Ting Tong in Hong Kong and Farewell to Thailand

This blog entry is going to be a quick one because I haven’t really had free time this past week to craft an extremely witty and clever post (per my usual).  My friends are here and we’ve been having a blast, so here’s the abbreviated version of my past ten days.

Last Wednesday, I met Katie, Melissa, Jen, Cindy, and Robin in Hong Kong.  The first four had been planning their trips for awhile, but Robin was a fun, last minute addition, bringing our total number in Hong Kong to six.  Let me just say that I LOVED Hong Kong!  It’s just so….shiny!  I don’t know how else to describe it.  The only places I’ve visited over the past six months have been in third world/developing countries, and Hong Kong is the exact opposite.  It’s modern and clean and I felt normal humidity levels for the first time in months!  It also didn’t hurt that the Hong Kong Rugby 7s' competition was happening all weekend, and well, the city was really ting tong (‘ting tong’ is the Thai word for ‘crazy’…I am not making this up).  Fans from all over the world attended this massive event, and the city’s party street (Lan Kwai Fong) was reminiscent of Bourbon Street in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

Hong Kong Harbor

Hong Kong Park

View over the city from the Peak Tram

Big Buddha

Hong Kong 7s' celebrations

After a fun weekend, we left Robin to continue her travels, and we headed to Bangkok so that I could assist in giving the girls a whirlwind tour of the city.  After visiting every temple in the city in one day (and celebrating Melissa's birthday at Lebua at State Tower, the rooftop bar/restaurant featured in 'The Hangover 2'), we all packed up our stuff yet again and headed south to Thailand's 'gems', the islands of Ko Phi Phi and Phuket.  Ko Phi Phi is a fun little island with beautiful beaches and coves off of the coast, including Maya Bay, where the movie 'The Beach' was filmed.  In Phuket, we stayed in Patong beach at a cool boutique hotel called Nikky's Handlebar http://www.nickyhandlebars.com/).  This place was the highlight of Patong, as the rest of the town is overrun with tourists, ladyboys, and prostitutes. We escaped Patong during the day and hung out at a nice little beach called Surin instead.

Viewpoint over Ko Phi Phi

Maya Bay

Ko Phi Phi island

On our boat trip around the Ko Phi Phi area; my hat could fit better

Out on Bangla Street in Phuket, Patong Beach.  Our friend Rob and his friend Tracy were in Thailand at the same time too!

Surin Beach, Phuket

Katie, Melissa, and I left Cindy and Jen in Phuket first thing this morning, and are now in Bali, Indonesia!  I cannot believe that my time in Thailand has come to an end.  It's been a great five months and I'm so lucky to have seen so much of the country.  It was kind of weird leaving there this morning, but wow, I've only been in Bali a few hours and I really like this place.  Good times straight ahead!  Until next time....Sawatdee kah!