This trip took place almost two months ago, but it was so amazing it feels like it was yesterday! After Vietnam, I was ready to head to Thailand! I had visited with my mom when I was 13 for a couple of weeks and had fond memories so I was excited to return. Anna and I caught a plane early in the morning to Hanoi, than another to Bangkok, and a final one to Phuket. We landed in the afternoon and took a long van ride to our hostel. Stepping out of the air-conditioned van was as if we were stepping into an oven. No joke, it was incredibly humid. We quickly dropped our stuff off and headed out to the market in search of dinner. I wish I had brought my camera because it was incredible! There were rows and rows of fresh seafood that you could pick out and they would cook it right there for you. There was fresh fruit and flash frozen ice cream and anything thai you could really want. Simply put; heaven. The next morning we were up early to see the local beach. While we had heard contrasting comments about the place, we decided to check it out anyways. It turned out to be kind of mucky so we took a tuktuk with some newly-made friends and headed to the next place over, Karon beach. It was a really fun day with lots of sun and great conversations, but sun-burnt me was happy to head back to our air-conditioned room at the end. The next day we caught the bus to Phuket city. We killed some time there by walking through the local "costco". It was definitely a long day of travel. After taking an overnight bus from Phuket city to Hat Yai, we arrived at 4 a.m. and waited until 7 a.m. to take a van to Pakbarra. From Pakbarra, we took a boat and finally made it to Ko Tarutoa (best place ever)! The island is a national park and it is a bit hard to figure out how to get there, but once you do figure it out, it is worth it. We rented a bungalow (for $20 a night!) for the maximum allowed 3 days, and explored everything we could. The first day we rented mountain bikes and biked to a beach on the other side of the island. It was beautiful and we were only accosted by the monkeys once. The second day we were able to rent a kayak and paddled through the mangroves and spelunke-d through a cave with tons of bats and crystal formations. The island itself was so beautiful and untouched. There was also a lot of wildlife which was very cool to see. Everyday we spent there I had to keep pinching myself that everything was real. I truly recommend going if you're looking for a relaxing, beach vacation. Also-just check out these sunset photos! On our last morning we got up early for one last walk on the beach before grabbing some breakfast and getting the 9 a.m. ferry back to the mainland. 'Twas an incredibly successful trip on all fronts.
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Amani P.Last fall I took off for a year abroad. Now I'm back in the states, trying to figure out this crazy thing we call life! Archives
February 2017
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