Bangkok, the city that NEVER sleeps. We found our guest house with ease. It was located down a rather questionable alley which was home to the various aromas of a typical Asian city (poo/food/garbage-poo hybrid). The 1st night in Bangkok was spent on Khao San Rd., the popular backpacker haven and playground. We enjoyed some local fare and watched the nightly spectacle unfold. Bangkok is a city known for its bizarre sights and sounds and we surely experienced most of these. Day 2 was a bit of a whirl-wind. We quickly found that two Westerners holding a map in front of the Grand Palace is easy prey for a swindler in Bangkok. We we’re approached by a man on the street who had a real slick scheme, build trust with tourists, put them on a Tuk Tuk (motorcycle taxi), and have the driver bring them to jewelry stores, tailors, and souvenir shops. All in all it was an interesting day and the 4 hour “city tour” cost us less than 3 dollars.

After some run-arounds our trip to Koh Phanang took quite a bit longer than forecasted. We arrived on the island by ferry at about 4 in the afternoon on the 9th. An arranged ride brought us to a pretty rough looking joint (Holiday Beach Resort)-made up of shabby huts dotted along the beach. We plunked our packs down in the blistering 37 degree weather and headed for the check-in desk. As we approached there was a noticeable unease in the air. Seeing as how the monthly Full Moon Party was taking place the following night, we assumed that rooms would be scarce…HOWEVER when we were told that the resort had 80 over bookings for that day alone we were more than shocked. One thing the Thais are excellent at is making tourists happy even when they’ve dropped the ball BIG TIME. We were told that there was vacancy at another property on a beach on the Northwestern corner of the island. We weren’t impressed at the distance we would have to travel to the party (30 min drive) but without any other options we jumped in another pick-up which took us to our new location. We arrived at Bounty Resort and to our surprise this place was far nicer than we had ever expected. With most of the comforts of home, this beautiful little resort was set away from the noise and annoyances of the over populated. We think this one worked in our favourJ

FULL MOON PARTY! When these words are uttered in any circle of travelers, a barrage of stories unfolds and conversation could run on for hours. What an AMAZING experience! We arrived in the back of a pick-up a little after 10pm. The moon was hanging brightly in the sky, thumping music echoed from the beach, and thousands of people flooded the streets of Haad Rin Nok. We joined the masses as we marched towards the beach making a pit-stop at a street vendor to buy some customary florescent body paint. Our bodies decorated and feeling no pain, we stepped onto the sand. Absolute chaos and ecstasy surrounded us in every direction and we couldn’t help but take part in the madness. Oh we danced...In fact we’re sure that there are videos out there of the two crazy Canadians cuttin’ a rug. After a couple hours of bliss we laid down in the sand to catch our breath and bask in the moonlight and just like that, we we’re out. Some time later we awoke and it was like we had never missed a beat. We decided that it would be wise to maybe get back to the resort so we found a taxi going in our direction. We chatted up a Canadian couple from Burlington on the way home and learned of some beautiful locations they had seen on the island. So after a wild party and a good night’s rest we basically just laid low for the day on the resort’s patio watching movies, eating, and nursing our hangovers-life is rough…