Island Hopping in Thailand
Mood:  happy
Topic: Asia Trip
Greetings from the islands of southern Thailand in the Adaman Sea. Sorry we have not written in a while. Let's just say that like many Americans, after the election we needed a vacation!

We flew from Phnom Pehn, Cambodia directly to Phuket island - sometimes referred to as the Cancun of the Thai beaches. We treated ourselves to two nights at a nice resort set among old growth jungle on a hill overlooking Karon Beach. On Tuesday, November 2 we searched for several hours to find a hotel with satellite TV so we could wake up on Wednesday morning and watch the election day evening coverage on CNN. In a way, we almost wished we hadn't, because it just made us even more depressed. At 1:00 PM (1:00 AM EDT in the US), we had to check out of our hotel to catch a ferry to another island, so we left not knowing the real outcome. But what followed the nightmare was a true gift that has brightened our travels immensely. As we got off the small ferryboat at the dock in Koh Yao Noi -- a small undeveloped island with small fishing villages and family run rubber processing shops -- we approached the only 3 other westerners who were on the ferry with us and asked them if they wanted to share a tuk tuk. We all hopped
on and we decided since we hadn't picked a place to stay that night, we would join these two German guys who had already identified a place. Well we really lucked out. We arrived at the small row of spartan bungalows on a fishing cove and decided to check in -- after all, for $9 a night, this would help our budget a lot. But best of all, Marc and Mattias, the two guys from Berlin have now become good friends of ours. Molly and I thought we would remain on this island just one or two days, but our friendship with Marc and Mattias made it too hard to leave, so we stayed for five days with them. We feel so lucky to have met them. Mattias, a PhD in business heading off to work at Booz Allen and I loved talking business. Marc, a nurse, who was wearing a Dolce & Gabana t-shirt the day we met him with the word, "Hedonist" on it, has the best smile of anyone -- yes it rivals Molly's -- and a heart of gold. They don't know this, but the morning we left them to continue to a new part of Thailand, I cried, because we had made such good friends and had to just leave and say goodbye indefinitely. This is the hardest part of traveling -- meeting new friends and then having to say goodbye to maybe never see them again, or at least not for a long time. But Molly and I are sure that we will be making our way to Berlin soon.

Oh I can't forget to mention the highlight of Molly's time on Koh Yao Noi...she got to rent a motor scooter and ride around the island! And I did pretty well as a passenger, much to my amazement. We spent the time on the island hiring a local long-tail boat and hopping to small remote islands to snorkel and relax. At night, we hung out at the small restaurant at our bungalows and ate yummy yellow curry and vegetables, drank local beer out of a can, and played a fun German strategy game that Marc and Mattias had brought. Life on Koh Yao Noi was great.

Now we are on the island of Koh Phi Phi -- the island where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. While a culture shock compared to Koh Yao Noi, it is nice because there are no cars -- so getting around is by foot, bicycle or boat. Today we went snorkeling all day to make the most of our final beach day. Tomorrow we head to Chang Mai to see northern Thailand and hopefully go on a trekking trip.

We miss you all a lot. Even though we don't send individual e-mails to you, please know that we think about you all the time and wonder about each of you. I (Marisa) am thinking about you all and home probably a little too much. Somehow, even though I am seeing so many new places and experiencing new cultures, my mind seems to always wander, drifting to what job I might get when I return to the States and how I will manage to explain this huge gap in my worktime when I apply for jobs. Which really is a crazy way to spend this time...but I guess after two years of business school, which really is a life break, I'm feeling more ready than ever to begin work. I never imagined I would feel this way, but I do.

Love to you all.

Marisa and Molly