Here are some pictures. These are mostly from our the day Lisa and I went out exploring the islands. I didn't take my camera on the snorkeling tour because i was worried about the water and sand with my camera.

Yesterday i went out on my own. I walked around with Jack Johnson on my ipod taking pictures. Then i saw a man struggling to load bottles of water on a boat. I grabbed some water and gave him a hand. He was so appreciative he offered to take me to any island for free. I told him i didn't want to go anywhere, but I would like a picture of him. He threw up a peace sign and smiled for the camera. I then began taking pictures of Thai people all along the beach. Some i asked to take their picture, but many saw my camera and asked me to snap a photo. It was pretty fun connecting with them.

I found the Starbucks here in Ao Nang and sat there for a while writing in my journal. The manager gave me her business card and asked that I send them photos from California.

That night i went to a bar up the road and watched a fire show, ate dinner and then met up with the girls. We did a little shopping and hit up another bar. It was called Rock Bar and they had karaoke going.

A few drinks later and Lisa was up on stage singing (i guess you could call it that) Sweet Home Alabama. The bassist was winking at her all night. Watch out K.C. cause she might not be coming home.....

The moms went back to the hotel and Lisa and I found another bar where we met two guys from Spain who spoke little english. I pulled out everything I learned in highschool spanish to communicate with them. (thanks Senior Barosa)

Back at the hotel we snuck into the pool for a quick dip and then off to bed. Today we leave back to Bangkok for 2 days.

Karen has pics from the bar so i will share those pics later.

Love you all!


the view from our first hotel in Krabi

first hotel in Krabi had a private Lagoon.






resturants on long boats docked right on shore






main road in Ao Nong

So sorry I haven't updated in a while. Our days have been very busy and full since we arrived to the islands and I am beat at the end of the night. Also, i have been sitting here for way too long trying to get some pics to load. it is taking forever (like 2 hours) all i could get was this one. most of Krabi looks like this. I will try to get more to upload tonight, i don't want to waste the day on the computer.

So this will be a long update...

Mom and Karen made it to Krabi just fine, although they did get a lot of stares as they tromped through the airport with 8 bags. They told people they had 3 daughters with them so others would not think the luggage was just theirs... figured they'd add another daughter for good measure.

Our first hotel in Krabi had stunning grounds but the staff was very rude and it was quite a ways away from town. On Weds (our first full day in Krabi we just hung around the pool all day and relaxed and drank way too much wine. (as you can imagine, our day at the airport on tuesday was quite exhausting)

Thursday, Lisa and I took a taxi to Krabi Town (which we quickly renamed Krapy Town as it was filthy and honestly not worth seeing). From there we hired a boat to take us to Railay Beach. It is known for its rock climbing. Taking the boat was interesting because we could not leave until the driver found enough passengers to make it a full boat (8) We found 2 others, from the UK, and then waited and waited. It seemed no one else was ever going to come so we all paid double fair (200baht or about $7) so we could get on our way. We rode in a long tail boat and the ride was incredible and beautiful. The boat drops you off a bit off shore so you jump in the water and trek up the beach.

Railay was so amazing. It is covered with caves and mouth dropping cliffs and rock formations. We found the beach and just enjoyed the scenery for a while. Lisa read on the sand and I swam around. On the beach there were quite a few vendors selling sarongs, jewelry and food/drinks. They comb the beach walking up to sunbathing tourists. Lisa and I enjoyed our best lunch so far. Fresh corn that was fire grilled right in front of us and then lathered in salt and butter and also some super fresh pineapple. We finished it off with a Thai beer and Lisa got a foot massage right on the beach for about $4.

After a few hours we decided to keep exploring the island. We found ourselves strolling through a beach resort and decided we both felt sandy and sticky from the salt water so we snuck into the hotels pool to rinse off. A guard quickly approached us and asked what room we were in. I had already noted a room number so i said 1102. We jotted it down and left. A few short minutes later he came back,

"1102?? are you sure??"
"um, yes i think so, it is our friends room, we are not staying here, our friends are."
I start back peddling as i imagine the two of us being thrown in a Thai prison for trespassing (we've all seen Broke Down Palace)
He leaves again to "check something" and Lisa and I bolt the heck outta there.

We took a long boat to the island of Ao Nang and strolled around for a while. We both decided it was a super cute beach town and it was here that i found the most delicious treat. A thai pancake. It is similar to a crepe and is covered in a variety of things just like crepes. Fruit, chocolate, nutella etc. I have had 3 since i discovered them. Yummy!

We took a cab back to our hotel only to find Aunt Karen saying grab your things and get a cab. Apparently my mom and her decided they didn't like our hotel and it was too far away and they had found a better one right on the beach in Ao Nang. Thank goodness.

Our new hotel is right on the water and also right on a busy and crowded street. It is perfect. There are lots of shops and restaurants around. The rooms are also cute and the staff as been very friendly.

Yesterday we booked a tour that took us on a large ship out to 3 different islands. We first stopped at Chicken Island for snorkeling. I did see alot of fish and tons of jellyfish. We then ate lunch on the ship and headed to the Phi Phi island. The second island was Phi Phi Lai. It was a cute swimming cove with crystal clear water. There are no accommodations to stay overnight here. Lastly we arrived at Phi Phi Don, which was a much busier island and is were most tourists stay if they are going to the Phi Phi islands. Full of vendors and beach front restaurants.

We were the only 4 Americans on the ship. The rest were all Swedish. About 40 of them. We were told there are not many Americans staying on Ao Nang, which i would believe it true as so far i have not met any. Most Americans stay on Phuket.

Back at the hotel we freshened up, ate dinner at an Italian place, yummy, then off to bed.

Oh, did i say how freaking sunburned i am. I swear i wore sunscreen but obviously not enough. My legs and feet are so bad that they are swollen. So swollen my little feet look like fat sausages. I can barely point or flex my feet. Thankfully my face and shoulders are looking a bit tanner than before. (understand that my definition on "tan" is not the same as most people. Damn this Irish complexion)

We leave back to Bangkok tomorrow (Sun) and them home on Tuesday.

No pictures today for the following reasons:

1. my camera cord is in my suitcase
2. my suitcase is in Bangkok
3. I am in Krabi

Why is suitcase in Bangkok.... because it weights over 7 kg.

We were set to leave Cheng Mai today.... already we had changed our flight due to some unexpected things so we were planned to fly cheng mai- bangkok and then catch our connecting flight 40 minutes after we landed to Krabi. To add to the short between time, it was all on 2 different airlines so we would have had to get our luggage, then check in for the second flight and board....

I was already worried about possibly not having time to pick up the luggage, or it getting lost so I packed thing i for sure didn't want to be with out in my carryon and packed the dirty laundry and other non essentials in the bag to be checked....

We get to the airport only to have the airline tell us our check in luggage could not be more than 14 kg and our carryon no more than 7kg... what? seriosly? who's luggage only weights that much?

So, we quickly unload things out of our carryon luggage that we don't want to be without and check the rest. I grabbed a swim suit, 2 dresses, underware, wallet/passport and my camera... not much else i need....

oh and then we pay $130 for the "extra weight" we were checking.

We arrive in Bangkok only to find out that we have to take a bus to the terminal... we now have 30 minutes till our 2nd plane departs... Lisa and I wait for the bags and Karen and Mom go to check us in for the next flight.

We look at the time and Lisa and I decide if we wait any longer for the bags we will miss the next flight, so we start running, ditching the bags. We figured we could get to Krabi and between the airlines and the hotel our luggage would get to us eventually, hopefully.

When we arrive to the counter Karen and Mom have decided that Lisa and I are to fly to Krabi as planned and they would stay in Bangkok, wait for the bags and fly to Krabi in the am. (there are only 4 flights per day to Krabi and we were already on the last one)

So Lisa and I start booking it to the gate, sprinting seriosly.... or what we would like to call sprinting. Talk about the Amazing Race... we really felt like we were on it...

In the end we made it to the flight (outta breath no less) and saftly to Krabi.
We are now at the hotel and Karen and Mom should be arriving tomorow with luggage.

It was certainly and intersting travel day. I am ready for a good strong drink and a relaxing swim in ocean.
-nikki

BTW, we spoke with an American woman who is Thai in the airport and she wasn't charged extra for her bags and her carry on was well over 7 kg... every non-Thai we spoke to was charged... so when you are in Thailand.... do not fly Thai Asia Air... besides this negative experience with the luggage their were many more dissapoints with the airline.

Today was amazing, emotional and touching. I loved it all. We went to Elephant Nature Park which is all about conservation, unlike many of the other elephant attractions in Thailand which exploite the elephants and use them to take 4 tourist trecking through the jungle. It was first opened as a santuary were they could just be elephants, no working. Now it has been opened to ecotourists who want to learn and recieve a hands on experience.

We started our day stopping at a local market to load all the elephants food... bags upon bags of bannanas, pineapples, melons etc.

After a 2 hour drive into the hills and jungle we unloaded and got ready to feed the elephants. They were sticking their trunks every which way looking for scraps and one started to steal from my elephants basket. We then ate our lunch and then headed to river to bath them. Then we hung around the babies on the beach. Some even gave kisses which was more like a suck.

We then had a talk from one of the volunteers and then watched a movie about the elephant epidemic in Asia. Very sad. It was just breaking my heart. Many of the elephants at the park were rescued from mistreatment in one form or another. One had a nub foot because it stepped on a landmind. One was blind becuase its owners shoot it in the eyes when it wouldn't behave. One had his tusks cut off with a chainsaw... the stories go on and on.

Even sader was yesterday I saw an elephant crossing the street at the night market in Cheng Mai. I was shocked to see one in the busy streets and felt bad for it as it is loud and chaotic and not suit for an elephant. I learned today that many elephants are used for street begging where the owner takes them out at night and sells food to tourists to feed the elephant and pose for pictures. However, the elephants who do this do not recieve enough food and water often and live in the cities under freeways in squatter camps during the day. It was heartbreaking.
They do the same thing in Bangkok.

I am so glad that I chose to visit a place that is doing something good for these amazing creatures and is trying to have a positive influence on the elephant community in Asia.

the cute baristas at the Tokyo airport


for those that wondered... this is a tuk tuk... fun to ride at first, but the pollution and exhaust fumes quickley get to you.... tonight we had a bit of a race with Karen and Lisa in one and my mom and I in another... i really felt like i was on the amazing race




Karen pounding out a monk alms bowl... very cool...you can read about it here if you are interested.


we have seen our fair share of buddah statues.... these were two of my faves...


a small Wat (temple) near our hotel in Cheng Mai. it was chained closed, but was in this charming and lush garden.



this was on the outskirts of cheng mai... a small group of women making these traditional parasals.... craziness.


loved seeing this. at night they set up little make shift bars everywhere... like kool-aid stands or something. this vw bus was a bar for the night.

massage time.... i got a full body for like 6 bucks. crazy. it was pretty good, a little painful but relaxing.

love this 2 story starbucks in cheng mai... they were having a staff meeting inside... so cute!

here was today's adventure.... freaking awesome! zip lines through the jungle for about 3 hours. so amazing and cool and unforgettable. not scary, just so awesome. we went with an aussie girl and a german guy too, both traveling by themselves. The girl was in Thailand to celebrate her 24th birthday... thailand was her 24th country. and even weirder is the guide new my friend Angi's boyfriend back in CA. 6 degrees right.






of course, this was a bit of an adventure. Lisa lost her shoe in the jungle when it fell off mid flight... luckily the training guide scurried down into the brush to find it. she also banged up her leg after many times of crashing into the guide on the platform... brakes brakes he kept yelling at her... we all found it amusing.
then, never to be outdown, Mom passed out as we finally touched the ground at the end of the day... as they were lowering us back down she was spinning really fast on the rope and when she landed her blood pressure must have dropped as she slouched over unconciece. thank goodness 26 years of having a nurse for a mom, i rushed over and gave her a good sturnum rub and she woke right up... i know she was proud. she was fine for the rest of the day.

after the course we at lunch at a roadside dinner in the village and hiked up a watwerfall before heading back to town. we layed around during the hot part of the afternoon and then ate dinner and headed to the night bazarre. The other girls are still down there now, i took off a while ago, found some coffee, met some cool thai people who were really impressed by my poloroid camera. they had never seen such a thing and wanted me to take pictures of all of them infront of their booths. it was pretty fun actually and it paid off cause when i was ready to go back to the hotel, they loaded me in a tuk tuk, negotiated a cheap price and sent me on my way...

now i am in the hotel lobby listening to bad karioki and sipping my coffee.
tommorrow will be another full day as we are heading to the elephant santuary.

thanks for the comments. Glad to here my dogs are okay. thanks for letting them out brenda while ron is at work. there are dogs everywhere here, but i think they are homeless and they are really skinny and skraggaly... sad :(

A monk at the Golden Buddah in Bangkok

sorry, that is the only pic you get for now as it is taking forever to load and i don;t want to waste my vacation loading pics...

We are now in Cheng Mai. We all love it here. Much better than Bangkok. This is what i pictured Thailand would be lick. Much more rural and cleaner here. Lots of trees shading the streets. Cute resturants and bars that look very authentic. We had a tuk tuk driver take us out of the city today for some shopping of the hilltribe handy craft products. We got some nice things and the driver was awesome. He took us whereever we wanted to go and waited everytime. We are pretty sure he got commisions at the store, but we didn't care, we liked the places he took us.

After shopping in the morning we headed back to the hotel to refresh. Mom got a massage for $3... seriosly... she said it was amazing. We found a really cute place for dinner, it was outdoors but covered and had amazing ambiounce. The food was good too and a pitcher of pina colodas was only $2, so 2 pitchers later Karen and I headed to the night bazarre. It is so cool. So many stalls it is almost overwhelming. Everything you could imagine is for sale. I found some amazing lights for my house and now i just need to figure out how to get them home as they are HEAVY. didn't buy them yet, gonna go check on shipping tomorrow.

We were just headed back to the hotel to go to bed when we discovered an internet cafe... can't beat 30 minutes for $1.

okay captains log 2

have not found an internet cafe although i am told they are everywhere. i am in the hotel and can not upload pics here... :(

today was about getting our bearings. we rode the subway and the sky train downtown and walked around taking it all in.

found the golden buddah and headed to chinatown. lots of walking... lots!

it isn't that hot but is definitly muggy and humid. did a little more sight seeing, rode in a tuk tuk. walked some more. came back to the hotel to regroup before dinner and an evening at the night bazarre.

the people are really nice, i just wish i new the language better. i feel so stupid just smiling. We are all weary of scammers as it is said to be quite commen. Lots of little girls stare at karen and i because of our red and blonde hair i think... i hope that is why. hmmm... okay i am so tired so my mind is going a bit blank... plus i got sick on the plane... started with a sore throat and when i woke up today my entire body was aching and i had a fever... it sure didn't make the day as enjoyable as i would have liked.... but i tried to make the best of it.

heading to cheng mai in the morning and Lisa will meet us there. She changed her flight to come earlier which will be nice.

off to have dinner...

thanks for the comments. they make me smile.

love nikki

वे मदे it

we made it here safe and sound late weds night at 11pm bangkok time. the plane ride wasn't as bad as i had expected as we had our own row on each flight due to a non crowded flight. moveies and wine also helped our sanity.

we were in japan for about 3 hours and i loved just the airport. totally want to go back there someday. we stopped at a starbucks in the japan airport and the baristas took a picture for me to bring home to partners in the US... the were all very nice and thought it was so cool i worked for starbucks in california.

okay, i don't have much time and this computer is super slow so i will update with stories and pictures when i find an internet cafe.... i am at the hotel right now.
-nikki

Off to Thailand!

we leave today! getting pretty excited here. just have a few more small things to get done and then i'm off. I will be traveling with my Mom and my Aunt Karen. Lisa, my cousin will meet us up 1 week into our trip. I'll do my best to blog and share stories and pictures while i am over there as i hear internet cafes are everywhere.

This is a little travel journal i made to take along the road. It is mostly just blank pages inside so i can journal about my experiences and thoughts and staple in snippets here and there... i'll share the completed version when i get home in two weeks.

Oh, if you come to read about my trip stories, leave me a comment.... when we went to to Europe a few years ago, it was so nice to read everyones comments... it made us feel not as homesick.... don't get me wrong, i absolutly love to travel but i still always miss home... especially my lil doggies... and this time the hubby...

Love, Nikki

a little juno loving

i totally have been addicted to the juno soundtrack for a few weeks now. i was inspired to create these two layouts... both of the titles/journaling are lyrics from my 2 favorite songs on the album.
if you haven't seen the movie or listened to the soundtrack..... do! it is awesome. for sure one of my favorite films in a long time, maybe since Across the Universe.

okay, lots to do today. busy busy sunday!

little bits and bobs

that inspire me.
this board has been growing and expanding and changing over the past year. i always get so happy when i discover a new addition. most everything is out of a magazine or off the internet and then a few randoms.

then today, i find this little blog today and i was so happy.... a place for sharing insperation boards... turns out the blog was a result of the flickr group by the same name.

anyhow, can't wait to upload pics of mine to flickr, but the site is down right now.

manic monday!

hi ya'll!

busy busy year so far.... but i totally love it. i love a new year, new starts everything is fresh! love it!

okay, so i am in love with this new cd...

you can check her out here
i love the song acadamia... so fun and playful!

okay that is all for today!

resolutions

this is an old page from a few years ago celebrating the fact that i kept my resolution for the first time ever (it was to keep a daily calander)
this year I resolve to keep my scraproom more organized so I can scrap more... i am terrible about cleaning up after a day of crafting so it sits there for a week or so... I am also resolving to send birthday cards ontime.... i have a few more but I'll keep them personal...
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!