Detour to Dublin

My hands are shaking as I type. This will be my last post. I am going to go dark for a bit as I need to regroup on what my purpose is and why my emotions run so deep. My heart has been shattered, and I am not quite sure how to live again without that support I so comfortably relied on. I obviously do not know intimate love as it continues to elude me.

Heading back to Thailand tonight in hopes of absorbing more sunshine.

It’s been quite rainy here in Ireland. The people in Ireland are beautifully friendly. Kind as their grass is green. Their accents can be a bit difficult to understand, so I catch myself nodding a lot but that doesn’t seem the proper answer needed only causing more confusing conversation.

I spent two fantastic days in Dublin and then we headed to the countryside of Moate where I no longer fit. I did want to share this beautiful country with anyone reading. I hate that I am leaving it with such a sad note.

I’m always amazed at the fresh flowers that are outside of every European home. The roses are the biggest I’d seen and in so many variety of colors.

Christ Church which we explored to see the crypts. Organs are always unbelievable sites in these old cathedrals.

I would never fit in this. Dang people were tiny!

As told to me, the sculpture is ironically symbolic with the massive structure God never asked for behind it.

The famous Temple Bar. Was loads of fun and the bands talented!

Consumed my fair share of Guinness here!

In Ireland this time of year its a time warp. It never gets dark. The sky is always like this – shot taken about 10 pm.

On the other side of the river we visited this church bar. It was actually a lot higher end than I predicted. So we had only one drink in the confessional.

He used to guard the Queen of England, but now only high end Irish dept stores.

The countyside of Moate, Ireland. A lot of sheep, cows and graveyards. A few castles too.

Just because it totally captures Ireland’s fun spirit.

New Condo

It was a bit of a whirlwind, moving into my new condo and then trying to make it to the Expat party that same evening. I really did not want to go. But I forced myself to get unpacked, somewhat organized and then slapped on my Happy Hour shirt to make the best of it.

I had to take a cab, knowing I was going to be drinking. Costs about 20$ each way- which seemed like a lot to me. But I guess better than driving Tia drunk and ending up in the hospital or Thai jail. I felt awkward arriving to the party. There seemed no place to sit that wasn’t taken by what looked to be close knit groups already conversing.

I ordered a drink and sat next to a rocker looking dude who was alone. He was a 67 year old Aussie, who was very clear about liking to hook up with Thai women. “The darker the better.” He had stunning blue eyes and seriously looked much younger than his actual age. He retired in Phuket also, leaving a ex wife and 15 year old son behind. Later an Indian man sat with us, who came over 6 months ago to run a hotel business. He was very quiet about a lot of subjects, but bought the Aussie and I drinks.

After the Aussie left, Abishek and I talked for another hour and I found him completely insightful, quiet mannered, ambitious and diverse. I enjoyed our conversation and it made it worth my trip out. He told me about a street famous in Patong which I hadn’t been to yet, so I wandered down to check it out before ending my evening.

My kitchen. No stove, but I will invest in an electric grill of some sort. Fridge magnets up and towels I got for my birthday!

Living room complete with my bags packed and ready for my Dublin trip.

Bedroom where JJ and Maxwell are settled. (my stuffies)

View from my bedroom window complete with Buddha Man and Lucky Dog. (my good luck charms from Traci and Grandma Bott)

Got my travel map up and some personal things from home. A painting that Denise bought me in Thailand about 12 years ago, my daughter’s Disney silhouettes and Kim TADA’s inspirational cut work butterfly. Feels comfortable enough to say it’s home for a year.

Ready to go, make up on for the first time all month 🙂

Crazy Patong street lined with bars, Thai girls and boys:), and live music!

This guitar player was so good. Had to stay for two drafts before peeling myself away from their energy.

Then I wandered to this Hip Hop bar, mostly for the music. A large roach boldly ran across the floor. The server gave me a shot to forget about it 🙂 I ended up taking a tuktuk home, but unfortunately had to ride up front with the driver since it was raining and I needed to navigate him to my place. I didn’t do a very good job navigating as I had about 6 drinks and am still not too familiar with my new location. He was a good sport about it because I gave him extra for my inabilities.

Entertaining Finds in Phuket

I have been snapping photos of things that I find interesting that are not necessarily related to any fun adventures. But I thought I would share today in my blog, since today is a very boring packing day for me. I move tomorrow to my condo!!!! Very excited to finally get settled. Plus I think, stress on the word THINK, I have all the paperwork I need to get through the next phase at immigration. (fingers crossed!)

HOT DOGS- Yes these are all at one grocery store. And they are all hot dogs. For some reason they love them here. Its the only meat you can find sold at the 7/11 stores. The variety they offer is hilarious to me. I can’t remember the last time I ate a hot dog except maybe at Skyline.

SHOWERING with your toilet. It’s a very normal thing here. I had to seek out an apartment/condo that offered a separate shower stall. But now that I have lived in this hostel with this arrangement its really not that bad! Quite convenient to be able to sit down and shave your legs 🙂

RABBITS and CATS are the motifs of Thailand. This was a shoe store. Nothing to do with children, but obviously he was enjoying the sculpture.

DOGS literally are passed out like this throughout the city. ON streets- I swear sometimes they are dead! I almost hit one with my scooter. They don’t react or move. They are always somewhat fat, never thin, but look un-kept. Here they are laying in front of the shop door since it is air conditioned.

CANDY is so unique here. These are colored shaped marshmallows on a skewer that you then dip into the chocolate or strawberry fountain. Then they freeze it with some black ice type box. Such an interesting process. I bought some for Min’s daughter to try.

Everything has CHARACTER or a personality to it.

PLASTIC SHOES are popular due to heat and rain here. Guess they don’t ruin or stretch like leather does.

This SIGN cracked me up with the visual of the mother and kid walking in the puff exhaust of the car.

Most of their TRAFFIC LIGHTS have timers so you know how much time you have to make it or to wait. Their stop lights can be quite long (90 seconds or more) but it really seems to help regulate the flow. They have traffic mastered. Of course I haven’t lived through a high season yet so will see if that still holds true with double the people on the island.

I was so entertained by this visual. The spider man sculpture is looking at a CONSTRUCTION worker who is literally painting lines down the middle of the street. Traffic is still continuing up and down the road as if no construction is happening. The guy in the full on yellow that you see behind the scooter is carrying water bottles and dripping water onto the painted lines from his coworker in front. Then there is the police, walking behind the crew as if to protect them somehow from tragedy. And this is what I absolutely love about foreign countries. I mean do you really need to shut down traffic to do construction? This is totally proving that it can be done with no disruption. There is no fear. No regulation. Just living life. Doing a job. They can wear flip flops if they want to do this job- nobody is telling them what they have to wear. Their life is theirs to live.

Lastly the TUK TUKS. Complete with flashing lights and stereo speakers blasting music in the back. These are the cabs for tourists and I can’t wait to actually ride one! No reason to yet. But maybe I will hitch a ride in one on my way home from my expat party tomorrow night. Stay tuned…..

Queen for a day

Yesterday in preparation for my upcoming trip to Dublin, I decided to primp a bit and scheduled a spa day. I did a lot of online research to read reviews and expat blogs hoping to find a local place that I could afford to get my hair done. All women know how tricky that can be!! And in a foreign country no less! Cassie, my amazing hair dresser at Valenti Beechmont in Cinci, wrote down the formulas she used on me which I discovered means nothing to these guys. They are not about mixing a color. It’s all about just picking one from a swatch box. I was getting worried.

I entered the spa at 1pm and did not leave until 5pm. I started off with an allover body scrub. (If you haven’t done this in your life I highly recommend it!) They gave me some disposable underwear to change into which never made it over my American hips! Got my toes done (cost about $10) then off to the dye house where the Thai lady didn’t speak a lick of English. She put plastic caps over my ears, so I felt like I was wearing a fun Halloween costume. Honestly though a great invention/idea as no dye got into my ears to discover weeks later with my Qtips.

When it came to my hair cut a woman without a uniform came in with a fluffy chihuahua following her. I knew she was the boss! Well she was amazing! Her name is Sarah and she has owned the salon for 14 years. Once we got to chatting we didn’t stop! Love her! She had a 3 year long distant relationship with an Aussie boyfriend and he finally came over to be partners in her business. She told me expats can own up to 49% of a business. (I had previously heard 30%) Sarah also explained how her taxes, once partnering with him, tripled. As a Thai business owner you don’t pay much in taxes but as an expat they get ya! She did an amazing hair cut and later attacked my eyebrows! The lighting in my hostel is so bad, I can’t see anything to pluck!

Looking so polished, I decided to check out the Hard Rock Cafe since I had only eaten half a baguette before I took off to the Vayo Patong Salon. I always like to see memorabilia but have to say the Phuket Hard Rock did not have much on display. I ate there anyways and overpaid for my pulled chicken sandwich. I went into their shop thinking I would buy a tee shirt for my girls, but they cost 40$ usd. So not worth it. If I were in The States I probably wouldn’t think twice about it, as that’s not too unfair of a price for a Hard Rock tee. I’ve become quite the cheap ass over here.

Most impressed with Jimi’s embroidered vest.

Of course on my ride back the sun was setting so I pulled over to snap a few photos of Karon Beach and soak in the beauty.

On the scooter it’s so easy to pull over and step onto the beach. Love the freedom of driving Tia!

Freedom Beach

The last beach I wanted to see before I left this coast. What a flipping adventure. Tia is such a sport! She has been through a lot and I think she’s now on board with my spirit. The dirt road going up the mountain was rocky beyond belief! Imagine driving and trying your best to go the best route -trail to avoid a flat tire, barely balancing, legs out to the side so you avoid slipping into the many deep crevices. Getting to the top made me concerned about going back down if you can imagine. No civilization on the way up except random chicken, roosters and dogs.

Once you are at the top and parked you need to hike down a trail for about 15 minutes to reach this beach. It’s the only free entry. I’m all about conserving my funds at this point with no job yet on the horizon. You know how usually the way back is always faster than the way to an unknown destination? SO NOT true in this case. Let’s just say I’m out of shape.

Road conditions Tia conquered. No way I could have done this with Tiffani on the back!

The start of the trail down. You can see how high up it is.

View coming down to the beach from the trail.

For my last beach day for awhile, I think this was an excellent choice. The sand was so soft!! And colors amazing. Unfortunately I forgot my beach matte and didn’t have a towel. I thought there would be more civilization here where they would rent chairs etc. But it is low season, so you never know what to expect. I laid out on my clothes and try to position the majority of my beastly body on them. Then rinsed them off in the water when I was ready to take off and hiked up wet. 🙂

Long boat hoping to convince people to ride back.

Walked over to the rocky section to get even better views. I took a video but can’t seem to email it to myself to load.
If I can figure out a way to upload it to this site, I may add it later.

Lots of cute crabs in these rocks! Water was crystal clear. I may need to invest in some snorkeling equipment. Of course that would be more to carry down the hike. As I was hiking back up I believe I stopped to catch my breath about 8 times. I kept thinking, which one of my friends would do this with me?

Khai Islands

I discovered a new website when looking up something on South Korea. It’s called “klook” which was named after the idea to “keep looking”. http://www.klook.com I highly recommend you use this site if you are travelling anywhere internationally. It is helpful in many ways and the tours offered are at a price about 1/2 you will find anywhere else. Thought I would test it out to see if it was legit. I mean for 20$ USD I booked a three island hop complete with transportation to and from the port. I was hopeful the boat floats.

Right on time, the van arrived to pick me up at my hostel. We traveled to the port and loaded up on what appeared to be a legit vessel. I met a wonderful New Zealand couple on the ride there and hung out with them the entire time. They taught me how to snorkel. Jumped off the boat in the ocean of Thailand to experience snorkeling for the first time. Was fascinating!! The coral, fish, and just floating as part of nature! I swear I saw Dora. (no kidding! Just one small bright blue fish swimming with the school of other zebra patterns)

It was an overcast day, but never rained. Was a little touristy, but not too overcrowded. Heard some Post Malone playing at the bar that said “stay calm and smoke weed” – which will land you in a Thai prison for life, but I stopped for a beer to support them.

Loading up on the speed boat out of Asia Pier.

Loved watching these two crew members sitting on the front of the boat being free and loving their work. The boy I believe was in training and was thoroughly enjoying the ride. Crew were the only ones not required to wear life jackets.

First stop was Khai Nai. I learned that nai= big.

I would rename this island Coral Cat Island. How often do you see cats on a beach? And who brought them to this island to live? Things that make you go HMMMMMMM.

The island was filled with coral and wasn’t the best unless you had water shoes with a hard bottom on.

Today’s selfie. The number 9 shows which ship I belong to in case I get disoriented I guess 🙂

I was the only tourist that made my way to this part of the beach.
The rock formations were beautiful and the sand at this section so soft!

Love the backdrop of the mountains in Phuket!

The trees form such a window to the landscape!

The touristy part. It’s all for the buck on these tours.

Mark and Deb, from New Zealand, now living in Perth, Australia. (the most remote city on the planet) I loved listening to their stories which mimic my kids! They have an 18 and 12 year old that they left at home. Mark was saying how his girls are into KPop and he convinced them that he was a huge fan also. They didn’t believe him so they made up a quiz for him to take. He snuck a peak at it in advance, and looked up all the answers and acted like an expert when they finally asked him the questions. Cracked me up! His daughters were pissed not knowing how her knew.

This was Khai Nok. I swam at this beach which had less coral. Clouds are amazing and in constant transition.

Every place I look is breath taking. Was such a great day. Not hot. Great people. Post Malone and a Heineken. Natural Beauty.
Funny tour guide- who basically announced that we shouldn’t poop in the ocean or fish will come to eat it. (why does that need said?)

Maaasssaagge???

I’m attempting to express the drawn out Thai accent as they call out from the streets. It’s almost comical and entertaining, especially the street my hostel is off of. There are literally about 6-10 massage parlors begging for you to come in. I love how they never get upset with the answer “no”. It could teach anyone in sales a lesson watching them. Each parlor dresses in a color. So there’s the green, the orange, the black, the sunflowers, etc. Its effective. I’ve gotten to know the gals at each as I walk by daily.

There are scooters with side cars commonly here that are literally shops on wheels that sell everything from brooms, to fresh crabs, to complete meals that they cook on the spot while you wait. They drive by and have what sounds like bike horns on them so you know they are coming if you should want something. A Thai version of a food truck. The massage gals love to get their meals from these guys, and often times when you walk past the ladies are all huddled on the cement in front of their shops eating together. Of course, they will look up from their meals to holler “maassaaagge?”

My back has been killing me for awhile now. I’m sure its the stress of driving Tia as well as the crap mattresses I’ve been sleeping on. (I’m praying my condo has a decent one!) Today I decided to go spend the 15$ and work the kinks out. Being a little bit of a snob, I sought out a location that I felt was clean and was hoping not to be massaged after someone just ate off the floor. I mean, the little things, but nonetheless.

The place I found was gorgeous! Entry and elevators up. This place had 3 levels.

Doi scrubbed my feet with a salt scrub before entering the table area.

I hate to admit I nearly cried during the massage. The woman (Doi) was intense! I have no idea what body part she was using to massage me with, but she was going in deep. She was all over me! Straddling me, doing all sorts of elbow techniques. It was an experience!!! Will see if it worked as that’s all that really matters to me in the end.

Afterwards since it was around 6pm, I took a detour to the beach to catch a bit of the sunset before I headed back.

I will miss being beachside. I’m very happy I decided to stay a month here to explore. I made a promise to myself watching this that I would try to make it to A Beach, once a week after I move. I know I will be poolside by my condo, but its just not the same.

Hat Karon Noi Beach

Awhile back I was turned away at the gate to Le Meridian Resort and have been determined ever since to go in. I see this beach from many view points and I had to try it out. But the only way to get there is through the resort. I emailed them and arranged for a day pass which was not cheap but included an amazing lunch and an outstanding beach. I was literally the only one in the ocean!!

When I got to the guard shack I told them I was here for a day pass. The sweet gentleman said are you Ms. Tonya!? It was great! Then on my way out he waved me farewell and I felt like I was welcomed. This hotel is in such an amazing location between Patong and Karon. Pure luxury. Was great to pretend for a day.

This was the first pool I walked around and later went back to it to put in some laps.

Love how the building is colored green to blend in with the mountains. This place felt like one of those beautiful all inclusive island resorts. Complete with entertainment.

Pool #2. They assigned me a green towel, so everyone knew I was an outcast. Was a bit weird. Everyone else had a yellow towel. I just pretended I was special 🙂

I mean the colors! I am so appreciative of God’s creativity here.

This is what they mean by private beach!! The water was crystal clear.

I guess I just cannot imagine getting tired of this.

Oven fired teriyaki chicken pizza with a corona. Heaven.

The lobby view. I will admit sometimes it’s difficult not having someone to share this with.
On the flip side, I truly feel it all soulfully when it’s just me.

Spirit Houses and Trees

I finally googled what the meaning is with all the small temples and colorful ties on trees I see everywhere. Maybe you already understand the cultural meaning, but since I didn’t I figure some people reading may also not. I thought it had something to do with Buddhism. But it does not.

Spirit worship was culturally in Thailand way before Buddhism. They believe in spirits living within their worlds. And whenever a business or house is built on land, the owner builds a spirit house to entice the spirits to go and live there instead of inside their new development. They buy trinkets and decorate the houses to keep the spirits happy. Food is also given as well as drinks to the spirits. Red Fanta is popular.

You may even see spirit houses at dangerous road sites asking for the spirits to protect and not mess with people driving on that section. It is very important also to not just get rid of a spirit house once its breaking a bit, you have to gradually entice the spirits into a new home you are providing and then discard the old house on what is called “Ghost Roads”. Would love to see one of these roads!

The multi colored ribbons tied on trees is a way to protect the tree from being cut down letting it be known that spirits live there. You will see offerings of food and trinkets near these trees also. The goal is for the Thai people to keep the spirits happy so they will not interfere badly in their lives.

Thai people also place fresh flower garlands on their spirit houses and statues.

Notice the red pop drinks. I usually also see water out.

There is such a variety to the spirit house designs.

The colorful fabric ties on the post are always brightly colored.

Food offering. The dogs around here don’t mess with it.

This statue is outside of Karon Beach. Notice all the trinkets and offerings around it. People also come and light incense and worship at the spirit houses/statues.

This spirit house was outside of the Kathu Falls.

The colorful ribbons are also tied onto boats to ward off the spirits from their journeys on the water.

This photo is from one of the very first days Tiff and I explored Phuket Town.
Now I understand what I was looking at better.

Paradise

There’s a reason this beach was named Paradise Beach. It is such a hidden gem. Tia had quite a workout and did very well with her new mechanics. The road to get there was up and down mountains on a less travelled road. (which I liked because not too much traffic to worry about)

There was a designated parking lot for Tia. The assistant there guided me to a free shuttle bus down a very sharp incline further into the jungle. I was very thankful I wasn’t driving. They charged an entrance fee to the beach – about $6.00.

Remote. Food and drink service at your chairs. Music clubbing it up. Shade. No waves. Clear water with a pathway through to another section which took you to an even softer white sand beach. When the tide was low you could walk over there, but during high tide you had to take the path. Anyone that comes to visit I will take them here. It was such a find!