As we sat around on the beaches in Thailand, we were trying to plan where we wanted to head next. For most of the trip, we had a general idea of where we wanted to go and knew we had to be in certain places at a certain time for our flight, but other then that, we have been kind of going by the seat of our pants. We pick countries as we go and reschedule flights as needed.
So this was no different. We knew we had to be back in Bangkok for Aug 13th for our flight to China, but other then that we didn't have any plans. We started asking around, researching online and looking at a map to see what would be the best bet. It's monsoon season in a lot of Asia, so we had to work around that and we wanted to go to Singapore to visit our friends, so another thing we had to keep in mind.
We finally decided to do either Malaysia or Indonesia. The last deciding factor was by Arnold. He didn't want to go back to a place like India - he didn't want to deal with people looking at me and me having to worry about what I was going to wear. BTW, when we were in India, there was no PDA between Arnold and I. We couldn't hold hands, hug or kiss while in public. Not that we are big hand holders or anything like that, it was still a bit weird that we had to be careful about touching. We weren't ready to go back to a country where I had to watch what I was wearing and not just be able to enjoy ourselves.
So with that being said, it was decided that we would head to Indo for two weeks and see how things went. A couple days before we left, we booked a flight to Bali via Kuala Lumpur and we were on our way. So that is where we have been for the past little while. Best choice ever. Most posts coming about.
Love Melissa and Arnold
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Backpack Update
While we were in France, we were going to send home a box full of stuff we didn't want to carry around anymore. Once we found out the price, we said forget it and that we would ask my parents in law if they could take some stuff home with them. Since we were meeting up with our family in Thailand in a months time, we decided to save the money and deal with the heavy bags.
After lugging all this stuff through India we were sooo excited to off load some extra weight. Just so you know, we filled a medium sized suitcase full (like jam packed full) of things. I think the bag must have weighed at least 20 pounds (if not more). Plus my mother-in-law is carrying on a small bag for me as well. haha. We had a lot of stuff.
The sad part though, my backpack still weights 16kg?!?! I'm not sure how that has happened either haha. I thought that it would have been a bit lighter. But I have lots of room now to buy things ;)
Love Melissa
me and my backpack
And Arnold sitting on his trying to close it haha .... he was sweating by the end of it. Mine might be heavy, but at least I could close it haha
After lugging all this stuff through India we were sooo excited to off load some extra weight. Just so you know, we filled a medium sized suitcase full (like jam packed full) of things. I think the bag must have weighed at least 20 pounds (if not more). Plus my mother-in-law is carrying on a small bag for me as well. haha. We had a lot of stuff.
The sad part though, my backpack still weights 16kg?!?! I'm not sure how that has happened either haha. I thought that it would have been a bit lighter. But I have lots of room now to buy things ;)
Love Melissa
me and my backpack
And Arnold sitting on his trying to close it haha .... he was sweating by the end of it. Mine might be heavy, but at least I could close it haha
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
One month to go and missing home
When we first left Canada - I had a lot of people asking me if I was homesick. Now that we are one month away from the end of this amazing trip, I am getting a lot of people asking me again if I miss home.
I am definitely NOT homesick. I am not tired of living out of a backpack and always being on the move. I am actually a bit sad that we only have a month left to go before we head home. Of course I will be very excited to go home and see everyone, but I don't know if I'm ready just yet. I have enjoyed everything on this trip and I still am enjoying everything.
I held a blackberry in my hand a couple of weeks ago for the first time in 5 1/2 months and I did miss BBM. I think it will be weird for me to go home and have a closet full of clothes haha. I'm so used to having a limited selection of clothing that I don't even really have to think about what I am going to wear. Sometimes, places aren't as clean as I would like them to be and I have to force myself to let go, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I think I could spend another couple of months away before I would get tired of being away an want to go home, but as of right now, I am definitely happy to be away. I think seeing our family in Thailand was really good for us. Also, our last two months of the trip is actually with friends and family. Our first 5 months was spent solo and now we are either traveling with friends or visiting friend in the places we stop.
But we will be back home in a months time (unless we change our plans) but still have 3 more countries to see and lots of things to do :)
Well, that's all I have time for this morning. Have lots and lots coming, but I want to go eat and get on with the day. Hope all is well in Canada and thanks for reading.
Much Love
Melissa and Arnold
I am definitely NOT homesick. I am not tired of living out of a backpack and always being on the move. I am actually a bit sad that we only have a month left to go before we head home. Of course I will be very excited to go home and see everyone, but I don't know if I'm ready just yet. I have enjoyed everything on this trip and I still am enjoying everything.
I held a blackberry in my hand a couple of weeks ago for the first time in 5 1/2 months and I did miss BBM. I think it will be weird for me to go home and have a closet full of clothes haha. I'm so used to having a limited selection of clothing that I don't even really have to think about what I am going to wear. Sometimes, places aren't as clean as I would like them to be and I have to force myself to let go, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I think I could spend another couple of months away before I would get tired of being away an want to go home, but as of right now, I am definitely happy to be away. I think seeing our family in Thailand was really good for us. Also, our last two months of the trip is actually with friends and family. Our first 5 months was spent solo and now we are either traveling with friends or visiting friend in the places we stop.
But we will be back home in a months time (unless we change our plans) but still have 3 more countries to see and lots of things to do :)
Well, that's all I have time for this morning. Have lots and lots coming, but I want to go eat and get on with the day. Hope all is well in Canada and thanks for reading.
Much Love
Melissa and Arnold
Scooters
A popular thing to do in Thailand is rent a scooter. The first time I was there, we saw loads of people with road rash and were told that renting a scooter was a bad idea and to stay away from them. You didn't have to tell me twice- I had no interest in looking like half of the people we saw.
This time around, was a different story. Once we got to Ko Tao, we decided to rent scooters. I was terrified. First off, you always hear about how they will charge you small fortune if you put one little scratch on the bike and to be very careful when renting. Secondly, I didn't want to drive one or be on the back of one. But I was out numbered and had to suck it up. Arnold was going to drive and I was going to sit on the back. After everyone had signed the forms and inspected the bikes, we were on our way. Sort of. LOL
The roads in Ko Tao aren't the best, we were on a back road so it was in terrible condition. Not an ideal starting point for people who have never rode a scooter before. I think it took everyone about 10 minutes to get the hang of things and then we were off to tour the island. Thankfully no one crashed, no one damaged the bike and we all walked away unharmed, but it was pretty funny to watch. At one point, one of the girls we were with (who is 19 weeks pregnant) was being chased by a dog on her scooter, but she just kept on going. I wouldn't let Arnold go faster then 40km/hr. It was actually a lot of fun and now I'm looking forward to my scooter ride in Korea ;) haha.
Love Melissa and Arnold
This time around, was a different story. Once we got to Ko Tao, we decided to rent scooters. I was terrified. First off, you always hear about how they will charge you small fortune if you put one little scratch on the bike and to be very careful when renting. Secondly, I didn't want to drive one or be on the back of one. But I was out numbered and had to suck it up. Arnold was going to drive and I was going to sit on the back. After everyone had signed the forms and inspected the bikes, we were on our way. Sort of. LOL
The roads in Ko Tao aren't the best, we were on a back road so it was in terrible condition. Not an ideal starting point for people who have never rode a scooter before. I think it took everyone about 10 minutes to get the hang of things and then we were off to tour the island. Thankfully no one crashed, no one damaged the bike and we all walked away unharmed, but it was pretty funny to watch. At one point, one of the girls we were with (who is 19 weeks pregnant) was being chased by a dog on her scooter, but she just kept on going. I wouldn't let Arnold go faster then 40km/hr. It was actually a lot of fun and now I'm looking forward to my scooter ride in Korea ;) haha.
Love Melissa and Arnold
$10 a night
After spending time in Africa and Europe - we were excited to get to Asia because it would be sooo much cheaper and we wouldn't have to spend as much money. So far on our trip, Africa is the MOST expensive place we have been - hands down. I think I have mentioned it before. It destroyed our budget for the trip haha. NOTHING is cheap there - not even food. Once, we had to pay $60US for a cab from the airport to the hotel - that is more expensive then a cab in NYC. Crazy, right.
Anyway, I always told Arnold how cheap Thailand was and that you could get cute little bungalows on the beach for $10 a night. After coming from India, Thailand actually seemed expensive - imagine that. But I think that is because we could eat dinner for $6 CND for two people in India. Whereas in Thailand, it would cost us $12CND. While we were in Ko Samui, we got a little spoiled by the places we were staying - places we wouldn't have gone to while on this trip because it was outside my "budget range" (haha Arnold hates my budget range - but I'm cheap). But it was for my sister in laws wedding and we wanted to stay where they were staying - so I dusted off our wallet and splurged on nice hotels for 5 nights.
As I mentioned before, we left Samui to head to Haad Yuan which didn't have a lot of hotel options. You had cheap bungalows and one "expensive" hotel. So on our first night we all decided to check into the cheap bungalows. There was 8 of us - who were all way past the days of being poor students. I couldn't believe it, we found a room for $10 a night - a cute beach bungalow. HA HA HA. All 8 of us lasted one night in the $10/night accommodations and decided we weren't cut out for it and checked ourselves into the expensive hotel for two nights. So yes, I'm proud to say that we spent $10 on a room for a night, but I will NEVER do that again. Last time we were in Thailand, my girlfriend and I stayed in very cheap places, but we thought they were great. How things have changed. LOL
I remember waking up in the middle of the night and Arnold said he got bite by a mozzie on the back of his neck and asked me to get the cream for it. So I took a look at it, realized that it definitely wasn't a mozzie bite, put a little cream on it for him and kept my mouth shut. I knew that if I told him it wasn't a mozzie bite he would freak out and not sleep. I finally let him in on the secret once we woke up. Needless to say, I was happy to break my hotel "budget" once again for a nice place to stay.
Love Melissa and Arnold
Anyway, I always told Arnold how cheap Thailand was and that you could get cute little bungalows on the beach for $10 a night. After coming from India, Thailand actually seemed expensive - imagine that. But I think that is because we could eat dinner for $6 CND for two people in India. Whereas in Thailand, it would cost us $12CND. While we were in Ko Samui, we got a little spoiled by the places we were staying - places we wouldn't have gone to while on this trip because it was outside my "budget range" (haha Arnold hates my budget range - but I'm cheap). But it was for my sister in laws wedding and we wanted to stay where they were staying - so I dusted off our wallet and splurged on nice hotels for 5 nights.
As I mentioned before, we left Samui to head to Haad Yuan which didn't have a lot of hotel options. You had cheap bungalows and one "expensive" hotel. So on our first night we all decided to check into the cheap bungalows. There was 8 of us - who were all way past the days of being poor students. I couldn't believe it, we found a room for $10 a night - a cute beach bungalow. HA HA HA. All 8 of us lasted one night in the $10/night accommodations and decided we weren't cut out for it and checked ourselves into the expensive hotel for two nights. So yes, I'm proud to say that we spent $10 on a room for a night, but I will NEVER do that again. Last time we were in Thailand, my girlfriend and I stayed in very cheap places, but we thought they were great. How things have changed. LOL
I remember waking up in the middle of the night and Arnold said he got bite by a mozzie on the back of his neck and asked me to get the cream for it. So I took a look at it, realized that it definitely wasn't a mozzie bite, put a little cream on it for him and kept my mouth shut. I knew that if I told him it wasn't a mozzie bite he would freak out and not sleep. I finally let him in on the secret once we woke up. Needless to say, I was happy to break my hotel "budget" once again for a nice place to stay.
Love Melissa and Arnold
Island Hopping
We have been off the grid for the past 4 days, so I haven't been able to post any blog posts or get to emails. But we are back in civilization and have a bit of time to blog.
After Shelley and Agri's wedding we spent a couple more days with the family in Ko Samui and then we were off to the surrounding islands - but "kids" only. We left my parents in law in Samui and headed off with the newly weds and their friends for a little RnR. Much needed, might I add. All Arnold and I wanted to do was sit by a pool or beach and relax and regroup after India. And that is exactly what we did.
We headed to Haad Yuan which is only accessible by boat, has limited internet and only a couple of places to stay. So it was perfect!!! We got to spend a lot of time with my sister in law and her new husband. Plus get to know all of their amazing friends better. The first time I went to Thailand, my girlfriend and I took a boat to this beach and I remember telling Arnold how amazing it was and that if we ever went to Thailand together, that we would have to go there. So it was pretty cool, that I got to take him there and show him what I saw.
After spending a couple days there, we were off to Ko Tao. I was VERY excited to go there because I had never been there before, so it would all be new for me. So far, all of the places that we went, I had already been, so I was excited to see a couple of new parts in Thailand. Arnold and I both think that Ko Tao was our favourite island. It had a great vibe and lots to see and do. We actually wished we had more time there.
After Shelley and Agri's wedding we spent a couple more days with the family in Ko Samui and then we were off to the surrounding islands - but "kids" only. We left my parents in law in Samui and headed off with the newly weds and their friends for a little RnR. Much needed, might I add. All Arnold and I wanted to do was sit by a pool or beach and relax and regroup after India. And that is exactly what we did.
We headed to Haad Yuan which is only accessible by boat, has limited internet and only a couple of places to stay. So it was perfect!!! We got to spend a lot of time with my sister in law and her new husband. Plus get to know all of their amazing friends better. The first time I went to Thailand, my girlfriend and I took a boat to this beach and I remember telling Arnold how amazing it was and that if we ever went to Thailand together, that we would have to go there. So it was pretty cool, that I got to take him there and show him what I saw.
After spending a couple days there, we were off to Ko Tao. I was VERY excited to go there because I had never been there before, so it would all be new for me. So far, all of the places that we went, I had already been, so I was excited to see a couple of new parts in Thailand. Arnold and I both think that Ko Tao was our favourite island. It had a great vibe and lots to see and do. We actually wished we had more time there.
Breaking the rules...
Arnold and I were doing so good - we had kept the promise of being on time for our flights and making sure we had more then enough time. For two whole weeks - we would triple check departure times, triple check travel time to the airport etc etc. We were on a roll and then it came crashing down. Honestly, we get ourselves into some pretty silly situations.
Three days, three flights - so as you can imagine, we were on the go non-stop. We arrived in Bangkok on July 13th at 5:35am after a red eye from Mumbai. We were dead tired - normally it wouldn't be so bad, but the flight had so much turbulence that we could barely sleep (I think we got about 45 minutes of sleep). We get to our hotel that morning and thankfully our room was ready!!! woohooo, we crash until noon and then head out for a full day of sights. After an action packed day we get back to the hotel and sort of pack because we have another early flight out then next morning. I set the alarm for 6:35am and 6:40am. Our flight isn't till 9:45am and we are about 45minutes away from the airport. Lots of time
The alarm goes off and I wait in bed for the second one to go off before I get up. I boot up my PC and check my email and then I'm about to head into the shower. For whatever reason, something in my head clicks and I panic and wonder what time it is. I remember seeing the clock on my PC saying 7:14pm (my PC is still on Calgary time, but I still use it to tell the time). My heart is beating so fast - I grabbed the Ipad and freak. It was now 8:20am!!! I forgot to change the clock from India time to Thailand time and India is 1 1/2 hours behind. Holy Crap - we are never going to make this flight. I start running around the hotel room trying to jam as much stuff into my backpack meanwhile trying to get Arnold up. Here is how it works out
Me: "Arnold get up"
Arnold: no response - still sleeping
Me: "Arnold you have to get up" now in a slightly higher voice
Arnold: no response - maybe still sleeping or maybe pretending to sleep and ignoring me
Me: now very panicked "ARNOLD, GET UP!!! We are late for our flight, OMG, OMG, OMG" in a very high voice, frantically running around screaming. haha
Finally he gets up and thankfully we had semi packed and organized our stuff the night before because within 10 minutes we are out the door. By the time we finally get a cab it is about 8:35 to 8:40am. (remember still 45 minutes to the airport with no traffic). I honestly felt really bad for our taxi driver because we were one of those back seat drivers, telling him which lane to use and trying our best not to panic. I'm not sure how we did it, but we ended up getting to the airport at 9:20am. The traffic gods were with us that morning. I ran up to the counter while Arnold dealt with the bags and got us onto our flight (haha poor guy flying standby thought he was on that flight, but we showed up 1 minute before they gave up our seat). One bag made it and the other one came on a later flight - but we were just happy to have made the flight seeing how Arnold's sisters wedding was the next day - eek.
But now we are back on track ;)
Love Melissa and Arnold
Three days, three flights - so as you can imagine, we were on the go non-stop. We arrived in Bangkok on July 13th at 5:35am after a red eye from Mumbai. We were dead tired - normally it wouldn't be so bad, but the flight had so much turbulence that we could barely sleep (I think we got about 45 minutes of sleep). We get to our hotel that morning and thankfully our room was ready!!! woohooo, we crash until noon and then head out for a full day of sights. After an action packed day we get back to the hotel and sort of pack because we have another early flight out then next morning. I set the alarm for 6:35am and 6:40am. Our flight isn't till 9:45am and we are about 45minutes away from the airport. Lots of time
The alarm goes off and I wait in bed for the second one to go off before I get up. I boot up my PC and check my email and then I'm about to head into the shower. For whatever reason, something in my head clicks and I panic and wonder what time it is. I remember seeing the clock on my PC saying 7:14pm (my PC is still on Calgary time, but I still use it to tell the time). My heart is beating so fast - I grabbed the Ipad and freak. It was now 8:20am!!! I forgot to change the clock from India time to Thailand time and India is 1 1/2 hours behind. Holy Crap - we are never going to make this flight. I start running around the hotel room trying to jam as much stuff into my backpack meanwhile trying to get Arnold up. Here is how it works out
Me: "Arnold get up"
Arnold: no response - still sleeping
Me: "Arnold you have to get up" now in a slightly higher voice
Arnold: no response - maybe still sleeping or maybe pretending to sleep and ignoring me
Me: now very panicked "ARNOLD, GET UP!!! We are late for our flight, OMG, OMG, OMG" in a very high voice, frantically running around screaming. haha
Finally he gets up and thankfully we had semi packed and organized our stuff the night before because within 10 minutes we are out the door. By the time we finally get a cab it is about 8:35 to 8:40am. (remember still 45 minutes to the airport with no traffic). I honestly felt really bad for our taxi driver because we were one of those back seat drivers, telling him which lane to use and trying our best not to panic. I'm not sure how we did it, but we ended up getting to the airport at 9:20am. The traffic gods were with us that morning. I ran up to the counter while Arnold dealt with the bags and got us onto our flight (haha poor guy flying standby thought he was on that flight, but we showed up 1 minute before they gave up our seat). One bag made it and the other one came on a later flight - but we were just happy to have made the flight seeing how Arnold's sisters wedding was the next day - eek.
But now we are back on track ;)
Love Melissa and Arnold
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