Goodbye Thailand

I would have been sad that my time in the country I have come to know so well the last 3 months is over, but looking back I realize how lucky I have been. I have had so many authentic relationships and memories that will carry on with me forever, I got to experience life first-hand of a hill-tribe village, celebrate the new year with my host family, spend a month in crazy Bangkok, and about two weeks floating around the islands of the south. The last island I visited, Koh Phi Phi, is by far the most beautiful place I have ever seen- It will take some work to try and top that place! Plus what got my mind of leaving the country was when I was at the airport- I went and checked my email for one very important message..... I am happy to announce that I have been accepted to the University of California Berkeley!! My hands were trembling as I went to check the status and as I waited for the page to load I felt like the whole world stopped- so much of my time and energy has been focused on getting into this school. When the page finally loaded it read: Congratulations! I jumped and hollered with excitement and everyone stared- I didn't know how to say in Thai that my life just completely changed.

In Koh Toa I met an Irish guy on the boat over who was doing the scuba course as well- we shared a room which ended up saving both us us alot of money plus we both went out to the bars together at night to meet people. It was such an amazing 4 days! I'd get up early to watch the sunrise and eat breakfast by the water then walk along the beach to my diving school where there we would head out on a boat and dive in some of Thailand's clearest waters. Scuba Diving was everything I thought it would be and more, the feeling of weightlessness was incredible. The marine life displayed every vibrant color of the rainbow and I got to see so many different species of fish and coral and swim through a cave where there I saw a white-eyed eel. We ended up going to 18 meters which is about 55 feet- the pressure of the water that far was very strong but we learned how to keep your body equalized. There were 6 people in our course: Me from America, 1 from Ireland, 1 from Austria, 1 from Holland, and 2 from Germany. Everyone was very friendly and out going. Our instructor was German would say things like, "Puts zthe regulator in your mouse, somesing like dat" haha It was like having Arnold Schwarzenegger as your teacher. I am now certified to dive anywhere in the world up to 18 meters!

After the diving course I took a boat to Koh Samui where I stayed for just one day. I met some Thais at the Full Moon party and I exchanged numbers with Ao, one of the girls I met. We kept in touch and she told me to come visit her because it was her friend's birthday party. We had so much fun! Her and her friend Ita showed me around the island and then we went to the party where there were about 10 other Thais and we ate incredible seafood and drank whisky. It was so much fun trying to communicate with them and take part in one of their celebrations! After the birthday party we went out to one of the clubs until late in the night and ordered hookah.

The next day I was painfully tired but was able to sleep on my way to Koh Phi Phi. When I arrived on the island, my eyes grew wide- I've never seen such a beautiful place than this before! It was paradise and I didn't want to leave. The next morning I work up early and took a day tour that took me around the surrounding island on a boat full of fun people that blasted reggae tones. The sights were amazing and the boat would stop off at points for us to go swimming, snorkeling, and kayaking. One stop was called "Shark Point"- you had to swim about 300 feet to get to it but once there the water was invested with sharks! It was so scary but they said there was no worries about the sharks so I did my best to follow them and take pictures. Then we stopped off at Maya bay-the famous place where they filmed the movie "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio. It was so beautiful but way too many people.

After the tour I sat on the beach and watched the sunset- then I went and got a tattoo! I've been planning it my whole trip but wanted to get it done at the right place- and that place was Koh Phi Phi. There was a variety of places to choose from but I picked this small place that was actually just a bamboo hut and not a big store. I got a traditional bamboo tattoo- it took about 3 hours and I got a basic design but love the way it came out. It was really hard to communicate with Bom, the guy who worked on me but it was a fun process- he was happy that I could speak some Thai because he couldn't speak English. After the tattoo was finished he invited me to hang out with him and his friends. It was such a fun night hanging out with 4 Tattoo-loving Thais. It was a really great end to my time in Thailand and I will remember that experience the rest of my life! As for the tattoo I got "Thailand is Totally Cool" written across my chest.... just kidding- you'll have to wait and see it in person.

My last day in Thailand was spent in Bangkok- I had an early flight the next morning so had to stay near the airport. It was great because I called my neighbor I knew from living here and him and I went out to Lava- a big club on Khoa San Road. It was a really fun night. The next day I was off to Hong Kong. I was arriving on a public holiday so I made sure to book a room well in advance. From the airport I took a but to my hotel and walked my way through the very busy streets with all my luggage. After some looking around I found the place and it was in a very strange building with sketchy security. I got to the front desk and asked to check in. I didn't know what I did wrong but I ended up getting kicked out of the hotel... haha I've never been kicked out of somewhere like that before. I already paid for the room online so I had to wait for a refund which made the owner even more angry. It turns out he was just very stressed out and his place got over booked. That left me to look for a new place with no reservation. The only open room in the city was going for $250 American Dollars!! no way. I ended up finding a cheaper place but couldn't check in till after 10 pm. I had to deal with all my luggage, it was quite a pain. When I booked my ticket to Thailand I was so excited I didn't think much about how visiting an expensive city for 4 days after not working for 3 months might not be such a good idea. haha oh well I am here and my credit card will have to just take one for the team- I have a reason to celebrate, I got in to Berkeley!

I'm off to walk around this crazy huge city and try to avoid spending too much money. At this point I am very excited to go back to Ocean Beach- I have many things to look forward to this summer (like my family visiting! whoop whoop!) and plus I need to get back in the the real world and work alot this summer!