. After a long day of sight seeing we feasted that night. I felt like we ordered one of everything off the menu and it was all delish.

Donna noted how impressed she was that I was able to hang with her on the spice scale, which I of course took as a badge of honor considering I told her to show no mercy in that regard ;)

The next day Jip and Chiang kindly offered to drive me over the border into Thailand so that I could catch my flight out. Along the way we had to stop at one of the local markets so that they could buy a few gifts for me to bring back to my parents. Such nice people, and such a nice way to cap off my trip through Laos, a place that I had heard so much about over the years!

 

 

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Elephant Village, Laos - Mahout Training!

Riding elephants was high on the list of things I wanted to do while in Southeast Asia. However once there, I did not get the best feeling about it, especially in Thailand. Most of what I saw was elephants lazily meandering along, with families sitting idly in a special chair harnessed to their back, while a trainor leads them slowly around a predetermined path. Didn't seem all that fun, for the people or the elephants.

No thanks

However the much less touristy Laos, once known as the "Land of a Million Elephants", seemed to have some better options. I did my research and found a special sanctuary in Luang Prabang, Laos, where they brought in "retired" elephants to live out the rest of there lives in a nice peaceful place. I learned that while massive herds of elephants once roamed free in the jungles, today only around 1,000 remain, half of which are used in the logging industry. And from there the story gets pretty grim. Apparently the logging industry is expected to diminish greatly over the next several years, leaving many of these animals "jobless". From there they are either sold off to the highest bidder (probably for elephant rides in Thailand), or worse. Attempts to reintroduce domesticated elephants into the wild have failed and is not considered a viable option. So what is?

Ironically, tourism. But unlike what I described above, a more sustainable solution that is mutually beneficial to both the animals and the local people. Thats where the Elephant Village comes in. As their website states, "Elephant Village gives rescued elephants a safe, new home where they are free from abusive work. Elephant Village provides local villagers a better livelihood so they can stop their slash and burn tradition." I was sold. Upon arriving into Luang Prabang, I booked my tour - the "1 Day Mahout Experience".

The morning of our tour the van picked each of us up at our respective hostels and we were greeted by our host for the day. I really appreciated that they sent the host along for the morning pickups, as the Elephant Village was about 45 minutes outside of town and we used that time to ask questions and learn about what to expect from the day ahead. There were only 6 of us in our group, including my friend Sandra that I had met the previous day, and we all hit it off great.

Once we arrived I knew we were in a for a treat. The property was beautiful, more like a resort, except one with elephants just grazing about.

But we weren't there to just look at the elephants, were were there to become mahouts! Haha. So after a brief introduction, we learned a few basic commands in the native Lao tongue, and the instructor demonstrated the proper way to mount, which involved commanding the elephant to lift it's leg up like a stair and then grabbing its ear to hoist yourself up!

After a quick test drive to get our bearings, it was time to really test our skills! Check out the video link below for the full experience - through the jungle, into the river, and then to meet the little guy, Maxi!

Elephant Village, Laos - Mahout Experience

What an unforgettable day!

 

 

My buddy, Maxi!

 

And a special shout out to the real Mahout that I was paired with. I can't remember his name, and he didn't speak much English, but he was an absolute character and so much fun to work with. And seemed to really enjoy his job, as you can probably tell from the video ;)

 

 

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Luang Prabang, Laos

I arrived, fresh off the boat into Luang Prabang, a beautiful city set in the mountains of northern Laos.

Without a place to stay, I walked the streets for a bit until I found a nice looking hostel and booked a private room for about $10/night. Perfect. Luang Prabang was another city known for its night markets so around sunset I ventured out. I bumped into a bunch of people from the boat as I was walking out and they asked me what I was up to that evening. I mentioned the night markets and then since Luang Prabang wasn't really known to have much nightlife I planned to just take it easy. They balked at that and insisted I come out bowling with them. Bowling?? LOL. Apparently it's the thing to do out there, so I agreed to meet them later on.

Right at the entrance of the main strip where the night market began, a line of stalls, each with various fruit cups piled high caught my eye.

One of each, please!

Pick any cup and they make it into a delicious fruit juice for about $1. Needless to say, this was the start of a beautiful relationship between me and these stalls. Wow. So good!

After I pounded a couple fruit juices I strolled around the night market.

Luang Prabang Night Market

This one had a more local feel to it than the one in Chiang Mai, with lots of interesting crafts and textiles. And snake booze.

Snake Booze

Apparently cobra venom gives it that extra little kick!

I bought a couple cool looking shirts and started making my way back to the hostel. Feeling a little hungry, the smell of fresh noodle soup drew me in. Set up in a little stall on the street corner, this looked like the perfect spot to chow down.

Actually when I rolled up there wasnt a seat to be had, so I had to kind of hover around until someone got up. That's when you know it's a good spot! The ladies were really nice, and tried to discourage me when I ordered it "hot", but I insisted.

Best soup I had had on my entire trip so far. Outstanding! Sweating, and with snot dripping out of my nose from the heat, I ordered a second bowl. The ladies were impressed! There was literally a fire raging in my mouth, so upon finishing the second bowl I promptly excused myself and powerwalked back to the juice stalls. Sweet relief :)

I hurried back to the hostel to meet the group, just as they were cramming into a few tuk tuks on the way to the bowling alley. I hopped in one and we were off. It was obvious that this crew had done some heavy pre-partying, and that I had some catching up to do.

To my surprise it was a really legit little bowling alley! Shortly after we arrived they turned the lights down and music way up. And at $1 each, the beers kept things going until the wee hours. It was an absolute trip. I've been to late night bowling alleys before in the US but this was on a whole other level. Because while in the US there remains a certain level of rules and ettiquite, this was just a free for all. People rolling two and three balls at a time, falling over, one guy even tried to slip and slide down the alley. I kid you not! Crazy Britts.

The next day I hopped on Tinder to see what other solo travelers were out there that I could meet. Which by the way, Tinder is an absolute game-changer for solo travelers - makes it so easy to meet other cool people. I ended up matching with a really nice swiss girl and we became instant friends, sharing stories and cool travel ideas. I told her that I was planning to do a trip to the elephant sanctuary the following day and she signed up as well. It was nice to meet another cool, mature travelling buddy who was around my age, as opposed to all the young crazies I had been hanging out with. That afternoon we decided to check out some of the local waterfalls. Since I had gotten so many cool pictures of waterfalls in Hawaii and Thailand, I decided to leave my camera at home. HUGE mistake. These waterfalls and lagoons were among the coolest I have ever seen! Here's a couple stock photos to give you an idea:

We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming, climbing, and jumping off these things, having an absolute ball. Definitely one of the can't miss things to do in Luang Prabang. Just make sure to bring your camera!

Ughhh I was so bummed about that but oh well. Needless to say we worked up a pretty good appetite that day and so that evening we met up at the night market to see what sort of food we could find. Turns out, there was a little side alley off the main strip which I had completely missed the previous night, where all the food was. And oh man, jackpot! It was basically stall after stall of all you could eat food, for around $2 each! Check it out!

Food bliss.

Gorged, after a pretty action packed day, I decided to make it an early night before the big day at the Elephant Village. I could hardly wait.

 

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