Thailand

We made it Thailand late late late on Saturday night and got suckered into the Khoa San Rd district to find a place to stay. And if you know Khoa San Rd, you know that's not a place to show up to at 3AM Saturday night if you're over the age of 21 carrying a pack. Think frat party-cum-transvestite show. Fun. The first room we looked at literally had bed bugs crawling on the pillows. Booked it out of there and stepped up a much needed price notch. The next morning was spent eating delicious Thai food and shopping our hearts out. We somehow wound up staying on vegetarian row much to our stomachs' (maybe not waistlines') delight. Then later that day, after nearly 3 months without seeing anyone we knew on the road, we met up with 2 friends. We spent the night eating and talking with Rochel and Chris, then left the next day with Rochel for the long journey to Ko Lanta. M and I are pros at long bus rides, seriously, we can knock out 16 hours like nothing. South America does that to you. The overnight bus left us in Krabi where we waited to transfer to the boat to Ko Lanta. Why we fell for the old "book your room on the boat" trick I have no idea, so of course we were disappointed upon arrival at our "beach" bungalows. The fist sized, barking toad in the bathroom and the RAT running around the room did not allow for much sleep that night. We booked it to another beach on the island and stayed in lovely bungalows called Sa-bye Sa-bye, with a friendly and thoughtful owner. 2 full days hopping waves, looking for seashells, and teaching M how to relax at the beach came to a quick end. Ko Lanta was gorgeous, but we've seen better so head to some Malaysian islands if you're considering island hopping in SE Asia. We parted ways with Rochel before crossing the Malaysian border, expecting to arrive in the Cameron Highlands that day. 2 days later, after some serious transportation struggles, we arrived. Our time in Thailand was short and not much like P remembered from 5 years back. More tourists, less Thai's, and less smiles. Perhaps Laos is the new Thailand?