Koh Tao

We can sum up our weekend in one word...  fabulous.

Snorkeling right from our beach, crystal clear water, being surrounded by hundreds of fish.  All of the bright colors of marine life, and some coral with color!  (Our first snorkeling adventure in Fiji was a let down...)

I guess it wasn't all perfect.  Our bungalow on the beach didn't have hot running water, but it did kind of feel good once you got used to it.  We also found a Tokay Gecko in our bungalow the second night.  Truth be told we just couldn't find him the first night.  For those that aren't familiar with the Tokay, Christine took a video that I will post here later.  FYI...  Tokay Gecko's have teeth.  lot's of teeth.  Despite the minor inconveniences, I would happily go back.

We returned to school just in time for reality to set in.  Final exams are due to the office on Monday, and there has been a lack of communication on what is actually expected.  (Seems to be developing into a common theme...)  No big deal though, it is all just part of our adventure.

Plans are in the works for our next long break.  We have one week off in October that we will be heading into the jungle for.  Tigers, snakes, frogs, and crocodiles!  (Yikes!)  More details later.

This weekend we will be working on getting final exams ready on Saturday, and then heading to a snake farm on Sunday.  Maybe a market too?

Eduardo

Weekend Plans

Dear blog readers,

I thought I would try something different for a change, and post about what we are GOING to do.  Tomorrow (Thursday) is the Queen's birthday, and we have yet another long weekend (Thursday - Sunday).  We have decided to take advantage of this, and go have some fun in Southern Thailand.  We leave tonight on an overnight bus to Koh Tao, a gorgeous tropical paradise in the Gulf of Thailand.We will be staying in a quiet cove in a bungalow on the beach, so we can get up and walk down the beach to swim or soak up the sun.  Of course we could also just relax and have an oceanside massage...  life is tough.

We will be enjoying one of our new favorite hobbies, snorkeling!  There are whale sharks, as well as some good coral reefs to check out in the area.  Should be fun.

To make you a little more jealous...  the weather will be between 26 and 33 Celsius, gentle breezes, and did I mention a bungalow by the beach?

Video to follow later...  for now just enjoy these pics from the web...

Jealous?  (sorry...)

Sin City

We spent some time in Pattaya recently.  Not really many pictures to share, as we spent most of our time on the beach or out on the ocean.  Pattaya is really just one big red light district.  Filled with massage parlors, bars, and never ending game of guess which one is a man, Pattaya was a treat for the senses.

We stayed at a nice little resort just outside of the city.  I say resort, but it was really a Best Western.  Breakfast was included in the price, and it looked safe, so we stayed there.  I also used one of the free nights we had earned from Hotels.com, so it made the price very reasonable.  There were plenty of rooms available in Pattaya that were VERY cheap, but I read numerous warnings about hotel staff, etc so we opted for the safe route.

The only problem with the hotel is that it was so far outside of Pattaya.  There was a hotel shuttle, but it on the hour, and involved the picking up and dropping off of numerous hotel staff, and friends.  One night the driver decided to make a quick stop at 7-11 as well.  Okay, enough about the hotel.

We went to both the Alcazar and Tiffany show in Pattaya.  These are essentially musical acts with an entire cast of drag queens.  Some were very convincing, others were not.  Good to see, but thankfully I think we've both had our fill.

We spent an entire day out on the water snorkeling, fishing, and just relaxing.  It was so much fun!  At one point we had a very small yellow and black striped fish swimming with us.  It wouldn't leave us alone!  At first it liked Christine and kept swimming underneath her.  Everywhere she went it followed, less than an inch below.Finally she lost it and it found me!  Very cute and made us laugh a little through our snorkels.  Unfortunately the water was quite green, but we managed to see a little.

The same night, I had my cheeks pinched walking past a bar.  The ladies (or men??) were rather forward.  Christine was not impressed.  Pattaya easily puts Las Vegas to shame.

All for now...