BKK Turkey Day

For most Americans and myself, Turkey Day is normally made up of family, friends, food, football, napping, a game where we end up ticked off at each other, and then more food. That’s great and I missed my family and friends back home terribly this Thanksgiving, but when life hands you raw fish you make sushi!

Sunrise Dive or a Knock at Death's Door?

Sai Ree beach in Koh Tao during Monsoon Season.

Once my friend Michele finished her PADI dive certification in Koh Tao, we decided to do a “Sunrise” dive together. We had to meet at Big Blue for 5:30 am and leave the beach with our gear by 6 am. I dragged myself out of bed after 3 hours of sleep and strolled down the beach in the dark. Even though it was still dim outside, you could tell the weather was going to act up. Monsoon season was in full throttle at this point.

Koh Tao - Diving Heaven on My Face

Gorgeous beach sunset on Koh Tao.

When I was a little girl and adults asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” my reply without hesitation was “A mermaid.”  I actually remember saying this and to be perfectly honest, it’s still true.  I love water in every form the lake, ocean, river, bathtub (my friends can attest to the last one).

Koh Phangan - Mai Pen Rai “No Worries”

Beach at Mai Pen Rai on Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan is a fairly large island, so since we’d been limited to only a small section of it during the Full Moon Party, about 8 of us moved to the central east coast of the island to investigate what else the amazing isle has to offer.  Than Sadet was desolate and difficult to travel to, we had several near death experiences in the back of Pong’s truck on the trek out there.  No cell phone or Internet service, ATM’s, or minimarts exist in the isolated region.

Good Gollie Miss Mollie – FULL MOON PARTY

Saddling up with buckets outside the party.

I believe the number one mandate of Full Moon Party is what happens at Full Moon stays at Full Moon.  Therefore instead of sharing my complete personal experience with my readers, I’ll give you a general idea of what shenanigans go on.

Full Moon Party is a once a month beach rave where backpackers and travelers from all over the world come to party their faces off on Haad Rin beach in Koh Phangan, Thailand under the moonlit sky.

Let's Talk a Little "Operation Koh Samui"

Leaving Nai Harn proved to be a pretty easy transition considering 14 of us were headed to the beautiful island of Koh Samui. Chem, our beloved tuk-tuk driver for the 3 weeks while we stayed in Phuket, happily offered for he and his brother to drive the herd four hours by minibus (so we thought) to Don Sak pier. Here we boarded a ferry headed to Samui. When Chem showed up at 7AM we had one minibus and Chem’s Thai sized SUV with a massive stereo system that took up the entire luggage area.

Kata Beach - Pretty Nice Little Saturday

One beach north of the lovely Nai Harn is Kata beach. Five of us took an afternoon to explore the area and the shopping in Kata, which is about a 12-minute drive from Nai Harn on a tuk-tuk. Overall the beachside town is the same as the rest; shop after shop that sell the same same (common Thai phrase used to indicate that something is the same when clearly it is different) Chang tank tops and Ray Bans in every color of the rainbow.