Thailand 2004

One of the places we plan on traveling to on our trip is Thailand. The last time I visited Thailand was with my Dad in 2004, barely three months after the tsunami hit. Thailand was still beautiful, but the devastation was clear. Most memorable was Phi Phi Island, best known for being the island where The Beach was filmed. After seeing the movie, I was blown away by what Phi Phi looked like. Not only were all the buildings wiped out and hotel lobbies washed away, but there were piles and piles of rubble and garbage, and practically no trees left. This was the beautiful island I had seen in The Beach, lush with tropical forests and white sandy beaches. 

One inspiring thing is that the island was turned into a hub for aid workers. Make-shift shacks had been set up and a few little bars offered shade for the volunteers to grab lunch. In the center of all this action stood one lone Banyan tree. It had survived the horrors of the tsunami and it seemed like it had become a sort of symbol for strength on the island. Surrounded by raggedy Palms, it was wrapped in thick multicoloured pieces of fabric that had been roughly tied like ribbons of honor. It was such a beautiful site amongst all the chaos. When we go back to Phi Phi Island I want to try and find that tree. 

We found this dock on an uninhabited island. I thought (and still think) it looks like the type of thing that would be preprogrammed on some computer as a desktop image option. 

Boating around the islands, we got to see men collecting nests in the caves along the ocean to make Birds Nest Soup. 

We got to ride an elephant through the jungle back on the mainland where my Dads friends joined us

Our hotel was based on Krabi beach, and this is what the town looked like near it. Wiped away and empty.

Washed up boat on the beach near our hotel

"Penis Cave" on Krabi beach, people left penises of all shapes and sizes here as an offering to the gods in hopes that they would become pregnant.  

Our hotel beach bar. Of course, I was only 14 so it was pineapple juice for me. 

Ominous clouds rolling in....

Dancing in a tropical rain storm! 

Soon after this I unfortunately got sun stroke and was MIA for days. It happened after my Dad and I Kayaked around the small islands off Krabi beach. My neck was exposed and burned, aparently causing sun stroke. I couldn't leave the hotel room for days and days, couldn't keep anything down... or in.... leaving me even more dehydrated and sick. I took some medicine the hotel doctor prescribed me and slowly got better, but overall was so miserable. Because of this, I didn't get to experience Thailand to the fullest. 

Our hotel, which was also hurt by the tsunami. If you look on the website now you can see how beautiful it usually is. I've had three professional massages in my life, and one of them was at the spa here. It was amazing! If you can afford it, I would definitely recommend this hotel. However, we're going to be backpacking this leg of the trip and won't be staying anywhere as stunning as this on my return to Thailand
http://www.rayavadee.com/

Our hotel "room" where I ended up hanging out most of the trip.

Back in Bangkok, things were speeding along as usual as they weren't hit by the tsunami.  We visited at the leg-end of our trip so I was feeling a lot better at this point. Note how incredibly pale I am despite spending 10 days in one of the most sought after sunny beach-destinations on the planet. 

The Grand Palace was definitely the highlight of what we saw in the few short days we were there. 

Monks

Me, posing in front of gold tiles at the Bankok Grand Palace

While seeing Thailand in the peak of it's devastation after the tsunami was really interesting and a memorable experience, I must admit I am super excited to go back and see Thailand as it's been described by countless friends, movies, and tourists. I'm also going to be cautious of my sun intake and make sure I don't have a repeat of sunstroke!

Next on our trip we stopped over in Singapore, the cleanest city on earth. I have now been there twice-once when I was 11 on the way back from India, and then during this trip when I was 14. Now, almost 10 years later Ajda and I will also be going from Thailand to Singapore. And while we won't be able to afford staying at Raffles Hotel like I was so lucky to do in my youth, we will be enjoying a Singapore Sling there... and this time mine won't be a virgin!

More photos and posts about India and Singapore to come leading up to our trip.