Koh Phan YAY YA

I left Koh Pha Ngan (from now on KPN) with the following (bulleted for your enjoyment):

• A wicked tan
• A pair of mismatched flip flops
• A minor burn
• Lower backpain
• WAY less brain cells then i went there with
• and MOST IMPORTANTLY over a dozen new awesome friends

It all started when I left Koh Samui. I liked it there, it was beautiful but I found it a little lackluster and expensive. It also was WAAAAAAAY too hard to meet people. I spent basically the three days there by myself which was nice, i got to chill and work on the old tan but i'm too social to do that for too long. So on my third day I packed up my stuff, said an un-heartfelt good bye to the shockingly obese german man that ran the place and got on the bus to KPN.

I met Ryan and Hannah as soon as i pulled out of the resort, who were staying there and we never ran into eachother and we started to chat it up. We pulled up to KPN and the hotel they were staying in was full so they got shipped off to their sisters (at the time we were kind of like WTF ) which is really fortunate because then we met Tim, Sam, Amy, Joe and Arie and Colin (some time in there Jeff popped in too but i don't really remember meeting him...

On one of the first nights there it was the "black moon party" and everyone was pretty stoked to go but when we rolled up they wanted 300 baht each. We were like F that noise and went and had our own black moon party which was way more fun anyway.

We also did a grandiose tour of the island in the back of a pickup (12 people i think were crammed in the box) which would never fly in N. America but its no big deal in Thailand (don't worry we drove really carefully ) and we finished by watching the sunset at the Amsterdam bar which overlooks the sea.

The next night was our last one and the festivities went all day and into the early early morning. There was a lot of booty shorts, pool parties, fire hoops/limbos and WAAAAAY too many buckets.

All in all it was fantastic and I can't wait to see all those guys again soon.

Now i'm in Bangkok again and today I got my visa to India and I will be heading over there as soon as my passport gets back.

A WORD TO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS:

It is natural to worry about someone when they are away but please shower me with worry-wort comments. They do no one anygood (and as some of my hippy friends would say, manifest bad things happening). I can handle myself perfectly well and I feel very comfortable out in the world. I am fully prepared (i have every ointment, pill and cream under the sun) and have done tons of research so i don't want to hear any negativity from anyone, just well wishing. I know what i'm doing...

That being said I love you all and hope this blog finds its readers well.

Take care!!!!

Koh Samui

Koh Samui is not bad, doesent quite meet my paradise standards but its not bad. My big beef with it is that all the tourists are old and obnoxious. The European men in there speedos with their Thai ladies by the hand and the old European women with their boobs out all over the place makes me want to vomit. Soooo i will leave this island tomorrow for Koh Pha Ngan.

This island is MASSIVE, I met two lovely English girls on the ferry and we made plans to meet up for dinner at their guest house and I COULD NOT FIND IT for the life of me, i tried for two hours before hunger made me resign. I was smart enough to take their names so i could add them on facebook but not smart enough to consider that there are millions of Rebecca Harveys and Lydia Jacksons. Oh well lesson learned for next time.

My bungalow is really cute, its not right on the beach but its well built with a bathroom. Generally I prefer to not have a bathroom and to share one because when you have a bathroom then there are more ways for bugs and other things to get in. There is something massive living in the roof of my bathroom, I'm almost certain that its one of the big Geckos but usually they are easy to identify by their loud "GECKO" calls (it actually sounds like they are saying gecko, kind of cute) but i've seen it twice and heard it running away twice. Geckos don't scare me but they move really fast and it takes you by surprise. I also saw a very small cockroach in there that made me lose some sleep but thats how things go over here. Can't have everything I guess.

Anyways I'm going to go to get some late afternoon lunch and nurse my poor sun burnt nose. Its freakin hot here by the way (35 degrees, no clouds). Hows the weather in Canada? haahah

OKAY, finally some time to write...

Ahhh, to vacation is such a good feeling. I got up today at 7:30 because I wanted to (and also because I think I am still fairly jet lagged ;)) which never happens. I'm having a great time in Bangkok, this city is so crazy but such a good time, there is so much to see, so many different restaurants to eat at, so many shopping centers and markets to sift through. Bangkok is truly a world in itself.

BUT to back track a bit I had a really awesome 8 days in the lower mainland with all my friends. Its nice to not be drinking heavily EVERY night however. Those last two weeks before I left were so sloppy (and fun) but i don't think i care to ever repeat a bender of such proportions, except next time i go to the movies with Renee.

I would like to thank Hannah and the girls at the girl house as well as Renee for being so hospitable to me during my stay. I also would like to apologize for any unnecessary excessive shenanigans or drunken tomfoolery that they had to deal with.

ANYWAYS... Back to my trip. So far I've been pretty busy. Yesterday I got to the bottom of my room reservation that disappeared, another case of my confused use of first name (thanks again mom and dad), I got my blackberry hooked up with the help of two very kind and funny Thais at MBK (which is the craziest damn mall anyone has ever seen, they have an entire floor dedicated to cell phones, its lunacy) they unlocked my phone, installed my SIM card AND showed me how to reload/buy new SIM cards. I also got my travel insurance (which would have been much easier at home but whatever) and ate out like 5 times (don't worry katrina, your friendship is too important for me to get fat hahaha). I ended all that craziness with a relaxing massage (for $7).You need a country code and i'm not sure of it right now. I'm not sure how the phoning thing works either, i think that its free for me to receive phone calls but it costs a butt load for me to call. E-mails are dirt cheap however so that is a great way to communicate with me.

My flight was... actually not so bad. My back is still killing me though and the thought of getting on a bus anytime soon makes my ass cringe but for the most part it was alright. I slept basically the entire time (except for when a miserable little korean brat screamed for like 6 hours on the first flight, thank christ for my sound isolating Shure headphones) and arrived in Bangkok wide eyed and feeling pretty crazy.

I was very surprised at how quickly I adjusted to the climate/time zone. The heat was a non issue and the jet lag was bearable. I stayed up rather late the first night (till like 4 in the morning) chatting with another jet lagged canadian over a few too many $2 beers. I showed him around the immediate vicinity of Kao San and Soi Rambutri (its nice not being totally clueless) and told him some dos and do nots in Bangkok.

Today I'm going to Central World (bangkoks shoptropalis) to try and find another pair of shorts and just cruise it cuz i've never been there.

I hope everyone back home is doing well, I miss my family and my pseudo families very much (Cimo's crew, Katrina and Mel, Lisa and Shantel, Renee, the GURLS at the girl house, Durose, Anton, Annie, Lynn, Leah, DROG and my old roomies and anyone else i missed that cares to read this) I love you guys and hope to hear from you soon!

Danny

bangkok is...

not a pretty place really hahaha. I'm having fun though, i love this city, something about the grungy streets and smelly air (the smell is mostly of smoke and shit ahaha). I tried to cheap out on my cab last night and he ended up being a total douche so lesson learned there. Met a friend already from canada, hes from quebec and hes been travelling for a year and a half.

not lots of time right now but i will post more later.!