Samui to Phuket

Well the weather is much better today. No rain just some clouds but really beautiful. We are headed to the beach. Breakfast was fried chicken and sticky rice and chocolate milk. Good for any meal really. Trying to decide what I am going to do. Might end up in Phuket but we will see. Waiting to hear back on things. So glad to be hear. It does my soul good. 

Today was fun and the wearer was quite good all day. Some sun but mostly overcast keeping things a bit cooler. We walked the beach quite aways going through some areas that felt like a machete would be helpful. We ended up on some nice resort which took advantage of the amenities offered including some loving in a hammock and swimming on their beaches. I am headed to Phuket to meet up with some friends from back home tomorrow early. I also get to talk to my family so I will wake up at 5 AM. 

We had a nice dinner on a balcony overlooking the ocean. I had fried pork with kale. It was really good. Nice atmosphere for sure and better food than usual. Then we waked out to the pier and there were kids that were casting nets. We say out there and enjoyed the ocean for a bit. Koh Samui was a nice stop. Short for me but it's really nice. 

Massage on the beach

I woke up at five to Talk to my family which was nice and am now in a minibus headed towards the pier. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. It's so beautiful here. We are on the ferry and you pass all these really cool small islands. I am alone and it feels really cool to just be chilling on the top if the ferry in the sun soaking in the scenery while listening to music. 

I met a girl from Germany on the bus who came to the Thailand in part because the do bamboo tattoos. She even gave herself one. Kind of interesting. We got to talking about everyone who travels and how they come from desk jobs but want to change to something different. I also met a Swiss guy who is a painter and works six months then travels six. Not a bad gig. 

We say at a bus stop for a couple hours and now we are going to another bus stop to get on a different bus. Their efforts are not ever that  well coordinated. Apparently there is some flooding towards Patong that is making it difficult to get cars in. I had paid the company to take me into to town but not they said they can't and gave me my money back. Hopefully I can kind a few people to split a taxi with me. 

While waiting for the bus I walked around town and ate. It was nice. Not touristy. We were kind of in the middle of nowhere. 

Traveling is interesting. We were walking back to the hotel and were maybe 3-4 km from out hotel and we flagged a taxi who wanted 200 baht. Which is $7 and we would have split it three ways. Anyway. It was way too much so we walked the rest of the way to the hotel. We ended up getting water and ice cream in the way back so not sure it was much of a victory but it's just funny how you change. If I was home and someone told me I could pay $2 and save about an hour there is no way I am saying no. Oh well. I like walking. I enjoy being in the towns and I love not feeling rushed for the most part. 

I talked to the family today and they were celebrating thanksgiving and it's a tradition of ours to say what we are thankful on for. I missed it this year which is sad. It's usually a really amazing and typically emotional experience. This year I have so much to be thankful for. It's been up and down for sure but this opportunity to travel has been incredible. I have met so many incredible people and I am so glad to have them in my life. I am grateful to Brandt. He won't ever read this but he is as good of a friend as anyone could ask for. I couldn't as for a better person to adventure with. I learn from him all the time. I am grateful for my Family and friends back home. I feel like I have the best of both. Its been a year of so much change and I honestly am not sure I could handle another one like it. I feel so grateful to be in the place I am right now. I am loving life. It took a minute to get there. I am grateful for things we take for granted and have become so accustomed to. My time in the village really opened my eyes to that, and that experience itself was so amazing on so many levels. Theres a lot to be grateful for. I hope people can remember that especially over thanksgiving. 

I made it to Phuket. And only an hour behind schedule.  One more taxi ride I need to arrange and I will hopefully be where I need to be. 

It's weird being back in Patong. We are driving the same streets I walked a year ago. It was a nightmare last can ride but I made it to my destination. 

My overpriced hotel room in Phuket. Complete with oragami towels. 

Getting to paradise

Another airport post. We are headed from Bangkok to koh samui. I look forward to coming back to Bangkok. Mostly to see my Thai family but actually had a really good time while I was here. I am really excited for some island living. I met a friend in Bangkok from Yosemite I will meet up with and climb with for a while as well. The climbing in Thailand is amazing and I am looking forward to at least a couple of days of checking it out. 

Breakfast. It was so good. 

Saw this on my way back from breakfast. The statue and the monk look a lot alike. 

Leaving Bangkok 

The clouds were cool looking when we came out te top of them. 

Well we just landed in Surat Thani

 and got put on a bus to go to the pier which will take us to koh samui. Apparently the island has significant flooding. Flying in you could see how much of the area surrounding the airport was flooded. The guy at the airport said there was water knee deep on some of the roads. Soppy seeker the weather is supposed to clear up soon. I hope it does. Either way we will make the best of it. I just feel bad because  Brandt's dad has such a short time here. 

There is so much water everywhere. Lots of flooding. The bus we are on is one of those passenger buses and has water leaking all over. It will be nice to get to the bungalow tonight. At least I hope it will. With this flooding who knows what we can expect. 

Flooding. Out the bus window. 

I remember why I love southern Thailand and the islands. It is so gorgeous. Even on a rainy day the coast line and the limestone cliffs coming out of the water are incredible. I might be a little partial because I like to climb and everything looks so awesome to climb. With the rain and dark coming it's got kind of a mysterious feel to it. It's awesome. 

Oddly enough I got use my Spanish skills which are lacking at best. The lady who owns our hotel is from Argentina and I had to explain what we wanted. Didn't think I would use my Spanish here. 

Bangkok adventures

Well we met up with Brandt's dad and set our sights on the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. I have seen the grand palace so elected to sit it out and instead walked around the market area. It was a little different than the markets I have seen. They sold a lot of artifact looking things. They seemed to be religious type of things. Charms and necklaces that held charms. I also went to a museum about the kings. Not the most exciting exhibits but cool enough. The King and Buddhism are the most striking differences in the culture here. There are monuments for the king and wats all over the place. 

Brandt and his dad

So to get here this morning we took the train as far as we could and got on the boat to come up the river. We decided to stand on the back side of the boat and for some reason whoever was driving the boat decided to get too close to another boat and Brandt and his dad and myself all got soaked from head to toe. It was really funny. If it weren't so warm I would have cared maybe but It's a little refreshing. The water is nowhere near clean but no use in fretting about that. Taking the river is a cool way to travel. You get to see really interesting places from a different vantage point. 

We barely missed our boat and missed one earlier. We are waiting to see if there is a last boat but we may have missed the last one for the night. It was a fun day. We went to Wat Pho which was really nice. It has a giant reclining Buddha. It was impressive. We are lots of food and went to Khao San road. Kind of the night area. It was fun we grabbed dinner and waked around for a bit. Even at 9 you see some interesting things. We ended taking a taxi back to the hotel to crash out. We fly again tomorrow. Hopefully flip flops and swim suits for a while. 

I ate a Scorpion. 

These are all in a really random order throughout the day. It was a fun day. We saw lots of the sights. 

Settling in

Thailand!!!!! If you know me at all you know I am the furthest from a foodie there is but there is something about this country that puts me mildly obsessed with food which is saying a lot. It's so good to be back. We are in Bangkok which isn't my favorite part of Thailand but they have the incredible food so I am in heaven. I miss this place. Everyone is so incredibly smiley and excited for you to be there. It's such a cool feeling. We walked some market areas and ate some incredible food. The place we ate had a much larger meat selection than I have seen. They had the regular beef pork am chicken but also had some clams and mussels and even a shellfish of some sort, but the real kicker was frog. Not sure I had seen that in the past. 

Our food being cooked. 

We landed in Bankok and didn't have a plan in where to stay so we decided we would Jump on a train and just stop where we felt like was a good place and then just ask around. It was hot and walking with back packs was less than appealing but we found a good place and got all settled in. 

We got checked into our hotel and got an upgrade on account of our exceeding handsomeness and the fact that they didn't have a clean room. It's nothing special. Two beds and it's clean. Better than what we can expect for some of the trip I am sure. 

Now we are off to see our Thai family. I miss them and am so excited to see them. 

True to form there was food waiting for us. Mae has this preoccupation with making me fat I think. I will do it gladly. The food is so delicious, and she made mango sticky rice which is my favorite. They are so incredible and I just love being around them. We went to the riverfront and went to some shops. It was fun. Has a pretty cool feel to it. It is a really touristy place but fun anyway. We drove past the grand palace and wat pho. We will probably work on getting a closer look tomorrow. I think we will also do some shopping. I left a strong of clothes throughout South Africa so I may need to get a few things. 

I was excited to see my family again. Nothing but smiles. I can't wait to

See them again when we swing back through. 

We got off the train and ran into this office building for the church. Thy were nice and pointed in a direction to find a place to stay.  Though Ty might appreciate it. 

Making a raucous

So it was sad leaving South Africa. We said good bye to Toto and Pablo and took a shuttle ride to the airport. Our driver found out where we were going and said we needed to be careful with the ladies there because they might be guys. I think when I have told people I am going to Thailand that has been the standard response. I guess at least they know something about the country, right? 

We just got on out flight though and they have a pack with socks and a toothbrush. I think Brandt and I are the only Ones excited about them or at least the most excited. I brought enough treats for like five trips, and the sad thing is they will probably last me twenty minutes. My name is Bryson and I am a compulsive eater. 

I talked to my mom this morning about what I've learned on my trip and it was really fun thinking over my time here. It's sometimes a blur of people and places and experiences but thinking it over was fun. The people and experiences have been phenomenal. The country is unreal. If you haven't been there do it. The thought of traveling and the risk of leaving a job and everything else was scary but has been the best decision for me. I don't think it is for everyone but for me  the adventure lies in the fringes and I am loving every minute. Getting out of your comfort zone is terrifying at first but is liberating too. 

So I am watching garden state. It makes me want to listen to the shins. It's been a good flight so far. 

We are in Mumbai now and we had to get new boarding passes. We had to hand our passports to a guy to get new boarding passes. Kind of scary at the present as we don't really have any identifying documents. The first flight went well. It was comfortable enough and no issues to speak of. Hopefully that remains true. 

Got to meet the English guy next to me. He is a lot of fun. He has been drinking and has been giving me a run down on what to do and where to go in Thailand. But he has also been telling me I need to do mushrooms while I am out there. He's a really nice guy and I have now shaken His had a dozen times at least. It's fun to meet people. I made the mistake of asking him about the state of his country and he went on a bit of a racist tirade. Probably not the time to be discussing politics. Travel sure. He sang to me the chim chimery song song from lady poppins I think.  It was funny. He has also climbed across all the seats to get out and go to the bathroom. It was quite the feat considering his level of intoxication. So I guess here's to Dan the English man who made my flight from Mumbai to Bangkok memorable. He wants to get a group together to go to the Philippines to do aid work and for general debauchery. It would be crazy to go with him. I might have toTake a pass on that offer.  

He went from funny to belligerent quick. He started yelling and being quite vocal. That makes people uneasy in a plane. It's a small area. And I am right next to him. He went off on Some drunken diatribe about his supreme majesty and endless possibilities. I think he is about to pass out or I hope. It was really loud. He was yelling telling everyone they should wake up and see the future.now I got a kiss in the forehead. This guys too much. Now we are landing. Dan had to physically be sat down and was quite loud and it was quite awkward. At one point he fell on top of me in a straddles type of position. It was funny at first. Glad to be getting off this plane. 

If they didn't spell using te queens English it might have fit. Just saying. 

Sunrise over Thailand from the plane. The picture sucks. It was cool though. The drunk guy kept saying "that's life coming at you at 400 miles per hour." 

Final days in South Africa

Just left the backpackers near the drakenburg range. Cool place to stay. We had to leave early to the car back to Johan by nine so we got up at three. Our car has almost no power and they said it was struggling with three. It will be an adventure for sure. They named the car Santi for out friend in Spain. So now the group is back together. I like traveling with these guys. Toto corrected me the other day when I said back home he reminded me I don't have a home and that I am a world traveler now. He is maybe a little more serious about his travels than me. It really is great knowing you can make a home anywhere and it feels like the friends you make along the way are family. We definitely look out for each other and have such cool experiences together. 

Early morning breakfast before we set out. 

We are driving and as if the gutless car isn't bad enough we have really heavy fog and the road has potholes everywhere. We are on a mission. 

It's our last day In South Africa. We are going to a soccer match to see Spain and South Africa at JNB stadium. It's the stadium they played World Cup final. People warn us a lot when we are out and about Johannesburg. It's apparently a fairly dangerous city. We haven't had any problems but we tend to go pretty directly from place to place. It has a reputation for sure. We have spent a lot of the days figuring out how on get to and from the match. It runs pretty late so we weren't sure what options we have. 

It's crazy to think we are leaving. I have loved every minute of my trip. Pablo and I were talking about traveling and he said if he were rich he wouldn't change the way he travelled. I have to agree. The accommodations aren't always the best but it becomes a trip of people more than it does places. There's beautiful places everywhere. It's the people you share it with that make the trip. We've been lucky to meet such great people. I can't imagine the trip without the people I have met. 

Our adventure for the day was to go and get the tickets for the soccer game and get treats for the flight tomorrow. This country love their sweets. They are everywhere. The have a lot of sweet stores just for snacks. In that sense I fit right in. Thailand isn't so much that way so hopefully I can eat a little healthier on the next leg of the trip. 

The hostel we stayed at has a nice pool

With a view. It was nice just soaking up some sun. 

Train ride to the stadium 

JNB stadium

Just got to the stadium. It took a taxi ride followed by a train ride. It's huge. 92000 people. Not even close to full but you can feel the energy and hear the vuvuzelas. It's the largest stadium in Africa according to Pablo. I believe it though. The game I think was close to selling out. I am excited to see the beautiful game played the way it ought to be.

Fist half is over and zero zero is the score line. Not terribly exciting but Spain isn't really know for their exciting brand of soccer. It's cool to see some of the players I watch on tv though. Bafana bafana have put on a good show with some decent chances. There are probably sixty thousand in attendance. Not bad for a Tuesday. 

Not really the world class performance I wanted to see with Spain but SA played a great game and deserved the win. 1-0 for bafana bafana 

Well last night is a quiet one after the game. Glad to be safe back at the hostel and in bed. I have loved the trip to South Africa and there have been so many people I met along the way that made it incredible. Next stop Bangkok. Just 16 hours of travel separate us.