The Andaman Coast of Thailand

After a quick 20 minute puddle jump from Penang on a small propeller plane, we landed in Phuket Thailand. (pronounced Poo-ket) Not knowing that there was a time difference between the two countries, we waited an extra hour for a public bus to take us to Phuket town to stay for the night. We found this amazing place in Old town called 99 old town guest house. At night, we got the best italian food, (gnochi and pasta) from the street over and washed it all down with wine.

The next morning we caught a ferry on the Andaman Sea to a very popular island called Koh Phi Phi (pronounced Ko P. P.) We had heard the beaches were amazing and Roy couldn't wait to get back in the water. For those who have seen the movie the Beach with Leonardo Dicaprio, the movie was filmed at this island because the island looks undisputedly like paradise.

 When we arrived, everything we had hoped was true! Well sort of. The beach was as expectedly beautiful as we had imagined with white sandy beaches and blue turquoise water on one of the days (minus some spots of trash which was such a bummer) We even got to see some of the spectacular untouched views when we went kayaking. The vertical rocks and landscape were just breathtaking.

On a not so happy note, we want to show how badly many of the beaches here are polluted with trash. This was the high tide line on the seemingly empty beach in paradise in the photo above. The amount of garbage that is thrown into the ocean here is horrendous. Most everywhere we have visited on this trip we have seen similar scenes. Waste management is often poor, especially on small islands with huge influxes of tourists. Many locals dont seem to have much of a concern for the issue, and it is so sad. We always make sure to leave no trash of our own left behind and encourage others to do the same when we witness someone littering, but there must be more done to stop this. 

Aside from that, this island was a tourist mecca. Word has gotten out about this spectacular island. Phi Phi is jam packed with guest houses, hostels, tourist centers, massage shops, souvenir shops, restaurants tattoo shops, bars and clubs everywhere with music blasting till the wee hours of the night. If you want to party all night, sober up on the beach the next morning and repeat, then this is the place is for you. If you are trying to relax or experience local culture, we would not recommend staying in the heart of the island. Don't get us wrong, we sure enjoyed our time in Koh Phi Phi especially to celebrate the Red Sox victory and Halloween but a few days was more than enough.

It took us a little while to figure out where to take the ferry next. We had heard such great things about Railey (a beach city off the mainland) and thought it would a nice place to check out but we ended up choosing Koh Lanta, another island close by and known for being a little quieter. No mistake, we sure chose the right place.

After a two hour ferry ride, and a quick check into a bungalow, we found ourselves basking in the hot sun on the pristine beach in paradise! It was such a beautiful place and it seemed like we had it all to ourselves.

To our surprise, Roy's friend Greg and his friend Kevin were also visiting Koh Lanta! For the next few days we enjoyed the Island together. One day we rented a Tuk Tuk which is a scooter with a large cart attached to the side with many seats and a cover. It kind of looked like a golf cart. The tuk tuk was very hard to drive, especially going up steep hills! But it was a blast.

 We stopped at a chill cafe called Shanti Shanti where we got some excellent homemade ice cream. We also tried barbecue duck that was mouth-watering. They were little crispy slivers we dunked into some amazing brown sauce. So good. We went back again for more.

We had such a great time hanging out on Koh Lanta and playing this really addicting game called dots with Greg and Kevin but unfortunately they had to be on their way. Our last day on the Island we relaxed on the beach and toured the Island on a motorbike. We ended the day at sunset bar where we grabbed a drink and watched a killer sunset!

Our next place of interest to visit was Khao Sok National Park. To get there we needed to catch a ferry and bus to a town on the mainland called Krabi and then take a 2 hour Mini bus ride the following morning to the park. So it was on to Krabi for the day!

We got off the mini bus and automatically started sweating! It was so hot! We quickly found a nice fan-only room on the main road call Good Dream House and went out looking for some food. We were not picky on what we wanted to eat we just wanted air conditioning! We hit the jack pot when we sat down at this trendy looking place called May and Marks. Roy got an amazing Thai Curry pizza and Siobhan got a chicken pot pie. Both were great!

The next few hours we walked along the river and did some shopping. Roy was ecstatic to buy Siobhan some sweet baggy elephant pants. The day passed quickly as it was time for dinner. We headed to the night markets to check out the food! 

The first market was full of produce stalls selling all kind of exotic fruits and goodies. The second night market had locals cooking all sorts of traditional thai dishes.

 When our bellies were full we went back to our room to watch the movie The Beach as Siobhan had never seen it before and then went straight to bed for an early morning start.

Penang Malaysia = Food!

We arrived in Penang, an island off the north western coast of Malaysia. We were ready for 5 days of fun since the Perhentian islands on the West coast of Malaysia were already closed due to an early monsoon season. We were bummed but were excited to take our time in Penang. AKA eat as much amazing food as we possibly could!

We settled into our room at the Old Penang Guest House on the famous Love Lane street right off the main road in Chinatown. It was a nice, clean, place full of character and interesting travelers. However the best quality of our guesthouse was that it was in the most perfect location. It was a 10 minute walk to our favorite Indian food place, 7 minutes to the Red Garden Food court, and not even a 2 minute walk to the food stalls in Chinatown!

At the Indian restaurant we chose from a buffet of 30+ scrumptious looking dishes such as tandoori Chicken, Chicken Masala, vegetable curry, fish, tofu, and of course Garlic Naan. All you had to do was point and the cook would give you a huge helping on your plate. Behind the Indian place, there was a little stall where Roy enjoyed Tea Tarik, or Pulled Tea in English. This is a mixture of Indian tea and lots of condensed milk poured together in a long stream from one cup to the other to mix it and create a frothy consitancy and also cooling it to the perfect drinking temerature. It was quite a show!

Red Garden was like a food court of food halkers with permanent spots. It was always hopping with live music and tons of tourists. Siobhan tried local dishes such as fried oysters (which was like a fried oyster omelette) and a local specialty called Laksa which is a sour soup made from fish broth with vegetables, meat, and mint flavors Roy tried clay pot Frog leg Porridge. The fried oysters were delicious, the clay pot frog leg porridge was OK and the Laksa was terrible! Roy gave the laksa another chance later in the week and actually enjoyed it. Siobhan won't be trying it again soon.

And then there was our most favorite place to eat, the Chinatown food stalls! 20 or so food stalls set up along the street with scattered mini tables and chairs all around. It was remarkable to see the empty sidewalks during the day and the massive set up every night from about 4 pm to 1 am.

 All the cooks were constantly moving, taking orders, cleaning and doing lots of cooking! The food was made on the spot and so fresh. Our favorites were the Wan Tan Mee (wonton soup with pork) Curry Mee (a spicy chinese  curried noodle soup) and the banana/coconut mini pancakes that the owner whipped out like a champ every minute. Another plus was that no item cost over 2 dollars! Thats our kind of price!

We suppose we did a few other things besides eat food. On one day we took a tour of the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion also called the blue mansion due to its periwinkle blue exterior. This Mansion was originally built by a chinese man named Cheong Fatt Tze in the 1800's who made his wealth from creating multiple businesses in the newly developing South East Asia. He built his Chinese mansion in Malysia for his most favorite wife and son to live in. Over the many years, the house deteriorated and all of Cheong's businesses and wealth were distributed and sold. It was not until 1990 that the house was finally sold to men who planned to restore the mansion to its former glory. It was an 8 year project but turned out to be a huge success. The mansion even got an award from UNESCO as a world heritage sight for being one of the best restoration projects.

We were given tons of information about the Chinese mansion from our tour guide. She explained to us that the Chinese lucky number is 8 which Cheong Fatt Tze  incorporated into many aspects of the design of the house. For example the floor tiles all had a pattern of 8. The Chinese also believe in Feng Shui which is a maintained balance in your life. There are many practices and different variations. This is because the balance in your life could be different from someone elses. So you have to find what works for you. But one common theme of Feng Shui is that  water must meet air and land. In order for that to happen, the Chinese always have an open courtyard in their house letting water air and land connect with one another. The last interesting part of our tour were the incredible cut and paste mosaics on the front balcony made out of colorful bowls. Each mosaic depicted a famous story in Chinese Literature. Fun fact: In china, the emperor banned anyone to have certain literary depictions displayed in their house. But because Cheong Fatt Tze's mansion was in Malaysia, he did not have to obey. Therefore these mosaics are one of a kind and cannot be found in any other chinese house.

Another fun attraction we decided to do was journey to Penang Hill to see the stunning view of the city from above. We rode a really funky looking train called the funicular built on an angle going upwards. It was a steep and interesting 10 minute ride. 

When we got to the top we were incredibly disappointed because it was cloudy/foggy and we could not see a thing below. We tried to keep our spirits up by grabbing a beer at one of the sky bars.

 Lucky for us, as  night fall came the clouds dissipated and like magic the city appeared glittering below us. It was spectacular.

Another stop was a little Chinese tea house where we got a traditional pot of Chinese Rock tea and dinner.  It was delicious!

On the last day of Penang we found a wonderful local market full of crafts made from the people of Penang. They had some really cool items. We would tell you, but then we would ruin the surprise of Christmas GIFTS!

There was so much to love in Penang. Especially the food! Over all, Malaysia was such a diverse and peaceful country. We were so thanful that we got to experience the people and their culture. And especially the FOOD! But now instead of Indian curry its time to try green thai curry! See you next in Thailand!